Sights for Sore Eyes (seriously though... this pollen is killing my eyes)

The wonderful, perfect, wanna-be-like-her-when-I-grow-up Meredith and I celebrated Mass at St. Bernard's Abbey. We missed the dress-up-and-cover-your-hair memo, but the monks didn't seem to mind at all. Also, the homily was one of the most stunning invitations I've ever heard to come to the table of grace and stuff our faces with the goodness of Christ's forgiveness so we don't walk away hungry. Only the monk said it much, you know, prettier.

Then we ate pizza. Lots of pizza. With pineapple.

The next morning (who am I kidding... it was the afternoon before we even got out of bed) we went on the loveliest walk, full of snaky trails, sunshiney rocks, and a topsy-turvy-tumbly stream. 

Then I was off to Tuscaloosa. I don't even eat at Taco Bell, but  it's always the first thing I notice on McFarland, so I have this strangely forceful attraction to it. I may have sort of almost cried.

First stop in T-town... Church of Movement Toward Freedom. These folks--my family-- know how to do community (and fried chicken!) exceptionally well. 

And then... GLORIOUS REUNION! Fried green tomato BTL and a chocolate shake. Oh also it was pretty nice to see my roommates again. (Of course you know that by "pretty nice" I mean it was like someone plugged in the world and everything, EVERYTHING just lit up.)

I swear there is nothing better than eating brownies and watching monsters fall in love with a little girl. Nothing in the whole wide world. See also: what cool college kids do at night. 

THIS! I swung by my favorite art gallery EVER (the Paul R. Jones Gallery downtown-- houses 20th century African-American art)  and found a lovely collection of pieces around the theme of migration and the way cities forced people to start rubbing shoulders with each other a little bit more. Coincidentally, that mayyy be something I've been thinking about recently. Just a little bit.

Ben Rector sang about giraffes and it was STILL face-meltingly gorgeous. That's all I have to say about that.


...And tomorrow it's back to Atlanta for more adventures, more precious community, and (hopefully) much less pollen!