Leila Marie Lawler's Blog, page 37

{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

 

As I think our readers are aware, we are big fans of Thomas More College in Merrimack, New Hampshire. Imagine our excitement when it was announced that Anthony Esolen would be joining the faculty! And now it can be told that our very own Chief is also going to be there: “Beginning next Monday, in addition to my work on the Catholic Culture site, I will be joining Anthony Esolen and William Fahey to launch (what is now called) the Center for the Renewal of Christian Culture at Thomas More College.” I hope that you will check it all out! 

 

I would definitely have shown this interview with Anthony Esolen to my older child, on the writing process — so different for everyone, but find your own way.

 

Habou really got a kick out of this idea (raised to the nth level by having everything in the shape of the map of Michigan):

 

Too many just don’t have a basic education in economics; this lack creates a mental environment in which unrealistic ideologies can take root. But good reading can overcome deficiencies! Start here with Samuel Gregg’s article on Wilhelm Röpke. A smart senior in high school could read Röpke’s book for sure.

 

A moving memoir from David Warren on his grace-filled days covering the death of Mother Teresa, 20 years ago.

 

Maybe you read about the confirmation hearings for law professor Amy Bartlett, in which Senator Diane Feinstein memorably told her, “the dogma lives loudly within you.” She meant this as a criticism, implying that dogma represents an authoritarian statement of belief that a religious person unthinkingly adheres to, to the detriment of fairness in, say, the exercise of the duties of a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Dogma is often pitted against the romance and drama of faith, which is seen as more of a matter of the heart. Is that a fair characterization of “dogma” — at least, for a Christian? Dorothy Sayers explains, in a fantastic essay: The Greatest Drama Ever Staged, “No — the dogma is the drama!”

 

Also for your high school curriculum, if you are augmenting a packaged one or making your own: Lots of resources (including questions *and answers* for important readings) here on St. Peter’s List.

 

Lovely appreciation of the great Russell Kirk’s library at Piety Hill, his ancestral home in Michigan.

 

From the archives:

We are putting some [ahem, most] of our features on hold, but do, do peruse the archives. For instance, our book recommendations in the Library Project had begun to include a “read this, not that” style of post, and I think you’ll find many great suggestions there for books (and what to avoid!) and don’t forget the ever-helpful comments.

 

Peas and bees — here we are, puttering around one spring… (we are just about to harvest honey around here now!) (It always amazes me, in the late summer’s wild weediness, to see garden pictures from the springtime. So neat. So tidy. So promising!)

Today is the feast of St. Peter Claver, inspirational helper of bodies and souls — he ministered to slaves in dire conditions, and didn’t hesitate to teach and baptize them immediately.  I always think of his tender devotion and zeal for souls whenever people insist that sacramental preparation for converts take months and even sometimes years!

~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~

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Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Blog: Corner Art Studio.
Auntie Leila’s Ravelry.
Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
Rosie’s Instagram.
Sukie’s Instagram.
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Habou’s Instagram.

 

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Kitchen Island DIY — the rehab of the rehab!

This kitchen island of ours has undergone so many changes!

Basically, the butcher block top had experienced enough fluctuations between high humidity in the summer (remember, we don’t have AC) and intense dryness in the winter (wood-burning stove in the kitchen!) that it had rather fatally split.

Remember the “before before”? When we first moved in, we painted the walls (well, the girls removed a gazillion layers of wallpaper and Sukie painted), but the cabinets and island (and floor!) were as we found them:

 

 

Then I had the idea to take an old desk of Phil’s and rework the top into a new butcher block for it, so that I could actually work on it without navigating that awkward insert of a cutting board. You can read about how we did it in this post about me getting a new top and figuring out how to seal and protect it with our own homemade beeswax paste!

Here’s the “in between before”:

It was almost nine years ago that we did this fix. Since then, the island paint job got a bit beat up. I must say that black is great but when it scrapes the white underneath shows and it does get to be a mess.

Here’s how it was looking…

 

 

But mostly, the top was shot. He tried to fix the split — you can see how in this Instagram pic. But every winter it got worse… and I was back to having things seep down into my drawers! Terrible.

Once again, I tried to play with the thought of a different island entirely (some of my previous thought process is in this same post back in the day). I like the storage, I can’t see sinking money into cabinetry that would not be in keeping with the rest of the kitchen, and I couldn’t find a dresser that I could re-purpose, à la Pinteresty vintage rustic chic examples.

Honestly, this one is fine, it has great storage, and because it’s actually on wheels, the floor is easier to clean and we have flexibility if we want to push it over to the side, on the wall under the plate rack, and open up all our space for a big party! So it stays.

Meanwhile, Phil was searching for a butcher block to replace the old one.

On Craigslist, a guy was pulling out shelving from an institution and had these big counters for sale. Phil bought one off of him and cut it to size, then sanded and sanded and rubbed and beeswaxed and buffed…

I decided that a nice upgrade, if we were going to be repainting anyway, would be to add corbels and switch out the hardware. There’s a lot going on in this room, so I went for black.

Black is also super hard to take nice pics of, even when so newly painted, so try not to judge haha!

 

The top is ever so slightly bigger, just a little. But I do like that. And it’s in great condition! I hope we can keep it that way!

 

 

 

So that’s the upgrade! I love the top, I love the corbels, and I love the new hardware! What do you think? I’m thinking about stools…

Notes: the paint is “black” from Home Depot. The hardware is also from there — the drawer pulls are “cocoa bronze” but honestly they look pretty darn black. The corbels are from there as well. The top is thrifted from Craigslist — it’s maple, finished with a paste made from mineral oil and beeswax, completely food-grade.

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{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

Early next week I’ll show you the re-furbishment of our DIY kitchen island! Truthfully, I don’t know what to do with my kitchen, but the time had come to address the issues with our butcher block. I’ll have all the particulars for you soon!

 

 

On to our links!

Education must probe the past, understand it, remember it. So I will continue to return to the theme of our history and our approach to the flaws of our forebears, as well as their greatness, if any they had.

Frederick Douglass, American. 


Goodbye, Columbus — by our friend, Robert Royal. “We used to get exercised over the fact that students were graduating from high school and even college without knowing in what century the Civil War happened or the dates of World War II. Now we allow a small number of radicals, given a big media megaphone, to make cosmic moral claims and counterclaims ignorant of the winding human paths of history.”

Have a high-school student (whether homeschooled or in school) who is working on writing? Anyway, enjoy these excellent essays!

When we try to teach really fine writing, as of essays, to our children, it’s best to read and enjoy actual essays, rather than going too much into the theory of the thing. Here is a good essay about E. B. White, an essayist of high quality.


Learn about trees all around you; cure yourself of tree blindness! And in that link is embedded this one, a nice essay about New York City’s Fifth Avenue’s American elms that cites another essay by… E. B. White!


The “Cajun Navy” represents a particular kind of American outdoorsman’s informal network of helpers. There are other kinds — up here in the North we have guys who can use a backhoe the way an artist uses a paintbrush and a chainsaw like it’s a butter knife, and who will come help you if you are caught in an ice storm with downed trees on road. The point is that maybe we are recovering an appreciation for regular people, knowing what to do, even if it takes a major disaster to get us there. Here’s another rather satisfying essay about the effort in Houston this past week.

Misc.:

Getting Dressed in the 18th Century — a video from National Museums Liverpool, very nice. By knickers she means underpants, and I never really do understand how, with all those garments, “knickers” aren’t something you’d want or think up before so recently, just saying.


Cardinal Sarah on how the Church can welcome those who don’t agree with her moral teachings. (I’m hoping this Wall Street Journal piece remains free to read.)


A good, long article about various ideologies that all spring from the progressive mentality — that is, the notion that man is headed towards perfection: Liturgy of Liberalism.

If you are wondering about MuTu and strengthening your core (before and after childbirth), there’s a sale going on! Use this link — it’s Deirdre’s affiliate link, so she will get a little something when you buy, thank you! — for more info. (Here’s Deirdre’s review.) MuTu System is a medically reviewed and doctor recommended exercise and recovery program to help you eliminate ‘mummy tummy’, Diastasis Recti and pelvic floor weakness—while building your confidence.

From the archives:

We’ll be harvesting the honey soon! We did take notes one time, and this is a guest post from the Chief! — maybe this will help you wrap your mind around the process.


In early October I will be speaking in Hillsdale, Michigan. If you’re interested, come along! (If you are near there, FYI I will be free on the day before, Friday. Email me to see if I can speak to your Pocket or group on that day! My email is on the sidebar.) One of the topics will be on how to “destruction-proof” your family. Are there guarantees in this life? No. But there are concrete things you should be doing!

 

Today is the feast of St. Agricolus.

Tomorrow is Sunday, but say a little prayer for the intercession of St. Gregory — for our culture, our family, our friendships, and our worship!

 

~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~

Follow us:

Follow us on Twitter.
Like us on Facebook.

Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Blog: Corner Art Studio.
Auntie Leila’s Ravelry.
Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
Rosie’s Instagram.
Sukie’s Instagram.
Deirdre’s Instagram.
Bridget’s Instagram.
Habou’s Instagram.

The post {bits & pieces} appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.

A quick catch-up from Sukie!

It’s been a while! No time for excuses. How about we just do a real quick catch up and then dive back in.

Catch-up number one:

John finished residency!

Graduation!

 

Catch-up number two, probably evident in the picture above:

We’re having a baby! It’s a boy! I’m due in early November.

(Freddie wasn’t supposed to be in this picture, but his face and attitude just crack me up.)

So far everything’s gone pretty well. I was pretty sick again at the beginning. I wasn’t sick much at all with Desmond, so I’d hoped that would continue! But this time I felt horrible. I kept thinking it was by far the worst, but probably it was about the same as with Freddie, just with toddlers thrown into the mix this time.

But now that’s all mercifully fading away in the distance. These days it’s hip and pelvic pain that gets me down. I’ve been going to a chiropractor, which helps, but not as much as I wish it did. If anybody has any other tips for dealing with pelvic girdle pain (SUCH an attractive phrase), I’m open to hearing them! But I don’t think I can handle wearing any extra brace or anything right now. No extra layers for me, because I can hardly handle the heat as it is, since…

Catch-up number three: We moved to Georgia! John is stationed at an Army hospital just outside Augusta.

 

We got here a month ago, and are getting settled pretty well. We got a house on post, a serious answer to prayer. It was what we really wanted for a variety of reasons, but I also was feeling the clock ticking and hoping to avoid moving in my third trimester this time (reminder: last time I moved at 36 weeks from Houston to DC while John stayed in Houston to ).

As we neared the end of our second St. Joseph novena, we were living in a hotel and had almost given up; we got a call that a house was available, in the neighborhood we wanted, less than a mile from the hospital, and ready to move  in! The truck arrived with all our things on the last day of the novena, and three days before I hit my third trimester.

My friend Cristina, a Navy wife with a whole bunch of moves under her belt, once said that they give themselves two weeks to get everything in the house unpacked and set up. I knew I had to have a goal like that–especially with being pregnant, and because John had a bit of time before starting work. Gotta make hay while the sun shines!

To be clear–since this is an official military-ordered move (called a PCS, or permanent change of station), we had movers supplied by the Army. They moved everything in off the truck, set up rugs and furniture, and unpacked some boxes (I had them unpack the kitchen, with me directing where to put things, though of course I’ve rearranged everything since then because who can make good kitchen flow decisions under that kind of pressure?!).

(We also had packers on the front end of things. Let me tell you. Full service moves are a wonderful thing! I am grateful for this aspect of military life.)

 

One week in, all boxes empty! Radio flyer not for sale.

 

Very helpful helpers.

We didn’t quite make it in two weeks–I was unexpectedly unable to walk for a few days (see #2) and John was unexpectedly on call–but we got everything unpacked and put away within ten days and pictures on the walls within the month. Of course we still have plenty to organize and make just how we like it, as we figure out the flow of our new house. We have a screened-in patio to furnish! The kitchen has so many cabinets I don’t know what to do with them! And, tragically, there’s not really a good use for my beloved Hoosier cabinet (not getting rid of it).

 

 

The way I see it, with moving around frequently, we need to get into a place where we can continue our normal lives as quickly as possible. Being pregnant makes it that much more crucial: on the one hand, I’m running out of steam; on the other hand, I want to have time for fun nesting projects, rather than boring, where-should-the-filing-cabinet-go projects.

Now we’re set to make our home our own, and to explore our new surroundings.

 

 

Anybody want to be my friend? I started a new Saint Gregory’s Pocket!

If you’re not in Augusta, but are looking for new friends, be sure to check out the Pocket pages! There have been a bunch of new pockets lately, including in Louisiana, Delaware, and Ohio. A friend is interested in starting one in Berkeley, CA — let us know if you are there! Now is a great time to see what’s around you, revive something that has maybe died down a bit, or start a new pocket of your own!

With the Pockets, we aren’t selling anything or signing anyone up for anything. This is simply a way for you to take your online world and make it a reality right where you are! Remember that the group admin for your Pocket (maybe you!) is truly just administrative for the actual group, which has its informational presence on Facebook.

Anybody in the Pocket can always suggest an event and get things going! An idea to get started: the feast of St. Gregory is on Sunday, September third — a perfect opportunity for a family picnic in a park or even just having people over for coffee and donuts after church!

The post A quick catch-up from Sukie! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.

{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

I can never wrap my mind around how quickly the garden’s promise of hope becomes a done deal — this is it, sister, there’s always next year! But in truth, it has been an amazing year!

With three burgeoning hives, we are hoping for a good and even great honey harvest this year. The Chief’s dearest, fondest wish came true when he rescued a swarm from a neighbor’s low tree! He added those bees to our “weak” hive and thinks they are already doing much better. (You combine the new and old using newspaper!) I am hoping that after things calm down in the late fall, we can straighten up our hives and make them level– they look so very ramshackle! This is the kind of thing that bothers me; the Chief — and the bees! —  not a bit.

 

On to our links!

A must-read if you are gearing up for your home schooling or if you are wondering if it’s for you: Homeschool Worries: Erased With Research & Experience — lots of reassuring words about how school as we know it in our busy age is the experiment — learning at home is the tried and true method! No really, read it!


How people in the past read aloud: The lost pleasure of reading aloud. (Hopefully not lost but it’s interesting to get a glimpse of how it may have been done before).


Yesterday was the feast of St. Louis IX of France, who obtained the Crown of Thorns — the actual crown of thorns from the crucifixion of Jesus — and caused to be made a miraculous church to contain it, a reliquary that is in fact a building.

Nothing prepares the visitor for the experience of entering this place, for which the description of “jewel box” as applied to a building was made: for the beauty, the light, the colors, and the intimate yet soaring space. From pictures I had seen, I expected a much bigger structure, but in fact, the space is tiny in comparison to the churches and cathedrals the tourist is accustomed to visiting — what happens is that to take in the extraordinary height of it and all its marvels, the photographer has to use the widest-angle lens, and that’s what tricks you into misjudging its size.

Watch this short video with your children — it’s well done and touches on the main points. You can investigate further about the lower chapel, which is also beautiful, and the subject matter of the stained glass, which struck me as impossible to assimilate. There is so much depicted there — so many scenes of Salvation History, of the history of France, of the heavenly realm — that I can’t imagine ever being able to grasp it all. Each one of those panels, going all the way up, tells its own story!

Doing a little study of the chapel, its late Gothic architecture, and the Crown of Thorns will enhance your understanding of the medieval period and its faith.

Did medieval medicine work?


Along the same lines, a book I think I’ve recommended before: God’s Hotel by Victoria Sweet, a doctor (who is not Christian, as far as I know) with an interest in St. Hildegard von Bingen and medieval approaches to health. I highly recommend it for thoughts about caring for the sick and the poor.


Mindless Iconoclasm, from Fr. Rutler.


We must always pray and atone, from Emily Stimpson Chapman. We must love our neighbor.


A fun look at mid-century kitchens, and a video from the USDA of 1949 with some innovative ideas for efficiency (maybe skip to the 3-minute mark to see the kitchen in action — I think we could implement some of these thoughts!)

 

 

From the archives:

I have so many posts about homeschooling, and I hope that they expand for you the thoughts in that first article I linked to, above. You will find them under Raising Children in the menu bar, under “education” — all sorts of help for you to have confidence that making your home educates your children!


Sometimes the most practical thing is the one that gives you confidence for the most idealistic thing. I guarantee you that if you follow the steps I outline in this post about organizing your homeschooler’s work in a binder, the old-fashioned way, you will have a lot of serenity about the coming year. If you have questions, leave a comment!


Basically, what got me started writing here is the question I always get asked the most: How do you homeschool? The answer takes ten years of blogging to begin to accomplish, but it can be summed up as “Order and Wonder”!

Today in the Liturgical calendar we commemorate St. Zephyrinus and Our Lady of Czestochowa (you pronounce that, according to our Polish community here, Chestahova, although the internet says Chestakova! Polish-speaking readers, chime in!)

~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~

Follow us:

Follow us on Twitter.
Like us on Facebook.

Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Blog: Corner Art Studio.
Auntie Leila’s Ravelry.
Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
Rosie’s Instagram.
Sukie’s Instagram.
Deirdre’s Instagram.
Bridget’s Instagram.
Habou’s Instagram.

The post {bits & pieces} appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.

{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

 

This summer I have completed the arduous process of collecting all my blog posts (ten years’ worth!) that are worthy of collecting and am now actually (re) writing. When I started putting thoughts down here on Like Mother, Like Daughter, I wondered if I’d ever have enough for a book — now I wonder if I’ll ever be able to contain and organize what I’ve written!

It’s not as easy as it sounds because I’m committed to making the very best book I can, and not just regurgitating willy-nilly. Things that sounded great as blog posts are a bit unpolished when they try to be a chapter in a book! At least when it’s me who’s posting… I’m not sure how you can stand it!

Since I also try to be available to various people for their wife/mother/daughter/grandmother/friend needs, things are indeed a bit more quiet around here.

All this to say we still love you and hope that you are finding things to keep you occupied in the archives!

 

Besides the garden, we are slowly sprucing up some things here, including re-doing the kitchen island with a new (to us) butcher block top. I can’t wait to show you how it turns out!

On to our links!

In art:

The Artist, Deirdre’s husband, has set up a shop to offer beautiful — and I mean beautiful — original art for your home or office. It’s called Ratscullery, and really, I don’t know where you could get an actual painting — framed! — at these prices. In fact, as soon as it catches on, the prices are going to go up. Much of the art is by his friend John Petersen, but some is by himself, John Folley. These artworks are amazing!


Would you like to win a $100 credit towards a painting at Ratscullery? Simply enter the Instagram giveaway here by following and tagging someone — maybe be sure to let your friend know that to be entered, she too needs to follow and tag. The IG account needs lots of followers to make this art endeavor a success! Please go follow and tag!

In food:

Rosie was, like everyone else who loves happiness, watching The Great British Baking Show. She was idly contemplating looking up Golden Castor Sugar (after Candice made her sponge, I think it was) when she came across this undoubtedly life-changing information regarding roasted sugar, which apparently not only gives the sugar a “faint caramel taste” but contains significantly less sweetness/calories! Do you see the implications! Now we need to try all those things that seem just too sweet, but need the sugar, like meringue, fudge, and angel-food cake! Wowee!


Have I ever told you that I am a sucker for any recipe with the word “Cowboy” in the name? Cowboy Stew, Cowboy Beans, Cowboy Beef — seems like they are all basically the same thing but I get all excited about the very concept, every time. Well, closely related, I love camping food! As I was looking at the method for the sugar (above), I came across this collection of fun camping recipes. Shorter version, if you wrap potatoes, onions, and meat up in foil and grill the packets, good things will result. Honestly, they will be so good eaten in the backyard, don’t you think?


(Just for fun, not a link, I will give you my one of my best camp-food tricks: Throw some frozen sirloin steaks in your cooler, in ziploc bags of course. They will help keep the food cold, and by the time you are ready to grill them (on day two or three, maybe), they will be just the right temperature. Any leftovers make great sandwiches!)

As regards the upcoming eclipse, during which I will be (so gladly!) picking up the wandering Bridget from the airport, a little roundup of good links (feel free to add any helpful ones you’ve found, in the comments):

Nine facts about the eclipse.


Preparing for the eclipse.


Eclipse safety. 

And all the rest:

A friend sent this little video from Cardinal Burke that could be the perfect intro to our book, The Little Oratory. He gently explains how important the life of faith is in the family — how devotion unites the family to the Church, helps the children live and learn their faith, and brings peace to each person. It’s not long and it’s a wonderful little tutorial for mother and father to watch together, giving them lots of food for thought about family life.

 

 

I don’t know about everything on this site, but this little app for midwives in Africa seems so helpful and actually life-saving.


An excellent primer from our friend Fr. Jerry Pokorsky on Just War Theory and its applications. When we are discussing current events and the proper response to them, it’s vital that we have sound moral principles in mind.


Sr. Katharine Drexel’s life never fails to move and astonish me. What a great American saint, a true lover of mankind! This is the story of how she and her nuns stood up to the Ku Klux Klan. Also, can we just mention that her habit is intense.


There are many issues facing us, but we have to understand that all moral truth works together; if we let go of transcendent truth, we let go of our power to do good. The truth about the human person, as Saint John Paul II called it, is that God made man in His image, and the most fundamental truth we know about being a human being is that we are nuptial, male and female. Anyone who denies this does not have man’s good at heart.


Even longer, but very good: Samuel Gregg argues for Reason, Faith, and the Western Tradition.


Cardinal Sarah: We need the spirit of the Vendéans! (To read more about the Vendée, here’s a good book review with further reading recommended.)

Today is the feast of St. John Eudes, a really great saint who brought intelligence and a gentle spirit to the faith at just the right time. May God send us saints now! May we be His friends here and now!

From the archives:

If you’re thinking about school, you might also want to think about menu planning!


Whining whiners and how to cure them.

 

~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~

Follow us:

Follow us on Twitter.
Like us on Facebook.

Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Blog: Corner Art Studio.
Auntie Leila’s Ravelry.
Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
Rosie’s Instagram.
Sukie’s Instagram.
Deirdre’s Instagram.
Bridget’s Instagram.
Habou’s Instagram.

The post {bits & pieces} appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.

{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

There’s nothing like enjoying the fresh fruits of a home garden to boost one’s appreciation (already high, trust me!) of summertime! This weekend, we’re benefiting from some herbs, tomatoes, and cucumbers that my mom brought over from her garden.

Next year I need to be more on top of getting myself a little garden set up — even if it’s only potted plants on my porch. I keep thinking to myself, “why didn’t I start up some kind of garden this year? What was I doing this spring?” “Oh yeah. Having a baby.”

You know that we are big on homemade pizza around these LMLD parts. It’s such a great Friday staple. Frequently, on Friday evenings, I make one meatless pizza and prepare one meaty one. The meatless one is, of course, for the Friday dinner. The meaty one is for a calm and easy Sabbath meal.

I used to go ahead and make two all the way, but then I was never satisfied with the reheated results on Sunday. So, these (Fri)days, I bake my Sunday pizza halfway and then pull it out of the oven, wrap it in tinfoil, and stick it in the fridge. On Sunday, I take it out to bring to room temperature, leave the tin foil over it, and pop it in the oven while it preheats. Once the oven gets to full heat, I remove the foil, leave it in for another 10 min or so and voila! A crisp, fresh pizza without any work at all — like a freezer pizza, only actually homemade and tasty.

This weekend’s are significantly enhanced by aforementioned garden delights, courtesy of my mom:

(excuse the fuzzy pictures; The Artist had our nice camera in the studio today)

Friday’s pizza, all prepped:

 

Sunday’s, also prepped!:

 

Need a refresher on making your own pizza, including dough? It’s easy! It’s worth it for pizza that’s just so much better:

Auntie Leila Makes Pizza: In Photos: Part 1

Auntie Leila Makes Pizza: In Photos: Part 2

 

This week’s links!

Just for fun:

Fruitcake always gets mocked! 100-year old fruitcake “looks and smells edible”!


What happens when a group of seminarians go into a bar? Sounds like the beginning of a joke!

We’re always thinking about our dream house:

What is a bungalow? 


When it seems so hard to build a good house these days, maybe training our eye and design sense helps. (No offense to anyone who has one of these builder’s delights — all of this is out of our control at some point!)

On education:

{bits & pieces} seems to be on a bit of a poetry kick recently, so here is another offering on the question of the form of the poem — perhaps of interest if you think about poetry or are teaching a child.


“The young are always being formed, and thus educated in the Greek sense, one way or the other.” John Cuddeback offers good perspective on the subject as school plans inevitably encroach on summer relaxation.


And while we’re (reluctantly) thinking about formal education and trying to have good goals, let’s read Fr. Schall’s Guide to Liberal Learning.

 

In the Liturgical Year:

Today is the memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal. Also, as a heads up: the feast of St. Gregory the Great is coming up in a few weeks on September 3! You might consider a celebration with your Pocket, or perhaps that would be an auspicious day to get your St. Gregory’s Pocket started!

 

From the Archives:

Ask Auntie Leila: How do we tell people we’re having another baby?


What can children do? A Guide. (As in: chores and helping around the house.)

 

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Reading aloud, a little tutorial

 

In my last post, oh so long ago, I tried to be encouraging about that reluctant reader, giving you some tips on how to motivate real reading (not rushing to get a reward or being forced to slog through something, anything, but real reading that is enjoyable for its own sake). And the readers’ comments are pure gold!

Perhaps some readers, even if wishing to instill a love of reading in their children, have some trouble reading out loud, which could be just awkwardness or lack of confidence of how to do it. Even professionals have trouble getting it right — have you ever started an audio book only to find that you just can’t take it?

 

 

So I will give you a little tutorial; I will tell you all I know.

My first moment of awakened listening to a book read out loud — having left behind the childhood comforts and made my way almost through high school to read on my own, silently, like all the mature folks — came in my senior year AP Lit class. Mrs. Stecchini was the teacher. Far enough into middle age to have solidified her methods, and utterly passionate about each and every book we read, from Chaucer to James, Mrs. Stecchini used her considerable powers of narration to draw us in. For even in this elective class, there were some who weren’t excited — and even those who were needed, she knew, to be shown how to read.

It was in this class that I shed my “devour it quickly” approach to books. I think those of my fellow students who suffered from real reluctance also learned something. Mrs. S. simply carried all along by sheer force of will. At least half of each (double period) class was taken up, simply, with her reading aloud, in a highly idiosyncratic manner, whatever work we were studying. Whole chapters of the densest prose were bestowed on our initially unbelieving ears. She was going to read to us? Like that?

And I had never, ever, heard anyone read the way she did. It took me weeks just to get used to it! But eventually, what I considered her slow pace and over-exaggerated emphasis on parts of sentences I would have just skimmed past, became the norm for me — and the artistry of the author we were examining was able to bloom fully in my intellect. (This was most true of Henry James, not my favorite writer, mind, but one whose polished prose is lost on most high school students who don’t have a Mrs. S. to guide them.)

Her class made me realize that I needed voices in my head as I read, that a good writer chooses every word carefully — so every word must be given its due, which means not more than its due, but also not less; that savoring good writing is its own reward; in short, that the reader is part of the art of writing: the writer depends on his reader to meet him halfway.

 

So — reading out loud to children, some thoughts:

Choose (and make) a good place. So many living areas aren’t conducive to comfortable conversation or listening — it pains Auntie Leila! David Clayton and I actually go over this to some extent in our book, The Little Oratory, just because family life in general is related to family life in prayer, of course. (Some reviewers called what we said “holy decorating” or decorating for a purpose other than a. to put things in a room or b. to make an impression.)

Mainly, consider pulling the furniture, at least some of it, away from the walls and into proximity with each other, so that some could sit on chairs nearby and still hear.

Maybe you have a ceiling light fixture, maybe not; but regardless, you need at least three lamps in any given room. Please, I will not tire of begging you, get incandescent light bulbs, if only for these living areas where a warm glow, not a harsh glare, is so very necessary for flourishing. You can always have an extra soup night to pay for them.

 

 

Of course, you might read in the hammock or by the campfire or in the tent or under the stars or in your big bed or by the fire, and that’s all good too.

Timing: it’s never going to work to try to read aloud when everyone is bursting with climbing, swimming, jumping, or running energy. Rest time is excellent (although dangerous for the overtired parent; in my later years with Bridget I would sometimes just say “Mama’s going to put her head juuust back here for ten minutes…”); after supper and the Rosary; before bedtime when baby is finally asleep. Everything has its time and place… but a really wonderful book will tempt you to “read one more chapter!” — which is such a joy, isn’t it?

 

 

Excellent reading happens when you know the book and know what’s coming. Even if you can’t read it first, you can read ahead in the text as you go, even a little, to make a big difference in how you sound. Read ahead by phrase, scan the page as you go. Your brain retains the words and you can speak them while your eyes move ahead; this skill is the very heart of successful reading out loud — once you get good at it you can help your children much better to figure it out for themselves, and then they become excellent readers out loud.

 

Reading ahead helps you see the words in phrases and plan ahead how you will use your voice to convey whatever emotion, tension, relaxation, drama, or other mode fits best. When you scan ahead, you can usually catch the occasional “he said in a low whisper” direction that’s unhelpfully thrown in after the actual dialogue, which you might otherwise read loudly or what have you. You can sort out who is saying what in untagged exchanges. You can foresee where a dramatic pause would work best. Et cetera.

Phrasing enables you to present a thought in a unified way. Because most of us rarely read aloud, and because journalism, not fiction, rules our day, contemporary sentences often just plop the subject at the start of the sentences.

Older fiction is more subtle, uses more dependent clauses, runs on with more freedom; hence, the ability to see where the phrase is going in relation to the whole of the sentence and even paragraph has a salutary effect on how we read.

Vary the speed of your words. One of my pet peeves with even professional narrators is equating slowness and even pace with effective reading aloud. Yes, fast is not great, but even Mrs. Stecchini wasn’t always slow — it’s just that when she did want to go slow, she really took her time! Some words are getting you to where you need to be; you can’t leave them out, but they point to something beyond. Some are tricky to process or have more importance, or have an unusual meaning that takes a moment to understand; these are the ones you linger on. The best books are written with a certain amount of irony and a sort of detachment from the narrator and characters; you’ll have to vary your pace to catch all that.

Silences and pauses are reading too!

 

 

Try voices. This can seem daunting and silly, but here’s the secret: begin with your own natural voice, making it the voice for the narrator. Another criticism I have of audio books I’ve listened to is when the default voice — the voice you are going to listen to the most — is strained and either too loud or too soft, and often overly self-conscious and dramatic. Relax your voice and use its best placement. (Rosie said: Be sure you tell them to have a relaxed default voice! I said: I am telling them!)

How to find this default voice, that is, your own voice? Think of the sound that comes out of your mouth as a soft ping-pong ball. The ball should be just behind your teeth, in the middle of your mouth, not in your throat or in your nose or caught in your palate or laying on your tongue! Relax your throat while you are talking normally to people and make some space there in your mouth for that ball! Soon you’ll feel how it should be.

Give the protagonist a slightly higher — slightly — or slightly lower pitch than your natural voice, depending on its sex. If the main character is a girl, pitch your voice slightly higher; if a boy, slightly lower (if you are a man, make a boy’s voice higher than yours but not as high as the voice you will give to the main girl in the story). Otherwise, keep the manner of speaking the same as yours, for this character. This is what I think of as the “default” voice, and the narrator as my own voice that I revert to.

Whenever you come upon another character, give it a slightly different sound — whether accent or pace or intonation, just like in real life. In fact, I sometimes make certain characters sound like people I know who remind me of them! Breathless like the checkout lady I always see, or nasal like the reader at Church, etc. Here’s where you play around with moving that ping-pong ball I was talking about.

And accents are fun; you can channel all your BBC favorites, giving each character a different regional accent. A drawl, a lisp, a thickening… just a little of this goes a long way, so don’t think you have to be super accurate or very consistent — it’s more just a flavor to keep each member of the cast separate.

NB: When you are reading Scripture — especially if you are a reader at Mass — keep all these ideas to the minimum. Sacred Scripture, though often very dramatic, must be read with gravitas (dignity) and austerity.

Gently emphasize difficult words. Many readers think that clarity demands landing on all the consonants… which too often means that it’s all Tees and Esses. Keep those light and give a little more oomph to the Dees (especially those at the end of words) and others. Names especially need just a little more daylight around them (that is, don’t run them into other words) so that they can be made out.

Listen to good readers and imitate them. We will try to get you a good list of our favorite narrators soon! If you search for “read aloud” here on the blog, you will find many of our recommendations for which books make the best read alouds — and you know what? They are the best written books. Sometimes we have trouble reading aloud because the book just isn’t that great. It’s a good test, actually!

 

 

Thanks to Rosie for all the reading aloud pictures, including the fun phone ones! (Although this last one is mine :)

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{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Current mood: matching the rain, I’d say… a little time of recuperation after my exertions!

 

Got back from driving down to North Carolina, to the base, with Rosie and the children. Probably the hardest part (other than getting Nora to sleep on a mattress on the floor at a friend’s house by getting her to look at the fan and saying “it just goes round, and round, and round, and round… ” — yes, I hypnotized my grandchild, because a grandma’s gotta do what a grandma’s gotta do!) was the ride home from the airport. Pro tip: major construction on the Mass Pike, ditch the tunnel.

My report is that things are cute there in her little house, the children were enthralled to find their books and toys from oh so long ago, and the base seems friendly!

And I got to go swimming in the ocean! Something that has not happened for decades, because I personally do not regard “Cape Cod” or the “North Shore” as beaches, but as “beaches” complete with air quotes, where you bake on the sand and freeze in the water — where it takes moral stamina to go in, and then you must stay in for as long as you can, for you will never go in again once you come out! Sometimes there are waves that crash stones into your flesh, but sometimes there is just… flat, freezing water. I mean, I take it if I can get it, because I love even the “beach” — but don’t try to pretend it’s the beach!

But North Carolina is as memory held it dear — soft sand, gentle water, perfect (that is, exciting but not dominating) surf. I even got my whole head under water!

Meanwhile… it’s so quiet here.

 

This is a picture of a mudroom with virtually no shoes in it.

 

On to our links!

I had never thought of it, but wow, I think this is really true (only get sturdy ones!): why you should have drawers and not cabinets in your kitchen!


I think we were all following the heart-stabbing story of Charlie Gard. Do read this piece by a Fordham theology professor that clearly lays out the ethical (that is, moral) framework we should be using: Learning from Charlie Gard.


Do you have boys? Do you know a man? Sometimes when I watch baseball I laugh when I think about how carefully we are all instructed to “talk things out” and “search for a solution” and “not resort to violence.” I offer you this retrospective of a classic brawl on the diamond, that time that Robin Ventura charged Nolan Ryan on the mound. Can you imagine that there is a whole industry where a bunch of men respond to stress on the job with a general melee? That one employee gets in another’s face and shouts as loud as he can, “BLEEP BLEEPING mother BLEEPER BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP” etc etc? A veritable brouhaha ensuing, on top of the previous one? Why am I showing you this? (Do check out the video embedded at the end of the article.). Because I believe that it helps us understand those creatures, those strange, brawling creatures, men. Or at least, to understand that we don’t understand…


Is hunger in America what we think it is?


An account by the artist of the making of incredible mosaics for a church, with a fascinating glimpse of the actual process and aesthetic choices.


In search of really beautiful Tiffany mosaics, some sacred.

Today in the liturgy is a feast of a building! The feast of the dedication of St. Mary Major (also known as St. Mary of the Snows!).

“We could point out how the divine Motherhood mystery dominates all Marian liturgy; for the Theotokos doctrine has kept Mariology Christo-centric in the Church’s worship. Although recent popular devotion to Mary has become to a certain extent soft and sentimental and has, one may say, erected its own sanctuary around Mary as the center, devotion to our Blessed Mother in the liturgy has always remained oriented to Christ. In the liturgy the divine Motherhood has always been the bridge from Mary to Jesus. One need only examine Matins in honor of Mary or the Masses from her Common to be reassured. Everywhere Christ takes the central position, and Mary is the Christbearer.” ~ The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

From the archives:

Two rules for kids that might help you with that old exasperated feeling.


I’m going to keep re-upping this until I can remember to get in on the sidebar: How to do sex education right.


A real oldie, but so special to me: Let’s visit a friend of mine!

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{bits & pieces}

The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

 

We’re coming to the end of this little sojourn with Rosie and the grandchildren. I’d wax emotional but the effort to move them out requires all my energy (I mean, Rosie is doing all the work but you know — mental energy isn’t for nothing!) — I’ll be driving down with her and helping her get settled back on base, so no time for sentiment! I’m trying to put together some links here and not think too much about all the things I’d like to post about but probably won’t, not for a while yet.

Some links!

An ambitious and tremendous project: collecting all of Bach in one place. Poke around and see what you can find.

 

Anthony Esolen, trying to awaken in us the desire to give the gift of innocent love to our children.

 

Five Catholic Poets You Should Know.

 

Let’s fight about Grover Cleveland instead of everything else.

 

Super long but thought-provoking read from Fr. Schall (including, at the end, a little nod to our man Romano Guardini): “Mysticism, political philosophy, and play serve to relate the transcendent to the human through the setting of the cosmos in which we find ourselves.”

Today is the feast of St. Martha!

From the archives:

That time I told you about how nearly everything in my house is thrifted, given to me, or literally found on the side of the road, in case you were wondering about that photo, above. It was by way of saying that yes, you can live on one income, because every household needs a manager (among other roles, some of which may be even more important) as well as an earner!

 

Is sex education different now from what it was back in a simpler day? 

 

Here’s how I do my veggies for the freezer. Right now I have lots of cucumbers and I have to leave! Those won’t freeze! Yikes, what should I do?!?

We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook.

Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.

Rosie’s Pinterest.

Sukie’s Pinterest.

Deirdre’s Pinterest.

Habou’s Pinterest.

Bridget’s Pinterest.

Habou’s Blog: Corner Art Studio.

Auntie Leila’s Ravelry.

Auntie Leila’s Instagram.

Rosie’s Instagram.

Sukie’s Instagram.

Deirdre’s Instagram.

Bridget’s Instagram.

 

 

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