Tuesday, February 12, 2013

In which we gorge ourselves Catholic style...

 
Happy Shrove Tuesday everyone!  It is one of my favourite days of the year.  Although I'm not a practising Catholic anymore I still cling to the traditions as a way of marking out my days.  Shrove Tuesday is like one last hoorah, using up all the eggs and butter before the 40 days of lent.  I talked today with Minty about what lent means for us, a time of reflection, eating simply (honestly I am never voluntarily going to fast!!!) and working on bettering ourselves.  She decided she would work on not calling people 'idiots' anymore… instead she has resolved to call us all 'fools'.  As for me, Minty suggested I should work on not shouting so much.  I think that's probably a worthy goal!  We enjoyed our pancakes this morning, with freshly picked blackberries and a sprinkle of sugar.

Today's photos come from a little project we worked on this week.  We have been reading 'Silly Billy' by Anthony Browne.  It's a sweet story about a little boy who can't sleep because he worries too much.  His grandma suggests that he makes some worry dolls so that he can tell them his worries and get some sleep.  Minty was really taken with the idea of making her own worry dolls.  I did a bit of googling and there were plenty of complicated tutorials that I really didn't think the kids could manage.  Luckily I ended up stumbling across some mini wooden dolly pegs at the $2 shop, along with a cheap packet of cotton embroidery floss.  I gave these to the kids along with some fabric scraps and a black marker and let them get creative.  Both the kids really loved this activity and I think the dolls they made are very sweet.
 
The dolls (left to right): Violet, Teddy, Una, Bobby and Patrice.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Susan! :)
    You know, it's a shame that you aren't practising any more but it's so great to see you showing the traditions to your kids.
    I decided this morning I'd make pancakes before we left at 8.15am for kinder... insane perhaps but I did it, and still arrived in time. I mean, who can resist pancakes? ;)
    Love the worry dolls - very cute with the pegs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Had a go at crepes over here - not too bad for my first effort :) I tried to have a chat with Lillian about adult Jesus going in to the desert which was very hard for him so he could do some thinking but she wasn't particularly interested, will try again next year, at least she likes baby Jesus (sounds more like baby cheeses when she says it :D) I have resolved to give up swearing - wish me luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We bought ella a little packet of Guatamalen worry dolls from the Oxfam shop 3 years ago when she was having worries at school and they have been under her pillow every night since. She's 9 now, but every night when she's finished reading, before she goes to sleep she lifts up her pillow, whispers something to them and goes to sleep. A wonderful idea.

    ReplyDelete