Happy Mother's Day!

May your day be happy,
filled with fun and laughter,
may you share cherished memories, and
make new ones to treasure ever after.




HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
from
DOREEN

♥Make a Mother's Day Gift Basket ♥

I made a quick search for something different, yet simple and quick to make for Mother's Day and found this lovely idea. I hope it will inspire some of you : )

St.Joseph The Worker

Today we celebrate the feast of St.Joseph the Worker. St. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19 ~Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1~Joseph, the Worker.

We know very little about the life of Joseph and very little is written in Scripture about him but still, we know that he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter and a man who was not wealthy. We also know that he came from the royal lineage of King David.

From his actions recorded in scripture we see that Joseph was a compassionate man, and obedient to the will of God. He also loved Mary and Jesus and wanted to protect and provide for them.

Being a carpenter he must have been patient, very creative as well as diligent. Can you imagine how St. Joseph must have worked from early morning till late at night in his carpenter shop repairing dinner couches, building tables and shelves for the people of Nazareth? He also taught his trade to Jesus who must have worked alongside him until the time He started His public life.

Because St. Joseph was a humble carpenter, he is regarded as the patron saint of workers everywhere. The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector.

Pope Pius XII expressed the hope that this feast would accentuate the dignity of labor and would bring a spiritual dimension to labor unions.

Here is an interesting link to a site about the Feast of St. Joseph which includes prayers, recipes and other interesting information.

Pictures used in this post are from the above link.

Here's also a link to my other blog where you can read a prayer/poem to St.Joseph which I wrote in 2011.



The first of May is also May Day which is a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. There are many traditions associated with May Day among them is the dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen of the May. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles it is customary to have Mary crowned as The Queen of The May. I remember this Crowning as a special celebration at my school which is still celebrated to this day. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps.

Easter Blessings

This lovely Printable is from One Dog Woof

May the glory
and the promise
of this joyous time of year
Bring peace
and happiness to you
and those you hold most dear.



May the Risen Christ bless you most abundantly.

Beaded Crosses for Easter

Here is what I have been busy with these past few days...I made these beaded Crosses for Easter to give to my family and friends. Thanks Cathy in Mt for the lovely beads you sent me recently. I also used some shimmering ribbon which my future Daughter-in-law had given me : )

I made these crosses using this pattern. However I altered the tops and tails as instead of the lanyard as a holder, I just made a knot in the ribbon to create a simple circle. The bottom I tied with one Uni knot similar to this method but again I adjusted this to suit my project according to the ribbon I used and added a small tassel to finish it off.





These are great tokens to give to friends, workmates, children in Catechism classes or even made for fund-raising.

In case anyone wants to try making these crosses, I started off with a length of about 90cm. of ribbon. To finish off the tassel tie an extra piece of ribbon, fold in two and tie to the 2 ends to create a tassel with 4 pieces. Maybe the instructions are not too clear but I finished these off in the best way according to how my work proceeded so maybe you will find another way to finish off yours. Have fun trying these out! God bless!

Roasted and Spiced Almonds *

I wanted to make a low fat, no cholesterol, sugar-free snack/appetizer with the bag of almonds I bought this week and found some healthy recipes on line which I adjusted since we are on a low sodium diet so here I am sharing my 'adjusted' recipe with you...

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 °
  
• In a medium baking dish place 200 grms almonds spread evenly and bake for 8-10 minutes until almonds are toasted, stirring twice.
  
• Let cool.
• In a skillet over a medium to high heat, pour 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and cinnamon powders, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and a dash of salt (I put very little salt),
• Stir over high heat until well blended, then add the roasted almonds tossing to coat well. Stir for a few minutes. Take off heat. Let cool for a few minutes. Then scoop up the almonds and place on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Pat the almonds, replacing the towels if necessary.
  
• Place in a bowl and when totally cool, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

You could, if you like, prepare the almonds by coating in the combined spice mixture and olive oil and bake directly in the oven for about 10-12 minutes but I prefer to pre-roast the almonds and then toss them over into the skillet as I think this gives them a better cooking time and a richer flavour and lovely crunch!

* 1 Tablespoon serving (about 15 almonds) contains about 80 calories.

So if you're nuts about nuts and want to make sure you are getting your "handful" this is one way to do it! It is recommended that we eat up to 1.5 ounces of nuts daily or one and a half times a "handful" unless, of course, you are allergic to nuts!

This is also a lovely Easter treat especially for adults while the kids are enjoying their Easter Hunt!

Enjoy!

♥ LENT ♥

Yesterday Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a time of reflection, prayer and sacrifice...it is a time for change. But change comes at a cost and that is what we pay when we try to change our old ways and try to make ourselves better persons. In doing so we are changing the world.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
― Leo Tolstoy

Our life today can be very busy and pressured with all the duties and commitments we have to face daily. This is a time when families and communities can try to make time for each other. By taking a little time out for prayer and communication, we reconnect with God and with God's creation.
Rather than just giving up chocolate, we can use the money saved on candy and sweets to buy a box of chocolates to give to a needy family at Easter. We can put that box, or buy some groceries with that money, to donate to the community hampers that parishes give out during special seasonal celebrations as a sign of solidarity to needy families.

How about thinking of doing one act of generosity or kindness every day? It does not need to be anything that takes up too much of our time or even cost anything. Here are a few ideas...

• Say something nice about someone behind their back.

• Give someone a compliment or word of encouragement/praise when they least expect it.

• Have an early spring clean (one closet, cupboard or drawer at a time) and donate some items to a charity shop, animal shelter, parish bazaar...you might even find something that you borrowed, now is a good time to return it!

• Think or write a list of things you would like to say sorry for and work on a reconciliation...it could be an overdue 'sorry'!

• Give up your place in a queue to someone else.

• Offer to babysit for someone who needs that time for errands or even to go to the hairdresser.

• Visit or call someone who is housebound.

While we are cleaning up, taking stock of our lives, thinking of others, we can also consider this as a period of a personal spiritual 'cleansing' as we prepare for Easter.
If we are a little more creative by putting some more thought into how we are sacrificing and reaching out to others, it can make our Lent more meaningful.