Maisy

I got to meet my Husband's newest cousin on Monday.
They have nicknamed her Maisy and what a cutie she is.
Healthy and growing so much in 2 months. It always amazes me how fast the whole process takes.

Next thing you know, she will be dating and choosing a college. :-)

Shepherd Me, O God

Every year when I attend Temple with my Husband and his family, this song* turns up during the Yizkor service. They have slightly different lyrics (Strengthen Me O God) is the most obvious difference. It is beautifully done with harp and upright bass, simple and yet so heartbreakingly beautiful.
It fills my heart with joy, every time I hear it.
At some point in the Catholic Liturgical year, it turns up at my Mass in Church and I am brought back to those Yizkor services in Temple, where we pray for our dead.

In a surprise to me, it was also played at my father's Funeral and it was the only bright moment in the whole service...well, that and having my father's 4 Grandchildren together that day.

*Note: If you click that You Tube Link above, my apologies for the ad at the top of the video.


The Lyrics follow.

Shepherd me, O God,
beyond my wants,
beyond my fears,
from death into life. [bis]

1. God is my shepherd,
so nothing shall I want,
I rest in the meadows
of faithfulness and love,
I walk by the quiet waters of peace.

Shepherd me, O God,
beyond my wants,
beyond my fears,
from death into life. [bis]

2. Gently you raise me
and heal my weary soul,
you lead me by pathways
of righteousness and truth,
my spirit shall sing
the music of your Name.

Shepherd me, O God,
beyond my wants,
beyond my fears,
from death into life. [bis]

3. Though I should wander
the valley of death,
I fear no evil,
for you are at my side,
your rod and your staff,
my comfort and my hope.

Shepherd me, O God,
beyond my wants,
beyond my fears,
from death into life. [bis]

4. You have set me a banquet of love
in the face of hatred,
crowning me with love
beyond my power to hold.

5. Surely your kindness and mercy
follow me all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of my God
forevermore.

Shepherd me, O God,
beyond my wants,
beyond my fears,
from death into life. [bis]

Round And Round And Round In The Circle Game

Ok, I KNOW Google hightlighted these things on September 15th.

This is the first time I ever saw one from the air. Being that they had just been highlighted, I immediately stopped what I was doing and grabbed the camera.

I have no idea where I might be, but my best guess is Colorado.

I was pretty impressed that I found some.

How cool.

Fountain Of Beauty

My Water Post For Today.

A fountain in Central Islip, NY. Right outside this REALLY excellent Italian restaurant .

I normally do a little fixing on my photos, but this one is just outstanding on its own. You can see every drop of water on those fountain streams. Look at the moss, growing on the overhang!
I have not seen anything so interesting in quite a while.

I hope you enjoy.

The Place I Was Born

I had to stop and make a few phone calls, upon my arrival in New York. Since I knew the hospital where I was born was on the way there, I pulled off the road and parked in their lot.

Many years ago, I came into this world. Mom, good Catholic that she was, had me in a Catholic Hospital quite a distance from our home. The story of my birth goes that my Dad was told to go home, since it would be quite a while before I made my appearance. So he did. Mom said that I came shortly after, at 10:45PM that evening. She never let my Dad forget that he was watching some game show at that time, while she labored to have me. Whatever...

I don't believe this section of the hospital is where I was born. I remember a 2 story wing over behind the main hospital and that is where I believe all of us were born. I remember Mom at a window one time (I think for my youngest brother) and we got to wave to her. For my middle brother, I remember my Dad taking me and my sister out to buy my Mom a comb and brush set as a present. We were staying at my Grandmother's house, so that Dad could continue to work. It was a big outing for my sister and I.

Only fun memories are tied up in this place, since only our 4 births happened here.

National Parks

Ken Burns' latest series begins on Sunday.

As with most stuff coming from Ken, I am sure 12 hours are going to drag on just a bit. That seems to be his way.
The footage I saw back in April at a Conference I attended, was stunning.

So I will check it out at some point and enjoy the best part of this wonderful Country of ours.

Oh, Pioneer!

I was on the subway last evening and this man was standing next to me, reading the food section of the Los Angeles Times. The headline for this post caught my attention, because many years ago my station did an episode of a show that carried that exact name. Well, I look at the photo that accompanied the headline and I immediately recognize The Pioneer Woman. I read her blog every day, because I love her photos. She takes the ordinary...and makes it into a work of art. If only my photos were half as good. :-)

The reason for the article was to announce that Ree Drummond has a cookbook coming out next month. The Pioneer Woman Cooks. She spent the better part of last year, working on the book and it is filled with photos that show "step by step" how to make whatever it is she is showing you.

I personally can't wait to hear that the book is out and for sale. I feel a Christmas gift coming my way.

If you would like to check her out, go down the left side of my blog and click the link to her...or query The Pioneer Women on Google.

Babylon Sisters...Shake It!

"Drive west on Sunset
To the sea
Turn that jungle music down
Just until we're out of town
This is no one night stand
It's a real occasion
Close your eyes and you'll be there
It's everything they say
The end of a perfect day
Distant lights from across the bay"




Here are photos of the two biggest cities in my adopted state. I flew through both of them yesterday and just marveled at how totally different they are. I live, love and work in LA...but I have got to admit that San Francisco has always had my heart...from all the way back in 1974, when my family visited it for the first time. The bay, the hippie types, the cable cars. They have it all. :-)

I was not surprised that the fog was rolling in through the Golden Gate...that is such a normal occurrence. All I saw was one golden tower peaking out of the white. It was so beautiful.

When I got back to LA, there was that same fog at the very edge of the runways at LAX, so they sent us inland and we turned at the Alameda Corridor (that funny rail thing you see in the photo, leading toward the Downtown area.) It brings freight to the area, without holding up traffic. I have never made that maneuver before and it was quite thrilling to do.

I am so glad to be home, though I am missing my sister terribly.

BTW, I have one ear that is killing me right now. It did not like all the changes of pressure. Sigh...

The Two Of Us

I am still in New York, but I will be returning to LA today. Yay!

I wanted something to remind me of my guy, who I am missing.

This was taken last Saturday at the Beach.

Smell the sea, feel the wind.

In Honor Of The First Day Of Fall

I am still in New York.


This is my son (the weird one), modeling a lovely headdress of some Fall leaves.


I don't know quite what to make of this photo, but here it is.
My Halloween son showing off his favorite season of the year.


Or as he says, "Gotta love the fall." :-)

Hit The Beach

My Water Post For Today.

I live all of an hour from the water. Why do I wait so long to go visit it?

I love the wind in my hair, the smell of the sea that stays with you, even when you go back inland. There is just something magical about the hypnotic waves crashing on the shore and then retreating, back to the sea again.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed being part of it.

Last Mass In The Old Church

Today is the day when we celebrate our Last Mass in our Multipurpose Room. It was only supposed to take 3 years and instead it took over 11. A generations time for the children of Kateri, who don't know when to kneel at a Mass. Boy are they going to have a rude awakening, when they have to kneel next week. :-)

I am out of town in NY, so this photo was actually taken the week before, on September 12th. I am one for total truth, so I let you know this. But since I am in NY, this was indeed MY last Mass in Kateri...

This room seats 600 and our new Church will be the second largest in Los Angeles. It will hold over 1,200. It's going to be quite a change for our humble parish.

What Do I Do With This?

I am in New York.

A new Makenna photo for my sister and something for me to see, while I am away from my family.

She looks totally confused with the fake plant. Especially since she ate a bunch of my real ones, just days before.

I now have grass for her, thanks to my friend Becca who suggested it.

I learned my lesson.

The Jewish New Year, According To Google

A friend of mine forwarded this over to me. Credit goes to Bangitout.
I personally love the little Honey Bear. :-)


Happy New Year 5770.

May your joys be many, may your troubles be few. May the economy recover and may your year be filled with love and peace. In other words, a good year to all.

For those who follow my humble blog, I am flying out to New York tonight. I will be back in time for the end of the High Holy Days. In a sign of the times, my first Furlough Day is Yom Kippur. I figured since I was going to be in Temple with my Husband anyway, might as well not get paid for it.

Car Chase

Click on the photo to read the story.


I was driving home on Tuesday night. Things were weird and I had just consciously said that to myself, to make me aware of the fact that I had to be even more vigilant on my drive home, when I saw a light in the Newhall Pass. Not just a light in the sky, but other aircraft that I very soon realized were helicopters. Uh, oh, I thought...Car Chase. I slowed down a bit and soon others slowed down too, because yes, there were at least 6 or 8 cop cars on the other side of the freeway and a light shinning down on the road. A Fire Truck followed them at a safe distance.

I called my Hubby and he checked it out, but nothing was on TV at the time.
When the news came on at 10PM, my story made it on the air.

That's the first time I have ever seen one of those things...definitely scary.