The start of a busy day which got a little easier when Marysol, my lovely Spanish teacher contacted me and asked if possible we could change my class from this morning to tomorrow and it works for me which gave me a free morning and I used it to have a nice breakfast, doing some more laundry and messing around with some paper work…….I now have medical insurance for the whole year that is good world wide and it seems to be a really good policy!!!
I then talked to one of my best and oldest friends, Karen…..not old in age but old as we have been friends for over 22 years. Karen lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and when I moved there all those years ago I rented a basement suite from her and we have remained good and close friends all these years……today is her……th Birthday and it was great to be able to wish her well by telephone!!!
When I was doing some work on the computer I came across this photo
You have heard me talk of my friendship with Roy and Ken and how special these men were to me in my life and how I took care of them for years with outings and just spending time with them….the photo is the only one of them together Ken is on the left and Roy on the other side of me!!!
I also came across this shot from 1970…..would you let this man date your daughter or Mother!!!!!!!
At 1 0 clock I went to poker and what can I say I sound like a broken record but another for the win column…….pesos.
Back at home I had my lesson for my class prepared and then I got cleaned up and went to class and as usual these students amaze me with their dedication and desire and also their command of the English language…a good class ending with charades for chocolates!!!
After class I went straight down town to a night club where Maria who is a wonderful singer and entertainer and also a great tennis player was giving a benefit concert for one of the local parks……most of my tennis buddies were in attendance and let me tell you this lady can rock the house it was a wonderful evening!!!
So there you have it a busy and great day!!!
Ash Wednesday
Ash cross marked on forehead © Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.
Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin.
Ash Wednesday services
The service draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting.
The mark of ashes
In Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.
The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic.
God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth.
Grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence, and a symbol of our mortality.
Traditional Ash Wednesday prayer
Anointing with ashes ©
The minister or priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return, or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19.
The modern practice in Roman Catholic churches nowadays is for the priest to dip his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, say: Remember, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return (or a variation on those words).
Keeping the mark
At some churches the worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world.
At other churches the service ends with the ashes being washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins.
Symbolism of the ashes
The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
- Death comes to everyone
- They should be sad for their sins
- They must change themselves for the better
- God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes
The shape of the mark and the words used are symbolic in other ways:
- The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism
- The phrase often used when the ashes are administered reminds Christians of the doctrine of original sin
- The cross of ashes may symbolise the way Christ's sacrifice on the cross as atonement for sin replaces the Old Testament tradition of making burnt offerings to atone for sin
Where the ashes come from
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made by burning the palm crosses that were blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday.
Ashes can also be bought from Church suppliers. A bag of ashes big enough for 1000 people costs around £8.
Ashes and oil
The oil is blessed © The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, which makes sure that the ashes make a good mark.
The use of anointing oil also reminds the churchgoer of God's blessings and of the anointing that took place at their baptism.
From Palm Sunday to Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the crosses used in the Palm Sunday service are converted to ashes, the worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed triumph.
But using the ashes to mark the cross on the believer's forehead symbolises that through Christ's death and resurrection, all Christians can be free from sin.
Another interesting article!!!
Mexico to stop shipping ready-to-use fuel to curb thefts
Mexico's notorious drug gangs have been increasingly involved in fuel theft
Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has announced it will stop shipping ready-to-use petrol and diesel through its pipelines, in an effort to curb fuel thefts.
Pemex says it will use its pipelines across Mexico only for unfinished fuel.
That fuel will go through a last phase of mixing when it reaches the company's storage plants.
More than $1bn (£650,000) worth of fuel was stolen by Mexican gangs in 2014, an increase of 70% over the previous year.
In a statement, the company warned consumers not to buy illegal fuel tapped from its pipelines as it was likely to damage car engines.
In the red
Last year, Pemex discovered more than 2,600 illegal taps along its network of ducts.
Many criminal organisations, including Mexico's notorious drugs gangs, are involved in the illegal activities.
Mexican oil production has declined from 3.6 million barrels a day in 2004 to just 2.5 million.
Pemex, known officially as Petroleos Mexicanos, has been in the red since 2013.
Last year, the Mexican Congress approved President Enrique Pena Nieto's energy reform, one of the priorities of his administration.
The constitutional changes have allowed foreign companies to be awarded oil contracts for the first time since the industry was nationalised in 1938.
Yashi Kochi!!!
1 comment:
Les, could you please share your info regarding your medical policy, if possible. We have been trying to get prices and so far some are so outregious we could not be out of the country for more than a few months. We want to retire early but the budget for this will be on a lower scale. What did you do for insurance for the first year you were in SMA?
Cheers, shelagh
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