Benja-bot

This was Benjamin's project all day today. Boys have an innate ability to make mechanical noises.

Sunny Tablecloth

Almost a Pilgrimage

It's a REALLY Catholic place any how- what other bookshop has an Epiphany blessing over it's front door?

And what other book shop calls themselves a "Theological Book Seller"?
Yes, Loome Theological Book Sellers in Stillwater MN has it all- books with metal covers in Greek to first edition writings by St. John Fisher (yes, first edition- meaning the book printed like 500 years ago while St. John Fisher was STILL ALIVE- is IN the store able to be held in your hand- and bought by you if you have $2500).
I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the coolest book store known to man- imagine an old church with books in every crack and cranny- with skinny aisles and creaky staircases and just BOOKS up to every ceiling- that is literally what this is. Remember that part in Beauty and the Beast when he gives her the library and they play that gushy music and she cries "I've never seen so many books in all my life!"? That just what this is. You get to stare at shelves that look like this for as many hours as the store is open:
But make sure you do take a break and get some fresh air- after awhile you'll start growing glasses and a button down shirt- or you'll go into a coma from the sheer number and variety of books and the sheer lack of air. But make sure you go to the bathroom there- first of all there is a tub in the bathroom- why? I'll leave that up to your imagination. Second there are more books, and thirdly there are old sacrament certificates on the walls that are absolutely stunning.

I felt a long way from Northfield. Tony made it out only spending 5 dollars on a copy of Introduction to the Devout Life and I bought some Mystic Monk Coffee and a few cards from the 1940's remembering priests ordinations (10 cents each). The earth is such an odd place- and God is pleased with book stores like this- what a lovely crazy God we have!

Baking Days

I love baking, but what I love even more is when my SIBLINGS bake! There's just something so irresistible about a boy of 7 saying "Rosey, I think I'm going to make some chocolate chip cookies" in his little voice- then doing it- by himself! This week Gracie decided to make pancakes:

Benjamin made "Chocolate Crinkles":

He spent half the night thinking up plans to sell them....

Though I should give him credit for wanting to give them away to our neighbor Bob first.

Then my boyfriend Tony and I made a cake roll at the request of Joseph. We went early to mass this morning so we could save a spot for the rest of my family- but by God's hand my family overslept and had to go to the 11 o clock (since when does Mom accidentally sleep in??)- as a consolation we made lunch and this cake roll while they went to mass. This time we got a picture- behold the delicious fluffy swirlyness!

Then to squeeze in one more baking excursion I made some sweet potato muffins for breakfast tomorrow. Sweet potato mash is something I will definitely keep in my freezer as a Momma. And to put some Catholic sprinkles on this post I'll leave you with a quote from my new beloved acquaintance St. Stanislaus Kostka, "I find a Heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms."

Dark Sleepy Morning

When I was biking to church this morning there was a glorious fog- I could feel the tiny water droplets collecting on me- quite exhilarating after a night of very little sleep. Now the fog has gone to heavy humidity but it's still sleepy and cool. Perhaps a day for sewing while being lulled by Sweet Land...? Take delight in your littleness before God!

To Save Time and Trouble...

"From all this I have come to the conclusion that I should seek the company of those sisters for whom I have no natural liking and be like the good Samaritan to them. A word and a pleasant smile are often enough to cheer up someone who is sad and upset. But I want to be charitable not only to comfort people. I know I should soon lose heart if that were my aim, for something uttered with the best of intentions can, perhaps, be completely misunderstood. Therefore, to save time and trouble, I try to act solely to please Our Lord..."

-St. Therese, Story of a Soul

So practical! It was a great day when I realized that, if I was married, I would only ever have to worry about pleasing Our Lord. I remember reading the blog of a girl entering the Passionists saying "I want an undivided heart!" I thought, "Well dumb me, I have to be married and I have to live with a divided heart- live a divided life! Husband- Jesus, God-Family. This is stupid! I don't want to be married! I want an undivided heart too!" Well God heard my ineloquent little prayer and showed me that if I'm pleasing Him, I will be pleasing my husband- and if my husband wasn't pleased but God was, well who do you think needs to learn something? Sigh, really seems like a no brainier now that I think about it... God is so smart though as St. Therese puts it "to save time and trouble" let us only act to please our Lord!

Summer is Winding Down...

But there's still a nice sunny spot on the swing!

I've decided- after the whole summer- that I miss blogging- and writing- and I'm going to do it more. This has been another one of those summers where I feel useless to the world. Both my parents have been working and so I've been taking care of the three little(r) ones. I vowed to make money with my sewing machine and all I made was a tie as a gift and 1 needed Sunday dress for myself. God gave me money in one way or another as He saw fit- so I'm quite content- plus I can't complain that I got to do "mom" things for three months. God's way is always the best way anyhow :)

Mary's Feast of Feasts and Non-Dairy Lemon Lusciousness!

Ave Maria!

Last year we had a tea party in honor of our Lady's Assumption- this year, we had a pot-luck dinner! Mostly the reason was that I wanted families to come- I love spending time with my friends, but their families are so cool that I can't stand to leave them out.

I had three men at my service the entire day (not to mention our Blessed Mother...) and we accomplished a great deal. Though we weren't exactly done by the time the party started the lawn was mowed, the cakes were baked, 9 loaves of french bread were made, 24 egg-shells were washed and crushed for the compost pile, the lights were up, the side walks and driveway were immaculate, vespers was prayed and the tater-tot hot dish was in the oven. I am heartily grateful for the service of these men- besides there's something so satisfying about serving soup and biscuits to hungry men that work for you. Pope John Paul II says that all of mankind is entrusted to women- it is our vocation! And of course the best kind of ruler is humble and rich in love that is strong as death- like...hmm... Mary?

The highlighted dessert was the Assumption cake- it is a double decker angel food cake (I'll explain how to stack angel food cakes without fancy equipment if anyone wants to know) with a cloud of whipped cream and of course, Blessed Mother being taken up on top. Legions of angels bearing up Our Lady on the clouds of heaven!

The little pastries next to the Assumption cake are filled with non-dairy lemon curd (2 angel food cakes=24 egg whites= 24 lonely egg yolks!) which is delicious- who needs butter? This is a single recipe and maybe makes a cup or so- I, of course, octupled (is that a word?) the recipe and ended up with- a lot.

6 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons corn starch

Zest of half a lemon

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup lemon juice (don't use the yucky store-bought kind! SQUEEZE YOUR OWN LEMONS!)

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and whisk it so there are no cornstarch clumps. Add zest and egg yolks and whisk until everything is wet and yellow. Stir in your lemon juice and fire up the stove to medium heat. Cook until the mixture starts to get thick like yogurt (it will get thicker as it cools don't worry) making sure you're stirring pretty much all the time so that it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat and cool! Experiment by adding some soy or rice milk to try to bulk out the recipe (in the original butter filled recipe it makes more because there's a whole stick of butter in it...) and just cook it a little longer. I would NOT recommend using margarine or shortening of any kind. Not only is it horrible for your health but it will make an absolute mess of your luscious lemon curd. Butter can do things that margarine just will never be able to do- that's the way it is. Some things are simply inferior to others.

So at the end of the day, Mary is body and soul in heaven, and we await the joyful day of our death and the reunion of our souls with our glorified bodies in the new Jerusalem. Sigh, God is good.