The Imposition of Ashes

Lent, the season for somber reflection; will I give up something that will remind me of the Passion of our Lord? Or will I take on something that will also cause me to reflect on the Passion for 40 days. It began yesterday and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, April 11th.

Lenten Activity
Make a resolution to do something during Lent which expresses a different set of values or priorities than that of the culture. It could involve your use of time or money, the way you relate to people, the way you act at work, the way you recreate.
—Living God's Word: Reflections on the Weekly Gospels, Year B

Last night we went to the 7:00 p.m. service at Holy Cross an hour early to go to our pastor's study prior to the imposition of ashes. Later on the Circle group which I belong to will serve one of the Lenten Wednesday night meals.

Challenges

I suppose one always is faced with challenges in life. We falter if they come in twos and threes. As I worked on my biography project of my Great Aunt Elizabeth day before yesterday, I hit a key and every page became enlarged, center justified, and in some script font. Before I could find out the easy and simply way to undo the unwanted edit, I had it so messed up in the attempt, that I saved it as it was, and walked away from the computer. How is that for dealing with a challenge?

Tomorrow I will attempt to repair the damage, nearly finish the text and start inserting photos. One would think that this would get easier with a new little lap top and a new MS Word '07 Vista. It isn't. However, it is still just as much fun and as interesting as can be. Probably a learning experience as well. Something for old brains to enjoy.

I was surprised by a package from a sister-in-law yesterday. She sent a couple of books that I opened and read of few pages of each immediately. They are so inviting. One is "Pioneer Years in the Black Hills" by Richard B. Hughes. This is a wonderful history by a pioneer newspaper reporter. His diary entries of 1876-1877 are in an Addendum. This book is beautiful, it feels at home in my hands, it is as useful as can be with so much information and best of all it is indexed. I can hardly keep my hands off of it. I am so thankful to get them. The other is "God's Promises for Women" and is just what I need for the faith and hope I wish to keep alive.

The Honorable Grands

I have added a link, that of a grandson, one of the twelve Grands that we honor and cherish. He shares lovely hours with us during his Christmas visits to Omaha. I could call them the twelve apostles, the literal meaning is 'one sent.'

They have been originally sent from the loins of He Who Must Be Obeyed. Each one is gifted in a particular manner as were the Apostles of Christ. However, none of us had a choice in this matter. Harking back to the old saw, "You can choose your friends, but not your family." We have been especially blessed by this generation.

Having twelve, six of each, is rewarding in itself. Without the Internet, it would be almost an impossibility to stay connected, but not quite. They are aware of my presence and I of theirs. Being separated by great distances, they are not often present at our table; when they are, we cherish the moment and the memory. And best of all we know them by their blogs and family email.

So, I introduce you to Bryce Andrew Boe, one of my bloggers of consequence.

Temporary Dental Work

This morning my dental appointment took an hour and a half, more than was expected; but then there was much to do. To exacerbate the situation at hand, my dear dentist, his assistant, and myself had a little visit about the mortgage mess we are in here in the US of A. Each of us got a bit worked up until the dentist said, "when your dentist has steam coming out of his ears, maybe it would be a good idea to drill on another day." He was kidding, but we were all a little worked up over the situation.

Before he started working on the task at hand, I told him I felt a little hook behind one of my front teeth which he cleaned out and put in a temporary filling before the real work began. That will get fixed properly in a couple of weeks.

The old molar crown came off in two sections, half of it flew down my throat to be either pulled out with forceps or by some good belting coughs on my part; which kept the jagged metal out of my digestive system. Then the amount of decay was horrifying for them. I never experienced a tooth ache, nor was it showing up on the x-ray to that extent, and of course with my mouth jacked open and I couldn't see anything. Maybe the steam was coming out of my own ears by then.

Prayer can never hurt anything, so with a three hands in my mouth as well as most of the tools in the room, I did a fair amount of having a word with God. After the "knockting" with a hammer to get the crown loose made me wonder if a person could get a concussion this way. Jack hammering comes to mind.

God are you listening? As I was getting the temporary crown, Doc said, "the situation is this: In a few days you could get a very bad toothache, and if you do, call immediately and I will give you a root canal."

I asked him if I should get Dental Insurance. "No it is a waste of money."

A Knockt on the Head

We had a perfect 8 inch snowfall on Valentine's Day. As I didn't get my Christmas wreath put away, I was a little startled by my icy valentine the next morning.

We are reading (and listening to) a most amazing book. "History of the Indian Wars by Samuel Penhallow" tells of the bloody conflict between the English Colonists and the French, Jesuits, and Canadian Indians. The time period is 1702 to 1723. It is written in Old English Script, many of the s's look like f's. Nouns of all sorts are capitalized within sentences; and proper names are italicized and in subscript. I am reading words that have been out of favor for a hundred years or more. I am experiencing a great deal of brain push-ups. All the while folks are getting 'knockt' on the head by the dozens; some are suffering fates worse than death...and then there is that too.

"A fecond was a Child of Mrs. Hannah Parfons, of Wells, whom the Indians for want of Food had determined to Roaft alive, but while the fire was kindling, and the Sacrifice preparing, a Company of French Mohauks came down the River in a Canoo, with three Dogs, which fomewhat revived thefe hungry Monfters, expecting to make a Feaft upone one of them. So foon as they got afhore, the Child was offer'd in Exchange: but defpifing the offer, they tendered a Gun, which they readily accepted, and by that means the Child was preferved."

Valentine Snowfall

He Who Must Be Obeyed came home from a quick trip to Aldi's with a bouquet of red roses. While he was gone, I stepped into the snow in both the back and front yard. Omaha is snowed in. All area schools and daycare centers are closed and were announcing that fact before one flake of snow fell. Obviously the predictors were accurate. Since I took the photos, another three or four inches of snow has fallen.

Roses are lovely as is a cozy day inside while the city quiets itself for a snowfall. I truely do like winter.

Saturdays & Sundays

We were with friends last night. All four of us had gyro's then came here for dessert and more visiting over coffee. Laughs with friends are good for the soul.

My friendship with H is my link to the Jewish community in Omaha. Most here are Ashkenazi, having been sponsored from Russia by a very active group here. In the Hebrew Bible, Ashkenaz first denotes a grandson of Japheth and great-grandson of the patriarch Noah (Gen. 10:1-3; I Chr. 1:4-6). Albert Einstein was Ashkenazi, one of the German Jews. Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including Hungary, Poland, Russia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere between the 10th and 19th centuries. With them, they took and diversified Yiddish, a Germanic Jewish language

My friend is a Shepardic Jew. Her family left Egypt, spent time in a refugee camp in Paris and came to America when she was 14. Her life story is wonderful.

These folks were expelled from Spain in the 15th Century. Those Sephardim who were forced to convert to Christianity during the period lasting from the 1391 massacres in Spain to the 1497 forced baptisms in Portugal. As time passed, many made their way to more tolerant lands, where they openly returned to Judaism, ending their double lives. Many Sephardic communities were decimated in the Holocaust, and others were depleted by emigration to Israel and elsewhere.

In the literature we Finns, the Basque, and some Jews are linked by DNA evidence.

In Need of Chocolate

I don't get here as often as I would like to. Why? Who knows? My days are so predictably uneventful, but nonetheless comforting in their sameness. I sometimes wonder if everyone has the same morning routine, lunch preparations, and dinner down and out. In between? Work on Aunt Liz's biography, exercising, walking, reading, a bit of television. We gave up digital cable and are back to the basic 28 channels which are all I need; a little news, a little information, a little entertainment. Simple needs for a simple person.

Today we went for groceries. We frequent our Aldi store not far away. To our surprise one of our son's friends is working there and was very enthused over his new job, great salary, great benefits, great groceries. We think the greatest prices.

This is where our Seattle son gets Austrian chocolate. One year we mailed him 50 pounds of it. Doesn't that seem crazy! To tell the truth, I wish I had gotten some today.