Pinewood Castle

Everything Santa Lucia

This is a gem of a post for resources!

File These Away for Next Year

Remember those pies?

This is the first year I have made these particular recipes. I got them online and just have to share because they garnered rave reviews this weekend.

My in-laws said that this apple pie was the best they had ever tasted and I don't think it was just because the apples in the pie came from their trees. It might have something to do with the caramel sauce you pour over the top of the lattice top before baking. They said they might ask for the recipe after my FIL has his cholesterol checked next week!

My in-laws also grow Hubbard squash. We were the grateful recipients of six of them this year. I used two cups of pureed squash per pie for this Hubbard Squash custard pie and my husband declared that he liked it far better than the normal back-of-the-can recipe for pumpkin pie. It was definitely more substantial.

The other hit was not a dessert pie, but a pot pie or shepherd's pie using Thanksgiving leftovers. My six year old boy who is the hardest to please at mealtime told me tonight that this is the best thing I have ever made. Thank you Chef Marcel! So glad I saw this on TV and asked my husband to look it up on the zip-loc website! All his co-workers will be jealous when he heats this up for lunch tomorrow!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We did our shopping (online, not in stores - I'm not a doorbuster kind of gal),  decorated for Advent, learned new things at the nature center's Turkey Time class, hit some craft stores for O Antiphon blocks (no houses to be found this year, though), picked out some luscious colors of merino wool yarn to knit a baby blanket, and finally got to the new Ben Franklin exhibit today after Mass. I will be blogging about that later. All I can say now is that if you didn't make it this weekend you missed out on a lot of extra fun stuff for the kids!

Happy first week of Advent!

Free to a Crafty Person

Last year I was thrilled to find what I thought were pre-made ornaments for the Twelve Days of Christmas. I bought them on impulse for $30. Don't these look darling?

But when they arrived, my heart fell when I realized it was a kit. It was from Herrschner's Quality Crafts after all. Silly me.

Also silly me for actually opening the package and starting to cut out the patterns instead of returning the item asap. After looking through the instructions I realized that there's no way I would ever be able to complete such a project until I am an empty nester with a designated craft room!

If anyone wants this kit, it is free to a good home. Just leave a comment and I will email you to ask your address. OR, if there is anyone out there who would be willing to complete the kit and sell the ornaments back to me I would consider that too. I just don't know how much a fair price would be - it looks like sooo much work!

Friday Fall Favorites - Recipes

Everyday Cassoulet

great for families whose children will tolerate beans

1 lb. Polish or smoked sausage, cut diagonally in 1 inch pieces

1 15 oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

3 carrots thinly sliced

2 onions diced or sliced into rings

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup beef broth

2 T brown sugar

1 ½ tsp thyme

Heat oven to 375.

Mix all ingredients in an ungreased 3 quart casserole dish.

Cover and bake for an hour.

Also works great in the crock pot.

My kids love this:

Lemon Rice Pudding

2 lemons

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

6 cups milk (works with rice or almond milk too)

1 tsp vanilla

Grate zest from lemon. Cut in half and juice, set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, combine lemon zest, rice, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Gradually stir in milk.

Bring mixture just to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Stir often.

Remove from heat.

Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.

Thanksgiving Blessings

 . . . and lessons learned.

Such as, if you adjust a cranberry bread recipe to make six loaves instead of one, use six loaf pans, not five. Really. Even if it looks like the batter will fit.

Setting off smoke alarms after the kids' bedtime is not advisable!

At least my other baking projects redeemed me in the eyes of my husband -

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

More Advent Adventures

A friend of mine asked me other day about the book Destination: Bethlehem that was was published last fall. I just learned of it myself, after seeing so many bloggers' recommendations as well as the excellent review in the latest issue of Mater et Magistra.

After considering Jotham's Journey, Tabitha's Travels and Bartholomew's Passage I decided to order Destination: Bethlehem to see if we would like to add this book to our ever-growing advent traditions after hearing that the other books might be a bit on the scary side for young children.

 A book that we have read several years in a row that I can recommend is Mary's Little Donkey and the Flight to Egypt. This sweet twenty-one chapter book was first published in Swedish and translated to English in 1979. The Nativity story is told through the eyes of Mary's donkey, from the time he first joined the holy family, through the birth of Jesus, the Epiphany, the Flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth. Our children have enjoyed this story from the time they were about four or five. They were all looking forward to reading it again until I told them we would be giving Destination: Bethlehem a try.

The next few days here at Pinewood Castle will be enjoyed with a field trip to Cabela's, grocery shopping, crafts, baking, Enchanted Learning pages, hosting Thanksgiving dinner for grandparents, a visit to the new Benjamin Franklin exhibit at the MHS, a turkey class at the nature center, the putting away of autumn decorations, setting our advent displays and deciding just when to set up our Christmas tree. This will actually be a nice change of pace from last week's activities consisting of one piano recital, two violin lessons, three play rehearsals, two performances of the play Rescue in the Night (Daniel and the Lion's Den) and one First Mass (in the U.S.A) and reception for a friend's brother who was recently ordained for a Benedictine order in Norcia, Italy. Can you tell I am happy to be feeling better and able to get out & about?

Happy Advent planning to you all and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings to you!

Inside Out and Backwards

But hey, gotta give her credit for getting dressed all by herself!

Jesse Tree Ornament Ideas

I can't believe it's been a whole two years since we made Jesse Tree ornaments after the inspiration from a Faith & Family article. (not having many creative bones in my body, I pretty much copied every photo the magazine had to offer!)

Original or not, the children enjoyed this advent activity even more last year and look forward to doing it again!

This explanation of the Jesse Tree comes from Catholic Culture:

THE STORY OF THE JESSE TREE Jesse was the father of the great King David of the Old Testament. He is often looked upon as the first person in the genealogy of Jesus.

In Church art a design developed showing the relationship of Jesus with Jesse and other biblical personages. This design showed a branched tree growing from a reclining figure of Jesse. The various branches had pictures of other Old and New Testament figures who were ancestors of Jesus. At the top of the tree were figures of Mary and Jesus. This design was used mostly in stained glass windows in some of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe. The Cathedral of Chartres (which was dedicated in 1260) has a particularly beautiful Jesse Tree window.

Another development in religious art during the Middle Ages was that of Mystery Plays--drama that depicted various Bible stories or lives of Saints and Martyrs. These plays were performed in churches as part of the liturgical celebrations. One such play was based on the Bible account of the fall of Adam and Eve. The "Tree of Life" used during the play was decorated with apples. (Quite possibly this is also the forerunner of our own Christmas tree.)

Combining the two ideas of the stained glass Jesse Tree window and the Tree of Life from the Mystery Play we come up with our Jesse Tree Advent project. This custom has been used for years to help Christians to prepare for Christmas.

The subject of the Jesse Tree tradition came up the other night when I joined some homeschoolers in the area for dinner and a meeting. Many of these moms were intrigued and wanted to know more so I posted some links on our message board and thought I would share them here too.

• A felt ornament kit
• examples of homemade felt ornaments with scripture references
• A paper ornament kit
• the McCaughrean story book
• the Anderson book with scripture verse reference and devotion

Two years ago when we made the ornaments I did post photographs as we went along, but thought it might be helpful to see them all in one post:

1. In the Beginning (Earth) - Genesis 1:1-3, 27, 31; John 1:1-5, 14

2. The Fall (apple and serpent) - Genesis 3:3-6, 9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

3. Mother of all Living (Mary) - Genesis 3:14a, 15, 20; Luke 1:26, 28, 31, 38; Revelation 12:1-2, 17a

4. Noah and the Ark (rainbow) - Genesis 6:5-8; 7:15-18; 9:8, 15-16

5. Blessing to Abraham (camel) - Genesis 12:1-3; 17:5; Hebrews 11:8, 12

6. Sacrifice of the son (lamb) - Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13

7. Joseph in Egypt (colorful coat) - Genesis 37:3-5, 8a, 18-19, 23, 28

8. Passover (doorway and blood) - Exodus 12: 3, 5a, 6b-8, 11-13

9. The Ten Commandments - Exodus 20:1-4a, 7a, 8, 12-17

10. The Promised Land (cluster of grapes) - Genesis 17:7-8; Numbers 13:1-2a, 17-18a, 20, 23,27

11. The Bronze Serpent - Numbers 21:6-9; John 3:13-15

12. Jonah (whale) - Jonah: 1:15-17, 2:1-3, 7-10, 3:2-3a, 5

13. Ruth and Boaz (sheaf of wheat) - Ruth 1:16; 2:2, 8, 10-12; 4:13-14

14. David and Goliath (slingshot) - 1 Samuel 16:1, 13a; 17:3-4, 8-9, 45, 47-49

15. God's Forgotten Scroll is Found (scroll) - 2 Kings 22:2, 23:1-3

16. Stump of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1-5, 10; Acts 13:16, 22-23

17. The New Creation (lion and lamb) - Isaiah 11:6-10

18. Prince of Peace (dove and crown) - Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

19. Good Shepherd (staff) - Ezekiel 34:2b, 4-5, 10-12, 15a, 16a, 23-24

20. Suffering Servant (cross) - Isaiah 53:4-7, 9, 12b

21. The New Covenant (heart and writing) - Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 9:13-15

 

22. Bethlehem - Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7

23. Exile and Persecution (fiery furnace) - 2 Kings 17:23; Daniel 3:19, 21, (Az 1,26,) 28

24. Return to Jerusalem (brick wall) - Nehemiah 1:3; 2:18; 6:15-16; Revelation 21:10-14

25. Christmas Star - Numbers 24:17-19a; Matthew 2:1-6, 9-11

26. Light of the World - Psalm 27:1-3; John 1:9, 8:12

27. Angels Proclaim the Miraculous Birth 

28. The Birth of Jesus - Luke 2:8-14

Note: versions of the Jesse Tree readings and symbols vary. I based ours off of these. If you check out the Faith & Family link, be sure to click on the links to other fantastic ornament ideas!

Daddy's Girl

What's your favorite color?

"Ello"

What's your second favorite color?

"Boo"

What's your third favorite color?

"Daddy"

Quote for the Weekend

I know our children are candy deprived when they mispronounce the names of treats. It took forever to get my daughter to call Whoppers by their rightful name instead of "Whuppers". The latest took place the other night when she was sorting through her Halloween candy and announced her decision to have one of her "Three Mus-Skeeters".

I thought we were done with mosquitoes for the year!