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.

Halloween Day of the Dead

Today the keeper was out all day. One of the things she did was go down to Seattle Center to be with everyone celebrating the festival of Dia de Muertos. Although the day doesn't really happen until Monday, they were doing really well down there. folks came up from the State of Michoacan with their art, crafts, textiles, and artists from all over the area created altars, including a young man from St. Louise. Children and musical artists performed on the stage, and visitors were able to purchase sugar skulls and "bread of the dead." She then left for the cathedral and Mass for All Saints and was very impressed with Fr. R's preaching on the call to sainthood of everyone and how we should all be called " Your holiness." When she got home, she did not call us holy, because when she walked in she found her bread of the dead on the floor in the dining room all ripped up. We tried to say the raccoons did it, but she was quick to blame Alice, and she was right. Alice spent her first years starving and since the keeper was late in arriving, Alice took dinner into her own paws. she didn't like the bread much, and so just tore at it. We thought you would like to see a photo of her work. Other than this, we had no trick or treaters. The keeper is taking the candy to her meetings tomorrow.

Halloween Preview

These are some of the bizarre Halloween decorations our neighbor has filled his yard with. The keeper finally showed them to us. She says these people do more for Halloween than anyone she knows, except fo rher brother. After we saw the photos we played with our new catnip. That was enough for us.

Winds of Autumn

It still is pretty warm outside, but with the rain it seems very damp and chilly. We have been out exploring and remarking all of the spots where our had work at marking has been washed away by the rain. the keeper doesn't quite understand this need. She lectures us about the news stories about bears, coyotes, and cat eating raccoons. We have never seen any of these in our yard. She has a pretty hefty imagination we think. The leaves are falling down fast and the maple ivy on the deck has been stripped almost.The remaining stems look like surfer bleached hair. not that we have seen a lot of surfers ourselves.

We watched her set up our Day of the Dead altar in the dining room. This year she added orange twinkle lights. We think it is a little tacky. She hasn't put up the photos of our deceased friends yet. We will include our beloved four legged friends, if she listens to us.

Celebrating Donna

On Sunday night we said goodbye to the keeper as she went out with J and W to fete their friend D. Of course they went to their favorite spot, Pomadoro, which was hopping. But after wonderful pomodoro balsalmico, pasta with pestos, and then, birthday tiramisu with a candle for D. It was a great reunion. D has been such a great supporter and friend over the past ten years. And it was time she didn't have to cook for them.

Hedge trimmimg

It stopped raining today. So the keeper decided to trim the hedge with the neighbors' electric trimmers. Well, she learned that you need a lot of bodily strength to hang on to those trimmers and to keep lifting them high in the air to attack the top. she worked for about 4 hours, and pooped out. She got the side facing the house trimmed, but she looked up to see that the top of the hedge had a rise in the middle, and that she had been a little over zealous with the arch over the gate. She cleaned it all up, and now is getting ready to call the professionals to finish the work. Well, she did pretty well for a novice. It meant that we got to spend the afternoon outside and we lounged out on the deck in the sun till the wind picked up.

We sat on the couch with her inside as she read Latin American ecclesiology in Spanish. She fed us chicken tonight, too. A good day for us all!

Fall Treasures

This was a very busy week for the keeper, and a very shut in week for us. But I guess I was able to get out long enough to grab a swig of the water that makes me sick. I went out and slurped out of the plant saucers. And I am sick again. So the keeper is poaching me chicken.

She has been out to meetings and appointments, and we are in. But today there was a big funeral at her old church. They celebrated a lady named Patty who lived an illuminating life for all and it was a happy funeral despite the fact that she died too young. The keeper said that Patty had the light that the darkness can not put out.

The keeper came back home and we got to spend a few hours in the cold afternoon air. I should have stayed away from that plant pot. I know. The keeper was admiring her eggplant which is still growing, but tonight she wrapped it in a sock and wrapped plastic around the plant. She doesn't want to pick it too quickly or leave it to freeze.

Even with all the rain and wind, the leaves are still beautiful, but now they are falling quite quickly from many of the trees. We found toadstools in the front yard--beautiful red ones collecting the rainwater. We know not to eat them. The keeper says they are good for the garden.