This year, I am particularly thankful for judicious friends.  George Whitefield describes them as ones into whose hearts we can pour our souls, and tell our corruptions as well as our comforts.  They are very great privileges.

They are few and far between.  They know who they are.

Jesus is obviously the model judicious friend.

From Isaiah 60:19&20 -

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.

Read more of Whitefield's sermon on these verses in this newly republished version of his memoirs.

Devilish on-stage drama delighted my imagination on Saturday, when DH and I watched actor Max MacLean and his faithful sidekick, Karen, bring to life C S Lewis' classic correspondence, The Screwtape Letters.  No doubt this fiction is well-known to my readers, but perhaps the Fellowship for the Performing Arts, the producing company is not. 

Take note.

Success in New York and Chicago prompted the group to take the show on the road and my two-year wait to see this theatrical adaptation ended in Chattanooga's historic Tivoli auditorium.  If I lived there, I would have taken in another show, inviting more friends.  As it were, we did see fellow members (and Facebookers) of our church there.

My favorite part was the sound-effect sizzling noise that accompanied the signing of each of Screwtape's letters to his nephew, Wormwood.  Secretary, Toadpipe (Karen) enthusiastically raised her hand and emphatically stamped each document: a fitting seal from the hotness of hell.

The constant background noise from a light humming to loud crashing reminded me how annoying Underworld Life is without blessed silence and the voices of angels.  Furthermore, MacLean's engaging voice energized the words and illuminated C S Lewis in a way that cleared my eyes.

Finally, *Bring me food or be food* was one of Screwtape's warnings to Wormwood, especially when he was falling down on the job.

He was serious.

Here's what I see when I look out the window while standing at my kitchen sink.  Any minute now I expect to see a chipmunk hopping up those stairs and filling his cheeks with the seed from the platform feeder.

Over the weekend I acted on the inspiration I garnered from this AJC article on container gardening.  Ladyslipper Nursery is not far from my home and they had all the plants I needed to adorn the deck.   While I had full intentions of creating my own chair container, I found this pre-filled metal concoction irresistable; and I am relieved not to have had to sacrifice the antique chair I had targeted in my basement.

Here are the details:  Spiller = varigated ivy  Filler = parsley, dusty miller, and pansies, Thriller = ornamental grass

I did create the clay pot in the foreground with spiller of creeping jenny; filler of pansies and moss; and thriller of decorative kale.

Since I was particularly drawn to the caramel-colored pansies, I bought half a flat of them and complimented them with the lighter purple ones.

There's a pot of thyme on the third step.

And a combo pot of parsley, rosemary, and pansies at the top.

What you cant see are the cylindrical birdfeeders which hang on either side of the kitchen window.  One contains safflower seeds, the other thistle.

Then there's a block of suet attached to the railing at the top of the stairs - on the left.

And a flat tray of clean water to the left of the black chair.  Last year not only did the birds drink from it, they even used it as a bath!

The bird house was made from materials recycled from the destruction created by Hurricane Katrina.  SIL gave it to me last Christmas and I'm hoping for some nesters this season.

The Carolina Wrens have already claimed their spot underneath the deck stairs.  And the Brown Thrashers nest in the mammoth Cherokee Rose that cascades down our back yard.

What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?

It pleases me to highlight a local artist friend of mine in today's FAF:  Linda Maphet.  This personal portrait of the artist's mother playing the dulcimer recently won first place in a juried exhibition.  Furthermore, Linda's work is on display at a new art gallery here in Canton:  Vantage Point Studios.  Owner Mike Brown and others are working diligently to increase exposure for our local artists.  Here's a link to the Cherokee Tribune article.

Continuing with the local theme, after the opening reception this evening, we have reservations to dine at Partake.  Chef Lauri Grizzle opened this intimate (6 tables) only 6 months ago, after owning The Mustard Seed in Ball Ground for many years.  Working to use locally grown fruits and vegetables along with organic products/meats, Lauri leads the way for fine dining in Canton.

Topping out the weekend, I'll be hostessing my parents for their combined birthday celebration with a special meal after church on Sunday.

Stay tuned for details.

Hillsdale's Grand Old Man                                                        By Sam Knecht
Oil on Canvas

A licensed minister at the age of sixteen, the "boy preacher" Dunn had left his New England home two years later for the frontier.   With eight borrowed dollars, the young evangelist told a friend, "I give my life to the West."  This fearless professor, more than anyone, was responsible for building and managing the small, enterprising college at Hillsdale.

This time last week I was standing in the President's Office at Hillsdale College taking a photograph of this painting.  We were there for Homecoming (30th) and to see our daughters: one is a senior majoring in biochemistry, the other a sophomore majoring in biology.

But before the festivities began (brunch, football, and tent party), I wanted to remember the pioneers of higher education, especially Hillsdale's Grand Old Man:  Ransom Dunn.  For decades he traveled (on horseback) to raise money and promote the College, all the while preaching, teaching, and rearing a family.  He lead congregations in both Michigan and Massachussetts; held  a professorship in theology (but taught a total of thirteen subjects); married twice and fathered five children.

Recognized for four decades of teaching, Dunn had been Hillsdale's chief fundraiser adding over $100,000 to the college endowment; served as its interim president; and been a trustee from 1855 until his death in 1898.  It's no wonder that he's considered Hillsdale's Grand Old Man.

My former history professor and now College Historian, Arlan Gilbert, has written a short biography of Dunn, entitled Hillsdale's Grand Old Man:  Ransom Dunn; and much of the information is also contained in his earlier volume Historic Hillsdale College: Pioneer in Higher Education: 1844 - 1900.  Both are available for purchase at the Hillsdale College Bookstore, where one of Gilbert's daughters now works. 

Furthermore, Gilbert commissioned art professor, Sam Knecht, to paint this historic portrait in honor of his wife, Carolyn.   Knecht has been at the forefront of the revival of representational painting in our nation's culture.  Two of his egg tempera paintings are included in the second edition of Ben Curtis's Drawing From Observation: An Introduction to Perceptual Drawing.

Pioneers are all around us.  They're not just in history books.

Which pioneer(s) are you supporting?

 Between dark and light,

Between this world and the next,

Between maidenhood and motherhood

She pauses, held in balance

Like the balance she holds.

Her focus not the gold or

The weighing, but the justice

Of her scales, settling to their still

Point in a steady hand,

And she herself unadorned,

A lily that needs no gilding

But the points of light that lie

On her veil like jewels in a crown.

If she raised her eyes, she would see

This luminous beauty, drop the scales,

And, like a blushing Eve, break

The balance and forsake

The innocence of her task,

But she does not.

If she turned, she would see

The Last Judgment, saints and sinners,

Weighed in the final balance, and,

Called to think on ultimate things,

Lose this moment –

But she does not.

Trained on the object, undistracted,

Patient while the instrument swings

To its center and is still, she turns

This little task to prayer - if mindfulness is

Prayer – to an exercise of love – if it is love

To be attentive to the thing at hand.

By Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
In Quiet Light: Poems on Vermeer’s Women

Marilyn is my new favorite poet and these verses seemed to illustrate my applications of Josef Pieper's Leisure:  The Basis of Culture, Chapter IV.  Unlike the goddess of Justice, our model is not blindfolded.  She is guided by light.

Ever mindful of her calling.

Top Ten Fall Favorites

1)  Pommes: Honey Crisp
2)  Parents:
3)  Pioneer: Dunn
4)  Philosopher: Pieper
5)  Pumpkin 
6)  Performing Arts
7)  Poet: McEntyre
8)  Politicians
9)  Physicians and 
10)Protestants

Click on links to read more 

Sobering describes my feelings after watching this movie with DH a couple of weeks ago and it reminded me of how ignorant I felt the day I graduated from college 31 years ago.  I distinctly remember thinking how little I knew about history (my major) and life in general.  Yet, I had met the qualifications for a Bachelor of (Liberal) Arts.  In fact, I had the third highest GPA in my class.

So, even though I dont believe in learning my history by watching Hollywood films, I did pick up on a few facts by watching Valkyrie, adding to my *vast* knowledge of history.  There were 17 attempts to assasinate the Nazi dictator, Hitler, and Colonel Stauffenberg led one.  I've related the movie to my current book club book, Leisure:  The Basis of Culture, because in the second chapter of the essay, the author cites a socialist philosopher, Ernst Junger, who was in Hitler's army.

I knew neither of those things when I graduated from college at the ripe age of 20, but because I still love learning at the mature (ha ha) age of xx, I followed up on the reference to Ernst Junger.  I discovered from Wikipedia that he was loosely associated with the Stauffenberg plot and lost his position in the army because of it.  Some how he avoided the firing squad faced by most of the *treasonists*.

Mostly an atheist, by the end of his life Junger had converted to Roman Catholicism.  And even though he was a Nazi and Marxist in his thinking, he was conservative in that he disagreed with the national socialists.   I'm not sure that I would agree with much of anything he proposed, but I am reminded of my ignorance.

Bottom line, I enjoyed Valkyrie more than Frost/Nixon.

Have you seen either?

I'm always looking for reason to celebrate.

So, today's excuse is the birthday of the eminent poet, playwright, and literary critic....

T. S. Eliot

born this day in 1888, the same year as my paternal grandfather.

I will re-read these delightful poems.

And watch Cats, The Musical,

Remembering when I saw it live at the Fox Theater.

Years ago.

But first, I'm off on a short hike

What are you doing on this rainy Saturday?

Carpentry is the art and trade of cutting, working, and joining timber. The term includes both structural timberwork in framing and items such as doors, windows, and staircases.

And DH is good at it.  Here's one of his weekend projects.

Before: wobbly step of made of unfinished pine by spec-home builders in 1987.

After: elegant solid core maple step crafted by a skilled artist in 2009.

Use what you have to make what you need is the adage he learned from his father.  And that's exactly what happened in this case.  We were fortunate to be the recipients of some doors from an old school that was being torn down.

Now several times a day as I enter and exit my home, I'm stepping on the remnants of a public school.

I think there might be a double meaning it that.

Kudos to the Karpenter!!