Just for Jamie - a.k.a. Queen of the World

Sunday, October 27, 2007 - Feast of Saint Frumentius of Ethiopia

Dearest Queen Jamie,

I beg your forgiveness for the disrespect I showed you by not keeping up with my blog. Please don't cut off my head.

Your humble subject,

BethAlice

Cream cheese crescent rolls

Cream cheese crescent rolls

One can of crescent rolls
A small portion of the Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip

Place crescent rolls flat on a cookie tray, in the shape of a rectangle. Press the seams together, and flatten out the dough a bit. Spread the dip over the entire top. {You will not use much of the dip. You want the layer of dip to be about 1/8” thick, give or take. More if you really like cream cheese, but not so much it will not bake well.} Roll up the dough, starting on the longest side, and working towards the other long side {as if you were making cinnamon rolls}. Bake at 350 degrees, for about 12-20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. {My oven temperature varies, so I could not be more accurate on the time}. Let it cool a bit. Slice & serve.

Another option is to slice it before baking. Set the spirals on their sides, then bake {this will shorten your baking time a bit.}

Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - Feast of Saint Theodore Guerin


This recipe is from a dear friend.

Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip

16 oz cream cheese—I used the light
16 oz sour cream—I used the light
5 oz container crumbled feta cheese
3-5 cloves garlic—pressed and chopped
2 t dried dill

Mix all together.

Goes well with Melba rounds, bagel chips, and other crackers.

Celebration of the Tridentine Mass in the Kansas City-Saint Joseph Diocese

Monday, September 17, 2007 - Feast of Saint Lambert of Maestricht

The above picture is titled "The Martyrdom of St. Lambert of Liège" - from a Wikipedia entry, which identifies the picture as "Le Martyr de St. Lambert" of the 15th century, but fails to list an artist or provenance.

What a blessed day September 15th became {besides the fact it was also my sister's birthday}! Our bishop, Bishop Finn of the Kansas City-Saint Joseph Diocese, celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. Kansas City Catholic and Musings of a Dominican Inquirer were there, and each has an excellent write-up and several pictures.

My dear friend, Jack, was also there. Jack collects relics, items for the altar, and other traditional Catholic items. In fact, he donated several items needed for the Mass.

Jack sent me the following pictures:

These first two show the altar. Notice the empty pews behind the altar. Prior to Bishop Finn coming to our diocese, the Cathedral was wreckovated, and designed to not accommodate the Tridentine Mass. Well, those responsible were wrong. From what I have heard, the Mass was standing room only, but no one sat behind the altar.

Beautiful! What a glorious way to honor Our Lord!


This shows His Excellency Bishop Robert Finn, with Jack, in thanks for lending him the necessary altar items from his collection. Jack said, “It was an honor to be able to help.”



This shows the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, who are in our diocese, with Jack and his sister. Jack explains the story behind the picture:

“Several people have correctly guessed that the nuns are all laughing as Jack
must have told a joke. (They know me) When {the photographer} was counting to
three as he took it, he stopped at "Say..." at which point I shouted out, "Moto
Proprio", much to the sisters' delight.”

And finally, another beautiful picture. This is a father hugging his daughter goodbye, after the Mass. Jack said the father is

“fighting back the tears as he hugs his daughter goodbye. As Mother Superior
whisked her away, he remarked, "Well, I'll get to see her at Christmas."”

Thank you Jack for allowing me to share your pictures!

J+M+J

Friday, September 14, 2007 - Feast of Saint Notburga

Floating around the blogs, for your enjoyment -

How to give a cat/dog a pill - Or..... When a joke is not a joke

Sunday, September 9, 2007 - Feast of Saint Peter Claver

I hope everyone had a blessed Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Happy Birthday Blessed Mother!

We have two cats. My friend sent the following "joke" - only, it is not really a joke, not if you have had to do it!

I remember one incident in particular. One of the cats had to go on some medicine. The vet warned us to avoid letting the cat taste the pill - for some reason dogs don't mind the taste, but cats HATE it, and remember forever that they hate it! He told us that normally, cats are boarded at the clinic while they are on the medicine, because of the extreme difficulty in administering the pills. I assured him that we could handle it. The first few times there were no issues. Then, the cat tasted it. I will save you from the gory details, but I will tell you that I was eating my words. I was determined to not let this 8 pound creature get the best of me! I came up with a technique involving wrapping the cat in a heavy towel - all of her except her head. It was not easy [mind you, her teeth were still exposed], and it took more than one person, but we did it. She quickly figured out that towels equaled torture & would fight tooth & nail [literally] to get away. One day we were having more difficulty than usual. Someone else happened to be at the house at that time, so I drafted him to help. I gave him the towel to wrap the cat in. The "manly man" he was, he refused it - after all, he was a man & his job entailed working with cats on almost a daily basis. Result? He mopped up his blood with the towel, while I went to get another towel to wrap the cat in. And yes, I enjoyed saying, "I told you so!"

Now, the joke:

How To Give A Cat A Pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.

2. Toss it in the air.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Monday, September 3, 2007 - Feast of Saint Gregory the Great

I apologise to my readership, which is sooooo vast [snicker], for my absence. Did you miss me? [pretending is ok] I was busy with moving.

We were unhappy with our former residence. It was not in the best neighborhood. My children were lucky I let them play outside in the yard, but they never could ride their bikes unless I took them to a park. We moved there only a year ago, and since I detest moving, I tried to grin & bear it. Then something wonderful happened. With the help of a friend, I found a lovely place to live in, only 2-3 blocks from the church we belong too! I call it our "cottage'. We get to walk to Mass, and now can attend weekly Mass more often! My children have a larger yard to safely play in, and can ride their bikes. The library is within walking distance too. We will be here for maaaannnnyyy years!

I am so blessed, and VERY thankful to our new landlady for having such a wonderful place for us to live in! I hope she realises what a dream it is for us to live in a place like this, and so near to Mass. She is truly a lovely person, and such a Godsend! I thank God too, as all of this was definitely because of Divine Intervention. I also thank my friend, for her part in all of this.