Applepicking

Birthday Cheesecake

My son’s birthday was yesterday. He is my only child that gets a homemade birthday cake. One year he wanted pumpkin brownies for school, which weren’t too bad, but one year he asked for a cheesecake for his birthday cake.

Now, every year I offer and he accepts, and it’s his favorite. This was the first year with chocolate chips.

Yum.

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

First Day of School

I titled this week’s theme, Artistry and Spirituality. I’m a little behind on my posting (and writing) because of yesterday’s Rosh Hashanah holiday. I have a few posts planned for this week that include aspects of either or both. The combination of artistry and spirituality really appealed to me. I was lucky enough to be able to attend two drawing retreats. The mix of prayer and coloring and unusual perspective drew me out and stayed with me. I’ve always photographed odd angles, through windows, under tables, tops, bottoms, half of this or that.

When I was putting my kids first day of school pictures up on Facebook, I found these that I also took that morning while we waited for the bus, and I liked them better finding them than taking them.

Thursday Travels – Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs

These grounds are a reliquary to the North American Martyrs, St. Isaac Jogues and his Companions, St. Rene Goupil and St. John LaLande. In 1642, the same year Rene Goupil was martyred, the first known recitation of the Rosary was prayed here. This was also the birthplace ten years later after St. Jogues and St. Lalande’s martyrdoms, of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.