Remember, man, that you are dust...

With these words, the priest starts the sign of the cross on your forehead in ashes. "Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." I hope you all had a reflective and penitential Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent 2007.

The responsoral psalm for Mass this evening was another one that struck my heart :

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

This year, I have given up baked sweets (cakes, pies, cookies, etc.) and sodas. Hopefully I will have the willpower and spiritual fortitude to keep it going through Easter.

The weather is magnificent! Today must have been close to 70. My daffodils are blooming in the yard and the hyacinths are starting to open up too. Yesterday I was able to do a few things in the yard after work. It felt good and relaxing to be working in the yard again instead of cooped up in the house.

Got a Preds game tomorrow night vs Montreal. I love games with the original six. This year Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston and Detroit have been through town. The NY Rangers are the only original six team not to play in Nashville this year. Ehhh, Rangers suck anyway, so I didn't miss them!

Tomorrow is George Washington's birthday. The father of our country would be 275 years old. Wonder if his teeth would still be wooden?? I read a story that actually he did have a set of wooden teeth, along with an ivory set and some others. He had many sets of teeth.

Well, the yawns are coming quite frequently right now. I need to get some sleep. I just finished watching the new British comedy being shown here in Nashville..."Last of the Summer Wine." It is really funny! It replaces "Are You Being Served?" It comes on weeknights at 10:30. It's about the tales and travails of three older gentle men in Yorkshire. If you get a chance to watch it, do so...

Have a great evening and a great day on Thursday! Hey Jon, don't let the painting get to you! Ry, how's the teaching going?? Rocco...Whispers is my daily eye opener every morning with my coffee! Better than the daily paper, the Tennessean aka "Pravda on the Cumberland"!

Sleep well, dream better!

Hello!!!

Here I sit on a Sunday night, so glad tomorrow is a holiday! I did bring work home, however, and will probably do it tomorrow...just not in the office! And I am eating some cranberries...I love cranberries.

I know I haven't posted for awhile...life has been mundane! Work has been a bear, home has been the same old thing. Weather has been cold, with specks of snow here and there. A cold winter, but not a snowy one.

The Blackhawks are pathetic, the Bears lost the Super Bowl, the Predators are doing well, but they're not the Hawks. Spring training started this weekend, so I have baseball to look forward to. The Sox look like they'll be strong, well at least on paper. The Nashville Sounds look to field a good team, although I can't say as much for their new stadium. Instead of a 2008 opening, it will be 2009. I still think the deal will fall through somehow. And I hope I am dead wrong. The city keeps dragging its feet on the whole thing.

I have had a horrible headache all day. So after this posting I think I'm calling it a night.

I went to the Birmingham Philatelic Society's stamp show last week in Bessemer Alabama. I had a great weekend. I found lots of things to buy...and bought a lot of them. I added greatly to my Vatican and Slovenian collections and I've been putting things in order as two more shows are upcoming...Knoxville and Nashville. I finally found some Bavaria stamp pages and have begun work on filling those. Alas, some of the stamps I bought as one type, aren't necessarily what they were purported to be....buyer beware!

Genealogy is staying the course. I have made some minor discoveries, but nothing earth-shattering. I am about to embark on finally getting my research business up and going. I'll need to let you know the start date for that. I am also trying to get a handle on this research class I am taking through BYU. I have all the ideas down on paper and just need to get them in formal outlines and work on my family newsletter project.

So, this week starts Lent, a penitential season of the Church year. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Assumption has Mass at 6:30 pm Wednesday night for anyone who wants to come. The responsoral psalm at Mass this morning was great, and I am including it as my evening prayer with you right now:

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Also, I had to smile during communion at Mass. The song that was played was a version of Tantum Ergo. It was instrumental today, so if you have never been to Assumption before and heard the words, you wouldn't know it was Tantum Ergo. The melody is that of the German National Anthem...Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles. I bet it perked some questions from those sitting in the pews unaware of the words!!! Well, Assumption is the German Catholic Church in Nashville...

Well, I've bored you long enough. To Dave and Rich, drop me a note. To Jon, you are crazy. To Laura Lee, we need to get together and watch some hockey!!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned, I plan to write more soon!