Happy New Year

I know its a bit later but since I slept in this morning I didn’t turn on my computer until this afternoon. Just sending out some New Years greeting to all of you. Wow another year has gone by. I’m thankful that I’m still around to see it and is looking forward to all the blessings that this year will bring. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year, may all your New Year’s resolutions be resolved. May you live, work, play and love as God intended and may your dreams come true according to God’s plan and purpose for your lives.

Slainte

-Catt

Chasing the Sun

I’m sitting here listening to Karan Casey’s “chasing the sun” and smiling coz that’s exactly what we are doing up here in this plane. The sun is in front of us in the distance and below is a bed of clouds. Really cool bed of clouds it is so thick it seems that you can just step out of the plane and lay on them. Reminds me of a featherbed for some reason. Its all blue skies up here no grey stuff in sight. Oh drats someone is eating something that’s making me gag… smells like nuts! I’m allergic to peanuts and I notice that the very smell of it bothers me. The decent to Phili was long! In this small plane it feels dreadful… I forgot how long the decent was. Plane # 2 finally on my way to sunny Florida. Yuck this guy next to me is drawing with smelly permanent markers. The drawings are silly and the markers are starting to give me a headache. I wish we were landing so he can put the dreadful things away. Odd I think that our flight is a bit late its 4:15 PM and we were supposed to have arrived at 4:16 PM… Never mind 20 minutes until touchdown… I can feel the slow decent as my ears have started up again.

Happy Thanksgiving

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you all. It was a fun-filled day spent doing some chores in the morning then off to a Thanksgiving feast at the Millers, back home gabbing on the phone with friends and then a movie. Very intense movie actually now my head hurts and I have to get to sleep. There will be much slaving over the stove tomorrow as I prepare a mini feast for some friends. Yikes and I’m supposed to be on a bit of a holiday. Yeah right.

Little Boo Peep, Some Sheeps and a Wolf- Happy Halloween!

Today, I did something new. I dressed up for Halloween! Yes I dressed up and drove to work in what is supposed to be a sheep costume. See our Dept. dress up for Halloween every two years and they talked me into it this year. I just could not resist the thought of being a sheep esp. since my boss was going to be little Bo Peep. I didn’t get much sleep last night coz I was waking up bursting into fits of laughter thinking about my Boss walking around town as Little Bo Peep. Anyway, once I got to work it was fun, we were all dressed up and walked around to the rest of the Depts. handing out candy. We even hung out with some kids for a little bit and went to lunch afterwards. It was fun and now I understand why they get so excited about this… Two of the lades sowed all the costumes and everything.

Yesterday was a special day…

So yesterday I finally did it… yep I decided to get myself an early birthday gift. I went to the AT&T store and picked up one of those 8GB touch screen goodness. It was a little odd I just could not believe the way I was treated in the store (been having bad customer service experiences of late). First of all as I was walking into the store this nice young man greeted me with a hello welcome to AT&T… that put a smile on my face after being stuck in the office all day… A minute went by and he came in and asked how could he be of assistance. After telling him what I wanted he left and came back in 30 seconds with a little black box in hand which he gave to me and passed me off to a rep that assisted me further with my purchase. She had a sheet that she ticked off after discussing certain terms, warranty info and rate plans with me. I actually had to initial this sheet of paper with all the info. She helped me pick out a case then wrapped my special purchase into a sealed bag (I kid you not) and handed it to me (she even shook my hand and handed me a card afterwards). Maybe this is usual fanfare but I have never seen someone so excited to sell a product. On the way out of the store the same young man who assisted me earlier noticed that I had a flat tire… after worrying just a tad bit about that I went to the gas station and put some air in there which seems to be holding up just fine. I could hardly contain myself on the way home I was so excited. I took extra special care on the drive home… Upon reaching home, I made myself eat something first then sat down and opened the bag. I had a heck of a time opening that bag (that was the hardest part). After that it was open the black box, attached the cradle to my computer and sync. All was well and I was pretty excited to say the least. It did take me a bit of time to update to the latest software… I suppose the firmware update that everyone is talking about coz some special ring-tones that I had made a few days ago would not sync. I was really surprised how easy it was to use the thing… I should know by now that Apple knows how to design products for people to use but it was so intuitive almost second nature…

My first Impressions:

• Its intuitive and easy to use as I stated before
• The keyboard takes a bit getting used to and I didn’t realize how fat my fingertips were until I started trying to use said keyboard
• Videos and pictures looks really amazing on this thing even better than my monitor and my monitor is pretty sharp
• The AT&T edge network is slow for browsing the web but pretty snappy for sending emails
• It recognizes when a wireless network is near with no problems was surprised as my computer takes longer
• Its not all that clear to me at this point how to sync just my newest email messages it seems to sync one too many (I’ll figure this out later)
• It definitely draws attention so if you don’t like that kind of thing keep it hidden
• It seems to take longer to sync than an iPod perhaps because of all the stuff its looking for…

A Fair Day

It was a fine day today. The skies were blue, the sun was high and not too hot and I went to the NY State Fair with my friend Mary.
I felt like a kid just walking around taking in all the scenes and smells. I came close to having some cotton candy but opted for the pina colada drink thing myself mostly wanting to have something cool and it was nice and refreshing. Anyway, it was Mary’s second day at the fair since she had entered some of the crafts competition so she knew her way around. We went and saw the sand sculpture, the butter sculpture and a few other things including some arts and crafts. She made a really nice Afghan that took second place. Lastly we ended up at the Indian Village (native American) where we were treated to some traditional Indian social dances. All in all it was a really neat event and I’m so glad I went. Now I’m back and I’m pooped and I’m sorting through my pictures.

Happy Easter

Just thought I would post something my Pastor sent us today. Its a famous Easter sermon of John Chrysostom.
Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
“You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.”
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell grasped a corpose, and discovered God.
It seized earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are fallen!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

The Easter sermon of John Chrysostom (circa 400 AD)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Cead Mille Failte! Its almost midnight my time, actually by the time I finish this post it will be St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not into the normal green beer and all the other revelry which goes with the day nowadays but this year I’m a bit contemplative of the man and his message. Its interesting that the man was not Irish but loved Ireland and dedicated his life by sharing his God with the Irish people. He also spoke out against those who mistreated others and was forgiving even when captured and mistreated with violence. Its my hope today that as we celebrate this day whether it is with green beer, staring at a green river, or attending a concert of Irish music as I will be doing later on we will do so remembering what Patrick really stood for. I’ll end with these familiar words. Christ, be with me. Christ before me, Christ behind me. Christ is me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me. Christ on my right, Christ on my left. Christ where I love, Christ where I sit, Christ where I rise. Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me. Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me. Christ in every eye that sees me. Christ in every ear that hears me.

Just came back from the Karan Casey concert at the State Theatre and although it was pouring down snow outside inside it was warm and full of Irish music. It was fantastic and I had a lot of fun just listening to the sounds and watching all the folks on the sidelines dancing to their own beats. I was a bit worried with the snow storm and all that Karan wouldn’t make it but apparently, the folks in charge went 250 miles and picked her and her band up and drove them here so we could hear her sing and them play. I felt blessed to be a part of the audience. I really enjoyed the piano playing by Caoimhín (major cutie and the ladies were shouting all night) that was the first time I heard Irish music being played on a piano like that. I appreciated the way Karan showed off the band (very generous of her). She just left them on stage playing a few tunes for the audience. Very talented three-some. I also enjoyed Kate Ellis on the cello very much. I have a thing for the cello at least listening to it. Yes folks Karan’s voice which I had heard one other time a few years back at an Old Songs Festival is worth the wait. Its always a treat for me when a singer can sing a song as good or better than it sounded on their CD and she did both and I was impressed. Enya’s voice will always have a special place in my ear but for a little lady Karan can belt out those tunes with gusto. Thanks for a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. I won’t forget walking home with my friend Em, with the whistle of the wind and snow attacking our faces, our hearts still warm and our ears still ringing with the sound of Karan’s beautiful voice in it.

Oíche mhaith

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everybody… My new year started out with a strange occurrence. I was on my way home with a friend after seeing a movie (Night at the museum) when two deers pulled in front of us. It was very odd coz we were both sitting there laughing about the movie and when we saw the two deers it was like a bad dream. Anyway, as it turns out the car went in between them and the Momma deer made a nice little dent on the right side of the car. Other than that we were fine and I think the deers were OK . My friend who was driving was a bit shaken up mainly b/c it was a Momma and baby deer and this was her first time hitting one. I was just thankful that the situation to our person and the car wasn’t worse. I count ourselves blessed b/c this was going downhill on a major highway. I guess you can say my new year started off with a bang. Can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the year… Hopefully good things.

Nollaig Chridheil

Merry Christmas Everybody! Not much going on today just relaxing, stuffing my face, gabbing on the phone and of course spending some time on the computer. I’m stuck in Upstate, NY again for another Christmas except this time there is no snow. Wish I was in Florida eating my mother’s cooking. Guess I should count my blessings… at least I’m not stuck in other places because of cancelled flights. I still wish my Mom would send me a care packet of curried goat, rice and peas, black cake, and sorrel. Yummmmm… I haven’t had curried goat and sorrel since I was in Jamaica back in spring. Not cool I was almost able to get some goat so I could cook my own but it didn’t work out. Perhaps someone will have mercy on me and send/ bring me some. Who knows. Well, hope ya’ll had a great Christmas and Happy holidays to the folks out there who don’t celebrate Christmas Nollaig Chridheil,
Catt