The adult sized Baladi hat is finished! There are still ends to weave in and blocking to do, and the bow to make and tack down, but the knitting is complete. The pattern is written and I want to have it ready to beta knit in a week or so. I'm still making good progress on on Yathrib, and hope to have the entire jacket finished by the end of July. It's the edging that will possibly slow me down, though.

Now that we have given the gifts, I can show you pictures of the sweet little elf set (hat and slippers) and the crocheted blanket I made for our baby grandDAUGHTER! I also gave them the Mozarab baby hat I made up when the pattern rights were sold to KnitPicks (my rights will return about a year after this precious one is born - and it will be available for sale individually on all my sales platforms). I am working on a cabled baptismal cap and gown and cannot wait to see this sweet thing wearing them! She is going to be the best dressed baby, if I have anything to say about it.

I did finish Twain's Feast and strongly recommend it if you love food, or humor, or good writing. The author was really funny, and he knew how to put words together well. I will warn that there are one or two spots where he uses the Lord's name in vain, which I thought was both profane and unnecessary. The topic was interesting to me, anyway, but the author made it much more personable. The books in my top photo are what I am reading in my weekly Bible study. It is good to have a better view of Romans than the strictly legalistic one. These books help put it in context both in history and culture. NT Wright is one of the few modern theologians I will read, and his work here is fantastic.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Crochet, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Grandbaby, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:25 PM 0 comments

We are back to more ordinary time. By which I mean, we are still busier than I expect, and I'm not sure why I expect otherwise. Poor Jerome, on top of everything else, gets braces tomorrow. He needs them, so it is a good thing, but it is a hard thing. Likewise, about halfway through the braces, he will have two wisdom teeth surgically extracted, and his lower jaw surgically brought forward. He may also have an expander put into his upper palate. Please pray for our son, and for us.

This week, besides the braces, I will be teaching a couple foxtrot and swing classes, which will be fun. We didn't get to celebrate Croatia's independence yesterday, because we had a volunteer thank you barbecue to attend, so I am making those foods tonight for church. I'm going to make a big pan of popcorn for tonight so Jerome can enjoy it, as he won't be able to after tomorrow morning. Peas are going well for him, and except for gluten/gliadin/wheat and oats, almost everything else we re-introduce after this will be something we don't eat often, so if he has trouble with them, it won't cause a huge hardship for him or us.

We are still cooking through our freezers and pantry, and shopping mostly for fresh produce, staples that need replacing, and markdowns. The farmers' market is open again, and this year, we didn't sign up for any CSAs, even though we do use and appreciate what they offer for such a good price. We are taking the time and effort to shop the market and get the best deals we can find for our budget, and just plan our menus from that. I am so grateful for the beef and a quarter we were able to buy last spring, but we are getting down the mostly ground beef, a few organ pieces and the steaks. That sounds funny, because I know Americans really love steaks, and so do we, but the way we cook, to maximize our budget and to make sure everyone is full and satisfied while keeping our meal costs down means that we actually don't cook steaks that often. We really cook roasts and weird cuts more frequently. Some of the steaks lend themselves to being used as roast pieces do, so I will be able to make some of the dishes we like that way, and some are useful for being cut into strips or chunks for stir fries, which will make them go farther.

My goal is to get that beef to last us until at least this fall, if not next spring, so we can try to buy another steer for the freezer at that point. We are still looking for some pork and lamb, but in the interim are eating what we have in our freezers to make room for several ducks and roosters that need butchering here. People used to offer us piglets left and right for free, goats, you name it, but we didn't have the time and room last year, and it looks like everyone is feeling the food prices, so there weren't any offers this year and the prices have been much higher than normal even for other animals for sale. We are praying for some next spring/late winter, so we can raise those and fill our freezers that way next year. We learned from our actual farmer neighbors that if you raise multiple piglets, they not only benefit from the socializing (pigs are super friendly and playful, and we saw that one alone got rather lonely), but if you sell one or two of them to someone else at butchering time, you can pay for your own butchering that way. We are hoping to put that into practice next year. Honestly, though we don't like raising them through the winter, if someone had a late farrowing, or a kid/lamb born late in the season, we would find a way to keep them warm and fed over the winter to have them for the spring and summer. It would be easier to get a slaughter and butcher date that way, too, though we would have to pay more in feed, rather than letting them mostly graze and root around the yard and pastures.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Raspberry Syrup, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Croatian Braised Lamb with Chard and Rice Dumplings, Croatian Style Marinated Cucumbers, Kroštule/Hrštule
• Monday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Bacon, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Hatch Chile Sausages, Grilled Asparagus, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herby Coconut-Poached Alaska Rockfish, Coconut Rice, Green Salad with Lime Vinaigrette, Roasted Asparagus, Vegetable Side Dish and Fruit/Dessert brought by others
• Wednesday - Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Toast (Gluten and Dairy-free for Jerome), Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mejeddarah, Cabbage Salad with Cilantro-Citrus Dressing, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Polenta with Maple Syrup, Grapefruit Halves, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Persian Kotlets, Persian Saffron Rice, Persian Chopped Salad, Turkish Stuffed Apricots
• Friday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Almond Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Harira, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Harissa, Tamis (Gluten-free for Jerome)
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Gluten-free for Jerome) with Cherries and Chantilly Cream, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy, Biscuits (all Gluten-free for Jerome), Roasted Asparagus, Sautéed Summer Squash, Corn and Spring Onions, Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:39 AM 0 comments

Though I have some finished baby items, I am waiting to share them until they have beein given to Alexander and Autumn. So, here is a kind of dark photo of Yathrib, just a little after I had divided the sleeves from the body. I was trying to take a picture that would show the e-book cover and the knitting, and it is just dark and kind of sad. So, I may not do that anymore. The yarn, though, is fantastic. I am usually not a fan of cotton, but this yarn is wonderful to work with, and doesn't seem to be pilling, even being yanked around. I haven't had to tink or frog back on this much, but what little I have done seems to hold up well.

The airshow really threw me for what day it was all week, so this is rather late. However other events of this week have left me rejoicing. As a celebration and thanksgiving for the coming of a day that I wasn't sure I would see in my lifetime, I am offering one of 13 baby patterns for free on PayHip and Ravelry with the coupon code Forerunner, through the end of the day June 25, 2022. Please enjoy a baby pattern of your choice with my best wishes and love.

While the kids have been working clean up at the airport and catching up with friends a bit, we didn't read much in Chronicles of Avonlea. I read a tiny bit in X Saves the World, but mostly have been enjoying Twain's Feast. I even had a dream in which we were sleeping in a school gym as they prepared a racoon supper.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:53 PM 0 comments

"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ."

- Letter to the Ephesians, paragraph 20, written c. A.D. 80-110

“Take note of those who hold heterodox [heretical] opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes”

- Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2-7:1, written c. A.D. 110

St. Ignatius became the third bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter. He was a first hand witness of Christ as a child, heard St. John preach when he was a boy, and later became a disciple to him, he was a close friend of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who also was a direct student of Saint John the Evangelist. Seven of his letters written to various Christian communities have been preserved. Eventually, he received the martyr's crown as he was thrown to wild beasts in the arena. As I've been reading of his life and from his writings, I thought that a direct hearer of Christ and student of the original Apostles, a student of an author of the Gospels and Epistles, was a worthy speaker on what the Early Church taught and believed about the Eucharist.

Corpus Christi is another western, and relatively modern, feast, but again, one we adore. It is the celebration of the Real Presence of the Body of Christ in the world. It is a feast of His glorious body, both literal in the Eucharist, and figurative in the Church. We are not able to be in the procession today, but that is one of my favorite things we do on this day. You have the people, who are symbolically the Body of Christ on earth, displaying, proclaiming and celebrating the Eucharist, which is actually the Body of Christ on earth. We pray and sing hymns and proclaim in word and action that Christ is alive and here with us. He offers Himself in the Eucharist as a gift to us, a medicine for sin and for our salvation.

As we are on the last day of the airshow, and are worn out, we are so grateful for our church community, who are preparing dinner for us tonight, both for our normal post liturgical meal, but also as a Father's Day gift to Rich. They are so generous and kind with us. The ladies from my Tuesday Bible study have been contributing much to our meals, to take the burden of my cooking for all of us, which is also a gift to our family.

Thank you for your prayers for our son and his wife. His shoulder injury was relatively mild and he was able to return to work. Jerome gets to start peas this week, and we are all hoping that goes well, because we eat those a lot, too. Aside from a little rest this week, to recover from last week, we also have a baby shower to look forward to for our sweet grandbaby. I am so excited to celebrate and give them gifts for that new little one! I'll share pictures of the finished items after we have given them. Saturday is Croatia's Independence Day, so I am making Croatian food for dinner.

• Sunday - Corpus Christi
  Breakfast: Leftover Pastries, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken, Black Eyed Peas, Salad, Banana Cream Pie
• Monday
  Breakfast: Ful with Chopped Veggies, Hot Sauce, Kalamata Olives, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Salad, Grapes
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Turkish Eggs (Çilbir), Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Graoefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Stuffed Dover Sole with Wine and Cream Sauce, Herbed Rice Pilaf, Cabbage Salad, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Alban
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Almond Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean, Tomato, Corn, Avocado Salad, Corn Chips, Frozen Fruit Salad (no pineapple)
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Arabic Cheeses and Chopped Vegetables Drizzled with Olive Oil and Sprinkled with Za'atar and Aleppo Pepper, Kalamata Olives, Khoubz Araby, Grapes, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Ropa Vieja, Cuban Yellow Rice, Salad, Oranges
• Friday - Feast of Saint John the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas with Roasted Red Peppers, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Grapefruit Halves, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Chocolate Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust and Raspberry Sauce
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Waffles with Buttermilk Syrup, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Croatian Braised Lamb with Chard and Rice Dumplings, Croatian Style Marinated Cucumbers, Kroštule/Hrštule

Labels: Church Year, Corpus Christi, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 9:24 AM 0 comments

We have a big family and so our vacations are usually pretty modest affairs. We have a few favorite hotels and a guest house that a friend rents to us at a friends and family discount or we stay with family or friends most of the time. This may not sound that fun or exciting, but it helps us travel when we can do so.

One place we always look for when traveling is Homewood Suites. They have a two bedroom suite, with two queen sized beds in each room and a pull out couch in the living room that sleeps all of us. They have a full breakfast every morning, included in the room price, and a social hour that amounts to dinner and wine or beer (sometimes cocktails) from Monday through Thursday nights [I have stayed at one recently, which showed this meal only once a week, so this policy may have changed]. Since meals are a huge cost on the road, this makes the hotel quite a good deal for us. Likewise, the room itself has a refrigerator and stove, microwave, coffee machine, sink and dishwasher, and so on, which permits us to prepare lunches or dinners, when necessary. There is usually a grill down by the pool, too, which we have used for meals before while staying at one of their hotels. The lowest price we have paid for one of those suites was around $180 a night and the highest we have paid, for all ten of us, was near $400 a night, but when you consider that we would spend nearly that on two small rooms at another hotel or motel with the kids, and wouldn't have the meals included, it's quite the bargain for us. Unless we stick to fast food, dinner out for our family at an above average, but not fancy, restaurant tends to run us between $150 and $300 for the family for lunch or dinner, and breakfasts tend to be about $100 to $150. So, to have breakfast included for all days of the week and dinner included four days a week, is a huge savings for us.

If we cannot find something like I describe above, we try to find a house to rent, which is usually less expensive, even with deposits and fees, than a hotel for our family. This also gives us a full kitchen, so we can choose to eat at the house for the majority of our meals, and we can choose which meals we wish to eat out deliberately. Even if we have to go grocery shopping for the trip, we can eat breakfasts at leisure in the morning and bring picnic lunches, if we wish, and the groceries left over can come home with us when we return.

I know that sometimes, especially we wives and mothers, want a trip on which we don't have to be responsible for meals. However, the truth is, any trip with children involves our being responsible, anyway, so I don't mind doing the extra effort to make meals, and plan simple ones with which the kids and Rich can help me. When I want a vacation with minimal responsibility, I go by myself or with Rich without the kids. That is just the reality of family life.

Which brings me to part two. Often, the way I get a vacation is to accompany Rich on a work related trip. He frequently has meetings in other towns, or conferences that are related to his industry. Usually, I go with him to these. Since his costs are covered, that leaves relatively minimal ones for me. We have even been able to travel to France, Croatia, and Japan, because of work related trips he was assigned. Obviously, there are still costs associated with me traveling, especially overseas, but his being taken care of brings our cost down considerably. I'm also pretty good at scouring airfare websites to get rather low deals on flights, which saves both us and his work money when we travel. I know it's gauche to talk direct prices, but we spent eight days in Split, Croatia (with a short overnight in Dublin), which only cost us around $1300, which included my airfare, my transit tickets while I explored the city, many meals with wine (which were fantastic, by the way!), a manicure and pedicure in preparation for a gala night out, foods and liquors we brought back home to share with friends and family, gifts for friends who helped our kids while we were gone, my own purchases of shoes, handbag, and dress, plus yarn and ribbon bought both in Split and Dublin, and a hand crocheted pillow case. The airfare was $724, which tells you how little we spent while we were actually out traveling. I will definitely recommend Croatia as a Mediterranean/Riviera type experience on a tiny fraction of the price. The Adriatic coast is spectacular, the food and wine are fabulous, their olives and olive oils are fantastic, the lodgings are inexpensive, the climate is gorgeous, and the people are friendly and kind (though reserved). There are hills and forest accessible from town, mountains by car or train, and we fell in love. It was like being in Italy for a quarter of the price. The language is not too terribly hard to learn enough to get by while there, either, and the people appreciate it so much that you even tried.

So, how do I find good airfare? Kayak and Scott's Cheap Flights (that is my referral link) are my favorite ways to find fares. With Scott's, you need to be flexible, and see what is available, and the pull the trigger when you see something that matches your price point and preferences.

Some families really like camping, which can also bring down your costs. We haven't done a ton of it as a family, I have to admit, but we did camp a while in Yellowstone, and we rented yurts for our trip to the Oregon coast recently. The yurts were great, and had electricity in them, though we weren't allowed to cook inside. We were able to bring extension cords and cook on the deck, though. So, we brought our electric pressure cooker, a gas stove burner, and tools and cooking utensils for grilling where we were permitted. They had showers, for free, a cleaning station for fish and shellfish (of which we availed ourselves), and coin operated laundry facilities. The yurts themselves only cost about $600 for two, for six nights, and were right on the bay near the ocean. So, you see, if you are creative about where you stay, you can find a bargain this way, too.

What are your helpful hints on how to save money on vacation? Are you still able to take trips as a family? Or are you trying to use your vacation time at home, enjoying your family and property? None of my hints will help you with the rising gas prices, but might help you make up for them in other ways.

Previous Posts:
Make it at Home
Grocery Shopping
Waste Not, Want Not
Soup
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Use What You Have
Combining Trips
Storing Bulk Purchases
Turn It Off
Grow Your Own
Buying in Bulk
Gleaning
Entertainment on the Down Low
Finding Fun Locally
Holiday Shopping
Reconsidering Convenience
More Bang for Your Grocery Buck
Preserving the Harvest
Revisiting Kitchen Strategies
Extreme Frugality

Labels: Family, Frugality, Romance and Relationship

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:28 AM 0 comments

Yathrib is the ancient name of the modern city Medina. It is not far from the Red Sea, so has a windswept climate, but is also situated in the desert. This design is informed by that city's history and climate. It is the first in a collection of patterns inspired by the ancient cities and peoples of the incense route.

I'm just about ready to divide the sleeves from the body, then work the sleeves and body down. It is going rather quickly, and the yarn is a dream to knit. Malabrigo's Verano is perfect for summer knitting, and even though this is a long sleeved jacket, the yarn makes it a light garment. It is a pleasure to work with and seems to hold up to being shoved in and out of my bag really well. Also, I was pleased to find that it didn't grow much in blocking, which can often be the case with cotton yarns.

As it is airshow week, there hasn't been a lot of time for reading in Chronicles of Avonlea together. However, I've been able to read more in X Saves the World and Twain's Feast, because it has only been Mariam and Nejat at home while the older kids work set up at the airport.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 1:57 PM 0 comments

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God; Oh come, let us adore Him.

Trinity Sunday is definitely a Western feast and I know I "read" Eastern (which is not a coincidence). However, I love this feast. In my prayers and aspirations, I look for a day when East and West celebrate this together, along with the other feasts of the Church year. This theological feast celebrates what we believe. It should be rejoiced in and shouted by all the members of the body of Christ (which is a feast coming up soon, also). It isn't that this is not celebrated in the East, but it is not a major feast in the same way, but the emphasis on God's nature, unity (one God) and community (three Persons), is so important to how we understand that He has created all people to be in one in community. We image God. In a way, this year, East and West do celebrate it together, because today is Pentecost for the East, and the first three days of Pentecost emphasize different parts of the faith that is born that day, and the first is Trinity. For now, that will have to be close enough, but I long for a day when we are one and in unbroken community.

It is also airshow week here, which is exhausting and busy. We are pushing through to the end of that, so we can rest. Dominic jokes that he took a paying job with long hours and lots of responsibilities, just so he could get out of volunteering for the airshow. Since this coming weekend is both his and Rich's birthday, and then Father's Day, we would normally be doing something fun for them. Instead, we are eating leftovers on their birthday (I'll try to have fancy ice cream or pie or cake), and eating whatever our church family makes Sunday for Father's Day. After this weekend, we will be halfway through all the family birthdays - including Autumn and the new grandbaby, because Autumn is at the beginning of the year and the grandbaby should be born at the end of October or beginning of November.

We are trying to be good stewards of what we have and earn and so have waited to make our grocery trip (I'm still trying to go every two weeks, rather than every week, when possible), and the kids ate up all our fresh fruit this week. So, glory to God, we have a lot in the freezers and we canned, dried and froze a ton of cherries, peaches, pears, and preserves, as well as making loads of pickled vegetables, the last two years, so we have those. This year, I am praying to get a hold of plenty of plums, so I can make plum preserves. Figs are too expensive and hard to grow here, so fig jam, fig chutney, fig and pear jam are not likely. Things like that make me miss the west side, still. Our two beautiful fig trees died our first winter here, even in protected areas. This spring has been so weird, and we had late freezes that killed most of the blossoms on our fruit trees this year, so we are only expecting fruit from one plum tree that is usually late, and maybe another tree. With the costs of food and gas, this will make a challenge for us next fall, winter and spring. We are blessed with an abundant pantry and full freezers, so we are fine, it just will take a little more creativity as we navigate rising prices, shortages and so on.

For your prayers, please remember Alexander and Autumn, both in general because they are a young family with a baby soon to be born, but also specifically, because Alexander briefly dislocated his shoulder at work on Thursday and had to see a doctor and be sent home from work for a time. Since it happened at work, it will be covered just fine, but missing work with a baby coming is stressful, and we are praying that the disclocation was not too serious. Jerome should have lentils back all the way by next week, which is fabulous, and we will start re-introducing peas at that point. Most of the foods we eat all the time have been returned to him, so once he gets peas back (if he does), our life will be much simpler. The gluten/gliadin, wheat/oats/rye/barley/spelt/etc, are the last thing that are really challenging for us. Even though he has plenty that we have to test between now and the end of the year, once peas are clear, it will be almost normal. We are grateful to God for that.

• Sunday - Trinity Sunday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Canned Peaches, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Carnitas, Ranchero Beans, Salsa Rice, Tortillas
• Monday
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Bacon Cheese Potatoes, Home Canned Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Shrimp and Pesto Pizza, Salad, Frozen Fruit Salad (no pineapple)
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs with Toast Fingers (Gluten-free for Jerome), Dried Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Koubbat Battatas, Saffron Rice, Taratoor, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions, Ice Cream
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful with Chopped Veggies, Hot Sauce, Kalamata Olives, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Kenyan Black Beans in Coconut Milk, Rice, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Tunisian Shakshouka (using sweet potatoes), Dates, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Arabic Beef and Vegetable Soup with Lemon Juice and Garlic Paste, Rice, Applesauce
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Dried Pears, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Shrimp Salad with Chopped Vegetables, Sliced Oranges
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd, Grapefruit Halves, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers, Moroccan Orange Honey Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 4:17 AM 0 comments

It is nearly baby shower time for my son and daughter in law, and I have this adorable, little munchkin set for their wee one. The eleventy billion ends are discouraging, but I am trying to work on them now so I can have the set ready for the shower. I will be starting a baptismal gown soon, and between that and Yathrib (a buttonless cardigan from a collection that will be published in November of next year), I should be quite busy this month and next. The second, adult sized, sample for Baladi is close to finished, and I have one of Yasmina's mittens completed.

There are three sets of gloves or mittens I have yet to do for the family, two convertible mitten sets for some friends, the baptismal gown and cap, Yathrib, the two final designs for the Trade Winds Color Collection to finish, another hat design for July, a Saint Nicholas stocking for both Autumn and our new grandbaby, another sweater design for the collection next year, and the graded for adults version of Saint Catherine to finish by the end of this year. I'd like to get more baby knitting in, as well, but these are the priorities. Two of these are at least half way finished, but it is still a daunting list. I'm having our LYS crank out sock tubes for me that I will finish with cuffs, heels and toes, which will both give me a lot more socks and will help me stash down some more. I have picked out yarn for all the family, as well as a few for me, and I hope to have those ready by Christmas. Since cuffs, heels and toes are basically swatch knitting, I am hoping it will be good weekend knitting after the mittens and gloves are finished and will give me some more FOs, and Christmas presents.

The kids and I are meandering through Chronicles of Avonlea. I finished Bearing God: The Life and Works of St. Ignatius of Antioch the God-Bearer and I picked up a fun book I started a while back, X Saves the World. That is an odd contrast to Saint Ignatius, I know, but it is a fun and interesting book.

On Ignatius, I think I mentioned how apt it was to read as a corollary to my Bible study of Romans. There are so many things in this short book about the nature of Christianity, the Church, and the Christian. For being so short, it is full of a lot of thought provoking and faith inspiring words. As I am learning how the words of Saint Paul, a Jewish Christian, define the righteousness of Christ not as the imputed or transferred or imparted righteousness of God to Man, but rather the actual righteousness of God declaring in our favor. In _Bearing God_, we red the same from Saint Ignatius of Antioch, "For Ignatius, Christian life is not about having a right standing with God (as would become an imporant theme in Reformation theology) but about bearing God within ourselves."

Many liturgical Christians are probably familiar with the quotation of his paraphrased, "Where the bishop is, there is the Church." There are some challenges to both Protestants and Catholics in Saint Ignatius' writing, and as he was both a first hand witness and hearer of Christ, and a direct disciple of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist (as Saint Polycarp was, from whome we learn that Saint John instructed the bishops to baptize infants and small children first, lest they lose their chance to be baptized in a world with high infant and childhood mortality, then to go on to adults), his testimony speaks directly to what both Christ and the Apostles taught and practiced.

Roman Catholics love and venerate Ignatius and include him on their calendar of saints. Yet he may be challenging for them, as there is nothing in the writings of this early saint to support the claims to supremacy for the pope of Rome. Ignatius offers nothing for that ecclesiology, even when writing to the church in Rome.

Ignatius is perhaps more striking and more challenginf for Protestants, most of whom do not have bishops, or, if they do, they are primarily administrative officers and not seen as successors to the apostles. Ignatius, who stands in the shadow of the apostles themselves, presents such a robust and forceful image of the episcopacy that he challenges those who regard bishops as some later medieval accretion. Indeed, so striking is his language that the nineteenth century saw various Protestant scholars attempting to disprove the authenticity of any text bearing Ignatius' name. Ironically, it was through this scholarly work that their genuine character was finally established."

I found myself marking so many pages in this to think on again and to share with the kids. I make note that, even though this book is from an Orthodox perspective, and does a good job of defending that perspective, there are parts of Ignatius' writings and teachings which are clearly a challenge to the East, as well. We all need to get both lungs of the Church back together to resolve this. Rich is planning on reading it when I am finished (we kind of ran out of time to read it aloud to each other).

There is another book I am reading a little right now and enjoying a lot, but I am trying to keep to one book at a time for myself, just because my reading time is limited, and I have been so exhausted. Maybe when the airshow is finished, I will add it to my reading. If you are interested in food history and traditional, regional American food, you will enjoy it: Twain's Feast.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 2:29 AM 0 comments

Alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord fills the world! Oh come, let us adore Him. Alleluia!

This is the second highest feast of the Church year. It is the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is the undoing of Babel. It is the empowering by the Holy Spirit of the Apostles to spread the Church throughout the world to every people, tribe, tongue and nation. We will have our Tongues of Flame barbecue with our church on Sunday, and enjoy a fast free week. The barbecue is a potluck, so we will see what lovely gifts people bring to share.

We have only two more weeks of official school before we take a summer break. Amira will be a graduate, and I am so proud of her, but I am also a little sad that she is grown up. While she figures out what her future should look like, we are glad to be home for her still. She has a couple opportunities this summer that will help her make her way in the world, and her brothers and sisters will also be doing some work in our neighborhood, earning money and learning skills for themselves.

Since this is a fast free week, there are no vegan days, but we are still trying to live within the limits of the grocery store prices and what we have at home. So, there is still soup and there are still legume based meals. Jerome is doing super well with the re-introduction of lentils, and again, I think his triggers are probably environmental. His doctor did say that this was more a hard reset than an indication of actual food allergies (though she suspected the banana might be a true allergy, and we already avoid lima beans because of reactions he has had in the past).

We are being more frugal because of the prices from inflation and supply chain issues brought on by the policies regarding the big C. If you aren't looking at my posts on frugality, you might want to take a peek and see if there is anything there that might help you. I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping Friday and found that the organic sweet potatoes were actually cheaper per pound, just by a little, than the conventionally grown ones. Especially since they were root vegetables, I thought that was important, and so bought the organic bag. There were a couple potatoes with dings in them that would degrade them quickly, and the produce lady marked the bag down a dollar on top of that, so it pays to point things like that out and ask. Since I didn't buy chicken because it was so expensive, and almost didn't buy bacon, because of the same reason, I am pleased with the deals we did find. I was able to get bacon, because they had pre-cooked, naturally cured bacon, for a dollar less than the price we used to pay for the same quantity of bacon. We are so grateful for how the Lord has looked after our family so well during these vexing and trying times. I see Him in every discount sticker and am reminded how much He loves us.

• Sunday - Pentecost
  Breakfast: Mexican Eggs Benedict with Chorizo and Avocado Cream, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Lamb Chops, Grilled Hatch Chile Sausages, Grilled Asparagus, Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Monday
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs with Toast Fingers (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Enfrijoladas, Cuban Rice, Oranges
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato Hash with Chopped Ham, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cream of Onion Soup with Bacon, Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Home Canned Pears
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Italian Sausage and Potato Bake, Bread (Gluten-free for Jerome) to sop up the delicious juices, Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Thursday - Saint Columba
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Bacon Cheese Potatoes, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Lamb Ribs and Beans, Arepas, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Tunisian Shakshouka (using sweet potatoes), Home Canned Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome) with Bolognese Sauce, Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Canned Peaches
• Saturday - Saint Barnabas the Apostle
  Breakfast: Cream Cheese Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berry Coffee Cake (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sausages, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pastitsio (Gluten-free for Jerome), Chopped Salad, Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pentecost, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:02 AM 0 comments

It has been awhile since I last updated. We have had such a busy life these past few weeks. Today, I can share the sample I am working on for a hat design coming out in July. This week is my chance to finally put the finishing touches on Imbat, and I am hoping to have both patterns ready for beta as soon as possible. For those of you who subscribe to my newsletter, or who recently subscribed and are wondering where the news is, bear with me, as I will have a big update sent out soon.

The kids and I finished The Golden Road, and they decided to begin Chronicles of Avonlea. I am close to finished with Bearing God: The Life and Works of St. Ignatius of Antioch the God-Bearer and have found some of what he had to say to the Judaizers and Docetists of his time to be interesting analagous reading to my study of Romans with a few women at my house.

You might note that my links to books are no longer going to Amazon. I do not try to keep myself "pure" of the world or of things with which I disagree or find morally objectionable. However, I do try to abstain from directly supporting those things as much as I can, and as such when a company declares that it will deliberately and specifically financially fund something that is a grave evil, I must refrain from giving them my money or directing other people in their direction. It's not like I thought Amazon was a bastion of righteousness, but at least before they weren't telling me how they would fund wickedness. So, here I am with no more money going in their direction that I can help. Two of the links above take you to Gutenberg so you can read the books online for free, and the third takes you to an Orthodox publisher which can do far more good with any money you spend there.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:09 AM 0 comments