Friday the 20th: O Clavis and the pit

 This is our area, where we got ready to play. You can't see another 3 keyboards to my left and the conductor stand to my right, nor the drum kit in front and to the left.

 

Thursday the 19th: Food of the Week

 *On Sunday I made Fettuccine Alfredo at the request of the boy; we had it with frozen corn.

*Monday I made Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with a mustard apple sauce. I also made rice a roni and frozen green beans. The chicken was a little time consuming to cut and pound out but would be really nice for a Sunday dinner.

*Tuesday was the concert.

*Wednesday I made roasted Brussels sprouts. They were A LOT of work to prepare but the result was tasty and not too cabbage-y.

*Tonight is Wheaties pork chops with mashed potatoes.

*Friday is Salmon and...stuff.

 (https://juliehenkener.com/2022/12/19/o-root-of-jesse-december-19/)

Wednesday the 18th: O Adonai and Music of the Week

 *Today is O Lord (O Adonai) and this lovely picture helps us contemplate that.

*Yesterday was our concert, so I thought I would list out the music we did.

Ave Maria (Gounod)

Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening (Randall Thompson)

Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (John Rutter)

O Nata Lux (Morten Lauridsen)

O Holy Night (Adolphe Adam, Barbershop arrangement0

Christmas Lullaby (John Rutter)

Away in a Manger (Kirkpatrick)

Up on the Housetop (Pentatonix)

Like It's Christmas (Jonas Bros)

Blue Christmas (Hayes and Johnson)

Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson)

our Alma Mater, written by our band director

 (https://juliehenkener.com/2022/12/18/o-adonai-december-18/?ssp_iabi=1677360095062)

Tuesday the 17th: O Wisdom

 *Today's O Antiphon is O Wisdom.

Today's picture is our stage for the musical in process. It was even more beautiful when it was done.

 (Found at Pinterest, traced to http://saintrafe.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-o-antiphons-illustrated.html?m=1)

 

 

Monday the 16th: Saints of the Week

 *The only saint this week is the optional memorial for St. Peter Canisius, a 16th century Dutch Jesuit, on Saturday. His writings in service of the Counter Reformation, along with his holiness of life, got him named a Doctor of the Church in 1925.

*Starting tomorrow, the Liturgy of the Hours follows the O Antiphons, seven titles for Jesus from the Old Testament that build anticipation for Christmas.

 (Found at Pinterest, taken from https://meredithgould.blogspot.com/2011/12/o-antiphons-o-yay.html)

Friday the 13th: Sugar Cookies

 

 We did cutout sugar cookies this year. Some of them are a little brown. We got a kidney shaped cookie cutter and wanted to try it out. The taste and texture is excellent.

 

Thursday the 12th: Music of the Week

 *We are less than a week to the concert, so there are three pieces I try to practice every day: "Sleigh Ride" for everyone, "Blue Christmas" for Chamber Singers, and "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" for all the women in the program.

*I have one more choir Mass left before the new year and about 3 Masses with a cantor, so making sure everything is ready for that is happening.

Wednesday the 11th: Food of the Week

 *Sunday we did a salad kit and beef and cheese enchiladas. Enchiladas are a little bit of work just to get the good sauce and fillings made, but then they usually come together quickly. With the son home from college, having a big pan of extra food around is nice. 

*Monday I made frozen  pizzas. I was really worn out when I made the menu last week, so I tried to pick things that were easy and quick.

*Tuesday I made Apple German Pancake. I was trying to take care of three phone calls at the same time, so I didn't use the right size pan and had to stick it back in the oven when I cut it open and found it raw in the middle, but otherwise it was great! The men really liked the cooked apples.

*Tonight is going to be pasta with Marcella Hazan's simple tomato sauce: stick of butter, tomatoes, onion, together for 1 hour.

*Thursday will be Mexican Rice with an added pound of ground beef for protein. 

*Friday is something that someone else makes: I don't even care who, but it won't be me.

Tuesday the 10th: Lasagna

 Lasagna is one of the earliest "fancy" meals I learned how to make, and I still make it 95% of the time without any kind of recipe. I made my own sauce and shredded my own cheese, but I don't make my own noodles. This one has ground beef in the sauce because that's the way Husband C likes it.

 

 

Monday the 9th: Saints of the Week

It's a busy week for saints even though it's Advent.

*Today is the transferred solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, celebrating that God preserved Mary from Original Sin so as to make her the perfect mother for Jesus and to facilitate (but not guarantee) her Yes to that role.

*Tomorrow is the optional memorial of Our Lady of Loreto. This is the house where Mary lived and where the Annunciation occurred, and is now in Loreto Italy. It was supposedly miraculously transported there through the air, so Our Lady of Loreto is the patron of airplanes and aviators.

*Wednesday is the optional memorial of St. Damasus I, fourth century pope, who wrote this epitaph for himself: "He who walking on the sea could calm the bitter waves, who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth; he who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, and after three days’ darkness could bring again to the upper world the brother for his sister Martha: he, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust."

* Thursday we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe, based on Mary's appearance in 1531 to Juan Diego in Mexico. It's a huge celebration for our Mexican (not necessarily all Hispanics) in the US. 

*Friday is the memorial of St. Lucy, one of the original virgin martyrs listed in the first Eucharistic prayer. Because her name means light, the North Europe countries celebrate with oldest children wearing lit wreaths, delivering breakfast to their families.

*Saturday is the memorial of St. John of the Cross, 16th century Spanish saint known for mysticism and founding the Discalced Carmelites with St. Teresa of Avila.

 (On Pinterest: https://allaboutmary.tumblr.com/post/76373030965/je-suis-limmacul%C3%A9e-conception/amp)

Friday the 6th: Fit checks

 Bought some new black clothes for concerts and I had to try on different combinations. Husband C sent pictures each night to my family before I went out to perform.

 

 

Thursday the 5th: Music of the Week

 *I have two pieces I'm really working on for the Christmas concert, both by John Rutter: one is "Christmas Lullaby" and the other is "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day," and both are just written for bigger hands than mine. The second is definitely at a faster clip than my hands want to move, so I'll be working hard on that for the coming week.

*I only have one Mass this weekend with a cantor, so I'm almost done practicing the music for that.

*At home practice is Hanon and then I've started working through Widor's Toccata.

Wednesday the 4th: Food of the Week

 *Sunday we made the pictured mustard chicken with potatoes and carrots; we ate it with leftover spinach salad and homemade rolls from Thanksgiving.

*Monday I made Shepherd's Pie. It's a lot of dishes but also a full skillet of food, so nice warming leftovers.

*Thursday I will make a winter soup, mostly veggies. It's been pretty cold this weke.

*Friday is going to be a sheet pan dinner with gnocchi, maybe potatoes, sausage, onion, a bell pepper. 

The college kid comes home this weekend so there will be lots of good food next week to keep him fed.

 

 

Tuesday the 3rd: Windblown trees

 I loved this image of just a few red leaves clinging after a massive wind came through; you can see the oak trees are stubbornly insisting that they are not dropping their leaves yet or even changing color.

 

 

Monday the 2nd: Saints of the Week

*We are now in the season of Advent, the first season of the Church Year. We change reading cycles.

 *Tuesday is the memorial of St. Francis Xavier. This 16th century Spanish Jesuit died outside of China of a fever. He had a fever for missionary work, travelling incessantly to baptize and trusting that others would do catechesis behind him.

*Wednesday is the optional memorial of St. John Damascene, known as the Golden Stream Doctor and the Doctor of Christian art. This 7th-8th century saint in Syria defended the use of icons in prayer and worship (as long as one was using the icon as reminder of the divine, not praying to the icon itself).

*Friday is the optional memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra, but everyone celebrates him! This 4th century Bishop in Modern Turkey supposedly secretly left bags of gold to rescue girls from a life of sin, so he is honored with leaving gold coins or other treats in shoes or stockings.

*Saturday is the memorial of St. Ambrose, bishop and Doctor of the Church from the 4th Century. He helped convert St. Augustine. He is known as the Honey-Tongued Doctor.

(Picture traced from Pinterest to http://orthodoxeducation.blogspot.com/2014/11/root-of-jesse-christmas-lesson.html)