Sister Jen's trumpet stands in chapel, ready for the liturgies of the Christmas weeks.
We are still having a snowless December but that hasn't lessened the preparations for Christmas, particularly the outdoor light displays. One night last week we were driving home after dark and turned into a nearby residential area that was all lit up. Much to our delight it turned out to be a kind of neighborhood light display as most of the houses had some sort of lighting on their homes. Some were quite subtle with tiny white candles in all the front windows. Others had beautifully decorated Christmas trees in their front windows. But the ones that went "all out" were, of course, the most fun to see.
Here were our two favorites:
Back on the home front this year our inner courtyard has multi-colored lights on five rhododendron and hyacinth bushes along with a drizzle of lights across the azalea bushes that line the cloister walk from the dining room to the chapel. As we approach the Christmas weekend, this week they are set to come on every day from 4:30 and stay on till about 10:00pm. A nice homey feeling.
I found it to be new and different from the last time I was there, and yet familiar and very much the same! The biggest difference was, of course, that the guests haven't been coming inside for their meal in months. As you can see above, there is still a food line, but it's just for serving up everything in some sort of order and in a to-go package rather than on a dinner plate.
The first hour we were there was taken up by making PB&J sandwiches. We made at least a hundred, I swear. Jif peanut butter and Smuckers squeezable strawberry or grape jelly. Very good indeed. These served as "extras," a snack so to speak, for anyone who wanted one.
Then we started to serve up the main meal that was given out at a window in the front of the kitchen. Goulash, beans/salad, a roll, butter and a small envelope of parmesan cheese was the day's main course. In between making up the meals we filled brown paper lunch bags which I think served as a kind of dessert/snack bag. That day it included a piece of cake, a chewy bar and a small bag of nacho chips. I think I missed that somewhere along the line there was a bottle of water, too.
Without plates and glasses the clean up was able to be done in and around all the things mentioned above and we were walking out of the soup kitchen about two and a half hours after we arrived with 187 meals served that day.
Oh, and I really loved one more thing: wearing an Emmaus apron. The B Team was official.
What a talent she has for framing the simplicities and regular moments of everyday life into strong and deep reflections for the reader. At least that's how I'd try to explain her style! She either is an outstanding observer of life or such a gifted writer that she can pair the perfect words with the experiences of characters.
Saturday night we held the Vigil of Sunday for the First Week of Advent. Some years the Christian liturgical year starts on Thanksgiving weekend, some years it doesn't. This year it does, as Advent has nearly four full weeks--from November 28 through Friday, December 24. Which is really nice for those who celebrate all the special psalms and songs as we do.
Then, today, Sunday, we had our first measurable snow, at least out here in Harborcreek. Up to now we've had loads of "trace" amounts and even the frosty rain type that sticks to the grass and bushes but doesn't accumulate to any official amount other than slush! Today that changed. We had at least an inch, the wet stuff that sat on every little branch and twig of every tree. Quite beautiful. But it doesn't last too long and then in an hour or two we get another round of the same thing. Over and over.
If you look closely you can see two little birds, probably sparrows, picking around on the ground under one of our feeders. The feeders will get more attention now that a lot of the autumn seeds et al are disappearing.
Song of the Builders
It was a very happy day this Saturday, as we welcomed our three novices into a new stage of their religious life, First Monastic Profession. They pronounced their monastic vows for three years as well as will take up full time ministry again, now that their novitiate year is over.
See this article on our community website, along with a photo. Sister Colleen is the one of the far right, Jaqueline two down from her and Jennifer two down from her! It was very nice to have Jen's siblings and niece and nephew here from New England, and Jacqueline's mother and step-father from New Jersey. But to be able to livestream the ceremony to New Zealand and Australia for Colleen's family and friends, was extra special, albeit at 6:00 pm Saturday for us, it was around noon on Sunday for them!
I came upon these right outside in a little area surrounded by pine trees
and a bit protected and hidden. Guess all the moisture we've had lately
got them going!
P.S. Two weekends ago, see October 24 blog entry, I wrote about The Power of 3 male voices at our prayer. Since blogs like mine are automatically transferred to our community Facebook page, it was posted there also. There readers can leave comments and, much to my delight and surprise, a couple days later doesn't this comment appear under the October 24 story:
"I was one of those ‘three’. Two of us are Evangelical Covenant and the third Presbyterian; all pastors. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the monastery. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality!"
One day when I was in my mid-30s we received a call that announced that my sister had developed stage 4 breast cancer. Within a couple weeks my Mom and I flew to Florida to be with her and to get a firsthand view of what was going on. At that time I was into about 15 years of teaching and one of the ongoing "conversations" among the staff was the reality of the number of our students who went with their families on a 10-day or 2 week winter vacation to Florida each year. What to hold them responsible for? Should they have to make up tests? Would the absences effect their grades? On and on.
I remember that when we got off the plane in Jacksonville that February, one of my very first thoughts was, "This is why they come each year. It's heaven here!" Coming from the "winteriest month" of the winter months, February, into bright sun, warm breezes and happy, laughing people in shorts and t-shirts, was shocking, to state the obvious. But I did finally understand and never forgot it.
I had a similar, albeit shorter and not as intense a shock, this weekend as I had the opportunity to fly to Florida for a family wedding and, in the process, to experience a very similar feeling when I debarked from the plane. It's not snowy here yet, and certainly not even near freezing, let alone below it, but it's cold enough, and rainy and beginning that lake effect darkness that we have in winter. The difference was still there--still rather surprising, if not shocking. My conclusion: if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line and you get an invitation to travel south of it during the winter months: GO! Enjoy and come home and share pictures and stories. Let your friends experience it virtually, at least. It's very, very nice. May you have the experience soon.
But one evening praise took the cake for the week. Coming into chapel for Evening Prayer I noticed three guys sitting together in a back row. They looked like they could be Methodist ministers (we've had them many times) or something akin to that. Sure enough when the opening hymn began it was one they obviously knew well and they entered into the singing in full voice. That's when I was reminded of the power of just a few men who are good singers, as you often see in choirs. There were over 40 of us and only 3 of them, but they balanced us just fine!
When it came to the chant tones and the Magnificate we didn't hear them at an equal volume, but I'm guessing that if they are here two or three days, they'll catch on pretty quickly to the melodies and we'll have that mixed choir experience again. It was really great.
Saturday: after a big, bad rainstorm.
Our usually placid lake looked like an ocean!
On the drive home this week we experienced a late afternoon soft, summer shower. The time of the shower, 4:00 pm, combined with a bright sun that wasn't affected by the rain, produced this gorgeous sight in the eastern sky. Very large and very bright.
I pulled over immediately, grabbed my phone and did the best I could.
Meanwhile, on the home front, we were greeted this week with the final steps of the new paved path in the inner courtyard. Go to the August 1st blog entry to see photos of the beginning of this endeavor. By next spring, when the new grass comes up, as well as the new plants and flowers, it will be its familiar lovely self again!
What is really captivating about it, beside the usual cast of delightful and quirky characters of Three Pines, is the contemporary issue that Penny proposed as a topic for universal consideration---a fascinating offshoot of the experiences and conversations we all have had with the pandemic. Can you say "underlying conditions"? Or how about "assisted suicide" from some 3-4 decades ago?
BTW: The latest Daniel Silva book also incorporated the COVID reality into its storyline.
I read once that there are a lot of great books out there, but there are very few really outstanding books--maybe one in every thousand. I guess I would kinda' agree. I read many good books, but do any of these really stand out from all the others: a greatest one among all great ones?
This might be one. Its author has won a Pulitzer, numerous other recognitions including a 2014 National Humanities Medal by then President Obama, and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award.
The book flap reads, "Whereabouts celebrates ordinary life and community...the city the narrator calls home acts as her companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores and coffee bars..."
Chapters are short, 2-3 pages, and include titles such as, In the bookstore, By the sea, Upon waking, In August, and On the street.
Her observations, the phrasing, the images give new meaning to the search and finding of the extraordinary in the ordinary
This is a novel, but it is unlike any I've read. I've read journals, diaries, poems, etc....all of them great. Whereabouts tops them all.
My 2021 vacation is over and it's back to the rest of the year starting tomorrow. But, one more memorable sight from the time away.
I think it's part Norman Rockwell, part rural America and part back-to-school.
The Mid-County Trail we walked daily is sometimes totally bordered by trees, bushes and vegetation and sometimes a few houses are quite near the trail. I'm guessing that the houses were there first and when they put in the power lines and the trail under them, they wove as best they could around the suburban-rural parts of the towns they needed to get through.
Here is a scene I walked past on the first day of school this week. New clothes, new backpacks, new sneakers and eagerness that showed itself by the constant looking down the lane for the big school bus that I also passed later on.
A great scene...but don't miss their house and environs behind the kids!
Do you have favorite chairs? No, not a special type of furniture, a chair or chairs that's become a special place to sit! Like your Dad's old recliner or Mom's TV chair with the side table of all her projects or readings. I've reached the "favorite chairs" stage of my life and here's one that I have even on vacation. This photo was taken from my favorite outdoor chair here, a very comfortable tall back lawn chair. Its place is on the patio facing west, which shows a small flower garden, a little lawn area that borders the complex, with Rte 9 on the other side of the fencing. You can even see the homes across the street.
This is where I read Give Us This Day every morning, check my emails and read the Erie Times News online with a Diet Coke beside me, and where I am swallowing great mystery novels day after day after day.
Nothing "too exiting," certainly nothing "earth shattering" but oh, so wonderful.
Hope you have one near your home...this one is a beauty: 4-5 miles long, diversity of nature, private and even somewhat hidden, well taken care of but not groomed, and a real haven for bikers and walkers.
I had an experience this week that I hadn't had in 25-30 years: I went out to "the beach" on a busy August weekend. What a rockin' place, as they say. There were people everywhere: on bikes, in boats, in cars, in the water, on foot and coming down water slide after water slide and then climbing up the walkways to try it again. Here are four scenes that I caught from my place: reading and walking around at Perry Monument, at the furthest point on the peninsula.
You can rent kayaks, canoes and individual pontoons and travel throughout the lagoons or the bay.
The Lady Kate was busy, busy, with long lines waiting for the next trip--every hour on the hour.
Our sister's brother owned and operated a funeral home there until his retirement a few years ago and from his obit he left a very proud legacy of involvement and care in the Albion community during his decades living there.
Although the lyrics don't fit that closely perhaps, there still must have been similarities, at least in days gone by, in growing up in little towns throughout the country. Here's a link to Simon and Garfunkel's original beautiful ballad, My Little Town.
This week, thanks to a break in our record-breaking amount of rain in July 2021, workmen started on the new cement sidewalk in our inner courtyard. Here are two looks at the project--the first from the door in the foyer behind the switchboard; the second from the double glass doors in the hallway on the way to the dining room. Hopefully, if the precipitation holds off, they can finish this week.
BTW: our local weather guy was absolutely giddy as he shouted, "We've made the Top 10!" when our July rain (6.5") came in 7th in historical July precipitation lists.
And indoors we continue to welcome guests that haven't been able to make the trip to our place for almost two years. It is a continual homecoming experience.
Here are photos from two special days in these last weeks of July.
One of Erie's famous painters was Vitus Kaiser. His landscapes, of all four seasons, were stunning and greatly sought after locally. One of his unique attributes was that he painted on site, outdoors whenever possible. Last week I ventured down to Presque Isle one afternoon and while I was reading and enjoying the beauty of Presque Isle Bay, doesn't this artist come along and begin to set up her easel and supplies and start painting. I thought of Vitus immediately, with gratitude for his lovely representations of our area, especially Presque Isle State Park.
Then a few days later we held the July Silent Peace Walk on the other side of the bay, the city side. This was the first time I had a chance to see the new ERIE sign. It was erected recently right along the trail that runs a mile from Peach St to Chestnut St. along the ridge overlooking the Bayfront Highway, the various marinas, and the whole scene of businesses and hotels along the bayfront in the downtown area. Here's one of our novices, Sister Jacqueline, leading the 20 or so walkers on a beautiful summer evening.
