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!

The Big Trip Vol. 3: Turnbull Wildlife Refuge

While I was in Cheney, WA, Jeanie and Bob took me to visit the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge.

The beautiful view at the start of the trail.

Geese, swans and other waterfowl abound.

Jeanie and Bob!

Two curious river otters.

A close up...who is looking at who?

What a beautiful day for a hike!

This deer was checking us out - the deer there are so much bigger than the Sitka Blacktail Deer we have here!

We rested on a convenient log and posed for a picture.

Wild flowers were everywhere.

This moose was browsing.  We almost missed seeing her because they blend in so well.

These owlets refused to turn around for a picture.

It was a wonderful day!

Memorial Day at the Shrine of St. Therese

I had a brief moment of panic last night when I was unable to download photos to my computer..."There goes my blogging career!", I thought.  But this morning, after some tinkering, I was glad to see that I was again able to put the photos on the laptop.

Here are some pictures of our Memorial Day Mass at the Shrine of St. Therese here in Juneau, AK.  The Shrine is one of the most beautiful places in the world, with the Lodge, the Shrine Chapel, The Little Flower Cabin, and the Jubilee Cabin, it is a wonderful place for a retreat, a family reunion, weekly Mass during the summer months, fishing off the rocks, whale watching, or just sitting quietly, soaking up the beauty!

The view from the Columbarium

Rock cairns on the beach

Cairns with mountains in the background

Shrine Island

The Shrine Columbarium - a beautiful final resting place

Charles prepares to proclaim the Gospel at Mass

Fr. Pat, Fr. Pat (we have two!) and Fr. Jean Paulin concelebrated

The Labyrinth at the Shrine.  The Labyrinth is the same pattern as the one at Chartes Cathedral.  The labyrinth was a way for poor pilgrims who couldn't travel to the Holy Land to participate in a pilgrimage.  By walking the labyrinth and praying, they were able to join with other pilgrims on their journey.  Our Labyrinth is formed with local rocks and plants, rather than the stone of a cathedral floor.

Flora.....

...and fauna

What a beautiful place!

Come and visit, and I'll give you a personal tour!

The Big Trip Vol. 2

After our visit to Olympia, WA, we wended our way back to SEATAC, where Charles took off for Boise, ID for an FDLC (Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions) regional meeting, and I took off for Spokane and Cheney, WA for a fun filled week with my best Juneau friend, Jeanie!

From the car window on the way to Cheney from the Spokane airport.  The landscape is considerably different from that of Alaska!

Jeanie and Bob!

We went to a great mom and pop restaurant on the Cheney-Spangle Road.  The Harvester is absolutely in the middle of nowhere, but it must be a popular hangout for the farmers, because it is going strong.  They had lots of old signs hanging on the walls, including this one...

I thought it was a funny coincidence...

The Harvester is in a very isolated spot.

Jeanie and I spent a couple of days in downtown Spokane, where we visited our favorite place, Madeleine's, a little cafe with a French flavor.

No visit to any city outside of Alaska is complete without a couple of marathon shopping sessions!

"Here I am, Macy's!  Naked with my charge card!"

We met up with my nephew Alec, who is the pastor of a church in Spokane that ministers to the people in a run down section of the city.  I'm so proud of him!

The Spokane River

We got together for a gallery walk and dinner with my oldest friend (we met when we were 4!) Nancy!

There was a spectacular rainstorm followed by this double rainbow!

Jeanie and Bob's house is right next to the Cheney High School baseball field, and it looked like the pot of gold was in the field house!

That's enough for right now...the next volume will feature photos from the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge.

Speaking of the wilderness, I'm heading out to work in our yard, which definitely needs some work!