Blogging in the New Year

~It's almost 9pm EST, and I just woke up from a short nap on the couch. Honestly, I've done nothing for the last five days but I'm still tired--maybe it's the cold that is still hanging on. But the party is open--as I promised, I've got artichoke dip here and some bubbly for the new year (virtual champagne, and some sparkling apple cider for the real thing). So join the party. What are you doing for the new year?

~I'm listening to NPR talk about the campaign in Iowa. John Edwards is actually gaining inthe polls and there is "no statistical difference" between Edwards, Clinton, and Obama. I think I could support Edwards. I would've preferred him to Kerry last time, and I do think he understands what "real life" is like. I like Obama, too.

~But reality is that GWB is still president for another year. That's a long time for him to mess things up more. And the Republican candidates scare me. All of them.

~Looking at my post from this time last year, I mentioned working on my knitting project that I had just cast on. Ahem. No progress on that front...

~It's 11:55 now....I've been importing CDs to my itunes, talked with friends in Maine, had some popcorn--Orville Redenbacher's Buttery Salt and Black Pepper--yum!

~HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone. May 2008 bring peace and happiness to us all.

The year in review

If it's the last day of the year, it must be time for the year in review. So here are the first lines from the first blog post of each month for 2007. (Despite dropping out of Project 365 fairly early, I did post a lot of pictures, and in several months my first post was a picture, but only once were there no words):

~January: We're in Maine visiting our friends D and J.

~February: But how many of you own this version? (Yes, I am truly a geek).

~March:
~April: Today is Good Friday.

~May: When my house and yard were being cleaned up before I moved in the slate patio was expanded without too much prep work (it needs to be fixed).

~June: From the RevGals, in the month of graduations and movings on...

1. Think back to the time you left High School, what were your hopes visions and dreams for your life/ for the world?

~July: The Kid and I left home yesterday morning and drove to northern VT to visit LD#2 (known to some of you as NSLS) for the Fourth of July holiday.

~August: Or tales of a neurotic shopper....

~September: From a late afternoon walk in the church garden...

~October: Last week went by in a fog, sort of.

~November: When I was in the fifth grade we spent a few weeks studying the United Nations.

~December: 30 posts in 30 days--actually 35 posts

I guess that pretty much sums up my year. 2007 was fairly uneventful (unlike 2006 during which I was ordained to the priesthood and NSLS got married, and 2008 during which I will become an 'amma' and Elder Son will be married). We had several lovely trips--to Maine, Vermont and New York City, which are my three favorite places. I worked hard, and on more of my days off than I like to count, but I felt like it mostly was good--my preaching is continuing to develop, I have more meaningful responsibility, I get to do things I like to do.

So how was your year?

For everyone who is a mom or ever had one

As seen at Julie's and too funny not to share:

On the fifth day of Christmas

~I woke up to driving rain and wind. It's slowed down a bit now, but it promises to be another dreary day.

~I've been fighting a cold since Wednesday and I'm not sure who's winning. It's not terrible, more like annoying, but I wish it would go away.

~I restarted (for the umpteenth time) knitting a scarf last night. Just when I felt like I was getting the feel of it I realized that somehow I was adding an extra stitch every few rows. How I was doing that I have NO idea. But I guess I will start over ONE MORE TIME today. Perhaps I am not meant to be a knitter...

~I am going to take the plunge and commit to Project 365 for 2008. This year I am going to set up a separate photoblog. Yankee T and perhaps Profgrrrrl are jumping into the fray as well.

~I am tempted to do the blog-every-day-for-a-year thing, but I haven't completely made up my mind yet. In a way 365 is doing that, but I'm thinking more particularly of blogging with words.

~Having no other plans (well, I had an invite to go out of town but it's not feasible this year) for New Year's Eve, I may throw a blog party....and you're all invited....I'll bring artichoke dip and champagne....anyone else?

ETA: Here's the link to the new photoblog--no pictures yet, just playing with the template.

What kind of art are you?

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

Actually, this is perfect for me because I love the impressionists. Now if I'd turned out to be Jackson Pollock or some such, I'd be very disappointed!

On the third day of Christmas

it was a quiet day at chez Rev. Dr. Mom and I mostly putzed around.

~Loaded music on my new iPod (a very sweet blue nano)

~Cleaned up the rest of the boxes and bits of this and that in the living room and vacuumed

~Talked with friends on the phone

~Did some laundry

~Stayed in my jammies much of the day

~It was a grey, dismal day. It some ways it feels like Christmas is long past. Partly, I suppose, it's because everyone had to leave yesterday, and I was working much of the time they were here. But I am determined to make the most of my days off, including doing some reading and trying to knit again, and maybe going to the movies.

~I'm wondering whether I should try Project 365 again. I didn't get very far last year. I have a new camera, but that doesn't mean I'll find anything more interesting to take pictures of every day.

~And should I sign up to blog every.single.day?

On the second day of Christmas...

the house suddenly got much quieter. NSLS, Mr. LS, and Woman Warrior left this morning for Vermont. NSLS and Mr. LS both have to work tomorrow, and Woman Warrior is spending her last few days before she returns to Korea in Vermont visiting friends there.

We had a great Christmas. I was busy working much of the time, but there was much baking and cooking and present wrapping going on while I worked. Yesterday after I preached and celebrated at the Christmas Day service we had sweet potato pancakes for brunch, opened presents, relaxed for the afternoon, and then cooked dinner of ham, baked pineapple, mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans and salad.

The time we were together went by very quickly! Woman Warrior has been home a week already. The good news is that she will only be in Korea for two more months, and she plans to spend the summer in Vermont, so we will be able to see her more often. NSLS is looking very pregnant, and the baby is very active these days. She and Mr. LS are really excited about this baby and it's very cute.

I got a bit of money for Christmas, and I think that I shall use it on an iPod. I actually pulled off a Christmas surprise for the Kid (and for me, too) which deserves its own post in a bit.

I still have a few gifts to wrap and mail...hey, Christmas lasts until January 6!

In the wee hours of Christmas morning...

~Days til Christmas--14 4 0

~Sermons to write finish between now and Christmas morning--3 2 1

~Christmas Eve services--3 0

~Christmas Day services--1

~Stockings to stuff--5

~Days I have off after Christmas--6--YAY!

For all who celebrate it...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Random bits of the Sunday before Christmas

~It totally doesn't feel like Sunday, despite the fact that I've preached at three services and attended Christmas pageant rehearsal and answered all the altar guild's questions about setting up for tomorrow's services..

~I preached on what the Christmas story is like if you only have the gospel according to Matthew (no trip to Bethlehem, no baby in a manger, no shepherds watching their flocks by night, and Joseph's story, not Mary's).

~After church we all went out for brunch. I really wanted a nap after that, but I ran errands instead.

~Mr. LS, NSLS, and Woman Warrior have taken over shopping, baking, and cooking. It's wonderful. We had salmon and risotto and roasted asparagus for dinner.

~I still have my Christmas Day sermon to write, and I am not inspired.

~It is pouring rain outside. I would prefer snow.

~Tonight we went through some boxes of old stuff I've moved around for years. I have old baby clothes--some from my infancy and that of my siblings, and some from my kids. And I have vintage Fisher Price, and WW's old dolls including two My Child dolls in really good condition. I should've taken some pictures while I had everything out of the closet.

~I still have Christmas things to do, but some of them will have to get done during the 12 days of Christmas.

~And tomorrow is Christmas Eve!

December by the numbers--update

~Days til Christmas--14 4

~Sermons to write between now and Christmas--3 2

~Advent programs left to do--2 0

~Other extra church-related pre-Christmas activities to attend--4 0

~Christmas Eve services--3

~Christmas Day services--1

~Bulletins to prepare for week of Christmas (including weekends before and after because they all must be done by Dec. 21)--10 0!

~Days til LD#1 comes home--9 0!

~Days til NSLS and Mr. LS arrive--12 tonight

~Menus planned--0 0--well maybe 1/2

~Presents bought--1 several

~Presents left to buy--many just a few

~Trees to buy, put up and decorate--1 tree's up, still needs to be decorated

~Days I have off after Christmas--6--YAY!

Pins and needles

~would probably describe my being today (and NSLS as well) because Woman Warrior (aka LD#1) is flying home today. I can't even get my mind around the time differences--what day it was when she left, how long it will take to get her. She is flying Seoul to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit, and Detroit to Boston. Or as she put it a taxi, two buses, three planes and a car ride. We haven't seen her since NSLS's wedding a year and a half ago.

~I still have WAY too much to do to get ready for Christmas. WAY too much. But what gets done, gets done I guess.

~And speaking of Christmas prep, I should get back to proof reading bulletins!

Lost Christmas tree

~The Kid and I went to buy a Christmas tree this afternoon. It was about 4:00, and the garden shop where we usually get our tree wasn't busy at all. We quickly picked out a nice tree and went inside to pay for it while the lot attendant took the tree to trim the bottom branches.

After looking at Christmas lights for a few minutes and paying for the tree, we headed back out to pick it up. The lot attendant (the same one who had helped us earlier) motioned us to pull up, took the receipt and went to get the tree. But he came back empty-handed. "Ill be right back," he said, and took off on his little cart. So we waited...and waited. After a few minutes he came back somewhat sheephisly and said, "I can't find your tree."

Well. We'd seen him bring it up to the pick-up area to trim it. So I'm not sure where he went riding off to look for it. But he was clearly puzzled. "I know it was here," he said, shaking his head.

Long story short, my tree disappeared. Someone else probably loaded it up and took it home, although the attendant was quite puzzled by this since they were not at all busy. The up side for me--I got a more expensive tree for the same price.

Now it just needs to be decorated!

Move over, Miss Piggy

As seen at Linda's place:

Rev. Dr. Mom --

[noun]: A real life muppet

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

The weather outside is frightful

~After a lovely snow on Thursday, and just a bit of a melt on Friday, I woke this morning to heavy snow. Really heavy snow. It was beautiful, but I had the early service and I'm thinking "no one is going to show up." When I get down to the church I turn on all the lights so people will know someone is there (since I walk down, no car in the lot to clue people in). To my amazement, five intrepid souls show up. And the snow removal guys come about the time the service started.

~But by 9 am, the lovely snow turns first to sleet, and then rapidly to heavy rain. Yuck. What a nasty mess. We have a smallish group at the 10 am service--about 50 (we usually have three times that). But given the weather, it's good.

~ The plow guys forget to do my drive when they plow the church parking lot, and it's ankle deep in slush by mid-afternoon.

~The temperature continues to rise all day, and the rain continues to fall. It's in the mid forties right now. But about 4 am the temperature is supposed to start falling, and it is going to be cold again tomorrow all day. Which means ice. Bah.

~Meanwhile, I still haven't bought my tree. Got there Friday just as they were locking up, no time yesterday, and weather too bad today. I think it's going to be a crazy week.

Books, books, books

I was tagged by the Caffeinated Priest, and it's one of my favorite topics....

Total Number of Books?

I have no idea, really. Hundreds. I keep running out of bookshelves, as I noted here, and I can't seem to stop buying books. (But nowhere near as many as my friend D!)

Last Book Read?

Last books I finished were The Powers That Be by Walter Wink and Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron. I'm in the midst of Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky. (Yes, there is a theme going there).

Last Book Bought?

Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever and a couple of others for my to-be granddaughter. Before that, a whole stack of books from the seminary bookstore, including a commentary on Matthew by R. T. France.

Five Meaningful Books?

The Book of Common Prayer has shaped my life in so many ways.

Lots of Madeleine L'Engle's books....Penguins and Golden Calves is one that helped me when I was first re-entering church. And Summer of the Great-Grandmother when my dad died. And lots of her fiction. (That could count for five right there!)

Evensong by Gail Godwin has some phrases and quotes that really resonate with me. It's a great story, and it's one of those books that I'll reread when I just want to get away from it all.

The Bible, and in that, I suppose the gospel of Matthew has shaped me more than anything else.

Kids' books--in general. I read sooooo much when I was a kid. I don't know what I would've done without books of all kinds.

Consider yourself tagged...

Red-bellied guy

Two years ago, when I had just begun feeding the birds here, I got a picture of a red-bellied woodpecker quite by accident. I was aiming at the feeder to focus, and while I was standing there s/he landed and I got a wonderful picture. Ever since then, the red-bellied woodpecker has been one of my favorite birds (along with the orioles). But they don't come to the feeder as often as the downy and hairy woodpeckers. In fact I hadn't seen one in a while. This morning there was a downy woodpecker on my (new) feeding station and I got my camera out to take a picture. The downy flew away but I happened to look up and see the red-bellied guy way up in a tree. Thanks to my 70-300mm lens and photoshop I got some great pictures.

Let it snow

~It started snowing about 11 am and it's snowed all afternoon. We decided early on to cancel our Advent program for tonight, and everyone else went home early. Taking advantage of the quiet, I spent the afternoon doing some much needed updating on the church web site.

~I still have a loonnnng list of things to do, but this afternoon felt unpressured. It was nice. But I hope the roads aren't bad tomorrow because I do need to accomplish some things. Really.

~I love watching the falling snow. It's so peaceful. Wish I could capture that feeling and save it for later.

December by the numbers

Inspired by Songbird

~Days til Christmas--14

~Sermons to write between now and Christmas--3

~Advent programs left to do--2

~Other extra church-related pre-Christmas activities to attend--4

~Christmas Eve services--3

~Christmas Day services--1

~Bulletins to prepare for week of Christmas (including weekends before and after because they all must be done by Dec. 21)--10

~Days til LD#1 comes home--9

~Days til NSLS and Mr. LS arrive--12

~Menus planned--0

~Presents bought--1

~Presents left to buy--many

~Trees to buy, put up and decorate--1

~Funerals this week--2

~Funerals last week--3

~Committee meetings this week--(even one is too many this time in December)--3

~Days I have off after Christmas--6--YAY!

'Tis the season

~Today was the annual holiday extravaganza at church. When I was a kid, this was called a bazaar, and there were lots and lots of things made out of felt. Now it's called a fair, and there is no felt in sight, but the food is about the same. Well, that's not entirely true, because there were never lobster rolls or clam chowder around when I was a kid. That was probably due as much to geography as to time though.

~I didn't have a specific job, so I wandered around taking pictures and helping out as needed. Parishioners (mostly the women) put a huge amount of work into this fair--they've been sewing and knitting and cooking and making wreaths and collecting things for a slient auction for months. Today's fair was a hit, I'd say, based on the amount of traffic in and out, and the paucity of the leftovers. And they made a pot of money, almost all of which will go to outreach.

~I'm predicting that attendance at church will be down tomorrow because a lot of folks will be at home, resting!

Firefox weirdness

~I still can't log into Blogger on Firefox on my Mac. It works everywhere else, and I have no trouble logging in on Safari on the Mac. So I'm not even sure where the problem lies--Blogger? Firefox? Somewhere in my computer? I just have no idea.

~This started after I went into blogger draft to change my comment settings. But why would that only mess up blogger in Firefox on my Mac, and nowhere else? Could be a total coincidence.

~Meanwhile I'm still using Safari which seems slower, but I guess that could be my imagination.

~A totally unrelated bit of nothingness: Why does "weird" not obey the "i before e except after c" rule?

ETA: I removed all the cookies associated with Blogger and voila! It works again!

Mocha latte

I decided to make myself a latte a few minutes ago. Instead of regular milk I used low fat chocolate milk. Delicious!

Names and titles

~Have you noticed how Senator Clinton is called "Hilary" and the other candidates are addressed by their last names? I'll admit that I've done it, too. And I know better.

~A commentator on NPR the other day pointed out that the Clinton campaign itself branded her "Hilary". This commentator also noted that even if it is her choice, using her first name only works against her being perceived equally as authoritative as the male candidates.

~I've seen this in academia and in the church as well. In Vermont we had one of the first women bishops in the Episcopal Church and she was adamant about being addressed in the same way a male bishop would be and not just by her first name. But it was an uphill battle.

~In my parish it's that way, too. My rector doesn't particularly want to be called Father Name--he'd just as soon go by his first name. But there is a contingent of parishioners who insist on using the title, so Father First Name or Father Last Name he is. But do you thing a single one of them has EVER thought to call me Mother Name? Not once. Even after parents asked me what their children should call me and I responded that they should use a title if they would for the rector, or just my name if that's what they would do for the rector.

~It's not that I mind being called by my first name--I don't mind at all. I just want to be treated the same way my male boss is treated. We're both priests.

~But what do you think would happen if we started referring to "Barack" and "John" and "Dennis"? It seems odd even as I type them. "MItt?" "Rudy?" It isn't going to happen.

So it's my birthday

(as some of you have already noted here and elsewhere--thanks!) I don't usually call attention to my birthday. We're not big celebrators in our family, and it's been a long time since I had a cake or presents or a party. But I've been thinking a bit about age lately and now seems as good a time as any to talk about it.

I'm 55 today. That sounds so OLD. My dad retired when he was 55 (mandatory retirement age for his job). I cannot even begin to imagine retirement. I just got started. I've done so many things in my life out of sequence--late mostly: college late, grad school late, first decent job late, ordination late, but some early (notably marriage and kids, although I did kids both ways, the first three when I was relatively young, and the last one in my late 30s.). I've always had friends who were older and younger than I--now I have friends who are the same age as my children. So even though I am firmly middle age, I don't see myself that way. Since NSLS announced that I would be a grandmother, I've taken to saying that I'm not a day over 35 inside. And if 60 is the new 40, then I guess that's about right.

The negative thing about this is that I've seen ageism on both ends--and I don't like it. It's especially hard as a newly ordained person. People complain that young clergy aren't always taken seriously, but the same is true for people like me. And while I want my younger colleagues to have lots of opportunites, to be taken seriously, I want those opportunities, too. I'm not included in many things targeted to more recently ordained people because I'm too old. And while there's a Young Women's Clergy Project, if there's one for older women, I sure don't know about it. Please don't think I am criticizing this project, either--I think it's wonderful. I'm just a bit envious. I'm not ready for the AARP or the let's-talk-about-retirement group. My interests and experiences are all over the place, which means that sometimes I don't fit in anywhere exactly.

The good part of my age (and I am truly grateful for every year I get) is that I do feel like I've learned some things over the years. I'm more comfortable in my own skin now. I could wish I'd acheived that earlier, but I didn't. And I look forward to doing much much more.

Because I'm an idealist, I wish for a world in which people weren't categorized and pigeon-holed by age...or gender or sexual orientation or ethnicity or nationality....but I'm not hopeful that world will be achieved any time soon.

Meanwhile, I think we should have a party here. Virtual cake, anyone?

Arghhhh.....

For some reason, Firefox won't let me log into blogger on my Mac. I'm using Safari now, which is okay I guess. For a while I thought it was a blogger issue--but I tried to log in on our old computer and it worked fine. I guess I need to uninstall Firefox and reinstall it.

I'm posting this more as a test to make sure everything is working than because I think anyone cares to read about my computer issues...

ETA I reintstalled Firefox but I'm still getting the same error message, which says something about Firefox detecting an address that will never open....and then it says that this problem sometimes occurs when cookies are disabled--but they aren't.

The Kid recommends I try a browser called "flock"--anyone familiar with it?

Commenting note

~Apparently Blogger has made some changes which meant that people with non-blogger, non-google ids had trouble leaving comments. So following Ianqui's tip, I've made it so that commenters can now sign in a variety of ways, including open id.

Spicyness

As seen at profgrrrrl's

Your Score: Fennel

You scored 50% intoxication, 50% hotness, 75% complexity, and 25% craziness!

You are Fennel!

You're a cool cat. Crisp, clean, fresh, and extremely complicated. You're like quantum physics or modern jazz. Think Niels Bohr meets Ornette Coleman. You may look normal now, but once you sprout, you look kind of, uh, funny.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test

But I don't even LIKE fennel....

Weekend wrap-up

~Yesterday was the first Saturday I've had off--really off with no sermon to write or forum to plan or funeral to assist at or meeting to attend--in about six weeks, and it was nice. I did normal Saturday things: slept in a bit, read blogs, email and the NYTimes, did some errands and some laundry, and made clam chowder for dinner.

~It has been winter cold here the last few days. Tonight a few snow flakes fell--enough to look like a dusting of powdered sugar on the sidewalk and drive way, but that's about it. I don't mind it being cold--makes it feel more like December.

~I live on a street with lots of old--really old--houses. One of them, down in the village has just been nicely redone. Tonight as I drove home from some (more) errands, someone was putting up Christmas decorations on the postage stamp sized lawn--you guessed it: one of the dreaded blow up things--a carousel of all things, plus a fake light-up tree. It is so out of character for where it is. Maybe I'll get a picture and post it later.

~The Kid went to nearby city to hear Barack Obama tonight. I'll be interested in hearing his take on it. I don't think I've ever been to a campaign event. Bill Clinton came to grad school city during his first campaign, but I had to teach a class at the time he was there. And he came to Vermont during his second campaign, but again, I was teaching a class and couldn't go. Mostly I've lived in places where candidates don't find it worth their while to visit.

~Tomorrow is our third funeral in five days. This one is for one of the real matriarchs of our parish--director of the altar guild for 37 years--some of you will appreciate the import of that more than others! We have two more funerals scheduled for this month already, and one for January.

~As usual for me, I haven't really done much in the way of Christmas preparations. I'm always surprised by people who have their cards mailed and presents bought by early December. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am, nonetheless, year after year.

~Denial--especially about Christmas coming--is my game. I'm just saying.

Mold update

~The guy who came to check out the mold situation didn't seem to think there is anything to be worried about. There is a lot of mildew, but I am relieved that there is no real health issue. He was most puzzled by the mildew on the living room ceiling--probably from this summer, but still in an unusual place. Honestly I never really noticed it until the cleaning person pointed it out. It's faint, but visible. Clearly some work needs to be done to vent the crawl spaces better and keep the basement a bit drier, and see if that helps next summer.

NaBloPoMo by the numbers and other reflections

~30 posts in 30 days--actually 35 posts

~Most visits per day--103, yesterday

~Total visits for the month--2016, the most ever (still modest compared to most standards).

~Last year during NaBloPoMo I hit 10,000 visits, a little over a year after I started this blog. This year during NaBloPoMo, I crossed the 30,000 total visits line--I'm a couple hundred over at this point.

~Am I obsessed by the numbers? Ummmm, maybe at bit. It still fascinates me that people come here and read what I write.

~Like last year, I actually liked the discipline of committing to posting every.single.day, although many of my posts were mundane to say the least.

~Family angst once again gave me material to write about :(

~I didn't post as many photos as I would've guessed at the beginning of the month.

~What remains to be seen is whether I can keep the momentum I gained in November.

~It's been fun, y'all. Let's do it again next year.