Happy Holidays!
So, we've prepared a little holiday gift for each of the people on my support team, people who have been instrumental to me. I will deliver them after lunch today.
The weather has been light snow and very cold up until now, and will switch to rain (eek!) after noon today.
I will wear thick jeggings, sweatpants, and a velveteen long skirt with a T shirt, ribbed sweater, and thick red Irish fishermen's cardigan under my orange wool (lined) coat. Hopefully, this, paired with my taking the bus, will keep me from experiencing the "Tin Woodsman" effect.
Labels: BAD, gift, weather
End of the Week, June 2010: Christmas in June
This morning I lectored for Mass, with Father Bill celebrating, assisted by Deacon Brian Noel. John De served, with Ken at the portative organ. Deacon Brian delivered his homily on concepts addressed in the Gospel reading: Physical sight and how one treasures and protects that, and one's soul, which one treasures and protects. <~54>
Today is Don's half-birthday.
Mom, Dad, and I babysat Beatrice and Solomon. Marissa returned from her research study, and we all enjoyed lunch together. I went home for a 2+ hour nap, and then we went grocery shopping and to gas up the car. We also dined on fried chicken and bread at the Big Bird (GE). We discovered a faulty wiper blade, which we replaced.
Labels: Birthday, dine, gift, lector, Mass, niece and nephew, St. Paul Cathedral
Findings
Just found another item I had thought was lost. A nice gift from a friend. A little worse for the wear, it is, but O Well, what can I do about it? Dwelling on it can only drive me crazy (er).
So, in finding things that I've lost, I see that:
Things are not always found where I expect them to be. At all.
The message from the universe has been to get my personal life more organized/neater. (I told my friends this earlier this week.)
I guess I just have to keep neatening up /straightening up / redding up until I find everything that's misplaced /displaced.
Labels: art, career, cleaning, gift, honor, jewelry, list, love, mystery, niece and nephew, organizing, patient, philosophical, photos, safety
I'm Awake Again
Awake again and organizing my space.
Finding all sorts of stuff again...that was put away and misplaced for a while.
Still am looking for my photographic slides that have been misplaced. Some I have already made into 8 x 10" photos for friends and family...others are just plumb missing. Also for a nice gift from a friend this past year. Just am praying for intercession on this matter. (Hey, it's worked in the past!)
Labels: friends, gift, organizing, photography, photos, prayer, St. Anthony
Off to Choir, Shortly...and Thus begins a Christmas Season
Dad, Mom, Kelly, and I met up with William's family for lunch at the sushi buffet. Beatrice, Solomon, Marissa, and I enjoyed making eggless sugar cookies with banana slices for Santa this morning. Solomon enjoyed playing the game "Is it Hot?" even though he is in a phase in which he likes to say "No" a lot, too.
I helped mom with their travel insurance before we departed for lunch.
They stopped at a friend's home to deliver a gift, then Kelly and I rested in the car whilst they went to CVS.
It's off to choir, shortly, to begin another Christmas season. I've finished the cards for the choristers, my little tradition.
Labels: Beatrice, celebration, Choir, Christmas, family, games, gift, niece and nephew
Monday Night with the Girls
Tonight Maureen, Karina and I went to
Giant Eagle for groceries
Trader Joe's for groceries (Karina got dinner at McDonald's)
Walgreens for snacks
a tavern in East Liberty for a gift of beers.
I gave Maureen a gift of a emerald and pink handcrafted hat (seeing that she was the only of our trio bareheaded),
and Karina a set of photo holders.
Labels: Christmas, friends, gift, Pittsburgh, shopping
Fourth Sunday of Advent 2009
Today was Ornella's final day with choir. After choir I hugged her warmly and declared, "It's been wonderful." The choir, after the postlude, presented Matthew Craig with a Celtic cross.
Mom and Dad and I had Chinese food at Squirrel Hill. I napped for a bit, then met up with William and his family at Qdoba in Shadyside. Beata and I enjoyed singing and ringing the jingle bells around my neck, while Solomon bounced along. After Lolo and Lola presented Christmas gifts to them, the kids enjoyed reading books whilst the guys watched the Steelers game. ("Daddy's watching the Steelers," Beata declared early on this evening.)
I helped Mom compose and type some letters for PAMS. Maureen and I chatted about the movie we watched last night, Evening (2007), as well as about how teaching LCD/divisibility rules are like following the rules of a game or of a game show.
Labels: Choir, dining, farewell, games, gift, music, Philippines, singing, teaching, volunteering
Exam Inquiries
Inquiries as to scores on the final practical exam as soon as the course grades posted yesterday afternoon...Email income was fairly quiet this morning: responses from last night and a couple of requests.
~~~~~
16.20
Lunch with Mom at Qdoba, I gassed up the car, we went shopping, and then to the post office to mail packages to [Auntie Chi and Uncle Sonny], Gene and Phyllis, and to Uncle Alex. First Class ended up being more cost effective than Media Rate in the end. We stopped at the resale shop in Squirrel Hill, and then headed home.
I'll take a short nap before heading out with Maureen and Karina for some seasonal shopping adventures, including a side trip for beading supplies.
~~~
22.45
A trip for beading supplies was great fun, but more fun was taking photos right before the snow and as the snow fell lightly, then with more gusto at night. What great fun! We even purchased gifts from the conservatory gift shop.
Labels: biology, dining, email, gift, jewelry, shopping, work
The Double on The Philanthropist
This is the first episode of the Philanthropist I watched...This episode of The Philanthropist is about identity theft.
Labels: gift, TV
Catholic & Ecumenical
Met for an "epic" discussion on practical theology entitled, "Being Catholic and Ecumenical - is it the same thing?" ("Catholic & Ecumenical: Similarities") led by Fr. Joshua at the Newman Center. Met up with Karina there, she presented me with a beautiful skirt from India, hot cocoa mix, and a postcard from London. We went for a burger & fries at the Original Hot Dog Shop on Forbes Avenue.
I AM Stuffed.
Labels: dining, Faith, gift, Pittsburgh
The Gift Basket
So, a large, bulky, lightweight box was waiting for me at Mom and Dad's apartment upon arrival this afternoon. It was from the UPS store in the South Hills...I knew it couldn't possibly be my shower bench/chair.
I unwrapped it, and had Mom take photos as I unwrapped it...replete with Styrofoam packing peanuts. It was a gift basket/plate from Tita Tina, Tito Larry, and family!
Yum! Two family size Utz potato chip flavors, candies, biscotti and other sundry cookies, Crystal Light tea mixes, etc. Waow!
Delish. Dad, Mom, and I shared one of the chip flavors tonight.
Labels: friends, gift, surprise
First Day Out!
This morning at about ten o'clock was my first day out since making my way (to my parents') home after surgery. It is a beautiful 80-degree day with a slight breeze. Margie, my physical therapist, and I took a field trip to my home to run a phone errand and to pick up a pill cutter for Dad. Ida presented me with a package from Nancy C.---somethings for Beatrice and for me from her local public library. Upon returning, I did my exercises on my back, and Margie showed me minimal seepage from the upper portion of my incision site (as visible on my removed dressing). She changed the dressing, and left.
I worked on prescribed items as my project this lunchtime, and I then heated lunch for Dad and the guy helping him install shelves in Mom and Dad's storage unit.
This past half hour, I received my anti-coagulant injection (from Mom), and Mom is on her way to the pharmacy to pick up some pills. Sustaining a post-operative patient is time-consuming and exciting(-?).
Labels: adventure, Beatrice, Choir, dine, exercise, family, friends, gift, library, niece and nephew, surgery, surprise
Last Meal before Surgery; Feast of Corpus Christi
So, I just enjoyed my last snack before surgery:
Cabot gourmet cheddar cheese melted on multigrain sourdough bread
a cornet from French Canada
potato chips
a tall glass of kalamansi-ade and
~4 dried plums
Jen McG called me while I eating, and we talked for a short amount of time.
~~~
This morning I went to choir practice, dropped off most of my music, saw E, Kelly & Maris's child, and we all headed up to the choir loft. Saw Mary Ann H., who came to say hello to us. At Mass we sang:
Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All (#488)
Gloria Sine Nomine (Bernard Newell)
Psalm 116 (Murray/Gelineau)
Eastertide Acclamations
Draw Us in the Spirt's Tether (H. Friedell)
Taste & See (J. Chepponis)
Ave Verum Corpus (W. A. Mozart)
Father, We Thank Thee (#558)
Mom, Dad, and I attempted to go to a new Japanese buffet, which was still closed...so we went to a buffet in Greentree. By the time we headed home (after picking up some batteries for my smoke detector), all three of us were tired, so we took ~two hour nap.
I headed to William & Marissa's for a photo/video session of me pre-L hip-operative. Solomon was duly entertained.
And William & Marissa presented me with the Cabot cheese, cornets, petit pains de St. Genevieve, and apple jelly.
MMmmmMM!
Labels: Choir, dine, gift, international culture, Mass, St. Paul Cathedral, surgery
The Road to Impressionism: Barbizon Landscapes from the Walters Art Museum
This morning I ran errands at the Waterfront and in Squirrel Hill.
After lunch/smoothies at Craig Street, Christina P. and I went to the Frick Museum to see The Road to Impressionism: Barbizon Landscapes from the Walters Art Museum exhibit. We were just in time for the 14:00 tour. We passed by the French tables, replete with French natives conversing whilst in costume, to enter the exhibit.
Many of the tableaux in the exhibit were from the Frick and Walters collections. Most were landscapes, or landscapes with figures in it. Having read Hans Jenny's paper on Soil in Landscape Art this past week, I was taken by the erosive soil elements on the hillcuts in certain pieces. Namely two pieces: "Le Puy du Dome" (circa 1866-1868, Jean-Francois Millet) and "Landscape with Wild Buffalo" (circa 1865, Jean-Achille Benouville), of a Roman campagna.
We applied gold leaf to a picture frame. We met Benedicte, her former Spanish teacher, who is now director of Alliance Francaise. Then she dropped me off, and I took a nap.
Helped out with dinner preparations at Mom & Dad's place. Tina, Leila, Dr. Pat, Tessie and Ernie, and Dr. Larry arrived to have dinner of ground beef torta, kare-kare, rice, baked calamari, lo mein noodles, watermelon, (corn on the cob), and homemade pineapple upside-down cake. Dad popped the cork on the champagne. They are now watching Manny Pacquiao via pay-per-view. Tina brought my birthday gift of eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, and Hippy Fizz fragrance. MMmmm.
Labels: art, dining, excited, friends, gift, glass, international culture, museum, Pacquiao, painting, surprise, water
Good Friday 2009
I had a doctor's appointment in Monroeville late this morning. I was pleased to hear the outcome/results.
Good Friday Service will be celebrated at 13:30. I will be in the choir loft by 13:00. I must walk home and pick up my choir folder....
~~~
(written 8.30 Saturday)
I made it back to Oakland in time to check my email at the main campus library, walk to get my choir folder at Mom & Dad's home, and get to the choir loft by 13.00.
During the veneration of the cross we sang probably the first celebration of "Crucifixus" by Bob Farrell (definitely a first at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland). Jennifer H., who stands next to me, and I agreed that it is a powerful piece of music to sing and hear sung.
~~~
The bishop processed into the Cathedral in silence.
The first reading was Isaiah 52:13, 53:12
The psalm was Ps. 30, (Chrysogonus Waddell), with Don singing the solo from the loft.
Second reading was Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9
Gospel acclamation was "Glory to you, O Word of God," by Proulx
The Passion was read by various people from the altar. We sang "Jesus, Remember Me" by J. Berthier
Presentation of the Cross was sung by the Bishop "Behold, Behold the wood of the cross, on which hung salvation." to which we respond, "O come, let us adore."
We sung "Were You There (spiritual)," "Crucifixus" (R.G. Farrell), "Adoramus Te Christe", and "Jesus So Lowly" during the Veneration of the Cross.
O Sacred Head Surrounded (#434) was sung for the collection
Attende Domine was sung during Communion
De Profundis (W.A. Mozart) was the choral anthem.
There was no closing blessing; people departed in silence.
~~~~
After the service, I took a nap and then Mom & I picked up William at Carnegie Mellon for the celebration of my and Solomon's birthday. We were planning on celebrating at St. Bartholomew's parish fish fry in Penn Hills, but there was no Good Friday fish fry. St. Irenaeus in Oakmont and 'Mac' in Bloomfield did have Good Friday fish fries, but we decided on making Solomon happy at the Penn Hills Eat N Park.
We enjoyed our meal (I had the whitefish sandwich and the salad bar), we gave Solomon his gifts (I gave him colorful wooden keys and a lock on the keychain), and Beata made me her second card for me (which I photo-documented) and presented me with their gift she had personally selected from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (a handmade Kenyan necklace).
Dad called us from the hospital on our way home (a medical emargency on his way home from television ministry), was happy to see us when he arrived home, and we watched a small portion of 20/20 on ABC, and then I collapsed into bed.
Labels: alarm, Choir, Church, dining, fish fry, gift, health, jewelry, music, mystery, seasons, St. Paul Cathedral, TV, walking, Zubik
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B = SUPERBOWL XLIII SUNDAY!
Today at noon Mass Fr. Breier mentioned Superbowl issues. Several of us in the choir and many in the congregation sported NFL-licensed Steelers wear. We were warned by Don and Fr. Breier for moderation in celebration...don't get "out of control."
A little over a week ago, there was a small wooden lemonade-stand near a construction site. Young students were asking the Steelers for autographs there.
Nancy and I headed to Union Grill for lunch, finding that it was closed. We then shopped at the museum stores and ate at the Fossil Fuels cafeteria. I found a nice gift for Joyce at the museum stores. Nancy collects pressed pennies, and we had our picture taken by the entomologic Superbowl XXXXIII sign w/ the expired, stuffed cardinals.
I will spend the Superbowl with William, Marissa, and their family.
Labels: Carnegie, celebration, Church, Curb Your Enthusiasm, dining, friends, gift, museum, Pittsburgh, Superbowl
Donate Old Reading Glasses and Eyeglasses
Last night, after Pastoral Council meeting I announced that the Philippine American Medical Society is collecting old reading glasses and eyeglasses for their medical mission this year. Fr. Andrew indicated that if I made up a little blurb that he would make an announcement at this morning's televised Mass.
This morning, Matt and I prepared for the Mass. Fr. Andrew indicated that he would incorporate the eyeglasses into the homily. Don stopped by before Mass, and he kindly dropped the box off to its donation spot in the back of the Church. Fr. Andrew intertwined the Gospel reading and the unneeded glasses in the homily. I made neat signage for the box, added an additional box ("You'll need a bigger box!" Fr. Andrew exclaimed to me after Mass), and checked the boxes for donations.
Soon after Mass, there were already a pair of glasses donated in the box at the back of Church.
Labels: gift, light, medical mission, Philippines, St. Lucy
Kelly's Arrival December 2008, Winter Vacation Days 2008
Friday, I attended morning Mass, and went to physical therapy (with pool work) in the afternoon.
Kelly arrived from NYC after several hiccups in taking off on Saturday. I had lunch with Jen McG. at Camille's. She gave me a ride to Phipps, where I met up with Regina and John. Her friend, Susan, with her friend Robert and her brother Ken joined up with us later. John and I had fun collecting stamps around the conservatory. Susan especially liked the train and the banana blossoms in the room farthest west. Ken particularly liked the prickly and hairy extensions on the succulents in the Desert Room. We all liked Santa's seat (darn! we just missed him!) and the Dale Chihuly glass artwork. Regina gave me a nice Christmas gift before we departed.
That afternoon, while Kelly napped, Mom and I wrapped lumpia.
Dinner was shared with Mom and Dad, William, Kelly, Beatrice, Solomon, and I. We all missed Marissa.
~~~~
Sunday the 21st called for me to rehearse before Mass for choir. This is the last Sunday we are singing at the BVM altar in front of the congregation. I spotted Jim B., my former boss, and his wife, Sandy. I stopped by and spoke with him---he updated me on his family's doings. After Mass, the soprani and alti practiced the Fugue...with Ken directing at the piano.
I met a family from NJ outside church, and Mom, Dad, and I ate lunch together. Dad and I went to the public library (I had mentioned the printer capabilities to my friend Maureen earlier in the weekend; and we have been without Internet accessibility at home for over a week and a half), and I helped Maureen troubleshoot her flight problems (we made a run to her apartment for documents). Kelly, Mom, Dad, and I went to Eat 'N' Park near Jo-Anne S.'s apartment for dinner.
~~~~~
Monday the 22nd brought an appointment to my primary care physician and a visit to Tokyo Buffet by the whole family---Mom, Dad, Kelly, me (William and Marissa and children arrived much later due to a flat tire). I had a nice long nap afterwards.
~~~~~
Tuesday the 23rd (today) brought a visit to physical therapy, lunch at Taco Bell, and yet another annual visit to the specialist.
~~~
I've been writing/answering Christmas cards this week, and look forward to singing at Christmas Eve Mass. I've also been answering my students' emails from various computers on campus, at UPMC, and in the public library.
Labels: anniversary, Choir, dining, email, family, friends, gift, glass, list, Mass, Phipps, singing, St. Paul Cathedral, water exercise
Gifts, Movie w/ the Chicks
Mom, Dad, and I brought the gifts to the altar today during Mass. Fr. Breier greeted us.
~~~
After Mass, I spoke with Marie M., and said hi to Lisa and Ken. Lisa noted that we would see each other on Thursday (for choir practice, already!)
Mom, Dad, and I dined in Oakland on Forbes Avenue for dinner, then went to the drugstore (CVS) for household supplies. I met Karina and Maureen for a trip to Century III Mall's dollar movie. We saw "Sex in the City."
Labels: Choir, Church, cinema, family, friends, gift, Mass, St. Paul Cathedral
A, B, B puzzle
After dinner last night I went to visit William, Marissa, and Beatrice ("Mimi! Mimi!" I was greeted, happily). I watched her feed herself pancake and orange (and NOT eat the apple sausage "ah-puh"), and drink milk from her cup. We read Max's "A, B, B" book, with Beatrice identifying all the letters and naming objects in some of the pictures, as well as naming some things that begin with some of the letters--"M, Mimi; L, Lola, Lola." We retired to the living room for more book reading (a Sesame Street book of Baby Lapsit rhymes, and a Dinosaur Bones book I gave to her for Easter), and to play with her "A, B, B" puzzle. She would pick up the letter, name it, I would repeat the letter, then she would place it in the correct puzzle position in the alphabet. What fun!
Beatrice cannot pronounce some letters readily, due to a lack of teeth. These letters are namely, C, F, J, and S. She does her best to pronounce them, though, and C becomes B, F becomes H, J becomes A, and S (may appear at times to be a Z).
Labels: Beatrice, games, gift, read
