Teresa of Avila

Happy feast of Saint Teresa of Avila! This afternoon Little Bear and I attempted to make a traditional treat from Avila called Yemas de Santa Teresa, from the cookbook A Continual Feast, but I don't actually know how they turned out; the tiny bite I snuck as I was making them made me nauseous, and when I offered one to Little Bear after supper he poked it, unhappily waved his now-sticky finger at me, and refused to taste it. Maybe after Matt gets home from class he will try one and tell me if they're any good.

Even if they're awful, I got to practice my rusty candy-making skills and Little Bear had a whole lot of fun with the powdered sugar, so it wasn't a total waste of time. (When the two-year-old asks, "Powdered sugar off?" do not just agree with him from the other side of the kitchen without turning around to see what it is that he wants to get the sugar off of. Super clean floor now.)

I saw this quote from Saint Teresa the other day:

"If I were to give advice, I would say to parents that they ought to be very careful whom they allow to mix with their children when young; for much mischief thence ensues, and our natural inclinations are unto evil rather than unto good."

A good encouragement/reminder/affirmation for parents that while we aren't called to bubblewrap our kids, we do have the responsibility to be actively involved in defining the "circles" our young children closely interact with.

Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us!