Last week, we were able to take a quick trip down and back to visit Dominic and Shawn for Winnie's first birthday. It was a whirlwind, but delightful. She is taking her first steps and her other grandmother gave her a new set of wheels, pink with light up wheels in the rear. We kind of had to do a stealth visit, because there wasn't time to see anyone else while we were there. Good thing we have a peaceful, quiet week this week! (Not at all).

One of the things we did while we were down there, was to pick blackberries and plums from our dear friends' yard. I am trying not to just eat all the blackberries myself, but perhaps I will make a little crisp or something for us tomorrow. I'm hoping we will get a chance for a longer trip down, both to see the kids again, but also to see other friends and family.

Speaking of tomorrow, fair week officially begins tomorrow. We are all taking our turns on shifts at the fair booth, so it's a bit of a revolving door here all week. A few people t home, a few people at fair, then trading places. Because of our trip, we missed the last window to put in most fair entries. However, we will be entering some baked goods and plants and herbs, though.

Jerome's birthday is this week, but with fair, I'm not sure how that will go. Then, next week, we have two birthdays, between Mariam and Shawn. That is now four birthdays in August! With our daughters in law and granddaughters, we now have one birthday in January, two in March, one in May, two in June, two in July, four in August, two in October, and one in December. Birthday season now runs the whole year.

Thank God for our parish family. I knew we would be exhausted from our road trip, and so they took care of the meal at church for us. It was so delicious, and all we did was bring some corn to boil and some butter. This is another exhausting week for us, and I have a freezer meal ready for church next week, but we are still going to be pretty bone weary when that comes. The smoke has lifted a little, so we can breathe a little more easily, but we are a little more stuffed up back home than we were while visiting the kids.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftover Cornish Splits with Qishta and Blackberry Jam, Pizza, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters, Buttered Corn on the Cob, Sourdough Bread, Arugula Salad, Brie and Crackers
• Monday
  Breakfast: Cream Cheese Stuffed Blackberry Compote French Toast, Milk, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Broiled Bratwursts, Jalapeno Corn Pudding, Sliiced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Salatat Battatas ou Bayd, Quick Persian Barbari Bread, Plums, Tea with Mint and Rosewater
  Dinner: Fried Fish, Tartar Sauce, Potato Wedges, Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Vegan Apple Oatmeal Muffins* with Almond Butter, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Roasted Vegetable Laffa with Taratoor and Duqqus, Brined Olives, Plums
• Thursday - Feast of the Saint Bernard
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Cottage Cheese, Peaches, Tea
  Dinner: Ham and Turkey Sandwiches, Chips, Half Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles, Apples
• Friday - Feast of the Saint Thaddeus, Apostle
  Breakfast: Apple Muse, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean and Potato Enchiladas, Salsa Rice, Plums
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Kousa bi Laban*, Arabic Bread, Peaches, Milk, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Green Chile Pork Stew, Cornbread, Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

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: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen