Met
Last summer, I bought a book of postcards in a second-hand store. Thirty images of Mary and the infant Christ – with everything from […]
Authorkatiemunnik
Sisters Together
Today, I stood in the rainy school playground with a Bangladeshi mum. Like me, she stands there everyday, waiting with a small boy for her […]
Gaudete
I’ve been thinking about my Granny this week. It was her birthday a couple of days ago and I told my kids so they kept […]
Selling Candles
The first candle has been lit and Advent begins. On Sunday night, we set our own advent ring on the table at home and […]
The Oldest Doors in Europe
I propose a simple advent. For each week, I will offer one song and one image here on the Messy Table. May these be useful […]
Needing Advent
Beangirl came home from school today, talking about the moment of silence they held for the people of Paris. Blue said he knew something […]
Small coins
She held the coins in her hand all the way from home. Small coins in a closed hand. The day was warm and dry, […]
It Happens Anywhere
October is over and, with it, the tenth anniversary of our Spanish pilgrimage. Over the past month, The Spouse and I have told stories, […]
A Long Road
Ten years ago, I sat on a bridge in France and ate my breakfast. The Spouse and I were on the cusp of a long walk across Spain, but we lingered that morning.
Love and Change
There’s been a little change around here this week. Nothing earth-shattering. Just a trip to the hairdresser for me. I hadn’t been in months […]
Under the Weather
I’ve been holding a sick kid today. Poor Plum has been poorly. Just a run-of-the-mill October cold, but he isn’t really sure what’s hit […]
The Strange Shapes of Life
In the morning, the street was misty and I worried that it might rain. I don’t know the weather here yet. I haven’t been here […]
Knowing the Plot
Friday was about bread baking and podcasts while Plum played on the kitchen floor. Plum was happy, the bread was to share with new […]
A good story for the table
It rained this morning but I washed the laundry anyway. Monday brings necessity back into focus after the weekend. Midmorning, the kids and I pulled […]
Cactus Days
School here started three weeks ago now, but we’re still at home. It seems that knocking on new doors doesn’t always meant that they will […]
That Photo
A small boy washed up on a beach, his knees bent beneath him like a child in bed. But he is only cold flesh now, […]
The Change Prayer Brings
Maybe it is September in the air. Maybe it’s the sense of new beginning just around the corner. Or maybe it’s that the Spouse has […]
Wrackline
There is a time-honoured tradition that the very best weather of the summer occurs in the first week of the local school’s fall term. Which […]
Local Churches
Monday morning and we’ve finally finished the house inventory. The agency that manages our property has produced an exhaustive description of absolutely everything in the […]