A Most Unsettled Feeling

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go

'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane

 

Well, no I’m not.  I was supposed to, though.

 

I’ve had a work trip planned for the last six weeks or so.  I rushed to get my passport renewed.  I worked hard to complete a couple of projects needed for the meetings and trainings that were to occur.  I did laundry, bought new shoes (because what trip cannot occur without those?) and made GORP.  I downloaded videos to watch on the flight.  I packed my suitcase. 

 

What was supposed to be a quiet evening at home Friday night, before taking the red-eye the next day to the UK, instead became a night glued to television and internet news reports and sending emails to my manager who was already there.  What have you heard?  Is it safe?

 

As the horror unfolded in Paris, Himself thought it best I didn’t go.  I still wanted to try to make it, mostly for selfish reasons.  I was to have a free afternoon on Sunday and had located the Catholic church closest to the hotel.  The Mass I was going to attend was in Polish, in England.  How universal!  Afterwards I was going to go wander an old cathedral and grounds and then peruse a used bookstore for Chesterton, Belloc, Lewis, and Fletcher. 

 

Saturday morning came and the breadth of the carnage in Paris was more apparent.  Along with that came threats elsewhere.  The travel advisories were being raised quickly to the highest levels in the UK.  Emails from the company’s CEO and President were coming quickly.   And it was decided that if you weren’t in the air, you weren’t going to be.

 

That quickly changed my plans and my coworkers' plans for the week.

 

I wandered the house trying to figure out what to do.  For the last few weeks, I knew what I was going to be doing yesterday and today and the rest of this week.  And now?  I felt very unsettled.

 

All will be back to normal in a week when I was supposed to be back home.  For me.

 

But what about all those people who were there?  The ones that won’t come home, ever.  Or the ones injured and maimed.  And those that, though not physically harmed, witnessed it, escaped it, lived it.  They woke today with their lives changed.  The husband or wife who was supposed to be next to them, isn’t.  A daughter or son, sister or brother, gone or hurt.  Their plans for tomorrow, next week, next month or the years that follow are suddenly changed.

 

I can handle being “unsettled” for a day or a  week.  I thank the Good Lord that, for right now, that’s all it is.

 

Agnus Dei,
quitollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
quitollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
quitollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.

 

AMDG

Wonder Doubled: Don’t Feed the Monkeys

We have a new post up at the USCCB website For Your Marriage.

I lived with my grandparents for a few years before I started grade school.  They were of Eastern European descent and were an endless source of ethnic food, culture, and insights which I retain to this day.  When I wasn’t immersed in Slavic culture, I was exposed to the influence of 1960s America via the television set resting on doilies in my grandmother’s living room.  I was particularly enamored with the colorfully cartoonish Batman show of that era.  I would pester my grandmother to let me know when my show came on.  This was especially important because I had once turned the television on by myself one afternoon, only to be confronted by the fanged visage of Barnabas Collins, a character on the Dark Shadows gothic soap-opera.  I relied on Grandma after that.

You can read the whole article here.

AMDG

TToT (11) - All of November Should Be This Good

 

- one -

We are only a week into November and already it as been a great month.  After trick-or-treating with my niece, we spent the night at Sis and BIL's house and went to Mass and out to breakfast with them on the first.  What a perfect way to being the month!

- two -

I unexpectedly had a the day off on Wednesday.  Since the weather was perfect, we decided to go to the zoo.  I haven't been to the zoo in years and we had never been to this one.  Oh my goodness, what fun!

 

- three -

Three cheers for being silly!  Himself took a ride on the caterpillar in the zoo gardens.

 

- four -

Not to be outdone, I posed as a penguin!

 

- five -

And the alpaca posed for many pictures.

 

- six -

The zoo not only has a lot of animals, it has a lot of animal statues.  Some of them amused us more than others.

 

- seven -

The Bradford Pear tree in the backyard still has a few leaves left on it.  It never ceases to amaze me each year to see one tree with so many different colored leaves on it. 

 

- eight -

The awesome weather this week extended into the evenings.  My walks with the hairy beast were just lovely.

 

- nine -

Friday I was treated to lunch by my friend, T.  We could have talked all afternoon.  Unfortunately, I had to head back to work.

 

- ten -

When T. picked me up at work for lunch, she handed me a lovely pink box from the local cupcake store.  Isn't it great when a friend knows you so well that she knows exactly what flavor will make your eyes light up in anticipation?  The raspberry chocolate cupcake was delish!

 

 

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

 

AMDG

First Photo: November 2015 - Gold Leaves

 

This month starts in beauty and I have no words to add to it as I head out the door to enjoy what sunshine we now enjoy.  I'll let the master of words speak to the season.

 

 

 Gold Leaves

G. K. Chesterton

Lo! I am come to autumn,

When all the leaves are gold;

Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out

The year and I are old.

In youth I sought the prince of men,

Captain in cosmic wars,

Our Titan, even the weeds would show

Defiant, to the stars.

But now a great thing in the street

Seems any human nod,

Where shift in strange democracy

The million masks of God.

In youth I sought the golden flower

Hidden in wood or wold,

But I am come to autumn,

When all the leaves are gold.

 

Taken just one week earlier, on Oct 25th

 

AMDG

There’s a Day for That

Did you know that today is National Chocolate Day?  I didn’t until I saw it on a food blog that I have just started following.

I have noticed lately that there seems to be a lot of “Days.” The obvious ones, the ones that you hear about the most, seem to be around a variety of professions.  National Nurses Day is on  May 6th.  We just missed Teachers Day on October 5th.  And sometime during the year there is Secretaries Day and Hug a Plumber Day.  Veterans Day is coming up on November 11th.

National Techies Day was October 3rd.  I missed that one.  I guess I was too busy celebrating our wedding anniversary.  October 4th, however, is a day not to be missed next year.  National Vodka Day?  Count me in!

There are days for just about any food.  I found fritters, cotton candy, gazpacho, bouillabaisse, maple syrup, roast suckling pig, oatmeal muffin, sangria, French fried shrimp, vinegar, doughnut, nachos, pickle, baklava, stuffing, French toast, whipped cream, popcorn, granola bar, Irish coffee, blueberry pancake, peanut butter and peanut brittle, homemade soup, frozen yogurt, fettuccine alfredo, tortellini, plum pudding, chocolate soufflé, and cream cheese brownie days.  Whew!  And those are just days in five months.  I didn’t look at the other seven.

I’m sorry I missed National Pro-Life Cupcake Day on October 9th.  I’ll put in on the calendar now so I don’t miss it next year.

There are some that just make me scratch my head.  Moldy Cheese Day was on October 9th and No Bra Day was October 13th.  Must I ask why?

We will be busy on December 2nd.  We will be celebrating National Mutt Day.

So how are you celebrating National Chocolate Day?  Me?  I think we’ll have brownies for dessert tonight.


AMDG

Photo Credit

The Long Awaited and Much Anticipated Nancy Brown is Here!

If you have read this blog for any length of time, it comes as no surprise that I am an avid fan of GK Chesterton.  In addition to reading a number of his works, I have also had the opportunity to attend several of the conferences hosted by the American Chesterton Society. 

 

We had the pleasure of meeting, and also sharing a college dorm apartment, with Nancy Brown at the first conference we attended at Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.   At a later conference, Nancy gave one of the talks.  Her topic?  The woman behind the man - Frances Chesterton.  Although the couple lived a century earlier, I started to identify with them.  They, too, dealt with infertility and never had children. 

 

Nancy has written a number of books, but this is the one for which I have been waiting - The Woman Who Was Chesterton.  I've been looking forward to reading this for a while and my mailbox held a welcome surprise when I got home from work.   

 

I haven't started it yet, but my guess is that you, too, should have your own copy.  You can get it here, here, or here.  I'm in the middle of reading two other books.  I guess it's now three.

 



 AMDG

The Dinner Party That Wasn't, or Was It?

A couple of weeks ago I called my husband's aunt and invited her and her husband over for dinner.  We planned on Sunday, the 18th, at 2pm.  Himself and I haven't seen them for a while, probably at a graduation or First Communion party, and were looking forward to their visit.

 

We spent yesterday cleaning and picking produce from our garden.  I made an apple pie and a loaf of pumpkin bread so that we would have a couple of choices for dessert.

 

Before church I prepped the carrots and potatoes that were going into the crockpot with the pot roast.  While I was setting the table, I mentioned to himself that we should do this more often, but just for ourselves.  He looked at me quizzically. 

 

I am admittedly not a good housekeeper.  I am great at keeping clutter at bay but I don't dust, vacuum or do all those other cleaning type things nearly often enough.  But, oh how good I feel when the house is clean!  I figured that we should do a deep clean more often and have our Sunday dinner in the dining room at a prettily set table.

 

Well, two o'clock came and went.  One of the roads nearby is closed for construction, so we thought that they might be delayed by the detour.

 

At about two thirty we started thinking that maybe they thought we had planned on 3pm.

 

When three o'clock passed, we started to get worried.  We were hoping and praying nothing bad had happened.

 

Finally, at about twenty after three I called his aunt.  Since she has caller ID she knew immediately who it was on the other end of the line.  She asked sheepishly "Are we supposed to be there this weekend?" 

 

Yep, she had written down our dinner plans for the 25th, not the 18th.  She felt so bad and couldn't apologize enough.  As long as they were okay and nothing bad had happened, we didn't care.

 

And, actually it worked out okay.  We did just what I had wanted to do in the future.  We had a dinner party for two.   

AMDG

The TV Show That Broke My Heart

The TV show Castle has quickly become one of my favorites.   In turn, it can funny, pithy, serious, and suspenseful.  You know from the start that Richard Castle was falling madly and deeply in love with Kate Beckett.  She fought it for a while, but finally succumbed to his charms.

 

As a woman, you want to be her – a beauty pursued in a gentle, persistent, and insistent manner.  I think guys want to be him - intelligent, masculine, handsome and funny.   It took six seasons, but Castle and Beckett finally became “Caskett,” tying the knot in a romantic, sunset, beachside, intimate wedding. 

 

The recent two part season opener, however, makes me want to bag the series.  Kate has demons from her past, and apparently some deep secret, that only a stranger can help her excise.  So, in order to “protect” Castle, her husband, she leaves him.

 

Huh???

 

There are days when Himself and I can annoy the bejeezus out of each other.  But, when it comes right down to it, he is the one person that I know I can count on, no matter what.  He has my back. He’s there to help me, to protect me, and sometimes, even save me from myself.  He knows I will do the same.

 

Castle may be just a television show, but I think it reflects something bigger.   Marriage has become something where we only want our spouse to see our better parts.   Wedding vows on television are all about “you make me smile” and “you’re my best friend” and “I like who I am when I am with you” sort of things.   That's the easy part. 

What about I’ll love you and honor you in good times and in bad?  If there are demons out there, I want to fight them together. 

That’s the kind of marriage I want.

 

AMDG

It Was a 'Yeah God' Sorta Day

As I mentioned in TToT(10), two weeks ago I was in Colorado and Wyoming.  I needed to be in Cheyenne on Monday morning for training at our plant and the flight was much, much cheaper if I flew in on Saturday rather than Sunday.

So that left me with a day to “kill”.  Sunday found me driving from Denver to Estes Park and then on to Cheyenne.  What a day that was!

A former coworker who had just moved to Estes Park gave me some advice about things to see.  She also warned me that on a weekend traffic could be heavy and therefore slow.  Taking that into account, I hit the road early.

I have to admit that I find much of Colorado rather meh.  It’s a dessert after all, lots of dry grass and sandy brown dirt.  But this drive showed me the beauty in all that.  Huge, wide open spaces and vistas like none other I’ve seen.

As I drove north on I25 I began to think I was seeing things.  UFO sorta things.  And I was.  Hot air balloons and lots of them.  Out came the camera and my first attempt at road photography began.
  

 



 

I had the radio tuned to a local country music station.  As I got closer to the mountains, Tim McGraw's song Top of the World came on.  Oh so appropriate!

Don't know where we're gonna be
But I know we're gonna be
Sitting on top of the world
So keep hanging on to me
Yeah, don't you wanna be
Sitting on top of the world
Top of the world

 

 

I stopped at the Visitors Center in Estes Park.  When I told the woman there that I had limited time but would love to see some of Rocky Mountain National Park she suggested Lily Lake.  It was a fairly easy drive and didn't require paying a fee to enter.  Since I was a little uncertain about driving some of the roads I had seen in RMNP, and I was too cheap to pay the twenty dollar entrance fee, it sounded perfect.

It was. 

It doesn't matter what direction I looked, the views are stunning.  I would walk ten or twenty feet, stop, take a picture, and repeat.  I met an artist along the way and chatted with her a bit.  She was happy to share her work with me.  As we talked I told her that seeing all this made me think "Yeah God!" and she agreed.

 

 

 

 

The day ended with the lunar elcipse.  I stood in the parking lot of my hotel watching it with a dozen or so other travelers, knowing that Himself was at home doing the same.

I couldn't help but think about how awesome the day had been.  How perfect, how glorious a world our good Lord gave us. 

Shouldn't every day be a Yeah God sorta day?

AMDG

 

TToT (10) - Here, There and Everywhere

 

Thank you for all the wonderful comments last week.  I was traveling for work and did not get to respond or comment as I would have liked.  But, alas, this is a new week and the possibilities are endless! 

 

- one-

Both of my flights and the above said trip not only left on time, they both arrived early.  I was in my rental car at the time my first flight was supposed to arrive.  Got to like that!

- two-

 The weather was perfect, unlike the last time I made this trip.  Highs were anywhere from mid-seventies to low nineties and the sky was crystal clear blue.  Beautiful!

- three-

While in Denver I took in a baseball game at Coors Field.  Since neither team playing was my team, I had to root, root, root for the home team, and, while I did not stay to the very end, they pulled out a win in the bottom of the ninth.

 - four-

A former coworker told me about a festival that was going on that weekend in Estes Park.  I called it the 'beer and brats' festival, though I'm sure it had a better name.  The beer and brats, however, were mighty tasty.

- five -

At the festival there was a great Eagles cover band.  They did an excellent jobs and made people watching especially enjoyable.  If only I could have gotten a picture of the couple dancing that were wearing matching kilts!

 

- six -

I had little bit of time before I left for the airport on the way home, so I stopped the at the train depot in downtown Cheyenne. 

 

- seven -

Usually I drive myself to the airport and take a shuttle back and forth to the parking.  This time Himself drove me.  What a glorious sight to come home to after a long day of traveling!

- eight -

We spent Friday wandering a local arts show that we attend every year.  Himself bought a print of the picture below for me.  It's going to be the focal point of my office when I redecorate it this fall.  We had a great conversation with the artist, a gentleman from New Jersey.

- nine -

It rained and was cool yesterday, just like it was seventeen years ago.  It was a great day just to laze about, read, relax and enjoy only the second fire of the season.  Seventeen years ago we a bit busier.

- ten -

We celebrated our 17th anniversary yesterday.  Where did the time go???

 

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

AMDG