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curlygrrl
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Name: Bernadette
Country: United States
State: Ohio
Metro: Dayton
Interests: I love God a lot. I like to sing along with the radio when I'm driving in my car. Wanting to swing dance is my default setting. I make killer potato salad. I am a Television Without Pity (www.televisionwithoutpity.com) addict. I like kite flying, old black & white movies, playing cricket very badly, and hot black tea with milk. I love to read - I'll read almost anything. I write poetry too! Maybe some day I'll even post some of it...
Expertise: I garden like crazy, mostly cuz I'm a sucker for flowers - especially roses. I love roses. And lily of the valley. And peonies. And ... you get the picture. I can do PowerPoint slides like there's no tomorrow. My cooking brings strong men to their knees (in a good way). I make the best birthday cakes you've ever tasted. I've read more books than anyone else I know. I have the power to charm shy engineers. I can crochet dynamite scarves.
Occupation: Retired
Industry: Textiles
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Yahoo:  curlygrrl75
AIM:  curlygrrl75
Member Since:
2/9/2005
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| Sts. Fragan & GwenSo I have to start this blog post with an apology. I never meant to abandon you guys for over a month. It just sortof... happened. There were many times I started the day with good intentions to update, but somehow the time always slipped away from me and by the end of the day I still hadn't. I just couldn't think of anything to write. People would ask me, "So, what's going on with you?" and I couldn't think of anything to say. I knew things were happening, even good things, but somehow I couldn't think of any of them. It was like writer's block, except instead of the intense frustration writer's block usually causes, I felt, well, not much. I was a little embarrassed that my life wasn't very interesting, but not enough to actually do anything about it. Gradually this started to bother me. It's just not like me. Sure, everyone goes through times when things don't change much - you need them to rest up from the spells when everything changes at once. But I always find something to write about. Me not writing is a little like Julia Child not whipping a little something up in the kitchen just to know what it tastes like (not that I'm claiming to be on her level, but - you know what I mean).
It took me a while to figure things out, but after a while I realized that my dullness had started about the time when I started taking a particular medication my doctor recommended to help me through the sadness after Jacob's death. It did help, but it didn't just ease the sadness, it eased everything else too. After I couldn't even finish a blog post about the utter seductiveness of a really good library, I knew I couldn't go on like this. I quit taking the medication about a week ago, and I'm so glad I did. This week has been a little like waking up from a doze, and relizing that the sun is shining and there are all these colors out there. I'm laughing again, and crying, and best of all, I'm writing. Hence this blog post. My words are back. I hope they never, never go away ever again.
Among the good things that have been happening is that my very dear Ducky and 'Sup Doc have gotten engaged. I'm very glad about this, if only because for the last few months when I've been telling others about them I kept saying he was her fiance instead of her boyfriend, and then I had to go back and correct myself. The fun part is that they've asked me to be part of the wedding. I've helped put on weddings before, but I've never gotten to actually be in one. This is exciting to me. I've heard a lot of bridesmaid horror stories, but I don't care. I'll get to wear a pretty dress (which I probably will have to pay way too much for), and carry flowers, and grin my fool head off while two of my favorite people pledge their lives to one another. And it will be good.
Also exciting is that I now have two more roommates, bringing the house total up to four lovely young ladies. It's the first time Johnsy's house has actually been full. I know I've mentioned Magda, the Hungarian Kindergarten teacher who is now occupieing the room next to mine, but I don't think I've said anything about Ani, the roommate who has taken over the furnished attic. This is unfortunate, since she's kindof awesome. She's also a lot like me. We keep finding parallels. The other night we were talking late in the kitchen, and we both gave the same over-the-top reaction to something at the exact same time without thinking about it. We both pounded one fist into the other hand and screwed up our faces and growled/yelled. And while our yells were different, we both made the exact same face. When we did it we froze for a moment, and then started laughing so hard we almost fell out of our chairs. And then we agreed that this never happened. But it did. Thankfully so far she only seems to share the cool parts about me, not the things about myself that drive me nuts and annoy the people around me. But we've been enjoying each other very, very much.
In other news, I'm heading off to our annual family vacation. Usually we go off to Conneaut, a small town on the shores of Lake Erie. This year, however, we thought that we should do something different, that Conneaut would have too many memories attached to it. So we decided to go back to Woodland Altars to camp instead. This is a small Bible camp in the hills of southern Ohio where I spent at least a week (and sometimes much more) every summer for years while I was growing up. I went to horse camp, performing arts camp, and we all went back for the camp reunion on Labor Day weekend every year. Some of the best memories of my childhood and adolescence are of time spent there. I don't know when my family drifted away from it. I think some of the youngest kids weren't as tied into it as us older ones were. Somehow we got out of the habit of going there. But we're back again this week.
Actually, I should be there already with them. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of quitting my medication cold turkey (along with feeling like I'm alive again) has been some really nasty migraines that have knocked me off my feet for most of the week. On Friday I had thought I was coming out of it, but they got me again yesterday and today. Big Brother was going down late because he was visiting Mariah at Notre Dame (she's taking grad shcool classes there this summer) beforehand, so he agreed to take me down later. He had originally planned to go down late tonight, but we've postponed it to early tomorrow morning. The headache that kept me off my feet for most of today seems to be ebbing, so I'm planning to stay up most of the night packing and then head out first thing. We'll see how this goes.
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| St. Nicholas PeregrinusFirst there came Spreadable Crack, the herbed butter spread I make for special occasions. The ingredients change depending on what I have available, but generally it consists of butter whipped together with lemon juice, a little cream cheese, finely minced green onion, and fresh herbs which might include parsley, thyme, basil, sage, or whatever else is in the garden, plus sometimes a little lemon zest. This combination is so good that I have sometimes seen it literally stop someone in their tracks. You spread it on a slice of good bread and it's... sublime. Really. You can't stop eating it. When I make it, Johnsy has a tendency to hoard it away for herself, hiding it in odd corners of the refridgerator. It's that good.
Last night we discovered Frozen Crack, also known as Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream. I saw the recipe on one of my favorite food blogs a while ago, and promptly printed it out to make. But, you know, life being what it is, it just hadn't happened. When my Aunt and Uncle accepted our invitation to come over to dinner last night, I thought this was my opportunity. Except the weekend got away from me, and I still hadn't made it. Yesterday morning, I was talking to Johnsy, and she said that since she would be home all day, she'd be happy to give it a try. So she did. The texture wasn't perfect - Johnsy cooked the custard a little too long, which made it grainy. But the flavor - oh dear Lord! Like the best, creamiest, most luxurious cheesecake you ever tasted. So good we couldn't stop eating it. We had a few fresh raspberries to scatter over the top, which just added to the deliciousness. We have another tub of the ice cream in the freezer, but I predict that it won't last long!
In other news, our Catholic Life young adult group has started back up again. Last week was our first week back after Theology On Tap ended. It was a good time! We had several new people, including one guy I'd already met at swing dancing (which was very cool). We spent almost the entire time discussing the gospels for Pentecost, and never actually moved on to the discussion topic. One of the gospels was John 20:19-23. It tells about Jesus coming to the disciples in the upper room, showing him his wounded hands and side, and giving them the Holy Spirit. I've read this passage many times, but this time when I read the line about Jesus showing his hands and side it reminded me of one of my friends showing me the mark where he got hit by another player's stick in a lacrosse game, or my little brother showing me the cleat marks on his leg where he got stepped on in a football game. So I told this to the group. I said that it was like Jesus held out his hands and said, "Dude, look what they did to my hands!" And the apostles replied, "Wow, man, that's harsh!" The group thought it was very funny, and afterwards one of the new guys showed me a cartoon he'd drawn of the scene. He says he's going to put it on cafepress, and make t-shirts. I know I would buy one!
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| Bl. John Shert  I told you that I'm good with babies.
I had a really good time at dancing last night. One of my favorite leads is home from college (all graduated and everything), and will be around for a while. We had lots of new people, which always makes things fun. I had a great time showing two amazing books I recently acquired to people. I not only had Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (made of pure Win), but Movies In Fifteen Minutes by Cleolinda Jones, one of the awesomest books ever to make me giggle until my stomach hurt. I had heard about the first book months ago, and posted a link about it on Mai's facebook page, but I hadn't managed to actually get my hands on a copy. Then at my family birthday brunch, Mariah opened a large box and started handing out copies to everyone in the family. This was a book, she said, that just had to belong to each of us. I took it home with me, and read through it that very night. It was wonderful. And then about two weeks ago, The Thinker surprised me with a copy of Movies In Fifteen Minutes. I had read Cleolinda's awesomely amazing Twilight recaps before, but I hadn't realized there was even more glorious snark to be had. When The Thinker put the book in my hands I was nearly incoherent with joy. And the book did not disappoint. I can't count the number of times it made me literally laugh out loud. It is a thing of beauty, and a joy forever. You should get your own copy. Yes, right now. Go! What are you waiting for? Just get it!
Anyway, besides the literary joy, there was also baby joy (see the picture?), and Good Lead from Far Away joy. A guy from LA was in town for a wedding, and man, he was fun to dance with. The girls were lining up at the side of the floor for their chance to dance with him. No, I'm not kidding. We really did. And then after our dance we would congregate in little clots at the edge of the floor and squee to one another about how much fun it was, and compare how many times each of us had gotten to dance with him, and whether he asked our names afterwards, and how many times he dipped us and how low and, you know, like that. I don't think I've ever seen us be this giddy over a guy, not even when Superstars come in to town. Of course, it doesn't help that the last Superstar we had in town was a jerk, but still. It was a good time.
Life in general has been pretty cool. The garden is going like gangbusters. This year we have lettuce mix, green onions, carrots, radishes, beets, more radishes, green beans, peas, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. Everything is coming up like crazy. The roses are blooming in gorgeous lavishness, and the lavender is looking very picturesque with the crack in the wall and the statue of Mary. My herb garden is doing well, though I think my sage is trying to take over the world. No, seriously, that thing's a monster. I'm going to try to cut it back after it blooms. If I can. We'll see.
Fun with Theology On Tap is over for a little while. We had a good season, though it had its interesting moments, including the one last Thursday where we got heckled, and then the heckler tried to start a fight. This is the first time in five and a half years we've had something like this happen. The first we knew was when this guy (walking very carefully - I think he was drunk) walked straight up to our speaker right in the middle of the talk and asked if he could have the microphone. Mick, sitting close to the front, said no, but that there would be Q&A time after the break. The guy paused a moment, and then went back to his seat in the back. Then a little later, when our speaker was talking about Confession, the guy started yelling stuff about how, "Confession is an invention of the Italian Spy Agency to spy on Americans!" No, I'm not kidding. I didn't know whether to laugh or take him seriously. One, who was sitting near the guy, went over to the guy to tell him that if he had questions or concerns, One would be happy to talk with him. The guy tried to start a fight, emphatically declaring that One was "invading [his] space!" etc. Someone went to get the waitress, who promptly ejected the guy, his friend, and the girl with them who was also trying to get a fight started. It was exciting. And now we have about a million new jokes about the Italian Spy Agency (who knew Italians were so organized?), and invading space.
In other news, my car is still in the shop. We keep discovering new problems, which require tracking down parts, and in the meantime the mechanic works on other jobs, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get this car back. I really would like to have a car again, even if it's not perfect. My friends (particularly Johnsy, Mick, and Hands) have been wonderful about giving me rides, but it's not fun when just getting to the grocery store takes this much coordination of schedules. Also, on Saturday we had a great party to wind up the end of TOT. I got to use my new Chinese lanterns for the first time. They were very pretty. I should probably also mention that everyone had a great time too, but hey, Chinese lanterns! Also, I may possibly go to a lacrosse game on Saturday. But that's another blog post...
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| St. MatthiasToday I had an appointment down on campus, and since my car is still in the shop, I walked down and back. It's not too far, about fifteen or twenty minutes each way. Just enough to stretch your legs and fill your lungs with fresh air. I rather like walking places, partly because I like looking at things. There are so many small, fascinating details that just blow by when you're driving. You don't get to see things like the man working on the baseball diamond while his dogs lie patiently waiting against the infield fence, or the tall red clover poking its blooms up through the tall grass. You don't get to smell things either. The honeysuckle is out in full force these days, saturating the air with sweetness. When I'm in a car I'm always in a hurry, rushing to get someplace on time, trying to squeeze just a little more activity into the too-few hours in a day. When I walk, things take as long as they're going to take. I set out, and when I get there is when I get there. So I have time to do things like take the path through the woods that might be a shortcut, pick some of the tall clover blossoms to take with me, stop to smell the honeysuckle, or admire the way the afternoon light makes that fallen branch look like a work of art. Instead of arriving flustered and anxious about whether or not I'm on time, I'm serene and mellow from my walk. Maybe having my car in the shop isn't such a bad thing after all.
I have to admit that some of this is me making the best of a bad situation. I'm probably not going to be able to get my car back from the shop any time soon. The Mechanic had said that he would be done yesterday, but yesterday morning when he took it for a test drive after finishing his work it stalled again. This time he had the diagnostics stuff hooked up, and he said that my computer wasn't registering anything at all. It looks like over time the bad electrical system has fried my car's computer, and it's going to have to be replaced. Car computers are not cheap. I told the Mechanic that I was already at the limit of what I could spend. He told me that he would see if he could find a used computer that would be less expensive, and that maybe he could knock off some of the labor charges. He said that he would work with me on this, that the important thing was that I would have a car that was at least somewhat reliable. He's going to look into things and call me today with an estimate. Hopefully it will be something I can sort of pay, scrape together, something. I really do need a car that's not going to leave me stranded on the side of the road for hours at a time.
I still haven't planted my garden yet. Johnsy and I decided to drastically expand the vegetable garden this year. I had thought we were doubling it, but when I actually marked it out on the ground I realized that it was more like triple what we had last year. I have the ground cleared now, but none of my seeds are planted. I haven't gotten the dahlias planted either, or the gladiolus bulbs I'm trying out. I did prune the deadwood off the roses, and cleared the stuff that didn't survive the winter out of the herb garden and the lavender bed. I'm hoping that this weekend will be the magic moment when I'll finally get things planted. Of course, I have committments Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, so perhaps this is a bit optimistic.
In other news, our new roommate Magda has been working hard on getting her room ready to move in. Last night when I got home from dancing she was just leaving after working for hours painting and things. And she had to be at school ready to teach Kindergartners at an absurdly early hour this morning. I don't know how she does it.
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| Bl. John of Rochester  This is my little brother AP (which is short for Absentminded Professor). He came out to my house Saturday afternoon and mowed my grass for me. It was kinda awesome. My parents' electric mower made short work of the total jungle that was my yard. I worked with him, using the weed whacker to take care of the things the mower wouldn't reach. After we were done, I fed him ice cream - the last of the blackberry ice cream I made last week. Then we talked for a while. He kept reaching over and tickling me just when I wasn't expecting it, partly because he's my little brother, and partly because I make really excellent noises when tickled. It's true. But I don't want this to give anyone any ideas. I also fight back. You've been warned. After the ice cream had been consumed, and I let him know I was done being tickled, he gave me a big hug, packed up the lawn mower, and headed home.
On Sunday AP came to my rescue again. I had been over at Mariah's for a Mothers' Day brunch (truly excellent omelets made to order by Boy-O), and was heading home again. As I was waiting at a stop sign at Stout & Perry, my car (which I think is named Vanya) stalled out on me, and would not start again. But this time was different. Usually when the car stalls and won't start the starter will at least crank even if the engine won't turn over. This time the starter wouldn't even crank. The dome light worked, so it wasn't the battery. I called my resident car expert, who told me that I would have to bite the bullet and get the car to a mechanic. AP was already on his way to help me (the second time he's rescued me from car distress). I called AAA, who sent a very nice tow truck operator to pick up the car. While I made arrangements with the tow truck operator, AP moved my stuff from my car to his, opened the door for me after I had waved good-bye to my car, took me home, and carried my stuff into the house for me.
Have I mentioned that my brother is kind of amazing? It's true. Really. I think I'm going to have to make him some more ice cream.
I heard from the mechanic this morning. The car needs all new wires and plugs, and a valve seal, and some other things. I don't want to think about how much it's going to cost to fix. It's a good thing I got a tax refund this year. But I think it will be worth it just to not have to worry about it stalling out on me at every red light. At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself. Sigh
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