Thursday, August 31, 2006

Margaret of Scotland

Our dog Maggie turned 8 today. While this may seem trivial to some readers, we think it's quite an accomplishment for a dog diagnosed with an aggressive cancer before she turned 3. We declined to put her through chemotherapy and were told to expect her to live another 6-8 months. The past 5 years have been gravy. All gravy. Or lovely frosting.

Maggie was named for Margaret of Scotland, whose feast day falls in November -- the month that Maggie was brought to us as a gift (!) from a dear friend and former rector. We selected one of the three female saints with November feast days in the BCP calendar, choosing from Hilda, Margaret, or Elizabeth. Not long ago someone asked us, "Oh, you named her for the character in The Simpsons?" Not hardly.

I know I'm not the first to post on the birthday of a dog this summer. Dogs, after all, teach us much about unconditional love. Happy birthday, Maggie.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Leaving Church

Would anyone who has read Barbara Brown Taylor's new book, Leaving Church, like to discuss it, either on the block (for those who will be there soon), or online? I finished the book a few weeks ago and continue to find it disturbing.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

All in the Family

Here's part of the conversation from my weekly call to check on parents.

Dad: So are you still busy at church?
Me: I preached again on Sunday, and that wraps up our preaching assignments for the summer.
Dad: How do you know what to say?
Me: We look at the church calendar, and then--
Dad: I mean, does someone tell you? Like John's dad, didn't John get all his dad's sermons after his dad died? (Note: My Dad remembers that John comes from four generations of Lutheran pastors!)
Me: Yes, he did--
Dad: Oh, so can't he just use those?
Me: ($#&*^**$)

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Sing it, Bonnie

Last night, Bonnie Koloc performed a stunning ninety-minute concert at The Redstone Room in downtown Davenport, and my serious inclination towards folk music from thirty years ago felt close at hand. Seeing Bonnie again, it seemed like yesterday that I wore long skirts, had hair halfway down my back, and carried around two guitars just about anywhere I went.

Bonnie now is in her sixties, but sings like she'll never lose that golden voice. I hope that I can keep singing for a while, too. Hearing Bonnie made us feel light and happy. I was delighted to get to talk with her after the show, having first gone to her concerts in the seventies at Amazingrace coffee house in Evanston with my best friend, a Northwestern undergrad at the time. How curious that I've now landed in Evanston again!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Ice Cream!

While Laurel and Susie are eating tasty eggplant, we'll be eating homemade ice cream. John bought a Krups ice cream maker while we were in Chicago. Making ice cream is easy when the machine does all the churning! So far, he's made a lovely, tart lemon sorbet and a jasmine tea sorbet. Tonight we'll taste pure vanilla. Tomorrow, we can try another new flavor when Noah is here for his really short (2 night) visit. Fun!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Anniversary in Evanston

Today John and I celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary in our "North Shore apartment." It's too hot for those activities we'd imagined, such as the Chicago Botanical Center, so instead we'll go to Peet's for breakfast, take in the new Woody Allen movie, and find somewhere cool and fun for a festive dinner. Best of all, we aren't spending this new month anticipating being apart for another academic year.
And yes, it's really 31 years and we really are that old -- though we sometimes tell people we got married when we were ten!