Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Hello Friends, today we are going on a road trip that we did last summer. Our son visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2020. It was on my list of adventures for last summer.  We visited in mid September. It is about a two and half hour drive for us to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. We packed a picnic lunch and ate at the lovely picnic area.

The above and below photos are of the Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha .. with the help from the local Native American community, the sculpture depicts "The Lily of the Mohawks." in the authentic garb of her Turtle Clan. Her gaze conveys her thought: "Jesus, I love You."

Shrine Church ~ every detail has a special meaning. A prominent image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will direct your gaze toward her Divine Son, present in the tabernacle. The constellations in the dome match the constellations that illumined the night sky on December 12,1531 when Our Lady last appeared to Juan Diego.

The Memorial to the Unborn

Stations of the Cross ~ one of my favorite parts of the day. The Stations recall Jesus' final hours. In contemplation and prayer at each station, you are invited to walk with Jesus on His journey to Calvary.

As a Christian, Easter is thee biggest celebration. Even with the turmoil that surrounds us, and the dilemmas with ourselves, our families, an our world, we can confidently proclaim as Mary and the disciples did, The Lord is risen indeed!

The Shrine should be a place of pilgrimage, an extraordinary place to which the faithful might come at any time, but especially in times of special joy and of special need, to be renewed in faith and grace.  

No Fooling!

A lone flower growing in the Badlands. A wee bit of sunshine in a dry and hard land.

 

Hello Friends,

My discussion with you today has to deal with my word of 2022. This is the first year that I have chose a word for the year. I decided on Sunshine.

Sunshine ~ brightness or radiance, cheerfulness or happiness

a source of cheer or happiness

Sadly, this world of ours is getting more angry everyday. I can feel like that flower above that I found growing in the dry, hot and hard earth in the Badlands during a past trip.

Recently our family has been caught up with some angry people. 

The first happened to my husband while he was checking out at the hardware store. The cashier had to change the tape in the machine, so my husband could get his receipt. While he waited, he was slammed by a shopping cart from behind by an older man. The man hit my husband with his shopping cart and yelled, "Move, I want to check out!" My husband explained he needed his receipt.

The older man continued to HUFF AND PUFF. He turned his cart away and pulled his wife with him to find a different check out. And as he did so, my husband walked on with his receipt in hand. 

Word of advice to the old guy.. if you would have just waited patiently you would have been next to check out.

 The next story happened to my son.. who recently was robbed. 

He and his girlfriend went to see Batman. During the first 25 minutes of the film, six people where causing a disturbance. Talking loudly, making rude remarks and other bodily noises. Other guests started to leave. Sam and Catie were just about to leave, when management came and escorted the six adult hooligans out of the theater.

My son was so upset he gave me a call and simply asked me, "What is going on with people mom?"

So I ask you my dear friends. What is going on with society? 

A friend of mine recently shared that while visiting with family, many mentioned how angry and rude people are getting, in fact it seems worse every day. She thought perhaps the pandemic has some to do with attitude of people. Other's have blamed Trump! Some blame Gas Prices. The current war, social media .. the list goes on.

 REALLY?

I wonder, have those of us who extend grace.. maybe do it too much. I think I might be in that boat. My husband too. He did not say anything to the older man who hit him with the shopping cart, but should have he? Should we start to say, "Yo, this is not how we want our society to look like, angry, impatient and full of hate." Do we start to say something? Will it help?

 I recently read the following in regards to the hate during this time..

If we allow ourselves to start thinking again and engaging with the world and engaging with each other. Be committed to each other and to a life of the mind and body.

 

"If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present."

 Catherine Booth

And so I will continue to do my best to spread SUNSHINE one step at a time.. the best I can even in a hard, dry and hateful land.

A reminder how not to go mad in a mad world, "And when the world seems to be falling apart around you, create something, put a flower in a vase, bake a pie, draw a picture, knit socks."

Susan Branch

 

The Five W's and H

 Hello Friends,

Back in the day, we learned how to report a story with the Five W's and H.

A recent article in our Barron News Shield, Wednesday, March 16, 2022 grabbed my attention, the headline, Moths are a danger in Barron County.

As a gardener and having a business selling fresh cut flowers, I  am well aware of pests to our gardens, shrubs and trees. I also am well aware of the poisons that are used to kill these pests. The poisons are what I want to know about. 

The below article shared with me in four paragraphs how the DANGEROUS moth in Barron County got a name change. Yep, that is right, four paragraphs to let me know that previous name of the moth "gypsy moth"  was removed due to its use of derogatory term for the Romani people.

Right.. that is fine with me. Change the name of the moth.

BUT... where is the information regarding WHAT is going to be used in the spray to kill off the dangerous moth? What are the ingredients?

When? When will my area be sprayed?

Where? Where are you spraying?

What? What is in the spray? 

Do we need to keep our pets inside during the spray campaign? Young children, older adults, those who have respiratory problems?

Target of spray campaign.

 The article did provide a ten word long site to type in to find more information. When I typed it in my computer, triple checking that I had all of the ten words correct it said..

 PAGE NOT FOUND!

And by the way, the new name for the dangerous moth is spongy moth, which refers to the moths sponge - like egg masses.