A Mistake

Have you ever made a mistake that you didn't even realize you made and that turned out to be something great?

This past Christmas season I was checking out some books and my son's wish list on Amazon.  Somehow, while I was in the wish list section, I added two books to my wish list that I didn't even know I had.  My son took the opportunity to arrange for me to receive these books on my Kindle and I'm so glad he did.

This week I started reading the first, The Book of Mychal by Michael Daly.  It's the story of Father Mychal Judge, the FDNY Chaplain, who died when the World Trade Center was attacked and fell.  This book follows Father Judge's life from childhood to the end.  I'm about 2/3's of the way through.

I have spent most of yesterday and today reading.  I usually can't sit still more than an hour when reading, but today I did.  I even ignored an NCIS marathon with Mark Harmon and David McCallum, this book is so good.

Father Judge spent his days saying Mass, ministering to AIDS patients, counseling those struggling with addiction.  No matter the time of day, he would answer a page to console firemen and families when one had been injured or killed in a fire.  He would visit the hospital, counsel and console the family until the fireman either recovered or died.  He would then say the funeral Mass if the deceased was Catholic, or just offer whatever support he could.

There were days when he would return to his home at 2 or 3 in the morning, check messages, pray and go to sleep only to get up in time to say Mass at 7:30 AM.  And, he was not a young man.  I wish I had his energy.

As a New Yorker, there are stories that I remember - the crash of TWA Flight 800, the deaths of three fireman that resulted in the city's providing special protective gear for the department.

Unfortunately, I know how this story ends - the horrific attack on my city on September 11, 2001.  All through the book, Mr. Daly mentions firemen who were friends of Father Judge who also died on that day.

He also mentions some of the good stories of NY - Stephen McDonald who was shot by a young boy.  Mr. McDonald had been married a short time and his wife was pregnant with their child when he was shot, that's not the good story.  Mr. McDonald is now in a wheelchair and breaths with the help of a portable respirator, but  Mr. McDonald forgave the shooter.

I could say more about this book,  but I want to get back to reading.  I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in reading about real people, people who make a difference, people who care.

Confusion

 

 

 

I'm sure, by now, everyone has heard about the big blizzard in the northeast.  Some were hit really hard by the storm, but in my little corner of the world, there wasn't much.  And what little there was is almost gone, thanks to the rain and higher temperatures.

 

 

Of course, the higher temperatures have caused other problems.  The bulbs that are supposed to come up and bloom in the spring have gotten confused by the 50 degree temps.  This is what I saw in the front of my house this afternoon.

The hyacinths are trying to come up.  Don't they know it's still winter, and February to boot.  The weather in February is so unpredictable, we may have another freeze.  I wonder what will happen to my garden then.

What Changed?

During the Bush Administration, there was a huge outcry about the administration's plans to wiretap the phones of suspected terrorists living in the states who made overseas calls.  The media and liberals (sorry, that's redundant) complained about an invasion of privacy, a violation of due process, etc.  They also complained about the use of waterboarding and enhanced interrogation.

Fast forward to the next administration.  Now, it is OK to send a drone to kill American citizens living abroad if there is an imminent threat, the target has engaged in terrorist activities and the target has to be unable to be captured, even is there is no intelligence pointing to an active plot against America. 

This leads to several questions.  Who can decide if a citizen is an imminent threat to our country?  Would this be a unilateral decision?  Would congress have some input into the decisioin?  What constitutes a threat if there is no intelligence pointing to an active plot?

Why is this OK, not a violation of the right to a trial and wiretapping is an invation of privacy?

Why is waterboarding with the intent to get information so wrong, but killing a suspect without having received any threat perfectly OK?

Where will this stop?  When will these drones be used against American citizens here in our own country?  Will they be used against those practicing their right to free speech?

WHERE WILL IT ALL END?  BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.

Redecorating

I'm getting bored with the way my house looks.  So, I've decided to make some changes.  I'm starting small - with the bathroom.  When I bought the house, I would have liked to have cobalt blue fixtures, but, something like that cuts resale value, so I went with an almond color.  All the accessories (soap dish, cup, etc.) are the same color.  I did get brave with the towels, they're deep blue, along with the bath mat which Burnie does terrible things on after he's eaten a plant.

I started looking for deep blue accessories to jazz the room up a little.  Do you know how hard it is to find deep blue cups, soap dishes, etc?  I tried all the stores I could think of.  I went on-line and did see a set I liked, but they didn't have the toothbrush holder in stock, so I didn't buy any other pieces.

Then I checked on a major on-line retailer.  While going through the list of bathroom accessories, I saw that they had urns for sale.  OK, that didn't seem too odd until I saw that they were adult or large sizes.  They were nice urns, keepsake urns.  I really didn't think they should have been with the bathroom accessories, should they?

I wonder how many people keep these urns in the bathroom.  I always thought they were kept over a fireplace or on a shelf, but the bathroom.  'Tis a puzzlement.

Soup Weather

It's been cold this week, in case anyone hasn't noticed.  I like the cold.  I like getting  bundled up in a nice heavy sweater at home, or in a nice warm jacket if I have to go out.  It's also a great time for soup.

This morning I went to the supermarket to get some stew meat to make beef vegetable soup.  While there I saw oxtails.  They were a staple when I was young.  My mother made a great big pot of oxtail soup on cold winter days.  The soup was very good, but what I really remember was the vegetables she used.  She would buy cans of either Veg-All or Veg-Pack.  The strange thing about these vegetables was that they were a combination of carrots, peas, lima beans, corn and green beans, all packed separately and  divided by a sheet of paper in the can.  Why they were separated I'll never understand since they were meant to  be put into a pot and mixed up.  Oh well.

When I got home, I realized that I couldn't find my mother's recipe.  It's buried somewhere in one of my cookbooks.  I decided to wing it, after all how hard is it to make soup.  So, I put the oxtails in a pot, browned them, added beef broth, some tomato paste (I think she used ketchup) and the vegetables (a frozen mix).  It simmered for hours.  It tasted pretty good, it should be better tomorrow after everything has had a chance to settle. 

Oh, I also added a small fistful of  barley and that reminded me of my brother.  Several years ago, he decided to make the soup following my mother's recipe.  When he got to the barley, which was supposed to be about a tablespoon, he decided that wasn't enough.  So, he added the whole box.

Of course, the  barley expanded and instead of oxtail soup, he wound up with barley stew.  Once I got through the barley, it wasn't too bad.

I'm looking forward to a nice piping hot bowl of soup tomorrow night.

Decisions

When I chose this house, it had not been built.  That meant that I could make decisions about the room sizes, types of materials used, etc.  I made many decisions, some good and some not so good.  I should have opted for a storage room over the garage and 42" kitchen cabinets instead of the 30".  Oh well, next time.

One of the best decisions I made was to have hardwood floors instead of carpeting.  My thinking was, again, one of economics.  I felt that if I opted for carpet (which would have been installed over the concrete slab, or a cheaper floor) I would be stuck.  If I changed my mind and wanted hardwood, I would have had to install a new floor.  If I so desire, I can always put carpeting over the hardwood.  Enough rambling.  One of the advantages of a wood floor is the ability to move large items.

At Christmas time, I put my tree on an old blanket and just drag it through the house.  One time, I assembled a bookcase on the floor, again on the old blanket.  When it was finished, I just pulled the blanket up to the wall and lifted the bookcase.  So easy.

Yesterday, while sitting in the living/family room I looked around and decided the room was boring and needed a change.  It was time to rearrange the furniture.  Under most conditions, this is not an easy task - I have a sofa, sofabed and recliner, ottoman, two coffee tables and an eterge.  Because of the wood floor, I just slid the furniture around until I had the right arrangement. 

Years ago, in my old house, with carpet, rearranging the furniture was a backbreaking, all day job.  Yesterday, all it took was about an hour.

I like it now, don't know how long it will be until I'm bored with it.

Christmas

I know it seems strange posting about Christmas nearly two weeks after the day.

I love Christmas, I love all the decorating and visiting.  There's only one aspect of Christmas that I hate.  It's putting all the decorations away and dismantling the trees.  Yes, I have multiple trees - one in the family room (that's the main tree), one in the entry and one in each of the two bedrooms.  It's so festive, and having the tree as the only light in the bedroom is sooo nice.

Yesterday, I started taking the ornaments off and packing them away.  That job is almost complete.  In the process, I set a new record.  I dropped and broke three ornaments.  Thank goodness they were fairly new and didn't have many memories attached.

Today, I started with all the decorations, candles, linens, etc.  As I was packing them, I discovered several decorations that I hadn't put up this year, and surprise, I hadn't missed them.

After everything is boxed, they have to be moved to the garage, which is  very cold and the light is  very temperamental.  Some days it lights, some days it doesn't.  Hopefully, it will stay lit today.  When my son was in for Christmas, he replaced all my blown out bulbs and the house is so nice and bright.  Unfortunately, the day after he left, the garage light started its temper tantrum.

I know that when I'm finished, my home will look so bare and I'll have to start thinking about some new decorating project.  Right now, I'm thinking of making a spray of silk flowers to put over the fireplace, or in my room over the bed.  I may even print some of my photographs from my travels, frame them and hang them in various rooms.

Or, I could just sit down and read a book.