Lent: Day Twenty

I rescued this orchid yesterday........I couldn't resist, for just 2.99. She's a bit droopy, but I am hoping that with a little tlc, she'll come back. Her foliage looks good, so I am optimistic. I just need to remember not to over-water, like I did with my last one......

Lent: Day Nineteen

Boots, in the kitchen.

He has lately become obsessed with all things culinary.....

...especially since he gets to help with the taste-testing;)

Lent: Day Eighteen

Stripes on Blue...

Lent: Day Seventeen

Its finished!!!! Below, you can see a few examples of the fun little embellishments........

They were kind of intuitive, really(~which totally appeals to the artist in me;).

No need to follow the instructions right down to the stitch...

But rather put in the little buds and blossoms where I just knew they belonged.

Even added a few extras here and there....

So much fun! Now I am going to take a bit of a break from cross-stitch, and start embellishing my quilt. More "free hand" embroidery. I'm thinking I will work mostly in blues, with perhaps some purples mixed in here and there. Possibly even a few touches of yellow.........the sky is the limit, really. It will be interesting to see. Sometimes the best things happen when I don't have a particular plan. I'll keep you updated!

Lent: Day Sixteen

"Thomas, my dear Thomas . . . I am a very selfish person. I know I shouldn't be bothering you, least of all now. But I must ask you something. Perhaps it is the solution for . . . everything."

"Ask, little one."

"Thomas . . . it sounds so very stupid. How does one become a saint?"

"Will it."

She gasped. "Will it? And that is all?"

"That is all we can do. God does the rest. Love God. But remember: love is of the will. To love is to will. Amare est velle."

~from The Quiet Light,

by Louis De Wohl

Feast of The Annunciation

"Ecce Ancilla Domini,

Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum."

~from The Angelus

Such power.......such significance.....

...such hidden meaning......in her simple fiat.

Happy feast day!

A Piece of Heaven.....

If you have never made a homemade angel food cake with lemon curd filling sandwiched in its center and a lemon glaze drizzled over its top, you must.

It's a good thing it's Lent, and I had to limit myself to just one slice.......

There is tomorrow.....;)

Lent: Day Fourteen

I have a dozen eggs slowly warming to room temperature. Later, I mean to transform them into a light and airy Angel Cake. I'm thinking a creme filling, and perhaps a lemon glaze would finish it off nicely........but we'll see.

Today is the feast of St. Gabriel. It's become a tradition for me to make an Angel Cake on an angel's feast day. ~And I'm hoping there will be enough left to carry over to tomorrow, for the feast of the Assumption!

Lent: Day Thirteen

I have been saving my husband's old work jeans ever since we were first married ~almost seven years ago! The plan was to eventually turn them into what you see above; a sturdy picnic-ing and lying-under-the-stars quilt. I cut out the patches about a month ago, and have spent the last two days piecing them together. And I've been thinking of all the long hours of farrier work, washing trucks, and loading trailers that these jeans have seen. Back when my husband was working two part time jobs (and going to school full time) so that I could stay home with our first two children. I love him so much.

Lent: Day Twelve

Miss Raggedy handles these gloomy days with such cheerful grace.

~If only I could say the same about myself!

Lent: Day Eleven

"Be praised O my Lord by Sister Water

For useful is she, lowly, precious and chaste."


~St Francis of Assisi
in Canticle of the Sun

St. Joseph's Day

Poor Boots! His cruel mother kept him in for the first part of the day~ just until things warmed up a bit. (Don't judge her too harshly though..........Boots has been slowly convalescing from a nasty bout of the stomach flu.....)

It was a busy day in the kitchen. Homemade minestrone, cornbread (which kind of makes me think of sawdust~no, it doesn't taste like sawdust;)~, so it's perfect for St. Joseph's feast), and doughnuts.

Quite tasty!

Lent: Day Nine

Glorious day. Perfect for airing the bedding!

~And even catching a bit of a nap in the afternoon sun.........

........if you're lucky!;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lent: Day Seven

"For the Saint the surrender to God is a tremendous fling of the heart, comparable to a leap into the fire of eternal Love, to burn with its heat, to take the radiance of its light, to dance in the dancing of its flames.

For us it is a more secret thing, but none the less miraculous for that. It means that we begin to be able to enjoy life, and gradually gain in strength of spirit until we can enjoy everything. It is as secret and as real a thing as the change of the bread and wine on the altar to the Body and Blood of Christ; no one sees any change, no one sees anything happening at all, but it does, and what happens is a work of God, a work of God which is incomparable and happens over and over again, all over the world, every day.

So it is with us. If we offer ourselves, and let God transform us into Himself, we see the world with Christ's eyes, rejoice in it with His zest for life, love it with His Heart."

~Caryll Houselander,

in A Rocking-Horse Catholic

Lent: Day Six

" But the cross, though it has at its heart a collision and a contradiction, can extend its four arms for ever without altering it's shape. Because it has a paradox in its centre it

can grow without changing.........

.......The cross opens it's arms to the four winds; it is a signpost for free travelers."

~G.K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy

Lent: Day Five

"In Holy Communion we have Christ

under the appearance of bread.

In our work we find Him

under the appearance of flesh and blood."

~Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Lent: Day Four

"Common duties become religious acts when performed with fervor."

~St Francis de Sales

Lent: Day Three

These socks are way too comfortable!

Mom surprised me with them last night.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I seriously need to learn how to do this. Someday.

Til then, I'll just keep on with my dishrags.........;)

Lent: Day Two

"You go out to meet Christ with His cross by the silence of your Catholic living. You give eloquent testimony to Truth by the simplicity of your strong Catholic example in fulfilling the duties of your state in life. Speech you need not make...."

~God A Woman And The Way

by Fr. Raymond, O.C.S.O.

Lent: Day One

I think we have all heard the exhortation to "pray always", right?

Well, on the first day of Lent, Boots appears to have come a long way in mastering it...........praying while he's asleep! (~okay, so it's actually more like sleeping while he's praying................ I know what you are thinking, but our prayer before meals isn't that long!;)

Ash Wednesday

We burned all of our old palms this morning.

"Memento, homo, quia pulvis es,

et in pulverem reverteris."

("Remember, man, that thou art dust,

and unto dust thou shalt return.")

~Genesis 3.19.

Mardi Gras

We had Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins for breakfast. It's an old family favorite, and I smile to myself every time I fish out the recipe; written by my eleven or twelve-year-old hand. It calls for a jam filling, but I used some of the red wine peach preserves I canned last summer...................... tasty!

I can't believe that Lent starts tomorrow...........and part of me can hardly wait!.

Rain Turned Snow

It happened Saturday evening, and I took this shot early Sunday morning.

It was gone by Sunday afternoon, and everything is back to being dull and brown.......

Egg Rolls

They are time~consuming to make, so I don't do it often.........

........but they are so good!

Psychological Tactics

A few weeks back, Boots informed me that he is,

"The Neighborhood."

(????????!!!!!!)

It is a good thing that I am not intimidated by Neighborhoods.

~The Neighborhood doesn't want to take a bath?

Too Bad. Baths are mandatory around here.

~The Neighborhood wants lunch, now?

The Neighborhood can politely wait.

~The Neighborhood loudly protests against the injustice of naps?

Such protests fall on deaf ears. Utterly futile.

~The Neighborhood celebrates A Festival of Toys (~that's what it looks like, anyway) in my living room?

It is in The Neighborhood's best interest to clean it up. Pronto.

See?

"The Neighborhood" approach doesn't work well with me.

So yesterday, Boots stated that he is "The Dog."

I am becoming suspicious.

Knowing Boots, I am quite plausibly the target of a very complex psychological plot.

But I'm not in the least bit worried.

I'm "The Mom."

Meet the Pillow People

Below, we have the Salts:

From left to right: Verruca, Mrs. Cecilia (or "Cee") Salt, Mr. Rock Salt, and Morton.

Mr. Salt is a very successful London banker. His wife, Mrs. Salt, is a much celebrated mezzo~soprano and sang at the Opera House in London. Her daughter, Verruca, is aspiring to achieve even greater vocal heights than her mother. Morton's one dream is to become a drummer boy in the British Army.

On to the Peppers:

From left to right we have: Tom, Frank, Mrs. Isabelle (or"Belle") Pepper, Dr.Pepper, Molly, and Lizzy.
Dr. Pepper is a renowned physicist and inventor. He actually invented the most amazing roller~skates, which he wears everywhere. Too bad you can't see them. Mrs. Pepper is a retired school teacher. They reside in the hill country, on a nice farm. Lizzy tends the chickens, and Molly, the orchard. Frank loves to go on adventures with his dog, Einstein (~they actually went missing for several months last year, on some such adventure, and poor Mrs. Pepper was heartbroken!) Tom is quite the acrobat, and has great fun in the old barn.He wants to join the circus.

So there you are.

They are Miss Posy's pride and joy.

A Lesson in Cross~stitch

I blush to admit that I first started this project over ten years ago! But I fished it out of my collection of unfinished objects (UFOs;) a few weeks back, and am determined to see it through to completion. It has become a relaxing Sunday~afternoon occupation.

As I sat at it this past Sunday, I was suddenly struck by all of those tiny crosses. They are what daunted me the most, when I first began it. Sometimes I couldn't see the beautiful picture for the crosses. I allowed them to overwhelmed me, and I eventually gave up.

It can be like that with life. So many times I let myself be overwhelmed with all the little things ~all the little crosses~ that are a planned part of the fabric of my vocation......a part of my life. If I would only stop to remember that they are creating a beautiful picture, though I cannot yet see it. It doesn't matter how many years it is in the making. What matters is that I never give up.