Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -- Revelation 12:7-9

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.

We will not be able to make our Michaelmas dragon this year, but I am encouraged that this feast falls on what was to be the first day of something for which we are praying sincerely. Saint Michael, pray for us, and defeat the efforts of the devil by the power of God. Likewise, we will not be able to do anything particularly special for the feast of Saint Jerome. We will ask his wisdom and prayers for all as well.

Rich and I had almost a week in Montana last week for a work conference of his. We were right on the river in Missoula, and it was beautiful and sunny during the day. It was a much needed time away, and after nearly 25 years in this industry, the dear friends we have made with his colleagues are such a comfort. We did all the rah rah, fun group things, but then left each night with the people we have known and who have known us for for 10 - 20+ years and got to really talk about our lives, work, families, children, joys and struggles. I was never a person to be close friends with co-workers, and neither is Rich really, but these people have both the distance in space and closeness in time necessary for us to nurture the kind of openness that was possible this week. That was a gift from God. It was also a reminder that we are not the only people being put through the wringer. As I went down the hall of the hotel the day before we left, I saw a woman from their staff in a hijab who looked Arab, so I took the chance and spoke to her in Arabic. That was a gift, as well. She was overjoyed to have someone who spoke Arabic and saw her and we had a lovely conversation, then after the day of work and festivities, she came and joined us for a walk on the river. That, too, was a blessing. We are still looking for the blessings, joy, and laughter in our unenviable position.

Because of our absence, even the lighter meals I planned for the kids to make and eat made quite a few leftovers, so we have two leftover days this week and some repeats on breakfasts that they ended up not eating, because they had so much other breakfast food left to eat. Our gleaning club is still keeping us in good stead, and our garden is in its swan song. We are definitely not in summer any more, though. Because of that, we are just eating whatever fruit and vegetables we have in our meals to use the good things we have. Not much preserving is being done just because of our miserable schedule, but we did dry some sweet peppers and roasted and canned some anaheim peppers for later. The mornings and evenings are so cold, though. Somehow dealing with everything and also being cold makes it worse, more insulting.

Our parish family is holding us up this week, next, and through October, and we definitely can tell that there are people all over praying for our whole family. Thank you. Please continue to pray, next week was supposed to be the beginning of the grueling hard work, but there has been another delay, which is a type of suffering, as well. I can't believe it will be almost a year when this is finally progressing.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Waffles with Maple Syrup, Cottage Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizzas, Salad, Fruit/Desserts brought by Parish
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Hashbrowns, Peaches, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Leftovers, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels
  Breakfast: Leftover Waffles and Syrup, Fruit, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Chile Verde, Chipotle Tomato Rice, Sour Cream, Avocados, Corn Tortillas, Plums
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Jerome
  Breakfast: Ful with Chopped Tomatoes and White Onions, Sah'awiq, Kalamata Olives, Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey, Mint and Rosewater
  Dinner: Thai Style Vegetable Stir Fry, Chinese Scallion Pancakes, Ginger Garlic Soy Dipping Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Yemeni Fassoliya with Eggs, Sah'awiq, Fruit, Tea with Rosewater, Mint and Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers and Fruit
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Spanish Seafood Paella, Arugula Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Mana'eesh bi Za'atar, Fruit Plate, Sahlab, Tea with Mint and Rosewater
  Dinner: Beef Tacos, Salsa Verde, Prize Winning Roasted Tomato Salsa, Cabbage Salad, Flourless Truffle Cake

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, Michaelmas, Name Day, Prayer Requests, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen