Month: July 2017

Daily Prompt – Shallow

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn animals, Daily Prompt, Dogs, Family, Grandchildren, The Daily Post1 Comment

The grief I have felt over losing our dog, Ricki, has taken me by surprise and, taken me longer than I expected to get over.

It took me about 6 weeks but I finally washed her bedding, folded up her crate and put it away.

When memories pop-up on Facebook or Timehop the ache re-surfaces and I miss her all over again.

One particularly poignant moment occurred when all three of my men – meaning my husband and teenagers – went out of town at the same time.  I was getting into bed that first night and realized that Ricki wasn’t there to warn me if someone broke in during the night.  And, since her sidekick, Lucy, is deaf I knew she would sleep through any potential trouble.

Little things and moments still occur to remind me of the loss and, at those times, it surprises me how much I miss her sweet face.

When I saw today’s daily prompt – shallow – the first thing I thought of was Ricki playing in the water.  She loved to run straight into lakes or creeks, swim out a little then come back and play in the shallow water.

But, I can’t really discount the joy of running in shallow snow, either. Nothing like a little wintry weather in Texas to get us excited and hyped up.

Finally, just because this picture makes me laugh I’m including it.  In what turned out to be her last ‘photo shoot’ I got an image of what looks like Ricki smiling but, the grandkids looking a little picture-weary.

Tea in Jiading, China

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, International Travel, Photo Challenges, Photography, The Daily Post, Weekly Photo Challenge, wpc6 Comments

A repost from July 2016:

Last year we spent two weeks in and around Jiading, China – a ‘suburb’ of Shanghai.  Our oldest son, Joshua, was living there with his wife, Emma, and we were fortunate enough to visit.  A rainy day had given us a break from sightseeing and when it stopped we ventured out.  What we stumbled onto ended up being one of my most satisfying and favorite memories.

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When the rain tapered off we ventured out for lunch and ended up exploring the streets and shops in the surrounding area.  Our group split up which left my son, Patrick, and I hanging out together.  JIading shoppingWe were wandering around, ambling in and out of the little shops when I spied a sign with a teapot.  Loving all things tea, and especially drinking tea in Asia, we went into the shop to see what was what. The shopkeeper seemed excited to see us and began talking.  Unfortunately, we had no idea what he was saying.  We wanted to ask him questions but were not able to communicate effectively with him.

Between using hand gestures – and speaking super slow (as if that would help) – we found no success asking if his teapots were for sale or just display.  We left the shop to find Joshua – who speaks fluent Mandarin-and, upon our return, discovered this gentleman was completely delightful and wanted nothing more than to share his tea while working on his painting and flute-playing.

Jiading Tea
Jiading Tea
Jiading Tea

One of the things I love about staying in less touristy areas is stumbling upon these amazing experiences that you can’t buy with money.  It had been a lazy, rainy day calling for a ponytail and no make-up.  No matter that I was ultra-casual, our host could have cared less.  Discovering this hidden gem and being treated to an absolutely wonderful encounter completely made my day and ended up being a highlight of the trip.

Jiading Tea

If you would like to see other posts from our China adventures check out these pieces:

Eyes of Asia

What’s In A Shanghai Name

Mass in Mandarin

Confucius Temple and Huilongtan Park

Looking Up

Life Around Jiading

 

 

 

 

 

Painted Churches of the Texas: The Tiny One

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Catholic, Churches, Daily Prompt, Photography, Summer, Texas, The Daily Post, Travel1 Comment

Leaving the central Texas area around Schulenburg – and not feeling tethered to a strict timeline – we were making our way toward Huntsville and enjoying the scenery.  We had visited all the churches on our list plus one more and were satisfied with our exploration of this small section of the Lone Star State.

All of a sudden we saw a teeny tiny building in the distance that looked like a small church.  As we flew by at 65 mph we saw the sign and, indeed, it was a church!

Hitting the brakes and making a U-turn we quickly made our way back to see what was what.  As the sign states, visitors were welcome to tour the grounds and the building.

 

On the altar was a notebook for prayer intentions along with a note which stated that Mass is held once a month.

St. Martins – It was the most charming stumbled-on find of the weekend.

Thanks for joining me on this journey to visit The Painted Churches of Texas- I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

If you would like to see the other churches we visited that weekend I’ve included the links below:

St. John the Baptist in Ammansville and Queen of the Holy Rosary in Hostyn

St. Mary’s in Praha and Ascension of Our Lord in Moravia

St. Mary’s at High Hill

St. Cyril and Methodius in Dubina

 

Painted Churches of Texas: Freyburg and Dubina

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Art, Catholic, Churches, Daily Prompt, Photography, Texas, The Daily Post1 Comment

The green rolling hills of central Texas provided a peaceful backdrop as we rambled across the countryside in search of more churches.

We were not disappointed.

The United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freyburg was a picture of quaintness tucked among a lush landscape.

And, the simplicity of the sanctuary was peaceful.

Moving on to Dubina, Texas the Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius was in the middle of Mass so we wandered around the outside.

A bit of a deserted town lay at the edge of the property and made a stark contrast to the striking house of worship.

 

Along with the ‘bathrooms’.  And this is something to note – not one of the churches we visited had an indoor bathroom within the original building.  Not too surprising, I guess, considering indoor plumbing wasn’t a thing when they were built.  There is still debate among my better-half and I as to whether this set of outhouse amenities was the only one available. Funny – as social as we can be we did not pluck up the courage to ask any of the parishioners.  Or maybe we just forgot.  Either way we didn’t get an answer.

Despite the bathroom debate there was no arguing that the church itself was, once again, beautiful and amazing.

Next up:  We thought we were at the end of our tour until we stumbled onto a gem of a tiny church.

If you would like to see the other parishes we visited on this tour check out those pieces by clicking on the following links: St. John the Baptist and Queen of the Holy Rosary, here.  St. Mary’s in Praha and Ascension of Our Lord,  here. St. Mary’s at High Hill, here.

Painted Churches of Texas: St. Mary’s at High Hill

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Catholic, Churches, Daily Prompt, Photography, Texas, The Daily Post, Travel2 Comments

There is joy in slowing down and relishing the journey.  Preferring to meander and not dash through the weekend we were delighted to experience these amazing, stunning, ornate, intricate and exquisite churches. Attending Mass at St. Mary’s in High Hill, Texas (known as the Queen of the Painted Churches) gave us even more time to slow down and soak in all the beauty.  Indeed, she was a splendor to behold.

I got the distinct impression this parish really loves their barbecue.  Their grills and smokers were some of the largest I’ve seen.  I think I’d like to attend one of their parish picnics!

Next up:  Sts Cyril and Methodius in Dubina, Texas.

Click here to see my post on parishes in Praha, Moravia and St. John.  Click here to see the post on Hostyn and Ammansville.  Each church is stunning.  Enjoy

 

 

Painted Churches of Texas: Praha, Moravia and St. John

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Art, Catholic, Churches, Daily Prompt, Photography, Summer, The Daily Post, Travel5 Comments

No scampering for us as we continued our journey down country roads in search of the next Painted Churches in Texas built by Czech immigrants.

Having started our tour at Queen of the Holy Rosary and St. John the Baptist we meandered down more rural roads in search of our next stop.  We didn’t have to go far since all of the parishes are within a few miles of each other.

St. Mary’s Church in Praha (English for Prague)

St. Marys from the outside
The outside entry
Detail of St. Joseph holding the child Jesus
Elevated pulpit
Ceiling above the tabernacle
Main doors from the interior
St. Marys cemetery
Overview of the altar

The next two churches were only open to guided tours.  Since we were doing self-guided we were not able to go inside.  They were still gorgeous in their simple and quiet surroundings.

Ascension of Our Lord in Moravia

 Looking through glass doors Hubby managed to get a picture of the altar.

St. John in St. John, Texas

Many of the parishes had these wonderful outdoor spaces for gatherings.  What a great concept!

Next up – we attend Mass in High Hill at another church named St. Mary’s and also known as the Queen of the Painted Churches.  You won’t want to miss the beauty!

 

 

Painted Churches of Texas – Hostyn and Ammansville

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Art, Catholic, Churches, Faith, Photo Challenges, Texas, The Daily Post4 Comments

Mention Texas and the first things that might come to mind are cowboys, horses, oil wells, Tex-Mex and barbecue. Or maybe it’s our love of all things football and our flare for doing things BIG.  While all of that is true it only describes a portion of who we are here in the Lone Star State.

The reality is Texas is very diverse culturally.  And, one of those cultures I recently experienced is the Czech heritage.  I was born in Dallas and have been back in Texas since 1979 and yet, I had no idea what a strong influence Czechoslovakian immigrants had on Central Texas.

First arriving in Texas in the mid-1800’s they built some of the most beautiful European influenced churches I have ever seen.  Who knew Texas contained such amazing dwellings for worship? Still in active use,today they are known as the Painted Churches of Texas.  My mom, having seen a piece on television about them, encouraged us to take a weekend trip and begin exploring.  A total of eight were in the area of Shulenburg which is off of I10 – smack in the middle between San Antonio and Houston.

We were overwhelmed by their beauty and the heritage which has been preserved so lovingly.  For this piece I bring you the first two churches we saw located in the towns of Hostyn and Ammansville

Our first stop was not actually one of the painted churches.  However, we were in the mood to explore and so we followed the signs to see what was what.

We were not disappointed.

The Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hostyn had something going on and we did not step inside.  That was okay, though, because the outside was enough to make us say, “wow”.

The Lourdes Grotto was the largest.

Smaller grottos dotted the church property.

The cemeteries at each church were similar and different from a typical American style.

From there we went to St. John The Baptist in Ammansville.

As we pulled up we saw a sweet little country church.

The quaint white building gave no hint as to the beauty inside.

The detail was amazing and intricate.

The back of the church – containing the choir loft – was also pretty.

Wandering around this sweet and holy property we were in awe of the magnificence we were experiencing.  Knowing we were at the beginning of the tour we couldn’t wait to see what other beauties were out there.

Tomorrow – St. Mary’s Church of the Assumption in Praha, The Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church in Moravia and St. John’s Catholic Church in St. John, Texas