Christmas Cookies

 It seems that every family has its own list of Christmas cookies. In our family it was Toffee Bars, Cocoanut Toffee Bars, Peanut Brittle, Sugar Cookies, Scotch Short Bread, and in later years, Date Krispie Balls, Peanut Butter Blossoms, M&M Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes. Arthur's favorite from his family was his Grandma Donnay's White Cookies. When the neighbors blessed us with a huge platter of cookies this year, they had Peanut Butter Blossoms, Spritz Cookies, Pretzel Wreaths, Pretzel Rods, Date Sandwich Cookies and a few others. In another friend's package were Macadamia Nut Cookies, M&M Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Molasses Cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. When people ask me what I am baking, I usually say, nothing, since there is no need. Our Christmases are usually split between our two families, and everyone else makes enough that anything I would bring would be superfluous. We can only eat so much at our house, besides. But this year because of COVID, things were different.We were not going anywhere. Maja wanted cookies to take to her dad's house. Grandpa wanted his White Cookies. And Grandma kept reading Verily posts of cookie recipes. The result was a slew of new favorites, and a lot of fun.

On Christmas Eve I started to bake. I made Ande's Creme de Menthe Cookies, a definite keeper. Then I made Grandpa's White Cookies. Then M&M Cookies with the red and green M&M's of course. Then Date Krispie Balls, a recipe which I got when I babysat for Ransoms in high school. Then Pecan Dreams, very similar to Russian Tea Cakes, but another keeper. Most of them are now in the freezer. Maja packed a tin for her dad, and then forgot it. Those are also in the freezer. So are the remains of the cake I made for Ari and my birthday celebration. We have enough sweets to last us through the Sundays of lent, and then some. And the rest of the recipes are in my file waiting for my next baking day. 

Blessed be God.   

Should You Have Your Cremated Remains Made into Jewelry When You Die?

 I thought it worthwhile to share the sentiments which I wrote for my daughter on this subject.

Mom's Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Have Your Cremains Put Into Jewelry

1. Your kids might think it is morbid and gross to wear your ashes.

2. Jewelry gets lost. Bye bye, Mom's remains!

3. Jewelry goes out of style, and the recipient may want to stop wearing it.

4. Jewelry gets broken and thrown into a drawer, or into the garbage. Bye bye, Mom!

5. The jewelry bearing your cremains will probably be tossed aside at some point for something which has new sentimental meaning, like a wedding or engagement ring, or a gift from someone living. Or another person who has died and had their cremains put into jewelry!

6. You may die before your grandchildren are born. They may not want to wear you if they never knew you. Same with your great grandchildren and whoever after that would inherit the jewelry.

7. You may die before Dad and I die. We want a grave to visit. Dad will not wear jewelry other than his wedding ring. I will not wear you, either.

8. Your loved ones can be buried next to you if you are buried in a grave or your ashes are inured in a columbarium.

9. If you have a grave stone, long after you are dead and those who knew you are dead, others can look at your grave and pray for you.

10. You have been baptized. You are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and your body deserves to be buried in consecrated ground.

More Stamping Fun

 I have been on a stamping stampede. Our mission group recently had a craft sale and I wanted to contribute my share of cards. But I also recently ordered a new Blessed Mother symbol stamp on Zazzle, and I wanted to try it out.  Here are some of my favorites from my foray. It has been great fun. Have I used up all of my paper? No. But I have found a few new favorite designs, and I really enjoyed using some of my oldest stamp sets.

Turkeys

 The neighbors brought cookies for us. I had to take a picture in case I want to copy them with the girls. I have seen them before with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, but the gummies and candy corn look very sweet, too. Cute, cute, cute.

Fruit Basket Upset

 It has been so long since I have blogged (So much for web log!) that I never knew that Blogger changed it's screen designs.

The morning started dark and grey, but now the sun is shining through patches of blue sky. I had thought that our snow was here to stay, but perhaps I was wrong. 

I just finished eating two mandarin oranges. So sweet. I am not sure if it is because they are a different brand than usual, Sunrays, or if it is because they are the first fruits of a new season, but they are so juicy and delicious. The Honey Crisp apples which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are also exceptionally large, juicy and tasty. Once I buy fruit I have to finish the bag, so I have been eating a lot of both this past week. 

Arthur and I took a short trip to Ottertail County at the end of September. While we were there we took a tour of The Prospect House Museum in Battle Lake. What an interesting place! It is dubbed a Civil War museum, so one expects when walking in the door to see Civil War artifacts. In reality, the first part of the tour, probably an hour's worth of time, was walking through the home which once served as the first resort in Battle Lake. If you like antiques and art, it is the place to go. The house is still furnished as it was in 1929 before the stock market crash, with items purchased from Dayton's in Minneapolis.The family did not throw anything out, so many things are much older. We saw a very fancy lace Valentine from the Civil War era, and a dead, painted baby turtle which had been mailed home from the Chicago World Fair. There were loads of antique toys which were fantastic replicas of the full versions - a cast iron stove, a cast iron "iron", and aluminum cookie cutters: I would be delighted to own them, and play with them. I have never seen so many varieties of paper dolls. The present owner's mother, Kay Wilkins Johnson, was an artist trained at the Minneapolis Art Institute. Several of her paintings are on display throughout the house. I enjoyed seeing them very much. Particularly spectacular was a portrait she painted of her son, Jay Johnson, who currently owns the home. After we toured the whole house, we moved to the basement where the Civil War mementos were located. There was a bayonet, a bloody letter from the battlefield, and a uniform coat with bullet holes. One could have spent hours in that part of the museum alone, reading all of the materials which were on display. If you ever go to Battle Lake, I highly recommend that you stop in and see it. Our trip also included hikes in Maplewood and Glendalough State Parks, and visits with friends.

I continue with Vision Therapy, though with very spread-out sessions. I have had double vision for quite some time since my right eye is now turned on. I can tell that as well as being cross-eyed, my eyes are also out of alignment with each other. It has been a long haul.  

Thought for the Day

I have a  lovely little laminated poem which looks like it had been printed in a church bulletin. If memory serves me correctly it came either from Fr. Robert Voigt at his time in the parish at Opole, or from Benedictine Father Gunther Rolfson while he was at Richmond. It is as follows:

What joy to know, when life is past
The Lord we love is first and last
The end and the beginning.
He will one day, oh, glorious grace,
Transport us to that happy place
Beyond all tears and sinning.
Sing out! Ring out!
Jubilation! Exultation! Tell the story:
Great is He the King of glory!

I finally finished Archbishop Athansius Schneider's book, Christus Vincit. My current read is a Pauline Press children's book, 32 Days, the story of the little Chinese girl who inspired Archbishop Fulton Sheen by her love for the Eucharist. When the Communists vandalized the church in her town, several hosts were scattered on the floor. She sneaked into the church night after night, consuming one host every night. She was caught on the night she consumed the last host. It is a difficult read since I fear what is to come in America, but it is a book for our time. If a young girl can have such a love for the Eucharist, surely I can love Him more.

Yesterday and today have been lazy daisy days for me. I need to head to the basement to sew a gift, and I just can't get down there, or do much else, for that matter. 

I made trips to Otsego  both yesterday and today. Yesterday's trip was by mistake. Today was the day for my actual eye appointment. I have been having double vision, which may necessitate more vision therapy. I am not thrilled, both because of the time and because of the expense. But if I do not do it, I may lose some of the gains I have already made. It comes just after a second cortisone shot in my foot for my neuroma, and as I am about to begin physical therapy for my arm.

We were blessed with wonderful rain this past week. My lilies are opening. Arthur's corn has perked up, and is beginning to tassel. Last week when we dug the first potatoes we had to dig three plants to get enough for a meal, and now suddenly they are also too big to be classified as babies.

Aroma Rosary

Earlier this year or late last year I purchased this Aroma Rosary on-line. I had eyed it for over a year after hearing about the rosaries on Relevant Radio. The picture does not do it justice, but it is in my colors, an orange-red and olive green stone. I do not know the name of the stone it is made from, but it is very beautiful. I was attracted by the color and by the idea that essential oils added to the lava beads (Our Fathers) would enhance my prayer. I have struggled over the years in trying to pray the rosary, so I thought I would give it a try. Besides, it was on sale.

The rosary came with four small vials of Doterra essential oil blends, one for each set of mysteries. I found the oils to be impractical and inconvenient. If I wanted to use the rosary at my holy hours in the adoration chapel, I had to remember to apply the oil before I left home. At home I often pray the rosary while walking on the treadmill or using my Fast Track. On those two devices, it was impossible to smell the essential oils. In my recliner or the chair in my shrine room, I usually have to cover up with a blanket while I am praying because of the cold, so I still could not smell the oils. And when it was warm enough to keep my arms out, the oils either irritated my sinuses or did nothing for me at all.

Now the oils are gone. I will not buy replacement bottles. Disappoointed? Yes. The oils did not help my prayers in the least. However, the rosary is beautiful and has a good weight and feel as I pray, so I continue to use it as my "upstairs" rosary. And I doggedly pray on. It is still difficult because I am impatient and find it hard to meditate. Has habit made it easier? No. But the Blessed Mother asks us to pray the rosary, so I need to keep at it.

Paschal Candle

This paschal candle kit came from Illuminated Ink. What a find at a time that we could not go to church for the Easter vigil on Holy Saturday! It gave me a sense of deep joy after I finished it. It may become an annual tradition.

I got a kick out of the instructions for the candle, written by a real mom: tie your hair back, and remember that wax and carpet do not mix! I used the hair dryer to warm the wax as recommended. I could have used it a bit longer since I had a hard time rolling the wax. However, I felt like caution was in order lest I melt it too much. The wick is very thick, so the candle has burned very well. With 100 percent beeswax, it smells wonderful.

I also received my lamb mold from Amazon, but too late for an Easter butter lamb. That shall be my project for next year.

I love these little, tangible links to the faith.

Another Project Finished.

I was on a roll before the Coronoavirus panic hit. I am still on a roll.

My Comfort Abides shawl from Knit Prayer Shawls: 15 Wraps to Share (Leisure Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2010) is finally on the blocking counter. So glad to get it done. It was supposed to be a "quick" project to use up two skeins of yarn that I had purchased for another project. Quick, my foot! I bet I have been working on this baby for three or more years. I have never done so much ripping in my life! This was a project that could not be done while anyone else was present to distract me.

Now the question is, what do I do with it? It is probably a shade of red that I could wear, and I do have a dress that it would match, but I do not like red. It is also wool. While wool is nice and toasty, it can also be itchy. It is also higher maintenance than acrylic or cotton.

My next project is a pair of wool slippers, made from the pattern that I had made a pair of slippers from when I was in junior high. This project is in fact quick and easy, but has always left me frustrated because it requires two seams, and seaming is not my best talent. To compensate I have been watching lots and lots of YouTube videos. It helps. So much easier than the days when we would have to run to the library and check out a book on the subject. Not that I do not have loads of knitting books on hand at home, but I still just have not been able to grasp the concept.

On the side I have been sewing lots of aprons. It is nice to be using up my fabric stash. In the process I have purchased a few complimentary fabrics to freshen up some of the old prints that I have in stock.

The girls will be here this coming week-end, so I have to make a few Christmas ornament samples for our secret projects. I am excited to say that I have found a use for more of the wooden spools that my dad had collected when he was young. That is all I can say for now lest I reveal too much.

Happy crafting!

Bareroots Little Stitchies Turkey Candle Mat

It is finally finished! I got this wool Bareroots Little Stitchies candle mat project at the Heritage Quilters show at St. Ben's a number of years ago. I finished it last night. The scanner did not do justice to the salmon pink feathers. Nor did I follow the order of colors used in the pattern. But it is done! Now, to make some Christmas ornaments out of the leftover wool scraps. Ari wants to do some stitching like this, so I think I will have her join me, using some of the polyester felt from my collection in the basement.

I first saw felted ornaments in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine from my early college years. I threw all of that magazine away except for a knitted shoulder wrap, the size of which would not fit me anymore anyway! My next view was in  Made by Me. I used those patterns with Mom after she had her stroke, as physical therapy. However, I did not like the stitching and colors I had done on them, so I took most of them apart. This year Ari might be ready to do the stitching. Of course, since that book I have seen many very pretty felt ornaments on Pinterest.

Yesterday we had our annual New Year's gathering at my sister's house. I am still laughing at my niece's three year old twins, who each managed to occupy two of the bathrooms at the same time.

I am glad that our girls got to see their Vandeberg cousins yesterday, but I am feeling for Ari, who is probably having a tired day at school today. We did not get home until 8:00 PM, and from here it would have taken her mom another 45 minutes to reach their house. That was a late bedtime after so much and such a busy vacation time.

Today I am deep cleaning the house, starting with folding clothes and scrubbing the kitchen floor.