OIL CHANGE

Easter went well.  Mary Anne, Steve, Michael & Bridget were here.  Gary & Maria called.  So did Fran & Uncle Frankie  Aunt Lauren came over to say hello.  We ate a nice big supper on Holy Saturday & then again on Easter Sunday.  I went to 8:30 a.m. Mass on Easter.   As always we ate entirely too much.  I shocked Michael a bit.  I told him my vocabulary was exceptionally good so he tried to get me to prove it.  He looked up a word, for me:

floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion. 

   Little did he know that I've heard of it.  Uncle Frankie's home from his having spent Easter with Fran.  Of  course he made sure he showed up with lots of  candy to show for it.   We are now halfway through the Octave of Easter.  I've always been told I have a distinctive voice but yesterday was a true surprise.  Having gotten a little paranoid about the oil in my car, I made sure I called Frank, at the Auto Lodge in Plains, to make an appointment for an oil change.  As soon as I told him what I wanted he said: "Who's this, Larry?"  So far I've only spoken to him very few times so it struck me as quite a shock.   His voice is very distinctive too, a bit on the gritty side.   His intense Pa. accent really stands out too because I'm a New Yorker.  Alas he still can't find an odometer for me.   Fortunately all I needed was an oil change.  Today , besides its being the Feast of  Passionist St. Gemma Galgani, is also the forty~second anniversary of the infamous break~up of the Beatles.   As  we all know they've always been my very favorites.

Source: bit.ly via katherine on Pinterest

PASCHAL TRIDUUM

Uncle Frankie can't show up for Easter because he's visiting Fran.  I shall have to get his mail for the next few days.  This evening's Mass at O. L. Sorrows begins this year's Paschal Triduum.  Fr. McKernan has asked me to get my feet washed.  It's the first time I've ever done that.  His sister is visiting him from Long Island for Easter.   Mary Anne, Steve & the kids will be coming in soon.  Of course all the liberal troublemakers are coming out of everyplace insisting we refer to it as just another holiday, as if any other holiday counts.   There's not such a lot of shopping to do for Easter.   I've always really enjoyed the beauty of all the decorations, nice clothes & flowers.  The only disadvantage is that it's entirely too fattening.  Because of my not having gotten a haircut in quite a while I got one this morning, after morning prayer at O. L. Sorrows, at Rose Chairge's in West Pittston.  Yet again it was a little hard for me to find her place because her husband has changed locations.   He got rid of the Batman logo & that was my only way of finding it.  After a few extra minutes of going crazy I got there.   She knows Michelle & Gino so I found out from her what they've been up to lately.  Spring is here but the weather is often still too cold.   Dave is always going through the neighborhood looking for things to do.  He cuts people's  grass,  trims bushes, etc. in the warm weather.  There's still no word from  Frank about my odometer.   Gas prices are still going up & it's gotten plum out of control.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas very fast approaches. It's time yet again for all the reminiscing & partying to begin in only a few days. Mary Anne & her family will be coming in on Friday. Fran will be here then too. Uncle Frankie went away to visit her for a while recently. Conveniently my father has been out of the hospital for a while & he's even allowed to drive now too. I sometimes have to take him to the hospital for check~ups. Over the course of the past week, ever since Friday, I've gotten three nightmarishly blinding headaches. As far as I know they may have been becaus of sinus trouble. The first one was on the day of St. Monica's Christmas party. I went to the party but I was miserable. The party was supposed to be in Fr. Leonard's honor but he wasn't available. Winter officially began yesterday. We have no snow but there's been a lot of rain. Ruthie complained about how odd that is. I went back to Frank's garage a while ago to find out about whether he can help me with my odometer in time for the inspection I have to get by next month. He took down all the information he needs. I got my annual Christmas card from Carole but so far I haven't gotten one from Grace, Daren's mother, yet. They're the only cards I get each year. I made sure I sent one to each of them. I also sent one to Lisa from my class in high school. She's been very ill. Unfortunately Burt Koza just sent out a Facebook notice recently telling us all that O.L.P.H. in Lindenhurst, after ninety~nine years, will also be closing down the school at the end of the school year.

ODOMETER

Yesterday my parents & I went to see Uncle Frankie, Fran & Lisa. It was for my mother's birthday party. All went quite well. Today is Noreen's birthday. She's my cousin. This morning I went to AA in Exeter to get my odometer put into my car. It's been raining since yesterday afternoon but it's only a spring shower today with temperatures over fifty the last time I checked. That's why I didn't mind the trip. It all took only a little under & hour & was very inexpensive. Now I can count on having no more car troubles for quite a while. While I was there I hung around & looked through the store. I should get some of the car cleaners they have. My steering wheel needs a new cover too. I'm still playing my guitar quite regularly & I seem to be getting a little better. Unfortunately I haven't gotten any new magazines or anything lately to be able to play from.

ODOMETER

Yesterday's slight snow didn't amount to anything. Last night I made sure I got one of my big green bags out of the cellar so I could take it with me on the trip tomorrow. I ended up having to spend quite a lot of time going back & forth downstairs anyway. This will be my first trip to Washington since the 1990's & I've really been looking forward to it. Yesterday the UPS truck came with my odometer, thanks to Steve. I called the AA in Exeter to make an appointment to get it installed. The guy on the phone said I could have an appointment tomorrow but I'm not available. I got one for Monday. As always I shall be there at 8:00 a.m. Today is my cousin Alan's birthday. He lives in Michigan. We wish him a happy birthday. Saturday will be Matt's birthday. He's Brianne's husband in New York.

OLD MOVIES

On Friday my key got stuck in my ignition but it's all over now. Steve even found me an odometer so it's just a question of getting it from him. I should most certainly hope my car troubles are over. Originally I wasn't on the schedule to lector this weekend. Cheryl, of course, called though, at slightly after 9:00 on Saturday night. I ended up having to cover for her at 10:30 Mass yesterday. Over the weekend I watched a couple of more Hitchcock movies. I saw "Secret Agent" & "The Thirty Nine Steps" on Saturday. They're among his oldest. I've seen them both before. I also watched "A Man & A Woman" again. It's all in French so I needed subtitles. The them song was a big instrumental hit for Ferrante & Teicher in the 1960's. I recognized it as soon as I heard it. It rained last night & the weather was cold & damp this morning.