Sunday, February 25, 2007

Holy KFC, Batman!

Feast of Saint Walburga

From the Catholic News Agency -

Colonel Sanders' asks Pope for special sandwich blessing

KFC unveils fish sandwich for Lent, offers a sample to Benedict XVI

Louisville,KY, Feb 23, 2007 / 11:29 am (CNA).- The U.S. based Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) company, long known for its fast-food chicken is planning to sell fish for the first time and has asked for Pope Benedict XVI’s blessing.

For Lent this year the company is introducing a “Fish Snacker Sandwich,” and has sent a letter to the Holy Father, letting him know.

"This is the first time KFC has ever served fish nationally, and we believe that the new sandwich could make it easier and more affordable for Catholics to observe the tenets of their faith," KFC President Greg Dedrick wrote in a letter to the Pope earlier this month.

According to the AP, the letter asks the Holy Father for a special blessing and offers him a sample of the sandwich.

John O’Reilly, chief marketing officer for KFC said the sandwich was launched with Catholics in mind. Traditionally restaurant seafood sales go up during the Lenten Season, when Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays.

Laurie Schalow, a spokeswoman for KFC, told the AP that the Vatican confirmed receiving the letter and the company is hopeful for a response in the next week.

The sandwich is made of Alaskan pollock, the largest food fish resource in the world and a fish commonly used to make breaded and battered fish products.

KFC is owned by Yum Brands Inc. of Louisville, which also owns seafood outlet Long John Silver's. Schalow said the sandwich shouldn't put KFC and Long John Silver's at odds.

"The reason we decided to do this is our consumers showed an interest," Schalow said.

KFC, which has 5,500 restaurants around the country, test marketed the sandwich last year. The reviews were good, so the decision was made to sell the item nationally, Schalow said. The sandwich will remain on sale only during Lent, she said.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Fat Tuesday!

Exaltation of Saint Winnoc

Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras & Shrove Tuesday, and the day before Ash Wednesday, is today! It is the one day of the year you are allowed, no, encouraged to eat fattening foods! YEE HAW! It is a common practice to eat pancakes on this day, but we are more of a waffle type of family. I even made them from scratch (does Bisquick count?) For toppings, we had a choice of regular syrup, blueberry syrup, and butter. I also made a few with mini-chocolate chips in them, and sprinkled powdered sugar on them when they were done. YUMMY!

Here is bit of information as to why pancakes are so popular -
The reason that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent is that the 40 days of Lent form a period of liturgical fasting, during which only the plainest foodstuffs may be eaten. Therefore, rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, sugar and flour are disposed of immediately prior to the commencement of the fast. Pancakes and doughnuts were therefore an efficient way of using up these perishable goods, besides providing a minor celebratory feast prior to the fast itself [2].
While the restrictions we have now are more lenient, we still have some. Here is a snippet from the Fish Eaters' site, from their article titled Lent Overview -
According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the rule for the universal Church during Lent is abstain on all Fridays (inside or outside of Lent) and to both fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
(SNIP)
On those days of
fasting an abstinence, meatless soup is traditional (see recipes). Sundays, of course, are always free of fasting and abstinence; even in the heart of Lent, Sundays are about the glorious Resurrection. This pattern of fasting and abstinence ends after the Vigil Mass of Holy Saturday.

I told myself to not hold back today, to eat all the chocolate I wanted to, but I didn't want to! I betcha tomorrow I will be craving it! LOL! Why is it we always want what we cannot have?

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Sickies

Feast of Saint Francis Regis Clet

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning not feeling very well. I went back to sleep hoping all would be well when I got up for Mass. No such luck. Could I go to Mass, and make it through? Probably. I always feel bad when I cannot make it to Mass, not unless I am so sick I am confined to my bed (or one of my children are). I am not that sick by any means, and if it was any other day of the week, I would probably try to get some housework done. So why don't I go? Because the charitable thing to do is not expose others to my germs - this is when selfishness can be a virtue - LOL!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Lent is fast approaching!

Feast of Saint Theodore Stratelates

It seems hard to believe that Lent starts in just a few days. Wasn't it just Christmas? (Don't look, but my tree is still up - LOL) I am looking forward to Lent. Many look at me like I am from Mars when I say that (ok, so more so than usual), because why would anyone look forward to 40 days of doing penance? It is because penance is good! That's right folks, and I will say it again - PENANCE IS GOOD! It is like giving your soul a bath - sin is the nasty, grimy, sticky dirt; penance is the bath brush you use to scrub it all off. The saints are best at telling why penance & suffering is good for the soul, and will post some info on that later. Please feel free to post what you know.

Lent is also a time of preparation for Easter. A time to prepare our homes & more importantly our souls, for the coming of Christ. What are you going to do? It is not just about giving something up, but also about DOING something. Here is a great blog entry to get you started -
Living the Loveliness of Lent. Another blog - dedicated to Lent - These Forty Days.

Other ideas-
***Read a book to your children - I think I am going to attempt Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis DeSales. There is no way we can get through all of it during Lent, but at least we can get started. It is an easy book to read, but requires a lot of thinking to read it properly.
***Start a prayer that will be included in your daily prayers. For us, it would be to become regular at saying the whole Rosary. For others it may be saying the Divine Office.
***Our local homeschool group is helping with a shoebox drive for abuse victims.

Please share some ideas you may have!

And don't forget your penance - and I am not sure how much it counts if you give up something easy. One year I gave up soda pop, and was it ever so hard! I never wanted it so bad as when I could not have it! I haven't had soda in a few years now, so giving it up for Lent now does not count. One year my son gave up his Game Boy, and it was all his idea! Me? I think I will give up sweets this year - cookies, cakes, candies, even sugar in my coffee! I am not sure what my children have in mind. We will discuss it tomorrow. What are you giving up?

By the way. Queen Lucy's birthday is next week - yes, during Lent, and a Friday during Lent. So she had her party last night - her first slumber party. They were not up too late, and got up at a normal time this morning. But they sure did eat a lot! Gee whiz! LOL! Oh, and King Peter was gone - this was a "girls only" event. As my daughter says "Girls rule and boys drool!"

Friday, February 16, 2007

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Change, and Assisted Living

Feast Day of Saint Sigfrid of Wexlow

As I mentioned in the previous post, my grandmother moved into an assisted living facility. Usually, when people think of such a place, they think of a hospital like environment, the smells of ammonia, and/or substandard care. The place Grandma moved into is, well, NOT any of those things. It is incredibly homey, like a large house - with at least 3 separate seating areas (each with a fireplace & comfy furniture just like from home, not the boring institutional vinyl covered furniture that is so common), a kitchen that has wonderful meals, & serves snacks 24 hours a day (& shares them with the guests), a dining area that reminds me of a fine dining restaurant, a beauty parlor, exercise room, and more! The rooms for the residents come in different sizes, each being their own "apartment". Grandma has one of the largest. The main area is the living room with a kitchenette. It is very large & can easily fit her living & dining room furniture (with room to spare). The bedroom is also big & accommodates her bedroom set at one end, and a small sitting area at the other. Her closet! I would almost kill for her closet! Plenty of shelving & hanging rods. It is bigger than King Peter's bedroom! Her bathroom is also quite large with a window seat. She does not have to cook, clean, or do laundry - they do it all! It's as if she is living in the penthouse at some 5 star hotel!

The staff has been VERY welcoming & accommodating. We moved her items in a little at a time. My children were with me each time, and no one seemed to mind having them around - they even offered us all snacks each time. Members of the staff even visited Grandma while she was in the hospital, before she had spent her first night at her new apartment.

The residents are also very nice. While were were unpacking, a few stopped by to say "HI!", even though we weren't the ones going to live there. Grandma keeps saying that she has never seen anyone welcome a new person like they have welcomed her.

Seeing first hand how wonderful this place has been, has helped us all to adapt to the change. My children & I had moved within a block of her house to help her. We did this last July, moving from a house we had lived in for 8 years. King Peter walked over nearly every day to do little errands. Queen Lucy & I often went down to clean for her, take her on errands, etc. My children love their "G-G", and she them. It has been hard on us to have her gone & not see her nearly every day. My children were especially worried about who would help her. They have seen first hand how this place helps her, and they are now at ease. This place understands what family means, and welcomes any & all family members - including guests at a meal, and overnight visits.

I never knew such a wonderful place existed. Perhaps someday I can work there - I would consider it an honor.

UPDATE - I did not post the name of the place, because I was unsure of their policy regarding this. I just got permission - it is Vintage Park, part of Vintage Group. Check them out!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Berry Good Cookies!

Feast of Saint Valentine of Rome

If you noticed, I did not post in January. It was a hectic time. My grandma went into the hospital on January 1st, and got out last week. Just before she went in, she had decided to sell her house & move into an assisted living facility. So the month of January was filled with homeschooling, visits to the hospital, and packing & moving her belongings. The day we moved her furniture, the assisted living place (which is wonderful and does not look institutional in the least) served us refreshments. This included the most WONDERFUL cookies. I had to have the recipe! Imagine my dismay when they did not have one - they buy them in the dough form & bake them. Well, I found a recipe!

It is a recipe I adapted from the "Cranberry-Chip Cookie Mix" recipe that I found in Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 7. Don't pass this recipe by just because it has cranberries - I almost did & I was very pleasantly surprised at how incredibly delicious they are!

Berry Good Cookies

Cream together in a large bowl:
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar

In another bowl, combine:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Slowly add dry ingredients to the
wet ingredients. Mix just until blended.

Fold in:
1 cup dried cranberries (or dried strawberries)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls unto greased baking sheets (I used parchment paper). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 6 dozen.

Note – I think next time I will cut back slightly on the white chocolate chips & walnuts.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

It's My Party & I'll Cry If I Want To......

Feast of Saint Modomnoc

It was recently my birthday. It was almost forgotten by my family (ok, I did say I wanted no mention of age, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't get lots of presents or a chocolate cake! LOL!) My daughter, Queen Lucy, gave me the BEST gift! She bounded out of bed first thing in the morning and gave me this - (it made me cry)

As for King Peter........well, he is a teenager......you figure it out - LOL!

Traditional Catholic

Memorial of Ermengild of Ely

Whew! LOL!

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