Thursday Thoughts - or - "What I Did This Summer"

I know everyone says it, but I am totally trying to figure out where summer 2016 has gone. You know how when you were little, your teachers would make you write a paper about "What I Did This Summer". Back in those days, it was usually a paper filled with the fun we had on our family vacations, books I read and maybe even a fun activity or two I got to participate in. I guess times haven't changed to much, so here are a few Thursday thoughts on "What I Did This Summer".

We started out in June with an Aziz Family Reunion here in Oregon. It was especially nice getting to see cousins that live on the other side of the county. From berry-picking & jam-making to a BBQ down at my Uncle Paul's in Lebanon to a Father's Day Picnic at a park here in Salem, the weekend was packed full of family!

I've been pleasantly busy making pocket oratories and rosary cases for my Etsy Shop as well as selling them on the Peter's Square Marketplace. One of the most fun pocket oratories I made was for a little boy whom I am happy to be praying for. His name is Ambrose. His story is amazing, inspiring and incredible, so be sure to check it out. After hearing his dad share on EWTN radio's The with Barbara Mc one morning, I looked up his Facebook page and immediately added little Ambrose to my prayer list. Whilst making another pocket oratory one day, I thought, "I need to make him an oratory, so he'll have something to hold onto at church or when he wants to see a picture of Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Ambrose's mom graciously gave me their address, and I had the joy of making this little "toddler size" pocket oratory for this precious little boy. Like I said, be sure to check out his page on Facebook, so you can pray for him and his family too!

I got the chance this summer to help a little bit with fixing up my late grandparents' house and learned a lot more about swimming pool tile than I could have imagined. My parents have done the majority of the work which is simply incredible. The house went from looking okay to simply stunning. Be sure to stay tuned as I plan on posting some "after" photos as soon as it's all finished.











We didn't go on any family vacations this year, although Cari, Mary, David and I did attend the annual Knights of Columbus campout. It was super fun getting to meet some new people as well as doing the whole camping thing. We are always in charge of Sunday breakfast and this year was no exception. We made our family favorite, breakfast burritos while standing under a canopy during pouring Sunday morning rain. It wasn't totally fun, but the food was hot and tasty, and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

The last part of August was spent sending everyone off to school again. It seemed like it might be easier than last year, and it actually was (okay, up until this week when I've had a few "kid homesick days" missing them being here). I'm so proud of all of them, especially David as he starts his senior  year at Christendom College. He's worked really hard to get this far, and we are now in continual prayer mode for his thesis, his classes and, of course, where he's planning on attending graduate school when he receives his Bachelors Degree in May. 

So now, even though it's September and technically still summer, I feel like my summer is pretty much over. Thankfully, I've got all kinds of stuff going on as well as lots to pray for, so the transition is seeming to go pretty well. The weather has been going through transitions to, so I'm working on some new food ideas too. I hope you enjoy your Thursday!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Extended Edition

   {pretty, happy, funny, real}                          

                                      

It's Thursday, so I'm linking up again with the terrific Like Mother, Like Daughter. As we celebrate Mother's Day, a number of birthdays and a couple of marriages in our family this month, I thought I'd share a few bits about my extended family that are {pretty, happy, funny, real}. 

My beautiful niece, Jeanette looking {pretty}

This pillow made me {happy}

Unfortunately, circumstances would not allow me to be present, but I spent the day of the wedding working on their gift and spending the time praying for their marriage. I came up with this idea of a pillow using linen and a photo from their engagement pictures. I'm so happy with it that I will probably be listing custom made pillows like this on my Piccolo Di Luce Etsy Shop soon. 

More {happy}

The quilt top

I also got the chance in the last few weeks to make a baby quilt for Thomas More College professors, Mr. Andrew and Mrs. Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs, who are expecting their first baby next month. As they teach The Way of Beauty course, and Mrs. Thompson-Briggs is an artist, I thought I would make a vintage style red-work embroidered quilt. My mom had given me a large container of vintage, hand-stitched strips, so I used those for the sashing and binding. I wasn't sure what color to do the border, so I sent a photo to Mary at school. She suggested mustard which was seconded by Sylvia, the owner of Greenbaum's Quilted Forest. I took their ideas and then machine quilted the whole thing before making the label. The best part was being able to pray for their family and especially the new baby as I worked on this {happy} quilt!

This is one {funny} little girl

My mom and I headed down to southern Oregon last weekend for a bridal shower for another niece and to celebrate Mother's Day with my sister. Normally, I wouldn't have gone, but since my kids are all at school until next week, I thought it would be fun. I was so right! One of my other nieces was visiting from Virginia with her little one, Zephora. She is so {funny}, and they were a great joy to be with during the weekend. The best part was they needed a ride to the airport in Portland, and a place to stay for a couple of days, so my husband and I got to host them during that time. While they were here, I took them up to Mt. Angel Seminary to visit Joshua and have a little tour. We ended up not only having coffee and walking around, but he invited us to join him and the other seminarians for lunch. My niece, Jael, loved it plus the baby was awesome!! I then took them to Fordyce Farms for the first strawberries of the season, and then we came home so I could teach Jael how to bake bread before they headed off early Tuesday. We also got to feed ZuZu (her new totally cool nickname that Unky Brian and I came up with and got the mom approval) her first taste of rice cereal. She wasn't sure about the spoon or the texture, but I'm pretty sure she'll be liking it a lot in just a little while. What a blessing it was for us to open our home and share the love and mercy God has given us!

{real} Gluten Free Banana Bread

So I mentioned the kids will all be home next week- did I mention how totally excited we are?!?!? 

Both Brian and I are looking forward to them being home for a number of reasons. I am sure he'll be glad to have others to do chores plus someone other than just me to talk with. To be honest, the talking thing works for me too- just keeping it {real} here, folks. As part of the preparing for them to be home, I did a little baking today. Now, for any of you that have read any of my posts, you may remember that we have a wacky eating family- I have one child who is celiac, one with a tree nut allergy and one with lactose intolerance plus I have to eat low sodium. Thankfully, Brian and Joshua don't have any food issues, so that makes it a bit easier. With that in mind, I made a couple loaves of banana bread, being sure to mark them well before popping them into the freezer. Since so many of you have a great recipe for regular banana bread, I thought I'd share this Gluten and Lactose Free version. I did make some with regular flour and no nuts for David, so everyone should be happy. Here's my G/F Banana Bread for you to try. Oh yeah, it tastes {real}, so don't be afraid to try it!

                                                        {REAL} BANANA BREAD

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (roughly two medium bananas) 

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil (I use rice bran oil, but use what you have) 

1 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar 

1 1/2 cups G/F baking mix   

2 teaspoons baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1 cup walnut pieces 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray 9" loaf pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, beat the mashed bananas with the eggs, oil and brown sugar till combined. Add G/F baking mix, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat until well combined. Stir in the walnut pieces.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly. Stud the top with some extra walnut pieces, if desired. Bake on the center rack for 55 to 65 minutes, if necessary, until the center is done (a wooden cake tester should emerge clean).

Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack.

Eat right away or wrap in wax paper and foil and freeze for up to a couple of weeks.

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you are having a wonderful month so far. Be sure to stop by Like Mother, Like Daughter to see what everyone's up to today at {pretty, happy, funny, real}.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Green Edition

Since today is the Feast Day of St. Patrick, I thought I'd do a "Green" edition of this week's {pretty, happy, funny, real} link up with Like Mother, Like Daughter. I'm not Irish, but part of my husband's family is from Donegal, Ireland. You can read more about St. Patrick's life here.

{pretty}

We've had so much rain in the Mid-Willamette Valley this winter that our whole yard is blooming including plants that most people think of as weeds. So much green everywhere! We have one space in the backyard where these yellow flowery plants grow. I'm sure they are weeds, but the green and yellow make for a very {pretty} area.

{happy}

I was very blessed to be invited to coffee with my dear friends, Annette and Cristina on Tuesday. I had been wanting to have a reason for making this green scarf, so I got up early and stitched it up. Annette graciously picked me up since I'm still not supposed to be driving. We had been going for just coffee, and Cristina ended up making us breakfast {happy}. We thought we'd be there for a short while and ended up finally leaving after 4 1/2 hours. What a {happy} time we had being able to talk and share our journeys as wives and moms.

{more happy}

My oldest son has had a great experience at Mt. Angel Seminary taking part in so many cultural celebrations/feast days since the students are so diverse. He's shared about how the only group that hasn't done anything special are the anglo community. After talking with some of his fellow seminarians and getting the okay from the staff, he decided to head up at St. Patrick's Celebration. I decided to make some {happy} cookies to help the party- Whole Wheat Celtic Knot Sugar Cookies & Green Sparkle Sugar Cookies. I love that he planned everything from talking to the chef about making Irish food to being part of an Irish Band. Even though I haven't gotten the chance to talk with him, I am sure it was a {happy} success!

{fuuny}

Last week I shared about our {funny} cats. This week the {funny} is about Solomon the cat. I think it might be due to not having kids at home. I refuse to believe it's because I'm turning into a crazy cat lady!
So this weeks {funny} cat photo is Solomon loving on my sewing machine. He enjoys coming upstairs to my sewing room and sitting on my desk to look at the birds and the green leaves outside. The other day, I realized that Solomon also likes to rub his face all over my sewing machine. He doesn't touch the thread, so I've decided I am okay with him taking a like to the machine. I've decided I want to make a little quilt for him to lay on next to the machine. I just hope this isn't another indication of the crazy cat lady thing.

{real}

Wednesday nights from 9-10 will find me at our parish, St. Joseph Catholic Church, for my hour of Adoration. During most of the year (Ordinary Time on the Liturgical Calendar), the chapel is fairly empty, but as soon as Advent or Lent starts, it can sometimes be even standing room only. I am always so grateful to see other people come and join my husband and I in adoring the {real} presence of Christ. It just doesn't get any more {real} than this. If you haven't been to Adoration lately, consider going as many times as you can during the upcoming Holy Week. I will be praying for all of us that we can be sure we are keeping it {real}. 

Check out other {pretty, happy, funny, real} blogposts 

by visiting the link-up at 

Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Middle of the Week Wanderings- Cookies edition

I just realized I have been doing a lousy job of updating how the Great Keatley Baking Challenge is going. I'd love to say it's due to my Meniere's (partly true) as well as not baking as much due to Lent (again, partly true), but most of all it's because I'm a bit lazy and it's so much each to just post photos on Instagram and Facebook. 

We really have been doing some baking over the last month. David had asked for homemade cookies for his birthday in February. I did post about this a bit last month.
I figured I should share a few of the recipes we used! I used a recipe from Like Mother, Like Daughter for Leila's candied ginger and chocolate chip cookies. I even made my own candied ginger for the recipe which was easy and delicious. I also made our simple GF peanut butter cookies which only has 4 ingredients and tastes really peanut buttery. I've been trying to use some more of the recipes from the CIA's baking and pastry book, so the third cooky I made was a chocolate biscotti. It took a bit of time compared to the other two, but ended up to be a very good biscotti. Here's that recipe for you to try.

Chocolate Biscotti with Royal Icing Drizzle
Biscotti:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, yolks and vanilla extract. Add wet mix to dry and stir until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated. Roll the dough into 3 logs each about 10 by 2 inches. Place a piece of parchment onto a baking sheet and place logs on sheet. Place in oven and bake 20 minutes until light golden brown and remove. Allow to cool 5 minutes and cut logs on a slight diagonal into pieces 1/2-inch thick. Lower heat to 300. Return cut biscotti to baking sheet, just a little bit apart from each other, and place in oven. Bake 20 minutes until crisp and dry. Remove from oven, place on cooling racks and 

drizzle with fondant; cool before serving.

Royal Icing Drizzle:
2 tablespoon dried egg whites
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons water
To make royal icing, mix all ingredients in small bowl until blended. Add a bit more water until achieving the right consistency to drizzle.

The cookies were such a success on Fat Tuesday that we ended up making a few others to send off to David. Brian was a big help that day as we baked another batch of peanut butter cookies, this time using Grandma Pitalo's recipe as well as a gluten free cream cheese bar. Since I had a new sous chef, I let Brian at it making a new specialty "coconut macaroons". They were amazingly delicious and fairly easy for him to make. He was even able to work on his egg separating skills! Here's the recipe for the macaroons:

Brian’s Coconut Cherry Macaroons

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/3 cup coconut flakes

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 maraschino cherries, drained

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for cherries and mix well. Using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop, drop mounds onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place cherry onto top of each cooky. Return to oven and bake for 5-7 minutes more or until just starting to brown on edges. Cool on wire rack. 

Makes 12 cookies

We ended up sending a large priority mail box full of cookies and lots of birthday love plus a couple of surprises. It was a very happy sounding second son when the phone rang on the day the package arrived. The fun part was that he shared the cookies not only with his sister but with a number of other students at school. What a joy it is to get to use a few of my baking skills (and Brian's) to make our college kids birthdays a bit more memorable. If you haven't baked any cookies in a while, now is a great time to bake and share. It might even be considered a small work of mercy!

Dealing with Empty-Nestness

How many times have you heard, "Enjoy them now, they'll be gone before you know it."? I know I've heard it a lot as I've raised my four kids. Never did I dream it would be the case for me. Well, this last month my husband and I joined the ranks of what is known as "empty nesters". That's right, all four of kids are away at school. I guess this makes us "mostly" empty nesters as they'll be home for Christmas and summer breaks. 

Lots of folks have told me how nice it'll be for Brian and I to have time together to do things we want or how much money we'd be saving once the last one goes. While that is true, no one mentions how you now need to do most of the chores yourself or how many leftovers you have because you've forgotten how to cook for just two or how it feels when it comes time for night prayer and you're the only one here to pray it. No one ever said how dinner time can end up being a quick 15 minutes because you and your spouse have had at least one or two other people at the table keeping up conversations for the past 25 years. And even though I knew it was coming, everyone forgot to mention just how quiet and lonely the house feels when you're the only one home. 

So now that's off my shoulders, what does one do to deal with the "empty nest syndrome"? I'm sure there are a ton of websites, books and even YouTube videos with advice, but I've decided to stay with the basics.

1) Pray. That's the first and foremost priority. Pray for your spouse. Pray for your kids. Pray for your extended family, your friends, the Church, the World. You can do this at home, at Mass, at Adoration. Just be sure you're doing it. 'Nuff said.

2) Love on your spouse. My husband has been doing an amazing job this last week showing this as I've been down with a viral thing causing me vertigo. I've actually been home from work for over a week. He's been making sure I'm keeping up on my meds, getting me tea and food, not to mention going to the salle today to be the "office guy" and doing my spot at Adoration tonight. Last night we talked about planning some specific things to do together, and the smile on his face when I suggested making homemade pasta was worth more than I could have imagined!

3) Fellowship with others. Plan a meal with another couple or family. Go to coffee with a friend. Join a Bible study or other group at church. Also be sure that you're serving in some capacity somewhere- church, a food bank, pregnancy center, etc. There are a lot of people out there needing a bit of help!

I guess I wrote this as a reminder for myself as much as sharing it with others. Let me know what other ideas you may have for getting ready and dealing with being an empty nester!