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Just wanted to let you know that the book is on sale at Ave Maria Press!
They just launched a new website so if you use the code NEWSITE, you get 25% off AND free shipping! :)
So go shop! This would be a good time to get copies to give out as early Lent gifts—aka, Christmas presents! :
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On the blog this week:
Meal trains rollin’ (Or: why don’t more churches do this?)
Quick note abut the Patreon post—it explains why I have on and what the money will be used for. I’m also doing a Patreon OPEN HOUSE through Monday (8/31), which means that you can see a preview of the content I’ll be sharing with patrons before you sign up.
If you are a member at the Meg ($10) or Jo ($20) level, you also get your name on the patron page here on the site!
OK that’s it. This has been a commercial advertisement. :)
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So I’m having gallbladder removal surgery on Thursday (9/3), and so before that, I have to have a COVID test! What joy what rapture! Given that my nasal passages are often assaulted with long objects (ENT, thanks!), this shouldn’t be too bad. The hardest part will be checking in because you have to call, but they also have a parking lot where you can just park and they’ll come out to you. So that will be on Monday.
After the test I am not allowed to leave my house or see anyone, which sort of makes things interesting…can I get my mail? I mean is that an issue? WHO KNOWS????
Also there probably won’t be a 7QT next week because, surgery. :) But I’ll post on SM to let everyone know I’m alive. :)
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In the time I’ll have to be in my house, though, I can probably make great strides on Patty’s baby blanket!
Here’s Miss Patty….she will be baptized on September 6!
LOOK at that gorgeous hair!!!
And here’s her blanket:
So you can see the whole color scheme now, and I really like it, so yay! I was sort of worried about the mauve and pink next to each other but it has all worked out and I really love these colors. I hope Miss Patty does too!
More details on the blanket in next week’s Yarn Along. :)
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I had an endo telehealth appointment this week yesterday. It was…OK. A big note has been placed in my chart telling people not to call me anymore, so that’s helpful, I hope people FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. :)
I got a lot of my questions answered. Things like, how close is too close together for insulin doses, do we want to change the evening long-acting insulin dose, and other things like that. Also, I now know—or have a better idea—of what constitutes a “bad thing” in diabetes world. With CF and transplant, I know. With diabetes, I had no idea. But now I have an idea of what to watch out for so that’s good.
There are still some questions that will get addressed when I have my education class(es—I think it’s two?) next month.
And since I’m Super Special, there were even questions that made the nurse go, “Hmm, I have to think about that.” So yes. I am so weird.
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Also the cardigan keeps chugging on, in knitting world. I’m really close to finishing the second sleeve and then I get to put all the pieces together! Squee!!!!
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Reading. Whooo boy do I have a lot of books right now. Some of them are for post-surgery recovery reading, because we know how that goes—this is a laparoscopic surgery, so it shouldn’t be that bad in terms of recovery, but with my body, who knows, so I’m prepared to take at least a week “off” and just laze around reading. I have The Good Earth, The Confession Club, Writers and Lovers, and The Story of Arthur Truluv. I’ve also got a bunch of Renee Fleming CDs to listen to.
What are you reading right now?
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And finally, speaking of books, Living Memento Mori has 30 Amazon reviews now! Yay! Those help so much in getting word out about a book, so thank you! Please keep reading and reviewing! (And also, do so on Goodreads!)
Like what you read here? Want to support my writing? Come check out my patreon!
“The Basket of Apples”, Cezanne
So a friend of mine, who is going through a lot right now, told me that people from her church had recently dropped off some meals for them.
She was really glad that they did this.
And this got me thinking. Why don’t we do this more often? Why are meal trains a thing that churches don’t do?
(At least, no parish I’ve ever belonged to has ‘done’ this, except for things like funeral luncheons.)
So I asked people on Twitter.
Most people would be interested in doing this—but their parish doesn’t currently do it.
Some reasons why?
LEGAL issues, amazingly. I hadn’t even thought of that. The idea that the parish had to have a clean kitchen that was up to code and all sorts of stuff.
And then this led me into another tangent: Why do we think it has to be “parish approved”?
I think one of the problems we run into these days is that everything has to be done by committee. We have to have plans and expenditures and charts and resolutions and PLANS.
Now I like a good plan. But for me, this seems like one of the simplest things ever.
1) Get a group of people together (via email/Facebook/whatever) that wants to serve the people in the community by providing meals. It can be for new parents, sick people in the family, deaths, whatever.
2) Publicize the idea. Put it in the bulletin or tell people that it exists. If your parish is anything like the ones I’ve belonged to, the parish information chain is a magical thing and people will just know who needs what—but get a contact email out there for people who are new!
3) People request meals, noting any allergies, of course.
4) People provide meals.
5) Repeat
Why does this have to be hard?
The parish doesn’t need to be involved at all—the people would make the meals in their own homes. It’s not under parish auspices. It’s just something that the people of the parish decide to do. There’s no money from the parish. Etc.
This seems like an easy way to “feed the hungry” in a way that I think gets missed. A lot of times people don ‘t need a food pantry. They need help, but it’s things like a few meals. Or maybe gift cards to groceries stories. They aren’t in the position to need long term help, but right now, they could use some help filling in the cracks.
I know in this time of COVID the idea of dropping off food and such can be….fraught.
But let’s make this happen. Let’s get together and provide this service to people who need it. If you think this is a good idea and you have the time, set it up in your parish.
Let’s be those hands and feet of Christ!
Interested in supporting my writing? Come be a patron on patreon!
So, after a lot of thinking, I’ve decided to launch a Patreon account.
What’s that?
Patreon is basically a modern-day version of the patronage artists, writers, and other creative folk used to get from the high-powered and wealthy members of society. Mozart had patrons. Michelangelo had patrons. The idea is that to create, you need income—and income isn’t always steady for creators! Especially since you have to buy things, or spend money, to make the art!
Essentially, my patreon will keep things going here. You do have to pay to have a website like mine—it’s not free. Then there’s all the hard and software needed to write, to get the word out, to create, in general. And then I have some medical expenses. The patreon money won’t mostly be used for that, I don’t think, because my insurance is reasonable (most of the time), but sometimes, not so much.
Of course if you are a blog subscriber, you will still get all the goodies you always get: my newsletter, discounts, fun things. Patreon members will get more, but different—it’ll mostly be focused on my creative side—the actual writing, behind the scenes sort of stuff.
I’m calling it Orchard House Studios, after the house in Little Women, and all the tiers are Little Women themed. :) Right now, they range from $3-$20 a month.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments!
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Hi, y’all!
So the big news is that I am having gallbladder surgery on September 3. This isn’t actual big news, per se. I mean, yeah, my gallbladder needs to come out, but this is more of “removing a thing that is annoying” vs. “removing something that will make me feel a lot better”, because it really doesn’t bother me that much. And seriously, when you’ve had pancreatitis as much as I’ve had it (at least 10 times), abdominal pain isn’t new. I’ve been dealing with it for 20 years now, and we can’t take out my pancreas. But it is nice to have an annoying thing taken care of, that’s for sure.
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Couple quick notes re: the blog!
I have a newsletter that goes out once a month to subscribers. Subscribers also get special discounts and other goodies. If you’re not a subscriber, fix that here.
Also if you would like a signed copy of Living Memento Mori—Christmas is coming, people!—email me. They’re $20 and that includes shipping, a bookmark, and a prayer card, both of which were specialyl designed by Ave Maria Press for the book!
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Was sad to see that the Cheers bar in Fanueil Hall Marketplace in Boston is closing—Dad and I went there after my Jeopardy! tryout in 2015.
Some snapshots:
It was a dang good burger! Dad basically ate Boston Clam Chowder whenever he could that weekend. :)
(Quick bit of Cheers and Emily medical history trivia: I was in the ER for a broken wrist the night of the Cheers finale. My softball team was in the playoffs and we’d been practicing. I played third base, and the left fielder and I got into a tussle about the ball. We both went for it, and my wrist hit the ground. I had CF at the time but we didn’t know it, so that’s probably why the wrist broke. But yes, I did play a sport, and we were undefeated in the regular season that year!)
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Speaking of exercise….I found this article to have some good tips. She’s definitely right about making it part of your routine. Starting last month I really focused on creating a good daily routine that works for me. Obviously, it’s still in progress, but this is what I do so far:
I prep the coffee and my insulin pens the night before—KEY. Even if I do nothing else before I go to bed in terms of cleaning or prep, I do this, because it makes the next morning go much more smoothly.
In the morning, I switch on the coffee and dose myself with insulin. I have to wait 10 minutes before breakfast (so the insulin can take effect) and while that’s happening…
I say lauds from the Liturgy of the Hours and read the daily Mass readings.
After that, 10 minutes is usually up, so I eat breakfast. While I eat breakfast I check my email and social media and do any blog or “business” stuff I want to do that day, like setting up the newsletter or updating a mailing list.
After that I do my duolingo—I’m learning Italian and Scottish Gaelic!
And after that, I exercise.
That’s my morning so far! After exercising it’s usually time for lectio, spiritual reading, or a bit of knitting before lunch. Sometimes this is where I do some cleaning/tidying too—I’ll start the dishes if they need it, or the laundry if it needs it.
(I’ll actually write more about this in an upcoming blog post, so keep your eyes peeled. :) )
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This piece, on Fanny Price and Mansfield Park, is basically a shorter version of my undergraduate thesis. Fanny is awesome and more people need to appreciate her! Read Mansfield Park!
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Patty’s blanket is moving along—I’m about done with the first set of four stripes, so YAY! I’ll. have some updated photos for you soon, I hope. :) I keep forgetting to take pictures!
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Have you gone back to Mass/church yet? How is it? I’m thinking about going back because honestly I MISS IT!
Garter Graffiti shawl—Ravelry notes here
So, before we get to #emilyknitsacardigan progress, here’s some finished objects!
The first is the Garter Graffiti shawl, featured above, and here’s a closer look at the design:
I loved the yarn. I’d used the Mad Hatter speckled tea party yarn before in another shawl, but the Snowdrop yarn, which is the purple, is amazing. It’s 45% Alpaca, 45% merino, and 10% silk, and it’s wonderful to work with! I ended up with more yarn than the pattern called for and actually ended up using only one skein of the purple (called “ Piece of Rudeness”, isn't that great? They all have Alice In Wonderland inspired names), so I have a whole skein left and I’ll have to ponder what to do with it, because it’s great. Highly recommend!
This is also a great project for a beginner. It’s a great way to learn color work, and the only “tricky” stitch is a KFB (knit front and back) at the beginning of every row. This is a stitch I’ve used a lot in shawl making, so it’s a good one to pick up!
The second is the Puck Scarf, which I made for my friend Kathleen, using Quince’s Ospery in Peaks Ferry. If you’re an OSU fan, this would be great for a Scarlet and Gray themed item, because it’s bright scarlet! The only thing I do differently here is I weave in the ends (why are ends loose, Quince pattern people???)
OK so, onto #emilyknitsacardigan!
The first sleeve is completed, and the second is in progress!
(Ravelry notes here)
I’m glad that I get to do the second sleeve because I can use what I learned from the first one! After this sleeve, it’s on to mattress stitching the pieces together, and then picking up the collar, which you can see here:
From Home and Away
I really like how the cuffs and collar have the garter stitch detail; I think that adds something special to the overall project.
One tip I’d have for a big project like this: print out a clean copy of the pattern or make a copy from the pattern book, so that you can mark it up and make notes and HIGHLIGHT your measurements! It can be confusing seeing all the numbers, so I highlighted the ones for my size so that I knew what to do. I also made notes on the different stitches I needed to do and wrote out how to do them, and other notes as I went along.
And the other project in progress is a baby blanket for my goddaughter Patty!
The pattern is Quince and Co’s Sully, using their willet yarn (which is a Cleaner Cotton, which is better for the environment!) I chose colors haze, regatta, sail, and bowsprit, because I wanted some feminine colors, but ones that weren’t too juvenile, so that she could hold on to this blanket for awhile.
So here you see Haze (the strawberry ice cream pink) with regatta. I really love this pattern and I hope Patty likes it! (Not that she’ll be expressing an opinion for awhile yet!)
Happy Feast of St. Dominic!
Here are some links regarding Dominican life I’ve written over the years:
St. Dominic, The Innkeeper, and Twenty-First Century Preaching (which I wrote last year, but is super relevant right now!)
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Hi! Tomorrow is St. Dominic’s Day! YAYYYY!
The Virgin Mary with St. Dominic and St. Hyacinth
So pray the rosary today, because the DOMINICANS GOT IT FROM MARY. :) One of the reasons I love being a Dominican!
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Sometimes I talk about bioethics here. Today is a crash course.
One of the things I get a lot of is, “Does the Church [The Catholic Church] permit organ transplants and organ donation?”
Quick answer: Yes.
“What about from brain dead people?” (aka, neurological criteria)
Answer: yes
This…is a point of contention for some Catholics.
The National Catholic Bioethics Center talks about this all in detail. Here, to make it one-stop shopping, I am listing the following for you!:
organ donation: Church documents, Ethics & Medics, FAQ and Summaries, podcasts, Press Releases and News, Statements, book store items
the most important, and probably useful thing, to most of you, is this: FAQ On the Determination of Death Using Neurological Criteria.
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So, if you don’t want to read all that…..cut and paste!
What is brain death?
“Brain death” refers to the medical judgment that a person is dead, determined by neurological criteria. Properly diagnosed, brain death means the complete cessation of all organized neurological activity throughout the entire brain, including the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. When all brain activity has ceased, the body irrevocably ceases to function as a unified whole. The appropriate phraseology here is “the determination of death using neurological criteria.”
It is appropriate to use this criteria?
The customary criteria for determining death are "cardio-pulmonary," i.e., death is declared after breathing and heart-beat cease. Technological advancements in critical care, however, have made continued circulation and respiration possible through mechanical means even after brain function has ceased. The use of neurological criteria for the determination of death can be legitimate according to the Catholic Church. In an address he gave to the [18th International Conference of Organ Transplant Specialists][1] in August 2000, Pope Saint John Paul II observed that their application, if rigorous, “does not seem to conflict with the essential elements of a sound anthropology.” He further stated that “a health-worker professionally responsible for ascertaining death can use these criteria in each individual case as the basis for arriving at that degree of assurance in ethical judgement which moral teaching describes as ‘moral certainty.’ This moral certainty is considered the necessary and sufficient basis for an ethically correct course of action.” Neurological criteria consist of three basic signs: deep coma or unarousable unresponsiveness, absence of cerebral and brain stem reflexes, and apnea. Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II both said the Church has no competency in determining death; this properly belongs to medical science. [1]: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2000/jul-sep/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20000829_transplants.html
Can a Catholic receive an organ transplant?
Yes, a faithful Catholic may receive organs from a donor who is declared dead by neurological criteria. A faithful Catholic may also make provisions for the donation of his own organs in the event of his death whether it is determined by cardio-pulmonary or neurological criteria. Reasonable doubts about the rigor with which the determination of death would be made, however, may warrant caution.
Now, note that last part. In some places, like China, organ harvesting takes place in, um, less that salubrious ways. (To put it REALLY mildly.) So yeah, if you’re in a. place where there was be questions about this…..then yes. You can ask. You can say you don’t want a transplant.
I can say, myself, that if the Church said no to transplants, I would not have gotten one. Full stop. End of discussion. I’m dead serious. (Really, dead serious, because I would’ve…been dead! Oh, my black humor sometimes.)
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OK I think we’re done with the serious now. :) But yes, the Church, like the rabbi said in Fiddler on the Roof, has a position on everything! :)
(In Fiddler, it’s, “Rabbi, Is there a blessing for the Czar?” “There is a blessing for everything my son!…May God bless and keep the czar….far away from us!” )
Check the Catechism. In fact, you do have a Catechism at home, right????? (Because seriously, you should.)
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I didn’t do a yarn along this week, but next week! Yarn! But here’s a peek at Patty’s baby blanket….
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If you want a signed book, email me; they’re $20 and include a book mark, prayer card, AND shipping! It’s time to start thinking about Christmas! :) :) I also have an ebook!
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Book club is still happening! My BGLs have been nuts so it’s sort of thrown off the schedule, but it you want to jump in, you can! All the previous videos are on my Facebook page. On Tuesday we’ll be meeting at 3:00 EST!
