I've Given Up

Posting pictures in April, that is.


I'm just swamped by costumes for the play this week. I AM rounding the bend into the final straightaway, however. Everything I have is ironed, hemmed, hung, labeled and ready to go. All I have to do today is work on some headcoverings for the biblical boys.

Oh, I'm knitting a shawl for Bernadette to wear, too. But that's non-essential since we have one that is just a little small. This one would be better, but I'm not knocking myself out over it! I could bind it off now and it would be fine, but if I'm doing all this work, I'd like it to be as big as it can be!

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This morning we're taking a little field trip to the new community garden to see if we can't get some or all of our seedlings planted. I hope this little venture works out and our produce isn't all stolen. I'm not the most experienced gardener, either, so I may not actually have produce worth stealing! I'll try to take some pictures so you can see the gardens.

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Stop by and visit the Georgia Rambler. He's been rambling about the books he's read. He's really smart, and good looking. And he's all mine. He had a birthday on Sunday, too, but I was too busy ruining his birthday cake to blog about it.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Last night was our adorable homeschool production of St. George and the Dragon. It was an opera written by a member of the parish. Every word of it was sung and it was just adorable. Did I say that already? All the kids performed admirably considering how scary singing in front of an audience can be! The 3 most important characters, the dragon, Christiana (who has to be sacrificed to the dragon), and St. George (yes, the Pipster) all did a great job. It was so charming and fun. So, I don't have an adorable dragon cake to show you, but I have St. George:
   
   
   
   
2. Another super-busy day today---sewing costumes this morning, rehearsal after lunch, piano practice immediately after rehearsal, dropping TMax off at the church again for a BSA camping trip, and then off to Webelos. I think we'll have time to stop by the house for a quick, quick dinner.
   
   
3. Piano practice is an extra session at TMax's teacher's house because he is performing an 8-hand (!) piece called "Legend of the Phoenix" for the recital next month. So, he and the other 3 pianists are meeting Fridays at her house to practice it since she has 2 pianos in the same room. Oh, and just to be clear, this is just a random YouTube video, not my son and his friends.
   
   
4. I'm looking forward to starting my garden this weekend! Tomorrow is the big build-out day with volunteers building the raised beds and filling them with dirt. Then I can plant the many seedlings I have here at home that are bursting out of their pots.
   
   
5. One of my new favorite blogs/resources is Kelly the Kitchen Kop. If you're interested in eating as healthfully as possible, she has a lot of good information. One caution, though: she is not politically correct (as she says). You will not find the usual food-pyramid type advice here. You'll find the wacky stuff that I believe in like raw milk and good saturated fats. But's she's got the research linked for you!
   
   
6. Dh is taking a bunch of boys to a Columbian Squires event tomorrow. I'm not sure how many of mine are going. I think they may be staying here for other activities. But if he takes them all, I may another quiet day with just my little princess. Keeping my fingers crossed....
   
   
7. Have a great weekend! I am really looking forward to it, myself!
   

Day 23

I think I'll be glad when April is over and I'm not pressured to post a picture every day. Not so much because I don't like the photo plan, but because April is a very busy month!

We had our "last" homeschool co-op last Friday, but it's not over yet. Last night was the Pipster's dress rehearsal for St. George and the Dragon, and tonight is the performance. Did you know today is his feast day? Ideas for celebrating over at Catholic Cuisine. We will be enjoying a medieval feast at the "dinner theatre". Anyway, when I went to pick up Pipster after Hitch's Drama Banquet at The School, I kept thinking that I was glad not to be on the team for that show since the whole room was a mess and had to be cleaned up and put in order again before the show tomorrow.

Oh, wait, I'll be doing it next week for TMax's show!

They, the 5th & up kids, will be doing a story of St. Bernadette called The Smallest of All, and the bible story The Road to Emmaus. I have to finish up the costumes---and I'm starting to realize how many little details I've forgotten about until now (shhhh! don't tell the director! She has total confidence in me. Where's that eye-rolling emoticon???). I'll also be doing makeup for the performance and everyone involved has to stay to clean-up.

Why is it that when I'm exhausted, I want to sit here and write about the things coming up that are going to exhaust me more?

Part of my tiredness stems from having friends over yesterday. Our friends who moved to NY last year are in town for the week and they all came over to play yesterday. The kids all get along so well and they had a terrific time together.

I made Barbara's pizza dough which was easy and a big hit. The Little Princess gave it high praise when she said it tasted like "ordered pizza". Then we had strawberry shortcake with the last of the strawberries that we had picked with these same friends last May, just before they moved. It was a lot of fun, but tiring. But I'll take that kind of fun exhaustion any day over the driving around town exhaustion!

I mean to take a bunch of pictures of all this fun, but I was too busy! I got one picture of all the sweet girls together, so here's your picture of the day!



Today is another busy day with costumes, laundry (folding all the loads that I washed yesterday), cleaning up some of the clutter around here, and running errands. I wish I could do some of this outside in the sunshine since it is finally getting warm here and there is no rain in the forecast!

I got a bunch of books from the library yesterday that I'm just dying to sit down and read. Maybe Saturday. Definitely Sunday. I should be able to sit down by then.

Day 22

Playing with the settings on my camera. This one was supposed to make the blues more vivid. I think it worked.

Day 21

Divine Mercy Sunday

I spent a wonderful 5+ hours at church today: 10:30 Mass with the choir, then cantoring the noon Mass, and then a 1-hour talk about Divine Mercy by Sister Grace Kelly of the Sisters of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Sister Grace gave a talk at each Mass that was an introduction to her longer talk at 1:30. She was very inspirational.

It was an amazing day. Inspired by Sister Grace and the always inspirational ladies at Catholic Cuisine, I came up with this for dessert:


I just used the shortcake recipe from my BH&G cookbook, doubled it, and made a square and circle. I cut the circle in half to make the heart. Then I covered the seams with the blood and water pouring from Jesus's heart----strawberry syrup made from berries we picked last summer, and blue whipped cream. And it tasted wonderful, too, just like Jesus's sweet mercy!

Like the gospel command, "Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful," this demand that we show mercy to our
neighbors "always and everywhere" seems impossible to
fulfill. But the Lord assures us that it is possible. "When a
soul approaches Me with trust," He explains, "I fill it with such
an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within
itself, but radiates them to other souls" (Diary, 1074).

Day 19

I took this picture on Friday after our co-op. It was such a gorgeous day----the sky was so blue, the dogwoods so pink and the grass so green! I guess I didn't get any grass in the picture because I liked how the "Redeemer" was between the two trees.

Day 18

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

So far I haven't found the time to take my camera out and take special pictures just for the fun of photography. I think I may never be a photographer. It's easier to just take pictures of something happening and post them one at a time!

2.

I finished reading A Girl of the Limberlost this morning. I could hardly put it down last night to go to sleep and I got right back into it this morning before I even checked email or blogs! That's how good it is! I can't understand why it's on the Elizabeth Foss's 4th grade reading list, but I hope the Pipster enjoys it. At least until it gets to the romantic second half.

3.

Today is the "last" co-op of the year. "Last" because we still have dress rehearsal and drama production for the Pipster next week 2 days in a row, and then the same thing the following week for TMax. And we might even have another rehearsal for TMax next Friday. This morning, after I finish blogging (ahem) I'm going to spend the time finishing costumes for this afternoon. I am actually getting tired of sewing.

4.

Last night we worked on the scrapbooking merit badge for American Heritage Girls and had the girls each make a page for the album. Did you know that 5, 7, & 8 year old girls get really (and I mean really!) scissor-happy when it comes to cropping photos? And the markers and stickers? Oh. my. goodness. They were out of control.

5.

Our good friends who moved away to Rochester, NY last May are here for a week-long visit! We can't wait to see them and spend time with them this week.

6.

There's a homeschooling conference in town this weekend that I would love to go to, but I can't. Sorry, Shelley, we won't be able to meet! The Master of the World is going camping with Pipster for the weekend and I will be busy driving the family shuttle-bus all over town.

7.

Happy Easter! Don't forget that we're still in the Octave of Easter and today is not a day of penance!

Day 15

I can't post one of my own photos today. I'm lost in the Limberlost. Trying desperately to find my way out so I can fix dinner, fold laundry, and sew costumes before choir. Right.

I have a 100-year old copy of this book that I read in high school. We got a copy from the library for Pipster to read for school, but I got to it first. I. Love. It. Still.

Day 14

Oops, I was supposed to post a picture today, wasn't I? Believe it or not, I was working hard trying to have a productive school day, finish the laundry, take LP & Pipster to see Hannah Montana: The Movie, fix dinner and take TMax to Boy Scouts.

So here are three lovely (may I say) pictures of some of our Easter fun. We attempted a 3-4 layer coconut cake for Easter (just a little out of our league!). One layer broke when someone who shall remain nameless tried to take it out of the pan before it cooled. (In case you don't know: bread comes out of the pan while still warm, so it won't sweat and get soggy. Cake stays in the pan until completely cooled!). The other layer broke for some other reason; I forget. After frosting the usual 2 layers, we had leftover frosting and I decided to use the broken pieces to make cake balls a la Pioneer Woman. Who doesn't love PDub? Actually, the cake balls are Bakerella's idea, but that's on PW's site.

We just broke up the cake, added the frosting and blended it all together until it looked like barf. Charming, huh? Then we rolled it into little balls and rolled them in coconut. TMax said it tasted good but felt like something you didn't want to be eating. Or something equally scary.

They may have looked and felt disgusting, but they sure didn't last long!

Day 13

Happy Easter!

We had a beautiful weekend. Saturday was quiet, as it should be, with preparations for the Easter Vigil that night.

The Vigil Mass was long but very moving. The choir members were all very excited before Mass began---we were so happy that it was almost Easter! All my boys were serving on the altar and my girls were staying awake because the Little Princess had had a nap that day. MoW was ushering.

Sunday I had to go to Mass again after staying up until 1:00 a.m., but that's okay because I'm not sure you can to Easter Mass too many times! I did have a guaranteed seat with the choir, after all.

At the Pipster's suggestion, for, like, a week and a half, we went for a walk around here:



The weather was perfect and the kids were having fun. We were turned back a couple of times because of flooding over the path. I think the drought is over; we haven't seen it like this in years.

My beautiful kids, wishing you all the joy of the Easter season!

Holy Saturday --- Day 11

No picture from me today. Go here and be sure to scroll down a bit. I'm not sure, but I suspect this link will only work today, Holy Saturday.

Dh and I went to UGa last night to hear a beautiful choral concert of Mendelssohn's Elijah. Thoroughly enjoyed it despite tornado warnings there and at home, and brought home our precious KT for Easter.

One more day...

Good Friday -- Day 10

Days 7 & 8

I can't believe I didn't get around to posting a photo yesterday. Who are we kidding? It's harder to believe that I took and posted them 6 days in a row!




Anyway, Day 7 is here with my Little Princess in her nightgown. KT made that nightgown about 10 years ago when I was teaching her to sew.




Today's picture is the reason I didn't get around to posting that picture. Isn't it beautiful? All it needs now is a hem and a pretty camisole to cover up the cleavage! I love it even though it has some flaws that annoy the bejeebers out of me. I don't know if I'll wear it for Easter or not because it will just be covered up by the choir robe.

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Holy Week thought: Isn't that the way God feels about us? He had a plan to make something beautiful, which he did, but through no fault of His own, it has flaws. We all have those flaws which are sometimes visible to everyone, and other times we manage to keep them hidden. But God sees them and they probably annoy the bejeebers out of Him.

I'm going to Confession today. How about you?

Today is my Anniversary!

That is, the 13th anniversary of my coming into the Catholic Church! It's TMax's day, too, since he was baptized at the Easter Vigil. Oh, what a happy day that was. I'm so grateful to have found the truth I had been seeking in the Catholic Church. I didn't even know I was seeking, having been brought up in a very faithful Christian home, but the Catholic faith filled in so many gaps for me that I had just shrugged off for years.

Now, how do we celebrate without breaking our Lenten fasts???

Day 6

This sweet Japanese maple is my happy photo of the day. I love this tree. It reminds me of my mother every time I see it, and as it is in front of my house, that's pretty often!

Mom brought me half a dozen seedlings from a very large, mature tree one year when she was staying in Delaware (?) at the home of portraitist Nelson Shanks. He had art students stay with him for months at a time to help out around the estate in exchange for lessons. Nelson painted this gorgeous painting that some of my friends may be familiar with:



So, when I see this tree and it's siblings in the backyard, I'm reminded of my mother's love for gardening, her incredible talent for painting, and her gifts to me.

Day 5

Today is a photo from the beautiful Stations of the Cross on the Chattahoochee River at my parish since we're embarking on the holiest week of the year.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Day 4

This is what made me happy yesterday----the grey clouds breaking up and blue sky showing. Alas, it was still really chilly and cloudy all day.

Finally, today we have full sun! Praise God!

April's Shower-Day 3

Today's photo is my pretty dogwood that is easily seen from my kitchen or family room window.

Rick Roll

I just have to post this. Stumbled across it in my reading this morning. I haven't seen Rick Astley in years and this just made me smile. A lot. But it may make you gag, so don't watch if you hate Rick.

How can anyone hate him? He's such a cutie!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

OMG, TGIF!!! Actually, since I'm starting this Thursday night, TGIT! It has been the looooongest week. Starting with homeschooling in the auto mechanic's living room on Monday. I took my car in for routine maintenance and had to wait for it since dh was visiting the U. of Alabama with Hitch. They have a lovely "living room" for a waiting area and they're sort of used to my camping out and homeschooling my children when we have to wait. It's a shop owned by a nice Christian couple.

2.

While I was there, dh called because his car had broken down on the road and he had to rent a car to make the trip to 'Bama. So I spent some time on the phone back and forth with the insurance company and the mechanic to decide to have it towed to our trusty mechanic. They had it most of the day Monday and all of Tuesday and couldn't figure out the problem (because it's a Volvo and part of the problem was computer related which they can't fix.) So we had to pick it up that night and limp to the Volvo place a mile away.

3.

Volvo knew what the problem was and it took 2 tries to get it fixed properly. They tried the bandaid approach first, but it broke down again the next day (Thursday). Thank goodness dh hadn't gotten on the highway and was, again, able to limp to the Volvo place. Today they gave it a new throttle and she's good to go. She's worth a lot more now, too. I hope.

4.

While all this has been going on, I've naturally been doing all my normal driving, plus all of dh's driving. To and from school. To and from the Marta station. To and from the mechanics. It's all been good. Worked out schedule-wise. It's just been a LOT of hours in the car all week.

5.

Finally, Thursday afternoon I was able to take him to pick up his better-be-good-as-new car and go to American Heritage Girls. The meeting was good; the Board members got some important stuff done; and it was over early! Wahoowa! I can't tell you how happy I was to get home to a dinner I didn't cook and know that tomorrow today is Friday and I don't have co-op. Or anything. Except maybe a beautiful, relaxing, refreshing First Friday Mass and some time in the sun at the park! It feels so good.

6.

Our city has started a community garden for the first time ever and I scored a plot. A nice little 4x10 foot garden with sunshine and built-in water! Maybe tomorrow we can plant our little seeds so we'll have some seedlings by the end of the month when the official start day is. Right now my plan is to drive over every morning (as needed) during the summer when I drop Little Princess at swim team practice. I'm hoping it does well, but not so well that I'm overwhelmed by keeping up with it and harvesting too many veggies. I'll have to learn to can if it does well.

7.

2 extra hours of sleep is a beautiful thing after a long week. The drawback is that I missed spending time with my sweet husband this morning. We did get lots of extra time together this week in the car and on the phone! Yesterday he worked from home and it was nice having him around.


Don't forget to visit Jen's place for more Quick Takes!

April Showers

I don't know how I'm going to manage, but the goal here is to post a photo a day in April. I'm already a day late, and no doubt a dollar short. In fact, I'm not even using a pic I took today, but two from our trip to Callaway Gardens in February. I don't think I posted these.

I'm a totally amateur photographer and I certainly don't have a clue as to how to use some most of the features of my camera! However, I'm looking forward to this "challenge" because there are lots of places that I drive by every week that I think are beautiful for my own weird reasons. I'm hoping this will be the impetus I need to take my camera and maybe park my car to snap a couple of shots.