image-in-ing

Yowzah

I was recently reminded of this event from several years ago. We returned from dinner with friends and parked our trusty old Buick, which had well over 100,000 miles on it. Once inside while puttering in the kitchen, I heard an odd sound from outside and looked out to see a quite unwelcome sight. Fortunately the fire department arrived quickly.

As you can see, the car was close to my husband's truck and our house.

The house was undamaged. The plastic around the headlights on the truck was a bit melted.

Although the fire burned through the asphalt driveway and the car was a total loss, we felt fortunate!

The mascots are here!

Try some yummy pretzel rolls!

These are great for sandwiches or just for munching!

Pretzel Rolls

Yield: Makes 15 rolls

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
Pretzel Salt (or coarse sea salt), for sprinkling

Directions:

Combine the water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
Add the flour, salt, and butter. Mix with the dough hook on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Separate the dough into 15 equal pieces. Form the dough into rolls and arrange on a lightly floured surface about an inch apart and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the rolls rest for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425° and lightly oil a baking sheet.
In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add the baking soda. Drop two rolls into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds, turning once. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, being careful to let the excess water drain off into the pot. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
Bake the rolls for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let rolls cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

The concert

I had the opportunity to attend a concert given by the son of a friend of mine. I didn't know what to expect, really, but what I heard was rather magical. The pianist's name is Phil Cook, and his album is now available here. I've found it to be just the balm I need in this midst of all the craziness of this world. It is titled, "All These Years".

Ukranian Church: National Shrine of the Holy Family

While in Washington DC on retreat just before Holy Week, I finally took the opportunity to walk over to the beautiful church beside the retreat center. I'd noticed it for years and had wanted to visit as I was curious to see the interior. The retreat staff mentioned that it was a Ukranian Catholic Church, and in light of the devastating news from Ukraine recently, I had to go. While visitors were welcome to come in to see the church and to pray, there was no one present to answer some of the questions I had about the interior of the church. But I wanted to share this beautiful church with you and ask you to pray for the brave people of Ukraine and for peace in our troubled world.

I can only guess that the multicolored origami figures represented the souls of those who have perished.

Pussy willows were to be used rather than palms as part of the Palm Sunday liturgy.

For the first time in the years I'd been near this church, the chimes never rang. I'm sure they will peal joyfully when this war is over. Pray for an end to the violence.

The last of these for a while, I promise!

The last couple of weeks I shared the drawings we made in the class I took on botanical drawing. This week I'll share my first few attempts without an instructor. Hope you can guess what I've drawn!