BLONDE POLE DANCER

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GOTTCHA!!
May you always have enough HUMOR in your life! I knew you couldn't resist scrolling down to look!!!

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - GOOGLE'S BOUNCING BALLS

The bouncing-all-over-the-place, multicolored balls on the Google homepage will be Google's gift only for today, right? They are driving me nuts.

UPDATE: Doug sends us this link as a possible explanation.

DINING ON THE ISLE OF SKYE

On the Isle of Skye, Cathy (the gourmet cook) and I dined out at a fine restaurant every day or evening. We savored delicious meals at several wonderful restaurants. We were turned away, and not very politely, at the Harbour View Seafood Restaurant in Portree, but we finally had an excellent meal there another day after we make a reservation. From the description of the menu:

Oysters, lobsters, crab, langoustines, clams, mussels, monkfish, scallops, sole, salmon, trout... a truly outstanding selection of the purest, freshest, most nutritious and delectable seafood.

What's not to like?

 

Harbour View Restaurant

After we were turned away at the Harbour View and another restaurant, whose name I've forgotten, we ended up at the Restaurant @ the Rosedale, where we shared a seafood platter for two, which was quite tasty and which we cleaned in a very short time and licked the platter, too.



Check out the gull in flight that I caught in the picture of the Rosedale.

The crowning dining moment came when we dined at The Three Chimneys Restaurant, pictured at the head of the post, in the back of beyond "on the shores of Loch Donvegan" on the Isle of Skye. Cathy knew about the restaurant from an earlier visit to Scotland, but she'd missed out on having a meal there, so she was determined not to miss again. In fact, Cathy was so determined that she made the reservation for our meal a good while before we left for our travels.

Ever since eating outstanding Scottish seafood at the Western Isles B&B in Mallaig on the Isle of Mull and then eating langoustines that I would kill for, from the water right into the pot, at the Glenuig Inn in Arisaig, I gorged on les fruits de mer for most of the rest of the trip. I'm from south Louisiana, and I'm quite accustomed to excellent, fresh seafood, so for me to praise Scotland for its seafood is a compliment beyond measure.

By the time we went to The Three Chimneys, my fingers were so scratched and cut from grappling with shellfish that I knew I had to give them a rest and time to heal, so I chose venison for my entrée. I don't remember what Cathy ordered. In the midst of a dining experience like that offered at The Three Chimneys, who cares what others are eating unless you want a taste? I went at the food with gusto, my readers, as did my travel companion. It's refreshing to dine with another woman who appreciates good food and enjoys it without constant worry about calories. Time enough for that when the holiday is over.

For dessert we both chose the "Dark Chocolate Ganache with Blairgowrie Raspberries & Issy’s Crème Fraîche", which came in two courses, which confused me a little. First came the palate cleanser, the berries and cream and then the dark chocolate ganache. I express my profound gratitude to Cathy for insisting that we have a meal at the restaurant. Without a GPS, I can't imagine how anyone finds their way to the place. One day, I'd like to spend a few days in one of the "6 spacious bedrooms next door in The House Over-By", but I expect that will never happen. But then, I thought the trip to the Northwest of Scotland would never happen.

 

The harbor at Portree

 

A sea gull with pink feet at the harbor in Portree.

And MadChauffeur told us the Isle of Skye was boring! We now know that he is not infallible.

UPDATE: From Cathy in the comments - a reminder:

We had damn good fish and chips in Portree too - that's worth mentioning. (And in Mull, but that's maybe another story?) It took a while to get it at that place at the top of the hill in Portree, only because there was such a long queue though, but when it finally arrived it was everything fish and chips should be.

Indeed, we did.

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS TEA PARTY CANDIDATE....

From the Borowitz Report:

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (The Borowitz Report) - A rabid Doberman Pinscher jumped on stage at a Tea Party rally in Missouri on Labor Day and barked at the crowd for nearly twenty minutes before people realized he was not a candidate.

The dog, later identified by its owner as "Mister Buster," held the crowd spellbound as he barked, growled, and frothed at the mouth, eventually receiving a standing ovation for his exertions.

Please read the rest at the link above.

I receive the "Borowitz Report" in my email. I'm not sure if Borowitz allows excerpts from the report to be quoted, but I may soon find out. Borowitz has given me many a good laugh as a morning pick-me-up.

LITTLE JAMES IS HOME

From Ellie:

"This is such wonderful news:"

Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 8:26 PM
Subject: James got to come home today


James got to come home from the hospital today. He still has to be closely monitored but everyone is so glad to be able to sleep at home. Thank you for all your prayers and kind words.
Susan (James' grandmother)

Full story here.

O Lord, your compassions never fail and your mercies are new every morning: We give you thanks for giving our little brother James both relief from pain and hope of health renewed. Continue in him we pray, the good work you have begun; that he, daily increasing in bodily strength, and rejoicing in your goodness, may so order his life and conduct that he may always think and do those things that please you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The hope, rejoicing, ordering his life, and pleasing God will come later for little James, but we pray that they will come.

HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE...?

From Michael Jones at Gay Rights/Change.org:

Imagine this as the opening statement of your latest school board meeting.

"Hi, I’m Tammy Aaberg, the mother of Justin Aaberg, who was a gay student at Anoka High School who committed suicide July 9th of this year."

Tragedy. Statistics on LGBT suicide are alarming, and when the numbers fly by -- that LGBT students are 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers -- most of us take a moment to reflect on how hard it must be, still, to grow up LGBT.

But this tragedy gets even worse, at least when it comes to the Anoka-Hennepin school district in Minnesota. Because it's not just Justin Aaberg who committed suicide this year. It was two other LGBT students, too. That's three gay students in the span of one year who have taken their lives, all the while the school district has done nothing to open discussions about LGBT bullying or creating safe spaces for LGBT students in Anoka-Hennepin schools.

Read the rest of the post and links and weep. Watch the poignant video memorial that Justin's family and friends put together.

Why is it so difficult for the Anoka-Hennepin School Board to make rules to stop the cruel bullying? Why can't the board act like adults in this situation and take responsibility for making the schools a safe place for all students? Could it be that they're afraid of the reaction of the bigots in the community?

Obituary from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

H/T to Athenae at First Draft.

PORTREE PARISH CHURCH

On our last Sunday in Scotland, Cathy and I attended Sunday morning services at Portree Parish Church, which is Presbyterian and part of the established Church of Scotland.

As you see the interior of the church is quite beautiful - simple but lovely.

The church was built as a Free Church in 1854, to a design produced by John Hay of Liverpool. Since then its history has reflected the changes that have taken place in the Church in Scotland more widely. In 1900 it became Portree's United Free Church, before finally becoming part of the Church of Scotland in 1929.

I could find only a small picture of the exterior of the church. The church sits right on the main square, Somerled Square, in the town of Portree.



The cover of the service bulletin.


The morning service.

Cathy and I both enjoyed the service, which was quite well done with an intelligent and thoughtful sermon and good participation by the congregation.

At the end of the service, on the way out, folks smiled at us, but no one spoke a word to us, until we greeted the minister outside the church door. Cathy speculated that Scottish reserve may have kept the people from speaking to us. What about welcoming strangers? Reserve or not, to me, it's a vital ministry and responsibility for members of the congregation to speak a few words of welcome to visitors to the church and not leave the greetings only to the minister. Thus sayeth the unofficial mystery worshiper.

Photos and history from Undiscovered Scotland, where you can see more pictures of the interior of the church.

Labor Day 2010

For those who work, have a good holiday.

For those who work, but must work the holiday, have a good work day.

For those who want to work, but have no jobs, may you find work soon.

For those who worked all their lives, but are now retired, have a good day.

For the kids, have fun.

For the Unemployed

Heavenly Father, we remember before you those who suffer want and anxiety from lack of work. Guide the people of this land so to use our public and private wealth that all may find suitable and fulfilling employment, and receive just payment for their labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Collect For Labor Day

Almighty God, who hast so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Reposted from 2009 with the addition of the video. I'm having a busy morning, but I wanted to take note of our workers and all they contribute on this their day.

GUESS WHAT THIS IS

And don't cheat.


Hint: picture was taken in 1956...
Answer below...
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It's a hard disk drive back in 1956... with 5 MB of storage.

In September 1956 IBM launched the 305 RAMAC,
the first 'SUPER' computer with a hard disk drive (HDD).
The HDD weighed over a ton and stored a 'whopping' 5 MB of data.

Do you appreciate your 8 GB memory stick a little more now?


THAT WAS SOME 54 YEARS AGO............WHAT IS TO BE 50 YEARS IN THE FUTURE??????????????????

Note: I did not guess correctly.

Thanks to Doug.

OUR TRAILBLAZING ELIZABETH IS IN THE NEWS

From the Daily Record:

The Episcopal Church of St. Paul's first woman rector and pastor, and the parish's first openly gay spiritual leader, is leaving the parish to figure out "where God might be calling me next," she said.

In her more than eight years at St. Paul's, the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Kaeton brought "challenging" sermons and a new perspective to the Main Street church.
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Kaeton, a long-time activist in the Episcopal Church who worked with New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, noncelibate Episcopal bishop, to have his consecration approved amid controversy in 2003, said she sensed it was time to move on.
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"I think you know when it's time," she said. "You can't take them any further than you have already taken them. And when you can't go any further, it's time to go."

She said she will consider how she can best do the work of the Gospel in communities, and hopes St. Paul's members know she loves them. Kaeton officially resigns as rector on Sept. 1, 2011, and is taking a sabbatical leave until then.

From the website of The Episcopal Church of St. Paul:

Rev'd Elizabeth is on Sabbatical leave. While she is away, the leadership of the church is under the care of the Wardens and Bishop. Rev'd Elizabeth will be doing post-doctoral work as Proctor Fellow at The Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA, during the Spring Semester, 2011. In the interim, she will be busy renovating her home on Rehoboth Bay in DE, spending time with her brother who has early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, assisting at All Saint's, Rehoboth Beach and St. George's Chapel, Harbeson, considering early retirement, and discerning how she can best use her skills and talents, to the honor and glory of God, to pursue her vocation as a Servant Leader of the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She will officially leave St. Paul's on September 1, 2011

Dear Elizabeth, I offer my prayers, blessing, and best wishes to you and Ms Conroy as you set out on the next phase of your lives together. With the people at St. Paul, I say, "Well done!"

Thanks to Ann for the link.

SOMETIMES THINGS GO THE RIGHT WAY

From the Independent:

As the fugitive businessman Asil Nadir flew back to Britain from his North Cyprus bolt-hole last week, Sean O'Neill, the crime editor of The Times, scooped Fleet Street by being the only print journalist on the plane. Yet those searching Google for the latest on the breaking story that morning would have found no sign of O'Neill's exclusive – only follow-up stories by rival news organisations such as The Guardian and ITN.

Two months after Rupert Murdoch's decision to erect a subscription paywall around the websites of The Times and The Sunday Times, thus removing their content from search engines, the bold experiment is having a marked effect on the rest of British media. There are many who still wish the 79-year-old mogul well, hopeful that he is at the vanguard of a cultural shift that will save newspapers. Yet elsewhere there is dismay among analysts, advertisers, publicists and even some reporters on the papers.

Faced with a collapse in traffic to thetimes.co.uk, some advertisers have simply abandoned the site. Rob Lynam, head of press trading at the media agency MEC, whose clients include Lloyds Banking Group, Orange, Morrisons and Chanel, says, "We are just not advertising on it. If there's no traffic on there, there's no point in advertising on there." Lynam says he has been told by News International insiders that traffic to The Times site has fallen by 90 per cent since the introduction of charges. "That was the same forecast they were giving us prior to registration and the paywall going up, so whether it's a reflection on reality or not, I don't know."

The move to put the newspaper's content behind a paywall seemed idiotic to me. The New York Times tried putting their opinion writers behind a paywall but abandoned the practice after several months, because not enough people would pay to read.

I sympathize with the staff who work for the papers, but, as for Murdoch, the result couldn't happen to a better person. Had Murdoch's scheme been successful, before long, the other papers would have followed suit in setting up paywalls.

Nevertheless, as the sub-headline says, Murdoch is digging in his heels:

Advertisers don't like it. Analysts are unconvinced. The paywall at News International may not be winning many fans, but the man behind it is determined to keep it standing.

H/T to Mark at News Corpse, who says:

This was entirely predictable. When there is an abundance of news available online, why would anyone pay to receive information that is not distinguishable from the free information available elsewhere? Especially when consumers are already “paying” as a result of their presence being sold to advertisers. That’s traditionally how media produces revenue.

In addition to the traffic almost disappearing from the The Times site, reporters are anxious about having lost their voice and their reach into the community. What journalist would want to see their readership decline by 90%? What’s more, publicists are avoiding The Times because they know that their stories will not be seen by very many people.

Thanks to Ann V. for sending the link.

IN ANTICIPATION OF THE POPE'S VISIT TO ENGLAND

From Reuter's:

The leader of the Catholics in England in Wales rejected accusations that Pope Benedict was fishing for converts and said "delicate and difficult" issues existed between his church and the Anglican Communion.

His comments come two weeks before Pope Benedict's four-day trip to England and Scotland, the first papal visit since John Paul II's pastoral visit in 1982 and the first-ever official papal visit to Britain.

Relations between the two churches have been tense since the pope offered disaffected Anglicans opposed to their church's ordination of women and homosexual bishops the chance to convert to Rome while keeping some of their traditions.

"There are delicate, difficult issues between our two churches at the moment," Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, head of the 5.2 million Catholics in England and Wales, told Reuters.(My emphasis)

That's about right, Abp. Nichols. As my correspondent who sent me the link said:

[N]ot fishing? It's that "ordinariate" bait bucket that gives him away.

That's about right, too.

Many Anglicans believe Williams was humiliated by last October's offer, which was made with little advance warning, while some Catholics are unhappy at the terms of the offer, which would allow married Anglican priests to convert.
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It is not clear how many intend to convert, he said. The lack of financial provision is likely to be a stumbling block, but in July the traditionalist Anglican Bishop of Fulham, John Broadhurst, suggested several hundred clergy and many laity would leave in the next three years.(My emphasis)

For heaven's sake, why don't the folks contemplating departure to one of the ordinariates just convert to the Roman Catholic Church? They may call themselves Anglicans, but they will be Roman Catholic converts. The powers in the RC Church can change the rules any time down the road, and if the "Anglicans" in the ordinariates don't like the changes, what will they do?

Meanwhile, he said the cost of the pope's visit between September 16-19 was likely to rise above 9 million pounds ($13.92 million) -- higher than the initial estimate of 7 million pounds.

The state's share of the bill is likely to rise by 50 percent to 12 million pounds.

The cost is scandalous. What is the justification for such a high price? There is none. The powers in the English government should have nipped the plan for the pope's visit in the bud or required the Vatican to reimburse the taxpayers' money.

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

STORY OF THE DAY

A lot of people have asked me how I got
to be so wise, she said, & I never had an
easy answer, so most of them left
convinced they'd made a mistake.

From StoryPeople.

Note: A slight edit with change of gender to make the post all about me. I hope the folks at StoryPeople don't mind.

OOPS!

Thanks to Ann.

QUALITIES IN LIFE

 

Thanks to wise man Doug.

ROSSLYN CHAPEL - MIDLOTHIAN

 

From the website of Rosslyn Chapel.

Dedicated in 1450 as the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, William St. Clair founded the chapel for his family with a staff of a provost, six prebendaries and two choristers. Collegiate chapels like this were intended to pray for the soul of the founder and to spread intellectual and spiritual knowledge. Rosslyn's extraordinary architecture and carvings have also inspired generations and meant its fame has endured over the centuries.

 

The interior of the chapel is gorgeous. The chapel still serves as a place of worship for the congregation of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church.

 

The carvings and, indeed, the entire structure are extraordinary. I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the exterior of the chapel, but photography was not allowed inside, which didn't stop others from snapping away.

 

Pendant keystone in the roof

The chapel was filled with tourists and the voice of the guide, which detracted some from the visit, but what can I say? I was one of the tourists. I'd much rather have experienced the chapel within the context of a worship service, but I realize that I can't have everything.

 

The Apprentice Pillar

The "Apprentice Pillar", or "Prentice Pillar", gets its name from an 18th century legend involving the master mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice. According to the legend, the master mason did not believe that the apprentice could perform the complicated task of carving the column, without seeing the original which formed the inspiration for the design. The master mason travelled to see the original himself, but upon his return was enraged to find that the upstart apprentice had completed the column anyway. In a fit of jealous anger the mason took up his mallet and struck the apprentice on the head, killing him. As punishment for his crime, the master mason's face was carved into the opposite corner to forever gaze upon his apprentice's pillar.

What an enchanting place. I'm so pleased that MadChauffeur thought to take us to visit the lovely chapel. I never saw a centuries-old church that I didn't love, so far as I can remember.

View a panorama of the interior of Rosslyn Chapel.

Those of you who have read The Da Vinci Code (yawn) know that the chapel is featured in the book.

Pictures and Apprentice Pillar legend from Wikipedia.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

666 is the Number of the Beast

670 - Approximate number of the Beast

DCLXVI - Roman numeral of the Beast

666.0000000 - Number of the High Precision Beast

665.9999954 - Number of the Microsoft Beast

0.666 - Number of the Millibeast

/666 - Beast Common Denominator

666 x sq. rt (-1) - Imaginary number of the Beast

1010011010 - Binary number of the Beast

1-666 - Area code of the Beast

00666 - Zip code of the Beast

1-900-666-0666 - Live Beasts! One-on-one pacts! Call Now! Only
$6.66/minute.

$665.95 - Retail price of the Beast

$692.60 - Price of the Beast (including 4% Louisiana state sales tax)

$769.95 - Price of the Beast with all accessories and replacement soul

$606.66 - Wal-Mart price of the Beast

$566.66 - Costco price of the Beast

Phillips 666 - Gasoline of the Beast

Route 666 - Way of the Beast

666 F - Oven temperature for roast Beast

666k - Retirement plan of the Beast

666 mg - Recommended Minimum Daily Requirement of Beast

6.66% - 5-year CD interest rate at First Beast of Hell National Bank, $666
minimum deposit.

Lotus 6-6-6 - Spreadsheet of the Beast

Word 6.66 - Word Processor of the Beast

i66686 - CPU of the Beast

666i - BMW of the Beast

DSM-666 (revised) - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Beast

668 - Next-door neighbor of the Beast

- Number of the Blonde Beast . . . uh . . . what was that number again?


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Paul (A.) must not have had much lawyering to do today.

ON THE ROAD TO SCOTLAND

 

Pictured above on the right is the flag of Northumberland and on the left, Scotland's flag, the flag of St Andrew, at Carter Bar, where the Mad Three (MadChauffeur, Cathy, and me) crossed the border from England into Scotland.

Note: The following commentary does not match up with the pictures, which were all taken after we crossed the border into Scotland.

 

Even after the final plans for the trip were arranged, I told my travel companions that I would not really believe that the trip would happen until we were on the road to Scotland. Not until we crossed the border, did I became a true believer. Before that time, I feared that someone would get sick, or die, or back out, or some other roadblock or tragedy would get in the way. But finally, we were there, in the fast lane, making our way to Oban.

 

The evening before we left, we had dinner at La Tasca in Newcastle, MadChauffeur having made the arrangements in quite a satisfactory manner. Gathered around the table were the Mad Three, Mrs MadChauffeur, Themethatisme, his wife, Petty Witter, their German houseguest, a lovely 14 year old girl, Lisa, and a friend of MadChauffeur and his missus. As arranged, we ordered dishes we liked, and we all passed the dishes around, each of us serving ourselves whatever foods we liked. Thus, we had the opportunity to sample a large variety of very tasty Spanish food. After the meal, we took a walk along the River Tyne and across the Millennium Bridge.

If anyone took pictures at the gathering, I don't remember. I did not, because I was too busy enjoying myself.

 

The following morning, we left Newcastle, but not as early as MadChauffeur would have liked. There were ongoing negotiations each evening over the time we'd start out in the morning, because neither Cathy nor I is a morning person, and I believe that most days the negotiations went our way. We were two against one, after all. Of course, MadChauffeur may take a different view.



My fellow travelers, MadChauffeur and Cathy (with her seemingly ever-present shopping bag), headed, I believe, toward a ferry which we never caught, because it was not running that day. The memories of what we did on which day begin to run together.

More to come, of course, continuing in helter-skelter order with regard to the timetable.

UPDATE: By popular demand, another picture of MadChauffeur by Cathy. That's him on the right and Mimi (or is it Mimo?) on the left.

BUTTERFLIES ARE COMING!

 

The big picture. All the caterpillars which will become beautiful Swallowtail butterflies are in the big picture. Scroll down to see the close-ups. We plant the parsley for ourselves and for the Swallowtails. The sad news is that there are only four. We've had the plants covered with caterpillars in years past.

 

No. 1

 

No. 2

 

Nos. 3 and 4



Here's what the caterpillars will become if all four make it. Beautiful!


Bottom photo from Wikipedia.

UPDATE: Here's a photo of the latest edition to the caterpillar family. Click on the picture to enlarge and look at the bottom and a little to the left, and you will see a small black and white critter. The others looked like that day before yesterday. Now we have five caterpillars feeding on the parsley.



And then there were eight!


Word has gone out in Caterpillar Land that Grandpère and Grandmère have parsley, and the caterpillars are a-comin'. We should plant a whole plot of parsley next year. I'll suggest just that to the gardener, who is GP.

CONSECRATION OF BISHOP JOHN SMYLIE FOR THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WYOMING

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bishop John Smylie



Bishop Smylie presiding at the Eucharist



Our own Ann Fontaine at the podium



Our Ann again giving out orders. She practically ran the whole show, you know, with a little help from her friends. See how attentively the others listen.

Thanks to Dr. Richard Schori for these.

Thanks to Ann for the link. View the rest of the photos here.

OH NOOOO! ANOTHER WELL EXPLODES IN THE GULF

From NOLA.com:

The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a rig explosion and fire "and people in the water'' in the Gulf of Mexico south of Vermilion Bay, authorities said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel said the rig is around 90 miles south of Vermilion Bay and that a helicopter earlier today reported that it was in fire "and that there was smoke and there were people in the water.''

In an interview with CNN, Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough said there were 13 people on the rig and that all were accounted for. Twelve of the workers are in immersion suits and one is injured, he said.

Immersion suits protect the wearer from hypothermia.
All 13 people abandoned the rig after the explosion and are accounted for, but have not yet been rescued from the Gulf, the Coast Guard said.

Colclough said the rig was not actively producing at the time of the incident, but is still on fire. The explosion was reported around 9:30 this morning.
....

She said the rig, Vermilion Oil Rig 380, is owned by Mariner Energy, but that details were scarce.

Vermilion Oil Rig 360 is a gas and oil rig in 450 feet of water in South Timbalier Block 316, according to company records.

Vermillion 380 is a fixed, manned production platform. It's not a well being drilled for oil, like BP's Macondo well and it's not a floating rig like the Deepwater Horizon.

Offshore and onshore drilling for oil will never be safe.

THINGS FALL APART....

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

From "The Second Coming" - W. B. Yeats

Do you ever get the feeling that we live in the age of Yeats' poem?

O Lord, bring order out of chaos.
Bring healing to the hurting.
Let light shine in the darkness.

FAMILIES OF TRAPPED MINERS LEFT WITHOUT INCOME?

From the Telegraph:

The 33 Chilean miners trapped underground may not be paid for months while rescuers try to reach them, leaving their families above with no income.

The San Esteban mining company that operates the facility has said it has no money to pay wages and is not even participating in the rescue.

It has suggested it may go bankrupt and its licence has been suspended by the government.

Evelyn Olmos, leader of the mining union, called on Chile's government to pay the workers' wages starting next month.
....

But Chile's Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said the government was prevented from paying the miners' salaries or pensions by the country's labour laws. Instead, they would offer the miners training to find other jobs when they come out.

He said it was up to the company to pay them and the issue would have to be worked out in the courts.

The courts? The wheels of justice grind slowly. And in the meantime? The miners set the world's record for being trapped underground, and who knows when they will be rescued, and all the government of Chile can offer them is job training when they get out? What about an emergency session of the Chile's legislative body to pass a law, which the president could quickly sign, to allow the government to pay the miners' salaries and severances?

The trapped miners face enough challenges without the added burden of worrying that their families will have no income.

Thanks to Paul (A.) for sending the link to the story.

JERICHO ROAD WON!

From the comments:

Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative said...

We won! Jericho Road will be awarded a fresh fruit orchard for the families of our neighborhood in New Orleans! Thanks Wounded Bird for supporting and PLANTING YOUR VOTE! It worked!

Visit us on Facebook to follow the status of the orchard: www.facebook.com/JerichoRoad

Thanks to all of you from Wounded Bird who voted for Jericho Road.

KIRKSTALL ABBEY

After our visit to the Abbey House Museum in Leeds, Doorman-Priest and I headed over to the site of the Abbey proper.

 

Completed between 1152 and 1182, Kirkstall Abbey still stands substantially to its full height, its massive structure presenting a unique example of early Cistercian architecture. Although its community was disbanded in 1539, it has continued to attract the attention of increasing numbers of visitors, for no other building so completely illustrates this early period of English monastic life.

For further information on the history of the Abbey, see their website.

 

The Abbey is splendid. I never saw an ancient ruin of a church or abbey that I didn't love, and Kirkstall is no exception. My only regret is that the area is fenced and gated, and we did not get to walk inside the ruins. For me, the feel of a holy place, where prayers were said over centuries, is only experienced from the inside.

 

DP told me that on special occasions, services are still held in the Abbey. To hear that prayers are still being said in the holy place, even until today, pleased me a great deal.

 

In my earlier post on the Abbey House Museum, I mentioned that the day began with rain, but as you see in the pictures, the sun shone upon us by the time we walked around the Abbey.

 

Since I'd seen the lovely ruins of the Abbey up on the hill in a previous visit and longed to have a closer look, I'm thankful to my good friend DP for taking me to visit.

More to come on our day in Leeds, in which we continued to enjoy beautiful weather.

I'm afraid that I'm jumping around the timetable of my travels, but bear with me. I write as I write.

Note: The pictures are mine, with the exception of the photo at the top, which is from the slideshow at the Abbey website.

Deo gratias!!!

From Ellie on her great-nephew James:

Subject: James improving


Jane is able to hold baby James now for 20 minutes every 3 hours. They have removed all the lines except one little IV. We are hoping he will get to come home this weekend.
Susan (James' grandma)

Full story here.

What wonderful news! Thanks for the update, Ellie.