Category Archives: Loose Pollen

by | December 26, 2022 · 3:49 pm

Second Day of Christmas

Happy “Second Day of Christmas” … aka, Boxing Day. The first day of Christmas began at Vespers on Christmas Eve. Today is the second day of Christmas. The twelfth day of Christmas will be on January 5, followed by the Feast of Epiphany on January 6.

ARIZONA: On Saturday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson dismissed Kari Lake’s lawsuit, saying her lawyers had not proven Maricopa officials committed any kind of misconduct. Riiiiiiiiiight … they showed that 60% of the election centers had broken machines and that hundreds of thousands of ballots were counted without chain of custody. But yeah, totes free and fair. I think I hear Satan sparking up another fire.

DEMOCRATS: U.S. taxpayers sent billions of dollars to Ukraine. Ukraine invested tens of millions of it into FTX, which laundered it into $40+ million in donations to Democrats during the run-up to the midterms. FTX is now bankrupt and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (who was Biden’s second biggest donor) faces multiple charges for fraud. Now we’ve learned that FTX had a direct back channel communications setup with the White House that was closed the day after FTX went bankrupt.

Also this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g0MWx16-HO4 – religious freedom disappears under Zelensky.

EXCESS DEATHS: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m4lL5YTJLDM to hear a quick report about how the fifth largest life insurance company in the United States paid out 163% more for deaths of working people ages 18-64 in 2021 (i.e., post-vaxxx) than they had in 2020 (i.e., during height of the pandemic). Total claims/benefits went up by $6 BILLION. And they were for non-COVID deaths.

PAVONE: [10:46] – It makes me sad to see him in civvies. Also this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A-HjPBsL4vY.

RAACISM: [8:02] – You want to blame racism? Fine, then start with Democrats whose welfare policies destroyed Black families by rewarding single motherhood. Black households aren’t poorer because of skin color. They’re poorer because single parent homes are almost always poorer than two parent homes and 64% of American children who are in single parent households are Black.

SOCIALISM: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1447860065737664/?s=single_unit for a short and accurate history of revolutionaries who started out playing the victim card.

SPITZER: [38:47] – The anti-God trend in science and among scientists has reversed!

TRUMP: Dems and NeverTrumpers went all the way to the Supreme Court before they were able to get access to his tax returns. For years, court after court upheld Trump’s right to IRS privacy. Then, about 5 minutes after SCOTUS said, “Okay, YOU guys can see it“, they released it all to the public!

Maybe they needed help deciphering the mountain of data, cuz clearly, they thought there had to be something in there that would destroy him politically. I mean, they’re cheating, lying scumbags, so it is only natural that they assume everyone else is. Too bad for them, all we learned is that Trump lost $2 billion while serving in the White House.

On Friday, Trump called on the GOP Congress to release the Biden Crime Family’s tax returns. Hey … turnabout is fair play, so yeah, let’s see how much their net worths changed while allegedly “serving” the public and exactly where and when those changes occurred. Then, let’s see the Pelosis’!

TUCKER: [12:19] – 2022 was the year of Democrat Lies.

GRAMMY NOTES: I saw this on FB and it reminded me … When my sil had an elevated HCG, the OB ordered an early ultrasound. The tech took so long that she became concerned, because her previous pregnancy had miscarried. So she asked, “Is it okay?” The tech said, “Oh yeah, they’re all fine.” ::gulp:: “Uhh, how many is ‘all’?” When I heard she was having triplets, I burst into tears. She wore a size TWO. I thought no WAY she could carry three long enough! But, thank God, they all survived and thrived.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1479258602595763/ – Grocery store santa

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/2082121138663113/ – Rescue

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/2082121138663113/ – Rehab

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by | December 25, 2022 · 11:24 am

Merry Christmas!

This painting entitled Little Lamb was painted by Jenedy Paige who had this to say about it:

A few years ago, I began to feel that I should attempt a Nativity painting. This of course was a very daunting idea, but I figured the best place to start was with research. I began with Luke 2:7,

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

I also came upon an article of archaeologist, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, and found it eye opening and inspiring. Jeffrey R. Chadwick has worked in Israel as a researcher and field archaeologist for over thirty years, specializing in the backgrounds of biblical narratives. He suggested that the manger would have most likely been carved out of white limestone, one of the most abundant natural resources in the Israelite region, and showed pictures of many similar mangers they have uncovered on archaeological digs. And while we like to think of the baby, “asleep on the hay”, he also states that this was also unlikely, as grass was available on the hills surrounding Judea year round. They really would have had no need to store hay, and the mangers were most likely used for water.

I also learned that while we often think of “swaddling bands” as scraps of fabric, showing the poverty of Mary and Joseph, they were actually a big part of Israelite culture. When a young woman was betrothed she immediately began embroidering swaddling bands, which were 5-6” wide strips of linen that would be embroidered with symbols of the ancestry of the bride and groom. Thus the bands symbolized the coming together of the two families as one. They also symbolized the integrity of the woman, as she strove to make both sides of the embroidery match exactly, symbolizing to her soon to be husband that she was as good on the inside as she was on the outside. These bands were then wrapped around the hands of the couple at the wedding ceremony. So the bands the Savior was swaddled in may have included the lion of Judah and the stem of Jesse.

As I wrapped my head around these rather mind altering ideas, I realized that many of the concepts that we have of the Savior’s birth revolve around paintings of European artists from centuries ago. I’m sure they painted according to the best of their abilities and knowledge, but I also wondered why more modern painters had yet to illustrate these concepts. I felt up to the task and began sketching right away. I picked up limestone from a stone yard, I bought linen from the fabric store, and just in time one of my good friends had a baby boy, and oddly enough, his name was Luke. I put all these components together and created this painting.

As I’ve sketched and worked, my heart has been so full as I’ve uncovered this image. For when you take away the Hollywood drama, the traditions of centuries, and the wood and the hay, all you’re really left with is a babe in white linen on white stone. And my mind immediately went to the purpose of the Savior’s life: He was born to die. He came as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind; so how fitting that He would begin his life on a stone altar of sorts, and be wrapped in white linen, like he would after His death. And of course He would be placed in a trough for water, for He would be Living Water, and would bring life to all. I also found myself weeping for the Father, and how it must have felt to see His Son begin life foreshadowing His death. My heart was so full of gratitude that He would send His Only Begotten to be the Savior for us all. That He would send His Son, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to die so that we all might live. What good news, what comfort and joy, what a gift was given to us all. O come, let us adore Him.

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by | December 24, 2022 · 11:15 am

Bits & Bytes

ABORTION: [1:30] – The Pro-Life Action League’s annual “Peace in the Womb” Christmas Caroling campaign is taking place at over 80 abortion facilities this year, continuing a 20-year tradition that has saved lives. Women walk out of abortion clinics and tell the singers that hearing the music caused her to cancel her abortion.

BORDER: CLICK https://rumble.com/v21rwuw-karine-jean-pierres-border-spin-debunked-by-illegal-aliens.html [:15] to hear KJP’s latest lie debunked.

CLIMATE LIES: Last September, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres claimed climate, weather and water-related disasters had increased by 500% over the last 50 years. This piece of pure misinformation was then legitimized via false statistic by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), one of the founding bodies of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). And, of course, the IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations.

Professor Roger Pielke says that, for 2022, the total number of weather- and climate-related disasters and the total number of people who died as a result are similar to the averages for the last decade. The number of disasters is about 10% lower than the previous decade, while the overall death rate was not only one of the five lowest ever, but also a twentieth of what it was 2 decades ago!

DEMO-RATS: Rep. Chip Roy tweeted, “The $1.7 trillion omnibus would funnel BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to woke pet projects from members like AOC & Hakeem Jeffries.” CLICK https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1605908593550802946 to see some of the most egregious examples.

EVIL: [9:11] – If you have any lingering doubts about how evil the world has become, watch the video and/or click the links. Then, say a rosary.

GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS: [3:32] – Endo lost his eye sight at age 13. He’s now beaten three world records.

JUSTICE: Oberlin College has finally paid Gibson’s Bakery and Food Mart the $36.6 million the court ordered for tarring the family business “racist” for having defended themselves from a student thief who happened to be black. S’about time!

PAVONE: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has issued a scorching declaration of Pope Francis’ persecution of Fr. Frank A. Pavone. He uses very strong language, using words like “persecutory”, “unjust”, “illegitimate”, and “hateful” and notes, “Bergoglian acolytes are distinguished in this manner: the graver their crimes, the more prestigious the positions they hold.”

THOUGHT POLICE: A British woman has been arrested and charged with four crimes for having prayed silently while standing outside an abortion facility.

UKRAINE: I’ve been inclined to support Ukraine, what with Russia apparently having been the aggressor. However, the fact that these news sites are all in on supporting Ukraine makes me question that position. Plus, you know, Democrats insisted on sending billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight Russia, then FAUXTUS released a seriously notorious convicted arms dealer from an American prison, so he could go home to help Russia beat Ukraine. All in all, I feel like we’re being played.

WOMEN’S SPORTS: The Professional Disc Golfer’s Association (PDGA), which previously celebrated a man claiming to be a woman who outperformed females in major women’s tournaments, has reversed course and instituted a new rule that will ban most males from playing in the women’s division.

GRAMMY NOTES: This is me, post-grandkids. LOL

CLICK https://twitter.com/MarkWoodleyTV/status/1605961457337712640 [1:31] for a wonderfully snarky weather report.

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by | December 23, 2022 · 6:16 pm

COVID Update

The CDC’s graphic above shows the word is getting out. According to them, only 16.3 percent of eligible adults have received the updated booster. Now that Elon Musk has lifted the Twitter ban on disseminating information toxic to Big Pharma and its Democrat lackeys at the FDA, CDC, WHO, and Slimestream Media, perhaps even more people will finally learn what we who have paying attention to the science have known all along.

Rasmussen Reports has finally done what most pollsters and jerknalists won’t do – find out who has had a major adverse reaction to the jab. Rasmussen’s head pollster, Mark Mitchell, says in the video, “Democrats and Republicans reported almost the same exact level of side effects, so, it’s not politicized.” Also,“People are really being harmed by this. It’s true. It’s out there. People are still trying to cover it up. I think that’s a major story.”

Researchers confessed to being surprised at the results of a recent study that not only showed the mRNA jabs increase the risk of contracting COVID-19, but that this risk increased with each subsequent booster. The data also suggested that those who have not received any COVID-19 shots have the lowest risk of getting the disease.

The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) shows a 4,070% increase in miscarriages and stillbirths since the mRNA toxin was foisted upon us. There has been a similar sharp increase in menstrual disorders.

Supply contracts for the so-called “COVID-19 vaccines” that Pfizer has provided to European Union nations clearly state that the injectable materials provided will not be identical to those used in the clinical trials, that Pfizer has no clue as to long-term effects of said materials, and that there may be unknown adverse effects that could be better or worse than the 24% in the clinical trials.

The FDA has finally admitted that the mRNA gene therapy causes blood clotting in the lungs of recipients aged 65 and older. Also called pulmonary embolisms, large or multiple blood clots in the lungs can fatal. Less serious complications include reduced oxygen levels in the blood and organ damage.

The jab appears to double your chances of experiencing sudden hearing loss. The data suggest each successive shot increases the risk.

A Washington state hospital ignored the parents request to use vaxxx-free blood for their baby. The hospital lied to the parents about how difficult and expensive such a request would be (it’s neither) and transfused him with blood from the general bank blood. Given the high vaxxx rate in Washington, there is a near 80% chance the boy got blood from a vaxxxed donor. A few hours after the transfusion, the little boy developed a blood clot that, despite massive doses of blood thinners, stretches from his left knee all the way to his heart. Now, the baby is dead and the hospital is claiming they have no record of him every being treated there. The photo above is from the day Alexander died.

A Swiss study of data from around the world shows the mRNA gene therapies are causing myocarditis in about 3% of recipients. CLICK https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/dr-peter-mccullough-and-dr-aseem-malhotra-how-the-covid-19-vaccines-impact-the-heart_4929815.html [59:15] to see an interview with Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Aseem Malhotra about how the COVID-19 jabs impact the heart. < This is worth your time!

Pfizer has finally admitted that their product was never tested on whether or not it prevented transmission of the disease … never mind that we were told it totally did … except then we found out it absolutely didn’t.

A new study suggests that Molnupiravir may create subvariants. “All patients treated with the drug accrued new mutations in the spike protein of the virus, including non-synonymous mutations that altered the amino acid sequence. Our study demonstrates that this commonly used antiviral can ‘supercharge’ viral evolution in immunocompromised patients, potentially generating new variants and 25 prolonging the pandemic.”

Tony Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, is a director of Bioethics at the NIH. She heads the NIH section on human subject trials for vaccine development. IOW, while Fauci was pushing the vaxxx on us, his wife was the person who did not blow the whistle on the numerous adverse effects (like death) that occurred during clinical trials.

Fauci has retired, but the conflicts of interest have not. St. Tony’s replacement, Hugh Auchincloss, has a daughter named Kalah who is up to her neck in promoting the incestuous relations between Big Pharma and the federal agencies supposedly tasked with regulating and protecting us from their greed. The firm that Kalah Auchincloss works for specializes in greasing the wheels for pharmaceutical companies to get their drugs approved. IOW, Kalah will get paid by companies that depend on her daddy’s decisions.

Dr. Kerryn Phelps is blowing the whistle on vaxxx injuries. Phelps isn’t just any doctor. She’s both a former MP and former President of the Australian Medical Association. Sad but ironically true, Phelps herself suffered a vaxxx injury as a result of her second jab … while she was busy promoting the government’s push to get everyone injected.

Internal files released by Elon Musk show that the pre-Elon Twitter actively suppressed both positive information about early treatment options as well as negative information about the vaxxx. Dr. Peter McCullough, one of the earliest of ‘rona truth tellers, was suspended for sharing scientific abstracts and manuscripts that didn’t fix the Global Elitist’s agenda.

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by | December 23, 2022 · 12:56 pm

Bits & Bytes

ARIZONA: A star witness of Kari Lake’s has testified shared that a very large portion of the Maricopa County ballots were printed on the wrong size paper which jammed the tabulating machines on Election Day.

CATHOLIC: [9:45] – Please offer up your prayers, rosaries, etc. for this brave and holy priest. I have no doubt that he has been assaulted in this most egregious way purely out of politics. There’s a petition on his behalf at the LifeSiteNews link below.

Speaking of which, I had a pro-Bergoglio priest tell me, in all seriousness, that reading LifeSiteNews was putting my eternal soul in jeopardy, because, according to him, criticizing the pontiff is a mortal sin. Ah, no. Saint Catherine of Siena was quite vocal about her pontiff’s failings and she’s not only been canonized, but also named a Doctor of the Church! She also appears to have been active in the politics of the time, so … hmmm.

JUNK SCIENCE: [4:12] – A recent study, conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, claims that in U.S. states where abortion have been restricted or banned, women and infants mortality rates have gone up. Michael New, Assistant Professor of Social Research at Catholic University of America and National Review Contributor, explains why the study is “junk study” and why the opposite is true.

HE PERSISTED: Two of the 50 something public (PUBLIC) libraries that host Drag Queen Story Hours, but refused Kirk Cameron space for a faith-based story hour, have reversed their decisions.

“I hope they realized that their position of denying me a story hour reading was not only unfair and illegal, but that we would all be better off if we listened to each other’s perspectives,” he said.

MARY’S MIDWIFE: Aleteia writes, “Luke tells us plainly, ‘And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem … And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered’ (Luke 2: 4-6).” IOW, it is likely that Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem ahead of the birth and had ample time to prepare for her delivery. I’m relieved to know this, since I have often imagined how horrible it would have been to endure labor contractions while riding a donkey!

Another thing I’m relieved to learn is that Joseph likely had time to seek out a local midwife. In The Protoevangelium of James, a non-canonical text that dates from about AD145, Joseph seeks out and finds a midwife who delivers the baby, puts Him to Mary’s breast, then marvels at the miracle of a virgin giving birth. Aleteia also notes, “Ancient Orthodox and Byzantine icons recall this truth and often feature Mary’s midwife in the corner of the icon, bathing the newborn Christ child.”

REPARATIONS: “People of African slave descent shouldn’t really point at historical UK. They should better start with today’s current problem – according to the Global Slavery Index, at least 40 million people are still slaves these days, and (oops) modern slavery is worst in Africa, followed by the Asia and the Pacific region. Just saying…..” – John Nash

RINOS: While we Americans are busy with the holidays, our sleazebag politicians are busy spending our future earnings. Michael Knowles notes that the spending bill is longer than The Iliad, The Divine Comedy, and The Holy Bible combined. To see the names of the RINOs who voted in favor of MORE debt for us and a ton of $ for the vicious Dems to continue persecuting J6 prisoners, click the Geller Report link.

GRAMMY NOTES: Hello again! The Texans and Nonno have left for the Italian clans’ traditional Christmas tortellini making, (more) presents, and tons of food with multiple aunties, uncles, and cousins. Exhausted but happy Happy HAPPPY Grammy is getting much needed rest.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Sfdj8U8Vke4 … still wet from birth! ❤

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_sp2YKq9MGA … what she said!

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OYiLTPeuKGg …. and him too!

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by | December 23, 2022 · 10:46 am

Deeply regrettable

By John Nash at Country Squire Magazine.

At the end of November, the BBC, our nation’s very own 5th column and bastion of national self-hatred, announced with glee that “Jamaica is considering whether to seek compensation from a wealthy Conservative MP for his family’s historical role in slavery” – a role from 400 years ago.

For those who have been hiding incommunicado in a covid bunker for some time and thus unaware, the treasure hunt called “Black Lives Matter” has given birth to a new form of the game called “reparations lotto” in which greedy black people who have never been slaves try to sue rich white people who have never owned any.

According to the BBC’s ovary-waving, token-studded irrelevance, Jamaica’s interest was apparently “stimulated by reports in the UK press”, a stimulation that is hardly needed and not surprising – in 2020 and 2021, the Guardian published a couple of weaselly articles that included the following tiny gems of journalistic rabbit-droppings:

“Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset,…lives in the palatial Grade I-listed Charborough House…Gilded life…extremely wealthy… Drax fortune…But for all his wealth and power, there is a dark shadow hanging over Richard Drax… his family’s historical links with slavery in the plantations of the West Indies”.

Richard Drax quite properly says his family’s historical role in the slave trade was “deeply, deeply regrettable”. I am sure it is now, but not at the time. Quite overlooked is the fact that his brave, pioneering ancestors cleared some Barbados jungle in the 1620’s and experimented with growing and processing sugar, a pretty impressive feat of enterprise back then, around the time of the Mayflower sailing, and thirty years before Britain defeated the Spanish in the area.

Showing all the wisdom of any modern tank-chaser, Martyn Day of Leigh Day, the lawyers who pursued baseless claims against British troops in Iraq, reportedly said of the claim, “the case against Mr Drax is undoubtedly a tough one”. Well understated, Martyn old son – there is the little matter of  ex post facto criminalisation to consider and Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights that says:

“No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed”.

Still, that won’t put a pack of hungry legal beagles off if a defendant has a huge pile of wonga that smells like pedigree chump. In today’s world, blame easily trumps that old fashioned concept called truth every time and, as it says in the Bible or somewhere, “Where there’s blame there’s a claim”. A nod is as good as a blink to a blind horse and blame is much easier to invent than truth.  Nod, nod, wink, wink, say no more.

It got me thinking.

First, Africans have been selling their neighbours as slaves since before recorded history – so slavery was more or less normal around the world at that time, even for Africans. When the penny dropped that slaves were, in fact, people and not just “things”, Britain became the world leader in attempting to banish slavery and we used our navy to persuade many other countries to follow – in fact, Britain spent such a huge amount on paying compensation to slave owners to free slaves, we only finished paying it all off in 2015. You read that right – 2015.  Not that we get much thanks, mind.

These slavery compensation claims tend to overlook the fact that the slaves carted off to the Caribbean were actually kidnapped and sold as property by other Africans to the traders in a continuation of centuries of trade. It was Africans who took away their freedom. Slavers were mere accessories after the fact. Whole series of kingdoms such as the Ashanti Kingdom existed in a permanent state of warfare in order to generate enough “prisoners of war” to sell to the slave traders and as many slaves were sent north across the Sahara and west across the Indian Ocean as were sent to the Americas, so good luck suing the Egyptians or Saudis as well. In truth, without British prohibition enforcement, Africans would still be selling each other in their equatorial Garden of Eden, a subject I will finger in a moment.

May I also suggest that, if restitution is imperative, you give the West Indies back to the Arawak people, the original indigenous owners.  There are still plenty of their descendants living around the northern parts of South America and a DNA test will establish entitlement.

People of African slave descent shouldn’t really point at historical UK. They should better start with today’s current problem – according to the Global Slavery Index, at least 40 million people are still slaves these days, and (oops) modern slavery is worst in Africa, followed by the Asia and the Pacific region. Just saying…..

I’ll bet the 40 million modern slaves don’t get to join in the annual United Nations’ International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23rd every year. Like most UN undertakings, the celebration is a tad premature, in their case.

So, Jamaicans, if you want to start mining compensation somewhere, why not start with Africa? Take my advice and phone your lawyer now – just don’t mention the batteries in your phone, using cobalt, a mineral largely mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is estimated that around 35,000 children are working in mines to extract cobalt. You see, a human rights activist involved in a legal case on behalf of those young African slaves, in Africa, had to flee the country for fear of death. It seems when the lawsuits go the other way, Africans can sometimes be a little edgy.

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by | December 22, 2022 · 2:40 pm

Musical interlude

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by | December 20, 2022 · 11:04 am

Grammy Notes

PHOTO: I kept tropical fish for about 30 years, until I couldn’t manage the upkeep any more. My 90-gallon show tank has been sitting empty in the living room for a long time. Over the week-end, I had a massive brainstorm to clean it out and put the Three Kings in there. They’re GORGEOUS ceramic pieces, about 12″ tall, that I won at a Christmas raffle back in the 90s. They instantly became my favorite holiday decor. I’m seriously thinking about making some kind of thematic back drop for them and letting them live in there full time where they’re safe, visible, and making the tank pretty instead of the giant eyesore it’s been since the last fish died.

On to a special edition of Grammy Notes! My cup is runnething over, because the Texans are in town for almost a whole week! Their PN nicknames shalt henceforth be Prince, Princess (aka, our second born), Jay (m. aged 9), May (f. aged 7), and Rey (f. aged 4). Here are my Precious Memories from Monday, December 19, 2022.

The day started off with a smelly towels crisis at their hotel that was averted by Nonno bearing gifts of scent-free terry cloth (but no gold or myrrh).

Master Chef Prince rose to the challenges posed by an unfamiliar kitchen with no grill (imagine!), a mother-in-law with allergies, and not enough butter. (Who runs out of butter?!) But He Overcame and produced a YUGE brunch worthy of royalty … two kinds of sausage, eggs short ordered to one’s desire, grated cheese, sauteed honey-fermented-garlic, buckwheat pancakes with real maple syrup, and a giant bowl of the most scrumptious mix of black, red and blue berries.

The day passed quickly with a flurry of activities, broken by “Kids, we all need to go OUTSIDE FOR SNOW PLAY” while Grammy grabbed a much-needed nap. I have no idea what all Nonno was up to, but I suspect it was a similar blur of high quality time involving games, books, eating and talking. Somehow or other, in the midst, the kitchen got cleaned and Prince went shopping (again), then cooked (again), and served dinner … melt-in-your-mouth steak cooked (again without a grill).

Sharp-eye Rey discovered my Corduroy book and stuffy combo, so we read together and learned what happens when the letter h gets paired with c, t, and s, what “aw“ (as in, “That’s so cute!”) sounds like and how it’s different from “oh” (as in, “I am so surprised!”), and how “I have” and “I’ve” mean the same thing. We also practiced the differences in tongue and lips between bee and dee and talked about how knowing those can help a girl remember how to make the B, D, b, and d letters.

I was thrilled to continue the crochet lessons with Jay and May that were begun during their last visit, back before the plandemic. Their supplies and projects have been waiting for them in my old camera case under the glass table in the living room. Both of them made MAJOR strides in learning the tricky, but critical pinch/pinch/pinch method for keeping perfect tension and stitch size. May struggled with her much smaller hands. I told her what a “learning curve” is and why it takes a lot of stick-to-it-iveness to do crochet, because there is so much to learn all at once right in the beginning.

Both of them managed to produce quite a few perfect single crochet stitches all on their own! Jay also mastered single crochet turns; he is determined to finish a wash cloth to take home. May, who is working on a little hat, inadvertently learned about increasing and decreasing, but we talked about the math and she decided to leave one of each in that row, since the total came out the same. Both of them were intrigued to realize I had crocheted the bowl cozies we use in the microwave. Jay asked how they work, since they’re not done in straight rows like their projects. So I demonstrated the magic circle, which garnered me some wide eyes. LOL

We started the Big Doll House Seek and Find with the living room, emptying all the movable pieces on to the table and exploring everything until each child had found all the items on the list. Jay objected somewhat when I pointed something out to Rey. I said, “She’s the littlest, so she gets a handicap. Do you know what that means?” Eye roll: “Yeah.” 🙂 Then littlest Rey caught something the rest of us had missed. Namely, that the teensy weensy “candy canes in a glass jar” are really peppermint sticks, not candy canes. A few things came unglued here and there, but Grammy was chill and just glued them back on. Good for Grammy!

May and Rey spent quite a lot of quiet time alone in my office, experimenting with my art supplies, after which we had lessons in “Why we never, ever leave the brushes IN the water“, after which we learned how to properly wash and dry paint brushes! We also learned why the colored pencils are stored point up while the colored markers go point down. (Princess: “Does this mean I won’t find markers on the floor with the caps off ever again?” LOL She wishes.) May really, Really, REALLY enjoyed my electric eraser, so I plugged it in to recharge while demonstrating to her how to use the big brush to sweep all the eraser crumbs into the trash. Later, I showed Jay how to replace the eraser she’d used up.

Jay reminded me how to play Mancala; we ended 1-1. Then, I finally got to fulfill a years-long Grammy dream of teaching him how to play Backgammon … not just the rules, but also the strategy. We ended that 1-1 also. I saw some people playing Othello and Uno and I don’t know what else. The kids had NO trouble remember where the toys live, but were bug-eyed that they have expanded beyond the white shelves and now also fill the cupboard under the fish tank! Jay spent a lot of time playing war games with LEGO minifigs and asking me who I thought would win. Rey had a lot of fun with the castle, the school bus, and the little people. The kids all live in the castle, but I don’t know if Batman ever found the school or if he just drove around randomly looking for it while the unbelted children rioted in the back of the bus. 🙂

Prince and I got some quality time to talk. Princess and I mostly cleaned together, but hopefully we can have a good girly talk catch up before they leave. I’m holding up well so far and Princess is very concerned about making that last. Daisey is struggling with the commotion; she’s had two potty accidents and requested some time outs in her crate. I asked the kids to mostly leave her alone, because she’s an old lady now and has some health issues. May said, “Thirteen isn’t old!” I said, “It is in doggy years!” I realize some toy poodles live a lot longer, but Daisey isn’t going to be one of them. She’s let them pet her a few times and Jay has given her her heart meds twice. They taste wonderful and he wants her to like him. 🙂 I think they also took her for a walk with Nonno while I was napping.

The only down side of the day was that, we were having so much fun that nobody thought to take any photos! This morning, I puttered around, cleaning the kitchen and making stew out of some of the left-overs, then came here to rest with all y’alls before the gang arrives for the afternoon and evening. Please pray for my health and energy to hold out until Friday. This time together is so very precious!

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by | December 18, 2022 · 2:28 pm

Lord, Have Mercy On Us

On this, the fourth Sunday of Advent, when the Gospel reading proclaims the holy significance of unborn life, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports that the Vatican is planning to deprive our most prominent pro-life Catholic priest of his faculties.

According to CNA, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, sent a letter on Dec. 13, 2022 to all the U.S. Bishops informing them that Father Frank Pavone has been laicized by the Vatican, with “no possibility of appeal.”

Father Pavone says he has not been notified about the Vatican’s judgment and, as I understand it, the laicization is not complete until he has both been notified and acknowledged it. He says that CNA’s inquiry was “the very first communication that came to me about this.”

I am in tears as I write this. Father Frank Pavone is a deeply devout Catholic priest and probably the staunchest support of unborn life in the world. So let me just say with maximum disgust and disbelief, “yeah, right” to the claim in the Nuncio’s letter that he is guilty of “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.” His alleged crimes are not specified.

Pavone wrote about his battles with certain bishops (see pdf linked below) that he has “suffered from an abuse of authority from a number of bishops, who have lied to me and about me, have tried to block my work and take over my board, have launched fake ‘investigations,’ and have constantly changed the goal posts in their expectations and requirements of me and my ministry. I have had to repeatedly defend my rights using the processes that Church law provides.”

But he says that, on five occasions, he has met with Pope Francis, who “encouraged me in my work. He notes that “multiple occasions the Vatican has removed obstacles that certain bishops have put in place, but it’s a constant battle.” If the Vatican has now sided with pro-abort bishops , then it’s a very new development.

Fr. Francis Hoffman explains at Simply Catholic, “Once a priest, always a priest: the Sacrament of Holy Orders imprints an indelible character on the soul of the priest that empowers him to confect the sacraments. However, if a priest has been laicized, which is to say, returned to the lay state, he may no longer dress as a priest or function as a priest. He is not allowed to celebrate the sacraments, but he would be allowed to receive the sacraments.

“If he were to come across a person in danger of death, he would still have the power to forgive sins through sacramental absolution, and in such a case he would be allowed to do so.

“Laicization can be either voluntary as a favor, or involuntary as a punishment. In either case, the man is no longer allowed to carry out the sacramental duties of an ordained cleric with that one exception: in danger of death he can hear a person’s confession (see Canons 976, 986.2, 1335).

“Finally, it is possible for a laicized priest to be restored to holy orders, but only by express rescript from the pope (see Canon 293).”

Father Frank Pavone is National Director of Priests for Life, President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, and Pastoral Director for both Rachel’s Vineyard and the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. He travels throughout the country, to an average of four states every week, preaching and teaching against abortion. These are lay organizations, so even if this laicization occurs, he will be free to continue with all aspects of his ministry, apart from celebrating Mass and other Sacraments.

You can follow him on Twitter @frfrankpavone.

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by | December 18, 2022 · 9:10 am

Bits & Bytes

GRAMMY NOTES: Speaking of “most important work” … I’ve got grandkids coming today!!!! They’re staying FIVE days!!! We haven’t seen them IRL since before the plandemic, so I expect much “YOU GOT SO BIG!” astonishment.

2A: Shortly after meeting with anti-gun activists, the CDC removed defensive gun use stats from its website.

CANADA: [6:31] – The number of comments from Canadians on this video is really sad. It’s no joke. The nationalized health care (like Obamacare!) end up just like Sarah Palin said it would. Bean counting death panels. Best comment: “If only the Canadian politicians would line up for this amazing offer.”

CHIEF TWIT: “Twitter’s contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary. Between January 2020 and November 2022, there were over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth. … A surprisingly high number are requests by the FBI for Twitter to take action on election misinformation, even involving joke tweets from low-follower accounts.”

GOOD SAMARITANS: The Boston Globe awarded the citizens of Martha’s Vineyard the title of “Bostonians of the Year” for stepping up to feed and house 49 Venezuelans for 48 hours … before shipping them off to a military base.

HOODIE BOY: The New York Slime included John Fetterman on their list of the 93 “Most Stylish people of the Year.”

JAY LENO: [9:24] – Wow. I’m not a big fan of stand-up comedy, so never paid much attention to Jay Leno. I’m so touched by his story.

NATURAL IMMUNITY: Also in the comments – “Prolonged mask use which raised cortisol levels is a perfect combo for weakening one’s immune system.” “Also compromised immune systems from the gene serum.”

VAXXX: Omicron subvariants BQ and XBB accounted for nearly 73% of new COVID-19 infections last week. A new study shows the updated booster shots and monoclonal antibodies mostly ignore them.

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