A fast and sloppy 7 quick takes. with a lot of links.

                                                                                                                                                            Because I have to go to the laundromat, and my idea-maker, also loosely referred to as my brain, is not working at optimal speed.



SO,


1.  This blog is one of my favorites to read. Not only is it inspirational, instructional and beautifully laid out, the monks are based in Ireland, where I dearly would love to go someday. Today's post about fasting is outstanding. And I am referring to this one throughout Lent, as a reminder. And Ireland.



2. Our Chinese student, who I will refer to as Chili to protect his identity, and because that is what I actually call him, had a birthday this past week. we took him to an Italian restaurant (owned by a couple that happen to live on our block, and have incidentally appeared in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares). It was definitely no nightmare, the food being the kind of Italian you enjoy at your Nonna's on a Sunday. Chili likes Italian second best to Chinese. And waffles. Oh and Bacon, eggs, cereal, hot dogs, steak...anyway. He is 18, so. But the POINT is, Lent went out the window that night. As it rightly should have for a birthday celebration. But so did Bob's diet, my sorta kinda diet, and any sense of restraint. Chocolate Mousse Cake. I am still burping a little. Scusi.

3.  You should also read this blog. Today's post is funny AND spiritual. Good combo. But if you, like me, are bookish, you will like it all the time.

4. One of the good things I am reading a lot about this Lent is that we shouldn't try to do things that interfere with our vocation. Such as, the well worn scenario of the woman that goes to mass all the time and neglects her family. Or the person who fasts so strictly that he or she feels terrible and can't do their work well. Stuff like that. Something that comes to mind when I want to say, go to a morning weekday mass but can't due to duties or chores is this: When Bob and I used to play/sing music weekly for our parish's Sunday 5PM masses, we liked to arrive as early as possible to set up and rehearse in the church before people started to come and sit in the pews. Father Kelley would sometimes be praying in the empty church, at the side of the altar. We would come bustling in, lugging Bob's keyboard and all our stuff, and when we saw him, would apologize for having disturbed his prayer. I forget his exact words, but he never made us feel bad, saying something to the effect that he never would complain about that, because people were more important. I try to remember that when I am trying to BE SPIRITUAL but, people.


5.  If you like to cook or bake, or know anyone who does, this is the very best recipe blog around,  Any time my kids ask me for "that cheesecake recipe"or "that chili, or chocolate cake recipe'" it's always from Smitten Kitchen. She is a funny writer as well, and has wonderful step by step photos.

6. On a more serious note, I would ask you once again for your prayers for my family. Everyone has their own thing right now. Also for a couple of dear friends going through deep trials. Also for a family that has recently been in a terrible car accident and are all in various stages of injury, some serious. Their last name is Kurtz, they are from the area west of Philadelphia, and they are an amazing pro life family, having adopted 20 and helped scores more. This link takes you to the St. Francis house, which they helped start. It tells the story and asks for donations.

 https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/glj7

7. And now, because the laundry awaits, a joke,

GOD   to    ST. FRANCIS :

Frank:    You know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet?   What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago?   I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I  expected to see a vast garden of colours by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles.

St. FRANCIS:

   It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with   grass.

GOD:

   Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colourful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS:

   Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD:

   The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.  

ST. FRANCIS:

   Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it - sometimes twice a week.

GOD:

   They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS:

   Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:

   They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS:

    No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away!

GOD:

   Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw 

it away?

ST. FRANCIS:

   Yes, Sir.

GOD:

   These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS:

 You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:

 What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.

ST. FRANCIS:

   You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD:

   No! What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS:

   After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD:

    And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS:

   They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch .

GOD:

   Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

  ST. CATHERINE:

   'Dumb and Dumber,' Lord. It's a story about...  

GOD:

   Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Happy weekend everybody!

+JMJ+

Kelly

7 quick thankful takes; a photo-palooza

Well, it was all worth it! We enjoyed every minute.




1. As soon as they arrived, Kaden sat right down and took out his toys.

2. Monday evening we had a mini-surprise-birthday-party for Kaden. I made my somewhat famous chili for dinner. Afterward, Meghann took Kaden to the upstairs bathroom. (Cause what little boy doesn't have to go)? while we got things ready. The kitty decided to play his Under-the-Door-Swatting-at-Whatever-is-There game with them. Which seemed like a fun way to keep Kaden busy while we lit the candles on his cake -- except that Kaden's finger was the thing that got swatted. And scratched. Then he wanted Meghann to "tell on" Tumnus (the kitty) to Nonnie, (me). By the time he came downstairs he had indignant tears in his eyes, waiting for his mama to tattle. Instead, we all jumped out and yelled, "surprise!"


*--we are having trouble getting the pictures and video of this part from Malaika's phone--I will update ASAP--*


 But later, his surprise party, my favorite from scratch chocolate cake, and a few gifts, turned out to be one of the things he was thankful for.

3. After that, Kaden hung out playing games and putting together his new Legos with Uncle Ben, while Bob and I, Jeff and Meghann went out.

This one is a little blurry--but Uncle Ben became a quick favorite.

First, we went to Paddy's Pub. The show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a favorite of Jeff and Meghann, and is based on this bar. Not fancy, but we had fun.


Then, four cold and windy blocks to The Plough and the Stars. We walked because I did not want to lose my parking space. We passed several along the way...whoops.

The place was gorgeous! We sat right by the (real) fireplace, and ordered hot cocktails. Delicious.



















4. Tuesday, we went by Love park. They were setting up the Christmas village, but they got some nice shots. Here is one-

 

On the way to Macy's to see the decorations and visit Poppie at his office (same building), we saw this store I had never seen before.

Funny how you see things with new eyes. How did I ever miss the Funk-O-Mart?

Then we went in Macy's. We got to hear and see the organ, and look around at the decorations. The light show didn't begin till Friday, but we looked up at the big tree and I told Kaden how I used to take his mama to see the light show. 

If you squint just right, you can see the organ to the left of the tree. It is like a gated-in room, but you can watch the organist on a screen. Behind the tree is where the light show takes place.

 We didn't take any pictures in Bob's office. By then, Kaden was hungry and wanted to try out one of the city's hot dog carts. Turned out to be a good choice! Yummy.

5. Then--getting ready for The Day. We were having our feast on Wednesday, as they had to be back for poor Jeff to work on Black Friday. Here are some shots of the preparations:

 

 Here is Corrie working on one of our appetizers, and I had just asked Jeff to go out back and get the turkey out of the brine, with a semi-lengthy explanation of how.  I sent him out with an aluminum pan, which he then brought in, empty. I just looked at him with kind of an alarmed expression. He said, "Oh, did you want the turkey?"

 There was also a Jenga tournament happening in the living room.

Here is Kaden making a turkey craft.

nothing like kid-crafts

 

 

Always so nice to see Daniel!

Loved having everyone here.

6. The meal.

Every year, I forget something. Chiefly, the rolls. Since they are put in last while we get everything to the table, they have been forgotten until someone smelled the burning. This year, we remarked on how smoothly things went.  The stuffing was not dry, nor the turkey, the mashed potatoes were perfect thanks to Rachael, and the roasted veggies all got done. Dessert was lovely, the custard set, the pumpkin pie delicious, even though I forgot the butter, and Daniel brought two yummy pies. Then,  Melissa went to work on the dishes. I came into the kitchen to find her doubled over, hands on her knees, making funny sounds. Like she couldn't catch her breath. She seemed to be pointing towards the oven.

Then I looked. The rolls. Again! Arrgh. I am roll-impaired! The only reason they didn't burn was that I had turned off the oven.

Funnier than anything.

After dinner, we played Scattergories and Apples to Apples, and tried out the chocolate wine.

Word to the wise. Don't. Or at least chill it to death.

All partied out.





















7. The next day--Meghann and Jeff have to leave--:(

 Kaden putting on a brave face, but he was pretty sad. (we all were!) The plane ride helped him have a fun thing to focus on.

                  He's becoming a pro at traveling.





Pretzel in the airport.

When the dishes were all washed and stacked on the dining room table, I decided to take one more picture. See the cute, vegetable-shaped dishes Meghann gave us? Also, the hand made pottery my mother collected, and we only bring out for Thanksgiving.

Ahh, what a serene scene full of lovely memories.

                                               

                                                  But wait-- what is that shadow?

                           Always, and I mean always, right in the middle of whatever we are doing.

 

 Hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, and that you were as blessed as we were to spend it with the people we love the most.

Next--Advent! Now where is that wreath? And I need candles!