Oh, Savior, Save Us

Here is a link to Charles' latest blog post, with a prayer for peace in Syria.  Please pray for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Pope Francis has called for a worldwide day of prayer and fasting on September 7, so that peace might prevail in that shattered country.

Loaves and Fishes

Icons at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Juneau, AK

As long as we're on the theme of icons (see previous post), I thought I would share some photos of the icons that Charles painted for St. Paul the Apostle Parish in the Mendenhall Valley.

The view from the pews.

The Holy Family

The Risen Jesus with Mary Magdalene at the tomb.

Christ in Glory

Icon Prayer Shrines

I love making these little prayer shrines!

I use recycled Altoids tins....

and beautiful paper...

and prints of Charles' original icons.

Here is one of St. Agatha, patroness of women with breast cancer.

These shrines are lovely for home prayer spaces, for hospitals, hospices and for travel.  I love making them because it is a small way to glorify God and to spread the word about icons!

About Our Life

I've lived in Alaska since 1978, having come to Juneau as a Jesuit Volunteer www.jvcnorthwest.org/ to work in a child care center. I volunteered for two years and decided to make Alaska my home.

My husband Charles came up to visit mutual friends in 1980 and then returned to visit in 1981, when me met, fell in love during his two week visit and got married 10 months later. (A very romantic story, best told over a leisurely dinner with pie for dessert!)

We have two children. Phoebe is 25 and an artist, and Miguel is 18 and a freshman in college.

We also have two dogs. Gwinnie is a terrier mix, who is quite elderly, deaf, and smelly but also very sweet and loving.

Beans is a Westie, who is five years old, funny and cute and unfortunately, suffering from an eye condition (KCS) which is irritating for her and time consuming (and not a little disgusting) for us. I'll spare you the details.

Charles is a Roman Catholic permanent deacon, which means that he is an ordained clergyman and that I am a clergyman's wife (I'll try to watch my language, but don't be surprised if the occasional "damn" or "hell" crops up). He works full time for the Diocese of Juneau www.dioceseofjuneau.org/ and also is an iconographer. You'll be hearing more about Charles' art and I'll be posting photos.

I am retired from 26 years with the State of Alaska and, despite a few forays back into the work world, am happy to stay home, taking care of the house and dogs and helping out with various volunteer tasks.

We are quite involved with the Church and keep busy with various liturgies and other events. I'll post about Church stuff from time to time, just because it is such a huge part of our lives.

I love to cook, so I'll be posting recipes and talking about food (the preparation, serving and eating of) quite a bit. I also love to read, so I'll be talking about books and magazines that I enjoy.

Music is a big part of my life. I have been singing since I was a little girl and love choral music and folk music, and opera and classical music as well.

Be ready to hear about lots of events around town, and day to day happenings in our little corner of Alaska!