“It’s always difficult to keep Fridays confined within themselves..they tend to spill over..” ― Parag Tipnis
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I had a lazy crazy rainy Friday. I checked on my little kitty friends a couple of times while Miss Kathy is on vacation. They like to hang out in my front yard and by my front door, hopefully keeping mice and little critters away.
Thank you boys!
My little friend Bella was visiting with me a few days.
“Well, where’s my leash, Miss Toni? Let’s go!”
I had a whole mess of mangos that needed peeling. I always had the hardest time. Then, a friend on Facebook said that she uses a potato peeler. Why didn’t I think of that. Six mangos were easily peeled and cut, except for a slight pause when I peeled the side of my left thumb and started bleeding. Yikes!
Mango madness!
My evening walk revealed a lovely sunset after a dreary rainy morning. A beautiful sky and some beautiful flowers,
Look at that sky! Spectacular!Cheers! Happy Friday, my friends!
“It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens.”—Cynthia E. Varnado
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Well, I was kitty sitting for Miss Kathy last week. She’s back home now, but Sammi sits outside on my front lawn and comes running when I open the door. Then, he throws himself on my feet and waits for a little scratch on the belly. Juno, comes over too. What can I say, I’m the animal whisperer of McKinney.When I’m not whispering with kittens, I’m sharing food with friends. Last night, I made a batch of my famous “bad ass brownies” for Helene to take over to her son’s house this afternoon. She told him how awesome they were, so I baked them a few for her visit. Then, of course, they needed some of my black eyed pea salsa.
On my evening walk, the clouds were strange, some fluffy and some just bizarre.
Look at this weird one. What does it look like to you? At first, I thought maybe an elephant standing up on his hind feet.And just a few minutes later, the fiery red sunset.
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!
“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. “
~Bill Watterson
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Well, Mr. Waterson, I’ve taken your advice today. I had a lazy morning, followed by a long lunch with my good friend Karen, that I haven’t seen in ages. I don’t know what I did with the rest of my day. Then, when I looked at the time, it was almost 8pm. I still wanted to get out for a walk before it got too dark.
The only productive thing I had done all day was to take out MY SHARONA, from the closet and put her next to the kitchen garbage can to empty the dust canister. Sharona is my Shark vacuum cleaner. You may recall that Henrietta, my Hoover, was getting old, looked kinda beat up, and not working well like when she was young, so she was replaced. I can relate. Ha!
My Sharona.
I did empty the canister, but she’s still sitting there in the kitchen. But, as God is my witness, I’m going to vacuum before I go to bed tonight… or tomorrow…or at least by Monday.
But, I did get out for an evening walk. The warm humid day had cooled and the weather was perfect. I look forward to my sunset walks.
I love the awesome glow of sunset with the American flag overlooking the pond. “The land of the free, because of the brave.”
It was a quiet unproductive delightful Saturday. You know what? I think I will take My Sharona for a spin when I get done here. Then, I nice glass of wine will be in order. Happy Saturday, my friends.
“It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way.” ― George Pólya
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The other day, I was sitting quietly on the sofa watching tv when I heard a distant thud. It didn’t quite sound like it came from outside, where several houses were getting new roofs replaced after the recent hail storm. It sounded like it came from upstairs. Spooky. No one has been upstairs for days. so, I went up to investigate.
I walked around, and when I checked out my really neat and organized studio, formerly known as “the crap room,” I noticed a large glass vase on the floor. Hmm? Upon further investigation, I noticed one of my supposedly heavy duty shelves was leaning like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Oh no! If that would have come crashing down, it would have been UGLY!
I removed everything from all the shelves, and canvases, bottles, and glassware were scattered ALL over. Then, I proceeded to examine the situation and decided that the best thing to do was “do nothing.” The mess sat there for days while I procrastinated. I asked Sid to take a look at the shelf, and he noticed that a couple of the posts were really loose. So, we disassembled the unit and wrapped some masking tape around the loose posts and reassembled it. That seemed to do the trick.
Then, the empty shelves sat a few more days uNtil I had the inclination and energy to put everything back. The secret this time was, “don’t put anymore really heavy stuff of the top.” Duh!
I paint a lot of glassware, and a bunch of friends also have given me wine glasses and vases that they no longer want. They know I’ll turn them into something beautiful. BUT, where to store everything?
Let’s put everything back. Well not everything. I got a couple of large bins to store some of the heavier pieces on the other side of the room.
Well, I hope this works. So far, so good. I’ll let you know if I hear another thud, or God forbid, a big crash. 🤦♀️
After a couple of hours wrestling with that problem, it was time for an evening walk and to chase the sunset.
“I don’t know about you, but I was so nervous that the first Sunday back to church in person, that I would show up in my pajamas and slippers. Phew! I remembered to get dressed. You’re welcome!”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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A very special Sunday for me. I attended 9 o’clock Mass at St. Gabriel this morning. This is the first time in many months. I’m feeling more confident having had my vaccines for about a month now. It was wonderful to be back. (And… I didn’t show up in my pink polka dot pajamas.)
It was nice to see familiar faces and good friends. I sat with Jerry and Helene, and even though we are still wearing masks and distancing, families sit together, and we are family. (Just not by blood.)
Today’s Gospel was the ever popular story of “Doubting Thomas.” Jesus appeared to the disciples locked in an upper room in fear after the resurrection. Thomas was not there, and when he returned, he did not believe that Jesus appeared, saying that he would need to see and touch the wounds to believe.
A week later, all were in a locked room together and Jesus appeared, again saying, “Peace be with you.” Jesus challenged Thomas to touch the wounds if he needed proof…
“Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
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Ah, that’s a good one. My take on it is pretty much the same as yours. Those who believe without physical proof are blessed. You haven’t seen God, but you still believe. You haven’t seen heaven, but you believe. I believe in Angels and haven’t seen one, but I have felt a presence and guidance. Then, there are those lucky pennies and feathers that appear. Thats the definition of faith.
Ohhhhhh! I was so delighted and amazed that the church had a sensor activated holy water dispenser! Did you ever? I never heard of such a thing. There hadn’t been any water in the front or holy water dispensers for like a year. When we were exited, I noticed people putting their hand beneath this dispenser and it said HOLY WATER. How clever! Who comes up with these things? Must be a miracle! Just kidding, but some clever innovator at work.
It looked just like this. I googled it, as I didn’t want to cause a scene by stopping to take a photo at church in wild amazement and admiration. Cool!
The rest of my Sunday was great. How can you go wrong with church, special friends, communion, holy water, hugs, kisses, and dancing and singing in the kitchen?
“The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.” ― Shannon L. Alder
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Another wonderful Sunday. The sun was shining and the weather was most pleasant. A fine day to watch Mass on TV this morning.
Today’s Gospel for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion started with preparations for the Passover, the Last Supper, betrayals, false testimonies, sentencing, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus.
The Passion readings are always so sad. The cruelty and betrayal of man, yet Jesus suffered quietly, fulfilling His destiny for our salvation. What more can be said? The beginning of the end and the end proclaiming the beginning.
The rest of my Sunday was absolutely lovely with sunshine, warm breezes, cookies and tea. A few walks in the sunshine and strolling by moonlight.
I watched the orange sun sink in the west, and on my walk home, the spectacular moon started to rise behind the tall trees and rows of houses. I walked down the street to a more open area to watch the beautiful full moon rise in the east. I stood in silence, in awe, and just watched for a very long time. Oh, and took a few pictures, of course.
“A day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered.” – Nicholas Sparks
Another beautiful Sunday. Mass on TV.
Today’s Gospel was the story of Andrew and Phillip informing Jesus that people requested to see Him. Jesus then said it was time for the Son of man to be glorified…
28 Father, glorify your name! A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will again glorify it.’ 29 The crowd standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him.’ 30 Jesus answered, ‘It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.31 ‘Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be driven out.32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself.’33 By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.
My take on it… Jesus did not ask for glory for himself, but to have the people learn the true way and follow Him. All will be judged and believers will join Him heaven.
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According to Wikipedia, today is the birthday of the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach. (I thought of my old friend Leon Krejci who loves his classical music and painting famous composers.)
“It’s funny, when you’ve been sick and haven’t been out of the house in a few days, you tend to appreciate the little things just a little more. Like the warm sun on your face, the birds singing, the trees bursting with buds, and the magnificent sunset.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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It sure was an interesting week. Great days, bad days, but I’m grateful for every day.
“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” ― Helen Keller
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What a difference a day makes! Today, the sun was out, the birds were chirping jubilantly, and the snow only lingers in a few shadowed recesses. Yay! Many friends and neighbors are recovering from catastrophic winter storm damage. I feel very blessed to have survived unscathed. (You notice I’m using my prosaic two dollar words. That’s how fortunate I feel today.)
This afternoon, I counteracted my decadent bacon tostadas from yesterday with a healthier vegetarian tostada. Can I consider myself a quasi-semi-intermittent vegetarian? Nah, I didn’t think so. Sure was tasty, and one was just enough. Left overs tomorrow.
I hadn’t been out for a long walk in a week or so. My old right knee has been bothering me for quite some time. Old war injury… just kidding. Do all night “Star Wars” tv marathons count? But today, the sunshine and warmer weather tempted me to get out, at least to catch the sunset. I managed to get in 5,635 steps, 2.5 miles. I did stop at a bench a couple of times to massage that old knee.
Each lap around the pond was glorious. There’s still some ice closer to the shore.Most of the grass has shed its snowy veil, and the robins are basking in the evening glow. I think they’re pretty happy the frigid temps are gone, too. Another spectacular Saturday.
