"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, October 26, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 71)


1. Saturday afternoon was different in that both the Richmond Spiders and the Fighting Irish played at the same time. I kept going back and forth from one game to the other. When it got to the fourth quarter the excitement began. Yes, It was intense but fun to watch. Two great games and two great wins. 
Spiders overall is 5-3. The Irish Lads at 7-0. 

2. Dee and I have found her Mom’s new home.The staff, facility and amenities are excellent. We have started the process and should be able to get her Mom moved in November.

3. On Sunday Todd, his buddy Patrick and I moved the couch and some other furniture from my mother-in-laws apartment to our garage. Tuesday, Stephen and I finished the move. Dee and I finished moving the boxed items Thursday night. The entire process has been successful.

4. Russell Charles Means died on October 22, 2012. He was an Oglala Sioux who portrayed Chingachgook in “The Last of the Mohicans” and starred in “Pathfinder.” I loved his character in both movies but enjoyed “The Last of Mohicans,” probably because of my interest in the French and Indian War period. There is detailed information about him at Wikipedia.



5. “The Call of Jeremiah,” was Mondays article by Tuck at Denbigh Church. In his discussion of the issues Jeremiah’s faced while following God, Tuck makes an interesting point.  
“Whatever our struggles and hardships, we are not alone. God is with us, God’s Spirit is in us, and God’s people are beside us. God never promises that we will not struggle; He does promise that we will never have to struggle alone!”
Thank you Tuck.

6. Apple introduces the iPad Mini, a new iMac and a new MacBook Pro. Read about it and view photos at USA Today.

7. Hurricane Sandy is on her way north. For those of us on the East Coast, make sure you are ready. Lord help us all to get through the storm. (See number 5 above.)

Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.


Saturday, October 20, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 70)


1. College football provided two exciting games over the weekend. The Richmond Spider’s lost a close game to New Hampshire, 40-44. Stanford and Notre Dame went into overtime with the Irish winning 20-13.

2. Prayers for our sister-in-Christ Rose who made her journey home on Sunday. We lived next door to each other and watched our children grow, attended weddings and shared the ups and downs that life brings. Thank you Lord for the memories.

3. Sunday’s homily by Monsignor Shreve suggested that selling everything and giving it to the poor is something we face more often that we realize. If we think of our possessions not as physical things but rather our time, it might be easier to understand Mark's Gospel. Our neighbor calls asks us for help tonight, but we have scheduled a night to go to the movie so we respond with a no. Your brother asks you to help him move furniture out of an apartment. It’s your turn to drive the “guys” to the ball game this week so you respond with a no. If we make the sacrifice to sell or time and give it to our friends and family, it may be the same as selling what we have and giving it to the poor.

4. Your Daily Tripod for Monday provided an excellent prayer by St. Teresa of Avila.

“Lord, you know better than I myself that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.  Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all; but Thou knowest, Lord, that I  want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.  Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is  becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.  Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.  Give  me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people; and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.”

5. I have painted Norman knights, Templar knights and Hospitaller knights but sold them when I started concentrating on other periods. Every once in awhile I think about getting some knights to paint again. So when I saw these figures from Paul’s Bods I got interested in his diorama and my mind started wandering toward some knights I saw at the Historicon convention this year. Just don’t tell Dee.



6. The review of assisted living continues. Completed two this week. We have been asking friends for suggestions and they have been teaching us things we didn’t know. A little more time will be worth the effort to find the right place.

7. The Fair Trade Bazaar takes place in two weeks. I received the consignment order and will start tagging all the items. There are some new items that we added including jewelry and scarves.

Read other "Quick Takes" at Conversion Diary.

Friday, October 12, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 69)


1. College football scores, for my favorite teams. Richmond won over Villanova adding another victory to their win column; 4-2. Notre Dame dominated Miami bringing their record to 5-0.

2. Our men’s group started watching the Catholicism series narrated by Father Robert Baron. When he was talking about “The Teachings of Jesus,”   one of the readings he spoke about was from Matthew,

   “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:44,45.

We got into a discussion about who is your enemy. My thought was that today’s enemy is someone who doesn’t agree with you, someone who irritates you or just makes you feel uncomfortable. It can be a neighbor, a person at work or even church. We don’t have to hug them. Smile and say good morning or good afternoon when you see them. Someone has to start the process. Why not let it be you?

3. Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY writes about a study that claims the Protestant population in the United States has dropped from 53% in 2007 to 48%. They didn’t go anywhere, just stopped following or practicing a religion. What is growing are those who don’t have a “religious identity.” The study calls them, “Nones.” 

4. From BigLee’s blog, “Never paint your last model.” For those of us who paint miniatures and have a never ending collection of "unpainted lead."



5. My pet peeve this week is the “drive-through.” Never go through the drive-through, something always goes wrong. My wife doesn’t have this issue, just me. So when we went to pick up prescriptions for her Mom and her she said go to the drive through. 

“What is the name please?”
“Siracusa”
“Can you spell that?”      (Hm, can I spell? Yes, I can.)
“S-i-r-a-c-u-s-a”
“Date of birth”
“March 12, 1922”            (There is silence as she looks through the database.)
“I’ll be right back.”
A second person shows up.
“What is the name please?”
“Siracusa”
“Can you spell that?”      (Here we go again.)
“S, like Sam,-i-r-a-c-u-s-a”
“Date of birth”
“March, 1922”                   (There is silence as he looks through the database.)
“Found it”     
So the transaction is completed.Then I informed him we had a second prescription, different name ..... Yep, same process, name, date of birth, search the database and couldn’t find it. We left.

6. Me and our son Stephen at a wedding reception last month.

Photo By Dee

7. Dee and I are visiting assisted living facilities for her Mom. This is a new experience, time consuming but interesting. So, far we have talked to three communities and will finish the preliminary search by next week. 

Friday, October 5, 2012

My Slow Takes (Vol. 68)


1.Todd and I tasted the Luc Pirlrt, Pinot Noir Reserve 2010, and were pleased with the wine. Unfortunately we could not determine the flavor of the wine. So I bow to the Wine Curmudgeon who stated, “it has a moderate black fruit, plus some pepper and earthiness.”

2. My replacement iPhone 4s showed up on Friday. Dee was there to accept and verify that the package had not been tampered with. The FedEX driver was very cooperative and pleased that all was fine. It makes his job easier. My phone is setup and functioning great.

3. On Sunday we celebrated our son Eric and his son Justin’s birthdays. We enjoyed a beautiful warm and sunny Sunday afternoon with family. Todd and Lauren brought a piñata. We hung it on one of trees in the front yard and starting with the four year olds, letting each of the children take turns attempting to get at the treasure inside. The piñata proved to be a challenge but they finally got it opened. 

4. Roger Yu, USA Today explains some features we may not know about Apple iOS6. I like the “private photo sharing.”

5. Todd has a new blog, “Voice & Scholarship.” Please take a moment to view his writings on education and scholarly information.

6. Acorns ... acorns ... are all over my drive way. Every time I drive in or out it sounds like small firecrackers sounding off.

7. Please pray for a healthy recovery for my sister-in-Christ Jeanine. She had hip surgery yesterday.