Maybe Spring is springing

I saw a robin this afternoon and, as we all know, the robin is the harbinger of spring. Do we all know that? I remember it from vocabulary and/or spelling in high school. The word was harbinger, meaning someone or something that arrives ahead of someone or something else. The sentence in which the word was used was, "The robin is the harbinger of spring." And I don't think I've ever heard harbinger used for anything else--but I do think I've heard robins called "the harbingers of spring" any number of times.

Merriam-Webster says it's descended from an Anglo-French word, herberge, meaning camp or lodging, and that it used to mean someone who went ahead to prepare lodgings. It also gives a meaning I didn't know, that is of initiating a change rather than foretelling it. And the third meaning is the one I learned.

According to Wikipedia, harbinger occurs more than I knew.

Anyway, I saw a robin today.

I can't help but add that when I went to Wikipedia to get a picture of a robin, I saw that the Latin name of the American Robin is turdus migratorius. I thought that must be a joke by someone who doesn't like robins, but apparently turdus is Latin for thrush. Naturally, I hastened back to Merriam-Webster for the English homonym, but it derives from Middle English and possibly Middle Dutch. I am Dutch by descent and English by language, and not Latin in any way, so this name makes me snicker.

Is Spring Springing?

It can't be.

We've been having day after day of beautiful, mild weather. It feels like spring. But it can't be. It's too early. The weather is leading us on. Finally, we'll believe it and say, Okay, good, it's spring! Then the east wind will blow and rain will fly and maybe even snow will fall. I don't want to be the victim of that cruel joke, so I keep not quite believing in the sunshine and the warming temperatures.

My post title comes from a poem my Dad loves:

Spring has sprung.
The grass has riz.
I wonder where
The birdies is.

I don't think Spring really has sprung yet.

Dog Food

I saw an ad for dog food on the back of a magazine recently. I forget the brand name, but it could have been "dog food for people with too much money." One of its selling points? It's "gluten free." In case your dog is allergic to wheat. And, although it had meat, it had "no animal byproducts." That's a relief because we all know how much dogs hate to eat gross stuff!

Looking forward to May

I have hardly been to any movies in the past few years (just Harry Potter and Narnia), but two are coming up that I'll want to see. First is the second Narnia movie, Prince Caspian. Its first television ad was a 30-second spot aired during the Superbowl.



Now a full-length (two and a half minute) trailer is out, with much of the same imagery.



That movie comes out May 16, and I'm definitely interested.

Now, when I first heard they were making another Indiana Jones movie, I thought, Oh, good grief, how long do they think they can milk that? How old is Harrison Ford by now? What will it be -- Indiana Jones and the Chapel of the Health Care Center?

But the trailer has won me over. It's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and it comes out May 22.



I loved Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I really didn't care for the other two Indiana Jones movies, so I hope this one won't disappoint. I'm glad they have Karen Allen back (the love interest from the first movie). The imdb site doesn't list John Rhys-Davies (Sallah), who was a significant character in two of the movies. It would have been nice to have him back. Oh, well.

So I guess I'll go to the movies in May, if no sooner. The 16th is a Friday, and the 22nd a Thursday, but there's no reason I have to go on opening night of these films. I'm sure there will be long lines for both.

Patriarchy: It's a good thing

If you have the right man for the job.My dad turns 79 this weekend. He has been a son, and is a brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. And great guy. Happy Birthday, Dad!

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage
Psalm 16:6

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness unto children's children;
To such as keep his covenant,
and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18

The righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed are his children after him.
Proverbs 20:7

In honor of Valentine's Day

Storybook Love, from The Princess Bride



At first I wanted to put in the wedding scene, with the Impressive Clergyman preaching about "mawwiage, that dweam within a dweam," and "wuv, twoo wuv," but those parts are actually very short and intercut with the storming the castle scenes (nevertheless, here's a link), so I went with this.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a gift to be simple

Here is a litte picture movie of the Shaker hymn, "The Gift to be Simple."

It's a gift to be simple; it's a gift to be kind.
It's a gift to smile and to share a happy mind.
It's a gift from the Father when we go on our way
With a joyful song at the start of the day.

But the gift to be simple and the gift to be kind
Are the gifts which only a very few will find.
Yet these gifts from the Father can be found every day
If we look to him and his will we obey.

Love! Love! It's a gift to be kind.
It's a gift when we smile, when we share a happy mind.
Love! Love! We go on our way
With a joyful song at the start of the day.

It's a gift to be simple; it's a gift to be kind.
(Love! Love! It's a gift to be kind)
It's a gift when we smile, when we share a happy mind.
It's a gift from the Father when we go on our way
(Love! Love! We go on our way)
With a joyful song at the start of the day.

Love! Love! It's a gift to be kind.
It's a gift when we smile, when we share a happy mind.
Love! Love! We go on our way
With a joyful song at the close of the day.

(Sung by the Calvin College Alumni Choir, 1995)

How Green Was My Back Yard

Today, and to a lesser extent yesterday, we returned to more typical Western Washington winter weather. Gentle rain in the foreground, mist in the mid-distance, and no far prospects at all, just disappearance into gray. I like it. But what was really great was the mild temperature. Intead of low 30s with 25 mph winds, it has been low to mid 40s with very little wind.

It stopped raining this afternoon. This morning, every branch and twig had a water drop, like a glass bead, on it. Now, though it's still damp out, the glassy drops are fewer. If you look closely at the evergreen branches below, you can see water in them.




The following picture shows how even the trunks and branches of trees are green here because of the moist air. It also shows Fishtrap Creek high and muddy, with a good current, as it is in the winter.



Below is my most successful photo of the day, in my own opinion. The dark, damp, rough bark with the thick green moss.


I think it's so pretty here. Everywhere has its beauty. The Santa Clara Valley, in California, where I used to live, was beautiful. But I particularly like the damp, misty, green kind of beauty here in the Pacific Northwest.

Misreading

I was looking at Steven Graydanus's year in review of movies, and he had one category, "Worth Noting." At first I thought it said "Worth Nothing," and I was surpised by some of the titles listed. I misread words and phrases as different but similar words fairly frequently if I'm not careful. I did not do that when I was younger; this is a middle-aged phenomenon. The only other specific example I can think of was quite a while back when I had a Land's End catalog that had sheets and pillowcases on the cover. I read the slogan as "Beige Dreams," which made some sense, given some tan colors in the picture. But later when I picked the catalog up to look at it, I saw it said, "Dream Big."

Come to think of it, I haven't gotten a Land's End catalog for a little while now. I think it's been too long since I bought anything. If I ever make one purchase, I start getting several catalogs a week. I don't mind. Gives me something to peruse in the bathroom.

My sister likes to look at catalogs and fold the page over on products she likes. That doesn't mean she'll order them, or even ever open the catalog again. She just does it.

My dad is an L.L. Bean guy.

What are your catalog habits?

Are you a misreader?

Ash Wednesday

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is a penitential season, and Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance. From a sales website, I picked up three verses of a suitable hymn, the Psalter classic, "How Blest Is He Whose Trespass."

There are two more verses. The full text is here. The Psalter of any church is a songbook in which the songs are versions of the Psalms, in the Bible. This song is based on Psalm 32. The Catholic lectionary readings for Ash Wednesday are here. T.S. Eliot's poem "Ash Wednesday" is here.

A Late Saint

Methought I Saw My Late Espoused Saint
John Milton (1608-1674)

Methought I saw my late espoused Saint
Brought to me like Alcestus from the grave,
Who Jove's great Son to her glad Husband gave,
Rescu'd from death by force though pale and faint.
Mine as whom washt from spot of child-bed taint
Purification in the old Law did save,
And such as yet once more I trust to have
Full sight of her in Heav'n without restraint,
Came vested all in white, pure as her mind:
Her face was veil'd, yet to my fancied sight
Love, sweetness, goodness in her person shin'd
So clear, as in no face with more delight.
But O as to embrace me she enclin'd
I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night.


John Milton, a widower, had gone blind in 1654. In 1656, he married a second time, to Katherine Woodcock, who died in 1658, probably from complications related to giving birth four months before her death. So Milton never saw Katherine's face, though he loved her. In 1673, he wrote this sonnet. In searching for it, I thought it was "I dreamed I saw my late espoused saint," but it is "Methought I saw." But the last line does indicate it was in a dream that he saw her. In the dream he recognizes her and sees all her good qualities shining from her, but he still cannot see her face; that is not how he'd know her. He sees her as purified and in the white robe of those who worship God in heaven (Rev. 7:9-17) . He also states his belief that he trusts to see her that way some day in heaven. Meanwhile, they are separated. He longs to embrace her, but wakes up and she's gone. Day brings back his night--his night of loss and mourning, and also the darkness of his physical blindness. It's a beautiful poem, though poignantly sad (yet not despairing--we do not grieve as those who have no hope).


I looked for it today because today is my late brother's birthday. He would have been 54.

Dan Kok, 1954-2006

God be with you till we meet again--till we meet at Jesus' feet.

Three (actually four) cheers

Hooray, tomorrow's Friday. Hooray, my homework's done. Hooray, January's almost over, one of the two gloomiest months of winter. February's the other, but, hooray, it's short.

I say, I say

James Lileks wrote over in his Bleat about Foghorn Leghorn (you have to read a while to get there). Foghorn Leghorn is, of course, the Southern chicken of cartoon fame. Lileks talked about him a while; like me, he likes him, but then he finished up by saying he hated it when they paired him up with that chick kid, though. But those were my favorites because they generated my two favorite Foghorn Leghorn lines, even though I can only remember one in full. That one would be when the kid talked too much to him (or was that the chicken hawk, not the chick kid? There was a chicken hawk half FL's size that would keep trying to carry him off), and Foghorn Leghorn would state, "Ah say, git away from me, boy. You bothah me." The other remark started out, "This boy, Ah say, this boy is so dumb that . . ." and then would follow some ludicrous Southern-style comparison. It's been a long time since I watched cartoons.

Calvin, Calvin

Before the snow fell, my parents and I, who are all Calvin College alumni, went to a sports bar in Bellingham to watch the Calvin-Hope basketball game by satellite. Calvin lost by three points, throwing away the eight-point lead they had at half time. Many Calvin alum were there, and a few Hope grads, including the guy who did my surgery in December. I showed him my scar, and he said he was glad I was doing well.

Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and Hope College in Holland, Michigan, affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, are arch-rivals.

When I was at Calvin, I went to the Calvin-Hope games that were played at Calvin, where I would get caught up in a mob mentality and exhibit extremely poor sportsmanship. I remember that if Calvin was ahead, we would yell, "There's no hope! There's no hope!" And if the game was ending with a Calvin victory, we would sing, "Na, na, na, na. Na, na, na, na. Hey, hey, hey, good-bye." They sang the same to us if they won, but they couldn't come up with a yell as good as, "There's no hope," because the name "Calvin" just doesn't lend itself to good yells.

Actually, even though I love the church I've belonged to all my life, and to which my family has belonged for a couple centuries, and the college my family has attended for three generations, I must admit that both "Christian Reformed Church" and "Calvin College," are somewhat needlessly nerdy names. But, oh, well, I'm all the more loyal. Speaking of which, when we sang the Calvin song, I rather fell down in the second verse. I need to brush up on those words.

Speaking of my family's generations, even the name Kok requires explaining outside of Dutch circles and calls forth extra levels of loyalty to compensate. Or I could disclaim, like Gideon.

Again with the winter wonderland.

Okay. We get it. It's winter. In fact, it's January. Here comes the snow.

Here's the frozen pond in the deck outside my door.

A snow-covered tea rose.
Snow-covered bird feeders and bird bath.
Snow-covered trees.
Snow-covered blueberry bushes. A certain theme is developing.

January blessing

God Knows
Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way!" (1908)

Borrowed Blog Idea

Over at Quiet Life blog, Mrs. "Booshay" generates comments by asking some questions in her postings. On Friday, she asked five questions and got 49 comments (last I checked). Instead of adding number 50 over there, I decided to borrow (steal?) her questions and write the answers as a post on my own blog.

1. What are you reading?

While I eat breakfast, I've been reading a chapter or so each morning of New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas More.



In leisure time, I've been re-reading some novels I own by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. She wrote the screen play adaptations for Merchant-Ivory Productions' Howards End, Room with a View, and The Remains of the Day. She also has written quite a few novels, of which I own a few. If I am informed correctly, she was born in Germany, educated in England, and married a man from India, and she lived in India for many years. That is where my favorite novels of hers are set. The first one I re-read was my very favorite, The Nature of Passion. Then, Amrita: Or to Whom She Will, my third favorite. I still need to re-read my second favorite, The Householder. These are all just amusing, slightly biting, yet overall kindly books about Indian families. I like The Nature of Passion best because the plot strands tie up in happy yet ironic ways.

2. What are you making?

I'm afraid I'm not making anything with my hands. Mrs. Booshay is a knitter, as well as a talented photographer, so she always has socks, a hat, or a beautiful photo to show.

If I stretch a point, I'm making myself into a paralegal. The process should be complete in June, 2008.

3. How often do you grocery shop?

I grocery shop about once a week, sometimes less. As a single person, I can buy in different patterns: stuff I really like, stuff that's easy to make, or just what I need most desperately. And if I don't get to the grocery store, I can make do with whatever's in the cupboard or fridge.

4. Would you buy a house with a one-car garage?

I certainly would. I own only one car.

5. Do you dream of living in a big city (e.g. Chicago or New York) or on a farm?

Neither appeals to me. I made my choice of the kind of place I want to live, and it's a city with a population of just over 10,000. And that's after a lot of growth. The Lynden I knew as a little girl I think had a population of under 4,000. I like not having heavy traffice or crime. On the other hand, I like having neighbors. I think I would feel isolated either in a big city or out in the country. But in Lynden I feel right at home.

Seeking Silence

On New Year's Eve (during the day and early evening), I watched a DVD of the movie Into Great Silence.



It is an unusual film, as it has very little dialogue, no narration, and no "mood music." A German filmmaker spent about six months living in the Carthusian monastery La Grande Chartreuse (The Great Charterhouse) in the French Alps. With no film crew or artificial lighting, he filmed the monks praying, meditating, working, eating, chanting, and generally living their lives.

Rather than writing about it myself, I'll refer you to a good review by Steven Greydanus, a Catholic reviewer, whose site, Decent Films Guide, I visit fairly frequently. In fact, I should put a link in the margin to it.

I find books and movies about monastic life interesting. I probably have a romanticized idea about that way of life, but I have benefitted from insights about integrating faith and everyday life particularly from reading about Benedictine spirituality. The Benedictines take a vow of stability, to stay in one place and with one community for the rest of your life. The idea is that you don't find enlightenment or work through your issues by going somewhere else to find it there, but by persevering where you are -- changing places won't change you. It's that saying, "Wherever you go, there you are." (I'm in Lynden, and here I am.)

Two books that have taught me well are The Cloister Walk, by Kathleen Norris, and Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, by Esther de Waal.

Epiphany

Epiphany
January 6, 2008

Epiphany is the traditional church holiday that celebrates Christ made manifest to the Gentiles. The first Gentiles to worship Jesus were the Wise Men, or Magi.

Matthew 2:1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.


Two good Epiphany songs are below, though neither video has visuals I would have chosen, so here's a picture:


In addition to the fact that they bring three gifts, the traditional number three may derive from the three known continents of the middle ages. Sometimes the Magi were portrayed as European, African, and Asian, to symbolize in their persons all the Gentiles of the world, worshipping Christ.

We Three Kings of Orient Are



The Bible does not call the Magi "kings," nor does it specify three as their number. However, this song does give draw a nice symbolism out of each gift, gold for Christ the King, frankincense for his divine nature, and myrrh for his death and burial.

Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning



This song deals with the story of the Magi, which is told in Matthew, but it has a rather Luke-like emphasis on including the poor and penitent.

January frame of mind

Well, I followed a slightly saner schedule the last couple days. On January 2, it was my own fault that I stayed at work until I didn't have enough time to drive home, do the things I needed to do there, and drive to class and get there on time. So I figured out a schedule for myself with what I hope are reasonable work hours.

It's time to stop bemoaning the end of Christmas (today is the Twelfth Day) and start living January. The January experience is more austere and cool than the warm, colorful, and cozy atmosphere of Christmas, but it has its own pleasures. Chilly, bleak, gray, cloudy, dull, twilit, dark, cold--these don't have to be negative words. They can be bracing, challenging, calling forth a cheerful stoicism. They have the appeal of military or monastic life. As someone who likes to read works about Benedictine spirituality, I should embrace them.

If I remember my church history correctly, Christian stoicism was influential in shaping some of the greatest elements of Medieval society.

Canterbury Cathedral. [Photograph]. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-17446.