Books, Books, Books

I've read three books in the past few weeks - they are all good.

Cindy gave me "Heaven Has Blue Carpet" by Sharon Niedzinski - a book by a Saginaw woman about her experiences as a sheep farmer. She learned so much about her faith when she became a shepherd and realized how like sheep all of us really are and she shows that the comparison that Jesus uses is so perfect.

The Friday Night Knitting Club was from Jan and it is by Kate Jacobs. This was a very good book about friendships and relationships. A single mom starts a yarn shop and gathers friends as much as wool over the years.

Last but not least, I read a garage sale book, The Chamber by John Grisham. I realized again, just like when I watched Dead Man Walking, that there is such horror on death row. But both the book and the movie bring to mind my reading of The Shack where God uses any situation to bring about change.

Now I am reading one of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books that Cathy gave me because I love the new HBO series. Amy has been taping it for Jan and Jim and Pat and me to watch - we all love it.

My new favorite blog!

Meredith is a fabulous blogger - she has links to almost anything you can think of - she is a frugal shopper - saves on everything - loves to shop garage sales and thrift shops - her blog is fun.


I love this blog - click here

Holy Thursday

The service on Holy Thursday was very moving. The music was beautiful, the readings were heartfelt, the foot washing was life changing. This was the first time that I have seen so many women come forward. So many women over the age of 80 which made me think of my Mom and how she never would have come forward for the foot washing - but how I rubbed her feet in the afternoon when she was so ill and how I felt I was part of something much larger than life itself.

To see Fr. Jack on his knees, lovingly washing and serving the parishioners was seeing the Gospel in action. If you know Fr. Jack - you know what I'm saying here - it is amazing how during a service that there is a presence about him. Sometimes the moment is so reverent and holy that I have to catch my breath. I count my blessings that we can be part of this parish at this time in our lives. And then there is the Jack I love to see after liturgy - and usually not much reverence about him then! But he makes me smile.

Mary Andrews Chihuly Art Number Two

I have run out of adjectives to say about Mary Lynn's art. This is so amazing.

Joyce Meyer Today

Whenever I have a day off, Pat and I start that day with a cup of coffe and watching Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life series. Every single time we both look at each other and say "That is EXACTLY what I needed to hear today!" Now, if I watched it every day would I say that? Maybe. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the message. Today's was unpacking the baggage we have and throwing it away. It was very good.

If you want to see it - go to the website and click on the 3/30/2009 "It's Time to Unpack" and watch the video. It was very good.

Joyce Meyer Link

Lima Beans

I told my friend, Heather I would write about Lima Beans tonight.

When I was little and we lived on Hoyt Street we had a big old house with two stairways - I think I've written before about the back stairway. On the landing going up that backstairs we used to have can goods. Now I don't remember having lima beans but I knew I didn't like them. So when I saw a can of lima beans one day on my way up those back stairs I thought I would tear the label off the can and that way we wouldn't have to have them. THAT NIGHT - my Mom saw the can with no label and said we were going to have whatever it was for dinner.

Years later, when we lived on Jefferson we had our canned goods in the basement in a little room. My Mom sent me downstairs to find beans - now it may have been kidney beans but I remember telling my Mom there weren't any beans on the shelf. She came down the stairs, picked up the can of beans and told me one of her little spurts of wisdom:

Mary Ellen, you only see what you want to see in life.

I can't tell you how many times I've noticed that in every aspect of my life. From kids to friends, to work, to family - we do only see what we want to see many times.

Inspiration

Oh my, this is incredible. My cousin, Mary Andrews, is a fabulous artist. We talked about her upcoming quilts that had to do with nature. When she found that a Chuhily exhibit was in Phoenix when we were going we discussed that she should make a Chihuly-inspired nature quilt hanging. And just a week home from Phoenix and this is what she has done. This is so beautiful. To be inspired by great works of art to create great works of art - this is what inspiration is all about. She has a website and her art is for sale:

Click here to go to Mary Andrews Website

utube connection - Lost Generation

This is really great - Joanna sent it to me today.

Click Here

Dinner out with Sheala and Zack

For birthday celebrations this year Pat thought we could take the birthday person out with a guest to the restaurant of their choice. Our Irish Rose, Sheala asked her friend Zack to go and she couldn't decide where or when. So I told her any night was fine during the week. This afternoon I got a text message that tonight would be good and to pick them both up at her house around 5:30 after her soccer practice.

She still hadn't decided where. She asked Zack and he told her it was her birthday so she had to pick (good answer). So I laughed and told her she had to make a decision when we started driving. We drove down to Tittabawassee and she finally decided on Famous Daves.

They weren't busy so we got right in. We ordered the American Feast and sat back and had a lovely conversation with the two of them. The food came within 10 minutes and there was so much I bet Sheala took 4 pounds of leftovers home. We all loved the food and ate way tooooooo much.

It was such a nice evening. I'm so glad Pat came up with this idea.

Michigan March

This weeks weather is why I love Michigan in March. 60 degree days filled with sunshine. On Saturday it was so beautiful we decided to go North. We stopped at Fabulous Finds to say hi to Julie and see my spoons. We went to the Fabulous Finds furniture store and bought a table to put next to the sofa in the living room. It is a mahogony style finish with a glass top. Perfect to sit my coffee cup on in the morning and not worry about ruining the finish. It was on sale for $45 - after seeing prices on the way to Phoenix and when we were out East in November you have to appreciate Michigan antique stores - the prices here are so affordable.

Then we went to St. Vincent De Paul and I couldn't believe it when I found a great gold metal frame with a green mat - the worker measured it for me and I thought it would work for the poster I bought at the Chihuly exhibit. So for the cost of a piece of mat board I purchased the frame for $25. I brought it home and realized it was from a first class frame store and when I put the poster in it fit perfect - it couldn't have been 1/8 of an inch smaller. The C in Chihuly at the top of the poster and the s in Seaforms on the bottom are exactly at the edge of the mat.

Yesterday it was another beautiful day in Michigan. I know the weather will get cold again - because it is March - but every day it gets closer to Spring which is so great in Michigan.

South Mountain Park

The world's largest municipal park is in Phoenix. Larry, Kathy, Mary Lynn, Jane, Pat and I went to the top (we drove)and spent the next hour looking over Phoenix. It was awesome to say the least. There are 17,000 acres in this park. You can watch hikers, horse riders, and we couldn't get in until after 2:00 because they were having a cancer run. When we drove up the mountain I couldn't imagine people running up the steep incline.

It was a perfect first day trip on our visit to Phoenix.

The bridges in Albuquerque

There was so much beauty in New Mexico - lots of the bridges have art work on it - I didn't even capture the bridges totally because we were on the expressway. But everywhere you look there is art. From large pottery jugs to designs in the gravel near the bridges to the artistry of the overpasses - it was a fabulous place to drive through. The pride in their city is so evident in the care they take to make the expressways a piece of art.

Angels vs Royals

While we were in Pheonix, Pat and I got to go to a Spring training game. Some of the family went shopping, some went to movies and Pat and I went all by ourselves. It was a great game - lots of hits - and we got to be happy whenever anyone hit because as you know we still love the tigers. Angels won 8-6.

It was over 90 degrees - but we got seats in the shade and the wind was blowing - it was such a pleasant day. The guy next to us was trying to get 5 people home to New Jersey because his flights had been cancelled because of so much snow back home. It took him the WHOLE game!

We had a great hot dog - Pat had a beer - we even moved at one point to get a little sun in the last inning. The game was at the old Diablo Stadium. It was $15 for the tickets and all in all - a great day.

Grand Canyon

We had such a nice time at the Grand Canyon. The drive there from Phoenix was so beautiful. When we got to there we stopped at the first parking lot to walk out to view the Canyon. It was magnificent. Then we went to the visitor center and found out about the bus tour. It is FREE. You get on at any stop, go as far as you want, take a bus back whenever you want. A bus stops every 10 minutes at each stop. After you get out you walk out to the viewing platforms and take in the beauty of the canyon. There is a section you cannot get to on the South Rim without taking the bus - it was so worth it.

It is over 7,000 feet elevation. The air is thin. We did have to work a bit to walk as much as we did. My knee was bothering me a bit getting on and off the bus but we made every stop.

The Colorado River runs through the Canyon and we all really liked it when we could see it from a viewing point. We spent the whole day there ending it at the Bright Angel Lodge having dinner. I could spend a few days at the canyon easily.

New Mexico

Albuquerque New Mexico has the most beautiful sunsets. And we had the best food at Los Cuates,4901 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM (Jesse of course you were right CuAtes. We ate there on the way to Phoenix and on the way home.

Before we got to Albuquerque we stopped at The Sky City Acoma Pueblo. My cousin, John said if there was one thing we were going to do - this was it - and he was so right. The Acoma’s originally had 21 tribes but that is down to 14 now. The females own property and the males govern. The elders make sure that tradition continues and they have just begun in recent years to write down their language. Most of the people living there are Catholics (if you heard what the Friar’s did in the 1600’s to ensure this it would make you wonder why they even believe in God!) The men of the village had to walk over 30 miles to get the materials to build the mission and they hand cut huge trees and carried the timber back without letting them touch the ground all the way back to the Mesa and built the roof with them. Even today, there is no running water or electricity. The artwork for sale is beautiful clay colored and the beautiful white pottery with black designs.

I really enjoyed the tour - we had a wonderful guide - and the history surrounded us. They are a proud people - and I was very glad we had taken the tour.

Chihuly at Desert Botanical Garden

So I got to see a second Chihuly exhibit in four months time. This one was FABULOUS. It was an outdoor exhibit and it became part of the cactus gardens. When I went into the gallery there were pieces that I had watched on the CD with Indian rug designs. If I say AWESOME, FABULOUS, WONDERFUL, MAJESTIC 10,000 x over it wouldn't be enough to describe this exhibit. To share it with my family. To take pictures of it. To share it with you. I loved every minute of the Chihuly exhibit. (CLICK ON CHIHULY EXHIBIT)

Family

What a vacation. It will take me weeks to blog about this one. Our family get together in Phoenix was so amazing. It was wonderful to get to see our brother, Larry. He always makes me laugh and our first night together was a night FILLED with laughter and stories.

We started off picking up my Sister, Kathy and my Cousin, Mary Lynn in Grand Blanc. Kathy had driven there from Detroit to spend the evening and we picked them up at 6:00 am to begin our vacation.

We decided to stay at hotels that had a special on "Stay two nights, get one Free" - More on that later...........ggggrrrrr.........

The first evening we were in Springfield MO. Our hotel was nice and after 12 hours on the road we were pretty tired. The second night after another 12 hour drive we stayed in Albuquerque NM and that was a fun night - we asked the clerk at the hotel where to go for Mexican food and her eyes lit up when she told us about Los Cuertas. YUM. HOT HOT HOT salsa that bloomed in your mouth and spread heat all over.

In Arizona We stayed at the Embassy Suites - it was as great as 15 years ago when we made this trip with as many children in tow as we could. When my Mom died we kept money out of the estate to spend Christmas in Arizona. We should have kept much, much more of the money to continue to travel and get to see each other. I can't believe it took us 15 years to go back! Anyway, Embassy Suites is a fun place to stay. Free breakfast and a free Manager's Evening Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 you can have popcorn, chips and salsa and anything you want to drink - we had lots to drink! The rooms are so nice and the setting with palm trees and stucco buildings is amazing.

My sister, Jane came in to Phoenix from Tulsa. We drove from Saginaw to pick her up. How many people do you know that can drive to the airport and wait 2 minutes to pick up someone at the door after driving for three days from Saginaw to Phoenix?

When Larry walked in and sat down that first night at the Manager's Reception it was like a hole was filled up in my heart. I missed him so much. So - I have lots and lots of stories to tell. So I'll be writing a lot in the coming days.

Ash Wednesday

Today begins Lent. I'm feeling out of touch actually with church. Fr. Jack has been on a sabatical and won't return until Holy Week. It still doesn't feel like family at church and I'm still sitting in the pew (which is why it still doesn't feel like family, I know, I know.) I think I will spend this Lent reflecting on that. We used to have fun at work with everyone giving something up - even the non-Catholics got in on it. No one even mentions religion much at work anymore. So - I am looking forward to a bit of time off from work and spending some time with my family.

With that said, we went to Robbie's game on Monday - they lost - but he did get 10 of the 12 points. And he passed the ball alot - giving everyone a chance but most times they just threw the ball back at him. At least it looked as if he had fun.

We were supposed to go to Ann Arbor on Sunday to see the twins on their birthday - but - the weather was so bad we couldn't go. We got as far as Freeland to go pick up Pat's parents and we couldn't see the road for all the snow. So we called Joanna and Robin and Caroline and Jesse and invited the whole gang over for dinner at our house. Since we were all planning on going to Ann Arbor we knew everyone could come. I called Javier and asked him if he wanted to come over and make pizza with Nana - he said OKAY. When he got here I let him put the sauce on and then all the pepperoni - I told him to give a piece to Robbie and that he could have one too - just as he got it in his mouth Robbie said, "This is HOT!" Javier made the worst face but wouldn't spit it out - we gave him a drink real quick. When I looked at the package it said it had Tobasco sauce in it! I never even knew they made it hot! Well Javier had enough of Nana and ran to his Mom. But I eventually lured him back throwing cheese on the pizza and he wanted to do that too.

Well, so much for 1:00 am ravings. ME

Quick Trip

Well - the Polenta was a hit at WW - except for Gracie who wouldn't try it because it sounded like Placenta. You go Gracie. The day was so beautiful we drove to Oscoda as soon as I got home. We played Keno - Lost at Keno - ate dinner - Pat got the biggest wet burrito we've ever seen and I had a yummy salmon salad.

Then back home and to bed early - which is why we are sitting in the bead room at 2:45 am!

I love my new camera. I've been taking it to Robbie and Sheala's sporting events. It really captures good images and you can even put it on speed picture taking and hold the button down and it takes picture after picture real fast. It's fun.

We drove to Ithaca to watch Robbie play this week - it was fun - he got 10 out of the 13 points. He had to sit the bench for awhile because he had 3 fouls - the coach told him to go in and "Don't touch anyone" Soon he was back on the bench and the coach said "It was like a dollar on the floor wasn't it? You just had to foul!" He went in at the end and he seemed to have such a good time this week.

We have the twins party today - we're supposed to get snow but I think we are going anyway. We haven't seen the twins since they came home and we really don't want to miss it. And I think Ayva and Javier are coming too - that will be great fun.

Pat bought a new atlas this week and he is having fun reading all the maps in it.

Later.

Connie

After a divorce many years ago in the family the term sister-in-law doesn't apply anymore. But Aunt does and Mother of our nieces does. And friend always applied. Connie died this week after a long illness. I have lots of good memories of her.

When Pat and I first started dating I was overwhelmed with a new family to get to know. But Connie immediately became a friend. Our children are a few years apart - enough to have her go through all the stages of motherhood just before I did - it was very comforting to have her give me such good advice over the years.

One time, she was at our house for a party and Joanna was about 4, she thought she could go home with Aunt Connie, well, her bag was packed and waiting by the door. She was crushed when she realized she had to stay with boring Mom and Dad.

Our nieces are loving and compassionate women. Certainly some of the reason for that is because of their mother. We will miss her.