Kitty Eleison

...But in here, it's so delightful!

When the snow blows, the kids decide to carry "Master & Mistress" in a litter through Africa.

Or be servants to the Indian Princess (holding the sticker book modestly to veil her face)...


...while Peter colors his Thanksgiving Turkey...

...and Andrew hides from the snow!

Free Sofa & Love Seat to anyone in the Colorado Springs area willing to come get them! I'll include 2 cream-colored mattelase slipcovers.

Your Inner European is Spanish!

Energetic and lively. You bring the party with you!

Well, that's actually my outer European, too! How 'bout that! I don't know about the energetic & lively part, but I have 7 kids, so I often do bring the party with me.

Our final day on the road took us to Antonito, and the oldest Catholic church in Colorado, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This was very curious. The bell tower was aparently infested with bees.

Can you tell what object in this picture just doesn't seem to "go" with the rest? One of these things is not like the others....
Beautiful stained glass.

We drove home after visiting this beautiful old church. We had a great vacation and hope to see more of our country next summer.

Here are some of the famous ruins of the Mesa Verde area. You could not live in these dwellings if you were claustrophobic.
This photo was taken from the van across a chasm.
Amazing how these ancient people built these dwellings.

Our last night on the road we had an indoor pool at the motel:

On the road we stopped at a scenic overlook to stretch our legs a bit.

Our last stop this day was Four Corners. We took the requisite tourist photo:

Mimi over at Bigger than a Breadbox had this meme up, so I consider myself tagged.

You take the letters of your name and write a little food-related factoid for each.

K - Kielbasa. Yummy. a friend brought over a casserole with penne pasta and kielbasa - delicious!

I - Italian Wedding Soup. This is such a good "comfort food!" It's a meatball soup with spinach I think - it's been a while since I made it; time to find the recipe again, methinks.

T - Tea. This is the perfect time of year for it. A friend of mine sells very good teas, and I had a tea party where she demonstrated how to brew different kinds for the best flavor (white, green, black, oolong and red). I ordered a bunch of them for myself and for Christmas gifts.

T - Tortillas. Corn for enchiladas, flour for fajitas or burritos. Fry some up and eat them topped with fried eggs and salsa. Mmmmm... that sounds good right now.

Y - Yogurt. Plain with honey; Raspberry in the blender with bananas and frozen berries; Strawberry with Cool Whip, poured into a Graham cracker crust and frozen - Yogurt is a great treat!


Note to self: Never do food memes when you're hungry.

This summer we took a family road trip to several places relatively near our home. This is the first trip we have taken as a family that wasn't specifically to visit more family.



Our first stop was the Great Sand Dunes. What a fun day that was! We had fun wading through the stream that runs at the foot of the dunes.



Once we made it across the water we began the climb up the sand.
It was a windy day, but other than the stings from the flying sand, it was a wonderful day.

Over Labor Day Weekend, we got all dressed up and headed up to the Longs Peak Highland Festival and Games. Dad had signed us up to march in the parade to represent the Rutherford Clan earlier in the summer, so we all got together for that.
Front row: Lucy (8), Andrew (5), Susan (3), Margaret (7), Anne (4), Benedict (almost 2), Peter (1 1/2).
Back Row: Rebekah, Mike, Benjamin, Ian (in back), Mom, James, Dad & Paula

James (holding St. Andrew's Saltire flag above) bought fabric and supplies and he and Mom & Dad made the clan banner and the clan banner (being held by Ian, right behind Mom) Here we are in the parade (above). Doesn't Dad look great in his kilt? His kids all got together and bought him the kilt, jacket & brogues last Christmas. My beautiful Sister-In-Law is in the center wearing a skirt she made herself, and Mom is behind the second stroller wearing her gorgeous hostess outfit. I wish I had a better picture! I am bringing up the rear (37 weeks pregnant) in a navy blue dress my mother wore to MY wedding 11 years ago. I pinned a mini-sash in the family tartan on my shoulder.
Here's Mike holding a banner while we waited for the parade to start. Doesn't he look handsome in his Tweed jacket and cap?

Anne, Lucy, Susan, Margaret & Andrew cooled their feet after the parade at our picnic site not far from where we started marching.

We had a great time and hope to do it again next year!
We ha

We try to make Sundays special. We go to Mass in the morning and don't do any unnecessary work, and I try to have a special dessert just to celebrate the Lord's Day and the gift of family.

Last Sunday we woke up to blizzard conditions, so we did not go to Mass. Instead, we had our own Liturgy of the Word and Spiritual Communion. Susan even sang the Sanctus for us, so we recorded her:


Later, we made an apple pie!

Here's Susan helping with the flour:



Here's Margaret with the pie filling we made a few weeks ago and had in the freezer:
Here's Ian putting the pie crust in the dish: