Saturday, November 30, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Come one, come all to Sunday Snippets! Thanks to RAnn for hosting!
I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.

My posts for this week are:


Semper Gaudete!: Throwback Thursday

Semper Gaudete!: Life on the Rock - Thanksgiving 2013 - The MFVAs - 2013-11-28 (+playlist)

Semper Gaudete!: Thanksgiving and Chanukka

Semper Gaudete!: This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read In The Past Week

Books Read In The Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M.J. Huber
[non-fiction, Catholic)
{Sunday book} 

"Saint John Bosco and 
the Children's Saint,
Dominic Savio"#
by Catherine Beebe
{Sunday book} 
openlibrary.org loan


"The Imitation of Mary #
In Four Books"
by Alexander De Rouville 
Revised and Edited by Matthew J. O'Connell
[devotional reading, Catholic]
(one chapter a day; more on Sunday)

"The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught"
{carried over from last week}
"The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling"
by Neta Jackson
[Christian  fiction, (Protestant) series, multi-denominational and non-denominational]

"The Against Taffy Sinclair Club"
by Betsy Haynes
[children's fiction]

"Caddie Woodlawn"
"Caddie Woodlawn's Family"
originally published as "Magical Melons"
by Carol Ryrie Brink
[children's fiction, historical, biographical]

"Welcome, Stranger"
by Lenora Mattingly Weber
[YA fiction]
{carrying over into next week}


This Week's Fan Fiction

False Alarm (Original Title Dante's Dilemma)
New chapter added

A "Josie in trouble" story,
originally published on my
old website.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving and Chanukka

This year, Thanksgiving Day and the first day of Chanukkah  came simultaneously.
I am thankful for my Jewish heritage.

Life on the Rock - Thanksgiving 2013 - The MFVAs - 2013-11-28 (+playlist)



I love the LOTR Thanksgiving Specials!  Always great fun!

Throwback Thursday

Communicating with a Canadian Cat

This post is taken, slightly modified, from one of my old blogs.
More than 20 years ago, my mother, stepfather, grandmother, stepniece and I spent a few days in Toronto. On the first night, we saw a cat lying in a yard relaxing, not unlike the American kitties. Being a catlover, I greeted the cat, "Kitty kitty". The cat ignored me. I used all the usual terms of endearment people address to cats; no response. Finally it occurred to me that we were in Canada, and I said, "Meowez-vous français?"
And the cat looked up and meowed!

[Originally posted on December 22nd, 2010]

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Four New Images in Rosary Art Collection

Today, for the Solemnity of Christ the King, I've added four images to my Rosary Art Collection.

Christ the King
Christ the King
Christ the King
Christ the King



Saturday, November 23, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Come one, come all to Sunday Snippets!  Thanks to RAnn for hosting!
I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.

Here are my posts for this week.

Semper Gaudete!: Woodcut added to Rosary Art Collection

Semper Gaudete!: Sticks and Stones

Semper Gaudete!: Obama Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Abortion Activist Gloria Steinem

Semper Gaudete!: Throwback Thursday

Semper Gaudete!: November 22nd, 1963

Semper Gaudete!: This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week


Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M.J. Huber
[non-fiction, Catholic)
{Sunday book} 


"The Imitation of Mary #
In Four Books"
by Alexander De Rouville 
Revised and Edited by Matthew J. O'Connell
[devotional reading, Catholic]
(one chapter a day; more on Sunday)

"Little Men"
by Louisa May Alcott
[fiction]
{carried over from last week}

"Malleville"
by Jacob Abbott
[children's fiction, Franconia series]
(free Google e-book)

"How to Write and Sell Your Personal Experiences"
(I once wrote a nanofiction based on
a personal experience.)
This post is getting TWO labels!
"Chapters: My Growth as a Writer"
by Lois Duncan
[non-fiction]

"The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught"
by Neta Jackson
[Christian  fiction, (Protestant) series, multi-denominational and non-denominational]

{carrying over into next week}

This Week's Fan Fiction

23rd Precinct
Chapter 9 is now up.

Saving Stripey
Re-written and re-posted.

The Swat Heard Round the World
In this partly humorous, partly serious "Josie in Trouble" story, I've tried to show how rumors can spread and grow, and how quickly a message board thread can turn ugly.


Friday, November 22, 2013

November 22nd, 1963

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, I'm reprinting this post.

Friday. Fifth Grade. Friday was Club Day for the fifth and sixth grades; I was in the Civics Club.
What were we discussing? I can't remember. Part of my mind may have been focused on the upcoming weekend.
Then the announcement came on the Public Address System.
What we'd been discussing, what I may have been thinking about, no longer mattered.
President Kennedy had been shot, and they didn't know if he was going to live.
Up until that moment, I had thought that presidents getting shot was something that happened in the past. Not now.
I remember going outside at dismissal time, and seeing my Baba and her friend Mickey coming towards the school. Baba USED to pick me up from school, but she hadn't for several years, and she had always come alone.
I knew then.
I looked at Baba and Mickey.
"He's dead, isn't he?"
Baba nodded.
"Yes. He's dead."
And my next words?
"But what are his kids going to do without their daddy?"
Or something like that.
I knew that losing their daddy was a worse tragedy to those children than losing a president
was to us.
It is a simple matter to fill the Office of President; the Vice-President is sworn in almost immediately after the death of an incumbent.
But there is no such office as Vice-Daddy.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Throwback Thursday

For this week's Throwback Thursday, I'm presenting this post, originally published on September 20, 2010.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Books Read in the Past Two Weeks

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M.J. Huber
[non-fiction, Catholic)
{Sunday book} 

"Eucharistic Lilies" #
by Sr. Mary Theodosia Mug
[Biographies, Catholic]
{Sunday book} 
(free Google e-book)

"The Imitation of Mary #
In Four Books"
by Alexander De Rouville 
Revised and Edited by Matthew J. O'Connell
[devotional reading, Catholic]
(one chapter a day; more on Sunday)


"The Exploits of the Chalet Girls"
"The Chalet School and the Lintons"
"The New House at the Chalet School"
"Jo Returns to the Chalet School"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
"The Muller Twins at the Chalet School" #
by Katherine Bruce
(fill-in)
"The New Chalet School"

by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
"Two Chalet School Girls in India" by Priyadarshini Narendra

(fill-in)
"Gillian of the Chalet School"
by Carol Allan
(fill-in)
[children's fiction, Chalet School series]

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


"Tag-Along Tooloo" #
by Frances Clarke Sayers
[children's fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)

"The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real"
"The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough"
by Neta Jackson
[Christian fiction, (Protestant, multi-denominational and non-denominational)]

"Little Men"
by Louisa May Alcott
[fiction]
{carrying over into next week}

I know this looks like a long list, but don't forget:
1: It covers two weeks, and not just one.
2: Some of the books are being read a little bit at a time.
3: Many of these books are children's books.

My Latest Works of Fan Fiction

Here are the link to the stories I posted on fanfiction.net over the past two weeks.

23rd Precinct
Several new chapters added.

You Have To Take Your Medicine
a "Josie in Trouble" drabble/sillyfic.

Revealed Relationships
Yep!  It's back,  revised and (I hope!) improved.

One Careless Moment (former title Never The Same)
Chapter 4 is now available.



Thursday, November 14, 2013

Throwback Thursday

I've decided to hop onto the "Throwback Thursday" bandwagon.
The following post first appeared on this blog on July 6, 2010

My VERY OWN Library Card

This post is expanded from a post on one of my older blogs.
Almost every day after school, my Baba and I would go to the rather small, but to my childish eyes quite big enough, Brighton Beach Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, then located on Ocean Parkway. We'd browse among the picture books, and then I would choose a few books (as hard a decision, for me, as deciding what to get at the corner candy store!) Baba would check the books out on her library card; I was too young to have my own.
We'd go over to one of the benches on Ocean Parkway, and read at least one of the
books together. Usually, we saved the rest of them to read at home. Not that I minded reading
the books again and again. Most, if not all, bookworms are great re-readers.
And then, finally, when I was in the second grade, I was old enough for my very
own library card.(thrill thrill thrill!) I felt so grown-up that day. My very own library card!
The first book I took out on my VERY OWN library card was "Betsy and Billy" by Carolyn Haywood. I chose for two reasons: I had already read and loved her first book, "B is For Betsy", and I wanted to be seen leaving the library with a thick, grown-up looking book!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Come one, come all to Sunday Snippets!  Thanks to RAnn for hosting!
I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.


Semper Gaudete!: Stained Glass Image Added to Collection

Semper Gaudete!: Mechanics Find Toddler Force to Live in Car Trunk, Parents Face Prison Time

Semper Gaudete!: Please pray for this baby and his family.

Semper Gaudete!: This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week


Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M.J. Huber
[non-fiction, Catholic)
{Sunday book} 

"Kitty in High School"
by Judy Delton
[children's fiction]
{Sunday book} 
(openlibrary.org loan)

"The Miraculous Medal"
by Mary Fabyan  Windeatt
[biography, Catholic
{Sunday book} 
 "Patron Saint of First Communicants" #
by Mary Fabyan  Windeatt
[biography, Catholic
{Sunday book} 
(openlibrary.org loan)



"The Imitation of Mary #
In Four Books"
by Alexander De Rouville 
Revised and Edited by Matthew J. O'Connell
[devotional reading, Catholic]
(one chapter a day; more on Sunday)

"Stepping Heavenward" 1/2 #
by Elizabeth Prentiss
[YA fiction, Christian, Protestant]
(free online book)
(I gave this book 1/2 # because I've started it
several times, but never managed to finish it
{carried over from last week}

"Precious Bane" #
by Mary Webb
[fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)
{carrying over into next week}

"The Janitor's Girl"
by Frieda Friedman
[children's fiction]

"The Chalet Girls in Camp"
"The Exploits of the Chalet Girls"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
[children's fiction, Chalet School series]
{carrying over into next week}

This Week's Fan Fiction


I have two new stories this week.

A Simpsons fic, written
in memory of Marcia Wallace.

The One Casper Haunts
A Casper The Friendly Ghost fic

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...