7 Quick Takes - Vol. 19

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Last year, when we moved out of our college accommodation, we donated/gave away a lot of our things, including all of our generic Christmas decorations. Now we’re in the position of having Christmas away from our families, so I’m trying to jolly up the house (and our moods) by making things here as nice as possible, without wanting to spend the cash we don’t have on replacing all the generic stuff we don’t want to keep. Solution – diy Christmas decor using things commonly found in the house (or: Kindergarten craft time). So far I’ve made 31 paper snowflakes to decorate the windows with and two popcorn strings for the tree. Making the popcorn strings, with Walter’s help, was the best. He kept raiding the bowl of popcorn, taking one piece, and going “mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm” very loudly as he ran away.

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I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I dislike baking. So much about it bothers me – the mess, the finickyness, the patience required... of course I still bake things, but my preferred recipes are of the no fuss, little effort variety. Thus I thought I’d tackle Christmas baking this year as part of my regular weekly lot. In England people are more likely to have mince pies or Christmas pudding for company, and we haven’t many plans with friends over the season, so I don’t need a huge batch of dainties like I would back home. I picked three tried & tested recipes from my recipe folder. I’ve been baking one each week for the last three weeks, freezing half to make part of our Christmas stash (which we really only need for Tree Decorating Night and Christmas Eve). The choices? Lemon Snow Bars (because LEMON!!!), Boderkoek (a Mennonite Christmas tradition) & Chocolate Torte (in lieu of brownies. Chocolate overdose!).

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When I complain about baking, my best friend reminds me that she enjoys it but dislikes cooking, which I love. We work as a good team in the kitchen and whenever I bake with her it turns into an enjoyable experience. She even helped me make baklava one year and everyone survived! And it was delicious! And I didn’t explode from rage! She suggested that we try living in the same city again so that I can do the cooking and she can do the baking and, as I pointed out, our husbands can get very fat.

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Now that Emily’s three month’s old, she’s showing that her newborn sleepiness is wearing off and a pseudo-sleep-schedule is emerging. She’s a pretty good sleeper, at least compared to Walter, but there are a few evenings each week where she needs some aid to get sleepy. Those are exhausting evenings, because I usually don’t need to step in unless it’s past ten pm and she’s still awake, but at the same time they are what beautiful memories are made of. I’m loving being able to rock and sing to her for such a long time.

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It’s been a depressing few weeks, with bad weather and a sick family. To cheer us all up, among other reasons, David entered a contest on the Catholic Herald for the best English translation of an article they published in Latin. We were all thrilled to find out that he won! They sent him a book as a prize. It was a really nice bit of cheer and excitement to drive away the winter blues.

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This is the first Advent in two years when I haven’t been in the early stages of pregnancy. It is soooooooooooo nice.

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I was all set to write velvety happy nonsense feelings about babies and family size but then the children stopped acting like society’s view of the Well Brought-up Child and started acting like normal children (ie that moment when you glance at the clock and realise it’s 5am and you really have been up since before 3 mothering one after the other and why on earth does Walter have to go through yet another phase of screaming constantly all day long if he wants attention or is told “no” and is Emily’s colic returning andandand)... and I’m exhausted. But at least they’ve been compensating with lots of Emily smiles and Walter kiss-hug-attacks.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Mantilla? What's up with that!

Every so often an article or two appears in the Catholic blog world about “veiling” at Mass, or in layman’s terms, women wearing head coverings (for the most part mantillas/chapel veils). It’s probably just a sign of the blogs I’m attracted to, but the articles I’ve read are almost always about women adopting this practice and then promoting it, rather than ones declaiming it as oppressive and archaic (which, since it’s not required, wouldn’t really make sense as an ‘issue’).

I am one of the women who has decided to adopt a head covering at Mass. And, like many other modern-day Catholic women who have made this change, it came with some soul searching and trepidation. Chapel veils weren’t quite an anomaly with me – my dad’s parents went to a Brethren Church where all the women wore hats or chapel veils, so it wasn’t a completely new concept. It was always associated with the very literal scripture interpretations that many people see as Brethren legalism, but this old-school Mennonite modesty just seemed quaint and sweet and very much belonging to my Grandparents and nothing to do with me.

It wasn’t until I read a book in which, and I summarise as I can’t remember the book, an atheist points out to a Catholic protagonist that if Catholics really believed Christ was present in the flesh, he assumed they would act quite differently than they do at Mass. There would be less chatter and mindless following of the liturgy, and more reverence & awe since God is physically present. This struck me quite deeply, because if you look around at Mass it’s usually pretty clear that a lot of us are distracted and not too focused on the miracle happening in front of us. I’m not trying to suggest that we don’t believe that Christ is present, but we don’t really own it.

If I want to live like I believe Christ is physically present at Mass, how should that alter my behavior? The words that came to my mind were “sacred space” and “holy ground”. This got me thinking about all the references in the Bible to physical reactions to sacred spaces. When Moses sees the burning bush he removes his sandals because he is on holy ground. That is the reaction I felt I should be having when I receive the Eucharist, but shuffling forward in the communion line wasn’t really giving a visible indicator that I acknowledged I was in the presence of the Holy. The more I thought about it the more I remembered scenes from Bible stories in which the person encountering God covers, or uncovers, their head or feet.

I decided to start playing around with the idea of head coverings. I wasn’t ready to take the plunge, but I usually tried to ensure that I wore something nicer in my hair when I went to church. It felt like my own little way of acknowledging that I was on holy ground. And around me, in the blogs that I follow or on news sites that I read, other women were talking about adopting head coverings. It seemed that there was a quiet revolution going on. I shared my thoughts with David, and he & Walter decided to give me a chapel veil for Christmas. I was thrilled with their choice. It was good to know that David supported me in this, and I knew that once the money had been spent I’d feel compelled to wear the veil even if my shyness made me want to keep sitting on the fence.

I’ve been wearing a chapel veil to Mass fairly regularly now since January. When I’m going to a church with people who knew me pre-head-covering, I tend to feel awkward about the change in my appearance. And as so many other women have said, the worry is always that people will think we’re doing this to show our piety or because we’ve suddenly become weirdly conservative. It’s hard standing out. But this is just a reaction of me to myself – chances are that the people in the surrounding pews aren’t staring at me and thinking I’m a throwback freak of nature to the 1950s. In some ways it’s made me friendlier to other people in the congregation – instead of withdrawing into myself I try to smile more and be more approachable so that I don’t seem like some holier-than-thou parishioner.

I find that once I get over my discomfort of sticking out, I prefer to wear my chapel veil. Again, as so many others have said, it creates a special space. When I pin my veil on it is a physical reminder to myself that I am setting aside this time and this space for God. It is my way of acknowledging to Him that I know this place is sacred and that I honour it. It gives a new intimacy to our relationship – I feel that I have set myself aside for Him for the Mass. Yes, my children can be distracting. Yes, my thoughts can be distracting. But, perhaps because I’ve already done something to alter my normal state of being, somehow they seem less distracting than before.

an awkward veil selfie. Note: David points out that I'm probably the only Catholic woman to sport a mantilla and a nose ring!

And on a more practical note, since I’ve seen laments elsewhere – it’s not been that difficult to keep it on even with two babies. I just fix it in place with a couple of bobby pins, and voila! They haven’t tugged it off yet.

If you're interested in reading more stories like mine, please check out the 2013 Advent Veiling Linkup

Menu Plan Monday: 07/12 - 13/12

Linking up with Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com

Saturday: Since I never completed the lasagne last week, we’ll have it tonight. Really looking forward to it.

Sunday: I have a large container of rice & peas in the freezer that I want to use up, so it’s a good week to make a sweet & sour ham. I’ll finish off the parsnips as well, tossed in honey & roasted.

Monday: I accidently bought too much fennel for last week’s mussel & fennel bisque, so I did a quick search through my recipe folder and found a French recipe for beet, orange, & fennel salad. I’ll be pairing it with flammekuche (bacon tart) which sounds delicious and vaguely reminiscent of the rahmbrot I tried in Berlin last year.

Tuesday: Time for an energy saving meal – leftover marrow stuffed with kidney beans, cheese sauce, & rice.

Wednesday: Since we’re not having a pudding on Sunday, I might as well use my largest piece of leftover roast beef to make a cottage pie, which is excellent served with Yorkshire pudding!

Thursday: Going the easy route with some leftover chicken wellington, rice, & broccoli.

Friday: Pizza Night!

Now a look at last week’s plan in practice:

The Greek potatoes were such a great idea to pair with leftover moussaka. We ate way too many potatoes but they were so, so good. Dinner was super late as I was running behind all afternoon and the Saturday grocery delivery was late, so I’m glad I only had to worry about making the potatoes from scratch.

Our Sunday roast beef was excellent. I forgot to put the potatoes into the oven in time for roasting, so we ended up having mash which was a nice change. The pudding was super crispy – I used the still-greasy pan from the previous night’s Greek potatoes to add a little extra crunch and flavour. It worked really well. It was a great meal, so kudos to David for requesting beef.

Spaghetti & Meatballs ended up being perfect for a ‘manic Monday’. It seems that Monday is the day I get the most done around the house, probably because I try to keep Sunday as a day of rest (aside from cooking & babies), so it was nice to have an easy supper after a day of housework.

I don’t particularly like fennel or shellfish, but Tuesday’s mussel & fennel bisque turned out to be a clear winner (especially for David, who likes both). The bisque was so tasty, and nice & boozy with the brandy & white wine – just the thing for a cold winter evening.

Wednesday’s Bean & cheese quesadillas were ok, but not as good as the beef one’s we’ve been having. It was the last tin of refried beans and I don’t think I’ll be getting any more multibuys on them in the next little while.

Thursday turned into a busy day, with grocery shopping in the early morning, some organisational work in the late morning, and a trip into town to get the ring put into my nose (instead of the stud which had to go in with the initial piercing). By evening we were all out of sorts, the lasagne hadn’t been made yet, and the best idea seemed to be a quick family walk to the grocery store for beer & an Indian box. Sanity saving!

Friday’s pizza was exceptionally good and entirely made by David.  

Emily: 3 Months Old

Our Little Em’ly is three months old!

the official 3-month shot

At three months, she is beginning to develop her own role in the family. She is a much more easy going baby than Walter, generally content to observe the world around her. I worry that she gets overlooked in the flurry of activity that is Walter, but she is good at using her voice to get my attention when she needs it.

just happy being Emily

She loves to cuddle and is teaching her big brother how to slow down and enjoy hugs. She loves to be around people and gets very upset if we leave a room without her. When she sees her family she bursts into the biggest grins I’ve ever seen. She can happily sit for fifteen or thirty minutes just watching Walter play.

hangin' out, watchin' Walter, and bein' a Jackalope

She has her moments of extreme girlyness. Any perceived injury, no matter how slight, leads to heartrending sobs as if her world was collapsing around her. She is a light eater and a delicate featured little creature. She loves to dance, and loves to be told that she is a beautiful pretty princess, words which always elicit a smile. Her favourite toy is the pony on her bouncy seat, and she already has a collection of stuffed bunnies.

my little princess, even when wearing Walter's old dungarees

Emily is as strong as Walter was at three months. She can stand quite easily with only a little aid. She likes to sit up, although needs a fair bit of help to stay upright. I really suck at doing “tummy time” so whether or not she can roll from front to back is a mystery for the ages. She likes to grab things, particularly her parents or the aforementioned pony and bunnies.

At her three month checkup she weighed in at 12lb10oz, a gain of 5lb since birth. She doesn’t eat very much, especially compared to Walter who would easily guzzle the recommended amount of formula for his age and show signs of being able to take more, but clearly she’s getting enough calories from what she takes in. I need to hunt up my tape measure so that I can see how long she is. She is still wearing 0-3m sized clothing, but I expect she’ll have outgrown it in another month.

her favourite way to sleep -- with a blanket over her cheek

I like having two babies. I get a lot less bullshit once people find out that I have “two under two” – it’s like a badge for letting people know you’re hardcore. Sometimes people ask how I’m coping, and very rarely they answer themselves with the obvious truth – I’m coping just fine because there is no choice. You just get on with it, do your best, and try to roll with the punches. Every day I have moments, or hours, when I rage and think I can’t handle the insanity. But then everything settles down and I get a breather and I realise that it really is ok, and it’s actually a lot better than ok – it’s great.

Menu Plan Monday: 30/11 - 06/12

Linking up with Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com

  

Saturday: We’ll have the defrosted moussaka that never got eaten on Wednesday. Greek potatoes as a side. I’m quite looking forward to this!

Sunday: I let David pick the Sunday Roast and he opted for beef, so I have some brisket coming. There is still some broccoli left from last week’s grocery order so we’ll have that steamed and tossed with a bit of garlic salt (I love garlic salt). Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, and gravy. Because I still have a small piece of brisket frozen, I’m probably going to put all the leftovers from this batch towards making cottage pie, as that turns into meals for another two weeks.

Monday: It’s time to polish off the last batch of frozen meatballs – a nice easy supper. Spaghetti, garlic bread, and a spicy sauce.

Tuesday: We bought a package of “mussel meat” for our Seinfeld Pizza Night, but only needed a few mussels for the pizza. I froze the rest and figure it’s time to put them to good use. I have a recipe folder in my email, where I keep all the recipes that are emailed to me (I’ve signed up to a few lists and friends send some, or I find them when I’m searching the web). When I need to use up an ingredient, I just run a search through the folder and see what comes up. The search for “mussel” brought up, among other things, a recipe for Mussel & Fennel Bisque, so that’s what we’re going to try.

Wednesday: Sainsbury’s has been doing a lot of 2-for-3 sales on its Mexican products, so I have an old can of refried beans hanging out from the last time I made bean quesadillas. It’s time for them again! I’m hoping to find some not-horribly-overpriced corn on the cob at Tesco as a treat to go with.

Thursday: I’m wanting to restock the freezer so when David suggested lasagne as an option this week it seemed like a great idea. When he first moved away from home, his mum made him a cookbook with all his favourite dishes (I’m so doing this for our kids when they move out! I did similar for my brother as well, although I just sent him a computer file of my favourite easy recipes). Her meatsauce & lasagne recipes are in it so I’m going to give them a whirl. It sounds like the meat sauce should make enough for a lasagne and for freezing, but even if it doesn’t we’ll get two meals from the lasagne.

Friday: Pizza Night! It never changes. It even has its own theme song (which I won’t be sharing, because some things are just family things).

Now a look at last week’s plan in practice:

Saturday was not a good day, for various reasons, so I’m really glad I’d planned such an easy supper. The spice really helped David’s cold and the easy, comforting dinner really helped my mood.

A rarity – I actually managed to get the whole Sunday Roast done at a reasonable time and with minimal fussing. I guess it’s because I skipped an afternoon nap. I’m really enjoying the Sainsbury’s Basics chickens – they are nice and plump, with a good amount of fat which keeps the meat moist and the gravies delicious. I know that free range corn fed is the posh thing to eat right now, but the ones we’ve gotten recently have been really dry and short on meat. No point in paying for a poorer quality bird!

Monday’s quesadillas were delicious – I added a little red onion this time around and I think we’ve about reached perfection level with this recipe. They were so good that I’m trying to get my brother on board, as he is all grown up now and does his own cooking, although he informs me that our mum cooked so many meals for him last time she came to visit that he’s managed to live on them for most of his semester.

I did a bit of a switch on Tuesday and made the marrow stuffed with kidney beans. It was really good – interesting to have kidney beans in a non-‘mexican’ dish (the flavourings were more Greek). It was our first time trying marrow, which seems to be the love child of a courgette & a spaghetti squash, or something. I made a parsley sauce to go with it, but next time I’m going to do a cheese sauce instead as I kept feeling that the dish wanted cheese. Walter ate his portion with a lot of “mmmm, mmmmmmMMMMMMMmmm” so it was a hit all ‘round.

David felt like he was getting a cold again, and I’d had a long exhausting day, so we opted to pick up an Indian box from Tesco on Wednesday as he felt the hit of heat would do him good. I’m reading Kim and it’s put me in a craving for Indian food anyway. It was a nice break from cooking.

On Thursday I had to make the chicken wellington, even tho’ I wanted to do something that was less work, because I was worried about the ingredients going off. I messed up the pastry again (I hate pastry! So much!) but everything tasted delicious, so that’s two relatively successful attempts at this with great results, meaning the recipe is a definite keeper.

We switched our pizza to lunchtime on Friday and had an elegant but light supper when David got back from a book event – smoked salmon & cream cheese on multiseed bagels and Covent Garden’s maris piper potato & leek soup. It was delicious and just the right amount of richness for a late evening meal.