We took a weekend trip to explore Lawrence. The Husband and I try to take a weekend or overnight trip every year for our anniversary, but we stopped going on our actual anniversary because we like outdoor exploration, and December 29 is not a great time to be outdoors.
We had a wonderful warm time and did a walk along the Kansas River and then a good walk through the Watkins Museum of History.
St. Katharine Drexel is a recent saint, having died in 1955. An heir to the Drexel (banking) fortune, she gave her fortune to serve the poor and the oppressed. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891 after doing her novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy in Omaha, Nebraska. She founded Xavier University in New Orleans specifically for African Americans. She traveled extensively to found schools and missions that served the local needs of the poor and the oppressed, especially those of color.
Her feast day is March 3.
The last book in our Agatha Christie collection arrived yesterday! It's a great thing to have all of them, it feels odd to not have this quest in our back pocket now.
*Friday we are eating out something meatless for our anniversary trip.
*Thursday (tonight) I'm making some kind of pasta bake with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pasta, and homemade bolognese.
*Wednesday we had Italian stracciatella with chicken: it's like egg drop soup but with Parmesan and chicken. It was done in 30 minutes because I had chicken leftover and diced from last week. We enjoyed it particularly with the addition of a parmesan rind to the broth.
*Tuesday the Son made cornbread from Betty Crocker and a salad kit with leftover chicken strips from Third Coast Pizza. Everything was quite tasty. We finished off the meal with a lemon tart from Wheatfields; I picked up that and a loaf of bread after breakfast with a good friend.
*Monday I made breakfast for dinner, and it might have been my best hash yet. I made crispy cubed potatoes on their own in the oven; in about 45 minutes they are very flavorful and crispy. On the stove I made sauteed veggies with some creole seasoning along with a few eggs; then I mixed those in with the potatoes. On the side I made maple breakfast sausage patties. The Husband was quite pleased with the meal.
*Sunday we had a pork chop dinner with our last pork chops from the Amana Colonies. They are already smoked and so they almost taste like ham (plus for me, minus for the Husband). Potatoes, carrots, and onions cooked in broth and seasonings until tender and then the pork chops warmed up on top. Deeply flavorful and satisfying.
*I just got almost all of my music for March for my churches sorted and placed yesterday. This week is a bit slower paced so I'm trying to get in lots of practice so I'm not taken by surprise next week.
*No playing this weekend because we are going away for our anniversary. The actual date is December 29 but it's just too busy to take a trip then, so we always try to go away when our schedules align. This year we're doing Lawrence KS!!
The first crocus has arrived! So far I've seen one purple and one yellow. There should be more soon.
I'm trying to create more spaciousness in the house, so we are purging and then packing. One bookshelf is done and the second is started.
St. Polycarp is an important saint as he gives us insight into the second generation of the Church: he was a disciple of St. John, died in Roman persecutions, and left writings that help us see how the Church was surviving amidst obstacles.
He was condemned to death but burning but the flamed did not harm him, so he had to stabbed with a dagger. The account of his death is our oldest account of martyrdom by a single individual.
Quotes from St. Polycarp:
“For eighty years I have served him and he has never wronged me; how can I renounce the king who has saved me?”—Polycarp when asked to renounce Jesus
“For every one who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is antichrist; and whoso shall not confess the testimony of the Cross is of the devil; and whoso shall distort the words of the Lord to his own desires, and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, this is the first-born of Satan.”
“Stand fast, therefore, in [your]conduct and follow the example of the Lord, ‘firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man.”—Letter to the Philippians
