I wrote this the other day but I am so tired and I go back to bed so easily; I run out of steam. I am mailing this just so you’ll know I’m OK and I will try to do (An update II) over Thanksgiving.
I guess some of you might have thought that I went to Rome to celebrate and visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran; but I didn’t. As I wrote two weeks ago, I was heading to Myrtle Beach with my family. I did and the time has just flown by.
On Monday, the 10th, we rode almost all day to get there. Mary is a great driver and I enjoyed just sitting in the back and watching the landscape go by. We checked into our time/share. We had a great balcony overlooking the pool but with a good view of the ocean and beach. We got together with the gang (19 0f us) at Preston’s, which is an “all you can eat” buffet. I think we got our money’s worth and they wisely put us in a back room because we were not a “quiet” group. I sat next to Trevor Walburn, my great nephew, who is 3 and we talked about his football experiences, which he is enjoying greatly.
On Tuesday, we went to the Carolina Opry and enjoyed their Christmas show. Then we went by and saw Rick and Anita Walburn’s camper. It is more like a home. Beautiful and they tell me easy to pull. I still prefer a hotel with room service!! Then a group of us went to Margueritaville, an interesting restaurant with a volcano in the middle of it. Food was very good and I hear the drinks weren’t bad either. I think we were 17 and had some gift cards to spend!!
On Wednesday, the ladies used the pool and hot tub but I just read out on the balcony. I finished the book I had received from the author the week before. It’s called “Mount Olivet” and is the third in the series that began with “Swampoodle” and continued with “St. Patrick’s Day”. It is all set in Washington and I have enjoyed them all. Then we ( a small group of 9) went to Rossi’s, a nice Italian restaurant that we’ve going to for 11 years to celebrate Rick Thompson’s birthday. It a nice custom. Then we went to see the Christmas Show at Alabama Theatre. Great, as always and we all said, we were ready for Christmas now!
On Thursday, again, Mary did a great job of driving us home. We got to Maggie’s around 7pm and then I drove back to the parish. I was glad to get in my own bed; although I slept very well in my King bed in Myrtle Beach.
On Friday, November 14th, I drove up to Darnestown to Mary of Nazareth School to concelebrate their 20th anniversary. Fr. Ray Fecteau was honored for helping to get the school started. It is on the property of Our Lady of the Visitation parish, of which he was the founding pastor. It was a nice celebration but I came right home afterwards, I thought I was beginning to catch a cold.
On Saturday, I had a baptism at 11am. Please keep Frederick Christian and his family in your prayers. Then I had the 5:30pm Mass and drove over to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Forest Glen to attend the Mary knight’s dinner. I saw Jerry Trancone and lots of people I knew but again, I came home early.
On Sunday, I took the 9am Mass because Father Regis was sick. I had a baptism at 1pm, please keep Sophie Lyric and her family in your prayers. I met with a young man and his Mom to see about arranging for Confirmation prep. And I went to bed early!!
I spent my entire day sleeping. Oona had emergency surgery today and I have been driving her all over the whole of last week. She has kylothorax which is a very rare disease of the lymph system which causes fluid to build up outside the lungs and heart resulting in shortness of breath and heart problems. She will be home in about 10 days. I miss her being with me, since we have conversations all the time. I know, because I realized last night that I was looking for her and calling to her out loud. Finally connected her absence with my driving her to the Paradise Veterinary hospital center in Paradise, NL. It takes about 45 minutes to get up there when it is not snowing. None of the snow is sticking much right now, but this weekend the bulk of the island will be hit by the storm you US people are sending our way. I will be in the heavy rain area on the east coast with high winds. It’s a good thing I enjoy fog and cold wet weather. The heating system has been burning wood since October as it has been cold early.
I thought perhaps you had given up on your blog. Glad to see that’s not the case.
Peace, from the enchanted island of Newfoundland