Lenten Updates

Oh Lent! Why does the earth have to match so well the spirit of the season? Grey skies, muddy roads, dirty snow, and sad, naked trees shaking in the wind. How picturesque.

~ Our spending fast is going well, which is absolutely necessary, as late winter has been full of storms, short work-days, and small paychecks. Tax returns haven’t returned yet and we’re waiting for the spring burst of work to begin. So, with the exception of Seth’s birthday money (dziękuję mamą i tatą!) we’ve had no money to ‘play’ with at all. Poor us! But really, who has fun in Lent anyway, right?

~ Fasting has been going well, and actually, I’m glad to see that Yarrow is not missing any of the animal products as much as I expected. We still give her cheese or yogurt when we can, but we aren’t buying any, and so it’s a rare treat for her. I’ve stocked up on Irish oatmeal, which is way better than rolled oats, and we’re loving our oatmeal more than ever! So are the chickens, who get the leftovers. Luba is miserable, as she doesn’t get bacon grease at all anymore. Maybe all the penance will keep her out of dog-purgatory though.

~ I’ve adopted Cardinal Giuseppe V_. I love him, he’s delightful, and he’s inspired me to reconnect with my pretty amber rosary (dziękuję laura!) and the Blessed Virgin. We’ve also managed to start a novena to St. Joseph just in time to finish on his feast-day! Lenten prayer is taking over!

~ There’s no way to deny that with all this self-denial, Friday night’s aren’t half as fun as they should be. But we’ve been having some subdued fun. Last Friday we set up the computer (fully charged) and watched Star Wars V & VI (we did have to top it off between them, but that gave us a chance to hear “Adventures in Odyssey” (a dorky night, I know, but so much fun!) and with dried fruit and nuts, we almost didn’t miss the popcorn..almost.