sunday snippets

It's Sunday again!

Each Sunday, R'Ann at This, That and the Other Thing hosts a weekly meme for Catholic bloggers to highlight posts that might be of interest to other like-minded folks.  This week, she highlights a book review that she did about a volunteer from Planned Parenthood, who found herself crossing over to "the other side".  Sounds like a fascinating book.  

As for me, life keeps rolling along at a winter pace, I guess.  The sinus crud made it's appearance, and life is more effort when you're feeling about 75% capacity.  Not sick enough to be sick, and not well enough to be well.  A signal to slow down, I suppose.

On the slowing down note, thank you to those who stopped to offer prayers for A and her family (I saw mom and dad at Mass this morning) and for my principal (who will be out for at least a month).  

So here are my two little posts for the week:

more winter  - a longer version of the above paragraph

there's an app for that - a review of 3 "Catholic" apps for iPhone/iPad and a little lagniappe thrown in at the end...

Looking forward to seeing what else is happening in the world!

more winter

It's a picture of the sky at sunrise one morning last week. The sky was pink.

It seems like there is little of interest to write about these days.  One day rolls into the next without anything too remarkable to report.  Finding beauty in the ordinary, they say.

The weather was dreary on Monday and Tuesday.

Went to a conference on Tuesday.  My red-headed co-worker was there, and we enjoyed each other's company.  Lunch was really good.  Wish I could say the same about the conference, but there was only one session that was really interesting.  Oh well.  It's hit or miss with those things.  We finished up early.  I had about 45 minutes before my dear son got off the bus at my school.  I surely didn't want to go to school - so I went to the church nearby.  They were having Adoration, so I enjoyed some peaceful prayer time and prayed the Seven Sorrows Rosary.  Then I went and waited for the bus.

Wednesday I woke up with a sore throat.  That made for a long week.  Not sick enough to stay home, but not 100%, either.  A couple of early nights helped, I think.

Got word during the week that our principal would be out for "at least a month."  He is a good, decent guy who has helped to keep the forces of evil somewhat at bay.  It could be a long month.  Thank you to those who have prayed for him.  Last we heard, they had found that one side of his heart was enlarged.  He admitted that he was "scared."

Our Bible Study Wednesday night was about finding joy in trials and embracing the cross.  It looks like I might get some more practice in that.  I suppose it is a good thing, since that is how our faith is perfected.  I still don't get real excited when trials come my way...when"real life" happens.

I am working with a small group of boys on their Ad Altare Dei religious award for Boy Scouts.  We are just beginning our journey through the sacraments.  One of the things that was suggested for baptism was for them to attend a baptism, so we did that today. (I thought it wasn't going to happen.  After being planned nearly 2 months, I got an email from the secretary Thursday night asking that we not come, if it wasn't needed for awards being given out in a couple of weeks.  It just didn't really make any sense to me, so I approached my dear pastor after Mass Friday morning.  He looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.  Something was clearly lost in translation somewhere along the line.  Not sure where, but happily it all worked out.)  It was kind of neat to watch it from the "outside".  Neither of the children being baptized were too excited about having water poured over their head.  Simple rituals, really, but with deep meaning.  The water, the Sign of the Cross, the chrism, the candle.

After we got home from this outing, one of my offspring told me that his "hair hurt".  To me that sounds flu-like, but maybe I am jumping to conclusions.  He spent most of the rest of the day in bed, and appears to have some fever.  He says his back and head hurt, and he has a runny  nose, but no chills.  Nonetheless, I called and got a script for Tami-flu.  We shall see...

Meanwhile, my other child had to altar serve solo this evening.  He has never served alone, so this was a new adventure for him, and he did fine!

And so concludes another winter week.

there's an app for that

I got an iPad for Christmas - finally joining the world of app users. 

My "top three" Catholic apps....

iConfess is one that I had seen reviewed elsewhere.  It has a good examination of conscience, and you are able to "flag" things that you want to confess.  There is also a page to make notes.  Prayers are included, as well as an "about confession" section, which seeks to answer some common questions about confession.  While I was curious, I mostly bought this with the hopes my teens will use it.  I have one teen who turns to me in panic and says "what do I say?" and another who (from what he has revealed to me) seems to confess any random item that pops into his head. (Once I followed him in confession, and as I entered my pastor just looked at me, and said, "I can just give you absolution right now!" - kidding of course.)   I don't imagine I'll go strolling into confession any time soon with my iPad in the hot pink Otter Box, but I could see my teens taking in their iPad Touch- especially if they go on the screen side. iConfess also comes with a "master password" so that in theory someone with access to your iPad/iPod will not have access to whatever list of sins you've got going.  However, I have not found the password to work consistently.

iBreviary is an app that I have used to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.  I sometimes go sit in a church before school.  Sometimes in the early morning, there is very little ambient lighting, and I cannot read from my prayer book.  I can, however read from my iPad.  This app was free.  I've had to delete it and download it a couple of times, but it seems to be working at this point.  It also has the Mass readings for the day, and a blurb on the Saint of the Day. 

My number one Catholic App is iPieta.  It cost $2.99, and is - without a doubt - the best  $3 I've ever spent.  It has Latin and English versions of the Bible.  It has just about every prayer ever written.  It has the works of many of the Doctors of the Church and the Church Fathers.  St. Catherine, St. Augustine, St. Jean Vianney, St. John of the Cross, the Rule of St. Benedict, In Imitation of Christ Papal Encyclicals - complete works - not just excerpts. Consecrations, blessings, novenas.  A simply overwhelming amount of material.  A whole shelf or two worth of books.

My current non-Catholic fave is another freebie called Color Effects.  It makes a black and white from your photographs, and then lets you colorize the parts that you want to color.  Very cool.

Have you joined the iPhone/iPad family?  Got a favorite app?  Word with friends, anyone?

sunday snippets

It's that wonderful time of the week again!  R'Ann at This That and the Other Thing, hosts a weekly meme for Catholic bloggers to share items from the previous week that might be of interest to other Catholic bloggers.  Join the fun, if you like.

Things were busy this week, and there are only 2 blog entries.

the car is a walk down memory lane...a piece of family history

no words - don't get your hopes up!  There were words for the post.  ;-)  A summary of the week. But for some situations, there are no words.

Perhaps next week will be more fruitful....

Hope everyone has a great week!

no words

What a week it has been!  I'm glad it started off with a holiday.

On Tuesday, the daughter of one of the sweetest people ever to work at my sons' school passed away.  Pneumonia.  A was 28, but had some physical disabilities, still lived at home, and was her parents' only child.  She must have inherited her mom's sweet and gentle spirit.  The wake was Friday night, and I went to the funeral home for the Rosary.  I watched the video of pictures they had playing in the back.  So many pictures.  All with smiles.  The second-to-last picture was A making a snow angel.  And the last picture was the snow angel itself.  There were no words to say to her parents.  All I could do was offer a hug.  Or two.  Nothing can make it better.

I wish I could have gone to the funeral today.  I heard that the good Monsignor did find the right words.  He usually does.  Parents should not have to bury their children.  That is one of the most cruel things in this broken world that we live in.

On Wednesday, we started a Bible Study at church.  I am so psyched about this.  It is an 11 week study of the Book of James.  James takes up 5 pages in my Bible.  It is packed with "Pearls of Wisdom", it appears.  The first one, "Count it all as joy, my brethren, for the testing of our faith produces steadfastness."  Or something along those lines.   That has partly contributed to the lack of blog posts.  I've been busy with Bible Study homework.  I have done a few of these before and I know two things - (1) If you do the homework, you get SO much more out of the course and (2) You cannot wait until the last minute to do the homework.  Some of it takes prayer and reflection.

There was also a beautiful full moon on Wednesday.  I attempted to take pictures of it.  Varied results.

Thursday, I showed up at school to see an ambulance in the front.  Certainly not an every day occurrence, but sadly, not that uncommon, either.  I said a silent prayer, but did not feel the need to jump out of my car, run in, and see what was going on.  Turns out it was our principal.  He was out the previous week with "health issues" and apparently is still having "health issues".  He had laid (layed/lain?) down on the floor of his office and couldn't get back up.  He is my age - 40 something.  But stress can kill ya, and his job is full of stress.  So not worth it.  The people that are heaping the stress on, will have you replaced inside of a week, and probably won't even bother to show up to your funeral.  He is nice guy, a genuine good person.

Some of us had a chuckle over the note that was sent home to the students.  "Mr. X was  hospitalized today, but we don't feel that it is anything serious."  Really?  So why was he hospitalized?  Was he faking?  Or maybe I'm being nit-picky.  I hope that it  isn't serious.  I hope that he is back at work very soon, because he is the anchor of sanity, the only check on some who want things run their way.  But he needs to take care of himself first. 

And that concludes this week of ups and downs.  I hope that you didn't get too hopeful when you read the title and think that it meant that this post would have no words!

the car

Twas a busy day.  Went to Mass early, and then planned to meet a friend to work out.  Those plans went out the window, when another friend who moved 7 hours away 3 or 4 years ago, called to say she was passing through town.  Met her for donuts instead.  Such is life.

Using our holiday wisely, we then paid a visit to my parents today, with nothing on the agenda other than visiting.  No birthday.  No egg hunt.  No presents to open.  (Well, maybe a couple of presents, since I was delivering a couple of late Christmas gifts...one that didn't make it on time and a couple of giftcards that got left behind Christmas Day.)

We had a pleasant afternoon and evening.  We enjoyed the antics of my nephew/God child.  Little kids are so much fun!

 

It was a nice day, so we spent some time outside.  One of my kids tried the door handle on The Car and found that is was open...

 

The Car has always been there.  Or for the past 40 years or so. 

This is The Car that I went to kindergarten in.  Back in 1969.

Prior to that time we had been a 1-car family.  

But bus service wasn't provided for kindergartners, so the 1968 Dodge Polara joined our family.

It was a 2-door with a black interior.  Can you say "hot"?

Robin's Egg Blue?  Turquoise?

Probably more turquoise.  You couldn't quite call it blue.  Or green.

It was in the day before power windows.

Before they had head rests on the back of the seats.

It was a tank.

I learned to drive using it.

I drove it when I needed a car in college.

Not everyone can say they drove the same car in college that their mother used to deliver them to kindergarten.

It took LEADED gas.

We called it the Batmobile.

It was fun for "Chinese Fire Drills". 
Do stupid young people still do that?  Or is it too politically incorrect?

I retired it in 1986 when I graduated and bought a nice fuel efficient, Honda Accord Hatchback.

The last inspection sticker on it is from 1994.

Before my boys were born.

It has survived hurricanes and all matter of weather.

But the years have not been kind.

It has patiently waited for restoration, which will not come.

It's too late.

I tried taking a black and white picture.

Hoping it would hide some of its glaring imperfections.

It didn't really work.

So what's my point?
None, really.
Just documenting a piece of family history/memorabilia/nostalgia.

Guess if I wanted to draw a spiritual connection, we could be thankful that we are never beyond restoration - no matter what the years hold for us, and how glaring our imperfections.

sunday snippets

Once again, it's that time of the week...time for Sunday Snippets.... a weekly meme that R'Ann at This That and the Other Thing graciously hosts.  A chance for Catholic bloggers to highlight their work from the week - that which might be of interest to other Catholic bloggers.

I had three posts this week: 

winter blahs - the title kind of speaks for itself...sometimes it's an effort to write... this one is all over - from pole-dancing fifth graders to change-rolling husbands...it was probably a blessing that the battery on my laptop was dying  ;-)

come as you are - features a song by the same title and a short "traffic nazi" vent

traffic nazis and God's touch - it's long...probably too long...but sometimes writing is how I think through things...it is pretty cool, though, how God finds us right where we are at and knows just the right thing to say...still trying to discern if I should just let this one go or say something to the administration of the school

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!  I could take a little snow off of someone's hands...if anyone has extras...just a little.  ;-)