First-enthroned of the apostles, teachers of the universe: Entreat the Master of all to grant peace to the world, and to our souls great mercy!

Tomorrow is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. They are celebrated together, to show their unity, the unity of the Apostles and the Church. They gave us the Church. Glory to God! With this feast, we now return to ordinary time until the Dormition Fast.

We didn't really keep the Apostles' Fast this year. Our life has been too challenging, and we just feel a bit weaker. I don't know if we will even be able to keep the Dormition Fast. We already do it a little more lightly, and if we have little with us, I might do that on a lighter scale.

It is the last few days of June already. This month, this year, has been racing. We are approaching the 250th anniversary of our Independence as a country. I was born in the Bicentennial. I was a few weeks late for the actual day. The number one song the week I was born was American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I am a patriotic person; I love our country; I love celebrating our country and its ideals. Those are the things I am presenting to lay the tracks for what I am about to say. I'm having a very hard time being excited about this big celebration. It's one thing to acknowledge that between the genocide of Native Americans and the land built on the backs of slaves, our years of second class citizenship for those former slaves and for other people we needed to come to our country to build railroads and do the work we wouldn't, while we promised a better life, that our country was an ideal rarely met. It is another to see people I know, not just random people out there, who are now making all the same justifications and arguments that were made to support all of those awful things in those events. With how our administration is treating its own people, with how we treated people coming here for the World Cup who were of the "wrong" color or nationality or religion, with how we have been waging war, I just can't look to the ideal as well as I did before. The people I know are actively supporting the opposite of that ideal, and it hurts a bit. It's easy to say it's just talking heads or politicians until the people you called your friends are saying and supporting it. Normally, I don't share much politically here, so I may regret saying this, but there it is.

Last year, rather than just complain, or mope, I planned a Melting Pot-Luck to celebrate our Independence Day, and I wanted to do that again this year. However, with all that has been going on in our family, with all the extra responsibilities, plus the deep sorrow I am having regarding our socio-political environment, I just don't feel up to it. I may put feelers out to do it later this month. Maybe the weekend of my birthday, so we can have a late 250th celebration of what our country should be. I try to focus on good things I can do, rather than just complaining, and I try to look for things for which to be grateful, rather than to regret. I'm trying to keep doing that.

In other news, the baby still isn't here. Please pray for that new baby and their family, also for us, as we will be caring for their children while they are doing the important work of bringing a new life into our world. Our schedule last week was brutal, so there are repeats of our meals for this week.

Tonight at church, there is another thing for which I can be grateful. A family from the mission Orthodox church here moved last fall, and gave us a lot of what was in their freezers. Their lovely, homemade pasta sauce is being used in dinner tonight to feed our parish after Evening Prayer. Things are tight for so many people in our country, and getting tighter, and we have never had to worry about how to feed our own family, or how to feed other people, and for that I am truly grateful. God has always provided for us, between Rich's work, wonderful connections with grocers and farmers, and the generosity of people who look out for our parish. The people at the parish here have also given so generously of their time, talent, and treasure to help our parish and our family in this challenging time.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
  Breakfast: Ful, Duqqus, Toast, Fruit Plate, Mint Tea with Rosewater and Honey and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Sauce and Italian Sausage, Salad/Sides/Bread brought by Parishioners
• Monday - Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
  Breakfast: Bacon and Egg Breakfast Pastry, Sliced Apples, Milky Tea
  Dinner: One Pot Kofta and Rice with Vegetables, Green Salad, Taratoor, Duqqus, Ghraiba*
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Samaak bi Taratoor, Sayadiyeh*, Cumin Roasted Carrots, Arugula and Cucumber Salad with Pomegranate Pips
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Potato and Vegetable Hash with Salsa, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Waraq 'Ounab, Rice, Duqqus, Strawberry Sorbet*
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Mediterranean Chicken Salad, Garlic Bread, Fruit Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Vegan Apple Oatmeal Muffins* with Almond Butter, Tea Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato and Olive Pasta, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: 'Ijja, Khoubz Araby, Duqqus, Fruit Plate, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Fried Koubbeh, Moroccan Beet Salad, Harissa, Duqqus, Dibs Rumman, Knaffeh

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, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen