A mystical evening

On Monday night we had a rare opportunity to hear Loreena McKennitt in concert. She is a marvelous singer and she hardly ever tours, so we've been looking forward to the concert for a long time. If you are not familiar with her, I would describe her music as Celtic/world music. Much of her work is inspired by the migration of Celtic peoples throughout the world. The musicians who perform with her are of such a caliber that I thought during the concert, "This reminds me of why I love music." Her guitarist would alternate between his guitar, a lute he kept slung across his back, and an oud that he would reach around a stand to play--without missing a beat. She has an amazing (and gorgeous) cellist, and an electric violinist who left us speechless. She has three percussionists in addition to her drummer, and another gentleman who plays a lyra--it looks like a dulcimer but he bows it like a little cello. And last but not least--the hurdy gurdy man! Her music is very melodic, but the drone of the hurdy gurdy gives it a mysterious, Eastern feeling.

After the concert, we hung out by the stage door like the goobers that we are, and got her autograph. She was most patient and gracious with the thirty-five or so who were waiting to meet her. We got home after midnight, but the short night was more than worth it.

This is "Caravanserai" from her recent PBS special Nights from the Alhambra. I think you'll appreciate her voice and warm stage presence, as well as her wonderful musicians.

Friday Five: Thankfulness List

I always say the same things on these lists, so let's think of some more stuff besides:
1. the inhabitants of my household, both human and canine (I love y'all)
OK! Like Mindy, I am certainly thankful for
2. clean panties, but I'm almost out of them, so I am also thankful for
3. a washer and dryer that I don't have to drive somewhere to use, and don't have to put quarters into;
4. clean water piped into the house, so I can wash;
5. the gas and electricity that power the washer, dryer,and everything else in the house, including
6. central air conditioning!
OK, so that's six...you can see that my mind is on chores this evening...I'm going to stretch this even a little more, because I am especially thankful for
7. people who take the time to leave a comment! ;)

And I am so thankful tomorrow is Saturday!

Fab Four Meme

I've been tagged by Mary Beth! This one is all about fours:

Four jobs I've held:
clinical psychologist
school psychologist
day care center worker
drug store clerk

Four films I could watch over and over:
The Return of the King
Sense and Sensibility
A Hard Day's Night
Young Frankenstein

Four TV shows I watch:
American Masters
American Experience
the news
reruns of The Simpsons

Four places I've lived:
Memphis, TN
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX
Pasadena, CA

Four favorite foods:
cheese enchiladas with refried beans
tortilla chips and queso
saag paneer
cherry pie

Four websites I visit every day:
www.aldaily.com
www.chowhound.com
www.revgalblogpals.blogspot.com
www.ddtonline.com

Four favorite colors:
rose
burgundy
gray
Wedgewood blue

Four places I would love to be right now:
Tuscany
Kauai's north shore
Big Bend/Marathon/Alpine, TX
Orcas Island, WA

Four names I love but would/could not use for my children:
Rhys
Corazon
Ariane (This is the Scientist's pick. The Ariane rocket carries the French space shuttle...)
Alexander Shaw (These are family names, and this is what I would have wanted to name a son. But our last name starts with S, and I wouldn't do that to my child!)

I'll tag PG, the Typist, SpookyRach, and Singing Owl!

Blogiversary

My first post was on October 1, 2006! How time flies!

"It's Alive-Parts I and II"

I would dearly love to hang out with Mindy, but for her sake I'm glad she wasn't with me today. I went to a continuing ed workshop at a large hotel. Except for the meeting room we were using, the entire hotel was taken over by--I kid you not--the Texas Clown Association. Clowns were everywhere. Balloon flowers were all over the place. The title above was the actual title of one of their workshops. Conventioneers could choose seminars from the Balloon Track or the Face Painting Track. Among the speakers were Tom E. Boy, Mr. Puppet, and Ickle Pickle. Those of us attending "Developmental Disorders Related to Abuse" felt like we were floating on a small grim sea of reality in the midst of, well, Clown World.

This morning I could have attended a Clown Worship Service. The mind boggles.

Guest Blogger: Amie

Cub has posted some questions for me! Now, if I can just get up to the keyboard...

1. You are the same breed as The Boy. Can you give me any insight into what goes on in his mind?
...
...Huh? Oh--sorry. Well, it's just that so much is going on--ow! My ear itches--that sometimes it's hard to--Doorbell!!--I mean, when you try to focus--Look at that cat!
I'm sorry, what was the question?

2. How did you get your name, and do you have a middle name, too, or any nicknames?
Mama named me for an old song she loves, by Pure Prairie League. She sings it to me sometimes. She says that "Amie" means "friend" too, and that fits, because we are best friends forever! I don't have a middle name, but I have some pretty silly nicknames, especially Amie-Boo and Amie-Bamie. Daddy calls me Little Biscuit. Mama used to call me Little Pistol, but she says I've mellowed out a lot and it doesn't suit me any more.

3. You look very happy in your picture! What is it that your thumb-havers do that makes you the happiest?
Well, as you can see in that picture, Mama makes me happy when she plays with me and tells me what a good girl I am! And Daddy makes me very, very happy when he asks, "Do you want to go for a WALK??" I used to run around hee-hawing in my Little Pistol days; I don't do that any more, but I still prance and dance, and jump up and kiss him! Nothing is better than a walk!

4. Same question I asked Cletus: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers? Get out and walk!! Walk more, and it will improve your outlook on life! Or, just go roll in the yard! Like this:

5. Toys that make squeaky noises: yes or no? Explain your answer.
No, I've never been interested in squeaky toys. I don't chew much, but I like hard toys like Galileo bones, when I do chew.

RevGalDogPals or CatPals (or humans, for that matter), would you like to be interviewed by a cattle dog? Here are the rules:
1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment here on my mom's blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Thanks for reading my post! Maybe I'll do this again sometime!

Cat blogging

Yes, I'm a dog person, but today I have some kitty news! One or two folks may recall that last winter our office cat, Grisabella, presented us with five kittens. The kittens grew up, were socialized, and adopted. Grisi was spayed. We thought we were out of the kitty business until one morning last week when one of my co-workers heard a peep from the weeds near the patio...and found a tiny black and white kitten with the longest whiskers we'd ever seen. We think it's a boy. He can't be more than four or five weeks old, and he apparently was out there all by himself.

This is a happy, friendly little guy, but he appears to have some partial paralysis of his back legs and tail. But he gets around all right, takes care of kitty business without difficulty, and doesn't appear to be in pain. My co-worker D., who fostered Grisi's kittens, has taken him home for now. Does anyone have any experience with special needs kitties? This one will be a good companion for an all-adult household. I wish I could take him home, but unfortunately neither the Queen nor the Scientist would be amused....

An "overcoming" Friday Five

Faithful Sally took the time to give us this thoughtful Friday Five, even as her son Chris is in hospital today for another cardiac procedure. Let's keep Chris and Sally and their family in our prayers--and thank you, Sally, for this Friday Five.


1.Have you experienced God's faithfulness at a difficult time? Tell as much or as little as you like...

We went through roughly six or seven years of infertility treatment, and during and shortly after that time I had two miscarriages, in 1991 and 1998. Those of you who have walked this path know the frustrations and the misery, as well as the indignities and humiliations we suffered at the hands of the medical profession. I do feel that God sustained us through all of this, and allowed us to grow closer through this trial, rather than (as often happens) farther apart. But our not having kids is definitely on my list of "why" questions for Jesus.

2. Have you experienced a dark night of the soul, if so what brought you through?

I started to say glibly, "see above", but upon reflection I don't think that's accurate. Through times of grief, loneliness, and depression, for some reason I have never felt that God was gone. Even when I yelled and raged at God, I have always felt like Someone was hearing me rage--even if that Someone was not responding in a way I could hear just then. Friends certainly have helped--have been my lifeline at particular times. And time itself has helped on occasion, too.

3. Share a Bible verse, song, poem that has brought you comfort?

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

4. Is "why suffering" a valid question?

Certainly, although I don't know whether we ever get any answers in this life. Actually I think we should assume that suffering is an integral part of our existence on earth, instead of being shocked when it touches us. This is a fallen world, filled with fallen creatures who often choose to do destructive and terrible things to one another. And the earth has its own vicissitudes--hurricanes, tornadoes, floods--that cause great suffering and over which we usually have little control. Perhaps "what do we need to be doing about it" is a more useful question than "why".

5. And on a lighter note- you have reached the end of a dark and difficult time- how are you going to celebrate?

Quietly. In such a time of recovery, I would want to go away to some beautiful place, to be alone with my husband, to just eat and drink things that would nourish body and soul, and walk, and talk a little, and think about where we'd been, and mostly sleep.

Bonus- anything you wish to add....

My answer to #4 seems a bit glib to me, and I certainly don't mean it that way. We have a responsibility to prevent suffering whenever we can, and to aid and comfort those who are suffering. Our righteous anger at evil, and our efforts on behalf of those who are suffering, are necessary. I don't believe we can completely eradicate suffering on the earth, because we cannot completely eradicate evil at this time. But we have to pray and work to make a difference, however we can.

An interview by SpookyRach

1. What is your favorite type of art? Do you have a favorite artist?

I love art glass, fiber arts, and painting. We have a few small glass pieces, including one of Josh Simpson's very cool planets. My favorite fiber artist is Penny Sisto, whose quilts are stunning, like nothing else I've ever seen. A few years ago I was wandering through a Santa Fe gallery, and from two rooms away I saw Morganna. She pulled me all the way across that gallery. I could not stop staring at her face. My favorite painter is Texas artist Kermit Oliver. His paintings are representational, yet filled with myth and symbolism. His still life paintings and studies from nature are deceptively simple at first glance; they are loaded with Oliver's own vocabulary of crucifixion, resurrection, death, transformation. Although none of my favorites seems to be online, you can see some of his work here.

2. What's the worst book you ever had to read? Why did you dislike it?

Algebra II. Need I say more? Seriously, I don't remember ever truly loathing a book I was assigned to read. If I didn't like it, I probably just didn't finish it, got through the assignment somehow, and forgot about it.

3. What is the wierdest thing that ever happened to you?

I have been pondering this for two days. I must not have had much wierdness in my life, because I can't come up with any ghost stories, eerie encounters with strangers, or anything other than the standard "deja vu" experiences (you do know that's a sort of neurological burp or glitch?) that everyone reports.

4. What is your biggest fear and how do you conquer it?

I am very much afraid of being sued (it happens to psychologists and therapists all the time, with or without reason) or called into court to testify for or about a client. I know that seems strange to people who go to court all the time, but if I am ever in court there will be someone there whose job is to make me look like a liar, a fool, or both. I try to dot all my I's and cross all my T's (if it isn't documented on paper, it didn't happen) and I avoid certain high-risk areas of practice such as custody evaluations. I would love to get out of private practice altogether, and have some hopes of doing that by late 2008. The problem is that nobody else in this part of town seems to want to do the type of work that is my speciality, so because I have a niche, it will be hard to completely close my practice.

5. If Mindy and I were stoppin' the towncar at your place, what would you cook us for supper?

Anything you want!! What a day that would be. I have a great "company" meal involving chicken simmered with green grapes, orange zest, honey, and white wine. Also a wonderful spinach lasagna that I adapted from the old Moosewood Cookbook. Or how about my beef/broccoli/red onion stir-fry with yogurt sauce? (WAY better than that sounds) Or maybe, if the weather was nice and we were lazy, beer can chicken on the grill. I would defer to the Scientist if your preference was for fried chicken, CFS, or some really awesome beef enchiladas. When are y'all coming????

Would you like to be interviewed? Let me know in your comment, and I'll come up with some questions for you!

Friday Five: Seasons Change...

It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)

1. Share a highlight from this summer. (If you please, don't just say "our vacation to the Canadian Rockies." Give us a little detail or image. Help us live vicariously through you!)

Well, we had our big boffo vacation to Italy in the spring, so we stayed close to home during the summer. The summer's highlight was our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, marked by a quiet dinner at home that night, and an open house the following weekend, when 85 of our nearest and dearest gathered to celebrate. The company, food, prosecco, and warm wishes could not have been better.

2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?

I'm always glad for cooler weather to arrive (which it won't, for another six weeks or so), but otherwise I'm neither glad nor sorry. For people without kids, September is just another month.

3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.

I love the cooler weather, when it finally comes. October and November are comfortable and it's a pleasure to be outside then (except for the ragweed!).

4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)

We don't have a sharp demarcation of seasons here, so transitions are very subtle. I don't do anything special to mark the change of seasons.

5. I'll know that fall is really here when_we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner!

I like thinking back to ten or twelve years ago, when there were many young children in our neighborhood. My next door neighbor and I enjoyed standing outside with a glass of wine on Halloween evening, enjoying the cooler temperature and the parade of trick-or-treaters. That neighbor has long since moved away, and the kids are all grown and gone. But in those days, that's how I knew fall was really here.

If you love dogs...

...or any other animals, for that matter, you will probably appreciate Jonah Goldberg's column today regarding the Michael Vick controversy.

"Torturing a dog or a cat for sport is not disgusting because animals have rights, it is repugnant because human beings have obligations. If animals look to us as gods, and we in turn torture them for our amusement, have we not willingly made ourselves into devils?"

Keeping on

I am sure many of you have read the recent articles about a collection of Mother Teresa's letters that is being included in a new book about her (despite the fact that she had requested they be burned). They are poignant in their description of her loneliness and her feelings of being separated from God--feelings that seemed to begin plaguing her around the time she began her work with the Missionaries of Charity. Despite her sense of spiritual emptiness she remained faithful to the work to which she felt called, and the God who had called her.

Some of the more anguished letters are addressed to God, but some were sent to friends. I wonder if or how any of her correspondents tried to help her. Obviously these were people she trusted. How sad to think of her in this deep depression for decades, so alone although surrounded by people, and still soldiering on. As she said, "the smile is a mask". She had experienced God's love for her in earlier years, and kept going when she had only the memory of that experience.

I'm reminded of Job's assertion, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." I don't know whether just to feel sad that someone who worked so hard in God's service had so little refreshment and comfort in that service on earth, or also to be comforted, in a strange way, that she shared the dark night of the soul experienced by so many of God's children. Both, perhaps. If the publication of these letters accomplishes anything positive, perhaps it will be to reassure many people that doubt and, yes, depression are a part of the human condition, not a sign of sin or faithlessness.

Wow, do I feel deprived.

My seminary never offered home ec.

Hot, hot, hot

Ohhh, we are roasting here. I guess most of the country is, though. The air conditioner was almost nonfunctional in my end of the building today. I took my laptop and tried to work in a conference room up front where it was marginally cooler. By four o'clock nearly everyone else had already left, and I decided I was finished, too. So I went to work out--and it was hot in there, too!
It was good to get home to a cool house, a cold shower, and a happy dog. I am so glad I can keep this old dog comfortable.

And speaking of Amie, I took her for a checkup the other day and found that she now has a heart murmur. The vet told me two years ago that her heart was slightly enlarged, so I guess this means her heart disease is inexorably progressing. He says that if she starts coughing at night we will start her on Lasix. But isn't there anything I can do to help keep her from getting to that point? We already watch her sodium intake, and look for any changes in her habits. She seems to sleep a little more than she used to, but she is just as thrilled to go for a walk as she has ever been.

How I hate to consider that my sweet girl will be gone someday. I think many of you already know how a person can love an animal this much.


I think she loves me too.

Friday 5 Stress busting edition

Sally says:

I am off to spend a few days at the beach chilling out after a hectic few weeks and before I head off for Summer School... So with that in mind this weeks questions are looking at how you deal with the stress monster!!!???
1. First, and before we start busting stress, what causes you the most stress, is it big things or the small stuff ?

The small stuff has a way of adding up and turning into big stuff, so I guess the answer is both.

2. Exercise or chocolate for stress busting ( or maybe something else) ?

My best self says, exercise. After I work out, not only do I feel better physically, and more relaxed, my mood is brighter because I know I've done something positive for myself. The little devil on my shoulder says, go pig out, then surf the Net aimlessly...but in the long run I feel more stressed after doing that.

3.What is your favourite music to chill out to?

All the early-'70's singer/songwriters I loved in high school and college. Also, old John Michael Talbot albums like Come to the Quiet and The Lord's Supper.

4. Where do you go to chill?

My very own couch, with a magazine or a good book.

5. Extrovert or introvert, do you relax at a party, or do you prefer a solitary walk?
I'll take the walk, every time.

Bonus- share your favourite stress busting tip!

Hug the dog. Hug the husband. Sing. Do all of these things at the same time. (they both seem to like being sung to)

OK, enough navel gazing.

This is the sort of personality test I'm up for tonight.

You Are a Jam Cookie

On the outside, you project a straight-laced, innocent vibe. But on the inside, you're complex, exotic, and full of flavor.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

The black dog

Recently I've been noticing how many RevGals and Pals have written eloquently of their battles with depression. What makes this such a common challenge in this group? It can't be just that women are more prone to clinical depression (although we are), because some of the people I'm thinking of are men.

Does it have to do with our personality types? There are lots of intuitive feeling introverts around here, but surely not all INFPs or INFJs are depressed. Is it a result of our ongoing battle to keep from being consumed by others' needs, and to acknowledge our own? I don't have any data on whether people who are attracted to the helping professions suffer from depression at a higher rate than others, but it wouldn't surprise me. For RevGals, is it related to the still-ongoing struggle to follow your vocation when some people are telling you that you're wrong and that your call is not valid?

Winston Churchill, who struggled mightily with depression, referred to it as "the black dog". I have felt its teeth, too.

By the grace of God, I've been in a fairly healthy place for several years now. There are still occasional days when I can see the black dog's shadow, or hear it sniffing at the bottom of the door, seeking its prey. But I am grateful that now I can sense it nearby before it is actually upon me, and that those days are few and far between. I am learning to ask myself what is oppressing me and what I need to do, or seek, or ask for, to relieve the oppression. I am thankful for the power of prayer, love, Wellbutrin, and the human experience I've gained through years spent on both sides of the couch.

Can we share with one another some of the things that help us climb out of this pit?

Friday 5--Floods and Droughts

1. Have you experienced living through an extreme weather event- what was it and how did you cope?
In August 1983 the Scientist and I hunkered down in our little apartment as Hurricane Alicia passed over Galveston and Houston. I will always remember listening to a radio report from Galveston until--suddenly--all transmission from the island was gone. The wind grew louder and louder until our living room windows began to bow in and out as we retreated to our bedroom closet. The pitch darkness outside was occasionally illuminated as transformers blew, their explosions briefly exposing an apple-green sky. We ventured out of the closet as the wind subsided--only to retreat again as the windows on the back side of the apartment started bowing in and out. The winds finally stopped around daybreak, and we looked around outside at fallen trees and fences. A neighbor's Smoky Joe barbecue grill, which we had feared would become a missile, sat unmoved amid the debris. We were only without power for a few hours, but it was several days before potable water was restored.
2. How important is it that we wake up to issues such as global warming?
Very important. It seems that as our technology increases, so do the ways in which we can damage or destroy the earth.
3. The Christian message needs to include stewardship of the earth's resources agree/ disagree?
Completely agree. God has made us responsible for taking care of the earth, and that includes responsibility for separating what is known about global warming from what is unproven, and doing whatever we can to help reverse it.
And because it is summer- on a brighter note....

4. What is your favourite season and why?
I love both spring and fall--times of change. Summer is about five months long here, so I especially look forward to the morning when I walk outside and feel a little coolness in the air for the first time in months.

5. Describe your perfect vacation weather....
Sunny skies, slight breeze, 75 degrees.

Par-tay

We will have one hundred people in this house this afternoon. Not all at the same time, fortunately. But still.

What was I thinking??

It will be fine. The house is clean. The flowers are beautiful. The cake is beautiful. My friend Kathy the caterer is beautiful, as is her food.

I wish y'all were here to drink prosecco with us. It's going to be a good day.

25

Two silver hearts

They're lifelong friends they've always been

They've so much to look back upon

Their love begins

Where other lovers often end

They've so much to be thankful for

I know I know I know I heard him say

These years they've been so good to her

I know I know I do believe this time

She's been loving him

It's been a long long time.

It had no name when I first walked with you

We had so much to look forward to

Then I changed your name

I watched your hair turn brown to gray

I've so much to be thankful for

I know I know I know I heard her say

These years they've been so good to him

I know I know I do believe she knows

This time for sure

He's been loving her

It's been a long long time, time

She's been loving him a long long time.

Two silver hearts

They're lifelong friends

They've always been...

"Silver Heart" by Texas singer/songwriter Shake Russell

P.S. This is what the Scientist sent to my office today.
Yes, 24 red roses, and number 25 is, of course, the Yellow Rose of Texas.

He's good.

A beautiful correction

Yesterday I wrote that Lady Bird's favorite flower, the bluebonnet, was mine too. Well, it is my favorite, but today I read an article in the Houston Chronicle that said her very favorite flower was the gallardia, which we usually call firewheel or Indian blanket. They provide a splendid red and yellow display along the roadside. They bloom later in the season than bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush; I haven't been out in the country lately, but if I were I bet I could probably find some along the side of the road near Hallettsville and Shiner right now. So here are some pictures of a true Texas beauty for you to enjoy.

Friday Five: Wotcher, Harry! ...or not

(I don't even know what that means. It sounds like something Hagrid would say. That's how much I know. Although I am sympathetic to the phenomenon, I'm not nearly well-versed enough in Potteriana to attempt the first question set. So, although I hate thinking of myself as a Muggle, here goes:)

Option 2: Please Mommy, Anything But Those Blankety-Blank Books!

And we do mean anything:

1. Former U.S. First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson died this week. In honor of her love of the land and the environment, share your favorite flower or wildflower.

Lady Bird's beloved bluebonnets are my favorites too. For those who have only admired them in photos, or from the highway, you may not know that when you are actually in the midst of a stunning field of bluebonnets, you can detect a faint lavender-like fragrance that is as lovely as the flowers themselves.

Although in central and south Texas they tend to peak in early April, if we have a good spring next year there should be plenty to see by late March. I'm just sayin'.

2. A man flew almost 200 miles in a lawn chair, held aloft by helium balloons. Share something zany you'd like to try someday.

Let's see...chuck everything (except the Scientist, of course) and run away to Italy forever? Italy, where I don't speak the language (buon giorno, grazie, and dove il Bancomat, per favore? don't count) and have no way to make a living? Is that zany enough? Maybe I'd better focus on goals that aren't so zany, like playing the piano, closing my practice, and managing our nest egg so that someday we can visit Italy, and other places too, whenever we like.

3. Do you have an iPhone? If not, would you want one?

No, and no. The cell phone I have now can do everything except take out the garbage, but all I want it to do is take messages and let me make phone calls.

4. Speaking of which, Blendtec Blenders put an iPhone in one of their super-duper blenders as part of their "Will It Blend?" series. What would YOU like to see ground up, whizzed up or otherwise pulverized in a blender?

I'm sorry...the only image this question brings up for me is, "Mmmm...that's great bass!"

5. According to News of the Weird, a jury in Weld County, Colo., declined to hold Kathleen Ensz accountable for leaving a flier containing her dog's droppings on the doorstep of U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, apparently agreeing with Ensz that she was merely exercising free speech. What do you think? Is doggy doo-doo protected by the First Amendment?

No. The operative term here is speech. Big girls and boys use their words. If Ensz is displeased with Musgrave's record, she has a perfect right to picket, make a speech of her own, write a letter to Musgrave or to the editor, and to support Musgrave's opponent in the next election. The English language offers numerous options for expressing one's opinion. And my opinion is, what looked like free speech to Ensz and that jury just looks tacky to me.

And now a few words from Subliminal Woman

Like the rest of the RGBPs, I was excited warm about the board meeting in Atlanta this week and prayed that our stalwart leaders sunny would be refreshed in their fellowship and sense God's leading texas for the big event in 2008. I loved seeing the picture dallas that QG posted, and waited with bated breath austin for a report on the deliberations houston. The end of March, with Holy Week behind us san antonio, should present many people with a good opportunity fajitas to get away queso for a few days. I'm especially pleased that there will be a balance shiner bock between just kicking back enchiladas with the RGBPs, and involvement in spiritual formation/ministry-related activities margaritas for which we could earn some CEUs. The location bluebonnets won't be nearly so important lone star as the opportunity to be together, wherever it may be texas.

My first milestone!

Hey! Blogger says that post about Tessie was my 100th post!
Not bad for someone who wasn't sure she wanted to blog!

Tessie

Here are some photos of our guest, Tessa Rose, the hedgehog. She sleeps during the day, and begins to stir around 10:00 P.M.

As you can see, she has a sweet little face. But those spines are sharp!
If you pick her up--no matter how gently--once the jumping and hissing subsides, she tries to curl up into a ball. As the Scientist says, her suspicion is understandable, since in her world, other creatures fall into two categories: those she can eat, and those that might eat her. We wondered how Amie would react to having her around, but Amie has shown no interest in her at all.
I think the real reason she doesn't like the Scientist is that he keeps calling her Spiny Norman.

Friday Five: Hasty Edition

Hasty suits me just fine on this busy day.

What are you:

1. Wearing
My fat pants, alas, and my favorite t-shirt with the palm tree on it (sale at Nordstrom, some years ago).
2. Reading
As usual, I have several things going at once. I finally finished Empress of the Last Days, by Jane Stevenson, which asks the question, what if we were able to find a direct descendant of the Stuart line, the rightful queen of England and Scotland--and what if she were a woman of color, an ecology professor in Barbados? It wasn't as good as the earlier books in the series, The Winter Queen and The Shadow King, but once I got into it, it kept me going. Others on the nightstand and coffee table include Dearest Friend by Lynne Withey (a biography of Abigail Adams), The Italians by Luigi Barzini, and the last of the three novellas in A Plague of Dreamers, by Steve Stern (with whom I share an alma mater). I recently finished his novel, The Angel of Forgetfulness, which I enjoyed. He writes about the American Jewish experience in a mystical, "magical realism" style.
3. Eating
Fewer carbs, more protein. Since we have an abundance of fresh basil, and a nice big slicing tomato, this morning I got some fresh mozzarella to make a big insalata caprese. Just layer alternate slices of tomato and mozzarella, sprinkle liberally with fresh basil, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (and a splash of balsamic vinegar, if you like). We ate this all over Italy, not just on Capri. It's fun when you have cherry tomatoes and the little mozzarella balls that are the same size.
4. Doing
I love Fridays when I'm not working. Today's agenda just includes household-related shopping and other errands, laundry, etc. etc. I'll also stop by the office to do a little paperwork, and visit a friend who's been in the hospital for about two weeks. Please pray that he can go home soon.
5. Pondering
Nothing very heavy. I am thinking about how to revitalize my private practice, which hasn't quite recovered from that long break I just took. But somehow, it always seems to pick up again after a lull like this.

P.S. We have a little house guest this week, Tessie the hedgehog. We like her more than she likes us. If I can persuade her to stop jumping and hissing at me long enough to have her picture taken, I'll post it over the weekend.

(Later: Inquiring minds want to know how we wound up with a hedgehog! Tessie is staying with us while her human family is in Hawaii. Her mama is the college-aged daughter of my friend Cindy.)

Fourth of July service

After another Fourth-of-July-weekend service including "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America", I am pondering the same issue I ponder every July: How, in corporate worship, can we express gratitude to God for the advantages and blessings we enjoy in the United States, and ask for God's blessing and guidance for our country and its leaders, without all the bombastic, non reflective flag waving?

I always dread the Fourth of July service because, at least where I live, it's hard to avoid the impression that not only is there no separation of church and state, but in addition, "state" is essentially synonymous with "the Republican party." I squirm when the Boy Scouts, much less a military honor guard, "troop the colors" into the church. (That didn't happen in the church we attend now, but it's de rigeur in some. The Scientist and I share a particularly appalling memory of watching ARMED GUARDS escort the flag up the aisle in one of our previous churches.)

Does a nation's flag really belong in a Christian church, anyway? If so, why?

Is it just me? Is it just that I live in one of the reddest counties of this (mostly red) state? Is my inner Mennonite coming out? I would really like some ideas about other ways of observing the Fourth of July in the church.

Benign neglect

My mother was a gifted gardener, but because of my assorted obligations and distractions I have become an indifferent one, at best. There are a few plants in the yard that take care of themselves and triumph over my neglect, every season. These are some of Aunt Icy's day lilies.

The Scientist's Great-Aunt Icy was an East Texas farmer who worked alongside her farmer husband for decades, both in Texas and, for about twenty years, in the more challenging climate of South Dakota. She lived to be ninety-four, an independent woman who mowed her yard with a riding mower, well into her eighties. To her delight, my sister-in-law took her for a motorcycle ride on her ninetieth birthday. She was a priceless source of family history and genealogy, and we are thankful for the tape recording we made with her one afternoon as we wandered through several country cemeteries and learned the stories of the kinfolk who were buried there. After she died, my sister-in-law salvaged these day lilies from her yard before the house was sold. As day lilies will when they are left to their own devices, they have multiplied from five plants to about fifteen. I keep saying that "some day" I will dig them up and separate the clumps, but "some day" hasn't come. And yet, every summer, these vivid red blooms surprise me.

I know there's a moral or metaphor in here somewhere about how things that are pretty good now, could be even better if I expended just a little more effort. I know that I am easily distracted, that I dawdle around and let things more important than day lilies slide along on autopilot at times--especially my friendships. Yet somehow, when we do make contact, my friends and I always seem to pick up where we left off, for which I am thankful. Grace abounds, and may I never take that for granted.

Wish you were here!

(Cue the "Hallelujah Chorus")

It has arrived.

Friday Five: Hot Town, Summer in the City

1. Favorite summer food(s) and beverage(s):
I love the wonderful summer fruits: berries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, cantelope. I could live on fruit and yogurt this time of year. Of course I usually make at least one blueberry pie--I think I'll do that this afternoon!
It stays pretty warm here most of the year, so there isn't really a beverage I only associate with summer. I probably make iced tea about 350 days out of the year.

2. Song that "says" summer to you. (Need not be about summer explicitly.)
One beautiful morning in the late '70's when I was in my master's program, I was on my way to school when Eddie Money's "Baby Hold On", which was climbing the charts, came on the radio. It was such a happy, upbeat song, I rolled down the window and let it blast. That moment, and the memory of it, have always felt like the essence of summer to me.

3. A childhood summer memory.
I used to love to put on my swimsuit and play in the sprinkler. Remember the Wham-O Water Wiggle, gyrating wildly at the end of the hose?

4. An adult summer memory.
In our summer climate, intense storms can pop up quickly with little advance notice; they rumble through, then the sun comes out again. We spent our tenth anniversary at a Galveston bed and breakfast, in a nice second-floor room with a view of the Gulf. One day we stood on our balcony and watched a powerful thunderstorm roll in over the water. I still remember the dark clouds making the water appear gray, the sound of the thunder and the way the breeze grew cooler for a while.

5. Describe a wonderful summer day you'd like to have in the near future.
I'd love to go back to Galveston soon (or better yet, South Padre Island, but that's too far to drive) and have a long weekend in a little beach house, so we could take the dog with us. I imagine just the right breeze coming off the water, and us with nothing to do but listen to the waves, read, walk, look for shells, and eat seafood.

Optional: Does your place of worship do anything differently in the summer? (Fewer services, casual dress, etc.)
This summer we aren't having Sunday school. I have to admit, it's been nice to sleep in and read the paper before heading off to church. Some Sundays the choir has the day off, which gives us even a few more minutes to dawdle in the morning.

5 Things I Dig About Jesus

PG tagged me for this one!
Only five? OK...

1. He is our example of selfless love. And I don't mean "doormat".
2. When he was physically with us, he was able to set limits and go off by himself to recharge when he needed to. (So was Jesus an introvert? I think that's been discussed elsewhere.)
3. He always did what pleased the Father, but wasn't afraid of not conforming to anyone else's expectations: not those who expected him to be a militant political leader, not those who expected him to be a "good" Jew and have nothing to do with Samaritans, Gentiles, or women (much less Samaritan or Gentile women), not even his own family and friends who wished he would stop making outrageous claims and embarrassing them in public.
4. He freely chose to go to the cross for us. He is our example of courage, as well as love.
5. He is the only one who always listens to me--and always knows what I'm talking about!

Looks like a lot of people are being tagged for this one, so I won't double-tag. I look forward to your lists.

In Tonight's News:

Twenty-Year-Old Washing Machine Pronounced Dead, Despite Heroic Efforts; Replacement to Be Named Monday

Habitat Work Day Interrupted by Noisy Afternoon Storm; Dog Retreats to Closet

Anniversary Party Invitations Remain Unaddressed As Woman Mops Flooded Laundry Room and Assembles Moussaka

Tonight's Movie: The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941), Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda


(Thank you, Songbird, I only steal from the best.)

La Serenissima

I thought I would show you some pictures of Venice. This is our first view of the Grand Canal, as we were approaching the city from the mainland.

Homes on the Grand Canal have been flooded so many times, it appears that many residents have abandoned the first floor and just live upstairs. Note the Moorish design of many of the windows; this Eastern influence in the architecture is seen all over Venice.
St. Mark's. No picture can do it justice. See the bronze horses above the entrance?
This is the view of St. Mark's Square one has when standing next to those horses. The little dots are pigeons, and yuck, they are everywhere. Many tourists buy bags of bird feed to attract them, and the pigeons swarm all over them. This beautiful church is Santa Maria della Salute, as viewed from the Accademia bridge, near our hotel. I hope to see it without the scaffolding some day.
Probably only tourists take long gondola rides, but local people will often use the gondolas to get across the canal quickly. Yes, Venetian passengers often stand.
The area where we stayed, Dorsoduro, is mostly residential and not frequented by tourists, although there are several well-known museums there. Wandering through Dorsoduro, we often passed lovely quiet spots like this.
The Rialto bridge by day...
...and by night! See the prow of our gondola at right?

Eight more things

I've been tagged again! This time Kievas is the culprit. Here are eight more random factoids about me:
1. I haven't worn tap shoes in over 40 years, but I can still do time steps.
2. I have the following people's autographs: Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, B.J. Thomas, Tonio K (who wrote, "When the shrinks start liking this ****, we're all in trouble"), Randy Stonehill, Jimmy Carter, Sen. John Tower, Temple Grandin, J. Keith Miller, and Horton Foote. I think that's all.
3. I admit that I am powerless over tortilla chips.
4. I would love to buy a piano and start playing again.
5. If God told me, "You can't live below the Mason-Dixon line any more, but you can live anywhere else in the USA that you choose," I would move to Oregon.
6. When I was young, our neighbor was the features photographer for the local paper, and since she occasionally needed a picture of an adorable child playing with pets or enjoying Christmas morning, I wound up on the front page a couple of times. My 15 minutes came and went early.
7. I am left-handed, as is the Scientist. We also come from towns with the same name, though in different states. Obviously this was meant to be.
8. Having grown up in a listless, inactive church (or so it seemed to me then), I thought I wanted nothing more to do with Presbyterianism. In my various sojourns away from the Presbyterian church, I've spent time in: Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, Assemblies of God, Southern Baptist, Evangelical Free Church, Congregational. No one was more surprised than I when my journey finally led me back to my first home.

By now, many of you have been tagged for this one, so I won't double tag you. But I look forward to reading your list!

Visiting the Bishop

On a quiet side street in Rome is a beautiful Byzantine basilica, Santa Prassede, to which the Scientist and I took a long walk so that I could pay my respects to an old friend. In the early '90's, one of my former professors, Karen Jo Torjesen, published her book, When Women Were Priests. On the cover is a mosaic from Santa Prassede's exquisite St. Zeno Chapel:

(That's my picture, not the one from the book.) The three women with round haloes are Sts. Prudentiana and Praxedis (Prassede), who are buried in the crypt, and Mary the mother of Jesus. Above the halo of the woman on the left (the square halo indicates she was alive when the mosaic was made) is inscribed Theodora Episcopa, "Bishop Theodora". Does this indicate that ordination of women was occurring, at least in some circles, as late as the ninth century A.D.? Torjesen certainly thinks so. Those who disagree argue that Theodora was the mother of the bishop, and that she was given the title episcopa as an honorific. Be that as it may; Torjesen makes a great case for the prominence of women in church leadership in the early centuries of the church, and how that leadership was suppressed as the church moved more from the private to the public arena. One thing I was determined to do in Rome was to go see the Bishop. Here I am (dark pink shirt) entering the St. Zeno chapel:
This is my off-kilter photo of its ceiling. You can see lots of pictures of these mosaics and the interior of St. Prassede, way better than mine, here.
It was a long, hot walk from Trastevere up through ancient Rome, past the Colosseum, through a park near the Domus Aureus (Nero's house), where men playing bocce smiled at us, and dozens of ordinary Romans were out enjoying their weekend. We got a drink and a jam tart in a little cafe where a friendly counterman was patient with my fractured Italian, then answered me in perfect English...Oh, and on the way to Santa Prassede we stopped off at San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) to say hi to this guy:

Seven things you don't want to know

Singing Owl tagged me for this meme while I was away; I told her I would do it, and I just remembered...So can I come up with seven things?

1. When I was ten or eleven years old, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Our vet let me hang around his clinic on Saturday mornings to observe what went on. After a few months my short attention span ran out, and that was the end of that. Years later I realized that although I love animals, I could never have passed (much less understood) the organic chemistry, etc. that I would have had to take in a pre-vet curriculum. My brain is totally Arts and Humanities.

2. The summer after fifth grade, I won a blue ribbon in dance at YMCA camp for a dance we performed to "Georgy Girl." Yes, I still remember some of the steps. No, I will not show you.

3. I have unusually short toes. I used to think that other people had creepy long toes, then I realized theirs were normal.

4. I am a "miracle baby." My parents, aged 43 and 41, were married for 20 years with no children--then they got a midlife surprise!

5. I only spent two weeks in first grade. Daddy had already taught me to read, and I was bored to tears with "Look, look. Oh, oh, oh." (Remember?)

6. I got to see the Beatles in Memphis on their last American tour, in 1966. Every August 19 I remember that concert, the longsuffering moms who brought us, how my friend Joy and I screamed, and how the boys in our group told us, "Shut up." But we didn't.

7. When we were kids, Joy and I were prolific authors. We dashed off numerous small volumes on a variety of topics, each titled The Best Book Ever. Alas, all have been lost, but I think I still have the manuscript of The Great American Novel, which we completed in junior high. We were also cutting-edge filmmakers. For my fiftieth birthday last year Joy sent me a VHS copy of our entire Super 8 oeuvre, including the surreal Tactis Tietacks and the dramatic Zorra's Sordid Adventures in an East Village Crashpad, both ca. 1969. (No, the adventures weren't really sordid. That was just to increase the box office.)

I'm not going to tag anyone, but let me know if you play!

A short course in aesthetics

In the Mississippi Delta, where I grew up, planters often place a bug trap like this one at the end of a row of cotton or soybeans. By regularly checking its contents, they can estimate how many pests are in the crop and know when to spray for them.

This is a Tuscan vineyard bug trap.

Tuscany looks like this.

Cortona church
Stormy Siena

Terraced hillside, Cortona

Poppies, Cortona. These wonderful red poppies grow wild all over Italy.

Near Greve

Farmhouse, Greve. I like this picture because you can see both the vineyards and the olive trees behind them.
Approaching Castello di Gabbiano winery, where we were treated to a marvelous three-course lunch paired with different vintages of their Chianti Classico.

Overlooking the vineyards at Castello di Gabbiano.

Looking down the hill (north, I think) from San Gimignano.

Can you see the lonely white horse, marooned on a little terraced hillside in Cortona? We walked this way a couple of days later and the horse was still standing in the same spot. This was taken just down the road from Frances Mayes' former home (Under the Tuscan Sun).
We didn't get much of that famous Tuscan sun. Although we had hot, sunny weather everywhere else, it rained at least once every day we were in Tuscany. We didn't care--we were just glad to be there.

Random asterisks of vacation, part one

* Copious amounts of red wine + a small (really!) daily cup of gelato + amazing handmade pastas - walking, walking, walking X 19 days = 5 pounds!
I console myself with the thought: what if we hadn't been walking?

* The lemons in Sorrento are the size of grapefruit. We visited an artisanal limoncello factory up in the hills, where a lady was carefully zesting each huge lemon--then throwing the rest of it in the trash!

* Much of the joy and awe of this trip came from seeing places we had heard and read about all our lives. One afternoon we took the train from Pompeii (Pompeii!! the Scientist's dream come true) to Naples to go to the outstanding archeological museum there. The chaos and din of downtown Naples is nearly overwhelming, but we took it all in as we made our way down to the docks to take the ferry back to Sorrento. Standing on the top deck of the ferry as it glided into the bay, the Scientist quietly said, "We're cruising in the Bay of Naples, looking at Vesuvius." And so we were.

*Before I left, PCIT wrote in a comment that her dad had been born on Capri. So the day we were there, I toasted her and her dad with a glass of Aglianico, the regional red wine.

* We only had one truly bad meal in Italy. I should have known better than to let myself be talked into eating at a place called the Foreigners' Club!

Civita di Bagnoregio

There is a little hill town called Civita di Bagnoregio, also known as "the dead city." Like many small Tuscan and Umbrian towns, it was built as a fortification on top of a hill.
Several hundred years ago, the hill began to erode and a substantial part of the town went with it. Most of the surviving inhabitants decided to get out while they could. Today a handful of people (and dogs) still live there, mostly surviving on tourism. Rick Steves popularized Civita several years ago, but it is still a quiet--though attractive and well-kept--little place.

We had the most enjoyable simple meal of our trip on a chilly, drizzly morning in Civita. Imagine walking down a cold, wet street, and peering through an open doorway to find this:
There were two or three long tables in a small room, with this fireplace blazing away at the back. The bread for our perfect bruschetta was toasted on the hearth (see the racks?). Just out of this picture a man stood, slicing razor-thin slices from a huge ham. With our lovely bruschetta, the house wine served from the ceramic pitchers you see on the mantel, and a plate of local meats and cheeses, we wanted nothing more.

Still here

Hi. We have more than 700 pictures to organize. At least they are out of the camera and on the computer. That's a start. The process of returning to "real life" after three weeks away has pretty much eaten up my time and energy this week. I'll be back soon, with pictures (just a few!) and stories.

Re: the big blogger meetup, I don't really care where or when, just as long as I get to go. But Texas would be a fairly central location. :) And if we were to get an outside speaker, here's another vote for Anne Lamott! (dream on)

The only workshop I'd truly be interested in would be, Cooking with Milton.

Yikes! (or, Calling All Ministers of Word & Sacrament)

Well, it's not really a "yikes", because part of it we all had known about for some time, and the other part we suspected. But how often does a church lose its pastor and associate pastor at the same time?? They'll both be leaving within a month.

Want to move to Texas?

Bad mama

I was so happy to see my sweet Amie when we got home, but was heartsick to find that she had made an acral lick granuloma on her foot in our absence. This is a fairly common stress-related behavior in dogs, but she had not done this in more than two years. She hates thunder, and there were some frightful storms here while we were gone. While we were in Italy, looking at the satellite weather map, I worried about Amie, alone and afraid in the Scientist's closet. I know she had a lot of attention from her grandma and our neighbors during the day, but she spent her nights alone. If we take such a long trip again during her lifetime, I'll have to come up with some contingency plan so she won't be all alone for so long. I felt like such a bad mama when I saw her foot. She's stopped licking it, though, so it should heal soon.

Pizza

I am too scattered right now to manage an entire Friday Five, but I have to say a few words about pizza. Chicago or New York? Neither.

Italian pizza has a crisp, thin crust, and comes to the table unsliced, to be eaten with a knife and fork. Sometimes it has red sauce on it, sometimes not. You can get any or all of the ingredients that are familiar to us, but the sausage is spicier, the black olives bigger and better, and the funghi might be porcini. We had delicious pizzas with pears, gorgonzola, and walnuts, too.

Last Saturday we sat with four companions in a Cortona restaurant called Fu Fluns (the Etruscan name for Dionysus) and had a late lunch that lasted about three hours. We ate pizza (mine had mozzarella, mushrooms, and black truffles) and pasta, passed our plates back and forth ("You have to taste this"), drank fabulous triple-fermented Belgian beer, talked about everything, and laughed. And then laughed some more.

I will probably forget what I saw at the Uffizi, or the mosaics at St. Mark's, before I forget that lunch.

I'm back!

We saw beautiful and wonderful places. Ate amazing food. Made new friends. Rode in various methods of transport (Venetian water taxi, small plane, BIG plane) or sat in various European airports for a total of twenty hours yesterday. So glad we went. So glad to be home.
Missed y'all. Am pooped. More later.

Arrivederci!

In the morning we will be flying to Naples to begin our three-week sojourn in Bella Italia! If you are interested, you can follow our itinerary here and here. I don't know when or where I might have internet access, and may not be posting until we return. But I'll be thinking of you, and will blog from la strada if I can.

I have a blessed and full life, and have been having difficulty narrowing down my list of people, places, and things that bring me joy. I just can't limit it to five. But along with my dear Scientist, my sweet dogs (present and past), reading, music, and cooking, travel is right up there near the top of the list.

Ciao for now!

Yesterday was the Scientist's fiftieth birthday, and in the morning I posted a bubbly little blurb about that. I must have been one of the few people in the U.S. who somehow managed not to read or hear any news all day long. When the Scientist came home last night and we were getting ready to go out for his birthday dinner, he mentioned Virginia Tech and I had no idea what he was talking about. I ran and read the news and deleted my perky little post. Big birthday or not, it seemed inappropriate.

Thinking of all the grieving parents last night, I also wondered how many parents had wept with relief after getting a phone call from their child, or even seeing their child interviewed on television. Is there something strange about mid-April, usually such a beautiful, hopeful time of year? Waco, Columbine, now this.

The Scientist did have a good birthday, and having reached the half-century mark, is feeling suitably venerable and august. But from now on, April 16 will be remembered as a day of terror and grief. Please join me in including the families of Virginia Tech in your prayers.

Friday Five: Dental Edition

In honor of Cheesehead and Reverendmother (get well soon, y'all!):

1. Are you a regular patron of dentists' offices? Or, do you go
a) faithfully, as long as you have insurance, or
b) every few years or so, whether you need it or not, or
c) dentist? what is this "dentist" thing you speak of?

a). Every six months. I inherited cavity-prone teeth and have to be conscientious about this. My dentists are a married couple who are friends of ours from church (in fact, the gentleman and I have served on session together), and despite the purpose of the visit I enjoy seeing and chatting with them--when I'm able to chat, that is.

2. Whatever became of your wisdom teeth?

Nothing. I was born with only two, and they have never attempted to make a move or call attention to themselves in any way. As long as they don't bother me, I won't bother them.

3. Favorite thing to eat that's BAAAAAD for your teeth.

Butterfingers. The crunchy part gets embedded into every little cranny.

4. Ever had oral surgery? Commiserate with me.

Getting a crown, or getting pins inserted into a molar, is as close as I've come, and those procedures were tedious but not excruciating. My dentists have all sorts of whiz-bang diversions for patients, and I usually just put on goggles and watch a movie while they work.

5. "I'd rather have a root canal than ____________."

Testify in court, a common occupational hazard in my line of work. So far I have escaped this nightmare.

Bonus: Does your dentist recommend Trident?

No, but they do give away chip clips that read, "Compliments of ______ and ______, DDS." The Scientist was sarcastically curious about what brand of chips my dentist might recommend!

Something good is about to happen!

I got our passports out of the safe deposit box today!

And then I went and got EUROS!

*tempted to start jumping up and down, even though I still have nearly two weeks of work left, and I have three reports to write*

Alleluia!

Today Hades tearfully sighs: "Would that I had not received him who was born of Mary, for he came to me and destroyed my power; he broke my bronze gates, and being God, delivered the souls I had been holding captive." O Lord, glory to your cross and to your holy resurrection!


(From the Orthodox liturgy for Holy Saturday.)

O Heaven, be struck with horror; earth be plunged
in chaos;
Do not dare, Sun, to behold
Your master on the cross, hanging there of his
own will,
Let rock be shattered, for the rock of life is now
wounded by nails...
In fact, let all creation shudder and groan at the passion
of the Creator.

Adam alone exults.



-Romanos
(sixth century)

What wondrous love

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever; and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.


Bernard of Clairvaux

Two Palm Sunday observations

1. Apparently I am incapable of watching the children walk (or run) in, waving their palm branches, without tearing up. But that's OK.

2. When the PASTOR is among those enthusiastically applauding the children's choir, I reluctantly concede that mine is the minority view.