Warmin' Up for St. Paddy's Day

This bit o' Irish Trivia especially for Cathy who loves piggies:

A pig, allowed to live in Irish farmhouses in olden days, was once known as "the gentleman that pays the rent."

(And now...  Ahem! No name calling, children!  My advertising this bit o' trivia does not give you license to use the information maliciously...)

Some of our Favorite Irish Recipes:

Guinness Stew

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef chuck steak, boneless and well trimmed, cut into 1 inch cubes (you can substitute mutton if you prefer)

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 cup quartered mushrooms

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

Pinch of crushed thyme

Pinch (or two) of crushed cayenne

Pinch of black pepper

1 cup Guinness beer

1 cup beef stock

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Bay leaf

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped potatoes

Chopped parsley for garnish

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

This is How You Put It All Together:

Heat the oil in a wide skillet or saute pan that has a tight fitting cover until hot


Add the beef and brown well, stirring occasionally to brown all sides.
Add the onion and garlic; cook until onion is slightly browned.

Combine the flour, thyme, black pepper and cayenne in a bowl and then add to the beef, stirring to make a roux


Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the roux is slightly browned (careful not to burn)


Stir in the Guinness and beef stock and bring to a boil, stirring until the sauce thickens and any lumps are cooked out


Add the carrots and potatoes, cover the skillet and place in a 325 degree F oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

Colcannon (Recipe link found below)

Simple Bread Pudding

(We double this)

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (or 2 cups half & half)

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark, depending on taste preference)

3 eggs

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Sweetened Condensed Milk (optional)

This is How You Put It All Together:

1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.


3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.


4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.


5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm. Drizzle with Sweetened Condensed Milk if you have a sweet tooth.

And, now, a Wee Bit O' Blarney Quiz:

1. What does "Erin go bragh" mean? (For extra credit: What language is it?)



2. What is the alternative title of the song "Danny Boy"?


3. What are the colors of the flag of Ireland?

4.  What were the shapes of the marshmallow pieces in the original Lucky Charms cereal? (For extra credit: What does the leprechaun say as a sales pitch for the cereal?)


5.  In the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," what can you hear in the lilt of Irish laughter?


6. Notre Dame derives from what language? (Aw... Too easy for us Catholics, huh?)


7. What is the name of the Irish priest depicted by Spencer Tracy in the 1938 classic movie "Boys Town"? (For extra credit: What is the Boys Town motto?)


8.Before baking Irish soda bread, why is a cross traditionally slashed in the top of the loaf?


9. What is the minimum number of years that Irish whiskey is aged?


10. What is the popular Irish dish composed from mashed potatoes, cabbage, minced onion, and butter?
11.  In Irish folklore, what is the traditional profession of a leprechaun?

12.  In the song "I'm Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover," what does the fourth leaf represent?


13.  In early television commercials for Irish Spring soap, a woman expresses her approval of the product by saying what phrase?


14. What is a 'shillelagh'?


15. What is the historical root definition of the word "whiskey"?



16. What type of meat goes into a traditional Irish stew?


17. What were the years of the Irish potato famine?



18. What is the title of the final novel by Irish writer James Joyce which is known for its experimental language and free associations?



19. Where would you start looking for Irish moss?


20. The Irish are said to be quite the drinkers.  How many pups are there in Ireland per capita? a. One per every hundred? b. One per every 350?  c.  One per every 749? d.  One per every 1423?



Scroll


Down


For


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Answers:


1. Ireland forever. (Extra credit answer: Gaelic.)
2. Londonderry Air. The lyrics were written by an English lawyer named Fred Weatherly to a traditional tune.
3. Green representing Roman Catholics, orange representing Protestants and white in between representing living together in peace.
4. Hearts, moons, stars and clovers. Shapes added to later versions of the cereal included horseshoes, pots of gold, rainbows and red balloons. (Extra credit answer: "They're always after 'me Lucky Charms." Or, "They're magically delicious.")
5. You can hear the angels sing. The lyrics are: "When Irish eyes are smiling, sure 'tis like the morn in spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, all the world seems bright and gay. And when Irish eyes are smiling, sure they steal your heart away."
6. French. Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French.
7. Father Flanagan. (Extra credit answer: "There is no such thing as a bad boy.")
8. To scare away the devil.
9. Four. The usual distilling age is 7 to 8 years. Premium Irish whiskies are aged many more years.
10. Colcannon (Recipe here! Yumm!)
11. A cobbler or shoemaker.
12. Somebody I adore. The lyrics are: "I'm looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before. One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain, third is the roses that grow in the lane. No need explaining, the one remaining is somebody I adore. I'm looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before."
13. "Manly, yes, but I like it too."
14.  A big walking stick.
15. Water of life. It is a shortened version of the Irish word uisgebeatha. Uisge means water and beatha means life.
17. 1845-1849
16. Lamb or mutton chops.
18. Finnegans Wake.
19. In the water. It is a seaweed found along the west coast of Ireland. Also called carrageen, it is used as a thickener in puddings, soups, ice creams, cosmetics and medicines.
20.  b. One for every 350 people!

How'd you do?

Another Great Forward

And a quick chance to get something off of my chest.  

As you may know, ours is a military family. Dan's never been military, but I'm the proud daughter of a career Navy man, Dan's Dad was Air Force, my Mom's family was Coast Guard,  and our son is a United States Marine.  And we are so proud of our Marine -- but there are a lot of people out there these days who take issue with the US military's role in the world today.  There are a lot of people, in fact, who have a problem with anything directed from within the 68.3 square miles that contain our nation's capital (A mentality particularly easy to understand these days...).  There are liberals who just hate the military.  There are good Christian people who do not believe our foreign wars are moral wars.  And all these people with their varied opinons have subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways of letting you know their reservations, God bless 'em.

=sigh=

Whatever. 

I'm still a proud  to be a military daughter and a military mom.

But, I have to say it, folks... And I hope you don't mind if I just spew here for a minute. It literally makes me queasy  when I see the pained expressions rise on the faces of well-meaning friends and acquaintances when the subject of our Marine Corps son comes up.  Yes, I know they don't mean to be hurtful with their concern and I know they do try to keep their disapproval to themselves (usually), and I know it's only because they care about and love Paul and his Marine wife, Nicole, like we do that they worry for him.  But, jeezlouise, get a grip, people.  Do I  really need to explain and hand-hold and justify about this all the time?  Seriously.  I need to preserve my mother-energy for other things.

Do this, if you can, when the subject comes up: Tell me you wish my Marine the best, tell me you'll pray for him, but save the melodrama.

Could Paul be deployed and hurt or killed in his chosen profession?  Don't I know it?  Of course he could.  It's a difficult fact, but one that all military families have to come to terms with.  But, let's be real, he could also be killed driving to Walmart.  Look at the relativity here: 464 Coloradans were killed in traffic accidents in 2009 (and that was a good year) while fewer than 150 Americans died in Iraq.  And I don't know, maybe I'm a little crazy or just old-school, but I really do believe it's  honorable to die fighting for something you believe in. Even, or maybe especially, when your neighbor doesn't believe in your cause.   Regardless, it just seems  there's more sense in it than being killed because some dummy runs a red light.

Do I fear for my son, though, being so far away, outside my physical realm of influence -- outside an afternoon's drive for a long weekend hanging out together?  Of course I do!  I'd be an unnatural mother if I didn't fear for him in a strange and scary place, if I didn't worry for his safety and comfort, if I didn't want him tucked safely under my wing.  It scares me to death if I think too hard about it.  But, what mother doesn't have those fears anyway when their children move away from home?    It's a scary world out there.  Period.  No matter where our children are.

But, in the potential of a war zone, yes, I worry more than most for my boy's physical safety.  Those worries, and fears, though, are buried under the pride I have in my son.  Paul graduated at the top of his class, a man of extraordinary talent and leadership skills; he could have chosen to parlay his talent and skills in a lucrative business career after graduation from college -- and I expect the day is still coming when he'll blaze a trail in the business world.  But, he chose the path of service to follow first.  Whether you love the United States or not, whether you love the miliary or not, you have to understand a mother's pride in her son's integrity in a nonselfish choice.   And it's just those kinds of choices my Marine has made that comfort me on a deeper level than my worry for his physical safety.

You see, though he rocks on many levels, I'm most proud because my son is a good man.  I have every reason to believe he preserves his soul in a state of grace at all times.  He proudly wears the brown scapular.  He prays the rosary. He never misses Mass.  He is the MC of choice at high Masses for certain priest friends of ours.  He is a good and loving son, the perfect, affectionate big brother, and a stellar husband to his new wife.  What more could parents want of a child?  Should it be God's choice to take this amazing man early in his life -- here crossing the street or fighting in Iraq -- we would miss him forever, our hearts would long for him, our lives would never be the same --  but I would be at peace for him.  I wouldn't worry.

We would be sad, but it wouldn't be a tragedy.  A tragedy would be a son who wasted his life, who didn't strive for the best in all things.  So, seriously, please pass the word.  Never feel sorry for the parents of military kids.   We're proud of our strong, high-minded children.  Don't pity the men and women of our military or cluck your tongues in worry.  They know exactly what they're getting into and they know exactly who and what they're fighting for, even when the recipients of their gift are clueless.  And save your disapproval for the people you read about in newspaper blotters. The men and women of our armed forces are our best and brightest -- if for no other reason than because they dare to risk.  In a world of indecision, irresponsibility, and weakness, this strength of character is rare.  Beautiful.  And needed.

OK....  Stepping down off my plastic laundry detergent bucket now.... 

On with our reglarly scheduled programming:

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.


Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.


'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan


After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...


As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'


His friend agreed.


I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill.. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.


'This is your thanks..'


After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane,
heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.


Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at  the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.


Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.


When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!


Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base.. It will be about time for a
sandwich... God Bless You.'


Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.


As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

So, do you have about ten minutes...

...to be really grossed out?

By our son, Kevin?

Who was on the radio this morning...

Maybe you can dust your computer or something while you listen, because you have to listen to the end to hear him.  He was the grand finale call this morning on the subject of...

Bizarre Foods

Check it out HERE! 
This should take you to the radio station's archive page.  Once there, click on "What Bizarre Foods Have You Eaten?"  I think you can drag forward to the end, if you want to try that.

"Quick" Takes

 First Quick Take: Looking at the Sky on Friday, bright and early 

Such a gentle sunrise this morning.  The meadowlarks were just waking up as I went out to take a look.  See the little crescent moon?   These two beautiful things made me think of this thing of beauty: 

Praise be to thee, my Lord, with all thy creatures,

Especially to my worshipful brother sun,

The which lights up the day, and through him dost thou brightness give;

And beautiful is he and radiant with splendor great;

Of thee, most High, signification gives.

Praised be my Lord, for sister moon and for the stars,

In heaven thou hast formed them clear and precious and fair.

Praised be my Lord for brother wind

And for the air and clouds and fair and every kind of weather,

By the which thou givest to thy creatures nourishment.

~ St. Francis of Assissi

Exerpt Canticle of the Sun

Second:  It was 6 am when I went out to look at the sunrise.  Don't ask me why I was up that early.  It's not at all normal for me to be out of bed before 7 or 8 these days; I stay up late reading most nights and sleep in while Dan is up doing his reading.  Anyway, maybe since it was somewhat of a novelty, my first thought on looking out was to take a picture.  My next thought was to get a cuppa tea. (Yes, for a minute there, I was thinking coffee, but only for a minute...) Below are some shots of our tea set up for Lent, right next to the coffee pot. We get a little Lenten reminder of what we're missing when we pour our tea, you see. Makes it more penitential.  (ugh.)

We just read a lovely little story in Coffee With Nonna that was appropriate for our Lenten coffee draught, though.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but on mornings when our school day is going well, the children and I take a little "coffee break" at about 10:00.  We have a little snack and a little coffee (except when it's Lent) and read a chapter with Vinzee and Nonna before we get back to work.  Vince Iezzi's gentle re-telling of his childhood memories is always full of little lessons, but yesterday's story seemed almost like a little gift -- a little grace -- of inspiration and consolation for me.  The story was called "Him and Tea."  How's that for apt?

The stories all take place during WWII, a time when Nonna's family had to contend with food rationing, and in this little story, Nonna is out of ration stamps for coffee, so she and little Vinzee have to drink tea -- just like we were drinking tea yesterday instead of coffee (though for a different reason).  Vinzee is a sweet, thoughtful little guy (about six or seven years old) and he has lots of questions for his grandmother, whom he calls "Nonna."  As we were all drinking tea together yesterday, the children and me, Nonna and Vinzee, Nonna tries to explain to her grandson (and us) how saints become holy.  She tells Vinzee:

"Saints and holy people are people just like us.  They are just a little bit more aware of God.  In your life and in my life, in fact in everyone's life, there is a thirsting for God.  This is our job -- to thirst for Him -- and some people have a bigger thirst than others.  So they know, love and serve God in different and stronger and bigger ways.  These people are saints and there are many of them...  These people learn how to listen and to hear God's voice telling them what to do.  They do not demand, stomp their feet, or challenge God like some people... 

"They listened to God's voice and His letters and learned what they had to do."

"Oh, Nonna, God doesn't write letters," (Vincee) said scornfully...

"Oh, yes He does!"  Nonna said with great conviction.  "He is always sending us letters.  The problem is few of us open these letters or bother to notice they are there."

She noticed (Vincee's) shocked expression.

"The letters and notes from God come to us in many different ways.  Mary got what she was to do from an angel, and Francis from a wooden cross, Joseph from a dream, and Moses from a burning bush.  Sometimes we get his messages even from a small word or a slight nudge from a friend or maybe a whisper from a family member, maybe a Nonna..."

(Poking my head in here: See how this story speaks to me?  Being a basically literary person, I've always thought of God's messages as Nonna describes them, as little notes.  I'm always begging Him for postcards.) 

Vincee also wanted to know how the saints knew what to do to please God.  Nonna answered:

"Well, I think I have to answer your question with two answers.  A saint always knew that they were pleasing God by the stillness they had inside.  There is a certain peace that only is God's peace that makes all of us know we are near Him, and He is happy with us.  People smarter than I am say that when we feel this peace it means that God is resting in us.  I often think about what these smart people said.  Can you imagine that, Vinzee?  God, with all the things He has to do, comes and rests in you.  We become His place of rest, away from all the questions, all the needs, all the problems that He hears all day and all night.  He gets rest inside you."

(Me again: *sniff.  Don't you love that?  The truth of it, and the way Nonna explained it.  And, this sweet lesson comes on the tail of our study in Catechism of Sanctifying Grace. Perfect.)  Nonna goes on, though:

"The other way saints know that they are doing what God wants them to do comes from satan.  You see, every time we get close to God, Satan comes along and tries to destroy or detour us away from what we are doing.  The devil puts things and thoughts in our way and we begin to have doubts, or fears.  He distracts us.  Have you noticed that every time you pray, your mind wanders away to other things, and it becomes hard to pray?  Or when you try to do something good, everything goes wrong?  Well, all these things are the devil's doing.  He knows that when you pray you are talking to God and he doesn't want you to get too close to God."

Then, in this same story, Nonna goes on to teach  Vinzee about the influence and beauty of the saints in our lives, using stories from the life of St. Francis of Assissi as illustrations.  How can you beat that?  St. Francis is my beloved Confirmation saint. I can't help but feel peace and stillness, just by thinking about him.

  "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace..."

 And, right now, reminders in perserverance and lessons on God's loving care and the examples of His emmisaries, His saints, are balm to my heart.  These are hard and uncertain times for us; we have many unanswered questions, but yesterday, reading with the children, as Nonna says in the last paragraph of the story, I "got (my) answers the way God wanted (me) to get them -- without coffee -- with just Him and tea."

Third:  Here's what our morning tea time looks like...

The red kettle doesn't have a name like her predecessor (the late lamented Mrs. Hoity Toity), but the teapot is lovingly known as "Betty."  Brown Betty if you want to be formal.   As you see, we are, of course, drinking Irish Breakfast Tea these days.

"What's that purple thing back there behind the teapot?" you ask...

It's an "in-lieu-of" tea cozy -- actually a hat I crocheted for one of the girls, but which works very well for keeping Betty cozy and our tea hot.

Fourth:  Anyone who knows my kitchen, might have noticed that my coffee pot is on a different counter. (Notice that, kids-far-away?)  This is because our kitchen has been getting a make-over.  Paul was here a couple of weeks ago and helped us get some long-overdue projects underway.  He helped us out with much of the precision carpentry, and Dan, being home these days, has had  time to finish up lots of little odds and ends.  Last week, Dan, with help from Gabey, of course,  put new laminate flooring in our kitchen.   We've also been able to finish up some structural changes that have been on a back burner, things that have required more time than money.  Because the boys knocked a big hole in the wall and built an arch between our kitchen and dining room a couple years ago (below), we had no need of the original, tiny doorway on the opposite side of the kitchen. 

So that old doorway is now sheet-rocked over, textured and painted. And, joy of joy,  Paul and Dan added me some storage: a new cabinet (where I now store all our coffee, tea, and cocoa paraphernalia).

They added shelves on the far right (where the door used to be) to match the shelving over the stove.  But here's the part I love: as soon as we can manage it, Dan's going to get a longer piece of white countertop to replace the current one.  It will stretch all the way over to the wall where Cathy and William are standing (below) and serve as a little work-space, with a stool tucked under.  It'll be awesome to have more counter space.  I can't wait!

Fifth:  The Second Project Tackled has been the bathroom.  Our bathroom is the only room in the house that didn't have all the original character pulled out in the '70s.  (Dang it, anyway!  If wishes were dollars...)  This little bathroom was originally the back porch or mudroom of the house, ironically, where the builder's family hung their coats coming in the back door, and likely where kitchen things were stored, since it opened off the original kitchen in the first decade of the twentieth century. It's got its original wainscoting and cove ceilings, but, since it's had doors covered over and walls built and removed, all the trim work ended up mismatched and wonky.  Paul, bless him, fixed most of that, fitting new trim into the odd corners of the few pieces of original trim that is no longer made.  He did a great job, especially when you realize how tricky it was!  Yay, Paul! 

And, then I painted. 

 Four words do not do that job justice, though, I tell ya.  Painting wainscoting is the pits, especially when you have weird curves and grooves to get, too.  Just painting the radiator took me half an afternoon!  It looks nice now, though I still have a few cracks to spackle, etc.  The pics make the paint look yellow, but that's just because of the low light (I should have used a flash...).  It's really all painted a creamy off-white, like in the second picture.

Sixth:  Dan and I had the honor of picking up our parish priest (whom we think is the absolute, total greatest thing since sliced bread) at the airport Saturday morning, and Kevvy came over to babysit.  While he was here, he got all the kiddos outside and played Cops-n-Robbers and Hide-n-Seek with them.  Then he shaved his head.  High entertainment.  A good time was had by all!

He's ruined it for all the other babysitters out there. 

Who could possibly top that?

Seventh:  And last but not least.  We found out this morning that Dan is, indeed, being "let go" from his job.  The circumstances are wacko and confusing, so I won't try to explain.  Suffice it to say that the corruption, waste, and stupidity you see in our nation's government is everywhere -- and in the public school systems in spades. 

And don't try to fix it from within or you'll get fired. 

Dan's lawyer (and incidentally, the public school's lawyer who is on Dan's side, praise God!) is trying to get him a good severance package and a guarantee that his name will in no way be tarnished by the whole incident.  We're praying that we'll be able to get Dan in another good position soon and that his contacts are not going to be wary because of the weirdness and confusion going on in his school district.  And, we're going to make another go at selling the farm and moving our base of operations back to the Western Slope.  Deus Vult, regardless.  Please, if you can spare a minute, and if you've gotten this far after this long (as usual) "Quick" Takes...  Please pray for us to know God's Will and to do it.  Smiling.

More Quick Takes at Jennifer's place!

Working Wednesday

This is the little boys' "office."

I know it is, because they told me so.  I had an inkling that's what was going on, though, when I looked over the kitchen counter at lunchtime yesterday and saw the dictionary and the pencil sharpener monster and the little paint can "chairs." But what really tipped me off was the pencils behind the ears.

What do they do in their office, you ask?  I wondered, too.

Gabe: We do letters and buy things.

William:  And we eat.

What things do they buy?

William:  Food and cookies.

Gabe: No, we buy stores and houses and offices.  They cost about eight hundred and forty-eight dollars.  And sometimes more.  Like eight thousand dollars.

That's a lot of money!

Gabe: Yes, it is.  And sometimes we don't have enough, so we have to make some money.

Well, then, how do you make money for this business?

Gabe: With this pencil.

A lot like they do it in Washington, I'm thinking...  Five-year-old economics.

Taking Time...

Makes My Monday

(Thank-you, Dan and God, for pretty daughters and pretty flowers!)

Go see Cheryle for more.

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

Words of the Dumb Ox

+ All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.

+ Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.

+ Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.

+ Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.

+ Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church
 
+ How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.


+ It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.


+ It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.
 

+ Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.

+ Not everything that is more difficult is more meritorious.

 

+ Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine.

+ The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.


+ The things that we love tell us what we are.
 

+ To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin.

+ There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.

+ Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.

+ To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.

Happy Name Day, William Thomas and all other Thomases out there!

Got your cuppa coffee or tea in hand?

This is a long read for a weekend morning  -- but it's full of important things to ponder in our times.  I'm especially thinking about the last word of advice...  Read on to see what I mean. 
(This is from an e-mail forward --H/T Dave and Caroline)

Advice from an Israeli Agent

Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie ' Munich ' was based. He was Golda Meir's bodyguard, and she appointed him to track down and bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games.

In a lecture in New York City he shared information that EVERY American needs to know -- but that our government has not yet shared with us.

He predicted the London subway bombing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox News stating publicly that it would happen within a week. At the time, O'Reilly laughed, and mocked him saying that in a week he wanted him back on the show. Unfortunately, within a week the terrorist attack had occurred.

Juval Aviv gave intelligence (via what he had gathered in Israel and the Middle East ) to the Bush Administration about 9/11, a month before it occurred His report specifically said they would use planes as bombs and target high profile buildings and monuments. Congress has since hired him as a security consultant.

Now for his future predictions. He predicts the next terrorist attack on the U.S. will occur within the next few months.

Forget hijacking airplanes, because he says terrorists will NEVER try and hijack a plane again as they know the people onboard will never go down quietly again. Aviv believes our airport security is a joke -- that we have been reactionary, rather than proactive in developing strategies that are truly effective.

For example:

1) Our airport technology is outdated. We look for metal, and the new explosives are made of plastic.

2) He talked about how some idiot tried to light his shoe on fire. Because of that, now everyone has to take off their shoes. A group of idiots tried to bring aboard liquid explosives. Now we can't bring liquids on board. He says he's waiting for some suicidal maniac to pour liquid explosive on his underwear; at which point, security will have us all traveling naked!

Every strategy we have is reactionary.

3) We only focus on security when people are heading to the gates.

Aviv says that if a terrorist attack targets airports in the future, they will target busy times on the front end of the airport when/where people are checking in. It would be easy for someone to take two suitcases of explosives, walk up to a busy check-in line, ask a person next to them to watch their bags for a minute while they run to the restroom or get a drink, and then detonate the bags BEFORE security even gets involved. In Israel , security checks bags BEFORE people can even ENTER the airport.

Aviv says the next terrorist attack here in America is imminent and will involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers in places where large groups of people congregate. (i.e., Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos, big cities (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc.) and that it will also include shopping malls, subways in rush hour, train stations, etc., as well as, rural America this time. The interlands ( Wyoming , Montana , etc.)

The attack will be characterized by simultaneous detonations around the country (terrorists like big impact), involving at least 5-8 cities, including rural areas.

Aviv says terrorists won't need to use suicide bombers in many of the larger cities, because at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, they can simply valet park a car loaded with explosives and walk away.

Aviv says all of the above is well known in intelligence circles, but that our U.S. Government does not want to 'alarm American citizens' with the facts. The world is quickly going to become 'a different place', and issues like 'global warming' and political correctness will become totally irrelevant.

On an encouraging note, he says that Americans don't have to be concerned about being nuked. Aviv says the terrorists who want to destroy America will not use sophisticated weapons. They like to use suicide as a front-line approach. It's cheap, it's easy, it's effective; and they have an infinite abundance of young militants more than willing to 'meet their destiny'.

He also says the next level of terrorists, over which America should be most concerned, will not be coming from abroad. But will be, instead, 'homegrown', having attended and been educated in our own schools and universities right here in the U.S.

He says to look for 'students' who frequently travel back and forth to the Middle East . These young terrorists will be most dangerous because they will know our language and will fully understand the habits of Americans; but that we Americans won't know/understand a thing about them.

Aviv says that, as a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about the terrorist threats we will inevitably face. America still has only a handful of Arabic and Farsi speaking people in our intelligence network, and Aviv says it is critical that we change that fact SOON.

So, what can America do to protect itself? >From an intelligence perspective, Aviv says the U.S. needs to stop relying on satellites and technology for intelligence. We need to, instead, follow Israel 's, Ireland 's and England 's hands-on examples of human intelligence, both from an infiltration perspective as well as to pay attention to, and trust 'aware' citizens to help. We need to engage and educate ourselves as citizens; however, our U. S. government continues to treat us, its citizens,'like babies'. Our government thinks we 'can't handle the truth' and are concerned that we'll panic if we understand the realities of terrorism. Aviv says this is a deadly mistake.

Aviv recently created/executed a security test for our Congress, by placing an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major cities. The results? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to check it out. In fact, in Chicago , someone tried to steal the briefcase!

In comparison, Aviv says that citizens of Israel are so well 'trained' that an unattended bag or package would be reported in seconds by citizen(s) who know to publicly shout, 'Unattended Bag!' The area would be quickly & calmly cleared by the citizens themselves.

Unfortunately, America hasn't been yet 'hurt enough' by terrorism for their government to fully understand the need to educate its citizens or for the government to understand that it's their citizens who are, inevitably, the best first-line of defense against terrorism.

Aviv also was concerned about the high number of children here in America who were in preschool and kindergarten after 9/11, who were 'lost' without parents being able to pick them up, and about our schools that had no plan in place to best care for the students until parents could get there. (In New York City , this was days, in some cases!)

He stresses the importance of having a plan, that's agreed upon within your family, of how to respond in the event of a terrorist emergency. He urges parents to contact their children's schools and demand that the schools too, develop plans of actions, just as they do in Israel .

Does your family know what to do if you can't contact one another by phone? Where would you gather in an emergency? He says we should all have a plan that is easy enough for even our youngest children to remember and follow.

Aviv says that the U. S. government has in force a plan, that in the event of another terrorist attack, EVERYONE's ability to use cell phones, blackberries, etc., will immediately be cut-off, as this is the preferred communication source used by terrorists and is often the way that their bombs are detonated.

How will you communicate with your loved ones in the event you cannot speak to each other? You need to have a plan.

I'm thinking. Most but not all of my family still has land lines, and I'm hoping those would be harder to disable in turbulent times.  But if you had neither cell phones nore land lines, what would you do?  I'm thinking of pricing out short-wave radios.  Might be time to get a couple of us licensed.  Any thoughts?

Hidden Behind This Sign...

...is a motorcycle cop with a speed gun. 

I'm not kidding.

This is along the main thoroughfare in Grand Junction, Colorado, where the cops have a great sense of humor.  Just as we passed this semi-sneaky guy, we pulled up behind another motorcycle cop at a stoplight.  He had a bumpersticker on the back of his bike that said: Smile! I could be behind you.

Sooo....

I'm back.  And it's lovely to be home. I was met at the door with seven big hugs and a clean house.  And a painted kitchen ceiling and a half finished kitchen floor and a new roof!  Check this out:

The House

The Barn

(After thirteen years of light pinkish-tan shingles, the house and the barn look to all of us like they've up and gotten toupees to cover their aging pates...)

I'll post some pics of the finished house projects soon.  But,first here are some of my trip.  It was wonderful.  The weather was perfect and the mission practical, since I went to get Nicole's old car and fetch it back for Kevin to use -- just in time, too, since his old Saab's alternator went out just last week.  But I also got to see my awesome naturopath over on the Western Slope (she says I'll probably live...) and I got to go out with the St. Joseph's Sisters, which was such a great time -- fun and edifying.  Sisters are totally the most delightful conversationalists on the planet.  And, I also had the great pleasure of visiting with Paul and Nicole in their home.  Here they are.  Such cuties!

And here are some shots of the scenery on the way over the mountains:

From the top of Grand Mesa (above and below).

At an elk ranch outside of Cedaredge, Colorado:

This old Presbyterian Church in Orchard City looks like it belongs in Britain somewhere, doesn't it?

The following shots are from along I-70 between Grand Junction and Denver:

(The Colorado River, above)

And, here is Kevvy with his "new" old car.  He's very happy to have working wheels!

And now I'd better get off this computer before Dan literally pushes me off the seat.  He says he loved having this thing all to himself while I was gone.  Sheesh! We love having Daddy home, even though he hogs the computer, though, really. 

No news as of yet, by the way, on the job front.  But I'll let you know if anything wild or wonderful happens.  Still praying for a happy resolution, regardless -- and using this at-home time to tackle house projects.  Not a bad deal.  We take advantange of Dan's being here to get up and say the family rosary together every morning, too -- and this morning was nice enough to get outside for a rosary walk!  Now, that is a good thing.  It's all actually pretty good, you know, all things considered.