Now, where was I?

Oh yes....day of the anniversary gets here. I think I mentioned in the last post that there was a nice snowstorm outside, so all of us were stuck at home, right?

Not that I sat around and twiddled my thumbs and fumed for most of the day....okay maybe only half a day.

In the early afternoon, I mixed up what was called a Silver White Cake. I broke down and used the mixer even (even though I hate using that thing, I'm a hand mixer to to the day I die...). I even made some frosting (we didn't have enough store frosting....yet another thing we never picked up.)

Everything went smoothly with the cake, and it got stuck into the oven.

Then the realization hits us at 2 pm...as one of the boys asks what are we going to do for dinner...that we realize that Mom and Dad were going to be stuck at home due to the snow.

Talk about an "Oh crap" moment. We did NOT plan for this. Now what in the world were we going to do? No way were we pulling the quick meal option, not that day?! 

Now, it providentially was my brother Tyler's turn to cook dinner that night. Tyler, while a good cook, is still a novice in the kitchen. But, with my mom out of the kitchen, we had a fighting chance.

So Tyler and I made a fast scour through the deep freezer and the pantry. We found a leg of lamb (Mom's favorite), an old recipe for a fancy macaroni casserole, enough vegetables for a salad, and even some biscuit mix.

After we shoved the lamb in the oven, I moved to get the cake out of the pans.

And what do you know.

The durned thing stuck to the pans.

I cried. Cause a stuck cake spelled disaster and crumbs everywhere. It was right about then that I texted Matthew at college with the following exchange:

yeah...I may have been a little stressed out that day.

Mommy came to the rescue though, and managed to save the cake from being a major earthquake (thank heavens for the motherly talent of fixing things!!). Once the cake was safely deposited in the cake tray with minimal frosting cover, I set it aside to juggle macaroni, cheese and biscuit dough.

Somehow, between Tyler and I, we managed to cram all the prepping and cooking for the dinner in 3 hours without any major catastrophes....which was a miracle in itself.... 

In the meantime, my other brothers Anthony and Robert made themselves useful by cleaning up the kitchen and helping me set up the table with a new cloth and napkins. I even opened new white taper candles.

We cleaned up a little, put on some better clothes and all sat down to dinner, complete with soda for the boys and blueberry schnapps for Mom and I. (Boy did I need that schnapps....).

After dinner, I finished icing the cake. The roses were a bit of a pain - blasted frosting was very cantankously warm. I practically had to freeze it in order to get it to shape. But in all, I was very happy the way it came out.

why does it look PINK in the camera?? I assure you, it was cream. Buttercream, to be exact

So, the day ended well. We told Mom and Dad that their presents were coming, and no one was the wiser.

In the three days afterwards, I finally got the greeting card, deposited the rest of the cash in the bank and got the picture of the silver pattern. It turned out to be a pattern that had a fair selection of pieces in stock, to my relief.

In a phone conversation with Matthew, we picked 2 silver napkin rings and placed the order. Processing took about 4 days and shipping took another 5. All of us kids were on pins and needles waiting for that package to come.

But it finally did. I'm sure I looked like an idiot when I shouted for joy in my pine sappy vest and dirty skirt (I was pruning a pine tree earlier that afternoon.....) when I saw it in the mailbox.

From there, it got opened and rewrapped - with the order slip safely stored away where my dad won't find it, LOL.



And so, two weeks late, Mom and Dad finally received their silver anniversary gifts from us kids: a $25 restaurant gift card and 2 silver napkin rings. Complete with official greeting card, and unofficial note attached to the rings...with missing words and everything. *facepalm* You'd think a writer like me could actually write a note to a present with proper English...

And so completes my tale of the disastrous 25th Anniversary celebration scrape that I got myself into. My dear friends, please learn from my mistakes and plan ahead...at least a month in advance. And have a contingency plan in case you deal with a snow storm.

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine

Hey y'all!

I assure you, I'm not dead. Just have had a LOOOONG absence.

So, an update from my personal life - I didn't get the job that I had applied to at the beginning of the month. Hence I'm back to looking again. In the meantime, I've been keeping busy around the house, writing like crazy, and trying to keep my sanity and soul intact in all the craziness we call life.

Speaking of which....I got a doozy of a story to tell y'all.....

Several weeks ago, we're just about to say family night prayers and I happen to look over to the calendar hanging on a closet door.

And made the causal remark that my parent's 25th anniversary was in 10 days.

That realization sunk in like a lead weight. As we all knelt, I'm sure my blood pressure was hitting the roof. Because Miss Melancholy Temperament had no blooming clue what her Plan was to execute this thing.

Then I looked towards the door where my brother Matthew was kneeling. As soon as he caught my gaze he mouthed to me:

"Shoebox"

It take me a minute to catch what he was saying but then it clicked and my blood pressure went back down to normal.



See, about 2 years ago right after Christmas, we kids were scheming to buy our parents a replacement washer and dryer set for their 25th anniversary...as our current set was reaching the two decade mark. Pretty ambitious for 2 kids in college and the others on a minimal allowance. Of course, we all thought that Matthew and I were going to have higher incomes 2 years down the road. In the meantime, we all chipped in what we could set aside at the time and set it in a Christmas shoebox. Which immediately got stashed under Matthew's bed (best place for it, no one would think of looking under there....LOL).

2 years went by. A little more money was stashed in the shoebox. Our 20 year dryer bit the dust and our original scheme, and the shoebox, was largely forgotten as the finances got tighter and tighter for Matthew and I.

Until that particular night at prayer.

After we finished, Matthew and I sped off and dug out that old shoebox. We counted all the cash and we had slightly more than expected (~$120). Which was a miracle of providence in and of itself!

So, the schemes began.

We came up with the following plan:

1. We would get a nice card, and include a gift card to a nice restaurant, $25 worth.
2. While they were out, the rest of us kids at home (cause Matthew had to be back at college), would decorate the house a little, have a cake, and give a little silver present.

Simple, right?

If only.....you know that proverb about best laid plans, right??

We managed to get the gift card before Matthew had to go back to college. The problem happened when trying to find the silver present.

Nothing we tried was working or clicking with us. A photographer was way too expensive. Scouring of gift websites drove us batty. Antique stores yielded only silver plate. Talk about frustrating....

So, we had to maintain semblance of daily life while attempting to find a solution.

We quickly discovered that silver, at retail prices, was a lot more expensive that we bargained for too. Which only increased our frustration levels. Deals fell through because of technicalities, and many silver items were out of our reach financially. I'm sure Matthew was ready to string me up because of the grief my perfectionist streak was giving him....

I'm sure Matthew's face mirrored this guy's at least half of the time through this whole mess....

Then finally, 5 days before the anniversary, I found Replacements, Ltd. This is a company that specializes in making replacement pieces for old silver sets. And for decent prices at that!

I knew that we had an old heirloom set in the family. All we had to do was match the pattern and order two silver napkin rings. Simple. We got this.

Only problem was I didn't have a company name or picture of the blooming silver pattern....both of which were very necessary in order to determine which pattern it was! So, I got in touch with some of the extended family to procure a picture and the company name (which was apparently easier to find than the picture...).

In the meantime, in my stupidity, I never grabbed the greeting card or deposited the rest of the cash in the bank before the actual anniversary. See, it was only going to be a quick trip, just hop and the car and go, and life has a funny way of getting in the way all of a sudden...

And yeah, that came back to bite me, big time.

Dad snitched my car cause his was in the repair shop for two days. The two days before the anniversary, of course. Great timing...oh well, there is always the day OF the anniversary right?

RIGHT.

You know what came the night?

A snowstorm. A bad snowstorm. Of course it would. There is over 8 inches of snow outside in the morning, the roads are a mess, snow is falling very finely very steadily (anybody that has lived up in the North KNOWS that that means lots of it).

Perfectly. Squashed. EVERYTHING.

*insert frustrated scream*

But that's not all, of course it isn't....you think that's all?

Keep your eyes peeled for part 2!

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine

The news is abuzz today because International Women's Day is being celebrated.

International Women's Day is actually one of Russia's errors that has spread throughout the world. It was first celebrated in Russia after 1917 when women gained suffrage, and was kept as a holiday in Socialist countries until 1975 when it was spread internationally by the United Nations. It is widely regarded as a feminist holiday (Wikipedia).

It came to the forefront of my attention a year ago when feminists decided to have "A Day without Women Strike" on International Women's Day 2017 to protest the supposed inequalities in the workplace for women.

In response, several Catholic women started a counter measure: Lady Day.

Held on the same day, it celebrates true femininity. Many ladies celebrate by going to tea, learning about great women saints, or doing other traditional feminine activities. (click here for more info about Lady Day!)

But what is true femininity?

In a Catholic sense, it is focusing on the interior. The home is often the first calling of a daughter. We are tasked with keeping the house in order, keeping clothes on the backs, and food upon the table. All the little details of living are given to us - as we have the wonderful God-given ability to multi-task.

Women are the helpmate of the man - they assist them in everything from little daily tasks to attaining salvation of their soul. Women are also the civilizers of society - champions of the arts and deportment. They are also strong and practical - they place themselves willingly in the breach when the chips are down (The biggest proof of such would be during wars on the home front).

Wikimedia Commons

I'm not of the opinion that a woman should not break a sweat, be petted in idle luxury, or be a damsel in distress. As a matter of fact, I get extremely annoyed when people portray or advocate women to behave in such a fragile statuesque way - to be put on a pedestal and adored. 

Women are equal in dignity to men, but complimentary in role. Like men, we are soldiers for Christ. We are weapons for Christ, and we must do our part in the battlefield. I view it this way:

Men are the swords of Christ. They are the outward weapon, the one that gives the most impact on the enemy. They do the most work in the battlefield.

Women, on the other hand, are the shields of Christ. 

The role of the shield is to protect and defend the soldier. So too, a woman stands as a shield in the face of evil as it tries to invade the home. 

Shields must be strong to withstand the buffets of the enemy's swords. It must deflect the sharp blows that rain upon the soldier. In the same way, the woman must guard her family from scandal and harsh words.

Shields often splinter and give part of themselves in the battle. So too, the sacrificing woman gives part of herself into her children and house. Her body sacrifices it's youthful slimness and softness in the bearing of those children.

Shields can be used as blunt, crushing weapon and as a battering ram as necessary.  The tears of St. Monica acted as a battering ram onto the gates of Heaven with great reward - the conversion of her husband and son, Augustine. Persistence is a woman's trademark.

The shield is often the forgotten weapon, as it is a defensive measure. But, to borrow a masculine sports phrase: defense wins championships. The glory often goes to the sword, but every soldier is indebted to his shield - whether he realizes it or not.

Anybody that doesn't believe that a shield is not an effective weapon really needs to go watch Captain America. His signature weapon is not a gun, nor his fists. It's the circular shield that he carries. And he can do a lot of damage with that particular shield. To give you an idea - check out the first minute of this video....(if that's a steel shield, I really hate to see what kind of damage the vibranium can do!) 


To get back to the point of this post, is it unfeminine to work outside of the home?

I believe that women do have a place in the workforce, in contrast to a lot of traditionally-minded women. While I do believe that married woman need to stay at home unless it's dire, single and widowed women can take outside employment. The food, clothing, education, and nursing industries are well suited to women's talents. Women also do well in people-related industries such as counseling.

It is possible for women to have a vocation to the single life - it certainly isn't as common as the married or religious life for women. I believe single women should take employment when: they have large debts to pay off (college education being the biggest), the home is being taken care of by mother and sisters (especially in a large family), and to prepare for their own vocation of either marriage or single life.

Let me explain that last one a little. As my dear friend Emma pointed out in this post, a workplace can cultivate the virtues of patience, obedience, and sacrifice. These are virtues that are in much demand as a wife and mother. Sometimes a home life isn't enough to teach those virtues - it certainly wasn't in my case.

Wikimedia Commons

And there is the economic advantage too - if she has worked for a few years, a young bride can reduce or even clear her own debts and possibly bring in a small sum in order to set up housekeeping. I certainly would like to reduce my current college debt before I enter into any marriage - because how fair is it that my husband pays for previous debts that I've incurred before I'm married?

Sometimes a daughter's salary is the only support a family has. A dear friend of mine's dad went unemployed for almost a year - as the breadwinner of a family of 8, it was not a good situation to be in. An older daughter's salary at a fast food place was how they managed to keep shampoo in the showers and food on the table. I'm not kidding. 

Now, is working outside the home enjoyable? Not always. I don't particularly like to work outside the home in principle. There is always something else that I'd rather be doing - a book to read, a project to work on, blog posts to write....but my duty lies in giving my talents to others.

At the moment, I'm in the wings, waiting for a response from a stable that I interviewed at. In the meantime, I'm trying to fulfill my new domestic duties here at home, and preparing for a vocation of marriage the best that I can.

And now, to go get a cup of tea and my drop spindle and hold my own little Lady Day celebration by listening to Rosalina's sister's talk on St. Margaret of Scotland, which you can view here! 

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine