Christmas Eve Already!

Good grief, where has this year gone?  It seems like it was just New Year's, now it's Christmas again.  I am not ready.  I still have things to do.  There are still packages to wrap, and cookie plates to set up, and oh, I am sure a dozen or so other things I SHOULD be doing. 
There is also a snow storm threatening our city.  At least this year it SHOULD let us have our Christmas Eve services without a problem  Christmas Day service has already been cancelled at our church.  It is supposed to be snowing and blowing already by then. 
So much of my spiritual life is like this also.  I am not ready.  I am supposed to be preparing a place in my heart for the Christ child, waiting for the return of Christ, and I am floundering around beset by multiple details that always escape me.  Time to focus and remember the important things.  Love.  Family.  Friends.  Neighbors.  The people that are given to us to love and be loved by, that is what is important.  The Internet has expanded that circle of love for me, and also made it easier to keep close to some of my far-flung friends and family.   It is still somewhat impersonal, though, but it suits my more or less introverted nature better than large gatherings, or too many social occasions. 
Speaking of those things I need to get done, I suppose I should end this.  Just let me say that if you are brave enough to have read any of these blog posts, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed them. 

A New Endeavor

So, I've started out on a new endeavor.  (And I have dragged Matt along with me, though he seems to be going willingly enough...)  We have joined the Oklahoma Master Chorale.  Unfortunately, their website hasn't been updated lately.  A friend and former fellow St. Paul's chorister is now the director.  (Dr. Vicki Schaeffer.)  It is going to be fun to work with Vicki again, and lots of my fellow students from Karen Smith-Pearson's voice studio are in the Chorale, also.  (So I have people there who already know how I sing.  Vicki knows, but it's been a few years since she sang with us.)
This is going to be a LOT of work, but it should be fun.  I will no doubt be wondering if I hate myself by the time the first concert is over.  (Do I really want to stand that long?  Do I really want to learn that much music?  At least I look good in black.)  Yes, I really do want to learn all that music.  I need a challenge.  Matt and I both do.  Our work at St. Paul's is a challenge, but we don't do really intense, major things very much, and the works the Chorale is doing are VERY intense.  We both need the vocal stretch.  (Though, I think the Donizetti piece and the Zarzuela piece I am currently working on for Karen are a pretty big stretch.)
Anything that makes me use my mind and my talent must be a good thing, right?  I think so.
I just hope I can do a good enough job that I don't let Vicki down.  I know I can sing well enough, it is just the mental discipline and the practice (outside rehearsals) that I hope I can stick with.  I don't want to embarrass myself..
So, here's hoping the allergies and my energy are going to allow me to be up to the challenge!

Summer Doldrums

I know, I'm supposed to be printing staff birthday cards (actually, I am.  The laptop is doing that as I type this on my desktop machine..).  I have been messing around and reading people's Nerdy Dozen posts, and writing a couple of comments on those.
These days, I have also been reading a lot.  I've read my way through almost all of the Tunnel Tales Beauty and the Beast fan fiction page.  A lot of these stories are extremely well written, and good explorations of the characters that were not possible in the short scope of a TV series.  Some of them are downright silly, and some are just not so appealing.  A couple of favorites: Sibling Ribaldry for the Shakespearean insult contest.  (Why would anyone be silly enough to engage a lawyer in any sort of verbal battle?)
The Bridge is an interesting take on the whole concept, and a very sweet story, in spite of being a bit unsettling to devoted fans in the beginning.

The latest of the Psalm 23 mysteries by Debbie Viguie Beisde Still Waters is out for Kindle.  (I bought it and read it on my phone.)  I find some interesting parallels between the two main characters in this story and in the Beauty and the Beast stories.  Both male characters feel the one they care for will be repulsed by a "monster" they perceive to be part of their makeup.  The female leads are more different, the Cindy Preston  character in Beside Still Waters being far less sure of herself than the Catherine Chandler character from Beauty and the Beast.

I have indulged myself a bit lately and bought a couple of new candles.  One has a wooden wick, and a lovely scent called Bonfire Nights.  The wick is a little hard to get started, but it does spit and pop like a fire, and the scent of the wax combined with the burning wood is quite enchanting.  I think it will see a lot of use this Fall and Winter.  Right now, I burn the Sandcastles scented candle a lot. 
Find out more about candles similar to Bonfire Nights here. 
I purchased mine at Target, but the candle is not on their website.

Sandcastle is made by Yankee candle.  I bought mine at Kohl's.  Here's a link.

I have also been buying cds tht remind me of high school lately.  I bought 3 by Al Stewart:  Modern Times, Past Present and Future, and Year of the Cat.  Here's a link to his web catalog.  I also bought Phantom of the Paradise sound track album.  My friend Robin and I sat through that movie at least six times in one day to participate in a drawing for a chance to win prizes.  She won the soundtrack album, and I won a poster.  It is pretty scary to me that after all these years  (this was around the time of our Freshman year in high school) I still remember most of the words to the songs.  Creepy.

Anyway, the last of the birthday cards has printed out, and I guess I better start getting myself ready for an afternoon of work at the library.  Howdy to my Nerdy Dozen friends, I will be posting a link to this on the ND blogs.

Dry Plants and Dead Squirrels - Or Why I Hate Summer

I always forget how horribly oppressive the heat is in the Summer.  I also forget that here in Oklahoma, there is the added joy of Gulf moisture added to that heat.  Ugh.  I never knew just how much I could perspire until we moved here. 
There has been a demised squirrel on the street in front of the house since late yesterday afternoon.  (Mostly because neither of us could find it in ourselves to go scoop it up and dispose of its poor little body.)  The plants in the back yard are about dead because I never go out there anymore.  (No Bear to let out, no reason to open the back door.)
So, this afternoon I have the hoses going in both yards in the flower and herb beds.  The squirrel is still in the street.  I am not strong enough to face going out to pick that up in this heat. 
Other than those endeavors, I have been lazy today.  Oh, I started the laundry that I will not be home to do tomorrow, ( working @ the library 8:30-5), and I went to Target to get some stuff we needed, I also got some of my Facebook albums cleaned up.  I've been messing around online and reading more than anything.  I did get my walk in, which makes me feel better.  It is also about the only time I listen to music anymore.  I've added a few more albums of stuff I liked in high school to the mp3 player, so now I have even more eclectic variety than I used to.  There is still a LOT of opera on there.
I have done some prep work for my table display and book talk at our Reader's Extravaganza that will be held on July 17.  There will be photos to go with all this text at the end.  I'm too lethargic to work them in amongst the text today. 
If we are not too heat-distressed or allergy laden, we may join the throng at Buck Thomas Park tonight for the last Summer Nights Music In The Park concert which our library sponsors.  There is always a large library contingent present.  Thinking of going to a local burger joint for dinner first.  Maybe.  
There is shortbread to be made this evening.  There will be red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing made sometime before Sunday, also.  It is our turn to bring goodies on Sunday. 
So , I guess you can say that I am pretty busy.  Why do I still feel like such a lazy clod?

Here's a test of what may be part of my book display.

 Here is the cat saying that my evil purse must die.  She attacks it every evening.

 I found this sticker amongst the many Star Trek stickers I have left from the last batch purchase from TK Graphics.  This one is Beauty and the Beast related.  Mouse use to always say this.

 Above, plants trying to recover from my neglect.

Right, the poor demised squirrel.

To the left, the potted plants on the patio are faring somewhat better...

I'm Having Fun!

This last week or so has been kinda fun.  I am playing with a lot of neat Web 2.0 things for a training exercise at work, and I have gotten back into this blog as part of that.  I also have gotten new eyeglasses. They cost a fortune, but I really like them.  They also go really well with the Fedora I bought a while back.  See what I mean at left.

I also got some new dvds to watch.  This is the complete series of Beauty and the Beast, a TV series that ran in the late '80s.  I never got to watch the first run of the show because I was taking graduate courses that met that evening, and in those days there were no DVRs. 

I don't know why I like the series so much, but it has a style, an atmosphere all its own that makes it very enjoyable.  It also tends to have a moral message for each episode, much as Star Trek did, and that was always one of the reasons I loved Star Trek.  It was trying to teach us about the importance of being humane as well as human.

Another fun thing to come about this week is that I found a new printing of an old cookbook that I adore.  It is called The Scots Kitchen : Its Traditions (or Lore) and Recipes.  The original was published in 1929, the old copy I have was reprinted in 1968.  The new version was printed in 2010, with a forward, and some new notes and recipe updates, by Catherine Brown, who wrote the cookbook I found my treasured shortbread recipe in.  I look forward to exploring the new edition of this fascinating old classic.

I also have been playing around on Pinterest a lot, and I tried a recipe today that I found posted there by a friend.  7up Biscuits.  They are very easy to make, and come out so light, tender and luscious that it is a recipe well worth keeping. 

7up Biscuits
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup 7up
1/4 cup butter
Oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut sour cream into Bisquick.  Add 7up.  Dough will be soft.  Turn out onto board sprinkled with more Bisquick.  Lightly knead a few times, form into a square and cut into squares for biscuits.  Melt butter in 9x9 square pan. 
Place each biscuit in pan, one at a time, turning to be sure both sides are buttered.  You may have to squish them together a little, but that's OK.
Bake them in the 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Now that I've had some fun talking about the fun things going on, I think I better get back to work.  I will link this to my Nerdy Dozen blog so people from Pioneer can find it. 

Missing My Walking Buddy

I suppose I started to write this too soon after Mr. Bear went to the Rainbow Bridge.  He had a tumor that couldn't be removed and so, because he was so uncomfortable and couldn't breathe well, we made the tough decision to let him go.  There was much crying in that vet's office that day.  (And not just by Matt and I.)  Mr. Bear touched many lives.  He was so loving and so sweet, always up to meet someone new if it meant getting petted.  He and I walked every day, almost a mile and three quarters, most days.  Now I walk the routes we used to take alone.
Except, I'm not really alone.  Every now and then, it feels like Bear and Dougal, our previous Schip, are there with me, running ahead, exciting the neighborhood dogs, who don't always bark at me when I go by alone.  It is hard to go when the school bus kids might be out.  They always waited for Bear.  They would be sad to be reminded that he is gone.
It gets better, but it still hurts to know that he isn't going to be there, waiting patiently for me to put his harness on, getting all excited about going out to see what's what in the neighborhood.  It is also hard to come home from anywhere and not look for him.  Hard not to go to the back door and call, asking if he wants to go out.  Hard to leave or to head for bed without checking to see if he's in or out.  Hard to remember I don't need to buy dog food, or treats.
The cat makes up for some of this, of course, as she has an incredibly large personality, but even she misses Bear.  She goes to the spot he used to lay down every evening when we were watching TV, and she sniffs and looks around, like she wonders where he is.
I will always miss him, but I am glad he is no longer so uncomfortable.  Poor guy suffered through a lot in his 13 years, but at least in the eight years with us, he got to be part of the family, and part of his community.  He walked with the library group in the Red Ribbon Parade for many years, and  the bus stop kids always saw him and waved and even got him to go over and say hi during the parade. He did everything in his life with patience and a calm nature, totally uncharacteristic of a Schipperke.  He was my sweetheart, and I miss him every day.

Random Wednesday Night Thoughts

    So, I have to create a blog as part of a web 2.0 course offered at work.  Gee, I've had this blog quite a while, I don't write in it often, but I've had it going for several years now.  It is yet another neglected writing journal of mine.  (Most of them are hard copy and even more neglected than this is.)  Also, I have been working with computers longer than most of the kids I work with have been alive.  (Applesoft BASIC, anyone?) 
We bought our first computer in 1985.  It was a Commodore 64.  Before we broke down and bought our first PC, a 286, one of the first built by Gateway, we had acquired every possible add on for the C-64.  We had a hard drive, two disc drives, and a 1200 baud modem.  We thought we were hot stuff.  These days, my refrigerator has more computing power than that C-64.
  Heck, my Android phone is probably a more advanced computer than this desktop unit.  I guess this is all by way of saying that I undoubtedly need to learn more about the newer uses of the Internet, considering that when I first heard of it, it was called DARPA Net, and my oldest brother used it to converse with other engineers and scientists who were building stuff for the DoD.  Our first web-like experience was on Quantum Link or QLink, a dial-up service that was primarily a BBS for Commodore users.  I think I would probably perish if I had to go back to the days of waiting for dial-up to connect.  U-Verse has spoiled me even for the high speed cable that we used to have.  U-verse is always there, and I can connect almost instantly to it via the wi-fi on our secure home network with any of my wi-fi capable devices.  And yet I can remember thinking it was amazing that we could just dial a number on the phone and connect the computer to other computers.  We didn't know it then, but it was abysmally SLOW.

My other new adventure this week was ordering new eyeglasses.  This process now involves far more choices (and expense) than ever before.  I think I will really like my new glasses, but I have to wait a few weeks to get them because the lenses have to be ordered.  The sun glasses I already picked up, and they are very nice.  I think this prescription, and the quality of the work by the eyeglass makers, will be a big improvement over my last eyeglasses. What I want to know is why it should cost close to a thousand dollars for new glasses.  (Two pair, but still, I don't have insurance that  covers eyeglasses, so I get to pay the whole thing.)  The cost of anything remotely related to medical care or equipment in this country is just insane.  My great grandfather would be appalled.  People paid him in chickens or apples on occasion.  He wasn't in medicine to make money.  He was in it to help people.  Probably why he practiced in Washington County, Arkansas for more than 60 years.  Yup.  He was 90 something when he died, and he was still practicing not long before he died.
  Why isn't education as lucrative as medicine?
 I mean, most people who go into teaching or into library work do so because they love helping others learn and discover new things.  It is a holy calling, not a mere profession.  Medicine should be that way.  Of all the so-called professions, it would seem to me that the desire to heal people and keep people healthy would be a motive to go into medicine, and that it would be a holy calling, not just a way to make the big bucks. 
Oh, well.  I am just rambling, not constructing a cohesive post, I am afraid.  Time to quit.

Sunday Observations

Some random thoughts I had at church this morning.

The birds are once again building nests in the lights above the cloister walk.   There is a rather large one in the light just outside the doors to the narthex. 

We have so many lovely young people who regularly participate in our services as acolytes.  Three of those who served today are kids that I remember as chubby toddlers.  How odd to see them almost completely grown up, and so faithful to service in our church.  We are family, and as in all families, the little ones grow up much too fast!  (They make the rest of us feel so old!)

Ordination really is forever.  We have a number of retired clergy who worship with us at the cathedral.  Often there will be more ordained clergy in the nave than in the chancel..  It is nice that we have many who are willing to step up and help out when our regular clergy are busy elsewhere, or need a break.  Our retired clergy, like our youngsters, are some of our treasures at St. Paul's.  We have so much to be grateful for as a community of believers.  The best thing we have though, is each other.  We grow and learn and stumble and suffer together.  We also rejoice and celebrate together. 

Some Sundays, when most of the choir is sneezing and snuffling, and yet, the music comes out sounding wonderful; those are the Sundays when those of us who sing know that our song is very much an example of the Grace of God at work.