August Liturgical Tea... The Assumption of our Blessed Mother

To Kick off our new school year....to Pilot our NEW Pickwick Society Liturgical Year curriculum

And Most importantly to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed mother.

We set up and tested out some of our newly created Pickwick Liturgical Tea Recipes.

For the past year, a good friend of mine and myself,

have been creating and writing a Virtue based curriculum which is centered on the traditional celebrations in the Liturgical year.

This curriculum goes hand and hand with The Pickwick Society program that I started up a few years ago. Many of you may be familiar with our Pickwick program.

It was borne of the idea, that our daughters would be able

to flourish in a environment in which they are surrounded by like-minded girls, with traditional Catholic beliefs and values.

The Pickwick society is a relaxed and informal setting, in which the girls are taught the tools and skills necessary to becoming a successful wife and mother. It provides a place for them to learn the lost art of handicraft, but most of all it provides an environment for them to discuss and grow in Virtue and

Faith.

All of these studies are essential to their God-given role as nurturer and caregiver.

Mind you, the curriculum does is NOT only for "someday wives

and mothers"... Although, I do think this to be one of the noblest and most sacrificial of all possible Occupations.

These Skills, virtues, and traditions are important for any girl of any

potential professions. We need more Faith-filled,

virtuous girls in this world. Girls that will become nurturers and Caregivers to all in need:

"For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me

: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed

thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we

see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And

the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me."

-Matthew 25:25-40

As mentioned above,

This year we decided to enhance and deepen our virtue studies.

We also decided to add a liturgical celebration. It makes a lot of sense for these girls to learn

more about and expand upon the traditions of their catholic Faith. These Celebrations help promote a sisterly environment. they also help bring a certain aspect of the Faith into focus.

Our hope is that some of these celebrations and lost traditions one day become traditions in the

in own homes.

Regina Crostata- Notice the little crown on Top

a Gorgeous fruit and Cream cheese filling

Marian Sandwiches- These are simple Turkey Sandwiches

with a cute little Pressing of the Blessed Mother on the Bread

Bleeding Heart Cookies- these are wonderful almond

based cookies with a sweet Jam filling.

This recipe can be used for multiple Liturgical celebrations

Our Liturgical Tea Consists also of a Picture Study.

There are so Many Fantastic pieces of Art work

centered around the Life of Christ and our Catholic Faith.

This Picture is titled:

"The Assumption of the Virgin"- Andrea Del Castagno

Our Curriculum also includes a Hymn Study.

The Hymns chosen for the Tea, are Traditional Catholic Latin Hymns and Chants

That go with our celebration. This provides such a wonderfully; spiritually enriching quality to our Tea.

our Little ones Enjoying the tea, and helping serve each other

This is such a sweet example of our natural instinct to help and serve

The wonderful thing about these teas, is that our Boys enjoy them as well.

I think they may even enjoy tea time better than the girls :)

Tea for TWO!!

Where Have I Been?

I have been away.

Far away, in a land of books, projects, meetings, illness, and laundry.

All I can say is:

"Family Calls"

and when it does, you don't ask questions...

you just drop everything and tend to family :).

That's not to say that I haven't had a Little time to myself though...

I would like to share Some Fun Projects I Have Completed Over The Past Few Months....

My new work area...

I am so exacted about having my own space.

This was a fun piece to refinish

I keep all of my books underneath

My Laptop stays in the drawer

And all my writing materials fit into the little nooks.

I am SO in love!!

My Coffee Table

I originally purchased this piece for $10

With a little sanding and a lot of paint it was almost finished.

I was a little bored of the white finish...

So a little Modge podge here, some scrap booking paper there...

and a final coat of Poly....

And this made for a pretty interesting project!

Mushroom Tote and Fairies

This was a complete experiment.

I invested in all natural fibers for this project.

I was lucky enough to get some inexpensive wooden figures off of ebay.

Just a little re dressings and some cute Gnome hats

And I had a family of fairies and Gnomes.

This consists of a Knit Tube, felted door, Crocheted bottom, and embroidered vines.

the roof is all felted, and the handle is knit

Just throw it in the Wash to felt the wool yarn... and your good to go.

Felted Fairies

These were super fun to make.

they are pictured nestled in our homemade fairy houses.

The houses are still under construction

Completely crafted from felting wool

I used Alpaca.

because I was able to get a Bunch in South America :)

the bodies of these faeries are felted wire.

Pictured here are:

Autumn

Spring

Winter

Summer

Our New Kitchen

After seeing Pottery Barn's expensive kitchen

(which I wanted REALLY bad)

I searched on craigslist for a used wooden kitchen

and was able to come up with my OWN Retro Pink Kitchen.

We even used REAL fixtures :)

Felt Easter Bunnies

I have so much to post.

So many projects that I have been working on in the ast several months... and so many great pics.

But for now, I want to share an Easter project we recently completed at our Pickwick Socirty meeting

Here are a set of tiny felt Easter bunnies set in a small crochet basket

It was a fun project. The girls seemed to enjoy it.

Just click on the" Pickwick" link on the top of the page to see how these felt cuties are put together.

A Pickwick Society Tea

This past Wednesday we had our first Pickwick tea of the year. Normally the girls and I are busy learning and employing the art of Handicrafts. This year's focus is on Crochet. It has been a challenge for the girls to learn, but by the end of the year I am sure they will proficient enough to make the Granny squares necessary for this year's service project.

The girls have come up with the idea of making prayer shawls and/or blankets for the church's Ministry. I am so Happy for their noble thoughts and ideas. they are such an inspiration!

This week's Pickwick meeting was more of a social visit. The Girl's are so deserving of this time together. I find it necessary for them to build on their sisterhood and friendship. I want them to find the support that they need, and I know that they will find it within their home school peer group. It is so wonderful to see them develop these life long friendships with each other.

We DID start our meeting off with our normal virtue study. This week's topic was about Modesty in Dress. They found it a very interesting subject to discuss, and were very creative in thinking up ways to be "in style," without falling into the trap of dressing inappropriately.

The book "Beautiful Girlhood" by M. Hale, lead us in our discussion. We read aloud from the chapter on modesty, and went from there. The girls found it fascinating that a book written so long ago, still addresses many of the same issues facing girls today.

Along with our Virtue study and tea, we also spent sometime making biscuits, Apple butter, and strawberry-cranberry Jam. It was a fantastic treat... and we hope to make more jam in the near future. If you would like to see the recipe that we used for our Jam and apple butter, please see the Pickwick link at the top of my home page. I will posting it there shortly

All Saints Day Celebrations!

The past week has been so incredibly busy... and I have SO much to share!!

First Off, I want to start by sharing some wonderful photos and memories of our All-Saints Day Celebration. It was such a wonderful time. We spent some time visiting At the Dominican Sister's retirement facility. It was a Lovely Visit. The kids were dressed in costume, and were prepared with a short presentation about their Saint. We really enjoyed sharing our Knowledge with the sisters, and can't wait to go back again.

One of the Biggest Highlights of the Season, is the All-Saints day party that we attend every year. It is Hosted by a fellow homeschooling family. They are wonderful enough to share their large farm property with us. It is truly beautiful to be out in the country. The kids spend time on Hayrides, feeding the cattle, and visiting the many animals. They just Love it!

While at the party, each family is in charge of setting up a game booth for the kids to enjoy. This year, a good friend of mine had the idea of setting up an All-Soul's chapel. Each family brought a picture of a loved one who had passed away. We placed the pictures in the Chapel, and the kids took turns offering prayers for their souls. It was both beautiful and meaningful.

This year, "Belle" decided to dress up as one of her favorite Saints... St. Bernadette. Her knowledge of the Saints is amazing. She has taken to reading the stories on her own during her free time. She finds them very Inspirational, and I really couldn't think of more perfect models of Virtue and Faith than the Saints. So I am happy that her natural interest is growing in this direction.

"Little Sparty" is such a boy! He decided that he had to be a saint that carried a sword. His Choice for this year was St. George. We were fortunate to have the Story book of St. George and the Dragon, So "Little Sparty" was in 7th Heaven learning more about his chosen Saint.

"Little Music" was dressed as St. Helen this year. She loved watching the older boys and girls parading around as Saints, but more than that, she loved the fact that she was included in the festivities, and was so proud to be among all of the children

I hope you enjoy the pics :)