Fasting from Shopping

Fasting is usually about foods, but with health issues, I’m fasting in a different way. I have committed to avoid shopping until after Easter. Every try to avoid buying anything, ANYTHING? Of course, if a child outgrows their shoes, I will buy what they need. Of course I am still buying horse feed and people foods.  But I am struggling to avoid buying any books, clothing, or anything not essential for health for myself. I passed on several great coupons, passing them to others. I passed on a new top put out by my favorite source for clothing. I have … Continue reading

My Voices Are (almost) Back!

I am grateful for being able to go to the doctor and get an antibiotic. I don’t know what the problem was but the antibiotic has helped considerably.  Oddly enough the swab showed nothing, but I most certainly was not well!  Oh well, it is behind me and hopefully I will soon be all the way up for making a practice video. My main voice, Goody Goodfellow, is almost himself again. Been struggling with Luther but Calvin seems to be settling in OK. Kleetus is glad to be whining away again and I am still not sure what he is … Continue reading

Rainbows and Double Rainbows

November was quite the month for rainbows here. For weeks there seemed to be an afternoon rainbow on a near daily basis. Twice I raced outside to get pictures and captured a few decent shots. Amazing! Absolutely beautiful! And I even managed to get a picture of my beloved family, muddy from playing outside, to stand still long enough to grab several different photos I will treasure of them positioned so the rainbow came down toward them, my treasure at the end of my rainbow. Caught two in this example. Rainbows always bring to mind the story of Noah from … Continue reading

AUTOHARP DREAMING

The autoharp is an instrument I never tire of hearing or strumming. Not that I am a musician by any means, I love music, but my natural talent is meager at best, and my inclination to make time for practice is weak. However, I have persisted in collecting several lovely instruments and wanting to play them in spite of myself. Enter Habitica. I wrote about this useful tool in another post here. On the site of Habitica, there are groups called Guilds. I joined a guild for people who were struggling. The premise of this group is to discover ONE … Continue reading

Home School Days, wherein I rant

What to do when your first grader is NOT an early reader? What to do when readiness is slow to arrive? What do you do when well-meaning friends and family fuss because it looks like this child is going to be behind? You take a deep breath and evaluate. Learning style of teacher and pupil.  It is a constant question–what curriculum do I use? I used Seton for a very long time. It was not the first curriculum I tried back in the day more than twenty years ago when I first embarked on home schooling. I tried Kolbe (classical) … Continue reading

“Infinite Space, Infinite God II,” by Karina Fabian

Twelve science fiction stories featuring great adventure with a twist of faith. Summary: Twelve science fiction stories featuring great adventure with a twist of faith. Infinite Space, Infinite God II spans the gamut of science fiction, from near-future dystopias to time travel to space opera, puzzles of logic to laugh-out-loud humor and against-the-clock suspense. A great read for any science fiction fan; a must-read for those seeking something new in their fiction. If you enjoy science fiction that recognizes faith, especially the Catholic faith, as an integral part of human society, you’ll love ISIG II. However, Karina has another surprise … Continue reading

Easter!

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!!!! I spent Lent this year discerning the directions I have been going, the use of my skills and talents and experience, and I’m read to implement some changes around here. First, I’m going to blog more Catholic Home Schooling. The reason for that emphasis is the diocese once more sent out wonderful Easter greetings in the form of an advertisement for the Parish schools in our diocese. But as always, ignoring the VALID CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WHICH ARE HOME SCHOOLS. CATHOLIC Home Schools get pretty much lip service or a slap in the … Continue reading

Everyday Beauty V: Tidiness is a result of aesthetics

An empty desk is functional but is it beautiful? A cup holding pens is functional, but a pen cup made from cut glass in a metal frame is beautiful beyond its function. So it is with all things pertaining to beauty including the art of tidying. Marie Kondo, in her book, THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP, writes of taking an object into one’s hands and asking, “Does this object bring me joy?”  That action is about aesthetics, not about function.  An object may be beautiful due to its function but what causes you joy is not merely function–it is aesthetics. … Continue reading

Giving: A Result of Gratitude

Having chosen by an act of will to be grateful for our many blessings and having chosen to pray for God to correct our emotions to bring them into line with the fact of our gratitude. We next should consider an appropriate response to this new attitude.  What action should we take? I suggest we look at our blessings, note how we have enough, we have what we need, and can recognize how blessed we are in this. From here we should turn out eyes outward, to the news we hear and read, the Christian martyrs in Syria and surrounding … Continue reading

Preparation for Spiritual Warfare: Gratitude

Preparation for Spiritual Warfare takes many shapes. Confession, aka Sacrament of Reconciliation, is always a good place to begin, but another very good beginning is GRATITUDE. An act of will is a good way to begin with any virtue and can be chosen even in the face of uncooperative emotions. Feelings are not fact!  It is not essential to FEEL a virtue to HAVE that virtue.  I’m grateful as an axiom. Still, I wanted to feel the emotion of gratitude, not just the fact of it. Recently, we had a fire that cost a lot in lost equipment and there was … Continue reading