Catching Up

There is so much still left to do. Yesterday we cleaned the rest of our things out of the apartment, did some cleaning, and handed in our keys. Today I am doing laundry and trying to catch up on some correspondence--mostly of the internet variety, but also a few quick notes to cousins.

I am hoping and praying that these babies stay inside for another 5-6 weeks because I don't see how everything will get done otherwise! In the end, whatever's finished by the time they get here is finished, and whatever isn't ... will get finished eventually.

I will be going shopping after Michael wakes up from his nap. One of the biggest adjustments for me is not having a grocery store right around the corner! We drive through a nature preserve to get there now, and it's very beautiful. The trees are starting to change colors. (Just in time for my birthday, right? ;) ) I'm glad to live where there are trees again.

I really hoped to celebrate Michaelmas yesterday ... but sadly, our own Michael had a meltdown after Mass, which meant going home instead of straight to the apartment; which meant Keith going out on his own while Michael napped to pack things up and start cleaning; which meant instead of roasting a chicken and baking with blackberries I picked up Five Guys for dinner and we ate on the floor of our empty apartment before I cleaned the fridge and Keith loaded the cars. Then we said goodbye to our first home.

So, no Michaelmas for us, which made me sad. But it was still an important evening for our family.

But there are some other really great posts others wrote about Michaelmas, and you should read them. Especially if you've never heard of it before. :) St. Michael is such a powerful patron for the Church. I remember being pregnant (before I knew Michael was a boy) and hearing a crowd of people say the St. Michael prayer and feeling a chill run down my back as I realized just how powerful a weapon it was against evil. There were a lot of factors that came together in our decision to choose the name ... but that was the first moment I thought, if I have a son, I want to name him Michael.

Michaelmas

I feel a little silly writing a post about St. Michael's feast on St. Therese's feast day, especially since Therese is a very special friend to me. We really didn't even celebrate St. Michael's day on the day, but rather yesterday.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture. But it was yummy. :)

I made a Michaelmas pie, which I am eating a piece of now. We roasted a chicken and had my parents down to eat it with us. (Sadly, my brother wasn't able to come--he is keeping afloat in an ocean of school work.)

My mom just got put on a gluten free diet, so I made a rice flour crust, which was an experiment. Because non-gluten flours don't have any "glue" to hold the dough together, I had to add an egg. All the recipes I found only specified a bottom crust, but I wanted one on top, so I made a second batch, rolled it out, and tried to make the transfer.

I'm not sure how well you can tell from this photo, but by the time it made it from counter to pie plate it was in about twenty pieces. At least. Gluten exists for a reason, in my humble opinion. :-P

Other than that, the pie turned out well. Apples and blackberries. Apparently you aren't supposed to pick blackberries after September 29 because when St. Michael cast Satan out of heaven, he landed in a blackberry bush, and was so angry he spit on them. (Or ... worse.) Just fyi. ;)