A little drive to a little church



These three pictures are from a small county church way out, just a blip off the highway.  The school and convent are gone now, torn down about ten years ago.  The church hasn't changed much, other than adding a Parish Hall next to

 it.  The older priest took me by surprise because he was a small man, not much bigger than me, and dressed in coveralls.  I thought he was the care taker.  I can not even say his name...Fr. Zed or something similar.  I thought I knew most of the priest around here...guess not.

Yesterday I got gas at $3.09 a gal.  Today it jumped to $3.29 per gal.  It was a nice day the the oil companies jumped the prices.

There you have it.  I enjoyed the drive.  I had forgotten how far out it was and how twisty the highway was.

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Saint Teresa-of Calcutta

I have been reading a little bit about Mother Teresa  of Calcutta.  I know that everyone knows who she is and the works she has done, and the imprint she left on the world.  I thought I would just post a few of her words here.

"We have a great people among us,

only we don't know it.

They are the poorest of the poor-

the unwanted

the uncared for

the rejected

the alcoholics

the crippled

the blind

the sick

 the dying-

people who have nothing and nobody

Their very life is a prayer.

They continually intercede for us

without knowing it.

That is why I say that the home

for the dying in Calcutta

is a treasure house

for the whole archdiocese."

It's easy to understand why Mother Teresa was made a saint so quickly after her death in light of her work for and among the very poor.  Her words and commitment to Christ are not as well known as the pictures of her going about her daily life.  If you can, read about her and know why she is a saint in our time.

*****

I actually did something today!  I took the van to the car wash and vacuumed it out a bit.  It needed it.  I guess you could call the van my home away from home.  I got some gas at $3.09 per gal.  That isn't a big bargain, but it is better than what it was the other day.  The price of gas goes up and down so fast that I get dizzy from all the price spinning.

Tomorrow-Saturday-will be another unusualy nice day,then the cold will pour in.  So, tomorrow I will wander and take my camera with me.  No telling where I will wind up.

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The Price of a Song

The afternoon was hurry up and wait date.  Finally the cable guy came and checked the cable signal which was fine.  He was telling me about the young guy that came to his door without a shirt the other eve. when it was so cold.  He told the cable guy that people were chasing him.  The cable guy said he thought he might get a gun for home protection.  As many readers here know, I have a licence to carry a concealed weapon and yes, I do know how to use it.  I was instructed by a retired State Trooper.  I don't carry it , but things are not very safe in my neighborhood anymore, so I have it for home protection.  It is a sad world when you need a pistol for self-protection.

I talked to several of my friends yesterday and they just about talked my ear off.  Now I need to re-charge my phone.  I tried to talk to my brother in Texas, but that was a lost cause because his wife was screaming at him...or trying to.  I know that he wants to hear from all of us, but his wife will not let him.  I try to make excuses for her because she has M. S.  After a while excuses don't cover bad manners and rudeness.  Illness can change people, but not always for the better, so I try to pray for her...and for my brother because I know he is in a stressful marriage situation.

I went to the store to get a few things.  This time I got a whole gal. of milk instead of a half gal.  Soon the weather will change and I won't want to go to the store.  I won't want to go across the bridge to mass either, but I can park in the back of Holy Name (here) and go up the ramp and in the back way, should the snow blow.  You know I am just a little afraid of falling if it snows or gets slick.

I will be sad to see Advent go, but there are so many hymns and songs that I can't sing.  I guess I am a traditionalist/conservative...sort of person.  I would trade all the junk metal, plates, screws and pins in my arm if I could sing!  That must have some value.  It was worth $21, 000 dollars 3 years ago, and with inflation...well, my arm must be worth more, now...the price of a song?  Oh, it just doesn't work that way, you say?  I have an old poem around here somewhere about a frog trying to sing.  Yes, I wrote it, and if I ever find it, I will post it.

The temperature was up to 56 degrees this afternoon.  Sunday is supposed to be cold and seasonal.  Afterall, it will be January so we will get what we get.

Tomorrow, Friday, I will do some of the things that I didn't get to today. 

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Bad Things Happen

What can I say.  Today a woman walked directly into an on coming train near my house.  She was 37 years old.  I think I have heard her name before on the news.  I am pretty sure she was from the drug rehab. center near my house.  Whatever the case, it was a tragedy and someone lost a family member.  I did say that you didn't need to be frightened by all the hype of 2012.  Anything can happen at any date and time.

So the day went.  I went out just to get out.  The day was cold, but pleasant.  Everyone had the same idea and I think half the city found its way to the Golden Corral.  I meant to take some stuff to the Salvation Army, but walked out of the house without it.  I also meant to get gas today, but due to all the alternative routes I had to take to get home...I forgot to stop.

Tomorrow I have to stay in between 12 and 4 in the afternoon and wait for the cable guys to come and check the signal.  I am thinking that someone might be stealing the signal or something because they have never done that before.  So...I wont' get much done tomorrow afternoon either.  People keep stealing my time!

OK, so I will go to bed "early" so that I can get up early and make up for the lost opportunity to get nothing accomplished.  Yes, I am very good at that!  I wonder if I can convert the concept of sloth-laziness-into a virtue or into a special grace...think the church would go for it?   Nah.

Well, I didn't eat dessert or have any sugary drinks and I only had a salad plate and a reg. main course.  It's interesting to watch others over-load their plates to the point that the food falls on the floor and then go back for more...."more please!"

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Stuff, I guess

Google has done something stupid to the blog pages.  Like Facebook, they couldn't leave well enough alone.  Now, I have to figure out these changes.  Don't you love it when changes are made without notice?  Really, Google...

This was a kind of blah day, cold, wet, and nasty.  It snowed for a short time and then it was gone...pretty while it lasted.

I finally got my watch back!  Even old sales ladies are amazed to see an old wind-up watch.  I love this old Navy watch.  Now it should be good for another 50 0r 60 years.  It is the best kind of watch to have when taking pulses.  I don't take pulses anymore, but felt that part of me was missing when I didn't have it.  It did cost me some $$$ to get it fixed, but to me it was money well spent.

Tomorrow I will be out most of the afternoon-over in E'town.  I have several appointments coming up and need to get my insurance renewed before 2012 or the "end will be near."  Sort of.  There is a lot of things that I need to do, so I hope we have decent weather for a while.

I cheated on my diet and stopped at Wendy's this afternoon.  Well, at least I did get a diet drink instead of a Frosty.  I would like to get my "girlish figure" back that I never had or at least weigh in near what I weighed "several" eons ago.  Well, I am trying.  

I took some stuff out to the dog next door.  I had cooked some things for Christmas that didn't turn out well.  The dog liked my cooking, 'though! 

Not much of interest to write about.  I know that I will be busy, but about the kind of stuff no one really cares about...but me...'cause I know I have to do things...yuk.  Time for a few more cookies?  Cookies are good diet food!

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Dec. 2011 will soo be a memory

This year is packing up and heading into the future on a fast moving train.  I don't know where the coming year is heading.  No one does.  I saw a thread on a Catholic Forum where the person is afraid of 2012.  A lot of authors have made a lot of money by scaring people into believing that the end is near.  The end is near for people every day, everywhere, due to natural causes, aging, accidents or disasters around the world.  The Bible says no one will know...and  Christ even said He didn't know when His Father would send His retribution upon  a sinful..world/people.   Hmm, is that us, you think?  So, don't put your Christmas stockings away just yet or take down the tree.  "You better watch out...you better be good...because no one knows the hour or the day.  I do not worry about it as I try to do the best I know how, each day.  Just full of joy, aren't I!

OK.  I went to two Masses, one Saturday eve. and one at midnight.  I got home about 1: 30 a.m. as I thought I would.  I went to bed after two a.m.  Yes, I was tired.  Ha!  I think I am still in recovery and in need of an energy transfusion, but it was worth it because I love the season of Advent and I am ready to do it all over again...um, next year...maybe!

Now, it is time to get serious about my diet again.  I didn't cheat too much, though, although food was abundant everywhere.  I did scarf down yummy, good fudge.  Good stuff!

Today I have only washed cloths and lounged around.  I need to jack myself up and get busy...and I will.  I promise!

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No Post on Christmas Eve.

I stayed up and into the wee hours watching the five part life of Christ movie.  It was a pretty good version; better than most and worth watching.  Yes, I did sleep late

Tomorrow I will be out from around 6 p.m. until about 1-1:30 a.m.  I will not be posting on Christmas eve. at all.  As it will be a busy, full evening, no one will miss this little post.

I was out for a short time this afternoon.  It was a chilly, dreary, half-wet, overcast day.  When I got home I turned the heat up even though the temperatures were in the low forties.  The dampness was a bit penetrating.  We have broken some kind of record with over 70 inches of rain

I did a little cooking this evening so that I won't need to cook tomorrow.  It will be a heat and eat kind of day.  So, I have enough for a day or so without messing around the kitchen.

I have been trying to decide what to wear to mid-night mass tomorrow night.  I have some nice cloths-they just don't fit me anymore.  I may have lost a few pounds, but a few more pounds need to be shed.  Again, there isn't much to write about so I will close this post for now...until Monday.

Today I watched the kids cartoon version of St. Nick on EWTN.  I enjoyed that too as I am just a kid at heart.

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