Princess Saint, Leaves and Dutch Lasagna

 This blog will have three topics in one blog.

1) Today, November 17 is the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

"We are made loveless by our possessions." - St. Elizabeth of Hungary

 She is slowly becoming one of my new favorite saints for her humility in hard work helping the poor, zealous faith and naturally, because she was a queen and lived in several castles, enough said!

She was born in Sárospatak Castle, Hungary

She grew up in Bratislava Castle, in modern day Slovenia

And St. Elizabeth of Hungary was married in Wartburg Castle, Germany

 She was born in Hungary in 1207 and loved the work St Francis of Assisi was doing. His friars visited her castle and she began to live like the monks did: with simplicity and love for Christ as their main focus. 

He was her inspiration to live a simple life, give away her riches and grow in holiness through prayer and giving to the poor. St. Elizabeth was married at the tender age of 14 and had a loving marriage with her husband, King Lutwig of Wartburg (in Germany). Her husband loved that his wife gave so much to the poor. Upon entering the church she would remove her crown with jewels and remain kneeling in prayer. 

Details of her crown

Her mother in law reprimanded her for this and St. Elizabeth would reply, "How can I, a wretched creature, continue to wear a crown of earthly dignity, when I see my King Jesus Christ crowned with thorns for me?" 

She gave a lot of bread to the poor thus is the patron saint of bakers.

St Elizabeth would examine the beds and clothes of the poor in their homes, then go home and make them new clothes. She is also the patron saint of homeless people.

 Daily she would go into the town with bread, meat and clothes to help the poor. However, his royal family didn’t appreciate her antics. She sold her fine gowns and crown and began to build a hospital for the poor with her dowry.

When she was 20 she got the news that her husband died of a fever. His family kicked her out of the castle at that point, sick of her dressing simply and giving their treasures away. She moved into the hospital for the poor and lived there till she died, also from a fever at the age of 24. One of her miracles is when she was taking food and goods to the poor she was stopped by her husband (who approved of her work) and his family (who didn't) on the side of the road. Upon interrogating her on what she was carrying in her cloak, she opened it and the bread and food became roses (Mama Mary stepped in!) the cathedral in Wartburg is flanked by roses to commemorate this episode.

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2) In nature news, last week was the last chance to see any leaves on trees. The weather in mid-November has begun looking in the direction of winter. During my chilly morning rosary walks, I have marveled looking at the colorful trees and thinking to myself, “I wish I could go to the National Gallery of Art in DC!” Alas, though the museums are open, getting to go inside is like a secret mission. One needs to book a 20 minute slot, fill out a health form, get ones temperature taken and leave exactly 20 minutes after entering. It might be possible, but not enjoyable to visit art in such a hurry.

 Feeling somewhat sorry for myself I stood for a moment looking at a bright orange tree, with a squirrel hopping around my feet, and it dawned on me that the beauty of nature is exactly where classic artists gained their inspiration. I changed my viewpoint and decided to look at the trees and their colorful leaves like art. When I did, I saw Rothko in them and it made me oh so happy.

3) In gardening news, I made Dutch bulb lasagnas. They are not to eat, rather they are layers of flower bulbs that grow progressively when it is their time to flower from late winter through spring.

Soil at the bottom

Then you put in the bottom what will grow last, layer on top with soil, and layer the next bulbs. 

Iris flower in late May. These go in first.

Followed by red tulips which flower in April.

Then daffodils, which flower in February and March.

Topped with Crocus and Glory of the Snow which flower in early February.

I hope I actually see some flowers and that I didn't just create a buffet for the deer! This will require a blog follow up. For now, the bulbs are covered by mesh to protect them from squirrels and sitting in the cold.