This Blog Is Like A Walnut…

…you have to crack it open to find the fruit.

I am sorely distracted lately, and unable to focus.  I’m spending way too much time on trivial things and not enough on the lessons – although this was not intended to be solely about lessons, they were to be an integral part.  Like everything else, I guess, the candy is better than the veggies – like, taking pictures of snow.  Well, partly the photo posts were an exercise in learning more about WordPress, which I love.

I’ll be finishing up Adam and Eve in the near future – only about 2, maybe three installments to go, tops.  Then I will need to decide if I want to do another review.

I need to beef up CCD A LOT.  I need to do more book reviews, and do them better.  And I really, really, need to get the laundry caught up.

I have loads of good examples to follow; I beg of you to remember our youth – we are still but a toddler.

Over and out.

My Daughter, The Brown Belt [minor update]

UPDATE:  I was just thinking about how somber this child looks.  The photo was taken last night after her test and advancement and I just want to say this – until you see testing for upper belt advancement in martial arts, you haven’t seen self-induced stress.  I’ve only watched black-belt advancement once, and I don’t know that I could do it again.  I’ll sure never test for it myself!

Incidentally, the black stripe in the belt means that she can teach the art.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My kids study Isshinryu karate (and I dabble in it).  Tonight, my 14 year old tested for and received her 3rd degree brown belt.  She’s pretty young to have gotten so far…2 more brown degrees to go, and then it’s black belt time.

Pretty cool, eh?  Well, as with previous photos of my kids, ya better look quick, because this ain’t gonna be here forever!

Ki Aiii!!!!!!!

New Link – Creative Minority Report

I’ve discovered a new blog that I need to watch for awhile – I can’t vouch for it yet so I’ve listed it under the heading  – “Investigating.”

I would like you to click on it and read the story about the now infamous Dominican – and I use the term loosely – Sister,  Donna Quinn, the notorious ‘escort’ at an abortion clinic.

The audacity of comparing the Blessed Mother’s Assent with today’s euphemistic ‘choice’ is sacrilege.  I am utterly speechless.

Over and appalled.

CMITH – update

Forgot one; now added.  There are still only 95.

But here’s the truth of the thing – while I’m the one who likes to listen to the stuff, it’s my ball and chain that actually buys it for me.

And I don’t even have to ask.

Over and out.

It’s pretty cold this morning…

…as in -20.

My kids are trying to build me an ice rink – isn’t that sweet?  I love to ice skate.

Over and out.

CMITH -[UPDATED]

And there are not 200…

Okay, it’s official. I LOVE WORDPRESS!

For the past couple of days I’ve seen snow falling on the log-in page.  Just now I learned how to make it ’snow’ on the blog header.  The ’snow’ will begin to fall in the header, then make it’s way down to the photos below.  If you enlarge the photos the snow will stop, so then you can see the real stuff.

How cool is that?  Waaayyy cool, that’s how.

I love snow.  I was born in the winter – it’s in my blood, not that I am cold-blooded, hehheh.

Here are some pictures of our first snow day this year – October 28.  It’s not as easy trying to capture falling snow with a camera as one might think; but with a little help from WordPress, it’s even actively snowing in the photos!  How cool is that?  Waaayyy cool!

Nice back yard, eh?

Over and out.

Christmas Music In The House

Look up top and you’ll see a new page.  It’s called CMITH, or Christmas Music In The House.  Please note that this page has caused WIWA to be shoved under the ‘Search’ bar, but it’s still accessible.  It’s okay – I’m not worrying much these days.  There’s no point.

The first 40 are there, and now I’m tired of making this list.

More to come!

Over and out.

Advent Wreaths and Stuff

We used to have a beautiful, real Advent wreath in our parish each year.  There was a special brace attached to a spot on the ceiling from which hung the huge ring of greenery, signifying the eternal life that Christ gained for us, and candles.  I don’t know why the parish stopped using it; no one asked my opinion.

The ‘fake’ one we have now is passable.  The ladies do a nice job making sure it’s all fluffed out and ribboned up, and the three purple and one pink candle are there, so I guess that’s the important thing.

It just feels like a shortcut, to me.  But lets talk about the candles for a minute.  The three purple candles represent the liturgical color of the Advent season; the purple stands for repentance and anticipation, and it is also the color of royalty – fitting for the coming of our King.

The third Sunday of Advent sees the lighting of the pink, or rose-colored candle;  this is Gaudete Sunday, which means “rejoice” – the Lord is very near.  Two weeks of Advent down, two weeks to go.

I’ve already discussed elsewhere on this blog about how Advent gets over-shadowed by Christmas, and not the birth, either.  The trees go up, the lights go up on the roof; presents are bought and the retailers are hoping for a lucrative ‘Black Friday,’ the biggest money-making day of the year.  And don’t forget, Santa is waiting at the mall.

Methinks that Christmas could easily come and go with no mention at all of the Savior of the world being born.

WP (see Readers Guide) said on the 2nd Sunday of Advent, as well as the first, that the candle light signifies the ever-growing intensity of light that is representative of The Light of The World, and His coming.  He said that if it were pitch black in the church we could more clearly see the ever-growing light as the birth of Christ nears.

The Light of the world = Love.  Love, sent to us out of love for us, sent to us to die for love of us.

Unconditional, unequivocal love – the one thing we all want and need most.  It is coming – if only we would take the time to “see the Light.”

My fixation with Christmas music in no way detracts from the solemnity of the Advent season.  Just the opposite, in fact.  When I listen to Christmas music, I wonder constantly how the Blessed Mother must have felt in her ‘condition’, having been there several times myself, and at just this time of year, too.  I wonder how Joseph felt when he couldn’t find so simple a thing as a place for he and his wife to rest.  I wonder how he felt when the realization came to him that the child of his wife, the child of God, was going to be born in a stable.

Personally, and I mean no disrespect, I don’t think Mary really cared where the child would be born – as long as it hurried up.  Like I said, been there, done that.

So, with all that in mind, I think I’ll make a list of all the Christmas music in the house.  It will be a shamefully long.

Over and out.

Italy? Hhmm… (and no, this isn’t political)

While on a flight from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City on Friday morning, I read the seat-back copy of Northwest Airlines Sky magazine.  There was a great little article in there about out-of-the-way places to go in Italy; it was quite compelling.  I thought it would be great to see Venice- before it sinks into oblivion-  and there were several other places where I found it easy to imagine losing one’s self in the narrow streets with a lover, stopping for a glass (or bottle) of wine or two; seeing all the romantic sights.  Yes, it was compelling.

After reading a book this summer called The Monster of Florence, I was pretty sure I’d never want to visit Italy, except maybe to go to Vatican City someday…but I’ll admit that I had all but changed my mind when I put the magazine back.

Then, I got home and heard that the courts in Perugia found Amanda Knox, an American college student, guilty of murdering her roommate.

Now, I had not even heard about this story before, and likely would never have, had it not been featured in the post-script of that book.  I found myself following the story and the trial. I was not particularly enamored with Miss Knox; I think her moral code left a lot to be desired,  but I don’t think she murdered her roommate.  The evidence was circumstantial and spurious – but the prosecutor, he apparently had a lot to lose.

I think I knew she would be found guilty even as I hoped she wouldn’t be.  It’s hard to imagine a court system so skewed, so unlike our own here in this great country of ours; here, where you are innocent until proven guilty, in a judicial system that really works.

I don’t know what the appeals process there consists of; I did read that Miss Knox will be appealing the decision.  If she is truly innocent, I hope she prevails.  She is very young; by the time she serves her 25 years she will have lost the best years of opportunity to marry and raise a family, to serve them, to serve her community, and so many, many other things.

But, the more important lesson here is that innocent or guilty, if you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.  And innocence or guilt doesn’t change that.

Arrivederci, baby.