You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
Notes:
As I’ve said before, one reason I write The Mom Weekly is to tell myself things as well as you. And I thought of something I personally would like, leading into Lent starting tomorrow: a list of good ideas for Lenten meatless lunches and dinners.
I typically don’t eat meatless the entirety of Lent, but I know I will need ideas for Fridays, and maybe Wednesdays if I get ambitious.
And so writing these ideas ahead of time should help me have a ready-to-go list. I hope it might help you too or inspire you to create your own.A
Also! Breaking news! I edited this post before it went out, because the Holy Father released his Letter for Lent 2026, and it’s well worth planning to read prayerfully and slowly this Lent. Here it is:
Curry wraps with peanut sauce (I adapted this recipe in various ways, notably that I add the peanut sauce to the wraps, and I wrap it in tortillas, not the collard leaves .
Corn chowder made without ham or bacon.
Grilled cheese, veggies or salad.
Korean Tofu Bowls or Wraps with rice or tortillas.
Sometimes Spotify annoys me when it auto-plays whatever random podcast I’ve listened to in the past, but this one was a home run.
I’m not even 30 minutes into this episode and I have so many thoughts! It’s fascinating, and such a respectful conversation (at least as far I have gotten).
An Action Item: Download the Prayer of St. Ephrem to your phone
When I looked at last year’s beginning of Lent post, after I already completed this one, I thought, that was good! (Including my first-ever GIF).
But that post featured an image of the Prayer of St. Ephrem, which is traditionally prayed during Lent. I’ll feature it again here, and consider adding it to your phone, possibly to your lock screen? So that you can remember to pray it every so often during Lent.
The theory behind getting those items out of our mind and into a list, or lists, or some kind of system, is this: If we clutter up our brain with all of our to-dos, there isn’t space for thinking, deep work, and things we really want to accomplish.
I haven’t done a proper “mind sweep” in some time, so I plan to add this an an action item! But I do have a weekly habit of writing out what’s going on for the next week and a half or so. I do this one page per day, on light blue colored paper, that I keep on a fancy clipboard. I can add things to each day. Like many, I enjoy crossing off the items, and I even add things to the list so that I can cross them off. It truly helps me not to miss events and appointments, even ones that are on my calendar!
I had some reservations about some points of this article, but overall these young men are doing good work.
Action Item: Do a “Mind Sweep” Ahead of September
Set a time for 10-15 minutes (or more! Some people recommend a half hour or longer to help you capture a lot of items) and write down all the things you need to do—pay certain bills, check on your grocery list, make plans with friends, plan where you’ll be for Christmas or Thanksgiving, make your annual doctor or dentist appointments. You’ll be really glad that you did.
I have also done this walking through our house, writing down all the little things that I’d like to accomplish—cleaning off a surface, touching up paint on a wall or doorway, or organizing a closet. It’s great to have such a list, so when you are thinking of something to do, you can check the list and do one of the items. And, best of all, you get to cross off that item!
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the website here. https://themomweekly.com/
Notes:
I had another newsletter ready to go this week, that I really want to share!
But I noticed very late that today is “Pride & Prejudice” Day! It’s the 212th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s beloved novel.
And since 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth (her birthday is December 16), there will doubtless be several newsletters this year that center on her.
Remember how much I love Jane Austen, and also how much I love you!
Mom
Happy Pride & Prejudice Day
Let’s take a little detour, shall we, to enjoy an especially wonderful exchange from Chapter 56 of Pride & Prejudice. This exchange is between the haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Elizabeth Bennet. This is towards the end of Pride & Prejudice. I initially was going to have the entire exchange as text in this newsletter, but I realized that this scene 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice captures virtually every word.
So here it is!
Now, some fun and funny recent P&P related social media. I promise you that these are really worth watching for some comic relief.
Finally, is a rendition of a portion of “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. I have such a vivid memory of Ideagirl memorizing this for declamation back in grade school. Some of the rest of us can still recite at least “The highwayman came riding, riding, riding, the highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.”
Note the first location!!! I really hope to make this happen in 2025.
An Action Item: Get Started on Your Taxes
Yes, it’s getting to be that time of year… I hope you each have a physical folder that you can refer to to complete your taxes. I prefer to print out the 1099s and similar forms that we get, but usually I can upload them directly to my tax software.
You don’t have to finish your taxes, but gathering your materials is a good first step. I will actually have another tax-related tip in February, so you may want to hold off on actually filing, even if you are ready. But if your taxes are relatively simple, go ahead and file, and you will have that off your plate.
I’m sure I am not the only one who has multiple running to-do lists. I have mine both in my head and written down, either on paper or in my treasured ToDoist app.
I am that person who adds things to her to do list after completing, so that I can cross them off. It’s that satisfying for me.
And yet, I often feel like I’m not really making progress, especially when it comes to things around the house. Part of that is the nature of keeping a household running smoothly. If you vacuum, it’s going to need it again very soon, and it’s not quite as satisfying as a one-and-done project. But as I go through the house, I typically see things that I keep “meaning” to do, from touching up paint, to organizing a room, and so on. Whenever I’m going around the house, I find myself saying, “I need to get to … (insert small project here).”
Over the last week, I’ve accomplished three small projects that happen to be related. And I realized, not for the first time, how celebrating our small accomplishments helps to make you happier and more productive.
Here’s the story: Months ago, I purchased a top-down/bottom-up shade (like this one) to go in Dad’s library. He wanted the ability to see the sky but also giving him some privacy. We kept saying to each other, “We have to put that shade up.”
Finally, we set upon a time earlier last week. (That’s another tip—scheduling a time to do a specific project greatly increases the chances you will get to it!). And while Dad went through some things and books in his office, I took off the old shade, and installed the new one, without too much drama. Because I don’t do it very often, I read the instructions really carefully and spent extra time. It felt great to accomplish it!
I saved the shade in order to install it in the garage, where there was a window without a shade. I put the shade on top of the dryer in the laundry room, and made a mental note to get to it “soon.”
The Plot Thickens
A couple of mornings later, I was opening the floral shade in the laundry room. You may remember it had a weird cord to raise and lower the shade. And … it broke. I was so annoyed!
I got out the ladder to take a look at it, and see if I could fix it. It was the oddest contraption, and took awhile to disassemble. And, for good or ill, it could not be fixed, which kind of made me glad.
I was heading out, and so stopped at Menard’s and get a new shade. They had one just like I wanted.
When I got home, I started to work on installing it. Feeling confident from my installation of the library shade, I promptly installed the brackets upside down. So annoying!
When I discovered my mistake, I also realized that the screws that came with the shade were those evil screws that immediately “strip” when you start to install them (even though I was using a manual screwdriver, not an electric drill). So getting them off was quite the ordeal, and I was cursing whoever creates those awful screws!!!
Fortunately, I was able to find “just” enough high-quality screws in our tool box , and installed the brackets correctly, put up the shade, and consigned the awful fasteners to the trash.
And then, I told myself, I am not going to wait another minute to install that shade in the garage, because I don’t want to forget how to do it! I was able to install that shade correctly, and in much less time as the first two, because I had the memory of how to do it.
The “Things I’ve Completed” Photo Album
After this was all completed, I took photos to memorialize all my great work (see several of the photos in this week’s graphic). And then I realized how happy it made me to do that.
So, that’s the plan in coming weeks. I will take a before/ after photo of different projects that I want to do, and then celebrate them.
To aggregate these, there is a new album in my Photos called “Things I’ve Completed.” I’m going to come up with a better name for it, but I don’t like the typical expression “Ta-Da List” l. If you have any better suggestions for what to call it, I want to know! And let me know good things that you have accomplished.
I’m not sure how I came across this article. But it’s related to what I wrote this week, a great reminder that the “small steps” are a great way to complete things. And that thanking yourself for taking them is a good (and spiritual) practice! Here’s an excerpt:
So, what small step could I take regarding small steps? Well, in my fancy new 2025 planner, the first resolution I wrote down was, “I will honor small steps.”
Then I realized how much I sounded like a yoga instructor. Honor? By doing what? I scratched that out and wrote, “I will thank myself for taking small steps.”
This is a trip. You should try it.
“Thank you for throwing away three eggshells.”
“Thank you for picking up the paper scrap off the floor.”
“Thank you for making the bed.”
I didn’t realize how little positive internal feedback I had going around upstairs until I really started making a point of it.
An Action Item: Drink A Big Glass of Water First Thing in the Morning
Everyone knows how much I enjoy drinking water, but the cold weather recently has made drinking water less appealing for me. This is probably because I love my water with ice, and it just isn’t as much fun to drink when it’s below zero outside! But staying hydrated, especially in colder, drier weather, with dry heat, is even more important this time of year.
I was having some digestive and other symptoms recently, and I thought it could be from not drinking enough water. So I’ve made a point the last week or so to drink an eight-ounce glass of water (or two) first thing in the morning. It has really helped, and I encourage you to do the same.
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
Notes:
I actually had this “From the Vault” ready to replay for next week, but then I looked up the actual day of the inauguration, and rather than be “behind the news,” I decided to move the publication date up.
If you are having deja vu, it’s because I ran this same “From the Vault” one year ago. But I thought it was even more apropos this year, when we have an inauguration. And I absolutely stand by what I wrote one year ago, and 16 years ago. We really do live in the greatest country in the world. So I’m calling it a “From the Vault (Replay).”
“So a Man Can Stand Up” (From the Vault “Replay,” January 22, 2009)
I saw this post when I was looking around at “likely ones” for “From the Vault” editions (see this post for the explanation). I could share from those blogging days, and I found this post from January 2009. For a minute, I was hesitant to share this reflection, from the inauguration and from the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Not everyone who reads The Mom Weekly shares my pro-life views, and I don’t want to make anyone feel bad or excluded from this.
But no one is surprised to know that I’m still solidly pro-life (remember: I’m Team Baby !!!), and I’m not trying to change anyone’s views here. I love everyone in my extended family, and I try to be honest about where I’m coming from. At the same time, I can acknowledge and honor that other people have different views.
But as I read through this old post, I thought: I would not change a single word. And I didn’t. And I am actually pretty proud of what I wrote, when I was 15 years younger and less mature than I am now!
Even though a lot of things have happened since this time — and a lot has culturally changed (understatement!!!) — I feel more confident in what I wrote. I am still the goofy corny person who believes—even more so now—that we live in the greatest country in the world.
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
From the Vault: So a Man Can Stand Up (January 22, 2009)
This year we are studying American history in our home, and corny or not, I keep thinking to myself and remarking to whoever is listening: we live in the greatest country in the world.
I’m especially inspired by the bravery and the heroism and the intellectual power of the founders of our country. We’ve read tons of books about the American Revolution. I especially like the Jean Fritz ones; they are quick reads and so enjoyable.
Last summer we listened to the audiobook of Esther Forbes’ Johnny Tremain on a trip to Ohio, and while it could be slow-moving at parts (thus I was so grateful for the long minivan ride), the overall effect was truly “living history,” a novel to help us experience and understand this period in history and some of the people who made it happen.
I don’t want to give away the end of Johnny Tremain, so I won’t provide the whole context of this quote, but it was brought vividly to my mind this week:
“You remember that night…that last meeting of the Observers. James Otis came, although we didn’t want him. I can’t remember much of what he said, but I remember how his words made the gooseskin on my arms.’
‘I’ll never forget it. He said..so a man can stand up.’
‘Yes. And some of us would die–so other men can stand up on their feet like men. A great many are going to die for that. They have in the past. They will a hundred years from now–two hundred. God grant there will always be men good enough.’
Johnny Tremain was published and won the Newberry Medal in 1944. It was during the midst of World War II, when the Greatest Generation was serving and dying for these freedoms again. And still we have people good enough, who are willing to serve and protect our country and our world. How amazing. So that a man can stand up…
We had a “television day” Tuesday, and watched the inauguration throughout the day. Apart from the fashions (that’s for another post!) I was teary through much of the traditions accompanying it. We have—not just a peaceful, but a gracious—transfer of power every time there is a new president.
Other places in the world, even today, have civil war or unrest, coups or dictators. We have the first African-American president, a mere generation away from segregation and a time when it would have seemed impossible. I do not agree with so many policies of Obama, but I couldn’t stop the tears when he took the oath.
Sir, on the way back from a meeting an hour from home and heading back to the office, stopped at home to watch the actual signing in. He was moved, and that got me teary again, especially by the words of the Reverend Joseph Lowery, the civil rights and spiritual leader who had seen so much, and suffered so much (Sir told me how Lowery was beaten and worse during the civil rights struggle), and yet lived to see this day and give the benediction. So that a man can stand up…
Today we have another “television day” at our house, to watch live coverage of the March for Life (on EWTN). I am so happy kids got up early enough so we could go to Mass. Our wonderful pastor gave a wonderful reflection about being life-giving, rather than life-draining.
Our kitchen is still a construction zone, so since work was underway when we came home from Mass, we went to McDonald’s for breakfast. While the kids were eating I read them, for the umpteenth time, Regina Doman’s luminous picture book, Angel in the Waters. I can’t ever read that book without crying, especially on the page, “Then there was light.”
Homegirl asked why I was getting choked up, and probably thinking, but not saying, why are you crying a lot this week?. I told them that it made me emotional to remember having them as babies, and it made me emotional to see the angel on every page and realize we are surrounded by our own guardian angels, and it also made me emotional, on this day of penance, to realize how vulnerable babies are and how they need to be protected.
And so I am bracing myself for what President Obama might do to promote or make abortion easier, and I am heavy of heart, and hoping and praying that he does not make it a high priority.
It is likely that Obama will sign executive orders in favor of abortion—perhaps today—and nothing can really been done about it, except pray and work hard on issues we can, and to support and lift up in prayer those who are wounded by abortion, both those who speak out and those who remain silent.
We can also be grateful for the tremendous gift of life, and cherish life, and be life-givers. And to remember that there is no liberty, no pursuit of happiness, without life. And we can: “imagine the possibilities….so a man can stand up.”
I shared this with my sisters in the Sisters Letterloop, but I thought it was worth sharing here as well, exactly as I shared it there!
A dentist who attends my book group told the story of how she was not accommodated at all 12 years ago when she was pregnant with her first child in dental school (a doctor also shared her experiences around the same time). And that brought up this recent article in The Pillar about a Georgetown University law student who fought for accommodations, not just for herself, but for future students experiencing this. Really worth a read!
Also, here is some of the backstory of the article from its author, Leah Libresco Sargent (she also linked to yet another fascinating article she wrote about current dating culture. She’s such a good writer!)
An Action Item: Make some soup this week
It’s been so cold here today and for the next few days. That has me thinking of soup. I am glad that I made My Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Now I want to make some other kind of soup. I encourage you to, as well!
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
The Household Book
I have long wanted to make a recipe book or other collection of “things” for kids to have, or maybe even along with my sisters & sister-in-law. I know there are companies that will produce those types of family cookbooks, but our recipes and tastes are often changing, and I didn’t want something that was unable to be adapted over time. I also wanted to add more than just recipes. The ideas would percolate and I couldn’t seem to get a “handle” on it.
Julienne Gehrer, a food historian and writer, had a session called “The Culinary Arts at Chawton Cottage.” I volunteered to be an usher because I knew I would want to attend the talk—Jane Austen & food? Sign me up. What I didn’t realize was the session topic was actually Gehrer explaining and showing examples of Martha Lloyd’s Household Book, which would have been used in the Austen household at Chawton Cottage.
Martha Lloyd was a close friend of the Austen family, and when the three Austen women—sisters Jane and Cassandra Austen and their mother—made a home at Chawton Cottage at the invitation of their brother Edward, she joined as well.
Edward had inherited the Chawton House estate, and Chawton Cottage is a house on the property. It’s called a “cottage,” but I wouldn’t call it a cottage. When I visited with Giuliana in 2019, we found it a decent-sized house, with lovely gardens all around.
A household book, in the early 19th century, was an “essential tool for managing her home,” according to Gehrer. “Whether she lived on a large estate or dwelled in a modest cottage, her handwritten collection of culinary recipes, household preparations, and medical cures created a ready resource for daily living.”
Martha Lloyd’s Household Book is an actual book—handwritten, well-worn and used, that was acquired by Chawton Cottage in the 1950s, and remains there today on display. In 2021, the Bodlein Library at Oxford published Julienne Gehrer’s Martha Lloyd’s Household Book: The Original Manuscript from Jane Austen’s Kitchen. The book contains several explanatory chapters about the connections between the Lloyd & Austen families, history about household books, and more. The latter two-thirds of the book is a facsimile of Martha’s Household Book, with an annotated transcription by Gehrer. Of course I purchased it for my Jane Austen bookshelf.
As Gehrer gave her talk and showed examples of the household book, my mind started working. Could I make a household book? Women in the 18th and 19th centuries would handwrite their household books, and I imagine they would update and add to it often. I have the advantage of computer editing and on-demand publishing to create. And my lightbulb moment: I could make it an annual household book, and update it each year.
That would help me complete at least a basic household book, and then be able to update and add to it through the years. I also think it can serve as a history of different years of our family—I wish I had done these in prior years, because then I would know the kinds of meals I was making typically when the kids were very little. But to paraphrase the Chinese adage, “The best time to create a household book is 20 years ago. The second best time? Today.” So that is my plan.
You kids may remember that I did produce a physical book at Christmastime 2021, titled “The 2022 Household Book.” The production value kind of screamed “graphic design is my passion” — which means it wasn’t very nicely designed. (I remember your comments, never you fear, haha). I intended to update the physical book each year, and I still have not done so.
However, I kept the text in a document (still titled, “Household Book 2023 Text”, haha.) Whenever I have a new recipe or resource to add, I add it to the document. Since then, I have produced numerous books for actual publication, and so over time my graphic design skills have improved. So I know I could produce a 2025 one (thought at this point it’s rather late).
For now, I’ve been adding or editing recipes and resources. And whenever one of you kids wants to have the recipe for, say, Trinity Bars, or Shepherd’s Pie, I can just cut/paste it into a text or an email.
But now, I’m going to put them into a section here on The Mom Weekly called “The Household Book.” (It’s a tab on the menu of the home page). There are a few recipes added to it, and sections will be added. Eventually it will be a searchable section where you can find recipes and other information.
What do you think about the Household Book? Are you glad we have one?
This is an absolutely riveting read. A medical mystery with a happy ending. Also good to know to because it sounds more common than it seems.
An Action Item: Consider Meal Prepping
This article is surprisingly helpful in understanding meal prepping and really making it work. This can also be said for planning one’s week by looking through what you have going on, and making sure that you are slotting in enough time for work, relaxation, meal prep, etc. Once The Household Book is more fully populated, you could use it as a resource for meal prepping.
![So A Man Can Stand Up (From the Vault[Replay], January 22, 2009)](https://themomweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/images.jpeg)
