Wordless Wednesday

(First Day of Summer, 2011 Edition)

 

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....

1.  You are at the doctors office and have just been informed you have 1 month to live.

a) Who do you tell?

Hmmm.  This would be a tough one, for sure.  Well, I'd compose myself and tell Craig.  I think next I'd tell God that I appreciate the "heads-up," but I'd be praying that the diagnosis was wrong.  I'd call our parish prayer chain, asking for prayers without giving any real details.  Then I'd get a second diagnosis.   If the second diagnosis confirmed the first, I'd then tell my kids, I think, as well as my immediate family.  And then the prayer chain, including several of our closest priest friends, asking for prayers for all of us. 

b) What do you do with your remaining days?
Spend as much time as possible with my loved ones, and write letters to each of them, telling them how much I love them and why, so they'd have something tangible to hang on to.  Also we'd take lots of pictures of us together....  and I'd pray for them, so that they'd know how to deal with life and their grief when I died.
c)  Would you be afraid?
Not for me, really, but for my children, the youngest three in particular, and my husband (how would he handle life without me there to help each day?).  And I'd be afraid that my grandkids would not remember their Nana, and how much I love each one of them.

2.  What is the one thing about yourself you like best?

Hmmm.  Not an easy question either.  I think my loyalty. Or sincerity.  

I treat others as I like to be treated, and I go out of my way many times a day to help those whom I love.  Honestly, I even go out of my way to help strangers.

3.  What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

 Listen to the rain on the roof!  Oh I love that sound.  We often go outside on the covered porch when it is raining to enjoy it. 

4.  What do you do when the clock turns 10:10?

Nothing different.....  just keep doing whatever it was that I was doing at 10:09.   ??  (I'm sure there is something significant with this question, but I don't know what it is.)

5.  Hamburger or cheeseburger?  Grilled or Fried?

Mmmmmmmm, that sounds so good.  If its at home, on the grill, I'll have a hamburger.  But if its at one of my two favorite eat out places, I'll have a cheeseburger, grilled, with onions, thank you.  I eat one half there, and carry the other half home for the next day's lunch.    

Thank you for hosting, Jamie Jo.  I really enjoyed our visit.  (You had some tough questions again!)  I enjoyed iced sweet tea, because we had some real nice temps here today.  It was 80-beautifully sunny degrees! 

Sure hope I can make it again next time... and until then, Blessings to you!  

Remembering, with Heartfelt Gratitude

I thank not only my husband, who continues to serve our great country day in and day out, but also every man and woman who has proudly worn the uniform of our nation, no matter the branch of service, for the many sacrifices you have made.  You are true heroes.

I also express my deepest gratitude to those who have given their life defending my freedom, as well as the freedoms of every United State's citizen.  To their families I can say that I have prayed for you, and I hope that you know that your loss is truly, deeply appreciated.  My heartfelt gratitude, and condolences.

May God bless you on this Memorial Day.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

Happy 11th Birthday, Meem!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....



1. What is your phone's ring tone?
Just a regular default setting.  I know. No excitement here! 

2. Would you ever have plastic surgery?
Only if it were medically necessary, but not if it were cosmetic.

3. You are having a bad day, who do you want to talk to?
Usually no one.  If it were a really bad day, as in horrible, and I felt the entire world is against me.......     I'd fume for a while, maybe even mope for a few minutes, then possibly call Christi, my girlfriend in Ohio.  We go back a long way, and she's a great one to vent to.  She never, ever makes me feel like she's judging me. And after I'm done venting, she might offer advice, but always, I feel better by the time we hang up.

4. At a movie theatre which arm rest is yours?

They have arm rests at theatres?  LOL.  No, seriously, I DO remember that they have arm rests - cuz they always got in the way of my cuddling up with Craig!   Usually, we'd share the armrest between us and hold hands during a movie.

It's been so long since I've been to a theatre, I can't even remember the last movie I saw.   Well, it certainly was when my oldest daughter stayed here with the PeeWees, and Craig and I went out....  because that's the only way we've gotten to go out for the last 11 years... but I haven't a clue as to when it was or the movie we saw.  My guess is about 1 to 1 1/2 years ago....   

and the prices nowadays!  Geesh!  Seriously, Craig and I used to fill up the car with gasoline, eat a quick bite for dinner AND see a movie -- all for less than $20.   We'd splurge for a bucket of popcorn sometimes, for an additional $3...  and that was 'expensive' back then!!  

5. If you had to go back in time to change one thing, if you had to, what would it be?
Hmm.  Digging really deep here...   It would have to be while we lived in Ohio, Craig was insisting on getting a vasectomy, and I protested....  but obviously not loudly or passionately enough.  He did it anyway.   I prayed for seven years  before my prayers were answered:  he had a change of heart, and he got it reversed.  (Thank you St. Andrew!)  I am certain that we have children that were never conceived because of that - and I honestly feel a huge void in our eleven year gap between child number three and number four....   if I think about that for any length of time, I slip into the depths of depression over that whole thing.  So I can't allow myself to go there for more than a minute or two, and must force myself to move on.

The advice you gave in your answer to question 5, Jamie, is fantastic:  offering up everything for Him.  Like you, I take this cross over so many other crosses out there.  I thank God for the six wonderful children He has blessed me with.  I love each and every one of them immensely!


Thank you again for a lovely conversation, Jamie.  I opted for iced tea today, too, sweetened tea, that is.  It's not very warm here at 59-degrees, but Spring is in the air, and I felt for a nice tall glass of iced tea so I brewed some up this morning.   Mmm.  I hope to see you next week!

Tuesday Tea Talk

It's Tuesday and my friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk.....

1.  Where do you like to go to have fun?
I like to take the kids to the zoo,  all our family likes to picnic and hike/walk through nature, we love playing in/around Lake Superior...     as far as 'Mommy Time' fun - even though I don't often buy anything, I looove to go antiquing!   


2. What songs always make you happy?

I like a couple of the good ol' hits from musicals:  My Favorite Things (Sound of Music), Shall We Dance (King & I)...  as well as a lot of '80's songs, and almost any Bon Jovi song!  :-)  

But the ones that keep me singing all day long are my favorites from church... Immaculate Mary, Regina Caeli, Lead Me Lord, God We Bless You, Glory and Praise to Our God, Sing to the Mountains, Now We Remain, You Are Mine, Be Not Afraid, We Are Called... enough yet?

3. What is the first thing you notice when meeting someone for the first time? 

I notice two things:  their eyes (you can tell a lot about a person by looking in their eyes)......  and also whether they actually concentrate on the conversation you're having (distracted? uninterested?).

4. What was your favorite sitcom growing up?

I'm showing my age.....   Bewitched.  I wished I could be like Samantha Stevens and just wiggle my nose to get things to happen.  Wouldn't that be amazing?  I loved Endora and her inability to call Darren by his correct name.  Deerwood! So funny.

5. What is beauty? (a deep question)  

Hmm.  Beauty is...

a newborn baby.  And a mother nursing it.  Trying to see things (as near as we can, anyway) as God sees them.  To do all that we do with love; to 'see' someone with our hearts.

The ability of long-married folks who can look at each other and communicate without saying a word, like my grandparents did.  The sunrise over Lake Superior.  A sunset over the mountains in New Mexico.

I thank you for hosting, Jamie Jo.  I enjoyed our visit.  Sure hope I can make it again next week... and until then, Blessings to you!

 

Divine Mercy Sunday Brunch

Homemade Waffles with Whipped Topping and Sliced Strawberries

Strawberry and Pear Mixed Fruit

We were Triple Blessed on Sunday, as it was Divine Mercy Sunday, our beloved John Paul the Great was beatified, and it was the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.  Such a joyous day called for a fabulous beginning!  (We only make these waffles for special occasions.)

I'm sharing with you my mom's recipe, which makes a light and tasty waffle. 

Homemade Waffles

Beat well:       4 egg yolks

Blend in:         4 cups milk

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shortening

Beat til stiff:    4 egg whites

Fold the whites into the batter.

Yield: approximately 8 cups of batter

Cook waffles according to your waffle iron directions.

Stop in at Catholic Cuisine to see how others are celebrating with food!

Birthday Girl

Photo credit:  Mimi

                          Happy 10th Birthday Liza!!!

Blessed John Paul the Great

Saturday Vigil in our home

Today we rejoiced and thanked God for the gift He gave to us, the faithful, in the person of Karol Wojtyła.

Viva Papa

Did you know that Pope John Paul II's official title was Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Head of the College of Bishops, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servus Servorum Dei, Pope John Paul II?

The tribute in our living room

So we rejoiced and celebrated and remained in a joy-filled atmosphere today.  And we thanked God again for His gift of this man, and continue to ask his intercession daily.

Blessed John Paul the Great, Pray for us!

Homemade Perpetual Calendar

I totally stole this idea from Paula.  Well, I guess I didn't steal it, because I told her I was probably going to adopt it, and she didn't say, "NO!  That's my idea and you can't use it."  Whew!   

So anyway, here is my adaptation of Paula's fabulous idea:

 I had this nice file box sitting around that our oldest daughter bought for rsvp cards for her wedding, and have found no use for it since.  Then I saw on Paula's post, "Today's item is something I made with finds from around the house,"  and the wheels started turning!  Hmmmmm.  Would it be possible?  But the handy-dandy index cards Paula used would not work with the configuration of this box, so....

See Paula's post I printed out for reference?

I just printed out on card stock each day's date, and placed lines.  I had to play with the margins a bit to enable me to just cut down and across in the middles.  All in all, I used 101 pieces of card stock and an entire black ink cartridge, but I really like how this turned out!  I got 4 days to a page... counted 366 days for a year (including leap-day), plus I made one day that says the name of the month with no date on it, so that I can record each and every special occasion on it: birthdays, anniversary dates, baptism dates, feast days, deaths, etc.  Then, while I am planning the upcoming month's holidays, celebrations, special meals, et all - I just grab the first card of the month and I'm all set to plan! 

Each evening I move each day's card to the back, so then come morning, I am all set for the day.  Each day's card has more specific information on it than that monthly summary, to remind us of exactly how long it's been since that beautiful wedding, or since Great Grammy died, when to begin that novena, etc.

Then on the monthly divider card, I printed an image I'd chosen off of Google image search that pertains to that month's devotion.  Here we have April's card, and we know that April is dedicated to the Holy Eucharist... 

 Now we have February and March's cards being sized for the file box.

February is dedicated to the Passion of the Lord, and March is to St. Joseph

 So with everything all settled into the file box, it looks like this:

So far, I am actually using my new perpetual calendar!   I do not make time to journal, nor do I remember every last detail as well as I used to.  So this is my adaptation of Paula's perpetual liturgical calendar.  Thanks Paula.  I'm glad you generously shared your great idea.

Thoughts during Easter Week

Isn't this the most beautiful image?

I came across this image while doing a Google image search for Regina Caeli.  I just love that transcending chant, and am printing the words in Latin on card stock so we can read it while we sing.  Of course, the hope is that this will be permanently embedded into our brains, so that we (meaning the children) will be able to sing it any time we want for the rest of our lives!   So I printed the words out in Latin on card stock, added the above image, and viola!  Instant learning tool.  

The fact that we get the privilege to sing the Regina Caeli during the Easter Season is one of my favorite things about Easter...  I love that chant.  Do you need a little something to help jog your memory?  Try this. It's almost angelic in its simplicity. 

Now while I was searching that for you, I came across Sandi Patti singing Via Dolorosa.  Wow.  I may have heard it before, many years ago, because there was something familiar about it.  Chills, I tell you.  I got chills, and goosebumps, and teary-eyed, too. 

Then I began thinking.  Do we live our lives according to the purpose of His calling?  I mean, thinking again about what the Lord has done for each of us,don't we just spend each day of our lives doing what we want to do, without regard to what He wants of each of us? Considering all the blessings God has poured into our lives/my life, I really need to try to serve and glorify Him more.   

The world must know that I love the Father and do everything as the Father has commanded me.  John 14:31

Wishing you a very blessed Easter Season, friends.

Hopeful...

Out my window at lunchtime, after yesterday's snowfall:

Thank you Lord!  I remain hopeful that spring will actually come... (dare I say) soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Out the window this morning.

 It's April 27th?

 Trying to see God's beauty in this...

but Seriously!

Tuesday Tea Talk

My friend Jamie Jo is hosting Tea Talk, a fun way to get to know each other. She asks 4 or 5 random questions and we then answer them. So here we go....

1. What is something you wish you were better at?

Housekeeping.  I just don't put housekeeping high enough on my priority list to make time to keep it really neat and clean.  The house isn't filthy... just in a constant state of a sprinkling of dust, and cluttered.  (Does the home renovation/addition have anything to do with this?)

But I think some of that has to do with upbringing, don't you?  I've never experienced "spring cleaning" or anything of the like.  I remember being in my early to mid- twenties, and hearing that term 'spring cleaning' for the first time and was actually kinda of perplexed, thinking 'what was that?'  It couldn't literally mean cleaning because it was Spring?? 

       

2. Why do you like the music you do?

I really don't know.  Craig only listened to rock when we were dating, and I can still sing most of the lyrics to all the classical rock songs on Craig's ipod or the radio.  

I liked a lot of styles, including classical, but now my go-to favorite is piano instrumentals.  It is so calming in a busy house.  

I used to listen to country about 20 years ago, but realized that it is usually so depressing!  And I still like praise songs on the Christian stations.  I listened to that a lot when we lived in Ohio, right about the time of my reversion. 

But my hands-down favorite group tho, is Bon Jovi.  Love, love, LOVE that voice.  (sigh.)  Isn't it about time for another tour to MN, Jon?

3. New York or California?

Hmmm.  That one is hard.  If New York means New York City , I'd choose California.  But if it also means New York state, I'd choose NY state.  I'd love to see that part of the country. 

4. Ocean or Pool?

I like the ocean, and I like to look for seashells....  and I like the pool...   

Really tho, hands down, I could pass both of them for the North Shore of Lake Superior.  It really is my top choice.  I LOVE going to the 'Shore.  We spend lots of time there doing various things: picnics, hiking, looking for rocks, even schooling!  Just LOVE the North Shore. 

5. Favorite Year so far?  

This one is tough too, but I think I'd have to say 1982.  The year Craig and I were married.  The best time of my life was our honeymoon --- finally being with him 24/7.....  falling asleep in his arms and waking in his arms.  sigh.   Just being with him all. the. time.  We went to the Black Hills of South Dakota.   Saw funnel clouds, and I feared we'd die after being married for one day!   We had fun hiking, and going on picnics, and just the road trip together was perfect.  Hmmm.  Sure do wish we could go on a "just the two of us" vacation one of these days... 

       

Oh, it's time to go already?!  The time sure passed quickly.  Thank you so much for the tea Jamie Jo, I really enjoyed our visit!  Sure hope I can make it again next time... until then, Blessings to you!

 

The Things They Say...

In the kitchen this morning, as the girls were straightening up their bedroom...

Crash:  Mom, what do you want for your birthday?

Mom:  Oh I don't know, Hon.  My birthday isn't for a really long time yet.

Crash:  I know.  What do you really want for your birthday?

Mom:  Well, maybe I'd really like a vacation.     :-D

Crash:  Hmmmm.   How about a bullsdover (aka bulldozer)?!