Note to self:
Make wedding soup and freeze in individual portions, so as not to be caught unprepared when the next wave of colds hits the house.
April 2003 Archives
Home Schooling Stuff
Today we had a "field trip day." At noon we attended Mass at Historic St. Mary's Church in downtown Albany. This Church is absolutely beautiful. It would have been great except during the Gospel, Fastolph proclaimed "my pee pee's coming out. It's coming out now." My husband who is on vacation this week, went through the Church looking for the bathroom and found it was off the altar. The priest was not happy at all!
We packed a picnic lunch for the park. I packed sushi, and the kids and I pigged out on sushi,wasabi peas and carrot sticks. The kids thought sushi was great until they saw one of the other families had a whole Freihoffer's chocolate cake. When they were offered cake, the kids ran over with pathetic looks on their faces. The look was "Starving Children".
Afterwards we lobbied over home schooling regulations with the Protestant home schooling group. The speakers were all Protestant and afterwards one came up to us, asked us where we attended Church. When we mentioned we were Catholic (there are tow St. Peter's one Episcopal and one Catholic), he told us how much he is working to see inter-faith discussion or something. It was odd because I never met someone who is Protestant and said "Oh, you are Protestant. Well that is OK. We are trying to work with Protestants more and more." I realise I am not adequately putting into words how odd it was when we mentioned we were Catholic.
We then went to The New York State Museum and looked at, um, stuff. You know, stuff in a museum.
No April 29, 2003 could be complete though without Free Ice Cream from Ben and Jerry's! After dessert we came home and had dinner. I am beat.
Oh no, it's contageous!
can't....form...sentences!
You have been my blog partner too long! You are suffering from Pansy Moss Syndrome!
How do we keep our kids from embracing the slacker life?
Over at HMS, Kevin Miller blogs a National Review Online article by John Derbyshire. Derbyshire discusses teenage children rejecting sports, school, their parents' values, their parents -- period.
Derbyshire points to the lure of a popular culture that glamorizes the bohemian life, in which it doesn't seem to take much hard work or talent to be rich and famous. (Just look at all those people who want to be the next American Idol.)
But is the glamour of pop culture the root of the problem? I have a cold today, and my head is swimming, so I'm not able to coherently suggest what else might be going on. Kevin mentiones an earlier Derbyshire column about fatherhood ("my children bore me so I delegate some of the child-rearing duties") that might provide a clue.
can't....form...sentences! I'll be curious to see what you think. I hope Greg Popcak comments on this, too.
Why Us?
Is there any good reason why mothers/wifes always seem
to be in the middle? You are the one who cares if the
house gets condemned by the sanitation department. You
are the one who is supposed to somehow "know" where
everybody's stuff is, what goes with what (I'm talking
ties, outfits, etc.). You are supposed to "know" how
to cook nearly everything - or how to find it. You are
supposed to know what is in the fridge. You aren't
supposed to need any sleep. Why should you possibly
want to have a shower? As for occasionally having a
thought higher than whether the dishes are done or
Junior has socks, the idea is nearly ludicrious.
What's even better is that it doesn't seem to matter
whether you work outside the house or not. You're
still in the middle. I'm a mystery writer. Writing
time is more precious than gold. Still, where's the
fill-in-the-blank? Is that clean? Nicholas (my son)
has got chocolate frosting all over himself, you
should clean it. What are we having for dinner
tonight?
Don't mind me, I'm just venting. The problem is, that
I'm having all these problems _and I only have one
kid_. I think I'm just inept, so those of you who have
something hard like 4, please don't shoot me.
I'm told, by reputable sources that we are supposed to
work out our salvation via this mess, what we blithely
call our lives. I'm told that we are supposed to
"offer it up".
And I'd snort loudly (and fervently unladylike!) in
response, except when I remember Our Lady, breaking
her heart, standing next to the cross.
~Lucinda Seago
This whole Santorum thing just shows how stupid we have become.
I wrote a little bit in the comments box, but I just wanted to share some particularly obtuse commentary from Sam Donaldson, roughly:
I don't get how Rick Santorum can say he doesn't have a problem with homosexuality, but does have a problem with homosexual acts. Can you say you disapprove of adultery, but have no problem with adulterers?
Perhaps part of the problem is that, in the popular mind, there is no difference between the orientation and the act. (In the popular mind, after all, chastity is freakish.) If Senator Santorum has something like, "I don't have a problem with people who experience same-sex attraction", would that have been a bit more clear?
"Intelligence is making distinctions." -- Hilaire Belloc
Comparing Race and Homosexuality
Lately I have been seeing a lot of comparisons of race and homosexuality both from the left and the right. Needless to say I am slightly miffed. These seem to be brought on by Senator Santorum's statement and many are comparing him to Trent Lott. I really think this is dumb because Senator Santorum was condemning a deviant behaviour. Trent Lott, if he meant what it seemed he meant (and he did apologise for his statement) seemed to be indirectly (or maybe directly-giving the benefit of the doubt here) backing up segregation.
Segregation defines people by their genetic make-up and treats them differently simply on that basis, and denies that we are all created in the image and likeness of Christ. Sodomy is just, well, a gross action. Don' need to say much more, I don't feel like going there.
Grouping homosexuals up as a minority group is nothing new, especially from the liberal perspective. Everyone loves to have a piece of the "I am the most discriminated against" pie. "My ancestors were slaves.""Mine were killed in the holocaust.""People do not like that I have sex with a man and I am a man." OK, backup. Why do I need to know this first of all? There are religious Catholics I know who are single people. I can speculate that they have been burdened by same-sex attraction, but do their best to live chaste lives. To me they are simply people, not homosexual people. The behaviour is deviant, not the person. I have friends who cohabitate. Am I prejudice against black people because I do not approve when I see black people cohabiting? Or white people? Or non religious people? Caught you on the last one because I have been accused of that a lot. "You are so self-righteous and cannot stand people who are not Catholic like you." Maybe I am self-righteous, but you are not doing right by your children and that ticks me off. (In another time I may blog about how I feel all sexual perversions contribute to our society's disdain for children.)
I am tired of reading first from the right that somehow standing up against certain behaviours is also part and parcel with racism. No one calls it that, but in our efforts to throw out stupid political correctness, we do not have to be "tolerant" (don't do me any favours anyway) or really charitable with people of other races. I am seeing this a lot, but I am at a loss as to why.
I am tired of reading from the left that because people are bigots we have to be accepting of everything and anything in an effort to prove how "tolerant" we are.There is no right and wrong, merely a state of "tolerance" and scented candles. Um, whatever. I'll keep the scented candles though.
God gave us better brains to think beyond this and a greater capacity for charity.
Vote to support Senator Santorum. Thank you to Off the Record for the link.
Peony's Friday Five
1. What was the last TV show you watched? If by "watched" you mean "was in the room while the show was on" that would be Dragon Tales. If you mean "selected and sat down to view" that would be last Tuesday's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
2. What was the last thing you complained about? The garbage men skipping our trash pickup this morning. (Second time this month! What's up with that?)
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? I told my little Hambet what a good job he did in class this morning. He even said his name in the Hello Circle!
4. What was the last thing you threw away? Today's junk mail.
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited? et cetera
Oh no!
Sinead O'Connor to retire from the music business!
What will we listen to? Whose CDs shall we buy? To whom shall we turn for intelligent, well-reasoned, morally grounded social commentary?
Seriously, when was the last time this woman had a hit record? I didn't know that she was even still in the music business.
In other entertainment news, I saw a few minutes of Michael Jackson's "home movies" last night. This guy is tragic. He reminds me of one of those animals bred in captivity that never can be released into the wild (for one thing, his nose would fall off completely.)
Culture of death watch: Women and babies to the back of the plane, please
An American passenger feels threatened by a Canadian mother's breastfeeding? Give me a break!
Thanks to jesus gil for the link.
There seems to be blame to go around in this situation, but is irrational accusation really the best response to personal inconvenience?
I have never been hassled for nursing in public, thank goodness. I don't get why people get so agitated about it in a society where women expose far more of their breasts wearing stylish clothing than they do nursing babies. The only place I've ever seen nursing mothers with their breasts exposed have been in illustrations (mostly photo illustrations for formula advertorials baby magazines.)
Coming soon to our blogroll!
Sparki has Fonticulus Fides up and running! What a cool title! I'll be permalinking tomorrow (right now hubby needs the computer.)
Thanks to Davey's mommy for the heads-up.
UPDATE: The link is up.
Catholic Exchange has a good review of What a Girl Wants which is a movie my daughter is dying to see.
Bored with collecting quarters?
My husband will be interested in this story. He is collecting the state quarters and Roosevelt dimes. I'm all for things like this -- I like things like commemorative stamps and coins, though I'm not a collector.
Several years ago George Will wrote a column in which he suggested that US currency depict American writers and artists instead of political figures -- for example, Mark Twain on the one dollar bill.
I like the Sacagewea dollar coins too. I hope they're still around if I have the opportunity to give gifts of money to little children. Woudn't it be the coolest thing to find a shiny gold coin under your pillow or in your shoes or Christmas stocking?
Unfortunately, I suspect dollar coins will be widely accepted in the US only when the dollar bill is withdrawn from circulation -- tough love from the US Mint!
A Good Article About Children and the Traditional Latin Mass
Thank you again Jeff Culbreath (just love El Camino Real) for the link.
One of the reasons why we switched from the Novus Ordo to the TLM had to do with our children's religious formation. I mean on a personal note, I was getting flustered and upset every time I went to Mass. The message I was sending to my children was that Church was a place that Mommy got angry. It occurred to me though, besides being angry, how many other messages was I sending my children?
I remember as a child, my father getting us ready to go to Mass and telling me not to eat anything beforehand. I remember thinking "silly Dad, no one does that anymore", because quite frankly at the Catholic school and parish we were attending, no one did. Unfortunately, eating before Mass would not be the first tradition I would reject because "no one does that anymore." I am blessed to have found my way back.
I think it is important to submerse children with as much fullness of the Faith as can be mustered. Children learn from acts, not only words. They are not stupid.
In the end, they may reject the faith. We cannot make decisions for them when they get older. What we can do is give them the best possible foundation to start from.
An interesting read is coming:
Over at HMS Borg, Emily Stimpson is going to be posting from her 30 page paper, The Language of Motherhood in the Body, the Spirit, the Church, and the Trinity. Installment One is up today: "The Stirring Cry for the Mother.
I hope she will also post her paper on eating disorders. That sounds like it's going to be interesting, too.
Taking candy from a baby
I liked today's Bleat very much.
Last night's Angel made me chuckle
There was a scene where "the Crew" was driving away in Angel's car trying to escape Jasmine. On the way they were listening to the car radio. I do not have a transcript so it is not exact, but the announcer said something like:
In other news, the LA Archdiocese announced that it will taking down it's idolatrous statues and replacing it with images of our glorious leader, Jasmine. Go Catholics!
Now I understand the logic behind that bizarre 8 foot tall statue of "Our Lady" in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels.
Update:Victor beat me to it!
I also liked the little news bit on the radio about the Archdiocese of Los Angeles getting rid of all their "false idols" and worshipping only "she who walks among us" ("Way to go, Catholic Church!" says the peppy, brainwashed news reporter). As satire it was closer to the truth than the writers of the show probably know (though I could swear that the new-age goddess/big, bad, evil monster Jasmine was thought up by someone who's been reading their papal encyclicals).
Mad Libs: "Life with a two-year-old" edition
Here's one from a friend (mother of two sons, one two and a half and the other eleven months) that just about sums up what's going on at her house and ours:
_______ ran out of sight and stole a _____ that was suppose to be out of reach and put it in the _______. Mommy screamed "________" and grabbled the little one's _______ to keep it from happening again. There was a loud ______, signaling that the ______ was smashed into ________ pieces.
Thanks, Lynn! (and by the way, your hobbit name is Myrtle.)
"Losing the Culture War" Teaching Our Young Ladies to Dress as Young Ladies
Jeff Culbreath links to an article that describes first hand the atrocities of young ladies fashion these days.
I mentioned that I know first hand how hard it is to find proper clothing for my ten year old. I have only had luck at Old Navy sometimes and I have a lady who makes the same type of dress for her over and over again.
Alicia in the comments box writes:
My 14 y/o daughter is having trouble finding anything acceptable to wear to church on a regular basis. I can (barely) find jeans and shirts for school, but skirts that are long enough or dresses that leave something to the imagination are hen's teeth lately - she doesn't fit into little girl sizes and she doesn't want to be 'mom-frumpy' either.
I would welcome suggestions. I am about desperate enough to look for a uniform (plaid skirts and jumpers?) outlet online.
This is seriously an issue. My MIL (thank goodness she is not reading this blog) spent a good deal of money purchasing clothes for my daughter at Kids 'R' Us. We had to pack them all up and give them away. My daughter tried to wear two of them (after we put turtlenecks under them) and said she felt to "showy" in them.
I do not only have this problem with my daughter but with myself as well. I am thirty years old, still not in "mom-frumpy" age style (I don't think), but I like to be covered.
Again, getting back to the concept of femininity, why is it for a fashion to be "feminine", it must be trashy? This is why I so badly need to learn to sew.
Fastolph getting ready to blow out his candles
I am still not an accomplished digital photographer, so sorry about the blur. I knew I should have asked my husband to take the pictures.
EWTN Kids
My daughter loves it! Go to EWTN.com and click onto "EWTN Kids" in the upper left hand corner.
It is not overly dull like many attempts to Catholicise children's activities, i.e. "um, yeah Mom, Saints trading cards, sure."
My desk area is getting cluttered with all of these coloring pictures of Our Lady.
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Dear Fastolph
Happy Birthday to You
Today is Fastolph's 4th birthday! 4 years is a substantial amount of yearage! I will take a picture of him being Happy Birthday Boy and post it later.
Cute baby picture alert!
Over at Honk! Davey's daddy has posted an Easter picture-- and Davey's wearing the puppy outfit!
NOW is Un-Freakin' Believable! I would like to say that TSM babies Rosey-Posey and Hambet were born at Connor's age. Rosey-Posey was 8 pounds 1 ounce. I am too much of a lady to say what I think of NOW at the moment.
Thank you again to Mark Shea for the link.
Did I Tell You About Friday's Stations at my local Novus Ordo Church?
I actually did not pay attention. With each station they had a bunch of readers doing impressions of people in the stations. For example "when I met Jesus, he rebelled against tradition by welcoming women..." Oh brother. Speaking of brothers they also mentioned how sad Jesus' mother, brothers and sisters were to see Jesus carrying His cross.
I also did a naughty thing. When we got to the Church, on the telephone pole in front there was a sign "Pray for the Ordaining of Women." (Is that grammatically correct?) Before I even knew it, I ripped it down. Then later I felt bad because someone took the time to staple it there, wrap it up in plastic, and we do believe in freedom of speech. I should pray for them rather then ripping off their signs I suppose. But I was insulted. So there.
Well, after I blogged about the below article I have found Jeff Culbreath, and Mark Shea have blogged about it. Jeff offers some insight. I just worry when I hear something that Vatican is going to do, and the info is not from the Vatican...
A Friend (thanx again Karen) sent me this about SSPX
Pope woos conservatives expelled for rebellion
By Richard Owen in Rome
THE Pope is to heal a breach with rebel arch-conservatives in the Roman
Catholic Church by reinstating excommunicated [sic] followers of the
late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who broke with Rome in 1988 to protest
against the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including the
abolition of the Latin Mass.
I wonder what this would mean? It would be nice to see this rift healed. But, well, all I have heard about it is this article (know what I mean?)
I never really had a chance to see this movie in it's entirety, believe it or not. I was like 5 when it came out, so it was a major no-no. There are many movies that are Pop Culture Icons that I have never seen because I was small when they came out such as Jaws (I saw it recently), and any of those "Jason" movies. Yesterday I had the chance to finally see it as we sat on the couch and ate rhubarb pie.
I thought the dance scenes were so good, but the story line around the characters was really depressing. I did think the story around the friend with the pregnant girlfriend was interesting, only because the character said he went to his guidance counselor, his parents, priest and all for advice and they told him to get married. Fast forward to 2003 and many people would tell him to get the abortion. What I thought was even funnier was the character asked Tony's brother Frank (the ex-priest) if he thought the Pope would give his girlfriend dispensation for an abortion. Now of course while the idea of this is ludicrous, if you put this in 2003 context, the idea that he would even know what "dispensation" is, or that he would even care to try to get permission is order to stay in good standing with the Church would be nonexistent.
Again, while I never saw SNF back in 1977, it made a huge cultural impact. The
soundtrack is just awesome. (I personally think it is better than the movie). Most of the songs take me right back to that time period. Yvonne Elliman, Tavares, the Bee Gees...
Like I mentioned I was about 5 and we lived in Glen Oaks, Queens. It was the neighborhood that was being terrorised by Son of Sam at that time. Everyone was scared and the grown-ups spoke of it often, although I never knew what they were talking about. I remember my mother telling me one time she took me for a walk to the shops around the corner and was startled because there was a very suspicious man following us in a long raincoat in the middle of a hot summer day. After we passed a few stores, she finally ducked into one and pretended to be meeting someone. It was not long after that they caught David Berkowitz. When they posted his picture on the newspaper, my mother recognised him as the man with the raincoat.
I also thought I was Jewish at the time because we lived in a Jewish neighborhood, I attended public and everyone around me was Jewish. I kind of thought it being synonymous with human or something.
While the music may seem like it brings back scary memories, it was a very pleasant time in my life. There is a lot about the 70's I miss, or maybe it is things about my childhood...
Hello there!
We had a nice Easter but oh, I'm so glad to be back!
We left for Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon. The drive up was a bit rocky; we ran into a lot of traffic (particularly around Frederick, Maryland, which is turning into a big traffic mess.) Then in western Maryland we ran into very dense fog. Once we got through that, it was time for the roller-coaster ride through the mountains of US 40 -- and poor Hambet got carsick. So we didn't roll in till pretty late. At least I got a chance to read the new encyclical on the way up. That has got to be one of the coolest things about being a Catholic in the 21st century -- being able to get the latest from the Holy Father with just a couple of mouse clicks.
The rest of the weekend went well. Hambet laid on the charm with a trowel and had his grandma wrapped two and three times around his little finger. Grandma did the Italian grandma thing and did her best to stuff us like geese. We had a good trip back (no carsickness, thanks to a different route and a touch of Dramamine.) Even the Pennsylvania Turnpike, one of the ghastliest roads in the USA, wasn't too bad.
This morning Pansy and I installed the new Easter "Regina Caeli" template. I'm looking forward to surfing around St Blog's and seeing who's returned from their Lenten blogbreaks; I also have much to do around the house. Maybe I'll get a chance to sneak out to the garden today. I'm seeing more and more little sprouts (lettuce, carrots, and spinach.) Two more eggplants sprouted, too!
Blessed Easter!
It was such a beautiful day. Mass at our Church is always intimate. What was really nice afterwards everyone left the Church (out of respect for the Blessed Sacrament) and the men all shook hands and wished each other a Happy Easter and the women wished each other Happy Easter also, some with hugs and kisses.
We went to my parents for dinner. I made a rhubarb pie with some strawberries in it. I made it with a lattice top. When I was done, it looked like I should put it on the window sill to cool. I didn't though because I am not stupid, everytime you do that, someone, like an escaped convict or something sneaks up to the window sill and steals the pie.
My mother made a roast turkey breast and lots of veggies. Then we ate my pie and it was so delicious. I never had rhubarb before and was unsure what to expect because it's like, well, a vegetable. I got many compliments on it however. My seventeen year old brother also commented on the fact that it looked like the type of pie you put on a windown sill to cool, but it is a good thing I didn't because people lose more pies that way to Pie Thieves. I told him I was thinking the same thing!
Good Friday
I think today is one of the most solemn and sacred days of the year and should be spent with family in Church, contemplating the death of Our Lord and eating customary Good Friday food at dinner (after fasting of course).
Well, the people who like run the country and stuff do not see Good Friday the same way I do, so my husband has to work. Bummer. I will attempt to go to Stations of the Cross at noon at my local Novus Ordo Church, and hope that the children behave and that I do not burst a blood vessel from some type of heterodox theatrics. Say a prayer it goes well.
In the meantime I will share with you what my Italian family customarily eats on Good Friday. It is something we call "Grass Pies." You take greens, any greens you like, but broccoli rabe is a must, spinach, dandelion and in my parents generation, we added collard greens and even if you have it a green called colalu. In a pot sautee some garlic, a couple of anchovies in olive oil, some sliced black olives and some chopped up hot peppers or crushed red pepper if you like. Add washed (and still wet) greens to the pot and simmer on low heat covered. When the greens are all dark and mushy (in Italian we say "shfat", Ido not know how you spell it though) you put them in in pizza dough. I guess in little rolled out cirles about 8 inches in diameter, put some greens in the middle, fold over and squish the sides together with the tines of a fork to make a little pouch. Now the customary thing to do is take these and deep fry them. I do not-too fattening, so we bake them.
In the meantime here are some Good Friday prayers a friend emailed to me (thanks Karen):
Prayer For Good Friday
"O, my Lord Jesus, I hereby beg of Thee, by the merits of Thy Precious Blood,
by Thy Divine Heart, and by the intercession of Thy Most Holy Death to assist
me in this pressing necessity."(To be said 33 times for each intention. It must be said during the hours of
12 noon and 3 PM.)~~~~~~~~~
Prayer for Good Friday
"I adore Thee, O Holy Cross, which has been adorned with the tender,
delicate, and venerable hands and feet of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and
immured with the Precious Blood. I adore Thee, my God, nailed to the Cross
for me.
I adore Thee again, O Holy Cross, for the love of my Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen"(Revealed to St. Bridget that if said devoutly 3 times on Good Friday that 33
souls would be released from Purgatory. 3 souls on ordinary days.)
Ta Ta for Now.
We are leaving tomorrow to spend Easter with my husband's mother. I have quite a pile of stuff to do to get ready (mostly laundry.)
A blessed Easter to all -- especially to Sparki, a frequent visitor to our comments box, who will be received into the Church this Easter Vigil!
I'll see you all Easter Monday.
Peony
"It's not easy being..."
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my love is....
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Prepare your favorite recipe for a double crust pie. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Combine 3 cups one-inch slices rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp grated orange peel (optional), 3 Tbsp flour, a dash of salt.
Line your pie plate with the first crust, add your rhubarb filling, add the second crust. Bake at 400 degrees about 40 to 50 minutes.
This recipe is from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The current edition's recipe for rhubarb pie involves froufrou ingredients (sour cream?), but it does have a recipe for a basic rhubarb crisp.
When my mom (who was raised on a North Dakota farm) makes rhubarb pie, she uses more rhubarb than 3 cups but just guesses the amount (update -- around 5 cups) -- she likes a nice heaping full pie that mounds up in the middle, not one of those sad sunken pies. She just tosses in sugar until it looks right -- the rhubarb is lightly frosted with sugar but not wallowing in it. I don't remember whether or not she uses flour, I will have to get back to you on that after Easter.
This old cookbook calls for a lattice crust, but my mom just uses a top crust.
I had trouble with my (inexpensive) pie pan discoloring when the rhubarb juice hit it. Next time I make a rhubarb pie I'm going to use a Pyrex pie plate.
I am not an accomplished pie cook at all; I need to work on mastering pies.
Last night's Buffy the Vampire Slayer
OK, so who saw it and wasn't at least a little creeped out? I was going to start a thread on this but Victor beat me to it.
My husband and I weren't sure whether this Caleb guy is meant to be a serious reflection on evil as a perversion of good, or just a lazy evil minister character. We were also wondering if Xander's fate doesn't have a clue to a possible spinoff premise.
My husband is still suspicious of Giles.
I did like the Star Trek and Falcon Crest jokes. And I am still holding on to the silly hope that Buffy will wake up and marry Xander. Maybe they can run off to England and start the Slayer Academy, and do occasional guest appearances on the spinoff.
Totally worth bookmarking:
Have You Ever Wondered What the Letters After the Names of Religious Indicate?
Thanks to Donna Marie for the link.
WOO HOO! Finished the fourth and last garden bed today! Now they are ready to be sectioned off and, in May, planted.
Progress on the other plants, too. A second eggplant seed sprouted and the marigold seedlings are coming along great. The lettuce is just peeking above the ground too. And all four of the rhubarbs have sent up leaves -- they live! they thrive!
Rhubarb looks kind of like red celery or Swiss chard. It grows in bunches of stalks that have deep green leaves. The stalks range from green to deep magenta red. (The green ones are the most tart.) You cut the stalks in the late spring and summer, and then let the plant replenish itself for the rest of the year. Only the stalks are edible; the leaves are poisonous (although it seems in the 1800's they were used medicinally.) Sometimes around here (Maryland) you can get it fresh in the supermarket or at a farmer's market. The plant comes back, year after year. My grandmother has plants that could be 70 years old -- they're huge!
The stalks are not eaten raw, and are too tart to eat by themselves. (In The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder tells how, as a new bride, she learned this lesson the hard way. She calls rhubarb "pieplant" in that book.) But with a little sugar, they can be chopped up and stewed, jellied, baked in pies or crisps, or frozen for later. Rhubarb also marries well with other fruits, especially strawberries.
A slice of rhubarb pie is one of life's sublime pleasures. The jingle from Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie? It's all true. I'll be harvesting my first rhubarb next May or June. I can't wait.
No Spin Zone
I have been reading the Bill O'Reilly book because I like his show. But when you read his book and dig a bit deeper into his perspective, he is pretty "liberal". He is a pro-contraceptive Catholic and he had the nerve to say Dr. Laura's attiutude that a parent should stay home with their children is "extreme". *Gasp!* How dare he! So I threw the book over the bed into the pile of books I stopped reading because someone said something in them that ticked me off. Gosh I am so "tolerant" aren't I?
In the meantime Bill O'Reilly had me grumbling while I was brushing my teeth and set off a Pansy Moss rant. I am not sure if any of the TSM readers have noticed my "spin" on things, but here it is:
-anti-contraception
-anti-abortion
-pro having a parent stay home with the children when it is possible
These are all major pet peeves of mine and I think they are all the same issue. Children are a gift from God, they are sacramentals and they are blessings not only to the parents but to society as a whole. We do not have the right to tell God when to send His souls, we do not have the right to reject them, we certainly do not have the right to have them ripped up into pieces out of inconvenience.
We have the responsibility to form His souls-to care for their physical and emotional needs. I think in modern America we emphasize physical needs to the point of excluding children's emotional ones. In the blink of an eye they are going to be grown-ups. When they are gone how are we going to answer the following questions:
-What kind of adults have we formed?
-Did I make the most of the time I had with them?
-Did I pass my values on to them, or did I allow someone else's values to fill up their time?
It is ridiculous to me that parents complain how inconvenient children are, inconvenient it is to give them life, inconvenient it is financially to be home with them to the degree that we see in this country. Children aren't supposed to be convenient. Who ever said that? They are supposed to turn your world upside down and change you into responsible person who puts others needs over their own. They are supposed to consume your time! What is a more worthwhile way to spend time then forming souls?
Sorry for the rant. Sometimes I am so frustrated when Fastolph locks me out of the house. Mostly I am so grateful and blessed to be a Mommy and all that emotion just spills over, I have to yell at someone how happy I am. And Fastolph locking me out makes for a good laugh with my husband at the end of the day. I hope I have a ton of these stories when I am old. I do not understand why people are so h__l bent in trying to convince others that happiness in parenthood is a figment of the imagination. It is not.
Yet she shall be saved through child bearing; if she continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.
1 Timothy 2:15
Veggie Wars
Envoy Encore is fighting the Veggie Wars again: which Silly Song is truly the silliest?
A couple of weeks ago (well, three, according to the library) I checked out a couple of Veggie videos (The End of Silliness? and The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown.) They have been a huge hit here with the Maryland Mosses -- even my husband, who asssured us he wouldn't like them, has been watching the videos and humming the songs. One of Hambet's longest sentences yet --uttered over the weekend -- was "Want t' watch movie 'bout Veggies, please?"
Hambet has recently started "singing". He can't really carry a tune, but I'll hear him kind of reciting lyrics in a sing-song way: "Wheels on bus, round and round"; "A, B, C, D; F, G, LMNOP, Q, S, XYZ..." A couple of days ago I heard him crooning from the back seat: "ceeee-BUUUUUUUUUUU......" He has also been heard chanting, "Cheeseburger, cheeseburger!"
Weird Weather!
Today is going to be 80 degrees. Just lovely. I am thinking of giving them a homeschooling day off due to nice weather. Not sure yet. Maybe just cover the basics. Anyway, here's the kicker, according to the forecast it's going to snow on Thursday and Friday. No more!