Liturgical Year:: January, 1/1-1/14

Ever since the crazy days at the end of November, several habits that I worked so hard on and that were going well have fallen apart. I felt like I was in a fog mentally for weeks after that and then quickly jumped into other things, so my life hasn't exactly gone back to normal or routine. I have hardly gotten to daily mass (7am daily low mass in Paoli, where I have been going since June).  I think I went twice (I know for sure  12/7 and 12/27) and maybe one or two other times besides that. I have gone a handful of times now in January but am still slacking a bit. (like, after mass, people are updating me on things from November in January) So for January and even February, I really want to work at getting back into the habit of going to this mass time daily.  I went to 12:10 mass elsewhere a few times and one of the day's was Bishop Morlino's funeral, and sometimes I was sick, but mostly it was cases oversleeping/not being organized/poor planning. Which leads me to my next goal that has  also been derailed, I need to get back into the habit of going to bed at 8/8:30. There were a few days there that my sleep schedule (that I worked so hard for over the summer!) was way off.
Which leads me to my next goal, also derailed since the crazy days of November, I need to get back into the habit of a daily rosary...
and daily quality reading time...
lots of things to jump back into!

Discovered:
1962 Ordo (SSPX) I found this website which is a little bit above my head so it confuses me a little  but I am hoping that I will grow to understand it and that it will become helpful to me.

New books:
I caved and got this....Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family (inspired by many things/people including this review from Wildflowers and Marbles) I bought this from Sophia Institute Press. I think its actually cheaper on Amazon now than from Sophia press.
I am saving my birthday/Christmas Amazon gift cards to spend at the beginning of February and have a little pile of things to buy when that day comes.

New Things:
on 1/8 I got some Epiphany Holy water from Saint Marys Pine Bluff (it was blessed on 1/5). It's in a slick little bottle. I still have my Epiphany holy water from several years ago, a bottle with the "Church Militant" branding on it. (from 2013 or 2014) It seems that I do not use holy water very much at home.

I got this holy water font for my birthday and I put it on my cube shelf. I put some holy water in it to encourage my use of more holy water when at home. I can't remember the last time we had a holy water font in our house. I know we had at least one holy water font at our other house but I can;t think of where it is here. Also, I've had a holy water bottle on my desk for some time now (like years) but I guess it never occurs to me to use it very often. So I think I want to get into the habit of using holy water at home now and not just have it on display.

Peg Dolls:
Peg dolls are on the rise in my life!
(a priest in a cassock, an FSSJ nun, a seminarian & St Pope Pius X)

...and I started a pinterest board titled "Potential Peg Dolls"...

Now, I think it is time to construct my vision for my peg dolls (and why I have so many priest peg dolls).

Feast of the Holy Family:
A most blessed feast day!

This is my favorite picture of the Holy Family that I have ever found. I just really like this one. I know 3 families who have this in their house. One day, I too, will have a copy of this image. Although, I have not found an exact copy yet to buy, I routinely enjoy admiring this picture at other people's houses.

(my own little family)

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7 good children go to heaven"

St Lucy,
St Anne,
St Robert,
St Thomas,
St Francis of Assisi,
St Brigid of Ireland,
St Joseph,
Bl Elena Aiello,
St John,
St Philomena,
St Faustina,
Fulton Sheen,
pray for us!

I prayed for my family. my godparents & my grandparents especially in honor of this feast day.

Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord:
Recently, I realized that I don't celebrate my own baptism day, or I haven't. and then I realized, I don't even know what day I was baptized. I know who baptized me, who was there, my godparents and where it happened but I realized I do not know the day itself. I feel like I should know my baptism day.  I asked my mom but she does not remember the exact date. She said to look in my baby book so now I am off to find my baby book...

My Baptism 2/22/1998:

(me with my godparents)

 Was I not the cutest baby EVER?! I think so. 

I just did some over night babysitting again this weekend (1/11-13), so I am not exactly in the most celebratory mood, also, on account of a lack of energy, I am going to save most of my baptismal celebrations for 2/22 (my baptism day).
Although I did go to mass today (not where I generally go), and the priest gave this quote about getting back  to baptismal innocence that I really liked--
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time"
-T.S. Eliot's "Little Gidding"

(Just for fun!)
From my mom!:
(I received this on my grandparents wedding anniversary (1/13), It would have been 57 or 58 years of marriage...)

I always knew that I was the star granddaughter!

21 things about me!

In honor of me now being 21...

1. My middle name is Marie

2. I am named after my Great Grandpa (Francesco>Francesca)

3. My favorite education Methods are: Charlotte Mason and Montessori, and then Classical and Independent/Robinson methods after that.

4. I love comedy and comedians! (think: Sebastian Maniscalo, My Cousin Vinny and Jerry Sienfeld)

5. My very favorite book from age 20: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

6. my favorite devotions/devotions I am trying to cultivate in my life: spiritual motherhood for priests/seminarians, Sacred Heart of Jesus, & living the liturgical year.

7. I have the Angelus Press 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

8. My favorite livestock: steers/heifers (dairy & beef, but mostly beef) & pigs (and sometimes sheep)

9. I categorize my clothes as "lucky" and "unlucky" and name them after people, "J... G... skirt" & "original J...G...skirt" (long black skirts), "Mrs P... pants" (leggings)...

10. One thing I want to achieve in life--finish what my Grandma called "the book".

11. I like learning about history, the Latin mass, the liturgical year & art.

12.I've seen Jerry Sienfeld live.

13. When I was younger I liked learning about history--especially American History, and particularly- Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, the Great Depression & World War 2.

14. I get headaches a lot starting when I was 14.5 when I was 15.5 I started going to the doctor for this very thing...ENTs (several times), an MRI, a neurologist, and lastly, an allergy test (on my arm) when I was 16--I am allergic to dust mites & dust.

14. I pulled a cuterebra bug (parasite) out of a kitten before.

15. I do not like sleeping on the top of a bunk bed. (I did not have my own bed until I was 15, I didn't known what to do when I had my own bed)

16. When I was younger, around 4th grade age, my favorite nun (a FSSJ Sister) had hip replacement surgery and I carried my brother around on my hip so much that I used to say/think "I'm going to need hip replacement surgery when I'm 14!"
(my hips are/were, in fact, crooked)

17. I've had stitches twice (my lip when I was 8 and my knee when I was 13).

18. I want to get better at sewing, canning and drawing.

19. most humbling things in my life--raising steers (my first year especially), my first year of shooting trap (shotgun) & babysitting.

20.  my least domestic skill=cooking

21. I have 3 sisters, 3 sisters, and 3 siblings in heaven (2 are buried at Holy Redeemer in Perry Wisconsin and one is buried at Saint Mary's Pine Bluff. My mom didn't formally name them, but I did a year or so after the last one died---Caroline Anne (after the Melissa Wiley books about Laura Ingalls Wilder's mom), Francesco James, "James", (after our great grandpa's on my mom's side of the family) & Jennifer Marie (after Jennifer Mackintosh of the wildflowers & marbles blog)

In the first week of 2019...

1/1

I turned 21!

We had our usual largeish party at our house on New Years Eve, and after we banged pots & pans at midnight, we came back in and had cake (for me). Everyone left after 1, I showered and I was the first one in our family to bed in bed(at 1:30am)

(my sister, our friend, & I)

I went to 7:30am mass at Saint Mary's Pine Bluff, did chores, took a great big nap and spent the rest of the day visiting with friends (at three different houses! including my pal) and  saying "I MUST go to bed early!"

1/2
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus-Mass, Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus & Copywork: Golden Arrow Prayer. 

I went babysitting at new house that was out in the middle of no where....

This sign was so hilarious that I had to pull over and snap this picture. I have never seen a sign like this so near my own home. 

I borrowed a scrapbook on Father Kunz to learn more about him.
Starting in the afternoon I started to get a little bit sick, so the next day (1/3) I stayed home all day and was sick (not very, but too sick to be around my pals) So I am still enjoying my beats (a lot) and have added new songs to my spotify, and have been listeing to back episodes of the SSPX Podcast.
For the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus- readings from Sunday Morning Storyland and from with the Church.

1/4

I got tested for tuberculosis.(for school, not because I thought I have it, so don't panic everyone. ) (this wasn't really on my list of things to accomplish in life though...)
I started my first Emily Ley notebook, its super cute but also super small.

I went through the Father Kunz scrapbook and learned SO much...and learned more about the Little Saint Therese's school ("The Academy of Saint Therese" as its properly called) It was great!!

1/5

We had the steer weigh in. We tipped the scales at 796 (right on track) and 742 (a little low on that one). We brought the steers home. It was just my dad and I. There was so much snow/ice/and such in our yard, that dad got the truck and trailer stuck in the yard....just spinning and spinning and spinning the truck tires. He ended up detaching the trailer from the truck...which made the trailer start to roll down the hill....so I had to run after it....

Our yard is a bit of  a mess right now and today its raining and raining.
More babysitting at a new place in a really pretty part of our county; it was a long drive out but with a refreshing view.

1/6
Epiphany Day! (see Epiphany tag for more about that day)

1/7
I got the results to the Tuberculosis test (negative, of course), ran a few errands, its a rainy rainy day & now I am settling down to an average week of school & babysitting ahead (what is average?)
And because its Monday, I am very much enjoying a  new episode from the Punch Bowl Podcast.

Currently Reading:
Stay Hungry-Sebastian Maniscalco
Art through Faith (Seton Art 8)
Catholic All January -Kendra Tierney
The Religious Potential of the Child 6-12 Years Old (still)

Just another week in the life of me!

Happy First Week of 2019!

Epiphany:: What actually happened (in pictures)

I did not end up going to any of the festivities at Saint Marys Pine Bluff on 1/5. There was a change in the schedule in that Fr Z was giving the talk instead of Fr Gernetzke so that made me less interested in going. I like Fr Z and all but I hear sermons from him nearly every week so I wasn't as inclined to go after an already full day.
1/6:
In the morning, I went to mass at Saint Mary's Pine Bluff, and when I got home my siblings were all awake so we opened our epiphany gifts (from Old Befana). I got a Mother Teresa of Calcutta Statue and some of the kids got Pac-Man(!!). I had a sudden spur of inspiration and I reorganized and rearranged the top of my cube shelf. It looks SO much better!!
I did some readings, I took some notes.
Cube shelf before:
all of the statues, the candle and rosaries were on my desk in a corner; on my cube shelf was the letter board with an overflowing bin of books for "right now". It just felt...cluttered...

(the overflowing basket) (I put the basket on the corner of my desk nearest my cube shelf where I had my statues and such before and I straightened out my books and such in it a little better. )

(some "before" pictures-all from a few weeks ago)

How the top of my cube shelf looks now! I really like it!

Pac Man!!

"Father Oak" Peg dolls! +a seminarian

A few more peg dolls! (Immaculate Heart of Mary, St Therese, Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Bishop Morlino Peg doll!

Readings for the feast day

(Lives of the Saints-Hoever, Latin Mass Children's Missal, With the Church volume 1 & Catholic All January (turns out I've been calling this by the wrong title ever since I got it)

(from Saints: a Year in Faith and Art)

Jennifer Mackintosh Planner + Notebook, ready for the day

Epiphany Tide Plans

Epiphany Tide--I realize I made up that word just this morning, but I think it totally fits to cover the days "around" the Epiphany, most especially the vigil and the day itself, as well as the days after to observe the feast more in depth.

In our family, this is one of our own more important feast days, with Epiphany gifts (usually small religious things or books) and Old Befana (most years Ken Lonquist comes and does a play nearby, but I don't think there is one this year, still, we have all of the songs memorized) /reading the Tomie de Paola books. but, just this morning I made some plans...

There are some festivities going down at Saint Marys Pine Bluff for the Vigil that I am hoping to participate in:

Vigil of the Epiphany, Saturday, January 5

• 4:00 PM – Solemn High Mass (Fr. John Zuhlsdorf)
• 5:15 PM – Adoration & Confession
• 5:45 PM – Benediction
• 6:00 PM – Fr. John Zuhlsdorf: Ritual Exorcism & Blessing of Water & Salt
• 6:45 PM – Fr. Chris Gernetzke Reflection: “Where Do We Go From Here?” (After the passing of Bishop Morlino)
• 7::30 PM – Family Pizza Social

Free Epiphany Holy Water & Salt, and Green Scapulars (touched to a Relic of the True Cross) for all who attend (please do not bring your own water and salt to be blessed).

I am babysitting that afternoon, and don't know how late I will be, but am hoping to sneak in/make it to Father Chris Gernetzke's talk. If I happen to make it over there earlier, great, then I will go to more things.

1/6:

Sunday Mass (haven't decided when/where yet)

Copywork: 20+ C+M+B+19

Readings: Catholic All Year January by Kendra Tierney (this book arrived in the mail just this morning! It's lovely!!) pages 19-23, Bible Reading, & With the Church volume 1 (a few chapters)

Calendar Work: "Today is..." & such

Notes during Sermon (this is something that I have been trying on and off for almost a year, I am usually unmotivated to bring my notebook to mass, but am always glad when I do take notes of the sermons)

I want to find some fun/festive/unique versions of "We Three Kings" (think: Bing Crosby or someone)

...and whatever else I can think of!
(and hopefully making good notes for next year!)

A note on projects

It's been a full year of liturgical living for me, and I hope that the next year will be even fuller! With lots of research, I have been diving into all sorts of liturgical year projects and organizing lately. I have so many ideas that I want to do! I have been buying lots of things and books, and have more ordered/coming as well as some Amazon gift cards left to spend. (I kind of need to set up a budget for this) I have also been moving things around on my desk and cube shelf. I am trying to come up with a good solution to organize my liturgical year things. (it's a bit of a mess right now) This is just a little glimpse.... I still have a long way to go, but here are some projects that I am currently working on...

I got a  letter board!
I don't think I am really a letter board *person* but I want to try using one to display what day it is in/on the liturgical year (feast day/season/month theme/day theme).  That's my vision for this brand new  letter board that I got. A dry erase board seemed too tacky (although I did see some small/compact ones at Target that I half thought about getting..), but the letter board seems tedious to fill... If I feel like the letter board is not working out, I definitely won't have any other use for it. In any case, I got the cheapest letter  board I could find on Amazon (I couldn't believe how expensive most of them were!) (Also I'll admit that the one I got isn't the most attractive looking/best matching for my desk and cube shelf) I bet you didn't think that I had this much to say about letter boards, did you?

Peg dolls!
I have three Shining Light Dolls that I love, and I have know the existence of peg dolls for some time but never had one of my own. (I'm kind of into whimsical decor) After Bishop Morlino died, a friend was making Bishop Morlino peg dolls, and you know I jumped immediately at the chance to get one. (Seriously, I think I was the first person to ask for one, and I was so proud when I received mine) (Side  note: I really like having "art" of Bishop Morlino...this sounds weird, but it helps me remember he is actually dead---I think I'm still in denial about that). Later on, I said to the same person how I'd potentially want more peg dolls of various saints and people, and so I have requested  some (which should be coming soon!!), which leads me to...

My own replication of a Father Oak! And felt vestments!
So I had an Idea.... I want to replicate Father Oak to remind me to pray for priests more often. I printed off the instructions and found some templates, and at Catholic Schoolhouse a mom made some felt vestments to use with a felt board so I wanted to by felt vestments. Ideas #1 was get a wooden figurine of some sort and buy felt to make my own vestments to switch around on a figurine for the different feast days based on what the priest would wear. Execution of idea #1: I had a random spur of inspiration and bought one of those bendable drawing figurines on Amazon, a bit lanky, but I thought it would work. And I bought some felt. I bought the wrong felt, it is 2X2 inch pieces and the figurine is just too big, so I am returning those. I couldn't believe it when I opened the package that the felt was so small! Idea #2...I order some peg dolls of priests in various colors. (If you are wondering about more of my Amazon shopping mishaps...I wanted paperclips to do some paper clipping. I thought I was just buying a box, but in reality it was 10 boxes of 100 paper clips each....(!) so I am returning the paper clips as well. That many paper clips should last until my grandkids if I keep them!
so where we stand on this project, are some priest peg dolls in different color vestments (to rotate out) and a seminarian peg doll are being made for me. The plan is to switch around the priests as a reminder to pray for priests and also as a reminder of the color of vestments for the day. And the seminarian is to remind me to pray for my seminarian friends. And the plan is to have these live (somewhere) on my cube shelf.

New books!
My Daily Bread (small wine colored book from the Confraternity of the Precious Blood)
Art Through Faith (Seton grade 8) (reading now)
Bible History by Johnson & Hannan (finished, but now have the workbook to go through)
Bible History by Ignatius Schuster
...and more coming soon!!

New Things!
Not directly a liturgical year thing, but does enhance things for me...I got beats!! No more borrowing my brothers!! My beats are super slick!
About 2 months ago I had a friend make me some of those knotted cord rosaries (in black, of course). I love them a lot! and I recently got some more. They are my favorite rosaries now!!

Also, I still need more paperclips...

12.27.18 an update

Hey friends,

It's been a while since I last wrote.. mostly because the next two weeks after I last wrote got really crazy..so here is a big update...
Its been an especially busy/stressful month, 2-3 weeks in particular, so although I still did some writing, I haven't opened this website in weeks, and have barely had any time for any blog reading.
I have finished my first semester of classes at UW Superior. I am glad to have the semester over with & behind me! Just a few weeks before classes start again....
November 30th-December 2nd I had a steer show, the Badger Kickoff Classic. This was my third year doing the show, and my first time bringing a Gelbvieh steer (AOB class). I had a really stressful two weeks before the show, I was feeling very unprepared leading up to it and was hesitant if I should even go, but am really glad I powered through and did the show!
Last weekend we got more hay and in a few weeks we weigh the steers again + move them into another pen.

Listening to lately:
I've been through many song listening kicks in the last few weeks with many new additions to my Spotify and YouTube playlists.... King Tut by Steve martin, Pachabel's Canon in D, Hello Dolly, Jump Around, Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift, Istanbul....
We were at a wrestling meet and "Long way to the top" by AC/DC played, and I've been obsessed ever since.
I'm conviced that I have the greatest spotify playlist ever with the latest additions of Andrea Boccelli covers, Sonata 14 in C Sharp Minor, The River Kwai March, some Bing Crosby and some Frank Sinatra.
I am still very much enjoying the Punch Bowl Podcast and the SSPX podcast.

Reading:
I haven't been keeping pace on my reading, but have been keeping up with some "themes": bible history, catechesis of the good Shepard & the liturgical year.
Currently Reading: Art Through Faith, the pictures are beautiful!

Watching:
lots of Parks & Recreation (way too much of it) while babysitting; I have decided that Tom is my favorite character
My siblings and I went and saw The Grinch at the theater. We saw ads for the new Mary Poppins at the theater and I'm not much into Mary Poppins (like at all!) but I saw that Dick van Dyke is in the new one (everyone in my circles thinks he's dead!) so I would consider going to see the new Mary Poppins because he is in it...
For Christmas my uncle, my Grandpa and I all got 2 Sebastian Maniscalco DVDs!

Liturgical Year:
In December, I went to a mass said by Cardinal Burke at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I have no pictures, but it was a cool experience. I really wanted to ask him about his shoes...
It's always hard that the show weekend is always right before the end of the semester and the first weekend of Advent, so my advent doesn't always get off to an amazing start.  My Advent has not been as robust as I had planned; I have done some reading, did the O antiphons, did a Jesse Tree variation, some writing & I think that is about it. I haven't gone to daily mass in 20 days, but made it today (!!) for the Feast of Saint John. It was so good to be back on this rainy morning!
As many of you may know, back in November, Our beloved Bishop Morlino died quite unexpectedly. That was a big shock. I ended up going to his funeral mass, as well vespers/a visitation the night before. I have a lot more to say about him/his death, to be written later. I now have a painted peg doll of him on my desk, and a funeral holy card of him in my missal. It still feel very surreal...
My Instagram has suddenly become a little more lively with liturgical living updates. I might make an account just for the liturgical year.
For the feast of saint Stephen I found some fun versions of Good King Wenceslaus--Here and Here
We had a very routine Christmas with my mom's immediate family -- lots of cooking & visitors throughout the day, a trip to the cemetery, dinner, movies, looking at Christmas lights, opening gifts & the Midnight mass. This year, for the first time, some of my siblings played their instruments in the choir. I realized that the Nativity scene at the church is the biggest, most magnificent nativity set I have ever seen in a church.
I turn 21 in just a few days, so there are more liturgical celebrations ahead of us. Speaking of the year 1998, I had a moment the other day where I was reading my new Sebastian Maniscalco autobiography and I asked out loud if Frank Sinatra was still alive, and I was answered with "he died May 14 1998!" and I answered right away "so many greats died that year...Father Kunz, Frank Sinatra, and the last season of Seinfeld!" So many things happened the year I was born!!
I'm also diving head first into some liturgical year projects. I hope to share more at their completion.

Memory Work:
So there are these two songs--"who did swallow Jonah?" and "little David" that the teachers at Catholic Schoolhouse taught the kids, and sadly, I too memorized these songs...
I still have the Creed and the Beverly Hillbillies theme song in my "Memory Work" YouTube playlist. I think that I have the Beverly Hillbillies theme song memorized enough, but the creed is still slowly coming a long.
And, yes, memorizing AC/DC songs as well.

Today I have to run to the post office (returning some defective beats that I got) and have a dress rehearsal tonight. It's been a  rainy day here and my brother and I lit the burn barrel. We took around the yard and discovered that the big steer pen is in total disarray, so that has to be fixed before we put the steers in there (!).

Happy Christmastide, everyone! I hope to do some more writing in just a few days!