The Sunday Currently

I'm stealing the format for The Sunday Currently from Carina, who in turn found it somewhere else. I like the idea of a simple check-in, a way to orient one's heart- and head-space at the end of one week and the beginning of another. It's also the perfect chance to switch gears from my last two kind of heavier/more analytical type posts (and thank you all for your really thoughtful and affirming comments, by the way). Here's what's current in my world:

Reading
As always, I'm deep in too many books at the same time. But the two I've spent time with most recently (hello, Sunday afternoon; today you were made of wonderfulness) are Fredrick Backman's A Man Called Ove and Anna Funder's All That I Am. Ove is my local book club's pick for this month and, to summarise it super briefly, it's about a grumpy old Swedish fellow who nevertheless has some endearing redeeming qualities. For the first thirty pages I hated it -- hated his constant grumbling and his almost cartoonish old-mannish ways. Then on page 31 something happened and I suddenly loved this character. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story develops. And I literally only started All That I Am today, but already it's proving wonderful. Anna Funder's non-fiction work Stasiland was amazing, and I feel confident her fiction will be just as good.

Writing
I'm working on a short story at the moment. It's been in the works for most of the year, and I keep pulling it out when it forcibly impresses itself on my memory. I'm also dipping a tentative toe back into journalling. I haven't done it for so long that I confess I'm quite scared by the whole process.

Listening
I'm all about putting my iPod on shuffle these days. To my shame, sometimes I discover stuff I haven't ever heard before. I'm also not above skipping tracks I'm not in the mood for. Current/always/forever favourites are Josh Garrels and The Civil Wars (who are, sadly, officially disbanding), while Citizens & Saints are my newest favourite. Musically, their stuff is like gentler hard rock, if that's even a thing. Lyrically, their songs are exquisitely literary contemporary Psalms. So good.

Thinking
Oh, what a wide brown land that word encompasses. I'm thinking a lot about being faithful in the little things, about reconciling the present with the future, and the interesting dynamics of share-housing (I've only ever shared with my sister; I'm so intrigued as to how people share a living space with someone they're either not related to nor in love with).

Smelling
Bushfire smoke and a cool breeze.

Wishing
[withheld, because] 

Hoping
...to get better at hope; to find the delicate space between idealism and cynicism; for more cool breezes; to ignore the chocolate cake in my fridge; to connect with people I need to connect with.

Wearing
Post-church, Sunday night daggies. If only I'd written this a half hour ago, when it was a black sheath dress, gladiator sandals, and a diamante collar necklace.

Loving
The feeling that life is maybe finding a rhythm again after several months of really intense busyness.

Wanting
A little more job security, perhaps.

Needing
To go through my walk-in-robe-slash-storeroom-space and overhaul everything.

Feeling
Grateful to be on the mend and getting my energy back after a really prolonged flu. 

Clicking
Here for adorable German words translated into adorable line drawings. Here for cute Israeli cops lip-syncing to The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Here to watch the latest episodes of Doctor Who. And here because there's always something good to read.

You?

Two weeks of my life, briefly, in list format:

Last time I wrote, I said my cousin was coming to stay. I was wrong. My cousin came. My goddaughters came. And my sister and her babies came. It was, as predicted, a blur of joy.

+01. Apparently I not only possess the world's cutest niece and nephew, but I also have the world's squishiest. After five days of firsthand exposure, I am convinced that the fatter the cheeks, the better. I am also sure that blue eyes may just be the most heart-melting. And I am happy to be known to my little niece as the aunty with lots of pretty beads for wearing.

+02. It was enormous fun to hang out -- really hang out -- with my sister properly for the first time since she was married two and a half years ago. Other visits have always been much shorter and much busier, or devoted entirely to other things. This time, there were late nights for sitting and chatting, girly movies to watch, and shopping trips. We may just have come up with solutions to major world crises while we talked, too.

+03. My cousin Annie hadn't changed a bit, except that she's more fun, smart, and gorgeous than ever. It was "beyond huge" (to quote a movie we incessantly repeated while she was here) to get to show her around Brisbane, introduce her to our church homies, and catch up with mutual friends. When she left, I found myself more thankful for my awesome cousins than ever (and that's saying something).

+04. When the happy whirl came at last to a stop on Sunday, I re-entered earth's atmosphere and was shocked to hear of the carnage caused by the Victorian bushfires. Fire is an expected part of an Australian summer; the death of so many is not. There has been an eerie sense of watching a bleak history being written as I repeatedly visit ABCnews and watch the death toll rise. Authorities are calling it Australia's worst natural disaster. All I can do is pray.

+05. In the meantime, my own life goes on unstrangely (and unfairly) unaffected. As I write, the next issue of Whatsoever Magazine is being printed, and this morning I put the finishing touches on a project I've been commissioned to design for Homespun magazine. It's a beautiful publication and I last did some work for the team there about five years ago, so I'm excited to be involved again. I'm excited, too, to be doing some hand stitching; it feels like too long since I pulled the sewing basket out and experimented. I'll post a little sneak peek soon.

+06. I am generally a little hermit soul, but I'm getting all eager and bouncy about my upcoming trip to Tasmania with my family. Most of us fly out on Valentine's Day for two weeks, and I'm already having dreamy thoughts of cooler weather, glorious old buildings, not setting my alarm, reading out on the balcony, bakeries and cafes, and the gorgeous city park. Oh, and picture-taking, of course. It'll be delicious.

What can't you wait for just now?

----------

conversations:

Celeste -- so I'm not the only one who tried a little eyebrow break-dancing after watching that clip? :D

Currentlies

The days towards the back end of this week have been dark and dreary -- but lovely all the same. So, in celebration of the indoors, I present to you a list currentlies...

currently tinkering with Tumblr. It looks like a simple and cheerful little blogging platform, handy for sharing links, quotes, and short posts without fuss or bother -- or the necessity of moderating and interacting through comments. I love blog comment features (interaction is the best!) but I know a lot of folks don't. Perhaps Tumblr is worth a try.

currently listening to David Crowder*Band's Remedy. I was already a fan of Mr. Crowder and Associates, so I was predisposed to like this album. However, I like it even more than I expected! It's so full of joy and celebration of who God is -- with lots of bouncy music and some quirky elements, too. After all, it is David Crowder we're talking about here. Consider these lyrics:

Here we are / Here we are / The broken and used / Mistreated, abused / Here we are.
Here You are / Here You are / The beautiful one / Who came like a Son / Here You are.
So we lift up our voices / We open our hands / To cling to the love / That we can't comprehend.
Oh, lift up your voices / And lift up your heads / To sing of the love / That had freed us from sin.
Beautiful. Oh, and I found out something Very Good yesterday. David Crowder has a blog!

currently anticipating the complete creation of the new Boundless magazine. I talk about and refer back to Boundless a lot because I really respect a lot of the material coming from that place of web and faith goodness. I think a magazine coming from such an amalgamation of minds and hearts can only be great. I hope it happens soon -- and that we can somehow obtain this publication in Australia!


currently admiring these very adorable fabric-covered hair clips from Sportsgirl. Ninety-five cents, friends. For just ninety-five cents (I believe their sales are on at the moment), you too can keep your hair in place and feel girly and old-fashioned at the same time!

currently streaming RhemaFM straight from my web browser. I grow increasingly impatient with stations that offer a mix of Christian music and secular. There are enough secular stations to listen to if that's what people are after. Plus, the radio can provide a fantastic preview of Christian artists I might not be game enough to spend thirty dollars on straight up without knowing what their music is like. So I appreciate this station for its "100% Christian mix".

currently capturing pictures of light in unusual places. I guess it's a combination of the grey and the shortening autumn days (only two evenings left before winter!), but there seems to be sparks of glowing colour everywhere! I am enjoying capturing them when I can (and when my sister's camera is within easy reach, since my own has departed this earth).

What are your currentlies?

----------

conversations:

Staish -- genius? You're just saying that because you loooove me. I love you, too.

Bethany -- thank you for reminding me of that book! Scribbling in the Sand is on my list of started-to-read-but-stopped-for-reasons-that-are-unknown-to-me but it sounds like the perfect book to pull out again. I loved what I have read of it, and it provoked lots of good thought. There aren't a lot of books out there that discuss creativity from a Christian perspective.