First Vespers of All Saint's Day

I'm feeling so rejuvenated after being off for several days from work.  My job is so fulfilling; but I'm also a huge homebody.  No cooked breakfast this morning.  Cereal w/milk.  Long talks with my daughters about nothing and everything.  At the same time, fleeting thoughts are running through my brain on what to do first today.  After the house is put to order, do I put together a batch of pie dough to make some pies for this evening?  Or should I go ahead and finish up that batch of lovely holiday aprons that I've been working on? Orrr...work on sewing Jacob some more 'work' pants?  What shall it be?  I guess maybe all of it.  Yes... but first I'll take Miss Sadie, our dog, outside this morning.

Finally the Fall season  seems to really be here!  The air even smells as well as feels like Autumn.  So many projects to be finished.  My youngest daughter has had her costume for this evening finished.

My daughters modeling some of my holiday aprons that I sewed up.

Our Miss Sadie!

Feast Day of St. Luke

What better way to celebrate this Feast Day of St. Luke by having an extraordinarily ordinary day of simple light housekeeping, sewing up much need items for the kitchen (aprons, tea towels, pot holders, etc.) and tending to my children.  As my daughters and I go about our day, there is much talk between us about the saints and how they lived their lives.  Simply and with  much heart and devotion through prayer for the Virgin Mary and our Lord.

I did bake a lovely berry pie, which we enjoyed; to celebrate this saint, who wrote a major portion of the New Testament; he addressed the connection between the life of Christ and that of the Church.  

I will remember this saint this evening in my prayers before I retire to bed. 

Fabric

I had been feeling blue, here lately, and one thing that really cheers me up is going to Hancocks; a fabric store.  I just love looking at fabrics.  White is my favorite color; although it's not really a color, is it?  But anyways I also love calicos.  It reminds me of  my grandmother, vintage, retro stuff which also appeals to me.  My daughter and I went through every fabric aisle and examined, touched bolts and bolts of cloth along with about 2-3 dozen other female customers of all ages.  We then plopped down in front of the pattern books and flipped through pages of Butterick patterns.  They're on sale today for 97cents each.  Can't beat that price!  We came home with about a dozen patterns.

The first thing Melinda made was a pink velvet bag lined with some lavender calico print to carry her cell phone in.  I'm taking much longer; I got on internet to check out my favorite sewing blogs and  I discovered a site last night called 'Spoonflower'.  You create your own design; then upload onto their site and they print the fabric with your design out for you for a fee.  Very very interesting.  My creation ideas will have to wait, though, because of my budget.  In the meantime, I will be happy with what stash of material I've got and sew together some lovely shirts.

I'm glad that simple things cheer me up whenever I feel downcast.  I have my coffeepot going just about all the time here, at home. The house is nice and cool; outside is somewhere between 105-109 degrees of dry unbearable heat.  When is the fall weather going to come?  I'm so ready.  So ready for my favorite time of the year.  The holidays are just around the corner.

So here I am just making a small note; so thankful that I can even buy the patterns to begin with.  Money has been so tight.  But we're not without food, clothing or shelter. Bills~ well, they'll always be there.   My daughters and I are all abuzz about sewing and dressing up ourselves as well as our home.  Time to make more aprons, potholders (our present ones are so worn out.)

Rosary tonight.

Father's Day

Today was the loveliest Sunday.  It was also Father's Day.  I began my day by getting busy early this morning.  Cleaning house by picking up socks here, smelly tennis shoes there, feeding the pets, saying my 'Hail Marys' silently in my head.  What to cook for my husband who will be stopping by, later on today, for a Father's Day Dinner.  Married forever, perhaps, but living separately.

Coffee is percolating, of course, laundry is washing.  Every once in awhile, my head turns toward the television set; they're showing episode after episode of  'I Love Lucy'.  I just love these shows!  The kids are still in bed because it's very early morning.

Wanting to watch something nice later on.  Another old movie, 'The Miracle' which came out in 1959.  It's leading actors are Carroll Baker and Roger Moore.  I love old movies; decent ones anyhow.  Prayers and family rosary this evening.

Father
Thank you for this very nice Sunday.
My children are happy
and I am content.

Mother's Day

Today was nice, quiet and a little on the lazy side.  But that's what I wanted for Mother's Day.   My children wished me a happy Mother's Day with a sweet kiss on my cheek and lots of hugs.  The house was already clean when I awoke this morning.  Nice!  My coffeepot was already on and just waiting for me to pour myself a cup of coffee; which I did.  Quietness.  I soaked it all in and enjoyed the first few hours of the morning.

We ordered chinese food later in the day; my son brought it home for us all to enjoy.  We then watched one of my favorite movies, Sally and Saint Anne.  It has a nice star cast, Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn,  and Francis Bavier.  These are just a few.  Most people remember Francis Bavier as Aunt Bee of  The Andy Griffith Show.  This movie was filmed in 1952 and was very hard to find especially in DVD.  It took me all of two months.  I purchased it from a seller on Bonanza. It's one of  several vintage movies that I have that has a Catholic theme to it.  Old Hollywood; it still surprises me whenever I discover how many Catholics there were, and just how many are no longer.

But as far as the main star in this particular movie goes, Ann Blyth, was and still is devout Catholic.  So this is what I did for my day.

Thank You

I've been working for two days.  I'm off now so I can stay home and cook, teach my kids and just enjoy being with them.  We had a potluck at work, which was nice.  I brought salad; hmmm.  I only noticed one person serving themselves.  So after awhile, I re-bagged the salad and placed it in the fridge in our breakroom, to take home this evening.  I just couldn't see myself  leaving it out to get bad and wonder if someone would serve themselves. I'm always in a money crunch and hate wasting!
Found out four of our employees at work are leaving.  It saddened me alot.  They're all such great people.  I enjoyed working with them and enjoyed their company so much. Made me think about how important each person is individually.  Each of us go in and out of each other's lives; sometimes for only a short time.  There's been co-workers that brightened my day just by being sunny and uplifting.  A smile or a funny joke goes a long way.  Thank you dear friends.  I haven't mentioned your names except in my prayers.

Dear Lord,
You know which friends I'm talking about.
Thank you for placing them in my path.
Even though they didn't know it at all
because I never told them,
their kindness towards me had a
healing effect on my heart.
Thanks again.
Amen.

By Myself

So here I am again; blogging away.  I closed up this blog because I was over my head in emotional turmoil.  Ever cried for eighteen months straight?  I didn't have any desire to blog.  Try as I might.  So I deleted nearly four years of posting.  Then my daughters were upset that I had done this.  So I reopened my blog; and then stared at it.  Closed it up again.  It's been eight months since I blogged.  Why?  My husband and I separated.   I've had lots of maternal family support though.  Thank you dear cousins!  (I have sooo many) What would I have done without you? And the saints; my friends to whom I look up to, to get through every crisis in my life now.  Whether it's cooking, or gardening, or losing my car keys or my glasses!  Thank you St. Anthony, for helping me find these items.  What you wouldn't do for a couple of 'Hail Marys'.  And my heavenly mother, to whom I quietly beseech for strength.  So here I am once more.