sweet breeze! thou only, if I guess aright, liftest the feathers of the robin's breast

 That was Coleridge. And oh, a day of cool air, breezing in my window, puffy clouds all over the sky! But I didn't move fast enough to record them before they drifted away. 

I heard some birds fussing in the distance. This always makes me feel bad; maybe there was a hawk around. Oh, for a world where there is none of that! Of course, the blue jays would have to find something else to occupy themselves. They are the ambulance-chasers of the bird world - well, everybody has their place. Poirot always was glad to talk to the busy-bodies of the neighborhood - they often proved helpful.

I grew nasturtium seeds, even though it's getting late. It's such a pretty plant.

I just heard a sound behind me, and there was Annie on my back window with a claw caught in the curtain. She was trying to get unhooked and couldn't, but did she say anything? How long would she have sat there, twisting slowly, slowly in the wind (so to speak)? Daisy is the same way. 

Strange. They do seem to understand the power of communication. Daisy often is telling us she wants food. Annie was really chatty the other day, telling me something. But they haven't made the connection entirely, I guess, especially when they could really use some help! Dolly would have called out, and she did, more than once. 

Well, September is at the door, and I'm looking over my fall clothes. This skirt needs reworking.

It's just not right. I cut off the waistband and picked out the zipper here. I'll sew up that seam where the zip was, turn over the top edge and make a casing for some lightweight elastic. Then I'll see how much I need to take it up - it's too long. 

I've been reading The Jungle Book - it's so charming! This is what the library copy looks like.

the maker and keeper of our days

 O God, you search me and you know me.
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.
When I walk or lie down you are before me:
Ever the maker and keeper of my days.

You know my resting and my rising.
You discern my purpose from afar,
And with love everlasting you besiege me:
In ev'ry moment of life or death, you are.

little Orphan Annie

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,
You have known its meaning through and through.
You are with me beyond my understanding:
God of my present, my past and future, too.

Sweetie

Although your spirit is upon me,
Still I search for shelter from your light.
There is nowhere on earth I can escape you:
Even the darkness is radiant in your sight.

Daisy

For you created me and shaped me,
Gave me life within my mother's womb.

Mr. Kibble

For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:

Safe in your hands, all creation is made new.*

Dolly and Henry

* words by Bernadette Farrell

it could be worse, I suppose

 I was listening to a podcast the other day, with Huw Richards and a fellow named Patrick Holden - fascinating, by the way - anyhow, they mentioned the name John Seymour, as a pioneer of self-sufficiency and re-learning some of the lost skills. I found we have three of his books at the library! From one of them:

All I can say is - we are a pitiful lot compared to those before us who could use a termite nest to bake bread in! 

beautiful summer day

 Oh my goodness, the perfect day. And in August, of all things!  It's been a summer of so many hot, hot days, and so much humidity. Today was wonderful, and I only got warm after dinner, because I had a quiche in the oven for an hour. Otherwise, under eighty, a gentle breeze, sunshine. Ahhh. A day like this goes a long way toward making one forget about the awful stuff.

And I realized how inadequate my summer wardrobe is, for days off, I mean. So I ordered three lengths of quilting cotton on sale, in order to make three of my favorite sleeveless a-line shifts. The first is black, with sunflowers all over it. 

I cut it short, so after I bind the armholes I'll decide about a ruffle or something else to lengthen it. The checked dress is on hold for the moment.

I cut some chives to dry the other day: I just snip them into short pieces and lay them on a tray in an out of the way place. I do like to do a bit of this and a bit of that, rather than spending all day on a thing. 

Yesterday was hot, so I cooked up some chicken tenders with a piccata type sauce. For veg, I steamed some beans and then cooled them in the freezer. They were served with cut-up tomatoes and salt, oregano and olive oil. That's how we've been living - cooking things that don't require a long heating. 

the slowness of hot days

 

Daisy, holding down the pattern pieces for me. Such a little helper! I am making very slow progress on this dress, basically just figuring what style to make. I keep changing my mind. I cut out the bodice, but I'm going to take in the sides - it's too loose, so I've been measuring it against a couple of favorite dresses. You want to make something that you're happy wearing!

I finished reading Slow Medicine today, by Victoria Sweet. 

She also wrote God's Hotel and I recommend them both, if you have any interest in the way doctors used to do things, the influence that government regulation has had on the healthcare system, or even how things were before it was called "health care", which, by the time you finish the book, will seem like the wrong thing to call it.

It's been hot again this week, and today the worst: not in heat, but in humidity - just awful.We're still getting lots of tomatoes, a pepper now and again, and today I snipped a big sprig of basil, keeping only the perfect leaves after removing them from the stems, and then packed them in a container, for the freezer.

I did plan to wash the floor, but I didn't.

"Over the years that Victoria Sweet has been a physician, 'healthcare' has replaced medicine, 'providers' look at their laptops more than at their patients, and costs keep soaring, all in the ruthless pursuit of efficiency. Yet the remedy that economists and policy makers continue to miss is also miraculously simple. Good medicine takes more than amazing technology; it takes time - time to respond to bodies as well as data, time to arrive at the right diagnosis and the right treatment."

                                     from the front flap of "Slow Medicine"

But don't get the idea that she is a sourpuss. She's a wonderful writer.

give it away

 “A key spiritual principle is that grace is sheer gift. And when you cling to a gift, hoarding it for yourself, you undermine its nature as gift. The whole point of receiving the divine life is to give it away in turn. If you hoard and make it your private prerogative, you undermine it; it turns to ashes. But when you give it away, it is renewed within you.” 

                                                    -  Bishop Robert Barron

beautiful summer day

 Such a beautiful day! The haze from fires in Canada has been enough to make your eyes burn, but not today! Dry air and a breeze.

Our plants are giving us so many tomatoes - I don't mind eating them. I did cook some down last week, but they're very juicy and not really suitable for sauce - too watery. Try this: cut up a few fresh tomatoes from the garden. Add a splash of water, some olive oil, lots of oregano and plenty of salt - probably more than is good for you. It's the oregano, it makes it all kind of vinegary. You may add some onion powder, if you wish.

I have four yards of a cotton check fabric, and am trying to decide on a pattern, looking at pinterest photos and dresses online. I keep changing my mind; meanwhile, the summer is moving along. 

In Magnificat this morning I read, in 258, St. Cyprian wrote that the Roman emperor Valerian issued an edict to the Senate. Bishops, presbyters and deacons were to suffer the death penalty without delay. One of the first to be apprehended was Pope Sixtus II and four of his deacons as he said Mass along the Appian Way. All were beheaded. 

"Let all people fix their minds not on death but rather on immortality; let them commit themselves to the Lord in complete faith with joy rather than in fear, knowing that in this contest the soldiers of God and Christ are not slain but rather win their crowns."

                                             -  St. Cyprian

sic transit gloria mundi

 Last week an old gentleman came into the library; he was looking for another book by a favorite author. I told him where to find it, but when he didn't come right back, I went over. It was in the wrong place, but not far off (thankfully), but he lamented his inability to locate it, telling me he was eighty nine years old.

This often happens to patrons: they can't find their book, and we go over and there it is. It has nothing to do with their age. But on his way out, I heard him say something aloud, but to himself, in Latin, and I wrote down what I heard, knowing that Google would most likely fill in the blanks for me. What he had said was, "Sic transit gloria mundi"; "Thus passes the glory of the world." 

What he was really talking about was his own "glory," his youth and supposed ability to find library books! 

Today, a frequent patron was called by one of our staff about an overdue, and she insisted she'd returned it. I went over to where it should have been, and didn't see it. Two more of us looked, but we didn't find it. After puzzling over it, a fourth staff member went over and there it was - where it was supposed to be.

This last employee is the youngest of us, at - well, I think he's nineteen. I told him his brain is young and fresh. Meanwhile, like this old fellow, I can also say, "Sic transit gloria mundi." 

the cross

 "So, go forth, O generous apostles of Jesus Christ, go wherever he calls you. I know you will run into great labors, serious difficulties, many tribulations, never-ending struggles and sacrifices. But fear not: the cross accompanies you, the cross which is the memorial of past victories, pledge of future ones. .. The cross is the protection of the meek, the humiliation of the proud, the victory of Christ, the defeat of hell, the death of infidelity, the life of the just, the fulness of all virtues. The cross is the hope of Christians, the resurrection of the dead, the consolation of the poor, the wood of eternal life, the power of God...."

                                                     -  Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini

found at a coworker’s desk

 

beauty

 "...I think all beauty adds to our heritage, whether it be the flawless purity of the Greek in the Parthenon or the rich and lavish splendor of Dylan Thomas. So my Johnny Keats saying, 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' gives a lift to us today in an uneasy age."

                                                                -  Gladys Taber

a little pilgrimage

 We went on a little field trip to the cathedral in the city, a pilgrimage. 

I had been there for Sunday mass a few times - it's a modern-looking place. But I learned something years ago from watching Sister Wendy's art series on tv. You can just say you don't like a certain painting, or artist, or style, or you can learn something about it, the history of it, and at least have an appreciation and a respect for it. And so, I went on this bus ride with a little group from church. 

old bishop's crozier

A cheerful and friendly priest met us there, and took us all around in an unhurried way, showing us all sorts of things I hadn't seen before. It must have taken an hour, but I didn't look at my watch.

this sort of thing always seems medieval to me - not sure why

The stained glass was all made in France.

It wasn't all so modern, though.

There were a few of these along the sides.

These windows do not have metal in between the colors, as most do, but concrete. The original church was destroyed by a fire, and they were determined to make this new place as fireproof as possible. The pews are wood, but that's about all.

Fr. M. was a well-informed guide. There are several side chapels, and he pointed out some patterns in the marble floor.

This is not a whimsical addition, but a real snail fossil in the stone! 

 St. Patrick has one of the little chapels.

 This statue seems quite old to me -

this is in the sacristy

This is behind the altar

I find it touching. Judgment Day.

the Just Judge

He heard confessions afterward, and then it was time for the noon mass. 

And home, with quiet spirits.

"The jubilee calls for us to set out on a journey and to cross boundaries. When we travel, we do not only change place physically, but we also change ourselves."

the shining thing

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
I am this dark world's light;
Look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.

Margary, whom she had last seen white and fear-stricken, had color in her cheeks now and her eyes shone...Winkle's face, puce with rage a short time ago, had now resumed its normal rosiness and it was obvious that if Winkle had ever had a care she had forgotten it....Such things had no existence here..The children ate their biscuits and drank their milk, and the stormcock sang, and Mary thought, "I will remember about this rainbow place. When my own particular experience seems dark and hard I'll remember that it's really a shining thing holding like a flower to the branches of the tree, and that I travel in it, like Cinderella in her coach, to the ending of the days. And up above me in the tree the Seraph sings, and sometimes he sings peace for us and sometimes courage, praise, truth, love, death, but he is always the same Seraph. Who is he? On Mount Alverno Saint Francis saw a great crucified Seraph above him, filling the heavens. I'll remember."

                                                        -   Elizabeth Goudge, The Rosemary Tree

I looked to Jesus and I found 
In him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I'll walk
Till traveling days are done. *

*words by Horatio Bonar, the melody is an old English one, adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams

moving along through summer

the little landscape round was green and woody, and refresh'd the eye*

 

Summer is moving along too fast. I've worked extra a number of times; the heat has kept me in more than I would like - I think, after today, we'll have a break in the hot and humid weather. We haven't even opened the windows the past two nights, but it looks like the upcoming evening temperatures will be down in the sixties - I feel cooler just thinking of it!

There are a few youtube sewing channels I like to follow - these women like to sew all their clothes and they seem to whiz along, so even though I don't, watching them is motivating. My blue linen top just needs the hem binding, and will be done. I realized I've got a lot of blue in my summer wardrobe all of a sudden - oh, well. I think navy suits me pretty well. 

I bought a new rug for my bedroom; Daisy is often on it. I came home from work yesterday, and she was there. It's wool - can it be she has an appreciation for quality?  :D Annie also likes it, but Daisy is with me more often.

*  Coleridge, from Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement

"It was a spot which you might aptly call the Valley of Seclusion.......it was a Blessed Place."

being drawn into the divine life

 "When you love those who hate you, you confuse and confound them, taking away the very energy that feeds their hatred.

We want God to behave as we would - that is to say, to withdraw his love from those who don't deserve it and to give his love to those who do deserve it. But this is just not the way God operates.

Why should you pray for someone who is persecuting you? Why shouldn't you be allowed at least to answer him in kind - an eye for an eye? Because God doesn't operate that way, and you are being drawn into the divine life.

Why should you turn the other cheek to someone who has struck you? Because it's practical? No - because that's the way God operates, and you're being called into the divine life.

Why should you go beyond simply loving those who love you? Because that's the way God operates; he loves the saints and he loves the worst of sinners.

Is any of this easy to do? No, of course not. Are we able to get to this state through willing it, through earnest practice? Of course not. That's why love is referred to as a theological virtue. It is the sheerest participation in the divine life, and it can only come from God. But God does offer this gift to us when we ask for it in prayer."

                                                                  -   Bishop Robert Barron

life and growth

A rabbit got into the garden last week. He didn't seem to eat anything we would regret. They seem to find so much among the grass, God bless them. A simple diet is best, isn't it? Then I didn't see any rabbits for a week, until today when there were two baby ones, running around the hedges. So, it continues. 

Look what somebody dropped off at the library this week.

I love this story. Look at the cover!

So elegant, with the gold edging. But there's a fragrance, like the previous owner wore perfume and now the book has it. I might just bring it back - I don't fancy having to smell that whenever I read it. Such a disappointment.

I was reading in St. Matthew's gospel, near the beginning, and it said that after the Magi came and asked where the child was who was born king of the Jews, "he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him". I never noticed that before - all Jerusalem was frightened? How interesting. 

I picked a handful of beans today and steamed them; my brother can have them with his eggs tomorrow for supper.

and you thought journalism was dead

 With all the mentions I've made of Raynor Winn's The Salt Path over the past few years, I feel it incumbent upon me to make this post.

I was on youtube yesterday when a little video popped up. This one. A reporter at The Observer dug deep and found out that the Winns' real names are Sally and Tim Walker They are basically embezzlers and tax evaders, for a start. Three books were written, to acclaim, and now the film is out; I've been waiting for it to show over here. Now, I don't think I can bring myself. The full article - very thorough and interesting - is here.

I really am stunned. Of course we know these things go on. But it was a great story, and so hopeful, the way Moth seemed to get better after these long hikes they went on. They're not even sure now about the truth of his illness, and that whole part of it.

What really amazes me is that she has done so many interviews, her face has been everywhere, for those who've been following their story, and didn't she think that someday they'd be found out? That nobody they've ever known would be watching the news? What will happen now? You can run, but you can't hide forever, and especially not when you're famous. Incredible.

About "journalism". This reporter, Chloe Hadjimatheou, did a stellar job. But there is altogether too much of this: 

But I do agree with them on one point: They are extremely dangerous to our democracy.

o hear our song, God of all the nations

 

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine;

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

This was sung during Mass today, I'm sure because of our Independence Day holiday this weekend.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;

But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine:

O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

The hymn, sung to the melody from Finlandia by Sibelius, speaks of his great love for his homeland, but without that sense of superiority that can border on the dangerous. 

May truth and freedom come to every nation;

May peace abound where strife has raged so long;

That each may seek to love and build together,

A world united, righting every wrong;

A world united in its love for freedom,

proclaiming peace together in one song.

It's so moving, especially at a time in world history when the real possibility of war threatens everything dear and familiar to us.

a lot of sparkle

I had just shut off the a/c, opened my side window, and was watching the pretty sparkle of the fireflies, when someone on the street behind us set off quite a colorful display of fireworks. So much for the quiet beauty of nature.

Daisy is in my back window, watching fireworks set off by another neighbor - it looks like a big sparkler, or something. Annie is on the hallway chair, which is brave for her; she isn't hiding. Our town event is scheduled for Tuesday, so this sort of nightly show may happen again. For the first time in days, I don't hear the mockingbird. Well, the creatures don't know what to make of the loud noises and I feel sorry for them. 

I don't know where I've been - mentally - for the past week. I always mean to post, but something gets in the way. I am making a linen top: sleeveless and simple, and I've been researching various ways of cutting bias strips. There are many, and it's interesting! I have to bind the neck and armholes and didn't want to use the packaged stuff. 

I've been experimenting with strawberry frozen yogurt, and frozen coconut milk pops, coffee-flavored. Something cold for the mouth must be kept on hand at all times in summer heat!

summer extremes

 It’s not quite seventy degrees today. And by that, what I really mean is, it’s thirty degrees cooler than it was yesterday. 

it was not this hot - the sun beats on it in the pm

I finished my firefly dress; I was going to wear it tomorrow to work - now I hesitate. Is seventy one degrees too cool for sleeveless? Probably, especially after such a cool, damp day.

it's a maxi

I had such a time getting the armhole binding to flatten out.

Wetting it, then pressing, over and over, to gently stretch the fabric. Patience and persistence were what I needed.

Last night's sunset -

I actually had to close my windows tonight - it's cool, and damp, which makes it feel colder.

Daisy in my window

solar summer - who knew?

 Here is a link to an article about solar summer - for Gretchen, and anybody else who's curious!

midsummer

 I look out my window into the night, and see fireflies flashing everywhere. I’d like to see them close up, but it’s not supposed to get below eighty till after one o’clock; I’ll stay in. 

It’s Midsummer's Eve. I have puzzled over that for years: it just turned summer, and now it’s midsummer.  But there was something on a weather site the other day which mentioned solar summer - which is May, June and July. Now that makes sense; if summer starts in May, it would be midsummer now. Now I can turn my wondering to the next thing.

singing to the Lord

 "I would feed my people with finest wheat and fill them with honey from the rock."

                                                  -  Psalm 81:17

It's the feast of Corpus Christi, and we're in a big heatwave - it often happens when Easter comes later, that we're outside in the hot sun for the procession. I heard a mockingbird singing a little way off - his song didn't interrupt our hymn-singing. 

Just now I stepped outside to empty some trash, and in the midst of excessive heat and humidity, I was surprised to hear a neighborhood mockingbird singing lustily; it's hardly to be imagined, but they must not feel the heat. Of all days, to be working so hard giving a concert. And who can appreciate it, with air conditioners running? I'm glad I came out for a moment.

"seeing beauty and value in the ordinary"

 "I wish there were more wild, undisturbed places, for both wildlife and for us as humans, and a greater understanding that restoring and appreciating nature meets needs we sometimes forget we have. Under the subtle influence of the hare, my own wants have simplified. To be dependable in love and friendship more than in work. To leave the land in a more natural state than I found it. And to take better care of what is to hand, seeing beauty and value in the ordinary."

                                          -   Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare

happy summer

 It was so hot and humid yesterday that I chose my pale chambray blue sheets when I changed the bed. Looking at blue does help in the summer. And it is summer! (or will be by eleven tonight)

Today was dreamy:dry and very windy, but it felt wonderful. Now, the humidity's come back. Is the whole summer going to be this way? 

I've been busy easing the bias tape around my dress armholes, which takes some coaxing. 

I planned a Summer Supper in honor of the longest day of the year. First, tuna sandwiches, recipe here; a favorite in this house for many years - a bit fancified, with kalamata olives and red onion. Also, an eggplant recipe, very easy, where you salt and pepper thick eggplant slices, lay them in a pool of olive oil and bake on both sides for about a half hour on a high temp. Top the warm slices with a mixture of feta, capers, tomato and a few other things and it goes together pretty quickly. And the juiciness of it was just what I didn't know I needed. Then, freezer pops for dessert.

This morning I started to make them, coconut milk matcha pops, but - I know I had matcha powder at one time, but I guess not anymore  and I had already begun the recipe. So I decided to use instant coffee granules, which worked very well, I have to say. Any flavor would taste good when you're hot. But I've started a big jar of tea in the fridge, so I don't have to turn to sugary treats when I need something cold.

days off

 We've had some people leave the library for various reasons, so I've worked a few double shifts - not exactly double, but I stayed till closing, eleven hour days. But now I have a week off! Sewing and gardening are the plan.

I'm making a dress with a firefly-printed cotton. A sleeveless maxi, a-line, a pattern I've used before. I'm almost done!

I've also got a dragonfly fabric in the wings. Black, with blue, purple and gold dragonflies. No plan yet.