Tuesday the 11th: New Door!

 We replaced our original sliding glass door, getting rid of the metal frame, and now we have so much more protection from the heat and cold. It's marvelous.

 

 

Monday the 10th: Saint of the Week

 Leo was pope from 440 to 461. He is responsible for the Tome of Leo, one of the earliest examples we have of recognizing the primacy of the pope. He also oversaw the Council of Chalcedon which articulated the Hypostatic Union of Christ having two natures and one Person.

 

 

Friday the 7th: Sunsets

 Since they tore down and rebuilt the grade school across the street from us, farther down the block, we can see such beautiful sunsets. Right now I also get to see the beautiful sunrise. I appreciate getting rid of daylight savings time, but my body struggles for about a week to adjust to the new schedule.

 

 

Thursday the 6th: Food of the Week

*Sunday we had spaetzle and corn and maple glazed pork tenderloin.  The pork was quite good!  There was a little fuss but the result was worth it. I also made butter pecan breakfast bread for the Christmas stash. 

*Monday night we had tomato soup (Campbell's) and grilled cheese. We always do our grilled cheese on the panini press now. It's faster and crunchier. We used cheddar and  provolone.

*Tuesday night the Son made crunchy pea salad. He's currently cooking once a week, building his repertoire and saving me from one night of cooking. I'm pretty grateful. We felt like the onion was a little too strong, we either needed to pickle it or reduce the amount or cook it. 

*Last night was leftovers and Sonic drinks and sides.  

*Tonight we're having a makeshift stir fry. It's leftover pork from Sunday, water chestnuts, onion, bell pepper, mandarin oranges, and a sauce I'll make up. I'll also make rice. 

 *Tomorrow is just me so...leftovers if we still have pasta OR maybe a salad from Chik-Fil-A.

 

 

 

Wednesday the 5th: Music of the Week

*We are done with the concert and our two Masses! We are, as of today, 2 weeks from opening night for the musical. We are about 6 weeks from the next concert. So my music practice consists of:

*One new song from the 2026 Breaking Bread hymnal

*Two songs from the coming Mass on Sunday (I'm playing two Masses at the same place so my burden is less this weekend)

*One piece from the Christmas concert (this will increase once we are closer to the concert and past the musical)

*Up to half of the musical (there are 12 pieces roughly per half, and I'm up to playing 10 pieces a day)

 

 

Tuesday the 4th: Atrium moving

 About 4 years ago Jan and I built an atrium, the first one at this school, in a little conference room at the top of the stairs. This year I had to move it to a much bigger classroom and still make it cozy for the 3-6 years old. How did I do?

 

 

Monday the 3rd: Saint of the Week

 St. Martin de Porres lived in Peru from 1579 to 1639. Born to a nobleman and a freed slave, his mixed race kept him from being a full Dominican brother, instead being appointed a doorkeeper and a Tertiary. His humility and embrace of menial tasks sets an example for all of us of our true position before God and the joy that can be found in embracing unfair crosses.

 

 

Friday the 31st: Reading and Halloween

 Halloween in a house of adults is pretty quiet. We hand out candy, we usually go to bed early especially after a week like this week that is so busy.

I did finish Concilium so I added my new 2025 Journal for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. After I finish it I still need to finish the 2024 one. 

Thursday the 30th: Food of the Week

 *Home Fries with scrambled eggs and bacon were our supper on Sunday. Most Cook's Illustrated home fry recipes use the oven, and I would prefer that method, but this one used a skillet. They were very good...maybe a little too brown? I still loved them.

*Best Shortbread was our Christmas cookie for the week. I made a double batch so that we had enough to eat and enough to freeze. It takes a little bit longer than the recipe says to fully cook through the middle, but once that's done it's a pretty delicious cookie. I've never made the variation with dipping in chocolate.

* Butternut squash and mushroom noodle bowls is a Better Homes and Gardens recipe. I used bucatini since I couldn't find udon noodles and green beans for mushrooms because the Son doesn't like mushrooms. I wasn't thrilled with the end result; I tried using frozen squash to save time, and it got a little mushy. The sauce was still good.

*The Son made Citrus Chicken last night with Rice a roni while I was gone getting ready and performing at a concert. He did a great job--it was my leftover lunch today.

*Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup will hopefully be our supper tonight assuming I don't crash out from last night's concert. I'm using chicken thighs and some preground spices so it's not as intense as pho but will hopefully turn out well.

*Sophisto Joes is always our dish for Halloween for almost 20 years. I really enjoy that it's both easy but also fancy. It makes plenty for leftovers, and I like to eat it over potatoes or chips.

 

 

Wednesday the 29th: Music of the Week

 *Well, today was concert day so that's about 10 pieces that I won't be playing any more! The students did really really well, and I'm proud of their hard work.

Tuesday the 28th: Flowers

 The same friend who took me to Leila's also invited me to pick flowers from a farm to make our own bouquets. We bought a big bucket full and had enough to make 3 or 4 bouquets each. They were pretty long lasting too; I kept some of the blooms on our prayer table at work for almost a month!

 

 

Monday the 27th: Saint of the Week

 *Tuesday is the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, two apostles. They were both martyred in Persia, Simon after preaching in Persia and Babylonia and Egypt, Jude in Palestine and Mesapotamia. Jude is probably most famous today as the patron of hopeless causes. 

 

 

Friday the 24th: Book in the pile

 I'm about halfway through The Bohemian Girl, a collection of short stories by Willa Cather. I'm actually surprised at how depressing the stories are and how anti-small town they seem so far. I'm hopeful they improve in tone. The writing is great, just the themes right now are a little down.

 

 

Thursday the 23rd: Food of the Week

I realize looking over this week that I made a lot of America's Test Kitchen recipes, which means I gave myself a lot of work. To be fair, I did have two days off of work so I felt like I could fit in these recipes that had been in my "to make" pile for a while. 

 

*Sunday we went out to eat at the Snack Shack in downtown Mission for burgers and fries and delicious cherry limeades. Then the Husband headed out of town and the Son got ready for work and I had an evening by myself. It was glorious. With the Son moving back home my time by myself is pretty rare, and I try to appreciate it thoroughly.

*Monday I made chicken salad. We had two sets of leftover chicken and then other assorted leftovers. It was pretty easy to make before I went to pit orchestra practice

*Tuesday the Son made Sweet Potato Biscuits and then warmed up butternut bisque from a jar from Aldi's and some taquitos from the freezer. The biscuits were almost dessert-ish with the added spices and vanilla. I'm enjoying them toasted with ice cream. They are also great for breakfast.

*Wednesday I made Light Eggplant Parmesan. I was really happy with how it turned out BUT I'm a little afraid of the leftovers, I'm going to try toasting them to recapture some crispiness so they're not completely soggy.

*Thursday, today, I'm making Arroz con Pollo with a variation that uses bacon and roasted red peppers and skips the capers and olives (because the husband detests olives passionately). I have made a different version from Cook's Illustrated with Sazon; I'm hoping I can get this done efficiently since I have a meeting in the evening.

*Friday, unless I've run out of energy, we having Austrian Potato Salad. It's cooked, has some pickles in it, and it really nice and meatless. 

Pictured: biscuits and eggplant Parmesan 

 

 

Wednesday the 22nd: Music of the Week

 *We have one week from today to our Fall Concert, so as of yesterday I try to play all the concert pieces every day in order. I'm up to 6 musical pieces a day as of today, so that is also an increase towards stamina needed for the musical--which is less than a month from today.

Tuesday the 21st: Leila's

 My friend Jill took me to Leila's Hair Museum in Independence before it closed permanently after the death of Leila. Was it a little weird? Yes. Was it hot because someone had stolen the wiring out of the air conditioner? Also yes. Was it delightful and amazing? One hundred times yes. The first hair decoration is made out of Leila's own hair; the second and third incorporate many family member's hair and are open at the top to keep luck in for the families and to be added to.

 

 

Monday the 20th: Saint of the Week

 St. Paul of the Cross lived in Italy from 1694 to 1775 and founded the Passionists, who take a fourth vow to spread the memory of Christ's passion among the faithful. He was known for great preaching skill and his devotion to acts of mercy.

 

 

Friday the 17th: More Food

 First is a stuffed acorn squash. It was really really good. The second is shells with cauliflower and nuts and cheese and parsley. The cauliflower is roasted on a sheet pan and adds really nice flavor.

 

Thursday the 16th: Food of the Week

 *Saturday and Sunday we prepared Shredded Barbecued Beef, half on the grill, half in the oven. We also made the Cook's Illustrated recipe for barbecue sauce; it needed longer to simmer to an appropriate thickness, but it was delicious. I made mashed potatoes for a base. We actually cooked the beef the day before and then put it in the slow cooker on Sunday. 

*Sunday and Monday we finished off Mocha Butter Balls and Almond Butter Cookies, our first two cookies for the Christmas baking season. It's the same basic dough with additions. Both are good, but the mocha cookies are the most addictive.

*Potato, Broccoli, and Cheddar Soup is a Martha Stewart recipe we prepared on Monday. The real treasure for me of this recipe is the cheesy garlic toast that you make with it. The soup is fine! Very good even! But I love the toast.

*Blue Cheese Salad was prepared by the Son from our 30 Minute Cookbook. It's a strong vinaigrette, lettuce, blue cheese, croutons, and then we added some cut up chicken strips. We loved it.

*Soup and Ravioli and Taquitos: This was all premade things that I warmed up. We are about a month away from the musical so most of my energy starts going into learning and maintaining the music for that, and suppers need to get easier. 

*Moonlight Madness in downtown Shawnee will provide tonight's supper as I will be getting home after 6 from a Mass with students at Unbound for their preachers.

*Cheese Manicotti is planned for our Friday meal; I might make the filling and sauce today so it's easier to assemble tomorrow.

 

 

 

Wednesday the 15th: Music of the Week

* Short one today because it's a busy day. We are inching closer to the concert and closer to the musical, but between now and then we have planning to do for three Masses, two offsite. Two are planned and packets made; one still needs to be confirmed but should be done by the end of the week.

Tuesday the 14th: Puzzle done!

 We finished this a little bit ago, a new purchase when we went to Chicago this summer. The reflective side of the puzzle was so pretty, and we had a great time pointing out the places we saw and toured this summer. I know it's sideways, but blogger is not good at letting me edit pictures!

 

 

Monday the 13th: Saint of the Week

 The saint tomorrow is St. Callistus I, a pope of the 3rd century. He is a martyr, patron of cemetery workers, and was known for allowing schismatics to re-enter the church after appropriate penance.

 (Picture found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Callixtus_I)