Saturday 23rd December - Catch up, catch my breath

Have I really not posted since Monday morning?

So it seems...

Monday - Dentist experience relatively OK - no drillin'n'fillin, but what my son describes as "an industrial strength clean". So that was ok, home for lunch, which I as able to eat (not always the case after the dentist!) and off shopping for - can't remember. Non perishables, I guess. Mega present-wrapping.

Tuesday; Unexpected phone call; could I play for a carol service tomorrow morning for the residents of a local home?.... Thinks hard, yes, I can just fit it. Shopping at school. Off to school in the afternoon for the Dress Rehearsal at the church for the School Nativity tomorrow. Several unplanned additions to the carols from the keyboard I play - sudden loud drum beats, or change of instrument. Hope it doesn't do that tomorrow. More present-wrapping.

Wednesday; frantic last minute practice of songs for the Nativity. I can do the carols; it's the jazzy up-tempo numbers that I find taxing. The zip round to play some carols at the Home - not too many "bonus notes" today. Back to the school, and with the keyboard precariously balanced across the choir stall ends, and my music surreptitiously propped up on a handy flower display I get through the songs and carols without any "surprises" from the keyboard.



(Memo to self - must watch "Flint Street Nativity" again to compare notes...)

Home, change, snooze even, before off out again for end-of-term meal. To my horror, the others all arrive (after me - I was early) Bearing Gifts! We are doing a Secret Santa! All gifts to cost no more than £1; and I remember that I spent the whole day trying to squeeze in time to drop off a bag of stuff at the charity shop. So I rummage in the boot, find something possible, wrap it in a napkin tied with string from behind the bar. Phew. That was lucky. It was at least as good as the inflatable reindeer, or the canned snow, and other presents to choose from. 

Thursday; TERM HAS FINISHED!!!!! NO MORE SCHOOL!!!! When I eventually woke up, I zombied into town and bought vegetables and spent the afternoon wrapping some more presents. Which had fortunately arrived for me to give them to the recipients when we met up in the evening.

Friday; Turkey-Lurkey day. We woke far too early, made tea and toast for us both at about 4:30 am (Yes. True.) Then rolled over and went back to sleep until 10:30. Oh no! Turkey-Lurkey day! Up, breakfasted, dressed, in the car and in the shop in record time. Brought everything home, and somehow managed to get it all into the fridge. Except the box full of stuff in the shed....

Cooked supper for us two and the Grand Old Man. Excellent.

That was my week - full tilt until just now. I'm just about to have a go at Jamie Oliver's Crazy Simple Fish Pie. (Didn't like the chipolatas with apples and onions - too sweet.)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jamie-oliver-crazy-simple-fish-pie-ng3htpq7l

Monday 18th December - a moment of happy happy

Just look at all these pictures. Don't argue with me, just go and look.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-42370195?SThisFB

Monday 18th December - start the week

Here's a random post...

If you are following the #Pause for Advent bloggers, you can find us at "Tracing Rainbows"

One of the bloggers posts hymns - how long is it since I have sung "Hills of the North Rejoice"? Not since school, maybe.



Today I am off to the dentist.This is a major expedition as he, no, she, as the daughter is now running the practice, is twenty miles away. Sooner or later we will have to move to a more local practice - but I've been going to them since before I was born - old habits are hard to change. We usually make this a family day out - are you laughing? I'm sure I heard you laugh. But it hasn't worked out that way this time, so I shall travel solo. Fingers crossed....




The the to-do list is enormous. Why is it that every time I go to tick the items off, the list gets longer instead of shorter? Some of the items are proving hard to deal with, like clear all the accumulated charity bags and recycling out of the back bedroom . I should just get on with it - it will be a load off my mind (and a load out of the house) when that is done.



What shall I try and achieve today? Charity bags as far as the front door, that would be good. Wrap presents,  - here's the Japanese speed-wrap method - 15 seconds per present - and another video showing how it is done!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Right now I need to brush my teeth, scrape the ice off the car and get going. Toodle-oo.

Pause for Advent 3 - Luke chapters 3 to 21

I've read the bit from the 'Last Supper' to 'Jesus laid in the Tomb' several times now, in the King James version.

Now it is time to move back - this will be a marathon read - all the way from chapter 3, about John the Baptist, to the end of chapter 21. I might start a bit further back, where Jesus gets separated from his family in the temple during a visit to Jerusalem.

And I might read it in a modern translation - it will be about 4 chapters or so every day.

Maybe it will be a good idea to make a point of pausing with a cup of tea, (or a glass of wine!), light the advent candle and take time out to settle down for a Good Read.

We have the advantage of knowing how the story ends. Jesus' followers, at the time when he was here, could only follow, like sheep, not really understanding or knowing what he going to do, or where he was going next. I'm not great a surprises or suspense. I have been known to skip to the end of a book just to make sure it is going to all end happily.

I've just read in a literary blog about "mapping out a book" - marking all the locations where the action takes place on a map. What a brilliant idea - I found this map here

and I think I will print out a large copy and use it as a bookmark. I could do with working out what the scale is.

Sunday 17th December - Not where I wanted to be

Church was where I didn't want to be - but I got up, scraped the car and shivered my way there. And shivered into the church. And chose a seat near the blowers at the back, and did up the top buttons of my cardigan and zipped up my fleece to the neck and hunkered down. It's my husband's fleece, several sizes too big for me and very warm, so I was able to shelter my hands inside the sleeves and make like a hibernating tortoise.



We lit the third advent candle - "this one represents 'Love' " announced the vicar.

Wikipedia - advent wreath

We sang the third verse of the advent-candle-lighting-hymn - all about how this candle represents 'Joy'

We listened to the reading from chapter 8 of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, all about 'Hope' and a then a sermon on the same theme. 

We sang the hymn "The Servant King" - one I really don't care for, followed by "Meekness and Majesty". Not keen on that either.

So what was the point of being there? Why did I stay?

Because - it's not about me, and what I want, and what I like.

And the sermon was good, and full of Hope, with a bit of Love and Joy thrown in.

And I left feeling a better (if chillier!) person than when I rolled up.

Just to clarify everything, here's wikipedia on the usual themes for the four Sundays in Advent;

Advent candles

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the readings of Mass on the Sundays of Advent have distinct themes:

1. On the First Sunday, they look forward to the Second Coming of Christ.
2. On the Second Sunday, the Gospel reading recalls the preaching of John the Baptist, who came to "prepare the way of the Lord"; the other readings have associated themes.
3. On the Third Sunday, the Gospel reading is again about John the Baptist, the other readings about the joy associated with the coming of the Saviour.
4. On the Fourth Sunday, the Gospel reading is about the events involving Mary and Joseph that led directly to the birth of Jesus, while the other readings are related to these.

In another tradition:

1. The readings for the first Sunday in Advent relate to the Old Testament patriarchs who were Christ's ancestors, so some call the first Advent candle that of hope.
2. The readings for the second Sunday concern Christ's birth in a manger and other prophecies, so the candle may be called that of Bethlehem, the way, or of the prophets.
3. The third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday after the first word of the introit (Philippians 4:4), is celebrated with rose-coloured vestments similar to Laetare Sunday at the middle point of Lent. The readings relate to John the Baptist, and the rose candle may be called that of joy or of the shepherds. In the Episcopal Church USA, the collect "Stir up" (the first words of the collect) may be read during this week, although before the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer it was sometimes read in the first Sunday of Advent. Even earlier, 'Stir-up Sunday' was once jocularly associated with the stirring of the Christmas mincemeat, begun before Advent. The phrase "stir up' occurs at the start of the collect for the last Sunday before Advent in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
4. The readings for the fourth Sunday relate to the annunciation of Christ's birth, so the candle may be known as the Angel's candle. The Magnificat or Song of Mary may be featured.
5. Where an Advent wreath includes a fifth candle, it is known as the Christ candle and is lit during the Christmas Eve service.

Other variants of the themes celebrated on each of the four Sundays include:

• The Prophets' Candle, symbolizing hope; the Bethlehem Candle, symbolizing faith; the Shepherds' Candle, symbolizing joy; the Angel's Candle, symbolizing peace
• Hope–Peace–Joy–Love
• Faithulness–Hope–Joy–Love
• Prophets–Angels–Shepherds–Mag
• Faith–Prepare–Joy–Love

Saturday 16th December - A day for ourselves

Oh me! oh my!

This has been the first completely unscheduled day since, since, since....

I normally work for several hours a day, Saturdays included, except Sunday (unless I am on the rota at church for something...)

Today I wasn't at "work",
so,

I have done

housework (bathroom cleaning, hanging up laundry)

teaching admin (sending in end of term pay claim and registers)

teacher clearing-up (I have a number of different "teacher-bags", depending on where I am going and what I am teaching. By this stage of term they are full of "where shall I put this" and "I'll deal with this later"

Shopping - perishables which are not on the internet order, and bits and pieces which it is too soon to go into details about

Posting the parcel which MUST reach its destination before Christmas

And finally, finishing the tree,

and decorating the fireplace.

Christmas seems just that little bit more real.

Time to pause, stop, relax, enjoy, reflect, remember...