TERRY AND I DECIDED TO SLIP IN A GETAWAY BEFORE THE SNOWS COME FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS OR SO AND I AM SO HAPPY WE DID!

All Souls’ Day is marked on 2nd November (or the 3rd if the 2nd is a Sunday), directly following All Saints’ Day, and is an opportunity for Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholic churches to commemorate the faithful departed. They remember and pray for the souls of people who are in Purgatory – the place (or state) in which those who have died atone for their less grave sins before being granted the vision of God in Heaven (called Beatific vision).

DESPITE HAVING AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP , IT BEING A RARE ‘BLUE MOON’, AND HALLOWE’EN LAST NIGHT….TODAY MARKS ANOTHER SPECIAL OCCASION : ALL SAINT’S DAY.

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER : I LOVE HALLOWE’EN!

I FELL IN LOVE WITH DRESSING UP AS A CHILD (WE HAD YOUR CLASSIC ‘TICKLE TRUNK’ OF ODDS AND SODS TO MAKE UP A CHARACTER) AND THEN I OBVIOUSLY PASSED ON THE LOVE OF THE DAY TO MY CHILDREN…AND NOW MY GRANDCHILDREN.

DIFFICULT TIMES. DIFFICULT CHOICES.

MANY OF US ARE STARTING TO FEEL THAT EIGHT MONTHS OF ISOLATION IS TOO HARD. WE ARE ‘OVER’ IT AND JUST WANT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL.

THE PANDEMIC HAS ANOTHER POSITIVE GOING FOR IT : I KEEP FINDING COOL PLACES TO VISIT IN MY OWN ‘BACKYARD’ !

I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BREAD ONCE BEFORE. IT DIDN’T RISE BUT IT WAS DELICIOUS .

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO WHEN WE (USED TO)TRAVEL IS TO VISIT A CEMETERY.

FUNNY STORY…..

LEADING UP TO THANKSGIVING I THOUGHT I WOULD DO A FEW ‘ACTS OF KINDNESS’. I SAW THAT A WOMAN ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE WAS SELLING HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIES SO I DECIDED TO BUY SEVERAL TO SUPPORT HER. IT WAS SORT OF A ‘WIN’ ‘WIN’ ‘WIN’ AS I INTENDED TO GIVE SOME OF THE WHOLE PIES AWAY TO SINGLE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO HAVE A NICE THANKSGIVING DESSERT.

WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT MY BEST FRIENDS? IF ONE GOOD THING HAS COME OUT OF COVID IT IS THE ABILITY TO “ZOOM” EVERY WEEK WITH MY ‘BESTIES’.

I HAVE HAD A TENDENCY TO FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF LATELY.

HALLOWE’EN IS MY FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR. I KNOW. WEIRD. BUT IT IS.

I SAW PHOTOS THIS MORNING OF THE GREEN GRASSES AND BEAUTIFUL COLOURS IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO WHERE A LOT OF MY FAMILY LIVES.

“WHEN YOU GIVE A LUNCH OR A DINNER, DON’T INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR BROTHERS, YOUR RELATIVES, OR YOUR RICH NEIGHBOURS, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT INVITE YOU BACK, AND YOU WOULD BE REPAID.ON THE CONTRARY, WHEN YOU HOST A BANQUET, INVITE THOSE WHO ARE POOR, MAIMED, LAME, OR BLIND. AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT REPAY YOU.” (Luke 14-12-14 )

I asked a friend who has crossed 70 & is heading towards 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself? He sent me the following:

YESTERDAY, I HAD A LOVELY TIME PAINTING ALL AFTERNOON WITH TERRY AND OUR DAUGHTER, EMILY.

IT’S OCTOBER 16TH AND AT THIS MOMENT I DON’T WANT TO BE ‘PLANTED’ IN EDMONTON. IT’S SNOWING!

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A BIT MORE TIME ON YOUR HANDS THESE DAYS? OR IS YOUR HEART TELLING YOU THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE DURING THE PANDEMIC? ARE YOU LONELY, BORED, OR LOOKING FOR A GOOD CAUSE PERHAPS?

OCTOBER IS ONE OF THE 2 MONTHS THAT WE AS CATHOLICS PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE ROSARY. (THE OTHER BEING THE MONTH OF MAY)