of a cat and a King

 Here we are again in Advent! It comes so quickly. 

We feel his footsteps near,
The Bridegroom at the door,
Alleluia -

Michael Reiser, "The Evening of the Birth of Christ"

The church cat is doing well, by the organist's account. She is over the hissing, etc., and happy to have a safe place. (did you know that only about 20% of orange cats are female?) Meanwhile, they think she may be pregnant. It isn't clear if he'll keep her, but I heard him say he wouldn't want just anybody to take her, so we will see how it develops. She is safe. 

Out of the world's darkness, Christ arises like the dawn.

From unconscious habits of sin:

- awaken us, O Lord!

From a lethargic faith:

- rouse us, O Lord!

From complacency and self-satisfaction:

- stir us to life, O Lord!

AMEN*

*from Magnificat, November 2025

a Happy Thanksgiving

 Well, it was a nice day and we had a good time. The cats didn't end up getting any turkey - they were sleeping while we ate. Daisy, of course, was at hand when I set the table.

Don't tell me I should have driven her off as soon as I saw here there - I already know that. I think she liked the tablecloth.

On the subject of cats, my brother went to the church early in the morning; his intention was to go to Mass, but first to the office, where he had to use the copier. He noticed some bags on the steps of the church, but did not investigate - this was before seven. At eight thirty, it was still there - it was an orange cat, in a carrier, with all its possessions, i.e., bowls, harness, etc.. As he was wondering if he should just bring it home, the organist came along and said he'd take it, and see if the local vet could find a home for it. So he took it upstairs in the choir loft, where the poor creature was crying. But there is a crying room up there, so that's where the kitty went. We are looking forward to Sunday when we'll see him, to find out the rest of the story.

I was pretty shocked at this - I follow several cat rescue channels on youtube, and see this sort of thing all the time. But I never saw it here. That is probably naive, to be surprised. 

Anyway, we are hoping for a happy conclusion to this Thanksgiving story. 

My autumnal display on the front steps looks pretty, I think.

Everybody likes Thanksgiving.

"In sober moments [Sir Walter] Raleigh's friends had no faith in his stories, but tonight he held them spellbound. In America, he said, vines laden with grapes cling to tall cedar trees, and sitting beneath them the natives drink the powdered bones of their chieftains in pineapple wine. 

Why? asked Nicolas....The customs of these people seemed to him odd.

That they may have their courage in them, of course, cried Raleigh, bringing his knife-hilt down with a crash on the table. Don't you know that we all of us feed on the courage of the dead? If there had been no valiant men in the past to show us the way to live would we be anything today but spineless idiots? 

Tell us some more, said Philip with kindling eyes. Is it very beautiful, that land?

                                                          -   from Towers in the Mist, Elizabeth Goudge

"As we have grown and prospered in material things, so also should we progress in moral and spiritual things. We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed. We should bow in gratitude to God for his many favors."

                                               (thirtieth) President Calvin Coolidge, 1925

almost there

I had some windows open today while I did my work, it was so mild! The dampness didn't matter because I was using the oven. The cats were certainly happy.

The squash pie is in the fridge downstairs, and I made the gratin, too, also in the fridge - squash pie because I also baked some pumpkin cookies. The pie recipe is the same for squash, pumpkin or sweet potato, and I've made all three over the years. The squash has a light, thinner texture, the sweet potato is the most substantial. I like to use dark brown sugar for that one, light brown or maple sugar for the pumpkin pies. 

Half an hour before dark, I finally got a pot, and made it outside to cut those berries. I stuck them in with two dried hydrangea heads and - let's say it looks artistic. I'll soon be looking for evergreens, anyway, since Advent is almost upon us. Just as I was coming back inside, a skein of geese flew right over, dark against the cloudy sky, in formation and honking. They were heading east, but I'm sure they knew what they were doing.

wishing for more

 I keep seeing what look like orange berries in the hedge outside my window, so I went outside before dark to get a closer look; they had an autumnal look.

They are not orange, but I may cut them tomorrow if I can find a suitable pot for the front step area, and get the pot filled. In between sprucing up the living room, changing the beds, making the squash pie, the gravy and the Winter Vegetable Gratin. It may rain.

"Time is something people take for granted, wish they had more of, complain they never have any of for themselves, and waste as if they had flowing wells of it in their back yards."

                                                -  Rachel Peden, Speak to the Earth

the helper

 When I wash the table, she appears. Out of nowhere!

She waits for me to remove the runner and other things, to wash the placemats.

She waits to help me wash the table.

I spray it all with my homemade cleaner*, keeping it away from her face,

and when I get the wet cloth, and wipe all around the edge, she puts out her paw when I get to her side of the table. She's the helper.

*2 cups water, 1 cup white vinegar in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons baking soda, and when the foaming goes down, pour into spray bottle.

thrones before him fall

 Once again we are at the feast of Christ the King. 

Crown him with many crowns,
as thrones before him fall;
Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns,
for he is King of all.

When you look around at the state of the world and its societies, it doesn't look like Jesus is king, does it? But it's king of our hearts that he wants to be. It takes time.

In your hearts enthrone him!
There let him subdue
All that is not holy,
All that is not true.
Crown him as your Captain,
In temptation's hour;
Let his will enfold you
In its light and pow'r
                        

Let us pray to Christ our King, that the fruits of his reign may abound upon earth:

     Upon those who labor under the illusion of power and who cause others to suffer:
                          Thy kingdom come!

     Upon those who are imprisoned in poverty, hunger, addiction, or disease:
                         Thy kingdom come!

     Upon those who are blind of eye or of heart:
                         Thy kingdom come!

     Upon those who are deaf of ear or of understanding:
                        Thy kingdom come!

     - from Magnificat November 2025

the song of faith

 Today, we remembered St. Cecilia. She sang in her heart to the Lord, and now she is the patron on musicians.

From Magnificat -

For those who are depressed by the burden of their suffering:

      - grant them the faith that enabled Saint Cecilia to sing the song of faith in her heart.

For those who have lost the gift of joy in the daily round of life:

      - grant them gladness of heart.

For those who serve the church at worship through the medium of music:

      - grant them rejoicing.

wool gathering

 

I finished tying the baby quilt today, and it's washed and ready for my friend's little one. I tied it on the "wrong" side, as the floral is so busy - I thought it would just add to it. This gives the whiteness and bit of interest, and hopefully conceal the tasselly ends from their cat - I know how that can be!

Gretchen had asked me what I'm going to knit next, and I thought maybe a shawl, but a friend told me the fingerless mitts I'd made for her years ago finally wore out. So, I ordered yarn to make another pair and am waiting for it to arrive. I remember enjoying making them back then. Let's see if I can do it again without too much head-scratching!

I've been going through my old British Country Living magazines - I kept three issues for each month, not being able to part with them. Until now, but I'm cutting out anything which appeals to me, and putting it all in red folders, one for each month. This will take up way less room! There's a magazine swap bin at the library so they can go there if they aren't too cut up.. A woman named Sally Coulthard had a column every month; she's got a farm and animals and she does country things. Then I saw a book review, of a book she wrote about sheep. I found a copy in a nearby library, and was amazed to find a list of books by her on the back flap - she's written many books! Here are a few. So I guess she's really a writer who also has a farm. 

Anyway, she did lots of research and the book is very interesting. The one I saw in the magazine is called A Short History of the World According to Sheep. The one I have is called Follow the Flock. It has to be the same book. It seems the ancient Scythians were the ones who really mastered the use of felt and they would carry their sheep when they moved around, strapped to the backs of the horses. And, did you know the Romans' shields were covered in felt?  Pliny said, "wool is compressed also for making felt, which when soaked in vinegar is capable of even resisting iron..."  I wonder how true that is.

the colors of November

 

remaking the world

 

the baby quilt

"The church is the 'sheltering womb and matrix of the new world' that remakes the world. The world, in a sense, was made for the church, because the church is the final community, that site of supernatural social life for which all were made and apart from which human nature will not be satisfied. The world belongs to her, and she remakes the human race. All other communities must find themselves in her - if they are to last. This will mean that the church will cause some unrest in the world. She will frustrate the ambitions of any and all who seek to make their fleshly indentities, temporal projects, and earthly communities ultimate." 

                                                            -  James R. Wood, from Plough magazine*

*the article was about Henri de Lubac

on the move

 I thought I could do more out in the garden area today but it suddenly rained a bit and got damp and cold. Still, I did go out later and saw a group of geese fly by. They were going so fast! Maybe the wind carried them along - I don't know. Geese are on the move  - we hear them several times a day.

The leaves are off the trees now. That's when we know it's really November.

"The opportunity of looking intently into some small portion of his natural environment, or the experience of being responsible for the survival of some part of it, enables a man to see his own place in the world with greater clarity, and perhaps with greater compassion."

                                                 -  Rachel Peden, Rural Free

I am working on a puffy whole cloth quilt for a co-worker; she has a baby. I thought I had a photo of it, but I guess not. It was something I began years ago to use some fabric, and then I stopped before finishing. Meanwhile, the colors are perfect for this baby, and the mother really would like it, so -  So, I'm finishing it up by hand - tying, not stitching!

cleansing the temples

 "Christ dwells in our churches so that we may easily come close to him, and once we have encountered him in these buildings, we ourselves are meant to become his temples. He wants to make us living sanctuaries and holy ground. What God longs for is not to dwell in the temples of stone, but to dwell in human hearts. The true temple of God is within. 

Once we grasp this, Jesus' zealous cleansing of the temple takes on a new significance. It is our hearts that Christ wants to purify. He comes to drive out the greed, jealousy, anger, and lust. ..It is not pleasant to have the tables within in overturned. Yet is is absolutely essential, for we cannot be truly happy until we are made suitable dwelling places for the glory of the Lord and find him living within us."

                                                -   from Magnificat, November 2025

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple men selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money-changers at their tables. And making a kind of whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and oxen, and he poured out the money of the changers and overturned the tables. And to them who were selling the doves he said, Take these things away, and do not make the house of my Father a house of business. And his disciples remembered that it is written, The zeal for thy house has eaten me up.

-  John 2:13-17

thoughts on prayer

 "That wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for his almighty power. Nothing is too small for his love."

                                         -  Corrie Ten Boom, found on Pinterest

"Prayer is like an electric cord that carries energy into a receptive appliance."

                                          -  Rachel Peden, The Land, the People

finishing

 

This little piece of whatever is almost done. It might not look bad in the spare bedroom, under a lamp.

I suppose you would only know about Baker & Taylor if you were a library worker, but they are a large book distributor in North America. Where I work, we've always gotten our books from them; now, they are going out of business, and my boss has had to find another company. 

Baker & Taylor had two Scottish Fold cats for mascots. If you went to a library conference, you could get a paper shopping bag with their photo on it. And other things. They passed away years ago, but the B&T bags, and calendar, kept going. In fact, they would ask for photos of library cats for the calendar - I had almost forgotten that. 

The cats lived at a small library in Nevada, but were obtained for the library by B&T, who thought it would be a cute PR thing. They never expected them to be such a hit. Anyway, this book was written by a librarian at that library, and I couldn't resist when I heard about it. I don't know how a company can go from the largest distributor to libraries, to having to close up shop, but it's sad. My boss was faithful to them till the end (and a cat lover, I might add). It's not a gripping story, but under the circumstances I'm interested to know the story. 

autumn things

 I was in the kitchen a lot today, but in the midst of it found time to wash another window - one left! (the dreaded over-the-sink window) and the back door. 

Among my pinterest recipes, a pumpkin molasses quick bread caught my eye, since I'd opened a large can of pumpkin the other day and some was left. Even while mixing it up, I asked myself if I really needed to be trying this recipe, since I have a few favorites I like to make - why try another? It might be a flop. Well, it was good, and I'm glad I made it. 

There's no chocolate in it, even though it's dark. It called for a half cup of molasses; I had about half that, and the other bottles I had were all blackstrap! Why do I have two and a half bottle of blackstrap molasses? But I used it to top off the amount - had to. And it's fine, it's darn good! I didn't bother with the powdered sugar on the top. It's sliced up and in the freezer.

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket
than all the other seasons.

- Jim Bishop

the witness of the saints

 "The saints are the great revolutionaries in the area of loving God and neighbor. Through their total commitment to God, they are able to extend themselves past the boundaries of what their own society is willing to see as lovable....Saint Vincent de Paul discovered the lovableness of slaves and of abandoned babies. And different saints through the centuries overcame the lethargy of their fellow citizens by expending enormous energies in the founding of the first free hospitals and schools for the poor....  Saint John Bosco, relying solely on daily contributions, was able to feed, clothe, shelter, and train hundreds of street boys in Northern Italy.

...We should want to imitate them, not because of some vainglorious desire to be famous, but because we wish to give ourselves generously to those who need us. But we cannot do this unless we become holy (totally open to Christ); only then, through love, can we give them something of infinite and eternal value...."

                                                                - Ronda Chervin, from Magnificat, November 2025

All Hallows

 It was very windy yesterday, and I was watching the oak trees blowing outside the window at work. We don't have oaks on our street. I was noticing how the leaves just dry and turn brown - no pretty color there. 

Anyway, the wind was supposed to pick up overnight and we wondered if the trick-or-treaters would be put off by it. It really picked up sometime after seven fifteen, but we still had more kids than we've ever had since we started keeping track. The last record was 139, back in 2022. 

We always give out candy, even though the exorcists all say there is more demonic activity on this day than any other. We enjoyed going around for free candy when we were young, and it seems hypocritical to refuse any participation now. (I don't remember any of my costumes, and I didn't enjoy going out in the cold - it was always about the chocolate for me!) But it's very disturbing to see how many young people have a fascination with darkness; they're drawn to it, but have no awareness of why, or that they need to acquaint themselves with some accurate knowledge of the supernatural world: that is exists, and is not neutral territory.

But today we had the commemoration of All Saints. 

"All holiness flows from God's holiness. Jesus Christ, God's Only Begotten Son, is the wealth of his house; the Spirit pouring out upon the world through his Death and Resurrection is the stream of God's delight and the source of life. These gifts of God's love are what make human beings holy."

                  

                                                  -  Magnificat, November 2025

"Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." 

                                           - Leviticus, 19:2

"You therefore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect."

                                             -  Matthew, 6:48

"Wherefore, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, ...work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

                                                 -  Philippians 2:12

Keep trying! Don't give up.