August...

...a seasonally sanctioned sojourn of slow joys.  When it's too hot to be anything but receptive and reflective.

                                                     - Sarah Ban Breathnach,   Simple Abundance

hot and hazy

Fit for sitting in flower-covered windows. Or going to work in air-conditioning.

leek and chicken pie

I had leftover chicken, and I had two leeks in the fridge too long; although they were fine, surprisingly, except for a little bit of dried green on the outside. It was a hot day, but what came to mind was chicken and leek pie. Not that I've ever made it before.

I know how to make a pot pie without a recipe - it's easy, so I could have figured out how to do this myself, but I decided to look online in case somebody had a new idea.  I found something - I did notice that the amount of flour didn't seem like much, went ahead anyway. It ended up with a sauce which was too thin for a nice pie. Now, what?

Potatoes!  I got the bag of potatoes and peeled and boiled them all. Cut them up and put most into the pie. It ended up quite good, but that detour added a large chunk of time to my dinner preps, and it was three hours after I began that we ended up eating. Lesson learned.

I did get an artsy photo or two out of it, though.

growth

You care for the earth, give it water,

you fill it with riches.

Your river in heaven brims over

to provide its grain.

And thus you provide for the earth;

you drench its furrows,

you level it, soften it with showers,

you bless its growth.

The hills are girded with joy,

the meadows covered with flocks,

the valleys are decked with wheat.

They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

-  from Psalm 65

Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.

-    Hebrews 6:7

"As for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance."

                                                                   -    Luke 8:15

                                                                

"rock" candy

No, these are not beautiful pebbles scooped up from the shores of Bali Hai.  A co-worker brought them in to share - they're candy. And not just sugary tasting, which I would have left alone; but no, they're chocolate flavored. And, delicious. 

We're all about dessert at the library.

thinking ahead

It struck me yet again the other day how helpful it is to have some things made up ahead of time.

Like pie crust dough. There was a little in the freezer for a while, and I decided I should take it out and use it. So, it was in the fridge when I got some fresh blueberries. Enough to make a bottom crust; I treated the top like a crisp. It took so little time!

I need to take a day each month, size up the situation, and make up batches of things like biscuits, pizza dough, pie crust dough, pancake mix; browned hamburg ready for chili, meatballs. That would be nice.

bowl of hollyhock blossoms

picked after a couple of stems came down in a hard rain.

quick breakfast for hot days

yellow dots

wonderful window fans

and why did it take me so long to buy one? well, two.

for Ellie

Ellie was a Canadian lady who followed my blog. I only knew it from the statistics which show me where people are coming from. She didn't comment, but for some reason I was on her blog list.

Ellie passed away yesterday. She'd been struggling against cancer for a while.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord

Let perpetual light shine upon her

May she rest in peace. Amen.

May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city, Jerusalem.
May choirs of angels receive you
and with Lazarus, once a poor man,
may you have eternal rest.

window by Marc Chagall

God has chosen us in Christ: let us give thanks and praise!

- from Magnificat, July 2015

St. Benedict of Nursia

Today was the feast of St. Benedict, known as the father of Western monasticism.

He was the twin of St. Scholastica, who once, on a rare visit from her brother, prayed to God to prevent her brother from ending his visit to her. A big thunderstorm rose up and kept him with her a little longer. 

Now Benedict had a sister named Scholastica, who had been consecrated to the Almighty Lord from the time of her childhood. She had the custom of visiting him once a year, and the man of God would come down to meet her at a place belonging to the monastery not far beyond the gate. One day she came, as was her custom, and her venerable brother came down to meet her with his disciples. They spent the whole day in the praise of God and in holy conversation. The darkness of night was already falling when they took their meal together. The hour grew later and later as they sat there at table carrying on their holy conversation. His sister, a holy monastic woman, then made a request: "I beg you. Do not leave me this night so that we may talk until morning more about the joys of heavenly life. But he responded, "What are you talking about, my sister? Under no circumstances can I stay outside my cell."

Now the heavens were so calm that no cloud appeared in the sky. When this holy monastic woman heard her brother's refusal, she folded her hands and put them upon the table. Leaning down, she put her head on her hands to make a prayer to God. When she raised her head from the table, there broke forth such powerful lightning and thunder and such a flood of rain that neither the venerable Benedict nor the brothers with him could set foot outside the door of the place where they were sitting. Indeed, while resting her head on her hands, this holy monastic woman had poured out a flood of tears on the table, and in this way she had attracted the rain to the calm skies. The flood followed her prayer in an instant. The connection between the prayer and the storm was such that her head rose from the table together with the thunder as if both the raising of her head and the falling of the rain were one and the same action.

 When the man of God saw that he could not get back to the monastery because of the lightning and thunder and the great flood of rain, he was irritated and began to complain: "May God have mercy on you, my sister. Why have you done this?" And she replied to him: "See, I asked you, and you would not listen to me. So I asked my Lord, and he has listened to me. Now then, go, if you can. Leave me, and go back to the monastery." But unable to go outside, he stayed against his will in a place where he had been unwilling to stay on his own. So it happened that they spent the whole night in vigil, and during their holy conversation about the spiritual life they found fulfillment for themselves in their relationship with one another.

                                                       - Pope Gregory I

by Fra Angelico

Ora et Labora is the motto of the Benedictines, and it means Pray and Work. A good motto!

white again

Yesterday afternoon I did a load of whites, and when I went to the washer I found them all looking like they'd been smeared with dirt. I thought I'd done something wrong: had there been a clump of dirt there I'd missed? (how likely is that?); had I loosened grime when I cleaned the machine last week? But when I started to let water in to re-wash them, it came in brown and that's when I called the water company.

The fellow didn't know of any work being done in our area but maybe sediment got in the pipes and he told me to run water from the highest faucet for twenty minutes. (Isn't that an awful thing to have to do?) He also said they had stain remover if I wanted some; but I decided to try with what I had.

Enter Oxi-Clean. I had a small tub of it from years ago which I'd never even opened, but knew the time had come. I put in what I thought I should, and then doubled the amount. Everything came out white and clean!  A relief!

two more cats

from the thrift store. And they're reversible - so it's really like four cats.

hey, ho, the wind and the rain

I like umbrellas, in theory. But when you've got your handbag, and are carrying anything else at all, it's too much to handle an umbrella.

Still, the other day I happened to have my hands free in the rain.  I left the black one in the closet.

I have an umbrella with William Shakespeare's image on it. It's big, with a nice wooden handle. A silly purchase, I suppose - I got it a long time ago.

But it has his autograph - how could I resist it?

jar of spools

I keep my thread in a basket; a drawer, actually. But there are a lot of very small spools which are better kept together, so they've been in a bag and the whole thing just gets stuffed into this drawer, which barely closes because it's too full. Anyway, enter Pinterest, and an idea for putting these little spools in a jar! And I had just the jar for this -

ahhh - perfect!

Dolly wishes

Wishing very hard that everyone had a nice Fourth of July!

Plan B

"...success in life is not how well we execute Plan A; it's how smoothly we cope with Plan B."

                                                      -  from  Simple Abundance

saving green beans

I was darned if I was going to let those beans go to waste. I just bought them the day before - not loose, but the kind that comes in a bag - and they already had that slimy feeling. I knew that inside they were fine, so I put 'em in the colander, sprinkled baking soda over them and "scrubbed" under running water till they were squeaky clean again.

old linens

We have an old table runner which I really like; it's linen-y, with a wide cotton crochet edge all around. I had to mend it today because the edging was coming away in places. One spot was easier than the other. In one area, the edge of the fabric was shredded-looking, as if some weft threads had been removed there. Not knowing how to fix it properly, I placed a piece of similar fabric underneath and just did some running stitches by hand on the right side. Over and over, in a matching thread, which was very hard to see.

What I ended up with is an obvious patched-up area, but it doesn't bother me. The loose threads are all stitched down, and they're not going anywhere. So, I'm satisfied.

I also have a small almost-square tablecloth of sorts, which was faded when I saw it at the thrift store, but I liked it because of the colors. I'm sure it's made in India. But it doesn't cover much and yesterday I suddenly thought it would be better cut up for napkins. I've been wanting more cloth napkins. So I cut that up and pressed under the edges today. They're waiting to be sewn.

God and Tennyson

The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and plains,
are not these, O Soul, the Vision of Him who reigns?

Is not the Vision He, tho' He be not that which He seems?
Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?

Earth, these solid stars, this weight of body and limb,
are they not sign and symbol of thy division from Him?

Dark is the world to thee; thyself art the reason why,
for is He not all but thou, that hast power to feel "I am I"?

Glory about thee, without thee; and thou fulfillest thy doom,
making Him broken gleams and a stifled splendour and gloom.

Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet -
closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.

God is law, say the wise; O soul, and let us rejoice.
for is He thunder by law the thunder is yet His voice.

Law is God, say some; no God at all, says the fool,
for all we have power to see is a straight staff bent in a pool;

and the ear of man cannot hear, and the eye of man cannot see;
but if we could see and hear, this Vision - were it not He?

                                   -   Tennyson


(I don't pretend to know exactly what Tennyson was meaning here, or to imagine his and my beliefs are the same, but I like this poem.)

a pleasant day

berry picking,

 washer running,

dishes draining,

jazz playing,

kitties napping,

birds singing,
pickle making,

supper cooking,

garden growing,

fans blowing,

rain coming.

moth on the bathroom window

He came by long enough to be photographed

and then went on his mothy way.

John the Baptist

Today was the feast of St. John the Baptist.

"Why does the church celebrate the birthday of John the Baptist? Because "John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last".  He "goes before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah". John the Baptist "is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way," who "inaugurates the Gospel...from his mother's womb". John the Baptist "proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel, he is the 'voice' of the Consoler who is coming". With John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to man of the 'divine likeness'."

                                                   - from Magnificat, June 2015, quotes from the Cathechism of the Catholic Church

Michael York as the Baptist from Jesus of Nazareth

homesick flower

One lone little blossom growing outside of the shed. I brought it in; but after three days I find it turned to the window, looking for more light and its previous existence.

fancy pickles

I try to go to to the bottom of my pinterest recipe boards regularly, so the older stuff doesn't get forgotten. I had pinned a beautiful photo of a jar of pickles way back; now it's summer, and I decided I had to make them.

Here is the blog and the recipe (and the beautiful photos!)  I had to buy the mustard seeds, the cinnamon sticks and the red onion.  This is mine:

They are so delicious, I can't begin to tell you. They got mixed up in the morning and we had them with dinner, which was less than the four hour minimum she advised; but, who cares?  I'll make these again.

That pin was the first time I'd seen that young woman's blog; her name is Hannah Queen and she's only in her twenties. She lives in Georgia and started getting into cooking and baking, using very local and available fresh ingredients; then started a blog. Her photography is gorgeous and I guess someone was paying attention, because she came out with a cookbook two months ago.  All seasonal dessert recipes.

But her triumph is a bittersweet one, because there's another part to this story - her mother died last fall.  I was reminded of all this as I poked around her blog to look at the pickle recipe. So, even though I've been more intent on getting rid of books than acquiring them, I decided to buy Hannah's.

This one, I will keep.

rain and other storms

I woke up at three, and heard the rain descending like it was being poured; on and off like that even for the next few hours.

And then the readings at Mass all had to do with water - and the gospel being about Jesus calming the storm:

The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said, Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!

-  Job 38: 1, 8-11

They who sailed the sea in ships,

trading on the deep waters,

these saw the works of the Lord

and his wonders in the abyss.

His command raised up a storm wind

which tossed its waves on high.

They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;

their hearts melted away in their plight.

They cried to the Lord in their distress;

from their straits he rescued them,

he hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,

and the billows of the sea were stilled.

-  from Psalm 107

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: Let us cross to the other side. Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?  He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith? They were filled with great awe and said to one another, Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?

-  Mark 4: 35-41

twilight times

I buy the Farmers' Almanac every year just so I can read the sunrise and sunset times. I like to know.

But I had no idea, until I discovered this site (no, I'm not in Norway) that there were three levels of twilight.

After sunset, there is a period of civil twilight. There is still enough light that you can do things. Then comes a period of nautical twilight, and you would probably need a lamp outdoors to see what you're doing. Last is the astronomical twilight which is getting dark but not the black of night. And the situation is reversed in the morning, of course. In Oslo right now they don't have actual night darkness  - how interesting that must be.

There was a day last week when I was so tired I actually plopped into bed at nine, and then realized it wasn't even dark yet!  I always feel these daylight hours shouldn't be wasted - that I should be able to be awake for all of them. But God made us so we need some sleep, and I was tired that night. I ended up getting out of bed at two to take my shower - it felt good! I was rested at that point, and why not get it out of the way?

Enjoy your summer twilights, wherever you are.

grow, grow

 "Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, Grow, grow'."

                                                    -  the Talmud

a camp meeting

"Praise the Lord for his goodness,

and bless the King of the ages,

so that his tent may be rebuilt in you with joy."

-  Tobit 13: 10a

strawberry balsamic freezer jam

From this -

to this -

in a very short time.

The recipe isn't online anymore, since the magazine is defunct.  I've wanted to try this for so long!  Besides maybe forgetting to let it set on the counter for a day, it's delicious,  -  better than you are probably imagining it is.