Blogger's Prayer?

I read this in a blog I regulary check out. He said it could (should) be the blogger's prayer. I agree. It's perfect. He said he found it at a blog that credited it to a 17th Century Nun. I guess people really haven't changed much.

Secular Franciscan Life. http://www.sfolife.net/

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject & on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out every-body’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches & pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility & a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint-some of them are so hard to live with-but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, & talents in unexpected people. And, Give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen

First Day?

Yesterday felt like the first day of autumn. I know we're technically a month away from the "real" first day, but at the end of the day I found myself thinking, "This is what autumn feels like."

After clearing out his closet of clothes that no longer fit, my husband found that he needed a few items for "back to school clothes" and since our freezer was finally empty from all the food that sheltered in ice chests during the "great broken fridge" episode this summer, we took off for Miles City to do some selective shopping, the last payday having been in May and the next payday a week off. On our way to town we passed great sections of blackened grasslands that recent fires had left. The western part of our state is still burning, but here the fires have died down. I fear it may be the first day of winter before all the state's fires are gone.

We found all the necessities and in addition to what we needed, we found a new pencil box, a new lunch box and a "stapleless stapler," back to school shopping at its best. After filling up with gas, which BTW was $.32 less than in our town, and washing the car, we headed home. Since we'd been in air conditioned places all day, it was a bit of a shock to step out of the car at home and realize how hot it was. But by the time we got the car unpacked and everything put away, it was cooling down. The day ended with a slight thunderstorm accompanied by enough rain to wet everything down, but not enough to register. For the first time all summer, we fell asleep without the sound of the fan in the window and had to pull the blanket up over the sheet. The first sign of autumn's approach. Mind you, the second day of autumn may be in October, but I'm calling yesterday the first.

Where There's Smoke

Believe it or not that small dot over the trees is the sun coming up this morning. The smoke is so thick that you can't even see Cook Mountain between the trees in the topmost picture. Not complaining mind you, I'm not close enough to the fire to post pictures of flames. Many people in Montana aren't as lucky.

Let the Sunshine In

Who would think that such a little window would make such a big difference? It does.

Windows Are Your Eyes to the World

New Window
Old Window

In Loving Memory

Look Pa, no cavities. . .

just necrosis. .. Well, I had my yearly checkup at the dentist today (more than once a year is just pretentious, unless you have genetically rotten teeth, don't you think?) Anyway, he said things were just fine and asked me if I had any concerns. I told him about a dreadful toothache I had last winter. I mentioned that the same tooth had given me grief a few years ago and my former dentist hadn't found the cause so I didn't bother calling this dentist. He poked around and asked a few questions and said it might be "necrotic." Whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt more than every couple of years,I won't loose any sleep.


Before the dentist visit I had luch with some friends who live in the area. We keep in touch via email, but nothing can beat a lunch and a gab with your friends. I sure do value their friendship and miss the daily lunches we had together when we all worked together at the same school. That daily contact kept me grounded and sane. Thanks!

Google the Earth

We were planning on taking a trip up to Bozeman to visit our son some time this summer and this weekend turned out to be the time. He recently moved,however, and we needed to find his new address before we left home. It wouldn't be a problem he assured us, as he could find it easily on Google Earth, a free downloadable program which displays maps of the entire earth with a wealth of information, more than some of us actually want displayed; our house shows up quite clearly on the maps! Anyway, in preparation to go to Bozeman, I tried to find his address and failed miserably. I checked Google Maps, Google Earth, Microsoft Streets & Tips, Mapquest and even an old-fashioned fold up and stick in your glovebox map we picked up on our last trip to Bozeman. NO LUCK! My husband went into search mode and checked out realors on the Internet and finally found a lead on the location. Later, our son called and he and his dad both got on the Google Earth map and zeroed in on the location using longitude and latitude. After taking road construction projects into consideration, they mapped out a route and we got to his house with no problems at all. It turns out that he lives in a brand new subdivision that shows up on the Google map, but only as building foundations. None of the street names were in the database so we couldn't search the names, but our son could find it because he knew right where to look, now we do too.

Later, my husband was able to locate the ship he served on while in the Navy. It has been turned into a Museum at the Naval Museum in Buffalo, NY.

Google On!

Sorted - Hufflepuff

Loyal. Dependable. True. Just.
What an honor to be sorted into Hufflepuff! The house based on values and virtues over simply deeds. Not that the Hufflepuffs don't do anything worthwhile, it's just that here importance is based more on who you are, not what you do. Hufflepuff is all about acceptance. Since when is that a bad thing?

Could Be Worse.

In case that's too blurry for you, it was 91.2 degrees in the house and 113.7 degrees outside today. But it really could be worse. Last time we were in Billings we got lucky and picked up one of the few remaining air conditioners in town. It's just a small one, but we put it in the bedroom's east window and when the temp inside gets close to 90, we turn it on, grab our books and camp out in there until it cools down some. The cat finds it comfortable too.

I'll Take Temps for 100, Alex

What is, "Yes it is hot enough for me."?

Family Weekend

I just got back from a family weekend in Billings to help my dad and youngest brother paint the basement bedroom. It had been many, many years since it had been painted and was looking rather dingy and very pink. It now looks clean and minty fresh. They decided to paint it green with white trim and my brother had definite rathers for a green that wasn't olive or too yellow-green, so a light minty green was chosen. We all agreed that we wanted a light color as the room has small windows, being in a basement and all and we didn't want dark and dreary effect. I think the color may have been called "Wintergreen." You know how paint stores and makeup companies like to make up names. Anyway, by the time I got there on Friday the room had been cleared and ready to paint. So we got started and by late Saturday afternoon, with everyone's help, everything was painted and the bed was moved back in so dad could get a good night's sleep again.

My oldest brother showed up Friday on his way to a jazz fest in Wyoming and Friday night we had a nice dinner out and got a ride in his "new" car. Nice ride.

Sunday morning, after church, we went to the Summer Fair at North Park and looked at all the goodies for sale and had Gyros for lunch. I was the only one tempted to buy anything and I bought a pair of "fresh water" pearl earrings. I hung out at the air-conditioned mall for a little while before heading home again.

I didn't bring my camera, but pictures were taken and may show up on another family blog, so keep in touch.

LakeFront Property

While fixing pictures of the tree cutting day I found a bunch of pictures I took during our flood last month.

Cutting Down Trees

Here are a few more pictures of the tree cutting day.

All Done!

Red Letter Day

I had a very eventful day today. First I went over to Lame Deer to turn in my signed contract for next year and visit with a few friends about their summers. When I got home, Bill told me that the tree service had called and they would be there after lunch. So from about 1:30 to 7:00 the guys were nonstop cutting down trees, cutting them up and trimming the dead wood off the standing trees. It looks quite different to us, although most would not notice the difference except for the piles of cut logs. All in all, three trees were downed and 7-10 trees were trimmed of dead wood. It looks quite nice, although the impetuous was to "fireproof" the area and make it safer from falling trees not just improve the appearance of the yard.

There was a breeze blowing which kept the heat down and consequently I got a little more sun than I should have while standing outside watching and taking pictures.

Just Chillin'

In spite of the 104 degrees we reached today, it was a happy day. Our new refrigerator came today and as I write, it is chilling down, waiting for the shopping spree I'm going on tomorrow. At the top of my list is ICE CREAM !

The delivery guy had to take the doors off the new fridge to get it through the door, but it did fit, we measured before we bought it. And he had to take the doors off the old one to get it out the door, but it's gone. It will take a little getting used to as we lived with the old one for 25 years and it had a split door, with the freezer on one side and the fridge on the other. Our new one has the freezer on the bottom and the fridge on the top. I like it better already and it isn't even 1 day old.

I Am A Prophet?

I took the same test as David, and these are my results. I have a hard time picturing Lucy as a prophet. I might believe Linus, but not Lucy.

You are a Prophet, a crusader with a kingdom spirituality. You experience God best through serving others. You value competence and knowledge, and are good at leading and influencing others. Prophets are devoted to their causes, often becoming assertive and aggressive as you implement a vision of the world as God's kingdom on earth. You are our heroic change agents and we admire you for that. Single-minded and deeply focused, you aren't content until society has been transformed.
Prophets are the least represented spiritual type in the general population. You also are the hardest spiritual type to be around, mainly because you make the rest of us feel guilty for not having the same zeal for change that you do. We admire you for sacrificing your personal life for your hope of the kingdom realized on earth, but we are uncomfortable around martyrs.
You have a courageous and sturdy idealism that takes responsibility for change. But, your passion for transforming society can lead you to become impatient with congregations and their perceived lack of concern. You fit best in a hospitable, like-minded community that shares your vision.
Nevertheless, be careful not to become so involved in your cause that you neglect your inner life. Attend as much to your inner life as outer life. One will nourish the other.

Famous Prophets:
Mother Teresa, Ralph Nader, John Calvin, Lucy (Peanuts), Rosa Parks, Dorothy Day, Joan of Arc, Monica Geller, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jeremiah, Malcolm X, Ghandi, Indigo Girls, Gandalf, Oprah Winfrey.
Read about some Saints who were Prophets

Lucky 7.7.07

Happy 25th !

Mom's Recipes

This is a copy of a recipe I found in one of mom's homemade cookbooks. A few months after she died I brought the cookbooks home with me, planning to look through them and copy them for every one. They are a series of small photo albums that have clear plastic pockets in which you can insert a photo, or in this case a recipe card. I'm not sure if any of the recipes were used at work or just for home. Along with her handwritten cards are many, many recipes cut out from magazines. I think I'll just copy the handwritten ones. If you click on the picture, you should get a larger image that you can more easily read. This one appears to be for Orzo. I'm not even sure what Orzo is or if mom ever made it, but the card caught my eye. Anyone who knew her could imagine her noticing the little girl in the picture, and admiring it wanting to use it for something. This one made it to the recipe book. Other pictures would decorate small boxes or even get framed.

Some of the recipes are copied onto "recipe cards" and many others are copied onto the back of an envelope or a scrap of paper that has other notations made. This one is on the back of a postcard. I couldn't make out who the card was from as that part had been trimmed off.

I've copied them as both jpgs and PDFs because I wasn't sure which format would be best for sharing. If you have any ideas about that let me know. The project will take a while, but when I finished, I can burn them to a CD for anyone who would like them.