(no subject)

For dinner, the BYM and I went to a restaurant in Fairview called the Yellow Duck. We picked up a bottle of pinot noir next door (Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal Estates 2005); I tried to order the spinach salad (ah, well) but the spring mix salad was more Rosh Hashanah-appropriate anyhow (its toppings include grilled apple slices and a honey-based vinaigrette).

The friends who recommended the place had characterized it as "low on atmosphere but good food" and I'd say that's about right -- our table had a non-working lava lamp and was covered in stiff picnic vinyl (to which I have a weird aversion), but our duck and filet mignon were good and so was the bananas foster; as we left, the BYM was thinking it might be a nice place to take Saz and Erac ("they'd like the unpretentiousness") next time they stop by. (Yes, loves, we miss you.)

Off to schlep myself east now. One of these months I will once again finish wrestling with a sermon before 4 a.m., but at least it's done -- and there's no way my brain is going to focus on parsing regulation updates while I'm driving, so maybe it'll sort out the poems I'd hoped to finish yesterday. Also, the batch of crystallized ginger I bought at the Farmer's Market last month has a great kick and is working as a good caffeine substitute.

sermon: The Sweetness (and Scariness) of Fixing the World

The assignment from the worship committee: "Activism as Religious Expression," for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cookeville

The homily:

( L'shanah tovah! )

(no subject)

I think I need a nap before my brain will agree to respond to more caffeine/ginger. But first, a list:

Things That Made Me Laugh:
* overhearing the BYM scold a spider
* this morning's edition of Says You, particularly the response to "How does one blow a gasket?" ("By driving a Ford Escort") and Tony Kahn's improvisations on "mattoid" (= a decrepit cat with a underfunctional tongue) and "kebbock" (= a Kyrgyzstani game involving riders on camels batting about the head of a ram).
* mrissa's email about Carter Hall
* the saga of finding lunch in Cookeville (Red Lobster was overly full, Royal Thai had just suffered a kitchen-closing mishap, and Wild Foods/Paula's/M & M Diner/Goten were all closed). We finally ended up at a Mexican place of which I don't remember the name, but it was incredibly inexpensive and my chile relleno was good.

Things That Made Me Happy:
* the sermon was well-received.
* the floral arrangement included an apple.
* Grace outdid herself for coffee hour, bringing apples and honey, dates stuffed with homemade marzipan, and homemade raisin challah.
* petting the church cat
* cool, clean sheets. zzzzzzz....