Keep Awake!

Advent Sunday is a great day in the calendar we have stepped into the season of anticipation. Today has been especially so.

It's been bitterly cold with snow falling outside it was good to be cosily enclosed in St Mary's on the Harbour. A few had braved the elements and slippery roads to celebrate the beginning of the season.

Each year I am thankful for living quite a long way north in the Northern Hemisphere as its dark nights and shorter days seem to add to the season. Castletown is Latitude N 54° 07' 24" Longitude W 04° 06' 14" so the days are short and will get shorter as we approach the Christmas day. This mornings alarm clock was a rude awakening and served as a stark reminder of what Advent is about - we must not be tempted to press the snooze button! We do not know when He will return. Will we be ready?

In preparation for today I stumbled across this site. It's well worth a look ... www.AdventConspiracy.org

This Made My Day

My Granny gave me a manicure set when I was sent away to Boarding School and I have treasured it ever since. It encouraged me to take care of my nails and hands. Some of you may know that my husband tells me, frequently, that he loves my hands and feet, and is convinced I should have been a hand and foot model. It's a bit late for that now!

I've been following a manicure set on ebay which included a pretty nail buffer (which was not part of the original set) and am happy to say that I was successful in the bidding. What was quite unexpected was the communication that ensued at time of payment. An easy email conversation arose as a result and I sent the sellers a link to this blog. They, confessing never having read a blog but enjoying their visit, agreed that if they couldn't trust a vicar, then who could you trust? The items went in the post before the payment was received.

We live in a time when trust has been frequently superseded by fear and suspicion, and, sadly, this state of affairs subtracts from our com-union one with another.

This truly unexpected episode has but a spring in my step. Many thanks!

Weekend Achievements II

Meal times have always been central to our family life. We have always gathered around the table to share food and talk about the day - and - decisions are best made on a full tummy.

We ate well throughout the weekend. One course we had was a wonderful bowl of queenies on a rocket salad with balsamic glaze. Yum. Though the glasses are empty they were frequently being refilled.

Queenies are a delicacy of the Isle of Man. In or out of season (ours had been frozen) these tiny scallops are gorgeous. A favourite family grace is

Come Lord Jesus be our guest
and may our food by you be blessed.

Tranquility

A pod of risso dolphins quietly travel in the evening tranquility.
Their majesty directs my thoughts to the vastness of our planet and the insignificance of individual humanity.
We are to live in communion with each other, if we don't there are consequences too terrible to contemplate.