A Weekend of Blessing, Birthday and Bliss

It was busy few days last weekend for both Nick and us. He had to be on-call, so his visit had to be postponed to the following weekend. We will see him and Paulie soon!

We started to feel the heat of the weekend since Friday February 21, 2020. An invitation arrived for me to join the Recorded Books Advisory Board, and renewed book proposal from Cambridge Scholars.

Around noon, Saturday February 22, Father Milutin called to ask if he could come an hour earlier than planned to bless our home, and I had to say Yes, even though Paul just lied down to nurse his headache. After the phone call, Paul and I sprang to action to be ready for him.

Ten minutes later, Father arrived in his full length black robe and white collar. Without too much ado, he started blessing for all of us living and then the Dear Departed. He then sprinkled Holy Water around our living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms, and our mini-Costco of a garage, with me holding the water bowl and Paul reading from the Scripture. Once the interior was covered, he proceeded to the side-yard, backyard and front-yard where I asked him for a special blessing on our ailing lemon tree which had died many deaths over last two decades and more. He did and commented rightly that it at least bore fruits. He also blessed the '57 Chevy truck, RAV4, and Camry. Apparently the Chevy was his favorite. He had to leave right away, as he had a full schedule ahead of him.

For some reason, we both felt so happy and lightened after Father Milutin's visit. In that blissful milieu, we decided to give my paper on Eddy a final polishing. At three o'clock, we sent the draft paper to Prof. Buckland who responded with a long message three hours later while I was preparing fillings for dumplings.

The next day, Sunday, February 23, we spent almost all day outside, exercising at 24 Hour Fitness, going to church, walking along West Cliff, attending Alverda's 90th birthday party at St. Joseph, and watching the sunset at Moran Beach.

It was a blissful weekend to be with family and friends: FaceTime with Nick's family, talking to sister, and gathering together with church and library friends. Besides congratulating Alverda and meeting her twin daughters, sons-in-laws, and grandson, we Awesome Three,  Heidi, Pam and I, who used to staff the Reference desk and Telephone Reference for many years, with Donna being our lead, were now having a great time, covering all topics to catch up with each other.

Three Celestial Bodies + ISS

It was a busy Sunday yesterday, even though we skipped 24 Hour Fitness, as the strong winds knocked out the power at the gym.

After church, we went straight to Seabright Beach and walked for about an hour. It was so cheerful to see happy faces, bright sunshine, the endless expanse of shining ocean water, and the busy activities on the sand dunes and the Boardwalk. We returned home and finished a series of chores, such as trimming both persimmon and cherry trees, newly roping the clothes lines, and cleaning the house. Just minutes before the sunset, we arrived at Moran Beach to see the event. The sun was prematurely disappearing due to the heavy edge of the thick fog bank surrounding the horizon.

When we walked towards Pleasure Point and The Hook, the full moon appeared. There were patches of clouds, but the moon was not intimidated. It popped through now and then, silvery and proud, living up to her reputation as a Snow Moon. It is also known as the Hunger Moon or Storm Moon by some Native American tribes. Just across from the full moon, Venus was shining in the sky. What celestial bodies we have greeted this evening!

On our way back, a group of four people were staring up into the sky, shouting ISS, ISS, ISS! Indeed the proud International Space Station passed directly overhead and and past us at that moment. It was more than nine minutes before it winked out of view at a distance of over 900 miles, a fitting encore to an already eventful celestial evening.

International Palindrome Day 02022020

Palindrome Paul told me that it is a special palindrome day today, for 02/02/2020 is the first true palindrome since 11/11/1111.

Unlike other palindromic dates, February 2, 2020 is a global palindrome because it is exactly the same written both in the DD/MM/YYYY format in Europe, and the MM/DD/YYYY format in U.S. It is even true in China, where the year comes first, 2020/02/02.

What a unique year we live in now!