My philosophy major son went to an environmental law lecture last night, but it was all about skirting current EPA regulations and the evils of nuclear energy. He was disgusted and mad. Full parenting win. Pray for him, he is brilliant, and hopefully uses his powers for the good of all.

My daughter meets the Holy Father tomorrow, and is asking for a blessing for in her babe in utero. They are just Chicago folks in Rome for work.

In today’s edition of gardening battles, this was a Titan Sunflower, approximately 16 inches across. It also is over a foot from the fence despite how the picture looks. Squirrels are jerks.

We have had several priests over the years at our parish who went home for funerals and were denied the ability to return. They all were from India. Currently we have a Lebanese priest, who knows he cannot attempt to leave and come back. It happens a lot more than people realize.

Native plant gardening is great until you have to tie up the milkweed for the 100th time because it cannot figure out how to stand in the soil it self propagated into. Of course then getting attacked by burrs of other natives just adds to the fun. But we did have Monarchs and endangered bees.

Very sad and emotional, by my little girls and I grew these beautiful to I ha, and that is sustaining me today.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Not me sending Fulton Sheen videos to people who want to argue about the atomic bomb. I’m just a silly woman who is too liberal yet too trad, but Sheen, he is literally Venerable.

Saw Sandhill Cranes migrating. They are a full 2 months later than the first time 17 years ago that I first observed them. It had been unusually warm this fall, the flowers are still blooming, the garden still producing, nice, right? But I worry about the cranes and the future.

Pray for all of us who have/work with kids who absolutely need consistency because this is the beginning of a rough season. To quote my favorite 5 year old, “Surprises make my body hurt” That is the vibe we will have for the next month.

It was that an uncle I have not seen in 13 years is in hospice and will die this week. Pray for Chester and his wife Maryann

My dad just left a voice mail letting me know he has bad news to tell me and finished with “unless you have already heard” WHAT? Sir, who would tell me anything? Also, on the scale of bad news it is hard to tell this is a “ I have a terminal condition” or “your sister’s dog got loose”

For the second time in a week I saw livestock, not living, in the middle of a Chicago highway. Like did it fall off of a transport vehicle? I’m pinching closer to full vegan thinking about how it happened.

Nothing can ruin a day faster than having to deal with the medical
system for very basic things that should be easy, yet somehow take hours upon hours to make happen.

7:30 am and the soup beans are on. Cornbread is next. I may be a mostly city girl, but I’m still only one generation removed from Appalachia.

Ah, another place to be an introvert.