Monday the 22nd: Saint of the Week

 *St. Thomas More is honored today along with John Fisher, both martyrs of the English Reformation. Thomas was a layman, chancellor to King Henry, who refused to give allegiance or credence to the idea that the king could give moral authority to his own divorce. He was beheaded on July 6 1535 but is honored today, the day that John Fisher, bishop, was also martyred.

Quote from St. Thomas More: 

“What men call fame is, after all, but a very windy thing. A man thinks that many are praising him, and talking of him alone, and yet they spend but a very small part of the day thinking of him, being occupied with things of their own.”

 

 (From Pinterest to https://www.flickr.com/photos/amthomson/18460130538?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=organic)

 

Friday the 19th: Retreat

 I went on an Oblates women retreat May 1-3 at St. Benedict's Abbey. While I really appreciated the time to hang out with my monks and walk around campus and pray with them, I did feel a little let down by the retreat. We were all connected loosely to one of the Oblates and therefore the retreat ended up being a little skewed in many ways. It wasn't a bad skewing, just not necessarily my cup of tea. I appreciated the opportunity for a little trip away and a little spiritual direction.

 

 

Thursday the 18th: Food of the Week

 *Tomorrow will either be baked potatoes with bacon/cheese sauce/veggies or german pancake with sauteed apples.

*Tonight was leftovers because the fridge was just a little too full.

*Wednesday night the Son made Basil Tomato Soup and it made a lot! I should have made croutons to go with it but I forgot. Today I bought some parmesan crisps to have with the leftovers.

*Tuesday I made Barbecue Macaroni Salad.  I used farfalle for the pasta shape, and I don't think I ever want to use that shape again. It's just too hard to get the middle cooked and not overcook the edges.

*Monday we had a corn and poblano with feta salad on top of bread and toasted tortillas. It was a little spicy but still quite good; I think having it with a starch calms the heat of some poblanos well.

*Sunday we picked up pizza from Pizza Shuttle for supper after a lunch at Mom and Dad's. We had some great tacos. I made some homemade ranch to go with veggies.

 

Wednesday the 17th: Music of the Week

 Well, it's the same as the past two weeks. I haven't moved on from any of my pieces, and as a currently unemployed musician I am enjoying the down time.

Tuesday the 16th: Traditions

 In May I took my last trip to Salina for State Music Festival--at last my last trip with the school I was working for. We have traditions of getting lunch at Cozy Burger and then visiting the antique mall on our lunch break. We enjoyed our trip again even with a little bit of rain, and got to see the progress on the mural that caused a State Supreme Court case that allows Cozy to finish the mural as art even though it is also advertisement.

 

 

Monday the 15th: Saint of the Week

 St. Romuald lived in Italy (Ravenna and then Val-di-Castro) from 951 to 1027. He founded a refomed version of the Benedictines called the Camaldolese Order. There are currently two different Camaldolese orders; one is associated with the Benedictines and includes life in common; the other is more hermit based. Both continue to survive in today's world with sites on 5 different continents. 

From the below website, a quote from St. Romuald's rule: 

Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms — never leave it. 

 (Picture traced from Pinterest to https://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2013/06/like-a-good-fisherman-watching-for-fish-advice-from-st-romuald/)

 

Thursday the 12th: Order in Chaos

 Three things I've done today that are slowly helping our house:

1. I put up curtains in the front windows. We have lovely big windows but you can see everything happening on the main floor from across the street. We just need a little more privacy, and this helps while still letting in the beautiful light.

2. I cleaned off the table. It had become a dumping ground because we need that, and honestly a lot of the stuff just moved to a different dumping ground, but one surface is cleaner.

3. I borrowed one bookshelf and set up another so I could get all the music unpacked on a shelf. There's still more to find but I'm getting there.