This is a simple, real, and natural scene of a quiet moment frozen in time

Every summer I buy a new composition notebook and fill it with ideas, plans, and dreams for the summer. I start out with a list of what I'd like to do and then break it down first by month and then by week. I try to get ideas from the rest of the family as to what they envision for the summer.Thomas had said he wanted to visit Art Museums and we decided to try and visit one each month. He also wanted to do at least one college visit. Tuesday we were able to do one of each.  We got up early and drove to Cincinnati to visit their Art Museum. The museum is located in an area of Cincinnati called Mt. Adams.

 It's hard to describe the feeling when I walked in this room. It is quite impressive. What was breathtaking was what you could see in the doorway at the other end. In this first photo you get a glimpse.

This!

I didn't take a picture of the explanation and I couldn't remember anything so I had to look it up and was able to find this on the museums website:

Altarpiece with scenes from the Old and New Testaments
Artist Jan van Hemessen and Katharina van Hemessen
Date: 1550's
Place: Flanders/Europe
Medium: Oil on Panel

                                                                     and a side view

Right off to the side was this chapel. I tend to take too many pictures but this day I did not take enough. I especially wish I would have taken more photos of the signs that explained/ told the stories behind the paintings. I am grateful we bought a book with some of the highlights of the collection so I can reference ones like this.
Title: Falconer
Medium: Fresco transferred to canvas
Date 1125-1150

                                                           

How can it be that I did not take a picture of the painting by Childe Hassam from Massachusetts in the late 1800's I do remember standing there reading this and being deeply touched by the last line:

This is a simple, real, and natural scene of a quiet moment frozen in time.

I read that and just stood there contemplating that thought. Isn't that what attracts me to art and photos and even this blog. Trying to capture the moment and treasure it. 

This also moved me. The title of the sculpture is Eve Disconsolate. 

                                                                       and up close

The artist Hiram Powers was from Cincinnati and his companion sculpture Eve Tempted is on exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. 

On the way out of Mount Adams, (which reminded both Thomas and I a bit of San Francisco), we made a quick stop at the Krohn's Conservatory, picked up some Chik-Fil-A and were off to Oxford, Ohio to take a first look at Miami University. We had to deal with a downpour as we left Cincinnati and just as the GPS stated we had arrived at Miami U it was a real "gully-washer".

 Fortunately, the rain stopped, we found Admissions easily, met up with a Professor in the Art Department, were taken on a brief tour, received some information on an Art History major, talked to a lovely lady at the college's art museum, had lunch and Graeter's ice cream in downtown Oxford and were back safely home at 8:30.

 It was a wonderful day of discovering new things and enjoying the company of my youngest son. Thank you God!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real 2 Days in Houston

It was a whirlwind 2 days in Houston. I flew out of Columbus on the 4th of July. The flight was through Chicago for the best chance of making it to Houston on standby. Flying out of Columbus was a breeze. I have come to appreciate the Columbus airport. It is clean, easy to maneuver, and you can get something to eat without breaking the bank. Stepping off the plan in Chicago I immediately felt the craziness that was to come. My flight was scheduled out in about 45 minutes but as I watched my United App, the number of seats went down and the number of passengers on standby went up. Not surprisingly I did not make it out on that flight, or the next one that was an hour later. That left one more flight out at 7:30 pm. At this point I had to make some choices. I talked to the United Agent at the gate. He looked things over and said there wasn't much chance I would make the next flight. I think I was #15 on the standby list with about 10 seats. He suggested I fly to Dallas and get out of Dallas to Houston first thing in the morning as he said it did not look good for getting out of Chicago in the morning either. 
I walked around a bit thinking and praying about what to do. I stopped and asked at the information booth about flying back to Columbus that evening. This lady suggested I fly to San Antonio and rent a car and make the 2 hour drive to Houston so,  arrive at 10:30pm, try to rent a car, and drive in the dark from one big city to another in an area I don't know....ahhh no thank you...not an option. At this point I called Gary and he suggested I see about buying the ticket. I did... $509...also not an option. When I went up to see about buying a ticket this third lady I talked to was pretty much like, "what were you thinking trying to get to Houston" She shared she didn't think anyone should try standby unless there were a good 20 seats open. I was reminded that life sometimes involves taking chances.

Pretty much all the flights, Dallas, Denver (another place to fly into and spend the night), Columbus, and of course the last one to Houston were right about 7:30. The whole time I was talking to God and was at peace with whatever would happen. I would be disappointed if I didn't make it but knew it was God's plan. It was strange because I had pretty much made up my mind that it made sense to just go back to Columbus when all of the sudden I was energized and the thought in my head was I had made it this far and I wasn't giving up, even if I had to sleep in the airport, even if I ended up flying back to Columbus the next day. I called Gary, put some relaxing music on my kindle, opened up my kindle book, and settled in for the wait. About  45 minutes before boarding time I went to the gate and started the wait. Right before boarding time they started calling people up for standby. I believe 5 seats were taken and then they kept calling names and no one stepped forward. Finally they called my name. I was almost in tears I was so happy. I texted Colleen right away and let her know I was on my way. And so at about 10:40 pm I arrived at the George Bush International Airport and there stood my sweet Colleen. I felt bad since she had flown in at 7 and had to wait for me but she was a good sport about it. By the time we got back to her neck of the woods, we were hungry but everything was closed so we went back to her apartment, made oatmeal, and called it a day.

  

Flight Attendants

                                Watching Colleen pin on Hannah's wings was a special moment!
                                   I still can't believe these two young ladies are flight attendants.

"Pining Hannah is her cousin Flight Attendant Colleen Korte based out of Houston"

I am grateful that I got to spend an extra night with Colleen. 

We decided to go to the Woodlands Mall and have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then walked down along the Woodlands Waterway. It was a fun way to spend the evening. As it turned out Columbus natives, 21 Pilots were playing a concert at the amphitheater and you could hear the music in the park. We had fun watching all the people and listening to the warm up band but by the time it was time for 21 Pilots we were hot and in need of hydration and so had to leave. I believe it was still about 90 degrees at 8 pm.  

I decided we needed a selfie while we sat and chatted

Boaters enjoying the concert

Along the Waterway...getting ready to head back.

Woodlands Amphitheater 

Sunset on the Waterway

The first night while I was sleeping I felt this tapping on my back. I opened my eyes to see Rafiki, Colleen's cat looking at me like "hey, wake up, let's play!"

Rafiki

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real, The Gift of a Beach Vacation

I was given the gift of a couple days at the beach. It was a gift in many ways. First I got to spend time with my sister Maureen. The fact that she is well enough to enjoy her annual trip to Myrtle is really the best gift. I stayed with Tim and Patty and Maddie and Timmy. It was so gracious of them to make me welcome in their condo and transport me back and forth to the airport. To be able to spend so much time with the four of them was an unexpected gift. Tim is so much fun and made me laugh till I cried, Patty is so kind and generous and just being with the kids and getting to know them a little better was a treat!

 My flight to the beach was another gift, this time literally. I was to fly for free on standby but Colleen and Elle ending up buying my ticket so that I would not have to worry about when or possibly if I would get on a flight.  I had a stop in Newark and on the landing I had this view of the Statue of Liberty, a first for me and another gift.

Statue of Liberty

Within an hour of getting off the plane I was at the beach sipping a sweet tea and enjoying the beauty of God's creation and the wonderful company of Maureen and Larry, Ben, Larry's siblings Russ and Sharon and Tim, Patty, Timmy and Maddie. I was pleasantly surprised that the beach was not nearly as crowded as I remembered. Sitting in the sun, listening to the surf, watching the children play in the waves did my spirit a world of good! After the day at the beach we all went out to dinner at Sticky Fingers. I wish I had enough time to share all the fun stories of our time together but I'll just say it was lovely to be with a big group laughing over a delicious meal of barbecued ribs!

Each morning I went walking with Maureen, The first morning it was just she and I and we ended our walk on the beach. The second morning, Ben and Tim joined us and the third Tim and Sharon. Each morning we walked down towards the beach and walked through the campground and mobile home park which was shaded and had some nicely landscaped yards and decorated homes which was a treat to look at. One morning I walked down to the beach to see the sunrise before we walked. I was a bit tired, and I later joked that I didn't wake up until I got to the beach. It was a cloudy morning and I didn't expect much but it really was a beautiful sunrise. The week was such a nice mix of quiet time sitting on the beach, talking and sitting at water's edge with a group, walking the beach, dinner out, shopping at the outlet malls and a fun afternoon at Boardwalk at the Beach with the Theiss family.

Just me and the rising sun!

Under the Apache Pier

 This is the path to the beach from the condo. We have walked this path each time we have come to Myrtle. I believe this is the 3rd time, I am guessing 1995, 1997, and now 2016. In hindsight I would have done this trip every 4 years. Next year I am hoping my whole family and Granny and Papa will come along.

My flight home was to be Thursday afternoon but as I was packing up I checked my phone and there was a text saying my flight had been cancelled due to weather issues (I later learned they had some severe storms in Ohio). To make a long story short I had the gift of another day at the beach. Thank you God!

I forgot to mention that when I landed at Myrtle I got almost out of the airport and realized that I had taken off my sweater ( my favorite sweater) and wrapped it through he handles of my carry on bag and it was gone. We stopped in on Thursday to reschedule my flight for Friday and  I stoppped at the Information Desk and asked if it had been found but they said the only thing they found on Tuesday was a hoverboard (really?), Friday before I left I stopped and asked again. This time I asked them to check to see about Wens too. They said sorry there were a couple of things, water bottle, ladies jacket etc. but no sweater I asked the gentlemen if there was any chance the jacket might be a sweater. he said "well mam it says jacket" I asked if he would check as I really liked this sweater. When he returned to the phone a few minutes later he said "well mam this is not a jacket, it is a sweater, does the one you are looking for have blue, pink, and yellow flowers and green leaves on it?" I said "that's it!" and he replied " I'll bring it right down to you." My persistence paid off!

Just seconds after I took the Myrtle 2016 picture above, this happened. That's the thing about the beach and life for the matter. Try as you might you can't cling to the moment. The waves roll in, the vacation ends, the children grow up, but there are still memories to be made, good times to enjoy, Life to live! Every day is a gift! Thank you God!

Mercy, Journaling and the Start of Summer 2016

     It is a beautiful sunny Sunday. I am sitting in the front room enjoying the beauty out my window that is the start of summer.  Gary is in Michigan helping his dad clean up some fallen trees around the cabin and readying the cabin for another summer.  Thomas and I went to Mass at Resurrection this morning and Deacon Tom gave an inspiring homily about mercy. The banner for the Year of Mercy hangs in our sanctuary and Tom referred to it in his sermon. Actually this is the second time he has done this. The first time he asked us if we noticed that Jesus and the man he carried on his shoulders like the lost sheep shared an eye. I had not noticed that. Today he referred to the fact that the circle in the background goes from dark to light representing Jesus taking us from the darkness of sin into the light. The Year of Mercy has been a gift to the church at a time when it is so desperately needed. All I can think to say is we are a world in need of God. Thomas and I had a brief conversation in the car on the way home about the importance of searching for truth. When we search for truth we surely find God. That is my greatest hope for my children is they will find God and experience the joy and peace that come from knowing God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

    At the start of each summer I purchase a new composition notebook and start to jot notes about our plans, thoughts, and dreams for the coming season. I start off with a quote and then dedicate one page to each month and write the major events that traditionally take place.  Then I try to keep a weekly bullet journal of what we actually do though it seems I am hit or miss with this.

     I recently started journaling again and have a goal to jot a little something each day. I find I process things by talking them through or writing them down. Since it is not always possible or even in some cases wise to talk things through, I write.




   

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real Beginning of May and Mother's Day

First week of May...out my window

A day in Marion!

Some prayer time at St Mary's Church

Cinco de mayo lunch at Mi Jalepeno

and of course dessert at Ger-Zee!





                                                             one of my little visitors

                                                                         full bloom!

                                                                   hello little critter!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real in April

April memories!

A bottle of bubbly to toast to new adventures!

Off to her new home in Houston, TX

                           Sibling shot at the St Louis fund raiser for Maureen and Larry

                                           and of course Mom and Richard were there too!

We saw this full bright rainbow as we left Marion after the funeral for our friend Lane's son Anthony. I pray that this rainbow is a sign for Lane that God is always there for us.

Fun with the Houston Girls!

Colleen and her fellow flight attendant and roomie Tania came to visit and retrieve the cats. 

I had a lovely day with the girls having lunch at La Chatelaine, ice cream at Graeters, stopping in a few shops in Worthington, visiting the antique shop that Colleen's friend Tommy works at and then lastly a stop at the pet store to pick up travel cages for Oliver and Rafiki. 

Love these girls and spending time with them.