Sunday, November 3, 2013

Two Posts in One Week Oh My

As my husband and I were driving to church on Saturday I saw a Facebook post that said, if you could write a note to your younger self, what would you say in only two words?  That got me to thinking, and I couldn't come up with just two words. During Mass the priest talked about Zachaeus a wealthy  man who cheated people, this man was so small in stature he could not see Jesus for the crowd.  Zachaeus climbed a tree so he could see when this man Jesus walked by. As Jesus came to the spot where Zachaeus was in the tree He looked up and told Zachaeus to come down from the tree, because he, Jesus, was coming to Zachaeus' house for dinner.  When the crowd heard this there were murmurs asking why would Jesus visit the home of a sinner. They were judging Zachaeus and Jesus.  Jesus saw past what Zachaeus was and saw who he could become.

The priest told us we needed to see beyond  rules and laws, to see the person and what they could be if we only cared.  Strip away everything  and see a person as a child of God.  It is said God does not make mistakes and this is true, all we need to do is see each other as God sees us.  The final words to his homily were let people know "you're loved".  Those were the two words I would write to myself.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

One Thing Leads To Another

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Pretty fall colors in a different way. I love Roosters.

I recently had to go get blood work and as usual there was a wait, but this time the wait was worth it.  I picked up a copy of Vanity Fair Magazine and was immediately drawn to an article about Harper Lee.  For those of you who do not know whom I am talking about, she wrote the classic To Kill A Mockingbird.  This is one of my all time favorite books and so it seems is America's favorite book.  Harper Lee only wrote one book in her life and it has sold millions of copies in many countries and languages.

The article spoke of a fight (lawsuit) she was waging with her agent who dishonestly persuaded her to sign over the rights to To Kill A Mockingbird.  It continues to make millions of dollars. She is living in assisted living, is almost completely deaf and blind, but knows what is happening.  The interesting part of the article was the insight into the writing of To Kill A Mockingbird, a veiled autobiography.  It spoke of her lifetime friend and fellow author Truman Capote, who lived next door to her.  The character of Dill is modeled after Capote.

This is where one thing leads to another.  I knew of Truman Capote but had never read any of his books, but that changed when the article stated that Harper Lee had helped Capote research his book In Cold Blood a real life story fictionalized. This type of writing had never been done before, what started out as an article for the NewYorker Magazine became a best selling novel.  Lee accompanied Capote to Holcomb Kansas where a prominent farmer and his family had been murdered in cold blood.  Lee was the normal grounding person compared to Capote's flamboyant personality.  Lee was down to earth and was able to relate to the people of Holcomb better than Capote, she was the one who could get him in to see people who normally would have dismissed him.

There were two movies made about Capote and his quest to understand the two men who murdered a family for a presumed cache of money, which there was none.  They shed light on a men who though different, especially for the time period of the 1960's, was brilliant in his writing.  The second movie, Infamous, I did not like as well.  The director sensationalized Capote into a caricature of himself taking away from the story line.

So as one story lead me to another, I have found yet more books to add to my Kindle.  Who knew that reading an article on one of my favorite authors would lead me to another famous author and more stories to read.  I want to go back and reread To Kill A Mockingbird and watch the movie again with these new insights.

It seems as though I am posting fall and summer and not much else.  A lot has happened in the ensuing months.  My brother Chip passed away in August he fought the good fight and is now in heaven free of pain and illness.

We sold our house in July, finally, with two bidders. Our home in Hagerstown is coming along slowly, and we are looking at a mid January settlement, not what we had planned.  Our life is busy living with Catherine (our daughter) and her house is looking pretty good with the little extras her daddy has added (molding and book shelves).

Life goes on and you never know that simply reading a magazine article will lead to expanding your mind and reading list.

I will try to post more often I hope.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Catching UP



I can't believe that November was the last time I wrote in my blog, I need to remedy that right now.  A lot has happened since November.  We have put our house on the market (April of 2013) and have contracted with Dan Ryan in Hagerstown to build a new one story home.

We have been waiting patiently for a buyer, but I am getting a little antsy. Before we put our house on the market, there were few houses for sale and those that were, were going for top dollar.  Of course as soon as we put ours on the market, it became flooded with listings.  People for some reason want four bedrooms, even if those bedrooms are the size of a walk in closet.  We have three bedrooms and another room downstairs that could be used as a bedroom.  We have even buried St Joseph upside down in the yard to help sell the house.  It is a tradition that usually works.  He has been slow finding us a buyer, but I think he will.

In other news our son Darby and his wife Dawn are moving to San Antonio, TX.  Dawn got a job ( a lateral move ) down there and they are really looking forward to it.   I will miss my baby boy terribly, but I am happy for them. Darby works for Lowes and they are trying to find him a position down there, but if not he will find something, maybe even in a different field.

My brother Chip is not doing so well and has been going down to Duke in hopes of beating the cancer.  There is a new drug that will most probably work, but it does not come out until next year.  The Dr. at Duke are trying very hard to get him into remission until this new drug comes out.  Please keep him in your prayers.

My knitting is coming along as usually and I am getting a kick spindle for my birthday. Here is a picture of one.  Mine looks basically the same with the exception that the block part has a Celtic Knot design carved into it.  I can't wait to get it.

I started out spinning with a drop spindle and picked it up very quickly, so this should be easy.  I do better with the drop spindle then I so with my wheel. This is  basically a drop spindle, but instead of putting the spin in the spindle by rolling it across your lap, you kick the attached wheel with your foot.  You can drop spindle this way any where, even sitting in a car.

You see my favorite flower in the picture above, and mine are blooming their heads off in my backyard.

I will try and stay up to date, and hopefully not go so long between posts. TTFN