Tag Archives: newsletter

Il y a du Vent

20 Nov

In other words, it’s blowin’ a bloody gale outside. The temperature is 42F  (5.5C), which is not bad for mid-to late-November, but when the wind is hitting 55 mph (88.5kph), it can feel as if it is only 30 (-1).

The lights kept flickering at church this morning, and the treasurer joked about not paying the bill, but when we came home the power lines were down heading out of our little berg. Police cars blocking traffic crossing the highway, and utility trucks here and there. Not sure what they eventually did, as Gas & Electric won’t send people up in the “cherry pickers” if the wind is over 30 mph (48 k). Our power had also been out here, but the tall case clock in the dining room set us all straight when it came time to set the electric clocks.

We had our Annual Meeting at church today, and yours truly got herself elected to the vestry. Quite a surprise when I was nominated from the floor, and even more of a shock when I was actually elected. Thank you very much! And I got official permission to resume the monthly newsletter. This was cancelled when a former rector got in a snit over something I posted here. It wasn’t a lie, so I’m not sure what the big deal was, but some people just defy explanation.

Of all the nonsensical things, the newsletter now has to be approved by the entire vestry before it can be published. That should be cute – trying to get a half dozen people to agree on anything. It would probably be easier to shepherd a bill through Congress. Well, we shall see. I got such joy out of doing the newsletter before, and I’m looking forward to getting it up and running again.

Not sure what I’m going to call said newsletter, as the aforementioned rector told me “The Epistle is finished”. We shall see.

I am so sick of fighting this blasted cold.  It’s been since last Tuesday and I’m mightily tired of it.  Coughing and blowing all day and all night. The Squire has decamped to the guest room, and I can hardly blame the poor man.

Wonderful Weekend

5 Apr

Long and tiring, but all in all, a grand weekend.

We had a very moving service on Maundy Thursday, with a foot-washing. This is something the rector started right after he got here, and it has grown in acceptance over the years. A classic Episcopal case of “we’ve never done that before”, so the first year was only three or four of us, but this year it was everybody but two ladies in the back of the church.

The noon Good Friday service was very well attended, I thought, but the Easter Vigil last night was pretty sparse, which was a shame. It’s a looong service, lots of incense, and no hymns. I adore incense, so I was in my glory. (I wore my new dress last night, and I still smell “churchy” today.) We had to open the church doors after the service, and the smoke pouring out almost made you wonder if the place was on fire.

An absolute mob in church today, which was nice. The treasurer is away, so The Squire had to do the counting by himself, which, as an auditor, he didn’t like to do, so he got another fellow to help him. Joe is also good with figures, and they managed to get today’s offering settled, but didn’t get to the other three services. He’ll tackle those tomorrow, I think.

We went to my younger nephew’s home for Easter dinner. Brian and Ruth, Karl and Angie, Ruth’s parents, my brother-in-law, plus the two of us, and four kids. (Each of the boys have two children.) Karl’s older daughter is the best argument for reincarnation I’ve ever met. The child is not quite five and speaks with a perfect London accent about 90% of the time.  She’s never heard anybody who talks that way – no idea where she got it.

I knew we were going to be late – Ruth had planned dinner for 1:00, and I told her I didn’t think we’d get there before 1:30. We left here in time to arrive at 1:15, but for reasons beyond knowing, they were doing roadwork on I-95. Three lanes down to two at 1:00 on Easter Sunday. Good grief! We did manage to skid into the drive at 1:25, which wasn’t too bad.

The best news is that we have found somebody at church who is willing to take over the monthly newsletter! I’ve been doing it since March, 1996, and had made it clear I wanted to resign as of March, 2016, which would have been twenty years. The new editor had been waffling about retiring from her job as a school teacher, and when this was offered to her she decided to do so, and devote her time to the newsletter. A classic case of “The truth shall make you free.” I am so glad to hand it over to somebody else, especially someone I think will do a really good job. It’s rather like marrying off a kid; it’s not your responsibility any more, but you want the best person to pick up the reins.