Another Night, Another Bed

Tuesday night: I slept in my bed on the block after music class and nightcaps with friends Ian and Laurel. The next morning, I awakened at 6 and drove back to Davenport in time to surprise Noah by showing up at his organ recital, part of an artists' series at the awesome Cathedral where he was baptized. The expression on his face when he saw me was worth the whole trip! "It wouldn't have felt right to play the recital without you," he said. Those words alone convince me that I chose wisely when I decided to go. I hadn't planned to travel back to Iowa for this performance, but two of my three classes were cancelled, a history paper was postponed, and I hit the road.

The recital was amazing! There were more people in attendance than they've had so far (about 90, according to the Dean). Favorite moment: seeing Noah shaking hands with his first grade teacher!

Wednesday night: After Plantman and I treated Noah and Sarah to dinner at Exotic Thai, I slept in my own bed in Iowa. Got up at 6 and headed to Evanston in time for a noon meeting.

Thursday night: I'm in Highland Park, housesitting for a friend who used to attend my home parish. She's travelled all over the world, and her house is an exotic art gallery. This is a retreat space -- quiet, beautiful, not smoky (yay!) and far enough from the block to feel as though I'm somewhere special. I'm here through Sunday.

I thank God for the amazing day we had yesterday at the church I left in 1996 when women were not welcome to take on liturgical roles. Yesterday, a very conservative, "powerhouse" woman who doesn't approve of women priests affirmed my call to ordained ministry! What a gift! What a gift it is, too, to have a child whose talent is so far beyond our own, and to see that he owns it so humbly.

Today I pray all day long for my longtime friends, Jim and Katherine, who have been on Seabury's prayer list. Jim had cancer surgery today. Please join with me in praying for his health, for strength and courage, and for peace of mind for them both.

Travels

On Friday morning, Beth P will drive me home; I'll meet up with John (who was just here, but for less than one day) and we'll head to Des Moines in the afternoon. After all three of us complete our candidacy interviews, we'll drive back here on Sunday. Prayers and generally supportive cheers are welcomed...we don't expect problems, but still it will be so good to have this piece done!

Bach for Another Birthday

Happy 321st birthday, J.S. Bach!

Why is my Poodle Wearing a Blue Turtleneck?

Answer: We've tried everything else (gauze collar -- with and without tape, a tee shirt, and a striped sock on her hind leg to prevent her nails from scratching) to prevent Maggie from taking apart her stitches from Monday's surgery. The turtleneck works the best, but she's subdued (maybe mortified) when wearing it, and acts terribly depressed, so we removed it briefly. "Briefly" is all it took.

In a matter of minutes, the staple put in on Thursday to repair one ripped out stitch was gone, and her wound was opened and ugly. We packed her up and headed to the after-hours emergency vet. What a weird place! The front door is locked; they photocopy the "responsible party's" driver's license (to be sure your check is good?) and write the animal's name in BIG letters on the door of the cubicle. During that visit, I figured out that God in God's wisdom knew that having two high maintenance dogs would do us in completely, so I am grateful all over again that Steve decided to keep Uri in his family.

If any of you see a white standard poodle in a turtleneck and a striped Halloween sock (since Maggie and John will make a very quick appearance on the block midweek), please oh please don't laugh out loud! (Or don't let her see you laugh. Some dogs are unusually sensitive, you know.)

It Must be Spring Break...

...because I have time to take this silly test.

You Are a Soy Latte

At your best, you are: free spirited, down to earth, and relaxed At your worst, you are: dogmatic and picky You drink coffee when: you need a pick me up, and green tea isn't cutting it Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Radios, Dogs, and $$$

I drove back to Iowa today in a mighty wind (107 mph here and 5,000 customers without power in our area last night) and suddenly remembered the first "pop" song on a radio station that caught my attention enough to make me buy a transistor radio: "Windy" -- sung by The Association. (I know that I confound some of my readership by referring to something from the sixties. Sorry about that.)

The second song that I loved came out the following year, in 1968: "Blue, Blue, My Love Is Blue." I took the radio to bed with me and listened all night so that I would not miss any of the times the song was played. I can't believe I did that!

So today I drove over one of the bridges that crosses the Mississippi River and because of the wind had trouble keeping my car in its lane. I walked into our house just as the vet called to let us know that Maggie came through this morning's surgery just fine. She had two sizeable lumps removed and even though she's been on morphine, she's acting like her usual wildly alert self.

The good news is that the surgery, which was to cost between $800 and $1,000 only cost us $692. And really, when it comes to the family dog, it's only money. But it's times like this that makes me long for the days when I had an income. Yesterday, at the Anti-Racism training in Chicago, one of my table mates said, "I used to have a job in food service" and another said, "I used to have a job in retail." I said, "I used to have a job." Yeah.

Spring Break Has Begun - Almost!

Yesterday, the seemingly endless winter term really did end, and ended well. It's peculiar to still be in Evanston, but I'm glad I decided to spend the weekend (with Beth,Ryan, M.E. and Al) at the Anti-Racism Training in Chicago. The sessions are quite good, although verrrry long: all of Friday night, and 8-6 both today and tomorrow. Beth and I enjoyed comfort food late tonight in downtown Evanston, and walked back in the rain only to stumble into a party......which, if we'd had any sense at all, we might have bypassed.

I don't claim to be sensible tonight.

Home to Iowa on Monday morning!

Knock, knock

I had just gotten back from church and was admiring the snowy trees when an angel appeared at my door, bearing the most remarkable gift! She presented to me, still delightfully warm, an exquisite piece of onion and artichoke quiche centered on a white dinner plate, with a circle of paprika around it and a sprig of fresh rosemary at its side. The flavors and texture were perfect, and I am oh so glad that I spoke in preaching class last fall about color and presentation in serving food. Wow...

The End is in Sight

SIX more days till the end of the term!

Before Spring Break, here's what's left to do:
One 10-200 (oops, that's 20) page paper for Healing and the Religious Imagination (and an accompanying 30 minute presentation)
One New Testament final exam
One short Contemplative Prayer paper
Two Ordos
A weekend of Anti-Racism Training in the Diocese of Chicago


Spring term classes sound good:
Liturgical Music II, Gospel of Matthew, History III, Parish Leadership and Church Growth, Theology of Music, and Preaching C.

But for right now, a real break sounds even better.

Isaiah 58:6

I just discovered that the one piece of scripture I used to end my ethics paper happens to be the very same lesson I'm reading as lector at tomorrow's Eucharist.
Coincidence?