here it is, 38 seconds left and the ducks may beat minnesota. snap, stopped for a 5 yard gain. belotti calls another time out. what the heck? he's saving the game for minnesota. looks like a 42 yarder. here we go. crap. 23 seconds and we're down by one point. interception. we lose. classic duck choke. maybe the skins should hire belotti...happy new year everyone...
right now, this very second, i am biting into a pepperidge farm double chocholate chunk nantucket cookie. i can't tell you how good it is, courtesy of my sister, her husband, and their new baby...
update: after indulging on a few cookies, i opened the rest of my mail and just want to thank everyone who sent birthday and Christmas cards. i even got 2 aker's gazette's, birthday editions both...so thanks everyone - my spam light, gibble's bar-b-que potatoe chip, hershey's and dove chocolate, and davis sunflower seed inventory reaches the store room ceiling!
update: after indulging on a few cookies, i opened the rest of my mail and just want to thank everyone who sent birthday and Christmas cards. i even got 2 aker's gazette's, birthday editions both...so thanks everyone - my spam light, gibble's bar-b-que potatoe chip, hershey's and dove chocolate, and davis sunflower seed inventory reaches the store room ceiling!
by the way, i failed to report on the succulence of the pig, well, becuase he was undercooked. that's right, the guy didn't cook him long enough, even after i jammed a thermometer in him and told the guy to make sure it got to 160. i don't think he knew how to read. that's the last time i ever trust another man with the cooking of my pig. never again i tell you - it was the first time i had ever trusted anyone else and i paid the price...
Merry Christmas everyone:
the last two weeks announcements were made at the end of Masses informing the parishoners that the activities of Christmas eve would begin with hymn practice at 11 pm, followed by a drama of the birth of Christ by the youth group, and then the first ever (at least according to local testimony) midnight Mass. when i arrived at about 10:50 pm, i found a full church. jammed. packed. sro. so we began and sang, the youth group did an exceptional job, and we actually started midnight Mass at 11:45. after Mass, as promised, we all shared hot chocolate that had been cooking over a wood fire outside of church. when the festivities ended about 1:30 or so, i flopped into bed, ready to sleep in and enjoy a calm, peaceful, quiet, Christmas day. when i woke up, people were here for work and the normal thursday market was in full swing. i sent them all home, telling them to take the day off....here's a shot of the altar:
the last two weeks announcements were made at the end of Masses informing the parishoners that the activities of Christmas eve would begin with hymn practice at 11 pm, followed by a drama of the birth of Christ by the youth group, and then the first ever (at least according to local testimony) midnight Mass. when i arrived at about 10:50 pm, i found a full church. jammed. packed. sro. so we began and sang, the youth group did an exceptional job, and we actually started midnight Mass at 11:45. after Mass, as promised, we all shared hot chocolate that had been cooking over a wood fire outside of church. when the festivities ended about 1:30 or so, i flopped into bed, ready to sleep in and enjoy a calm, peaceful, quiet, Christmas day. when i woke up, people were here for work and the normal thursday market was in full swing. i sent them all home, telling them to take the day off....here's a shot of the altar:
pig update - things are looking good:
well, the deed is done, the pig is on the spit, and will be enjoyed by all tonight...it wasn't easy, but i did it myself...
yesterday three of us took off at 0700 for a 10 hour, triple Mass marathon. for those of you who think living on a caribbean island is all sun and warmth, let me tell you, it was chilly. after about 30 minutes, when we began our ascent of the mountains in earnest, we ran into a cloud. not fog, but a cloud. it slowed us down to a crawl - my father used to say that fog was the only thing that could keep the navy in port and i understand why - and the lack of windshield wipers on the goggles caused some serious visibility problems. however, as we finally made our way out of the cloud bank the world took on a new view:
today at Mass in a schoolhouse i asked a few kids which son they were from the gospel, first or second. after 4 kids had claimed to be the first, i finally stumbled upon this 12 year old girl who shyly said, "the third". everyone laughed until i said, "really the third, and which would that be?" and she said, "the one who says yes and then does it." it's amazing, i was fishing for that answer and didn't think it would come, but then again, from the mouths of babes...
blog update:
last night i preached repentance and confession (of course) and then announced at the end of Mass that i would be in the church hearing confessions mon, wed, and fri at 630 am and 630 pm. all i have to say is what has been said before, "hear them, and they will come". i've never been skunked...
last night i preached repentance and confession (of course) and then announced at the end of Mass that i would be in the church hearing confessions mon, wed, and fri at 630 am and 630 pm. all i have to say is what has been said before, "hear them, and they will come". i've never been skunked...
in sports news, i was invited to pitch yesterday and delivered 5 innings of work, giving up 4 runs (only two earned) with 5 k's and a pair of hits. gave up two home runs though, one of which was a slow fast-ball right down the middle of the plate. oh well, at least i got the win. on the plate side of things, i walked twice and struck out - i can't hit for the life of me...my circle change-up was deadly, but my slider wasn't always sliding....
special Guadalupe update:
i was so pumped up today that during my homily in the two campo Masses i actually sat down and told them the entire history of Our Lady of Guadalupe. i chalk it up to inculpable ignorance on thier parts, but come on already, who could go through life without knowing Her story?????
i was so pumped up today that during my homily in the two campo Masses i actually sat down and told them the entire history of Our Lady of Guadalupe. i chalk it up to inculpable ignorance on thier parts, but come on already, who could go through life without knowing Her story?????
today marks the first time in 8 years that i have not awakened at 4:30 am to sing the mañanitas to the Virgen of Guadalupe. so, i took it upon myself to play them loudly after Mass. sure, i'm singing like a madman, but they soon figure it out and join in...i also got out the hammer-drill and hung this up (i'm so sick of people asking me who it is that when they do i just belt out "cielito lindo" as loudly as i can and they figure it out:
yesterday before Mass in pilon, i noticed something odd about the setup - the altar was stationed in between seven fighting cocks all tied to the posts. so, as i sidled down the hill to take a shot, these three little girls tromped over and sat down looking at me with my camera. so here you have it, three young ladies in the foreground, with just a glimpse of the altar and the roosters in the background...by the way, the cocks sang throughout the beginning of Mass, but at the consecration they closed their beaks, creating an eerie silence as i elevated the Host...
happy feast of the Immaculate Conception.
being without water on a great feast like this neither hardens the heart nor depresses the soul, but it does chill the bones taking a "bath" from a bucket of frigid h2o. pray that the water comes soon - you all prayed so well that the storm would miss us that it in fact did, thus leaving my cistern dry. you were supposed to pray for a direct hit. drats.
other than that, we are preparing ourselves for a robust Christmas celebration - we're even inaugurating a midnight Mass here, we'll see what happens.
being without water on a great feast like this neither hardens the heart nor depresses the soul, but it does chill the bones taking a "bath" from a bucket of frigid h2o. pray that the water comes soon - you all prayed so well that the storm would miss us that it in fact did, thus leaving my cistern dry. you were supposed to pray for a direct hit. drats.
other than that, we are preparing ourselves for a robust Christmas celebration - we're even inaugurating a midnight Mass here, we'll see what happens.
some mouth-watering quotes from the latests discussion on odette:
"The last flight into Odette had to be truncated due to intense lightning and severe turbulence."
"There is much better convergence and agreement among the models this morning on a track across western to central Dominican Republic in about 12 hours."
"The GFDL makes Odette a 74 kt hurricane just prior to landfall."
"The high terrain (that's us!) of Hispaniola should quickly weaken Odette."
The greatest threat from Odette is expected to be heavy rainfall over Hispaniola and Puerto Rico that could cause potentially deadly flash floods and mud slides."
i'll keep you informed - the weather station is fully functional and on alert!
"The last flight into Odette had to be truncated due to intense lightning and severe turbulence."
"There is much better convergence and agreement among the models this morning on a track across western to central Dominican Republic in about 12 hours."
"The GFDL makes Odette a 74 kt hurricane just prior to landfall."
"The high terrain (that's us!) of Hispaniola should quickly weaken Odette."
The greatest threat from Odette is expected to be heavy rainfall over Hispaniola and Puerto Rico that could cause potentially deadly flash floods and mud slides."
i'll keep you informed - the weather station is fully functional and on alert!
as i sit here with no electricity and gaze upon the glorious weather God has decided to provide you up in the northeast, i can't help but marvel at the post-season tropical storm (see odette) predicted to cross directly over us...
error report: apparently, yesterday was not the universal day of sanctification for priests. only the archdiocese of philadelphia was celebrating it...
also, this morning at 3 am 4 drunks with drums and tamborines came by banging the tar out of them and proceeded to beseech me for money for Navidad. 3 am. 0300. i told them it was a little early to be handing out money - Christmas isn't til the 25th...
also, this morning at 3 am 4 drunks with drums and tamborines came by banging the tar out of them and proceeded to beseech me for money for Navidad. 3 am. 0300. i told them it was a little early to be handing out money - Christmas isn't til the 25th...
the pope has made today the day of sanctification for priests - pray for us, we need it.
the weather here is absolutely delightful. that's right, i said delightful, cause it's about 85 - just about perfect and all forecasting models predict the same pattern for a few months...
the weather here is absolutely delightful. that's right, i said delightful, cause it's about 85 - just about perfect and all forecasting models predict the same pattern for a few months...
