a few xmas secrets

 

beattheclock

So now I can divulge some of the Christmas secrets from Monday. For security reasons, my bank decided to block my online purchases in the United Kingdom on Amazon.uk. Earlier in November, I was annoyed when a purchase I had made for  my quasi-son-in-law Matthew was quietly denied. The bank never did inform me. Instead Amazon.UK  did. Of course it was several days later and I had once again waited until the last minute to get Matthew his birthday gift and missed the date. Ay yi yi.

So Monday I was on the phone with my bank (actually on hold plus I hate hate hate automated phone trees).

I did finally manage to confirm my new online purchase for both Matthew and Sarah the daughter. And yesterday Sarah sent me pics confirming that they had a couple gifts from Eileen and me under their Xmas tree which were dropshipped through Amazon.UK.

sarahxmastreewithgifts.2014

 

Although of course there are Xmas secrets I am NOT divulging here, the other thing that was consuming a lot of my time and energy was a gift for my friend Rhonda Edgington. Eileen inspired me with the home made gifts she has made for people (secrets). The main thing I can make is music. I was inspired by the notion that Rhonda’s name is sort of in the hymn tune, Cwm Rhondda.

So I made a fakey little organ piece for her.

cwm.rhondda.for.rhonda

I was especially proud of the new lyrics I wrote for the tune:

I’m glad Rhondda lives in Holland
That is why I made this song
Not sure why we both live in Holland
sometimes seems it’s just plain wrong.
Those we love are from around here.
Plus the churches, Hope and Grace,
help us live in this crazy place.

Rhonda and her lovely husband, Mark, invited us over for a family meal last night. That was my deadline and I made it. It was by the way a lovely evening (Thanks Mark and Rhonda!). I am grateful that these two gentle intelligent people reach out to Eileen and Me! It’s fun to watch thier kids Isaac and Esther blossom.

I added this new composition to my page, Free Mostly Original Sheet Music, this morning. Here’s a link to the PDF as well. I hope someone lets me know if it doesn’t work. I have changed how I put this stuff online. I now attempt to publish pdfs with the Google Drive but I do find their URLs a bit confusing and hope I copied the right one.

How a Cuban Spy and His Wife Came to Be Expectant Parents – NYTimes.com

Fun to imagine US state department officials ensuring the delivery of sperm.

The Subtle Sensatio ns of Faith – NYTimes.com

I’m probably getting soft in the head but I found myself running down a religious book recommended by David Brooks in this article.

The book is Meditation of a Modern Believer by Christian Wiman. I put it on hold at the library yesterday.

The Slaying of 2 Officers in Brooklyn – NYTimes.com

This is a link to letters to the editor about this recent tragic incident. Like the letter writer, Marjorie Forbes, I was appalled at the rhetoric coming out of the mouth of the Police Union guy, Patrick Lynch. I admire her observation that he was himself escalating a situation when in fact it is the opposite skill that is needed (and practiced) by the better rank and file policemen. Here’s the letter writer’s way of saying it:

How can the cop on the beat learn anything from him [Patrick Lynch] about de-escalation and seeking solutions when he is showing such childish but dangerous tendencies himself?

 

2 thoughts on “a few xmas secrets

  1. My Spiritual Director recommended the Wyman book to me a few months ago. I started it but haven’t completed it. There are some very lovely turns of phrases in it highlighting Wyman’s background in poetry. Because he is talking theology but has no real training in the field, I find him sometimes hard to follow. I sort of have to translate what he’s saying into my own theological framework. But I have enjoyed what I’ve read of it.

    See you next week!

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