About Me

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Douglas, Alaska, United States
I have lived in Alaska since 1978, having come to Juneau as a Jesuit Volunteer. I fell in love with Alaska and now live on Douglas Island with my husband and two dogs.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Around the House

I've been wanting to share some pictures that I have been taking lately of items and areas in our house.


We have been eating a lot of cherries lately.  In the latest container that I bought at Costco, there was this cherry with a little leaf still attached.  I thought it looked so sweet, so I took a picture of it.  Then I ate it.  It was delicious.


These are the new (to me) candle holders that I got at a garage sale a couple weekends ago.  They go so well with our yellow dining room and our Talavera vase!



This is the new shelf that Charles put up for me this weekend.  It has been on his "honey do" list for a while.  I wanted to display my cream pitchers.  The one on the far right is my newest and my most favorite.



Here is a closeup of my "cow chorus"!


I put these items on this shelf for the Fourth of July and put a bouquet of flags in the blue jar.  After taking the flags out, I decided to keep the items on the shelf because it looks nice.  It will be cheery to put candles in the lanterns as the days get darker.


This is my "pile of stuff to take to my office upstairs" shot.  I think I have been hesitant to take them up because I work on making my prayer shrines downstairs.  The problem is that I have been so busy, I haven't been working on making prayer shrines lately....






...however, yesterday my new friend Irene (one of the Jesuit Volunteers) came over to learn to make shrines.  We had a great time together and she took some supplies home to work on.  My first apprentice!


This is a very cool picture frame that Phoebe had at her house.  Since she is getting ready to move back to our house, she is clearing out some stuff.  I thought this would be perfect for our space at the Juneau Artists Gallery.  I am going to paint it red and frame Charles' artist statement in it.


This is one of my favorite spots in our house.  I found the soda crate at a garage sale years ago and it is the perfect size to store our Fiesta Ware mugs.  The painting in the background of the green chair is by a friend of ours.  the cups hanging on the rack were a gift from my sister in law Meg, and the little message clip roadrunner came from my mom's house.


And speaking of mugs, who can resist this face?

Have a great rest of the week!






Tuesday, August 23, 2011

It Was a Busy Weekend in Lake Wobegon (I mean, Douglas)...

Actually, the "lake" part is pretty accurate!   It has been raining practically nonstop for about a week.  There was a big landslide in Petersburg that made the local news, and Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River have reached flood stage.

On Saturday, Charles, Phoebe and I stopped to take a look at Gold Creek.  We knew it was running fast and high because the Gastineau Channel was a muddy brown from all the runoff.



Look at the mist that fast water is kicking up!

Even locals who usually say: "Rain?  Nah, this is NOTHING!" have been showing up to take pictures of the rising water.

That same day, we went out to Rie Munoz's gallery for a community celebration of her 90th birthday.  She is one of our local treasures, and beloved by Juneau's citizenry.  She was so gracious, standing and greeting all of her guests and posing for pictures.  


Here she is chatting with Phoebe - the seasoned artist and the emerging artist sharing ideas!



On Sunday, we had a double baptism at the Cathedral - our friends Jesse and Chris had their new daughter Sophia baptized along with Sophia's little cousin Charlie.  

Sunday afternoon, the parish picnic was scheduled to be held at Sandy Beach at one of the shelters.  Since it was pouring so hard, the picnic was moved to the parish hall, where a few stalwarts came out to eat hot dogs and hamburgers (somehow boiled hot dogs and fried hamburgers eaten indoors are not as good as the ones cooked on the grill and eaten at the beach).  It was still fun, though!


Several of the new JVs visiting with parishioners.


Our friends Brian and Estela with their kids!

What a fun (but wet) weekend!



Friday, August 19, 2011

2011-2012 Juneau Jesuit Volunteers

The new Jesuit Volunteers arrived on Saturday night!  Eager, excited and probably a bit nervous, the seven of them stepped off the plane and into a brand new world.

Charles, Fr. Pat, and Pat (we have a lot of Pats here!) and I were there to greet them, pack them and all of their luggage into our cars, and drop them off at their new home.  They arrived on a beautiful, sunny day, and we hated to tell them that a day like that, while spectacular, is rare in Juneau!



The next day, they came to Mass at the Cathedral, and after lunch, we drove them around Juneau - to Salmon Creek to see the spawning salmon, to St Paul's to see the icons, and to the Mendenhall Glacier to see the glacier (of course) and the bears (unfortunately the bears were laying low that day).



They will be volunteering at AWARE (the local women's shelter), Juneau Youth Services, The Canvas at REACH (a community arts studio that works with people with developmental disabilities), ORCA (Outdoor Recreational and Community Activities for people with disabilities), and Catholic Community Services' Teen Parent Program and Family Services.

We are so happy they are here with us for the year!  Please keep them in your prayers for a successful year of Community, Simple Living, Social Justice and Spirituality, the four Jesuit Volunteer values!

Click here for more information about the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest




Monday, August 15, 2011

Tag! I'm It!

Allison, who blogs at Rambling Follower tagged me in a new blog meme:

The rules are as follows:

"Assuming you are a saint, and your cause has been executed, your miracles confirmed, your date on the calendar established, all that is required is to select that of which Holy Mother Church will name you Patron (ess) of.

For this meme, you must name your patronage
and then tag 5 other people who would like to play along.

Linking your answer to your nominator's post 
would make it easier to get your answers."


Well, to tell you the truth, the first thing I had to do was look up "meme".  Being relatively new to the blogging biz, I have seen this word before, but never explored the meaning.  So, here's what I found out: A meme, according to Wikipedia (that bastion of accurate and impartial information) is "...an idea that is propagated through the World Wide Web. The idea may take the form of a hyperlink, video, picture, website, hashtag, or just a word or phrase, such as intentionally misspelling the word "more" as "moar". The meme may spread from person to person via social networksblogs, direct email, news sources, or other web-based services."

(Which was clear as mud to me, because then I had to look up "hyperlink", and "hashtag".)  



So I decided to merely answer the question.  If I were a saint, I would probably be pretty no-nonsense and practical. I don't have any of the qualities of Teresa of Avila or Mother Teresa of Calcutta, except a propensity for grouchiness.  I hear that Teresa of Avila could be pretty grumpy, but wouldn't you be grumpy too if you had a golden dart plunged in your heart?  And Mother Teresa wasn't kidding around when she told her donors that her sisters didn't need rugs in their convent, thank you very much, and threw them out the window.



So, while these two saints probably already have it locked up, I would say that if I were a saint, I would like to be the patroness of grumpy people.  They could seek my intercession when they say something without thinking (been there) or snapped at someone needlessly (done that), and were seeking help to stop grumping and grouching and making their spouses or children or friends or coworkers miserable.

Yup.  That's it.  If I were a saint, I would be the patroness of grumpy people.



St. Paula of Douglas, pray for us!


I am tagging the following five people:

2.  Judith at Sense of Wonder
3.  Sharon at On A Mission
4.  Lisa at Granola Catholic
5.  Mrs. B at Joy Beyond the Cross


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Ad Multos Annos





Today is the Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr.  Legend has it that when he was tortured by being roasted alive, he quipped: "You can turn me over, I'm done on this side"!


Today is also the fifth anniversary of Charles' ordination (along with his brother deacon, Vince).  


Five years ago, Charles lay prostrate on the floor of St. Paul the Apostle Church as we prayed for the the Holy Spirit to strengthen him, and for the saints to intercede for him.






Five years ago, he began this ministry of the proclaiming the Word, serving at the Altar and helping others in Charity.  





Five years ago,  he was transformed from a mild mannered iconographer to a super deacon (he is still mild mannered).





Five years ago.  It seems like yesterday.  A lot has happened since then, but he still remains a servant of God's people.






Happy Anniversary Charles!


  


I love you... 






...and I love being a deacon's wife!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Sunday: Mass, A Dedication, A Potluck and a Goodbye

Yesterday was another very busy day (so what else is new?)!

Charles went out to St. Paul's to assist Bishop Burns at the Blue Mass (a Mass said for uniformed personnel: police, emergency services workers, military and state troopers).  He then headed out to the Shrine to assist the Bishop at the 1:30 Mass followed by the dedication of the new Pieta statue.

I went to the 11:00 Mass at the Cathedral and then met Charles out at the Shrine.

                         Bishop Burns celebrates Mass at the Shrine Chapel with Fr. Cumberland concelebrating and Charles assisting.


Who needs stained glass windows with this view of the tree tops!



The new Pieta statue in the Rosary Grotto.


Bishop Burns prays at the Grotto.


Thomas (former Shrine Director) reads the Epistle.


The Knights of Columbus in their regalia.


Charles reads the intercessions.


Bishop Burns incenses the statue.


Charles and I pose for a picture!


After the blessing, there was a wonderful potluck and barbecue hosted by the Shrine Board and staff!



The weather cooperated so we could eat outdoors.


On the way back into town, I stopped at Brotherhood Bridge to take a few pictures of the fireweed and the Mendenhall Glacier.  It is one of the most beautiful places in Juneau.



A local riding club brought their horses out so they could ride the Brotherhood Bridge Trail.  


I was trying to take a picture of the brown horse, but he lifted his head at just the right moment, so I got this shot (arty, no?).


After the Shrine festivities, I raced home and made a chocolate cream pie (store bought Oreo cookie crust, instant chocolate pudding and whipped cream) and went to another potluck, this time at the Cathedral Parish Hall.  It was a goodbye party for Cindy and Dan, who are leaving Juneau with their daughter Ainslie.  Ainslie is the cutest baby in the known world.  Her parents asked me not to put her picture on the Internet, so I edited her out of the above photo.  You will just have to take my word for it. (It is true, though - she is a very sweet, very cute and very smart 10 month old!)  We'll miss all of them!

It was a really busy, but fun day.  We came home and watched Everybody Loves Raymond videos in a stupor and then crashed!







Saturday, August 6, 2011

Whew: A Goodbye, an Opening, and a Transfiguration

Today is the first day in weeks that I have nothing that I have to do (except go to a party tonight - more about that later!)

Yesterday was a whirlwind of preparation to get everything ready for Miguel's departure.  He will be spending about a week in Portland before heading to Kentucky via Greyhound.  He wants a cross-country adventure, so chose to take the bus rather than flying.

I went to bed last night at 7:45 and slept like a dead animal until 6 this morning.

We took a couple of pictures last night before heading to the airport.  Here is one of the four of us before Miguel said goodbye to Phoebe.  She was trying to bi-locate because she had an art opening but also wanted to spend a few minutes together before Miguel left.


How fitting that the Church was in the background.  
The Church is always in the background of our lives!


And here is one at Juneau International Airport.
And off he goes!


Phoebe and Miguel at the opening reception.
(photo courtesy of Figment Gallery)



                      Here's a picture of Charles, proudly pointing to "Grandma in the Kitchen", one of Phoebe's pieces at the gallery.  We are so proud of her!


Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.


I love this icon, with Peter, James and John so overwhelmed by the transfigured vision of Christ that they fall down the mountain.  May we also be transfigured!

“At his Transfiguration Christ showed his disciples the splendor of his beauty, to which he will shape and color those who are his: ‘He will reform our lowness configured to the body of his glory’” (Philippians 3:21) (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae).