Zucchini, Prom, and the Crushing, Inescapable Weight of Human Mortality

1.) Return of the Squash

The zucchini has arrived, and I'm not sure we'll be able to keep up with it. 

We brought three in yesterday, and we had two with supper, than I used the remaining one as a pizza topping and in chili today. 

Tonight after supper, we went out and picked five more. 

Things might get interesting. There's a recipe in a vintage cookbook I've gotten ahold of for "zucchini marmalade". I'm seriously considering it. 

2.) Prom 

So my husband joined a "buy nothing" group on Facebook awhile back, and we ended up scoring a quilt and two matching pillow covers from it. 

We are not the type of people who are bougie enough to use quilted pillow covers. I was going to put them in the Goodwill box when I suddenly had an inspiration-- I can make a vest out of these! 

It just so happened that the new school Chris works at has the exact same school color as these pillow covers. So I made the vest (using the same thrift store find pattern I used on the last one) and Chris paired it with his white tux with tails. I even had enough of the slinky satin trim from them left to make a really nice band for his hat. 

The result was impressive. He wore it while helping to staff prom and got lots of comments from both co-workers and the kids. (Wait until they see homecoming!)

I told him I need to put "costume designer" on my resume. 

3.) Rummage Sale Fashion

Our parish youth group is fundraising to go on a trip this summer and had a rummage sale this past weekend. 

I was able to score some kids' shirts in good condition (too big for Little Boy, but he'll grow into them), a very fancy dress up dress for Little Girl, a plane model kit for Little Boy (something he's been asking for repeatedly), a work shirt for Chris, a baseball cap, and four pairs of shorts and a shirt for me for a dollar each. 

I was able to get a like-new copy of the Our Sunday Visitor Catholic Encyclopedia for fifty cents. 

I think my favorite part is that a lot of middle aged people cleaned out drawers and closets for this thing-- evidenced by the fact that I was able to create an absolutely spot on 90s soccer mom outfit from my haul.

All I'm missing are the white canvas tennis shoes and the insulated cooler/water bottle thing with a handle and a fold-out spout. 

4.) Weighter Topics...(TW: self harm/suicide)

We got word a couple weeks ago that someone I was close friends with in high school ended their life. 

Just seems like there's a lot of death around us right now. I don't know why that's the reality now and not two years ago when everyone else was going through this, but that's where we are.  

I lost a grandparent this year, Chris lost a co-worker, a friend of the family came close to death from self harm, two other close friends of the family are currently dealing with terminal cancer, and then I got news about this friend. 

I don't have any pithy observations of why this might be or what temporal or spiritual significance it might have.

 It's just an odd, rather macabre time that we're in. 

 5.) Weird Picture

I noticed a weird little kid in the backgrounds of one of the YouTube dance videos Little Girl likes to watch. 

I think I'm going to save this to my phone as a go-to reaction image.