Reading Cat

I'm pretty much in love with this picture! A big Thank You to The Entertaining Elf for posting this!

Lent 2012

While I don't give up something during Lent, I do like to do something extra during this very important time of reflection and spiritual growth.

I have set some very specific goals to be accomplished (hopefully) by Easter, but I will only mention one of those goals here. I like to spend Lent focusing on a specific verse or passage from the bible. Here is what I have chosen for 2012:

From that place he went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon, a woman heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied and said to him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter." When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed with the demon gone. ~ Mark 7:24-30

I am in awe of this woman's persistence and faith because she could have slunk off at such a rebuke. I want mostly to reflect on the attitudes of both the woman and Jesus. How can this apply to me? Do I give up my prayers too easily when I don't get a response fast enough or if the response is not what I want? Is God's "silence" or unwanted response because God has other plans or because my faith is not strong or what? This should make for an interesting reflection.

Happy Lent 2012!

Movies 2012

1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy--January 16
2. Red Tails--January 28
3. Safe House--February 11

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Movies 2011
Movies 2010
Movies 2009

Happy First Day of 2012!

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I pray God brings us many blessings as well as courage and strength to get through any hard times.

Maybe I'll start blogging again. I'm not really sure why I fizzled out during the year in the blogging arena, but there it is. I sort of lost interest in several things last year, so I will try to do a little galvanization.

We have a pretty big Europe trip planned for summer (more on that later). Our passports expire in June, but I have already sent away for new ones. For once I didn't procrastinate! Yes, I also often procrastinate on the positive and fun things...weird.

But what I really want to accomplish this year is to find a job that I love...or at least like in a strong way. I need to sit down and reevaluate my situation and options during this first month of 2012.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first: take down the Christmas tree. Hello, 2012!

Buona Sera, Ragazzi!

It's been four years since I spent a month in Italy, so that means it's been four years since I have officially spoken any significant amount of Italian. I am very ashamed to admit that I have not practiced at all, and I have forgotten so much. The desire, however, for everything Italian is still tucked away inside my heart. I do believe it's time to get back on that international horse because I have no intention of giving up such a beautiful language!

Who is with me in reawakening (or learning) the Italian language? Who will embark with me on a language journey that will never end; a journey that will include a trip to Italy where we can dress, act, and speak Italian with aplomb!

Who's in? Let's begin our journey together, right here and right now!

Firenze, Italia

We'll start at the beginning:

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Buon Giorno (hello)
Come ti chiami? (what is your name?)
Mi chiamo Ruthie (my name is Ruthie)

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Stay tuned!

Shades of Summer

No, I'm not talking about ghosts that haunt summertime, although there might be some lurking. I love shade, and we finally put a lid on our deck! We chose the metal louvered slats rather than the canvas retractable cover because it's sleeker and should last longer. I love the clean lines and the shadiness these slats provide (I have a love/hate relationship with the sun--love because it's necessary for life, hate because it can be deadly mean).

We opted for the manual operation only because we would need two motors (we have a large deck) and each motor costs $500. Ridiculous, I say. I can turn a crank like nobody's business! Besides, one less thing that uses electricity is okay in my book.

The summer sun is so brutal and relentless, so this project is long overdue. Here's a peek at our new covering for our now very enjoyable deck. I offer a couple of views of it opened and closed. You can see the crank (to the left) in this first picture. It can be removed and stowed if desired.

Here's a picture that shows that the cover is split into two sections, and we can control each side separately.

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And here are two random deck pictures:

Our new deck box to hide all the necessary yet unattractive deck stuff.

Limes! sort of...

Thanks for hanging out on our shady deck! Would you like some lime in your iced tea?

Wake Up and Say Thank You!

I'm okay, but things could have gone in a different direction. I've hesitated in blogging because I'm not sure I have completely sorted out my thoughts and feelings on what could have been.

I had to have a biopsy of some clustered calcification in my right breast (near the chest wall). Turns out it's fibrocystic changes, which is a good thing, relatively speaking. I've had cysts for several years now, but so far they've not been a problem. During my April mammogram, they discovered this cluster of calcium deposits, which they called "area of concern" in my letter, and my doctor called it "complications" when she phoned me. I remained calm, cool, and collected...mostly. After some research, I found out that calcification is not normally a cause for alarm if the calcium deposits are scattered. If they're clustered...well...they can only tell what the cluster is hiding by doing a biopsy. What they discover could be benign, precancerous, or malignant.

My biopsy on Thursday, May 5 was a core needle biopsy that included leaving in a marker for future mammograms. The procedure, however, was a little more involved than I expected. I was really frightened going in because it was all so foreign to me, but I put on a brave face for Ken. There's a continuous mammogram or x-ray to make sure they're on target, a small incision, and some blood--enough said. Oh, and there's pain after the local wears off.

The hard part is the waiting and wondering, but on the following Tuesday, my doctor called to tell me I'm fine. Whew!

I prayed a lot, and I was preparing myself for the different scenarios. The verdict I got was definitely the best case scenario. I'm blessed, but I'm not off the hook. I have decided to treat this as a wake up call. My health in general is very good but definitely not perfect. I can do better. I may not have much control over future calcification of the breast since, in my case, it's all part of growing old up, but I can do more to maintain my good health.

I've had four friends who have survived breast cancer in recent years (one was just last year). One of these friends (maybe more, but she's the only one I asked) had clustered calcification. Throughout this whole ordeal, I kept telling myself that I'm not exempt. I can get sick just like anyone else. I prayed for healing, but I also prayed for courage and strength for myself and my family to handle come what may. This wake up call involves taking better care of my body and my soul. It's time to take stock of my physical situation and figure out a game plan to at least try to keep what might have been from becoming what is. And I can never neglect my spiritual armour because the fate of my soul is what counts in the end.

Life is a gift to be received with gratitude and thanksgiving...every day.

Green is Such a Lovely Color

I found a company that delivers Fresh Local Organic Produce--right to my front door! This company is called Greenling, and it's based out of Austin, Texas. In addition to providing a lot of produce from local farms, Greenling also has many non-produce items such as milk and eggs as well as non-food stuff (I haven't checked everything out yet because so far I'm just interested in local organic produce). You can do almost all of your shopping this way, and there's no extra charge for delivery! Check out the website here to learn how a young college guy started the whole thing. So cool!

I stumbled upon all of this on Saturday and liked what I saw, so I decided to give it a try! The set delivery day for our area is Tuesday. That's today! I decided to go the easy route and choose the Local Box. This bin contains fresh local produce, and the selection obviously changes weekly. For this week, here's what I got:

• Spring Lettuce Mix from Tecolote Farm
• Carrots from Acadian Family Farm
• Chard from Bradshaw
• Brussels Sprouts from Hillside Farm
• Summer Squash from Acadian Family Farm
• Yukon Potatoes from Green Gate Farm
• Flat Leaf Parsley from Tecolote
• Heirloom Tomatoes from Bluebonnet Hydroponic
• Mango from G&S Grove
• Crisp Green Leaf Lettuce from Lund Produce

Here's a picture:

click on the picture for a larger view

At first I thought some of it was kind of skimpy. But after contemplating for a little while, I realized that it's probably just right. I sometimes end up throwing food out because I don't get to it in time. This is one way to have just the right amount. Besides, If I know I will need more of an item, I can request it ahead of time. There are other types of boxes to choose from, and you can build your own if you want only specific items. Although, I kind of like the randomness of the Local Box.

One of the many nice things about this company is that there are no contracts to commit to. You can order whenever and whatever you want. I only signed up for this week's delivery because I wanted to see how it all works. I haven't tasted anything yet, but I'm already thinking about ordering next week's box. I also plan to go to the grocery store tomorrow to price these things as a comparison--just out of curiosity since I know organic local food can cost a bit more. Either way, using Greenling is a fun and healthy way to eat my fruits and veggies as well as support local farms and help the environment. All good things!

Oh yeah, the box contains a list of what's in there as well as recipe suggestions. How helpful! They also gave me (as a welcome, I guess) a bumper sticker.

I'm so excited! Now I need to decide how I want to use everything this week.

Buon Appetito!

Rejoice!

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

~ Psalm 118:24

Christ is Risen!

Alleluia! Allelluia!

Marking the Unremarkable

For some odd reason the image of my art class back in high school popped into my head. What? This was. . . okay, I'll just say it. . . almost 30 years ago! Gasp! Double Gasp! Has it really been that long? Certainly, it does feels like years ago, but not that many years. Whatever, I'm okay with that.

Anyway, I can actually smell the smells of that art room: paint, pastels, charcoal. What's your pleasure? Mine was pen and ink--making small dots all over the page a bazillion times and discovering glory and triumph in the picture that slowly, painstakingly emerges. What a rush! Only it isn't a rush. That's what I always liked about that medium--it's methodical and takes absolutely forever. There's no instant gratification there, but the process is pure tedium and irresistible. Weird, I know. But this is what I like: mundane, everyday, process, life in the making. It's easy to love the moments of excitement--moments that are like no other and that anchor your memories and illustrate your story. What about the unremarkable moments? Don't they deserve notice or perhaps a few dots of ink?

Trudging, plodding, breathing. . . these are the moments I treasure and draw slowly and lovingly on the flawed plains of my heart. I exist outside the spectacular. I am ordinary. I am a former artist that still is.