Blessings from God always surround us, and this weekend I was thankful that God was so generous enough to give me eyes to see those blessings in the form of his people. New friends seemed to come out of the woodwork this weekend, and then--as if the figurative expression weren't enough--so too came into my life some very ornate and beautiful woodwork, quite literally.But I shall tell you about my weekend chronologically, dear reader.
It began when my friend Nate and I went out to eat dinner at a new place called Fenz, and we decided to dress up, just for kicks. And while you may think (from the picture above) that Nate must have been unnecessarily nervous (by way of barely touching his plate) and that perhaps I was exceedingly raveneous (for it surely appears that I cleared it), indeed just the opposite was true. For, when this photo was snapped, he had just asked to eat all my leftovers, and so we switched plates. Hehehe.
After saying good-bye to friends of his that entered just as we were finishing our meal, we left Fenz and went to a place called Molly's where a gaggle of unique individuals drew to us and kept us exceedingly amused, sometimes confused, and thoroughly entertained. We'd step aside every so often to have a calibrating conversation, but--for the most part--we rolled with it. Our having an extended conversation was impossible and so was remaining in my seat, for that matter; and, while I was thankful to have so many invitations to dance, the music was random, the floor space was tight, and the whole atmosphere was quite silly. When the night was over, Nate and I were astounded by how very INTERESTING and FUN the whole night was. Truly, we had experienced jolliness! Oh, how I wish we would have snapped a picture of us all that night!The next morning I rolled out of bed and went directly to a Rosary Rally, unfortunately neglecting my dental hygiene in the process. I didn't want to be late and I was bringing the bulk of the refreshments, so I just threw on whatever and headed out the door. It was another glorious day, and we all stood on the Rosary beads that had been drawn on the parking lot with chalk. When our prayer for world peace, the conversion of Russia, the protection of the unborn, the upcoming election, and for reparation against our sins which pierce His Most Sacred Heart and Mary's Most Immaculate Heart was over, our parish priest (Father McGarrity) invested us all in the Brown Scapular. This was, I believe, my third investiture. :-)
After that, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my kindred spirit Becky, along with her husband Bob and my Godson David, who were traveling up from North Carolina. But what I came to soon realize was that my recent neglect of Facebook had caused me to miss the important message that they would have to whiz through Pennsylvania (on their way to Maine) with no social stops in between due to a later-than-expected departure. I was disappointed but totally empathetic of running late, and so Becky suggested that maybe we'd get to see each other on their southern decent home next week. I'm hoping so!
So I spent the afternoon perusing a flea market, and for very little green, I brought home two antique mirrors and one ornate shelf of beautiful woodwork. The white swirls (on the mirror above, which I mounted on my wall) look like icing, don't they? I plan to cover the gold paint on the other two pieces (which Pure is checking out in the photo at right) with high-gloss white lacquer to create the same sugary-sweet finish for a vanity in my bedroom.After that, I departed for Philadelphia where I was to meet in person for the first time a nice guy I had been corresponding with for 2 weeks who I had met online at AveMariaSingles.com. Jim and I met at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul for the Catholic Underground, a once-a-month gathering of young adults who come together for Adoration, Confession, worship, music, and socialization. Jim turned out to be the precise portrayal of his profile, and he came out of the cathedral to greet me when I arrived.
The band for the night was The Thirsting, a lively rock band who artfully made the "Salve Regina" into a punk rock rendition. They absolutely were the best band that the Catholic Underground has ever booked!
Jim couldn't stay long because he is a night watchman at DuPont, so we walked around this beautifully-lit fountain in the front of the cathedral before we said good-bye and he departed for work.
Back inside, I tried to socialize with as many people as I could. I caught up with my friend Abby (who asked for prayers for her boyfriend who is going to Iraq), Father Kevin (whose sacrifices for the church I admire), Ben (who just got serious with a girl he met on AveMariaSingles.com), and Andy (who had just been to Atlantic City to visit a girl he likes).
Then I met Brian (who looked like he was aching for a friend), a physician named Tony (whose fatherly love for his daughter was in everything that he said), and a Heaven Sent bike messenger named Kalyn (who showed me that I wasn't the only Catholic with bandana-wearing sensibilities).We all didn't stop talking until about 12:30 AM or so, and--with hugs of good-bye--we promised to see each other next month. Then I drove Andy to his car and we followed each other home.
Pictured above is Kalyn, Brian, Tony, Andy, and myself...the last ones to close up shop. :-)
