What he said!
Bishop Barron on Nature and Grace
The Secret to Happiness
Update! An exchange between Richard Dreyfuss and Susannah Black on the importance of Civics.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
The General - Movie Review
I have watched this movie three times lately. I was researching silent movies that our AHG Troop Pioneers/Patriots could watch for their cinematography badge. I viewed several but decided on this one to show the girls. Rick was curious about it so I watched it with him and then I watched it again with the girls. It got better each time, charming me more and more. Even though the movie was not a great success when it was released, it has worn well with age and people who vote on these things have declared it to be the 18th greatest movie or in another vote one of the top ten movies ever made. Here is the late Roger Ebert's take on this wonderful film. It is so well acted, so clever, so graceful, so well paced, and so funny. And the stunts are amazing.
I really want to watch more Buster Keaton movies now.
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - Book 6
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers is another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.
Everyone is celebrating the commemoration of Armistice Day and Lord Peter is at his club talking with George Fentiman, a soldier still suffering from shell shock, something he never got over. Wimsey is sympathetic because he too suffered greatly and still has occasional setbacks. George is talking about his grandfather, General Fentiman, also a veteran, but of the Crimean War which apparently didn't leave the same PTSD problems that World War I did. The general is very old and George makes a reference to an old joke about one of the those fusty, stuffy English clubs that didn't notice that an old member had died two days before. They go to greet the general as he sits in his usual chair in front of the fire, only to find him dead! George goes off his rocker and must be calmed. The doctor who tends everyone is called and he and Wimsey both notice something odd about the body. Wimsey doesn't say anything but later is asked by Mr. Murbles, who seems to be everybody's lawyer, that there is a question of when the general died. If he predeceased his long alienated but very rich sister (with whom he had just reconciled) the money would go to George Fentiman and his older brother Robert, both of whom desperately need money. But if she predeceased him, they'd only get a bit and the bulk of the estate would go to the young lady who had been sort of her adopted niece, and who'd taken care of her in her old age. Sleuthing ensues! No one can figure out when the old man actually died.
This was a reread and I remembered as I read, that the book annoyed me a tiny bit, because Wimsey discovers things a little bit too accidentally and conveniently for the plot line. We don't see much of Bunter, the manservant, and most of the other usual characters are completely ignored, except for Wimsey's friend Police Inspector Parker, but even he isn't as well developed. We get more Murbles though.
This book is really about the veterans of the Great War and how much damage they suffered and how the long weariness of coping with that aftermath corrupts them into crime. One only does a relatively mild sort of fraud and then admits it, but the other really has lost his soul.
Wimsey does something in this book that I really disapproved of. I think it harkened back to old fashioned idea of honor but no, it was not right. So for the first time, I didn't like Wimsey for a little while.
As usual, Sayers' plot is quite complicated and has lots of action going on and lots of false leads. Lord Peter is witty throughout.
This was a good read, but it is not my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey mystery.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Hannah got a Puppy!
Her name is Ripley and she's a Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. She is a bundle of energy and she loves everybody. She's also pretty smart. Everyone's in love with her.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Bureaucratic Nightmare
Honestly, whenever I have to deal with anything governmental, I just shake my head at people who think the government should grow even more and take over even more. I just find that power and incompetence combined is scary as hell.
My youngest sister has Downs and since the death of my mother has been in a group home. That was what she wanted, she did not want any of us to take her. She thought that would be a 'burden' to us. Ha! I would much rather have her here and not have to deal with quite as much rigamarole.
My father named three fiduciaries for her in the trust he set up for after his passing. My oldest sister, another sister and me. At first my oldest sister handled everything. She did pretty well. She is a detail person (almost to the point of not even seeing the big picture) and she worked very hard at everything. But due to complications actually caused by stupid regulations that make no sense whatsoever, she had to give up her fiduciary power. So then my other sister took over. This is good because her husband is an accountant. So for a while things went along okay. But she has had massive health and family issues and her husband too has developed health issues. She just can't handle the hassle and stress at this point.
So now it's down to me.
I am terrified.
Basically, we have to deal with 5 different government entities:
Social Security
HUD
Medicaid
Her group home
Her day program
Each one of these is its own nightmare of absurd bureaucratic requirements for precise record keeping, applications and records filled out and sent in on time, etc.
Things that happen:
You get a notice you don't understand warning you about something bewildering. You call and email but it takes days or weeks to get a response.
You think you've sent in a completed package of whatever was required only to find out that the regulations changed and now you need to do this, that and the other thing as well or instead of, so start all over again!
You are used to dealing with a particular person at a particular department. You feel some kind of security with that. She leaves the job and the new person in charge knows less than you do and keeps giving out misinformation.
You have to send in financial records every 3 years. it is a nightmare trying to keep track of every single financial transaction that happened for 3 years! Talk about burden!
Things change arbitrarily. For years 2 meetings a year were sufficient, but suddenly you now must attend three. These are meetings that take a long time with very little actually happening.
And on and on and on.
Lord help us.
My youngest sister has Downs and since the death of my mother has been in a group home. That was what she wanted, she did not want any of us to take her. She thought that would be a 'burden' to us. Ha! I would much rather have her here and not have to deal with quite as much rigamarole.
My father named three fiduciaries for her in the trust he set up for after his passing. My oldest sister, another sister and me. At first my oldest sister handled everything. She did pretty well. She is a detail person (almost to the point of not even seeing the big picture) and she worked very hard at everything. But due to complications actually caused by stupid regulations that make no sense whatsoever, she had to give up her fiduciary power. So then my other sister took over. This is good because her husband is an accountant. So for a while things went along okay. But she has had massive health and family issues and her husband too has developed health issues. She just can't handle the hassle and stress at this point.
So now it's down to me.
I am terrified.
Basically, we have to deal with 5 different government entities:
Social Security
HUD
Medicaid
Her group home
Her day program
Each one of these is its own nightmare of absurd bureaucratic requirements for precise record keeping, applications and records filled out and sent in on time, etc.
Things that happen:
You get a notice you don't understand warning you about something bewildering. You call and email but it takes days or weeks to get a response.
You think you've sent in a completed package of whatever was required only to find out that the regulations changed and now you need to do this, that and the other thing as well or instead of, so start all over again!
You are used to dealing with a particular person at a particular department. You feel some kind of security with that. She leaves the job and the new person in charge knows less than you do and keeps giving out misinformation.
You have to send in financial records every 3 years. it is a nightmare trying to keep track of every single financial transaction that happened for 3 years! Talk about burden!
Things change arbitrarily. For years 2 meetings a year were sufficient, but suddenly you now must attend three. These are meetings that take a long time with very little actually happening.
And on and on and on.
Lord help us.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
The Absentee - Book 5
Maria Edgeworth, a contemporary of Jane Austen, wrote some influential novels back in the nascent days of novel writing. Both Austen and Sir Walter Scott credited her for influencing their style of writing. She was a well off Anglo-Irish daughter of Francis Lovell Edgeworth, a member of the landed gentry, who was a politician and inventor as well as an intellectual.
The Absentee addresses an issue of the time - absentee landlords who leave their Irish estates in the hands of agents while they go off to London to try to compete socially with those snobby, rich Londoners. The main character is Lord Columbrae, who has just graduated from Oxford (or was it Cambridge?) and is just about to come of age. He sees his father going deeper and deeper into debt and his mother futilely trying to fit in among the rich London set by spending money on her high social life. He's also falling his love with his cousin, Grace. Because of a series of events, he goes back to Ireland incognito, to find out how his father's estate, which he is supposed to inherit, is doing. Not well! We meet good agents and bad agents and lots of wonderful local color. There are lots of scheming mothers trying to marry their offspring to money.
While Edgeworth does not write with the insightful irony and biting humor of Austen, many of the same themes are here. The novel is often gently humorous, especially in the way the author portrays the native Irish. One thing that I really enjoyed was the focus on the economics and finances of the time. I always find Austen a little dissatisfying when it comes to just how all her characters make money. Edgeworth was actually a friend of David Ricardo, the economist, and was interested in economics and business. She had definitive ideas about how to fix the Irish situation.
Lord Columbrae is our hero. He finds a way to get his parents out of debt and also finds a way to marry Grace, even though there seems to be a couple of serious obstacles in the way.
A charming, intelligent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Yesterday I did something awesome
I went to Target and bought stuff to make life in the kitchen easier. Nothing fancy but not having these things was definitely making me grumpy whenever I tried to cook anything or just operate efficiently in my kitchen.
First I bought a new salad spinner. My old salad spinner broke a long time ago. I loved that darn thing. I would wash and dry lettuce in it. (Of course). Then I would use the bowl and the lid to store the already assembled salad. It would sit there in the fridge, big and bold, so that when I opened the door, I'd see this big old salad spinner and say to myself, oh hey! Salad! And I'd pull it out and we'd eat salad that night. Just dump some of the salad into a bowl and add dressing! Well, when it broke, I decided I wasn't going to get another one because PLASTIC. I am anti-plastic in theory. This theory doesn't translate into actually avoiding much plastic. Instead, I just feel guilty whenever I do get something plastic. I was trying to dry my lettuce using the pillowcase method, but this method is a pain and you have to remember to wash the pillowcase. So then I just started buying bagged salad (plastic!). However, that bagged salad isn't all that fresh often and I'd use a bit of whatever was in it, roll it up and put it back in the fridge and then just forget about it until it had decomposed and dripped all over the fridge.
Oh woe was me.
But I made a decision that we really need to up our salad intake and maybe, just maybe, it is ok to have a plastic salad spinner. That's the one thing that kind of is only practical in plastic. So I bought one. I am excited! It's the little things.
Next, I bought new salt and pepper shakers! Oh yes, I did! My former pepper shaker was a little pepper mill that broke. So I just had a solo salt shaker, very lonely for its mate. I resorted to just using already ground pepper out of the little spice tin from the store. So I bought these cute little salt and pepper Mason jar shakers. I do need a new pepper grinder too, but no else in the family cares about whether they have fresh pepper, so we'll just use the pre-ground kind for now. Yippee! Working and matching salt and pepper shakers!!!
Then, I bought a glass bowl (how exciting!). You see, I had this very nice brown glass bowl that I could use for cooking and for serving. It was just the right size for mixing up some cornbread or maybe serving a salad. I don't know what happened but my nice brown glass bowl has gone missing. Did someone break it and not tell me? Did I lend it to someone? Did I make a dish for someone at some time and leave the bowl? Did someone for some reason take it somewhere else in the house and never brought it back? I don't know. I have searched and searched for my beloved brown glass bowl to no avail. I missed that simple, useful bowl a lot. So I decided to replace it. I couldn't find a brown glass one, but I did find a clear glass bowl. I am very happy.
Finally, I bought a new fruit bowl! I bought a fancy kind of fruit bowl years ago. It is big with one of those hooks for bananas. But I never liked it. For one thing, the banana hook thing made it top heavy. So if you didn't have much fruit in the bowl but just put on a big bunch of bananas on the hook, the darn thing would tip over. Annoying. Also because it was so tall, it would block your view of the other people sitting across the kitchen table. This annoyed the heck out of my husband. Move this darn thing, he would say and try to push it to one side, but the top heavy thing would tip and apples would go rolling. Or I'd hop up to move it to the kitchen island and one or more pieces of fruit would inevitably drop out of it. Because it had another flaw. The basket part of it had gaps that were way too big. If you had small fruit like tangerines, or kiwis or small apples or plums, they'd fall right through the basket part.
But now we are free of that daily-for-the-last-10-or-12-years annoyance. Instead I got a nice copper looking fruit basket, with much smaller gaps and no banana hook. I think it's gonna be great! I must have bought the last one because, it seems to be no longer listed as something Target sells. But look at the cool thing this lady did with it!
I am feeling quite pleased with my purchases. I am not a big shopper. I hate it actually, but every once in a while, it becomes a necessity!
Oh woe was me.
But I made a decision that we really need to up our salad intake and maybe, just maybe, it is ok to have a plastic salad spinner. That's the one thing that kind of is only practical in plastic. So I bought one. I am excited! It's the little things.
Next, I bought new salt and pepper shakers! Oh yes, I did! My former pepper shaker was a little pepper mill that broke. So I just had a solo salt shaker, very lonely for its mate. I resorted to just using already ground pepper out of the little spice tin from the store. So I bought these cute little salt and pepper Mason jar shakers. I do need a new pepper grinder too, but no else in the family cares about whether they have fresh pepper, so we'll just use the pre-ground kind for now. Yippee! Working and matching salt and pepper shakers!!!
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| Isn't it pretty? |
 |
| Most annoying fruit bowl ever |
Finally, I bought a new fruit bowl! I bought a fancy kind of fruit bowl years ago. It is big with one of those hooks for bananas. But I never liked it. For one thing, the banana hook thing made it top heavy. So if you didn't have much fruit in the bowl but just put on a big bunch of bananas on the hook, the darn thing would tip over. Annoying. Also because it was so tall, it would block your view of the other people sitting across the kitchen table. This annoyed the heck out of my husband. Move this darn thing, he would say and try to push it to one side, but the top heavy thing would tip and apples would go rolling. Or I'd hop up to move it to the kitchen island and one or more pieces of fruit would inevitably drop out of it. Because it had another flaw. The basket part of it had gaps that were way too big. If you had small fruit like tangerines, or kiwis or small apples or plums, they'd fall right through the basket part.
But now we are free of that daily-for-the-last-10-or-12-years annoyance. Instead I got a nice copper looking fruit basket, with much smaller gaps and no banana hook. I think it's gonna be great! I must have bought the last one because, it seems to be no longer listed as something Target sells. But look at the cool thing this lady did with it!
I am feeling quite pleased with my purchases. I am not a big shopper. I hate it actually, but every once in a while, it becomes a necessity!
Friday, February 12, 2016
Super Easy Meatless Dinners
Trader Joe's vegetarian fried rice - just cook according to directions, add a whisked up egg or two when it is piping hot and stir around until the egg is cooked. Serve in bowls. This is a one pan, one bowl dinner. Very easy.
Pasta - Cook up some whole wheat pasta (I like Trader Joe's). Heat up some tomato sauce. I like to put a serving of the pasta on the plate then spoon the hot sauce over it and then quickly put a slice of provolone cheese on, so that it gets kinda melty. Serve with baby carrots or salad or whatever on the side.
Polenta - buy those tubes of polenta. Get the wrapper off without messing with the nice round shape (to me this is hardest part!). Slice into medium sized slices (not too thick, not too thin!) Brush with olive oil and broil them until they start to crisp up (about 20-25 minutes). No need to turn them. At the last minute place slices of cheese over them and melt. It can be parmesan (grate your own) or mozzarella or provolone or whatever. Heat up some tomato sauce to serve like gravy. People can add their own. Serve with a nice salad.
Omelets - I always forget to make the filling first. So make sure you grate the cheese or chop up the mushrooms, green onions, peppers, etc first. Once that is set, make your omelet! Serve with rolls or toast and some kind of fruit or fruit salad.
Beans and rice - this is too easy. Cook up rice - brown is more nutritious. (I have a rice cooker since I am notorious for burning rice.) Open up a can of beans or bean soup. Heat. Serve the rice in bowls and pour the beans/soup over it. Top with a little grated cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream (plain Greek yogurt works too). If you have some tortilla chips around, that makes a nice accompaniment.
Stuffed potatoes - bake some big baking potatoes. Make a baked potato bar by setting out different things. I lightly steam some frozen broccoli florets so it is still kind of crisp. Chop up mushrooms, green onions, cheese, peppers, jalapeno, vegetarian chili or beans, butter, sour cream or yogurt.
Greek Falafel sandwiches - Trader Joe's has new falafel! And the ingredients are pretty healthy! No soy oil, for instance. This one isn't quite so easy because you have to make the tzatziki sauce ahead of time. But it is very easy to make. Here's the recipe I used (except I didn't put in the dill). Once that is made and in the fridge, cook falafel according to directions on the bag. Toast up some pita bread. Stuff your sandwich with whatever you like, lettuce, tomato, red onion or just plain. We also had some tahini sauce from Trader Joe's so we put that into the pita, then the falafel and then drizzled lots of tzatziki on top. Scrumptious. The leftover tzatziki makes a good salad dressing too.
There ya go! That's an easy meatless meal for each day of the week!
Pasta - Cook up some whole wheat pasta (I like Trader Joe's). Heat up some tomato sauce. I like to put a serving of the pasta on the plate then spoon the hot sauce over it and then quickly put a slice of provolone cheese on, so that it gets kinda melty. Serve with baby carrots or salad or whatever on the side.
Polenta - buy those tubes of polenta. Get the wrapper off without messing with the nice round shape (to me this is hardest part!). Slice into medium sized slices (not too thick, not too thin!) Brush with olive oil and broil them until they start to crisp up (about 20-25 minutes). No need to turn them. At the last minute place slices of cheese over them and melt. It can be parmesan (grate your own) or mozzarella or provolone or whatever. Heat up some tomato sauce to serve like gravy. People can add their own. Serve with a nice salad.
Omelets - I always forget to make the filling first. So make sure you grate the cheese or chop up the mushrooms, green onions, peppers, etc first. Once that is set, make your omelet! Serve with rolls or toast and some kind of fruit or fruit salad.
Beans and rice - this is too easy. Cook up rice - brown is more nutritious. (I have a rice cooker since I am notorious for burning rice.) Open up a can of beans or bean soup. Heat. Serve the rice in bowls and pour the beans/soup over it. Top with a little grated cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream (plain Greek yogurt works too). If you have some tortilla chips around, that makes a nice accompaniment.
Stuffed potatoes - bake some big baking potatoes. Make a baked potato bar by setting out different things. I lightly steam some frozen broccoli florets so it is still kind of crisp. Chop up mushrooms, green onions, cheese, peppers, jalapeno, vegetarian chili or beans, butter, sour cream or yogurt.
Greek Falafel sandwiches - Trader Joe's has new falafel! And the ingredients are pretty healthy! No soy oil, for instance. This one isn't quite so easy because you have to make the tzatziki sauce ahead of time. But it is very easy to make. Here's the recipe I used (except I didn't put in the dill). Once that is made and in the fridge, cook falafel according to directions on the bag. Toast up some pita bread. Stuff your sandwich with whatever you like, lettuce, tomato, red onion or just plain. We also had some tahini sauce from Trader Joe's so we put that into the pita, then the falafel and then drizzled lots of tzatziki on top. Scrumptious. The leftover tzatziki makes a good salad dressing too.
There ya go! That's an easy meatless meal for each day of the week!
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Genesis
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| The Creation of the Animals. Raphael |
I finished reading Genesis yesterday. I started on January 1st and have been reading little sections each morning, though yesterday I brought my Fireside NAB Bible with me to Adoration and finished reading it there.
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| Abraham, Sarah and the Angel. Provost |
I have read it before, of course and I've heard many of the stories over and over again, but one always learns something new. I had completely forgotten about some incidents, like Judah and Tamar. And the whole drawn out drama of the passing of Jacob/Israel was really quite moving. The story of Joseph is just a little masterpiece of storytelling. There's a lot of personality and even some humor in all the stories, even though they also have obscure and quaint aspects too.
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| Jacob wrestling with the angel. Dore |
One thing I noticed is how much s@x plays a part in these stories. And a lot of the s@x is pretty sinful and usually gets people into trouble somehow. There's Abraham who keeps passing Sarah off as his sister so the local kings don't make war on him. There's sicko stuff like daughters getting their father drunk and sleeping with him. Wives forcing their maid servants to be surrogates and then resenting their fertility. There's the rape of Dinah - I remember that book Red Tent was about that - but I have a vague memory of not caring for that book and maybe not finishing it? And the whole Judah and Tamar thing. What was that all about?
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| Jacob blessing the children of Joseph. Rembrandt |
But there is a lot of tenderness too that comes through, Adam saying, 'bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh' when he first sees Eve. Jacob and Rachel. Joseph's forgiveness and love for his brothers. The edition I am reading has lots of footnotes which I enjoy reading. A lot of etymology and explaining all the word play that is going on. These stories are so old and have such strange aspects to them, but they are also so recognizably human at the same time and with powerful, underlying themes.
Now on to Exodus!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Pretty Blogs
To take my mind off yet another political debate (Gosh, politics depresses me so!) I thought I'd post about some lovely blogs I like to visit.
1) Aleteia.org This isn't a blog, actually. I guess you'd call it an online magazine? It has interesting, intelligent articles from a Catholic perspective, and it just started featuring something called 'For Her' which is like a woman's magazine. And I love the Photograph of the Day feature.
2 Mimi Matthews This is a wonderful blog for those of you who love anything Austen, British history, romance and fashion. Lovely photos and incredibly well researched articles on all sorts of interesting things. Very well done.
3) My French Country Home. This one makes me want to, well, have a French country home! I love looking through the photos. I have no interior designer genes so looking at this kind of stuff just fills me with awe. I can't even take a very good photo. Sigh.
4) Vixen Vintage I feel weird recommending this blog because I am old and gray-haired and this blog is for and by young people. But I guess good taste defies generational divisions. The author, Solanah, has a wonderful retro-quirky, artsy way of looking at the world. It's fun, thoughtful and full of joy. And the photos of her and her friends show real people with real figures who don't care if they don't have a perfect tan. They look fantabulous anyway.
5) And lastly, another Catholic blog that is just gorgeous, Father Dwight Longenecker's The Suburban Hermit. I think this blog pretty much delivers on truth, beauty and goodness. Alleluia!
1) Aleteia.org This isn't a blog, actually. I guess you'd call it an online magazine? It has interesting, intelligent articles from a Catholic perspective, and it just started featuring something called 'For Her' which is like a woman's magazine. And I love the Photograph of the Day feature.
2 Mimi Matthews This is a wonderful blog for those of you who love anything Austen, British history, romance and fashion. Lovely photos and incredibly well researched articles on all sorts of interesting things. Very well done.
3) My French Country Home. This one makes me want to, well, have a French country home! I love looking through the photos. I have no interior designer genes so looking at this kind of stuff just fills me with awe. I can't even take a very good photo. Sigh.
4) Vixen Vintage I feel weird recommending this blog because I am old and gray-haired and this blog is for and by young people. But I guess good taste defies generational divisions. The author, Solanah, has a wonderful retro-quirky, artsy way of looking at the world. It's fun, thoughtful and full of joy. And the photos of her and her friends show real people with real figures who don't care if they don't have a perfect tan. They look fantabulous anyway.
5) And lastly, another Catholic blog that is just gorgeous, Father Dwight Longenecker's The Suburban Hermit. I think this blog pretty much delivers on truth, beauty and goodness. Alleluia!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Cream of Roasted Carrot Soup
This soup is a combination of a few recipes I was perusing, as well as my own additions.
1 lb bag of carrots (I usually get organic, not only because of my own health but I always think of those poor migrant workers who have to work in all those pesticides when picking our crops).
1 medium size turnip (the original recipe called for parsnips, which I think would taste great! But the store didn't have any parsnips but they did have turnips!) You could probably do without this, but what the heck, more nutrients!
1 half big yellow onion (that's what I had)
melted butter - enough to coat the veggies in
3 cups hot water
1 cup heated milk
salt and pepper to taste
Put on oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and cut off ends of turnips and carrots, but you don't have to peel them. Cut them up into even sized chunks/slices. I put the turnips on for 10 more minutes than the carrots, but they cooked pretty fast, so maybe I didn't need to.
Chop up onions (n.b. next time I do this, instead of roasting the onions along with the carrots and turnip, I think I will sauté them softly in a pan. The roasted onions got kind of blackened in the roasting process and wound up not blending very well later when I was trying to puree everything.)
Melt enough butter (2-4 tablespoons maybe?) to coast all the veggies generously in a roasting pan.
Add some salt to taste and roast for 25 minutes or so, until nice and tender.
Once roasted, blend all the veggies. I used my hand blender and just transferred all the veggies to the soup pot. Beware though, when blending! Put on an apron, especially if you are wearing a white sweater or else you will get little orange specks all over your front. Ask me how I know!
I heated water in my kettle not to boiling though, just hot, about 3 cups worth, and slowly blended it into the already pureed veggies. I had trouble with the onions though. Then I heated a cup of milk and slowly added that as well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
This soup was kind of bland when I served it right after I made it. BUT the next day, when I had it for lunch, it was very nice. Very refreshing and more flavorful. I continued to have a small cup a day for a couple of days at lunch. Very delicious cold.
1 lb bag of carrots (I usually get organic, not only because of my own health but I always think of those poor migrant workers who have to work in all those pesticides when picking our crops).
1 medium size turnip (the original recipe called for parsnips, which I think would taste great! But the store didn't have any parsnips but they did have turnips!) You could probably do without this, but what the heck, more nutrients!
1 half big yellow onion (that's what I had)
melted butter - enough to coat the veggies in
3 cups hot water
1 cup heated milk
salt and pepper to taste
Put on oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and cut off ends of turnips and carrots, but you don't have to peel them. Cut them up into even sized chunks/slices. I put the turnips on for 10 more minutes than the carrots, but they cooked pretty fast, so maybe I didn't need to.
Chop up onions (n.b. next time I do this, instead of roasting the onions along with the carrots and turnip, I think I will sauté them softly in a pan. The roasted onions got kind of blackened in the roasting process and wound up not blending very well later when I was trying to puree everything.)
Melt enough butter (2-4 tablespoons maybe?) to coast all the veggies generously in a roasting pan.
Add some salt to taste and roast for 25 minutes or so, until nice and tender.
Once roasted, blend all the veggies. I used my hand blender and just transferred all the veggies to the soup pot. Beware though, when blending! Put on an apron, especially if you are wearing a white sweater or else you will get little orange specks all over your front. Ask me how I know!
I heated water in my kettle not to boiling though, just hot, about 3 cups worth, and slowly blended it into the already pureed veggies. I had trouble with the onions though. Then I heated a cup of milk and slowly added that as well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
This soup was kind of bland when I served it right after I made it. BUT the next day, when I had it for lunch, it was very nice. Very refreshing and more flavorful. I continued to have a small cup a day for a couple of days at lunch. Very delicious cold.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Journaling the day
Fed and watered 1 dog and 3 cats
Remembered to put hot washcloth on eyes - didn't do this over the weekend and woke up with hurting, stinging eyes.
Read more about Joseph in Genesis
Read from Year with the Church Fathers
Unloaded dishwasher, loaded in sundry cups and plates from last night
Scrubbed pots and pans soaking in sink
Wiped down table, island and counters
Realized a load of Rick's clothes had been in dryer all night, thus wrinkling his shirts. Threw a wet wash cloth in and ran the dryer again.
Put dry clothes away and moved clothes in washer to dryer
Woke kids
Breakfast school - today's mass readings, saint of the day (St. Brigid), watched Elements of the Mass on the meaning of the word 'liturgy', watched periodic element video on palladium. Read next paragraph in Demosthenes by Plutarch, copy work was example of antithesis by Chesterton: Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.
B went to do history homework, S went to shower and then do history homework
Signed up for CSA next year. Woot! That made me happy.
Showered
Gathered the countless cardboard tubes collecting in bathroom and put in recycling.
Put next load of clothes away
Called Community college to try to figure out how to drop/add a class when dual enrolled. Got general answering machine - left message but don't have much hope of anyone calling back. I could go in and ask, but seems like a bad idea since this is their first day open after a week of being closed by blizzard. Probably even more of a crazy mad house than it usually is.
Planned RE class for tomorrow - tie in with Groundhog's Day (Candlemas, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord) and also looked up how to make sacrifice beads We'll do those next week.
B's ankle was hurting her. Don't know what she did to it. Rummaged around various places until I located a brace I used when I had Plantar fasciitis. Seemed to help.
Made ramen for B and frozen burritos for S
Swept basement steps, powder room, front hall and most of kitchen.
Took out kitchen trash
Did some Latin with S and B
Afternoon lull - played scrabble on ipad, read, dozed, listened to rain against my bedroom windows.
Got up and drank cup of decaf. So far I had less than half caffeinated coffee for breakfast, then a cup of decaf tea with lunch and then a cup of decaf coffee for after nap time.
Ran to library to return library books and get some more out for B and her history project. Went to Michaels to get RE sacrifice bead supplies. Rainy and foggy.
While I was gone both B and S did their science.
S worked out with physical trainer
Great news! The community college did call back and we can do the drop/add all on line! No need to go in for an appt. Hooray!
Fed pets.
Made very nice dinner (I thought): polenta cakes with melted cheese and tomato gravy, baked butternut squash and a green salad with peppers and feta cheese.
J took out the trash for me. Bless that boy.
B finished her history essay. S said he did 'enough' math.
Throughout the day, I got up on the little elliptical and pedaled for a few minutes a pop.
I cleaned the kitchen and then watched lots of Antique Roadshow. I love that show.
Poor Rick had to work late. It's 10:30 and he's still not home. But he said it was actually a good day as they got a favorable order from the judge today on something they were worried about. So he was pretty upbeat on the phone.
Remembered to put hot washcloth on eyes - didn't do this over the weekend and woke up with hurting, stinging eyes.
Read more about Joseph in Genesis
Read from Year with the Church Fathers
Unloaded dishwasher, loaded in sundry cups and plates from last night
Scrubbed pots and pans soaking in sink
Wiped down table, island and counters
Realized a load of Rick's clothes had been in dryer all night, thus wrinkling his shirts. Threw a wet wash cloth in and ran the dryer again.
Put dry clothes away and moved clothes in washer to dryer
Woke kids
Breakfast school - today's mass readings, saint of the day (St. Brigid), watched Elements of the Mass on the meaning of the word 'liturgy', watched periodic element video on palladium. Read next paragraph in Demosthenes by Plutarch, copy work was example of antithesis by Chesterton: Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.
B went to do history homework, S went to shower and then do history homework
Signed up for CSA next year. Woot! That made me happy.
Showered
Gathered the countless cardboard tubes collecting in bathroom and put in recycling.
Put next load of clothes away
Called Community college to try to figure out how to drop/add a class when dual enrolled. Got general answering machine - left message but don't have much hope of anyone calling back. I could go in and ask, but seems like a bad idea since this is their first day open after a week of being closed by blizzard. Probably even more of a crazy mad house than it usually is.
Planned RE class for tomorrow - tie in with Groundhog's Day (Candlemas, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord) and also looked up how to make sacrifice beads We'll do those next week.
B's ankle was hurting her. Don't know what she did to it. Rummaged around various places until I located a brace I used when I had Plantar fasciitis. Seemed to help.
Made ramen for B and frozen burritos for S
Swept basement steps, powder room, front hall and most of kitchen.
Took out kitchen trash
Did some Latin with S and B
Afternoon lull - played scrabble on ipad, read, dozed, listened to rain against my bedroom windows.
Got up and drank cup of decaf. So far I had less than half caffeinated coffee for breakfast, then a cup of decaf tea with lunch and then a cup of decaf coffee for after nap time.
Ran to library to return library books and get some more out for B and her history project. Went to Michaels to get RE sacrifice bead supplies. Rainy and foggy.
While I was gone both B and S did their science.
S worked out with physical trainer
Great news! The community college did call back and we can do the drop/add all on line! No need to go in for an appt. Hooray!
Fed pets.
Made very nice dinner (I thought): polenta cakes with melted cheese and tomato gravy, baked butternut squash and a green salad with peppers and feta cheese.
J took out the trash for me. Bless that boy.
B finished her history essay. S said he did 'enough' math.
Throughout the day, I got up on the little elliptical and pedaled for a few minutes a pop.
I cleaned the kitchen and then watched lots of Antique Roadshow. I love that show.
Poor Rick had to work late. It's 10:30 and he's still not home. But he said it was actually a good day as they got a favorable order from the judge today on something they were worried about. So he was pretty upbeat on the phone.
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