Life In the Circle Game

Checking In!

2011-11-13T17:54:00.001-05:00

I got a message the other day that someone had left a comment on a blog post! Wow! Someone is still reading my dormant blog? I'm so awful at keeping up a with journals, diaries, blogs.

While talking to a friend this weekend I remarked that I sometimes wish I could remember how it really felt to be ...... fill in the blank with an age. Following through on those old journals or diaries might have given me the insight I wished for. I kind of doubt it, though. Those efforts were more like calendar entries than a record of my feelings. To be honest, I doubt I will ever record my deepest feelings.

Here are some photos to catch you up on a few feelings, though...

Grammy Love

Compassion

Relief... Melanoma In Situ, Stage 0

Fun

Confusion?

Smile-worthy

Wasn't that me just yesterday?

Visiting the Past - Cabo Rojo, PR

Pride - Flowers Arranged for a Wedding

Grammy's Heart Has Melted

Feeling the Love

Invitation to Peace

Round and Round

2011-01-29T15:13:00.001-05:00

The seasons they go 'round and 'round!

When I began this blog I was a new grandmother.

Now look! There she is - first grandchild - four years old.

As the Circle Game continues, this first grandchild is now the oldest of three siblings... just like her mom, just like her grammy. (Well, I actually am the oldest of 5 siblings.) She's growing up quickly. I want to slow her down while she just wants to grow up.

Happy birthday, cutie! Grammy loves you!

Apple Crisp Time

2010-09-19T18:31:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I made my first apple crisp of the season. It's cooling now on the stove and smells wonderful. We'll dig into it soon.

As I cut up the apples and smooshed butter into sugar and oatmeal, I reflected on the events since the last time I made the first-of-the-season apple crisp.

In no particular order:
My school community lost a young teacher to cancer.
Our youngest daughter moved out of the house, became engaged AND married.
We welcomed the new son-in-law!
I had the pleasure of a sister and brother attending the wedding.
Our granddaughters are expecting a new sibling soon.
My husband moved out of the office and into the house when he retired.
We had MOUNTAINS of snow!
My school community organized a 5K in honor of the young teacher we lost.

Really, a lot has happened in the past year. Most of it has been good. Maybe I'll get back to writing!

Olympics

2010-02-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

I'm watching the last of the men's 50K cross country skiers come to the finish line. I don't know if NBC kept the cameras rolling because it's good form to honor the last as well as the first, athlete to cross the line or if it was because the final finisher is a Dartmouth College student, but I am glad they did. I have an appreciation for the final finisher that I did not have before I limped across the finish line of a 5K last spring.

Yup, I was last. What a mind game that is. I spent a lot of emotional energy deciding whether it would be better to call it quits or suck up the shreds of pride I had left and get across the line. I even stopped to take a picture along the route! I wouldn't do that again. I would, instead, reach deeper and keep the finish line in focus. Yes, I'd rather not be last. I think there is a dignity in crossing the finish line that I did not understand before.

I've had another champion in mind this week as I've watched Olympic champions. This week was the anniversary of Gena's death. Now, there was a woman who never gave up! Her mantra was KEEP GOING! Even after 10 years of fighting cancer, I never really thought she'd stop. I like to think that God got tired of waiting for her, yanked her to-do list from her hand and said, "Come home."

We're now in the count-down to the big U.S. - Canada match for the ice hockey gold. Some will wear gold home, some will wear silver. They'll give it their all... just as the team that was eliminated first gave it their all.

This year, that 5K will be run again. I had toyed with the idea of scaling back and participating in the 1 mile "fun run" rather than marching through those 3.1 miles. The race is in 3 weeks and I haven't trained at all. My decision was made for me yesterday when I either dislocated or broke the little toe on my right foot. The way is clear, now. I'll be a course cheerleader. I'll wait for the last runner or walker on the course and, with all my heart, yell, "KEEP GOING!"

Remembering the Butterflies

2009-11-25T07:40:00.008-05:00

Today, November 25, is the anniversary of the 1960 assasinations of Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa Mirabal, along with their driver and friend Rufino de la Cruz. Known in the Dominican Republic as the Butterfly Sisters, they were working to end the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Their story is the subject of Julia Alvarez' book, In the Time of the Butterflies. Their home is both a museum and an extension of the national cemetary.

It is a peaceful place, a beautiful garden spot filled with the powerful story of the Mirabal women. If you are lucky enough to visit, you might be even luckier and encounter Dede, the sister who tends the memories and keeps the story alive.

On November 25, 1999, the United Nations established an annual International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The date was chosen to honor the Butterfly Sisters. They worked for release from the tyranny of a dictator. Join in the work for release of tyranny from all abuse against women.

Random Fall Photos

2009-11-18T19:06:00.014-05:00

U2 Concert at FedEx Field Sept, 2009

Vietnam Veterans Memorial October 3, 2009

Crucifix
Washington National Cathedral Oct., 2009

Underside of a really cool mushroom, Oct, 2009

Dogwood, Oct, 2009

Wolf Gap Winery, Virginia Nov., 2009

Last of the fall leaves Reston, Nov., 2009

Labyrinth

2009-11-09T19:04:00.009-05:00

Walking to the center of a labyrinth as a physical act of centering prayer is a powerful experience. Like sitting quietly and meditating, walking the labyrinth is not without its distractions, especially when walking in a group. It takes some work to stay in a prayerful frame of mind.

We have a canvas labyrinth at St. Anne's. It gets rolled out fairly often for use by the congregation. Because it's portable, we've also carried it to Shrine Mont for use in retreat activities. I've been to a labyrinth walk at the National Cathedral and now, Shrine Mont has its own outdoor labyrinth made of stones.

Most often, my labyrinth walking has been quiet. Starting with a deep breath, I've plunged in. Step by step, cares of the day fall away. Step by step, the pilgrimage proceeds. Step by step, I approach the center.

A year ago I walked the candle-lit labyrinth while a friend came to the end of her fight with lung cancer. I stepped into the center and realized that I had carried my friend with me. While standing in that spot closest to God, I knew that God was waiting for me to hand over my worries. My friend was a faithful Catholic, she knew God's strength and support in her life. Who was I to worry? God held us both, I needed to let go. I walked out of the labyrinth, leaving that burden of worry behind.

Almost exactly a year later I entered the stone labyrinth in the woods. A few of us had found our way there after the Sunday service. The words of the final hymn were in my mind as I walked the leaf-strewn pathway, "I will call upon the Lord... who is worthy to be praised." The sky was clear, birds were chirping, a few bright red leaves clung to a tree. "So shall I be saved from my enemies... I will call upon the Lord." I almost tromped through the labyrinth as I sang in my head, "The Lord liveth... and blessed be the rock... and let the God of my salvation be exalted..." I heard my friend coming up beside me. She said, "I've decided to greet people on my journey." We hugged, knowing we both had the recent funeral of a young teacher in mind.

The labyrinth as shared journey. Sing it together, "The Lord liveth, and blessed be the rock."

Behold! A New Post!

2009-10-20T16:54:00.002-04:00

My, oh my. It's been MONTHS since I last opened this blog! (It's also been three years since my first post.) There have been lots of "behold" moments since April. And many of them have been savored.

As I rounded the corner to the school parking lot one morning last week, the pre-dawn colors took my breath away. It was a moment to be shared. I went in and grabbed my friend, knowing she had arrived in the dark. Together we stood in the quiet morning and watched the clouds turn pink. The sky was a muted blue/gray, the trees were tinged with the orange and red promise of the changing season, the air crisp and the presence of the Creator was palpable.

Breathe in, breathe out, prayers of adoration and praise are such a wonderful way to start a day.

Favorite Flowers

2009-04-13T19:21:00.010-04:00

Oh, first...
1. Behold! My messy desk at work, symbol of the fact that I have a job.
2. Behold! A great cup of coffee with the office friends.
3. Behold! The warm cat curled up at my knee.

Now, favorite flowers.

I love flowers. I think I've always loved flowers. I remember making tiny bouquets of dandelions and violets to give to people. I remember wondering why anyone would want to kill clover in the yard, it has such a pretty bloom. I remember my grandmother's peonies, gathered in big wash tubs to place in the cemetery on "decoration day." I remember falling in love with the yellow-to-pink transition of the peace rose.

Wildflowers fascinate me... Dutchman's Breeches made sense to me, remembering the clothes worn by the folks in Pella, Iowa during the street washing the the Tulip Time parade. Jack-in-the-Pulpit is another of my favorite wildflowers, especially after touring some of the colonial era churches in this region and seeing their sounding-board covered pulpits!

I also love Bleeding Hearts. It's another old-fashioned flower that reminds me of grandmothers. Right now we have a big plant blooming in our front garden. The light was so pretty on the pink blooms when we came home from Easter dinner that I now have a new desktop picture and a new Facebook profile picture.

Now, next week, I'll probably be in love with lily of the valley. But for today, I really love bleeding heart.

Behold! Day 2

2009-04-11T20:33:00.002-04:00

1. Behold! Last night's amazing full moon.
2. Behold! Today's spring rain.
3. Behold! The people grieve after Good Friday and are hopeful because they know the next chapter.

Behold! Day 1

2009-04-10T16:56:00.002-04:00

1. Behold! The perfection of this rose!

2. Behold! How tightly this weed clings to the earth.

3. Behold! The church family kneels in prayer on Good Friday.

Behold! A way of seeing God around us.

2009-04-09T09:48:00.002-04:00

Ok. I laughed when I read Fran's post at Notes from the North Woods.

She starts out:

At a Lenten Quiet Day this week, our leader, The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, talked about the word Behold. It's fallen out of common usage. We don't behold much any more. The Gospel writers used the Greek equivalent of it often, when quoting Jesus.

Read the rest here.

All I could think of was people wandering around in robes shouting, "Behold!" But, then I started thinking of the times when I've caught my breath and thought, "Oh, thank you, Lord!" Is that my version of, "Behold!"? [Just how does one punctuate that sentence???]

So, I'm going to try to catch sight of three "Behold!" moments each day. Now, I fail miserably at these projects... you know: journal writing every day, reading the Daily Office every day, going for a walk every day. So, I'll give it a go for a while and see how it works for me.

Stay tuned.

Coming In Last

2009-04-06T09:08:00.003-04:00

First, a confession. I am a couch potato. And, I feel somewhat guilty about it.

Last spring I participated in a local training program for women and completed my first timed 5K. I walked the 5K and finished with a 52:27 time (16:53 minute/mile pace). I bought really nice shoes (and socks!), a couple shirts made of wicking fabric and a hat. And I haven't walked much since!

I started feeling guilty when spring showed up on the calendar and the email reminder arrived, inviting me to the local training program. What to do? Why, sign up for a 5K, of course! Just my luck, the school where my daughter works sponsors a run each March as a major fundraiser for the school.

Wearing my good shoes (and socks!), wicking fabric shirt and a fleece jacket because it was a cold morning, I courteously stood aside as the runners crowded the starting line. I looked for other walkers among the participants but figured I'd find them once the runners left. Then I realized that EVERYONE had left running... even the ladies I figured were the other walkers!

"No worries," I thought, "Those women will wear out soon and I'll catch up." I walked through the neighborhoods, keeping those women in sight but never actually catching up to them. The nice bicycle cop struggled to ride slowly beside me. I told her not to worry about me, I'd be turning around soon. She caught up to those women ahead of me.

The course was well marked. Big orange cones were spaced out in the street, arrows indicated the turns, volunteers waited until I passed to pick up the cones. I started to wonder if I should really turn around. I got to the one mile mark... just over 15 minutes! Hey, that's not bad for a walker, right? Keep going, jacket tied around waist.

I waved to the volunteers waiting at the next turn, the crew who was packing up the water station and the bicycle cop who was on the other side of the creek. Keep trudging.

Finally, the two-mile mark! And not much slower than my 1 mile pace. I've lost sight of those ladies who were just ahead of me. I start singing in my head, jogging 10 steps, walking 20, jog 10, walk 20. I can't see anyone else on the course. Oh, wow, isn't that creek pretty? What the heck, I'm last and I have my camera in my pocket...

Finally, there's the road back to the school. I made it! Oh. This hill is really steep! The motorcycle cop has passed me on the final sweep of the course. But the crossing guard is still waiting at the top of this hill. Good thing, I couldn't actually stop and look both ways! My daughters saw me cross the street and started calling, "Come on, Mom!" I could see the finish line! But wait, there's a big arrow on the pavement... I have to circle through the parking lot! Argh.

At last. The final turn. The clock is still ticking. The clock is still under 50 minutes! So, the last person in actually jogs up the lane to the finish line. A personal record. 49:34 (15:58/mile pace) The girls handed me water and a banana. We walked in to the post-race celebration and door prize drawings.

So, what did I learn from this? The challenge to finish was both in my body and in my head. It wasn't fun coming in last. I really appreciated everyone who waited for me. I felt like I had inconvenienced the folks who waited for me, that I was somehow unworthy of being in the course that long. I was surprised to find that the women ahead of me were really just 3 minutes in front of me and 7 years younger. While the important race is really me against me for a personal best, the community sense of company and competition is also important for me.

Yes, I'll get more use out of my shoes (and socks!), wicking fabric shirt and hat. I've signed up for the local training program and I'm going to shoot for a new personal best. And I have a lot more compassion for the last ones across any finish line!

Story of a Prayer Shawl

2009-03-11T20:42:00.002-04:00

Several years ago I heard about a meditative practice that involved knitting. For a while I felt left out because I didn’t knit at the time, I “just” crocheted. How stupid was that? Of course a prayer shawl could be crocheted! I bought the book Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry and read about Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo who started the Prayer Shawl movement.

The idea is to create (by knitting, crocheting, quilting, weaving...) a shawl (or scarf or lap-blanket or…) that will contain the intentional prayers and meditations of the creator and be given to someone who will receive the piece, and the blessings it now contains, as a gift of comfort, solace or celebration. The official site explains the concept this way, “Whether they are called Prayer Shawls, Comfort Shawls, Peace Shawls, or Mantles, etc., the shawl maker begins with prayers and blessings for the recipient. The intentions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. Upon completion, a final blessing is offered before the shawl is sent on its way. Some recipients have continued the kindness by making a shawl and passing it onto someone in need. Thus, the blessing ripples from person-to-person, with both the giver and receiver feeling the unconditional embrace of a sheltering, mothering God!”

My first prayer “shawl” was a fun-fur scarf, made quickly to accompany a friend headed to chemo. It was made in the blues that make me think of the Caribbean and given to my friend after a healing service at church. She did wear it to chemo and it did bring her comfort. Months later, the scarf nestled around the urn containing her ashes. It brought a different comfort to her friends.

For a while, I was part of a group that gathered twice a month to work on our shawls. While I would pray when I crocheted alone, we chatted while we worked together. It was a wonderful fellowship opportunity. We invited our priest to come bless the shawls and we were all blessed by the experience. The group has drifted apart but we’re all still stitching and praying.

I’ve set aside my prayer shawls for a year. I have been busy with baby blankets for family and friends... which may be sort of stealth prayer shawls, now that I think about it. But on Sunday, I found the shawl I had almost completed this time last year. I’d started that shawl with no particular recipient in mind. The prayers it contains are mostly the Lord’s Prayer and St. Julian of Norwich’s prayer: "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well." It was almost finished when Gena and Amy died last spring. I hadn’t even thought about that shawl in months. There it was, in a pile of clutter I was sorting out Sunday afternoon. I was surprised to find that it actually lacked just the border and decided to finish it off then and there. As I crocheted, I thought of Gena and her battle with cancer, of Amy and her devout service to her church. I wove in the ends, tied the care instructions onto the shawl with a yarn scrap, folded it and tucked it into a bag to carry up to church.

On Monday afternoon I had a visit from my friend T. She asked if I’d heard about a mutual friend’s news… a diagnosis of an aggressive lymphoma. This friend would be entering the hospital on Wednesday for a month of intensive chemo. T and I sat, stunned by the words that hung in the air between us, hugged and staggered back to our afternoon chores.

Monday night I realized that the shawl had a home. I sent T an email, asking her to stop by my desk before she went to her Bible study group Tuesday morning. She made the time to come by, picked up the shawl and said, yes, the study group would pray with the shawl and our priest would take it to J before she entered the hospital.

If you know me, you know that I’m religious but I don’t often talk about how God directs my life. I believe God loves me. I believe that God works through me, though I am always amazed He uses me, a most unworthy Child of God. On Tuesday, I know that God worked through me. As the group prepared to pray with the shawl, J walked in. Priest Jim settled the shawl on her shoulders, placed his hands on her head and the circle prayed J and her new blue shawl off to her bout with chemo.

That shawl was finished, at just the right time. J walked into the room, at just the right time. God will heal us all, at just the right time. Amen.

It's Lent and I Am an Episcopalian

2009-02-25T22:25:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, in fine Episcopalian form, I ate pancakes with my church family.

Today, also in fine Episcopalian form, I gathered with my church family to be invited to a Holy Lent, have a cross of palm ash smudged on my forehead and be challenged to remember that I am dust and to dust I shall return. "Or," the priest paraphrased, "Remember you are created, and to creation you shall return." Ponder that for a while.

The Episcopal Church has launched a communications initiative entitled, I Am Episcopalian. It is a series of short videos featuring a variety of people explaining why they are Episcopalian. Go and listen for awhile... see if someone has a reason that resonates with you!

It's Lent. Soon enough it will be Good Friday and Easter. Get ready.

You know you're a yarn addict when...

2009-02-19T07:58:00.004-05:00

If I am on schedule in the mornings, I pass a commuter bus on my way to work. The driver is waiting for the right moment to begin his run and there's a spot by the neighborhood pool that is the perfect place to park a big, long bus. The bus has an advertisement on its side. In great big letters the word "FIBER" nestles among little points of light.

Now, most people would know right off that a fiber-optic network is wanting to provide their TV, internet and phone service. But really, didn't anyone, other than me, think of a beautiful, soft, sparkly, cashmere YARN?

Guess I'm spending more time w/ pointy sticks than I realized!

Name Game

2009-02-04T18:01:00.006-05:00

I have wondered why people would name their cars. My family has always referred to its cars by make, model or color. We've been through the blue car, the station wagon, the van, the green car, the El Camino. Lately, we've been talking about getting a new car, something built in the current century. We talked about luxury cars, big cars, little cars. We've driven several PT Cruisers as rentals lately, and actually liked them. We thought about the advantage of having a van to drive the grandkids around when they visit. Last week, we settled on a Prius.

After a couple near-misses when a 2008 Prius would show up on the web, we have purchased a brand-new car for the first time in 16 years.

The Prius is a car that demands interaction. With a selection of touch screens, it has so much to say! I have been finding new ways to communicate with the Prius each day; so much so that yesterday I walked out the front door and actually said, "Good morning," to A CAR!

Now I get it. This car needs a name. She'll be a partner in the driving experience. Her paint job is called Driftwood Pearl. So, won't you say hello to the new member of our family: Pearl.

Cute, isn't she?

Neglectful Blogger!

2009-02-02T19:12:00.002-05:00

I am not gone. This blog is not forgotten. A few things have happened since Jan. 12 and I just haven't thought them all through enough to write about! In the next few days, look forward to some inauguration thoughts, my 2nd anniversary of grandparenthood, and maybe a soapbox moment or two! See you soon.

Good things to teach kids when they're young...

2009-01-12T19:45:00.002-05:00

In no particular order, these lessons made life with children much easier:

1. How to run for the toilet when you're going to vomit.
2. How to fasten your own seatbelt.
3. How to pour your own cereal and milk.
4. How to use the toilet plunger.

Ahhhh, memories.

Knit One!

2009-01-03T20:13:00.012-05:00

At last... the stocking is done!

One drawback to being left-handed is that many right-handed people are intimidated at the idea of teaching handcrafts to a lefty. I taught myself to embroider as a teenager but I really wanted to crochet and knit. I finally met someone who took me on as a crochet student and I've been crocheting for more than 30 years now. Somewhere along the line, I came to think that crochet didn't measure up to the fine art of knitting. I no longer believe that crochet is the lesser fiber craft but, I did really want to learn to knit.

My friend Fran was up to the challenge; she showed me the basics and became my knitting cheerleader. It seems that I knit continental style almost the same as a right-hander. What a challenge it was to hold a stick in each hand and somehow use them to manipulate the yarn around those sticks into an interlocking fabric. Yipes. Crocheting all those years must have been a help, especially with keeping an even tension on the yarn. After knitting (garter stitch - because purling wasn't much fun) a REALLY long scarf for Fran to use as a clerical stole in the far north where she is a priest, I put away the knitting needles for a while and went back to my familiar and comfortable crochet hooks. Yet, the challenge of those pointy sticks kept calling... "Cables!"

So, I bought a pattern book for fancy dishcloths and packed my bamboo knitting needles when I went to visit Aunt Amy. My Aunt Amy was a master knitter. She also quilted, crocheted, baked and loved QVC. She gave me a cable hook and showed me how to pick up a dropped stitch. I'll always be grateful for that knitting session... it was my last visit with her.

Again, I put down the needles in favor of a crochet hook to make several baby blankets - many in maroon and orange for little Hokie babies! But there was still that nagging feeling that I was nowhere close to being comfortable with those darned knitting needles. Wouldn't you know, I really wanted to try my hand at socks!

Another friend of mine, Laura, can knit with her eyes closed. She knitted most of a sweater on a bus trip to Orlando when our children were in the band and we were chaperones. I told her I was now a novice knitter with a hankering to make socks and she said, "Come over next Tuesday."

Laura had a great idea... learn to "turn a heel" on a Christmas stocking! She had found a book with several pattern options and told me what to bring for my tutoring session. By the end of the evening, I had 26 stitches cast on to each of 3 double-pointed needles and was armed with a book shaped like a stocking.

Since that September evening I've learned to read a pattern chart, recognize when I've dropped a stitch, figured out how to wrap a stitch, k2tog and ssk! I also found a great website to get some help in the middle of the night. Check this out... Amy has loads of video clips and will patiently answer the same question as many times as you want to hit the replay button!

Thanks to all my knitting mentors, granddaughter Leah will have a stocking for Santa's visit in 2009.

Connections

2008-12-12T09:27:00.002-05:00

I don’t think I’m addicted to my computer access… really, I’m not! Right?

Last weekend my laptop failed to boot up. It has visited the laptop hospital, been diagnosed and the treatment involves backing up all my files and re-installing the operating system. During this time of computer health crisis, I have checked my email from my work computer (shhh, don’t tell!) but Facebook is blocked at my job site. Duh.

Little did I realize how I’ve been sucked into cyber-time. Now, I do have ways to communicate with my friends; I could use the phone or another email service or (gasp) snail mail! But that FB thing is soooo convenient! I can scroll through my friends list and find out how they are, where they are and what they’re doing. I can click to send food and mammograms, farm fish to provide clean water and challenge folks to a friendly (or not) game of word find.

In the absence of FB, I have been crocheting Christmas shawls while watching television – not sending fish to other tanks. I’ve been writing addresses on Christmas cards - not posting on people's walls. I’ve been reading my back-log of magazines - not browsing my "causes." I’ve been playing with my dogs - not clicking on the "give a penny to the Humane Society." I’ve been jealous of my family members who have their own computers and don’t have to beg time from someone else!!!!!!!

Arghhh.

Happy New Year! (New church year, that is!)

2008-11-30T19:50:00.006-05:00

Today is Advent 1 in the Episcopal Church. It's the first day of the new church year, Year One for the Daily Office readings. We'll be reading the Revised Common Lectionary for Year B.

Advent is one of two penitential seasons in the church year - the other being Lent - which are precursors to the two major holidays of the church. Observing the penitential seasons heightens the anticipation and deepens the joy of the Christmas and Easter celebrations. Additionally, observing Advent can emphasize the gulf that separates the secular celebration of Christmas from the religious celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I offer you links to some religious Advent calendars. Enjoy them as you munch your bit of chocolate from a calendar you may have picked up at the store!

Episcopal Diocese of Washington Advent Calendar

Artcyclopedia Advent Calendar

Beliefnet Advent Calendar

Explore Faith Advent Calendar

Trinity Church Wall Street Advent Calendar

This last link is for a group called Advent Conspiracy which encourages us to "Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All." Check it out!

In recognition of the new church year, I annually make a resolution on Advent 1 to read scripture and a meditation each day. So, here goes! Happy New Year!

Touring

2008-11-21T06:22:00.009-05:00

Most of my traveling in the past few years has been done with groups of people... mission trips, field trips with kids, church retreats. I have rarely given myself the time to take leisurely photos. Recently, I had the luxury of a weekend away from home, including a solo tour of a major tourist location.

At the Alamo, I rented the headset tour and actually hit "pause" when I didn't want to move along! I got to walk at my own pace! Wow. And I got to sit through the whole docent lecture where I finally understood the Texas independence idea.

The morning was chilly and overcast, the crowd had not yet arrived. It really was a luxury to pause where I wanted and stay until I felt ready to move along. So, enjoy some close-up photos... my attempt at artsy. Note to self: get to know my point-and-shoot camera a little better!

Now, it wasn't all solo touring. On Saturday, my tolerant husband walked with me through the King William district and around the local missions.

It was nice to get off the beaten tourist path. There are still some things I'd like to see in San Antonio, maybe we'll get back there someday.

Years In the Making

2008-11-06T19:10:00.003-05:00

Sunday afternoon my daughters and I heard that Obama would make an election eve visit to Manassas. We locked eyes and asked, simultaneously, "wanna go?"

Monday afternoon found us on the road to the Prince William Co. fairgrounds. The normally 45 minute drive took us just over two hours to accomplish; we arrived after dark. An excited crowd made its way to the rally area. We were already too late to get very close to the stage, but we did end up getting a spot with a clear view to the speakers' podium. Barack was to arrive at 9:00. The crowd was pretty patient as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for the presidential candidate to arrive. Finally, at 10:30, after 6 rounds through the DJ's playlist, two performances by a local gospel group and speeches from several Northern Virginia candidates, the music blared and a slender man in shirt sleeves bounded onto the stage. For 40 minutes he thanked us for being there, told us stories, made us promises, and lived up to our expectations.

After Obama's speech, 100,000 people turned toward home. Getting out of the fairgrounds could have been a study in currents as we flowed across the fields, stalled out at fences, crossed the road and searched for the car. That's right, we couldn't find the car. By the time we did come across the car, gridlock kept us in the parking lot until 1:30 a.m.! When we finally drove out of the fairgrounds area, it was all green lights between Manassas and Reston. Head met pillow about 2:30 a.m. Alarm was set to be at the polls by 5 a.m.

My neighborhood has always had a great turnout for elections. This November was no exception. And, true to tradition, we went for Obama almost 3 to 1 in my precinct.

Wednesday morning was amazing. As the school staff arrived, we grinned, hugged and cried in celebration. But the most amazing interchange happened when 6 little kids came by my desk to say good morning.

"It's a great day," they said. Really? Why? "Because Obama won!" What's so cool about that? "Well, my mom was crying!" But, why is it so cool he won? At last one of them said, "Because he's black!" Yep. You know, I told them, every president before this one has been my color... now we have a president the color of my friends! Look, I said, pointing at the six of them, he's the same color as you! Now, go study! He wouldn't have won if he hadn't worked so hard in school!

I think Barack's win has been three generations in the making. Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus the year I was born. My parents guided my siblings and me through conversations without stereotypes as we watched the civil rights movement unfold in the 1960s. My parents nodded their heads when Martin Luther King expressed his dream of people being judged by their character, not the color of their skin. My generation has continued working to eliminate racial labels. My own children grew up immersed in the diverse population of Northern Virginia. I think that my daughters are part of a generation that is living into Dr. King's dream... skin color is not what they use to define the people they know.

So, thanks, Mom and Dad, for your progressive thinking during my youth. And thanks, you young folks, who raised the energy level around a junior senator from Illinois, showing the rest of us that he's got what it takes to lead this country and that it's time to judge a candidate, this candidate, by the content of his character.

I have friends who were not allowed to drink from water fountains I could have used. They wouldn't have been able to sleep in motels where my family stayed as we drove across country. They might have bought food in the same restaurant, but they would have had to eat it outside. I didn't know them when I was growing up, I've met them in the past 20 years. Because of my friendship with them, I am even more grateful to the people who have sacrificed so much for the civil rights movement. We have a huge responsibility to make sure this president gets to do the job he has promised to do. The election was just the first step. We'll have to stay fired up, ready to go.

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T07:54:00.005-04:00

May many good-natured ghoulies and ghosties find their way to your door!
May you have just a couple

left-over pieces of candy

you like.
And, may all the creepy-crawlies around your house

be plastic ones!

The Perfect Fall Day

2008-10-18T18:17:00.002-04:00

What a day! It was nippy in the morning. I left the house without a sweatshirt and knew I'd shiver a bit. I was headed to the Saturday morning farmer's market. The local gas station showed a price of $2.99! The Democrat table was hopping and had some new Obama buttons. Apples were plentiful, crisp and wonderful. One grower has the apple varieties arranged from sweet to tart - a great help to me in deciding what to buy for EfM snack today. I chose honey-crisps and Yorks. Then I stopped by the goat cheese lady's table for my weekly dish of chevre and the jelly lady's table for a jar of pepper jelly. One last stop at the kettle corn booth and I was ready to leave.

That farmer's market is a real community. Buyers greet each other and stop to chat or wave as they make the rounds. The cheese lady knows me now and told me about her email list. The apple booth kids were lamenting the lack of a crock pot to make mulled cider for the chilly morning. The kettle corn guy and I talked over the college football schedule for today and wished each other's team luck... since we're not playing each other!

I headed to the car with my purchases and nodded to the driver waiting for my parking space. I'm going to miss the market when it closes in November!

Later on today I admired the fluffy white clouds in the blue sky over the autumn-hued leaves. Tonight we have a freeze watch. We have moved the tender perenials into the house. Ahhh, the seasons are turning. It's been the perfect fall day.

A Grammy Kind of Weekend

2008-10-08T17:31:00.006-04:00

What a fabulous weekend! The granddaughters came up to visit! The occasion was the first running of the Brain Aneurysm Awareness Race in honor of Tim Susco, a classmate of Megan's. Tim would have been 27 on Saturday and it was important to Megan to participate in the event organized by Tim's family to heighten awareness of both brain aneurysm and organ donation.

Megan arrived with the girls on Friday. We enjoyed a family dinner and giving night-night kisses. Saturday morning we were six girls on the 2K walking route of the race. Hannah rode in a backpack and earned a medal for "finishing." The race was well-attended and appeared to be a success.

A primary activity for the weekend was photography. We have loads of photos taken by aunts, moms and a grandma! We even got the cameras set up to capture the elusive grandpa with all the "girls." It was fun to take little ones out to the playground again. Was it really twenty years ago that today's big girls were out there in the swings?

After a Sunday breakfast of grandpa-made pancakes, we kissed the little ones and their mom goodbye. We sure missed seeing their dad but it was great to have Grammy Time!

Sept. 25 Pray Fast Witness

2008-09-24T20:37:00.006-04:00

I live in a comfortable home with choices of food to eat each day. In fact, I have choices of food to eat many times throughout the day - every day.

When I was a child, the adults in my life encouraged me to "join the clean plate club." I was told to remember the starving children of (fill in the blank with China, India, Africa, Armenia...) if I did not want to join the club. I was not nervy enough to retort, "So, send this to them." I don't even remember imagining sending my food to someone else as an option.

In 1975, I traveled outside the U.S. for the first time. In Bogotá, Colombia, I saw little children selling Chiclets gum. Then I saw those children going home for the night. Home was a large cardboard carton, carefully folded and stashed during the day, set up on the sidewalk as shelter from the mountain air during the night. Maybe mom or dad was the adult with them, I just assumed it was. In Cali, Colombia, I came face-to-face with the starving children my family threatened me with when I didn't clean my plate. Beautiful children, with big brown eyes, thrust their hands through the fence of the outdoor restaurant wanting my left-overs. The children in Colombia have haunted my dreams for years.

The summer of 2000 was my first mission trip to the Dominican Republic. There, I have been privileged to become friends with beautiful, brown-eyed children - children who do not have the expectations of three meals per day or a decent and free education. These children do not haunt my dreams, they enrich my life with their love. They also challenge me to do more than "join the clean plate club."

The United Nations Millennium Summit, held in 2000, developed eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). World leaders from 189 countries pledged to meet the goals by 2015. This link goes to the UN site explaining the MDGs and how you can help: End Poverty

Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation has this invitation:

In solidarity with people of faith throughout the world and in response to the Anglican Communion's call, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation invites you to commit on Thursday, September 25 to:

+Pray. Say prayers with special intention for the extreme poor throughout the world.

+Fast. Skip at least one meal in solidarity with the nearly 1 billion people who go to bed hungry each night. (As possible depending on health ... consult your doctor if in doubt)

+Witness. Participate in an online advocacy action promoting our government's fulfilling its promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The motto of EGR is "What One Can Do." Will YOU be one more? The goals are clear:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Create a global partnership for development with targets for aid, trade and debt relief.

Isn't this what Christ called us to do for each other?

From Micah 6:8 we read:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

I thank God for my young Dominican friends and how they have helped me walk more humbly with my God. I believe that using the MDGs as a framework will help me do more justice in this world.

Happy Autumn!

2008-09-23T08:50:00.005-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the abundance of harvest, the crispness of the mornings, the chilly football games & marching band shows, the urge to make soup.

Here in Virginia, we are lucky enough to have a mixed hardwood forest that yields a leaf color change ranging from yellow to red with all the variations in between. One of my favorite neighborhood trees is a huge maple with almost black bark whose leaves turn a peachy orange.

For me, fall tastes like apples. Here's my recipe (copied from my mom's recipe box) for...

Apple Crisp

6 - 8 apples, peeled and sliced
(I used 4 HUGE jonagold apples)
1 c brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c butter (1 stick)

3/4 c quick cooking oats

In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter. Stir in the oatmeal. Topping should be crumbly.

Put apples in pan - I used a 10x7 inch pyrex pan.

Crumble topping over apples.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

YUM! It's fall!

Seven Years Later

2008-09-13T10:01:00.002-04:00

The flags flew at half-staff. Otherwise, the day was just another Thursday. Seven years ago, September 11 was just another beautiful fall Tuesday. A friend asked me, “Where was I when we heard?” Actually, I told him, you were standing almost where you’re standing now. My desk was on the other side of the room, we had a TV on a file cabinet in the corner. The phone rang and a friend at home with her new baby said, “Turn on the TV! A plane just hit the World Trade Center!” So we sat in the school office and watched the second plane hit the second tower. An hour later, American Airlines flight 77 hit the Pentagon and first wave of parents hit the front door of the school to take their children home.

We turned off the TV in the office. We depended on internet news to keep us informed of the events in New York City, Washington and then in a small Pennsylvania town. There were urgent conversations with teachers as normalcy turned to anxiety. “What’s happening now?,” we asked each other. Teachers kept the kids occupied but it became more and more difficult to dodge questions from students who watched their classmates leave for home. “Why is everyone leaving?”

For hours we didn’t know where the husband of a staff member was. Turns out he had been in the central courtyard of the Pentagon when the jet broke the outer walls of the building. He was unhurt, his wife sobbed with relief when he finally got a phone call through to her.

Planes stopped flying all over the country. Airports closed. Travelers would eventually rent cars to drive home from their business trips.

Parents picked up their own children and offered to take the children of their neighbors. The overwhelming sense was that people just wanted to hug their families. Some folks were headed home to watch the continuous television coverage. Others had packed the car and were heading out of the DC metro area. “We’re going west,” said one mom, “maybe to Ohio.” I got a call from the church… a service would be held at 7.

By the end of the school day, about half of our 700 students had been checked out early. We closed the office and staggered home to watch the news, to see what we’d been hearing about all day.

By 6:30, I’d seen enough. I headed up to church where I sat with people who had gathered to look at the day’s events through the lens of faith. The priest passed around a microphone and people shared their stories. The flight attendant who had switched shifts and was not on Flight 77. The father whose best friend had been in a World Trade Center office that morning. The mom whose firefighter son was going to be at the Pentagon for days, working the site of one tragedy while grieving the firefighters who died in New York.

We prayed. We sang. We sang America the Beautiful… every verse. But we cried when we sang:

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!

I still cry when we sing that verse.

In the days that followed, the skies stayed quiet except for the military jets patrolling the nation’s capital area. Children missed school because their mothers could not stand with them at the bus stop without being cursed for wearing the hijab. People returned from their westward evacuations. And everywhere, the American flag flew as a symbol of solidarity in the face of attack.

So here we are, seven years later on September 11. My husband was not stranded in New Mexico, I picked him up at the airport where the giant flag flew at half-staff.

We need to remember. We need to be proud Americans who stand for compassion and social justice, not just military power and missions "accomplished." Yes, we need to be aware of safety and security, but the lesson I hope we remember most often is the need for reaching out to each other. Let’s reach out even further as we remember to love each other as God loves all of us.

Grammy X 2

2008-09-03T17:55:00.002-04:00

Hannah's a big sister! Baby Leah was born in the wee hours of Sept. 2. As you can see from the photo, Hannah's a little confused about just what this person wants in the world. I would guess that Leah actually feels the same way! I'm looking forward to a weekend visit and my introduction to the newest member of our clan.

An Elementary School Quote

2008-08-29T17:59:00.003-04:00

Today was the open house at the local elementary school. As I told the new parents, having the kids back in the school gives us purpose.

A couple of my favorite kiddos stopped by my desk after they visited their teachers. One was dressed in girlie pink and the other was outfitted in a gold sequin vest. They were anxious to share highlights of the time we've spent apart. Clearly, they had a great summer.

My favorite quote of the day came from my sequined friend, "I've got a Hannah Montana wig, and I know how to wear it!"

Oh, yes, I've missed those young people!

Quotes

2008-08-28T18:34:00.002-04:00

I was browsing through the web ring for MDG blogging day and found this quote:

A Place For Divine Love

Show me your hands.
Do they have scars from giving?

Show me your feet.
Are they wounded in service?

Show me your heart.
Have you left a place for divine love?

—Fulton Sheen (1885-1979)

It was good for me to contemplate this message. I've been wrapped up in the Olympics, school opening tasks at work and the Democratic National Convention. I have not been spending enough time leaving a place for divine love! I need to find that quiet space in my mind and heart.

Here's another Fulton Sheen quote for pondering...

“Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall.”

I haven't thought about silence not being noiseless. That idea might just help with my meditation efforts!

For a Great Laugh...

2008-08-19T23:32:00.002-04:00

Al and Matt are great sports. Thank you, Today Show!

Approaching God

2008-08-19T22:01:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday I took my turn as chalice bearer at the church. I stood next to the priest during the eucharistic prayer and, after receiving the bread and wine myself, carried the cup of wine to the altar rail. I followed the priest around the arc of my church family, offering the chalice to each one saying, "the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation."

As I passed from person to person, I began to notice the variety of ways each one participated in the ritual of the sacrament. Some stood and some knelt. The bread was placed in open palms, raised to accept the body of Christ. Some brought their open palms to their mouths to eat the bread while others lifted the bread from one hand with the other and some held the bread, waiting for the cup I carried. As I offered the cup, some dipped the bread into the wine (intinction), some guided the chalice to their lips and drank deeply or with a sip. Some made eye contact with me, some gazed into the chalice.

We come with reverence to receive communion. And we approach God as the individuals that God created us to be. We accept the gift of Christ's body and blood and we offer our God-given gifts back to God... "all things come of Thee, o Lord; and of Thine own have we given Thee."

I am thankful that God loves me, individually, with all my quirks and failings and all my gifts.
Amen and amen.

A New Blog Link

2008-08-04T09:05:00.002-04:00

Yes, we set up a great blog for the Dominican Republic Mission Trip. Then, when the Iowa team headed out, I was thinking it would be good to rename the DR blog to a blog we could use for all of the St. Anne's short term mission trips. After realizing that the email address would be significantly different from the blog title, I've started a completely new blog - St. Anne's On the Road. Hopefully, there will be many authors, loads of photos and an all-around view of what it's like to take St. Anne's out on the road!

And Today We Remember...

2008-07-29T23:05:00.004-04:00

... Saints Mary and Martha of Bethany! Along with their brother Lazarus, these siblings were friends of Jesus and their home is mentioned several times in the Bible. I love stories of this family, they seem like such real people, people I might know today.

Of course, I usually put myself in the story as Martha of Bethany, not Mary. I grew up thinking that Mary was the good sister and that as a Martha, I needed to change so that I would be more like Mary. Now I think that there is value in both the meditative spirituality of Mary and the hospitable spirituality of Martha - I can take pride in being a Martha, instead of wishing I were a Mary.

My friend Mary and I laughed last night as we teased each other about being the Mary or Martha - the worshiper or the dishwasher. Each of us has traits that would align us with each of the sisters. The key is balance. Feeding the hungry and weary (and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards!) would be just a job without the foundation of faith that comes with taking time to sit at the feet of the Messiah and soak in the presence of the Divine.

So on that day, I guess Martha complained and maybe Mary felt guilty. I would bet that when all the dishes were washed and put away, and the guests had all gone to sleep, that the sisters mended their relationship. Mary said thanks for all Martha had done during the evening and Martha was grateful that Mary had listened so carefully to Jesus that she could fill Martha in on the latest adventures of the Saviour and the guys who traveled with him.

***Also today, NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded during the Eisenhower administration, I can't remember a time when NASA didn't exist. My growing up years are punctuated with space events. I wonder what the next 50 years will bring. Will my grandchildren watch as NASA sends a traveler to Mars? With a little luck, they'll get to see someone walk on the moon!

Blog Neglect!

2008-07-26T16:45:00.004-04:00

Oh, dear. This poor blog is just crying for some care and feeding! In the time since my last entry I've been enjoying and recovering from the annual St. Anne's Dominican Republic mission trip. It was a fantastic week that deserves more serious blogging than it will get today; stay tuned. I've also been recovering from an nasty bug that lodged in my sinuses and drained to make some icky cough attacks. Happily, the cough is going away and I find that I've been neglecting my self-imposed writing responsibilities!

I have been thinking of my blog in the past couple weeks, though. Here are some recent observations from around town lately:

The crepe myrtles are in full bloom. In shades of pink and purple, they manage to look cool in the late summer heat.

Goldfinches are hitting the purple cone flower seed heads. They whiz around in little streaks of gold and black - such elegance.

I get a chuckle out of cars that go by with the bass playing so loudly that I sometimes think the gas mileage must improve with the depth of pitch but yesterday, I had to laugh out loud when a little car full of veiled Muslim women careened around a corner. The women in the car were bouncing to the beat and carrying on an animated conversation.

A phone call with 18-month-old Hannah the other day was punctuated by a the beeps that come from a toddler pushing buttons. Here's the funny part... when she pushed the buttons, she said, "On!" Oh, natively proficient technological kids!!

The goat cheese I bought at the farmer's market today is outstanding. And the sunflowers I bought look great up at the church.

St. Anne's in the DR!

2008-07-10T19:00:00.001-04:00

Hey there! Check out the Dominican Republic trip blog. Sorry to be absent from here. See you soon.

Hello!

2008-06-19T20:36:00.004-04:00

My family and friends have long teased me about my knowing someone wherever I go. It's become quite a joke. One of my favorite encounters was on the street in the Dominican Republic. I came face-to-face with a young man who was working as a private security guard. Neither of us could break eye contact. The answer came to each of us at the same instant... he had been the bell hop at the hotel where my church group spends the last couple days of our mission trip. "Marta!" he exclaimed. "Jose!" I replied. Much laughter followed and we spent a few minutes reconnecting.

Well, last night was another of those encounters. My daughters and I went to a restaurant a few miles from home for a casual dinner before we ran some errands. As I slid into the booth, I noticed a man looking at me but I couldn't place him. About the same time I became aware of a man rounding the corner and touching my daughter on the shoulder. Startled, we looked up to discover my brother Dave, in town for a quick series of meetings. The guy staring at me was a co-worker of Dave's who I had met before and to whom Dave had said, "That's my sister and my nieces, watch this!" Ironically, the restaurant is called "Famous Dave's."

It's these kinds of events that keep me in line... you just never know who you'll run into! :-)

Phone Calls

2008-06-10T09:01:00.002-04:00

In the last week or so I've been anxious about answering the phone. It doesn't matter that I can look at the little screen (squinting, if I don't have my glasses on!) and see what number has connected with my number. Some of the anxiety is well placed, some anxiety has no basis for existence.

It probably started in February when my friend Gena and my Aunt Amy died. That news was unexpected and hard to assimilate. Since then I've had calls about a friend's cancer diagnosis, a beloved dog's final day, several car problems and some good news/bad news calls about people moving.

Balancing all this irrational fear about what people will say after "hello," are the happy calls. The call from 16-month-old Hannah who was playing with the phone and dialed Grammy. The message from my sister Kathy, calling just to say hi! The call announcing a wedding. The dreaded 11:00 at night call that woke me from my sound on-the-couch sleep which turned out to be Dominican friends singing Happy Birthday, complete with guitar!

I will keep answering my phone. I will keep hoping that it's all good news. I know that bad news will be relayed now and again. I will keep praying in the words of Julian of Norwich that "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

Courtesy of Satucket Software, here is a write-up about Julian from their Lectionary Site...

Julian of Norwich
Her book is a tender meditation on God's eternal and all-embracing love, as expressed to us in the Passion of Christ.

She describes seeing God holding a tiny thing in his hand, like a small brown nut, which seemed so fragile and insignificant that she wondered why it did not crumble before her eyes. She understood that the thing was the entire created universe, which is as nothing compared to its Creator, and she was told, "God made it, God loves it, God keeps it."

She was concerned that sometimes when we are faced wiith a difficult moral decision, it seems that no matter which way we decide, we will have acted from motives that are less then completely pure, so that neither decision is defensible. She finally wrote: "It is enough to be sure of the deed. Our courteous Lord will deign to redeem the motive."

A matter that greatly troubled her was the fate of those who through no fault of their own had never heard the Gospel. She never received a direct answer to her questions about them, except to be told that whatever God does is done in Love, and therefore "that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

Bob and Ellen Have a Blog!

2008-05-20T11:41:00.003-04:00

The St. Anne's mission trips to the Dominican Republic have been made possible in part by the hard work of Rev. and Mrs. Bob Snow, missioners to the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. I have been on their email list for a while now and look forward to their newsletters, appropriately titled "The Snow Scoop."

It seems that the Snows are now able to take advantage of technology (that means precious access to a computer and reliable electricity!) and have launched themselves a blog!!

Keep up with the adventures of Bob and Ellen as they shepherd short-term mission groups, support Episcopal schools on the island, befriend folks who live on the streets, encourage new priests, visit and publicize areas of particular need in the diocese and, most of all, embody the message of God's love and Christ's care to all they meet.

The Snow Scoop Blog is in my links list.

The Church Dog

2008-05-18T20:20:00.003-04:00

Ollie.

I'm not sure how old a dog Ollie got to be. I've known him almost nine years and he wasn't a pup when we met. Today, Trinity Sunday 2008, Ollie died, peacefully, in his home. In the next days, there will be lots of Ollie memories shared amongst the St. Anne's family. Here are some of mine:

** Nails clicking on the tiled office floor as he came out of the rector's office to say hello.
** Ears flying as he rounded the corner from his usually successful search for any communion bread "returned to the earth."
** Doggie snores during a contemplative prayer session.
** Doggie farts during a meeting. (Ya just had to laugh!)
** That great Ollie smile when he recognized you.

Ollie had something special. He wasn't the prettiest dog I every met; he was a beagle/basset guy with big paws and a comic gait. He had his warts, bumps and lumps. He had a profound sense of companionship. He was quite the gentleman.

Ollie, Church Dog, rest in peace.

How We Go 'Round and 'Round

2008-05-14T21:17:00.004-04:00

I've joined a women's fitness program offered by a local runners group each spring. Mind you, I'm in the walking category. The program meets on Mondays and we're supposed to walk, walk/run or run on our own during the week. I was trudging along yesterday when I found myself laughing at a particular circle game.

I live in a planned community where straight streets are the thoroughfares and houses are arranged on curvy streets. Near my house is a street that's actually a circle and is used as the neighborhood exercise track, that's where I was walking. On my second lap around the circle I noticed a family. Mom, dad, and toddler were walking the opposite direction from me. Mom held the boy's hand, dad pushed a stroller in case someone's short legs gave out. Then, a teenager whisked elegantly toward me. She sprinted lightly past the young family. I saw her again as we all made our way around the circle. That's when it hit me... we were three stages of life playing our circle game. The teenager, the young family and the grandma.

Laughing, I trudged more easily around the last circuit before heading for the house, the house where I had been the young mother, and from whose door a teenage runner had sprinted out to lap a grandma on the circle road.

More Church - Youth Sunday 2008

2008-05-04T19:03:00.004-04:00

Today the acolytes were very short, the lay readers stood on a platform to reach the microphone, the bulletins were handed out by more short people and the sermon was preached by two handsome young men who I remember clearly being short not too long ago! Youth Sunday had made its annual appearance.

The confirmation class is charged with writing the Prayers of the People. It takes me a long time to convince the kids that they can pray for just about anything. They keep trying to use the standard churchy words and I keep saying, "This needs to sound like YOU are talking, I want to hear YOUR voices, your concerns." It's a highlight of the annual church cycle for me.

So, for your reading pleasure...

Prayers of the People
written by
St. Anne's Confirmation Class of 2008

We pray for the Church in the world:
for our diocese, Shrine Mont and the people who help there, for Hope and Resurrection School in Sudan, for all St. Anne’s members and other church members, and for resolution of any big problems in the church.

We pray for our country and all in authority:
for our president, vice-president and the upcoming president and for all elections; for those who must make big decisions - that they make the right choices and not stupid decisions; for the troops and all people fighting for our safety.

We pray for the welfare of the world:
for conservation efforts that give us a better understanding of global warming and pollution in water like the Potomac and the Chesapeake, for an end to world hunger, AIDS, malaria and poverty and for the hope of world peace.

We pray for our local community:
especially for the animal shelter in Ashburn that’s having trouble getting money, for soup kitchens and other places that help the poor people of our community, especially the children; for the Embry Rucker Shelter and for all community members who help others.

We pray for all who suffer and for those in any trouble:
for the families of the troops, those who are homeless, those affected by the Virginia Tech shootings, for people who worry about sick friends and family members and for children in Africa.

We pray for our friends who have cancer including Amy B. and Allie, Paul and Ethan, Hailey and Emily, a musician friend and Ali C. whose cancer is in remission; and we pray for those who are disabled, sick, sad or just not feeling well and that they may feel better.

We pray for all who have died, including those who died in the Virginia Tech incident, soldiers who died in Iraq and Vietnam, Amy Schram, Alice Bond, Cecilia Gillen, Jeffrey V., Marla, David, grandparents, and people who died in the name of God; that they will all shine in Your presence and that their family members can be happy.

And we want to thank you, Lord, for birthdays and anniversaries, for a safe community, a strong future, healing, hope, graduation, the end of the school year, summer and pools opening, Relay for Life, love, and the opportunity to continue our faith journey.

Amen.

... I swear, these are their words. I took out references to specific political candidates but the rest of it is all kid. Congratulations to their parents. And, watch out world, these kids have plans! (To see last year's prayers - click.)

Off to the Weiner Dog Races!

2008-04-29T19:37:00.004-04:00

I guess it's been about two years since I started reading a blog called The Roller Skate Jams. I clicked on the blog title because it was under a heading of "Fun People" and I was trying to figure out just what jam had to do with roller skates. (Yes, it's true!) The fun person is Rene Gutel and if you look closely at her little profile picture, you'll see a girl wearing pajamas with roller skates on them... oh, duh!!!

I returned to the blog because Rene's little dachshund puppy Rigatoni had broken her leg. Oh, the pain. I don't think Rigatoni hurt nearly as much as Rene did! And, like any good soap opera, the chapters kept coming and I kept reading. Rigatoni made a full recovery, so well-recovered in fact, that Rene entered her in the Phoenix area WeinerNational Dog Race.

If you were to ask me why "weiner dogs" are burdened with raising money for the Adopt-A-Greyhound organization, I might respond that weiner dogs were born to run... but that would be the greyhounds, wouldn't it? Or, I might respond that weiner dogs are philanthropists at heart. To give Rigatoni a chance to show off both her legs and her heart in the annual event to support her long-legged cousins, you can click and scroll past Milo D, Jessie, Squirt, Izzie, Mia, Roxie, Oliver, Max, Sprocket, The Dude, Twinky and Goofy to RIGATONI wearing her #6 jersey. Click on the link to get to the donations page and remember to specify Rigatoni. You'll get an email receipt for your tax-deductible donation and the pleasure of sending Rigatoni back to the WeinerNational!

Donate soon! The top 20 fundraisers will automatically be entered in the qualifying heats. The race to donate closes May 4. The dogs will race on May 17. Let's hope Rigatoni is one of them!

Gifts That Make Your Heart Sing

2008-04-23T08:53:00.002-04:00

Here's one to get you thinking...
This is Administrative Professionals Week. (The rebellious side of me says just call it Secretary's Week!!) The office staff here at the school is being well-thanked with special food, chocolate, kid-made cards, you know the drill. But the heart song gift was a shopping bag FULL of LILACS, freshly cut, wet with dew and smelling of spring!

What about you? Has a gift made your heart sing recently?

The Best of Church

2008-04-20T21:58:00.009-04:00

I do love my church. It's got its wild and wacky moments but that just highlights the prevalent sense of family at St. Anne's. Today was family at its best.

Each fall for the past ten years I've looked at the group of kids who come into the confirmation classroom and wondered if maybe this year we should have waited until they were older to prepare them for confirmation.

Here is what the Episcopal prayerbook says about confirmation:

Q. What is Confirmation?
A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.

Q. What is required of those to be confirmed?
A. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Each year for the past ten years, as one of the class teachers, I've been proud to present the group to a bishop for their confirmation. Today was the day for the class of 2008. I felt confident in presenting a sufficiently instructed group of confirmands to their bishop. What an exceptional day this was.

Bishop Jones met with the 26 young people before their confirmation. They were uncharacteristically quiet in front of him. The bishop wanted them to remember that Jesus is the friend that will always be waiting for them and will never let them down. He challenged them to spend just ten minutes a day with Jesus. (I needed that reminder, too.) They processed into the church and were very well behaved as they sat in a group for the service. They even paid attention during the sermon... well, mostly, anyway.

The service was infused with a sense of comfort; I think the bishop felt it, too. After he laid hands on and prayed for all 26 of the youth being confirmed, the kindergarten kids trouped into the sanctuary. Father Jim greeted them as usual. Then, the bishop grabbed the loaf of communion bread from the altar and said to the little kids, "Look what I found!" Bishop Jones gave an impromptu lesson on the eucharist and invited the kids to stand in front of the altar as the communion prayers were said. One of the hymns during communion was "Wade In the Water." We clapped and sang; the bishop gave the choir a thumbs-up sign! I've always been happy to have a bishop visit us at St. Anne's. This was the first time I've felt like the bishop was more than a visitor - he was one of the family.

Bishop Jones remarked, "This is the happiest confirmation class I've ever seen. They must be well loved." Isn't that really the very best of church?

See a compantion post at Progressive Pragmatist's Blog.

Candlelight

2008-04-16T21:27:00.004-04:00

A year ago tonight we didn’t know who they were; we didn’t even know how many there were. We watched the news, called each other and waited. As bad as the news of the shooting at Virginia Tech was on the 16th, it got worse in the following days when we put names to the victims. Now we know that one man killed 32 people before he killed himself. The wounded are too numerous to count… the people with physical wounds, those who have lost family or friends, the people who love Virginia Tech. In the twelve months since there has been healing and forgiveness.

As I write this, I’m watching the candlelight vigil on the Drill Field. The only sounds are the voices reading 32 names and the crunch of gravel as 32 individual candles are being carried to, and lit from, one large candle (made of wax from last year’s candles) that has burned all day at the memorial. The light of those 32 flames is echoed across the Drill Field. It is stunning to listen to the silence.

And now, Taps is played.

A group sings this song by Eddie From Ohio:

Walk humbly, son, walk humbly, now,
and cherish every step.
For a life well spent, on this
earth we're lent, will be marked by the void you have left.

Walk humbly, son, and store your pride
When you need strength later on
For your life's worth will be judged if Earth
Is saddened when you are gone

Walk humbly, son, Walk humbly now
And forget not where you are from
May you go further than those before
And provide for those to come

Will you walk humbly, son?

And so, the program officially concluded.
Candles were held high.

Then the chant began: Let’s go… Hokies!

In the next twelve months I hope there will be more healing and more forgiveness.
Virginia Tech does prevail.

Who Is That Crazy Woman?

2008-04-09T19:20:00.006-04:00

Funny how we look to each other, isn't it? Today a dear friend of mine forwarded me some photos taken less than two years ago. I remember noticing her as a new person in our church family and thinking that I'd like to get to know her. She spent a good part of the church retreat weekend taking photos with a digital SLR. (I don't have one of those and am a bit jealous of those who do!)

I wonder what she thought of me that day. Sunday morning at Shrine Mont, after church of course, generally sees the St. Anne's family participating in the Shrine Mont Olympics. I'm not much of an athlete, but I was persuaded to be a cheerleader that morning in Nov., 2006. Some of us lounged on the sidelines while many young and young-at-heart folks ran, skipped and tossed things in an effort to win. I remember screaming for whoever was not winning at the time!

I also remember it being very cold... see how many layers we have on? And in my lap is the blanket I was crocheting for the yet-to-be-born grandbaby Hannah.

I'm sure glad my friend decided I was worth getting to know! Thanks for the smile and the memories, T!

The Lighter Side of Religion?

2008-04-02T11:10:00.008-04:00

Somewhere along the line I clicked on a Lark News story. Since then, I've read the newsletter almost every month. I skipped the last couple and have been catching up with Feb., March and April. Recently, Lark News and its creator Joel Kirkpatrick were featured in Time magazine.

As with all good satire, there are elements of truth in many of the "stories." Read about the Small Group who finally admitted they didn't like each other, or about the minister who blesses iPods. The whole page is surrounded by advertising links. Reserve your pew or parking space, get a Fast Pass for the nursery, try your luck with the beta-version Lot Caster. Order a "Jesus Loves You: But then again, He loves everybody" t-shirt. Read and laugh!

Hannah Hunts Eggs -- 'Nuf Said!

2008-03-24T08:58:00.004-04:00

Need a Smile? Here's a dinosaur!

2008-03-20T10:52:00.005-04:00

Odd title, right? Here's the story.

On our way to the car after picking up some items at Target, we noticed a purple van in the parking lot. Um, I guess it would be hard to miss this particular van. Look closely at the pictures and you'll see that it's got dinosaurs stuck to it.

Hannah thought the toys were cool and we paused to look and snap a photo. Sure enough, the owner of the van walked up as we were posing. Seems he picks up the toys at garage sales and affixes them to the van with Goop adhesive. I asked him why he started the project. The answer, "To make people smile."

I think he's met his goal... we smiled, a boy and his grandpa smiled and stopped to chat, several people shook their heads and smiled as they hurried by.

Now, YOU smile!

Tales of Two Funerals

2008-03-11T20:20:00.004-04:00

First for Gena
It's been two weeks now since Gena died. I had the honor of interacting with her family as plans were made for the viewing and funeral. I ordered flowers and planned the display for the church. I was well on my way to "getting through this." I was prepared to deal with Gena's death in a very straightforward manner. I knew it would be tough, but hey, we'd had her for many years longer than any doctor predicted. Yep, we'd get through this.

Saturday morning, March 1st, I got another call. My sweet Aunt Amy had left a baseball game on Friday evening and had a heart attack on the way to her car. She was in the hospital. Things didn't look good. There had been many minutes between when she fell and when she got professional assistance. Pray.

So, I prayed...for Amy...for Gene...for Gena...for sons and daughters...for husbands...for sisters and brothers...for friends. I can't remember if I prayed for me, I know there were others praying for me, though. Then I went out and bought some black shoes.

Sunday I went to church. Not my usual church, but a church filled with incense and pageantry, responses in Latin, squeaky old pews, stained glass windows and lots of kneeling and bowing and crossing of oneself. And I prayed some more. It was a great place for me to pull the family history of Episcopal worship around me like a comforting shawl of God's grace.

In the afternoon my cousin called, "Martha." "David," I replied. "Mama's in heaven," he said. "I know," I forced myself to say through the tears, "I'll talk to you later." "I love you," said my cousin. "I love you, too," I tried to say.

What a wonderful thing it was to construct a casket spray that evening. I know Gena would have loved it and so would Amy. Salal went in first, then some seeded eucalyptus. Beautiful peachy roses came next - more than two dozen of them. Ivory stock added more scent, pale blue delphinium added a bit of color. Last came some pussy willow, a symbol for me of transformation. Gena and Amy both had a love of gardening.

Sean's comment was that the flowers would look great for a wedding. Wedding flowers, funeral flowers, both part of celebrations of new life.

Monday was the viewing for Gena, Tuesday was the funeral. At both events there were people who I hadn't thought about in years. Kids in my mind's eye were standing before me as young men and women. Gena and her family had asked for plants instead of flowers at the funeral. Because it is Lent, none of the plants would be left in the church after the service. We passed the word... bring a plant, you'll take one home. As people came into the church with their plants, we placed them around the baptismal font. Around the living water of baptism grew a living tribute to Gena. During the service we sang, we prayed, we laughed a little and we cried. And then, when we left the church, we carried home pieces of that living display... plants that will live on and be reminders of sharing life with a gracious, tenacious woman.

Now for Amy
When I got home after Gena's funeral, I realized that I needed to go to Texas to honor Amy's life, too. I headed west on Thursday afternoon. I got in late that evening and settled into my pullout sofa bed.

Friday morning there was none of Amy's homemade bread with my breakfast coffee. The three of us in the house talked superficially during our time before the memorial service. We took our showers and dressed carefully. We asked each other if we looked ok. Then, finally, Uncle Gene picked up Aunt Amy's purse and we left for the church.

I felt awkward at the church, like people wondered why I would be crying when they'd never seen me before. I sat next to a cousin's mother-in-law who speaks only Spanish. Funny how that really helped me feel more a part of things.

Amy was very involved at her church and the sanctuary was quite full. The priest told of Amy's skill at baking. She talked about how willingly Amy told stories on herself and shared the story of Amy's accidentally sugarless pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving - we're not talking sugar substitute here, we're talking forgot-the-sugar pumpkin pie. Amy told the story so that others would know how even "the expert" made mistakes. And the priest talked about Amy's famous Christmas cookie trays, customized for each recipient. My cousins' daughters stood at Amy's bedside last Sunday and promised to continue that tradition. It was a lovely service.

After the service, there was a reception and a slide show. We left the church to go to cousin Steve's home. More food, more chatting. We watched the slide show again and again. We all started humming the song "Once In Love With Amy."

Over the course of the next two days I was able to soak in some great family time. I had time with Amy's four sons and many of their children. I had time with Uncle Gene. I consolidated flowers from the arrangements given for the funeral. I went through Aunt Amy's recipe boxes. I sat in Aunt Amy's chair.

Now, it's time to get back to the routine. But there are surely some holes. Two spectacular women are beyond my ability to touch them. But I do hear them and I do feel them and I'm so grateful to have them as part of my life.

Gena's Obituary - In Her Son's Words

2008-02-29T16:57:00.005-05:00

This obit is adapted from the Face Book site her son started during Gena's surgery last spring. It conveys the feeling that all of us have about having Gena as part of our lives.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/obituaries/246/

Reginann ‘Gena’ Rohlfs

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Died February 26, 2008

Reginann Ellen Masi Rohlfs, 59, who was known as Gena, a longtime teacher at Forest Edge Elementary School in Reston, died Feb. 26 of complications from chemotherapy.

Friends may call Monday, March 3, from 5 to 8 p.m., at Adams-Green Funeral Home in Herndon. Services are Tuesday, March 4 at 10 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston. Burial will be Wednesday, March 5 at 9 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mrs. Rohlfs was born Nov. 12, 1948, to Virginia Marie Beddow and Vincent Joseph Masi. She grew up in Yonkers, N.Y., attended Mercy College and became a teacher. Shortly after, she married H. Warren Rohlfs Jr. and began traveling the country with him, ending up in Guam, where she got her master's degree in education. She went on to become one of the most highly respected educators in Fairfax County Public Schools. In recent years she taught in the Gifted and Talented Center at Forest Edge.

Mrs. Rohlfs was an experienced SCUBA diver, supported countless organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of America, and was active in her Parish.

According to her son Quentin Rohlfs, she was a woman who saw great potential in every student and tried to inspire and support “her kids.”

“She was a leader in everything she did,” he wrote. “She always loved the theater, and it could be easily seen in the way she produced plays with her students as often as she could.

"She had been, and still remains, a role model for other cancer survivors and fighters,” Quentin added. When Mrs. Rohlfs was first diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer nearly 10 years ago, her doctors gave her six months to live.

One of her favorite quotes, Quentin said, was from Dr. Seuss: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."

Survivors also include four other children, Warren Rohlfs, Hannah Rohlfs, Rori Rohlfs and Jared Rohlfs.

Memorials may be sent to Conversations! The International Newsletter for Those Fighting Ovarian Cancer, P.O. Box 7948, Amarillo, TX 79114-7948; or St. John Neumann Church, 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191-4299.

Gena

2008-02-27T21:24:00.003-05:00

Today was a day of mourning in community. I expect that tomorrow may bring more of the same. Well, actually, we may be mourning for a while.

Last spring I wrote of a friend whose very full life was a testimony to LIVING with cancer. Yesterday, Gena moved to another life, one free of the constraints of this earthly life. And the rest of us... we began living a life without Gena. I believe that Gena is actually still with us, we just need to develop a new way of relating. It's going to take some practice.

Today's practice sessions involved learning how to confirm Gena's passing with the grief-filled voices on the other end of the phone line. My first try didn't go so well. "I'm calling to confirm something my daughter heard," he said. "Yes, she heard correctly. Mrs. Rohlfs died yesterday afternoon," I said... at least that's what I intended to say! It took three tries to complete the sentence. By the end of the day, I could do that pretty well. I could offer comfort without being the first one to cry. But, oh, cry we did. And, cry we will.

Tomorrow we'll answer more questions, share more Kleenex and tell more stories. Tonight, I need to be quiet for a while. Gotta go. I think I'm going to cry, AGAIN.

News Flash... Snow Chant Works!

2008-02-22T09:56:00.002-05:00

The talk around here yesterday was all about whether we would get to use one of the 3 "snow days" our school system builds into the calendar. We've had a couple near misses that caused messy rides home, messy rides to school or 2-hour delays in the school start time.

Yesterday at the school we tried everything to encourage bad weather from wearing "Let It Snow" t-shirts to not posting our list of substitutes in the building for Friday to turning off all our computers as if it were really Friday instead of Thursday. On the off chance that it might work THIS time, I ran off copies of the Snow Chant that I keep handy for just such occasions. Many of our students stopped by my desk for their own copy. I must say, they finally got it right!

Today I will be spending the day at home! Yipee! We've got just enough bad weather to close down the schools and not enough to spend the next 3 days shoveling! I'm going to de-clutter a couple spots in the house, bake a cake and finish reading Eat, Pray, Love! Woohoo!

Life Lesson

2008-02-21T12:29:00.002-05:00

This morning as I headed from the parking lot into the school, a cardinal was singing from the holly tree. The sun made him glow bright red, he sounded so happy.

He did not seem to notice the guy spreading sand in front of the building, nor did he seem to understand that tonight we're supposed to get snow, sleet and freezing rain.

I suppose that should be a lesson to celebrate life in the moment!

Childhood Villains

2008-02-19T21:54:00.004-05:00

I have read and listened with interest to news stories of Fidel Castro's decision to step down as leader of Cuba. He was a very present figure in my childhood. I know he was behind those drills when we had to dive under our desks.

My grandfather was a newspaper man and we had to be quiet when "Meet the Press" came on TV. He had a keen sense of politics that I did not appreciate at the time. Grandad had been in both WWI and WWII. He was quite concerned about the possibilities of WWIII. My grandmother was also well-versed in current events. My most vivid memory of how world events affected my 6-year-old self involves my grandmother.

I was fascinated at the idea of having more than one phone in the house. I would occasionally listen in on a conversation using the extension in my grandparents' bedroom. One afternoon I forgot to hang up the phone. When the reminder tone came over phone line, my grandmother thought it was the air raid siren. I don't remember how long it took her to find the source of the alarm. I do remember her anger with me and not being able to sit comfortably for a while! All Castro's fault, really!

The other political villain of my childhood was Nikita Khrushchev. He and Castro seemed always together in the news broadcasts. It's Khruschev's face that I remember from a childhood dream. I was spending the weekend at Näna's house. (She was the grandmother with the drawer full of Betsy McCall paper dolls.) In my dream, a bald man was knocking on the window above the paper doll drawer. I recognized him from the nightly news broadcast - Khruschev himself was pounding on our window.

Khruschev and the U.S.S.R. are long gone. Fidel, though, has endured. What will happen next in Cuba? I'm grateful for the example set by my grandparents of staying informed of world events.

St. Anne's New Orleans Mission Crew

2008-02-13T06:41:00.003-05:00

Eleven St. Anne's parishioners are spending this week re-building in New Orleans. I'm so jealous that I'm trying to decide why it is that I didn't seriously consider going with them! I suppose that reflection is still in the works.

Saving me from feeling entirely left out are Tim's podcasts. I'm so grateful that he is chatting with us each evening. There is even a sample photo from the day's work. Tim pulls in other team members to share their day, opening the experience to those who stayed behind. Thanks, Tim!

More Missed Photos

2008-02-10T18:48:00.001-05:00

It's great to catch moments in a camera lens. Sometimes, our own eye is the only camera available. And some things just can't be photographed anyway. Here are some examples from this week:

The power of the wind bending thick tree limbs
Three guys in Civil War uniforms waiting to cross the road
Hearing a friend's voice on a podcast (see Feb. 13 entry)
Watching the kid I thought was an introvert get fired up in a discussion
Waking up to the smell of bacon cooking
Remembering I'm avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent - before I ordered dinner!

Lent

2008-02-06T14:24:00.000-05:00

Good bye cookies
Good bye gum
Good bye fast food
Good by to some
vanilla latte and mocha mint.

Good bye Baby Jesus
Good bye Temple Boy
Good bye to the baptized Son -
Father's pride and joy.

Lent is here, am I up to the challenge
of watching the Beloved
Suffer His fate?

Hello early morning reading
and silent prayer
Hello sense of powerlessness
To the question, "If I were there..."

Would I follow Him through days that were
hot and hazy
On lakeshores and hillsides?
Would I worry and wonder and think He was crazy?

I will wonder, and I'll ponder
as I read more of the preacher
Read of the miracles, read of the teacher.

I'll cry and I'll question and I'll read of His dying.
I'll feel the pain and the sorrow,
I won't read ahead. It's Lent.

A Snow Day Would Be Nice

2008-01-31T11:34:00.000-05:00

Snow Chant
r. baumgartner

North, South, East, West
Snow's the stuff we love the best.
Bring it fast, cold and white
And PLEASE...bring a LOT...
Tonight!!!

Special Notes:
Written in 1990 by Richard Baumgartner, then a second grade teacher at Cub Run Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, this snow chant has been proven to be 100% effective at creating snow (when conditions are close to being snow-producing). Former Cub Run second graders (who are now graduates of Chantilly or Centreville High Schools) performed this chant correctly but without supervision and were largely responsible for the record-setting snows of 1995-1996.

To be performed correctly, an individual must face north at 7 p.m. and recite the chant with arms extended WEST and EAST. The chant is recited three times, between each recitation the individual slowly rotates westerly (with arms still extended) and, upon arriving at the north-facing starting position, jumps up in the air, raises a clenched fist and yells SNOW! Ocean moisture (represented by the right hand to the east), mixes with the cold of the north and west and moves in over us.

CONSEQUENCES OF IMPROPERLY PERFORMED SNOW CHANT include, but are not limited to:

1. Rain...particularly if the individual faces south when reciting
2. Light snow...caused by not enough 7 p.m. participation
3. Light snow accompanied by high winds...caused by too quick a rotation
4. Sleet...too many participants facing south at 7 p.m.
5. Clouds...not enough participants grabbed moisture from the east
6. School

Sine Die

2008-01-26T18:48:00.000-05:00

From Thursday evening to mid-day on Saturday, I have been in the company of fellow Episcopalians from the Diocese of Virginia. We were gathered for our annual Council meeting to share ideas, successes, challenges and hopes. We presented resolutions, a budget, and reports from various committees. We elected representatives to diocesan governance and to the national convention. We mixed and mingled while visiting informational displays, vendors' tables and coffee stations. We spread out through the local restaurants for lunches and dinner. We discussed issues before the Council, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

We are not all of one mind. We struggle with the questions of biblical literalism and its role in the full inclusion of all people in the church, with the treatment of undocumented people in our midst, with prioritizing budget items in a year of scant resources. But, you know, we recognized the gift of opportunity to voice our opinions face-to-face in a setting of mutual respect - an example of what it means to be Anglican.

Together we sang, together we listened, together we worshiped, together we partook of the Eucharist. And when it was over, we gathered our notes, straightened our chairs and prepared to leave to council. We were satisfied with good work and we were energized to work some more.

Our bishop banged the gavel and adjourned the 213th Annual Council - sine die - until we meet again.

si•ne di•e
Pronunciation: (sī'nē dī'ē, sin'ā-dē'ā; Lat. si'ne dē'e), without fixing a day for future action or meeting: The assembly adjourned sine die.

Grandparents

2008-01-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

In several conversations this week the topic of grandparent memories has been discussed. I'm lucky enough to remember three grandmothers, two grandfathers and one great-grandmother, so I have a rich variety of memories. Here are a few:

Grandpa Kilzer's elderberry jelly and tractor rides
Grandma Kilzer's homemade bread and chicken gravy
Grandad Vohs' hats and courtly manners
Nannie's roses, peonies and sewing
Näna's apricot jam and drawer full of McCall's paper dolls

Now, my grandparents were real people; they were patient but had their limits, they wanted the best for me and the best from me. They have inspired me in many ways.

With Hannah's birthday coming up soon, I wonder what she'll remember about me when she shares grandparent memories!

Some Things That Brightened My Day

2008-01-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

There are times when I can capture a moment with a camera, and times I can't. Here are a few things that I couldn't photograph today:

The beautiful blue-gray waves of clouds as a cold front passed to the north.

The pride on a first-grader's face as she explained, through her tears, how she was clear to the top of the climbing wall before she fell and scraped her tummy. (Oh, the miracle of band-aids and ice.)

The bouncy curls of a little sister who ran to my chair to say hello...
and the bright eyes of another little sister who still doesn't have any hair!

The orange-red glow of the late-afternoon sun on the breasts of cedar waxwings flying overhead.

For them all I say, "Thanks be to God."

How Many of "You" Are There?

2008-01-11T13:52:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
2
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

It's Friday! Here's a little something to waste your time on.

It's a Fire Drill Day!

2008-01-08T06:58:00.000-05:00

In my little part of the world, it will be 70+ degrees today, January 8!

My little part of the world includes an elementary school. We are required to have one fire drill per month, except for September when we have one fire drill per week. So, on this fine spring day in the mid-winter, we will pull that alarm and escape to the great-outdoors for about 10 minutes.

We will wish for a Gone Fishin' sign, we may run to the store for ground beef and buns, we will go for the daily walk we resolved to do, we will think of our sisters who snow shoe!

Sports, Politics and Religion

2007-12-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

OK, so here's an observation...
At today's church service there was a woman wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey. My critical self thought, "Why would anyone wear that jersey to church?" Now, there were several people in clothes w/ sports logos on them at church today - but Dallas? On the day the 'Skins really need to beat Dallas?

My next thought was that I wouldn't have questioned someone's right to wear a political pin supporting any candidate or issue. We are a welcoming parish, after all! But a Dallas jersey, now that was just poor form. :-)

***Update: Wearing the jersey didn't help her team. I should have worn my 'Skins Santa hat.
Dallas - 6
Washington - 27

In the Spirit of... It's Christmas 'til Epiphany!

2007-12-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

There are lots of reasons to display creche sets in your home. They are inspiring during the frantic moments leading up to gift opening and over-eating. I imagine the love that goes into the creation of the figurines. I appreciate the craftsmanship of nativity sets from around the world. I marvel at the sense of unity the story of Jesus' birth brings to Christians.

It's been a year since Progressive Pragmatist posted a link to the Cavalcade of Bad Nativities, opening my eyes to the true breadth of nativity artistry. Now, for your post-Christmas pleasure, check out the newest installment: Cavalcade of Bad Nativities II.

There's a "B-Side"???

2007-12-23T19:42:00.001-05:00

Long, long ago, one of my Christmas gifts was a really cool little record player. I remember having records that were yellow and one that was even clear red! I'm not sure what songs or stories were on the records, but I know I listened a lot. Unlike today's CDs which have one side... the bottom! ... those old records had two sides - the one everyone wanted and the one the recording company hoped you'd want after they gave it to you!

These days, I listen to B-Side Radio, a podcast that currently features Rene Gutel (see the Roller Skate Jams link) telling the story of buying her husband John's Christmas gift - luckily it's not a gift of the Magi story, but it's got a great ending. Life on the flip side sounds really good!

How Big Is Hannah? Sooo Big!

2007-12-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

She crawls, she stands, she has teeth (if you look closely)! No, she doesn't read... yet!

We are all looking forward to Hannah's first Christmas. Her mom bought a play pen to keep the tree safe. Her aunts are delighted with their gift for Hannah. Grammy knows that the paper and boxes will be the most fun of all.

Update On Eme's Bathroom Project

2007-12-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

In October I wrote about Eme's Peace Corps project. When I checked the donations web site today, I was thrilled to see that she's down to $641.23 still needed to finance her project! Yippee!

****Update... Eme now needs $389!!

Dede Mirabal

2007-12-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

This news item caught my eye today...

Last Mirabal Injured In Fatal Crash (from the DR1 website)
"Belgica de la Cruz Mirabal (Dede), the last surviving Mirabal sister, and mother of former Vice-President Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, has been injured in a crash that left one person dead and another injured. The accident occurred on the highway between Nagua and Cabrera. Fernandez Mirabal was driving a vehicle that hit a small motorcycle driven by Justo Cruz Guarionel Paredes, 46. Motorcycle passenger Noelia Norberto Ramos, 22, was killed as a result of the crash. According to the national press, Dede Mirabal suffered a broken wrist and other injuries, which, at her age, 83, can be considered serious. News reports say that the accident occurred when the moto driver abruptly turned to retain a fallen baseball cap, not noticing a vehicle was behind him."

I have traveled to the Dominican Republic several times over the past eight years. One of the most profound experiences of my visits - indeed, of my life - has been the opportunity to meet and spend time with Dede Mirabal. We were lucky enough to sit with her and chat on fine summer afternoon in Ojo de Agua. Her sisters, known as "The Butterfly Sisters," were part of the movement to oust the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. Their story is chronicled in Julia Alvarez' novel In the Time of the Butterflies. Trujillo gave the order to assassinate the sisters and thus gave energy to the groups who brought about the overthrow and assassination of Trujillo himself. In many parts of the world, Nov. 25, anniversary of the day the sisters were killed in 1960, is known as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Salcedo, the province in which they lived in the Dominican Republic has been re-named this year to Hermanas Mirabal Province.

Please pray for Dede. She has an amazing sense of peace and grace about her. May God lay His healing hand upon her, today and each day.

Read Julia Alvarez' In The Time of the Butterflies and
Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat.

Happy 10 Months, Hannah!

2007-11-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

Ten months ago today, Miss Hannah made her world debut. Today, she's got two teeth, pulls herself up to a stand, has put speed in her crawl and hasn't learned to open the cabinets. What fun it is to have her in the family!

Black Friday

2007-11-23T11:30:00.000-05:00

I really do like gifts. I like shopping for my family and friends. I like to unwrap surprises.
Many of us have plenty of "stuff." Here are some of my favorite organizations who could really use some gifts this year:

Flood Victim Relief in the Dominican Republic (Episcopal Relief and Development)
Bathrooms in Bolivia (Eme's Peace Corps project)
Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic (I volunteer here)
Reston Interfaith (Yup, I live in an economically diverse community)
Heifer International (Who wouldn't want a llama???)

***Update: I just received an email from Eme. Her project is in danger of being canceled. When you flush your toilet, please think of Eme's community who has no toilets.

Oh, Those Cafeteria Ladies!

2007-11-15T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today I gained a new appreciation for the ladies of the school kitchen. The annual Thanksgiving meal was served today. Usually there are PTA volunteers assisting on the serving line. This year, we were a few volunteers short. Enter... the office ladies!

Apron and plastic gloves. No hair net! Scoop the green beans into the upper left section. Plop the mashed potatoes into the lower left section. Pass the tray to the stuffing and turkey server. Try not to drag the lever for the scoop through the potatoes - guess they don't make left-handed scoops. Step aside while the new tray of green beans goes into the warmer. Oops, how did that mashed potato end up over there?

Hi, kids! Yep, it's me. I know I'm the office lady, today I'm a cafeteria lady, too! Grab some cranberry sauce and a carton of frozen pumpkin yogurt. Remember your little wooden spoon. Forgot your money? Everybody who wants turkey gets turkey today. Bring your money tomorrow.

The kitchen staff is such a good team. They keep an eye on each other as they scoop and serve. They maneuver big trays of hot food in tight quarters. They know which kids are vegetarian and which kids can't have milk. It's amazing how they serve more than 750 kids in less than two hours!

Today, I stand in admiration of the cafeteria kitchen ladies.

Not EVEN Advent!

2007-11-11T14:04:00.001-05:00

Here it is mid-November and I'm already thinking about stock-piling some favorite Christmas treats. I know that when I really want a Candy Cane Joe-Joe to celebrate Epiphany, there won't be a single box left at my local Trader Joe's.

Similarly, I know that when I want one last gingerbread latte while shopping the post-Christmas sales, my local Starbucks will be out of gingerbread flavoring syrup!

So, I ask you, does one succumb to the marketing trends and start drinking eggnog before it's time to bake the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie? If I eat all the fruitcake I want now (YES, I do like fruitcake!), will I be in a better frame of mind to observe Advent?

Calendar Girls!

2007-11-05T18:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I asked a friend what she'd been doing over the summer. She told me she's been teaching herself to use PhotoShop in order to complete a project her mother-in-law had asked her to help with - a calendar.

Lon Wagner of The Virginian-Pilot wrote this article about the ladies of Westminster-Canterbury retirement community in Hampton Roads. What fun! You go, girls!

Costumes and Candies

2007-10-31T18:42:00.001-04:00

It's 6:45 and we've had one set of kids stop by the house to grab a Snickers bar or Pixie Stix from the candy basket. There will be more... wait, here they come now!

OK, I'm back... My daughters got very creative this year. If you're of a certain age you remember the year "Operation" was the game you really wanted for Christmas. Here is the costume version. (She even had a buzzer in her pocket.) If she wins the contest this evening her blue-clad sister is claiming a creative consultant's fee.

I hope your Halloween is full of giggling visitors dressed as princesses, Supermen, Harry Potter, Jack Sparrow and cowgirls! And I hope you have a Reese's peanut butter cup left for yourself when the evening is over.

A Football Question

2007-10-26T17:11:00.000-04:00

How do you quiet more than 66,000 orange-poncho-clad football fans after 58 minutes of screaming their hearts and lungs out?

Watch a replay of the last 2 minutes of the Boston College/Virginia Tech game for the answer.

BC 14 VT 10

Really good game.
Bummer of an ending.

The Importance of Tea

2007-10-25T23:04:00.001-04:00

I just finished the book Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time. It was recommended to me by Progressive Pragmatist. What an inspiring read. I'm not a fast reader and I'm easily distracted so I've been reading this book for a while. I shouldn't be surprised that lots of people I know have been reading it, it is a bestseller after all!

While I was reading Greg Mortenson's story of his commitment to building schools in Pakistan, I got news of the death of Mike Robinson. Mike's son is a good friend of my daughter and I know the family through our high school band activities. Mike loved the Himalayas and died of high altitude pulmonary edema in Ladakh, India, where he had planned to celebrate his retirement from FEMA by hiking up there next to Earth's ceiling. He had read Three Cups of Tea before his trip. His wife Kathi gave copies of the book to people at Mike's memorial service. The Central Asia Institute is one of the organizations suggested for donations to honor Mike.
(The photo was taken at St. Anne's after the service.)

Greg Mortenson's belief is that education is the way to stop terrorism. And the way to provide education is to empower the people of remote communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan to build their own schools. The book is full of stories about overcoming incredible difficulties to get those schools built. The difficulties are not overcome by throwing money at a situation, although that does help! The most powerful tool in the process seems to be building a relationship before building a school. And the best way to build a relationship may just be to share some tea.

I like to think that St. Anne's mission trips are built on that spirit of relationship. I'll be thinking about how I can incorporate some of Greg Mortenson's ideas into my life. Get the book! If you order through here, Amazon donates money to the Central Asia Institute.

What Do You Believe?

2007-10-23T20:32:00.001-04:00

So, I took this quiz...

Eucharistic theology
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Calvin

You are John Calvin. You seek to be faithful to Scripture,
and to harmonize difficult sayings. You believe that in the Lord's Supper those who have faith are united to Christ, who is present spiritually, yet in a real way.

Calvin

100%

Orthodox

94%

Luther

69%

Catholic

50%

Unitarian

31%

Zwingli

19%

I'll have to look up all these to figure out why I scored the way I did! Wanna try it?
Eucharistic theology
created with QuizFarm.com

Kitchens and Bathrooms

2007-10-19T17:28:00.000-04:00

One of my friends is currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia. Eme has been working in a remote village. The pictures show a kitchen project - think about your whole kitchen being a smoker and note the new chimney! Now, think about that same house with NO bathroom! It's like that in the whole village. Eme is going to change that.

Not long ago, I received an email from Eme titled, "Exciting News!" Now, I've known Peace Corps volunteers who have gotten engaged while "in country" or who have adopted babies before they came home. But, no, this was not that kind of news! It was all about bathrooms!

Here's the email:
"The greatest news of all for me within the last bit of time was that my bathroom project proposal was reviewed and approved by Peace Corps Bolivia. This means that it will be sent to PC Washington DC to be reviewed and posted on the internet.
"What does all this mean exactly? Glad you asked! Once Washington Peace Corps has posted my project online whoever wishes to donate can do just that. My proposal is to construct 28 family bathrooms, one at each family's house. What Washington posted on the Peace Corps website is my project, its description, and what I'm asking for: US$5,000 (for materials). The librarian in the Peace Corps Bolivia office contacted me to let me know that donations are now being accepted.
"Being fully truthful to all of you on my list I was going to ask you all to help me achieve the amount. That's to say, and I have thought of this, that if each one of the 100+ on my list were to donate $50 my goal would be reached. When have you been able to construct a bathroom for $50? This will give a family the opportunity for privacy that we all take advantage of every time we use a bathroom, even when it's super gross. Whether you donate or not I will continue to send you these wonderful mass emails with or without great stories of cows and the such. But if you find a different/better project while on the Peace Corps website PLEASE donate. Volunteers truly believe in their projects and their communities. I’ll be sending an email out to you all when I know my projects been posted. Thanks ahead of time for your support!!! By the way, someone already donated $1500!!!! I’m super PUMPED!!! And on such a high right now!"

So, I clicked here.

Today I got this in the mail:
"On behalf of the Peace Corps, it is my pleasure to thank you for your contribution of $XXX to the Peace Corps Partnership Program. Your contribution has been directed to the Family Bathrooms project in Bolivia.

"Since 1964, the Partnership Program has been successful in fostering self-sufficiency in countries around the world due to the concern and participation of people such as you. Your contribution will provide the assistance necessary to improve the lives of individuals and families in these communities and support their efforts in achieving sustained change."

Yahoo! I have a bathroom in Bolivia! Maybe I'll give it to my parents for Christmas! Would your family like a bathroom, too?

More Decisions... Informed?

2007-10-14T18:49:00.000-04:00

I am an Episcopalian. I will remain an Episcopalian despite the arguments in my denomination and the Anglican Communion to which we Episcopalians currently belong. This link will take you to a very well written statement by Bishop Alan Wilson of Buckingham, England. He talks about why he is going to the Lambeth Conference. This era of disagreement saddens me. How can we work so hard to be Christians and then refuse to see the Christ in each other?

Informed Decisions

2007-10-12T11:56:00.000-04:00

Do you have trouble sorting out the currently declared candidates?
This tool may help! I was somewhat surprised at my favored candidate... John Edwards. Who is yours?

Jury Duty

2007-10-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

I got the questionnaire sometime this past summer, so when I got a letter from the court, I wasn't really surprised. Jury duty - call the message line the night before to confirm which groups need to report. I called, yep, gotta show up.

The jury pool is told to report by 8:15 a.m. Check-in is the scanning of the bar code on the letter. We validated our parking receipts and waited for the 9:00 orientation video. We waited with novels, textbooks, laptops, crosswords, Sudoku. We watched the video, we were called to a courtroom upstairs.

While we waited outside the courtroom, some people walked by talking loudly. Turns out they were talking about the case we were to hear. So, back we went to the jury holding area. After being reassigned to a different case, we went back upstairs to the courtrooms. By this time it was 11:00.

Anyone familiar with Law and Order knows that weeding the jury down to the proper number is the next step. Voir dire is the term for questioning the jury. Questions had to do with issues like personal connections to law enforcement officials or people with alcohol problems. I was among the 12 people actually seated on the jury. The remainder of the jury pool left the courtroom and the lawyers began to present their information. The defendant was represented by a public defender, the state was represented by a single prosecutor.

Throughout the remainder of Tuesday, the jury listened, went back to the deliberation room while the lawyers spoke with the judge about various motions, had lunch, listened a little more, waited in the deliberation room for another hour and eventually was told to return Wednesday morning for closing statements and deliberation. Wednesday's activities started at 10:15 with the closing statements, instructions to the jury and the election of a foreman. Then... the power went out at the courthouse! After another hour of waiting, we were told to return on Thursday morning.

My last day of jury duty was the most difficult. Not only were we to decide guilty or not, we were to decide the penalty. The twelve of us actually worked very well together. There was a mutual sense of respect in that windowless room. And, there was an overwhelming sense of respect for the judicial system. We did find the defendant guilty. The penalty phase was a bit more difficult. I was amazed that as much as we all wanted to get back to our "normal" lives, we all wanted to carefully consider our decision and were willing to take the amount of time we needed to reach a unanimous decision. Not one person left that room unchanged by the experience of sending a person to prison for a year.

I really don't want to be on a jury again. But neither will I avoid serving if I'm called. I sure hope any other jury I serve on will be as good a working group as this one was.

Have You Missed Me?

2007-10-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

Seems like a long time since I've put up a post! Since we last "spoke," I've been on jury duty and gone to Disney World. I hadn't thought of my life as boring but I sure have nothing to complain about for a looooong time!

So, check this space... I'll share some stories soon.

Yup, Circle Game!

2007-09-26T22:18:00.001-04:00

Not quite 26 years ago, I flew from Puerto Rico to Virginia and introduced an almost crawling baby to the guy you see here. That's my brother Dave. He was a senior in high school at the time. We watched that baby revel in her new-found ability to rock on hands and knees. We called it "revving up!"

At the time, I remembered watching my brother "revving up" his toy cars when he was a little kid. It was a poignant moment, realizing that the boy had grown to a young man who was enjoying the sight of my first-born on the brink of self-locomotion.

The other day, my brother flew to Virginia from Arizona. I watched while my first-born introduced her first-born to her Uncle Dave. Together, the mom, grandma and great-uncle watched daughter, granddaughter and great-niece "revving up."

"Remember?" I asked. "Yup," he replied. Oh, we laughed! Hear the circle, that carousel of time?

I Love My Church

2007-09-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

Today was our first day back on the fall schedule. That meant the 9:00 service was in full swing. Sunday school for 5th graders and younger happens during the first part of the service and the families reunite for the eucharist.

Today was about as much fun as a church full of people who appreciate children can have. In one service we had:

a baptism - really cute little guy
about a million kids parade in from Sunday school
the kid who cried loudly because his brother hit him - NOT because it hurt
the kid who picked his nose the whole time he was up front talking to the priest
the kid who pounded on the window of the "cry room" when all the other kids were loose in the sanctuary - you could almost hear the shout of LET ME OUT!
the little girl who danced ballet all the way down the aisle to communion
the kids who "read" the service out of the hymnal until they decided all the black dots meant it was the singing book, not the reading book

This morning's service was testament to the fact that we love our kids. They bring an energy and innocence to our worship. Thank God.

Remembering

2007-09-11T18:39:00.000-04:00

This morning I put on my flag pin and headed out the door to work. I sat at a traffic light and pondered the license plate in front of me: 940AM.

Suppose they really like that radio station?

No, it was on the Fight Terrorism plate.
I remembered all day.

School's In!

2007-09-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

It was the Friday before school starts - open house day. Families come to find classrooms and meet teachers. Once in a while they stop by the office.

This family lives next door to me. Aren't they cute?

My church leases space to a day care center. The center has a tight budget and could not replace the aging van they use to transport kids to the local schools.

Our outreach committee voted to give the center a substantial grant toward a new bus.
Here it comes now!

On Friday, the director of the center drove kids to school in the new bus. She said she was tempted to drive it past all the other day care centers in town and HONK just to show it off.

As the bus pulls away, here's the message.
What a pleasure to be part of this gift!

What I Like About September

2007-09-01T17:26:00.000-04:00

Peaches, apples, tomatoes and corn available on the same day at the farmers market

College football

Boxes and boxes of new crayons

Little kids wearing backpacks that are longer than their backs

School shoes

College football

Lunch boxes with cool features like nifty containers and blue ice pockets

Cool nights, warm days

Thinking about wearing sweaters again but not needing them yet

Did I mention college football?

Dahlias, zinnias and sunflowers

High school marching bands

Kids dressed in new back-to-school outfits that will feel better when the temperature is 20 degrees cooler - "But, Mom! It's my new school outfit, I don't care if it's made of wool and the high will be 80 today!"

How about you?

What's In A Name?

2007-08-25T20:31:00.000-04:00

My name is Martha. I've always taken the story of Martha-in-the-kitchen-while-Mary-enjoys-Jesus-time personally. I do like having a biblical name, and I do like the reminder to look for the Mary moments of my life and fully participate in them.

My "Mary moments" this week were times with my children. The reminders to cherish such moments were strong. Megan was in town to attend a viewing for a high school classmate who died of a brain aneurysm. Auntie Erin postponed her return to college to that she could see her sister and niece. Auntie Clare and I also got some good Hannah time.

Thursday evening, in the course of some volunteer work, I saw Esperanza for the first time in several weeks. She left town quickly to be with her son who was suffering from kidney failure. Her son died within hours of her arrival. I told Esperanza that I was sorry for her loss. We cried together. We'll probably cry together the next time I see her, too.

As I was driving home, knowing that Megan and Hannah were at my house, I remembered that the word "esperanza" means "hope." I think that Esperanza will have a hard time living into her name for a while. I felt a little guilty leaving the grieving mother to be with a joyful little 7-month-old. Esperanza will be in my prayers; I will pray for hope.

Photo is Auntie Clare with Hannah. 8.23.2007

Yellow? Not Pink?

2007-08-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

I got a call today about church flowers. I've been doing a lot of wedding flowers lately and had thought to make a fun arrangement for church on Sunday including some summer farmers market bounty. But that won't happen.

The caller said that Angelique has died. Now, I don't know Angelique personally. I do know several members of her extended family. She was an elderly lady, frail enough in body that she hadn't been to a church service for quite some time. Her spirit was strong, though, and she had communion brought to her home. I know that she was the recipient of a beautiful pink prayer shawl.

That would be why I questioned my caller when she said Angelique's daughter had requested YELLOW roses.

"Really, not pink?" I asked. "No," said my caller, "Her daughter said Angelique loved pink clothes but yellow was her favorite flower color." So, we'll have yellow roses and white gladiolus. And on Monday, we'll lay to rest a matriarch.

Friends, when you wonder about flowers for my funeral (some day far in the future!), tell the church ladies to make the arrangements big and bright. When it's all over, though, just leave a couple blooms wherever you leave my remains... take the rest of the flowers home and enjoy them! And when you wander through the farmers market in the summer, remember how blessed we are that God's creation includes zinnias, lisianthus, sunflowers and lilies. Take home a fistful of flowers and think of me.

I am no country, I am every country

2007-08-18T11:59:00.000-04:00

This is just too funny. Thanks, Progressive Pragmatist.

You're the United Nations!

Most people think you're ineffective, but you are trying to
completely save the world from itself, so there's always going to be a long
way to go. You're always the one trying to get friends to talk to each
other, enemies to talk to each other, anyone who can to just talk instead of
beating each other about the head and torso. Sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn't, and you get very schizophrenic as a result. But your heart
is in the right place, and sometimes also in New York.

Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

Beach Litter

2007-08-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

This story just tickles me.

Can you imagine being at the beach and having your kids wake you up from your book-induced nap to say they found an 8-foot Lego man?????

Oh, sweet mysteries of life. Was he on his way to see his buds Big Foot and Yeti? Or maybe he's being recruited by the Transformers?

Wanna create your own Lego person? Try this!

Endeavor - And Away She Goes!

2007-08-08T22:41:00.000-04:00

This evening, twenty-two and a half years melted away as I watched the space shuttle Endeavor lift off. All those years ago, I watched, with my oldest daughter, as the space shuttle Challenger lifted off. Megan was just four years old. We had talked about the teacher astronaut for several days. And then, suddenly, the teacher astronaut was gone.

Tonight, another teacher astronaut rode the shuttle from its launch pad. Tomorrow we'll see her in news stories and begin to follow her adventures aboard the Endeavor and the space station. Christa McAuliffe's back-up and partner-in-training has finally done what we had hoped would happen all those years ago. There's a teacher in space!

Here's a snippet of NASA's Preflight Interview with Barbara Morgan:

...That was a long time ago, Barbara, but as you head into these final months of training for your flight now some of the same things about training were ... are ... are occurring that occurred before 51L. Do you think of those days very much? Do you think of the training days back in 1985 leading up to January of ’86 in a fond way? Are the memories still strong after all this time?

You know, it hasn’t been a long time. It was just yesterday. It still feels like just yesterday. As we go through training now, those memories still are there with me. For example, when we go flying in the T-38s (and we do that every week), it’s a wonderful, wonderful experience and it’s a great part of training as we fly those aircraft. I always remember the very first flight I had with Mike Smith and how he showed me what it’s like to do barrel rolls and how to fly lazy eights and how to fly in formation with another plane and how, at that time, I knew absolutely nothing about flying. And I’ll never forget after Mike showed me a few of these things and he said, “OK, Barb, it’s your turn, push the stick.” You can fly the jet from either the front cockpit or the rear cockpit. And, I said, “Which way?” And, he said, “Any way you want. It’s your plane. Take it.” And I was shocked by that, and flew some barrel rolls and, you know, realized that Mike had just opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me. Those were opportunities that have carried into today, as we learn as crewmates to fly and communicate with each other and to communicate with our air traffic control and to do everything that we need to do both in the T-38s and in spaceflight. Read the rest here.

Barbara Morgan's flying tonight! I'm so glad. And, I appreciate her efforts to share her opportunities with the rest of us.

Harry Potter - Does He Live Or Die???

2007-08-06T19:57:00.000-04:00

I know the answer!!!!!! But I won't tell.
I finished the book today at about 1 a.m. It was a great read. I marvel again at the craftsmanship of J.K. Rowling. I mourn the end of the series and the passing of some of my favorite characters. I wonder where I put my old mug - the one with Hedwig and Platform 9 3/4.

Officially Tagged

2007-08-04T08:24:00.000-04:00

rene said...You are now officially tagged. In order to play the game, you must now post 5 things about yourself and then tag 5 other people to do the same. :)

So, here you go, Rene.

1. I love peach pound cake and peach jam. (I'll make some today! Maybe I'll post the pound cake recipe.)

2. My favorite meal ever involves fresh rainbow trout, cornmeal, bacon grease and a wood stove. All that would happen in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Colorado - maybe we'd use a propane camp stove these days.

3. I'm a slow reader who accumulates good books I still haven't read. That's why I have a new list of books I want to read on the sidebar. I'm hoping that will encourage me! (Though I am more than halfway through the new HP book... that's self defense as I know someone will tell me how it turns out.) Maybe I'm not that slow a reader, just easily distracted!!!! That crochet project needs some time...

4. MMMMMmmmm, good coffee! (Same reaction for good chocolate.) I learned to drink coffee during visits to Colombia. Then I lived in Puerto Rico for several years. Really dark coffee, with milk, no sugar.

5. I'd really like to learn a new language - either sign or Arabic, can't decide.

Now, as to the tagging 5 more, watch out.
Martha