I went to a couple yard sales, one of which advertised a patio umbrella for sale, but it was too small for my purpose. However, I found a lovely old-fashioned eggbeater, the kind with a crank! Getting out the electric and finding the paddles is such a bother. This can nicely be to hand when I want to mix something. For $3, such a bargain!

Happy birthday, Dana!

I have to onerous-task myself today -- I semi-promised my mom I'd do a semi-regular Suela-esque linkspammy/blogrolly entry on her blog of Random Stuff I've Stumbled On And Loved This Week, and I really need to force myself back into the habit of writing something for God's sake on a vaguely regular basis, so I've tasked myself with doing it today.

Specifically, today before 3:00, because my old parish (the formerly leftie Yippie sign-waving protest-marching getting-arrested-for-rabblerousing one that went down the Opus Dei sewer last year) is in the middle of a meltdown that stinks of Orders From Above, and the surviving parishioners are holding an emergency meeting this afternoon and begging ex-members to come be part of it.

I don't actively hate the current bishop and pastor, because I try not to actively hate anyone if I can avoid it, but there's no way I can stop myself wishing them ill. In abundance.

Happy birthday, Dana!

I went to the farmers market this morning. Got some tomatoes, spinach, sorrel, kale, and garlic scapes. Also got a veggie burger and a strawberry cupcake at the food truck. I'd been planning on a bike ride this afternoon, but it's raining, so I'm staying in.

Are you going, then, JZ? That sounds stressful, but you know what you need to do.

Are you sure? You are a much more gracious and compassionate person than I...which upon reflection, didn't even need stating! You are, for certain! That's something I admire about you.

It just seems very fraught.

I've gotten a lot of writing and other stuff done today, but need to get some more. I waited too long to do outside work; it'll be in the 90's and muggy as hell. It's supposed to be nicer...and I'm still adjusting to the whole "Hey, I don't need to accomplish EVERYTHING in 2 days!" idea.

It will be super-fraught. But at least none of the higher-ups will be there; it'll just be the upset parishioners, trying to make sense of it (the pastor has all at once, with no input from anyone else, dissolved the parish council and fired the bilingual emeritus pastor -- seriously, where is a 75-year-old semi-retired priest going to find another place to live and work? -- and deacon, and the Latino/a community feels incredibly betrayed) and draft a letter to the bishop.

And they're not idiots; they've seen membership dwindle, they know a lot of us have left, and they want us there to talk about it, and help them with the letter.

Which I think will be a waste of time - there's no way the bishop doesn't already know and it's obvious he doesn't care - but it probably wouldn't hurt to cc the letter to all the local papers, both church and secular.

However, I found a lovely old-fashioned eggbeater, the kind with a crank!

I love the way they sound.

Oh, go ahead and hate them, JZ. Just a little. A little won't hurt.

I actually got to Lowe's, a bookstore and TJs before 1. The reason I got up early enough to do that is because the dog is on the list.

Well, you can help them with their letter and be empathetic for the congregation; it sounds like the place is a real mess.

And also, what Ginger said.

the pastor has all at once, with no input from anyone else, dissolved the parish council and fired the bilingual emeritus pastor -- seriously, where is a 75-year-old semi-retired priest going to find another place to live and work? -- and deacon, and the Latino/a community feels incredibly betrayed

Holy crap. Precisely.

Don't they realize that Latinos are pretty much key to the church's continued viability in the US? Or are they more committed to toxic political positions than to serving a community of faith?

Good luck, whatever you choose to do. Because that sounds awful.

I have absolutely no idea, Suela. I know the diocese is strapped for cash, as most of them are, and that this parish is the cash-poorest and the biggest money pit of them all, and I'm certainly not the only parishioner who's wondered if the whole parish was going to be retired at some point. But this is just the absolute worst, stupidest, most alienating and hurtful and punitive way of doing it.

Darn it. Today is the second anniversary of my mom's passing. Last year we remembered the day by going exploring in Denver. My mom loved a good explore. Today CJ and I were going to go up to our CSA farm for their open house. CJ has decided he doesn't want to go, citing that we have been away from home so much lately, he just wants to hang here.

I kinda feel the same way, but was also looking forward to going up to the farm. I could go alone, but would rather have company.