Instead of an easy going week, it's actually been much busier than we planned, so we are still recovering, but it is better than last week. We have a month until school officially starts, but we are slowly gearing up for it now.

Ballet started this month, but with our schedule, it will only be starting for us this week. Also, our co-op begins in about a month. And I'm teaching a history of the Bible class. And September is busy for us. Super busy, actually, so we desire your prayers.

A few meals were rearranged this past week, so there are some reprisals this week. We are trying to preserve what we can in all this busyness, too. Pears are coming ripe, we have corn and tomatoes to turn into relish and salsa. We haven't seen many peaches this year, so I'm hoping those will be forthcoming, because we can a ton of them for the winter.

Also, I am not really a beer drinker. That is an understatement. I really don't like beer. However, I do cook with it. I went to find cheap beer at the Grocery Outlet and found something Sumerian something or other when I made the onion rings. When I poured it to measure it, I smelled old apple cider, but still sweet, and I thought I didn't want sweet, fruity onion rings, so I took a sip, and it was bitter and miserable. It is one of the worst beers I've ever tried, and this is someone who already doesn't like beer. But, it was fine in the onion rings, though a little strong, and we've been using it in bread. I will be using it again this week in a dinner, and that should be the end of it. Thank goodness!

I had another reminder of God's goodness towards when I was looking for rice paper wrappers and the Chefstore folks told us they haven't been able to get them in more than four months. The one place I have consistently found them here in town had them for a higher price, but I looked at the Grocery Outlet, and there were both spring roll and fried spring roll wrappers for $1.59 a package. Glory to God! I bought two packages of each so we'd have them later, too. Again, we've been blessed with home grown produce, and we are using tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatillos, peppers (sweet and hot), and all sorts of good things in our meals this week, as well as preserving what we can for later. God looks after large families, and we see His blessings each day.

Besides preparing for school again, I want to get as much organizing (we are re-doing some of our inventory, because of last year's inventory list loss - only the freezers and pantry shelves had been inventoried again, so we are doing the root cellar and other places that are still the wild west) and decluttering and preserving done in the next couple weeks that I can. This is ambitious, because I also have some hard deadlines with knitting design, and regular family life and household tasks that need my attention. I could use your prayers on this, in particular. I need to have two design samples knit and written and to my tech editor by the end of September at the latest and another really should have been to her already. So, I have three patterns that need editing (one needs all the writing), two samples that are in progress, and all five designs need to be completely ready by the end of October. Only two are written and edited, only one has photography completed, and three patterns are in various stages of completion. And school and co-op and dance and everything starts up soon. Please send help.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftover Cake and Pizza, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Macarona bi Béchamel, Cabbage, Cucumber and Radish Salad with Cumin Dressing, Chocolate Raspberry Torte
• Monday - Feast of Saints Augustine of Hippo and Moses the Black
  Breakfast: Toast with Labneh, Herbs and Olive Oil, Sliced Cucumbers, Sliced Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Rigatoni, Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Raspberries and Leftover Cake
• Tuesday - Commemoration of the Beheading of Saint John the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Cheese, Toast, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde, Salsa Rice, Salad/Vegetables/Sides/Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins, Brown Sugar and Coconut Cream, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Aidan
  Breakfast: Ham, Potato and Vegetable Hash, Sliced Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Oyster Loaves, Sautéed Summer Squash, Corn and Spring Onions, Berries and Cream
• Friday
  Breakfast: Almond Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Toum, Harissa, Taratoor, Veggies, Olives, Khoubz Araby, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Czech Cherry Cake to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Italian Sausage Skillet, Rice, Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

Buttermilk Syrup

This is a great alternative to maple syrup, and is made of real food. It is delicious, inexpensive, and quick to make. This amount costs me somewhere in the range of $3.00 (in contrast, maple syrup costs me about $13-20 for the same amount), is enough for about 20 people to eat a generous pancake breakfast at least twice, and stores well in the refrigerator. It is far better than the fake maple syrup, though it doesn't taste like maple at all, of course. It tastes a bit like caramel, and is lovely. Because of the butter in the syrup, you can skip butter on the pancakes or waffles, too. If you prefer, you can use salted butter for this.

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. When it is melted, add sugar and buttermilk, stirring to dissolve completely.

Bring to a low boil and cook for one minute. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla.

Remove pan from heat and stir in baking soda. It will foam/bubble up, and needs to be stirred down.

Serve over pancakes, waffles, doughnuts, sneak from a spoon.

Basic White Sandwich Bread

This is something we make in our bread machine at least once daily. It is super easy to do, slices well, and makes amazing toast. It is really a loose recipe, more of a guideline. You can make this on the dough cycle to make rolls, or buns, whatever you like.

4 cups bread flour, divided (our bread machine can be finicky, so I put half the flour in the bottom, the rest of the ingredients, and half on top, so it mixes properly. Your mileage may vary.)
2 tablespoons butter/oil/other fat (we use a light oil or solid fat, depending on what we have, fasting schedules, and price)
2 tablespoons sugar/sweetener (again, sometimes we use granulated sugar, sometimes honey or molasses)
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups water/milk/beer/liquid (the milk can reduce the height because of the additional fat, but it makes a tender loaf)

Put all ingredients in bread machine, run on a 2 pound loaf cycle with dark crust.

Prize Winning Roasted Tomato Salsa

This is the recipe I used when I won at our county fair's salsa showdown. Well, sort of. I made it a little less spicy, just in case the judges couldn't handle the heat. Instead of the two jalapeños and four serranos, I used three jalapeños and one serrano. You can do the same if you want it a little more mild. Or use four jalapeños and no serranos. But the serranos are really good in this.

15 roma tomatoes (about 3 pounds)
6 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 serrano peppers
2 jalapeño peppers
1 large onion (or two small onions), peeled and sliced in half, lengthwise
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 large bunch cilantro
juice of 2 small or 1 large lime, or to taste

If you can roast your vegetables over a flame, so much the better, but usually I use the broiler and a dry skillet. Place tomatoes on a jelly roll pan and broil for about 7 minutes on high. The skin will blacken and blister when it is ready, but the flesh will still be soft and red. Turn over and roast the other side for 6 - 7 minutes. You may need to roast a little longer or a little less, so stay nearby and check on your tomatoes. Let rest while you prepare the onion, cilantro, and lime juice (see below), then peel and core, saving all flesh and juices.

On a dry skillet, place the unpeeled garlic, the whole peppers, and the onion, cut side down, and heat over medium-high heat, turning over as the skins and surfaces blacken, about 7 - 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables as they are roasted.

Peel the garlic and place in a food processor or mortar and pestle or molcajete with the salt and grind until a paste begins to form. Remove the stems from the peppers and add, then grind those up, being careful to make sure that the skins are cut and the pieces are small. Add the tomatoes, one at a time, including all juices, and pulse or grind, the break into small pieces. Pour into a bowl.

Finely chop the cilantro and onion and stir into the salsa, along with the lime juice. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, if necessary.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

This was supposed to be shared last week, but fair week was even busier than normal here. So, here are my prize winning knits. I kind of wish they had displayed the sweater so it could be seen a little more clearly, but I'm still happy with winning all blue ribbons.

Today, I got to go with Rich out of town while he had some work meetings. I knit in the lobby while he did work stuff, and made some progress on the baptismal gown, and a little bit of work done on Ha'il.

We were able to go to an Argentine tango class after it all, and learn (and re-learn) some things we haven't done for 25 years. It was a ton of fun. One of the neat things about this dance lesson is that it takes place in a public market with stores and restaurants and such all around, and they have a little, free library. We found a couple books that we will read there, too.

Very little reading done this past week, as I've just been too tired. However, I got a tiny bit further into Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, finished Paul for Everyone: Romans, Part 1 in my weekly Bible study, and also started another happy, little murder: Knit of the Living Dead. This seems particularly appropriate as, right on schedule, fall has begun as of Monday.

The Around the World Stitch Along is nearly over, and it has been super fun. I'm so glad to participate in this event, which is large, but still smaller than some of the really big name ones out there. It feels comfortable and small enough to know the people who play along in it. We will be awarding prizes next week or so and that is a lot of fun, too.

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: Around the World Stitch Along, Books, Crochet, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn Along

"Holy Spirit, inspire me. Love of God, consume me, on the true path, lead me. Mary, my Mother, look upon me, with Jesus, bless me. From all evil, from all illusion, from all danger, preserve me."

"Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the person who tries your patience, who tests your virtue, because with them you can always gain merit."

"The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies; but to revive in heaven."

"It is sweet to think of Jesus; but it is sweeter to do His will."
~ Saint Mariam Baouardy (Mary of Jesus Crucified) ~

We are recovering from fair week and trying to rest a bit. Our wonderful church family took care of dinner after church, so we would not have that responsibility, and it was such a blessing to us. Our schedule is mostly back to normal this week, though we are taking more down time than normal.

Since our fair week is so much busier now than when we first started doing things at the fair here, we have moved our fair food night to the Monday after fair. This makes it much more relaxed, too. The Utah scones I mention on the menu are not scones, they are fry bread type doughnuts, and have their roots in Navajo fry bread and sopapillas. They are good, though. Because of fair week busy-ness, I missed getting corn from the place in town where we like to buy it, and thought we'd have to do without for fair food night, but God provided through a family we know through the Orthodox mission here. I received a text from them this afternoon, asking if we would like some of their home grown corn and tomatoes. It was a lot of corn, too, not the couple dozen we would have bought. We are eating the tomatoes fresh, and will be making salsa with a lot of them, too. Even in the things we just like, God takes care of us.

That reminds me that the kids talked me into entering the Salsa showdown at the fair, and I won grand champion! I will share my recipe (both the toned down version I made at the fair, and how I really make it for us) this week when I post the recipe for the buttermilk syrup.

Bible study and knit night are back on the schedule, and the last official week of the Around the World Stitch Along are wrapping up, too. There is still time to join in with a small project on Instagram or Ravelry, or just check in for chatter and eyeing the projects people have made. Mariam's birthday and one of her name saint days is this week (it is handy to have a Marian name when it comes to saints' days) and we are excited for her. We get to hang out with friends and have a bonfire, and I am making a special cake for her.

Coming back to add this: One thing, too, about how I look for God's provision is how I can recognize Him in the small things. I was telling Rich that we were going to be out of ground beef from our steer and a quarter purchase of two years ago once I made Tuesday's dinner. He said that's why we buy it, to use it. I agreed, but also didn't like how it felt like we wouldn't be able to replace it at a reasonable price, because the cheapest (and I mean cheap, not just inexpensive) I was finding it was $5 a pound. Well, when I went grocery shopping for our two weeks, I found grass fed ground beef marked down to $2.99 a pound. There were six packages left, so I grabbed them. God provides for us in every thing, even things like this. He cares for larger families in a special way, too, I think. Glory to God!

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Bernard
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Church Family Dinner - Calico Beans, Mixed Bean Chili, Cornbread Muffins, Tortilla Chips, Salsa, Cheese, Garlic Bread, Homemade Pizza, Beef Stroganoff with Noodles and Cheese
• Monday - Fair Food Night
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Sliced Tomatoes, Sourdough Rolls, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Corn Dogs, Potato Wedges, Buttered Corn on the Cob, Onion Rings, Utah Scones with Buttermilk Syrup*
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tray Kofta with Potatoes and Tomatoes, Sah'awiq, Cucumber Salad, Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible Study Members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Brown Sugar and Coconut Cream, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Clam Linguine with Lemon, Garlic and Olive Oil, Rosemary Ciabatta, Tomato Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Strawberries, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Creamy Chicken and Green Chile Soup, Fried Tortilla Strips, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Almond Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice, Cabbage Salad with Cumin Lime Dressing, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Mariam Baouardy
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup*, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Naan Pizzas, Tomato Salad, Chocolate Raspberry Torte

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Around the World Stitch Along, Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Fasting as a Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions.

Shudder, O ye heavens! and, O earth, give ear unto these words:
God descended once before for our sake; He descends again today for His Mother.

This is a mite early, as we still have two days of the fast before the feast. However, the Dormition (or Assumption, in the West - this is the same feast, but the title emphasizes a different aspect) is the fourth highest feast in the Church year, following the Paschal feast, Pentecost, and the feast of the Nativity. Church teaching is that all the apostles but Thomas were gathered mystically around the Blessed Mother as she died, and were there for her burial. Thomas, arriving three days later, was taken to her tomb, only to find that it was empty. This Church teaching of the assumption of her body into heaven is not just a pious tradition, but holds some deep spiritual and physical truths for us. It is a sign and reminder to us that not only Christ resurrected bodily, but that we all will rise. Also, we now know, as they didn't then, that all women bear the DNA of each and every child borne to them in their bodies forever. So, by raising His mother, our Lord made sure that His resurrection was complete on this earth. If this had not happened, then He would not be completely risen. What a wonder and miracle!

So many times, when people deny the honor to the Theotokos, it is really a dishonor to the Lord. Even denying her the title Theotokos ends up declaring that Christ was either not God in her womb, or that He is not God incarnate. It is not intentional, but I think a good question to ask oneself when putting her "in her place" is what does this mean about Christ and His divinity? If it ends up dishonoring Him, calling His divinity into question, or lessening Him, it isn't a good thing. Likewise, so many people say that there is too much honor given her, without actually considering whether or not they honor her enough or even at all. What is just the right amount of honor? Surely it isn't debasing the woman who bore and raised our Lord? Jesus was born a Jew and fulfilled the law. He loved and honored His mother, and as we could not have had Him without her, why would we want that, instead of following His example?

The Archangel Gabriel in the Gospel of Luke hails her and says that God calls her blessed. Her cousin Elizabeth's unborn son, Saint John the Forerunner, leaps at the sound of Mary's voice, and by this does Elizabeth know and proclaim that Mary is the Mother of her Lord. Mary replies by saying that ALL generations will call her blessed. It is in the Scriptures that we are to bless her, that God Himself magnifies her, so why should we not do the same? How can we do less?

Besides the Dormition feast, it is also fair week and it is Jerome's birthday this week and it is a rather busy week for us all. Everyone but Nejat will be working our neighborhood fair booth at some point or other, and we will have shifts of people at fair and at home. We're trying to schedule it so we can have a birthday celebration for Jerome at home, but we may be doing something together at the fairgrounds. Aside from entering some of my knitting, herbs from the garden, and a houseplant, I also entered a salsa making contest. There are only 10 contestants, which gives me a better chance, but we have a sizeable Mexican population here, so it may be a fruitless endeavor. Regardless, I thought it would be fun.

We will not have any of our Bible studies or knit nights or anything like that this week. We used to host a fair food night the Monday before fair, but as we have learned more and try to follow the fast, that is sometimes not possible because of that, but also, now we are busy getting entries into the fair and going back and forth for that, while also doing work preparing the booth. So, I will put on fair food night later this month.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Cheese, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Salmon Chowder with Summer Squash, Watermelon, Fudge Brownie Bites
• Monday
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Sliced Radishes and Cucumbers, Toast, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato and Olive Pasta, Cucumber Salad, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Theotokos
  Breakfast: Blueberry Coffee Cake, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef Tacos, Cabbage Salad, Fried Peppers, Summer Squash and Onions, Pineapple Refrigerator Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Wheatena with Apples and Cinnamon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Croatian Style Marinated Cucumbers, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Scramble, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Pickles, Veggie Sticks, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Ranchero Beans and Rice, Lenten Chocolate Orange Cake
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Breakfast Burritos with Leftovers from Dinner, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Oyster Loaves, Sautéed Summer Squash, Corn and Spring Onions, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art though amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the savior of our souls.

Dominic said that when we pray this prayer, or any other Marian prayers like the Hail Mary, which are based on the text of Luke, we are placing ourselves in the prophecy from Mary's own lips: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed" Luke 1:48

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

I'm finally back to where I should be on Ha'il, and I think I have solved all the issues I had going with it. The pattern chart and calculations are nearly complete, and I have the beginnings of the pattern writing done. It needs to be knit and written and edited all by the middle of October. Not that I am stressed out about that at all.

This week is busy, in preparation for an even busier week next week. Fair begins next week and Rich is in charge of scheduling and ordering for our neighborhood ice cream booth, the kids and I are entering things into the fair for exhibition, and we all work in the ice cream booth all week. Rich always ends up taking some time off of work to deal with the booth, and this year I think he made it official, and told his work that he might have to take some vacation days to do work at the fair if it's necessary. I hope to have some pictures from fair entries for you, too.

The baptismal gown is just about ready to be brought in for the "waist" and become an actual baby size. It's actually one repeat past this picture. I was trying to figure out why it was taking me so long to make progress on an infant's garment, when I realized I was actually making an adult sized garment. In fact, it was larger around than sweaters I make for myself. It will still take time after decreasing all those stitches, but will at least be baby sized.

A Fatal Yarn is finished, and I am making a little more progress on Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, which is super interesting. If you are interested in nutrition, small scale farming, homesteading, the western agricultural model, any of that, I think you might enjoy the book.

The Around the World Stitch Along is going strong and there is a ton of chatter on our Ravelry group. There is still time to join there, or to follow and post on Instagram. The event goes through August 25, 2023, and there are loads of projects (more than 1900!) you could make that are eligible for prizes if you finish.

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: Around the World Stitch Along, Books, Crochet, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along

Blessed Feast! I love the Transfiguration! We have the Trinity demonstrated in the voice of the Father and the uncreated light of the Spirit which overshadows the mountain, we have the communion of saints demonstrated and modeled (Jesus calls on not only Elijah, who never died, but Moses in the presence of the Apostles and shows them that they can be called on in this world) to us, and we have a Theophany, a demonstration of the divinity of Christ. Saint Peter's statement about building tablernacles is not only an impetuous statement of someone not knowing what to say. It shows that Saint Peter connects what he witnesses with the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the feast of the coming Kingdom. He sees this as a sign of the Kingdom appearing on earth. On this feast, the Jewish people build booths to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom. Moses represents the law and all who have died, and Elijah, the prophets and all who are alive in Christ, as Elijah never experienced death. Both of these men are immediately recognizeable by Saints Peter, James and John. They know them, because the saints are available to us on earth. They can hear Jesus talking to them, and Jesus gives them an example of communicating with the saints. This is one of the major feasts of the Church year, and it is a poverty to neglect or ignore it.

This is the last week before fair, and things are getting busy here. That's a sad time for us, too, because the Monday after fair is always when the winds of autumn start here. I'm praying for a long fall this year.

Part of the reason I want a longer fall is that we are starting to see a real harvest in our garden and fruit trees and I don't want to lose that. Our plums are producing better this year than we have ever seen them! The last couple years we didn't really have any because of late freezes, but we have three trees that are pumping out those plums like gangbusters. I'd like to make some plum butter and jelly, but the kids are eating them pretty rapidly. A couple of our pear trees are really doing well, too. We have several almost ready to eat now. Our gleaning club has come through in a major way with incredible produce, and we are enjoying it heartily.

Also, don't be surprised by the eggs and dairy in our menus this week. We do take the Dormition fast a little bit more lightly, as we are growing into it. We are blessed with TWO days for fish this week, and I am happy for that. We rejoice in our fast and are so grateful for the wonderful things we can have and the focus it gives us for prayer and for study. It is not too late to start the fast, and it is never something you need to do all the way if you are unable. Start to climb the mountain; God will meet you there. The fast is a gift He gives us, not something we give Him.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Plums, Coffee and Milk
  Dinner: Baked Mediterranean Style Sable Fish, Vegetable Sides brought by Church Family, Knaffeh, Watermelon
• Monday
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Sliced Radishes and Cucumbers, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: White Bean Salad with Cabbage, Lepinja Bread, Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cheddar Corn Chowder, Watermelon, Sides brought by Bible Study Members
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Peanut Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Roasted Walleye, Sautéed Eggplant and Tomatoes, Cucumber Salad, Rainier Cherries
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Laurence
  Breakfast: "Dirty" Eggs with Cheese (Egg and Vegetable Scramble), Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ricotta Dumplings in a Brown Butter Sauce, Roasted Summer Squash and Onions, Cherries and Plums
• Friday
  Breakfast: Pinto Bean and Vegetable Breakfast Burritos, Plums, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Zaalouk (Moroccan Warm Eggplant Salad) with Khoubz Kesra (Moroccan Semolina Bread), Cucumber Salad, Sliced Melon
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blueberry Coffee Cake, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lemon Garlic Scallops with White Wine and Olive Oil, Parsleyed Rice Pilaf, Green Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

I finished something! And it is crochet! However, I think I've overblocked this square. Does it look alright to you? I am looking for another SAl project, and I am between a cute pillbox hat and a beanie with a textured umbrella on it.

As for Ha'il, I ended up having to start over, but I am happier with it now, and is a better pattern and sample for it. I am starting to get a little stressed out, though, as the pattern needs to be finished and the sample knit all in less than three months. No pressure or anything.

The baptismal gown is progressing apace, and I hope we will be seeing Amelia in it soon. I promise to take a picture Sunday.

The Around the World Stitch Along is going strong and there is a ton of chatter on our Ravelry group. There is still time to join there, or to follow and post on Instagram. The event goes through August 25, 2023, and there are loads of projects (1900!) you could make that are eligible for prizes if you finish.

I have made a start in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, though I keep falling asleep before I really make a significant amount of progress. I'm tired. Also, I'm reading A Fatal Yarn as a bit of brain candy.

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