admin February 15th, 2007
At the Lowry Park Zoo
Here I am feeding Colby, one of the friendlier giraffes at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. Many thanks to the Canuck for getting such a great shot, and for being nice enough to help by cropping out all the parts of me that were unnecessary to the picture.
admin February 13th, 2007
Clam Polls Readers
Ordinarily I don’t toss out a broad solicitation for advice on matters like this. However, I have a lot of respect for The Big Seester’s opinion, and since her opinion and mine are so completely different…well, I guess the best way to put it is that I’m not sure if I’m just being Clammish about this. So I’d like to invite input in the combox.
One week from Saturday are the Rites of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, in which I, along with all the other candidates and catechumens, go to the Cathedral for a public declaration of our desire to enter the Church. It’s the next big step in the RCIA process, the final one being the Easter Vigil, at which we are confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the first time.
I invited The Big Seester and The Canuck to attend. My sponsor will (hopefully) be there, and I was considering mentioning it to a few supportive friends. Since the point of the endeavor is not so much a happy-clappy get-together as it is a solemn religious rite, I wasn’t planning to, say, invite my mother, or my aunt, or even my Protestant friends. Why not? Because that doesn’t seem to lend itself to the solemnity of the occasion. In other words, inviting people who are not Catholic, who do not have a frame of reference for the rite, and who (frankly) are probably not going to be especially chuffed to hear that I’m becoming Catholic, seems to turn it into a spectacle.
For clarity’s sake, here is Wikipedia’s description of the Rite:
The conclusion of this Period leads onto the Rite of Election or Enrolment of Names for those who are unbaptised and the Rite of Calling the Candidates to Continuing Conversion for those who are baptised. This is a very significant and important step in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It is usually celebrated on the First Sunday of Lent at the local Diocesan Cathedral, led by the local Bishop. All of the Catechumens and Candidates, their Godparents [for Catechumens] and Sponsors [for Catechumens and Candidates] gather together on this day. It often involves hundreds of people coming together for this occasion. The Church formally ratfies (sic) the Catechumens’ readiness for the Sacraments of Initiation, and the Candidates’ readiness to be received into full Communion with the Catholic Church. In turn the Catechumens – from now on known as the Elect – publicly acknowledge their desire to receive the Sacraments of Initiation, and the Candidates’ their desire to be received into full Communion with the Catholic Church.
So this IS a public declaration. However, it’s not about me ‘coming out’ as a converting Catholic to my leftist parents. It’s not about them coming to snap pictures of me at the Cathedral. When I was confirmed into the Episcopal Church in high school, I invited both sets of parents, my boyfriend at the time (who was Catholic) and two Episcopal friends from my parish. Afterwards we snapped pictures and went to Baker’s Square for celebratory pie. Is it much surprise that, while I remember the confirmation moderately well, what sticks out most in my mind is the dorky outfit I was wearing and the pictures that captured that for posterity (including us enjoying our pie)?
I e-mailed our DRE to ask whether this is even something to which one invites people, and gave her a sketchy outline of my reason for asking. However, I’d love input, especially from people who have been through RCIA and attended the Rite. Any thoughts? Am I being Clam-tabulous about this, or do I have a pearl of wisdom in my shell?
admin February 11th, 2007
Good news!
Yes, I mean besides that Jesus loves you. That’s better news than this, but unless you live in one of the three pockets of the world which missionaries have not managed to penetrate, you probably already heard that news.
First and foremost, I saw an update on The Catholic Cricket that Kheldar’s baby Lily is progressing well in the NICU. Deo gratias! Please keep praying!
Second, Mike (the dog TBS and I chased around the I-94/Beaubien intersection for half an hour in subzero temperatures while the Canuck waited patiently at the Windsor train station) has successfully been transferred to Almost Home, a no-kill shelter in Southfield. Everyone at the Humane Society commented on what a sweet dog he is. I’ve posted a picture below, in case you know anyone who’s interested in adopting a precious pooch. He’s three years old and 65 pounds, so a good-sized but not enormous dog. According to the Humane Society he had two kinds of worms, which they’re clearing up with medication, but was otherwise in good health. Again, Deo gratias!
Finally, though I’m not actually Catholic yet, I am officially registered as a member of the parish! I have my very own envelope number and everything! Woohoo!!! 
Hope you’re all doing well, and hope to be posting more soon.
admin February 9th, 2007
‘Gators and such
Two days’ worth of Floridian adventures to blog about…
Wednesday we drove to Naples to meet up with Mere de Canuque and the family members she’s staying with. Apart from the initial muddle of not connecting right away, that went well. And I think I embarrassed the Canuck’s uncle by hugging him goodbye. I’m never sure whether to hug his family or shake hands with them, and the uncles in particular. He looked pretty uncomfortable. Wish he’d just extend his hand when we have to part ways…it would make things a lot easier. I’ve made a mental note, though, to not hug him in future. Hopefully I’ll remember.
So then the parents, the Canuck and I all drove together down to Everglades City for an airboat ride. That was SA-WEET! Pricy, but worth it. The boat pilot, Walt, decided that we needed to find an alligator to get our money’s worth (I wasn’t quite so sure), so he tooled us around that bit of the Everglades until we found one, which he proceeded to bait with a marshmallow so we could see it up close. (I didn’t know alligators ate marshmallows, but I guess when you’re at the top of the food chain…) As he’s doing this (baiting the critter closer and closer to the boat, until it was really only a few inches from his hand) he told us that the ‘gator (which was about a 10-footer) could get into the boat with us if he really wanted to. Can I just say that I didn’t need to know that just then?! That’s the kind of thing you want to tell me when we’re pulling back up to the dock…I spent the rest of the time we were stopped by the ‘gator with my feet up on the seat, half praying and looking for escape routes, half fascinated. He actually got his hand under the ‘gator’s throat and tossed it over onto its back so we could get a glimpse of its teeth!
Actually, while the alligator was Really Cool, the pelicans were almost as cool. They’d fly right up, land on the boat with us, and walk along the side, balancing with their wings. Both my stepmother and I got whapped with a pelican wing, which I would have thought I’d have minded more.
But the best part was just the speed of the boat! My dad said they equip those boats with small-block V8 engines, so coupled with an experienced pilot (which we had), and you have a really fun ride! The Canuck even took a couple of short videos with his digital camera, so hopefully those will turn out and we can post them. And would you believe, when we got back on shore, the Canuck and I each held a young alligator? It was clearly used to being handled; just hung out, like “Eh – they’ll be done soon enough.” And we were – it was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
Yesterday the Canuck and I took off to Tarpon Springs for some Greek food – I can definitely recommend it, although most of the shopping I saw was pretty touristy. En route we stopped off at a Catholic supply store we passed, which didn’t dazzle me; the one in Warren is bigger and better-stocked. Plus, I’ve never seen “How to Come Out to Your Parents” at a Catholic supply store in Michigan. Maybe I’ve just not been looking hard enough. Maybe it’s a Catholic perspective, i.e. “Mom, Dad, I won’t be getting married. I’ll be living chastely as a member of COURAGE.” Somehow I doubt it, but anything is possible.
Then we went to the zoo in Tampa, which was quite nice. I got to feed a giraffe! Unlike the giraffes in Melbourne (Florida), where the Canuck experienced his first interactive giraffe exhibit, this giraffe wasn’t down with being petted. He just wanted the cracker. 
But still – AWESOME! Absolutely awesome! I love giraffes anyway – they’re so beautiful and graceful – and it was just so cool to be so close to one! And, of course, we made a point of going to see the manatees, which we both love. We’re going to go look for a stuffed toy manatee today, just ’cause they’re so doggone cute. So mellow…
Anyway, the Canuck managed to fill a whole memory card (something like 250 pictures and a couple of short movies), so we’ll see how those turn out. Today we’re going to have lunch at a restaurant my boss recommended (despite not being a big seafood fan, I may even try the stone crab claws, their specialty), run a couple of errands, and then just settle in to do laundry and pack, as we’re flying out at 10 tomorrow morning. Plus I need to walk over to the other side of the key (about 50 – 75 yards) and dip my toes into the Gulf of Mexico for TBS. If anyone has any requests, make them known soon! (Sorry, no promises about bringing warm weather back with us, as I have not yet perfected the science required.)
Have a great day!
admin February 7th, 2007
I ate shoo-fly pie!
Yesterday was a pleasant day all ’round. We lounged around the condo yesterday morning, watching pelicans preen by the water and participating in the voyeuristic drama that is CNN. (By this morning I was snarling at the TV to leave Lisa Marie Nowak and Colleen Shipman both alone. I mean, Nowak appears to have intended to do a Very Bad Thing, and she DID do a Bad Thing, but the courts can deal with her. You don’t need to turn her arrival at the Houston airport into a media event. White Bronco, anyone? Only at least that was a live chase. This isn’t.)
After lunch The Canuck wanted to go to the aquarium that’s down on St. Armand’s Key (the next key down in the chain of islands), so we did. It was pretty cool, all things considered: we petted a stingray, watched some sharks, looked at a lot of very strange-looking fish, etc. Plus our admission fee included admission to the rehabilitation center, so we got to go see some loggerhead turtles that can’t go back into the wild for various reasons. They also had two manatees, who reminded me a little of my giant tabby cat Dodge. One of them was apparently 600 pounds OVERweight (normal weight is around 1200 pounds!). And they just swam around, being mellow and munching lettuce. Very cute. Then there were a couple of dolphins.
Then we went down to St. Armand’s Circle, the shopping district, and browsed there for a while (The Canuck was very sweet about humoring me – he hates shopping). Not a lot exciting there; we bought a bottle of orange chocolate wine for later in the week, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back down to pick up some more wine before we leave. There are some nice shops down there, but it’s a high-rent district so most of their stuff is waaayy out of my price league.
So we swung back to the condo to pick up the parents and have a drink, then went out to my favorite restaurant in the country: Yoder’s! Again, I don’t seem to have my linking option right now, but it’s www.yodersrestaurant.com (I think). It’s an Amish restaurant in Sarasota. Now I know what those of you who have encountered Amish are thinking: how can there be an Amish restaurant that complies with modern health codes? I mean, the Amish don’t use electricity, for one thing, and I can’t see how an outhouse would be hygienic. But apparently these Amish do use electricity, and phones, and photography (that one really surprised me), and they make a mean dinner!
Yes, I tried shoo-fly pie. It was OK. Unless you’re a big molasses fan, I don’t especially recommend it – there are better ways to spend your calories. But it was interesting. If we go back this vacation, I think I’ll have the coconut cream pie like last year – THAT was something to write home about!
This morning we’re getting ready to go meet up with The Canuck’s mother (Mere de Canuque?), aunt and uncle in Naples. My parents haven’t met Mere de Canuque yet, and she’s visiting the aunt and uncle over in Dania Beach this week, so… It’s a little odd, that the parents live closer together than Longboat Key is to Dania Beach, but this is the first time we’ve arranged a meeting. But hey. Whatever works, eh?
I said “eh.” Hee.
admin February 6th, 2007
Not too shabby
Saw this over on Jimbob’s blog (don’t seem to have linking options right now, so hope my extra-deep curtsy will inspire Jimbob to excuse my failure to link).
You are a 100% traditional Catholic!Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!
Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz
This doesn’t count as an instance of pride, does it?
admin February 6th, 2007
Update on Mike
My mom e-mailed me to let me know that the manager at the Humane Society told her that she will release Mike to her on Friday (after the four-day waiting period) to take to the no-kill shelter, Almost Home. So assuming the previous owners don’t come to claim him (you know, the ones who left him out in the yard in zero-degree weather, confined only by a fence he’s jumped many times before, fifty yards from I-94), he should be on his way to an eventual good, loving home.
I wish I could do as much for every unwanted animal. To say nothing of every unwanted person. 
In any event, thank God for small favors.
admin February 6th, 2007
Longboat Key
Right now I’m sitting in a Florida room in Florida. Who would’ve thunk it?
My father and stepmother are pseudo-snowbirds; a few years ago they started renting a condo in Florida for a couple of months during the winter. Two years ago they stayed in Naples. I didn’t go visit them that year. Last year they got a steal on a condo with a view of the Gulf of Mexico on Longboat Key (apparently the regular renters for those two months backed out at the last minute). I went – it was mah-velous. They loved the area, but didn’t love the regular rental price for the condo. So this year they’re also on Longboat Key, renting from some people who don’t normally rent out their condo.
It’s pretty nice. The decor isn’t what I would have chosen (The Canuck refers to it as “early 80s cocaine dealer” style), nor is the decor as warm and welcoming as the place my parents rented last year, but it’s still very nice. I get to spend some relaxing time with my parents and The Canuck, which doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, for a very nominal vacation budget. Furthermore, as I type this, all I have to do is lean to the left and I can see a large pelican and an inlet from the Gulf of Mexico. (We’re on the other side of the island this year, so the view is of water, islands and the mainland rather than water, water and water.)
What really blows my mind about this is that the owners spent what we estimate is about three quarters of a million dollars (not counting maintenance, utilities, association fees, furnishings and taxes) to buy this place. It’s not primarily a rental income property – my parents are the first-ever renters here. The people live in Sarasota, which is just over on the mainland, so it’s not truly a vacation home. They bought this condo as a place to park their boat.
Crazy, eh?
admin February 4th, 2007
Mike
I freely admit that I’m a sucker for animals. I’m a sucker for people too, but that’s another post. The Canuck often laments how easily I’m distracted while driving by someone walking a dog. I shout “PUPPY!” and he responds “ROAD!”
However, today I met one of the sweetest dogs I’ve yet met. And the sad part is, I met him because he needs a home.
The Big Seester and I were on our way to pick up The Canuck at the Windsor train station (my car very rudely declined to take me to church today, so TBS generously agreed to not leave the poor Canuck stranded). We were planning to stop by the library to return a book on our way down to the bridge, so we got off I-94 at Woodward. Lo and behold, at the Beaubien intersection, we saw a dog sitting dead smack in the middle of the intersection.
For those of you who don’t know (i.e. live in another part of the country or world that is not being affected by this giant polar air mass that has settled on a large swath of the northern U.S.), today was the coldest day yet this winter (my weather program right now is showing one degree Fahrenheit, and that’s not including the wind chill), and tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be even colder. Now, I know it’s worse in other areas – I know Minnesota, for example, is expecting -26 F tomorrow – but it’s still darned cold. It’s not fit for man nor beast, which is why shelters are extending their hours, extra warming centers are being opened, and TBS and I knew we absolutely could NOT leave this poor dog out to freeze (assuming he wasn’t hit by a car first).
So I got out of the car and coaxed…and coaxed…and coaxed. He was a little shy, but very affectionate and gentle. However, he didn’t want to get into the car. After about half an hour, with the help of some local men, we managed it. One of the locals volunteered that the dog’s name is Mike, that he lives at a house right by there, but that he’s constantly jumping the fence. (Hello – if you live right off a major interstate and your dog jumps the fence, you either build a bigger fence or you leash him when he’s outside!) In addition, based on what he said it didn’t sound like the people especially wanted him (which fits, based on the fact that he was left outside in zero-degree weather). So TBS and I continued our efforts, and eventually one of the men picked Mike up and put him into the back seat. (Despite this, Mike made no effort at all to snap at anyone – good temperament!)
Then we were stuck with what to do with him! We couldn’t take him across the border; in order to do that you have to be able to prove that the animal has had the appropriate vaccines, and we had no way of knowing if he did. We couldn’t just dump him somewhere else. We called our aunt, who has a history of rescuing animals, but she was reluctant to take him in. Our mother was at a play. And all this time, The Canuck was sitting at the Windsor train station! (He got in around the time we got Mike into the car.)
So, with some misgivings, we decided to take Mike to the local Humane Society. They took him in, and if his owners don’t come claim him in four days, he’ll be evaluated for adoptability (health and temperament) and put up for adoption. I didn’t ask how long they give adoptable animals before they euthanize them.
Anyway, I put in an initial adoption interest form just to maintain my contact with them – now they’ll notify me if something is really wrong with him, etc. I can’t take him; I don’t have the room or the time for a dog, much as I’d love one (and him specifically). If you or someone you know in the southeastern Michigan/southwestern Ontario/northern Ohio area might be open to meeting a darling dog, e-mail me at clamrampant at yahoo dot com and I can tell you more about him. I don’t have a picture yet (didn’t occur to me to take one), but I will ask the Humane Society for one when I talk to them later in the week.
He’s medium-sized – I’m guesstimating around 25 – 30 pounds, but don’t hold me to that. They wrote him up as a rottweiler/terrier mix; he’s got rottweiler coloring and a terrier face. His hair is medium-length (not short, but not long like a collie or anything) and somewhat wiry. He’s sweet, and seemed to be OK with the other dog that was in the lobby. I didn’t see him interact with cats (or, obviously, kids), but I think the Humane Society will try to evaluate that in the adoptability testing. Based on the disposition I witnessed, I don’t think there would be a problem with kids (can’t evaluate cats without seeing him with them). In the meantime, I am trying to get him transferred to a no-kill shelter.
Even if you can’t take Mike, thanks for reading this. Stay warm, everyone!
