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. 

Franciscan in the Basement

We planted a tree off of the corner of our deck last spring so that we have have morning shade in the future. In the mean time, I sprang for an umbrella. I chose a reddish brown that closely matches our house. The umbrella has a smaller layer of fabric near the top. When the umbrella is closed and tied, it looks like a Franciscan friar's habit and cincture. Arthur put the umbrella in the basement for the winter, so now every time I go in the back  room in the basement, I am thinking Franciscan.

I have been Christmas shopping. I have to share my excitement over the beautiful 18" dolls that I found at TJMaxx in St. Cloud. They carried two different brands, both Jillian's Closet dolls and Our Generation. All were so well dressed that I had a hard time deciding which one to buy for my granddaughter. I had already purchased a doll for her at Walmart, but these were so much nicer that I bought one, and returned the Walmart version. I got a Jillian's Closet doll with a pink sweater and tulle skirt. Same price that I paid at Walmart for a far prettier product with more well-made, detailed clothes.

After I got home I did an Amazon search for 18" doll clothes. What a hazardous territory for me! So many cute choices. Again I had a very hard time deciding, since I did not want to spend more than $15. I finally settled on another pink dressy dress and a pair of pink "patent leather" shoes. Ari will just have to wait until next year to get more outfits. And I will continue to look at garage sales to increase the wardrobe for the American Girl doll which we have here at the house. Of course, another option is that Grandma can start sewing dresses....

I have been spending so much time shopping this week that my plans for sewing have gone by the wayside.

I went to the doctor to have that "thing" on my finger checked. I have had it for years. The last time I asked the doctor what it was, she did not know. After canning applesauce it got irritated, and a call to the nurse resulted in another appointment. This time the physician assistant looked at it. She knew immediately that it was a cyst. After draining, she knew that it was a Ganglion cyst. After looking it up on the computer, I know by the location that it was a mucousal Ganglion cyst. When it fills again I will probably go to the hand doctor and request removal. It is in a location where it often gets bumped and poked.

Tea Time

I'm setting a record of sorts, posting two days in a row. The urge came after I poured myself a cup of breakfast tea.

I am using up a canister of The People's Green Tea, Daily Green Tea from the Republic of Tea. It is awful. I will be glad when I am back to my "perfectly brewed" Shaklee Green Energizing Tea. The Energizing Tea is a powder which can be used in either hot or cold water. It tastes delicious.

After reading Laura Child's books I am considering purchasing a Twinings sample box with Darjeeling, Earl Grey, and two more choices. I am hesitant because I had tried some of those teas in my college days, and did not like them. My staples for the past several years have been Irish Breakfast Tea, English Breakfast Tea, and green Energizing Tea. I drink one cup of caffeinated every day. If I want another cup with my evening dessert or as an accompaniment to a good book, I switch to decaf.

In tandem with my morning cuppa, I take my vitamins. For the next couple of weeks I will be taking Shaklee chewable calcium in place of my normal Osteomatrix. The girls see Grandpa and Grandma  take their supplements when they are here. I always have the Mighty Smarts for them. Maja could eat several a day if I let her, but I usually have her stop at three or four a meal. Since she is interested in vitamins, I ordered the Incredivites, chewable vitamin C, and chewable calcium. Ari used to not like the Incredivites, but now she will take them. Maja is also very willing. The calcium is a bit too chalky for her taste, so Grandma gets to finish the bottle. It was worth a try, though. Anything I can do to get more nutrition into them, I will do.

On Tuesday I get to take Ari to the eye doctor for a prescription update so that we can get her a new pair of glasses. Anne thinks her current pair is beyond repair.

Our winter storm was not as severe as predicted. School was canceled today, but the roads are looking quite drive-able.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Winter Storm Watch

My brother Peter and his wife gave me a North Carolina cookbook several years ago. It contained a recipe for oatmeal cake which was titled "Hurricane Watch Cake". I am thinking that I might need to bake it this evening for our storm watch. The recipe is probably a Betty Crocker original, since it is the same oatmeal cake that Mom made for us when we were young. Good, no matter the origin.

It has been quite the fall in a number of ways. I had put off doing shrub pruning in the Mary Garden at St. John Cantius. Not the first time that I have waited until mid or late November, but with the predicted snow storm, I knew that I had to get cracking last Friday. I was able to prune one potentilla and most of one spirea in just an hour, but I still had several to go. Yesterday I did the remaining three potentilla and a massive trimming of the old fashioned roses surrounding the statue. I knew the biggest challenge would be getting the cuttings home. I cut and bent everything to get it into bags. By putting one bag into the car instead of the trunk, and by bundling and bending the last set of branches, I managed to cram it all in. I finished clean-up just as it was getting to ark to work. The rest of the spirea can wait until spring.

In the midst of pruning, I found a plastic Easter egg. It just so happens that I was responsible for that egg's being there. About 15 years ago, we had a homeschool Easter party at St. John Cantius. I had stuffed the eggs, and asked the youth group to hide them for the younger kids. Finding the egg gave me a much needed laugh. I have to admit that anyone seeing me kneeling on the ground in the middle of the flower bed laughing to myself probably thought I was loony, but that laugh was a blessing at a time of great stress.

I finished two Laura Childs tea shop mysteries, and enjoyed them both. Clean, and easy to read. I copied quite a few recipes out of them. I have already tested two. They are both keepers. Prior to that I had read a Miss Seeton by Heron Carvic, which I did not like at all. The dialog style drove me nuts. It was much too busy.

I am making some inroads into my UFO's. I finished a sun dress for Maja, which she has insisted on wearing a few times already. I am over half way done with my wool turkey candle mat, which I had purchased at a quilt show three or four years ago. It was supposed to have been a gift, but I decided the the person for whom it was intended did not really need it, and may not appreciate it. The lycra knit in the beautiful fall pallet which I had had pegged for myself was not large enough for the desired dresses. One piece is now cut out for a dress for Maja. The other will also be used for her. I do a few rows on my shawl here and there, but still have more than half of the last skein of yarn left.

I have started playing my clarinet again. It will take some time to remember all of the notes that I have lost, but I want to be ready for when the grandchildren join band so that we can play together. Tom Strang, our former band instructor, has invited me to play with the current homeschool band. I think I will do that.   

Pine Grove Zoo

Almost a year ago we won a Pine Grove Zoo Birthday Party Package through the St. Cloud Times. We finally cashed in on it last week, forgoing all of the perks for simple admission. Arthur and I had not been to the zoo since Anne was around ten. This was back in the day when all that was at the zoo were a few emus, perhaps a cat, and the Dewey-Radke House. I was really anxious to go and see the new zoo. It was a fun, relaxing trip. We took both girls.

When we first arrived at the zoo, we were greeted by a couple of white peacocks. We learned at the admissions counter that they would be strutting around the grounds. The zebra enclosure was our first stop, and we got quite the show from her. She was running and leaping like a banshee. It was a treat to see it.The two keepers who were in her enclosure in a zebra print ATV informed us that they believed her to be reacting to the print. They drove their vehicle out to exchange it for the tiger print ATV. 

The petting stable included two alpacas, two donkeys, a Black Angus calf, and three pygmy goats. We fed them handful after handful of pellets. Well, at least Maja and I did. Grandpa sat on the bench. Ari was too scared to feed them out of her hand, so she put pellets on the edge of their pens and let the animals lick them off. That arrangement worked for the calf. One of the alpacas had blue eyes. The other had dark brown eyes. A couple of the goats got into a few tiffs, so we saw some head butting. Towards the end Maja was feeding the animals one pellet at a time, which was really a great way to extend the time she got to feed them. I could have stayed at the petting stable for another hour feeding and petting.

At the tiger cage we got to see a training demonstration. We learned training exercises are used both to familiarize the animals with the keepers, and to enable the keepers to observe the health of the animals. The keeper commanded the tiger in targeting, sitting, and opening its mouth.

We did get to experience the otters swimming above us in the tunnel. One of the otters put its nose to the drain cover and followed it around and around, as if it were trying to pull it off.

Other animals which we saw were Arctic and grey wolves, prairie dogs, a cougar, bison, antelope, turtles, and kangaroos. We also got to see the peacock spread his wings. We picked up a few feathers that had coloration from his tale, without the complete eye showing. Almost lost was the display of poison dart frogs, a tarantula, a chameleon, and another little creature requiring a dark cage. The petting stable attendant pointed them out to us before we walked away. We also got to feel animal pelts.

We were not allowed to bring in our own food. I thought the food expensive until I saw how much we had gotten in our chicken baskets. We could have skipped one order and split the other baskets between us.

Broadway Street was under construction at the time that we were there. We were not sure if that affected the number of people who were there at the same time as we. We thought the very small crowd and the small, enclosed grounds a good bonus. These things made the zoo feel safe, and the visit relaxing. We did not need to worry about the kids getting lost or abducted. At the same time it was large enough to be interesting.

On the way home we stopped along the Little Falls Dam on the Mississippi River. The girls were not  the least bit timid about climbing rocks along the shoreline. I told them that adventure was only possible because I had made them wear tennis shoes for the day instead of flip flops. Hopefully they remember. We saw a fisherman with a huge river cat fish. We also saw touch-me-nots, but the seeds had already sprung from their pods. Sniff! Grandma's favorite flower from Bald Eagle's shore.

Olive Garden Bread Sticks Copycat Recipe

Last week I found this recipe for bread sticks on Pinterest. I made the recipe following my own steps for mixing and rising.  I also halved the recipe, but it still made 15 bread sticks. Here is my modified version of that recipe for hand mixing, with the corrected yield.

Would that I were Sister Monika I.S.S.M., and could just pull chunks of dough off of the ball and get the right amounts for shaping in the number that I needed! I watched her shape rolls when I was in Waukesha last summer, and I was so impressed with her technique for shaping, as well as the way she added beauty to her bread baskets by garnishing some of the rolls with poppy seeds, some with sesame seeds, and then left some plain. So simple, but it made such an appealing presentation. 

 

Olive Garden Bread Sticks

1 ½ cups warm water

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp softened butter

4 ½ cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, mixing until all ingredients are in a ball. Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Knead on a floured surface for 5-8 minutes. Let rise until doubled. Gently punch down. Divide dough into 36 pieces. Roll each piece into a log. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise again until double. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately brush with a mixture of 3 tbsp melted butter, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Serve warm.

More on Marge Fenelon

I continue with the novena included in Marge Fenelon's book, Forgiving Mother. I so appreciate her writing, and I am finding a new confidence in praying to the Blessed Mother. I pray the novena prayers in the first person plural as a means to pray for healing for myself, my daughter and my granddaughters.

I stayed up late Sunday night to finish Raymond Arroyo's Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls. I would classify this book as an adventure story in the flavor of Indiana Jones. It was a relaxing foray into the land of fiction. That does not mean it was prudent of me to stay up until all hours of the night when I had such a full day yesterday.

I had my free motion class yesterday afternoon. I sewed one of my squares with the wrong thread, and in the wrong direction for the print. That square will just have to become a fabric basket instead of going into the quilt. We missed two of our classes because of snow storms, and I had not done any free motion quilting in between. However, I felt comfortable jumping right in. I left my free motion foot and top-stitching needle in the machine so that I can continue on this afternoon or tomorrow.

Yesterday I went from quilting to a quick dinner at Culver's, to the Catholic United Financial workshop at St. Anthony's, at which our council was serving refreshments. I was the keeper of the keys, so it was late before I was able to leave. I made a quick visit to Jesus in the Adoration Chapel, getting home around 9:15 PM.

I am looking forward to the next three days of relative quiet before a busy Friday, Saturday and Monday. My little girl may come over to do some sewing while she is on spring break. If she does not, I will keep myself busy with my own sewing and cleaning. Besides the quilting, I have some birthday gifts to sew, and lots of fleece to use up. My own "cutesy, cutesy, cutesy" Siamese kitty fleece blanket fabric awaits me! I am gloating over the beautiful fleece prints which I have on hand!

Dolly Diapers

In an earlier blog I wrote about making diapers for my granddaughters' Baby Alive dolls. Last week-end after Ari left, I went into the bedroom to clean up all of the dolly items she had carried there. I had a good laugh when I found a dirty diaper and poop all over the floor from the two "kids" - a wet disposable diaper, and one of my homemade diapers complete with yellow Play-Doh stain, and yellow Play-Doh poop. I would have called Ari and "scolded" her about leaving dirty diapers on the floor, if I had known she would take it in the right spirit.

I continue with my vision therapy. I can tell that I have made progress, but I can also tell how misaligned my eyes are when I do the exercises. And now I am wondering if I will in fact like the final results when therapy is done! A few weeks ago I was looking in the mirror, and saw what was more of a 3D image looking back at me. I was a bit freaked out. I thought to myself that I have a hard enough time seeing my fat as it is. In 3D, I may really feel huge.

I am currently reading Forgiving Mother, written by a fellow Schoenstatter, Marge Steinhage Fenelon. I do not necessarily need to read it in terms of my mom, but I wanted to read it to preview it for others whom I know have a need to forgive. I find myself having to stop frequently to pray for my own faults and for those I need to forgive as I read. Marge's scripture quotes and catechetical teaching are very compelling. Forgiveness is one of those things rarely preached from the pulpit. (One sermon on the topic by Fr. Bob Landsberger stands out, as does the private counsel provided me during an annual Opus Sanctorum Angelorum retreat).  We need to hear Marge's words about everyone being a child of God, no matter how evil they are. This is especially apropos given the persecution of Christians which I feel is imminent in our country.  We need to be able to say that we forgive those who persecute us, and see persecutors as children of God. And we need to hear Marge's words about vengeance belonging to God alone.

A First

Arthur and I went to the St. Augusta Legion last night for their two dollar hamburgers. That was a first! Only the second time we have been at the bar in the Legion since living here. All other events we have attended have been in the banquet room. It was very crowded. A volunteer selling raffle tickets found some chairs for us, and hailed a waitress. The bar room was noisy, but also bright enough that we could actually see each other and our food. Christmas decorations gave it a nice feel. The burgers were fine. Not my Culver's cheeseburger favorite, but the buns were toasted, giving them an added touch. Arthur had fried onions with his, and we both had onion rings and a beer. Even with the purchase of raffle tickets (We lost all three times.) and a tip, we left with having only spent about 20 bucks. Not bad.

With his day off for President Bush's funeral, Arthur put together the two dressers we got for the girls for Christmas. The price was in our range, they are made of real wood, and the size is manageable for hauling and for their apartment. Not top quality, but something that will give them a sense of home and order instead of having to store their clothes in bins. We purchased them from Overstock.com.

I spent part of the afternoon attending a planning meeting for Catholic United Financial. We ate at Jule's Bistro, another first. We sat at the high table. It was not the best spot for short old people. I had to step on the chair support bar to get up, and I was afraid that I would break it. Then I had to ask the waitress to push in my chair! I had looked at the menu on-line ahead of time, and I was surprised to see that their sandwich ingredients were almost exactly the same as those at Liquid Assets. I had the Avocado Portabello Mushroom Reuben. The bread was a grainy homemade bread, which fell apart as I was eating. I cannot say that I really tasted either the mushrooms or the avocado. I also had samples of some of the desserts ordered by the others. They were okay, but as Alvina Stilling would say, nothing to write home about. I am glad I did not have to pay for them. Should I go back, I will try some of their soups.

I was able to complete more sewing last night. My new hat and mitten set are done, and a few extras to boot. The girls' insurance against the typical losses that go with childhood, and some spares to give away. I am surprised at how relaxing sewing has been.

Now off to do some cleaning!

Free Motion Quilting

I had some fun today. I attended my usual Block of the Month class at Just Sew Studio. We learned the tree bark and slate block patterns today, also known as tongues of fire and mud puddles. I had spent the day at the shop last Friday doing free motion on one of my quilts, so my machine and I were ready to go today. After the six hours of practice on  Friday, I think I have found my speed! The patterns today were quite easy, so we all finished early. However, I chose to do my blocks in two different patterns. One pattern was an experiment in following the design of the fabric. It was harder than I anticipated, but I had been itching to try it for quite some time. I am glad that I was finally able to do so. I was able to sew so much longer today without a break. The relaxed muscles are another sign that I have found my pace.

After months of stagnation with vision therapy - well, also a few months' break because I was not taking the time to do the exercises -  I am "seeing" some break-through. What a difference in up-close TV Trainer from what I was able to do the last time. I usually play cards on the computer with the green acetate and left eye with red patch.So much easier than it was last time. The GTVT chart is also much easier. If I stick my nose almost onto the mirror, I can also actually see both eyes in the same shade of grey with the Polaroid glasses. That is encouraging! I am hoping that soon I will have my binocular vision. It has been a long haul. Vision therapy is great, but I am afraid that most people would not be able to invest the time and money that I have been able to put into it. Most adults work outside of the home. I am sure that a younger person would be able to retrain his brain much more quickly than I. I highly recommend starting at a younger age!               

Knitting Tales, Tales of Woe

I am tossing another book into the garbage. This summer at a garage sale I purchased mysteries by two authors new to me, one with a sewing circle as the setting, another, Maggie Sefton, with a yarn shop as the setting. No more of either.

In first book, which name and author I cannot remember, the author used "pale yellow" to describe the colors of three different items at three different times. It would have been fine had she tied it to the character and her emotional relationship to that color or some such thing, but she did not. Second thing: the character, Tory Sinclair, was new to the town, just over a break-up with her fiance. Widowed school teacher in town meets her and clearly starts falling in love. I want to shout, "Haven't you guys heard anything about boundaries in professional roles? Haven't you heard about rebound relationships?" I like a book that understands all of  human nature and does not distort one truth to promote another.

I got two Maggie Seftons. I read the first and thought, way too slow. Could use some editing. I have a red pen, and could help her out. Let's change the sentence structure here, delete this here, use the correct name there. No real mystery, no Agatha Christie gut-wrenching, psychological, freaky, Endless Night twist. It included the politically correct friendly, gourmet, wine connoisseur male-who-inserts-his-private-part-into-the-end-of-the-digestive-tract-of-another-male character, of course. But nothing sexually explicit, which was a plus.

So on to the second book, which I read just because I had it. What a waste of time. It had the usual  Sefton repetitions, the coffee, the upended bottles of  Fat Tire Ale, and the countless trips to the yarn shop. In this book, the goal of Kelly's so-called friends was to get her to go to bed with her friend, Steve. Never mind that she and Steve had already played house together, and that when he suffered bad economic times, Kelly abandoned him. Let's ignore the lie that somehow Kelly needed sex to have emotional wholeness, and that it was okay to use another person (Steve) to achieve that wholeness. Let's ignore the lie that sex is just sex, with no emotional or physical consequences when it takes place outside of a 'til death do us part marriage. Let's ignore that real police officers, retired or otherwise, do not share case information with those who do not have the right to know. Same with lawyers. Let's ignore the  fact that while Kelly castigated Zoe for not leaving her abusive husband, she also failed to report Oscar's criminal behavior, thus enabling him to continue. Let's ignore the  fact that Steve did not seem to be able to control his desires at the bar, and that Kelly had to use physical violence to keep herself top dog with Steve. Let's ignore the fact that violence was the same thing that Kelly abhorred in Oscar, but suddenly for her, it was an acceptable game. Same for drunkenness. In Oscar it was evil, but it was fine for Megan. Oh, and to call it a good book, I would have to ignore the dangling clue of the phone call between Zoe and Vera, which was never mentioned again. And the boredom as I waded to the end of the book, knowing who had done it.

Free Shaklee

I will be at the Saint Augusta Legion this Saturday for the Craft and Vendor Show. It runs from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Come and get a free Shaklee 180 Green Tea packet. I love my daily cup hot, even better with a book. Add yours to your water bottle for a pick-me-up on the go, if you like. I will have samples of some of the Shaklee 180 snack bars. Make a purchase from me or sign up to host a meeting and receive a stamp on your vendor card. Redeem your full card for a door prize. I will be providing a bottle of Basic H and a set of spray bottles. Remember, that bottle of Basic H is the equivalent of 5,824 (26 oz) bottles of a leading window spray, and it contains no harmful ammonia.

I am making my last batch of my Swany Mill Wild Rice Flour bread today. I have to say that I was disappointed to see on the flour package labeling that the first ingredient was unbleached white flour, not wild rice. I should have looked closer when I bought it. I will not buy it again.

I am also making another double batch of the King Arthur Flour Beautiful Burger Buns. They are good!

More Baking

In my last post I was making Beautiful Burger Buns from King Arthur Flour. I had a hard time working with the dough. I had used the smaller amount of water given since it was a rainy day, and the dough was very stiff. Certainly not the spongy dough the recipe said it should be. Nevertheless, Husband liked the finished hamburger buns. They were much more substantial than store bakery buns.

Yesterday I decided to try a new batch. I used the greater amount of water called for, and had a much softer, stickier dough. The buns turned out much softer and lighter. I also remembered to brush them with butter before and after baking. My only regret was that I did not read through the yield before starting, and therefore did not double the recipe. (It only makes 8 buns a batch.) Oh, well. I usually do not think it worth the effort to make a single batch of bread, although  sometimes the ease of a single batch makes up for having to do it twice. We had a couple fresh out of the oven for dinner with our chicken patties. 

The previous day I had made pies with the few apples we had from our trees. I had dreaded the task since our apples were not at all smooth. I knew they would be beastly to peel, and that I may have to cut out many spots. Add my inability to make decent crusts, and you get the picture. As usual mixed the crust, and things went fine until it was time to roll and put them in the pan. No spring to them even with a little butter thrown in. I do the best I can to fold and crimp the edges and get the pies in the oven.  They did not look the best, but they taste really good. Later on  the thought occurs to me that I use bread flour for everything to avoid having two containers of white flour in my crowded cupboards. I wonder if that is why my dough has no spring. I will have to experiment.

The previous day I also cut down the High American Cranberry bush from my flower bed. It was a bittersweet moment. I was concerned that its roots would eventually break apart my new concrete curbing. Also, the forsythia  bush which I had cut down four or so years ago had managed to send out shoots which were growing in the cranberry bush. I did not want the two growing together, and it was impossible to separate them. Because I only chopped out the bush, I know I will be digging roots and cutting stump and suckers for a few years to come. The plus side, though, is that the two rose bushes planted nearby will have the chance to take the limelight.

The new concrete border already has a crack in it, and not in a place where I would expect it. So disappointed.

Bread Baking

My plans changed this afternoon. I was supposed to be weeding at St. John Cantius. Then, rain. Now I am home baking.

I am trying several new recipes today. The first is Beautiful Burger Buns from King Arthur Flour. Arthur uses buns for all of his sandwiches. He always liked Cub Foods buns, but since they closed it has been an endless search for the right buns. This is the second time I am making some for him from scratch. My previous buns were too small. So far I have not liked the dough. I used the amount of water called for for humid days since it is raining, and the dough was very hard to knead. It certainly did not feel soft, as the recipe indicated it should. The dough seems to be rising well. I'll reserve final judgement until they are baked and tasted.

The second recipe I am making is Wild Rice Bread, a recipe I picked up from Swany White Flour in Freeport when we stopped there on the way back from Parkers Prairie. My mom and dad used to buy a great homemade wild rice bread at the Farmers' Market in White Bear Lake, and I would love to make something similar. Swany Mills has wild rice flour, so I bought a bag. So far the bread dough has worked very well. I got a phone call while I was waiting for the dough to rest. That may have played a part in the easy kneading. I did not have to add any flour while I did the kneading. No sticking. I could see little flicks of black in the dough, and it felt grainy, or sandy, as I kneaded. I hope that means it is full of fiber! It, too, seems to be rising well. I will see if this recipe is a keeper after tasting.

I have been busy sewing baptismal garments for St. John Cantius and St. Anthony's. Then two weeks ago I purchased several fat quarters at a garage sale, both to match those I already had, and some new ones. Since then I have sewn several cosmetic bags, which I will donate to the St. Marcellus Mission Group at Holy Spirit for their craft sale. The first two were thrilling to complete because I was learning the patterns and methods. The next several, not as fun. My sewing room looks like a disaster with all of the scraps, as well. I am pleased in that I was able to cut interfacing for four more of the wallets out of the fusible fleece interfacing scraps left over from the bags. The fusible fleece is really slick to use. No sewing required, and it is a bit stiffer than the old interfacing scraps I have lying around.

I leave with a quote from Blessed Pope Paul VI,  which I think is so appropriate for our time.

     "Live for the Church, work for the Church, bring sacrifices for the Church, stand faithfully to the Church in spite of all the storms that shake the Church from the outside and the inside. Then you will truly love the Church. And your apostolic activity will become fruitful for the Kingdom of God."

     Addressed to the Schoenstatt family in 1972.

Happy Honeymooners

For our 25th anniversary we stayed at the GrandStay Hotel in Parkers Prairie. We had checked out a few bed and breakfasts in the area, but the GrandStay had the best prices. Fergus Falls was our preferred location, but WeFest was scheduled for the following week-end. It was a quiet stay.

The down side of staying in Parkers Prairie is that there was only one place open for eating in town on Tuesday evening. Many of the area cafes and supper clubs are closed until Wednesday, or even the week-end. We had dinner at the bar, both of us choosing burgers. They were good, mine a close second behind a Culver's cheeseburger. But we were  glad to have options the other evenings. Burgers and fries the whole trip would have been fattening. After dinner we drove to Adley Lake Park. It was isolated, quiet, and very peaceful. Cows grazed across the lake. It would have been a wonderful place to sit and read a book.

On the first day of our vacation we went to Alexandria and met Fr. Joe for lunch at the Travelers Cafe. The three of us took a walk in the city park along Lake Carlos and Ole. After wards I stopped at Dawn's Quilt Shop. I bought precisely 3/4 of a yard of solid fabric to match some previous purchases. Now I am able to sew the apron for Anonymous for Christmas or for her birthday. Dawn's shop has doubled in size, but I did not enjoy it. I felt overwhelmed with prints. The center of the store was as packed as the outer edges with fabrics and counters and quilting machines. I did see one cute cat print which I had to leave behind, since my goal is to deplete my stash, not increase it. After that we made a stop at Carlos Creek Winery for some taste testing. I sampled the sweet wines. Samples were $10 for five or six samples out of six different categories of wines. We made no purchases, but I was  tempted by their Hot Dish Red and the Minnescoto, which the sommelier  recommended with orange juice for a mimosa. On the way back we hiked to Inspiration Peak, stopped at Our Lady of the Hills,  and then ate dinner at The Peak Supper Cloud

On Thursday we went to Glendalough State Park and hiked for two hours. I so wish that I had had my swimming suit with. The beach looked wonderful, sandy and clear. We could have gotten in some free fishing had we planned better.

We stopped at Vining to look at the talented and comic sculptures of Ken Nyberg. We also stopped at a little shop called Old Sweet Song. I could have dropped a bit of money on proprietor Ruth Hanson's paintings at the shop had I had the money to drop! She had some very nice farm scenes. Other items which caught my eye were some photo note cards done by her brother, and a cute Viking ship votive candle holder.

Here are some of our pictures.

Baby Alive Cloth Diapers

I have two granddaughters who love the Baby Alive dolls which eat and drink and go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the disposable diapers made to accommodate these activities are incredibly expensive, far greater than the cost of actual baby diapers. I have planned on making my own diapers for the m for a long time. I finally sat down to do the work this summer.

My first plan was to use layers of flannel held together with a decorative stitch from my new Pfaff machine. The water poured straight through the prototype.

My second plan developed after looking at the internet. I read Debbie Chapman's blog for help. I thought to myself, duh, avoid the time spent stitching around the edges and turn it inside out! I did not like the way she put the velcro all the way across the front of the diaper. I also wanted something waterproof, so I chose not to use fleece. I had leftover waterproof fabric from JoAnn from sewing my mom's wheel chair cushion cover, so I decided to use three layers of flannel, the waterproof fabric, and sew-on velcro. The waterproof fabric is not supposed to be machine dried, so I made it clear to the granddaughters that they would be responsible for hand washing the diapers!

I must confess that I experienced considerable joy while sewing the diapers. However, in spite of the joy and the nice snug fit which I achieved, the water still ran straight through when the doll was bottled lying down. We had better results when the doll was sitting upright, but I made Maja take the diaper off after one bottle to avoid leaks. I am sure those bottles hold at least an ounce of liquid!

Here are pictures of the flannel prototype, the pattern dimensions, and the completed diapers.

         

Strawberry Freezer Jam

We had an overabundance of strawberries again this year. We gave many away. I do not like the texture of frozen strawberries, and have little use for them, so we did not want to freeze any. Several years ago a friend gifted us with a jar of freezer jam, and Arthur raved about it. We use little jam, but I thought I would make some nonetheless, to try something new and to use up the strawberries. I was so green that when I went to buy a box of Sure Jell, I did not know why there were two different boxes, and after a superficial reading of both - I did not feel like spending half an hour reading and picking out boxes - I grabbed one and headed off to the rest of my shopping. When I got home I discovered that I had gotten Sure Jell for low-sugar jam. No big deal. Less sugar is fine with me. The box said my yield was expected to be six jars. I kept having to wash more jars, and by the time I was done I had 13 half pints ready for the freezer and refrigerator. Going back over the recipe I discovered that I had doubled the strawberries, and not the sugar. I was afraid that we would have very runny, tart jam, but it firmed sufficiently enough that we can spread it on our toast. It tastes fine. To make a long story short, half of the jars are gone. We like the freezer jam so much more than processed jams because the strawberries retain their bright red color. It is so much more appetizing looking than  processed jam, so we eat more.

I bought blueberries at Aldi's the other day because the price was so good. The price savings was not worth the time I had to spend picking off stems before I could make Arthur's blueberry muffins. Ciabatta buns are my Aldi's treat. I am also a sucker for their low priced chips and crackers. We go through so many eggs at our house that I can always pick up a carton of their very cheap eggs.

Yesterday's blessing from God was my three year old housekeeping helper. We swept and Swiffed the whole upstairs, singing and chatting as we worked. She talks non-stop, but it made the work fun. The work helps her to feel so grown up. Last night I put on my red/green glasses as we bowled on the kitchen floor, so I could count it as vision therapy.

I finished the 1,000 piece puzzle that Miss Ari and I started a couple of weeks ago. She did help with the edge pieces, but then gave up on it. I thought that would happen, but why argue? I debated  between leaving the last few pieces for her to finish when she gets home, or doing it myself. Myself won. Now I can get to bed on time.

Gotta get some sewing ready for Ari next week. I also have to sew some dolly diapers. I do not like having to wipe up Baby Alive dolly poop from the kitchen floor. The "disposable" dolly diapers are significantly more expensive than baby diapers, but the girls are fascinated with feeding the dolls. I like their maternal interests.  

Spring Flowers

This is my favorite time of year in the garden. The irises, cranesbill geranium and columbine are all in bloom, and I love all of the shades of purples together.

I am prepping for curbing around my flower beds. I chopped down the pussy willow, which, after reading up on pruning, I should have cut back years ago. It had turned into a bush with four or five sizeable trunks. I always wanted long stem of catkins for my sweetheart to cut for me in the spring, and instead my bush had turned into a sickly large shrub with very short branches of catkins. To get the long catkins, I should have been cutting it back to 6 - 12" each year. I had completely chopped down the forsythia a couple of years ago, but this year several branches of the forsythia grew out of my cranberry bush. The cranberry bush, forsythia and all, will have to be trimmed drastically to make room for the curbing crew. One of my lilac bushes will also need to be trimmed out of the way. Fortunately, the lilac season is coming to an end. The lilacs, too, are supposed to have one fourth of the oldest canes removed each year, so that will come to little harm. We have already banked up the area next to the chimney where the rain water bucket sits. That spot has been a point of contention between me and Arthur since I put in the water bucket. We both hope the extra soil will aid drainage away from the wall of the house and prevent seepage into the basement. Next year we will purchase a new, larger container for holding rain water. The last job is to finish digging out the limestone rock in the front of the house and to fill that area with compost. We are blessed to have friends who want the rock so that we do not have to pay to dispose of it.

I spent yesterday afternoon shopping for plants for the gardens at St. John Cantius and for my two patio pots here. I went to six different nursery and plant centers before I found everything that I needed. I found none of my sky blue petunias, my signature flower. Today I get to plant and weed. I get to prune rose bushes, too, in preparation for the Corpus Christi procession on Sunday.

Over the weekend I was at a Mothers Leadership Conference at Schoenstatt in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I went with the intention that I would get some oomph into my Schoenstatt Covenant life at home. I did not come home with a spiritual "high". I did come home with the need to ask the Blessed Mother to put all that I heard into my heart in a way that I can understand it. I was feeling very overwhelmed by the time the weekend was over. I had cried during confession, which is not exactly unusual for me. I also cried during the closing mass. I am embarrassed by the tears, but I am learning to accept them as part of my melancholic temperament. I had asked the Blessed Mother to help me to know what books I should bring home, and through the help of my Schoenstatt sisters that request was fulfilled. I also plan to follow a suggestion given by Sister Marie Day.  A simple method to experience God's love for me personally is to write down one way that God has touched me each day, such as a smile from someone. After many recordings, I can look back and see all of the ways He has shown His love for me, and thus be able to internalize that love.