Live at Red Rocks!

William "Yuyum" Davis, singing a selection from his Favorite Hits album:
the ever-popular Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!

(Recorded from several rows up, so, though the acoustics at Red Rocks is world famous, you, um, might need to turn the volume up a little to get the full effect...)

More shots from beautiful Red Rocks Park/Amphitheater:

Looking Down:

Looking back up:

Lists and lists of more Mostly Wordless

Wednesday posts at Ordinary and Awesome.

An Update: Dresses for the Wedding

Part I

So, mothers of teenage girls, you know the problem.  How do you find a dress for your daughter that is appropriate to her age, modest, and meets her fourteen-year-old criteria for coolness?  It's not easy. Looking in hindsight, I'd say it's durn near impossible.  But, we didn't know this when we started out yesterday afternoon. We diddybopped hopefully through Dress Barn, J.C. Penney's, Kohl's, and TJ Maxx; they're known for having a goodly stock of dresses and are somewhat in our price range...  But we didn't have any luck in any of their stores.  The best we could do was try to figure out which dresses that hit below Michelle's knees might be ok if we found a little bolero jacket or light sweater to cover her cold, bare shoulders.  (Sheesh!) 

We didn't give up, though.  I let out the drawstring on my checkbook, we took a deep breath, and started out through the higher end stores. Surely we'd find something pretty and appropriate in one of them!

So determinedly we set out.  We still had a spring in our steps when we hit C.J. Banks and Coldwater Creek, but finding nothing, we began to drag by the time we got to Black and White and Chico and trudged out empty handed. At that point, pretty much all our resources had been exhausted. We knew from long experience that we wouldn't find anything at Walmart, KMart, and Target...  And I didn't dare go to the ritzy mall with the Macy's and Nordstrom's.  Michelle would have to wear a dress made from our living room drapes before we did that.  Alas!  (Heavy Sigh)

But, there was one more thing to try -- and Michelle suggested it.  We went thrifting.  And this is what we found:

$14.99

Looked like it had never been worn.

Fit her perfectly.

She already has shoes to match.

Thank-you, God and all our heavenly patrons!

(Found it on the feast of St. Michael, Michelle's nameday.  We think St. Anthony must have had a hand in it, too, though... And maybe St. Anne and St. Philomena; we think they like helping out in girly things like this...)

*Do you suppose it'd be gauche to leave that tag hanging on it?  After looking at dresses not nearly as pretty ranging from $70 - $125, I totally feel the need to brag about the deal we got.  I guess I'm just weird that way.

* Don't worry, Michelle.  We can snip it off, really.  The world pretty much knows now, anyway, I suppose.

(Seriously, though, don't worry, friends... Shell doesn't mind me sharing this.  She's just as tickled about the find-- and where we found it -- as I am)

The Feast of St. Michael the Archangel

Left click to enlarge, right click and print to color.

(We'll be clothing the tiny figures on the scale the same way we use our markers to"dress" the girls in the Sunday advertisements...)

More images of St. Michael here.  Lots of great stuff at Catholic Cuisine for the feast, as always! And more links and information about the feast day at Gaudeamus.

Happy Nameday to our Michelle, Fr. A. and all the other Michaels out there!

Makes My Monday

1. Birthday Boys:

Dominic Alan, our fifth son, the can-do man, friend to all, is sixteen years old today!

Carlos, an honorary family member, Kevin's fellow seminarian, and our dear friend, is twenty-one today!

(Carlos is pictured here on top of the mountain at Boys' Camp this past summer.  Our two Camp Priests, Fathers G. and A. are standing behind him.)

2.  Kevin's Class of Seminarians:

Our Kevvy is pictured third from the right; Carlos is pictured fourth from the left.  Don't they all look magnificent in their cassocks?  Please  pray for our seminarians -- and all seminarians -- and for more vocations!

Run over to Cheryl's for more Makes My Monday Posts!

The Johnny Appleseed Blessing

Today is Johnny Appleseed Day!

Here is a sweet and simple little prayer attributed to the original Mr. Appleseed.

Oh, the Lord is good to me,

And so I thank the Lord

For giving me the things I need

The sun, and the rain, and the apple seed.

The Lord is good to me.

A Big Smooch

Right on the nose.

This is the statue we ordered at the beginning of the summer to put in our Mary Garden.  We saved all our odd nickels, dimes, quarters and pennies in a big jar near the computer for years and years until we had enough to afford a really good one.  I'm glad we waited because, though it was a little pricey, this statue is worth every penny.  We love her peaceful, gentle face and subtle colors.  She only just arrived yesterday afternoon, though, and since we're already battening down the hatches for winter here, we decided to enjoy our pretty new image in the corner of the dining room until next spring when we'll move her out to her own special little grotto near St. Anne's Herbs and St. Therese's Roses.  It'll be something good to wait and plan for over winter, but...

... where she is right now at ground level, she's very popular with the knee-high set; it may be hard to give her up to the garden...

Bows and Flows of Angel Hair

nd ice cream castles in the air

And feathered canyons everywhere.

\\

Some of these shots were taken from the top of Devil's Head Peak, above Sedalia, Colorado a couple weekends ago; the others were taken in our own neck of the woods here in Eastern Colorado last weekend. For a world of beautiful skies, run over to Crazy Working Mom's!

*BTW: Did you spot the shot we got of the Giant Mountain Troll's nose?

Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom
A double major feast day, commemorating the foundation of the Mercedarians.

On 10 August, 1223, the Mercedarian Order was legally constituted at Barcelona by King James of Aragon and was approved by Gregory IX on 17 January, 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the Sunday nearest to 1 Aug. (on which date in the year 1233 the Blessed Virgin was believed to have shown St. Peter Nolasco the white habit of the order)... In England the devotion to Our Lady of Ransom was revived in modern times to obtain the rescue of England as Our Lady's Dowry.

Prayer for the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

O God, who by means of the most glorious Mother of Thy Son
was pleased to give new children to Thy Church
for the deliverance of Christ's faithful
from the power of the heathen;
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who love and honor her as the foundress of so great a work may,
by her merits and intercession,
be ourselves delivered from all sin
and from the bondage of the evil one.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

The black and white picture, above, can be right clicked to save and printed in a larger format for a coloring page. The stories of Mercedarians, St. Peter Nolasco and St. Raymond of Pentafort dovetail with this feast. We'll be talking about the threat to the Christian world that is still alive today, as well as the different kinds of captivity -- physical and spiritual.

Something to do on the first really cold day of autumn...

Sew Sweaters!

(and hats)

So Everyone is Warm and Cozy!

These lovely ladies are Audrey Ann and Opal, Cathy's little friends. You can tell a lot of lovin' has gone on by Audrey Ann's worn ragdoll face. She's had this doll since she was a wee tot. The little friend in blue is Opal, one of the characters from the Toot and Puddle book series, a newer addition to Cathy's ever-growing pig collection, and Audrey Ann's newest sidekick. Theresa sewed the tan sweater, Cathy the little blue ensemble. They also sewed some purses and a doll-sized sleeping bag...


Lots and lots of Mostly Wordless Wednesday posts at Ordinary and Awesome this morning!


*We had to fire up the radiator yesterday, it was so cold here in Colorado. And rainy, rainy, rainy! Snow in the mountains. Hopefully not heading our way yet! Pray it doesn't snow on October 10th!

Meet Einstein (The Rooster)

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

And meet, Lisa, the film taker, who was too busy filming to help with the chasing (much to Dan's annoyance). We eventually ushered the old bird (Einstein, not Dan) back toward the henyard, where I really did throw my camera in my pocket and open the gate just in time for Einstein to gratefully run back in with the hens where he belonged.


Below: You can see more of the chase right up to where I figured I'd better help or Dan would start chasing me...

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

Other Quotes from Mr. Albert Einstein:

"I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice."

"God is subtle but he is not malicious."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

"God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically."

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

"No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton)

Makes My Monday

Decorating for Autumn!

Stop in at Cheryl's for more Makes My Monday posts!

Autumn-licious

Natalie reminded me of this recipe the other day. (Hi, Natalie!) We found it last year at Baking and Books and it's a keeper.  Though it's a little labor intensive, we actually like it better than Starbucks.  It's definitely cheaper, and a special treat made in batches on a Saturday morning.

 Here's what we do. Make a batch of these muffins, which take only a cup of pumpkin puree, leaving enough pumpkin in the bottom of a 14.5 oz can for a couple batches of the  Latte ~ which we enjoy while eating the muffins.

Let us know how you like it!




Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients:
(Makes 2 servings)

1 level tablespoon pumpkin puree
1 cup milk (whole if you dare!)
1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar (packed and leveled)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg (+ a pinch for dusting later)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups strong coffee (brewed using 2 tbs per 1 cup of water)You can also use a shot or two of espresso instead of coffee.
4 tablespoons Coffeemate creamer
4 to 8 teaspoons of granulated sugar
Whipped cream


Directions:


Begin brewing coffee.


In a blender puree the milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the milk is warm and begins to froth slightly. (About 4-5 minutes.) Remove from heat.


For each serving: Pour 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug. Add 2 generous tablespoons of Coffeemate creamer. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add 1 cup of brewed coffee. Add 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your drink, I added 3 tsps.) Top off with a touch more ‘pumpkin milk’ then cover with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Serve immediately.


(The lowfat version, which is also very good, can be found here.)

We had a hankering...

Theresa and I had the media player on random just now and heard the Irish folk song,  Dúlamán, come around from one of the cds the boys have collected.  We both decided the boys sing it better, and had a hankering to hear their version.  Since we had it out, we thought we'd share it...  We get the biggest kick out of their enthusiasm!

(l-r: Jon, good friend Justin, Kevin, and Dominic, last spring)

So much to say and so little time..

Here's a rundown on all the little details I've not had a chance to mention lately.  My blogging has been as organized as my life it would seem. (Heavy sigh...) And, though it really was my intention to keep it quick, like the button says... Well, I could write a novel about my issues with brevity. This should color in all the corners I've missed this past week, though, with some embellishment around the edges of the page, too. (Run on over to Jennifer's to see if everyone else's Quick Takes really are quick.)

1) I've been looking over my shoulder all week, counting and recounting children.  I've gotten used to the six-kid count, now that the big boys are all off doing their own things, but I'm missing two more youngins this week and it's really thrown me off. Anna and Cathy are in California spending the week with Dan's parents. Getting spoiled rotten, lucky little chickadees.  Disneyland, Legoland, the beach.... Grandma and Grandpa all to themselves...  Heaven on earth for a kid.  (Or, heck, it'd be heaven for a grown up, too!) Starting back when Paul, our oldest, was a polliwog, the kids' California grandparents have flown each of the children out for a week of fun in the sun around their seventh birthdays.  This year it was Anna's turn (she'll be seven in November), but Anna didn't want to go by herself, so she requested a  flying buddy.  Cathy happily agreed to the suggestion, of course, and Grandma and Grandpa were fine with having two little princesses instead of one.  So, they're all happily keeping Goofy and Cinderella company in California, and I'm walking around feeling like I'm missing appendages.  One, two, three, four...fi.  Four.  Four.  Only four.  I'm not used to the count being so quick. 

2)  We've been so busy this week, I've needed to keep track of everyone.  I'd lose my head if it weren't attached in a calm week.  (Yes, don't worry; it's there. I just checked.)  The itinerary has been hectic, but fun.  Last Friday, for my birthday, Dan took the day off and we took a hike along Bear Creek to Dunafon Castle.  I'd gotten a new pair of sneakers and a camera especially for the weekend of hiking we'd had planned, and, though I remembered the sneakers and the camera on this first hike, I forgot the battery for the camera, so didn't get any pictures.  Doggone it.  But, we made an Autumn Leaf Faerie in our ramble through the woods, and took a picture of it when we got home.  (See her lying sideways up there.  I haven't figured out how to rotate pictures on my new camera yet... We'll make a tutorial on how to construct these later in the week, if anyone's interested.)

3) Then the weekend:  On Saturday, Theresa and I had a wonderful rainy day adventure in Manitou Springs.  Then, on Sunday afternoon, Dan and I got to get away together for a little mountain drive.  We had time to take a stroll around Genessee Park and then stopped in for some Beau Jo's Mountain Pie (indescribably delicious pizza) in Idaho Springs before the rain and hail came.


4) Tuesday, the little girls took off for California, and those of us left behind consoled ourselves with a mountain hike, heading this time for Devils' Head Peak -- a gorgous hike on trails easy enough for William and Gabe to negotiate.  You can make the trip easily from your seat right there where you are. Are you ready for a little hike? 

Here we are near the head of the trail.  Got some comfy shoes on?

Here we go.

Lots of good finds on this trail.  X marks the spot here:

William lasted almost to the half-way point before he started needing piggy-back breaks. He wouldn't take his turn giving us any, though. 

Nature's schoolroom: the letter C

Not even half-way there, and look, we're up in the clouds, already.

There was a lot of trail talk about the little boys' favorite guy, Sasquatch, but William made sure we knew that this was the real big foot.

Do you need a breather?  We were pooped out at the halfway point.  (Not really. Gabe and the girls were fine.  Only William and I were really complaining...  Or, well... more like William was whining and I was groaning.)

A big letter Y.

Why? Because we like you.

Another little breather. The air is thin up here, isn't it?

And then there was U.

Theresa on the north side of the mountain. (Can you tell I'm still learning my camera?)

And, finally, we made it to the top!  Here's the little cabin where the park ranger, fire-lookout guy lives during the summer months.

And waaaay up there is where he goes to work every morning!

This is the stairway that  he takes up the rockface to the watchtower. Of course we went up to have a look -- some of us more energetically than others.

And here we are, all the way up at the top.  You can just see the park ranger inside the door, a sprightly young man in his 60s.

And here are a couple views from the top.  It was stunning.  Photos cannot possibly convey the magnificence of the 360 degree view from the top of the world!

On the way down, we found a cross and a heart and remembered that we had stood on the devils' head  (Devil's Head Peak) on the Feast of Our Lady's Seven Sorrows.  Of course we talked about how the Blessed Mother crushes the head of the devil, and though we couldn't quite figure out a way to explain the connection of all of it with our being there on that feast of Our Lady, we felt like there must be one...

5) So we rested up Wednesday and I caught up on Laundry while the kids caught up on some schoolwork. Then, yesterday, we diddybopped over to the Denver area and poked around the Littleton Historical Museum, where we got to watch a blacksmith making hooks for his tools, and where we saw the most darling little cottage garden we want to use as a model for our garden next year.  We fell in love with a circa 1890s cottage -- and I couldn't help but get bit by the "simplicity" bug, as we wandered around in the quiet, enjoying the beauty of the fibers and the wood and the conspicuous absence of anything that buzzed or hummed or spewed forth noise or pictures.  I think life really was better in the old days.  Here are a few photos from the day.  No taglines, necessary, I don't think...

6) I was reminded today that Paul and Nicole's wedding (the wedding of our oldest son) is three weeks from tomorrow.   Hold your ears while I scream, ok?  (Agh!)  But, I'm ok, really.  I'm kinda sorta getting close to ready.   This week we finally got the ball rolling on making reservations for the rehearsal dinner, though we haven't got it all worked out yet.  I do have the little girls' dresses and the little boys' vests and ties all set,  though the girls need some kind of sweaters or shawls to match and we need to make head pieces for them.  Oh, and I need to get nice black dress pants and new white button downs for the little boys.  And Cathy's got the perfect pair of little black patent leather shoes to match the dresses, but I'll need to find some for the other girls.  And Michelle and I still don't have dresses at all.  And I don't have a clue what to wear, anyway.  I've never been the mother of the groom before. But, I'm almost ready.  Mentally, anyway.  (Don't worry, Nicole...  Really...  I've always been a last minute "crammer." It'll all be fine.)

7)  So, you can see it's been a busy week.  But,  instead of the nitty gritty wedding work I probably should have been accomplishing, most of our activities have been satisfying some crazy wanderlust that's bubbled up.  And I don't regret a step we've taken or a thing we've done.   But, there was one thing we did this week that rises above all the others in importance, something I'm glad we did, even though I dreaded doing it.  There was a funeral  scheduled at our church on the morning of my birthday.  It was for a man named Elmer whom I 'd only met once, but about whom I'd heard only the best things.  He lived across the street from our church and had been ill for a long time, but had been the kindest of friends to our parish.  He donated roses to the garden and a set of knives for the kitchen; he bought Father a good pair of gloves for the winter; his door was always open to anyone who came to visit. Always thoughtful, ever a good neighbor,  Elmer died last Monday and was laid to rest on my birthday. 

And I tried to figure out a way to get out of going to his funeral.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I lay in bed early Friday morning plotting out my excuses.  I hadn't slept well the night before.  Elmer and his family didn't know us from Adam.  It's over an hour to Church and I didn't even have Mass clothes out for the children.  It was my birthday, for heaven's sake!  But, my Guardian Angel (who likely woke me up so early to begin with) must've gotten the better of me, and, I'm not even sure exactly how or why, but we ended up going. Dan, all the Littles and I got up, got dressed, packed the car, and got to Elmer's Requiem Mass before the choir started singing.  And I'm glad we made it. 

Being reminded of your own mortality on your birthday is sobering, but hope-filled, too.  The Requiem Mass, in all its beauty and solemnity is the finest consolation to the living and the dead.  It's not just a goodbye, but a send-off, with a trunk full of prayers and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to get you where you're going.  It's such a sorrow to lose a good man's presence among us, but what a thing to see in action: the grace of the Holy Sacrifice is swirling between heaven and earth, the Communion of Saints is at work, the cycle of life is turning as God wills it, and all is right with the world.  Participating at that Requiem Mass for Elmer allowed me to pray another human soul forward.  On my birthday.  It seemed somehow right and good when all was said and done.  And it was definitely the most important thing I did all week.  I'm glad I didn't sleep in.