We are not having any school this week, with the exception of Alexander who has two days of it at the college, so all we are doing is preparing for Thanksgiving. This year, we are sort of hosting. We are doing most of the cooking, and our friends are providing a house that is both larger and cleaner than ours. Another family, and perhaps another friend, will be joining us there. One nice thing about this is that I am not in a frenzy of house cleaning. Also, the other families are providing the hors-d'ouevres, some of the side dishes, and the drinks. And, they are taking care of the dishes! One family was asking what to bring and I suggested that if they preferred a sweeter cranberry sauce to my sharp/spicy relish, that they could bring that, but I don't know if they will. I also don't know if anyone has decided to make dressing/stuffing yet, so it's not on our menu plan. I decided to drop those, since they are the least favorite Thanksgiving dishes of our family. Everyone likes them, but not as much as they like the other things, so we always have quite a bit of it left over. Rich asked if I was interested in still making the wild rice dressing, but as it required my buying wild rice at a somewhat expensive price for something that might leave us with more leftovers than not, I decided against it. If I find some wild rice in the house, I might make a small amount for him this weekend, since he really does like it. I figure the mashed potatoes and turnips will provide enough of a starchy base for our casserole with what we have left over of those, and if not, I'll make some plain rice to add to the mix. I'm cheating a little with my one pie per person ratio this year. I'm making about 13 mini pies for most of the kids to meet the head count. That still means 11 full or larger size pies. And the kids will be able to have slices of the other pies, too, but this way, I won't break my record. It will be 24 pies plus Alexander's gingerbread and our friend's ice cream, so that's 26 desserts for 23 - 24 people. I can live with that.

Yasmina's name day is this week, but I'm not sure how we will mark it. Rich wants to make it to the Thanksgiving mass at church this week, but that is also still up in the air, as it depends on how much we have accomplished in the kitchen. Actually, I may suggest that he take some of the younger kids, or all of the kids, so either I can have real help in the kitchen, or no distractions. Anyway, we have a couple repeats this week, but mostly my goal is to cook just enough so we eat it all and don't take up any more space in the fridge than necessary, now that we are down to one fridge. Lunches are all leftovers this week - clear it out!

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras, though this is complicated by it sometimes being I Esdras being Ezra in modern language and II Esdras being Nehemiah, and in that case, there is a III Esdras, it really depends on which translation you read).

• Sunday Habbakkuk 1-3, Psalms 93:16–23, Proverbs 20:11–15, I Timothy 1
  Breakfast: Almond Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Monday Zephaniah 1-3, Psalms 94, Proverbs 20:16–20, I Timothy 2
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roasted Chicken Thighs and Legs Rubbed with Ancho, Cumin, and Oregano, Garlic-Cilantro Rice with Lime Juice, Sauteed Poblanos, Corn and Onions
• Tuesday Haggai 1-2, Psalms 95, Proverbs 20:21–25, I Timothy 3
  Breakfast: Almond Butter Toast, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta Bolognese, Garlic Bread, Salad
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Zechariah 1-5, Psalms 96, Proverbs 21:1–5, I Timothy 4
  Breakfast: Toast with Labneh, Za'atar, Chopped Tomatoes and Olive Oil, Sliced Apples, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Quick Sesame Noodles with Cabbage and Onions, Mixed Greens with Sesame Ginger Dressing
• Thursday Zechariah 6-9, Psalms 97-98, Proverbs 21:6–10, I Timothy 5
  Breakfast: Pepper & Sausage Brunch Strata (using roasted pepper and onion sausage and shredded Italian cheeses), Fruit Plate, Hot Chocolate for a Crowd and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, Bourbon Gravy, Ham (made by our friends), Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans, Slow Cooked Creamed Turnips, Corn & Pepper Pudding, Salad (made by our friends), Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow Topping (made by our friends), Non-COWS Green Bean Casserole (made by our friends), Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Rolls (I'm mixing them this year), Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Cranberry Cherry Pies, Chocolate Pecan Pies with Bourbon, Pumpkin Pies, Apple Pies with Almond Crumble, Nantucket Cranberry Pies, Gingerbread with Chantilly Cream, Homemade Ice Cream (made by our friends)
• Friday Zechariah 10-14, Psalms 99-100, Proverbs 21:11-15, I Timothy 6
  Breakfast: Pie, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Saturday Malachi 1-3, Psalms 101:1-15, Proverbs 21:16–20, II Timothy 1
  Breakfast: More Pie and Gingerbread, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftover Casserole, Salad

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.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Name Day, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Tales from the Kitchen, Thanksgiving

We are well into our preparations for Thanksgiving this year. Rich and I did our drive to the big city to do our grocery shopping and visit exotic places like Trader Joe's. I'm trying to keep most of the other meals pretty simple this week so I can focus on ahead of time prep. We're having only one couple and one family over this year. We also have Nutcracker dress rehearsal and two performances this weekend, which is really making me overwrought. I really hope we don't have this schedule again. Normally, my after Thanksgiving plans are to rest from cooking all week, and my day after Thanksgiving schedule is something like this: Sleep. Eat Pie.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pepper, Potato and Onion Scramble, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sausage and Cheese Toast, Chopped Salad
• Monday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mexicanish Tortilla Casserole, Salsa Rice
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: White Bean and Spinach Soup with Bacon, French Bread
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Quesadillas, Apple and Pear Slices
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole, Blintz Casserole, Mandarin Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, Bourbon Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Wild Rice Dressing, Sweet Potato Rolls, Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans, Jalapeno Corn Pudding, Salad, Pumpkin Pies, Chocolate Pecan Pies, Cranberry Cherry Pies, Nantucket Cranberry Pies, Apple Pies, Pear Pie, Pear Blueberry Pie, Gingerbread with Chantilly Cream
• Friday
  Breakfast: Leftover Pie, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Leftover Pie, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers

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, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Name Day, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Tales from the Kitchen, Thanksgiving

I have published three new patterns this past week! Two for sale and one for free. They are available on Ravelry, though I plan to spend some time in the next couple weeks figuring out my Nimblestix store so I can upload patterns there as well. I really like Nimblestix, and think it is a great place for knitters, crocheters, and spinners.


Laetare is now published and for sale. This is designed as a nursing shawl, though it can be used in any way you wish - it could work as a shoulder shawl, a nursing cover up, a kerchief or head covering. The name, though, is linked to its function as a nursing shawl. As I've mentioned before, laetare means milk joy.


You can now purchase the pattern for April, which is a set for preemies sized three to five pounds, around 32 - 36 weeks. Ravelry strongly encourages designers to make a separate entry for each item in a set, even when they are downloaded/sold together, so here is the separate entry for the hat. (I didn't do that with Adam and Eve, and probably ought to edit it to correct that.)

I came up with numerous names for this before I settled on April. April was the first to come to mind, and I kept coming back to it, though. April was when Nejat started to come, so it is forever imprinted in my mind as our experience with a preemie.


As a little bonus, I made up this pattern for a coordinating burp cloth for April. It is a nice pattern to swatch for the vest, too, and helps you to work out the stitch pattern before tackling any shaping or other aspects of knitting the hat or vest. I hope you enjoy it!


My other news is that Saint Catherine of Alexandria was accepted for the book _Little One-Skein Wonders_ which will be put out by Storey Publishing and should show up either on that link or this one soon. It is scheduled to be published next year, I think around March - May. I've shown it above in both sizes. Nejat is wearing a variation on the pattern, done in a different yarn and with a seed st edging.

Labels: Design, Free Patterns, Homemaking, Knitting, Laetare, Patterns, St. Catherine of Alexandria

People think because I knit and crochet and attempt to sew that I am crafty. I am not. I like to think I can be sometimes, but it usually doesn't turn out well. Fortunately, Rich is incredibly artistic and crafty, so our children get that from him. Is it going to get me in trouble to admit that for art in our school, I cover art history with the kids, then put Alexander (who is incredibly artistic and naturally skilled at art) in charge of all art projects? He is their art teacher.

Anyway. I like to modify Along the Alphabet Path for our kindergarten and first grade work, substituting pre-schism saints and so on to make it more fitting for our family. Part of her suggested ideas includes making felt saints for the children to look at and play a little - give the child something tangible to help solidify the story and lesson about the saint, and another way to remember the person. Sounds good, right? Remember what I wrote above.

In the tutorial for the Alphabet Path, she mentioned that you might want to paint peg dolls like Jessica did here. Jessica said that she wasn't very good at painting or drawing, but that she was able to make them reasonably well, and did them over a weekend. I thought to myself, "Well, I am reasonably skilled with my hands, and I can get acrylic paints." I found another post with some suggestions, so I bought some spray acrylic clear coat to seal the paint on when I finished. How hard could this be?

In the meantime, I found that there were some shops with some exquisite examples of these painted peg saints (there are lots of other shops on etsy selling similar items, some soft dolls which would be great for an infant at church, too). They were beautiful work, but I couldn't afford to get 52+ of them at the prices they were. It wasn't that I didn't think their work was worth it, it was just out of our budget. So, off to work I went.

First of all, it took me a whole weekend to make these:


Angel of God


Saint Anne with the Blessed Virgin Mary as a child


I got quick enough at them to make these in one day:


Saint Barbara


Check out Saint Barbara's hair! No wonder she had suitors lined up for her!


Saint Benedict


But I never even finished poor Saints Christopher and Saint Catherine of Alexandria. I never even started them except for getting out their pegs:




I figured with the time I put into making them, the paints, the peg dolls, the brushes, the sealant, I easily surpassed the cost of the dolls in the stores. And mine didn't even look as nice as the non-crafty mom versions I saw online. I still have hopes to finish the set. Because I am an eternal optimist, even in the face of all opposition and reality. I have not only Saints Christopher and Catherine of Alexandria to finish, but also a male and female saint from the letter D to the letter Z. That's 48 for those of you keeping score at home. And it takes me about a day to complete two.

My friend Katherine's daughter Emily made these:

Myrrh Bearers

At the Empty Tomb

She is setting up an etsy shop, and as soon as she has a link, I will pass it on to you.

Here is another way to make these peg saints, using felt. These were also beautiful. Perhaps you can do this better than I. Please share if you have.

Labels: All Saints, Blessed Virgin, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Humor, St. Anne, St. Barbara, St. Benedict, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Christopher, Theotokos