dual personalities

March 26, 2018

“Let thy blood in mercy poured, let thy gracious body broken, be to me, O gracious Lord, of thy boundless love the token”*

by chuckofish

Our bride-to-be seemed pleased with her shower and I think everyone had fun. The champagne punch was a hit.

It was a busy Saturday, but daughter #1 and I still managed to go out to breakfast and hit a couple of estate sales prior to the festivities.

We also watched two great movies over the weekend: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966)

which is a really funny movie. The screenplay is hilarious; it was even nominated for an Oscar. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Film Editing. If you have not seen it lately, treat yourself. Jonathan Winters repeatedly saying, “We have… GOT… to get organized!” is worth the price of admission alone. Also, I think I am becoming Muriel Everett.

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The other movie we watched was The Quiet Man (1952)–the classic John Ford/John Wayne fantasy about Ireland–also very enjoyable.

As usual this poster shows a lot more cleavage/bosom than ever would have been appropriate in the actual film. Zut alors!

We went to the Palm Sunday service at Grace.

All went well with the Passion story as read by the lay reader stars. I was the Narrator again, which I enjoyed. But, you know, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Cor. 1:31)

Afterwards we went over to see the wee babes at their house before daughter #1 had to hit the road and head home to Mid-MO. It is always a joy to see the wee babes in their natural habitat.

And now it is back to the salt mine. Let’s try to keep our focus where it belongs during Holy Week!

*Episcopal hymnal

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March 24, 2018

Palms before my feet

by chuckofish

Palm Sunday is upon us and Easter just next week. I try to take a restrained approach to the holiday. I have a few decorations on the table, and son #1 and I did dress up our evening (no sugar added) cocoa last night, because we suddenly developed a burning desire to see whether Peeps float in whipped cream — but I draw the line there.

After a root canal yesterday, I inclined toward hysteria by evening. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

[By the way, Peeps do float. I hadn’t had one in years. They’re grossly sweet and sugary, but not in a nice, jellybean way. I can’t recommend the Peep addition to evening cocoa.]

Let’s get back to what’s important: Palm Sunday, the start of Easter week. Tomorrow our church will hold a special breakfast, after which the congregation will process around the village green, singing hymns and waving palms before attending church. Being by temperament disinclined to participate in reenactments, we will arrive in time for the service. We’re not snobs, just self-conscious and averse to walking around in the cold.

In case any of you also prefer inside activities, you might try looking at depictions of the entry into Jerusalem. Take this slightly Cubist looking fresco at San Baudelio de Berlanga in Spain that dates to c. 1125. I love everything about it.

Even better is Giotto’s lively fresco, c. 1305. There’s so much to love about this painting; the sweet-faced donkey; the people climbing the trees to see better or gather palms; the lady(?) in the front right of the painting with her head covered; the man right above her with the giant sleeve, and the attempt at perspective. The colors are great, too.

I also really like Hippolyte Flandrin’s 1842 painting, although the figures seem stiff and Jesus isn’t looking at anyone. One wonders whether he will see the baby being held up to him on the right.

As for literature, G.K. Chesterton’s The Donkey makes a very nice verse accompaniment.

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil’s walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

It’s not only Palm Sunday tomorrow, it’s my BFF’s birthday. Have a wonderful day, you old thing! I may not be into reenactments, but I love to reminisce. Rest assured that I will be thinking of you all day.

Have a contemplative Palm Sunday and remember to rejoice, for “all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well”.

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March 23, 2018

“Sit down, you’re rocking the boat”*

by chuckofish

Funny story: when I was returning from my trip east on Tuesday, my carryon bag was detained when it went through security at BWI. I had to wait while another TSA agent came over to check things out. He said, “It looks like you have a book in there.”

“Yes,” I said, thinking, is a book a problem?

He opened up my suitcase and rooted around until he found the 640-page Henry David Thoreau: A Life, which daughter #2 had given me in my welcome goodie bag of treats. He whiffled through the pages, but didn’t come up with anything, so he put it back inside and we closed up the bag.

Then he said, “Do you mind if I ask you what that book is about?”

“It’s the new biography of Thoreau,” I said. “What do you think he’d make of all this?” I chuckled.

He chuckled too, but he had no idea what I was talking about.

“I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.” (Civil Disobedience)

That’s what I thought.

Well, this weekend will be a busy one. Carla and I are hosting a bridal shower at my house for our friend Becky’s future daughter-in-law. Daughter #1 is coming into town to make the champagne punch!

Can’t wait to see the wee babes–it’s been two weeks!

And can you believe it, Sunday is Palm Sunday! Time for the Passion story and the Grace Church showcase of lay reader stars. It is also time to catch up with some Lenten movie fare. Indeed, it may be time to dust off Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and get down to business. Holy Week is upon us.

*Nicely-Nicely in Guys and Dolls

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March 22, 2018

Postcards from Virginia

by chuckofish

While I was visiting daughter #2 in Maryland and Virginia, spring was beginning to show its face…

…but by the time I left on Tuesday, it was sleeting and promising worse.

Nevertheless, we had a lovely time, starting off straight from the airport in Baltimore with a jaunt down to Fredericksburg, Virginia. Located near where the Rappahannock River crosses the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, it was a prominent port in Virginia during the colonial era. Today it is chock full of beautiful old buildings. We ate lunch at Foode, a hip restaurant in a historic bank building.

There were plenty of historic buildings, etc to visit in the historic district in which our airbnb was located. This one was practically across the street.

Love this sign!

A few blocks away was the Episcopal Church…and the Presbyterian church…

It was a handsome, vibrant town where we also did a lot of shopping in the numerous antique malls, which, not surprisingly, were far superior to our mid-west versions.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 11.51.47 AM.png On Saturday we headed to Norfolk to visit my old friend, where we were wined and dined and talked non-stop. Then on Sunday, the three of us headed to Shirley Plantation, located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County. We took a tour and walked around the grounds.

Then we headed to the Upper Shirley Winery for lunch and wine.

On the way back to Norfolk, we stopped at Bacon’s Castle, the oldest documented brick dwelling in the U.S. Built in 1665, it is notable as an extremely rare example of Jacobean architecture in the New World.

We couldn’t resist stopping at St. Luke’s Church near Smithfield in Isle of Wight County. It is the oldest church in Virginia and the oldest church in British North America of brick construction. According to local tradition the structure was built in 1632.

Indeed, daughter #2 and I had a great time with our hôtesse élégante and her very nice husband!

Back in College Park, we were happy to be reunited with dear Nate (DN) and to spend some time with him. He is a great son-in-law and I much appreciated that he drove me to BWI in a sleet storm without so much as a grimace/eye roll.

Anyway, it was a super fun getaway.

It is always nice to get back home though, right? The OM had not burned the house down, but he had put the trash out two days early.

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March 21, 2018

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

by chuckofish

I am home after a lovely five-day visit to Virginia with some of my favorite people.

I’ll have pictures tomorrow. First I have to recover from my 5 hour delay at BWI following a trip to the airport in a sleet storm. Oh brother. Modern travel. C’est la vie. I’m home in flyover country. Thanks be to God.

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March 16, 2018

“I can’t wait to get on the road again”*

by chuckofish

Well, today I am on my way to visit daughter #2 for a few days. So I won’t be back in blog action until next Wednesday.

Here’s a pic of the wee laddie to tide you over!

He caught the cat!

Have a good weekend! Make good choices!

*Willie Nelson

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March 14, 2018

“Let your light shine before others”*

by chuckofish

Hubert de Givenchy, the French couturier, died last Saturday. He will always be associated with his muse Audrey Hepburn and for designing chic, but ladylike, fashions.

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Coincidentally, when daughter #1 was home for a night last week, we watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s (for the umpteenth time) and once again marveled at how great AH looks in this movie. That orange coat!

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They were a great team.

Funnily enough, the NYT obit actually mentioned that Hubert was “a devout Protestant,” who “regarded his talents as a gift from God.” In 2007 “he told Women’s Wear Daily: ‘Balenciaga was my religion. Since I’m a believer, for me, there’s Balenciaga, and the good Lord.’”

Indeed, there was more to Hubert de Givenchy, and Audrey Hepburn too, than fashion. And we should remember that.

Also this was interesting. It reminded me of going to the fabric department in several department stores to look at the pattern books with my mother. We would look at the patterns slowly page by page and finally choose one. Then we’d pick out the fabric and a zipper if the pattern called for one. She made a lot of clothes for me. She saved money by making my clothes, but it was also a creative outlet for a very creative woman without many outlets. I think she enjoyed making clothes for me. I enjoyed wearing them and was proud of them. If there were girls at my school who made snide remarks regarding my “homemade” fashions, I thought at the time that they could go to hell, and I still do. They weren’t just judging me, after all, they were judging my mother.

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She always said that all the most expensive haute couture clothes were handmade. And she was right.

Into paradise may the angels lead thee. At your coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.

*Matthew 5: 16

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March 13, 2018

It happens to the best of us

by chuckofish

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“We’ve really gone into grandma and grandpa mode…It’s very relaxed. We love being in Connecticut, with each other, having the family around all the time and enjoying this time of our life.”

–Patti Hansen, Keith Richards’ wife of 34 years, quoted in the WSJ.

This just struck me as hilarious. Patti, I totally relate.

O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive thee, diligence to seek thee, patience to wait for thee, eyes to behold thee, a heart to meditate upon thee, and a life to proclaim thee; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.

–St. Benedict

(Photo from the Daily Mirror)

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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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March 10, 2018

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom*

by chuckofish

Another busy week full of meetings and driving about, but at least we have something to show for it. Son #1 is now the proud owner of his very own car, a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Oops, it looks like I uploaded the wrong picture. He was just two years old in that one, and the car was a Ford Escort. We were camping at a park in nearby Waddington NY a couple of months before his little brother’s birth. Here is James now — a little older, able to put his feet on the floor, and see over the dashboard of his own car.

Time flies, and all of a sudden it’s 2018. I only wish that I remembered everything about those passing days. Well, if we can’t remember all the details, we can at least enjoy every moment — the boring and uncomfortable bits right along with the triumphs and simple pleasures.

This weekend my son is taking me for a ride in his new (old) car. We’ll listen to some vintage car music, perhaps The Best of Fleetwood Mac (?) or some Tragically Hip, and we’ll explore the North Country. And we’ll make memories.

Have a lovely weekend!

*Psalm 90:12

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