SI Day Blue Moon

On the night of St. Ignatius, the moon is blue!

Let the Vacation Roll!!!

The keeper came home tonight and announced that the birthday jamboree week had concluded and vacation had just begun! To celebrate she dined on all the left overs from last weekend's dinner out on the deck 

I wanted to know how this vacation would affect my food schedule, which I hope  will be no worse than usual. I do not know if this means I get to travel to my other home or not or if  I have a pet sitter. I am full of questions.

I have not noticed any of the manic packing behavior. 

 I am hoping that we can stay home and sit out under the trees in our newly redone back yard which was also the keeper's birthday gift to herself. We will also sit out on our nearly completed deck. That is my desire. We shall see if that will work.

Tamarind Tree with Erin

This afternoon the keeper went out to lunch with a co worker at a Vietnamese Restaurant which is all but hidden from sight in the back of a parking lot. Once you find it and get inside, you are transported to a jungly, dimly lit gourmet restaurant.  It was so good that the keeper saved half of her lemon chicken chile pepper noodles for dinner ( and for me!)

For all you Seattle people, the Tamarind Tree is the place to go!

A Wicked Night!

While I waited wracked with worry and hunger, the keeper and Suzy and Maria walked down the hill to the Paramount to see Wicked.  That was one of the keeper's gifts to herself this year.

When she FINALLY got home very late and fed me, I heard about the great technical effects as well as the hermeneutic of suspicion, of dangerous suppressed  memories and radical hope. I had no idea what she was talking about.  I thought it was about witches. She said it was. 

Tapas at Tango

The keeper's birthday occurred yesterday and enabled her to collect social security, which she will not do yet. That is for old people, she thinks. Last night's celebration included tapas with Maria and Suze and the Bow Woman. They also celebrated the Bow woman's July birthday with a chocolate, chile and hazelnut flavored cake.Memories of Paris and new plans to cross the pond.

Boroughs' Birthday Twins

Yes, it is true.  I spent another night at home alone.

But she did the right thing and came home in time to feed me first.  

It seems that she went off to celebrate the birthdays of two friends who are brother and sister.  The brother told the story of how he and a sister were asking their parents for the gift of a baby sister, and voila she was born on his birthday! 

So, happy birthday, Sheilagh and Phil! We know you read this blog.

The siblings told stories.

The partygoers dined on a lovely catered meal.

Mama Melina's with Ms. Molly's Keeper

The keeper was late in returning home to me. Yes, another dinner with a friend. Meanwhile, my dinner was late. But she brought me home flowers from our friend Rosa  who worked for Molly's keeper. To tell the truth, I think she said they were for me just to humor me.

The Rewards of Traffic Jams

The traffic was stopped on Sand Point Way this morning. Very stopped. The keeper groused and checked email. Then she looked out her window and saw an old friend in the distance.  This calmed her down.

After the Rain

The rains rinsed off so much dust and grit and the ground soaked up every bit of moisture. 

It left that inimitable fragrance.

   

Thanks to Jesus!

Right before the rain fell, the keeper went out to take photos of Jesus' work from last week. The hammock swings are great. If she falls off, she can land in wood chips.  He finished just as the heavens opened up on Friday night. ML was not as fortunate on the deck, but came pretty close. 

He put an oval of wood chips in the spot that will not even grow moss. She is making a little living room there.  This back yard has more rooms than our house!

He reset the paver stones on the stone walkway to put them closer together and replaced the wood edging with bricks.  Then he covered the little brick patio with a bamboo roof for shade and  asked the keeper if he could " store" his St. Francis resin garden statue there until he could take it to his brother.

It adds a touch of Catholicity to the yard.  Laudato Si'? Si!

Why The Picnic was Postponed

Well, the picnic canceller was vindicated when the skies opened and let fall  lots of liquid at least in our neighborhood. We even had a puddle. 

Happy Feast of St. James

Today they all celebrated the Feast of St. James at you know where.

I am told it was a lovely and more peaceful celebration this year. St. James made his appearance this year again, and loomed large over the assembly.

The new choir director started very well, and the picnic was postponed because of the weather forecast---rain, thunderstorms, and chill. But it didn't look too bad after Mass. But the keeper was happy to come home to me.  She had another dinner party last night and because it had to be moved indoors, she was a little tired this morning from all the last minute cleaning to get ready, as well as from a  boisterous evening with some great friends.

Half Moon from our New Hammock Swing

We have some new swings.  They are hammock chairs and now they hang from the swingset frame. 

The keeper intends to hang out in them and read when she is on vacation. It is also a good spot from which to watch the moon's rising.

Lunch with the Distinguished Professors

I have a human aunt. She is the sister of the keeper. She is a professor. She happened to be in town this week with another professor to teach some classes. So the keeper met them for lunch at Jimmy's.
They talked about public policy and advocacy and higher education as well as family.
I doubt there was any mention of pets. 

Finishing touches and Painful Discoveries

We want the deck finished by the end of July. ML came today and power washed some more and put in some more finishes. Jesus came yesterday and worked on the new hammock swing area. They all went home before the keeper was attacked by very mean hornets and is sporting a swollen face. Thank God Jesus and ML avoided them. First the keeper covered her face in Dead Sea mud to pull the stingers out (which didn't work), and now she  is covered in ice to bring the swelling and pain down. We are more infirmary than cottage tonight. But it does have a nice deck!

Trying to Get Comfortable

Okay everybody.  We all know it is hot. Very hot. But I am more miserable than anyone. Why?

1.  I can not go outside. 2. I am wearing the cone and I cannot use my whiskers, I can not see where I am going and it is hard to eat. 3.  I can't lick or scratch all the places that are screaming out for attention. 4.  It hurts. The keeper brings me droppers of oral pain medication and it tastes awful. Should I go on?  Call me whiney cat. I don't care. I am feeling very sorry for myself. The keeper did put a big fan in front of my perch, but it is noisy. 

Sweet Summer

The sprinkler is helping us keep the plants alive in the back yard.
The keeper says it is her summer spiritual practice--tending the hose and the sprinklers each night.

The Humiliating Consequences of Venturing Outside the Yard

I started feeling bad.  My tail started feeling worse. Yes, I had a fierce encounter with a neighborhood bully. And the evidence didn't show up for a few days.  But an abscessed wound makes its presence known. It fills the house. So, I went to the vet for wound care and came home with a cone of shame, a  a nun wimple to keep me from licking or itching the wound,  I am totally disoriented because it covers my whiskers.  I am running into things and feel like an idiot. I don't think the keeper really appreciates my pain. although she gives me pain drops.

More Summer Reading

Now that her teaching is done, she is itching to open all of her books. I noted that the latest shipment centered on a certain theme.

Roses at Dusk

It was nice to have the keeper home and able to enjoy the evening  again/

When I accompanied her out to water we found more new roses.

We couldn't bear to cut them.

They are so beautiful.

Summer Quarter Over!

She finally will pay attention to me again. She has been more than a bit preoccupied with a very intense class she has been teaching over the past ten days and preparing for much longer.  But today, it ended  and after the whiteboard was wiped clean, and after she checked in at her real work, she came home to me and our tomato plants and the hollyhocks which are starting to show promise. She seems very relieved to be done.

FinallyBack to Camino

There really isn't a "normal" weekend at our cottage. But if it means that the keeper is out and about and shows up in the evening, that's kind of normal. It was kind of normal today.  She met a friend for lunch and went back to Camino-ing. The week has been so intense she has not had time to walk to the lake. So on the walk today she noted new flowers and lots of bees having a wonderful time.

There were chalk hearts all over the sidewalk leading up to a front door where you could read " I do!" on the front door. 

Gratia Plena

The Gratia Plena sculpture in the Ignatius Chapel is one of the keeper's favorites. 

She thought it was an appropriate point of reflection after an incredibly intense week.

Smoky Sunsets

Now we can say we have beautiful sunsets like California.

Too bad the smoky air makes us choke and snort, though.

Happy Summer Birthdays

The other night the keeper left a reception to join friends at El Gallito to celebrate the summer birthdays.  The air conditioning was a welcome gift.

Views from the Faculty Lounge

This has been a week when the keeper spent most of her waking hours at Seattle U. She taught two different groups of doctoral students. And when she took breaks it was in the library in the refrigerated  lounge for professors. 

This is her favorite paintng in the library. 

It's called Waiting Out the Rain.

It is such a perfect Seattle painting. But not this week.

On her way back to Hunthausen she ran into signs of a rather large banquet being set up in the blazing sun.