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Did you put the plate of figs under the table?
And have a box of tissues at hand because I laughed myself to tears!
HT: My SIL!
*Rolling on the floor laughing myself to tears!
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale
From the editor:
Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage. That's where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increible, some shocking advice.
You want me to do what? Martina gasps.
At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's unorthodox suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails The Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love.
Historians argue that, although she is the most discussed of all queens in history, second only to Cleopatra, Kristina actually achieved very little during her brief reign. But present-day admirers describe Kristina as a feminist and a rebel, a woman with radical ideas who rejected feminine ideals of her time.The story about Mary, Queen of Scots, doesn't have the same feminist bent, shows Mary as a practicing Catholic and in fact ends just before she makes her First Holy Communion. It's the parts involving the King's mistress who was more beloved than the Queen by all of the children and the people of France and a few other scenes that I find to be inappropriate for my 9-12 year olds to read right now.
Jane Peck starts out as a wild, red-headed girl from Philadelphia who struggles to become a proper lady in order to fit in with society and capture the heart of the man she loves only to discover, when she sails to meet her fiancee in the Pacific Northwest, that frontier society is no place for white gloves and corsets. I enjoyed this story
From Publisher's Weekly:
The enormously likable and irrepressible 16-year-old narrator Jane recounts her childhood crush on her father's apprentice William, which caused her, at age 11, to trade her tomboyish spitting and cherry pie-eating for proper deportment and embroidery lessons at Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy. As Jane makes her way to the Oregon territory to marry William, Holm humorously juxtaposes Miss Hepplewhite's lessons with the reality of life at sea and on the frontier in 1854. Such advice as travelers must "dress plainly and pack lightly" does not seem to apply: Jane reflects, "She had been rather remiss in mentioning any hints on killing fleas, avoiding rats, bathing with seawater, or being seasick." The plot thickens when she meets Jehu, an officer on the ship and discovers that William has departed for a project with the governor. Jane (named Boston Jane by the local Chinook Indians) must share a cabin with unkempt, tobacco-chewing men and make herself useful by cooking, washing and mending rather than supervising servants or pouring tea. The developing love triangle (with Jehu and William) takes a back seat to Holm's credible portrait of Jane's budding friendships with the Chinook and pioneers, and the series of challenges that transform her into the outspoken, self-reliant young woman readers will long remember. Ages 10-up.
Anyway... if I could persuade anyone who didn't think much of it to give themselves a chance to enjoy this story, I would certainly try! And, risking losing credibility with every Janeite here, I would even go so far as to say that if you don't have the opportunity to sit down and read it, please consider the movie as a substitute. I think it was exceptionally well done and captured the meat and flavor of the whole story only allowing for minor changes here and there which aren't of huge consequence. Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds are wonderful together and are complimented by the talents of Judy Cornwell, Sophie Thompson and Fiona Shaw making it delightfully entertaining.
If you haven't enjoyed this tale of Miss Austen's because it isn't one of her heavy hitters, here is something that might entice you. According to Wikipedia (take it for what it's worth):
Austen wrote Persuasion in a hurry, during the onset of the illness from which she eventually died; as a result, the novel is both shorter and arguably less polished than Mansfield Park and Emma, and was not subject to the usual pattern of careful retrospective revision.I find something rather intriguing about that. Getting to read a story that the author wanted desperately to tell before her voice was silenced on earth and doing so in a more raw, au naturale, sort of way is kind of magical. I can't help but feel that unlike silver, unpolished stories are a better reflection of the real person behind the words.
There was a comment over at Catholic Cuisine regarding the literalness of St. John's diet. Here is what I found after doing a quick Google search:
John was, many believe, influenced by the Essene sect, who ate dried locusts. Some modern people try to refute that the Essenes did, but the Damascus Rule 12.13-14, an Essene manuscript that is part of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran near the Dead Sea, discusses eating actual locusts.
Modern-day Western apologists, coming from cultures in which consuming insects is next to anathema, write pages defending the theory that Carob beans, not actual locusts, were meant. The actual Greek word, "akris / akrides", though, used here, and in the Gospel according to Mark, means the insect called "locust."
The current thinking among many scholars now [1] is that John did indeed just plain eat locusts. After all, whatever modern Western feelings are about the matter, the plain truth is that in Judeao-Christian tradition, there is nothing wrong with eating them. In fact, the Bible even states outright that locusts are kosher to eat: "Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind." Leviticus 11:22.
(Copyright 2010 Practically Edible. All rights reserved and enforced.) Read more of this snippet here.
And also, this Rabbi has answered the question about which locusts/insects are considered kosher to a digestively disturbing degree. Wikipedia also has more about the locust/grasshopper exceptions.
When I come up with a particular treat or menu to celebrate a saint's feast day it's really just my way of finding something interesting and yummy to enjoy with my children as I teach and share with them the most important part of the feast day... the life of heroic virtue that the celebrated saint really lived.
I just want to reiterate that I am no Biblical historian. I leave it in the hands of those much more qualified than myself to determine the truth of what someone ate or didn't eat over 2,000 years ago. That was not the point of our little treat, but it did serve it's purpose of providing an opportunity to discuss the circumstances of St. John's heroic life of virtue, the reason why the Church celebrates his birthday (while not being conceived without Original Sin, it speaks to the long held tradition of the early Church that he was born having been cleansed of it) and also having imaginary conversations with St. John about crunchy vs. honey-coated cricket confections.
I am re-posting this from last year because this piece means even more to me now than it did last year, being only a couple of months removed from our recent loss and still without anything meaningful to say. The world has moved on, I have tried to focus my attentions elsewhere, but my heart is still sore.
Four times over... plus two.
But do come and play another day!
Go check out Colleen's amazing new endeavor, Distant Shores. What an opportunity for those of us here at home to support other members of the Church Militant as they carry the Faith to distant shores.
Go see Jessica and Marci's beautiful fiddleback vestments for their own Fr. Dowlings.
Go wish Melanie congratulations on figuring out why big boy Ben has been on and off a nursing strike (it's good news, I'll bet you can guess)!
Go watch the new Narnia movie trailer and then tell Lissa that it's gonna be alright! : )
Go get inspired by Barb's month of menu plans. Just the thing this bored mommy chef was looking for!
Go look at Auntie Leila's lovely little creative space. Try not to drool on the keyboard!
Go ponder weighty matters involving temperance, prudence and technology over at Kate's place. (I couldn't link to this one first because you might not see the others!)
Go have a lovely Friday!
Remember my laundry room? Well, this post is all about the other side of that room, where the pantry is. There is a theory that modern houses aren't built to really be lived in and my pantry is proof of that. Our home was built in the late 80's and one of the things that I have been finding difficult to deal with is the tiny pantry, especially as my oldest's appetite continues to grow, desperately trying to keep up with his legs. This is my pantry.
in the meantime. But remember how narrow that door was? Most of those racks, even the narrow ones, stick out about 5 inches, and since that door only opens 90 degrees instead of 180 because of the wall next to it, I couldn't see losing that much space in what is already a narrow opening. So we picked up a couple of these from my all time favorite organize it store and mounted them to the wall behind the laundry room door. 
After devouring the Divine Mercy cheesecake, my kids finally agreed that fruit on a cheesecake was good, especially if it was strawberry.
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