tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112227532011-11-27T19:14:02.869-05:00"Hiraeth" (Welsh): nm, longing, nostalgia, grief; homesickness; "hwyl" (also Welsh): nf, sail; humour; religious fervour. Together, a common state for a woman in Gospel ministry.St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.comBlogger2931100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-60941204899699867212011-08-15T13:23:00.003-04:002011-08-15T13:49:46.538-04:00

Before I get to work on patching the ceiling in my study, I need to suspend my disbelief long enough to post what I found out this past Saturday:  I did pass my English Language Arts ABCTE exam, after all.  Not only did I pass it, but my incomplete essay on the set 20th century poem got me a mark of "5," while the finished one I produced for the Teaching Knowledge exam only came up with a "4."* 

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-55906357334735555352011-07-23T18:48:00.001-04:002011-07-23T19:25:06.970-04:00

I guess. Quick bulletin:  Passed my ELA multiple choice exam with a scaled score of 377, which puts me in the "distinguished" range. But I didn't finish my essay, which puts me in the flunking range. So sometime in the next six months I gotta do it all over.  Maybe by then I will have read all the stuff on the lit list and I'll already have a clue what to say about the prompt.  The one I got I

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-6586445832883780712011-07-23T11:53:00.000-04:002011-07-23T11:53:30.492-04:00

This afternoon at 2:00 I take the second part of my English teacher certification exams, over English Language Arts.  In an hour and a half I saddle up and head down to the testing center.  I'd planned to spend a few hours this morning doing some last-minute skimming in Wikipedia and SparkNotes for basic information on all the novels, poems, speeches, etc., I should have read in the past eighteen

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-54923865954804273422011-07-21T12:49:00.002-04:002011-07-22T17:29:34.324-04:00

Presently, I'm struggling to distinguish the various kinds of logical fallacies.  More specifically, I need to determine the proper definition of the anecdotal fallacy.  This arises out of last night's practice quiz question treating of Socrates' Apology.  It's the place where he's maintaining that in condemning him to death, the assembly really isn't doing him any harm, since death is either a

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-75285355456037372442011-07-21T12:21:00.003-04:002011-07-21T12:29:45.292-04:00

Some thoughts while I'm studying for the English Language Arts portion of my teacher certification exam on Saturday: First, I need to clarify some concepts, and blogging might be a good way to do it. Second, I'm worried, because in addition to things I actually don't know in the material, I've come across some really screaming errors, including outright, verifiable errors of fact or premise* as

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-25068379225591044652011-07-19T12:05:00.003-04:002011-07-21T12:51:56.910-04:00

I've called the testing agency just now and postponed my English Language Arts exam a full twenty-four hours, to Saturday instead of Friday afternoon.  If there'd been a slot available next week, I would have taken that instead. Studying for the ELA is not going quickly.  I'm working on it, but I keep getting off on interesting tangents.  Like looking up and comparing different critical takes on

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-28344162658259746142011-07-15T20:33:00.000-04:002011-07-21T12:51:56.916-04:00

I passed my PTK multiple choice portion today.  Nowhere near acing it, but good enough, considering how much I (didn't) study.  Now I'm beginning the four to six week wait for the score on my memo/essay. I probably did myself no good this evening haunting the ABCTE Writing Component forum, because everything I read there confuses and discourages me dreadfully.  So many people there, who like me

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-72635313465248942652011-07-15T09:31:00.003-04:002011-07-21T12:51:56.922-04:00

In approximately a half hour I'm getting in my car and driving nearly 25 miles to a testing center, where I will take the Professional Teaching Knowledge examination for the ABCTE English Language Arts teaching certificate. I signed up for this online program a year and a half ago, in late January of 2010.  I've already been granted one six-month extension, which ends July 31st.  If I do not

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-3347044356283692732011-06-07T21:24:00.008-04:002011-06-08T18:57:43.086-04:00

I say it to my shame:  I still have no medical insurance. Thus I had to reapply recently for financial assistance from the hospital system that did my cancer surgery and chemotherapy.  Today I received a letter from their financial assistance department.  The second paragraph read: This letter is to inform you that your recent request for financial assistance has been approved for a 100%

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-72455962596622948582011-06-05T23:02:00.003-04:002011-06-08T00:03:24.725-04:00

Is there as such thing as a chrononaut, and if there is, can such a person get the bends? The past few weeks, I've been living and breathing genealogy, and it's hard coming up for air. I've done more or less with it off and on in the past.  But given that most of my research perforce had to be over the Internet, it seemed I had hit brick walls on pretty much all my lines.  More would have to

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-60472851026586149532011-04-04T22:15:00.000-04:002011-04-04T22:15:48.857-04:00

About an hour ago, my telephone rang.  By the caller ID, I knew it was the board secretary from the school I sub at the most.  And I let it ring three, four, five times, before I put out my hand to pick it up and answer it.  And when I did, I saw that my hand was shaking. I do not want to substitute teach at that school.  Sometimes, I wonder if I want to substitute or teach anywhere at all.  But

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-75414733951836058472011-02-09T12:36:00.001-05:002011-02-09T12:40:38.425-05:00

Haven't fallen off the edge of the world.  But things have changed in my work life, and it's not just that I have less time to blog, but also that I'm feeling less impetus to blog. I'm getting more substitute teaching engagements since the start of the new year.  That's largely because I've been taken off the naughty list of one school I'd formerly subbed for a great deal.  I was put on their

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-52398440085629256532011-01-01T14:42:00.001-05:002011-01-01T14:47:34.519-05:00

Last year about this time, I wrote a blogpost about my Scripture reading regimen. As I noted then, it's not a Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year plan. So any particular pericope can fall on any given day. Well, this morning's readings were strikingly appropriate for New Year's Day . . . unless you insist that "appropriate" mean "full of cheer." First there was Psalm 90, the one I call the "Our God, Our

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-18041504817780119902010-12-25T22:37:00.008-05:002010-12-26T00:57:43.955-05:00

I didn't think I would be able to produce a Christmas carol this year; not enough energy and too much going on.  But this past Monday a rudimentary melody and the words started coming to me; by Tuesday the poem was pretty well finished and I had the notes of the soprano/unison line written down; on Wednesday (or was it Thursday-- my short term memory stinks) I downloaded the MuseScore free

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-14468598643107122162010-12-10T20:09:00.002-05:002010-12-10T20:14:33.095-05:00

Two lines to say that my CT scan from November 18th was clean, my CA-125 blood test number is low (which is good), and I got a very cheerful No Evidence of Disease pronouncement from my chemo doctor at my visit on November 22nd.  He says I won't have to get another scan until six months out.  With my cancer having been caught so early and treated so aggressively, there's no point in exposing me

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-80448351905906582942010-11-18T08:41:00.036-05:002010-11-19T10:11:46.735-05:00

Today I embark on the next stage of my cancer cure journey. Though maybe I don't want to use the words "next stage" in regard to cancer, since it implies things getting worse, not better.  Which, God willing, is not the case. I'm presently sitting in the waiting room of the radiation oncology department of my local hospital, slurping iodine water to light me up for my baseline CT scan.  Now

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-60700454216490320992010-10-30T23:30:00.000-04:002010-10-31T00:13:26.172-04:00

This past Monday was my last chemo session!  GodwillingGodwillingGodwil-ling that's the last of the Taxel and the Carboplatin. I should have been done the last Monday in September, but my persistently-low white cell counts made it necessary that my treatments have four weeks between them, not three, after the second infusion in early July. Anyway, all six are past now, and I've really come

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-76433722986866128582010-09-17T18:53:00.000-04:002010-09-17T19:16:02.668-04:00

I had my first stint substitute teaching today since before my surgery last April, and I'm not sure I have the stamina for it. If I were a better cat-herder-- I mean, a more proficient emergency teacher of 2nd graders-- I might think differently.  But by the end of the school day I was nearly weeping from exhaustion.  And now it's almost 7:00 PM and I'm sitting here still in my work clothes

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-4174679457936026322010-09-03T23:03:00.016-04:002010-09-04T03:45:44.196-04:00

A friend who follows this blog mentioned on Facebook this evening that I'd been leaving all three of you dangling for several weeks. All right, let's do a highlight reel. 1) Not sure what was wrong with the car, but it hasn't done it since.  The garage thinks maybe a piece of dirt stopped the fan and that's why it overheated.  They didn't charge me for checking it, which was nice. 2)  On the 

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-79126497364316652552010-07-18T17:08:00.000-04:002010-07-18T17:08:41.612-04:00

By mid-September, I'll have my 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser paid for.   What I need to do now is, convince the beast that that doesn't mean it can go off having issues to make up for that. There was the belt replacement need three or so weeks ago.  But the chirping and came back, and this past week I had to solve that by having the shop put in a new belt tensioner.  This should have been the last I

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-31423024562087045842010-07-15T23:27:00.004-04:002010-07-18T16:44:13.974-04:00

Put on your high heel sneakers, Wear your wig hat on your head, Put on your high heel sneakers, And your wig hat on your head. Ya know you're lookin' mighty fine, baby, I'm pretty sure you're gonna knock 'em dead. For somebody as improverished and unfashionable as I am, I have acquired an absurd number of wigs.  I've even had to mount a separate shelf to help hold them all.Three from my

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-52423489991115827392010-07-11T15:54:00.052-04:002010-07-18T16:49:31.467-04:00

I know what I said the other day about systematically brushing it all out; nevertheless, this past week I've been treating my hair like each separate strand was a silver penny slipping through my fingers.  At night I've been sleeping in weird positions to avoid rubbing any more out than absolutely necessary.  I dream about how to keep from losing it any faster than I have to, and keep myself

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-12532066693817834272010-07-07T19:42:00.001-04:002010-07-12T23:04:19.718-04:00

Received my second chemotherapy infusion yesterday.  Nurse Nell* was willing to forego trying to put the cannula into the back of my left hand this time, but the first wrist vein we tried eluded the needle when she put it in.  So it was back to the tried and true sites on the inside of my wrist. No flashbacks to the keg parties at the college dorm from the Benadryl this time.  When I told Nurse

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-18071178594917124932010-07-04T20:43:00.011-04:002010-07-07T20:55:34.491-04:00

Here's what I had done to my hair last Tuesday, after which my friend Frieda* and I went and gorged ourselves at the Chinese buffet.  Now I'm no longer leaving bits of myself on the shrubs in the yard, and my hair doesn't feel so much like an alien entity perching on my head. We didn't get any After shots that evening, because my stoopy camera was eating brand-new batteries like my dog would

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-4696261783961198082010-07-01T21:30:00.073-04:002010-07-02T23:35:17.792-04:00

I picked up my official cancer wig this morning.  And it looks nothing like it did in any of the catalogs.   It looks awful.  At least, it looks awful on me. No pictures, I'm afraid.  My new camera has eaten through all my AA batteries. It's almost comical by now how Dorothy* the wigmonger can plop a mop of synthetic hair on my head, the sides all cattywompus and the top standing up like a drunk

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-80770228557424447252010-06-30T22:58:00.002-04:002010-07-01T00:48:36.415-04:00

Oh, if I ever lose my hair, If my pate goes bald and bare, Oh if I ever lose my hair, Oh, if, Oh, if, I won't have to  brush! I've been getting preliminary scalp twinges the past couple weeks, and the stray hair began floating out now and again for a few days now.  But this past Sunday evening, the shedding began in earnest. I drove to evening service with the window rolled down, enjoying the

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-53714012652312591362010-06-24T22:00:00.163-04:002010-07-01T00:46:23.183-04:00

For something that isn't costing me anything, I sure am putting a lot of time and worry into this wig thing. It's a very nice deal, really.  A civic women's group here in the county has a fund to provide up to $200 for chemo patients to purchase wigs to cover their hair loss, and somehow it works out that even if the wig you choose costs more than $200, you still get it gratis. I figure that

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-43794393295965570612010-06-17T12:16:00.008-04:002010-06-18T08:51:57.714-04:00

I'm thinking it might be useful for me to say a few things about my first chemo session this past Monday. (Note photo of me in back yard afterwards, with bandaged wrist. And with hair, still. Very messy hair, since the photographer had to leave and didn't have time for me to find my brush.)In the first place, getting chemo was a full day's work! From the time I arrived in the waiting room to the

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-74195159145993742302010-06-13T21:52:00.009-04:002010-06-13T23:43:06.832-04:00

I've often wondered why people have such an instinctual dread of cancer. It can't be simply because up till recent times it was pretty much always fatal. Tuberculosis, for instance, was just as much a death sentence and people didn't go around talking about it in whispers. My grandfather's first wife died in her 20s of consumption and from their letters I know they both knew she was doomed even

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-12020815015176216592010-06-09T20:28:00.007-04:002010-06-13T00:34:14.692-04:00

Raining, raining, raining, raining, raining . . .And me reminding myself that my first summer in this region, 2003, was very rainy, as was 2004, and, I think, 2006, and so on, and so on.This is not apocalyptic. This is southwestern Pennsylvania normal. So buck up, girl, and do something useful.Early this afternoon I called another nearby car repair shop at a venture and made an appointment to

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-51753712712188395372010-06-08T22:14:00.012-04:002010-06-13T00:40:54.691-04:00

A rant, with a moral in the tail:Got a call early this afternoon from the mechanic's, saying my car was done and I could come get it.I've known since late Saturday afternoon that my neighbor was right, the front brake rotors needed replaced. And since I pulled the codes off the car myself on Thursday, I knew that the check engine light was on because of something wrong with the knock sensor and

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-76835815987982779752010-06-03T20:30:00.002-04:002010-06-09T01:13:41.189-04:00

Today's the six-week anniversary of my ovarian tumor and a lot of other things removal surgery. And yesterday, I had my appointment with my local gynecologist, Dr. P, to clear me for full activity.And yes, I am cleared for whatever I want or need to take in hand. He said, "Everything inside is healed up by now." I mentioned how I had "been good" and given up on, say, opening stuck windows

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-85219810075818975242010-06-02T09:30:00.003-04:002010-06-06T03:31:44.432-04:00

Seems to me, if someone has a problem with one of the standard ways the Church traditionally has interpreted Scripture, he or she had better go to Scripture to define what the problem is. Just saying, "It's inconvenient for me" or "I just don't like it" won't cut it.And when it comes to the way the Westminister Shorter Catechism expounds the Fourth Commandment, it bothers me how the Westminster

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-7775559160363961552010-06-01T15:46:00.014-04:002010-06-07T16:16:32.763-04:00

Traditionally, at least, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is a confessional church. We have a whole book of confessions we confess: The Second Helvetic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Westminster Confession, The Declaration of Barmen, and a good handful of others. We're even looking at accepting yet another at this year's General Assembly. We claim that these are faithful

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-4478023203775269472010-05-29T15:09:00.005-04:002010-05-29T15:33:44.216-04:00

. . . and then I'll go deadhead roses.I was being a little negative in my last post about the chemo baldness covering catalog the Cancer Center gave me on Thursday. But I have to admit that the models all looked very nice in their hats and turbans and scarves. And I don't think it's just because they're all young and high-cheekboned and wrinkle-free.I have some scarves in my wardrobe, and I was

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-78517476038168279012010-05-28T23:11:00.002-04:002010-05-29T15:00:12.103-04:00

Yesterday I had my introductory appointment with my chemo doctor, Dr. L. My friend Frieda*, who'd been to the same practice when she was being treated for breast cancer, went with me and took notes.There weren't really any major surprises about this part of the deal. I'll be getting my chemo through an IV, not through a port as I'd thought (thanks to the UPMC radio ads/public service

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-63232220679479911302010-05-13T15:55:00.003-04:002010-05-13T16:00:53.761-04:00

Sang last night in our first choir concert of the Spring season. It went well. Some friends brought me a stool I could perch myself on. And when, during the first number, I discovered that holding up my black folder was too much of a strain on my sore abs, I lay my music down on another stool that'd conveniently been left in front of me.I should have the music memorized by now, anyway.It's a

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-20219363404456643112010-05-12T15:31:00.003-04:002010-05-13T15:51:17.685-04:00

Today I was looking at the copy of the pathology report I got at my surgeon's on Monday. I wanted to find out just what sort of ovarian cancer I'm dealing with so I could accurately put in the information on a cancer support website.FINAL DIAGNOSISPART 1: ADNEXA, LEFT, SALPINGO-OOPHORECTOMY: MUCINOUS CYSTADENOCARCINOMA OF THE OVARY, WELL-DIFFERENTIATED . . .Wait a minute. Left? left?? What

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-77680481374902646882010-05-11T12:31:00.011-04:002010-05-13T21:22:49.528-04:00

I am two years and six weeks old. I am lying on a strange, high bed set outside a door in a long, gray corridor full of doors. Suddenly, a dark-haired young man in a white coat looms over me. His face is marked by disapproval, and a little alarm. His expression voicelessly rebukes me: "Why aren't you asleep?" (I know this grownup look.) He recovers himself, applies a smirk, and says to me, "

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-66725156460207024592010-05-01T20:10:00.006-04:002010-05-02T11:33:04.223-04:00

I'm starting to question the value of spending too much time reading websites and watching YouTube vids on ovarian cancer and ovarian cancer survivors/fighters.Maybe later-- assuming I have to do chemo-- they'll be a comfort and a support to me. But right now, ya know, it really isn't useful for me to be glued, say, to the video made by one woman with Stage 1C who celebrated her five-year "

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-26091802644391834912010-04-27T23:00:00.004-04:002010-04-28T01:15:43.310-04:00

Got a call early this afternoon from the physician's assistant at my gynecological-oncologist's office. The lab results from my surgery were in. And guess what? My surgeon is not God. Turns out the mass he removed from me last Thursday was not, after all, a low malignant-potential tumor. It was bog-standard ovarian cancer. Stage 1A, Grade 1.Which if you're going to get ovarian cancer is the

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-31219712457552182792010-04-26T08:48:00.007-04:002010-05-13T16:06:13.261-04:00

My surgeon Dr. C was in at 7:30 this morning, the whole parade of interns, residents, and so on in train, and he confirms that I can go home today, hooray.(True, all systems are not Go as yet, if you know what I mean, but they have ways of dealing with that . . . Yes.)Dr. C sees no need to wait for the pathology report; everything points to my "low malignant-potential tumor" as having been Stage

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-21766606859722845732010-04-24T08:51:00.010-04:002010-05-01T21:22:35.325-04:00

Well, I've been in the hospital since Thursday morning and coherent enough to get online since Thursday night, but only this morning did I find a person here at UPMC Mercy who could show me how to get connected on their wireless network.And that was by coincidence, since I'd intended to read the newspaper my friend Frieda* bought me yesterday this morning over breakfast, but I guess it fell on

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-50947363170138449572010-03-24T10:34:00.002-04:002010-03-24T11:23:12.942-04:00

I've had to postpone my surgery. I've caught the nasty local Kleenex-box-emptying cold and feel like boulders have been rolled over me all night. Surgeon's office says no, I shouldn't be operated on in that condition. Call back and reschedule when I feel better. She says, "It's elective and not urgent surgery, so you can set your own time." This tells me my gyn-onc is very confident in his

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-81636553029072546512010-03-23T13:50:00.005-04:002010-03-23T14:21:09.733-04:00

Quick bulletin, then I have to get back to cleaning the house:I had my liver ultrasound on Friday morning. Before I headed for the hospital to get it, I called my surgeon's office. Nurse told me the CT scan had shown an "indeterminate lesion on the left hepatic lobe." Not a mass, she said, but it was showing more dense than water (water would be good, since that would be a benign cyst).Well, I

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-90696687491591199542010-03-18T23:02:00.003-04:002010-03-19T00:14:19.064-04:00

Today I got called in to teach at an elementary school I'd never been to before. Despite what I'd heard about the difficulties of its open plan design and about the recalcitrance of some of the students, the day went rather well. It wasn't until I was well on my way home that I thought at all about perhaps getting the results of Monday's CAT scan today. And I don't know why, but as I was

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-48447428199087909452010-03-15T22:25:00.004-04:002010-03-19T01:16:42.553-04:00

Yesterday I had my neutral pulpit preach and pulpit committee interview for the church over in the next county.I told myself to treat it just like any other pulpit supply engagement; to preach the Word and minister to the people and give God the glory. But I couldn't help it-- I was afflicted with a slight buzz of nerves. Not enough to make me mess anything up, but enough to make me trip over my

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-87853049594196580502010-03-13T23:09:00.003-05:002010-03-13T23:17:59.528-05:00

Tomorrow I have my first neutral pulpit preach in about a million years. Meaning, since 2003.And lunch and an interview with a pastor search committee after.The church is a small but active one, over in the next county. Quite within driving distance, by Pittsburgh area standards. I could see myself ministering to them and with them. God willing the fact that I live the other side of the hills

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-56390877832775010572010-03-10T23:26:00.007-05:002010-03-11T20:41:10.894-05:00

My surgery is two weeks from tomorrow. Today my MD cleared me as healthy enough to tolerate it. Too bad I'm not healthy enough to not need it!And today I got the pathology report from what they sampled last Friday. No uterine cancer, thank you very much. And CA-125 levels in the normal range.Which is good. But not always good for my attitude. Because it makes me wonder, do I really gotta go

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-5876824911142217272010-03-06T22:09:00.003-05:002010-03-06T22:17:26.095-05:00

Outpatient surgery yesterday went well. And I'm blessed in that I have no trouble with anesthesia, before, during, or after.And . . . how to say this without TMI . . . ? Let's just say that apparently it's been verified that the symptoms that got me to my gynecologist's in the first place-- the pain and the bleeding-- had nothing whatsoever to do with the mass on my ovary, and were, in

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-13456914126334069692010-03-04T22:38:00.003-05:002010-03-04T22:50:39.565-05:00

Tomorrow at the crack of dawn (6:30 AM) I'm due at the hospital in downtown Pittsburgh for exploratory surgery.Well, ok, for a D&C. The other day at my first appointment with my gynecological oncologist, he examined me and said, "This doesn't feel like a cancer."That doesn't mean we get out the bells and trumpets and kick up a celebration. No. But it is hopeful. Better odds than

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-72530017533236429092010-02-21T10:13:00.004-05:002010-02-21T10:29:44.723-05:00

I planned to write this post yesterday, but got busy doing other things. Which is good.Friday, after I got the word about my extremely-possible ovarian cancer, I was strangely free of sensations of fear. No unseen hand viciously squeezing my gut, no leaden weight at the heart, no noose at the throat. I was full of nervous energy, yes, but I channelled that into thinking and planning and letting

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-73528750737773448462010-02-19T18:21:00.005-05:002010-02-19T18:48:50.032-05:00

About ten years ago I was Scarred for Life by a psychologist who interpreted my Minnesota Multiphasic results to say that I was a terrible hypochondriac. I was never so insulted in my life-- in fact, I'd laughed at the questions on the MMPI designed to detect an over-attention to one's health. I have no idea how he came to that conclusion, since I'm usually the last one to run to the doctor or

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-71168737089595372212010-02-15T23:48:00.006-05:002010-02-16T00:52:24.018-05:00

My eldest niece, who has just turned 39, has always been a blonde. Not a bottle blonde; not a medium-ash-blonde-verging-on-dishwater-brown like me; but a real blonde, like her father. But a month or so ago, Micki* got a bee in her bonnet and decided to go brunette.Really dark brunette, actually. Nearly black, with bluish highlights.I'm not 100% crazy about it . . . not that it's awful . . . it's

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-89531471449596593832010-01-31T22:02:00.003-05:002010-01-31T22:11:26.188-05:00

I've given in. I'm doing a total reformat of my desktop computer's hard drive.I finally got the desktop view early this morning, and I verified I had an Internet connection. That was something, but not enough. Still slower than dirt.So I set it for another Standard Recovery and went to bed. This afternoon, when I came back to it, it was back to the black-background Windows XP logo screen and

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-31037598407040844212010-01-31T01:44:00.008-05:002010-01-31T03:01:45.587-05:00

First, some background:Last summer, I got a feeling the DVD/CD drive in my desktop computer wasn't exactly working right. First it wouldn't play some CDs. Then it refused to burn some tracks I needed to practice for our big Welsh choir concert that was coming up Labor Day weekend.But . . . that drive was put in only last February. It couldn't be broken already! Maybe the problem was with the CDs

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-37777658990257294442010-01-05T23:11:00.002-05:002010-01-05T23:31:38.672-05:00

This evening I attended an informational session down near Pittsburgh to learn about a fast-track program for teacher certification here in Pennsylvania.It's sponsored by a legitimate organization, started a few years back in conjunction with the US Department of Education. Their program is recognized here in the Commonwealth and, so far, in eight other American states. In lieu of two years of

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-65221221864440626722010-01-01T23:43:00.009-05:002010-01-02T01:15:40.791-05:00

The January 2010 issue of Modern Reformation kicks off a year-long look at the problem of Biblical illiteracy in America. The article I'm presently reading points out that there's a big difference between mining the Scriptures for quotes and actually reading them for meaning and transformation.So as my contribution to the cause, I'd like to outline the Bible reading plan I've found valuable the

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-1121336326061899512009-12-31T23:38:00.008-05:002010-01-01T03:56:41.028-05:00

I've been thinking of deleting the Games folder and all its contents off my computer.Ever since my first computer, acquired in my second year of theological college in the autumn of 1993, I've given up computer games for Lent. I don't say this to brag on myself; rather, it shows how addictive I've found them. I needed to wrench myself away for a time each year, and I definitely needed Outside

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-76355934110212310002009-12-25T11:15:00.010-05:002009-12-25T17:57:12.482-05:00

While I'm waiting for the acorn squash I'm taking to Christmas dinner at my friends' Hannah* and Steve's* house to finish baking, and as I (hopefully!) get my Christmas cards for them and their siblings printed out the right way this time, may I present this year's original carol:When armies marched and rulers roared,When Empire knew its golden age;When noisy Pride bestrode the stage:Then softly,

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-25625260133926360552009-12-24T17:39:00.006-05:002009-12-24T18:45:45.583-05:00

. . . Admitting at the outset that I'm not as Reformed as some people. Whether that's good or bad, I won't pronounce.But at this season of the year, it's nice to reflect that Christ is assuredly born, and He most certainly died for my sins and rose from the dead, whether or not I have my Christmas cards written and sent or my tree up or any of the cooking projects I planned completed. I don't

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-15935369602828340412009-12-18T19:37:00.007-05:002009-12-18T20:10:26.430-05:00

Part 3 is here.All day I'd meant to call the Castellcoch district's substitute teacher dispatcher Mrs. Rockslide* as soon as I got home. I meant to find out what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks was going on. Miss Birdsong* told me this morning that Mrs. Rockslide had called her on Wednesday to tell her to come in on Friday. Mrs. Rockslide told me on Tuesday I'd be in all week. Did she just get mixed

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-51265967537001498882009-12-18T19:20:00.004-05:002009-12-18T20:13:30.842-05:00

Part 2 is here.I hung up my coat in the Biology room, started to take Homeroom roll, then, oh, crap! in walked the ingenuous Miss Birdsong*, the substitute's substitute. So the ground is lost. I see.But at least I could save the kids' chance to actually do some thinking during this interim period! I finished taking roll, then went over the research paper handouts with her. Nod, nod, nod from Miss

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-49542774964804013672009-12-18T19:08:00.009-05:002009-12-18T20:39:56.327-05:00

Part 1 is here.So here's what happened today:I arrived at Castellcoch Junior/Senior High early again this morning so I could run off enough sample research paper outlines for all the Biology classes. But when I signed in in the office, Mrs. Berlin*, the school secretary, told me I wasn't to teach Biology again today, I was to go fill in for some other teacher!Yes, my Facebook friends, it's true,

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-3122171917367977912009-12-18T16:26:00.015-05:002009-12-18T20:25:05.906-05:00

Durdy werdz, durdy werdz, durdy werdz!!!As I mentioned last post, I probably should have been consistently recording my Adventures in Substitute Teaching. It sure would save work and verbiage now.First, some background:1st of December, I got called in to sub in the junior high Science classes at the Castellcoch* Junior/Senior High School. Seems the regular teacher had been kicked upstairs to

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-1613339797701523072009-12-15T22:53:00.013-05:002009-12-17T18:39:18.581-05:00

Maybe a month ago I heard a report on the news about some woman up in Canada who was on disability for depression. Her insurance company was planning to end her payouts because they'd come across photos of her on Facebook, attending a party and engaging in whatever other fun and frivolity. The insurance company said, "See! That proves you can get out and have a good time! You're not depressed at

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-56088457375264103712009-10-05T22:41:00.003-04:002009-10-05T22:58:33.504-04:00

I got my renewal papers for my out-of-state architectural license today, and they weren't exactly welcome.It's not that I mind renewing my license. No, indeed. Just the opposite. The problem wasn't the renewal form, per se, it was the notice that came with it. As I'd read previously in the registration board newsletter, my home state will henceforth be strictly enforcing continuing education

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-40257952719427799882009-10-01T13:45:00.008-04:002009-10-02T22:37:53.799-04:00

A couple weeks ago I was substituting in an area junior high school and one of my responsibilities was a study hall. The eighth graders were, um, multitasking at their studies, and besides looking at algebra and geography they had lots of attention left over for chatter and moving around the room. I came back to one boy's desk to get him refocussed on his homework. As I did he piped up, "I really

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-45417288275084926092009-09-13T21:44:00.006-04:002009-09-13T22:43:44.861-04:00

Last night I was at a party, a kickoff for the fall season of a choir I sing in. Sitting farther along the table was a woman who's been a member for a couple or three years, and next to her, a young (or at least, to me, young-looking) man I'd never seen before. I asked him if he were one of our new recruits. He merely grunted something to the effect of "I hope not!" and sat there with his arms

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-47825456239749192792009-09-10T12:54:00.012-04:002009-09-11T17:46:25.702-04:00

Yesterday I had my first go ever at substitute teaching at an area public school. And it was, well . . .Actually, it was well.We know how it's supposed to be with substitute teachers. You, as the student, are supposed to give them grief Just Because. Cut up and throw them off their game. Say outrageous things to embarrass them. Conspire for everyone to push his or her books off the desk at 2:00

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-9535981473493263862009-08-17T21:51:00.005-04:002009-08-17T22:17:36.692-04:00

This afternoon I picked up a phone message from the client for the little drawing I did, per the last post. The fabricators, he says, want to know the deflection and the loading for the new beam that's going in.Fine, I tell him, I can work that out. What I didn't mention was, hey, um, this wasn't in the original scope of work. The fabricators were supposed to take care of that themselves, given

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-50884628812712123992009-08-05T22:37:00.005-04:002009-08-17T01:30:15.147-04:00

Congratulate me. I've just nearly-finished my first bit of architecture work in over two years."Bit" is the operative word. It is the slightest, the lightest of projects. A whim, a wisp, a trifle. A mere scribble done to edify the fabricators of a new structural beam, that will be installed to replace an existing bearing wall in a local residence. No design, no actual calculations on my part,

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-69264952233004237582009-08-03T23:38:00.000-04:002009-08-05T23:55:30.979-04:00

Friday, 6 January, 1989 (concluded)Back in OxfordI was set down on the Banbury Road a bit before 6:00. Thought I was going to be balked at the last minute, when I stood at the bus stop across from Coverdale*and could not find a break in the traffic. Once across, though, I had no trouble getting in . . .Yes, yours truly hadn’t even considered that she was supposed to turn in her keys when she

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-81405780755718891802009-07-31T01:43:00.006-04:002009-07-31T01:53:06.265-04:00

Friday, 6 January, 1989Oostende to Dover to London to OxfordThe day dawned clear, bright, and beautiful. And me, not only was I up and ready in time to catch the ferry, I had time to take pictures of the ferry port with its new and old buildings, its piers, and its ships while I waited for my boat to come in.We were underway around 8:00 AM. We cleared the harbor bars and set out into the Strait

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-22039238671307054602009-07-24T23:50:00.003-04:002009-07-26T23:02:13.041-04:00

Thursday, 5 January, 1989Frankfurt am Main to OostendeFRANKFURT-AM-MAIN-- The object in coming to Frankfurt was to visit Richard Meier’s Kunsthandwerk Museum and its contents. And happily, it was quite within walking distance, across the river via the Friedensbrucke, along the Main on the Schaumainkai, and there you are.Weather was gray and misty again today, but Mr. Meier’s pure white building

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-43655728408541237542009-07-20T14:46:00.013-04:002009-07-25T01:27:08.437-04:00

Wednesday, 4 January, 1989Karlsfelden* to Saßenberg*, Bebenhausen, and Tübingen;to Stuttgart and on to FrankfurtFriedl* and Anni* did us the honors of the region this morning. First stop, Friedl’s church in Saßenberg. The others were ahead of us and by the time Friedl, Theo*, Phoebe*, and I got to the church, Anni, Chrissie*, and Pete* were already waiting there.The church building, which I think

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-77937154737069046422009-07-16T09:55:00.007-04:002009-07-16T12:27:27.491-04:00

Tuesday, 3 January, 1989 Wien to Stuttgart to Karlsfelden*WIEN-- Came down around 7:20 and asked the clerk at the desk if he could call me a cab. But it doesn’t work that way here. What you do, you leave your luggage in the lobby then walk up the street to the cabstand. You bring a cab back with you, or it brings you, rather, you pack in the luggage, and you’re off.I checked the route to the West

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-237909691849287962009-07-15T17:10:00.010-04:002009-07-16T12:44:58.632-04:00

The other day, in my regular rota of Bible reading, the Old Testament passage happened to be Proverbs 3, which includes the verses5Trust in the Lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding;6in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight.A couple days later, the Psalm selection was No. 37, which in part says3Trust in the Lord and do good;dwell in the land

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-89868680916133783102009-07-12T13:00:00.004-04:002009-07-14T19:23:25.149-04:00

Monday, 2 January, 1989WIEN-- Got up for the Kaiser rolls and jam. I asked for my tee "ohne Milch" but apparently my accent is really lousy-- the waitress brought the pitcher anyway.Caught the streetcar that heads southeast from the central part of the city, to the Zentral Friedhof. It goes along the Simmeringer Hauptstraße. I don’t know why, but it felt very homely, in a good sort of way, to see

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-80138904131229439782009-07-11T11:29:00.003-04:002009-07-16T12:44:23.936-04:00

Sunday, 1 January, 1989New Year’s DayWIEN, HOTEL DREI KÖNIGE-- I was rather surprised this morning that I was awake in good enough time to make it to church, and that I couldn’t get back to sleep, despite only having been in bed for four hours or so. So I got up and put on the dark gray dress I should’ve worn last night (thanks again, Rollo*) and beat it up towards the Stephensdom.Turns out I

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-42375656687150852422009-07-10T23:18:00.006-04:002009-07-13T00:41:00.182-04:00

Over the course of my erratic ministry career I've written several skits and plays for youth Sunday school classes, both for performance and to illustrate lessons. It seemed to me that the scripts might be useful to other pastors and Christian educators (not to mention that it would be nice to make a shekel or two out of them), but how to get them published? I have a friend with a close relative

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-51618769219629123302009-07-08T18:51:00.011-04:002009-07-11T01:07:51.255-04:00

Saturday, 31 December, 1988 New Year’s Eve/SilvesterabendWienHOTEL DREI KÖNIGE-- Didn’t get up as early as I perhaps should’ve, but the body refused.Had the included breakfast in the hotel Speisezimmer. Kaiser rolls with butter and jam. This is odd. I never would have thought of Kaiser rolls for breakfast.Lost a good half hour at the hotel desk waiting for the clerk to get off the phone. I needed

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-67104961218488510102009-07-07T22:26:00.019-04:002009-07-08T20:13:52.326-04:00

Reinspired (and shamed) by Whisker's accounts of her recent trip to Paris, and having decided that this evening is shot for patching holes in woodwork anyway, I've typed up another day's worth of my Europe '88-'89 journal and now post it here.When we last saw our heroine, she was dozing late at night in a First Class compartment of the Venice-Vienna train and had just crossed over into Austria .

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-16472809988463350802009-07-07T21:20:00.003-04:002009-07-07T21:31:29.207-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Too busy with house reno and house bloggery. And Facebook, oh, my!I've added the Blog Following List widget just now, and soon as I can, I'll move the rest of the blogs to it from the Linky List.Hwyl!

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-65855297501109613802009-06-08T16:14:00.002-04:002009-06-08T16:34:48.266-04:00

Lately I've noticed that half my wardrobe I can't even fasten up any more. I have neither the time, money, nor desire to replace it, so I must lose some weight. Not a prodigious amount-- fifteen pounds would do it; even ten would go far towards solving the problem.So about two weeks ago I began, and thanks to some simple measures like not eating after 9:00 PM and taking an omega blood sugar

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-17717955318981299742009-05-30T10:10:00.005-04:002009-05-30T22:40:22.068-04:00

Here's the sample bit of dialog I did for the writing class in April. I'm debating whether to let you in on the setting and time period ahead of time. Naw, you tell me what it tells you. Comments welcome!______________________________________"Granny!"Svetlana startled and knocked her head on the cold iron basin above her head."Granny!" the strident voice made her wince again. "What in sam-hill

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-29292807782995605422009-05-29T23:32:00.005-04:002009-05-30T22:43:32.700-04:00

My operating system is reinstalled, I've got about half my data restored from Carbonite.com, and no, there aren't any residual trojans lurking in it.I could do a post about the other big chunk of my data and files that have refused to be restored for the past week or more, but this isn't about that. It's about what else I was doing in April when I wasn't posting much.I was taking a fiction

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-34691893484522323752009-05-11T03:20:00.000-04:002009-05-11T03:22:17.874-04:00

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-42412668166059920262009-05-05T18:37:00.003-04:002009-05-05T18:49:08.886-04:00

A special circle of Hell should be reserved for those who misuse their God-given talents to come up with trojans and malware to screw up other people's computers. I had both come to the surface on mine the night of Saturday, April 25th, and I've been living with the effects ever since.I had to wipe my hard drive and it looks like I'll have to do it again, since things still aren't right. Two

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-73528698987413959792009-03-29T16:03:00.003-04:002009-03-29T22:35:51.201-04:00

Aye, I have given myself up to the o'erwhelming tide and joined Facebook.I held out until this past Thursday, when, at the board meeting of a group I'm up to my neck in, it was confirmed that our electronic newsletter was going to be abolished in favor of our group's Facebook presence.The printed newsletter will still come out, but that's quarterly, only.So I signed up on Friday, and blew a lot

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-32053965156196867602009-03-26T12:05:00.004-04:002009-03-26T13:26:57.609-04:00

Thursday, 29 December, 1988From Florence to Ravenna and on to AustriaGot up to catch the 6:40 train to Ravenna. I should do so well at home.We got above the fog for a time on the way there but plunged in again as the train approached the sea. There’s a parable there . . . the clouds can be so oppressive and all encompassing, but if one can find a way of rising higher, one can find the sun still

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-51675535706568119192009-03-22T23:24:00.004-04:002009-03-26T13:25:06.524-04:00

I preached this morning for the first time since early January.Don't know what the lack of engagements is about. I worked nearly half the Sundays last year. Maybe with the economy the way it is, churches without pastors are getting one of their elders to preach for free, to save the expense of an ordained pulpit supply preacher.Anyway, about this morning and other Sunday mornings when I've stood

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-84546136799036774092009-03-14T01:16:00.009-04:002009-03-26T13:39:22.102-04:00

Wednesday, 28 December, 1988 Firenze [Florence]Tired, so I slept till nearly 10:00. Got up, hit a pastry shop/snack bar for some breakfast (Italian pastries aren’t as good as French ones) then a bank for some Italian currency for some traveller’s cheques.Then, since my main personal reason for coming to Firenze (apart from the external feeling that I "ought" to see it) was to do a bit of shopping

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-86470901552662536772009-03-13T23:11:00.004-04:002009-03-14T01:09:20.341-04:00

These past few years I've come to notice that just about anybody and anything can be found on the Internet. Conversely, it now seems that if something or somebody can't be found on the Web, it's as if they've never existed at all.In my post of March 8th, I reproduce a travel journal entry of late December 1988, wherein I write of being in Florence, Italy, and going to a lecture on early

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-54008207822975044562009-03-08T00:05:00.010-05:002009-03-14T00:08:38.328-04:00

Tuesday, 27 December, 1988Löhenthal* to Firenze [Florence]10:36 train from Olten. Frau Renzberger* packed me a nice lunch and Lukas* took me to the station. He was gracious enough to wait with me till the train came but it seemed a real strain for both of us. I’ve been trying to figure out what I could’ve done to make him act like this and can come up with zip. But something’s happened to make

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-57478568732897110712009-03-06T23:34:00.003-05:002009-03-06T23:58:13.085-05:00

. . . Living without a computer for over two weeks?It felt like the kind of vacation you take when you decide not to go anywhere; no, you're going to stay home and Get a Lot of Things Done. And a day goes by, and another, and another, and you realize time is passing and you're not getting all that much done.So you put your back into it and start some serious work on the project you were looking

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-51681341267383290442009-03-05T11:51:00.010-05:002009-03-06T22:10:02.675-05:00

Monday, 26 December, 1988St. Stephen’s DayLöhenthal* to Hapsburg to Königsfelden to Zürich to LöhenthalI’d intended to take off for Florence this morning but it didn’t seem time yet to go. And Lukas’s* parents suggested a trip along a scenic route in the process of returning Frau Heimdorfer* to Zürich.So we visited the castle which is the actual first seat of the Hapsburg family (who were

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-88737459435563481862009-03-03T16:57:00.005-05:002009-03-03T16:57:00.750-05:00

Sunday, 25 December, 1988Christmas DayLöhenthal*I figured out this morning why I feel so resentful about the missing clothes. If you base your life upon the idea that one of the chief aims is to cause no one else any trouble, naturally if they force you to cause them trouble by asking them for things only they can give and which are essential (like access to your clean underwear), they’ve caused

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-73173401000120732762009-03-01T15:52:00.003-05:002009-03-01T15:52:00.244-05:00

Saturday, 24 December, 1988 Christmas EveLöhenthal*, SwitzerlandAs for what transpired today, I got up around 9:00, took a shower, and appeared upstairs. Everyone else had already eaten but Mrs. Renzberger* produced breakfast for me. Instant guilt, even though she’d said for me to sleep as long as I liked.The family put up the Christmas tree today. Lukas* and I did the decorating. He put on the

St. Blogwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11222753.post-78667672375893325962009-02-27T21:33:00.002-05:002009-02-27T21:33:00.779-05:00

Friday, 23 December, 1988Dijon to Pontarlier to Bern to Löhenthal*Got up at 4:45 like a good child. Good thing I didn’t rely on the wakeup call the desk lady said she’d give me. It never materialized.Dreamed again of doing backflips all night. Must be something about the bed. Too soft.Down to the hotel lobby by 5:20. Nobody was there, there was no sign of any number to call for a cab, and there

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