Thanksgiving Dinner and What I'm Thankful for

I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to cook for Thanksgiving and enjoys it! This year, I decided to go with meats (ham and turkey) from the Honey Baked Ham Company, although this may be the last year I do this for family dinner, to allow for more time to cook sides from scratch.

Sides and dinner will consist of:

Homemade Fresh Green Bean Casserole to replace the well known classic from Campbell's Soup. The recipe seems to be very similar to this classic, but it made from scratch which will allow for less sodium, and hopefully calories, than usual.

Homemade baked Macaroni and Cheese - private four, sometimes five, cheese recipe. I'm not sharing the recipe at this point. ;) Maybe sometime in the future I'll share it.

New York style Cheesecake

This year, I am trying out a couple of new recipes, but if they work out I'll try to pre-make them instead of having to do everything on Thanksgiving day.

For me, as someone who grew up in a Jehovah's Witness household and without the holidays, this is one of my favorite treats! Cooking for my family and having special creamers and such for the holidays makes my week. No longer is this just another day, it is truly a day to be thankful for my family, having Christ in my life, my many friends, and the many blessings I have been blessed with.

This year, I am especially thankful for my dad. I know in my heart that I will not have him around too much longer -- a couple of years, at the best right now. He has been a blessing to me, not only from the viewpoint that I know I was planned and wanted without a doubt, but he taught me how to be independent and giving. For all of my father's faults, he is a giving and loving person even if he has not found Christ. I pray, this day and always, that he find Christ.

I am thankful for my Church family that I love without doubt.

I am thankful for my cats -- they have been a true blessing from Christ and example of unconditional love.

I am thankful for my assistant. Without her, my office would not run nearly as smoothly. Her and her family are in my prayers.

I am thankful for my job during a time when many people do not have jobs or are in danger of losing their jobs.

tangent time ~ pharmacy problems...

As many of you know, my dad has COPD and has been ill for a couple of years now. Well, part of this problem includes frequent trips to the doctor and pharmacy. His pharmacy of choice has been a growing problem with average wait times of an hour to have a prescription filled even when on the way home from the doctor's and drive through time of over 30 minutes. I cannot begin to explain the problems this caused for me and the MAJOR inconvenience it was.

Yesterday, I decided to lodge a complaint with the pharmacist and I was told the drive through was meant for "little old ladies" and that speed was not an essence at this particular pharmacy. He claimed it was "company policy" and implied that others were abusing or did not deserve the use of the drive through. At this time, I promised him this company will NEVER have my business as this behavior is uncalled for and that attitude is appalling. Frankly, I am pulling my hair out trying to handle dad's illness, my full-time job, and just having a life so a pharmacy that seems to think NOTHING of making my life more difficult really ticks me off.

Well, after deciding to move all of dad's prescriptions to another pharmacy, I decided to find out if this is really the company policy for this company. Thankfully, it isn't, but I will not be returning to this particular location at any point in the near future. Time to take a deep breathe...

Current Events...

Last week was a bit of wake-up call for the Anglican Church and many within the Catholic Church. The news began with the announcement that Pope Benedict will be offering a way for Anglican priests to come home to Rome and moved to the dramatic news that a Dominican Nun is acting as an escort at an abortion mill... finally, the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina voted on measures distancing the diocese from the national Episcopal Church. WOW! What a week. I hope I can find time to offer commentary on these events.

Take care all!

In the Mist of War: Remembering 9/11 through poetry

In the Mist of War
In Remembrance of the 11 September 2001 attack on the United States of America.

Walking around in a daze as smoke darkens the sky.
Feeling like a character from a novel as
day turns to night and time stands still.
We pray to God that we will awaken from this nightmare,
knowing we are awake and the horror is real,
yet we are unable to admit it.
This is what happens when war comes to America.
Thousands are dead or injured.
How does life continue?
Our nation has been attacked,
symbols of our country have been destroyed.
Indestructible buildings were demolished.
America prays to God for protection
and cries out for revenge while our enemies laugh for joy.
Will peace be restored or are we on the brink of war?

This poem is my personal composition and may only be reused with acknowledgment of the source.

9/11 Eight Years Later: Gone, but not Forgotten; we hope

The pictures come from a variety sources available to New York Mag and are being used under the provisions of the Fair Use Act. I am not making any profit from this blog or the use of the photos.

Health Care, Health Insurance, and Human Rights

This is a situation that is tearing our country and often our Churches apart, but I believe that this situation is more complex than just implementing a "public option" that fines people who do not have insurance. Health Care is a right, as Catholic Bishops have declared, but so is transportation, housing, and food. Does this mean we fine people who do not have cars or provide a car or pay for bus/taxi transportation for everyone? Do we truly ensure everyone has adequate housing? Obviously not, because every major city has an abundance of homeless people.

So, how do we respond to this situation? How about enabling cross state boundary insurance purchasing instead of limiting who we can purchase insurance from. In many ways, this would enable price competition for insurance. How about allowing people to pick and choose what they want covered? I don't need coverage for prostate cancer or pregnancy and definitely don't want abortions covered by my premiums. There are ways to make insurance more affordable without fining people for not having the coverage the Government demands - no copays for certain "well being" visits and an end to the original health insurance that most of us had that covered hospitalization and major health problems.

Personally, I believe the Government can play a role in enable affordable health care for all people by limiting malpractice lawsuits and in many ways getting out of the regulation business. Listening to Obama tonight, I eventually tuned him out figuring that I could read the "speech" without the interruption of constant clapping.

Sometime this week, I am going to read his speech and compare his words to the health care bills being argued before commenting any further, because, frankly, I've learned that what people say isn't always what it is.

Peace be with you always.

Until the next time,
Anastasia

Death: A time to bring families together or divide?

When a family member dies the true colors of a family begin to show and sometimes it isn't a pretty picture. Does the family come together to mourn and celebrate that person's life or do they fight and bicker? A strong family may question why God allows a young person to die and grieve over the death of their loved one, but they still reach out to each other with love and often realize they need to say, "I love you," to those they love more often. They question God and look for answers, but they do not allow anger or pettiness to rule their lives even when a young adult is taken from them in the prime of their life. Other families will fight and argue, spout off about how much they hated the person who died, or even refuse to grieve. Grief in this case is harmful instead of a time of strength to grow together.

How are you forming your family? Are you developing a family that sticks together even through the tough times or do you allow the hurts of life to divide you? As Christians, we should be focusing on love, charity, the heart of Christ's teachings. Otherwise, we risk our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Even when we have been harmed in the past, we have to forgive so that the hurt and anger of past does not rule our life. This is often a hard part of Christianity and even of emotional wellbeing, but 1 Corinthians 13 reminds of what love is and that love has no room for anger. This does not mean we cannot feel anger, but it means we must move past it and allow love to be our fuel instead of anger. Is this a part of our faith that we practice or is it one of the inconvenient teachings that we dismiss in the heat of the moment.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you always!

Late, but not forgotten

Last Saturday, July 11, 2009, marked my one year anniversary as an Oblate of St. Benedict affiliated with St. Vincent Archabbey. Becoming an Oblate was a blessed event made even more special by the efforts of Fr. Wilson. I will never forget the solemnity of the day, the presence of my dear friends, and the efforts Father put into making this a special day for me.

Upcoming: Solemn High Latin Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Beloved

As per our parish bulletin and website:

On Friday, August 14th at 7:00pm, there will be a Solemn High Latin Mass here at the Cathedral [of St. John the Beloved, 120 Broad Street, Charleston, SC] as we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mark Thomas and our wonderful Cathedral choir will be providing the music to accompany the sacred liturgy. Visiting with us will be the rector of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in Shreveport, Louisiana, Fr. Peter Mangum, who will be serving in the role as deacon. Subdeacon will be Mr. Tyrone Thompson, a seminarian for the Diocese of Columbus. (Yours truly [Rev. Gregory B. Wilson] will be the celebrant of the Mass.) The usual 3rd Saturday Latin Mass will be offered as normal the next morning (Saturday) at 8:30am.

The Tale of Two Cats

Originally, there were two beautiful tabby cats - Thomas and Gregory. Each cat was named after a particular Catholic Saint – St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Gregory the Great respectively. They played together and basically drove their human mother up a wall until one day Gregory was all by himself, because Thomas was hit by a car and did not make it. Gregory remained with his human mother and became the most spoiled thing on earth after he told his mother exactly how mad he was at her and that he blamed her for Thomas going away. See, Gregory didn't realize or believe that his mother wasn't at fault for Thomas going away so he was going to teach his mother a lesson. Thankfully, mother was a patient soul, at least with her kitten, and loved him regardless of his occasional temper tantrum. Various other kitties were introduced to the family over the years and Gregory refused to accept them, because he was still mourning his brother, until one day this stray little black kitten waltzed in the door. The first week or so, Gregory hissed at the little one and occasionally at mother, but eventually Gregory came around to accepting this little one. Sadly, little one didn't have a name since he was just wandering the street near mother's work until she brought him in. So, the human adults began to discuss all sorts of names for him such as Benedict after St. Benedict and Pope Benedict XVI, Aquinas, smut face as suggested by the human grandmother, and zipper. Eventually, the human grandmother suggested the name Wilson and mother had to think about this as this would mean her two little ones would have the same name as a priest friend. Eventually, mother relented and allowed the little one to be called Wilson so now we have Gregory and Wilson. Shortly thereafter, this amusing story was shared with the appropriate priest friend and everyone shared a good laugh. Thankfully, it turns out there is another little black kitty named after him. Hereby, the Tale of Two Cats is closed and they lived together happily ever after.