It is exciting to see how the field of Interior Design is broadening it’s understanding of traditional design concepts. There is much to be learned outside of the European influenced field, from traditions around the globe. This particularly interests me because of the way it helps us understand each other as people of different cultures and traditions.
Unfortunately, Feng Shui has been more associated with the trends of the “New Age” movement, and it has taken some time for it to be associated with legitimate Interior Design. Feng Shui is the study of how to arrange your environment to enhance the quality of your life. Although the reasons for, and the results of, successful Feng Shui application to a building can seem very psychological and even emotional, the reasons are not due to any “hocus-pocus”. Yes, the experience of Feng Sui is about joining the seen and the unseen forces of nature, but it is also based on principles that are reasonable and full of common sense in any day and age.
Feng Shui, translated as “Wind and Water”, observes and balances the seen and unseen energies of the things around us. Like wind and water, you and your environment are two forces of nature. Your desires, goals, talents, attitudes, and feelings~ like the unseen force of wind; are constantly interacting and influencing each other. Just like the interaction between the wind and water, when you and your home blend in a harmonious way, the effect is comforting, welcoming, and positive. In an environment with those qualities, your health, prosperity, and very happiness thrive. Is this due to a sense of well-being brought on by the pleasing characteristics of our environment, thus bringing a sense of contentment and empowerment that overflows into other aspects of our lives? That is certainly possible. To artists, the idea that the colors, shapes, balance, and continuity of the visual world around us affect us deeply makes total sense. We know how powerful color alone can be to the human psyche. The practice of Feng Shui takes this even a step further. The primary goal of Feng Shui is to bring you and your home into harmony so that you are not just surviving your life, but that you are living in harmony with all that is around you, in part because you have made a intentional decision about the nature of your surroundings.
The philosophical foundation of Feng Shui is as relevant today in our Western culture as it was thousands of years ago in China. The ancient Chinese had an understanding of Physics and Psychology that is astounding! And really, you could say that Physics is the “head” of Feng Shui, and Psychology is the “heart”.
There are two primary schools of Feng Shui, the Form School and the Compass School. While cut from the same philosophical mold, they appear to be quite different. When you start reading various books on Feng Shui, it is confusing to see how differently it is approached. Form School Feng Shui basically focuses on the arrangement of “forms” or objects in and around a building or home, and how this arrangement helps to achieve optimal Ch’i (vital energy) flow. This type of Feng Shui is more of a fine art than a strict science, and is flexible in meeting peoples needs, and in honoring personal tastes of clients...while still improving the flow of Ch’i.
Compass School Feng Shui relies mostly on the use of a luo pan, or Chinese compass, and the birth information of homeowners to assess the environment around them. Based on numerical findings, the Compass school is especially useful when you’re building your own home and can choose where to place elements like doors, windows, etc. For someone with an already build home/office/room, this can be restrictive and a bit more inflexible. Also, for our Western minds and religious backgrounds, this can seem more on the edge of “hocus pocus”, and less on the side of practical scientific thought. There are many subgroups of both these types of Feng Shui though, and the combinations assure that there is something that can work for everyone. In terms of Western homes, life style, and mind-set, Form School Feng Shui techniques can produce excellent results. In terms of my home and office, it‘s what I’m trying to integrate.
It would be easy to write volumes on all the aspects of Feng Shui. Briefly I’ll talk about the “interior” work, or awareness learned through this amazing practice. I will then try to share as basically as possible the specifics of placement, etc.
Feng Shui, at it’s best, teaches you to see the things around you in a whole new way. You learn that your emotional life and spiritual life are intimately connected. This is not a new concept to someone with an active or vibrant faith or religious background of any kind. To some people, the idea that happiness and our environment are two forces of nature “who” are intimately connected is a brand new idea though. The realization that our homes can literally strengthen or weaken our health, wealth, and happiness brings with it a significant shift in perception. When we open our eyes we can no longer view our homes as just “things”, or our belongings as just inanimate “stuff.” Our homes, and all the possessions within them, suddenly come alive and are intimately connected to the quality of our life. We see that our difficulties are not separate from, but actually held in place by, our homes. Thus, the vital connection between the people and the “beings” they call home can begin to happen. As a holistic art and science, Feng Shui is meant to balance and harmonize our inner and outer domains. There are basic principles that make up the foundation of Feng Shui, and provide us with guidelines for living. When we integrate these guidelines into our lives, we see and interact with the world in a new and powerful way.
One principle in the Feng Shiu philosophy is that every person, place, and thing is alive with vital energy called Ch’i. This concept is totally all-inclusive, changing our physical existence from a world “that” is largely inanimate, to a world “who” is completely alive! When we see our world this way, as being made up of animate “beings,” we make very different decisions. Indiscriminate destruction of our natural world, as well as our amassing huge quantities of “stuff”, possessions we don’t need or have any emotional connection to, change when we no longer believe it’s all just “dirt” or “stuff”. Everything that lives with you holds certain memories, associations, and feelings in place. That’s why it’s so vial in Feng Shiu to assess what your material possessions are alive with! What are they “saying” to you? The quality of your inner life is constantly influenced by what you’re keeping alive in your surroundings. They may carry a mixed message that is “mixing” up your life and personal growth. The associations we have with certain objects can help us stay stuck in a place emotionally that we want to move away from. We need to assess each belonging of ours and see what our association is. If the association feeds us in a healthy way, then it’s a keeper! One of the primary Feng Shui goals is to surround yourself with “environmental affirmations”, the things “who” are alive with life-affirming thoughts, feelings, memories, and associations. When we design our environment to reflect our ideal state of conciousness, we are opening the pathways for happiness, health, and prosperity to take up residence with us.
Another principle of Feng Shui is that every person, place, and thing is connected by Ch’i. The energy that connects us to our personal environment extends to include our entire planet. Energetically, there is no such thing as isolation. In the study of Physics, we know this to be true. Although our emotional connections are usually strongest with the people, places, and things that are close by, we are essentially in relationship with everyone and every thing on earth, in a physical sense.
The quality of our relationships does not stop with people. We are also intimately connected to every single thing that surrounds us, in some way or another. The goal is to be conscious of every thing we’re connected to, which means every thing we own. If we lived in a cave and had two or three actual personal belongings, this would be easy! Imagine being consciously aware of each and every belonging you possess, it makes my head spin! So...to honor our connection with all these things, we need to let go of excess, and organize the rest. The reason this is so vital is because our things, and the presentation of them, and the care we give them, reflect our inner world and hold in place the conditions of our lives. External order and harmony reflect internal order and peace, while external clutter and chaos reflects an internal mess! This doesn’t mean that we live with a tooth brush and one mug! But, our material well-being has room to grow in an orderly environment. Letting go of possessions that are unwanted and unneeded creates opportunities for the things we want and need to come into our lives. So, in short, we need to live with what we love, put safety and comfort first, and simplify and organize.
If we believe that every object in our home has living energy, then where these objects are placed is very important. Windows, doors, lighting, color, the combination of certain textures, etc. will all affect the healthy energy flow. Besides an understanding of energy (Ch’i) flow, the most important tool to use in Feng Shui is the Bagua Map. You correlate the structure of your home, and each room individually, with a map, or a format made up of nine boxes. Imagine a tick-tack-toe board with nine boxes, and you have the visual of the map. The word Bagua literally means “eight trigrams.” These trigrams form the basic building blocks of the I Ching (the Chinese Book of Changes) and are each associated with (among other things) blessings such as health, wealth, love, and creativity. The Bagua Map, or map of the eight trigrams, charts where each of these blessings is located in your home. Ultimately, the Bagua Map leads you to the discovery that all parts of your home and your life are of equal importance.
The Bagua Map can be applied to any fixed shape, including buildings, rooms, and furniture (like a desk top). Using a floor plan or a “birds-eye-view” of the building, you lay the map on top of it, so to speak, and see what areas are out of balance. Each area on the map correlates to an aspect of life: Wealth and Prosperity, Fame and Reputation, Love and Marriage, Children and Creativity, Health and Family, Knowledge and Self Cultivation, Career, Helpful People and Travel. You learn the specifics about what elements strengthen each area, and then you learn how to enhance where those areas happen to fall in your home. The specifics of how to use the map are easy, but detailed. I could write pages on the map alone. Suffice it to say that when you lay the map on your home, and then on each individual room, you see what “areas” are being affected by elements that are detrimental to them. When you compare this discovery to the specific “issues” in your life, or the areas that need improvement, etc., it is shocking to say the least. My husband and I realized that the Children and Creativity area of the entry way of our house has had a dead and semi-rotting plant in it for about two years. Pathetic, yes, but it was up out of eye sight, and we’d just forgotten about it. It got thrown away as soon as we made the discovery! As vital as the Bagua Map is to implementing Feng Shui into our homes, and lives, that is not all you need to know. We need to study and find out what are the specific things we can do in each area of the map to change situations, and energy, to enhance our lives and homes.
Feng Shui teaches us how to recognize the Yin and Yang in all objects. It is the true balance of these two extremes that brings a deep sense of comfort and “rightness” to our surroundings. Usually we don’t even recognize what it is that feels so right about a certain space. Yin is associated with curved shapes and small, cold, dark, wet, or ornate settings and items. On the other hand, Yang is associated with angular shapes and large, light, hot, or open settings and items. Every item in our home is either Yin or Yang, or if we are extremely lucky, some of them may be a combination of both. Either way all the spaces around us need a healthy balance of these things.
If we are to balance the Yin and Yang, we must have an understanding of the five elements themselves. The elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water...and that these are basically the building blocks of everything physical on the planet. These things manifest in countless ways and combinations around us. Just as every item in our home is Ying or Yang, they are also associated with one of these elements. For example...a marble tabletop is associated with Metal, a mirror with Water, or plants with Wood. Every color has an association to these elements as well...red with Fire, blues and greens with Wood, or yellow with Earth. The darker a color gets the more “Watery” it becomes, such as black, navy blue, and dark brown. On the other hand, the lighter a color gets, the more it becomes associated with Metal. There are countless ways to balance each of these elements in each area of your home, and you can learn what elements are needed in what areas to enhance that “issue” or need in your life. I have personally read a number of books, and each book has a slightly different take on the above elements. But, you can get a great idea by reading and comparing several books, about how to mix and balance the elements in your home and life.
In learning more and more about Feng Shui, there was a part of me that just saw the “sense” in it. Understanding that everything around us has energy to emit, and that there are ways to inhibit and enhance this natural, healthy flow of energy seemed practical and full of wisdom. It has been a tremendously fun, exciting, and eye-opening experience for my husband and I to read books together...looking around our home and seeing things that made us say, “That explains it!” I’ve been mapping rooms, and trying to reconfigure furniture plans, he’s been working on “Feng Shuiing”, as he calls it, the yard and external of our house. As Bill Murray would say, “Baby steps...”... and they are. We have been amazed at the difference a few small changes have made already in terms of the basic comfy cozy feeling of our home, and we are looking forward to getting our whole house in balance. Please know that this paper does not even scratch the surface of how to implement Feng Shui into ones life. I couldn’t begin to do the subject justice in just a few pages. If your interest has been peeked, there are tons of books out there that will make it clearer, and easier to follow. If you are an artist, it is really very simple and basic to our instincts and to the sensitivities that I think are just part of our nature because we are so in tune with our surroundings on an emotional level. And if you are not an artist, it is easy to learn! I’ve included a small list of books that I’ve read that are really wonderful. There is nothing more fun than passing on the title of a great book! Enjoy!
BOOKS:
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston
Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston
Feng Shui Design, by Sarah Rossbach
Feng Shui Made Easy, by William Spear
Sacred Space, by Denise Linn
Feng Shui Do’s & Taboo’s, by Angi Ma Wong
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Shannon and Ian's Wedding Toast...given by me!
There are too few times in this life when we get to stand up and publicly share what a gift someone’s life has been to us. Sadly, all too often we only hear speeches like that at funerals, when the person being talked about doesn’t get to hear how they‘ve impacted others. So bear with me as I take this opportunity to share with you a little bit about this beautiful bride...my sister, Shannon Mary.
I was an only child for 4 years...until Shannon came along. Little did I know that she was only the first of 5 additional sisters who’d be joining our family. When Shannon was born I received my very first Barbie doll as my “congratulations on being a big sister!” gift. I’ve always credited Shannon with finally getting my Barbie collecting off to a festive start! Shannon was my first sister in this world, and I think back on the two years that we had alone, the only Glynn girls...and it is like a hazy dream. We shared a bedroom in our first home...the married student housing at Ohio State University. Her crib was next to my bed, and I remember that she’d wake me in the morning with her baby gurgles. You might say she was my first sister, and my first alarm clock!
Maura came along two years later...and then Meg with Erin close on her heals...and finally Michaela. Shannon, Maura and I were the Big Girls...and I realized only a few short years ago that in my mind I still called the three of us...the Big Girls, and the others the Younger Girls. When I think back on our childhood, I just remember what a wonderful playmate Shannon was. She was always up for playing school in the classroom we’d created in the basement...and she’d be the principal, Sister Mary...and I’d send Maura (and any neighborhood children we could rope into our school) to the “office” for disciplinary chats with Sister. Shannon was always a lead in the “shows” we put on for our parents...whether she was Joseph in the nativity, or one of three Santa's in a puppet show...and we’d act out scenes from all our favorite musicals (we had no TV, what would YOU do?). Shan would let Maura or I sing all the female parts while she tackled the male parts. The soundtracks to Oklahoma, and the Sound of Music were our favorites...and we swooned over Mom’s coveted Greatest Hits double album Barry Manilow. If we weren’t in the basement playing dress up while listening to Bread and soaking up their harmony...we were singing When Irish Eyes are Smiling, You Are My Sunshine, and various tv. commercials, while Shan, Maura and I tackled the large quantity of dirty dinner dishes...oh...and the thing that entertained us maybe the most during our dish washing sessions...we’d sing songs in the weirdest, most ugly voices that we could...creating all sorts of horribly dissonant and off-key harmonies...and then we’d complement each other on the most horrific parts...until Mom would get quite upset and tell us to stop it, and in so many words...“what if you mess up your developing musical ears and end up singing like that!” There’s no way to separate the memories of our childhood from the music in our life.
Shannon was my roommate for the better part of 18 years...and let me tell you, despite the years of her potty training when we shared a double bed...need I say more...they were really wonderful! We still laugh over our memories of the games we’d make up, and the silliness we’d share, as she lay in the top bunk and I in the bottom...and Mom calling up the stairs, “Girls, that‘s ENOUGH!“ inducing further hysterics that we’d try to muffle with our pillows. One of the things we loved to play as children was Mass... I’d be the priest, Maura was the alter server, and Shannon would be our Music Minster...playing and cantering all the parts of the mass on the piano, having learned them by ear... (and I’m talking she was a little kid!). When Shan was in kindergarten it became apparent that her singing and playing the piano were special talents. In many ways she provided a continual soundtrack for our family as we grew over the years...our soundtrack included such rousing hits as the jingle from a Cheerios commercial...aptly entitled, “the unsinkable taste of cheerios...” as well as her collaboration with our Pop on “There’s a hole in the bicycle tire”...and the spontaneous Birthday jam that is alive and well today, that was birthed at one of our family birthday parties. Shannon’s musical talent not only entertained us, but she also frequently served as inspiration and musical leader to our joined creative efforts as sisters as we began to get more serious about singing together.
When I was in high school Shannon started writing and singing songs about her faith. I remember how blown away I was the first time she played me a song she’d written about the Eucharist. I knew that not only was there something profound happening in her, and a wisdom far beyond her years...but it affected my faith journey immensely. There are people in this life who are just special. They bring a light with them wherever they go. They touch people, they leave an impact...I’ve always seen that light in Shannon, and it’s the light of Christ shining out of her. Whenever we could get her to play and sing one of her songs for someone...they would just listen in awe. Shannon’s music affected people, really touched them. She still has that affect on us.
During one of Shannon’s last years in high school, I found out that this huge Christian music festival in P.A. was hosting a singer/songwriter competition during their weekend long festival. I couldn’t go to the festival myself...but Mom wanted to go with Shannon and Maura and a few friends of theirs. Unbeknownst to Shannon, I registered her for the songwriting competition. The weekend was planned, and off to the festival they went. This may seem like a sneaky thing to do...but it’s like this. Although incredibly talented, Shannon was not self-promoting. She would never have agreed to this if she had time to think about it ahead of time. So as per instructions, Mom filled her in, with just enough time for her to get over to the big tent and audition her song...along with people of all ages and musical backgrounds, who’d come from all parts of the country to compete. It did not come as a surprise to anyone who knew Shannon and her music...to find out that she won . She performed her gorgeous song on the main stage to a crowd of 10,000 people. Talk about proud!
Shannon is a person of deep thoughts, strong convictions, and a heart full of tenderness and compassion for people and animals. When she was a child animals would just flock to her...we’d refer to her as a St. Francis. Nothing has changed in that area. She’s also a really talented artist...her floral arrangements, and the beautiful and elegant home she’s created are testament to that. Now I could go on and on about her triumphs in theatre during her high school and young adult years, how her ability to wrap her voice around a jazz number is extraordinary...and about the resolve and courage it takes for her to overcome her performance anxiety. But I’m sure she’s squirming in her seat enough at this point. Despite the fact that Shannon’s talents have often led her into the spot light, that’s not a place she’s comfortable living in. There is no tougher critic of Shannon than Shannon.
I know some of these memories sound a little too idyllic...we weren’t the sugary sweet fictitious Brady Bunch.. We Glynn girls would fight like normal siblings. But it was one thing to squabble with one another...but if anyone hurt one of us...Shannon would be so protective. For anyone who’s been blessed by her friendship, you’ve probably experienced what a fierce ally she is, and how protective she is of those she loves. I have some precious memories from my teen and young adult years, of being held by my little sister while I cried from a broken heart. And she’s so empathetic that sometimes she’d cry with me. She would sit on the floor of our bedroom and talk it all out with me, rail against my offender, and offer a kind of nurturing support that only she could give.
Early on Shannon had such a charisma that everyone just flocked to her. I think it’s safe to say that even today...to know Shannon is to love Shannon. In junior high I think her protective nurturing was somewhat responsible for her being nicknamed Rambo...well, and her uncanny impersonation of Sylvester Stalone... and the inexplicable penchant for wearing cammo might have had something to do with it too! No memories of Shannon would be complete if I failed to at least give a nod to the fact that she is one of the funniest, most witty, most clever people I’ve ever met. She has caused more gut busting hysterics in our family, and with friends during these 30+ yrs., than most people elicit in a life time. One of my favorite really funny memories of Shan is from her Rambo era. We’d been downtown to see the Karate Kid...and you know, we came home very pumped. While waiting to be called in for dinner, and of course reenacting the movie in the driveway...Shannon did a karate kick of such magnitude that she put a hole in the side of the garage. We were so shocked we couldn‘t stop laughing...and Yeah...Mom was not amused.
Just a word of caution to the Withers boys from the Glynn girls...just in case you haven‘t already figured this out...Shannon is freakishly strong. And we’re pretty confident She Can Take You.
All joking aside...don’t be fooled by the sometimes tough tomboy persona that Shan likes to present...if you saw her in her vintage Jackie O. inspired suit, or with her curls smoothed while she channels her inner Ella Fitzgerald in song...you’d agree with me when I say, “Holy cow, what a woman!”
I’m sure any big sisters in this room will agree that watching younger sisters grow up can be a little harrowing at times. I’ve always been proud of what amazing, talented, unique, charismatic, faith-filled, truly special women each of my sisters are. Waiting for guys who are good enough for these precious sisters of mine...oh my. It’s a tall order, and I’m here to tell you that MOST don’t make the cut. When Ian came into the picture, I watched and listened...and took in his charisma and charm with my typical caution. After getting to know Ian...watching how well he loves my sister...how loyal and generous he is...how hard he works...how much he loves his family...how very smart and funny and tender hearted he is...I can tell you that there are depths there far beyond his external buff bravado. Ian is a truly good man, and he has found a truly good woman and partner in Shannon.
I was talking with Shannon one night about the beautiful, frustrating, heartbreaking, miraculous experience that marriage can be...and she quietly responded that whatever the future holds...she wants to walk this journey of life with Ian. That’s all I needed to hear.
It takes a special, and secure guy to be able to handle the energy of our very female clan...the collective force that is the SISTERS...and I know we Glynn girls conquer that the Glynn men are a truly amazing bunch...starting with our Pop, and then our brother Greg, my husband Matthew, Maura’s husband, our brother Seth, Erin’s husband, our brother Lou...and now Shannon’s husband, our brother Ian.
I’d like to offer a Celtic poem in toast to this new force of nature...the Glynn-Witters’...so, if all of you would raise your glasses with me...
“God be with thee in every pass,
Jesus be with thee on every hill,
Spirit be with thee on every stream...
Headland and ridge and Lawn;
Each sea and land, each moor and meadow,
Each lying down, each rising up,
In the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows,
Each step of the journey thou goest.”
Cheers!
I was an only child for 4 years...until Shannon came along. Little did I know that she was only the first of 5 additional sisters who’d be joining our family. When Shannon was born I received my very first Barbie doll as my “congratulations on being a big sister!” gift. I’ve always credited Shannon with finally getting my Barbie collecting off to a festive start! Shannon was my first sister in this world, and I think back on the two years that we had alone, the only Glynn girls...and it is like a hazy dream. We shared a bedroom in our first home...the married student housing at Ohio State University. Her crib was next to my bed, and I remember that she’d wake me in the morning with her baby gurgles. You might say she was my first sister, and my first alarm clock!
Maura came along two years later...and then Meg with Erin close on her heals...and finally Michaela. Shannon, Maura and I were the Big Girls...and I realized only a few short years ago that in my mind I still called the three of us...the Big Girls, and the others the Younger Girls. When I think back on our childhood, I just remember what a wonderful playmate Shannon was. She was always up for playing school in the classroom we’d created in the basement...and she’d be the principal, Sister Mary...and I’d send Maura (and any neighborhood children we could rope into our school) to the “office” for disciplinary chats with Sister. Shannon was always a lead in the “shows” we put on for our parents...whether she was Joseph in the nativity, or one of three Santa's in a puppet show...and we’d act out scenes from all our favorite musicals (we had no TV, what would YOU do?). Shan would let Maura or I sing all the female parts while she tackled the male parts. The soundtracks to Oklahoma, and the Sound of Music were our favorites...and we swooned over Mom’s coveted Greatest Hits double album Barry Manilow. If we weren’t in the basement playing dress up while listening to Bread and soaking up their harmony...we were singing When Irish Eyes are Smiling, You Are My Sunshine, and various tv. commercials, while Shan, Maura and I tackled the large quantity of dirty dinner dishes...oh...and the thing that entertained us maybe the most during our dish washing sessions...we’d sing songs in the weirdest, most ugly voices that we could...creating all sorts of horribly dissonant and off-key harmonies...and then we’d complement each other on the most horrific parts...until Mom would get quite upset and tell us to stop it, and in so many words...“what if you mess up your developing musical ears and end up singing like that!” There’s no way to separate the memories of our childhood from the music in our life.
Shannon was my roommate for the better part of 18 years...and let me tell you, despite the years of her potty training when we shared a double bed...need I say more...they were really wonderful! We still laugh over our memories of the games we’d make up, and the silliness we’d share, as she lay in the top bunk and I in the bottom...and Mom calling up the stairs, “Girls, that‘s ENOUGH!“ inducing further hysterics that we’d try to muffle with our pillows. One of the things we loved to play as children was Mass... I’d be the priest, Maura was the alter server, and Shannon would be our Music Minster...playing and cantering all the parts of the mass on the piano, having learned them by ear... (and I’m talking she was a little kid!). When Shan was in kindergarten it became apparent that her singing and playing the piano were special talents. In many ways she provided a continual soundtrack for our family as we grew over the years...our soundtrack included such rousing hits as the jingle from a Cheerios commercial...aptly entitled, “the unsinkable taste of cheerios...” as well as her collaboration with our Pop on “There’s a hole in the bicycle tire”...and the spontaneous Birthday jam that is alive and well today, that was birthed at one of our family birthday parties. Shannon’s musical talent not only entertained us, but she also frequently served as inspiration and musical leader to our joined creative efforts as sisters as we began to get more serious about singing together.
When I was in high school Shannon started writing and singing songs about her faith. I remember how blown away I was the first time she played me a song she’d written about the Eucharist. I knew that not only was there something profound happening in her, and a wisdom far beyond her years...but it affected my faith journey immensely. There are people in this life who are just special. They bring a light with them wherever they go. They touch people, they leave an impact...I’ve always seen that light in Shannon, and it’s the light of Christ shining out of her. Whenever we could get her to play and sing one of her songs for someone...they would just listen in awe. Shannon’s music affected people, really touched them. She still has that affect on us.
During one of Shannon’s last years in high school, I found out that this huge Christian music festival in P.A. was hosting a singer/songwriter competition during their weekend long festival. I couldn’t go to the festival myself...but Mom wanted to go with Shannon and Maura and a few friends of theirs. Unbeknownst to Shannon, I registered her for the songwriting competition. The weekend was planned, and off to the festival they went. This may seem like a sneaky thing to do...but it’s like this. Although incredibly talented, Shannon was not self-promoting. She would never have agreed to this if she had time to think about it ahead of time. So as per instructions, Mom filled her in, with just enough time for her to get over to the big tent and audition her song...along with people of all ages and musical backgrounds, who’d come from all parts of the country to compete. It did not come as a surprise to anyone who knew Shannon and her music...to find out that she won . She performed her gorgeous song on the main stage to a crowd of 10,000 people. Talk about proud!
Shannon is a person of deep thoughts, strong convictions, and a heart full of tenderness and compassion for people and animals. When she was a child animals would just flock to her...we’d refer to her as a St. Francis. Nothing has changed in that area. She’s also a really talented artist...her floral arrangements, and the beautiful and elegant home she’s created are testament to that. Now I could go on and on about her triumphs in theatre during her high school and young adult years, how her ability to wrap her voice around a jazz number is extraordinary...and about the resolve and courage it takes for her to overcome her performance anxiety. But I’m sure she’s squirming in her seat enough at this point. Despite the fact that Shannon’s talents have often led her into the spot light, that’s not a place she’s comfortable living in. There is no tougher critic of Shannon than Shannon.
I know some of these memories sound a little too idyllic...we weren’t the sugary sweet fictitious Brady Bunch.. We Glynn girls would fight like normal siblings. But it was one thing to squabble with one another...but if anyone hurt one of us...Shannon would be so protective. For anyone who’s been blessed by her friendship, you’ve probably experienced what a fierce ally she is, and how protective she is of those she loves. I have some precious memories from my teen and young adult years, of being held by my little sister while I cried from a broken heart. And she’s so empathetic that sometimes she’d cry with me. She would sit on the floor of our bedroom and talk it all out with me, rail against my offender, and offer a kind of nurturing support that only she could give.
Early on Shannon had such a charisma that everyone just flocked to her. I think it’s safe to say that even today...to know Shannon is to love Shannon. In junior high I think her protective nurturing was somewhat responsible for her being nicknamed Rambo...well, and her uncanny impersonation of Sylvester Stalone... and the inexplicable penchant for wearing cammo might have had something to do with it too! No memories of Shannon would be complete if I failed to at least give a nod to the fact that she is one of the funniest, most witty, most clever people I’ve ever met. She has caused more gut busting hysterics in our family, and with friends during these 30+ yrs., than most people elicit in a life time. One of my favorite really funny memories of Shan is from her Rambo era. We’d been downtown to see the Karate Kid...and you know, we came home very pumped. While waiting to be called in for dinner, and of course reenacting the movie in the driveway...Shannon did a karate kick of such magnitude that she put a hole in the side of the garage. We were so shocked we couldn‘t stop laughing...and Yeah...Mom was not amused.
Just a word of caution to the Withers boys from the Glynn girls...just in case you haven‘t already figured this out...Shannon is freakishly strong. And we’re pretty confident She Can Take You.
All joking aside...don’t be fooled by the sometimes tough tomboy persona that Shan likes to present...if you saw her in her vintage Jackie O. inspired suit, or with her curls smoothed while she channels her inner Ella Fitzgerald in song...you’d agree with me when I say, “Holy cow, what a woman!”
I’m sure any big sisters in this room will agree that watching younger sisters grow up can be a little harrowing at times. I’ve always been proud of what amazing, talented, unique, charismatic, faith-filled, truly special women each of my sisters are. Waiting for guys who are good enough for these precious sisters of mine...oh my. It’s a tall order, and I’m here to tell you that MOST don’t make the cut. When Ian came into the picture, I watched and listened...and took in his charisma and charm with my typical caution. After getting to know Ian...watching how well he loves my sister...how loyal and generous he is...how hard he works...how much he loves his family...how very smart and funny and tender hearted he is...I can tell you that there are depths there far beyond his external buff bravado. Ian is a truly good man, and he has found a truly good woman and partner in Shannon.
I was talking with Shannon one night about the beautiful, frustrating, heartbreaking, miraculous experience that marriage can be...and she quietly responded that whatever the future holds...she wants to walk this journey of life with Ian. That’s all I needed to hear.
It takes a special, and secure guy to be able to handle the energy of our very female clan...the collective force that is the SISTERS...and I know we Glynn girls conquer that the Glynn men are a truly amazing bunch...starting with our Pop, and then our brother Greg, my husband Matthew, Maura’s husband, our brother Seth, Erin’s husband, our brother Lou...and now Shannon’s husband, our brother Ian.
I’d like to offer a Celtic poem in toast to this new force of nature...the Glynn-Witters’...so, if all of you would raise your glasses with me...
“God be with thee in every pass,
Jesus be with thee on every hill,
Spirit be with thee on every stream...
Headland and ridge and Lawn;
Each sea and land, each moor and meadow,
Each lying down, each rising up,
In the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows,
Each step of the journey thou goest.”
Cheers!
First Audition Experience...what?!
Well, today was a first.
Brandon is going to be taking tap dancing, starting in a few weeks. He's beside himself with excitement...he's been asking to take classes at Briana's dance school for 2 yrs. Bri's taking 2 ballet classes this year, and both were asked to participate in the audition process today, for the ballet companies production of The Nutcracker. The school is a regular dance school, and also the only juvenile ballet company in NJ. They both did well, and got into the show. We don't know what "roles" they will have yet. This show will give them the opportunity to work with the professionals (adults and kids) in the company, to have the extra rehearsals (dance experience) each week, and to do this really fun thing together. We've been going to see the show for the last few years, and they've been begging to "go on stage" (as they call it) from day one. I've resisted...but this year I caved in when we were asked by the schools director...she's being very generous in offering us scholarships for Bri's additional class, and Bran's tap. How could I say no? I think it will end up being a really neat experience for them, surely one we will never forget. I'll be helping with stage sets (painting props, etc.), and back stage during the performances.
Brandon is going to be taking tap dancing, starting in a few weeks. He's beside himself with excitement...he's been asking to take classes at Briana's dance school for 2 yrs. Bri's taking 2 ballet classes this year, and both were asked to participate in the audition process today, for the ballet companies production of The Nutcracker. The school is a regular dance school, and also the only juvenile ballet company in NJ. They both did well, and got into the show. We don't know what "roles" they will have yet. This show will give them the opportunity to work with the professionals (adults and kids) in the company, to have the extra rehearsals (dance experience) each week, and to do this really fun thing together. We've been going to see the show for the last few years, and they've been begging to "go on stage" (as they call it) from day one. I've resisted...but this year I caved in when we were asked by the schools director...she's being very generous in offering us scholarships for Bri's additional class, and Bran's tap. How could I say no? I think it will end up being a really neat experience for them, surely one we will never forget. I'll be helping with stage sets (painting props, etc.), and back stage during the performances.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Coveting thy neighbors house?
Okay, so this month I've clearly had too much time on my hands with this gimpy knee of mine. I've been fantasy shopping on-line for houses in our town...and I've had the grave misfortune of stumbling upon our dream house personified. I say "grave misfortune" because we can not buy this house now, in a year, yes, but today, NO. I have awoken almost every morning for the last week, coming out of a dream about that !@#$% house. Yesterday I was feeling so much negativity and annoyance (my polite way of saying I was feeling persnickety and mean spirited) about our sweet house. I wanted that house across the lake, by God, and nothing was going to make me feel better! It was after several hours of feeling this way that I really realized I'd allowed such an ugly green eyed monster to creep into my mind a heart. Before stumbling upon this sublime renovated 4 bedroom LOG home (yeap, not making this up...) built in 1935, and currently fully updated with every bell and freakin' whistle...I loved our little "project cottage." Suddenly, my adorable little dream cottage was not looking so adorable OR dreamy.
Okay, to be honest...I'm burned out on home reno. I don't want to paint one more bleeping thing, move one more wall, suspend my instant gratification one more iota...and yet...it is what it is. Ten years has been about 9 yrs. past what I would have ever wanted to live with in terms of this unfinished project that is our home. I'm done. But clearly, God is not. I was whining to various Saints, the Blessed Mother, and Jesus yesterday about my disapointment and my impatience. I asked that it be possible for us to move NOW...and then I grimaced as I asked for the Grace to surrender to the Lord's will and recieve the blessings He has for us, in His time and in His way. And then internally I'd stomp my foot and suck my thumb.
Today, we were blessed with the coziest rainy day...my favorite weather. I woke with a much lighter heart...the newfound ability to make a pot of coffee (haven't been able to walk for the last 3 wks. because of my injury)...and a day of snuggling with my little angels/monsters in front of a Shirley Temple movie. Don't get me wrong...I STILL WANT THAT HOUSE. But...a beautiful robin was in the bush that brushed up against the family room window today, eating these bright orange/red berries...and the rain was bouncing off the lavender pink Rose of Sharon flowers...and I had hot coffee clutched in my hands...and well, I remembered why I love this home of ours. It's not my dream home, but my dreams are being lived out here. Imagine how sad the opposite would be? No thanks.
Hugs, Brig
Okay, to be honest...I'm burned out on home reno. I don't want to paint one more bleeping thing, move one more wall, suspend my instant gratification one more iota...and yet...it is what it is. Ten years has been about 9 yrs. past what I would have ever wanted to live with in terms of this unfinished project that is our home. I'm done. But clearly, God is not. I was whining to various Saints, the Blessed Mother, and Jesus yesterday about my disapointment and my impatience. I asked that it be possible for us to move NOW...and then I grimaced as I asked for the Grace to surrender to the Lord's will and recieve the blessings He has for us, in His time and in His way. And then internally I'd stomp my foot and suck my thumb.
Today, we were blessed with the coziest rainy day...my favorite weather. I woke with a much lighter heart...the newfound ability to make a pot of coffee (haven't been able to walk for the last 3 wks. because of my injury)...and a day of snuggling with my little angels/monsters in front of a Shirley Temple movie. Don't get me wrong...I STILL WANT THAT HOUSE. But...a beautiful robin was in the bush that brushed up against the family room window today, eating these bright orange/red berries...and the rain was bouncing off the lavender pink Rose of Sharon flowers...and I had hot coffee clutched in my hands...and well, I remembered why I love this home of ours. It's not my dream home, but my dreams are being lived out here. Imagine how sad the opposite would be? No thanks.
Hugs, Brig
Friday, August 17, 2007
My class of '87 questionaire!
MSJA Class of ‘87 (this has been shortened/edited for sanities sake)
Name
Brigid Eileen Glynn-Young
Married (how long?)/Single?
13 years married
Children? If so – tell us about them.
Briana is 7 in August, and Brandon is 5. For those who don't know our story, I've pasted to the bottom of this e-mail the letter that we sent out to family and friends, right after the kids came to us. :)
Briana is scarey smart. She'll be homeschooling me next year, I'm sure of it. She's been studying Latin since last Sept., and lovesss it. She listens to jazz cd's, classical music, bios of composers, history cd's, etc. at "nap time"...and is on her way to having the The Story of the World, Ancient Times history cd's by Susan Wise Bauer (set of 7!) memorized. She's interested in learning everything, wants to know how things "work", is a wonderful artist, reads like a bibliophile in the making, and sings along with Ella Fitzgerald like no child I've ever seen! She is incredibly articulate, says things that blow me away relugarly...and has insight into her earlier, pre-adoption life that just staggers my mind. She is an old soul, wise, sweet, vulnerable...but very strong and courageous too. She's been taking ballet for 2 yrs, and is quite good! A natural dancer, she's been offered a scholarship at her dance school so that she can take additional classes this winter. With our newly repaired piano the new attraction at home, she figured out how to tap out "Ode to Joy" the other day...and was so darn proud!
Brandon is snuggles and charisma, and belly laughs personified. He's so smart, doesn't miss a trick. Loves to "have school time" with me, and is learning to read. He's been obsessed with horses since he was 2, and he and Briana took riding lessons for a while, and are pretty fearless up there on those giant horses! Brandon could be president some day. Seriously. Wherever we go, people stop to talk to him, comment on how handsome he is, shake his hand...he's been campaigning for as long as I've known him! Everyone just responds to him, and he's innocently delighted by it. He doesn't have any concept of "cool", and doesn't seem to realize that the way people respond to him is any different from how they respond to others. He loves cars, and asks Matt to find car races on the tv so they can snuggle together and watch them. Finally, Matt's got someone to watch Nascar with. Bran loves to sing too, and has a "band practice" area set up in his room. Whenever he gets annoyed about something, or just needs a break from us girls...he goes to his room, turns on his little electric piano, and jams out to the canned music on it. It's quite hysterical. He loves cowboys, and after his western themed b'day party last Feb., he's decided he's going to be a cowboy priest when he grows up. He likes to try and say the Mass along with our parish priests...possibly to the annoyance of those around us...and loves to watch EWTN. BUT, he only wants to see Masses. Don't try and get him to watch a prayer service, or a speaker...noooo...he'll say with great indignation, "This isn't MASS! This is borrrring!" He's recently discovered golf on tv (one day I paused to watch some), and that's become our new thing. We sit and watch it together, and he's enthrauled. We've decided we'll learn how to play so we can do it together...fun, huh? Bran's been asking to have his own dance class at Briana's ballet school for 3 yrs...so he's now taking tap. He's completely adorable. Both kids auditioned for the NJSDA Company production of The Nutrcracker this year. They were accepted, and will be soldiers in the show. They get excited each week for Friday night rehearsals, and are beside themselves with excitement! Brandon keeps talking about how he finally gets to "go on the stage." Like he's been paying his dues all these years and has finally gotten his big break? LOL
Current profession (those of us who are unlucky enough to have to have one!!!!) – or if you’re a stay at home mom – what did you do before that?
~I worked for a Bernardsville based jewelry company for a number of years, assembling and designing pieces made of sterling silver from a factory in Bali, and antique beads from all over Indonesia. It was pretty amazing...it felt like I should be paying my boss for letting me play with all those goodies. It was an amazing experience, really cool. The business is now in Carmel, CA. I've got a killer jewelry collection because of that job. Gotta love buying at cost.
~I was a pre-school teacher for 7 years in Bernardsville. This job arrived at just the "right" time in my life, and I ended up staying because I loved it so much. I have some dear friends there still, and my students are all pre-teens now. It makes me feel old when I see them, but it's really fun to hear their memories.
~ I was about to "retire" from teaching, and was going back to school. I was offered the job of Youth Minister at our parish. They hadn't had any Y.M. in 18 years, so it was a really exciting challenge to create the ministry from scratch, for the 6-12th graders. It was 5 of the best years of my life. It was almost 3 yrs. ago that I resigned, two weeks after the children arrived. I've been blessed to have many of the now-college-age kids still a part of my life. We had a Christmas party/reunion here this year, several of them babysit the kids, and we try and make sure we make time for summer bbq's and movie nights with them. They are very dear to us!
~My current "profession" is a stay-at-home, homeschooling-mom. We just finished our second year of schooling at home, it's been a real adventure. We are now part of a homeschool co-op called St. Gregory's. I'll be teaching Latin to Briana's age group. The children are taking 4 classes there. (Logic & Latin, History, English Lit/Great Books program, Science.) We also do a day of schooling once a week with one of my oldest friends who was a math teacher...together we do math (she leads this, of course!) and art history/appreciation/techniques. She's homeschooling her 2 kids as well.
We're loving this adventure so far, but I'm taking it year by year, kid by kid. I don't know what the future holds, we'll see when we get there!
Favorite teacher at the Mt? (why)
Sr. Mary Eugene...she made me fall in love with English lit. I also loved the history teacher with the curly hair, am drawing a total blank about her name. She started the Peace and Justice club, and really inspired me in the areas of human rights and my involvement in political issues. There was really sweet nun who taught us art too, (senior year?) she was so encouraging of me...really lobbied for A.D. to give me permission to leave during school hrs. to train with Tim. Sadly, at this moment I can't remember her name. She gave me her beautiful set of professional oil paints because one day I mentioned that I was saving up my babysitting money to buy a set for myself. She realized that money was an issue in my family, and there wasn't any extra for stuff like that. I still have the case them came in...it reminds me that kindnesses have really long lasting affects on peoples lives.
Teacher you liked the least? (why)
"A.D." (Sr. Ann Delores) freshman year teaching us that horrific, mind-numbingly boring study habits class was hell on earth...and Mrs. Meis was my spanish speaking nemesis. Seriously. By the way, that study habits class didn't help me at all. Sheesh.
Favorite movie/actress/actor?
Favorite Movies: The trouble with Angels (reminds me of the Mount! It's a classic in my family.), Autie Mame, Much Ado About Nothing, Anne of Green Gables,How to Make an American Quilt, Only You, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...there's a long list of my favorites...to many to list here.
Fav. Actresses: Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dame Judie Dench, Helen Miran, Audrey Hepburn, Hailey Mills, Joan Cusak
Actors: Cary Grant, Dermot Mulroney, Brad Pitt (although I don't like all his movies, he's brilliant), John Cusak, Fred Astair (old movie geek in the house)
Favorite book?
Jane Eyre, In This House of Brede, The Secret Life of Bees...blah, blah, blah...LONG list...
Do you watch Desperate Housewives and Grays?
Yep, both. What about October Road, Ugly Betty, and Men in Trees?
How has your life been different than you imagined it would be whey we were still "young"?
I didn't have a really specific "dream" about my adult life or career. I thought I might want to get married and have children and be a stay-at-home mom like my mother was for us. I also knew that I'd always be an artist in some capacity. I also LOVED Youth Ministry, and did dream of being a Youth Minister some day. I guess the thing that I didn't imagine, was the journey to parenthood that I've had, that's for sure. Coming from a large family it never occured to me that I'd battle infertility and never have a birth child of my own. That never even entered my mind...I thought I'd have a big (6+ kids) family too.
How’d you meet you significant other?
I'd just innocently climbed out of the shower in my parents house on Saturday morning, and someone knocked on the bathroom door. I wrapped up in a towel and opened the door thinking it was one of my sisters. It was some guy I'd never seen before...and he needed to go potty. I headed off to my room to get dressed, and once downstairs was introduced to the guy who'd needed the bathroom...a Navy buddy of a friend of the family who was home on a short leave from the Navy. I paid no attention to him, didn't even really talk to him. He told our friend later that day that he'd met his future wife. A week later he called and told me he was coming back from S.C. to take me to dinner...and despite my total lack of interest or enthusiasm, I was slightly impressed by his bossiness...and said okay. To keep myself from being bored on the date (out to dinner at the Black Horse Pub in Mendham), I decided to entertain myself by asking him every single question that I'd ever wished I'd asked a guy, any guy. It took about 3 hrs., and he threw every question right back at me after thoroughly answering them himself...and by the time he'd answered every thing I could think of about his family, his personal life, his mental health, his finances, his political views, his religion/faith issues and beliefs, his interests and hobbies, pet peeves, his weaknesses and shortcomings, his hobbies, his values, his hopes and dreams for his future, etc...I knew this was someone I wanted to be friends with. A few weeks later Mom and I went to S.C. to visit him and our family friend who was his best friend, and we officially started the dating portion of our relationship. LOL. He told me he was going to marry me that weekend, and I laughed and told him..."I'm truly not interested in hearing that. I'm not into that kind of talk." We dated for 7 months, and were engaged for 8 months...married at O.L.P.H. in Bernardsville on Feb. 25th, 1994.
What wouldn’t/don’t we know about you now?
Hmmm...There are many things you don't know about me. In reality, most of us don't know much about one another at all at this point, do we? Something kind of fun that you don't know is that for some of my childhood and into my early 20's I was a female model for a pretty famous painter. He allowed a retrospective of his work at Temple in...1992 ?...and the schools art gallery was a large three story farm house type building. Every floor had paintings of me, and one room in particular had about 20 paintings of me on one big wall. It was surreal. He was an illustrator, largely "fantasy art" (ie. original Star Wars poster, Lord of the Rings, etc.), so I'm on many fantasy/sci-fi/adventure book covers, in calenders, on posters, etc...as a mermaid, princess, amazon woman, fairy, Tolkein-esc women, Native American, etc. It was a lot of fun and I got to wear really cool costumes and antique clothing. (dress-up for a big kid, really) His wife had a huge collection of antique clothes and costumes. This wasn't some random thing, they are like extended members of my family, like an aunt and uncle...I grew up in their home and we spent all the major holidays together. He passed away about 2 yrs. ago from a fluke infection (staph) he contracted during a short stay in the hospital for the flu...it was terribly tragic.
~I spent last winter illustrating a Catholic Special Ed catechetical tool. I didn't come up the idea, the person who thought it up found me through a family member...and we colaborated on the concept, and I did the art work for each card. It was a lot of work, and a real learning experience for me. She's been meeting and talking with Catholic publishing companies...who knows if it'll get picked up. If not, she has a family member who'll independently publish it for us. I'm blessedly not involved in this whole portion of the project, so whatever happens happens. Regardless, it was a very cool experience!
Places of travel over the past 20 years?
~Various locals in the U.S...more places than I could name...but two of my favorite places are Savannah, GA, and Ocean Grove, NJ
~2 weeks in Toronto...Matt and I took our Youth Group to World Youth Day to see Pope John Paul II. Life-changing experience for us.
~Had an amazing adventure in Spain with my sister Erin (she lived there for a semester during college, she was a spanish major), my sister Maura, and my father. He'd studied at the same school in Valencia, Spain, when he was in college as a spanish major himself...and had never been back. We had the most fantastic, bonding time together. I'm dying to go back.
Hobbies – what do you love to do most in your free time?
~I love music, always have. My sisters and I have been singing together our whole lives. It's an important thing we share together, and it's often a part of our fun/hanging-out family time. All my sisters play instruments, and I've been "playing" (I use that term loosely) the guitar since I got involved in Antioch in high school. I play it like a typical Youth Minister, what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm. I rarely play now though, and when I do...ouch!
~I really love books...I collect books from the 1800's-to the early 1960's. Not just any books, I'm very chosey...but a used book store, or a used book sale of any kind and I'm in heaven. Maybe it goes without saying, but I'm an avid bibliophile, and I love sharing books with all the other readers in my life.
~I've been creating art since I was a child. I paint and draw. But not as often as I'd like to.
~I knit, I'm not that skilled...but I make a good scarf. lol.
~I love classic old movies, and we have a very diverse music collection (totally love jazz, classic rock, folk, r&b, classical, opera, etc.), and I play the piano every day. I'm not a good piano player, and I don't play for anyone elses enjoyment...quite the opposite I'm sure. But I love working on jazz standards and classical pieces...I love a good challenge, and it's a challenge for me because I'm NOT good! lol
If you could go back to highschool – what would you do differently?
I'd study a LOT harder! I'd also waste less energy on boys who don't end up being significant...and I'd be more involved in life at the Mount. I'd be on the soccer team! I'd spend more time with my girlfriends from OLPH's Antioch too. Big time.
Any defining experiences or moments in your adult life thus far?
Wow...yes. We had a few years in my family that felt like a cluster of tragedy. My 25 yr. old cousin (married father of 5) was killed in a motorcycle accident, and two days later his grandmother (who was not my grandmother, but was very dear to me) died. About a year later my sweet uncle died (leaving a wife and 5 kids). My parents and I were with him when he died, and it was deeply profound for my faith. A year later my youngest aunt, one of my life-long friends, died of cancer. I worked a block from her home, so most every day for her last year of life I had time every day with her. There are no words to describe what it was like. It was too much loss in such a short period of time.
Favorite cocktail (if you have kids, ya gotta have one!!!!!)
In the summer I love an ice cold gin and tonic...I love a dirty, dry martini...good wine always does the job...and the list goes on. I also love a shot of tequilla with my sisters...but I'm a total light-weight now and have to seriously keep track of my intake or I'm sick as a DOG.
Favorite vacation spot?
Many... depends on chapter in my life, etc. Spain was high on the list, and we loved Toronto. Great city. Our first family vacation with the children was a week in Ocean Grove, NJ...a beautiful victorian town down at the shore. It was pretty much a dream come true for me.
Favorite pair of shoes?
Have a little bit of a shoe "thing"...have many favorite pairs. On any given day/season it's different. Buttt...I have these strappy red stilletto sandles that have "Barbie" written all over them! (not literally!)
How many times have you moved?
During my marraige? 3...we've been in this house for 10 yrs.
Favorite place to live?
Here, small lake community. We live a block from the lake, it's gorgeous.
Do you still have your uniform?
I have the skirt in a box somewhere.
Have you studied anything we don't know about?
I studied Design (interior) at CCM. I have 3 Design classes left to take.
I had an apprenticeship with the artist I told you about above, Tim Hildebrandt. He set up a work table for me, next to his. Unbelievable. My workig with him started when I was a junior at the Mount. I had permission to leave school during the double club period, and a gym class (I think, it's rather hazy at this point)...and twice a week his wife would come and get me and we'd drive down to the bottom of the hill there in Peapack to their home. I also spent my Saturdays there. I look back on that opportunity with total awe. I was so young I didn't really get what a once in a life time thing it was. But I loved every minute of it. It was amazing on every level.
I went to William Paterson as an English major...didn't stay there.
I'm two classes away from being certified in Youth Ministry at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall.
I also did a two year apprenticeship with a renowned Hawaiian (sp?) painter, Shirley REO Beene.
Where did you honeymoon?
Williamsburg, VA. Matt and I both LOVE history, so it seemed a natural choice. It was gorgeous, very deserted (Feb.), and quite cozy.
After today will you stay in touch?
Absolutaly.
What inspires you today?
My faith, my husband and children, my sisters, art, music, other creative people...and especially learning new things.
What is the one thing you are most proud of accomplishing or trying to accomplish?
I don't know...for cathartic reasons I wrote extensively about the role grief has had in my faith journey. I wrote just because I felt compeled to...writing it was the important part, it allowed me to really examine myself.
I'm also having fun writing a novel. I've wanted to try it my whole life, but always felt so intimidated by the process. With the encouragement of a friend I decided one day to just TRY...and it's been really fun. I don't have any idea if it'll be anything worth reading when I'm finished...but I'm just enjoying the experience and not worrying about that.
The things I'm most proud of aren't things I've done though. I'm most proud of my family, the relationships we have with one another, my precious children. I'm proud of my husband, he is one of the finest men I know. That's the stuff that matters to me.
Most embarrassing moment?
OH God...so many when I was young and shy. Barely any in my adult life. I can't actually think of any at the moment.
Have you ever had plastic surgery? (Please specify)
No, but man...if I could afford it, I'd have some "work". LOL What a funny question!
Funniest experience at the MT
I love remembering smoking behind the convent wall with Marina...and the one time I cut class with...Liz?...and we hid in the bathroom right outside the auditorium...second to last week of senior year? And we got away with it! And senior year I pulled a VERY rebelious move and cut a whole day of school, called the Mt. and pretended to be my mom calling me out sick...My two best friends from home skipped out on Bernards High that day...and how/why we did this naughty thing just makes me laugh. We were on the Antioch Team, and in two days we had our retreat...and we needed to get our final Talk drafts and Palancas done. I couldn't make this up. That's how non-delinquent we were...we hid out in my friends house and worked on all our retreat stuff. Youth is wasted on the young? Maybe. I remember sneaking around inside the convent senior year with Marina too, we just wanted to see if we could do it. It was one of our Trouble with Angels moments. Seriously, if you haven't seen the movie...run to the store and rent it. And Rhonda reminded me that I got her thrown out of History for tickling her (I looked innocent behind the convulsing Rhonda)...and that memory made me laugh a LOT.
Funniest experience later in life
You know how funny stories often are only funny in the context of the moment? I had a truly hysterical partying experiences with my sister Shannon ...just thinking about it can make us snort with laughter...but it wouldn't read all that funny if you weren't there. I come from a big, loud, very female driven Irish family. Laughter is the core of everything...so the funny experiences just keep rolling in.
Most sad memory from the MT
I can't think of one...WAIT! When the space shuttle exploded and they told us in school...remember that? It was aweful.
Most sad memory later in life
I had 6 miscarraiges in 11 years, before we adopted our two children. It was very sad for us. The loss of my grandmother two years ago...huge. I miss her very much.
Happiest memory from the MT
Every story we've remembered in our e-mails, the memories I listed above...the ones I've yet to remember until you all remind me...I really, really loved the Mount. Short of my struggles with Algebra, Chemistry and Spanish...I have nothing but happy memories at this point.
Happiest memory later in life
My wedding, the day our children were delivered to our house, and our official adoption day. Heavenly.
Have you ever had plastic surgery? (Please specify)
You don't have to ask me twice, I'm not lying. Read my lips..."I've had NO work!" And when you see me, you'll see the evidence of that yourselves! lol
LETTER about kids BELOW...
Hello dear friends and family,
As many of you may have heard...we've had a bit of a life changing week! We recieved a call last Thursday that there were two siblings we'd been matched up with for possible adoption, and by late this past monday afternoon...they were here! Briana and Brandon have been in the System since infancy, and it's been hard for them. Brandon has a kidney disorder called Nephrotic Syndrome. There is daily medication and medical protical, and only 1000 milligrams of sodium daily diet (which we're all living on now), and his asthma has required nebulizor treatments...but it's all quite do-able and amazing. It already feels like something we've been doing for a long time. I say this rather bleery-eyed and exhausted. We are experiencing the luxury of a cup of tea once the children are down for the night...and just soaking up the feeling of a very warm, full house...with exhaustion well earned, and some small triumphs and struggles somehow survived. There is definite euphoria involved here!
There is no way to really do justice to this experience in a mass e-mail, I know. Our phone has been ringing off the hook, and in the midst of the intense change/work/wonder/terror/drama/tears/laughter/trauma that we are dealing with and experiencing here...there is just no time to even answer the phone. I heard it ring 6 seperate times just tonight while we were handling bedtime. I knew that friends and family were thinking of us, rejoicing with us, and calling to send love, support and joy. I'm sorry we haven't been able to call each of you seperately and tell you our news...please keep calling, keep praying for us...and know how grateful we are for each and every one of you in our lives. Bedtime is a time full of acting out, obvious anxiety/fear, many tears, rocking these two children until we can't feel our arms. And it's amazingly wonderful. At one point Brandon opened his eyes and looked up at me (I was rocking him) and said, "Hi Brigid...Hi Mama." He gave me a dimpled smile, and then closed his eyes.
~He'd randomly asked me at dinner tonight what my name was. They'd been calling us Mommy/Mama/Daddy/Papa since they arrived...instant familiarity from years of foster homes. We opted for 'Mama and Papa" to distinguish ourselves from any association with all the other temporary housing they've had because everyone before us was Mommy and Daddy. So...the "Mama" has been heard about 1000 in the last 72 hours...the the "Hi Brigid..." well, that felt like a little reminder of who I am, and that in the midst of these overwelming moments of joy and stress...Jesus is just letting me know he still sees me.
We've had so many moments of utter awe and wonder...our first night with them in our home was full of moments of looking at one another over some domestic task and just crying together in wonder and amazment...I don't think we are nearly finished with THAT yet. It is obvious that they are very wounded, and that brings with it a certain level of fear...the fear that we won't be able to give them enough of what they need, or help them enough, that they won't be able to heal enough...but Matt and I are feeling so carried by the Lord right now that it's tangible. We are counting on His faithfulness to us, he's not let us down yet, and we don't think he will when it comes to these two precious childrens lives. In three days I've seen more miracles and more of God's face in this house, than I could have ever imagined.
Our first night with the children was incredible on so many levels. Some heartbreaking moments of comforting Briana and trying to help her feel safe and loved. She is an amazingly strong, brave, precious little girl. I got about 3 hours of sleep that night, and ended up with Brandon in my arms in our bed where he blessedly finally got some sleep. He was so restless and stressed.
I woke this morning at 7:30 with the realization that we'd had a full night of sleep. My first audible though was..."Praise God, from whom all blessings flow..."
About 1.2 seconds later two little just-out-of-bed-sleepy-and warm in their p.j.'s bundles were climbing in bed with us. All I could think was...how is it that in any moment of our lives we might forget how much God cares about our needs, and loves us? He's giving us a little taste of heaven right here to sustain us until we're really there. Tonight we saw a lot of anxiety...and after our incredibly cozy day of fun and the newfound comfort of our routines, the children were probably feeling a lot of fear about starting to get comfortable here. Getting comfortable isn't safe for them because they always end up having to leave. There was definite hyper-vigilance on Briana's part...she and I talked about why she was afraid, and about how this house and this house is full of love and angels, and how we are here to keep her safe and to take care of she and Brandon. Again she wanted to know..."Are we really staying?" We all prayed together, and that seemed to really help them settle down.
I've been awed, quite frankly, by this man I'm married to. Matt has been a tower of tenderness, wisdom, insight, and compassion. It's not that I hadn't seen all those qualities a hundred times over in him over the last 12 years...but this Matt is like a refined-by-fire version. Amazing.
I know many of you want to come and meet the children and have a visit. We want that too! We will plan a large gathering in the not-too distant future...but right now we are just trying to get the day-to-day into some kind of rythm that will help the children feel safe and secure. If you'd like to visit, a Saturday or Sunday would be best, or if you have any time on a week day during the day. Evenings are like a delicate dance...and so far it's been really beautiful, and hard. Please give us a call and we can spread the visits out a bit... we will try to field as many calls as we can. If you leave a message, please know that we love you...but we might not get to call you back. I will try and check my e-mail once a day, and will more likey respond here because it's just faster. There have been dozens of calls about many of you wanting to bring gifts for the children. They arrived with enough clothing to clothe all the children in our family, and some. And we've had a pretty large quantity of toys here. They also have toys from Christmas in their foster home, and I think what's here is plenty for now. Some of the things aren't even open yet. I'd like to eventually like to go to an Educational store and get some good wooden puzzles, and other floor and table top learning toys appropriate for a 3 yr. old, and for Briana who is 6. But right now we're just trying to find homes for all the loot we've got to house and make accessable. I stepped on a plastic Sponge Bob today...and had this moment of blinding insight into the 360 degree turn our life has made in just three short days. The best gift these children, or Matt and I, for that matter, could get would be your prayers. Between all of you, you could probably Novena us on into the teen years...and God only knows we'll need it!
We love you all, and can't wait to talk with each and every one of you. We can't thank you enough for your love and support.
I'm sending pictures soon...I have to figure out how to do it! Peace~in Christ,
Brigid and Matt
Name
Brigid Eileen Glynn-Young
Married (how long?)/Single?
13 years married
Children? If so – tell us about them.
Briana is 7 in August, and Brandon is 5. For those who don't know our story, I've pasted to the bottom of this e-mail the letter that we sent out to family and friends, right after the kids came to us. :)
Briana is scarey smart. She'll be homeschooling me next year, I'm sure of it. She's been studying Latin since last Sept., and lovesss it. She listens to jazz cd's, classical music, bios of composers, history cd's, etc. at "nap time"...and is on her way to having the The Story of the World, Ancient Times history cd's by Susan Wise Bauer (set of 7!) memorized. She's interested in learning everything, wants to know how things "work", is a wonderful artist, reads like a bibliophile in the making, and sings along with Ella Fitzgerald like no child I've ever seen! She is incredibly articulate, says things that blow me away relugarly...and has insight into her earlier, pre-adoption life that just staggers my mind. She is an old soul, wise, sweet, vulnerable...but very strong and courageous too. She's been taking ballet for 2 yrs, and is quite good! A natural dancer, she's been offered a scholarship at her dance school so that she can take additional classes this winter. With our newly repaired piano the new attraction at home, she figured out how to tap out "Ode to Joy" the other day...and was so darn proud!
Brandon is snuggles and charisma, and belly laughs personified. He's so smart, doesn't miss a trick. Loves to "have school time" with me, and is learning to read. He's been obsessed with horses since he was 2, and he and Briana took riding lessons for a while, and are pretty fearless up there on those giant horses! Brandon could be president some day. Seriously. Wherever we go, people stop to talk to him, comment on how handsome he is, shake his hand...he's been campaigning for as long as I've known him! Everyone just responds to him, and he's innocently delighted by it. He doesn't have any concept of "cool", and doesn't seem to realize that the way people respond to him is any different from how they respond to others. He loves cars, and asks Matt to find car races on the tv so they can snuggle together and watch them. Finally, Matt's got someone to watch Nascar with. Bran loves to sing too, and has a "band practice" area set up in his room. Whenever he gets annoyed about something, or just needs a break from us girls...he goes to his room, turns on his little electric piano, and jams out to the canned music on it. It's quite hysterical. He loves cowboys, and after his western themed b'day party last Feb., he's decided he's going to be a cowboy priest when he grows up. He likes to try and say the Mass along with our parish priests...possibly to the annoyance of those around us...and loves to watch EWTN. BUT, he only wants to see Masses. Don't try and get him to watch a prayer service, or a speaker...noooo...he'll say with great indignation, "This isn't MASS! This is borrrring!" He's recently discovered golf on tv (one day I paused to watch some), and that's become our new thing. We sit and watch it together, and he's enthrauled. We've decided we'll learn how to play so we can do it together...fun, huh? Bran's been asking to have his own dance class at Briana's ballet school for 3 yrs...so he's now taking tap. He's completely adorable. Both kids auditioned for the NJSDA Company production of The Nutrcracker this year. They were accepted, and will be soldiers in the show. They get excited each week for Friday night rehearsals, and are beside themselves with excitement! Brandon keeps talking about how he finally gets to "go on the stage." Like he's been paying his dues all these years and has finally gotten his big break? LOL
Current profession (those of us who are unlucky enough to have to have one!!!!) – or if you’re a stay at home mom – what did you do before that?
~I worked for a Bernardsville based jewelry company for a number of years, assembling and designing pieces made of sterling silver from a factory in Bali, and antique beads from all over Indonesia. It was pretty amazing...it felt like I should be paying my boss for letting me play with all those goodies. It was an amazing experience, really cool. The business is now in Carmel, CA. I've got a killer jewelry collection because of that job. Gotta love buying at cost.
~I was a pre-school teacher for 7 years in Bernardsville. This job arrived at just the "right" time in my life, and I ended up staying because I loved it so much. I have some dear friends there still, and my students are all pre-teens now. It makes me feel old when I see them, but it's really fun to hear their memories.
~ I was about to "retire" from teaching, and was going back to school. I was offered the job of Youth Minister at our parish. They hadn't had any Y.M. in 18 years, so it was a really exciting challenge to create the ministry from scratch, for the 6-12th graders. It was 5 of the best years of my life. It was almost 3 yrs. ago that I resigned, two weeks after the children arrived. I've been blessed to have many of the now-college-age kids still a part of my life. We had a Christmas party/reunion here this year, several of them babysit the kids, and we try and make sure we make time for summer bbq's and movie nights with them. They are very dear to us!
~My current "profession" is a stay-at-home, homeschooling-mom. We just finished our second year of schooling at home, it's been a real adventure. We are now part of a homeschool co-op called St. Gregory's. I'll be teaching Latin to Briana's age group. The children are taking 4 classes there. (Logic & Latin, History, English Lit/Great Books program, Science.) We also do a day of schooling once a week with one of my oldest friends who was a math teacher...together we do math (she leads this, of course!) and art history/appreciation/techniques. She's homeschooling her 2 kids as well.
We're loving this adventure so far, but I'm taking it year by year, kid by kid. I don't know what the future holds, we'll see when we get there!
Favorite teacher at the Mt? (why)
Sr. Mary Eugene...she made me fall in love with English lit. I also loved the history teacher with the curly hair, am drawing a total blank about her name. She started the Peace and Justice club, and really inspired me in the areas of human rights and my involvement in political issues. There was really sweet nun who taught us art too, (senior year?) she was so encouraging of me...really lobbied for A.D. to give me permission to leave during school hrs. to train with Tim. Sadly, at this moment I can't remember her name. She gave me her beautiful set of professional oil paints because one day I mentioned that I was saving up my babysitting money to buy a set for myself. She realized that money was an issue in my family, and there wasn't any extra for stuff like that. I still have the case them came in...it reminds me that kindnesses have really long lasting affects on peoples lives.
Teacher you liked the least? (why)
"A.D." (Sr. Ann Delores) freshman year teaching us that horrific, mind-numbingly boring study habits class was hell on earth...and Mrs. Meis was my spanish speaking nemesis. Seriously. By the way, that study habits class didn't help me at all. Sheesh.
Favorite movie/actress/actor?
Favorite Movies: The trouble with Angels (reminds me of the Mount! It's a classic in my family.), Autie Mame, Much Ado About Nothing, Anne of Green Gables,How to Make an American Quilt, Only You, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...there's a long list of my favorites...to many to list here.
Fav. Actresses: Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dame Judie Dench, Helen Miran, Audrey Hepburn, Hailey Mills, Joan Cusak
Actors: Cary Grant, Dermot Mulroney, Brad Pitt (although I don't like all his movies, he's brilliant), John Cusak, Fred Astair (old movie geek in the house)
Favorite book?
Jane Eyre, In This House of Brede, The Secret Life of Bees...blah, blah, blah...LONG list...
Do you watch Desperate Housewives and Grays?
Yep, both. What about October Road, Ugly Betty, and Men in Trees?
How has your life been different than you imagined it would be whey we were still "young"?
I didn't have a really specific "dream" about my adult life or career. I thought I might want to get married and have children and be a stay-at-home mom like my mother was for us. I also knew that I'd always be an artist in some capacity. I also LOVED Youth Ministry, and did dream of being a Youth Minister some day. I guess the thing that I didn't imagine, was the journey to parenthood that I've had, that's for sure. Coming from a large family it never occured to me that I'd battle infertility and never have a birth child of my own. That never even entered my mind...I thought I'd have a big (6+ kids) family too.
How’d you meet you significant other?
I'd just innocently climbed out of the shower in my parents house on Saturday morning, and someone knocked on the bathroom door. I wrapped up in a towel and opened the door thinking it was one of my sisters. It was some guy I'd never seen before...and he needed to go potty. I headed off to my room to get dressed, and once downstairs was introduced to the guy who'd needed the bathroom...a Navy buddy of a friend of the family who was home on a short leave from the Navy. I paid no attention to him, didn't even really talk to him. He told our friend later that day that he'd met his future wife. A week later he called and told me he was coming back from S.C. to take me to dinner...and despite my total lack of interest or enthusiasm, I was slightly impressed by his bossiness...and said okay. To keep myself from being bored on the date (out to dinner at the Black Horse Pub in Mendham), I decided to entertain myself by asking him every single question that I'd ever wished I'd asked a guy, any guy. It took about 3 hrs., and he threw every question right back at me after thoroughly answering them himself...and by the time he'd answered every thing I could think of about his family, his personal life, his mental health, his finances, his political views, his religion/faith issues and beliefs, his interests and hobbies, pet peeves, his weaknesses and shortcomings, his hobbies, his values, his hopes and dreams for his future, etc...I knew this was someone I wanted to be friends with. A few weeks later Mom and I went to S.C. to visit him and our family friend who was his best friend, and we officially started the dating portion of our relationship. LOL. He told me he was going to marry me that weekend, and I laughed and told him..."I'm truly not interested in hearing that. I'm not into that kind of talk." We dated for 7 months, and were engaged for 8 months...married at O.L.P.H. in Bernardsville on Feb. 25th, 1994.
What wouldn’t/don’t we know about you now?
Hmmm...There are many things you don't know about me. In reality, most of us don't know much about one another at all at this point, do we? Something kind of fun that you don't know is that for some of my childhood and into my early 20's I was a female model for a pretty famous painter. He allowed a retrospective of his work at Temple in...1992 ?...and the schools art gallery was a large three story farm house type building. Every floor had paintings of me, and one room in particular had about 20 paintings of me on one big wall. It was surreal. He was an illustrator, largely "fantasy art" (ie. original Star Wars poster, Lord of the Rings, etc.), so I'm on many fantasy/sci-fi/adventure book covers, in calenders, on posters, etc...as a mermaid, princess, amazon woman, fairy, Tolkein-esc women, Native American, etc. It was a lot of fun and I got to wear really cool costumes and antique clothing. (dress-up for a big kid, really) His wife had a huge collection of antique clothes and costumes. This wasn't some random thing, they are like extended members of my family, like an aunt and uncle...I grew up in their home and we spent all the major holidays together. He passed away about 2 yrs. ago from a fluke infection (staph) he contracted during a short stay in the hospital for the flu...it was terribly tragic.
~I spent last winter illustrating a Catholic Special Ed catechetical tool. I didn't come up the idea, the person who thought it up found me through a family member...and we colaborated on the concept, and I did the art work for each card. It was a lot of work, and a real learning experience for me. She's been meeting and talking with Catholic publishing companies...who knows if it'll get picked up. If not, she has a family member who'll independently publish it for us. I'm blessedly not involved in this whole portion of the project, so whatever happens happens. Regardless, it was a very cool experience!
Places of travel over the past 20 years?
~Various locals in the U.S...more places than I could name...but two of my favorite places are Savannah, GA, and Ocean Grove, NJ
~2 weeks in Toronto...Matt and I took our Youth Group to World Youth Day to see Pope John Paul II. Life-changing experience for us.
~Had an amazing adventure in Spain with my sister Erin (she lived there for a semester during college, she was a spanish major), my sister Maura, and my father. He'd studied at the same school in Valencia, Spain, when he was in college as a spanish major himself...and had never been back. We had the most fantastic, bonding time together. I'm dying to go back.
Hobbies – what do you love to do most in your free time?
~I love music, always have. My sisters and I have been singing together our whole lives. It's an important thing we share together, and it's often a part of our fun/hanging-out family time. All my sisters play instruments, and I've been "playing" (I use that term loosely) the guitar since I got involved in Antioch in high school. I play it like a typical Youth Minister, what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm. I rarely play now though, and when I do...ouch!
~I really love books...I collect books from the 1800's-to the early 1960's. Not just any books, I'm very chosey...but a used book store, or a used book sale of any kind and I'm in heaven. Maybe it goes without saying, but I'm an avid bibliophile, and I love sharing books with all the other readers in my life.
~I've been creating art since I was a child. I paint and draw. But not as often as I'd like to.
~I knit, I'm not that skilled...but I make a good scarf. lol.
~I love classic old movies, and we have a very diverse music collection (totally love jazz, classic rock, folk, r&b, classical, opera, etc.), and I play the piano every day. I'm not a good piano player, and I don't play for anyone elses enjoyment...quite the opposite I'm sure. But I love working on jazz standards and classical pieces...I love a good challenge, and it's a challenge for me because I'm NOT good! lol
If you could go back to highschool – what would you do differently?
I'd study a LOT harder! I'd also waste less energy on boys who don't end up being significant...and I'd be more involved in life at the Mount. I'd be on the soccer team! I'd spend more time with my girlfriends from OLPH's Antioch too. Big time.
Any defining experiences or moments in your adult life thus far?
Wow...yes. We had a few years in my family that felt like a cluster of tragedy. My 25 yr. old cousin (married father of 5) was killed in a motorcycle accident, and two days later his grandmother (who was not my grandmother, but was very dear to me) died. About a year later my sweet uncle died (leaving a wife and 5 kids). My parents and I were with him when he died, and it was deeply profound for my faith. A year later my youngest aunt, one of my life-long friends, died of cancer. I worked a block from her home, so most every day for her last year of life I had time every day with her. There are no words to describe what it was like. It was too much loss in such a short period of time.
Favorite cocktail (if you have kids, ya gotta have one!!!!!)
In the summer I love an ice cold gin and tonic...I love a dirty, dry martini...good wine always does the job...and the list goes on. I also love a shot of tequilla with my sisters...but I'm a total light-weight now and have to seriously keep track of my intake or I'm sick as a DOG.
Favorite vacation spot?
Many... depends on chapter in my life, etc. Spain was high on the list, and we loved Toronto. Great city. Our first family vacation with the children was a week in Ocean Grove, NJ...a beautiful victorian town down at the shore. It was pretty much a dream come true for me.
Favorite pair of shoes?
Have a little bit of a shoe "thing"...have many favorite pairs. On any given day/season it's different. Buttt...I have these strappy red stilletto sandles that have "Barbie" written all over them! (not literally!)
How many times have you moved?
During my marraige? 3...we've been in this house for 10 yrs.
Favorite place to live?
Here, small lake community. We live a block from the lake, it's gorgeous.
Do you still have your uniform?
I have the skirt in a box somewhere.
Have you studied anything we don't know about?
I studied Design (interior) at CCM. I have 3 Design classes left to take.
I had an apprenticeship with the artist I told you about above, Tim Hildebrandt. He set up a work table for me, next to his. Unbelievable. My workig with him started when I was a junior at the Mount. I had permission to leave school during the double club period, and a gym class (I think, it's rather hazy at this point)...and twice a week his wife would come and get me and we'd drive down to the bottom of the hill there in Peapack to their home. I also spent my Saturdays there. I look back on that opportunity with total awe. I was so young I didn't really get what a once in a life time thing it was. But I loved every minute of it. It was amazing on every level.
I went to William Paterson as an English major...didn't stay there.
I'm two classes away from being certified in Youth Ministry at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall.
I also did a two year apprenticeship with a renowned Hawaiian (sp?) painter, Shirley REO Beene.
Where did you honeymoon?
Williamsburg, VA. Matt and I both LOVE history, so it seemed a natural choice. It was gorgeous, very deserted (Feb.), and quite cozy.
After today will you stay in touch?
Absolutaly.
What inspires you today?
My faith, my husband and children, my sisters, art, music, other creative people...and especially learning new things.
What is the one thing you are most proud of accomplishing or trying to accomplish?
I don't know...for cathartic reasons I wrote extensively about the role grief has had in my faith journey. I wrote just because I felt compeled to...writing it was the important part, it allowed me to really examine myself.
I'm also having fun writing a novel. I've wanted to try it my whole life, but always felt so intimidated by the process. With the encouragement of a friend I decided one day to just TRY...and it's been really fun. I don't have any idea if it'll be anything worth reading when I'm finished...but I'm just enjoying the experience and not worrying about that.
The things I'm most proud of aren't things I've done though. I'm most proud of my family, the relationships we have with one another, my precious children. I'm proud of my husband, he is one of the finest men I know. That's the stuff that matters to me.
Most embarrassing moment?
OH God...so many when I was young and shy. Barely any in my adult life. I can't actually think of any at the moment.
Have you ever had plastic surgery? (Please specify)
No, but man...if I could afford it, I'd have some "work". LOL What a funny question!
Funniest experience at the MT
I love remembering smoking behind the convent wall with Marina...and the one time I cut class with...Liz?...and we hid in the bathroom right outside the auditorium...second to last week of senior year? And we got away with it! And senior year I pulled a VERY rebelious move and cut a whole day of school, called the Mt. and pretended to be my mom calling me out sick...My two best friends from home skipped out on Bernards High that day...and how/why we did this naughty thing just makes me laugh. We were on the Antioch Team, and in two days we had our retreat...and we needed to get our final Talk drafts and Palancas done. I couldn't make this up. That's how non-delinquent we were...we hid out in my friends house and worked on all our retreat stuff. Youth is wasted on the young? Maybe. I remember sneaking around inside the convent senior year with Marina too, we just wanted to see if we could do it. It was one of our Trouble with Angels moments. Seriously, if you haven't seen the movie...run to the store and rent it. And Rhonda reminded me that I got her thrown out of History for tickling her (I looked innocent behind the convulsing Rhonda)...and that memory made me laugh a LOT.
Funniest experience later in life
You know how funny stories often are only funny in the context of the moment? I had a truly hysterical partying experiences with my sister Shannon ...just thinking about it can make us snort with laughter...but it wouldn't read all that funny if you weren't there. I come from a big, loud, very female driven Irish family. Laughter is the core of everything...so the funny experiences just keep rolling in.
Most sad memory from the MT
I can't think of one...WAIT! When the space shuttle exploded and they told us in school...remember that? It was aweful.
Most sad memory later in life
I had 6 miscarraiges in 11 years, before we adopted our two children. It was very sad for us. The loss of my grandmother two years ago...huge. I miss her very much.
Happiest memory from the MT
Every story we've remembered in our e-mails, the memories I listed above...the ones I've yet to remember until you all remind me...I really, really loved the Mount. Short of my struggles with Algebra, Chemistry and Spanish...I have nothing but happy memories at this point.
Happiest memory later in life
My wedding, the day our children were delivered to our house, and our official adoption day. Heavenly.
Have you ever had plastic surgery? (Please specify)
You don't have to ask me twice, I'm not lying. Read my lips..."I've had NO work!" And when you see me, you'll see the evidence of that yourselves! lol
LETTER about kids BELOW...
Hello dear friends and family,
As many of you may have heard...we've had a bit of a life changing week! We recieved a call last Thursday that there were two siblings we'd been matched up with for possible adoption, and by late this past monday afternoon...they were here! Briana and Brandon have been in the System since infancy, and it's been hard for them. Brandon has a kidney disorder called Nephrotic Syndrome. There is daily medication and medical protical, and only 1000 milligrams of sodium daily diet (which we're all living on now), and his asthma has required nebulizor treatments...but it's all quite do-able and amazing. It already feels like something we've been doing for a long time. I say this rather bleery-eyed and exhausted. We are experiencing the luxury of a cup of tea once the children are down for the night...and just soaking up the feeling of a very warm, full house...with exhaustion well earned, and some small triumphs and struggles somehow survived. There is definite euphoria involved here!
There is no way to really do justice to this experience in a mass e-mail, I know. Our phone has been ringing off the hook, and in the midst of the intense change/work/wonder/terror/drama/tears/laughter/trauma that we are dealing with and experiencing here...there is just no time to even answer the phone. I heard it ring 6 seperate times just tonight while we were handling bedtime. I knew that friends and family were thinking of us, rejoicing with us, and calling to send love, support and joy. I'm sorry we haven't been able to call each of you seperately and tell you our news...please keep calling, keep praying for us...and know how grateful we are for each and every one of you in our lives. Bedtime is a time full of acting out, obvious anxiety/fear, many tears, rocking these two children until we can't feel our arms. And it's amazingly wonderful. At one point Brandon opened his eyes and looked up at me (I was rocking him) and said, "Hi Brigid...Hi Mama." He gave me a dimpled smile, and then closed his eyes.
~He'd randomly asked me at dinner tonight what my name was. They'd been calling us Mommy/Mama/Daddy/Papa since they arrived...instant familiarity from years of foster homes. We opted for 'Mama and Papa" to distinguish ourselves from any association with all the other temporary housing they've had because everyone before us was Mommy and Daddy. So...the "Mama" has been heard about 1000 in the last 72 hours...the the "Hi Brigid..." well, that felt like a little reminder of who I am, and that in the midst of these overwelming moments of joy and stress...Jesus is just letting me know he still sees me.
We've had so many moments of utter awe and wonder...our first night with them in our home was full of moments of looking at one another over some domestic task and just crying together in wonder and amazment...I don't think we are nearly finished with THAT yet. It is obvious that they are very wounded, and that brings with it a certain level of fear...the fear that we won't be able to give them enough of what they need, or help them enough, that they won't be able to heal enough...but Matt and I are feeling so carried by the Lord right now that it's tangible. We are counting on His faithfulness to us, he's not let us down yet, and we don't think he will when it comes to these two precious childrens lives. In three days I've seen more miracles and more of God's face in this house, than I could have ever imagined.
Our first night with the children was incredible on so many levels. Some heartbreaking moments of comforting Briana and trying to help her feel safe and loved. She is an amazingly strong, brave, precious little girl. I got about 3 hours of sleep that night, and ended up with Brandon in my arms in our bed where he blessedly finally got some sleep. He was so restless and stressed.
I woke this morning at 7:30 with the realization that we'd had a full night of sleep. My first audible though was..."Praise God, from whom all blessings flow..."
About 1.2 seconds later two little just-out-of-bed-sleepy-and warm in their p.j.'s bundles were climbing in bed with us. All I could think was...how is it that in any moment of our lives we might forget how much God cares about our needs, and loves us? He's giving us a little taste of heaven right here to sustain us until we're really there. Tonight we saw a lot of anxiety...and after our incredibly cozy day of fun and the newfound comfort of our routines, the children were probably feeling a lot of fear about starting to get comfortable here. Getting comfortable isn't safe for them because they always end up having to leave. There was definite hyper-vigilance on Briana's part...she and I talked about why she was afraid, and about how this house and this house is full of love and angels, and how we are here to keep her safe and to take care of she and Brandon. Again she wanted to know..."Are we really staying?" We all prayed together, and that seemed to really help them settle down.
I've been awed, quite frankly, by this man I'm married to. Matt has been a tower of tenderness, wisdom, insight, and compassion. It's not that I hadn't seen all those qualities a hundred times over in him over the last 12 years...but this Matt is like a refined-by-fire version. Amazing.
I know many of you want to come and meet the children and have a visit. We want that too! We will plan a large gathering in the not-too distant future...but right now we are just trying to get the day-to-day into some kind of rythm that will help the children feel safe and secure. If you'd like to visit, a Saturday or Sunday would be best, or if you have any time on a week day during the day. Evenings are like a delicate dance...and so far it's been really beautiful, and hard. Please give us a call and we can spread the visits out a bit... we will try to field as many calls as we can. If you leave a message, please know that we love you...but we might not get to call you back. I will try and check my e-mail once a day, and will more likey respond here because it's just faster. There have been dozens of calls about many of you wanting to bring gifts for the children. They arrived with enough clothing to clothe all the children in our family, and some. And we've had a pretty large quantity of toys here. They also have toys from Christmas in their foster home, and I think what's here is plenty for now. Some of the things aren't even open yet. I'd like to eventually like to go to an Educational store and get some good wooden puzzles, and other floor and table top learning toys appropriate for a 3 yr. old, and for Briana who is 6. But right now we're just trying to find homes for all the loot we've got to house and make accessable. I stepped on a plastic Sponge Bob today...and had this moment of blinding insight into the 360 degree turn our life has made in just three short days. The best gift these children, or Matt and I, for that matter, could get would be your prayers. Between all of you, you could probably Novena us on into the teen years...and God only knows we'll need it!
We love you all, and can't wait to talk with each and every one of you. We can't thank you enough for your love and support.
I'm sending pictures soon...I have to figure out how to do it! Peace~in Christ,
Brigid and Matt
The Fine Print
by John Fischer
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT)
These verses are what I call the fine print of the Christian life. When you sign up, you sign up for this, but unfortunately, not too many people read that far into the contract, and not enough leaders point it out. So when bad things start happening to us, we think something went wrong with our faith. Not necessarily. In fact, it’s an honor to think that your faith is worthy of being tested.
It’s a reverse spiritual principle that nonetheless is true: We get beaten down so that Christ might rise in us. It’s the whole idea God has of avoiding confusion. See, he doesn’t want people confusing human power and achievement with his power and what he is achieving in and through our lives. If all Christians were super-Christians, people would be impressed with them. As it is, God wants people to be surprised at us, not so much impressed – surprised that we can keep on believing, given what has happened to us. Surprised at us – impressed with God. That’s the way it should go.
It’s important to know this so that the things that happen don’t throw us into a tailspin. Paul wrote in the passage above that troubles, confusions, knock-downs, and drag-outs are all to be expected in a life of faith, and they are not just something to suck it up and endure, they are what will actually release the power of God in our lives. We encounter death-like experiences so that Christ’s life-like nature may clearly be seen in us, despite what is happening.
Let me try and say this again. This is not just endurance training through tough times. This is God’s strategy for ministry through us. There is no other way for it to be done. His strategy is his power and strength through our weakness – his life through our death. This doesn’t just happen to some Christians; it happens to us all if we desire to be effective in our faith.
So don’t forget the fine print today, and allow the troubles you face to springboard you into finding God’s purposes even in this. He had this planned all along. It’s even in the contract!
John Fischer resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
by John Fischer
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT)
These verses are what I call the fine print of the Christian life. When you sign up, you sign up for this, but unfortunately, not too many people read that far into the contract, and not enough leaders point it out. So when bad things start happening to us, we think something went wrong with our faith. Not necessarily. In fact, it’s an honor to think that your faith is worthy of being tested.
It’s a reverse spiritual principle that nonetheless is true: We get beaten down so that Christ might rise in us. It’s the whole idea God has of avoiding confusion. See, he doesn’t want people confusing human power and achievement with his power and what he is achieving in and through our lives. If all Christians were super-Christians, people would be impressed with them. As it is, God wants people to be surprised at us, not so much impressed – surprised that we can keep on believing, given what has happened to us. Surprised at us – impressed with God. That’s the way it should go.
It’s important to know this so that the things that happen don’t throw us into a tailspin. Paul wrote in the passage above that troubles, confusions, knock-downs, and drag-outs are all to be expected in a life of faith, and they are not just something to suck it up and endure, they are what will actually release the power of God in our lives. We encounter death-like experiences so that Christ’s life-like nature may clearly be seen in us, despite what is happening.
Let me try and say this again. This is not just endurance training through tough times. This is God’s strategy for ministry through us. There is no other way for it to be done. His strategy is his power and strength through our weakness – his life through our death. This doesn’t just happen to some Christians; it happens to us all if we desire to be effective in our faith.
So don’t forget the fine print today, and allow the troubles you face to springboard you into finding God’s purposes even in this. He had this planned all along. It’s even in the contract!
John Fischer resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
Mother Teresa's Prayer
DEAR JESUS,
Help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.
Help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.
The Tea Cup
The Tea Cup
There was a couple who used to go England to shop in a beautiful antique
store. This trip was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both
liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups.
Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked, "May we see that? We've never seen
a cup quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, the tea cup spoke. "You don't understand," it
said, "I have not always been a tea cup. There was a time when I was just a
lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over
and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone,"
but he only smiled, and gently said, "Not yet!'
"Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around
and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be
sick!', I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly, "Not yet."
"He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself
and then....then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and
knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him
through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side
to side, "Not yet." "When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the
door opened. He carefull y took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began
to cool. 'Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better,' I thought. But,
after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The
fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; stop it, stop it!!'
I cried. He only shook his head and said. "Not yet!"
"Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first
one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I
pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was
ready to give up."
"Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the
shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, What's he going to
do to me next? An hour later he handed me a mirror and said "Look at
yourself." And I did.
"I said, That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"
"Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember, then," he said, "I know it hurt
to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd
have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if
I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and
disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have
cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over,
but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have
had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven,
you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have
held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I
first began with you.'"
God knows the potential in each of us. God is the potter, and we are the
clay. We will be molded and exposed to many pressures as we become the flawless piece of work to fulfill God's good, pleasing and perfect will.
So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed
almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of
control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life
seems to "stink ink", try this:
Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down, and
have a little talk with the Potter.
There was a couple who used to go England to shop in a beautiful antique
store. This trip was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both
liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups.
Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked, "May we see that? We've never seen
a cup quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, the tea cup spoke. "You don't understand," it
said, "I have not always been a tea cup. There was a time when I was just a
lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over
and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone,"
but he only smiled, and gently said, "Not yet!'
"Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around
and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be
sick!', I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly, "Not yet."
"He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself
and then....then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and
knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him
through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side
to side, "Not yet." "When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the
door opened. He carefull y took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began
to cool. 'Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better,' I thought. But,
after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The
fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; stop it, stop it!!'
I cried. He only shook his head and said. "Not yet!"
"Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first
one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I
pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was
ready to give up."
"Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the
shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, What's he going to
do to me next? An hour later he handed me a mirror and said "Look at
yourself." And I did.
"I said, That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"
"Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember, then," he said, "I know it hurt
to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd
have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if
I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and
disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have
cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over,
but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have
had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven,
you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have
held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I
first began with you.'"
God knows the potential in each of us. God is the potter, and we are the
clay. We will be molded and exposed to many pressures as we become the flawless piece of work to fulfill God's good, pleasing and perfect will.
So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed
almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of
control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life
seems to "stink ink", try this:
Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down, and
have a little talk with the Potter.
Another gem from Briana...
Briana was eating popcorn the other night, Bran wolfed his down and then wanted to start dipping into hers...and I heard her say quite solemnly to him (or to no one in particular, I'm still not quite sure) "No one comes to the popcorn except through me."
I almost spit out my tea.
I almost spit out my tea.
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...
If you'd like to see a slew of my pictures...go to facebook.com and do a search under my name. You have to join face book first, but it's free...and very cool. I joined because my college kids (who were part of my Youth Group all through high school) and I wanted an easy way to stay in touch with one another. They also wanted to have a "group" called St. Jude's Antioch, and gather as many of us as possible for sharing photo's from Youth Ministry and our current lives.
I've got a bunch of photo albums there,with pictures of my darling children, extended family, etc.
Enjoy! :)
I've got a bunch of photo albums there,with pictures of my darling children, extended family, etc.
Enjoy! :)
Papa's Trip to Costa Rica
My father's dear friend Roberto was heading home to visit his family. He invited Pop to join him...and the e-mail communication that ensued had all of us here at home in stiches. We can't wait for Pop to go on another trip so that we can be entertained by his travel log. I KNOW you will enjoy this! God Speed!
The night before he left, I asked him to e-mail me the specifics about his flight, etc. It suddenly felt a little scarey that he was going that far away. This was his response.
Brig, We leave 8:00 AM tomorrow and arrive at San Jose at 11:30 AM. I will contact you after I arrive down there. I don't have the details in front of me but I'm flying Continenal Boeing 747. Wing span 136ft., capacity 320 passengers, fuel cost $600.00 per hour, payload: 148 lbs. Pilot: Captain Carl Flispot accompanied by 5 in-flight personnellll. Cruising speed: 525 mph, flight altitude 32,000 ft. Engines: 2 GE Astro Jet Enforcers, Tires: BF Goodrich 22 ply, pressure 90psi, thrust 60,000 lbs per engine.
I love you, Pop
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Arrived safely stop Excited and happy to be here stop Their house is all stucco and very tropical stop Three dogs, two cats, a python and a roaming 20 year old parrot that thinks it is a dog stop Only had two hours sleep last night stop Their taking me to see a taco factory, a frog farm, a butterfly museum and a hair salon building made out of used tires stop I have found out what happened to some old suits and sneakers I put in Good Will about 9 years ago stop They{re for sale in one of the better downtown boutiques stop Ive got to stop
Love, Pop
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DAY 2-
Got to bed fairly early last night, 11ish. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and the excitement of arriving.
Lorena fixed us a nice breakfaxt of rice and beans, did a little sun bathing in the small enclosed courtyard- Where do all the flies come from? Some may be attracted to the dead dog out in front of the house. It made a terrible noise when it was run over last night.
We set out to do some business around 11 AM. Passed through the center of San Jose, the capital. Had a nice Costa Rican lunch at Taco Bell, beans and rice. Went to the Costa Rican National Libray and am reading the book.
Saw such quaint towns:Sarchi, Grecia, Palmares, Alajuela, Naranjo and Cuchifrito. Cuchifrito had electricy, but the stop light still didnt work.A lot of unemployment in Sarchi. Population 316, 26 of which had teeth. The liquor business is thriving except after robberies which are quite frequent. Got back at six just in time for dinner. A variation the rice and beans theme. For dinner they were refried from breaktast and lunch.
Last night went to the Serenata, a lovely tradition where a Mariachi band comes to the home of the Bride to be and Seranades the Bride, Groom and all the guests. The music was really beautiful. There were two trumpets, a Mariachi bass guitar a Ukelelee sized guitar, a guitar, viola and violin. All of the musicians were fantastic. Each played and sang beautifully. Their Mariachi costume were muy elegante. I will say without hesitation that it was perhaps the most wonderfully romantic tradition I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Nothing like the Mariachis I have seen on TV. As I get older things like this are much bigger events to me. And I truly believe that you need to be older to appreciate some of these wonderful cultural delights. Afterwards everyone danced kind of informally, but as the Gringo I was targeted by several lovely locals one of whom was even female!
Womens dress here is very limited to barely covering the essentials. Skirts are so short that if they were raised another inch theyd have another set of cheeks to powder...And the dresses and tops of which there is little are so low cut that I am suffering severe eye strain. I may have to prolong my trip......for professional reasons.
Lucy and Dezi send there best,
Love,¨Pop
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Day 3-
Breakfast was a little different than the usual rice and beans today; just it was just refried beans. Thank God for variety. Last night was basically 71/2 hours of fetal position gas cramps and as I sit here now I am eyeing the hallway to make sure Ive got a clear path to the Lou.
Today we helped Pablo move his belongs and new furniture to his beautiful Costa Rican Town Home. All stucco in soft orange tones, ceramic tile floors, granite counter tops, laundry, Liv.rm, Din rm, Kitch., 3 bedrooms, loft, 2 car car port, large enclosed back patio/yard with covered built in wet bar and wood burning cooking grill. All this in a fully gated and secure village for $140K. Of course when you leave this highly fortified compound-electric fence, guard towers and roaming Dobermans, you have to have a Hum V and a flak jacket.
We stopped at a Haagen Daz shop to get some vacation goodies. Pablo, Roberto and I had 3 small servings and I ordered 2 quarts to bring back to the house to wash down tonights Rice and Bean Casserole, and the bill came to 14,000 Colones or $28!!!!! What a phenomenal rip off. Do you think the fact that the waitresses top was about 50% shy of material and she went out of her way to lean forward exposing all of her mamary ware was part of the deal!!! Keep those six shooters doll, I grew up close to a dairy and have seen my fair share of cows and thehy didnt charge anywhrere near $28 for icecream....
Stopped at a road side stand today and drank Agua Pipa (the name first scared the hell out of me. PIPA, definitely sounded bad) Fresh juice right out of the coconut. The guy attacked the coconuts with a huge machetti until he had hacked enough of it away to punch a small hole through the remaining skin at which point he handed the coconut to me and I drank about 3 cups of delicious coconut milk right from the fruit. It was delicious and really thirst quenching.
The traffic in and around San Jose is horrible, much like the Long Island Expressway or the Belt Parkway at rush hour. The driving is even worse. Apparently they make up the rules as they go along- There are scooters and motorcycles too numerous to imagine. They weave in and out from lane to lane and sometimes just make their own. Ambulances are lined up along the highway just waiting for action. There are a lot of funeral homes too.
Tonight family came over to visit Pablo, Lorena and Roberto before the big event tomorrow. They asked me to sing, which I did, but I havent sung in weeks and I probably wont be booking any TV gigs down here.
The dead dog is still out front and Ive been assured that it will disappear tomorrow. Im not sure what that means, but maybe there will be less flies afterwards. Its 1AM your time and Im exhausted.
Love to all, Pop/Brian
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Day 4, part 1-
Awakened this morning by Roberto to loud Regaeton...my first Costa Rican migrane!!
The plumber, Paco, arrived this morning. My first shower since Wednesday and boy was it needed. Where do these strange body fragrances come from??
Yes Im sleeping well and I seem like I could take a Siesta in the middle of the day.
The pace of life here for those who are moving forward is just like the pace at home. There all under stress studying hard to be lawyers, dentists, doctors, engineers. There isnt any mañana syndrome here. Even the professionals have second jobs as teachers, etc.
I can see why so many would want to stay in the US once theyve been there. Our way of life seems to be more organized at every level.
We leave for the mountains and the wedding at noon. The wedding takes place at a resort mountain hotel and we are expected to arrive dressed casual and spend most of the day poolside, swimming, eating and drinking. The wedding isnt until 5PM. Im very interested to see what this will all be like culturally.(in case you hadnt noticed, there isnt any apostrphe on this spanish keyboard)just found out that we are staying the night at the mountain hotel. So Ive got to pack some stuff for the night and tomorrow----more after the wedding.....
All the best, Brian Glynn
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Day 4, part 2-
We were supposed to leave for the mountain at midday," mañana", we left at 2. Passed through richety suburbs of San Jose all of which are pretty typical of what ive seen here and in Puerto Rico, poorish and untidy.
Drove for about 45 minutes to get up to 4000ft. The road up was sheer drop off on both sides at times, nearly impassable with holes, washouts and very steep inclines. Nevertheless the CRs drove like crazy, even passing around corners, up hills and on portions of road that were barely a cars width. All in all the drive up was exciting and the vistas spectacular!
Alta Vista is a camp,conference, vacation, wedding reception destination. It sits on a mountain with 360 degrees of vistas lindas. All the growth is varied and different from ours. The grass is very dry, stubbly and almost cruncy. Even the pines look different. In the distance all of San Jose and the valley spread out before you. You can even see some of the small coffee farms and cattle farmers.
The temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and there was a constant stiff breeze that was exhilerating and bracing.
We stayed in individual cement block cabins, they had cable TV, baths, raw light bulbs, but were fairly clean and provided hot showers. They had a mountain top restaurant and large banquet hall a little further down. Both offered great views.
At 5PM yesterday the wedding took place in a kind of chapel mission church. I hope my pictures come out. I introduced myself to the little old visiting priest who happened to be from Xativa!!!!!!!! We chatted a little about Valencia and Xativa and it was fun. Made me think of the wonderful trip with Brigid, Erin and Maura. What a wonderful memory. The mass hymns werent any of those that Ive heard at any of the Spanich masses here and they werent really to my liking, but neither are most of the hymns that are used these days at home.
The priest had a good sense of humor and the congregation responded well to his good quips about marriage and life in general. Fortunately the mass fulfilled Sunday mass obligation and went on for about an hour and a half.
The reception was absolutely fantastic. It began about 7:30 and we broke up at about 12:45 AM. The music was fab. 3 musicians:bass guitar, congas, keboard and a lot of electronic enhancement produced really great music. You girls woud have loved it; salsa, merengue, samba, salsa, salsa, and more.Sometimes the music went on for half an hour with out stopping. In all seriousness I had a great aerobic workout; I danced non-stop for the better part of 5 hours. I couldnt get enough. My legs and feet were a symphony of cadence and rythm. This gringo showed the Latinos what movement is all about. I had hands, arms, shoulders and all parts south in full motion and of course was forced to the center of the dance floor time and time again. I was the talk ot the evening because I was often dancing with 6 señoritas at once. Eventually I picked out a few that I found to be the most interesting and swept them all around the room with humble grace and sophistication.
At one point we heard incredible rythms coming from outside and then this Brazilian Carnaval Group danced and beat their way into the room. IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!They beat out on a variety of drums, accompanied by their own dancers, more variations of latin rythms than you could ever imagine and they went on and on for at least 45 min without stopping. Every piece of clothing i had on was drenched, but i was fabulous. i may even be touring Rio with the group in the near future. Girls, the old boy has still got it, better yet, he{s still discovering whatever it is. Thank God I work out so aerobically. I wore out everybody on the dance floor and at the end of the evening was ready for more. And just as an aside, I had only one champagne toast at the beginning of the evening. Before the night was over there was a small fireworks display with all of San Joses night lights as the backdrop. ¡Que rico! ¡Que lindo! ¡Que fantastico!
I went to my cabin, had a hot shower and went to sleep asap. The only negative to the whole time was the mustiness of the bed and boy do I hate a musty bed. Nevertheless I was up at 8:30, shaved and walked up the rough road to Lorena and Robertos cabin area and did some stetching and early morning sunbathing while they got up. Lorenas niece saw me, came out and we chatted in the lovely morning sun and breeze.
We had a buffet breakfast, yes you guessed it, rice and bean (Gallo Pinto-[guyo peento] for you gringos, ham, scrambled eggs, a local white cheeze, ornange juice, fried banana with sour cream and tea. I went back for seconds.
Afterwards we went to the partially enclosed pool, its really too cool outside there to swim outside. And spent time in a hot tub and sunbathing. Im slightly burned, but im getting a little sun each day hoping i can cook away the eczema on my back. I think its working.
We're back in San Jose. Tomorrow I think Im getting my teeth cleaned by one of the family who is a dentist. Tuesday morning we start of for the Coco Beach in Guanacaste.
>Love to you all, Pop/Brian
The night before he left, I asked him to e-mail me the specifics about his flight, etc. It suddenly felt a little scarey that he was going that far away. This was his response.
Brig, We leave 8:00 AM tomorrow and arrive at San Jose at 11:30 AM. I will contact you after I arrive down there. I don't have the details in front of me but I'm flying Continenal Boeing 747. Wing span 136ft., capacity 320 passengers, fuel cost $600.00 per hour, payload: 148 lbs. Pilot: Captain Carl Flispot accompanied by 5 in-flight personnellll. Cruising speed: 525 mph, flight altitude 32,000 ft. Engines: 2 GE Astro Jet Enforcers, Tires: BF Goodrich 22 ply, pressure 90psi, thrust 60,000 lbs per engine.
I love you, Pop
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrived safely stop Excited and happy to be here stop Their house is all stucco and very tropical stop Three dogs, two cats, a python and a roaming 20 year old parrot that thinks it is a dog stop Only had two hours sleep last night stop Their taking me to see a taco factory, a frog farm, a butterfly museum and a hair salon building made out of used tires stop I have found out what happened to some old suits and sneakers I put in Good Will about 9 years ago stop They{re for sale in one of the better downtown boutiques stop Ive got to stop
Love, Pop
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DAY 2-
Got to bed fairly early last night, 11ish. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and the excitement of arriving.
Lorena fixed us a nice breakfaxt of rice and beans, did a little sun bathing in the small enclosed courtyard- Where do all the flies come from? Some may be attracted to the dead dog out in front of the house. It made a terrible noise when it was run over last night.
We set out to do some business around 11 AM. Passed through the center of San Jose, the capital. Had a nice Costa Rican lunch at Taco Bell, beans and rice. Went to the Costa Rican National Libray and am reading the book.
Saw such quaint towns:Sarchi, Grecia, Palmares, Alajuela, Naranjo and Cuchifrito. Cuchifrito had electricy, but the stop light still didnt work.A lot of unemployment in Sarchi. Population 316, 26 of which had teeth. The liquor business is thriving except after robberies which are quite frequent. Got back at six just in time for dinner. A variation the rice and beans theme. For dinner they were refried from breaktast and lunch.
Last night went to the Serenata, a lovely tradition where a Mariachi band comes to the home of the Bride to be and Seranades the Bride, Groom and all the guests. The music was really beautiful. There were two trumpets, a Mariachi bass guitar a Ukelelee sized guitar, a guitar, viola and violin. All of the musicians were fantastic. Each played and sang beautifully. Their Mariachi costume were muy elegante. I will say without hesitation that it was perhaps the most wonderfully romantic tradition I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Nothing like the Mariachis I have seen on TV. As I get older things like this are much bigger events to me. And I truly believe that you need to be older to appreciate some of these wonderful cultural delights. Afterwards everyone danced kind of informally, but as the Gringo I was targeted by several lovely locals one of whom was even female!
Womens dress here is very limited to barely covering the essentials. Skirts are so short that if they were raised another inch theyd have another set of cheeks to powder...And the dresses and tops of which there is little are so low cut that I am suffering severe eye strain. I may have to prolong my trip......for professional reasons.
Lucy and Dezi send there best,
Love,¨Pop
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Day 3-
Breakfast was a little different than the usual rice and beans today; just it was just refried beans. Thank God for variety. Last night was basically 71/2 hours of fetal position gas cramps and as I sit here now I am eyeing the hallway to make sure Ive got a clear path to the Lou.
Today we helped Pablo move his belongs and new furniture to his beautiful Costa Rican Town Home. All stucco in soft orange tones, ceramic tile floors, granite counter tops, laundry, Liv.rm, Din rm, Kitch., 3 bedrooms, loft, 2 car car port, large enclosed back patio/yard with covered built in wet bar and wood burning cooking grill. All this in a fully gated and secure village for $140K. Of course when you leave this highly fortified compound-electric fence, guard towers and roaming Dobermans, you have to have a Hum V and a flak jacket.
We stopped at a Haagen Daz shop to get some vacation goodies. Pablo, Roberto and I had 3 small servings and I ordered 2 quarts to bring back to the house to wash down tonights Rice and Bean Casserole, and the bill came to 14,000 Colones or $28!!!!! What a phenomenal rip off. Do you think the fact that the waitresses top was about 50% shy of material and she went out of her way to lean forward exposing all of her mamary ware was part of the deal!!! Keep those six shooters doll, I grew up close to a dairy and have seen my fair share of cows and thehy didnt charge anywhrere near $28 for icecream....
Stopped at a road side stand today and drank Agua Pipa (the name first scared the hell out of me. PIPA, definitely sounded bad) Fresh juice right out of the coconut. The guy attacked the coconuts with a huge machetti until he had hacked enough of it away to punch a small hole through the remaining skin at which point he handed the coconut to me and I drank about 3 cups of delicious coconut milk right from the fruit. It was delicious and really thirst quenching.
The traffic in and around San Jose is horrible, much like the Long Island Expressway or the Belt Parkway at rush hour. The driving is even worse. Apparently they make up the rules as they go along- There are scooters and motorcycles too numerous to imagine. They weave in and out from lane to lane and sometimes just make their own. Ambulances are lined up along the highway just waiting for action. There are a lot of funeral homes too.
Tonight family came over to visit Pablo, Lorena and Roberto before the big event tomorrow. They asked me to sing, which I did, but I havent sung in weeks and I probably wont be booking any TV gigs down here.
The dead dog is still out front and Ive been assured that it will disappear tomorrow. Im not sure what that means, but maybe there will be less flies afterwards. Its 1AM your time and Im exhausted.
Love to all, Pop/Brian
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Day 4, part 1-
Awakened this morning by Roberto to loud Regaeton...my first Costa Rican migrane!!
The plumber, Paco, arrived this morning. My first shower since Wednesday and boy was it needed. Where do these strange body fragrances come from??
Yes Im sleeping well and I seem like I could take a Siesta in the middle of the day.
The pace of life here for those who are moving forward is just like the pace at home. There all under stress studying hard to be lawyers, dentists, doctors, engineers. There isnt any mañana syndrome here. Even the professionals have second jobs as teachers, etc.
I can see why so many would want to stay in the US once theyve been there. Our way of life seems to be more organized at every level.
We leave for the mountains and the wedding at noon. The wedding takes place at a resort mountain hotel and we are expected to arrive dressed casual and spend most of the day poolside, swimming, eating and drinking. The wedding isnt until 5PM. Im very interested to see what this will all be like culturally.(in case you hadnt noticed, there isnt any apostrphe on this spanish keyboard)just found out that we are staying the night at the mountain hotel. So Ive got to pack some stuff for the night and tomorrow----more after the wedding.....
All the best, Brian Glynn
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Day 4, part 2-
We were supposed to leave for the mountain at midday," mañana", we left at 2. Passed through richety suburbs of San Jose all of which are pretty typical of what ive seen here and in Puerto Rico, poorish and untidy.
Drove for about 45 minutes to get up to 4000ft. The road up was sheer drop off on both sides at times, nearly impassable with holes, washouts and very steep inclines. Nevertheless the CRs drove like crazy, even passing around corners, up hills and on portions of road that were barely a cars width. All in all the drive up was exciting and the vistas spectacular!
Alta Vista is a camp,conference, vacation, wedding reception destination. It sits on a mountain with 360 degrees of vistas lindas. All the growth is varied and different from ours. The grass is very dry, stubbly and almost cruncy. Even the pines look different. In the distance all of San Jose and the valley spread out before you. You can even see some of the small coffee farms and cattle farmers.
The temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and there was a constant stiff breeze that was exhilerating and bracing.
We stayed in individual cement block cabins, they had cable TV, baths, raw light bulbs, but were fairly clean and provided hot showers. They had a mountain top restaurant and large banquet hall a little further down. Both offered great views.
At 5PM yesterday the wedding took place in a kind of chapel mission church. I hope my pictures come out. I introduced myself to the little old visiting priest who happened to be from Xativa!!!!!!!! We chatted a little about Valencia and Xativa and it was fun. Made me think of the wonderful trip with Brigid, Erin and Maura. What a wonderful memory. The mass hymns werent any of those that Ive heard at any of the Spanich masses here and they werent really to my liking, but neither are most of the hymns that are used these days at home.
The priest had a good sense of humor and the congregation responded well to his good quips about marriage and life in general. Fortunately the mass fulfilled Sunday mass obligation and went on for about an hour and a half.
The reception was absolutely fantastic. It began about 7:30 and we broke up at about 12:45 AM. The music was fab. 3 musicians:bass guitar, congas, keboard and a lot of electronic enhancement produced really great music. You girls woud have loved it; salsa, merengue, samba, salsa, salsa, and more.Sometimes the music went on for half an hour with out stopping. In all seriousness I had a great aerobic workout; I danced non-stop for the better part of 5 hours. I couldnt get enough. My legs and feet were a symphony of cadence and rythm. This gringo showed the Latinos what movement is all about. I had hands, arms, shoulders and all parts south in full motion and of course was forced to the center of the dance floor time and time again. I was the talk ot the evening because I was often dancing with 6 señoritas at once. Eventually I picked out a few that I found to be the most interesting and swept them all around the room with humble grace and sophistication.
At one point we heard incredible rythms coming from outside and then this Brazilian Carnaval Group danced and beat their way into the room. IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!They beat out on a variety of drums, accompanied by their own dancers, more variations of latin rythms than you could ever imagine and they went on and on for at least 45 min without stopping. Every piece of clothing i had on was drenched, but i was fabulous. i may even be touring Rio with the group in the near future. Girls, the old boy has still got it, better yet, he{s still discovering whatever it is. Thank God I work out so aerobically. I wore out everybody on the dance floor and at the end of the evening was ready for more. And just as an aside, I had only one champagne toast at the beginning of the evening. Before the night was over there was a small fireworks display with all of San Joses night lights as the backdrop. ¡Que rico! ¡Que lindo! ¡Que fantastico!
I went to my cabin, had a hot shower and went to sleep asap. The only negative to the whole time was the mustiness of the bed and boy do I hate a musty bed. Nevertheless I was up at 8:30, shaved and walked up the rough road to Lorena and Robertos cabin area and did some stetching and early morning sunbathing while they got up. Lorenas niece saw me, came out and we chatted in the lovely morning sun and breeze.
We had a buffet breakfast, yes you guessed it, rice and bean (Gallo Pinto-[guyo peento] for you gringos, ham, scrambled eggs, a local white cheeze, ornange juice, fried banana with sour cream and tea. I went back for seconds.
Afterwards we went to the partially enclosed pool, its really too cool outside there to swim outside. And spent time in a hot tub and sunbathing. Im slightly burned, but im getting a little sun each day hoping i can cook away the eczema on my back. I think its working.
We're back in San Jose. Tomorrow I think Im getting my teeth cleaned by one of the family who is a dentist. Tuesday morning we start of for the Coco Beach in Guanacaste.
>Love to you all, Pop/Brian
A letter from a WONDERFUL author!
I read a really wonderful series, called The Ladies of Covington. Many of the gals in my life have now read it to...and what can I say except that it's a COZY, uplifting, hopeful, joyous ongoing story of friendship, the possibilities in life...no matter our age! When I finished the first book I was totally beside myself to discover that it was the first of a series. So exciting! Like a goofey fan, I wrote an e-mail to the author, just gushing about how much I loved her book. Here's my embarassing note, and her lovely, gracious response. Enjoy!
Dear Joan,
I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for your wonderful book, The Ladies of Covington. I stumbled upon it at the library last week, and having just finished it, I realize that I have stumble upon a true gem. To think I can continue this lovely journey with these dear ladies...I'm so thrilled! As a 36 year old woman, and new mother of two adopted children, I have had moments of suffering from the "why didn't I's"...the looking back and wishing that I'd done things differently in my "youth." It's so silly, but I think many of us start to allow ourselves to live with one eye looking backwards, feeling like the options and adventures available to us are a thing of the past. You book reminded me that that is nonsense, and totally untrue! My own mother raised 6 daughters, then divorced and went back to college. After 21 years as a "stay at home Mom", she finally got her degree, and then her Masters, and is now a Social Worker. I should look to her as my inspiration, yet there are moments when I forget. Your book reminded me of all the riches available now, and in the future. That's a wonderful thing to be reminded of, Joan! I'm suddenly realizing that the future can have all the promise that I'd previously only associated with being younger and having my entire life ahead of me. We all have our "entire lives ahead of us", and we need to remind one another of that.
My mouth watered at the description of the meatballs with prunes, and so I came in search of your web site. I knew you would have it here! I just wanted to tell you that I now have the pleasure of looking ahead to a summer spent reading your books...so in essence, I'll be spending the summer in Covington! Thank you so much, Joan! Keep the beautiful books coming!
Many thanks, and with much affection,
Brigid Glynn-Young
Brigid,
Thank you for writing. I'll add my voice to "never look back--never regret" You learn from mistakes, but don't dwell on them, for that doesn't help you or anyone else. You have a lifetime to do the things you want to do. Just begin. I didn't start writing until I was 64. I have had several cereers--horticulture, teaching for a time, developing adult learning programs, and writing. Each happened. My degrees are in history and counseling and I never worked in either field. I wish you happiness and all the luck in the world. And remember, there is a time for everything. Your mother is remarkable, bless her. Give her my best,will you? By the way, I married at 19 and had kids and started back to college at age 29 and spent 10 years getting my undergraduate degree.
Be well. Yours, Joan
Dear Joan,
I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for your wonderful book, The Ladies of Covington. I stumbled upon it at the library last week, and having just finished it, I realize that I have stumble upon a true gem. To think I can continue this lovely journey with these dear ladies...I'm so thrilled! As a 36 year old woman, and new mother of two adopted children, I have had moments of suffering from the "why didn't I's"...the looking back and wishing that I'd done things differently in my "youth." It's so silly, but I think many of us start to allow ourselves to live with one eye looking backwards, feeling like the options and adventures available to us are a thing of the past. You book reminded me that that is nonsense, and totally untrue! My own mother raised 6 daughters, then divorced and went back to college. After 21 years as a "stay at home Mom", she finally got her degree, and then her Masters, and is now a Social Worker. I should look to her as my inspiration, yet there are moments when I forget. Your book reminded me of all the riches available now, and in the future. That's a wonderful thing to be reminded of, Joan! I'm suddenly realizing that the future can have all the promise that I'd previously only associated with being younger and having my entire life ahead of me. We all have our "entire lives ahead of us", and we need to remind one another of that.
My mouth watered at the description of the meatballs with prunes, and so I came in search of your web site. I knew you would have it here! I just wanted to tell you that I now have the pleasure of looking ahead to a summer spent reading your books...so in essence, I'll be spending the summer in Covington! Thank you so much, Joan! Keep the beautiful books coming!
Many thanks, and with much affection,
Brigid Glynn-Young
Brigid,
Thank you for writing. I'll add my voice to "never look back--never regret" You learn from mistakes, but don't dwell on them, for that doesn't help you or anyone else. You have a lifetime to do the things you want to do. Just begin. I didn't start writing until I was 64. I have had several cereers--horticulture, teaching for a time, developing adult learning programs, and writing. Each happened. My degrees are in history and counseling and I never worked in either field. I wish you happiness and all the luck in the world. And remember, there is a time for everything. Your mother is remarkable, bless her. Give her my best,will you? By the way, I married at 19 and had kids and started back to college at age 29 and spent 10 years getting my undergraduate degree.
Be well. Yours, Joan
The Cozy Project
Dear friends and family,
As some of you may know, "cozy" has always been my thing. I've been in pursuit of the cozy moment and shared experience, for as long as I can remember. Cozy means different things to different people. For some of us, cozy is about a meal of comfort food, or about the process of getting a special family recipe prepared. For others, cozy is about holiday memories, or fireside gatherings. For some, cozy is about fluffy sweaters, or the perfect pair of blue jeans, or even a treasured book. Cozy can be a person, place or thing...sometimes it's the perfect combination of all three! For many of us, memories that are still very much alive with their vivid warmth are cozy. Most of us have memories of people in our lives who made us feel safe, loved, cared for...in their own way they were cozy.
I am embarking on a project, and I need your help. I want to know what cozy is to you! Would you share with me your impressions and feelings about the concept of cozy? I want to know your favorite cozy memories of people, experiences, foods, favorite recipes...anything that means cozy to you. If you have ideas about how to create cozy moments, atmosphere, projects, gifts, rooms, lives, memories, please share! I want to know why things are cozy to you, what makes a certain memory a cozy one, when you think about someone in your life (even someone long gone), what makes it a cozy memory? Is there a coziness connected to your experiences and/or the traditions of your faith? What are they, and why? I could go on and on with prompting questions...but you can make of this anything you like! Cozy might be a verb or a noun to you...but either way I want to know about it! The whole idea is that I want to see all the varied and diverse experiences and definitions of cozy in your lives.
I have been writing about what the cozy experience means to me. I am working to create a book, possibly a coffee table book, full of recipes, photos, quotes, and prose...all about The Art of Cozy. Will you help me? I'm thinking that if I get enough submissions from all of you, that we will use what we can in the book, and then the overflow will help us create a web site of the same name...a continuation of the books ideas, suggestions, and reminiscences. It will be a celebration of what cozy means to people, and we'll let people visiting the site submit their own ideas about cozy living there as well.
Doesn't the idea of this just make you feel...well, COZY?
I may use your entire writing (whether it's only paragraphs, pages, a poem, etc.), or take quotes out of it...please send recipes, musical references, even book titles that are cozy to you...whatever you want to include! I don't care about length of writing, or your confidence in your writing skills. Anything you send me will be a blessing and...and SO much fun to read!
I can't do this without YOU. Would you please write something for me?
I thank you in advance, and hope that you will consider asking your friends and family to contribute writing for this project as well.
I need solid contact information for any submissions: Name, e-mail (if available) address and phone number, and age.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Many hugs,
Brigid
As some of you may know, "cozy" has always been my thing. I've been in pursuit of the cozy moment and shared experience, for as long as I can remember. Cozy means different things to different people. For some of us, cozy is about a meal of comfort food, or about the process of getting a special family recipe prepared. For others, cozy is about holiday memories, or fireside gatherings. For some, cozy is about fluffy sweaters, or the perfect pair of blue jeans, or even a treasured book. Cozy can be a person, place or thing...sometimes it's the perfect combination of all three! For many of us, memories that are still very much alive with their vivid warmth are cozy. Most of us have memories of people in our lives who made us feel safe, loved, cared for...in their own way they were cozy.
I am embarking on a project, and I need your help. I want to know what cozy is to you! Would you share with me your impressions and feelings about the concept of cozy? I want to know your favorite cozy memories of people, experiences, foods, favorite recipes...anything that means cozy to you. If you have ideas about how to create cozy moments, atmosphere, projects, gifts, rooms, lives, memories, please share! I want to know why things are cozy to you, what makes a certain memory a cozy one, when you think about someone in your life (even someone long gone), what makes it a cozy memory? Is there a coziness connected to your experiences and/or the traditions of your faith? What are they, and why? I could go on and on with prompting questions...but you can make of this anything you like! Cozy might be a verb or a noun to you...but either way I want to know about it! The whole idea is that I want to see all the varied and diverse experiences and definitions of cozy in your lives.
I have been writing about what the cozy experience means to me. I am working to create a book, possibly a coffee table book, full of recipes, photos, quotes, and prose...all about The Art of Cozy. Will you help me? I'm thinking that if I get enough submissions from all of you, that we will use what we can in the book, and then the overflow will help us create a web site of the same name...a continuation of the books ideas, suggestions, and reminiscences. It will be a celebration of what cozy means to people, and we'll let people visiting the site submit their own ideas about cozy living there as well.
Doesn't the idea of this just make you feel...well, COZY?
I may use your entire writing (whether it's only paragraphs, pages, a poem, etc.), or take quotes out of it...please send recipes, musical references, even book titles that are cozy to you...whatever you want to include! I don't care about length of writing, or your confidence in your writing skills. Anything you send me will be a blessing and...and SO much fun to read!
I can't do this without YOU. Would you please write something for me?
I thank you in advance, and hope that you will consider asking your friends and family to contribute writing for this project as well.
I need solid contact information for any submissions: Name, e-mail (if available) address and phone number, and age.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Many hugs,
Brigid
Camping Recipes...seriously scrumptious!
A friend of mine is a bit of a camping expert. Reading these will make your mouth water! You can cook over a fire pit in the back yard too...and these can stranslate to your grill as well.
Seriously good eat'ins, ENJOY!
Not Your Mama's Corn~
Ingredients: 1 pkg of frozen corn on the cob (I buy the small ones)Butter (stick is easiest)Foil SaltPepperToni's Creole Spices (or what ever you like)
How to Prepare: Cut/tear foil to small pieces. Enough to roll the corn up once over. Place frozen corn on foil (no need to thaw corn~ it's cheating remember). Place a pat of butter on the corn and season with desired seasonings. I like to add the cajun spices to give it a "ewww shi" to it but that's me. Roll up the corn and give it a twist at both ends. It almost will look like candy wrappers when done. Place on the grill or directly in the fire.
Let me tell you the corn will be tender and have the best buttery taste. It's so easy and you just toss the wraps away when done. For easy but different you can't go wrong. Give it a try ~ you'll see!
Camping Carrots~
Ingredients: Carrotsbrown sugargran. sugar cinnimonsaltbutter
How to Prepare: My Mom taught me this...it is the best! This starts at home; prepare a ziplock sandwich baggie with about 3/4 cup brown sugar, add a tablespoon of cinnimon, a tablespoon of granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt. At the campsite: Take a large piece of tin foil, place on it baby peeled carrots or sliced up peeled regular carrots, add sugar and spices from the baggie, mix, slice a few pats of butter on top, wrap so the butter won't leak, cook on the grill to desired softness. Remember to flip the packet!
Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Potatoes & Veggies~
Ingredients: 8 potatoes2 large bell peppers1 large yellow onion5 portabello mushrooms olive oil or buttergarlic saltpepperpaprika
How to Prepare: Dice all vegis and place in a double layer of heavy duty foil. Cover with olive oil or butter, season. Cover with two more layers of foil, sealing all edges. Place over red coals for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Heavenly Onions~
Ingredients: 1 med. onion per personButter 1 tbsp.Sugar 1/4 tsp. (per onion)Salt to tastePepper to taste Aluminum foil(1 sheet for each onion)about 8 1/2"x11"
How to Prepare: Peel and prepare onions for cooking, being sure to remove the top.
Place each onion on a sheet of foil. On top of each onion place butter, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Wrap each onion loosly in foil. Place on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20 min. at 350 degrees.
For camp fires double wrap onions and lay directly on hot coals checking periodically for desired doneness.
Veggie Comfort Casserole~
Ingredients: 4 new potatoes2 small summer squashes8 mushrooms1 stalk celery1 medium carrot1 medium onion2 Tbs olive oil or butter. 1 clove garlic1/4 t salt1 tsp thyme1/4 t cayenne1 tsp paprikaBlack pepper to taste.
How to Prepare: Butter a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Peel squash if necessary. Cut into 1"x1"x2" spears. Slice other veggies extremely thin to reduce cooking time. Place veggies in center of foil. Mash the garlic with the salt, sprinkle over veggies. Sprinkle other spices on. Drizzle with olive oil or butter. Seal packets so they won't leak. Place over medium coals for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally.
Vegetarian Chili~
Ingredients: 1 can of black beans, drained 1 can of pinto or chilli beans, drained 1 small can of green chili sauce1 small can of stewed tomatoes (use fire roasted if possible)Oil or butter 2 garlic cloves, crushed & diced1 yellow onion, sliced1 carrot, sliced (optional)1 bell pepper, sliced (for more color use yellow or orange)1 jalapeño, diced 6 to 8 mushrooms, sliced1 Tbls. Cayenne Pepper (I use a lot more)1 Tbls. Cummin½ teas. Cinnamon Garlic SaltBlack PepperHot Sauce, optional Italian Seasoning Mix, optionalSalt
How to Prepare: Get all of your veggies cut and ready before you leave your house. This will reduce the time spent prepping at the campsite.
In a large pan or dutch oven heat oil or butter. Sauté the onions and garlic until transparent. Throw in the carrot and cook until tender. Next throw in the bell pepper and jalapeño until cooked. If you prefer your chilli mellow, use a pepper with less heat instead of a jalapeño.
Then sauté the mushrooms in the mix. At this point, add the cayenne pepper and cummin, which will coat the veggies. To save time you can mix all your dry ingredients together ahead of time.
Then open your green chili sauce and stewed tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir gently until mixed. Next add all of your beans (try to rinse them if possible). Stir gently until mixed. At this point it should look like a giant vegetable melody with a great smell.
Add remainder of seasonings if you haven’t already. I personally like to go crazy with the hot sauce and cayenne pepper, but season to personal taste. The cinnamon will mask the intensity of the spicy smell.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes or more on a low heat (remember to stir occasionally). The sauce and mixture should begin to thicken up some. Serve with cornbread.
Variations include: adding corn, zucchini, Creole seasonings, any other veggies, a dash of nutmeg, cheese on top. I haven’t found a veggie that I didn’t like in this recipe yet. Just remember to take note of when to add the veggie to the cooking schedule.
Tortillas like you never had them~
Ingredients: tortillasshredded cheesechopped mushrooms chopped green pepperschopped onionsany other veggies you like
How to Prepare: Lay the tortilla on a griddle with a little oil. Place a layer of cheese on the whole tortilla and then layer veggies on just half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half, let cook for a few minutes and then flip when ready to cook the other half. You're ready when it's hot and the cheese is melted. Cut into quarters.
Vegetarian Hobo Dinner~
Ingredients: 2 carrots, sliced6-8 new potatoes, quartered1/2 onion, lg. chunks2 shallots, sliced2-3 cloves garlic, lg. chunks8-10 cremini mushrooms whole or halved 1 pkt. frozen Boca ground "meat" 2-4 Tbs. olive oil2 Tbs. unsalted butter, optional salt & pepper, to tasteseason salt, dash
How to Prepare: 1. Mix all sliced vegetables in a bowl.2. Make 2 pockets with heavy duty aluminum foil, doubled.3. Place a layer of vegetables on bottom.4. Layer Boca ground "meat" next.5. Add a final layer of veggies.6. Pour 1-2 Tbs. of olive oil on each dinner, dot with butter, if using.7. Season with salt, pepper, and season salt.8. Fold foil to make an airtight seal.9. Cook on hot coals for fifteen minutes, flipping half-way through.10. Serve with ketchup, enjoy!
Seriously good eat'ins, ENJOY!
Not Your Mama's Corn~
Ingredients: 1 pkg of frozen corn on the cob (I buy the small ones)Butter (stick is easiest)Foil SaltPepperToni's Creole Spices (or what ever you like)
How to Prepare: Cut/tear foil to small pieces. Enough to roll the corn up once over. Place frozen corn on foil (no need to thaw corn~ it's cheating remember). Place a pat of butter on the corn and season with desired seasonings. I like to add the cajun spices to give it a "ewww shi" to it but that's me. Roll up the corn and give it a twist at both ends. It almost will look like candy wrappers when done. Place on the grill or directly in the fire.
Let me tell you the corn will be tender and have the best buttery taste. It's so easy and you just toss the wraps away when done. For easy but different you can't go wrong. Give it a try ~ you'll see!
Camping Carrots~
Ingredients: Carrotsbrown sugargran. sugar cinnimonsaltbutter
How to Prepare: My Mom taught me this...it is the best! This starts at home; prepare a ziplock sandwich baggie with about 3/4 cup brown sugar, add a tablespoon of cinnimon, a tablespoon of granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt. At the campsite: Take a large piece of tin foil, place on it baby peeled carrots or sliced up peeled regular carrots, add sugar and spices from the baggie, mix, slice a few pats of butter on top, wrap so the butter won't leak, cook on the grill to desired softness. Remember to flip the packet!
Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Potatoes & Veggies~
Ingredients: 8 potatoes2 large bell peppers1 large yellow onion5 portabello mushrooms olive oil or buttergarlic saltpepperpaprika
How to Prepare: Dice all vegis and place in a double layer of heavy duty foil. Cover with olive oil or butter, season. Cover with two more layers of foil, sealing all edges. Place over red coals for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Heavenly Onions~
Ingredients: 1 med. onion per personButter 1 tbsp.Sugar 1/4 tsp. (per onion)Salt to tastePepper to taste Aluminum foil(1 sheet for each onion)about 8 1/2"x11"
How to Prepare: Peel and prepare onions for cooking, being sure to remove the top.
Place each onion on a sheet of foil. On top of each onion place butter, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Wrap each onion loosly in foil. Place on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20 min. at 350 degrees.
For camp fires double wrap onions and lay directly on hot coals checking periodically for desired doneness.
Veggie Comfort Casserole~
Ingredients: 4 new potatoes2 small summer squashes8 mushrooms1 stalk celery1 medium carrot1 medium onion2 Tbs olive oil or butter. 1 clove garlic1/4 t salt1 tsp thyme1/4 t cayenne1 tsp paprikaBlack pepper to taste.
How to Prepare: Butter a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Peel squash if necessary. Cut into 1"x1"x2" spears. Slice other veggies extremely thin to reduce cooking time. Place veggies in center of foil. Mash the garlic with the salt, sprinkle over veggies. Sprinkle other spices on. Drizzle with olive oil or butter. Seal packets so they won't leak. Place over medium coals for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally.
Vegetarian Chili~
Ingredients: 1 can of black beans, drained 1 can of pinto or chilli beans, drained 1 small can of green chili sauce1 small can of stewed tomatoes (use fire roasted if possible)Oil or butter 2 garlic cloves, crushed & diced1 yellow onion, sliced1 carrot, sliced (optional)1 bell pepper, sliced (for more color use yellow or orange)1 jalapeño, diced 6 to 8 mushrooms, sliced1 Tbls. Cayenne Pepper (I use a lot more)1 Tbls. Cummin½ teas. Cinnamon Garlic SaltBlack PepperHot Sauce, optional Italian Seasoning Mix, optionalSalt
How to Prepare: Get all of your veggies cut and ready before you leave your house. This will reduce the time spent prepping at the campsite.
In a large pan or dutch oven heat oil or butter. Sauté the onions and garlic until transparent. Throw in the carrot and cook until tender. Next throw in the bell pepper and jalapeño until cooked. If you prefer your chilli mellow, use a pepper with less heat instead of a jalapeño.
Then sauté the mushrooms in the mix. At this point, add the cayenne pepper and cummin, which will coat the veggies. To save time you can mix all your dry ingredients together ahead of time.
Then open your green chili sauce and stewed tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir gently until mixed. Next add all of your beans (try to rinse them if possible). Stir gently until mixed. At this point it should look like a giant vegetable melody with a great smell.
Add remainder of seasonings if you haven’t already. I personally like to go crazy with the hot sauce and cayenne pepper, but season to personal taste. The cinnamon will mask the intensity of the spicy smell.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes or more on a low heat (remember to stir occasionally). The sauce and mixture should begin to thicken up some. Serve with cornbread.
Variations include: adding corn, zucchini, Creole seasonings, any other veggies, a dash of nutmeg, cheese on top. I haven’t found a veggie that I didn’t like in this recipe yet. Just remember to take note of when to add the veggie to the cooking schedule.
Tortillas like you never had them~
Ingredients: tortillasshredded cheesechopped mushrooms chopped green pepperschopped onionsany other veggies you like
How to Prepare: Lay the tortilla on a griddle with a little oil. Place a layer of cheese on the whole tortilla and then layer veggies on just half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half, let cook for a few minutes and then flip when ready to cook the other half. You're ready when it's hot and the cheese is melted. Cut into quarters.
Vegetarian Hobo Dinner~
Ingredients: 2 carrots, sliced6-8 new potatoes, quartered1/2 onion, lg. chunks2 shallots, sliced2-3 cloves garlic, lg. chunks8-10 cremini mushrooms whole or halved 1 pkt. frozen Boca ground "meat" 2-4 Tbs. olive oil2 Tbs. unsalted butter, optional salt & pepper, to tasteseason salt, dash
How to Prepare: 1. Mix all sliced vegetables in a bowl.2. Make 2 pockets with heavy duty aluminum foil, doubled.3. Place a layer of vegetables on bottom.4. Layer Boca ground "meat" next.5. Add a final layer of veggies.6. Pour 1-2 Tbs. of olive oil on each dinner, dot with butter, if using.7. Season with salt, pepper, and season salt.8. Fold foil to make an airtight seal.9. Cook on hot coals for fifteen minutes, flipping half-way through.10. Serve with ketchup, enjoy!
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