First Sunday in Advent: Questions for Angels

A pilgrim on a pilgrimage
Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
His sneakers torn
In the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blankets
And the new day is born
Folded in his backpack pocket
The questions that he copied from his heart
Who am I in this lonely world?
And where will I make my bed tonight?
When twilight turns to dark

Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
Fools do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world

If you shop for love in a bargain store
And you don't get what you bargained for
Can you get your money back?
If an empty train in a railroad station
Calls you to it's destination
Can you choose another track?
Will I wake up from these violent dreams
With my hair as white as the morning moon?

Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
I do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world

Downtown Brooklyn
The pilgrim is passing a billboard
That catches his eye
It's Jay-Z
He's got a kid on each knee
He's wearing clothes that he wants us to try

If every human on the planet and all the buildings on it
Should disappear
Would a zebra grazing in the African Savannah
Care enough to shed one zebra tear?
Questions for the angels

Thank The Lord

It now being the early morning of Thanksgiving Day in the USA, it came to mind the phrase "thank the Lord".  I can clearly hear my grandmother saying those words even though it has been three decades since she has gone to her eternal reward.   Mom usually said that phrase in an off-the-cuff manner and, most often, in such a quiet tone that only she was meant to hear.

So now, thank the Lord, I am sitting in a warm house, in front of a cozy fire, hot coffee nearby, hoping you are looking at your day ahead with a grateful heart and praying you are counting your blessings, as well.

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Amen

Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn

(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

Eclectic Linking Around the Web

Some interesting links over the past week have given me pause and wonderment.  Perhaps you might like to investigate.

Annemieke Mein and her intricate needlework, with a full presentation of her artistry celebrating the natural world through textiles, and this photograph courtesy of MrXStitch, Also take a look here for more of the background on Ms. Mein.  That website says

The book The Art of Annemieke Mein: Wildlife Artist in Textiles illustrates more than thirty major fabric sculptures she has worked on in exquisite detail, and her art has appeared in galleries all over the world.

A quick holiday pumpkin mousse pie with excellent taste and little effort, found here courtesy of Crunchy Creamy Sweet.  Such a happy little surprise created from this recipe, and I even put a dollop of the mousse in my coffee this morning for an autumnal taste.

For legwarmers, Purl Soho gives a pattern that I liberally modified to make a striped pair similar to the ones shown on Pinterest.  Except I used only one shade of red and four shades of grey and blue/grey to make these:

Felicity Ford has a series of articles about designing a yarn, accessed here.

Also, Sounds of Wool, courtesy of Felicity Ford.  I met Felicity on a fiber tour to England with Heather Ordover and the crew of Craftlit in 2010 while we visited London, Bath and Wales.  All those photographs of that trip are here on the Google Plus Album.



And speaking of Heather Ordover, she said this yesterday:

CraftLit starts a new book! 

Busy? Miss your reading time? Wish you’d read the classics but found them dull in school? stick a book in your ear! 

Audiobook with Benefits. For the remainder of each episode the host, Heather Ordover, will talk you through the tricky bits of these classic books so you don’t get flummoxed. After the heads-up you’ll listen to the chapter.

(I began listening to Heather and her classic books about ten years ago.  All books are read by volunteers.  Heather gives information along the way, making it fun to listen and learn.  All readings are archived for easy access.)

Take a look at Cape Candle.  This company makes scented candles that do not lose their aroma even after hours of use.  The Swan Creek candles last a long time and are worth their purchase price.

That is enough for today regarding the web. Did I tell you the husband made a delicious french onion soup last night to go along with that pumpkin mousse pie?  Now I did.  (He used the method of layering six sliced onions along with salt between the layers of onions, sweating them in an electric skillet for twenty minutes, caramelizing the onions, with hint courtesy of Alton Brown of Good Eats.)