Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...
a beautiful , sunny day. The weather is getting nicer out there as the Louisiana summer heat finally begins to loosen its hold. I think we even had a couple days last week that the air conditioner didn't run!

I am thinking...
about Christmas: making gifts, planning gifts, trying to be done before Advent.
I'm also thinking about the upcoming feast of All Saints.

I am thankful...for a soft, warm, snugly, smiley, cooing, sweet-smelling baby boy.

In the kitchen...we had lasagna the other night.  I realized a couple weeks ago that a recipe for a 9" by 13" pan could be split in half and put in two 8" square pans instead, which suits our needs much better.  When I made lasagna, I cooked one pan and froze the other, and a couple days ago I enjoyed the benefits of my cleverness:  dinner (which got rave reviews from my husband and daughter) with almost no effort!

I am creating...
an autumn wardrobe for Lucy.  This is mostly in the planning stages, but I'm almost ready to buy some things and start sewing the garments I intend to make.

I am going...
mostly to my mother-in-law's house these days.  They are replacing the roof of our apartment building, and the noise is driving the babies crazy, so we go someplace quiet in the interest of trying to get some naptime in.  It's really wonderful to have family close by so that we have somewhere to go when there is some problem at our place (air-conditioning not working, water turned off, roofers making noise ... I wonder what's next?).  My in-laws are very generous about that.


I am reading...
not much besides magazines and blogs at the moment.  I finished the book I was reading and I haven't picked out another just yet.

I am hoping...
that the roofers will be done with the section of the roof directly over us in the next day or so, and then the noise won't be as bad.

I am looking forward to...
All Saint's Day!  It's one of my favorite feasts.

Around the house...sweeping up plaster debris that falls down from the ceiling because of the men tramping around on the roof.

One of my favorite things...Mass at a convent nearby on the third anniversary of our engagement yesterday.  It's wonderful to be able to get to a Latin Mass on a weekday occasionally.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
the walk to Emmaus.  We still need to hang this one up in our new place.  I kind of miss it.

From the Simple Woman's Daybook

Birthdays

On the day one leaves his mother's womb, he is born into the world. On the day one is baptized, he is born into the Church. And on the day of one's death, if one is a saint, he is born into eternal life in Heaven.  Thus it is that the Roman Martyrology speaks of the "birthdays" of the saints and martyrs who are listed for the day.

It is inspiring to read the accounts of those who have been born into eternal life, and the reading always ends "and elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors and holy virgins."  These are Christian heroes, marked by heroic virtue and holiness of life (at least at the end of their lives), and they are many.  In a couple weeks we will be celebrating all of them:  the ones whose names we don't know, as well as those listed in the Martyrology.  May the upcoming feast remind us to follow their example and ask for their intercession so that we may celebrate with them our own "birthday" into eternal life with God.

Beginning on Sunday, October 23, I will be praying the Litany of the Saints as a novena of sorts leading up to the feast.

This video has a pleasant recording of the Latin chant. I may be using it as an aid to prayer.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

{Pretty}

I made that little skirt a couple weeks ago and ...

{Happy}

Lucy was absolutely delighted with it.  She insisted on wearing it as soon as it was finished.

{Funny}

The way her toddler belly makes the skirt hang down lower in the front than in the back cracks me up.

{Real}

The poor little girl is working on four molars at once, and is rather miserable.  I think she's also as sleep deprived as I am.  Poor thing.  Anyone know of a patron saint for teething?

Find more lovely pictures at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Yarn Along

My tunisian crochet blanket is progressing rather slowly.  I'd better pick up the pace if I'm going to finish by Christmas.  In fact, I'd really like to have it done by the beginning of Advent, so that I can spend Advent thinking about Advent rather than worrying about Christmas.  That's the goal this year; we'll see how it goes.

I've been really enjoying Voices from an Early American Convent.  The main body of the book is a set of letters from a group of Ursuline nuns who came to New Orleans to found a convent here.  While Ursulines are generally teachers, they were originally brought to the area to run a hospital, and ended up working with orphans and "loose women" as well.  Their convent still stands and is generally accepted to be the oldest building in the Mississippi valley.  Their schools are still operating in the city, although they are no longer staffed by nuns.  It's been interesting to read about the founders of a convent not far from where we live, and of which my husband's aunt was a member.  I highly recommend the book (which is available from Amazon here).  Although the editorial remarks take an annoyingly feminist perspective, the words of these brave missionary nuns are edifying.  I'm rather in awe of these women;  if I were a French Ursuline nun, I would have stayed in France.

See more books and yarn at small things

Blog Names

Referring to my children by their ages and genders has become cumbersome, so I have decided to give them blog names.  Unfortunately, I can't stand nicknames and can't bring myself to give them to my children, so I will be using real names, just not their real names.  My little girl, who is a little over a year old right now, will be known here as Lucy (a Roman martyr mentioned in the canon of the Mass), and my baby boy will be known as Linus (the second pope).

Proof of Original Sin

My toddler (who largely communicates by pointing and grunting, with a few words thrown in here and there just for cuteness) can apparently both tell "stories" and make excuses.

She was sitting on her daddy's lap getting ready to go to sleep, and she pointed across the room, seeming to indicate that she wanted one of the toys or (more likely) books over in that general vicinity.  So her daddy let her get down to go get what she wanted, and she immediately turned the opposite direction and went right out the door!  She then let out a little cackle and toddled the length of the house as fast as her little legs would carry her and appeared in our bedroom, where I was changing the baby's diaper.  When her daddy caught up with her he related all this to me, and the toddler turned, spotted a book on the floor and picked it up.  She then held to book out to her daddy as if to say, "See, I really was looking for a book!"

Playing Ball

One of the things that my toddler daughter doesn't do yet is play ball (as in rolling it back and forth) because, well, until a couple days ago, we'd never tried.  I started out rolling a ball back and forth in front of me.  She got interested and came over to see what I was doing.  I rolled the ball to her.  She rolled it about ninety degrees from my general direction.  I reached over and caught the ball and rolled it back to her.  This continued for a few minutes and then somehow it became apparent that she was much more interested in chasing the ball than in a nice controlled game of roll the ball back and forth.  So after a few minutes the game looked like this:  mama rolling the ball across the room, little girl toddling after it, picking up the ball and carrying it back to mama.  Repeat.

I had a nearly overwhelming urge to say "Go fetch!" after I rolled that ball.