Lent

Ash Wednesday being today, I was very disappointed to see that NO CHURCHES were open in Chateauguay. I know that I had written about this before, but I figured that since today is pretty important, there would be at least one place opened during the late afternoon where I could light a candle without the need for public transportation.

I've been perusing websites for ideas on how to further my experience of Lent, and from them with previous experiences and understandings, Lent can be observed through three main things: praying, fasting, and giving. This online magazine has been especially helpful for good ideas on how to observe Lent in original ways, focusing on involving children as well. Here is what I am going to do:

Praying: I am going to really push myself to pray at night. Saying the 'Our Father' will root me, and it calms me like nothing else. I have never been to confession in my life, and I will try to go at least once. I noticed OLPH has confession from 4:00 to 4:30, so I could just head over after school. How wonderful would it be to have confession, and finally be able to recive communion in a Sunday morning mass?

Fasting: I will be fasting from facebook 4 days out 7, will have one screen-free day a week (no TV/computer/etc), and will only be reading books that are religious in nature (I will be re-reading this, but also keeping in mind that I need to read my textbook for exams. Im sure God doesnt want me to observe Lent by failing.) I will of course be observing meatless Fridays, and also be drinking only water 5 out of the 7 days of the week.

Giving: I will be making mass marmelade and dropping jars off at the nursing home and Anna - Laberge Hospital and make sure to give blood once. I have other ideas but am not sure if I will be able to do them, because of time/schedule constraints.

I will also be reading Psalms, as it seems to be reccommended by many sites! Any other reccomendations would be welcome (Amy, Im looking at you!)

'It is not repentance that saves me; repentance is the sign that I realise what God has done in Christ Jesus.'  

-  Oswald Chambers

Wedding Thoughts

Although I am against this idea of weddings being made into big shows, I am still excited for my own (although still over a year away) and will no doubt devote a few blogs to this subject.

That being said, Jeff and I went wedding ring (bands?) shopping today and learnt that:

A) rings are expensive and thank God we are simple people with simple tastes. Myself, I just don't like to not know where the precious stones came from, so the whole issue of blood diamonds makes a pretty strong case against them for me. Plus, I don't really enjoy jewelery, and very rarely wear any. So to have this big gawky ring full of expensive stones would just contrast horribly with everything I stand for in simplicity, and would give thieves ideas in any case. Jeff likewise has a sense of minimalist simplicity in his way of dressing himself, so the bling bling would just not fit.

and B) jewellers are so very pushy. And that makes for an immediately awkward and unpleasant experience. No matter what the amazing deal to be had, according to the jeweller, I will probably not buy if you try to push me into making a decision. Almost guaranteed our reaction will be to immediately attempt to leave the store. Also, your hygiene plays a pretty big role too (I highly reccommend people to not go to Bijouterie Venise in Angrignon).

Also there are some funny things people engrave on the inside of their bands. Such as BETTER THAN BACON. Classic.

Here's another thing. Sexy. Now sexy is a word that has been associated to wedding gowns all over the web and inside stores. And I have to admit that I am confused by this. I understand wanting to look beautiful, elegant, lovely, etc. But why sexy? To me, sexy is a look that I want to keep for my husband alone, not something I want to take family pictures with my grandmother. For example:

vs 

Ok so the one on the right is extreme. But its a true story. One only has to put in 'sexy wedding dress' on images in Google to see the kinds of dresses some people like to buy. Super short, super tight, super low cut, see-through, why in the world do you want anyone but your husband in the most private of times to see you dressed in that?? I will never understand...

What's in a place?

Through many discussions, Jeff and I have settled on a date (finally) Because of many reasons, we couldn’t do it earlier than 2012, so we decided on September 22, 2012. Actually having a date makes it much more real, even though it’s still upwards of a year away.

This of course, leads to a renewed budget talk, renewed vendor search and especially, a renewed talk about the type of ceremony we wish to have. Jeff and I have different ideas of where to have our ceremony. I would love to have it in the church that I attended when I was a child, where my father was married, where I was baptized, etc. This church is the closest thing I have to a sort of community church, where the priest knows me and has known me since I was little.

One other church could have contended with the Greek Church, and that was Notre Dame de L’Assomption, which was a French Catholic church. My mother took me to this church, I was part of the choir and vivdly remember Christmas mass, sitting in the pews, and gazing at this beautiful statue of the Virgin (which I wrote about in one of my previous blogs). Unfortunately, this church was sold and bought by a circus company and is now the place is used as an exercise room for acrobats, stained glass windows and religious statues and all. And what became of the statue of the Virgin which I so fondly remember? I saw her broken pieces in the garbage bin when I went to go witness the day the circus company moved in.

But back to the original story, the Greek Orthodox church is where I would like to have the ceremony where Jeff and I will become husband and wife. But I am torn (still) in this decision for many reasons. One, is that apart from myself and my father’s parents and my father’s brother, no one will have any ties to this church and even more importantly, no one will have any idea of what will be going on. Not only will most of the ceremony be conducted in Greek (which I myself do not speak), but it is also quite different from a Catholic ceremony. It is much longer and more ritualized, and there are aspects (such as the Stefana) which are completely alien to maybe 50 out of the 60 people there.

Another reason is that Jeff is toying with the idea of wearing his ribbon shirt to honour both his grandparents and his Mohawk heritage. I don’t know how the priest will react to this, or how it will look. Will it look like it is meant, a joining of two cultures, or will it just look odd...

And maybe more than anything prior, Jeff really wants an outdoor ceremony. Although we have talked about this, and knowing how much the ceremony is important to me (I get angry when I talk to people about this and their response is - Who cares? The party is what’s important!), he told me he will go along with what I choose. But part of a marriage is the idea that one does not get her own way anymore, marriage is about compromising. How can I push aside his idea of an outside ceremony for something that is important only for myself?

Who knew this could be so difficult!

Of citrus and blueberries

Ahh, my first day off from work and it feels GREAT! I had a to-do list that I made last night of things I wanted to accomplish, but of course Life got in the way, and it didn’t happen the way I had wanted to. But no matter, I still got some things done (my bathroom is sparkling clean). Amongst that, I completed my marmalade and am quite happy with the results!

This is the first time that I make marmalade (not being a huge fan of it myself) but I had some leftover oranges in the fridge that weren’t going anywhere fast, and this blog gave me the idea to do so. Along with the recipe and technique that the blog explains, I researched it and pulled together facts that coincided between recipes and what my own judgement and cooking reasoning told me would work. I learnt that marmalade (just like jam) can be made with a variety of different cooking apparatus (think microwave, oven, stovetop, slowcooker, bread machine, etc). Although there are varied opinions, I'm a believer in using mainly old-school methods, so I stuck to stove-top, but might try it out again in the slow cooker next time.

Also, most recipes call for between 3-5 cups of sugar, which I think is enormous and redundant, as I want the natural sweetness in oranges to come through for me rather than mask any taste by rendering it sickly sweet. Blegh.

But this citrus marmalade is anything but blegh. Although it’s still got some quirks I want to iron out, it’s a fine beginning and produces a great spread that can be used on toast or an English muffin, or maybe with meats such as chicken. It’s a three day simple process that is worth waiting out the days to take out the bitterness in the peels of the citrus.

Ingredients

·         6 large ripe oranges

·         1 lemon

·         1 cup of white sugar

·         Enough unsweetened orange juice to cover the fruit, I used about 3 cups

·         3 tsp of freshly grated ginger

Directions

1.       Wash the fruits thoroughly. Cut a thin slice of the bottom off of each fruit. Peel 3 out of 6 oranges. Cut the peeled oranges into quarters, then into pieces roughly equal in size and discard the pith between the segments (that’s the white stuff on the inside of the peel and the middle of the orange). Discard all seeds. Cut the peel into very thin slices, as thin as you can slice, then cut lengthwise to make little squares. Add this to a pot for the stovetop.

2.       Take your other three oranges (with the peel still on them) and cut them into quarters, discard all seeds, then slice them very thinly. Add these to the other oranges in the pot.

3.       Grate the lemon until the peel is mostly off, then cut it into chunks, then add to the pot.

4.       Add the water to the pot until the fruit is covered, cover and set aside.

5.       24 hrs later, boil the fruit, occasionally stirring, for about 30 mns. The rinds should be tender. Cool, then cover and set aside.

6.         24 hrs later, add the sugar, and grate and add the ginger. Mix, then boil the fruit again until the mixture gels, about 30 mns.



Citrus Marmalade and Blueberry Jam



Three Small Successes

1. I survived this last month and a half. Jeff still lives unharmed, I didnt have a nervous breakdown, and I didn't unintentionally go off my rocket at an innocent 5 year old. Life is good.

2. My marmelade is boiling away on my stove. Through all that craziness, I started a new cooking project - a citrus marmelade which takes three days to complete. I am very much looking forward to the end result (which I of course will blog about).

3. I am not feeling stressed about the upcoming (Tuesday) midterm. I have fallen into this state in which I feel like whatever happens happens. Not that I will purposely set myself up to fail, but I wont lose any sleep over this anymore. Amen to that.

<3

Wordless Wednesday

Poem Time

Please, Dad

by Michael Anderson

As soft winds sweep away the days I look back on life through a haze. Remember playgrounds, parks and friends, In childlike gaze that never ends. The laughter in a game of catch, Shall memory ever attach... To innocence in youthful eyes, Catching the ball to Dad's surprise. I recall my first bike, first wreck, Who picked me up, said, "What the heck?" Convinced me to give one more try, While, knees skinned, I forgot to cry. Just the joy knowing he was there, Making him proud my only care. There was nothing I couldn't do, My heart held fast that to be true. Though teenage years were kind of rough, I sure wasn't too big or tough. You taught me to defend what's right And never back down from a fight. So I learned the hard way to stand, Still, with each lump, I found your hand. Drawing from you an inner strength, And stubborn pride of equal length. But there the line of fate was drawn, As though I blinked and you were gone. I found myself facing the sun, Not man, not boy, fatherless, one. Eyes blinded by a void inside, I could not live that you had died. Alas finding it to be true, I could do nothing without you. Please, Dad, today just hear my call, I'm sorry that I dropped the ball. My life is wrecked, my knees are skinned, My emotions undisciplined. I can't get up although I try, Please don't be upset if I cry. Though I can't fight what I can't see, Please, Dad, say you're still proud of me.

To hear him say 'I'm proud of you' would mean the world to me.