little buddy

She sleeps with me every night; she was just on my lap as I was typing.

Last night my brother referred to her as "the barnacle". 

just a little blue cheese

I've discovered how delicious a garden tomato salad can be with a bit of crumbled blue cheese and vinaigrette.

feral cats in Rome

I've been reading a new and very, very interesting book, The Inner Life of Cats, by Thomas McNamee. One chapter treats the feral cat issue, particularly in Rome, with more than 100 cat colonies; in one colony called Largo Argentina the population density was equivalent to 38,000 cats per square mile. 

"But studies have shown that where food is abundant, cats develop completely new systems of sociality that can allow for high density. Picture how New Yorkers and Parisians preserve their dignity on a crowded subway car."

In 1988 the Roman authorities forbade euthanasia of any cat or dog except those incurably ill or fatally injured, and in 1991 the Italian Parliament proclaimed that feral cats had a right to live free and couldn't be moved from their colony. 

There is a metro station in the city called Piramide (pyramid)  and "Adjacent to the Pyramid is their nighttime prowling ground, the leafy, cool Protestant Cemetery, where John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley are buried...Many of the monuments are fancifully ornate examples of the gravestone-maker's art, and the whole place is impeccably kept. Somebody, doubtless from the gattare (local cat lovers who leave food, and watch out for them, etc.), evidently picks up the cat poop, because there's none to be seen... Someone - the city of Rome? the volunteers? - has hidden audio somewhere in the ruins, so that at night the cats have classical music playing for them." (emphasis mine)

                                                

library volunteers

Surprise flowers, that is, growing outside the kitchen window at work.

an eclipse party

If there's an occasion which has some relation to my life, my beliefs, my interests, I want to observe it. Life's too short to ignore these. There was a partial eclipse today in our area - a reason for a picnic outdoors!

Ahead of time, I steamed green beans and popped corn. I dug up some old but still good D batteries and got the boombox outside so we could hear the classical station play sun and moon music (e.g., Clair de Lune, the Moonlight Sonata, Helios Overture  -  even Holst's The Planets).

The party started at 1:25 and ended at four, which is when it all happened. Our friend conveniently brought eclipse glasses, but my brother had made a viewing box just in case. Dolly also attended. (of course)

First, we had snacks. Izze Blackberry carbonated fruit drink and ranch-flavored popcorn (idea courtesy of Magnolia Journal).  The moon was going to cover one third of the sun; it was hot, humid and partly cloudy, but nothing that would obscure our view of the sixty seven per cent eclipse. I was pleased that even though the weatherman said the temperature wouldn't drop, it felt much better to me for much of the event, and only hot again when it was over. But it's funny that if you didn't know an eclipse was happening, you might well have missed it. It was just a matter of there being less sun, but clouds were coming and going anyway. My brother thought the light on the bridge looked artificial.

You tell me; I don't know, but he looks at things with an artist's eye, and I just look at them (and not too keenly at that). Anyway, we then had a big pasta salad with marinated artichokes, green beans, cucumber and black olives, with garden tomato on the side.

A sunny area across the brook:

You'd think, with two thirds of the sun covered, that it would have been darker than this. But anyway, it was nice that it happened on my day off, and nice that we got to experience it.

Afterward we had ice cream.

summer with Dolly

Dolly and I are taking every opportunity for snatching alfresco hours.

I finally got this quilt bound. After four years. It's a fine size for putting under a tree and lounging.

Dolly's ablutions prevented her from appearing in this photo, but at least her leash was G rated.

avocado pits in a glass

I just can't throw the avocado pits away - they look like burnished wood.

I'll keep them for a while.

Miss Prim

"It would be utopian to imagine that the present-day world could go into reverse and completely reorganize itself.  

We have...come to believe that contemporary life wears women out, debases the family, and crushes the human capacity for thought."

On whose blog did I first see this book? All I remember is that, curious, I sent out for an inter-library loan, it came quickly, and I couldn't put it down.

It's a story of a well-educated, modern woman who gets a job in a town that may as well be from the past, as far as beliefs and outlooks go. It takes her a while to see the value of this way of living. The author has something definite she wants to say, and I am just amazed that such a book can have been written today. A light, pleasant read with a serious message.

inspiration from Anna

Anna's blog has been such an inspiration to me over the years, and when Debra needed help planning the decoration for her reception, she came instantly to mind.

Anna is a busy person, but she seems to take on what comes her way with gladness, as coming from the Lord. And she uses what's available as if it came from God's hand, too. She hasn't said this to me, but that's my take on it - and I think I'm right. She doesn't want to waste time, so she won't be found wringing her hands over things; she just does what she can and then enjoys the rest. No looking back, like Lot's wife.  ; )  So I told Deb to just look around at Pleasantview Schoolhouse and she'd find plenty of inspiration. 

We ended up pooling our tablecloths, fabric squares and sheets together for table covers and the whole effect was so much prettier than we ever imagined. I gave up all my pint mason jars and Debra cut wildflowers the night before - each table got two of those.

She works full time and cooking all the food wasn't possible, so she got our favorite luncheon spot to cater - we made the appetizers. But, get a load of this salad - they know the importance of presentation:

They also put a nasturtium on the pasta salad! (that's why we love going there)

gluten-free lemon cupcakes from a local health food store - there was a cake, too

Entertaining on that scale was new to both of us, very interesting, and original, thanks to blogging friends. 

the importance of mornings

"You see, here our philosophy is that everything important happens in the morning."

                                                    -  The Awakening of Miss Prim,  Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

retro appetizer

Debra's son was married a few hundred miles away this spring. Saturday was the reception here for those who couldn't attend the wedding, and I helped her out with a few things.

Looking for a simple yet appealing appetizer recipe is daunting - most are not simple at all, so we went with the gut and served bite sizes of assorted fruits, skewers with mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes and I forget what else (not my department) and those very small date nut bread/cream cheese "sandwiches" (my department).  Sensible!

almost perfect

Our apples are quite small, but getting some red on them. The other day I picked one, then braced myself to cut it open. They're always imperfect in some way - gnarly on the outside, streaky on the inside, but this year they're so smooth-skinned, I had to ease my curiosity about the insides.  It was normal! I hope they stay that way.

perky wildflowers

Several mason jars of wildflowers for the kitchen. A perk for helping Debra plan and set up a reception for her son and his bride. 

"a condition of the Divine energizing"

"In every department of life, physical or spiritual,... there must be a stretching forth of the withered arm before it receives strength."

                                                            - Charlotte Mason

little fairy girl

I've been reading Grimm's fairy tales lately  -  the complete Grimm's. Why has it taken me twelve years of living with Dolly to realize that she is a human in a cat's body?

It suddenly came to me as she looked into my eyes so earnestly this afternoon. She is enchanted.

desperate measures

Well, it's been two months and I haven't seen a hummingbird.  And this plant shouldn't really be in a hanger, because it doesn't hang down. Did you ever notice that lots of hanging plants you can buy aren't the type that trail down and make a nice showing?  So, right after I got this one, I saw some coreopsis at the supermarket, of all places. They were six dollars off and I bought two; I admire the airy leaves and daisy-like flowers of coreopsis and they are more suitable for hanging up. So now the lantana is on a small table nearby and there's lots of yellow at the front door this summer.  

Right after hanging them the delicate blossoms got roughed up in a rainstorm. As it struggled to come back, I wondered if it was suitable for a planter. Finally, I had to resort to something I absolutely deplore: Miracle-Gro. My brother relies on it, and of course his hanging plants are lush and full. Of course! The jumped-up stuff. Anyway, it was around and I used it. And they are looking much improved. Of course!

apple tree lookin' good

Outside with Dolly the other day I suddenly realized the apple tree is loaded; I went over to it with some trepidation because, once more, we never sprayed it.

We really want to do right by that tree and those apples, doing whatever we should to promote healthy fruit, but...at the time of year when it's right for spraying, you are supposed to do it on a windless day. Well, on my days off, there weren't any. Then I end up feeling paralyzed by the situation and resign myself to another inedible crop.

So, what happened this year?  Is it just a matter of plenty of water - we are so over that drought of the last few years. Is that all the apples needed? It's only July, so I won't count my apples before they're ripened, but it really looks hopeful this time.

gathering

The saints from long ago had such a blunt and to-the-point way of praying and speaking.

I am "borrowing" this from the monks:

"Do not allow pride to swell in you, let it shrivel instead, and rot. Be disgusted by it, throw it out. Christ is looking for a humble Christian. Christ in heaven, Christ with us, Christ in hell - not to be kept there, but to release others from there. That's the kind of leader we have. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, but he is gathering us up together from the earth: one in this way, one in that; by favoring this one, chastising that one, giving this one joy and that one trouble. May he that gathers gather us up, otherwise we are lost; may he gather us together where we can't get lost, into that land of the living where all deserts are acknowledged and justice is rewarded."

-  St. Augustine

Amen.

water

We've been having very regular rainfalls this summer, and we're more than five inches above the average, according to the weatherman this morning.

The brook usually dries up in August, but I don't think it's going to this year; the other day I went out looking for a rainbow after a short downpour and heard the water raging. It comes from streets up above us, down a hill and then turns a corner right on to our property and it was brown from all the soil carried along in the fast-moving water.

Water Never the Same

Beside a flowing river sit and gaze,

And see how it perpetually runs

In wave on wave, in many thousand turns,

As through the fields it takes its fluid ways.

Thou'lt never see again the wave which first

Flow'd by thee; water never is the same;

It passes day by day, although the name

Of water and river doth persist.

So changes man, and will not be tomorrow

That which he is today, he cannot borrow

That strength which time doth alter and consume:

Until our death one name we do retain;

Although today no parcel doth remain

Of what I was, the name I still assume.

   -   Jean-Bapiste Chassignet,   (trans. by Frank Warnke)

the gladness of every day

I've been very slowly reading some of Charlotte Mason's work - she is revered by many homeschoolers and I find much about human nature and even myself that I didn't think about before.

Anyway, why do some turns of phrase grab the attention so forcefully? At the book's end - the book is Home Education -  her final thoughts are on helping the child to learn about God in a good way, as a father, "...from whom comes all the gladness of every day".  And even though I didn't sleep well and got up too late, I did have gladness today. I didn't rush, went about my work peacefully and was able to do many things.

Yogi came by and I managed to get the camera - gracious, he does not keep still!  But hopefully you can see why I'm so enamored of him. Of course, handsome is as handsome does, and he actually tried to nip me more than once! I think he was over-excited. If he ever got into the house, I know that mayhem would ensue.

AND MORE CATS

These cats have multiplied, and so much so

That they are double the celestial Bears. 

Cats that disport themselves in all-white furs,

Cats that are black and even calico,

And cats with tails and cats quite disentailed.

What I would gladly see (now wouldn't you?)

Is one cat with a hump or curlicue

Like some vain harridan discreetly veiled.

Let laboring mountains cease from all their toil,

For if a mouse were born, poor little brat,

It could not hope to flee so many a cat.

Good housewife, I admonish you to peel

Your eyes and watch the pot about to boil:

Run, look, a cat is carrying off the veal!

Here I must add my bob and wheel.

My sonnet will not have what praise entails

Unless it's like those cats that come with tails.

                                            -  Torquato Tasso (trans. by Lowry Nelson, Jr.)

books and such

I couldn't sleep the other night, and somehow got to thinking about what's in my bookcase. I've weeded, but the desire to pare down doesn't stay satisfied.

I got the idea I should be well acquainted with all the books on my shelf, and that they should be useful to me. I turned on a light and grabbed two: Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, and a poetry book, all sonnets.

The Ann Voskamp I have read twice. The question is - do I need to keep it? I probably need to read it again before deciding.  What is she trying to say? And should I keep the book around in order to be reminded of it? Or let it go to the next person?

As for the sonnets, I began reading them right away, in the middle of the night. I started penciling marks near the ones I liked, and finished it off at the dentist's this afternoon. I guess I should keep it, at least for a while. I've just never been one for poetry. But here's one:

 Dipped in detergent, dish and chandelier retrieve

their glister, sopped, kitchen floor reflowers, knife

rubbed with cork unrusts, colors of carpetweave

cuffed with shampooer and vacuum will reblush,

prints sprayed and scrubbed no longer peer but stare,

buffed, silver burns, brushed, plaster will gush

hue at you, tops soothed with cloth will clear.

Cleansing the cloud from windows, I let the world win.

It comes in, and its light and heat heave the house,

discolour, dim, darken my surfaces. Then once again,

as for forty years, my fingers must make them rouse.

Round rooms of surfaces I move, round board, books, bed.

Men carve, dig, break, plunge as I smooth, shine, spread.

Caring for Surfaces,  by Mona Van Duyn

trees as social beings

"...why are trees such social beings? Why do they share food with their own species and sometimes even go so far as to nourish their competitors? The reasons are the same as for human communities: there are advantages to working together. A tree is not a forest. On its own, a tree cannot establish a consistent social climate. It is at the mercy of wind and weather. But together, many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity. And in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what. If every tree were looking out only for itself, then quite a few of them would never reach old age. Regular fatalities would result in many large gaps in the tree canopy, which would make it easier for storms to get inside the forest and uproot more trees. The heat of summer would reach the forest floor and dry it out. Every tree would suffer.

Every tree, therefore, is valuable to the community and worth keeping around for as long as possible. And that is why even sick individuals are supported and nourished until they recover. Next time, perhaps it will be the other way round, and the supporting tree might be the one in need of assistance. When thick silver-gray beeches behave like this, they remind me of a herd of elephants. Like the herd, they, too, look after their own, and they help their sick and weak back up onto their feet. They are even reluctant to abandon their dead."

                                                     -  The Hidden Life of Trees,  Peter Wohlleben

blue on this side

it's a miracle

Well, I think it is.

Dolly in the picture window.  It's close to a year since our Dolly has sat there in peace.

Dolly in a chair in the front doorway.

It was one year July 2nd when we took Sweetie in. They have not gotten along. Many's the time I thought of posting about it, but my heart wasn't in it.  It has been very hard to see Dolly keeping to herself at the other end of the house (her house!) because she wanted to avoid Sweetie.  A year is a long. time, especially in the short life of a cat.

Sweetie was very well named but Diane warned me "she hisses at other cats - she doesn't like them". She comes from a houseful of cats and people and never really liked it. She's gotten used to Henry by now, but he's totally non-threatening anyway.  After an initial period of Dolly trying to make nice with Sweetie, it didn't work, she just gave up, and overreacted, hissing and running off whenever she appeared. We've wondered if she wasn't confusing Sweetie with Tootsie, who's also a tortie, and is terribly aggressive. But Dolly never acted like this with her - could it be that she was just fed up? (Who understands cats, anyway?)

Up on the shelf between kitchen and living room! All these (not very good, I know) pictures taken the same day!

My aunt passed away, and the funeral was Friday. We came home and everything was changed. There was Dolly: on the kitchen table, in the kitchen window, on the shelf, in the living room window, lying on the rug. As calm as could be. She will still hiss at Sweetie, but she isn't afraid of her anymore. The anxiety is almost gone.  What happened, so suddenly?

Is it due to all my prayers? (you can bet I prayed - what else was there to do? Who can reason with a cat? Anyway, it was breaking my heart that Dolly was apart from us much of the time.) Did she suddenly realize that Sweetie, like herself, doesn't really want trouble? I'm guessing that Sweetie figured out early on that hissing worked in a houseful of cats, but the vet commented that for an outdoor cat she seems to have kept out of trouble, because there aren't scars and marks on her. And I give her credit that she has never encroached on the area that Dolly was keeping to - it's funny that now she can sometimes be found in the spare room, but Dolly isn't interested in going there anymore.

I don't know what happened so suddenly to give Dolly this peace, but Thank God For It.

I'm flabbergasted. And so grateful.

"the antithesis of narcissism"

"But monastic fidelity to the liturgy is the antithesis of narcissism. ...somewhere, as I write this, as you read it, people are singing Psalms and praying for us all. Knowing that most of us won't notice or care, they are making us a gift of their very lives."
   
                                                       -  Dakota, Kathleen Norris

wouldn't want to make a monk scream

"...Often it's hard for monks to understand that people coming in from the noise of the world are so impressed by the relative quiet of the monastery that they see a paradise where there is none, and imagine monks to be more angelic than not. Monks are symbols of such a deep human longing that, paradoxically, others often have trouble seeing them as human beings. This is a complaint monks will make to anyone who will listen. 'If another person says, It's so peaceful here, I'll scream', one monk said to me."

                                                                - Dakota,  Kathleen Norris


(Well, I'm glad I only told you and not them!)

fast food

It was in an issue of Food Network magazine, I believe. Somebody mentioned "Heirloom Tomato, Corn and Basil Salad", and I made a note of it. Not the recipe, which I didn't bother to look at, but the idea.

So I made it up yesterday, and again today because it's so easy to just cut up some good-tasting tomatoes in a bowl with lots of basil, and some frozen corn which you rinse under water until it isn't cold anymore. Then, a little touch of vinaigrette and some feta which needed to move along. Speed is of the essence in a summer recipe.

Knickerbocker Glory on the Fourth

It all began with Rhonda's weekly links of interest. This Mary Berry thing caught my eye. I never heard of this lady, obviously well known in Britain. It's a very delightful program, tempting recipes and this cute old lady with a twinkle in her bright eyes. I watched a few videos. And then saw this one where she goes to the seaside to have what she called a "Knickerbocker Glory" - an ice cream sundae with fruit and a raspberry sauce.

My first thought was that it wouldn't have tempted me as a child because it's totally without chocolate. But it seemed like a nice holiday-ish dessert for the Fourth of July.

I didn't try her ice cream recipe because I wanted chocolate, but I put the mango and the blueberries in it, and I made the raspberry coulis. What a tasty treat! It was melting too fast to get a good "before" photo - sorry! But I am very pleased that on this of all holidays I found an English dessert to enjoy.

a little prayer of hope

For millions still in darkness

within this land of light,

for those who've wandered blindly

from God and home and right

and those who ne'er have seen thee

thou God of love and might,

we earnestly beseech thee

may they receive their sight.

-      from Magnificat, July 2017

don't do what I didn't do

I didn't check to see if it was unplugged.

Today I started a batch of fermented cranberry soda. I don't care for sugary soda (well, some Italian stuff now and then in summer) but this soda isn't supposed to be sweet. I had to find a way to use up two bags of cranberries which couldn't fit in the freezer and I wasn't interested in baking them into anything. I am terribly excited about this! I hope the jars don't explode.

Lately the refrigerator in the basement hadn't seemed as cold as the upstairs one; I've turned it up colder but suspected it was going. It is old so I didn't think much of it. Tuesday evening I went down there to get the leftover chili for supper and everything was getting warm inside. I then spent quite a while bringing it all up to the kitchen fridge and packing it all in there like a puzzle.

My brother thought we should call the repairman, who's quite a handy fellow - rather old school, who has seen too many appliances in the dump when they could have been fixed. Well, it didn't take him long to discover the problem. The plug had gotten loose.

I think this is on a par with my cake disaster story. Pitiful, but still much cheaper than the price of a new one!  As Mr. Bennet said, "It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it."  Ahem.

But I do look forward to my fermented soda!  A silver lining, let's hope.

bondage and freedom

"At its Latin root, the word religion is linked to the words ligature and ligament, words having both negative and positive connotations, offering both bondage and freedom of movement."

                                                                  -  Dakota, Kathleen Norris

These two things are what fascinates me about the Benedictine way of life, and I can't stop thinking about it since we went to the monastery. In their "bondage" - which isn't really that, but a fixed dedication to keeping to their scheduled times of prayer and work throughout the day -  but within that structured framework, they have their freedom of movement, as she says.