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| St. Cecilia by Guido Reni |
Hers is one weird story—the virgin martyr tales always are. The Catholic Encyclopedia reasonably writes it off as "pious romance", but says her existence is historically verified and she was buried with fellow martyrs in the Catacombs of Praetextatus on the Via Appia. Good enough for me. I need her prayers. What with shaking fingers, years of vocal problems, and being only half trained, I'll take all the prayers I can get.
This blog post might come off a bit slapped-together today, and it sort of is. I'm sorry. I've got a funeral to attend, a house to clean, a refrigerator spill of sticky jam that got all the way down underneath the crisper, and more writing work than I know what to do with. Wish me luck, if you will.
The Today meme is hosted by Masha! Join in over at Piękno, or leave your own sensory notes in the combox...
Today I am...
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Feeling... a little sad, because my in-laws' neighbor passed away this week (it's his funeral today). I didn't know him very well, but I liked and respected him. I'll miss the sight of him, leaning on a shovel in his ever-healthy vegetable garden, greeting us with warm good nature from across the fence. He'd lived by my in-laws for something like thirty years.
Rest in peace, Mr. Anderson.
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Seeing... frost and sunshine. The garden denuded of tomato plants and half denuded of weeds, awaiting its mulch as soon as I can convince myself to get out in the cold and lay it down.
Smelling... coffee.
Tasting... coffee, right now. I'll probably make homemade mushroom and olive pizza tonight.
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Listening... well, this Wednesday was the seventh anniversary of Lou's and my first date, so I thought I'd play "our song." Or what passes for such a thing, anyway. This whole concerto is beautiful, but I especially love the first movement; it's when that mellow horn solo comes on the radio that I wander around the corner from the kitchen, look at Lou, and smile.
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Grateful... for a warm house. It is cold out. For Bellingham, anyway. My inner Montanan is mocking my Washington-adapted self, but whatever. I don't have ski sweaters anymore.
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Reading… War and Peace. There's some possibility I'll finish this week. We'll see how bogged down I get in the extended philosophical ramble I hear is at the end.
Studying… Mozart. I'm writing a... shall we say, whimsical post for a couple of weeks out, if I can pull it together.
Working on... chapter seven of the fairy tale retelling, and an editing project for a family friend. The world has been set against me working the last couple of weeks, though, I swear. Well. Most of the battle is in my own sleepy head, but there are external factors:
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| I NEED that notebook, Maia. That's my manuscript with my editor's notes. |
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Loving... quiet.
Hoping... for miracles of productivity, which are hard to come by in the holiday season.
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Happy weekend!
You perhaps don't yet realize it fully, but nothing ever truly belongs to you. Cats just let us use them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteAnd take a break from War and Peace and read something by Lewis. I recommend "The Weight of Glory." :)
Ha, I considered writing something about it being the Lewis/Kennedy/Huxley deathday, and I couldn't come up with anything... too sleepy. Now, if I could read The Weight of Glory in fifteen minutes today, I might just do it... otherwise, it has to get in line like all the other books I need to read. ;)
DeleteAlso, I'm sorry you're feeling sad today. I hope the funeral was comforting.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was a nice funeral... a Mormon funeral, which was a new experience for me. But I sort of take after C.S. Lewis, and Mr. Anderson was devout, so I did find it comforting. ;)
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your in-law's neighbor. I'm glad to know that you and your in-laws seem to have good memories of him and his garden and his good-naturedness.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated first-date anniversary! Do you do anything to celebrate?
We only had a cat in our apartment for a very short time, but I miss having all my workspaces appropriated for important sleeping-related program activities. :)
Thanks!
DeleteLou grilled T-Bones and I made mashed potatoes, because getting the furnace done is higher priority than going out right now... ;) and then we went and saw Ender's Game. It was a lovely evening.