Memory 24Mar2024

Why is it that we think and/or dream of people who played a relatively small role in our lives? Surely something sparked the memory, but I can rarely tell you what it was. I only know that my mind is a mess of memories now. And when I say "mess" I mean it like my Grandma did, i.e., a mess is a whole lot. Occasionally one of those memories asserts itself above the others, demanding to be remembered.

Today, for absolutely no good reason, I'm thinking about my second grade teacher, Sister Anne de Lourdes. I really liked her, in spite of her occasional temper tantrums in front of the class. Of course when she was good, she was very, very good as they say. Adults are fickle and unpredictable.  

I assume nuns get to pick their nun-names? If so, she chose Anne, the mother of Mary. Apparently there is a church dedicated to Anne within the Marian pilgrimage site of Lourdes. There are other churches and sites dedicated to Saint Anne elsewhere. Why would she choose the one at Lourdes? I've been doing a little research and I think I have the answer, which would be obvious if my mind wasn't so messy. She was a Sister of the Holy Cross, which was based in Notre Dame, Indiana (a suburb of South Bend). The priest who founded Notre Dame was Father Sorin.  “Fr. Sorin also wanted to make Notre Dame a pilgrimage place … honoring our Lady of Lourdes,”  So there you go. A mystery probably solved.

Eventually she left the convent and married a priest. 

Very cool habit, don't you think?
Sisters of the Holy Cross. The headpiece
was a pleated wonder.  

Choosing fun.

I took my daughter and two grandchildren to see Kung Fu Panda 4. Grandpa Tom and MV (our son-in-law) opted not to come. 

The story was predictable. However, this movie was beautifully drawn and colored. I like cartoon drawings, but so often the artists spend more time on the characters than the surrounding view. The rendered views in this movie were gorgeous. I concentrated on the art, as I used to when I attended mass as a child. Life presents many opportunities for entertainment.

The daughter and grandkids were laughing out loud, clearly enjoying every minute of it. That was the best part of the movie for me, being with them. I was still holding this experience close to my heart when I fell asleep last night, which made for good dreams.

After the movie, we went for ice cream at the creamery across the way. This has now become part of the movie viewing tradition for the four of us. 

I had burnt butter bourbon flavored ice cream. It was amazing.  

Take your time, enjoy the views

Ignorance is bliss

We don't really know what we are doing when it comes to vegetable gardening in general, and particularly in Central Florida. However, each February the veggie muse demands we try.  

When we lived up north, all our energies went into maintaining perennial beds for flowers we simply cannot grow here. We thought we were successful gardeners, wise and gifted. Then we moved to Central Florida, which boxed our ears and scolded us harshly for our northern conceit. Quickly we learned we knew nothing. We surrendered to the heat and humidity, and figured out what flowers would or wouldn't grow. Veggies are definitely beyond us, though.  

Having said that, we try tomatoes each year. We live in hope. Occasionally we get a tomato or two, and we had good luck with cherry tomatoes one year. Last fall, Tom stuck a tomato plant in the ground. I knew it was too late to plant, but I said nothing. If he's happy, I'm happy. It grew, thrived even. Best of all, it overwintered and didn't die.  

Today I noticed one of the tomatoes is starting to turn red. Joy and rapture. Notice how unhealthy the bottom leaves look.