Why Are You Here?

This cartoon is by Dave Walker.

Tree Queen?

From the Telegraph:

A weather-damaged tree branch revealed an image with an uncanny resemblance to the Queen when it was felled.

Uncanny resemblance to the Queen? Dame Maggie Smith? I don't think so. It's very like the portrait of me by Picasso that I have hanging on my wall. It's amazing!

Prayer Request From Being Peace

From BEING PEACE:

I saw the nephrologist today.

The kidney transplant preparation has to start now. Both kidneys have to be removed. This came as a shock to me...PKD isn't just cysts on the kidneys (which never stop growing.) It causes cysts in the liver and colon. The biggest shocker is it can cause brain anuerysms too.

It has to be done w/in the next 24 months or, well, it is going to be really bad. The thought now is to get the transplant before dialysis is necessary. Transplants can also be done w/out the heavy steroids like prednasone. I'm really grateful for that.

I'm beyond emotional at this moment. I want to cry but I don't want to break down in front of Gary. He's got enough on his heart and mind without me being a big crybaby. He wants to be evaluated as a possible donor. I don't mean to be maudlin, I just believe deeply he'd be better off w/out me. I'm not suicidal and I plan to fight. I believe I've put him through more than he deserves though.

I'm on all kinds of new drugs now including Procrit at $700 a shot. That'll be $1400 a month just for Procrit. Hopefully insurance will cover it. We won't know until it is submitted.

Please keep us in your prayers.
Love, Roseann

Feast Day Of St. Benedict Of Nursia

Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of Divine grace. St. Benedict

Readings:

Psalm 1 or 34:1-8
Proverbs 2:1-9
Luke 14:27-33

PRAYER

Almighty and everlasting God, whose precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of your servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord's service; let your ears be open to our prayers; and prosper with your blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

From "The Rule of Saint Benedict":

Girded with a faith, and the performance of good works, let us follow in Christ's path by the guidance of the Gospel; then we shall deserve to see him "who has called us into his kingdom." If we wish to attain a dwelling place in his kingdom, we shall not reach it unless we hasten there by our good deeds.

Just as there exists an evil fervor, a bitter spirit, which divides us from God and leads us to hell, so there is a good fervor which sets us apart from evil inclinations and leads us toward God and eternal life. No one should follow what he considers to be good for himself, but rather what seems good for another. Let them put Christ before all else; and may he lead us all to everlasting life.

Happy Feast of St. Benedict to Prior Aelred and his brother monks at St. Gregory's Abbey and to all those around the world who follow the "The Rule of St. Benedict". Padre Mickey says that the monks at St. Gregory were allowed to sleep until 5:30 AM in honor of the feast. I'm not asking what time they get up on a normal day.

Padre Mickey posted a wonderful biography of St. Benedict, along with two lovely icons.

Family Togetherness Day

Day before yesterday, we had a good family day with children. My daughter and five of my six grandchildren visited, four boys and one girl. The only one not present was my oldest grandson, who is 16, and has a job this summer. My daughter and her three boys live in Jefferson Parish just outside of New Orleans, and the other two live here in Thibodaux. I wish I could show pictures, but my policy is not to publish pictures of members of my family.

When my daughter wasn't here by 12:45, Grandpère became grumpy, because it was way past his deadline of 12:00 to eat lunch. What can I say? His deadline is not everyone's deadline. I'm more a go-along type. I had to persuade him not to go ahead with the two grandchildren who were here but to wait for the rest to arrive. He's like a child when his best-laid plans are frustrated, especially his meal plans. I'm sorry to say that, but it's the truth.

After my daughter arrived, we headed to a local pizza restaurant (not a chain) which serves good pizzas and other Italian food. We settled the children into a booth, and we three adults sat at a table nearby. The booth kept the children confined, except for the two on the ends and various goings and comings to the rest rooms. One of the little ones has a restaurant food anxiety, so he made three trips thinking he might have to throw up. Poor baby. I hope this anxiety phase passes.

Once we returned home, the kids had a spirited game of Twister, with made-up orders to touch certain colored circles with the eye, the ear, the nose, the little toe, etc. Then they went upstairs. Upstairs usually means trouble, because they are far out of sight and sound, and they're too often up to mischief. We gave them a while, and then I went up, and it was total chaos. Two jumping on the bed, two having a rough wrestling match on the floor, and my granddaughter taking in the violent scene. I calmed them down, and stayed a while with them, but it was no longer as much fun with me there.

We trooped downstairs, and they all went out into the yard. Thanks be to God. The sky was overcast, with the temperature not too high, a great day to be outdoors. We have a wonderful back yard, and our dog Diana was delighted to run with them. Two large oaks reign in majesty, one tree good for climbing, a challenge, but not too great a challenge. It has three four large branches with crooks for safe (more or less) sitting or standing. Prayers for no one to fall, and no one falls. We have a large hammock in the yard, too. They took turns nicely, until all five ended up in the hammock at the same time. We handed out Popsicles, with Diana getting her share of licks from those that fell off the sticks or dropped on the ground.

Then, back in the house with my daughter and her three sons preparing to leave. All five begged to spend the night, which would have had to be without their parents, since my son and daughter both had commitments the next day. The last time we had a slumber party, it was rough on Grandpère and me. We had a difficult time getting them settled, but finally got them down after running up and down the stairs several times to quiet them. The next morning, when we went upstairs, all five were sound asleep in one queen-size bed, some facing one way, and some the other. When they woke up, we asked them why, and they said they got scared in the middle of the night and decided they'd all sleep together.

By that evening, I was exhausted, and I said, "I'm sorry, kids, I love you, but not tonight". They begged, but I stood firm. I was not prepared for them and not up to having them that night. I truly love them all dearly, but I was ready for peace and quiet.

UPDATE: I added a picture of the climbing tree.

An Email From Chris Dodd

Yesterday was a sad day for the United States Senate.

It is my hope that the courts will undo the damage done to the Constitution.

But let us stand tall, knowing that by working together we were able to make wiretapping and retroactive immunity part of the national discourse these last number of months.

We came together – all of you, Senator Feingold, bloggers like Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald, organizations like the EFF and ACLU, and untold hundreds of thousands of Americans who simply wanted to make sure that this one, last insult did not happen with ease.

I'm sorry we weren't successful.

I just hope I'm lucky enough to have you by my side in the next fight, whatever that may be.

Thanks for all you've done.

Chris Dodd

Thank you, Chris, and all the others who fought so hard. What a mensch!

Watch For This Scam - No Joke

From the website of the FBI:

The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he'll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It's a scam.

The warning came from a relative who is employed by the federal government. I checked it out at the website of the FBI, and it is authentic.

The FISA Vote - July 9, 2008

From the U. S. Senate website:

Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 5059 to H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978)

Statement of Purpose: To limit retroactive immunity for providing assistance to the United States to instances in which a Federal court determines the assistance was provided in connection with an intelligence activity that was constitutional.

Vote Counts:

YEAs - 37
NAYs - 61
Not Voting - 2

Grouped By Vote Position [In other words, the good guys]

YEAS

Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

The list of the other guys may be found at the link above.

May I say that I was devastated by the large of Democrats who voted against the amendment? Ah, yes, they called the amendment a compromise, but it was rather a capitulation to the Bush maladministration. The Republicans know better. They are jubilant. They know that they won.

The Democrats know better, too. It's pure spin on voting wrong. What kind of back-room wheeling and dealing went on to make this happen?

I congratulate Sen. Arlen Spector, the lone Republican, who saw this vote for what it was and voted right. You Democrats who voted wrong, I am ashamed of you.

Hey, Watch This

I'll have family visiting today, including five rambunctious children, age 8 to 13, so you may have to spend your time here watching TV. If I have time to do a post or two, I will, but I doubt it.

I see that MadPriest has directed the ladies over here for advice on how to please your husbands. I won't have time to answer your questions today, but perhaps another day. One bit of general advice, ladies: you can't say "no" ever, because your husband's purity is important above everything. If he fails to remain pure because you're tired, or you have a headache, or the children need you, it is definitely all your fault for not pleasing him and seeing to it that "he goes out each day with his cup full".

Tnanks to Susan S. for the link to the video.

Chiao!

If I Were A Terrorist....

Sleep well tonight.

Doug sends this with his regards.