So, where will you be on May 7th?

Here's an email I just got:

THERE BE DRAGONS:
Everyone, take a look at this movie trailer for THERE BE DRAGONS. It's a powerful film about love and redemption, directed by Roland Joffe (The Mission, The Killing Fields). It opens in theaters May 6!



This looks like it will be a great movie! Here's a bit about the story-line:

[It's] an epic action-adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva (Charlie Cox) and Manolo Torres (Wes Bentley), childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement Opus Dei (work of God).

Manolo chooses war and becomes a spy for the fascists. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful Hungarian revolutionary, Ildiko, who has joined the militia in pursuit of passion and purpose. But when Ildiko rejects him out of love for the courageous militia leader Oriol, Manolo's jealousy leads him down a path of betrayal.

A group has gotten a viewing down here in Fredericksburg on May 7th at 7p.m. (movie location TBA).  I know we'll be going.  Why don't you think about joining us .... or check if it's in your area the weekend of May 6th ...
 

Feast Day: St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco (1815-1888) was a priest, educator and champion of the young.  He has some amazing insights into teaching the young (a wonderful resource for Boscovian quotes can be found at Saint Bosco.org.)  A great way for the kids to understand this wonderful man's life is the movie St. John Bosco: Mission to Love (Italian but dubbed in English)... a favorite around here!
 

Feast Day: St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Maybe better known as Padre Pio, St. Pio is a modern saint.  An Italian of humble origin, Pio grew up during the turbulent times of world wars and domestic uprisings.  He received the stigmata for a short time in 1910 at the age of 23, one month after his ordination as a priest in the Capuchins.  In 1918, the visible signs of the stigmata, including the transverberation (wounding of the heart, a sign of complete union of love with God), were to remain with him for the next 50 years.

Padre Pio was an amazing priest, confessor and spiritual director.  His story is wonderfully told in the docudrama, Padre Pio: the Miracle Man ... a DVD in Italian with subtitles (but don't let that scare you away as you get so caught up in the story, you  forget they're not speaking English!).  Pio is amazingly acted by Sergio Castelitto (Miraz in Prince Caspian).  Another excellent movie, and well worth the time to watch is Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth -- this was an Italian made-for-TV movie that drew ana amazing 12 million Italian viewers when it aired.

A short but excellent book to read about this Capuchin is Padre Pio by Fabrizio Contessa written just after his beatification in 1999.  JptheGreat declared him a saint in 2002.

[NOTE: Please be aware that the movies and book linked above are quite graphic when portraying the stigmata -- bleeding hands and feet -- and the battles Pio fought with the Devil.  These images may not be suitable for young children. ]

A final word from St. Pio of Pietrelcina:

"Always humble yourself lovingly before God and man, because God speaks to those who are truly humble of heart, and enriches them with His gifts."

For his feast day, we are baking Traditional Tuscan Biscotti a la Padre Pio ... a batch of cookies we'll bring to social after morning Mass today and save one or two for dad for this evening!  Here's the recipe:

Traditional Tuscan Biscotti a la Padre Pio

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups whole unblanched almonds
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Add almonds and chocolate chips. In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla; add the cooled melted butter. Fold egg mixture into the dry ingredient mixture. Stir until dough is stiff. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and split in two. Roll each piece into a log around the same length as your baking sheet.

Place the logs on the baking sheet and flatten slightly. Make sure to leave plenty of room between them. Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and let cool. Using a sharp chopping knife, slice each log into 1/3" slices diagonally (a little messy around the almonds!). Place (cut side down) on the baking sheet. Bake for another 15-20 minutes at 350, until crispy.

These are amazing with a cup of strong Italian coffee!

 

An Amazon Anniversary ...

As many of you know, yesterday was my 12th wedding anniversary (in addition to being the Feast of the Annunciation, of course!).  The traditional and modern gifts for 12th anniversaries are silk and linen -- neither of which we're into ... we're much more the wool and denim type.  Dinner is always a possibility, but we're pretty low-key folks ... and we only have under-12s at home now ... I decided to keep it simple (especially since it was the tail-end of a tough school week for dh). 

Rather than getting dressed up all fancy ... going out to an expensive restaurant ... deciding to take the kids or hire a babysitter ... we stayed in.  I ordered everything from Amazon (and thus, the title of this post was born) and spent far less than we would have going out ... and it was better!

Here's what we did to make the 12th special and memorable:

• Black and Decker waffle iron for homemade waffles -- this is the kind of waffle-maker we had as kids; I love this thing!  It folds flat and has smooth/bumpy plates so you can have a griddle, sandwich-maker or waffle iron.  And the waffles are the nice square ones that fit into a standard toaster -- perfect for making a huge batch and feeding the kids breakfast for a few days!
• Bob's Red Mill buckwheat pancake and waffle mix -- Rick loves the taste of buckwheat and Bob's Red Mill has the best mixes with all natural ingredients.  Now you can buy direct from Bob or through grocery stores, but Amazon packs four bags of the mix into one sturdy box and it's much more economical.  And with the state the economy is in, economical is hip and groovy around here!
• French-press coffee in a new, unbreakable carafe -- this is the only way to make coffee.  And since this carafe is truly unbreakable (well, for normal use) we can even bring it with us when we go camping this summer.  We had Peet's Coffee and enjoyed every drop of this elixir -- dh gave it up for Lent and I've been cutting way back, so it was a real treat to have real coffee (I know, I know .... we're just a couple of wild-and-crazy folks).

Well, I think you figure out that we had breakfast for dinner.  A big bowl of warmed cherries, blueberries and blackberries with a sweet syrup (just added powdered sugar and let the fruit sit in it all day -- makes a lovely syrup) for topping with a dollop of plain yogurt and gorgeous bacon ... and we were all set (and I never had to fight crowds or waste gas looking for stuff).  A dozen long-stem pink roses from dh decorated our table and Marian altar quite nicely.

After dinner we watched a family movie -- Saving Sarah Cain -- which had been recommended by Kotch (18yo college daughter). What a great movie!  The kids wanted to see Up! but we like "real people solving real problem" movies for family movie night ..... and the kids and adults were enthralled with this one.

Thank you to all our lovely readers who sent notes of love and prayers .... we appreciate each and every one of you.  The kids thought this was the best anniversary ever ... and we had to concur.

That is until next year's anniversary!