Labor Day

Well, Here it is Labor day---aka "the day after which the pool shall be closed day". Let's see if I can do a more timely job of it this year, shall we? Stand by, and I will keep you posted. This experiment is called accountability (but not very, I guess--as you nonexistent readers are hardly likely to fine me for lackadaisical pool closing).

Today is also the feast of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church--who did not really invent Gregorian chant. However, he did collect and preserve these chants and also wrote important works on the Mass and the Divine Office.

St. Gregory, pray for us!

Intriguing Facts about Indiana

Since I am from Indiana, I found this interesting. Lots of people do think there isn't much
but corn in Indiana, but now we know better. A friend of mine sent this to me in an email, without
attribution, so---thanks to whomever, and to Beth, as well.




This is a public photo belonging to Dee Johnson
found on flickr. Thanks, Dee for allowing this beautiful photo of
an Indiana barn to be shared.


Facts about Indiana : I'll bet you didn't know......

Tomato juice was first served at a French Lick, Indiana hotel
in 1925.

The first tomato juice factory was also in French Lick, IN.

The world's largest orchid species collection is found at Ball
State University in Muncie , Indiana .

The first regulated speed limit (20 - 25 mph!) was initiated on
Indiana roads in 1921.

An average of 400 funnel clouds are sighted each year in
Indiana.

The city of Gary , Indiana , was built on fill brought from the
bottom of Lake Michigan through suction pipes.

There are only two Adams fireplaces in the United States .
One is in the White House and the other in the Diner Home
in Indiana .

Josie Orr, wife of former Indiana Governor Robert Orr, flew
bombers and cargo planes during World War II.

The Indianapolis Methodist Hospital is the largest Hospital
in the Midwest .

One of the first complete bathrooms in Indianapolis was in
the home of Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley.

The career of Dorothy Lamour (famous for the Bing Crosby-
Bob Hope Road Movies) was launched in Indianapolis .

Aviatrix Amelia Earhart was once a Professor at Purdue
University .

Crown Hill Cemetery ( Indianapolis ) is the largest cemetery
in the U.S.

The library in Fort Wayne , Allen County , Indiana houses
one of the largest genealogy libraries in America .

Wabash, Indiana was the first electrified city in the U.S.

Pendleton, Indiana was the site of the first hanging of a
white man for killing Indians.

The Courthouse roof in Greensburg , Indiana has a tree
growing from it.

The world's first transistor radio was made in Indianapolis .

Clark Gable and wife Carole Lombard (born in Fort Wayne ,
IN) honeymooned at Lake Barbee near Warsaw , Indiana .

The American Beauty Rose was developed at Richmond ,
Indiana .

Elkhart, Indiana is the band instrument capitol of the World.

Frank Sinatra first sang with the Tommy Dorsey band at the
Lyric Theater in Indianapolis .

Purdue Alumnus, Earl Butz, served as the Secretary of
Agriculture.

U.S. 231 is the longest highway in Indiana (231miles).

Johnny Appleseed is buried at Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The singing McGuire Sisters spent their childhood summers
at the Church of God Campground in Anderson , Indiana .

The main station of the Underground Railroad was in
Fountain County, Indiana.

There are 154 acres of sculpture gardens and trails at the
Indianapolis Museum of Art.

La Porte County is the only county in America having 2
functioning courthouses. (I think we can add Vanderburgh
and Elkhart Counties in with that also.)

Nancy Hanks Lincoln is buried in Posey County, Indiana.

Crawfordsville, Indiana ( Montgomery County ) is the only
site in the world where crinoids are found. (What is a crinoid,
you ask? A form of deep-water marine life that looks
something like a starfish.)

Now, dag nab it, I was in Crawfordsfille working just last week! Could I have gone to see some crinoids, I wonder???
Pendleton, Indiana was the site of the 'Fall Creek Massacre'.
A museum housing 3500 artifacts of pioneer heritage now
exists on that site.

St. Meinrad Archabbey is located in Spencer County and is
one of only 2 archabbeys in the U.S. and seven in the world.
(Abbey Press is an operation of the archabbey.)

A Buzz Bomb (German - WWII), believed to be the only one
on public display in the nation, can be found on the Putnam
County Courthouse lawn in Greencastle.

Roberta Turpin Willett was born in Indiana .

Red Skelton was born in Vincennes , Indiana .

May West and Claude Akins were from Bedford , Indiana .

The inventor of the television, Philo T Farnsworth, lived in
Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Forrest Tucker was from Pendleton , Indiana .

You can't ship wine to Indiana . (So how does it get here?)

Bob Greise is from Evansville, Indiana and was quarterback at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN

Toni Tenille (of The Captain and Tenille) is from Indiana .

Oprah Winfrey built her residence in N/W Indiana .

Florence Henderson is from Indiana .

John Mellancamp is a Hoosier and resides in Bloomington .

The much sought-after Hoosier Cabinets are an Indiana
product.

90% of the world's popcorn is grown in Indiana .

The Jackson Five are from Gary , Indiana .

The birthplace of the automobile, the pneumatic rubber tire,
the aluminum casting process, stainless steel and the first
push-button car radio was in Kokomo , Indiana .

Pretty neat, huh? And you thought there was only corn in
Indiana.

Design Decisions, Decisions

Well, I am overdue to take down my First Communion Specials and start thinking about Advent and Christmas designs.

I have made up an Advent themed Rosary which is ready to be photographed and put up. It is done in Swarovski crystals, mostly "purple velvet" with one decade of light rose for the Third Sunday. Sort of an Advent wreath theme.

Its hard to believe that it is time to think about this already.

My Latest Rosary up at Ave Maria

This is one of my very favorite Rosaries, and I especially love that I found these terrific beads to use. The Ave beads are 6mm vintage Swarovski hobnails with a beautiful AB coating on one side of the bead. (See how some of the rounds appear to have AB and others do not, in the photo--this is owing to the one sided coating). This crystal is totally opaque, like fine milk glass. The Our Father beads are also this same lovely old milk glass crystal, but they are older--really more like very vintage, or antique, and the AB is on all the faceted surfaces.
Really fantastic!

I love the purity of the white for First Communion, plus the shape of the Ave beads hints at the Eucharist, and the AB, especially on the Our Father beads seems to me to be sort of Eastery, which is the heart of First Communion "season".

I used a gold filled Crucifix and a vintage reproduction goldplate over Sterling Silver center. The center is especially nice for a Communion theme, as it depicts two adoring angels flanking the chalice and Host. The little medal you see in the photo is a tiny Miraculous Medal.

Although this was designed as a Communion Rosary, I think it works well for any special occasion gift for a young lady--or a woman for that matter, as the 6 and 8mm beads make it not too small for adult hands.

Rosary Website Back Up Again

Well, I have (or rather my friend who has done all the work has) my rosary website up and actually functioning. I am thinking of some posts about design work that I am doing; or perhaps the angstiness of learning how to use a digital camera. I am so intinidated by the thing, it isn't funny.

Anyhow, please check out my site here. I don't have much up in the way of my own stuff yet--confer hand-wringing remarks re the digital camera--but I am tackling that in the next couple of days.

The Part of Me That Nobody Sees

And here I am, exposing it on the internet? The scary thing is, this test gave a result that is all too true.

The Part of You That No One Sees

You are balanced, peaceful, and sincere. You're the type of person who goes along to get along. And you're definitely afraid of rocking the boat. Underneath it all, you fear your world falling apart. You'll put up with a situation that you don't like in fear of changing it. Disruptive and forceful people intimidate you - and sometimes exploit you.

What's the Part of You That No One Sees?

What Kind of Soul Am I?

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can. War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace. You are a good mediator and a true negotiator. Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy. While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental. You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take. On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit. You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Latin Mass Poll

Vote Here!

Thanks to Father Z at What Does The Prayer Really Say? .

Almost Holy Week

Apparently I have almost given up Blogging for Lent. I wish that I could say I have made a "Good Lent", but I don't know.

My daughter and I resolved that we would be more loving and less argumentative with each other this Lent, but in my judgement, that has been a miserable failure--and mostly owing to me, I might add. Sara has her own set of issues, as do we all, but she is less responsible for our constant bickering simply because she is less adult, and some of her struggles to be civil to me have to do with her condition (she is a fairly high function person who does have Pervasive Developmental Disability), so she may be expected to sometimes view me as the enemy, etc...
just like most adolescent daughters do.

I, however, have no excuse. Every day I tell myself that I will remain patient and loving. Every day I pray for the grace to be faithful to this resolution. Almost every day I fall down, at some time. Its pretty well beyond humbling, let me tell you.

And yet I still want this to be the Lent where I can look back and say. "From that time on, she left everything and followed the Lord."

Since the Lord always leads to Calvary before Easter, this is hard. Harder than hard, it is impossible for me unless He carries me. I know He is, because I would be just a disintigrated pile of goo were He not, but I am at a "seeing only one set of footprints" stage.

If anyone reads this, please pray for me.

Really? No Kidding!

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Neo orthodox 86% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Fundamentalist 50% Emergent/Postmodern 46% Classical Liberal 39% Reformed Evangelical 36% Charismatic/Pentecostal 29% Modern Liberal 11% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com