Monthly Archives: September 2019

Circle Printing


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at the bottom of this blog.

I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Click here to: go to Sept. Journals

 

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need. NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.23.2019-Circle Printing

The last six months I’ve been working diligently trying to convert all our Journal and Blog files for the last six years to Word.

Circle Printing is locally own and operated
by Jan & Monica Gunter for 7 years. Below is the forgotten member of this mom and pop team, Rusty, their dog. These folks do it right the first time every time which is probably why they do business from all corners of the country as far East as Maine.

Today I finished 2018 so it was off to the printer today. Circle Printing in Greensburg, IN, just outside of Batesville. Jan and his wife are making it happen for us in under 24 hours.

Circle Printing, 130 W Main St, Greensburg. IN 47240….812.663.7367

For more information go to www.circleprinting.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know about you but seldom do I ever find a company that will do what ever it takes to get my business. Mostly it’s a take it or leave it attitude from those big box stores. Circle Printing is a not that small a business and it’s a little congested but they make it happen as I wanted it to happen. On a thumb drive I gave him five-files containing over one-thousand pages of Journals and blogs, and all he did was smile and told me he should have my books ready by 3pm tomorrow. In fact he asked us to stay around while he downloaded the 2014 book and put it together so we would be certain to be happy.

I’m still working on 2019 and he volunteered that if I email it to him he’ll download it and bind it just like the other books he’s done and mail it off to us at whatever address we give him.

Wow! Business the old fashioned way.

You’ll never feel you have enough money to retire,
however, once you feel you have enough money,
will you have enough time?

St Anthony of Padua

 
Please take the time to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Go To: December Journal

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need.
NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.21.2019

St. Anthony of Padua

This church is located in Morris, IN just outside of Batesville, IN-The priest doing the service was, I believe, Father Shaun Whittington.

This service took place on a Saturday night with almost a 100% attendance. Seldom have we seen such attendance except for Vincent de Paul in Wildwood, FL. The alter servers, four of them, were impeccable. The bulletin lists the young man in the black and white cassock as MC-Carter W.. He watched over the three others every minute of the service. The other three servers, a little younger than he was, wore white cassocks with a cloth pattern similar to what you might have seen in a knights Templar movie. They were so impressive looking, and worked through the service responsibilities in almost military-like precision. His duties were, impressively, those you’d see a Deacon perform, all except for the reading of the Gospel. The Eucharistic Ministers were also equally as impressive. I wanted so much to speak to Fr. Shaun after the service, but was unable to spot him. He should be highly recommended for such a professional service. We have attended over one-hundred Saturday night services and none that equal this amount of sophistication, especially on the part on the alter servers. We’ve attended Mass at the church in the past, at least once about 3-4 years ago, but I do not remember being this impressed. When I was 12-13 I too was an alter server. I had been for several years. Then Fr. Gagnon was assigned to the Sacred Heart Parrish in Brockton, MA. He was just out of the seminary and I’ll never forget all the hours we’d practice, especially for the Holy days of Easter and Christmas, he had some of those services with 10 or 12 alter servers on the alter. I never had a chance to assume the MC position, Joe Piche always came in ahead of me. Most importantly were the parishioners. Only once before had we ever entered a church for Mass and had the Host in Exposition. Carla and I came in and, as always, genuflected, on knee, and entered our pew. It wasn’t until we knelt for prayers the we noticed the Exposition of the Holy Eucharist. We try, very much, to follow the rules and customs of the church, but today we messed up. I know it is an extra responsibility, but someone should have posted a sign for us strangers to the parish, that the Holy Eucharist was in Exposition and a double knee genuflection should be performed. Getting back to the parishioners. we would see a great many grey-haired seniors in attendance. What was surprising were all the young families with kids and infants everywhere; something must be in their water supply. It was heavenly. Only wish we were going to be here another week to attend another service. Truly an awesome experience!

MM

Cathedral of St. Mary, Peoria


Please take the time to leave a comment
at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Click here to: go to Sept. Journals

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need. NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.17.2019-Cathedral of St; Mary of the Immaculate Conception

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our goal today is to discover and experience everything of Fulton J. Sheen. Our first building will be a Museum dedicated to him and his legacy. This, as I’m sure you realize, is not the Fr. Sheen in body, just a picture. It would have been an honor to have really met him, however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside this building is the complete history of this great priest and orator. It contains videos and a slew of pictures of his life. It was in the Cathedral next door, the Cathedral of St Mary of the Immaculate Conception, that he prayed, was a deacon, served as a priest and pastor here and eventually his body would be finally laid to rest at the alter to the left side of the church.

0049K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesi of Wikipedia:

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (commonly known as St. Mary’s Cathedral) is a cathedral of the Catholic Church located in Peoria, Illinois, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Peoria, where the Catholic televangelist and sainthood candidate Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was born and raised, and ordained a priest. Since 2019, the cathedral has been his place of burial. The cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the North Side Historic District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first took this picture it was the alter of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. That, by itself, was significant and important. It wasn’t until we left the Room of Relics that I learned that the big white object directly in front of this altar laid the final resting place of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. His tomb lies below the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Originally his tomb was located in St  Patrick Cathedral in New York but in 2019 in celebration of his Centennial Year of his ordination in 1919.

On June 27, 2019, the remains of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen were disinterred from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, where he was buried in 1979, and transferred to St. Mary’s Cathedral.[8] They are entombed in a marble monument at a side altar dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Archdiocese of New York fought a three-year court battle to keep his remains there. As a child, Sheen served as an altar boy in St. Mary’s Cathedral and he was ordained a priest here in 1919 for the Diocese of Peoria, which has sponsored his cause for canonization.[9

Above left is the alter of St. Joseph. Above right was the corridor to the Room of Relics. In this room you’ll see dozens of relics from many well-known saints and many more from saints of the past. As you can see the architecture in this Cathedral is no -less than awesome. All the stain-glass windows are richly colored in  blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above are more pictures from the Relics Room. Below right is another picture of the tomb of Archbishop Sheen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order for us to experience the Archbishop Fulton J Sheen Museum and St. Mary Cathedral we had to park the coach and toed. This meant filling three meters with coins to park.

You’ll never feel you have enough money to retire,
however, once you feel you have enough money,
will you have enough time?

St. Mary of the Im. Conception

9.17.2019

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our goal today is to discover and experience everything of Fulton J. Sheen. Our first building will be a Museum dedicated to him and his legacy. This, as I’m sure you realize, is not the Fr. Sheen in body, just a picture. It would have been an honor to have really met him, however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside this building is the complete history of this great priest and orator. It contains videos and a slew of pictures of his life. It was in the Cathedral next door, the Cathedral of St Mary of the Immaculate Conception, that he prayed, was a deacon, served as a priest and pastor here and eventually his body would be finally laid to rest at the alter to the left side of the church.

0049K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesi of Wikipedia:

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (commonly known as St. Mary’s Cathedral) is a cathedral of the Catholic Church located in Peoria, Illinois, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Peoria, where the Catholic televangelist and sainthood candidate Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was born and raised, and ordained a priest. Since 2019, the cathedral has been his place of burial. The cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the North Side Historic District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first took this picture it was the alter of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. That, by itself, was significant and important. It wasn’t until we left the Room of Relics that I learned that the big white object directly in front of this altar laid the final resting place of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. His tomb lies below the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Originally his tomb was located in St Patrick Cathedral in New York but in 2019 in celebration of his Centennial Year of his ordination in 1919.

On June 27, 2019, the remains of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen were disinterred from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, where he was buried in 1979, and transferred to St. Mary’s Cathedral.[8] They are entombed in a marble monument at a side altar dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Archdiocese of New York fought a three-year court battle to keep his remains there. As a child, Sheen served as an altar boy in St. Mary’s Cathedral and he was ordained a priest here in 1919 for the Diocese of Peoria, which has sponsored his cause for canonization.[9

Above left is the alter of St. Joseph. Above right was the corridor to the Room of Relics. In this room you’ll see dozens of relics from many well-known saints and many more from saints of the past. As you can see the architecture in this Cathedral is no -less than awesome. All the stain-glass windows are richly colored in blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above are more pictures from the Relics Room. Below right is another picture of the tomb of Archbishop Sheen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order for us to experience the Archbishop Fulton J Sheen Museum and St. Mary Cathedral we had to park the coach and toed. This meant filling three meters with coins to park.

St. Pius X


Please take the time to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Go To: December Journal

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need.
NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.15.2019

St. Pius X Cedar Rapids, IA

 

 

 

 

 

We had the privilege to attend Mass at Pius X CC on two Saturday evenings. It looks like a very new church but I’ve been told renovations were made 15 years ago, so, it’s not that new.

MM

Visiting the MacDougall’s family


Please take the time to leave a comment
at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Click here to: go to Sept. Journals

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need.

NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.03.2019 Visiting Don, Joyce and Family

Don and Joyce will be wining and dining us for the next two weeks. Visiting here is as close to visiting home as I could ask for. Below is just a small part of the MacDougall clan; Paul, Ivy and Little Paul. Below right is Duncan and Malcolm.

 

Above and below we enjoy a night out at Noodles and Company. This is getting to be almost a tradition to visit this restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MacDougall residence. Their home may appear to be a little small but this home has a heart as big as you can imagine. Yes, if the light poll in the picture above left appears to be leaning, the answer is yes. Not sure if the leaning pole was intentional or whether the area experience a mild quake; who knows? Before the two-week visit came to an end, Carla and I were treated to a host of family dinners…Awesome!

You’ll never feel you have enough money to retire,
however, once you feel you have enough money,
will you have enough time?

Squaw Creek, Cedar Rapids stay.


Please take the time to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Click here to: go to Sept. Journals

 

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING/  you need.
  NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.02.2019-Travel to Cedar Rapids, FL
We awoke around 6am to prepare ourselves for an 8am departure. Needless to say the 175-mile journey went flawlessly. Our stay at Winnebago was fruitful but not everything was repaired.

The paint touch-ups were good, the TV was remounted is now sits perfectly lines up better then the old set and the rear electrical receptacle was replaced. The fireplace was checked but would have to be serviced by a Dimplex service center, which we’ll try to do on this coming Wednesday. The ceiling fabric would be unchecked for lack of time. We have an idea or two on that as well. The repair to the front of the coach was very important and critical and it did get resolved.

Almost forgot, the LED reading on the odometer dash. It was fixed by the technician in a couple of minutes, no major problem. All in all it was a very fruitful visit. Another problem we’d been experiencing was the TV.

 We arrived in Cedar Rapids around noon, traveled through Cedar Rapids to the town of Marion, IA to Squaw Creek State Campground just off root 100. We’re in Loop A site 14. We have everything except sewer; it’s doable for two-weeks. Don and Joyce invited us to dinner that evening which was bountiful and delicious.

After replacing the Dish receiver we deduced it was the TV, so we purchased a 43in Samsung. After buying a new receiver we discovered that its malfunctioning was probably a result of it being stuck in the cabinet above where the heat does go to extremes. Hanging it from the cabinet may not look that good but, it’s a motorhome. We have to make accommodations occasionally, a problem those in real homes may not have to contend with. It’s on Carla’s side of the cabin but she doesn’t seem to even notice it any longer.

9.03.2019-Travel to Cedar Rapids, FL


We awoke around 6am to prepare ourselves for an 8am departure. Needles to say the 175-mile journey went flawlessly. We arrived in Cedar Rapids around noon, traveled through the to the town of Marion to Squaw Creek State Campground just off root 100. We’re in Loop A site 14. We have everything except sewer; it’s doable for two-weeks. Don and Joyce invited us to dinner that evening which was bountiful and delicious.

9.04.2019-Wed.-Day 2

Day 2 at Squaw Creek. Our main concern moving forward is the fact that it is, most likely, to get colder more than warmer, especially at 2am in the morning. Our fireplace would be our first line of defense against the cold. We went online and found Colony AC in Cedar Rapids, IA. Henry, from Colony, came to diagnose the condition of the fireplace. A new part will be ordered and, hopefully, early next year it will be back in business again. We enjoyed a delightful afternoon and evening with Don and Joyce.

9.05.2019-Day 3

 

 

 

 

 

We had everyday chores to complete and then we spent the rest of the afternoon with the MacDougall’s but had to leave in order to feed Scoots. We completed our visit with Dinner at Noodle’s. The food, as always, was delicious.

9.06.2019- Mike’s Birthday
Had a chance to speak to Mike in the morning and wished him a Happy Birthday. Still find it difficult to hear him speak of home ownership and work challenges. We hope to drop in at Don and Joyce’s to do laundry.

9.12.2019-update
The day to day writings are in the Journal for September, but in general, we continue enjoying this beautiful State Park Campground and the delicious meals at the MacDougall’s. Between rain showers I found time to pull the tanks. We’ve been lucky to get about 5-days on the tanks. Push it to six and the sinks have a tendency to begin to back up then I MUST go out, rain or shine, and take care of the tanks. Not a big deal. On average it only takes us one-half hour for this odd job from the time we start to close up the coach to the time we get back and let the slides out for another 5-day period on the day we leave Squaw Creek. Wow! It was mid-afternoon and there’s a sudden heavy knocking on the door. The camper outside stated; You don’t belong on this site! We politely disagreed. We were able to find the park ranger and he agreed; We were supposed to vacate the site at noon today! We had no leg to stand on. The ranger volunteered that he could find us several suitable site in Loop B we could move to. Sure enough! Site 30 in Loop B had everything we needed and we owed the campground 5-days in fees. Our fault for not reviewing the confirmation sheet and not picking up the error earlier.

9.13.2019- The Amana Colonies.

 

 

 

 

 

The MacDougall’s called and we decided to experience the Amana Colony with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry, from Colony AC, arrived to our new site by 10am. The new fireplace blower was fully installed by 11am.  After leaving the Amana Colony we experienced Lilly Lake.

9.14.2019-Sat.Day 12
As it says, day 12 of this stay in Cedar Rapids. It’ll be jacks-up come Tuesday morning. We have no filed trips planned for the next couple of days. Our new site in Loop B is as comfortable as the previous site. Carla is hopeful of trying to do laundry today before Mass. We used our new rejuvenated fireplace last night as the temps outside hit the low 50’s and the coach temp dropped to 67. Not sure if there’ll be anything more to write the next couple of days but we’ll see,

You’ll never feel you have enough money to retire,
however, once you feel you have enough money,
will you have enough time?

St. James CC


Please take the time to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. I relish the positive ones and will learn from the negative ones.

Go To: December Journal

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING, you need.
NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

9.01.2019

St. James CC

St. James Catholic Church is located here in Forest City, just a few miles from the Winnebago Industries plant where we are staying for two more days. It’s very much like coming home again.

Very little changes, except the town, Forest City, does look like it’s going out of business. Many of the downtown storefronts have been vacated. Even the church has undergone some changes, like a new floor. Fr. Paul Lippstock is still there covering six local churches in the Forest City general area, a lot of traveling. We’ve spoken about him before.

He’s the priest who owns a Winnebago coach also. Often he’ll use the coach to take kids from the parish, not to mention a few adults as well, to enjoy a day off fishing or other experiences. Unlike the downtown area the church is pouring money in the form of improvements to the church. It’s hard to tell but a new floor has been added. I’ve never walked on anything like it before. It feels like a layer of form rubber. His homily was second to none. The gospel was about humility and wisdom and, as expected, he tied it in with the everyday parishioner. As I mentioned above, participating with this parish is so much like coming back home, that is, if we had a home. Sadly we won’t have the privilege of attending another service since we’ll be heading to Cedar Rapid, IA on Tuesday.

MM