Flourless Chocolate Cake

For the first time in my life I baked a flourless chocolate cake yesterday. I am wondering if it is like "Chocolate Decadence," which was once a popular dessert in the 1980s. A friend was having a dinner party last night, and when I volunteered to help, she gave me this recipe. It was somewhat complicated, but well worth the trouble.

Creamy Flourless Chocolate Cake
one 9-inch cake

1/2 pound semisweet chocolate
1/4 pound unsweetened chocolate
1 Tbsp. water, coffee, Cognac, OR brandy
1/ cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

1. 1. Put chocolates and water in top of double boiler. Melt over warm water. Removed from heat. Add butter in 5 pieces, blending each piece into the chocolate before adding the next piece. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar until dissolved.
2. Beat egg yolks until light and thickened. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture so it does not separate. Add vanilla.
3. Beat eggs whites and salt until foamy with electric mixer; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff. Fold whites into chocolate batter.
4. Pour into buttered and sugared 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes (no longer; the cake will fall slightly, then it will firm as it cools). Put cake on wire rack to cool; remove from pan.
   
5. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or serve with whipped cream OR Brush warm cake with seedless raspberry preserves, thinned over heat with a little water.

~~~~~~~~~
I baked it and topped it with raspberry preserves. It looked sophisticated and elegant. With 16 people at the dinner last night, half of it is still left. One cannot eat a large piece, because it is so rich.

My friend gave the half cake back to me, because she said it freezes beautifully. Now I have our Christmas dinner dessert!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go here for more chocolate dessert recipes.

Christmas MEME

From Welcome to My World--a Christmas me-me-me-me!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. I am trying to get rid of my collection of gift bags on Freecycle.org.
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real
3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually by Dec. 15, which is very LATE according to Texas standards.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Usually on New Year's Day, but this year it will be on Dec. 28, because the next day we start our drive to Albuquerque, NM for Richard Rohr's New Year's conference on the enneagram.
5. Do you like eggnog?
Not really. My eldest daughter AE used to love it; I'm not sure if she still does.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A bride doll with high heels when I was in second grade.
7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband.
8. Easiest person to buy for?
My youngest daughter MJ.
9. Do you have a nativity scene?
I have way too many, as I collect them.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I love to mail Christmas cards. I am very pleased that my children, though three of the four are on their own, continue to contribute to our "Christmas letter," a copied two-page letter I enclose in each Christmas card. Since my mother died in 1992, each person in our family has written his/her own section--a tradition that is continuing (I hope in the future).
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A book on how-to make potpourri.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
"Its a Wonderful Life."
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually around Thanksgiving.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
"Holiday Sparklers," a shortbread like cookie with three chocolate chips inside it.
16. Lights on the tree?
Of course.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
"Mary, Did You Know?" by Kathy Matea
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home. I am so lucky that my children are all coming home this Christmas!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
Almost
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Yes: a starched, crocheted one
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning?
We open one each on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
All the ads that started before Thanksgiving, just like the Christmas decorations coming out in some stores after Halloween.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I love the ones that my mother and children made.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Same meal as for Thanksgiving--turkey and stuffing.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I want each person in my family to appreciate the time we have together.
26. What do you like most about Christmas?
Everything--joy, tradition, family, love.

If you want to play, leave a comment here. It will be fun to read others' answers.

Advent Longing

In the darkness of the season, in the silence of Mary’s womb,

new life waits and grows.

Hope is shaped in hidden places,

on the edges, in the depths

far from the blinding lights and deafening sounds of consumer frenzy.

In the darkness and silence of my own life,

I wait,

listening for the whisper of angel wings,

longing for a genuine experience of mystery,

hoping for a rekindling of joy and the establishment of peace.

I lean into the darkness

and silence.

Expectant.

~~Larry J. Peacockby Jan van Eyck

1439

Time to get ready

I love poinsettias, always have and always will. The red ones are gorgeous and bring the holiday spirit home to me, especially as I am feeling so much better.

It is funny to say, but last night I suddenly realized, "I feel like myself!" After three days of being sick, I felt better. I was still "myself" when I was ill, though the energy was not there. I'm glad to be "back"!

Now it is time to decorate for Christmas. I collect nativity scenes, especially ones from other countries. Time to move the various knick-knacks to make room for these creches.

That reminds me of last year's post on Nifty Nativities. That's where I revealed my love of images where Mary is holding the baby Jesus, which doesn't happen often enough in my eyes!

Perpetual Advent

"Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and author, remarked that life is a perpetual Advent. He sensed that in that waiting, trust began to grow. Trust in God, trust in the Holy One who is beyond all that is created and is the source of all things, seen and unseen. Trusting and waiting allow the loving-kindness that is the essence of God's own Life to grow in us, and to bear fruit that we never expected."

To read the rest of Mary Earle's short article, go here.

Bug Infested

Sorry I am not visiting or writing much--have caught a bug.

Middle East Map Quiz!

Geography Quiz!

Hope you do better than I did! And I used to be an elementary school teacher. . . .

Ego

Richard Rohr in his little Advent book writes about EGO:

Don't Edge God Out!

Gay Marriage with Jack Black and others

A little late for Prop. 8 in California--but very funny with some truth hidden in!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Big Wedding Weekend

Husband CB and I are going to San Antonio on Friday and will be there until Sunday for a big wedding celebration for good friends of son DC and wife AA. This is the last of "The Five" guys to get married. These were five boys who remained friends through elementary, middle, and high schools. They shared classes, soccer teams, and church youth group together. Each has been a groomsman in the other's wedding, and this Saturday is the last of "The Five" weddings.

"The Five" at DC and AA's wedding 9-2-06
WW, CD, DC (my son), SW, BT
BT is getting married on Saturday!

It is a very sweet and romantic story about BT marrying HL. They had never met until they walked down the aisle together at DC and AA's wedding! BT had not been able to get to Austin for the rehearsal dinner the night before, and so he only appeared in time for the wedding! After that, they became friends and then engaged.

Due to the history of "The Five," their parents are invited to Friday night's rehearsal dinner. For us, it probably is also because both DC and AA are in the wedding parties. And I have been asked to give the meal blessing there.

The wedding is on Saturday night. Youngest daughter MJ is going to come with us, since she is very fond of "The Five" guys, who were all her big brothers as she grew up. (They are ten years older than she is.)

It will be a happy and enjoyable weekend!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Conveniently, I can also attend the monthly mystics talk in San Antonio, as I will be there on Saturday morning. This is Year 2 of Christian Mysticism: History, Wisdom and Insights. It is sponsored by both Oblate School of Theology (where I may someday earn my master's degree in Theology) and Contemplative Outreach of San Antonio. Saturday's talk will be on "Dominican Spirituality: Dominic and Catherine of Sienna."

Christ's Dependence

"By his own will Christ was dependent on Mary during Advent: he was absolutely helpless; he could go nowhere but where she chose to take him; he could not speak; her breathing was his breath; his heart beat in the beating of her heart.

"Today Christ is dependent upon us. This dependence of Christ lays a great trust upon us. During this tender time of Advent we must carry him in our hearts to wherever he wants to go, and there are many places to which he may never go unless we take him."

Caryll Houselander, The Reed of God, pp. 30-31

Look Out!

John Dear has written an excellent article about Advent, Advent: Time to be on the look out.

He writes:

"The Gospel would shake us from our weariness. 'Don't sleep while Mumbai burns. Don't yield to the culture's allures: shopping, selfishness, indifference, violence and war. Don't act as if there is no God, as if change is impossible, as if there's nothing you can do. Don't sleep as apocalypse encroaches. Don't remain unaware of the world's agony. Wake up! Look around! See what's happening. Get ready for peace!'"

And then goes on with this:

"And so this Advent let's become visionaries. Let's reclaim our imaginations and say "Yes, we can. Yes, a new world is possible; indeed, a new world is coming" --- a new world without war, poverty, nuclear weapons, violence or global warming. Get ready for it. Urge others to prepare. Such preparation is the spiritual task at hand.

"A final blessing. May these holy Advent days renew our lives, lead us to peace, fill us with grace and hope, disarm our hearts, turn us back toward the God of peace, and make us faithful watchers, ready for Jesus and his Christmas gift of peace.

"Together, we sing: 'O come o come, Emanuel! Come, Lord Jesus.'"

Go here to read the entire article

World AIDS Day

Last night I attended the annual AIDS Day memorial service, which was at my church this year. It was a small gathering, as the service had not been well advertised. Still, it was lovely, especially the music.

I went remembering an older couple whose son Keith died of AIDS over ten years ago, as they took me to my first such service. Sadly, the husband died last year, and I haven't seen his wife SB since his funeral.

I found her and sat with her during the service. My memories were strengthened by being with SB and her telling me that one year ago was the funeral service for her husband. We reconnected in loving memory and our present re-connection. SB easily sees things as "God's hand" and we both agreed God brought us together.

Through Keith's illness and death, his family came to embrace LGBT causes and people, as well as HIV/AIDS. I remember taking a friend to their house to see one of the AIDS quilts that was traveling around the U.S. a decade ago. They stood up when many in this conservative community in south Texas ignored and/or rejected gay people. I could see that SB still knows and supports people here, by all the names she mentioned who had died and the various people she introduced me to afterwards.

I'm glad we were brought together again. I needed that reminder of how much I care about her; I too easily get busy and do not see or talk to those I love.

May we open ourselves

Advent Resources

Advent Resources

Doubt

"I live in a world filled with evil. And my faith cannot always endure it. My husband, who is not a Christian, fiercely says to me in the midst of an argument, 'In Rwanda, fifty percent of the people were Catholic.' His words stop mine on my lips; if religious faith cannot stop genocide, of what use is it at all?

"And thus I doubt. Doubt is to me the handmaiden to faith, its cop, the one that keeps faith straight. To doubt is an indication of freedom and a guard against fanaticism. But it is also so easy to doubt, so easy to be cynical, that the job appears to be to enlarge the part that believes, but only to enlarge it by taking the path made painful by the doubt and with the integrity born of the doubt rather than the inflation born of sentiment, heightened emotion, or the sometimes false camaraderie of a faith community.

"In The Production of the Word, his essay on Van Gogh, John Berger writes: "For an animal its natural environment and habitat are a given; for a man [sic]. . . reality is not a given: it has to be continually sought out, held--I am tempted to say salvaged.'

"Faith is the name I put to the seeking out, the holding, the salvage operation." (4)

Nora Gallagher, Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith

Connected to these thoughts is a post at Quaker Dave's that features an editorial by Leonard Pitts: Because you might not see this on too many other “progressive” blogs…

Thanksgiving Pictures

This is husband CB driving us to Austin from Corpus Christi on Thanksgiving morning. It took about 4 1/2 hours to get there.

Thanksgiving Day at eldest son DC's home. Here are three of my four children, since AE is in WA State. They are third child BJ, eldest son DC, and youngest child MJ.

DC's dog Sampson came outside to see banished Troy (BJ's dog), who was not allowed in the house in Austin because he is too rambunctious.

DC and MJ looking at the view from Mt. Bonnell, which is over 700 feet above sea level--that's high in Texas! It is a natural limestone formation that stands 200 feet (!!) above the ground. The view is lovely and showed me some autumn colors that I don't see further south in Corpus Christi.

This is Troy, BJ's Brittany Spaniel. He has so much energy that he is rarely still, which must be why he is so skinny. This was taken today at our home in Corpus Christi.

Tomorrow, the first Sunday in Advent, BJ and Troy will drive back to Houston. MJ will go back to San Antonio with her boy friend CS, whom she will take to the San Antonio Airport so he can return to school at Stanford. MJ will go back to Trinity University for the next few weeks until her winter break.

Advent Begins

Advent begins on Sunday, which is tomorrow. I've loved reading reflections of fellow bloggers about Advent. So far these have stood out:

• Ruth's Anticipating Advent: Anglican prayer beads
  
• Fran's Advent. Calendar.: video of Rowan Williams talking about Advent
• Jennifer's Advent Beginnings: waiting and Gunilla Norris
• Jan Richardson's blog The Advent Door: Entering a Contemplative Christmas
  

Advent is a time of waiting. Henri Nouwen wrote a piece entitled "Waiting for God" in Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas. Here are a few quotes about waiting that I need to ponder from his words:

"Waiting, as we see it in the people on the first pages of the Gospel, is waiting with a sense of promise. 'Zechariah, . . . . your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son.' 'Mary, . . . .Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son' (Luke 1:13, 31). People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more. Zechariah, Mary, and Elizabeth were living with a promise that nurtured them, that fed them, and that made them able to stay where they were. And in this way, the promise itself could grow in them and for them." (32-33)

"The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is the moment." (33)

"Simone Weil, a Jewish writer, said, 'Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life."(37)

Day after Thanksgiving 2008

This is from last year's Day After Thanksgiving. Same holds true, though I did not shop today. Instead, I drove from Austin to Corpus Christi. I had no desire to shop and still don't.

We had a nice time with lots of eating at my son and daughter-in-law's house in Austin. Getting reconnected with her parents is nice, especially since we will see them at a wedding next weekend in San Antonio.

I am still trying to give thanks. As I told someone in spiritual direction last week, it helps one's attitude to say "thank you" for every little thing: from taking a breath to being able to sit down, get up, and move my hand. I am trying to stay in a grateful frame of mind.

By the way, if you have never read Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer by David Steindl-Rast, gift yourself with this book. As the extended title suggests, it is "an approach to life in fullness." Maybe it is time for me to re-read this favorite book of mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the USA

I just baked a pecan pie to take to my son and daughter-in-law's for the dinner tomorrow in Austin. This afternoon I am going to fix our traditional stuffing and cook a small turkey just for our family. We like to have leftover sandwiches! Tomorrow morning we'll drive to Austin for the two-family Thanksgiving with AA's family and our family. I am still very impressed that AA is such a hostess after only two years of marriage!

And AA just called asking me if I was bringing "the" green jello salad? I had not planned on it, but she said DC called her from work and asked if we were having it. I never knew anyone was attached to that lime and fruit jello salad that appears every Thanksgiving and Christmas (because that's what my mother did!). Guess the jello salad is a "tradition" I had not realized.

Jan, reading glasses and leaves

Here I am looking out our front door at MJ when she got her new camera in June--with my ever-present reading glasses on. I have so many pairs of glasses laying around the house, but can still get panicky when I cannot find a pair. Unlike me, husband CB has three designated pairs--on the table where he reads the newspaper, by his computer desk, and always in his pocket. I am much more haphazard.

Wreaths are very popular in this part of TX for front doors. I have various seasonal ones in trash bags under the bed. Right now the door is bare, because I've never gotten out the wreath with leaves on it. Soon, I'll just get the Christmas one out. . . .That's sad though, because I love fall leaves and have ignored my (fake) ones this year. (There are no autumnal colors in Corpus Christi.)

I still have a bowl of dried leaves that daughter AE sent me from Germany about five years ago.

Stuffing oneself and its consequences

I don't seem to have much to write about these days, so I'm giving you cartoons. My daughter-in-law AA asked for my stuffing recipe, which pleases me. But now I ponder the choice of stuffing myself during this thanksgiving week. . . .

A different Thanksgiving. . . .

This is dedicated to my vegetarian daughter AE:

The Cat's Whiskers

Buy Nothing Christmas?

I love to give presents. I also love to receive presents. However, I know Christmas giving has gotten out-of-hand. I am investigating, pondering, and thinking about how my family will celebrate this year, or it may just be how I celebrate. . . .

So here's another site I have found about spending in this holiday season. It was started by Canadian Mennonites: Buy Nothing Christmas. I'm not ready to buy nothing, but I am interested in the alternative suggestions they list here. There are 50, so one idea or more may be relevant to a family that isn't ready to eliminate all spending.

Resources, like book suggestions and printable info, can be found here.

And on this page, Aiden Schlichting Enns writes:

PEOPLE CAN CHANGE

"How can we, as ordinary people, change society for the better? I'm not a politician, lobbyist, professor or big-time consultant (I'm currently a graduate student and a journalist). I'm tired of feeling like I can't do anything.

"So, even if it's insignificant, I've decided to participate in a Buy Nothing Christmas. It's an experiment - I'm curious to see what happens. I think it's a great way to challenge our own consumer mindset, to put our faith into action, to offer a prophetic "no" to unfettered free-market consumer capitalism, and an excellent way to generate some good dinner-table discussions on the topic of economics, politics, religion, and what we're not getting each other for Christmas."

I like Aiden's observations. . . .reminds me of Buy Nothing Day.

Superior Scribbler Award

Border Explorer graciously honored me with the Superior Scribbler Award. I am touched that someone who works for social justice and writes so eloquently would choose me as one of her honorees! Wowee!

Well, here's how this thing works:
*Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
*Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
* Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this Post, which explains The Award.
* Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
*Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

Now it is difficult to choose bloggers who have not already been chosen for this award. I choose ALL on my blog list on the left, but specifically honor these five:

Jennifer at An Orientation of Heart describes her life, ministry, and books she is reading. She always chooses beautiful images to go with quotes and other reflections. Not only has she introduced me to new books to read, but new artists to explore.

Roberta at Spiritually Directed posts every day with spiritual quotes and poems combined with unique images that inspire and confound me.

Dave at The Quaker Agitator makes me want to be a Friend like he is. He blogs about the injustices of the world that I often ignore, except that he won't let me. His quote on the masthead tells his philosophy: "Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace."

Katherine at Meaning and Authenticity is the friend who brought me into the blogging world. Her blog title tells you exactly what she writes about--religion, spirituality, psychology, and politics--passionately and honestly.

Seething Mom writes scathingly about the bigotry towards gays in the USA from the perspective of a mother of a gay child, just as I am. She expresses what I often cannot. She defends those who are so marginalized in our society.

Black Friday

Black Friday is what the day after Thanksgiving is known as; a major shopping day in the USA. That is probably why I am staying an extra day in Austin with daughter MJ, but now I am re-thinking that reasoning because of learning about Buy Nothing Day. First I looked at this article by Eugene Cho here, on Jim Wallis' God's Politics blog.

So that sent me to the Buy Nothing Day site.

And now look at the short (1 1/2 minutes) video I found about it:



So what do YOU think?

Gift of Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of prayer. What an extraordinary thing that we can pray to you, unburden ourselves before you, place our cares, woes and joys before you. I confess I find praying an awkward business. I keep thinking, Who am I to pray? But I know that to be false humility, hiding my prideful desire to be my own creator. So we pray a prayer of joy in prayer, asking that we become your prayers for one another. Amen.

Stanley Hauerwas, Prayers Plainly Spoken, p. 23

Sharing?

Seattle, WA

Richard Rohr and the Enneagram

I am very excited that I am going to this Richard Rohr conference over New Year's Eve in Albuquerque, NM! I am also amazed, because dear husband CB is going with me, even though he does NOT want to attend any of the meetings. And I only learned this today, because one of his fellow choir members told me that CB was talking about me wanting to go, which was news to me. I'd talked to CB about it this weekend, but he was discouraging about the expense of air fares and did not want to talk about it. With the "percolating" time, he decided to gift me with this!

It will be good to hear Richard Rohr speak and also learn more about the enneagram. I have haphazardly looked into it, but have varied between different numbers. . . .Duh!

This is what the website says about the conference:

"When we learn things deeply it is usually because we can see a pattern within ourselves, and then we cannot deny the truth in general. The enneagram is a patterning tool that moves people rather quickly beyond black and white thinking, beyond mere psychological theories, to see, instead, through the lens of human personality. This is why we find ever more knowing flowing from the Enneagram--and non-dual knowing, at that.

"Russ Hudson and Richard Rohr will lead you on a journey of laughing and weeping at yourself and the world. They will help you uncover some of the ever more fruitfulness of this marvelous spiritual tool!

"The weekend will offer lectures, practices and affinity groupings, all in a context of transformation for our selves, compassion for our companions, and prayer for the world."

It sounds like an enervating way to start the New Year!

Butterscotch Brownies

I baked Butterscotch Brownies today, a favorite of my children. It's a recipe from the ancient Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls, which I mentioned when I gave the recipe for Iced Butterscotch Brownies while back. I had forgotten how good they are, so I am giving you the recipe below. However, be aware that I usually triple or quadruple the recipe given. This was a big hit today as the snack at my EFM class.

You can tell that this is an OLD recipe, because there is so much fat and sugar in it. BUT these are very good!

Butterscotch Brownies

1/4 cup butter (1/2 cube)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
optional 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Grease an 8 inch square pan.

In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Take from heat and stir in brown sugar.

Into cooled mixture, stir in 1 egg.

Mix together flour, baking powder, and and salt. Then add to wet mixture.

Stir in vanilla and nuts, if desired. Spread in pan.

Bake for 25 minutes in 350 degree F. oven.

Cloud of Unknowing

Found at Anamchara. Drawn by Naked Pastor.

More about Sarah Palin. . .yet again

"(Lincoln appointed a New York senator, William Seward, as his secretary of state. He promptly bought Alaska, known as “Seward’s Folly,” which ended up bringing us the folly of Sarah Palin)."

Maureen Dowd--column here. (The column is more about Hillary than Sarah.)

And a friend emailed me the "most emailed" link (as of this moment) at The New York Times, which is by Dick Cavett--"The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla." Here are a few of his gems:

"I suppose it will be recorded as among political history’s ironies that Palin was brought in to help John McCain. I can’t blame feminists* who might draw amusement from the fact that a woman managed to both cripple the male she was supposed to help while gleaning an almost Elvis-sized following for herself. Mac loses, Sarah wins big-time was the gist of headlines.

"I feel a little sorry for John. He aimed low and missed."

"A woman in one of Palin’s crowds praised her for being “a mom like me … who thinks the way I do” and added, for ill measure, “That’s what I want in the White House.” Fine, but in what capacity?"

A column by someone I avoid (but didn't today), Bill O'Reilly condemns all the continued criticism of Sarah Palin, but I find these other columnists hitting my funny bone, while also pointing to the truth. Palin is striving to become a GOP power force.

*And I do not think feminists view Sarah Palin with amusement. I look at her in disbelief, disgust, and antipathy.

Gay Marriage by Keith Olbermann

I found this over at Presbyterian Gal's and was moved to tears.

Whatever your opinion about gay marriage, watch/listen to this!

Also, Quaker Dave has copied an editorial by Leonard Pitts that is worth reading in connection with this issue. Go here.

Needlepoint Kneelers

Today 12 needlepoint kneelers were introduced and dedicated to First United Methodist Church of Corpus Christi, TX. They are beautiful; just one is pictured above. This is a project that has been ongoing for the past four years. Each stitcher who created the kneeler walked in a procession to the front of the sanctuary and placed the pillow in its particular spot.

I went today because a good friend MW worked diligently on kneeler #4: God Called the Dry Land. Perhaps someday I can post a picture of "her" kneeler.

Nancy Keating of Atlanta, GA, designed them. Pictures of other kneelers she designed can be seen here. She was also in the congregation today!

It was thrilling to see the kneelers and their creators, as well as experience the joy of the congregation today. I'm glad I could be there, especially for my friend.

Still, I find that I missed the liturgy and Eucharist of my Episcopal Church. I yearn for that weekly worship experience.

Prayer Reminder

The less I pray, the harder it gets; the more I pray, the better it gets.

Martin Luther

Who would Jesus torture?

This says it all. It's from LesEnrages.org, and I do hope you'll go and read this piece posted on Nov. 12, 2008.

Please urge newly-elected President Obama to issue an executive order by endorsing the Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order to Ban Torture.

Also, spend some time looking at the website National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Friday Five: Remembrance

Sophia posted today's Friday Five for the RevGalBlogPals blog:

Earlier this week the U.S. celebrated Veterans' Day, known in many other countries as Remembrance Day. At this time last year I was commuting to a postdoc in Canada, and I was moved by the many red poppies that showed up there on people's lapels in honor of the observance. Unlike a flag lapel pin, which to me has political connotations and implies approval of our current war, the poppies simply honor the sacrifice and dedication of those who have followed their consciences by serving--sometimes dying--in the military.

This week's Friday Five invites reflection on the theme of remembrance, which is also present in the feasts of All Saints, celebrated in many liturgical churches on November 1, and All Souls--known in Latin@ cultures as the Day of the Dead--celebrated in some the following day.

1. Did your church have any special celebrations for All Saints/All Soul's Day? I've thought about posting about my church's All Saints Day celebrations and am glad for this opportunity. I was surprisingly gifted with the holiness of the communion of saints that day.

Our interim priest arranged for an inter-generational event between the services that Sunday--making paper chains, with each loop bearing the name of a departed person we loved. When I arrived, mostly teenagers were noisily stapling the bands of paper together on which the office staff had printed those who had died since the church's foundation in 1950. I did not expect any feelings at all when I started to write out the names of my parents and then friends who died in the past. I was surprised at the feelings of love I felt as I wrote more and more names, including Joe and Len, friends who died in 2008.

Before the late service, the youth wrapped the long chain around the altar. This contributed to the feelings of connection, even though my mind scoffed at the idea. My heart knew!

The music was the homily for the day, with the choir singing the Te Deum. Before that, the priest solemnly read out each name of a member of All Saints Episcopal Church since its beginning. Though I knew very few of the people named, I was totally attentive and appreciative of each person. That still surprises me; I can only thank God for the gift of awareness I was given. I did not try--and know that during other years of services, I could be antsy during the long reading of names.

What a gift of remembrance I was given.

2. How about Veterans' Day?
Not much was done on this day, except me remembering my parents and praying for soldiers.

3. Did you and your family have a holiday for Veterans' Day/Remembrance Day? If so, how did you take advantage of the break?
No.

4. Is there a veteran in your life, living or dead, whose dedication you remember and celebrate? Or perhaps a loved one presently serving in the armed forces?
Both of my parents were Marines in WW II. In fact, they met in Hawaii at a dance on the base. I am proud of my mother volunteering to be a woman Marine at that time. I am proud of my father serving in the Marine Corps for 24 years; for rising from a private through the ranks to retire as a Major; for receiving the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals in the Korean War/Conflict.
(Even though I am for peace, I grew up on Marine bases and still have pride in the U.S. Marine Corps.)

5. Do you have any personal rituals which help you remember and connect with loved ones who have passed on?
They are mostly "food" rituals! Until my mother died in 1992, she spent every Christmas with me. She struggled with leaving my dad for Christmas, but finally realized that he didn't care much about Christmas and did not mind her leaving WA for TX.

My mother always made wonderful cookies for Christmas, something I continue to do. She also made cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, which both MJ and I have been doing since my mother's death. My mother would bring the pieces of a gingerbread house for the kids to put together and decorate every Christmas. That's one tradition I always want to do, but do not always plan enough to get it all together.

American Pie (taxes) from "Christian Century"

"In the course of discussing tax policy with an unlicensed Ohio plumber, Barack Obama suggested that "spreading the wealth around" a bit more would be good for the country. Obama was trying to explain why he wants to impose a modest tax increase on people who make more than $250,000 a year while reducing taxes on those making less than that amount. John McCain and his supporters immediately seized on Obama's remark as a sign that Obama favors a socialist form of income redistribution. "The notion that a progressive income tax is a form of socialism is ludicrous. Since the time of Teddy Roosevelt, Americans have recognized that those who are flourishing most in society should pay a proportionately higher share of tax. After all, they are the ones benefiting most from the social stability and infrastructure that government provides. Talk of socialism would be laughable except that it is part of a larger, disturbing reality in American politics: it has become almost impossible to talk about the disparities in wealth that have arisen over the past three decades and about how this stratification undermines democracy and fosters unequal outcomes in other areas of life, including educational opportunity and access to health care. "Since the late 1970s the share of national income going to the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled and the share for the top 0.1 percent has tripled. More than 40 percent of total income goes to the wealthiest 10 percent—their biggest share of the nation's pie in at least 65 years. The very wealthy have become enormously wealthy, while middle-class workers have seen their wages stagnate—barely keeping pace with inflation—and at the same time have had to deal with sharp increases in the costs of health care and education. "In light of this trend, the dispute between McCain and Obama on taxes is minor: Obama wants to return the top marginal tax rate to 39 percent, where it was under Clinton, while McCain wants to keep it at 35 percent. Both men, in other words, would maintain the mildly progressive tax system that currently exists. The current system is actually much less progressive than it was in earlier decades—under Eisenhower the top tax rate was 91 percent, and under Nixon it was 70 percent. Those were hardly socialist administrations. "Though tax rates are not the only factor shaping economic conditions, they are an important measure of how the burdens of common life are being distributed. The warnings about socialism should be seen for what they are: a blunt effort to block any discussion of the ominous fact that the U.S. has become a nation of increasing inequality and, for many, of declining opportunity."

by the Century editors article printed from: The Christian Century Magazine http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=5678

Harold Loukes

An act of love that fails is just as much a part of the divine life as an act of love that succeeds, for love is measured by its own fullness, not by its reception.
--Harold Loukes

This quote went along beautifully with the third chapter in Gerald May's book, The Awakened Heart--"Freedom and Intention." So I brought it to our Tuesday Wisdom Class for the opening meditation. I was surprised that the ensuing conversation was preoccupied with whether love could be measured, while I thought (and still think) that the whole point of this saying is that one is to love no matter if it is rejected or received, thwarted or rewarded, denied or affirmed. The point is to love with abandon, as God loves us, and not to stop when it appears that nothing happens. --Or to try to love as God loves us.

This made me wonder who Harold Loukes was; all I knew till now was that he was a Quaker. He was born in 1912 in England and died there in 1980. He was a headmaster for over a decade in India and continued to be involved with education on his return to Great Britain.

Meeting in Houston

Corpus Christi is where husband CB and I live. Daughter MJ is going to college in San Antonio. Son BJ lives and works in Houston. And now daughter AE from Seattle will be in Houston this weekend! Though AE does not like TX very much, we're glad she'll be down here for a few days. She will be attending a conference in Houston.

Friday night we will meet for dinner, minus DC and wife AA who cannot come from Austin. Thanks to a friend telling me about Ziggy's, we have a restaurant that is recommended for "mixed families with both vegetarians and carnivores." That's us! And such a restaurant may lessen each child's strident desire for his/her own type of food, since both will be offered.


I am grateful that 19-year-old MJ will drive from San Antonio to Houston on Friday and then drive me back to Corpus Christi on Saturday. She'll have a lot of driving to do, with another trip from Corpus Christi to San Antonio on Sunday. This way she and I can stay longer in Houston on Saturday, because my husband must drive back to Corpus Christi early on Saturday morning, which is earlier than I want to leave.

Marine Corps Birthday

(To better view this cartoon, go here and choose Nov. 10.)

Today is the Marine Corps Birthday. When I was a little girl, my dad would take me to the Officers' Club to see the HUGE cake for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. I was promised that when I was 16, I could go to that. . . .but by then my dad had retired from the Marine Corps. Since we lived far from a Marine base, no more Birthday Balls. I never got to go to one. I like remembering how beautiful my mother would look, dressed up for the balls, and my dad in his dress blues.

Acedia

Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life
by Kathleen Norris

Last night I found this book among my piles, having bought it way back in August, before various trips. It is exactly the right book for me to read at this time! It fits in so many ways--for my marriage and my life.

Today I am going to church and then will walk in the CROP Walk. Other than that, I am reading this book, so I will not be visiting blogs.

Here is a story of the desert fathers from the book:

". . . the early Christian monks staked their survival on their willingness to be as God had made them, creatures of the day-to-day. They regarded repetition as essential to their salvation, and valued perseverance in prayer and manual labor as the core of their spiritual discipline. . . .

"'Abba Moses asked Abba Sylvanus, "Can a man lay a new foundation every day?" The old man said, "If he works hard, he can lay a new foundation at every moment."'" (86)

YES!

I took this from someone's blog who belongs to RevGals, but I forget where it came from, except that it is by Bill Keane! Thank you!

The Death of Those We Love

Remember when my friend Joe died? His widow is a special friend of mine and today shared this beautiful quote from Henri Nouwen:

"The death of those we love and who love us opens up the possibility of a new, more radical communion, a new intimacy, a new belonging to each other. If love is stronger than death, then death has the potential to deepen and strengthen the bonds of love.

"It is only when we have died that our spirits can completely reveal themselves. The spirits of love, once freed from our mortal bodies, will blow where it will, even when few will hear its coming and going."

From Becoming the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

Friday Five: Funny Papers

Bill Watterson

After an exhausting election here in the states it's time for some spirit lifting! Join me with a nice cup of tea or coffee or cocoa and let's sit back and read the Funny Papers!

1. What was your favorite comic strip as a child?

I loved reading comic books, especially all the Walt Disney ones.

2. Which comic strip today most consistently tickles your funny bone?

Zits! It describes my life as a mom.

Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

3. Which Peanuts character is closest to being you?
Probably Charlie Brown, because I am pretty insecure, though growing out of that, too. He tries so hard even when prospects look poor.

4. Some say that comic strips have replaced philosophy as a paying job, so to speak. Does this ring true with you?

For ordinary people, this is probably true. It's a way to reach more people. Like Jesus, comic strips can often speak as a parable--leaving one to wonder and question, sometimes in outrage.

5. What do you think the appeal is for the really long running comic strips like Blondie, Family Circus, Dennis the Menace as some examples?
Basic experiences of life, especially middle class family life.

Bonus question: Which discontinued comic strip would you like to see back in print?
Look at the top of this post and that will tell you--"Calvin and Hobbes."

Marriage Equality in CA

Vote No On 8 issued a final statement, which I endorse by posting here:

The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday’s vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law.

All Americans are harmed when any of us are discriminated against or have our fundamental rights taken away.

Make no mistake, this fight is not over.

We remain committed to ensuring full equality under the law, just as the thousands of same-sex couples who joyously married in California are committed to each other.

While it is understandable to be angry that a deceptive campaign could lead to such an unfair and wrong outcome, we need to keep focused instead on the progress we have made.

Thousands of volunteers and contributors gave selflessly to this fight for equality. Political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike–took strong stands and spoke out against the distortions against us. Clergy, labor, educators and business leaders eagerly joined our cause. And we came within 4% of making history and protecting marriage equality in California.

The momentum is clearly on our side.

So, as disappointed as we are, we know that there is still hope and there is still love and, yes, there is still work to do. With our continued effort and by building on the support generated in this campaign, we will prevail. There will be equality. For us all.

Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.
—Robert F. Kennedy

~~~~~~~~~~~

Even better is a blog posting at Caught By the Light.

Advent Conspiracy

Advent Conspiracy

Catherine of Come to the Table blog invited me to join the "Advent Conspiracy" on Facebook, which caused me to look up the above site. These are the stated positions:

1. We should worship Christ more meaningfully.

2. We should refuse our culture's hunger for consumerism.
3. We should give relationally to our friends and family.
4. We should love all by giving to those most in need.

This sounds like that book about unplugging the Christmas tree (or Christmas machine!)--for less consumption and more relationships. A few years ago I read Bill McKibben's book, Hundred Dollar Holiday. All this reading seems to indicate that I read more than putting what I've read into action.

It's good to get these thoughts into consciousness at this time of year, weeks before Advent and Thanksgiving.

A challenge!

We are the ones for whom we have been waiting.

Hopi Elders To receive such quotations every day, subscribe to Word for the Day at Gratefulness.org.

To check data about the election

FIVE THIRTY EIGHT

"What is the mission of this website? Most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections."

Guess I'll be checking this frequently tomorrow, Election Day

Thanks to Watergate Summer for this website!

And remember Hope--Hold onto the Hope!

One More Day! Here's Les Misbarack!

Old, Fat, Naked Women for Peace!

From a dear blogging friend:



And I am an old, fat, (not) naked woman for peace!