An Enchanted Evening

The keeper rushed home to feed us and then rushed off again with a nice bottle of wine in hand. She told us that tonight was the dinner with old friends with great stories. She came home late with stories from the seminaries, the Sulpicians, and much much more. They talked about all kinds of theological issues, especially local ones. We heard that Joseph is such an amazing host and great chef ( salad with hearts of palm and rum cake!) and that the hours flew by! They missed the presence of several friends--one enjoying it all from heaven and the other from the east coast.

The Whole Thing!

She didn't come home after the fair because she walked with a friend downtown to late lunch at Il Fornaio. She was so hungry she ordered a whole margharita pizza and ate the whole thing! We guess there will be no need for her to eat dinner tonight.

The Advocacy Fair

Today she left us and headed to the Cathedral for yet more fun. There was an Advocacy Fair for Justice and she helped staff a table. She was not as colorfully dressed as most of those at her table, though. 

More Soup

Last night the keeper made her second soup recipe---chicken leek curry soup.

It was very tasty and our whole cottage smells like curry. 

Afternoon in a Crate

The keeper is a sneak. She snuck up on us after she got back from the gym this morning and put us in those crates. We howled in harmony all the way to the vet. We also howled when we arrived and until we were seen. They gave us treats to quiet us down.  Did they not see the cause and effect of this?  We went through quite a few of them.  I needed a special test to see if I have been carrying a virus since I was born that will explain all my colds and sneezing.  Cecil now is getting very expensive shots to help him build up some more red blood cells after his kidney levels went south.  Even though they are back to normal now, he still needs to build up red blood cells and get some energy back. The keeper learned how to give him these injections at home from now on. Wow. That should be fun to watch. We met a boxer and two very strange looking dogs with designer hairdo's.

Celebration of Light

She was so proud of the Cathedral children/youth choirs.  They were wonderful and wonderfully led, and we understand the accompanists were very talented as well.

A Cool Table

We received our food early so she could go to the Fulcrum Foundation celebrations, where she got to chat with hundreds of friends. But she didn't really have a table to sit with anymore, so asked if she could join some friends from an Eastside parish. They had one extra seat and welcomed her with open arms.

It was a great table.  They had a great time and now she  has a perpetual invite to join them. 

Fare Thee Well, Shimmering Spirit!

The keeper didn't  get home till now. She went to an evening funeral  at the Cathedral for  a wonderful young woman who died too young. But her 18 years were fulll of more life and shed more grace and light than some can say at the end of 90 years. We hear that the funeral was utterly moving and beautiful  with tears overflowing, with prayer and song, and  poetic words, and yes, clouds of incense!

Birthday Royale

We heard that there was a little birthday party today with cupcakes. 

She tried a lavender flavored one. She didn't bring us leftovers.

Blank Canvas on the First Day

Hello Everyone.  We are getting used to our new life.  The mini-sabbatical is over.

She goes to bed early and gets us up really early. She brought us photos of the empty office.  By today she had it pretty filled up but forgot to take the photo. She seems pretty happy, though. 

La Recamera

Thanks to M, the keeper was able to start creating the new bedroom space. The shelves got moved in, some of the books moved. Then Blake the carpenter came and agreed to build the middle piece which will bridge both bookshelves and take them to the ceiling with crown molding. So, we watched her start transferring her poetry books to one side. It will be a little crowded in there till we get the old bookshelf emptied and moved.  Meanwhile IKEA gave her a Case Number to use to arrange pickup of 16 pieces which she will not be using. She admitted repentantly that she hadn't measured properly and she would pay the fine. Oh, even though she has no spatial intelligence, we still like her.

Succumbing to Seahawk Mania

Well, we can't believe it, but we convinced her to check on the score.

It was the fourth quarter and it was getting very exciting, so she turned the sound off and checked every few minutes. In the end we all cheered. It's so good to see her interested in sports. At least for ten minutes. 

Last De-Lighting Rites

While most of Seattle was wrapt in Seahawk Mania, painted in blue and green, yelling at the top of their lungs, at the cottage we were observing other rites...we observed the keeper taking down all of the front lights. She didn't bother to count the strands, but it was much easier this year because we used more net lights. Still, it took a while, but now we are all natural again, waiting for the growing light to fill each day again.

Good News From Northgate Vet

This afternoon we received a call from our vet. We have decided to go with the new lady vet who is very fun. She likes us a lot. Well, she had good news for Cecil...his kidneys are back to normal after eating the special diet. We are all very happy. But we also learned that his very pink nose is abnormal. He is anemic because of the kidney slowdown and now needs special shots to strengthen his blood. We are not sure what color his nose will be after he gets his shots each week. But we are happy and are watching "As Time Goes By" and thinking of Phil B who introduced her to this show long long ago.

Channeling Mother Joseph

Tonight we had guests. But the keeper made one of them work for her dinner and G &T. Actually M loves assembling IKEA furniture, and she does so quickly. The keeper does not, and she does it wrong. M offered to do this out of the kindness of her crafty heart and now we have two Billy bookcases for our bedroom.  C also came but she chatted with the keeper. They both are so extraordinarily gifted and creative (and with way more than IKEA stuff) that we sit in awe listening to their exploits. We hope H and T know how lucky they are! 

The Senior Check Up

I was sound asleep having great dreams and suddenly she picked me up, and my little furry nesting pad as well, and put me in the cat carrier. By the time I woke up I was in the car. I howled a lot. Next thing I knew I was being prodded and poked by the vet, having fluids taken. So invasive. and at the end of it all, the new vet who is very fun, by the way, announced I was fine, other than for my reduced kidney function. That is a big deal, but at age 14, its a sad fact of my life. But I maintained my wait and I don't have to eat any more of the wet kidney diet food that tastes like cardboard. I get to eat the dry stuff.

Rigoletto!

Yup, tonight was Opera night. And it was excellent. Even from a distant seat. Wednesdays draw a different  audience, they decided. Dinner was perfect...coconut cake for dessert!

It seems the warnings are getting more severe, though. Probably with good reason.

Charm

It was clear that other keepers let their animals out to frolic in the balmy weather. This one rushed to meet our keeper at their gate and tried to impress her. But she came back to us, ever faithful.

Hope II

We understand that the wind was nil, the water placid, and the mountain shy but showing herself to those who stopped to take notice. 

Hope

50+ degrees out. We stayed in. She went walking and walking and walking.

But she was drawn back to behold and be embraced by the fragrance of hope in mid- January.

Hazel, you are indeed bewitching in the most wonderful way!

MG's Miracle on 52nd

Tonight after reading  all afternoon, the keeper fed us, and headed over with a salad for a bite to eat before the Holy Conversations began. It seems that the Divine Miss MG is not a fan of salad. However, tonight she was very eager to have second helpings of the spinach, tomato, ricotta salad with balsamic vinaigrette. This, we learned, is a miracle. The keeper and MG have a lot of similar tastes, we think!

De-lighting

You may ask, as we did, "What does the keeper do all day on this mini- sabbatical?"

Well, we can tell you one thing---she doesn't spend a lot of extra time playing with us!

But yesterday she went to the back and started taking down the icicle lights from the trellis and other lights from the bushes. She put them all tidily in separate bags. Maybe next year we will have a deck where we can hang the rest of the lights that stayed dimly in their bags in the garage this year.

Sunday Night at the Abbey

Oh, the drama, the possibility, the hope, the sadness, the clothes, and tonight, Melba! 

Three Wise Women

This Christmastime we received some precious gifts from incredible friends. 

One which we forgot to post last Sunday for Epiphany was a wall hanging of the Three Wise Women. The keeper was part of a group which entitled themselves such. This weaving hung in one of the wise women's offices, but now it is time for the keeper to hang it on her new office wall! 

Waiting Out the Storm

This afternoon we all watched with dismay as the BIG FAT SQUIRREL bested us yet again and dismantled the "squirrel -proof "suet holder and took the remaining quarter section in his teeth and scampered away. This is a highly gifted family of squirrels, we would say. But we had hung another suet holder over our non-existent deck, where the only way the squirrel could approach was by flying. But the winged creatures didn't seems to approach it either. Imagine our delight this afternoon to see this lovely little winged creature not only stopping for a bite or two, but also waiting out some of the wind gusts. He seemed happy to ride the feeder as it swung back and forth.

Swedish Field Trip

Today the keeper left us in the late morning,not for the gym, but for what she called a field trip. She wanted to find the shelves she needed to redo her bedroom. She was sure she would find them, order them, and come home quickly. Ha! She told us that she was almost giddy with anticipation driving into the mecca's parking lot. But after about 30 minutes inside she was wishing she had brought someone with her--someone who is handy and who is creative and who is practical. She didn't even order any shelves, but brought home a whole bunch of other stuff. She said she decided to order the rest from the sanctuary of our cottage where she can think more clearly. But she said she was so hungry by the time she checked out several hours later, she had a slice of pizza which didn't seem particularly Swedish, but tasted pretty good anyway.

Sabbatical Soup

The keeper is on a Sabbath break between positions for several weeks. She is hanging around with us a lot more than usual.  She reads a lot. And writes. We hear we will have some inside home improvements soon which will involve a trip to IKEA. Stay tuned. She also did something she never does except when there is a long snow holiday--she made soup! Tonight's soup involved kale, squash, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese rinds, and  wheat berries.  It was delicious, we hear.  We weren't interested in it--no fish or fowl in it.

Fare Thee Well, Yule

Tonight the keeper brought in the boxes from the garage. They were all labeled "Christmas" and we realized she wasn't waiting for the weekend. So, file this photo for Christmas 2013. The living and dining rooms look like Ordinary Time already. However, we all decided that it indeed was a very fine Christmas 2013. Good night, Yule. 

The Deluge

The keeper had just returned from the gym when the skies opened and dumped a whole river on our heads. We decided this was not the day to take our tree and outside lights down.  We might make it to Baptism of the Lord before we dare take anything down. We reminded the keeper that we should be grateful that we are not with our family and friends in Minnesota where it is too cold to step outside.

Because I love you....

It's the beginning of Downton Abbey season. We were perched on our chairs, ready!
We loved the Dowager Countess's conversation with Mary that helped her walk out of her dark place.