buffalo journeys

  This is my go to dish for meatless Fridays on the days when I don't have time to prepare a meal, and we're all starving, but a meal is needed soon. It's delicious, and everyone loves it, including my pickiest eater. (Substitute the fresh tomatoes with canned or frozen tomatoes if fresh tomatoes are not available.)  Ingredients: spaghetti, frozen package of shrimp scampi, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of olive oil Dice the tomatoes and saute it in a pot with olive oil. Cook the spaghetti al dente. It will finish cooking when combined with the shrimp scampi. Open 1 package of the frozen shrimp scampi (my box contains 2 packages) and cook it in the pot with the tomatoes and olive oil. Combine the spaghetti with the shrimp scampi in the pot and cook until the shrimp starts to turn pink. Move the pot from the heat so not to overcook the shrimp and serve immediately. The sauce from the shrimp scampi is already flavorful, so no spices are needed, but season to ...

The Annunciation by Botticelli  (MET open source)  Today is the Annunciation (March 25), from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. This is when the Angel Gabriel appear to Mary to announce that she will be with child, our Lord, Jesus Christ. This event is recorded in scripture, Luke 1:26-38 (Douay Rheims Version), as shown below: "26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. 31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He...

Christ Bearing the Cross by Nicolaus Tzafouris  (from the MET open source project) Blessed Lent to you. This year's Lenten journey feels a bit different than previous years for me. I can't quite put my finger on what or how that makes this year different; it just seems different. The world has changed after all, since the pandemic, and things never quite got back to the way it was.  Everything has changed forever, and no one can put that genie back in the bottle anymore, no matter how hard we've tried. If you've stumbled along the way during this Lent, begin again. As we reflect on the Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross) during Lent, the carrying of the cross reminds us all that we all have our cross to bear. We all stumble along the way, but we must get back up and begin again.  There are hours or even days when life feels very difficult; when that happens, pray. Pray unceasingly, and begin again.  

  image credit: Amazon.com When my children were in the preschool and kindergarten stage, some of their favorite activities were these workbooks from Kumon. (I'm not affiliated with Kumon.) We've tried different workbooks, but we like these the best because the paper is thick, not thin and flimsy. The activities were simple enough where it doesn't frustrate the child nor the parent. It's also hard enough that they don't get bored with it. It provided hours of entertainment while learning at the same time. The learning aspects of these workbooks are scissor skills, recognizing shapes and colors, and how to hold a writing instrument.  Kumon has many other workbooks. The ones pictured are our top three that my children can't get enough of. Every child is different, so if the child doesn't show any interests in these workbooks, that's okay too. Just wanted to provide some ideas of what worked for us. I remembered reading (and still do) lots of mom blogs tryi...

image credit: Angelus Press *spoiler alert This book is a condensed version of the biography of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, so at times it may read a bit disjointed here and there. The full version of the biography from the same author is much longer. The year 2020 brought about lots of focus and clarity in the midst of all the chaos. It may seem ironic with 20/20 and all but perhaps it is God's plan. I've never heard of Archbishop Lefebvre or the SSPX before this, but all the events of the past year has led me to want to learn more about it all. For those who are not familiar with Archbishop Lefebvre, he is the founder of SSPX. The order is canonically irregular despite what many who have said otherwise. For those who have disparaging remarks about SSPX, perhaps it is time to reflect on everything that has happened to date, by their fruits you shall know them, and ponder on it all.   This book provided insights into Archbishop Lefebvre's childhood, his call to the priest...