Today...

 Today has already been interesting.

God gives us so many choices each day and the choices we make are so important. 

Do I stay in bed or go to Mass? Do I head straight home, or go over to talk to the friend who seemed to be struggling at Mass? Do I go straight to my work, or take time to chat with my family?

It seems like those should be easy to answer, so why do I ever equivocate? Why do I ever choose the one that isn't where God would have me?

Today I think I may have made better choices, but my default is not that direction. Please God, help me to see You, hear You, find You in the situations that I find you putting before me. Help me to make the loving choice.

I do have a lot to do, but if it isn't God's work, it's just busy work.

The Tree is Out!!

 What a beautiful surprise this morning! I was so happy to look out the back and see that the weeping cherry tree has blossomed. In spite of a very windy day yesterday and overnight. 

This is a very big deal every year, because it really means that Spring is springing!

I went for a walk with Celeste this morning and it didn't feel like Spring. Winter wanted a little more attention. We did enjoy the morning! We saw two Osprey and a Canvasback duck. Lots of trees budding too. 

I went and got Lilly for school and now I am doing stuff around the house. It's clean sheets day!

I will head over to Michelle's this evening, for our book study. 

It's Holy Week! Have to get the Lamb from Nina's house!

Rainy Sunday

 What a difference a day makes!

It's gray and wet out there. We went to Mass last night, so we don't have to go out in this, which is nice. Just get to stay in and do homey things, 

I want to sew some on my quilt, watch the race, and do some crocheting. I also want to work on my presentation for the parish some more. I have a lot of reading to catch up on too. Yes, this rainy day is a gift.

We are moving Ivy! More on that later!

Well, Lewis Hamilton won the first race of the 2021 season in Bahrain. I was pulling for Max Verstappen. He did well, but in the end he just couldn't pull it off. 

Well, the presentation is coming along, but I have a headache so I am quitting for now. 

Spring Glory

 What a glorious day we had today! The sun was out and there was hardly a cloud in the sky!

I got going pretty early because I had a lot to get done, and so I got started with laundry and some other housework, but as soon as I could I got out the door to walk in the fresh air and sunshine.

After I got back I had to head down to BJs to shop for groceries and get back to get ready for Mass. Oh and I also watched the time trials for the Bahrain Formula 1 race that is set to happen tomorrow. Looking forward to that!!

I was able to grill for the first time this year, so we had wonderful grilled chicken for dinner!

Mercy

What a beautiful consecration this is! I am enjoying it once again.

Spring Creeps In

 Wow.

It's been a few days!

Spring is here and I am so happy for the warmer temperatures! I am just not a lover of Winter. I have been able to walk downtown several days and I have enjoyed seeing things "waking up".

Today is a rain day. Really pouring, but the plants are loving it I'm sure. We'll have to start mowing soon!

I am listening to a fascinating book, "Dead Wake", about the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI. It is by Eric Larson. I love his books!! I learn so much. This is such an interesting story. 

I bought a couple of dresses in anticipation of the warmer weather and the trip to Washington. Have to have a dress for the wedding, and dresses are so comfortable. Of course, the heat isn't a problem in Port Angeles. I have been known to wear a turtleneck and sweatshirt in July there. 

I am working on my TOB presentation. I guess I will give it after Easter. I think there is so much to be said for sharing the Faith through the eyes of the Theology of the Body!

John is enjoying his space up at Nina's. He says it is so nice and quiet. 

Brendan and Paul are both trying to figure out what they will do in the Fall, as far as school.

We have found a new home for Ivy, with a nice ring and trails!! So exciting! I am not sure when we will move her, but we are going up to sign the contract on Friday. 

Tonight is Adoration, Mass, and the study of James with Fr Dale. I am looking forward to that! The guys are going to get Chick Fila. 

Friday

 I've been way less busy than I'd like to be. After we came home from Georgia we had to quarantine for the week. I have been missing Mass and Adoration so much!!

I have gotten a lot of laundry and housework done. I have been working on something for the parish, a talk on Theology of the Body. 

We have had some Zoom meetings of a couple of groups and we met with our couple for marriage prep last night. That was wonderful.

I have also been watching a Netflix documentary on Formula One to get me ready for the start of the season. Next week!!

And I am going to start a new Crochet project!

More Georgia Pics!

 These are some pictures that Andrew took over the weekend. 

These kids are such a treat!

Oh Max...

Miles- 8

Claire, Lucy and Molly

Those Cooke Kids

Max and Miles

Sweet Molly!

Max and Miles on the "Lightning Tree"

Lots of Foosball

The Lake

What a Great Time We Had!

 The trip to Georgia was so wonderful! 

Sunday was such a nice day! We decided to stay in and watch Mass online, in order to minimize contact with people. So we watched Fr Mike and it was very good, of course. 

Then we had a relaxing day. The guys went fishing, and the girls went to get groceries for Sunday dinner, which we grilled. The weather was perfect, not hot but definitely t-shirt weather. We saw some deer near the house, and Laura and I went up to the top of the hill to find bears. We didn't. We had to start getting things packed up and cleaned up, which is always sad. 

We saw these amazing clouds on the way home.

Georgia On My Mind

 Glorious Georgia!!

We headed out for a long weekend with the Cooke family in Jasper Georgia!!

This was a special trip for Tim, because he had to miss seeing the kids last year, and we wanted to be sure that they all got together! He seems to be having a wonderful time!

We rented and Airbnb house in a very large community in the Ozarks. This place is amazing. The road in is terrifying. We got here about 4:30 yesterday afternoon after a nice drive down from MD. Tim and I broke up the drive so that we could get here earlier. We stayed in Roanoke, VA. 

The house is gorgeous and the beds are SO comfortable that I just died last night. 

The woods are so quiet and peaceful, and the hiking is great! Today we went cross country and got ourselves down into a valley that probably wasn't a place that people hike. But it was fun. The hills are super steep. 

Andrew's Salamander

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day! 

I Just Had To

 What a gorgeous day!! It got to 70 degrees! Yes!! It's been a long, cold season. 

I got out the deck furniture and sat out and enjoyed my coffee. It was delicious!

And a perfect day for a ride!

School Day and Sunshine

 Yes, it's Monday so Lilly is here for school. She seemed to get a lot done, but I will have to look it over tomorrow before she starts for the day. 

I got some Monday housework done, laundry and such and made a dent in some of the reading that I have to wade through. There is a lot. I am reading two documents and a book for St Patrick's ministry and some books for further study. I have a few things that I want to read that I think will be very useful going forward, and then there is the online stuff that has to be done. 

The sun is out! It is still pretty cold, but I took a walk because I had been sitting all morning. It was so nice to get out and move! 

I need to head to Weis and get some fish. 

Well, there was no fish, so we had pork chops instead. 

I ended up going to the mom's book study with Paula and I am so glad that I did! It was so good to have a chance to talk and pray. 

Trip Planning

 Yes, Laura and I are already planning our trip to the Pacific Northwest! It is going to be so much fun!!

I have a whole lot of points in my PNC wallet, and I will be able to provide a lot of the hotels for the main trip. 

It's a little overwhelming to try to plan for the stay in Port Angeles, because we have a lot of us, and the Inns are full, so to speak. Ordinarily we would have several choices of places to stay, but with Matt's wedding there are guests coming from everywhere and the family spaces are filling up. That's good though, because we will be able to see everyone! I am hoping to touch base with many of my friends and some of the family. 

Julie and her girls are planning a "family reunion" of the Woodchuck variety. Sarah and her girls will be there and Amanda and her boys and we are really hoping that Katie can make it over for at least a short visit. We plan to go out to the place that we hiked with all the kids when they were little and remember the old days. There are so many amazing memories of the kids and all the fun that we had with them. 

I can't wait to see my brothers and their kids and catch up! I hope that my cousin, Debbie can make it over so the we can finally catch up! It's a long way from home and I probably won't do it again for a long time! 

 Started doing the taxes today.

I probably should have prayed first. I was pretty cranky, and I wasn't even done. I'll finish up over the weekend. Ugh. 

Lilly is working on two slide shows for school. One is on the Arts and Culture of ancient Greece and the other is on different types of life found in the Susquehanna. I was hoping that it would be more interesting than some of the things that she could be doing. I don't want her to have to just write essay after essay. She is doing well.

Ivy got a good workout today. She gave Lilly a good ride. She was a pill during grooming and tacking up, but she settled down after she get into the ring. I left around 5. I had to get home and get dinner together. 

We had another marriage prep meeting. We are preparing a really great couple. They are open and we have had some really good conversations. 

Tonight Paul is hanging out with John Andrews. It is nice to see John around again. I miss all the kids coming around all the time. 

Tomorrow is going to be a busy one. Lilly doesn't usually have much school on Fridays, but tomorrow will be different. We have a bit to catch up on. Nina's stairs are being repaired tomorrow, or so they say. We'll see. It's only been since Thanksgiving. Lowes really outdid themselves in destroying her house trying to put down new floors. I never blogged that. They actually cut the fronts off of all the stairs, and now the steps are 2 inches to short to meet the building code. There are also multiple problems with the flooring itself, and the trim. I am looking forward to seeing how they plan to fix it. 

Hoping for a nice weekend!

Spring Around the Corner!

 Today was just gorgeous! 

The temperature got up to almost 60 degrees! 

I swept the deck, and took a walk in only a sweatshirt. It was just so nice to dress lightly and have the sunshine warming everything up. 

Lilly went to ride Ivy and the ring had dried out and was nice for footing. I thought Ivy was a very well behaved young lady, but I don't think that Lilly agreed with me.

After I got back I went and grabbed a rotisserie chicken and some oven fries. I didn't have much time before Mass and Adoration, which was wonderful, and then we had a great Bible Study of James right after. 

Tonight I am typing some more of Grandma Maggie's logs. 

We are getting ready for our trip to Georgia to meet-up with the Cooke family! I am so excited! Tim is going to have a blast. We all will! Tim and I are leaving on Thursday afternoon so that we can get to Roanoke VA in the evening and have a shorter drive the next day. That way we can be there for Friday dinner. I am going to take and blog TONS of pictures!! 

Boiler 2.0

 Well, the guy who came to fix the boiler, didn't.

It is once again on the fritz and we are hoping that our friend Dan will have some input and possibly the problem will be clear to him. 

All I know is that the house is cold and there are no showers until we get this figured. It's March and the temps are definitely still in the winter range. 

Yesterday I did the paperwork on the new car and finished removing the old cars from the insurance policy. There is a lot to do that I hope I don't have to do again for a long time. I hope the two cars we now have last a very long time, and that Tim can avoid having to do a bunch of work on them. Ever. 

We had a Respect Life meeting last night, and we talked about some things that we want to see happen as we move into the post-Covid time in the coming months. Once we are cleared to gather again, we want to have a Baby Shower for Birthright, and a baby bottle drive. We would love to be able to offer food again. 

There are so many other things that have been halted and it is long past time to get back to them. Gathering with other families has to start up again. Our community needs each other! 

Boiler Update: I have no idea what they are doing down there, but it doesn't sound good....

Update: Still no noise coming from the boiler, but they think they know what the problem is. Now it's a matter of finding the part. However...it's pretty darn cold. Guess I'll be showering at Nina's tomorrow.

Update: The house is WARM! There is hot water! Praise the Lord and thank you Tim and Dan Weber!!!