Take a seat. I'll get to bloggage after I finish a load of busyness.

Rapidly,

St. Casserole

P.S. This bench reminds me of the old dorm furnitue at CTS. Who knew this style would make a come back?

Home

Safely home from beautiful Ireland. Tired. Sleepy.

More later,

St. Casserole

I'm in Dingle, County Kerry. So beautiful here! The Covenant Group travels well together although having a Flower Foundation "Companion" can be awkward.

I ate a cream filled pastry this morning. Wasn't hungry but felt you all wanted me to eat my way across Ireland.

More later, I'm at an Internet cafe with a line behind me.

I'll be home late, late tomorrow. I sure missed you!

Love,

St. Casserole

Pre-Travel Musings...

Went to bed at midnight. Woke up at 4 a.m. Ride comes at 8 am. Plane leaves at 1:10 pm. Two hour wait in Philadelphia. Hours later, arrive Shannon Airport.

Jittery, here.

Cats and dogs are delighted to get an early breakfast and have ear scratches, cooing and snuggles. Dubby keeps following the cats hoping for someone to play with him.

Sitting here in the dark, with the computer monitor as the light source, a moth flew to my screen then dived into my coffee cup. I am very grateful I saw this as I would have sipped moth...

I've packed as much as I think I need. LD loaned her North Face fleece (the #1 Choice of High School students here) and R. sent over a packable Gore-tex jacket. I did not pack any cute shoes unless you think the bluefish Sperry's are cute. I bought those to stomp through rainy days with comfy feet.

See that Hello Kitty suitcase? I'm traveling with the giant Go-Across-the-Big-Water suitcase I bought at a garage sale months ago. LS took it to France and if it can survive traveling with Mr. Rough and Tumble, it will do fine with me. I put a bright pink tassel on it so he could find it quickly. The tassel survived and will lead me to it in Ireland.

It seems that the three other preachers traveling with me are having fits, too. I spoke with each several times yesterday and they sound frayed, tired and anxious.

Thank you, LLS for your sweet call. Hey! NJ Girl? So glad to hear from you! And, my wild Epis. priest buddy from the Young Clergywomen's Conf. called to say she'd begun blogging even if she hasn't posted yet! Yippee! NJ Girl: get a blog. I want both of you to become RGBP's. LLS, you'd be a great RGBP, too and your kitties could blog!

Songbird, I'll miss talking with you everyday. It will be weird to not tell you all the goofy details along the trip.

If you didn't call me yesterday, it's because you couldn't get through. I was on the phone ALL DAY LONG.

I'm going to be brave today and travel over water to Ireland. I commend my family and friends and Little Church to God's good care. I will be sweet to my traveling buddies (not difficult but they are TESTY)and drink plenty of water.

I wish I was neurotic about Post-Industrial European Studies rather than leaving home. It would be easier.

Brave and trying to be Tall and Commanding,

St. Casserole

Dear Aunt Bostick

Dear Aunt Bostick,
I'm flying to Ireland tomorrow. Everyone is happy for me. I'm not very happy, though. Why do I fret and fester before a trip?

Your Niece,
St. Casserole

My dear, how nice to hear from you again. I'm pleased that you will go to Ireland. Your Uncle, now in the Church Invisible, traveled to Ireland once to sell grass seed. He loved the country, the people and the pubs.

All of us feel a twinge about traveling from home. Leaving those we love best to board airplanes (subsidized by your govt.) where one is packed like a tinned fish with people who either reek of dry cleaning fluid or athletic activities is no fun. Once those cute young people stopped working the flights to be replaced with normal looking staff things changed with air travel. Travel becomes a physical endurance test instead of a flying party.

You'll go ahead with your trip. God will be with your family here. Your friends will be here when you return. You'll see new things in an world without hurricane debris or damage.

Just a few things: when drinking in pubs, do not wipe the froth off with your sleeve. Be kind to everyone and speak slowly. I'm not sure the Irish have an ear for your accent. If your feet hurt, your back aches or you do not care for your luncheon, keep this information to yourself. No one likes a complaining traveler.

I'll keep you in my prayers while you are away. When you return, please let me know why in God's name you got another cat.

Lovingly,

Aunt Bostick

If I do not get it done or packed today, it will not be handled before I leave for Ireland and will not be in my suitcase or carry-on.

The clock is ticking away.


Yikes!


St. Casserole

Amazing! We have COOL temperatures here! It's in the 60's!

Taking my coffee mug outside to stare, as I do every morning, I felt cool air!

Stunned and Happy,

St. C.

Not the CCL!

Dear Grace and all those who are wondering if I am becoming the Crazy Cat Lady,

I discussed the issue of multiple cats and the effect on CCL with Songbird who has assured me, in two separate phone calls, that four cats does not a CCL make.

I am not at all defensive about the suggestion that I am a CCL. Not.One.Bit.

Nada.

No way am I defensive.

Really.

You can see that the CCL Action Figure has seven cats. I have four. Just 4.

Not defensive. Not the the defense-inator. Nope.

Yours,

St. Casserole

Now that I am Older...

Now that I am older...

...I realize that is not necessary for everyone to know what I think of them.

...When you engage me in conflict, I will not tell you all I know about you because I care about you. I want to continue the relationship in the future so I will not put your back against the wall verbally.

...I realize that it is well nigh impossible for the young to realize that the world does not revolve around them, even those who are in their 30's.

...I understand that I never won when I took on the Senior Pastor. I wasn't the associate to correct the HoS or run the congregation.

...I know that most stuff isn't personal, it's just stuff. If we can't figure out how to redeem it now we can pray that our situations and relationships may be redeemed in the future.

...I look for kindness in others more than the excitement of their chaos.


Yours,

St. Casserole

Press Release from St. Casserole's Cattery

Welcome, Dubbie!

Dubbie, the Bookstore foster kitten joins Andy, Fish and Whistle in the St. Casserole household. He is a native of St. Casserole Town and was born in extreme circumstances then abandoned. Discovered by a kind-heart, Dubbie, along with his three brothers, was bottle-fed and loved until old enough to become a pet.

St. Casserole said, "He's a dear boy and we are delighted to have him with us." LD added, "He's my kitten and I love him already." Andy, Fish and Whistle had no comment. Sister, Fish and Whistle's Nanny admits that she's a bit surprised to have another cat under her care but is ready to bring Dubbie up as she has the Ginger Brothers. Mr. Casserole appeared stunned when he realized that Dubbie joined the household.

Dubbie, a polydactyl kitten, is white with a saddle and toupe of grey striped fur. He has all pink toes 'cept one black hind toe. He's sweet natured and glad to be with people. He will be enrolled at Prof. Whisker's in the next few weeks for Cat School. He's interested in learning to type and create web pages since he has "cat thumbs".

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

My radiologist (a friend) told me that local Irish women do not go to pubs and that I will not be welcomed until I speak and show myself to be an American. Interesting!
I will spend time in pubs next week in Ireland. I will be a pub visiting, ale drinking woman.

I intend to drink ale. I will drink ale. I will be cautious because I am an infrequent drinker and don't enjoy alky hall much, but I will drink ale. I won't be responsible for driving and I'll be in a safe group. And, I won't overdo. I wouldn't mention this but I am not a social drinker or closet drinker. People think I'm being pious but it's a personal taste kind of thing rather than a discipline.

Pictured is the Fitzgerald Bar from the fabulous BBC series, Ballykissangel.
Put the series in your Netflix que.

I hear we will have cool temperatures in Ireland. So looking forward to cool weather!

Soberly,

St. Casserole

Thinking about Grace

I woke up early thinking about Hurricane Humberto. Humberto passed us by on the Central Gulf Coast but headed inland toward Houston. I hope our pal, Quotidian Grace, and all Houstonians and Texans fared well through the hurricane.

The threat of hurricanes, tropical storms and such get on our nerves this time of year. In the old days, we didn't worry about big storms by mid-September. Now we worry about storms until the end of September.

I do not live in a flood zone but have flood insurance. I didn't lose my home but have Katrina damage still because I can't find workers. It takes a long time to recover from hurricanes.

I hope all is well for our Grace and her fellow Texans.

Thinking of her,

St. Casserole

Well, hey...

I'm preaching on the Jeremiah passage. Luke will be taking a break this Sunday.

A gallery in BSL took three of my boxes. These are the mixed media retablo type things I've been making for months. It is an odd feeling to move from the privacy of my opinion of my work to what others may think.

All my work materials are boxed now. The kitchen counter is clean (is granite the best work surface ever?)with all the glue scraped up. I'm moving toward my next calendar project.

I'm going to Ireland with the Preacher Group on the 18th. Yep, the flower foundation is funding the distressed hurricane pastors trip to the green green world of Ireland for a week. We'll listen to story-tellers and meditate in pubs to try to make sense of what happened two years ago.

So, pals, what do I pack for a mid-September trip? It's hot Summer here. Can I even imagine that I might be chilly or cold?

Suggestions?

St. Casserole

Guest Blogger: Whistle Interviews Andy

Whistle: Andy, I'm interviewing you for the blog.
Andy: Blog Smog! Shut-up!!!
W: Andy, Mom said you had to be nice to me.
A: Be Quiet!
W: You are in the confinement pen in Mom's Study. Can you tell us why?
A: Big hole in my gut. Had surgery, emergency surgery, on Monday.
W: How's it going?
A: Hate it! I'm an outdoor cat. Can't stand being confined.
W: You have a litter box in there.
A: Don't talk about that! Litter boxes are for prissy little indoor cats! I haven't used one before.
W: Is that why you didn't use it for almost two days? We saw you with your back legs crossed...
A: Do Not Write About This!
W: OK.
A: And don't put a sappy picture up either!
W: OK, I won't. How long do you have to stay in the confinement pen?
A: Doc says two weeks. I say until I break out of here.
W: You have stitches and an e-collar. Just like Fish did.
A: Stitches come out today. I pulled off the e-collar. Do not tell!
W: I won't tell. Andy, you are a Katrina Survivor, aren't you?
A: Yeah, I came back with the Casserole Men three days after the Storm. They needed me. I rode in the rental truck with water, ice, food, chain saws and generators. I kept watch over the home while they helped people. Trees were down everywhere! I walked on trees instead of climbing. I had to eat what they put down for me except for a few squirrels and some birds I caught. I felt badly about eating the yard animals, no sport in it. The animals were dazed and sick. That Storm about killed us all. You were less than a week old then. You don't know anything about hurricanes!
W: OK. Mom says you picked out us as a family...
A: Not you or your brother! I found this house several years ago. I became the apprentice to Rusty the Great Cat. He taught me everything I know.
W: He's the cat Mama talks about and then gets all wet eyed about?
A: Yeah, She loved him and he loved her. He was Great.
W: She loves all of us. We love Sister our Nanny and you.
A: Stop it! My pain meds are wearing off! I'm not talking anymore to you!
W: OK.

For those in the path of the hurricane and other storms, Lord have mercy.

From NOAA 8pm. Sunday Night

HURRICANE FELIX SPECIAL DISCUSSION NUMBER 10
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL062007
800 PM EDT SUN SEP 02 2007

REPORTS FROM A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT FELIX
HAS INTENSIFIED AND IS NOW A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE. THE AIRCRAFT
REPORTED PEAK FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS OF 152 KT...WITH PEAK SFMR WINDS
OF 142 KT IN THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT. HIGHER SFMR WINDS WERE FOUND
IN THE NORTHEAST QUADRANT...UP TO 163 KT...BUT THESE MAY HAVE BEEN
CONTAMINATED BY GROUPEL. A DROPSONDE RELEASED IN THE SOUTHWEST
QUADRANT LANDED IN THE NORTHEAST QUADRANT...AND THIS DROP YIELDED A
SURFACE ESTIMATE OF 139 KT BASED ON THE LOWEST 150 M LAYER AVERAGE.
BASED ON THESE DATA...THE PEAK SURFACE WINDS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE AT
LEAST 145 KT. AN EYE SONDE MEASURED A SURFACE PRESSURE OF 936 MB
WITH SURFACE WINDS OF 24 KT. BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME TURBULENCE AND
GROUPEL THAT THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED...THE MISSION IS BEING
ABORTED AND THE AIRCRAFT IS RETURNING TO ST. CROIX.

THIS SPECIAL ADVISORY IS BEING ISSUED TO UPDATE THE INITIAL AND
FORECAST INTENSITIES. NO OTHER CHANGES TO THE FORECAST ARE BEING
MADE. THIS SPECIAL ADVISORY IS BEING ISSUED IN LIEU OF THE
SCHEDULED INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY.

Lord have mercy on those in Felix's path.
Great, Just Great,

St. Casserole

St. Casserole Suggests........

It may be hotter than Hades here but I'm ready to change from OPI's classic Cajun Shrimp on my pastoral toes to OPI's Vodka and Caviar shown above.

I am ready to stop wearing linen and cotton everyday and dress for Fall. Our Fall temps (like below 85c) will begin in October, late in the month. We survived August's scorch. I'm ready for Fall.

Check out Vodka and Caviar the next time you get a pedicure.

Just Sayin,

St. Casserole