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Rest Now, Good and Faithful Servant

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President Jimmy Carter passes away at 100

Yesterday we learned of the death of President Jimmy Carter after nearly two years in hospice care and after the death of his beloved wife, Rosalynn a little more than a year ago in November of 2023.

I remember bits of his presidency and his family, especially his brother, Billy and youngest child, Amy, who was a year younger than me. I remember his deep southern accent and his wide smile, but mostly I remember that after he left the Presidency did his public service really begin. I can’t begin to relate his accomplishments – there are others better suited to telling those stories, but I do want to acknowledge his passion for the American people and their experiment as well as his compassion and faith that I admired and hope to emulate, although I know I’ll never come close.

To read about his legacy, visit his Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, online here and the Carter Center, next door to the Library and Museum.

For funeral arrangements and the schedule for his lying in state in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia, visit:

USA Today has a fairly comprehensive discussion of what is planned both in Washington and Georgia at this link.

This short clip on C-SPAN has President Carter talking about some of the funeral arrangements for when “his participation at the Carter Center is reduced.”

The Carter Center and The White House will have more information as it becomes available.

The state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter will be Thursday, January 9.
All federal offices and some state offices will be closed in commemoration and as part of the
National Day of Mourning.
All flags will be flown at half-staff for 30 days, beginning on December 29, 2024 at all public buildings and grounds as well as military posts, and half-mast on all naval vessels.

A Look Back Through Photos:

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Travel – Packing for a Road Trip

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We start planning for a vacation months in advance, right up until the moment that we actually get in the car to leave. In the last twenty years or so, I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve traveled by plane or train. We drive everywhere. This gives us a road trip model that works about 90% of the time, and with three kids that’s pretty much works out to 100% more or less.

Some of the most important things for a successful road trip never even leave the car!

You needs will, of course, vary and change over time, but these are the things I really miss when I forget them:

  • Car air Freshener – I get mine at Bath and Body Works and only one kid complains about the smell.
  • Pop Socket Holder – I like the one that slides into the vent. It is great for following directions at a glance and not fumbling with your phone. Hands-free FTW!
  • Toll transponder suction cup holder – again, keeps it hands-free, and you’re not overcharged by the rental car company using theirs.
  • Car Charger Adapter – my new one has slots for both USB and USB-C.
  • Parking pass, if needed. I have a handicapped tag, but state parks and hotels have parking passes as well.
  • Umbrella – keep it within reach or else what’s the point of it?
  • Snacks – My family criticizes but I prefer resealable 20 oz. bottles rather than cans of soda. Favorite snack: Mini twist pretzels. Least favorite snack: Cheese puff and/or doodles – I think the reasons for  this one are obvious.
Air freshener, pop socket.
(c)2024
Points 1-5.
(c)2024

August Inspired

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I’m not as annoyed when I see Halloween stuff in stores this early. Especially in the heat, I’m happy to be reminded that the cool weather will be arriving soon. At least, I hope so.

I’m also not a big fan of skulls. I know they’re popular at Halloween as well as Dias de Los Muertos, and my daughter loves them. She has a couple of skull designs on her hairdressing tools.

However, while I don’t want this table accessory I was taken by it and of course needed to add it to my picture collection.

Early Happy Halloween.

Salt & Pepper Shaker Skull. Cracker Barrel. (c)2024

Friday Food. July.

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Continuing Monday’s theme of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache mystery series, I thought I’d share some things from the publisher’s related blog.

There is a lovely selection of recipes and gorgeous photos to admire and to choose from for each of the books here.

French Onion Soup from the Gamache Series Website

There is also a PDF download of a short cookbook, The Nature of the Feast which includes a preview excerpt of book #12, The Great Reckoning.

My own Bistro-esque recipe below the cut:

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Tell Me What You Know

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Mont Royal.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
(c)2024

My first introduction to Louise Penny was with State of Terror, the book she co-authored with Hillary Rodham Clinton, which admittedly was what drew me to the book in the first place. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in mysteries and state department/political thrillers. It’s taken me a few years since then to rediscover the author Louise Penny when her Gamache Series was recommended to me recently in a writing class.

I may have mentioned in a previous note, here or on Facebook, that I’ve become obsessed with Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series. I’ve read the entire series and am less than patiently waiting for the next book that will be released in October. I am about halfway through a second read-through – did I mention that I was obsessed?! I had recommended them to a friend of mine and it turned out she was already reading them! It is so hard to talk to her about them and not give her any spoilers. I had planned to write a proper review and recommendation for next week or the week after, however, today is a special day in the books (and in my own life as I’ll explain).

There should not be any spoilers not found in the synopsis on the backs of the books.

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Blessed Carlo Acutis to become Saint Carlo Acutis

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The Eucharist is the highway to heaven – Carlo Acutis

I had heard about Carlo Acutis several years before his relics and Eucharistic Exhibition came to my church. I was intrigued not only by such a young man who was venerated and declared Blessed, but by how recently he had died (in 2006) of acute promyelocytic leukemia. He was near enough to my kids’ ages that it was something that pulled at me. I had seen photos of him and read brief snippets, but when I was told that this exhibition and his relics were coming to our church for nearly a week during Lent, I began to read more. I volunteered to help during the exhibition, and I attended the talks given by the woman, Eileen Wood at Catholic Quest, who was custodian of this display and his relics as well as several of the liturgies held during that week. We also had our own resident expert give a couple of talks about relics in general as well as Eucharistic miracles in particular. It was a busy time at our church, and we had over 1500 visitors in the time we held the exhibit.

Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit.
New York.
(c)2024
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White Buffalo Calf and the Summer Solstice

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“Each of us is put here in this time and this place to personally decide the future of humankind. Did you think the Creator would create unnecessary people in a time of such terrible danger? Know that you yourself are essential to this world. Understand both the blessing and the burden of that. You yourself are desperately needed to save the soul of this world. Did you think you were put here for something less? In a Sacred Hoop of Life, there is no beginning and no ending.”

Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Chief Looking Horse is the keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe.

Nearly one year ago, I attended the first of what I hope will be an annual event at the National Shrine and Historic Site of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, New York. It was World Peace and Prayer Day and was being held around the world on the same day, the Summer Solstice.

Please watch this video as told by Chief Arvol Looking Horse about how the day came to begin, starting with his own life history and the tragic past and present of the reservation system. The words are weighty, and the music only adds to the chills I felt, and I think you will feel as you watch:

In 1994, Miracle, a rare white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin. It was the first white buffalo calf born since 1933. White buffalo calves are sacred to many Native American nations in the US and Canada. The World Peace & Prayer Day began in 1996 and for a time, rotated to different sites until expanding to individual events held at sacred sites globally. The Kateri Shrine is one of those sacred sites and why the administration decided to hold this interfaith prayer service. The Shrine is sacred to the Native peoples who lived and nurtured the land and there is a Mohawk community nearby as well, and it is also sacred to Catholics who believe the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha lived there in the village of Caughnawaga throughout her child- and young adult-hood. This village is the only fully excavated Mohawk village in the country. I’ve written before about my experience there and how profound it was for me and others who attended it.

The Shrine is planning a second World Peace & Prayer Day service on the Summer Solstice, June 21.

Two days ago, it was revealed that another rare white buffalo was born in Montana, in Yellowstone National Park and according to Lakota prophecy and tradition this foretells better times coming as well as a caution that more must be done to protect the earth. This new calf and Miracle are said to be true white buffalo and not albino – they both have a black nose, hooves, and dark eyes.

Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy

In the article I’ve linked about this recent white buffalo calf, there is discussion about the killing and removal of bison every winter to keep the herds at about 5000 animals. There is opposition to increasing the numbers in herds from ranchers and the governor, but I don’t see any input from local tribes or from across the nation. Perhaps because they also oppose transferring the buffalo to the tribes. I wonder why they can’t go back to having the Native tribes participate in their traditional hunting of buffalo which kept the population manageable naturally.

That political segue is important to be aware of, but a digression to this joyous event of another white buffalo calf.

Whatever you’re doing and wherever you are on June 21, take a moment to pray on the continuing vitality of the earth, our home, and all of those who live here. I will be at the Kateri Shrine in Fonda participating in the ceremonies and listening to the prayers both spoken through the participants and in the air swaying the trees.