Saturday, April 30, 2011

Books Read in the Past Week




"An Easy Way To Become A Saint"
by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, OP, {E.D.M.}
(Catholic, Inspirational)

"In This House of Brede"
by Rumer Godden
(fiction, Catholic themes)


"Jo To The Rescue"
"The Mystery at the Chalet School"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
"A Chalet School Headmistress"
by Helen Barber
{takes place in the same term as
"The Mystery at the Chalet School"
(children's fiction)

"DION
The Wanderer Talks TRUTH
[stories, humor, & music]
by Dion DiMucci
with Mike Aquilina
(autobiography, Catholic)
{I've seen Dion in concert several
times}

Annoying Songs

When I'm listening to the radio, and I hear a record I don't like, well, thank God I can hear it.
On the other hand, thank God for the "mute" button!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Desert Nun News: The Humanness of It All

Desert Nun News: The Humanness of It All: "Our THANKS to our dear friend, Fr. Fred Adamson, for celebrating Holy Week and Easter with us!!! There is something in the human heart th..."

This is another "don't miss" post.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Book Read in the Past Week



Book, not books!
By "Read in the past week" I really mean "Finished in the past week",
but you probably figured that out for yourselves.
"The Cloister Walk"
by Kathleen Norris
(non-fiction, Catholic themes [Protestant author])

{Two uses of the "F" word (in quoted conversations,
and NOT in any monastic settings.}
I could have done without the "F" word, but this
is still a lovely book.



My Good Friday Meals

I almost forgot to blog this!

Breakfast:
One soft pretzel in the traditional shape.
Lunch:
One-half baked potato. 
(Not to be confused with one half-baked potato!)
Supper: 
(My full meal)
Two eggs, sunnyside up on buttered, seedless rye bread
(I love the phrase, sunnyside up!)
The other half of the potato


I Also Read Comic Books

This post originally appeared in one of my old blogs, and was first reprinted here in July, 2010.
It has been very slightly modified.
I remember racing (okay, so not exactly racing, but it's a good cliche) to the corner candy store on Tuesdays and Thursdays to see which comic books had come in. Then, there was the ecstatic agony of deciding which ones to buy. Of course, I did have some favorites that I always bought, and my Aunt Lily (really my great-aunt, my Baba's sister) could usually be counted on to treat me to a comic or two every week.
My favorites were "Sugar and Spike", "Little Lulu","Dennis the Menace", "Little Audrey", "Little Dot", "Richie Rich", "Archie", "Betty and Veronica", and, as I grew older, "Superman", "Lois Lane", "Jimmy Olsen" and "Supergirl". I didn't start reading "Batman" until the TV show whet my appetite.
I should also admit that I liked "Tippy Teen". Anyone else remember her short-lived comics? In some ways, her universe paralleled that of the "Archie" comics. Among Tippy's friends were a Moose-like boy called Animal, and a Dilton Doily type whose name escapes me at the moment.
No wonder the Tippy universe resembled, in some ways, the Archie universe. I've just found out, through a Google search, that Dan Decarlo, who worked on many of the "Archie" and "Betty and Veronica" comics, also worked on "Tippy Teen". LOL!
I am delighted, absolutely delighted, that so many comic stories from my childhood and earlier have been reprinted, either in digest form, or in hardcover. I'm even more delighted that some are available online.

I Also Write Fan Fiction

I may be one of the oldest fan fiction writers in the world, but I'm not the oldest of all time. That honor belongs to a grandmother who was writing fanfics in her 60s. (I wish I knew her name; I'd love to read her stories.)
Most of my works are based on the classic soap opera, "Another World", but I've done
other things as well. One of them is this Little Lulu Story.

What Kind of Lent Has It Been?

Title adapted from the  Season one finales of:
Sports Night
The West Wing
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Well, it hasn't been exactly the Lent I planned to have.
I didn't pray the Stations of the Cross as much as I meant to. But then again, the only way
I really like praying the Stations is in Church.
I didn't really miss the things I gave up, and, call me crazy, but I like to miss, to crave, the things I give up. I like to feel that I'm actually making some kind of a sacrifice,
although no sacrifice of mine could come close to Our Lord's sacrifice.
But then again, maybe what He wanted me to "give up" this year was the feeling that I was
making a sacrifice.
And, while I'm taking stock:
1: Have I prayed more this Lent than during Ordinary Time?
Yes.
2: Will I continue to pray as much as I did during Lent?
Yes
3: Have I drawn closer to Jesus during this Lent?
I think so.
4:
Will I stay this close to Him?
I pray that I will come closer.
So, all in all, what kind of Lent has this been?
A blessed one, as Lent should always be.


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Baby Joseph Comes Home

Click here.
The article by Fr. Frank says it all, but I'm going to add my two cents worth.
(if we're talking a penny a word!).
Thank God!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Passover Customs and Memories

This post is reprinted, slightly edited, from one of my old blogs.

Passover began last night. I remember Passover Seders in Baba's apartment. (She and Grandpa lived right in our building, so I saw them every day) As the only child, I was the one who had to ask the Four Questions every year. But I was also the one who was SURE to get the afikoman present every year. The afikoman is the piece of matzoh eaten at the end of the Seder. In larger families, one of the children "steals" the afikoman, but where there is only one child, the adults hide the afikoman, and the child hunts for it at the appropriate time. In my family, it was hidden. Oh, the fun I had hunting for it! I recently read that some families have yet another tradition: The afikoman is hidden early in the day, or perhaps the evening before, by the father. The kid who finds it first hides it somewhere else, and so on. No matter what the family's afikoman tradition may be, the father (or whoever is leading the Seder) has to promise the child who has the afikoman a present (child's choice, and oh did I love that!) in order to get it back. And I remember the songs, Dayenu and Adir Hu. I found several versions of Adir Hu online awhile ago, different melodies, but none of them the one I grew up with.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets.
Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting!

Semper Gaudete!: Lovely Meditations on the Stations of The Cross

Semper Gaudete!: An Obscene Word (Post is safe to read)

Semper Gaudete!: I Loved Going to the Dentist

Semper Gaudete!: Beautiful Video From Chile

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week





Books Read in the Past Week


"The Trouble With Toby"
by Molly Cone
(children's fiction)

"Ramona the Pest"
"Ramona the Brave"
"Ramona And Her Father"
by Beverly Cleary
(children's fiction)

"Girl In The Mirror"
by Cousin Carrie
(teen fiction, Amish)

"grace notes"
"love, annie"
"just jazz"
"storm rising"
by Dandi Daley Mackall
{Faithgirlz! Blog On series}
(children's fiction, Christian [Protestant])

Special sneak peek: Next week's list will be shorter. I will be
reading one of my favorite novels, one I like to linger over.
Hint: It's by Rumer Godden.


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Beautiful Video From Chile


In Chile, abortion is ILLEGAL. Let's pray that someday this will be true of ALL nations.


Monday, April 11, 2011

I Loved Going to the Dentist

Yep! When I was a kid, my friends and I loved going to the dentist. His office was right on my block, so I went at least once a week, sometimes by myself, sometimes with one or more of my friends. Either way, I always had a great time there.
You see, Dr. Kopel (that was his name, but after all these years I'm not sure I'm spelling it right) had a storeroom full, and I mean FULL, of comic books, including many that the corner candy store didn't carry, and he didn't care how much
time his young friends spent reading them.
So I really enjoyed going to the dentist... except when I had to go to the dentist!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

An Obscene Word (Post is safe to read)

On Friday, April 10th, 1970, I was at home, listening
to the radio, as usual.
And then, I heard these words:
"It's official. The Beatles have disbanded."
At that moment, I decided that disbanded was the most
obscene word in the English language!

Lovely Meditations on the Stations of The Cross

I found an absolutely lovely, thought-provoking set of meditations on the
Stations of The Cross
written by Mother Angelica

I should have checked out EWTN's website to begin with.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets
Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting!


Semper Gaudete!: Pope marvels at St. Therese's 'science' of love :: EWTN News



Semper Gaudete!: Lent Update



Semper Gaudete!: Song Image



Semper Gaudete!: The Lenten Update
Not from my blog, but too good to miss.



Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Books Read in the Past Week



"The Miraculous Medal"
by Mary Fabyann Windeatt
(nonfiction, Catholic, all ages)

"The Chalet School And Robin"
{fill-in}
by Caroline German
"The Highland Twins at The Chalet School"
"Lavender Laughs in The Chalet School"
"Gay From China At The Chalet School"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
(children's fiction)


The Lenten Update

The Lenten Update
Not mine, but so good that I have to share it, not only in my blog, but on Sunday Snippets.

Lent Update

If I'm going to be honest in this blog, (and what's the sense of blogging otherwise?) then I have to admit that I haven't been doing too well when it comes to praying the Stations of the Cross.
Not too late to pick up the slack there!

Song Image

Whenever I hear "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" by KC and the Sunshine Band, I get a picture in my mind of
a baby discovering that a booty makes a lousy rattle!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Pope marvels at St. Therese's 'science' of love :: EWTN News

Pope marvels at St. Therese's 'science' of love :: EWTN News

When I read The Story Of A Soul for the first time, back in the 70s, I remember thinking, "If I were a Catholic, I'd want her to be my Patron Saint."
Well, now I am, and she is!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Books Read in the Past Week


"Kate"
by Jean Little
(children's fiction)



"Melissa Ann
A Little Girl of The Eighteen Twenties"
by Ethel Parton
(children's fiction, historical {obviously, from the title!})

"Beezus And Ramona"
"Henry and the Paper Route"
"Henry and the Clubhouse"
by Beverly Cleary
(children's fiction)


"The Chalet School At War"
{hardcover title: "The Chalet School Goes To It"}
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
(children's fiction)

"The Home Has A Heart"
by Thyra Ferre Bjorn
{April chapter}
[non-fiction, Christian (Protestant) themes,
anecdotes, recipes]

Friday, April 1, 2011

Well, That's How I Heard It!

Once again, a post from one of my old blogs!

The original, Italian version of "Volare" {proper title "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu"} recorded by Domenico Modugno, was one of my favorite songs when I was around five. I used to sing "Dipinto di Blu" as "The pink and the blue." That's what they call a mondegreen!
 Article on Mondegreens    

Encouraging news about EWTN's Fr. Anthony

Fr. Anthony hopes to be back on the air in the near future.  Oh, HOW I'm praying for that to happen! https://franciscanmissionaries.c...