At Considerable Cost

Today is the feast day of St. John Southworth , one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales .   Tonight we will celebrate as we feast on a traditional English Sunday roast (on a Wednesday). Our mantle, ready for the feast day, with an image of St. John Southworth and a garland of the flag of St. George  Ten years ago, I had one of the greatest privileges of my life as I was able to attend the mass held in honour of his feast day.   His feast day is only officially celebrated in the diocese of Westminster. That morning, I attended mass in the St. George and the English Martyrs chapel in Westminster Cathedral .   It was the first time I was at a primarily Latin mass and it was the first and only time I attended mass on a feast day when the priest was able to say, "And there he is," as we were able to look over at the saint's very remains in the chapel. Pictured above are Southworth's remains, as they are displayed in the feretory in the St. George side chap

I wrote about Mama's "famous" chocolate chip cookies in another blog post .   She kept the recipe in her first cookbook, a 1955 Betty Crocker book she bought for Home Ec. class in junior college.   It's one of my prized possessions.   Mama had hundreds of cookbooks, but this is the one that kept my attention as I was growing up.   I spent hours reading it and looking at its faded pictures.   She gave it to me before she passed away, along with a second copy she bought at a garage sale.   So, I've got a spare copy! Here's the original recipe, in Mama's hand: Mama always doodled as she talked on the phone. Here's the recipe, with notes and additions: 1 cup butter, softened (Mama always used Superbrand --Winn Dixie's store brand margarine--she said nothing else worked the same; I'm going to  try a butter & margarine/shortening blend) 2 cups brown sugar 2 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. baki

Last week, my friend, Amber, and I made a little road trip to Ft. Worth to see a production of Frankenstein .   The play, directed by Danny Boyle and based on Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (She was only eighteen years old when she wrote it!) was performed last year at the National Theatre in London.   It was a huge success with audiences and critics.   Two of the performances were filmed live for limited broadcast on screens in cinemas around the world.   The Museum of Modern Art was one of the viewing locations in Texas. Museum of Modern Art It was an amazing play.   I only wish I could have seen it live in the theatre.   Actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated the roles of Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature each evening the play was performed.   The production we saw on screen featured Cumberbatch as The Creature and Miller as Victor Frankenstein.   Their performances were brilliant.   Cumberbatch's physicality a