Set Free

$12.97 worth of consolation

After all that dog poo, and another bagged salad scare, don't you think a cute new pair of shoes is in order?

Shoes of the Songbird

  Shoes close-up 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

In response to your requests:

These are the little shoes I got at Wally World on the day the waitress threw iced coffee all over my outfit. After all, in a crisis, color coordination counts!

The Nightmare Before Christmas?

The Nightmare Before Christmas?
Originally uploaded by msongbird.

They were on the fridge for two days before #2 Son noticed them. He touched the hand on the left and said, "Wha--what is this?!?"
Heeheehee.
Thanks, SpookyRach!
Don't you just love the Stevenson quote?

How Lovely Are Thy Branches

This weekend I have chosen two Christmas trees, and so far no emotional outbursts have occurred. The tree we picked out for the church was exquisite: tall and not particularly bushy but absolutely symmetrical. It won’t get lights until later in the season, but when they are on it will be stunning!

The church smells wonderful.

This morning we began worship on the front steps of the church, with some people in the vestibule to keep warm, and celebrated the Hanging of the Greens. (May I just say that a little bit of blowing snow, which we had at that moment, should not be a problem for hearty Mainers. Maybe they just like to grumble.) It is a bit more formal than most of our worship with lots of responses. Did you know I attended Episcopal school from 1st grade through 7th? There is part of me that would have been a very happy Anglican.

A newly retired pastor who lives in the area came to worship today with his wife and recently married adult daughter. All --plus daughter’s husband-- are looking for a new church. (Squee! New members who understand church life!) I’ve known him for many years and like him a lot. After worship, Daughter said, “I’ve visited several other churches and haven’t felt so welcomed.” That doesn’t surprise me, both because I know how welcoming our folk are and because I know how much chillier some of the other nearby UCC churches can be. Then she said, “The service was perfectly beautiful from beginning to end.” That meant a lot, especially since I had been concerned that Hanging of the Greens combined with Communion might seem like a bit of a three-ring circus.

After church we went back to the temporary Christmas tree lot, just three short blocks from home. We usually drive out to Fabulous Neighboring Seaside Town to buy a tree at a nursery owned by members of the church where I did my Field Education in the mid-90’s. I like to get one there because they are such faithful supporters of that wonderful church. But this year we are being deliberate about doing less driving, so we took the closer option. Pure Luck walked over to meet us; he and #2 Son walked home with the wreath and the tree. I don’t know if I can really say how sweet that was.

Last night I asked Pure Luck if he knew where we had put the tree stand? He reminded me that we threw it away; it had grown quite rusty. So this afternoon we went out in search of a new one. Ach, what a cacophony of outdoor Christmas decorations we had to brave along the way: inflatable snowmen, giant snowglobes, plastic reindeer and an absolutely terrifying four foot Santa who sang while rotating his pelvis like The King. We also took a trip to vertigo-inducing BJ’s, where we purchased a lot of soup as well as numerous Snack Foods for the Apocalypse (tm Phantom Scribbler). We have toothpaste, soap, shampoo, oatmeal breakfast squares, and the biggest can of Nesquik I have ever, ever seen. The latter cost less than a 12 oz. can of Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate. I guess I won’t be getting anymore of the good stuff! Boohoo!

Just now we are eating Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese, an all time family favorite, while awaiting #2 Son’s return from a birthday party. As soon as he is here, we will get the tree in the stand and string it with our new LED lights. I am married to a man who knows what the letters stand for, and I am impressed with his breadth of knowledge. He even knew why they don’t heat up! I have forgotten already. I just know they are both green and blue (ecologically and politically). We bought the colored lights. At least the ones at church are all white.

Now if we can just convince Sam that he doesn’t need to mark the tree, we will be all set.

This is perhaps mildly disturbing...

As seen at reverend mommy's:

Which Serenity Character are You?

You scored as Inara Serra. The Courtesan. You have a job that brings comfort to people and eases their burdens. It took years of training and dedication to perfect. So why do people keep calling you a whore? You tried to get away from those people, but something keeps bringing you back. Inara Serra 75% The Operative 69% Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 69% Simon Tam 69% Shepherd Derrial Book 63% Capt. Mal Reynolds 63% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 56% River Tam 38% Kaylee Frye 25% Jayne Cobb 0% Which Serenity character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

A Fun Day

Despite the fact that it started off a bit poorly, this has been a fun day.

Perhaps I should explain that it was I who started off a bit poorly, and not the day itself, which was quite lovely. You see, when The Princess decided to spend the night of 4th of July with her cousins in Adorable Town by the River, Pure Luck and I ended up going out to dinner. And at dinner, I had a cocktail. This somewhat rare event was encouraged by Pure Luck, because he thinks I'm funny when I am mildly inebriated. (My children find me embarassing, but perhaps their standards are different.) And so I ordered some lemonade and Bacardi concoction.

Remind me never to drink rum, ever, ever again.

By the time we got home, I had a headache and a sore spot in my lower abdomen. ("Tastes like...burning.") Instead of being charming and funny, I was miserable, and had to listen to the fireworks from my darkened bedroom instead of enjoying them live and in person.

This morning, I felt pretty much the same, only tired from a night of bad dreams.

And I had to be at a clergy breakfast at 8 a.m.

Nice.

But, I told you it was a fun day, and I'm hear to tell you it was, just as soon as I drank three big mugs of coffee. I had a lovely breakfast with my colleagues, picked up The Princess (who had a cotton candy hangover of sorts after attending a carnvial in Adorable Town by the River), did some work and then a little pre-camp shopping, dropped off those pesky medical forms at the pediatrician's office (where they told me they were faxing forms to the same camp for someone else today! Yay! More Worst. Mothers. Ever!!!), spent a few hours at church in the afternoon, happy in my little office while The Princess had a piano lesson then played in the Nursery School, and then--

oh, then, gentle readers, came the best part of this fun day. The Princess and I made bookmarks. This is all part of a scheme of Mindy's. Today was the day to mail out bookmarks, and I had made up my mind to make them myself, or should I say "ourselves," since I was counting on The Princess to help me. You see, she knows about ModPodge and Tacky Glue and has no fear of complex art supplies or glue guns. I, on the other hand, am known throughout the City By the Sea for my Glue-Gun-a-Phobia. But I had a vision, and my daughter knew what sort of materials might be needed to make the vision a reality, and we actually made the bookmarks.

They are in the mail. And making them, dare I say it, was fun!!!

Now we are going to watch Firefly, a sort of Westernish sci-fi show that we borrowed from Pure Luck's best friend. I rather like it. It's like Deadwood, but with spaceships and without the excessive profanity.

So, as I said, a fun day. How was yours?

Ten Things to Do on a Beautiful Saturday

1. Rejoice! The sun is shining, the trees are budding, somewhere there are daffodils!

2. Throw open the windows. (Remember to open the storm windows if you want actual fresh air.)

3. Clean out bedroom closet. It's been calling out for months (years?). If you clean out the old stuff, there will be room for the things cluttering up the bedroom.

3a. Clean the bedroom. Change the sheets. Throw open a few more windows. Toss out stumpy candles and get some new ones. Move the Little Princess, her Build-a-Bunny, her Harry Potter books and her assorted accoutrements back into her own room.

4. Go to the yarn store and buy something delicious, perhaps Royal Silk # 108?

5. Don't forget the dogs. Enjoy walking them.

6. Don't forget the boy. Wake him up and enjoy hearing his clarinet lesson.

7. Rejoice! The sermon is already written!!!

8. Anticipate the return of the husband. :-) Only 36 hours to go.

9. Take a nap. I'm sure it's possible to squeeze one in somewhere.

10. If you must read, let it be poetry.

Away Message

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

I've run away. The children are nestled all snug with their dad. The dogs are tucked away in Paradise, otherwise known as Charlie's Friends doggie daycare/kennel. The kitties are no doubt delighted to have the house to themselves and will be fed by #2 Son. And I am in upstate New York, not playing Scrabble.

My breathtaking husband has gone off to work for the night, but tomorrow he will have the night off and we will visit Lake Ontario and go to Syracuse for dinner and whatever else occurs to us. In the meantime, I am about as relaxed as I get, here on the 3rd floor of the 1880 House, making the most of the wireless Internet access. Downstairs there is soup, and up here there is TV and I am exceedingly peaceful. (We won't speak about going out for a late lunch at Ponderosa, because we don't want to spoil the mood with subpar food stories.) I also brought along my knitting, a pattern-stitched shawl that I am trying as a step-up to doing something with laceweight yarn. I almost typed "yearn," which should tell us all how much I am looking forward to doing something fancy and, most likely, impractical. Mine is a variegated purple, and therefore much prettier than the grey one in the link.

I brought along several books, but the one I think I will actually read is Grace, by Mary Cartledgehayes. I read the first chapter yesterday while waiting for the Little Princess to appear from the depths of her school, and I love it already. Do any of you Methodists know her?

My two favorite TV shows are on tonight (Lost and The West Wing), so I am really all set.

Do I sound like someone who isn't used to getting away?

Come Saturday Morning

On Friday, we dwell beneath the cross, and on Sunday we will marvel at the empty tomb.

But come Saturday morning, there are preparations to be made. There is no Sabbath rest for altar guilds or for this pastor who is also a mother. There is a little girl who wants an Easter Basket, and especially a chocolate rabbit. And the same little girl will be sad if we don't color eggs. So today, after I walk the dogs, I will make a visit to the candy store. And later, after checking in with our flower ladies and dropping off the Easter lily and the purple-blue hydrangea I chose, the Little Princess and I will pick up two young cousins and head for Aunt Wonderful's house, where five cousins alltogether will dye eggs this afternoon.

Susan is an amazing person. She manages to live graciously on very little and to make it seem effortless. You'll recall, perhaps, that she smoothed out both my worries and my house just ten days ago before a family party. In her house are many things that belonged to her dear mother, my beloved mother-in-law.

I remember well the Easter Eve when Nona, as we called her, colored eggs with #1 Son, then the only grandchild, who must have been about three. She allowed him to dye the eggs as he saw fit, which meant a lot of overdying and a dozen pinkish brown eggs. They were perfectly beautiful. To be around Nona's things is always a treat for they bring up a sense of her gentility, her elegance and her love of delicate beauty, but also her respect for the individual creative drive.

In that house I will seek a Sabbath rest and hope to come home with what I need to finish my Easter sermon.

What will you do today?

A late dinner

It's February school vacation week. The kids are with their dad for two days, and I'm working as many hours as possible so that I can be home with them on Thursday and Friday. I left the office at 8 and stopped home to get PUre Luck, and off we went to Applebee's, that nice little place up the road where we so often eat with the kids.

So there we were, just an ordinary couple waiting for our dinner and reviewing the Scrabble calendar pages I brought from church in my pocket--okay, I'll grant that is probably not ordinary, but it's who we are.

As I was saying, there we were, calm and law-abiding, not bothering anyone, when from over my shoulder I heard a burst of profanity followed by the comment, "That woman is looking at me." Honey, not this woman! No way was I turning my head!

The rest of our meal was spent listening to a discussion about how many more drinks the loud gal could afford to buy. "If her budget were as big as her butt," remarked one of her companions, "she'd be rich!"

Oh, so charming. I was visibly uncomfortable, not because I never say a bad word. Pure Luck just started smiling, and then he burst out laughing. I thought he could see something going on at their table, but when we got in the car he said he was laughing at me! Old meanie.

I was then treated to a lecture on how "the People of the Land" live. Real people swear, according to my husband, especially what he calls "the Proles." He says he should know, since he is one. Perhaps the Patricians don't use such crude language. Perhaps all those theatre people you know don't speak that way, he says--and then I burst out laughing.

The things he doesn't know...

Anyway, I don't think we'll go to Applebee's after 8 again anytime soon.