Friday!

What could be better than a payday Friday AND your husband having a day off, too! Okay, sort of a day off because he has to work on Saturday. Hey, in this economy, we aren't complaining about work!

The refrigerator is sort of heading for the empty stage so shopping is on the menu today so we CAN have a menu for dinner this evening.

Lots of sewing done yesterday. Four quilts in various stages of completion are crowding my sewing table. I like keeping busy but need to find an outlet for selling my surplus of quilts!

Off to daily Mass because prayers are never wasted and this country of our's certainly needs all the prayers it can get!

Quilting . . . .!

Prayers, inspiration, vitamins . . . Something is pushing my quilting limits these days. I have four quilts in the works and they all seem to be 'composing' themselves with me operating the sewing machine! My favorites, of the moment, are a Christmas one and an Our Lady of Guadaloupe quilt. The Christmas one isn't the usual red and green or Nativity type quilt. It is a cool, blues, black, and lavenders fabric with stark, leafless branches. I bordered it with doves on light and dark blue fabric with a quilted star in the middle. I'm calling it "And it came to pass . . ." Our Lady of Guadaloupe has twelve squares depicting our Blessed Mother in various colors with the Guadaloupe type motiff. For the border, I found an overall pattern of smaller Lady of Guadaloupe which seems to finish it off nicely. There is also a teddy bear's day with his family in 20 squares showing a daily, family's activities. There is a comfort in a quilt that brings a more peaceful time to mind.

Go figure . . .

You have to wonder when or if the majority of our politicians ever had a real job. I say this because they seem to think it is of little concern when they overspend and then either over tax us or suspend jobs. The whole country seems to be on a job watch of some degree or other yet the politicians keep spending and thinking of ways to take it away from our pay checks. I notice they aren't talking about percentage cuts from their paycheck or slush funds. Guess they are so far from reality they can only deal with the fantasy land they have created for themselves. Guess that's why they are so concerned with us 'domestic terrorists' because they can't understand why we can object. Politicians come across as two-year olds who want to have what they want to have when they want to have it or they start screaming and making even less sense.

I guess it's God's way of seeing that SOMEONE prays to make up for the obvious deficit of Faith seen in government these days. God doesn't take away blessings but I imagine He doesn't sent down any if no one is taking the time to ask for them!

Why has the intelligence level plummeted in the world . . .?

A newspaper called yesterday to convince me I should subscribe. We stopped subscribing to any news publication when they started defending the politicians instead of informing the public of the real news. I always wonder why they could compromise their literary values like that? There have been so many events in the last couple of years that should have had newspaper reporters up in arms . . . yet, nothing but cover up stuff.

I used to enjoy reading the newspaper with my quick breakfast every morning. I would look for follow up on news I had heard in passing the night before. I would want details about what was happening in the world. Lately, it seems the news is almost totally from a biased viewpoint and views to the contrary are often downplayed or lied about.

I guess you can't talk meanly about a government that is doing it's best to have control over so many important facets of our lives.

Bedtime . . . now tell my head that!

Why is it the more exhausted one is, the less likely they are to get to sleep in a timely manner . . . as in right now? All day long, I thought about sleep and now it seems to have escaped me. All the issues I should have pondered during the day are presenting themselves NOW!

Quilting . . .

Spent the afternoon quilting some projects. Although I try and keep all the quilting lines perfectly done, I do have a zig zag here and there in my work. Distraction is the culprit! The phone rings and I jerk my hand. The phone rings and my careful line of stitches goes a bit astray. I used to redo every slight imperfection but decided that since the quilts usually go to the homes of good friends, the little bits of erred stitching is part of my life and is being shared with them! Kind of interesting to think about how the little moments of my day today will be unknowingly reflected in the homes of other people. Life isn't perfect and neither are my quilts but it's pretty much all good! : - )

Some favorite quotes . . .

"A superstition is a premature explanation that overstays its time."
-- George Iles

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
-- Groucho Marx

"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history."
-- George Bernard Shaw

"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans."
-- Ronald Reagan

More places to keep in touch . . .

Anyone interested, I have a Yahoo Group set up for talking about our days, raising children, being childish(!), baking, looking for a place to vent, recipes, friendship . . . You are welcome to check it out and join in!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bbarthelette/

April 15th . . .!

April 15th . . . payday for the government. Given all the expenses Washington DC has incurred on our behalf over the last year or so, I'm pretty sure April 15th isn't going to help all that much! Anyway, I filed our tax returns on-line the first of February, got our IRS refund and sent our our California tax payment as close to the deadline as possible. They don't worry about us losing interest so I like to return the favor!

Still sort of recovering from the 'lost' weekend. Our next door neighbors decided to throw a party with a live band. Just to make sure the LIVE band could be heard within the small confines of their backyard, they amped it up to share it with everyone within six or eight houses away. Since our house was shaking with the vibrations of the LIVE bass, we called the police and I have to admit, the neighbors were kind enough to come right over and apologized and did turn down the amplification. It was still loud. They shared with us that they were having the party for their brother who is very sick and not likely to survive his illness. I told my husband that if I'm ever at death's door, please do not park me out in the backyard next to a loud band in 55 degree weather with a cold wind blowing.

Quilting got some attention yesterday. Started out with a specific pattern in mind and ended up free lancing, AGAIN, with my own scrap quilt concepts in mind.

Can't figure it out . . .

You have to wonder why the people we elect to represent us seem so intent on making the United States a third world country in health care and defense. Yes, there are people who defend everyone's right to health care. Yes, there are people who want this to be a sweet, wonderful world. Realistically,it ain't a gonna happen as we still have that one component of people to deal with . . . human nature.

A little research shows that a one-payer health care plan is not sustainable which would leave everyone with less-than-ideal medical help. A one-payer health care plan will cover abortion. The proposed health care plan has nations like Canada and England wondering what is wrong with us to substandardize our medical support. It hasn't worked as a state-run plan in Massachusetts yet the egotistical powers that be want to inflict the same thing on everyone. Survival rate on some cancers in other countries is half what it is in the United States under our current health plans. Scary stuff!

The fact that the leader of our country would take it upon himself to risk our safety by downsizing our nuclear strength AND advertising the fact to our enemies is boggling to the imagination. It makes you wonder who's side he is on!

I'm hoping the November elections in 2010 and each year hereafter will reflect the will of the majority and teach our elected officials that they were entrusted with their office to represent 'we the people'. In the meantime, we can pray, not get sick, and start building our own bomb shelter!

Some good thoughts for a Friday morning . . .

"Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore."
-- Ogden Nash

"One doesn't have a sense of humor. It has you."
-- Larry Gelbart

"Never eat more than you can lift."
-- Miss Piggy

"Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion."
-- Ambrose Bierce

Just wondering . . .

I spent the afternoon sewing and enjoying the fact that I had the time, money, and interest to pursue a favorite hobby. It also gives me time to ponder stuff as my sewing machine does the hard part!

I listen to various radio stations, as I sew, and the pronouncements from our government get more and more wearisome each day. It doesn't sound like stuff you'd expect to hear from a strong, supportive government. It doesn't really reflect the desiress of the people who put the politicians into office. Something has gone wrong here.

Interesting, however, that when people voice concern, the opposition say we are being radical even as they initiate radical legislation that is sure to change our lives. Some people just don't know which side their bread is buttered on and I'm hoping the justifiable anger of the people will keep it strength right up to the November elections. So far, many of the politicians seem to believe they are beyond reproach and can make laws THEY want to see enacted, laws that won't effect their exalted status.

I have to wonder, however, about the latest news that we will be cutting back on our military weapons as an example to other nations. Huh? If I were an enemy of the United States and heard the US was scaling back, I'd be MORE prone to upping my nuclear production in hopes of a destructive takeover. You gotta wonder whose side our own government is supporting.

Good thing I have prayer and quilting to get me through this distressing news. You gotta wonder about our world today!

A thought . . .

"How splendid is fasting
Adorned with love.
Share your bread generously with the hungry
Otherwise yours is not fasting but saving"

An unbiased viewpoint . . .

I was visiting my neighbors today and we got to talking about religion, faith, etc. They are Protestant and I am Catholic but we enjoy each other's company and share the differences rather than argue about them.

We were talking about how we observe Holy Week and I mentioned how some of our priests prefer having boys serving Mass rather than girls. One of my friends bolted upright and said, "Excuse me? Did you say GIRLS serve Mass at your church? That just doesn't sound right! Does your Pope ALLOW that?"

I said that Rome had allowed girls to serve but it was sad how it chased away some of the boys who might be missing out on a vocation because they never get to be that close to the altar. My friend just kept shaking her head over it.

We then went on to agree that males and females are different and it was a shame the world kept trying to make them one and the same. She said she worked because she was a single mom and had to in order to support her daughter. She said that when women just work 'to find themselves' or to buy a bigger house or fancy cars, they could be taking away a job that a male head of the household needed for basic support of his family. She wondered if pushing females into the service of Mass could also be pushing males aside.

Personally, I'm for teaching my girls to emulate the Blessed Mother and doing so does not include serving Mass, being a reader, or an extraordinary minister. I did not, however lead this particular conversation on and it was interesting to see how our liberal Catholic ways are seen by someone outside our Faith. Not starting a debate here but you have to wonder how it will all turn out.