Treacherous Brook

When I tried to post my blog from yesterday, the whole thing crashed.  So, apparently my new year's resolution was detained by technical difficulties!  Ah, such is life. I refuse to be deterred.  At this age I no longer try and convince  myself that anything of value in this world is 'easy'.  It is not.  But we learn so much about who we really are in the challenges. We enjoyed a wonderful holiday with several get-together's with friends and family.  But, truthfully, I am so ready to get back to: My wellness eating plan The day-to-day 'business' of living Planning for the year ahead I think my 'let's get on with it' mentality is healthy.  It gets me past the days that make I want to just throw it all in and start over.   My prayer this year is for balance and wisdom in all things--spiritual, personal, political, financial.  I believe we will see monumental political changes this year and we will witness a country waki...

I've decided to blog every day on something that strikes me.  Yesterday was New Years' Day, 2014, and what struck me was: How quiet the house is after the kids have all gone back home The comfort of being at an age when you do not feel compelled to 'do something' for New Years Eve What a fresh start can do for all of us as we chart a new and better course How grateful I am for the lessons learned in 2013 Peace and prosperity to all! Let the new year begin!

            W e tried.  Our cat....the one I have dubbed "Cat'...is indispensable and obviously knows it.  Our son found "Cat' outside his apartment a few years back and called to see if we could give her a home.  He named her 'Sheba'--but I've never quite settled into that name, so for me she remains - 'Cat'. I'm going to admit right up front that I am not an 'animal lover,' but when our children were still home we had our share of pets....several dogs (one at a time, thank you) and cats who mostly lived outside, and we have enjoyed them all.  We even still enjoy watching the cows that belong to our neighbor that occasionally graze in our back field.  They make for a very pastoral setting here. Since we have said field, we have field mice.  One summer, we took a trip to Chicago for the July 4th holiday for about four days.  Our family cat had met an untimely death just weeks before we left. ...

A few thoughts on Lent for 2013.... I need a good Lent....      Because I have an awareness of how undisciplined my life can sometimes be.  I'd like to blame my distractability on my ADD, but in truth it is mostly due to the honed chaos I've developed in my life.  I dread nothing more than being bored--a sad commentary on my generation.  As a result:  I tend to leave everything not quite finished; have too many magazines stacked waiting for me to pick up, read and pass along; untold numbers of 'projects' I plan to craft in my basement--someday; and some wonderful books on a faith that I have, by being a confirmed Catholic, an obligation to read and learn to enrich my soul that get started but never quite finished.  All that aside, at any given moment, the God of the universe is ready and willing to converse with us -- how can we ever be 'bored'? I need a good Lent.....      Not just for what the season requires; ...

(c) Emily Rose Studios I was warned.   My mom used to complain how "time flies" the older she got.  In my youthful mind, with three little ones under my feet, I scoffed.  Silly me.  Today, January 4, 2013, would have been her 82nd birthday.  I guess that has gotten me to thinking of all she wisely told me. Funny how all of these memories come back regularly to remind me how much I didn't understand back then.  Back when I thought we had all the answers.  Every time I think I have things figured out....something totally new will come along and reshape my thoughts and views. Yesterday, I noticed that I had forgotten to change the wall calendar in the kitchen.  I love the large type that fit in my frame.  I had purchased one early this year and walked to the desk drawer to get it.  Turns out, I had purchased early  last  year!  Oops.  Really?  Last year?  Hope it's not too late to find one that ...

One of my very first posts was written a little over the first year of Barack Obama's presidency.  All felt so gloomy.  At the end of that post I used the phrase '...and it was night'.  As it turned out, that really was the beginning of a very personal, close to home kind of nightmare.  My husband has a small contracting business and seemingly overnight, work had vanished.  We had two years of the most hellish time financially in our 35 year marriage.  My 'day job' as the Director of a non-profit paid just enough to keep us in groceries.  We regularly sought God's intervention and prayed that if it was not His will that this crisis be resolved, He would give us the courage and strength to see it through.  Most of all we prayed for and received, peace in this storm.  Provision came.  It came in ways unimaginable to us back then.   Some friends of our from our parish suddenly decided they needed some work done at their home. ...

I have a love/hate relationship....with Facebook®. While I am prone to keep up to speed by anyone's standard, it seems that they change the format often enough to confuse me just when I think I'm getting the hang of it. Admittedly, I have always been a sort of 'geek'. I like technical things and am curious enough to try and figure out how to use new gadgets as they come up -- within reason. Now, I am not one who needs the latest and greatest right now, but I do like to keep up with my now adult children, long-time friends and various nieces and nephews and their families from day to day. It is one of the benefits of this particular site. Information is another benefit. Of late, there has been an interesting dynamic of widespread opinion and passing of information on the HHS guidelines and its assault on all religious institutions--especially Catholic institutions. It was first through this site that I learned much about how our own Bishop understands the issue ...