Still Got Zucchini???

The more zucchini people have, the more ways they try disguising it, pretending it is something else, something really good for you, and the more they try the more others recognize it for what it is....

Crunchy Vegetable Relish
DELICIOUS!!!
2 medium carrots (1 cup) coarsely shredded
1 Medium Zucchini, (1 cup) finely chopped
(Depending on where you live there could be a big
difference in what you consider a medium zucchini.)
2 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red onion
1/2 cup balsamic or cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground dry mustard

1 (11-oz.) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 2 days.
Serve relish with slotted spoon, great with grilled poultry, pork, smoked sausage or beef.

Owyhee Reservoir

Here is where most of us get our irrigation water. This is just a small area of the reservoir, it's headwaters are near Donner Pass in Nevada. I was speaking a bit about this in the comments a couple of posts down.
In the photo are my sons...left to right Justin, Kade and 'adopted' son Kyle. We took an early spring drive in the mountains on motorcycles and 4-wheelers. It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air.
now, we have to worry about it being so dry. See the grass in the photo? It had a bit of green to it then, now it is the color of straw and it would ignite with the heat of an exhaust pipe so we wait until it cools down again to go riding much.

Unworthy

Our Lady of Tears Church, Silver City, Idaho

I will speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Genesis 18:27

If I think anything better of myself, behold you stand against me and my sins bear witness to the truth, and I cannot contradict it.
But if I humble myself and (as I really am) account myself to be mere dust, your grace will be favorable to me and your light will draw nigh to my heart; and all self-esteem, however so small, will be sunk in the depth of my own nothingness and there lose itself forever.
It is there you show me to myself, what I am, what I have been and what I am to come to; for I am nothing and knew it not. Psalm 72:22
If I am left to myself, behold I am nothing and all weakness; but if you should graciously look upon me, I presently become strong and am filled with a new joy.
And it is wonderful that I am so quickly raised up and so graciously embraced by you; I , who by my own weight am always sinking to the bottom.

It is your love that effects this, freely guiding me and assisting me in so many necessities, preserving me also from grievous dangers, and as I may truly say, delivering me from innumerable evils.
For by an evil loving of myself I lost myself, and by seeking you alone and purely loving you I found both myself and you, and by this love have more profoundly annihilated myself.
Because you, O most sweet Lord, are bountiful to me above all desert and above all I dare hope or ask for.
Blessed be you, O my God, for though I am unworthy of all good, yet your generosity and infinite goodness never ceases to do good, even to those who are ungrateful and that are turned away from you.
Oh, convert us to you, that we may be thankful, humble, and devout; for you are our salvation, our power and our strength. Psalm 111:8 Book iii chapter 8 of My Imitation of Christ

Lord, I humbly ask you to guide me through this day, to make of me what you will, and to remind me how small I truly am.

Stage Coach

Another day of no pictures, but I have to tell you about this and post the photo when it will finally work. My mother recently took a drive to Lake Lowell, Idaho and came across the home of a Ferrier. He obviously has shoed a lot of horses as he now takes all his old horseshoes and makes beautiful sculptures with them. His latest masterpiece is a stage coach, it has 6 horses pulling it and in his front yard he has a mare and foal. I will see if I can get a photo of the mare and foal as well.
I think anyone with this kind of talent is amazing.

Excuses, Excuses...

Sorry folks, blogger has decided not to upload photos again. I had a great one to share with you today too!
Also, I just wanted to let you know what's going on in my home, another photo, but again, I couldn't. I can only say that what was once carpeted is now UN-carpeted. My living room, I have found out, has a wonderful wood floor under the ugly carpet! SO I am going to spend some spare moments the next 2 weeks pulling out staples and filling holes and refinishing it! Wish me the best of luck and I will get photos online as soon as possible!

Feeling Restless?

I could not pass this one up...I've been reading again :0)
From: The Imitation of Mary by Alexander De Rouville
Originally published anonymously in 1768

In all circumstances the Lord can be served.

Mary:
My Child, why do you complain about your state in a situation? You say that in them you cannot serve the Lord as you ought? But heaven is filled with saints who became saints in circumstances like yours.
I found God in Egypt, to which I had to move, just as I had found Him in Judea, and I managed to serve Him as before.
If we can preserve the grace and friendship of God in a situation, then we ought to be content with it.
I found it very hard to leave Israel, as did my husband Joseph, but we felt no regret.
Again, when we were summoned back to our home, the only pleasure we felt was at doing the Lord's will, for that was at all times our only law.
My child, if you seek to do the heavenly Father's will and not your own and are content with the state in which He has placed you, you will desire nothing else.
God has blessed the way each person must travel toward sanctity, and you would err if you thought you could find holiness by choosing some other way.
No one can be holy without the help of grace. Now, God grants His grace to each person according as it is needed for the kind of life to which He calls him and the duties for which He destines him.
One who has withdrawn into solitude should not be saddened at having left the world behind, and one whose duty places him in the world should not say he cannot be saved there. The safest state for each is the one in which God has placed him.
Whatever be the situation in which we find ourselves, our salvation depends on fidelity to grace.
John the Baptist found holiness on the banks of the Jordan, where God wanted him to stay. He did not seek to go elsewhere.
The kind of life led by the Apostles who accompanied Jesus and received His teaching did not seem to them any less suitable than John's for reaching holiness.
No, your state is not of itself a barrier to holiness. For it is not the place nor the occupation that sanctifies a man; it is the man who must sanctify the place and the occupataion.
We often turn our thoughts to some state other than the one in which we are. The reason, however, is not love of goodness but our restlessness.
What gain would you have in changing? Would you be a better person? No: in changing you situation or contition, you might cange your mood, but not your character.
Wherever we go, our defects follow us. My child, what you must change is not your state or your duties but yourself.
Sanctify what you do in your present state by referring it all to God, and you will not have cause to complain that your duties are a source of distraction.
The many tasks required by the administration of a great kingdom did not prevent David from praying and from singing the Lord's praises seven times each day.
Numerous occupations did not prevent the saints from becoming saints; instead, they sanctified their occupations.
Holiness does not consist in serving God where and as you would like, but where and as He wishes.
You will glorify God more on a bed of pain if it be His will that you lie there, than if you were to wear yourself out with hard work in an effort to win souls to Him.

Double -Decker Outhouse

Rachel had posted outhouses on her website sliding through life. I took this photo in Silver City Idaho a few years ago. The snow gets pretty high there in the winter so they've made it possible to still reach the outhouse even in deep snow. I thought it was cute because they've put a double-decker birdhouse on it too.

Reader's Digest

My Aunt Peggy sent me home with an orange box of Reader's Digest condensed books a few weeks ago. I haven't read much of them but I am reading the Reader's Digest 30th anniversary reader, 1922-1952.
In it are so many things I would like to share but I just don't have the time to. I will occasionally post some small tidbits from it.
Here is one that I thought you might enjoy:

Through a Child's Eyes
A little scotch girl made a list of "my Twelve Loveliest Things, People not counted.
They were:
1. The scrunch of dry leaves as you walk through them
2. The feel of clean clothes
3. Water running into bath
4. The cold of ice cream
5. Cool wind on a hot day
6. Climbing up and looking back
7. Honey in your mouth
8. Smell of a drugstore
9. Hot-water bottle in bed
10. Babies smiling
11. The feeling inside when you sing
12. Baby kittens

How to fold a shirt

My friend over at Catholic-Pushing-sixty posted a way to fold a t-shirt that makes me blush with shame for all the years I've struggled with the crazy things. I couldn't help but post this here as well because it'll take so much less struggle for all those young men out there who one day will be on their own and or will be helping their own wives with the laundry. (It's a new day men, get over it!) I hope you find this as big a help as I did!

Stress-free shirt folding

The Mister and I

This photo was taken on one of our camping excursions last year I'm mussed up and sweaty in it, but you get the idea. I just thought I should share who is doing the writing on this end. Now, could a few of you give me links to who is doing the writing on that end? Thanks!

Storms

Well, I am sort of recovering from the storms this week. I guess we have been fortunate compared to some. The night before last, we had what the meteorologists call microbursts, I call them mini tornadoes.
We had so many of them around the area that it was frightening. It started several fires in the mountains and I can walk out the door in which I would normally see the valley on one side and the mountains to the right of that, and all I see is a wall of smoke. It's thick and smells like sagebrush.
We lost the top out of 2 of our trees, it cut a huge swath in our elm in the shape of a U and now we have broken branches caught in the branches of the tops of the tree. We have hauled 7 large railroad tie sized branches away already with loads of little twigs as well. The wind is blowing again tonight and there are more branches falling out of the tree that were broken off the other night.

People around us lost more important things than the tops of their trees.

Our neighbor came back from his field to state that his wheel line had been wrapped up and broken in 3 places with one part of it now swimming in the irrigation canal.
I have driven around the neighborhood, and aside from the fire it started in the nearby heights, many people have lost crops such as downed hay fields that look like a giant finger stirred the rows of freshly mowed hay into swirly designs, to cut dry-bean fields that lifted the cut bean plants and deposited them in a lump in the middle of the field.
One neighbor reported that it took the downed hay and rolled it into a giant ball something like a large beach ball.
My mother in-law called to report a sherrif's car with flashing lights blocking traffic from her rural road, she went to see what was going on and the officer said that the wind had picked up a shed and while it deposited it and its contents in the middle of the road safe and sound, the worst was that it snapped the power lines on its way and they were popping around on the ground as they spoke.
The worst of the damage, I believe was near a town about 15 miles from here.
Now, if you've never seen a hop field before this probably won't make sense so I will try to explain a little.
Hops grow on a vine, so in the springtime, there are crews that go out into these large fields and plant poles the size of power lines in the ground every 5 feet or so. Then, they tie all these poles to one another so that they are all connected at the top. This is very important as it keeps the poles steady as the hop vine grows upward and also gives the vine somewhere to go when it reaches the top of it's line.
Next, they plant the hop plant a few feet away from the pole and another crew comes through and places a lead-line right next to the hop and ties it off at the top of the pole. This is what the hop plant will grow upward on, much like a morning glory or a bean plant.
So, you have this giant field FULL of poles and a forest of hop plants.
The wind came up so hard and so strong that it leveled everything in 80 acres, including these hop poles and plants. SO SAD!
There were also people who were harvesting alfalfa seed and when the wind was over, instead of dry plants full of the seed, they had only stems.
It's hard on the farmer when their crops are lost due to natural disaster. It's even harder on them when the economy is the way it is. Diesel is outrageous when you consider all the field work they do is done with diesel tractors, and to have your crop ruined by a storm only adds to the million and one stresses that are upon the American farmer today.
Now, in the Boise valley, there are few farms left...most of them have been bought out by contractors that are ready to build or have already built homes. From one end of the valley to the other there will soon be no farms as the farmer is selling their now very expensive ground to contractors instead of fighting the economy, the free trade agreement and to top it all off, nature. There have been too many droughts, too many storms, too little rain, and too much pressure from the economy for the American farmer to do very well. A few will hang on, I am sure, but most will give way to industrial farming or perhaps their land will grow into another city.
Please, the next time you are in a grocery store, take a minute to look and see just how much is grown here in the USA and remember to pray for the American farmer.

Just a reminder

To all of us busy people out there:

Have you read your GOOD BOOK lately? Have a peaceful day and may God bless you!

More on Words

(Son) take it not to heart if some people think ill of you,
and say of you what you are not willing to hear.

You ought to be the hardest judge of yourself
and think no man weaker than yourself.

If you walk interiorly (Spiritually) you will make small
account of flying words.

It is no small prudence to be silent in the evil time,
and to turn within to me,
and not be disturbed with the judgement of men.

Let not your peace be in the tongues of men,
for whether they judge well of you or ill,
you are not on that account other than yourself.

Where is true peace
and true glory?
Is it not in Me?

And he who seeks not to please men,
nor fears their displeasure,
shall enjoy much peace. Col. 3:22

All disquiet of the heart
and distraction of the senses
arise from inordinate love and vain fear.

Imitation of Christ
Book 3 Chapter 6

30 Days of Nothing

I have found a new friend. I don't know whether she knows it yet or not or whether she will in turn want my friendship but I absolutely love her blog and she has a request for all of us that I find to be something my heart desires. Please join me, if your feel the need to do so, as I begin 30 Days of Nothing. I wonder how my family will feel about this? I am going to discuss it with them tonight. I will keep you updated on it tomorrow. In the meantime, check out this post on 30 Days of Nothing

Heavenly Wisdom

Confirm me, O God, by the grace of your Holy Spirit.
Give me power to be strengthened in the inward man
and to cast out of my heart
all unprofitable care and trouble;
let me not be drawn away with various desires of anything whatsoever,
whether it be of little or great value;
but teach me to look upon all things as passing away
and myself as passing along with them.

For nothing is lasting under the sun,
where all is vanity and affliction of spirit. (eccles. 11:11)
Oh how wise is he who considers things in this manner!

Give me, O Lord,
heavenly wisdom that I may learn above all things
to seek you and to find you;
above all things to relish you
and to love you,
and to understand all other things as they are,
according to the order of your wisdom.

Grant that I may prudently avoid him that flatters me
and patiently bear with him that cotradicts me.

For it is great wisdom not to be moved
with every wind of words,
nor to give ear to the wicked,
flattering sirens;
for thus shall we go on
securely in the way we have begun.

My imitation of Christ
Book III Chapter 27
(link is to a free download)

Western Phrasing

"He's just spittin' out words to see where they splatter."
~John Wayne in "The Comancheros"~

My husband is watching this movie tonight.
When I heard this phrase,
it stuck to me like old gum under a church pew. (my own phrase)
I thought it was rather witty.
I can just imagine words splattering across the room,
sticking to people's chests and faces,
a few of them dripping off their chins like water.

It's a phrase that ranks right up there
with my first land-lady's phrase
when I put new curtains over the window in our back door.
"Those are purtier than a speckled pup!" She chimed happily.
We were renting from a local cattle rancher...
in actual truth, speckled pups ARE 'purty' to them.

I've been waiting for years to use her phrase,
but it just never seems to be the right time.
Oh, I've thought about using it in front of my inlaws
a time or two, especially since they think I'm a hillbilly anyhow.
It seems I just never have the nerve.
Heh, heh...
I do go barefoot in the yard as often as possible in front of them though.
That blows them away!

I really do I love the west!
True western language is so picturesque!

The Blowout

Yesterday afternoon, after cleaning 2 houses I came home and picked up the boys and we headed out to clean our thrid place of the day and to buy some groceries. I had complained earlier in the day about a shimmy in the vehicle that I had not noticed before. Here, let me explain...the whole thing went something like this:

Dad: What's the matter, Mom?

Mom: I don't know, there is something wrong with the jeep. It seems to shimmy a bit when I go down the road.

(We check tires)

Dad: Well, I think there is either a tire that is unbalanced or it is out of alignment. I don't think it's anything to worry about.

Mom: Ok, so I'll have to take it in and get it looked at one of these days.

Dad: Yeah, that would be a good idea.

End of conversation #1

As we are leaving the local dollar store, ( Somehow 5 and dime seemed to resonate on the tongue better than dollar store) I ask the boys to stay out of the vehicle as I pull out of the parking lot to look at the tires as I leave. Upon return to the vehicle this is the conversation:

Boys: Well......

Mom: Did you see anything?

Boys: No, we didn't see a thing.

Mom: Ok, so you think it's all right to continue on to work?

Boys: Yeah, we don't know what it is but it doesn't show on the tires. Maybe it's a shock.???

Mom: Ok, so we will have it looked at another day.

Boys: Yeah, we think that would be a good idea.


So on we drive....10 miles down the road the vehicle is still shimmy-ing and we are talking when all of a sudden:

Jeep: sssshhhhhwwwoooopppppp ***BANG***

Mom: AAAAHHHH!!!!!! *Slam on brakes, you don't know what it is*

Jeep: SCCRRREEEEECH!!!!!!

Boys: AAAAHHH!!!!!

*Silence*

Mom: Ok, get out and see if it's the rear end laying on the road back there and I'll try to pull off the road. (Obviously at this point I didn't know my tire had blown.)

The boys got out and reported:

Boys: The tire blew mom! Pull it off the road and we will put the spare on!

Mom: ***SWEATING***

So then we pulled off the road and discovered that we didn't have a lug wrench and waited for someone to come from home to help when a very nice person stopped and helped us take it off, he himself had been running a swather not too long ago and felt a funny little jolt and looked to the left to see the tire roll past the front of the machine. ;-) I guess it can happen to even the best of us!

All is well that ends well and it seems that we have made a new friend to boot!

a butterfly bush for Gabrielle

Mine are rather worn by the kittens but you get the idea! ;-)

Rainstorm in the Mountains

Raindrops on Grand Ronde Lake.

On Thursday of last week, we were just sort of lazing around, (I don't know if lazing is a word but it fits!) I had made some sandwiches and we were going to go to the next lake over to eat them but were in no hurry. You have to remember that these are glacial lakes because we are nearly 8,000 feet above sea level so they are not very big. In fact, most people would call these lakes ponds, but they are deep and clear and beautiful...not that ponds can't be beautiful, just that these are EXTRA beatiful because of where they are. Well anyhow, we were still resting up and taking in the scenery and feeding the chipmunks dogfood and so on when we decided to go inside and read a bit before leaving for our lunch. I had been reading from the Bible as Steve lay down to rest. I don't even remember at this moment what I was reading because I was reading stories of Jesus in one of the Gospels when I happened to look out. The photo in the post below is of the beginning of something big...the clouds were rolling in!
We decided to go ahead and eat at the next nearest lake, the Grand Ronde, and then hurry back to camp. When we got there, we sat down and I snapped a few photos as the thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled off in the distance. We ate rather leisurely and watched the storm roll in. There are lily pads on this lake and when the rain begain it sounded like one of those cactus rain sticks you can buy that is filled with some sort of beads and when you turn it upside down it rattles through the hollow areas inside the barrel of the cactus. It was a beautiful scene with the fishermen on the lake.
Well, we enjoyed this for about 30 or 40 minutes and then it began to pour! From 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. it rained HARD! Kade had brought a great deal of DVDs to watch so we went in the camper (thank you God for our little camper!) and made hot apple cider and watched the rain and a movie.
Once, the tent tried to float away and the boys had to go make little ditches around it to draw the water away. It was OK even though the tent flap zipper had quit working and so we pinned the door shut with clothespins that somehow I seemed to pack. (Another blessing) And so the day went. It was so wet when the storm was over we didn't even try building a camp fire but spent the evening again in the camper.
It was beautiful watching the clouds float low and block out the mountain that you saw in my first post and also watching the sheets of rain come over the area also blocking out the background of trees and mountains.
I don't believe I have ever smelled such clean, fresh air. It was not hard to think that God had given us such a day so that we would rest a bit more.
On Friday morning, we built our first campfire and it was very smoky because of it being so damp.

The Ride

Life on earth is so very short
And I wonder when it's through,
Will I know with all my heart,
That I did all that I could do?

Did I love with all my heart,
Those who are held in my life so dear?
Or did I take for granted,
The fact that they were near?

Did I forgive the outbursts,
Of frustrations that come and go?
Or did I hold within myheart,
resentment I won't let go?

Dear Lord,
Help me each and every day to see,
Life will be gone in the blink of an eye.
And the joy that is in it, is up to me.

Help me to heal the wounds
of life's hard tests
And to say "I love you"
Before another second rests.

Remind me to look to you,
My ever faithful guide.
As you take me upon this little journey,
This gift you give, of Life's short ride.

A blessing from my front door

A morning photo taken for you from my front door.

Blessing in the Morning

Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the universe, for sending us a new day. Help us to make it a holy day by seeking to do Your Will in all things, accepting whatever crosses come our way.

May it be a day of growth for us into the likeness of Christ, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and with the aid of Mary who was always a most obedient servant to You.
Prayer #1378 From the New St. Joseph's People's Prayer Book

The view from our camper

First of all, yes, I know that the date is wrong on the photos...either that or I am a time traveler. ;-) I have fixed that problem but the whole trip remains in 2007.

My husband, Steve and son Kade headed out ahead of Justin and I and we arrived around 2 hours later to the camp than Steve and Kade as we had some things to pick up at stores like ice and bread. It was a good trade off though, because as we came into the campground we could see that they had already put up the tent and had most of everything set out. Kade was not feeling well as he and his father had been eating a bag of chips on the trip up and had decided they needed something a bit more healthy so opted for oranges. Between the salty chips lodged in his wisdom toothless holes and the acid from the orange, he was feeling quite bad by the time I got there. Justin helped me finish setting up the camp and we relaxed the rest of the evening.
I cooked some boneless beef ribs that I had soaked in my home-made sauce for 2 days and we made the meat into sandwiches because the marinade makes it fall apart so easily.

We did not even build a campfire that night as we were all not feeling well from both getting ready to go and from the mental and physical exhaustions of life in general. We went to bed early and my husband and I talked quite some time. He said that he had talked to a couple camping nearby and he had said that there had been a large rainstorm on Tuesday night (we got there on Wednesday afternoon) with large hail in it and it had turned the whole mountain white. Most, if not all of the campers in tents had left the next morning and we had a lot of the campground to ourselves. Even if the campground is full it does not seem to be bad because there are enough trees and large granite rocks between the camps that you hardly notice they are there until perhaps they decide to throw a party at 1 a.m.

We took our 3 dogs, Chuck the Chijuajua, Peppy the 1/2 black lab and Rosie the heinz 57. Peppy is Kade's dog and slept with him the first 2 nights. The second night it had rained and he came in early in the morning on the 3rd day when my husband had gotten up (around 6 a.m.) Shivering and moaning and shaking from head-to-toe. I, of course took immediate pity on him and held him in a blanket until he warmed up. The next 3 nights he was my buddy!

The feeling of peace that exhudes from that mountain is absolutely amazing. There are so many people up there with so many different backgrounds and so many thoughts and ideas, but yet it does not disturb the feeling of peace that comes over a person when they step out at nearly 8,000 feet, smell the fresh air and hear the welcome song of the wildlife that lives there. For the state of Oregon, Anthony Lake is truly a gift from God.
I will write another post about the rest of our trip because there are so many things to tell. I still have to tell you about the rainstorm and the sound of the rain on the lily pads and so much more!

Brother Lesser

I have to say "Thank You" to this wonderful blog and the man behind it. I have enjoyed reading the messages there so very much. They are always full of guidance and hope. It makes a wonderful way to walk away and begin the day with the meditations that he brings to us. Thank you, Brother Lesser, for all your knowledge, hope, guidance and love.
Brother Lesser's blog

P.S.
I would have commented to your posts today but for some reason I was unable to.

Prayer of Trust

Photo taken at Oregon Coast May, 2006

MY God, Let me know and love you, so that I may find my happiness in you.

Since I cannot fully achieve this on earth, help me to improve daily until I may do so to the full.

Enable me to know you evermore on earth, so that I may know you perfectly in heaven.

Enable me to love you evermore on earth, so that I may love you perfectly in heaven.

O God of truth, grant me the happiness of heaven so that my joy may be full in accord with Your promise.

In the meantime, let my mind dwell on that happiness, my toungue speak of it, my heart pine for it, my mouth pronounce it, my soul hunger for it, my flesh thrist for it, and my entire being desire it,

until I enter through death into the joy of my Lord forever.

Saint Augustine

Home is where the heart is...

I have to say that this is where my heart is.
Here is where God and I do our talking best.
The first thing that entered my mind when I got out of the vehicle was "SILENCE!" but then, I realized that it was not silent. It is SACRED NOISE. There were the sounds of chipmunks and little song birds, children passing by with their thoughts on fishing or hiking or coming back to camp to build a fire and eat, camp robbers passed by once in a while looking to nab a tidbit off the picnic tables and the butterflies floated along happily. There was the whisper of the wind in the tops of the pines which spoke the words, "Here I am, come and see."

I found myself once more...I found myself with these mountains and the call that comes from there. The first time I was there, I knew it was a place that was sacred to me...a place where God and I could talk. A place where I left the world behind and concentrated on nothing but the earth and the life that springs from it. Oh, don't get me wrong, I was busy while there...perhaps too busy at times for my liking, but God talked. He talked about what he gave me here in this place, what I would take home with me and how He hoped I would never forget that He was always more like this place than He is in places of confusion and destruction. It's the heart and soul where He lives, it's the heart and soul that He forms into what He needs for us to do what He asks. I pray that I will always remember that no matter where I am, my heart resides with Him on this mountain. Of course, I mean it both figuratively and literally.
I learned that I could live without television in my home. Oh, perhaps I could occasionally turn it on for a movie or something, but I could live very happily without it in my life...in fact, I could and think I will...it seems to take away my peace of mind.
I learned that I cannot live without teachers. I am not a good follower when it comes to doing things in this world, every ounce of me rebels when someone tells me that I HAVE to do this or that...but yet, I need a teacher. Well, I have found that teacher too. This teacher had much of the same thoughts that I do and the same regrets as well. This teacher would gladly walk away from the world to live with Christ. This teacher is St. Augustine.
I have read many of his prayers and bits of his writing on this vacation. He and I are much alike in our thoughts only he seems to be able to teach me how to voice those thoughts that I cannot explain.
Is it good to be home? Yes! As long as it is with Him... I am not at home here, in this valley...only on that mountain, listening to God do I seem to be home. I want to go back again, as soon as I can. I want to find myself once more until I am as clear as the mountain water.


The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake...

Blessed Titus Brandsma

When I grow tired and weary with a day's work, I think of how fortunate I am to be able to go to work and to become tired as well. Blessed Titus reminds me of how much we could be asked to sacrifice if God deems it necessary for His heavenly purposes. I will meditate on his life while I am gone this week. Please have look at this website about Blessed Titus. We who are so fortunate to not have been asked to give our lives sometimes feel so unfortunate when there is no reason to be. I pray that I may learn much from this man.

The heat getting to you?

Well, the email said that THIS website would make a person feel better because it'd help us beat the heat. I am not sure it did that for me, but I will leave it up to you to decide for yourselves. I think it simply instilled sheer panic in me!

HELP!

I'm not sure whether it's me or the internet but I can't seem to post anything that I write. Things just eventually lock up so I am writing this (with no problem, I might add) while I can because the last 2 posts have locked up and I haven't been able to post them for whatever reason it is...perhaps it's just blogger.

I wanted to say that we went to the east-west shrine game in Baker Oregon and rooted for both sides. My nephew was on the west coast Oregon side and a friend on the east side that played from our local school. The boys had t-shirts made up that had the east side on the back and the west side on the front. It was fun because nomatter who won, we rooted for the winning team!
The Shriners are a silly bunch, they remind me of the lodge on the Flintstones. I don't think I have ever seen so many old men running around in funny hats and go-carts and bathtubs in my life! They do a lot of good for children though, giving ALL the proceeds to the Shrine Hospital and helping children with everything from cancer and burns to circulation and small things even like hammer toes. It's good to see that silliness has a reason in life.
There was one group that even dressed like Arabians...for whatever reason. I will post photos when blogger will let me.

Everything is running great online now...I don't know why, but it is! Perhaps momentarily?

I have to say that this post, To Sleep: Perchance to dream from FMN was VERY interesting and I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you FMN! It makes one think much on how close we really are to those that have gone on to a better life and are asking us to make our own lives holy so we too can go to a better life at the fulfillment of our time. I could ponder this for quite a few days...perhaps the rest of my life!

Forgive Me, Please!

Photo near Cottonwood, Idaho by my husband.


Well, all I have to say is I hope you all have a GREAT BIG HEART for forgiveness. It seems that I have not been too up on myself and my blog of late and I turned the comments off. They are now back on and I am trying to get all of them answered. (Another thing I did not know that I was doing was moderating all posts and I was not looking!)Ok, now I feel better about things and again, my apologies.I am going to be gone next Wednesday through Sunday camping and am going to take some photos and post them so that people can see my most favorite place on earth. (I really mean this too) Maybe God and I will have another heart-to-heart to post as well. LOLGod bless you all and have a wonderful weekend!Desert Dreamer

Bishop Vasa

Our Bishop of Baker Diocese is such a wonderful writer. He sends out an email every week to people who subscribe. I completely enjoyed his latest as he is vacationing at a town in the middle of nowhere. It's a wonderful place to visit, but there is not much there but open space and a few antelope. Here is his email. Thank you Bishop Vasa.

SOMETIMES IT TAKES FRESH EYES TO RECOGNIZE HIS PRESENCE

was reminded this week of something foundational to the life and mission of the Church. The concept is so basic and so much a part of the warp and fiber of the Catholic Church that it hardly bears repeating and yet I think it is important for us to reflect upon it and thereby hopefully better appreciate it. I refer simply to the Church's appreciation for the value of signs. God, Christ, His Church does not treat us as disembodied spirits but rather as concrete human persons with physical bodies, immortal souls, thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is shown throughout salvation history, but it is shown most dramatically in the fact that in the fullness of time God sent His only-begotten Son in the flesh to dwell among us. He sent not a pure spirit, not an illusion, not a word, but a Word made flesh. My reminder of this came in a very concrete way. God's grace is often enfleshed.A couple pulled up to the church in Jordan Valley, stopped and started taking pictures of the outside. They were taken by the distinctiveness and grandeur of this rural stone church. They did not come to Jordan Valley to see the church; they did not even know that it was a Catholic church. They were attracted and struck by the external appearance. That physical structure spoke to them of a hunger within. It spoke to them of God and of their need and desire for God. I told them the church was open and that they were welcome to go in and see. I went in with them. The man had been Catholic in his youth; he, his wife and their children identified themselves as Christian. I wondered if the woman had ever been in a Catholic church before. She just kept repeating, "How beautiful, how beautiful." Now I do like St. Bernard's in Jordan Valley, and it is a lovely church, but I have never had that strong of a reaction. Her newfound appreciation deepened my own. She commented on the stained-glass windows, the interior architecture, the crucifix, the statues, the stations and the "golden box." Each comment offered an opportunity for a brief explanation. Each comment reminded me of the need for appropriate and devotional external signs. Each comment reminded me that God chose the Incarnation for a reason. God's grace is often enfleshed.The summary and culmination of this couple's wonderful response was the comment of the husband, the former Catholic. He said, "You can feel the holiness of this place." Despite their lack of Catholic catechetical formation, they and the teenage children were beautifully respectful, even reverent. They had found a place of peace, and they instinctively knew that here was a place where God dwells among us. They did not dare to draw too close to the baptismal font; they did not venture up into the sanctuary or around the altar; they maintained a reverential distance from the statuary; and they did not approach anywhere near the tabernacle. There was a spontaneous and edifying deference to that which they perceived as having a connection with God. It was as if they understood that these things were really doorways to God and that such doorways were not to be taken lightly. Certainly one cannot underestimate the power of the Presence of Christ Himself in the Eucharistic Species in the tabernacle, but undoubtedly the external signs in the Church, grace incarnate, all joined in a unified chorus which proclaimed, "Here you are in the midst of the Holy." This family was not deaf to that chorus.I do not know what will become of the family passing through, but I strongly suspect that they will reflect long and hard about what they saw and experienced in our little church at Jordan Valley. St. Bernard's is not necessarily the most spectacular church in the diocese. Its windows do not rival those of the cathedral. The statuary represents Mary and Joseph. The crucifix is quite stunning, but the stations are very simple. Yet here these things all speak in a unified voice of holiness, reverence, peace. They speak of God incarnate. I am convinced that our travelers, perhaps pilgrims, will in some way continue to be haunted by the difference they found between what this simple Catholic church offers and what other denominations offer. It is an exceedingly bold claim to maintain that Jesus is really, truly, body, blood, soul and divinity Present in our Catholic Churches, but it is not an empty claim. Sometimes we need fresh eyes, ears and hearts to recognize the depth and reality of His Presence.Allowing the things which we encounter every day to become routinish, particularly the holy things of God, is a danger. I have been in Jordan Valley for two weeks, and I must confess that I have not yet gone to Jordan Craters or Three Forks or Leslie Gulch or the rim of the Owyhee Canyon, and that saddens me. It saddens me because it means I have lost something. It means I have lost a bit of the ability to see this country with the same eyes with which I first saw it. It means that my heart does not thrill in the same way today as it did a number of years ago. It means that I have fallen victim to a very secular quest for something new, something different, something innovative, something exciting, as opposed to appreciating ever more deeply that which I am only beginning to experience. I must admit that I was a bit envious of the family passing through, as I saw their hearts bubbling with enthusiasm for the holy place of God they had discovered. I found that I was energized by their enthusiasm. I also found that telling them of the natural beauty of southern Malheur County rekindled my own desire to see it again. Telling them about the significance of the "golden box" deepened my own resolve to reflect ever more deeply and passionately about and in the Presence of Him who is Incarnate, the Word made flesh who dwells among us.God does, indeed, speak to us through incarnational signs and in very concrete ways. Often, however, we are like travelers who see the sign to Three Forks or Jordan Craters or Leslie Gulch and think the detour is too long or too arduous and simply drive by. When we fail to recognize or respond to the signs, we deprive God of the opportunity to speak to our hearts. We fail to find, as if for the first time, that little stone church and we fail to speak the words of truth spoken by a pilgrim, "You can feel the holiness of this place."

Horse and fawn

We have things that happen like this here. I too know it happens everywhere but still, I find it hard to understand at times because the small and young things are part of the beauty of life. We have trouble with the coyotes and calves lots of years. We also have a sheep ranch nearby and some years they have to hire a hunter from the county to come in and rid themselves of the many coyotes that find young sheep easy bait. This is a wonderful photo and a great little story.
Fawn and Horse

self-worth

I remember when I was in highschool. A couple of good friends and myself would lie out in the yard on warm summer nights and look into the dark sky full of tiny points of light. It would make me feel so small and insignificant that I would reach out on both sides of me and grab the earth beneath my hands so I would not feel as if I were going to fall off the earth and tumble through space.
It seems that here too, I feel small and insignificant on these cold pages in cyberspace. I have come to realize that life would pretty much go on without me if I were to move on to another realm. I'm not really that important in the grand scheme of things, I am not what I would consider a good writer and I am not going to be any great peace maker or historical figure that is going to be remembered for their goodness and their ability to do so much with so little such as Mother Teresa is. I am not going to be a person that keeps myself in the public eye and be a trendsetter or a fashion model or a singer or an actress or any of the other things that people think of when you talk about someone being popular.
I am not going to be a person who preaches the good news to millions such as Billy Graham or John Paul II. I'm not going to do much of anything great at all.
So I sat down with God and had a heart-to-heart talk with Him.
It went something like this:

Me: "God?"

He: "Yes?"

Me: "Why am I here?"

He: *silence*

Me: "No, really...why am I here? I mean, I am not good for much and I can't do anything particularly well, is there some reason that you have me here?"

He: "Well now, isn't that a silly question? Of course there's a reason for you. "

Me: "I suppose...it just seems that I really don't understand what I should be doing, that's all."

He: "You mean, you haven't searched for me long enough to understand why I put you where I did, when I did and how I did?"

Me: "Well, I guess I haven't...at least I haven't searched long enough for it to make sense to me."

He: "Hmm...Isn't that interesting."

Me: "Well, I suppose it is...er...no, maybe... it isn't...is it?"

He: " Let me put it this way dear one, (He calls everyone 'dear one' by the way) you were made with a special purpose in mind. You may think you have nothing great to do but I have been thinking of you since the beginning of time."

Me: " You have? WHY?"

He: "Because I love you."

Me: " Yes, I have always thought you did. But that doesn't seem to answer what you want me to do here. I mean, why am I here? What have I got to offer that someone wouldn't be able to do better?"

He: "You have one great task on earth to accomplish. It may not be anything great in anyone's eyes but mine. In mine, it will be great to everyone who accomplishes it."

Me: "I'm sorry God, I just don't understand. I don't seem to be good at anything that people want me to be. I am just me and that's that."

He: "No need to apologize dear one."

Me: "Yes, there is...I don't understand, that is why I should apologize."

He: "Not many do, really...and not many search long enough to ask the question either. And on top of everything else, it doesn't matter what people want you to be, it only matters what I want you to be."

Me: "I think I understand. So God, would you please tell me what I am here for? What you want me to be?"

He: "Certainly, if you really desire it."

Me: "Yes Lord, I do desire it. I only want to please you, but to do so, I have to know how."

He: "All right dear one, I will tell you. Are you ready?"

Me: "Yes, I am. With all my heart I am ready."

He: " You are here to love."

Me: "To Love?"

He: "Yes, to love."

Me: "That's it?"

He: "What do you mean, 'That's it?' Do you know what is involved in really learning to love?"

Me: "Well, no...since you put it that way, I guess not."

He: "Well then, let's take it slow. Let's start with yourself."

Me: "WHAT?!?! Start by loving myself? That's crazy! What's to love?"

He: "I love you."

Me: "Yes, I know you do."

He: " Do you think I would love you if you were not worth loving?"

Me: "No, I guess not...maybe, I don't know."

He: "Boy, this is going to be a long night, isn't it?"

Me: "What do you mean?"

He: "Never mind, now back to this love thing...I love you, now you must learn to love yourself, THEN you can love others."

Me: " I love others more than myself most of the time, I think. I love my children and I love my husband and my parents and my brothers and friends. "

He: "Yes, but you need to love yourself so that you can give of yourself freely to them."

Me: " How do I do that, God?"

He: "By loving me because I am in you."

Me: " You make it sound so easy, that's really tough you know...I'm not that good of a person and I've done some really despicable things."

He: "Yes, you have."

Me: "I know I have, that's why it's not so easy!"

He: " Are you glad you've done those things?"

Me: "No, not at all! In fact, I'm sorry that I ever did those things and I hope that I never offend you again by doing those things."

He: "Well there you have it."

Me: "Have what?"

He: "Sooner or later you've got to get it, don't you? I was right in saying it was going to be a long night!"

Me: *pause*

He: *SIGH* "All right, let me put it this way...YOU ARE FORGIVEN. Forgiven because I see you love me and you know what? I LOVE YOU!"

Me: " I think I am beginning to understand a bit better now. Thank you for loving me that much and thank you for forgiving me."

He: "Now, forgive yourself so you can get on with my work."

Me: " So you mean you have work for me to do?"

He: *SIGH* "This one is a slow learner. Yes, I have work for you to do. Be patient with everyone, forgive when you think you can't forgive and love beyond the depths of your heart. FOLLOW ME."

Me: "Thank you God."

He: "You're welcome."

Me: "That's it?"

He: "Yes, that's pretty much all there is to it."

Me: "Okay."

He: "Work hard and make me proud!"

Me: "I will try."

He: "That is all I ask."

Me: "I'll be seeing you around, won't I?"

He: "Every time you look at anything I have created you will see a little bit of me, but especially in those you love."

Me: "Thank you for being there for me. I need you so much! I love you!"

He: "Thank you for needing me. It does my heart good to see my creation need me."

Me: "I will be back you know."

He: "Yes, I know that. You're good, but you're not that good!
Oh, and one more thing, remember that movie with that Bill Murray guy? The one where he's a hypochondriac?"

Me: "Yes, I know the movie."

He: "Well, you need to do what he did to recover."

Me: "You want me to try death therapy?!?!"

He: "Oh here we go again! NO! I want you to take baby steps, ok? It's a rough world out there, but the rewards are immense if you just hang on and take tiny steps in making it a better place, ok?"

Me: "Ok God, and thanks again."

He: "No problem, hang in there."

Me: "I'll try."

He: "Like I said before, that's all I ask."


And so, I go on in life knowing that I am worth something to Him. It takes a talk every once in a while, but He finally gets through my thick skull and something penetrates my being.
I'm glad He's always there for me....especially that He is so patient.
Life will go on and Love will remain.

One of my favorite places

You have to have Java to see this webcam but it is a cam of Halfway Oregon. It is a beautiful town set against foothills of the Eaglecap mountains. It is one of my most favorite places to go.
Hope you enjoy!