an interesting thought

"The only joy in the world is to begin."

                -  Cesare Pavese,  from an article by Frances Mayes

"for you love all things that are"

"Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord!"

                                                    -  Wisdom: 11:22

falling leaves

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day

Every leaf speaks bliss to me fluttering from

the autumn tree.

-  Emily Bronte

way way way

too early.

October in New England will often give you temperatures from one extreme to the other; eight days ago it was over 80, and today forty degrees lower. But snow -  unusual in October; it just reminds us of that awful storm a few years back.

So the snow fell all today, and even now sleet is pinging on the nearby window. It was Mark Twain who said, "If you don't like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes." Yes.

the new Gardener

"O Lord our God, you have replanted on our earth the garden lost in Eden, and you have sent a new Gardener to till the soil plowed by the wood of the cross. He who is both the farmer and he seed has watered the earth with his life's blood, shed for our redemption. Make us grow in his likeness by the power of his word dwelling in our hearts. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."

                                                   -  from Magnificat, October 2016

three roses left

and here are two of them. They lasted a whole week.

windy day

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

-  Christina Rossetti

Henry, blocking the front doorway

30 years

I've been at the library for thirty years. Well, you stay put in any job and the time does go by.

There was a ceremony last night at Town Hall, and Suzy Q brought me some roses - some white, and some pink.  She's my boss.

First of all, in this house there is nowhere to put a large bouquet or vase of flowers where a cat won't go, and maybe tip them over.

The pinks had thick stems and the whites had thin. So I cut the stems and separated them into two more manageable groups.  The pinks went into a quart mason jar. The whites are in my favorite bottle for roses. 

The cats won't bother them.

"true felicity of life"

"The true felicity of life is to be free from perturbations...Not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is abundantly sufficient; for he that is so, wants nothing."

         -   George Washington

from Rediscovering Washington, by Richard Brookhiser

bowl of garlic

I just heard you shouldn't put onions or garlic in the fridge; I knew it about onions. I've always kept garlic in the fridge.

Now I'll be good. It's in a bowl. We'll see what happens. (or doesn't)

a lot of red

The weatherman keeps talking about how many brilliant red leaves there are this fall.

It's true in our yard - two of our maples are bright green except for vivid red leaves at the end of nearly every branch.

the best bottle brush ever

I was never satisfied with the bottle brushes my mother had when I was a kid, doing the dishes. But she got what was available.  The last one I bought was from Williams-Sonoma; it had a sturdy wood handle and the brush part was sponge, in a star shape. It was an improvement over the others, until the sponge deteriorated.

At the supermarket recently I passed a bin with assorted kitchen utensils, greatly reduced. This thing caught my eye - I knew immediately it would make a great bottle cleaner! But I had to make sure of the price, and that meant I had to figure out what they were calling it.

I can't remember it exactly, but it's a sauce something. So, this miniature mop is supposed to be used with sauces? Maybe for grilling? Whatever. Anyway, it was a nine dollar item, and I got it for ninety cents! It's wood, and tough string, and let me tell you - if you're looking for a good bottle brush, this is it.

time for watermelon

It's going to be cold tonight, so I thought the moment of truth had come for the melons, and they hadn't been getting any larger anyway, not for a while.

Delicious!

success and happiness

"...success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. ...success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it."

                                             -  Viktor Frankl

little raisin in the sun

making pumpkin pie spice

It was in the newspaper, a recipe for making your own. I threw our (very) old one in the trash, and mixed up this new batch.

Yes, fall is really here.

just hanging around

I stepped out the front door to shake out a blanket and noticed a praying mantis hanging on the awning support.

Just hanging out. I went in and got the camera, and started around him, taking pictures.

His head turned as I moved along and his eyes looked at me. Rather unsettling.

I think what makes them seem so weird is that we don't expect insects to have intelligence. I can't think of any others who do, that I know of. I told my theory to my brother, and he said when ants see a threat, they scamper away to escape getting squashed, but I think that is just instinct. This guy followed me as I went around him to get a good angle - he turned his head and looked at me.

I first used the point-and-shoot, but then got my DSLR; when I focused, his jaws were working - it seemed like he was silently crabbing at me for bothering him! At least, that was my thought, but it turned out he was chewing.

He hung around a while, then disappeared, and then I realized I've never seen one flying.

one cowl finished

I finished the Winterfell cowl, and am making another one. Why? Because I have plenty more of the yarn, and am wondering if I'd like a longer one better; I'll see if I can how long I can go with the remainder.

Also, after quickly internalizing the pattern I've been enjoying the process, and am not in a hurry to end it.

pensive

O God, You Search Me and You Know Me

 O God, you search me and you know me.

All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.

When I walk or lie down you are before me:

Ever the maker and keeper of my days.

You know my resting and my rising.

You discern my purpose from afar,

And with love everlasting you besiege me:

In ev'ry moment of life or death, you are.

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,

You have known its meaning through and through.

You are with me beyond my understanding:

God of my present, my past and future, too.

Although your spirit is upon me,

Still I search for shelter from your light.

There is nowhere on earth I can escape you:

Even the darkness is radiant in your sight.

For you created me and shaped me,

Gave me life within my mother's womb.

For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:

Safe in your hands, all creation is made new.

-  Bernadette Farrell

shed with chrysathemum

and the ever-present neighborhood cat.  (does it matter which one?)