Gloria in Excelsis!

Who can know what angels think?

        Pure thought.
        Pure obedience.
        Pure delight.
        Pure worship.

We can but touch these for a moment –
        or rather, imagine that we have.

We marvel that God came to us,
        that Jesus was born;
        and marvel it was and is!

They saw their Lord and Creator leave them,
        saw Him go to Earth to become a man,
        a little lower than angels.

What could this mean?

What wondrous Love they saw when
        Love came down at Christmas; and
What could they do but what they did?
        Fill the whole sky – all the Heavens –
        with their song of worship, praise, and wonder.

RIP Peter O'Toole

Actor Peter O'Toole has died at the age of 81 (who would have thought he'd make it that long?).

This means 2014 won't likely be My Favourite Year.

The Periphery

That’s where the Inn at Bethlehem really stands.

Rather, that’s where the Innkeeper stands:

     We find him never in the Bible, but

     always in our pageants.

It’s there, with him, that we can stay and watch.

Not quite taking part, but

     unable to leave such a scene – such a tale.

We, like the Innkeeper, watch and wonder:

     Who has come to stay with us?

     How are we to greet Him?

The One who made us now joins us:

He lives with us

     to die for us

     to live in us

     that we might live.

That visitor, that Child, that Savior, that King

Calls us away from the periphery.

Calls us to Himself.

Calls us to be loved, to live, to love.

Clown in Spite of Himself

Oh dear.
We've been going to productions at Wayne State's Hilberry for many years, but this season has been a bit disappointing thus far.
Big Love was a fairly poor update of Aeschylus (The Suppliant Women). Parts were OK, but in general it stood as evidence of why one ought simply to perform the classics rather than try to "fix" them.
Ah, but it seems quite good in light of the clownish disaster of the "translation" of Moliere's A Doctor in Spite of Himself.
Good grief. Moliere wasn't a clown. Frankly, his comedies are right there with Shakespeare's. No one would ever have thought that after seeing this production.
Here's hoping some of the plays yet to come will redeem the season.

It Was Quite Appropriate for Hallowe'en

I hadn't really thought of that when I made the purchase, but thinking back, I probably should have done.


At any rate, Jim Beam Devil's Cut is crazy delicious. Smooth, flavourful, and powerful.


Highly recommended to any of appropriate age and inclination.


Please enjoy it responsibly - don't add anything. Good bourbon is meant to be taken neat.

Carnage du Jour - 23 October 2013

Leg of Lamb.
No, not the elf from Lord of the Rings, that's Legolas. Legolamb was his doppelganger in Bored of the Rings. Sorry for the digression. (OK, not really.)

Anyway, we have this wonderful old vertical rotisserie which was rescued from the 60s or so, and it's just the right size for a boneless lamb roast ... or a whole chicken ... or a pork loin roast ... or lots of other stuff.

So, the text came from Heidi - what seasonings would you use on that lamb roast?
I replied with cumin, white pepper, and savory (the salt was understood, don't you know).

Well, I got home earlier than anticipated, and got to do the job myself. Heidi did mention that she was surprised I didn't say herbes de provence, and I toyed with the idea of switching, but decided to go with my gut, as it were, and use the stuff from my text.

Good grief but it was good.

The ~2.5lb roast cooked in about 40 minutes, and we finished up the accompaniments as it rested - a lovely gratin of broccoli and cauliflower (with bacon), and some egg noodles with mushrooms.

At any rate, we each ate more than was right, but it couldn't be helped. As I cut the last bits of leftover meat into the last bit of leftover pasta, I handed Christian a bit of the crust (despite his protestations), and he headed off to bed where he planned to "cry myself to sleep from happiness."

Give that blend a try. Delicious is only the beginning of it all.

Guinness Red Harvest Stout

Yes, Guinness Red Harvest Stout.

Drink it. It's spectacularly delicious.

Enough said.

Go buy some and drink it.




Hurry up - I'm serious.