Climb Higher....

"Nothing has been told us by God as a mere matter for remembrance, but it is committed to us to become a means to achieve the higher life."

~Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.

Feast Day Quote

...."Come now, I am going to ease the soreness of your despondency and scatter the thoughts which have given rise to this sombre cloud. What bewilders your mind, why do you grieve and torment yourself? Because the storm that has rushed upon the Churches is fierce and threatening, because it has shrouded all in moonless darkness and is working up to a crisis, day after day bringing cruel shipwreck while the whole world is toppling over into ruin? I am aware of this too; there is no one to deny it. Whenever you hear that one of the Churches has been submerged, another tossed in dire distress, this one drowned by the angry flood, that mortally injured in some way, that a certain Church has received a wolf instead of a shepherd, a second a pirate instead of a helmsman, a third an executioner instead of a physician, be saddened by all means, for one ought not to endure such things without pain. But since grieve you must, at the same time set a limit to your sorrow." .....

..."I am conscious of these disasters, yet for all that I do not relinquish a most firm hope. I keep my mind fixed on the Pilot of all things; He does not ride the storm by steersmanship, but by a mere nod He breaks the surging of the sea, and if not immediately, if not at once, that precisely is His way. He does not cut calamities short at the outset, but averts them only as they approach their climax when almost all have abandoned hope. Only then does He show forth wonders and miracles and display that power which is His alone, while he schools the sufferers in patience.

Do not lose heart then. There is only one thing to be feared, Olympias, only one trial, and that is sin. I have told you this over and over again. All the rest is beside the point, whether you talk of plots, feuds, betrayals, slanders, abuses, accusations, confiscation of property, exile, sharpened swords, open sea or universal war. Whatever they may be, they are all fugitive and perishable. They touch the mortal body but wreak no harm on the watchful soul."....."Why then fear the things that are temporal which will roll on in an ever-flowing stream? Whether pleasant or painful, the present does not last forever.

Do not be perturbed therefore by all that is going on. Give up crying for help to this person or that and chasing shadows -for such is all human endeavour. Rather should you incessantly invoke Jesus whom you adore, that He may but turn His face towards you. Then, in one decisive moment, all your trouble is ended."

~St John Chrysostom,

in a letter to Olympias, June, 404 A.D.

Sharpening Pencils for the Children...

....with my old hand-held sharpener.

And suddenly I went back in time about twenty years.

I remembered how I used to save the long shavings from my colored pencils and form them into mini-roses.

Then I would save them in my pencil box, because I thought them too beautiful to throw away.

Memories of those simple things....

...of those simple times...

...it made me smile.

Matchbox Cars and the Mantle.....

Wooden Rungs?

Not to Boots.

They are individual swords.

His own personal armory...

~Or so he was telling me at lunch.

This boy has such an imagination.

I love it.

A Thrift Shop Treasure.....

"The cellar hole that had once held a home had been abandoned for many years. None but a dweller of the forest could have found it, for its road was lost, its stones were overgrown with wild brier and sumac, and the old gray birches that had sprouted around it were now tall and arched by the winds into a roof. But the cellar hole could remember. There, on one side, a brick fireplace had once stood with the bean pot snugly simmering in its oven, the andirons holding four foot logs, and a mother rocking a cradle and knitting on the wide hearth. The cellar hole remembered spinning wheels and sleigh bells, sizzling doughnuts and molasses cookies, fishing tackle, guns, singing school and bible readings, hardships and laughter, snowdrifts and white lilacs. Now it was nothing but an ancient memory-book of things past. The thicket of black alder, pine and hemlock that led to it kept its pages closed to all except those who love the country." 

~from Miss Hickory,

by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

.......The children love this story. Its a hardcover, and I think I only paid fifty cents for it!

Wildly Fabulous....

~My black and white apron, with the spiffy~est little polka-dotted pocket ever.

(~It was made by my mother, years and years ago, and it's intended use was that of a wrap around skirt, but I like it as an apron better!)

~My crazy green and white woolen socks.

~My black and white checkerboard laundry-room floor.

All combined, I find them wildly fabulous;)

"Saint Agnes' Eve.....

~Ah, bitter chill it was!

The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;

The hare limp'd trembling through the frozen grass,

And silent was the flock in woolly fold:

Numb were the beadsman's fingers, while he told

His rosary, and while his frosted breath,

Like pious incense from a censer old,

Seem'd taking flight for heaven, without a death,

Past the sweet Virgin's picture, while his prayer he saith."

~from The Eve of St Agnes,

by John Keats

Who Needs Lace Curtains!

Eventually, I would like to put up some lace curtains in our bedroom windows. Till I do, Jack frost is doing an admirable job supplying my want, don't you think?

It is bitterly cold out today. The wind is roaring and the snow looks like it isn't falling at all ~just whizzing by sideways. I had to venture out early this afternoon to pick up a few necessities. The county roads were really bad.....and in town it wasn't much better. Thank God for four-wheel drive!

It is good to be home again......to listen to the wind outside.....and watch the snow flying past the windows......while we all stay warm inside our cozy home.

I think I may have to bake some cookies....;)

Pondering These Words....

"For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith. I know both how to be brought low and I know how to abound: (everywhere, and in all things I am instructed) both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to suffer need.

I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me."

~Philippians 4, 11-12

Windy....

"No one can tell me.

Nobody knows,

Where the wind comes from,

Where the wind goes."

~from Wind on the Hill,

by A.A. Milne

Bits of Yesterday....

Usually I do not enjoy waking to a dirty kitchen.....(so it is a rare occurrence around here;) .......but this morning was different. It was a reminder of the lovely evening we had last night, and it made me smile. We had our house blessed yesterday, and Father (who happens to be a very dear friend of the family), stayed to dinner. There was lots of good food, good wine, and good conversation  around the dining room table. And later more good conversation around the hearth filled with lighted candles. We all stayed up later than was probably prudent...........but it was worth it.

Hope you all had a lovely yesterday too.

Jack Frost

Here at Percolator Farm the windows are old.

And some are really old.

These in particular seem to possess an attraction that Mr. Frost finds irresistible. 

And I think it is beautiful. 

My Plans

Nothing went as I had planned today..........but I am strangely at peace. I am also strangely at peace with the fact that our septic may be going out (~definitely never a part of the plan for any day!) After all, there are more important things than my plans...... or even failing septic tanks. Like my wonderful Knight in S. A. and our precious children.

And God's plans for us all.

Tiny Snowflakes....

......have just begun falling and the wind has really picked up. The weather man predicts an accumulation of two to four inches. I am every bit as excited as the children! It will be so nice to have everything white and bright again after several weeks of brown and gloom. We are staying cozy inside.....reading stories, playing games, and I am working to really clean up the wainscoting in the dining room.....it got pretty filthy during all the "restodling".

Amazing what a bit of soap and water will do........;)

Can't wait to see what it will look like when I polish it up afterwards...... 

On Appreciation and Encouragement

"You would not leave those plants in your window without water, or refuse to open the shutters that the sunlight might fall upon them, but you leave some human flower to suffer for want of appreciation or the sunlight of encouragement. Utter the kind word when you can. Give the helping praise when you see that it is deserved. The thought that 'no one knows and no one cares' blights many a bud of promise."

~from With God,

by Fr. Lasance

The Living Room Then......

......and now!

Still Settling in....

These past few weeks have been pretty overwhelming......but we are in!

And God is so good.