Cate: Mom, can I go on the internet?
Me: What for?
Cate: For more information.
Me: On what?
Cate: Typhus and yarn
Of course, how silly of me.
:D
p.s. she’s designing and knitting something called a “Germ-Phob-Ile”… Stay tuned
I must heartily thank Wendy for alerting me to a problem on the Chip-In link. Apparently it wasn’t allowing donations to be made. We have fixed the problem and we hope that you all will feel called to support this very important ministry. I was beginning to despair that it wasn’t going to come to fruition. Wendy’s email this morning encouraged the notion that perhaps there have been several attempted donations, but that you all were unable to get through the link.
God bless all of you who have been praying for this project, and to those of you who have tried to lend financial support. I hope that you will try again.
I’ve been getting more emails about the economy’s impact on families. People are really beginning to hurt. I read a report this morning that said that food prices are not likely to go back down - ever. So we need to learn to steward our treasures better. One of the ways we can do that is to reduce or eliminate our debt. Can you imagine the peace of not having heavy debts to worry about? Can you imagine only needing to consider daily needs like gas, food, groceries, clothing? How wonderful it would be not to have to worry about our homes or transportation. And wouldn’t it be comforting to be able to have savings for emergencies, college, retirement, or a family vacation?
Our GoodReads group will be reading and discussing Phil Lenahan’s book 7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free: A Catholic Guide to Managing Your Money
I’m looking forward to seeing you there - and spread the word!
Happy 16th wedding Anniversary to my dear friend, Jennifer and hubby John. They’re on the road to their new digs on the left coast. Pray for their safe travels.
It’s a great day to be celebrating - the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist! I ought to know, I’ve been celebrating this day for 30-something years. 
I got a lovely pancake breakfast, followed by a drive alone with my darling husband. The windows were down to let in the early spring air, and the sun is shining. We popped into a car dealership to look at a replacement bus (the Gadbus is no more) and I think we might have found a gem.
We returned home to luncheon, and pink (!!) cupcakes that were baked, frosted and sprinkled by my dear children. I opened presents from each including handmade coupons for lots of lovely treats, handmade bookmarks, two sweet handknit mouse sachets (designed by my very talented daughter), a bag of Werthers, Jane Eyre on DVD, and… a gift certificate for a 1 hour massage at the gym we belong to!
I’ve had emails and cards from friends far and near. I’m feeling very loved. Even the scale gave me a gift this morning - it told me that I have lost FOUR pounds this week! Yes, it’s a wonderful day to celebrate!
I hope you have a blessed day with your family, too!
The dandelions have begun to re-appear in our lawn. That can mean only one thing:: time to re-rerun this post from way back. Don’t throw away the green leaves - they make a great tea or salad green!
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Wouldn’t it be glorious to have a beautifully manicured, weed-free lawn?
NOT A CHANCE! Give me a pretty lawn sprinkled with johnny jump-ups and English daisies anyday. Of course, we don’t have English daisies here in Massachusetts. At least, we haven’t got wild ones, you need to plant them on purpose. We have dandelions, and LOTS of them. They’re practically the same as English daisies in form and proliferation, but a lovely shade of golden yellow - which just happens to be my favorite color.
Have you ever smelled a dandelion? It’s beautiful. Rich and warm. Dandelions are wonderful to have around. They are used as a liver tonic in tea, the greens can be eaten in salad or cooked like spinach, it’s made into wine and… into jelly. Yes jelly. Some say it tastes like honey - we say it tastes like sunshine. What a wonderfully exotic gift to give a friend - perhaps with some homemade muffins or biscuits. Here’s how:
4 cups dandelion blossoms, packed (yellow only - be careful to separate them from any green, which is quite bitter)
3 cups water
4.5 cups sugar (I like natural sugar - it has a lovely golden color and richer flavor)
2 T. lemon juice
1 pkg. pectin
Bring the water to a boil and add the dandelion blossoms. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain blossoms through cheesecloth and squeeze as much liquid as possible from the blossoms. Add more water to equal 3 cups. Return to pot and add lemon juice, sugar and pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, stirring sugar down from the sides. When sugar is completely dissolved, boild hard for one minute. At this point, you can add a bit of yellow coloring, or yellow and orange. Pour jelly into hot jars within 1/8 in. and seal.
Mmmmm
All you have to do is buy a vintage beetle!
Which is why I have asked Brian for one of my very own. And there just happens to be one on auction - just in time for my birthday on Friday!
Things feel really tight for a lot of families right now. I’ve heard from moms whose husbands have lost their jobs, family business owners whose businesses are in a terrible slump, gas prices are astronomical by American standards, groceries are going up. How can we get through this?
We have to try to be better stewards of what we do have, re-access our wants v. needs lists, be creative about how we can reduce our expenditures and increase our incomes. We need to be mindful of our neighbours, and how we can help each other.
Here are a few things you can think about today:
- time to plant a vegetable garden, even if it’s on a little patch. You could save hundreds off your grocery bill, plus get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
- set aside a little spot for a cutting flower garden - zinnias are gorgeous. The flowers will make you feel uplifted, especially when they grace the dinner table.
- get thrifty - refashion thrifted clothing into better, smaller, more useful clothing items or accessories. Visit this site for LOTS of inspiration.
- hang your laundry out to dry, if you can. Here’s some inspiration.
- Turn off the computer [gasp], and the television one day each week, and read a book out in the sunshine.
- Get to know your local farmers here, buy a farmshare, or make arrangements with a friend to ‘go-in’ together on a share
- Get crafting ~ sewing, knitting, candlemaking, soapmaking ~ buy and sell handmades. You support other artisans and they support you.
- Join a barter network - or email me to moderate your own Simple Gifts barter Network like this one.
- Join the Simple Gifts email list to chat with other ladies seeking a simpler life. We have a Fabric Co-op (only open to members), and Flea Market Fridays!
And if you are in search of additional income, this place is hiring home-workers. Keep that site bookmarked, I happen to know that there are more openings coming!
I wish you a blessed day with your precious family!
OK, the secret is out. Our whole family loves The Biggest Loser. We’re SO charged up about Ali winning. What a great ride!
Gives me hope that I might be able to beat myself back to fighting fit. Just maybe.
Way to go, Ali!
And we wish you a very happy birthday!
Prays twice. ~ St. Augustine
Singing hymns while working helps to pass the time, and reminds us that our work is also a prayer. Try adding a hymn like “Litany of Saints” by J. Becker to your morning work with your children. This particular hymn is quite simple to learn by even the smallest of children. All they need to do is to learn the responses. Older children can be enlisted to help the younger ones learn the responses. Older children will learn the responses as well to cantor the names of the saints. By making them teachers of their younger siblings, awkwardness can be overcome more easily. You will have planted a seed by making the recitation of the litany a daily practice. In later years, your children will likely be moved to recite this same hymn during their daily routines, focusing their hearts on prayerful work, and gratitude to God.
Far from something that can be left until later in favour of ‘more important’ tasks like book studies and other devotions, daily chores are a humble gift; a gift that holds the opportunity for santification. In making our worktime a prayer, we can elevate chores to the level of a spiritual practice. Stewardship of our treasure in the form of daily maintenance tasks can sanctify us, and is as important as any other prayer in our faith formation. Our Church teaches that there is dignity in hard work, and that every human person needs to have meaningful work to do. Plan to do your chores first, praying together in song, being mindful of the gifts you have been given, and of the blessing of service to each other.
A note on the Litany of Saints - You could very easily add a section containing your children’s name saints and family patrons. I also added a section to the hymn that lists the names of our departed loved ones, responding with “Pray For Us”. And rather than “All you holy men and women, pray for us”, we sing “All you dear departed loved ones, pray for us”
