Another Sacrament

Receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation with his wonderful sponsor Clare, who stated early on that she would be the most awesome of sponsors.  She more than lived up to this prediction.

Jack was chosen to give a speech on what Confirmation meant to him.  He began his speech by saying "not much", which gave me a heart attack.  But he was so right, he was JUST confirmed, he is growing into his faith every day, and it will mean more and more to him as he grows. The entire night was so beautiful, with two minor exceptions.  We had his party before the mass, and I ended up having to give all the guests the bum's rush, because we were going to be late and traffic was reportedly terrible. I was literally shooing guests out the door while they were still eating.  And then, after the mass, we were still hanging around inside the Cathedral with friends and family and we were being quite typical for our family, which means loud.  We got quite vociferously scolded by Dr. S.  who was attempting to have choir practice and did not appreciate the commotion, so he invited us to leave, post haste.  So I was again shooing people out a door!  I am mortified and now I don't want to show my face at mass tomorrow. When we got home at around 9:30, we found that one of our guests had quite kindly locked our door upon leaving , a door to which no one carries a key.  Thank God we had left a window open, which my newly confirmed Jack broke into, and then let us in the door.  Quite the evening.  It was especially wonderful as Jack's God parents and gramma came from Arizona to witness the blessed event.

Yard Work

I hate yard work.  I don't know what I'm doing and I ALWAYS end up with dirt in my mouth, which I suppose means that I am not doing it right. But now I am really living the joys of teenaged boys! All I do is say it, and it happens.  As in, that tree needs to go, and like that, it is gone.  I just wish I could say something like "these floors really need scrubbed"...but alas, that saying will go mysteriously unheard.
Although this day also included these boys cleaning windows, so I am NOT complaining.

A Childhood Treasure Rediscovered-Green Dolphin Street

When I was a young reader, I was not a reader of great literature, and I was not a very enthusiastic reader, unless it was a "Little House" book.  I could read those over and over when I was an adolescent.  My sister who was older than I, was reading romance novels and the like, for which I had great disdain.  But for some reason, her reading material seemed to make her so mature and learned in my eyes.  The few blogs I follow are written by, apparently voracious readers, who seem so very erudite and well read. Which makes me want to NEVER talk about the books that I am reading.  The first "real" book (to my mind) that I read was recommended by my sister, who loved it and read it again and again.  Sometime in grammar school I decided to tackle this tome, and after several determined attempts, I finished it, and it became "that book".  The book from ones youth that set you firmly on the path of being a true reader.  I loved that book, and it became the one that I read again and again. The book became a ragged mess from both of us re-reading it on occasion, and I think it was eventually thrown out.  I had completely forgotten about this magnificent obsession, until I was in a St. Vinnies and found a hard copy of this beloved book, in the half off section, if you can even imagine!  It hadn't even occurred to me that it came in hard back at some point.  I thought "what a wonderful and surprising gift this would make for Emily", full of great memories of the short time we lived together before she moved out to be all grown up.  Of course, I must re-read this wonderful book before I pass it on to my dear sister.  I am again enthralled by the magnificent Marguerite, and the appalling Marianne, by all the references to my wonderful faith, and all the french phrases spread throughout the story. I am beginning to suspect that I do not want to pass it on to Emily!!, I want to keep it for my greedy self.  My dear sister and her husband are due to visit next week for Jack's confirmation, and I will have to either finish the book quickly, (no savoring), and pass it on to her as a great gift, or I will have to hide it and pretend that I never found it!  You must be thinking what a wonderful sister I am.  I might have to see if I can find another copy on Amazon.  And now I have to go spend time on Green Dolphin Street.

The best part is the dedication.

Lots and Lots of Cupcakes

I got to make 200 cupcakes for a wedding!....I might need a little break now.

The Stash

This is my stash of medicines for my condition right now.  No one thought to ask if I can actually take pills...I can, but it involves making quite a scene, like a pelican trying to swallow a fish. And one of the pills is the size of my thumb I swear.

Seemed Like A Royal Wedding

Despite having Pneumonia and some other sort of lung issues, I flew down to Tucson for the blessed nuptials of Therese and Stuart. It was beautiful and I didn't even mind flying, as I was quite impaired by various pharmaceutical products.