Chatty thoughts and lots of links!
What should we talk about?
We had fun in Texas! We enjoyed each others’ company, played with the kids, took walks, and were well fed by Rosie.
We did all our Texas-ing in one go, seeing the running of the Longhorns, the US Mint, and the rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum in one day, and then having BBQ (the brisket! ahhh!!) at Heims the next. (Phil and I talk about the rodeo in our podcast, at the end — maybe have a listen!)
I took one photo, of my grandchildren (but not even all) upholding the family honor, with all that ice cream:
Maybe Rosie can send me more. She is a great photographer and it’s hard to feel motivated to take pictures when around her!
Now I’m home and in recovery. I’m just not a person who moves quickly anymore! But last night I made pasta. Rosie and I were discussing, as she made a tasty batch for us, the need to make homemade pasta more of a feature in the weekly or monthly menu.
I couldn’t spread right across the island with all this due to things at the other end, out of the frame…
She actually had given me the attachment for my Kitchenaid quite a while ago.
Here are my issues: It actually takes time to make it. And when you’ve churned out an entire batch, you actually don’t have enough for a big family! It takes a lot of pasta for, say, 8-10 people, some of whom might be teenage boys… Dry pasta is more space-efficient.
For the two of us it’s fine, of course.
Maybe in that population there are kids who can take the job over? Make a batch one day and cook it the next? Do you normally make pasta at your house?
I don’t have a picture of the finished dish, which was spaghetti tossed with ricotta that had been mixed with an egg, a splash of lemon juice, fresh thyme, and parmesan. A little pepper finished it off. I think I probably should have added oil.
My grocery-store thyme is doing pretty well, I must say! My black thumb hasn’t struck yet!
The pasta dish was pretty good… I think for this thin pasta you need a really giant pot of water so it doesn’t stop boiling, and I am used to cooking it in less water because I’m a cutting-corners kind of person.
The truth is that by the time the water gets back to the boil in a smaller pot, the pasta is not as al dente as it really needs to be. If I had cut it thicker, it would be fine.
I’m not sure why the strands at the forefront there got thicker — most of the pasta was pretty thin.
In other news…
The girls and I discussed that same question you have asked me — should one keep one’s dried oranges! Do they store?
Bridget saves them! She says they are fine.
So I’m going to do it. I don’t know any other way to end up with a good showing, because although they are not difficult to make at all (drying the oranges is pretty simple), the actual slicing and garland-making is time-consuming. If I want an abundance of garlands, I think I will have to increase the supply over the years by adding to what I have.
The days are so cold! But the sun is brighter, so things are looking up!
After I finished the lavender sweater for my granddaughter, I cast on a little sweater set which I’ll keep mostly under wraps for now, and a pair of socks. Having enough knitting for two flights and a week away is vitally important — never leave without the right things!
These are the “Syncopation Socks” that I have made before. I like them because they are stretchy and so handsome! The yarn is a charcoal gray that has some blue in it too.
This is my sofa “nest” currently:
Nest notes:
The project bags were given to me quite a while ago now, by a sweet reader.
The music is an Ave Maria our choir is learning… I hope we get it soon!
The note is about winter sowing… have you started thinking about the garden yet?
It makes me feel organized, though it has little in it right now after a week away.
Since it’s black, I decided to put the sticker Rosie gave me on it. It’s from her husband’s Marine battalion, 1-11, the motto of which is “Lead, Inspire, Prepare for Battle.” I’m probably saying this all wrong.
However, she was telling me that the chaplain back in California at Camp Pendleton where the Battalion is based manages to work the motto into most of his sermons, and I have to say, I’m inspired to pass it along to you, as their unofficial mother-in-law.
In our families, we must Lead — we must not be followers of the world, inclined to accept ideas and patterns that are not motivated by care for the common good or our well being. We have to understand that there is disorder prowling about, ready to take away our peace. We can overcome that disorder by accepting the responsibility, given to us in our state of life by God, to lead, not conform (be not conformed!). As soon as we see ourselves that way, as leaders, we immediately get the courage to help others rather than allow ourselves to be led by.
We must Inspire. People are lost. They have no one to follow. By living according to God’s, not man’s, law, we inspire others without even really thinking or knowing about it. Trusting in God’s goodness, we will inspire others. Even when we feel like failures, our willingness to do God’s will is itself inspirational.
And we too, we mothers and wives, have to be Prepared for Battle. For us, it’s the everyday battle of doing the little things with care and love — it’s a battle of love!
Anyway, if you catch a glimpse of a snake and cannons on my planner, that’s what it’s all about! Maybe I will come across a pretty sticker too…
Curriculum Corner
Rosie mentioned this book to me, which she says her family benefits from reading daily:
A Character Calendar (affiliate link)
From the description: “Beginning with a brief introduction to the saint of the day, augmented by excerpts from the Imitation of Christ and from the Mass for the day, as well as an ideal to ponder and an “action item”, this is a wonderful way to focus on the virtues of each of the saints, and thereby to make our lives an imitation of theirs.”
I have found the courses offered by Hillsdale College pretty good for the most part, and accessible for the motivated high school student. Here is one on Classical Greece and Rome, filmed during a conference there. I see there is a lecture on why we read the Aeneid, a topic on which I posted a link (from Thomas Aquinas College) last time. So maybe this is a hot item right now! Anyway, I haven’t done this course but I am confident it would be a good one.
bits & piecesAn article that puts very well what I try to emphasize here: You Can’t Pass on Faith…But You Can Pass on TraditionA raw and well written account of a college student’s experience at his family’s home during the LA fires. He was very brave. Makes you think: do I have a preparedness plan? Could I protect my home from looters? Do I have a way to put out a fire? Would I have something to eat? (Do our sons keep a journal? Maybe this article will inspire them!)
Fr. Naugle on the failures of authority in Church and State and our responsibility.
The always edifying Mary Eberstadt on her friendship with Fr. Paul Mankowski, SJ:
He said something in that email I have never forgotten… he wrote something that became an enduring consolation, not only in that moment, but on later occasions throughout the years. Dismissing the enraged interlocutor and citing Jesus instead, Mankowski wrote, “Mary, never forget that you have chosen the better part.”
This was the first lesson I learned from Fr. Paul Mankowski: Never, ever lose sight of what’s most important about your time on this earth. There was nothing more critical in that moment than the crying little baby.
I think ultrasounds in pregnancy should be approached with caution. Common sense tells us that physical waves are physical and can have an effect on the developing baby. Risks have to be weighed against benefits — there’s a big difference between needing information when there’s an issue and exposing a healthy person to possible damage for no reason. Just for thought: The Forgotten Dangers of Ultrasound.
The updated Tasha Tudor website!
Let’s become better informed about public health in general. Lockdowns were long studied and rejected for the harm they cause, and this collective wisdom was simply overridden by political motivations in 2020: In the Asian Flu of 1957-58, They Rejected Lockdowns
from the archivesThere is no other plan — marriage is the plan to protect the unbornEasy and good pot roast with the secret to making it tender
liturgical living
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
follow us everywhere!
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Visit me at The School for Housewives and recommend it to your young friends!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them has moved over to Substack! — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing! The old one is still up if you want to look at the comments on past posts. It will take me a while to get things organized, but you’ll be patient, I know!
There you will find the weekly podcast done by Phil and me, called On the Home Front. Do let us know what you think!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available from Sophia Press! Also in paperback now! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My podcast, The Home Truths Society, 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!
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