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No story here really. This is a little antique store over in the beach near me. I just thought there was a lot going on in and around this house - and you never know what you might need for a photo challenge ... so I took it! According to the date stamp it was March 13, 2007. I don't think I've ever used it. So ... now I have!

I confess, that I did not remember that this is a shrine honoring Mary. I did know it. But only in the back of my head. As a child this building was most often referred to as simply The Shrine. And in my head it was just a big old beauuuuutiful church! I'm not going "deep" here... I do not wish to hurt any feelings or say the wrong things. I am just going to say that my visit here turned out to be in great appreciation of the architecture. And I do wish to go back and explore further - because I didn't get to see it all -- but I will go without Mom when I really can explore. And again, it will be in appreciation of the architecture. So... having said that, let's carry on.

If you go back up and look at the main chapel - and see the archways on either side - if you go down those hallways - on the outside walls of the building are these beautiful gorgeous magnificent mosaics! Each in it's own little semi-domed spot. Many of them I felt might be "Stations of The Cross" ... but then, some of them didn't fit in. So, I'm not sure. I took pics of almost all of them - but there are maybe 2 dozen of them -- I'm only going to share a few.

I took well over 100 photos while I was there -- I've really had to pick and choose which I would share in this post! There are so many more, and I'm sure you will see a few of them come out from time to time for one purpose or another - but I think you've been given a good idea of what is there. I hope you took the time to "big" some of these at least --- it's well worth the effort! Hope you enjoyed.

Luz is still in Texas - and she is NOT going to want to come home. She is living in a big house on a culdesac with 3 other children (in the house), and a slew of playmates in the neighborhood! She is getting to know her cousins. They are actually 3rd cousins! And they are ALL liking it! But when my Lucy Loo leaves - the cousins still have each other. She will come home to an all adult world again. She's NEVER gonna wanna come home!

In Mom's world...

1.) Broken up fortune cookies = cereal.

2.) Non-dairy creamer + water = milk. For drinking or pouring on cereal. broken up fortune cookies. And this is what goes on if I don't HEAR her get up in the morning!

3.) If she is looking at her face in the mirror and can't see the blue & purple & yellow bruise that covers half her forehead, her nose and under one eye, then it doesn't exist. (and NONE of us know how she GOT it!)

4.) If she doesn't accept her new (since Christmas) black loafers that look exactly like her OLD black loafers only they actually have soles, perhaps she can give them to Dennis! Because surely her little size 6 women's shoes WILL fit on his BIG size 10.5 mens feet -- if he'll just quit being stubborn and accept them!

5.) How in the world should SHE know how that wadded up maxi pad got in HER pants pocket? SHE didn't put it there! She didn't put the apple core there either....

Stuff. Oh STUFF! My house is full of stuff! My life is full of stuff! And ... I am missing STUFF! WE are missing STUFF! And I hate it when that happens. First, Dennis went to do our taxes this past weekend. He got Derek's done, everything is GREAT with Derek's. Then he went to do Krysti's and all was going well ... until... the state form wanted to know HOW MUCH she paid in taxes last year. Why that matters to THIS year's taxes I will never know... but the form asks for it, and since Dennis is using Turbo Tax this year, you can't go on without answering that question! Now... under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem. Dennis throws NOTHING away. He has our past tax records all the way back to 1994!!! But for SOME reason, Krysti's ... and OURS... records for the past two years have gone AWOL. He has searched the den from top to bottom, he's searched the rest of the house, and he's even searched the garage! Can't find the bloomin' records! Apparently we're going to have to contact the state of Maryland to get a copy of them! Ugh!

Then. I picked up Krysti's perscription on Saturday. Krysti is in New York. This is her anti-depressant. I was supposed to mail it to her so that she would be a happy camper this week. However... I didn't pick it up until AFTER the post office was closed. I put it - still in the pharmacy bag, on top of the coffee pot, and I discussed with her that since I couldn't mail it until at least Monday - and that we were expecting GOBS of snow on Monday, that perhaps she should speak to a pharmacist and get a few just to tide her over. She did. Her last words to me were "just hang on to that perscription." I SHOULD have taken those words to heart! I should have picked up that perscription and held it IN MY HAND until she returns home to me this coming weekend. But I didn't. I left it on top of the coffee maker. Dennis saw it. Derek saw it. I saw it. APPARENTLY someone ELSE saw it too. IT has disappeared. Dennis and I have turned the house upsidedown looking for that perscription! We can't FIND it. We had 3 bags of trash that had not yet gone to the dump when we discovered the fact that it was missing. Sunday. Saturday night it was ON the coffee maker. Sunday it was NOT. We decided it MUST have gotten thrown away. So Dennis and I went through, coffee ground covered piece by cigarette ashes covered piece (Dennis smokes) of trash. Oh! And flour covered too! We went through ALL THREE BAGS! We transfered each piece of trash from the bag it was in to a new bag. Piece by piece. We did NOT find a perscription bag. Oh wait. I take that back. We DID find the two perscription bags that MOM's perscriptions had come in. But not the one that still holds Krysti's perscription! This is Thursday. I don't want to tell you how many time we have re-looked in the same places. Over and over. Krysti will be home this weekend... and I did NOT hang on to her perscription. I'm not sure what we will do. I'm pretty sure that every pharmacist has heard every excuse possible... and I'm pretty sure that they will NOT give us another perscription. I love a good mystery BOOK. But real life mysteries? Not so much!

Church last night was a riot! I'm tellin' ya! I can ruin Pastor's services in so many ways you just can't count 'em all! Pastor decided he wanted lectors for the Wednesday night services during Lent. So Arlene (the secretary) sent out an all call asking for anyone who could do this and which day they could do and so forth. I responded that I would be available for any Wednesday night service - or ALL of them if needed. Arlene waited a full respectable 5 minutes to email me back and say I had the job! LOL! That's fine. I lector the 2nd Sunday of each month and I LOVE doing it -- so I really don't mind at all! Arlene had sent me a list of the readings for all 4 Wednesdays -- so I diligently studied the 4 verses for this week and was good to go! I got to church and Pastor said "oh Melli! Come! Let me show you what you'll be reading!" I said "It's okay Pastor - I got it. I've studied it." He looked at me and he said "Oh? All 4 pages?" I laughed! I said "Riiiiiiiiight!" He said "no - I'm serious!" I went HUH? LOL! So it turns out that HE would be reading the scripture verse --- I am reading The Passion Of The Christ! Tonight was part I -- to be followed for the next 3 weeks by parts 2, 3, & 4! Sooooooo Pastor showed me -- and that was FINE! I read aloud all the time, I'm familiar enough with The Passion not to stumble through it -- all was fine! So service begins. Pastor come up front to make a few announcements. While he's doing that, I decide that I should really sit over on the other side of the church so as to be able to enter the lecturn without crossing over in front of the alter. I discreetly move over there. THEN my cell phone alarm goes off. (telling me it's time for Mom's medications) Only problem is - it's in my purse over at my original seat! I sliiiiiiiide across the pew, quickly cut across the center aisle, and fumble in my purse for my ringing cell phone, and shut it off! OY! Pastor looks at me and says... "have you made up your mind now?" At that point I decided to go ahead and cross in front of the alter when it was my turn to read! I assured Pastor I had and said "Yes! You may begin the service now!" It's a good thing he loves me!

This weekend I am not only lecturing - but also teaching the children's service! LAST time I did that I almost forgot to PRAY with them at the early service! I wonder what I'll do to mess up his service THIS time??? I'm not sure how the rest of the congregation take it -- but I'm pretty sure God LOVES to see me coming! He gets such a good laugh - every time!

I did it, I did it, I DID it!!! I finished painting those way high walls! I'm not done with the entire hallway yet -- but I got the HARD part done! Whoooooooo hooooooo! I am sO excited I can't stand it! It isn't the BEST paint job I've ever done -- but as Dennis said - it looks about a 1000 times better than it DID! And that's a fact! This house is shapin' up!

Today was the first day of Lent. Service tonight was exceptional! It was a bit more somber than most of our services, reminding us that we are in a state of penitence. Pastor's sermon was everything it should be... he spoke of our sin, and he spoke of our sorrow... he spoke of using this season to draw closer to Jesus. Of making mOre time for prayer, more personal time alone with God... to talk to Him... and to listen to Him.

You know... Listening is my favorite part of prayer. And it's sO important! Yes, it's important to praise God, and to confess your sins, and to ask for forgiveness... and it's important to pray for others too. But if you're always speaking and never listening, you MISS so much! Most of the answers that I get to my personal questions of God, come NOT from other people that he has used, but directly from Him. He puts thoughts in my head that I could have never come up with by myself! But I have to take the time to LISTEN. I don't always get the chance to stop and listen when I'm done "asking"... but I make a point of listening at LEAST once each day. Sometimes at the end of the day, if I've done a lot of "asking" during the day... when I lay down to go to sleep at night I just say "Okay God... I'm here. Tell me what you want me to know." It's amazing how often He does! He does speak to me through many other sources too --- He uses many of you! But sometimes He just wants one on one time and for you to stop and listen. Just do it. I bet that Jesus spent as much of that 40 days in the wilderness listening to His Father as He did speaking to Him.

I finished the living room project that Krysti and I were working on Monday, and I'm finally in the process of getting the living room and family room back in order. I HAVE decided to re-paint one wall in the living room though -- so I will do that today and then I should be able to get the stuff back up on the walls and make it look like home again! When I started all this I was just going to paint paint paint until there was nothing left to paint! But I found out that I would never be able to do that and LIVE with it -- I had to get the downstairs back in order before I felt comfortable to move UP the stairs. So the hallway still sits... spackled and one side is cut in at the steps - but not at the ceiling... my nightmare! The hallway going up the steps is really two full stories high - less two steps. I tried to take a picture to show you - but it just doesn't... it's too many angles and two hard to tell whats going on. It's a painters nightmare! At least for me! I don't have scaffolding -- I'm not sure HOW I'm going to accomplish this feat! But I'm going to give it my BEST - and if that's not good enough -- I'll call somebody! I really think when I get to that point though, God will give me a brainstorm idea that will blow me away! That's what I'm countin' on anyway! And... Krysti comes back home tonight (Thursday) for the weekend again. She's my pusher! I'm not sure I LIKE that side of her!!! LOL! You may have guessed, but I really don't LIKE to hurry through a job! I would be MISERABLE on Trading Spaces! I like to take my time, do it right. When I start rushing I make all kinds of mistakes and I hate that! Soooo.... that's what I'm STILL up to!

Dennis started spackling today. He's the spackler... I'M the painter! I'm told that the spackling will be done, dry, sanded and ready to start painting by the weekend. Oh boy! JUST in time for Krysti & Jules! And I forgot I have a date Saturday morning with the women's group at church to box up treats for our soldiers and a few college kids. And I know Krys & Jules want to go to Paint & Pottery this weekend... of course - they could do that without me! But I doubt I'll let THAT happen! LOL! Do you see why it takes forever to get painting done in our house? hehehe...

Mom and I both have dentist appointments tomorrow (today? depends when you read this I guess!) I'm fine with mine -- just an adjustment to my dentures for me! But MOM has to actually get checked. We're not sure Mom has EVER seen a dentist before.... and the one and only time I ever mentioned that she might need to she flew into such a tizzy that I have put it off for over a year now! She has GOT to be seen! So pray for me her! I really don't know how this is going to go... and I've already warned the dentist -- he goes to my church!

Food is becoming more and more and more of a confusing issue for Mom. Yesterday I made her a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for lunch. I put her soup in a mug with a spoon - and her sandwich on a paper plate. I proceeded to make my own sandwich and in the process I glanced over and saw Mom cut off a piece of her sandwich and eat it with her spoon. ??? I watched until she started to do it again. This time I just couldn't resist. I said "Mom, are you eating your SANDWICH with your spoon?" "Huh?" "Mom, WHY are you eating your SANDWICH with your spoon?" ... she kinda looks over her shoulder at me ... "well... I didn't put it together and make a sandwich..." ??? "MOM! It already IS a sandwich - it's a bloomin' grilled cheese sandwich!" Then I walked over to see if she had actually taken it apart... but nope... it was still together! What she HAD done was poured her soup on top of it! It was quite a soggy sandwich! ROFL!!! I like MINE like that too -- but I dunk the sandwich IN the soup!