Friday List!

Sarah's List:

What a terrible week. Jill and I have been ruminating about what to post all week. Nothing seemed appropriate. So here's a pic of our kids stacking rocks on Monday evening Congo-time when all was right with the world.

Okay on to links for a distraction.

Have you seen this STFU Parents blog? A blog all about the phenomenon of parental over-sharing on Facebook. Surely you've seen it. Details of dirty diapers and "Wait until you’re a parent! on every Facebook status in which someone complains about being tired." Quote from here.

I try not to do this on Facebook and thus we created a blog for over-sharing. I figure you make a choice to look at Mama Congo, so you know what you're getting into. There's a STFU Parents book too! (I have to admit I had to Google what STFU stands for. I am officially old and lame.)

The jaw-dropping, self-indulgent and occasionally rage-inducing world of parent overshare. All in one book! Image from here.

Is your old t-shirt hurting African economies? Chances are, yes. Most everywhere I've been on this continent there's an excellent market for castoff American clothing. When I was in Ghana the market was called "Obruni Wawoo" meaning "Clothes from dead white people." Here it is. I got some great clothes there. Probably not what the donators intended...

Image from here.

This is going to be my new favorite movie that hasn't yet been made. Mrs. Ballarin's War: The improbable tale of a WestVirginia heiress the Pentagon hired to take on Somalia's jihadists. Holy cow. A great read.

Image from Foreign Policy.com.

And I've been watching this link for a while now. I'm sure many of you have. It seems like a good time to post it. 


Jill's List:

Terrible week.  For so many people.  I keep looking for the helpers in Boston, Texas, Syria, India, China...

Empty Boston street image from here.

"I can still recall the moment I thought I was going to be able to separate my love life from immigration issues."  Great opening line. Even more gripping story. Read on here.

Banksy is awesome again.

Tomorrow, Sarah and I, plus our friend Anna, are going to La Bella Salon for a "bain d'huile."  Did anyone just put this into Google Translate?  I hope you did.  We'll let you know how it turns out.

Really cool soda.  I associate these with the awesome taco trucks in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

So good.  Image from here.

I've been saving this candle for the final, crazy stretch of the school year.  Om.

Image from here.

This post makes me really miss Seattle.  "The first asparagus, radishes, fiddle-greens, wood sorrel, rosy spring garlic… I even discovered chickweed, which I had never tasted nor heard about. Grassy, watercress-like green that I have been adding to nearly everything."  Sigh.

Beautiful  and delicious image from Cannelle et Vanille.

Amazing 35-year partnership. Documented.  Musician and photographer. (Very random fact: LouLou's in-utero name was "Tom Waits." We called our unborn baby "Tom Waits."  Bizarre and true.)

Image from here.

And, this article is purposefully absurd, but is it really?  Gabby Giffords sums up the reality of this absurdity here.  The first sentence makes me cry every time I read it.  (So, now I'm going to read the Onion.)

Image from here.