I have three posts to make about our last color swap. Stay tuned for details. Also, please e-mail me if you haven't received your assignment, but thought you should have.

We are in the second week of Advent now, preparing for the Return of the Lord as well as the Nativity. It is a time of self examination and penitence. This would be a hopeless time indeed, had we not the knowledge of the good and merciful God we serve, St. Bernard of Clairvaux said: A man turning from an evil life is bound to be rendered desperate by the knowledge of his sins, if he does not also know how good God is, how kind and gentle, and how ready to forgive.

This is also a time of fasting and abstinence, some see it as a little Lent, so we are trying to eat meatless three days a week, and keeping our meals fairly simple. If you want any recipes, please feel free to e-mail me (my e-mail is in the sidebar), or leave a comment. I've tried to include links as much as I can. Thank you for visiting!

• Monday: Tamale Pie, Salad


• Tuesday: Sausage and Lentils with Pasta


• Wednesday: Grilled Tuna Sandwiches, Salad


• Thursday: Potluck for Cub Scouts, I'm bringing a Trifle


• Friday: Fassoulatha, Crusty Bread and Salad


• Saturday: Leftover Soup


• Sunday: Taco Meatloaf

What is on your menu this week?

Labels: Church Year, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Well after saying I haven't made anything for Christmas, I was wondering if any of you have. Last year I made something like 17 Christmas presents, but this has been a scaling back year for me.

If you have one or more finished items this week, please sign Mr. Linky below and share all you have made. Your Finished Object(s) can be knit, crocheted, sewn, quilted, tatted, beaded, papercraft, woodwork or any other kind of craft. Show off what you have made! Please make sure you link to the exact post that shows your finished item(s) rather than just to your blog.

Labels: Finished Object Friday

We have had another lovely St. Nicholas celebration. It was good to be able to learn from an elder brother in the faith. We had been talking about marriage with the children, that they should intentionally be preparing for either marriage or celibacy, with a default of marriage, and how the most important thing to look for in a spouse is character, that having Godly mentors helping one discern this is wise, and that the most important thing to think about is what gifts one has to offer a spouse and not how that person can meet one's own needs. St. Nicholas' life was quite illustrative of that. He loved because God loved, he gave to people who could not give back, and tried to do it as secretly as possible. Last night, we told the children about the bishop of Myra and his life and works and laid our stockings out for him to fill. We awoke to plenty of good things. St. Nicholas even put some real maple candies in Rich's stocking, which we haven't been able to find for some time (all the other candies weren't all maple sugar).

I still remember being so disgusted at a book about St. Nicholas in the Protestant bookstore in town. At first, I was excited to see that they were talking about him at all, but then when I read through it and saw that they called him a pastor or some other such thing, rather than a bishop (because that would, gasp!, admit that the church was governed by bishops, and we can't have that), made up some other things to make him more Protestant, and completely ignored many other facts about his life. Basically, a fairy tale was written, which is fine, but it was presented as the truth about this real man from history. A story about Santa Claus would have been just as accurate. The only comfort I had was that someone might start to research him after reading that book, though I have few hopes of it.

I have knit nothing for St. Nicholas, nothing for Christmas, and nothing much lately at all. When I do any crafty things at all, it has been a little sewing. Mostly because I have so little time to do these things, and sewing is finished so much more quickly, which allows me to feel like I've done something. I have so many things I want to knit, want to finish and design, but I do not know how I will fit it in to our other activities.

We're going a little lighter on schooling this month. What with Advent, and our wanting the children to learn about that, we are focusing on the religious season. It is the new year of the church, and we do not wish them to be caught up in the commercial hype and junk that surrounds them in the greater culture. Thomas Howard wrote a great Advent Meditation that we read. It had a reference to an Egyptian pharoah, which was kind of nice, since we are almost to the point of studying the new kingdom. I hope you will find it edifying and thought provoking as well.

Labels: Church Year, Fabric and Sewing, Faith and Morality, Family, Knitting, St. Nicholas

I meant to post this last night, but fell asleep. So, here it is, including what we ate for dinner last night. If you want any recipes, please feel free to e-mail me (my e-mail is in the sidebar), or leave a comment. Thank you for visiting!

• Monday: Chicken Curry with Peppers and Garlic, Rice


• Tuesday: Lamb and Vegetable Roll Ups


• Wednesday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup and Salad


• Thursday: Sausage, Onion and Pepper Sandwiches


• Friday: Broccoli Cheese Quiche, Salad


• Saturday: Potluck - Scalloped Potatoes


• Sunday: Country Ribs Slow Cooked over Sauerkraut, Onions and Apples with Egg Noodles, Sour Cream and Green Beans

What is on your menu this week?

Easiest Scalloped Potatoes
8 medium potatoes (if they are yukon golds or red bliss, you don't have to peel them), peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
2 cups heavy cream
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried thyme (or 2 teaspoons if you have fresh)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 9 X 13 inch baking pan, lay slices of potatoes in single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt and fresh ground pepper. Repeat until all potatoes are used up.

Add garlic and thyme to cream and heat in microwave for about a minute or two. Pour over potatoes, spreading the garlic and thyme around, and pressing the potatoes to make sure they are all covered.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cream has thickened and edges are lightly browned.

Labels: Homemaking, Menu Plans, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen