First I made one batch of couscous, following the directions on the package. Then as that cooled I chopped up veggies, added some sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and about two teaspoons of dried basil. Since we are not "strictly" following the fast I did also add a bit of feta cheese, but you could certainly leave that out. Then just toss and serve. I didn't really think it needed a "dressing", but if you wanted you could make up a dressing of lemon juice, a dash of vinegar and veggie or coconut oil and I'm sure it would be great too!Troparion - Tone 4
Your holy martyrs, O Lord,
Through their sufferings have received their incorruptible crowns from You, our God. For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, And shattered the powerless boldness of demons. Through their intercessions, save our souls!  Kontakion - Tone 4
Those who renounced the perishing comforts of this world,
Preferring the eternal things of Heaven, Were incorrupt after death and rose from the the dead And buried the snares of devils! O Faithful, let us then honor them, singing a hymn of praise to Christ! |
August also gets me thinking autumn is just around the corner, school plans to finalize, up coming birthdays and names days to plan. Autumn is one of my most favorite times of year. I love the weather, the inspirations for crafts, decorating... on and on it goes. It also gets me thinking of knitting projects. I know I've been doing lots of quilting, but I need to begin my knitting or the kiddos will freezing this winter.
I've been getting out my needles now and again and now the kids are getting in on the act. The kiddos have Knitting Towers to learn. They love making their long "snakes" of yarn (simular to i-cords) with their towers. Soon we'll have snakes throughout the house!! 
As for now we just need to finish up with our visiting family and begin to finalize the structure of our upcoming shift in cycle. I also need to think about the new year. The "new year" you ask? Well, the beginning of the new Church year is September 1st. We usually have a blessing service at church and then we sit down as a family and talk about what we would like to work on during this new year to help our relationship with our Lord. Our new years "resolutions" so to speak. Each year as our children grow older they take on more of living their faith with the rest of us. For example in our family our children don't completely partake in the fasts until they receive their first confession. Then as they grow they work on it each year until they can keep the fasts more completely. This year my 7 year old will begin to serve on the altar with his older brother, which is very exciting. The new year is just a time to examine our walk with the Lord and what we can do better. We really do this before each fast as well, but we make a bigger deal about it for the "New Year".
If you're ever visiting Vermont you should look up her museum. There are always events going on featuring things from her life and home. In upcoming events they will be showcasing her favorite frocks, there will be a spinning bee and other crafty things on display. I think if I lived in that neck of the woods it would make for a fun outing. The Tasha Tudor website also spotlights many of her "receipts" and patterns for aprons and other things she enjoyed.
