And now, the desk....

 

And here is the cabinet. I'll put up the clock tomorrow. I didn't help with the desk. Pillar and his good friend put it together in no time. Our little office feels quite lovely now. There is still a bit of organizing to do, but there's plenty of time for that.

Check. It. Out.

I'm not sure how big the picture from the website will be, but once the office at our home is put back together, I'll be sure to post close-up pictures of our project today. Pillar and I started around noon and finished at 4:15. We constructed a fancy armoire for the office - the kind with a flip-down desk top and storage for books, bills and other office stuff.

Over four hours of work, a gazillion parts and pieces, and Not. One. Argument.

I think we deserve a special award or something.

We completely rock. Seriously.

And now....

...the desk.

Tin Man

We watched the whole series the other day and LOVED it.



I pretty much love Zoey Deschanel in everything she does, but as Dorothy in a leather jacket and with a ton of attitude - well, she was fabulous. Definitely worth renting if you like sci-fi, or anything Wizard of Oz-ish. I liked that they didn't try to turn it into another version of Wicked, which I also loved (hey, that's funny - get it? Wicked, "witch"....ah, never mind) but is an entirely different story.



24 Redemption was also good, but alas, only 2 hours long. *sigh* That's just not enough Jack B for one Christmas.

Otherwise, life is good. We had a fun and relaxed Wassail service this morning. I think it was the best one we've had since I've been at LCotC. It was fun and kind of "fluid" in a really good way.

For the moment, I am committed to my slug-like lifestyle, though I did walk up the stairs tonight after dinner for some exercise.

This may well be the most boring post I've ever published. Another record broken. If you're looking for me I'll be reading, relaxing and recovering from a busy Christmas week.

ta ta

RevGal Friday Five: Boxing Day Edition

Over at the RevGal site, Mary Beth says:

It's Boxing Day!

Whatever that may mean to you, I invite you on this day to simply share five things that today, December 26th, will bring for you.

Boxing day is relaxation day for me. I'm doing as little as possible. Normally, Pillar and I would begin our marathon viewing of the previous season of 24. This year, because of the writer's strike and Keifer's little visit to the big house, we only get a sneak peak of the upcoming season. We've already watched 24 Redemption - the tv movie leading into the new season. It's really good. Should be a good season - which we will be watching a year from now. (We don't watch it week by week during the year, too many cliff-hangers each week. Besides, when you watch it all at once, you really get into it).

So. Here is our plan for Boxing Day.

1. We will not be shopping. Anywhere. For anything. We were so blessed yesterday with beautiful, thoughtful gifts that we just don't need to go face crowds at malls or anywhere else. *shudders*

2. Eat leftovers. My sister brought ham and lasagna to add to our turkey dinner leftovers. *burp* ('scuse me)

3. Nappage. (ya, like that wasn't going to be on the list)

4. Go for a walk following said nappage.

5. Watch Tin Man. I've never seen this series, but I hear it's very good. It's a modern take on the Wizard of Oz from the Sci-Fi channel, which we don't get.

Bonus: Now that I have a cool iPod doc with great speakers - I can listen to music later on without the headphones on!

Merry Christmas from Ouzo and Truffle

Of course, neither of us would ever dress up in a costume of any sort, so we had to go looking for another cat who would.

Just the same, Merry Christmas or Merry Catmas, whichever you celebrate.

(Photo courtesy of cuteoverload)

Happy Christmas

Well, with hours to spare (good thing I sent it early, right?), the parcel finally arrived in Big Western City and is safely in our son's hands. Whew.

UPS will still be getting a letter from us. No question. There is no excuse for that kind of poor "We-Don't-Care" service. None.

Anyway - here we are - Christmas Eve. Two services tonight at LCotC. One will be slightly different than in other years, but I'm kind of excited about it. It will have a reflective, contemplative feel to it that I'm looking forward to quite a bit.

The traditional seafood casserole is ready for supper (early, so I can get to the church), gifts are wrapped, and all is quiet here at Chez Oz. So quiet in fact, that nappage may occur if certain kittehs are so inclined.

My sister dropped off Scotch Eggs for tomorrow's breakfast (YUM!) and my FIL dropped off the turkey for tomorrow's dinner.

All is well. All is well. And all manner of things is well.

And to all a good night.

Merry Christmas everyone, from our home to yours.

On a Lighter Note...

Find the cat in this picture....



Do you see her?

Here's a give-away shot. Her fave hiding place these days is in the pile-o-pillows on the bed.

A Cranky-Pants Apology

Sorry about the rant. Sorry I was cranky this morning Wonderful Church Secretary - (yeah, like you needed me griping this morning)- I'll make it up to you somehow. Anyway, it's Christmas, I miss my son, his parcel got messed up, and I had a major case of the Christmas-crankies.

Sorry. Really.

The best part was that I felt so good by the time I left. You and Former Wonderful Church Secretary can do that - change around a bad mood. You should know that.

Also, nice work this morning to our local author who had a successful book signing!! Well done, friend. You deserve the success you are having with your book. I know how hard you've worked on it. I know that it is more like something you have birthed than simply words you have put to paper. You are autographing a part of yourself with every edition you sell and I couldn't be happier for you. Well done.

Nappage time for me I think.

A Christmas-themed slice of hell via UPS

I'm going to highlight UPS and their terrible service here so that if anyone googles UPS they will end up here and find out that UPS is not a company you EVER want to deal with. EVER.

I mailed a parcel through UPS on December 3rd, foolishly thinking that it might arrive in a large Western city for my son in time for Dec 24th.

It has been "lost" in the stupid UPS tracking system since December 12th.

the 12th.

Gone. Just Gone. So. A couple of alternatives present themselves. Our son, whom we love very much, can sit alone on Christmas morning in Large Western City and wonder why his parents never sent him anything OR we can order something else that WILL arrive on time and he can open on Thursday.

His gifts and his stocking still belong to the Evil Empire known as UPS.

So, Dear UPS, if you ever happen to find our parcel, please forward it to our son. It contains his Christmas stocking and a bunch of cool stuff. If you happen to find it. If you decide it's important enough to look for it. If you ever decide to let your cold, tiny hearts grow three sizes, please be sure to let me know. Otherwise, you are dead to me. Dead.

My advice friends - don't use UPS. Also, you will recall that a couple of years ago, our son's gifts to us did not arrive because of a Canada Post mess that left hundreds of customers without parcel-delivery (some bad people in the GTA were arrested after multiple thefts - including our stuff). So we tried to play it safe, paid a LOT more money through UPS - they may as well have held a gun to my head - and this is the result.

Honestly, do I have to start in September and WALK to Large Western City to make sure one box gets there????? What is the matter with this country????

Oh, and UPS, Merry-flipping Christmas.

(Hat tip to my friend Sue for the multi-linkage idea) :)

Today

It's VERY cold out there. We woke up to -34C. Yikes. I'm waiting for it to warm up this afternoon, then I'll go for a walk. Really.

I love this video...



And now, the list of things to do:

1. Tend to the details of both Christmas Eve services (prayers, announcements etc...)

2. Decide on music for late service. It will all be canned music except for Silent Night at the end.

3. Take out the seafood to thaw for our traditional Christmas Eve seafood casserole. It takes a few days for the canned lobster to thaw in the fridge.

4. Breathe.

5. Go for a walk. Later.

6. Relax. About everything.

7. Wrap a few remaining gifts.

8. Relax. It will all come and go whether I fret or not.

9. Drop off things borrowed from church for yesterdays coffee-hosting.

10. Relax. Breathe.

11. Prepare a short (and I mean really short) homily for the late Christmas Eve service. It seems that every year I decide at the last minute that I need to say a few words about The Story.
The pageant yesterday was perfect. The children did such a wonderful job and our Music Director should be sainted. She even got the little wee toddlers up to the front for part of the pageant. It was great, mildly chaotic and filled with God's presence.

Coffee time - Pillar did all the work. He was pretty exhausted last night. Every time I tried to help, I was distracted by ministerial-type schmoozing. So many people brought goodies, sandwiches, breads etc - so food wasn't an issue. Mostly P had to keep the coffee and tea flowing. Still, I felt bad that I didn't spend more time in the kitchen.

The afternoon ended with a visit from a local author and his delightful family. It was the best way to end a good afternoon.

It's early yet, but that's it so far for today.

Happy Christmas to one and all.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will tell you how lovely our coffee-hosting time was. Tomorrow I will tell you how much work I need to do in the next three days, not to complain, but because lists make me feel like I have it all under control (Riiiiiiiggghhttttt). Tomorrow I will think about all that work. Tomorrow I will tell how purely delightful our Children's Pageant was today. Tomorrow I will remember to breathe deeply at least once every hour. Tomorrow I will go for a walk - regardless of the weather - that's what polar fleece was invented for. Tomorrow I will watch "It's a Wonderful Life" again, because once a season isn't enough.

Tomorrow.

For tonight, I'm just going to sleep.

Point form tie-tie Friday report

* Yes, I do know that everyone else is bone tired too. I feel a need to say it anyway.

* Tomorrow - early rehearsal for the Children's pageant which is on Sunday. Thus, no sermon this week, which is why we're hosting the coffee hour here at Chez Oz following worship. I'm looking forward to it. After the rehearsal however, I will be cleaning Chez Oz.

* The good folk of LCotC know that I don't bake.

* No one will go hungry on Sunday after worship. Baking has been showing up at our home in remarkable volumes.

* It warmed up to -18 or so today. Heat wave. Seriously.

* My feet are all tingly and falling asleep. This may or may not have something to do with the cat sleeping on my shins.

* Time to move kitteh - can't feel the feet.

* It took a LOT of work to get the big Christmas tree upstairs from the storage locker. Then I made several trips to bring up boxes of ornaments. We're debating about whether we need such a big tree next year. It's hard to give up traditions, but it might be time. I'll take lots of pics this year in case we go for the smaller, simpler tree next year.

A Reprieve of Sorts

My appointment with Wonderful Therapist was canceled because she couldn't get in to work. Too much snow. Too much drifting. Too much cold.

So naturally I took the opportunity to go out.

Hey, I never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer...

Bonus: When it's -33C with the wind chill, there are no line-ups ANYWHERE. People look at you a little funny, but I'm used to that. No biggie.

After an hour or so, I had done enough, and was cold enough, so I came home where it is warm and had a nap. My appointment with WT is re-scheduled for Friday.

Is it really bad that I want to eat the marshmallow chocolate Santa that Pillar is supposed to put in my stocking next week? I can hear it calling my name.The worst part is that I know EXACTLY where they are.

All Things.

I probably don't have to tell you that my favourite biblical passage (from the Epistles, because really, anything read from Luke is also a fave) is Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

What you may or may not know is how many nights over three years of pain I sat in the living room, unable to sleep, repeating that verse over and over and over until I fell asleep in the chair. Well, let's just say there were plenty. Too many. Now I seem hard-wired to this passage. I say it when I'm stressed, or full of doubt about my own capabilities, or when I'm trying to relax. All good religious practice involves a good mantra, right? Well, this one works for me.

My brother-in-law sent me this video today. The week ahead is busier than I've been since April. Some church stuff, some not. But busy. And full of challenge. Today I say goodbye to Wonderful Therapist. I have a new one and I know I will build something good and helpful with her too, but today is going to be tough.

So, I'll remember my mantra, and I'll remember that what I think of as "tough" is nothing compared to what others are living even as I type this. What I think of as "tough" is nothing compared to what this father was able to do for his son.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Red Screen Day

We Canadians love our weather. It's a national obsession. We talk about weather a LOT. I stood in line after I put gas in Betsy, our aging mini-van, and virtually everyone in line was talking about the same thing. Not the price of gas (which is remarkably low), not the upcoming holiday season. No. The weather.

Today is a Red Screen Warning day on our national Weather Network. Pillar and I have come to love the Saturday and Sunday morning guy, Chris, because he just LOVES the weather. He oozes excitement about jet streams and Colorado lows. But really, he's just Canadian.

Anyway, the Red Screen only appears when there is dangerous weather in the region. Tonight and tomorrow we are looking at possible accumulations of 30 cm of snow and high winds bringing a whopping wind chill value of -40C (which is the same as -40F, for those keeping track).

So - lots of snow. Dangerously cold temps.

I'm thinking that not many people will hear my sermon tomorrow. One sort of has to expect that at least ONE Sunday in Advent will involve a snow storm. I'm just glad it's not next week when the Children's Cantata takes place. The children would be super disappointed after all of their practice.

I went to the church today so the liturgical dancers could have their practice, but I was sure to tell them that if the weather is too nasty, they ought to stay home. If the storm is bad, we'll read the Magnificat and save their beautiful interpretation for next year.

I'm praying that my colleagues in the region travel safely if they need to get from one charge to the next and that the storm doesn't make our already dangerous two-laned highways even more dangerous. (I've been praying for four-lane travel roads along the lake for so long I've lost track - they are treacherous and likely the worst in the country - but with snow, they make me shudder).

As it turns out, I'm even closer to LCotC than I was during last year's Advent, so if the roads aren't cleared, I'll just walk down the hill. No prob.

We had the loveliest dinner last night with all of my family who live here in town. We went to a nice restaurant and celebrated the holidays a bit early. The best part is that no one has to stress about cooking or cleaning up - we can just enjoy a good visit together. It was great.

My sisters and I, along with my Dad's partner are planning a Valentine's mani/pedi/facial spa day. You see, when no one has to fuss about with dinner, there's plenty of time to make brilliant plans for self-care. I enjoy this dinner more every year.

Stay safe on those roads friends. The snow's on the way...

Just a few thoughts...

* Why don't I own this yet? Surely I don't hear enough cats "talking" around here, right? Still, the jingle cats are Teh Cute, yes?

* Our Truffle has discovered that the most effective way to wake us up is to walk across our faces. She has a point. It works.

* I think my Christmas shopping is done. I've cut back a LOT this year and have tried to shop locally. We have so many great local merchants and those big box stores make me feel really claustrophobic. I really prefer the small and friendly intimacy of the local shops. Besides, a clerk at Big Department Store was uber-cranky the other day and she only confirmed my determination to shop elsewhere.

* I survived another 7:00 a.m. breakfast meeting. I want the t-shirt.

* I Love watching it snow from the 4th floor. Really. It's better than tv.

* I love that Caroline Kennedy has a tattoo. Her cool factor was already very high, but this puts her over the top.

* We're hosting coffee time after church next week - here at our new home - I'm really looking forward to it. I may need to borrow some spoons from the church. I only have 8. Will I need more? I think yes.

* Some baking for said coffee time has already been purchased. I will need to pick up a cheese tray or something, but I'll check in with the experts about how to do all of this. Really, what do I know about hosting coffee hour? Um, nothing. Anyway - it will be fun to have guests. Imagine. Guests!

I love a good story

The other night at the "Never Again" birthday party, one of the gifts received by the birthday girl was a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. (roughly pronounced "vuuhv klee-koh")

Leading the sheltered life that I've had, and not being much of a drinker, I did not know the wonderful history behind this particular brand of champagne. To make a long story short - this was one fabulous woman, waaaaay ahead of her time. You see, her husband started the bubbly wine biz way back in 1772, and then he died.

The word "Veuve" is French for "Widow".

The assumption at the time was that Madame Clicquot's sons would take over the family business and continue with the winery. But she would have nothing of it. She had worked those fields. She had helped her partner in life to grow the company. Was she going to step aside? Not a chance.

The community around her were appalled. They assumed the business would go under and her family would live with her shame for all time.

Veuve Clicquot remains one of the best-selling champagnes in the world and has the honour of having the royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth the second in the UK.

Like I said - I love a good story. But a good story about a strong woman - now THAT will put a smile on my face any day.

*picture of Madame Clicquot and her grand-daughter from Wiki.

Wow.

What a day to live in Illinois!!

The Governor's a criminal punk. That's bad.

The window and door people are going back to work. That's good.

Quiet day here... we had a lovely visit with a friend. Otherwise, pretty low key day. The tree is up (as noted below) but undecorated. That's for another day.

Sometimes an actual Sabbath is as necessary as breathing. A day when you don't run errands, or do laundry, or dust. Just a day to be.

It's been a good day. Unless you're the governor of IIinois, of course. If you look up "Busted" in the dictionary, you'll find this guy's picture.

The Tree is up

more animals

I'll post our own pictures once the decorations walk up from the storage locker. Right now I'm DONE. Next year - smaller tree - less to carry from the locker to the elevator. Live and learn...

Never Again

This time I mean it.

If your birthday or the celebration thereof happens to occur on a Saturday evening, you will have to accept my apologies because I will NOT be attending.

I went to the 50th birthday party of a good friend last evening. I had some suspicion when the fete didn't start until 7:00 pm and it was a dinner party. I thought it might be a later night than I would be comfortable with, but I went anyway. It was fun, I will say that much. Well, mostly fun.

We started with a cocktail and appetizers. It was a ladies-only event. The birthday girl was given a tiara and boa for the evening (which required formal wear) and the rest of us were given boas and fluffy boa-like slippers to warm our toes.

Fun, yes?

The food was amazing. All of it. Lots of it. Way too much of it. You see, I don't generally eat AT ALL after 6:00 pm or so. So imagine my surprise when we played GAMES between each course of the dinner (sorry, but I really am not a fan of party games such as those played at baby and bridal showers - never have been).

It was 10:00 p.m. before we got the main course. I had a full plate of rice, veggies and a delicious chicken/crab meat combo in front of me. It was very good, but I knew at that point that there would be no sleep for this girl last night. And there wasn't. My poor tummy just didn't know what to make of this late meal.

There were some light moments. One of the gifts was a large selection of chocolates and some lovely lingerie......which led naturally into stories of foundational undergarments - which, as you well know, are the basic requirements of any good outfit. One woman at the table was wearing Oprah's favourite bra. How she got it away from Oprah, well, we did not ask.

I issued my usual rant about the need to ban white cotton granny panties and how there is no good reason for any woman to wear them, ever. At which point the Stodgy Lutheran Woman (whom I had not met until last evening) gave an audible huff and straitened her back to a degree I thought physically impossible. I guess she won't be visiting my church. I also suspect she was wearing a pair.

I learned about something called Spanx (am I spelling that correctly?) through a story from one of the ladies that left all of us with tears rolling down our faces from laughing so hard. I had no idea about the "trap door" - such a sheltered life I've led. Really, it was hilarious.

So, the evening was lovely and fun (except for occasional moments from SLW - with apologies to my Lutheran friends - she just didn't know how to have fun). There was a lot of food involved. And good stories. I didn't drink except a bit of the first cocktail.

I honestly thought I would be home by 9:00.

NOT.

It was close to midnight before the cake was served (delish) and the gifts were opened. After that, it was off into the cold night with the hostess' sons as designated drivers - nice touch. We went clad in our boas for extra protection against the wind.

This morning - at least six people at church asked if I was okay. I looked like hell warmed over, so it's no wonder they asked. I hadn't slept a wink and all I had to bring this morning was my best. It wasn't much, maybe my F-game or my G-game, but definitely NOT my A-game.

Lesson learned.

I don't care if you're the Queen of England, if you're party is on a Saturday night, I won't be there. I'll be at home where I belong - preparing for worship.

Guest Bloggers: Ouzo and Truffle

Mom has a busy day today, so we thought we would show you what we have planned for the day, or at least until supper time. Here it is:

Truffle plans to sleep on the pile-o-pillows...



While Ouzo contemplates life by the front window...



(for the record, Ouzo will sleep as soon as Mom steps out the door. But for now he is thinking about important things like his southern cousin Fish.

RevGal Friday Five: Simplicity

Sally over at theRevGals site says (in part - head over to read her intro, it's wonderful.):

...And yet our shops and stores and often our lives are caught up in a world that looks very much like the one of ancient Rome, where we worship at the shrine of consumerism....

Advent on the other hand calls us into the darkness, a time of quiet preparation, a time of waiting, and re-discovering the wonder of the knowledge that God is with us. Advent's call is to simplicity and not abundance, a time when we wait for glorious light of God to come again...

Christ is with us at this time of advent, in the darkness, and Christ is coming with his light- not the light of the shopping centre, but the light of love and truth and beauty.

What do you long for this advent? What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What is your prayer today?
In the vein of simplicity I ask you to list five advent longings....

It has been a full day, but a good one. My sermon, such as it is, is done. Peter's doc visit went really well. Even with MS and diabetes, he's a pretty healthy guy! The only downside was that Peter ratted me out and told our doc that I'll be turning 50 in July. Doc is pretty strict about the ole colonoscopy at 50 rule. Ick. I will cross that unpleasant bridge when I get to it.... but I digress.

Simplicity. Advent. Why do those words sound like paradox? Ah, for all the reasons Sally mentioned....

Here are my five Advent longings:

1. Balance. I know it is a busy time of year for many people. I do everything in my power to take as much chaos out of the season as is humanly possible. I've been doing this for three years out of necessity, but it has taught me an important lesson in balancing personal need and all the "stuff" that happens just because it has always happened. What my pain taught me was that it doesn't take long to figure out what really is necessary, and what is habit that has plenty of wiggle room for change as needed.

2. Connection. I want to feel grounded this year. Like my feet don't just stand on the earth, but connect with it in a deeper way. In seminary we were taught about the "Golden Thread" that runs from sky to earth and through us from head to toe. I believe it goes deeper than that and connects us in a profound way to the core of the earth we share.

3. Presence. I guess this is another way of saying that I want to live and BE in every moment of Advent, instead of wishing it away week by week. (Oh come on, like you've never said, "One down, three to go????") This year, I want to be Present in every way in worship and through the season. It feels like a long time since I've really felt that way. The past three Christmases have been acts of survival. This one will be different.

3. Presents. Herein lies my problem with simplicity. I still like to give presents. I still like to get presents. I like to think I bear some vague resemblance to the Magi who came bearing gifts. But really, I just like that magic Christmas morning feeling. We will miss Awesome again this year, which makes me sad, but he is doing the Christmas thing with friends Out West, so he'll be fine. His mama will be pining for him, but he's a grown man (yes, I know that) and I need to get right with that - even at Christmas time. BTW - Awesome - your package is enroute. Don't open it until Christmas. Srsly.

4. Peace. That sounds so "Miss Congeniality" but really, that's what it's all about, right? All the pageant prep and sermons and services of carols and lessons - it's all about Peace and our collective yearning for a world with more of it - a lot more.

5. Healing. For everyone who suffers this year. So many that I cannot and will not name, but whose needs for love and healing rest gently on my soul and never leave. Their suffering comes to mind during my day and I pray where I am and whatever I am doing. You know who you are mostly, and you need to know that I'm praying....

There are more, but for the sake of simplicity, that's all. As you were...

Suboccipital Celebration Dance

I'm doing a happy dance this afternoon. I went to see my uber-physiotherapist today because I've had this annoying return of head pain. She did some poking around and testing of trigger points and discovered that my original problem areas are still latent (Yay!!!) but my suboccipital area on the right side nearly made me leap off the table.

So she did some acupuncture on that area after she loosened it all up with a bit of flexing and manipulation, as well as a bit of craniosacral work.

No pain.

Gonzo.

She sent me home with the usual list of exercises and instructions, which I will do religiously if it means feeling this good.

It's not necessarily a good thing that this area has flared up and caused me some grief, but it could be waaaaaay worse.

It's been a good day.

Even my hair looks fabulous. Just sayin....

Hilarious

Session 9

Just so you know - Session 9 - my second to last structural integration session didn't feel so painful at the time. However, now that several hours have passed, I feel like I have done 1000 tummy crunches (formerly known as sit-ups) and it hurts like crazy. It is most astonishing that I'm actually PAYING this person to do this to me.

The process, as a whole, is incredibly beneficial. If it were not, there would be no session 10. I'm actually going to be very sad when I'm done. The day of the treatment I usually feel like I've been pretty beaten up, but the next week or so afterward, I feel sooooooo good.

And I'm quite sure that I'm taller now. I'm going to check that out on Monday when I see my doc. My SI practitioner told me I would gain an inch by the end of the protocol. I'll keep you posted. I could be 5'1" for the first time in my life! Tall!!

G'nite. It's been a long day.

New in a good way...

Change can be difficult for people. I get that. In general, I don't react negatively to change. I've spoken here before about how little I become attached to buildings and to "stuff" - it just doesn't matter to me. I don't miss our old house. I really don't. I am so overwhelmingly delighted with our new digs that I barely think of the place we left. It is someone else's home now, not ours.

Today I had two different kinds of change. I met for the first time with my new therapist. She is delightful. She reminds me a bit of my seminary room-mate, who was also doing a doctorate in psychology. She is kind and a good listener. She will never replace my first and former therapist who has been SO good to me over the years, but I know how these things have to be, and I'm ready now to move on. Besides, I get one more session with Wonderful First Therapist in a few weeks, just to say thank you for....well, for everything. I want to bring her a gift, but what do you give to someone who gently held your heart while you looked at the broken parts of it and tried to put it all back together? What do you give to someone who changed your life so dramatically as she has changed mine?

I also met with my Occupational Therapist and learned a LOT about what OTs do. I had no idea. I think our work together will be very helpful. We set some goals and got to know one another a bit better since our last meeting included about seven other people. I've never worked with an OT before. It's new. It's a change. But a welcome one, especially if it helps to keep the head pain at bay.

Speaking of which, I spoke so boldly about honesty in an earlier post and then failed to mention that, yes, my head hurts again. Not to the same extent, and certainly not every day, but yes - I've had a couple of rough days. Interestingly, not on work days. I'm continuing to see all the right people, including my physio, to keep it from getting any worse. So there you have it. When I start to hurt, I take a breath and realize:

a) that it is not as disabling as it once was,
b) now I know what will relieve the pain,
c) I know I will not spend every day for the rest of my life hurting.

That last one was the worst part of my three years in hell....that no one could tell me it would ever end. Now I know that if it gets bad enough, I travel South of Here and visit Dr. BA who changed everything for me in the summer. In the meantime, I have an appointment with a local doc who does a similar kind of treatment. I see him in January.

So it's been a day of new things, changes in various shapes and forms, none of which are freaking me out. I've also intentionally let go of the anxiety about my gradual work return that was keeping me awake at night and not helping in any way. It will all play out as it should. Where did all this perspective come from???? I'm not sure, but I'm liking it. It makes the world a much easier place to live in.

20 years

Today is the 20th year of World AIDS Day. Back in the late 80s, I volunteered for a fledgling advocacy group that was started locally by three very strong and committed men who had seen too many of their own friends die because of complications from AIDS.

I had seen AIDS patients treated so poorly and with so little respect in the hospital where I was working that I just felt I had to do something. I could not NOT do something. So I volunteered in an office the size of a closet and watched an amazing agency grow from one office to the next, from three staff to twenty, to even more.

The whole time, the goal of the agency has been to put itself out of business. The goal is to have no need for an AIDS advocacy group because AIDS would be wiped out, stomped out, or vaccined out of existence. After twenty years, that goal remains.

May it be so.

Why yes...

...I do have an oven.

It was installed today.

Whatever shall I do with it?????

Monday Advent Retreat

Over at the RevGals site, there are three reflections for a Monday Advent Retreat. Have I mentioned lately how much this circle of friends has carried me and inspired me over the past few years? Well, if I haven't, I've been remiss. I need these reflections today more than I can say.

Thanks friends.

First, these words from Kathryn:

So these words are for us, too.
“Do not fear…. Here is your God”
Whatever happens to the ephemera around us, that is something we can rely on.
May we keep God as the focus as we prepare the way for his coming to each of us at Christmas.

Then this from Songbird:

But perhaps being scattered and disturbed means leaving those assumed comforts behind. God’s joyful world to come is not about malls and sales or success and victory. God’s joyful world to come will disturb us, as surely as a baby’s cry wakes us in the night and demands our attention.

For Reflection
1. What demands your attention in this Advent season?
2. What in your life needs to be scattered by God's arm?
3. What brings you joy?

For Prayer: Scattering God, disturb us with your joy that we might share it with others in this Advent season. Remind us of the courage of a young woman who said "yes" to you, a young woman who understood the way you desired to change the world. Help us to be agents of that change, we ask in the name of the one for whom we wait, Jesus Christ. Amen.

And finally, a reflection from our dear Juniper:

For further reflection
The angel advises Mary not to be afraid. What do you think were some of Mary's feelings in her conversation with the angel? How have you felt when you've become aware of a new call from God?

Imagine beginning each day with the prayer "let it be with me according to your word." How might such a prayer alter the rhythm of your days?

After Mary hears the news from the angel, she goes to be with Elizabeth, an older cousin. Can you think of other women who have mentored or sheltered you?

What is God calling you to give birth to in this advent season?

Prayer
Mothering God, Source of all that is, embolden me to welcome your angels at my windowsill, however surprising their news. Give me the courage to ask questions, the wisdom to follow in your way and the tenderness to receive the care of others. Amen.

A lot to ponder on a winter Monday. My day's work is done, so now I have some time to reflect. Thanks everyone for the questions, the challenges and the thought-provoking reflections for today.