Rain, rain

We are supposed to have sunshine tomorrow but thundershowers on Tuesday. Please, dear God, it you are sending thundershowers - not before 3 p.m. I would like everyone to have a nice lunch here and not have to flee.

God bless,

Gisela

Fr. Jack

We went to adoration yesterday in the middle of the night, got an hour of sleep afterwards and then carpooled from Ducksville to Trentown for the ordination of one of the seminarians which we had in our parish during the past year. Fr. Jack was 57 when he was ordained yesterday. A wonderful human being who will be a wonderful priest. When I realized that he handed out communion on the other side, I switched sides and he recognized me. It was a wonderful moment. The only time I actually saw him. We did not go to the reception, although invited, and by the time we got home after a dismal lunch in one of those Crackerbarrel stores, it was shortly after 5 p.m. The cathedral had wonderful acoustics, the design is sort of faux Romanesque which did not do much for me but I could see the proceedings very well although we were almost in the back. I am just thrilled that I went......

Birdie news

The birdie is flying away next week. It came as a great shock today but what can one do? I e-mailed everyone. We will celebrate the demise of mother which occurred almost 3 years ago. Since the garden got a make-over and the house is cleaned and the caterer has been ordered, we are going ahead. The birdie is supposed to return in fall. That is the earliest I thought I could afford all of this again.

Kant

This is a fabulous site on Kant.

http://www.manchester.edu/kant/Home/index.htm

More Shack haunting

I blogged a few days ago that I was haunted by the "Shack." Sure enough another friend brought it up today in her e-mail. It is too funny. OK folks I am reading a book on the history on medieval Europe right now. I am reliving the year 400. The biggest country are the Franks which is an area that becomes later French and German. The Irish are coming to what was to become middle Germany and they christianize the heathens. Taxes are terrible if you are not connected to the ruling classes - that is BIG landowners - or religious. And for you Fr. Jacek - not everything was Polish then.....

The nun's nephew

The nun has several nephews. The "good" one is in town. He repaired my deck today. He has become a delightful young man. He is in town because a week before his wedding he lost his job. Now is job huntung and did odd jobs with his uncle here.

Rosary

I had to do surgery on one of my rosaries. I just could not get it untangled. No prayer helped and so I finally broke the chain. Now I can't get it together. It has little metal hooks and and I don't have small enough plyers to work these metal hooks. So I put the rosary aside and will take it to a jewelry - that is if I find it next week because I am cleaning house for the birdie.

All Hands on Deck

"All hands on deck" because the birdie is coming. The yard is getting a make-over. The caterer has been hired. The desert has been ordered. Looks like there will be 20 of us. All the wives want to bring the husbands. I am trying to let tons of papers and books disappear. Probably won't find a thing for months after he is gone but it is worth it. Yes, the deck was repaired today as well. Everything will be just loverly on Tuesday. I am praying for mild weather that we can sit comfortably outside. Still got to get the wine. THAT I do myself. Yes, there will be a lovely dry German wine.

Sex with our resurrected bodies

I have positively decided that we will not have sex with our resurrected bodies. Who would want to have sex knowing the mother-in-law could enter at any time through the wall?

Stuffed

The nun invited me out to dinner. Usually we either go to place A or place B. Both cheap hangouts. We both are definitely not high maintenance when it comes to food. That also makes it easy to travel with the nun because she can live on bread and water just as I can. But the nun has company and so she treated us to one of the finer places in the area. There are so many new restaurants in our area that I wonder if they call can stay in business.

Mrs. VanderDoor

Mrs. VanderDoor still sat at the door today. I guess when one applies for a post in the Catholic hierarchy all virtues are being tested. Heroic patience is one of them. However, Mrs. VanderDoor was ticked at Ms. Hitchley who gave her some work which Mrs. VanderDoor thought was unfair and was, according to Mrs. VanderDoor, really Ms. Hitchley's job to begin with. So she echoed the branch manager in wondering what Ms. Hitchley was doing anyway - other than playing cards on the computer. It was funny. I taught a lesson on David to the mice. It was Wednesday after all. The branch manager comes regularly to our meetings and that makes it tremendously enjoyable. Most of the time he just listens unless I ask him to comment. Could not ask for a better situation.

Still

I walked the dogs tonight and noticed that the treetops were absolutely still. There was not a breeze anywhere. That was very unusual. Usually there is a little bit of movement somewhere. I consider it the breath of the Holy Spirit. So I wondered tonight if the Holy Spirit went to bed early or somehow ended up to in the Emergency Room. He just stopped breathing. DOA?

The Shack

The Shack seems to be following me around. Today another friend e-mailed me and thought it was a great book. I just cannot get into novels. A friend gave it to me as a present. She told me it was a MUST read. Guess what? I speed read it just that I did not have to lie but I could never could get into it. I learned how to recycle from the Rabbi. It went.

Rosary

I took out one of my little rosaries and it is just as tangled as the leashes. Is there a connection? Well, no dogs pulled on the rosary so why could it get so knotted? There is a Blessed Mother picture "Mary of the Knots." No, no she does not cause them she undoes them! I need her badly in this house.

What's in a wiener

I bought some hot dogs. The front of the package says: Uncured German Style Wiener. In smaller print it says there are no antibiotics and no added hormones. I like that. That is why I bought them. Now to the back of the package: The ingredients start in just the right order that you would think a wiener is made of: Pork, Beef, Water.....at the end comes the incredulous stuff: mace, lemon peel, cherry powder, evaporated cane juice, ginger. Yes, folks, your wonderful hotdogs by Coleman Natural Foods also need cherry powder and evaporated cane juice. This hot dog was apparently made by a renowned German Sausage Meister "Hans" - according to their package. Well, Hans, you should go back to the old country because no German sausage meister would dare put cherry powder and evaporated cane juice into a hot dog. I think Hans is a Hanswurscht (idiot in German).

Leashes

I walked out with three dogs and three leashes. Before you know it they were tangled up. Can't stop and undo anything because three dogs are pulling forward. By the time we got home, I could have draped a shawl around a midget - so tangled up were my leashes.

Valkyrie

This is a brand new book on the topic by Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager. A must read for anyone wanting to read about the German military and the resistance. I finished it today.

Buono Serra??????

I went to my favorite market place this morning. It was empty and I got a parking space right in the first row, next to the entrance. So naturally, I was praising the Lord and am in an upbeat mood and did my shopping and on the way out this employee wishes me a "buono serra!" Do I look like one of those "the Lor' tole me so" people ? Did I swallow the Holy Spirit - feathers and all? I wanted to slug this guy with my purse. Mentally I gave him the finger. What a flamingo feather duster kind of guy! My wonderful mood was gone as I muttered "buono serra" to myself in disbelief. It took me years to learn to say "Amen" and now I am supposed to respond to buono serra. It is terrible when you deal with people who don't know the difference between a catheter and a cathedra. I am waiting for a communist rebellion in this country: English for the Workers!

Karl and Sophie Liebknecht

This biography is in German by Annelies Laschitza. Incredibly detailed which makes it sort of boring unless you want to know everything about the socialist movement in Germany.

Losing Mum and Pup

I just finished this book by Christopher Buckley. Christopher Buckley is a very gifted writer and a satirist. I like his writing but there were so many bon mots in this book, one needed a dictionary. The parts where he wrote about his parents in their younger years is excellent. I don't think he understands that elderly people all age equally bad and so the last few years of either his mother or his father are not exceptional. He is faced with a funeral institute twice within a year or so. Nothing has changed. One of the biggest ripoffs of our times.

The Italian Newspaper

Sorry - it folded. Suddenly it went on strike. I deleted it today

Florida

My friend, Fr. Rivalera, still can't talk but that did not keep him from sending me a "suggestion" by snail mail. We are going to Florida. That is I am driving him to Florida town and then I make sure I take him wherever he wants to go. I know the place. It takes 3 1/2 hours to drive from here to there. It is not very big. He has got a few points accumulated for a free stay in a hotel. I am a sucker when it comes to taking the elderly around. So used to doing this with mother before she departed. Open the front door, close the front door. Hang on to the sleeve, here is a step. Open the car door, close the car door, find and close the seat belt from the driver's side. Here's the restoom. Where's your cane? Let's put your coat on. Wait here for me at the entrance and I will bring the car around. All of that is ingrained in my flesh.

The Usual

Tonight had dinner with one of the brown hoods. Very nice. We had not seen each other for a while and there had been meetings and so we exchanged business news. He is going to the Holy Land shortly and I will be going to Hawaii. His is a vacation and mine is taking in a biblical conference with Brant Pitre. I like his stuff. Next week I will be sweating it out because I have to get the house in shape for the birdie. Cockadoos like clean houses. All the friends are saying that the rabbi had to have a hand in it that the birdie is visiting. Well, yes, it is fun to be connected to people who don't kick you in the shin but are sweet......and helpful. I have been thinking if the birdie gets some kind of honorarium for visiting? Will have to inquire about that next week. There are 15 people on my list and the branch manager will also get an invitation. I'd invite the rabbi but he is probably glad not to be with the birdie. Anyway, the rabbi can visit any time.

Top Secret

Mrs. Videlia informed me about a week ago that she was going to pursue a greener pasture and this was top secret. I wondered about it over the weekend because it seems to me that every one knows about these top secret missions, no matter who has one. So today I asked who knew about this top secret adventure. Hmmmm, looks like the whole world already knows and the only one who is in the dark is our branch manager. "I had to tell so-and-so. It slipped out while I was talking to so-and-so. The devil made me do it." OK. It will still be a blow to our cheese making branch.

Fr. Valerie

Fr. Valierie had an operation on his throat. It was more plastic than medicinal. Anyway it was supposed to straighten out bowlegged vocal cords. However, now he can't talk and I hear the other friars are terribly delighted about it. I left a message and told him I can't wait to hear his new Angelic voice. If it is too high they worked on the wrong end. We shall see or rather hear in a week.

The Beads

We went to a bead shop today and I actually could not resist and bought more beads for a rosary. So this evening I made it. It turned out a lot better than the last one I made and there is also one in my house that on one decade only has nine beads. I am s-l-o-w-l-y improving. Thinking one can make a rosary with beads looks so terribly easy but if you can't count to ten and can't do nice knots you are sunk. I bought a bead board which makes the counting easier and I now use a crimping tool instead of knots. Folks, I am one step away from being a professional rosary maker. The Blessed Mother would probably flip in her grave if she could.

The Rabbi

Rabbi Seligman is making us positively jealous because he has lost weight and we are gaining it. Why he has to send his extra pounds to us is a mystery to me. It also occurred to me that I had dropped off a mini Rabbi some weeks ago but don't know if he ever got it. I know he recycles these things and that is wonderful but I wondered if he at least found it to recycle it. The nun and I had a good laugh picking it in Inner/Outer Mongolia over Easter. We actually saw it in a store but had to rush to some tour and so we went back later to buy it. We could not resist. Mass was nice today. When I am dead I can picture the Rabbi praying to me for a miracle and I will give him lots of hair and I will be declared a Saint and he will be the Archrabbi by then and start the process for Sainthood. Don't you love it! I wish there had been this turnout last night as there was today at noon. I asked for a copy of the WHOLE speech today and got it by e-mail. I think Fr. Academic is really good when it comes to St. Paul. That is his passion. This lecture was FREE. Can't understand the parishes who don't push their people to attend this good stuff.

Another Monday

I travelled through Canada this past weekend and was almost in Alaska. A seven hour drive and a wonderful retreat with the black hoods. Had it pencilled in for the wrong weekend and almost missed it. A guardian angel reminded me at the last hour. So it was back to the branch this morning. More feathers ruffled over the weekend, Mrs. Fritchley leaving, finally, and for good. Nobody is unhappy. However, there is another bomb ticking away and when that goes off it will be a major realignment in the branch. Tonight I am going to Canada for a lecture. I heard that the red little bird in the temple is unhappy because he has to drink and eat alone at night. It is sort of funny what people know. "Ringy-dingy" - another drink please and some bird seed.

------

Fix und fertig. That is the phrase I taught somebody today. It means one is exhausted and needs a break. I am going out with the nun tonight. I do need a break. If I'd be the drinking kind I would have, one, no two, no, no, no, three drinks.

Cheese factory

Our cheese factory is so busy making holes into our cheese that it is dizzying. OK, we are going to be blessed with a mini cheese sometime in December. Mrs. Fritchley has threatened to go to another cheese factory again. Stay tuned - it may really happen this time. Somebody's great grandfather submitted an application for his great grandchild - still in our branch - to the Pope for a more suitable employment. Stay tuned on this one as well. Our resident piano tuner has branched out to another piano tuning job. Folks, I was only away for 48 hours!

Haribo

Haribo is a German candy maker. They make great candy. On the cover on their packages it states: Haribo macht Kinder froh und Erwachsene ebenso.
Translate: Haribo makes children happy and adults also. However, the Germany word is not happy but gay. So literally translated it says: Haribo makes children gay and adults also. Ouch.....It just shows that one does not only have to know the word but the meaning as well. Great candy - enjoy.

"Burp," said Melvin

There once was a plant
it got out of hand
it needed some food
to properly root
then it crawled on all four
straight out of the door
"Melvin," the rabbi shouted
and then he pouted and
Melvin came back
through a little ole crack
took over the house
and scared the bird...
strangest story you ever heard.

What a Day!

My friend Heloise always thinks I need a crown. I woke up this morning and strangely felt "crowned." Fully awake, I realized that New Jerusalem, the pooch, had nestled on top of my head. She had never done that before. Did she know it was Mother's Day? Was she spooked by something? Did she dream of the big, bad wolf? Who knows.
Rabbi Seligman also blessed me in the temple today. As mother of three dogs I qualified for the blessing. AND - if you were to put one on top of the other they would be really four feet high. So I figured three small dogs equal a human and I qualified by that measure as well. I went to Canada this morning because I had so much clothing collected for the homeless. The line was considerable shorter today than it was during the winter which was a relief. I had gotten doughnuts and had a shopping bag full of brand new socks. The rest of the clothing I just laid out and let them go through it. On the way to the temple, I passed the women's shelter and I left them a bouquet of roses at the door. Nobody answered the door. I hope they split it up and give every one a rose. Anyway, Rabbi Seligman started off with my favorite hymn and I was in heaven. Lit a candle at the feet of the Jewish mother for 7 people after the service. Came back and ate my solo Mother's Day meal at the Diner. Time for a Sunday nap.

What about the front legs?

Fr. Zee e-mailed and was telling me his arthritis was bothering him. His back/legs. I read the e-mail and saw back legs. I am slightly dyslexic so these things happen but I had to laugh when I discovered my mistake. When I e-mailed Fr. Zee about it he had to laugh as well.

Divine Mercy

I brought a ton of books back on Divine Mercy from my Inner/Outer Mongolia trip. It is a great devotion and what graces St. Faustyna received! Divine Mercy is an incredible gift only available here on earth. I feel lucky being able to lecture on it shortly. Once we are gone, it's Divine Justice which is mild if we call on Divine Mercy while we are living. That is the key: Divine Mercy now, Divine Justice later. It's up to each of us.

Web Page

I looked into my orphan web page. Yes, I designed it and, no, it is not a blog. I never finished it totally. Well, Geocities has been bought out by Yahoo and FTP has changed and is no longer free and Frontpage does not exist any longer either. So if I want to get back into web page design I have some catching up to do. Tomorrow, tomorrow........

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo has to do with a military defeat of the Mexicans over the French. Yes, the French play a role in here. If the Germans were to have a holiday every time they defeated somebody in battle they would have a Cinco de Mayo every day. Sedan Day. Who remembers that? Victory over the pesky French who came like locust over thirty times onto German lands. I guess the Germans had their fill when Napoleon went to Russia. No, he did not fly into Moscow. He marched through German lands. Finally Sedan. Reversal, victory. Too bad it could not have stopped there. Unfortunately, the three cousins had to fight it out a bit later. A divided house, all related, the Germans, the English and the Russians. They fought their battle mostly on French soil. Cinco de Mayo - the first WW.

Mother's Day

I used to be that mothers had just children because, well, that is what mothers did and were made for. Now mothers have children because their biological clock is ticking. Tick, tick, tick. You wake up in the morning and you hear it tick. One tick too many. Let's have a child before the cuckoo clock runs away into the forest. These clocks never come back. They look like green trees among green trees in the forest and one can never find them again. What do I hear now? Tick, tick or cukoo? It does not matter. My biological clock is set to end times. If this one runs away it will run six feet under the daffodil bulbs. Ah the green biological clock. It is ticking away for us. Ashes to ashes and worms to worms. Happy Mother's Day.

Committee work

If I have to go to one more committee this week - I have not looked at my calendar - I am going to hang myself, slash my throat, swallow the BIG pill. I went to the Church of the Cruxified this morning. Lovely pastor but the committee meeting dragged on and on. All sorts of objections about a Church History couse vs. pure Bible Class. The church history course is really great but there is one woman who lately throws up all kinds of objections into the mix which everyone dutifully listens to and debates - for ever. Was supposed to go back tonight for a pot luck. Instead, I am going to bed and will read a nice book instead. I volunteered to make up their flyer, timeline etc.
The black hoods in Outer/Inner Mongolia have lovely liturgical CDs which I am discovering and plan to peddle for them. Can't say I am idle. Going to Canada this weekend.

The Branch

We had a general branch meeting tonight. Any insane person could go mad. Some of the staff were actually discussing if it would not be better if we closed shop. Our side branch meeting has nobody in charge who can run a meeting so it meanders on and on here and there. I think we are viable but not viable enough to build anything. We have on one side people who still think a building will materialize and on the other side people who think we should close. Both of them are nuts.

How good is your aim?

I threw out two stale bread rolls tonight. It went "thunk, thunk." I realized that I had forgotten that the car war parked in the front and I hit the car with the rolls. I guess better than throwing out old champagne. The neighbors would have thought I am launching a ship. Actually, I could right now with all the rain. Then Paisley needed to go out to inspect the rolls. Every time I throw something out she has to check it out. It could be steak. Believe me, it never is but Paisley has to convince herself.

Icon

I offered to send a very beautiful icon which I had gotten from Outer Mongolia, now Inner Mongolia, to my brother. He declined. So a letter came the other day saying that my Protestant sister-in-law would have LOVED the icon. She will get it. I was amused. It is indeed a very rare icon.

Friends

I am lucky that I have great friends. Heloise always gets me to smile. Either about her grandchildren or about the way the world turns and she expresses herself. Just walked the dogs. Sometimes I feel I should be in a circus with three leashes. Our streets are pink from all the fallen cherry pedals. We had a hot weekend last week and that is not good for cherry and apple blossoms. Now the dogwoods are in full bloom. They like warmer weather. The lilac is out, too, but my lilacs are sorry bushes. In July and August the Crepe Myrtle blooms. I have to get a white tree. I love white for the garden and am planting everything that blooms white. The Church of the Crucified has invited me for the Adult bible planning session on Wednesday and I will go. I really enjoy teaching adults. I am developing my own Catholic theology "beginners steps" series for adults. My own church is ground zero. I am glad I am out of the "the Lord tol' me so" environment.

Play

Yesterday I had to call a brown hood and tell him we were not going to meet for dinner because I was going out with a black hood. Funny. One hood gets ditched for another. But this black hood is elderly and very frail and when he calls I listen. We went to see a play in France in some basement theatre and then had dinner together. Really a lovely day. While I was gone, my deck was power washed by an elf. He did a really nice job. Had not stained the deck for several years and it was time to do it again. My fiance Fritz is starting to make friends with Paisley the oldest dog. Fritz tried to bite Paisley's tail and Paisley - female - sometime later tried to mount poor Fritz. He looked surprised. Poor Fritz, living a with a bunch of perverts.

Calendar moment

We had a calendar day here. Everyone sits around and counts the days in the calendar. Then they come up with 366, or 355, or 394 days and we go around and count again. I decided to not stick around but provided breakfast and returned for lunch. By that time they were finished with counting. While we sat together, Mrs. "Hasbeen" inquired in front of the group who was responsible for chapel clean-up. She knew full well it was me. Well, I have often forgotten lately because I go straight for a cup of coffee after all the Masses with whichever mouse shows up and when I come back I just forget. I really don't mind doing chapel clean-up. The branch manager has now assigned days, mine is Monday, and I got an e-mail from Mrs. Hasbeen s-o-r-t-o-f apologizing and suggesting we did not need any assigned days. I am not responding. The branch manager has spoken and that is it for right now.