If the Santa Anas are blowing, you’ll want to ditch your jack-o-lantern as soon as Halloween is over. No chilly, pumpkin-preserving, procrastination-permitting East Coast days here, baby.
(Yes, that’s a slime trail of pumpkin juice oozing across the stoop. Gack.)
Please read Moreena’s post about organ donation today. She writes:
Remember Jackson? I mentioned him in this post. (And I was wrong about his parents not having a webpage. Here it is.)
Last month his mother donated a portion of her liver to him, but
unfortunately he contracted a serious fungal infection in the hospital
that is quickly destroying his new liver. As of his mom’s last update,
the doctors only give him a 10% chance of survival without a new liver,
and soon.I’m not sure what’s going on right now, but I know that there have
been an awful lot of very sick children that are dying still waiting
for donated organs.
Moreena goes on to make a passionate plea for people to consider signing up to be organ donors. I strongly encourage you to read up on this matter and give it your serious consideration. For Catholics who may be uncertain about the Church’s position on organ donation, here is what the CCC says:
2296 Organ transplants
are in conformity with the moral law if the physical and psychological
dangers and risks to the donor are proportionate to the good that is
sought for the recipient. Organ donation after death is a noble and
meritorous act and is to be encouraged as an expression of generous
solidarity. It is not morally acceptable if the donor or his proxy has
not given explicit consent. Moreover, it is not morally admissible
directly to bring about the disabling mutilation or death of a human
being, even in order to delay the death of other persons.
My Jane is alive today because people donated their blood. (She had fifteen blood transfusions, including two complete blood exchanges, as well as so many platelet transfusions that I lost count.) She did not need a bone marrow transplant, thank God, which is a very good thing because when our hospital ran a check in the national bone marrow registry, they only came up with a single preliminary match. A very small percentage of preliminary matches turns out to be an actual match. She had no siblings at the time and was not a good candidate for an autologous transplant (a procedure in which the patient’s own bone marrow is extracted and cleaned of cancerous cells, then used for the transplant).
Bone marrow, like blood, is donated by living people. Even so, the marrow registry suffers a continual shortage of donors. Is that because people are hesitant to get involved, or because most folks just don’t think about it? I’m guessing the latter. And I think that goes even more for organ donation, because in order to make a decision about that, you have to contemplate your own death. None of us wants to do that.
Life is busy, and so often issues like this just whisk past us like signposts outside a car window. You catch a glimpse as you zoom past, and you think about how someday you really intend to come back and read that sign, visit that landmark. Should I stop now? No, the baby’s asleep in the backseat, and anyway, we’ve got to get moving if we’re going to get to the next hotel before dark.
Today, Moreena is asking all of us to pull over to the side of the road and read that signpost. If you haven’t indicated to your loved ones that you want to be an organ donor after your death, please consider doing so.
You may be choosing life for a child like Jackson.
For more information, visit shareyourlife.org.
Postscript: This morning I learned from Moreena that Jackson passed away on Saturday. Our prayers are with his family. He was at the top of the transplant list when he died.
The Carnival of Breadmaking continues to grow. Scroll down to the bottom for new links. And the posts are still rolling in. Yay!
"Mama, can ducks skate?"
1) We are both ClubMom bloggers. Did you notice? In the sidebar? There’s a new name in the MomBlog lineup: the Duchess Diaries. Sarah Ferguson—that’s right: Fergie—has joined the club. She is going to blog her adventures as she tours several countries for World Children’s Day to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. (See #3.)
2) We have both made public appearances at the Country Glen Shopping Center on Long Island. Mine was a booksigning at the Barnes & Noble, and Fergie’s was (I think) at the Weight Watcher’s there.
3) We are both big fans of the Ronald McDonald House. I’m one of those people whose burden was made lighter, more bearable, by the existence of the sanctuary that is the Ronald McDonald House. And not just once: many, many times. When Jane was first diagnosed with leukemia in 1997, the RMH next door to her children’s hospital was the only place I could go to grab a shower. For nine months—nine!—I slipped over to the House a couple of times a week for a hot shower and a snack. The folks who ran the house always had fresh-baked cookies waiting on the counter, and there were large refrigerators stocked with milk and juice and all sorts of other things.
Families who were staying there long-term would cook dinner in the communal kitchen, using the groceries provided by the House staff, and everyone shared the leftovers. The House was a place of refuge from the overpriced fast food available in the hospital lobby, a place to do laundry, a place to meet other moms and dads and children who were going through rocky times themselves.
Rose was born in the summer of 1998, months after Jane had finished the high-dose, in-patient part of her treatment and we were back at home in our Queens apartment. But just four days after Rose’s birth, Jane spiked a fever and had to be re-admitted. She developed a serious case of pneumonia and wound up spending two weeks in the hospital. Two weeks! I felt torn in two. I was nursing a newborn and couldn’t leave her, but how could I stay away from my little Jane?
Up to that point, I had slept beside her in her hospital bed for every night of every admission. This time, it was Scott who stayed with her at night. I couldn’t bear to be too far away, though. The nurses reserved me a room at the Ronald McDonald House. Tiny Rose and I spent our nights there, just across the parking lot from Scott and Jane. Every morning I hurried next door to the hospital and spent the day bouncing between Jane on the cancer ward and Rose in a small library room just down the hall, where the bighearted nurses had fixed me up a little nursery with a rocking chair and bassinet borrowed from Maternity. And every morning on my way out the door, the nice Ronald McDonald House manager stopped me at the threshold and insisted that I grab a bite of breakfast before I took up my post at the hospital.
You see, the House is more than just a place to sleep; it’s a place where the families of sick children are nurtured, just as they in turn are nurturing their little ones. Scott and I stayed at another Ronald McDonald House in December of 2003, when our Wonderboy was born and surprised us all by requiring surgery right away. My folks were at home with our girls, and Scott and I found ourselves back on familiar ground, even though now we were in a different state. The room itself was a comfort to me. It reminded me of ordeals we’d survived before, and helped me believe we’d get through this one all right too. Because the House was just down the road from the hospital, I was able to go back and forth to the NICU every few hours to nurse my baby boy, and still manage to squeeze in a little much-needed sleep.
Some families must travel great distances to reach a good hospital, and paying for long-term hotel stays could quickly put them into financial peril. The extenuating expenses of having a child with serious medical needs can be frightful. At the RMH, families pay a nominal fee if they can afford it. It’s far less than a hotel bill.
And the House is far more than a hotel. There is peace and cheer within its walls. There is rest, and hope, and help.
That’s why I’m so glad to know someone like Fergie is speaking out on its behalf, and I’m proud to be in her company here at ClubMom.
What it boils down to is that people are really, really nice wherever you go. First my Virginia friends Lisa and Sarah put their own lives on hold for a month to help me pack our house in Scott’s absence. Now here I am in So. Cal. with a whole new crop of friends opening their doors and arms in hospitality. It’s awesome. Way to make a girl feel welcome!
On Saturday, my pal Erica organized a little welcome-to-San-Diego party for our family. And by "little" I mean "very big." Eight or nine families and enough food to sink the Love Boat. See what I mean by AWESOME? Five hours of face-stuffing and good conversation at the home of our new friend Matthew Lickona, author of Swimming With Scapulars
Matthew and his wife generously opened their home to Scott during his first weeks in California. He had just arrived, and they were going on vacation and offered to let him stay at their place while they were away. "Our friend knows your wife from the internet? Come on over! Our house is your house!"
Amazing.
We loved the Lickona gang instantly, along with the rest of the party guests: smart, dynamic, joyful families with loads of sweet little kids. This is a great community. Now if I could just get certain Virginians and New Yorkers to relocate…hey girls, I have POPPIES on my patio right now! In November!
Got a good recipe for homemade bread? We’re compiling a collection of them in an impromptu carnival of breadmaking over at Lilting House.
Over at Love2Learn, there’s a lot of fascinating reading in Saints and Scholars Around the World, the second Catholic Homeschooling Carnival.
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by Spunky; the submission deadline is this evening. Last week’s host was Why Homeschool.
And if you missed the Halloween edition of the Carnival of Children’s Literature at Scholar Blog, don’t forget to check it out!
(Updated AGAIN with yet more new contributions at the bottom!)
Well, I really have to hand it to you folks. The bread recipes and advice came pouring in—exactly the kind of flood I was hoping for. Some of you shared links in the comments, and I thought I’d compile them all here in one post for easy access.
Those of you who took the time to email me recipes directly: please let me know if I may share those recipes with the rest of the internet! I won’t post them unless you give me the go-ahead. And thanks so much, all of you. Jane wants to try every recipe and compare them. I say: yum!
Oh, and about our first loaf, Becky asked: "How long did it last?" Answer: Not very long. Scott was lucky to get a piece; the kids pretty much had bread and butter for dinner on Friday night, at their own request. (I made them add apples and cheese to round out the meal.) We actually baked two loaves: the one in the picture, for which we used our brand-spanking-new Pyrex loaf pan, thank you very much. (Like many of my commenters, I’m a bit leery of nonstick cookware. All my pots and pans are plain old heavy-duty stainless steel. But we did have that nonstick loaf pan I’ve been carting around forever. I decided it was time to ditch it, and the Pyrex pan was only $7 at Target.)
For the other loaf, we used Hooly’s suggestion and shaped a round rustic loaf to bake on our pizza stone. That one was the one we devoured hot from the oven. SO GOOD. It didn’t survive long enough for a photo op.
As for the kneading surface, our wooden cutting board worked just fine. We put a tea towel under it to keep it from sliding around, as many of you recommended. And the kneading itself was the best part of the process. Jane and I had several fits of laughter as we repeatedly elbowed each other out of the way at kneading time.
—Here, honey, let me show you how to do it. Like this. And this. And this.
—Mo-om! I get it! Come on, don’t I get a turn?
—Sure, just let me show you how for another five minutes…
All righty, here’s the links I promised. If you have links to other breadmaking posts, send ’em along and I’ll add them to our little unofficial Carnival of Bread, Glorious Bread.
It began with Jove’s post on how baking bread is meaningful work of the most delicious kind. Her daughter tried Wisteria’s recipe with excellent results. Jove explains how they adjusted the recipe here.
After I posted my questions about the process, Shelly shared her mother’s Butter Fluff Rolls recipe, which includes instructions for turning the dinner roll dough into cinnamon rolls. Mmmm.
My pal Lisa mentioned beer bread, and Cay shared Danielle Bean’s recipe for it.
Jennie’s post on How to Bake a Lot of Bread in One Day, complete with step-by-step photos, is a must-see. Be sure to read the comments too; she includes more helpful tidbits there. We took her advice about slitting the top of our loaf with a sharp knife before baking, and I have to say it is awfully satisfying to see that just-right sliced-bread shape every time I cut a piece.
Here’s another young baker at Bridget’s house, and another fine-looking loaf!
If it’s a good hearty oatcake ye’re hankerin’ for, here’s a recipe for Scottish bannocks I posted on Bonny Glen a while back.
That’s all for now, but I suspect there will be more to come!
UPDATED to add Donna-Marie’s post about Cinnamon Twists, mmm…
MORE UPDATES! Fellow ClubMom blogger Loni shares her recipe, which includes wheat she grinds herself with a Whisper Mill.
In the comments, Danielle Bean‘s sister, Helene, links to another sister, Suzanne (author of the lovely blog, Blessed Among Men), who posted a yummy-sounding recipe for herb bread. We’ll have to try that one for sure!
Also, check the comments for CityMom‘s recommendation of a book about breadmaking by a Jesuit priest.
ANOTHER ENTRY: Katherine in Texas shares her foccacia recipe. Oh boy!
MONDAY NIGHT ADDITIONS: Karen’s camera may be uncooperative, but her Italian bread sounds like a crowd-pleaser. It’s Atticus’s bread on the feast of St. Atticus!
Last week, Becky sent me an awesome email full of advice and recipes. I’m thrilled to say she has expanded that into a post for everyone to enjoy. Her recipe for "Old Order Amish bread" was the one Jane chose for our first try. And who knew the word "lady" originally meant "loaf kneader"?
Cajun Cay’s daughter learned the hard way when not to punch down (or poke down) the dough, but Cheryl has enough Brioche to go around. Pass the butter!
TUESDAY UPDATE: Minnesota Mom shares her grandma’s recipe for "coffee cake," aka Christmas bread.
And NYJLM waxes poetic about the joys of working with dough.
TUESDAY A WEEK LATER UPDATE: Danielle Bean’s friend, Father Augustine Measures, OSB, shares a homily about bread!
NYJLM shares a link to a New York Times article on breadmaking.
November is National Bread Month! Who knew? Well, Chef Leann did. Here’s her recipe for Honey Whole-Wheat Bread, oh yum, and her answer to "Why bake homemade bread?" Check out the Bread Baking 101 in her sidebar, too.
SATURDAY THE 18TH and the recipes just keep a-rolling in! Haley and Joann both gave me leave to post the recipes they emailed me; thank you very much, my dears. Here’s Haley’s French bread and Joann’s loaves made from a potato starter.
• The missing shelf pegs (right after Scott bought more and we opened the packages).
• The salt and pepper shakers (right after I bought new ones). (Cheap ones, though.)
• My beloved Tastefully Simple seasoned salt!
• My Adagio teas, hooray!
• But not my IngenuiTea teapot, argh.
• The hardware for putting my loom back together (gulp).
• But then I lost it again.
• I mean, I put it away.
• Somewhere.