Worst Christmas Present, Ever??

I listen to talk radio on the way to work each morning.  I like getting the news, weather, and traffic reports.  Some of the commercials, however, leave a bit to be desired.

There have been a few that are played over and over and over again.  It got to the point that when the baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit commercial came on, again, I would change the station.

This latest commercial, though, has me wondering.

Give your loved one the gift of health.  Squatty Potty will help them have better elimination.

I don't know about you, but if I found that under the tree, I would think you hated me.

Worst present ever.


AMDG

Winner, Winner! Candlelit Dinner

Thanks for all the comments on my last post.  The winner is Susan Kolosionek! 

I'll be in touch shortly.

AMDG

A Timely Visitor, A Blogiversary, and a Giveaway

Socrates and Sophia came over for dinner on Saturday night.  As they walked into the house, Sophia told me that she hoped I didn't mind, but she had brought an extra guest along.  She was sure that the guest wouldn't eat much.

When Sophia handed me a cloth bag that contained the framed icon, I saw that the surprise guest wouldn't be eating anything.  But, she would be feeding us, our souls.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has long been my favorite depiction of Mary.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's because the way she appeared to Juan Diego.  Maybe it's because of the roses she gave him in the middle of winter.  Or how she pops into my life at different times - the start of this blog and my patron saint one year.

To celebrate my favorite lady's feast day and blogiversary, I have a gift certificate to my favorite online candle shop, Quick Candles, to give away.  Just leave a comment and Saturday evening the hairy beast will determine the winner.

“Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything. Do not be afflicted by the illness of your uncle, who will not die now of it. be assured that he is now cured.” 

St. Juan Diego, pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

AMDG

Advent Wreath 2016: A Time for Hope

"There is no more dangerous or disgusting habit than that of celebrating Christmas before it comes, as I am doing in this article. It is the very essence of a festival that it breaks upon one brilliantly and abruptly, that at one moment the great day is not and the next moment the great day is. Up to a certain specific instant you are feeling ordinary and sad; for it is only Wednesday. At the next moment your heart leaps up and your soul and body dance together like lovers; for in one burst and blaze it has become Thursday. I am assuming (of course) that you are a worshipper of Thor, and that you celebrate his day once a week, possibly with human sacrifice. If, on the other hand, you are a modern Christian Englishman, you hail (of course) with the same explosion of gaiety the appearance of the English Sunday. But I say that whatever the day is that is to you festive or symbolic, it is essential that there should be a quite clear black line between it and the time going before."

- GK Chesterton "All Things Considered"

Check out Catholic Mom to see more Advent Wreaths.

AMDG

First Photo: December 2016

December, at last.  I have to admit I am glad to see November end.  It's not that anyting bad occured.  We celebrated my birthday and Thanksgiving, so there was good to be had.  We had some remarkably good weather, bookending the snow that arrived mid-month. 

It was dark, very, very dark.  The shorter days are so noticble, especially with the time change.  When I get home from work, all I want to do is either curl up under a blanket with a good book or go to sleep.

I know December brings more of the same.  But, somehow it's different.  I think observing Advent helps.  We are in a time of both preparation and contemplation.  We start out in the darkness, and week by week another candle glows bright. 

“Any one thinking of the Holy Child as born in December would mean by it exactly what we mean by it; that Christ is not merely a summer sun of the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate.”

AMDG

The Daughter She Didn't Have

When we married eighteen years ago, I gained a great extended family.   My mother-in-law is one of six siblings and all but one had children.  Her youngest brother, Al, is married to wonderful woman, Paulette Rose.  They had five kids, four daughters and a son. 

 

I love all my family, but there's something special about Aunt Paulette.  She has a goofy sense of humor and is kind and generous.  She makes the best deviled eggs and has been known to bring a plate of them just for us to family gatherings.  She shares a name in common with my mom, Rose.

 

She has seen more than her share of hardship.  She and Uncle Al lost their son just a month after his  twenty-first birthday.  She's battled lymphoma several times.  And then there was the huge oak tree that crashed through the roof of her newly remodeled bedroom just has her family began to sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

 

And, on top of all that, she has four daughters that don't sew a stitch!  Not a bit. 

 

Aunt Paulette is one of the craftiest and most creative people I know.  She sews and crochets and embroiders.  For a while she had her own craft store, Colorado Rose, in which she sold all sorts of beautiful and interesting things that she made.  She worked at a quilt shop, had a machine embroidery business, and frequently sold at craft fairs.  She crochets baby blankets for a local hospital's NICU patients.

 

When we get together we can talk for hours about what we are working on and creating.  She quite kindly oohs and aahs over whatever my latest project happens to be. 

 

Remember I mentioned not one of her daughters sews?  Well, that's been lucky for me.  She has been thinning out her stash and I've been the recipient of two trunk-loads worth of material and notions and even a sewing dummy. 

 

I have already put some of the material to good use, making a baby quilt from a sweet green and yellow vintage print.  And, don't tell Aunt Paulette, but she's getting her own quilt for Christmas this year!

 

So much material, so little time!

  

D's baby quilt

 

AMDG

Advent Prayer Buddies

In just a couple of weeks we will be starting Advent.  I don't know about you, but I haven't given a whole lot of thought yet about what I want to do.  The one thing, I do know, is that I am looking forward to increased, focused prayer for my Prayer Buddy. 

During Advent, you can say prayers, novenas, and rosaries, light candles, and offer up suffering for your secret Prayer Buddy and whatever intentions he or she specifies.  On Christmas, or shortly thereafter, you will let your assigned person who you are and how you remembered them.

Those interested in participating, please email me at:

prayerbuddy@roadrunner.com

I will need from you is:

Your first name or first initial
Your blog address (or email address if you are not a blogger)
Your intentions

Optional:

Your full name
Your address
(Address can be provided if your Prayer Buddy plans to send you a small remembrance at Christmas)

DEADLINE FOR SIGN-UPS IS: Wednesday, November 23rd


AMDG

A Time For Choosing

While on Pinterest this evening, I ran across a quote that was attributed to Ronald Reagan.  He was an eloquent and powerful speaker, so I wanted to learn more about where and when the quote originated.  From what I can gather, the only thing accurate about the Pinterest quote was the title. 

 

In October 1964, Reagan gave a televised speech endorsing Barry Goldwater for President.  A Time For Choosing was this speech.  Given fifty two years ago, so much of this is valid, maybe even more so, today.

 

You can read the speech here or watch the video below.  The thirty minutes it lasts is very much worth your time.

 

 

"For three decades, we've sought to solve the problems of unemployment through government planning, and the more the plans fail, the more the planners plan.  The latest is the Area Redevelopment Agency.

They've just declared Rice County, Kansas, a depressed area. Rice County, Kansas, has two hundred oil wells, and the 14,000 people there have over 30 million dollars on deposit in personal savings in their banks.  And when the government tells you you're depressed, lie down and be depressed."

 

* * * *

 

"Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so." 

 

* * * *

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.  So, governments' programs, once launched, never disappear.

Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth."

 

 * * * *

 

"Somewhere a perversion has taken place. Our natural, unalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation of government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment."

 

* * * *

 

"They say we offer simple answers to complex problems.  Well, perhaps there is a simple answer -- not an easy answer -- but simple: If you and I have the courage to tell our elected officials that we want our national policy based on what we know in our hearts is morally right."

 

 AMDG

They Done Us Proud

If you look outside in northeastern Ohio today, it is gray and dull.  There is a light misty rain falling and the sun isn't anywhere to be found.  It's appropriate.  I think that's how all the fans of the Cleveland Indians feel today.  Dull and gray.

In the Spring, like most years, we were hopeful.  We had a lot of great players and a bunch of young ones that showed so much potential.  As the summer went on, it seemed like a good, decent season and the playoffs were a definite possibilty. 

But, then the injuries started.  Two starting pitchers and the primary catcher were injured.  One of our best outfielders tried, but wasn't able, to come back from last year's shoulder injury and subsequent surgery.   I have to admit, some of us started writing off this season.  The playoffs just couldn't possibly happen with all that. 

The players, thankfully, thought differently.  The Tribe showed us that working hard, acting as a team, and making good decisons can bring you farther than you ever thought possible. 

These last few weeks have been exciting.  The team didn't act like the underdogs that much of the sportsworld seemed to think they were.  And that attitude was contageous.  We all thought they were going to do it.  As the t-shirts said, we were going to Party Like It's 1948, the last time they won the championship.

The World Series was just what it ought to be - two very good, evenly matched teams fighting to the bitter, wet, rain-delayed, extra inning, late end.  Unfortunately, our Indian Summer ended at about ten to one this morning.

And if it matters, I couldn't be more proud to be called their fan.  Thanks for a great, exciting year!

AMDG

First Photo: November 2016

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.

Something to ponder on this Feast of All Saints.  God Bless!

AMDG