Keeping Sunday...Part One

This is my seventh weekend at my new job, and my fifth Sunday out of that seven working.  Argh.  I knew, of course, when I got the job that I would have to work some Sundays -- every other, to be exact.  However, with training and schedule juggling and what have you, I’m working AGAIN on Sunday, and tipping over that 50/50 mark.  

I’m lucky, though.  I know that my job is necessary - I work at an assisted living facility in the dining room.  People are depending on us for their meals.  Really, it is a corporal work of mercy (even if I am getting paid.  Service with a smile and all that.  I hope.)  Anyhow.  Not everyone who has to work on Sunday has that benefit of knowing that their work is, however humble, necessary.  There are many jobs in this world where it is very necessary people work on Sundays.  I’m guessing that those who are nurses, or police officers, or firefighters, or dairy farmers are aware when they choose those careers that they will have to do some of their ordinary, everyday work on Sundays.  Keeping the Sabbath holy, for them, doesn’t always involve a day off, as much as they would maybe like it to.  I’m thinking mothers and priests fall into that category, too.  But there are other jobs that aren’t necessary.  I’m thinking specifically of those who have to work at stores.  It must be difficult knowing that the only reason you have to work on Sunday is because either someone didn’t plan ahead or couldn’t wait for something.  

Ours is a world of instant gratification.  When was the last time you stopped and thought about that?  With the internet and cell phones, instant is really really really fast.  Want that new song?  No need to wait until you can take the car or catch a bus - just download it.  Have a movie you want to see?  Just download it.  A book to read?  Download it.  New computer game? You get the idea.  The funny thing is, the more we have, the more we want.  When you don’t have to wait for one thing, it gets harder and harder to wait for other things.  What was I talking about?  Oh yes.  Sundays.  

How often do you find yourself shopping on a Sunday?  Now before you say “hardly ever,” don’t forget about that cup of coffee and doughnut from the gas station.  And that quick stop to grab buns at the grocery store on the way home from Mass.  We all do it.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.  Did you know there was a time (before the internet, I think) when gas stations weren’t open on Sundays?  Or stores?  If you ran out of gas, you had to hope a neighbor had some to spare (or you had to bang on the station owner’s door and interrupt his Sunday dinner.)  Now, gas stations are open all the time.  Which is kind of sad, because now, they don’t need to be open, and no one has to run out of gas, thanks to the whole pay-at-the-pump thing.  Which doesn’t apply in NJ because people aren’t allowed to pump their own gas, which is another sad tale.  Stores are open all the time, too, in case anyone completely emptied their cupboards on Saturday night, who hasn’t got a neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar from (yet another sad tale!) Departments stores don’t even have that excuse.  Instant gratification.  

“But,” you ask, “what does it matter?  After all, I don’t really even consider shopping work.  I actually consider it recreation.  Aren’t we supposed to relax on Sunday, after Mass, of course? The stores are all open anyhow.” 

Yup.  The stores are open.  They are open because they are making money.  And, because they are open, someone has to work.  I have never done retail work, but I hear it isn’t really recreation. Although it may fall under the category “purgatory on earth.” Which means, because of our impatience, we are ruining someone else’s Sunday.  Now don’t you feel ashamed?  I hope so.  

Actually, I hope not.  I mean, yes, we need to realize the price what we are doing, but I really don’t like making people feel bad.  It’s kinda one of my weak points.  I do, however, like making people think.  THINK!  Think outside the box!  Did you run out of flour for your fried chicken?  Call your neighbor - they might be glad to help (work of mercy points for them!.)  Or use leftover sour-cream-and-onion cracker crumbs, and invent a new family favorite.  Oooh! Better idea! Make Beer Can Chicken!  Or give everyone a break and throw in a frozen pizza (that you picked up on Saturday.) Next time you think you have to buy something on a Sunday, see if you can put it off until Monday.  Or improvise.  Or do without.  Offer it up :) God gave us six days to work and to shop.  All He asks is for one day in return, where we gather together to adore, praise, ask pardon, and thank Him in the Mass.  Then He asks us to rest, as He rested, and to allow others to do the same.  No, we don’t all get to rest on Sundays, but our work should be the sort of work that we can make holy, if we must do it.  Nurses have to nurse, doctors have to doctor, cooks (and lowly culinary assistants) have to feed the hungary, and farmers have to feed their animals.  We can’t really get around that.  But honestly, there is no reason anyone should have to sell shirts.  Or ties. Or purses.  Or even bread. Eat ice cream for breakfast if you are out of toast ;) And have a happy and holy Sunday! *hops off of soap box*

Next time on Rae’s Rambling Rants... Meatless Fridays!Also, stay tuned for “Keeping Sunday, Part 2 - How to Celebrate!”

Comments welcome - and fully expected.  After all, ranters should expect some arguments.  So should renters, especially if they really like music and are hard of hearing.....

Dragons....

Dragons

            As they rock in a gentle rhythm together, a mother’s story drowns out the deadly storm above.  The child sits quietly, eyes wide, and listens to every word. 

The mother tells wild tales of a Dragon King, who sends out his dragon soldiers to destroy and plunder the countryside and the towns, both far and near.  She tells of their evil hiss as they swoop down, setting fires and destroying homes.  Monsters, too, are sent out, she says, to gather up peasants to work as slaves and to be used as food for the evil dragons.  She tells of the poor Princess in her tiny kingdom, whose brave knights risk their lives to protect their families and their homelands, some riding on unicorns.  Their daring deeds and fearless spirit make the child’s eyes shine.  Each night, the old woman in the corner shakes her head at the tales, and whispers harsh words to the mother for filling the child’s head with such horrors.  Each night the young mother just smiles, and thinks up new tales to tell, with thrilling horrors, but every story ending in triumph for the Princess and her brave knights.  

One night, after the knights have once again defeated the evil Dragon King, the child asks a question.  

“Mommy, is Hitler the Dragon King?”

“Yes, my sweet, I suppose he is.”  

“And Daddy is a knight?”

“Yes, Daddy is a knight.”

"Dragons" is an attempt to write in the style of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Miniatures, for my college creative writing course.  I really wasn't able to capture his style, but I hope that I succeeded in his way of showing something big through something small.  I think this story shows what it is about fairy tales that I love.  As G.K. Chesterton so aptly put it, “Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”  You never have a fairy tale without some sort of villain and some kind of tragedy.  The beauty of it is that even though bad things happen, good is not destroyed in the end. 

God bless you all tonight,

Rae

Some questions to ponder.....

  I consider myself a fairly practical person.  I like things to make sense, plain and simple.  I think things should be logical and straightforward.  I believe there is a such thing as truth, and therefor a such thing as right and wrong.  I realize that truth can be hard to recognize, of course, and I suppose we need to try to predict the future to decide what to do today sometimes, like when planning a picnic or a budget.  But somehow it seems like there is so little that is logical in the world today. And I don't want EVERYTHING to make perfect sense, but for the most part...

  I was on youtube, hoping to find some inspiring videos for a great “fortnight for freedom” post.  Granted, I was probably looking in the wrong direction ( I should have started with this one,) starting with Bob Hope’s Zombie Democrat line (I thought maybe I could do something great with the whole zombie apocalypse thing,) but regardless, what I found was discouraging.  Not so much the videos - there were some wise words and all - but the comments!  Is it possible to have a logical discussion anymore, without foul language and making assumptions about people’s opinions?  I suppose when we consider truth to be something we can decide instead of something that just IS, that would be the result.  Ooops!  Maybe I’m making some assumptions now!  The fact is, I consider truth to be something outside of not only myself, but the universe.  As such, it can’t change based on what is going on here in our little country or world.  But I realize that it can be hard to recognize, especially if we aren’t taught to recognize its existence, let alone how to recognize it.  I believe that truth follows the rules of reason and logic, even if it doesn’t always seem to follow the rules of nature.  Now am I wrong?  Am I wrong to want to fight the errors and evils of this world with logic and reason and truth, when everyone else is using emotions and appearances?  Something to ponder.  Here are a few more things to ponder.  They really aren’t necessarily connected, they are just things that I wonder about.

• If we are a nation governed by elected officials, should the government be involved in the training of the next generation of voters, or is that a conflict of interests?
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• Is the idea of evolution compatible with the idea that all races are equal?  Wouldn’t evolution be grounds to say that some races are inferior to others? 
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• If I am not allowed to tell you what to do with your body, why are you allowed to use my money to do it?  If I can’t tell you what you have to accept, why are you allowed to tell me what I have to accept?  
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• Why doesn’t the government have to budget the same way a house or business does, (money in ≥ money out)?  If I start printing money, can I pay my bills with it?  Can I pay my taxes with it?  

What questions do you ponder?  Got any good answers?  Do share!

The Wonderful World of Automation

   Habits are good things to have. (So are hobbits, as friends, but that’s another post for another time.) Ahem.  As I was saying.  Habits are good things to have, unless, of course, they are the wrong sort of habits.  Bad habits are not good things to have.  And sometimes good habits backfire on you, too.

   I have developed a habit of clipping my keys to my purse, or bag, or belt, as soon as I turn off the car, even if I plan on sitting in it for a few minutes.  This is a good habit. I know this, because there have been two or three occasions when I have not practiced this habit and have locked my keys in the car.  So now, I make it my practice to always do something with the keys, like clip them to my bag, when I turn off the car, so I don’t leave them in the ignition.  Good habit.  But, as I said, good habits can backfire on you.  Like when I clip the keys to the wrong bag.  Like I did a few months ago.  An hour and a half from home.  In the rain.  Fortunately, there was a spare key hidden on the car, I just had to find it.  Also fortunately, the bag I had in my hand was the bag with a pair of jeans, my cell phone, wallet, and a pocket knife in it.  It just wasn’t the bag with the keys on it.  It only took about 15 minutes crawling around the car (in the rain) to find the key.  Things could have been much worse.  Things could have been worse this morning, too.  This morning, there was no spare key.  And the bag with my cell phone, wallet, pants, breakfast (and lunch) AND keys was the one IN the car.  Things could have been much worse, though.  Because I was only a half hour away from home, and my mother had her car, too.  And her cell phone.  Also, I had a few minutes to spare before I had to be to work - long enough to take my mother’s car, and to call home for the spare key.  So I got to work on time, albeit with no badge, a skirt instead of my uniform pants, no breakfast, and no lunch.  Until my mother could bring them to me.  Good habits can backfire.  I think I have a bad habit, too.   A bad habit of locking my keys in the car.  

   So, my friends, it is important to develop good habits, and to make sure those habits are REALLY good habits.  My mother pointed out that if I had a habit of having the keys in my hand when I leave the car, I would be much less likely to lock my keys in the car.  She has a very good point.  Unfortunately, she said that since she gave birth to all of us children, my dad had to teach us to drive, and my dad did not instill that good habit in me.  I wonder if good habits are as hard to break as bad? They say it takes roughly two months for a behavior to become automatic.  I’m guessing it doesn’t take that long to get out of a good habit.  And it is probably longer to break out of bad habit.  Many habits are formed without our even realizing it (mostly the bad sort, I’m thinking.) We get into the habit of watching a show, or listening to a radio station, or driving a certain way to work, without ever realizing that it is a habit.  Do we even like the show or the station anymore?  Is there a better way to get to work?  I just started a new job.  I’m learning my way around things, and how and where things go.  I work in one of those really cool places where as long as the results are right in the end, there isn’t a lot of rigidity to how you obtain those results.  So, now that I have the basics down, I’m trying to figure out the most efficient way to do things, so I can build good habits before I acquire bad ones.  Now I just have to figure out how to do this at home.   I need to think before I act, so I can figure out the best action, so I can take that action and turn it into a habit.  


  Habits are those things we do without thinking.  Hopefully, we've already thought out the action, so having it automatic is a good thing.  Someday I hope I have so many good habits that I can write a novel in my head while cleaning the whole house.  A girl can dream.  But first, I need to make a habit of creating good habits.  I also, I think, need to occasionally look at my good habits and make sure they are the best habits and won't backfire on me.  There is one kind of habit I think everyone needs -- a habit of prayer.  Sure, it takes a bit of time and effort, but once it's created, it's automatic.  You need something, you pray.  You hear bad news, you pray.  You hear good news, you pray.  You stub your toe, you pray.  A habit of prayer is a great tool to have.  BUT, like other good habits, it can backfire, I think, if you don't keep an eye on it.  Because after awhile, if we aren't careful, our automatic prayers might start taking the place of our ...un-automatic prayers.  If your good habit of praying the rosary has turned into a not-so-good habit of praying a rosary in 10 minutes (guilty!) it may be time to reevaluate.  Add some new meditations to the rosary, perhaps? First assignment - create a habit of prayer.  Second assignment, make sure your prayer isn't just a habit.  Then apply above principles to keeping your bedroom clean. 

  One example I do have for a good home-habit -- I mate my socks after I wear them.  No, this is not a dufflepud thing.  It’s a habit that ensures that my socks are right side out for washing, and it keeps me from having a million mismatched socks because one ended up under the bed or in the wrong basket instead of in the load where they belong.  There is your laundry tip for the day. Do you have any good hobbits? What about bad hobbits?  Oh.  Sorry.  Wrong post.  Do you have any good HABITS that make your life easier?  I don’t need to know about the bad ones.  Unless you are looking for outside suggestions on how to change them into good habits.  It’s always fun and easy solving other peoples problems.  Far less painful than solving your own.P.S. For those of you who came looking for the VeggieTales movie, The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment, it's right here:
"It's funny, because it's unexpected!" - Larry the Cucumber

A few updates

I've decided to do a bit of  blog-cleaning around here.  Well, maybe redecorating is a more apt description.  So what's new?

• A list of my favorite labels
• New background image
• A list of some of the blogs I'm following
• A list (down at the bottom) of popular posts
• A new "bookshelf" of books I've read recently
• I updated (slightly) the "About me" section and moved it to the bottom of the page

That's all!  Carry on!

Beer Can Chicken

  Yes, it is Friday.  Why am I posting a chicken recipe on a Friday?  Actually, more of you are probably wondering why I wouldn’t be posting a chicken recipe on a Friday, since abstaining from meat on Fridays outside of lent is now optional for Catholics.  So we’ll make that another post.  For those of you who, like my family, choose to keep meat as our Friday sacrifice, I will answer the question.  I am posting this recipe on a Friday because 1) We butchered Wednesday, therefore giving me the push to post this, but I had yesterdays post for yesterday so I had to wait for today.  And 2) If you are like us on any other week of the year, you need to take the chicken out of the freezer if you want to cook it.  Or you need to buy it.  Either way, now you have some time to prepare for the weekend.  Don’t forget the charcoal!  Or, if you want to get really fancy and delicious, the hickory.  Don’t worry, a gas grill works great, too.  In fact, we have excellent results in the oven all year long, too.
Okay, to the recipe.  We were taught how to make beer can chicken by a neighbor, but the seasoning recipe was all mine.  And I will keep it that way, thank you very much, unless you subscribe to my blog.  Oh, never mind....
Beer Can Chicken
Seasoning: (Makes enough for 4 chickens)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(The last four ingredients can be replaced with any salt-free blend of your choice.  Penzey’s Bangkok Blend is awesome! Or, if you use a blend with salt, reduce the salt)
Other Ingredients:
Whole chickens, about 3-4 pounds each.  You want them to be able stand up on your grill on top of a beer or pop can, so make sure they are big enough, but not too big.  
Olive oil for massaging chickens
1 can of beer for each chicken. Juice, wine, or pop (soda to you ;) ) works too, but you will need a beer or pop can to stand the chicken on.  
Directions: 

1) Combine all seasoning ingredients.  Set aside. Drink some beer. 

2) Start the grill, or the oven.  If you are grilling you want it about medium heat, and if you are roasting you want your oven to be at 425º.  If you are using charcoal or hardwood, you want enough to have a medium hot fire for about an hour to an hour and a half.  You will find better grilling advice somewhere else on the internet.

3) Rinse your chickens.  Make sure there aren't any lungs or anything stuck inside.  If I butchered them, there won't be any - but you may not be so fortunate in your source.  Drink a little more beer.

4)Massage each chicken with olive oil. We used a yummy roasted red pepper olive oil in the photos. Having an assistant is very helpful in these steps - one to pour and sprinkle, one to massage. 

5) Rub the chickens generously with the seasonings.  Use your fingers to create pockets under the skin on the breasts and have your assistant pour a tablespoon in each side. You can do the same thing to the thighs. Put a little in the cavity.  Drink a bit more beer.

6) By now your can should be about 1/2 - 2/3 full, er, I mean 1/3 to 1/2 empty.  If there is too much, drink a little more.  Or pour it into a glass.  If not enough - go grab another can.  

7)You can find can racks like this one around -- I think we paid $3-$4 at Menards.  If you don't have one, no problem.  They just steady the cans in case your chickens get a bit tipsy...Put your can in the can holder, or in a roasting pan or on your prepared grill.  

7) If you are grilling, wrap the legs with foil to keep them from getting too dark.  Then stand the chickens up on the cans.  Again, an assistant is very helpful.  Bend the wingtips behind the chicken.  Just 'cause it looks so cute. It does help things to cook, too, I suppose.

8) If you are grilling, it will probably take about an hour to an hour and half for the chicken to cook.  Every bird and fire is a little different.  It's the weekend.  Kick back and enjoy the sun.  Grab an extra beer or two for flair ups.  If you can push the coals aside so you can have indirect heat, that's great.  If you can't, well, that's why we use foil.  Cover the grill.  Keep an eye on it, but don't worry too much.  If you are baking the chicken, don't cover it.  Just put the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes.  Yes, I am just pulling times out of my hat.  You could refer to a cookbook to see how many minutes per pound at that temperature.  Or you could sit down, sip the rest of the beer, and finish your book.  Or read old Rambling Amateur posts. Or peel potatoes.  Your choice.  The chicken is done when the thighs and breast are 180º or the juices run clear.  The wings may be done a little sooner - feel free to tear them off and eat them while you are waiting.

9) Eat.  But you figured that out already.  Remember, chicken skin has many healthy vitamins, like E, D, and K.  Enjoy!    

P.S. 

I should probably mention WHY you should try this recipe.  Simple - There is no better way to cook chicken.  None.  Zip.  It comes out tender and juicy and flavorful and delicious.  It is the ONLY way to grill.  Like your grilled chicken with BBQ sauce?  No problem.  Just brush it on the chickens like you normally would - and then smile when you realize that the sauce is sticking to the chickens, not the grill.  Don't like beer?  No problem.  Use Lemon Lime Soda.  Or juice.  Or wine.  The other day, my dad forgot the cans and just stood the chickens on the can racks on the grill and it STILL turned out good (although the hickory wood he was cooking probably helped.)  In the oven, these come out like rotisserie chicken.  You can mix up the spices, too.  I highly recommend Penzey's salt free blends, like Jerk or Bangkok.  Do try the original recipe, though.  The sugar-salt-spice mix is pretty awesome on the grill.  Or in the oven.  Seriously.   

The Rose: Love, Suffering, and Sacrifice

What is love? It is seeing goodness in something, and then acting on that goodness.  Chocolate is delicious and healthy (good), therefore I eat (action) chocolate.  Therefore, I love chocolate.  Very basic example.  Ah, but the true example?  The full example?  The Cross.  Christ saw the world, and He saw the hope and the faithfulness of humanity, but also darkness and death.  He died on the cross to destroy the darkness and to conquer the death.  He saw good, and He acted.  

There is no love without suffering, and there is no suffering without love.  They are linked, and inseparable.  Think about it.  Think about something (or someone) you love.  Now imagine life without them.  You feel pain.  You suffer.  Your heart goes into your throat and you want to cry or start throwing things.  Because you love.  But, you say, do we not suffer even when we don’t love?  No, we don’t suffer when we don’t love (there is at least self-love.)  We may feel pain, or anger, but do we suffer?  Ah, but what is suffering?  Is it merely pain?  Discomfort?  What do we mean when we say, “she did not suffer”?  Suffering is more than just pain.  Suffering is not just of the body, but also of the soul -- perhaps more of the soul. 

The other night I had a dream.  It was a nightmare, so terrible I don’t want to share the details here, other than that there was a car accident with my family members involved, including an infant brother that I don’t have.  Weird how that happens in dreams. In my dream, the last thing that happened was I was looking at my hands and praying, saying I couldn’t handle it, it couldn’t be real.  I forced my eyes open, and was so relieved to see my bedroom.  I couldn’t even turn on a light because the power had been out for hours from a storm.  Instead I prayed.  In the darkness, I realized that what had happened in my dream had not happened to me, but similar things had happened to others, and could happen to me.  I prayed for them.  My suffering was the suffering of a few moments -- theirs would continue for a long time.  And there was something I could do.  I could pray, and I could offer my little suffering for them.  I was given, for a few moments in a dream, the chance to love someone I have never met in my life.  Perhaps that person, that baby brother, wasn’t real.  Does it matter?  The love was real.  The love allowed for the suffering.  The suffering allowed for a sacrifice.  And, I pray, the sacrifice led to a little more grace for someone who needed it.  

If love is the rose, and suffering is the thorns, than sacrifice is the stem that connects the two.   Sacrifice is suffering for the sake of something good.  The downside to the link between love and suffering is that it can make love more difficult and painful.  The upside is that it can make suffering easier.  Perhaps this is why suffering seems of the soul -- because it is our opportunity to sacrifice, and sacrifice truly is of the soul.  There would have been no point, no benefit to Christ’s suffering dying on the cross had He not offered it as sacrifice for our sins.  And, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, our suffering is united to His, on the cross and in every Mass.  Every act of our lives that is not sinful can be offered as a sacrifice, and it is our suffering that holds so much merit.  If we can only keep this in our minds and in our hearts!  The more we love, the easier it is to suffer, because we know that our suffering has a point.  It has value.  It is worth it. 

Who do you pray for?  Family members?  Friends?  Are there those who you remember especially because of their trials?  A sister with cancer?  A friend who has left the faith?  A cousin who can’t find work?  There is no person without trials -- only people who are good at hiding their trials.  Offer it up.  Yes, your mother said it a million times when you were young.  But I mean it.  Offer it up.  Offer up your sore back for your grandma who is sick.  Offer up dealing with that nasty client for your friend who just lost her mother.  Offer up your heartache for the one who has lost her faith. This is the essence of St. Therese’s “Little Way.”  It is taking each trial and offering it to God.  It is suffering for love.  The pain may not be any less, but there is meaning in it.  There is joy.  Or, sometimes, just resignation.  Without the stem, could you have a flower?  The stem provides the nourishment for the rosebud, and the thorns protect it.  And sacrifice provides nourishment for love, with suffering it's strength.  And remember -- you can always put roses on your thorns.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us! 

Butchering day...

Always a fun day, I must admit. Butchering day. This year we had 125 chickens to do, and I think it went pretty well. I shall spare you the bloody details, and instead treat you to a poem I wrote on the subject. Enjoy, if you can! ;) (Warning, this poem is not for the faint of heart.  It is a poem on the butchering of chickens.  This is a necessary activity, for those who eat meat.  If you are a vegetarian, please do not yell at me.  I completely disagree with your views, although you are free to hold them.  Our chickens led happy lives, eating and running around on fresh green grass.  Although many chickens died, none suffered. Thank you.)


Bloody Good Fun

The morning dew still shines on the grass
The roar of water filling steel basins
Still fills the air.
It is a day two months in the making.
Bloody good fun.

Our small pleasures For this day are ready.
Spirited coffee,
Dino, King George, and AJ
Crooning in the background.
Bloody good fun.

Iʼm good at what I do, and I enjoy it,
This once a year event.
Bloody good fun.

But now, as I sleep, it continues.
Ears strain for the sound of the choppers
Come to deny our rest.
Feet sore from the cold cement floor.
Nose still filled with the stench.
 Eyes weary from the endless focus;
One wrong cut and bitter green poison breaks
Or worse -- my own blood mixes with that on the table.
Bloody good fun.

My hands feel the most.
Their memory wakes me
As I drift off to sleep.
The feeling wonʼt leave,
The motion continues.
The scrape
The twist
The pull
The warm, oily, softness.
Iʼm good at what I do, and I enjoy it.
Bloody good fun.

A friend having her own "Bloody Good Fun"

Reading...

“What is reading, but silent conversation.” - Charles Lamb

I love conversation.  I love the exchange of ideas and the expansion of the mind.  I love discovering something new, or rediscovering something old.  I love to share dreams, and to feel. And I love to read.  Everything from cookbooks and cereal boxes to newspapers and old mysteries, if it is there to read, I will read it, even if I have read it a hundred times before.  Silent conversation.  Perhaps it is my temperament.  I am a phlegmatic-sanguine.  In otherwise, I love people, but I’m terribly shy.  Perhaps this is why I love to read so much.  Books allow the conversation, without the risk of rejection.  We still connect to people through books, only it is limited by a number of pages - and our imaginations.  Have you ever had conversations in your head with your favorite book characters?  Or arguments with those characters you despise?  Sometimes I have conversations with the authors themselves, imagining having tea with G.K. Chesterton.  Someday I hope we will share some excellent conversations in Heaven.  In the mean time, I pull a volume off my shelf, listen, and nod in agreement.  Sometimes I throw in a “yes, but,” and often he replies satisfactorily.  Or not.  And our silent conversation continues.  

Growing up, I think I had more friends in books than in real life.  Actually, that is probably still true. Nancy Drew’s adventures dried my tears when my older sister’s teasing got to be too much.  Or maybe Betsy, Tacy, and Tib helped me forget the tragic loss of a kitten.  Of course, not all of my book friends were the sort I was supposed to be talking to.  Some were too old, and my mother cautioned me against them.  I remember sneaking “Mandy” books off my sister’s shelf.  Mom thought she was too grown up for little nine year old me.  Looking back now I see she was right - too many boys and too much romance.  Just the thing a young girl loves.  I still enjoy an innocent romance...on the side.  But it was the adventurers that stuck with me.  The characters who learned things and got things done.   


Mysteries were my favorites.  I loved puzzling things out, and all the action.  Nancy Drew, of course, and The Dana Girls.  I didn’t discover Cherry Ames until later, but we are still fast friends after all these years.  Mandy I find insufferable now, but she’s one of the few.  Of course, I don't mean Julie Andrews Edwards' Mandy.  Where is that book?  How I'd love to read it again.  It's on a shelf or in a box somewhere, waiting.  Along with the All of a Kind family and the Melendys.  Those were the friends I spent my summers and afternoons with.  I still love mysteries, and adventures.  I’m learning, though, that life rarely wraps up as neatly as it does in a book.  That doesn't take away the lessons held within the pages, though.  Lessons like perseverance, loyalty, the value of hard work, and acceptance.  Did you ever notice how accepting people are in Avonlea?  Not that they liked everyone, but they realized that everyone has their limitations.  And the "types" of people...Miss Marple would have been right at home, I think. Do we really know people anymore?  Do we really accept them for who they are, weaknesses and all?  Sometimes I think we are too busy accepting their sins to accept the person.

I like books that make me think.  I dislike books that make me cry, except for “A Gown of Spanish Lace” by Jeanette Oake, which somehow gets away with it.  Probably because it was the first and only one of her books that did make me cry.  Where was I?  Oh yes, I like books that make me think.  They draw me into the conversation.  I dislike books that preach.  There is no conversation when someone is preaching at you.  It’s hard to find good books these days, it seems, that know how to make you think and that don’t preach.  Fiction, anyhow.  I want more good Catholic fiction.  Fiction like “The Masterful Monk” by Owen Francis Dudley, or “Conceived Without Sin” by Bud McFarlane Jr., or “The Endless Knot” by William Biersach. I want to read more books like that.  I want to write books like that.  I want more conversations like that.  Maybe especially with living, breathing, people, not just the pages of their books...So, who are your favorite authors and book characters? 

Best-Ever Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Okay!  I give up! I shall surrender my recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  You may recall that I was holding it for ransom last spring, in hopes of gaining a few more followers.  No such luck.  Ah well, that's what I get for such underhanded schemes.
I really have no right to say that this is the best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe ever, because I invented it, therefor I am extremely biased.  But tell me, do you really get all the strawberry-goodness you want when you cook strawberries?  I didn't think so.  Strawberries are best fresh.  The fresher the better.  So in my pie, I do not cook them, I use them in their fresh, natural state as a sweet and juicy topping to a delicious rhubarb pie.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb Layer:

3/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

4 c. diced rhubarb

1 9” deep dish or 10” unbaked pie crust

1/2 c. cream

Preheat oven to 425º F.  Combine sugar, flour, and salt.  Add rhubarb and stir to coat evenly.  Pour into pie crust. Pour cream on top.  Bake for 10 minutes at 435º.  Reduce heat to 375º and bake for 35 minutes longer or until crust is done and rhubarb is tender.  Cool. Chill if not serving same day.

Strawberry Glaze:

2 1/2 c. fresh strawberries, cleaned and halved divided

1/3 c. water

1/3 c. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

Combine 1/2 c. strawberries and water in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Add water if needed to make 3/4 c. total puree.  Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Add in pureed berries and cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Cool without stirring.  Add to remaining 2 cups of berries.  Chill. Arrange strawberries over cooled rhubarb pie, preferably just before serving. Chill leftovers.   

Reflections on Adoration

  If we were able to truly comprehend the Eucharist, we would be unable to do those which we are commissioned, by God, to do. We would desire to never leave His presence, to never stop adoring, as is right and just.  Yet this is a privilege reserved for Heaven.  We know by faith that Christ is present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  We know we are in the presence of our Creator.  We know that He is all good, all powerful - He is everything.  We know that He loves us so much that He not only suffered and died for us - He humbled Himself to the point of allowing Himself to appear as a piece of bread.  Not only was He once a defenseless child, He now carries the form of an inanimate and defenseless piece of bread.  He wanted us to be able to receive Him, that He may receive us into His Mystical Body.  We know it all, by faith, but we do not understand it.  We cannot feel it.  Only once in a great while are we allowed that feeling, that brief glimmer of understanding.  

    We see the saints who knew this wonder intimately, and we wonder, “Why can I not have that faith!  Why can’t I see?” But what then would you do?  You, as they did, would spend hours adoring.  What of your responsibilities?  Your children?  Your work?  God gives each of us a task to complete here on earth.  Most of us will never know what that task is until we reach eternity.  For some, the job is to adore Christ and to pray.  A world without our cloistered nuns and monks would be lacking so many graces!  But for most, our job is in the world.  Essentially, we are to create new souls for Christ.  For some, this work is to convert those around us by our example.  Yet much of the work is in the family, and in the home.  I recently read a comment, I don’t remember where, that it used to be that the household produced most of its own needs.  Then, things became more specialized and the work moved outside the home, but it was still to provide for the needs of the home, and of the family.  What now is the purpose of our work?  We work to raise money to buy the things our family needs, yes.  But if you ask why we need more jobs, the answer is not “because it is good for the family” it is “it is good for the economy.”  What in the world is the economy?  And why should we care about it?  Have we perhaps lost perspective a bit?  I think so.  We have lost perspective because we can no longer see why the work that we do is a vocation from God.  It is our marching orders.  And it has a purpose in His quest for souls.  

   We cannot, must not, neglect prayer, especially prayer in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  No, we can’t understand its importance.  We can’t feel His presence.  But it is not because we are lacking, and it certainly isn’t because He isn’t there.  He hides Himself because He must.  He has work for us to do.  We go to Him for our marching orders, and for the provisions of grace that we need to complete those tasks.  And He is always waiting for us, always glad to see us, even when He is silent.  He is even more glad to see us when we come only on faith, and not from an emotional desire, because it is then that we prove our faith.  Someday we will see, and we will know, beyond faith, His presence; and we will have eternity to enjoy it.  

Back again

*Kerchew!* Excuse me. My, isn’t it dusty around here!  I suppose that’s what happens when you neglect your blog for four months, eh? Sometimes real life is just too interesting to spend time at a computer.  But I think I have been neglecting my writing a little more than I ought for far too long.  I like to write.  In fact, I love to write.  Sometimes I even have something worth reading.  So as long as I have this nice little blog here, I ought to use it, right?  Make it worth the rent? ;) 

Ah, but what to write about, that is the question.  I could post my recipe for my strawberry-rhubarb pie, but if I recall correctly it is being held for ransom to the tune of 15 followers.  Poor pie!  I could do some more book reviews, too.  I have read some very good books lately.  And at least one that wasn’t bad, but wasn’t really great, either.  Too bad, because it definitely had potential for greatness. 

There are some deeper subjects I’d like to delve into, as well.  Subjects like suffering, joy, being yourself, selfishness and selflessness, and faith.  Every once in awhile I come across (or come up with) a profound thought.  Profound thoughts ought not be kept to oneself, I think.  They ought to be shared, like chocolate chip cookies.  No, I can never be totally serious.  Perhaps I ought to work harder on that.  Perhaps I ought to realize that heaven doesn’t belong on earth.  Oh wait, it does.  Perhaps that is why I can never be serious.  Because nothing on this earth is quite what it seems.  There is always a little more there - a little Heaven, because of a little angel.  Besides that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the devil was afraid of holy laughter.  

And so ends today’s ramble.  God willing, it won’t be the last.  

P.S. 

I get my wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday.  I am not looking forward to it, at all.  I don’t have much wisdom to spare.  Fortunately, I have a list of people I will offer it all up for.  Please pray for me, and for them.  Thank you.  

P.P.S

Yes, I am aware that I used the word "ought" six times in this post.  Make that seven :).