Thursday, April 16, 2026

Thursday the 16th: Food of the Week

 *The rest of the week, including today, is leftovers and eating out because the boys left for Minneapolis for the Video Game Music Conference.

*Last night we went to Thai Orchid and celebrated Thai New Year with our favorite Thai food. We, as usual, ordered too much, and there's plenty for me to eat this weekend.

*Tuesday I made polenta with tomato and mozzarella topping. My boys are skeptical of polenta every time, but they really enjoy it when I make it...as long as it's not too often.  I also believe the acidity of the topping is really important for an overall balanced dish.

*Monday the Son made peanut butter cookies and picked up Firehouse Subs for us. The cookies are really quite delightful and I got a salad from the sandwich place since my stomach felt off. It was good veggies for me.

*Sunday we had grilled pork cutlets, green beans, and rice a roni.The pork cutlets were really juicy and delicious this time, maybe because I used my good olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the marinade.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Wednesday the 15th: Music of the Week

 *Today is large group festival at Baker University, so I'm dressed up and ready to go. We are performing the following songs:

 

*"Ad Adstra" by Jacob Narverud

*"Run, Mary, Run" arranged by Brian Tate

*"Hine Ma Tov" arranged by Neil Ginsberg

*"A Red, Red, Rose" by James Mulholland

*Crucifixus" by Antonio Lotti

*"The Battle of Jericho" arranged by Moses Hogan

 

It should be a great day! 

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Tuesday the 14th: Snow?!

 We had snow a few times in March, probably more times than we did the rest of winter. We also had more 80 degree days than we've ever had in March. It was a wild ride.

 


 

Monday, April 13, 2026

Monday the 13th: Saint of the Week

 St. Martin is the saint today, our first saint since before Holy Week. 

Why do we care about him:  struggled against monothelatism (denied that Jesus had both a human and divine will, thus denying he had two complete and perfect natures); last pope to be honored as a martyr; pope Eugene was elected while he was imprisoned

 

This may contain: an image of st martin i with the words, hope that god who knows all things, when he shall have taken me out of this world, will bring my 

Friday, April 10, 2026

Friday the 10th: Octave of Easter

 During our trip to Lawrence we really enjoyed the Art Museum at KU and all found things we enjoyed.

 






 

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Thursday the 9th: Octave of Easter

 *What do we eat in the Octave?

*For Easter: For several years now I get as much ready for Easter on Easter Saturday. The practical reason for that is I play for several Masses in the Triduum, including Easter morning, and if I want to eat a nice meal then I need to get it ready beforehand. My husband and son are really good cooks as well but they need guidance, and they don't always know how to make last minute substitutions or changes if necessary. So on Easter Saturday I made the crust and filling for chicken piccata potpie, and all the Husband had to do was roll out the crust, put it on the filling, and bake it with an egg wash.  I bought arugula and cheese crisps, made a vinaigrette, and opened a can of smoked salmon from the pantry. On Friday I hard boiled eggs, the boys colored them on Saturday, and on Sunday they made delicious deviled eggs. There were two other things I prepped on Friday and Saturday. One was a flourless chocolate cake. I already described this a couple days ago in my post; we just ate the last pieces last night with ice cream and luxardo cherries. The other was a cream cheese coffee cake with an incredible lemon flavor. It's a little fussy to put together but it really does taste so good. I had the last piece for breakfast this morning. The last piece to the meal was broiled asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper. I did not prep those ahead of time but I did give the boys a quick lesson on how to snap the asparagus.

*Since Easter: I've made pork stirfry, the boy made an Italian bowl with dried chickpeas and red lentils and rice, I made ditalini with peas. Tonight I'm making chicken salad for sandwiches, and then Friday is going to be leftovers. 



 

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Wednesday the 8th: Octave of Easter

 *We have finished two concerts last month, and this month is solo regional festival/large group state/small group state, all three weeks in a row. Then our final concert is May 6--so we are both finishing up this music and prepping the next set of music. Pretty quickly after the final concert is a trip to St. Louis and the Baccalaureate, and then the work load is done and it's just cleaning and sorting.