Tag Archives: church

In which life improves, but I am proved a weakling

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Just re-read my last post and am glad to report I’ve found another book group that is interesting and promises to be satisfying.  The South Austin Women’s Book Club (find us on Goodreads and Meetup) had a newcomer’s meeting in January and our first book discussion two nights ago.  While the book we read was a disappointment (Nicholas Sparks lite, if you can imagine), the discussion was funny and insightful, and I was relieved to hear that everyone who spoke (and most of us did) agreed – and the other newbies were also relieved that this wasn’t typical of what the regulars liked to read.

The HOA book club was supposed to meet last night but on Tuesday the saleswoman said she couldn’t make it and hadn’t read the book anyway and another person said she hadn’t read the book and it was agreed we would meet in two weeks when, perhaps, more would have read it.  Deep sigh.  I, for one, am enjoying re-reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and I do recommend it.

Donnell and I took a class a couple of weeks ago and had a great time learning to knit via  magic loop, which is using a single long circular needle rather than two needles.  Really interesting technique I will definitely use in future.  We did toe-up socks using Noro and a size 7 needle.  I am not a Noro fan, and was confirmed in that feeling knitting the first sock because the yarn separated three times even though I was not rough with it.  It also doesn’t respond well to a Russian join, so one has to make a square knot to join the pieces, with a resulting bump.  Minor quibble since I won’t be making more socks with it, but the size of a complaint has never stopped me from making it.

Have wasted the morning watching CNN and Benedict XVI’s departure from the Vatican and the papacy.  It is surprisingly affecting, even though I have not been a fan of this pope (Pope John Paul was a hard act to follow), and it’s been interesting to watch the view of Rome from the air as the helicopter flies to Castel Gandolfo.  BTW, did you know Benedict has never had a driver’s license but does have a pilot’s license and frequently flies the helicopter himself.  Christiane Amanpour has had some interesting interviews and comments this morning (oh, I’ve missed her!  She reminds me that CNN used to be a news channel, not the fluff and opinion business it has become).  The interview with New York’s Cardinal  Dolan was excellent; he is such a good representative of the Church.  Also, a priest just said he hasn’t been proud of the Church much in recent years, but this Pope has made him proud (after which comments were made about pride being a sin, but it was in context).  Andrew Cuomo and Erin Burnett are doing a good job hosting this.

However. . .

I have been bad during Lent.  Yes, I’m a weakling.  I guess that’s part of what Lent is about, though:  a time of testing and renewing my commitment to try to be the person I know I can be.  It was an accident that I ate meat last Friday, but I’m trying to make up for that lapse.  I have weakened and had some alcoholic drinks, but will also try to make up for it.  Mea culpa.  It’s not easy being good.  Well, except for you.  Of course, it’s easy for you to be good.

I hope you continue to find being good easy and rewarding, but that you not become a prig.

Lost and Found

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What a way to end the year

Since my last post, I have: bought a condo; moved; spent every last penny of my savings; knit a hat for Donnell; unpacked most of my belongings; learned to knit short rows; caught up on my ironing; been sick; found a new church home; and decided I need to buy a winning lottery ticket so I can send Bailey to Sit Means Sit for some serious training.

Since my last post, I have not: sewn a lick, including the wedding quilt I promised Holly and the block of the month blocks I committed to complete; knit Donnell’s Christmas sweater; knit a Color Affection shawl (although I knit three-fourths of one before frogging it); gone to Tucson for my friend John’s retirement from the Air Force (and I’m feeling very disgusted about missing it); lost one single, solitary, measly pound; or finished unpacking to the point that I can get the car in the garage or myself into my bedroom closet.

Having missed Holly and RJ’s wedding in Germany, and facing imminent homelessness, I was feeling very sorry for myself – so I contacted Michael Ebeling, who had found me my apartment when I was first planning to move to Austin.   We had a great time together, looking from Cedar Park to Buda.  Signed a contract on 3 November, after getting input from Chris & Donnell.

I wanted a quick move-in, because I had to be out of the apartment on 17 December and I wanted to have carpeting replaced by hardwoods throughout, along with having it painted before I moved in (yes, it was new so didn’t really need paint, but this is my first home ever where I’m not contemplating another move and it seemed important to acknowledge that by having really personal things done to the place).  So, I closed on 28 November and moved in on 14 December (the move took three days, but that’s a whole other story, with the gory details available on Angie’s List).

Love my new home; love having hardwoods throughout, because my rugs look so beautiful against the dark flooring; love the paint colors (thanks to the decorator I hired – Kelli at Nine Design); love having a garage again, and a small back yard (even if Bailey doesn’t understand he’s supposed to poop out there, not just when I take him for a walk; poor boy’s having digestive issues over this).  Hate having no money, but I decided that this was why I’d saved it and I was much better off having no money but having a permanent home than having a small savings account and living in an apartment.  Best of all:  my mortgage & HOA combined equals what I was paying in monthly rent.

To see the floorplan, look here.  It’s the Lille plan.

Chris & Donnell built the futon and then tested it out over Christmas – so it’s ready for other guests (if you’re ever in Austin. . . ).  They also organized me – as they have in every home I’ve had in the US.  That I still can’t get all the way into my bedroom closet or find an entire pair of shoes beyond the ones I wore during the move cannot be blamed on them.  They tried to get me to finish, but I pooped out.  Also, don’t look behind the living room sofa.  Other than that, I’m fairly good to go – and ready for you to come visit.

 

Red and White Quilts

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Savannah put me on to an on-line quilt store called Two Bees Fabric, which has exactly the sort of fabric I love:  toile and reproduction fabrics such as the Aunt Grace and Civil War lines.  After figuring out how much of a lottery win I’d need to purchase all the material I lusted for, I decided just to follow some of their links and admire other people’s work.  Well, one of the first links I came across was to a red and white quilt show held in New York City earlier this year.  The slideshow at Martha Stewart’s site is simply breathtaking.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of redwork this year, but my embroidery skills are on a par with my other creative abilities (enthusiasm but little talent).  Fortunately, I’ve finally developed an attitude that works for me and I’m satisfied with the progress I’m making.  Meanwhile, I love to see the wonderful work other, more talented folks create, without being envious of their innate abilities.  (the sermon yesterday was about thanking God by using our gifts, whatever they may be, for His glory; I thought that was exactly the right attitude.  It reminded me of my first Cursillo, when I sat at a table with three other women, two of whom were cantors and one of whom had been a professional singer.  I was, as usual, just mouthing the words to the hymns and was taken to task by the others.  One of them said, “If God gave you the gift of a beautiful voice, you should sing loudly to thank Him; if He didn’t, you should sing even more loudly to get back at Him.”  I liked it!  - and I have been singing even more loudly ever since then.  And, perhaps not surprisingly, I think my singing voice is improving)

Back to the redwork.  I am really inspired by the redwork quilt shown on the Two Bees blog, and have determined my next quilt will be my own redwork.  Here are some photos of what I’ve been doing.  Yes, I’ve been using two different threads, trying to decide which I prefer.  I’ve decided to go back to using DMC embroidery floss in colorway 666, split into two threads at a time.  That’s what I used on the rose, which will be the basis for one of the quilts, which will be my focus for now.  The other floss, the name of which escapes me at the moment, is beautiful and is used without separating, but it’s much more vibrant; I’ll use it and the smaller redwork squares for a different quilt (I think I have enough already for a lap quilt)

 

I’ve been listening to The Witches, by Roald Dahl, but am going to have to stop – it’s scaring me!  The witches have just entered an auditorium where the little boy is playing with his mice, and I’m sure I know what’s going to happen next and I’m scared for him.  This is bringing back The Wizard of Oz and those damned flying monkeys.  I never did get over that.

My plan for today is to have something to eat (how did it get to be 10 AM?  No wonder the dog is scared; my stomach has been growling at him) and then take a drive along Barton Springs Road with Mr Bailey in the back seat (he loves to go for rides; hope he gets more used to them and calms down a little).  Today is a better day than tomorrow, even though I’m getting a late start, because Sugar Mama’s is near where I’ll be but it’s closed today so I won’t be able to talk myself into indulging.  I damaged my disposal by not noticing a cat food lid had slipped down into it, so the repair guy will come today and better he comes while I’m out and don’t have to hear a lecture.  I would be much happier not to have a disposal at all.

Hope all your disposal issues are simple ones and no bodies are involved.

Sweet

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I understand (from watching ‘Big Love”) that “keep sweet” is a phrase frequently repeated  to and amongst young LDS women, and somehow it popped into my mind this morning, for reasons too convoluted to explain (although who knows, perhaps I will anyway).  So I googled the phrase and found a 2005 blog post from someone named Karen H. that I thought was really interesting, as were the comments on her post; I thought you might agree.

Ah, I can’t stand it:  the “keep sweet” thought came in church this morning.  As my faithful reader knows, I am a lifelong Episcopalian who became a Roman Catholic in 2000.  I’ve been struggling with some of the church’s teachings and have begun attending the 0830 communion service at a local Episcopal church.  There are usually 10-15 of us in the pews, and I’m normally among the five youngest.  The assigned priest, Fr. Jim,  is currently on sabbatical and we have a female priest leading us this month.  I like her a lot – and I like her homilies, which are relaxed and sensible.  This morning, there was another woman who spoke, and I don’t think she was an ordained priest but perhaps a deacon?  The regulars seemed to know her and no one was shocked that she spoke, so I think it’s just a case of my becoming more attuned to the changes that have occurred in “my” church over the two decades I’ve been away.  These two women certainly weren’t “sweet” in the sense I think the “Big Love” women mean.

After the service, I stayed for adult Sunday school, which was ending a 3-week discussion of hospices, including social workers, bereavement counselors, chaplains, and a nurse.  Very interesting, and of course the discussions brought up plenty of painful thoughts about my mother’s last years and her death.  I am carrying a very small purse these days (still trying to wean myself from reliance on anything of the sort, but not ready to clip my phone to my waistband or tuck my handkerchief into my sleeve), so while I was ducking my head to avoid looking like the crier I am (RC priests tried to avoid me in their confessional because I used up so many Kleenexes; in fact, that’s a big reason I switched to cloth handkerchiefs). . .as I say, I was ducking my head to avoid everyone seeing my eyes fill with tears and I rummaged in my purse.  Rummaged.  Please.  My purse holds two pens (I am a pen thief, but pretty much just from myself; if I cannot find a pen in the kitchen, on my desk, by the chair or sofa, I just go to my regular-duty purse and can usually find five or six there). . .two pens; a handkerchief; two Field Notes notebooks; a receipt from Antonelli’s; lip salve & hand cream; a small leather* container for my driver’s license, credit card, and folding money**; iPhone; and keys, which took up most of the space***.  Got hold of myself and opened a notebook and – finally, the point! – found a note I’d made to myself about something I wanted to write in my blog if I ever started up again****.  And here it is:

3-21-12:  Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop [link] Their s’mores are amazing.  I noted that I usually eat 1/3 – 1/2 of a purchased dessert but that day I ate entire thing (although not at one sitting).  Wow, it was good!  Also, they have frosting shots:  cherry limeade is what I got that day – 75 cents for a little paper cup of heaven.  Made me think of my Grandpa Sly, who always told me he preferred the cake to the frosting and the crust to the pie filling, so I should eat the part he didn’t like and he’d eat my crust & cake.  What a great man!  I have been back twice since then and bought their mint chocolate chip bars, which have a layer of white creamy mint frosting topped with a thin layer of dark chocolate.  Yummmmmm.  They remind me in a way of a lovely treat from an old, old Betty Crocker (I think) cookbook, probably from the mid-60s:  a layer of brownie, topped with a layer of soft browned-butter icing and then a thin layer of bitter chocolate sauce.  Oh my, they were good.  Anyway, you can see the connection to “keep sweet,” right?  Sweet desserts; sweet church ladies; sweet me.  Totally worth examining my subconscious to lay that all out for you.  (Hmmm, wonder if Unconscious Mutterings is still going on…..why, yes, it is!  Yay. )

As for hospice:  I’m going to get a Texas medical power of attorney.  I know my family is well aware I do NOT want extraordinary measures taken to keep me alive if the decision has to be made and I know they will regard my wishes in this matter, but I don’t want there to be any problems if the time comes that someone needs to make this known to a medical facility.  Were you aware that in TX, EMTs must do CPR unless there’s an out-of-hospital DNR (do not resuscitate) statement in possession of a competent adult on the scene?  Probably a good thing – most certainly a good thing – but important to keep in mind if one ever gets to the state of health that such a thing needs to be invoked.

Speaking of sweet, as I was at one point:  sweet Bailey is a barker, and that just doesn’t work well in apartment living.  So when I went to church this morning I put him in his cage with his bed & his toy (a stuffed animal that squeaks; he loves the messy thing & knows just where to hold it to make it squeak).  He didn’t bark as I left the apartment, nor did I hear him one bit as I walked down the hallway.  When I got back, he was happy to see me but wanted to get out of the apartment right away.  I let him out into the courtyard to pee, which he did, but then he slipped through the bars into the dog-walking area, which is off-limits to him unless he’s leashed (he knows the rules; I’ve explained them to him a number of times already).  I hurried out, only to find him pooping on the grass, exactly where he was supposed to go.  He was desperate – and then quite relieved.  He was a full little dog, I must say.  He then sniffed a little bit, raised his leg once or twice, and happily came back to me and willingly went back into the apartment.  Good – and sweet – dog!

Hope your dogs are doing well, too

*I saw two purses advertised in a magazine, one was a soft, rich, expensive leather and the other was  described as “vegan ostrich leather.”  Hah!

**Folding money:  this morning, it was $9.  Sad.  Now it’s $3.  Good thing is that it’s nearly June 30th and payday.  I think I have sufficient pasta in the pantry to make it; I certainly have sufficient cheese – and, possibly, gin.

***Bizarre, really, considering I only need to access my car (one key) and my apartment (one key), but there’s the fob to access the garage and the interior of the apartment building and the key to the post box and the plastic card that identifies me as eligible for certain discounts for living where I do and the collection of similar plastic cards from CVS, the library, a liquor store in Florida, Panera’s, Books-a-Million, and the Best Buy Reward Zone.  Also, a cute Hello Kitty decoration, Arlo’s rabies tag, and a flashlight.  Hmm, it’s going to be difficult to go without a purse when I have to find room for this collection of crap…..OK.  All better now.

****Occurs to me now this may have something to do with why I stopped blogging and why I have so few readers.