Something Beautiful

Each of our lives are filled with many experiences, some of which have shattered us.  We weep as we gather the fragments of our brokenness and beg God, "Can anything good come of this, or is my usefulness finished?"

Over and over again, Jesus shows His love for us, reminding repeatedly that He came to save sinners.  Yet we doubt, and our doubts are mirrored in the eyes of others.

Then we remember to look into the eyes of Him who loves us best, and He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have made you, and you are mine."

He takes our broken lives and remakes then into something even more beautiful, like this Kintsukuroi (Japanese: golden repair) pot.  May our breakage and repair be a sign of hope to all who struggle to find hope in God.  May our Lord continue to make something beautiful in you and me with the gold of His all powerful love.

Worship the LORD!

These beautiful Diodor Pines line Highway 246 on the way to Solvang, California.  I've always admired this avenue of trees, but never considered the significance of their name until our visit out west this past January.  We were driving back to Buellton with my daughter Jill and grandson Calan after a Sunday afternoon hike.  A casual comment on the name of the trees led to a comment by Martin that the name must mean "Adore God".  I was stunned for a moment! Why had I never considered this before?  Then Mart said, "Look how the branches are like arms raised in adoration.  Wow!  These verses in Psalm 96 seem just right to express this feeling:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it.  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth.  He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth. (nrsv)

No Yoke!/Double Delight

What a surprise to crack open an egg into the skillet and see a double yolked egg.  When I cracked open the second egg and found it to be a double also, I went and told Martin.  He came and watched, neither of us expecting it, as the third egg was a double as well!  That's when I went a grabbed the camera and took this picture.

No yoke!  Three double yolkers!

Trees & Ice Cream

(To make the connection between "Trees & Ice Cream", see previous post.)  After seeing a few sights in the Finger Lake region of New York, we entered the beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania and continued on to Clark's Summit and the home of Uncle Dale & Aunt Dolores.  We had an enjoyable 3 days with them in their beautiful home.

On the front lawn of our dear aunt & uncle's lovely home,
which is enhanced by many stately trees.

This ice cream was so fresh you could almost hear the cows moo!
Aunt Dolores & I chose the "barnyard gravy" flavour (a name
which gave us the giggles) , a mixture of chocolate,
 vanilla, peanut butter, and pretzels.  Yes, we were
on a real dairy farm!

. . .only God can make a tree.

I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest against the earth's sweet flowing breast:

A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear a nest of robin's in her hair;

. . .Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.

This poem by Joyce Kilmer came to mind when I was looking at the photos Martin & I took on a recent road trip through New York state.  We came upon the Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion, a state historic park in Canandaigua, NY, and decided to take the tour.  The mansion, the former summer house of Frederick and Mary Thompson, was elaborate and interesting, but the trees on the estate were awe inspiring!
"Great are the works of the Lord"  Psalms 111:2  

Seasonal Contrasts

We were eager for spring to come after our long cold winter.  Instead we got more snow and cold in April.  But we learn patience when we see that the season's are not always like the clock, but they do eventually arrive.  Today it is warm and we enjoy our tulips and watch the leaves unfurl on all the trees and shrubs in our neighbourhood.  To everything there is a season.

Spring, Brrrr!  April 4, 2014

Spring, one month later, May 11, 2014

Snowed In

Here are a few more photos of our recent drive over to Lake Erie for a Winter picnic.  This is only about a twenty minute drive from our home in Chatham, but being near the lake, they storms hit them a bit harder.  I haven't seen snow like this since the 1950's when I was growing up in Minnesota.

This is what I call 'snowed in'!

Contrast

There's nothing quite like a nice thermos of hot tea, some sandwiches, and a drive in a warm truck to the lakeshore in the middle of winter!  The only thing that could make it better would be a nice CD with a good story to listen to on the way, which we happened to have.  I only wish we could have had our sweet granddaughters with us for this outing--they would have loved it.  The CD was a dramatization of 'The Horse & His Boy' by C. S. Lewis, produced by Focus on the Family and narrated by Douglas Greshem, Lewis's stepson who has

Claire, Nanna Pennie, and Jen on the shore of Lake Erie.

Papa Martin at the same location on Lake Erie.  Br-r-r!

a delightful English accent.  Claire & Em would appreciate such things. Martin had just read in this morning's Chatham Daily News that Lake Erie was frozen over, so that's what prompted our outing.  I'm posting a photo of the lakeshore when the Hudsons were visiting in the summer in August, 2012 for contrast.  I like to see the stark differences in the seasonal changes that God has created; it makes me appreciate the seasons our lives go through as well.

Evidence

There is some evidence around our house that there have been visitors of a young sort here recently.  There is a pink fuzzy bracelet with a heart-shaped button attached that is setting on the buffet in the dining room.  Emily, age five, made it for me last Sunday.  There is a drawing by Claire, age seven, on the front of the refrigerator, and a painting in a frame by Claire on the table by the T.V.  Emily's cross bookmark marks the place in my Willa Cather novel.  The photo album on the coffee table, filled with snapshots of their family, that daughter-in-law Jen put together for us.  Another bit of evidence that the dear granddaughters from California were here recently is the doll house and the roll away bed in the basement.  But the biggest bit of evidence is the happy smiles that we have when we say to each other, "remember" this or that fun time we had with the girls.  These two pictures portray some of our happy moments.  Can you see what is different in each picture?

A Few of My Favourite Things

Kathryn brought her 'Sound of Music' DVD to watch with us while she visited over the Christmas holidays.  I love the song, 'My Favourite Things', so today I'm sharing a couple of mine:

Doing a 1,000-piece puzzel on a winter's day (thanks, Peetra!)

Sitting by a cozy fire with a good book & a cup of hot tea with Martin.

Seasons of Life

A hot day for a hike on the trail in August, 2013

We have a landmark that we keep an eye when walking through Paxton Bush. We like to photograph the same spot in the Bush to show how the woods change over the seasons; this is one of our favourite spots because it's easy to recognize.

A chilly afternoon in April by the old tree

Brrrr! December on the trail

Storms decapitated the old tree by Aug.

No more green, just lots of white (like our hair)

Journey to the Manger

Lots of planning, preparing, and praying went into the past eleven months by a Catholic Women's League committee in Chatham, Ontario.  Christmas was barely over last year, when my friend Lori laid out her inspiration for a Nativity display event for the coming year.  With our priest, Fr. Daniel, we all agreed that this would be our Christmas gift to our city, and we would not charge for admission or refreshments (a beautiful tea room was set up), nor would we sell tickets for a raffle.   Like God's  wonderful Gift of His Son, this event would be free to everyone.

There were over 380 Nativity sets loaned by people in our parish as well as from others in the community.  We hand delivered invitations to every church in town as well as newspaper articles and radio announcements.

The large rustic stable was made by Martin & his dad about 60 years ago.

I am seated here with some of the most inspiring women I've ever worked with on  committees.  There were dozens of men, women, and young people that served as volunteers throughout the three day event.

 There were over 2000 happy people that passed through our church hall in the basement.  Everyone was so pleased with this birthday party for Jesus--for that's what it felt like.

Several groups of children from Catholic schools in town acted out the Christmas story as it was r read by a narrator.  We also had live organ, guitar, & violin music.

Members of our Stained Glass Window Book committee led tours of the beautiful windows in Blessed Sacrament Church.
The Journey to the Manger ushered great expectation for the Advent season.

Random Thoughts

"As the sugar hides in the tea,
Let me hide myself in Thee."
-Newfoundland Prayer

I just ran across this lovely prayer and had to put it out there for someone else to see.  Does it speak to you as it does to me?  (There's a lot of rhyming going on here!)

As the early evening moves into the cold darkness of a Canadian night, I feel warm and content in our little home, and have pleasant thoughts of warm sunny afternoons with grandchildren in California in recent weeks.  They are all so dear and their parents are teaching them well.  They each in their unique way are making the world a better place.

Isn't there a quote about giving children roots and wings?

That's what I see in these photos.

An old Inspiration

DON'T QUIT (Author Unknown)   When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit.   Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won if he'd stuck it out. Don't give up, though the pace seems slow - You may succeed with another blow.   Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victor's cup, And he learned too late, when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.   Success is failure turned inside out - The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are - It may be near when it seems afar; So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Saite-Anne-de-Beaupre', Quebec

I ran across this poem on a plaque in one of the Shrine bookstores on our recent pilgrimage to Quebec with Fr. John and a bus load of fellow pilgrims. It reminded be of an incident when I was starting my tearoom business, Penelope's Teas & Gifts, back in 2001 in California. I was overwhelmed by it all and seriously wondered if I was being foolish and had gotten in over my head. While polishing a beautiful mahogany buffet we had recently purchased for the tearoom, I pulled out a drawer to clean behind it and found a bookmark with the above poem printed on it. I truly felt God was with me and I should keep on with the creation of what would become a place of comfort and grace to many visitors.

Rah Rah for Raleigh

My very well used, before I owned it, bicycle is an old made in England Raleigh that we bought from the "Bicycle Man" in Wyoming, Ontario a few months ago for $35.  Martin bought his bicycle at the same time, a  John Deere, believe it or not, for $65.  We have more than got our money's worth out of these gems!  Today we rode the bikes up to The Tea Connection on St. Clare to stock up on our favourite Fall & Winter Tea, Lapsang Souchong.  This is a hearty black tea in which the tea leaves have been dried over smoking pine needles, giving it a -cozy sitting by a roaring fire on a cold day while reading a good book- feeling.  I've always said that tea is more than a beverage with me.

Me and my Raleigh back from a tea quest.

Feeling Dwarfed

There are so many towering churches and monuments in France that one often feels very small in comparison.  One day we visited Saint-Chapelle in Paris.  The windows in the nave are 50 feet tall, enough to make anyone feel small.  But, one evening on a stroll after dinner, we came upon a strange sight in a courtyard off a busy street.  Was this intended as a work of art depicting a certain era?

I felt like I'd been shrunk!

Fifty feet high windows!

Feeling small by something tall.

Looking upward at the exterior of Saint-Chapelle's windows.

Roman Ruins

Before we went to France, I read a book about a historical and chronological tour through the country.  The author began with the Greeks founding of the city of Marseilles.  When she got to the part about the Romans settlements in Provence, I began to pay sharp attention because I had read of a Roman  ruin called Glanum  that was a short stroll from  our "mas".   Imagine my thrill when, on our first evening in St. Remy, Martin and Willie and I followed that path after dinner and explored the Triumphal Arch and Mausoleum.  These two monuments have always stood out, while the rest of the town of Glanum lay buried for centuries.   We visited the excavation site and the museum later in our stay.

The Mausoleum at sunset

Willie & I at the Triumphal Arch

View from the hill; that's Ag seated on the wall by the road.

Looking towards St. Remy and St. Martin's Church

 The well organized travel routes and towns of the Romans throughout Europe greatly aided the spread of Christianity in the early centuries.  St.Martin's Church in St.Remy is visible from one of the hills above Glanum in  one of our photos.

Bread from Heaven

We visited many beautiful churches while we were in France.  I particularly enjoyed this because of all the church history I've absorbed while reading Butler's Lives of the Saints the past year.   The oldest church we entered was founded in the year 543, making it 1,470 years old.  It is named St. Germain-des-Pres, named after a Bishop of Paris.  The church was built on the other side of a pasture from the kings palace, 'des pres' .  Christians have been worshiping God there many centuries as they still do today.   The famous Notre Dame Cathedral is celebrating it's 850th anniversary this year.  We attended Mass three times at St. Martin's in the village we stayed in.  We even got to have coffee with two priests, a nun, and some fellow parishioners in the church kitchen after a mid-week morning Mass.  There is a bond we have as fellow Christians that supersedes language barriers.

view of Notre Dame in Paris

Mass at St. Martin's in St. Remy

The tall doors of St. Martin's.

Gazing at the statue of St.Remy atop St. Martin's.

Food from the Earth

     It seems a natural flow to show the colourful produce stands on  Market day in St. Remy after featuring some lovely gardens in France.  Wednesday was Market day.  I wish I had photographed more scenes from this busy affair!  Besides fresh  fruits and  vegetables, there was bread, many varieties of cheese, an amazing array of olives, table linens and other things for the home made from those famous provincial fabrics, bread, lovely French scarves, soaps, hats,  huge pots of Boulliabaise steaming away, artwork, pastry, and did I mention bread!
     The Market stalls went from the centre of the village, in front of St. Martin's Church, throughout many streets and courtyards.  Beside the aforementioned stalls, entertainment abounded.  From accordion solos to small bands and singers, each added a

Fresh bread & cheese from Market day.

White & green asparagus abound.

Colourful crowds

Waiting in the wind.

feeling of festivity to the air.  There was even a charming merry-go-round in the central square that appears to be there throughout the spring and summer months.