weather | dual personalities

March 12, 2018

Restore thou those who are penitent*

by chuckofish

It was a busy weekend filled with chores–going to Target and other shopping, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, vacuuming–the usual weekend to do list. I don’t mind. I got some of my bunnies out since it is that time of year.

And I did a little spring cleaning in the Florida room, but I may have jumped the gun on that.

I went to church on Sunday and I was the first lector. My passage was from Numbers, the classic scene where the Israelites are grumbling–“Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”–and the Lord punishes them by sending poisonous snakes. They repent and He takes the snakes away. This leads nicely into the gospel lesson, “Jesus said, ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world…”.

It was raining when I left the church and soon it was snowing, really coming down like soap flakes in a movie. It was pretty to watch.

iPhone cameras can never capture snow falling! It was coming down in giant chunks!

I also started to pack for my trip this coming Friday to visit sweet daughter #2 back east. We have a little road trip planned to Virginia where we will stop in for a few days to see my oldest/dearest friend who lives in Norfolk. Can’t wait to get out of Dodge!

Meanwhile the boy’s BFF (and the wee laddie’s godfather) was ordained to the diaconate at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.

imagejpeg_0 We are all very proud of him.

Ah, sunrise, sunset…swiftly flow the years!

Speaking of which, the wee babes are now 15-months old! They came over for dinner on Sunday night. They had fun playing with vintage toys.

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After they went home I watched The Robe (1953)–the first of my Lenten movies!

Were you…out there?

I enjoyed it immensely.

*BCP, General Confession, A Penitential Order, Rite I

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January 12, 2018

Thou wouldst have us learn this day

by chuckofish

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They say we are in for some wintery weather this weekend.

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Well, it’s winter. The chill is on, as the meteorologists are fond of saying.

It has been a hard week and I am ready for some down time. And some baby time.

Have a good weekend.

“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”

–Laura Ingalls Wilder

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January 5, 2018

Brrrrrrrr

by chuckofish

The Mississippi River freezes solid in February 1905.

Il fait froid! There are ice chunks in the ol’ Mississip today, but I don’t think one could walk across it. I certainly wouldn’t want to try! Here are some interesting historical photos of our frozen river through the years.

I plan to stay warm at home this weekend packing up Christmas decorations. But I also have two birthdays to celebrate, including daughter #3’s, so I’ll be out and about.

I saw a fox run through our back yard early on Christmas Eve morning. Maybe he’ll be back.

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Thus by the snow I was made aware in this short walk of the recent presence of squirrels, a fox, and countless mice, whose trail I had crossed, but none of which I saw, or probably should have seen before the snow fell. Also I saw this afternoon the track of one sparrow, probably a tree sparrow, which had run among the weeds in the road. (Dec. 14, 1855)

–Henry David Thoreau, A Writer’s Journal

Since it is Epiphany,

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it is time to watch 3 Godfathers (1947)–an all-time favorite.

What have you got on the docket?

The OM and I are also babysitting the wee babes. Please note that the 16 lb. dynamo is now on the move for real! Keep us in your prayers.

Have a good weekend!

The painting is “Tracks in Snow” by Morten E. Solberg.

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December 22, 2017

“I count my blessings instead of sheep”*

by chuckofish

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If all goes well today, and barring any travel mishaps, everyone should be home tonight! The wee babes are coming over and we are babysitting while their parents go to a party. They will get their first look at White Christmas (1954) and can start storing that great dialogue away for future reference.

A momentous occasion to be sure!

We do not expect to have a white Christmas ourselves…

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…but that’s okay with me. Maybe there will be a little “mood snow” as our favorite meteorologist Dave Murray calls it…

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Meanwhile…

I’ll toast y’all tonight!

O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel ; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP)

The embroidery at the top of the page is “Sisters” by Annette Fienieg (Pinterest).

*Irving Berlin, of course

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July 18, 2017

It’s too darn hot

by chuckofish

We are on the verge of another heat wave here in flyover country. Our local meteorologists are saying that this week we will have days on end of 100+ temperatures. C’est la vie.

We can survive–as long as the AC holds out. I mean it’s not like in the “old days” of my youth when we had no air-conditioning and we sweltered. Somehow we survived with fans. We didn’t have an ice-maker either–just those old fill-them-up-with water ice cube trays. Nowadays we are quite wanton in our ice cube consumption.

I sound like an old lady I know. However, I am not old enough to remember the scorching summer of 1936 when for 13 consecutive days in July the average high was 103.2 degrees. “Pavements buckled and swimmers were told to stay out of the Meramec River because the low water level had caused severe pollution. Fans blowing over ice provided some relief for City Hospital patients, but all hospital emergency rooms were so crowded that it was impossible to handle the case load…Many St. Louisans took to the outdoors for whatever relief they could find, sleeping in city parks and along highways on the outskirts…Heavy rains in August ended the ordeal.”*

Zut alors! Anyway, here’s a little Ella Fitzgerald to help you keep your “cool”…

…and while you’re at it, have a cold one!

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And as always, count your blessings!

*St. Louis Day by Day by Frances Hurd Stadler

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May 3, 2017

“The water prevailed upon the earth”*

by chuckofish

Good grief–more “historic” flooding in flyover country.

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Our hands-on governor fills sandbags.

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The scene in downtown Eureka

People were just beginning to recover from the December 2015 flooding and now we have another “100-year” flood. In fact, we’ve had three 100-year flood events in the last five years! Crests now are expected to reach or surpass levels from the December 2015 flooding.

The Gasconade River

Eureka High School

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The Meramec River in Valley Park

And now this:

Screen Shot 2017-05-02 at 1.33.47 PM.png Zut alors! I can’t like this.

God of compassion,
you hear the cries of all who are in trouble or distress;
accept our prayers for those whose lives are affected by storms and flooding:
strengthen them in their hour of need,
grant them perseverance and courage to face the future
and be to them a firm foundation on which to build their lives;
this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

*Genesis 7:24

The photos are from STLtoday.com.

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May 1, 2017

We die to sin and live to God*

by chuckofish

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Oh brother. It rained all weekend. All weekend. Lots of flooding in flyover-land and many cancelations. The March of Dimes Walk for Babies, which I had planned to walk in on daughter #3’s team, was canceled.

There were a ton of good estate sales, but going estate sale-ing in the rain is not a lot of fun. I went to a few, but headed home after a while empty-handed.

It was definitely a weekend for puttering and I did quite a lot of that. I also read a lot of The Shadow of the Wind, which I finished. I can’t really recommend it. I guess I don’t like novels that have that consciously storybook/fairy tale quality where the author seems to be trying way too hard to convey a feeling. Oy. This book takes place in Barcelona before, during and after the Spanish Civil War, but you learn nothing about the history, only that a lot of bad things happened. The characters are too wrapped up in their own love story–which is childish–to care that anything is going on around them.

Meanwhile, daughters #1 and 2 were together in D.C. where #2’s friends from home had congregated to celebrate her bachelorette weekend. This is something new that modern bachelorettes do.

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Daughter #1 sent me the goodie bag that she, as Maid of Honor, gave to the other girls. She organized a party on the rooftop patio of one of her old friends–very cool–and they went to a winery. Luckily it didn’t rain on their parade.

I went to church and listening to the constant rain on our big roof

just made me want to go home and crawl back into bed. Well, I had to get ready for the boy and his wee brood who came over for dinner that evening.

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Thankfully, these wee babes can cheer up even the dreariest of weekends! Enjoy your Monday!

*From the Pascha nostrum, Episcopal Church; the painting at the top is by Betha Lum, 1912.

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February 27, 2017

“More and more thyself display shining to the perfect day”*

by chuckofish

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Although spring seemed to be busting out all over our flyover town on Friday with forsythia, magnolias and all manner of flowering trees in full bloom, it (of course) turned downright cold on Saturday. I think it went down into the 20s on Saturday night–brrr!

So staying home was the order of the day this weekend. And you know me, I am always looking for an excuse to stay home. I vacuumed.

The OM and I went to see the wee babes on Saturday, but the little guy was not feeling well. We found out the next day that he had caught a cold (!) and now both twins are in isolation–probably until they go home. Sigh.

I had planned to skip church (and stay home), but I remembered that I had bought the altar flowers in thanksgiving for our two darling grand-babies. I thought I should go and check out the fleurs.

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I thought they looked nice.

The boy and daughter #3 came over for meatloaf (her favorite) on Sunday night. After they went home I did not watch the Oscars, which used to be one of my favorite things back in the day. Instead I watched The Sand Pebbles (1966) which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, won none, and Steve McQueen was notably robbed.

Sigh.

And now it’s Monday. Have a good one.

*Charles Wesley, hymn #7

6 Comments

January 27, 2017

The powerful play goes on

by chuckofish

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

When in doubt, folks, go back to Walt Whitman for a punch of optimism.

D’ailleurs, it is Friday and I am ready for the weekend. I have stuff to do per usual and the “Elegant Italian Dinner” to attend at church. This fundraiser for the youth mission trip is always a fun event, even if the menu never varies from the lasagna and bag salad of yesteryear. That is part of its charm I guess.

Weather-wise it is going to be a typical cold, gray flyover January weekend,

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but we’ll go see our two little rays of sunshine in the NICU unit.

They look so much bigger with their preemie clothes, don’t they?

I should also note that Sunday–January 29–is the birthday of our great-great uncle John Wesley Prowers (1838–1884), the Colorado cattleman.

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In honor of JWP, I think I will watch Lonesome Dove this weekend. JWP was a friend and business partner of Charles Goodnight, upon whom the character Captain Call (Tommy Lee Jones) is based. I meant to watch it a week or so ago in honor of Robert Duvall, but I could not find it, because, as it turned out, I had lent it to the boy! Life is complicated!

Other possibilities on the cattle drive theme would be Red River (1948) or The Cowboys (1972) or episodes from the old TV show Rawhide (1959–1965) starring a dreamy young Clint Eastwood.

So many choices. And, hello, here’s something I found while perusing the internet:

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The world is more than we know. Have a great weekend.

The painting is by Fairfield Porter, Broadway South of Union Square, oil on canvas 1974-1975

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January 10, 2017

Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm.*

by chuckofish

Winter is here. I am grateful for my warm house and my Austrian wool coat and my heated car.

I often think of those brave pioneers facing the cold without Gore-Tex coats and down mittens.

“All day the storm lasted. The windows were white and the wind never stopped howling and screaming. It was pleasant in the warm house. Laura and Mary did their lessons, then Pa played the fiddle while Ma rocked and knitted, and bean soup simmered on the stove. All night the storm lasted, and all the next day. Firelight danced out of the stove’s draught, and Pa told stories and played the fiddle.”

–Laura Ingalls Wilder, On the Banks of Plum Creek

I mean really.

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Take heart though–it’s supposed to get up to 61 degrees today!

*1 Kings 1:1

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