Snared!

The keeper came home late today and let us out until it got dark.  Cecil came in promptly when she called us.  However, I stayed out a bit later, and she came out looking for me with her flashlight.  I wanted her to miss me a bit, and I was hiding next door in the bushes.  But while she was hunting for me she walked into the biggest spider web ever, and was screaming at the spider and its dead prey in her hair. The web draped onto her shoulders.  Poor spiders.  All that work.  And then to become another of her scarves, tossed away.  We rushed to her side immediately, and came in for dinner.  It was a quiet night and we watched Modern Family. Cecil got to eat coconut milk ice cream.

Back to School

The keeper left us to spend Sunday night near Seattle U because she needed to be there at 7 am to begin the first day of  teaching. Yes, as if she weren't involved in enough other things, she thought she would try her hand at teaching at STM.  Thank God it is only one day each month, but you should have seen her grading papers.  Yesterday she brought us home special treats and she fixed herself a G&T.

It's Fall, Sigh.

So, it's fall now, and the pine needles suddenly descended on our mossy back yard.  It's kind of like snow, but warm. It's getting darker sooner so we can't prowl much.  Cecil is starting to chase dogs walking by.  He says he misses his old dog pals in his old house.  He is hoping that they will walk by. I told him they all moved to Hawaii with his former keepers. 

Happy Birthday Dear Katherine!

The keeper taught a class this morning and rushed away to West Seattle where her dear friend K was celebrating her 39th birthday plus a year for the second time.  Friends from childhood, family, and colleagues all gathered for cake, ice cream, and conviviality.  We sent a card with the keeper since we don't like car travel.  The birthday girl was ready for a nap after two hours and constant streams of people.

Farewell to Summer. Sigh.

We are mourning the departure of summer.  It seems like you just arrived, old friend. It seems like you are dying a very premature death.  It's the keeper's favorite season, and hence, ours. We still have summer projects we haven't started yet.  Sigh.  The pine needles are starting to cover the yard with gold, even though the weather is muggy and warm. Sigh.  Soon the chairs will go inside, and so will we. The keeper is already acting like it is autumn, she's never home. Sigh.

Home Again

And the sun set over the river as the train wound its way home.

PDX Station

The station in Seattle is pretty dumpy.  But the Portland trains arrive and depart from a very stylish building.  There is an elegance about train travel from PDX, she said.  We might even enjoy this kind of travel. The keeper likes going Business Class. We are not surprised.

Jesuit Art

The Jesuits  have created a good balance in their all male setting with some lovely feminine sculpture in the chapel and outside.

To Portland

The keeper left us again and headed to PDX, her old stomping grounds.  She was attending a meeting about parishes with some lay people and Jesuits from across the country.  She left us with a cat nanny who was very nice to us.  She and her friend V took the train.  The Jesuits have a beautiful headquarters.

Fallen Cedars

The keeper has been a bit absent from us.  On Friday afternoon she headed off to St. Mary's on the Lake to give a retreat to spiritual directors.  She told us that when she arrived, she was overcome with the fragrance of cedar, and then she saw the fallen giants resting on the ground.  The trees needed to come down because of the new building. But she learned that there is a good ending.  The sisters are giving the trees to the Swinomish people and to those who gather at the Seattle Indian Center who are overwhelmed with the immensity and rarity of the gift.  Eventually these fallen treasures will become totem poles.

An Interview Worth Watching

We would like to recommend an interview with one of the priests working at Trinity on Wall Street on 9/11/01.  He is a friend of the keeper's friends.  We think he would have really appreciated the Sunday commemoration and Eucharist at our cathedral this past Sunday.

Here's the link:  http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/10085009/#/.

Feast of the Holy Cross

We asked her why she wanted to put this picture in.  She said it is Oregon Grape, a favorite plant of her childhood. She and her friends would paint their bodies with the smashed grapes.  Grape stains did not come off easily.  Thank God it was summer when they did this.  But today she was in Sammamish at ECS and upon beholding dozens of Oregon Grape plants in the parking lot, was (sorely) tempted to walk in to the meeting wearing some grape stripes on her face to make things more interesting. Prudence came to her rescue.  We are glad she refrained because we have grown accustomed to the quality of our lives and would hate to see that disappear because of a foolish whim.

Ms. Molly

She is seeing other cats again.  Her dear friend MK has been ill, so the keeper left us on Monday night to stay with MK. She came home late, obviously forgetting that we also had needs, and brought home the scent of Ms. Molly, MK's little cat.  The keeper said Ms. Molly is very petite and charming. Cecil says he would like to meet her.  I am not so interested.

Blueberries

 Sunday, on her way home from the St. B's picnic, the keeper pulled into the farmer's market and picked up several flats of blueberries. She has to go to the market because she only harvested 6 blueberries from the bush in the yard. She does this every summer.  She is a bit like a squirrel we think.  She freezes all the berries on cookie trays and then packs them all in quart bags and will eat them in the morning all through the year until blueberry season 2012.  We hear they are good for us.  We tried them.  We did not like them.  She tried to trick us with that dry salmon cat food with dried blueberries mixed in.  No deal. We are carnivores.

More Harvest

The plants look nearly dead, but they are pumping out little tomatoes!

10 Year Anniversary

 Our household was not looking forward to this tenth anniversary.  The keeper has told us repeatedly how she was distressed by the nationalistic self-indulgence which has resulted from the tragic event. So she did not want to attend a liturgy today which glorified flag and country at the expense of the Gospel.  She did not want to sing patriotic songs.  She headed to the Cathedral hoping for something else.  She came home strangely quiet, yet very peaceful.  She told us they celebrated a most amazing liturgy--it was solemn, but deep and better than she could have ever imagined--it was a gentle soul searing.

People, at least the keeper, left that liturgy changed--the powerful music for the Mass for Peace, the absolutely incredible preaching on forgiveness and the requirement for a new way to proceed, the Eucharist itself, and the concluding blessing with candles lit throughout the church and everyone glued to their spots as the bells tolled on and on. Today's gathering treated the day with the sacredness and solemnity it deserved without the hysteria.

Yes, she believes we shouldn't forget...but most importantly we shouldn't forget who we are and how we are called to live..with a different kind of strength, compassion, and wisdom.

Christmas

Neither did she bring us home any Christmas decorations from the Christmas aisles.  This is her first Christmas sighting so far.  Ick. People were actually buying things.

Halloween

The keeper ran out to Costco with a list of five items. She returned home with 15. (Well, you never know when we might need 20 rolls of paper towels...) But she was overwhelmed to see the Halloween costume section which took up more space than the ice cream section. She did not buy us costumes. We are grateful.  She did bring Alice home a nice cardboard box to rip apart, though.

Refrigerator Raider

Alice always waits for the sound of the open refrigerator door. She knows where the salmon and chicken are.  Not the salmon and chicken for cats, but the chicken and salmon for the keeper.  This morning while the keeper was getting something for breakfast Alice pulled down the salmon in the foil.  She did not get to eat any, but the keeper remarked that she could possibly get a job with TSA at Sea-Tac sniffing for salmon flavored explosives.

Plant Life in A Not So Hot Garden

You know, we hear all kinds of wonderful things about every one's gardens.  This year our garden is not so great.  But the tomatoes are coming in nicely and so are the Black eyed Susans. The keeper keeps forgetting to water them, however.

Jose's New Railing

Jose finally finished the railing and stained it. It looks really good.  We haven't figured out to jump through the posts yet.  We will. Never doubt our power to slink.

Labor Day Painting Project

The keeper set off to labor only a little today.  She wanted to paint the new gate which Jose built. She figured that it would be a two hour project when she started at noon.  At 3 the primer was finally done.  At 6 the main coat was done.  so much for the day of reading in the sun. She was a little crazy and yelled at us every time we came near the gate.   The good news is that it is done, and we think it looks good.

Pipes and Sunset

The groom's uncle piped and the sun set shimmered over Lake Union.

Lots of Old Friends

The keeper even caught up many old friends and workmates, as well as running into someone she worked with at Santa Clara University way back in the summer of 1972.  He is now teaching at a local Catholic high school. They called another one of their SCU team who is now running a Jesuit high school in Phoenix. Not too many degrees of separation, really.

Grandparents

Lyle's grandparents waited in the boathouse until it was time to hit the very wam and sunny dock.  His grandmother even got to ride the elevator up some very steep steps to enter the reception. This is where the keeper was grateful she did not have 4 inch heels.

At Jenn and Lyle's Wedding

Lake Union Crew.  What a great spot for a wedding!  Lyle and Jenn came up from Bakersfield with Baby Danica to  celebrate their wedding which took place on the dock.  During the ceremony boaters and kayakers would pull up alongside of the dock.  One group started yelling from their boat, "Don't do it!" Meanwhile, with all the people on the dock, it started taking on water, and the keeper said she was wishing for a pair of those 4 inch heels.