Celebrating St. Therese, in-person school thoughts, and Instapot success (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

October is starting with beautiful fall weather, just the way Octobers should. October also begins with the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux on Oct. 1. I love St. Therese’s “little way,” the idea that you can do small things and do them with love.

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them,” she said.

I was so happy to be able to go to Mass for St. Therese’s feast day. The priest talked about the loss that St. Therese experienced—and he shared his own losses too. Then he spoke about the importance of remembering that God is always with us.

~2~

To celebrate the feast day, I stopped by my sister Treasa’s house with roses. St. Therese is her namesake, so it felt like a good way to mark Treasa’s special day—and sneak a peek at our local nieces and nephews.

I might have brought a few cupcakes too. Because I know that aunts who show up with flowers are mildly interesting, but aunts who show up with treats are much more memorable and exciting. That’s what I go for as an aunt.

~3~

Did this feel like a long week to anyone else? I realized this was the first five-day school week for one of our boys, and by Thursday we were really dragging. I’m happy to have our children back in in-person school, but the adjustment has been significant.

For one thing, people are missing their multi-course breakfasts and sleeping until the very last minute in the mornings.

My biggest challenge is that when the boys have an appointment during the school day, I have to take much more time off to go get them from school and get them to the appointment. I miss the days when I would glance at the clock and say, “Oh my goodness, get your shoes! We have to be at the orthodontist in 10 minutes!”

~4~

Two years ago when our kitchen was being renovated, I ordered an Instapot. Since then, I’ve boiled eggs in it, but I hadn’t actually used it to make anything else.

The other day John said, “Maybe we should get rid of it. You never use it.”

He really knows how to inspire me. The next day I used it to make beef barley soup. I was a little terrified that I would blow the house up with it, but I didn’t. The soup cooked quickly, and it was delicious.

I’m excited to try the Instapot again—and I don’t think I’ll wait another two years.

~5~

John has been grilling for us all summer.

He made some delicious chicken legs one night and burgers and bratwurst another night.

I’ll be really sorry to see grilling season end.

Still, this might be the perfect moment for me to start using the Instapot more regularly.

~6~

Our finches seem to manage just fine while we are away from home at work and school, but when I happen to be home for a Zoom meeting, they are so happy.

The birds love the different voices and all the beeps of the computer as people are joining the call.

Pandemic pets know what they like, and it’s having their people—and all their noises—around all the time.

~7~

My father built me a stand for our bird cages! I am so excited for it that I will need to write a whole post about how it happened. But I need to give you a sneak peek. John picked the stand up from my father last weekend, and it’s gorgeous and just exactly the bird stand I have dreamed of—only infinitely better.

John is giving it an extra coat of polyurethane this weekend, and then once it’s dry, we will install the birds safely on it. I can’t wait to see the finches in their cages on their stand.

This handmade bird stand is for the birds. Ha!

Find more quick takes on Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, where you can read about her new book, which I have and am so excited to read!

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