Admonished at Church

 

On the first Sunday of Advent, the wreath with the three purple candles and the one lavender candle were set up toward the front of the altar. The priest and deacon were in beautiful vestments in the colors of violet, purple and blue.

I thought I would move closer to take a picture and leaned in and asked a lady if I could get into the pew she was in. She stood up and I said, "You don't have to stand up, I will just step over you." Her response was that she would rather step out and let me in. I thanked her and I entered the row of empty pews. I was able to get a picture of the vestments and then when I returned, I tapped the woman one more time and realized that I was not in her row, but one row behind her. "Sorry," I began, but before I could tell her I was behind her she said, "You are sure causing a lot of commotion." Her remark left me feeling shocked and hurt.

As I sat down I felt bad that I had upset her. I did not feel I had done anything wrong, but it still bothered me. When the blessing for the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion was administered,  she stood up. I couldn't help but wonder how someone who will distribute communion, the body and blood of Jesus, could be so angry as to speak so harshly to me.

I decided that at the sign of peace, I would apologize for upsetting her. As we shook hands and before I could say anything she said, "Please forgive me, I was short with you and I am sorry." I never got a chance to tell her I was sorry for upsetting her. Her apology did make me feel better.

After communion she bowed her head and placed her hands over her face. A man came by in her row and said "excuse me." She did not move. He tapped her on the shoulder a couple of times and she did not respond. He finally moved a chair and was able to get around her. He smiled at me and gave a shrug. All I could think of was, I wonder if she thought it was me again. I wanted to tell her, "that wasn't me after communion, that was somebody else," but she got up and left and I did not get a chance to talk to her. I did notice that at one point she took a fan from her purse and began fanning her face. I wondered if she was going through menopause and if she was, that would explain her being cross and her remark to me.

Aside from the emotional stuff going on, I did get a picture of the priest in the violet, purple and blue chasuble. His sermon was about what were we going to do for advent. On the walls of the church were large banners with the spiritual and corporal acts of mercy. He asked, "What acts of mercy will we do to prepare for the coming of Jesus."

A Bunch of Crazy People

It snowed most of the night. It was cold and the weather report showed 9 degrees. My driveway had about two inches of new snow. The last thing I wanted to do was to meet the casino bus in the parking lot of my church. The casino trips were a monthly occurrence and it just so happened one was scheduled for today. My phone rang and two people canceled. Then another person called and said she could not get out of her driveway and would not be going. My secret wish was that everyone   would call and cancel. Oh, how I wished that would happen. Eight other persons did cancel but I still had about thirty who had not.

Three Gambling Friends

Slowly I drove to the church in lots of slush. Jazzy, my car, fish tailed a few times. Was I crazy to be out in this weather? Sending prayers to heaven, I got to the parking lot and already there were seven cars waiting for the bus. I informed those waiting that I did not know if the bus would be canceled because I had not heard from the casino. "I sent the lady in charge an e-mail asking if the trip would be canceled due to the weather and she has not responded," I told them.

Just then the green and white Pacesetter bus turned the corner and I knew we would soon be on our way to the Mardi Gras casino in Blackhawk. I also wondered if we were crazy to attempt a trip to the mountains when the weather was so awful. We slowly shuffled through snow and ice to get to the bus. Once on the bus, I felt some relief. Usually the gamblers total about fifty to fifty-five persons and on this cold morning I had a total of twenty-four crazy persons!

If miracles happen, I would say that one happened today. The roads were dry, the scenery was beautiful with evergreen trees flocked in white snow, and the bus was warm and filled with laughter! Our excellent bus driver got us to the casino in the same amount of time as if it were a summer-time trip. Four hours of gambling; winning, losing, winning and losing kept us all entertained.

Sometimes, fear will keep us from doing something we want to do but once "you bite the bullet" you find out it wasn't so bad after all.  Especially for a bunch of crazy gamblers!

 "There is nothing like overcoming 

something that scares you. 

Nothing feels better."

Laura Wilkinson

A Thanksgiving Surprise

Snow was falling, it was cold and I was in my fuzzy pajamas watching a Netflix movie when my phone beeped. It was Thanksgiving Day and I was home because my plans of going out to eat with my son had fizzled. He had called earlier in the morning to tell me he had a sore throat and flu like symptoms. Since I wouldn't be going out in the cold weather, I decided to bake a pumpkin pie, get into my pajamas and watch a movie, read, and blog.  When my phone beeped I saw that my grandson was texting me. Hi Grandma, what are you doing. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Would it be all right if we stopped by in a little while?" 

I responded: I would love to see you. In about half an hour, my grandson and his girlfriend were ringing my doorbell. They had a bouquet of beautiful flowers for me and we sat and talked for about forty-five minutes.  We reminisced about when he was younger and we would take vacations to California and Mexico. I told him I remembered taking him to plays, rodeos, movies, putt-putt golf, and soccer games. He looked at an album with pictures of when he was little and showed his girl friend the many things we had done.

Mother's Day at Rodezios

Halloween Fun

Stock Show

Cousins in Mexico

The visit of my grandson meant so much to me and it was like "frosting on a cake," to the end of a pleasant day. I enjoyed having my grandson spend time with me!  When it was time for them to leave he took the snow shovel from the porch and shoveled my driveway and walks. My heart swelled when I saw my first-born grandson being so thoughtful. The love of a grandmother is special and I remember a saying I saw once: If I had known grandchildren would be so much fun, I would have had them first!"

My Thanksgiving Visitors

"Perfect love sometimes 

does not come until the 

first grandchild."

Welsh Proverb

 

Trust In Me

The one theme that I see running through the Bible is that every time the Israelites doubted, did not have faith, or thought they knew better, something horrible would happen. Even though I profess to know and believe in God, I know it is not 100% and that makes me feel unworthy and a little scared.

Today is Thanksgiving Day and yesterday I made plans to take a reverse gift I had purchased and some items for the food bank to the mass. It is a tradition at our church to bring nonperishable food for the Arvada Food bank on Thanksgiving.

As life in Colorado would have it, I woke up this morning to a layer of snow and reports that driving could be treacherous because of  patches of black ice. I decided not to go to mass. After all, today does not fall under the category of a holy day of obligation! Yet, I felt uneasy that on this special day of thanksgiving, I would not attend mass. I have much to be thankful for and this special day comes once a year and here I was, hemming and hawing. An argument went on in my head: Go but what if I slide and have an accident. Don't go and possibly have regrets later. Go since I don't live that far from the church. Don't go and stay in my warm house; why get out in the 20 degree weather. Go or not go went back and forth like a ping-pong game in my head.

I remembered reading in the Bible something to the effect of: "They are children still, spiritually, and they need to learn to trust their Father and walk in faith before they are ready to posses the land promised them"  When the thought of "trust in God," entered my mind, I recalled what I had read in the Bible. Was I being like the Israelites and not trusting in God? Where was my faith? What if I gave up all my fears, my laziness, and my doubts to God and trusted that he would get me to church without sliding, without having an accident, or helping me make it to the church in time for mass. I made up my mind to trust in God and whatever His will would be, that was up to him, but I knew I was acting on my faith.

The drive to church was slower than usual and the snow may have been sticking to the pavement but my car never slid. In the parking lot I could see the snow and ice and as I began to carefully make my way toward the entrance someone came from behind and put her arm through mine. "Shall we help each other?" She asked.  "Somehow, she continued, "there seems to be more security in two walking together than walking alone!" I had a feeling she was an angel who came to help me walk over the icy sidewalk!



I saw people I know, got some hugs, wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and the sermon touched my soul. The altar was beautiful with a cornucopia of  farm goods.  Right before the offertory a sea of people moved down the aisles taking their donations of food for the Food Bank. I felt overwhelmed with love and thankfulness for my life. Most of all, as I talked to God, I said, "Thank you for all that I have, thank you for my health, thank you for my family and friends and most of all thank you for getting my sorry self out of bed and to mass this morning!

Lots of Thanks

 "O give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good; for his loving 

kindness is everlasting."

1Chronicles 16:34

Another day of Thanksgiving is upon us. A day to express our thankfulness for all that we have and to thank God for his goodness.  This beautiful display of the praying hands will greet any one entering Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. The arrangement was put up today and when I saw it, I thought it was very appropriate for Thanksgiving Day.

"Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day,

but every day of your life.  Appreciate and

never take for granted all that you have."

Catherine Pulsifer

A Dirty Old Box

A modern wash board

The dirty old box had been in my garage for years. Today I decided to look inside and found some items that belonged to my parents. Maybe the items are antiques or maybe they are junk but I got a nostalgic feeling as I pulled the dusty things out of the box.

The wash boards are faded and one wash board is glass and the other is metal. I looked on the Internet and the wash boards listed, like mine, are actually called vintage or antique. Some of the more modern ones are made out of plastic. I know that when I was in Mexico, I could have used one when I did my laundry because everything had to be washed by hand.

A flour sifter that I remember my mother using was the next thing I pulled out of the box. I remember she would let me turn the handle and I felt like a big helper!  Compared to the flour sifter I use, this one is huge. My small sifter is a two cup so my guess is that the one I found in the box must be a four or larger cup sifter!

When I pulled this metal contraption, I had no idea what it could be. It looked like some sort of scale gadget or possibly a handle to carry heavy items. I hope that someone reading my blog will know what it is and enlighten me!

An old faded postcard of an Irish Village at the Chicago World's Fair also informed me that 78 Irish villages had been displayed at the fair. I found a better picture of my postcard on the Internet and it is the same postcard. The Chicago Fair took place in 1933 and 1934. There were many villages recreated from all over the world. Italy, England, Denmark, Norway, Mexico, Chin, Japan, Egypt, Czechoslovakia, Sweden Morocco, Dominican Republic, Germany, Belgium, Ukraine, France, Philippines and Ireland were represented at the fair.

I felt a bit guilty as I pulled out The Sacred Heart of Mary painted on a slab of  a tree. The bark still surrounded the picture. There were two other pictures in the box that may have hung in our house as I was growing up.

 An ice pick did bring back memories. We had an old ice box and a truck would deliver a block of ice and it would be placed in a container at the top of the ice box. I remember using the ice pick to chip off chunks of ice and on hot summer days sucking on a sliver of ice.

Next was a hand-held mixer with a pretty green handle. Mom would whip up cake dough and then she would let me lick the wires. I recall twisting my tongue in and around the wires to get every bit of dough! I wonder if this type of mixer is even made anymore. I tried looking on the Internet to see if these mixers are still made, but everything hand held was electric. The last item I pulled out of the box was a cheese grater. How well I remember my mother shredding cheese to put on top of the enchiladas she made. She stacked the tortillas like pancakes with cheese and onions between each layer and on top of the pile she would put a fried egg. It must have taken her forever to shred the cheese on this shredder!

Along side the box I saw an old scale. Someone had told me once that if it had not been painted yellow, it would be considered an antique.

Sometimes, it's fun to look through and around old, dusty boxes! What a pleasant walk through memories and how times have changed!

"I love history...everything is inspired by history, 

so that's why I love vintage and antiques."

Kelly Wearstler

Interesting Place to Eat

Met a friend for lunch today at the Cafe Rio Mexican Grill in Northglenn.  I loved the casual decor of brightly colored tables and wooden chairs with paint splattered on them. Tin lamps with floral holes hung from the ceiling and ristras of red chili hung from beams. What I liked best was the tail gate of a Chevrolet pickup with a 1977 beat up Mexican license plate. This was the area where the drinks were kept and I was surprised to see Horchata (A Mexican drink) along with juices and soda drinks. A wooden statue of either St. Anthony or
St. Francis of Assisi stood above the drinks. Hard to tell which saint watched over the drinks.

A woman was making fresh tortillas by rolling small balls of flour and placing them on a large hot plate. One thing for sure, the tortillas were fresh!  Customers go through the line and tell the workers what they want on the enchilada or burrito. Similar to Chipotle. When I saw the size of the huge burritos, I opted for an enchilada.  On the tinfoil plate the worker placed a bean and rice enchilada, a side of pico de gallo, lettuce, guacamole, and red chili sauce, which was supposed to be hot, but wasn't. When my plate was ready with what I wanted it was placed on a conveyor belt that rolled into some sort of heating device to warm up the food.

The restaurant is in a strip mall with many other restaurants, side by side. I saw a steak place, a hamburger place, and an Asian place.  I enjoyed looking around the restaurant and wished I had enjoyed the food more but it did not taste like Mexican food to me. I found the food too salty, the chili sauce was not spicy, and I thought it was on the pricey side. I still prefer Santiago's for good tasty Mexican food!

Photo Ops At Mass

I was running late to mass and as I entered the church, I could see the altar covered in a smoky haze. Must be a special mass since incense is being used, I thought. Then, I heard the priest say it was a celebration for Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.


After the homily, the priest called a couple, and the family, to come to the front of the altar. The couple was  celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. At the end of a simple and short ceremony the couple was blessed as they renewed their vows. As they kissed, the congregation applauded. I stopped them on their way out of church and took a picture of the happy family.

How fortunate was I when I saw the lady that works in the office come in to mass with her whole family. This is a lady that always has a smile on her face and greets everyone with patience and kindness. She will do anything she can to fulfill requests of the many persons asking for her help! On days that I am at the office, she tells me about her grandson, her family and about vacations she takes to see her family.  In October they gathered in New Mexico for the Balloon Fiesta and now they would be together again for Thanksgiving. When I spoke with her last she told me how exciting it would be to have her family together and with a smile, she said, "Especially my little grandson." They were going to take the priest who baptized her grandson out to lunch and while they waited for him, I took their picture.

I love attending mass at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community because I never know who I will see, what will be happening or what photo opportunities will be waiting for me. Oh, and yes, I enjoy the liturgy also!

The Thirty Three

Photo taken from the Internet

 A few years ago I remember some miners being in a mine for sixty-nine days and being rescued. I had forgotten the story until today when I saw  a movie called The 33. What an exciting movie that gave me a better understanding of what it must mean to work in a mine. On the Internet, a report by Rosa Flores, a CNN correspondent, spoke on the rescue of the miners five years after it happened.

The gold and copper mine was over 100 years old and the digging was as deep as a forty story building. On August 6, 2010, there was a massive collapse, trapping the thirty-three men in the 100 degree mine. One miner said, "I lived with death, slept with death, lost hope but not my faith, because faith is life." Another miner said he lost thirty-three pounds in seventeen days. One miner stuck in the mine said that his wife was pregnant and they were going to name the baby Carolina, but he changed his mind and would name her Esperanza (Hope). Another comment on being rescued was that "it was like being born again, thank God I am alive."

I remember seeing the publicity on television and how it seemed as if the whole world was watching the rescue. After they were all out of the mine, it became a whirlwind of visits to Disneyland, the Holy Land, New York City, Los Angeles and appearing on talk shows. I remember seeing one of the miners do an impression of  Elvis Presley on the David Letterman's show. The same miner, who had the miners singing Elvis songs, also got to visit Graceland.

Today when I saw the suspenseful movie, even though I knew what the outcome would be, I enjoyed  and found it to be a very interesting movie with great acting. As the miners are rescued and come up in a tube one by one, up a half mile tunnel, I had to agree that it truly was a miracle that all of the miners survived. I read that many have psychological problems that have never been dealt with and money they thought they would receive was never given to them. At the end of the film we learned that the mining company was not negligent and none of the miners was able to sue the company. None has returned to mining.

The movie was taken from the book by Hector Tobar; Deep Down Dark: The 33 The Untold Story of 33 Men Buried In a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free.

When Did Night Turn Into Day?

"Sleep is a blessed thing

as dreams float in on a special wing.

Slumber at night makes me feel good

putting me in a pleasant mood."

Erlinda Moscoso

 "How do you do it? The minute your head hits the pillow you are asleep within seconds. How I wish I could do that," was a comment I used to hear. Lately, maybe one day a week I can no longer fall asleep when I go to bed. I looked up the word insomnia and found out it means one has problems falling asleep or sleeping a short time and then waking up.

Last night was one of those nights. I went to bed around eleven and slept until twelve-fifteen. I was awake until four-thirty and the next thing I was waking up at nine-thirty. Normally, I go to bed around eleven, get up at two for a bathroom break, and sleep until six. I enjoy that routine.

I have read that if you haven't fallen asleep within fifteen minutes, the best thing is to get up. On one of my bad nights I get up and get on the computer, read, do homework, pray or watch television. A few times I have baked cookies or did my laundry! Once I vacuumed the front room around three in the morning! It used to be that if I was having problem falling asleep all I had to do was put on a Julio Iglesias CD and off to dream land I would go. I would be asleep before the second song. A few years ago, I switched to a sweet, heavenly sound of a harp and it worked for awhile, but when the music began playing three times from beginning to end, I knew it no longer helped to put me to sleep!

The odd thing is that during the day, while watching television, my head flops to one side as I fall asleep. It's as if I have no control on staying awake. The jerk of my head wakes me up and it is as if I am drugged. No matter how hard I try to stay awake, I find myself dozing off. A few times as I watched a movie, I found myself waking up from what I thought was a few seconds of sleep. When I rewound the film I had missed almost half of the story.

Now, I know what you are going to say. "No wonder you can't sleep at night, you are dozing during the day!" Not true. Some days I am busy morning to night with no naps, and am still awake during the the night. Other times, I may doze off on the couch but I also sleep through the night. It's as if my day and night are reversed.

Information I read is that sleep problems can affect physical and mental health. Some suggestions to help me sleep at night were:  Exercise 30 minutes early in the day, massage feet with Castor oil, drink milk at bed time, massage scalp with herbal oils, drink two teaspoons of honey in glass of water, avoid snacks of grain or sugar, eat celery, or drink herbal teas.

The good thing is that it is not a daily occurrence. My hope is that tonight I will return to my normal schedule and night time will be for sleeping and day will be for staying awake!

"Two eyes wide open in the dark

while thoughts move restlessly, like a shark

in the ocean in the wrinkles of my brain,

keeping me awake and becoming my bane."

Erlinda Moscoso

Apparitions With Secrets

Our Lady of Medjugorie

Growing up I had heard about Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Lourdes but nothing about Our Lady of Medjugorie.  I don't recall when I first heard about her but it wasn't until a few years ago that she seemed to become more popular. When some people from my parish went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorie this month,  I wanted to know Her story.

Her first visit happened on June 24, 1981. She appeared to six young people with different messages for all of them, though her main message is of peace, love and returning to God. The sightings began on June 24, 1981.

Ivanka Ivankovic born June 21, 1966 saw the Blessed Mother daily until May 7, 1985 and now sees her once a year on the 25th of June. The main message to her was to pray for families.

Jakov Colo born March 6, 1971. She appeared to him daily until 1985 and now appears to him every Christmas Day and her message to him was to pray for the sick.

Ivan Dragicevic born May 25, 1965. He still has daily apparitions and he has received nine secrets with his message being to pray for young people and for priests.

Vicka Ivankovic born September 9, 1964 and she has daily apparitions and has also received the nine secrets with her message being to pray for the sick.

Marya Pavlovic born April 1, 1965. Receives daily apparitions, has received the nine secrets and asked to pray for the souls in purgatory.

It seems that the tenth secret will be something that happens on the hill and there will be no question as to what it will represent. Some believe it may be the end of the world.

I watched a YouTube Video about Medjugorie and learned that in 1931 during the time that Croatia was a Fascist country, hundreds of woman and children were taken to the top of a cliff and pushed over to meet their death at the bottom. The apparitions are not too far from the cliff where hundreds died and it has been wondered if maybe that is why the Blessed Mother decided to appear in the area.

When the apparitions occurred, the local priest was away on retreat. When he returned he saw that the parish church was empty and everyone was on the hill where the apparitions were reported to take place.
It bothered him and he felt sad that the house of worship should be neglected. He began to pray for guidance. Why should people be praying on a hill when the Lord was housed in the church.  As he prayed he heard a voice telling him to protect the children. In the meantime, the police were looking for the young people. The government feared that the crowds were inciting trouble. When the children fled they went to the church and the priest hid them. From then on, the apparitions appeared at the church and not on the hill.

As more people began coming to Medjugorie, the government worried that there might be subversive groups also entering to incite people against the government. (Reminded me of the current Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum and countries want to ban their coming in for the very same reasons!) The local priest was  imprisoned for three years while the Bishop was trying to find out if the apparitions were true or not. Somehow, the Franciscan order and the local priests were pitted against each other. Some of the Bishop's staff studying the "miracles" suggested that the Franciscan's were trying to take over and the church was banned from having the meetings in the church. The visits are now in a separate room and not at the church.

The young people seeing and hearing the voice of the Blessed Mother were tested and nothing was found to prove that the children were lying.  The Queen of Peace; peace to the individual and peace to the world continues to appear. She calls on everyone to confess sins and to fast on bread and water. The secrets were given to the young visionaries and one message was that Russia would glorify the name of the Lord.

This has been a boon to the small town. Homes are being enlarged to house pilgrims and goods are being made to sell. Regardless of the material things, one has to wonder that the messages of prayer, fasting, confession, conversion and holy mass might end up helping, and not hindering, a person. Miracles have happened on visits to Medjugorie and even though the commission of the Bishops ruled that the apparitions were not a spiritual or religious phenomenon.  In 1986 the commission to study whether apparitions were, in fact, the Blessed Mother, was formed. Their report was, "These apparitions are not made by the most Holy Virgin Mary," and forbade pilgrimages without ecclesiastical approval by the pastor of Mostar. (Mostar is in Southern Bosnia-Herzegovina). In 1990 another committee of twenty Bishops said, "There is no proof that Marian apparitions have occurred at Medjugorie."

Does anybody really know whether these apparitions with certain secrets are from the Blessed Virgin Mary or where they originated? Never the less, if true, the story is beautiful and moving. What I have read is that she warns everyone to become better persons and says nothing but positive things to the six visionaries.

"Our Lady is not a postmistress, sending messages every day."

Pope Francis

Poetic License

It just isn't fair to take stories out of the Bible and make up your own story. Poetic license or not, I felt cheated when I saw the movie, The Red Tent. Something I would never have noticed if it wasn't for the fact that I am taking a Bible Timeline class. I am reading about what happened in the Old Testament and the movie puts its own spin on the Old Testament. When I saw a movie entitled The Red Tent and the explanation informed me that the movie chronicled the twelve tribes of Israel, I thought watching the movie would reinforce the Bible for me. I would be able to see how they dressed, some of their customs, and the recognizable names. The first detour was how in the Bible, Jacob arrives tired and thirsty at a well at his uncle's home and there sees Rachel. It was love at first sight. He asks to marry her and after working for seven years his wedding night approaches.

In the Bible, the Father (portrayed as an abusive and mean man) tricks Jacob by having the oldest daughter, Leah, marry Jacob. In the movie, it is Rachel who fears the wedding night and begs Leah to marry Jacob.  Eventually he does marry both of them and while Leah gives him eleven sons and one daughter, Rachel gives him a son who they name Joseph.

The movie may use the Biblical names but the story varies from the Bible. The movie follows some of the story line like showing how Joseph is favored by Jacob and the jealousy of his brothers, Simeon and Levi. Somehow, the coat of many colors is in the movie but told with a different spin. It did show how Jacob is sold to slave traders and how they show their father the bloodied coat. The story switches to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah and how she falls in love with a prince and marries him. To prove his love all males have to be circumcised. While they are recuperating, the brothers enter the castle and murder all the males who are incapacitated. Something similar does happen in the Bible but it is referred to as the Rape of Dinah. In the movie it is a consensual love affair. Some parts of the movie ring true while other parts do not.

I can see where Anita Diamant, the author of The Red Tent, tried to make the characters in the Bible more loving and kind. There is a lot of love making, between the players in the story. I felt as if the love scenes were a bit much; between Jacob and Leah, Jacob and Rachel, Dinah and Sheshem and then between Dinah and Job. Maybe she thought, and rightfully so, that sex sells!

The part of Joseph saving his family by becoming a leader in the Canaanite world through his being an interpreter of dreams is not in the movie.Toward the end of the movie, which I do not remember reading in the Bible, Dinah and Joseph return to say their goodbyes to Jacob as he is dying.

Maybe if I had not taken classes on the Old Testament I may have believed every word in the movie, but now I know better and know how there is a lot of poetic license in what an author writes and in making a movie!

"I had to kind of squeeze it, 

and maybe the reason why the end is a 'fable'. 

I stayed within frames of something 

that is not a historical approach, 

it's a much more poetic approach.

If anything, too poetic within the circumstances.

But, it's what came out over the short time."

Francis Alys

A Double Dose

"Now, you might think of flu 

as just a really bad cold, 

but it can be a death sentence.

Every year, 36,000 people

 in the United States die 

of seasonal flu..."

Seth Berkley

Today I went to Kaiser Permanente for my free flu shot. I did not feel a thing when I was poked and believed it would be like in the past. No side effects. I ran errands, went out to eat, purchased groceries and put the items away. I felt great and did not give the shot another thought. The nurse had told me that it had been recommended that anyone over sixty-two years old needed a stronger dose.

Around six in the evening I began to feel chilled. I got into my fuzzy pajamas, put on my fluffy robe and covered myself with a warm blanket as I watched a Netflix movie. I could not warm up. When I paused the movie and came to the computer, I  could barely hold on to the mouse because I was shaking from the cold. I knew I had symptoms of a flu. My body ached, I had a headache, and I felt awful.

Buried under blankets, I finished watching the movie and took my temperature. It was 101degrees and I realized that when the nurse had said I might suffer from a low-grade fever I knew I was suffering from a low-grade fever! Piling three blankets on my bed I went to bed with cold feet and hands. I dozed off and when I awoke at one-fifteen in the morning, I was hot. I knew I no longer had a fever. I continued drinking water because I remembered the old adage, "drink lots of water, take an aspirin and get plenty of rest." I did two out of three because I just do not like to take pills.

The Vaccine Information Statement let me know that after a shot I may develop soreness where the shot was given, hoarseness, soreness, red or itchy eyes, cough, fever, aches, headache, itching or fatigue. But then I read that the flu can cause fever/chills, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, headache, a runny or stuffy nose. The scary part was when I read "each year thousands of people in the United States die from the flu and many more are hospitalized."

An ounce of prevention may keep me from getting the flu though tonight I am sure I had some kind of flu symptoms! Right now I feel all right and I am hoping that by morning I will have gotten rid of some of the symptoms and I will once again be back to normal!

You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet

I truly believe that the title to this blog is true. I borrowed the name of a song made popular by Al Jolson in 1919 to prove a point after listening to two young persons entertain the group.

Last evening at an early Thanksgiving Dinner, 236 members of  the Young at Heart group of  Spirit of Christ Catholic Community were entertained by two talented young musicians. Not only was the delicious turkey dinner with all the traditional dishes served, the hall was abuzz with friends chatting, enjoying each others company and enjoying lovely music.

When the young man, Kenny Orr and his violin began to play, everyone fell silent as they listened to the beautiful music. Laura Klein accompanied him on the piano and together they made outstanding music. Soft humming to Edelweiss and other recognizable songs could be heard. A peppy hoedown had many tapping their feet. One highlight was when they played a duet on the piano. These two young people, who are talented, personable and gifted, transformed the orange/yellow/brown fall decorated room, into a concert hall with their Baroque, popular and hoedown songs.


The decorating committee did an excellent job of giving the room a fall atmosphere and the cooks in the kitchen prepared the wonderful and tasty meal. Not only were the November birthdays one year older but they had their picture taken, received a Hershey bar, and had Happy Birthday sung to them!

Could anyone ask for more?

"Life's like the piano and the violin;

it's about how smart you could

play the melodies to make good harmony."

Lucy 'Aisy

Two Cousins, A Friend and a Wac

On November 11, 2015, I blogged about my two cousins, a friend and my Auntie Rose for their service in the armed forces. Then, what I had written disappeared. I tried my hardest to find what I had written through the many instructions, hitting different keys, reading on how to retrieve lost articles but was unable to find it. My story was lost somewhere in outer space and I will now try to recreate the story because I am thankful and grateful for all military persons who are either gone, are still around or currently serving in the military.

In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. "To us in America, the reflection of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's services and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the things from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with  peace and justice in the councils of the nations." On May 13, 1938, the 11th of November became a legal holiday and on June 1, 1954, Armistice Day changed to Veterans Day to honor all American veterans of all wars.

Today as Veterans Day is celebrated, I remembered two cousins who were stationed in the Philippines, a friend who flew glider planes in England, and Auntie Ro who served as a WAC. May they rest in peace.
 

Feeling grateful for all service men and women who have helped and are helping protect our country!

"Honoring the sacrifices

 many made for this country

 in the name of freedom and democracy

 is the very foundation of Veterans Day."

Charles B. Rangel