Emily M. DeArdo

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Wednesday notebook

Bits and Pieces for Monday (A Wednesday Notebook on a Monday)

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdo2 Comments
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I didn’t do my normal 7QT post because I’m doing a ‘staycation’ and I didn’t really have anything to write about, so I thought I’d check in on Monday and give you more of a bits and pieces/notebook on a Monday.

(Staycation-staying in my house….but doing things I enjoy along with things that need done, and mostly staying off SM!)

  • I took a short break from the Cardigan Project to knit up a really quick shawl, featuring yarn I’d gotten over Memorial Day weekend. It’s very easy —just basic KFB at the beginning of every other row, and all garter stitch. The yarn I’m using, from Frabjous Fibers, is insanely fun and delightful. Ravelry notes here. (Sorry, no picture, but soon!)

  • Unlike some folks, I am a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, probably because the first musical I fell in love with was The Phantom of the Opera. So I signed up for the Broadway HD channel on Prime Video, and I finally saw Cats—which, OK, really does not have more than the barest plot, so I was a bit….confused….when I first saw it. Second viewing was better. (And seriously, as a child of the 80s, “Memory” holds a big place in my musical psyche. My grandparents had the sheet music and I remember playing it on their piano many times.)

    I also watched Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (with Donny Osmond, very cute, why don’t more community theaters do this, it’s FABULOUSSS).

    I haven’t seen Jesus Christ Superstar onstage (Or in a stadium, as ALW intended), so that’s up next. The channel isn’t all “movie” versions—a lot of them look to be recorded live version or recorded theater versions without an audience (like Cats—this is not the 2019 one!).

    And yes, I love the music for Jesus Christ Superstar—I actually first heard it on my parents’ two album recording—all four sides, baby! I dimly remember seeing the film version at my friend Anne’s house when we were freshmen in high school, and since I don’t remember much of it I must not have thought it was that great! But I do love the music.

  • It’s been so hot that cooking has defeated me, but then I remembered a recipe from Magnolia Table Volume 2……Greek Pasta salad. The only think you have to cook is the pasta and it’s served COLD. Heavenly delights! And so good it’s well worth the cost of the book. Farfalle pasta, rice vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, basil….I change the recipe by adding cherry tomatoes cut in half as opposed to the recommended stewed tomatoes, and I add 6 oz of feta, not 4, because in my world more feta is better. It’s SO GOOD. And it serves so many, you can eat it for lunch for a week if you’re a singleton like me (not even kidding.).

  • From my sketchbook….I saw the Canticle of Zechariah antiphon for the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and then had to sketch it. This is one of the view times I’d done direct watercolor and I really like how it turned out!

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And congratulations, Princess Beatrice!

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Her dress is a vintage Norman Hartnell from the queen’s collection, and the tiara is the Queen Mary Fringe tiara, also on loan from the queen. Only married women can wear tiaras, so that’s one reason for the excitement surrounding the first time a royal bride wears one. That, and seeing all the goodies from the queen’s vault!

More photos here—you can see the dress better in these photos. It’s one the queen wore to the opening of parliament back in the day, and Beatrice has had the Anne of Green Gables-ish puff sleeves added to it. The tiara that she’s wearing is the same one Queen Elizabeth wore on her own wedding day!

(And seriously, why don’t more of the queen’s granddaughters raid her closets?! She must have so many gorgeous vintage dresses in there!)

Wednesday Notebook #11

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Peanut Butter Power Bars

Also planted my herb garden! I have a little container garden on my porch. This year I’m growing parsley, mint, and thyme.

The cardigan makes progress! I’m almost done with the back piece!


Reading

Penguins and Golden Calves (finished)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (finished) —SO GOOD!!!!!

Lark Rise to Candleford

Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain (struggling with this one, going to be honest) There are two volumes—the link is for volume 2.

Written In My Own Heart’s Blood, by Diana Gabaldon (finished)

Ignite:Read the Bible Like Never Before, by Sonja Corbitt

Watching

Faust, Met Opera production

Catholicism: The Pivotal Players

Links & Such

A beautiful love story 

Take a Tech Sabbath

Wednesday Notebook #10

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Making

From Outlander Kitchen—North African Rice Pilaf from Claire’s Apothecary Cabinet (makes a TON.Take out the chili pepper or use plain sausage if you want less spicy!)

Chicken wings (or drumsticks!) Provencal (This is REALLY easy. It takes awhile to make but that’s mostly hands-off time, so you can do other things while the drumsticks marinate and bake!)

Reading

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Finished)

An Echo In The Bone

Penguins and Golden Calves, by Madeleine L’Engle

The Dark Night of the Soul (finished)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snake—the Hunger Games prequel!

Watching

Lark Rise to Candleford on Hulu—British Drama! Yay! (I’m also moving slowly through the book.)

Links & Such

10 easy breakfast-for-dinner recipes

The oldest continually operating university in the Americas was founded by a Dominican. (OP Power!)

Peek inside cook Patricia Wells’s Paris Atelier (So sunny and pretty!)

Rogation Days!

Why Satan Is So Scared of St. John Paul II (OK, it’s a click bait title, but it’s a good story! St. John Paul II, PRAY FOR US!)

Things St. John Paul II might tell us during this pandemic

Wednesday Notebook #9

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Fifth Wednesday of Easter

“The Coronation of the Virgin”, Fra Angelico

“The Coronation of the Virgin”, Fra Angelico

The book club for Living Memento Mori has started on my Facebook author page—come join us! Every Tuesday at 2:00!

Making

Boothbay Cardigan

Elementary Wrap

Playing around with my pretty yarn and pondering casting on just a BUNCH of projects….

Reading

The Fiery Cross (finished)

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

A Stash of One’s Own

The Dark Night of the Soul

Joan of Arc, Mark Twain (FINALLY started this!)

Angle of Repose

Watching

The Last Dance (ESPN)

Rogue One

Star Wars

The Empire Strikes Back

The Notebook

Return of the Jedi

Links & Such

For my hockey people: NHL All-Star John Scott joins the Catholic Church

Wednesday Notebook #8

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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It’s the Fourth Wednesday of Easter!

St. Joseph with the Baby Jesus. Since the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker was on May 1, I thought this was an appropriate image to share today!

St. Joseph with the Baby Jesus. Since the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker was on May 1, I thought this was an appropriate image to share today!

Making

Elementary Wrap

Boothbay Cardigan

(More on the knitting projects in this week’s Yarn Along!)


Reading

Anne Boleyn, a King’s Obsession

Jane Seymour, the Haunted Queen

Anna of Kleve, the Princess in the Portrait (why yes, I am reading Alison Weir’s Tudor Queens series, how did you ever guess????? :)

Lark Rise to Candleford

The Fiery Cross

Knitlandia, by Clara Parkes (eh)

A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L’Engle

Watching

Outlander

The Last Song (yes, I did watch a Miley Cyrus movie. It’s pretty good. Don’t @ me.)

The Star Wars movies: Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith

Links & Such

Buttermilk roast chicken!

“Invitation” by Mary Oliver

Baby Goats!

Wednesday Notebook #7

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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It’s the third Wednesday of Easter!

Raphael, The Resurrection

Raphael, The Resurrection

It’s also the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, and the wedding anniversary of Prince William and Duchess Katherine!

St. Catherine with a little memento mori!

St. Catherine with a little memento mori!

Making

Boothbay Cardigan

a fun comfort knitting scarf with color change yarn

Elementary wrap is still going….

Reading

Drums of Autumn, Diana Gabaldon

The Other Queen, by Philippa Gregory (finished—this one is just OK. Too many characters. Just the women would’ve been much more interesting, get rid of the whole George plot line!)

The Sex Lives of Cannibals (yes, terrible title. It is FUNNY, though), by J. Maarten Troost (finished)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Maria Di Lorenzo (research!) (finished)

Knitlandia, by Clara Parkes

Angel of Repose, by Wallace Stegner

Watching

Norma, the Met Opera. SO GOOD.

Giselle

Catholicism

The Prince of Egypt (I just love this movie!)

Links and Such

How to get through these days? Lots of E.G.

You can still join to Consider the Lilies with Take Up & Read! Here is all the information!

75 No Cook Meal Ideas

Wednesday Notebook #6

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Second Wednesday of Easter

“The Resurrection of Christ”, Paolo Veronese

“The Resurrection of Christ”, Paolo Veronese

Making

The Boothbay Cardigan!

Elementary Wrap

Rachael Ray’s Smoky Black Bean and Rice Stoup —this is amazing and mostly a pantry meal! It has bacon so don’t make it on a Friday if you don’t eat meat on Friday. Super easy. I used soy sauce because I was out of Worcestershire sauce—it’s fine. I also used pressed/crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Also fine, and indeed I might like it better. If you go that route, make sure they’re really crushed. Like, liquidated.

Also, REALLY mash the beans when the recipe says to. They don’t have to be perfect, and it doesn’t have to be exactly half, but I did a really good job mashing last night and it makes lots of difference.

This reheats beautifully. It made a huge pot for me—serve this with some bread and you’ve totally got a full meal. You might not even need bread or salad. It’s that filling.

Reading

The Two Towers (YES STILL)
Voyager, Diana Gabaldon (finished)

Drums of Autumn, Diana Gabaldon

Slow Knitting, by Hannah Thiessen (finished)

The Other Queen , by Philippa Gregory

Habitat: The Field Guide to Decorating, by Lauren Liess

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: Journey to the Summit, by Ana Maria Vasquez (finished—research for book two!)

Kateri Tekawitha: Mohawk Maiden, by Evelyn Brown (Finished—also book two research!)

Watching

Return of the King

Outlander (series re-watch)

Catholicism

Rise of Skywalker

Links and Such

The Quiet Wisdom of Audrey Hepburn

A Virtual Tour of Prince Charles’ Garden at Highgrove

Wednesday Notebook #5

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

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Happy Easter!

Making

#Emilyknitsacardigan

The world’s BIGGEST SWATCH :)

The world’s BIGGEST SWATCH :)

Elementary Wrap

Reading

Voyager

One Thousand Gifts

The Two Towers

The Small Rain (finished)

A Severed Wasp (finished)


Watching

The Met’s Romeo et Juliette —GORGEOUS

Jesus of Nazareth

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (birthday present! :) )

rewatching Outlander from the beginning….I keep thinking I’ll do a series about Outlander and Catholicism, so I’m re-reading the books and re-watching the series to get the information fresh in my head.


Links and Such

A poem about the harrowing of hell in Anglo-Saxon (with commentary!)

How to sleep better during COVID-19

10 Ways to Create a Calm and Peaceful Home (Some of these things you might not be able to do right now, but you can think about them!)

We might all need some Padre Pio socks! (Or Mary….or St. Therese….or St. Dominic….or St. Joan of Arc….or St. Augustine….or JPII…..they have so many!)





Wednesday Notebook #4

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Liturgically:

It’s Spy Wednesday. Tomorrow evening the Sacred Triduum starts, with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This is followed by Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. And then, of course, EASTER.

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Making

Easy and Good Pot Roast, from Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Elementary Wrap—it’s still chugging along! I’m on the second ball of yarn now, so the project is 33% done. :)

Another loaf of whole wheat bread

Reading

(Lots of various things, I’m dipping in and out….)

Dragonfly in Amber

A Ring of Endless Light (Finished)

The Two Towers

Angle of Repose

The Dark Night of the Soul

Inside the Passion

Death on a Friday Afternoon

Watching (and will be Watching)

I always watch The Passion of the Christ on Good Friday.

Jesus of Nazareth is also excellent viewing.

The Shawshank Redemption

Opera: Les Pecheurs des Perles, Macbeth, Norma, Aida, La Fanciulla del West, Falstaff, Parsifal, Romeo and Juliette, Don Pasquale, Cosi Fan Tutti.

(Parsifal actually takes place partially on Good Friday and Easter….)


Links and Such and programming notes

It’s Lamb Time At Colonial Williamsburg!


Speaking of sheep—remember Ma’s Delaine dress in Little House in the Big Woods? Meet the delaine merino sheep! The wool is soft, fine, and wrinkle free, so wonder Ma liked it! A beautiful fabric that doesn’t wrinkle?!

The Long Lent and the History of Quarantine

NO seven quick takes this week since it’s Good Friday. On Monday, though, BIRTHDAY WRAP UP! :)

Also the ebook version of Living Memento Mori is on sale until 4/15 on the Ave Maria Press website.

Wednesday Notebook #3

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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MAKING

two garter stitch scarves—if you knit, use an aran weight to cast on 20 stitches on size 10 needles, and just garter stitch the heck out of it. Or, with DK weight yarn, cast on 22 stitches on size 9s and do the same. :) More on knitting in the Yarn Along!

King Arthur Flour’s Classic 100% Whole Wheat bread—this is really good! I didn’t have vegetable oil so I subbed olive oil. Worked fine. This is a really good bread to serve with soup or pasta as well.

READING

The Moon At Night (finished)

Outlander

The Fellowship of the Ring (Finished)

33 Days to Greater Glory (Finished)

Revelations of Divine Love (Finished)

The Red Lotus (finished)

Angle of Repose

The Two Towers

The Young Unicorns (Finished)

A Ring of Endless Light

(Also, my book is still on sale at Ave Maria Press—ebook version only)

WATCHING

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

(The trilogy of extended editions is on insane sale at Amazon right now—more than 58% off. It’s nuts! So if you’re looking to get them for your Blu-Ray library, now is the time. The packaging is not nearly as nice as the DVD sets, but…alas.)

LINKS AND THINGS

This list from Mason Dixon Knitting—100 self-care ideas—is gold!

The Pope’s Urbi et Orbi speech (from 3/27)

Meet Gus the Rabbit!

Queen Elizabeth’s weekly art project for kids!

Wednesday Notebook #2

Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment
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Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation: Eight things to know and share about the Annunciation.

Simon Bening, “The Annunciation”, Getty Museum

Simon Bening, “The Annunciation”, Getty Museum


MAKING:

English Muffin Toasting Bread (with notes on how to make it with whole wheat flour….scroll to the bottom!) It’s yummy!

Elementary Wrap

Lemony Herb Roast Chicken

A bunch of garter stitch scarves

READING:

Making A Life (Finished)

The Virgin’s Lover (yes, yes, I love Philippa Gregory, sorry guys, but I do!—finished)

The Other Queen (see above note. Sorry not sorry.)

Vanishing Fleece (finished)

Exalted (finished)

Revelation of Divine Love

The Red Lotus

Outlander (again)

Meet the Austins

WATCHING:

Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Bishop Barron’s Catholicism: The Pivotal Players series.

Links and such :

The story of Billy, if you missed it. And its follow up.

Many, many moons ago, Elizabeth Foss wrote a workshop for Lent called Restore. And it was amazing and I come back to its principles all the time. So I thought I’d share some of them with you in these notebooks. The first one is: Realize when you’re burned out, and work to get good rest. I think right now we could all use really quality sleep, because when we’re stressed sleep can fly away so quickly! Try going to bed at a set time every night and getting up at a set time in the morning. Conversely, if you’re like me and you need more sleep than usual, try to see if you can structure your days to get it—go to bed earlier, nap if you can, etc.

The whole series where she talks about renewing and restoring her life is a gift—this post has all the entries linked.

Want some science at home? Our local science museum, COSI, has a site with daily activities and exhibits to check out!

46 productive things to do instead of scrolling social media

Kids’ coloring pages from Cultivate What Matters

Bishop Barron: “Coronavirus and Sitting Quietly Alone”

Wednesday notebook

books, journal, knitting, Wednesday notebookEmily DeArdoComment

While the COVID 19 virus goes on, I’m going to try to do a Wednesday notebook—a mid-week check in with what I’m doing, reading, watching, and any goodies I find on the internet to share with you. And also let’s have conversation in the comments—how is everyone doing? Let’s get some virtual community!


MAKING:

These brownies from King Arthur Flour are AMAZING. So fudgy. I made them with one cup of chips because that’s all I had—still excellent.

Their English Muffin Toasting Bread is next up in my baking list.

I’m still working on my elementary wrap in Linen Quill from Purl Soho.

Elementary Wrap and book stack!

Elementary Wrap and book stack!


READING:

Exalted, by Sonja Corbitt

Revelations of Divine Love, by Julian of Norwich

The Red Lotus, by Chris Bohjalian (about…..a pandemic…..)

From the Depths of Our Hearts, Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah

Making A Life, Melanie Falick

(and of course my book!)

WATCHING:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Going to watch all of the Hobbit movies….might as well!)

Knives Out

Links and such:

Social Distancing Tips from a Cloistered Nun (I LOVE Sister Mary Catherine!)

Catholic Coloring Pages and activities for kids!

Magnificat is offering their app for FREE during this—daily Mass readings and other devotions

Maybe have a reset day?

Met Opera streaming!