Sinking afternoon sun brightens the crucifixion window at First Baptist DC.
Candlelight Carol Service 2006
Just finished the Christmas Candlelight Carol Service at First Baptist tonight, as always with the Chancel Choir, the Runnymede Singers, and the Chorale of the Friday Morning Music Club. Musical highlights included Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, Mendelssohn’s Say Where He is Born and There Shall A Star, and Rutter’s Gloria. Unlike last year, David and I were not needed to light candles.
I got photos. Note Mary’s glasses in the tableau shot. (Rough panorama above was taken by another choir member from the pulpit. Can you find me?)
Caturday!
Today’s feature cat photo is of Pandora licking her nose. Also check out the ones of her curled up in a ball.
Happy Brownpau Christmas Shopping Suggestions
We’re a week into December! No doubt many of you have brows furrowed, stressed not only by the logistical and pecuniary pressures of shopping for gifts for family and friends, but also by the annual cognitive dissonance of coping with the blatantly materialist trappings with which this traditional Christian holiday has become associated in this modern culture. I cannot help you with the latter, but for the former, I humbly present to you the following suggestions:
- Cheap and Tiny: a great way to find fun electronic devices of diminutive size and cost. Many of the gadgets on display make excellent stocking stuffers, for not too much cash.
- Beg The Question Store: what better way to warm the heart of a pedantic grammatico-philosophical stickler than a BTQ mug or shirt (or thong) explaining the horrific truth behind this much-misused phrase? (Alternatively, you can go cheap with a stack of BTQ Cards, which make an okay gift if you print them on good card stock, cut them straight, and present them in a nice business card box.)
- The Brownpau Store: a shirt for your dog with my cat on it. Nuff said.
Thank you for tolerating my shameless self-promotion. Buy buy now.
Clouds Stream By
An arctic blast brought strong winds and biting cold to Washington, and as I shuttled video equipment from Farragut Square to Dupont Circle this afternoon, I marveled at the delightful patterns of altocumulus undulatus clouds streaming across the sky above the District, rushed along by the frigid winds:
Later on, as I braved the icy cold, a tiny speck of something hit my face, leaving a spot of wetness. “Great,” went my first thought, “some tiny suicidal gnat has crashed into my face and splattered its guts on my cheek.” But then I saw the flakes, and realized it was a snow flurry, and suddenly the stress and fatigue of the week dissolved into something like peace — even after the snow stopped without leaving even a dusting.
Unique Smithsonian Christmas Decor
Are those artichokes adorning the Christmas lamppost hangings in the Ripley Garden behind the Castle? Why, yes, I do believe those are artichokes, and some kind of round, hard-shelled fruit! It’s certainly a change from boughs of holly and such.
Lord, Before This Fleeting Season
This Advent prayer is a poem by Mary Ann Jindra, set to music by Libby Larsen, which we sang at church.
Lord, before this fleeting season is upon us,
Let me remember to walk slowly.
Lord, bless my heart with love and with quiet.
Give my heart a leaning to hear carols.
Grace our family with contentment,
And the peace that comes only from You.
Lord, help us to do less this busy season;
Go less; stay closer to home; kneel more.
May our hearts be Your heart.
May we simply, peacefully, celebrate You.
Minimal Foliage Action
I did not go down to the Mall even once this November, despite it being only a few blocks from home, so I completely missed seeing any Fall color other than the piddly stragglers still hanging on to this tree over the weekend:
Workers at the National Gallery
Workers in a cherry picker doing something to the facade of the National Gallery East Building. I like how this photo came out on the first try — smooth complements of color and geometry: sky, clouds, stone, angles, abruptly encroached upon by this blocky green mechanical appendage, a machine of industry casting its shadow on the smooth timelessness of a house of art.
Caturday!
I take so many photos of Pandora, I should really dump them here every so often, for the sake of your cuteness intake quotas. Taking a cue from the blogosphere, I will do so every Saturday. So now, without further adieux:
