Teeny Tiny Frog

Sebastian brought this little guy in, about the size of my thumbnail. How can something so tiny have such magnificent detail...?

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Volume 57

One.
Bret has a few weeks' work lined up, about an hour away. The upside is, of course, money and the ability to pay our bills without depleting our unimpressive savings account. The downside is that he is working today, and we were hoping to go to Mass for the first Friday. Oh well--maybe we will renew our attempts to do the nine first Fridays in the spring, as there's a good chance that one of the upcoming ones would be thwarted by icy roads anyway. C'est la vie.

Two.
The altar Bret just finished for the tiny mission church of Our Lady of the Caves in Horse Cave, KY is great. I think there are still a few little details to be finalized by the couple who did the wonderful pelican plucking its breast in the center of the altar, but Bret's part in it is done. Pretty nice, don't you think?Three.
It looks like it is going to be a beautiful weekend--mild and fairly sunny. If you are anywhere in our area (north-central TN or south-central KY), do think about coming to tomorrow's conference at the Fathers of Mercy in South Union, KY on the life of Mother Teresa. Information is on my sidebar (just click the image of the Come and See poster). The Chapel of Divine Mercy is beautiful, and worth a visit in any case. We will be there. To find me, just listen for the loudest three year old, and follow him...

Four.
Geography is fun, but would be more so if we lived in a city. I love rural life, but when it comes to cultural stuff, forget it. We have been studying India this week, and our little library has nothing--I mean, like two kids' books on India! I've been hunting our shelves for folk tales and other resources, and found a thing or two from Netflix, but I'd love to have access to an Asian foods market (Nashville is a bit far to go for a few Indian items) or deli. We have also listened to some Ravi Shankar sitar music (I remember my mom had LPs of his when I was a kid) and it was lovely to hear it again after so many years.

Five.
Gemma, happy sweet, little thing that she is, is killing me. She naps in her co-sleeper by day, but will not go into it at night. She screams if I put her in it. And she will no longer take a pacifier, nor will she sleep without nursing. She is pretty much attached to me all night long, with the result being that I am tired, sore and Bret and I forever have a baby between us! I tried letting her "cry it out" before Bret and I turned in, and she did finally pass out, exhausted. but within an hour she was up again. I'm not sure what I can do about it until we get her out of our room and into a crib, which Dominic is still using and reluctant to give up. Because of her slow weight gain, I am willing to put up with it for a couple more months (until I start her on solids), but Bret is less than pleased at the thought of having her in our full-sized bed for much longer. It is a tad tight in there for the three of us...

Six.
Speaking of slow weight gains, I have been too nervous to weigh her. I'm afraid of her having gained so little that I will be a nervous wreck. I can't imagine that she is starving, however, as she doesn't seem terribly hungry during the day and is quite happy to grasp at her toys and coo at us from her bouncy seat for long periods of time. Still, I look at photos of babies like Grace's Fiona, who just started solids recently at 8 months and who is fat and gorgeous just on mama's milk, and I feel a twinge of envy! My kids are all pretty lanky as toddlers (Gabe was the exception), but by four months have always been delightfully chubby.

Seven.
I am already plotting to figure out if there is some way I can spend Sunday afternoon just knitting and sipping tea. When I am nursing, I am often on Ravelry, browsing through patterns for baby knits.

Well, that's it for today's Quick Takes from Patch O' Dirt Farm. Join Jennifer at Conversion Diary to see more Quick Takes on Friday or post your own. Have a blessed weekend!

Small Successes--volume 42

1) I made a batch of butter and a batch of peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies today;

2) I remembered that November 3rd was Una's nameday (really, how easy is it to remember that Una is some sort of derivative of St. Winifried? Really, it is!);

3) I got most of my Christmas shopping done! Hurray for Amazon.com and Super Saver Shipping!

Go to Faith and Family Live for more Small Successes, and share your own!

A beautiful afternoon...

We went out to enjoy some fine autumn weather and to gather acorns for our piggies. Gemma is still small enough to wear on my front, which is good since we don't own a fancy all-terrain stroller.

The Feast of All Souls

In Munich, where I spent the better part of my formative years, All Souls was a day for tending the graves, which are usually beautifully tidy anyway, but the plants--not cut flowers or (shivers!) artificial foliage are changed to heartier mums and evergreens to bear the cold winter.
Each little plot usually has a place for a votive candle, and some even have covered fonts for holy water. As you can imagine, with the plants, the headstones, the shady trees and the benches here and there, the cemetery has an almost park-like atmosphere.
And it is quite beautiful at night as well.

We will be making a stop at our little cemetery up on the hill today, and praying for the Poor Souls. Below are the regulations currently in force regarding plenary indulgences:

1) On All Souls' Day, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor souls, is granted to those who visit any parish church or public oratory and there recite one Our Father and one Credo.

2) On all the days from November 1 through November 8 inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor souls, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed.

Conditions for both indulgences:
1) Only one plenary indulgence can be gained per day.

2) It is necessary to be in the state of grace, at least by completion of the work.

3) Freedom from attachment to sin, even venial sin, is necessary; otherwise the indulgence is only partial. (By this is meant attachment to a particular sin, not sin in general.)

4) Holy Communion must be received each time the indulgence is sought.

5) Prayers must be recited for the intentions of the Holy Father on each day the indulgence is sought. (No particular prayers are prescribed. One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffice, or other suitable prayers.)

6) A sacramental confession must be made within a week of completion of the prescribed work. (One confession made during the week, made with the intention of gaining all the indulgences, suffices.)

Too much Halloween candy...

...is a dentist's nightmare.

The Feast of All Saints

We had a great day yesterday, even though Bret was gone all day until 8:30 p.m. installing the new altar at Our Lady of the Caves and we didn't get to have our planned bonfire. The kids had a fabulous time with Halloween Bingo (Adrian plays with enormous intensity!), Pin the Head on the Horseman and our annual treasure hunt for candy. Then they lay around eating candy and watching vintage Scooby Doo from Netflix. After a pizza dinner, they had "dirt" cupcakes for dessert (chocolate frosting with crushed Oreo crumbs and a gummy worm on top). Dominic crashed at 6:30 from a sugar overdose and slept all night. Everyone else forfeited their candy an hour before dinner and agreed not to have any more until after Mass today. Whew!
Today is a wonderful feast. An extra hour to get ready for Mass is a lovely gift, and so is the sight of the sun shining on the frost.Have a beautiful, blessed All Saints Day!

Do you think they look like sisters?

Country kids

This is how we make up for the fact that we haven't a decent spot for the kids to roller skate...

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Volume 56

One.
I didn't do the Small Successes post this week because I couldn't come up with three. I have our little party planned, but in doing so I let much fall by the wayside, including finishing the batch of butter I've sitting in the fridge, giving haircuts to two very shaggy little boys, and doing much in school this week besides the core subjects.

Two.
Today was a perfect day for baking and planning our Halloween party--overcast, mild, with a wild wind driving the leaves across the yard and through the air. That wind is bringing a change--nearly 20 degrees cooler tomorrow.

Three.
The combination of cold weather and a baby girl make me wish I could spend a week or two in bed with tea and wool yarn, knitting baby things! I love seeing Gemma in hand-knit booties and soakers. I want to knit little sweaters and pants and hats. I am afraid Gemma will grow faster than I can knit...

Four.
Speaking of making things, I find that it is really important for my mental health to do so. I am happiest on those days when I make something, or work at making something. It can be a knitting project, a paper mask for Dominic, or a stack of diaper doublers for Gemma, but I need to create to feel contented. I feel most frustrated when I have a day in which circumstances prevent me from doing anything creative.

Five.
Sebastian chose Boy's Town over Batman tonight to watch on VHS. The kid has taste.

Six.
Gemma is a great napper, but not so good at night. She has been refusing to sleep in her co-sleeper for more than half an hour, and then nurses all night long. This has put my mammary glands on a night schedule--I seem to be full all night long and produce very little during the day. And this has become a vicious cycle. She nurses at night because that's when there's milk, and there's milk then because that is when she nurses...

Seven.
I am off to sip Mother's Milk tea, knit with pink yarn and watch what's left of Boy's Town.

Check out Jennifer's Conversion Diary for more Seven Quick Takes, and get on the bandwagon of you haven't already! And have a great weekend.