Immeasurably More

Dear Reader, As an American in London, one of the questions I hear frequently is "How long do you intend to stay?"  And typically I respond... "Depends on work.  Depends on life." But every once in a while, I'm forced to make a decision where the most important factor is the answer to the question "how long am I staying here?" I faced it at a year, when I finally hung paintings on the walls of my apartment.  I faced it at 18 months when my co-worker was moving and offered to sell me his TV, which I bought (as a favor to him, of course).  And I faced it this Thanksgiving when I realized I wanted to invite more guests than my dining table could accommodate, so I bought a folding table and more wine and water glasses. If I'm moving back to the US soon, then these purchases are an unnecessary burden - things that must be disposed of before I can vacate my apartment.  But if I'm going to be here next Thanksgiving, and next Christmas, then th...

Fellow travelers, Surround abundant tables; Celebrate blessing.

A choir was singing "Guide me, oh thou great Jehovah" when we walked into Cardiff's Millennium Stadium for Wales vs. the Barbarians .  I'm still working on understanding the rules of Rugby Union, but right now my primary question concerns Number 8.   Each of the fifteen players in a rugby line up has a name.  He can be a Full-back, Winger (there are two Wingers), Inside centre, Outside center, Fly-half, Scrum-half, Loosehead prop, Tighthead prop, Hooker, Second row, Openside flanker, Blindside flanker, or a Number 8. What happened when they got to Number 8?  They just ran out of cool (intimidating) names?

The British Film Institute is showing all 50 full length animated Disney films this year.  El and I went to see The Sword in the Stone  which is one of my favorites.  The film was preceded by The Little Whirlwind .  It starts with typical Disney short silliness - a baby tornado playing tricks on Mickey Mouse.  But when Mickey tries to put a stop to the tricks, a bigger tornado shows up to take the baby's side... and destroys Minnie's farm in the process. God, be with the people of Joplin and all the other places large and small that have been touched by tornadoes this year.

Given that my laundry is piled in the kitchen waiting for its turn in the washing machine, and the recently finished load is hanging to dry in the spare room, I've decided to tackle one of the more difficult sub goals - the dining room.  This is where most of my paperwork, letters, books, todo lists, etc. inevitably end up. I'll start by browsing through the Edinburgh International Film Festival schedule and adding anything of interest to my LoveFilm list!  Hey.... This paperwork isn't going to do itself! 10:15pm Update Ok... the purple slippers are still as pictured above.  But I ate my dinner (peach and raspberry cobbler laced with Jersey Apple Brandy and ice cream) at a clear table.  I also did three loads of laundry, a sinkful of dishes and some overdue accounting.

TIRMa is coming up for a week.  She always graciously insists that she doesn't mind the untidiness she inevitably finds here.  But this time, things will be different!  I am dedicating my three-day weekend to vacuuming, dusting, washing, ironing and generally doing all the little things I've just been ignoring for a really long time. I am breaking the project down into smaller pieces, so I can pace myself.  I intend to start with the smallest space: the entry way.  Note the unpacked suitcase which has been there since my arrival home on Thursday. Reward for completion... Breakfast! 10:50 Edit.  Goal one achieved!  And Breakfast too..... Next!

Dear Reader, When the train arrived at Fort William, I changed my seat for the fourth time hoping to improve my view of the Scottish Highlands which were being drenched in turns by Sun and Rain.   Before the train pulled away from the station, two men came and sat down at my table.   Conversation naturally turned to why we were each on that particular southbound train on that day.   I explained that I had been unable to find a hotel room in Edinburgh for Saturday evening due to the Edinburgh marathon, and had therefore chosen to spend Saturday night in Mallaig. They in turn described to me their two days of training for the West Highland Way Race , where participants have 35 hours to run 95 miles.     I'm not sure what impressed me more, that they would set themselves the goal of completing a 95 mile race in under 20 hours, or that they ran 40+ miles on Sunday and were still able to have a coherent conversation with me afterwards. One of the runners, John, ha...