Q: Quick Takes! - odds and ends and Hillary Clinton

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Here we are at the end of another week, and how fortuitous for me in the A to Z Blogging Challenge that "Q" falls on a Friday! (Note: the lines are still breaking off in the middle of words in this post, but at least the font is the same size and font throughout! I'll see if I can fix the last problem for next Friday's post.) Thank you for reading!

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The news I am most excited about this week is that I planted my very first garden! It is a container garden, to be more precise. And, it is actually the second garden I have planted, but the last one I planted and then moved out of that house like 2 weeks later...so I didn't get to see it bear fruit (or vegetables), so it doesn't count. My container garden has spinach, romaine, red lettuce, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, jumbo jalapenos, and tomatoes. I didn't have room on my balcony for more! But that is okay - we will see if this much is a success. :)

Right now my container garden is in my bedroom because last night and tonight were unexpectedly (to me) cold. 

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Boston. When I heard, my immediate reaction was anger. I cannot understand the senseless violence. I cannot fathom that we live in a world where people think it is okay for some reason or another to do things like that. My heart goes out, especially to those who lost loved ones, and to those touched by the trauma in any way. In all the horror, the best note of light I saw was this: 

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Texas. Two devastating U. S. tragedies in one week. I haven't had much time to follow the news coverage on either event, but I saw a whole lot of people/places were affected by this blast, including a school and a nursing home. Again, bravo to the wonderful people who pitch in to help their neighbors during the times of greatest need. I lived in Joplin, Missouri when the tornado hit the city in 2011, and the thing that was and still is the most overwhelming about the entire event was how neighbors stepped out to help each other, and even "neighbors" from all around the country sacrificed their own time, money, and energy to help people who were in shock and desperately needed an extra hand. Like it has been said several times this week, that is the kind of thing that restores one's faith in humanity. 

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I am so looking forward to the next week! It is true, I have more on my agenda that I plan to do this next week than I have attempted to do in the last 4 years...but only about half of it is stressful. The other half is exciting! The stressful half includes finishing my master's thesis, along with the last 3 assignments for other classes that will finish up my degree requirements (can I get an excited scream from someone?). The exciting part includes a local fair-style event, my first farmer's market excursion (I know, right?), my brother moving back to Missouri from Ohio, a ballgame with said brother, a concert, and a trip to Branson with a professor to hear a speaker. I'm sure I'll have a lot to report next week!!

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Because this will be the first summer in a long time that I have been truly free, with no homework hanging over my head due to my procrastinatory tendencies, I have already begun to put together my summer reading list. Because, you know, I am going to have so much free time when I am not working the two jobs I intend to work to catch up on some bills and savings.... Anyway, here are a couple of titles of interest among my list: 
"God and Time: Four Views" by Helm, Padgett, Craig, Wolterstorff, and Ganssle
"The Majesty of the Law" by Sandra Day O'Connor
And, well, I'll probably add a memoir or biography of Hillary Clinton to the mix, too, because, well, she's cool (insert audible gasp and offended huff in unison from my Republican readers).

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Classless? Maaaybe. But here is the song that has been in my head all week: 

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