*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
*Picture 1: family member asked for 2 Ikea sharks and we obliged. They will have a shark family now!
*Picture 2: I went to teach CGS last week and found half of my room covered in scaffolding and building materials. Not the half of my room that I use but in my storage space. I had to do a fair amount of sweeping of my half to get the room ready for the children.
*Sunday we had stromboli and worked on finishing up desserts (which we finally did on Tuesday). The Son was a little indignant that we still had unfinished chocolate from Valentine's day so we put it in the freezer to keep for Easter.
*Monday the Son made Caesar salad and chicken-less chicken strips. His Betty Crocker recipe included the raw egg yolk, but overall the dressing was too sour. He likes the idea but we'll try again with a different recipe. The chickenless strips were actually surprisingly good and would be a good meatless alternative if we needed that.
*Tuesday was Fat Tuesday so I made pancakes and bacon. My current griddle is cast iron and I haven't yet made friends with what temperature it needs so the first batch was a little burned, but these are the Husband's favorite pancake.
*Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. I always make pasta salad; this year I used frozen peas, sauteed (for just 5 mintues) carrot and celery and onion, leftover bottled vinaigrette and a homemade vinaigrette with a little mustard and herbs, and egg noodles (because that's what I needed to use up). It was tasty, but having only one big meal for the day makes almost anything tasty.
*Tonight I have already started the slow cooker for Swiss Steak that I'll serve with rice and a veggie. This will be my second year of trying hard to have a fruit or veggie with every meal. I really don't eat as healthy as I should, and I feel like this also helps me snack less.
*Tomorrow we are having huevos rancheros; to make that happen, I'm going to try to make the salsa part today. I scramble the eggs before placing them in the wells because most of us prefer all-the-way cooked eggs and that's the easiest way to make this dish and make it happen. It's delicious.
*I thought I had all my solos but got one more new one over the weekend. And it's a doozy! It an orchestra reduction from Haydn and it's going to take a lot of work. That will start today!
And a holy Ash Wednesday to all who celebrate!
*We celebrated both the Husband's birthday food and a big football game with enticing ads. Lunch was beef barley soup and homemade pesto biscuits. Supper was fancy pigs in blankets, carrots and chips with Love dip, snickers salad with pretzels, and peanut m and ms. I already posted pictures of the birthday cake, and I'll eat the last piece today before Lent begins tomorrow.
