Tea and faries

I am having a lovely day with my granddaughter. It started with a sleepover and multiple viewings of Tangled, it has now moved on to an art class to be followed by a tea party. The best part of grand-parenting is the ability just be in the moment. Dusting , laundry and other chores can wait while adventures are at hand. Stories are read, Magic kingdoms are explored and tea parties are hosted. Life is good

Watching and Waiting

We are under a Tsunami Warning. The sirens sounded at 3:59 am and the evacuation began. It as been a long strange day of waiting and praying. Amidst sorrow for those in Japan, there is fear for friends and loved one closer to home. Being as isolated from the rest of the world like we are, the story is unfolding news is somewhat fractured. We get calls from loved ones in far off area watching national news reporting news that is different from what we are hearing. The story also keeps changing. Continued quakes in Japan are creating more and more surges. Originally we thought we would have the all clear by noon... now it looks like we will be under this warning for 8-9 more hours....just waiting. Some have been tempted to be a lookeloo's, to put aside the warnings of authorities and check things. However one person has already been killed and others swept out to sea. Now is not the time to break the rules
Some of us have been calm, in fact in the beginning most folks thought this would be a non event. We practice for this, we have battery radios and emergency bags packed. I keep water and food on hand, I even have work emergency numbers programed into my phone so I can contact them away from the office. I am amazed however at how many folks were unprepared, they don't listen to the radio, or read local news, they didn't know if they were safe or not. Our City is a magnet for Tsunami's this is not our first nor will it be our last. Maybe they have learned a lesson today. Pay attention... be prepared
No need to worry though, all of the kids are safe and so are we. On a bright note, I got an extra day off and the sun is shining. For now we just watch and wait

I do believe

I love being a parent, it is an ever changing reality. My children have all moved into adulthood..... they seem to have survived somewhat whole and healthy so we must have done an ok job. I know that I did not do it alone. I had a loving spouse, great family, a village full of friends and most of all my faith. Life is so hard at times we all need a little something unseen we can depend on. something spoken or unspoken that we carry with us in our soul. I tried to offer this to my children. We attended Church, prayed as a family and read our bible. I tried to raise them to understand that God gave them free will so they should make their choices wisely and if a bad choice was made... well.... accept responsibility...... learn from it... choose to change and move on

We also read books and played games. We created stories and found time to play together and use our imaginations. Life is full of joy if you are open to it. I am not fond of scary stories but I do like stories of magic, where goodness wins and loyal friends are rewarded. I grew up on a diet of Fairy tales, Narnia and Madeline L'Engle . I encouraged my children to read them also... yes even Harry Potter. We need to be open to the magic in our life's.

Last weekend I helped my Granddaughter build a fairy garden... we saw Gnomeo and Juliet... a very cute movie, and now she is enamored with gnomes and fairies. I am looking for a flaming like Featherstone. lol Anyway we spent a few hours building a fairy garden. We planted violas, a traditional fairy flower. Created a path of magic glass pebbles, glass stones left over from my sons wedding, and a fairy house., all while wearing fairy wings and tiara's. This may sound silly, but it was all about childish joy and the faith in something special and beyond our understanding. It was all about the possibilities...

vintage musing

why is it that we are attracted to vintage things? Is it nostalgia? A desire for simpler times? I often wonder.
I think my tastes were formed in my childhood. Avocado green and orange are two of my favorite colors. When life seems to move to fast I retreat to my fantasy world of Tiki lounges and aluminum Christmas trees. I would happily move in with the Brady's and eat Alice's meatloaf every night.
Maybe what I really desire is that feeling of being taken care of. Of someone wiser than me helping me make decisions and teaching me about life.
Then I remember, what I really desire, what I am really looking for to fill the hole in my life...is my Lord. HE will fill the hole, light the darkness, take care of me and lead me beside still waters.
We require many things to get through this life, food,water,exercise and that thing that sets us apart from the animals......... FAITH

Transition

Well it's been a while.......... Apparently 3 years since I last posted, but I'm back. Just as it seems life is heading in one direction........things change. Just as Hubby and I were settling into our Empty nest, finding a new routine and hobbies, the Empty nest was filled up again with Children, spouses, grandchildren and assorted pets.... Suddenly no one was sure what the future held.
Not to worry...God has a plan. All we can do is have a little faith and pray

We are in the season of transition again
. We started out celebrating the souls of the departed with the feasts if All Saints and All souls....for me this included a Dia De Los Muertos party with friends and dinner in the cemetery with family.... I know it sounds odd, but it was really very spiritual. We put flowers and candles out for our family members and then ate and shared our memories.

Next we looked forward to Thanksgiving,
I posted daily thanks on FB, shopped and cleaned and then celebrated the day with 43 framily (friends and family) members including my 91 year old grandfather who had traveled 12 hours to join us. What a memorable day, God granted me the gift of allowing me to spend the day with my grandfather and my grandchildren and the generations in between..... What a blessing. On Saturday I celebrated 28 years of marriage to the man I love at our annual Christmas parade and tree lighting. I got to light the tree.
Time to transition again we began the season of Advent by lighting the the first candle at Sunday night family dinner, and today I begin the process of transforming my house into a Christmas wonderland.


Don't misunderstand life is not perfect, I would not want it to be. Sometimes all you can do is pray . The nest was filled, because jobs were lost, the joy of seeing grandpa was tempered with the knowledge that I may not have many more visits..... and Christmas ...well we will pray for peace and hope for understanding. I'll keep you posted

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

6 A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

divine mercy
Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday. I didn't remember that until I entered the church that morning. I was feeling rushed .... to many things to do and I was worried over the phone call I had received to tell me that Grandpa F, my only remaining grandparent, had been rushed to the hospital in the wee hours on the day after his 88th birthday. As A child Grandpa F was my favorite, and in my heart, I have been harboring a secret dream to be able to introduce him to my first grandchild. I was not really in a focused, church going frame of mind so I guess, it was Divine Mercy.

Prayer was what I needed. I prayed for Grandpa, I prayed for all those I love and I prayed for myself.

The Divine Mercy
I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moaning.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my nieghbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me (...).
O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself , for you can do all things. (163)

PS. The Doctors have determined that Grandpa did not have a heart attack . They are keeping him for more tests so please keep him in your prayers

A Good Friday

Last year after Easter, I decided that I would clean up the choir loft, which is used for overflow seating before this years service. The place seems to be a breeding ground for unused Christmas wreaths and carpet. Last year all of us who got stuck in the loft, had to struggle over this stuff to find a place to sit. Of course being me (is there a patron saint for procrastination?) I waited till yesterday. Loyal LaReina offered to help me with the job. After begging some teenage boys to carry extra chairs up for us we began the process of moving the accumulation of stuff that is up there and trying to create some order. We made great progress moving all but the huge organ that while unused has for some reason been placed just slightly off center up there. I have persuaded my hubby to help me with that today. When we were done grunting, groaning and giggling we took a break to enjoy the view from our now comfortable perch. We soon found our selves coming up with ideas for next year, how to drape the cross and statues, how to strip the alter on Holy Thursday etc... I think we both felt surprised to hear ourselves thinking aloud that maybe it is time to step up and help the elderly women who's job it's always been. It is easy to giggle over their imagined response to certain things, to sigh over their seeming obsession with the proper way to do things. Harder to step up and offer to help, to realize that we are being called to become those ladies. This realization brought us both to silence. After a few moments, I felt it...We both did...... A presence. For me it was the culmination for what this week is about. That desire to be of service to others. It is what we are called to do everytime we receive Jesus at communion. As Father said "When we take him in, we take in all that he stands for.... We ask how can I be Christ for you" We are called to see past race, religion and status. We are called love the least of our brothers more than ourselves, We exist to share their burdens and to serve. The feeling only seemed to last a few minutes (till LaReina's alarm went off to let us know that an hour had passed) What an unexpected blessing
High up in the near empty church , I was rewarded with the real gift of His presence

I have to talk to the RCIA class tonight. I am very nervous. These people have made the choice for what ever reason to join the church and are attending these classes looking for a variety of information. I'm just not sure what. Usually there is a team to lead RCIA, they have a big thick binder and it takes 9 months to review all the material including home work. This year it's the condensed version,with our visiting priest, and will touch on the high points. Personally, I think this may be the better version. I tend to get a little frustrated with those who think they need to judge when someone else is ready. What is the important stuff to know before joining? What's the right reason? When do you have all the answers.? I know that I never will, at least not until I come face to face with my Lord.
Sometimes, I think it is human nature to test those who want to join us. I think it has more to do with our sense of security than theirs. What if they don't really think like we do, or worse yet want to change us. I would like to have a little more trust than that. God is good all the time. And what ever your reason for coming to him it's good, always, I think we miss the whole point when we are less than welcoming. The Catholic church is the universal church. There is room for everyone. Some of us will pray the rosary daily, and others will barely make it to Mass. Neither person is more important to the Lord.
Catholics are often attacked for believing we need to practice good works rather than Grace alone. I don;'t really get this argument. If you are truly filled with Grace, good works should flow from you. you couldn't stop them if you wanted to, which you wouldn't cause...duh. you're full of Grace. Ultimately I think we are both saying the same thing. Martin Luther agreed on his death bed.
I think the thing to remember is our faith should be a conscious choice, it should be deliberate and active.

Waffles are Catholic...... Who knew

According to Alton Brown they got their start as the Wafer (get it waffle..wafer) Catholics use for communion. Since this was one food that could be consumed during lent secular bakeries got in the act and then they got bigger, eventually becoming the waffles we know today. Hmmm.......

I think I have said it before, my hubby and I are food geeks. We spent our Valentine evening enjoying perfectly cooked steak and sweet potato's at home. Then we watched the food network. It's better than trash tv. Anyway last night we learned (probably more than we ever wanted to know) about waffles. Food fact: Waffles have more inside than outside. Our Waffle maker is an antique. It is older than I am and since I am now officially a grandma,anything older than me is and antique. It was belonged to hubby's Grandma D. If I actually made waffles, rather than buying the ubiquitous box at the store, I might need to get a new one. Apparently old waffle makers are collectible.

I posted before about waffles and chicken. I still stand by that combination. It was really very good. I may put on my apron and whip up a batch tonight after RCIA class. I just put maple syrup on mine, but it was suggested that you could put hot sauce on the chicken, then use syrup. Mmmmm. Or you Pennsylvania Dutch, could use brown gravy. Hmmm. I'm definitely getting hungry now. Chicken and waffles would not be OK on the Fridays of Lent. I was confused for the first couple years and thought chicken was ok, but NO, chicken is meat. So Waffles only on Fridays, but as today is Thursday. IT's waffles tonight

Guilt

Like a thief in the night, a soup kitchen has taken up residence on the corner of the highway and the entrance to the business district of our little tourist town. This has created a whole host of emotions in me. The first is Anger. I am upset that as a non profit they were not required to get a business permit or any kind of approval prior to making this move. They set up shop with no thought to how they would affect the other business in the area, the hotels, the restaurants, or the National Park tourist office they now sit next to. The second is guilt, good old fashioned, catholic guilt, at the fact that I need to support feeding the hungry and helping the needy. There should have been a discussion. There should have been some thought put into this process. Now that they are there it will be a difficult situation to correct. Anyone who opposes them is cold hearted. How can you turn out the needy. We will be accused of covering up the problem, trying to hide them away. Bull, there are so many things wrong with the scenario I can not even list them all. Let's put the needy on public display, let's expose them to honks and harassment and the elements. Let's feed them in an old gas station, a site that has been contaminated by years of petroleum based products. We are called to serve our fellow man, This calls us to be creative and compassionate in our solution. They deserve a better solution than a shabby soup line, in a run down structure, no one else wants.

Life Lessons for my Daughter

We then trust that, because he is our good and gracious Lord, he will provide what we need. We have no reason to worry. Psalm 34:8-10
I know things seem hard right now. You feel like an adult and others now expect you to start making adult decisions.

Miss independent

Your life seems to be in the awkward place between childhood and adulthood. In that place where you have to start choosing whether your dreams are only that, fragile fantasy that will not survive the reality if who you have become, or will your dreams become goals, things to be striven for, to be sacrificed for, to be achieved One thing I want you to keep in mind,

Only you can choose, there are obvious bad choices I pray you will avoid, addictions that will delay you, harm you permanently, alter the course of your life, But other than that, only you know what to choose for YOU. Try to be patient, Pray for patience. Take stock of your life, make a list. what are your strengths, what gifts did God give you to share. Pray for Wisdom, What are all the dreams you have. do they work together, or do they conflict. Do they fit with the person that you are, The values that you have? Use all of the fruits/ gifts you were given Then choose

Try not to be to hard on yourself if you choose and then have to change direction down the road. There are many roads to travel. Nothing in life is permanent except death. and not even that in the LORD

Be patient with others who choose a different path than you. Only they can choose their path, and while you may not understand or agree. Too bad, it's not your choice. It may not be wrong for them.

The only person who can make you a loser is you. The only person who can quit is you. The only person whose judgment you need fear is the LORD'S. Not mine, Not your friends, only HIM.

Take time to pray. Your life is just starting. The world is a blank canvas. Create a work of art for your own pleasure

Rosary

The non catholic father of one of the young people I know recently struck up a conversation with her catholic boyfriend. He was asking about the mysteries of the rosary. The young man clarified the mysteries for him, sorrowful, glorious, joyful and luminous. and then they discussed the practice of meditative prayer. As an Episcopalian he is open to the rosary understands that it is to focus on the life of Christ, and even has a version he is familiar with, but he is becoming more and more interested in all things catholic and wished to learn more. During the conversation, He asked the young man if it would be OK to contemplate leisure mysteries? The young man not quite sure called his mom, my #1 CCD teacher/best friend and this led to a conversation between us. God works in mysterious ways. Why not have the leisure mysteries? As our world becomes ever busier, and we try to be more and more in control, why not contemplate when the Lord told us to trust in him. We spent the better part of a road trip discussing the possibilities.... all the times when the Lord said "Don't worry, be happy". The loves and fishes, Martha and Mary, the lilies in the field, the children, the holy spirit. We actually came up with more than 5. The Lord came to create a new covenant. He preached love, hope and peace. He did not tell us to get bigger cars and houses, compete in sports and academics or try to be better than the guy next to us. He told us to be patient and kind. To love our neighbors, be helpful and just. We are not supposed to worry about what we don't have but to be grateful for what we have been blessed with. The Rosary is a contemplative tool. As stated above, We pray the rosary as a meditation on the life of Christ. It is a tool to be used to bring us closer to our Lord. To open ourselves to Him and hear his voice. Maybe we need more mysteries, the grateful mysteries, the leisure mysteries, the peaceful mysteries. Where ever the Lord leads, you pray the Rosary with an open heart ©

Faith is a little like salt. We often go through life avoiding it when in reality we need a little very day for our health. Salt is such a common thing. For Americans salt is cheap and easy to come by. You can find it in all sorts of forms from table salt to kosher salt or even fancy gourmet versions. You can even get in little packets at every fast food resturant and convenience store. It's easy to think that something this common is unimportant, but our bodies are made up of salt and with out some in our diet, our physical health would suffer. Sometimes we treat our faith like salt. We avoid it, or limit our intake. Sometimes we think it's only ok in a certain gourmet form. It's easy to to be fooled into thinking that our faith life does not impact all areas of our lives. We can probably think of lot's of situations where we don't think it applies at all. Maybe when you are at the Post Office or DMV, maybe when you go for drinks after work, in the polling booth, school program, dressing room...... Many of us think it's only for Sundays with maybe a occasional Wedneday night or meal time prayer thrown in. Well heres something to consider , When you make Chocolate Chip cookies, the recipe calls for a pinch of salt, some people leave it out, they swear it isn't needed, but if you leave the salt out they just aren't as good. The salt enhances the flavor. The same is true for life. Our faith can be a little bitter sometimes but if we sprinkle it about in our daily lives and don't just leave it for certain things everything will be enhanced

be Mary

This has been a year of Mary for me. At times I seemed to stumble over her almost daily. Don't get me wrong, I think of Mary, I say my Rosary, and I see her image as Our Lady of Guadalupe at mass every week, but this year I seemed to stumble over her too. Here's and example: On the trip to find my MOG dress We stopped at B&N to rest, I picked up a book with Mary on the cover, it looked pretty good, but I was not spending big money on books that day. I put it down and walked away. While standing by the check out waiting for my daughter to make her purchases, I looked down at the clearance books, you know the $2 book table. There it was. The same book, marked $2.00 not $25.00. Of course I bought it, and I loved it. Things like this have been happening for a year. Every time I turn around, God has put Mary in my path. I have had to rethink my image of her, I have felt comforted by her as I went through the changes that have been happening this year. I have re-introduced her to friends, who are not Catholic and through her, I have felt closer to her son, my Lord and Savior. All and all. it's been a very Mary year

Christmas day has come and gone and now we prepare for the new year. There are times when we get distracted by the focus on, how we will spend the eve. At these times we forget we are preparing for the coming year and all that it will hold. Perhaps, we should spend the eve contemplating how we spent the year we are leaving behind. 2006 was a big year in our household. I had an premonition of this as we gathered to decorate our tree in 2005. We celebrated a graduation, a confirmation, an engagment, a wedding, another engagment, a child moving overseas an empty nest (if you don't count pets they left behind) and the announcment that we will become Grandparents in 2007. I think you can say this adds up to a great year. We also had sickness, sorrow, andger and hurt, but I think in the end the joy has far outshone the tears. I hope that 2007 brings much joy and little sorrow to us all. I will mark the year with friends and family of all ages to toast to life and pray for the future. I will pray that I remeber to let joy win. My favorite quotes of the year was from St Augustine "God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering"

My mom recent sent out this post to friends and family, and with her permission I am adding it to mine Stuffing - A Recipe For Life
I was reading just yesterday, that stuffing/dressing is the most important feature of a Thanksgiving feast. There is wide diversity regarding ingredients, spices, texture, etc., but what really matters is that what ever “best family recipe” you are used to is the one you like and will try to make in future years. Never matter that it tastes a little different as each person makes it and puts his or her own personal spin on it, it is called and will be called “the old family recipe.”
In our family, I guess I am the stuffing expert. I watched my dad make his famous brand for years, and when I became the official family turkey baker, I prepared it according to his directions, but as I served it that first year, I knew that the flavor was just a little different than my dad’s - good, even delicious, but different. My dressing evolved into two types over the years - regular and sausage. Both are excellent, although Friend-Hubby prefers the sausage and I prefer the regular.
I have not cooked the big family dinner in a few years now, but each year, my daughter calls to check in and make sure she is making (the only dressing I have ever made according to her) the sausage dressing correctly. One year, my grandson Chris called from England to make sure he had the recipe for regular stuffing right (the only dressing I have ever made according to him).
The funny thing is that I do not have a recipe. I have the basic ingredients, bread, spices, onions, butter, chicken stock, water, and celery. I use different amounts of each, depending on how much dressing I need to make. I make way more than I stuff the turkey with, usually two separate baking dishes full (one with regular, and one with sausage). I go easy on the celery because I don’t like big junks of celery, even when cooked. My seasonings are dumped in and I tell by smell whether I have the right amount in the mixture. I don’t know what I would do if I had a bad cold, or lost my sense of smell.
After a lot of soul searching this Thanksgiving, I realized that making stuffing is a lot like becoming a Christian. It takes many ingredients to put our own faith walks together, and they vary for each person. As we emerge Christians, each of us has gone on a different path with many adventures along the way. We all are basically the same, but like my daughter and grandson, we need to check in with our maker from time to time, to make sure we have the ingredients correct. My recipe for stuffing could also be called my recipe for my relationship with God. Take the raw person (me), add spice and solid ingredients (prayer, reading and studying the Bible, discussion with others in the faith, attending worship, etc.), allow to saturate and fill, and bingo, here I am, one Christian, content with life and the way I make stuffing.
I know I have taken liberties with becoming a Christian here. I may sound flip, but I assure you that I do not take my faith or my stuffing lightly. I have a basic inner recipe for each, and when I follow this recipe, I am pretty happy with the results.
God bless you all as you make your stuffing or live your faith. Love, Church Lady Happy Thanksgiving to all.............................

We have company

So I haven't blogged much. As soon as I started this we got house guests. I loved having them, but whew am I beat. Here is a quick easy meal that I make for company or any night. It's an old standby made with many thing I usually have on hand: 2 Whole chicken breasts cut up(halved or smaller) 1 can Chicken broth 1 onion chopped 1-2 cups mushrooms (you can use canned I prefer fresh) 1/2 pint cream Salt and pepper chicken. Brown chicken in butter. When brown add onions, cook till they sweat. Add mushrooms, cook till they release their liquid also. Add chicken broth, stir, let simmer till reduced by half. Now add cream, stir in and let reduce by half again. Serve with rice. I use larger pieces of chicken when serving to guests or on special occasions . It makes a nice presentation. I cut the chicken up smaller(it cooks faster) for family nights and then spoon it directly over the rice. Hope your family likes it as much as mine. C

Mary

• Several years ago I attended a youth ministry workshop that really made me stop and think. The guest speaker, Jesse Manebusen started talking about Mary. Talking about Mary and how she chose to be the mother of Christ and what a powerful choice it was. Now I don't know if you're like me but I always sort of had a sort of wishywashy Mary pictured in my head. She was never really much in my mind except at Christmas. Just sort of a minor character in the Christmas pageant. Until Jesse spoke, I had never pictured her as strong. I never though about her making that difficult choice. There she was....A nice, quiet Jewish girl, engaged, probably worrying about where to seat the great aunts at the wedding feast when this Angel shows up and says hey... Your going to have a baby. No date, no dinner first. Just the Good News . Now remember, this was BC. The law was very specific if she had a baby with no ring, Joe could send her away and she would probably be killed. Tough choice huh. I'm not sure my faith would be strong enough to say yes to that. Strong lady that Mary... I think that it was after that workshop that I began to really be conscious of the choices I a was making in my life. Sometimes we forget that we have a choice. Where to live, what to eat, what to wear, what to say. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we begin to feel like victims rather than participants. Well anyway we always have a choice. As a Catholic mom I need to remember that. Everyday I get to choose and the choices are important. As a woman of this generation being a mom first is defiantly a choice. It is not a automatic thing like it was for our moms and grandmothers..... I like to remind the youth I work with that we are all kind of like Indiana Jones, we must choose and choose wisely. So on the eat and drink part . That will definitely be part of this blog because , well I love food. Here is an easy recipe for no cook candy that my grandma used to let us make with her. No Cook Candy 1 cup honey or corn syrup 1 cup dry powdered milk 1 cup peanut butter Mix all ingredients and shape in as desired Roll in chocolate supremely, cookie crumbs, chopped nuts or coconut for variety