So much chitchat: Lent, thrifting, knitting, sourdough, links…

So much to talk about this week!

What to say first…

Lenten Corner

 

If you are following my School for Housewives Substack (free posts! Substack does require me to ask for subscriptions because it’s how they keep it ad-free, but my posts are always free), you have seen my little reminders that Lent is coming and the mother in the home is the one who keeps it all on track.

I have a lot of thoughts here and in my books for you (see the sidebar here for links) that I’ve built up over the years. My main encouragement is to talk it over with your husband, pray, and have those nice conversations this weekend with the kids to prepare them and listen to their ideas too about what the family could do.

As always, I encourage you to take the opportunity of a new liturgical season to go ahead and just begin that way of life you’ve been thinking about: establishing your little oratory, saying the Rosary (or part of it) every day or at least on Sundays, praying Vespers together (or maybe part of it).

 

 

Don’t feel abashed about the kids and what they think — they don’t really think! They accept whatever you tell them. To them, it makes sense to start afresh, and it’s a good life lesson for them and in fact the whole purpose of the Liturgical Year! 

We are always being asked by God to start again; He offers these moments in the year when the whole Church turns to one aspect of the spiritual journey, offering the grace to see it through.

What else are we to teach our children but this? 

 

Thrifting Corner

I didn’t post last week because we had Bridget visiting here during her school break (you remember she’s a teacher now, in Virginia) and then Rosie visiting with her family, so life was a whirlwind!

I took advantage of heading up to New Hampshire one day with Bridget to visit with a school chum; I dropped her off and spent an hour at the nearby thrift (Savers in Manchester) before meeting up with them.

Wow wee! 

 

I came away with such a haul! Plus it was Senior Discount Day! 30% off! It would be hard for me to go through everything I found one by one, but it was a needed wardrobe refresh for the Chief and me.

For him: 5 good solid cotton colder-weather shirts, 2 beautiful woolen sweaters, including a gorgeous cardigan but let’s not downplay the green finely knit merino pullover, and two pairs of flannel pj pants with the tags still on:

 

For me: Three classy warm woolen sweaters, three lovely fine cardigans for warmer weather, and a 100% merino dress in perfect condition (that one ended up being $9!!)!

I could not be more excited. For all this I paid $100, which I feel like would have gotten me one and a half useful cotton shirts from LL Bean for Phil or one third of a merino dress for me.

This cardigan is Talbots, silk and cotton:

 

This is the dress — I already wore it to Mass with tights and a scarf and I just love its coziness — it just hits the top of my knee:

 

 

This is the only red garment I have ever really felt comfortable in (Banana Republic):

 

This wildly successful outing somewhat quelled my desire to knit a sweater just now, so I am going to focus on some smaller projects.

I got these patterns (they were both 1/2 off, not sure if that is still the case), which are darling and can use up the many scraps and leftovers I have in my stash:

[image error]

Good Mouse, by Susan B. Anderson

 

[image error]

Kitty by Maria Nikulina

(These links are not sponsored)

And I’m planning on some Selbu mittens similar to the ones I made a couple of years ago (lots of colorways and patterns to explore, am hoping for bunnies) — even though I said I wouldn’t knit them again! They take so much concentration!:

 

It’s just hard to resist those patterns! I gave this pair to Bridget and she says they are so warm and she gets compliments whenever she wears them.

Sourdough Corner

I made my sourdough waffles as usual a few weekends ago (recipe: Overnight sourdough waffles or pancakes) but happened to have some ricotta with egg in it leftover from making a smallish lasagna, so I added that in. I have to say it is next-level! I took notes and made them again, and I think a big plus here is that you can make the recipe with 1/3 cup of ricotta and one less egg.

With eggs the price they are, this is huge, don’t you think? I will try to remember to update the recipe with the ricotta variation, but that’s basically it. Swap some ricotta for an egg!

They come out with a lovely creamy texture inside and good and crispy outside. Highly recommend:

 

 

Ask the (Blog) Audience

Dear Elizabeth writes:

Very small kitchen! Help! I was wondering if you had any practical advice or wisdom on how to deal with a very small, eat-in-kitchen (no separate dining room). It gets SO chaotic several times throughout the day… Well, all day actually. We have very limited counter space and a table that we have a bench in the back so we can push the table against the wall when it’s not time for everyone to gather. Meal times are also very hard as we are still in the “dinner with the barbarians” stage of our family life… 5 kids, age 7 and under. It’s a small house, but it is what affords me to be a stay at home mom. Sometimes I resent the small size, or feel jealous of others with dining rooms and larger homes. But I know I’m blessed and I just need to make this work!

Dear Elizabeth,

In our previous home, we had a small kitchen with a galley on one side (seriously, I had one square foot of counterspace on which to churn out my 4 Friday evening pizzas!) and the kitchen table on the other.

(It did have an old O’Keefe and Merritt gas range from maybe the early 70s that I didn’t really appreciate at the time: that thing was a workhorse for a big family, with a big oven on the bottom and a smaller one on top.)

We did have a dining room, but at the time my kids were the ages of yours I didn’t have enough chairs and we couldn’t afford more! So eating at the table in the kitchen had to work.

Phil made two benches, one of which was against the radiator (with a metal cover), against the wall. A chair for Dad, a chair for Mom. The table wasn’t good quality, being a heavy formica top on metal trestles that my mom found at some office sale, so I always had one of those vinyl, flannel-backed picnic tablecloths on it. It was wipeable at least!

That is where I came up with my “put things on the table, not the counters” strategy: in a small kitchen you can’t afford to have anything not absolutely necessary on the counters, and the table will get cleared off for meals.

Kids were assigned three to the dishwasher (when they were little) — each one got a rack/utensils. It was a priority of mine to go into each phase of the day with an empty dishwasher. Every aspect of kitchen work had a kid on it, other than washing the floor, which I did once a week without fail.

And we just had chaos! It was noisy, a lot of overstimulation, and very fun! As their bodies got big (when the older ones were adolescents), I did figure out a way to get us into the dining room, but I really have fond memories of the kitchen days, even though I was pretty clueless about the aesthetic aspect of it and probably scandalized anyone who visited!

One of my best memories is “books at the table day” (usually held the evening of “library day”) when there was blessed peace and quiet as everyone delved into their current read. At some point, Suzanne (maybe around 7 years old?) would retire to stretch out on the rug in front of the sink for full engrossment. It was before the time of cell phones, so I don’t have any pictures (I think?), but… it’s a good and fun memory!

Okay, all my readers — what do you do to stay sane in your little eat-in kitchen?

 

 

 

bits & piecesDon’t forget to go here for a traditional Lenten plan.

 

This year’s Lenten calendar from our friends at The Fig and Thimble

 

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to read old books and let them influence our daily lives and conversations. We are in danger of using the patterns and vocabulary of only the most recent writing, filtered through social media, and losing more precise ways of expressing ourselves. I thought this article demonstrated the value of fairy tales in expanding our experience of reality and means of conveying it.

 

I can’t stand the indulgent mentality of mindless entertainment, with its lurking invitation to excess, gluttony, and greed — it’s the opposite of true enjoyment and robs us of, simply put, fun. John Cuddeback writes about how to arrange things so we are having more of the latter and less of the former — and being happier.

 

This was a really encouraging article about mixing different weights, types, and brands of yarn in one project — very freeing!

 

I understand how many people at this point have entered into the IVF system in one way or another. But we have to avoid letting yet another “well, everyone is doing it or knows someone doing it” situation develop, where we mainstream immorality. If you are in this quandary — feeling like you got into it or didn’t realize or were overwhelmed by fear of infertility — or for whatever reason — the way out is simple: repent. That’s what Lent is about. I’ve had to repent of a lot of things I have done (some out of ignorance or some understandable reason), just like, well, everyone. Believe me, it’s more peaceful to be honest and acknowledge the wrong, repent, confess (to a priest, optimally) and try to make amends. Maybe start here: Made, not begotten: Why we said “No!” to in vitro fertilization

 

A reader sent this resource: audio versions of the 1000 Good Books, those being John Senior’s way of identifying the books a child must read or have read to him in order to have the development of mind to approach the 100 Great Books, shorthand for a life of metaphysical awareness. Neither she nor I has looked too much into it, but it might be helpful!

 

A fun appreciation of one of our faves, P. G. Wodehouse! 

 

liturgical living

 

St. David (542-601), Bishop and patron of Wales.

Tomorrow is Quinquagesima Sunday… and then, Lent begins on Wednesday!

 

from the archives

Lenten thoughts: The Rule of Life

Two items for your last-minute Lent prep!

follow us everywhere!

Here is all the info:

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! 

Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:

Consider subscribing to this blog by email. We would love to pop into your inbox! The subscription box is on this page on the sidebar!

We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram, Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.

Auntie Leila’s Twitter.

Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)

Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.

The boards of the others:  Rosie’s Pinterest.  Sukie’s Pinterest.  Deirdre’s Pinterest.  Habou’s Pinterest

Here is my affiliate link to my Amazon page — the only affiliate thing that goes on here on LMLD, which is why the blog loads quickly and you don’t have to keep closing pop-ups etc! It opens up an Amazon tab and anything you purchase using that tab for 24 hours sends a bit over my way without cost to you. Thank you for opening it and shopping if you are so minded — as some have asked me. If not, don’t worry one bit.