“Sometimes real-time is somewhere between now and then.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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I had fun painting for this video of pumpkins, but had a rough time trying to upload the video to YouTube. I should have done the time-lapse because it was pretty long, then it said I didn’t have enough space, so I had to delete a bunch of things. 🤦♀️ After a lot of playing around with apps and stuff, I think I got it down. It’s long, so feel free to fast forward.
“You gotta know when to be lazy. Done correctly, it’s an art form that benefits everyone.”
~ Nicholas Sparks
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I’ve got the art form of laziness down to a science. I have a Bachelor’s Degree Procrastination and a Master’s Degree in Laziness. It was a good week.
“Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.”
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Another beautiful Sunday. The Archdiocese of Dallas Mass was very informative this morning. Bishop Burns gave a brief description of the symbolism, traditions, and meanings of the rituals of the Mass throughout the service.
Today’s Gospel was another parable where we are asked to think and relate the story to our own lives.
Gospel, Matthew 21:28-32
28 ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My boy, go and work in the vineyard today.”
29 He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went.
30 The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go.
31 Which of the two did the father’s will?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.
My take on it… sometimes we are resistant to what is asked of us, what is right, or what is difficult. Even when we say NO at first, there’s always time to do the right thing. Others will lie and pretend that they will do the right thing, and never do it. We all know who will find their way to the kingdom of God.
Now, one of my rituals is to watch Mass on TV. I usually have a cup of tea and a cracker to be blessed, but today, I decided to have just a sip of wine and a cookie wafer to be blessed. I know, it’s goofy, but I feel that the priest or bishop has blessed my “bread and wine” virtually.
The rest of my day was wonderful, calm, peaceful and lovely. I was able to FaceTime with the granddaughters and watch them run and play and give grandma kisses.
Then, an evening walk and beautiful sunset to end the day.
Happy Sunday, my friends!
“I can’t decide if I should retire in Hawaii with the settlement from my class action lawsuit settlement, or get a Happy Meal.”
~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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Being a part of a class action lawsuit can be quite lucrative… said no one ever…. unless you are the attorneys.
A long time ago, I received a letter saying that I was part of a class action lawsuit. I was not required to do anything or sign any papers, but I just needed to be notified.
Yesterday, I received my check in the mail with my settlement. As I stated above, I couldn’t decide if I should retire in Hawaii or get a Happy Meal. Then, I realized that the check probably wouldn’t cover the cost of the Happy Meal after tax. I decided to just deposit the huge check of $4.67 cents and just live off the interest. 🤦♀️
I would venture to say that the attorneys on both sides made millions of dollars on this venture. I’m so glad we all could help them out. Not!
But, you must admit, it is kind of funny in a sick venal selfish capitalistic kind of way.
On a brighter note, it was another beautiful day with another gorgeous sunset.
Happy Saturday, my friend.
“Our brain accepts what the eyes see and our eye looks for whatever our brain wants.”
Author: Daniel Gilbert
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I always like to share photos of what my eyes are privileged to see while I’m on my walks and daily adventures.
My morning walk was wonderful, barely a cloud in the sky, cool temps, and beautiful scenery. I walked around the neighborhood, and chatted with several neighbors along my route.
Some of the neighborhood trees are starting to turn a colorful crimson.
On one of my later adventures, I drove over to Kroger for some groceries and I needed to stop for gas. I was excited because I finally had enough Kroger fuel points to get 20 cents off a gallon and my tank was almost empty. I haven’t been driving much, so I lost a lot of accumulated points that expired the past few months. 😔 $1.57 a gallon. Cool! That should last me a couple more months.
My evening walk was just a beautiful as the morning. A beautiful sunset.
Between morning and evening, I got in 5 miles of walking.
Well, it’s Friday… at last…time for my famous Black Russian. Cheers, my friend!
Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.
-Zig Ziglar
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Another Quarantined Karaoke Thursday… but, “The Best Is Yet To Come,” or at least I hope so. I’m thinkin’ positive here. 🎼
“I have been possessed by the ghosts of Betty Crocker, Mrs. Butterworth, and Julia Child all rolled into one. Lord, help me.”
~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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Another cool and dreary day, so that means… stay in your pajamas, clean out the closet, spend countless hours on Facebook and bake something. I made some lemony cream cheesey cool whip stuff the other day and wasn’t that pleased with the results. So today, I decided to modify the concoction with my haphazard “what’s in the pantry” method of baking. I was going to make cupcakes, but decided on mini cheesecakes. No rhyme or reason.
I looked at the recipe inside the cream cheese, added a couple of eggs to two boxes of the cream cheese, a 1/2 cup of sugar and a little vanilla. I put a lemon cookie at the bottom of a paper lined muffin pan, and baked them.
While they were baking, I took my leftover lemony stuff, added another cream cheese, a can of Betty Crocker lemon frosting (thus the possession) and powdered sugar. (How much? What was left in the bag) I made some lemon pudding too, just used 1/2 the milk instead 2 cups. Then I just mixed that all up and added more sugar as needed. Crazy. I’m still not sure what I added.
I used my handy-dandy Wilton frosting tube and added the lemony-cheesey-pudding to frost. Oh yes, the frosting looked kinda thin, so I added a stick of melted butter and more powdered sugar, so it will set up better when refrigerated. (I hope)
I’m not sure how they taste yet. But, I’ll ask the neighbors later. They look good.
Happy “What’s Cookin’ Miss Toni Wednesday.”
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
~Leonardo da Vinci
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I love when I challenge myself. Today, I wanted to try something different. I’ve painted on fun foam before, where I paint the entire surface and scrape away the image. I experimented with adding more colors with a palette knife. I enjoyed making the video, and had extra paint, so I painted another one, just for fun.
(Well, I’ve tried for over an hour to upload some images, to no avail.) I guess you’ll have to watch the video. Sorry!
(Ah- figured out the problem. I needed to pay for my renewal plan.🤦♀️)
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“Life is about doing things that matter first, not last.”
― Richie Norton
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Wow! An awesome Sunday morning, cool, sunny, and just beautiful. A quick walk in the park with the dog before Mass on tv.
Today’s Gospel was the story of the the vineyard owner who went out to find laborers for his fields. He offered them a fair wage. He went out an hour later and found more idle men, offering them work. He did this many times over the hours, all the workers agreeing to the work and the wage offered. When it was time to get paid at the end of the day, the workers who came last were paid first for the same wage as those who worked many more hours. The workers who toiled more hours were upset and jealous….
“13But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first last.”
My take on it… God is like the vineyard owner. He gives everyone a chance, even those who arrive late. We are all offered the same privileges and rewards, so why do we need to be envious of others who have more of the earthly rewards. Be happy and grateful for what we have now. When our lives are over, we can’t take it with us. We will all be judged equally and rewarded or punished accordingly.
The rest of my Sunday was wonderful. Well, except for the part where I tried to figure out how to install my Roku and get it set up. After a long long long time, it was installed. Great right? Well, it’s installed but I can’t figure out how to get the Netflix, and Amazon apps to work. I watched many videos and read many Google suggestions. I put in the passwords and signed up for all this stupid stuff. Then, I was ready to rip it off the wall, but I decided to just shut the #%#*{%#€ thing off, and just watch regular tv. My heart is not broken.
I walked the dog a few more times and put the first coat of varnish on my front door. Then, an evening walk to catch a glimpse of the slivered September moon.
Goodnight Moon…
Toni Andrukaitis 