Gold Fever II - Clint Eastwood

So, Paint Your Wagon is a family standard. Unless you have ever experienced gold fever or been around someone who has it you probably won't understand. It's a disease...

We laugh about it now, but 30 years ago it was an all consuming "hobby." Weekends were spent at the placer, concentrating and the rest of the week after work was spent panning it down.

It was fun! We got to take the kids to wonderful places. They learned what it was like to be a '49er. Totin' bucket, dirt, sluice, diggin', pannin'...all that work! When all was said and done it was a great lesson in life. One in which none of the kids wanted to pursue. All passed on the back braking work and chose to go on to other endeavors, no less demanding, but less physical.

Following are more pictures.

The owner, mine boss, and miners-in-training

The Stamp Mill where the gold was processed.

Tight quarters...

Not a glamorous job, at all, at all.

And so ends chapter two of the Gold Saga. There's still gold out there. It's still hard work and of all the jobs in the world out there, it has the most risk and the least guarantees. All for the sake of GOLD!

~~~^j^~~~

For the gift of adventure,
Thanks be to God!!!

O Antiphons

Today's instruction in The Little Blue Book is about the O Antiphons. I'll let it speak for itself. and when you are finished here please visit Lisa at Unexpected Journey as she also has a wonderful post regarding them as well.

The Divine Office made use of Psalms and other Scripture passages over and
over on a regular rotation. Over the years, the practice developed of
praying an "antiphon" before and after each Psalm and canticle. This is
the sentence or two from Scripture which "frames" the fixed text. The
antiphons vary with the feast or season, and each one colors the fixed text with
a different accent.

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On this day during Advent the O Antiphons begin and will continure through Christmas Eve.

The particular antiphon for the day can be found in two places:

*It is part of the Alleluia verse for the Liturgy of the day.

*In the evening, it is placed before the Magnificat at Vespers for the Liturgy of the Hours.

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The Advent antiphons are call the "O Antiphons" because each day's antiphon begins with and "O"...O Wisdom, O Key of David, O Flower of Jesse"s stem...

The Little Blue Book

Advent and Christmas Seasons

2008-2009

I am always amazed how much more I still must learn about my faith and the beauty it has to offer us daily as we journey on this pilgrimage.

*

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Thanks be to God!

My Favorite School Teacher

When I think back on all the teachers who have influenced me the most in my life, I think of my third grade teacher, Miss Spalding, first. A little background. I spent 1st and 2nd grade at St. Mary's School. During the year I was in 2nd grade, parish boundaries changed to establish a new parish that would have to parochial school and we lived in the boundaries of the new parish. As a result the next school year, I would be attending public school. I really loved St. Mary's School and the sisters that taught there, especially Sister Michael Clair, a Sister of Saint Joseph.

This frightened child, shy and really knowing no one at the school, had to walk into this 3rd grade classroom without knowing a soul. Rumor had it that I was getting the meanest teacher in the school and if she would become angry with you that meant she didn't like you. This was who Miss Spalding was.

At that time I realized how gullible I really am...I can't change that. I still am. But then I believed everything I was told. Miss Spalding was indeed daunting. A large lady who carried herself with dignity. She had control and command of the class from the time she entered the room in the morning until we left in the afternoon.

Why was she so good? Because she cared. Reprimands were meant to encourage not demean. She didn't single anyone out. She had no "teacher's pet." All were treated fairly. She gave us lessons in art history. She taught us writing skills by allowing us to expand our imaginations. Art had purpose it wasn't used to kill time. "Times tables" were serious lessons not just something that had to be done. Spelling was not a necessary evil but a skill that was to be used in communication. She loved her work. And only after that year did I really come to appreciate how good she was to me.

My sister Rita had her in school as well. My brother Tom began his 3rd grade year with her but tragically she died and Tom did not have the benefits of all her talents and skills as a teacher. God blessed me with someone who knew the value of an education and took each of us individually to task so that we could be the best we could be. Miss Spalding really deserved an A+ from all her students...

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For Miss Spalding and all dedicated
teachers,

Thanks be to God!!!

For more favorite teacher stories visit Catholic Teacher Musings.

Book of the Month

Though I have only just started reading this book, and am behind as the next "Book of the Month" will be announced at church this Sunday, I would really like to recommend it. It is a short book of only 174 pages. I found that, when thumbing through it, there is a companion study guide called The Origins of the Church, The Apostles and Their Co-Workers. Though I am not in a group that studies the monthly book offering it might be a source worth looking into. Maybe you belong to a book club or perhaps you have friends who would enjoy starting a book club and this perhaps a book with which to start.

What I have read is not just interesting but also informative in ways that I knew but needed to be reinforced. Since it was started about 3 years ago, The Book of the Month has been a real source of education and information about who we are as Catholic Christians. I appreciate the people who continued this educational process here at St. John the Baptist when our associate was transferred. I wonder, too, if other churches would respond as enthusiastically to the literature as we have here. We seem to be a very hungry flock at St. Johns.

Good day to all as we journey through another day.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Bad Haiku Friday

mother cradles child

she caresses her with love

that's what mothers do

Done and done...because of a double dog dare I could not resist from Bia. It was challenging to say the least and the words did not "flow." It must take a lot of practice for it seems to me these words lack the grace and tenderness of others I have read. Pretty rough around the edges, wouldn't you say?

I would also encourage you to visit Suzy Q and find out about her give-away! It will be worth your while.

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It IS Friday, so for that I say,
"Thanks be to God!"

The Trek of the Meteorite Apprentice

A Cluster of Meteorites

I thought as I posted this picture, it almost looks neolithic. They are not beautiful or glamorous to me, but to Ron, "the earthbound astronaut" they rank up there with bars of gold bullion.

Today he begins his quest to learn how to process them for sale. You see he wants to turn his love of space and its specimens-come-to-earth into an opportunity whereby retirement, when it comes, will not bring boredom. There is a gentleman in Syracuse, NY who has cut and etched meteorites for 25 years and Ron is going there to learn the process from the master. So the truck is loaded and ready to go, and just like a kid he can hardly wait to get started.

So it is that I wish the star gazer and meteorite lover a safe journey, patience, and a continued appreciation of the wonders of God's creation along with the prayers offered for a safe return.

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Then God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened.
Genesis 1:14-15

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Thanks be to God!!