"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." Saint Francis De Sales

Friday, September 28, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 67)


1. PCs vs Macs: How they stack up by Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY

2. I received a new bottle of wine from our “adopted” son Patrick. It is a Luc Pirlet, Pinot Noir 2010. My assignment is to slowly drink the wine and determine what I taste. What fruit is there? Is there a slight taste of spice or wood flavor? We’ll see this weekend.

3. It was a good weekend for college football. University of Richmond won over Georgia State; Notre Dame had a “not to pretty” win over Michigan and Virginia Tech embarrassed Bowling Green.

4. We were discussing change the other night at our men’s group. Some of the fellows were concerned that the world has been changing and we are getting to the point where it could end. War, economic disaster, a solar storm, maybe zombie’s. (Not really.) Anyway our brother-in-Christ, Dick reminded us that there has always been change and it has always worked out for the better. His faith is stronger than ours and we are blessed to have him in our group.   

5. FedEx delivered my new iPhone on Tuesday. Well, sort of. The box was empty. It had been re-taped and fortunately the driver made a note of it. So my iPhone box arrived and now I’m working with FedEx on a claim and Verizon for a replacement.

6. A correction from my last blog. I misspelled my granddaughters name, it was supposed to be Ekaterina, not Katerina. Not a good thing for Grandpa to do.

7. This morning Melanie Rigney wrote about today’s reading from Ecclesiastes. It fits well into the “change discussion” we had at our men’s group meeting. “We turn over control and worry and fear. We know He’s coming back. We don’t know when. All we can do is to do as He asked: Love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s always time to obey the two greatest commandments.”

Friday, September 21, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 66)


1. I have a pet peeve; people working or playing on cell phones during a function. Whether it’s a meeting, a seminar, a wedding, a church service or general gathering of friends it’s rude. My two cents. 

2. Saturday’s wedding was beautiful and I especially liked the reading from Sirach 26: 3-4

“A good wife is a generous gift,
bestowed upon him who fears the Lord.

Whether rich or poor, his heart is content,
a smile ever on his face”

I am blessed that He entrusted me with Dee’s love. My heart is happy and my life is content.   

3. “Your Daily Tripod” wrote about the theme "waiting." 

My “waiting” is for retirement. 153 days to go. That of course is my plan and not God's. So we'll see what develops.

When I was a child I was always waiting for Christmas, summer break, waiting to be 16 so I could drive, waiting to be 18 so I could drink, waiting to be 21 so I could vote, waiting to graduate from college, waiting for our first child to be born, waiting for the "right job," waiting for things I thought I needed. These things have all passed and I have learned that patience is more important. Life is much easier when I put my faith in God and follow His example.
4. Fantasy football, an example of humility at “Thoughts of A Flawed Disciple.” 

5. Thursday night we celebrated one of our coworkers retirement. He is 55, has spent over 30 years with our organization and is ready to explore new horizons. Gary’s plan is to retire somewhere in Florida on a houseboat. Maybe find a small island off the Florida Keys. The evening was cheerful and sad. We are happy he is leaving but will miss him. Lord please watch over him and keep him safe.

6. Tomorrow we celebrate our granddaughter Katerina’s birthday. A day in the country with family.

7. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish face Michigan Wolverines at 7:30PM Saturday and have field advantage. Michigan leads the series 23-15-1 but that will change when the Irish lads triumph over the northern guys.   

Friday, September 14, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 65)


1. The Central Virginia Men’s weekend is January 31 - February 3, 2013. I have been asked to be on the team and have accepted the honor.

2. The Church of the Epiphany celebrated it’s 33rd year on Sunday the 9th with our annual picnic. Picture below of Maureen, Msgr. Shreve, Tony, Me, Jack and Beth.

Photo by Dee
3. The Richmond, Virginia 54th Annual Armenian Food Festival is next week. September 20-23. My favorite food is the Hye burger. Ground sirloin and lamb with Armenian spices. One of those with a Kotayk beer and I’m happy. All of the desserts are delicious. The best thing to do is go with the pastry assortment.

4. Paul’s letter to the Philippians tells them that God is there to help us through the worries and uneasiness we face on a daily basis. There are days when I have to remind myself of this. When I do there is the consolation of knowing He is there to listen.

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.”

5. Travel the path of least resistance and find the easy answers. This is what we would all like to do. Keep it simple and don’t change anything thing. John, my brothet-in-Christ, writes about this in his Wednesday blog at “Thoughts of...A Flawed Disciple.” Please take the time to read.

6. The new Apple iPhone 5 reviewed by Edward Baig at USA Today.

7. We are attending a wedding at the University of Richmond's Cannon Memorial Chapel.
The groom, Michael, is a young man whom I sponsored for Confirmation. He and his family have become part of our family and have included our grand daughters in the wedding. Msgr. Shreve will be the Celebrant. It will be a beautiful wedding.  


Friday, September 7, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 64)


1. These pictures are of one of my AWI British Artillery Limber units. The manufacturer is “Hinchliffe.” 



2. The Buffalo, New York area has fine foods not found in Richmond, Virginia. One of those is the Friday fish fry. Growing up in Buffalo this was the normal Friday dinner for Catholics. On this trip our friends Kathy and Rich took us to Mackenzie's Bar and Grill, Hamburg, NY. It was excellent!

3. On Saturday Rich and I ate lunch at J.P. Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub. Guinness and a “beef on weck.” Life is grand.

4. Dee and I attended church at St. Mary’s in Strykersville, N.Y. A beautiful little church in a quaint country town. We met Father Matthew who was surprised and pleased that we chose his church for Sunday worship.

Me After Mass
5. We need prayers for Dee’s ninety year old Mom, Lucy. She is suffering from osteoarthritis.  

6. In Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” there is a description of the eating habits of Hobbits. “They would enjoy at least seven meals a day, breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and (late in the evening) supper.” Very similar to my eating habits when I vacation at the Outer Banks.

7. On Thursday the 6th, USA Today had an article written by John Waggoner that discussed treasures in your attic and other places. One of the things that caught my attention was the information on original newspaper comic art. A “Calvin and Hobbes” original supposedly was going to auction for $125,000. I don’t have any originals, but my son Eric and I have all the books that Bill Watterson produced. It is our favorite comic strip and we were both disappointed when Bill retired.