solitude

"True solitude is the home of the person, false solitude the refuge of the individualist." T. Merton


photo taken at Brookgreen Garden one of my favorite spots here

a few highlights of our Washington DC trip

;;;;Nothing makes one feel as small as when you touch a rock from the moon. Visiting the Air and Space Museum seems to put life in a certain perspective.  When I look at the vastness of the universe it is very humbling to think what this means about the greatness of God.

Marching in the March for Life with one of my sons can be an experience. ;-)   He talks about very serious things, but as you can tell he can be a HAM.

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The Supreme Court building had quite a bit of plastic on it--it gave it a weird feeling!  The weather was very cold in the 20's with wind making it feel like the teens. It began snowing at the end. Although there were about 1/2 million people at the March I wish more would come out. It would be nice to break all records as far as marches go!

;;Yes--not the best photo, but it is proof of the snow! I was very thankful for the warm jacket!

At the museum of art we found a look -a-like for my son!

The picture above was one of my favorites!! We also enjoyed looking at the old religious pictures from the 1300's!  Quite interesting and we learned that certain hand positions in the pictures stood for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the Son being both man and divine. 
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;a stop in China town for lunch--However I was limited because of my gluten free condition---I wish I had had my own soy sauce!

;;Time at the Basilica--the eighth largest church in the world---at the Thursday service it took a half hour for all of the priests, bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and deacons to enter two by two--there were more than I had ever seen in my life!  
;;; We also had our latest dinner ever--around 11 at night and we were quite hungry since we had not eaten all day--- In the above photo part of the reflecting pond was frozen but the police did not let people skate here.  

Learning to ride the metro was a challenge , but we finally figured things out! Seeing the homeless in the type of weather we were having always is difficult---what does one do to help this situation? What does one do ---period?? We give money locally---but still when you are face to face with people living this way what is our responsibility. We can't give to every single one---but we can give to some---but what is the answer? 

I came home with lots of mixed feelings---still processing.

January 13/ It is Rubber Duckie Day today ....sooo

HAPPY RUBBER DUCKIE DAY!!


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Elfing around ....still

I can not part with my elf yet--he is just too much fun.  HEY, I didn't even notice those stickers on the apples until I took the photo!



He makes me smile!

Mepkin Abbey - Trappist Monastery, Moncks Corner, South Carolina

;I THOUGHT I WOULD SHOW A FEW OF THE BEAUTIFUL TREES AT MEPKIN ABBEY--THIS IS ABOUT AN HOURS DRIVE FROM CHARLESTON, SC

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;THIS ABOVE WAS CARVED OUT OF TREES THAT FELL DURING HURRICANE HUGO, I BELIEVE.

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THE GARDENS AT THE ABBEY ARE A TRANQUIL PLACE TO VISIT. CHECK THEIR SITE TO SEE WHEN HOURS ARE FOR VISITS--THERE IS A GIFT SHOP AS WELL.

HERE IS THEIR LINK :   /http://mepkinabbey.org/wordpress/

How to easily clean your glass bathroom doors

Source: lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

and

Source: google.com via Kim on Pinterest

This really works to remove film on bathroom glass doors in the shower/tub area. I sprayed it on and left it for a while and then came back about 15 minutes later using the scrub. It did the trick! I had tried all sorts of things before--which did not work. (I actually heated the vinegar a bit before placing it in the squirt bottle.

The pinterest person on the first link said: "Heat up some vinegar (I used a cup of vinegar and nuked it for 2 minutes). Then pour it in your spray bottle, add an equal amount of blue Dawn (the website comments were pretty specific about getting the blue kind), shake gently, and voila! "

It works!!

Yes you have a vinegar smell--perhaps then, this idea will help:

Source: lifehacker.com via Kim on Pinterest

Put two caps full of vanilla extract in a coffee cup, then place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. Within twenty minutes the whole house smells like Heaven. It's actually a common Realtor trick.(But be sure to preheat the oven first or it may turn into a crusty burnt concoction ---Microwaving also helps to spread the aroma)