{bits & pieces}
The weekly “little of this, like of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Yesterday I went to the abortion clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts to pray. Surprised to see so many there, I remembered about the impending blizzard and the cancelled buses.
I’m going to say that I think this is better. I’m all for lobbying Congress and showing numbers, but if there were this many people outside this God-forsaken black hole in the city every week — including two bishops! — it would soon close down.
It is the coldest place on earth in more ways than one.
Afterwards, I stopped at the Goodwill just to see, since it’s not one I usually go to.
A number of years ago I found this sweet set there for a pittance (probably under $10):
Including these little plates and shallow bowls, which I use all the time, actually (so they live in the kitchen):
Well, imagine my gratification when I came across these pieces in the foreground!
Five more little plates, bringing my total to 12, a saucer, bringing my total to 7 (so I’m still missing one), and very petite bowls which I’m sure will come in handy but anyway, I wasn’t leaving them behind.
Score!
I also found this larger (but still small), random sweet plate. I find this kind really useful for putting out a nice cheese (and I have two little glass domes that work perfectly with this sort of plate), or a few cookies on a buffet:
And I like how it looks on my plate rack:
On to our links:
This past week I was pleasantly surprised to see that Crisis Magazine published a piece of mine a little ahead of when they told me they might. See what you think: Auntie Leila on Three Liturgical Changes We Need Now.
Along the lines of our getting organized posts, I found this discussion of Theodore Roosevelt’s time-management to be helpful. For me, a busy day can be much more productive than a slow day, and I think it’s because I know I have to focus on my tasks and get them done efficiently — or as the Chief likes to quote, “Work expands to fit the time available.” We need to teach our children this as well.
This video about “how to play the piano” is just silly and funny. Spoiler: You don’t learn to play the piano.
Fr. James Schall, SJ on mercy: Mercy Begins Where Justice Ends. I find that Fr. Schall combines the ability to explain something complicated with an understanding of what might be troubling me, and has only gotten more readable the older he becomes.
Maybe it’s worthwhile to record things in journals after all — I mean, the facts, like how much snow fell and what you did about it — like Thomas Jefferson or some other interesting Founder.
“Let the climate change you” — do nothing when faced with a blizzard! No really — do nothing.
A dear reader — was it in the comments? did she email me? — ugh, Auntie Leila loses track sometimes — is convinced all right not to knit with subpar yarn. But when you live on one income and have little children who cut down on your thrifting opportunities, where and how do you get good yarn without breaking the bank?
Well, my experience is that you need to go thrifting or have a lot of money (please don’t do too much thrifting if you have a lot of money — leave the goodies for the rest of us, and actually, donate yours!). You can certainly find things online in the clearance sections of the yarn sites. But it’s better to poke around in the clearance sections of actual yarn stores, just so you can handle the yarn and know that you really want it — since it will be quite random. (I gave some tips for thrifting in general in this post and as usual, there are great comments!)
There’s also this technique, which would work well for hats and mittens, explained in this video:
From the archives:
The other day I was shopping and couldn’t help noticing a nice gal with her two little girls, implementing the latest technique for managing a child’s behavior. (“Do this one thing to make your child behave! This one trick will solve your problems!” Always involving mirroring their words and making sure you explain you understand them and offering choices.)
It wasn’t working. Her around-four-year-old was being a pain and — surprise! not listening, the toddler was threatening mutiny, and most of all, mom wasn’t enjoying the outing.
I wanted to say — “Don’t manage behavior! Put in the effort so that you enjoy each other!” I wanted her to read this post from a while ago: Your Child Needs Less Patience From You.
Today is the feast of St. Vincent of Saragossa –– and also the feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph — their wedding day! When this feast is seen in light of today’s short Gospel (Mark 3:20-21), in which his relatives are pretty sure Jesus “is out of his mind,” it’s quite edifying. I wish you could have heard the sermon I heard at the Abbey at their community Mass, which urged us to be part of the perfect family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — and not be one of the distant relatives who looks askance at all His doings.
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