Easter People

 

We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery - the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”. We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the “fundamental duty of love of neighbour, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy”. We realize that joy is demanding; it demands unselfishness; it demands a readiness to say with Mary: “Be it done unto me according to thy word”.  

- ANGELUS St. JP II

 

Wishing you and yours a blessed and joyous Easter!

AMDG

Lent, huh?

I think we go into Lent with all sorts of plans.  We want to make it a time of penance and spiritual growth.  We might try to give up something, maybe candy, or alcohol, computer time, TV,  or breakfast runs at Mickey D’s.  Or, we think to do something extra – daily rosaries, Eucharistic adoration, good deeds, spiritual reading.  

But, invariably we fail.  Okay, maybe you don’t, but I do, miserably.

Lent, huh?

I attended our parish mission with the hope of gaining some peace and new insights into our faith.  Miserable failure.  Really.  Miserable.

Lent, huh?

I need a beer.  Well, I want a beer.  Out goes that sacrifice.

Maybe I'll do something else instead.  Or try harder.  Or give up giving up.

This Lent has made me think that this is a time when God laughs.  You had plans?

Perhaps what we were doing wasn't what we were supposed to be doing.  This seems to be a time meant to be open to opportunities as they present themselves.

• Dealing with heath issues or helping another with theirs.
• Letting go of long held desires or goals.
• Being available and open to someone who needs an ear to listen. 

Lent, huh?

Not what we plan, but definitely what we need. 
 

AMDG

TToT (14): A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

It's been entirely too long since I've done one of these.  There's a lot of catching up to do.

- one-

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we decided one day that we were bored and the best time to start a new project was right before the holidays and right before I was to leave town for a work trip.  We decided to paint one of the bedrooms that we use as a sitting room.  I think this falls into the category of "We've done dumber things."  Just a couple of weeks ago, we finally finished (mostly) the painting and started getting the room back in order.

- two-

We replaced the ugly ceiling fan.  Thanks to Himself's good taste, we sent back the not so pretty light fixture I had picked out and installed this one.  Holy cow!  I didn't realize just how overwhelming the fan was in the room until it was gone.  The room feels so light and airy now.

- three-

I am very, VERY thankful for drop clothes when painting.  Ask me how I know.  Go on.  Ask me.  See that corner in the left of the picture?  When I was painting there I kinda tipped the paint tray over.  Thankfully, that green sheet on the floor in the right corner was moved over to the left corner when I did it.  No carpeting was harmed in this project. (Another "dumber thing" perhaps?)

- four-

I gave the hairy beast his annual haircut.  Over the winter he gets rather matted and starts to look like a Rastafarian pooch with all his dreadlocks.  He is quite patient with me, but needed a water break halfway through. 

- five -

We have had some tremendously awesome weather here for the beginning of March.  Sunshine and temps in the sixties and seventies just revive my spirit and make me smile. 

.

- six -

I've go my sewing "mojo" back.  I started on a quilt for my niece maybe a year ago.  Nothing difficult, but somehow I just kept avoiding it.  With some inspiration from this dear blogger (check out her Irish chain quilt about halfway down the post) I got back at it.  I finished piecing the top and will be bringing it to a local shop to be quilted.  More to come on that.

- seven -

That sewing mojo?  It continues on.  I started and am making great progress on a quilt for the sitting room.  We had collected fabric with which I had intended on making a "raggedy" quilt, but decided to just do a "regular" one.  Good decision.

- eight -

 Have I ever mentioned just how much I love Amazon Prime?  I found a print I forgot I had and decided to frame it for the sitting room.  It's an odd size and I wanted a frame it without a matt, but wanted some color around it.  After looking at all the craft stores in the area for an unfinished wood frame, I searched Amazon and found just what I wanted.  Two days later it was in my hands and ready  for the dark green stain that we had leftover from another project.  It turned out better than I hoped.

- nine -

We celebrated Himself's birthday at Sis's house last weekend.  At her bedtime, my niece cannot possibly go to bed without a story or two.  Aunt Donna and Uncle Himself were more than happy to oblige.  It melts heart to see these two together!

- ten -

I took a vacation day on Monday and we celebrated the aforementioned birthday by going to the market and then out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.  It is in an old bank building, built when banks were grand and majestic.  Thankfully they kept all the beautiful architecture.  And, the food is as good as the ambiance!

Check out more goodness at  A Fly on Our (Chicken Coop) Wall.

AMDG

First Photo: March 2016

The view of the garden this month is not all that much different than the one at the beginning of February.  The garden is still brown and the grass a dormant green.  It looks the same, and, if you didn't know any better, nothing happened this past month.  

In those in between days, though, we saw snow come and go, several times over.

I think people are sometimes like that, too.  On all outwards appearances, they seem the same, but we are never privy to all that goes on.  

Life happens when we're not looking.

AMDG