Tuesday, December 16, 2008

good news

"It might as well be spring" -- a mere zero (old style) this morning. Enough to send one out in the garden to plant something.

Fresh snow reveals that Teh Rabbit has been in the front flower-bed, nomming on the bits of grass sticking up. Some mornings we can see where he spent quite some time in the yard, other mornings it's apparent he crossed the yard at high speed.


Speaking of moving at speed, the new "pickers" on the bottom of the Rambler's boots are doing their job, and I stride about with entire confidence over all sorts of hideous icy footing. The challenge is remembering that I don't have similar gear on Harriet's tires.

Have been reading Michael Ignatieff's biography of Sir Isaiah Berlin--one of those names about whom I've long thought I should know something--and now I'm getting there! It's a long time since I looked at any political theory even secondhand...a perspective on theological thinking that I've neglected... I need to lay hands on some of Anna Akhmatova's poetry too, obviously.

A funeral this afternoon -- a memorial, actually -- for a parishioner who died suddenly some weeks ago in England. Family dynamics will be interesting...estranged offspring promising to kick up some sort of ruckus around and about the proceedings. Trying to devise a sermon that will actually address both the readings chosen and the hearts of those present.

The interment of ashes...in an old cemetery on a Nice. High. Hill. is a lot less daunting since the thermometer rose overnight. I have inherited a Fierce Big Funeral Cloak down to my ankles but may have to supplement it with a most non-clerical toque...at least we're not having to recruit pall-bearers for this stint.

And last night I confirmed that my legacy from my parents had been transferred into my bank. It represents an awful lot of ladders climbed, underground, in the dark, and an awful lot of essays marked at four a.m.

3 comments:

Kathryn said...

Phew...So glad that the estate has been sorted, - that sort of long hard journey can be hugely draining.
Envy the ice boots (or whatever they are..) OK so we don't get real snow here, but ever since I slipped on ice when taking the kids to school about 10 years ago, broke my wrist and was thus unable to drive for several weeks (we were living in a village with no shop and minimal public transport at the time, and all 3 children were under 10)I've been very twitchy on icy mornings, and suspect I'm shuffling along like a little old lady.
BUT I did inherit my pa in law's opera cloak, which has an astrakhan collar and looks very dramatic for funerals...so I may be prostrate but at least I'm warm. Happy Tuesay :-)

Jane Ellen+ said...

We currently stand at 11°F here-- balmy by comparison.

I"m glad to hear of the good boots and the cloak, and I will be thinking of you at the internment this afternoon. Sounds as though the Nice. High. Hill. is not the only place that will require dealing with cold wind and icy patches.

Sue said...

Zero? That's sun-bathing weather! It is considerably colder now however (I'm writing this on the 22nd....Brrr.....).

Glad you got the estate business settled. That is quite a process!