I thought it was time for a little daybook!

Outside my window::

41 and sort of cloudy. We had snow on Saturday—didn’t stick around, but we had it.

Wearing::

black leggings and a very cozy navy sweatshirt my sister in law got me. :)

Reading::

—The notes to Paradiso* —I re-read the Divine Comedy last week, after not having read it for awhile. Anthony Esolen’s notes are fabulous and he does a beautiful job with the translation. (Here’s his Inferno* and Purgatory*)

—The third volume of the Summa Domestica. This would make a great Christmas present! (As would the three Dante books above.) It is sadly NOT AVAILABLE right now but it is been RE-PRINTED and I will let you know when it’s back! In the meantime you can check out Leila’s blog!

Cooking::

Beer bread! Also I am sort of in charge of Thanksgiving this year. I’ve made a plan, we’re getting a smoked turkey breast (YUM) and the only recipe I really have to worry about is the creamed corn recipe because I’ve never made it before, but it’s an Ina recipe so I’m sure it will be fine. I mean it’s cream and corn, it can’t be bad!

Living the Liturgy::

Christ the King Sunday is this week!

As I wrote last week, let’s remember Advent. That doesn’t mean we don’t do any Christmas prep during Advent. Heavens, no. My Christmas cards are all written out already! But it does mean, as I talk about in that post, that we use Advent as a season to prepare for the Incarnation—for Christmas! Christmas is its own incredibly delightful season, and let’s not rush to it! Let’s prepare! Let’s “wait on tip toe” as Mother Mary Francis writes!*

Let’s remember what Advent is about, and what Christmas is about.

So in the pre-Advent prep department, I am clearing off the space where my nativity will live.

Normally, this area is given over to books:

And photos of the “little girls”—Patty, Madeleine, and my new niece, Hailey, who is still cooking. :) (I have an ultrasound photo of her in a frame that my brother and SIL gave me here.)

I have removed the photos. Now I am going to start removing these books, and then I will give this are a good dusting and polishing before the nativity (I have a Fontanini set) comes to live here!

These are divided into pretty books and knitting books, and also books I need to read or shelve. It is, as you can see, a lot. :) (And yes, normally boxes do not live here, but this is my real life! Boxes are there right now from the porch! This is how it looks RIGHT THIS SECOND!)

So it will be cleared off and my nativity will eventually take up its place here. I’ve also replaced some of the fake plants I have around with new Christmas/winter-ish plants—firs and spruces with some red berries for winter and Advent/Christmas.

I am very excited to begin Advent.

(Do you have your candles?)

Knitting::

I wore my Rolling Pastures shawl to Mass on Saturday!

Isn’t it pretty? I think it will also be taken out to Mass for Gaudete Sunday in a few weeks because it’s ROSE. :)

I am working on Hailey’s blanket for Christmas and also another Christmas present, and then I’ll move onto scarves for Madeleine’s first birthday party in January!

Around the house::

See living the liturgy, but also just general tidying up and I need to take a load of books to the used bookstore to sell them. The book purge is constant. Books come in, books come out! The circle of life!

Fitness::

Just made my peloton schedule for the next two weeks. Walking, strength training, stretching…all the good stuff.