Peace and All Good

It's Friday October 4th, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.  It is amazing how the simple life of a man born into wealth in 1182 and died in 1226 as a simple, humble servant has had a profound impact on so many lives. I once heard that he is 2nd place to Jesus in the most books written about a person in the Library of Congress.  He has certainly had a profound impact on my life and can serve as a reminder to all of us during these times when hatred, injury, despair, darkness and sadness abound.  In a time where our Congress is seeking to be consoled, understood, and loved rather than consoling, understanding, and loving the people they were elected to serve.  In a time when violence and shootings are every day headlines and the solutions to the problems divide us more than the problems themselves. Rather than loving our neighbors we lock our doors and pull the blinds.  We can go all day without a real life kind word because we are all looking at our screens.  We both glorify being busy and complain about it.  Our lives spin past us quickly and out of control.  We long for contentment, intention, and inner peace.  We think we can schedule, plan and buy it for ourselves.  Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us of many things, but today, I choose to slow down and focus on just one: Peace.  Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of spirit.  Peace for my neighbors, my family and friends, and our world.  Take a minute to read and reflect on the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Remember to pardon, love and console.  Begin by pardoning, loving and consoling yourself.

Succulent Saturday

I get daily emails from Etsy that usually have some type of picture of succulents looking, well succulent.  

Then I saw this post on on Centsational Girl - Terrariums Around the House and thought "I can do that."  Then my friend Steph said she wanted to come visit on Saturday and thought "She can do that with me!"  And so she did.

First, Steph showed up on my doorstep with some flowers, a sweet card and this:

That looked like this inside:

Well actually, there were a few more treats in the box..this is the after picture, not the before.  Good thing I went to the gym twice that morning!!

So we hit up Home Depot and Pet Smart and got started (I know I usually shop local but the green houses are not open right now and my go to pet store Country Feed doesn't have aquarium supplies).

From Pet Smart

From Home Depot

Here is what you need:
*Succulents (Home Depot)
*Moss (Home Depot)
*Cactus Soil (Home Depot)
*Activated Charcoal (Pet Smart)
*Aquarium Gravel (Pet Smart)
*A variety of apothecary jars, vases, bowls, coffee mugs, centerpieces from your wedding, that kind of thing.


Here is what we made:

 Here is how we did it:

 Assemble the troops:

Put a one-two inch layer of gravel on the bottom for drainage:

Add a spoonful or two of activated charcoal then soil:

 Fill up with soil and then arrange plants as you wish:

Stuff with moss:

Take a picture of your friend:

Water a bit and place in a sunny area:

Clean the all the dirt you spilled all over the table and floor (trust me you don't want a picture of this one!)
 

Supposedly they only need watering occasionally (I can live with that) and need lots and lots of sunshine.  If you need more information from people who are smarter than me, just google it.  You'll find more than you ever dreamed of!
 
 
 

This One Time...Holy Thursday Flashback

I know many of you have not experienced a Holy Thursday flashback.  I mean really, you probably haven't been to Church on Holy Thursday. I'm not judging.  We aren't all the same faith and this post isn't about a specific doctrine. It's a post about faith and joy in children/students.  These are my favorite stories to tell.  Basically, Holy Thursday is the day that Christians celebrate the Last Supper with Jesus and his followers. This blog is to celebrate my life as a Catholic School teacher and the wonderful children I met.

Once upon a time I taught fourth grade in a parochial school in Philadelphia.  It was a neighborhood school where all of the students walked or got dropped off.  Most lived less than two blocks away.  Yet, when it snowed, they did not come to school.  Philly winters are nothing like Upstate New York winters so this not going to school thing truly baffled me. 

One of these snowy days, I only had twelve students.  We played games, read books, learned some lessons.  Honestly, if the other  kids knew how awesome these days were, they'd get their butts to school.  That day, as in many others, we ate lunch in the classroom.  We put the desks together and to make one big table and I sat at the head.  One of the student's said, "It's like the Last Supper.  You can be Jesus and we'll be the 12 Apostles."  The Nun who ran the school would probably be appalled by the heresy and inaccuracy of this little activity, but I thought it was cute. And hey, I got to be Jesus!  So Alexandra took her sandwich raised it in the air and said, "This is my body which will be given up for you."  Joey passed around his Hawaiian punch as the blood of Christ.  I gave each student a piece of my California Sushi Roll that I had left over from my shift the night before at the sushi restaurant.  The symbolism of the fish was not lost on them.  The fabulous-ness of sushi, was. 

The rest of the time, we just talked.  We just laughed.  We celebrated the snow that fell and the children that they were.  It was one of my favorite meals.  I hope it was one of theirs too.