What should we talk about?
We had fun in Texas! We enjoyed each others’ company, played with the kids, took walks, and were well fed by Rosie.
We did all our Texas-ing in one go, seeing the running of the Longhorns, the US Mint, and the rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum in one day, and then having BBQ (the brisket! ahhh!!) at Heims the next. (Phil and I talk about the rodeo in our podcast, at the end — maybe have a listen!)
I took one photo, of my grandchildren (but not even all) upholding the family honor, with all that ice cream:
Maybe Rosie can send me more. She is a great photographer and it’s hard to feel motivated to take pictures when around her!
Now I’m home and in recovery. I’m just not a person who moves quickly anymore! But last night I made pasta. Rosie and I were discussing, as she made a tasty batch for us, the need to make homemade pasta more of a feature in the weekly or monthly menu.
I couldn’t spread right across the island with all this due to things at the other end, out of the frame…
She actually had given me the attachment for my Kitchenaid quite a while ago.
Here are my issues: It actually takes time to make it. And when you’ve churned out an entire batch, you actually don’t have enough for a big family! It takes a lot of pasta for, say, 8-10 people, some of whom might be teenage boys… Dry pasta is more space-efficient.
For the two of us it’s fine, of course.
Maybe in that population there are kids who can take the job over? Make a batch one day and cook it the next? Do you normally make pasta at your house?
I don’t have a picture of the finished dish, which was spaghetti tossed with ricotta that had been mixed with an egg, a splash of lemon juice, fresh thyme, and parmesan. A little pepper finished it off. I think I probably should have added oil.
My grocery-store thyme is doing pretty well, I must say! My black thumb hasn’t struck yet!
The pasta dish was pretty good… I think for this thin pasta you need a really giant pot of water so it doesn’t stop boiling, and I am used to cooking it in less water because I’m a cutting-corners kind of person.
The truth is that by the time the water gets back to the boil in a smaller pot, the pasta is not as al dente as it really needs to be. If I had cut it thicker, it would be fine.
I’m not sure why the strands at the forefront there got thicker — most of the pasta was pretty thin.
In other news…
The girls and I discussed that same question you have asked me — should one keep one’s dried oranges! Do they store?
Bridget saves them! She says they are fine.
So I’m going to do it. I don’t know any other way to end up with a good showing, because although they are not difficult to make at all (drying the oranges is pretty simple), the actual slicing and garland-making is time-consuming. If I want an abundance of garlands, I think I will have to increase the supply over the years by adding to what I have.
The days are so cold! But the sun is brighter, so things are looking up!
After I finished the lavender sweater for my granddaughter, I cast on a little sweater set which I’ll keep mostly under wraps for now, and a pair of socks. Having enough knitting for two flights and a week away is vitally important — never leave without the right things!
These are the “Syncopation Socks” that I have made before. I like them because they are stretchy and so handsome! The yarn is a charcoal gray that has some blue in it too.
This is my sofa “nest” currently:
Nest notes:
The project bags were given to me quite a while ago now, by a sweet reader.
The music is an Ave Maria our choir is learning… I hope we get it soon!
The note is about winter sowing… have you started thinking about the garden yet?
It makes me feel organized, though it has little in it right now after a week away.
Since it’s black, I decided to put the sticker Rosie gave me on it. It’s from her husband’s Marine battalion, 1-11, the motto of which is “Lead, Inspire, Prepare for Battle.” I’m probably saying this all wrong.
However, she was telling me that the chaplain back in California at Camp Pendleton where the Battalion is based manages to work the motto into most of his sermons, and I have to say, I’m inspired to pass it along to you, as their unofficial mother-in-law.
In our families, we must Lead — we must not be followers of the world, inclined to accept ideas and patterns that are not motivated by care for the common good or our well being. We have to understand that there is disorder prowling about, ready to take away our peace. We can overcome that disorder by accepting the responsibility, given to us in our state of life by God, to lead, not conform (be not conformed!). As soon as we see ourselves that way, as leaders, we immediately get the courage to help others rather than allow ourselves to be led by.
We must Inspire. People are lost. They have no one to follow. By living according to God’s, not man’s, law, we inspire others without even really thinking or knowing about it. Trusting in God’s goodness, we will inspire others. Even when we feel like failures, our willingness to do God’s will is itself inspirational.
And we too, we mothers and wives, have to be Prepared for Battle. For us, it’s the everyday battle of doing the little things with care and love — it’s a battle of love!
Anyway, if you catch a glimpse of a snake and cannons on my planner, that’s what it’s all about! Maybe I will come across a pretty sticker too…
Curriculum Corner
Rosie mentioned this book to me, which she says her family benefits from reading daily:
A Character Calendar (affiliate link)
From the description: “Beginning with a brief introduction to the saint of the day, augmented by excerpts from the Imitation of Christ and from the Mass for the day, as well as an ideal to ponder and an “action item”, this is a wonderful way to focus on the virtues of each of the saints, and thereby to make our lives an imitation of theirs.”
I have found the courses offered by Hillsdale College pretty good for the most part, and accessible for the motivated high school student. Here is one on Classical Greece and Rome, filmed during a conference there. I see there is a lecture on why we read the Aeneid, a topic on which I posted a link (from Thomas Aquinas College) last time. So maybe this is a hot item right now! Anyway, I haven’t done this course but I am confident it would be a good one.
bits & pieces
- An article that puts very well what I try to emphasize here: You Can’t Pass on Faith…But You Can Pass on Tradition
- A raw and well written account of a college student’s experience at his family’s home during the LA fires. He was very brave. Makes you think: do I have a preparedness plan? Could I protect my home from looters? Do I have a way to put out a fire? Would I have something to eat? (Do our sons keep a journal? Maybe this article will inspire them!)
- The always edifying Mary Eberstadt on her friendship with Fr. Paul Mankowski, SJ:
He said something in that email I have never forgotten… he wrote something that became an enduring consolation, not only in that moment, but on later occasions throughout the years. Dismissing the enraged interlocutor and citing Jesus instead, Mankowski wrote, “Mary, never forget that you have chosen the better part.”
This was the first lesson I learned from Fr. Paul Mankowski: Never, ever lose sight of what’s most important about your time on this earth. There was nothing more critical in that moment than the crying little baby.
- I think ultrasounds in pregnancy should be approached with caution. Common sense tells us that physical waves are physical and can have an effect on the developing baby. Risks have to be weighed against benefits — there’s a big difference between needing information when there’s an issue and exposing a healthy person to possible damage for no reason. Just for thought: The Forgotten Dangers of Ultrasound.
- Let’s become better informed about public health in general. Lockdowns were long studied and rejected for the harm they cause, and this collective wisdom was simply overridden by political motivations in 2020: In the Asian Flu of 1957-58, They Rejected Lockdowns
from the archives
- There is no other plan — marriage is the plan to protect the unborn
- Easy and good pot roast with the secret to making it tender
liturgical living
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
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Such a cozy post! I dont knit, but you always make me wish that I had learned.
Your pasta sounds delicious. We had similar on Friday, an eggplant rollatini with ricotta cheese, a light marinara sauce over angel hair pasta.
The Marines…oh, the Marines. My Dad was a Pearl Harbor veteran, he died two years ago. He always said that the Marine a corps was the father he didn’t have.
I have not found my digital calendar to be nearly as satisfying or effective as the old time planners. Our garden was nipped by temps in the high 30s, I pray the lemon tree and tangerine tree won’t suffer much. Otherwise, the winter crop of red cabbage, collard greens and broccoli are thriving. I am almost to the end of the red onions harvested in November and now know to plant many many more- I have limited space that receives good sun, so I planted onions in the rose bed!! It appears to have been a happy collaboration.
Happy New Year to all the Lawler clan.
I learned to knit when I turned 50! And didn’t really understand what I was doing for a long time after that, LOL
Of course, living in Florida is not the greatest incentive…
Oh my goodness. This gives me hope. My ten year old taught herself to knit after we received four sets of free knitting needles (one for each female in the family) from a yarn store “free bucket” outside the door. I’ve loved Purl Soho since before she was born and have wanted to learn. She said she can teach me how. I think I’ll try it! I assumed someone who can knit like you would have started at, well, age ten! I’m 47. This is great news. Thank you.
Oh, we love Character Calendar too!!
I agree about exercising caution with regard to ultrasound. I actually haven’t read the article but have just always thought we might not know everything about how the sound waves affect the baby in utero. I have several family members who get them routinely at every OB appointment and I always cringe when I hear it!! Are any doctors even offering the information about potential risk?
As far as I know, they just say it’s safe. But that article has a lot of info…
I wonder if my daughter getting thyroid cancer at 14 is in any way related to the extra ultrasounds I had because I had a “geriatric” pregnancy? I was 40 when she was born. The OB recommended I get a crazy number of US, perhaps monthly at first, then biweekly, then weekly, most of which I didn’t do — it seemed like a waste of time for me and my toddler son, whom I had at 38 and only had 2 US, so why would she need so many?! But she probably had at least half a dozen, and it never occurred to me that US were not safe. Of course back then I still thought vaccines were safe.
On a lighter note — I’m writing this from my sofa “nest,” well feathered with books, blanket, and a dog — did you make up calling it a nest? Perfect!
I’m glad your Texas visit was good! You covered a lot of ground!
Love what looks like an Advent wreath repurposed with flowers and white candles, beautiful!
I’m impressed by that Hillsdale student! He’s a modern Almanzo Wilder.
Too much to comment on, but my husband makes pasta for the gluten-eaters here.
My husband and I lived in Fort Worth in our first year of marriage- what a great town! And yes, Heim’s is so good! I’m sure you caught the cold weather in Texas too, eh?
Yes, it was cold!!
I loved listening to your and the Chief’s reactions to the rodeo!!
Plato might approve of the “Slack” rounds that happen like a day before the official rodeo–you get to see rodeo competitive events minus the ghastly audio-visual spectacle. Plus it’s usually free of charge!
Oh that sounds like my speed LOL
We make pasta at our home! But we are a growing family with only three small children so far and I don’t know how long we will be able too keep on with the pasta making. My oldest daughter is almost five and helps me a little. My hope is that she and her sister who is almost three will learn to make it by themselves and happily make a huge amount the day it’s needed, because once you start eating homemade pasta it is difficult to accept the mass-produced one. We watch ” Pasta Grannies” on Youtube some times to get some inspiration. Not seldom do the grannies tell that they started making pasta for the family at a young age! I see pasta making as a family “activity” and though I didn’t grow up making it I want it to be part of our family culture. But we started most of all because I wanted to do something with my daughters that would mean something for the whole family. It is easy to start thinking that as a mom one needs to find fun activities for the kids all the time…
I’m also into knitting socks for a new born! Actually as a baptism present. I find them to be a very sweet present for the small just Christianised feet.
Thank you for all the links! I wouldn’t be able to find all you link to by my self.
Oh! Here is a question for you- I also taught myself to knit, but in my late 20s, and my kids have asked me to teach them someday, which I’d love to when they’re older. I’ve also noticed them playing with their MagnaTiles, which I think is awesome pre-geometry problem solving in action… it occurs to me that all the shapes are the shapes a quilter would use! How did you learn to quilt, and how did you teach your daughters to quilt? I imagine a fun MagnaTiles-to-quilting pipeline in our home, though perhaps this is more of a pipe dream as I have mostly boys who obviously love building with blocks but maybe that won’t translate to quilting haha!!
I taught myself to quilt in the 80s. I overthought it quite a bit! I would say my daughters learned to quilt by teaching themselves, maybe? Suki definitely tried to learn from me but I think our individual brands of overthinking clashed haha… but she does it!
Teaching basic sewing is the key. Learning about fabrics, straight and bias grains, and how to use the sewing machine is a great help. The basic concept of quilting is pretty easy if you are familiar with how fabric works.
My husband makes pasta! He’s the Italian here. We only have homemade pasta for special feast days and birthdays, though.
And yes, when all of his siblings are home etc it comes out to a TON of pasta! But they all pitch in 🙂
That’s awesome
Leila, do you have a recipe to share for the pasta? I’m embarrassed to say that I’m a 2nd-generation Italian American who has never made pasta. I do everything else, focaccia, parmigianas, lasagna, Sunday gravy, etc. but no fresh pasta. I’ve always felt it would be difficult to do. Yet my Grandmas made it all the time. However, my Mom never did and maybe that’s why I never tried it. My husband even bought me that Kitchen Aid attachment and it’s still in the box. Can you help, please?
I don’t really have a recipe I’ve landed on, sorry. I’m still in the trial-and-error stage!
Leila,
What candles do you take to be blessed at Candlemas?
Candles you use in prayer, candles for the dining table, next year’s Advent candles? Tapers only, or just any candle?
I take all the candles, whatever I have that is new. I try to have beeswax tapers and votives for the Little Oratory and the table. Advent candles are perfect. I have even been known to take the 7-day votives for when the power goes out…
Basically, I want my candles blessed!
However, this year I don’t know…. I can’t find any good beeswax candles. I might have to make do with my already-blessed stash, sadly. At least I will get the 7-day votives for sure.
I really, really enjoy LMLD, and have been reading it for years. Why did you start The School for Housewives on Substack? Is it because of the audience Substack has right now? All of that content seems like it’s perfect for LMLD and would be great all in one place.
Ellen, this is the answer I gave to the same question a few posts ago:
Basically, I am on various social media platforms (certainly not all!). I like to comment on current events, briefly on X for instance, and in the past, on Facebook… and then some years ago it became apparent that FB was going to be tampering with their algorithm, and anyway is not easy to search. I was even worried that I’d be kicked off there!
I had the idea to put my “musings” as I call them, on a separate blog and did that for a while. Substack offers more interaction and a non-ad-based way of allowing people to support my work, so I moved it over there (Happy Despite Them).
I wanted to keep LMLD the way it is and not turn it into a place where people are arguing about things, a sort of Facebook-y kind of place; however, I do actually enjoy and even benefit from that sort of interaction. To me, they are two different modes. Substack allows me to write things from quick observations to essays without worrying about putting on nice photos etc — while still keeping the “sharing” aspect here on LMLD intact. I don’t think LMLD readers would like having things change to another format, even occasionally.
For some years now, I have gotten various forms of comment from people saying something like “young women don’t read blogs or long-form posts but I wish you would do a podcast or something to introduce them to the LMLD way of doing things.”
But I don’t have time for a podcast like that, and I didn’t want to change how LMLD is. But let’s be honest, I’ve been here now for 17 years! Blogging was new when I started; now there are other ways… I had thought maybe it’s not that helpful to keep LMLD going, but I am reluctant to stop!
Then one day I had the idea to have very short posts every day. And Substack allows me to do a voiceover as well (which I can’t do here very easily). It’s a sort of TikTok idea but without going there, which I don’t want to do.
The content on The School for Housewives is the LMLD way, but without the cozy, chit-chatting, visiting aspect. But on the other hand, the message is given very quickly and I see people responding to that way of doing things. I don’t think you’d miss anything if you just wanted to come here, as it’s the same basic content, but it’s a way to reach a different audience with my message that the woman is needed in the home and can recover the capability of being there and being happy.
I spend a lot of time on answering questions. Here on LMLD there is no way for me to get a bit of support for that time, though this blog actually costs quite a bit of money! I’m not sure people realize the expense for the platform itself. I’m not talking about “an income” for me, but for a way to pay for the expenses associated with putting the content on here. I am not sure people realize I have to pay for the platform and for the web hosting and for technical help when I need it, expenses that come from… well, where would they come from? If you think about it…
I certainly do NOT want to put in pop-up ads or sponsored content. I think you will notice if you go to any other blog that there is a lot of that — sometimes you can’t even find the content for all the pop-ups!
I hate that idea! Being on Substack allows people to choose to pay directly if they want to support me, and that way I can pay for this blog and the time it takes to answer everyone’s questions and so on.
I view it all as a way of getting my message out there.
I am a big proponent of at least one ultrasound per pregnancy simply because my two of my own children, as well as those of friends, have had their lives saved that way. As for myself, I will also always get an early one because I’ve had twins twice, and that is good information to have early, haha!
Thank as always for sharing such a well-curated collection of thought provoking links! And also for the reminder to start winter sowing. I need to dig some jugs out of the recycling bin …
Was coming on to post a similar comment. My oldest son’s life was saved after a life-threatening issue was discovered at his 20-week ultrasound. And I mean life-threatening as in he needed in-utero surgery within the fortnight. It’s good to question the technology and how it can be best used, but there is a (to me, disturbing) trend among the natural-minded women I know to eschew all ultrasounds. Granted, it seems to work fine for them, but my personal experience makes this technophobe grateful I got the ultrasound.
This is what my midwife advises- get one, ideally just after 20 weeks. She recognizes risks to it but thinks the benefits of getting one out way those risks.
Now I am interested in if there is a place that has lower emissions US after reading that article….
The last ultrasound tech who owned her own ultrasound business, had just found out she had cancer… does make you wonder…,
So I am wondering about the timing of the ultrasound.
I wonder, Rosemary, what week you are talking about?
In some places, ultrasounds are required every month or even more frequently from the moment the woman’s test is positive and she enters the practice.
Prudence is really necessary. As I said in the post, it’s about weighing risks and benefits.
For instance, amniocentesis can cause birth defects when used in early pregnancy, and the test is really a search-and-destroy technique. But at the end of pregnancy, it doesn’t pose a risk and can help determine if the baby’s lungs are developed enough to induce labor where that is necessary.
Basically, I’m saying to be informed.
Whenever that first appointment comes up–which for me is usually around week 12. 🙂 If they share a placenta, it’s important to know as early as possible, because it automatically becomes a higher risk pregnancy for things like twin-to-twin-transfusion and TAPS (what my twins had). Those diagnoses could kill or disable one or both babies before the 20 week scan if they developed early and progressed quickly.
Also! I knew a large Catholic Italian family who made their own pasta. It was basically a huge assembly line with kids making the dough, kids feeding it through the pasta machine, etc. I don’t know how often they made it though!
From what I understand the same risks are present with using the Doppler at every appointment to listen to the heartbeat. I know many women even rent or buy Dopplers to use at home. Yikes! I’ve tried to hear the heartbeat once early on and then have them use the old school fetoscope at subsequent appointments.
Auntie Leila, I’m pregnant with twins! Babies 5 &6! At the ripe age of 43. Is a wonderful and blessed surprise from the Lord. I work with a Napro doc as well as a midwife. They are the perfect blend of caution and prudent use of available technology. I need an ultrasound to determine if a homebirth is safe for me, see separate placentas, etc. And my midwife is skilled in manual palpation to determine babies’ positions. But what a difference from my first medicalized birth where i had biweekly ultrasounds because i was dehydrated once. Thankfully that child seems very healthy but it does make one wonder. I find great relief in the midwife’s attitude that we will assume all is well but be alert. We are stuck in an age of all or nothing black & white it seems. No one has served a while by that attitude of having to pick a camp and stick to it. I have changed in so many things in the 12 years of my marriage so far.
Wow! congratulations!
Re: ultrasound… yes, all or nothing?? I carefully said “risks and benefits”! I am not sure people these days really understand what that means.
To me, using common sense, it seems like finding out there are two babies in there could justify an ultrasound. The risk of one procedure is outweighed (given what we know and don’t know) by the benefit. Then, seeing all is well, we can just “trust the process.” Perhaps later, another one will be necessary.
I like your midwife’s attitude!
In the UK we typically have a 12 week and 20 week ultrasound. The 12 week is “Is there a baby in there and is it generally OK?” Then the 20 week looks at specific organs in detail. My last pregnancy they got me to have a “routine” (i.e. not due to any specific concerns) 36 week one too which I found very tiresome and might just decline next time.
I find NHS routine care to be good on the whole. They work hard to find a balance which results in lower lifetime medical cost for them which usually correlates with better outcomes for you! It can be contentious with care guidelines around terminal diseases and what they will and won’t fund, but for regular medical care I think they get it right most of the time because the NHS and the patient have the same goals: maximum health with minimum intervention.