I haven’t had to sew for Nicholas. He is quite satisfied with jeans, blue and black, and simple shirts. Almost everything he has was bought at thrift stores. That it was really cheap and it fits him is what he likes the best about it. He never wears a sports coat or a suit, and the last tie he had was used to wrap up an old futon going to the tip. The only sewing I do for him is mending – buttons, rips, and remaking a pair of stretched out braces. (I intend to make a good pair as soon as I can find all the necessary hardware.)

But what if you want to make some traditional, or simply styled men’s clothing? Maybe you are a wife or mother sewing for the men, or a man who wants to run up some inexpensive clothes for himself. (I come from a family where the men knew how to use a sewing machine – and a good skill it is!)

The best choice is Friends Patterns (http://friendspatterns.net) for a range of Plain garments. They have patterns for broadfall trousers, fly front pants, a vest, a Hutterite cap (usually worn by boys), a placket shirt, a more traditional “coat” shirt (like a dress shirt), a Wamus dress jacket, a Mutze frock coat and work clothes like overalls, coveralls, and a farm jacket. This covers just about every need a Plain man should have. They also have boys’ sizes. My experience is that their patterns are high quality and meant to hold up for years. If your man doesn’t change sizes much, you may be set for life.

Candle on the Hill (http://www.candleonthehill.net/store/catalog) carries boys’ patterns for simple, modest clothing. They have a few Friend’s Patterns in stock.

Folkwear Patterns(http://folkwear.com)  has a a number of men’s styles that might be adaptable to Plain life: The Drover’s Coat 9137; various ethnic shirts (212 frontier shirts, 102 cheesemaker’s smock, 116 Shirts of Russia and Ukraine, 221 English smock, 148 Black Forest Smock, 202 Victorian shirt, 204 boatman’s shirt) and a “vintage vest” pattern, 222. Some big fabric stores carry Folkwear patterns, but I would expect to have to mail order them.

For those who don’t want to mail order patterns, although I believe the Friend’s patterns are worth the effort, there are some commercial patterns that can be adapted. Butterick has two costume patterns that might be adapted for shirts and jackets, 4486, which is a laced placket shirt – the lacing could be removed and buttons used; and 3072, a pattern I have used to make a Swedish men’s costume. It has a placket shirt, a vest and a frock coat of Colonial style, along with knee pants. Please note that most men’s costume patterns have pull-on, elastic waist pants – meant for an evening of dress-up, not all day use. You will either have to add a fly front or have a very disgruntled man on your hands. I’d just give the costume pants a bye, or use them for pajama pants. (Even then, men want a fly front.)

McCall’s has some patterns that might be useful. There’s a simple buttoned vest pattern (8285, for men and women.) Under costumes, there is a pirate’s costume that includes a laced placket shirt and a very simple vest. Again, forget the trousers. But for a more formal but Plain suit that would not require a tie, I like the look of the Civil War uniform, 4745. There is a single-breasted tunic jacket and button fly trousers that are more than basic costume pieces. Made in black or dark grey, with plain buttons, it would be nice for a wedding or Sunday, without looking costumey or like a uniform.

Simplicity  has some useful men’s and boys’ patterns. Pattern 2741 is a simple shirt and vest, also sized for women. For the rugged fella, there’s a husky/big and tall pattern for men and boys for shirts and vests (4975). If you are inclined to make trousers, Simplicity has 4760, shirts and pants for men and boys. One (7030) includes a shirt, vest and suspenders (braces) sized for men and boys. In costumes, Simplicity has a men’s caped coat (2517) which may not look so Plain, but is very practical – the cape sheds water and keeps the coat from getting soaked. Make it in wool. I like the looks of 2895, a Western style pattern, to make a frock coat, shirt and vest in men’s sizes. If a man wanted a more medieval or peasant type shirt for comfort, there’s 3519, which has dropped shoulders and a placket front.

Men’s clothing may take a little longer to make because of all the fitting, but it is worth the effort, considering that men wear their clothes for years. My grandmother made pants, shirts and suits for men all her life; my grandfather and uncle were quite well-dressed! And I wonder if some of their Pendleton wool shirts, made by Nana, are still being worn!

Only Be Willing

Maybe you’re in the middle of serious marital conflict. Maybe you’re already separated or even divorced. Maybe you think it’s hopeless to continue to try – or even try again. Maybe you’re even wondering why you might be thinking of trying – but you quickly dismiss the thought with all sorts of excuses and justifications. You might think you’re going crazy for considering the thought!

Guess what? Any Stander has been there – and I think most all of us wrestle in the flesh and compare what we are going through with what our spirit is telling us. Know this: The thought of trying again – no matter your set of circumstances – is from God! He is letting you know He wants you to Stand in the Gap for your Marriage. It starts as a subtle thought and grows – if you’re attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit within.

In my own Stand, I still can’t pinpoint when God started speaking to me about Standing for the restoration of my One-flesh Covenant Marriage. I dismissed it as crazy thoughts until it was so strong, I had to stop and seek God’s Face through prayer. Clearly through a series of events that took place around that time, He led me to understand that He was trying to get my attention. . . I had seriously ignored Him up to this point and I knew that if I continued, I would be in serious trouble with Him.

I finally asked God if He would restore my Marriage, would He give me the strength to Stand NO MATTER WHAT; if He would give me an unconditional and forgiving heart and spirit. He said to me “Only be willing.”

Shortly after, He lead me to a devotional written by Andrew Murray. It follows:

“Give your whole being to God without holding back and without doubting. He will prove Himself to you, and work in you that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. Keep His ways as you know them in the Word. Keep His Ways. . . Keep His ways as the Holy Spirit suggests.

“Do not think of waiting on God while you say you are not willing to walk in His path.

“However weak you feel, only be willing, and He Who has worked to will, will work to do by HIS power. . .

“. . . So come with every temptation you feel in yourself, every memory of unwillingness, unwatchfulness, unfaithfulness, and all that causes your unceasing self-condemnation. Put your powerlessness in God’s almighty power and find in waiting on God your deliverance.”

Dear Stander, if you’re searching for and reading anything to do with God healing your Marriage, He is speaking to YOU. Don’t walk away. He’s calling you to Stand. Stand firm in your place. Do not give up the fight for your Marriage or home – no matter if you are already divorced. Fight the battle on your knees – not in the courtroom!

No matter what happens, no matter if you think you’ve missed the mark and you’re not hearing God, wait on and trust in your mighty God. Just think, if you can’t believe Him for the salvation of your Marriage, how can you trust and believe Him for eternal salvation – for you? Your Covenant Spouse? Your Children? What can you trust Him for?

Trust and obey for there’s no other way but to trust and obey. . .

Your obedience is the soul of Knowledge.

Only be willing. . .

Amen.

–Celia

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© 2010 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the registered trademarks of their respective owners.

In the beginning, God created.

The heavens and the earth.

The light, separating day from night.

The waters, separating sea from sky and bringing dry land to view from the deep.

Plants, animals, birds of the sky, fish of the sea and every creeping creature.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

So man was made in the image of God.

And God looked at everything and said, “It is good.”

But, despite initial impressions, something was not quite right.

Before there was ever a temptation and a fall, the Father looked at his creation and found it lacking, saying : “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.”

It’s as if God looked at the man, all alone in the vast creation and realized something about Himself: that man, created in God’s image was created for relationship. After all, is God not triune. Is he not a relationship of three persons in one God, a communion of persons?

How then, could a man, created in the image of a triune God be fulfilled alone?

He, like the one who’s image he bore was created for relationship.

So, God brought all of the beasts of the field and birds of the air and all of the creepy, crawly things to the man to let him inspect them, to determine if any was a suitable partner. The man gave them all names, but none was deemed worthy of the task of being the man’s partner.

So the Lord put the man into a deep sleep.

The writer of the book of Genesis fully illustrates the relational happenings between God, the man and the woman who is to come. For, when God first creates the man (in Hebrew = ‘ha-adam), he forms him out of dust (in Hebrew dust = ‘adamah). The man’s name, ha-adam alone signifies nothing more profound than “one who came forth from the dust.”

However, upon entering that sleep, everything changes. God takes the man’s rib and forms out of it the perfect partner for the man.

The man wakes up to find that he is changed; he is fulfilled. No longer is he man (‘ha-adam), but rather man (‘ish) He looks at the woman and declares, in a sudden crescendo to our story, “SURELY THIS IS BONE OF MY BONES AND FLESH OF MY FLESH, she shall be called woman (‘ishah) because she was taken out of man (‘ish).

The old and incomplete man is gone, and with him the designation ‘ha-adam . This, now, is man completed. Now the man reflects the image of God, the communion of persons because he, too lives in relationship: two persons (the ‘ish and the ‘ishah) that, together, are made of one body.

The man and woman, ‘ish and ‘ishah, are not opposing forces, but are two sides of the same coin, two parts of the same body. They are made for reciprocity. There is no ‘ish without the ‘ishah.

Simply put: they “fit” together, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually.

For this we are made and in this reality we find our true destiny: reflecting the very image of God himself by living in a communion of persons just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have lived for all eternity.

Challenge:
May you, whether married or single, rethink the relationship between man and woman and realize that, while there is much that seems to keep us a part, we are intrinsically made for one another.

Man is not from Mars. Woman is not from Venus. We are one in the same, but need each other to realize the fullness of what, and who, we really are.

When we look at ourselves, our spouses or even just the opposite sex in this way, it has the power to change the way we think about everything.

**This post is the first in a series based on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, a collection of 129 lectures he delivered at the outset of his Papacy between September 1979 and November 1984.

Charlie is the four-year old baby in the Summerfield family. He has one older brother, William, who is nine, and one older sister, Autumn Marie, who is six. He was born into a world settled and secure. He has an impish grin and a joke inside just waiting to challenge anyone who dares to befriend him. His mother adores the way he opens her heart to all the things in life which are imperfect, yet, truly filled with love, just like Charlie himself.

The Duty of Sex in Christian Marriage!

Brethren, recently I visited a blog where a sincere brother had raised the need of praying for our wives and what to pray for them. But in all that he said, he had forgotten to mention one principle factor that is very important in every marriage and I trust most honest men will agree with me.

Without beating around the bush, I shall get directly to the point. In all our praying for our wives, should we not pray that they would (in submission to the scriptures and the Spirit) be faithful to the ‘duty of sex’?

Agreed, that the primary goal of Christian married couples coming together sexually is procreation [Malachi 2]. But the Apostle exhorts the unmarried and even the widows that if they cannot contain they should marry. And he gives the reason why – ‘for it is better to marry than to burn’! [1 Cor 7:8-9].

In another place he says, ‘to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband’. [1 Cor 7:2].

As a preacher, I have counseled many married men, and except for very few exceptions the lament of most of them is; that after the initial zeal of the marriage wears off and especially after the couple has been blessed with two or more children, the wife looses all interest in sex and if at all engages in it does so drudgingly.

It was not until I was a few years into my own marriage that I began to understand the Apostles admonition in Colossians 3:19. There he says, “Husbands love your wives, and be not bitter against them”. It is indeed easy for a husband to become bitter against an unyielding wife. And what is worse, this opens a door for the devil to come in with all his wiles. [see 1 Cor 7]

The wise man in the Proverbs writes, “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” [Prov 5:20].

What becomes of the man who does not find fulfillment with his wife is clearly implied in the above scripture!

Beloved this is a serious issue. I have spoken to many a true child of God who became a victim to sexual sin because of this. Yes it is good for a man not to touch a woman, but not all men have this gift [1 Cor 7:1 & 7].

Many a godly man has fallen into pornography, fornicated and in some cases has even suffered a divorce because of an unyielding wife!

So the subject at hand is indeed a serious one and not one that can be swept under the carpet or one that deserves an ostrich syndrome.

The need for sex is a real one, and when one cannot find it within the marriage bond, one makes himself an easy prey for the wiles of the devil!

So in all our praying for our wives (or husbands, as the case may be [see 1 Cor 7:5) let us fervently pray that they will be faithful to the ‘duty of sex’!

I’m sorry, friends, that I’ve been away so long. I really enjoy blogging and I love communicating with you in the comments, but I just haven’t really made sitting down and writing a priority. Part of it is the time factor, part of it is that I haven’t had much to say, and part of it is that I got out of the habit. But I’m hoping to begin posting again more regularly.

Here’s a bit of an update:

• Luke turned 2!

• Although he’s beginning to exert his will, Luke is still a joyful, hilarious blessing! He loves to read, color, build with blocks, play in the water, fix with his tools, play his little keyboard, and take apart the couch to make houses.

• We’ve been busy this summer with various family happenings and were blessed to get to see lots of my extended family.
• I’m expecting our second son! Luke’s baby brother will be here around the middle of October. We’re excited and thankful for this new life.
• I’ve been crafting for the new baby, but several things have been failures! A hat way to small, shoes that the pieces don’t fit together… so you may or may not get to see anything I make for this baby.
• I finished War of Words by Paul David Tripp and can’t recommend it highly enough. Go read it now!
• I’m not going to finish Teaching Them Young by Chuck Betters because it’s not really applicable to our family right now, and I didn’t agree with some of what he was teaching.
• I’m excited to be blogging again! Look for some more posts coming soon.

Charlie is the four-year old baby in the Summerfield family. He has one older brother, William, who is nine, and one older sister, Autumn Marie, who is six. He was born into a world settled and secure. He has an impish grin and a joke inside just waiting to challenge anyone who dares to befriend him. His mother adores the way he opens her heart to all the things in life which are imperfect, yet, truly filled with love, just like Charlie himself.

“Ouwww, Sally ran into my mouth and I got hurt here and here.” Cries Charlie running over to Mom while pointing to his top lip and bottom lip. “

 It hurts badly!” Screams out Charlie with the serious cry that makes a mother drop what she is doing to decipher if a trip to the emergency room has arrived.

It is a hot, sunny afternoon in which all the neighborhood children are running through the water sprinklers to keep cool. Mom sees that Charlie has come to her with bright, red blood encircling his mouth.

“I’m bleedin!” Screams Charlie as he begins to recognize the taste of blood in his mouth. Charlie starts to wiggle and dance before Mom as if he has suddenly been electrified then he rushes off to the bathroom to look in the mirror to confirm his suspicions.

“I need an ice cube!” Shouts Charlie as he sees the blood covering his mouth.

Mom takes a washcloth and an ice cube, slightly wets them down so the ice cube will stick to the cloth and hands the homemade “ice pack” over to Charlie. Together they sit down on the front porch together – to just twait. Charlie waits for the pain to subside. Mom waits to see if the teeth are loose, if the bleeding will stop on its own, or if stitches will be required.

Moments pass, Charlie pulls the bloody wash cloth away to revel his teeth firmly in tact and the bleeding subsiding. Two “fat lips” begin to emerge to add to the two day old bandage across his cheek.

Moments later, “I itch!!!” Shouts William rushing over to Mom with his shirt off. “What are you doing different with the laundry!” Spouts William.

Upon closer inspection, Mom observes William’s chest is covered in a bumpy, red rash which is rapidly spreading to cover more and more of his stomach.

“Did Dad give you your allergy medicine last night?” Questions Mom.

“Yes!” Shouts William as he begins to scratch his chest like a dog with flees.

“I’ll get you some special lotion to help you, and a healthy drink too.” Says Mom as she walks to the bedroom to get the new tube of hydrocortisone cream she bought yesterday. “I did a good job getting this.” Thinks Mom to herself as she looks at the newly restocked first aid kit, everything just happened to be on sale this week at the supermarket, now there are six new boxes of bandages in every size possible.

“Here, let me rub this on your rash and it’ll feel better soon.” Says Mom to William, .who looks as if he too has been electrified.

Now, the big opportunity to feed William some really healthy food has arrived.

“You just wait here, I’m going to get you a smoothie with some really healthy stuff in it to help your rash.” Says Mom.

So, into the kitchen goes Mom to make up a smoothie with a small amount of ice cream, just enough to make it palatable, a bunch of ground flax seeds to help the inflammation, and loads of fresh fruit.

“This will help you to feel better and heal quickly.” Says Mom as she hands the miracle concoction over to William in an attractive glass with a bright yellow straw.

William eagerly drinks down the smoothie then comments “I think there were a lot more flax seeds in there this time. It just tasted like a big flax seed.”

“Dear Lord, thank you for your unfailing peace during other’s distress. Without you, I can do nothing. How often have I been so concerned about my own survival that I too have worked myself up into an obsessive frenzy, believing that I was in control, and about to perish. Please Lord, teach me to trust in you to give me all that I need, to heal me in all the ways I need to heal, and to let me rest peacefully while I wait. Amen.”

Here are some sites to look at if you are interested in feminine care products that don’t use disposable plastics  or bleach:

http://www.borntolove.com/frugal-clothing.html (patterns)

http://manymoonsalternatives.com (pads, diva cups)

http://treehugger.com/files/2007/11/make_your_own_pad.php

I’ve considered making my own, and now may be the time, since I’m over fifty, and I’ve been doing this for many years now, and maybe I’m just tired of throwing away money on a natural process like this. As one young woman said to me in the personal-care aisle of the store, “It’s hard enough being a woman! Why does it have to be so expensive?”

Personally, if I had a heavy flow, I’d probably choose a commercial product for those days, and use a washable product the other days. I’ve never tried a Diva cup – I have reason to think it would not be a good choice for me. (This is a reusable internal “catcher” – many women love them as actually more convenient than the usual products.)

I truly dislike that tampons, as useful as they are in some circumstances, have at least some nylon in them, rely on bleached fillers (excuse me!) and often come in a plastic applicator – which ends up in trash, which ends up dumped somewhere, and ends up washing into waterways. Plastic applicators were so common on the beaches of Chesapeake Bay that we called them “beach whistles.” It is possible to hunt down all-cotton, non-bleached alternatives, but again – cotton is an expensive fibre to produce, and we are just throwing it away. (Some cities have composting programmes for menstrual products, but like all protein composting, this requires higher heat tha the average composter.)

Now, let’s be sensible here. Our female ancestors didn’t have a lot of periods in their lifetimes. They got pregnant, nursed babies when they weren’t (and sometimes when they were) and their fertility cycles were farther apart.  Because we don’t get pregnant as early or as often, and most women don’t nurse their children for more than a few months, ours are monthly. So we try to suppress that fertility with birth control, and we try to manage the sloughing off of the uterine lining. This is not “bleeding” in the technical sense, as it is uncirculated blood.

Maybe we have too many periods, or we don’t manage them well. Girls reach puberty and first menses younger and younger. This may be related to diet or even estrogen-like compounds in water as well as food. It might be part of a natural genetic cycle that pushes our girls to maturity faster when food supplies are high. It certainly needs more research and consideration.

Keeping our daughters on a natural foods diet, and avoiding excess weight gain will probably help delay menstruation. Our children now eat too much fat, and are too sedentary. Fat produces estrogen. So using a low-animal fat diet, lots of whole grains and organic vegetables and milk products (especially milk products) may slow down the rapid maturation of North American girls. It might help prevent estrogen-related cancers.

As for ourselves – there are ways to prevent heavy periods. Keeping body fat low and gaining muscle will help a lot to balance the estrogen levels. One thing more women need to do is cut back on stressful activities. DON’T multitask all day, every day! (By this I mean have too many distractors in front of you – computer, phone, cell phone, book, paper to read…) Driving is very stressful – if you can cut your work commute or the hours spent shopping or carrying kids to activities, do so.  Give yourself a “down” day just before your period starts. Get off your feet for a while -stay out of the gym, cut back on that long daily walk, have someone else cook. While regular exercise is necessary to keep a good cycle and to keep weight gain away, it can be stressful on top of all the other stressors.

Find some herbal teas that work for you. Chamomile is good, and there are many proprietary blends on the market for women. Avoid caffeine and sugar.

This is all common sense advice – but if you are having heavy periods, you definitely need some rest. This was the best advice a midwife gave me when I had trouble about fifteen years ago and I was facing a hysterectomy. Get off your feet! Literally, she meant - I had to take three days off work and go to bed.  I’ve kept that advice since if my period starts heavy. Nicholas will insist that I get into bed, elevate my feet, and let him do things. (Not always successfully, mind- but you can live on peanut butter sandwiches for a while.) You may think “I haven’t got time…” but I would advice you to find it. Don’t be a martyr over your period. 

The menstrual separation laws of some older cutltures were not to punish the women or keep the men “clean.” That was just the excuse. Because women’s periods came more rarely, they were moved to a special place for rest and care. Older women cooked for them, family members did the household chores. It was like a spiritual retreat for some. I think this is a marvelous idea.

I really think we need some honest discussion amongst woemn about birth control itself, as well. The hormone-based birth control spills into the water system as urine, and may be causing all sorts of problems. Barrier methods are – well, messy, inconvenient and often disposable and nonrecyclable. (There’s an ehw factor involved.) Other methods are invasive (IUDs) and may cause complications like heavy periods or infections. The natural methods require a “normal” cycle, counting days and a good deal of self-restraint at times. (If you are young and in love, that may be too much to ask, as we all know.)  There are herbs that can help suppress ovulation, but their efficacy and safety are unproven. I’m going out on a limb here, but part of the discussion has to be the push to lower population levels worldwide. What does that mean? Why is that a hot issue? Who is behind all this? (As we say in America, “Follow the money.”) Even if we are not feminists in a political sense, have we bought into Betty Friedan’s critique of the “feminine mystique?”

We don’t discuss women’s health care and the spirituality of our lives as wives, mothers and caregivers in a Christian context. Women end up looking to the neopagans for these things, which won’t help in the long run, really. Why can’t we face the fact that women are different, have different needs, physically and spiritually, and the church is a place where we could be supporting each other in that?

Would your church be willing to sponsor a women’s health care group or seminar that focusses on wellness? We seem to be willing to go all-out on breast cancer, to the point where it is a bit of a cult. Why aren’t we addressing the health of women (and children and men) on a daily basis, in a truthful and realistic way?

Looking back over the years, I would have to say my favorite serving job was at a little French restaurant in Springfield, MO called Le Mirabelle.  Christian Finance was a classically trained French Chef and his wife Bobbi ran the front of the house.  The food was incredible and it was arguably the best restaurant in Springfield, MO.  It also was Brad Pitt’s favorite restaurant in his hometown.  I attribute so much of the respect I have for this business to them and their headwaiter, Jim.  It represented so much of what was right about this business in my mind.  To this day when I take a shortcut I sometimes get a chill expecting to see Christian or Jim with their arms crossed giving me a disapproving stare from across the room.

One day Chef asked me in his French accent (which after two decades of living here I always suspected was artificially strong) a simple question.  He asked if I knew why the French smothered their food in sauce.  I admitted to both my lack of knowledge and curiosity.  He explained France has a long history of being a battlefield.  During wars high quality meat is hard to find.  This led the French to come up with thick powerful sauces to cover up the flavor of the low quality meat.

While I will not vouch for the accuracy of his story, I will say that the French sure love their sauces.  Americans have taken this to a new level (“Can I get some ranch dressing for my steak?”), but lack the creativity of the French.  For this reason French sauces still pop up all over restaurant menus.  As a diner or a server, a basic knowledge of these sauces will drastically improve your food IQ.  With that in mind, here are the basics of French sauces.

Two basic terms to know:

Roux: A combination of flour and butter or fat to create a thick base. A roux can range from white to brown based upon the type of fat, amount of flour, and cooking time.  The whiter the roux the greater it’s thickening value.

Stock: Stock can be made with a variety of meat bones or meatless.  Vegetables, seasonings, and meat bones (optional) are added to water and slowly reduced over hours.  A stock is light (white) or dark (brown) based on whether the bones are roasted in advance.

From these two items the “mother sauces” are born. In the 19th century, Marie-Antoine Carême first created the concept of a “grand” or “mother’ sauce.  These are the sauces others are created from.  His classification listed four main sauces that formed the basis of French cuisine.  Careme’s four mother sauces were:

Béchamel: White roux with cream

Velouté: Blonde roux and white stock

Espagnole: Brown roux and brown stock

Allemande: Veloute sauce thickened with egg yolk and cream.

Some of you reading this are asking the question, “how can Allemande be a mother sauce if it is based on Veloute?”  Others are probably wondering where tomatoes and aioli come into the mix.  My regular readers were probably already expecting this, but you will have to come back tomorrow to find out.  Tomorrow, we will enter into the 20^th century and meet a chef named Auguste Escoffier who created the modern list of mother sauces and designed the modern kitchen.  If you work in a kitchen, near a kitchen, or eat in restaurants, Escoffier is someone you owe a debt of gratitude to.  Come back tomorrow to find out why.

On a side note: if you came across this post by searching for Le Mirabelle, I would love to hear from you.  Any great memories of Christian’s sweetbreads or Beef Wellington?  Anyone else still remember how to de-bone a Dover Sole tableside by candlelight?  Know where I can hunt down Jim or the Finance’s for an interview?  Please leave a comment.

A fourth-grade teacher has been fired from her job for becoming pregnant before her marriage to her husband.

Sound silly?  Now consider that the teacher works for a Christian school and that she signed a contract with the school prior to being hired.  

She agreed, in her job application, to uphold the school’s values.  For her part, she says she did not understand the school’s specific issues. 

You can read about the incident by clicking here:  Teacher
Do you think she should have been fired?