Job, Prayer, JRA, Congressman, Cactus, Traps

Every day I thank God for my temporary job under somewhat comfortable conditions. I got my first paycheck from the agency with deductions and everything. It was so exciting to see a deduction for FICA and all. Call me crazy in love with being employed for now. I am hoping this work assignment lasts for quite a while, but that means a slow and painful recovery for the woman I am filling in for. She is out for rotator cuff surgery. I don't want to be mean, but her being out for surgery is a gift of a job for me.

I continue to pray for both my prayer buddy and my relative X. I pray in what I call "free form," I just make up short prayers in my head as I go along.

Shoved to Them, I tried to leave some comments on your blog, but was stymied by those crazy words I couldn't read and retype. Anyway, this part is for you:
 Your son is quite the snake. I'm glad your daughter was finally able to see the expert of JRA. It's a bummer she has it. But now you can begin to manage it. I sure hope she is feeling relief and no longer is asking for a wheelchair.

Remember how we were urged to write to our representatives about the HHS mandate about contraception? My representative wrote a letter to our parish that started as "Dear Fellow Catholic." The pastor published this letter in our church bulletin. I don't want to see the letters from our politicians in the church bulletin. This politician sounded self-promoting even though he is Catholic and is against the mandate. No one said what to do when the congressional representative writes to us.

There are so many good causes that our Cardinal asks us to contribute to that I am getting dizzy. But then again, I have been dizzy since seeing that cow costume in church.

The Lenten decorations in front of the altar are rocks and cactuses (cacti?), so I was thinking this probably represented our Lenten journey through the desert. I thought of how pretty and freeing the desert is and how New Mexico isn't called the Land of Enchantment for nothing. Having desert plants in the desert can be very freeing (xeriscape) because you aren't struggling to water plants that aren't meant to live there. Also being in the desert, you don't have to worry about a lot of extraneous stuff.

As I was contemplating this, I notice that there were a pair of sandals among the decorations. I guess the decorations really do represent our Lenten journey. I wondered who owns the sandals. It's just a matter of time before they pull out the empty tomb decoration.

This week during the petitions we prayed for the good intentions of social workers. Not a bad thing to pray for. I wonder what profession we will pray for next week. No, we haven't prayed for Davy Jones or Whitney Houston. We have prayed for other dead celebs and notable people in the past.

A mom friend was talking about how her Catholic school is having the young ones make Leprechaun traps out of boxes. Trapping Leprechauns sound kind of mean even if they aren't real. They aren't real, right? Let's learn why Saint Patrick is really a saint and not a cause for drinking. I'm not a mom, but I sure have my opinions. Besides, what are the children suppose to do if they actually caught a leprechaun? Release them into the wild? Release them at the mall where it can be wild with roaming teen-agers? Put them in the dog crate?

Now I am just writing to avoid doing necessary housework.

St. Valentine's Day

It's 4:30 in the afternoon, and the the florist has yet to bring me flowers from a secret admirer.  Sigh.

I did send a valentine to President Obama. Ha. Not really. Actually today I mailed him a letter protesting that HHS mandate.

A friend told me that she knows a lady who married for the FIRST TIME at age 73. I guess you are never too old to find love. This gives me hope, but I really don't want to wait that long.

One blessing of unemployment I am not in an office where female co-workers are receiving roses. Oh, I have an interview this Thursday.

If you're married, remember your single friends.

Here are some pretty valentines to look at. I love these; they look so romantic and feminine. 

One more thing: my dad sent me a lovely "To my daughter" card. I'm glad I have my dad.

Candlemas, What is it? (Update)

What is Candlemas?

I know what Groundhog Day is, but not what Candlemas is. It's a religious day, right? Wrong?

Update: Now that I know what Candlemas is, I would prefer to celebrate that instead of Groundhog Day. No offense to any groundhogs that may be reading this blog.

I celebrate Christmas - St. Stephen

I'm still hung up on Christmas, and why not?

I wonder what non-Christians think they are celebrating when they are celebrating Christmas? I know non-Christians who do the whole tree, gifts, family, decorations, Santa thing.

(Look! I learned to insert pictures from the Internet.)

I was glad to see that some homes in my neighborhood still has Christmas lights shining brightly, and lit trees were shining through the windows.

Next year when people say, "Happy Holidays," to me, I will say, "Thank you. I'll be celebrating Christmas." Do you think I should say that?

Will I even remember? I just want my Christmas Holy Day back. I don't want Christmas to be lost in the holidays. Of course the word holidays comes from the word Holy Days. I read that somewhere, and I don't know where

Why is Kwanzaa on printed calendars? .I don't celebrate that. I don't even know it is. It wasn't a holiday when I was growing up. I don't even know what is that. I did learn what Boxing Day in England.

The feast of St. Stephen on December 26 is celebrated as "Boxing Day" in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and in other commonwealth countries and is a national holiday there.   The name refers to the practice, as legend has it, of nobles and other wealthy Britons "boxing up" and distributing food and other gifts to their servants and to the poor on the day after Christmas.   Boxing Day was traditionally when the alms box at every English church was opened and the contents distributed to the poor.  Servants by custom were also given the day off to celebrate Christmas with their families.

- From this link, which is about St. Stephen.

You may notice that is web page is from an Episcopal church. Well, Catholics are the ones who canonize saints. That's my disclaimer.

 

  Merry Christmas. It's Day 11!