Advent approaches.

Next Sunday sees the start of the blessed feast of Advent when we prepare out hearts and minds for His coming at Christmas. Alex and I used to make an advent wreath at this season but now there are just the two of us we just put 3 purple candles and one pink one in a circle on our prayer table and light them as we say our prayers before dinner.

It's a lovely tradition to make small penances in this season to focus our souls for the coming of the Light of the World. I have been wondering what I can do and decided on this: I will not eat more than I really need at any meal during Advent.

It's just a tiny offering but it's made with love.

Strawberry Indulgence.

What could be more delicious than sun-warmed strawberries straight from the plant to my mouth? I love early summer!

Milestone

Yesterday I was 75!!! Look, I've even started bosting about my age; that's a bad sign of senility!

I had the most amazing day. It began with tea and toast in bed, then opening the wonderful cards and presents. Alex's card made me cry, and his presents were exactly right for me. Then the phone began to ring and I was fielding calls for most of the morning and part of the afternoon. I felt so blessed.

In the evening Alex and I met with our 2 daughters and their families at a wonderful Indian restaurant. More cards and lots more presents and lots of hugs and kisses. After we'd eaten as much as we could of the delicious Indian food, the waitress bought in a huge chocolate birthday cake alight with candles, and my family (and some of the other patrons) sang "Happy Birthday". I was quite overcome.

It was a wonderful day, I felt so blessed and loved. Thank you dear Lord for my precious family.

Knock it off!

Another granddaughter story I'm afraid and it's rather shocking so don't read it if you have delicate sensiblities.

It was raining (again) and we're all getting rather tired of rain. My youngest grandaughter looked out of the window and said to her mother in a disgusted voice "God's crying again!" As my daughter wondered who'd told her that rain was "God crying" she noticed that L. had gone outside with her umbrella up. L. marched to the middle of the sodden lawn looked up at the sky and shouted (presumably at God) "Knock it off!"

Proud

I went to see my two youngest grandchildren in their dance school show. I was SO proud of them! (of course). L. has natural talent and just shines on stage. E. is not so talented and was well behind the others in her class when she started, but because she tried so hard, practised continually, and has a natural sense of rhythm she gradually caught up with the others. She like her sister loves performing, so she shone too.

And I am not AT ALL biased because they are my grandchildren!

An inspiration.

My sister was telling me about her husband (they live on the other side of the world) and how amazingly fit he is.

He is an epelectic and although it is kept well under control he is not allowed to drive. One day last week he spent a couple of hours smashing a concrete path in the garden which he intends to replace, then he walked 1/2 an hour into town, did some shopping then walked back. He then changed clothes and walked to his allotment and gardened for 3 hours. After that he walked home and cooked dinner!

It would not be too surprising if he was a young man, but he was in my class at school, he's a year older than me!

I asked my sister how he managed to do so much and she said: it's because he always keeps busy, but he is never rushed, never worried. He just does the tasks he's set himself calmly and steadily. He's peaceful.

I've taken that as my guide, as I am so often rushed and tired. I'm going to keep busy but refuse to rush or get stressed. I pray I'll be able to calm down but accomplish more.

Amen.

Birthday Boy

It is Alex's birthday tomorrow. I have made him a fruit cake (his favourite,) ordered an old document for him on e-bay to add to his collection (it hasn't arrived yet) chocolates and a triangular pillow. He's very hard to buy for - as all our family complain - mainly because he doesn't really think we should buy him presents and is quite embarrased by them. On the other hand is is very generous when he BUYS for others. He loves giving but is not a very good acceptor!

For 11 days we will be the same age, then I move on again.

Rugby Fever

I think I can say I'm not a rugby fan. In fact I'm not interested in sport at all. When I heard about the Rugby World Cup being in NZ I thought it was a big yawn! Every night on tv it would be advertising excitedly "Only XX days to the world cup" and my response was (as my daughter says dismissively) "caring..."

So it started, and we discovered my little granddaughters were very keen on the World Cup even though their parents weren't. For some reason the youngest of the two was supporting Wales (I think she liked the flag) and her sister was keen on the All Blacks. So, we bought flags to put on our car, we helped them to make bright and colourful posters. I even watched 3 complete games!!! Tonight is the final and the ABs just HAVE to win it. I'm even quite tense about it. Has it's changed my attitude to sport forever? Probably not. Tomorrow will tell.

latent talents

It is amazing what talents Alex has discovered he has in his 70s! When I was sick he taught himself to cook and now absolutely LOVES cooking. He has recently redecorated his bedroom and put up new curtains. The room looks lovely but alas the curtains were too long, so, knowing his wife (me) didn't sew, he set to and turned them up himself! And did an excellent job. So he's adding sewing to his list of late accomplishments. What will be next I wonder?

Sweet

I'm not well again and have gone back to survival mode. It's really strange how when I'm not well I crave sweet food. I know I shouldn't, it's almost certainly bad for me but it's all I want to eat! I feel too ill to fight it so I surrender with the hope that giving my body what it craves is ok in the long run.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and back on controlling my natural urge to eat what's bad for me!

Life

Isn't the gift of life that God has given us amazing? When I was a teenager (and I was a very difficult teenager) I used to wish, in my worst moments, that I had never existed.

How different now. Despite the restrictions age is gradually imposing into my life, I still thank God for the glorious gift of life. Imagine to have never held my babies, never to have seen Spring, never to have met and loved my husband, never to have walked in a bluebell wood. The list could go on and on. never to have laughed and cried with close friends, never to have felt God's presence, never to have experienced joy.

We praise you for we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Confession

Isn't Confession the greatest thing? I must admit I dread going: confessing one's sins to another person is not one of life's pleasures. Our priest (who is at least 40 years younger than me) always likes to work out WHY I commit certain sins and he's almost always wrong. I end up saying "No Father,that was not really my motivation" and I have to explain why it's not, sometimes I just say "I did it because I'm a sinful person." He doesn't like that much.

Sometimes I think longingly of the days when you confessed your sins from behind a screen and were given absolution with no questions asked.

A bit like a slot machine now I come to think of it!

delights of the day.

Luxury is: Putting Maple syrup on my porridge. It went from Ho Hum to YUM!

Happiness is: watching my darling granddaughters in school productions. And I'm definitely not biased when I say they are STARS!

Getting Older

It's strange getting older. When we're young we know for sure we're going to stay that way: I didn't believe that the world could possibly continue if I died. As I got into middle age I realised that actually the world would jog along pretty well without my vital presence... but only after it had recovered from the shock of my death (which was never REALLY really going to happen anyway).

Then one day you look in the mirror and realise...I am old! I think the main feeling among old people is astonishment! "What happened?" By then you realise your death will barely cause a hiccup to the world - apart from those who love you and they, though sad, will cope.

But after that... to meet Him who created and died for us. What joy.

9/11

I guess everyone remembera what they were doing when they heard about the planes flying into the twin towers. I had just got up when my husband (still in bed) called and said that he'd just heard on the radio that a plane had flown into a building in NY. I laughed and said it must be spoof or something. My attitude changed when I switched on the tv and saw the awful picture of the smoking tower block. Then horror upon horror I saw another plane fly into it. I literally screamed and tears began to flow down my cheeks. It was so clear it was a deliberate act. I said dramatically "No one on earth is safe now!" We knew straight away that although it was an American plane it was not being flown by an American; no American pilot, no matter what complulsion he was under, would have have flown that plane into the towers.

I sat all day watching it, sobbing and praying. It seemed like the end of civilisation as we know it. Will we ever recover?

Father's Day

What a joyous day today. It began with the holy and blessed Latin Mass, then Alex picked me up from church and we went a walk in the lovely sunshine admiring the views over the valley from the small village where the Latin Mass is said.

Then the surprises began! As we sat in the sunshine in a small country inn, not only our expected family arrived to celebrate Father's Day with Alex, but also others
completely unlooked for! Such excitement! Many shrieks (from me) much laughter from the newcomers, and hugs all round.

Thank you Lord for the joy you give us in this life. It makes us think and wonder about the joy you have waiting for us in Heaven.

Spring

Spring is here! Blossom on the trees, sunshine and warmth. Daffodils and unfurling greeness. What a joy it is. How did He think up spring?

I'm singing...

Singing...

I have found it hard to sing for joy during this illness which has meant a total lack of energy and quite a bit of pain. But then I think of how good God has been to me... my wonderful husband who has been so helpful and learnt to cook...my lovely daughter who has visited every day although she's so busy, for the blessed Latin Mass, for my past life and above all that I know HIM who is Lord of all.

How could I not sing for joy?

Star Cooking

Alex has really taken to cooking and we so enjoy what he cooks. On Wednesday he decided to make some soup. Now I am not a soup person (he IS) so I wasn't over thrilled but to my astonishment it was absolutely delicious! We've had it several days running (because of course he made a big pot of it) and I really love it. Yesterday he invented a dessert: bananas, apples, pears, mandarins and rhubarb all cooked in brown sugar with a dash of port.

Fabulous! He's a star!

Electric blankets

I've always been scared of electric blankets - I was afraid of being electrocuted in my bed! I bought one several years ago but never used it. Since I've been sick and s-o-o-o cold I retrieved it, forgotten, from the back of the linen cupboard, And Oh HOW I love it! I used to pile blankets on the bed so that I would be warm enough to get to sleep, and then I'd throw most of them off during the night. Now I switch on my blanket and love getting into my toasty bed and dropping straight off to sleep!

Praise God for electric blankets!

cooking

I have not been at all well and it's left me very weak so my husband decided to take over the cooking! He has never cooked in his life but was confident he could. His first few attempts were not so good - in fact inedible - because he likes to give his 'own touch' to all the recipes with disastrous consequences! But now he's learnt to stay with the recipe he's actually quite good and he enjoys it. I'm delighted, because I've always hated cooking and am not a good cook at all.

So here's hoping he takes it up permanently!

Mother's Day.

What a beautiful weekend I had around Mother's Day. My son and his wife came down for it, and my youngest came over from her town, so I had all my children together, which is very rare. We all went to Firstborn's house for dinner. Her children had come up for Mother's day so there were most of my grandchildren there too. It was so lovely to see our family together; laughing, talking and eating and enjoying each other's company. Can any mother ask for more?? Well, I got more. Heaps of lovely and delicious presents, but the get-together was the icing on the cake!

Royal Wedding 2

Wasn't the wedding beautiful? I loved it so much, such a note of happiness, beauty and romance in a world that seems deluged with disasters. We had a lovely time at my daughter's with lots of English food on china plates. We all wore our coronets and at the "I now pronounce you man and wife" Alex opened a bottle of champagne. We even had a knowledgeable friend who could tell us who everyone was.

Lovely traditional service too, it emphasised that wedding was a holy contract, ordained by God. I prayed for the lovely young couple. May their marriage last.

And why does the church of England have all the good hymns, and why do their clergymen speak so beautifully? And why is their liturgy so mind blowingly gorgeous? Just for a moment I was jealous!

Royal Wedding

Alex and the girls spent most of the morning making tiaras for the Royal Wedding Watch tonight. Rose, First Born, First Borns's friend Susan, the 2 girls and myself will be gathering in front of the big screen tv, wearing our tiaras and really indulging ourselves in a spot of romance and pageantry. Knowing my daughter there will be food and wine involved.

I look forward to it even though it doesn't finish until 12.35am. Lie in tomorrow!!!!

Weather.

It's a wet, cold, windy day today: the first real sign that summer is well and truly over. But I love it in a way. I'm like Queen Victoria - she loved the winter too. I love log fires, electric blankets, snuggling up in bed, hot soups and roasts, warm coats and real wool jerseys. Plus I have a very good excuse to NOT go for a walk (but I must get back into it as soon as the rain stops.)

I'm glad we have seasons here in NZ.

R & R

When I sit down for a 'rest and relax' during the day (and we seniors need lots of R&R)I have a choice of 4. I can

1. Read a book, or
2. Read my Latin, or
3. Do a crossword in my local paper, or
4. Knit (it's cooler weather so I've taken up my knitting needles again).

Guess which I'd be most likely to choose? Oddly enough I'd probably choose the crossword because I find them really relaxing. The knitting and Latin are tasks which I choose to do before I sit down :I think I'll knit for a while, or I'll sit and do an hours Latin now. But crosswords are what I chill out with.

However, if I'd got a really good book that would win out over EVERYTHING even sleeping. As a bookaholic I've been known to get up at 3am to finish a book!

Aren't I blessed that I get plenty of opportunities to do them all?

Learning Latin

I'm learning Latin! Why do I do that at my great age? Well 2 reasons. First of all I've ALWAYS wanted to learn Latin, ever since I was 11 and studied it for a year. I've made a few stabs at it over the years but have always been too busy, or too tired.

At the beginning of this year I was thinking of New Year's resolutions and I had this strange insight into myself. I've always wanted to be artistic and creative...I've always envied people who can make quilts, or decorate their houses beautifully, or have beautiful gardens etc etc. But I'm NOT creative OR artistic and I realised that I should celebrate the gifts God gave ME...but...what could they be? Then I knew that what I really love and am quite good at is ... studying.

So my resolution for this year is...Learn Latin. So that's why I am doing it and I adore it. But it's hard work, I often spend 2 hours a day on it. But I'm happy. Thank you Holy Spirit for opening my eyes.