Punkin Patch Afternoon

We've been making the trip to this punkin patch north of Boulder, Colorado since our big boys were quite little boys. That's around fifteen years! Sheesh. That makes me feel very old. But, I'm glad to see this family farm is still thriving after all these years!

So, anyway, here we are on a beautiful, cool Sunday afternoon.

Gotta get a little mugging in first. How about a quick shot of William making a Jack-o-lantern smile for the camera...

And then we're off on the hunt! Everyone go pick your own pumpkin!

What have you got there, Cathy?

Ah, yes. That one's big enough. That one ought to be loaded with pumpkin seeds for ya.

Just your size, Yuyum! That one has a nice round shape, Theresa.And that one looks good, too, Anna. But, do you spot a better one over yonder? Or ~ whatcha lookin' at? What is that?! He's got a what?!

YIKES, Gabe! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! You're s'posed to be hunting pumpkins!

(It was a deceased garter snake. See how unconcerned Gabey looks? A real he-man in the making here...)

Gone but Not Forgotten

Ha! Nabbed him. See my hubby hiding his Circus Animal cookies from the children? We almost never stock boughten cookies here, but these Mother's Cookies were this Daddy's favorite from his childhood. We always bought him a bag for his birthday, Christmas and Father's Day. It's so sad to see this company going the way of all things. I mean, it's not the end of the world, but it's sad.

It's also a pity to see Linens n Things going belly up. We don't actually shop there in the normal course of events, but had a great experience with them, returning our malfunctioning Cuisinart coffeepot. It was two or three years old, we didn't have the box or the receipt, but they exchanged it for a new one, no questions asked. Service with a smile. We were flabbergasted. Sorry to see them filing bankruptcy.

We're also sorry Mervyns appears to be going out of business. We only shopped their sales, but their sales were good ones!

And we can't believe Circuit City is closing its doors. We always liked them better than their competitors. Maybe these folks can pull their derriere out of the fire, but it's not looking good.

And Bennigan's doors shutting has us shedding a tear of reminiscence. We frequented the Bennigans near our college when my husband and I were dating. We would share their potato skins appetizer and endless glasses of Dr. Pepper. At the beginning of the month, I would treat; at the end of the month, when my money was all gone, I would be treated. Those were the days.

Just happy memories now.

My husband says that, regardless of the times, people go out of business. Remember Woolworth's, Montgomery Wards, Cub Foods? All gone some time back.

But we went on living without them. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

As America finds the need to tighten its collective belt, I'm betting it'll come to some stunning realizations. In a nutshell, that: Americans will survive just fine without Bennigans and Circuit City, and even Mother's brand cookies. We may even do just fine without a $4 Starbucks cup of coffee, the newest expensive technogadgets, and an expensive family vacation. It's even possible that we'll figure out that homemade really is way better than fast food and that playing pinochle or Candyland around the kitchen table is more fun than spending $12 a ticket to go to a movie and $5 a bucket to eat popcorn.

We're already finding out that cutting back on our gas consumption has resulted in the happy result of cheaper gas. I hope we're primed and ready to learn all the good lessons of prudent habits. Let's face it, we really have been fat and happy and lazy and irresponsible as a nation.

It's appropriate that we've had our cookies taken away. Now if we can only learn from the punishment.

Feast of St. Raphael

To read about St. Raphael, go to the book of Tobias in the Bible
You can find a great coloring page of St. Raphael over at Waltzing Matilda's!

St. Raphael's patronage:

against bodly ills
against eye diseases and problems
against mental illness
against nightmares
against sickness
apothecaries
blind people
Catholic singles
doctors
druggists
Dubuque, Iowa,
guardian angels
happy meetings
love
lovers
mentally ill
nurses
pharmacists
physicians
Seattle, Washington
shepherdesses
shepherds
travellers
young people

Litany of St. Raphael the Archangel

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us.

Holy Mary, Queen of Angels,

Saint Raphael,

St. Raphael, filled with the mercy of God,

St. Raphael, perfect adorer of the Divine Word,

St. Raphael, terror of demons,

St. Raphael, exterminator of vices,

St. Raphael, health of the sick,

St. Raphael, our refuge in all our trials,

St. Raphael, guide of travellers,

St. Raphael, consoler of prisoners,

St. Raphael, joy of the sorrowful,

St. Raphael, filled with zeal for the salvation of souls,

St. Raphael, whose name means "Medicine of God",

St. Raphael, lover of chastity,

St. Raphael, scourge of demons,

St. Raphael, in pest, famine and war,

St. Raphael, angel of peace and prosperity,

St. Raphael, endowed with the grace of healing,

St. Raphael, sure guide in the paths of virtue and sanctification,

St. Raphael, help of all those who implore thy assistance,

St. Raphael, who was the guide and consolation of Tobias on his journey,

St. Raphael, whom the Scriptures praise: "Raphael, the holy angel of the Lord, was sent to cure," St. Raphael, our advocate,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Pray for us, St. Raphael, to the Lord our God,

R.That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus Christ, by the prayer of the Archangel Raphael, grant us the grace to avoid all sin and to persevere in every good work until we reach our heavenly country, Thou Who livest and reignest world without end. R. Amen.

To read about St. Raphael, go to the book of Tobias in the Bible

You can find a great coloring page of St. Raphael over at Waltzing Matilda's!

Know any Catholics

planning to vote

for Obama?

Have them

read this!

If I only had about $70 just lying around...

Aren't these adorable?
I can think of a million ways to use thse cute little acorns!

* $36 from Williams Sonoma







And wouldn't it be fun to decorate a loaf of pumpkin bread made in this pan?

* $29.99 and also from, who else? Williams Sonoma



=sigh= I don't know if I have $70 worth of creativity to make up for the lack of these pans ...

But, then. Gosh. Pans vs. Food to Go in the Pans. I guess we'll just have to eat plain, square bread and round muffins.

Oh, bother.

Important!

Election Novena

I have no idea who started this around the internet, but I am reprinting it here verbatum, because I think it is heavenly inspired. It is no accident that the first day of this novena is the Feast of Christ the King and the last day is the day before the election.

Please join us in these prayers and pass the word about it!

~ Lisa

Here is the Plea:

<
I beg you to get this out to as many people as possible. We will pray a Novena, beginning October 26th, this Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, in the traditional calendar. It ends November 3rd, the day before the election. The Novena is simple. We will pray the Rosary each of those days, as it is the prayer recommended by Our Lady, and as it is the means through which the Muslim forces, which greatly outnumbered the Christians, were defeated at Lepanto.

In addition to this, we will add a short, indulgenced prayer to Our Lady to send Angelic Assistance. That prayer is attached here. We will say the short prayer at the end of each decade, as we do the “O My Jesus.” Lastly, we will accompany this Novena with a fast, to be determined by each participant. It could be no meat for nine days, or the traditional fast of the church, two collations without meat, and one full meal per day, or something more suitable to an individual’s needs, as long as something comforting and refreshing is taken from the diet.

I hope everyone I wrote to here participates, and that you will forward this around. I don’t really know that many people! Put it on Catholic forums! We need numbers. We need faith in Mary Most Holy. We must go to Mary.

Prayer to the Queen of Heaven

August Queen of heaven, Sovereign Mistress of the Angels, who didst receive from the beginning the mission and the power to crush the serpent’s head, we beseech Thee to send thy holy Angels, that under Thy command and by Thy power they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks, and drive them hence into the abyss of woe. Most holy Mother, send Thy Angels to defend us and to drive the cruel enemy from us. All ye holy Angels and Archangels, help and defend us. Amen. O good and tender Mother! Thou shalt ever be our Love and our Hope. Holy Angels and Archangels, keep and defend us. Amen.>>

Winter Wheat

Out here on the high prairies, we get a tiny peek at spring toward the end of autumn. When all other green is fading to brown and the leaves are falling off the trees, the winter wheat, sewn in early autumn, sprouts up and greens the farmer's fields around us. Then, when the cold comes, it goes dormant and the vast green fields disappear, hiding under the winter snow, and spring back to life when the weather warms up. Just about the time we don't think we can stand another day of winter and the brown, brown, brown is getting us down, the winter wheat, which was there all the time, sprouts again.

I got to spend a good many hours with three of my teenage sons driving back to Omaha the other day. We talked of many things, movies and books and friends and girls and ceiling wax and other fancy stuff... And, in the course of our conversations, I got a glimpse of winter wheat resprouting.

We talked about how they grew up. Getting up at 6 am every day to milk the goats and feed the pigs and chickens... They consider themselves better men for the responsibility learned and the muscles developed. Learning to serve at the altar at the same time they learned to read... They appreciate that honor and its graces' eternal benefits. Those books we read after the rosary every night, The Narnia Chronicles, Robinson Crusoe, All Creatures Great and Small... They remember with special fondness. The documentaries we watched instead of meaningless television, National Geographic, Tales of the West, The Civil War by Ken Burns.... They're glad for the knowlege painlessly imparted. Growing up with Laurel and Hardy and John Wayne instead of Beavis and Butthead... They're eternally grateful.

"You know, Mom," one of them told me, "I'm so glad you raised us to be cultured."

"Um, thanks, son" (snicker)

I don't know if "cultured" is the exact word for it, but I'm glad you're glad you've got it.

Winter wheat and spring is dawning.

Opinions Needed

There comes a time in every mom's life when she just has to surrender to the fact that her sons will strike out on their own.

=sigh=

It's inevitable.

And so it has happened with all four of my eldest children. My sweet little guys in their velcro sneakers and batman pajamas are growing up and looking for their own "styles." Which is not a bad thing, so long as they seek their independence in facial hair and not in tattooing their whole bodies, or piercing their tongues, or becoming Marxist.

In point of fact, you can see from the first picture below that our son, Kevin (19), has somewhat mastered the technique of growing facial hair. See that fluff? But he's not sure he's satisfied with just a puff of fluff and gave me permission to ask for opinions on a few other looks he's considering. Works for me! Maybe we can effect a positive change here!

What do you think? Which lip-and-chin-do is best?



As he is:

Option #1
Option #2
Option #3
Option #4
Option #5

*Photoshopping courtesy of son, Dominic (15), who says it was totally his pleasure.

Now make sure and run over to Shannon's for lots of fun tips, ideas, and inspirations.

Some lovely free coloring pages

... to color for the upcoming Feast of All Saints maybe? Any of these would make for good costume ideas, or to be saved for the feast days later on, too. These are offered by one of our favorite resources, Catholic Heritage Curriculum. We're especially excited about the little storybook about St. Germaine (Our Anna Germaine is for sure!), but they also have: Church Triumphant, St. Francis, St. Francis 2, St. Joan, St. Joan 2, St. Cecilia, St. Rose, St. Martin, St. George, St. Patrick, and St. Angela.

Things to do while hiking:

Have a very serious discussion with your big brother about dirt and rocks.
Mug a little...

Juggle some rocks.




Mug a little...

Blow a bubble.

Mug a little...

Hug your sister.Mug a little...

Play some frisbee.Mug a little more...

The Hike in a Nutshell:
A short interview with a toddler on the trail:


(Is it just me or do you hear a little shade of Eyore there?)

Making Faces

Breakfast food faces: apple slice mouth, carrot nose, raisin eyes, apple slice hair, harvest muffin ears.

Harvest Muffins
These are easy to make and freeze to pull out at a moment's notice. And Yummy! Here's our recipe for 3 dozen:


4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
6 eggs
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 1/2 cup raisins (optional)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
Grease three 12 cup muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners. Soak raisins in hot water for ten minutes to plump, then drain.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Stir the raisins and walnuts into the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Wink @ Anne ~ Here's one breakfast thing we do... &:o)

Notes from the backseat...

I just got back from returning three of our oldest boys back to school in Omaha, and I miss them already. We had a great week, though. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed being together, through all the work-while-playing and play while-working. Somehow, in spite of many odd corners of goofy weirdness, we managed to get an amazing amount done this past week.

We had a lengthy prepping-for-winter work list

we were able to check off, thanks to the boys' strong backs and willing attitudes.

The Guys:

*Fixed the garage door so Bella (such a sneaky doggy!) can't go in and steal all our tools and hide them all over the property.
*Mended some gates and repaired the close-in fences

*Detached our washing machine from the ineffective "french drain" (that used to freeze every winter) and dug down to the septic to properly attach the washer drain to the septic system. (Oh, happy day!)

* Dug up the back-twenty water hydrant that someone-who-shall-remain-nameless hit with the truck some time back, repaired the underground piping,and replaced the hydrant.

*Rebuilt the mudroom-turned-Mom's-study doorjamb, painted and installed a new, door. (Wahoo!)
* Finished roofing the new boiler room roof.

And we got some general health and well-being housekeeping done for the big boys while they were home:

* Chiropractor appointments on four different days (With all that digging, it was a very good thing, too!)

* Dentist appointments

* Shoe-shopping (I declare, I buy these guys shoes every time I see them! I think they have teeth in their toes!)

This past Saturday, to get a rest (HA!) from all the hard work, we went on a mountain hike, complete with picnic. (Curried chicken salad in wraps, potato salad, chips and dip, applesauce bread, choco-mint brownies and applie cider, in case you wondered...)

But, best of all, we got to celebrate two very important events this week:

*Paul's 21st birthday ~ with two different family-sponsored birthday parties marking that momentous event! (Cajun Gumbo, salad, french bread and boughten cake for the family-specific party, hamburgers, potato salad, chips, and chocolate Southern Trifle for the world-at-large party, in case you wondered...)

*Catherine's First Holy Communion ~

with the all-important cake and celebration after Mass yesterday!

We're all so proud of Cathy! She worked so hard to be ready, we know she had prepared a beautiful garden in her heart for Jesus to visit. I'm so glad all her brothers were here to celebrate this important occasion with her!

It really was all so wonderful ~ the laughing and joking and tickling and singing and piano playing and unidentifiable noises and giggling to all hours of the night and wall-to-wall people, and sheets and blankets everywhere and shoes in the middle of the floor and dirty socks in between the couch cushions and sixteen dozen pairs of jeans to wash and cooking and cleaning and cooking... and, um, did I already say cooking?

Let me tell ya ~ I'm exhausted.

Not that I mind. Did I sound just now like I minded? Nah, I didn't mind a bit of it. (Really!)And I don't mind being exhausted in the wake of it all. But, I think I may just. sit. down. for a week or so...

(Maybe even here at the computer a bit. I have some more pictures and a couple of thoughts I want to share...)

Yuktoberfest

Laura, at Catholic Teacher Musings, the Haiku Queen of the blogosphere, is treating us with another Haiku contest! This one has to have a "yuckety yuck" Halloween theme. Here's my attempt ~ a short story in haiku:

The Jack O'Lantern

Out on the doorstep
Watching ghosts and goblins pass.
Better than tv.

Welcome distraction
From a now empty tummy
Denied a candle.

Pumpkin Jack watches
As a little frozen ghost
Presses the doorbell.

Who'd have thought?

The lonely old step

Which seemed like a bad fate

Is quite the sweet spot!

Jack scoots near the ghost
With a big bag of candy,
Close enough to reach.

Triangle eyes watch
Hands full of candy tossed in
From the open door.

Such an easy treat
Deserving an easy trick ~
Little Ghost won't mind.

He has plenty more
And no one will ever know
That Jack is the thief.

Triangle eyes watch
The little ghost disappear
Down the dark sidewalk.

If you look closely
You can see a big, bright grin
Without a candle.

Why the pumpkin smile?

Candy corn, black licorice.

Pumpkin seed belches.

Haikus are supposed to be brief, you say?
Y'all know I can't be brief!

For some brevity that is truly the soul of wit, run over to Laura's and check out all the awesome entrants.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Besides G.K. Chesterton, Will Rogers is my favorite quote resource. It's amazing to see how his wisdom is as pertinent today as it was in the 1930s.

Here are a few good obervations of Will's:

* The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best.

* Communism is like prohibition, it's a good idea, but it don't work.

* Live in such a way that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

* Nothing you can't spell will ever work.

* Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing, and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even.

* If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?

* If you make any money, the government shoves you in the creek once a year with it in your pockets, and all that don't get wet you can keep.

* It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for.

* Last year we said, 'Things can't go on like this', and they didn't, they got worse.

* The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, "How is the president?"

* Things in our country run in spite of government, not by aid of it.

* What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

* When you put down the good things you ought to have done, and leave out the bad ones you did do well, that's Memoirs.

* The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don't let it get the best of you.

Slow Cook Shrimp Gumbo

I mentioned yesterday that we cooked up some Gumbo for our oldest son's birthday party over the weekend without taking into account that not everyone would be familiar with this food which is a staple at our house. This is one of our family favorites, a standard recipe, that we've amended a bit over the years. Though it requires some preparation, it's well worth the trouble! Anything that waits for you in the crockpot is a special treat, I think!

The sausage and chicken can be left out for a wonderful Friday meal.

We triple this recipe when all the kids are home.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons oil
(optional: 3/4 to 1 pound boneless chicken thighs ~ or whatever chicken cuts on hand ~ cut in bite-size pieces)

(optional: 1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces)

1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen cut okra
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 tbs Old Bay

1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup frozen medium shrimp, cleaned and cooked
1 1/2 cups uncooked regular long-grain white rice
3 cups chicken broth or water

To make: In small saucepan, combine flour and oil; mix well. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring constantly, about 8 to 12 minutes or until mixture turns a light red-brown. Place this mixture in 3 1/2 to 4-quart crockpot. Stir in all remaining ingredients except shrimp, rice, and broth or water. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours. Add cooked shrimp to the gumbo; mix well. Cover and continue to cook on LOW for 20 minutes longer. Meanwhile, cook rice in the broth or water according to package directions. Serve gumbo over the hot cooked rice. Serves 6 to 8.