Big Orange Moon

Two nights ago, driving down the interstate at nightfall, I started to whine about driving home from work for an hour in the dark after much too long a day. Then I looked up and saw an amazing, perfectly full, bright orange moon with its face quite visible. Its mouth formed a perfect "O" and I imagined it singing "O taste and see" or "O quam glorioso" or "O magnum mysterium."

Driving in the dark no longer seemed an annoyance, but instead, a glimpse of creation that I might not have noticed. And as for the singing part -- yes, I know. I'm such a dork!

New Haven News

Hats off to Noah, the newest staff member at this Episcopal parish in New Haven, where he joins another Yale organist. Also, composer Charles Ives went to church here!

Now, all three members of our family work for the Episcopal Church. As our seminary dean would say, "Groovy!"

Nailing jello to trees

On my day off today, the rainy weather propelled me to walk laps at the mall. While walking, I noticed that the majority of people I passed spoke (loudly) on cell phones as they walked or made purchases. Why is it okay to think that the entire corridor doesn't mind hearing these conversations?

On my second lap, I noticed a large sign at a jewelry store advertising "the diamond of your dreams" on sale for $5499. Are diamonds really the stuff of dreams?

Finally, a tee shirt shop featured in its window a shirt that read, "Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree." Could anyone be so bored with life that they'd try to nail jello to anything? I know that this shirt was supposed to be funny. But it isn't funny.

I think that going to the mall simply made me crabby. But maybe I don't like reminders about how removed from culture I feel most of the time, especially now, when the university students are about to arrive. I so hope that this won't put me at a disadvantage in relating to them.

I love basil

I love basil. (Though I refer to the herb, it's also true that I love Basil, thanks to last winter's Cappadocians and Friends class. And it was fun to see and spend time with Helen, our professor, at the Faith and Order conference!)

Last night, inspired by the film Ratatouille, I began cooking -- no recipe, only a rich blend of aromas and colors in my mind. Into the pan with olive oil and garlic the veggies went: red onion, baby portabellas, thin asparagus stalks and red bell pepper. While three handfuls of rigatoni boiled, I added fresh basil to the mix...at first a little, then more, and a bit more, because the scent of basil was intoxicating. The flavors blended excellently; I tossed in some crushed red pepper and crumbled feta cheese, garnished with a little more basil, and we feasted. Ah, basil!

Sunday Dinner

I'm gathering ideas for what to serve hungry university students on Sunday evenings following our 5 p.m. Evensongs (which range from Taize to traditional choral to jazz). Pizza seems to be the ever-popular choice, but this is a university city with food coops and sushi bars; Ethiopian, Italian, Mexican, Irish and Middle Eastern eateries are found within easy walking distance of the church. I suspect that students' taste buds are more adventuresome than they once were. I don't wish to serve boring food, but neither do I want to serve weird food. We don't have much $$ in the budget. Help!