C is for Cranberry Chicken with Cornbread Stuffing: Comfort Before the Crazy-rain

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts

1/3 c. flour

1t. salt

4T. butter

11/2c. fresh cranberries

3/4c. brown sugar

1t. orange peel

3/4c. orange juice

1/4t. each cinnamon and ginger

Coat chicken in flour and salt and brown in butter.  Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Pour over chicken, cover and bake at 350F for 45 min. to an hour.  Great served with stuffing or rice! I substituted almond meal for the flour. It wasn't the same, but it was fine.

Election Novena

Four years ago, I spent most of the election season on bedrest. I read way too many political blogs and watched way too many talking heads. It was an election about which I felt deeply. And, so, I wrote about it. I'm pretty sure I offended some people. This time around, I've not blogged politics at all. I've watched with certain sense of proud bemusement as Patrick, in particular, has become a politico. I remember fondly an internship on Capitol Hill at his age. But (with exception of Twitter parties during debates--can't help myself) I've not gone there this time. There is so much other chaos in my life just now that I'd prefer to opt out of election drama online.

Last weekend, my pastor offered a powerful homily and he gave me pause. He unequivocably said we have to speak up. All week, I've prayed about how to do that.

Let's just pray. From now until election day, let's just pray.  

O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord, Not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank you for the privilege Of being able to organize ourselves politically And of knowing that political loyalty Does not have to mean disloyalty to you. We thank you for your law, Which our Founding Fathers acknowledged  And recognized as higher than any human law. We thank you for the opportunity that this election  year puts before us, To exercise our solemn duty not only to vote, But to influence countless others to vote, And to vote correctly. Lord, we pray that your people may be awakened. Let them realize that while politics is not their salvation, Their response to you requires that they be politically active. Awaken your people to know that they are  not called to be a sect fleeing the world But rather a community of faith renewing the world. Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to you in prayer  Are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth; That the same eyes that read your Word Are the eyes that read the names on the ballot, And that they do not cease to be Christians When they enter the voting booth. Awaken your people to a commitment to justice To the sanctity of marriage and the family, To the dignity of each individual human life, And to the truth that human rights begin when human lives begin, And not one moment later. Lord, we rejoice today That we are citizens of your kingdom. May that make us all the more committed To being faithful citizens on earth. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Archbishop Chaput on the election.

And here's a small smile. Patrick and Mary Beth have been in charge of civics lessons for the preschool set;-)

Lord, Hear Our Prayer

The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-filled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.

How about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?

{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}

Gospel 

Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Think 

"As far as I am concerned the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved. The greatest suffering is also having no one, forgetting what an intimate, truly human relationship is, not knowing what it means to be loved, not having a family or friends." ~Mother Theresa

Pray

Open my eyes, Jesus. Help me to see the lonely, unwanted and unloved in my world. Don't let me brush him aside. Don't let me be impatient. Help me stretch as You did, towards the unnoticed.

Act

Despite the grandness of His mission, despite the vast,infinite scope of His majesty, Jesus was a detail guy. He noticed. He attended to the least of these with purposeful dignity. Square your shoulders, Mama. Open your eyes. Who are the least in your midst? What are the details? Bring peace, order, and dignity to those people and places. Heal hearts and leave no one feeling unnoticed or unloved.

It's All So Much Better Outside

The place where we've been learning out of doors since the late 1980s: Hidden Pond Nature Center

The super awesome excellent book that makes nature study so easy to bring to life all year 'round: The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms

needle & thREAD

I think it's safe to say I've found my sewing rhythm again. Despite the fact that this morning began rather poorly, it's been a good sewing day. Karoline woke me at 5:00 with the announcement that she was going to throw up. And she did. Then she asked if we could please go down to the sewing room and make something for Becca's new baby. That's my girl!

She helps me to sew by pressing the pedal. Unfortunately, she didn't wait until I said, "Go!" The needle went clear through my finger and broke in two. I sat there a minute and contemplated taking a picture for Instagram (Mike has an iPhone now and he was in NC; I wanted him to be duly impressed). Then I contemplated waking Paddy to help me, but decided he's been cranky lately and needed sleep. So I pulled out one end, then the other end, then the thread. Karoline offered me a bandaid. After I pulled out the tip end, I heard it drop. I thought it dropped to the floor, but I couldn't find it. Then I went back to sewing. My machine kept jamming, so I think maybe the tip is stuck beneath the bobbin. For about a half hour, I took the machine apart, cleaned it, looked for the tip, tried again. Still nothing. Karoline wandered back into the room.

"How are those pants coming?" said she.

"I'm kind of stuck. I think the tip of the needle fell into the sewing machine after I pulled it out of my finger."

"Are we still taking about your injury, here? You need to get sewing before that baby gets too big. There are no wimps in heaven."

I thought I'd die laughing. Becca taught her that "no wimps" line and she so delivered it perfectly.

I did finish the pants and they are so cute I'd love to make a whole wardrobe of them. Pretty and pink and perfectly reversible. I love them! The pattern is Quick Change Trousers in Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings. When I first got the book, it made me sad. I just wanted to sew for a baby. Now, it makes me happy. There are always lots of babies in my life and a little something handmade in a gift bag is just so sweet.

I also started putting Sarah's Class Picnic Blouse together. It's slow going because Katie is sewing along on her own bouse as I sew Sarah's. I have a doable deadline, though. I want this flannel blouse for her birthday. I'm toying with the idea of the All Set pants, which are like the Quick Change Trousers, only for "big girls" or a flannel Lazy Days skirt with AMH flannel and ribbon. I don't know. I'm afraid the flannel pants with the shirt will look like pjs. But the pants are so cute, I'd love to make more...I still have a week to get it finished in time. Skirt or pants, what say you?

My reading has been pretty limited to Mission of Motherhood, but, speaking of Anna Maria Horner, I got a note that my copy of Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook has shipped. I'm so looking forward to reading it. Given the current state of my finger, I think embroidery is not in my immediate future. She's always great reading, though.

I'm sitting here tonight fighting the urge to stash fabric. I heard we might have a hurricane of huge proportions next week. I just want to be sure I have enough thread and elastic and fabric to sew my way through the storm. Totally rational, right?

~~~~

What about you? Are you starting to think Christmas gifts? Big plans for winter home dec?  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

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