Searching for a Balance

  “The cottage itself it is so strong that the moment the front door is opened to a guest I can feel the delight that rises up from its hosp...

  To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God. To the victor I shall give some of the hidd...

 I saw these wool vegetable cat toys on Etsy and could not resist. I gave Daisy the onion. This was less than a week ago and it's gettin...

The cool wind blew through my windows all day, tossing papers around and bringing a bit of chill into the house, but I was determined to put...

 "I see the fatherhood of God in a farm, in a true and deep, yet ordinary sense. Man is a protector and provider, and on a farm man tru...

 I started my Sunday cooking early, and the house smells wonderful: thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, green pepper, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes ...

 "We need the light of prayer to see our way in crossbearing. Prayer enables us to transcend not only the natural reluctance that all o...

 "As we walked, there came the sound of distant thunder. A storm was rolling through the dales. I'd scarcely noticed how the light ...

I am a countryman, Lord, who comes from the country of the world. Teach me your city's ordered ways, the courtesies and gracious manner ...

 It being the beginning of fall and everything, I baked a pumpkin chocolate chunk bread (cake!) yesterday, but when I got it out of the pan,...

  Over the last two weeks, I've seen a bird perching, every now and then, on a post outside the kitchen window. At first I thought it wa...

 "Give money away, or spend it, and it is no longer yours. But give God to others, and you possess him more fully for yourself."  ...

I kept last month's Magnificat because of several passages and meditations which struck me. Here's one:  " What do you have tha...

 The weather is getting nicer - I used the oven twice today, and the house really didn't get uncomfortable! I've wanted to make brea...

 I decided to stop reading The Brothers K - I won't miss them. I w rote down the publisher, and the translator in case I ever have a rea...

  That is Leon eating, and the other is Leo, his brother. They're twins, and this photo was taken about a week ago. Leo isn't used t...

 There was a wedding - a young couple from our church. Many who were not going to the reception still attended the wedding mass itself. Ever...

 on top of the mulch. Sweet little fellow.

Loving Father, you are our help. Your kindness is a greater good than life. May we bless you in our daily lives,    always calling upon your...

 I've been reading "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion". I kept running into glowing praises of the "journals" ...

 I was continuing on with Watership Down, when it got so tense I couldn't leave it; so I made more progress than I expected to. I've...

 We got in the car this morning, heading down the road to go to Mass, and a little sparrow landed on the outside of the passenger side, wher...

 I've been wondering at what level cats can communicate information to one another.  After Benny was coming around for a few weeks, Leon...

 May God the Father bless us, May God the Son heal us, May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and give us eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and...

 "Martha and I might have settled over a book, or taken up our embroidery, or written letters ourselves to a numerous correspondence - ...

 "Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your pet...

 "..I also know even better now that it's always amidst the siege that God's kindness arrives. We live in a world at war and wi...

 Here's a project I began a few years ago, but when something has a place in this house, it can easily be forgotten. But then I remember...

 "Our peace doesn't come from the world, from exterior circumstances... It is the fruit of prayer...The only time we have good disc...

 We've had such beautiful weather this week - so welcome, after the Previous Awful. And the nights are in the fifties lately! Very unusu...

 "O God, in your love, you have sown the Good News of the Gospel in the wilderness of the world and brought it to flower and fruit thro...