What Caused the Economic Crisis?

I had the information in this video verified. ALL TRUE.

The screens scroll very quickly, so you might want to keep your cursor on the pause button.

HT: Sue for the original post!

Saturday Morning Coffee with the Holy Spirit

Do you ever wonder why it is that we have been created in our bumbling humanity?  Why God made us in this way, why He allowed Original Sin, why He gives us free will in the first place?  I wonder this kind of stuff all the time.  Here is what I was given this morning…

To appreciate help, you must have known the lack of it.

To appreciate a bountiful harvest, you must have known hunger.

To appreciate guidance, you must have known uncertain wandering.

To appreciate friendship, you must have known the pain of loneliness.

To appreciate happiness, you must have known sadness.

To appreciate clarity, you must have known confusion.

To appreciate peace, you must have known chaos.

To appreciate the light, you must have known darkness.

To appreciate being found, you must have known being lost.

To appreciate real joy, you must have known its absence.

If humanity was fashioned in a sort of robotic, “programmed” obedience, we would never fully appreciate the gifts of the Spirit, or anything else for that matter.  Pain and suffering (not that we go looking for it) is a vital part of our human experience and gives us an authentic appreciation of the blessings in our lives.

Truly, there is no Resurrection without the Crucifixion.

Bottom of the cup; better go and get something done today.  Happy Saturday.  : )

Hello from San Diego

Firstie

Middlin catches a wave

Pip, diggin the dirt

Pip and Nana

3 x 2(much fun)

Vote Yes for Sarah Palin

The conservative bastion that is PBS (har har har) has a poll up asking the people if Sarah Palin is qualified to be the Vice President.  As if being the governor of the largest, most international state in the union isn’t worth anything.

Let ’em know here:  PBS Poll

Vote Your Conscience, or rather, Vote Your Faith

This two minute film is a huge refresher on why our country is great–and why we must thoughtfully and prayerfully discern our vote.

I like Father Frank’s guidance for elections: we’re not looking for the perfect candidate (he or she simply doesn’t exist).  We are looking for the best candidate in the field, however, and it is not only our civic duty to vote, but we are called as Christians to not only participate in the process, but to form our nation according to our founding principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–in that order.

143 Days

After just 143 days as a soldier, you can now be a General!  NOT.

And it shouldn’t work that way, either, to be Commander in Chief.

Here’s the original dose of perspective on this thought.

More on the piano

Just poking around the other night, we noticed an interesting and very old decal on the fallboard. It said “Sherman Clay & Co.” (I’ll post a picture here in a bit.) A quick google later and I discovered that they’re one of the biggest piano sellers in the West (and Houston LOL). So I called the founding store yesterday in San Francisco to ask them about this piano. It’s really cool! It was the 290th piano made in 1935, handmade on 57th Street in New York City. Hardman Pianos were incorporated with Mason & Hamlin (to die for), Knabe & (I believe) Steinways. That explains this piano’s huge voice. Without ever having heard a M&H in person, my guess is that there was some influence there. M&H pianos have this thing called a “tone resonator” or something like that attaches to the soundboard and basically acts like a magnifying glass for sound.

All I know is that when the windows and front door are open (the piano’s in the living room), you can hear the piano–easily!–from the street. LOL We’re learning how to make her w h i s p e r and find that the sound is most incredible (and doable in our smaller house) with the lid down. ; )

St. Cecilia!

The joy of music

Oh, my. There is no way that we deserve such a tremendous find, but we are so grateful to God for this gift!

It’s a 1922 1935 Hardman baby grand piano. We found it in a little music shop here for a pittance. She’s old and has been knocked around, but ohhhhhh, my! She’s got the voice of an angel–a mighty powerful voice, at that. : )

Oh! As to why I named this post “St. Cecilia”, let me explain a bit. Hub & I went round and round about when to get an acoustic piano (we had a wonderful digital keyboard, but no pedals were becoming an issue in piano lessons). We’d decided after our latest round of migraine-laced discussion to get an upright and to wait a year while the dust settled from the move. As I sat there at my desk, banging my head ever so gently, I offered a little prayer, “St. Cecilia, pray for us.”

The next day, I woke up with a bee in my bonnet to go to the music store about an hour’s drive away. They pointed us to the piano showroom (think showroom in terms of a mom & pop music store) and there, back in the corner with no love at all, was the Hardman. Fortunately for us, there “just happened to be” a young man walk in off the street who started playing all the grands in the store just for fun. I managed my courage and asked him if he’d mind playing this particular piano and he played for us cheerfully, and like I’ve never seen. (And according to him, he taught himself in about a year. Hmmmm….) It was amazing, such gorgeous music! The young man agreed with our novice ear that it had the best sound of any piano in the shop. Went over the old gal with a fine tooth comb and mechanically, she was about as close to perfect as you can get. The finish? Scratched and dinged from one end to the other, but that can fixed; sound cannot.

So there you go! Thank you St. Cecilia for your prayers, and thank you LORD for answering our prayers and giving us such an undeserved gift as this beautiful piano.

PS. First song played on the piano here? “Immaculate Mary” by Firstie.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!