A work day

I haven’t done a blogworthy thing lately -- just mostly work, work, work at work and work, work, work, at home. There was a some cook, cook, cook, and a little party, party, but it was Dull, Dull, Dull – at least to tell you about, although usually nice while doing it. My Christmas knitting is not coming along well, and I think that by this time, if it were going to, it would have. My friends Corinna and Ward have written a very nice book with a prayer and reflection for every day of the year. I received one as a gift from the authoress herself, and I purchased another (and got it autographed) as a Christmas present for someone who doesn’t read this blog, but don’t tell anyway. Then I decided that it was such a nice book that I would get another for someone who reads this blog once in a while, but not often, so it is probably safe. I’ll bet you can guess who those two are. I went to buy it and it was sold out! Unbelievable! A smash hit! They were reordered and came today, so I picked one up on my way to work. Here is Corinna thinking about what to write as the autograph.
Then I went through the Cathedral as I wended my way towards my workplace, and I saw that there had been some busy bees working there, getting things all beautiful for Christmas. Here is one dedicated soul working on polishing the brass.
On Christmas eve, as midnight approaches, I will be processing around the altar with twenty other women, and singing as I go. This is not as simple as it sounds, since there are more than a few stairs involved, we wear long cassocks, and the person behind me tends to tread on my tail as we solemnly make our way to our positions on the altar platform, and we still have to keep track of the music. The first time I did this, I was so terrified that I thought I might faint. “I felt so exposed -- like there were several thousand eyes were right on me,” I said later to Jim, or conductor. “That’s because they were several thousand eyes on you,” he explained. It’s pretty awful, but beautiful, I think, if you are not the one doing it.

Here is a picture of the St. James Women's Schola from Christmas Past. We have endured singing in the Carol Service on the altar and are now comfortably ensconced in the West Gallery for the beginning of the Midnight Mass.