Lent 2011: another desktop background ...

... based on today's responsorial psalm ...

 

My Lenten desktop background ...

... from Ash Wednesday's First Reading (Joel 2):

 

Lent 2011: here's how we'll do Stations of the Cross ...

ETA (3/10/11): Yes, Paula is right, it was Ruth at Just Another Day in Paradise where I got this idea.  I really love that it is all connected so I don't have to re-set it every Friday, but instead can leave the votives/cross on our family altar in the dining room all week!  THANKS Ruth for this brilliant idea.

On Fridays during Lent, we always try and do the Stations of the Cross ... either at home or in our parish or wherever.  This year, to ensure that we DO the Stations each Friday, we borrowed an idea from one of my lovely online lady-friends (but since I'm pushing 50, I just can't remember who -- if it's you, PLEASE post to the comments!) and did the following:

14 votive candle cups hot-glued to a board (I actually had to string some boards together (thus the gaps underneath) that I painted purple.  Each of the cups represents a Station of the Cross.  The wooden cross backing up the candles (and attached by using a square block instead of the rectangles for the rest of the "board") was painted by LegoManiac -- which accounts for the "blood" dripping down where the wounds of Christ would be.

The idea is that when we get ready to do the Stations, we light each of the candles.  As we read the Station, we blow out the candle, until all 14 are blown out.  In the darkness, we will then quietly (well, that's the plan) head to bed.

Cool, huh?

How is your Lent progressing?
 

Yarn-along: March 9th edition ...

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny, Small Things

---

Here's my offering this week:  we're finishing up our read-aloud, Airman, which I highly recommend (especially for boys, but my now-11yod loves it, too) and then we'll move on to A Whole Nother Story, a book that sounds very much like the type of crazy story Howard Whitehouse writes (we read his triology this past fall).  For my reading, since we're starting our Lenten Journey today, I've got the classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence, Houselander's Way of the Cross and Fr. Barron's Conversion on tap.

My knitting for the past few days has been lots of swatches -- squares for the upcoming Olde Liberty Fiber Faire, swatching a new design I've got in my head:

... and I picked up a sampling of worsted weight yarns yesterday from Dog House Yarns in Culpeper.  I'm the morning speaker at Dog House Yarns' upcoming knitting retreat (out at Graves Mountain Lodge on April 9). I'll be speaking about substituting yarns, what different fibers do, and generally discussing "the ins and outs of using this for that"; the swatches I'll knit from the yarns shown below will help illustrate just what different fibers do!  I'll also be signing copies of my Great Yarns books and doing two break-out sessions in the afternoon ("short rows" and "tips and tricks").

Come join Ginny's yarn-along ... and go check out the links to all the lovely ladies who post about what they're reading and working on ... the fiber pictures will have you drooling!
 

Ash Wednesday 2011 OR why I'll still be posting thru the next 40+ days ...

Today, our Lenten journey begins -- a journey toward the Resurrection which we can't have until we walk our own Calvary, leaving all our sins and ugliness behind to be refreshed, renewed, reborn on Easter Sunday morning. 

What a great time of year!  A great chance to rebuild our relationship with the Holy Trinity ... to sacrifice what we hold dear in order to put Him first.  These next 40+ days are our chance to walk our own Calvary -- to fall occasionally ... to be ridiculed and mocked ... to endure the crosses we have created ... in order to be renewed.

Many of the folks I know are giving up the Internet for Lent ... this is quite commendable and works for them.  I will still be online, posting and chatting, primarily because my knitting work requires that I stay in touch.  But also, because I think if I share my Lenten journey with you, it might help you on yours.  I will be increasing my spritiual reading with:  Abandonment to Divine Providence, The Way of the Cross, and Fr. Barron's Conversion: Following the Call of Christ.

May you all have a holy and healthy Lenten journey -- please pray for me as I will do for you!
 

Birthdays: String Bean turns 11 and hosts a party!

Our millenial baby, String Bean, turned 11 on the 1st ... we had a small family party Tuesday night but she really just wanted a party with her girl-friends so today, we sent the boys off (dh took them to see Rango!) and Max was relegated to the crate. 

Our "theme" was A Royal Garden Tea.

We set the table with String Bean's birthday gift from us:  a beautiful, real tea-set -- a service for 4 (including cups, saucers, luncehon plates, dessert plates & bowl and a tea pot).   The runner underneath the tea-pot is one that her grandmother sent her that her mother had stitched ... so it's old as well as gorgeous! 

The wooden flowers in the wine-glass/water-glass are the place-cards (with a magnet on the back for the girls to bring home and use).   For party-activities we painted flower-pots (which then became their "goodie bag"); a wooden initial letter and made fabric-covered scrapbooks (filled with traditional black thick paper).  BTW, in the picture below, that is a real baby sleeping -- he was the only male allowed to come to the party (the youngest brother of one of the guests) and he was a perfect guest -- slept the whole time!

We ate fancy, traditional tea finger-sandwiches (cucumber, honey-walnut, and ham-roll-ups), homemade blueberry muffins and cheddar muffins, crudite tray, deviled eggs (String Bean's favorite!), and a hot-tea punch (served in the tea cups, of course).  No birthday around here would be complete without a chocolate cake of some kind:  String Bean asked for the old Betty Crocker "chocolate joy cake" with chocolate fudge frosting!

Wow, what an afternoon.  But String Bean is such a blessing to so many ... every bit of work and worry was worth it!

God bless you, String Bean.  Happy 11th and may you have many, many more such glorious (but not so rainy) days!
 

Please vote: just a few more days to let your voice be heard ...

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We are very small at Mater & Magistra... but we are holding at 10% against big national magazines such as America... take a look! Please vote! We know we don't have a chance against Magnificat for example, but every vote gives us visibility! We can vote everyday until March 15, click here and scroll down to vote!