Monday Musings on Tuesday

Right now... I'm content.

This weekend... I went to meetings and parties galore! It seems to be the season for baptisms, wedding showers, baby showers, burger bashes; it was all very fun.

Some plans for this week... I read a book about making wine. I'm intrigued and want to price out the supplies I'd need to make some blueberry wine with the supply in our freezer. Sounds like a worthy project.

I'm also hunting, furiously, for someone to finance our housing project. We made a misstep by planting crops on our land. Apparently nobody finances land that makes money. Now they tell us! I have one option left, and I'm waiting for him to call us back. Otherwise, well, let's just not think about the "otherwise."

Time to plant a lot of stuff in the garden, too. My entire pea crop was decimated by quail, and they're threatening my beets, too. My tomato starts succumbed to some virus, and the aphids wiped out my peppers. It's not a good gardening year, thus far, except for my artichokes. Those are hardy little suckers and just might live to tell the tale!

If I find some time for myself, I would like to... learn some music on the piano. I didn't know our library had sheet music! This is a wonderful find, and I've got lots of Irving Berlin to hammer out.

I am grateful for... our parish that offers so many daily Masses. Sometimes we have 4 on any given day, so there's no excuse for not going.

Some prayer intentions for this week: a green light on house financing. Success for my husband who's installing irrigation systems and planting crops and working obscene hours to provide for us. For all those I know who are getting married in the next few months (lots!!).

Something that makes me smile: 

This little cutie that I really really really really really want to buy! I'm going to have to campaign hard for this one, but isn't she adorable??

Read Nadja's Monday Musings.

Mirth, Middlemarch, and Monday Musings

Right now... it's 5:00pm, I've got a pot of red beans simmering on the stove, I've finished all of my chores and outings for the day, and I'm eying a candy cane. Life is grand.

This weekend was... mirthful. It started on Friday night with a raucously fun pizza and board game night at a homeschooling friend's house. On Saturday we had a blast of a Pinochle party. Sunday, we went to the early morning Mass, had my dear sister-in-law over for breakfast on her birthday, and watched some of Middlemarch on Netflix.

My husband, amazing man that he is, cleaned up the kitchen while I took care of the rest of the messy house. Our home was sparkling clean on Sunday night and I utterly felt ready for Monday.

Some plans for this week: This is our last week of school before Christmas break, so I need to prepare the nieces for their tests. We're also going on vacation soon, so I need to pack and prepare for that. Sometime before we leave, we're going to move two-year-old our laying hens to the freezer... so we need to rent a plucker and mentally prepare for the grim job.
 
I am grateful for... a dear friend from college who, after reading this post, sent me toothpaste from Trader Joe's. I can't wait to brush my teeth tonight!

Some prayer intentions for this week: for Christ's peace in this Advent season. And for all of those who are grieving and mourning, especially because of miscarriage.
 
Something that makes me smile: what's not to smile about? I've got an all-loving God, a clean warm house, a pot of hot food, friends and family who love me, and the greatest husband on earth.


Thanks to Nadja for hosting Monday Musings!

Monday Musings on a Marian Feast

Right now... I've just gotten back from Adoration. I'm hungry for lunch and am greedily eyeing the leftover tomato salad.

Happy Feast of the Coronation!

This weekend... was beautiful. *sigh*

Some plans for this week... declutter the house. I did it last year but it needs to be done again. Bye bye things I haven't used or looked at during that year. Yes, someday I may need it, but if I haven't used it in the last year, chances are I really don't need it.

Tomorrow my sister-in-law and I are going to can tomatoes. I actually have a half dozen jars of tomatoes leftover from last year, but that's because I hoarded them (are you noticing a packrat theme, here?).

On Wednesday we're having a dinner party, so I need to plan and prep for that. I'd like to make the ice cream and blueberry pie ahead of time, anyway.

I also need to paint the chicken coop. I've hemmed and hawed about it for months, but really? I need to just do it.

Friday morning the dishwasher repairman guy is coming to install a new dishwasher. Too bad he couldn't come before the dinner party on Wednesday.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to... harvest all of the potatoes and plant a fall crop of peas.

Some prayer intentions for this week: for some forward movement on the dream house.

I am grateful for... a relaxing weekend. This final week of Summer vacation. A great prayer meeting on Saturday.

Something that makes me smile... memories of the weekend with my husband. What a character he is!

Monday Musings are hosted at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Monday Musings

Right now... it is 11:49 and I have a Holy Hour in 11 minutes. Better make this quick!

This weekend... my nephew was baptized! It was probably the most beautiful Baptism I've ever had the privilege to attend. The priest used the extended form of the Rite, which I've never experienced before. It required lots of processions, readings, blessings, and ritual that is always skipped during the shortened form. Should we ever be blessed with children to have baptized, I definitely want to use the long form!

Some plans for the week:  Return some clothes I bought two months ago (and have meant to return ever since). Mercifully, they're too big.

I need to pick cherries and send them to my family! I keep waiting for them to reach ultimate ripeness (for the most sugar possible) but at some point it's going to be too late. While I'm at it, I should pick a ton for us and pit and freeze or dehydrate them. I'm not much for canned cherries -- they taste too much like cough syrup to me.


I also want to try my hand at sprouting some radish or broccoli seed (for salads).

If I can find some time for myself, I would like to... start reading and analyzing some of the classics, again. Don Quixote, perhaps?

I am grateful for... my sisters-in-law. They're a fun bunch!

Some prayer intentions for this week: in thanksgiving for a successful cherry harvest.

Something that makes me smile: spending Sunday with my husband. We're a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the LA Time Crossword Puzzle.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja.

Monday Musings

Right now... I'm preparing study sheets for my nieces. It's intense.

This weekend... was quite productive.

My husband and I are sticking to a new resolution for a half hour of Adoration a day, and with God's grace I've kept my spiritual reading resolution. Daily Mass is back on the schedule as well. The Spring cleaning around the house has kick-started a spiritual Spring cleaning. Lotta cobwebs to get rid of there!

The garden is (mostly) planted and staked, and I (mostly) painted and reupholstered one of the four ugly chairs we own. It was the first time I've ever done anything like this, and the first time in about 8 or 10 years that I used my sewing machine. Once I quieted my inner perfectionist, it was really quite fun. Fear of failure has kept me from doing this since we first got the chairs almost three years ago, but more on that later this week.

Some plans for this week:  finish painting the chair. Plant some herbs and golden wax beans, and get my nieces prepared for their finals. Grind some grain and make whole wheat sandwich bread.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to... type up the next part of The Love Story. I got it written over the weekend but need to type and revise.

Prayer intentions for this week: for my baby nephew who is back in the hospital. For Miriam, in the hospital on bedrest in her 35th week of pregnancy. For my green beans to come up. It's been two weeks and they haven't peeped through the soil yet. I have a hard time with hope.

Something that makes me smile: My husband in his new shirt. Actually it's not new, I just found it during Spring cleaning. Both of these things make me smile.

Monday Musings are hosted at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Musings of a Monday in May

Right now...it is 4pm and I'm about to head out to our prospective property to take a look at a possible future homesite. Does it get any more tentative than that, and yet does it get any cooler? I can't wait!

This weekend... seriously? Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Thomas Sunday. Feast of St. Joseph. Second Sunday of Easter. White Sunday. Low Sunday. End of a 54 day Rosary novena. End of the Divine Mercy novena. The Month of Mary. Beatification of Pope John Paul the Great. Can you possibly get more grace cranked into one day? I submit that you cannot. I felt the graces all day and am still riding high on them.

Oh, on Friday I listened to a Prince Caspian Audiobook. Good gravy it was awesome. Now I want to hear the rest of them. Lynn Redgrave does an amazing job narrating (except her Aslan voice, which is a little creepy).


Some plans for the week: re-lose all of the weight I lost during Lent and promptly regained the first week of Easter. Oh, but the Octave of Easter was a merry one!

If I find some time for myself, I want to... finish planting green beans. I did all of the green ones, but I've been dreaming of golden wax beans for three years now and have never done it. This year, by golly, I'm going to try to grow them!

Special prayer intentions for this week: for mercy upon Osama bin Laden's soul. For my dear sister-in-law and her due-in-six-weeks little baby, as they try to postpone the grand debut at least a few more weeks. And for my hands/wrists, which are still acting really funny as soon as I start typing.

Something that makes me smile: my husband when he wears his orange shirt. Don't tell him, but he looks really sharp in it.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Tattin' & Latin

Right now... it's 11:45am. I'm in bed, sipping a hot beverage, propped up on pillows, wearin' my pajamas, readin' blogs, and I'm not sick. No, this is SPRING BREAK! Boo ya baby!

This weekend... was the start of Spring Break. Hence, I did absolutely nothing. Nothing, you hear me? Nothing. And there will be more where that came from.

Actually, on Sunday we went to the Latin Mass again (it's always a Low Mass because there's no choir). Honestly, I've only been going to that one because I like the time (4:00pm), and because I don't really know anybody there, so no one will notice that I wear the same outfit every week for months on end. There's a peek into my less than wonderful character right there, eh? (That's not the reason I go to Mass, obviously, just the reason I go to the Latin Mass).

Anyway, for the first time ever they put out little Latin/English and Latin/Spanish missals in the back (a Mass in which the two communities are seamlessly united -- there's a huge benefit to Latin right there) so we could follow along. I had no idea the Latin Mass was so gorgeous! The prayers are beautiful, and I was actually able to follow along! Who knew what a hidden gem was buried under all of that silence?

For the first time, I also felt deeply and truly connected to the Communion of Saints. I mean, this was the same Mass that St. Therese went to, and St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Philip Neri, and my great grandparents! The unity of tradition, and the oneness of the Church really struck me.

I can hardly wait for the next one, and I'm already plotting starting a choir (schola) so we can have some High Masses.

Some plans for this week:  Hm...with so many possibilities, I don't know where to start.

I think I will do some heavy duty work on a website for a friend that I promised I'd do.

And pick up a new hobby.

There's a tatting class (making lace), and by golly I intend to sign up. On the other end of the spectrum there's a Beginner Electrical Wiring class that sounds fascinating. Then there's Beginner Russian, but I've got to draw the line somewhere, right?

If I find some time for myself, I would like to... are you kidding? I've got nothin' but time this week!

Special prayer intentions for this week: For Annie, who's due any day and whose foster son is ill.

Something that makes me smile: Sunsets out at the farm.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

My Favorite New March Tradition

Right now... my fifth grade niece is doing Spelling and is lamenting the fact that the entire 3rd grade (her little sister) is home sick. I'm sitting back, happily surveying the fruits of my weekend labor: a tidy house.

This weekend... was exquisite.

On Friday, the Solemnity of the Incarnation, I received a revelation during Mass.

I'd had a nightmare the night before, a recurring one that happens whenever I feel like my life is going too fast and is utterly out of my control (I had them most often during my senior year of college). In the dream I'm in a car, careening downhill with no brakes. I guess I was stressing a lot more than I realized about this whole land/house situation and so on Friday morning I took it to God in Mass.

I wasn't really expecting any answers, only hoping for some peace, but when I asked in prayer the answer came back very clearly: "Trust your husband. I will guide him."

What a relief!! What a burden lifted!! Isn't marriage incredible!? I don't have to bear the weight of this decision alone -- in fact I don't have to bear it at all, I just have to follow my husband's lead.

Yay!

Also on Friday I saw on Facebook, "For those of you who are Lord of the Rings nerds, happy Anniversary of the Destruction of the Ring." LotR nerd? That's me. So my husband took me out for (yes, for all of my "real food" convictions, I keep an 85/15 diet -- 85% good whole real food, 15% 'cause I want it food) fast food burgers and curly fries. When we got home we polished off some homemade ice cream in root beer floats and settled in to watch the Extended Edition of Return of the King. We split the nearly-four-hour movie between two nights, but I think we'll have to make this a tradition; it was just too fun.

On Saturday it was all work out at the farm. But more on that later this week.

Sunday was one of the most glorious of recent memory. I love my life.

Some plans for this week: I really want to learn how to make cheese. Swiss, Gouda, cheddar, Muenster, Havarti, Colby, Mozzarella, Pepper Jack...? Add "smoked" before any one of those and come to mama!

If I get some time for myself, I want to... get a haircut. Maybe. I haven't had one since my lovely locks were butchered in October of 2007. It was right before I presented my first academic paper at a Philosophy conference, and I was mortified when the stylist cut my hair like a man's. Anyway, I've never trusted scissors near my head since. My tresses actually look very nice when I take the time to style them, but Summer is coming and to avoid the fate of the teeny-bopper ponytail, the time has come to remove the temptation and whack off my hair... and maybe get some bangs?

Special prayer intentions for this week: for Nadja's son, and for my baby nephew.


Something that makes me smile: Something, or someone?

Happy sigh.

Date with Fate

Right now... I'm cold, but I refuse to turn on the heater. A few jumping jacks and I'll be fine.

This weekend... was a farmy weekend. We shipped Ofelia (our milk cow) off to spend a few months with the bulls. This is her last chance. If we don't see two strong lines on the test, her next appointment is with the butcher.

We also planted peas, radishes, spinach, parsnips and lettuce! The chickens are living and letting each other live; consequently they're regrowing their feathers. All is right with the world.

Some plans for the week ahead: The appointment is set.

On Wednesday at 10:00 am PST (12:00pm CST, 1:00pm EST) we're meeting with the bank to discuss the 5 acre plot overlooking the river, and our chances of getting it. We'll either be buoyed or squashed. Pray for the former, please.

If I find some time for myself, I want to... I don't know. I don't have too many plans for this week, yet. It'll be interesting to see how it shapes up.

Prayer intentions for this week: for the appointment on Wednesday to go well, and for resignation to God's will about it, either way.

Something that makes me smile: the Coca-Cola in glass bottles that my husband surprised me with. And discovering that it's perfectly okay to end a sentence with a preposition.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Hopes and Schemes

Right now... I need to go pick up my husband so we can go to the evening Mass.

This weekend... it rained and rained and rained. So the garden project is still in the scheming mode.

Some plans for the week ahead: Clear out a spot for the garden, plant peas and radishes, and take my first stab at sprouting grain for bread.

If I find some time for myself, I want to... paint and reupholster a few chairs we have. It most likely won't happen this week, but a girl can dream, right? These chairs are ugly, but my secret pastime of do-it-yourself decorating blogs (like this one and this one) is making me think I could prettify them on a dime.

Prayer intentions for this week: for my sister, and nieces and nephews, and of course for the people in Japan.

Something that makes me smile: our dinner on Sunday... crusty bread, buttery corn, sizzling steaks, and dark beer in a mason jar.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Blistering Tales

Right now... I just walked back from Adoration. My husband's pickup is in the shop so he has my car. We got a ride there, so not anticipating having to trek back I wore adorably frivolous shoes. Thankfully our church is only a half mile away, but still... ouch.

This weekend... we went for a drive in the country. Oh it was lovely! You could see nothing but rich fertile farmland in every direction, with a house and silo or two stretching out a lazy silhouette on the expansive horizon. The wide open spaces of beautiful farmland would have been an ideal dream house location had it not been surrounded by noxious dairies. Ironic that when I felt most able to breathe, I couldn't inhale for the stench.

Some plans for the week ahead: Get a great start to Lent. I've been praying about it for weeks and still haven't really firmed up how we are going to observe the penitential season this year. Typically the harsher the Lent, the more glorious the Easter... but...? I know that I do want to do the 40 Bags in 40 Days (throw out or give away a bag of household clutter each day), but that's more of a sideline discipline than central spiritual focus. I will continue to pray about this. Any ideas?

If I find some time for myself, I want to... write up the next part of the Love Story. My husband gave me the go-ahead for the next episode!

Prayer intentions for this week:  for my sister, who had some adverse reactions to a prescription. And for dear dear Karla and her family; may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

Something that makes me smile: My first successful batch of homemade yogurt.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm. Be sure to check out her family's new Etsy shop; I have my eye on a few potholders, but the pincushion is darling, too.

High Apple Pie in the Sky Hopes

Right now...It is late afternoon, and I've been researching house grants, loans, and other items along those lines.

Honestly I was quite content living here in our "House of Happiness" (as my niece calls it), until this weekend when a charming house close to the farm became available. I've often driven past the home and thought, "what a beautiful set-up!" They have the prettiest barn, sweetest house, and loveliest pasture... and a towering lazy tree that turns bright crimson and flaming orange in the Fall. There's enough space in the house for us to house some guests, and enough land for us to keep our chickens and a cow on our own property. The owners (I found out after I'd been admiring it for a while) are actually friends of my husband's family and long-time parishioners at our church. Sadly, their reasonable asking price is pretty far out of our reach.

This weekend... I became a godmother! "Tim" and "Meg" of Our Love Story fame, asked my husband and I to be godparents to their charming baby daughter.

Some plans for the week ahead:  Figure out how we can afford to buy a house. And pray some novenas to that effect, as well.

If I find some time for myself, I want to... work on getting our garden area ready. It's almost time to plant peas!

Prayer intentions for this week:  for a dear friend who is grieving, and another who is expecting. For Suzanne's baby and pregnancy. For Amy Caroline's daughter. And for the asking price to come way down.

Something that makes me smile: Surprise calls from my husband in the middle of the day.

Possibly the Most Fun Board Game I've Ever Played, and Other Items

Right now...it is 3:45pm. The girls went home a little while ago and I'm prepping for dinner.

This weekend... we went on a roadtrip and visited some of my husband's family. It was so fun!! The highlight of the weekend, to be sure (besides making truffles, seeing the countryside, visiting his dear Aunt and spending time with the gracious and fantastic hosts, "the fun cousins,") was learning how to play The Settlers of Catan. I was dreaming strategy all weekend long. I almost won the first game (until our sneaky silent cousin pulled off a surprise victory) and miserably failed the second game, but I can't wait to play again someday! Anybody else ever played and loved that game? It's incredible!

Some plans for the week:  I need to try to figure out a work-from-home solution. I'll be scheming business ideas and researching them like mad. Good thing I paid off my library fines last week.

I'm also excited to be going to my first book club ever. We're reading Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed. Anybody read it before? Have any amazing insights I can use to impress the book clubbers with?

If I finds some time for myself, I would like to... dehydrate some apples. And learn a new trade (Joomla or Drupal web designing, perhaps).

Prayer intentions for the week: continued prayers for my baby nephew, who has had some miraculous interventions but still isn't out of the woods yet.

Something that makes me smile: a well stocked fridge and the memory of our grocery date the other night.

Monday Musings

Right now...it is almost 11am. The girls have been here for a few hours, and are busily working on lessons while they alternate between singing and shushing each other.

This weekend was... filled with tragedy and amazingness.

Sunday first. After Mass, we spent the day with my in-laws. Scrabble was played, and my mother-in-law crushed us. She is a Scrabble mastermind. But thankfully, after dinner we played Pinochle, and my husband and I totally dominated, redeeming ourselves a bit.

The sad news was that the now notorious "Tyson" (see Friday's vlog if you haven't already) got into the hospital pens where we were nursing some pecked chickens. Every one of the 10 sick chickens were gone. After hours of searching, my husband found 9 of them in the area (and several eggs, too, bless their terrorized little chicken hearts), but one of them died this morning and another has not been found.

I'm about ready to be done with the whole chicken business, as it's brought so much heartache, but my dedicated husband is in it for the long haul.


-----------

On Saturday after an amazing Confession to a visiting Holy Spirit filled Dominican priest, I had a surprise date night with my husband.

"I could make pizza." "Or we could order it." Score!! Freedom from cooking and dishes for an evening!

Then we went to a movie. The last dozen or two movies we've seen in the theater have been animated. In our quest for non-offensive entertainment, we've been limited to such thought-provoking cinematic wonders as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Bolt, and Tangled. "Cute," perhaps, but utterly forgettable.

On the recommendation of a blogger I trust, I suggested "The King's Speech" for our date night (hey, it was that or Chronicles of Narnia, again). The R rating was rather a huge obstacle for me, considering the only other R rated movie I've seen is the Passion... but it was rated so only for two brief scenes of profanity, so we went.

I'm going to have to see it again to make sure (because I don't lightly praise movies; only the highest quality films make it past my discriminating taste), but I think I can safely rank it amongst the top 5 greatest films of the decade. It is truly a great film. For lovers of A&E's Pride and Prejudice, it stars Darcy (Colin Firth), and Lizzie (Jennifer Ehle) and Mr. Collins (David Bamber) also make appearances.

The movie is utterly applicable to anyone who has been entrusted with a task of which they think themselves incapable or underqualified. Anyone who has a cross to bear and overcome (uum... everybody?) can identify and find a worthy hero in this film. His anguish is real, his fear is great, his cross is heavy. I was rooting for him the whole time, because I could feel myself, in so many ways, to be him. Insecurities, fears, inadequacy, but ultimately grace.

The acting was unparalleled... with the notable exception of Helena Bonham Carter who plays his wife. To me, she comes across as regal, to be sure, but cold and unconvincing as a wife. She doesn't have the air of a woman in love, and though she does all of the right things (supporting, counseling, listening, consoling, being a tireless advocate), she lacks a gentleness in her eyes, and the warmth and tenderness of a truly devoted wife. I wish Jennifer Ehle could've played her character, as she was much softer and more feminine.

Anyway, the language for which it was rated R was, in my opinion, integral to the story and thoroughly unoffensive. Yes, the worst words in the English language are used in rapid succession, but they are not used vulgarly, they are not directed at anyone, and they lack the crude intent which makes the combination of letters so objectionable to begin with.

I would pay to watch this movie again. And I would recommend it most highly to all adults. Yes, even my parents. Although the language is not offensive or vulgar to a mature adult, I would obviously not recommend this to (most) teenagers nor families with small and impressionable children.

Some plans for this week:  Go to the parish mission each night. Go to Mass each morning.

If I have some time to myself, I want to... make some little items for my newborn niece who is soon to be my godbaby.

Prayer intentions for this week: for my baby nephew, whose life is very much in danger right now (he's on a necessary medication that completely wipes out his immune system, and he just caught a cold). Dear Lord, protect him and strengthen his family!

Something that makes me smile: The knowledge that great films (with lasting permanence and intrinsic value) are still being made. And that I have the perfect husband to enjoy them with.

Monday Musings are hosted at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

First Monday Musing of 2011

Right now... I'm sitting in the youth room at our parish, bumming some free WiFi and plotting the music for the youth Mass for the next two months. I'm also outrageously hungry, because I didn't eat lunch.

This weekend... I went to a big city! As much as I've grown to love living out in the country, I sometimes long for the excitement, hustle, bustle and culture of big cities. And traffic. Am I crazy? I miss traffic!! It restores my faith in humanity every time somebody lets me into his lane.

But I am glad to be home now. And Howard, our rooster, crowed a welcoming (or perhaps an "I'm hungry") crow when we pulled into the driveway.

Some plans for the week: I need to get my house back under control. Being out of town 3 of the last four weeks, it's kind of gone by the wayside. How does it manage to get cluttered when we're not even home?? The remnants of the Christmas tree needles, strategically wedged into the carpet for maximum stabbing capabilities, have got to go, too.

Also on the agenda: turning some of our outrageous quantities of frozen beef into beef jerky.

If I find some time for myself, I hope to... learn more about Wordpress. It fascinates me. I would also like to get in a trip or two to the park by the river for a nice long walk.

Special prayer intentions for the week: For my husband's aunt who shattered her wrist and is having surgery. For the music for this youth Mass to come together as yet another two people have dropped out. 

Something that makes me smile: the sun is shining again. And it's warm! And my husband is coming home in just two hours. Does life get any better? I submit that it does not.

Monday Musings are hosted at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

I'm Going Home!!

Right now...it is 5:40pm. It's cold, dark, and the earth around my house is covered in snow. My husband won't be home for hours. I just got off of Facebook chat with my sister, telling her I was going to go exercise. I will! As soon as I'm done with this post... and cleaning my kitchen... and... addressing a few Christmas cards.

This weekend... I read up on more crunchy granola "real foods" stuff that I'm too intimidated to start: lacto-fermenting, sourdough, sprouting, and kefir. Ridding our diets of high fructose corn syrup, MSG, trans fats, most soy, most white flour and refined sugar foods, and cooking almost entirely from scratch has been a big enough adjustment, though not without its rewards. I think I'm just about ready to start taking the plunge into phase 2.

This week I plan to... get packed well before the hour we fly home to my family. I also hope to send out our Christmas cards and get some wrapping materials for our homemade gifts. And I could really use few new shirts before flying home... if I only see my family once in a blue moon, they deserve to see me in something better than an over-sized t-shirt.

I am praying for... my conversion. My prayer life has tanked recently, as I've pushed it aside for anything and everything else that's "more pressing." This has got to stop. "Until you are convinced that prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time for prayer." Fr. Hillary Ottensmeyer, OSB

Something that makes me smile: This week I'm going to see my brother, and my sisters, and my parents... and my husband will be with us all. Does it get any better?

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Monday Musings: BLIZZARD Edition

Right now...it is 5:15pm. I'm thinking about changing tonight's meal plan... and making some bread before my husband gets home.

This weekend... was great. On Saturday I labored eight hours and almost finished my birthday gifts for "Meg" and "Miriam" of Our Love Story fame. They both have December birthdays. Oooh, how I wish I could show pictures! I'm so pleased with my handiwork! Even if they don't like or use them, I'm happy with how the gifts turned out.

On Sunday I spent most of the day fretting about playing the piano for the evening "Youth Mass." Stage fright doesn't begin to describe my paranoia about playing in public. I started playing the piano and organ for Masses when I was 12, and did so for 6 years. Almost every Sunday, without fail, I could be found in the bathroom before Mass... regurgitating breakfast. I never got used to the pressure. So, I don't know what possessed me to volunteer to play again. Romanticized nostalgia, no doubt.

Anyway, it went really well (it almost always does), but having spent the whole day fretting, copying music, practicing... I feel cheated out of a day of rest!

Some plans for this week... I'm not going anywhere! We are positively buried in... well.. 6 or 8 inches (but it feels like 6 or 8 feet to me!) of snow. I'm from the South. Snow scares the bazookie out of me.

I'll be huddled inside, drinking therapeutic hot chocolate, wrapped in blankets, and dreaming of Spring if anybody wants me this week.

If I can find time for myself, I want to... oh, I'll have plenty of time to myself this week. I do not drive in snow. I guess I'll be able to make some more Christmas gifts, to do a lot of baking, and make some decorations for our home; being absolutely confined within these walls during this fierce blizzard of 2010, I've noticed today how sparse it is.

Some prayer intentions for the week... for an official snow day tomorrow (these darned seasoned Northerners only do 2 hour school delays). But I'd also like to pray for those who do not have adequate clothing or shelter for this weather. And, in utter, complete, and total thanksgiving that my husband's headlong face-down fall from the hay stack did not result in sudden death, or paralyzation, but merely a scratch on the nose.


Something that makes me smile: snow with sweetened condensed milk, perhaps?

Or... maybe... a husband who can't resist snowball fights.

Read others' Monday Morning Musings and share your own with Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Cows & Guiltless Baltimore Catechisms

Right Now... 9:15am. The girls will be getting here in a few minutes, and I'm giddily happy because my house is clean! And I went to Mass this morning! And ate a delicious breakfast! Getting up early can be wonderful.

I've had two unexpected visitors this morning and didn't panic! I was actually proud to show off my clean house to the surprise inspectors.

This Weekend... I found out our milk cow, Ofelia, does not in fact have a calf inside. Nobody knows where it went; she was definitely pregnant in May. So we've been waiting in vain. What to do? I don't want to wait another 9+ months, so I think we'll sell her and try to buy a cow in milk.

On Saturday I was invited, for the first time since I've lived here, to a party that wasn't hosted by a family member. Young faithful Catholics who are fun to be around? They do exist! Yay!!

On Saturday I also hopped back on the FlyLady bandwagon. Oops. I used to read the testimonials and wonder how or why people ever got off of it, because an ordered house and an ordered life is so beautiful and fulling. Then my dishwasher broke. As soon as my kitchen was dirty, the rest of the house fell apart and I even started sleeping in.

This weekend my sweet husband did all of the dishes and wiped down the counters. When I saw a clean kitchen, the burden was lifted and I went on a rampage around the rest of the house. I found a book I had thought someone had borrowed without returning, I found my bag of birthday beef jerky that I'd hidden so well I couldn't find it myself, and I found a bill or two that needed to be paid.

And this morning, for the first time in a few months, I was able to look at this without feeling guilty:

Some Plans for the Week... helping with the high school lock-in at the parish on Wednesday... knitting lessons on Friday! I'm so excited about that! It's time to expand my knitting skillz beyond the simple scarf.

I also intend to grind some more wheat and get in a little more baking. It's lovely to have enough freezer space to bake ahead.

If I Get Some Time for Myself, I Want to... finish making a few Christmas gifts. Oh, how I wish I could give details and tutorials, but some of the recipients read this. Alas.

Some Prayer Intentions for this Week... for healing for my mom's eye. And for the niece of a dear friend, whose waywardness knows no bounds; conversion, dear Lord!

Something That Makes Me Smile: my shiny clean house, and a generous selfless husband who helped make it possible.

Read others' Monday Musings and share your own; hosted by the lovely, Nadja, at Patch O' Dirt Farm.

Monday Musings

Right now... 4:30pm, chilly and overcast. When I woke up this morning at 7am it was almost pitch black outside, so I figured the clock must be wrong and went back to sleep. It wasn't wrong (oops); it's just a heavy cold cloudy day.

This weekend... I spent a lot of time with my husband at the farm. I kept him company and got some exercise by walking with him while he did the awful but necessary job of killing gophers. You drop some poison in their holes so there's never any contact with the creatures themselves. I used to object, but when I saw how much damage they do to the fields and the crops I realized it must be done.

Yesterday (Halloween) we spent most of the day (before the evening Mass) at the farm. Mr. Amazing and I teamed up against his mom on a game of Scrabble, and still only eked out a win by 3 points. The woman is a Scrabble genius.

I'm sad to say we shut the front porch light off and closed the blinds when we got home to dissuade any trick-or-treaters. I'm kind of ashamed. I wanted to wear my PJs without interruption, and yes... I wanted to keep our bag of candy intact (I know, I know!). As we were driving home from Mass, though, we noticed that most of the trick-or-treaters were teenagers and adults! So I don't regret it, too much.

Some plans for the week... grocery shopping. I made a great 4-week meal plan on Saturday, but need some supplies to make it happen. On my baking list (for the month) I have: 16 bagels, 36 flour tortillas, 4 loaves of sandwich bread, 2 loaves of bread for toast, 12 hamburger buns, 4 pizza doughs, 8 waffles, and 16 English Muffins. I rather seriously doubt I'll get it all made this week, but a girl can dream, can't she?

If I find some time for myself, I want to... start making my husband's Christmas gift. I'd also really like a nap.

Special prayer intentions for the week... for pro-life leaders to be elected... and thanksgiving for my father's retirement.

Something that makes me smile... my husband's boyish inability to stay out of the Halloween candy.

Monday Musings

 
Right Now:  It's about 11am. My nieces are doing Reading and Phonics. It's downright cold outside but I'm in denial and am keeping the windows open anyway. I'm also hoping the neighbors won't complain that we still have 27 chickens in our garage, though Howard the rooster keeps crowing and betraying our secret. They're going to go out to the farm soon, to their spacious new digs... really!

This Weekend:  Was not blissful as usual. My husband and his brother are planting some new hay fields, but it's a massive undertaking. For the past five months I was slowly getting used to having him gone 16 hours a day, 6 days a week and only coming home to eat dinner and go to sleep, but now he had to work on Sunday as well. It was "necessary" labor, and of course we still went to Mass, but I don't feel refreshed and like I can face another week of this, having been robbed of a Sabbath.

Some Plans for the Week:  In a moment of weakness enthusiastic zeal I volunteered to play the piano for the Sunday "youth Mass." Our first rehearsal is tonight.

I need to bake bread (this is a weekly happening now that we're not buying it) and pick up the slack to do the chores my husband does, since he's away every waking hour (and many sleeping hours, too). I know I can operate a lawn mower, but we're just going to have to go without weed-eating around the fence, as that contraption makes me wrists hurt. Time to take out the trash, too.

If I Find Some Time for Myself, I Want To: write a letter to my sister. I've been neglecting her far too long.

Some Prayer Intentions: for the hay project to be successful and quickly finished.

  
Something that Makes Me Smile: Sunlight through windows, and grapes about to be frozen.

Monday Musings are hosted by Nadja at Patch O' Dirt Farm.