Diary of a Lazy Cook

Sunday: Reheat leftovers from taco luncheon served at husband's place of employment on Friday. (Imagine them thinking we'd have use for all those leftovers!)

Monday: Make a vat of spaghetti sauce with rest of ground beef from same taco luncheon. Use part of this spaghetti sauce for large pan of lasagna for dinner.

Tuesday: Sandwiches on the run (on the way out to look at puppies).

Wednesday: Finish up the rest of the lasagna with Aunt Nina, while Daddy takes Mommy out to dinner at the Movie Tavern (Saw I am Legend ~ Gave me bad dreams...).

Thursday: Lunch ~Used up end of chopped tomatoes from that taco luncheon, added tomato sauce, oregano and garlic to them. Topped leftover hotdog buns still good from last week with this combination, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and topped with the end of some pepperoni found in the back of the fridge. Instant mini pizzas.

Dinner ~ Spaghetti with the end of the sauce made on Monday, with salad and french bread. Add some spumoni and we have the makings of an Italian meal for St. John Bosco's feast day!

Friday: Popcorn, cheese, and apples with a movie. For the feast of St. Brigid, we ought to find something Irish, but cabbage and/or potatoes are hard to eat in front of a movie...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, all the leftovers have been used up, except a big bowl of sour cream that will keep until we have either a Mexican food night next week or stroganoff. Is everyone here sick of Italian food this week, you might wonder? Well, this group is not picky. If the the big boys were here, they would be complaining by now, and I would say, "Oh, good. So, you want to make dinner tonight?" But, the Littles don't even notice the eat-repeat, and they all love anything with pasta, anyway.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a foodie. To make sure we get all our nutrients, we have lots of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, which everyone likes and will eat. Everyone likes apples and bananas. Add some whole grain bread and lots of dairy and I hope I'm keeping us covered. We almost never eat anything boxed or pre-prepared, and in that way, we avoid too many chemicals. I can count on one hand the number of times we've eaten fast food in the last six months. So, we do aim for health of a sort in our menus. But, we're so not fancy. Maybe when the kids are all grown up my husband and I will get creative with our menus...


In the meantime, it's all about cheap, filling, healthful and eaten without too much fuss and bother. And the better a food "stretches" out over a week, the better I like it. I really am a lazy cook.

Tomorrow's Feast Day

St. John Bosco


We are huge fans of this saint! Having started out with four boys, we learned early to rely on his heavenly assistance, and base our homeschooling and much of our parenting philosphy on his methods. Parents might be interested in this letter from St. John Bosco regarding the teaching of children. This great priest knew how to deal with children, but especially boys, let me tell you! We have had great success using him as a role model.



Since tomorrow is his feastday, we've been reading aloud this version of the story of Don Bosco this week. The children especially love the ghost story with the Catholic explanation and love the stories of Grigio, his dog, which I mentioned in my first post today.


Also, since my husband and I won't be here tomorrow (We're going to the Western Slope yet another time to finally close on our house over there, please God!), we're leaving the children with simple, fun assignments for the day. They have to do one math assignment, finish reading the story of St. John with their grandmother, and learn some of the magic tricks and card tricks that I printed out for them. They have to present us with a magic show when we get back. In honor of Don Bosco, of course.

UPDATE: So bummed, but trying to accept it as God's will... Found out just now that our closing was postponed, hopefully not canceled. =sigh= What's with these banks, waiting until the day before a closing to take a good look at the paperwork? They won't even tell us what the problem is, only that it doesn't have anything to do with us. Like, IT DOESN'T?!

Grigio and a Friend Maybe?

We've been looking for a big dog. We have a little foofoo dog, Miss Brigid of Kildare (A bichon... and her nameday is Friday!). But now that we're back on the farm, and getting ready to get geared back up with chickens and what-all (I don't know yet all what), we need a guardian, protector, coyote chaser again.

Our much-beloved yellow lab, Anthony (so named because his birthday was June 13th), passed away a few months before we left the farm. Anthony was the world's best dog. Bar none. He LOVED to chase tennis balls; he was the tennis ball retrieving champion of the world. Whenever we left to go anywhere, we'd find him waiting for us at the top of the driveway, where he'd meet the car and walk us up to the house. Wherever the Littles were playing, he was there. The garden never saw a rabbit when Anthony was on patrol. We never lost a chicken. He wore a little path all around the property where he'd walk his patrol several times a day. All the animals loved him, including the cats. We loved him. But it was his time to go.

And, now we think we've found his successor. Maybe two of them.

These pups are only two weeks old now. They're half Black Lab, half Great Pyrenees.

Gonna be Big Dogs.

We have our eye on that little golden male at the top there.

And this little girl is already ours, seeing as she's already pooped on me. (Only a mother can understand that kind of bonding, I expect...)

We can't take them home until the end of February, but we've put a deposit on one and have made a proposal to take another one, especially if the owner has trouble selling the rest of the litter of nine. I'm thinking a boy and a girl would be good. We've already decided that one of them has to be named Grigio, in honor of St. John Bosco's guardian angel dog, since tomorrow is Don Bosco's feast day. But the other one, we can't decide what to name!

There are no Italian girl's saint names to go with Grigio between the birthdate and this week... We couldn't even find one around the date we'll be picking them up. We're thinking about "Sally" in honor of the Salesians, especially since we met the pups yesterday on the feast of St. Francis deSales. But that's not Italian and I'm having trouble imagining myself calling, "Sally! Grigio! Grigio! Sally!" Doesn't sound right, does it? Then we were thinking maybe "Bella," a wonderful Italian adjective my friend Bia uses...

We're open to suggestions... Any ideas?

Another Quiz Thingy

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

I go for a plain old cuppa joe, but I think of myself as more of a mocha girl, actually ~ a step up from low maintenance. Just ask my husband if that isn't true! Bless him, he'd just smile at you. He really is a plain ole cuppa joe!

So, what it is that makes these quizzes so irresistible?? The girls and I just have a ball with these. That quiz site, Blog-things is not safe for the children (and maybe not me!) to peruse alone, but we spent a good time together yesterday finding out what seasons we are, what Muppet characters and what other vintage cartoon characters we are, as well as what kind of cookies we are. Too much fun.

(By the way, did anyone else notice the misspelling in the "old Joe" description above?)

H/T Red Cardigan at And Sometimes Tea, who's also a plain ole' cuppa joe.

What I'm Going To Be When I Grow Up

You Should Be a Doctor

You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive. Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily. You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful. You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you. You do best when you: - Are always learning new subjects - Use your knowledge to solve problems You would also be a good therapist or detective.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

*Well, they got me. I'm already a doctor, therapist and detective. As a homeschooling mom, I'm always learning new subjects, and have to use my knowledge to solve problems! I don't know how capable I am at it, but in this vocation you have to be an adaptable, problem-solving type. Energy and optimism are good attributes to have, but, to be honest, mine come and go...

How'd they get this from the fact that I like teal colored waves?

But, then there's this...

Check out how husbands and wives can live longer...

H/T to the always witty and on-top-of-things Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

PS: I'll likely live to be about 108, right Honey? Expressiveness is a trait I've got a serious handle on...

A Must Read

Elizabeth at Real Learning has some wonderfully thoughtful and wise words today about our roles as wives. Elizabeth's blog is one of my first morning reads every day. Her gentle and deeply Catholic take on life and schooling is always an inspiration!

An E Award!

Marie and Ginny over at View From the Pews are so sweet! They've honored me with an "E" Award! To be honored for excellence from such excellent bloggers is a high honor, indeed. Thank-you, so very much, ladies! Once again, I'm humbled by the kindness of my fellow bloggers!

Now, I get to pass it along! Oh, my, oh, my,oh, my.... So many excellent blogs out there! How do I narrow it down to just 10?! Please know that any blog I ever look at I consider excellent in some way or another. But the rules (listed below) say to pick just ten, so here goes:



Matilda at Waltzing Matilda
Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight
Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney
Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings
Red Cardigan at And Sometimes Tea
Nutmeg at Life in a Nutshell
Bia at La Dolce Vita
Suzy at Sailing by Starlight
Peggy at A Catholic Notebook
Danette at A Crocus in the Valley

The rules: By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. Thank you out there for having such great blogs and being such great friends! You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded…

You Know You're a Coloradan

Jeff Foxworthy on Colorado. (And my comments on his comments)

You are a Coloradan if .............

1. You switch from 'Heat' to 'A/C' in one day. It happens.

2. You know what the 'Peoples Republic of Boulder' means. Boulder is one of the most beautiful, but liberal cities on the planet!

3. Your sense of direction is: towards the mountains and away from the mountains. Well, yes, of course. But living on the Eastern Slope vs. the Western Slope took some getting used to, because if you're on the Denver side, the mountains are to the west, and if you're in the Montrose area, where we just moved from, the San Juan range is to the south. So, we are now really directionally challenged.

(This range of mountains in Ouray, CO, actually lies to the east!)

4. You're a meat-eating vegetarian. I guess that's what we are.

5. The bike on your car is worth more than your car and you have your own special bike lane. Not us, but many!

6. You're able to drive 65 miles per hour through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without even flinching. Well, I definitely flinch!

7. You take your out-of-town guests to Casa Bonita even though you would never go there otherwise. This is so true! (Casa Bonita is a HUGE Mexican restaurant with a waterfall and divers and very mediocre food)

8. You think your major food groups are granola bars, tofu and Fat Tire Beer. Well, I don't know about the tofu and granola, but I like Fat Tire.

9. You design your kid's Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit. Common practice, indeed.

10. You think that sexy lingerie is wool socks and flannel PJs. Isn't it?

11. You know all 4 seasons 'almost winter, winter, still winter and spring blizzards. Well... This is humorous, but Colorado really does have four definite seasons. Our springs and autumns are glorious and our summers are wonderful because it always cools down at nighttime.

12. You've been tear gassed in a riot to celebrate a CU/CSU victory. Not me, personally. but, I almost got kicked out of a DU Hockey game once.

13. You can never figure out why your out-of-town guests faint from altitude sickness on a picnic to the mountains. We know why it is.

14. You can drive over a 12,000-foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can't get to work if there are 4 inches of snow. We don't blink at 4 inches of snow, actually... The snow plows and sand trucks make it a non-issue before rush hour in most cases.

15. You know the 'correct' pronunciation of Buena Vista. Well, that is still a topic of debate...

16. When you visit friends at sea level, you can drink a case of beer and not get a buzz. True!

17. Your car insurance costs more than your car. Doesn't everybody's?

18. You have surge protectors on every outlet. Yep.

19. April showers bring May blizzards. Yep.

20. 'Timberline' is someplace you have actually been. Many times.

21. You know what a 'Chinook' is. Yep. Lovely thing, a chinook.

22. You know what a 'Rocky Mountain Oyster' is. Ewwwww... Yes, I do.

23. You know what a 'fourteener' is. Uh huh. But, I don't climb 'em, just enjoy looking at 'em.

24. .But you don't know what a 'turn signal' is. Now, I take exception to this! A real Coloradan is a considerate driver! It's those dang California transplants that run the stoplights, don't use their blinkers, and don't let you into traffic! We KNOW it's Californians!

25. A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you nearly as much as a Democrat in Congress does. Amen to that!

26. Your golf bag has a 9-iron, a 3-wood and a lightning rod. True, true.

27. People from out of state breathe 5 times as often as you do. They do, they do. And, though we may have better lung power ourselves at low altitudes, we faint from the humidity!

28. Having a Senator named Nighthorse doesn't seem strange. No, of course not. At least not after he switched to the right party.

29. Thunder has set off your car alarm. It happens.
30. You have an $800 stereo in your $300 truck. Well, I don't, but I have a son who used to be guilty of that!

31. You think a red light means 3 more cars can go. As I told you, that's the Californians!

32. Where we're going, we don't need roads! True! We love off-roading.

And there's no road to here...

or here...

or here...

(All three of these pictures taken in the back country last summer, somewhere between Telluride and Silverton, Colorado)

33. You know where the real 'South Park' is. Do, indeed! And the people there are not snotty, crude, obnoxious cartoon characters.

34. You can recognize the license plates of all 50 states on sight. It's a game we play when we go places. Lots of tourism here.

35. Driving directions usually include 'Go over_________ Pass.' This is true. Vail Pass and I have a personal relationship.

36. You've checked for ticks. Don't you do this anywhere there are woods?

37. You've dressed in shorts, sandals, and a parka with a hood. Well, not me, but you see it all the time. Usually males, between the ages of about 15 and 35. And I'll just bite my tongue and not say why I think this is.

38. You've gone snow skiing in July and......... They do that on the glaciers, yes. And we have had snow in July.

39. You've played golf in January and....... Oh, Yeah. My husband and father-in-law have often. The last two winters have been particularly cold and snowy (so much for global warming, eh?), and my father-in-law said, "The heck with this" and has taken his clubs back to southern California with him.

40. They were in the same year! It's conceivable.

41. You've urinated on the Continental Divide just so it could run into both oceans. Well, not actually, but the theory is that it would work if you did. Don't tell my sons about this particular method of testing the theory, though, or I can see them making weekend roadtrip out of it and calling it science.

42. You know what a down slope and an up slope weather pattern is. Yeah. Esp. 'upslope' which means, "Look out!"

43. And the most important: You get a certain feeling of satisfaction from knowing that California and Texas are both down stream. Now, well, I don't have anything against the inhabitants of either of those great states, but it is true, that there are indiscriminately large numbers of CA and TX license plates here, so they're easy scapegoats...

44. You actually understand these jokes and send them to your Colorado friends. And to anyone else who's interested in some Colorado idiosyncracies.

The Conversion of St. Paul

According to Cathy (First grade)...


I LOVE children's take on things! Is this not the soul of brevity? She got in the important stuff, though. &:o) You can see she had consultants on the big words, but not the punctuation and capitalization...

Michelle and Therese's versions of St. Paul's story were considerably more detailed , but too long to post. Here are their illustrations, though.

This one is Michelle's (Seventh Grade)
Here's Theresa's (Fourth Grade)

And, by the way, Happy Sorta Nameday to Number One Son, Paul! Praying for you today!

Too Much God?

Here's our basic philosopy:

I don't think it's very different from most of the visitors to AWTY, actually. In a nutshell, we love our children and want to be together forever with them in Heaven someday. If the children grow up knowing how much God loves them, they want to love Him back. If they love Him back, they want to know Him and serve Him. It's our job to provide the best atmosphere we can for this to happen in our home.

Here's how we try to do that:

* By consistently teaching all the rules and aids to leading holy lives, especially the frequent reception of the Sacraments.
* By reading and having available wholesome books.
* By providing the tools and instruction for learning, without making it drudgery.
* By closely monitoring possible negative influences, including the media and dangerous company and places.
* By teaching the value of purity, through modesty (dress), self respect (behaviour), and the love of the Immaculate Heart.
* By appealing to all the senses in wholesome ways ~ through music, games, and a beautiful and orderly home.
* By having lots of fun! Holiness does not have to be dull!

Is this God-centric philosophy overkill? I read a Catholic mother complain once about how she thought it was unnecessary, and perhaps even harmful to a child to "harp" on the Faith. But, if "harping" means directing every subject, every experience toward a lesson in faith, the popes counsel us that we should, indeed, harp. Pope Pius XI, in His Encyclical on Christian Education, agrees with Pope St. Pius X, saying:

Whatever a Christian does even in the order of things of earth, he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed he must, according to the teaching of Christian wisdom, direct all things towards the supreme good as to his last end; all his actions, besides, in so far as good or evil in the order of morality, that is, in keeping or not with natural and divine law, fall under the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church.

I think it's a common misconception with some that "too much Faith" will produce the opposite result intended, that children will get sick of hearing about God interspersed through math and science, and that a lot of eye-rolling will go on behind the teacher's back. (I was saddened to read this idea in a Catholic homeschooling mother's blog.)

I guess this certainly could happen if a child felt God was being crammed down his throat. But, how could a child feel this way if, from his infancy, his most nurtured moments occurred before a crucifix, if Heavenly birthdays were celebrated with as much cake and joy as family days, if conversations of love and affection always ended up referring to Heavenly Loved Ones, too?

I guess the question is "Can you have too much love in your life?"

This is the story of my life...

I've been reading a lot of wonderfully descriptive day plans and organization-focused blog posts lately and gleaning so many good ideas from them. I think the new year turns our minds in this direction, doesn't it? Streamlining. Focusing. Prioritizing. But, I've been sort of avoiding writing my own post detailing our daily routines. And, I wasn't sure exactly why I didn't want to do it, until it hit me today.

Today, in the Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett, we read a beautifully written description of the Wright brothers' first successful flight at Kitty Hawk. We all remarked on how well written the story was, and how it piqued our interst, even though we are a bunch of girls with very little interest in aeronautics. A little later, after lunch, I was sweeping the floors, thinking about what made that story so good, so much fun to read, and I was hard-put to lay my finger on one thing. Great descriptions. Appealed to the senses. Graceful flow of words. Informative. Kept our interest. Led up smoothly to the climax. All these things, yes, but more than each of these things.
And, that's when the connection came to me.

We have a basic routine to every day; we do have a chore sharing regimine and homeschooling guidelines that we follow. And they're important to the efficient running of our lives, but they don't tell our story. We're a homeschooling family and though that fact is important, it's not essential to our character. We have a large family, but we don't hang our hats on that. We run a fairly orderly home, especially for the numbers that shelter here, but that isn't what we're all about, either. All these things describe the structure of our story. First person, limited omniscient, prose. But, though they support and reflect it, they are not the theme of the story.

Here's the theme: We're a Catholic Family.

Everything else comes from that fact. In creating our home, we've always tried to make that the background, the foundation of everything we do, philosophically and physically. Every decision we make, from how and where we school our children to what we eat at mealtimes (esp. on Fridays and vigils) reflects our Catholicism. How we dress, how we decorate our home, the books we buy, the movies and programs we watch are chosen through a Catholic decision making process. We want our Faith to BE the very air we breathe. It IS who we are.

This is a subject I can warm up to easier than listing out our homeschooling schedule (Though I may eventually do that. Who knows?).

Tomorrow I'll jot down our family philosophy, which serves as a loose rule for our lives. Right now, I'm going out with my two sisters, to celebrate my baby sister, Donna's birthday. So, I've got to get a move on! But here's a thought to leave you on:

Do you think that Faith can permeate too much into family life? It's apparently a common belief among some! I'm thinking about that concept, too, and will tell you tomorrow what I come up.

Privileges Meme

From What Privileges Do You Have?,
based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

I added five life advantages to the end that were important for me. I think it'd be interesting to see what other people add to the list. Consider yourself tagged if this one interests you!

Bold the true statements.
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in high schoo
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
(This last one is funny to me, because we spent the majority of our childhood winters discussing the heating bill and why we people needed to stop fiddling with the thermostat!)

Here are five things not included in the list that I think were primary advantages for me:

1. I grew up with many brothers and sisters.
2. We were always close to our large extended family.
3. My Dad's love of learning was contagious.
4. My Mom's love and devotion to family was contagious.
5. We were brought up to know, love, and serve God in the Catholic Church.

H/T Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii, where I saw it first.

Pray for Helen

At Castle of the Immaculate, who may be having her baby today!!

UPDATE: Helen had a 7lb 14 oz baby girl yesterday, the 23rd! I believe her name is Colette Grace! Many congratulations to this exemplary Catholic family!

(Check out the novena to St. John Bosco she left with us before she went to the hospital. It runs from today until January 31st, his feastday.)

Goops and How Not To Be Them

You know how I mentioned yesterday that I'd found a book in an antique store? Well, we've started transcribing it onto its own blog, called Goops and How Not To Be Them. Michelle (our twelve year old secretary) will be adding to it, hopefully every school day until she's finished.

We'll add other little lessons in manners for children as we come across them, as this is a subject near and dear to our hearts.

Anyway, if you have a chance, and especially if you have little ones in your life, please go have a look and let us know what you think.

A Must Read

If you didn't hear about Simcha's shopping trip yesterday, you've GOT to run over there! Hysterical! Partly because I can SO identify with her!

Some pictures, etc...

I thought it'd be fun to just change out the header every couple of days with some of my more clear shots from the weekend. In the header, above, is a shot of the San Juans over Ridgway, Colorado. Isn't it breathtaking? (And doesn't that lack of an "e" in the middle of Ridgway drive you nuts?) Can you see how the high winds on the top of the mountain are blowing the snow up into a white fuzz? It's a gorgeous setting, any time of year here! Many movies have been filmed in Ridgway, including How the West Was Won and True Grit.

It's also a fabulous place for antique shopping. I found the best old book there on Monday! I'm going to have Michelle type it into the computer to share with you. It'll serve as typing lessons for her and I know you'll enjoy it! It's a 1904 edition of the children's manners book, Goop Tales by Gelett Burgess.

Below are some of the poorly focused shots I got, due mainly to the fact that I was driving the car while I took them... Don't worry, though; I was going about 4 miles an hour. After my weekend adventures, I was definitely driving prudently!

Below: Some mountain goats, taking a leisurely stroll down the highway on the way to Ouray.



Icicles coming off a redstone cliff on the side of the road. I wish I could have gotten a picture from further back, because they completely covered the wall of rock up about 25' or so.

Our Lady of the Snow.
Deer roam freely through the streets of Ouray. They are practically tame and so smart! They have figured out how to keep warm by standing close to the houses in town on very cold days.

These guys have uncovered a patch of grass from under the snow and are nibbling away.

Warning!

My husband, being the generous and loving man that he is, went back home Saturday night to take over babysitting the children and left me here in Western Colorado to enjoy a mini vacation through the long weekend. I had the chance to wander around all by myself with my camera and take pictures of some of my favorite places... As soon as I get back and download them onto my computer... Well... Look out!

Thank-you Wonderful Husband! Thank-you Wonderful sisters, Donna and Linda, for giving me this much-appreciated break! I owe ya!

God Isn't Afraid of Icy Roads

So, we made it over the mountains. Barely. And therein lies a hair raising tale with a happy ending.

We had slow going through Denver due to snow and a typically busy Friday rush hour. Slow going through the foothills due to all the ski traffic. Slow going at higher elevations due to all the ice on the roads.

My husband, in the big pickup, was slipping a little here and there ahead of me as we got into the mountains. No big deal to him these roads, as he was in the mighty Dodge. But I, in the little Toyota Rav 4, almost slid off the mountains twice.

I'm not kidding.

The Eisenhower tunnel is a very long tunnel that passes through a mountain high in the the Rockies. It marks one of a couple of high points we always landmark as possibly troublesome this time of year. The weather reports for this pass usually say "possibility of snow," "icy/snowpacked," or "chain laws in effect." The forecast for that night, though, was just for light snow, so we weren't too worried. We usually worry only when the law requires the semis to put chains on their tires.

But we were pretty sure we'd gotten off easy as we approached the tunnel from the east; the roads were only a little wet on that side. However... the roads, as we came out on the west side, were a skating rink. You could pretty much tell this as soon as you exited the tunnel because the single file rows of cars that had behaved so politely and orderly in the tunnel, suddenly turned into a squirming, sliding mishmosh on the other side. The downhill side.

It's funny how, after twenty-five years or so of driving in this nasty weather, you really do go into auto pilot. At least at first. As soon as I started to slide, my motor memory (no pun intended) really did kick immediately into snow-driving mode : Never slam on the brakes when driving on ice; gently pump, gently pump, slow down nice.

Yeah, well. Nice rule. But as the "gentle pumping" seemed to have no effect whatsoever on my forward momentum, I consciously Gave Up on the rules and pushed the pedal to the floor.

What else could I do? Another instinct had kicked in here. I was coming up fast on the back of my husband's truck. I MASHED those brakes!

Meanwhile... even as all this instinctual physical activity was going on, my conscious brain was facing a different dilema. My conscious thoughts were running more along the lines of: Is it a good or a bad thing that I'm about to hit the back of my own vehicle?

Almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, my Toyota slowly rotated south, and continued, graceful as Michelle Kwan, turning me (In slow motion it seemed, though in the space of a half a second...) right into the opposite, oncoming lanes of traffic!

The rules of snowdriving automatically kicked in again: Be a smart kid; steer into the skid. My hands on the steering wheel obeyed, but the car did not. "Steering into the skid" didn't do a lick of good.

I was trying to be a smart kid, doggonit, but it wasn't working!

You have to know that at that particular place in the highway, there is no guardrail between the east and westbound lanes, so there was nothing to stop me from sliding into oncoming traffic. Yikes!

At this point, I figured it would have been better to hit the back of the truck. Oh, definitely!

So, I'm sliding across the "empty" space that divided the west and eastbound traffic, helpless to do anything, still pushing with all my might down on the brake pedal, thinking, "If I hit one of those cars, will we both continue sliding until we go over the edge?"

At about that point another automatic impulse kicked into gear.

"Jesus, Mercy!" I yelled. (Not like I needed to yell for Him to hear me, but I couldn't help it.)

And, immediately, the tires caught and I swung the wheel around and moved back safely into my lane. Whew!

Coincidence? Nope. Happened twice.

The second time, I was going, very slowly down another very steep hill. Around a curve. By this time the eastbound lanes had diverged onto their own bridges, so I didn't have to worry about sliding into oncoming traffic. I only had to worry about falling off the side of the mountain. But, no biggie. Not to God, Who has the whole world in His hand.

"Jesus, Mercy! Keep me safe!" I halloooed as I again slid sideways, unable to change direction or affect my momentum. And, as the words left my lips, again the wheels caught and I was able to steer safely back into my lane.

Yes, indeed. I know it was God. He scooped me up and set me right. Two times Friday night.

I know it was Him; I recognized the M.O.

He does this all the time.

He keeps me safe and sets me straight in spite of all my best intentions to do it myself.

But, He does like to be asked.

And thanked.

Thank-you, dear Lord.

It's Snowing Again

Like, what's new? It's January, it's Colorado, and it IS the weekend. Why does it always snow on the weekend? Especially on the weekends that we are traveling over the mountains?

Ah, well. God knows all things. He knows we have to make this trip (Gotta finish up some details on our old house before its sale the end of this month), so I know Our Heavenly Father will be looking out for us.

Most likely the biggest real danger on the road will be my losing my temper at the stu... I mean the careless big rig drivers and the idio... I mean inconsiderate young men in their four-wheel-drive vehicles who fly by on the icy roads, spraying slush back on the windshields of those of us who are trying to drive prudently... (See? I'm already getting ticked...)

Please pray for me to keep my temper and bite my tongue?

Moment of Beauty

I forgot to post something yesterday! What a mind I have!

The wonderful Moment of Beauty site published a photo of mine on Thursday, the 17th! This is a wonderful site to bookmark and to which you can contribute. There is some gorgeous photography out there in Blogland and Patrice has provided a forum to showcase it! Another part of the beauty of this site it is that half of the proceeds from the ads go to support charities. Right now Habitat for Humanity benefits. Run over there and scroll through some of the photography. It is time well spent!

A Place for Everything...

Hoping that everything stays in its place!

I was going to post the "before" picture of this cupboard, but it was just too embarassing... This old cupboard we inherited from an outbuilding in a former house. We think it started its life in an old general store or somesuch, probably around the turn of the 20th century, but I'm afraid its antique pedigree has received little respect. After its many years storing tools in an antique dealer's shed, we brought it out to the farm and used it to store dairy supplies in our milking barn.

It's only taken ten or fifteen years for us to realize that the solution to our school supply organization problem has been right under our noses all the time. We've only just been able to eradicate the smell of iodine from it (from our kidding supplies), and we still need to finish painting and repairing it. The whole top of it needs to be replaced, as one corner has been broken off. But, I want to do that right and am waiting until I can get a good thick piece of hardwood to stain for it. I couldn't wait to put it into use, though, finished or not...

And here everything is, organized and labeled. The left side is for general use, the right side is my stuff.

=sigh= Storage. I dream of storage space. I live for storage space.

Quotes From Home

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<-- Gabey (3) about William (2)-->

"Yuyum made a mess again! Him Fie-yud!"

Suppose this three year old hangs around with a few older kids? Grammar still a little shaky, but phraseology, inflection, and intent are definitely advanced... Regardless, though, look at Yuyum's sweet little angel face. How could you fire him?

Go Figure!

Must be the bazillions of reruns of I Love Lucy I've watched over the years! My favorite episodes are the one where Lucy and Ethel get jobs in a chocolate factory and, of course, Vitameatavegimin. How 'bout you?

H/T Raulito (aka: Commander Adam) over at the Disciple of the Dumb Ox.

What classic sitcom character are you?

Lucy Ricardo
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(Anna, five years old, and she's got a million of 'em!)

Spreading the Love

Cathy, over at A Bit of the Blarney has so kindly honored me with this award.

Aside: OK, Y'all have to know, that I can't say that phrase ~ I can't even think it ~ without going into Darren McGavin mode (You know, Ralphie's Dad in A Christmas Story) "I've won a MAJOR AWARD!" Sorry. I just had to get that out of my system. I'm so very glad this major award is not a plastic leg lamp.

All joking aside, I am very humbled that Cathy felt I deserved this recognition. I started blogging as an outlet, a chance to exercise long dormant writing and design aspirations and to document the life and times of our family ~ mostly for my own enjoyment. I signed on with the Catholic Mother's blogroll with the thought that others might read what I write, but I'm still amazed when I find out that some actually do. People who aren't even related to me! But, I feel like I'm the recipient here. All the people I've gotten to meet through this blog have truly Spread the Love to me!

Now it's my turn to pass the award on. I wish I could just put my whole Favorites list on here, as I'm enriched by so many blogs I get to visit during the week. That being impractical, I'm awarding it back around to the first five (even though I think the prescribed number might be ten...) that come to my mind. I understand this award can be received more than once, so some of these bloggers may already have received it... Hugs going out to: Suzy Q at Sailing by Starlight, Eileen at Eileen on Him, Bia at La Dolce Vita, Alice at A Number of Things, and new mama, Maryan, at A Lee in the Woudes. And I'd pass it right back to Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney, if I thought I could get away with it... Thanks, Cathy!

The Wonderful World of Teaching Sisters

I grew up a product of Catholic schools and have many happy memories of all the Sisters I've been blessed to know. When I was a teenager, I would have told you that I considered one of them to be my closest friend. No, not because I didn't get out much, but because she was a delightful fascinating woman, who was just fun to be around. I consider this Sister to have been one of the most influential people in my life.

My children had the opportunity to get to know teaching sisters for the two and a half years we lived on the Western Slope of Colorado, and even in that short a time, their lives were changed forever. I can teach the children Catechism; I can try to make the Church year come alive for them the best I can. But, the Sisters are a direct contact with Heaven. They are the Brides of Christ. One Sister we know and love joyfully and openly refers to Christ as her Husband. Oh, how I love that! I am so grateful my children got to reach for the Hand of God through them.

I'm so grateful for their touch on my life!

It's sad to me that the uninitiated world has such a backward impression of the Sisters. They're expected to be stern and serious ~ and, well, sometimes they are, when it's appropriate. Indeed, their vocations hold them in a higher position than most of us, and their responsibilities may be farther reaching, but they're essentially people just like us. When they don the habit, they don't remove their personalities.

And, in my experience, they're a joyful, happy, God loving, fun loving group!

I remember a tough teaching Sister who surprised her class on a very snowy day many moons ago by improvising sleds to go down the hill at our school. She used several gigantic silver "doughnut trays" (oversized cookie sheets, really) that she swiped from the kitchen! And did they all fly down that hill! Sister and the children! It seems I even remember her using wax paper to slick up the bottoms of the trays. Those Sisters are full of tricks!

One Sister we know teased about having shortwave radio in her veil. The pins were really antenna. But, she finally did admit it was shortwave to the Almighty. (We still think she could read minds, though...)

We've played baseball, tennis, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee with Sisters. They ice skate, they ski, they ride horses, they websurf (very prudently!)... Sisters can do anything. So long as it's pleasing to God.

And, they sing! Here's where you can order some CDs from the Singing Nuns, our favorite singing group outside of our own children's choirs.

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And, Oh, you've got to take a look at this wonderful video we happened to chance upon! Click here and scroll down to the photo of the blue sisters skiing. We know two of these sisters personally! We were all just grinning from ear to ear to see them singing and skiing (a few years back) on our Colorado slopes! How blessed we are to have them in our lives! (SisterK and Sister B., if you are reading this, howcome you never told us you were television stars?)

It's always so nice to see the Religious getting good press. On that note, we recently stumbled across a book at the library we would like to recommend. It's called Snow Day, by Moira Fain. It's a children's book about a tough teaching Sister who surprises the children in her class by meeting them on a Snow Day for a sledding race.

Was this ever a book after our own hearts! The main character is from a family with six children and the Sisters are shown as positive role models with fun loving spirits. It got me to reminiscing about the Sister from my childhood sledding on the cookie trays. And it left us all missing our own dear Sisters over the mountains!

(Weather permitting, Sisters, I'm coming up for a visit this coming weekend!)