Easter cards

It's tough finding Easter cards today that celebrate the real reason for this, the most important holiday on the Christian calendar.  The few available are segued off to the side of the display and even those cards in the tiny section labeled "religious" contain watered down  postmodernist sentiments void of such key words as "Christ" and "risen."  Leaves a person wondering how they got labeled "religious."  Seems as though in the past few years we've backslid a couple of millennia to celebrating a pagan rite of Spring rather than praising a Risen Lord.  But in this age where we've lost our moral compass, where even historic references to the Julian calendar, B.C. and A.D., have been stripped of their christological orientation--now B.C.E. (Before the Common Area) and C.E. (Common Era), scripture references have been stripped from the scopes of the soldier's rifle, and marriage has lost its sacredness,    

Dayspring, the big publisher of religious cards in the Christian bookstores, was recently bought out by Hallmark, and all of their cards are now printed in China!  At least Cleveland's own American Greetings are still printed in the USA.  Guess I'll be making my own, however--at $5 each, I'd rather donate the $25 I'd spend on 5 cards to the City Mission as a way of honoring the paschal mystery.

What is your favorite Sonic Memory?

So mine took place eleven years 3 1/2 months ago....
It was the first snowfall after we first moved 
back home from Florida. 
It was evening....one of those gentle magical snowfalls 
with no wind. 
The silence of the night, the velvety blackness of the sky 
out of which the snowflakes appeared to emerge, 
and the almost imperceptible sound of snowflakes dancing...
I stood there for the longest time, mouth wide open so as to 
catch as many as I could, revelling in the beauty of the moment.
That is my favorite sonic memory. 
How about yours?

What Happened to Good Old-Fashioned Journalism?

Been witness to the local news media getting it so very wrong so often that we refuse to watch it any longer! With all their power to shape, manipulate, color public opinion, shame on local media for not being driven by ethics and continually distorting their so-called reports by shoveling to the public whatever will sell, and enable their corporate execs to amass $$$$$$$. We get what we tolerate. Journalism schools today emphasize marketing over ethics and profit -making over their civic obligation which is simply to report the news, the facts on all sides, the truth-----nothing more, nothing less.

March 29, 2014

It is hard to believe that one year ago today, my mother breathed her last in her room in the nursing home. Her roommate had passed away just a couple of days before, and my Dad had passed away a few months before. She was all alone, but I like to believe that somehow she was not alone. We were never close, but ironically, the dementia from which she suffered those last couple of years opened a door for us to find peace, and that peace was such a gift. Love you, Mom. Miss you, too.

Mom, Sister Betty, Brother Jim

Mary Lou Marshall 1949

Mom, Dad, Cousin Tish, Me (rt)

Mama's Not Allowed in the Kitchen

O.K., so I got up early this morning to make
my dear darling hubby oatmeal pancakes--
inspired by a healthy recipe in this month's
Family Circle magazine.  I entered banned 
(for me) territory, i.e. the kitchen.

Anyone who's fallen victim, I mean, been blessed
by one of my healthy gourmet creations would
be proud to know I only switched up two ingredients
this time.  Having only 2 of the 2 1/2 c. of buttermilk
called for, I substituted 1/2 c. cottage cheese for the rest.
And of course, white flour is a toxin, so I substituted spelt
flour, an ancient whole wheat grain.

Having heard me clanging around in the kitchen at dawn, 
my handsome hubby came down the stairs, warily entering 
the kitchen, scanning the counters for signs of ingredient 
swapping.  Little did he know, I had already gotten rid of
the evidence.  Warily, he sat down and took one bite of
the 1" high flapjacks the size of dinner plates.

He chewed for a good minute.  "What are these lumps?" 
he mumbled, mouth full, while trying to swallow.  
"Seriously, what did you do to these?  How can you screw 
up pancakes? "

"What lumps?" I asked innocently...     

Drat!  Caught again.

Funny how hilarity puts me into limerick mode:

The healthy baker of Hudson

Tries to earn the love of her husband

     By making culinary creations

     Some real tummy titillations

That result in abdominal obstruction!

Nope!  Mama ain't allowed in the kitchen no more!

Wedding Anniversary #38: Pittsburgh

As we drove around to the other side of the mountain, BAM! There was the City of Pittsburgh in all its glory! I love being surprised like that!

It was a gloomy day, but we always bring our own sunshine. Unlike our Cleveland, this is a city bustling busy on the weekend—a huge farmer’s market and hockey game draw the crowds into the city from surrounding communities built atop mountains and nestled in the valleys. Lanes are narrow in this town in order to squeeze as much as possible into this valley—making driving hazardous and harried….only almost lost our lives twice!—NOT KIDDING!

The PPG, an architectural highlight, dominates the downtown area with glass palaces pointing to the heavens and reflecting the sun from plate glass turrets, lighting the way for passersby. 

At the Carnegie Art Museum--equally as wonderful as the Cleveland Museum of Art, but 18 times the price. Ugh! $17.95/person as opposed to FREE in Cleveland. But I don't ever mind supporting the arts.  

Here are some of the pieces that inspired me this day.

A poem about Pittsburgh would have to be a metaphor for bridges! 

Here you can catch a view of the recently renovated riverfront (Monangahela) and off in the distance you can see one of the incline railroads.

The reason we chose Pittsburgh is because we wanted to dine at Lidia's Italy--our favorite TV show is Lidia's Italy featuring chef Lidia Bastianich, and this turned out to be the highlight of the trip! 

Lidia did NOT let us down--although she is not there most days, her presence is felt in the taste, the presentation, the ambiance, the spirits, the perfection! Best service EVER!!!!! And not too pricey either! We both agree that it was worth the two hour drive.

I simply had to stop at Ikea on the way home.  I dragged the hubby into the door, but had to drag him out.  J  I so wish I could sell all our home furnishings and start all over with IKEA--such great ideas! Woot! Woot!

Ikea! Ikea! Ikea! You fire off the neurons in my brain!

No more big cities for us for awhile...next year, back to a quaint little historic village with a cozy B&B where we usually choose to spend our anniversaries!  Already researching XXXOOO  

Lessons Learned...in the past few years

  1. Things are not always what they seem.
  2. Rarely do we know the whole story.
  3. Life is not fair.
  4. God is.
  5. Accept responsibility. Don't blame.
  6. Forgive 70 x 7.
  7. Trust no one--well, maybe a few.
  8. Evil is real. Love is greater.
  9. Fatigue is a very bad thing.
10. Keep getting up. 
11. Keep looking up.
12. Don't look back.