Outside my window- The cold, grey, foggy day has turned into a cold, black, foggy night.
I am hearing- Kabalevsky's Cello Concerto No. 1 on the piano as Jonathan prepares for a performance.
I am wearing- Still lots of winter wool!
I am thankful for- The Holy Father Pope Benedict! Deo Gratias for his blessed years of faithful shepherding. But oh, how we will miss our beloved Papa.
I am thinking about- The day's shocking news is naturally on everyone's mind and it's hard to think of anything else. Fr. Z mentioned this morning that a priest had emailed him the passage describing the scene where the Fellowship is on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. I admit I can easily relate to that reference, as it fits well with the flesh's first reaction to the news: the picture of Frodo's face contorting in that excruciating combination of terror and disbelief and pain and despair as he watches Gandalf drop over the edge and fall into the abyss. My mind can readily change Frodo's cry of "Gandalf!" to "Benedict!" followed by the memorable gut wrenching "NOOOOOOOO!!!"
But sad and startled as we are, that first fleshy impulse to wail is quickly overcome and we face the future with peace and trust and thanksgiving. Surely no man on earth can have a greater love for Holy Mother Church than our Holy Father Pope Benedict, and his actions are always for our good. We resist the temptation to speculate or wallow in fear and sadness, and we look forward with hope and joy to the future.We trust and we wait. And give thanks always.
And we have our Lent all planned out for us now as we clearly have a major focus for our praying and fasting!
I am reading - would you believe I'm still finishing The Hobbit!? Between trying to keep up with devotional reading, peeking at blogs, perusing seed catalogs and garden books I really haven't fit in any more reading time. Anna tells me if I should finish The Hobbit before Wednesday and then I'll be all set to read The Fellowship right after Easter. :-)
From the
kitchen- Goodness, but we've been indulging in the treats before Ash Wednesday gets here. We had a big bag of M&M's left from Christmas that got made into an undisclosed number of batches of M&M cookies.
We made Leila's chocolate cakes, covered neatly with ganache and hiding raspberry jam inside between the layers. (sha-ZAM!)
Lydia made these fabulous chocolate moose cookies, and they were so good her father requested that she make them again. (she did)
She says she put about a gallon of cocoa in them and we almost believe her. They're very chocolatey, and look! they self-dunk.
We've also devoured another well-whip-creamed pan of gingerbread too (good to share with spontaneous late night visitors). This evening I made butterscotch pudding, loaded with butter and dark brown sugar...
Around the house-Just a little bit of Valentine before Lent begins -
We are creating- Anna's on a roll making peg dolls for the shop - she's on an eighteenth century streak and has about a dozen new creations. Lydia just finished a Lenten countdown calendar (similar to last year's) - hope to get that posted soon. Kateri is all about pink and red and hearts hearts hearts. I am trying to finish my Valentine gifts! before Thursday?
A few plans for the rest of the week- Lent begins on Wednesday; presently each soul works to discern the final solidification of plans and intentions for this penitential season.
One of my favorite things- Going up to bed at night and falling asleep to the sound of beautiful harp music. Seems there is always one of the girls playing harp late at night, in the dark, when the rest of the house is all quiet. The lovely, peaceful tunes seem to float through the still of the night, and all is well.
Picture thoughts- Lydia takes up her scissors as she pines for spring migration-
