Family in Feast and Feria

While waiting for the plumber one morning, my son asked:

"Mommy, do plumbers plumb?"

I can see why he asked the question. After all, most jobs are described by their name, his favorite job right now just being a "worker", and they work!

I had difficulty finding the answer that I could explain to him. I found this etymology, which shows the change of working with lead to now current use of water pipes. And yes, technically, plumbers do plumb.

Restoring Sacred Music is one of my passions. I now have a motto from our beloved Pope Benedict XVI. Music Sacra has this wonderful poster. The quote bears repeating here:

An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.

Pope Benedict XVI,
June 24, 2006

I now have a few items on my shopping list: Stickers, notecards, and the poster.

Those who know me understand WHY I love St. Gregory the Great so much. So this combo of the quote and St. Gregory is so wonderful.

I have written before about Gregorian Chant and the Ward Method. I do think many people are thrown off by the idea of learning and singing chant. It seems so...well, Monastic. But chant is for everyone, and everyone can learn.

I have three great resources to share.

The first I received as a birthday gift from my mother. It's A Gregorian Chant Master Class which consists of a cd and book. The book is just gorgeous, very well done, 3 color printing, 82 pages. I think all Catholic book stores should carry this! There are snippets from the cd at the above link to get a taste of the class. There are ten instructions with very sound, practical advice. The book follows the cd, and then has some additional information.

Theodore Marier was a master, and this is such a gold mine to have his instructions to share. This class would be wonderful for the parents and older children to learn or refresh their knowledge in chant.

Just a side note, it took me a while to receive the order. My mother ordered it during Lent, and I think the sisters might not ship during that time? But it proved to be a nice Easter gift. At any rate, the shipping wasn't expedient.

To continue the beginning chant, St. Veronica Catholic Church has this wonderful cd, A Guide to Gregorian Chant.

I have mentioned the Ward Method, which was started by Justine Ward. The Church has always held that Gregorian Chant is for everyone, and so simple everyone can learn. She took that to heart and wrote a program to use in the Catholic schools so that even young children could learn chant.

The Ward Method training is offered every summer from Catholic University in Washington, DC. The books were slightly revised by Theodore Marier and there are all new materials (charts, tapes, etc.) to go along with the program, all available through Catholic University Press. The book covers are show in Barnes and Noble, although not available.

Not everyone has the luxury to take the courses and/or buy the expensive materials. Church Music Association of America has reprinted the four original works of the Ward Method (scroll down the page). There are also .pdf files of every reprinted book, found under "Teaching Aids" in the right hand column. Gregorian Chant for Church and School is another good resource. Since even FREE options are available, there's no excuse to NOT learn Gregorian Chant and become familiar with the Ward Method.

For further reading on learning and preserving our sacred treasure, see this excellent series of articles by Susan Benofy, Buried Treasure.

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us.
St. Cecilia, pray for us.

1994 summer Spanish class taught be Senorita Capote left quite an impression. She introduced the feast of St. James, or Santiago, and explained the pilgrimage and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Since then, I just love this feast day.

I have some posts from last year with all sorts of information: Feast of St. James the Great

Food Ideas

This Botafumerio. You can also see it here, fast forward to 3:55.

St. James the Apostle, pray for us.

This post is just for woman interest. Before today my blog was rated "G" but now I think I've lost my clean rating. ;-) Forgive the "commercial". I don't get any money, I don't sell this product, but I just had to share. Everyone is going to think I'm nuts for writing this. My comfort has definitely gone to my head!!

Eight years ago, shortly before my wedding, I heard from a friend about a woman who was nicknamed "The Bra Lady". I hosted a fitting party and was fitted for the first time in the most supportive and perfectly fitting support garments ever. They weren't gorgeous, but oh, did it change my outlook. My clothes fit better, I had better posture, no straps falling, no tugging, no cutting into my skin, no hanging out. I was in blissful comfort. Mary made a customer for life from that night.

Over the next eight years I've been fitted and refitted for all sorts of needs -- pregnancy, nursing, weddings, everyday wear. I've just been so pleased. The Custom Fitted Jeunique brand (formerly Colesce) has been wonderful for my needs. I have a small rib cage in proportion to my cup size, so most stores don't carry items that fit. And then pregnancy and nursing expands the chest area and require different size.

At 16 weeks, I've expanded and gone up 1 1/2 cup sizes. I outgrew my old bras and was wearing a maternity bra from last pregnancy (not from Mary). I was extremely uncomfortable and I wasn't supported. Today, I met with Mary and now I have relief! Support and comfort, and I'm modest again--another benefit of a properly fitting bra. And these garments should last the rest of pregnancy (with an expander) and into my post-partum nursing days.

All the bras can be used for nursing, since they have a drop down style. She also sells pregnancy support garments (one in lace, the other in cotton, very comfortable) and a post-partum (or surgery) support garment. They aren't inexpensive, but are very durable.

Custom fitting women for undergarments can become a mission. After finding comfort, I look around and see so many women who would use help in this area. The undergarments aren't just for the larger sizes, although those are the ones that find the most benefits.

If you're local (near Manassas), I highly recommend making an appointment with Mary. She will give you a private fitting, and usually she has all the types and sizes on hand so you can go home in comfort. She now only focuses on the support garments (both upper and below). The garments take some getting used to, as most people have never actually worn undergarments that are fitted properly. But it's for your good health and posture AND comfort to give it a try. Most of the women I know never go back.

Contact me if you want Mary's information (jennifergmillerspam@gmail.com--remove the spam). She has a generic website that shows many of the products, but I don't want to put up a link that could be considered "PG". Besides, if you're trying these garments, it's not for looks, it's for function.

Check out the Blueberry Bash at the The Virtual Kitchen Today for some yummy blueberry recipes.

And Sarah is hosting the Loveliness of Summer Reading.

Reading and desserts...can't think of a better combination.

Fill up your tea or coffee mug and enjoy!

The pregnancy is at 16 weeks tomorrow, and a check-up on Wednesday. Many of our family conversations discuss future names for this child. Since we don't know the gender yet, both types of names are being tossed around.

Ds totally enjoys thinking about the names. He has made some silly jokes, suggesting the use of his name again. We discussed how we are choosing saints' names for the child, and he's really taken this to heart. Many of his names are quite nice and reasonable. He has good taste. ;-)

But yesterday he proposed a name: "I know! If it's a girl, how about Scholastica?"

Hmmm....while I love the saint, I don't think that's a winning combo "Scholastica Miller".

I COULD put much of the blame on Cay and her Catholic Mosaic. After all, The Holy Twins is the recommended title for the feast of St. Benedict.

But that wouldn't be completely true. After all, I love Tomie dePaola, owned that book already, and read it to my son even at a wee age. Cay just affirms what I love about those beautiful books and gives me ample excuse to bring them to the forefront.

It just tickles me to hear a 3 year old suggesting names like Benedict and Scholastica. He's absorbing something from our reading!

Thank you for the kind words and prayers for yesterday's glucose test. No dramatic events during the test, thank God. I was able to do some reading and knitting while I waited all that time.

I did almost pass out before getting my food after the 3 hours. Silly me, I thought I could stand and function normally. When the room started roaring and things going black, I got the message. My mother was my designated driver (and babysitter), as she knew I wouldn't be able to function. She's such a blessing.

And as predicted, the rest of the day was quite shot.

I won't know the results right away, but I did test my glucose levels on my own personal monitor, and I know I failed the test. I failed BIG TIME. The last hour was the only number that was borderline. I used this site for a gauge.

So back to the endocrinologist I go.

The pregnancy is progressing at 15 weeks.

If you read this anytime soon, please say a quick prayer for me. Tomorrow morning I take the 3 hour glucose test. I dread it...my whole day will be shot because I know I am going to feel ROTTEN!

But it needs to be done. I developed gestational diabetes very early in the last pregnancy. 12 weeks I had a diagnosis, and by 20 weeks I was on insulin. Even being very strict in my diet it wasn't helping the sugars.

So, my OB doctor said to me last visit that my Hemoglobin A1C was very good, but my fasting numbers are already high, and face it, I have 100% chance of gestational diabetes for this pregnancy.

So here we go again...I dread it. I dislike the multiple finger prickings during the day, the forcing down of food, and then the insulin shots.... It's the sacrifice I will make for my baby, but oh I really dread it.

I recently discovered that St. Josemaria Escriva is one of the patrons of diabetes. He had it during his lifetime, but then was completely cured.

St. Josemaria, pray for us!

I've neglected my food blog for quite some time. Being pregnant doesn't help creativity in the kitchen.

But I did add an article today about my favorite cookbook and an article I found. Check out Finding a Old Treasure.

I actually saw it with my own eyes, and held a copy in my hot little hands. Sophia Institute Press has reprinted Mary Reed Newland's book, The Year and Our Children. It's a paperback book, price is $19.95. That price is so much better than the $50 plus dollars it costs to find an out-of-print copy.

UPDATE: The Year and Our Children can now be ordered online from Sophia!

The book is also available at Amazon and you can search inside. It would be great to give the money directly to the publisher, instead of Amazon.

This truly is one of my favorite living the Liturgical Year in the home books. Mrs. Newland uses real-life examples from raising her own family. She gives suggestions, but shows her own family's messes, flaws, and failures in trying to implement traditions.

So now her trilogy of her best books are back in print: How To Raise Good Catholic Children (originally entitled "We and Our Children"), The Saints and Our Children and now The Year and Our Children.