Archive | May, 2022

Montage Memorial Day Memories

31 May

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.”

Jeremy Irons

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One of my favorite photos that depicts patriotism on this Memorial Day, is the sweet innocence of a young girl, placing a small flag in the ground. She doesn’t realize the significance, but she knows it’s important, very important.

Now, for my week in a peek…

A very lovely week.
The Rotary Club places a flag in front of my house for all the 5 major holidays.
On my evening walk. A reminder of “The home of the free because of the brave.”
This evening, Miss Kathy and I sat on her front porch and drank wine, watched the sun disappear as her cats scampered about chasing creatures in the night. Cool!

Sunday Sermon and Some Other Stuff

30 May

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Matthew 28:19

Another lovely Sunday, and it was a pleasure to wake up and look forward to going to church, light my candle, etc. The Chateau bus was really early today, so I didn’t catch seeing the ladies get off the bus, but Mr. Mike was still straining in his wheel chair down the long corridor. I ran over and said, “Feet up, Mr. Mike. We’re going for a ride.” I grabbed a song sheet and bulletin for him and scooted him around to get some holy water, then parked him on the end of the last row of pews. Mr. Dave was already seated in the pew, so I introduced the two gentlemen and they shook hands and chatted.

We also had a baptism today. Two children were baptized, a little baby boy and a toddler little girl. More “disciples of all nations.”

Today’s Gospel was the final story for Ascension Sunday. Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus talks to His disciples, tells them to continue His work, and was carried up to heaven.

Gospel

LUKE 24:46-53

46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.49And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” 50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy,53and were continually in the temple blessing God.

My take on it… Jesus suffered much so we could be redeemed. So, we should carry on with His work, share and live the messages He left us, and most importantly, “Love one another” as He has loved us. It’s not asking a lot, but it sure seems like everyone didn’t get the message. But, all we can do is try to live by His example.

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After Mass, Helene and I stopped for our hot chocolate. Jerry is back from his cruise, but he had a party to go to so he couldn’t join us. We did run into the other church ladies that stop in. Jan, Susan and a new lady, either Mavis or Mable. I forgot already. I didn’t need anything from Tom Thumb , so I headed home. Oh, but I decided to stop at my McD Closer by my house to get a Happy Meal. They have a new series of Disney toys. Uh oh!

New toys for the granddaughters. 🤦‍♀️ plus, who doesn’t love a delicious Happy Meal. Now, I’m glad I stopped there around noon. It’s almost 11 pm and I never got around to having any dinner. I was going to go for a walk then eat when I got home from my walk, but I ran into Miss Kathy who was cleaning off her back porch and had some heavy outdoor rugs and a pad to move, so I stopped to help. It only took a few minutes, but after that, we sat on her front porch talking for over two hours. 🤦‍♀️ It was a beautiful evening.
Too late for dinner now. I guess I’ll just finish writing this post and have a glass of wine. Wine is made from grapes. Grapes are fruit. Fruit is good, right? 🤦‍♀️

Happy Sunday, my friends.

Saturday:) Squeezing Every Ounce Out Of Life

28 May

“When life gives you lemons, squeeze every ounce of life out of it. Don’t make lemonade, make it count.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I don’t know about you, but I play this little game with my toothpaste. When it looks like I can’t squeeze out even a tiny bit, I manage to squeeze out another week’s worth. I have 5 or 6 new tunes of toothpaste, but I need to see how much further it can go. 🤦‍♀️

This is my new motto, “Squeeze every ounce out of life while you can.”

I may have to break out the new tube tonight. Or maybe not?🤦‍♀️

Friday:)Fabulous Artist Friends At Towne Creek Senior Apartments

28 May

“The only thing better than a day creating art, is a day creating art with old friends.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Today was our Towne Creek Craft and Art Day with our senior friends. There’s always a lot of preparation, anticipation and great expectation… (you See my literary play on words there? I was going to say constipation🤦‍♀️)

I decided we would work on the torn tissue paper project from my Tuesday video. I really wasn’t sure if it would go over well or if it would be too difficult. Boy, was I surprised. They all turned out fabulous.

I started out this morning making my famous popcorn/pretzel/cereal mixture. I make individual bags for each person to take home after the class. They said that they like to watch tv and have their popcorn snack. I gathered up all the supplies, and cut up individual brown bag trees, little squares of 4 colors of green for the trees, and squares of tissue paper colors for the background. A lot of prep.
I also chocolate dipped some strawberries, made a few more lemon cheesecake cookies and cut up a watermelon. Helene was making her famous pasta salad and I was bringing hot dogs, nacho cheese dip, tortilla chips, drinks, and ice cream. Can you say Friday Feast!

Helene and I arrived about the same time and got a couple of carts to haul in all our supplies and goodies. We organized tables, put plastic table cloths and passed out the art supplies needed. I did a brief demo of how to tear the tissue paper, add the dimensional tree, and make all the dimensional leaves. Then, everyone got to work. I couldn’t believe how awesome each background looked.

The background layers were pretty wet from the watery glue, so we set them outside to dry. They were dry in 10 minutes in the sun.
We also had a lovely teenage girl, Michele, who volunteers at Towne Creek, join us. (Miss Kathy-top left, Michelle-top right, Nadia-bottom left, David-bottom right.
Helene’s and Bonnie’s trees turned out so cute. Helene even experimented with two or three colors in one leaf. I love when people experiment and create something spectacular. While the trees were drying, we had a dessert break, then worked on some holographic scratch boards. Those were cool, too.
Then time for our Friday Feast. We hold hands, say a prayer of thanks for our meal and our friendship. Then, we eat like little piggies u til we are about to explode.

Happy Friday, my friends. I hope your day was a fun and fabulous as ours. ❤️

Thankful Thursday:) So Much To Be Thankful For

27 May

Every morning count your blessings

In the evening give your thanks.

A grateful heart knows endless joy

Not found with money or in banks.

The secret is not in taking

But in what you have to give.

So, appreciate each moment

That’s the only way to live.

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I love setting aside a day to express my thanks for all my blessings. I do count them EVERY day, but I like to share them every now and then with friends and family. Being a writer, artist, baker, amazing cook, singer, dancer and all around talented creative “modest” AMAZING person, I wrote the little poem above. So many blessings, so little time, not enough words.

Today, when I opened up my Facebook page, I found some adorable photos in my memories.

This just melted my heart. Four years ago, how the time does fly.
A photo from today. See how time flies!!!!
This was from 12 years ago. Lin Lin and her granddaughter visiting my mom. Precious memory. Addie is a teenager now. 🤦‍♀️
I am thankful for the wonderful lunch Helene and I had today at Palio’s Pizza Cafe. on 380. We hadn’t been there in a while. Miguel had to come out and give us a hug. He said he missed us. Where can you get an awesome lunch, complete with salad and a drink for under $10? And don’t forget… a nice hug.
After lunch, I stopped at Kroger to pick up a few last minute things for Towne Creek art class tomorrow. I had some extra coupons that I wasn’t going to use, so I placed them next to the item so someone else could use them. As my 3 year old granddaughter likes to say, “Sharing is caring.”

There is SO MUCH to be thankful for, especially my beautiful family and awesome friends. Happy Thankful Thursday.

Wednesday:) What’s Cookin’ Miss Toni?

26 May

“There’s nothing like a great big ol’ jalepeño cheesey bread sandwich to warm up a dreary rainy Wednesday.”

Me

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What a wonderful Wednesday! I went to my writing group over at the MillHouse. These ladies are so fun and talented. I look forward to learning and sharing and writing.

By the time I got home, I was starving. So I made one of my favorites… jalepeño cheese focaccia turkey sandwich. Yum!

Ready, set, go…
Slice the bread down the middle, add turkey.
Add some cheddar cheese and pop in the toaster oven.
Voila! Time to eat.

Tuesday:) Toni’s Torn Tissue Paper Project

25 May

“Don’t get frustrated, just tear up a bunch of papers and create a masterpiece. it’s very healing.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Sometimes, I just have to go up to my “crap room” and rummage through art supplies and come up with some ideas for art projects to do with my senior friends at Towne Creek. I’m still not sure if this will work, but I gave it a try. I was inspired by my very talented friend, Sherry Murphy, who was teaching a class on torn paper collage.

Now, I’m sitting here as the mean ‘ol Storm is clambering around me. I’m just glad I’m inside safe and sound.

A little video below if you want to see the steps.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uCQ4okBEo6o&feature=share

Torn tissue paper with a little glue and water.

A brown paper bag tree, but not glued down flat. A little dimension with folds and adjustments.

Montage Monday:) A Week in a Peek

24 May

“What can I say? Time flies faster than the speed of sound, so you don’t notice or feel it passing till it’s gone.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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It was a pretty interesting week. Oppressive hot days, then a cold snap, then warm and muggy again. That’s all in one week, actually just a couple of days. I’m all for change of seasons, but in the same day is kinda crazy.🤦‍♀️

Here’s a week in a peek….

Happy Monday, my friends.

Sunday Sermon and Some Other Stuff

23 May

“Peace begins with a smile.”~Mother Teresa

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A beautiful Sunday morning. Yesterday’s warm muggy day ended with a cold front coming in. This morning was cool and crisp and lovely. I arrived at church early enough to chat with a few friends, light my candle, and greet the folks from the Chateau bus. Mr. Mike was dropped off in his wheel chair, so I asked him if he’d like a push, and he was delighted. I said, “Hang on!” Then, I scurried down the long hallway and parked him by the back pews. I patted his shoulders and he gave me a big smile, and asked my name. That’s what PEACE is all about, my friends.

Today’s Gospel reading was about Jesus telling his disciples to keep His word and how He leaves us with His peace.

Gospel

Jn 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

My take on it….Jesus wants us to feel peace and not feel troubled, and all who follow His word will be granted this peace. There is an inner peace when your heart and soul believe in the Lord.

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After Mass, Helene, Ashleigh, and I stopped for coffee at McD. Then, I stopped for a quick stop at the store. Bananas on sale, 29c a pound, can’t beat that.

I went for a nice evening walk. It was great to wear a fleece jacket again. It was cloudy and cool and just lovely. I whistled to the birds in the trees, and enjoyed the view.

It was a lovely lazy Sunday.

Saturday:) Some More Sanctuary Sketches

21 May

“Do what you love and love what you do, and keep doing it.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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It had been a while since I did some sketching at St. Gabriel after Adoration. It was nice to get back at it. It wasn’t really quiet and peaceful, as they were having a rehearsal for the Deacon Ordination. But, the hustle and bustle was not a factor.

I chose one of the recently installed windows behind the altar.
I was kind of happy there were no faces to try and master. I still have trouble with faces.
My finished pencil sketch… now for the cool Artisto App renderings. My favorite part.
I love them all. I can’t decide which ones I like best.

Ppl Saturday, my friends.