There are many beautiful icons of the Temptation of Jesus, but this painting by Duccio captures the essense of our Lenten journey with Christ in the desert. After being driven to the desert to fast for 40 days and be tested (not as a trick or pop quiz, but to model for us and to teach the way we make our spiritual battle), He commands Satan away, with the angels waiting to attend Him.

Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May you have a holy and blessed Lent.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Alexander of Alexandria
  Breakfast: Vegan Cornmeal Waffles with Maple Syrup, Fruit Plate, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Vegan Harira, Harissa, Tamis, Baba Ghanooj, Fruit
• Monday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Honey Peanut Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pan Fried Eggplant, Olive and Rosemary Focaccia, Green Salad
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash Burritos with Salsa, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Lentil Chimichangas, Salsa Rice, Cabbage Salad, Fruit
• Wednesday - Saint David of Wales
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas with Vegetables, Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Šalša over Pasta, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Chopped Apples, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Asian Style Chickpea Salad, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles, Green Salad with Citrus Sesame Dressing, Pineapple Cups
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Lenten Tropical Muffins* to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Potato Koubbeh, Salad, Fruit

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

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:42 AM 0 comments

These are the last moments of meat for us and for the East. Today is Judgment Sunday in the East, also known as Meatfare Sunday (which has the same meaning as carnival - carnivale - farewell to meat/flesh). The Eastern Church will not have any meat from tonight through the Paschal feast. We have a couple more days, because we begin on Ash Wednesday, midweek. Quinquagesima is the 50th day before the Paschal feast for us in the West. Sadly, the East and West are a week apart again this year, but one day, we continue to pray, that both East and West will unite to celebrate together every year. The practices of Ash Wednesday are so profound, as are those of Forgiveness Sunday, and I hope that eventually the Church will get her act together and find a way to bring them together in all ways. At present, the next time we will celebrate together is 2025. Glory to God!

In the meantime, we are continuing to eat up meat and fish and dairy to empty our fridge and freezer a bit to make room for our Lenten discipline. We will have our doughnut night on Tuesday, as is our custom, and now that our children are much older, just about everone is fasting on Ash Wednesday. I will be preparing a light dinner for Nejat (and Mariam, if she needs to break the fast earlier), but it will be quite simple. Any non-Lenten foods we have left after Mardi Gras that can be frozen will be, and any that cannot be will be given to Nejat to eat this week. Then we will begin our xerophagy in earnest.

I've explained before that xerophagy is the accurate term for Lenten fasting. It means dry eating. We restrict meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil and wine, which means our food is not as lubricated as normal. There are two strict fast days (no food or nutritive drink) in the West, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There is an optional strict fast from the evening after the Maundy Thursday service through the end of the Paschal Vigil. In the East, the first week of Lent, from Clean Monday through their vespers service on Wednesday is supposed to be as strict a fast as possible, with the guidance of a spiritual father or mother, and they share the same Triduum fasting, I believe. Aside from that, the earliest rule of the Church is to eat no meat, no fish (with the exception of shellfish - because of the expense, we eat them sparingly), no dairy or egg, no olive oil (all oil in a few jurisdictions), no wine. On Saturdays and Sundays, the rule is relaxed to include olive oil and wine, and on a few significant feast days we are able to eat fish, and one day on which caviar is permitted (Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, as fish eggs acting as a shadow of the eggs associated with the Resurrection). None of this is to imply that eating or that any of these foods are bad. They are good things from which we abstain as a discipline to train ourselves, following the example and teaching of our Lord. In the West, penance is emphasized, and while this is absolutely a part of our Lenten journey, fasting, praying, and almsgiving, are seen more as a discipline Christ gives us through the Church to grow us spiritually. Young children, the elderly, those who have serious medical conditions, those who are hospitalized, pregnant and nursing women, are all exempt. There is no make-up required for these people. Their fast is considered complete. In all cases, fasting or not, we are to keep our eyes on our own plate. We are not to concern ourselves with how someone else is keeping the fast, unless that person is asking us for assistance or support. Because we serve an Anglican parish on Sundays, we will be relaxing the fasting on Sundays to permit fish, as the parishioners are not required to keep the stricter fasting rules, so you will see fish on those days sometimes.

As we prepare for Lent, we must prepare for self-examination. So, in that frame of mind, if I have offended you or wronged you in any way, please forgive me and pray for me, a sinner. As for you readers, I pray that this will be a profitable and Holy Lent for you, however you observe it. Please pray for us, as well. Have a blessed fast.

• Sunday - Quinquagesima
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs with Smoked Porkchops, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham and Beans, Cornbread, Chopped Salad, Tagalong Bars
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Egg and Cheese Burritos, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy, Biscuits, Steam Sautéed Carrots and Peas with Garlic and Dill, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
• Tuesday - Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)
  Breakfast: Arabic Cheese and Veggie Platter with Olive Oil and Za'atar, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef and Vegetable Pot Pies, Treats brought by our Friends, Louqaimat, Fastnacht Kreppel, Ricotta Fritters with Maple Syrup, Fritule
• Wednesday - Ash Wednesday
  Dinner: Tahina and Date Syrup Sandwich with Sliced Oranges for Nejat
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Polycarp
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas with Vegetables, Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Charred Eggplant with Chermoula (using sunflower oil), Arabic Style Rice Pilaf (using safflower oil), Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Matthias
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Shorbat 'Addas, Tamis (both made with sunflower oil), Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Ful, Tomato, Radish, and Onion Relish, Kalamata Olives, Bread, Sliced Apples, Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta Trappanese, Green Salad, Fruit Plate

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

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:35 AM 0 comments

My second surprise project is almost finished, and I am getting closer and closer to finished on Yathrib. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me, because I am a month behind, and eating into my extra time I gave myself. With one project behind me, my weekends will be freer to finish the baptismal gown, and my weekdays will be left to start on the next sweater in this collection.

Because I am foolish, I have added another project to start. This year, I decided to try Sock Madness again. I qualified as a cheerleader one year, then didn't qualify at all the next, then again as a cheerleader the year after that. However, the designer of the qualifier that last year was so sarcsatic and mean to people who asked legitimate questions (not toward me, this wasn't personal), that it took almost all the fun out of it. I still haven't finished that pair of socks, even though they were beautiful, and I learned a couple techniques while making the first. It just left a sour taste in my mouth, and I didn't participate the rest of the competition, and I didn't participate at all last year. This year, it appears that designer is not so active, so I thought I would try again. Well, the qualifying pattern was delivered today, and I have less than 14 days to finish at least one intarsia in the round sock. It is a pretty cool sock, and this is a technique that I have wanted to master, but I am not sure I can do it in less than two weeks!

Plus finish the sweater and the baptismal gown. I'm not sure I will qualify this year.

I think I have only read about two more pages in The Diary of a Country Priest. The kids and I are more than half way through Cheaper by the Dozen, and I finished The Tsar of Love and Techno. I enjoyed the writing, though I found the author unnecessarily included some obscene parts. I do not mean that there are sexual references or sexual imagery, but that there are some disgusting scenes, and as far as I can tell, they were added so they could be part of the story, rather than being part of the story that made sense. The book is a series of short stories, and while they do not form "chapters" of the same story, each story is linked to one or more of the other stories. Some of them end in such a way as to leave questions and unresolved issues. I don't mind that, but you might. Of all of the chapters, the last one was my least favorite. It didn't follow the rules of all the other chapters, and was too weak to break the rules well, in my opinion. The entire set of stories could have been written without that last chapter, and it would have been at least as good, if not better. A few more things would have been unresolved, but I think that would have been better than turning it from a somewhat ambiguous and intriguing set of historical fiction pieces to an almost sci-fi thing. If it were done more cleverly and elegantly, perhaps it could have been pulled off, but it wrung you from the story as it was written, and took you outside of it in a way that made you a spectator as yourself, rather than as part of the story or a shadow of it.

The #SpringSweaterStitchalong begins Monday! Please join in the fun on my Facebook or Ravelry groups. If you want to ask questions or start chatting, please feel free to do so. If you follow that hashtag on Instagram, or share your pictures using that hashtag, then other knitters participating will see your work, too. Both Amira and Imbat will be options to knit during the KAL, and if you are especially speedy, you might be able to make both! I will be available for help, to answer questions, and you will have others to encourage and assist you, too. Please take a look at the patterns and your stash (or go shopping for appropriate yarn) now so you can be ready to cast on for February 20.

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, Sock Madness, Spring Sweater Stitchalong, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:31 AM 0 comments

This is the second Sunday in the pre-Lenten, preparatory, season. Again, the name simply refers to the number of days. We are within 60 days of the Paschal feast, and sexagesima means 60. It is a week and a half until Lent begins in the West. While we aren't scaling back in the same manner as the East, we are trying both to enjoy the foods we will be bidding farewell to at that time and prepare ourselves for that by not overly indulging right now. It's a balance of treating ourselves and not gorging ourselves. This is the same balance we will need to strike during Bright Week, in some ways, as we go back to feasting and then normal eating.

However, this is a great time of scaling back and using the meats and treats in our freezers. We've gotten out a couple bigger pieces of meat to use that means we have more room for the ducks when they are butchered, and then the turkeys when it is their time. It is also helping us to rearrange a little so the foods that will be more appropriate to the fast are in our inside freezer and ready for us to use. I recently found out that Biscoff cookies, like Oreo cookies, are Lenten. This will make for a great treat somewhere around the middle of Lent, when we are struggling. I have a package at the ready. Ritz crackers are also Lenten, but they aren't as good as Biscoff cookies. Our Grocery Outlet has some wonderful, and Lenten, dairy free frozen chocolate bars that I am eyeing, too. They are made with real food, and coconut milk rather than cream and milk. If they are there on my next shopping trip, I will likely pick some up for the final weeks of Lent, when it is harder on everyone. Overall, we do try to eat simply and avoid meat/dairy substitutes, but those are still fine and can help get us over the speed bumps that come up occasionally. Remember that fasting food (abstinent food, really) does not have to taste bad, it just has to follow the guidelines, but we should not focus all our attention on the food, because those guidelines are a training, not the end of the training. I do find that planning it out ahead of time does help me keep my focus on prayer and charity, because I don't have to spend so much time thinking of what to make. Again, there is a balance to be struck.

Our Eastern brethren have just finished their fast free week, and are beginning Meatfare week, which is their final week of eating meat and fish. Next week will be Cheesefare week for them, which will be their final week of eating dairy and egg, oil and wine. Then their Lent will begin five days after the West. The West still preserves these concepts in Septuagesima and Sexagesima, and even with the Mardi Gras traditions of eating doughnuts or pancakes to use up the last of the eggs, milk and butter, which does point to the earlier and more authentic practice. One day, I hope that the observances of Forgiveness Sunday and Ash Wednesday can be joined in some way and I pray that one day we will all observe and celebrate together.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Hot Dogs, Chips, Cool and Creamy Potato and Pea Salad, Christmas Cherry Nut Cake
• Monday
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftover Casserole (using ingredients we froze), Salad, Frosted Button Cookies
• Tuesday - Feast of Saints Valentine, Cyril and Methodius
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash Burritos with Salsa, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tacos de Papa, Avocado Relish, Black Beans (Ranchero Style), Salsa Rice, Pineapple Cups
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas with Vegetables, Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Mount Athos Rice, Loubiyeh bi Zeit, Persian Chopped Salad, Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Brown Sugar, Apples and Raisins, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Irish Farmhouse Vegetable Soup with Rosemary Croutons, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Bean and Rice Chimichangas, Cabbage Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Proscuitto and Gruyère Scones to Break the Fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Steam Sautéed Vegetables, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies and Tagalong Bars

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

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

This is a simple pie to make, and is really delicious. It is best served at room temperature, so it is still a little gooey. This recipe makes a single pie, but is easy enough to make that you may want to make the full pie crust recipe and make two.

1/2 recipe Flaky Butter Crust
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into six to eight pieces
ground cassia cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 9" pie pan with pie crust.

Place brown sugar, flour, and salt directly into the crust. Mix gently with excruciatingly clean and dry fingers. Spread evenly across pie crust, smoothing top. Slowly pour cream over the mixture, but do not mix. Dot with butter, and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, until the center jiggles just a tiny bit. Turn off oven, and leave pie in there for another 10 minutes, until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature to serve.

Brown Butter Ginger Chews

These are the best ginger cookies, and taking the time to brown the butter is really worth the effort. We usually double the recipe for Christmas. They also ship really well if you are mailing cookies to someone.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, browned and brought back to room temperature
3 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses (mild, not blackstrap)
zest of one orange

For the Sugar Coating:
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
zest of one orange

Brown Butter:
Cut the butter into tablespoons and place in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, until the solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour browned butter into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until solidified, at least one hour.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator. Set on the counter until it is just softened, but not melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter until completely smooth, about a minute. Add in both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in vanilla paste. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the molasses and orange zest and beat until well combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour (or up to one day).

When you are ready to bake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Scoop cookie dough in 2 tablespoonful portions, and roll them into evenly round balls. Roll the balls in the sugar coating, then transfer them onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden. Cool cookies on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving warm or transferring to the wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftover cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Rosewater Almond Tea Cookies

These are deceptively simple cookies. They don't really look like anything that special, but they are delicate and delicious, and super simple to put together. This recipe makes about three dozen.

1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosewater
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs

Whisk together flour and almond meal in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream butter with powdered sugar and salt until pale and smooth. Add rosewater and vanilla paste and cream until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Do not overbeat. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. The dough can keep, tightly wrapped, for up to a week in the refrigerator.

When ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make one tablespoon balls from the chilled dough and place about an inch and a half apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake fro 12 - 15 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and cool on pans over a rack for until completely cool. Can be stored in an airtight container for three to five days.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:19 AM 0 comments

Well, we're more than halfway there on this sweater. I'm even further along than this picture, actually. The cabled edging is working just the way I wanted, and I did a hybrid of sewing and grafting to finish it off that makes me quite delighted. It's mostly plain knitting with some minimal shaping and some side details for the rest of the body and then the big push for the cabled edging all around the fronts and neck.

I've only read a little more in The Diary of a Country Priest, because Rich's new schedule of 5:00 am wakeups to go to the gym are hard on me. I can stay in bed, and I do, but that interupted sleep has always been rough on me. So, I am falling asleep hard at night, and pretty early. Not much reading is happening then. Now that I think of it, I should be doing it in the morning while he is gone, since I am awake, anyway. The kids and I are reading Cheaper by the Dozen and laughing our way through it. It is such a delightful book. Mostly, though, my reading has been in the two books above, as we prepare for our homeschool co-op to start again, since I am helping with a Poetry and Tea class.

Recently, I finished a book, The Mother-In-Law, that I really enjoyed. The dedication alone was worth the read: For my mother-in-law, Anne, who I would never dream of murdering. And for my father-in-law, Peter, who, on the odd occasion, I have.

The book itself is intriguing, and opens on a family receiving news of the suspicious death of the woman's mother-in-law. It is told in the perspectives, from the heads of, both the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law. Obviously, for the mother-in-law, it has to go back in time, but we go back in time in Lucy's (the daughter-in-law) story, as well. It was really well done, and that is rare. Aside from suicide or murder, the book itself covers some rather morally questionable issues, and treats them as normal. In and of itself, this isn't too much of a problem, as I wouldn't expect a morally ill informed person to have a different view. Because of this, though, I still wouldn't recommend it to a teenager, for instance, or a person without good moral formation. However, there are some hints within it that there are some leanings toward the good in the author, or at least not an antipathy toward it. Overall, I found the book satisfying and interesting, and though I did guess some of the circumstances and conclusions, most of it wasn't until late in the story. The picture of marriage, and the picture from both main character's point of view were really done well. Any temptation to assume that one was all bad and the other all good was quickly nipped in the bud. Even the sense that one was the protagonist and one was the antagonist was done away with and the reader, instead, can see how one appears to the other, and what the motivations are behind even the wrong actions and words of each person. The only disappointment in the book was really that this seems to be a one note author. The next book she wrote was excerpted in the back of this one, and though it included different characters, a different story line, and a different setting, the perspective was basically the same. That kind of disappointed me.

If you are morally informed, I think the immoral issues in this book will cause no trouble and the writing is good. I found that aside from that, I really noticed the food. The book is set in Australia, and their casual dipping of prawns in Thousand Island dressing really threw me, and I still don't know what to think about it. Likewise, the statement that making a turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy was a terribly difficult task made me laugh out loud. That is an easy meal that we would make on an average Saturday and unless you feel like you need to stare at the bird while it cooks, most of it is done while you are getting something else completed or taking a nap. Those things aside, I would recommend this book to adults, and mature, older adolescents.

The #SpringSweaterStitchalong is only 12 days away on my Facebook and Ravelry groups. If you want to ask questions or start chatting, please feel free to do so. If you follow that hashtag on Instagram, or share your pictures using that hashtag, then other knitters participating will see your work, too. Both Amira and Imbat will be options to knit during the KAL, and if you are especially speedy, you might be able to make both! I will be available for help, to answer questions, and you will have others to encourage and assist you, too. Please take a look at the patterns and your stash (or go shopping for appropriate yarn) now so you can be ready to cast on for February 20.

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, Spring Sweater Stitchalong, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:38 AM 0 comments

We are in the countdown to Lent again! Lent is later again this year, but even so, that image up there does feel accurate. In just over two weeks, we will be having our Mardi Gras doughnut night. We don't have to do anything special for Jerome this year! Unless someone makes a lima bean flour and banana dish, that is.

Even though the fasting is challenging, I think everyone is looking forward to the spiritual training. Jerome actually said that since they grew up doing it, for him it just feels normal. It forces him to think about his food and God. This is why it always takes me by surprise that there are Christians who don't even keep the Friday fast, let alone the Wednesday one, or do any fasting for Lent or Advent, not because we don't understand that they don't, but because it makes you look at each bite you eat, every meal you plan as part of your worship of God.

We commemorate the betrayal of Judas and our Lord's crucifixion, in fasting each week. We prepare for His birth and coming again, and His resurrection, in fasting and prayer and almsgiving. It seems like people are missing out on this when they don't participate in that. Our every bite is shaped by our faith, our days and weeks and seasons are shaped by the life of Christ. We are so glad to have grown into this practice- even when it is hard, maybe especially when it is hard. When it is hard, we are reminded that we need God for everything. Even to ward off the desire for a cheeseburger. We fast because it is so easy to forget how much we need God. We fast because Christ indentified with the poor, and so should we. We fast, because it allows us to learn to conquer our appetites, and all sin is disordered appetite. We fast so we remember to pray. We fast because Christ Himself told us how to do it when we do it, not if we do it. We fast because we want to be more like Him, who fasted for 40 days and nights. For all these reasons and more, I encourage you to take a step toward this practice, if you can. Do it for these reasons. Pray and ask God to help and strengthen you. He will show you your weakness, and give you His strength. May God bless us all. Please pray for me.

Since we are still in the countdown to Lent, we are eating up a lot of meat from our freezers. In fact, almost all of our food except for fresh produce and dairy, and restocking things we have run out of, is coming from our freezers and fridges and pantries. We plan on butchering the ducks early during Lent, and want room in the freezer for them. Did I tell you that my Valentine's gift is American Buff geese and more Bourbon Red turkeys? We will also be butchering our older turkeys, and preparing them in pieces for our freezer for later meals, but that will have to happen after the ducks. We are eating up a lot of egg and dairy right now, too, since those will be off the table for quite a while.

Our Misfits Markets came without any trouble this week. Part of that was probably that the FedEx driver remembered the last experience, but if I have reason to order from them again, I think I can do so with a feeling of relative confidence now. Our homeschool co-op begins this week, which is fun, but also loads of work and exhausting. Please pray that I will have strength.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Agatha
  Breakfast: Mustard Savory Cheese Rolls, Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken and Andouille Gumbo, Rice, Scallions, Hot Pepper Vinegar, Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Fresh Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce
• Monday - Feast of Saint Titus
  Breakfast: Wheateena with Maple Syrup and Milk, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fajitas, "Mexican" Rice Pilaf, Ranchero Beans, Pineapple Cups
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Farmer Breakfast Casserole, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fatayir bil Joubneh, Fatayir bi Sabanich, (Jerome's Sambousak from the freezer - I froze some from the Paschal feast so he could have them freshly fried), S'feeha, Mutawam Kousa, Pickled Vegetable and Olive Platter, Rosewater Almond Tea Cookies*
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash Burritos with Salsa, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Thai Cashew Coconut Rice with Ginger Peanut Sauce, Pineapple Cups
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Brown Sugar, Apples and Raisins, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Chipotle Rubbed Flank Steak, Spicy Swiss Chard and Potatoes, Corn with Black Beans, Poblano Peppers and Onions, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Scholastica
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Rice Noodle Stir Fry, Salad with Sesame Citrus Dressing, Sliced Oranges
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Red Pork Tamal, Ranchero Beans, Roasted Salsa Rice, Christmas Cherry Nut Cake

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

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:29 AM 0 comments

Well, our dear friends' grandson (incidentally, Amelia's cousin) was born Sunday, so I can share this picture of my no longer a surprise project! This sweet little wubbie is something I've had in my queue for a while, and now I had the perfect reason to make it.

I would be a lot further along on this cuff if I hadn't made a bad decision and then just kept going. It was nearly finished, but I really didn't like how it looked where it attached to the live stitches on the sleeve. So, I undid the cabled cuff, and started over again today.

The Diary of a Country Priest is taking me longer than I expected, mostly because we are up super early in the morning and are exhausted at night. I had hoped to have it finished by now, but maybe in the next week. There are so many little good words in this book from Monsieur Le Père.

>

Also, I have a beta knit opportunity for Rih. It is finished, tech edited, and is awaiting modeled photography. If you are interested in knitting it, please e-mail me. There are five sizes from infant to adult woman. This is a quick knit, with seamless construction, and enough texture and change to keep things interesting.

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

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:08 PM 0 comments