What Is Needed

 

Is February Over Yet?

So after Brendan moved all his computer stuff out of the office, Tim got it set up for work.

 He has a lot more room to work and he knows where everything is now. Cora is just rolling with all the changes and seems to be taking it all in stride. I have been working on getting things organized upstairs, which means that the doors are open a lot of the time.

Brendan got his diploma from Harford Community College!

Lilly invited us up to see Ivy in her new barn and she showed Tim all around. Ivy was very cooperative. I had Cora with me and it was about 30 degrees, so we went and sat in the car for part of the time, but Tim was a very good grandpa and stayed in the arena and Lilly loved it! 

The weather is typical February weather, with a freeze, ice and rain one day and then a lovely 60 degree day the next. We have gotten in a few walks and have rediscovered Perryville park across the Susquehanna. What a beautiful place to take Cora! 

There are critters and birds to smell and she can run on grass mostly. It's a long walk too! We saw Swan and a beaver the first time, and the water and sunshine were just beautiful the next. 

I get to head out to Port Angeles in about 6 weeks to be with Julie and help her get the house in order. I just can't wait to be able to have time to talk and be with my dear friend. What a gift. 

Valentine's Weekend- A Busy One!

 Wow, I haven't blogged in a while! I will try to catch up...

Last week was busy, getting ready for our Marriage Enrichment evening. I was keeping track of registration, and it was ongoing until Saturday! We had to adjust the food a couple of times as the count went up. We have such an amazing team! Fr Francis has big plans for Marriage in our parish! 

We haven't had a Monday Bible Study in a long time. Covid really hit some of our families hard, and my friend Kim almost lost her husband to it. Thank goodness he made it. Another one of our dear ladies had Covid and some complications and she has had a slow recovery.

I had a couple of meetings and I was also helping Brendan get ready for his big move with Henry! He gathered a lot of household items, and we set up up with some furniture. Their place is nice! I think it's great for them. It was quite a production. Tim and I loaded up the two Mazdas on Friday morning and drove over to drop off a LOT of stuff, and then the next morning Matt Watkins came with a pickup to get the sofa and the TV stand. This was also the day before the ME event, so I had a little stuff to do!! The guys are pretty well settled. There were a couple of issues, like the fridge didn't work and the tub wouldn't drain, but for the most part the place is great! Two bedrooms, a living area and a decent kitchen. They don't need any more than that while they are getting used to living out on their own. 

Tim and I have a very quiet house until Paul gets home from college. We have a nice routine and things going on that keep us busy. Tim has a nice office set up in the basement, and I have all my things going on with the Church and Spiritual Direction. 

We have a small group here every other week, so the house does get used! I also have Spiritual Directees in a couple of times a week, depending on the week. We go to a Bible study at the Church on Thursdays, and I have Walking With Purpose on Sunday mornings. 

This past weekend we had the Marriage event on Saturday night which went very well.

The next morning Tim and I spoke about marriage at Mass. After that I led a Gospel reflection with the parents of the children who are preparing for first Confession. I was really wiped out after that, so I hunkered down to get ready for the Superbowl. We didn't go anywhere. Just sat in the office on the futon and enjoyed the quiet. 

Monday was actually Valentine's day and Tim really spoiled me! He gave me a wonderful Formula 1 hoodie, a matching T-shirt, and a preserved rose, which is so cool! It's just so pretty, and it is supposed to last up to a year!

Little Cora is growing up and is almost a year now. She is pretty well settled in and seems to be able to follow the rules. She loves being outside so much! I try to walk her as long as it's warm enough. I am hoping the the most frigid temperatures are behind us. She likes to go in the car and be where we are. I am looking forward to road tripping with her this summer. 

Nice Weekend!

 It has been a nice weekend, even with the cold weather. We didn't have any firm plans, except for doing things around the house that need doing.

Tim is working on replacing the treads and risers on the basement stairs. It's a slow process, but it really needs to be done. It will come along in bits and pieces, but it will come, as these things do. 

We have long needed to replace the chairs in the kitchen too. The table is still in good shape, but the chairs have gotten pretty old and rickety. I had an idea to replace them with random chairs from different places, so yesterday I got on Craig's List and started looking for wooden chairs. I found two, and send messages to the people who had posted them. They were both still available and so yesterday morning I headed to Towson, and met a very nice lady, and bought this lovely chair.

On the way back I stopped in Kingsville, and picked up another one. It is very sturdy, with a few scuffs, but perfect for our purposes!

I haven't seen Danielle and the pups in a very long time and I sent her a message to see what they were up to this weekend. She said that they have been working to finish her basement, and asked if I wanted to see the work coming along and then maybe we could take the dogs for a walk. Well, I did want to see the basement, but I wasn't sure about the walk. It is so dang cold. Her basement is going to be really neat! I love what they are doing. There will be a bedroom and a bathroom, and a living room too! She still has half the space for storage. Her Grandma is pulling out some of her things to decorate when they get to that point. Paula came over and it was decided that we would go down into town to walk the dogs because they have been taking care of another dog and he needed a walk. Well, the wind was blowing and the wind chill was probably in the teens. We walked for a ways, but we were freezing. My fingers were numb even in my gloves. My face felt frozen, and Cora kept looking at me, until I finally picked her up and carried her to warm her up. I decided that we would get home as soon as we could get back to the car. It took a long time to warm up. 

We stayed in the rest of the evening. I worked on my blanket and Cora slept. She was very tired. 

This morning I got up a bit late, and I wasn't going to go to Walking With Purpose, but as I did my prayers I felt like I should. So I got out the door in time, and when I got there, low and behold, masks were optional! That was the biggest reason that I was considering not going. It was very good and we had a very good discussion after the video. 

After WWP I met Tim at the hall for Mass and then we came home for the afternoon. I at lunch and then got to work making a cinnamon roll recipe that I have been thinking of trying. It was fun, but I fell off the sugar wagon, because I ended up eating one. I have been doing so well, and my psoriasis has really gotten better. I know from experience that sugar is the worst thing for it and I will be sorry. I will go back to no sugar tomorrow. I also made chicken enchiladas, and that's always a nice Sunday dinner. 

Tomorrow will be a quiet day, but I do have Adoration, so that will be fantastic!

Rainy Days

 Well the temperatures have warmed a bit, but the rain has come in. It has been raining all day! Cora was pretty unhappy. She just loves going outside, and she spent a lot of time sitting in front of the door asking to go out.

 She is so funny. When she did go out she took full advantage and stayed out sniffing around the yard, until I made her come in. She was soaking wet!

I went to Mass, and came home to work on the house, doing laundry and sorting some of the clothes in my closet. 

I headed down to meet Lilly at the bus and picked her up and took her to the barn so that she could ride Ivy. I had to come home right away though because I needed to get dinner going so that Tim could get down to St Patrick's to sit in on the Synod. I hope it goes well. I was supposed to go, but my stomach has been giving me some trouble. I thought that I would wait for the next one. 

Tomorrow morning we are supposed to have icy conditions. I kind of hope so, because I would like to take some pictures. It's always so pretty on the trees. It only happens once in a while too. 

February!

 Well, we've said good-bye to the last days of January and here we are in February already! 

January ended quietly. It was a nice weekend. Football and a good time with our friends Barb and Ron. We went up to their house to watch one of the playoff games and it was great!! The Bengals beat the Chiefs in overtime and they are going to the Superbowl! That is just so amazing. If the Ravens couldn't go, I am just so happy that the Bengals got there. They are the underdoggiest of underdogs. 

Yesterday was nice. I went to Mass, and then went to BJs to shop. I got home in time to get down to Adoration for an hour and a half. We ended the day with Benediction. It was lovely! 

We are making good progress on our Marriage Enrichment event. We have about 30 couples so far, and we have arranged for the food and things are falling nicely into place. The only thing that we have to worry about is getting childcare arranged, because right now we have six kids who will be needing it and no one to watch them. But we'll figure it out. I am excited about the program though! 

The weather may actually be a bit better tomorrow. It was really cold today, but I bundled up and went for a long walk anyway. I need to get out and to that more. I also need to get back off the sugar. It's just so bad. I keep trying to get through a whole day without it and I did it today, so that's the first one, again. I watched a couple of videos about how sugar and fructose are so bad for us. The effects are really pretty much like a slow poison. I ordered a book to try to help keep me motivated. I don't know why feeling better isn't enough to do that.

Little Cora sure does love the winter weather. She is so happy outside in the yard. She just wants to be out there all the time! She has found stuff to dig up from under the snow and she has learned to come back in pretty quick when I call her, if I treat her with chicken jerky!

I'm still getting email everyday from Zillow. There are some really nice houses and some with property. I don't know much about the towns that they are in, and we have to research what it would be like to actually live there. The Churches look great! That's a good indicator. Of course being there will be much more telling. I love the idea of land and being out where it's quiet and we could have some animals and raise some food. But I just don't know how well we would do with no support system and with aging in a strange place. Right now we are both fit and healthy, and it sounds like a great idea, but in a few years we may want a really solid healthcare system. It's a hard decision. The money would go a lot further, but would we be sorry if we had given up what we have here? I guess we just have to wait and see what the Holy Spirit says. There are a whole lot of pros and cons on both sides of the coin.

Looking at the pictures of what grandma and grandpa did, with the boats that they bought, and the cabin at the lake, it seems like something that they might have done. 

Tomorrow night is the "Synod Listening Session" at St Patrick's. I don't know what all they will hear, but I know what I will say, I just hope that the people who are doing the listening will also listen to the Holy Spirit when determining what to do with all the information that they have pulled together. 

Well, I am going to work on the blanket that I am crocheting. It is going to be a warm one! Hope I finish it before too long. It is nice to work on it as it gets bigger!