Leila Marie Lawler's Blog, page 16
April 9, 2022
Criteria for choosing books (and movies) for children of all ages
My new podcast is up!
The Home Truths Good Cheer Society with Auntie Leila
In this episode I offer some criteria for choosing books (and by extension, movies) for children, and I’m not sure that the title gets across that I am talking about all children, including teenagers.
So often I will see people recommend books for a child who has enjoyed one thing or another, and those recommendations strike me as totally inappropriate. I try to articulate the reasons, although I could definitely say more, and probably will at some point!
I think I have some observations that you might not have thought about — at least, I have never seen them discussed; if you have, please point me to the resource, as I am eager to know more about these things. I talk about the three stages of a child’s development: finding out about the existence of a world beyond his immediate needs, learning how to cope with the demands of that world, and finally, learning how to understand the interior world of spirit and emotions, leading to finding his own place in life.
I also discuss the importance of imagination and how to develop it.
Enjoy!
The catechetical knot — a fine little video produced by the Silverstream Abbey in Ireland — the monk here is the son of our friend Peter Kwasniewski. Check out their store; you can find the Curdie books there, among other little treasures, including beautiful greeting cards printed in their workshop.
Five places you can download books for free
A short conversion account that I relate to quite closely: From Feminist to Traditionalist by Silica McMeans
Melody Lyons writes about Wokism in a multi-level-marketing makeup selling scheme, and why she had to stop being a part of it.
What is this thing that our leaders and global elites have called The Great Reset?
from the archivesIf you are wishing you could garden but really don’t know how to get yourself outside to do it, here’s an older post in which I confess all my little issues and how I overcame them.
As the seasons change, I find that I invariably get paralyzed by supper — and it’s because I need to switch gears and get a new plan. I’m all about making dinner every day and liking it. The way is to make menus, and I will hold your hand. And yes, I find that I have to reboot this process every so often — as experienced as I am! Try it!liturgical living
St. Gaucherius; We are heading into Holy Week and I may probably not see you in this spot until we emerge from the other side. A blessed Easter to you all!
follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
My new podcast can be found on the Restoration of Christian Culture website (and you can find it where you listen to such things) — be sure to check out the other offerings there!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram, Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Criteria for choosing books (and movies) for children of all ages appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
April 2, 2022
{pretty, happy, funny, real} and a confession!
If you are new here to our blog, welcome!
You may not know that back in the day, when blogging was a thing everyone did for fun and not monetization, we had a link-up called {pretty, happy, funny, real} — the idea came to me one day in a flash of inspiration, and I must say it was fun! People would link up their posts with all the nice, funny, and honestly bonkers things that had happened during the week!
But then link-ups sort of faded as people moved on to Instagram and so on, and it was a lot of work for me to be sure we had that post every week while also trying to write my books. Those posts are still memorialized up in the menu bar if you want to have a look!
But today I have a {phfr} — not a link-up, although you could certainly share your blog or Instagram post in the comments, but just a visit today, along those lines of sharing and chatty!
AND I HAVE A CONFESSION! I will put it in my {real} down below!!
{pretty}
Progress on the rec-room-turned-craft-room… I am loving the brick and the white! New sconces are coming (in my house, there is little overhead lighting, but lots of random sconces on the walls) and other details that I will put in a proper before-and-after post soon, I hope! Meanwhile, I have a mountain of ironing to do, since I moved it up here and then promptly put this room out of action.
Hence, the deployed ironing board. (You can see a few more peeks on my IG)
{happy}
I made that King Arthur Pan de Cristal recipe, following it exactly, and am so happy that finally I have produced that light, airy, sort of dry yet toothsome bread I’ve been after for so long! I’m working on a sourdough version too, and will keep you updated.
{funny}
Leila Miller shared a meme that was basically saying, “If I have to parallel park, I just won’t go” and I had to boast to her about how I used to squeeze my Suburban into the tiniest spaces in Cambridge, MA, when Rosie was at school there and I would go visit her. I was a real pro! No space was too small!
However, as I texted Leila, I have now completely lost my touch. Despite back-up camera, beeping, and of course a much smaller car, I cannot for the life of me get it into any sort of spot straight!
I don’t know whether it’s the vehicle’s curved lines or the disappearing, sloped hood, or what, but I am truly hopeless!
I had to send her these pics to make up for my vain boasts! So I thought I’d share them with you so that you can continue laughing at me!
{real}
MY CONFESSION!!
So, on the Amazon listing for The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life (affiliate link), early on there was one review that simply and stunningly says,
1.0 out of 5 stars So much spanking
This woman encourages frequent spanking. So much spanking. She recommends hitting children regularly to keep them obedient
Well, that kind of took my breath away! Considering how many thousands of words I have written on the subject of discipline — on being firm and affectionate, on learning patience and self control, and yes, on spanking, but seldom and effectively, to avoid psychological manipulation, which can be so very dangerous — this was quite the shocker! “So much spanking?” “regularly”??
But now it must be said!
I have a confession!
I did write a post in which I not only said you should spank children regularly, I said you should line them up at the same time every day and spank them!
I said that this approach is the only way to ensure consistency and to avoid all sorts of issues, that I laid out systematically in six numbered points, concluding with the Spanking Paradox, viz.,
6. Spanking reduction. Yes! It’s true! This method actually results in fewer punishments for most children! They will thank you because this way they only get one spank every day! Win-win!
I confess! IT’S ALL TRUE! I WROTE THAT!
BUT — this was my April Fool post from 2014, and yes, I included it in the book! To be honest, I put a lot of effort into that post and I consider it some of my best work! Or at least, something that certainly represents my peculiar sense of humor, funneled to me from my amusing husband; so I thought it should not be left out of my vast archival work, since part of my aim is to be known, not necessarily in a lot of personal details but in the honesty of my thought processes!
But I guess some people have no sense of humor!
I love you, my readers… that post has so many funny comments, one of which is “My kids are really wishing I had read to the end before lining them up! ;)”
So, let the chips fall where they may… I will say this: I think that commenter did me a favor! I got a lot of messages to the effect of, “I figured that a book that got someone that mad about spanking had to be up my alley! It made me pull the trigger and buy the set!”
And of course, I am so grateful for the 79 other people who left me five stars and helpful and approving reviews. The truth is that it helps so much to have reviews on Amazon — it makes it so that their algorithm produces my book to others who might not have ever heard of it.
So if you ever think to yourself, “What little thing, not requiring a lot of commitment or effort, could I do for Auntie” — the answer would be, “Please leave a nice review on Amazon, even if it’s one word!”
If you had a {pretty, happy, funny, real} this week, feel free to share! There is a hashtag on Instagram (#prettyhappyfunnyreal) that has some posts, and I have a feeling that it would not be a bad idea to revive it! I’ll see you there…
bits & pieces
Someone asked me about making sourdough panettone, and this is the recipe I used a while back. It’s not quite as complicated as it seems (though granted, there are two doughs). I did not go through the whole pasta madre rabbit hole (maybe later haha) and honestly, using my rather stiff starter worked beautifully! However, you really do need to have those paper molds and hang the loaves upside down after baking. Mine came out really perfectly but did collapse because I thought I could get away with it. These are the ones I have on the way.(affiliate link) If you live near me, I’d be happy to share my order with you — don’t think I’ll be making 12 panettone!
The Pillaging and Plundering of the English Monasteries by Joseph Pearce
Robert Reilly always edifies. I was happy to see this article about Haydn’s Music of Gratitude and Goodness. Did you notice that I chose Haydn for my intro music on my podcast? I have to say that I am often shocked at the terrible, assaulting, and anti-cultural music employed on many podcasts that I would otherwise enjoy (not to mention background music on videos and reels etc). (Look for my next podcast sometime next week, assuming I get over the near-laryngitis left from my cold!)
On a tragic note, please read this article:17 Years After They Starved My Sister to Death, We Must Never Forget Terri Schiavo and heed its advice to set up the proper legal form for medical care in case of your losing the ability to make decisions — and in the case of your children over the age of 12 as well. A living will, so called, is not enough.
I liked this short video about weight loss (really, overall health) after menopause and I think it applies to any woman at any stage of life struggling with certain issues this doctor describes. I get very frustrated with people (men) who blithely assume that if you simply count calories and exercise you will become trim. Yes, if you are a man, this is usually true (which makes you wonder how there can be so many obese men!). But for a woman it’s far trickier — and there are issues way beyond our control, about our food supply and even water supply. But the simple explanation and advice in this video helps – I’ve been following it myself and can attest to it.
I was sad to hear of the passing of Christopher Alexander — perhaps we could pray for his soul! Longtime readers here know how much I admire his work. I pray that he may be brought into that ultimate heavenly Pattern, the Source of all patterns!
from the archives
Speaking of comments from our wonderful readers, I wish the comments to this post had not been lost in our move over to this platform. I remember them as very insightful. Men without chests, or, what C. S. Lewis made me think about.
We’re almost to the end of Lent. Now is the acceptable time… now is the time to begin again. The Rule of Life
liturgical living
We are turning the corner and beginning to anticipate Passiontide. Time to intensify our mortification while realizing that only in Christ is our hope.
follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post {pretty, happy, funny, real} and a confession! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
April 1, 2022
Quick Post: Preparing for an uncertain future, a tutorial!
I have a tip that I think is so good, I just had to pop in here, not on a Saturday, to tell you about it! I’ll try to have my normal bits & pieces post tomorrow, don’t worry.
I had done my first podcast on the subject of approaching possible shortages with a sense of peace and calm preparedness: The Reasonably Stocked Life. I can see, on social media, that this is a hot topic; but I haven’t seen this one particular strategy and I am really excited about it and excited to share a simple tutorial with you.
Many people are aware that you can stock up on a lot of things by canning, freezing, smoking, salting, liming, freeze-drying, or dehydrating them, but there is one big obstacle to the essential item, the must have, the “that without which, nothing” of the well prepared pantry, and that is water.
Because of course, up until my discovery — more on that below — water is just water and does take up a lot of room. People put a lot of effort into its storage — keeping it sanitary and so on.
But I suddenly realized that with my little yard-sale dehydrator, I can overcome this problem!
I can dehydrate water and store it in jars that don’t even have to be sealed (this is like maple syrup or honey — it just keeps on its own).
I have done a lot of experimentation, and I have found that if you start with ice, it can sit on the dehydrator’s racks — unlike liquid water, which obviously would run right through them and probably damage your little machine, maybe even causing a short or something.
So my method is to place the ice on the racks, fire my trusty little dehydrator up (I did it at 130℉), and then, after about 18 hours (your time may vary, I find that these appliances work differently and even the different racks take various times), you can jar up your product and — yay! — put it right on your shelf in the pantry.
Then, when you need water in an emergency, there it is!
Isn’t that a beautiful sight, all those jars there? Gives me a warm sense of preparedness and of security! I plan to do more this weekend! Do you think you would try this?
Just add water the way you would with any dehydrated product (try it with your fruits and veggies — they are like just-picked, really!) and voilà! It rehydrates beautifully and you are good to go with fresh H₂O!
I hope this tutorial has helped you, and I wish you a very fun April Fool Day!! MWAH!
The post Quick Post: Preparing for an uncertain future, a tutorial! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 26, 2022
Flower Petal Fairy Dolls Tutorial
Back in January, Rosie posted on Instagram a few photos of her girls making flower fairy dolls from a kit I made for them. I noticed that a lot of her followers asked for a tutorial, so here it is! If you include little gifts in your children’s Easter baskets, these would be appropriate!
{All these photos, other than the one of my shopping bag, are Rosie’s!}
Oh so long ago, I had gotten (or someone had gotten, the details are lost in the mists of time) one of those Klutz kits that was truly inspired — a set of beads, artificial flower petals, and wire — and I have no idea why they discontinued them. They made such cute little fairy dolls, and the proof of just how delightful they were was that my girls made them about 20 or more years ago, played endlessly with them, and then their little girls started to play with those exact little dolls, that I kept because I couldn’t bear to throw them away! (Partly that is due to having my girls over a 14-year span, so it took a long time before my youngest, Bridget, was old enough for them to become officially “old toys.”)
I tried — believe me, I tried — to find that same kit. Rosie’s Molly had said to me last year, “I would be so happy if I could make some of these dolls!” What more incentive could a grandmother need?
But they were nowhere to be found.
Molly’s birthday came and went, but as Christmas came near, I was determined to make a kit for her and Deirdre’s little girl, who is the same age. I headed out to Michaels to do what it took to put it together, and that ended up with me convincing the manager to let me “clean up” the artificial flower department, which indeed had many, many hopelessly detached petals strewn in and under their display.
I can’t advise sending all of you out into the stores to crawl around, as yes, I admit I did, to snag free artificial flowers (and I hasten to add that I also replaced intact stems and rearranged misplaced ones too, as well as picking up in my shopping bag, with permission, what to the store was just trash!).
But I think that if you have a good coupon, you can get a fair assortment of stems and put together a good kit. If you look at the sprays of flowers, you see how they are constructed — you just gently pull the petals and leaves off the plastic stems. I think if you went in with other moms, you could divide up what you get for a good assortment, because they sell them in bunches.
A few notes on supplies: I included two kinds of wire, and the thicker gold type was better than the thinner silver, which tended to break – the ideal wire is strong enough to provide some structure, but flexible enough to stand up to a lot of bending around without snapping.
Tacky glue is useful for securing petals and embroidery floss. A glue gun would be even better, but these girls are eight years old and maybe that’s a few years away.
You need some medium-sized wooden beads for the heads and some little plastic “perler” beads for the bodies. The embroidery floss is to wrap around the wire and to glue to the head for hair, which can be flowing, braided, and/or put up in a bun.
You think you need more instructions than these, but actually, if you just start making a body, you will see how it comes together. I just came across this blog post yesterday while I was pulling this together, that has the step-by-step photos we weren’t able to muster.
Honestly, Klutz should just resurrect their kit!
bits & piecesA noble apostolate: “The Sons of Thunder, a high school group for boys based at St. Raymond of Peñafort Church, Springfield, usually gets together for prayer and discussions about current events, theology and politics from a Catholic perspective… But the group added a unique hands-on service project recently, inspired by a visiting speaker: building about a dozen tiny caskets for stillborn or miscarried infants.” St. Raymond teens build, donate tiny caskets for miscarriage ministryI had a good and deep conversation with Marie Hanson on her podcast: Incorporating prayer into the home. from the archivesChoose a kid to do dishes with… and talk toHow to blitz — do a quick tidy and cleanup of — your houseliturgical livingSt. Ludger, and Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Lent — Laetare Sunday — a day to be joyful on this journey to Easter!
follow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Flower Petal Fairy Dolls Tutorial appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 19, 2022
Chatty! And my first podcast!
We spent yesterday boiling the rest of the sap, having done the first half, about 25 gallons, last week — and when you do this, supper is best kept simple — what could be simpler than using the fire to grill a fish?
I quickly simmered some asparagus and made little lightly breaded discs of the St. Patrick’s Day mashed potatoes. It was a pleasure to take our repast out by the fire in the dusk, with a celebratory libation too, it being a family feast of our Will’s birthday (not that he was there, but still!)
Phil had done the previous boil (the outside part) while hanging out with his friends on that cold, bright day last week — their wives were inside with me, taking part in a seed-swap, the result of which was that I ended up with approximately three times the number of seeds I started with!
How it started:
How it’s going!
Must do another swap soon!
Potatoes that got exposed to the light and also started sprouting. I will let these chit and plant them!
I made my first podcast — I hope you find it not totally incomprehensible and irrelevant, but mildly edifying. It took me a while to figure out the technical part of it… and for now it is called The Home Truth and Good Cheer Society Podcast! I mean, what can I tell you — I couldn’t decide on a name!
This first episode is about The Reasonably Stocked and Prepared Life, or Doing a Little More.
Definitely share with friends if you find it helpful. There are now so many ways to access content that some have moved right away from blogs. I like it here myself! But I see the value of being able to offer thoughts about home, raising children, and making things beautiful.
If there are specific topics you’d like to hear about on the podcast, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
I encourage you to poke around the other offerings of the Center (the host of my podcast). The idea is the restoration of Christian Culture, as implied in the name. See what you think, give a listen to some of the other lectures and recordings on there, pass along to your husband! Often people ask me for a recommendation for the men in their lives, and so there you go.
Our cat, Toffee, is an outdoor cat (due to allergies). She is pretty content but hard to get a photo of — partly because her unusual coloring makes her almost camouflaged, and partly because she is usually on the go! But while we were boiling, she was keeping us company.
bits & piecesSophia Institute Press is having a big sale for Easter, 30% off everything, including The Summa Domestica. The sale will be over on Tuesday, so hop on over!I love Alice von Hildebrand. She combines in her person a life well lived, a vivid intellect, and authentic femininity. If you enjoy the snippet of the introductory music on the podcast, you will find it here: Haydn’s Fantasia in C. Delightful.I recommend this short (6 minutes) video made by a priest, on the book by Peter Kwasniewski (also available at Sophia with that discount, above), True Obedience in the Church. liturgical livingToday is the feast of glorious St. Joseph!
follow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Chatty! And my first podcast! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 12, 2022
Frugal seed starting
Remember how I “curated” the pantry and it was fairly neat and tidy?
Also remember how last year my new (to me) seed bench was so big it only fit in the living room due to the pantry not being curated?
Well, heh heh … this year the seed bench is in the pantry!
Rosie: “Good thing too — you could almost move around in there!”
More on seed-starting below, with a frugal hack that tens of you may be marginally interested in!
Podcast: I did the podcast, as promised, and hope to have a link for you early next week. It will be hosted on The Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture (aka The Thomas More Center, due to it being a project of the Thomas More College for the Liberal Arts).
If you are not podcast-oriented, don’t worry, you won’t miss much. It’s sort of an introduction to the things we do here at LMLD and the material in my new books, but for people who mainly find out about such things via podcasts.
Apparently there are many who just want to listen to a podcast! I have no particular ambitions for myself, but I do think that it’s good to reach these others with the message that making the home, educating children, and bringing the ordinary beauty that is an instrument of peace, as Roger Scruton put it, into the world, are all worth doing.
I also chat about some practical ways to become more competent in managing a household when we don’t have the usual abundance at our fingertips. Of course, living on one income for many years brings along with it lots of strategies for frugality, for sure — just want to keep that collective memory alive.
I touch on gardening and how now is the time (at least here in the northern hemisphere, you know what I mean) to get planting! Some things, at least: The last frost date here in Central MA (zone 6a) is May 4, although the ground really doesn’t warm up until Memorial Day, not for things like peppers and eggplant, and gosh, it has snowed here on my birthday — May 17! But that’s okay, there are other things to get started!
When I think about what I am happy to have had this winter, harvest-wise, I know I will plant more onions, winter squash, kale, parsnips, and herbs. I have plenty of garlic left and have already planted next year’s harvest (it goes in the ground in the Fall). I loved making asparagus and parsnip soup for Christmas dinner’s first course (a recipe that I hope to share with you at some point). Having asparagus in the freezer was great, and that’s a crop that you plant once and harvest for decades.
Looking at food prices (with a side-eye towards inflation), I can say that it will be important to have some food inventory. If you can plant a garden, those are the things to focus on, along with paste tomatoes to roast up and freeze, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and potatoes. Many things store pretty easily in a cool spot (like my pantry, a basement store-room, or a garage), without much special provision — I mean who wouldn’t love a root cellar, but between the fridge and the pantry, we can make this happen. Even if you have room for only a couple of beds, see what you can do.
And as I say, now is the time to plan it. I highly recommend spending some time with Charles Dowding. Learning his no-dig method is a game-changer — time is precious and it’s super demoralizing to spend it all on weed-abatement. He is practical and cuts through the complications and truisms of gardening, which makes his ideas more frugal. For instance, he dismisses the idea that you have to sterilize your seed trays or worry about fertilizers. Phew. Yes, there is an army of interns behind the scenes in his gardens, so you have to apply the discount to all that and be satisfied with a smidge less perfection. And his climate is very different from what I have here. Still. He is a trove of information.
I’m all about trying my hardest not to come up with that $500 tomato and the $600 salad, so starting seeds frugally is a priority. I use a soldering iron that turned up in the craft closet to make drainage holes in those handy baby lettuce/spinach containers, and don’t forget solo cups when it’s time to move little seedlings into bigger pots. Aluminum pans, trays discarded from restaurants, packing material…
Here’s how the winter sowing is going.
I had to liberate these things from their icy containers. Soon it will warm up and they will start growing. I have broccoli, celeriac, beets, cleome, basil, marjoram, and elacampine (never heard of it but apparently it’s a medicinal herb) going out there, with vervain and arugula up next, now that I have more milk jugs (scrounged from my friend — we drink milk by the quart around here now!).
Hopefully the radiator is warm enough for the peppers — I don’t want to buy seed mats!And now, the frugal hack! DIY soil blocking!
Are you familiar with this concept of soil blocking?
But again, spending money on things… I think I found a simple way to do it. I prefer videos where the person gets right to the thing you want to know, and I certainly do not do that here, sorry, I’ll try to be better next time — I have no idea what I am doing:
“The whole story of the Temptation is misconceived,” wrote Monsignor Ronald Knox, “if we do not recognize that it was an attempt made by Satan to find out whether our Lord was the Son of God or not.” In so writing, he echoed many of the Church Fathers, who pondered the question of what Satan knew and what he wished to accomplish in tempting Jesus in the desert.
My review of Bishop Schneider’s book, The Catholic Mass: Steps to Restore the Centrality of God in the Liturgy in the latest issue of Inside the Vatican.By now we should know that we need solid criteria to judge the voices that urge us towards one action or another regarding current events — virtually every source of information is compromised one way or another. We need first principles. Our friend Fr. Jerry Pokorsky gets the ball rolling on Just War Theory in this article (of course there is a much, much deeper study to be done, but it’s a start for clarification): The Ukraine Mess: Points to ponder about narratives, criteria, possible responses.Joseph Pearce on Pride and Prejudice in a Nutshell.Since marriage provides the very framework and fabric of the moral life of society, healthy marriages are necessary, not merely for the individual happiness of the spouses but for the common good of society itself. In this sense, Pride and Prejudice serves as a timely witness to the need for the traditional family at a time when all aspects of family life are under relentless attack.
My friend got her butchered pig and it came with 20 lbs of lard! Here’s the BBC’s collection of lard recipes — 91 of them! Do you have that much lard? Do you have any favorites to share? from the archivesSpeaking of lard, I use some lard in my butter pie crust. Lard is what people used before vegetable shortening (which is not good for you) replaced it in the national consciousness. This Ham and Cheese and Spinach Pie — a family favorite since my mother-in-law served it to us about 40 years ago, is a good example of a good use of lard (or bacon fat if good lard is not available)! Also a good “Save a Step” recipe for after you’ve served a ham with spinach on the side and stashed away the leftovers. (Not super Lenten of course… )Remember when we read A Return to Modesty together? Planning a wedding? Deirdre wrote a whole series for you! {Pretty, Happy, Real Weddings}! liturgical livingToday is the Saturday of the Spring Ember Days.
There are many lovely feast days coming up. Let’s celebrate them with delicacy and joy.
follow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Frugal seed starting appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 5, 2022
Trash-picking success!
After the past two years, and taking a glance at the news this past week, I am having a little trouble not letting the world’s troubles creep into this space.
I am going to try to come up with a podcast later this week to say some things about how we, you and I, can ponder our own lives and the course we should take, as things look ever less reliable out there in the world. All in keeping with the themes of what I have always said here…
If I manage it, I will put up a post here and on Happy Despite Them to give you a link. I have no idea if readers of this blog would be interested in a podcast, but what I have to say seems easier to say than to write.
Meanwhile, I have a little project to show you that I am pretty darn proud of in the Department of Checking Projects Off the List. Sadly, I don’t have the greatest ability to take photos of this piece of furniture that I rescued, because the “after” is black!
I worked on it in the pantry so as to be a bit out of the way…
Here is an in process post from my IG story:
Below is the “before” — there is a handle that you will see further down, but there were no knobs. I saw it on the side of the road somewhere and it’s getting to be years ago that this happened… of course my husband stopped for me, but he was a bit reluctant, supportive as he is, because truly, Dear Reader, our garage is sometimes… full of random stuff that I’m going to get to some day (and also featured things Habou, my mom, picked up, so you can feel his pain).
And truly, it did sit out there for quite a while. Like I said, years. It was handy, because you could pile things up on it…
I kept going back and forth about it because it is solid and even has dovetail joints in the drawer, but the finish is plasticky veneer. The top was bad with the veneer peeling off, and he did sand it down last year when I had a spurt of activity over it that came to nought, but it was still not in good shape.
I have been trying to be good about getting rid of the things that are not in my plans (and this happens to everyone, whether paying full price or thrifting or trash-picking — not everything you get is going to work, and sometimes things just appear in the garage, who knows how!). I’ll tell you — list something on Facebook Marketplace and people will relieve you of whatever it is! The garage looks way better these days!
So I’ve been increasing my credibility with the Dubious One… I actually sold two IKEA nightstands that I didn’t want anymore due to their not sparking joy — not as much as things I find by the side of the road!
So I did need a nightstand — I was anticipating a house full of people and needed to attend to the bedrooms. One day I just decided to make this happen. In part I was motivated by the can of black paint I had gotten from the clearance shelf at Lowes. For $9 I have a gallon of $53 furniture-and-cabinet black paint to upcycle things to my heart’s content. (I’ve already painted a free bedstead and touched up my kitchen island!) My plan had been to spray paint, but with my find, I didn’t have to wait for Spring! Always check the clearance rack! — not an ad, just for your information!
So for sure, this bit of hardware is very nice indeed! I unscrewed it and got to work on the pieces.
I will say that the first bit I rubbed with Barkeeper’s Friend was the one that cleaned up the best overall, but it all came out looking so bright and classy!
I had some glass knobs left over from the set I bought and used as finials for the curtain rods I conceptualized (read: my husband executed) in the kitchen, a while back. They are probably a smidge too big but I think they are pretty! I’m deep in Use What You Have territory here.
I wanted to get this up into a room where there was actually light (as opposed to the pantry, which is out of the way for painting but is pretty dark). I did the touch-ups right here in the morning sun.And look! There are little brass caps on the front feet of this piece too! Gave them a little rub and they look pretty schnazzy, I think!
The thing about this particular kind of paint is that it covers very well and as I suspected, the poor surface of the top is hardly noticeable once painted and things put on it. The truth is, I could have put a lot of energy into getting it closer to perfect, but it’s not worth it to me for a piece of furniture that will a) be covered mostly and b) barely register on anyone’s consciousness in a room they are likely to approach in near darkness anyway. Once it’s in place, it just is. It’s not a living-room piece and even if it were, it fits right in with my chippy existence!
The “before” pic of the top is as far as we got with finishing the top, other than a bit more hand sanding. This is fine for my purposes, i.e. getting this thing out of the garage and into a bedroom!By the way, I am not a fan of painting furniture, however minimally paid for, that has good wood. I don’t agree with the “someone was going to throw it out so who cares” point of view — it depends on the piece! Some people do throw out things they should not, and beautiful wood is what it is!
And I really so far have not seen anything I’ve liked that has been stripped with Easy Off — the new trend with furniture flippers on social media. I think it looks terrible! It makes me want to cry! I’ve been doing furniture hacks a long time, and I have my own methods. But if we’re talking about lame and/or peeling veneer on low-end items, or other fatal issues, paint it is.
Here I’m “styling” it a bit differently to give you ideas of how to overcome the imperfect top (if not the impossible photographical situation). The floor in here is dark green, by the way, and obviously could use a touch-up!
Despite the photography issues, not doing justice to the cuteness here, really, I hope that anyway, you do get the idea. Most of the furniture in my house is obtained this way, and maybe seeing the simplicity of the process might help you if you are unsure of how it’s done. As Mr. O’Reilly says in Fawlty Towers, “Lick o’ paint! Lick o’ paint!”
bits & piecesA beautiful reflection on Lent and the cosmic significance of fastingThis month’s Benedictus has a reflection on Lenten foods and the significance of pretzels. Charming! I found it here at Catholic Culture.Here is the best, most succinct explanation I’ve heard or read of what not to say in Confession!I’m a bit scandalized by people telling other people to throw food out just because it’s past its sell-by date! Use your common sense, people. Canned and otherwise properly wrapped, stored, and cooked, food lasts a long time, generally speaking. Read up on it and also make your own observations. Sigrid Undset, a remarkable woman.It’s true: people used to whistle a lot, and really don’t anymore! When I was young I could whistle a tune pretty well, but I never even came close to the skill of the loud warning or alerting whistle using two fingers or just your tongue. My stepmother, who was 4′ 11″ (in heels), could summon my father from his third-floor office at the university from the lawn below! My one regret is not being able to whistle really loudly!from the archivesIt’s hard sometimes to let the older children go and not give up on family life to a certain extent. Don’t succumb! The younger children need the joy of family dinner too! Winter sowing — so frugal and satisfying! Have you tried it? I’ll take pictures of what I have going on now out there… liturgical livingSt. Lucius I Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent, and a good time to laugh at ourselves for how difficult things have been so far! The hardest four days of the year, in my opinion! One gets so flabby, spiritually and in every other way! Despite all our best intentions, we have already to begin again! If you’re patting yourself on the back, well, then your work is cut out for you in beginning again!follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Trash-picking success! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 19, 2022
Lenten thoughts: The Rule of Life
Lent is coming and with it thoughts of renewing the spiritual life, if only from the various things that pop up in our feed. What I have to say applies to men and women, but especially to women… because I think we can safely say that we women are very susceptible to comparing ourselves to others and to motivational ideas that might be harmful, alas.
So I’m just going to throw out a few points that I hope are helpful as we vaguely begin to sense the eventual arrival of the upcoming penitential season.
A Rule of Life means the things you try to live by, daily, weekly, and in general, in order to grow in virtue — which simply means to have the life of Christ within, because He is good and virtue is goodness. On our own we can’t do it, and we certainly can’t do it if we never make a plan.
But it has to be our plan. One rule of life doesn’t look like another (unless you live in the convent, which I’m thinking you do not). Except for this: we must all follow the 10 Commandments, for the Lord Himself said, “If ye love Me, keep My Commandments.” It’s wise to have a copy of the Commandments at hand and to consult it periodically, especially before Confession. And somehow, we must quietly pray!
When someone online or in a book or what have you tells about their Rule of Life, that’s fine… but it does not mean it should be yours. You can ask a good priest or a trusted older friend if a good priest is not to be found. If it makes you have trouble breathing, for instance, to think about praying 30 minutes each day as is often recommended, consider praying for five — and not at a set time but instead, before a set time.
So, instead of saying “I’ll pray at 8:30,” which you won’t, because no sooner does mom say she’ll do something at a certain time than a child will start up some bodily process that captures her attention, and for good reason — say “I’ll pray for 5 minutes at some point before 10 am,” for example. By 9:30 you will realize it’s now or never, and it will happen. It’s better to pray in the silence of your heart for 5 minutes than to not pray for 30 minutes and feel guilty about it. The truth is that when you are ready and circumstances permit, you will lengthen the time without too much turmoil.
If the Rule of Life that someone else is following allows her only a handful of hours of sleep a day (and I recently saw this), I can assure you that this rule is not for you. Without knowing you at all, I can guarantee you that it’s not for you! If you attempt it, you will have a spiritual crisis and the Dark Night of the Soul will look like a tea party at the Ritz compared to what you will endure. Your children will appear to be the spawn of some force determined to steal your sanity and your husband will be at a loss as to how to restore it, because few people ever really zero in on, “You know what, you need more sleep” and yet, Dear Reader, that is the answer.
In fact, I would say that getting more sleep is a sacred duty and should be the cornerstone of the Rule of Life, and that includes taking a nap during rest time. In general, today’s woman is burning her candles at both ends and maybe setting the middle on fire too, and it shows.
One of the very best guides to sorting all this out is Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales — a book that that shows I’m not making things up (more than I can say for some of the ideas that are bombarding me on all sides as Lent approaches).
Religious life is what it is, and it is a very great sacrifice and discipline. Family life has its own challenges and St. Francis calls it “ridiculous” to expect someone engaged in the latter to meet the austerity of the former. It can lead to pride and general misery as well, to impose on oneself a Rule that is not suited to one’s state of life. Just a warning!
As to giving things up, we should definitely give up the usual things — don’t let anyone mock giving up chocolate, because it has the virtue of being a definite, knowable penance, whereas “becoming a better person” is not. But some areas where we can discipline ourselves to grow in virtue (eg patience, kindness, etc.) while accepting the impositions of life with children would be to take the job at hand one step further than our indulgence would suggest, or even finish it; waiting until we’ve cleaned up the kitchen to move on to another activity; looking up at a person entering the room and maybe even lovingly saying his name; not taking the phone to bed. Just some ideas! You will know the sort of thing you should focus on when you ask God about it.
I always say to go to the spiritual masters of old (not to Instagram influencers), and so I will leave you with the beautifully calm and simple advice of that great ascetic, St. John Henry Newman, on perfection — spoiler: it doesn’t involve becoming a Dynamic Catholic or anything of the sort!
It is the saying of holy men that, if we wish to be perfect, we have nothing more to do than to perform the ordinary duties of the day well. A short road to perfection-short, not because easy, but because pertinent and intelligible. There are no short ways to perfection, but there are sure ones.
I think this is an instruction which may be of great practical use to persons like ourselves. It is easy to have vague ideas what perfection is, which serve well enough to talk about, when we do not intend to aim at it; but as soon as a person really desires and sets about seeking it himself, he is dissatisfied with anything but what is tangible and clear, and constitutes some sort of direction towards the practice of it.
We must bear in mind what is meant by perfection. It does not mean any extraordinary service, anything out of the way, or especially heroic-not all have the opportunity of heroic acts, of sufferings-but it means what the word perfection ordinarily means. By perfect we mean that which has no flaw in it, that which is complete, that which is consistent, that which is sound-we mean the opposite to imperfect. As we know well what imperfection in religious service means, we know by the contrast what is meant by perfection.
He, then, is perfect who does the work of the day perfectly, and we need not go beyond this to seek for perfection. You need not go out of the round of the day.
I insist on this because I think it will simplify our views, and fix our exertions on a definite aim.
If you ask me what you are to do in order to be perfect, I say, first-
Do not lie in bed beyond the due time of rising;
give your first thoughts to God;
make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament [this can be done mentally if it’s not possible on a given day to go physically, but it’s worth it to stop in for a visit even for a few minutes, even taking all the kids —LML];
say the Angelus devoutly;
eat and drink to God’s glory;
say the Rosary well;
be recollected; keep out bad thoughts;
make your evening meditation well;
examine yourself daily;
go to bed in good time, and you are already perfect.
bits & piecesGregory DiPippo shares a fascinating and moving little post about the reactions on Indian social media to Gregorian and Greek Orthodox chant. Priceless. (I thought it was remarkable that the elderly man began listening by anticipating with a sort of metrical conducting motion of his hands, and quickly changed to match his gestures to the very different, almost architectural rhythm of the chant.) “It was a good prayer.” “There is no music and drum in this prayer [makes a metrical motion with his hand]. And I like this kind of prayer. Because according to me, prayer should be calm.” (For the second chant they are all talking at once and I don’t know how they can be listening! That gave me a chuckle.)Candles are important and carry within them a deep meaning and symbolism, and we shouldn’t banish them with something more “up-to-date” or “safe” in the liturgical or even devotional setting. Here’s a meditation on the subject.A friend once had us over for dinner and made a delicious and luxurious “white” lasagna for which she gave me the recipe later, copied from her mother. I was sharing it with another friend who is thinking of putting more liver into her diet, and found it online — as I suspected from the typed version, it’s a vintage recipe, from the 60s! I can attest to its deliciousness! Have you ever made this Lasagne Pasticciate? When I make it, I gently fold ricotta into the Besciamella because I feel that it adds body to the final dish, keeping the layers a bit separated and more lofty. But my question would be this: could one use another liver, like beef? Have you tried that? Have you made whipped cream in a mason jar? Stop listening to hymns sung the pop-worship way. from the archivesLast year I bought a second-hand seed bench and this year I’m going to put it in the pantry, I hope! Singing sacred music with children.I think I’m going to make this honey cake for tomorrow. liturgical livingfollow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Lenten thoughts: The Rule of Life appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 12, 2022
Curating the seed abundance!
So in my series about visualizing and then curating your abundance*, let’s turn to seed organization!
*By the way, in my new set of books, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life, the third volume has all the Reasonably Clean House posts and ideas gathered together and… curated… so that you can follow my incremental method to gaining control over your home and the tranquillity of order.
A while ago, I popped in a story on IG about taking stock of what I had, seed-wise, preparatory to doing my seed order; it seemed timely, and anyway it was snowing hard and I needed some thoughts of spring.
Can you figure out what’s going on here? The metal basket/tray thing I used last year is totally unreasonable as a seed caddy, as its wide side openings allow packets to slip out. Not to mention that the packets are just in a flat jumble and one spends all one’s time rummaging (and picking up off the floor). Then there’s a cute box with no dividers, and then a dumb plastic recipe-card affair that is not big enough for anything and doesn’t stay shut.
Dear Rosie Hill messaged me right away to say, “You need this for your seeds” — and indeed, all the cool homesteading CSA-providing farming people do seem to have this clear one (affiliate link):
This one is easiest to see because the small bins are in color, but the one everyone is using is clear. You get the idea.But Reader, as undeniably opportune, felicitous, and organizational as this item is, I have two traits that militated against such a problem-solving purchase:
I don’t have that many seeds, not being a homesteader, etc…I am not constitutionally capable of opening two plastic containers, outer and inner, to get to the seeds I do have, without being annoyed. Experience shows that my hands will be wet and/or muddy and I will be rummaging for what I want and be getting very impatient if I have to do more than reach into one box — lifting one lid is probably my limit.Still, I realized at the moment I contemplated that container that I did, in my heart of hearts, want an organizer that would keep my seeds upright and, in the ideal world, in alphabetical order. A sort of filing system but for seeds, not cards.
Now, one thing you need to know about Habou (for new readers Habou is my mother — she passed away in October 2020): she was an artist, yes, but she was also first secretary, then office manager, then proprietor of her own business, a secretarial service, before she retired from that and mainly did her art.
She was keenly focused on office products and really knew how to file something. Very often, I — a shall we say non-expert in these matters — would vaguely mention some office-type need and voilà! “I think I have the right thing at my studio,” and it would appear!
Like these mail rack sorter things… She just appeared with them. They are great, even though these days we don’t have multiple people receiving mail here.About three years or so ago, when I realized I liked keeping my notes for talks on index cards and they began to multiply, she came home with a box for them; however, I felt it was too big and stuck it in the closet.
So when I was musing on what would fill my seed-storing needs, trying to visualize it (by which I mean just let thoughts come to me), it occurred to me that Habou would have some storage bin or something, in her room (which I have not completely sorted through), perhaps like Rosie Hill’s (Habou also favored plastic bins for storing yarn and so on) — or have given me one that I’d forgotten, and I began to wander around the house looking for such a thing. I opened the closet door in the den and — there was that box!
It needed to be wiped out. Making it perfect for the purpose! You know, not super clean…
The old “system” and the potential of the new.And, most importantly, it has this thing that has a name — a “follower” — that can be snuggled up to keep the items upright.
Even after being wiped out, not super clean! Happy to put all my seeds in this.And inside were not one but two index card file dividers! Meaning that I can have one section for vegetables and herbs and one for flowers!
I also realized that I could use greeting and prayer cards that I admit: I cannot throw certain ones away! — to further separate sections, such as beans from beets.
I made myself accomplish certain dreaded and procrastinated chores before I would allow myself the pleasure of even opening the packages I had ordered. And then I had a glorious time filing my seed packets into my old-school box.
The Baker Creed mailer front…
… and back!NB: I like Baker Creek Seeds and St. Clare Seeds — they both have excellent customer service. The former’s seeds come in that adorable mailer pictured above, and the latter’s feature a small plastic bag inside the paper packet, pictured below, which is a relief to those of us who keep seeds a long, long time because we are only planting about 1/35th of the contents of a packet. Both companies tuck in a free sample or two of their seeds, and have fast shipping and strong conservative principles.
I’m pretty darned confident that these seeds are still good!Anyway, to get back to the topic, even though those attractive and undeniably shiny plastic bins were 40% off at Joann’s (where I went to get something else that was not there), I am super happy with this way of storing my seeds. It’s probably not for everyone, but maybe gives you some idea of my wacky thought processes, so that’s something…
I also felt vindicated in my practice of never throwing anything away curating abundance, and being able to come up with these things without spending a cent. I think I will use that cute little box for sundries like plant markers and who knows?
Plant markers written by my then-7-year-old granddaughter.But this fascinating, gripping tale does not end there, because the other day when I was preparing for a talk, I took out all my index cards. Now that I understood and had experienced the box with its follower and overall brilliance, I realized: I actually need just that box for my index cards!
So… I ordered one (affiliate link) for that purpose! I know! You can laugh! My eyes are rolling too!… Habou’s too…
The brand-new box… for my index cards! Now to organize those…bits & piecesLoyalty Nearly Killed My Beehive — an informative account, if you like thinking about bees, of a fairly new beekeeper and his attempts to save his shaky Brooklyn rooftop hive.You know I love this one: How the children’s classics can change your life.After my post about undergarments, I offer you this: Victorian French Lingerie and Its Popularity.Stella Morabito documenting early distant warnings that should be heeded: If The Left Ends Parent Rights, You Might Need A License To Raise Your Own Childfrom the archivesOn choosing Lenten devotionals. How to make delicious Cream of Anything soup, from scratch!Those of you who start hyperventilating at the thought of decluttering, achieving minimalism, or even seeing what does and does not Spark Joy, may be interested to know that the step before the first step, the “pre”-step, if you will, in my system is simply to tidy and dust what you have, rather than worrying about getting rid of things right off the bat. I wrote a little about it here, recounting a memory of my grandfatherly, tidy (but by no means minimalist himself) neighbor coming over and straightening out the magazines on my coffee table (well, old trunk in the living room). You have to go through a lot of other chit-chat to read, but there it is.liturgical living
In the old calendar (which I am becoming more attached to — how about you?), tomorrow begins Septuagesimatide.
“Septuagesimatide, or pre-Lent, is the name given to the three consecutive Sundays preceding Ash Wednesday… Septuagesima can teach us many valuable lessons: that Lent should not be begun abruptly or thoughtlessly but preceded by a period of adjustment; that uttering sacred words is a privilege which should not be taken for granted; that sin puts us in exile from our True Home; and that the Old Testament, with its many significant events, is perpetually relevant to the lives of Christians.”
And another reflection on the preparation for Lent.
follow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Curating the seed abundance! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 5, 2022
Practical and pretty footwear
Real quick — The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life — my new set of books — is 30% off along with everything else at Sophia, until February 9th!
I might as well go on with this wardrobe basics project, right? In the comments the question of boots came up, and so let’s talk about all things footwear!
Not boots. Just the comfiest sandals ever, RIPWe will skip lightly over the reality of today’s footwear market, which is an insult and a travesty. If those stupid clunky heels don’t go away soon, I quit. They are not just ugly; anyone walking in them clearly cannot walk! It’s like someone decided to make a metaphor for life today and evilly wants to make people pay for it and wear it on their feet.
Instead, let me tell you what I have found to suit myself. Keep in mind that I’m getting older, and with age, apparently, comes a certain obsession with having one’s feet be comfortable, with an inverse possibility that they will be. Also that I have collected these over years! Don’t panic.
For so long I was trying to keep my kids in shoes, sneakers, and boots. There was hardly any time and even less money for me to have just the right thing for myself.
So what you see here (especially in the boot department — anyone can afford flipflops!) is what I’ve pulled together over time. Just to say: I understand the problem!
An IG post that I took in haste or obviously would have moved the clothing on that chair and the donation bag out of sight first!But these were my very dressiest patent leather mary janes. Now I can’t wear them, they make me too tired. My clothes are thrifted, FYI! Pantyhose from Marshalls.
So the emphasis here will be on comfort. But I love me a cute shoe, sigh… As we go along I will describe my feet so you can determine how yours differ. People are constructed differently; one kind of shoe might work for one person and not another. Some people swear by Clarks — I have never once had a pair that felt right. You have to try different things. But above all, do try to get footwear that enables you to get out there* and do what you have to do! And be cute doing it!
*for that matter, that enables you to walk around the house! These slippers (affiliate link) have great traction and support, and these (not an ad), with a shearling insert, are super warm. In summer I wear flip-flops, see below
So let’s do boots first, since it’s still winter here in the frozen north. One thing you should know about boots: your toes need to have room in them. You will not be able to get away with them being tight, because in the cold your circulation will be cut off and you will never feel warm. You need room to wiggle your toes wearing thick socks. Be sure you get boots for your kids that have plenty of wiggle room in the toes!
Another thing you need to know is that there should be a certain thickness of the sole, or the cold of the ground is too close to your footbed. I tend towards wanting to be up off the ground anyway, at least a little, but in boots it’s a must.
Over the years I have collected this boot array for all my boot needs. I am not one of those ladies who wears boots as a fashion statement (you know, like just after Labor Day there they are with their classy boots — I’m not like that). Overall I would prefer to wear shoes due to not wanting to spend the time bending down and tying/zipping etc. But I will tell you the kinds:
$8 Timberland full-grain leather hiking boots and homemade woolen socks (worn over a pair of thin cotton socks) — these plus my clogs got me through many a winter!Hiking boots that I got at a rummage sale a long time ago. They are a good brand and fit me — just needed an insert for arch support. For many years I wore them in snow too, until I found something better.
The dressiest boots I have (affiliate link; I bought them 8 years ago and they were not this expensive!).
I am somewhat hampered in the boot department by having thin calves. With the advent of online shopping, the very great boon of having calf measurements in the listing came along, and I put in all my criteria and found these. I wear them when I have to be dressed up but it’s wicked cold and possibly also snowing (otherwise I would wear shoes); the soles have good traction, the uppers are suede and fleece-lined so they keep my legs warm and look fairly dressy even so, and they are comfy. The heel is more dressy for me, but doable, even in my new developmental phase of not wanting to wear heels at all. Since all my dressy things are in the black family, they go with everything.
I finally splurged a few years ago (using the deep discount offered in early Fall) and got these shearling-lined LL Bean boots in this color, for snow. (not an affiliate link) — and note the brown is on sale now!
They are pricey, but at I think 40% off I went for it as my early Christmas present. Perfectly warm, virtually waterproof, breathable. I like that they can be worn low, folded over, above, or up high, like this:
They work with my rather high instep (top of my foot) which makes something like Boggs (affiliate link) not a choice for me — too tight across the top. I had to get shearling liners (affiliate link) for them — these are great because they also have arch support built in. The one drawback of these boots is that their soles are not thick enough for my taste, to keep me up above the cold ground, but the shearling liners take care of that. At this price they should come with that lining but this is the world we live in.
This Fall I added these Taos boots (affiliate link) to my lineup. They are on sale now!
The pros: super cute; thick sole; a zipper and laces, so you can get them fitted to your own shape, but then not have to mess with the laces again; lined with a thin, soft fleece so the tops are warm but not bulky; did I mention super cute with skirts as well as jeans? Also virtually waterproof — the full grain leather is wonderful, and I have put them to the test via long tramps through inches of slush and mud.
This brand has beautiful form-fitting footbeds that are the closest to Dansko clog soles I have found (well, nothing else comes close). So they have great support and feel super cradling. Once I got them laced to my Princess-and-the-Pea standards, they were excellently comfy.
Cons: the laces could be nicer I suppose, but that can be upgraded I assume, and note well: this color, which is absolutely brown and appears brown on the listing — and I wanted brown! — is called “Grey” so don’t be misled. I took a chance and was happy to find that they lied.
I wanted brown to wear with my corduroy and denim skirts and jeans. They are honestly nice enough to wear to Mass when the weather requires it, but also good for, as mentioned, tramping around the countryside. I can see them lasting for years.
On to shoes!
That time Will, Bridget, and I turned up for an event all wearing our wingtips! Mine and hers are Naturalizer and mine have, after 5 years of service, bitten the dust. Sigh. Right now I am having trouble finding nice dress shoes; my nice ones have worn out and we are not going to talk about current fashions as per our agreement above.
Maybe I’ll look for the ones I have loved in the past on one of the second-hand clothing sites. Naturalizers seem to work well with my need for arch support. I have shorter toes too, so not every sandal works and not every flat stays on. I am determined not to do any weird gripping action with my feet as I walk, so having my shoes stay on is a must, and I encourage you to look into it!
These rather fancy Italian slingbacks that I found at Salvation Army for $4 served me well for a good long time for dressy occasions!My go-to is clogs. I just love Dansko clogs! However, their regular style is too tight across the top for me.
This style is perfect (Phoebe), but they have discontinued them. For me, Danskos are supportive and incredibly comfy. I can walk miles in them. I like that you can slip out of your slippers and into your clogs without bending down! Fits my hasty lifestyle.
They are cute with skirts and everything, and they are pretty waterproof and keep your feet well off the ground; before I got my snow boots I would wear them when it snowed! I know they are not for everyone.
I like these flats (affiliate link) — stylish yet comfy, with soft leather that wears well, and they stay on during a brisk walk. They are not the most supportive ever, but I’m comparing them with Danskos when I say that.
They come in lots of nice colors. I did put in a cork innersole (affiliate link) so that I didn’t slide around wearing tights. It feels nicer with bare feet in summer too. You used to be able to get cork innersoles even at the grocery store, but now you have to order them. These are sold as leather innersoles but I just flip them over and use the other side! I like that grippy feeling.
In my heart of hearts I like the way a ballet-style flat looks better, but I haven’t found any that stay put on my foot.
These are nice too — they are golf shoes (affiliate link)! I did splurge on them a couple of years ago when I was despairing of ever finding comfy shoes again in the stores, and they look put-together with tights and a neat skirt. I don’t know why companies put slippery insoles in their shoes. Used to be they’d use suede, which was much better. It’s amazing how tiring it is to feel you are slipping inside your shoes every time you take a step.
I do think that you could easily spend $25-30 every few months in hope of workable shoes, and fail; if you can save it up, it might be worth spending $80-140 for a pair that last a few years. Once you know what works, you can find them on ebay; I have found Danskos there as well as Madewell sandals and all sorts of things.
Sandals — I love sandals!
Birkenstocks: These are the prettiest ones, I think, in a not very pretty kind of shoe.
They took me a while to get used to, and then suddenly they were good. You are very stable in these sandals. Naot has a similiar sort of idea in narrower styles, but I have never found a pair that worked with my short-ish toes.
Taos: For dressier wear but still being able to walk.
Nicely supportive — like the boots, that footbed is beautifully sculpted, and the straps stay on no matter what (they are velcro).
Breaking my heart: the Dansko Madeline sandals of yore that I wore all across Italy, Paris, and London (as well as Central MA of course), with the clog footbed, that they have discontinued — why. Nothing, but nothing, can beat them for comfort.
I even ordered a newish-looking pair from eBay when this pair fell apart, but they too fell apart, literally. I think the sole was old enough — had been manufactured long ago enough — that it just disintegrated.
I pulled all these images from my Instagram! Just me in an apron and flipflops, in that distant land we call summer! Flipflops: I find them very comfy! Every time I see an article about how bad they are for your feet, I can’t help thinking that Big Shoe can’t take the competition! I get mine at Old Navy. But do know that they really are super dangerous on wet surfaces — I am pretty sure I broke my arm slipping and falling one day…
(Buy an extra bottle of nail polish remover and have your manicure utensils where you can find them, so you can keep your toes looking nice, a must for sandal-wearing!)
One last thought: Do tinker with your shoes by trying different innersoles, arch supports, heel lifts, and so on. Often you can make a pair that are so-so quite useable!
So that’s my roundup! Of course I’ve had a lifetime of shoe-wearing and think fondly on some sweet pairs I’ve had in the past (I mean, I really care about shoes), but these are the ones that are getting me through today.
bits & piecesA charming story about an 8-year-old boy who slipped his own handmade book onto the library shelves when no one was looking. I’ve long dropped hints here that having children make their own books is an excellent way to encourage writing (vs. having them answer tedious questions about what they have read, which is not). Making books isn’t hard to do and the library will have books to guide you if you can’t find tutorials online. I loved making little books with Bridget along with envelopes to slide them into for her lapbooks. (By the way, all these ideas are in my new work, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life!)Kevin Wells with a first-hand account of Morgan Wootten: The Hidden Fuel of a Legendary Coach and his deep faith — a great story! Be sure to share with your sons!An important interview: Brooke Taylor with Leila Miller about her books on divorce and marriage — an interview to share as widely as possible. Leila expresses the issues so well. Our culture is suffering from divorce in so many ways, and we need to tell the truth about it.Last Year, I Was a Bryn Mawr Girl. Now I’m at Hillsdale. A student offers her perspective on how her elite college experience compares with that of a small, Christian institution forging its own path.
Our friend Fr. Gerry Murray’s funeral homily for Alice von Hildebrand, who passed away last week.
A beautiful setting of the Ambrosian Gloria from my friend Peter Kwasniewski.I have posted it before, but it’s worth putting here again. I do want to be sure everyone reads this post from Stella Morabito: The Little Mother Prevents Big Brother.from the archivesI have a whole series on getting your children to write well without the agony recommended by curriculum experts. Here’s one of the posts (and it’s all in my book!): Playing, Writing.The moral education of the child, which we are made to feel guilty for attempting, really does matter. Men without chests, or, what C. S. Lewis made me think about.liturgical living
The Seven Sundays of St. Joseph have already started (sorry for not giving the heads up last week — I only remembered myself on Sunday afternoon).
follow us everywhere!My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! And it’s 30% off (along with everything on the site) until Feb. 9!) All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
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