[To save you the trouble of clicking through to Cottage Garden, I am double posting today's installment!]
I find this picture so amusing—the whole place is one giant haystack (reed-stack):
It looks quite pretty when the sun hits it:
This detail was a nice surprise—a cross hatch pattern in the thatch above the entryway:
Ladders, ladders, everywhere!
The transformation of the cottage is well underway. Much more of the roof has been completed, and there is golden reed everywhere. It's all around the front and sides and all over the driveway. And there is an honest-to-goodness haystack—truly a rarity in suburban Long Island! [Updated photos in The Cottage Garden.]
I had to laugh when I realized that (quite by accident) the place is a temporary reflection of that Haystack Full of Needles book cover painting, though quite a bit messier!
in the Cottage Garden:
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (unabridged)! [Captions from the script appear above each corresponding photo.]
"If music be the food of love, play on."
"What country, friends, is this?"
"By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o' nights."
[Patrick.]
"I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal."
"He's but mad yet, Madonna, and the fool shall look to the madman."
"I will on with my speech in your praise, and then show you the heart of my message."
"I am bound to the Count Orsino's court. Farewell."
"Were not you even now with the Countess Olivia?"
"Would you have a love song, or a song of good life?"
"What a caterwauling do you keep here!"
"My masters, are you mad?"
"Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady's favour at any thing more than contempt, you would not give means for this uncivil rule."
"If I do not gull him into a nayword, and make him a common recreation, do not think I have wit enough to lie straight in my bed. I know I can do it. "
"My purpose is indeed a horse of that color."
"But if she cannot love you, sir?"
"Get ye all three into the box tree: Malvolio's coming down this walk."
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
"I could marry this wench for this device.
--So could I too"
"Nay, but say true, does it work upon him?"
[The scenes above were from Acts I and II.]
Too bad the rhododendrons weren't blooming!
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Gorgeous scenery by Mary Maggio-Smith and others
Beautiful costumes by amazing seamstress Hope Giambalvo (age 16) assisted by Mary Smith and others
Directed by Kari Riess
Our children's parts:
Agnes: "Maria"
Theresa: "Viola"
Margaret: "Feste the Clown"
Marie, Patrick, and Maureen: sign carriers
A day in May begins with Twelfth Night practice.
Our director gave notes to the cast:
in the shade of a large oak:
A sword fight broke out (and, no, this was not part of the play):
We observed the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a small altar (can you find it?):
Here is a closer view:
And here it is again after the younger ones (the brothers and sisters of cast members) spent the day adding flowers to it!
A birthday was celebrated:
Make that two birthdays:
And a good time was had by all!
[From left to right: Maria, Feste, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek conspire against Malvolio.]
particularly those of the children of our homeschooling group.
Here are perhaps a little more than half the children who attended our annual May Crowning yesterday. By the time this group shot was taken, most of the others had already skipped off to the swings, scooters, and snack tables. As usual, blue was the color of the day.
Before the guests arrived, I stockpiled a basket full of medals, cards and books for the children.
The ribbons and medals were part of a simple craft planned for the children--beribboned medals to wear to the crowning. Browsing the craft store, I found favor ties meant for weddings and thought they would be perfect for making wearable pins, particularly because the lilies, white flowers and bells (reminding me of the Bell's of St. Mary's) are so perfect for Our Lady. When crafting for a crowd, it helps to save precious time, and favor ties meant less cutting and measuring of ribbon.
Here is one of the gorgeous little rosary books I picked up for the children--small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but featuring full color illustrations of all four mysteries (yes, even the Luminous). These books will need to wait a bit though--in the hustle and bustle of the day's events, I forgot to give them out!
The simplest, quickest Marian activity in the world, step-by-step:
The children worked on the pins as they arrived:
My girls love to add their own stamp of creativity to any idea, so here are a few samples they made in the morning:
[Cost per project: about 75 to 99 cents, except for larger medals.]
We began the Crowning with a procession led by the first communicants, followed by all the children. Our music--including Queen of the Holy Rosary, Regina Coeli, Bring Flow'rs of the Fairest, Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above and others were led by the girls from Our Lady of the Angels Choir under the direction of Miss Lynn Wilson. (I am proud to say that Agnes and Theresa are members.) We said the rosary according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort. [From the appendix of True Devotion to Mary, Montfort Publications.] I had originally hoped to fill a basket with the petitions of all our group members, but this is another of those things that was lost in the shuffle of a busy day.
As you can see, our festive Marian Lanterns made a fitting backdrop for the occasion:
The sight of first communicants in May makes my heart sing--how well I remember being among the joyful first communicants processing into the school yard of St. Mary's School many, many years ago. We too sang "Bring Flowers of the Fairest." The Catholic Faith is the stuff of beautiful memories.
The crowning moment:
And how much do you love this picture of our gorgeous first communicants with Heather's daughter Lily smiling directly at the face of Our Blessed Mother?! I have no doubt Our Lady is smiling right back!
May the grace of the mystery of the Coronation of the Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven and Earth, come down into our hearts.
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May Crowning trivia: Our three first communicants banner image was taken during last year's crowning.
And oh, when the heart faints with longing,
He is there, though our eyes cannot see;
The Compassionate One, bending o'er us,
Stoops to hear the heart's sigh, "Pray for me!"
--from The Wayside Shrine by Martha Elvira Pettus
When I was a small child, I fell in love with the roadside shrines of Ireland. It makes me smile to think back upon one afternoon in particular: As my father cast a hopeful line over the River Blackwater in County Cork, I piled wildflowers at the foot of a shrine to Our Lady.
In hopes of recreating this sweet and simple memory, we spent the weekend fashioning miniature wayside shrines small enough to grace a pot of pansies, but so lovely they just might remain in my children's hearts forever.
Several months ago, I purchased these church-shaped wooden garden stakes at the craft store for fifty cents each:
We began by painting a base coat in acrylics:
We added moss, silk flowers, small statues and crucifixes, and other embellishments.
Here are a few of the shrines we made so far:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel (spring theme):
Roadside Crucifix (winter theme, complete with a touch of artificial snow):
St. Anthony (summer theme):
Agnes' St. Jude (Agnes is taking "Judith" for Confirmation this year):
Marie's St. Joseph (a gift for Grandma):
Margaret's Advent-themed Shrine (front):
Margaret's Shrine (back view, with Divine Mercy image taken from a broken bracelet):
Margaret's adaptation--Holy Water Font:
Holy Water Font (rear view, with Infant of Prague):
Theresa's Our Lady of Grace shrine:
Marie's Crucifix in the Rhododendrons:
Three-year-old Maureen's pink Sacred Heart shrine:
Here's a pretty mess--I couldn't resist this shot of some of the production crew hard at work behind the scenes. (Also, it occurs to me for the first time that the walls inside just about match the carpet of golden maple leaves outside.)
A small silk butterfly alights atop the spring-themed shrine to Our Lady of Mount Carmel:
Materials and Ways to Improvise
I found the wooden church stakes in A.C. Moore craft store. They were made by Nicole Crafts, reference number WOD 1204. It is often difficult to find specific craft items online, and your local store may not stock these. Any paintable wooden garden stake might be used or adapted (we used flat heart-shaped stakes to make an entire set of the Stations of the Cross years ago--we also made Sacred and Immaculate Heart shrines from heart-shaped stakes a while back). If you are unable to find stakes, small wooden churches or birdhouses would work quite well, as you can see from the rear view of last year's St. Francis birdhouse craft. I often challenge the children to figure out ways to bring ideas to life from natural materials found outside. These shrines would be beautiful created from pieces of wood, bark, moss, acorns and stones gathered in the backyard--or perhaps items you might otherwise discard, like clementine crates. Can you imagine a little shrine tucked away in the knot of a tree?
The possibilities for embellishment are endless, and religious images may be taken from paper holy cards, catalogues, broken bracelets, pins, or rosaries. DiscountCatholicStore.com sells mini-pocket saint statues (3/4 inch) for $1.55.
May the saints bless you on your way, now and always!
Before:
The New York Baby leaves Kennedy Airport in what would normally be her late-Spring/Summer "uniform"--a sweet little sundress, preferably sleeveless. (This little number was brought home from Paris by none other than our favorite airport driver, MacBeth.)
After:
It did not take many days of fifty and sixty-something San Francisco Spring for Mom to figure out that this would not work. In the City by the Bay, it is all about layers! Here is a step by step guide:
Start with the pale purple sundress Baby appeared in all Spring back home in New York. Add her sister's hooded pullover sweater (because, on those last sweltering days at home, you forgot to pack a proper one for her), rolling up the sleeves. If the pullover is the color of the Pacific on a sunny day, so much the better!
Pull on a pair of thick stockings to keep out the cold, but easy to remove if the day turns warm. A pair of sturdy little moccasins will keep Baby steady on those challenging hills. If the moccasins feature luscious little strawberries as a reminder of Kristen and Suzanne's upcoming Strawberry Festival, so much the better!
Do not forget a floppy safari hat to keep the sun off Baby's face, because, cool as it is, it is still summer. If the hat has the words "San Francisco Zoo" emblazoned across the top, so much the better!
There you have it, the perfectly dressed San Francisco Baby, warm as toast and ready for anything, preferably a romp around the "California Cottage Garden"!
