Memories.....
My husband and I attended the church of my youth for Easter Vigil Mass. I was flooded with memories. I spent so many hours in this church. I was baptized there, made my first confession and First Holy Communion, and I was confirmed there. One of my children was baptized there.  There have been many family/ friend funerals over the years. So yes, I have a history there.
 As a young child I remember sitting in a pew with my family listening to goobledygoop. That would be Latin. The priest's back to us. Then came the changes in the 60s. The masses were in the  languages of the people. For me that would be either French or English depending on which service we attended. The priests had to face us sinners. Oh yes, I was consumed with Catholic guilt at a young age.
I remember the nuns parading us down Walker Street for monthly confessions. Really, I had to come up with sins as a six year old!  What if I did it wrong? Was I really all that sinful? It only contributed to my anxiety. Yup, I was an anxious ,SERIOUS  kid. "Bless me Father for I have sinned..."Hmmm, what is it this month? Fighting with my sister,not saying my prayers,telling a lie. Catholic guilt continues....
Don't get me wrong,there were good memories. The excitement of making FIRST HOLY COMMUNION.  I had a new white dress, covered by a white gown and wearing a white beanie. In those days, females had to wear something on their heads. What was that about? All my adult family members seemed so proud of me that sunny Spring day.
Easter week seemed endless as my family went to church Thursday, Friday,Saturday and Sunday. At least I got a new outfit for Easter. But didn't I hate those white gloves we had to wear to church. After Easter mass,off to Memere' s house we went for dinner and CANDY.
Midnight Mass was the best. It was so exciting to stay up that late. I loved singing Christmas carols in French and English. The church was packed. It seems that someone would be fainting. Maybe it only happened once,but it made an impression on me. Then we would go home for a PARTY- the French Canadian custom of Reveillon.
Then came my teen years.I was questioning some of the dogma. I had my father for CCD. Poor man, I was a pain in the tuckus. For the following years of young adulthood and parenthood, I compartmentalized my issues with the rules of the church in order to be a part of a community.
I have changed so much. I can't support a church that was covering up the abuse issues. I can't support a church that excludes  women as priests. Nuns have always done much of the real work such as teaching,nursing,caring for the poor. Plus the exclusion of the LGBT community is painful. I don't accept,"Love the sinner,not the sin" mentality.
I do find some comfort in the familiarity of the rituals long ingrained in my being. But I do better in a church that is not fraught with memories. And on a limited basis.
So,dear hearts, this is but the surface of what occupied my brain while I sat in the pew breathing in incense at St Hyacinths Church.

You Capture Water -2

Yesterday I felt lousy and did a lousy job with You Capture.
Today is another day. I went to one of my favorite places in Maine.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Maine.  Much more inspirational......

Water falling from a smooth granite slab.

A reflecting pool in the foreground with the Back River in the background.

Be sure to go to ISHOULDBEFOLDINGLAUNDRY.COM   to see all the great You Capture entries.

You Capture Purple

Busy week with not a lot of motiviation..... but HERE'S PURPLE  One of the siberian irises blooming.

                                     A purple weed in the lawn.  Leaves smells good when crushed.

                                           German bearded iris at  Audubon in Falmouth ME.

                                          Cow vetch amongst some buttercups in a nearby field.

                                                   Purple tinged sumac leaf

Check out I Should Be Folding Laundry blog for more You Capture entries.
ISHOULDBEFOLDINGLAUNDRY.COM

You Capture-Bathrooms

Interesting focus for You Capture this week. My bathrooms are purely utilitarian, nothing interesting or fancy about them. However, the most entertaining thing that goes on in my bathroom is Gems' bathtime.
She is a reluctant bather at best.
It takes some bribing, cajoling and sometimes plain old wrestling to get her into the tub.Thank goodness, she is a small dog.

"OOOOH  Mom left me a treat here?! Can't pass up a treat. How did that bathroom door get closed?"

"Better get every last crumb."

First escape attempt while Mom fiddling with camera." Drat,the door is still closed."

"Allright, if you insist..."  Yes I did, she can be a stinky dog.

"Really, are you happy now that you have broken my spirit. I was just starting to like the way I smelled.
It was my favorite scent-eau de deer poop/pee."

"At least this new shampoo is tastey."

"Can I get out now , puhlease?"

So she got out, drenched my bathroom as she shook herself out of a towel and ran around the house like the crazy hound that she is.

She should smell good until she finds another patch of deer excrement to roll around in. Won't take long.

You Capture- flowers

It has been a cold, wet Spring in Maine. When I read the subject of this week's You Capture,  I was feeling a bit defeated. There was little on bloom in the yard. I decided to go for a walk in a cemetery for inspiration. NO I was not going to take pictures of memorial baskets....but I figured something would come to mind.
I had barely begun my walk when I was struck by" Flowers"
Above are some lovely lilies  that I spotted nearly immediately upon starting my walk.

So you can see what I was inspired by.

There were other flowers too.

Is a flower still a flower if it has gone to seed?

And there was a lovely double file viburnum next to a pond.....

Yesterday I surveyed the yard. Woo Hoo  There were some blooming plants after having had a few warm sunny days.

Closeup of one of the rhododenrons "blossoms." I have only two, the deer dined on the rest  of the buds during the long cold winter. 

                                                                      siberian iris

                                                     blue-eyed grass at the edge of the field


Thanks to Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry blog for curating YOU CAPTURE.
Check her blog out and all the fabulous entries that have been submitted. 
until next week....

C is for Colonoscopy

Since nearly all my friends and family are in their 50s, colonoscopies are  familiar procedures. This morning I was at Portland Gastro at 6:30 AM to check in for my procedure. Leo brought me over, then went for a run on the Boulevard. He's not great at waiting, and I don't need my hand held.
I was disappointed however, that they gave me more medication than usual, or perhaps I reacted to it differently. I like to watch the procedure on the monitor. This morning,I was asleep in a nano second. Woke up back in recovery area unaware that the procedure had been done. But when Dr Stephan came in I was awake, alert and remember what he told me.
1. Polyp removed
2. A few diverticuli found
3. Ultrasound needed because something in pelvis appears to be pushing into bowel

Oh goody, now I get to drink mass quantitiy of water ( NOT GATORADE) for the ultrasound when ever that is.
Told to eat high fiber diet......already doing that, so no problema. I think I support Fiber One company just  by myself. 

So I have 3 bottles of  G2 (lowcalorie) Lemon/lime Gatorade up for grabs. Any takers? It's free.
If not I may need to find some other use for them.....

                                                      GARDEN ART,PERHAPS?

Yup, I know that I am half a bubble off  center......

Suzanne

Walking at Evergreen Cemetery

I have decided to try to vary my walking routine by going to different places in the area that are open to walkers. There are plenty of trails that I have not tried. Portland Trails has miles of walking trails in the area.   but I usually walk the same old routes.Some routes actually cross the cemetery. There is a map of the cemetery at the main entrance office building. There is plenty of free parking.
It is a lovely peaceful place to walk with varied terrain. There are some hills with paved, dirt and grass lanes.
I could hear plenty of birds singing, but saw few.
My other reason to go was to get some different photos than usual. I am trying to follow the weekly photo assignments from You Capture, a photography site of sorts managed by Beth @I Should Be Folding Laundry blog. Check it out.
I got some interesting shots which I will post later in the week for my "assignment."

 About this blog thing, I am an absolute newbie....bear with me as I try to figure this out. If you have advice to offer....go for it. I don't know how elaborate I want to get. Furthermore, I don't want to pay for any  special "services" to manage the blog.

Here are a few more pictures that I wasn't planning to post for You Capture.