Angels among us

Wikipedia describes "angels" as supernatural beings created to assist us. I believe the definition to be accurate. I have seen many divine creations over the last several weeks, vis-a-vis the transistion of my mother from this life to the next. But most notably, one of these angels has a name, Susan. Not only is Susan an angel, she's also my mother's daughter, which makes her my sister. She is without a doubt one of the most remarkable people God has ever created. I will be the first to admit that every family is designed in such a way that there is at least one angel, that's the way God does things! In our family it's Susan, not doubt, no argument, no question! The things she had done, willingly, without being asked, without question, in helping prepare our mother for destination Heaven is indescribable. I know some of what she has done, but believe me, that's only the "tip of the iceburg!" One can only imagine what kind of care an elderly parent requires. I can tell you this, they don't teach this stuff in high school. Our mother is on her deathbed, or so we think. She's a stubborn Finn, who hates being left out, or left behind. She doesn't want to "miss a trick." If she only knew, and there's no way she can, that there is someone doing things for her that she would never allow, not in a million years, to help her in her time of need. What Susan is doing goes way beyond the scope of nurturing, whish she's always been good at. She's doing things that only the gifted, the called, the angelic can do. She's "smoothing out the bumps" on the gateway to Heaven. I write these things, not for Sue's benefit. She doesn't need it, nor does she subscribe to this blog. I write these things for my own benefit. I write these things as a reminder of what one person can do for another. Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of these, meaning those who are less fortunate, less important, we do for Him. That's how I know Susan is an angel! Shes's been preparing Mom, as a mother prepares her daughter, to meet the Bridegroom. Thank you Susan, I'll never forget all that you've done, and continue to do, to keep our family together. And thank you Mom for Susan.

...another wine story?

Okay, you all know by now that we made wine in Worcester this summer. I don't mean to bore you, but I had a revelation today, one that you might find interesting. Contrary to popular belief, I have only given away two bottles of the wine we (Tony, Chris, Giuliano, Hugh, Joe Cool, and I) made. I gave a bottle to John and Jackie Kowal, and a bottle to Steve and Cathi Berg. The interesting thing was the all of the recipients asked for more! Mind you, these are not greedy people, just true oenophiles. I have had the priviledge of sharing bottles of good, if not great, wine with both of these couples. However, I find it quite interesting, if not extremely unusual, that both couples would request more. After meditating on this briefly, I came to only one conclusion. Please be warned, this might shock some of you. The wine we made was good, real good. May I be so bold to suggest that this was perhaps some of the best homemade wine ever made in Worcester. Hold on now, I'm gonna upset some of you, I know, but you'll get over it. This wine was better than that which Jesus made! I know what your saying, "How could you?", "That's blasphemy!" Hold on now. Jesus never said he made good wine. Wasn't it the banquet master in John 2, who said that Jesus saved the best for last? Jesus didn't say the wine was good, he just made it, albeit, miraculously. With that being said, Jesus says in John 14:12 that "greather things would we do." If we take Jesus at His word, He expects our wine to be better! He also expects us to share it. With that in mind, we are going to double our capacity next year. We want to bless twice as many people, or bless the same ones twice as much, as this year. Either way, it's a miracle!

Red wine...

Tony and I made wine this summer. Actually, I helped Tony make wine this summer. Okay, Tony, me, Christoper, Joe Cool, Guiliano, and Hugh made wine this summer. Yeah, me and Tony provided most of the manual labor, and Giuliano helped when he wasn't jammin', but for the most part, the others had more of a financial influence on the overall process. I think this was the best homemade wine I have ever tasted, perhaps with exception of a bottle that Tony and Fiore made, which Tony brought to the Cape quite a few years ago. At any rate, this wine is so good that Tony and I have discussed doubling our capacity next year. I'd like to have some real cool labels printed, which should be pretty easy, except neither of us have a great deal of graphics experience. If any of you would like to offer some suggestions on a logo, now's the time! I'd like to add more to this blog but Nancy is all alone upstairs, drinking wine....

Favorite songs...

What an awesome night we had! Erin made fajitas...one of her specialties. The red and green perppers were "al dente", unlike the soggy, over-cooked version I usually make. We've also been enjoying real rice, not the stuff that comes in bags, which is all I know how to cook. There is nothing as satisfying as good rice, except good pasta.

Kelly joined us for supper, which made it especially good. Chris had a mandatory poker game, we got Kelly. Mitchell showed off as he usually does when Kelly is around. She's responsible for teaching Mitchell lots of neat things, great practice should she decide to have children some day, that's all I'm saying.

We started talking about music. I'm hooked on Miley Cyrus's new song, you know the one. What a great song. Jason and the girls told me that it's a "bubble gum" song, I know that. I know what I like. I like driving guitar licks, intense percussion, outrageous base, none of the things Miley's song contain. I still like it. It's simple, pretensious, a "good for Miley song."

My Ipod contains some great songs. I asked everyone to download their favorite songs on my Ipod, they didn't. I don't think they have a favorite song. I have hundreds, how could they not have one? I guess there are too many songs today, which make it difficult to have a favorite. The Beatles aren't anyone's favorite anymore, neither are the Stones, or Bob Dylan. With all of the stuff that's being played today, it's hard to have a favorite. Everyone likes U2, not everyone likes Beyonce, or Mary J. When you consider all of the options, how can you not like Miley?

How sweet it is...

Kelly and Christopher are having a baby! I know it sounds like good news to you, but it's GREAT news to me. I love kids. I especially love grandkids. I only have one, Mitchell, to date, but I can remember when I only had one kid, Kelly. She was smart, and still is. She was beautiful, and is so much more so today! She's married to a "one of a kind guy", which I love very much. Together they made a baby, which isn't here yet, but will be this summer. I can't wait to hold my second grandchild. I don't know if it's a girl or buy, but it doesn't matter. Either way, the baby will be healthy, smart, and beautiful! Our family has a history of making beautiful babies. Ask my Mom, she's honest. Jokingly I asked Nancy, "what if the baby is a girl and looks like Chris?" You see, Chris is a big, strong, muscular guy, and I couldn't imagine a girl looking like him. Then Nancy reminded me, or maybe it was Erin (I think it was), what if it's a girl and looks like Andrea (Chris's sister)?" Andrea is a tall, stunning woman. I think if we have a girl it will look exactly like Andrea, thanks Chris! As long as she doesn't look like me! Boy or girl, we are expecting another awesome baby! Get ready St. Anselm's, here we come!!!

Mitchell

I have a new best friend. His name is Mitchell, and he's my grandsone, my first grandchild. He is so cool. When I wake up in the morning he is the first person I see. Nancy gets him from his crib at about 6:30, and takes him downstairs while she makes coffee. I can hear them as they come up the stairs. Nancy has Mitchell in her arm, Starbucks in her hand. She says to me, "Charl, that's what she calls me in the morning, someone wants to see you." It's Mitchell. Perfect smile, round face...full of joy. Why doesn't everyone look that way first thing in the morning? Nancy places Mitchell on my chest as I'm lying in bed. I don't know if he wants to jump, or just sit there, so I wait for his cue. He tells me. Sometimes he just wants to sit there, and reach out and pull my mustache. I used to have a goatee, which he love to pull and tug on. I shaved it 'cuz it made me look old. On occasion Molly will jump on the bed. Mitchell loves to pull on her fur. It's a lot better than pulling on my goatee, and it comes out a lot easier. He ends up with fistfuls of fur, what a guy! I play a game with Mitchell that I play with Molly. I pretend that my overhead finger is a missile. I call the game "Missle Launch", and it comes complete with sound effects. Mitchell looks at my finger as it slowly approaches his forehead. He like the sound, and I think he's figured out that it's my finger. He likes everything. That's why I enjoy spending so much time with Mitchell. He has a calming affect on my spirit. I can't wait to take him fishing, and teach him how to ice skate, and build camp fires, and sing as if nobody's watching! When I start to think that he'll be a lot like me, I begin to realize I wan't to be more like him...

Peace

Wednesdays

Tomorrow's payday, can't wait. My check, however, is already deposited....already spent. Tomorrow night would be a great night for Chinese food, however I have to go to a funeral service for the sister of a good friend. Jim, my aforementioned friend, is paralyzed. He's been in a wheelchair for a long time, the result of a wrestling accident. Even before we moved into our new house, which occurred in August of '06, Jim provided us with a housewarming gift. On the bumper of one of our cars, which was illegally parked in the driveway of our new home, as we did not have an occupancy permit, was a card from Jim. In the card was a gift card for $400 from Rotmans. Jim wanted us to have a new carpet, or run. We bought a rug, not from Rotmans, and invited Jim to see our new house. He hated the rug, said it "looked like crap." Jim was right! Last week Nancy bought a new rug, a nice one from Pottery Barn. This is the rug Jim would want us to have. I can't wait to invite him over to see it. His sister died this past weekend, he's hurt. I'm gonna invite him over for dinner. I want to be of some comfort for him during this trying time. He'll like the rug, but it won't replace his sister. Pray for him....