Holy Week & Easter

Friends keep asking how we're doing, how has the week been at the Mount? This gives the answer better than anything else I've seen or heard. Enjoy: Holy Week and Easter at the Mount.

Easter eggs

In the late 19th century a series of special jeweled eggs were commissioned by the Russian Imperial family from Peter Faberge. Some were for display, other could be worn.They are known as Faberge eggs.

Every Easter I wear my mother's replica of one of them. It's one of the only pieces of her jewelry I kept. Being the wife of a jeweler she had quite a collection of sterling silverware, watches and jewelry and even some nice costume jewelry. After my Dad died and she was downsizing she and I had a wonderful time together choosing and sending pieces of both the silver and then the jewelry to all of her nieces. They sent her lovely thank you notes, which meant the world to her. When she died I finished off the project including dividing up her 200+ collection of shot glasses! That was fun. Finally, to many of my friends in community, I gave one of her Swarovski crystals. I kept the peacock, but all the others went to friends. Happy memories this holiday. Odd as it was this year I hope that your Holy Week/Easter brought unique memories for you and yours, too.

Seriousness and humor co-exist

You can join our annual Good Friday Peace Pilgrimage here anytime during the day Friday.
Hope to see you next year--live.

And in another vein:

My social distancing dress just arrived.

Grammarians--just laugh, don't correct it!

Jan. 1918-Dec. 1920

There are innumerable things to read during this far from "normal" time. Many of them medical and many of them historical. Here's one that caught my eye and led me to a little research. The 1918 influenza pandemic was also referred to as the Spanish Flu and is measured from January 1918 through December 1920. 500 million people or 1/3 of the world's then population were infected. 50 million (10%) died. In the USA the number of deaths was 675,000. One unusual characteristic about it was that the high mortality rate for those 15-34 years old.

This led me to our necrology board as I wondered if any of our sisters in that age group died during that time. Sure enough I found two: Sisters Germaine, 28 and Angela, 32. I'd have to go to the archives to verify if their causes of death were influenza.

But once I got in this vein, I wanted to see who, how many and when did young sisters die...say under age 25.
Here's some of what I found:
In the 1860s and '70s were these deaths: Placida, 22---Walburg, 19---Austraberta, 21---Hilda, 24---Boniface, 22---Hildegard, 15.
In the 1880s and '90s: Bertha, 21---Thecla, 21---Stephanie, 17---Angela, 18---Eustella, 21---Pauline, 18---Agnes, 19---Sabina, 22.

And two others that stood out: Sister Zita age 18 in 1904 and Sister Antonia age 21 in 1916.

If I'm remembering my community reading correctly, most of these deaths were from diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia, as the conditions under which they lived were quite basic and rough, but maybe some were from a type of flu, too.

There are many things to mention in our daily prayer, but those who are dying without any family member present and the families that must live with the memory of their loved ones dying under these conditions, are truly heartbreaking.

Let us remember all of these and the other sacrifices and sufferings that our brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing these weeks. God's blessings and mercy be with you and yours during these days of Holy Week.

Quarantine Follies

In an effort to offer activities for a variety of interests we have sisters coming up with a wide range of suggestions of movies, documentaries, art, writing and music efforts and just about anything else that we think of. Every day there is at least one offering for the sisters to choose, sometimes more. Friday night "The Quarantine Follies" is being presented: a talent show type event that has seven acts already, with, hopefully, a couple more at the planning meeting Thursday.

Since parents are bending over backwards to keep their school-age children engaged, we can certainly do the same for the 64 residents of the Mount community.

Stay at home=Exercising

Spring is coming so early this year; I honestly can't remember spring bursting out this much in March. And, with the "stay at home" reality nowadays, many of our sisters are taking to a daily walk all around our property,even on our Glinodo property across East Lake Rd. down to the lake. They report on the wildlife they are seeing, the first signs of greenery on the trees, buds on flowers and bushes and anything that catches their eye. The last few days the temps got warm enough (over 50) that I could work in our inner courtyard garden--mostly just raking and clearing up after last fall and winter. Here's what I've found"

The primrose near the foyer door are flourishing.
How they survive under the snow is amazing.

This corner will be a spray of iris in a couple weeks. 

A half dozen daffodils just need a day or two more
of warm sun and they are going to pop.

These are the first to open..
sheltered behind some rose bushes.

And my favorite, bleeding hearts!
At least this is what they look like right now!
A couple weeks and they'll be gorgeous.

P.S. Every day from 5:00 -5:30, the half hour before Evening Prayer, we gather in chapel to spend a half hour in quiet prayer for all of the people of our suffering world.
Hoping you and yours are well.

From the web

A couple things from the web have caught my eye. One is an activity to use six words to describe your life/ideas/thoughts/daily living during this highly unusual worldwide "adventure"!
Here are a couple to get you going:

What day is it? All alike.

Gas two twenty-nine--sure! Low now.

Virus, no visitors, only family virtue.

Living by yourself, is it lonely?

Living with others, is it lonely?


And this wonderful graphic humor from google images.

Looking at the map for some weekend travel ideas:

Hang in there, everyone---stay well---and if you're not writing down or recording your experiences/thoughts--think about it.