The Magister was just asked by our waitress: How would you like your lollipops cooked?", to which he asnswered "Medium."

isn't sure if she was just dust-mopping or collecting fur with which to assemble another cat.

Sunday afternoon: art museum for Ansel Adams exhibit; next 2 birthday parties (11 yo girl, 15 yo guy) in the park.

Sunday afternoon: art museum for Ansel Adams exhibit; next 2 birthday parties (11 yo girl, 15 yo guy) in the park.

1st theater movie of Christmas break: Up & Away.

will spend Boxing Day tackling/unpacking some of the boxes in the back room (since the 2 bday parties were postponed to Sunday).

Today is Festivus. In the immortal words of Frank Costanza, "I got a lot of problems with you people!" http://festivusweb.com/

& the Magister arrived home to find someone had swept & raked their porch & yard. In the rain. Wow & thanks, whoever you are!

is sitting in the chilly Chapel, awaiting the start of the children's Christmas pageant.

Guadelupe

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe, Patroness of the Americas. Hers is a story I love, since it shows God's special care and love for the peoples of the Americas. Mary appeared to San Juan Diego in the form of an Aztec princess, brown skinned and carrying flowers that appeared as an answer to prayer. She didn't look like the European invaders who would later act in a very non-Christian manner towards the indigenous peoples here. I like having two Marian feasts in the 2nd week of Advent.

We should go eat Mexican food tonight to celebrate. What we will do for sure is make vegetarian chili for game day tomorrow. It is my need to look up the recipe that gets me back to the blog after a long, intense, academically challenging semester.

, after 3 days of hot tea and hot water to try and preserve her voice for today's Mass, is giving up and admitting that she has a head cold.

celebrated St. Nicholas Day w/Mass, brunch, and a chess pie experiment. Later, a bit of review for tomorrow's final exam, Russian leftovers.

wishes all her friends following the liturgical calendar a Happy New Year!

has been watching the Gamecocks dominate Clemson and is hopeful now that it's a 3-possession game with under 5 minutes to go.

plans to work off Thanksgiving dinner (Garibaldi's) by raising and lowering the 3.6# newspaper full of Black Friday ads.

back from Thanksgiving Mass; now headed to the Baptist/Catholic collaborative TG meal for the homeless/poor. Grateful for the opportunity.

notes it's not too late to create a dish that will amaze your family at tomorrow's feast. http://ping.fm/1wtYf

had great home brewed cappuccino, courtesy of the Magister, got a great parking space at work, and hopes the on-call day goes as smoothly.

Riding back on the short bus. Lengthy UN-style parlimentary debate on the merits of defenestrating one of the students.

A couple of pics from the weekend

Cappuchino Art


Regular Milk


Soy


Me with Grandma



Aunt with Grandma

Trying on new specs.

Someone thinks she's cool enough to wear these sunglasses.

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is watching a group of enthusiastic teens spending a Friday night discussing HIV/AIDS & global literacy & human rights. Nice.

was just mistaken for a high schooler. There are extenuating circumstances, but it still made my day!

Sitting in a school activity bus watching young males try to teach each other the fine art of tie tying. Oh, the humanity!

@ the eye doctor's. They nust be giving away free stuff-I've never seen so many people here!

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, my patroness & a great example of serving God and His people through nursing.

understands the Epi science but disagrees with new recs against mammograms before 50. Women are tough enough to handle some false positives.

Waiting for a friend outside south gate of BOA (Panthers) stadium, listening to Salvation Army Band play Christmas Carols.

is done with yard work & is watching the USC game go not so well, while the Magister does in-house I.T. work on the laptop.

can see from her front yard the NON-moving traffic on Rosewood Dr that isn't going to get to the USC-FLA game before kickoff.

HHES 35- LM 28. our guys go 12-0 & will fight their arch rivals next week for state championship. Quite a nailbiter!

@ end of 1st half @hheshighlanders 28, LM 14. We've had a 28-0 run. Nice.

HHES vs. Lawrence-Manning, SCISA semipfinals. Kickoff returned by them for touchdown@ 14 seconds. Gonna be a long night.

OK, I mis-read. Official Hurricane Season (not the Raleigh team) ends November 30. But Ida got my message and stood down to TS strength.

wishes to point out to Ida that Hurricane season officially ended November 1, so perhaps she could stand down now.

is getting ready to talk to private school headmasters about, you guessed it, H1N1. Tonight, public health students.

is studying on the front porch - 81 degrees, light breeze, no mosquitos. It's a beautiful October day in the 'hood.

is fixin' to give a mess o'swine flu shots. First, gotta get my own.

is out for vegetarian brunch with niece who is a Mini-MMe2.

came home to a festival of lights - her own Rosewood Diwali.

Mass @ St. Lawrence, Asheville. 100th anniversary of Basilica. Smells, bells, sung prayers, red everywhere, patens even!

's small group @ the women's retreat has been assigned to 7:15 breakfast set-up in the AM. Have these people _met_ me?

& the Magister have 5:30 appts @ Urban Nirvana (massages). Best. husband. ever.

Letterman ended with KISS, Craig Ferguson just began with a Hanson cover, and I'm here doing homework feeling a bit like Billy Pilgrim.

& the Magister celebrated yesterday the 6th anniversary of the Sunday (27th Ordinary) when they crossed the Tiber; same readings, same joy.

spent a wonderful, worshipful morning with God's people @Blacknall in Durham, NC. Thanks to all for the warm welcome "home".

isn't moving at all in the parking lot after the U2 concert, but is much more relaxed about it. Fantastic show!

has moved under 1/4 mile in 25 minutes with 3 or so miles to go to get to U2 parking. Not gonna catch the opener.

sitting outside @ Brightleaf Square with live honky-tonk music, real Greek food, happy dancing children good company-perfect.

is finishing lunch @ Elmo's after a great visit to Trinity School. Next up, a stroll down 9th Street. I love this town.

& the Magister are headed up to Durham & Raleigh for the weekend. Elmo's, Nikos, Little Windows, family, U2, Blacknall. Fun!

has apparently disappeared from FB. It's amazing how unhelpful the "help" menu is for this problem, despite the large numbers reporting it.

is mic'd up & about ready to go live for a swine flu broadcast for schools. First time featured on live TV.

is sitting in an Olympia living listening to the angelic harmonies of Juliee Glaub & Mark Weems.

is the next speaker @ the Nurse Practitioner Conference, right when the carbs from lunch will be kicking in.

hopes her herbs are getting some of this "sun-shiny rain."

is leaving what she thought would be a small quiet dinner, but which ended up as a mini-reunion with a couple dozen cousins.

is headed back home from an afternoon spent with many of her Daddy's family. It was great to catch up, even as we missed Sue.

is headed to a commemoration for her aunt. It appears that _everyone_ else is headed into her neighborhood to tailgate.

Don't ye be fergettin', me hearties, that on the morrow it be the scurvy "Talk (Ye) Like a Pirate Day".

notes that Bernanke has declared the recession over. It must be due to all the work we've done to stimulate the economy via trips to Lowe's.

Good results from cath. No progression in blockage, issues more musculoskeletal. Patient groggy, cheerful. Thanks 4 prayers.

Update: Step-father has just been taken back for procedure. More details when we know something. In good spirits.

is headed to the heart center where her step-father is having a cardiac cath today. Prayers coveted and appreciated from all y'all.

thinks that folks who support Rep. Wilson's comment about the President's speech should tell him "Say 'It Ain't So!' Joe."

had another lovely dinner on the porch with the Magister - homemade pasta sauce with fresh ingredients, all the mosquitos you care to swat.

is headed out to buy a porch mailbox. Then a final focused search for her missing cell phone before the dreaded trip to the Verizon store.

Powerful essay on gifts from suffering. "When life strikes hard blows, what we do has value. Our God sees it." http://ping.fm/rxWAv

can't believe that Colbert & Stewart missed the chance to air more SC-embarrassing news tonight. Take your pick of stories.

is done for the night. Tomorrow: work, homework, Bible study, try to to take the _correct_ wet-dry vac back to the brother-in-law.

Susan Faith Boggs Wurdinger, 1948-2009. Resquiet in pacem. http://ping.fm/neu8U

Susan Faith Boggs Wurdinger, 1948-2009. Resquiet in pacem. http://ping.fm/rg95f

Susan Faith Boggs Wurdinger, 1948-2009. Resquiet in pacem.

just got around to putting her new phone on the Do-Not-Call registry. www.dot.donotcall.dot.gov. Telemarketers have 31 days to stop calling.

is amazed at all that the Magister gets done - meet the phone guy (who came early), deal with the flooded "basement", prep lessons, etc.

notes that USC football season has started. Not the on-the-field season, rather the law enforcement season. http://ping.fm/Vq2A9

is @ Motor Supply for quiche, fruit, & "Columbia's Best Bloody Mary" while the oven cleaner does its magic.

is headed back to the nearly empty house, hoping to drop the word "nearly" by sometime tomorrow.

is proud of the cat, who has stopped crying about the move and is now demanding to go outside and survey her new domains.

is headed back out to deliver boxes, get last bits of stuff left in the old house, grab plants, & not take a Sunday afternoon nap.

can relax in her new living room, thanks to the hard work today of Jennifer, Katie, Mouse, Jesse, Brittany, Sarah, Brooke, & the Magister.

is tired & partially unpacked, and so very grateful for moving help from Mom, Bud, Cindi, Brooke, Mark, Brittany, Sarah, Mouse & Jesse.

is heading back home from Murrell's Inlet.

is packing for an overnight trip to Pawley's Island. Got more of the kitchen unpacked today -- the mondo box-fillling starts Monday PM.

is carrying over another load of kitchen stuff to the house. I'll unpack what I can, then home to dress-up for my 30th High School Reunion.

is sorry she'll be missing her 4 yo niece's bday party this afternoon. That's 2 niece parties missed in 3 weekends. Too many! :'-(

is headed back from south FL to SC w/the Magister. Judging from the I-95 traffic, so is everyone else.

Just had baked marinated baby artichokes with spinach, mushrooms & parmesan, & WILL be 'trying this at home.'

actually had someone take her up on on her "I don't have cash but I'm happy to put gas in your car" offer.

final afternoon of our Epi Conference, planned since Oct 08, rescheduled in May for Swine Flu. Going well so far...

just heard a great term for the proliferation of incorrect medical info on the internet: Wild West Web.

unpacked & arranged china, them hiked with the Magister over for fried stuff & Irish music. What a great neighborhood!

just heard our project got extended past 10 PM tonight (we'd had to start over on a semester project 17 days ago!) Time to cook, shower.

is @ Harper's for a mid-week study break. Too much to get done for class by Saturday PM, letting someone else cook.

can't seem to get back into looking at census data and social norming programs to finish up a paper/project. Time for more caffeine.

gave the first talk of the day @ a school nurse meeting. Thought the cell was on vibrate. Oops!

just watched Spinal Tap on Jimmy Fallon. They're back [from the dead]. http://ping.fm/WEv88

is liking the good smells from the kitchen as the Magister makes a sauce from our fresh tomatoes and herbs. Back to homework.

and thanks to the Magister for getting me into AC and a giant beverage so quickly. It's very nice to be cared for.

was driven home hurriedly from the Battle of the Bands after collapsing from the heat. Thanks to family for helping me get into the car.

just had family over for one of the Magister's amazing dinners. Time to start packing up the kitchen now - the china won't move itself.

strolled with the Magister to a (new) neighborhood food spot for sandwiches & to celebrate 26 years of marriage.

Term heard in a CDC conference call: 'quasi-agile environment.' For which read 'restrictive'?

is done with homework, and was just checking the bank statement before bed. I'm noticing that the trips to Lowes have begun. Homeownership.

notes that the Red Cross donor canteen has Diet Coke & cappuchino, but no Lance crackers now. Alas...

is shocked and saddened at the death of Frank McCourt, whose honesty, wit and pathos were matched by no one. http://ping.fm/IzVrJ

is leaving her brother's bday party, and will be posting dozens of pics when she gets good. Oh, and doing more research for her class paper.

likes the great smells from the kitchen: onions, blueberries and freshly grated ginger for the Magister's famous blueberry chutney.

House Pics

Might as well resume a bit of blogging, chronicling buying, tweaking, and moving into a new house.

A week before our 26th anniversary, we're finally the holders of a mortgage. Neither of us feels like a Homeowner, more like people who have a note from the bank that will let us live somewhere, so long as we bribe the bank each month.

I don't think the O'Cayces will change our name as we relocate the House of Chez Casa to Rosewood, but we might add some sort of suffix, a la serious aristocracy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Front


Back


Back Yard. "Lush". Try and identify the metal shed back there.


Dining room with large fireplace


Measurements. Note that we also have a large fireplace in the living room.


New "Homeowners"


Celebrating at the Rockaway Athletic Club.

has always wanted to live in a craftsman-style, brick bungalow in a funky older neighborhood. As of noon today, we've got us one!

Pics to follow.

is finishing Bastille Day with Roqueforte, next to Deliece de Bourgonne with the Magister's homemade blueberry chutney. Vive les frommages!

Leaving Ellijay GA after a great weekend with great friends.

No-knead bread is the greatest invention since, well, you know ... the cliche'. (HT L Carlson).

sez: Homework is done. Now for the hottub, if there's room.

has joined the ranks of careful posters now that her Mom & stepfather joined Facebook, plus most of her nieces/nephews, aunts, cousins, etc.

is headed to bed to rest up for another intense day of meetings and writing and being on call. Kinda like grad school 24/7.

wishes The State (newspaper) would find some other SC govt agency to "dredge up" info on. Today's was a stretch, even for their standards.

notes, in news from across the pond, that even wizards aren't immune to Swine Flu. RT @birdflu, http://ping.fm/bppaD

was surprised to learn that mockingbirds like to eat fresh tomatoes. We harvested it a bit early, and the caprese salad is quite tasty.

quotes Colbert: "Today was Canada Day and I celebrated the way I normally do -- by not knowing it's Canada Day." Sorry, Canucks, eh.

Link from last tweet: http://ping.fm/iJlPT

was surprised & delighted to learn she has been selected for the Public Health Nurse award by the Southern Health Ass'n. http://ping.fm/8URz7

is feeling very much like Blanche DuBois this sultry afternoon.

is headed to the movies (Away We Go), then the Olive Garden. Harbison on a Saturday afternoon!

wishes her friends from the St. Thomas More Center a joyous feast day of our Patron Saint, "the king's good servant, but God's first."

has a house with two snorers, but only one CPAP. Glad it's in the room where she is.

has put on the little black dress and is headed to Motor Supply Bistro to celebrate 30 years of friendship with the Magister.

& the Magister are headed out for Italian with the 'rents (bday part 2!), despite it being Juneteenth.

wishes all her Texas friends a very happy Juneteenth.

innocently asked the Magister "What should I wear tomorrow for my birthday?" and then realized one should never ask that question.

sez: chipotle salsa meatloaf, check. Italian roasted veggies, check. Organic peach custard tart in puff pastry, check. Magister home, check!

just saw a "sweet transvestite" taking a stretch break outside Publix. Full R.H.P.S. regalia.

got home after errands and a trip to Lowe's for tomato plant spikes. Current score: Thunder/distant lightning 1, lawnmowing 0.

% is headed out to visitation for a former neighbor and friend of her family for many years.

finished homework for the day, & hopes her dearest didn't have too terrible a day grading AP exams.

Florence rush hour.

is messing with mics & projectors & Powerpoint before giving another talk on MRSA to a group of nurses.

is using her status update/Tweet to let her husband know he has jury duty on July 1. By that, he'll correctly infer that I've arrived home.

read, relaxed, hiked, took pics & enjoyed the Blue Ridge Mtns. 2nd Chapter of Acts & photoediting b4 dinner. Home tomorrow.

found some cell phone 'bars' @ the local winery & was able to talk to her dearest, who is in Kansas City. Back to the Mtn cabin now.

is very much enjoying her (mostly) unplugged vacation with the Magister up in the mountains of Western Va. I could _so_ live up here.

is in a cafe in Floyd VA, on a borrowed computer. Power cord defunct on the laptop, meaning no computing til the new one arrives.

recalls being transfixed by the bravery & resolve shown by the students in #Tiananmen Square 20 years ago. Resquiat in pace.

has started summer school for real - group discussion begun (check), Wiki started (check), first paper drafted (check). It's only day 3!

is out on an emergency response drill, assessing damage following a mock hurricane.

just enjoyed an impromptu solo drum concert starring her nephew.

likes knowing that she & her husband, miles apart, said the same prayers & received Our Lord, @ the same time this morning.

(quoting jwerry Seinfeld) "It's not enough to _take_ the reservation; you have to _HOLD_ the reservation." Frustrating afternoon!

is leaving Myrtle Beach & wishes she could do as well w/gas prices as she did w/prices @ the Coldwater Creek outlet.

got to spend time with her youngest brother at the conference today (yay!) Off to more sessions. No Alltel reception in the buildings (boo).

has been watching a biopic on John Paul II and is just blubbering. What a Great man. Johannes Paulus, ora pro nobis.

& the Magister will be attending a wedding tomorrow. Congrats Derrick & Susan!

quoting Stephen Colbert: Sorry ... Catholics with options are called Protestants.

has climbed up into the big blue donor's chair at the Red Cross. Time to be a good citizen.

has the day off tomorrow. Who knew that there were so many days on which Confederate Memorial Day was celebrated? http://ping.fm/icBhO

spent several hours today not thinking about swine flu.

is still on a CDC swine flu call. She'd like to be taken out for Nurses' Day, & hopes the call ends soon.

is eating leftover veggie sushi in her office, in between swine flu meetings. This wasabi paste could cure the flu, or whatever ails you.

is preparing from another CDC A H1N1 "swine flu" call by watching the 1977 plague disaster flick "Cassandra Crossing."

has started making the Derby Pie. The juleps start @ 4, post time is ~6 PM. In between now and 4? Swine Flu conference calls.

For those interested, here's an SC swine flu case map. http://ping.fm/o4qEe More accurate than CDC's list.

is speaking in a few minutes on a live statewide video broadcast. The fire alarm has been going off all morning during the other talks.

For those concerned about swine flu, there's plenty of reliable, validated info available from this page: http://ping.fm/dC035

has just submitted her final paper, logged out of Blackboard, and is ready for 5 whole weeks of no assignments (other than work...) Yay!

is _really_ finishing her paper. 1/2 of a chapter plus checking APA formatting (if you know it, you hate it.) 11 hours left this semester.

notes that her Twitter feed today is chock full of swine flu posts. Here's hoping all of the avian flu pandemic planning is tranferrable.

It's the end of the world, so maybe my last paper can wait...

From the top of the Drudge Report this afternoon (time indicated via Google gadget, as are my pending projects.)

Pig Flu, and we're all gonna die.

Fires at the beach, and they're all gonna die.

White House evacuated due to stray plane -- somebody's gonna ....

Smaller version pasted below.  

Definitely check out the full-sized screen shot so you can read the text.

is preparing to serve as an expert panelist on pandemic influenza. Woot.

has turned in last assignment in health politics class. Now to GVL for pan flu ethics forum.

is leaving work after a long on-call day.

just got this error message: "403 Forbidden: The server understood the request, but is refusing to fulfill it." Who knew they were sentient?

is back from the Great Easter Vigil. Jesus is back in the Tabernacle, the Santuary candle is relit, and He is truly risen, indeed.

is between Good Friday services and awaiting news about her father-in-law who is in the hospital. That's all we know right now.

Haiku Thoughts on the Drive Home

Mid-April ev'ning
Full moon over the dogwoods
Easter is coming.

I love how God has decorated the South for Holy Week this year. The dogwoods, remaining camelias, azaleas, and annuals are just lovely, and some streets are breathtakingly beautiful.

I hope to remember to take time to notice and marvel at the beauty of creation this week, even as all the hectic busy-ness of school, work and even our Holy Week observances tend to take my mind off of the Creator of all of this beauty. Long sentence, but you get the idea.

is off to choir rehearsal for the Triduum.

Mainly for @dogwooddell. http://ping.fm/Tjvzv

suggests this page of instructions for making palm crosses in the AM. They form up well and dry beautifully. http://ping.fm/nLrnv

thanks G for reminding her that today was the 4th anniversary of the day we lost John Paul II. Santo Subito!

now has 3 sisters and 6 brothers and finds this BBC news story quite interesting (not posted on April 1!): http://ping.fm/1u46i

Rabbit, Rabbit

There -- I've collected your luck for the month.

Just completed the taxes (yay!), and tomorrow will resume writing about lice whilst also mounting the fake campaign for my health politics class. We have to run a simulated campaign and I'm the lucky candidate running for a random house seat.

Sample slogan: Lizzie O'Cayce: Right for District 4. (We're group #4 and I've reasonably conservative, so you get the idea.) 50% of the project grade is the budget and fundraising parts of the Wiki. Not the issues or the comprehension of health and political topics -- nope, the money stuff is most of the grade. To quote the txtng nephews: wat up widdat?

In other news from my non-work, non-school life, another more family bday gathering let me get a few neat shots.



Izzy with our youngest great-niece, Mackenzi. He calls this one "Mac and Cheese."



Uncle Izzy flying the baby through the air. She's finally smiling.



Universal sign of needing a nap.



Bro (B3) and bandmember of a nephew.



Nephew, age 14, not the one in the band.

In the realm of being grown-ups. 25 years after we got rid of the Flintstones furniture that Izzy had in his "bachelor pad" (model home cast-offs), we've finally bought a real live coffee table. We put the pretty throw we got in Morocco onto it and the place looks even more homey.

Speaking of homey, the azaleas are coming back after the massacre 16 months ago. We've got light pink and deep magenta blooms next to the last of the camellias and the white dogwood blossoms. It's such a pretty time of year and I'm glad we got our flowers back this year, though it doesn't quite look like it did before. (scroll for after and before shots.) I drove down the street my Mom and Step-Dad live on last night, which was awash with dogwoods and azaleas and other flowers -- I just felt so happy seeing all of the color. I'm grateful for spring flowers and renewal and all of the loveliness that leads up to Easter -- and against which Good Friday will stand in stark contrast.





Last pic -- I love B&W for shapes.

Yay! ACC Championship goes to Duke

Quick post, them I'm really really going back to my paper.


(Photo credit: Ethan Hayman, Raleigh News & Observer)

While Izzy and I yelled and cheered, and Caligula hid under the bed, Duke came back playing like a team that had been in championship games before. Yes, Florida State had several comebacks to decrease the margin of victory, but the Devils really looked like a strong team for the first time in a while.

I'll enjoy this victory and hope we survive next weekend. Either way, we still get to be the ACC Champs. And as a friend from NC (UNC fan actually) reminds me, here is no such thing as a regular season champ vs. tournament champ. There is only one championship, and we know too well what it feels like to lose it.

BTW: In the photo above, you'll see two smaller children. Those are Coach K's grandchildren, wearing 3's in honor of Senior Greg Paulus, a three year starter who graciously moved back to support the team playing 6th or 7th this year. Class acts all around.

Competing Obama-icons

So, Izzy and I both used Paste Magazine's gizmo to tweak pics of ourselves to look like the iconic pic of Obama from the fall campaign.

I had a shot I liked of me in my cap, backpack, denim shirt, camera and radio -- ready to go on an emergency response drill. Of course, you really cannot make out much of the detail of the shot (which I took in the bathroom mirror of the Emergency Operations Center.)

Still, I liked the effect and labeled the shot: Ready.



Izzy did his first, and chose one of the ancient terms for sloth (there's lots more meaning, of course, it's a Greek term): Acedia



I hadn't realized how interesting they were as a juxtaposition until I saw them appearing one after the other several times in a Facebook discussion this evening.

In "real life", I think we trade off the descriptors. One of the things that makes us a good partnership, I guess.

Brothers & more photos

Wow, I missed March February. It's not as if I haven't spent time typing, and if you had access to my courses online, you'd see the feverish outpourings from my stubs of fingers...

I'm pasting below a few shots of recent interest. I'm uploading from the laptop, while another Flickr upload completes - rather than saving space and just linking to the Flickr pics. (Click to view larger.)

My two great-nephews at the younger one's 5th birthday party. Younger guy's first bike. I just loved being able to be present for this important moment in their lives as brothers.

B5 with his 5th. Fun with post processing.

Me & S2's youngest at a basketball game. She's wearing the t-shirt I caught (one-handed!) when it was dropped from the rafters.

Spring Break starts tomorrow. With another big paper due, I don't imagine I'll get any more caught up on photos, or life, for that matter.

Other recent news: Izzy has perfected, IMHO, his Baba ghanouj recipe. I'm so touched that he works so hard on it when he really cannot stand eggplant. I feel very loved and cherished.

Fun new photos

he lighting and staging could be better, but I was having fun.


In the first, it just looks like a loose pair of pants (thanks to serious cinching in the back.) I was sorting clothes to give away and make room in the closet, and thought I'd try one of those "after" photos. That's me below in one leg.

Our New Normal

Izzy announced last week via Ping/Twitter/Facebook/Livejournal that he had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. One of my sisters immediately responded on FB asking when he was planning to tell the rest of his family. He replied that by posting on a social network, he HAD informed folks. (NB, I don't know if Momala and Pop have been called - he's not here right now to ask.)

Unlike Izzy, I confined my announcements/updates to the smaller audience of this blog, back when I was in the pre-diabetes/newly-diagnosed stages. (Samples posts here and here and here.) I was freaking out a bit, and worried about how people would respond. Izzy is, and always has been, much more "out there."

We're known that this was coming for a while based on symptoms, family history, visual changes, etc. During our beach trip last December/January (here and here), Izzy was feeling a bit shaky as we entered a restaurant. After checking my blood sugar, I looked over and said "Your turn." As he later tweeted, he had a reading and a re-check over 200, and a nearly 300 reading 2 hours post-prandially. That's diagnostic. Welcome to the d-life.

His reaction was to skip most of the Kubler-Ross stages, and go pretty much straight to acceptance. Appointments were made, and he was officially diagnosed and given a couple of meters. He has been assessing the effects of his intake on blood sugar readings. Eye and diabetes education/nutrition appointments are pending. I am so grateful that we both have good insurance for meters, test strips, etc. I've had good success in managing this condition and have lab values where they need to be. I'm certain that Izzy will soon have these, as well.

Diabetes is yet another thing we share, like our Catholic faith, tri-lingual puns, Jesus Music oldies, similar motorcycle helmets, and love of Italian food*. We're working on the best ways to lower carbs counts for the latter, even as I look for what will be the perfect low-carb pie/pie crust recipe that does not include an artificial sweeteners (which Izzy really dislikes.)

For better, for worse, in sickness and in health...

*List is not all-inclusive; there's also the cat, Monty Python, the beach in winter ....

Surprised while surfing

Following a tweet from Mattheus, I Googled Jack Chick to read his newest tract:

It was easy enough to find the tract, which tries to synthesize several tomes' worth of anti-Catholic polemic into a few badly drawn pictures and reductio(s) ad absurdum.

The 2nd or 3rd Google link, as is often the case, was a Wikipedia article about Jack Chick. At the top right was a sketch of Chick, done by Jimmy Akin. I meant to click the picture to see when/how it was done, since Chick has been reticent to release pictures of himself. As Providence would have it, I clicked on the Jimmy Akin link, and wound up on his Wikipedia page.

Hmm, since I'm here, guess I'll read a bit. Following anther link, I found myself at this article from This Rock posted on the Catholic Answers site (reprinted from Surprised by Truth.) This is Jimmy's story of his conversation to Catholicism.

After consideration of the Church's claims for some time, a search begun like the searches of so many others in an attempt to refute their veracity, Akin found himself prepared to enter the church in which his wife was raised and to which she had reverted from New Ageism.

Akin writes beautifully, in his early 30's voice, of his version of the deathbed conversion -- his reception into the church at the bedside of his wife, Renee. They received the Eucharist together, for the first and last time, the day before her death from cancer.

Shortly afterward, Renee received her first morphine shot. Then our priest arrived. In private, he gave me the sacrament of confession. Then, in Renee's hospital room, using the emergency, shortened form of the rites, he brought me into the Church. He gave me conditional baptism and then confirmed me. After giving Renee the anointing of the sick, he gave us the Eucharist, which he had brought from the tabernacle in our parish.

My wife and I communicated together for the first and last time, sharing pieces from the same host. Although Renee was able to receive communion the next day, I was not present for that. This was the only time the two of us would share the Lord Jesus in this way.

Because of the morphine injection Renee had received immediately before Fr. Wood arrived, she was very sleepy during my reception into the Church. But she knew what was going on and tried to participate as best she could, such as when she managed to eat a small fragment of the host when we received communion. When my reception into the Catholic Church was completed, I hugged her and told her I was inside the Church. There was a beautiful, peaceful smile on her face--a smile which lasted a long time.

From something inflammatory to something inspirational. Good ending.

How some of us are marking this auspcious day

Having survived the treacherous voyage across the bridge in the snow (I picked what I believe to be the shortest bridge to cross), I arrived at our delayed start workday to find one meeting canceled and another delayed. (yay!)

I made a capuchino in my office using the cap maker Izzy got me for Christmas.  I'm typing this as I wait for the multiple avian influenza response document drafts to print.  

In a few minutes, a group of us will gather in one of the conference rooms to view the inaugural festivities.  It won't be as historic a gathering as the one MM is attending, but we'll be a bit warmer (smile.)  Being the good civil servant that I am, I'll be the one off to the side watching whilst reviewing these plans for the delayed meeting.  Somebody has to continue worrying about avian influenza, and I get to be one of those somebodies.  That's not a complaint -- it's job security, baby!

Prayers go out for the health of those on the Mall, for the safety of all involved, including those sworn to protect us, and for civil discourse among Americans in our areas of disagreement.

May our Blessed Mother, as Patroness of the Americas, intercede for our country and all of its people, including those not yet born.