Before and After

Finally...I can go to Mass with these two tomorrow without feeling any embarrassment! It had gotten to the point where it would have taken me an hour per boy to get through it.

I did Bret's hair this morning and I'll do Sebastian's tonight. Whew!

Update on my friends in KY

Cindy and her kids (all but the oldest son, who is staying behind to help his father with the farm) are all safely in Alabama until the power returns. Her oldest daughter, Sr. Joseph Marie of the Divine Infant Jesus, is a novice with the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word, and they have a property that was donated to them on which there are some apartments. They have generously invited Cindy and the family to stay there until the power returns at home. Isn't that lovely?

Thank you for your prayers, and if you would kindly say an "Ave" that the power comes on soon so that her family can be reunited and her husband and son given a break from the toil, I would be most appreciative...

Here's my first knit hat!

Sorry about the fuzzy photo, but I just couldn't get this two year-old to stay stock-still (you know it's impossible unless they are sleeping or watching a video). And I still have to block it so that the earflaps don't curl. But I am pleased with it.

I wish Dominic was...I had to bribe him to get him to put it on long enough for me to take the photo. I snapped the photo, and off came the hat in a flash!

So you knew high-fructose corn syrup was bad...

...how bad is it? Because of the way in which it is processed, levels of mercury ("safe" levels, the food companies would interject) have been found in many foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. Here is the story I was reading this morning, and here are the results of a study done of 50 foods, many of them marketed to kids, done by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Here are my successes for the week:

1) I completed knitting my first hat with earflaps and i-cord ties. Darling photo of Dominic wearing said hat to be posted soon.

2) I mopped my floors. You would have to have seen my floors before to know what this means to me!

3) I made an appointment to have Gabriel's and Adrian's hair cut. I usually do it myself, but now and then--a couple times a year--they need what I call "Damage Control" to undo all that I should not have done.

Hurray for me! Click on the the title image above to share your own small successes.

Please pray for my friend and her family

My best friend, Cindy, just managed to get a call through to me. Living in a media void as I do, I had no idea what was going on with her right now. I hadn't heard from her, but I just figured she was having a really busy week. I had no idea...

She and her family live in one of the Kentucky counties hit hardest by the ice storm. They have been without power since Tuesday night, and it could be mid February before the power gets back on in some of the areas affected by the storm. They run two large chicken farms, which have been running on diesel generators since Tuesday night. Her husband and 14 year-old son have been sleeping--if you can call it that--at the chicken houses in order to make sure the generators keep going. They will be in serious trouble if they lose all the chickens to this. Her husband has to go to get diesel every few hours, clearing the drive each time because they live in the woods and the trees and branches keep falling. There is a particularly large tree that looms over the roof. Cindy says she is convinced that only countless prayers are keeping it from falling.

They have a wood fireplace and a woodstove, and so far their pantry is holding out. The roads are still icy and impassable.

To make matters worse, most of the eight kids home with her are sick with coughs, some with temperatures. They range in age from 16 down to 7 months. As soon as the roads are passable, they have places they can go to get out until the power is restored (except for her husband and son, who would have to stay to mind the farms), but right now that is not an option.

Please pray for Cindy and Dale and their children.

Any suggestions for dinner?

I have a lot to do today. I have about 4 cups-worth of leftover turkey breast. I want to make something quick tonight, using the turkey if possible. I don't have time to scour the 'net for recipes...anyone have a post-Thanksgiving favorite to recommend...?

It must be that time of year...

...The Winter Doldrums. The kids are either bouncing off the walls, running up and down the hall shrieking, or else they are at one another's throats. When school begins, they are surly and uncooperative. I am often bereft of patience by 10:00 a.m. There are no long holidays to look forward to and everyone has cabin fever. We are tired of school, tired of winter, tired of being indoors.

The answer, of course, is to shake up the routine a little. Not easy, as I really haven't been making them do much other than their core subjects as is, and they need to keep up with those if we are to have any kind of break this summer. Still, calling an unplanned for day of fun--what I don't yet know--won't break our schedule. I just don't want it to be a "free day" or it will just mean more shrieking and arguing, or else whining to watch videos or play on the computer. I need to scour the blogosphere for ideas that will work for every age group...

And I am open to suggestions...

St. Thomas Aquinas

What an exceptional mind this Saint had! He once gave thanks to God that he had never read a page he did not understand.

The following is excerpted from a biography of St. Thomas I found on the EWTN website:

It is not surprising to read in the biographies of St. Thomas that he was frequently abstracted and in ecstasy. Towards the end of his life the ecstasies became more frequent. On one occasion, at Naples in 1273, after he had completed his treatise on the Eucharist, three of the brethren saw him lifted in ecstasy, and they heard a voice proceeding from the crucifix on the altar, saying "Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?". Thomas replied, "None other than Thyself, Lord" (Prummer, op. cit., p. 38). Similar declarations are said to have been made at Orvieto and at Paris. On 6 December, 1273, he laid aside his pen and would write no more. That day he experienced an unusually long ecstasy during Mass; what was revealed to him we can only surmise from his reply to Father Reginald, who urged him to continue his writings: "I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value"

In this we see what we have seen again and again in the lives of the Saints: that even a deep understanding of the Church's teachings and a clear intellect united to a perfect faith are nothing compared to a real encounter with God.

You can read the rest of the biographical sketch here.

Freezing Rain

Nasty, yucky stuff to have to go out into, but it sure does look pretty...

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

"The conflict of the future will be between a God-religion and a State religion, between Christ and anti-Christ in political disguise."
--Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Backing Away from Pelosi, White House Says Birth Control Funding in Stimulus Bill Was Not Obama's Idea

(CNSNews.com) - The Obama White House on Monday backed away from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s support for increased federal funding of contraception in the $825-billion stimulus bill now under consideration by Congress.

That was not President Obama’s idea, a White House spokesman told CNSNews.com.

“The principles of what he thought should be in the package--that wasn’t part of that,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told CNSNews.com. “They’re working on what the final bill should look like.”

Read the rest of the article here. Hmmm....

This weekend

On Saturday Bret picked up our new piggy/garbage disposal. Its a gilt (unbred female) and she is pink and her name is Yum-Yum. She is actually our second Yum-Yum, but we are starting to run out of creative names for our pork (feel free to make suggestions of your own). I'll get a photo of her posted later if I can.

Saturday evening I convinced Bret (with very little effort on my part in all truth), that this tired, pregnant old lady needed Chinese food. In Charlotte we had two children and a Chinese take-out a five-minute walk from our house. Here we have five kids, and the Chinese food is about a 20 to 30 minute drive, depending on which buffet we choose.

We never go out to eat, or rather I ought to say, other than the occasional desperate stop at a fast-food place, we eat out maybe twice a year. So this was a big deal for the kids. Because there was a waitress to remove empty plates and a dimly-lit and quiet atmosphere, the kids thought we were at a fancy restaurant. I explained that fancy restaurants don't drop the eating utensils, all rolled up in paper napkins, in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves to. We all gorged on a lot of shrimp, and the kids took full advantage of the unlimited deserts, averaging about three per child.

Yesterday after Mass, Fr. Tom Sullivan, CPM, gave me a blessing for my pregnancy near the statue of Padre Pio, and then anointed me with "Padre Pio Oil", which I believe was blessed with his relics at San Giovanni Rotundo.

At home, I was changing out of my church clothes and glancing out the window when I saw a pink critter jogging jauntily down toward the pond. The pig! Yes, the escape of Yum-Yum. So far, every pig we have ever owned with the exception of J.P. has managed at some point to escape. So Bret, with the aid of Una and Sebastian, had to go and capture her and reinforce the pen.

We relaxed with a rented video in the evening and I finished knitting a baby hat. We went to bed early (everyone was in bed before 8), and I read until about 8:45. I'm glad I was out early, as Dominic crawled into our bed at 2 a.m. and squirmed until Bret put him in his crib at 3. Then he awoke again at 4...at which time I got up and had coffee...

Hope you had a good weekend...

Funding birth control to cut costs

Fresh from the Drudge Report (thank you, John):

PELOSI SAYS BIRTH CONTROL WILL HELP ECONOMY
Sun Jan 25 2009 22:13:43 ET

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi boldly defended a move to add birth control funding to the new economic "stimulus" package, claiming "contraception will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

Pelosi, the mother of 5 children and 6 grandchildren, who once said, "Nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom," seemed to imply babies are somehow a burden on the treasury.

The revelation came during an exchange Sunday morning on ABC's THIS WEEK.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?

PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.

Developing...

Why on earth are our politicians so short-sighted? A "Demographic Winter" is not by any means a solution to a failing economy. If anything, it will make euthanasia the next logical step, as how will a reduced workforce support an aging population? It's all downhill, folks...

It's time for a change...

...doesn't that phrase make the hair on your neck stand on end? Anyway, I'm only changing my comment moderation. I will begin to moderate comments because I am opening comments to anyone. My reason for doing so is that there are folks I know (including family) who have mentioned wanting to leave a comment, but they couldn't do so.

There was also the case of someone wanting to privately give me her email address through my user profile, and it ended up being published in the comments box for all the world (luckily I rise at 4:30, and check the email before 5, so it was likely not seen by too many people).

So I am still craving your comments...I just need some kind of filter since I am open to anyone's comments now.

The Pope's Own YouTube Channel!

I'm so excited about this. Yes, the Vatican has a channel on YouTube. Check it out!

Fire In the Hole!

Being the mother of four boys and wife to a man who likes camping, fishing, guns and tractors, I got my husband this book for Christmas (he received this one for Father's Day last year). So, over the past few days, after work, father and sons have been working on The Potato Cannon. I am happy to report that it works, much to the children's--and Bret's--delight.By the way, I tried to download video of the event, but it was 142 MB and even with the Google Desktop Downloader it still was taking an eternity to load, so I dropped it. If anyone knows something I don't about getting this sort of thing onto a blog, let me know!

I'm touched

Although I always hope that someone out there besides my sister finds this blog interesting/entertaining/helpful as an aid against insomnia, I sometimes wonder. I am delighted that Peggy (who is not related to me in any way, nor has she any affiliation with this blog other than reading its contents) finds it nice enough to award me this:

Otherwise known as the Love Ya Award. With it goes the required publication of these kind words:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

And here are those to whom I pass the torch (although their closets are quite likely already filled with a dusty array of these awards):

A Crocus in the Valley

A Broader Mark

Totus Tuus Family and Catholic Homeschool

The Flip Side of DandelionEnd

In the Heart of My Home

The Mother Load

Minnesota Mom

Sweetness and Light

By Sun and Candlelight

Fresh Vintage

What all of these ladies' blogs have in common is an unpretentious tone and the ability to make the reader feel welcome in taking a peek into their lives and homes. And I appreciate that!

Illinois moment of silence ruled unconstitutional

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state.

"The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said in his ruling Wednesday.

The ruling came in a lawsuit designed to bar schools from enforcing the Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act. It was filed by talk show host Rob Sherman, an outspoken atheist, and his daughter, Dawn, a high school student.

Gettleman's ruling was not a surprise. He had already ruled in favor of Sherman in two previous decisions.

As passed by the Illinois General Assembly, the law allows students to reflect on the day's activities rather than pray if that is their choice and defenders have said it therefore doesn't force religion on anyone.

But Gettleman backed critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union, who say the law is a thinly disguised effort to bring religion into the schools.

The "teacher is required to instruct her pupils, especially in the lower grades, about prayer and its meaning as well as the limitations on their 'reflection,'" Gettleman ruled.

"The plain language of the statute, therefore, suggests and intent to force the introduction of the concept of prayer into the schools," he said.

It remained unclear if Gettleman's decision would end the dispute or merely signal a fresh battle in a federal appeals court.

State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Chicago, the chief sponsor of the legislation, said she hoped Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would appeal.

"I strongly feel and I still believe that children should have a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day," she said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C., where she celebrated the inauguration of President Obama.

Madigan spokeswoman Robin Ziegler said the attorney general was reviewing Gettleman's decision and would have no immediate further comment.

Adam Schwartz, senior staff counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the organization was pleased with the decision "to strike down a statewide law that coerced children to pray as part of an organized activity in our public schools."

Last year, a federal court threw out a challenge to a 2003 Texas law that allows children to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities" for one minute at the beginning of each school day.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn upheld the constitutionality of that law, concluding that "the primary effect of the statute is to institute a moment of silence, not to advance or inhibit religion."

This is really silly in my opinion. Kids at some American schools have been forced to study the Koran in the name of "diversity", and here they cannot even be given the option to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities." I can't speak for the children of others, but when given a moment of silence, I wouldn't worry about my younger ones engaging in prayer. Just being silent is challenging enough to them. As for older ones, there isn't enough silence in the life of the average American pre-teen or teen for any contemplation.

I do hate the Thought Police...

No time wasted

I know we all know the new president's agenda, but here it is again in black and white: the White House website as updated by our new administration. For a peek at all the proposals under "civil rights", look here. I'd mouth off here, but it might be constituted as a hate crime...

Imagine the Potential

With many thanks to Danette for bringing this gem to my attention. I hope others will put this video up on their blogs and websites so that it will hopefully open a few eyes and hearts.

The President

I can refer to him as "the President" or as "Obama", but I seem to have difficulty putting the two together. I didn't want him, but now that I'm stuck with him I am trying to pray for him...hoping that God will do something wonderful and use this man as an instrument for His greater glory. Like St. Paul, I want the president to get knocked off his high horse and become God's servant in spite of himself. I know how unlikely that is, but it sure is pleasant to think about, and in all truth, stranger things have happened by the grace of God.

There is a lot of fear out there now. I try to remind those who are really afraid that nothing happens without God's will or permission. For whatever reason, God has permitted this man to become the leader of this country. He permitted Nero's and Diocletian's reigns as well. And he can work all things to the good of those who love him.

This is a time for Catholics to become more than merely good and faithful servants. It is a time for them to become heroic, and to teach their children to become heroic. What does this mean? I don't know, but I trust that God will reveal all to us on a need-to-know basis. I do know that the time for sitting on the fence is over and done with. If we are not for God, we are against Him.

Mozzarella!

Call it the kids' science lesson. Sort of looks like one anyway, don't you think? We are a bit late getting started with school this morning due to cheese-making priorities. I don't do this often, as we use most of the milk our low-production Jersey gives us, but when we have a few more gallons than I can use, I make mozzarella.

I have a cheese press, but getting a knack for making hard cheese isn't quite as easy as making mozzarella...and the mozzarella you can use and eat almost as soon as it is made. Hard cheese is a matter of delayed gratification (or severe disappointment, as has been the case with me!) after a minimum 3-month wait.

This mozzarella, by the way, is very like the rubbery/stretchy stuff you get at the grocery store, what I call "American" mozzarella, great on pizza and very little if any shrinkage. I long to make the marvelous fresh, tender mozzarella that is so good with sliced summer tomatoes and fresh basil, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with salt and pepper (doesn't that just have you dreaming of summer?); silky, white balls of it, marinating in jars of herb-infused olive-oil. I'll give it a try this spring, perhaps. To make the really good stuff, I'd have to find a buffalo to milk...but I don't know that my quest for really great mozzarella will take me that far...

The Feast of St. Sebastian

Happy Nameday, Sebastian! I'll be baking your cake today...

Beef Vegetable Soup with Tortellini

This is a great soup, if I do say so myself. I used to make a version of it with beef-flavored texturized vegetable protein (TVP) when I was a vegetarian. Now I make it with the real thing.

1 to 1.5 lbs lean stew beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (Italian style are good!)
3 cups beef broth (can be made from bouillon)
3-4 cups V-8 or other vegetable juice
about 2 cups frozen pole beans
1/2 to 3/4 bag frozen cheese tortellini
To taste: salt, pepper, basil, Worcestershire, whatever you please.

1) Cut the beef into little bite-sized pieces. I do this for the little mouths in the family and also because the meat will cook to tender more quickly. Heat a little (1-2 tsp) olive oil and brown the meat. Then toss in the chopped onion and saute until the beef is pretty much cooked and the onion is soft.

2) Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes, undrained. Then add the beef broth and bring to a simmer. Then add the V-8 and seasonings. Again, bring to a simmer. Then dump in the celery and carrot slices and simmer on low heat for maybe 30 minutes or until the carrots and celery are starting to get tender.

3) Add the frozen pole beans and return to simmering until the polebeans are heated through. About 10 minutes before serving, add the frozen tortellini to the simmering soup. Don't over-cook the tortellini! If I am using the dried tortellini rather than frozen, I use a bit more liquid in the soup or else I cook the tortellini separately and add to the soup.

4) At the last minute, adjust your seasoning. Serve with a crusty bread and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

You will note from my fuzzy photo that I had to use regular green beans this time...my Italian pole beans were freezer-burned. Oops.

Oh, the weather outside is...

...distracting! I know it doesn't look like much to you northerners (nor does it to me--I've lived in Bavaria, so I've seen snow), but to my southern-born and raised brood, it is what they have been waiting for all winter. I could barely keep them focused on their schoolwork this morning and I was forced to finally let them out to finish up their work later on.

Twenty minutes of helping everyone pull on warm clothing, 30 minutes outdoors, then everyone will be in, shedding clothes and leaving puddles of muddy melting snow on the schoolroom floor and asking for hot cocoa. Fun for them. For me, not so much (except for 30 minutes of total quiet in the house).

Me, I am making my beef-vegetable-tortellini soup (recipe forthcoming soon) and baking bread. It is a perfect day for it in my opinion.

If you are pregnant...

...or Pro-Life, or just love babies, you have got to see this beautiful video clip on Allison's Totus Tuus blog. It is wonderful.

Old lentils and happy toddler

I had these lentils in the very back of my top kitchen cabinet shelf. I believe I brought them from Charlotte, which would make them, oh, about six years old at least. So I gave them to Dominic, and he knew what to do with them.

There are better ways to start a day...

This is my dear, put-upon husband. Well, actually there's a lot more to him, but it is squeezed into a cabinet here. He had just come in from milking in a freezing (3 degrees) barn and was going to wash up the milking equipment, when he realized that the pump was out. So before going off to work, he had to spend 40 minutes between a kitchen cabinet and the cold, dark crawlspace under the house. I'm so grateful to have him. He is one hard-working' guy.

When he gets home today he has to drive out to Scottsville to pick up hay. But first I will tell him that the cow is in heat and has to be locked up and one of our toilets is running non-stop.

Think I'd better bake a cake today for this man.

Makes me feel a bit badly for the sedevacantists...

I watched this documentary on Pope Michael, the pontiff of a handful of those who believe that there hasn't been an authentic pope since the death of Pius XII. Watching this ten-minute film I occasionally found myself wondering, "Is this for real?" It seemed in some parts more like a "mockumentary", especially when he is sitting there on the sofa with his mom and they are discussing watching Jeopardy and other shows. Could be funny if someone out there wasn't taking it seriously. As it is, it's kind of pathetic...

Shhhh! Artist at work.

Looking at the other elements in the photograph, it could alternately be titled, "The Artist in His Hovel." Note the pile of laundry to be folded, the peeling wallpaper (a project started by Sebastian as a toddler and continued by each toddler in succession), and the antique dining table in bad need of refinishing.

Of the five children, four of them draw or color on a daily basis without any encouragement from me. Sebastian prefers working in three dimensions and likes sculpting, gluing Popsicle sticks or putting bits of junk together.

Lessons in English--and in charity, and in self-control

Sebastian is using adjectives in his English work. He writes, "Gabe is a hot-headed boy" and identifies the noun and it's modifying adjective. So then naturally he has to show--and read--his work to Gabe. And Gabe tears the page with the offending sentence. Proving, of course, that he is indeed a hot-head.

Been There, Done That

I spotted this meme on Meredith's Sweetness and Light blog, and it looked like fun.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (ashamedly, no, I don't really think so)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (well, hiked up a good part of one, anyway!)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (c'est la vie)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (knitting)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you are not ill (Mea Culpa! It was before my baptism...)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (I can't imagine even wanting to!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I spent my time in Venice eating! Mainly gelato)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (some of them)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (well, a bagel and coffee at a diner)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (drawn, not painted)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (This is a dream of mine...)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (to the foot of it)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (not myself, but we do raise some for the meat)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (5)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Wow, that was fun, want to play along???

How gastronomically adventurous are you?

I was perusing the Food Gawker site (not a good thing to do when you are hungry and your pantry has no exotic/expensive ingredients) and I came across this. I always tell my kids that they should try any new food at least once, but I'm not sure I would push that advice too far here...

Miss Fix-It

I was trying to get to Chapter XIII of Una's Latina Christiana DVD, but the remote was not working and I couldn't get the arrow buttons to function. I had put new batteries in recently, so I knew that that wasn't the problem. I was getting very frustrated and Una said, "Try banging it."
I tossed down the remote in frustration and said "That won't work."
"That's what we always do," she said and picked up the remote.
"Una, nothing was ever fixed by--" and here I heard a banging--"banging it."
She was laughing now. And the DVD was on Chapter XIII.

Today Gabriel was sour because the red "eyes" of his toy robot wouldn't light up, despite new batteries. A few hours later he came to me in the kitchen, excited.
"Look! It's working now! I fixed it!"
"How did you do that?" I asked.
"I just banged it."

Apparently Una's brothers are learning lessons from her that I have not.

Not-So-Elevated Thoughts...

Bear with me for this bit of perfectly dull trivia (it will give you some insight as to how my mind functions at 5:00 a.m.):

If I look at the calender years of my children's births, they are: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and this next baby will be 2009, God willing, because I have had a miscarriage in the past and take nothing for granted. Anyway, it looks pretty random, right?

If I look at the difference in ages, this is what we have: a two year gap, an 18-month gap, a 27-month gap, an 18-month gap, and the gap between Dominic and the next one will be 35 months. Again, pretty random.

Now, look at this; my age at the birth of each of my children: 35, 37, 39, 41, 43 and with this next one I will be 45. Isn't this fascinating? No? Okay, nevermind...

The Lord's Baptism--and Una's new friend

At the Chapel of Divine Mercy today we heard a wonderful sermon by Fr. Jim Costigan on the voice of God and how we must have our minds and souls open to His voice. It was very good, and I think Una was listening closely to it. In the first pew, in front of us, sat a religious in a habit that looked somewhat familiar, but which I couldn't place. She was very sweet and kept turning around to smile and whisper to Dominic and Adrian. At the end of the Mass, Fr. Costigan introduced her as Mother Cynthia of the St. Joseph Missionaries of Sacrifice, and said she was leaving to return to Saskatchewan after having spent a week with the Fathers of Mercy.

Over coffee and doughnuts in Rauzan Hall we were able to find out more about this amazing woman, and Una was able to make a new friend. You see, Una has always been rather fascinated by Native American culture, and about a year or two ago, I had even searched the Internet for a means for her to find a Native American pen pal with whom she could correspond. We never found one, but Mother Cynthia ministers to two reservations and teaches Cree children and adults the faith. She and Una almost immediately established a bond, and Mother spent about an hour talking to Una and answering her questions. She even had me take her camera and photograph the two of them together! Anyway, she has asked Una to correspond with her Native children and send photos of herself, family and home, and she would keep in touch as well. Una has promised to pray for Mother Cynthia and her missions, and for funds for a formation house in Nigeria, where she has found many young women who would like to serve the missions (although how Nigerians would manage the 45-degrees-below-zero winter temperatures in Saskatchewan, I know not!). It almost seemed as though Una was destined to meet Mother Cynthia. One of Una's good friends was not at Mass today; had she been, Una never would have hung around Rauzan Hall and met Mother Cynthia.

At home I took a look at Mother Cynthia's website and was even more amazed: Her order consists of only three people right now, and is only over a decade old (her habit looked late 19th century). It began when she and her husband of 20 years made a bold decision to give up their former life and lead one totally consecrated to God. She and Brother Graham had two teen-aged children when they began their work to spread Christ's love and message, and they have been joined by another young woman who shares their call. Truly an amazing story.

I look forward to a long relationship with this dear woman via Una.

So long, J.P., it's been good to know ya...

J.P., our hog, was loaded up to bring to the butcher in Scottsville today. I try not to bond with the critters destined for the freezer, but J.P. was a real likable pig. I have to console myself with the fact that, unlike his commercially-raised counterparts, he had a good life here: lots of variety in his diet, chickens scratching around his pen, hose-downs in the heat and a wallowing hole, kids to scratch his head and back and even empty milk jugs to bop around the pen and play with. Not a bad life for a table-bound animal.

Thanks to Bret's new clever arrangement for loading, this was the first time we didn't have an escapee. He smelled the slops on the trailer and walked right in to eat.
Pigs sure do grow fast. He was such a skinny little thing when we got him, and look at him now!

Big news at Patch O' Dirt Farm

For all those friends who have seen me lately and may have thought that I was just really letting myself go over the holidays, the gut is actually a baby. I am 11 weeks pregnant today.

Yep, I just turned 45 in November, and Bret is turning 50 this year. And most of our friends our age are already grandparents (we were late-starters with our own family). I didn't ask the Lord for another baby, but God is generous. I pray that He Who is not to be outdone in generosity will be as magnanimous in supplying the extra energy I will need to take on Number Six. I'm sure I would be more excited if I wasn't so darned sleepy...

Bret's excited, too: I told him after this pregnancy he gets his own room until I hit menopause (just kidding ; p)...

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

It's been fun, folks.


Wow. Now we have to wait a whole year to experience that kind of joy again...

Escaped Cow

One needs to be flexible if one has a farm, even if it is only a mini-farm.

When we awoke this morning we figured it wold be a pretty run-of-the-mill Sunday morning. But no: Bret had just headed out to milk when my mom called at about 6:15 saying, "We have a problem. The cow is out."

Just yesterday my mother had purchased a bred beef cow to keep on her property and Bret had moved her over there along with our steers, T-Bone and Bo. Bret had spent loads of time checking the fences, but this morning she found a part of the pond shallow enough to cross and get onto a neighboring property.

Now it is about 9 a.m. and Bret, my brother-in-law and a neighbor with a cattle trailer are over there trying to capture a totally spooked cow. So spooked, in fact, the big girl, heavy with calf, jumped a fence when cornered.

I am checking out Mass schedules at other local churches. We are not going to make the Mass we'd intended. I daresay, neither will my brother-in-law.

Hardly ever a dull moment here on the farm...

Update (9:40 a.m.): You think things can't get much worse. Now it is pouring out, there's thunder and lightening. My mother called and begged us to pray for the three men who were drenched to the skin and feverishly trying to get the fencing up, as the steers nearly got out. The cow is apparently badly injured--no details on that. The kids and I got on our knees for a Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Bret, of course, just got over pneumonia and Michael, my brother-in-law already has a cold.

Heck of a way to start the New Year!

Update II (11:30): Well, we have just missed our last opportunity to go to Mass today. My mom came by to pick up a thermos of tea and six sausage and egg biscuits I made for the men. She reports that they managed to run wire across the pond (without waders? How the heck did they manage that?) and that they still need to round up Trouble--which is the nickname my mother has given the cow for now. The cow apparently only has a cut from jumping the fence and is calmer now that she's been left alone for a while. And the rain has stopped. Deo gratias.

Update III: Well, Bret did finally get home at 3:15, milked a very full Nuala who had been waiting by the stock tank for him for the previous 4 hours, came in and took a hot shower, ate a hot and early dinner at 4 and then took the kids into Scottsville for Dairy Queen cones. Nearly a nine-hour workday...on a Sunday.

Has anybody else seen this story?

I live in a media void, so I get my news from The Ironic Catholic. Plenty of News of the Weird. Like this.

Oh, by the way, Happy New Year, everyone!