...I'd laugh if it wasn't a little too true[aka a little knowledge...]

...spring has definitely sprung, part 6

you know it's been "springy" when rose bushes...
have blooms in many stages of life from dried up to buds...
this yellow rose tends to have blooms with less than a day of bloom...
when it's hot & very sunny as it has a southeast exposure...

it's also generally the last to bloom in late fall...



there is the promise of more lemons next fall...



but at this point, it's the new growth that catches your eye...
a special lemon tree version with the dark reddish new growth...



however, as these new leaves become more mature...
and the plethora of buds bloom...
the perfume will grab your attention completely...
so I'm enjoying the "spring green" while I can...



the weeping cherry has lost all its blooms...
the pink climbing roses are blooming behind & peeking through...
[they were "Joseph's Coat", but reverted to the pink stock...
which I actually like, so I didn't replace them...]



this shot shows so much springyness...

the creeper is leafing out, almost covering the climbing rose...
which is also growing new leaves & buds by the cluster...
the volunteer lilies still thrive in the spring shadows...
and the pin oak can be seen, looming over the house & back yard...



here's a close-up of the flourishing, "Climbing Blaze" rose...



and to the left, the creeper is luxuriating in the sun...



here's the creeper on the south wall, soon the kitchen window will be shaded...
the white blossoms of the potato vine, climbing into the oak tree...
[above the roof to the left...]
ignoring the trumpet vine below that was its original home...



the iris is still holding on below the kitchen window...



while the oak tree is threatening to take over the entire sky...
the best time to cut it back is late fall...
if I do it now, it will regrow faster...
I can't afford to have it done anyway...

it was $1000 for several trees a couple of years ago...

next installment:the back yard...

...it's SOOO nice when the pain stops

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!



I've been fighting first a pinched nerve in my back...
then a firestorm of sciatic nerve sensitivity...
up & down both legs, for a week now...

my lower back went out last Wednesday, so I "rested"...
then was the 12 hour marathon of Maundy Thursday...
the solemnity of Good Friday...
the 6 hour Easter vigil stretch [for me anyway...]
and the postscript of Easter Sunday morning...

during this period, we had a lot of rain & cold wind...
which always is good for exacerbating sore muscles...
so they just kept getting tighter & more painful...
so today, I'd had enough & called my chiropractor...



he does acupressure which balances the electrical flow in the nerves...
relaxing the muscles which allows the lactic acid to be removed...
and this time, there were pinched nerves to be unpinched in the tailbone area...
so even though there are some residual twinges, it's SO much better...

I have a lot of physical stuff to do...
so I need to be able to get it done...

so while I'm being thankful, I'm very thankful for Dr. V...

I'll sleep well tonight for the first time in a week...

...a change of perspective

we have become a people of instant gratification...

drive-through fast food, banks, coffee houses, doughnut chains...
microwaves, "IMs", e-mail, texting, "beaming"...
downloads, online ordering, overnight delivery services...
280 channels, on-demand viewing, Broadband, satellite...
video rental services with pre-ordered queues...
so you never have to wait for the next choice...
speed dating, smart phones, Wi-fi, I-tunes & search engines...

when I was a kid, we had 3 TV channels that broadcast from 6 AM-midnight...
we changed channels by hand, we saw movies in a theater, played records, ...
& typed papers on a typewriter, using carbon paper for copies...
when we were away from home & needed to call someone...
we used a pay phone...

we re-heated left-overs in a pan on the stove or in the oven...
we "chatted" with "friends", face to face...
and got "messages" or "mail", written down on paper...
delivered once a day & never on Sunday...

life had a slower, more contemplative pace...
it was easier to enjoy the moment...
because you weren't rushing on to the next "thing"...
or, more to my point, pushed to the next thing by a beeping, ringing device...

you had the time to read a book, look at the night sky...
create something with your own hands that satisfied a part of your spirit...
you learned that anything worth doing, is worth doing well...
to take your time with a project, to be alone with your thoughts...

you learned patience...

to wait in hopeful expectation of a good outcome...
and if the outcome wasn't what you expected or wanted...
you had spent enough time waiting...
that you were able to come to terms with the way it was...
and could move on, learning to adapt or finding a way to change it...

ah, those were the good ol' days, weren't they ?

what ? you don't remember it quite that way ?

you remember being frustrated by the slowness of everything...
how you desperately wanted to, be there already...
but that frustration comes from being young & having no patience...
ask any teenager if they want their phone/computer/game to "be faster"...
and they'll say, YES !

we always want more...

more hours in the day... more RAM on our computers...
meals that materialize from nothing at the touch of a button...
better yet, being able to transport ourselves, anywhere or time...
more channels, more choices, more options, more standard equipment...

more mph[speed] in our vehicle as well as more mpg and rpms...
cleaner air, lower prices, higher test scores/grades, more time off...
faster, more realistic electronic games...
as we sit on the couch when we could actually BE playing/doing something...

it's all in our perspective...
after all, a wink's as good as a nod to a blind man...

or, we were happy, "then", because it was all we knew...
someday, future generations will wax nostalgic...
about the antiquated activities of today...
and complain that life was slower, "then"...
"worth living"... not like "today's impersonal lifestyle"...

I've come to this rant today...
after ruminating on some amazing things that I'm seeing God accomplish...

we aren't far enough down the road yet to say with provable certainty...
that these things will come to pass...
but at this point, this perspective, if you will...
I see some very good & encouraging things, quietly forming on the horizon...

in the past 2 1/2 years, I have seen God accomplish miracles...

did I recognize them as they happened ? no...
but then I've come to discover the true miracles of God...
tend to be very quiet, organic, unremarkable in appearance...
except that they absolutely change everything from that moment on...

there is no fanfare... no flashing lights...

someone asks a simple question... someone makes a simple choice...
and nothing is ever the same again...

it requires great faith in the goodness of God...
and in His plan for each of us...
as well as the courage to step out into the unknown...
to change direction, abandon your self or whom you thought you were...

but it's one step at a time...

and He is there... keeping you safe... step by step...

but to hear Him, we must slow down...
step away from all the clutter of life that we adopt...
in order to shut ourselves off from the truth of His plan for us...

surrounding ourselves with all the din of worldly noises...
so we can avoid dealing with the fear...
of just what He wants us to, give up...
in order to follow Him & His plan for us...

but when you have shed enough of the societal detritus...
demagnetized yourself, that is, desensitized yourself, as it were...
so that the trappings of the worldly clutter don't cling to you...
then you see how little you are truly giving up...
how unimportant it all is when compared to the peace & joy...
that being where & whom, God wants you to be, will bring...

only then have you shed yourself...
that anchor that weighs you down, earthbound...
and keeps your spirit from soaring free...
all the way to up to creating Heaven, here on earth...

the enduring message of Easter...
is that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ...
to take our place and die for us...
that we might be reconciled to God & spend eternity with Him...

this gift is freely offered to all who have ever lived...
but you must accept it to receive it...
if you choose to let the world drown out His voice...
and you choose not to accept His gift...
you will have no part with Him...

and you'll have only yourself to blame...

so ask yourself...

have I ever really listened to His voice ?
do I need to adjust my perspective ?
is all,"this", drowning out His call to me ?
how much could it hurt me to listen ?

after all, just think of how much you might lose...

"...Whosoever will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake ... shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? ...
(Mark 8:34-38)

...keeping a low profile

sometimes you wear them to "blend in"...




and sometimes, "not" ...

[find the tenors in this photo of a mystery choir...
names withheld to protect the guilty...]

...a Triduum journey

for many people, Easter is a singular event...

a day in the spring when some celebrate rebirth...
with "bunnies, chickies & duckies"...& lots of candy eggs...
or as a break from school/job/responsibilities...
a "family weekend" where you may go to church...
before the Easter egg hunt or going out for brunch...

if you are a "regular church-goer", it's a festive occasion...
a, "feel-good" moment...like, Christmas...
you go from the festive entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday...
to the empty tomb of Easter morning...
with perhaps a brief pause on Good Friday in the shadow of the cross...
but that's about it...

as Fr Toolbelt put it in his Easter sermon...
"...only 2% consider Easter the most important day in their religion..."
"...many regular Christians consider it very important...
but not THE most important..." so he was proud to be a "2%er"...

during Lent, he had said that if we didn't attend the Triduum services...
there was no point in coming on Easter Sunday morning...
because without the journey of the Triduum...
you just couldn't appreciate the true miracle of Easter...

or as the old plainsong hymn says...
"if you do not die with Him...
you cannot live with Him..."

those of us who have discovered the heritage, beauty & structure...
of a liturgical church, such as the Roman Catholic...
Greek Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal or Lutheran...
have a connection to the lineage of the Christian church...
which allows us to be exposed to & thus become more aware of...
the spiritual journey that is Holy Week...
[the week from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday]

the Triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday...
climax with the first service of Easter...
at the conclusion of the Holy Saturday's Easter Vigil service...
[similar to the Vigil of Christmas on Christmas Eve...]
Easter Sunday morning being more or less...
a repetition of the first service of Easter...

Maundy Thursday celebrates the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist...
[it was the first, "Last Supper"...]
the word "maundy" comes to us from the Latin, "mandatum"...
which means "new commandment", as in "mandate"...

Jesus washed the feet of his disciples...
and told them that they were to be servants...
He also gave them, "a new commandment...
to love your neighbors as yourself..."

during our Anglican Maundy Thursday service...
the priests wash the feet of any who come forward...
we celebrate the Eucharist together as Jesus & His disciples did...
then while the choir chants Psalm 22,
["They divide My garments among them...]



the main altar is stripped...
the host is removed from the tabernacle to a side altar...
the candles extinguished & removed...
as well as all the linens & all altar materials...

then the sanctuary lamp that burns at all times...
to show the presence of God in the Host...
is extinguished and the fire moved to the side altar...



we decorate the side altar as a garden for Christ's presence in the Host...
it is here that He will remain until we consume Him on Good Friday...
then He is not present until Easter...

we have a Garden Vigil from the end of the service Thursday night...
around 8:30 PM this year...
until 6 AM with people coming in to spend at least an hour...
"watching with Christ" in His hours of agony...
that led to His betrayal, cruel trial & vicious beatings...

this year, there were 22 who came throughout the night to "watch with Him"...



all crucifixes in the church have been shrouded since the beginning of Lent...



including the ones carried in the processions...
here waiting, behind the scenes, for the next service...



the basins of Holy water used to bless oneself upon entering & leaving the church...
were removed with the stripping of the main altar...



the banks of prayer candles are still out though...
lending their meager glow to a very dark & cold night of waiting...



by Good Friday, the candles on the side altar are out...
but the ambient light inside the church reveals the Risen Christ Crucifix...
though still shrouded, with His arms open with salvation to all...
foreshadowing the miracle to come...



though the main altar is still stripped...



the hymn board is blank...

reminding us that we cannot celebrate yet...
we must suffer with Him, who was innocent...
watch Him die apart from God because of our sins...
& descend into Hell in our place, conquering death for us...

before He can rise again in triumph...

so we venerate the cross, the acolytes & choir wearing only black tunics...
hearkening back to Ash Wednesday when we were in black & wore ashes...
the ashes of the previous year's Palm Sunday palms...
and end the service in a solemn silence, leaving the church quietly...



by Saturday evening, the Altar Guild members have worked magic...
the Main Altar is once again adorned and "waiting..."



the pulpit and Main Altar are a mass of lilies...
with all the candles, fine linens & other altar articles at the ready...
but the Tabernacle is still empty... the door is open...
and the sanctuary lamp is still not lit...
for Christ is not yet present...



a look at the side Altar reveals its return to its normal state...
but Christ in the host is not there either...
and will not be present until the first service of Easter...
when after the Vigil with its procession of New Fire...
the Exultet, the Blessing of the Easter Candle...


[this is a nice chanting of the Exultet]

then there are 5 scripture readings...
each of which is followed by a Psalm...
[we do them in Anglican Choral Chant...]
the Litany of the Saints...

then there are Baptisms, if any...
this year, we had 4; 2 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday...]

after the Baptisms, the lights go on...
[it's all been candle light up to then...]
revealing the Easter Altar with Christ again present...



the organ plays the introduction to "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"...
and the first service of Easter begins...
little bells ringing every time we say ,"Alleluia"...
[which has been absent from our service during the 40 Days of Lent...]

and now, we celebrate... made all the more meaningful...
for having walked the path of Lent...
taken on the painful burden of the Triduum...
with the sense of guilt & shame we accepted for His innocent death...

we can now accept His gift of our redemption...

and upon hearing the joyful acclamation:
"Alleluia, Christ is Risen !..."

we can respond with a glad & grateful heart...
"the Lord is Risen, Indeed ! Alleluia !"

...FINALLY !

Piglet is going to be 13 in the fall...
and for all the years she's lived with me...
sleeping in my bedroom, drooling & snoring in my ear...
she's had, uh, "issues"...



she's always been, "vocal"...
not at all shy about letting me know her needs & desires...
and in her mind, the backyard is her "kingdom"...
her natural habitat to which she MUST have unfettered access...
irregardless of the weather, temporal state or hour of the day...



that Molly, who will chase her, is outside to take care of bizness...
is NOT a factor... the window MUST remain open...
in case she may actually deign to go out...
[mostly she goes out & returns, repeated, ad nauseum...
or simply lays in the window sill so Fluff can't...]

failure on my part to instantly & completely comply with her wishes...
is grounds for a torrent of catly abuse, delivered at fortissimo levels...
while doing a cat version of the "runnsies"...
in a large circuit of the room at a high rate of speed...
with my stomach as the jumping-off/landing point...

when that fails, she gets, "up close & personal"...



she developed an immune system problem a few years ago...
where lesions formed in her mouth, making eating very painful...
a bite of food would aggravate the lesions...
with what the vet describes as a burning sensation...

she would jump back, letting the offending morsel fall out of her mouth...
hissing, growling and pawing at her mouth...
[cats can't spit...]

I could always tell that the lesions were forming again...
when I began to see that behavior, coupled with clingyness...
attempting to climb into my arms, ALL the time...
and eventually, a total lack interest in eating...

the removal of her teeth almost 2 years ago, really helped...
without teeth for bacteria to grow on, the lesions started healing...
that, and the steroid shots that reduced the inflammation of the lesions...
allowed her to go weeks, even months eating normally...

about a month ago, she had another steroid shot...
because I saw the symptoms starting up again...
she was OK for a couple of weeks...
but then last week, I noticed that the food wasn't being eaten as fast...

Fluff was eating her share... but I didn't see Pigs eating at all...

I had been consumed with Fluff's infection, which cleared-up...
and Thomas' downward spiral, so I'd not noticed Pigs wasn't eating...
she had been absolutely batso with the full moon...
so I had had more than enough of her LOUD pestering to be, OUT...

as I recovered from Thomas' passing & was relieved by Fluff's recovery...
I began to notice Piglet was becoming very clingy...
and she was thin... that's when I realized that she wasn't eating at all...
so Saturday AM, I took her to the vet & he examined her...

he said the lesions were back & gave her another steroid shot...
so I took her home and waited, watchfully...
she wouldn't eat Saturday, but did lick at some food Saturday night...
with the predictable, "hiss/growl" reaction...

but by Sunday after church, she was interested in "gravy"...
so I put out some fresh food and waited...



eventually, my patience was rewarded...
the video was too dark to post, but I selected frames...
and edited them for brightness & light saturation...
so you can get an idea of Piglet's approach to her food...



having been hurt by the food burning the lesions...
she sits at a distance & paws at the plate...
[apparently she associates the dish with the pain...]



trying to snag a morsel of food with her paw...



upon successfully snagging a morsel in her paw...



she then lifts it to her mouth...



nibbling at the food...



then licking her paw clean, before repeating this procedure ad infinitum...

it is no exaggeration to say that this went on for 10 minutes...

over time, she moved closer & closer...
and experiencing no pain, started eating from the plate...

and this morning ?



she went right to the plate & dug in without "sampling" first...

I'd also like to add that after gorging herself last night...
she slept like a rock...
no complaining or making the circuit...
no rattling mini blinds or picking on Fluff...
not even a snore...

of course this morning, she wanted, OUT !!!
but that was after breakfast...