Flower with the fun name

Dutchman's Breeches. It makes my kids laugh, not sure why, but it is in bloom this week. Check it out in the midwestern forest near you!

So I got a bit carried away, is that a problem?

We have a half dozen friends' kids receiving Our Sweet Lord for the first time this weekend.Therefore we have about that many parties to attend and bring gifts to. Usually I buy books for kids for First communion gifts, but this year, I felt inspired. I made Rosary Bracelets for the girls. I've made rosaries for people in the past, and can churn out a bracelet in 30 minutes. It's not super labor intensive, but I usually end up wounded by the wire, so it is a labor of love.

This time, I got a bit carried away, and figure since I had the jewelry making box out, why stop. 4 pairs of earrings, 2 necklaces and a bracelet later, I stopped. I guess I was bored, or maybe it was me tapping into that artistic vibe of old that flairs up every once in a while. I did design my wedding band 11 years ago, and people still comment on how lovely it is. Anyone need earrings? I think I have a few too many now, and I have pearls I bought and will be making something with later this week.

Buying local

So for part two of my little series on distributism, I've decided to bore you with with one of my favorite topics, local buying. Why buy local, well for one, the community you are living in benefits from the business. Two, in the case of foods, they are fresher,and therefore last longer. This point especially is my favorite reason to buy local. I have no yard, I mean that, I have a porch, not grass, not trees, just a porch, a garden is impossible, but I love fresh veggies. Luckily, I can walk to the Farmer's market in my town and get lots of good yummy things.

Most of the farms who come are small farms, too small to supply a store, and the Farmer's Market is their main source of income. It is nice to talk to the person who grew the food and have them tell you about it. I've grown to really enjoy seeing "the bee guy" and "the potato lady" on Saturday Mornings. Yes, the prices are a bit higher, its true, but the quality is higher, too. We may not get as much for our money if we went to the big mega-chain store, but my food did not have to go through customs to get to me.

Buying local is not just for food. It is not hard to find a local shop that is unique for gifts of all sorts. Craft fairs are a bounty of local artisans. Sure, not everything can be made locally, but so many things can. Support your local industries.

Reason three, it is good for the environment, too, less travel=less emissions, less fuel burned. Not a biggie, but for some, rather important.

Enough of that soap box.

Distributism- part one

Its funny when you live a certain way for so long, and never know there is a formal theory to that ideal. My Hubby and I came up out of the punk music scene in Chicago in the early 90's. He sold records by bands he knew at shows. We made T-shirts that we silk screened, I made soap. We both free-lanced as writers and photographers for a few independent magazines. All along in the name of what was known as DIY. My Husband pretty much hates big corporations, and it sickens him that he currently works for one, but three kids eat an awful lot of food. We have continued to live this DIY lifestyle through our 11 years of marriage.

Only in reading Chesterton and Belloc did I come to realize DIY is not an idea made up by Bay Area Punks, but one that was well thought out by many brilliant men decades before my birth. So now we call it Distributism. I have to be honest, I can live it, but not explain it. I also like to live really crunchy, I blame my hippie mother, and that fits in with the DIY lifestyle super well.

I hope in the the coming days and weeks to start to share a bit more on ways you can save cash, support small business and live green, all at the same time. Many things will resemble the "Kitchen Distributist" column from Gilbert. Most of the things I have read in this little column are things I already do. Some will be ideas I picked up from my Polish relatives, who did them out of necessity. I hope you will enjoy this new feature, I'm very excited to share.

Taking it all in

Now that the Holy Father has left the States, I can sit back and read all of his speeches and homilies. While he was here, I was unable to clearly hear all he said, for many reasons. The first is the funniest. My kids watched everything with me. Here's a little glimpse into my living room during the papal visit.
Mom -Hey guys, the Pope is on EWTN, come and watch (not realizing she was not going to be able to watch by inviting them)
Kids- Do we know anyone there?
Mom - Yes, we do, look for Bryan, Br. Maximilian and Father Peter. ( This was my second mistake)
Kids - Is that Bryan?
Mom - I doubt it.
Kids - Is that Br. MM? That one is wearing grey.
Mom- No, Sshhh, Listen to what the Pope is saying.
Daughter - What kind of Sisters are those, they have pretty habits.
Mom- I don't know (mom turns up volume, a lot)
Kids - Is that one Br. MM
Mom - No.
Kids - Is that one?(this repeats about 50 more times)
Mom-Sshhh.
Dad- I need to see the weather, can you watch this later?
Mom- School time kids!
Kids- EWTN is school, dad, We NEED to watch the pope.

Get the idea? Chaos, loud squirrely chaos. The little I heard was inspiring and exciting. The fact that Pat Robertson said the Holy Father is a brilliant, holy man last night on the 700 Club (I was flipping channels) made me realize just how others have been inspired. Thank goodness for the Internet. I have reading to do for months, but at my slow mommy-brained pace. Just so I can take it all in, and make the visit last a little longer in my small world.

Something to think about

This weekend is Good Shepherd Sunday. Most likely we will hear many good Homilies, involving lost sheep and loving shepherds. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the Pontifical Household Preacher's homily is available on zenit. It is excellent, as usual, but this struck me,

When we speak about sects we must also say a “mea culpa.” People often end up in sects in search of the human warmth and support of a community that they did not find in their parish.

It is something to think about.

Finally a diagnosis

Some of you have met my youngest son, Xai. And if you have met him, then you have met the "Kasias". For those who have not, let me explain. The Kasias live with us, there are about a million of them, I think, they are ducks, inchworms, ghosts, pirates, lions who can throw spears, despite the fact that they do not have thumbs, really the list goes on. The kasias wake us up at all hours of the night, they spill milk, they "attack" us from behind, generally they wreak havoc. Nobody knows where the Kasias came from, oldest daughter says hell, but that is not polite, so we usually try to come up with other explanations.

The worst part is, I cannot see them, only Xai can, so I never know when, say, I'm cooking dinner, a kasia will come through extremely quickly and try to get into the food or need me to read a scroll (yes a scroll) that they are delivering, with urgency. It gets worse, I've recently been informed that the duck Kasias live in the toilet. So now, at 5am, as I'm staggering blindly to the loo, I need to make sure the 3 year old is not awake enough to yell at me that I cannot use this particular bathroom!

My husband and I have looked for answers, did we drop him as a baby and forget? Did he get into the Homeopathics and make a dangerous tonic? What would cause a small, cute child to behave this way, I mean the kasia parties are getting a bit wild, and the kasia knights are not chivalrous! Then, I came across this. What a relief! It is not our fault for letting him watch TV, or listen to books on CD, or even worse, eat non-healthy food, he has YTD, or Youthful Tendency disorder. At least now we can explain the sword fights with the Kasias to visitors without embarrassment.

H/T: Studeo

The reading gap

Livescience has an article about the gap in reading ability between boys and girls in schools. Very interesting. The most fascinating part of the article in at the bottom.


"Here's a fascinating fact," she said. "There is no literacy gap in home-schooled boys and girls."
"Why? In school, teachers emphasize reading literature and talking about character and feelings," she said. "This way of teaching reading does not turn boys on. Boys prefer reading nonfiction, such as history and adventure books. When they are taught at home, parents are more likely to let them follow their interests"


Fascinating indeed, letting our kids read what they are interested in, to encourage them to read. Home schooled kids are not immune from the gap, though in my opinion. My 7 year old is a bit "behind" in reading, so he is just learning how to read. ( I'm not concerned, if you cannot tell). I recently took him to the local bookshop to get some early readers, seeing the princess early readers his sister had were not to his liking. I would have to say 75% of the books in the early readers section were geared toward girls. No wonder boys do not read as much as girls, they do not have the selection of books to read. In addition to the lack of books for boys, many of the ones that were not girly, were twaddle. My son asked me how many times he would have to read a book about a cat on a mat or a lad with a cap. Point taken, he wants substance. Lucky boy, Mom found a new series of early readers based on the classics. We picked up The Treasure Map based on a chapter of Treasure Island. It is not dumbed down, just written in simplified language. My son loves it, we have four books to complete, and we move on to Tom Sawyer. I hope good literature will put him on the road to be a good reader, especially one who wants to continue to read good books.

Great new Blog

I recently came across First Heralds, a blog dedicated to helping toddler and pre-schoolers learn about their Catholic Faith. I am very impressed by what I have seen so far. This particular are of religious education is of great interest to me, not just because I have a 3 year old, but people too often assume that this age group needs no religious education. I beg to differ. These are the most tender years, the ground for planting seeds is so fertile.

We have been blessed to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd off and on. We are even more blessed because my husband's Aunt Tina wrote many of the materials and is a great encouragement to us. We are very fortunate to have been put on a good path for our children's religious education early on, many others are not. I see sites like First Heralds helping with the situation. Best of luck to them in all of their efforts!

Earth Hour

Tonight my family will participate in the Earth Hour. Why, you may ask? Well, to remind the whole family we need to use our resources better. I'm crunchy, but most of that crunchiness results from not a belief in climate change and its consequences, but a belief that we have a responsibility to use resources wisely to better our fellow man.

John Paul II constantly reminded people that there are not too many people on the planet, just a mis-distrubution of goods. This is why I conserve. We are so blessed to have the ability to turn on 20 lights at a time, but should we do that? Probably not. So tonight, we will turn off the lights for one hour, and pray for those who need electricity, and do not have access to it.