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

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. 

grave-robbing

 "St. John's narrative of the Resurrection opens on the morning of the first day of the week. It is still dark - just the way it was at the beginning of time before God said, 'Let there be light (Gen. 1:3). But a light is about to shine, and a new creation is about to appear.

The stone had been rolled away. That stone, blocking entrance to the tomb of Jesus, stands for the finality of death. When someone we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across them, permanently blocking our access to them. And this is why we weep at death - not just in grief but in a kind of existential frustration.

But the stone had been rolled away. Undoubtedly, Mary Magdalene thought a grave robber had been at work. The wonderful Johannine irony is that the greatest of grave robbers had indeed been at work. The Lord said to the prophet Ezechiel, 'I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves' (Ezek. 37:12)  What was dreamed about, what endured as a hope against hope, has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son."

                                                             -   Bishop Robert Barron: a meditation on John 20:1-9

new life on the plum tree

Every time I see a rabbit outside, I wonder if it's the one we rescued from the cat last summer. Did he even survive? 

rather splotchy markings

Happy Birthday, George Washington!

 I've always wanted to make a cherry pie on George Washington's birthday. I cannot tell a lie - today I did it. 

morning surprise

 I know this is the worst photo ever.

At the moment, sunrise is around seven o'clock here, and this morning at seven my brother was outside watering some shrubs before taking his walk. He called to me that the sky was pink and I said it is that way from time to time at sunrise. But then he said there was an orange rainbow and you could see it from the front of the house. Well, I didn't have my contacts in yet, but I went out on the front step to look; I didn't see any rainbow. So, I went to the back door (which is not in back, but on the side of the house), and I saw it, across the street. It was fading, but he said it had been pretty bright. 

Okay, we all know the conditions for a rainbow, I think - I always run outside to look for one after a rain, when the sun is bright somewhere and the clouds are still dark on the other side. But it hadn't been raining. It was dry. And, our rainbows are always in the east, in the back of the house, never across the street, in the west. Not to mention that I never heard of an orange rainbow - mostly orange, he said. 

I can only assume it was due to the aurora, which has been appearing even where we live, a couple of times. Nothing like in northern Europe, but more like a bright pink sky well after dark, at night. So, is this connected to that? It must have to do with the electromagnetic activity.

in season and out of season

 

Yes. This is an amaryllis growing on our property. I am as surprised as you are; we're in zone six.

My brother got one in a pot at Christmas, and couldn't just toss it afterward. He stuck it in the ground, in front, right against the foundation. He just stuck it there, sticking up, in the winter. Obviously there was no snow, and last winter wasn't terribly cold. 

And here we are - it bloomed. I can't say I like amaryllis. But it is rather fantastical looking, here in New England. I feel like we should move it to a spot where it will "fit in". But it's a southwest exposure, and near to the house - it wouldn't do better anywhere else. 

flatbreads

 Last night I decided I should make bread today. This morning I was reading Gretchen's blogpost and when she got to the part about making bread, I hightailed it out of there - I had forgotten. I went to my recipe box and saw a recipe for flatbread with spelt and rye flours. 

It made about ten, and now I know how to cook flatbreads. I had to mess with the ingredients, as the dough wasn't sticky like they said it would be; I had to add flour and water, and I let it rise longer than they said to. But then, you heat up the pan, roll it out thin, and cook it on the stove, with the lid on the skillet, for two minutes on each side. So, you stand there and it takes a while. But I was afraid to go and do anything - this is something I'll have to figure out if I ever make it again. A regular loaf doesn't need any watching, at least for most of its time in the oven. Anyway, it's very good.