Labour Day

A lovely sunny WARM day today. I went to Mass early then we drove to Levin which is a small town, about 45 mins away, that we have never visited. Quite a nice little town, but mostly closed because it was a holiday weekend but we managed to find somewhere to have lunch. After that we drove to Foxton Beach and that was brilliant: sunshine, blue sky, torquoise sea, NO WIND and everyone in holiday mood. Some brave souls/idiots were actually IN the sea - but not many. We walked along the beach for a while drinking in the atmosphere and those special sounds you hear only at the beach: crashing waves, seagulls, and the subdued wafting of people talking and laughing floating across sand. Then we sat on a piece of driftwood and just enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

It was just a taste of what we hope is to come, and tomorrow it will be 23degrees!

Fated

I feel rather sorry for 2 of my grandchilden. Even at birth they seem to be fated to be teachers. Both of their Grandmothers and one of their Grandfathers were teachers. Their Father and 3 of their aunts are teachers and part of their mother's job involves teaching. They have spent most of their teenage years proclaiming that they WILL NOT be teachers. They both have degrees, and although they have tried a variety of jobs, and done well in them, they have not had job satisfaction. Finally one of them has surrendered and goes to Teacher's College in January, and I wouldn't be surprised if her brother follows in a year or two. May God bless them in their careers, even though they have struggled against it for years.

Apples

Yesterday while we driving out of town for the funeral we bought a 10k bag of Granny Smith apples $3.50! Today we have been dealing with them.

We filled the slow cooker with peeled sliced apples. E peeled them while I sliced. Then he peeled some more and I made pastry and 2 apples pies. Delicious! I froze one of the pies. The slow cooked apples have been put into containers and frozen. We still have over 1/2 the bag left!

Prayers For Maria

Today we went to the funeral of my dear friend Sheila. It was a joyful yet sad occasion. It was joyful for Sheila because she was with her Lord whom she'd served all her life. But we wept for ourselves, we'll miss her, and we wept for her sick husband, and for her daughter who loved her mother so much. I pray for Maria daily as life has been very hard for her. Her only sibling died unexpectedly about 3 years ago, her husband deserted her, her father has almost died several times in the last few years, and now her mother, who has been a tower of strength to them all, had a stroke which left her totally incapacitated and subsequently died.

Holy Mary, for whom Maria was named, we implore your help for Maria.

Fridays's "Why I love my husband" No 2 (a little late)

When my small grandchildren arrive to visit us they tear into the room shouting "Grandy" and throw themselves at my husband. Grandy is the pet name they made up for him. All children love my husband! One day we were visiting my sister and another family, who we didn't know, arrived with their children. There was a big crowd in the room and my husband was sitting having a deep conversation with someone and he didn't notice one of the little girls who was staring intently at him. Gradually she sidled around the room, with her eyes fixed on him, until she reached him then she tried to sit on his lap. He looked up startled but when he saw what she was doing he laughed and asked her name. They were big buddies from then onwards.

All children and animals love my husband. So do I.

Sunday Joy

I love Sundays! Firstly I get to go to blessed Sunday Mass, which of course is very different to the daily Masses I attend. On Sunday the whole Body of Christ comes together. I love it! Secondly, I get to rest, and when you're in your seventies that's a huge blessing. From 5 pm on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday I do no work! Bliss. Well, Ok I cook dinner but that's all. I can do my hobbies such as gardening or knitting but oddly enough I don't feel I can do my Latin! But I love my Sunday rest and I thank God for it. AMEN

Friday's Why I love my husband. no 1

I've been married for 51 years, it's been a stormy marriage but I've always loved my husband.

So why do I love him? On thinking about this I realised it's not the BIG things that make me love him it's the small little touches, like this:

One day I had hastily thrown thrown some pears into a bowl and left them on a side table. Later that day, my husband sat down next to the bowl of pears and began to read the newspaper. After a while he looked up, glanced at the pears then went back to the paper. A couple of moments later he looked at the pears again, put down his paper and arranged them properly in the bowl. Then he picked up the paper and carried on reading. The bowl of pears looked beautiful.

Why do I love him? He notices things and he's artistic. (I'm not)

Learning Latin

Did I tell you I'm learning Latin? I've been learning off and on (mostly off) for the last 15 years but, although I love it, I've never really got very far. But this year I've been working at it fairly consistently and am making pretty good progress. I'm also teaching it to my grandchildren, age 7 and 8 and they LOVE it, especially the 8 year old. So I've GOT to stick at it just to stay ahead!

Blessed Homecoming

Today I had some sad and unexpected news. One of my oldest friends is dying. She lives in my former hometown and we've been friends for about 30 years. Almost a year ago we had lunch together to celebrate her 79th birthday. It was a wonderful time, we had lovely food and laughed and talked throughout the meal. It was to become a precious memory for me as about a week later she had a devastating stroke. She was left a crippled shell of her former self and after a fall and another stroke she's dying. To me and to all her friends and family it is very sad news. We all hoped she would recover eventually and come back to us. For Sheila it is good news. She is being blessed, she is going HOME. She was a devoted Christian who has had a difficult life but soon it will all be behind her, and she will be in the arms of her Saviour, her beloved, Jesus.

Blessed Homecoming. But I'll miss you Sheila.

Holy Challenge

My dear friend bought me a prayer book while she was in Auckland. It's a version of the Liturgy of the Hours. I haven't started using it yet because it is SO complex. She spent quite a while showing me how to use it but I'm not sure I really got it. I must spend time going through it again. But we are so busy with the children at the moment... They are on holiday at the moment and we have them every morning. Such a joy - but it wears us out!!

In Love

How lax I've been posting on this blog but then - no one ever reads it but me! AM has been home this weekend. She is madly in love - I've never seen her so glowingly happy. But it makes me fear for her - she is so vulnerable when she loves like this. She is usually laid back about her menfriends but to J she seems to have totally given her heart. I'm praying for her as I always do.