text:
"Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things ." ~Saki
"What are you cooking for dinner?" ~ Lois Rogers, Guest Blogger
As the pandemic grinds on in its so-far relentless pace, this is the question that has been opening up most conversations around here for quite a while.
At first, I found it annoying – especially when one of my friends, who was cooking for her household, would routinely toss it out at me after describing
her family menu for the night, pointing up my solitary status and making me feel terribly sorry for myself.
The answer on my part was usually, "I haven't thought about it yet," or, even worse, "maybe some cheerios." Blah!
Cooking for one during a plague didn't strike me as much fun.
But as time went on, it became crystal clear from visions of food shortages around the country and people in critical states of need, that if you could access the ingredients, had transportation, had friends kind enough to shop for you if needed, and the means to actually bring home enough of what was available to meet the requirements of your heart healthy diet, you just better snap out of it.
Thus began cooking dinner fever in the little blue house on the lake and a lot of thinking about how folks around me were making do.
Putting together an interesting combination of ingredients that managed to make it through the supply chain became a challenge and sometimes a triumph – when asparagus went down to $1.29 a pound after Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes were pretty inexpensive, too, and a good brand of veggies cost a mere .40 cents a can were just some examples.
Sharing those commodities with neighbors when a really good sale came along became a part of the "what's for dinner" program around here. It's not much in the face of things, but as my late brother Pete used to say, "It's better than nothing."
As the Christmas season of 2021 dwindles down to a few days in the New Year of 2022, here's hoping that before too long, this pandemic will just be a memory, something to point to when better times arrive – like my grandmother's blackout curtains after World War II or my grandfather, forgoing heat so that he could keep the sugar bowl full during the gas crisis of the 1970s.
And I plan to hold on to "what's cooking for dinner" with thought, care and prayer. I hope to spend some of 2022 asking friends, relatives and colleagues – secular, ordained and religious – what's cooking for dinner and reporting back.
This very festive recipe for Camarão na Moranga – Brazilian Shrimp Stuffed Pumpkin was shared by Divine Word Father Guilherme Andrino, pastor of Lakewood's Our Lady of Guadalupe. He prepared it for a number of the volunteers who organized the annual procession of torches in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe which was held for the first time in Lakewood on Dec. 4.
A traditional Brazilian dish from the Southeastern part of Brazil, Father Andrino described it as a "cheese and creamy shrimp stew" often served inside a large pumpkin. The best pumpkin to use, he said, is called Kabocha (or Japanese squash) but Cinderella pumpkins can be used too, he said.
"This recipe is fun to prepare because it is not only delicious, but it is very impressive," said Father Andrino. "The dish is very creamy, comfy and rich in flavor."
One thing I really enjoyed about this dish was the adventure of finding some of the ingredients. Because of the constraints of the pandemic, I shop early in the morning or rather late in the afternoon when the area stores are apt to be less crowded.
I'd long noticed that Lakewood is dotted with international markets but, except for a farmer's market on Route 9 on the border of Lakewood and Howell, I never seriously explored them.
The need to find a pumpkin, or big squash, changed my perspective when Father Andrino told me where they could be found. His advice led me not
only to the pumpkins, but also opened up a veritable wonderland of culinary options for recipes to come after seeing shelves lined with Mexican, South American, Asian and Central and Eastern European goods.
It was a fun adventure and very informative.
Camarão na Moranga – Brazilian Shrimp Stuffed Pumpkin
1 large pumpkin
1 ½ onions, minced
1 pound shrimp, cleaned and fresh
2 tomatoes, minced
½ cup tomato purée
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
2 seedless chili peppers, hand-chopped
1 cup heavy cream (cream cheese or Brazilian Requeijao)
1 cup Oaxaca cheese, melted
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 lemon, for seasoning
Olive oil, for cooking
Cut off the top of the pumpkin, around 2 to 4-inch opening depending on the size of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Set aside.
grind the 2 garlic cloves with half the onion, pepper, salt, and oil.
Rub this mixture on the inside of the pumpkin, and cover.
Place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Next, season the shrimp with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
In a hot frying pan with oil, sautée the shrimp until browned. Add more salt and pepper for taste if needed. Set aside.
In the same frying pan, add the remaining onion and garlic, and then add the tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes. Add in half cup of tomato purée. Mix together, and then add in the cilantro and chili peppers. Next, add in the heavy cream (cream cheese or Brazilian Requeijao), melted cheese, shrimp, and mixed altogether. Season with pepper.
Pour the shrimp mixture inside the pumpkin.
Cover with grated mozzarella cheese.
Place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!
Lois Rogers has been writing about faith, family and food (most notably in her award-winning blog, "Keeping the Feast" which has appeared in The Trenton Monitor) for most of her professional career. She may be reached at loisrogers66@gmail.com.
Photos courtesy Father Guilherme Andrino
Posted by Mary Clifford Morrell at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Enough is a place of peace and gratitude
As a blogger for a Catholic publisher, my task is to write on topics of concern for today's parents. This sometimes proves to be a challenge because I am no longer raising children in today's culture and am sometimes at odds with my own children about how to raise grandchildren.
But I have found there are some issues that are "evergreen" and continue to be issues of concern even for grown-ups. One of these, which stands in stark relationship to our ability for gratitude, is the concept of "enough" – an experience that lives somewhere between deprivation and abundance.
"Enough" is a place of satisfaction, happiness, and peace of mind. It doesn't mean we are at a place of no struggle; it just means we have what we need if not everything we want. The challenge for parents is to help children move into adulthood knowing the difference.
Whether it is how much money we make, things we buy, time we waste or time we work, how much we consume or how much of our lives are spent in anger, complaints or judging others, we need to develop our internal voice to say, "That's enough."
Having parents who grew up during the Great Depression was a blessing for me. As adults, they were satisfied with their modest means and belongings, and loved the humble home I grew up in. The values I learned from them, to be happy with a simple life, to be grateful for what I had, to learn to make do, and to hold on to my faith, were essential for me as my husband and I raised six children and often did not have everything we needed, particularly enough money to pay all the bills.
When one of my young sons, at the dinner table where there was more than enough to go around, asked if we were poor, it opened a door for a conversation on what it means to know poverty.
Within the week, some generous parishioners left a box of Thanksgiving fixings, including the turkey, on our front porch. They obviously knew a family with so many children would appreciate the help, which we did, but I knew there were families who needed it more.
I called around until I found a church unable to help all the families on their Thanksgiving list. With an address in hand, and my youngest sons in the car, we pulled up in front of the house after dusk.
The porch where we were supposed to leave the box was barely visible from overgrown shrubs. There were holes in the roof and several windows were boarded up with plywood. It's a house we saw weekly on our trip to the supermarket but never imagined anyone actually lived there. It didn't look safe.
I walked in front of my sons, who carried the box and a few bags of extras we had filled ourselves, and tried to quietly open the porch screen door. Thankfully, we were able to make the delivery clandestinely so as not to embarrass the receivers.
When we got back to the car, the boys were silent. Even the youngest of us need time to process a new understanding of something. As we drove home, I asked my son if he thought we were poor. He didn't answer; he just shook his head no. The youngest was crying. I asked why. "There were no toys in the box. They need toys," he said.
While we may sometimes envision the poor as being desperately unhappy, those who suffer material poverty are often those who are most joyful, grateful, generous and faithful, and cannot be counted among those of us who suffer from the many other forms of poverty – poverty of hope, of faith, of joy, of compassion, of generosity, of understanding, of gratitude.
In his message for the Fifth World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis stresses, "Christian discipleship entails deciding not to accumulate earthly treasures, which give the illusion of a security that is actually fragile and fleeting. It requires a willingness to be set free from all that holds us back from achieving true happiness and bliss, in order to recognize what is lasting, what cannot be destroyed by anyone or anything."
The Holy Father reminds us that the poor, "may be people who lack some things, often many things, including the bare necessities, yet they do not lack everything, for they retain the dignity of God's children that nothing and no one can take away from them."
Jonny Gios photo on Unsplash.
Wisteria and faith offer lessons in rootedness
Something happened today at a funeral that reminded me of a question God posed to me years ago, and it has to do with
wisteria.
For more than 50 years, our house has been graced with an aged, gnarled wisteria vine growing along a fence on the side of our property. Wisterias are vigorous vines which grow large, extraordinarily beautiful clusters of purple, blue, pink or white flowers that hang like grapes off the vine.
Wisteria, with it's deep and wide root system, is known for its hardiness and longevity, but I was convinced our particular plant could have withstood the 10 plagues of Moses and the biblical flood.
In my time, it has been repeatedly trampled by dozens of little feet, run over with the lawn mower, suffocated by a dumpster when we remodeled our house and been struck by lightning, going up in a flash fire and leaving just a smoldering piece of vine sticking out of the ground.
I was upset, of course, believing that was the end of my beloved wisteria, but under the cold October ground that little vine was whispering, "Oh, ye of little faith." By spring, its wispy green leaves were pushing through the earth, around its petrified former self and creeping up the nearby fence and light pole.
Its growth upward has taken it over, around and through a variety of obstacles, but none were sufficient to halt its progress. With every walk around my house, I would notice some new green here, another inch there, and I would be in awe of its strength and persistence.
One day, as I marveled at its tenacity, God asked me again a question I have been asked before: "What is your root?" I sighed, wondering if God ever gets tired of holding our feet to the fire when we need to learn something.
Certainly, wisteria has a physical root that grows deep and wide, securely entrenched in the earth from which it can absorb all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. On another level, this is a plant that seems to know its 'self,' determined to come back again and again despite the obstacles because it has one goal – to give life to its essence.
Humans are not always so single-minded. Our progress is often interrupted or impeded or brought to a grinding halt by wounds, by doubt or by fear. It is the nature of humanity to stumble over our human limitations and, sometimes, allow them to curtail our growth.
When we are fortunate enough to be reminded by our resolute God that our root is divine, not simply human, then obstacles become challenges on our journey of becoming: challenges that will take us over, around and through, just like the wisteria.
Today, I was reminded, when I unexpectedly saw a friend, a deacon, I haven't seen in several years because he has been incapacitated by pain and facing myriad, serious health issues that could have undone the strongest of us.
Yet today, there he was, serving as deacon at the funeral of a mutual friend, walking down the aisle with a cane to accompany the casket, standing at the altar to assist the priest, reading the Gospel through heartfelt tears, and preaching a homily that will stay with me always.
Today, I saw a friend, so often near death, who came back to life, persisting through prayer, faith and divine tenacity.
Today I was reminded what it means to be rooted in God and I cried in gratitude.
Joanna Nix Walkout photo on Unsplash.
Four legged friends are a gift from God
Today I learned that my long-time companion, a sweet and gentle beagle named Taffy, is going to die. This loving animal, a gift from my husband after my mom died, has a very large tumor in her chest, pressing against her lungs and heart.
The vet gave me some medication to help open her bronchial tubes and cortisone to reduce some of the swelling, in the hopes that it would make her more comfortable. Then he sent us both home and told me to talk to my family.
There were questions I wanted to ask, and though I struggled to maintain my composure, as I opened my mouth to speak my face began to twist in the familiar contortion of grief. Instinctively I raised my hand to cover my distorted image and choked out the words, "I wanted to ask a question before I …"
I heard him say, "It's alright."
Certainly, he's accustomed to the scene after so many years as a vet, so why should I be embarrassed? A few minutes later, sitting isolated in my car with Taffy resting her head in my lap, it is safe to allow my emotions free reign and I begin to sob. I realize it's not so much embarrassment that caused me to hold back the tears, but the intimate nature of my pain. It is not for sharing with just anyone.
Once home, I take small comfort in familiar rituals. This time it is St. Francis who is moved from his normal place high on a bookshelf to the kitchen counter. I pull out candles from closets and drawers and create a little shrine. I look frantically for the St. Francis prayer card I just took from a church where I had attended the funeral of someone I didn't even know. Still, I cried.
With tiny flames and smoke rising as new wicks burn I plead with everyone I can think of—God, Jesus, Mary, St. Joseph, my mom and my Aunt Virginia, who was an animal lover like me, and of course, St. Francis. I remind them of the many animals I have rescued and cared for over the years. That must count for something, I demand, as if I've earned bonus points that can be redeemed.
What about the blind baby bird, the pregnant mole or the baby possum? What about the cockatiel abducted and abandoned during a family custody fight; the dove with a broken wing, the pigeon with a broken foot, or the stranded baby blue jay whose mother was so protective I had to wear a football helmet to walk across my backyard? Or the steady stream of dogs that managed to escape at least once a month from the nearby kennel?
It was like word was out in the pet underground. Morrell's is a safe house. And it was, because if I didn't keep them, I found them all homes or cared for them until they could be set free. Cats, kittens, squirrels and even a fat, long-eared rabbit smuggled home on the train by my son because he thought the monks at his school were raising him to be eaten. They all became mine for a time.
Finally exhausted from my emotional litany, I turn to sit down and realize Taffy has been sitting next to me all along, intently watching my every move, and even now, hoping for some food.
I slip her pills into a big wad of cream cheese and let her wash it down with a graham cracker or two. Her tail wags, and we move into the den together, sitting in silence. She lifts her paw so I can rub her chest and she moans, but now I don't know if it's pain or contentment. But she doesn't move away. I find myself praying that, just for a few seconds, God would allow the healing power of the Holy Spirit to move through my hands as it did for the Apostles, and I wonder if Jesus, the Good Shepherd, ever healed animals.
Sometimes I think God created animals to stretch our love beyond ourselves and those like us. But there are times, like now, when the stretching brings you close to breaking, and you are reminded again of the cost of loving — even an animal.
As the night wears on, calm settles in and I notice Taffy's breathing is easier than before. The medication is helping, though I am very much aware that this time, however long it may be, is a respite, and an opportunity to live more in the gift than the grief.
Prayer does work in mysterious ways.
"In his hand is the soul of every living thing."
James Barker photo on Unsplash.
This column was originally written and published in November of 2009.
Posted by Mary Clifford Morrell at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
St. Francis and Boo, the Runaway Bunny
By Lois Rogers, Guest Blogger
When the Oct. 4 Feast of St. Francis of Assisi approaches every year, I take a Franciscan inventory of the yard. Happily
this year the survey once again revealed that all five – count 'em five – statues of the saint, including two with bunnies nestling by his side – survived this summer's nasty weather with its storms and floods, and even a scary microburst.
The statues are treasured presents given by friends over the years in token of my family's devotion to Francis and his love of creation over at least a couple of generations. I regard them as a concrete welcoming committee for the birds, squirrels, butterflies, bees and other of God's creatures who venture over here from the Green Acres Park across the street.
And, whenever I have concerns for the health of one of my own rescued critters or that of a poor straggler that appears to be abandoned, alone and at risk– as with a fluffy, large white and black rabbit this summer carelessly tossed out of a car at the park – I call animal rescue first and go outside and pray to St. Francis to intercede for a safe recovery.
This habit dates back well over a decade to when the word got out that a tiny, battered white rabbit had been spotted running loose and frantic on the grounds where I worked. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one praying that Francis would intercede for this little guy. Quite a few people who worked on the campus of Notre Dame High School shares with the Diocese of Trenton's Chancery in Lawrenceville were praying to him for the same thing.
In fact, a whole crew of determined folks made it their mission to rescue this contemporary iteration of the "runaway bunny" made famous in the beloved children's story by Margaret Wise Brown. Custodians and crew from the high school equipped themselves with a have-a-heart trap and monitored his appearances. I got regular updates from a co-worker whose son was a Notre Dame student and kept the bunny in prayer to Francis.
If I recall, it took well over a week, but they were determined to bring this rescue attempt to a happy end and, finally, he was captured. He turned up one morning in the office of The Monitor, the diocesan newspaper where I worked, at the behest of the co-worker when her original plan for her son to take him didn't work out.
Tucked under my desk in the have-a-heart trap, he was a pathetic sight with scratches and bruises across his mid-section. The newspaper crew decided he had a narrow escape from a predator and were supportive when I decided to take him home that night, get him to a vet and "foster" him 'til a permanent home could be found.
He was so beaten up that when I got him to the veterinarian, people in the waiting room started to grumble and gave me angry looks thinking I was the culprit. They backed off when the vet – Dr. Laurie A. Pearlman – who would care for him over all the years that followed, came out into the waiting room and interceded, telling them, "No, No! She rescued him."
That was 13 years ago and the little bunny, who we named "Boo" because of his skittery behavior, has been a permanent resident of the little blue house by the lake ever since.
My late brother Pete, who shared the house during a particularly happy period here, made sure that Boo was entertained and well fed while I was at work and that the little guy got to interact with other rescues who bunked in here over the years.
Now, at age 13, the equivalent of about 91 for a human, Boo is holding his own. He has regular visits with Dr. Pearlman who announces his arrival to one and all in earshot with, "Here's the world's oldest bunny!" to let everyone know his venerable status.
He has lost his sight so he can no longer sit by the patio door and muse over the statue of St. Francis by the bird bath and all of the creatures who like to sip from the waters and bathe in it and rest on the saint's head.
Nor does he pay any attention to pirate movies and other action films as he once did, though he stretches out in sheer bliss on his blanket when classical music is playing. And he gets around very well, knowing every inch of the large gated area of the dining room where he still goes on midnight rambles and runs.
He always appreciates the gift of fresh parsley and dandelion greens and gobbles them down as fast as he can. And, most wonderful of all, is the way he snuggles in my arms when he gets a "bunny burrito" wrap in a comfy towel after grooming.
So that he doesn't suffer stress while traveling, this will be the second year in a row that the trip to church for the Blessing of the Animals will be replaced by a livestream service and a sprinkle of holy water on his forehead. I'll savor every moment while holding him in front of the television set and then carry him outside for a brief walk around the yard by the statues, thanking St. Francis once again for answering the prayers for Boo.
Lois Rogers has been writing about faith, family and food (most notably in her award winning blog, "Keeping the Feast" which appeared in The Monitor) since the late '90s. She may be reached at loisrogers66@gmail.com.
Courtesy photo.
'Has anything good ever come from Nazareth?'
As a child, my parents gave me two very oversized, illustrated books of Scripture – one of Old Testaments stories and the other of New Testament stories. I loved those books and while their pages are worn and broken away from the binding, I'm happy to still have them for my grandchildren to read.
The hand-painted, vibrant, illustrations were, no doubt, the reason I remember so many Bible happenings. My favorite was always the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walking in the fiery furnace with an angel of God behind them.
But it was probably a less exciting vignette that had greater impact on my faith and my life over the years. It was the image of two disciples, walking together toward Jesus. One disciple, Philip, tells another soon-to-be disciple, Nathanael, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Nathanael scoffs, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"
As a student still in C.C.D. classes, my first thought was, "Oh, boy, he just put down Jesus. Sister Mary Catherine wouldn't be happy about that!" Plus, I thought for sure he was going to be in big trouble with Jesus. I mean, you just don't say that kind of stuff about the Son of God.
As I read on, I saw that Jesus was aware of Nathanael's cynical, stereotyped comment but instead of being angry Jesus responded, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit."
I was both confused and in awe of what transpired between the two of them, and probably got myself in to a few bits of trouble by following Nathanael's outspoken example before I had grown enough to better understand the story.
There was more Scripture to read, more time needed for prayer, before I understood that Jesus didn't just hear Nathanael's words, he knew Nathanael's heart. He knew Nathanael was a man looking for the truth, but Nathanael's prejudice regarding Nazareth was clouding his vision. That would change.
The transformation happened when Nathanael finally encountered Jesus and asked, "How do you know me?" He was astounded at Jesus' reply, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree," and declared Jesus the Son of God. This new and inspired disciple went on to evangelize and minister to Samaritans, Jews, Romans, Greeks and even those Pharisees who were willing to listen.
"How do you know me?" is a question I find myself asking God often, usually when I am running headlong down the wrong path until God shoves me on to the runaway ramp so I don't crash and burn. Sometimes, like Nathanael, I overcome an obstacle and move forward as a disciple. At other times, it is not so easy to let go of what skews my judgment.
Prejudice and division, often dependent upon each other, are obstacles, not only to Christian life but to the good of humanity. Often, they are thrust upon us; sometimes we participate in their creation and nurturing. It is important to be aware of our complicity.
To truly be disciples, anxious to live a life of trusting relationship with God, we must strive to let go of prejudice and, instead, strive for unity, not only for the Church but for the sake of all God's children.
On the night before he died, Jesus prayed to his Father five times "that they may be one" as Jesus and his Father were one. Theologians may point out that Jesus was praying for his disciples, or for those who believed in Jesus, but I understood his prayer to cover all who were in the world then, and all who would come to be.
It makes sense to me because "oneness" is an act of love, and since God's love knows no bounds, it is not up to us to set limits on it.
Rads Schmidt Rasmussen photo on Unsplash.
Transformed by love, the 'other' becomes holy
If the pandemic has taught me anything, it's how adept we are at creating "the other."
With more time to read, research and actually pay attention, I began to recognize more fully the need we have for the "other," that fluid group, or class, against whom we define ourselves as better, or right, or more intelligent, or more worthy, and the list goes on.
Author and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir observed, "Otherness is a fundamental category of human thought. Thus it is that no group ever sets itself up as the One without at once setting up the Other over against itself."
What is otherness based on? It depends on the wants and needs of the established culture at the time. Others may be identified by their race, gender, religion, politics, ideology, income, residence, education, age, citizenship status, or anything that makes them distinct from who we believe we are.
Sociology, psychology and philosophy all have their nuanced explanations of otherness, all defining the pitting of one group of people against another, usually in complex terms that make your head spin.
Often, at the foundation of otherness stands fear, a powerful catalyst for self-protection. Power and position plays a part, too.
Jesus had another mindset. He reminds us that within those groups of "others" are individuals, people with whom we are called into relationship. The Samaritan woman at the well was such a person.
In their encounter, Jesus ignored the cultural and religious expectations of the day, and made a radical choice – personal presence and dialogue.
The Samaritan woman was the "other," not only from a religious perspective but from an ethnic and gender perspective, as well, She was well aware of it, and expressed her surprise when Jesus asked for a cup of water from her, replying, "The Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans."
Her people were considered half-breeds, of mixed ancestry and ethnicity, which made them "less than" in the estimation of those Jews who had returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem, even though the Samaritans were comprised, in part, of members of the northern Kingdom of Israel.
There was a shared patriarchy – Jacob, who gave the land that was to become Samaria to his youngest son, Joseph. But the lineage was not enough to prevent otherness from creeping in. It just goes to show how badly families can end up treating each other, even the family of God.
Jesus knew and understood all of this, but dealt with it by recognizing the Samaritan woman's humanity, by respecting who she was as person, by sharing who he was and, something so often missing in today's culture, by listening to what she said.
When I read and re-read the encounter in the Gospel of John I recall a quote from a popular Bible study: "It is not the person from the radically different culture on the other side of the world that is hardest to love, but the nearby neighbor whose skin color, language, rituals, values, ancestry, history, and customs are different from one's own."
There is much more of importance for us in the story of the Samaritan woman, but suffice it to point out, for now, that her encounter with our radical Lord led to a transformation, and today she is known as St. Photina, a name that means "luminous."
As we move into a new tomorrow, constructed in great part by a human crisis, it may help us to get to know ourselves better if we reflect on who we consider as "other," so we can be part of building unity, not division.
Harli Marten photo on Unsplash.
Fatherhood is the gift of presence
After the death of my dad, I wanted to do something special to honor him. It was then that I was given the chance to write a weekly column entitled "Things My Father Taught Me."
About a year after the column was first published, a workshop participant came to me at the end of the day to tell me how much she loved the column. "Sadly," she said, "not everyone has a father like yours."
She shared that her father was an angry man and sometimes abusive. She loved him but she was often afraid of him. She suggested that, perhaps, I could consider that when writing my column. I thanked her for her honesty and for her suggestion.
After that, every time I wrote a column I thought about what she said and tried to be sensitive with how and what I wrote, but the truth is it's difficult to write from someone else's experiences. The best I could do was try to help both moms and dads understand the beauty and value of their vocations, and how much they mean to the children who love them.
After all, there are no perfect parents. Remembering back to the first of our six children, and what it was like for my husband, I think of the quote from author Frank Pittman: "Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man."
I am blessed to have watched the process with my sons and their children, as well. It is a wondrous thing to see how the love of a child transforms a new father in baby steps, in some cases, and, in leaps and bounds in others, especially when there is a crisis.
This has been the case for my oldest son, whose youngest child is medically compromised and spent the first six months of his life in a children's hospital, with multiple surgical procedures before his first birthday. His homecare includes intravenous nutrition, day and night nurses, and constant monitoring for health issues that can send him back to the hospital at a moment's notice.
This past week has been one of those times. My daughter-in-law took a photo of my grandson, all of 19 months old, standing in his bed in his child's hospital gown with my son sitting next to him, waiting to be taken to surgery. He is reaching out to his dad, touching his chest, a look of worry and apprehension on his little face. My son is looking into his eyes, arm around his waist, undoubtedly assuring him without words that everything will be fine. The exchange was priceless, and I bawled my eyes out.
What stood out in that single image was the most important virtue of fatherhood—presence.
A father's presence is the blessed assurance we sing about in Mass. Presence is what we need when we say to our Father, "Hold my hand, lest I fall." When a child grows up with this presence, there is a greater likelihood the child will eventually grow to understand what it means to live in the Presence of God.
Divine Presence is the love that allows a father to grow into the courageous protector, the mentor, the example that all children need. There is no more important example than modeling for a child what it means to love and enabling them to feel safe.
In his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde, With a Father's Heart, Pope Francis observes, "Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person."
And so it was with St. Joseph, the father to whom God entrusted his only son. Pope Francis describes Joseph as a father who "found happiness not in mere self-sacrifice but in self-gift. In him, we never see frustration but only trust. His patient silence was the prelude to concrete expressions of trust."
St. Joseph lived confidently in the presence of God, knowing the love that makes every vocation, especially fatherhood, possible.
Mohamed Awwam photo on Unsplash.
A simple life includes bare feet and dragons
One of my favorite places to visit when we vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was a small book store in the town of Buxton. Set in a
charming old house whose property stretched back to the placid waters of the Pamlico Sound, the ambiance of the place was captured in a small hand-painted sign that hung near the front door: Welcome – bathing suits, wet suits, waders, barefoot children of all ages and small dragons.
It was customary to enter barefoot, or with a towel wrapped around a damp bathing suit. Ledger sheets were maintained by hand and guests were likely to sense the pride the island took in its local authors, photographers and cooks, whose books held a prominent spot in the front of the store.
There was a magic about the place that stemmed from nothing more than pure simplicity, and it wasn't hard to imagine that a quick turn in to the children's corner would uncover a tousled-haired five year old flipping through "How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head," with his own chubby-cheeked, fire-sputtering best friend leaning against his leg looking at the pictures.
Still, no matter how I tried to bring the magic home with me, it disappeared the moment I got in the door and faced the mountains of paperwork that needed to be uncovered. Once home, it wasn't long before the serenity of vacation began to be replaced with an invasive sense of urgency that seemed to pervade every aspect of our daily lives.
It reappeared in the guise of payment due dates, the flashing light of the answering machine and the deadlines that define work and home.
And then there's the commute.
There is no doubt that modern advances in engineering are, for the most part, a blessing, but sometimes I feel more suited to a job at NASA than a Catholic newspaper.
Just getting in my car in the morning to drive to work seems like a clip from a modern space saga.
Seatbelts? Check. Car phone? Check. Charger? Check. Coffee? Check. GPS in case traffic is detoured? Check. Location of all the clean restrooms between home and the office? Check.
By the time I'm ready to put the car in drive I expect to hear a voice say, "Houston, we have lift-off." And as I join in the morning marathon, I am convinced that some drivers really believe their cars are driven by rocket fuel.
More and more I wonder, "What's happened to the simplicity of life?"
Yes, every century had its drawbacks. Who wouldn't agree that indoor plumbing is a boon to humanity. But now it's not enough to have a privy in the house; now it has to be an oasis of luxury, a vacation retreat where a weary soul can close the door and escape from the stresses of modern life.
My grandparents would have had a great laugh at the idea. I can just hear my grandmother: "A bathroom is a bathroom. You can't dress up what goes on in there."
Luxury for them would have been new cushions for front porch sitting at the end of the day. That was their idea of stress relief … and it was a good thing, something that built community and strengthened ties between family and neighbors.
While we are, hopefully, grateful for the many creature comforts of this day and age, I also believe, as a society, we have sacrificed a lot to maintain our standard of living. Serenity, simplicity and basic good humor seem to be in short stead today, replaced, proudly it often seems, with anger and attitude.
If picking up and moving to some Brigadoon in the mist isn't an option, there is one way to bring a measure of serenity to life – prayer.
My experience has been that many adults express doubt in their ability to pray well, but I would encourage them to consider the words of author Paul Wilke: "By seeking God in prayer, [the pray-er] has already made the connection. God is always there first, waiting. God asks no more than an open heart; and that is what prayer is – an opening of our being to that Being, however and wherever it occurs."
At the ocean, so mindful of the glory of God, prayer seems effortless, with each breath, each thought an offering of thanks. Once home, at least for me, prayer often requires more conscious effort, is squeezed into a time slot or filled with petitions for help.
But no matter how we pray, the moment of prayer is the supreme moment of simplicity when we untie our earthly tethers and incline our hearts toward God. Prayer refreshes. It nurtures joy and keeps us focused on the really important things of life.
Prayer is a much needed respite for the 21st century soul – especially for those of us more accustomed to seeing store signs that read: No shoes, no shirt, no service!
Give me small dragons any day.
Gabby Orcutt photo on Unsplash.
I don't want to know: Noodles, knowledge and a child's honesty
Ramen noodles. By some, they're considered a blessing. By others, a curse on good nutrition, but I never thought they would be fodder for a profound moment of insight from a three-year old.
During lunch, I asked my grandson to tell me about his favorite foods. We ended up talking about noodles, his favorite, and what actually could be considered a noodle. Soon, we were talking about Ramen noodles, a rarity in their home, but which his older brother would happily make for everyone at lunchtime.
"You know what happens with Ramen noodles?" he asked, with eyes lit up like he was sharing a magical experience. "They are a square and when you cook them, poof, they become noodles with their own sauce!"
"Wow," I replied, "That's amazing! But I think there is a package of seasoning that has to be added to the water to make the sauce."
His brow began to furrow. "No, there isn't!"
"Um, I'm pretty sure there is."
"No …. There isn't!"
He was becoming more irritated as the exchange continued, so I encouraged him to watch his brother the next time he made the noodles so he could see him add the seasoning package.
He went silent for a minute and hung his head, before saying, "I don't want to."
"Ok," I replied, "that's fine. You don't have to. But can you tell me why you don't want to?"
He didn't hesitate. "Because I don't want to know."
Wow, I thought. Just wow.
"Well, that is a very honest answer," I said. "Thank you for sharing that. I like it."
"Well, I don't."
Curious to know if he understood why he didn't want to know, I asked one more question. "Do you not want to know because it might mean you are wrong about the sauce?"
Again, he didn't hesitate. "Yes."
I smiled at him and assured him I understood how he was feeling. Adults are faced with that dilemma on a regular basis. Sometimes it's easier to not know the truth.
I asked him if would like another pickle with his grilled cheese sandwich and he said, "Sure."
All was well.
Marcus Winkler photo on Unsplash
Woundedness
Weighed down? Click on the photo and read more about this helpful e-book.
Parents, even in their imperfection, teach us many lessons. To find out more about this engaging e-book, $2.99, click on the image. For a paperback version, $5.99, contact Mary at mary.wellspring@yahoo.com. Include # of copies and mailing address.
Sites to feed the soul
Keeping the Feast
Crafted by award-winning writer, Lois Rogers, the blog is a showcase for beloved recipes served up with stories about the rich banquet of customs and traditions they reflect.
Gratefulness.org
An inspirational blog on grateful living, with Brother David Steindl-Rast. Light a virtual candle and include your intentions.
Living in Season
Living in Season is a website created by Waverly Fitzgerald to foster community and creativity around the issues of slow time, sacred time and seasonal time.
Another great prayer resource, among others at their site.
Sacred Space » Homepage
A meaningful and peaceful on-line prayer resource. One of my favorites.
Follow @mreginam6
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text:
THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF
Emily Ferrara
Pub Date: 11/1/2007
SKU #: B14C
Poetry. Translated from the Italian by Sabine Pascarelli. Winner of the 2007 Bordighera Poetry Prize, Emily Ferrara's THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF sings in the music of line with deep emotion from a mother's heart and a journey of transformation. THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF shows Ferrara's ability as a healer through the beauty of her language. "This is excellently controlled craftsmanship, conveying deeply felt emotion. The grief of loss is sharply poignant and real, yet never maudlin or self-indulgent. The music of the lines is subtle and fine. The tension between the controlled craft and the poignancy of the theme makes the reader participate in the poems and feel with the poet, sharing the human despair and transcendent emotions that bring us through to survive" -Daniela Gioseffi.
Emily Ferrara, the 2006 winner of the Bordighera Poetry Prize, has published poems in Worcester Review, Ballard Street Poetry Journal, Family Medicine, Full Circle, Lifeboat, Lynx Eye, and several anthologies. Her poems have received awards from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in 2005, and from the Worcester County Poetry Association and the New Words, New Voices in 2006. The Alchemy of Grief is her first full length book. She is Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she teaches creative writing and directs the grants and special projects division for the school's Office of Medical Education.
Author City: Worcester, MA USA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Channing Tatum names baby after grandmothers
By Bang Showbiz on 26 June 2013
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum gave their daughter Everly the names of their grandmothers as her middle monikers.
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum's daughter's middle names are inspired by their grandmothers.
The couple have officially named the tiny tot Everly Elizabeth Maiselle Tatum - who is three weeks old - after Jenna's grandmother Elizabeth, and Channing's grandma Maiselle.
When asked by chat show host David Letterman if his daughter has any middle names, Channing said: ''Two middle names, Elizabeth Maiselle, after both our grandmothers.''
The 'Magic Mike' star - who tied the knot with Jenna in July 2009 - revealed he is enjoying all aspects of fatherhood so far and he even gets excited when he has to change his baby's dirty nappies.
He explained: ''It's crazy, babies, I've never been so excited when they poo. I'm like 'I'm in the game, gimme the baby.' Then it's a whole game to see if I can change her before she cries and give her back to my wife.''
The 33-year-old actor is currently busy shooting his new movie 'Jupiter Ascending' in London, and although his three-week-old baby girl and his wife are with him in the UK, he admits he still misses them while he is on set.
He previously said: ''I'm away from her for 12 to 13 hours (a day) and I feel like I come home and I feel like she's changed - like her face looks different. You feel like every minute that you miss is horrible.''
Channing Tatum Jenna Dewan
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This past weekend during our monthly herb school, I took the students up to Short Creek Retreat for the day. We roamed the property enjoying a pretty day as we saw a lot of great edible and medicinal plants. In the afternoon, we concentrated on making salves and tinctures as well as cooking some Oyster mushrooms we harvested. This video is of making Lion's Mane tincture which is not only a delicious mushroom to eat, it is also a powerful medicinal for regenerating nerve cells.
Some friends and I spent a great day hunting Fall mushrooms today. While we didn't find lots of them, the ones we found were large and will last all winter in the freezer. As you can see from the photo, we found a huge Hen of the Woods and Lion's Mane as well as a couple of decent sized Cauliflower mushrooms and some poisonous Jack O' Lantern cluster. Not only are the Hens and Lion's Mane delicious mushrooms, they are also highly medicinal and will be featured in the next issue of the Southern Herbalist.
A lot of people ask me every year about the subject of eating Poison Ivy leaves in order to gain immunity from the rash. Although this is a controversial subject, I have found that over 25 years of doing this, it works like a charm. I made a short video on the subject showing how to properly ingest the leaves in the spring. Of course, you do understand that you are doing so at your own risk.
After a long and pretty wet winter season, it is nice to see that the earth is ready to spring back to life! It is early March and I have already spotted Bloodroot, Trilliums, Celandine Poppy, Toothworts, Hepatica and Virginia Bluebells either poking their heads up or actually blooming. Actually, things are running a bit late due to the weather. We never had any really bitter temps but had consistently long periods of cold, wet weather and that delayed some of the plants.
I'll see you in the Woods!
Back in the spring, I had a lot of fun providing a bit of wilderness survival consulting for the Man versus Wild show when they filmed here in Alabama. It was filmed at the Little River Canyon/Ball Play Swamp area and provided something of a challenge for the crew due to the wide variety of weather we were having at the time. After shooting wrapped up, Jane and I were invited to the after filming get together where Bear Grylls and I had this picture taken. All in all, it was an interesting experience. Bear turned out to be an exceptionally nice guy and is very personable and easy going. It turns out that there is a lot more to putting on a production like this than I had imagined.
I have uploaded some new plant videos from my new DVD called, "Southern Medicinal Plants". I am going to add a page to the website with various videos as I film them as well as having a section of podcasts. Visit http://www.youtube.com/southernherbalist to see the newest uploaded videos. I will also be adding more podcasts to this site as well. Be prepared for a lot of new changes and an updated list of classes by this weekend. I am planning on adding a series of videos this weekend on the Swine Flu and its potential ramifications on our health as well as civil liberties. You can also find all of these videos in the Video page on this website.
I don't know how it is for most of you in the cold north but here in the Deep South, it is absolutely beautiful. the woods are filling rapidly with an assortment of wildflowers and medicinal plants. Bloodroot leaves are getting larger now that the blossoms have begun to fall. The Trilliums, Black and Blue Cohosh, Wild Ginger, Alleghenny Spurge and a host of other plants are rapidly spreading across the forest floor. It is a glorious time to get out and ramble in the woods. For the next few days, it is going to be very rainy here in Alabama and this just means that it will cause another explosion of color both in the woods and in the surrounding fields.
On the Survival/Homesteading front - I have really been putting an emphasis this year on getting the gardening in order, planting a wider assortment of blueberries, thornless blackberries, apple rees etc... along with the usual cabbages, tomatoes and other vegetables. As Jules Dervaes says, "Resistance is Fertile!". It is our duty as Americans to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible. One of the best ways we can do this is by taking control of our food supply so that we are less dependent on food brought in from thousands of miles and even continents away. America has become dangerously dependent upon outside sources of food and it is just a matter of time before we find ourselves held hostage to other countries for our food just as oil has a stranglehold on our economy now. As a net importer of food for the first time in our history, we are critically close to a dangerous tipping point in our food supply. It is up to us as individuals to retake control of our lives and the best thing we can do is to begin to garden.
For years, on an off I have been doing a series of newsletters and occasional podcast about the issues of herbal medicine, homesteading, survival gardening and survivalist topics in general. Over the next few weeks, I have decided to again put more emphasis in these areas. Back in the 1980's when I began homesteading seriously, those of us in this are we thought to be radical doom and gloom naysayers. It is amazing how, 20 years later, our predictions are actually beginning to be taken more seriously. As the podcasts and the Youtube videos ramp up, I hope you take the time to listen, watch and send in show ideas. Whether it is gardening, survival skills, homesteading, firearms or whatever, we will try and cover it for you. Keep tuned in through the newsletter and here on the website for new podcasts and videos as they become available. Until then, check on the podcast on my herbal mentor Tommie Bass and keep tuned for episode #1 of the new podcast series in the next few days.


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Teen survives shark attack on North Carolina beach
The number of attacks has decreased dramatically this year amid the pandemic.
ByABC NEWS
In this undated file photo, a shark fin is shown in the Sea of Cortez, Gulf of California, Mexico.
James Gritz/Getty Images, FILE
Just yards off a North Carolina beach, 16-year-old Nick Arthur was attacked by a shark.
The incident happened Thursday afternoon as the teen was jumping over waves on a sandbar.
MORE: Surfer killed in shark attack in Northern California
Authorities took Arthur from the beach on Cape Hatteras to a nearby hospital where he was treated for the bite on his leg, according to the National Park Service. The injury was not life-threatening and he received stitches.
MORE: 10-foot-long shark attacks, kills 60-year old surfer
According to the University of Florida's Florida Museum, shark attacks have decreased dramatically this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 18 worldwide since January 1, marking the lowest levels since 2005.
MORE: Surfer killed in shark attack was passionate about the sport
On average, there are about 80 attacks a year, globally.


text:
Estonian parlt's state budget control select committee to discuss summer economic forecast
TALLINN – The state budget control select committee of the Estonian parliament is to hold a public sitting on Wednesday morning to discuss the summer economic forecast of the Ministry of Finance, which serves as the basis for drawing up next year's state budget and the state budget strategy for the next four years.
Committee chairman Tonis Molder said that, due to high inflation, the government the government has started preparing the state's budget strategy and the state budget for 2023 in a difficult economic situation, which is also affected by Russia's war in Ukraine. "We expect a comprehensive overview of the economic forecast, including the prospects of the Estonian economy and the revenues and expenses of the government sector. We also wish to discuss the objections of the Fiscal Council," he added.
The Fiscal Council announced on Tuesday that it does not approve the Ministry of Finance's summer 2022 economic forecast, as, according to the Council, it has been prepared using outdated assumptions about the growth of government expenditures. Firstly, according to the Fiscal Council, the summer forecast is based on projections for general government consumption and wage costs from the state budget strategy of a year and a half ago, the assumptions of which have become obsolete in the context of rapid inflation. Secondly, the forecast does not take into account the planned spending measures of the new government coalition, the content of which was made public in July. The Fiscal Council recommends that the state budget strategy for 2023-2026 also include an updated macroeconomic forecast.
Invited to the sitting of the select committee are Raoul Lattemae, head of the fiscal policy department of the Ministry of Finance, Kadri Klaos, head of the service for state finances at the Ministry of Finance, Raul Eamets, chairman of the Fiscal Council, and representatives of the National Audit Office.
The public sitting of the committee started at 9 a.m. and can be viewed online.
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Leeds: Casilla, Ayling (Shackleton 90+4), Cooper, Jansson, Alioski, Phillips, Klich, Roberts (Dallas 81), Hernandez, Bamford, Harrison. Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Brown, Davis, Stevens, Gotts.
Bolton: Matthews, Lowe, Beevers, Wheater, Donaldson (Ameobi 74), Noone (Buckley 82), Olkowski, Connolly, O'Neil, Williams (Murphy 86), Magennis. Subs: Williams, Little, Vela, Hobbs.
Leeds United recorded back to back wins in the Sky Bet Championship, to keep promotion hopes on track.
It was the visitors Bolton, sitting in the relegation places who threatened inside three minutes though, Callum Connolly broke into the Leeds box from the left flank and provided a good cross, with Kiko Casilla making a fine stop to deny a Josh Magennis header.
A minute later, Leeds went close from an Ezgjan Alioski free-kick. The Macedonian international's cross headed towards goal and Remi Matthews made a good save to tip it over.
Leeds were awarded a penalty 15 minutes into the game after Tyler Roberts was brought down, following a neat one-two with Jack Harrison. Patrick Bamford stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, netting his third goal of the season against the Trotters.
However, Leeds' lead lasted under 10 minutes, when at a Bolton corner, Mark Beevers slotted home, after Harrison had cleared off the line and Casilla had made a decent stop.
The visitors then nearly took the lead following a free-kick. Craig Noone delivered and Magennis fired a volley just inches wide.
Harrison went close when Hernandez delivered a teasing cross, but his header couldn't beat Matthews who made a good save.
Hernandez produced some magic to send Bamford through on goal with a fine through ball, but he couldn't get the better of Matthews from a narrow angle.
Bamford again went close with a strike from 20 yards, again testing Matthews, before Alioski saw a volley deflect wide on the stroke of the break.
Leeds went close after the break, when Kalvin Phillips provided a neat through ball and Hernandez so nearly got on the end of it, but he was beaten to the ball by Matthews.
Mateusz Klich fired over from 25 yards, before Luke Ayling when close when he was found in the box by the Poland international, but he put a curling effort just wide.
At the other end, Casilla made a really good stop to deny a Joe Williams strike from 30 yards, before denying a Magennis header from the rebound.
Alioski then did well to control a long ball before crossing from the left, Hernandez flicked it on to Bamford, but he could only put the chance wide.
Leeds did get the breakthrough in the 68th minute in unusual fashion, an Alioski deflected cross headed goalwards and caught out Matthews who could only parry it down onto the bar and in, to the delight of the Elland Road crowd.
In the 72nd minute things got heated after Alioski was fouled, with Williams and Magennis booked for the visitors and Trotters manager Phil Parkinson was given his marching orders.
With 12 minutes remaining, Bamford went through on goal, but he couldn't beat Matthews from a narrow angle, before Ayling found substitute Stuart Dallas in the box as the Whites searched for a third, but once more Matthews saved.
In stoppage time, Sammy Ameobi's fine strike from 30 yards went just millimetres wide of the post and Bamford couldn't beat Matthews when found well placed by Alioski, with the Whites holding on for a valuable three points.


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The giveaway is similar to the earlier U.S. promotion in that both new and existing family plan subscribers are eligible for the promotion. "For a limited time, Spotify Premium for Family includes a Google Home Mini. New and existing primary account holders are eligible to redeem a Google Home Mini from the Google Store." You can sign up for the giveaway by logging into or creating a Spotify account here.
9to5Mac points out that new Google Home Mini owners also receive a three-month free trial to the competing service, YouTube Music Premium, but it is clear that this was not deemed an issue with the U.S. promotion. Voiebot reported in December that YouTube Music has both individual and family plans but neither is offering a free smart speaker to entice new subscribers and as of mid-2018 it had about one-fifth of Spotify's global market share.
Smart speaker ownership may be accelerating adoption of streaming music subscriptions even without giveaways. A survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults by Voicebot and Voicify found for the second straight year that listening to a streaming music service was the second most tried smart speaker feature and the most commonly employed on a monthly and daily basis.
Even radio has shown a big uptick in listeners once smart speakers enter the home. NPR reported in 2018 that streaming listening totals more than tripled over the November 2017 to February 2018 and attributed most of the rise to smart speaker owners. Smart speakers and audio content are a good match for streamers and consumers so expect to see more of these giveaways in the future. Apple could likely not afford to offer a free HomePod for new Apple Music subscribers, but now that Alexa users can access the service, maybe they will consider offering free Amazon Echo Dots to match Spotify's aggressive marketing efforts.


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Screenwriter Anjum Rajabali to discuss state of Indian film during SFU residency
by Craig Takeuchi on February 10th, 2012 at 4:58 PM
One of India's top screenwriters will be taking residency at Simon Fraser University's Praxis Centre for Screenwriters.
Anjum Rajabali heads screenwriting programs at both the Film and Television Institute of India and Whistling Woods International.
Rajabali, whose writing credits include the Amitabh Bachchan film Aarakshan, the biopic The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and the horror film Naina, will be conducting a five-day workshop (from February 14 to 21) on Indian cinema. He'll also be presenting his 2010 political thriller Raajneeti, starring Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Katrina Kaif, on February 21 at 7 p.m. (at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 West Hastings).
He'll be talking about the state of Indian cinema on February 17 in a discussion entitled "Breaking Bollywood: Current Trends in Indian Cinema".
Rajabali expressed his criticism of the Bollywood industry in article entitled "The Unimportance of Scriptwriting" published in 2003. He noted that the demand for formulaic films in Hindi cinema by audiences (reflecting a shift from affluent patrons to the general public) has resulted in the devaluation of the screenwriter.
Since that time, however, India's numerous film industries have considerably grown and developed. Many of them (Bollywood, in particular), bolstered by international diasporic audiences, have sought to crossover into or collaborate with foreign markets.
Rajabali will be joined by film studies professor Aysha Viswamohan from the India Institute of Technology Madras.
You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig.
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Something magical happened to me at Target on Christmas Eve. I was there to up my stocker stuffer game because upon checking my stash of stocking goodies I discovered all I had were holiday breath mints. This confused me because I had bought loads of candy a week earlier. My inventory was quite robust. I had Santa Snickers, Peppermint Hershey Kisses and the much-maligned Reese's Christmas trees.
Let's take a moment here and talk about the Reese's trees. For the people who have so much time on their hands that they can go to Defcon 5 on the Internet about a candy not accurately depicting a balsam fir let me offer up this suggestion – get a life and/or seek therapy. It's chocolate and peanut butter that should be enough. As for the mystery of where did all my stocking candy go I plead the fifth. I may or may not have consumed it. Now on to my miracle.
I was pushing my cart down the smell good aisle (i.e. soaps, lotions and other assorted body washes) I saw something amiss on the second lowest shelf. An item I had been coveting since the day after Thanksgiving was hiding behind some Axe "Dark Temptation" Gift Packs (and by "dark temptation" I'm guessing Axe means smelling like a combination of a high school cafeteria and the tire department at Walmart). I stopped short and immediately dropped to all fours to claw my way through a bevy of overly aromatic dude scents to get my hands on it. When I finally snagged it I assumed a kneeling position and sang thirty seconds of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.
I triumphantly rose up off the Target tile with each arm proudly lifting my bounty like a WWE World Heavyweight showing off his blinged out championship belt studded with 630 cubic zirconia stones. (I looked that factoid up). For you see I had found two Star Showers! Yeah, that's right. This girl had not one, but two of the latest thing to hit exterior Christmas illumination since net lights.
The Star Shower, just in case you're remedial on holiday decor innovations, is a laser light that projects a gazillion red and green holographic stars onto your house and the best part is all you have to do is shove the thing in your grass and plug it in. No untangling strands of lights so entwined that you question your sanity and fine motor skills, no hours spent hanging lights until your carpal tunnels flares up, no climbing on a ladder, no freaking light hooks or crying when you can't find the one blasted light that is out causing you to really start hating the holidays. Nope, the Star Shower eliminates all of that. It's like idiot proofing Christmas.
I had been looking for a Star Shower for a month. They were sold out everywhere. Amazon got my hopes up and pretended they had some, but two days after I placed my order I was informed that there was a "processing error" on the website and I'd be Star Showerless for Christmas. The struggle was very real.
God bless the Target employee who must be very young and inexperienced in any and all exterior holiday home illumination knowledge and upon seeing boxes with Star Shower emblazoned on them incorrectly assumed the product belonged in the body wash aisle. More glad tidings of joy to the employee who then inadvertently hide the Star Showers behind Axe gift packs and aerosol Vaseline.
As we enter into a new year I shall continue to embrace my holiday magical moment as a reminder that amazing things can happen when you least expect it and that "Dark Temptation" Axe body wash is probably more of a lifestyle choice than a scent preference.
It was a miracle you found a Star Shower. I was looking for the entire month of December! Good stuff.
I have 3 teenage sons and your description of Axe body wash is spot on. I'm still laughing.


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link | News | Griffin Capital Announces Sale of Emeryville, Calif., Office Property
Griffin Capital Announces Sale of Emeryville, Calif., Office Property
Sale Generates 427% Total Net Return to Investors
El Segundo, Calif., (January 10, 2022) – Griffin Capital Company, LLC ("Griffin Capital"), a leading privately-held alternative asset manager, announced the sale of a 62,237 square foot office property located in Emeryville, California for $36 million to Long Fellow Real Estate Partners, the largest private life sciences services firm in the United States. The property was sold on behalf of Griffin Capital (Shellmound) Investors, DST and resulted in a realized total net return of approximately 427%, representing a 12.26% net internal rate of return over a 15-year holding period.
Griffin Capital acquired the Shellmound property in 2006 for $15.75 million on behalf of a consortium of tenant-in-common ("TIC") investors; the TIC structure was converted to a Delaware Statutory Trust in 2016 at which point the lease was extended and the property recapitalized. The property was 100% net leased to Ex'pression College for Digital Arts and, as part of the sale, Griffin Capital assisted in the negotiation of an early termination of the lease.
"When we acquired the Shellmound property, we were attracted to its strong cash flow, stable tenancy and desirable location in the rapidly growing East Bay of San Francisco. After successfully navigating through the Great Recession and renewing the tenant to a new long-term lease, we were able to grow annual net cash-on-cash returns to our investors to 10% per annum," stated Kevin A. Shields, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Griffin Capital.
Mr. Shields continued, "Emeryville has evolved into a leading hub for life science users, which generated significant interest from potential acquirers looking to transform Shellmound from office to life sciences. We successfully translated this surge in demand into a highly attractive exit for our investors, whose capital they have entrusted to us for well over a decade. This successful outcome is reflective of our long-standing focus on high-quality growth markets and our commitment to seek the best possible outcome for our investors."
Griffin Capital was represented on the transaction by JLL Capital Markets, a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and property occupants.
About Griffin Capital Company, LLC
Griffin Capital is a leading alternative investment asset manager headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in 1995, Griffin Capital has owned, managed, sponsored or co-sponsored investment programs encompassing approximately $20 billion in assets. The Company's senior executives and employees have co-invested over $300 million in various investment verticals, aligning Griffin Capital's interest with those of its investors. The Company leverages the breadth and depth of its cycle-tested investment management teams to capitalize on long-term economic trends and secular growth opportunities in the real estate sector through direct investment strategies.
Additional information is available at: www.griffincapital.com.
Media Contacts for Griffin
Debi Sambuchi
Senior Vice President, Marketing
Griffin Capital Company, LLC
dsambuchi@griffincapital.com


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Glass of Fancy » Blog Archive » Trumpet Vine - Fashion, fiction, and life in the city.
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As has been on the news Hong Kong has sustained a fair amount of damage from Typhoon Mangkhut. Hong Kongers are now coping with the aftermath with damage to MTR rail lines, loads of fallen / damaged trees and no bus services running.
Forum members may be interested in the photo gallery in this South China Morning Post article. The 8th photo of 16 shows a lot of KMB double deckers wedged tight inside a parking area. The crowding on the MTR was also something to be seen! There is also other video footage of the actual typhoon conditions - very scary. I think I'd have been terrified if forced to remain inside a hi rise hotel room while that was going on. I've never encountered typhoon conditions on my visits to HK and the damage this time is something else.


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Education, Profile
By Jane Okoth If you wanted a glimpse into the Kenyan educational crisis in the early 90s, there is no better place to look than in the rural areas. During those times, there was unequal access to education, with less development in terms of infrastructure, with schools being few and understaffed. Thousands of students as old as ten did not have access to school because it was either not affordable for their guardians, or not made accessible for relevant stakeholders. Julius Mkala grew up in those times, in a small village called Kale in the southeastern part of rural Kenya. Born in 1993, Julius was the 6th born in a…
Tackling Barriers for Persons with Disabilities
Education; Meet Some of Wildlife Works Bursary Recipients
Adventures in REDD+, Conservation, Education, Forest Communities
By Jane Okoth "If you hear about Wildlife Works, what is the first thing that comes to mind?" asks Fred Ouma, the Principal of Mzwanenyi Secondary School in Mwatate. "Bursaries," one of the students quickly answers. "We have also partnered with Wildlife Works for a tree-planting program where they supply us with indigenous tree seedlings," he adds. Mzwanenyi Secondary is a mixed boarding school located in Mwatate, one of Wildlife Works' community locations. The school has a population of 178, with the majority of students coming from the surrounding area. Mzwanenyi Secondary is one of the many schools in the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project area that has benefitted from Wildlife Works…
Conservation, Education, Forest Communities, Wildlife
January 9, 2019 /
By Jane Okoth Wildlife Works Kasigau REDD+ project has benefited thousands of members of communities in rural Kenya through the distribution of carbon revenue. Local people in the Kasigau project area face a lot of challenges, ranging from marginalization to poverty and illiteracy. The intervention of Wildlife Works' projects has brought a lot of positive change into the lives of these communities, especially in education. For example, the construction of classrooms for schools has ensured that vulnerable children in our project area have a chance to fight the inequalities that stand in their way. In the month of November 2018, Wildlife Works was invited to officiate a groundbreaking ceremony held…
WHY BUYING NOTHING THIS HOLIDAY WILL SAVE THE PLANET
Baby Elephant Rescue
Education, Forest Communities
Education matters; Thousands Benefit from Wildlife Works Bursaries
October 9, 2018 /
In a remote village in Southeastern Kenya called Marungu, Zanira Kasyoka, a Wildlife Works employee, stands with pride as she gives an inspiring speech to hundreds of attentive local community members seated in a social hall. Present are different stakeholders including Environmental Officers, local Chiefs and Bursary Committee Members, all who have come to witness Wildlife Works' bursary presentation ceremony. Zanira is giving a speech on how Wildlife Works' educational scholarships helped transform her life. "Thanks to Wildlife Works' bursaries, I was able to complete my secondary education. I am living proof that the REDD+ project can positively impact lives," she says. Zanira's case is similar to thousands of students…
Conservation, Education
Education matters! Wildlife Works is constantly trying to tackle barriers hundreds of children face when accessing education in our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project. Many pupils at schools in our project area struggled to learn, often because they didn't have desks and were forced to write on their laps or on the floor during their lessons. This is Meli Kubwa Primary School and Mgalani Primary school, located in a remote location of our project area. When we arrived, the pupils and school administration from Meli Kubwa Primary School welcomed us with songs and dance from the vibrant maasai community which forms majority of the school's population. In a school that is…
The Transformation of Ayub Vura; Former Poacher Turned Wildlife Protector
Public Participation Key to Implementing Community Projects
A Day in the Life of a Research Scientist at Wildlife Works
Education, Forest Communities, Health
By Jane Okoth On a rainy day in Mwachabo location approximately 60 kilometers from Wildlife Works' headquarters, Matei Mtuku is in a jovial mood whilst welcoming staff from Wildlife Works in his home. The cheerful middle aged man who is disabled and wheelchair bound is the Chairperson for Mwachabo Disability Group, a group consisting of disabled people and caregivers who are raising children with disabilities. Groups of women begin to stream in his compound, and after exchanging greetings, everyone is given a chair as they begin their meeting. They are here for a discussion with Wildlife Works about various opportunities available to them. As the meeting starts, the women begin…
Any graduation is a big deal and so was the Wildlife Works Nursery School's 5th graduation ceremony. Towards the end of the year, we make it a family tradition to celebrate our Nursery School students making milestones as they prepare to join primary school. The event was a colorful one with 6 pupils standing out in full graduation attire. Led by their teachers, they occupied the front seats reserved for them in a lively event attended by parents, pupils, and Wildlife Works employees. Since January 2012, Wildlife Works has provided a Nursery school free of charge for employees' children aged between 2-5 years. This ensures that the young children are…
Wildlife Works Scholarship Recipient Joins the Team
About, Education, Forest Communities
In rural Kenya, young boys and girls are frequently held back from pursuing their ambitions due to cultural practices and beliefs as well as other vices. To counter such challenges, a series of trainings are held to assist them navigate through life. Wildlife Works has been at the forefront of supporting such community projects in our project area, which among them entail education, women's empowerment and the rights of the girl child. Recently, supporters of Wildlife Works have facilitated a different kind of training about sexual health education held at Mkamenyi Primary School. The program dubbed MAP (Men as Partners) is specifically tailored to boys above the age of 12…
By Jane Okoth A famous proverb once said, "A child without education is like a bird without wings". Wildlife Works, the world's leading REDD+ project development and management company, is committed to ensuring every young deserving student in the Kasigau Corridor communities has access to education. As part of its REDD+ project, Wildlife Works has awarded over $368,000 in scholarship money to students in the project area. These students who come from orphaned or single parent families, receive the funding through the income made from selling carbon credits in consultation with the community. Recently, as part of its wider distribution of bursary funds, Wildlife Works visited Kasigau and Marungu locations…