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Happy First Week of Advent!

"Rorate coeli desuper et nubes pluant justum" (Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just), and the response: "Aperiatur terra et germinet salvatorem" (Let the earth be opened and send forth a Saviour").

Advent is next

I know alot people believe that after Thanksgiving comes the Christmas season but as a Catholic Christian for me the next season is Advent.  Advent means coming.  It reminds us we are waiting for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christmas is a different season. That is why so many people years ago did not put their tree up until Christmas Eve because that is when Christmas started. Today, unfortunately, we end the season as soon as we get our gifts instead of beginning it. That isn't what Christmas is to be about.

The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ.  In Dutch it is Kerstmis, in Latin Dies Natalis, whence comes the French Noël, and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest.  

 In the early Church the feast was celebrated along with the Epiphany. But already in A.D. 200 St. Clement of Alexandria (150-215) refers to a special feast on May 20, and the Latin Church began observing it on December 25. The privilege of priests offering three Masses on Christmas Day goes back to a custom originally practiced by a pope who, about the fourth century, celebrated a midnight Mass in the Liberian Basilica (where traditionally the manger of Bethlehem is preserved), a second in the Church of St. Anastasia, whose feast falls on December 25, and a third at the Vatican Basilica. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm)
So, soon we will be starting our wonderful season of Advent as we prepare for Christmas and I hope to find some wonderful ways to express this season to myself, my family and in my blog.

Preparing For Thanksgiving, Planning Ahead, Being Thankful

Well, today was National Tie One On Day. That has nothing to do with alcohol. It means tie on your apron. So today I did. I am finding wearing an apron is a very handy thing to have on. I am always setting the kitchen towel down and forgetting where I put it. When I have on an apron I don't have that problem.  http://www.apronmemories.com/

I started preparing my Thanksgiving meal early this morning and started with one of my favorite foods for this time of year. The pumpkin pie. I try to get some of the cooking done the day before. Almost every year I have used the Libby's recipe for pumpkin pie. This year I thought I would look through some cookbooks and see if I found anything that looked better. Nope. Alot of other recipes included more sugar than I find healthy or other kinds of milk besides evaporated milk. Not that I don't like regular milk. Evaporated milk just doesn't have as much fat.

That  pie looks really  good. I can't wait to have some tomorrow.  But, first I must let it cook for a while.

Now, to start on the turkey. My mother showed me how she was taught to cook a turkey on the farm when she was growing up. So I only know one way to cook it. It comes out really juicey and good. It does include basting. There is one problem with basting, that is using the same utensil over and over. I don't.  After every time I baste I either throw the utensil in the dishwasher or hot sudsy water. I, also, cover the wing tips and leg with aluminum foil to keep them from burning.

After the turkey is cooked, I let it cool for 15 minutes and then my husband helps carve.

It is so nice and helpful to do some of Thanksgiving cooking the day before. Tomorrow I will get up and start on more cooking.

I have to add here, though, what Thanksgiving is about. Being thankful. It helps if there is someone you can thank. For me, I am thankful to God and all the love and blessings He has given me and my family. There are good times and hard times in life but knowing God is always there is the best thing to be thankful for.

Here is a link to a great Thanksgiving letter by Father Corapi:   http://www.fathercorapi.com/Webpage.aspx?WebpageId=64&CategoryId=25

 Happy Thanksgiving!!

Trying to do too many things at once. A body can't be two places at one time. A person can't do two jobs at the same time. One will not come out so well. Oh, sure you can catch up but at the time one job is lacking in quality.
I work part time and I am very grateful I have a family that pitches in and helps out around the house when I work, but my heart is in my home. I love being a housewife, homemaker, wife and mother. I love having a home ready for them when they come home from work and school. It gives me such a good feeling.I am just realizing how important that is to me and to them.

Titus 2:  4: That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5: To be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle...

It makes me think of how it must have been for Mary. Oh, yes, she didn't have all of the modern conveniences we have today but she must have loved having a home for Jesus and Joseph. Nesting. Keeping a place for your family to find comfort.

Manners

The other day I was at a restaurant picking up an order and I looked over and noticed something going on. It was two older men sitting at a table together. Now that doesn't sound too strange. Now when I say older I realize that older is relative. Older than what? Older than who?  Well, I mean older than me. Definitely older than teens, because I am nowhere near that.  I would imagine both of these men were in their 60's. Now what was interesting was that even though they were sitting at the same table, eating lunch together they were both talking on their cell phones and ignoring each other.

We hear alot about this subject when it comes to teens and how they are constantly texting or talking on their cell phones. It also isn't strange to be in a store waiting in line and have someone talking on their cell phone while they check out or be in a public place hearing every word of someones conversation because they are talking on their cell phone so loud.

I, myself, have become very attached to my cell phone and I am getting pretty good at texting. The other day a woman made a comment to me about how fast I could text.

Though, despite all this enjoyment of our latest technology it makes me wonder what is happening to our manners and our ability to socialize with each other.

Where are our manners when we are line at a store and we are talking on a phone to someone else. How does that make the check out lady feel?  What about when you're talking to one person and your phone rings and you end up in a conversation with someone else or you are in a public place and talking so loud you are making your business known to everyone around you?

It used to be one of the things we were taught while growing up were phone manners. It is probably too late and the situation way too far gone and times too different and phones are way too progressed and accessible than they used to be but maybe we could try a little bit of manners and consideration when using our phones. I certainly want to work on this my own self.

He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. Proverbs 22:11
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one. Colossians 4:6

A Housewife

Being a housewife is very important. It is too bad it has declined so in our world. Caring for the home, the husband, the children is a grand job. It is a job that takes skill, smarts, organization, wisdom and love.
It is probably one of the most important jobs there are.
Today, in our society, we don't like to say the word housewife.  We say stay at home mom or SAHM or homemaker. Those are all very good titles but I think  housewife covers all of those titles and more because a woman doesn't stop caring for her home just because she sends her children to school or because they are grown and gone or even after she may be alone.  Caring for a home is something that is in a woman. It is a God-given talent. We just seem to know when things need picked up, straightened up or cleaned up.
We know when it is time to feed our families, when they need help with clothing or when they need support or understanding.  I think Donna Reed is right in this video about all that a housewife is and then some.
I know in today's society alot of women have abandoned their role but I believe many women are returning. I am not saying that all women should quit their jobs and stay home. There are many of us who need the money from that job. I myself work part time. I am just saying that maybe we just need to keep our priorities in line and not feel that the caring of the home is a meaningless job.


Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good. so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, 
to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers home, there are many of us who need the money from that job.  I myself work part time. I am just saying that  maybe we just need to keep our priorities in line and not feel that the caring of the home is a meaningless job. Titus 2: 3-5