Half gone....

Okay, so we are now in July and half the year is gone. Except for the fact that today my husband catches up to me in age (ha!), for me, July means hot weather and long, long days. I am a fall/winter person, though after this past snowy winter, I was actually looking forward to spring! But I can't stand the heat and, here in the Hudson Valley (valley=soupbowl), the humidity. I miss Long Island's breezes and the fact that the summer didn't mean stay inside and run from A/C in the house to A/C in the car. In fact, we didn't have airconditioning in Southampton. Once in a blue moon, we'd have a "heat wave" and after several days in the 90s, a fan wouldn't be able to cool our modest house enough to sleep. Then we would pack our bags and spend a night or two with the inlaws, who had A/C. Our best times were sitting by the bay, eating sandwiches for dinner and watching the twins out on their tubes, bobbing up and down and waving to us!

Ok, summer, bring it on!

Rain, rain, go away...

Okay, it is now actually soggy here on our hilltop...water is everywhere, though luckily not in our house! The grass grows faster than we can get to cut it, the roses are flourishing as never before (they must think they are in England!) and mushrooms are starting to pop up! More importantly,the rain threatens two of Abby's outdoor activities; Six Flags Great Adventure on Saturday and her Youth group picnic on Sunday. While I cannot complain to God, as He has spared us from the floods of the mid-West, I would like to see a bit of sun soon. Amen!

Almost there...

Well, we are nearing the end of Lent and Easter is almost in sight! Holy Week is definitely becoming my most favorite spring/summer time, both because the weather is getting better day by day, and because the whole week is full of meaning and liturgy and ritual. For a convert with a German background and anal tendencies, this is great! Rituals are soothing, comforting and at the same time, challenging. Will this year surpass last? Will I feel the same or more? Have I done a better job preparing for Easter this time around? Have I figured it all out yet?
Most likely, the answers will be "yes", "the same" and two "prob not"s, but that is okay. One of the great parts of being Catholic is that you are always striving, always trying. You are NEVER completely done, completely fulfilled. That will come later...much later! And I, who change my tablecloth, my wreath above the mantle, my house flag and my welcome sign every single month, love to see the liturgical seasons tick past. A new color, a new holiday, a new beginning. And there is always next year!
I have done better this Lent than most years, but still have room to grow. Instead of making me feel inadequate, it inspires me to keep up the good fight.
Holy Week, here I come!!!

Happy Birthday to.....

This is a month of birthdays...always has been, with both my sisters and myself blowing out candles in March! In days of yore, we used to have one birthday party at the end of the month to allow relatives to make one trip into Brooklyn/Queens....as we got into adulthood, we would combine our days again so that I would only have to schlep into Richmond Hill once during this month of many weathers! My dad could never remember who was born on what day, so he simply remembered "2 times 8 = 16" and left it at that. Hmm, foreshadowing of his parental concern!

Anyway, this month has entered as a lamb, except for today's torrential downpour, but it could have been snow and wasn't! So that means as we enter into spring, we should be surprised by March's leaving as a lion....I am really big on these "folksy" weather predictions, many of which are actually, and scientifically, true (red sky in the morning, sailor take warning, etc).

So, happy BDay to Wendy and Debbie, and to me, and for the first time in many years, my day isn't during Lent (hint, hint). So I will be able to have cake and not feel TOO terribly guilty.
Help me blow out the candles on the count of three....1, 2, 3!

February doesn't seem so short....

Once again, it's been weeks since my last blog. This month, in spite of being the shortest, seems to be dragging along. Every day, it is either freezing or we are in the middle of a "thaw", i.e., mudville! The dog is long overdue for a grooming and her paws seem to drag into the house everything not frozen to the ground. Finally getting back into the swing of CCD classes and Ken working at the hospital, and this week coming up is vacation from school!!! Will we ever get into a routine again?
On another note, I have been reading tons, and spent way too much at B&N today, going there originally to get books for Abby's BBF's birthday party...I even got a Games magazine, having given up my subscription after 20-odd years of constant readership. Looking forward to some "down" time with books, and perhaps even a fire, before we move quickly into March. Then the countdown begins, with plays, tests, midterms, and the like.... So, perhaps, I should relax and enjoy this "shortest" month...Mother Nature may know that it will be the last time for quite a while that we can sit and drink tea and watch the snow gently fall.

Snow, snow, and more snow...

We have now had 6 major snowstorms since Dec. 26th (see my last posting) and it is beginning to feel as though we are in Alaska...though, from the Weather Channel updates, it is nicer up there and in Greenland than here!

Abby has lost 4 snow days out of 6 already, and we have at least another 6 weeks of winter, no matter what the groundhog says next Tuesday. This was not a great year to be out so often, as she is doing 2 AP courses and had enriched math and English. Her English Regents was 2 weeks earlier than the other regents, thanks to NYS Educators, who AGAIN changed the English Regents..this time, to one day instead of two, just like the Regents Maggie and Kate took in 1999. Thankfully, it did NOT snow on the 11th, so she got her English done. One last Regents in June (American History) and she is done for her career, having 9 in total. She also has 2 AP tests in early May, and took her PSAT in October and her 2nd SAT last week. She is registered for late June for SAT II Subject tests...then, if her SATs this time are good enough, we should be done!

Ken loves his new PT job with the hospital and recently became a SuperUser for their new electronic charting system. IBM is the same for now. I have yet to see all 3 of my CCD classes in one week since Christmas, so these snowdays are also a pain for me. We will be rushing along in May to finish the curriculum!

Almost halfway done with my latest needlework project, and catching up on reading. My ducks returned to the bird feeders in mid-January; this makes 4 years in a row that they show up for lunch! Lots and lots of birds, even squirrels (brave souls, since there is few trees close by for them to escape to) and, of course, deer!

Abby has All-County Concert tomorrow....must hit the hay. Keep warm, everyone!

Post-Christmas Thoughts

So, it's been quite a while since I posted last...perhaps no one is reading this, but that is fine. We are in the middle of our first snowstorm of the season, and Abby and Ken are napping, as is the dog! I will briefly update y'all on our lives...
Ken got a p/t job with Horton Hospital and is currently doing Orientation shifts while being on vacation from Big Blue. His last EMS shift will be New Year's Eve. Abby is almost done with her first semester of her junior year, with an English Regents on Jan. 11th, her SATs on the 22nd, and her All-County Concert on the 28th& 29th. She is currently reading Uncle Tom's Cabin for her AP US History course and studying for the above tests. I have off from Religious Ed classes for a week, and after the disastrous Christmas Party classes, am looking forward to the change. I have some serious thinking to do re: my 7th graders, who seem disinterested and rowdy. Oh, well...that is what prayer is for!
Advent was nice, with our church doing an Advent Penance Service and, later that week, a Lessons and Carols night. I also went to an Advent Prayer mini-retreat with fellow catechists. That, plus morning mass at least twice a week, got me into the spirit of the season! And, as I get older, I find that Christmas is no longer my #1 holiday...I am beginning to think Easter is. Sure, I love snow and winter and cookies and the tree and all that, but the shopping and stress is now getting to me as I approach my late 50s. I don't have grandkids yet, so that may also contribute to my inclination to see Christmas as a quieter time, one that I should spend more in being with others, doing for others, than in consuming! I am actually looking forward to Lent...and the rhythm of the seasons.
Abby got tons of stuff, and seems happy. Ken and I got new LR furniture in September, so we just got each other small items (robe for me, new office phone for him). I miss seeing Maggie this year...first time since 2005 she hasn't been home. And that year, she flew in on the 27th, as Theresa had died on the 26th. It was also nice having Aaron last year...he ate a ton of my cookies and kept Abby busy with games and such!
Kate and Tracy came down Christmas Eve day, and we had dinner early (Ken had to work). It was nice, as we haven't had them for Christmas Eve in years! They left after breakfast the next day...Doug also came up on the 24th and left early this morn, before the snow started to fly. We all enjoyed Taboo and Abby's new Pictionary for the WII.
As we end another decade, I hope for peace...in my family, in the country, in the world. And that you all find the same in your lives!