I got a lot of reading Saturday morning before doing the girly shopping thing with my friend Kayla.

I finished the last of the four R.K. Narayan novels I had been reading (all highly recommended!) and got started on the complete works of Kahlil Gibran. I think I need a little weed to help me fully appreciate The Prophet and the rest of this collection but since I’m not inclined to try, I guess I’m missing out. The writing is not offensively asinine but pretty darn close. I mean, I get the whole “look at things from a different perspective” thing but without the pot I’m not going to start exclaiming “Dude! That was so profound“.

Friday was a busy and strange day. We spent the morning and early afternoon out at Jared’s shop. We have talked about doing this a couple of times but the circumstances are never just right. Of course most of the time the shop is full of busy men working on building shutters and I’m leary of having to keep track of two toddlers in among running saws and machines and busy dusty guys. I’m also rather fanatical about the boys’s nap time. Any hint of interruption sends me into mama bear mode. Without naps they are cranky and hard to manage, not to mention me. I love that hour or two of peace and quiet; a perfect chance to read. So, spending the day out at the shop means makeshift naps on the floor (uncontained) and around lots of unpredictable and uncontrollable noises.

Despite all of that I threw caution to the wind to get the chance to help Jared a bit and just be with him after the busy holiday. Things worked out pretty well. Both boys loved running around the shop and since all of the crew was taking the day off, they weren’t under any feet but our own. Alex had fun playing with the drill, a hammar, some pliers and the measuring tape. Luc mostly just sat down in big piles of sawdust and tried to eat blocks of wood. We also spent time hanging out in the office where I didn’t get much work done for Jared. Luc slept pretty well in the the overstuffed chair and Alex didn’t sleep at all on the office floor. He did stay fairly quiet and, with frequent admonishments, stayed in his corner. It was a fun day and I think we might try it again in the future. Nap time isn’t a sacred cow…so I think I’ll learn a bit more flexibility.

We joined Jared out at his shop today. Thanksgiving was a long tiring day because Luc was really fussy out at my in-laws. For some reason he wouldn’t settle down and it made it hard to relax and enjoy the holiday. So we decided to try spending the day at the shop and see if we could have a little family time while getting work done. I’m supposed to write a newsletter and blogpost for Jared while chasing the boys and he is supposed to get a table built. So far so good, but I’m worried about naptime with no cribs…

I blew through two R.K. Narayan books yesterday and am feeling pretty good about only having 20 more to go.  I should be able to finish two more today (fingers crossed!) and that has me sitting pretty for the month of December.

And speaking of December, I’m starting to get wound up for the Advent season. We were pretty light on tradition in my family and so was Jared’s so we kind of have to start from scratch. I’d rather tap into old traditions than make new ones up so here is our tentative plan.

Buy or make an advent calendar.

Write down 24 things to do and put one in each slot/drawer/pocket.

Do that thing on that day.

BE FLEXIBLE.

Some of our ideas are as follows:

Drive out and look at Christmas lights.

On the first weekend go get and decorate our tree.

Make hot apple cider.

Go visit Great-Grandparents in the evening and take them goodies.

Set up our creche (after getting/making one).

Write Christmas letters.

Since the boys are so small we will not try too hard this year but we were super busy and tired the last few years so it seems nice to get started. I also want to try an Advent wreath but am nervous about keeping the boys out of everything. We’ll see how it goes. I also think it would be fun to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas…

I’m thankful that I’m done with Rabbit Angstrom.

I’m thankful that my family is so healthy, happy and beautiful.

I’m thankful that I have so many wonderful books.

I’m thankful that my husband is such a wonderful man.

I’m thankful that I get to read for several hours a day.

I’m thankful that my project is nearly over.

I’m thankful for all the opportunities I have.

I’m thankful for the wonderful variety of food we get to have every day.

I’m thankful that my Quinn is here.

I’m thankful for my few, dear, kind friends.

I’m thankful that the books sold.

I’m thankful for the kindness of strangers, and the kindness of friends.

I’m thankful for the goodness of God seen in the beauty of wine.

I’m thankful for the saints.

I’m thankful for my blog readers and the interest and affirmation they lend to this site.

Yesterday was a tough day for reading. The boys took a decent nap but Jared had to work late so the afternoon was long and turned into a long evening. I don’t think that Alex and Luc knew that Jared was late but there moods sure took a turn for the worse around 5 or 5:30. By the time Jared did get home I had a raging headache and couldn’t make myself read much. I’m hoping Thanksgiving will equal thanks for lots of time to read but with three pies to bake…I’m not so sure.

Well, I have lots of work to do already so I better keep it short today…

Wow. Almost halfway through the morning and I just realized I hadn’t posted. Distracted I guess!

I’m off to the bank this morning to deposit a big fat check. How big you ask? Well big enough that I can get current on my bills, that’s how big. We sold the last of the books. We finalized a deal yesterday with a local Charter school that is employing a Classical education model. I am beyond relieved to see the books go to a good home! The bookstore was more than a business, it was a passion and the few books I’ve had to sell to local bookstores have been really hard to let go. It’s been easy to sell to friends and easy to give books to family but selling books to someone who doesn’t love them like you do is hard. I think both parties are quite happy with the transaction and that is good.

I’m one day away from finishing the Rabbit books. It’s been a whole week and I haven’t completed a single book on my list! Argh! It is so scary…

I don’t have a huge post today but I do have exciting news. Jared (my husband) is a nominee for Man of the Year over at The Art of Manliness. I know you all trust me so believe me when I say he deserves this honor. Please go and vote for him HERE. This is the essay I wrote nominating him and the photo I sent in.

Why should Jared Alexander Patchin be The Art of Manliness/Old Spice Man of the Year?:

One of the first things I noticed about Jared was one of those little things it is easy to miss. One of those little things that is so telling about a man’s character but so subtle that it often goes unremarked. We were at my graduation party and he was politely visiting with my friends and my friend’s friends. A young man of my acquaintance had heard that Jared was a competitive cyclist and so engaged him in a nearly endless conversation about the ins and outs of the sport. The young man waxed on about his accomplishments in the field, how he had trained and raced and, had he not been sidelined by a back injury, would have been wildly successful. I overheard bits and pieces of this conversation as I passed back and forth and thought little of it; just the usual dull chat. Later that day I discovered that this acquaintance had no idea that Jared was a Cat 2 rider on a team sponsored by Specialized. An hour’s conversation and the clearest evidence of humility.

After we were married I had a similar revelation about his industry. Every night we would both arrive home from work and strangely enough he would not sit down, put his feet up and turn on the TV. Instead he washed dishes while I cooked, asked if there was laundry to do, took out the trash or started a home improvement project. I was genuinely puzzled but he simply said “I want to be with you and if you are working, I ought to be”. Three and a half years on, I’m still astounded by his tireless work ethic.
He loves to go to work every day. Jared builds custom furniture (www.jawoodworking.com) and he is genuinely excited to work at every stage of it. His designs are meticulous and beautiful and every single client he has ever had has been astounded by the beauty of the pieces he builds. In less than a year he has built this business to the point that he is quite swamped. Still he refuses to work extra-long hours in the evenings to get it done. He would rather rise at 5am and go in to work early so that he can come home at a decent hour to be with his family. That’s us. I’m his wife and together we have two little boys. They are almost one and almost two and they would provide an even more ringing endorsement than I could. He has changed almost as many of their diapers as I have, shared the responsibility of getting up with them in the night and remembers to hide little blocks of wood or old hinges in his pockets for them to find when he comes home from work.

He calls me “My Love” because he believes that “babe” or “hon” are not respectful enough. He always uses it and has ever since he and I were first engaged. He backpacks, hunts, cycles, rock climbs and reads really good books (currently in the middle of St Augustine’s Confessions) and he does it all with kindness, competence and without putting himself or his desires before the wants and needs of his wife and children. He is chaste, wise, patient and strong. Jared is a husband, father and craftsman and the manliest man we know.

I really don’t have much to post about despite skipping out on the blog yesterday. I’ve read a little, but both Friday and Saturday were short, busy days. I’m still working on selling the books, and that’s taking multiple showings, answering tons of questions and easing worried buyers. I know it’s a big purchase though, so I’m happy to spend time reassuring them. The boys are their usual selves, into trouble, energetic and adorable but the cold weather has been hard on our spirits and hard on our daily routine. The boys don’t nap nearly as well if they don’t get out and get some fresh air but it is downright bitter in the mornings. We do bundle up and get out the door at least once but chilly hands and frosty noses are the result.

I’m still in the middle of Rabbit Angstrom and taking this long to get through one book is a little scary. I have so much to read before 2009! I’m down under 25 (finally!) but still just antsy to get done! I’m afraid something big is going to come up and keep me from reading…like, oh, I don’t know…Christmas…

See how obedient I am. Here are the requested pictures. (Thanks to Aimee for having a camera)

Richard and Amy are our winners for this week’s double contest. Please send me your address to akpatchin (@) gmail.com

Thank you for participating. Amy, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve read it a dozen times and could do so a dozen more. If anyone starts talking about the movie, I’ll scream! Richard, I sometimes think that the scrapings on the bottom of a dustbin could use company once in awhile but I hope you never have to visit them!

I think that I’m going to be ok. I think that I’m going to finish my project on time but I still get panicky every time I look at the stack of books I still have to get through! The holidays are upon us (and we have an extra with Luc’s birthday on Dec 20th) and I’m afraid that time is just running away with me…

What happens if I wake up on New Year’s Eve and find that I have three books left to read? Scary!

So I’m going to go download The Iliad now and get to work…