Publicly naming my enemies

Samson mansplaining "retribution" to the revelers in the Temple of Dagon

A portion of Psalm 18:

You gave me your saving shield;
you upheld me, trained me with care.
You gave me freedom for my steps;
my feet have never slipped.

I pursued and overtook my foes,
never turning back till they were slain.
I smote them so they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.

You girded me with strength for battle;
you made my enemies fall beneath me,
you made my foes take flight;
those who hated me I destroyed.

They cried, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but in vain.
I crushed them fine as dust before the wind;
trod them down like dirt in the streets.

You saved me from the feuds of the people
and put me at the head of the nations.
People unknown to me served me:
when they heard of me they obeyed me.

Foreign nations came to me cringing:
foreign nations faded away.
They came trembling out of their strongholds

I love the Psalms, but let's be honest: some of them are a little dark and scary. And I don't mean the ones about the Valley of the Shadow of Death and stuff. I mean the ones such as the example above, where the psalmist is praying for the defeat of his enemies, or rejoicing that he and God have just ground said enemies into the dust. Vengeful, no? A little too dark for ordinary dumb old Catholic housewives? No.

Have you seen Mockingjay 2?

I did, and contrary to some reviewers who gave it a pass, I loved it. Yes, some moments were rather silly, and others were utterly predictable (I find most movies are; it annoys my kids to death when I predict things as we're watching films, but then I am old, and they don't realize how cliched mainstream filmmaking has become). Anyhoo, if you message me on Facebook or email we, we can discuss why I liked this movie, but I won't discuss it publicly because… spoilers. But I'll give you a hint: read this Idlepost by David Warren, and see if you can find the connection. Let's just say this: I feel vindicated.
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Want to understand the Middle East?

Graph representing historical alliances, wars and grudges in  Middle East.

Good luck. A friend recently told me that it is nearly impossible for most westerners to comprehend what's going on "over there." And after reading these two pieces (by Ben Shapiro and David Warren), I believe him. God help us. Going to pray for Our Lady's intercession with my olive-wood rosary from Bethlehem, and then make some chocolate chip cookies. 

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"We're going to have to cut that grass again!"

…a sentence probably never before uttered by my husband on November 15. Yay! We've made it to the halfway point in November with NO SNOW! I'm loving it. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate driving on icy roads? The only downside of this is that it's giving me a false sense of security as to how far away Christmas is. Suddenly there will be three weeks to go, and I'll have nothing prepared.

Compare to October 23, 2012:

Ice and Snow, Bless the Lord!
Global Warming, Bless the Lord!
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It's funny because it's true.

But the part that isn't funny is what the meme doesn't say: it doesn't say that if you don't exercise and don't eat right, you will gain weight, retain water, lack energy, not sleep well, gain weight, be chronically constipated, gain weight, get bloated and gassy, look awful, and Feel. Like. Crap. 99% of the time. Welcome to my world, from December 2014 until November 2015.

This is a long-running saga (as any of my girlfriends from high school can tell you). Like all too many girls and women who've lived through the modern and post-modern eras, I've spent a lifetime obsessing over those false standards of beauty and body image. Well who am I kidding? This sort of thing probably began with the invention of the corset (which probably happened 14 hours after Adam and Eve got booted from the Garden after the Fall, and only because it probably took Eve 13 hours to gather and weave together the twigs).

I am quite happy to say that since Nov. 2, I've turned over a new leaf with my eating and exercise habits, and am already feeling 90% better. (The other 10% has to do with annoying and ongoing medical issues, but c'est la vie--Doctrine of the Cross, and all that). It certainly is worth it to take decent care of your health--not that that's a revelation or anything. But Happy Friday anyway.
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A dusting of snow

Is winter here? I hope not. The forecast for Saturday is +10 degrees C (50 degrees F). And yet you can see the snow yonder in the veggie garden. It's in the lawn too, but for some reason it doesn't show up on camera. (This is the view from my kitchen window). 

At any rate, I am extremely thankful for every single additional hour that we don't have to start cars in -30 C weather, or drive on icy roads.

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Fretting over the demise of western civilization?

Or perhaps I should say, "Fainting in the sultry glebe"? Yeah, me too. As if you couldn't tell (we have an entire category devoted to that). Well, shame on you. And me. Though it is just a teeny bit surreal when some of us on the planet are listening to Chopin, and others are throwing their feces around ...and yet secular leftist humanists shrilly insist that all cultures are equal. They are not. But why cry or rant over it? Pray instead. And embrace beauty. And do not be afraid to proclaim that no one and nothing has brought more beauty to the world than Christ and Christendom. 

And mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa for so often failing to remember all of the above.

Now go to the Divine Office site and listen to this hymn (sung by the Choir of Christ's College), and then pray the Office for the hour where you are.

The Lord My Pasture Shall Prepare

The Lord my pasture shall prepare
And feed me with a shepherd’s care;
His presence shall my wants supply
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noonday walks He shall attend
And all my midnight hours defend.

When in the sultry glebe I faint
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary, wandering steps He leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious lonely wilds, I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile;
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.

Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For Thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

“The Lord my pasture shall prepare” by Choir of Christ’s College; 

Words: Joseph Addison, 1712.

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Origami

I don't think that word means what you think it means. More fun at Walmart. I mean, the whole point of origami is the sheer cleverness of the design and the folding (see below). I guess I have a weird sense of humour but this struck me as funny. Just like the brown straw basket that is Not a Toy. I suppose they should put a warning label on these too: "These are not really made of folded paper." 

But these are.

Many more here. 

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I am so loving this

What's so great about that, you may ask? I'll tell you. This is a picture of my backyard. It  was taken yesterday, November 2, and there is NO SNOW. In fact it was raining gently all day. NO SNOW. Could global warming finally be upon us, after they've been promising it for 30 years? If so, Hallelujah!  Let the rain and green grass continue till March as far as I'm concerned! NO SNOW.
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