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Your Language Arts Grade: 98%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

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It's a winter Friday Five

From way up in the snow belt, Singing Owl wants to know:

1. What is the thermometer reading at your house this morning?
I think it was in the low forties this morning, and never got past 42. Hey, to us, that's pretty chilly!

2. Snow—love it or hate it?
Love to look at it, don't mind playing in it if I'm dressed appropriately, HATE to drive in it!

3. What is winter like where you are?
Winter in Houston is a series of three- to four-day cold snaps, followed by a return to temperatures in the 60's or 70's. It's been drizzly and chilly all week, but tomorrow's forecast is for temperatures back up into the 60s. We usually have at least one or two nights below freezing every year, when people scurry about covering tender plants before bedtime, but some years we have no freezes at all.

But there is always an exception to the rule: the great White Christmas of 2004! Snow began falling in big fat flakes as we were on our way to church that Christmas Eve. I still remember the extra excitement and joy in the air that night. We only got a light dusting here, but oddly, Victoria and Corpus Christi, which are much farther south, were covered in snow!

Here are a couple of scenes from my yard, that Christmas morning:


Go ahead and laugh, Snow Belters! But we thought it was great.

4. Do you like winter sports? Any good stories?
I like to watch all of the winter Olympics. No stories; I'm a miserable skier, and would rather be in the lodge with some hot chocolate!

5. What is your favorite season, and why?
Spring and fall are beautiful here, and I enjoy the change. I especially appreciate our brief autumn, when temperatures finally drop into the 70s after five months of summer!

Bonus: Share a favorite winter pick-me-up. A recipe, an activity, or whatever.
Dreary, drizzly winter days are a pleasure when I don't have to go anywhere and can hang around the house making soup. Here's a recipe we've enjoyed this year, that makes good use of the lovely kale we've been getting from the co-op:

1/2 lb. smoked sausage (kielbasa or similar), sliced thin
2 to 4 cloves garlic (all 4 if you dare)
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 cup lentils, picked over and washed
3 cups water
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bunch kale, stems and center ribs discarded, leaves chopped
2 T. balsamic or red wine vinegar

In a 6-qt. stockpot brown sausage in a little oil over medium heat, and transfer to paper towels to drain. Cook garlic and onion in the oil (add a little if necessary) until onion is softened. Add lentils, water, stock, and sausage and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Add kale and simmer, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Makes about six cups.
We think this would be a good basic lentil soup without the kale, but we haven't tried it that way yet.

Have a relaxing weekend, and stay warm!

Guest blogger: Amie

Hi, everybody! I want to thank all of my human and animal friends for your prayers. I appreciate that a lot. Mama and Daddy are still concerned, because the vet told them that he doesn't know what I have--he says I don't have cushions after all. I don't understand that, because I have lots of cushions. It's a good thing, too, because lately I've been more tired than usual. I have some new medicine to take, and some really yummy stuff on my food called VAL Syrup. (Grendel, it's like gravy!) Mama says I have to go back to the vet in a month for more blood tests. I'm not going to worry about that now.

Well, enough about that. The important thing to blog today is that my friend Scout tagged me for a meme! Here are the rules:

- Link to the person that tagged you.
- Post the rules on your blog.
- Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
- Tag six people and at the end of your post, link to their blogs.
- Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

It says person, but obviously we're including animals. So here are my six things:

1. I can wag my tail really, really fast when I'm glad to see someone.
2. When my belly was shaved recently, Mama discovered it was covered with freckles. (She's been calling me Frecklebelly ever since. I wish she would stop.)
3. My favorite foods are cheese, eggs, pumpkin, and yogurt! And something Mama thinks is really gross, and she says we don't need to discuss that.
4. I used to sleep in Mama and Daddy's room, but when they went away for a long, long time I got into the habit of sleeping by the front door. Even though they're back now, I still sleep by the front door.
5. I am a three-year survivor of mammary cancer. Mama thinks that's important, but I don't...it was a long time ago, after all.
6. I only have one canine tooth now, and no incisors on top. It doesn't matter, though. I can eat anything I like. I can still chew up a bone!

A lot of my friends have already done this. I'll tag Beatrice, Elizabeth, Newman, Whistle (or anyone else at his house who would prefer to play), Josie and Boudreaux, and Tiria! If you don't have time to play, it won't hurt my feelings. But if you'd like to play, have fun!

Friday Five: Read any good books lately?

RevHrod asks:

1. What book have you read in the last six months that has really stayed with you? Why? Like a number of people, I would have to say Barbara Kinsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Her account of her family's attempt to eat locally was so enjoyable (and sometimes hilarious), and while I don't have the acreage to grow all of our vegetables like she did, I've made a strong effort to eat more locally this year. The organizer of our co-op has provided us with local yard eggs, and we are finding more local sources of fruit and vegetables (because it's nice that the butternut squash is organic, but it traveled here from Chile, out of season...what's wrong with this picture...), and now we even have a nearby source of grass-fed beef. I can't help but think that makes a difference--if not so much in reducing our carbon footprint, at least I know it is making a difference to a few local farmers. And we're eating well, too.
   
2. What is one of your favorite childhood books?
   

Oh, I didn't know where to start...the Little House books, of course...lots of horse books, like Misty of Chincoteague...the Sue Barton series...then I thought of something special. Our public library had an encyclopedia of seashells, with magnificent color plates. I had never seen a beach when I started reading this book, but I checked it out again and again, learning about bivalves, univalves, lion's paws, alphabet cones...such wonderful pictures, and in later years when I did have a chance to find shells on the beach I remembered what I had learned. Now whenever I see the beautiful shells on permanent exhibit at our natural science museum, I remember how I first came to love them, long ago.

3. Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Do tell!
   
I've always been partial to the Gospel of John and its witness to Christ--the seven signs, all the "I am" statements, the mysticism of its approach--all of this has been meaningful for me.

4. What is one book you could read again and again?
   
Just one? Impossible. Let's see, I've read the Chronicles of Narnia over and over..Lord of the Rings...Wise Blood...my favorite Elizabeth Bowen book, The Death of the Heart...Irvin Yalom's tales of therapy, Love's Executioner...many more...

5. Is there a book you would suggest for Lenten reading? What is it and why?
   
I'm not familiar with any Lenten-specific devotional books, although I'm sure there are many. I will have to see what other people recommend.

6. And because we all love bonus questions, if you were going to publish a book what would it be? Who would you want to write the jacket cover blurb expounding on your talent?

I wish I could write a good book about Zorra and Amie that dog lovers would understand and enjoy. I'd like Jon Katz, who wrote movingly about his life with his rescued border collie in A Dog Year, to write the blurb.

(Sorry about the wierd formatting and font. Blogger and I fought it out and Blogger won.)

Good news

The specialist found no tumor and said her organs all looked normal. Like our regular vet, he suspects Cushing's disease, which is fairly common in old dogs and can be treated with medication. She'll need some more blood work to confirm that diagnosis, and I hope we can get that done by the end of the week. Thank you all so much for your prayers. I appreciate that more than you know.

Amie doesn't want me to show you, but I will tell you that she is now sporting a stylish new "do" just like Cub's!

Prayers requested

Amie had some routine blood work on Saturday when I took her in for her annual shots. Today the results were back, and we learned that two of her liver enzymes are very seriously elevated. We are seeing a specialist for an ultrasound tomorrow at 2:00.

Those of you who pray for animals, please remember my dear girl. Thanks.

Totally theoretical question:

OK, all you RGBP Presbies:

Let's say you are looking for a new call. Let's say you circulate your PIF and it comes to the attention of a certain PNC. Let's say one of the members of that PNC is, in fact, moi, and let's say that as I read your PIF I begin to suspect that you might be, well, you.

If that unlikely event should occur, how would you like me to handle it? Out myself to you, and recuse myself from the committee's discussion of your PIF? Say nothing at all? Other options?

And the seasons, they go round and round

We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game.
(--Joni Mitchell, as those of a certain age know well)

Well, the tree has been hauled off to the park for recycling, the ornaments and garlands are all packed away, the wreath is off the front door, and the furniture has been put back in its customary location. Will we be able to keep Christmas in our hearts as the days go by?

Our hymns and sermon this morning were all very Epiphany-oriented, but we managed to squeeze out just a little more Christmas with our anthem, "Break forth, O beauteous heav'nly light/And usher in the morning...". I'm grateful for the opportunity to sing Bach, and to give thanks again for God-with-us.

Such a hectic Christmas this was, with my MIL's surgery. She is slowly improving, but will need several months to heal from this drastic operation. She will begin physical therapy this week. My sister-in-law left this morning, after a week--we were sorry to see her go, for many reasons. Along with all of the week's caregiving activity, the three of us found time to watch several movies (300, Marie Antoinette, and Pan's Labyrinth--how's that for diversity?), accompanied by good homecooked food and fine Italian wines. Yesterday we took a break and went downtown to see Lucy. The exhibit includes magnificent icons and other artifacts from the Ethiopian church, and those were as interesting to me as the anthropological aspects of the exhibit, including Ms. Lucy herself.

And now another busy and trying week begins. Neither major surgery nor major caregiving is for sissies. I would appreciate your prayers this week for the fruit of the Spirit--for all of us.

An "Auld Lang Syne" Friday Five

Singing Owl says:

It is hard to believe, but 2007 is about to be history, and this is our last Friday Five of the year.

With that in mind, share five memorable moments of 2007. These can be happy or sad, profound or silly, good or bad but things that you will remember.

Bonus points for telling us of a "God sighting"-- a moment when the light came through the darkness, a word was spoken, a song sung, laughter rang out, a sermon spoke to you in a new way--whatever you choose, but a moment in 2007 when you sensed Emmanuel, God with us. Or more particularly, you.

1. I could fill this whole meme with memorable moments from our spring trip to Italy. I'll just list a few right here:
--Standing in an olive grove outside Sorrento as the young woman whose family has produced olive oil there for five generations told us about the olive harvest, then showed us her great-grandfather's millstone before contrasting that with their modern production facility.
--Wandering down a side street in Rome, gelato in hand, turning a corner--and there was the Pantheon.
--Walking into St. Peter's, turning right--and there was the Pieta. It is only slightly larger than lifesize, which makes it more powerful than it would be if it were larger.
--A three-course meal at a Tuscan winery, gazing out at the green hills and vineyards as the exquisite food and wine just kept coming.
--Standing on the Accademia bridge in Venice, looking down the Grand Canal toward the domes of Santa Maria della Salute.
I could go on....

2. Celebrating the Scientist's 50th birthday on April 16--our celebration overshadowed by the tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech that day.

3. Celebrating 25 years of marriage in July. Considering how blessed we are, not just in having each other, but in having all of the friends who came to celebrate with us.

4. This year I have enjoyed conducting psychological evaluations of potential candidates for the priesthood, by arrangement with our local Roman Catholic archdiocese. After we had discussed the results of his evaluation, an African seminarian prayed with and for me, asking God to place a "wall of fire" around me and my work.

5. Opening Christmas presents in my mother-in-law's hospital room. She has just had her third spinal surgery. Please pray that this fusion will help to relieve her pain. The Scientist and I have spent a lot of time on the phone since she was abruptly released on Wednesday with no aftercare plans in place--but that's another story. (The home health nurse did come today.)

I can't think of any earthshaking revelations or epiphanies that have been distinct from the daily events I recall. God has been present to me in all of these events, in quiet worship with my friends on Wednesday night and in corporate praise and worship on Sunday; in our everyday life together; in the fact that we can get up on an ordinary day and go to work--and that we have work to go to; in quiet assurance that God still has a plan for my life and is still working within me. I look forward to this New Year and hope that 2008 will be a blessing to all who read these words.

Amie wishes you a joyful Christmastide

"Christmas calls a community back to its origins by remembering Jesus' own beginnings as a human child, a prophet of God's reign, a judgment on the world and its projects. What the parish celebrates during this season is not primarily a birthday, but the beginning of a decisive new phase in the tempestuous history of God's hunger for human companions. The social concerns of the season are thus rooted in Jesus' proclamation of God's reign: the renunciation of patterns that oppress others (holding, climbing, commanding) and the formation of a new human community that voluntarily embraces those renunciations. It is an adult Christ that the community encounters during the Advent and Christmas cycles of Sundays and feasts: a Risen Lord who invites sinful people to become church. Christmas does not ask us to pretend we were back in Bethlehem, kneeling before a crib; it asks us to recognize that the wood of the crib became the wood of the cross."

Nathan Mitchell
from Liturgy, vol 1. no. 2, 1980.

A blessed and happy Christmas to all!

It's almost Christmas, Friday Five!

From Revhrod:


1. What was one of your favorite childhood gifts that you gave?
I must have been ten or eleven years old when I found a small quail figurine I was sure my mother would love. I was right, and it graced our coffee table for many years.

2.What is one of your favorite Christmas recipes? Bonus points if you share the recipe with us.
Here's the recipe for my mother's fruitcake cookies, much loved in our family. Even people who claim not to like fruitcake seem to enjoy these. The Scientist and I first made them for what turned out to be my mother's last Christmas; all of the ingredients were in the house, but she was too ill to make the cookies. We have made them ever since, in her memory.

Drop Fruit Cakes
1 lb. fruitcake mix
1 c. raisins
14 oz. dates (Note: I can't find 14-oz. packages of dates here. I use two 6-oz. packages and add an extra 2 oz. raisins.)
1 1/2 lb. pecans, chopped
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
4 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in a little warm water
3 T. milk
Flour fruitcake mix, fruits and nuts with some of the flour. Make batter with the remaining ingredients and add to the floured fruit and nuts. (This requires a very large container--we have always used my mother's old Dutch oven--and the only way to mix this is with your hands, so have fun!) Drop from a spoon (or pinch off little pieces and roll into balls) onto greased cookie sheets. They don't spread as much as most cookies do. Bake at 250 degrees (yes, 250) for an hour; cool completely on racks before packing into tins. If desired, you may sprinkle them with 3 T. whiskey. (Since we don't like whiskey, ours are the teetotaling variety.) Makes 6 or 7 dozen, depending on how small they are.

3. What is a tradition that your family can't do without? (And by family, I mean family of origin, family of adulthood, or that bunch of cool people that just feel like family.)
The first one I thought of is actually rather recent. Two years ago, this delicious recipe for banana pancakes with caramel-banana syrup appeared in Bon Appetit. It became our standard Christmas morning breakfast! I'm hoping to start another tradition this year: tamales on Christmas Eve. That's very traditional in south Texas, and we love tamales but have never had them for Christmas Eve supper.

4. Pastors and other church folk often have very strange traditions dictated by the "work" of the holidays. What happens at your place?
We love the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Since I am always singing and the Scientist is nearly always an usher for that service, we have to wrap up our Christmas Eve festivities at home in time to get to church early! The Scientist's family always opens all of their gifts on Christmas Eve (after 25 years I'm still not used to that, but oh well), and because of our schedule we have to eat dinner fairly early to have plenty of time for "Christmas tree".

5. If you could just ditch all the traditions and do something unexpected... what would it be?
I would love to have Christmas somewhere in Europe and enjoy the holiday traditions of whatever country we were visiting. Alternately, a secluded cabin with a fireplace, a well-stocked kitchen, and lots of books sounds good--especially if we could bring Amie with us!

Hi

Up to my ears in Advent, PNC, preparing for choir concert (tomorrow night!), a party or two, the rest of Christmas planning/baking, attending to the spouse and the dog, sparring with insurance companies, testing kids, writing reports--the usual.

I've missed having time to just sit and maybe even think about a Friday Five for a few minutes. Ah well, the time will come again.

Thursday night we made time to attend the candlelight service at Big 'n' Rich Episcopal Church/School where our choir director's day job is directing the school's choral music program. Lots of candles, lots of poinsettias, many lovely carols, and the gorgeous Schubert Magnificat. We had to stand in the balcony, being jostled by restless small children who were waiting for their siblings to finish singing, but it was worth it.

Our own concert will include two fine contemporary pieces, Randol Alan Bass' Gloria and Conrad Susa's A Christmas Garland. As the Scientist says, they're "contemporary, but not unpleasantly so." These will bookend selections by the handbells and youth choir. I look forward to the Christmas concert all year.

Enjoy Advent 3. Catch you later.

Be careful what you pray for

I'm on the Pastor Nominating Committee.

Ten or twelve months from now, remind me that I really wanted to do this.

We humbly request your prayers.

For all you grouches who need to feel the love:

Friday Five: Bah Humbug

Parishioners pushing for carols before you digested your turkey?
Organist refusing to play Advent hymns because he/she already has them planned for Lessons & Carols?
Find yourself reading Luke and thinking of a variety of ways to tell Linus where to stick it? (Lights please.)
Then this quick and easy Friday Five is for you! And for those of you with a more positive attitude, have no fear. I am sure more sacred and reverent Friday Fives will follow.

Please tell us your least favorite/most annoying seasonal....
1) dessert/cookie/family food

Anything involving marshmallows and/or coconut. Ambrosia, ewww!

2) beverage (seasonal beer, eggnog w/ way too much egg and not enough nog, etc...)

Well, I've never heard of seasonal beer (What? Is it red or green? Peppermint flavored?), but that would be it. (I am very fond of eggnog, even the really sweet stuff in the carton, and especially the real eggnog that is lovingly made by a psychiatrist I know. It will knock you down if you don't watch out!)

3) tradition (church, family, other)

Caroling. I know that sounds strange, coming from someone who loves to sing. But think about it: you have to march around outside, where it's cold as kraut, and that's not good for your voice anyway--and your poor neighbors have to get up from whatever they were doing, to stand in their open doorway with fixed grins, letting the heat out, as they wait for you to finish. I say, enjoy the Christmas concert and other singing at church, sing at home and in the car if you want to, and be done with it.

4) decoration

There is a neighborhood near here that is known for its elaborate Christmas decorations (and I would hate to live where the Christmas Police monitored my decorating and reprimanded me for not attempting to win what we used to call the Houston Lighting and Power Award). Last year as we slowly drove through that neighborhood (yes, you have to, everyone does), observing the yards in which Mr. and Mrs. Claus, elves, reindeer, gingerbread people, dancing candy canes, and, oh yeah, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph all cavorted together, I snidely remarked, "We've seen everything tonight except for Santa Claus kneeling at the manger." Turned the corner--there it was.

5) gift (received or given)

Toiletries! If I need soap or talcum powder, I'll buy it myself! (And just what are you implying, anyway?)

BONUS: SONG/CD that makes you want to tell the elves where to stick it.

The song than which there is no other...all together now...FELIZ NAVIDAD...FELIZ NAVIDAD...

Candy Cane Monday (on a Tuesday)

Mary Beth and Kim both tagged me for this one, which comes to us from PG:
Name five of your favorite all time gifts, either given or gotten:

1. Christmas 1968: The largish box wrapped with the familiar paper from our local bookstore turned out to be a boxed set of The Lord of the Rings. I had tried to read The Hobbit a few years earlier, but didn't like it. I was too young, I think. Now, at 12, I was ready for Tolkien. I plunged into the trilogy and never looked back. I still have those beat-up old paperbacks, and have read them many times.

2. Christmas 1981: The Scientist and I had been dating seriously for a couple of months. Engagement already seemed imminent (and in fact, was). On this, our first Christmas together, he gave me a place setting of my (soon to be our) everyday dishes. It came from Marshall Field (RIP) in the Galleria, and the plastic candy cane that adorned the package still hangs on our tree every year.

3. Same year: He had told me that when he was a boy, he always wished he could live in a castle. So I gave him one: a nice sand castle with a light inside, and it still sits on a table upstairs.

4. I wear more silver than gold. A few years ago the Scientist gave me a very simple and elegant silver chain, suitable for everyday wear. I have other similar chains, but that one is special to me.

5. Last year, I knew the Scientist was going to get me something from Chilly Body of Flowing Water. I had folded down strategic pages in the catalog, at his request. When I opened the box, I pulled out a gorgeous tapestry jacket that goes with nearly everything in my closet, and I was thrilled. I had never seen it in the catalog, and certainly hadn't marked it--but it was perfect. Who knows what I had intended for him to see on that page? It didn't matter! He was so glad that I loved it!

Hmmm...I'll tag Mindy, Jan, Dogblogger, and Mompriest!

To the person who found this blog by googling, "how cold do red heelers stay in [sic] until they should come in the house": For goodness' sake, bring your poor dog inside!

Post Thanksgiving Day Friday Five

1. Did you go elsewhere for the day, or did you have visitors at your place instead? How was it?

We stayed at our house, accompanied by my mother-in-law, who lives down the street, and my sister-in-law, who drove in Thursday morning from the metropolis five hours north of us. The Scientist went and picked up our friend Betty Jo, who has lived alone since her good friend Millie died in May. The day was quiet and relaxing (well, I relaxed once everything was on the table) and we all enjoyed it.

2. Main course: If it was the turkey, the whole turkey, and nothing but the turkey, was it prepared in an unusual way? Or did you throw tradition to the winds and do something different?

The only thing that was unusual about our bird is that I got it through the co-op this year, so it was supposedly free-range, all-natural, etc. I was a bit nervous about cooking a turkey without one of those pop-up things that lets you know when it's done, but it turned out fine. We couldn't really tell a difference in flavor between this and a supermarket turkey, but we felt virtuous anyway. ;) We also had ham because my SIL is not a turkey fan.

3. Other than the meal, do you have any Thanksgiving customs that you observe every year?

Not really. We're not big football watchers--and in any event, THE GAME (UT vs. Texas A&M) is played the day after Thanksgiving. (Breaking news: the Aggies just gigged t.u., 38-30.) We usually just spend the day cooking, eating, cleaning up, and visiting. And we always use the good china, silver, and crystal, which I love to do.

4. The day after Thanksgiving is considered a major Christmas shopping day by most US retailers. Do you go out bargain hunting and shop ‘till you drop, or do you stay indoors with the blinds closed? Or something in between?

I never shop on the day after Thanksgiving! Early in the morning I lie in my warm bed with my eyes still closed, thinking about all of those poor souls shivering in the cold outside Best Buy or someplace, waiting for the doors to open so they can fight over the last Wii. Unh-uh.

This year we are engaging in a truly heartwarming exercise in family togetherness: rebuilding my MIL's fence. I spent most of today pulling nails out of rotten slats while my husband and SIL were re-digging post holes and setting new posts in concrete. We finally took a break for the traditional post-Thanksgiving leftovers feast around 3:00. We'll put up the new slats tomorrow. Sound like fun? Oh, and the Scientist and his sister are building a new gate too. I plan to supervise and offer sage advice.

5. Let the HOLIDAY SEASON commence! When will your Christmas decorations go up?

We usually manage to hold out until around Advent 2. But we both love Christmas, and look forward to bringing in the tree and getting the house decorated by mid-December at the latest.

Y'all, please read this. All of it.

The Lord bless and keep all of you who are called to be Ministers of Word and Sacrament (or whatever title your denomination gives you). I know you could not possibly do this work without the sustenance of the Holy Spirit. Every ordained minister who reads this today, you are in my prayers. I hope you get some rest tomorrow, and during Thanksgiving week.