Fine Art Friday #3

Today's fine art piece is "The Marvelous Sauce" by Jehan Georges Vibert.

This has always been one of my favorite pictures - from when I was a young child visiting the Albright-Knox to when I was an adult and visited again. It's a glimpse into another time in history (which I always love), but more than that I love the expressions on their faces! The cardinal looks very pleased with the sauce . . . his chef, not so much. Looking further into the painting, I love the detail of the food waiting to be prepared, the flooring, even the stove and pots.

It's just a fun picture!

Friday's feast 100

Wow! 100 Feasts! Thanks to Friday's Feast for posting these each week!

Appetizer
On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?
I have no idea? 5? 10? 20? I've never thought about it.

Soup
What was your most memorable school field trip?
When we lived in Texas (so I must have been 4th? 5th? grade?) we visited a nuclear power plant. Whenever I think of field trips, I remember walking outside through the equipment, and the tour guide joking that we'd all go home glowing. It also must have been around the holidays, because I remember singing "Silver Bells" on the bus. This is the *only* field trip I can remember taking.

Salad
Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.
Overwhelmed

Main Course
Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?
Blue. That's why my bedroom is painted 2 different shades of blue.

Dessert
What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?
A single plane ticket to visit family.

cupcakes

For my sister's birthday earlier this month, I made cupcakes from scratch. In the past, I've always used a box mix - but I had seen this recipe in 3 different places and thought I'd try it out.

They were yummy. Like sinking your teeth into a big, soft, sugar cookie. Topped with fresh buttercream frosting . . . they were heavenly ;)

Yesterday, we were shopping and N noticed a package of pre-made mini-cupcakes in the bakery section. We picked them up and had them after lunch. Both boys ate them and said "Hmmm, these are not as good as Bunny's birthday cupcakes!" And, I had to agree. Clearly, I've spoiled us all! LOL!

Here's the recipe - they're from Billy's Bakery in NYC -

Makes about 30 cupcakes
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

not really "flying" pigs . . .

I found the story that C was referring to in my last post. It's a story of St. Patrick being stranded on an island with a group of people. They were all hungry, and they were mocking (?) him and telling him to pray to his God and ask for food. God "sent" pigs and honey to feed them. In the story they read, the author asked "Do you think they were real pigs or flying pigs?" and I'm sure that the group of 5 year olds were much more interested in the idea of flying pigs.

As the boys were in bed tonight, and we were starting the rosary - C said "OH!! I was the ONLY kid who knew the "Hail Mary" and the "Our Father"! None of the other kids knew either prayer! The teacher almost didn't believe me until I said them both - just smooth like!" He went on to say that she had asked him if his mom worked with him, and he replied "No, not really. We say the rosary every night before bed, so I know the prayers. OH, and my mom always says the "Hail Mary" when she gets stuck in traffic, too. I know the "Glory Be" and the "Apostles Creed", too - do you want to hear?" Apparently she didn't let him recite those for the group. He was so proud of himself, and I was so proud of him as well. I wonder if the rest of the kids were shy - or if none of them really knew the prayers?

The rosary is such a special prayer in our family. When N was about a year old, he started having horrible temper tantrums at bedtime. I found myself so frustrated night after night - and then one night I decided to start reciting "Hail Mary"'s - mostly to find some sort of control for myself. That evolved into saying one decade. Then, I added on the beginning prayers. After a month or so, I began reciting the entire rosary with them each night; minus the mysteries, because it was dark in their room and I didn't have them memorized. After another month or so, I decided it was time to memorize the mysteries and did so - so we complete a full rosary, with mysteries now most nights before bed. The boys usually fall asleep during the prayers, or if not asleep - they are completely relaxed and ready for sleep. When DH is home, he joins us as well and we take turns saying decades. The boys usually take turns with the inital prayers, and then I take over for the decades. I like to imagine them as adults, remembering that they fell asleep to the sound of their mom praying the rosary.

flying pigs & St Patrick??

C started Vacation Bible School today. I was excited because our parish is using a program that was written specifically for Catholic parishes -- Growing with the Saints. I was also excited because the saint being used this year is St. Patrick - and being 1/2 Irish - I have a special place for St. Patrick! So far, so good, right??

Well, I pick C up and I see all these pig crafts . . . he made a pig mask and a pig magnet for the refrigerator. Some of the other grades made pig banks. I asked him "So, why pigs?" and he told me that God had sent flying pigs to bring St. Patrick honey. That was as much of the story as he could recall for me.

I never heard this story before? Can any of my readers help me out? I did a quick internet search and can find no link between flying pigs and St. Patrick. I was expecting shamrocks and snakes -- not flying pigs!

I do plan to ask the priest tomorrow for more information about this story - but just wondering if I'm the only one puzzled?

unfinished projects

Last night, I hosted a "mom's night out" for my mom's group at our parish. In the past, we've gotten together for dinner, or movies - but last night I pulled an idea from a mom's group I used to belong to and had an "Unfinished Projects" night. I told the moms to bring a project that they've been working on, or need to work on, or have been wanting to work on -- and a snack. My parents' condo is currently not rented, so we had a space to gather with no kids or household worries!

Only one other mom was able to attend, but we still had fun! My sister came also, so there were 3 of us. I worked on sorting out 5.5 years of professional portraits of my boys in preparation of putting them into albums, my sister did some rubber stamping, and the other mom finished a latch hook rug that her oldest son had started FIFTEEN years ago! She found it in his closet 3 years ago when he moved out and had worked on it a bit - but she finished it last night! She plans to give it to him for Christmas this year.

It was so nice to devote 3 hours to a project with no other responsibilities pulling at me. We have already planned to do the same thing next month, as we all have multiple projects waiting in the wings. I realized I didn't have ALL my portraits together, so I will spend the next few weeks finding them and hopefully will be able to put them in albums next month.

I feel pulled in so many directions usually, that I find myself overwhelmed and not getting ANYTHING accomplished. I realized that I really need to devote specific chunks of time to specific projects so that I can make some headway. Well, I guess I should say that I realized it AGAIN. Hopefully it will stick this time! Even if I devote one Saturday night a month to taking care of a long-neglected project, I will be ahead of where I was last month!

Feast Day of St. John the Baptist

Today is the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

When we were at the museum the other day (yes, I promise, I'll stop talking about it soon - LOL) many of the paintings that included an infant Jesus also included an infant John the Baptist. One in particular (unfortunately the details escape me!) was just the 2 of them playing together and was very sweet. Usually, when I think of John the Baptist, I think more of what he accomplished as an adult. Seeing those pictures, and realizing his feast day is today - prompted me to think about him & Jesus as young playmates, which has added more dimension to my thoughts about his life.

One of the traditions about him is that he was freed from original sin and sanctified in his mother's womb. For this reason, his feast day is celebrated on his birthday, rather than the day of his death. (Other saints' feasts are usually celebrated on their death - their birth into Heaven.)

This painting is La Vierge's L'Enfant Jesus et Saint Jean Baptiste. I know the ages of the 2 are off (since John the Baptist is thought to be only 6 months older), but I love all the bare toes and the love that shines in this picture.

Fine Art Friday #2

Since we visited the Phoenix Art Museum yesterday, I decided to choose a piece from their collection that I have always liked. I love this piece by Eastman Johnson, entitled The Tea Party. It's such a sweet picture, and reminiscent of the times I hosted my own tea parties with dolls and stuffed animals. According to the information, it was commissioned as a memorial portrait of a young child who died, but it is thought that the artist's 3 yr old daughter posed for this - so it's also a picture from his life.

Friday's feast 99

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?
I would have to say an 8. If I could somehow get out of housecleaning as part of my job, I would raise that number to a 9. I love being home with my children . . . but to get a 10 I would need some more "alone" time.

Soup
When was the last time you think you were lied to?
My youngest is at that stage where I can watch him do something (like try to disassemble our flagstone walkway) and tell him NOT to do that -- and he will look right at me and tell me he's not doing that! So, lately, it's pretty much daily . . . but I know when I'm being lied to, and we're working on it!

Salad
Share some lyrics from one of your favorite songs.
When I think about rain
I think about singing
When I think about singing it's a heavenly tune
When I think about heaven then I think about angels
When I think about angels
I think about you

-- from Jamie O'Neals "When I Think About Angels"


Main Course
What do you do/take when you are in pain?
Pain is a pretty much constant factor in my life these days. When it gets completely unbearable, I take 1/2 a prescription muscle relaxant. I try to keep it only to Motrin a couple times a day. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but years of pain are beginning to take their toll.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: My __________ is very __________.
My life is very wonderful. Boring, but true :)

art museum

Today we visited the Phoenix Art Museum. It was planned as an outing for my mom's group - but we were the only family that went. Thursdays are always free - so it's a great, inexpensive outing. While it would have been nice to visit with other moms, we still had a nice morning! They are currently remodeling, and I am excited to see what they have in store for the kids area now. It used to be a neat area with chalkboard walls, big building blocks and lots of books. Next month, they open a new kid area - and have added a special kid area on their website.

N's favorite exhibits were from the Western Gallery. He enjoyed looking at the sculptures, especially - and really liked one that was a bigger-than-life-size sculpture of an Indian Chief and Remington's Mountain Man. C preferred the prettier pictures - mostly floral - Monet's Flowering Gardens, Giverny, and Joseph Stella's Flowers stand out as 2 of his favorites.

They also enjoyed a number of the Renaissance period Madonnas that the museum has. N kept saying "Hey, there's another Mary! They must know how important she is since they have so many of her!"

My favorite piece this visit was one called "Amid the fireflies" (or something like that). You walked through a curtain into a darkened room that had hundreds of hanging tiny lights that changed colors and the walls were covered in mirrors. It was really neat to stand in there - but it freaked N out. He was afraid he was going to fall. It wasn't a very big room - but with all the mirrors, and N so worried that I had a hard time finding the exit (you exited the opposite side you entered from). Thankfully, one of the guards peeked in and flashed his light towards the exit for me. It was neat, too, because they only let one group in at a time.

A visit to the gift shop (where I purchased a couple books - they had a kids book about Degas clearanced! - and the boys got magnetic rocks) and then home again! Definitely a nice outing!