+JMJ+

And just like, we are about to greet 2025. 

Greetings everyone! It has been a hot minute since I have been here. It is New Years Eve, and it's a yearly tradition to do a wrap up. While there hasn't been much activity here this year, it's great to look back. So, shall we?

General Update

2024 has been a WILD year, y'all. 

The year began under a cloud, as my company had announced that layoffs were on the horizon. This unfortunately became a reality in March. 

In February, I joined a writer's Discord server, which changed my life....in more than one way. More than that in a minute. 

In May, I became a godmother to a friend's baby. I was super surprised that she had picked me and it was one of the biggest blessings of the year. 

During the spring, it became apparent that I was going to need surgery to correct an ovarian cyst that I had been dealing with for over three years. This happened at the end of June, and the relief afterwards has been wonderful. 

In June also, I entered into a relationship with a wonderful young man. After courting for about four months, he asked me to marry him on October 11. 

The end of the year has been earmarked with wedding planning, travels and....the occasional crafting 🤣. 

Recapping 2024 Goals

Finish processing my gray wool

While I have made some progress in this, I still have a significant ways to go. I have about half a gallon bag's worth of wool to card and....a whole lot of carded wool left to spin.

I now have about 5 huge balls of grey wool yarn that I can work with. Still want to see how much I end up with before I start any projects with it. 

Make a set of scrappy placemats (a destash project) 

I.... started this and ended up calling a halt. I made several Ohio Star blocks, but weren't 100% happy with how they turned out. So I decided to temporarily abandon the project until I figure out what to do with them. 

Continue working on mums afghan and floral wreath embroidery projects

I did make some progress on both, but much more on the floral wreath. It is nearly finished! I will likely finish it early next year. 

Completely reorganize my crafting spaces

I'm not entirely sure what I was going for with this goal. I did some reorganizing, but everything is still functionally the same. 

Looking forward to 2025

Normally, this would the section that I would put the goals I have for the new year. 

However, my life is taking a different direction in 2025. In May, I will be married to the love of my life. This means moving to a new place, and a new way of life. It is a sea of uncharted waters for me. As such, I don't have any set goals right now. 

With things so uncertain, I believe it's time to stop blogging for now. I haven't been keeping up with it for nearly a year. So I am going to bid this blog goodbye. It has been a wonderful run and I will keep it online for as long as I have this account. If you would like to keep up with my adventures, follow my Instagram (@catherine.fem.writer). 

And that wraps up 2024! I wish everyone a blessed new year and I hope to catch you in another corner of the interwebs. 

God bless, 

Catherine 

 Greetings and salutations! 

I have experimenting in the kitchen again, and for once, it's not to make a dessert!

Calamari is one of the few types of seafood that I can eat. I developed an allergy to shellfish when I was a child, much to my chagrin. Yet it's a foodstuff that I don't have much experience cooking. This recipe would only be my second time using the whole calamari, rather than the precooked breaded variety. 

My first attempt had been an Italian stuffed calamari recipe. Which was super good but took me three times as long to make as it should have. So for my second try, I decided to go for something a little, a lot simpler. And in my search on Pinterest, I came across a recipe for a spicy Chinese-style stir fry which sounded right up my alley. 

Original recipe that I adapted from: https://omnivorescookbook.com/spicy-squid-stir-fry/. 

The only trouble was....I didn't have half of the ingredients. Chinese cuisine is usually something I buy, not something I cook, lol. My family is also not much into spicy stuff anyway.

So, I improvised with the ingredients I had, made some substitutions and the results came out absolutely amazing! 

The only thing that didn't really work was...how I cut the calamari. The original recipe had said to split and score them and that they would curl up. Mine didn't do that, and those tubes were kinda big to get the mouth around. And nothing is worse than trying to chew a slightly rubbery squid tube that's too big for the mouth. So I highly recommend cutting the tubes into pieces for easier eating. 

Sweet Squid Stir Fry Recipe: 

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

3 10.6 oz packages of frozen PenaPesca calamari tubes and tentacles, thawed.

Cooking sherry 

2-3 bell peppers, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Sauce:

1/3 cup water

1/6 cup Kikoman Sweet Soy Sauce

2 tsp sesame seeds

1- 1 1/2 tsp cumin

1- 1 1/2 tsp ginger powder

2 tsp corn starch

Directions:

1. Chop calamari tubes into wide rings or strips. Marinate tube pieces and tentacles in cooking sherry and set aside. 

2. Caramelize bell pepper and onion pieces over medium heat. Add minced garlic towards end. 

3. Combine sauce ingredients into bowl. Stir occasionally to keep contents from settling. 

4. Remove calamari from the marinade. Saute calamari on high for a few minutes, drain as needed. 

5. Combine veggies, calamari and sauce, cook on medium for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. 

6. Remove from heat and serve immediately with white rice. 

Recently, I watched the movie Cabrini in theaters. I was quite impressed with it as a whole, and I highly recommend everyone to see it. 

But what struck the most about the movie was not the slight "feminist" overtones or the perceived lack of faith elements that most people point out. 

It was how Mother Cabrini carried the cross of chronic illness.  One line in particular struck me hard:

"We can serve our weakness, or we can serve our purpose. We cannot do both." ~ Cabrini

While this could be dismissed as a sort of parallel to the "cannot serve two masters" proverb from Holy Scripture, when shared in the light of chronic illness, it takes in a whole new meaning. 

I am no stranger to chronic illness or pain. Migraines, tensions headaches, nausea, pelvic pain, and shoulder/rib pain have been my companions for nearly ten years now. Sometimes the pain flares are so bad that it's hard to function. I now require a surgery, which will hopefully give me a diagnosis and relief for some of the pain. 

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "I'm tired."

When we struggle with chronic illness -whether it be physical or mental - burnout is not only common, but can be very painful. We self-isolate and struggle on our own because we don't want to inflict that pain on others. 

Lately, I have been rather annoyed with people who tell us to be generous with God and neighbor. And yes, that's a symptom of my own selfishness. I feel as though I have nothing to give because I've given so much away these last five years and received less than I thought due (yet, the Lord is more than generous with me!)

When faced with this, the world tells us to rest, to take care of ourselves. 

But this is not what Mother Cabrini does. 

In the movie, Mother Cabrini is seen pursuing children that she wishes to being to her orphanage. She has a tuberculosis flare, which leaves her struggling to breathe. These flares continue to pop up through the course of the movie, threatening to destroy her. 

Yet, she does not stop. 

This doesn't mean that she doesn't go slow on occasion, or actively avoids medical attention. Nor is she afraid of delegating tasks. She's also wise enough to keep preparing her sisters for her eventual death, by encouraging leadership among themselves. 

The important thing is that she does not stop.

Because of the flares, there is a theme among wiser folks - doctors, superiors, etc. - always advising Mother Cabrini to cut back, to rest, to "stay where you are." 

Yet in a conversation with Vittoria at the well, Mother Cabrini gives this startling quote. 

"When I rest, that's when the dying begins" ~ Cabrini

This line was proven later when Cabrini comes back from a meeting with the Italian Senate, and she tells her sisters she needs to rest. Immediately afterwards, Mother Cabrini's health and mental well-being reaches a low point. But she is pushed by Vittoria to pick up the cross again, reminded of how strong she truly is. 

Ironically, I related to this in my own life. When I decided to cut back on my activities this past year, my physical health had a minor improvement. But my mental health didn't fare as well. My writing suffered a similar fate. But surrounding myself with a strong active community, both in the writing and in my personal life, has pushed me to want to be more active. And I'm extremely grateful for that. 

I want to stress that this is not a condemnation of rest in general. No human can keep a sustained amount of energy without being replenished. 

What I condemn, however, is sloth. 

The attitude of "I can't fast because it makes me weak."

The attitude of "I can't exercise because it hurts too much."

The attitude of "I can't wake up on time, my body doesn't cooperate". 

I got news for you. It will never cooperate. It's flesh, it has desires of it's own. You - your inner soul - will need to triumph over that. 

Your body actually reserves 60% of it's energy sources during exercise. It's a survival mechanism. Your body can be stretched much more than you think it can. But YOU need to make that decision to take control. Your will needs to be on top, rather than your body. 

Watching Mother Cabrini stare at the mirror, drawing up strength to fulfill the day's tasks is not just a relatable thing. It's a source of inspiration. Her chronic illness was her cross, and our chronic illnesses are ours. 

Do not stop fulfilling your purpose...even if you fall under the weight of your cross for a moment. Pick it up again, and follow Christ. 

God bless, 

Catherine Hawthorn