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Did you ever have a day when things went along smoothly and were pleasant, even with unexpected happenings? That's the kind of day we had today. We did a few things around the house, including picking more veggies, of course. Sid also mowed the front yard and the area along the boundary between us and our neighbor. So, the entire front orchard has been mowed, and the veggies are pretty much "caught up" for today.
The unexpected happening was the nicest, though. My SIL, Weze, called this morning to tell us that she was bringing a friend of hers to this area to meet with my other SIL, Bess, and some of their elementary school classmates--they do this every so often. The friend is on dialysis and hasn't been feeling well enough to drive, so Weze offered to bring her to the little gathering. Of course, that meant that Weze had to spend her time elsewhere--and she chose to come here, IF we would let her. What a silly question! Of course, we would.
When we went to the movie yesterday, we had planned to stop by to visit Weze (and drop off some tomatoes and cucumbers), but she had a previous appointment, so we couldn't do that. So this was really nice! We called her and told her not to each lunch and to share a meal with us, and she readily agreed.
Since this was totally unplanned, I wasn't sure if I'd have enough time to get a meal together, but Sid and I worked quickly (it was already almost 11am when we started, and she was expected around 12:30) and got the meal prepared. While Sid defrosted some boneless chicken breasts, I grilled some onions and peppers and put some peas on the fire. After the chicken was defrosted, Sid took over watching the onions and peppers so they wouldn't burn, and I began to make strips out of the chicken breasts.
As I cut some, I put them in another skillet with Sid keeping an eye on them while I finished the rest. When all the meat was cut, I added the onions and peppers to the meat, letting it just cook on a low fire in some butter. By the time Weze got here, the chicken was tender, the peas were done, and we had even baked some garlic/cheese breads (first time for this, and it was pretty good). I think Weze was surprised, but we really had a nice time getting things ready and then being able to just sit down with Weze and relax. It was great!
Of course, Weze never shows up empty-handed: She brought French bread, a "turtle" cake (chocolate with caramel between layers, caramel dribbled over the topand finished off with pecans), and, totally unrelated to food, some little ampules of medication for bee stings and another "stick" medication for itching. Special, huh!
After Weze left, Sid climbed on the mower and began working on the front yard. While he was doing that, Mis' Dot's niece stopped by--unfortunately, her husband needs a triple by-pass and will have that done on Monday, so please keep him--and her as well--in your prayers. He is in excellent health besides that and was showing no symptoms at all, so he is a very fortunate man. A regular check-up found this problem.
Tonight, since we had such a special meal for dinner, we supped on club sandwiches--easy to fix, good to eat, and we used the left-over tomatoes from dinner. So, all-in-all, you can see how nicely this day went. We could all use some of those, don't you think?
I had a nice long chat with Mom today, and she wanted to cancel the appointment they made for an eye exam. I insisted that she NOT do that since I'll probably be there next week and would rather do that then than have to make another trip there in just a few weeks. She conceded and the appointment will remain. Other than that, she's doing OK!
That's it for this evening. Hope you had as nice a day as we did and that tomorrow brings more of the same. My quote today comes from our church bulletin from Mass. --a little long, but worth sharing:
"Holiness is: --not something that comes from doing good; we do good b/c we're holy. --not something we acquire by avoiding evil; we avoid evil because we are holy. --not something that follows from prayer; we pray b/c we are holy. --not a result of kindness; we are kind b/c we are holy. --not something that blossoms when we are courageous; we are courageous b/c we are holy. --not the result of character building; we build character b/c we are holy. --not the private possession of religious people; we are religious b/c we are holy. --not something that comes from being more joyful; we are joyful b/c we are holy. --not a gift we obtain after a lifetime of service; we give a lifetime of service b/c we are holy. Our holiness is God with us, Emmanuel. And while it's true that holiness carried with it both the cross and the resurrection, it is more a gift than a reward. --Fr. John Catoir
PS: Not all of us who read this are Catholics, but "most" of us are Christians, striving for holiness. Perhaps this reflection might get us a little closer to our goal!
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