Crafty summertime continues, and getting the kids back to mass...

Hello all!

*group hug*

I hope that your week went well. Things are good here, with the heat dying down, and everyone enmeshed in a new summer routine. It's been so hard on the kids being isolated for these months, and happily, each are starting to have more and more things to do. Henry has a summer reading list for school that he's working through, and he's signed up to do some work study at his Catholic high school next week, plus some service hours in early August. Anne has been attending the summer tutoring that her school is providing, and she has Girl Scout camp next week (mostly virtual, but with 1 day of distanced in-person archery, seems pretty natural in that environment, hee!). We also booked a family road trip in August that we're all excited about. It's still within our state, so not too far, but would provide an opportunity for hiking and some other historic site seeing in a place we've never been to before. We're also looking into a fall foliage getaway in the fall, which I have *always* wanted to do, and never have. It's SO NICE to have things to look forward to again!

I did go back to mass again last weekend. Father was away, and so it was a Communion service led by our deacon. There were more people there, up to just over 40 from 26 the week before, and while it all still feels pretty awkward, I can feel it getting a little better each week. I long for the day that we no longer have to do these things, and that the virus is no longer causing sickness and death, but in the meantime, I'm happy we're able to go back to doing the things that we love in some form. And my new missal is still totally rocking my world. :-0

This weekend, I plan to take the kids back with me. 😬 It's been awhile, and I know I'm going to encounter resistance and some sassiness, but it needs to be done. Please pray for us, and that the children long to receive Jesus in the Eucharist! Anne, in particular, needs to prepare to receive her 1st communion in a few weeks. I may take 1 kid this weekend, and 1 the next, so that we can chat and have some one-on-one time that may make for better catechesis as well as more willingness on their part.

In other news, my crafting fever continues unabated, and it has brought me so much comfort over the course of this lockdown. I think I mentioned that I finished my Journey shawl, but I finally wove in all the ends and blocked it:

SUPER pleased with how it turned out! And I finished a pair of socks for myself in a colorway modeled after BB8:

Pattern is Vanilla Latte Socks, available for free!

Cute, yes? I LOVE handknit socks. Granted, I don't really get to wear them in the summer, but come fall, my feet will be comfy and toasty! In the spirit of gifting, I cast on a pair for Mike in Pittsburgh Steelers colors:

they double as bublebee socks ;-)

I'm hoping that we still get NFL football this fall, but as with all things right now, we'll have to wait and see. My big project for holiday gifting, I have determined, is to make items out of crochet thread. I have never used crochet thread before, and have been bitten by the doily bug. :-0 So I'm thinking yes, doilies, but also coasters, placemats, other types of kitcheny items. I'm participating in a crochet -along for crochet thread, and as you can see, it has me all inexplicably excited. Who gets excited about crochet thread and doilies? Well, now you know. 😂

And so, armed with a coupon code and a gift card, I placed a small order for crochet thread:

Knit Picks Curio #10

OK, you know me by this point, so you are not surprised that I don't do things that I'm excited about in a small way, yes? :-0 I was overwhelmed by all of the gorgeous colors, it's not my fault! Holiday colors, check, but also autumnal colors, because OF COURSE, and then needed neutrals, and then colors that match kitchens...and well, you might as well just order the value pack at that point and call it a day, which is exactly what I did. The value pack was 20% off, and combined with the coupon code and the gift card, I paid $2, SCORE! This was the most fun I had opening a package in a long, long time. I also got some badly needed new sock needles, a tiny stuffed alpaca for Anne, and a few other skeins of sock yarn in wintry tweed colors that I had been eyeing. It was a good, good day.

Maybe I'll do a doily update post next week, because I have so many fun ideas for those, and there are tons of good free patterns out there! I know you're as excited about this post as I am. ;-)

That's how I've been keeping busy this July, how about you? Also, the St. Anne novena starts today if you'd like to join in! Feel free to leave prayer intentions in the comments. Mine is for my Anne's upcoming 1st Communion, please and thank you!

*another hug*

Returning to mass, and navigating a heat wave...

Hello all and happy Friday! I've had a week full of actual STUFF, shocking, I know. :-0 And I thought I would fill you in. Grab your coffee!

Yes, I'm still drinking coffee despite it being a thousand degrees here for the past week. OK, maybe not *quite* that hot, but it feels quite close to that. I live in a mostly cold weather climate, and thus a lot of people here do not have centrally air conditioned homes, including us. So heat is very unpleasant. And this week, we've set a record: 7 days in a row so far (today projected to be the 8th) of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Farenheit, with yesterday topping out the week at 98. Around here, that might as well be the Surface of the Sun. 😂 We are blessed to have window a/c units for our bedrooms, though not for the rest of the house. Taking my dance and fitnes classes in our home office has been occasion of melting for me this week. It's kept things interesting, to be sure. We've actually fared pretty well until yesterday, when everyone just felt lethargic and vaugely ill all day. We've taken the kids out to places that do have a/c: the public library, local coffee shop, and also on a wooded hike to look for birds. It's actually been quite lovely in it's own way. A summer family adventure!

In other big news, I went back to mass for the first time since the pandemic started (nearly 4 months)! I went to the vigil mass, figuring it would be a pretty small turnout to test the waters, and I was right: even counting Father, 2 ushers and the music minister, there were 26 people present. And our church is HUGE. The restrictions were pretty much what I expected, and I think all are prudent at this time. In my personal opinion, I would rather have less tape on the floor and pews (I can ascertain how to stay physically distant from others without it) but I suppose I can see the other side of this, that the parish wants to assure they are doing absolutely everything they can. Everyone was wearing a mask, which is the proper course of things right now, and very doable for an hour.

After I sat down, I excitedly paged through my new missal and got the ribbons all situated. I had heard that some churches were not letting you bring in your own missal (and the paper missalettes are all removed from the pews, I think this is pretty standard everywhere right now), and I was going to be sad if that was the case for me, because I thrive in being able to follow along visually with the readings and prayers. Happily, bringing your own missal was not an issue at my parish.

Isn't it beautiful?! I set up my ribbons for the prayers of the liturgy and the readings of the day, one just to keep track of those wily Prefaces, one for the calendar, and the last one for the Proper of Saints. I was IN LOVE. I've subscribed to magazines like Magnificat and Living with Christ for as long as I can remember, or I've had the small annual St. Joseph's Sunday missal. This is my first daily missal, and it's sheer heft excites me. 😁

So, mass started, and while everything feels a bit awkward with the necessary restrictions, it was very, very beautiful. Receiving the Eucharist again for the first time in nearly 100 days was...emotional. I haven't gone without receiving for that long since I fell away from my faith in graduate school (and that was 2 decades ago!). The only part I didn't love was that we were rushed out of our pews to comply with the one-way markings for dismissal. When it was your pew's turn to leave, you literally had to leave, no lingering to pray for a few extra minutes. :-0 I could have lived without that, but nothing is perfect, and the parish is just doing the best they can to hold public masses while complying with necessary public health precautions.

I didn't bring the kids. I wanted to scope things out a bit on my own so that I can tell them what to expect. I'm also going to be honest and say that it's not going to be easy to drag them back to mass after not going for all of these months. They are at ages where "church is boring," and I get it, as that's exactly how I felt, too, when I was their age. So I'm working on that. I'm undecided as to whether I'll bring them this Saturday, or wait until next weekend. But we *finally* got word about First Communion, and Anne will be making hers on August 2nd!! I'm SO EXCITED, and so is she. I'm planning to use the weeks leading up to this to share tidbits with her about receiving to try and stoke her hunger to receive Jesus, and hopefully this will lead to a softening about attending mass again.

I've also been trying to keep my spiritual spirits up by delighting in my new St. Dymphna rosary!

Rosaries by Allison on Etsy

Isn't it beautiful? St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those suffering from anxiety and depression. St. Dymphna, please pray for us! In your charity, please keep my kids in your prayers that the Lord will light a fire in their hearts for their faith. Thank you!

Have you returned to in-person mass? If not, how is your experience going with the streaming mass options? How are you holding up in the July heat? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Christmas in July crafting begins, and preparation for the changes at mass...

Happy July everyone, and I hope that the new month is starting off well for you! Given our current situation, I see the start of a new month as an opportunity for a fresh beginning, and for new hope. It will also herald the return to mass for our family, which I'll circle back to.

Late June/early July always means that I start to think about crafting holiday gifts, and this year is no exception. If anything, being home more amidst the pandemic means that I'm thinking about crafting even more than usual! :-0 My current goal is to finish things that I have in progress so that I can begin working on a gift list. That means the Journey shawl that I've mentioned here a few times. And it is nearly done, save for a few ends to weave in, and blocking!

Pattern is The Journey via Expression Fiber Arts, yarn is the Journey Hues kit in Alpaca Silk DK  

Very pleased with this! I used nearly all of my yarn, so just fyi to make sure you get gauge if you decide to make this. ;-) It's *very* warm, a definite late fall/winter wear in terms of use. But so soft and cuddly to wrap in. As I was binding off, I was marveling at how large it was once it was freed from the needles!

I'm also finishing up a pair of socks for myself, and as soon as I finsh those, I plan to cast on for these:

Custom dyed NFL themed yarn in Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills colors for Mike, Henry and my dad. And so the gift knitting will begin!

Thus, we have socks. Those are on the gift list. Also, my mother-in-law asked for a cotton top that I have the yarn for and will cast on soon. I have a cabled cardigan for Mike that is partially complete and has been in my in-progress pile for something like 5 years. 😂 It's just a big undertaking, I tell you! And I'd like to make a few cowls for my grandmother and aunts that see on Christmas eve each year. So that's...3 pairs of socks. 1 top. 1 complicated cardigan. :-0 And 3 cowls. That's mangeable. I think? I'll post updates throughout the summer and fall!

One thing that made me smile this week:

I saw this series of seasonal songbird quilted totes in Anne's monthly issue of Birds & Blooms magazine. Yes, my 9 year old has a print magazine subscription, her mother is a librarian, after all. She and I absolutely love birds. So I went to the Bradford Exchange website and signed up to recive all 4. The first one came this week, and I have to say that I love it, and the quality is high. It's well made and thick, has a zip top and interior pockets, and has a detachable bird house charm. Only problem is that the price I thought was for the entire series of 4, is for a single bag. 😂 I could just keep this one and cancel the subscription for the rest, but to be honest, I think I'm going to keep the subscription. I need more smiles these days, and the size is perfect to tote my kntting and/or work supplies around in. So I can look forward to receiving a new bag every 2 months! The one above is the spring edition, and I'll receive summer in late August. :)

And so the other thing on my mind these days is returning to mass. I'll be honest, I'm trepidatious, because the sheer volume of restrictions and full on prohibition on socializing and interacting while at the church really depresses me. I understand, mostly, it seems to me that a lot of this is common sense, and as adults that have been living through this the past 3.5 months, we could be trusted to do the right thing without quite so much structure, but it is what it is. I did wonder if I should wait a few weeks before going back (the dispensation is in place for the indefinite future) just to give things time to settle in a bit, as I'm sure the first few weeks will be the most awkward with everyone getting used to it. But then I reflected on the fact that I haven't received the sacraments since mid-March, and told myself to stop being so stubborn. :-0 So, as requested by the parish, I emailed in my intention to attend the vigil mass, and we'll see how it goes! I'm sure it will be fine. Jesus is there, after all, and that's all that matters.

*group hug*

And I'm so excited to bust out my new missal!

St. Paul Daily Missal

How are you all doing this early July weekend? We started chatting last week about returning to mass, which I really enjoyed. If anyone has updates about their parish, I'd love to hear about it!

Staying Connected with scripture this summer, and returning to mass...

Hello all, and happy Friday! Last week of June, hard to believe. But right now, I have to admit that while I don't want to wish my life away, getting past each month seems like a victory and a step towards (more of) a sense of normalcy. It's not totally normal, that's for sure, and I'm doing my best with it, as I'm sure you all are too.

One of the changes I'm having to navigate right now is returning to mass. Depending on where you live, you may have already experienced this, or you may be in a situation wherein you cannot yet physically return to mass despite your parish re-opening. It's going to be different for everybody here coming up, depending on your health and life circumstances. Our parish isn't re-opening until next weekend, and we just received the letter detailing all of the new changes to accommodate for the state restrictions. It's daunting to say the least, and I think this is how it is everywhere right now. Even though I completely understand why these changes need to be made, it's going to make our worship experience feel a lot different then we are used to. I'm wondering if perhaps daily mass might be more manageable for us right now, since Sunday will be more in demand? I'll have to see. But I haven't received the Eucharist since March, and I'm definitely feeling it! Have any of you returned physically to mass since your re-opening began? How is it going?

In other news, the Stay Connected Journals series has some new additions, and Our Sunday Visitor is having a sale right now, so I wanted to give you all the scoop! There are 3 new additions since the original three books debuted last year (my efforts being Exploring the Catholic Classics *halo*):

Becoming Holy, One Virtue at a Time: A Guide to Living the Theological and Cardinal Virtues (vol. 4)

Seeking Peace: A Spiritual Journey from Worry to Trust (vol. 5)

Make Every Day Blessed: Living the Liturgical Year (vol. 6)

I'm interested in all three of these, but especially the liturgical year volume! Right now, with code GOOD25, you can receive 25% off your order, and there is always free shipping from their website! I'm placing my order today, and can't wait to dive in! I'm thinking this is a nice way to keep up with my budding scripture reading this summer. Each journal provides relevant and relatable commentary, scripture assignments, study questions, and space for you to write your reflections and answers.

*heart*

Are you doing any scripture study this summer? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Advent goodness - Nativity sets abound & calendars that secretly multiply in the off season...

Morning everyone! I hope that your first week of Advent is off to a good start. Did you light your candle this week?

We did. :)

This was the first week of our parish moving from having an 8am, 10am and noon Mass, down to just an 8am and 11am. We attended the 11am, and all went very well. I wasn't quite prepared for the new parking lot situation, but that's all right. We'll all adjust! The liturgy was quietly beautiful and the kids both behaved like angels. I assure you, this is not always the case, it is not due to some special Catholic Mothering Trick that I have patented. I just got lucky this week. :)

Yesterday on December 1st, we started the Advent calendars. The kids each have a chocolate calendar this year, and we have a new wood calendar with magnetic pieces. I have coveted this calendar for years, and finally bought it over the summer. Tip: this calendar often goes on sale during the non-Advent season. :) That's when I snapped mine up. At any rate, Henry LOVES this new calendar, and has been sneakily getting the pieces out and set up before Anne and I come downstairs in the mornings. Anne had a pout face on about that this morning, so I had to secure a promise from Henry that Anne could do tomorrow's piece.

*long suffering sigh*

Speaking of poor Henry, he has whatever Cold From The Very Pits of Hell that Anne and I had recently. He was coughing a lot yesterday and this morning. I could sigh again, but I won't, and instead offer up yet another instance of lost sleep via parental sacrifice. Before I was a parent, I had NO IDEA about the dire nature of the sleep situation. I think that this all should be taken into consideration during our turn at the Last Judgment, don't you agree?

At any rate, the other Advent items proliferating in our house are nativity sets. Henry has a set, Anne has a set, and we have a family set. We also have other random, partial sets in the storage that sometimes intermingle during the off season and result in eclectic family situations come December. As in a wise man is suddenly a member of the Holy Family, or an angel is stepping in for Mary. She deserves a break sometimes, right? Far too often, baby Jesus Himself is missing in action. It is most distressing when this happens. Henry keeps good track of his set, and Anne's is confined to her room, so it's the main downstairs set that sees the confusion each year. I just try and piece together as coherent a representation of the nativity as I can and call it a day.

So, our home traditions are all going well, but I am feeling rather busy these days, which I am decidedly not enjoying. I want things to settle down and all of us just enjoy the season. Oohh, I'll talk about this more in our weekly video chat. *beams*

How is your first week of Advent going? Do write in and tell me all about it. Oh, oh! I almost forgot. If you want to watch or listen to my spell over on the Catholic Mom Hangout podcast, check it out right over here. The topic is Advent, so it's all perfect and everything! :)

Of frantic dance prep, upcoming Mass time changes, and voyages to Swiss Chalet...

Morning all! It wasn't an easy weekend in the world news, to be sure. Oftentimes, when I think about heartbreaking situations such as this one, I feel fear, as I'm sure is fairly common. But then I remember the words of our beloved John Paul II, and try not to feel afraid: for my kids, for my friends and family, for our world, for myself. I try. But it's not easy, yes? Let's all stick together and pray for each other and for peace in our world. I know that it brings me some measure of solace to think of us all together in community, and I hope it does you as well.

Around my small part of the world, it's looking very fallen leafy and windswept here in WNY these days, very reminiscent of this photo:

It was a busy weekend for us, as we gear up for the holidays and for Advent. At our parish, the Mass times are changing, which I'm a tad chagrined about, but I'll adjust. I love our 10 am Mass, and it's switching to 11 am, which will at times not be nearly as convenient for us. Right away, early in Advent, we're going to see The Nutcracker for a Sunday matinee show, and the 11 am Mass will get us out too late to make it without rushing quite a bit. I think what will most likely happen is that on weekends like that, we will be attending the vigil Mass. We'll develop a new routine and get used to it, but as we anticipate this I'm mourning our beloved 10 am slot a bit. :)

In cute Catholic kid stuff, Anne relayed a precious story to me on Saturday:

"Mommy, we say the Pledge of Allegiance in school."

"Yes! We always said that in school, too. Have you memorized it?"

"Yes, want to hear?"

Of course I did. :) And she took the duty very seriously.

"That's excellent, sweetheart."

"Mommy, did you know that when you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you only need to put your hand like this, over your heart? And not make the sign of the cross after? My teacher told me."

Oh snort. I can only imagine how this went over in Anne's public pre-K. She must have thought it was like when we say grace at meals. I liked how she automatically wove in the tie between a physical gesture and saying aloud something important, a ritual. She's a natural as a Catholic child. ;-)

In other news, my dance troupe is in heavy rehearsal mode for the hafla this upcoming weekend.We have a bunch of group pieces that we'll be performing, and at this point it's always a hodge podge of old and new numbers, combined in new and exciting ways. ;-) So, we have a new veil piece paired with a new baladi number, but also an old pop piece paired with a new drum, and then our newish Saidi piece as a standalone. 

Solos are going to be in the second set, and mine is in there, towards the end. Lots of time to sweat leading up to that. Although I'm hoping that my little birthday party adventure last month will make me appreciate the easier-to-manage hafla atmosphere this time around, and consequently be less nervous about performing in such venues. I have my music all edited and ready to go, and general idea of how I'd like to structure things in my usual improvisational way. 

Running through my music reminded me that I needed to decide what costume to wear, and so a lot of sewing ensued this weekend. I sew about as well as I bake, so you can only imagine how well these little sessions typically unfold. Mike comes out of his office from grading student papers and finds me casually passing him in the hallway garbed in jeans and a costume top with only half a strap, trailing behind me a super long length of black satin. Anne is adorning the walls with random pieces of adhesive Velcro that I gave her to prevent her from causing too much damage in the notions bag.  

"You're probably wondering what is going on out here, aren't you?"

This is a common occurrence in our house whenever I have a dance gig. ;-) Dance costumes ALWAYS require a lot of sewing. If they're new, they never fit perfectly, and so need a lot of work to make them presentable. If they're old, they're losing beads or need new hooks, or have stretched out a bit and could use some tucking. I did not get a separate costume for when I was pregnant with Anne, I just wore my skirt under my belly throughout the second trimester, if that is any indication of what we're working with here. :0 Our costumes are generally stretchy, but don't maintain the same level of stretchiness over time, for sure and for certain.

So I now have black satin straps on my new black and bronze costume, which I'd like to wear for the solo, but the skirt is extremely heavy and needs some more tucking for it to stay put on my hips. Working on that tonight. We're getting there!

To complete our weekend, Mike asked on Sunday if I'd like to go to dinner at Swiss Chalet. Um, YES. You all know about my love affair with Canadian rotisserie chicken. I *love* it there, and given that we now have to cross an international border to get there, I don't get there as often as I'd like. However, this experience has shown me that it really doesn't take all that long to get to the Niagara Falls, Ontario location, and thus we really need to be doing this much more frequently. ;-) At any rate, we packed up the kids and headed north. Yes, for chicken. 

But it's all about the chalet sauce, remember? And we had a delightful time:

"And I think that that way, we can...wait. What happened to all of your sauce?"

"I ate it. Are you going to use all of yours?"

*I eye his cup like a vulture circling it's prey*

"No, I guess not. But...what else do you dip in there besides the chicken?"

The man is so cutely naive of the ways of the Chalet. If he's going to go all HEALTHY and choose the vegetables over the french fries dipped in sauce, well then I just can't help him. :0

And the waitress who gave me an extra cup of fresh sauce for my takeout container? Let's just say she got a very nice tip. And very nearly a round of applause.

#ChaletSauceRules

What did you do this weekend, dear reader? Write in and tell me all about it. :)

"Ow, what is that horrible pain behind my eyeball?": A Catholic Librarian July weekend of traumatizing first swim lessons and last chance Masses...

Well, happy beginning of the week to all of you, and I hope that you are well! I had a really, really nice weekend, if a bit more adventuresome than I was planning. What did that all entail, you reasonably ask? Grab your beverage, let's settle in:

Again, that's not what I'm drinking right now, but it's what I was drinking Saturday evening, and that spills over into a part of the story Sunday morning that gets a little bit embarrassing. :0 But that's what I'm here for, right? Entertainment for you all by my own somewhat ill advised foibles. Let's start back on Friday evening, since that is when all the fun began...

*soundtrack begins playing in the background*

Speaking of which, I wish I had a soundtrack, just like in the movies. It would make the mundane parts of my life seem so much more interesting and dramatic, but I digress. Friday evening I had dance rehearsal, and as expected, things were good-naturedly intense as we ran through our set for this coming weekend's performance, plus shook the dust off a few choreographies that we'll using for the following weekend's festival. Everything went well, but I discovered that executing Isis wing-laden barrel turns when you're nearly 5'7" isn't such a good idea with a drop ceiling looming overhead. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. :0

We have one more rehearsal this coming Friday before the performance Saturday, and it looks like the solos will fit into the set, so I just sent Claire my music. Eek!

I dance best when I don't think about it too deeply beforehand, so let's move on. ;-) Saturday morning I traveled with Anne to our local YMCA for her very first swim lesson. Anne was sporting her new Elsa and Anna bathing suit and was very enthusiastic about getting into the pool. Until we got there, that is.

As I was strapping on her flotation device, I had a bit of a sinking sensation. She had The Face, kwim?

"Mommy, I don't want to go swimming."

"It's going to be OK, Sweetie! It'll be fun! See how the other children are all getting into the water?"

"But I DON'T WANT TO, Mommy."

There was much resistance. There was much coaxing of small bodies into the water. There was much clinging to the side of the pool, eyes wide with terror.

"You're doing great, Sweetie! Try to pay attention to the teacher."

I glance down at my phone to answer a text.

"Mom." Henry is beside me. "Anne started crying."

Ugh.

The instructor swam over to try and convince Anne to make a pass across the shallow end with the kick board. Let's just say that didn't go over very well.

It was a long 30 minutes, and I retrieved her trembling form from the water and quickly engulfed her in a towel.

"Next week will be a little easier, Darling. Let's head to the girls locker room to change."

"NO!"

Who here is surprised?! You're obviously new to this blog. ;-) Welcome!

The changing room situation was offered up to get quite a few souls out of Purgatory, I'm thinking, and by the time I had wrenched her clothes onto her damp body she was declaring that she was never coming back.

Fabulous.

Henry, however, saved the day. When he first suggested the ridiculously priced vending machine I was skeptical, but I will say that Anne immediately stopped crying, and they bonded over choosing what to get. After that, she was fine, and said she would try again next week. I'll take it, and it only cost me $2.

Saturday evening we had a cookout with some friends who live on the next block. They have 4 children, and another couple was there with their son who is Henry's age, so we had a nice little gaggle of children to play together. Anne and their youngest daughter, I swear it, look like twins:

Anne and her doppelganger assessing each other

They hung out together nicely, along with the other girls, and we just made sure we had the right little brunette with us when we left to go home. :) As for the adults, we hung out by the side of the pool munching, chatting and having drinks. That's when I drank the Chardonnay pictured above. And I really didn't drink that much.

*famous last words*

When out having drinks with others, I usually have 1-2 drinks. Saturday evening I had a bit more than 2. OK, nearly 3. :) But it's not like I was drinking out of a glass the size of a fountain, it was a small white wine glass. And I also ate dinner.

Flash forward to Sunday morning, 5:30 am. Hark! Why am I awake?!

Well, it's because my head is THROBBING, that's why. I change positions and hope that that will help. It does not. I kind of cuddle my left temple into my pillow, hoping THAT will help. It does not. See the theme here?

I get up, swallow an ibuprofen, and go back to bed. I toss and turn and accidentally wake Mike up. We both drift back off...

7:30 am. Hark! Why am I awake?! Well, because both children are now up and being noisy. And Mike is getting out of bed. Oh, thanks be to God, my head feels decidedly less bad. Let me get up too...

Oh dear. A distinctive nauseous feeling pervades my being that I have only experienced once before, and vowed would never happen again. Apparently, I don't learn lessons very well. Oh that's right, I already knew that. *sigh*

I laid down again and pondered my fate. I didn't drink *that* much wine, but I wasn't also drinking water or another non-alcoholic beverage, and that was my fatal mistake. Dehydration. It's good that I have this lesson more firmly tucked into the front of my brain, but it wasn't making me any less miserable as I lay there. Mike was downstairs getting breakfast for himself and Henry, not yet realizing my situation. I managed to make my way into Anne's room and get her up. She didn't make things easy and refused all of the outfits I presented, and I was in no condition to wrangle her. I left her to dress herself, and she actually did it. God is merciful.

I laid for about 30 minutes and then was able to go downstairs and have some water and coffee. But by this point it was nearly 9 am and something was becoming alarmingly clear: I still felt awful and was in no condition to take the kids to 10 am Mass. Because I had a hangover.

Mother of the Year, right over here. Don't I get something special from Things Remembered to commemorate this occasion?

It was mild as far as hangovers go, but all the same. Henry was also faring poorly, having a bad sinus issue unfolding, poor kid. I watched TV with the kids as we all took it easy and Mike worked on his lesson plans. I drank my coffee and knit. By about 11 am, I was feeling a lot better. Henry was still looking peaked and stayed home with Mike, but I made myself presentable and took Anne to noon Mass with me. It was lovely, and I felt even more grateful than usual to be there. :)

Later, I worked on a cowl using some new silk yarn that I recently procured from Expression Fiber Arts with the delightfully titled colorway "Twilight Under the Stars":

Isn't it magnificent? A perfect late summer colorway, if you ask me. Aside from the self-inflicted morning situation ;-) Sunday was beautiful. Mass, then meal planning with Mike for the week, then dinner out with the whole family for sandwiches and ice cream, and then a movie with Mike and Henry while I knit. Life is good.

How was YOUR weekend, dear reader? Do tell me all about it. :)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - It's all about grace...

Happy Monday everyone! Although, I admit, I'm not all that thrilled that it's actually Monday. I had a meting at 9 am this morning, and I just didn't feel quite ready for work socializing yet, PLUS it didn't leave me enough time to make tea, and so now I'm on chat reference and writing this post, tea-less. That's not exactly a good combination.

:0

But at any rate, we had a very active weekend for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, which I will chronicle here. I can't leave my desk to go get hot water for tea, which seems profoundly unfair, but you go ahead and enjoy yours as you read.

*martyr*

Ok, so Saturday morning Mike and I took the kids apple picking. This is a fall tradition, and this year we tried out a farm that is much closer to our house than we've journeyed to previously. It was about 30 minutes away, rather than an hour, which translated into SO MUCH LESS bickering our back seat from our offspring. *sighs* It worked out very, very well. The children cavorted on a hay maze and interacted with turkeys. The turkeys were happily pecking away at several pumpkins that were hung up for their ease, and were very friendly. I found it a big discomfiting that there was a sign up advertising fresh, organic Thanksgiving turkey. :0 This is why I could never work on a farm. #wuss We all picked apples, and there was a nice variety in season. We came away with about 12 pounds of apples, some of which Anne and I used to bake an apple cobbler yesterday, see baking selfie above. :) Which resulted in this cuteness happening:

Anne in her new apron. Precious.

We ended up at the vigil Mass, since Henry was spending the night with his grandparents and I told him he still had to go to Mass. This wasn't exactly a popular decision with Henry, but I explained that now that he's received his First Communion, he has a lot more responsibility with regard to Mass attendance. Not attending means that he has to go to confession and tell the priest why he didn't go. That, and Mike backing me up, seemed to make all the difference, and Henry got ready for Mass. :)

Anne was actually out for a girls afternoon with my mom, so it was just Mike, Henry and I at Mass. It's been so long since I went to Mass without a sassy little one climbing all over tarnation that I almost didn't know what to do with myself. :0 I could actually *pay attention* and follow along in my Magnificat, bliss! I enjoyed the Gospel reading very much, from Matthew Chapter 21: Which of the two sons does his father's will? The one who said he would go work in the family vineyard, but then didn't keep his word, or the other who initially refused, but later changed his mind and silently went to work? God appreciates our honesty, and will always welcome us into the fold, even if we were originally pretty stubborn about the whole thing.

This related back to the Gospel reading from last weekend, and it made me appreciate the sentiment anew. The Magnificat reflection following the Mass readings was penned by St. John Vianney, and focused on the danger of lukewarmness in faith. A sinner laments his sin when his conscience kicks in. A lukewarm person, on the other hand, thinks that their relationship with God and their actions are just fine, there is no need to change anything. You suddenly develop a habit of sleeping in on Sunday mornings. "God's ok with it, He knows that I still love Him. I'll go back to church when I'm feeling better." One week becomes another, and next thing you know it's been months since you've gone and received the sacraments. But you're still convinced that God is cool with this.

Been there, done that, my friends. :0 The reflection was a refreshing reminder that even when I get down on myself about the things that I just can't seem to get right, the fact that I still keep trying to do better is a really good thing. I recognize that I continually need improvement, and this fact alone doesn't put me outside of God's grace, you know? It's actually a *good* thing.

After Mass, we dropped Henry off at my in-laws for his sleepover.  This meant that Mike and I had a few hours to go out to dinner, and we had plans to go to a local Mexican place we had been wanting to try out. We had originally planned to bring Anne with us, but she was still with my mom. You know what this means, don't you?

HHEEEELLLOOOO MARGARITAS!!!!

A fun time was had by all. ;-)

How was your weekend, good and gentle reader?

A very unordinary Sunday in Ordinary Time

We begin at the vigil for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mike and I attended Mass without the kids because we were going out for dinner alone together, and the kids were with their grandparents (God is good :)). All day I had been thinking about Channing, entering a Carmelite monastery that very morning, and let me interrupt my story for this very important announcement:

(a different) Mike over at Distracted Catholic blogged about Channing's entrance ceremony, and you simply must read it. Click on the link, and do it now. :) You can come back to me after you have read it. LOVE.

Ok, so Mike and I at Mass. We walk in, me in my veil and Mike dressed very nicely, and within moments, as I kneel praying in our pew, I feel somebody at my elbow. It's the usher.

"Would you folks mind bringing up the gifts?"

I quickly checked with Mike, and we both agreed happily to bring up the gifts.

Mike leans over.

"I think it's your veil. That's why he asked us." He looked amused. :)

However, when it came time for the gifts to be brought up, as Mike and I waited excitedly in our pew for the usher to come get us...he didn't. I could hear the ushers still walking down the aisle, and the couple two pews ahead of us were making movements like *they* too were awaiting the ushers' approach. I eyed them suspiciously. Suddenly, that couple stood up and the group of ushers went with them to the gift table. Mike leans over:

"What happened?"

I furrow my brow underneath my veil.

"I don't know. Maybe two different ushers made two different arrangements? Must have been some sort of misunderstanding."

We agreed that we were both disappointed. I mean, it's not a big deal, but I'm always looking for little ways to spark Mike's faith, and he had been looking forward to this. Bummer, but God works in mysterious ways.

Over dinner and wine, he agreed to accompany the kids and I to a local Marian shrine the next morning, since I had already gotten to Mass. See the God/mysterious ways thing? :)

The next morning dawned with a temperature somewhere in the neighborhood of the surface of the sun. Or at least that's how it *felt*. We don't do heat real well here, and it was HOT. Mike gamely let Henry lead him to the dome of the church and the Mary statue up there, while Anne and I ran around in the saint garden area. Anne picked up a bunch of stuff that she favored highly (weeds, sticks, crab apples, Read: CRAP) while I pointed out the various saint statues to her.

By this point, about 10 minutes had elapsed and Mike and I were already melting. We spent a little time in the side chapels of the church (one devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, the other to the Blessed Sacrament) and herded the kids to the religious goods store.

Henry and I have a field day in places like this. It doesn't matter what we buy, we always spend $50. It's sort of like when you take your car to the mechanic. You're not getting out of there without forking over what you paid for a month's rent in college.

At any rate, this trip yielded:

1 St. Patrick saint statue for Henry's collection,

2 holy medal bookmarks for me, one of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the other of St. Therese of Lisieux,

1 St. Michael/St. Christopher visor clip for Mike's car, since his original one just broke, and

1 awesome book for the next installment of the Catholic Book Club, title to be unveiled soon! Let's just say that the spirit of the weekend led me over to the "religious life" section, and really good things happened.

Though hot, it was a lovely outing. And I'm ridiculously excited about those bookmarks.

In my excitement to start my new book, I finished Mother Hart's The Ear of the Heart, so you'll see the review up by the end of the week. :)

I hope that you all had a great July weekend!

A foray back to daily Mass on the Feast of the Visitation...

So, a couple of interesting Catholic tidbits to share today. The first is that my new experiment with Magnificat magazine, after my first full month, is officially a success. I use it pretty much every day. I don't often get to the evening prayers, but I say morning prayer nearly every morning, and I use it for Mass on Sundays as well. I've also read nearly all of the daily meditations and saint stories. It tucks easily into my purse, and I have it for all of the needs that I just mentioned in one compact source. It's quite perfect.

And today, I used it for daily Mass. :) It's been a long time since I've been to a true daily Mass, usually attending during the week only when there is a holy day of obligation. But I used to go all the time back when I was in law school and working as an attorney. My schedule, as well as my location, worked out such that I could make it nearly every day back then. I also went occasionally when I was in college, which is what initially turned me on to what daily Mass truly was.

Daily Mass is pretty much the reason why I'm a committed Catholic today, and didn't just laze around in terms of my spirituality when I was a young adult. I had always assumed that it was like Sunday Mass, just during the week. It's not. It's a lot shorter (less readings and you don't recite the Creed, usually a more concise homily as well), but it packs a heck of a powerful punch. As well, many parishes don't celebrate daily Mass in the main church, having a separate, small chapel for this purpose so that they don't have to worry about heating/cooling the larger space. Obviously, there will be a much smaller crowd for daily Mass as opposed to Sunday, but the people that do go form this cohesive little community. It's comforting to see the same faces all the time, there is a feeling of camaraderie. And these are people who treasure the Mass and the Eucharist, so the reverence level is high.

It was a huge boon to my faith life when I started to attend daily Mass in law school, and that is when the religious vocation discernment took place. After I graduated, I went during my lunch break at work, Our cathedral downtown had a beautiful daily Mass chapel that I could walk to in under 5 minutes.

When I started working as a librarian/went to library school (both at the same place) it wasn't as easy. There is a Newman Center here, but they only have daily Mass during the main semesters, and even then only 3 times per week. My schedule is also different here, I often have classes or meetings that conflict with the Mass time.

At first, when the Newman Center was an easy walk from my office, I would go down there occasionally for Mass. Then, last year, they built a new, gorgeous Newman Center building, which is great, but I can't walk to it. It necessitates a short drive (this is a fairly large campus) and parking here is at a premium. I didn't want to leave my spot and then have to agonize over finding a new one when I returned. Plus, all that walking out to the lot and driving to and from took my time away from my office from about 20 minutes to 40 or 45. It just didn't work.

But I had always wondered about the daily Mass at our parish. The church is maybe a 2 minute drive from our house, and they have an 8 am Mass. I usually like to get to work around 8:30, but even with attending Mass I knew I would get in before 9 am. I just often have 9 am commitments and didn't want to be feeling rushed. Well, today I had no meetings, classes, or reference shifts on my calendar and I knew the opportunity was nigh. It's also the summer, and so parking is easy. I was going to daily Mass.

I left my house at approximately 7:53 am and made it in plenty of time. The small daily Mass chapel, located in the parish center, has it's own small parking lot that I had never used before. I arrived, collected my stuff and headed in.

I was unprepared for the amount of people in there. The chapel was pretty full. I suddenly remembered that the parish Women's Sodality prays the rosary after daily Mass for the month of May, and so they must all make a special effort to come during that time. A quick perusal confirmed Mike's suspicion that, when I expressed an interest in joining the Women's Sodality, I would likely be the youngest member by at least 15-20 years. :) I slipped into a seat and scanned my Magnificat while I waited for Mass to start. There was a featured meditation on the Feast of the Visitation, since that is what we are celebrating today. Love!

I recognized all of the people present from Mass on Sundays. Many of them also serve as lectors or Eucharistic ministers, or in the choir. I sensed some interest generated amongst the congregation that a new person was suddenly in their daily Mass midst, though I'm sure they recognized me. It's not often that a new person will start going to daily Mass, especially when it's not Advent or Lent.

The chapel was quite warm (it's pretty hot here today, at least by my standards :)) but Mass was lovely. I just feel so *good* when I go to daily Mass. It's the perfect way to start your day. After Mass, Father exposed the host in a monstrance, and I stayed to pray for a few minutes before they started the rosary. I was on my way to work by 8:30 am.

So, this pretty much seals the deal that whenever I don't have a 9 am commitment I'm going to go there for Mass in the mornings all summer. It was just smashing.

Second Sunday of Advent and all it's adventures...

Well, my weekend was interesting, never a dull moment in my household. Saturday morning dawned with Anne clearly feeling under the weather. In fact, Anne not feeling well dominated both days and nights of our weekend, with the telltale signs being:

(1) lots of sneezing and a runny nose,

(2) a small fever,

(3) poor sleeping,

(4) diminished appetite, and

(5) marauding around the house doing nothing but (a) sobbing, and (b) throwing things.

It was a long weekend, to say the least.

I didn't know if I was even going to make it to Mass Saturday morning for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, she was just so miserable, but she settled enough for me to feel all right about leaving her with Mike (meaning, I didn't feel guilty about leaving him alone to deal with such a painful situation!) so that I could go. I went, and it was lovely.

Later, she actually seemed to perk up a bit, her fever went away, and she was drinking liquids like a champ. Mike wanted to go to the vigil Mass for the second Sunday of Advent, so we packed up both kids and went. Hence, I did end up doing 2 Masses in 1 day. :) But honestly, they felt so different from each other. It also helped that I went to 2 totally different parishes. For the vigil, we went to a historic church downtown that Mike loves. Both children were good, aside from Anne dumping her Ziploc baggie of small snacks onto the floor while we were standing up to recite the Creed. I was picking up stray raisins for the rest of Mass.

But it was really beautiful, and I'm so glad we went. By the overnight, Anne was back to her crankfest. She was a bit hoarse and was obviously feeling parched, because when she demanded my presence at 5 am in her bedroom, our conversation was as follows:

"JUICE."

"Hi Honey, Mommy is here to..."

"JUICE!!!"

"We're going to snuggle and..."

"JUICE JUICE JUICE!!!"

She doesn't like to take no for an answer, that one. I think she is also getting a new tooth, because she's been drooling up a storm. This all led to an absolutely ABYSMAL night last night in which Anne demanded milk, threw herself onto the floor, and cried for what seemed like 30 straight minutes, all *while I'm holding her and trying to soothe her*. It was ugly.

So I'm recovering a bit today. :) She was still on a rampage this morning, so not much has improved in that regard. We'll get there.

Musings on holy days of obligation...

As a child, I distinctly remembering how I felt at Mass. Which was a definite: BORED.

I didn't understand everything that was being said, nor why it was meaningful, and I was always happy to get to the Our Father, because that meant that Mass was approximately 3/4 of the way complete. I can see this same tendency right now in my own son, which makes me a bit sad, but I'm doing what I can to explain things to him and keep him engaged in the Mass and in our Catholic faith, and I pray every day that both of my children will always remain close to Jesus and his Church. That's really all I can do.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I understood the Mass and consequently felt it's true power and meaning. Since that time, I've been grateful every day that I was raised in a church with a liturgy, because I love it, and it suits me so well. I used to attend daily Mass, and so wish that were an easier objective for me these days. In the end, I'm just so grateful that I have the gift of the Mass.

I read somewhere that Sunday Mass attendance amongst self-identified Catholics is approximately 25%. For holy days of obligation, the number is much, much lower. I know that there are some dioceses in which bishops chose to eliminate the obligation to attend Mass on some holy days, and instead moved the feast to the closest Sunday. Whenever I look at my Catholic calendar, printed at my parish, I seem to remember Hawaii always being mentioned :) so I believe they are one of those exception dioceses.

This is just my opinion, but I was always glad that I live in a diocese that does not move the holy days of obligation to Sundays only. I love the holy day Masses, and it gives me an excuse to make that extra effort during the week to attend Mass. The liturgy is always special on those days, and the readings particularly poignant.

There are a few holy days, however, that do not carry the option of being moved by our local bishops. The feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th) is one of those holy days, because Our Lady under that name is patroness of the United States. Christmas, obviously, is another such holy day.

I have to admit, this year, the feast of the Immaculate Conception presents an awkward Mass challenge for me. The vigil is tonight, but via some very bad luck, I got stuck with the 3-5 pm reference shift this afternoon. Hence, all 4 and 5 pm vigils are out for me. I could technically make a 7 pm vigil, but I have dance class then, and you know how much I love my dance class. Obviously, if I had no other option to attend Mass, I'd have to miss my class, but happily I can go tomorrow morning, on the feast itself.

The only problem with *that* is that we wanted to go to the vigil for the second Sunday of Advent together as a family Saturday evening (Mike doesn't like going to Mass on Sunday mornings, he always prefers to go to a Saturday vigil when he attends), which would mean Mass twice in one day. And that seems less than ideal to me, like I was treating the Masses as not as special as they deserve because I'm simply packing them in to accommodate my schedule.

And so I had thought to myself for a brief time that I wished that this was one of the holy days that was moved to a Sunday (when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday, which I think all dioceses do). But I corrected myself pretty quickly. Both the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the second Sunday of Advent deserve their own special Mass, they cannot be combined or one forsaken for the other. So I simply have to deal.

I'm still not sure what we'll do yet about the second Sunday of Advent. If Mike really wants to go to Mass, I'm certainly not going to turn him away, so I'll go to Mass twice on Saturday. If not, then I'll go to Mass for the second Sunday of Advent on Sunday morning. Next Sunday, I have Children's Liturgy of the Word duty, so we won't go to the vigil that week. And I know that Mike probably won't want to go to Mass as a family on the fourth Sunday of Advent because Christmas is so close and he'll be attending on Christmas Eve. *sighs* The problems of Catholic Librarians these days, I tell you.

So, my evening today and morning tomorrow will be a bit hectic. I may try to take Anne to Mass with me in the morning if (a) it won't interfere with her nap, and (b) she isn't in a foul mood and clearly on the prowl for trouble.

We'll see how it goes. :)

Sipping tea, and Mass musings...

I'm a tea drinker. I do also drink coffee, but I'm not addicted to it. At work, I exclusively drink tea, and I brew it daily. My absolute favorite black tea is Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet, which yes, is a holiday tea. That seems to be a theme lately. They put it in the stores in the fall, and I stock up. It's a nutty vanilla tea with a hint of cinnamon. I adore it.

Well, this year I didn't stock up enough. Sometimes I remember to stalk the grocery store *after* Christmas, and then all the holiday teas are on clearance (score!). But I didn't this past year. Hence, I ran out of Nutcracker Sweet about a month ago, much to my dismay.

Thus, I pulled out the regular Salada bags that I'd had since before my pregnancy with Anne. I try to drink more decaf when I'm pregnant, so these had been sitting around awhile. It was fine, but I was missing my Nutcracker fix. This was a BIG box of regular tea bags, and I dutifully brewed a cup every morning until I couldn't take it anymore. I went in search of Nutcracker Sweet.

Happily, I found that via their web site, Celestial Seasonings sells Nutcracker Sweet year round. And if you buy a bulk box of 6 packages, you get a small discount on the price. I snapped one up.

It arrived on Saturday, and so I'm contentedly sipping Nutcracker Sweet at my desk. *bliss*

On a totally different note, Mike and I went to Mass by ourselves Saturday evening. As you can imagine, this is a pretty rare occurrence. We had dinner plans with some friends, and the restaurant is right near our parish, so my in-laws came over to watch the kids, and we went to Mass and then dinner.

I rarely go to the vigil, preferring to attend Mass Sunday morning. But Mike likes the vigil better when he goes to Mass, so I'm happy to oblige. Right away I noticed something relating to a post from last week: the dress of the attendees. The vigil clearly attracts an older crowd, and all were dressed nicely.

Mike and I were talking about it as we walked to the restaurant, and I noted that this was a big contrast to what I see at the Mass I usually attend at 10 am Sunday mornings. That's the "Family Mass" and draws a younger crowd. At that Mass, I often see shorts, flip flops and tank tops. When I mentioned that, Mike stopped short and made what I thought was a comment that summed things up nicely:

"If it's a chore to dress nicely for church, you're going for the wrong reasons."

I think he's totally right. I do think there's a "at least I'm here!" attitude that plays into this a bit (and my friend Karen mentioned this in the comment section of the post from last week) and that's just a shame. Going to Mass is about a lot more than simply meeting our weekly obligation, but I know that I've been guilty of this mentality in the past, so I'm not casting any stones. I don't know what the solution is, but I will just mind my own business and focus on what *I'm* wearing. That's all I'm accountable for.

I will say at when I attend Mass in the Tridentine rite, it's a breath of fresh air in this regard. Not only is everyone dressed nicely, people downright go all out, wearing beautiful dresses and head coverings, men in *suits*! It contributes toward a feeling of reverence, that we're participating in something special, and I truly appreciate that.