10 February 2016

Snow, Snow, Emails, Ash Wednesday (Lent is starting)

Tuesday is over (and we had a lot of snow, yesterday) and we had more snow overnight. In about an hour, I will be waking the girls, so we can go out and shovel the drive again, so my husband can get his van up the driveway. When we get enough snow, we do have to remove some to get up and down the incline. The plus side is that when the sun comes out, it melts the remaining ice and snow and dries out and it is beautiful and dry. But I read a law opinion that said that if I shovel my drive or walks and someone falls on them, because they don't know that it is winter and that even if the drive or walk is shoveled, there could be ice that no amount of shoveling is going to remove, I can be sued and held liable for their not being intelligent. Yeah, I am a klutz. If I fall on ice, if I can get up and walk away, I laugh, because yeah, it is funny, I get up and walk away. If I get hurt, I call my doctor get an order to get x-rays and go make sure I didn't break anything. Now, for the flip side, if I owned a business and don't clean my drive, parking lot and/or sidewalks, and that same person falls on the snow or ice, I can be held responsible for them not being able to walk on snow and ice. Seems to me that if you have lived anywhere that is cold, you know that if there is rain and it gets cold while it is raining, that will turn to ice. If there is cold, there is snow and ice and you should walk appropriately. If you step on ice and were not walking carefully, it is your fault. Get up and move on, or if you are injured, get help and move on. If you fall on your own property, who do you plan on blaming? I would rather that drives and sidewalks are shoveled and since, I do have a south facing house, allow the sun to do its good work. But who am I? Just another person who feels that too many people have not been taught to take responsibility for their actions.

I just heard the most horrible thing, just encouraging people to not get out and spend time with God....Drive Thru Ashes. Some churches, in Cincinnati, are offering drive-thru ashes. Too many people already can't give up an hour of their day on Sunday to attend church and run from the building before the priest has ended the service. They would kill each other trying to get out of the building, the parking lot and home. If you are going to offer drive-thru ashes, just call it off and forget that it is a Holy Day (for the Catholics) and don't do the ashes. Just don't celebrate the service, don't give the blessing and don't open your doors. In my hometown, there used to be St. Francis de Sales, Corpus Christi, St. Stephen, St. Vincent de Paul, But the churches started losing people (and never got them back), The Bishop (and the Catholic Church) realized that they could no longer afford to run all those churches. There was also the issue of fewer and fewer men available to be priests for the those churches. The priests were aging and retiring and fewer men were joining the seminary (I have a story there, too). But fewer people were attending the churches. Churches need money to run and if people aren't going and aren't giving, then money isn't there to run the church. I know many who could attend a Saturday service (Christian Churches), but their kids are playing games for their school or they are in other activities that require travel. It makes it hard for many to get to church, but I know many who make an effort. They search for a church with a service during a time when they are not doing something, but there are still many who run out before that service is even over. I understand having something for those who can't get to church easily (because of work), but too many take advantage because they don't want to give up the time.

Story on seminary...back in the 1930's, my uncle wanted to be a priest. He worked very hard to become one, but the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area, did not want him. Why? Because he was poor. His family didn't have any money (his father had been a brick layer and had been attacked and injured and unable to work, his mother was deceased, his sister (my grandmother) had to stop school after 8th grade and learn a trade and start working to help the family). So he eventually applied to a seminary far north (MI). From the stories I heard, he was an amazing priest. He loved the people of his congregation, knew them by name and went to visit them. I remember when my husband was in the hospital, he wanted a visit by a priest and we were told by a priest that they didn't have time. Another thing, I know about hospitals and priests, if you know the priest really well, they will come to visit, but forget it otherwise. If you stopped going to church, my uncle would show up at your house to find out what happened. He would offer comfort and love. I only saw one priest who offered comfort and love, that was the priest we had when I was in high school. He came running to my house after church the day my grandfather was found dead in his bed. He lived with us, and had had a stroke and died during the night and was found by my mother (his only child) on Mother's Day. But when I stopped going to church, my mom and dad were mad at me. How dare I leave their church. But no priest showed up. No priest asked me why I stopped. But my uncle was different. He would have come around. He wanted to make sure that all felt welcome at his church. He was a different breed of priest and he did a lot of good at his church.



Afghans
Minion Square
Minion Blanket
Granny Scrap Afghan
Hexagon can be used to make a scrap afghan
Seashell Square
Contemporary Stash Buster Afghan I love how this looks. I have lots of yarn ends that I could use for this.
Happy Harlequin
Red Eye Square
Granny Square I learned how to make granny squares when I was 10. I have been making them for a long time. Usually the color combinations change with a name change, but all are the same.
Dream Catcher Square
Vintage Wobble Afghan

Amigurumi
Itsy Bitsy Spider

Baby
Minion Booties
Teddy Puppet
Ella Elephant Lovey

Bags
Knitting Tote
Sea Breeze Beach Bag
Easy Knit Backpack
Drawstring Bag
Wavy Messenger Bag
Chevron Market Bag I like the market bags. I need make a few of them. I think they will hold up better than the bags that I bought from the stores.
Kiss Kiss a small bag that you can fill with candies and give to a young girl or teen girl.

Christmas
Minion Stocking

Hat
Point of Hope Reversible Chemo Hat
Cable Slouchy Beanie
1920's Cloche Hat

Scarf
Basketweave Knitting Infinity Scarf
Lucinda Scarf

Shawl
Candy Apple Knit Shawl
Mt Vernon Shawl
Reversible Cable Wrap

Valentine
Heart Dishcloth/Washcloth

Toys
Juggling Balls


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