Sunday, December 24, 2023

Dad and Pets

"You're just like your Dad," is something I have heard in one particular instance. I am admittedly an animal rescuer and animal lover. Growing up, we always had pets, they were outside dogs, cats, and the occasional horse or pony. As we got older, we would sneak cats into our bedrooms and when we were living on our own, our house pets would vacation on the farm when we traveled. Daddy was a life-long animal lover and an animal rescuer before Wonder Pets and Go Diego, Go! His birthday is the first week of November, which is also National Animal Rescue Week.
Many, many friends, neighbors, and acquaintances have a beloved pet from the farm. Everyone knew that if their circumstances changed, there was a money-back guarantee and any cat or dog that came from the farm could be returned. Every cat had a place to live out its life and dogs that could be mentored would work along with his pack of blue heelers. His first blue heeler, Banjo, was a retired circus dog who was injured in the line of duty. He lived a full life out on the farm and when his arthritis made it impossible for him to herd the cattle, Reagan loaded him up in the Gator and Banjo would supervise his team and herd the cows from Reagan's lap. Some memorable dogs were Butch, his Catahoula cow dog that would joyfully ride on top of bundles of papers or in the front seat of the truck; Prissy Pricilla, our childhood poodle, Crissy, Mom's little-lap dog that loved Daddy with a passion; and Tootsie, Mom's Shorkie that divided her time between Mom's lap and rides on the gator with the farm dogs.
When Dad sat down in his Lazy Boy chair or laid down on the couch for a little shuteye, his cats, Spots and Buddy, or his dogs, JJ, Dot Dot, and Little Angel were not far away. As time went by, the "no indoor pets" rule was replaced with companion pets all the time.
He loved his big cows as much as his cats and dogs. His herd of Charolais cattle knew his whistle and would come running when they heard his tune. Mom and Dad's bottle- fed momma cow, Snowball, lived long enough to move from Jersey Village to Pattison. When she died along with several others the first winter, he took her to Texas A&M to discover frozen Johnson Grass is deadly. From that point on, his cows got hay and bags and bags for specialty formulated food in the winter. When a cow would get stuck in the mud and require rest and recuperation, he provided it. More than once, he did physical therapy with a cow hoisted up in a sling. He helped calves enter the world with arms greased up with Crisco, if a mother cow couldn't feed her calf, he would bottle-

feed it and make it a pet. His bottle babies would bunk down with the dogs for the night and meet him at the front door in the morning.
Daddy loved dogs and cats and shared the love through all the animals that originated or ended up on the farm. We all have pets that came from Pattison. When my kids were little, we had to check bags, boxes, under the seats, and inside jackets to make sure Poppie didn't send home a kitten or puppy every time we visited. Our dog Ginger was a farm dog. We had had her for about six months when she visited Pattison with us. When it came time to leave, she was nowhere to be found. We looked for her for hours, but John and I had to drive home to Austin. The next day, a Monday, I taught my middle school catechism students at church, and we all prayed that Ginger would be found. Tuesday, when I got home from work, she was in our backyard! Dad found her, drove her to Austin, left her in our backyard, and headed home without a word. When I told the students the following week that our prayers had been answered and Ginger was home, they couldn't believe it!
If there was a particular dog or cat that he thought belonged with a certain someone, he wouldn't ask permission, many times Dad would drive across the city to Mamaw's or Aunt Fannie's houses, put a dog or cat over the fence, stick a Houston chronicle in the box, and head home. Mamaw, Aunt Fannie, and Uncle Marvin all knew his calling card.
He had a lot in common with St. Francis, Dad could most certainly talk to animals! We all talk to our pets, and we know they understand us. Dad was born on 11/4, one month to the day after the feast of St. Francis's and if you know my dad, you know that he was late most of his life. St. Francis was certainly part of Dad's saint squad.
When we left early on a Tuesday morning for Dad's burial, Jessie forgot her doll, Lily. She ran inside, grabbed Lily, locked the door and we went to Pattison. We arrived home the same night around 11:00PM, as soon as we drove into the driveway, we saw a cat and then noticed that the door was open. John and Luke headed in first, no one kicked in the door. Jessie immediately started crying, "It is my fault, I was the last one out." I walked in and noticed that Einstein, our 15-year-old, deaf, blind, and arthritic poodle was missing. He wasn't in the house, he wasn't in the yard, he was nowhere to be found. We saw him on the security camera several times wandering around the yard, but we couldn't find him. I posted him lost everywhere! I think I finally fell asleep around

3:00 AM, I woke up at 5:00 AM and walked the neighborhood, but still no Einstein. I retraced the routine walk in our neighborhood, as I entered the San Jose church parking lot next to our house, I prayed, "Daddy, it would give me so much peace if you would help us find Einstein." Austin's huge network of animal rescuers helped us locate him; we were so thankful that he was ok. I know that my dad, St. Francis, and all the animals waiting for me on the other side of the rainbow bridge helped Einstein make his way home.
Late on December 8, 2023, there was a big party with fireworks at the Rainbow Bridge. Butch and Banjo led the pack of dogs, cats, cows, pigs, chickens, emus, bunnies, donkeys, ponies, turtles, raccoons, goats, bobcats, Foxy the fox, and a little chipmunk.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Who did you ask to pray for you?

Rainbow Baby had a blister inside her mouth, it looked like an abscess so we headed to the dentist. I made the appointment yesterday, they fit her in today. It was not a bad abscess, it resulted from a baby tooth eroding and a permanent tooth pushing through. The treatment is a prescription mouth was that cost $4.00. The dentist co-pay was $8.00, so for our financially struggling family, it was a true blessing! GREAT news!
When we got to the car, I asked Rainbow Baby what Saints we needed to thank for praying for her. Her first response was a friend that died four years ago. He was 5 when he died, she had just turned 6. It took my breath away and then she said she asked the babies in heaven to pray for her too! Some days I feel like a complete failure as a Catholic parent. Today, was not one of them. I'm so glad she knows what to do when she is sick or worried. I hope and pray she and her older siblings always remember that we are never alone and that we have known and unknown saints praying for us.

Friday, May 1, 2020

St. Joseph’s Salad




This salad sounds strange and I'm not sure how it came together, but the kids love it, especially if I use the hearts or romaine instead of the whole head. We have called it St. Joseph's Salad because we love it and everyone we share it with loves it too!

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 granny smith apple peeled and sliced
1 can chickpeas
1/3 cup sweetened, dried cranberries
1-2 T raw, shelled sunflower seeds (optional)

Vinaigrette:
1 ounce canola oil
1 ounce apple cider vinegar
1 T. sugar
pinch of salt
sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of onion powder

Slice the lettuce how you like it, toss the apple, drained chick peas, craisins and seeds on top. Mix the vinaigrette well, pour it over the salad and toss.

Friday, April 17, 2020

St. Joseph, Terror of Demons, THANK YOU!

My COVID19 test was negative! My sweet family was joyful and relieved when we got the news. My gift was truly feeling appreciated.
I am very thankful that I don't have that awful disease. I still have a very nasty upper respiratory virus that is wreaking havoc on my sleep. Since I have been coughing for almost a week, I'm completely exhausted. I have trouble sleeping at night because once I get settled, I start to cough, I get the cough settled by drinking water and then I have to get up and go to the bathroom and the cycle continues. Last night was especially hard because Number One Daughter was in and out of her room all night getting beverages and going to the bathroom and I awoke to cat fights and a full clowder sleeping all over me. I barely made it through my 4 hour work day. My head was pounding. I took a Benadryl, Tylenol and was able to take my first restful nap in a week! I really thought the good news would help me sleep last night. I am 52 years old, I can never remember a cough or cold with a fever lasting over a couple of days. I am on day 5! I still feel as awful as I did three days ago when I went in for testing. At least two people pointed out that COVID19 tests occasionally are false negatives. I don't need to hear that! It is Divine Mercy Novena Week, I am choosing to Trust in Jesus that negative is negative.
One of Hubby's work friends from 20 years ago brought us a pot of homemade soup last night. A gift of love humbly accepted.
As we were doing our spiritual walk tonight, it occurred to me that my deepening relationship with Holy, Powerful St. Joseph has been the gift from this awful season.
Please keep me in and my family your prayers, I'm pretty grumpy when I'm sick. Right now, we have 50% of our house sick. I hope and pray that everyone else stays well and we get over soon!

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Quarantine 2020

We need your prayers. Number One Daughter (15) and I have been running a fever since Saturday. On Monday, I called the CommUnityCare hotline, was able to immediately talk to someone and get referred for COVID19 testing (due to symptoms and my zip code.) I'll know the results in 3-5 days. (If I'm positive, they assume she is also.)
Self-quarantining in a 1100sq/ft house with 6 people hasn't been easy. There is a learning curve which has been especially hard for Rainbow Baby (7.)
Number One Daughter and I are usually the healthy ones, we need prayers of protection for Rainbow Baby, Number One Son and especially Hubby, he has an IgG immune deficiency and diabetes.
Waiting for results and self assessing my symptoms day to day is very difficult. I actually feel ok, I have lots of experience dealing with a cough. The past few days have been filled with guilt, sorrow and extreme worry. I think fatigue has me going to the "what if" place. I am a devotee to the message of the Divine Mercy and the irony of getting sick this week is not lost on me: 774 + O my Jesus, I understand well that , just as illness is measured with a thermometer, and a high fever tells us the seriousness of the illness, so also, in the spiritual life, suffering is the thermometer which measures the love of God in a soul. I can't go to confession and our parish priests don't have PPE, so I can't get annointed. No Mass, no Eucharist, no confession, no annointing.
I am a healthcare provider very familiar with universal precautions. I have been wearing a mask and sanitizing myself, grocery cart and groceries. We live in 78704, one of the Hot Zones. For the past two weeks I went into a single office which I sanitized before and after I used it. All of these things and I still got sick. It might just be a cold, I'm praying for the grace of a cold!
We need healing prayers and prayers of protection for the people in my little house who are not sick.
Jesus, I Trust You!

Monday, March 23, 2020

Quarantine

I am sad. When I get sad, I freeze up and when I can do anything, I make an effort to do something for others. A week of no money, a sick family, no Mass and doomsday predictions makes it hard for me to breathe!
Rainbow Baby, Number One Daughter and I walked the Stations of the Cross late tonight/this AM. The 24 hour Adoration Chapel is locked and the parking lot is empty. Of all the things that upset me about this pandemic, empty churches really squeeze my heart.
God, you are the Divine Physician, we need a miracle, YOU can end this pandemic and fill Your churches again!

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Spiritual Warfare
It is the day before Thanksgiving. We have two vehicles. Usually, one is road worthy. In the past 2 months, we have replaced 2 tires, a few days ago, the TPMS light went off in the van and I discovered a screw in one of the older tires. Yesterday, Hubby went to get an oil change and they told him the serpentine belt was in bad shape and needed to be replaced. We've done this before, not easy, but DIY-able. It has turned into a 2-day project with multiple trips to the parts store, hours of YouTube videos, phone calls and text messages.  I expected when I got back from getting the tire replaced this morning that we would be ready to go. It is the busiest travel day of the year, there are no vans available to rent. Our other vehicle needs brakes and a fuel pump. It is not safe for a 2 plus hour drive in Thanksgiving traffic. This sucks... I am supposed to cook Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' tomorrow. Nana has a very aggressive degenerative brain disease,  so this might be our last Thanksgiving. 😥 Poppie is ready to bring a truck with a tow bar, but Hubby and Number One Son will keep trying.  One might expect that I would be angry or sad, I am just numb.
I am very distracted, I'm having trouble focusing on anything. Now would be a good time to pray and ask for heavenly assistance. I am seriously doing the best I can, I have so many worries and the evil one continues to make life so very difficult for us. 
Pray for us!

Sancte Michael Archangele,

defende nos in proelio;

contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.

Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:

tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,

satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,

qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,

divina virtute in infernum detrude.

Amen.

Michael the Archangel by Guido ReniSanta Maria della ConcezioneRome, 1636