still here....

I find myself here - not yet willing to give up my little corner of the internet quite yet.  Writing and photography are two of my favorite ways to express myself, but I find little that seems worth writing about these days.  And not that there is a lot of traffic.  I think most people that find their way to this blog do so because they've done a search for a certain paint color in a bedroom.  (See the #1 ranked post on the sidebar.)   I've been getting my blog fix here...a new little project of mine.

This has been a lazy, lazy summer.  Last summer we closed on a house (a year ago Wednesday) and spent most of the summer doing the hot, dirt, backbreaking work of moving 30+ years worth of accumulated stuff either to the dumpster or across town to the dream house.  There are still things in boxes.  I spent yesterday rearranging the closet in the guest room and bagging things up to get rid of.  Today was an errand-running kind of day.  Took one kid for a haircut, took the other kid to the Boy Scout Office to drop off his Eagle project proposal, and had both + a friend ride along while I dropped off papers to refinance our house at the credit union. 

Side note:  Y'all!  The interest rate has only dropped a percent since we closed last year (we thought we got a good rate last year), but we can save about $150/month on our payments if we refinance.  Over $55,000 over the life of the loan!  Got a mortgage?  Check it out!  Side, side note:  I signed my name 19 times on those "planning to refinance papers". 

Counseling is going slowly because hubby's work is going slowly.  He hasn't had a job in over a week.  I hated for him to miss a job because we had the appointment, and you have to cancel the appointment 24 hours in advance.  So I rescheduled.  Story of my life.  I went by myself last week.  It was good, because I was able to talk freely, but she really didn't have much to offer just me.  She said my coping skills seemed to be good, and she had hope that the marriage could be strengthened.  Things had been going better here....a little nicer attitude, but today wasn't really a good day in that department. 

I had a couple of "a-ha" moments today, though.  The first came at Mass during the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer.  (I love the new translation.)   Today was the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The responsorial psalm was, "You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation."  Nice image.  I'm sitting there picturing a nice little gurgling brook in a country meadow somewhere.  Then came the preface before the Eucharistic Prayer.  It was a special one today for the Solemnity.  In part, it reads: 

For raised up high on the Cross, 

he gave himself up for us with a wonderful love

and poured out blood and water from his pierced side,

the wellspring of the Church's Sacraments,

so that won over to the open heart of the Savior, 

all might draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. 

I picked my head up and smiled to myself.  "A-ha!  The Spring of Salvation is not some little babbling brook.  It's the Sacred Heart of Jesus!!  And the water that we draw...it's Living Water, isn't it?  It's the Lord's mercy and compassion!  

After I got home, and someone was having a "moment", I decided to go for a walk.  The dog and I.  I love living in a neighborhood where I can walk, and this summer, I am taking advantage of it for really the first time.  I have mapped out a route that is almost a mile, and the dog and I wander easily along.  She doesn't talk much, and so it is quiet.  I would like to pray the Rosary more often, but I often fall asleep when I sit (or lay in bed) to pray it, and I find that popping in a tape and mumbling along with the words when I drive isn't really all that prayerful.  I also feel a little self-conscious strolling through the neighborhood with my Rosary beads (maybe in time I will get over that).  But I have a rosary ring...and today I prayed with that.  It worked out quite nicely.  The dog and I enjoyed the walk.  The Blessed Mother was good company, and I think that maybe the Holy Spirit has just shown me a way that I can pray the Rosary more often.  Good thing, because "A Fortnight 4 Freedom" is right around the corner, and along with that, the opportunity to join Human Life International in praying a Rosary for religious freedom each day!  Join us?