Happy Summer Soltice!

Day break arrives early to the House on the Cove but The Cat now lets us sleep until after 7! And, just to prove how wrong I can be, as soon as it warmed outside, The Cat began to take some of her copious naps on the porch, lying in the sun as it streams through the screen. Oh, she occasionally must stand and stretch, but quickly resumes her naps. She seems to love the sun and the breezes, as do we.

Today is the Summer Soltice! The news media is reporting an apparently a huge celebration of the event at Stonehedge in England that we missed (because we were here.) The reports indicate that that were drums, cheering and tambourines. It sounds like a great festival, and those in attendance actually get to touch the stones!! Sounds like an event we need to consider attending one day. Much joy and happiness were reported!! In attenance were Druids, Pagans and Partygoers, as well as news media people observing. I am not certain, at times like this one, that I would want to be a news media person. I would simply want to join the fun. Guess it is good that I was not a news media person.

iT is warmer here. Mid 70's Fahrenheit for daytime high temperature and on really humid days, we must have as much as 50% humidity! Thus far, since the House on the Creek often had levels in the 90's for both of those values, we are loving it.

Father's Day was lovely (all our days seem to be lovely).

I went to church at St. John's the Divine in Southwest where the Reverend Emily Blair Stribling used the story of Jesus casting out demons from Legion to ask us where we see Jesus each day. She used a story from her own life where her child helped her to see Jesus.

And I was reminded of a time when Baby Bear helped me to see Jesus. Baby Bear and I were shopping in the town/city near the House on the Creek. She was maybe five or six. So the day likely was full, and we just had to ride the glass elevator several times from the top floor to the bottom floor and back. After completing that part of our journey, as we were walking down the market area of the town/city, one of the homeless people asked for some money to purchase lunch. I smiled and walked on. Baby Bear followed me but then stopped me with, "Look into my eyes." That phrase was used rarely and only when the talk was to be serious and required close attention. "Why did you not give that man money for lunch? He is hungry." I tried to explain that if I gave him money, I felt he would take the money and purchase alcohol, which I did not feel would be good for him. She looked at me and said, "He said he was hungry." I looked at her. And then proposed that we purchase a sandwich for the man. So she and I stopped whatever we had been about and found a restaurant that would sell us a sandwich to-go. She chose very carefully - white bread (because she liked white bread but was given wheat bread at home), a meat, some cheese, some lettuce, a tomato slice (she did not eat tomoatoes, but recognized that I did and that I thought they were good food and good for you), with a packet of mustard and a packet of mayonaise that could be put on by the consumer of the sandwich. The maker of the sandwich, on hearing what she planned to do with the sandwich, threw in a free bag of chips, and before we left, she reminded me that some water and a cookie would really make the meal, and perhaps a piece of fruit, so a bottle of water, a cookie, and an apple went into the bag. We then had to find the person, and this shy child took the bag and gave it to the man. He took it, looked at her, and said, "Thank you." She smiled at him and then ran back to me. I will never forget the encounter, or the lesson she taught me that day.

The leadership of the Vestry is working with the Vestries of other congregations on the Island to see if there is common ground for them to approach their ministries in a more deliberately sharing manner, but understanding in-detail how others work is needed, so there are long meetings filled with discussion to gain understanding. Information is also going out to the members of the congregation for their consideration.

I have feeling that the Senior Warden of the congregation is feeling swamped today. Had time to exchange a few words with the Senior Warden after worship. My impression (and it is only that - an impression of mine) is that without a pastor, much of the day-to-day work of the congregation is falling on the Warden's shoulders. Some clip boards were available yesterday requesting assistance. I did not sign up, but may next week, if there is something I can do. I am not certain how much assistance from someone outside their denomination would be welcome, so I will ask before I commit.

We watched soccer, investigated the origins of Mother's Day and Father's Day and watched some mindless television (I love NCIS and the good thing about watching this particular marathon was that I had seen many of the episodes and so could nap a bit myself and still not be lost), had a nice dinner that I fixed (it was Father's Day and Papa Bear had cooked on Saturday), and then watched the Red Sox game, which the Sox won. We also read, and played on our computers.



Today is another glorious day. I did my walk/run program and got to run a bit today for the first time, in addition to walking. Slow but sure. Then we took a short hike around the loop (picture is from a neighbor's garden), and have spent the rest of the day playing (I did some drawing, Papa Bear learned how to play music while showing slides on the television: my question was: What? Five hundred ways to bore friends? and his response was: Oh, I think it is easily more than 500 ...)

We are planning dinner out tonight to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and otherwise just enjoying the day. Tomorrow we will to look for a wedding present, and meet with the person who will fix the trim on the House on the Cove.