Cat Owner's Prayer

Cat Owner’s Prayer

Because I'm only human,
It's sometimes hard to be
The wise, all-knowing creature
That my cat expects of me.

And so I pray for special help
To somehow understand
The subtle implications
Of each proud meowed command.

Oh, let me not forget that chairs
Were put on earth to shred;
And what I like to call a lap
Is actually a bed.

I know it's really lots to ask
But please, oh please, take pity;
And though I'm only human,
Make me worthy of my kitty!

(Author Unknown)

"A cat has nine lives; for three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays." ~ William Shakespeare

(Pics of my cat Kiki and my friend Kiki-girl)

Rainy Friday

Although it has been rainy and cold here all day in PA, the gorgeous morning sunrise with its' blend of pink and purple in the sky was simply beautiful. Unfortunately, I was running late for work this morning and did not have enough time to run back into the house and grab my digital camera for a quick pic,  but the sky looked just like this …

Meantime, the cats stayed nice and warm and dry inside the house just waiting for "mom" to get home from work!! 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

A Taste of Talent: Derek Paravicini

Just a little sample of Derek's talent! He has been affectionately nick-named, "The Human I-Pod," but that is an extreme understatement of his incredible talent. He can play two pianos at once and he can play any type of music in any key or style. He has played venues such as Las Vegas and Buckingham Palace (where he met Princess Diana). Thought it might be a nice little follow-up to my previous post on the book written about his life. This is Derek's rendition of "Lara's Theme (Somewhere My Love)" -  Enjoy!!!

"In the Key of Genius"

I just finished reading, "In the Key of Genius" written by Adam Ockelford. It is the amazing true story about a musical genius who happens to be blind and  an autistic savant.. Derek Paravicini was born prematurely (at 25 weeks) and had to be kept alive for three whole months in an incubator. He technically "died" three times before he was strong enough to go home. He was given oxygen therapy during his time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which affected his developing brain, resulting in his severe learning disability. It helped save his life, but would later cause him to go permanantly blind before he was a year old. At the very young age of 3, he was diagnosed with autism as well, but Derek also had a talent like no other. As a young child, he taught himself to play the piano, he is a musical prodigy with "perfect pitch." He can memorize and play back ANY song which he hears only once. Not only that, but he also has the ability to compose very complex arrangements which he actually writes himself.

Enter Adam Ockelford. Adam Ockelford is Professor of Music at Roehamton University; Secretary of the Society for Education, Music & Psychology Research; Chair of 'Soundabout', an Oxford-based charity that supports children with complex needs; and the founder of AMBER Trust which provides bursaries for blind and partially blind children to have music lessons. Adam took Derek under his wing when he was only 2 years old and has been his teacher and his friend for over twenty years. Adam is perhaps the only person Derek is even remotely bonded to emotionally. With Adam's guidance, he gave his first concert at the age of 7.

Derek is also the nephew of Camilla Parker-Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, and therefore was born into royalty - although all of this is completely lost on Derek as his music is his world and his only way of connecting with others. Unike many people with autism, Derek simply loves people - and they love him.

I first heard about Derek from a news clip on "60 Minutes" about a year ago. His story was so unforgettable that I actually ordered this book from the U.K. which took a month to get in the mail (the book only cost $19.95 in the U.K. whereas it would have cost $75.00 here in the States). No matter, it was well worth the wait!

Derek has been performing live concerts in front of thousands for several years now and even has his own CD titled, "Echoes of the Sounds to Be." In spite of the fact that he almost died after he was born, or perhaps even because of it, God chose to save him and the Goddess chose to bless the rest of us with the gift of Derek's naturally beautiful talent (you should hear this man play). A remarkably inspirational read!

Important News From the “Real” U.L.C.

In February 2009, I had lost my Universal Life Church Minister Credential card so I decided to go on line and order another one. To my surprise, I was told that I wasn’t already added to their records as an ordained minister for their church! I knew that I was ordained back in March of 2003, but could not remember the actual day. So I immediately contacted the U.L.C. headquarters which is located in Modesto, CA regarding this issue. The very next day I received an e-mail response from Andre Hensley himself explaining that I AM indeed on record as one of their ordained ministers and that their official website is www.ulchq.com and that the only other ULC Headquarters authorized site is www.ulc.net operated by Pastor Kevin Andrews in Citrus Heights, CA. I have spoken to Pastor Andrews a couple of times before on the phone and he is a very nice gentleman who is always happy to assist in any way he can. Mr. Hensley confirmed my ordination information and informed me that I was officially ordained on March 18. 2003.

He explained to me that The ULC Seminary is a site that is operated by a minister of the church for her ministry. It is not an official ULC Headquarters site, but a known site. She offers to accept and forward ordination REQUESTS to the actual ULC Headquarters to be ordained by the ULC Church.

The former ulc.org site was started in 1995 by one of the ULC’s ministers, Brother Dan Zimmerman, for his congregation called Universal Life Church/ULC Monastery, Inc. in Tucson, AZ. He requested to be authorized to accept and forward to ULC Headquarters all ordination requests received on his site to be ordained by The Church. That authorization was granted. In 2005, Brother Dan Zimmerman asked one of his members to assist with operating part of the site from Seattle, WA. In 2006, they had an internal management dispute that will take court legal action to resolve. So Brother Dan did the responsible thing and closed the ulc.org site on August 1, 2006. At that time, the ULC Headquarters authorization to them was revoked. Since then, the part in Seattle, WA had done a “hostile takeover” of the ulc.org site and changed the name to themonastery.org and  are calling themselves Universal Life Church Monastery Storehouse, Inc. “They ARE a separate organization that is NOT AFFILIATED WITH US,” said Andre Hensley. He further explained to me via his e-mail that the Monastery implies that they are affiliated with the original, real ULC in order to confuse people into ordering from them. They have only been in existence since September 2006 and they are back dating credentials to years before they even started. Plus, the ministers are receiving incorrect certificates from a church that they were not even ordained by!

Since then, the “real” ULC site has added a page to their Seminary site to let people know what is going on. If you were ordained after August 1, 2006, PLEASE, I seriously urge you to read this important announcement on the ULC site! Especially if you have been performing legal weddings, handfastings, etc.  It is much better to be safe than sorry!!!! http://www.ulcseminary.org/changeofsite.php

Serene Saturday ...

I absolutely love this song! It's called, "As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B. Hawkins. I first heard her sing it live on "The Howard Stern Show" of all places and I totally fell in love with it! So much so, that I actually used to sing it live years ago. Enjoy your weekend everyone!!!

Onion Snow on April Fool's - No Joke!

This morning I woke up to what we in Berks County, Pennsylvania call an "onion snow." An onion snow is a common term which we use in South Central, PA for an early Spring snowfall. It leaves a light, thin, "onion skin-like" coating on the ground and arrives about the time when the onions are beginning to sprout in the garden. It is also considered to be the last snow of the season we will get until winter-time comes around again - (we hope - LOL)!