thanks for the memories

Monday, October 13, 2014

Hints, tidbits and a little look inside

Outside my window...it is dark! Of course it is dark since the time is only 3:42 AM!  We had some serious thunderstorms in the night with quite the downpours!  Because I rarely, if ever, sleep when the thunder is booming and the lightning is flashing here I am sitting up with no hope of making up for lost z's.  Autumn has finally arrived here in the south.  The past few days have been crisp in the morning and evening with warmish afternoons.  The colors, though not as brilliant as back home, are changing and mellowing the countryside.  Southerners seem to have some kind of thing about burning leaves so the air lately has been redolent with the acrid odor of burning leaves. 

I am thinking...about circumstances and happenings and how they can either be accepted as means of grace and sanctification or they can be railed against.  Yesterday was one of those happenings.  Due to a migraine on Saturday afternoon I wasn't able to get to confession and evening mass.  Still in need of confession I decided to drive into Anderson where there is a parish that offers confession before all the Sabbath masses.  Because of a bike and running race that I didn't know about the drive to and from mass, usually around 40 minutes took me more like 90.  My first reaction is usually to get annoyed and push the speed limit and/or find an alternate route.  Yesterday I decided to arrive at church calm and disposed to be with the Lord so I spent the trip to mass "examinating" my conscience, as my kids used to say.  The way home was spent reciting the rosary and listening to the Divine Office.  In spite of the rain and the delays I am happy to say that I arrived at both locations, mass and home, much more relaxed and disposed to be pleasant.

I am thankful for...farmer's markets, antique malls, and unusual architecture.  Saturday, before the rain moved in, we spent the day at a truly exceptional farmer's market in Anderson, browsing an antique mall, and enjoying a walk through the historic part of town admiring the architecture.

From the kitchen...now that it is definitely cooler I am going to make Pork and Mushroom Stew for our supper tonight.  Whenever I make this dish I think about my son, Adam who is a particular fan.  Though we will have it over brown rice rather than mashed potatoes the memories this meal will invoke are as comforting as the food.

I am reading..Accidental Theologians by Elizabeth A. Dreyer

I am hearing...the soft sound of rain on the roof, the whir and buzz of the ceiling fan over my head, and the grind and plop of the ice maker dumping its load into the bin. I miss the chirp of the occasional cricket that would make its way into the house in NY at this time of year.  Other sounds that are missing here are the soft rustlings of the tenants of the old walls of the farmhouse, the soft snuffles and snorts of the pigs across the road, and the awakening sounds of the cattle across the road as they come to the feed bunk to see what has been left from the night before.

A few plans for the rest of the week...there is a little bit of sewing left on my big boat project to finish. I didn't count on the stress and strain working on marine canvas would have on my hands so it is taking longer that it should.  I have picked up a sewing student and will spend this week working out scheduling kinks, developing a lesson plan, and generally looking forward to the new challenge.  

Updates and reflections...because there are those who actually read this and are interested I include a bit about my mother.  Physically she is strong and very healthy.  We take her walking and she and Doug do her exercises every day so her strength and mobility are maintained.  An added benefit of all the exercise is better sleep at night, for all of us!  Mentally she is very much subject to the vagaries of her disease.  When she speaks she isn't always able to find the words that she wishes to use which is a frustration for all of us but we manage to figure out what she means most of the time.  She has no idea who anyone she meets is but that fact doesn't seem to be a bother either. She just nods and goes about her business.  Her world is mostly populated with memories from long ago and people that either are no longer alive or she hasn't seen in decades.  However, if that is what makes her happy and peaceful who are we to jerk her into a reality she cannot understand nor tolerate.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

This is an old railroad depot in Anderson.  The space inside is home to a very large antiques mall.  Though the items for sale are either overpriced or hardly useful it was fun to spend part of Saturday browsing through the treasures housed there and remember times long past.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update.