Feeding Mama Blueberries

A favorite time for Julie and Tyler:

Orderly Days - Part Two

Here is my continuation of this post where I introduced my Home Management Binder from Orderly Days (Update 10/13/08: Sadly, the website seems to be down right now. I don't know why or when it might return.). As I mentioned then, I have "tweaked" my binder to make it more useful to my particular situation. Here are some of the other things I have included in the binder:

Daily Task List from Monday

(This was placed in a Day Runner plastic protector sheet to allow use of the dry-erase markers. Tasks for morning and afternoon were completed and marked off with one of my dry-erase markers.)

Chore list "Let's Clean Up!" program

(Note that I re-wrote my inspirational quote onto nice paper with a rose next to it.)

Close-up of the chore list

The chore list is placed on the refrigerator. There are boxes to check off when a task is complete. If a chore isn't done, it can be put on the next day's list (that's where you see a number "1", indicating that the chore should have been done the previous day).

Praying the Rosary - Praying the Gospels

The Rosary is an often misunderstood prayer of the Catholic faith. What many don't realize is that the Rosary is a wonderful meditation on the Gospels. Each day the Rosary is prayed has five different mysteries to reflect on, one for each of the five decades of the Rosary:

Joyful Mysteries (Mondays and Saturdays)
- Annunciation - Obedience
- Visitation - Love for Neighbor
- Nativity - Love for the Poor
- Presentation of Jesus - Humility
- Finding of Jesus - Prayer

Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays)
- Agony in the Garden - Submission to God's Will
- Scourging at the Pillar - Loathing of our Sins
- Crowning of Thorns - Christ, the King of Our Hearts
- Christ Carries the Cross - Our Daily Crosses
- Crucifixion - Sacrifice

Luminous Mysteries (Thursdays)
- Baptism by John - Renewal of the Holy Spirit
- Wedding Feast At Cana - God's Transforming Power
- Proclamation of the Kingdom - Word of God
- Transfiguration - Christ the Light
- Institution of the Eucharist - Christ in the World

Glorious Mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays)
- Resurrection - Overcoming evil
- Ascension - New Life
- Descent of the Holy Spirit - Ourselves as Temples of the Spirit
- Assumption of Mary - Peaceful Death
- Coronation - Glory of the Kingdom of God

I don't pray the Rosary every day, but it is a very calming and beautiful way to spend time with God on those days I do pray it. And my mother made me a beautiful Rosary when I had my First Communion as a child:

Snow Baby!

We bought Tyler his first pair of snow boots on Monday. We've had deep snows here lately and wanted him to experience it. We think Tyler misses his almost daily walks in the fresh air. So we bundled him up and ventured into the backyard. He was a little bit scared and wanted to hold our hands while walking in the drifts, which went up to above his knees. He tasted the snow and found it...interesting!

Samosas and a New Cookbook!

I got a wonderful new cookbook a while back. It is a whole grain baking book from the King Arthur Flour Company:

One of the main reasons I got is was so that I could have a recipe for whole wheat puff pastry and turnover dough. I haven't tried the puff pastry yet, but I did try the turnover dough recipe. I used it to make one of my family's favorite meals - Samosas (a traditional east Indian food). I serve them with a sauce made of garam masala and mango chutney - YUM!

A Quote

“When love and duty are one, grace is within you.”

This is from the movie The Painted Veil. (Note: This movie is absolutely not recommended for young viewers due to certain scenes and behaviors of the main characters.) It is a quote from one of the characters, a Catholic nun in China, describing how mundane work can become holy. As soon as I heard it, I jotted it down on a Post-it and stuck it on my refrigerator door, because it is the sort of inspiration I need when I am cleaning dishes and yuck out of the kitchen sink for the third time in one day, or when folding the umpteenth load of laundry. If I can just intersperse love of the people I am working for into the task (duty), I can elevate a simple task well above how it appears simply on the surface.

My Son!

I had never been a football fan in my life. Paul had played in high school, but never watched it once he got older. But for some reason, our son, Robert, developed a sudden interest in it two years ago. So when he started Catholic high school this year, one of the first things he did was to join the football team. I finally began to learn about the game for the first time in my life. Once I understood a little bit, I actually found it exciting. It was also much more interesting when there was a player I knew personally to watch. Robert had a good season and enjoyed every minute. One of the other player's parents took this photo. We were glad to have this momento!