Poem of the Week: Invitation to Love

Invitation to Love

By Paul Laurence Dunbar 

Come when the nights are bright with stars

Or come when the moon is mellow;

Come when the sun his golden bars

Drops on the hay-field yellow.

Come in the twilight soft and gray,

Come in the night or come in the day,

Come, O love, whene’er you may,

And you are welcome, welcome.

You are sweet, O Love, dear Love,

You are soft as the nesting dove.

Come to my heart and bring it to rest

As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.

Come when my heart is full of grief

Or when my heart is merry;

Come with the falling of the leaf

Or with the redd’ning cherry.

Come when the year’s first blossom blows,

Come when the summer gleams and glows,

Come with the winter’s drifting snows,

And you are welcome, welcome.

HT: Poetry Foundation

Seven Quick Takes: Can You Put This On the Blog?

 1. From Klenda, who found a fly in her soup, and wanted evidence.

So, yes, all those fly in the soup jokes, they're all true!

You have been warned.

You're welcome.

 2.  This is not a picture of a penguin explosion in Choclo's room.

Actually, it's a picture of a penguin pod race, as in the pod race in the second Star Wars prequel which Choclo just saw and loved, and yet was, for me, so forgettable that I can't remember it's name AND I can't be bothered even to Google it.

The three penguin pod won.

 3.  It's me. Hello!

The Emperor was visiting old friends out of state and asked me to send a selfie.

There may yet come a day when I can take a selfie without being photobombed by a kid, but that day is not today.

Thanks be to God!


4. Not to be freaky, but we are another big dissection kick!  I thought I'd skip the picture on this one.

You're welcome.

Seriously, though: Choclo asked if he could dissect a snake, and a pigeon, and a piggie (are you creeped out yet?), and all the organs (cow eye, sheep kidney, heart, and brain).  And then Oob, not to be outdone, wanted the starter pack of all the basic animals.

When the package came in, we had everything except the sheep brain, so I called them up and told them they had lost my mind, and to please send a replacement.

Which they did. Thank you Home Science Tools.

5. The Lord provided a little extra money, and then provided a few things to spend it on.

I unexpectedly needed (and got) a new washer and dryer, new glasses, a new windshield washer pump, a new alternator, and a new crown.

In the process of getting the royal treatment, my dentist let me watch his robot create the new crown.

I live in the future!!!

And I don't have to worry about that pesky extra money!

 6.  Speaking of the Lord providing, I got to go on retreat for the first time in several years!

It was the regional retreat for Lay Dominicans, so it was all Dominicans all the time.  Great preaching and lots of quiet time.

It was a silent retreat.  As an introvert who usually has a large family around, I didn't have a hard time with that, in fact, I really enjoyed the silence!  I know it's much harder for extraverts.

Near the end I started to wonder how many days of silence it would take to make me actually want to break the silence.  The answer is: more than just one weekend!

But it was still lovely to come home to all the noisy hugs and kisses!!

The retreat house is near the Basilica, so I walked over one evening and got to spend a little time visiting my Mom.

7.  As you probably know, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Arrrrrrrrrrrr! It's one of our favorite random holidays!

That's Choclo's treasure map, you can tell by the Angry Birrrrrrds.

More fun with Jen!

Poem of the Week: Advent

Expectans Expectavi

by Anne Ridler

The candid freezing season again:

Candle and cracker, needles of fir and frost;

Carols that through the night air pass, piercing

The glassy husk of heart and heaven;

Children's faces white in the pane, bright in the tree-light.

And the waiting season again,

That begs a crust and suffers joy vicariously:

In bodily starvation now, in the spirit's exile always.

O might the hilarious reign of love begin, let in

Like carols from the cold

The lost who crowd the pane, numb outcasts into welcome.

HT: Advent Poetry Companion - Well worth a look, they have a lovely free printable Advent poetry journal!

Apple-ying Ourselves

 So, did I mention the kids picked 87 pounds of apples?  Five kinds: Fuji, Aztec Fuji, Sun Crisp, Jonagold, and Cameo.

When most people hear this, they respond in one of two ways. 

If they know me, they roll their eyes.



 If they don't, they ask what I am going to do with all those apples.

 It's a lot of apples.








So far: apple sauce, apple butter, apple dippers,  apple pie, apple fritters (which I totally cheated and used as "German Apple Fritters" for our immigrant food project in Awesome History), and we've just eaten a lot of apples!

We also have enjoyed giving away fresh picked apples to our friends and relations.

 And we'll have more apple sauce and possibly butter in our future, definitely more pies and dippers, probably apple cake and apple quick bread, pork and apples, and maybe apple fruit leather.

And we'll keep eating lots of apples!

Klenda made this beautiful caramel apple pie to welcome us home from NJ.

 And, evidently, art projects.  I was informed that this apple has the intelligence of a two year old child that can not speak.

The pear (also created without my knowledge, but by another child) has a similar intelligence level.

They also informed me that this particular apple and pear were "strange."

So now you know.

More Memorial Day

 Every Memorial Day I look through my garden to find flowers to decorate the family graves. 

I like to get them from here, because this was the garden where my father-in-law planted his roses.

This is a house where extended family gathered, and many of these plants were seen by those whose graves they will decorate.

It's a living memory.


Usually, Memorial Day comes around, hot and muggy, and the garden is in a lull between the last of the late spring and the first of the summer flowers. I have to search for the last of the roses.

Not this year!  Thanks to a cold winter and a cool spring, we are in the peak of roses and irises, and all manner of flowers!

This year, the bouquets practically make themselves: red and white roses with salvia for Aunt Toni, the wonderful woman who first made me feel really welcome to the family.

Irises and roses for my father in law, Grandpop Bob, who died before I met him,but whose life and virtues I enjoy every day in my husband.

Dark purple irises for his younger brother.

Old fashioned pinks, geraniums and white roses for his mom, and azaleas for his dad.

 The family gathers, and off we go, caravanning to first one cemetery, then another.

We've all brought flowers, and we have fun arranging them for each person just so.

We tell stories.  We talk about how much each person would have enjoyed their flowers.  Probably do enjoy the fact that we are coming out the way they did...

 We enjoy our time together as a family.

The kids pick up the fallen petals and arrange them in patterns on the headstones.

We pray for our departed dear ones.

We smile and head for home, time for a big cookout, time for more togetherness, more stories. 

The weather is perfect: sunny, 72 with a light breeze.

This year the kids promised to put on a play for us, and it turned into many, many plays, most of them based on Aesop's fables.

Grandpop Bob would have liked that.  Maybe he did!

Happy Memorial Day!

 :

Poem of the Week

Limbo  
by Sister Mary Ada, OSJ

The ancient greyness shifted

Suddenly and thinned

Like mist upon the moors

Before a wind.

An old, old prophet lifted

A shining face and said:

“He will be coming soon.

The Son of God is dead;

He died this afternoon.”

A murmurous excitement stirred

All souls.

They wondered if they dreamed –

Save one old man who seemed

Not even to have heard.

And Moses, standing,

Hushed them all to ask

If any had a welcome song prepared.

If not, would David take the task?

And if they cared

Could not the three young children sing

The Benedicite, the canticle of praise

They made when God kept them from perishing

In the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them,

Stilling Moses’ words.

No one could speak, remembering

The first fresh flowers,

The little singing birds.

Still others thought of fields new ploughed

Or apple trees

All blossom-boughed.

Or some, the way a dried bed fills

With water

Laughing down green hills.

The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam

On bright blue seas.

The one old man who had not stirred

Remembered home.

And there He was

Splendid as the morning sun and fair

As only God is fair.

And they, confused with joy,

Knelt to adore

Seeing that He wore

Five crimson stars

He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung

None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song,

A silent man alone

Of all that throng

Found tongue –

Not any other.

Close to His heart

When the embrace was done,

Old Joseph said,

“How is Your Mother,

How is Your Mother, Son?”

 In honor of St. Joseph, whose feast is coming up this week.

HT: Coffee and Canticles

Seven Quick Takes: Silly hats, Snow, and Toilet Seats

 1. I got to go visit my folks in NJ last weekend!  Hooray!  I haven't seen them since Christmas! Klenda and Leena went with me, and we celebrated Leena's upcoming 14th birthday.


Yes, the cake does say 59, but 5 + 9 =14. Actually, I think it says 159 because I didn't get the picture the first time, and Mumpy (my mom) figured blowing out the candles twice gave her an extra year.

Leena immediately asked if this meant she could drive.

Also, silly hats may have been involved.

2. It snowed last night.  I mean it SNOWED last night!  It was in the 60s earlier this week, and is supposed to hit the mid 70s next week.

Welcome to March Madness, Maryland style (and apologies to those reading this from the truly Frozen North).

 3. My phone is full of pictures of spotless areas of my house.  I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that this is all Oob's doing - both the cleaning and the pictures he brings me to provide evidence.

This started out as "coupon jobs," ways to earn extra flat screen time by doing extra chores, but lately he's just been cleaning things up.

Lent: it really is the most wonderful time of the year!


4. While in NJ, we went shopping with Mumpy and she got the girls their Easter dresses (and a Confirmation dress for Leena)!

I loved getting Easter dresses as a girl,so it was a special thing to share with my own girls.

I really thank God that I was given both girls and boys.  There are plenty of special fun things about boys, but shopping for Easter clothes with them hasn't hit the top of my list.






5. While we were up in NJ, I noticed that my mom had a very beautiful white cyclamen.

It was a gift, she told me, but she always kills these plants, so could I take it home and care for it.

Sure!

This is the plant 5 days later.

6. If you can stand one more NJ story, one thing I love about going up there is the chance to do little odd jobs for my folks.  This time I noticed that Mumpy had bought new toilet seats, but hadn't gotten around to installing them.

No problem!  I put them in for her while she was off doing something with the girls.

Mumpy (later): That was so sweet!  I'll be reminded of you every time I...(she realizes what she is about to say)

Me (cracking up): That's great! Every time my mom sees her toilet seat, she thinks of me!  Brings a tear to the eye, doesn't it?

7. If you are musical, this will be merely amusing.  For those of us who are not naturally musical, it's the world's best explanation of  major and minor keys.

Leena, photo by Klenda

 Happy weekend! More fun with Kelly!

Seven Quick Takes: Excavation of the Homeschool Room

1. Following up on last week's success with the basement, I am attempting to sort out the homeschool room. It's not quite ready for prime time, but at least I've cleared out our museum again.

Plus, now you can walk into the room!! To be fair, a lot got dumped in here from the basement, but still, who knew there were all these narrow wooden planks at the bottom of it all?

It's almost like there was once a floor there.

Our collection of Things -the-Kids-Have-Found-or-Made continues to grow.

Klenda and I put together the Visible Woman over the course of several Girls' Nights.

Mxyl found the deer skull while on a scouting expedition.



Not that it has anything to do with wanting to get the homeschool room in order, but did I mention I'm doing my portfolio review at my house in a few weeks?

2. The best part of excavating is the rediscovery of new and exciting things I can use. I found a ton of stuff that Choclo and Oob can do while the older kids and I are doing homeschool blocks.

It's such a happy thought that they are productively occupied instead of, I don't know, mixing random ingredients and then cleaning up with toilet paper and fruit.

I know in this picture, Choclo looks like he'd rather be smashing more eggs, but I'm confident that he's really happier playing the Noah's Ark balancing game with Firelord.


3. We also discovered the crystal growing kit that Zorg had gotten for Christmas. Perfect timing! Zorg, ever happy to slip on a lab coat, was able to do the whole thing (except for the boiling water). The crystals will be full grown in a few more days.


4. And then I found these beautiful blank books for Klenda and Leena, as well as some cool pad and pen sets for Mxyl and Zorg.

What is it about beautiful stationary? I found these pretty little books absolutely swoon-worthy, and I am not really one for swooning.





5. I found a Foxtail ball and book which someone gave us a long time ago. I tucked it into Zorg's homeschool drawer. I love tucking things into the drawers and waiting for them to be found.

Zorg found it this morning after all his work was done and went out and played it with Oob for a long time.


6. This is the bear Klenda made for a friend's baby brother. She hand sewed the whole thing by herself!

The baby loved it and started kissing it as soon as she gave it to him. How's that for a reward for your labor?





7. Not in the homeschool room, but Zorg graduated from Cub Scouts! Congratulations, buddy, and welcome to the world of the big Boys!

More with Jen!

All the Things Part 2: Room Switch and NJ

 At the tail end of June, Mxyl, Klenda, and Zorg returned from North Dakota (to a hero's welcome).

Three days later, The Emperor, Choclo, and Oob set off on an epic two week camping adventure to the wilds of northern New York, near Canada.  More on that in another post.

What did the rest of us do while they were gone?

Watched Pride and Prejudice.  Then watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Definitely the most horror like movie I've ever watched willingly, but a lot of fun with the oldest four!


And then we pulled the whole house apart.


The big project for the summer was updating the kitchen.

Shortly after that was underway, my Dad took a turn for the worse and we realized that my parents might need to move in with us on short notice.

In a bit less than two weeks, we completely emptied and resorted the office, the chapel, and the guest room, and redid the whole kitchen!

 The new chapel (old office) looks like this.

That's a monstrance in the center of the main altar.




This room would be my parents' living room

The guest room is the same (except, you know, the closets are empty and you can use the bed and see the floor).

There's also a small bathroom attached.

This would be my parents' bedroom.

 The new office (old chapel) is on the bottom floor, and is large enough for 4 desks.

We have Klenda's desk, then Lenna's, Zorg's, and mine.

And it still fits all the homeschool stuff and art supplies!

We also resorted the museum to make space for a small office for my folks, although we'd likely have to share that room. We need a certain amount of storage on the main floor and, currently, Klenda is using it to paint.


Near the middle of those crazy two weeks, I went off for a quick visit to New Jersey. Which seems a bit crazy now that I write it down.

My dad was a tiny bit better.

The tomato plants in the coal buckets had turned into trees.

The lake was gorgeous!

One morning I heard what sounded like an irate chicken, but, looking out I found it to be this pileated woodpecker, or, as I like to call them now, a tree chicken.

And then I went home and finished up the kitchen before the boys came back!  I think I better put that in tomorrow's post.