*The Husband has really stepped up and gotten fruit almost every weekend from the farmers' markets around us. One Sunday we did brunch with friends and he made a massive fruit salad with peaches, plums, cherries, berries, and even some watermelon. It was amazing.
*Last week had a great saint almost every day. This week is almost as full, but I'm going to stick with the Mary theme and tell you about Friday, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. As Americans we have a fraught relationship with hierarchy and monarchy. On one hand our whole country was founded as a rejection of a lineage of monarchy; on the other hand, many Americans can't get enough of following royal gossip, whether it be legislative or pop culture monarchy. I think that what we might take fruitfully from the Queenship of Mary goes back to the role of the Queen Mother in the Old Testatment: as seen in Esther in particular but also the first book of Kings and also 2 Samuel is that the Queen Mother had a particular role of speaking for the people before then king, and as much as possible the king could not deny her requests for them. How consoling then that Mary can intercede for us in a particular way, both in bringing our intentions before God but also in helping us understand what our intentions should be.
(From Pinterest to http://catholic-line-art.tumblr.com/image/114739711311)
I picked up this 1967 journal last summer while at a conference for Oblate Directors in North America. So far it's been really fun to see how those living right after Vatican II predicted the "new Church" would revise the sacrament of Baptism.
It's so hard to get good food pictures!
*Sunday we had soy-ginger glazed grilled chicken breasts, corn fritters, and mint thin cookies. I have planted mint but it hasn't really gone to town yet, so I bought a package of mint from the store to put in them. They made a large batch and are very tasty, as are the fritters and chicken.
*Monday we had my mom's waffle recipe, which is the best waffle recipe that we have found in 25 years of looking.
*Tuesday I made chilled tomato soup. I have to dial down the paprika, but once that was done we had a really nice soup. The Husband picked up some grilled cheese sandwiches from Sonic to finish off the meal. I also made a doubled peach crisp from this recipe, and we already finished it off the next day.
*Last night we had herbed turkey burgers. They had mint and parsley from the garden in them; my parsley never grew very well so that may be the end of that plant. The burgers were tasty but a little small for the ciabatta buns. We also had frozen tater tots.
*Tonight is leftovers as the Husband is traveling, son has work, and I have a Vigil Mass for the Assumption.
*Tomorrow is Pizza Hasselback Potatoes, and that's the week! Three new recipes and five repeat recipes.
*My boss has ordered a bunch of music for the new year, but none of it has arrived yet, so I'm just working on 4 Masses for this weekend (Thursday, Saturday, and 2 Sunday) and then piecing through my musical music. I have finished act I and the entre'acte and have not moved on to Act II.
*We finally made it to our local county fair this year after 10 years. We ate food, rode a ride, toured around a 4H building (one of many) and walked among the horses, rabbits, and chickens. It's been a while since I exhibited at the fair but it's nice to see how many things are the same. Below are some gorgeous quilts that won ribbons.
*Friday is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The doctrine as outlined in 1950 states "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." (https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus.html par. 44)
Mary's life and assumption give us hope that if we follow Christ we too will be reunited with him in heaven, body and soul, at the Second Coming.
(Traced from Pinterest to https://lily-maiden.blogspot.com/2008/12/advent-day-9-immaculate-conception.html)
I'm pretty pleased that I have another new book to move into. This is a collection of excerpts from Agatha Christie's autobiography matched against the letters and photos she sent her mom and sister as she traveled around the world for 10 months in 1922. It's a hundred years ago, but such a different world and a different way of looking at other people and other cultures. I'm enjoying it.
*Today I walked into work for the first time in three months and got to hear my boss playing the bagpipes.
It was wonderful! We had a 15 minute catch up on life and then had to go to Mass and then he went to retreat and I worked in the office a little and went home. Probably next week we'll start working on our actual music for the year. I did grab the piano (vs. piano/conductor) score of the musical while I was there so I can compare.
*Friday I'm making a cold buttermilk cucumber soup. We're having a hot week, I try to go meatless on Friday, and it's an easy recipe.
*Thursday will be barbecue chicken sandwiches and potato wedges; I have leftover chicken from last week's chicken salad, so this should also be pretty easy.
*Tonight we are trying open face sausage sandwiches; the Husband is going to grill some sausage, peppers, and a red onion, and then some pieces of bread. I'll put together a vinaigrette and some salad greens, and it should be good.
*Last night was Lemon-Basil bow ties. This was very successful, with no leftovers. I added a little extra Parmesan.
*Monday night was Missouri "Misery" casserole. It's basically meat and potatoes. The linked recipe is similar to what I did, but I didn't use any tomatoes. I did add some shredded cheddar cheese at the end, and I made sure I used plenty of salt and pepper. The Husband needed a little extra pepper but still enjoyed it.
*Sunday we had blackened cod on the grill, rice a roni, and corn on the cob. I also tried a recipe I had in my box for over 10 years for dessert: Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I had originally copied it down out of the Paula Deen Celebrates cookbook, and the boys really enjoyed it. I thought it didn't have quite the texture I wanted, but the taste was plenty peanutty.
We're better at puzzles than games, I think because puzzles can be done by each person as they have time, but a game requires that all three of us have a certain amount of time together. We're making the attempt, though, and this is our second time through Ticket to Ride (Europe version) after planning to start a second game...two weeks ago.
*St. John Vianney was a French parish priest who lived from 1786 to 1859. He struggled mightily with his studies and only was made a priest by the intervention of others. He was assigned to one parish and stayed there the rest of his life, hearing confessions, saying Mass, and preaching.
Lovely quote, found on catholicsaints.info:
Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there; if you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.
(Traced from Pinterest to https://www.flickr.com/photos/41583834@N03/4441227402/)
*I did finish Befriend Your Brain and my book on the Eucharist, so now I'm about halfway through this book about the Kansas City Public Library, and I've started a Concilium magazine from 1967 as my religious reading. Sometimes it feels like I've just gotten the hang of reading lots of books when it's time to head back to school.
