Beauty and the Beast

I usually don't have the date on my photos...I really think it makes managing them very difficult. Sometimes the date causes an editing nightmare and many times the best part of the picture is under the date. We activated the "date" on the camera to take pictures of meteorites Ron was going to be showing at the Tucson Rock and Mineral Show. So it is with mixed feelings that these pictures are so embellished. The date is there for histories sake but detracts at the same time.


The storm was strange because it started with freezing rain, followed by only about 2 inches of snow. The kicker was the return of freezing rain that covered the top of the snow with about half an inch of ice. That's when everything literally collapsed.

Trees and branches snapped. Power lines down.

Yet the sun made an effort to shine through all this white and ice.

Even in all its destruction the ice was a beautiful as finest crystal.

And then there was the glow of the magnificent kerosene heater that would heat my water for tea. In all this we were without electricity from our provider for 5 days. Had Ron and Roy not been courageous enough to travel to Terre Haute in this to get the generator we might have had a quite different "adventure." We were fortunate. And we are grateful to God that there were no deaths here as a result of the storm.

I would ask you to pray for the people of Western Kentucky as even now there is an entire county without power. They have to replace 125 poles that were snapped before electricity can be restored.

Wishing you all a grand weekend. As COLD and miserable as it was last weekend here, today the temperatures are supposed to be in the 50's. We''ll be cleaning up here.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!
I hear birds chirping outside my window!

Bad Haiku Friday

"When you're at a loss,
Don't know where you are going.
Give me a call"...God

It's funny how things come together. He gives you the words and then sends you to the instruction. And so He did this day. I was just going to post this and that would be that. Then I picked up Archabbot Lambert Reilly's book Latin Sayings For Spiritual Growth.

Here is where I was led:

Pedibus compensunda est memoria
("A forgetful head makes a weary pair of heels")
Traditional
~~~

The cook who has her ingredients ready before she turns on the stove has a much easier time of it than the one who must bustle about the kitchen, opening boxes, measuring, chopping; and cleaning all at once. The teacher who doesn't plan spends more time on discipline than instruction. The shopper who heads to the mall without a list on the day before Christmas is bound to lose his holiday spirit by dusk.

We can waset a lot of time vainly spinning our wheels, not only in the practicalities of life but to our spiritual lives as well.

We think that because we are unique and our sense of God is so personal and lies so deep within, that we are completely on our own when it comes to prayer. We flounder and wander, thinking that no one else can help, that no one else can understand our particular challenges.

It's just not so. Not one of us is the first person alive to seek intimacy with God. Millions have gone before us, and innumerable others have written about their journeys. Fellow friends of the Lord in our own parishes and homes surround us. Their stories, their experiences with prayer, can be of great value to us. In forgetting the gifts our fellow Christians have to offer, we make our solitary journeys all the more weary.

Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S. B.
St. Meinrad Archabby
St . Meinrad, IN

~~~

And so, my companions-on-the-journey I offer this as reflection today. I, too, will contemplate these words. My thought, as I read this, was "How gracious God is to lead me to the gentle lesson of the Archabbot and how wonderful it is to be reminded that I am not alone on this journey and that you all have a great deal to teach me. What a comfort that is and it makes me less "weary."

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Prayer for Strength

One of the books I use most for reflection is A Catholic Woman's Book of Days by Amy Welborn. Finding that her husband, Michael Dubriel, had died unexpectedly has left me saddened as it has many. So I went to her reflection for today. This I offer as a testament to her wisdom and courage.

Even though you intended to do harm to me
God intended it for good, in order to preserve
a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Genesis 50:20
**+**

This ends the story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. The harm they intended him was turned by God into a great good as the people of both Egypt and Israel were rescued from famine by Joseph's gifts.

God's ways among us are mysterious, but one thing we do know is that turning misfortune or weakness into good is just what he does. I've seen it countless times in my own life, and there are probably just as many times i haven't because I wasn't looking.

***

Loving God, today I'll pay attention to what you
have to show me about the painful parts of my life.

As she has offered me hope through her words, I offer my prayers to her and her children. If you wish you may offer your condolences at Fr. Z's Blog.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Sometimes You NEED a GOOD Laugh...

Lead In My Pencil
Originally uploaded by *ian*

Mom has done it again. Wishing you all a LAUGH OUT LOUD DAY!!!

PUNS...GO AHEAD AND OVERDEW IT!

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. Now matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

18. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.

19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

21. A backward poet writes inverse.

22. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
24. Don't join dangerous cults: practice safe sects!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God

UE in Snow

UE in Snow
Originally uploaded by Scuddr

Since I haven't gotten my pics down loaded yet. Thought I'd share this one from the campus at the University of Evansville. We still have no Vectren electricity, but we do have the generator running. The laundry is nearly finished and then it will be time to shut some things off to use the stove to fix dinner. Thought SOS (creamed chip beef on biscuits) sounded pretty good.

They are talking about not getting everyone back on line until the middle of next week. They say more snow is in the forecast for early next week. We are so fortunate to have been able to get the generator and have the kerosene heater. We'd be happy to have guests but the neighbors have all made other arrangements. You are welcome to drop by for dinner if you wish.

God bless you all for your kind words and prayers. And Thanks be to GOD!!!!! Thanks, too, to Scuddr at UofE for the pic.

Quick Update...

Awoke this morning to find we were not one of 40,000 people without electricity but 55,000 and may not have it until first of next week. So the Tucson trip is off as well. The generator is working well on the frig and furnace...get to watch some television and read. God is good, all the time. Going to add tomorrows The Quotable and then eat dinner...

~~~^j^~~~

And give thanks be to God!!!

Will catch up on visiting when the electricity is up and running again.

A Short Note...

Have been without elelctricty since about midnoc. Ron and Roy drove to Terre Haute to meet Marianne and Eric who picked up two generators they got from Lowes in INDY. Computer is only on long enough to ask you to pray for the 40,000 people without electricity in this area and Eastern KY, as well. (The computer is a luxury right now.) Roads are awful, as before we go the 6 inches of snow there was an inch of ice and freezing rain for nearly all day yesterday. God will provide and indeed he has in the generosity of those here. God bless us all and you, too.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

As in "The Quotable"
There is no contradiction in
his kindness, nor any defect in his wisdom.

Joining the Journey...

I would ask you to visit Kim at a new blog Falling On His Grace. She is a precious neophyte and I think she has a sincere heart and a story to tell just like all of us. I enjoyed my visit. You will, too. She has just joined us on the journey. Welcome, Kim!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'

Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail list or place it on our blog, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God

Words of Wisdom About Grandparents

Can you beat this? I received this from my dear friend Karen. This is wonderful and makes you smile each time you see it. The wonders of grandparenting. I wouldn't trade it for anything.



Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.~Author Unknown

What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change,
and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret

Grandmothers are just 'antique' little girls. ~Author Unknown

Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.
~Welsh Proverb
A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead
of the television. ~Author Unknown

Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal

Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just
a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric ~Pam Brown


Grandchildren don't stay young forever, which is good because
Grandfathers have only so many horsy rides in them. ~Gene Perret

When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.
~Ogden Nash

Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just
you all day and now the day was complete. ~ Marcy DeMareeGrandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author unknown

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our
hearts forever. ~Author Unknown

If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had them first. ~Lois Wyse

My grandkids believe I'm the oldest thing in the world. And after
two or three hours with them, I believe it, too. ~Gene Perret

If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should
advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is
no fun for old people like it! ~Hannah Whithall Smith

It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the
world calls her grandmother. ~Author Unknown
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing
old. ~Mary H. Waldrip

You do not really understand something unless you can explain
it to your grandmother. ~Proverb

An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again.
Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly. ~Gene Perret




The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby's grandparents. You
feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long
periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida. ~Dave Barry

I wish I had the energy that my grandchildren have - if only for
self-defense. ~Gene Perret

Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas
are short on criticism and long on love. ~Author Unknown

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of
little children. ~Alex Haley




Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of
practice. ~Author Unknown

A grandparent is old on the outside but young on
the inside. ~Author Unknown

One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new
grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather. ~Joy Hargrove

It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you
become one. ~Author Unknown

If your baby is 'beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses,
sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the
time,' you're the grandma. ~Teresa Bloomingdale

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have
around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their
grandchildren. ~Author Unknown

What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say
that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can
but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they
can mature at a fast rate. ~Bill Cosby

Grandchildren don't make a man feel old; it's the knowledge
that he's married to a grandmother. ~G. Norman Collie

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!