The Season of Hope

Today I will compose a vegetable stew that will last for several days to be consumed with a wholesome bread. This preChristmas fast has become something special for my husband and me. The Orthodox Christians worldwide will enter into a period of reflection. We are fully aware that many will be celebrating Christmas by wordly standards, many of which we reject.

Christmas is simply not about goods and sale items. It is a beautiful and deep understanding of a historical event which changed the entire world and our lives. Because of Christmas, there will be peace on earth and good will toward men, as "foretold" by the angels. They will sing praises to God -Glorifying God In The Highest-"Joy to the world the Lord is come." The Word made flesh by a Virgin Mother, Jesus The Christ our Lord.

No longer are we just creatures of the earth, but in our acceptance of Him, become partakers and sharers of the heavenly abode, being the recipient of many spiritual gifts, life, peace and everlasting joy. Hope for all eternity, and above all, loved.

It's a journey...let us begin it once again and by our preparation, put on the cloak of kindness, generosity, understanding, gratitude, fortitude and trace the sands of time until we come to the place where Jesus our Savior lay. Where we, like the wise men will find our true purpose, and worship Him.

Yesterday, I heard someone say that Christmas has changed for her since she has become Orthodox and now, its not all about the decorations....It is so much more beautiful and special than all of that. Some of us don't even care if we have decorations...We do it for our grandchildren. Certainly, it is not about the parties or preChristmas anything. Any gift worthwhile is made better by waiting for it to come.

It begins, like it did for the Virgin Mary, when she was given the opportunity to say "yes" to God when the message, through Angel Gabriel was revealed to her. Simply, it is a message of acceptance--to put on Christ. The invitation has come, The package is soon to arrive. Now, we anticipate His coming.

It's A Shame

Our local newspaper needs to hang it's head in shame. Or, why bother...It's just a sign of the times that things are and have been going downhill fast...Many times recently, I have shook my head when there were obvious spelling errors. They of course, invite us to report all in what they call "Accuracy watch" which appears on page 2.

There many ways a mistake can be made. It was not allowable to have a widow, for example, in years past. That meant not allowing a single word to be placed on a line by itself. Newspaper business is all about selling space. If you had a word that would hang alone, it was advisable to find a replacement word that would fit on the fullest previous line. Sometimes, that meant kerning, a term that suggested change of the size, utilizing a different typeface that was condensed. Another way, was to size down a word or line of type. There would be an adjustment, as there was no "widow" allowed.

This day and age computerized technology, which was developed to help ensure accuracy by methods like "find and replace" and abc checks, have been thought to result in  a better product. Why then are we finding so many errors? Could it be simply, apathy?

Years ago, we relied on "proofreaders" to do the job. Computers cannot replace human intelligence, obviously. So who is looking at the finished product?

What beats all was the evening edition tonight, which on the very top of the front page after the header centered under the headline was a line that read:
 'It's going to be up to this body a
nd Future Bodies To Try To Move Forward'

That was intended to be "and" I suppose, just pick a line.

If you find your product to be acceptable to the public-- who are good paying and intelligent people, your sadly mistaken. The embarrassment is solely on you. No wonder people refer to you as "The Rag." Isn't it ime to clean up your act?

Sweet November

I'm a true-blooded New Englander who through the years have come to appreciate each and every season-- each with it's own color, taste and sound. Yesterday was so much fun that waking up to hear the howling wind, on a dark rainy dismal and leaf-slippery morning caused me much reflection of November, in years past.

What is to come? More bleakness, as November draws us closer to the death-like state of winter. Oddly enough, the temperature did not match the view as it was sixtyish. Better than ice any day. Come to think of it we did have a slight frost which, as of last weekend, left my gardens quite lifeless and needy. Why am I so surprised? Didn't we see the Canadian geese doing their usual fly by's and with the colorful and fallen leaves didn't we anticipate the coming of November? But, it is so drastic, one day, colorful golden leaves basking in the sun and today none, just emptiness, barren and stick like, banished from paradise, in a sudden death.

We know that is not the end of the story, as we will just anticipate the spring all the more and will be amazed once again at its beauty, hidden in the debt of winter, as all things cycle forth, better than ever, in some cases.

There's still football and family gatherings ahead with turkey and trimming to look forward to. But I cannot help but feel the sense of loss...and sadness just the same. I retrieved the recycle bin, which was blowing down the street, and brought more pots in, with the hope of reviving some of the untouched plant life within.

People that know me, also realize that I like to change color schemes-- orange and red this time of the year, brightens my home and gives me the pick-me-up feeling that keeps me from getting too gloomy. I am a Scorpion--short for moody, and liking change, soon to be celebrating another birthday. What I wonder is, why do people call this month "Sweet November?" It's anything but sweet.

In a way, I'm glad to see that the clocks will be adjusted on Sunday, as I like to retire early this time of the year. Life is different for New Englanders, partly I think, because of the shortened days and the struggle to keep warm. While certainly this is not beach or barbecue weather, there is something to be said about scented soaps and candles, warm woolens and flannels, flavored coffee, homemade breads, jam, and sexy boots. I love to cook all the so-called comfort foods like apple pie, and homecooked meals in the crockpot.

Yes, I will miss the long bright days of wearing my sandals, shorts and eating ice cream-- flower gardens, wren and song birds, the beach, cook-out's and summer fun, but only for a little while....