The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
I'm sure you're busy where you are — we are certainly busy here. Goodness, having many little children running around takes a lot of energy! Did you know that???
I am slowly working on this little sweater:
Spoiler alert (NOT!): I will probably run out of yarn. But maybe not! You just never know…
Got the deck cleaned up and relaxation-ready:
For an outdoor cat, which he has to be because of allergies, Farouk is remarkably long-lived, don't you think? Just realize this before you worry about how skinny he's getting.
Did a wee bit of thrifting when I saw that a good number of dishes that are virtually similar to the other dishes I'd thrifted before were on eBay for a song (and, amazingly, the seller was local so we just did a meet-up, saving me shipping $$!):
These are just some of the ones I had before (a lot are in use in the kitchen, so not pictured here):
In other news, if you follow me on Instagram, you will accomplish two very important things. One, you will keep us in touch, you and me, seeing as I'm having trouble getting to posting on here, and Two, you will see my IG's hashtag'ed postofficebouquet. At my little town's little post office, a neighbor very humbly keeps a fresh bouquet of flowers at all times on the counter. She must a) have a fabulous garden and b) have a veritable warehouse of vases. Click on the hashtag and see them all. I only got the brilliant idea to post them on IG towards the end of last fall, but our community has been enjoying them for as long as I've lived here at least, which is going on 18 years!
I wish I was smarter and had thought of it sooner, but at least I started!
On to our links!
- Three Sisters, Three Weddings — some of you will remember that a few years ago, we had two weddings three weeks apart. I won't pretend it wasn't crazy, but I will say that whatever my own shortcomings, I can't help but be grateful for the love and support of family (and friends!) that made it possible to pull off. This article isn't just about three weddings in a short amount of time — it's about a sweet and loving big Catholic family that sticks together!
- Maybe your kids would like to read about the New England Dark Day of 1780. This quote from a member of the Connecticut legislature struck me as justly famous: I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.
- If you'd like to hear a lovely conversation I had about The Little Oratory, it will be featured on Tuesday at the Spiritual Direction site, and available on iTunes and Stitcher as well. When I get exact URLs I will post on my Speaking page — which does have some new podcasts, so do check it out.
- Those of us who are trying to raise our children in the faith should not be afraid to speak clearly about what helps us most (hint: it turns out to be what helps us most as well, namely, true worship and clear teaching). I wrote about three changes I think should be made as soon as possible, last year. Here is a good companion piece, one that fits in well with our study of the two Spirit of the Liturgy books here on the blog: Abolish Ordinary Time.
From the archives:
In the liturgical year: Today is the feast of St. Bernadine, who was devoted to the Holy Name of Jesus.
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Beth says
This could easily only be an issue for me or my computer (I’m not very technically adept), but this post does not show up when I go to your main page. I was missing my {Bits&Pieces} and clicked on your twitter, where I found the link. That is, the link straight to this post works fine (here I am!), but it still doesn’t show up on your homepage–again, for me anyway!
Leila says
Hi Beth,
Try refreshing your page by holding down Control + Shift + r — it’s showing up on our computers and phones… the site was being wonky but I *think* we’re up and running now. Hopefully a “hard refresh” on your end will help. Sometimes it takes a while after this issue that we had.
Thanks for reading!
Kari Brane says
The wedding article on the WSJ is asking for a subscription to read…
Leila says
Oh shoot — it was up for grabs before. Darn.
Kari Brane says
I searched by title and found an msn article (reprint?)
Here’s the link:https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/weddings/three-sisters-three-weddings-may-june-july/ar-BBBd3yT
Mary says
I was able to find it by searching the title, maybe try that?
In that situation, I think it would have been fun to have a triple wedding! Or at least a double… if one of my sisters had been engaged within weeks of me, I would have loved that. Save a ton of money, and way easier for the side of the family that has to travel to 3 weddings in several weeks. Plus, then you don’t have a scary amount of attention all focused on you, and you can be more relaxed!
Logan says
I’ve wondered about double weddings as well, did the Lawler family consider that option at all? Why/why not?
I also know some friends of mine who are part of a big family who went in together on a very large set of nice serving ware to share among the some-odd 50 cousins who are hitting marrying age. I thought that was a a brilliant trick to save money on something that doesn’t need to be very personalized, especially if the quality is decent.
Leila says
Logan, of course it did cross our minds, but besides each girl wanting things her own way (even though, like the sisters in the story, they do have similar taste), consider — with the grooms coming from, respectively, families of nine and twelve children, combining the guest lists would have put us in the market for a venue the size of which just does not exist, at least not around here.
I could see it working if everyone was local… maybe. But hosting over 300 guests for one event would have been too much for me!
Logan says
Yikes! Yes, I see what you mean.
Anne-Marie says
Our twin daughters had a double wedding. They both liked not being the only one in the spotlight. We have quite a bit of out-of-town family, who would have been hard put to it to travel twice in one summer, but Leila is right about needing a big hall.
We ended up buying a lot of the tableware; craigslist used and Ikea were cheaper than rentals. We kept them, and lend them to friends who are getting married or having other big parties. It’s our contribution to making pretty weddings affordable.
Mary says
I’m a twin, too, and would have loved to share the spotlight. Maybe twins are more likely to enjoy/prefer a double wedding?? 🙂
Logan says
Ha, well I have two sets of twins so maybe I have this to look forward to!
Adele says
Can I just say that it is a bit comforting to hear someone say that its hard work to take care of little kids. I’m less than a month from having number four and between the kids and the gardens I keep randomly falling asleep. The sweater you are knitting is lovely and I really like that color.
Ann says
Dear Leila,
Thank you for reposting from your archives, “Five things worse than being in debt”. It was exactly what I needed to hear! I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom, who left a law career to stay at home and raise our children. It isn’t always easy, especially financially, but I value being at home and thankfully, so does my husband. We both grew up with mothers, who were home for us and we are most grateful to them. I often hear mothers say that once their children get older, they will go back to work. I have come to realize that teenage children need us all the more to be at home for them especially during these times. Thank you for reminding me and other stay at home moms that what we do is important.
Susan (DE) says
Once upon a time, at a church, I began talking with a mother of children entering their teens. She HAD BEEN working (maybe part time) when they were little, but she and her husband agreed that she should leave work now that they were becoming teens. Apparently Mr. Dobson had recommended that. I never followed Dobson a lot, but I thought that was pretty inspiring.
Susan (DE) says
Don’t get me wrong. I thought it would have been ideal if she had been home all along, but I liked the idea of not leaving your kids to sink or swim as teens.
Diana Johnston says
Wow, that article on debt was SPOT ON!! Thanks for re-posting it, I must have missed it the first time around!!
Mrs. Bee says
Glad to hear you’re enjoying the grandchildren! Here we’re busy sweeping away one of those weird broods of cicadas waking up every 17 years… Temperatures are on a wild ride, though, so the little monsters look drunk and half-dead. They shouldn’t even be here where I live, but oh they are! I hate the very idea of going out. When I get to Heaven, can I tell God creation would have done just fine without cicadas and mosquitoes?
One thing I like about having Sundays after Epiphany and Sundays after Pentecost, as they were called, is that the structure of the liturgical year is a lot more clearly centered on the two big events of Christmas and Easter. The whole calendar is part cycle of Christmas and part cycle of Easter, with the Saints’ feast days peeking in every now and then, going along their own parallel cycle. But in the new calendar Ordinary time makes it look like there is this big no man’s land, this big chunk of Sundays which don’t seem to belong to either Christmas or Easter, as if they were a thing on their own. It doesn’t seem to make much sense, and it distracts us from the idea that the liturgical year reflects God’s plan for man’s redemption (Incarnation and Death/Resurrection). And yes, the business of Ascension is really sad… If you want to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit, in the new calendar you’ll have to start it before you actually celebrate Ascension! No sense whatsoever…
Leila says
Mrs B, so true. The sooner we recover the incredible gift of seeing that we are walking in the kingdom and the two lodestars are Christmas and Easter, the better off we will be!
Thrift at Home says
Knitting bugs me because I either end up with a lot of yarn leftover or I run out. Much rather sew!!! But I do knit, and that sweater you are making is so sweet.
Also, love those flowers. We have a retired teacher at our church who has a fabulous garden and loves to put bouquets at the front of the church. I have said before that I should blog them, but maybe IG is the better platform (but do I really want to add more social media to my life??? Hey – maybe Auntie Leila et al could discuss social media and how to keep it sane and useful and good in the context of our busy godly lives).
Anamaria says
Thanks for the links and all the inspiration. I wish I could read the wedding article, too. My usual WSJ google trick doesn’t seem to be working.
My sister and I got married 6 weeks apart (I think the same summer as your weddings- 2012?) and it was crazy. She is four years younger than me, waiting to finish school before marrying, and was already engaged when I started dating my now-husband. She was extremely gracious about me getting married the same summer, before her. We joked about a double-wedding and talked somewhat seriously about us getting married on the Friday before their Saturday wedding, but I am glad we ended up with our own celebrations.
PS I will follow you on Instagram if I ever get on it! I thought I would when I got off Facebook, but I am loving all the books I’m reading in really short chunks, in the five minutes here and there I have free.
Amy says
Your male cat reminds me of our recent acquisition. His name is Stuart and he showed up hungry and skinny. I gave him wet cat food that first day and he dragged it under my porch. For 4 days he avoided us and I fed him. I was very afraid that the recent siting of a bear was going to determine his fate. So we finally coaxed him inside….
He now has the run of the house. Eating everything not nailed down. And after 3 months is still skinny. LOL