Soledad's Journal

Today I went to the service for Mum's colleague, the old gentleman who had passed away at the age of 96 recently. Another former colleague (from a younger generation) also came with her husband. When the service was over, I spotted one of my colleagues in the church. It turns out her cousin had married the younger daughter of the deceased some decades ago. If I add that I went to grammar school with the older daughter, you can agree with me that this is a small planet indeed.

The service was lovely, focusing on the joy of life and Easter instead of on the current grief. For me as a Catholic it was interesting that a great many liturgic texts are apparently the same in the Lutheran Church. I hadn't known that before. And some of the hymns were very familiar, too; when I was in the convent, we often used ecumenic hymns during Mass. I no longer remember the (German) lyrics, but I recognized the melodies.

This little trip and the following grocery shopping used up my whole morning and most of my energy. And since I bought asparagus (which was to have for a reduced price), I had to peel and pre-cook the whole kilo of them, so that they could be kept in the fridge for next week. Since Mum volunteered to cook today and had already started when I came home. So, next week will see the same dishes for days again, but that's okay as it means less cooking. *g*

Tomorrow we'll have our usual cleaning frenzy, with window cleaning on top of everything else. I'm so looking forward to it - NOT! But needs must...

... was quiet. Also, it lacked any religious aspects, unfortunately. I might have severed ties with the Church, but at such times I find I sorely miss the festive rituals. Well, one can't have it both ways, I guess, so I talked to my Maker in private, as always in these days.

In the morning, we washed Mum's hair because she wanted to look well-groomed for the feast. Then I worked a bit on The Thing of Beauty - I hadn't originally planned, but German telly cancelled all the programmes that run around midday on ordinary days, catering to the wishes of bored children on vacation instead. Those films aren't what I'd waste my time with.

I improvised a meat-free lunch, since it is Good Friday (Mum is particular about such things). Just some tinned tuna, couscous and cooked vegetables. Alas, couscous is one of those things that grow exponentially when encountering any kind of liquid, so we'll likely still be eating it in a week from now. Too bad, as I'm not very fond of it, but this was part of the "we don't throw food out, as long as it hasn't gone bad" policy. I doubt I'll ever buy couscous again.

In the afternoon I played some solitary on my geriatric laptop - it's one of the few sites it can still access - then watched the Easter special of "Das Große Promibacken" (the German version of the GBBO, only with celebs) on Sat1. It was tedious. The things they baked were lovely, but I hate the custom of the channel that it inserts 5 od 6 really long blocks of advertising into a programme that would otherwise only last a little over an hour. Plus, two of the contestants, Marijke Amado and Ross Anthony, were annoying to the extreme, so I regretted watching it in the first place.

It's a good thing that Hungarian telly will show old re-runs of the GGBO later tonight. I need something to bleach my brain with. Even though this is one of the later seasons without Mary Berry, Sue and Mel.

Tomorrow will be the last of the Easter baking - I'll make the Spiegeleikuchen and a Guglhupf, with lots of raisins and dried fruit. After much agonizing I've chose the Guglhupf, which I've already successfully made twice, instead of the plait that would have been a brand new thing. I'm too tired for experiencing.

... is the Salve Regina antiphon. Liturgically incorrect, but I find it very fitting. If religious content is not your thing, just ignore the stuff behind the cut.

( In Latin (how I pray it) )

We usually prayed it in the convent after Compline.

( English translation )

There are many different music versions of it, but I prefer the original Gregorian version of it (if it is indeed the original - I'm not really certain.

( The sung version, as I was taught in the convent )

That would be today. The congregation of which I used to be a member for a short time had been founded by a Trappist - also following the spiritual teachings of Father Benedict. What I always liked in Benedict's Rules most was his tendency for "discretion", which didn't mean what we today understand under that word. Discretion, for St. Benedict, meant avoiding exaggeration in everything. For example, he wasn't in favour of overdone ascetics and had much understanding for human weakness.

He was also a great defender of equal standing among his brethren. A classic instruction of the Rules says that they "should not complain if they have to help with bringing in the fruits of the earth", aka that everyone should help during harvest, not just the lay brothers. *g*

In that spirit I helped our cleaning lady a lot today. But I always do that, so it probably doesn't count. ;))

... is to remind us that things don't end on Good Friday - that there's resurrection and that death loses against Life in the end. Or so I still believe, even though I'm no longer a church goer. Back when I still was, the rituals around Easter had always the deepest meaning for me; and the ones in the convent were particularly wonderful.

So, in that spirit I offer you a hymn of Palm Sunday as sung by the Schola Hungarica Gregorian choir. They happened to practice (and sing) in the parish church of my youth and we even got to sing with them on occasion - before they'd become a cultural phenomenon, that is.



I took out my traditional Easter decoration - well, the part of it I could reach easily. Because of Mum's situation, some part of the flat are barricaded with pieces of furniture that would present a hindrance for her, so I had to compromise.

For those relatively new to my journal, these are my hand-painted eggs, made 30+ years ago:



The picture is a few years old but the decoration looks fairly similar this year, too. Only the chocolate bunnies are different. *g*

Wishing you all blessed days before Easter.

It was very odd to attend to Palm Sunday Mass via television. Usually it is one of the most festive events of Easter time, with the Passion according to Matthew sung during Mass and the procession afterwards and all that. Well, they did sing the Passion - the cantor of the church where the Mass was from and two other guys sharing all roles between them - and the service was beautiful: simple, understated, very humane. But it was odd to see the empty church that should have been bursting with people on this day. Very, very odd.

And I felt oddly bereft not being able to listen to this hymn during procession. I haven't attended for many years, but this was what the Gregorian choir in the parish of my youth was always singing:



So I decided to spread some Palm Sunday cheer and left a small plate of cookies at the doorstep of my neighbours. With the Nutella bunnies and these little darlings:



Other than that, I made a few extras to the Doll House quiet books (shampoo bottles and suchlike) and worked a bit on the translation I might even get paid for (today was Mum's turn to cook), and I hung up my hand-painted egg shells in honour of the day. I also sent pictures to a lot of colleagues about the bunnies and the lambs, and they apparently liked them a lot.

Now I might try to post the next chapter of "The Sins of the Mothers" to AO3 and perhaps even translate a bit of "The Billion Year Voyage", just for fun. There's so much to do and so little time to do it. *sigh*

This will be my last Christmas box for a while - it has been half-done for quite some time but today I finally got around to finish it.

The outside (the round stickers on the outer panels aren't visible, but they aren't all that interesting, either):



The inside:



And a closer look at the little Christmas tree (actually a pine cone) in the middle. I painted it green, then added white edges and some green and silver glitter and even managed to fasten to the middle of the box - hopefully, it will last:



( Other news )

I must admit, it has been a long time since I last enjoyed writing a story so much. Even if sometimes there's the one or other minor hindrance to conquer. And even if there are going to be only few reviews, due to the nature of the story, I'm very, very happy with it.

The most fun I have with is, of course, the world-building part: the intricate process of somehow reconciling the BBC show with the general events of the legendarium. In some places, I simply have to make up my own legends, as the show is simply too different. This is especially true when it comes to religion.

First of all, there is very little of it. The Old Religion, so often mentioned and condemned by the series' main baddie, Uther Pendragon, is not a belief system that would be either organized or particularly understandable. It seems that it is simpy identical with using magic, good or bad. Also, compared with the Old Religion, there doesn't seem to be a new one, either, one that Uther would support in exchange. Which is, especially in a semi-medieval society, simply impossible. Such a vacuum simply cannot exist.

Behind the tag are a few vague ideas of the development of Albion's belief system, as portrayed in the series. That's pure speculation on my part, of course, but this is how I'll deal with it in the entire story. Read it only if you don't mind being spoiled.

( Read more... )

Of course, this is still just a rough outline. I expect it to change and expand continously as I write the Epic Merlin Tale(TM).

Tell me what you think!

Hope it's a good one!:))

Theoretically, it would be the memorial day of my patron saint, from my cloisterly times - had the official hagiology not dissed her and removed her from the list. The bitches! *shakes fist at Church authorities*

Erm... sorry. Being feverish always undermines my good manners... such as they are.

Have a nice day!

There was a program on the German-speaking channel 3sat - I think it's actually an Austrian or Swiss one, I'm not sure, but it usually brings documentaries and cultural stuff - about the scripts found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Alas, I missed almost the whole thing, all I saw was a short info about the Gospel of Thomas. Next Thursday they'll show the second part of it, I hope I won't forget.

Personally, I know too little about the Gnosis to make a judgement. It was a certain teaching of wisdom and how to reach the Divine in us through it, if I understand it correctly. Both the Jewish and the Christian officials had a problem with it, and it practically vanished from human teaching as philosophies, save from a few interested individuals. I'd like to learn more, though, some day. Not now, though - I've got my hands full at the moment.