Tag Archive | random

Memorial Day-ish Randomness

Jun2
photo by Kathy Griffin.

photo by Kathy Griffin.

1. The sun is shining, however briefly; more thunderstorms predicted for this evening. Weird weather we’re having this year, though I think we will have a fruit crop, and I don’t mind wearing a sweatshirt in June.

2. Last week I learned the word squick: a person or thing that causes immediate and thorough revulsion. I’ve been struggling with how to handle the squicky people who are part of my professional responsibilities.

3. The reason I cannot seriously contemplate a sugar fast is that I refuse to give up alcohol entirely. I can limit myself, I can be moderate and reasonable, but the truth is, I LOVE the way I feel after one drink. Fluffy, my friend Andrea used to call it. I think I have high defenses and after one drink I am incredibly OPEN.

4. Today’s sermon was kind of personal, and as the kickoff for my series on OT women, I recorded it. My technique failed at Immanuel, but here is the St. Luke’s version [unedited]:

Sermon June 2, 2013

5. Kathy comes home on Wednesday. Yay!

6. Just in time for Jonathan and Jamie’s marriage blessing on Saturday. I hope they have good weather.

7. Blue is next to me on the couch purring like mad.

8. I have a round steak in the crockpot. It’s smelling good. I almost forgot to add in the carrots. Hope they get cooked.

9.I bought just one flat of annuals at Farmer’s Market last Tuesday, along with some pots to place near my doors, brighten up the place. I promise I will plant the begonias tomorrow.

10. Here’s a link to my favorite patriotic hymn, done in a beautiful harmony by the Indigo Girls. The tune is Sibelius’ Finlandia. I love it because it gets that everyone loves their country, and that God loves all countries.

11. Praying especially today for travelers and graduates, those traveling to graduations. Oh, the places you’ll go.

 

Random Singing Friday Five

Sep14

For the RevGalBlogPals, revjkarla posts this week’s Friday Five:

1. What is one of the best things that happened to you this week? As is the way of things, what leapt to mind first was the bad thing – someone melted down all over me at Altar Guild this week. The small church I serve is getting smaller, and as pastor I am the lightning rod for what’s wrong. So I checked my calendar and saw many good things: I went on a flurry of visits, typical behavior before a vacation; a wonderful memorial service for a quiet man who will be much missed; a good dinner and reconnection with old friends as we leave on the first leg of vacation.

2. If you were in a Ms., Miss, Mr. (name your country) Pageant, what would your talent be? I would sing, I suppose; my flute skills are pretty rusty. I have a church voice, which works since I spend a lot of time in churches. I always remember an episode of China Beach where the staffers mount a production of My Fair Lady, with Dr. Richard as Henry Higgins. McMurphy is working on the part of Eliza Doolittle, doing a fair job of it, when a new nurse sweeps in with a Broadway voice that blows everybody away.

3. You were just given a YACHT!!! What would you name it, and why? Am I given the captain to sail the boat as well? ‘Cause that’s too much math for me. Sorry to be such a girl about it. Perhaps I’d call it Ruach, or Holy Breath, some play on words having to do with wind and Spirit.

4. If you were to perform in a circus, what would you do? (I can’t remember if I asked this before…) See singing, above. In my 20s one of my favorite novels was Marion Zimmer Bradley‘s The Catch Trap. Not a great book, but a beloved author and vivid characters, capturing a time gone by in old traveling circuses. I would love to fly with the greatest of ease from the flying trapeze.

5. What do you have in your bag/wallet/backpack that best describes your personality? Well, there’s the iPod and the fountain pens and the Levenger shirt pocket briefcase, the Starbucks gold card… Let’s stick with the fountain pens. One has purple ink, the other orange; I’m quite superstitious about using a fountain pen with a Levenger legal pad to write my sermons. I preach from notes, so I’m not scribbling for hours, but the pen and paper help me think, and I don’t check facebook. I love the marriage of old-fashioned and wild color; like singing classic choral repertoire, I enjoy feeling part of the stream of history, participating in rituals people have been practicing for hundreds of years.

No pictures today, I’m leaving on a jet plane for a wedding in New Hampshire. Mwah, my lovelies!