Avonlea Blues

Sigh. I fear that modern clothing has forever been spoiled for me.  My wardrobe seems dull and unattractive, and what is in the stores appears even worse, to my spoiled eyes.  I recently watched the "Anne of Green Gables" movies, and clothing will never appear the same again.
Do you realize that what we pass as "clothes" today, would look like indecent rags back then?  Oh, I love my jeans, I admit, and I would doubtless roast to death in what they used to wear all summer...but everything was so elegant and beautiful, and just plain smart!  Well, not everything - but the possibilities were there.  Nowadays, if you try to look like a lady, you tend to be horribly out of place!  And trying to find modest clothes that don't make you look 60?  Next to impossible!
 I suppose it's been the same in every age - that struggle between modesty and fashion.  It seems especially difficult today, when it isn't a bit of ankle that is showing - it is something else altogether.  I wonder if we are wrong now to show our ankles- I know it would have been wrong then, because it wasn't done.  Some say we become accustomed to styles, that what was immodest at one point, isn't at another.  Actually, this argument makes sense, because that is how it started with Adam and Eve.  It was their thoughts that made their lack of clothing immodest, and so it is today.  Unfortunately, modesty and purity are not valued today as they once were.  How far must we go to prevent impure thoughts in ourselves and others?  Do we need to go back to floor length skirts, long sleeves, and high collars?  Maybe eventually. For the record, the best sunblock is clothing.  My policy for modest clothing is fairly simple - short sleeves, necklines that don't go lower than a couple of inches below the collar bone, skirt or pants at least to the knee, and nothing too tight.  Some, I know, will disagree with me, but these are my policies.
I admit, my size probably has something to do with it my clothes shopping problems.  As Dianna Barry would say, I shall probably always be something of a dumpling - a fact that only really bothers me when I'm trying to find something decent to buy.  It also doesn't help that I HATE shopping when I actually have to find something.  If I'm just browsing for the fun of it, I'll find lots of things I love, and generally at magnificent prices.  But the moment I actually have a deadline and a list -- POOF!  The clothes and low prices disappear into the wind.  I suppose if I convinced myself that I don't NEED anything new, that it would just be nice, I might find something - but I still have to fight with today's fashions.
 
Maybe it's because I don't have my own style, or rather that I'm not sure of it right now.  It's always that struggle between the cowgirl and the lady.  Bluejeans and pearls, that's me.  Wishing for a touch of sophistication...but maybe not quite blending into it.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Photo taken by "Rita" at fromyesterdaystomorrow.blogspot.com 

  I don't seem to have a schedule anymore.  Not good.  I'll figure something out, I'm sure.  Of course, a little outside encouragement would help ;)  Hmmmm....I have an idea.  Today, I shall post pictures of my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. 

 It is super yummy, if I do say so myself.  It is also my own recipe :D  So I think I will hold that currently super-secret recipe hostage until I have 12 followers.  I know, that's only 4 more than I have right now, but I really hate to wait to share this recipe!  But I have to do SOMETHING to get more readers!  What?  I'm not worth reading?  Sigh.  I know I can do better.  I have a million things I want to write, just no time.  Where the time is, I don't know.  I had it when I was in school, and I should have gained more since then, but other matters keep popping up - like gardening.  And cleaning.  And trip planning.  Sigh.  But I solemnly promise to post at least TWICE a week once I have a dozen followers.  AND I will post the recipe (never before published) for my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  It has the perfect blend of sweet and tart, of fresh and creamy, of strawberry and rhubarb.  Oh, and if I get 15 followers, I will even throw in the recipe for my piecrust, plus some tips to make it even easier to make ;).  

Fwd: New Schedule?

Did I catch you in time? Blast. I really did intend to post yesterday. I thought maybe if I got up early enough this morning, it wouldn't matter.  Things have just been crazy this week. Sunday is my baby brother's First Communion, so we've been cleaning and cooking.
Last night was the first night of the junior youth group. I gave the talk on the Communion of Saints and spiritual warfare. Nobody fell asleep! The kids were between 6th and 8th grade, and asked lots of great questions.  
I think I'm going to change my day to blog, maybe to Sunday or Monday. Thursday's are going to be crazy, at least for the next couple months. I want to add one more day a week, too, for a recipe. Any preference on days or topics?

Have a great weekend and a great Father's Day!

Good-bye, Charlie

    I intended to talk  about the weather today- after all, it isn’t very often that Minnesota has triple digit temperatures, the highest in the country, only to plummet 55 degrees in less than two days.  Unfortunately, my plans were changed this morning, due to the somewhat unexpected death of my dog, Charlie.

    I say somewhat unexpected because I knew two years ago that Charlie wouldn’t have a long life.  He was diagnosed with a heart murmur when he was about nine months old.  The effect it would have was unknown, but it generally meant a shorter lifespan.  He did surprisingly well with it, though.  He never had any of the potential problems like a cough or tiring easily.  Most of the time he could keep up with Dutchess, no problems.  But this morning, it finally hit him.  I noticed he was having trouble breathing, especially when he lay down, and he wasn’t eating.  I called the vet, and they said to bring him in.    I think he wanted to die at home, because he was gone before we got off our road.  It was good in a way - he didn’t suffer much.  He never had to watch everyone running around and wish that he could play too.  He never had problems getting around.  

    It was harder, I think, for my younger siblings, even though Charlie was my dog.  Maybe it’s because I’ve lost pets before.  It’s part of life.  You’re sad, and you miss them, but you learn to be glad for the time you had with them.  I had to loose a lot of pets before learning this lesson.  There were times I swore I would never have another, because it wasn’t worth loosing them.  I know now that it better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.  These lessons carry through to life, too.  We loose family members and friends, sometimes forever, sometimes just for a while.  Sometimes the loss is expected, and we have time to say good-bye.  Sometimes it comes as a shock.  It can be tempting then, too, to say never again.  It can be hard to try again.  People, like pets, take a lot of work and time.  The more you put in, I suppose, the more you get out of either.  But people, like pets, sometimes don’t care how much you do or don’t do for them- they just love you anyhow, because you are you.  

    I don’t plan on getting another dog right now, because I know I am too busy.  But someday I will have another, and I hope it’s a Newfoundland like Charlie.  Only I will get a female next time, because it will make breeding those awesome Golden Newfie pups a lot easier on the mom.  Until then, I’m sure Charlie will pop up in a few stories and maybe even a poem.  We’ll see.  

    We buried Charlie up on the hill, under a tree, near his daughter, Lucky.  One of my brothers even made him a wooden marker, chiseled in wood.  Maybe we’ll make him another out of cement, too.  He was a big dog, and won’t soon be forgotten.

Ascension Thursday

"And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up to heaven." Luke 24:51

Today is Ascension Thursday, the day, forty days after Easter, when Christ Ascended into Heaven.
Unfortunately, in our diocese this is not a Holy Day of Obligation.  Fortunately, Mass will still be said tonight for the feast.
It continues to puzzle me why a diocese would choose to move feasts to Sunday.  Doesn't this reduce the importance of the feast?  I do understand that not everyone is able to make it to Mass on weekdays for Holy Days - yet there are still 24 hours in the day, plus the opportunity for a vigil.  Why give in to the pressure?
Unlike many feast days, the Ascension seems to get pushed aside.  I admit, my family doesn't have any special traditions.  Mass is the only thing that really makes it special.  How does one go about establishing traditions?  (Please note the lowercase "t," not a capital "T")  The most important thing is that the tradition means something.  A quick search doesn't bring up any specific traditions, except maybe picnicking.   There is even a lack of recipes out there!
Ok, how about this for an Ascension tradition?  Kite Flying!  What lifts your mind and spirit to the heavens more than a lovely kite (except maybe some beautiful music?)  I'm going to fly with it.  I'm off to fly a kite, everyone.  Happy Ascension Thursday!!!