A Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast.” –W.J. Cameron



Thanks to Doug for the picture and the quote.

Update from the Lectionary:


Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:32-35

Thanksgiving Stuff

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


Thanks to Susankay.

Where We Ate In Beautiful Jefferson Parish

A couple of weeks ago after my first cataract surgery, I was pretty exhausted and still freaked out afterward, but I was hungry, since I'd been fasting all day. We stopped for a quick meal at Dot's Diner, where I had a delicious BLT sandwich. I noted that the diner had a lovely, old-fashioned breakfast menu.

After the second surgery, which went so well and I was calm and not freaked out afterward, we wanted oysters. We made our way to Drago's Seafood Restaurant, pictured above, one of THE places for oysters in beautiful Jefferson Parish. (Heh, heh.)

As an appetizer, we shared a half dozen charbroiled oysters, one of the restaurant's better-known dishes. Grandpère was not satisfied and ordered another half dozen. I made a trip to the ladies, and when I returned, the dish has arrived, and GP had eaten five out of the six oysters. Thanks a lot, my love! Nevermind. More food was on the way.

I ordered Oysters Herradura:

Shrimp Oysters sautéed with sun dried tomatoes,
pine nuts, and onions, deglazed with tequila and
seasoned to perfection. Served with a grilled
portabella mushroom.

GP ordered:

Fried Oyster Lunch
Served with French Fries, Vegetable & Salad

For dessert, I ordered crème bruleé. The meal was quite satisfying. It was the only meal that I had that day, but it was enough.

We spent the night with my daughter, since I had an early morning doctor's appointment for a check that all was well. I remembered the breakfast menu at Dot's Diner, and we headed to their River Ridge location for breakfast before the appointment. I had Dot's in mind from the night before and made sure that we were up in time to break our fast there. Wise move. Dot does a good breakfast.




Photo of Drago's at the head of the post from Bon Vivant.

Pray For Gary And All Who Love Roseann

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 925 Mitchell St. in Conway, at 1 p.m. (CST) Wednesday officiated by the Rev. Teri Daily and Lay Eucharistic ministers Kelley King and Jim Fowler.

Honorary Pallbearers are Dale Helton, Mike King, John M. Allen, Blake Byrd, Pierre Antoine and Doug Ward.

In lieu of flowers, Roseann has asked that donations be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 925 Mitchell St., Conway, AR 72034, Arkansas Hospice, 5600 W. 12, Little Rock, AR 72204, or the charity of your choice.

David's Blog Comes Back To Life

David@Montreal is writing at his blog once again. David last posted close to a year and a half ago, but he's back. Check out his latest post titled "Rocky But Sacred Ground" at LGBT Vocation.

Yes, it’s been a while- July 27 2008 to be exact, the date of my last post.
Lambeth 2008 was drawing to a close, and the title of my previous post was ‘Sad but Confident.’

Yes something happened- yet again the Church, OUR Church broke my heart- ‘shattered’ perhaps a more exact description of what happened this time, because there were pieces, lots of pieces.

But now David has picked himself up, dusted himself off, and started all over again.

Good to have you back blogging, David.

Little Old Ladies

A farmer stopped by the local mechanic shop to have his truck fixed. They couldn't do it while he waited, so he said he didn't live far and would just walk home. On the way home he stopped at the hardware store and bought a bucket and a gallon of paint. He then stopped by the feed store and picked up a couple of chickens and a goose. However, he realized when he go outside the store that he now had a problem: how to carry his entire purchase home.

While he was scratching his head, he was approached by a little old lady, who told him she was lost. She asked, "Can you tell me how to get to 1603 Mockingbird Lane?" The farmer said, "Well, as a matter of fact, my farm is very close to that house. I would walk you there, but I can't carry this lot."

The old lady suggested, "Why don't you put the can of paint into the bucket. Carry the bucket in one hand, put a chicken under each arm, and carry the goose in your other hand?"

"Why, thank you very much," he said, and he proceeded to walk the old girl home. On the way he said, "Let's take my short cut and go down this alley. We'll be there in no time."

The little old lady looked him over cautiously then said, "I am a poor lonely widow without a husband to defend me. How do I know that when we get in that alley you won't hold me up against the wall, pull up my skirt, and have your evil way with me?"

The farmer said, "Holy smokes lady! I'm carrying a bucket, a gallon of paint, two chickens, and a goose. How in the world could I possibly hold you up against the wall and do that?"

The old lady replied, "Set the goose down, cover him with the bucket, put the paint on top of the bucket, and I'll hold the chickens."

I did not post this joke. I would never post a joke like this. Paul (A.) hacked into my computer and posted the naughty thing on my blog.

And then he has the nerve to say:

Cheers (and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving And More Prayers

David@Montreal writes:

Mam just called to tell me that Frank [David's cousin] just called to report he is doing much better!
He's been into the hospital three times in the last ten days for day surgeries, but he's finally clear of both the pneumonia and c-difficile.
He specifically asked Mam to pass along his love and thanks to 'the Giants' 'please tell them ( and Mam says this is where my very butch cousin got real teary) tell them, they make all the difference in the world.'
Carol also came on the phone and wants you to know, you have no idea the difference you've made. Said she never felt alone or abandoned, no matter how scary or wild it's been at times.
Frank's doctor's are still shaking their heads, amazed that he's doing so very well with only a 9/10 genetic match. And that's when he tells them about the Giants, and Mam says he remembers most of you by name.
Not out of the woods yet, I'd ask your continued prayers for both Frank and Carol, but tonight there much to give thanks for. Full-voiced Hymns of Praise please!

Let us also keep David in our prayers:

the job hunt.... well if I'm not 'too experienced', I've got 'too many decades in management for anything less', or the experience is 'too diverse' as they skip over the unsalaried decade of fulltime AIDS service. and then there's the elephant in the room- my being sixty-one years old.
i have no doubt a true answer is in the making, but your prayers would be appeciated.
i keep applying, something's got to happen.

love always-always Love

David

By accident, I deleted I don't know how many emails that I wanted to save, including the one above from David, which he sent to Paul, also. I lifted this post entirely from Paul the BB's Heart Thread of prayer requests and thanksgivings.

"Friendly" Or "Cordial"?

The Meeting was described as "cordial".

From the Telegraph:

In an interview with Vatican Radio after the meeting, Dr Williams said he did not believe that changes to the Catholic Church's Apostolic Constitution had been made as part of a deliberate attempt to poach members of his church.

However, he added: "Naturally, I wanted to express some of the concerns about the way in which the announcement of the constitution had been handled and received.

"Clearly many Anglicans, myself included, felt that it put us in an awkward position for a time – not the content [of the constitution] so much as some of the messages that were given out.

"I needed to share with the Pope some of those concerns. I think those were expressed and heard in a very friendly spirit."

The ABC says the pope is not deliberately poaching and that the two spoke "in a very friendly spirit". I suppose the awkwardness is smoothed away, and the ABC's concerns have been addressed, and the two are now, once again, BFF.

I saved the link to this piece in the Telegraph, because I thought I'd write about it, but now that I have time, I'm not too keen to do so, and I don't have much to say. In truth, I wanted an excuse to use Adrian's caricature of the scene on my blog.

A statement released by the Vatican said that the two religious leaders had "turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges".

It added that the discussions "focused on recent events affecting relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion".

In an act of rich symbolism, the Pope gave the archbishop a gift of a pectoral cross, the large cross which bishops wear around their neck.

A Vatican spokesman described the gift as "a sign of friendship and fraternity", but it also reaffirms that the Pope recognises Dr Williams as a bishop.

The Vatican describes the talks as "cordial", possibly a cooler term than "friendly". And could it be that the symbolism of the gift of the pectoral cross is not quite so rich as Jonathan Wynne-Jones believes? Perhaps he should have paid closer attention to the Vatican's description of the symbolism of the gift. If "the Pope recognises Dr Williams as a bishop", then why must Anglican bishops be reconsecrated if they cross over to Rome? And that would follow upon their reordination as priests.

And while you're visiting at Pluralist's site you may want to check out his post titled, The Archbishop of Anglicanism at Woolworths.

Stress

Do try! It’s amazing!!


I am not sure exactly how it works, but this is amazingly accurate. Read the full description before looking at the picture.

The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital. Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins. The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing. Look at the photograph and if you find more than one or two differences you may want to take a vacation.

Ok now scroll down until you see the picture.

















Thanks or blame to Susan via Erika.

Roseann Allen-Matthews - Obituary

From the Log Cabin Democrat comes a lovely obituary of Roseann:

Roseann Allen-Matthews, 56, of Little Rock, died of kidney failure Nov. 21, 2009.

She was born Sept. 17, 1953, in Crossett, the daughter of John Twyman Allen and Joann Tatum Allen.

Preceded in death by her dear parents, Roseann is survived by her beloved husband and devoted caretaker, Gary L. Matthews; two brothers, John Charles Allen with wife Jenny Lind Allen of Crossett and Kenneth Andrew Allen with wife Regina Allen of Jacksonville, Fla.; three nephews, John Matthew Allen and wife Kathryn, Ross Allen and Tate Allen; two nieces, Melissa Allen Clayton and husband David and Sarah Allen; three great-nephews; one great-niece; a cousin, Lee Bell Moore; god-daughter, Tiffany King; and dear friends, Dale Helton, Mike and Kelly King, Doug Ward and many others too numerous to mention.

Roseann graduated high school from San Marcos Academy, San Marcos, Texas, in 1971 and attended the University of Central Arkansas in Conway where she majored in history, speech and theatre arts.

She was a member of St. Peters Episcopal Church in Conway where she helped start several ministries including a food bank and prison ministry program.

She was also a lay Eucharistic minister.

Nothing was more important to Roseann than family and friends, many losses only reinforced that in her heart.

She met her best friend and perfect match in wit and intelligence when she met Gary Matthews.

Roseann possessed “old soul” wisdom along with her wonderful wit, sense of humor, intelligence and memory.

Her laugh was uplifting.

She always had a sense of the divine in good times and bad.

She could see beyond the obvious.

As a voracious reader she was continually seeking, studying and learning.

As she searched for understanding and answers she learned to embrace the process and find peace and comfort in the questions.

She was a spirit driven person who had great faith, peace of mind and gratitude in the midst of pain and suffering, even death.

Roseann loved people especially the disenfranchised.

Her life was informed by a scripture from Matthew 25:40: I tell you this, Anything you did for one of my brothers, however humble, you did for Me. One of her favorite books was The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, in it, the much loved but shabby and aging Skin Horse says, “Once you are real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.” Roseann was Real and she will be Real forever.

Roseann and Gary would like to thank Dr. Shane Kimball, Arkansas Hospice, St. Vincent Dialysis Center, the Rev. Teri Daily, the Rev. Peggy Hays, The Right Rev. Greg Rickel, and the Venerable Joyce Hardy for their kind care and support.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 925 Mitchell St. in Conway, at 1 p.m. Wednesday officiated by the Rev. Teri Daily and Lay Eucharistic ministers Kelley King and Jim Fowler.

Honorary Pallbearers are Dale Helton, Mike King, John M. Allen, Blake Byrd, Pierre Antoine and Doug Ward.

In lieu of flowers, Roseann has asked that donations be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 925 Mitchell St., Conway, AR 72034, Arkansas Hospice, 5600 W. 12, Little Rock, AR 72204, or the charity of your choice.

Cremation arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home.

I hope that the Log Cabin Democrat forgives me for copying the entire obituary, but it's perfect and beautiful, and I wanted to share it with all my readers. About the picture, isn't Roseann gorgeous?

Thanks to Sue for sending me the link and for being a faithful correspondent throughout Roseann's illness. This blog couldn't run without people like Sue and others like her who keep me informed.