Final Moon, B Cycle

Last night the keeper stayed up late to finish some unfinished projects--a wedding relfection, an evaluation, turkey soup making. We were napping soundly when she looked out the front window that faces west, and shrieked, "The moon! Look at it! In the west! It's November and we can see it!" So, yes, we moved to the table and she went outside to catch it shining through the trees, the leaves dancing in its light. Of course we stayed in. She was wise to keep us in because we love to roam when the moon is out!

We stayed in some more while she went to the office and then to a wedding at her old church. She came home and said it was one of the most exquisitely prepared, simply elegant, and sincere weddings she has participated in. She knew the bride since she arrived at the old church. The bride was then 13. The groom is one of the nicest young men, as are his friends and family. The reception was at the Women's University Club, elegant in itself, but made more so by the hospitality of the families, the eloquence and sincerity of the toasting, and love emanating from both families. It's our feline observation that weddings can bring out the drama queen in any normally sane person. But, it sounds like this one was from the heart without the theatrics. Cheers to Rebecca and Jarred!

We begin Advent now. We dug out the clay advent wreath and the candles. We will have to put up with the singing of that little song every night now. But perhaps if we are patient, the hamsters will show up with the Baby Jesus!

Black Friday Walking

Today we were more than a little disappointed because the keeper did not participate in the Black Friday madness. This means she did not try to find our hamsters. But instead she took a long walk outside because it was such a beautiful day. And she let us go outside as well. But it was chilly and we ruffed up our fur to sun ourselves on the hot tub. She brought back wild tales of what she had seen and heard throughout her walk.

She had set out in a disturbed sense of being after reading about the human smuggler who kept the immigrants in a garage with a lock on the refrigerator, who sexually abused the children, and who threatened to cut out the tongues of anyone who reported him. She knows that this goes on all over the place and that the community does too. And thank God for the children who told their teachers about what was happening to them. They may be able to get a special visa to stay here now.

But on the walk her spirits lightened. " . . .(N)ature is never spent..." She found flowers still blooming in the middle of twigs and brush and rose hips, she found holly berries heavy on stems, she found a space ship that had landed in a neighbor's driveway. She saw Kirkland across the lake, a stone lion who had been unable to protect his deceased owners' home from the new owner's rehab efforts. She saw pumpkins recycled into turkeys with ridiculous polka dot bows.
And she stood and listened to the creek running brightly through the neighborhood woods.
And she saw a sign pleading for everyone to look for Milo, an orange and white cat. As soon as she got home, she made us come inside for the rest of the day. We are being kept safe from feline smugglers, those coyotes with four legs instead of two.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tonight we are a very grateful household. The day started off with the keeper heading down to the cathedral for the Mass and she said it was wonderfully full, with everyone loaded down with sacks of food, and the women's schola sang angelically, and the assembly's songs were meaningful and not patriotic drivel. She loved how everyone moved the mountain of food to the rectory basement and headed for coffee and good donuts after. She met a lady named Cynthia who is a Lakota Sioux, and she had a nice conversation with Mary before heading out home to get the dinner started. By the way, the remedy is working well. She only coughed at the inscensings.

But what a feast we had. The best turkey,all natural, that the keeper roasted on top of a bed of herbs she had grown in the garden, and some onions and garlic and parsnips, and carrots and parsley, and she smeared the turkey with olive oil and rosemary and paprika, and several hours later the house was all turkey and sweet sage and rosemary. Then her friends J and W showed up with their part of the dinner and it is now over. "It is so delicious!" they kept exclaiming at each course. But we were so well behaved. We are shooting for those hamsters..... But there is a photo above of Alice waiting for J and W to finish the potatoes and the gravy so she can get her share of the bird. As you will notice the other photo catches me napping until they noticed I might be hungry. I am way more subtle than Alice is.

The keeper added a Martha Stewart touch by filling tumblers with water and cranberries and f floating candles in them and placing them as the centerpiece. We were impressed for sure! Everyone finally left and we finally got to have a turkey reward for being so good. Everything gets moved to the den when company comes. But by midnight tonight the last dishes were done and the refrigerator was as full as it has been since last Thanksgiving! Now the keeper is ours again, and so is the turkey.

This is also Ginny's birthday, so we all say...!Feliz Cupleanos, Virginia!

Polka Dots and Umcka!

We said our farewell to Dorothy today and the keeper's voice did not disappear during the funeral. A nice crowd gathered, and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren! After, the keeper headed to Central Market for tapenade for TG and then stopped in the wholistic health section and hoarsely shouted, " Help!" The clerk was knowledgeable and took her over to the SINUS section. She left with tapenade and a product called Umcka Care, another one of those best selling remedies in Europe. It comes the Zulus in Africa and has something called pelargonium sidoides, a species of geranium in the area. Within 1/2 hour of putting the drops on her tongue, the congestion disappeared, the head cleared. It was miraculous. Pretty amazing.

On her way back from the office this afternoon, she decided the hills were so beautiful, with shocks of yellow and orange and purple she had to take some photos. So she went to the river park in Bothell, where she had never been before, and was so taken by the river and the bridge and the peacefulness of it, she forgot about the hills. Then she was overwhelmed by ducks, and seagulls who were bossing the ducks around. Herding them. And the gulls had polka dot tails! Do they always have polka dot tail feathers? We are hoping that she is getting in gear to start chasing those ZHU ZHU hamsters for us. We did a little checking on Amazon and they cost 5 times as much there!

Well, we are getting excited for the turkey tomorrow!

Keeping an Eye on the Keeper

We are keeping tabs on the keeper who is still recovering. She is now drinking chicken broth with chile peppers in it.
We suppose this helps. Her voice is very low and much more interesting. And she has to use her voice all the rest of the week to preach with. And host a TG dinner. So, we are watching over her pretty well, making sure she doesn't go outside and try to rake the yard, or work out in the rain.
Just trying to be helpful. She actually worked all day at her computer for work since the rest of the week isn't for work.
She seems to have a lot on her mind. SO we are being kind.

Keeper at ( Sick) Bay

This was the view of the evening sky when the keeper left her office late Sunday afternoon. She says if she had a better camera we could see how truly stunning it was. But we got the general picture. She left home on Sunday morning not feeling well, all stuffed up and aching, disregarding the stern advice she gives to everyone else who is thinking of going into work sick. "Maybe it's an allergic reaction. It will get better," she thought. It didn't, but after 4 packets of Emergen-C, cough drops, aspirin, and nose drops, she says she was able to function for and with her Young Adults. The only other sickly one was the intern, who was a few days ahead of her with the sickness. So, we know where it came from. So, after a night of chicken noodle soup, pizza, vegies, and with a strong shot of single malt scotch before bed, she retired.

We helped her by sleeping on her head and staying close by. She did not mind, and spent most of the day resting before doing some TG shopping. We don't think she found us the hamsters yet. ( see previous blog post.) But she found a new remedy besides scotch. Oscillococcinum. It's homeopathic. She puts in on her tongue and she does feel better. It's the biggest flu remedy in France.

We did get to watch a very fine never heard of movie last night ---Amexicano. It tells the story of an unemployed Italian man from Queens who ends up having to work as a day laborer and wait for employers to fire them from the sidewalk. It's a very touching commentary on the human condition, friendship across culture, and the reality of the day laborer. It's a first movie with relatively unknown actors. Excellent! 5 paws!

We think she is getting better. She is posting this blog for us. Maybe we will see another movie tonight.

Hamster Dreams

Dear Santa Cat,

We saw them on tv. We want those hamsters for Christmas. If they need batteries, be sure to include them. We have been unbelievably good. The keeper may mention that thing about one of us stealing the chicken off of her plate. It slipped off, really. And we had to drag it off the carpet to protect the new rug from getting stained with all of that herbal juice and oil. So, she yelled at us. You should note that childish outburst on her part. She should not get a hamster.

Besides it's the Feast of Christ the King, and Fr.R gave a good homily tonight about the kind of power which people like her should be using. We don't think Cristo Rey ever yelled at animals.

But he did forgive people who yell at them. And so do we.

Remember, two hamsters in 2 different colors, so we don't confuse them.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Prince Anastassi and Lady Alice

Thank You, Dorothy, and Godspeed

The keeper's friend Dorothy died several days ago. She had the best garden, and loved working in hers. She and Eloy were great pals and she always said they understood each other's need to plant beauty. She was smart and was an early leader as an accountant who was a woman. She felt very strongly about the role of women in the church and was very supportive of the keeper's role. She helped us to get ready to move to this house ten years ago. The keeper will be part of her funeral this coming week. We are all grateful for Dorothy's presence in our lives.

On other notes, we have been mostly indoors. The weather has been wet and windy. I ran out a few times, but didn't want to stay out. Alice and I slept a lot. The keeper has been gone a lot. She had a talk to give and lots and lots of meetings. She said the talk went well--on liturgical ministry and discipleship. She says she is staying home tomorrow just to write. This means we will be on our own again. We can't wait for spring.

All the Leaves are Down

The leaves are all on the ground now, save a few hanging on for dear life. The rain stopped so the keeper let us go out and so we sat on the hot tub defying winter to come. It probably will, and we would like some more snow, although the keeper thinks that is a disgusting idea. She harvested the little eggplant today. She had brought it inside to see if it would keep growing, but we think it had enough chance to get bigger. The plant keeps growing, so it will spend the winter inside with us. Perhaps there will be Baba Gonoush soon?

The keeper pretty much ignored us all day. She sat at the computer most of the day putting a talk and some prayer services together. So we were free to do what we wanted. Except there wasn't much to do except sleep and rage at the coming of the cold. She gave us some of her basil pesto and pine nut encrusted salmon, though. We are content. Sigh.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

A year ago the keeper had just returned from Jerusalem. She says she feels some deep attraction to that spot of so much intensity, tension. She says stones speak there. She couldn't go back this year because she was angry about how the Palestinians are being treated. Now she tells us that she wants to go back and visit with the Palestinians. We think it is good she travels, but we don't like the disruption in our routine. We suppose that is selfish. Anyway, the reason we are telling you all this is because she came home from the Cathedral tonight singing "Jerusalem, My Happy Home, God grant that I may see Your endless joy, and of the same, Partaker ever be." She told us that one day there would be endless joy there, but in the meantime it is something to long for.

On another note, the bishops are meeting at Notre Dame, and new appointments are being made, and perhaps we may hear something for better or worse about liturgical changes and new bishops. Meanwhile, she says, the people of God gather and try to form community, pray, try to live justly, and make moral sense out of their lives, all the while not knowing or worrying that bishops meet. She was telling us about a young adult group she is working with that within a month has grown from 4 to 25, and they are outgrowing the hotly contested meeting space. She also said that never once did the bishops' meeting come up in conversation, but what did was how the group could begin reaching out to the day laborers this winter who wait in the cold at Home Depot. They are wise, these young people, focused on the Gospel.

She also told us that the hills on the Eastside are still very colorful--oranges and golds and crimson flaming out against the gray sky.

Thanks for asking about us. Our day was boring. She was gone. We were in. It was dark and gray. She did take care of our litter box tonight, though. We are grateful for our happy home. Not exactly Jersusalem, but home.

Got Time?

It is cold out. We got to go out for a bit today when the keeper got back from Kay's funeral. She said she needed to work in the yard in order to think. We hoped she would think for a long time. She did until she got too cold. But we watched her seal off the faucets and move in the hoses and the potting bench and the watering cans and the buckets and other paraphernalia into the storage shed. It's full now. We also brought the garden angel into the garage to keep him warm. We think he needs a little snow suit or something. She said she needed to think about Kay and what a heroic person she was. Such courage as a mother and a woman in the church. The funeral was subdued. Kay was a self-described private person, but the variety of the assembly was a testimony to her life.

For us, life seems pretty short, and as cats we don't like to miss too much. But humans sometimes think they will go on forever, and they avoid death. The keeper was thinking about how some Native tribes teach their young a death song so that they can learn it and befriend it and not be surprised when they hear it singing their names. She was remarking on all the junk we have in our home, all the books and art, and photos and stuff. Someday, she won't need it, and it will be just piles of things which were meaningful to her but to no one else. She suggested that perhaps we ( no, she) should start stripping it all away now, but she doesn't want to live like a monk. We don't like that idea either. But, truly, no one would want all of this. And certainly no one would want to clean it out. Maybe in the new year we should start giving a little away, out of kindness to those who will remain. Given what we have, it could be a decade long project.

Well, she said that she doesn't have time to think about it now. She has to prepare a talk, a prayer service and a commissioning rite for later this week. And she has to start tonight! She is running out of time. Aren't we all?

Celebratory Tofu????

Can you see how beautiful it was outside today? We could too, from the window. The keeper is quite upset with me because of my choice to drink out of the slimy puddles and plant pots. So, we cannot go out, and meanwhile other animals are marking our yard and our territory. We tried to sneak out when the Chinese food delivery came tonight, but no, she caught us. And on top of that, she insisted on telling us how beautiful it was this morning as she drove around the north end of the lake to work. She said she saw an eagle in a tree hovering over the water, waiting for fish. She told us how the lake rippled slowly like pewter silk, and how the evening clouds were orange and mauve and how blankets of crows ribboned across the horizon. And we were stuck in the house. We are ignoring her. Maybe tomorrow we can go back out.

She left us again to go visit a lovely lady named Dorothy, whom I met when I was a kitten. Dorothy is dying and she wanted to see the keeper. She was a neighbor back at the old church and helped the keeper move to the new house, and gave gardening tips. The keeper said she was alert and they just sat together mostly, after all the praying was done. The keeper had lost track of her over the past few years. She hopes to see her at least one more time. Dorothy is very peaceful and ready to cross over.

Then the keeper invited us to celebrate her victory tonight--she was awarded a grant that she didn't expect--and so ordered curry from Black Pearl. Imagine our disappointment when she offered us curried tofu. What kind of celebration is tofu??? The high priced cat food looked pretty good tonight by comparison.

Farewell, Kay

Tonight we learned we lost another friend after a rapid cancer. She went to the hospital not feeling well, and never came home. The keeper says that she was a writer, editor, photographer, a courageous woman, a mother and a prophet. Her life was far from easy, but we have all been blessed and are better because of her triumphs and her struggles. Rest in peace at last, Kay.

Dedication of St. John Lateran & Remembrance of Deceased Homeless

Today commemorates a very famous basilica in Rome. At the cathedral tonight, an almost full house gathered to commemorate the 85 homeless men and women who died in Seattle this past year. High school students lit 85 votive candles on the four corners of the sanctuary. The Young Women's Ensemble sang and Fr. R took the readings for the feast and wove them into a call to construct a church that shapes a world where all have a home which is safe. We have a long way to go, we would suggest. At the end of the liturgy, the cathedral bagpiper piped everyone out to the courtyard where they sang the Salve Regina and the tower bell tolled 85 times in honor of each of the decesased. Ironic, sobering, tender evening. Honoring those we did not honor very well on earth, we have done much better honoring in their silent, unseen deaths.

After the Storm

Saturday turned out to be a calm day after the craziness of the stormy days and nights before. The air was clear, and the yard again was full of fallen leaves. The neighbor came over and started raking them, but it got wet and they got heavy, and the dark came quickly. The keeper was out most of the day, though, and we were in. She showed us this photo she took on her way downtown in the late afternoon. She said the clouds were prettier than that and she stopped her car at the top of the hill to catch the scene. The neighbor who is the best neighbor anyone could ask for came back on Sunday and ended up raking up and bagging all the leaves. That's why she buys them 1/2 cases of good wine.

The Sky is Falling!

"A strange day this has been, indeed," said Alice as the thunder and lightening and hail and rain and wind whipped and pelted the house. Alice sat on on top of the dining room table while I hid on the chair seat underneath. Alice sat on top of the bed while I hid underneath with the dustballs and furballs and toy mice we have chased into the corner there. It is very painful on the ears and sensitive feline nerves to have to put up with these storms. Thank God the keeper had gotten home, we had all been outside for a wee bit, and she didn't seem too alarmed. She went out and shot some photos. So, I guess it will all turn out okay. I am sure we will still have our dinner and catnip. Outside is covered with a white blanket of hail. The keeper just got photos of the beach...wild waves throwing things all over and silly people standing on the jetty as the waves rushed high over them.

The keeper commented that the thunder and lightning often seem to erupt after big funerals or deaths, and she was thinking about how many times this happened for people she knew--her mother, her father, many friends from the parishes. She has often said, "God weeps with us on these days."

And now, so many gunned down at Fort Hood, and a slain policeman in Seattle whose funeral shut down part of the city today. And all of those in Afghanistan and Iraq and in Sub-Saharan Africa who die for lack of a little medicine or some food. God weeps for our inability to get along, to share, to make peace.

Stormy Day

Today it started to rain. And rain. And rain. Now it is thundering and lightning. The keeper is telling us that she has to turn off the computer. So, we will sleep, and it can too.

Moonclimbing

The moon was full last night. In fact it was so beautiful, the keeper sat outside to watch it climb the dark sky over the tall trees. Then we all watched a wonderful biopic, Miss Potter, about Beatrix Potter, her art, her life as a writer of the Peter Rabbit tales. We all loved it. It was enchanting. Now, the keeper wants to buy a farm in the Lake Country of England, and write animal stories. We would help.

Sunny, Lovely Tuesday

The keeper forgot to post the photos from our beautiful Tuesday. She put other ones out, but we wanted her to show you all the beautiful spider we were not able to reach in the tree. The wind started blowing, and the next time we looked for it, the web was all torn and the spider, gone.The keeper also found some unblemished apples on the tree and made them part of a fruit salad.

The leaves that weren't getting raked up were resplendent on the trees backed up against the blue blue skies that were a little icier than summer skies. But the birds were out and the squirrels still hiding things, and so were we. The garden angel was getting a little chilly and covered up a bit.

The Hunger of Day Laborers

November 3rd. The moon is full, the sun was out and we spent the day outside. The keeper let us play and rest in the sun. She spent a little time out at Costco buying wine to thank the neighbors for the incredibly generous sharing of tools and then for all the times she came home and found her lawn mowed and leaves raked.



While she was getting out of her car at Costco she decided to walk across the driveway to reach out to the guys looking for day jobs in the parking lot. A lot of people call them an eyesore, but she wanted to interact with them as human beings. So often she is so busy she doesn't take time, but she found them so open and grateful to be seen and listened to. As she spoke to them, she found out the different Mexican states they came from, how often they are hired--1 to 2 days each week, what skills they have, and the fact that many attend church in White Center, and that they live out there. A long hall from the Edmonds Home Depot! When she brought them some food, they ate so ravenously she wished she had brought more. She knows that a little food isn't much, but to help someone feel like a human being and not an object of scorn, may help. She says she was inspired by a young woman who is poor herself but who told her this weekend that she and two others make peanut butter sandwiches and coffee and take them to another Home Depot.



When she got home, we got out and then she raked the whole yard and composted the side garden. Tonight she is using hot pads on her back!

Bless all those who want to work, and wait for someone to notice them!

All Souls Day--"Now the Dead Move Through Us Still Glowing"

Today is All Souls Day. The keeper placed the photos of our loved ones who have gone ahead of us, including those of a few pets on the altar in the dining room, and then filled the pockets of the curtain in the bedroom with many more. Every year we have more people cheering us on from the other side of life..this year it is our Aunt Wyn and friends Patty and Daisy and Fred and Rolly and Rolland and Millie and Anna and Zelda and more. Today, the keeper found a lovely poem by May Sarton, All Souls, and in it she writes, " Now, the dead move through all of us still glowing, . . . .what has been plaited cannot be unplaited --/only the strands grow richer with each loss/And memory makes kings and queens of us."

Also today the keeper spent the morning with the dentist, and he told her all about his cat who died 18 mos ago and he is still grieving the cat, he got so involved telling the story and she got so involved listening that he put her crown in strangely. He had to redo it. It's nice to know other pet lovers.

On Halloween we had a terrible drive by shooting of a policeman who was parked in his patrol car. We all think it is horrible and it has really shaken up the police. Then today the keeper went to a meeting at St. Joe's and she ran into a policeman. She asked him how he was doing and he tearfully said that he and others were getting by but that they have been overwhelmed by the outreach and kind words of ordinary Seattle people.