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  • {SQT} To Boldly Go Where No Takes Have Gone Before
Written by kmantoan on 09/11/2015

{SQT} To Boldly Go Where No Takes Have Gone Before

Seven Quick Takes

Let’s just pretend this week was filled with awesome things, shall we?

1. Finished our road trip by driving from Milwalkee to some random Hampton Inn and Suites in Ohio. I had booked what was probably their largest room based on the ‘Emergency Exits’ map affixed to the back of the door, and boy, were the kids in heaven. They all want to live at a Hampton Inn now. Big breakfast consisting of all the sugary cereal they wanted next to a big screen TV, clean fluffy beds, tiny toiletries, tons of outlets to charge their Kindles, plus an indoor pool, the culmination of all their childhood traveling dreams come true. We spent Labor Day finishing our drive which consisted primarily of 3,927 hours driving through the mountains, tunnels and horribly bumpy roads of Pennsylvania.

2. I didn’t realize it, but the kids happened to pack Tony’s old ‘Star Trek; The Next Generation, The Complete First Season’, disks one and two, to watch in the van’s DVD player along the way. By the second episode, Byron had already memorized the differences in the serial number on the side of the Next Generation Enterprise vs the original Enterprise. And for the first time since the 90s Tony and I had to explain what (who?) a Borg was. Fulton just could. not. even. deal with Geordi’s visor. Even though Fulton has never seen a banana hair clip, he knew that people in the future would not be curing blindness with anything resembling a hair accessory. He got angry that Cyclops visor was so lame. Thank goodness Professor Xavier was in charge; that helped Fulton simmer down.

It’s a hair clip.

 

3. I finished Graham Greene’s ‘The End of the Affair’ early in the trip and after checking with my Instagram peeps, quickly put ‘The Quiet American’ on hold at my local library.

It’s part of my ongoing quest to read as many books as I can this year from famous 20th century Catholic fiction writers. Once I finish what will be my third Greene novel, I’d like to pick up another Walker Percy, then finish with Wise Blood, the only Flannery O’Connor story I haven’t read.  It’s been a wonderful literary journey and I know I’m only scratching the surface. Last chance to thrown in your suggestions!

4. This picture.

Fulton, Rusty and Teddy

5. Caption contest for the above picture! Winner gets…something..maybe a bacon scented candle? Leave it in the comments below or email me; kellymantoan(at)gmail(dot)com.

6. We’re all familiar with St. Nicholas right? But how many of you know about/ threaten your kids with Krampus?

I happened to see that a Krampus movie was trending on Facebook and naively went to find the trailer, in German, to see what it was about. I quickly realized it was not, WAS MOST DEFINITELY NOT, a soon to be family holiday classic. Since then, I can’t go to the bathroom at night without expecting Krampus to show up and kill me, while yelling in German. A million thumbs down Krampus!!!!! Why couldn’t you just stay the sweet and innocent goat man who just hauled children off in baskets and beat them with switches???

7. Last and certainly not least, I rescued an abandoned feral kitten from high up in a tree near our house yesterday. I heard what sounded like a kitten cry but was hesitant to drag a ladder out of the barn to investigate because when did kittens start growing on trees?? But low and behold there was a little grey fluffball in a crook mewing up a storm. As this is our THIRD kitten rescue, we got out the supplies and the girls and I  take turns feeding and loving up the thing. We’ve named it Tornado and while it was free of injury, it’s very young, only a couple days old by my guess and has a long way to go before I’ll stop warning the kids that “Tornado might be dead.” every morning.

Tornado kitten

Our current cat Whiskas, was found with a huge neck wound by a well-meaning neighbor, who brought it to us thinking we might like to take on this responsibility two days before a long family vacation. Then last summer I found a black and white blob on the road and thought Whiskas had been hit only to discover it was a new kitten in really bad shape. Amazingly, that kitten survived and we gave her to some friends. I’d really like to keep this kitten, but during introductions, Ginger tried to eat Tornado so, it might not work out.

How is life after Labor Day treating you? Type it down then link it up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!

An InLinkz Link-up


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17 comments

  • Tracy Bua Smith has written: 09/11/2015 at 12:50 am Reply

    So glad you had a nice trip back home! Your kids loving the hotels reminds me of my crew! They love sleeping in hotels and eating the free breakfast food and swimming in the pools. Yes, can’t forget about the cool pools!
    For the Caption Contest: “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
    That Krampus movie sounds like it could make you Crap-us! 😉
    And that kitty is adorable and so sweet! Best wishes nursing it back to health!

    Have a blessed weekend and thanks always for hosting 7QT. This week I snagged #3 spot! 🙂

  • sarah isis (@disisd) has written: 09/11/2015 at 8:10 am Reply

    Aaaaahhhhh. krumpus is scary!
    and the boys – so so cute. Happy Friday, Kelly!

  • Sarah has written: 09/11/2015 at 8:47 am Reply

    I have no caption because I am not that funny….BUT your boys are really ridiculously cute….on the right (when facing photograph) is teddy (??) And I could EAT him really…really! Good thing I love in Colorado!

  • Anne has written: 09/11/2015 at 9:23 am Reply

    Your third rescue??? You have supplies??? Your book proposal should be about this. This has never happened to me and I have much to learn. But my favorite take was the Krampus. I need the laughing-so-hard-I-am-crying emoji.

    • Anne has written: 09/11/2015 at 9:24 am Reply

      ????

      • Anne has written: 09/11/2015 at 9:26 am Reply

        Those question marks appeared after I decided to satisfy my curiosity re: can you put emojis in blog comments. Answer: no. And the internet will apparently mock you for being so foolish.

  • Rosie has written: 09/11/2015 at 9:27 am Reply

    Fulton: Psst, if we both poop *right now* she’ll never realize it wasn’t the dog!
    Teddy: One step ahead of you, bro.

    Too close to real life? 😉

  • Jennifer has written: 09/11/2015 at 9:42 am Reply

    Fulton: “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
    Teddy: “Shh, mom’s right there with the camera. Just play it like we planned.”

  • Colleen Martin has written: 09/11/2015 at 10:36 am Reply

    Teddy: “My feet are cold!”
    Fulton: “I’ve always known Mom loves me best.”

  • ssangelake has written: 09/11/2015 at 12:58 pm Reply

    I do know about Krampus, but I did live in Germany for three years. In addition to St Nickolas day activities, many villages also have someone dress up as Krampus to scare children into being good… St Nickolas Day is extra, not the same as Christmas as well, for those who don’t know… Dec. 5 ish?

  • Lindsay has written: 09/11/2015 at 1:45 pm Reply

    I am so glad to hear that you liked “The End of the Affair.” I loved it, but I feel awkward about recommending it to married people because it’s about, well, an affair. It’s right there in the title. But it ends! That’s in the title, too! And now I have an endorsement from an actual married person, so I feel better. So, thanks.

  • Susan has written: 09/11/2015 at 3:07 pm Reply

    If your children get to be Trekkies, they’ll be part of a dying breed. My colleagues and I agreed several years ago that it was pointless making Star Trek references in our college classes anymore because students just didn’t get them.

  • Tori has written: 09/11/2015 at 4:13 pm Reply

    I had never heard of Krampus growing up, but my husband had. So he’s made sure to pass the knowledge along to our own children.

  • The English Major has written: 09/11/2015 at 7:09 pm Reply

    Please oh please read some Rumer Godden. I just finished In this House of Brede, and it’s beautiful. I’ve also read Two under the Indian Sun, which is a memoir of her childhood in India. She’s a Catholic convert. Also Sigrid Undset’s novels set in the 20th century. Shorter than Kristen, and very apt for today’s world. You don’t really need to homeschool for the fall semester, do you? Can’t you just sit in a corner and read? 😉

  • Anna P has written: 09/11/2015 at 8:25 pm Reply

    So, I found a Catholic author, that I really like. I’ve read most of her books. Isabel Clarke.

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