Seven Quick Takes: Royal Wedding Cake, Patty, and movies!

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OK because I am a Royal Family NUT (I am, if you do not know this about me), I was very happy for Prince William and Katherine as they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary yesterday!

Look at this adorable video!

But something even better than a video? CAKE.

Namely, the groom’s cake that Prince William had at his wedding reception.

Courtesy of Darren McGrady, one of the queen’s former chefs (he also cooked for Princess Diana and Princes William and Harry at Kensington Palace after her divorce), shows us how to make it, and it’s FOUR INGREDIENTS!

(You will need a 6”x 2” cake ring, though. I’m getting this one.)

Happy anniversary, Your Highnesses, and many more!

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Yesterday was also St. Catherine of Siena’s feast day, and you can read all about her in a post I wrote a few years ago!

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Patty is TEN MONTHS OLD TODAY.

She likes to blow raspberries!

I mean how is this possible she’s so big, she is STANDING UP now!

She likes swings, baths, kolaches, most food, her siblings, and…food. :)

I swear when I see her I will kiss her face off.

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I watched a few movies this week! I used to do movie reviews pretty regularly, so I’ll do a few here for you.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, based on the August Wilson play of the same name, is on Netflix right now, and was nominated for several Oscars, including best actress (Viola Davis as Ma Rainey) and best actor (Chadwick Boseman, in his last role). The play focuses on one day in Chicago in the 1920s, when Ma Rainey and her band are recording an album at the behest of her white manager. I learned, in researching this, that Denzel Washington has a contract with Netflix to produce all of the plays in Wilson’s Century Cycle (also called the Pittsburgh cycle) as movies for Netflix. The first one in the series was Fences, starting Washington and Davis, and was also Oscar-nominated, with Viola Davis winning Best Supporting Actress for her work as Washington’s wife.

Ma Rainey is an intense film, with the tension rising right from the start. Levee, played by Boseman, is a member of Ma’s band, but he doesn’t want to play her music the way it’s always been done—he wants to rearrange it and make it faster and hotter. He has a sort of jittery energy that parlays into deep pain and pathos as the story moves on. The other members of the band are older men, well-seasoned musicians who know what they have to do to get along in a world that’s run by white people. Their interactions make up most of the film and you can tell that the dialogue is adapted from a play, because it’s melodic, dense, and intricate.

Davis, in the movie for less than a half-hour, hits all the right notes (and I’m not trying to make a pun) as the titular band leader. When she arrives late to the session, the energy revs up, and so does the tension.

I don’t want to give away the plot, but the performances are searing. Boseman, in particular, delivered two monologues that are so wide-ranging in color and tone, and so intense, that you have no choice but to watch him. I really felt like I was in theater during those scenes. He really is the highlight of the entire movie.

The film won two Oscars, for costume design and for makeup.

Chadwick Boseman (Levee), front, with the band members (l-r: Glynn Turman [Toledo], Michael Potts [Slow Drag], and Colman Domingo (Cutter).

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The Heiress came out in 1949 and stars Olivia de Havailland (Melanie in Gone With the Wind) in an Oscar winning performance. Based on Henry James’ novel Washington Square, The Heiress tells the story of plain, awkward—but very wealthy—New Yorker Catherine Sloper, who would rather spend time on her embroidery than on polishing her social graces. This continually frustrates her father, Dr. Sloper (Ralph Richardson), who cannot believe that Catherine is the daughter of his ‘perfect’ wife, who died when Catherine was small. (Of course no one can measure up to the picture of his wife that he has in his head). His casual cruelty toward his daughter is like a razor, cutting any self-esteem or confidence she has to shreds.

Things come to a head when, at a party, Catherine meets Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), a young man who takes interest in her in a way no man has before. But her father forbids her to marry Morris, saying that he’s only after her money. Is he? Or has Catherine found true love?

Again, no spoilers here, but De Havilland’s performance is incredible. I wish that it was in color so we could really appreciate Edith Head’s costumes, but they’re also gorgeous in black and white. I love De Havilland in Gone With the Wind, but I’d never seen any of her other movies, so I really wanted to see this one.

Montgomery Clift (Morris) and Olivia de Havilland (Catherine) in The Heiress.

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A Little Chaos (2014). While going through my Netflix queue, I saw that I had this, and thought, eh, what the heck? I am so glad I watched it! Directed by Alan Rickman (who also stars as the French King Louis XIV), the story focuses on the construction of the gardens around the palace of Versailles. He chooses landscape architect Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) to supervise the planning. Surprisingly, Le Notre chooses Madame Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) as one of the designers, assigning her the task of creating an outdoor ballroom, with fountains and landscaping.

This sounds….like an odd premise for a film, right? But in Rickman’s hands it is enchanting. There are so many good actors in even small roles, including Jennifer Ehle, who plays one of the king’s mistresses, Stanley Tucci, who plays Duke Philippe, the king’s brother, and Helen McCrory as Madame Le Notre (McCrory sadly just passed away from cancer—you might know her as Mrs. Malfoy in the Harry Potter films) Watching Winslet and Rickman interact in a scene in the garden, where the mourning king is mistaken for a gardener by Winslet, is one of the best scenes in the film. (I mean, Sense and Sensibility reunion!)

Winslet and Rickman in one of the Versailles gardens.

I’d never seen a film that Rickman directed, and based on this he was delightful director. The film has a delicate storyline, focusing on love, loss, and relationships (with a gorgeous score). Schoenaerts, who I’d never seen before, is a wonderful actor. His scenes with Winslet shine.

(And gosh it made me miss Alan Rickman!)

Sabine de Barra (Kate Winslet) and Madame de Montespan (Jennifer Ehle) at Fontainebleau.

It’s a hidden gem of a film, really lovely to watch and think about.

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And on that note—-have a lovely weekend! Watch some movies and read some books! :)

Seven Quick Takes: A Little Rambly

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Hello, All!

It’s been a big week over here—my book is a finalist for the Association of Catholic Publishers’ Excellence in Publishing Award (General Interest Category!)

I am obviously very pleased and very proud about this. :) The winners are revealed in June so I will let you know what happens!

Of course if you have not bought your copy, um, do so! This is the Amazon link, but if you want to buy from a non-Amazon source, go here.

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The other post from this week:

The Massive Birthday Yarn Along!

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This week’s Patty:

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OK so a little ramble on something that’s been bothering me.

I really, really do not like that we assume the worst of people in online discussions. If someone dislikes something, s/he is immediately a bigot or worse. We assume the absolute worst of people, and this has to stop.

One of the best pieces of homily wisdom I’ve ever heard is that we should assume the best of people until (and unless) we know otherwise. If a waitress is giving bad service, for example, she might be having a really crappy day. If someone is short-tempered, they might be feeling sick. Etc.We really should give people the benefit of the doubt and this especially applies to assuming that people are engaging in sinful activity (ie, being a bigot, etc.).

We cannot have discussion and the exchange of ideas if people are afraid to say what they think because they’ll be called bigots or haters or what not. Now, granted, some people actually are these things. But can we wait until we see the in the discussion instead of assuming it of people? Can we assume the best of each other and not the worst?

And yes, to reiterate the point: some folks are jerks and once we know they’re jerks, we can proceed accordingly. :) But until we know that….can we hold off assuming the worst of everyone?

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I’m going to be a lector at my parish! I have my training after the 5:00 PM Mass tomorrow and I am excited. I’ve always wanted to be a lector and now I am! Yay!

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Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden, which ended the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 and, essentially, ended the clans and Highland way of life. If you’re an Outlander fan you know a ton about Culloden already, but if you’re not, always a good idea to know more history!

(Also, Outlander fans, did you see that Book 9 is available to pre-order?!??!)

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What are you doing this weekend? Is the weather lovely where you re? Spring is sprung here and I love seeing all the tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and trees coming into bud and bloom!

Living Memento Mori Is an Award Finalist!

I am insanely happy to announce that Living Memento Mori has been named a finalist in the Association of Catholic Publishers Excellence in Publishing Awards! Publishers submit books to the ACP and the finalist list was just announced. The winners will be announced in June.

I am thrilled to be a finalist (just like all the Oscar nominees say, it’s an honor to be nominated—because it is). My book is in the “general interest” category. Here’s the entire slate of nominees in the category:

You can see the entire list here, as well as click on links to find out more about each book and purchase it.

Thank you to Ave Maria Press for submitting my book! (And thanks to all of you for reading it! :) )

The Massive Birthday Yarn Along!

OK folks, settle in for a nice, long YARN ALONG!

There is so much going on here!

First project: Whatever the Weather Knit Along (KAL)

This project has been going all year! I’ve been loving it. Every month there is a different stitch pattern, and the color of the day is determined by the high temperature. Ravelry notes here.

Here you can see February (some of it) and March, as well as a seasonal marker (the lace) in Kerfuffle, one of the shades I haven’t used (yet). The pattern said to use one of the colors you haven’t used or haven’t used much, so I chose the coldest temperature color (-2!). April has seen the addition of a new color, “ablaze”, which is a really pretty pink-coral (which you’ll see next month!)

You could choose to make a scarf, a wrap, or a blanket, and I chose the wrap size. I’ll try to get a photo for you of how it looks as a whole, as opposed to just this little bit.

Second Project: Riverwild Quiviut Scarf

Ravelry notes here

So there’s a story about this one.

Last fall, a twitter friend sent me a big box of yarns she wasn’t going to use. At the time I briefly looked through the box but put it aside to dig into more carefully later. That time didn’t come until last week—bad me—and I was looking through and deciding wht yarns would be good for which projects, I found a tiny cake of QUIVIUT yarn.

This is yarn from a musk ox. It being from a musk ox—aka, a very large, very strong animal—it’s hard to get and is expensive. I had never thought I’d actually knit with it because it’s, well, expensive. It’s softer than cashmere!

So I double-checked with my friend to makes sure that, indeed, she meant to send this little jewel to me, and she did. Wow!

Now I had to find a project worthy of this yarn. I found this one, because the yarn was just crying out for lace, and I like the pattern very much. It’s simple, repeated over 12 rows 27 times. I’ve been working it in sets of 12, so I have two repeats done so far.

It’s a project that I’m taking my time on, which is just fine!

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So let’s talk about BIRTHDAY YARN!

These weren’t actually gifts—they were bought with birthday money people sent me. :)

First up is “London”, from Frabjous Fibers and Wonderland Yarns. They do a wonderful “around the world” series of yarns, which each month having a different country/city/region as the focus. Past destinations have included Egypt, Japan, China, India, Jerusalem, New Zealand, and New England.

At first, I wasn’t thrilled with this yarn, even though I love London, because it seems too dark brown and sort of boring. WRONG. When I got it in person, it is a rich chocolate/coffee brown! It’s their “Lory” yarn base, which is DK weight and 100% Superwash Merino (280 yds per skein).

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I’ll be using it in the pattern that came with the yarn, called the Pub Crawl Cowl. It features some different stitch patterns and will be a great thing to wear in the fall!

Second is some beautiful Nua Sport for a Twining Wrap.

This is the “figment” color way. This yarn is so fun—it’s mohair/yak (!)/linen blend. There’s also a worsted weight, but this is the sport. I don’t like knitting with straight linen but I love it in blends!

This wrap will take awhile—the pattern is fairly complicated, at least it looks complicated to me right now! But since I love this yarn I do not mind. :)

Third and Fourth come from the Loops Yarn store in Tulsa. They are responsible for the fabulous Knit Stars series of online knitting summits, which have done so much for my knitting skills!

The first two (going from the left) are for a lovely cowl called, well, “co.wl” :) When Loops knit it up, they made it smaller than the pattern calls for, and it’s SO pretty!

From the Loops website

I mean look at that! So they were selling a kit of the two colors, which I got: Robin’s Egg and Dandelion. It’s just such a phenomenal combination! And I’ll get to learn fisherman’s rib!

The last yarn is Loops “house” yarn, Luxe Royal Alpaca. It comes in four color ways (Luxe Natural, Loops Blue, Luxe Charcoal, Luxe Perfectly Pink, and Luxe Light Grey) sold in a pack of three. There are a few patterns I can make with this so I’m considering. They’re all fairly simple, which is nice because sometimes you just want a simple project, right? I don’t see them on Ravelry right now so I can’t link to them, but they’re all variations on cowls or scarves. Obviously I had to start with the Loops Blue. I can see myself working all four patterns with this yarn over time in various colors, or even trying some other patterns. We’ll see!

And of course it being my birthday, there were also books.

The two knitting books are Tudor Roses and Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitter’s Almanac. Tudor Roses is gorgeous—the designs are based off the royal women of the Tudor court—but complex. I might make one or two of them but I just love looking through it!

I haven’t read any Elizabeth Zimmerman, and I know that she’s An Authority in the knitting world, so I picked up her almanac as well. It has a project for every month of the year, as well as tips and notes about what’s going on in her life at the time, so it’s sort of journal-ish as well.

My friend Andrea sent me the Little Library Cookbook, which I am about to dive into (cooking-wise, I mean). It’s so lovely and the recipes are delicious sounding. My parents got me Dark Tides, which is the second book in Gregory’s Fairmile series. In the Name of the Rose and How To Be A Tudor were also gifts from them after we had birthday lunch!

Finally we have Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man, which wasn’t really a birthday gift—I bought it for myself—but it came the day before my birthday so it belongs on the pile. :) This is the Ignatius Press edition which I got right from their website. (Amazon doesn’t always have the “nicest” editions of books, and I wanted a nice edition of this one!)

So the is the massive pile of books and yarn which will keep me busy for, oh, a month? :) (just kidding)

What are you reading/knitting/making right now?

Seven Quick Takes--BIRTHDAY EDITION!!!!

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IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

via GIPHY

I get really excited about my birthday, mostly because I wasn’t supposed to be 39. I was supposed to be dead by now, and I really LIKE NOT BEING DEAD. (even though, yes, #mementomori. :) )

Next year I will be FORTY! And I am flabbergasted by this. I actually want to turn 40. So let’s hope I get to do it! :) You can always ask me how old I am.

Remember everyone that being alive is a gift, and so is getting older! (Really, it is!)

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Links from this week:

A guest post I wrote on the Catholic perspective on organ donation

EASTERRRRR

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Birthday plans involve going shopping and having lunch with my parents, and then dinner with my brother, and then cake and such at my parents after dinner. It will be a fun and full day, unlike last year where it was just my parents and I and it was the first time I had seen them in a month. There were birthday hugs and I loved them.

Hugs are good.

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I completely forgot to do a Yarn Along this week! Bad me! But there will be one this coming Wednesday so you can see progress on the Whatever the Weather KAL and fun birthday yarn things. :) And also there is SO MUCH BIRTHDAY YARN and so many KNITTING BOOKS that I just have to share them. So a super special yarn along!

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I am really thankful for a lot of things. For turning 39, obviously.

For this little girl

And her whole family….

For going to SEE THEM this summer!!!!!!

For my vaccinations

for my great doctors who keep the entire machine going :)

for my book’s first birthday

For all of you reading this!

via GIPHY

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One of my hockey teams is doing OK. One of them is not. So we’re batting about .500 there. My baseball team, as usual, is not doing well. Ah, sports.

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And….did I mention it’s my birthday? :)

via GIPHY

Have a great Friday!!!!

What does the Catholic Church say about organ donation?

I wrote a guest post for my friend Kelly about what the Church says about organ donation, and some tips for parents whose child/children might be facing a transplant in the future!

He Is Risen!

Fra Angelico “Resurrection” (one of many he did!)

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter everyone!

Patty had a very good easter…. (her first!)

When she wasn’t giving her oldest brother the Glare of Death for waking her up….

Apparently he made a VERY LOUD NOISE that WOKE UP THE PRINCESS. She was not pleased.

Whether you were back in church, or watched from home, I hope that you had a joyous Easter Day—which in the Catholic Church is still continuing—and that you remember to celebrate the Resurrection for fifty days!

Easter is a season! Living liturgically is a great gift and I want us all to make the best of it by actually living the liturgy!

So after 40 days of fasting and penance, we have 50 days of party!

I was so glad to get back to church.

Holy Thursday is one of my favorite Masses of the year.

Before Holy Thursday Mass—the beginning of the Triduum, the holiest three days of the year.

We didn’t have the washing of the feet this year—I’m wondering if that had to do with COVID stuff—but it was beautiful Mass, especially the singing of the Tantum Ergo, which is special to Dominicans anyway because it was written by St. Thomas Aquinas (OP).

There’s also adoration after the Mass in the “place of repose”—where the Sacrament is taken out of the main church to another room. My parish had adoration until 10 PM. I went home well before that, said compline, and then read Jesus’ “great and final discourse” from the Gospel of John (John 14-17) .

Hear more solo chant from Donna Stewart: https://www.mignarda.com/cds/index.html ANDhttps://mignarda.bandcamp.com/album/adoro-te-gregorian-chant-hymns-maria...

Good Friday my parish had two services, one t 3 PM and one at 7. It’s. service, not a Mass, because there’s no sacrifice of the Mass on Good Friday. The priest consecrated enough hosts on Thursday for Thursday and Friday.

The fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets His Mother

Since I was born on Good Friday I really love Good Friday service. I hope that next year I’ll be reading the First Reading from Isaiah at the service!

After Good Friday Mass I go home and watch The Passion of the Christ. The rest of the day is pretty quiet and I try to go to bed early.

On Holy Saturday there is no Mass until the Vigil, which I attended with my parents. It started at 8:30 and we were out by about 10:45, which led to the annual blasting of the Hallelujah Chorus:

WHEWWW!

And then yesterday my parents went out and had dinner together. And I got lots of cute pictures of Patty and her siblings!

(And Patty is CRAWLING NOW!)

So that was my Holy Week. How was yours? Let me know!

I am so, so, SO glad to be back at Mass. Have I mentioned that?