41/52: Doll Mass, Leaf Rubbing, and Last Week of the CSA

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Oh these funny kids!! We've been reading The Mass Explained to Children (so good!! Highly recommend!!) and after reading the section explaining what needs to be on the altar before Mass begins, we got out our Mass kit (we have gotten SO much use out of it since I got it for Peter last Christmas, it is such a great teaching tool!) and started setting things up so that everybody understood exactly what pieces the book was referring to. Well, as soon as we started, John Paul had to come help us (not my idea, he dashed over because he was so excited, it's been so long since he's been able to serve and he really misses it), and once he had everything set up, the girls decided this would be a perfect time for a doll Mass! Solemn high doll mass? Low doll mass? There's gotta be some good puns in there that I'm not thinking of.

Anyway, "Oscar" put on a nun's habit and became "Father Oscar" and Peter's "Angela" became "Angelo" so that there could be an altar boy. They've been setting up doll mass nearly every day since then, and their dolls now go to school AND Mass on a daily basis. Their dolls are more diligent than they are at getting dressed in a timely manner, behaving during school and Mass, and just generally being quiet. But that's okay, we're not comparing or anything. Did they upend a few toy bins to make an altar rail and then complain when asked to clean up? IT'S FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE.

Peter went for a walk and came back with a nice large oak leaf. I showed him how to do a leaf rubbing, which he had apparently never seen before, and he was absolutely entranced! He spent all afternoon making various leaf rubbings, trying different leaf types, different crayon colors, different paper... He ended up presenting both Grandma and me with three identical leaf drawings for each of us. Most of them are in the recycling or waiting in the burn pile for the first fire of the year, but it's okay, he can make LOTS more! Everybody else needed to join in, of course, and now I feel like a box can be checked off for wholesome fall activities.

We had our last CSA pickup for the year, and we're already getting things prepped for next year - garlic and shallots are going in the ground this weekend, hopefully tulips and daffodils and all the other fall bulbs as well! The lettuce is coming in slowly and the spinach has sprouted nicely, now we're just waiting for the cabbages to finish forming their heads and wondering if the frost will EVER hit (soon, I'm sure). I cut as many flowers as possible on Thursday when we had another frost warning, and temperatures still didn't get cold enough, so the flowers are going strong and the Mexican sunflowers that I really planted to late are so so close to flowering, just a few more days to go!