Michaelmas 2015

Michaelmas came like a breath of fresh air this year.  It brought certain pessimistic ruminations to a screeching halt, reminding me once again that God is at the helm and His victory is assured.  Michael and his angels have fought and conquered the dragon once before; with the help of our Savior, we will do it again.  My faith is refreshed and my courage is bolstered.

Here is what we did to celebrate:

1. Yesterday, we went apple picking at a my husband's sister's friend's grandma's house.  She has more apples than she can pick and so we took a bucket and brought home plenty for our needs.  The trees were so full, it only took about 10 minutes for the kids to gather enough good apples to fill two buckets.  Soren got the idea that he might like to sell some apples so he filled up his shirt, too.

2. Then, yesterday evening, Scott helped me make boffer swords.  They were surprisingly easy but used a lot more duct tape than I expected.  We now have four service-able swords for our four boys.  I think we have given up for good on wooden ones.

3. This morning, Leif and I went early to the store to buy apple cider and donuts.  When we got home, everyone was up and excited to see the boffer swords.  They ate donuts and battled for a good chunk of the morning.

4. Later, the older boys went to fetch their cousin, Maddy, so the school-aged children could make dragon bread.  My favorite part of the process is kneading the dough with the kids.  I cut it into quarters and we each took a piece to knead while singing songs.  We took turns picking the song and at each new song, we would pass our lump of dough to the left.  This is my trick for making sure all the dough gets evenly kneaded.  Of course, the kids' favorite part is shaping the dough into dragons.  I have to say, their molding is much improved this year.

5. The other thing we did this morning was process apples.  Maddy brought over her family's apple corer and the kids all took turns using it.  That is a nifty machine!  It cores, peels, and slices the apples all at once!  We filled the crockpot with apples for apple-sauce and then we filled a bowl with apples for apple pie.  

6. The kids ate their dragon bread for lunch; everyone had their own loaf to "slay".  I save the big one for dinner.

7. I cooked all afternoon while listening to a Librivox recording of Dracula.  I made stuffed spaghetti squash, stuffed mushrooms, and apple pie.  Wow, that doesn't sound like much.  But it was a lot of work.  I really enjoyed myself, though.  There's nothing like a holiday to gives you an excuse for really getting into a project.  I didn't get anything done but cooking today and that's ok.

8. I did want to mention that Sven helped me with the cooking.  That was one of the best things about today.  He fetched me tomatoes from the garden and bravely added the spices to our simmering spaghetti sauce.  He was very happy to be helping like the big boy he is.

9. The kids' Nan came for dinner (along with Maddy and her parents).  While I was finishing the cooking, the kids took the boffer swords on the front lawn and fought each other.  They got their Uncle Ash into it, too.  When Carl asked him, "Do you want to come fight?" Ash responded, "Are you ready to loose?"  When the fighting got too heated, Rachel jerry-rigged a jousting game.  I think she was hoping to give them something to hit with their swords besides each other.  They thought it was terrific and she plans to create more games for next year.

10.  The feast was attractive, laid out on our buffet table.  I set the table with our china and silver, which made me feel very festive.  The St. Michael candle (or "voodoo candle" as my sister-in-law called it) was burning in its tacky jar.  Scott said a wonderful prayer and then cut the head off our dragon bread to begin the feast.  

11. After everyone left, Scott went out on the porch to sword-fight with the boys.  They were wildly happy about that.  He really got into it and I could see that some of his fencing training from college was being put to good use.  Soren was being really silly about it and shouting that he would use his "underwear power" to win.  They were very disappointed to come in when it was getting dark but were consoled by the fact that the swords will still be there in the morning.

12. To calm the kids down, I read a story before scriptures.  I couldn't find Margaret Hodge's Saint George and the Dragon at our library and had to settle for Tomie dePaola's The Knight and the Dragon.  It's considerably more light-hearted and the kids were busting up laughing about it.  I will have to purchase the other one before next year.  Michaelmas just doesn't feel quite complete without Trina Schart Hyman's beautiful illustrations.