Speaking of cleaning ....

Me: I can see that cleaning your room, Ramona, will be an all-day project.

Ramona: But I just cleaned it yesterday!

Me: Then why are there big piles of things in your closet?

Ramona: Because that's where I hid everything.

Poetry Friday: Robert Frost, loving the things we love

I really enjoy the Poetry for Young People seriesfrom Sterling Publishing.

In the Robert Frost volume is Hyla Brook, a perfect little poem that is about a lowly, local brook, but is really all about the last line.


Hyla Brook

by Robert Frost

By June our brook's run out of song and speed.
Sought for much after that, it will be found
Either to have gone groping underground ...

... A brook to none but who remember long.
This as it will be seen is other far
Than with brooks taken otherwhere in song.
We love the things we love for what they are.

(Read the entire poem here.)

The Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Poetry for Children.

Ramona: The Next Food Network Star?

Ramona was playing in the bathtub and she showed me what she had created with a washcloth:

"This, Mommy, is salmon. A perfectly cooked piece of salmon."

I thought back to the other day when we played together with her pattern blocks. We pretended they were food and we each created three dishes for the judges in a cooking competition.

"I think," I said, "that I need to teach you to cook! You love to cook, don't you?"

"I love to pretend to cook," she said. "And now, I'm going to plate this salmon."

Huh.

Pretend cooking.

It's actually my favorite kind, too.

I'm off to plate some Legos.

An Epistolary Blog Post

My dear Lissa,

I am writing to thank you for alerting me to the existence of a charming epistolary novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

When I initially saw it mentioned on your blog (which also, by the way, is most charming), the title did not appeal to me for some vague, indefinable reason.

Perhaps it was because "Guernsey" brought to mind images of cattle and I was not of a mind to read about cows. I can see cows when I drive to the grocery store (though it still occasionally startles me) and the idea of reading about them did not quicken my pulse.

Why the Guernsey Channel Islands, World War II, or captivating characters did not occur to me, I shall never know. Perhaps it is because, although I am not originally from Nebraska, this place has over these many years seeped into my bones and the seepage causes me at times to think immediately of livestock.

But I digress.

I loved Juliet -- and her wit and honesty -- immediately. I shall not breathe another word about anything or anyone else I loved, lest it ruin this delightful summer (or winter, or autumn, or perhaps even -- yes, I think so -- spring) read for others.

I will say only this to anyone who has intercepted this message -- this surprising and winsome book is not about livestock. Various animals do play a part. Yes, they must. But they appear in a way which is not startling and is, in fact, wholly satisfying.

Yours ever,

Karen

P.S. Kiss Huck for me. It is unbearably painful to be a long-distance godmother.

Great article in the latest Memoria Press Catalog

In the summer issue of The Classical Teacher, Susan Wise Bauer is encouraging homeschooling moms to "Stop Cleaning the Kitchen and Read a Book."



It's great advice, but, well, errr ... I find that I have the opposite problem and I need the opposite advice.

I usually need to get out of my book and go clean something.

Anything.

Quote for a Monday

Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.

– St. Philip Neri

(Thanks to MyCatholic.com for their daily quotes from saints.)

Today's readings are

all about miracles.

“For thus says the LORD,
'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.

~~ 2 Kings 4:43-44

As the Lord has said.

His Word is good and true and He is always faithful to me. Can I say the same? Whenever I am feeling distant from Him, I can always trace the cause back to my failings, my neglect, my lack of faithfulness. He will always provide in abundance. With grace left over.

Home from Camping, or, the Marriage of Heaven and Hell

We've been busy roughing it.

Well, errr, uh ... it wasn't terribly rough.

The cabin had air conditioning (though we barely needed it -- gorgeous weather) and a terrific screened-in back porch. There was a kitchenette. A queen-size bed and bunk beds for the girls. Hot showers. Plenty of coffee.

Actually, it was heavenly.







Concurrently, it was a reminder that we live in a fallen world:



A Blakeian camping trip, if you will, thanks to ticks and chiggers (or chicks and tiggers, as we took to calling them.)

Now we're home.

And so begins the laundry.

(Tick photo from EcoSmart.com/blog)

Speaking of two teenagers ...

... I've been meaning to mention this book.

My friend, Johnna, ordered College-Prep Homeschooling awhile back and absolutely loved it. I decided to add it to our homeschooling library as well -- it's a great resource.

Johnna mentioned that the homeschooling methods the authors used reminded her of mine (a lovely compliment, though I think they sound much more organized than I am ...) and I think they do a great job of demonstrating how to create high school courses and document them. They also cover a variety of methods of homeschooling and talk about the reasons to homeschool through high school (as well as the cons.) The book also offers simple but complete transcript (and other record-keeping) ideas.

Bits and Pieces of Our Days

Softball is done! Betsy's team almost won the championship last night, but the opposition squeaked by in the end, 14-13. I'm proud of my girl for having the spunk and courage to try softball for the first time in her life at age 13.

*****

My friend Paula was in town last week. Paula moved to Chicago a few years ago, proving my theory that if I love you, you will move away. Paula and I share in common being "mature" moms of little girls. Paula's little sweetie accompanied us last week for swimming, horseback riding, plenty of playtime and a sleepover with Ramona when Paula joined the older girls and me for the midnight HP movie.

*****

We have another very busy week coming up, so I'll be quiet here for the next few days. On tap today? Plenty of errands, chores and getting our money drain cat to the vet. At least he provides Anne-with-an-e material for her vet science projects for 4-H.

*****

Birthdays!

Did you notice in that first bit that Betsy is 13? She turned 13 in June, and she has grown into such a beautiful young lady that she some days breaks my heart. She joins her sister, Anne, in that way. These teenagers are a delight to me. New challenges all the time, yes, but delights abound. I love these girls so much that I might explode.

And, adding to the summer birthday fun is Ramona ... turning seven this week. She was three years old when I started this blog in the fall of 2005. Yikes.

The times they are-a-changin'.

Talk, talk, talk

Friday I spent some delightful time talking with Pat Gohn of Behold Communications. We recorded a podcast for her Among Women series. It's planned to publish on August 11th.

*****

Today, I had another delightful talk, this time with Bruce and Kris McGregor at KVSS, Spirit Catholic Radio. Our chat about my Rosary book will air sometime next week.

I'll keep you posted.

Poetry Friday: Ramona Inspires Me

A quick, original poem this morning. Not great as poetry, but heartfelt.

The round up is at Becky's Book Reviews.




I Know Your Name

Promise me
something?
I asked
my daughter
my dear
my six year old
girl.
Her eyes inquired.
I said,
That you'll never grow up?
And you'll stay
on this couch
beside me
forever?
I wish I could,
she said,
and lay her head
on my shoulder.
But, I don't really
wish that,
I told her.
Growing up
is fun
and I want you
to know
growing up and
I want you
to have
that fun.
She smiled
and her elegance
reminded me
of something.
Her face, and
her smile
and my shoulder
and her pink
toenails
reminded me.
Her middle
name
is
Hope.

I spove loonerisms

One of Anne-with-an-e's best friends visited us for the Harry Potter event and between the midnight movie Tuesday and a late showing (in our basement) of Jurassic Park last night, the kids were awfully tired today.

Anne's friend meant to say they were all feeling completely insane with exhaustion. Instead, she said:

"We're impletely consane."

I like it.

I'm going to keep it.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!

Some great ideas from Catholic Culture are here.

Last Minute Muggle Baking

I hadn't planned on making Pumpkin Pasties.

I initially figured that as long as we were eating two-fisted (a la Ron Weasley) that anything counted as Harry Potter food. The delivered pizza. The drop sugar cookies that we called Cauldron Cakes. But, planning to attend a midnight movie leads one to do other silly things as well. So, at the last minute, I decided to cobble together my own version of pumpkin pasties.

Mrs. Ed's Quick Pumpkin Pasties

For the crust, I used this basic recipe, found at All Recipes:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons white sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons milk


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Stir all ingredients together. Divide dough into 12 pieces, and press into greased muffin tin (flatten out on bottom and up sides of tin to create cups.)
3. Bake for 15 min.

Filling:

1 egg, slightly beaten
3/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 can pumpkin
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Mix all ingredients together. Add filling to baked crusts. Bake for 30-40 min. at 350 degrees.

Allow to cool slightly, then pop the pasties out of the muffin tin, and say something in a British accent.

Eat, visit with friends, go to movie. Go home. Collapse.

You're done.

(Oops! Just updated this to add the milk to the recipe. I didn't have evaporated milk, which I usually use in pumpkin pie. I added a small amount of skim milk instead, and the pasties were still delicious.)

Bits and Pieces of Our Days

Woke up at 5:15 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. I spent 45 minutes thinking that I should go back to sleep. I didn't go back to sleep. I've been up for an hour. I should have more to show for it.

*****

Saturday, a dear friend took Betsy and Ramona to the Ashfall Fossil Beds. Yes, that's right -- cool fossils right here in Nebraska.

*****

Saturday night we went to an anniversary party -- old college professors were there. I suddenly felt quite stupid. One of these guys can actually read hieroglyphics. I feel as if there are parts of my brain I haven't tapped for years. But the spinach/feta bites were delicious and gave me something to talk about (or gave me a reason not to talk as I shoveled more of them in my mouth ....)

*****

Yesterday, we picked up all the kids' projects from the county fair. They came home with loads of purples and blues and spending money from the ribbon premiums. They were thrilled with their accomplishments. The free Dippin' Dots (thanks, 4-H, for the food coupons) didn't hurt either.

We've done 4-h for three years now, and every year I say I'm going to drop it. June gets hectic, and we're always behind on the things we planned to finish. This year's stress led me to announce that next year "We are skipping 4-H!" and when fair day rolls around, "I'll just pay you twenty bucks apiece!"

Yes. I really said this. And I'm pretty sure I meant it. But, then, I take a look at everything my adorable kids accomplished:








Ramona's artwork and the sewing she did on her "I Love Jesus" banner? Betsy's gorgeous purple-ribbon cake? Anne-with-an-e's potato bread moving on the state fair? Can I really put a price on all of this?

I'm gonna have to up it to at least twenty-five.

*****

Did you watch The Next Food Network Star last night? We were aghast that they didn't send Integrity-Challenged Debbie home.

Grrrrrr.

*****

Ramona Gets the Sabbath

Ramona: "What are you cleaning up?"

Me: "The cat threw up again."

Ramona: "Oh, okay. That's necessary work. That's okay today."

Friend Time, Talk and Wine

First of all, thanks to all of you who chimed in on the Mommy/Daughter Date article over at Faith and Family Live. Such fun comments!

And second, I am just back from -- not special mommy time, but -- special friend time. My friend Andrea and I connected in Omaha (after not seeing one another for five years) and stayed two nights for a little mom getaway. You'll find Andrea's name in the front of my Rosary book -- I dedicated it to her, as she has told me for years that I would/should/could write a book, and she regularly checked up on me to ask if I was making time in my life to write. A couple of years ago, she said that as soon as I published a book, she would fly in (she lives in New York) and visit.

She did. We stayed at a fun, art deco hotel downtown (Andrea's very sweet, very generous gift to me) and we talked, we laughed, we drank red wine, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we talked, we drank wine, and we talked. I used to call Andrea "my other spiritual director" and she called me the same, because we can both share anything with the other and know that we will get brutally honest (and much appreciated) feedback. And nothing has changed in the last five years.

Last week, I was feeling a bit envious of one of our priests, who was heading off on retreat. I was imagining my own retreat -- quiet time and meditative prayer ... a complete and utter getaway from the world.

This wasn't exactly that kind of retreat, but it was incredible refreshment for my mind and spirit.

Thanks, Andrea.

I'm at Faith and Family Live today

Meet me over at Faith and Family Live --

I'm talking about some "holy multitasking" -- going to Mass, and also bonding with the kids while buying toilet paper.

Find it here and let me know what you think!

"You Write Like a Man"

"And I mean that as a compliment," a male friend recently told me.

So I took it as a compliment.

He was talking about the Rosary book (which he's currently reading) and I took it to mean that I write in a voice that will appeal to men as well as to women. (I can assure you it does not mean that I'm Hemingway-esque. I've never written about a big river or a fish and I probably never will, unless the fish are named Dorothy and Evelyn and they are male Bettas that once belonged to Betsy and Anne-with-an-e. But that's a pet story and a story about death, and is probably feminine and somewhat Kafkaesque at that. But I digress.)

"You write like a teacher," added another friend, and I laughed and said, "I live like a teacher." Then I thought about just how often I probably sound like a teacher:

"Mom, what's for dinner?"

"Well, it's Tuesday. Can you draw any conclusions based on past Tuesdays? What do you think we're having for dinner?"

(Disclaimer: I don't really have a Tuesday menu ... I'm not that organized. So I don't think I've actually said this specific thing. It's just the type of thing I'd say ....)

So, I write like a man, and sound like a teacher.

But I still run like a girl.

Cranky Holidays

Do you love the Fourth of July?

Good for you.

I get cranky about it.

I don't mean to be such a drag on the fun. It's just that after a week of explosives going off in our neighborhood (tomorrow they'll be illegal again -- huzzah!) I'm ready for it to end. And the enormous fireworks display in our community? I get cranky about that, too, because a huge part of me finds it to be a sinful waste of money.

I told you I'm no fun.

But, we went to the huge, sinful waste of money, and as always, my kids had fun. And I had fun, too, prompting Ramona to say, "Now, Mommy, don't you regret what you said earlier? When you were cranky?"

Well, yeah. And I'm happy and I'm privileged to live in a country where I'm free to be cranky and no fun.

Happy birthday, America. We love you.

Ramona Learns Something New

Last night Ramona and I were reading Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert. When we got to K, Ramona said, "Oh! I always thought a kumquat was a type of monkey! Apparently, it's a fruit or vegetable."  

You just never know what you'll learn when you're a reader.