The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
(This will all look and work better if you click on the actual post and do not remain on the main page.)
This past week was cool and mostly cloudy, if not actually raining. That makes for great gardening opportunities. I've been transplanting and weeding, trying to get things in shape for the hot weather (which is moving in as we speak!).
Besides just company and the pitter-patter of little feet and general interesting times, a benefit of having family move in is that there's a lot more help for projects.
I hope you are interested in the garden, because that is what I'm interested in! I'll show you a little of what has been happening out there:
The Artist has been turning my compost for me. And the Chief took me out on a date with a manure pile earlier today — we have a neighbor with a great stash — it just gets bigger and bigger (and older, which is the important thing), and his horses are not given any shots that would contaminate the black gold.
Isn't that a beautiful sight, that pile of manure there?
I'm still planting, so the little spot beside our porch has a steady supply of seedlings that are still waiting for me to find spots for them.
This past week I weeded the one remaining asparagus bed. The other two were gotten into shape by The Artist — he hacked away at all the weeds, covered everything with cardboard, and put wood chips over that. This is my experiment: I am planting some extra seedlings (San Marzano tomatoes and volunteer ground cherries) there. I pulled away the chips, put in a layer of manure and then of finished compost, and then put the plants on top of that.
What do I know — I'm just trying things! I have others elsewhere, so no great loss if it doesn't work.
Truly, this is all I care about right now — how the garden is doing!
How about you? What are you up to?
On to our links!
- A nice article about how kids in other, less hectic cultures willingly pitch in and do work around the house. I think to understand how we would implement some of these ideas, we would need to detach from our somewhat unrealistic ideas about how our life will look, if we happen to be the persnickety sort, or how little work we actually need to do, if we happen to be… er… slobs. See what you think.
- Very faithful Catholics take criticisms from clergy very seriously. If a person is trying hard to follow God's Law and help others to as well, they will be particularly sensitive to the charge that they are rigid, judgmental, and uncharitable. If, further, they are accused of an actual heresy, they may spend a considerable amount of time searching their conscience, convinced that this must be true. Fr. Thomas Weinandy (who wrote a respectful and serious open letter to Pope Francis) writes a consoling and rational — and pointed — essay to clear things up: Gnosticism Today
- Are you familiar with St. Hildegard von Bingen? She is a doctor of the church, polymath, and artist whose music (I would say “sacred” rather than “mystical”) is lovely. I would take the article with a grain of salt (she was a scientist in the twelfth century, so would have no need to become one in our age), but it's an introduction.
From the archives:
- Looking for a substantial summer read? I suggest The Red Horse. It's available on Kindle and you could get that as a Father's Day gift with the hard cover version to come later (it is worthwhile to track it down for your actual library).
Today is the memorial of St. John Francis Regis.
A blessed Father's Day to all!
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).
Amy says
I was just wondering about a good novel to read! Thanks for the recommendation.
Helen Hawersaat says
This article about chores is really good! I sometimes substitute teach in an in-home Montessori daycare in the summer, and it’s always amazing what the kids (1-3 year olds) can do… and how much less some of them seem to be able to do once the parents show up. I would love to have a Montessori-ish system at home once I have children, or at least one that encourages real independent help, but I’m so messy myself haha. But it was really eye-opening to see how much responsibility toddlers like to have.
Laura says
I enjoyed the chores article, too! We were having quite a bit of griping from the kids about doing chores together. A Montessori teacher suggested that we let the kids choose which chores they would do during clean up. We tried it and it made a huge difference. They started to look around and notice the messes. They work more diligently and have more pride in completing the task then before.
Helen Hawersaat says
Cool! Did you give them a list of chores to pick from? Or just let them figure it out? My mom used to have us all put our initials next to three chores on a long list, and that helped us a lot.
Laura says
We have a 15 minute clean up right after dinner. I look around and list out loud the things that need to be done (sweep the floor, pick up legos, wipe table, etc.). They can choose any chore even if it’s not what I just pointed out. Usually they will choose one thing on their own and then ask for suggestions. The 15 minutes makes a huge difference. There’s other times when they’re given a specific task and it just needs to be done.
jadeddrifter says
Look for the book, “Mommy, Teach Me” by Barbara Curtis. She lays out how to implement chores and learning Montessori-style in your own home.
Martha S says
My husband and I have had “dates” involving manure too. One of the local colleges has an equestrian science major and the stables give away manure. It’s good stuff in the garden! Your gardens are looking great! I hope there’s a good harvest!
Melisa says
The Red Horse – by Eugenio Corti – is a great novel. I started my second reading of it just last fall, and haven’t finished it yet (it’s 1000+ pages) because other books (and life) have got in the way. What struck me about it was learning just how ugly Communism was (I always seem to learn history best in the context of a story vs. textbook) – and how incredibly resilient the Italian Freedom Fighters were – the things they endured and witnessed were unspeakable. I also admired the relationships the Catholic peasant families had in this story – they were just beautiful. This book is well worth reading!
God bless,
Melisa
elizabeth says
It’s funny how you, auntie Leila, will often teach me new English words! “Wait a minute, persnickety, have to look that one up!” It’s not something I ever came across, likely for my lack of reading Dickens & Co. Please keep throwing these gems around and teach a foreigner something new, or simply make sure these stay in use by actually using them :).
Kirstyn says
Sorry to add a nag to something that you probably hear a lot, but…about that book you’ve mentioned writing. 😀 Is that actually a forthcoming project, or simply a someday wish? I keep wondering if I should print out a bunch of posts or just be patient and wait for a bound copy that would be nicer to read anyway. 😀
Leila says
Well, Kirstyn, I am actively working on it! That said, I can’t give you a particular time that the nicer version will be ready! 🙂
Kelsey says
I came across that chores article elsewhere, and really liked it! It’s been difficult for me to embrace this practice in my own life. Not that I am particularly great at chores, myself, but including my very young children always seemed to create more of the chaos I was trying to get on top of. Now that I have three kids – ages 4, 3, and 1 – chaos is inevitable, and you know what? It’s actually helped me calm down! I do involve the kids in chore time now and they actually are helpful! (Well, not the one year-old. Although, I no longer wait until the baby is asleep to try and tidy, so, progress.)
I also loved the article on St. Hildegard. Her music is fascinating. I have a cookbook based on her writings; she was really into spelt and recommended cooking wine with various herbs to make healing tonics. Here is a saint whose teachings are (as hinted in the article) oddly claimed by some New Age-types, but I think orthodox Catholics should really study and embrace her with boldness. What a tragedy for secular neo-paganism/feminism/environmentalism etc. to corrupt her wisdom!
Helen Hawersaat says
The garden is also beautiful! I keep coming back to this post to look at it because I have a baby garden on my apartment balcony and that’s mostly all I care about right now too. I think I planted too much and my veggies will kill each other…. (I know zero things about gardening)
Leila says
Thank you, Helen! I always over-plant! I tried this time at least to only have one row of tomatoes per bed… other than the bed with the San Marzanos… sigh…
priestswife says
about chores- we recently moved and repainted everything. My dad helped- and so did my teen daughters (the 11 year old helped a bit- but did different things)- 99% of people are SHOCKED that my girls would slave away like that…. I think it is sad that helpful teens are shocking…. #startthemyoung
Angela Pea says
Thank You very much for the link to article – and the MUSIC! – of St. Hildegarde! I’ve been listening to it all morning; it’s lovely.
Meredith says
Leila, that method of planting always works for me! I read the book Lasagna Gardening early in my marriage and have stuck with it. I don’t have a great spot for compost, but I do have manure from the police horse stable nearby, so layering lets me compost in situ. Thanks for the garden photos!
Amanda Wells says
I am a slob by nature and have said many times that my house is cleaner now than it ever was before I had 8 children…. Honestly I make them clean to keep them away from screens and fighting with each other.