Category: Beauty

Streaming church
Beauty · Gratitude · Introspection · Sunday lesson

Streaming church

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Watch church from home?

If it weren’t for the COVID emergency, I’ve have never done such a thing as watch church over the computer. For the first 8-10 weeks of the “new normal” though it was the only option for going to my church, Church of the Apostles.

In the last month though, I have to admit laziness and the unusual cold weather has kept me home two Sundays out of the past four. And while at home I manufactured even better excuses to stay home. To wit: the first Sunday I stayed home due to “cold” was January 16. The Gospel of the day was John 2: 1-11, the story of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.

Dean Barr used an experience he had in the Louvre Museum to illustrate his homily. He said that after he had viewed the Mona Lisa, he turned around and was confronted with a 30-foot-wide masterpiece: the Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese.

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese

Father Barr gave such beautiful descriptions of the magnificence of this work that I thought – I need to see this. I opened a new browser window and started searching. While he preached on the miracle, I was absorbed in the picture. It reminded me of my childhood, staring at the stained-glass windows of my home church during the sermon.

Podrick, the one and only
Accentuate the Positive! · Beauty · Gratitude · just plain fun · Podrick

Podrick, the one and only

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I never thought I’d be a dog person. But then, in 2015, when my sweet kitty died, I wasn’t yet living in a house with a huge fenced yard. The neighbors to the left of me, back of me, across the street and about everywhere within a five-block radius all had dogs. After I fed a box of treats to my neighbor’s two German Shepherds, I realized I needed a dog of my own. Enter the Animal Protection League of South Carolina, where the neighbor two doors down volunteered. After a two-week adoption process (including references – these folks were serious – 18-month-old Podrick came home to live with me in December 2017. He’s been the best of companions, especially in the last plague year. (2020, the year I finally became a stay-at-home dog mom.) He’s never chewed up any shoes, or jumped on couches or beds. He’s simply been the best dog around. 

Beauty · blogging · Cooking

Plates of Sweden

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Plates of Sweden.  This is gorgeous. Take a look at these food photos and drool!

Beauty · Gratitude · holiday

A Solemn Observance

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Today was Maundy Thursday. Our church held a modified Tenebrae service. Our choir performed “Song of the Shadows” – particularly fitting since Tenebrae means shadows in Latin.

We all wore black to mark the solemnity of the occasion. No one spoke after the service until we were in our cars.

Earlier, in rehearsal:

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The program cover:

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Beauty · Gratitude

Prepping for Maundy Thursday

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The choir at Riverland Hills has been practicing for our Maundy Thursday service tomorrow at 7 p.m. We’re presenting a music-filled service titled “Song of the Shadows.”

We just finished our dress rehearsal.

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Beauty · Gratitude · Travel

Stars in the sky

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It’s hard to get a good photo with my iPhone of the vastness that is the Grand Central Terminal, but this was my attempt. The constellations on the ceiling are beautiful.

Grand Central Terminal station ceiling
The painters created constellations on the ceiling of the Grand Central Terminal.

Beauty · Gratitude · Something wonderful · Travel

Ah, the music of the night…

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Just got in from seeing The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Visiting NYC includes wonderful moments. This was one of them.

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I was lucky enough to get a ticket at the last minute…. And I had a seat in a box!

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A look at the house from my seat.

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The view of the stage from my box before the show. That’s the famous chandelier covered in the middle.

 

Accentuate the Positive! · Beauty · blogging · Something wonderful

Tim, this one’s for you

AuntGem1 Comment

I’m thrilled that I remembered my blog password. It has been too long since I posted…. my goal is to do a little more posting this last part of the year. Life got a little (read: lot) crazy at work back sometime in March … and I let the stress take over. During the family reunion the first week of September my cousin Tim told me he missed my postings. Thanks, Tim, for the gentle nudge. So, I’m back. More later on why it took me three weeks to post after the reunion.

For now – here’s a blog I want you all to visit. Nina Camic’s pictures of Wisconsin in the fall are beautiful. She came to this country as an 18-year-old au pair from Poland, and made her life here. Her blog “The Other Side of the Ocean” is tranquil and serene – a perfect way to end a Sunday evening.

Beauty · Family · Travel

Home from the family reunion

AuntGem2 Comments

Last week we (Mom, Dad and I) spent five days with folks I hardly ever see – my Dad’s three sisters and three brothers. It was time for the Rust Family Reunion.

Dad, his brothers and sisters
All seven of Freda and Herman Rust's kids, gathered at the official reunion dinner at the Royal Fork Buffet in Sioux Falls. Dad's at back left, looking off camera.

We traveled 1,361 miles to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to meet up with everyone. Home base was the Best Western – actually a very lovely place to stay. They let us make our own waffles at the continental breakfast bar.

Sioux Falls
The city of Sioux Falls was named for its charming landmark.

Sioux Falls
Early morning light at Sioux Falls

One morning Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob, two enthusiastic amateur photographers, got up early to catch the morning light – the “golden hour,” as photographers call it.  I decided, why not? and trekked to Sioux Falls with them. I’m glad I went.

Why Sioux Falls? Since the majority of Dad’s brothers and sisters still live within a day’s drive of Sioux Falls, that’s where they meet. And since it’s been 25 years since I’ve seen most of these people, I decided to come too.

I got reacquainted with all my aunts and uncles, and several of my cousins, too, including my cousins John and Laura. We drove out to the Rust family farmhouse outside Adrian, Minnesota, about 45-50 minutes from Sioux Falls. John now lives there with his family, on the farmstead the Rusts bought in 1889.

The family farmhouse
The Rust family farmhouse, where Dad was born during a January snowstorm.

There was more sightseeing … here’s the gravestone for the first Rust to come over from Germany, Harm Rust:

Gravestone for Harm Rust
The old gravesite where Harm Rust is buried.

It’s late, so I’ll stop now and break this into multiple posts. But one thing I know: I won’t let another 25 years go by before I see my kith and kin again.