Merry and Bright
December 23, 2014
Most Wonderful Solitudes
October 20, 2013
“Churches in cities are most wonderful solitudes.”
— Thomas Merton
I’ve decided I want to make day trips to some of Seattle’s churches after looking at the amazing photographs in Inspired: Churches of Seattle by Rick Grant and Lara Swimmer. The book included my favorite Seattle church, the Chapel of St. Ignatius on the Seattle U campus, which I have written about before. I realized it is probably premature to name a favorite when I haven’t set foot in most of Seattle’s other churches. I made a short list of some other churches that I hope to see inspired by some of the photographs in this book.
Two of the three churches I’d hoped to explore on a recent trip downtown were closed (I will have to plan more carefully), but the doors to the St. James Cathedral were open. (Why are churches locked mid-day anyway? I think they should be more welcoming.) This was my first time in this cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, and it is indeed impressive.
I always become aware of light when I am in church, and the altar here in the cathedral is lit by an oculus dei, Eye of God. And I love the soft colored light of stained glass windows and flickering votive candles, too. Here is a sense of this holy space:
My Arrival in France: Digne Les Bains
May 25, 2013
After almost two weeks together, my sister and I parted ways. She returned to the kibbutz in Israel, and I flew to Nice, France for the next leg of my journey, a five-day guided hiking expedition along the trails in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence that featured several land art installations by the artist Andy Goldsworthy. I had long wanted to see some of Goldsworthy’s work, especially after seeing the movie Rivers and Tides about his unique vision. When I ran across some newspaper articles (here and here) about the Refuges d’Art and Goldsworthy sculptures along a trail in France, I added this experience to my wish list of things to do before I die.
So I was very much looking forward to the France part of my vacation, although I did not have many details about the hike itself. I did not know who else might have signed up and I knew little about the area. My guide, Jean-Pierre Brovelli of etoile-rando.com, was taking care of all meals, lodging, transportation and logistics. All I had to do was to show up in Digne on the morning of our first hike.
I took the little scenic train, the Train des Pignes, from Nice to Digne, enjoying the warmer Mediterranean weather, the blooming lilacs and wisteria, the green grassy pastures, orchards of white blossoms, and villages (Entrevaux and Puget-Theniers looked especially interesting) from the train windows. I arrived in Digne in the late afternoon, and had time for a short walk around the town before turning in early. I wanted to sleep well before the hiking started the next day.
In the morning, I was met at the hotel by Jean-Pierre and then the rest of our group made introductions. There were five other hikers, all French, four women and one man, and I was heartened to see that they were all roughly my age. We would be lead by Jean-Pierre and his fellow guide, Eric. I felt we were in good hands.
Snowbound? Not Quite
January 18, 2012
“Shut in from all the world without,
We sat the clean-winged hearth about,
Content to let the north-wind roar
In baffled rage at pane and door,
While the red logs before us beat
The frost-line back with tropic heat . . .”
— John Greenleaf Whittier, “Snowbound”
It must be a slow news day if Seattle’s weather is making the headlines around the country. Yes, we got some snow starting early this morning — about 3 inches at my house. No wind. No blizzard conditions. The snowfall will likely end this afternoon, and by Friday, it will all be washed away in winter rains. Other parts of the state got more snow and high winds, but Seattle got just a nice blanket of white stuff.
I did go out for a walk with my camera before work today. I’ll be posting some more snowy images in the next few days.