Tuesday Varia

Sunday was one of my favorite days of the year. Not only was it Mother’s Day (and happy happy to my amazing mother – every time I’ve gone through the window, it was the best choice, mwah!), and I got a lovely rose at church (the X man wondered if men got blue bow ties on Father’s Day), but it is also the day that Major League Baseball players use pink bats. (photo credit from article)


And, the day after Mother’s Day is a lovely day as well, the second annual National Apron Day, did you participate? I wore mine proudly, but look just the same as last year and since I didn’t have any photographers with me in the morning, you’ll have to trust me.

Speaking of Baseball – did you see the unassisted triple play yesterday?

An interesting article from the archaeology world – researches say they have found the palace of the Queen of Sheba

And, lastly, two items in the interesting word origin department. First – it occurred to me during Lent that the root of companion
was someone who you had bread with. And, dictionary.com’s word of the day taught me that the origin of contrite is from Latin conterere, "to rub away, to grind," hence "to obliterate, to abase," from con- + terere, "to rub, to rub away." How true that is!

Yanked from Michelle Melania (who sadly has sick babies at home) :

Outside My Window …it is warm and sunny, I hope it will be after I get off work too.

I am thinking … about getting some more coffee

I am thankful for …indoor plumbing

From the kitchen … for lunch, I had a PB&J, a banana, and some tortilla chips.

I am wearing … a brown flouncy skirt and a turquoise top, and my favorite brown Mary Janes.

I am creating … Yesterday, I made some cards with a cool CTMH
paper pack I really like. I need to make some baby gifts, and have been wanting to get some scrapping in.

I am going … to work out tonight, and watch one of the X man’s baseball games tomorrow .

I am reading … a cheesy covered cheesy romance called “The Passionate Brood” about the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

I am hoping … and wishing, and thinking and praying.

I am hearing … an advert on the radio

Around the house …I need to wash pots and pans, and do my monthly filing.

One of my favorite things … quiet time with Eddie.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: I may see a ballet with a friend on Friday. I need to print out the minutes for the Women’s Auxiliary meeting this weekend.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing …
(our cat, about to be scrapped)

A few weeks ago, the lovely Philippa had a one of those “Real Age” quizzes on her blog. I was surprised to take it and discover that it indicated my real age was 15 (I think there is something off on that result). Deb teased me that it was all that Duran Duran love.

So, on Wednesday, I had the pleasure of indulging my inner fifteen year old by attending their Seattle show with a lovely friend from church. They opened with the first three songs off “Red Carpet Massacre” which I find blend together nicely and created a good groove to begin the set with. They segued into many of their best hits (Hungry Like the Wolf, and Planet Earth) and then did an interesting part where the entire band came up front and did a very techno electronica set with no break between the songs. This opened with Last Chance on the Stairway which features one of my favorite Duran lines (I don't remember quite how I met you wasn't long ago
I just get a picture of sun in your eyes the waves in your hair ) and through a couple of good groovy hits (and a remake of the cringe worthy Warm Leatherette, which in my opinion belongs firmly in the 80s songs we never need to hear again vault) but then back through some other great hits ending with another good song off their new album.
Then, they were back to their usual jamming style, ending with a lovely version of Wild Boys where Simon introduced the band. The encore was Rio.

I hope my friend had a good time, it was lovely to spend time with her, and the concert was really fun. I’m realizing I’d be a happy camper if I could just tour with them , like a Deadhead. I'd like to think, though, that maybe my family would miss me. And, as we were discussing on Wednesday, in the Venn Diagram of musical tastes Eddie and I do not intersect in the Duran Duran area.

I’d feel more like a fifteen year old, though, if I didn’t do something to my knee during the concert – for the last couple of days I’ve been walking like a little old lady. Especially down stairs.

(photo credit from the Seattle P-I)

Christ is Risen! A happy Feast Day to all!


Xavier and I were discussing how much we loved this hymnn:

The Angel cried to the Lady full of grace
Rejoice! Rejoice! O pure Virgin!
Again, I say rejoice!
Your son is risen from His three days in the tomb!
With Himself He has raised all the dead.
Rejoice, rejoice, O ye people!
Shine! Shine! Shine, O new Jerusalem!
The glory of the Lord has shown on thee.
Exult now, exult and be glad, O Sion.
Be radiant, O pure Theotokos,
In the Resurrection, the Resurrection of thy Son







( Lyrics yanked from Laura's site Icon from www.salemmission.or.goarch.org

During Lent, we prepare for Pascha by reading the Old Testament. This comes from the early church tradition of bringing people into the church on Holy Saturday (a practice observed often in our church today). Last Friday, therefore, we finished up our readings of Genesis (“And Jacob drew his feet up onto his bed…and Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years...” Genesis 49 and 50) The other book we’ve been reading during Lent is Proverbs. At the end of Proverbs we hear the description of a wise wife that includes this passage:

21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Now, I’ve always suspected it was a translation issue, and that was confirmed when I read the new OSB. However, I’ve always liked this translation and smile when I hear it. It was particularly appropriate as this is what I woke up to on Saturday morning.
Xavier’s game was snowed out (on April 19th! Can you believe it?) and we had our Palm Sunday Procession while it was snowing (but not sticking) on Sunday after Liturgy. Papa Herman on the other side of the mountains mentioned snow during their Palm Sunday fish dinner as well.

These first two days of Holy Week remind us of the Fig Tree and the Wise and Foolish Virgins. May these parables prepare me as the readings of Genesis and Proverbs do for the Great Pascha of our Lord coming so swiftly

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching; and again unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be overcome with sleep, lest thou be given up to death, and be shut out from the Kingdom. But rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O God, through the Mother of God, have mercy on us.

We are in the waning days of Lent – as the lovely Deb pointed out, many of us are quieting down as we focus on the upcoming days of Holy Week and the Feast of Feasts, Pascha which is a few short days away (April 27th).

I keep vacillating between – Lent is almost over, my goodness where did it go? And I can’t believe Lent isn’t over yet. I guess that is the human experience in a nutshell. As we sing at Friday’s Presanctified Liturgy:

WE HAVE COMPLETED THE FORTY DAYS WHICH PROFIT OUR SOULS.
NOW LET US BEG THE LOVER OF MAN;
ENABLE US TO SEE THE HOLY WEEK OF YOUR PASSION,
THAT WE MAY GLORIFY YOUR MIGHTY WORK,
YOUR WONDERFUL PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION,
SINGING WITH ONE HEART AND VOICE,
LORD, GLORY TO YOU! ,

I finished up War and Peace several days ago – thank you to the March Hare who gave me some useful tips for navigating it. I found it to be a surprisingly quick read and the storyline was engaging (although I do admit that I skimmed some of the battle scenes – that really isn’t my thing) I found it helpful to review a basic history of the Napoleonic wars and Tsar Aleksandr I. It was ultimately a sweet story, and the growth of the characters and their faith was edifying.

We are also in spring here – we had a balmy Saturday and many of my friends and acquaintances were sporting sunburns over the weekend (we aren’t that used to seeing the sun here). And, true to spring, there was frost on the ground yesterday morning.

(cartoon credit)

I’d like to be able to say that the bible verse that best sums up my Christian life is something along the line of “his praise shall continually be in my mouth” or even “Be still, and know that I am God.” Unfortunately, it is probably “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief” from Mark 9:24. This is part of the greater reading read on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent (Mark 9:17-31), so I must not be the only one who finds that it resonates with them.

This past Sunday, the next to last Sunday of Lent (Palm Sunday and Holy Week are outside of Lent, but not Pascha yet on the Orthodox Calendar), the church commemorated St. John Climacus or St. John of the Ladder. (the Patron of the wonderful Ian from Down Under – Many Years!).
One of the great monastic fathers of all times is St. John, surnamed Climacus in honor of his book Klimax (the Ladder). From the time of its writing in the sixth century, this book has been held as a fundamental text on the ascetic life. While originally written for monastics, it is a work of universal significance whose lasting popularity stems from its practical and psychologically penetrating counsel. In recognition of its importance to the whole of the faithful, the Church dedicates the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent to the memory of its author. (from an article sent by Father Thomas)

I’ve not had the pleasure of reading The Ladder, but found this selection from it to be particularly timely:

The insensitive man is a foolish philosopher, an exegete condemned by his own words, a scholar who contradicts himself, a blind man teaching sight to others. He talks about healing a wound and does not stop making it worse. He complains about what has happened and does not stop eating what is harmful. He prays against it but carries on as before, doing it and being angry with himself. And the wretched man is in no way shamed by his own words. "I'm doing wrong," he cries, and zealously continues to do so. His lips pray against it and his body struggles for it. He talks profoundly about death and acts as if he will never die. He groans over the separation of soul and body, and yet lives in a state of waking slumber as if he were eternal. He has plenty to say about self control and fights for a gourmet life. He reads about the judgment and begins to smile, about vainglory and is vainglorious while he is reading. He recites what he has learnt about keeping vigil, and at once drops off to sleep. Prayer he extols, and runs from it as if from a plague. Blessings he showers on obedience, and is the first to disobey. Detachment he praises, and he shamelessly fights over a rag. When he is angry he gets bitter, and then his bitterness makes him angry, so that having suffered one defeat he fails to notice that he has suffered another. He gorges himself, is sorry, and little later is at it again. He blesses silence and cannot stop talking about it. He teaches meekness and frequently gets angry while he is teaching it. Having come to his senses, he sighs and shaking his head embraces his passion once more. He denounces laughter, and while lecturing on mourning he is all smiles. In front of others, he criticizes himself for being vainglorious, and in making the admission he is looking for glory. He looks people in the eye with passion and talks about chastity. Out in the world he is full of praise for the solitary life and cannot see how much he is disgracing himself. He glorifies almsgivers and despises the poor. In everything he shows himself up for what he is, and does not come to his senses, though I would not say he was incapable of doing so.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 18

This I believe is why we find ourselves commemorating this saint during the end of Lent. How have each of us faced our daily struggle? How have we fasted, given alms, and prayed? How have we kept the Fast? It is easy to fall off the ladder, but the greatest sin isn’t the falling, but to not get up and try again. It is easy to focus on what others have or have not done during this time. The time is here to not focus on others but on ourselves – and it isn’t too late. For, as St. John Chrystostom tells us in his wonderful Paschal sermon (which we are only a short time from hearing)


If any have laboured long in fasting,
Let him how receive his recompense.
If any have wrought from the first hour,
Let him today receive his just reward.
If any have come at the third hour,
Let him with thankfulness keep the feast.
If any have arrived at the sixth hour,
Let him have no misgivings;
Because he shall in nowise be deprived therefore.
If any have delayed until the ninth hour,
Let him draw near, fearing nothing.
And if any have tarried even until the eleventh hour,
Let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness.

(icon credit)