No, no, I'm only kidding. I *wish* I knew of 100 ways to use oranges, because we have about one thousand ripe ones on the tree in our backyard, and we have eaten more than we can handle. So far, we actually only have three: plain old ripe oranges, orange juice, and orange marmalade. All three are pretty big hits around here, though, so we might just stick to those basics for a while longer (maybe diversifying to mimosas. How have we not made those yet??). And we give oranges to everyone who comes by our house, or lives near us, or is a friend. Apparently oranges in February in California are sort of like tomatoes in August in Virginia, in that everyone has more than they need even though they are so so good.
For the first time in my life I am living in a place where it is actually seasonally appropriate to buy bathing suits when stores start selling them. Which means that as of earlier this week, both Clara and Dorothy have bathing suits which, of course, they insisted on wearing all day, all the way through to bathtime, which was the first appropriate moment to be wearing them.
We've been trying to work it out so that each morning one twin is at home "helping" with Josephine, while the other is out and about embarking on some sort of adventure. It has actually been incredibly awesome, partly because it's the first time we've spent large amounts of time with Clara and Dorothy individually, and while they are quite a bit alike, they are definitely unique individuals. Oh my goodness, they love being around the baby, which results in all sorts of ridiculous moments, like trying to insist that no, Josephine cannot eat a lollipop.
Our little Josephine celebrated her nameday on Monday, which, for those of you not familiar with the tradition, is a celebration of the feast day of one's patron saint. In Poland, your nameday is actually a much bigger deal than even your birthday, and my dad sent over pastries from a local bakery along with some information about Josephine's patron saint, Saint Josephine Bakhita, to help us celebrate. I encourage you to read about her life, because it is truly an incredible story, one which includes kidnapping, enslavement, forced conversion to Islam, travel over many continents, and ultimately conversion to Christianity, freedom, the religious life, and canonization as one of Africa's modern saints.
Did you receive ashes yesterday? We skipped our traditional Ash Wednesday pretzels (which I think we'll have to make tomorrow on the first Friday of lent!). It feels a little funny to be celebrating Lent when it feels like summer outside, but even so, I welcome the rhythm of the liturgical seasons, and am excited to set up some of our traditional Lenten practices, like planting grass seeds for good deeds, or praying a decade of the Rosary with the older kids. What are your family's practices for Lent? How do your kids participate?
5 comments:
It won't use up much of your stash, but when I think oranges my next thought is of these scones! http://joythebaker.com/2011/01/orange-and-dark-chocolate-buttermilk-scones/
Orange (juice) Popsicles (they are the perfect accessory to bathing suits)! And, Cranberry orange relish! I just blend the Orange (all parts but remove seeds, may choose to not use all the peel if it is very thick), 1 pkg fresh cranberries, sugar to taste (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup I think?) in food processor and then chill. Lots of recipes for this basic idea online. Some recipes add cinnamon, too. Enjoy!
(Relish is great with turkey or pork.)
Julianne, those look amazing: I'm going to give them a try! It seems like oranges are so often a "flavoring" in baking, which is delicious but does nothing to put a dent in my crop. :-P
Lauren, I *love* the relish idea! And we have some big cranberry sauce fans around here, so I'm wondering if I could use the relish in place of sauce with poultry? And yes to popsicles, too, of course. :-)
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