Fun Monday - closet chaos

Today's hostess is Cassie who wanted to see the inside of our closet. "I want to see the inside of your closet!! I want to see if your closet is as messy as mine!!! You can't organize it before you take the picture!!"

In an effort to follow the rules, I had my grandson take the pictures so that I wouldn't clean anything up. Here you go, Cassie!

Perspective

Carrie Underwood has a new video which my daughter and I refer to as the "shiny shoes song". In it, her boyfriend/fiance/husband is kia and her wedding dream turns into the funeral nightmare. She is given the flag off the coffin. We nitpick the heck out of this video because if she is the girlfriend/fiancee, the men in the shiny shoes would not notify her. They would notify his next-of-kin, because militarily speaking, if you ain't next-of-kin, you ain't nothing.

I was talking to my husband today about my lack of empathy toward the character in this song. She sings that she "was counting on forever. Now I'll never know. I can't even breathe." I told him that the writers had at least nailed that part. I remember that from when my first husband died, not being able to breathe.

So my hubby got that twinkle, smooched me and asked me what happened when you got the counting-on-forever-part. You know what? He's right. I couldn't even breathe.

PPL - Autumn

With many, many thanks to Robin for motivating us once again - and for introducing me, all of those months ago, to a form of poetry that actually turned up in a class I am teaching this fall.

I realize that poetry should need no explanation but this is NOT how I normally feel about Hallowe'en. I LOVE Hallowe'en - or I did before the store where I work put the costume section thisclose to my department. A word to all you moms out there - forget washing the kid's hands with GermX - tell them to quit putting on the mask that they just picked up off of the floor after 97 zillion (literally) other kids have already put it on their snotty little faces.

Hallowe’en
Scary, Magical
Tricking, treating, dressing up
Creeping fog, creepy people
Commercial

This is not necessarily autumnal except that my CFC class wrote this cinquain together last Wednesday evening. Courtesy of my 5th graders:

Jesus
Son, Savior
Loving, Healing, Sharing
Safe Harbor, Joyful Hope
Lord

and THIS is the actual assignment.

Squash
Omnipresent, Ubiquitous
Growing, Growing, Ripening
Where ARE those recipes?

Pickles

Owner of the Vineyard

Matthew
Chapter 20
1
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
3
Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4
and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'
5
So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise.
6
Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
7
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
8
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
9
When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage.
10
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.
11
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner,
12
saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
13
He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
14
Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
15
(Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?'
16
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

This was our Gospel this last Sunday. This particular parable has always bothered me because, quite honestly, I'm with the first workers. What the heck? This isn't fair. It just plain isn't fair. You know what? It isn't. Neither is life. My priest, a wonderful homilist, pointed out that most of us, himself included, reach the same conclusion. It just isn't fair.

Father John then went on to point out that part of the problem that most of us have with this parable is OUR point of view. We can all identify with the worker and most of us fail to recognize the point of the parable which is not the injustice of the world but the generosity of the vineyard owner. If we make ourselves the focus of the story, all we see is the inequity and injustice and unfairness of it all.

If we make God the focus of the story, we can see the generosity and benevolence of the vineyard owner. So, from the Queen of the Vineyard, let's hear it for the Owner.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

It has been a difficult past few weeks for me. This is due in part to circumstance and a great deal to my own stupidity. My doctor left town last year. I take one prescription, once a day, and my scrip was good till February of this year.

Well, February came and went and my drugs ran out. I did not want to find a new doctor. I hate changing doctors. I already know that I'm fat and that I need to lose weight and that being fat is hard on my heart, etc. The funny part is that I am basically healthy. I do not have high blood pressure or diabetes or anything else wrong with me that's weight related.

My old doctor told me once that the drug I take is cumulative and it would take about 6 months to actually zero out the levels in my bloodstream. I decided that's what I would do and that during that 6 months, I would lose enough weight to not have to hear about it from a new doctor. Yeah.

6 months is gone. I have lost no weight. I am starting to feel just generally gravity ridden and crappy. I have to find a new doctor. Fine.

Within the last 3 weeks, 4 people that I know or know of, have died. They have been 3 women aged 54, 49, and 45ish respectively. They have died of complications of diabetes, cancer, and a long illness respectively. They have left behind grown children and a granddaughter(legal guardian) in 3rd grade, a 3 year old with Downs Syndrome, and a 14 year old daughter respectively.

The 4th person? The husband of wife #3, the father of the 14 year, the coward who could not bear life without the love of his life and ran his motorcycle into a concrete abutment, orphaning his child.

Please pray for the respose of the souls of the dead. Please pray for the families of the dead and for their children.

Please pray for me as I realize that I have been as much of a suicidal coward in my own small way as that idiot husband/father. To my husband, children, and grandchildren, I apologize. To my God, I humbly request forgiveness, understanding, and the grace and courage to do better. To all who came here for a chuckle, maybe tomorrow.

A llama, a llama, my kingdom for a llama

I have come to the conclusion that my grandson may be a llama.


There is a field behind our house. It is inhabited by some of our neighbors’ livestock. On any given day, you can see horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and now, a llama. The llama is one of a pair. His mate has given birth and he has been turned out to pasture to help protect the baby.


He mingles with the herd, all of whom have been together for at least 5 years. They travel together, moseying and munching through the day. I have never seem them fight. But occasionally, the equine livestock will be somewhere in the pasture and the llama will be alone, on top of the Bandini mountain, surveying his kingdom(s), both real and imagined.


Lil Man went to football camp this summer. This was when he was still Lil Man and not Moose, yet. It is open to 3rd through 6th graders so this was his first year. Lil Man is healthy and wiry and fairly well coordinated. What he is not is stocky. Slight comes to mind. Slim comes to mind. Skinny, undernourished (though he’s not) and orphanish come to mind.


We watched him for about an hour one day. The camp is conducted by the high school football coaches. Lil Man was engaged, he was attentive, he was well-behaved and he actually kicked the football! He just looked sort of like he didn’t belong - like a llama in a herd of little bulls.

We DO remember

Father Mychal's Prayer

Lord, take me where you want me to go;

Let me meet who you want me to meet;

Tell me what you want me to say, and

Keep me out of your way.

—Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M.Chaplain,

New York Fire Department

Copyright ©2001 Holy Name Province

While researching Father Mychal, I came upon this picture of a stained glass window in his memory at St. Francis of Assisi Church in NYC.

Please keep all of our heroes, both home and abroad, alive and deceased, recognized and urecognized, past and present and future, in your prayers.

Dogs - Mine, Hers, and Ours

Duck is fine. She turns 10 the 30th of this month and, aside from a little arthritis, is doing really well. Yes, she is still sleeping in the new chair.

Holly had surgery earlier this month to remove a tumor on her leg. It healed fine, all 12 stitches worth, and the tumor was benign. Hallelujah.

Julie's Bo still hates me and tries to eat my face. I still think he should be destroyed.

Lexi is just a sweetheart puppy. She is smart and charming and engaging and just on the edge of her destructive phase. It should be fun to watch!

Roxi is sick. Julie went to work the other night and thought Roxi looked "just not right". By morning, she was down. Her gums were colorless, as was her tongue and she was truly lethargic. A little bloodwork later and the diagnosis was - autoimmune hemolytic anemia. It's chronic, probably hereditary, and thankfully treatable. She got some Vitamin K, some antibiotics, and some steroids. This is her new regimen. She perked up some in the last few days, but not as quickly as Juls and I would like.

This leaves us with Bug. Bug received a visit from the dogcatcher yesterday. She cannot be in the front yard unconfined. She cannot be in the back yard because Roxi has decided that Bug looks like a Little Debbie Snack Cake. She cannot be at my house because my dogs don't like her, she doesn't like them and the neighbors have livestock. She is not, as a small animal killer, adoptable and would be destroyed if taken to our shelter.

Thus, she is tied up. We got her a new collar as she returned home collarless. We replaced her rabies tag so that the dogcatcher cannot use that as a reason to take her. We got her a stake-out chain and put it where she has access to all of her favorite spots in the yard. Keep her in your prayers, please. I cannot imagine a Bugless existence.

Much too young?

With credit to this entry by my favorite Anglophile and with credit to this entry by {i}post for sharing stories of their little men. Both posts are about changes and about little boys growing up. As most of you know, Lil Man is now Moose.

Moose changed schools this year and is settling in unbelievably well. He is still having his black coffee in the morning and the school is working with us on the whole non-medication thing and is allowing him to have CokeZero halfway through his day in order to boost his caffeine intake. He still misses his old classmates but, thankfully, we live in a small town and eventually, everyone runs into everyone.

Such was the case a couple of days ago. Grampits and Julie and Moose and I went out to lunch at the local Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant. Two of the little girls from his class last year were sitting at the booth 3 booths down from us. Let's call them Meg and Amy. Meg's mom, who is way cooler than me or my daughter, was sitting at another table so the girls could be "cool".

Meg and Amy came to our table and invited Moose to sit with them for lunch. He asked for permission, which was granted and, without a backward look, off he went. His mom was sitting next to me and we both had our backs toward him. This was maddening, since we had to depend on the Grampits for updates.

He started off sitting with Meg and then halfway through the meal, switched sides so that he could sit with Amy. Everyone behaved well and ate well.

It just made me feel so friggin' old. I'm much too young to feel this dang old.

Aw, heck, I just re-read this and Julie's right. I do whine.

Non-Sequitur

Julie and I have both been suffering from allergies -hers are worse than mine. Yesterday I made the mistake of saying that she was whiny.

She called me the Queen of the Vineyard.

The sad part is that I like that title. I may even change my blog title. What do you think?