In Which I Turn 30

Feast of the Hunter's Moon!

We went to the Feast of the Hunter's Moon on Saturday and Sunday. It was awesome! If Fort Ouiatenon in West Lafayette, Indiana is a reasonable driving distance for you, then you really must plan to go next year.

We got to see craftspeople at work, like this cooper.

We watched Native American dance.

We saw artisans' wares, like this beautifully dyed yarn.

We watched a musket competition.

We watched various fife and drum corps give demonstrations.

We got to learn some forgotten skills, like cross-cut sawing.

We watched a cannon demonstration. (The picture is fuzzy due to the shock wave from the cannon firing!)

We got to watch the massed fife and drum corps perform.

We watched some country dancing.

We watched the British battle the French!

We ate LOTS of delicious food, all cooked over wood fires like these. (Samuel's favorites were the forfar bridies and apple dumplings.)

We saw all the campsites where people were living just like they did in the 1700's.

And we got in the spirit ourselves!

Next Feast is October 10-11, 2009 - hope to see you there!

note to self: always bring the camera

On Friday, we decided to go for a walk in the woods. Since I forgot the camera, of course we saw lots of cool stuff! In our short walk, we spied 5 deer, 2 of whom we were able to observe for quite a while from less than 15 feet away, a really weird looking spider, and a toad, which peed all over dh's hand when he picked it up. Samuel learned a very valuable lesson: always let Daddy pick up the toad. As we were hiking down the trail, Samuel said, "Now this is my idea of a good time!"

Save the Liturgy!

I've been wanting to put that image on my blog for a while now, and there's nothing like attending a horrendous liturgy to inspire you. I attended Mass (if indeed it was a valid Mass, I'm still not entirely sure) in my sister's new hometown last Sunday, and it was quite the experience. It would take too long to detail all the ways in which the Mass was illicit and in poor taste, so I'll just share what stands out the most at the moment. After the Agnus Dei, the copious EMEs swarmed the altar and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the priest (who was wearing an alb that only reached his knees, khakis, brown shoes, a stole, and no chasuble). Instead of elevating the Host to proclaim "This is the Lamb of God", he opted to leave Jesus lying on the altar with his hands resting on either side. Then he handed out the (glass) bowls and chalices to the EMEs and they all headed off to distribute communion. None of them, including the priest, had received yet. After receiving, I watched them closely, because I had not been able to locate the tabernacle upon entering the church, and I thought that surely they would have to approach it at some point and clue me into its location. Nope, after everyone else had received communion, they returned to the altar and unceremoniously finished off what was left. After Mass, I asked the mother of the only other family who had bothered to kneel at any point in the Mass just where on earth the tabernacle was. She didn't know what a tabernacle was. After I explained, she said, "Oh, yeah, I think I've seen those, I think I know what you're talking about. I don't think I've ever seen one here."

At least we were there last week, and not the next, because this coming Sunday the parishoners have been invited to bring their lawn chairs and blankets - and animals!!! - for an outdoor Mass where their pets will be blessed! Of course, then we at least would have known immediately to run for the hills. Although, in retrospect, when Samuel leaned over and said, "Mama, that lady is plugging in her guitar," maybe I should have taken the hint.

Simple Woman's Daybook

I am waaaaay late this week. Ah, well, probably won't be the last time. You can see all of this week's posts if you go and visit Peggy!

For Today...

Outside my Window... we are having an Indian Summer here. It hasn't quite decided to be Autumn yet.

I am thinking... this weekend is going to be awesome, because we are going to the Feast of the Hunter's Moon! If you are anywhere within driving distance of West Lafayette, Indiana, you should really go sometime.

From the learning rooms... Still having fun with the math workbook (how weird is that?) Samuel also had fun last night with some brain-teaser-type puzzles in a book that I had when I was a child. The ones he was working on were things involving making shapes with matchsticks, and then moving a set quantity to alter the shape in a certain way. After seeing all the different ways that you can solve a problem on http://fantasticcontraption.com/, he was rather surprised that the puzzles in the book had only one right answer!

I am thankful for... lots of friends for Samuel to play with in this neighborhood. He's out there right now with several of his buddies. I think it will be hard for him when the weather is colder and the days shorter and he won't be able to see his friends when they get home from his school. The wait until they are home is already interminable to him.

From the kitchen... dh is working again tonight. Dinner will be... I have no idea. But lest you think I am a total slacker, let me assure you that I have made two new dishes in the last week which have already been requested again: shepherd's pie and tamale pie. These are so easy and good - why didn't I ever make these before???

I am wearing... khaki capris, teal striped T-shirt, bare feet

I am reading... still working on How Children Learn, by John Holt. Most of my reading time has been reading political stuff online.

I am creating... a scarf. I've been working on the silly thing for a year now! I put it aside for a looong time when I was having pain in my hands and wrists, and what was supposed to be a short break turned into months. I finally remembered it and have picked it up again, so far with no pain other than getting used to using my knitting muscles again.

I am hearing... Rich Mullins' "The Jesus Record"

Around the house... remember that apple butter I was making? You're supposed to make applesauce first and then cook it down. So far, I haven't gotten past the applesauce part. The first batch had too much water. Well, no big deal, I'll just put less in the rest and it'll cook down eventually. So the second batch, I put less water... too much less water... and burned it! ("Too much less"? Does that even make sense? Oh, you know what I mean.) Will try again tonight or tomorrow.

One of my favorite things... apple butter on a warm muffin... hey, I can dream, can't I?

A few plans for the rest of the week... get out the fall decor! The weather isn't quite there yet, but I'm not waiting any longer!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Got my new shoes! They aren't quite broken in yet, but I think they'll be as comfy as they are cute after a few more days.

Air Show!

Like any other child growing up in the Air Force, I have been to a LOT of air shows. Now we get to share this family tradition with Samuel!

Here he is next to one of the tanker planes. (Sorry, I don't remember the official names of most of these aircraft!) He liked these "flying gas stations".



Here's what my dad used to fly:



Here he is giving Samuel his first flying lesson:




Here's what my cousin Jason flies:



Samuel's not sure about keeping track of all of those controls!



But he gives it a try anyway.



We got to watch several flight demonstrations while we looked at the static displays, including a B-52 bomber, another tanker, a bi-plane with a wing walker, an F-15, and a WWII plane. Then came the main attraction, the Thunderbirds! I tried to take pictures, but it was cloudy, so there is not a good contrast between the jets and the sky, and, well, they fly fast! Most of my pictures are blurred, and that's if I managed to catch them in the frame at all! I did get this one of all six Thunderbirds in formation.


In addition to my dad (retired) and my cousin (active), dh's parents were both in the Air Force, and his brother currently is. We are definitely an Air Force family!

always listening

When we started praying the election novena before bed at night, I thought we ought to explain to Samuel what it's all about. We hadn't really talked to him about the election, although dh and I have discussed it at length in his presence. So, I was telling Samuel that there are two men running for President, and soon we'll all vote on who we think will be the best one, and he said, "Well, I know which one we're NOT supposed to vote for."

"Oh, really? Which one?"

"Obama."

"Yep, that's right."

"I think I know the name of the other one, too... McCain?"

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"I'm very good at listening, you know."

Very good indeed, except when he's being told what chores need to be done. He apparently learned not only their names, but our opinions as well: there's the Bad One, and the Other One. That pretty much sums it up for me!

Simple Woman's Daybook

I have been seeing these posts around the blogosphere for some time, and there is something so appealing about these simple reflections. So, I'm a little late, but decided to join the party anyway.

You can see all of this week's posts if you go and visit Peggy!

For Today...

Outside my Window... I know that the harvest moon is there, but I can't see it for all the clouds. :(

I am thinking... that I am so very ready for Autumn!

From the learning rooms... Shawn and Samuel have been doing a math workbook together, since Samuel has been asking us for more math problems.

I am thankful for... a new cell phone, finally!

From the kitchen... dh was not home for dinner, so I indulged Samuel by letting him have parmesan couscous for dinner.

I am wearing... a blue patterned skirt and purple long-sleeved T-shirt.

I am reading... How Children Learn, by John Holt.

I am creating... apple butter. I've never made it before. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I am hearing... They Might Be Giants. :)

Around the house... I finally got caught up on dishes, but managed to break a bowl and a glass (dropped the bowl onto the glass). Oh, well, two less things to wash later.

One of my favorite things... a hot cup of tea on a cool, overcast afternoon.

A few plans for the rest of the week... get this house cleaned up. We are leaving dh all by his lonesome this weekend, and I don't want him to feel like he should spend his time cleaning while we are gone. Except the guinea pig cage. That's all him.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Samuel painted this little family of pumpkins that we got at Curtis Orchard. Don't they look nice on our table?

Catholic Vote 2008

Be sure to pray the Election Novena from Priests for Life that's over there in my sidebar!

maybe it's good that I forgot the camera

Yesterday was very busy for us. We only have one reliable vehicle at the moment, and it's not even ours. (Three cheers for in-laws who live very close and don't care if you borrow their van for, um, forever!) So, we had to drive daddy to work if we wanted to go anywhere, and we certainly had places to go! After dropping him off, we went to Pontious Farm and spent the morning picking raspberries. I love picking there - it is very addictive. I always see one more ripe cluster that I just can't resist. We picked three pounds, not counting what Samuel ate off the bushes, which was considerable. I paid for four, in the hopes of compensating. When we were done, we were a filthy mess, as things were fairly damp. Samuel looked like he'd been wading in mud puddles up halfway up to his knees. Not to mention the raspberry juice smeared all over his face. We saw lots of cool insects there. While not certified, Pontious Farm uses organic practices, so there's no lack of nature buzzing about you as you pick. We had fun watching the honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies, and grasshoppers. (Well, Samuel liked the grasshoppers. I could do without those.) We also saw a huge black and yellow orb spider.

We had brought a picnic lunch, so we ate there as the first raindrops of the day began, and then we headed off to the mall. Picked up dh's contacts, got Samuel some new socks, and browsed the kitchen store. They had a display of Halloween items up - skull candy dishes, pumpkin linens, severed finger cheese knives, etc. It was quite possibly the first time in history that a mother had to drag her seven year old out of a kitchen store instead of the other way around.

Went shoe shopping, which was slightly embarassing, because did I mention how dirty we got berry picking? Especially our feet? And I was wearing sandals? Ugh. But I did find these.

Then we went to meet some out-of-town friends and some in-town friends at the local nature center. (Decided not to meet at the park due to the rain - wouldn't want to get wet and dirty!) The kids played inside for a while, and then wanted to go out, and since the rain had stopped, the moms agreed. Kids proceeded to play in the woods and get even dirtier. And wetter. (Hence the title of this post.)

Went to meet dh for dinner. Walked to Chipotle, and Samuel could not ride on dh's shoulders like usual because his feet were so muddy he would have gotten dh's shirt all dirty and dh still had work to do. Hung out at the Newman Center while dh ran the RCIA program. Went to 9pm Mass, where I was very grateful that they keep the lights low so that no one noticed how dirty my son was. Wished that I was one of those moms who is foresighted enough to bring extra clothes on days like this. Went home and collapsed!

and the geography lesson is...

today's science lesson

Any guesses on tomorrow's geography lesson???

I heard that she tortures kittens

There's a great summary (and subsequent de-bunking) of all the Palin rumors here. Honestly, people, what happened to integrity in journalism? It's sad when the New York Times has the credibility of the National Enquirer.

HT: The Common Room