the servant of life

"To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems of extreme difficulty, which he has to solve with the means at his disposal. 

Perhaps the first thing that he can learn from the artist is that the only way of "mastering" one's material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant. If he tries to wrest life out of its true nature, it will revenge itself in judgment, as the work revenges itself upon the domineering artist."

                                      - Dorothy L. Sayers, The Mind of the Maker

teapot shadows

The copper tea kettle is in the front window.

The shadows are on the side wall.

a good choice

 Daisy likes my brother's new blanket.

a little neighbor

 I went outside today to survey the kingdom and sprinkle some super phosphate on the bushes. This is an old practice I first learned from Martha Stewart. It's a chemical fertilizer, and I put it on twice a year. Anyway, I found a few red berries on the very small holly bush!

Very few - maybe four or five. But it's doing well!  A chickadee was deedeedeeing at me, unafraid. So I asked him to stick around while I took his picture.

Caught him looking at me there. They're so cute.

the end of the year

The liturgical year, that is. Next Sunday begins Advent; today we celebrate Christ the King. In the course of the year, the church goes through the natural life of Jesus, beginning three or four weeks before Christmas, that is, before he is born, because life begins at conception. And, since he is King, this feast, the culmination of the year, celebrates that. 

 Prayers on the feast of Christ the King -

That the Church will always be a place where the truth, mercy, love, and wisdom of Christ the King shines forth.

That world leaders will see their power as a sharing in the authority of God, and reflect it in the way they govern.

That the culture of life proclaimed by Christ the King will reign in every human heart.

from Meltham parish, England

Upon those who labor under the illusion of power and who cause others to suffer:

                                 - Thy kingdom come!

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

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

*all prayers from Magnificat, November 2023

the two rascals

 I bought an extra bag of dry cat food; I put it in the basement. 

Not long after, I was down there doing laundry or whatever, and there the two of them were, with a tear in the bag - they were snacking! I brought it upstairs, put the torn bag into a larger plastic bag, tied it up and put it on the fridge. 

Well, Daisy found it up there and was trying to get into that bag. So, I had to pour it into a few small - bite proof - containers.

They've never done this before - must be very tasty stuff.

a good Thanksgiving

 

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever.

                                      - from  Psalm 136

preparations

 Well, tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and I've made cookies, the sweet potato pie and the broccoli gratin. The pear sauce (pears were on sale when I was looking for apples, so I made pear sauce instead!) is defrosted. My brother ordered a berry pie from a customer who was selling some frozen ones, so I just baked that. I think that's enough for today. 

There were a lot of dishes to wash. I used homemade bone broth for the gratin sauce and forgot it wasn't seasoned - after it was put together it occurred to me, so I sprinkled some salt over it and will hope for the best. :)

It looked pretty good after assembling.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

all is not lost

 What I forgot to mention the other day, was that somebody was selling the Christmas issue of (British) Country Living on ebay. The price was pretty good. It came today.

sharing

 From Magnificat -

For those who are blessed with a cheerful heart:
- may they bring joy to others always.

For those who are blessed with a gift for beauty:
- may they lift the spirits of others to God.

For those who are blessed with a gift for prayer:
- may their intercession uphold many.

For those who are blessed with a gift for kindness:
- may they console the sad and lonely.

"For to everyone who has, more will be given", from Matthew 25

magazine solutions

 I made out very well at the thrift stores on Thursday. An off white flat sheet, brown velvet scarf, wood desk organizer, a little mason jar - I never pass those up - an oval mirror with an eagle on the top, rather Federal-looking, and sturdy basket.

This is a figure eight shape, if I can call it that. It looks the same on the back as here on this side. I have three years worth of Country Living (British edition), and some Organic Gardening, Mother Earth Living and Country Gardens which were withdrawn from the library. I thought if I took out the issues pertinent to the season, I'd make better use of them; no sense keeping things unless you can benefit from them. So I put them out, along with a few Tasha Tudor books in a bag on my floor. It didn't look very well. I decided a tall basket was what I needed, but at Goodwill this one caught my eye. Could it be more perfect? The magazines curve into the sides and the books fit in the middle! It looks so orderly and... intentional. I'm working on organizing my desk area now.

About the Country Living - I had a subscription through the publisher, Hearst. Several months ago I noticed that I'd missed a couple of issues; this wasn't always easy to be sure of, since it was coming across the ocean and was often late anyway. I didn't want to claim a missed issue and then receive two because the original was just later than usual. Anyway, I finally thought to look at my account online and discovered it had been cancelled! I emailed, and they told me CL wasn't shipping overseas anymore. This was painful for me, since I love it so much. (an uncharacteristic lack of communication) Anyway, I immediately checked Amazon and they were still offering it! So, I quickly subscribed there. But after a few months they also ended it. 

I can't say I blame them. Since COVID, mail delivery isn't what it was. (Have you noticed that?) They were probably losing money over lost issues which needed replacing. So, I'm going to reuse my old ones until I've exhausted their usefulness. And I actually can see the current issues of it online, with Libby, which is free through the library. 

taking time

 We are having two days with temps in the sixties - how wonderful. I emptied out a bag of compost into one of the raised bed squares. 

It looks pretty full, but beneath it is dry leaves and some branches, sort of a hugel mound; I know it will settle and go down. Lentamente.

I've got the last Anne Perry Christmas mystery - I look forward to them every November, and like most of them. This is it, since she died this year. The main character is a woman in her eighties and I keep thinking that Ms. Perry was perhaps describing herself on these pages? 

After deciding not to use interfacing in my dress (mainly because I didn't have any), I found some in a small drawer where I didn't expect to see it. So, after the facings were sewn together, I cut out a piece and ironed it on. I think it will help stabilize things when I have to slash the back opening.

before I ironed it on

I get an infrequent newsletter from a Benedictine monastery (not the one I've mentioned here before), which I enjoy reading. In this issue is a story - a legend - that coffee was first used as a stimulant in Ethiopia in the 9th century. A goatherder noticed his flock getting excited after chewing on some red berries. He mentioned it to a monk who was have problems staying awake during prayer times, and that's how coffee drinking took off. The author of this newsletter says monks still depend on it when they have to get up for Vigils, which are prayers said around 3-ish. They don't go back to bed after that.

The other day there were leaves of gold all over the street in front of our neighbor's house, near the corner.

"Last night's heavy frost loosened the golden leaves and this morning, when the school bus came, they were falling like confetti. Still it was noon before you could notice any diminishment of leaf on the young maple by the driveway. By that time the sharp-pointed leaves covered the ground under the tree, like ruffled gold feathers covering a bird's body."

-  Rachel Peden

remembering

 Grace Hamman has a monthly newsletter on substack called Medievalish, sent out every 12th. The November one included a beautiful poem/prayer by Christina Rossetti. I tried to find it online because I wanted to know the title, but couldn't find it. It's from a book of hers called The Face of the Deep. I have to post it here, I like it so much.

O Lord Jesus, who knowest them that are thine,
when thou rewardest thy servants the prophets, remember we beseech thee,
for good those who have taught us, 
counseled us,
guided us,
and in that day show them mercy.

When thou rewardest the saints remember, we beseech thee,
for good those who have surrounded us with holy influences,
borne with us,
forgiven us,
sacrificed themselves for us,
loved us,
and in that day show them mercy.

Nor forget any,

nor forget us,

But in that day show us mercy, O Lord,
thou Lover of Souls.

Amen.

The King of Love

 We sang this today at Mass. We have never sung it before, but I was very familiar with the melody - not sure how. 

The King of Love My Shepherd is

The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness fails me never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
And he is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
With gentle care he leads me,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With heav'nly food he feeds me.

We sang only two verses. Where have I heard this melody? It's a puzzle.

And so through all the length of days
Your goodness fails me never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing your praise
Within your house forever.

days go by

 I don't know where the days go. My brother had a birthday, and I've been in the kitchen a lot; I made a gingerbread cake for the celebration, and found a nice recipe for a vegetable pot pie, with butternut squash, carrot, peas, spinach - I used a turnip instead of a parsnip, because I had it - onion, celery. Very delicious! I gave him a throw/blanket.

I don't think the cats can ruin it very easily and it's quite washable. 

The Lord is our shepherd; nothing shall we want. 

fall evening outside

When you're comfortable in the house, and you have to step out briefly and you get chilly - it makes you shrink from going out again. But all you need is the proper attire and it becomes a pleasure to go out. 

It was cool today, but still nice out. I hadn't done anything in the fresh air and it would be dark in an hour. I was going to start on the dinner at four, but I put on my wellies and down vest and went outside to prune the rugosa. 

I have to do this late pruning, because the rose bushes are right near the driveway and I know when it snows, the canes will bend over too far, so I have to cut them. Meanwhile, the sun was getting low and things in the back yard were starting to turn coppery.

Then, my brother helped me with the last slats of the not-so-good raised bed and it was so bracing to be out. The sun was going down across the street.

And then I went in and made the soup.

"The yard is full of yellow maple leaves, turning a reluctant brown but not yet disintegrating. They have cooled all night, soaking up rain or dew, and in the early morning warmth they dry out, rustle again, and give off a pleasant fragrance."

                                                               -   Rachel Peden

to be still and quiet

 Most merciful Father, 

help us to still and quiet ourselves,

confident in your unfailing mercy.

juggling

 I am always thinking about the balance between what you need to get done, what you are able to get done, and the stuff in between that you try to fit in. 

"It is probably one of the compensations for living in an age so dedicated to science that one feels guilty for wanting to study history or French horn or pinking shears. On the other hand, with too much of science and not enough of these other things, our civilization could become like a broken zipper. The zipper key will move forward, neatly zipping up the jacket, but the line comes apart right behind it, so that when you get the key all the way up to the collar, the jacket is still wide open."

                                                                        - Rachel Peden 

it's November now

 It actually snowed yesterday! Around lunchtime - we were at work, it was overcast, with rain predicted. Then it turned to snow for about an hour. Later, the sun came out, which wasn't expected any more than the snow was. 

Like somebody flipped a switch when November arrived. 

This morning the ground was very frosty.

And very pretty.

what next?

 Okay. While getting ready for work, I heard my brother, Come 'ere, come here, hurry!
I thought it must be a bear in the backyard or something. I came out of my room.

He was in the bathroom, and there was Daisy, sitting on the toilet tank, the Kleenex box on her head. Vertically. I mean her head was in the box. She sat quietly so I ran to get the camera. Took a (lousy) photo and removed the box from her head. 

She didn't cry, or struggle. I suppose if we'd been at work, she would have figured it out herself.*

Oh, you should have been there.

*now I'm starting to wonder what really goes on all day with those two

with us intertwined, please

 We had two or three summery days last week. I had the week off; my co-workers have often told me that I pick the best weeks to be on vacation, and it seems to be true. I had no way of knowing ahead of time of course, but it was a treat. Still, by Saturday evening, I was ready for some cool breezes. After dark they came, and I sat on the back step, watching leaves fly over my head - from the roof, apparently. I tried so hard to photograph the flying leaves, but have no idea how to do it, or even if I can. Now, it's thirty degrees cooler and we have to get used to it. 

I went to Pinterest to get inspiration for dinner, and saw a recipe for colcannon that I'd saved. Well, I had a cabbage, cheddar and potatoes. But it was getting late, and I didn't have time to examine the instructions, so I just cooked the cabbage with an onion, added savory, salt and pepper, then shredded  a few potatoes in the food processor, sprinkled cheese all around and put it in the oven. It was pretty tasty, but I know I didn't do the potatoes right, and I used red cabbage - very unsightly! We had kielbasa with it. I'll have to try it again, properly next time.

Every day I break up more cardboard and lay it around in my beds outside. We've had more rain and there's standing water out there now - these beds I bought aren't exactly thick wood - I hope they survive their first fall and winter, before succumbing to rot! 

I've been hemming and hawing over my dress: to line or not to line, to face or not to face. I guess I should use a facing, like the pattern suggests. I don't like iron-on interfacing, though. And am not even sure if I have any. I'm old enough to remember how it was before it existed, and they were all sewn-in, woven interfacings. I may do that. But I need to stop the dilly-dallying.

God, be in our thinking, always as a guide;
God, be in our yearning, high and deep and wide;
God be in our caring, with us intertwined,
As we grow to love you, heart and soul and mind.

Carl Larsson - his home and studio

love, the only force

 "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

                                                       -  Martin Luther King, Jr.

*this was in Plough magazine, Autumn 2023

fall colors

 A few nights ago it got down into the thirties. Now, we're having summer again, with four days in a row of the seventies and up to eighty. I'm trying to finish washing the windows while it's nice. 

I can't ignore the beautiful scenes out the window, with everything golden, and leaves gently falling in the sunlight. I notice every change of light, every different window angle - I am always enraptured at the beauty. The reds and oranges are past now; the yellows have taken over.

This is next door - can you believe it? And there's a golden maple in our yard, too.

Fantastic. I had my window open last night and will again - next week will be drastically different, with daytime temps in the fifties and then the forties! Well, it'll be November.

We have a book at the library similar to this one, with Carl Larsson's paintings in it; it's called A Farm. But there are two more, which I obtained through inter-library loan, A Family, and A Home. They are all delightful, as you can imagine. His work makes country life and family life fascinating and very appealing. I'm also going through some older Country Living magazines, tearing out what is saveable. This caught my eye today

In cities, no one is quiet but many are lonely.
In the country, people are quiet
but few are lonely.

- Geoffrey F. Fisher

I don't think Carl Larsson's home was too quiet, with so many children, but it looks just right. 

Meanwhile, I plod along with my sewing; I've cut some of it out, and was looking through my thread to find a match. I hesitated over the facings - I don't like them and would rather make a bodice lining, but I haven't done that with sleeves. It may be nothing, but I told myself not to be so stubborn and just do the facings. 

I was very surprised while cutting that Daisy didn't rush over when she heard the pattern papers rustling. Well, I have to thank God for these small mercies. Meanwhile, I caught her in a comical position today.

two somebodies

 I went outside to put more cardboard in a raised bed, and somebody was at the door when I came back.

Well, two somebodies.

who's out of place?

 I was planning to toss the morning glory pots, and then there was this.

Is the leaf trying to get a point across? The weather is supposed to turn warm for a few days....

those who love and those who labor

 Jesus says to those who seek him,
I will never pass you by;
Raise the stone and you will find me;
Cleave the wood, and there am I.

Where the many work together,
They with Christ himself abide,
But the lonely workers also
Find him ever at their side.

- Geoffrey Dearmer

"manifold and changing business"

 Another weekend with rain; it's a sure thing, every weekend there seems to be a tropical storm in the Atlantic that passes by (not too close, though!) and we get wet. 

I noticed over the whole summer that our rabbit friend comes out in light rain or afterward, when the grass is cool and wet. And today, I saw one near the hedge out my window this morning, and again in late afternoon, just sitting there quietly. They like it. Or, I should say that this one likes it.

It was raining here. 

A moment later, and he was gone. Which was just as well, for one of Dianne's cats came by, sniffing around. He may be getting too old to chase rabbits, and just wants to snoop around; I hope. I like seeing these little neighbors. 

I suppose the local cats are also our neighbors, but in a different way - they have a home. 

There is a very interesting quote today on the Trappist monks' blog, something from Robert Louis Stevenson. But even though I've linked it, I want to put it here:

"the Trappist world appeals to me as a model of wisdom...so infinitesimally is the day divided among different occupations. The man who keeps rabbits, for example, hurries from his hutches to the chapel, or the chapter-room, or the refectory, all day long: every hour he has an office to sing, a duty to perform; from two, when he rises in the dark, till eight, when he returns to receive the comforting gift of sleep, he is upon his feet and occupied with manifold and changing business. I know many persons, worth several thousands in the year, who are not so fortunate in the disposal of their lives...We speak of hardships, but the true hardship is to be a dull fool, and permitted to mismanage life in our own dull and foolish manner."

My apologies to the monks for stealing their blogpost on the day they posted it. 

Meanwhile, I am trying to get away from regular wheat flour, and am re-doing some favorite recipes with gluten-free mix, einkorn flour, spelt, buckwheat, rye, or mixtures of these. It's interesting and unpredictable. 

beautiful, dramatic October

 I think it's peak foliage days around here. It was sunny, and then overcast, back and forth all day. I finally got outside in late afternoon to put my other raised bed together; everything was so brilliant.

I loved the first raised bed - it was well made, with perfectly cut sections. I put it together and went back to Amazon to order another - no longer available. I found another one which looked exactly the same, but with different wood. It came with poorly-cut pieces that were splintering. My brother showed me that it could be used, because I was getting ready to return it. So, I managed and it's almost together now, but not as nice as the first. But I was glad of the fresh air; too often I get mired in the household affairs, which are never done anyway.

Often just when I'm getting in bed, one of the cats will be there and then the other one comes - then they must wrestle. On my bed. Fortunately, after a minute, one takes off and the other flies after. They wrestle at mealtimes, rather than wait patiently - I suppose they figure why not do something while we wait?

"Beautiful, dramatic October! I wish it could last for a year."

-  Gladys Taber

getting brighter

 

It's that ol' sugar maple.

moving along

 Well, I couldn't finish the H.G. Wells story, but I couldn't put down Out of the Silent Planet. What a contrast in the way the two authors approached their stories! When I first heard that C.S. Lewis wrote a "Planet Trilogy", I couldn't imagine - I never thought I'd actually like it. It was fantastic. Both are telling almost the same tale, but it's all in where the authors are coming from. One, a socialist, the other, a Christian. One, negative, the other, positive. So of course I'll read the other two sequels, but not right away. 

I also picked up a biography of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., written last year. I've never been a fan of the Kennedy's, but he is running for president. 

"It struck me... that every nation, like every individual, has a dark side and a lighter side. I became fascinated by populism, a democratic impulse that was often perverted by demagogues. The easiest thing for a politician to do is appeal to our greed, bigotry, racism, xenophobia and crude self-interest. My father had endeavored to do something different - to appeal to the hero in each of us - to persuade us to transcend narrow self-interest and act on behalf of the community."

We've had two more morning glory blooms since the first one; it's a hardier plant than I thought it would be. 

The last time I was at Goodwill I found a task lamp there. It's taller than the usual and has got a heavy base; it's dark brown, with a plastic, rather than glass, shade. I like task lamps - they can be great in the right places. I was thinking of the spare room, but ended up finding a space for it on the kitchen counter. It was very helpful when I made the pie the other day! We have three lights in the kitchen but to have something right there, where the work happens is very welcome. But I can't seem to get a nice photo of it.