I'm surrounded by plants

 There are 17 potted plants on our back deck.

They are on the floor, sitting on the banisters, in waist high metal holders--all over.

I probably only know the names of 5 or 6.

Check that. I only know the name of one--a curly cactus. 

If you saw it you could name it--it's obviously a kind of cactus--though not painful to touch--and it curls around.

Pretty neat!

But Autumn is here and at some point most of the plants will come inside for the winter.

They'll all be downstairs and all over the place.

Bern and her plants.

They surround me....

That many? Really???

 I checked the number of views "Under the Castor Oil Tree" has.

I do that every few weeks.

Today I realized that I have had one million, 500 thousand views in total.

I know a few people who check in from time to time, but I have no idea how my blog has gotten so many views.

But thank you, whoever you are....

"AS"

 My sermon tomorrow is about 'forgiveness', which Jesus tell Peter to do 'seventy times seven times' when a member of the church sins against him.

The title of the sermon is "Don't Forget to Forgive".

I named it that because of the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus tells us to pray, "forgive us out trespasses ('sins') as we forgive those who trespass ('sin') against us."

AS is the big word there.

In the prayer it means "in the same way that".

So, if we don't forgive, God will not forgive us.

Check out Matthew 18.21-25 to read all about it....

And don't forget to forgive....

9/11

 TV and radio won't let you get away from it--9/11 is everywhere--as it should be today.

The question people are asked is 'where were you on 9/11?'

I've tried and tried and can't remember.

I was living in the house I'm in now--that is certain. 

Beyond that, I have no idea.

Have I blocked it out of my memory because it was so painful?

I don't know....

Where were you?

education

I read an article on line today about the most educated and least educated states.

Connecticut, where I've lived for most of my life, is the 4th most educated state in the union. The ones who are ahead are 3. Maryland, 2. Vermont and 1. Mass.

Not bad, considering the three above CT all have great colleges and universities.

The state that is least educated is (hold on...) West Virginia.

That's where I was born and spent all my life until I went off to Harvard at 22.

Bern and I lived there again and both our children were born in Charleston while I was the priest at St. James there.

But then we moved to CT and have been here ever since.

So, moving from the least educated state to most of my life in CT. seems a good move.

(I just told Bern and she agreed!)

 

well, maybe not a good visit

Our daughter replied to our 'good visit' ideas with 'she's manipulating you!'

Bern and I pondered that and then decided...

MAYBE SO.....

Who knows?

Maybe we'll find out later....

 

A good visit

Our daughter-in-law (soon to be divorced from our son) spent the night with one of their twins on the way to Boston for college.

I was nervous about it because the separation has be contentious.

But it went well.

We assured her she would always be our daughter-in-law and the mother of our grandchildren. She appreciated it and was very kind in return.

"Because of the girls," she told me, "we have shared on genes."

True.

And the college kid was wonderful to have with us.

All in all a good time.

But I feel sorry for her for what she's going through.