A Night Out

Tonight was Hamlet live from London with Ben Cumbersnatch at the SIFF.

Almost four hours of wonderful acting in an intimate little theater.

One of my former parishioners who was not even in school yet when I met her was sitting in front of us.  She recognized me!  That's three  young adults with incredible sight recognition skills in one week!. I guess I haven't changed as much as I think. 

She studies theater and has been living in China for several years.

A Very Fifties Christmas

Today was the corporate staff party. 

Mariam and Carrie, who were not even close to being born in the fifties, planned it.

They researched fifties holiday food on line 

and so there was ham and Waldorf salad, the best little smoky sausages and rum balls and fruitcake and jello and punch.  High on the Karo syrup factor. They threw in a vegetable tray and pitchers of water for some of us.

They pulled off the most remarkable coup--getting everyone else who had been born closer to the fifties laughing and having a rollicking good time!

There were charades and our team won.

There were also carols.

I lost my voice from yelling and trying to sing.

And a recitation kind of contest with 'Twas the night Before Christmas.

RZ knows every word of it. 

Cathedral at Lessons and Carols

The arches and columns of the cathedral took on a haunting glow as the lights went down
and the Lessons and Carol Service began.
Ir was like we were transported to another country for an evening.
The lessons and carols were also beautiful.
I

Remembering Lady Alice III

Cecil arrived in August of 2010.

Alice had just begun to enjoy being the only object of the keeper's affection.

She hissed and stared him down, but he ignored her.
He was used to living with many animals and was ten years old and had been abandoned by his previous owners.He knew a good situation when he saw it. 

Finally they took up their separate lawn chairs in the back yard and 

continued staring at each other from those posts.

Mostly they slept.

Come fall, they grew a little closer.

Cecil offered to help with the blog.

Cecil learned that the keeper wasn't very present once summer ended, 

and so he and Alice had only each other,

Fall turned to winter and they became attached to each other.

Cecil became a kept gentleman cat. 

Alice enjoyed ordering him around.

He didn't seem to mind much.

They became inseparable.

Gaudete!

Tonight I lit the third candle, which seems impossible.

Thanksgiving was just yesterday, ? No?

The narcissi are taking their time blooming though.

Maybe by Epiphany.

It's been quite an Advent.

But the cards and well wishes of friends observing 

the passing of HRH has been very touching.

It's time to start thinking about Christmas.

And I am quite behind.

Still Snow

While most of the city looks like the snow never visited,

the cottage here is still a bit of winter wonderland.

The Kittyrood roses survived the freeze and the snow.

But the back 40 could stay white for awhile.

Finally, Snow!

There was much talk about snow, where and when it would come.

It was late, but it allowed many of us to outrace its arrival and spend time in town tonight.

But it arrived at a convenient time.  It started like tiny icy mica flakes that we could hear as they landed on the remaining leaves, and suddenly

it began to blanket the frozen ground.