Set Free

Big Love

It's the name of the play, and it's the feeling this mother has about all three of her children, including the one who was far away while The Princess and I went to see #1 Son in his play at college.

As The Princess said, "It's the most inappropriate thing I've ever seen; it was great!"

After the show (which included brief nudity, lots of underwear, a fair amount of swearing and some very frank sexual talk, all of which overshadowed the violence...), the director moderated a question and answer session with the cast and designers.

#1 Son has been playing soft and/or smart characters all his acting life (since age 7). It was wonderful to see him take on the challenge of playing a forthright, macho "b@$tard @$$hole," as he put it, yet find that character's humanity. His big speech asked a question that has plagued me ever since we sent troops to Iraq: how can we expect people to turn on the fighting instinct when it feels expedient, then imagine it will be easy to simply turn that off when the war is over?

This morning we met early for breakfast at a Hiptastic town landmark. It's the first place I ever went in that town, years ago, and I'm delighted to see it open again after a fire in 2006.

The grandparents will see the play tonight; we do wonder how they will take it. But as #1 Son put it, "If I weren't in it, it would be different."

Indeed.

Signs of Spring, Mark II

  Signs of Spring, Mark II 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

How do you like our mother-daughter Chuck Taylors?

Doing their best to bring about spring

  Doing their best to bring about spring 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

These little crocuses want you to know, even in Vacationland, spring is here!

Or at least they are trying to bring it about, all on their own...

It's still cool here, especially compared to Cozumel, but I am seeing crocuses around the neighborhood, even where the snow continues to cover part of the ground. I'm amazed and delighted that bulbs I planted my own self, and others with help from my sister-in-law, look like they will make it.

What's it like at your house?

Easter 2008

  Easter 2008 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

Here we are after church: Songbird, Snowman and the Princess. It was a beautiful morning. We're at home enjoying the fragrance of basil as an Italian Easter dinner is in mid-preparation, under the skilled hands of my dear sister-in-law. We tried to stand the other way, looking into the sun, but that didn't work out so well. Kudos to Pure Luck for getting any pictures at all where all our eyes were open.

It's cold out, but the sun is shining.

Hope your Easter is beautiful, too.

In our Mardi Gras beads

  In our Mardi Gras beads 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

This is mostly for St. Casserole, who might like to see a picture of her Northern friends in their Mardi Gras beads.

(Click on the picture to see a larger version.)

I would like to point out that we kept our beads to ourselves.

Puppy Love

  Molly and Sam wait for a cookie 021108 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

Here are Molly and Sam looking lovingly at their Papa Bear...

or perhaps at the cookies he is holding...

on our walk at Posh Neighboring Town Nature Preserve this morning. It was our last chance to go out into the woods together for a while, as Pure Luck leaves for one of those Chesapeake Primary States tomorrow for a month's work.

We enjoyed our walk and finally had the camera with us. More pictures at Flickr.

A Few Scenes from My House

 I finally got to phase two of Christmas preparations yesterday, in part due to the much-appreciated and unusual off-week visit of The Domestic Goddess. Her presence encouraged me to move photos off mantel and piano and get out non-tree Christmas decorations.

This picture shows how the Holy Family has moved in with my Peaceable Kingdom. Because if you had given the Bernese Mountain Dogs a chance to go to the manger, they would have been celebrating along with the other friendly beasts. This collection started with the lion and the lamb my children put in my stocking one year.

Thank you to St. Casserole for the lovely St. Francis as well as the display box on the left. (Click the picture for a larger view.)

I'm also in her debt for the brightly dressed Wise Man in our eclectic nativity. He reminded me of my childhood set, and the next thing I knew he was packed in my suitcase.

No, it was her idea, really.

We have pieces from four different sets living in piece together on our mantel. The basic set is wooden, but there are some fabric shepherds and an angel from a modern set that someone started for us, with one angel, and then never gave us any other pieces. It was a sweet thought. I've never seen them in a store here, pretty Italian figures. They came from Coleman's in Jane Austen's Village. Ruby, I grieve to think it's no longer there, but was delighted to discover that the city took over the Christmas display. I feel sure we went there together, didn't we?

Our tree is nice, though not huge, this year. It smells wonderful. The Princess hung all the ornaments, something I began to do when I was her age. I don't know if my mother was empowering me, or just tired of it. I was sitting nearby and knitting furiously on someone's Christmas present, offering advice ONLY when asked. Many of the ornaments hung on my childhood tree, and there are few about which I cannot tell some sort of story. The puffy fabric ornaments near the bottom, for instance, are the remains of the ornaments we hung on our first tree when #1 Son was a toddler. My mother sewed them for us, hoping they would be child-proof. They have also proven to be cat and dog-proof, and I think of her fondly when I see them.

I finally did a little Christmas shopping yesterday, and based on our discussions with the kids, all I really have left to do (other than more knitting) is working on stocking stuffers. We are trying to keep things even more reasonable than usual this year, in part because of the state of the world and largely because we really don't need anything much. This is perhaps the most interior Christmas I've ever experienced, and I mean that in the best possible way. Instead of chiding myself and others to remember the true meaning of Christmas, I'm feeling it. There is something more than what we see, a light in the darkness, a hope for the future, an expression of love in the present. Will we be part of it this year?

Last Week at the Clergy Retreat

Last Tuesday our new Associate Conference Minister held an Advent Retreat for clergy.

I made art!

And my friend, Tall Country Pastor, took pictures of me. I must admit to being surprised at how I look.

I guess I'm getting somewhere.

(The sweater? Pure Luck's young cousin told me I looked very "now" in it when I wore it on Thanksgiving.)

Victory!

  Victory! 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

I spent the morning with Pure Luck, climbing Pleasant Mountain. As you can see, I was pleased about getting to the top. This would have been unthinkable six months ago. It's my third hike up Pleasant, and by far the easiest of the three. We took Sam along, too. (Molly has been a bit too lame for mountains.)

For those of you counting such things, let me just say that today I earned 23 Activity Points!!!

We're going out for a steak dinner.

(More pictures at Flickr, just click through.)

a visit with jo(e)

  Songbird and jo(e) 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

Today I had a chance to meet a blogger I have been reading for years. jo(e) came to City By the Sea for a conference, and I had the pleasure of kidnapping her for lunch and a tour of the best local views.

Molly and Sam came along for the outdoor portions of the program, and Molly is blogging about the visit, too.

I love to show City By the Sea off to visitors. Crisp autumn met tangy salt in the air, and I think we both appreciated the chance to be outdoors and off the clock.

I always wonder, when I meet bloggers, whether I will meet their expectations of me? And I suppose the question may flow in the other direction as well. We write our lives, except when we don't, isn't that right? In jo(e), I found a passionate heart and a keen mind, a creative eye and a soft touch. And those did not surprise me.

Bow in the Clouds

  All Saints Day Rainbow 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

It was a grey day, although there was little rain. The Princess and I were driving home from her piano lesson when suddenly the light changed. The setting sun, behind clouds all day, appeared dramatically and shot deep yellow light across roofs and treetops.

I rushed home, hoping to get a picture, and was just going in for the camera when our neighbor rode down the street on his bike and told us to go to the end of the block and see the rainbow.

We raced down to Big Avenue, and we crossed to get a better view, only to discover that the best angle was from the middle of the street. That was not a feasible place to stop in the afternoon traffic.

I did notice at least one driver snapping a picture with her phone as she drove past us.

Even before I heard about the rainbow, I was remembering a day just after my seminary graduation, another day with a rainbow visible from just the same vantage point.

I received a phone call from the chair of a search committee, a call telling me I would not be considered further as a candidate at her church. It was the first rejection I received, and I felt just awful. I had been excited about the church, and of course I felt worried about whether anyone would want me, especially since I had limited my search to our immediate area. After the call ended, I wept. I must admit to having a moment of faith deficit, a doubt event, a sense of being miffed at God and a real dislike of the unknown.

There was little time to mourn, for we were due at a fundraising dinner for a school program, at a chi-chi pizza place on the waterfront. I got the kids in the car, and we headed for the corner. And just as we turned it, oh! An absolutely gorgeous rainbow, as vivid and enormous as any I had ever seen.

"I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9:13, NRSV

It occurs to me that as I listen for what I am to do next in my life and my ministry, for the first time the answer is not in words but in the things I can observe and sense. As a strong intuitive, I have lived outside my body, almost like a person who cannot keep her feet on the ground at all because being embodied is too, too...well, frightening? Mundane? Ordinary?

Now it feels necessary, as if the guidance I require may be found in creation, somehow. I'm trying to understand how to get the message. I hope I can find a perspective that doesn't require standing in the middle of the street, but I will do it if I must.

New Shoes

  No Shoes for Molly 
  Originally uploaded by revsongbird.

I have a new pair of shoes. Molly doesn't understand why I want to cover my feet, although she thinks the little pom-poms look delicious.

The Princess thought these shoes were pretty ridiculous. I ordered three pairs of flats from Old Navy and offered a pair to her, since we wear the same size. She was relieved to learn this was not the pair I had in mind.

She doesn't understand red shoes that look like a cable sweater.

That's okay.

I've been buying new shoes because, as the "Don't Let's Call It a Diet" life change proceeds, I am shrinking into new sizes of clothes but don't want to spend too much on any one size along the way. Yet one must have clothes and one must celebrate achievements.  I've lost over 30 pounds since going to Weight Watchers on June 30th (a little more from the number I weighed at the doctor on June 26th). I have two new pairs of jeans both two sizes smaller than the jeans I would not have dared put on my body in late June.

And I have some new shoes. A few pairs. Um, okay, perhaps "several" would be a more accurate description.

This time last year I wore clunky shoes. My feet hurt, I didn't want to think about what impact my shoes had on my outfit or how I looked in my clothes. In fact, I mostly wanted to ignore my body and attend to what I considered to be "higher" things.

I used to joke about my father that he could not manage practical matters because he was "too busy thinking great thoughts." As much as I loved and admired my daddy, and as much as I love him still, ten years after his death, and as much as I value becoming more like him in some ways, that is not the one.

I feel myself, gradually, becoming more grounded. I like it. Oh, there are still plenty of tricky situations to negotiate, mostly the interactions with MYSELF! I'm having no trouble kindly saying "no thank you" to more corn chowder at a church function. The folks at church have been affirming and supportive as they watch me, as one said last Sunday, "melt away."

Their transition year has become my transformation year.

How am I doing it?

I'm following the Weight Watchers Flex Plan, learning to comprehend portion sizes and finding that it's possible to eat the foods I love in appropriate amounts at appropriate times, with some trade-offs. I've learned to do without half-and-half, not because I can't have it, but because I've decided I would rather use my "points" for other things.

I budget in some sort of treat every day, sometimes two.

I have managed to keep up with activity while Pure Luck has been away, even if it's not as regular or as extensive as it was when he had me out walking nearly every day.

I have practiced patience with myself and my middle-aged body and have therefore avoided any lasting injuries. When my knee hurt on the Health Rider, I changed up my exercise for a while, and when I went back to it I adopted a more moderate pace. I've done the same thing with the elliptical, keeping the resistance at the lowest level so I don't throw out my sacro-ileac the way I did last year.

I've turned to friends for support, and I hope I've let them know how grateful I am for it.

I've pondered the challenges of moderation.

I still have a ways to go. It's been a long time since I was the size I am today, and it feels good, and it is hard to picture what I will be like when I reach the neighborhood of my goal weight. I have figured out where to buy clothes that are proportioned correctly for me, and that is great both for my appearance and my morale.

Last night I dressed for an event at church in a new pair of flats, my new jeans from Lane Bryant and a silk sweater from Talbot's Woman Petites department. The Princess said, "I've never seen you look this good! You're beautiful!!"

That was great for my morale, too. Even if she doesn't like my new red shoes.

I'm the short one...

  I'm the short one... 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Pure Luck left a little while ago for a job near the Motor City. He'll be away about six weeks. If you know where Snowman has gone to school, you'll realize they are in the same Mitten-Shaped State, but not in the same vicinity.

His idea of a good haircut is one that will last until he gets home again.

Our fifth anniversary will be on Thursday, and I am wearing my present, though you can't see the earrings in this picture. Don't you love presents? I do! I'll post a picture of them later when the light is better. (By which I mean tomorrow, probably.)

Pure Luck left in a drizzle, and we were both a bit damp at picture-taking time. Thank you to The Princess for wrangling the camera.

I think it's just possible I've finally gotten used to the comings and goings involved in his job. Which took (see above) about five years.

Onward and upward!

Old Man Cat

Since I returned home there has been no sign of our Old Man Cat, Nicky. If you're a praying sort, would you say one for him? (And for me?) Nicky is 15, a noble grey fellow beginning to develop some arthritic stiffness. At his last check-up he got a clean bill of health, other than the need for a teeth cleaning. Despite that, I have had a sense that he is diminishing.

One of the hard things about cats is their private nature. Can you imagine how we would feel if one of the people in our lives decided to creep off to a quiet, wooded area, lie down and simply not get back up again? This happened with a sickly cat we took in for one of our young babysitters. I had a clear sense that we would not see her again, a little brown tiger female whose wheezing may have been the result of a strangulation attempt in her very young kittenhood. No medication improved it. One day she went out and did not come home. I had a dream about her two nights later, and it seemed to be saying although she was gone, she was fine.

This is what we believe about our people when they die, isn't it? But we like to know the whys and the wherefores. Somehow knowing when and where helps us, gives us a sense of completion and closure.

I suppose it's possible that even an Old Man Cat may have chosen to go on a ramble, but I fear it's unlikely that the ramble is around the physical neighborhood.

Chucks of All Sizes

  Chucks of All Sizes 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

The Princess and Snowman are both ready for the first day of school.

I will write more after we reach Land o' Lakes!

Ask, and It Shall Be Given Unto You

 

(Left to Right: #1 Son, Songbird and Snowman)

Don't we have great hair?

I'm sorry. What 's that?

You wanted something other than the traditional blogger's pose?

Oh, all right. If you insist.

Bigger versions at Flickr.

Texas Sheet Cake

  Texas Sheet Cake 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

It's more than a cake, really.

I got the recipe from my friend, Jody, at Quotidian Grace. And as I said I planned to do in the comments on her blog almost two years ago, I did make one to take to a Stewardship Dinner the following weekend. But the meaning changed when I read about St. Casserole's preparations for Hurricane Dennis. As she waited to see if the storm would really hit, I (and others) prayed for her in our far-flung churches, even though we didn't know her real name. Cassie and her family, I said to my congregation, we must pray for them today as they await the arrival of a hurricane. I felt a kinship, a sisterhood, I could not quite explain. That storm, though it would be nothing compared to the rage of Hurricane Katrina later in the summer, represents the first time I felt a deep, deep concern over a blogging friend, a person who existed for me only on the Internet, under an assumed name, in a general region of the United States.

Ten days later, St. Casserole asked a significant question, and suddenly a loosely connected group of bloggers coalesced and became RevGalBlogPals.

When The Princess asked for a Texas Sheet Cake for this birthday, I obliged happily.

The Birthday Girl

Today is her day,

A very special day.

Happy Birthday to The Princess!!

She's 12 today. We'll be having a family dinner with one cousin coming to spend the night. The crowning glory? A Texas Sheetcake, at the request of the birthday Princess.

Last Friday we went to the nearby amusement park with three friends, Candy Queen, Bookworm and Smartypants (The Princess is on the left, the others left to right.). Here they are waiting in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl, which The Princess would eventually ride 8 times. Apparently we don't mind circling while going in a larger circle, but not so much love for the roller coasters or giant swings.

Smartypants returned with us for the second year and hopes this will be an eternal tradition. I learned that girls finishing 6th grade need considerably less attention than those finishing 5th. How many more years until my job will be finished when I pay at the gate?

Thank you to all our young friends who allowed me to take the traditional blog pictures and thank you for being such charming guests. Bookworm deserves special mention for being highly agreeable, Candy Queen for inspiring general hilarity and Smartypants for storing the most things in my bag all day!

The Lilac Moment

  The Lilac Moment 016 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Today the sun shone, the temperature rose, and the fragrance...oh, the fragrance! The fragrance filled the backyard.

Seven years ago, in a spirit of hopefulness, I decided to try meeting someone through online personal ads. The lilacs filled the air, and I took a screen name that expressed my love for lilacs.

The lilacs had gone by when I met Pure Luck in early July, but I will always smile when I remember that spring and the surge of desire to begin seeking a new life that coincided with their blooming.

More pictures at Flickr.

GreyBird

  GreyBird 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Since you asked...

Man of Steel

  Steel in All Its Forms 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Pure Luck wanted a picture of this apparently abandoned building the last time I visited him at his remote, undisclosed location, but I didn't have the camera with me. There were two police cars in the parking lot; I wonder if they see a lot of people stopping for a picture?

We went to see that other cartoon superhero at the movies, had a lovely dinner out (give a runaway reverend a Cosmopolitan and see how much fun she is!) and later a trip to Coldstone Creamery for birthday ice cream.

I'm glad to say he should be home by next weekend, in all his forms.

Snowdy Thursday

Here is Molly in her den under the snow-burdened branches of a forsythia.

Can you see her?

(Click through to Flickr for a larger view.)

No dog here now!

Molly is back in the house, watching The Princess play Super Smash Brothers Meleé. Sam wore himself out running in circles through the den after Molly left it. Snowman remains abed. The evening's service has been canceled, which is both a disappointment (my favorite service of the year other than Easter Sunrise) and a relief (there is a lot of snow here and a long way to travel). Many of our Deacons have no power, including one who is trapped at home since her garage door is electric! I worried about having the decision made based on my distance from church, but I'm told my name never came up in the discussions.

A note of interest: when I called the TV stations to report the cancellation, I discovered that no one knows how to spell "Maundy." I refrained from a sermon on Jesus' mandate that we love one another. I had a half-written meditation for tonight and will probably post it later.

Meanwhile, we're eating coffee cake and contemplating shoveling.

Image in a Good Day

(Click on the pictures to see larger versions.)

A Birthday Dog enjoys having his Papa Bear home. Sam turned 4 today.

Pure Luck (aka Papa Bear) is off to his next job. I'm wishing him well on the journey this evening and looking forward to seeing him sometime soon since he will be closer to home this time.

After the Papa Bear got on the road, we took the dogs out for plain double cheeseburgers, known for this one day as "Sam-Burgers." Sam and Molly thought it was a very good party.

(How did you like my pun?)

At Our House This Tuesday

  The Princess in Felted Hat 2 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

At our house this Tuesday:

Sam went out into the backyard early in the morning and left a present of the remains of a cotton knit rope toy, not from our collection, provenance undetermined at this time. He later went to the vet for removal of the IV catheter. He feels MUCH better.

The Princess modeled Felted Hat #2 from my winter knitting efforts before leaving for school.

Two plumbers in Carhartt's overalls made it possible for water to run into and out of our kitchen sink, after which I was able to run the dishwasher, thereby making room for all the dishes you see on the counter to be cleaned later.

Much good worship planning for next Sunday took place despite all the domestic distractions.

Puss Puss, our almost 12 year old cat, climbed into the rhododendron outside our front door and came dangerously close to getting stuck in the fork of a branch.

Snowman got a free meningitis vaccine at school, and now his arm hurts.

Pure Luck called from FarFarAway State, where he is not in hiding, and told me that the repairs needed to his car came to a total of positively Volvonic proportions.

And, last but not least, Molly turned 5!!! She celebrated with two Mollyburgers (plain cheeseburgers from McDonald's), while we sang to her. We love our Molly!!!

P.S. I swear this is the year we are having the kitchen cabinets painted. I mean it.

Bugs in a Rug

  Bugs in a Rug 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

We're home on Saturday morning without the human children. It's nice to have a morning when no one is in a hurry to be anywhere. Even the dogs were content to snuggle up after breakfast, in no rush to get out for their walk today.

I have some writing to do, catching up on my Project 365 blog and finishing tomorrow's sermon.

But first I might be tempted to curl up somewhere myself for a few minutes.

What are you doing today?

Black Cat Princess and Jack O. Lantern

  Black Cat Princess 013 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

The Princess is out trick-or-treating with her friend, Smartypants. She is very pleased with her costume, and I am relieved it is finished.

Snowman carved a handsome jack o'lantern. He is eating pizza, then planning to make himself horrifying with the stage blood in an old makeup kit #1 Son left behind.

We have Snickers, Milky Ways and Three Musketeers aplenty. Sam is ready to bark at the least provocation. Molly is ready to join the next band of trick-or-treaters. I am ready for a nap.

  Jack O Lantern 
  Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Carved by Snowman, using one of those dreaded pumpkin carving kits...

Leaf Play

Hello, friends!

Yesterday, Sam and I had a good wrassling session in the front yard. Our Mom tried to take pictures of us, but we were too fast. She had to settle for these:

I would like to thank all the dogs and people who were thinking of me when I was indisposed last week. I am fine now! I like to jump around, play with friends and enjoy the crunchy leaves. The cool, cool weather makes me feel like Super Molly!!! Wroo Wroo!!!

What do you like to do in the fall?

Big Paws of Love,
Molly

The Shoes of the Preacher Women

The only question is, which are whose?

Birthday Princess

Birthday Princess
Originally uploaded by msongbird.

Happy Birthday to The Princess, who is turning 11!!
Seems like just yesterday she turned 10...

Mama Cardinal

A new backyard resident, photographed by #2 Son.

Grandmommy

Grandmommy
Originally uploaded by msongbird.

This is one of the last pictures I took of my mother after her cancer recurred. Later she did not want pictures taken. It was January, 1993. #1 Son was 6 years old, and my mother was 67. The weekend after my parents were told how sick she was, that perhaps she had four to six months left, I took him to see her.
She died about four months later. He is the only grandchild old enough to remember her. Somewhere I think I have a picture of the two of them on a beach in Boothbay Harbor playing with his Ninja Turtles. If I can find it, we will scan it and post it.

Back to School, part One

We returned #1 Son to Formerly Methodist Currently Hiptastic University yesterday. Here is a picture of the the two brothers just before we said our farewells. Mother Songbird wept but a little this time.

He has a single this year, but there are good friends just down the hall. He's eager to get back to acting after a summer of scrubbing grills, bussing tables and prepping Hanger Steaks.
It was so good to have him home all summer. I wonder what the next year will bring?

(Note the teeth visible in their smiles!)

Here is a picture

Here is a picture of the boys dressed up to usher tonight with their grandfather at the summer theatre where they both performed as littler guys. #1 Son was in four shows, beginning at age 9 with Peter Pan, followed by Evita, Smile and Camelot (in which he played Tom of Warwick, who is knighted by King Arthur at the end of the show--had me crying every time). #2 Son had a small part in Big River when he was 9, then at 11 had a very nice part as The Little Boy in Ragtime. He especially enjoyed the song in which Father took him to the baseball game; I especially loved the scene on the train platform when he and Mother meet Tateh and The Little Girl.

#1 Son is still acting; #2 Son has since become more interested in his clarinet than acting.

Yes, an actor and a musician. Boys, what are your back-up plans?

Beard Blogging

Beard Blogging
Originally uploaded by msongbird.

While he was hiking this spring, my beloved husband, Pure Luck, agreed to grow a beard. He was a mustache wearer for many years, but when we met he was clean-shaven for the first time since his youth. I once saw him with the beginnings of a beard, during his Y2K Appalachian Trail thru-hike , but that one didn't last; he said it was too itchy. This time I did a bit of wheedling and have been enjoying the handsome facial hair for a couple of months. It is, however, going away today, to my dismay. He says it may make a return visit in cold weather.
Thanks for humoring me for this long!

Vardaman and Addie Bundren

This is a photo of #1 Son and his friend, NYCgirl, taken when they appeared in a Senior Thesis production of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" a few months ago. Thanks to NYCgirl's mom for the beautiful picture!

The Princess at 10

The Little Princess turned 10 today, and in honor of the occasion, she will now be called "The Princess." More thoughts on this momentous occasion will follow later.

The Happy Hiker

The Happy Hiker--this gleeful grin makes it all worthwhile.

This is Pure Luck on Saturday morning in Pine Grove, PA, ready to set out on Day 6 of his hike. He is grinning goofily in part because I asked him not to wear the orange hat in the picture (!), but also because he is so happy to be out in the woods. He's decided to break his hike after the Presidentials and do the Maine section of the AT in September, so we will have him home a bit sooner than originally planned. Hooray!

Today he will be crossing the "zinc devastation" in Pennsylvania and soon will be in New Jersey. For more pictures, follow the link on his blog. I can't make Hello work for him because I foolishly had them send his verification e-mail to an account for which I don't have the password. Silly me. For now his pictures are on Ofoto/Kodak Easyshare.

I'm missing him, but getting the first set of pictures helped.

Blizzard Berners

Dogs love to wrestle, no matter the weather.

Molly loves the snow.

Sam is under there, somewhere.

Poncho Princess

The Princess in her new poncho, made with Lion Brand Homespun and Fun Fur.

I think she likes it.

You Can Go Home Again

Yesterday I drove to Non-Contiguous New England State to pick up #1 Son and his friend, Mr. Know-It-All, to come home for Fall Break. They have been friends since they were toddlers. It's very odd to think back to solid little Mr. Know-It-All, who moved like a bulldozer, and teeny little #1 Son, who always seemed to have his head in the clouds, playing at age 2; the way they would circle the backyard at age 4 conversing intently about Chip'n Dale's Rescue Rangers; the two of them at 7 playing the "Coachmen's Protectors" in a production of Pinocchio at the Children's Theatre of Maine; their modern dance duets, at age 11 and later 14, with a big red ball. Now I look at Mr. K-I-A with a full beard and #1 Son, well, at least with hair on his face, and I know they are well on their way to grown up. Last weekend we saw them in the play, No Sex Please, We're British. It's a long way from Pinocchio.

Our converation on the many hours drive home ranged from church history and hymnody to how geeky Formerly Methodist Currently Hiptastic University students are to the state of the relationships between young people, especially young men and young women. I wondered how our hypersexualized culture influences their day to day interactions. Mr. Know-It-All said he thinks overexposure demystifies things. I refered to an earlier part of our conversation, in which I described the Methodist minister at the church my family attended when I was in high school. He was very intellectual in his approach to scripture, with a high content of historical criticism and rational explanations. I remember feeling that he was missing the point of faith--it's not that we need to swallow things as written or believe in them literally; it's that we crave the mystery and the wonder, or we wouldn't have religion at all. Mr. Know-It-All, who is Jewish, nodded. So what does that tell us about demystifying things?

Last night we had just a splendid evening with the three children. We went out to a favorite brick-oven pizza place, and when they asked how many, before I could answer, #1 Son spoke out happily, "Five!" We had a game of "The Dog" version of Monopoly, and after the Little Princess went to bed, the two boys and I watched our tape of the new ABC show "Lost." It's just the sort of quirky thing the three of us appreciate so much, and #2 Son and I wanted to share it with #1 Son. He loved it, too.

Today the boys and I took the dogs out to the new park, then went to Observation Day at the Little Princess' swimming class. This afternoon we made an apple pie from scratch, and just now it is coming to fruition, filling the house with its autumn fragrance.

It's good to have him home.

Coffee Minute

I went into Dunkin' Donuts this morning to get a cup of French Vanilla for the road, on my way to a church meeting, and I was wearing the pin in the picture below. The gal who took my order noticed and asked about the pin. I told her it was from South Africa, and that it had been made by a woman with HIV. She told me that her best friend had been struggling with HIV for the past thirteen years. I took the pin off and gave it to her. It happens like that sometimes...

Perching Molly

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Sam at the Bernese Mountain Dog Picnic

Our beautiful Molly, Queen of the Dog Park

Rosier's Loyal Samwise Gamgee, a very good boy

Visiting

The other day I went out to visit one of my elderly parishioners. Mattie has been advised to stay home by her doctor, because diabetes has left her with almost no feeling in her feet, and the risk of a fall is great. I asked her how she was feeling? "Well, my attitude is better," she replied. "This is just what I have to do if I want to avoid a broken hip and ending up in a nursing home. After all," she went on with a smile," I am almost 90 years old!" Mattie is great. She reads avidly and enjoys her family and above all gives thanks for all the blessings she has had in life.

Among my older folks, there are many such good attitudes. It makes me think hard about how emotional I become in response to small things, how often I make more of things than is needed or warranted. One of my older ladies is much like me, and she has developed that tendency to a fine art. And she is unhappy much of the time, starring in a drama of her own creation. My role is sometimes to listen to her sadness, and other times to distract her from it. The best distraction I have found is my big puppy, Sam.

She just loves Sam (he's on the right). He's been out to visit a couple of parishioners with me, and I'm hoping to use him even more as a Ministry Dog. (That's Molly on the left, by the way; she shows less promise for visiting, since she wants to put her paws up on everyone and every table and every counter she sees. Naughty Molly.)

Doing some research about therapy dogs being used by churches, I ran across Loving Paws, an outreach ministry of an Episcopal church in Ohio. Ever since I arrived at my little Congregational Church, I've been searching and praying for a ministry that would be both an outreach to our community and a magnet drawing people to us. We are both a bit inward-turned and a great deal aging, and I just felt it would take something unique to draw in younger people. Maybe this is it!

Finally, a funny story from Mattie, who you met above. Her great-granddaughter came home from preschool one day recently and said, "I was a good girl today. I didn't bite anyone!" Mattie shared this story with her college roommate, a dear friend who is now in a nursing home. About a week later, the friend wrote a note to Mattie: "Dear Mattie, I was a good girl today. I didn't bite anyone...though I was sorely tempted!"

Molly

Now I personally think a blog is a place to let some things go at the end of the day...or the beginning...or even the middle. But this time, obviously, we are at the end. It has been a long day and most of it taken up with driving to Tufts for Molly's re-check appointment.

The good news is that the hip is healing well. It will take a few more weeks to heal completely, so her activity restrictions are only partially lifted. But now she is allowed out in the yard alone, hurray for Mollywood! She will be free to maul the round arborvitae to her heart's content. The bad news is that her elbows may or may not be improved by her next surgery. It is the best option they have for her, but no one is promising it will give her relief. All we know is that without the surgery the elbows will get worse, but that with it, they might get better. So we have to take the chance...

I think I will sleep well tonight; I am totally tired. Yet still tapping the keys...