Peace be to this congregation - Mim memory

Mega thanks to Lisa for suggesting using songs from Bar Scott's Liturgy album for Mim's memorial tribute.  Perfect!  

What a dork I was to not think of it myself.  Just the other day, someone - who hadn't a clue my little hometown had any connection to the brilliant singer-song writer - talked about how much her daughter loved Bar's music.

And Mim was a huge Bar fan.  What an idiot I was not to think about an album that I gave to my big sis!!!  

"Father, all holy" is a perfect fit for the memorial tribute.  Throughout the various conformations of what began as 14-year old Mim's Explorers Club, it was always the club hymn, sung at induction ceremonies, around campfires.  And Mim gave "Peace be to this congregation" prominent placement in an album she made over fifty years ago - in 1961 - of poems tagged to photos of her sibs (naturally, none of her).  

Offering thanks to the Creative Energies that have helped make Mim's memorial tribute as true to her as it feels like it will be.  I haven't seen any early versions.  Nor will I.  I won't see it until everyone else does.  

The link will be posted on Sunday, November 29.  We are having a gathering to watch it at Cairnwood Village, at 3:00 pm.  Around the country, the world, other groups will gather for their own watch & celebration.  Mim would like that - people coming together at the best time for them, not a one-shot experience at a circumscribed time & place.  Am sure she'd love that the video includes scenes from Laurel, features Frank & Louise, folds in Bar's music.  

Peace be to this congregation - and to Mim.  

 

Which is more heartbreaking?

Soon after Mim died, I mentioned to my oldest brother that I wanted to take THANK YOU cupcakes to the nursing home where she lived the past few years.  He sadly suggested that I not.  Our sis had told him about the staff's ill treatment of her, how they ridiculed on the occasions they weren't ignoring her.  She confided her doubts that any of them would even notice if she died.

What he shared was truly heartbreaking, but the phrasing gave me pause.  Over the years, I'd heard her use almost the exact same description - right down to "doubting they'll notice if I am gone" - about practically everyone who deeply genuinely cared about her.  


Today, heard from a friend who's especially touched at plans to share Mim's  memorial tribute over Thanksgiving.  Seems that for years, she & her husband had traveled from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to share Thanksgiving dinner with Mim - at the nursing home.  

Hmmmm....  I had Peter's sense of how the staff had treated Mim, which was the opposite of my brief impression.  It hit me that someone who spent several holiday dinners with Mim - who was closer to Mim than all her siblings combined - would have the true lay of the land.  If Mim was being treated so harshly, she'd surely have confided to one of her most intimate friends.


So, I asked.  To my question, "Did you get the sense, from personal experience, that they were attentive & compassionate?"  she replied, "Yes — and I know that some of them had quite a close relationship to Mim."  

Which is more heartbreaking:  the staff mistreating my sister ~or~ my sister's constant rejection that others cared about her, held her in high regard, appreciated & loved her?  

Thanksgiving invite!

 

Wish we could have EVERYONE over to Squirrel Haven for Thanksgiving dinner!  Instead, am sharing the link to my mega popular, simple to make & oh so easy to eat Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, along with my very own handcrafted, twice baked, eazy peazy cracker recipe!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Filling - bring 1/2 brick of Philadelphia Cream Cheese to room temp;  using electric mixer, blend in two tablespoons confectioners (10X) sugar & 2 tablespoons vanilla until thoroughly blended;  whip in a tub of defrosted Cool Whip & you're good to go!  Refrigerate filled Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

 

Penzey's is in Chestnut Hill!

Handcrafted, Twice-baked Crackers
package of refrigerated tortilla rounds
olive oil
seasonings
cookie cutters

Brush one side of the tortilla rounds with olive oil;  dust with seasonings of your choice (I use ground sea salt & a variety of Penzey's spices); use metal cookie cutters to cut out forms;  using BOTH sides of traditional & small cupcake tins to drape or stack the cut out shapes;  bake in preheated 350 degree oven;  after 8 minutes, transfer to a cookie sheet for the rest of the baking time;  check for doneness every few minutes, reducing the time between checks as the crackers get closer to done - golden & light;  the crackers don't all finish at the same time - that's what puts the art into the process!  Thoroughly cool before storing in a airtight container or bag.  Wilton's leaf collection make perfect crackers for Thanksgiving entertaining, stars & hearts are great for Christmas. 

Giving thanks for Mim

For all my life, I'm nurtured a deep faith in things turning out spectacularly well when we trust.  It looks like Mim's memorial tribute might be online in time for Thanksgiving Sunday parties!  Sublime timing!!

Mim slipped from us four months ago.  Some of her nearest & dearest have been concerned about WHEN her memorial will finally happen.  As my dear husband would say - in the right time.

We started out without any idea of just how she wanted us to celebrate her life.  Praise be, the one minister she mentioned no longer does memorial services.  That lead us to brainstorming which which which minister would be best.  The best was out in Tucson.  Voila!  Let's do an online service.  

 

Doing the memorial tribute online opened up involving the Laurel Church Camp (it was a transforming experience for Mim).  

Last month, the idea dawned to use her line drawings to open & close the tribute.  

Since our niece, Karen, is putting it together down in Australia (mega mega mega thanks!), my personal prayer is that she can get her dad - maybe Mike & Kerry together - to record an opening welcome.  

It just kept building!

As for the timing...  Personally, I can't think of a better time for my sister's memorial tribute to go online, with celebrations all over the globe.  Happening over American Thanksgiving?  Perfect!

Fingers crossed it all works out as hoped.  But whenever it happens, it will be the right time.  

 

In a flash

Stunned at how swiftly my life routine changed.  Literally, in a flash. As in a flash of insight & application. Thanks to a small book with a big message.

The Compound Effect is the book title AND describes what I've experienced over my life - a compounding of events lessons people in my life that's brought me to this astonishing place on my time line.  

I slept in yesterday.  No big deal.  Except that within a matter of a couple days, it no longer meshed with my morning practice, throwing the day off until I realized what was afoot, got my act together, and reclaimed my balance.

This morning, all was back to where it's always wanted to be.  Alarm went off at 5:10 a.m., hit snooze & - still snugged next to John - went through my mental rise & shine steps, swung out of bed & went over to the window for several minutes of grateful contemplation, headed to the front room for my morning namastes, got dress, fed the cats, then struck out on a walk around the neighborhood, returned home & read until John got up at 6:45 a.m. - feeling gggggrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

 

This wasn't what I was doing this time last week.  Or on Monday.  Did it Tuesday, but knew even then it was a forever change.  This feels right, feels like what I've known was always best & never had the...  not sure what the word is, to make it so.

One little book, one very changed life.  All in a flash.

 

Understand, not judge

John & I are both NCIS fans.  Which is sort of a challenge, since we don't have a television, don't watch online.  Instead, we wait out the season, then get the dvd.  Lately, we've been playing catch up (on our teeny tiny dvd player) with seasons past.  At the moment, we're going through Season Five, which includes a lot of episodes we never saw.  

As we snuggled on the couch, watching Lost & Found, John was startled as I leapt forward & reran the disk & replayed Ducky saying something to Jimmy -
"We are meant to understand, not judge."

Oh my gosh - that line captures what I've tried to do all my life.  Alas, it's a quality that drives a lot of people nuts.  Can't be helped.  My guess it's always been part of my nature, but can point to the relatively tender age of 18 for the clincher that cemented realizing that while there's weird comfort in being judgmental, we're almost invariably at least somewhat (often wildly)  seriously off the mark.

Oh, the challenge of striving for good judgment without succumbing to being judgmental!

This did NOT work

For the first time in several years, I had the opportunity to sleep in on a Wednesday morning.  Something I regret.

As strange as it might sounds, turns out that I actually LIKE having my alarm go off at 5:10 a.m., hitting the snooze button, spending the next five minutes recalling the remarkable things - big & small - in my life, sending loving thoughts to someone, considering my #1 goal & three steps I can take today to advance toward it.   

I like throwing off my covers (being careful not awaken Chessie or Max or Sky, whichever is curled up against John), swinging out of bed, going over to the back bedroom window & looking out, through the bare tree branches, to the back yard, over to the Gallaghers & the Robinsons & to the neighbors behind our property.  Feeling gratitude for being there, with all of them.

I like coming downstairs to the front room to say my namastes - to all that surrounds me, to my family & friends & neighbors & casual acquaintances & everyone, to the house that surrounds & protects me, to my john & to within it who make my life brimful with joy.    


I like getting dressed & going out for a walk around the darkened neighborhood, even in the rain!

Sleeping in late, doing my 1st thing rise & shine routine but nothing more, left me feeling sluggish.  I am not used to feeling sluggish in the mornings.  What once felt natural, now feels - icky.

This sleeping in late did NOT work.  Here's what I'm doing NEXT Wednesday:  Will set the alarm for 5:45 a.m. (which is John's Wednesday wake up time).  Instead of going back to sleep for the last possible moment before I have to get up at 6:15, will do my rise & shine routine, head down for my namastes, get dressed & do a quick nip around the block.  After I drop John off at A.C. Moore for his part-time stint, will head up to Fred's for a very early breakfast & to connect with friends.  Back home & into my usual daily routine of reading, cleaning, journaling, blogging.  

 

Yes, the WHOLE day is mine.  And discovered that sleeping in felt disjointed, off stride - anything but whole.  

Life is full of surprises - amazed at how unsettling it felt, taking my ease. Surprised that sleeping in late did NOT work.  Time to hit reset, get back on track, reclaim the rest of my day.