Heaven welcomed a beautiful daughter today. Therese Fox has been a shining example of Faith and acceptance of God’s Holy will since her diagnosis, over a year ago, of terminal cancer. Please pray for the repose of Therese’s soul, for her family who will miss her so much, and for the two grandbabies who only know their grandmother through the loving memories recounted by their parents and her loving, prayerful presence from Heaven.

Eternal rest grant unto Therese, O Lord. And make perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Thank you, Therese, for your beautiful witness. Pray for us!

I started a Bog-Coat challenge on the Simple Gifts Email List after one of our members mentioned a desire to make one.

They are really simple to make. Click here for a pattern.

Here is the challenge:

You’ve got to create an original bog coat (or two, or three… ) from refashioned materials. This can be scraps of leftovers from your stash, thrifted garments, antique linens, blankets, whatever you can think of. You can piece, quilt, hand-paint, embroider, bead, and trim ’til your heart’s content.

You will have FOUR WEEKS to complete your project. Send me a photograph of your finished coat and I’ll publish it here on Sunday, March 2nd..

The number of years since we have lost our humanity in pursuit of self.

Roe No More
Circle of Prayer
March for Life on EWTN

Let’s not wait another 35 years to affirm the sanctity of every life from conception to natural death.

Find healing here:
Hope After Abortion

I suppose it’s time to partake. I saw this meme on Elizabeth’s and on Mary Ellen’s blogs, and Dawn asked me similar questions, so I thought I’d have a go.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? No, my name was picked out of a hat. My guardian angel chose it.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last night. I was watching something with Brian… What was that now?

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Take it or leave it…

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Nope.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Seriously?

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? It’s one of my charms.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cream of Wheat.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. I tend to prefer clogs and sandals since my 5th baby.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? After giving birth to Louis, I’d have to say undoubtedly YES. 10# hands-and-head born babe at home with no drugs. Check out my Celtic mama power!

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? I have to choose? Depends on my mood.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I notice folks’ smiles.

15. RED OR PINK? Both - but the red has to be just the right shade. Deep, but not brownish.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? My Celtic temper.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Nana. (same answer as MaryEllen - maybe they’re up there keeping each other good company)

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Denim and no shoes.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Chicken Waldorf on whole-wheat pita.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? History Channel.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Dandelion Yellow

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Lavender, fresh-baked bread, White Shoulders, tea rose - and how could I forget *Chrism* on a newly baptised babe.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mom

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Anything Equestrian

25. HAIR COLOR? Brown

26. EYE COLOR? Green

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Red glasses - I gave up contacts years ago.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? I adore food. It really depends on my mood. If I’m feeling blue, I love Polish burgers or Kapusta over mashed potatoes.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Northanger Abbey

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Baby blue

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Spring and Autumn. Sorry :/

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Yes.

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pie!

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship, The Four Loves (on Father Augustine’s recommendation), Invitation to the Old Testament: A Catholic Approach the Hebrew Scriptures, and Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. 3: Grace, the Church, the Sacraments, Eschatology. Of course, there is the Bible, RSB, and Book of Common Prayer always on my bedside table.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Some chinese symbol on our desktop mousepad. I sincerely hope it’s not something naughty…

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Northanger Abbey.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My babies’ voices, Brian - especially when he’s not here, chant, Celtic tunes of all kinds. The wind through the trees, a burbling stream, ocean waves, birdsong.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Iceland.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Multi-tasking.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Quantico, VA

Josie (pictured below) is 22″ tall. She is just right for hugging - a little bit larger than most play dolls. Bears like Josie (and Benedict, who is very dark brown), are made from fine mohair, wool felt, German glass eyes (or embroidered, if requested) and stuffed with 100% pure wool stuffing. All the joints move, and are special safety joints that won’t come apart. Traditional cotter-pin joints are never used for these bears.

A bare bear, 22″ is priced from $150 and up. They can also be dressed at an additional charge. The bears are just the right size to wear a newborn outfit.

You can also donate a bear to a chronically or terminally ill child - just specify when purchasing. More info at the Blessed Bears website - in the sidebar

…by getting organized. Organization is the greatest single thing I learned from being an event planner. That and “be flexible”… I think I get the question “How do you do it?” more than any other. We’ll here’s a peek at how:

On Sundays, each child is assigned a duty (or two), which corresponds to that of a Benedictine Obedientiary of old. This duty belongs to him or her all week long. We have:

Novice Master/Mistress (charged with minding the littles)
Porter (answers door, telephone, collects mail)
Hosteller (makes guests comfortable)
Sacristan (makes home home-y)
Sub-Cellarer (keeps inventory - foodstuffs, etc.)
Matricularius (charged with preparing work/school space)
Cantor (chimes the bells, leads prayer with Papa)

Each morning, following prayers, the children receive their chore cards, which include everything from personal care, to regular housekeeping, to seasonal chores (like raking or shoveling). The tags are attached to a lanyard (with retractable cord) that they attach to a belt-loop and keep with them all day. The completed cards are put into a mailbox, each child’s cards in his own pouch. Brian and I can go in at any time and collect the cards, and check that the chores are done properly. When all chores are completed for the day, the child receives a round tag to hang on his/her name peg. When he has collected seven tags, he is presented with an age-appropriate reward (monetary for the older children, tangible treats for the younger ones). I know that this is a controversial topic. Truth be told, we’ve been back and forth on the concept of rewarding children for chores. However, we feel that our children understand that there are rewards of all kinds that come from Mama and Papa completing their own work, one of those is monetary. We try to balance their rewards with an illustration of the myriad other rewards that come from a job well done, namely, a pleasant environment, peace of mind, congeniality, free time, self esteem, and a sense that they are in accord with God’s will. The Rule of St. Benedict requires us to work hard and to make work our prayer; and prayer our work.

In addition to the duties and chores, we post a weekly virtue (from a beautiful sheet created by Julie, another super busy mom. Whenever a child displays that virtue in any way, a glass bead is added to a jar. When the jar is finished, we plan a special family treat - like a movie or dinner out. The teamwork has been phenomenal, we have lots more free time in a day, and far fewer interruptions. Brian has doubled his productive hours of work, and I feel I’m getting projects completed in a more timely manner.

Song for Snowy Weather

The more it snows
Tiddley-Pom
The more it goes
Tiddley-Pom
The more it goes
Tiddley-Pom
On snowing

And nobody knows
Tiddley-Pom
How cold my nose
Tiddley-Pom
Is growing.
Check out this website for more of Pooh’s Hums

It’s a little bit cold here for playing Poohsticks, so I think we’ll snuggle in for a Tea with Winnie and company.

Let’s start with some banana sandwiches:

Honey Bread (modified from “Nanny’s Honey Tea Sandwiches)

3/4 c. tea (strong)
3/4 c. brown sugar (packed)
1/3 c. Honey
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

Butter and flour a 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ ” loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Divide tea between 2 small bowls. Stir brown sugar into one until dissolved. Stir honey into the other until blended. Set both aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Mix well. Stir in sugar mixture until blended. Quickly stir in honey mixture. Pour into pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan set on rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on rack.

Banana Filling
2-3 bananas, ripe
1 tsp. lemon juice
Chocolate sprinkles

In a medium bowl, mash banana with lemon juice.

To Assemble:

Trim off ends of bread. Cut remaining loaf into slices ½ ” thick. Cut each slice into a floral shape with a 1 3/4″ to 2″ cookie cutter.
With a sharp paring knife or very small round cookie cutter, cut a ½ ” round hole in the center of half the flowers, forming “doughnut” shapes. Spread solid bread flowers with filling. Top with “doughnut” slices. Fill hole with chocolate sprinkles. Serve at once.

And to go with our tea sandwiches, we’ll have carrot sticks (Rabbit’s favourite), celery sticks, candied nuts (because we haven’t any haycorns), and a nice pot of tea. The little ones will enjoy warm milk (with honey, of course).

Mama will be reading from:



And after that, the little ones shall have a nice, warm bath, be snuggled and bundled off to bed.

Wishing you a day filled with simple delights!

It’s here! It’s here! We had some pre-press problems, changed the cover, and waited… But now it’s finally here! (jumping up and down like a child on her birthday)

I’m so pleased with it. I loooove the Jane Austen font inside.

The Home Management Book really was always meant to be much more than just a calendar. It will help you organize your life by creating a personal agenda, using worksheets and instructions that I created to help me balance everything I do. I know that it will help you, too.

The whole system is based upon our Benedictine way of life. It flows from a family-centered approach to the Rule of St. Benedict.

In addition to the colour-coded week-at-a-glance calendar and the monthly block calendar with notables, you have the menu-planning pages, which are also dated and colour-coded to the Liturgical season, and even include important feasts and political holidays. Down the right-hand side is your shopping list. Those pages are followed by a Pantry Checklist (reproducible) and a ledger book.

I’ve included a section of reproducible home school helps:

There is an address book with quotes from various authors about letter-writing:

There is a section for keeping track of all those special people in your life who need prayers, and another for recording special events like births, sacraments, and deaths. You’ll find lists of fun holidays through the year, traditional anniversary gifts, a floriography, and wish list forms.

The “Care and Keeping” section will help you to record important medical and insurance information and includes reproducible food journal and fertility chart.

There’s a sewing plan to help you plan out an entire wardrobe, supplies checklist, size charts and project and swap records.

And a resources section complete with home-made cleaning recipes and home remedy recipes:

Finis

I’m trying to plan - really, seriously plan - upcoming podcasts. They’ve been inconsistent at best, and I really want to make them into something that listeners can really sink their teeth into, something worthy of spending an hour each week. So I thought I’d ask you what you would most like me to schedule.

What 5 people would you love to hear interviewed? I haven’t figured out how to set up a call to Heaven, so let’s say that these 5 people should still be alive .

What 5 topics would you like to hear more about? (I have had several requests for “Benedictine Spirituality in the Home” already)

And for longer-term planning:

Would you be interested in instructional videos delivered online?

What 5 things would you like to learn how to do if you could take a class, watch a video instruction?

Dear friends,

You will know, if you have been reading this weblog for the last several months, that my husband and Brian and I are seeking a piece of farmland of our own, where we can base our ministry. It will be a place that will welcome families for week-long farm experiences, offer classes for home-educated children and their families, provide organic farm products for the community, and a temporary home for refugees to our Diocese.

One of the most important things that we plan to do is to reach out to the poor in our area, providing quality food from our CSA and from our grocery.

But we can not live on bread alone, these families will also be learning how to budget better for necessities, how to prepare healthy meals, and how to gain skills, or use those they already have to be more self-sufficient. Hopefully, some of them will learn all they need to know so that they can work their way out of poverty and into a life of simple abundance.

Even before we have a facility of our own, our ministry has begun. I have been asked to speak to a group of local women who live on the largest public housing project in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I feel very blessed to have been asked. I have a deep conviction that the most essential gift I can bring is the Light of Christ. From there, all else will flow. Please pray for me and for our ministry.

We have a great need for contributions of any size, to help us to build a place of peace, of rest, of welcome. A place filled with His Holy Light. If you are so moved, I hope you will consider “chipping in” using the link in the sidebar. If you live in southern New England, you may consider purchasing a farmshare. Not only will you receive, but you also will give. A portion of what we produce on the farm will feed the hungry, and the more shareholders we have, the greater number of families we can help!

Bishop Reuger, from our Diocese said in his homily this weekend that we may be the only Christ some people ever meet. Oh, that I may bear Him to those whose lives I am blessed to be touched by.

Deo Gratias!