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1. An interesting week to say the least.  Thursday night was truly an example of the proverb, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.” My sister volunteered to help at the Wine and Jazz festival for the church.  She was happily working one of the food booths when I caught up with her; she had been there since the afternoon helping with the set up.  Sis looked great. She was happily wearing a pretty dress she picked up at a Macy’s sale- a $70 to $100 dress she got for around $15.  All was well.  Sis sat down with me and Mr. Pete when her volunteer time was up and we were enjoying the jazz music, the good food and some wine.  We were all surprised when a nun in her full habit sat down beside us and started to make small talk – surprised because we hardly ever see a nun any more, let alone one in a full habit.  This nun was very pleasant and she had just started to converse with us when an old friend of hers appeared she popped up to great her warmly with a hug.  Unfortunately, the nun popped up just as my sister was taking a sip of her red wine, which then spilled all over her new dress.  My sister and I just sat stunned when Mr. Pete leaned over to her and said, “You can’t yell at a nun.”  Tension was broken. We started to laugh and then sis said, “Let’s get out of here.”

and so we did.  Which lead to …

2.  While we were sitting at the festival an announcement was made that someone with a Lexus had left their lights on.  I thought nothing of it.  I drive a Chevy van.  But as we were coming to my sister’s car we realized that her Lexus not only had the lights on, but it was still running, and since it’s a hybrid, we weren’t sure what that meant.  Sis turned off her car and then tried to turn it back on – and got nothing.  Mr. Pete lifted the hood and was baffled- he couldn’t even find the battery!! They just don’t make these new cars like the used to!  A quick check of the owner’s manual (which is the size of a small bible) and a call to the Lexus roadside assistance, and Mr. Pete was quickly able to jump start it.

And while we were sitting there sis says, “See, I volunteer to work this thing and I have two disasters in one night.  Just goes to show, no good deed goes unpunished. ”

Just when she finished saying it, a car trying to leave the festival passed within inches of Mr. Pete, who was bending over her engine trying to figure it out.   He looked right us and said, “Not funny!”

3.  We met an interesting couple. They have several children and when it was time for them to go to school they couldn’t find any place that they found comfortable enrolling them.  And since they wouldn’t even consider homeschooling, they pulled up stakes and moved several states away to a Catholic School that they found to their liking.  Interestingly, in their quest to discern what to do with their kids, the father met and had a discussion with Mary Kay Clark, founder of Seton Homeschool.  Apparently the discussion went something like this:

Dr. Clark saying, “The church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children.”
Discerning father, “Yes but the church gives us the ability to discharge that responsibility as we see fit.”
with Dr. Clark replying, “Yes but some ways of discharging that responsibility are more perfect than others.”

To which my acquaintance knew he wasn’t going to win the discussion or even bring it to a reasonable middle ground.  In the end, because this gentleman is in the medical field and finds it easier to move around to find employment, the whole family packed up and left for 11 years. 


Homeschooling is hard. But it’s not as hard as uprooting your family to a new state.  Just sayin. 

4.  Oh the joy of parenting older children – I took Izzy to her cake decorating class, and on the way home I drove past the pizza shop where Sam works.  As I approached his shop, Sam pulled in front of me with his pizza delivery sign shining brightly and the smell of fresh baked pizza wafting out the window.  But on closer inspection, that wasn’t all that was wafting out!!!  I had to do a double take, but my son, was driving and smoking a cigarette – like a pro – with two fingers and without coughing – as if he had been smoking for a long time.

I. was. stunned. I guess all that talk about lung cancer, emphysema and bad breath didn’t influence him one little bit.

5.  The consolation was  Izzy’s cake, which I got to pick up about two hours later.

6.  
This is your church wedding  sexton’s nightmare!  Aisle runners are a fall risk. Rose petals are slippery whether they are real or silk!  And who’s gonna clean that up??? What a waste of time and money!!

7.  Calvin’s girlfriend made him this cake for his birthday – and then they went to see the Batman movie! Good job Sarah. 

Calvin also pointed out to me that if concealed carries had been allowed in the theater – the morbidity and mortality rate in Colorado would have been a lot lower.