My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. HR’s beautifully delicious fresh Veggie Fajitas.
YUM!
2. Voting!
3. The privilege of waking up each morning. (Everybody doesn’t.)
4. Narcissus. Now! Now?
5. The sky!
Look up this Weekend!
Last Wednesday, I introduced the first of our church’s four Taize services before Easter. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out last week’s post real quick:
Tonight was beautifully simple and peaceful.
The theme revolved around the idea of our souls blessing God, instead of the usual other way around.
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“Bless the Lord, my soul,
And bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
Who leads me into life.”
PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Again, May Peace be your Portion
I love this current liturgical season of Lent on the Christian calendar. For me, it’s a time to calm down, quiet down, and reflect before the exuberant excitement of Easter.
For the four Wednesdays before Palm Sunday, the church that Robert and I attend, Asbury Memorial here in Savannah, holds brief and beautifully simple Taize services.
“The Taizé prayer service is from an interfaith community founded in Taizé, France in 1940. A Taizé service provides a meditative style of song and prayer known for its simplicity and focus on Christ. Today the Taizé community comprises those of Catholic and Protestant backgrounds from regions around the globe. At a Taizé service we pray as we sing, as we reflect on the Scripture reading, as we sit in silence, and as we offer our prayers to Christ.” jaxcathedral.org
Whatever your belief, or lack of, may Peace be your Portion at this time of year.
Here is a neat article with more info about Taize, if you are in the slightest bit interested …
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/a-look-at-the-taize-community/?amp
I love this photo from this afternoon. Grandson Daniel, young Savannah actor/singer, hugging my ex-wife Donna, his Nana, after performing as the (really, REALLY) bad guy in the musical “Bright Star.”
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Our seasonally inappropriate yet longevity-embracing pumpkin from last fall … who simply refuses to give up the ghost.
2. Like they have done in winters past, someone “decorates” our Washington Square with newly fallen camellia blooms.
3. Our incredible digestive systems, which take the food we eat and voila! gives us energy and health. Thank you, Tummy.
4. I try to keep roses around as long as possible. Why wouldn’t you?! Here’s a reiteration (is that a word?) of some white beauties that Robert gave me on Valentine’s Day.
5. R and R. (Robert and Red.)
May this weekend bring you an extravagance of Joy.
So today Robert and I invited ex-wife Donna to join us for our church’s noon day Ash Wednesday service, which was beautifully somber and peaceful, marking the beginning of the forty days of Lent in the Christian liturgical calendar.
Afterwards we went to one of our favorite local, casual seafood restaurants for lunch, Driftaway Cafe.
I hope you’re having a good day on this 2024 February 14th Valentine’s Day.
Unbeknownst ahead of time, Robert gave me roses, and I gave him a rose bush.
As I have mentioned before, he likes to give multiple cards on special days. (Which I thought was kind of weird at first but now love it.)
His Three to Me …
And mine to him …
So recently, Robert concocted some fancy-smancy recipe that required buttermilk. He only used a little of the quart container, so frugal that I am, I had to come up with some way to use the rest. “We CANNOT waste $2.19!!!”
And then it hit me… Buttermilk pie! Like my mama and grandma used to make.
According to mycountrytable.com, “Buttermilk Pie is believed to have originated during the depression. This was during a time when some ingredients were either scarce or too expensive, leaving home cooks to make do with whatever they had in their pantry. Home cooks found a way to make a pie with few ingredients out of desperation, hence the name, desperation pies.”
“Several pies originated during the depression out of pure necessity. These pies were all classified as desperation, depression, or make-do pies. Some of them include Buttermilk, Vinegar, Shoofly, Chess, Sugar Cream, Oatmeal, Mock Apple, Mock Mincemeat, Green Tomato, and even Water Pie.”
So, what is buttermilk?
“Traditional buttermilk is a thin, cloudy, slightly tart but buttery-tasting liquid that’s left after cream is churned to make butter. These days, however, it is more commonly sold as a thick liquid produced commercially by adding an acidifying bacteria – and sometimes flavouring and thickening agents – to milk.” bbcgoodfood.com
I went to work.
Not having the patience or the intelligence to actually make a homemade crust, I ran to the grocery store and bought a deep dish frozen piecrust.
Put all the ingredients together (in five minutes!) and voilà!
It was a nostalgically delicious taste of past family culinary lore.
And Robert had never had buttermilk pie before. So it was extra special.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. My steaming Ham Bone Pinto Soup from leftover holiday ham.
2. The ability to Breathe. To Simply Breathe.
I believe that breathing is the greatest and continual joy of being alive.
3. My preference for blurry pictures of myself as I get older.
4. This incredible warm spell we’re having here in Savannah.
We slept with open windows last night! In January.
5. The joy of the forest.
May your weekend be a lush forest of that which you consider good.
NealEnJoy 