Tuesday:) Toni and Helene’s Terrific Visit to Holy Family School

“Never get tired of doing little things for others, sometimes those little things occupy the biggest parts of their hearts.” – Unknown

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Helene and I made our monthly visit to Holy Family School this afternoon. It’s always so uplifting to see those adorable little faces, and to know that our little contribution of snacks and drinks goes a long way to nourish the little ones.

Today we had a lot of apple juice, peanut butter and snacks to take over.

We are always greeted with appreciation and smiles. Even under the masks, we can sense the smiling eyes. And Helene topped it off with a generous check. “Never get tired of doing little things for others, sometimes those little things occupy the biggest parts of their hearts.” – Unknown

We walked upstairs to say hi to Miss Sondra. The little ones were napping… or at least we’re supposed to be napping.

Helene and Miss Sondra. (We “BELIEVE “ too.)

A few of little ones popped up to say hi and Happy Thanksgiving. Just seeing those adorable cherub faces and squeaky salutations would melt any heart. We love our little friends at Holy Family School.

After our brief visit, Helene and I stopped at One and Only Burger on Highway 5. After all, it is on the way home, and has the most incredible fresh French fries on the planet.

Oh man,… so good!

It was a good afternoon, filling our hearts and tummies.

I went for an evening walk right before sunset, and of course, I was greeted by another stunning sunset. Life is good.

Happy Tuesday, my friends.

Thoughtful Thursday:) Sharing, Caring, Adoring

“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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If you know me well, and many of you do, you know that I just love to cook and bake and paint and do creative things, but nor just for myself, it to share with others. Yesterday, I showed my huge bowl of black eyed pea/corn/bean salsa that I made. Well, today was my sharing day. I got out my many recycled containers and divided up the salsa for sharing.

I was able to get ten containers full. Yay!

My first stop was Station 9. Then, a quick stop at Kroger to get more tortilla chips.

Then, off to Station 5.

I had other containers in the cooler, but I wanted to stop at church a little while for Adoration. It’s quiet with just a few people in the chapel for Adoration, but after a few prayers, I always like to walk over to the sanctuary, main church, to light a candle.

This morning, while I was meditating and listening to a podcast by Dr. Caroline Leaf, (I love her scientific based mind healing) she was talking about the benefits of daydreaming to replenish the mind/brain. She said that our minds work 24/7 and that when we dream while asleep, our minds are very active. But, sometimes we need to daydream while we are awake, to slow down the pace and calm our busy brains. I like that. She gave examples, but also said that absolute quiet or stillness isn’t necessary. You can listen to soft music or sketch, etc. Ah ha! Sketch… I’ve been meaning to take a sketch pad and pencil and sketch in the quiet solemnity of St. Gabriel’s sanctuary. Today was a good day for that.

I’m not great with faces and people, but the peaceful setting and sketching was very relaxing and prayerful.

After Adoration, Helene and I visited with Mr. Jerry, as I had more salsa and chips to share. After that, I stopped at Karen’s to drop off a couple of containers for her. After all, she was the reason I made the salsa in the first place. She asked for my recipe, and I don’t use no stinkin’ recipe. Then, seeing as we both hadn’t eaten dinner, we went out and had a burger. I have the bestest friends.

On my way home, the sunset was so awesome. When I turned the corner and went up the hill, I had to stop a second and say, “WOW!” Out loud.

When I got home, I started to go over to check on Miss Kathy’s cats and feed them. Sammi always runs across the street to my front door to meet and greet me, and he throws himself on my feet. Funny!

Oh, I wanted to share some Artisto App photos I made of my sketch from church. Pretty fun app.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, it was an awesome day of sharing, caring, and adoring. Feeling blessed!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom~ Sharing is Caring

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

― Mother Theresa

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One of my greatest joys in life is making someone smile, and knowing that maybe, a little something I did put that smile on their face. It doesn’t matter if it’s my friends or family, or the janitor or the hardworking clerk at the Dollar Tree. Just a simple smile or personal greeting could make someone’s day. You never know.

My talents are a gift from God, and my time and efforts are gifts from me to share with others. Sunday, when I took some brownies over to Fire Station 9, I asked them when Captain Desiree would be back, as she was out a few weeks on a medical leave. They said she would be back Monday, so, I got up early Monday and made a huge container of penne pasta with meat sauce to take over for their lunch or dinner. I do love to cook. Just a kinda welcome back for the captain and crew. See those smiles.

Yesterday, I offered to take Bella to the Vet for Mr. Mike. He’s always busy and traveling, on a plane or on the phone. She was overdue for some shots, etc. Plus, he’s always helping me by fixing things, technology questions, unjamming my garage door, replacing my doorbell, coming over when my car is dead, changing smoke alarm batteries, etc. Bella is very comfortable and feels safe with me, so when we spent over two hours at the Vet, it was a nice way to help out.

This afternoon, I met with my friend Rick, a very talented local photographer. He and Isabelle go to St. Gabriel too, and until now, we have been mostly Facebook friends. Rick offered to give me some ideas about putting together a photo book of my artwork and poetry. He had admired one of my watercolors of the historic prison building on the square, so I offered to give him a print of the original when we met. He insisted on paying me, but I insisted that if I took his money, then it wasn’t a gift. Sharing is caring.

There are so many little things we can do every day to share a smile with the world. It just takes a little thought and a little time.

Ok, I thought this one was funny! 🤦‍♀️

Thursday:) This Is Just One Month of Brownie Baking

“If you enjoy doing something, make sure to share. The more you care, the more you share.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I’ve got a batch of brownies in the oven as we speak. We are having our monthly pot luck dinner over at the VFW tonight during karaoke. It’s always fun, with a lot of friends, food and fine singing. Ha! I’m exaggerating on the fine singing… my singing…not so great. But, I do enjoy belting out an off-tune tune. I’m either getting better, or the crowd is getting hard of hearing. We’re pretty old. I think it’s the latter.

I was doing a lot of baking the last few weeks, so I decided to save the boxes to see how many batches I actually baked. Wow! That’s a lot of brownies.

That’s a lot of brownies!!!!

I also like to cook. Double whammy. I’m making a huge pot of pasta, mostaccioli. A few neighbors and friends will be the lucky recipients of my over-zealous-compulsive-overachieving crazy cooking frenzy.

I just finished packing up my pasta. A few stops on my way to karaoke. Life is good.

Tuesday:) Truly, The Tiny Things Can Mean So Much

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

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My mundane days are probably boring and repetitious to you, but for me, they are filled with so many blessings and joys, that I always feel compelled to share. I started out with a a very vigorous Zumba class, killer on my bad knee, but I don’t care, I love my Zumba. After class, I met with my good friend Mary from church. We met at McDonald’s for coffee at 9:30. We see each other every Sunday when we greet before Mass, but she wanted to see how I’m coming along with my annulment paperwork. She is my good friend, but also my advocate. 

While we were talking about everything under the sun, frustration, hurts, pains, joys, and grandchildren, I told her, “You know what gets me through each day? I wake up every morning and say, sometimes to myself or sometimes out loud, thank YOU for your blessings.” I count my blessings every single day. I have a wonderful family and the greatest friends on earth. People have come into my life, and have been put in my path for a reason. Mary is one of those people. We talked until noon, and her husband called and asked if she would be home for lunch. She invited me to join them for leftovers and cookies. How do you say no to that?

Well, you know me and my signs. I parked down the street from her house, had lunch with her husband Pat and her adorable grandson. We all sang the Cookie Monster song, “C is for cookie.” So cute. When I left and walked back to my car, and started to open the door, right beneath my feet was a lucky penny. I had to walk back to show Mary and thank her again for the great day. I’m a lucky gal.

I smiled all the way home, singing my West Side Story song, “Something’s Coming,” and counted my blessings. When I got home, I did not pass GO or collect $200, (Monopoly reference) and went for a long walk. The sun was warm, the sky clear, and just the perfect day. After a long walk, I sat on the park bench for a break, and soaked up the sun, then walked some more.

When I got to my house, I checked  the mailbox, and there on the top of a stack of flyers and junk mail was a large drawing on cardstock. I read the crayon written message and just beamed. “Thank you for the brownies and cars! Cade and Corbin”

This was from the two little boys across the street that were playing firemen in their backyard the other day. They always say hi to me and tell me about their dog and what they’re doing. I took them some brownies and a couple of Matchbox cars. They were just thrilled. 

A tiny gesture from me and a beautiful handmade thank you note from two little boys, that’s what life is all about, sharing, caring, kindness, and gratitude. These are the things that mean so much.

Sunday Sermon: Sharing and Caring…Right Place…Right Time

“I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.”
― Charles de Lint
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“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25
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Today is the first Sunday in Lent. From as far back as I can remember, Lent meant a time of fasting, reflection, renewal and giving up something. But, for the past few years, I’ve decided NOT to give up something, but rather, try and Give more of myself and my time.

Here’s one of my sharing and caring moments. It is one of those “in the right place at the right time” kinda stories.

Friday afternoon, I was going to stop and visit my friend Lynne who was working on a big sewing project with Jill. I thought, “Oh man, I keep forgetting to stop at St. Gabriel’s to pick up that form to send to Joe’s parish priest in Chicago. I’ll just pop in the office. They’re open till 4.” Half way there I thought, “Oh forget it. I’ll just go Monday.” But, I kept driving. I’d been procrastinating long enough.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked behind a small U-Haul truck. There were several cars, so I figured someone would be there. When I walked inside, there was a young couple roaming around. By young, I mean, barely old enough to vote young. They were holding hands, and the girl looked about seven or eight months pregnant. They asked me if I knew where the office was. I wasn’t sure myself, so I said, “Well, let’s walk around and take a look.”

When we got to the parish office door, it was dark and locked up. A small sign read, Friday 9 till noon. Oops! It was after 3 pm. The website said till 4, so I figured I’d just come back Monday. I asked them what they were looking for, and just assumed that they wanted to get married or wanted to talk to a priest.

Well, the poor kids said that they were on their way to Oklahoma and they ran out of money. They needed gas and were hoping someone at the church could help them out. They said they saw some cars across the lot at the recreation building, so they walked over. Of course, it’s natural to think that maybe they were just scamming, but then again, what if they were truly desperate.

While I watched them walk out the door, hand in hand, I reached into my purse to see how much cash I had. I found a five and three singles. Well. that isn’t going to help much. Then, I remembered the emergency $20 that I keep in the little side zippered pocket. Ah, now here’s an emergency if I ever saw one.

I walked across the lot and found them talking to one of the Knights of Columbus volunteers who was setting up for the Friday fish fry. Basically, he told the couple that the office was closed and, “Sorry, I can’t help you. They’ll be back Monday.” I walked over, handed the young man the folded up cash, and said, “This might not get you very far, but I hope it helps.” They both smiled and said “Thanks,”

Walking back to my car, I thought…”Whatever you do for the least of my brothers…” And I was right when I had guessed that the U-Haul truck was theirs. Poor kids. They followed right behind me and thanked me again. I watched as the young man helped the soon-to-be mom into her seat in the truck and closed the door behind her.

I know it sounds corny, but I felt like I was in the right place at the right time for a reason. What if I was a few minutes earlier or later, or maybe decided not to go after all? Hmmm? Makes you think?

“I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.”
― Charles de Lint