Fixin' Up the House

Tom had a long four day weekend beginning with Canada Day on July 1, and ending on Independence Day, July 4.  Back on June 13 we came home from morning Mass only to discover a balky garage door.  Fortunately, it decided to stop closing after we returned home, and not prior.  And perhaps best that it didn't happen at midnight when we returned from Michigan to pick Mary and Peter up at the airport after their Houston sojourn.

Tom and his trusty sidekick, Peter (our son), investigated and found rust had pretty much destroyed the cable mechanism and hinges.  These garage doors were wooden, and though we knew they would have to be replaced eventually when we bought the house, we certainly had hoped to delay it until after the wedding in January.

But, God is good, you know?  Tom drove to Home Depot, and sitting in the middle of an aisle along with several sale items were two garage doors the right size and price.  We needed three so Tom negotiated with the floor manager and got a third that was insulated for the same sale price as the two uninsulated ones.  He drove home, got my enthusiastic nod of approval, hitched up our little trailer behind our Jetta, took Mary with him to the orange box store and picked them up.

When they got to the checkout counter another surprise awaited them.  He had negotiated the price to around $250 each.  When he checked out the price had dropped to $199 each!   We had to paint them to match the house (another post), they are now installed, and look fabulous!

Newest Banner

Today at 1:30 the newest quilted banner created in honor of Pentecost was hoisted into place.  Here are some pictures of portions of the top, bottom and quilting detail from the back.  I hope you enjoy this newest inspired piece.

Our only guideline was to use a lot of red with gold.  There were 4 other women helping, and they each created 12 long strips (about 16' each) randomly piecing 7 different reds that had been cut into 4 different lengths along with blue rectangles and gold squares.  These long strips were pieced together to create the lower portion of the banner.

 Symbols are very much an integral part of this design.  From the use of only triangles for the top part, to the use of only long rectangles in the lower portion.  The Trinity of gold triangles, is again reflected within the white "Holy Spirit", with three red triangles surrounding a central gold triangle.  That same gold is then rained down, and accompanied by the blue print to represent "wind."  The quilting is the a swirl pattern, with the exception of the white dove and triangle "Trinity."  The upward feel from the bottom rectangles is intended to portray us reaching toward Heaven in prayer, with our prayers interplaying with the shower of grace (gold squares) from the Holy Spirit.

The quilting was completed by Tim at The Marsh Store in Coldstream using a long-arm machine and gold thread.  The entire project was started in February, with the majority of the cutting and piecing accomplished during Lent.  The quilting was completed mid-April.  Final hand sewing for the binding, as well as the tabs for hanging we finished just prior to Ascension Thursday.

Many, many thanks go to Trish O'Neil, who was our inspirer, Joan D., Mary K., Mary M., Donna G. and Betsy G. for help with cutting, piecing, designing and finish work. Can't forget Shirley and Tim at The Marsh Store in Coldstream, for their help with fabric choice, as well as expert quilting knowhow!  Thanks also to parish staff for their enthusiastic visits while we were working on the top.  Finally, to my own family for their kind, but needed critical eye to help with the final design on the top, and completion of the project.  

Daughter's Blog

She sent this link out to the entire family a while ago, and I confess that I only opened it today.  It is neat to "see" who she is.  For me, she'll always be my "busy Lizzy," but reading about her interests has been a nice way to get to know her in a way I hadn't before.  If you'd like to read life from a young woman 30 years my junior, enjoy!
http://itsageeklife.wordpress.com/

Where did April go?

No thoughts, just amazed that an entire month was so filled with activities.

Small Differences

Good morning.

It is the day after March 17. Yesterday the kids and I went shopping for our St. Patrick dinner. We finally located corned beef, though there were all much smaller than what we were used to buying. We didn't find buttermilk so we had to pass on making soda bread. Tried to find pistachio ice cream, had to settle for minty chocolately frozen dessert (like ice cream, but with plenty of non-ice-cream type ingredients.) Tried to find new potatoes, had to settle for white boiling potatoes. Tried to find turnips, but decided to pass on the rutabagas. We did see some nice looking artichokes that I think we'll pick up for Saturday's delayed St. Joseph meal. All in all, the meal was good, with no leftovers.

We have lived in enough places to realize that small differences are quite common. Since I shopped at the same Kroger in Houston for over 5 years, my eyes had grown used to what I could purchase there. Naturally, in Peru, we knew it would be different. However, moving to London I am still taken by surprise when we can't find something we were used to in the States. I'm still going to look for buttermilk. It could simply be that the small grocer chain I habitually go to simply isn't large enough to stock it.

This morning Tom and I went to mass at St. Peter's downtown, then walked quite a while trying to find a restaurant for breakfast. Apparently bars are far more numerous than restaurants. I got my exercise in for the day, lol.

Our days have been so deliciously warm we aren't certain that our trip to the sugar bush will be in time to enjoy watching the maple sap being harvested and boiled into syrup.

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying spring time weather, receiving grace from your Lenten practices and direction in your life.

Ravioli

Back in December, while our two college daughters were visiting over their break, we decided to make homemade ravioli. This is a tradition from my husband's family. They get together late summer or early fall and hold a huge ravioli making party. One year we were in Colorado and got to join in. Another time when Cathy visiting Houston she treated our girls and son to a private lesson. Tom's mom makes certain we get some frozen ravioli to enjoy with our Christmas dinner.

This year, without any frozen ravioli to pull out of the freezer, we decided to tackle the job on our own. The whole process is one of repetition, and lots of flour. I remember Meghan commenting that she remembered a lot of flour when Cathy taught them, but until we got the project underway we didn't realize how much flour was involved! We had a whole lot of fun, learning as we went along. Kate played photographer while we rolled dough, spread it on the mold, impressed it, filled, sealed and pulled them off, only to begin again. When we finished we thought we had made too many. Turned out, it was just the right amount. Our first effort was delicious, and helped to make our Christmas Eve meal one to remember.

The recipe? Sorta like the one Cathy gave me for her famous beans! It involves developing a "feel" for what is the right amount, if you have the ingredients, amounts depend on the cook, within basic parameters. The really big items that helped was a nice pasta machine we bought at a garage sale a long time ago for only $5, a ravioli "kit", an old cookbook "Our Favorite Italian Recipes" that Cathy gave to me as a young bride, and some scribbled notes our oldest daughter, Elizabeth, made while learning to make ravioli with Cathy. Could be that it tasted great because of all the wonderful memories it invited into our conversation!

I've been a Rinaldi for over 32 years now, and I finally made my first batch of ravioli. It won't be my last, and though I'm only Italian by marriage, like Cathy, I hope this becomes another tradition to pass on to our future grandchildren.

The Things You Learn

Sometimes what we think sounds true simply isn't. Such is the case way back when I repeated information concerning stickers on produce. The idea was that the numbers help discern whether items are grown commercially, grown following the organic code, or if grown from genetically modified seed. Alas, it isn't true. If you'd like more information:

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/utility/showArticle/?objectID=4725

In many ways I get caught up in what perhaps is best called secular gnosticism. I enjoy having the satisfaction that I know the inside scoop, live it, and hence am protected. This can be with good things, like choosing to exclusively nurse our children as infants, all the way to actively not using the cfl bulbs. Over time, though, I have also come to realize that it doesn't matter whether I do the "right thing", make the "wise choice" if I haven't become a more humble person.

Pride is my deadly sin. It sneaks up on me, sideswiping me before I realize it has reared up. This Lent I am seeking a humble spirit. Oh, but when those opportunities come how they can sting my sensitive ego.

If you've followed my posts, you know that I was part of creating a beautiful quilted banner for our parish's Advent decorations for the sanctuary. It was nice to hear positive feedback anonymously. Last night, I visited with a group of women from my parish to present information about ENDOW ( http://www.endowonline.com - if you are interested). One of the women said, "Oh, you were one of the women who made our Advent banner." Truth. My ego was really wanting to proclaim how much of a role I actually did play, but I refrained. It jarred me deeply, when I realized I really wasn't content being anonymous. My pride wants to shout out how much "I" contributed, how much work "I" did for the project.

This is good to happen during Lent. A humble spirit is not a natural part of who I am. I was raised to be proud of my accomplishments. I was raised to compete. I was raised to seek recognition. Those are the old ways. Learning new ways, a humble spirit that is rooted in true anonymity, a true spirit of service comes in fits and starts. Last night jarred me out of my assumed humbleness and laid bare my own struggles.

Look for the next quilted creation.. and yes, I design them. But, in all practicality, it isn't simply my work. Without the help from several other women and our quilter (a man) it wouldn't become reality. When it is finished, I'll share. In the meantime, your prayers that I really can learn and become humble would be appreciated.