Inizia il viaggio

Eastern gate of Troy VI

Hello, friends!  Remember me?

Perhaps not, it has been so long and so infrequent. But here I am.  Most of my musings and sharings have been on Facebook for quite a while now.  But that environment is not conducive to longer reflection so I think my current phase requires blogging once again.  I will link to FB so new and old friends can visit here if they wish.

The header reads: The trip begins.  I am intentionally beginning an inner voyage, though it has truly been going on for some time.  I suppose one might say "all my life."

Now and again confluences of events, images, encounters, memories, and dreams slap us to attention and we say, "Oh, my.  So that is what is going on."  Those who have encountered me in person or followed me on Facebook know that 2013 was a year of some rather significant transitions, even if you had to read between the lines of my often cryptic posts.  Some new persons and events entered my life and I went through both breakthroughs and breaking open on the one hand and losses and huge shifts on the other.  It was an emotional roller coaster, though I always knew it was for the good and I was going to be fine.  Pity there was no way I could totally reassure my friends of this confidence, but that is all right.  I knew and that was what counted.

2014 has continued the themes of letting go and shifting.  It is a quieter year and I am blessed with an excellent therapist who does not allow me to dazzle him with bullshit or evade but who also is there for me and invites me into deeper and deeper authenticity.  If 2013 set the ball rolling, and finally set in motion some things that had been shifting for years, then 2014 is a year of looking at these changes and consolidating the initial progress while moving forward. It is a year of slowing down (2013 was pretty damned manic, as all will attest).  I suspect this fall and winter and 2015 may be slower still.

I have been listening to lots of CDs from The Teaching Company.  I have listened to three different series on Shakespeare alone in the last several months and watched DVDs of a number of plays.  Five versions of Hamlet alone, viewed within two weeks!  The most recent series, finished yesterday evening, was on Dante's Commedia.  I read the Commedia back in my twenties.  It seemed hard slogging, frankly, but I forged through.  I really cannot recall what I thought of it.  I know I look forward to revisiting it, having lived a few more decades and with so much more personal and intellectual background for appreciating it.  The point of the work is not intellectual, however, though it possesses incredible intellectual depth and artistry, but to experience and be transformed by the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.

The first of Dante's three guides is Publius Vergilius Maro, author of The Aeneid, The Eclogues, and The Georgics.  Thanks to Betty Wiley, my Latin teacher at Fresno High school, I got to read Books I, II, IV, and VI of the Aeneid in the original Latin while still a teenager.  Some years later I plowed through all twelve books of it in English, and though I do not recall exactly when I did this, I was still young.

On the verge of rereading Dante, I felt I might like to reread Vergil first.  Dante uses Vergil as a source, so it seems reasonable. And then I felt the urge to revisit something of a journey through a lot of pre-modern Western literature, a journey I took from high school through graduate school. What might I discover with an elder's eyes? What might it tell me about my life journey and why these texts resonate so strongly for me?

It did not take long on Amazon for me to then think, oh hell!  Why not?  So I am going to start by rereading the Iliad (which I read not that many years ago) and the Odyssey (which I have not touched since my early twenties).  Then the Aeneid, and then the Commedia, holding out for options to hit other works along the way.  There are works I have never read, such as Boccaccio's Decameron, and works of which I have only read a portion, such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Across the decades I have reread some of the Greek tragedies, all of which I read in one summer, either 1979 or 1980.  I have also seen live productions and movies of quite a few. And there is Shakespeare, of course.  I will probably leave exploration of these dramas to continuing exploration rather than part of this self-set course.  I would like to revisit the classic French theatre of Corneille, Racine, and Molière.

That is the literary side.  But the point is really to reweave my life.  To do that musing, that healing and integrative work, is normal and needed in the third third of one's life.  What about those dreams I have had across the decades and in which minute details of the physical environment of my boyhood survive?  Why is that geography so firmly implanted in my subconscious and why does that matter?  What does it mean to me now?  What might it mean?

I had hoped in retirement (or semi-retirement) to return to writing the Chronicles of Mídhris.  I still do, but I suspect that I need to feed myself before I share and to do inner work before I resume the tales.  They are, after all, stories that arise from my personal depth, nurtured on the mythologies on which I fed as a boy and youth and enriched by my experience of life. They are tales of hope and loss, of sorrow and joy, of struggle and wonder and questioning.  And journey tales.  Omigod, are they ever journey tales.  Stories of individuals, groups (migrations even), and a few families whose tales span centuries.

When I left California at age 60 it was to begin again and find myself, having lost myself in so many directions.  I lived like a hermit for no less than two years and gradually emerged.  I needed that.  I will not be so shut out now, but I do plan to go within, slow down, dig deeper.  If I record my musings here you, my friends and visitors, will be invited into my journey.  It is not taken alone.  We all must sail forth and none of us knows our destination, except to be taken up into the uncreated Light, that Love that moves the sun and other stars.

--the BB

Nel giardino

Today was the fourth session of yard cleanup in seven days. The weekly garbage collection was yesterday, one day late because of a holiday, and the bin was full of yard detritus (three large bags of it) and some house trash.  A fourth bag had to wait.

Well, that bag was joined by two others today and the bin is already almost full.

The Lady Banks rose is vigorous, to say the least.  I am cutting it back severely, confident that it will cover that section of the wall once again come summer.

The sage is also vigorous.  If you ever want cooking sage, ask me during late spring, summer, or early fall and you can have lots.

In spring 2007 I planted two 3-inch pots of sage in this spot.  A couple of years ago I dug up a chunk for my friend Kathy.  The remaining plant is cut back to the ground every winter and returns as a large clump about 3 feet by 2 feet in size.

The plum tree was pruned a few days ago.  It gets thinned every year but is also quite vigorous.

I do not have comparison photos of the rest of the yard but it gladdens my soul to see it looking tidier as we head deeper into winter.  I still have work to do on two honeysuckles and several rose bushes.

And that is today's gardening report from Desert Farne. The temperature a short while ago was 39 degrees F.  That is the predicted HIGH for tomorrow with bright sunshine.  I might not feel like yard work.  We shall see.

Perhaps I should stay indoors and read, watch movies, and do some of the emotional pruning my therapist recommended for this week.  Getting down to the essential takes effort.

--the BB

The sixth day of Christmas

I took a walk at lunch time today and here are some pics therefrom.  If you click on the photos you will see more detail.

As I have said so many times on Facebook, "I love living here!"

--the BB

Saturday walk

Horse Skull

"Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."  Ominous?  Not necessarily.  As I was taking my walk on Saturday a friend shared this with me.  We are made of stardust, after all.  Awesome.

I find time in nature restorative, as most of us do.  This is enhanced by my being a nature mystic and more or less an animist.  I see every subatomic particle as infused with the Spirit and Life of God.

So, on another glorious day in Albuquerque I drove a few miles from my house, parked the car, and started walking.  The photo above is a view across the fields of the West Mesa toward the Sandias.

After I had moseyed about two and a half miles down the road, this is the view back toward the car which is hiding just below the horizon.

I loved the back lighting on these grasses lining the road.

Emeralds are my birthstone.  The broken glass here was lovely.

A tree near a culvert.

The view toward the west and the vast expanse of the West Mesa and the New Mexico sky.

As I walked along, enjoying the sunlight glistening on pieces of broken glass in varying shades, my mind assembled them as a long stretch of stained glass.  And I thought of the imagery of the Shekinah scattered throughout creation, longing to be reunited.  My mind then turned back to cosmology.  We have so many mythoi of creation being healed and brought back together.  Yet scientists tell us the universe is expanding ever faster and will eventually become dark and undifferentiated.  I have no reason to doubt that.

If one has lived a comfortable life, as most throughout history have not, that may be enough: to have simply lived.  But if one's life has known misery, starvation, slavery, oppression, war, disease, terror, violence, abuse, chronic pain, etc. then merely having lived hardly seems enough.  We want some righting of wrongs, some healing of ills and suffering, some transformation to give us hope.  (At our worst we seek retribution for our ills, but let us set that aside.) So my rejoicing in simply existing last Saturday (and most days), is the luxury of a modern, bourgeois life that has enjoyed loving and being loved, having my needs met, and generally not being anxious about the future.  These thoughts do not undo my exhilaration but they remind me soberly that very few can feel that way.

Oh, what a glorious day it was.  Wopila!

--the BB

My faith

Since the previous post announced that I no longer attend church, folks may wonder about my faith these days.  It has certainly evolved over the decades.

I still worship the Holy and Lifegiving Trinity and in that sense remain a rather orthodox Christian.  I pray the Lord's Prayer at bedtime.  My formal prayer life is very short and very simple and resembles that of a young child remembering beloved persons with the "God bless X." formula.  I do not need sophistication or nuance.  I hold people and the world before God in my heart.  That's it. Sometimes I light candles.

My view of reality is mostly rationalistic, scientific, and I do not believe God alters the laws of physics.  I believe the universe is a combination of randomness and pattern.  If I accept randomness then I do not believe everything happens for a purpose.  Stuff just happens.  We impose meaning on it by the narratives we create.  This matches both experience and studies of mythopoiesis.   This paragraph indicates why I so often agree with my atheist friends when they reject many pieties.

Having said that, however, I have all my life been a nature mystic.  I did not have words for that growing up.  I am an animist, if you wish to use that term, because I believe in the consciousness of all matter.  I see all creation as interrelated, everything as connected. My worldview is sacramental.  The presence and grace of God are manifested in observable phenomena and not just in the formal sacraments of the church. The Spirit's primary locus of action is everywhere at all times.  I am a panentheist (not a pantheist, look up the difference if it is unfamiliar to you).  God is everywhere present and in everything but I do not conclude that whatever is constitutes the fullness of God.

I will not define God.  I am a poet, a bakhti yogi, an artist.  I follow the path of the heart and I understand and express truth in images.  I have studied the phenomenon of language enough that I believe all we communicate is metaphorical.  Nothing is literal.  That is not a problem for me.  All the words I write here are symbols of meaning, not the things they symbolize.  Whether you discuss Christian theology, Hindu wisdom, pagan ritual, astrology, Sufi poetry, etc. they all are symbolic of psychic realities and deep experiential truths, so I can chat with people of different paths without getting hung up on metaphysics.  I am rather agnostic about metaphysics, actually: yours, mine, and anyone else's.

I rejected atonement theology long ago as a tribal hangover unworthy of any deity I wish to worship. This does not mean I reject the Cross and jump to Easter but I am a Resurrection Christian and much more Eastern Orthodox than Western in most things.  I ponder the transfiguration of creation, not sin and guilt.  I would rather lose myself in the goodness of God than wallow in the alleged evil of humanity, including myself.  The former is far more important and always true and much of the latter is the projected nightmare of abused souls.

If the doors of the New Jerusalem are open day and night and the kings of the earth that lamented the fall of Babylon bring their treasure into it, then no one is shut out.  I will stick with the final images of the Apocalyps rather than popular images of some getting in and others not.  You want in, you're in.  Since I believe that the only "place" that has ever existed or ever will is deep within the heart of God, then you cannot be anywhere else and have never been anywhere else.  If that is not where you want to be, it is your hell.  But you are loved and always have been and always will be.  I have no use for preachers of Bad News.

I think Margaret Watson is one of the best theologians and priests walking upon Ina Maka [Mother Earth].  My daily office is her blog.  She repeatedly redeems the Bible for me, finding the kernels of redemption and recasting what she reads in terms that match the harsh realities of our lives and common sense.

Each day is lived in gratitude.  I am blessed beyond all measure.

--the BB

He's back!

It has been almost a year since my last post on this blog.  Other things have taken my attention and most of my public expression has been on Facebook.  I think I need to spend more time rattling on.  Probably not for the public, which will largely be indifferent to my thoughts, but for my own sake.

2013 has been an amazing year.  I have gone through more intense transition than at any time since I dropped out of the graduate history doctoral program at UCLA, came out of the closet, and became an Episcopalian in 1974.  This year has probably been more intense than that. The good part of this is that I feel more authentic than I ever have in my life, and Bill attests to this.  [If you are new to this blog or to me, Bill is my best friend, soul mate, and ex; he has known me for 36 years.]

I think I will try to recap and reflect upon much of what has taken place.  I will be oblique and cryptic, as I have been on Facebook, to protect the privacy of others who have been part of this year's journey and my own need for public boundaries.  Those closer to me already know much more about this amazing year.

This year I got into some serious bread baking and learned to make a nice rustic loaf with a good crust and do it consistently.  I was rather manic about it, as I tend to do, and bought some new equipment related to bread baking, including a proofing box and a clay cloche.  I have not made bread as much in the latter half of the year but I know how to do some things with bread that I did not know a year ago.  Look for more homemade bread in 2014.

The addition of the patio in the back yard and the installation of drip irrigation has transformed not only my back yard but my entire home.

April 2007

Summer 2013

With that external transformation accomplished, I looked at the interior of the house.  If you know me well, you know that I am a terrible housekeeper and a bit of a slob.  Also a pack rat.   So the upstairs rooms resembled way too closely those of a the hoarders you see on television.  This was a source of great shame and discomfort but it was also one of those barriers I created to protect myself. This year I hired some folks to help me tackle several rooms and although there are still some stacks of boxes here and there I have open floor space, usable rooms, and places where I am not too ashamed to allow people.

As those "walls" were taken down I also was taking down emotional walls around my heart and at that point the story is too personal for details here.  I am not unique in finding it a challenge to be authentically myself around others and find that comfortable.  If you have experienced the "performer" side of me this may seem hard to believe but Bill always found me to be the most private person he knew, and he knows me better than anyone else does, sometimes better than I know myself.  Trust me, I have carried high walls around myself all my life.  Nice to let them down.

My life has been lived so much "in the world" that I only had paid work in the church for twelve and a half of the twenty-three years I have been a priest and did not even accrue the equivalent of ten years' pay. What was central to my life has become peripheral over time.  At this point I no longer attend church at all and cannot honestly say I miss it.  I do love the people I have known in various congregations but my interest in the institutional church is close to zero.  Having said that, I must add that the People of San Gabriel Episcopal Church in Corrales, New Mexico, are an amazing group of folks who worship God, love each other, and serve the community around them with faithfulness and generosity.  They have been a blessing to me and they exemplify what church should be.

I shoot pool every week, and this is something new in the past month.  I am terrible at it, but that does not matter.  I meet friends and have a good time in a smoke-free atmosphere and I stay sober doing it.  (I have never been big on alcohol when I am out on the town.)  I rather like the chicken taquitos at the Billiards Palace on Wyoming.

A great deal of my life has been lived passively (and passive aggressively). This year I have moved toward a more proactive stance in many areas. Whereas many friends in the past have been people I met with or through the church or Bill and his family, now I meet new folks on my own.  I am trying to connect my friends with each other so there is a network of friendship to journey through life together.  This becomes especially important as we grow older. Very few desire a lonely old age; I know I do not.  I am becoming more comfortable around larger groups of people.  This is very new and I think as I feel safer being myself this is increasingly possible.

This week I hosted Christmas dinner at my home, a first.  Others helped bring food and serve and clean up but I did clean, decorate, cook, and then serve a multi-course meal for ten people.  This is huge and was most enjoyable.

I want to send a shout out also to my coworkers who are not just folks I work with.  We are a close team and in a rather impressive way are there for each other.  They are friends, not just fellow office mates.  Some of them have put up with an incredible amount of me processing aloud, going through my rather all-over-the-map emotions this year.  Bless them for their patience, understanding, and support.

Online friends, some of whom I am blessed to have met in "meat time," have supported me this year and my family has also been supportive.  I am surrounded with so much love and friendship it is staggering and I give thanks daily for it.

Four very significant men entered my life this year.  No, I do not have a new partner, though my soul mate does have a new partner who is a wonderful chap and counts as one of the significant men in my life.  I rejoice for the two of them.  Each of the four has contributed something important to my life journey.  The stories of how they did so are complex and private but all have changed me and I have some amazing new friendships.

This has been a year of therapy.  I had physical therapy for my damaged arthritic shoulder and have moved from 24/7 pain to only occasional pain as I make certain movements.  I have a new massage therapist who works on joints, connecting tissues, and pressure points and makes my body feel better.  I have begun psychotherapy again and feel good about that process, though it is going to difficult and painful.

In May Bill and I spent a week in Istanbul, an amazing trip.  I may post photos here, though I never finished posting photos of the Rome and Florence trip way back when and in between Italy and Turkey we had two weeks in Paris.  Oh well, I will post whatever whenever I can.

Since the trip to Turkey I lost 35 pounds and went down six inches in waist size. This was through more careful eating.  Exercise still lies ahead.

 Next year I will semi-retire and hope to get to the gym and have other exercise regularly, get back to writing novels, and spend more time reading, traveling, and feeding friends.

So there is your catch-up.

--The BB

Heart thread - 01/18/2013

Our beloved brother, David@Montreal, asks for our prayers:

beloved Giants:
next Monday will be President Obama's public inauguration.second term of office.
i'm asking  a ongoing special intention of prayer and practice for the safety of the President and his family, as he has assumed such a prophetic role in a long-overdue discussion of the role of guns in American life and culture.
another special intention of prayer and practice for the transformative opportunities America is being offered with President Obama's initiatives.

in the wider world i'm asking prayers
for the people of Syria & South Sudan, for the people of Mali, and for the leaders of African and middle Eastern nations to assume their responsibilities for fraternal care  instead of continually relying on American, Canadian and European intervention.
prayers for  6 y.o. Austin who is incapacitated by blinding migraine headaches which confound his doctors
for Doreen living the last days and weeks of her life
prayers for all those undergoing discernment
all of those without proper housing
all those in search of a way forward
and prayers for a certain 'new retiree' and his husband

love always-always Love

 I also ask your prayers for my nephew Jay who has surgery on February 5, for his mother Ivajeane, and for the surgeons, nurses, techs, etc.  Jay's health is fragile.

And for the repose of the soul of Doris Hagen, a pillar of St Cuthbert's Church, Oakland.  She was there from the beginning of the church and headed the altar guild for many years.  A hard worker, she volunteered in the office, was a major organizer of fund raisers, and served on vestry and other committees.  She also looked after and supported me in good times and bad.  She died yesterday after a long and productive life.  Please remember also her husband, Paul, and their daughter Carol and grandchildren.

Doris Hagen

--the BB

Uncle Bori's Brussels Sprouts

I was discharged from the hospital after my recent bout of cellulitis (again) with the admonition to follow a "heart healthy" diet.  Please.  The reality is that most of my eating is reasonable.  I have oatmeal every morning (so good for fiber and cholesterol).  I drink nonfat milk.  I eat lots of raw nuts (not roasted or salted) and dried fruits (all that fiber, natural sugars, and antioxidants).  I use far less salt than I did when young, though I should never come near French fries where I am quite naughty.  I do not eat much red meat, tending toward lean pork and chicken without the skin.  I cook with olive oil.  I rarely use prepared foods as I like to know every item that goes into my cooking.

But I do cook with real butter and lots of it and I make sauces with heavy cream.  The cream is not something I use that often but the butter, well, I am half Swedish and the motto of Swedish cooking is "Smör och kärlek."  It translates as "butter and love" (in that order).

Winter is upon us and what could be more warming than Brussels sprouts in a cream sauce.  So here it is, something I have improvised and made several times.  It tastes really good and the hospital dieticians would freak.  I use some technical cooking terms here but you will easily figure them out.

I start with a package of Brussels sprouts.  It is best to cook them right away as they can spoil quickly.  I trim them ruthlessly, trimming stems and outer leaves and anything that looks yucky or proto-yucky.  See, technical terms.  The photo above is the trimmings which can equal the savings in volume.

 These are the trimmed sprouts.  I also halve them.  I don't think it makes any difference to cooking, though there are elaborate theories about this.  It does make it easier to absorb sauce, which is the whole point of this dish.

I rinse the sprouts, put them in a dish, cover with plastic film, and microwave for three minutes.  This is so much easier than parboiling.

 Meanwhile I need some chicken broth.  Not a lot, so the easy way is to use some Better Than Bouillon and about half a cup of water.  When the sprouts are microwaved I put the base and water mixture in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds, then stir.

 Now for a quick roux: equal amounts of butter and flour stirred until it starts to brown.

 Add the chicken broth mix and some heavy cream and a buttload of dill.  That's another technical term.  You may use any herb you prefer.  As you can see, I use lots.

Stir constantly as this thickens.  I add some sea salt and white pepper.

 Add the Brussels sprouts and keep stirring on high heat as the sauce continues to thicken and coat the sprouts.  Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

The end result is rich and yummy.  Those who don't care for Brussels sprouts might convert over this.

I did not make this for tonight but put it in plastic containers that will go in the freezer when they cool down a bit.  I promised some to a coworker who really liked this when I made it last winter.  My lunches will be iniquitous but oh so good.

Enjoy!

--the BB

Sharing a fresh prayer list from David@Montreal, prayer warrior extraordinaire:

remembering the joys and the challenges of living as the living Body of Christ i'm ask your prayers for:

young Nyland whose doctor and family are serious concerned about lymphatic swelling in the groin, this very young lad was born with immune defense issues which have kept his Mum and Dad hopping.

for E. a deeply cherished sister who is dealing with 'something not right in my body' and awaits an appointment with her doctor.

prayers for Thora C., a year shy of 90, who is having serious difficulty spiritually and medically, dealing with the increaed pain brought on by her deteriorating back.

for her grand-daughter Thea, less than a year old, with compromised kidneys, and Thea's young mum, Jennifer.
for Mark, recovering  from shoulder surgery.

for Doreen in her last months
for Jacques in his last months

for Prior Aldred, who last night received news of his mother's unexpected death.
for Beatrice, Aldred's Mum, that she may rest in peace and rise in glory.

for Rosemary:who recently celebrated her birthday, and who, tomorrow will be moving into a small, quite special longterm care facility.
for Jay, Rosemary's remarkable, generous  son

for Jon and Mary: with thanks for the news of his first day back on the job, after extensive an cancer hospitalization
for Marc

for all those living with loss: especially Susan
for those undergoing discernment: for a way forward and the means

for the people of St. Columba parish, Montreal. there church was closed last Sunday (Mam and i were present for the last service). their future is not yet discerned, and there is a lot of pain and confusion amoung the congregants.

for the people of Syria as they continue to pay such a horrendous cost for their liberation.
for the people of South Sudan

for young Montel and Aleisha, who continue to live in the toxic, chaotic environment of their father's addictions. for all those living with addiction, and those who love them.

thank-you my beloved Giants

love always-always Love

David@Montreal

I would like to add my coworker Shawn recovering from arthroscopic surgery yesterday on his knee and my niece Jannita who has completed her radiation and chemo treatments.  May she now stay healthy for a long time!

--the BB

Volume Two of the Chronicles is published

The Light Bearers, the second half of Darkslayer, was released for publication this evening.

Paperback (ISBN 1477640487) is available immediately at CreateSpace eStore. If you wish to order it through Amazon, wait a few days and use the widgets in the right sidebar at OCICBW.

I expect the Kindle version will be available at Amazon by tomorrow morning. Again, OCICBW is a great place to shop.

--the BB

Self-editing

It is a risky thing to be one's own editor. On the simplest level there is the danger of missing typos because one's brain sees what one meant to write even when the eyes record what one's fingers actually typed. On many other levels one reads what one intended, regardless of what one has written. Nonetheless, I take the risk and am grateful for one reader commenting on the high quality of editing and grammar in the first book. Bless you, Marguerite.

At this point I am reading The Light Bearers for what must be the fifth time, at least. Both segments of Darkslayer were completed back in 2007, at least in the first draft. I am indebted to those who pointed out typos in the early reading. It is interesting to read it almost five years after the first draft. I have a bit of distance now, though the tale is very much in my blood. Every now and again I tweak a sentence that seems unclear in either concept or grammar or attempt to straighten what is a bit too convoluted.

There is pleasure in a fresh encounter with phrases one has forgotten ever writing. One such is highlighted in the graphic above. Ian Darkslayer may have destroyed a demon of darkness but he did not banish darkness from the world or from his own soul. In a stark moment he recognizes how much he is part of the world's ills. For me it is the climactic moment of the second book, a true loss of innocence at the ripe age of seventeen. Along with his mystical experience of Uncreated Light and his encounter with utter darkness, this moment shapes forever the man Ian will become.

Since I am just beginning to write the fourth book, the one recounting the rest of Ian's life, it is good to revisit how he grew into manhood.

--the BB

The false bodice ripper

I am proofing The Light Bearers, as y'all know. I am struck (you must remember this was first written in 2007 and I am now reading at a bit of a distance) by how it is laden with romantic play. So much so that I should probably blush. Oh well.

Confession: I am also enjoying it all.

Desh, the Raven, is the goddess of love. As our band of heroes sail toward the Holy Isle of Vios it is said of two besotted star singers that "Desh flew between their eyes." It is fun to coin phrases based on another culture's mythology, maybe especially a mythology of my own creation. We all know the look when the Raven flies between the eyes of people in love.

It has been a long time since I posted a writing/proofing update of this sort here.

--the BB

Food

This evening I had dinner with a friend then came home and watered the garden. I checked in online then returned to proofing The Light Bearers, the second half of Darkslayer and Volume Two in The Chronicles of Mídhris. I am about one third of the way through, which is encouraging.

Then I loaded the slow cooker with small potatoes, onion, yellow and orange peppers, a ton of stewing beef, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, lemon pepper, sea salt, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and red wine. All stowed in the fridge. Now, if I can remember to take it out tomorrow morning and turn it on, I shall come home to stew for dinner (and many meals thereafter).

Not that exciting a day but a good one.

Sweet dreams, poppets.

--the BB

Virtual cigars for all!

With little bands on them that say, "It's a book!"

Proud papa introduces the paper edition of my first book. It will show up on Amazon in 5-7 days. It is available immediately at CreateSpace. Over 500 pages of epic fantasy delight.

The photo above is of the proof copy that arrived today. I went through it and immediately approved it for publication.

Remember: It is published under a pseudonym, so search on "Grevedan Deveril." The title is The Demon Chasers.

Lots of extras at the blog dedicated to the series.

If you read it, please consider online reviews to help spread the word.

--the BB

What news lies behind these numbers?

Behold the ISBN for The Demon Chasers paperback that will be issued soon. I am supposed to receive the proof copy next Wednesday.

Can you guess I am excited?

--The BB

Prayer request from our brother David

I'd ask your prayers for dear brother Paul's Jannita who [began chemo last week], and for Gwendolyn's Jim who is to be prepped for radiotheraphy on the newly-discovered cancer in his brain.

prayers for justice for the Lakota man who while undergoing surgery was also violated by some sick individual who carved initials of hate on his chest http://leaveitlay.blogspot.ca/2012/05/cruel-road-map-but-other-way-is-way-of.html. prayers for all those who cry out for justice please. prayers for the two wonderful priests (margaret & Joel) who serve this man.

prayers for a transformative outcome to the vote in North Carolina today. and speaking of transformative opportunities, prayers for the peope of France and Greece: that they not abandon their inter-connectivity with the rest of creation and they try with their new governments to 'save themselves.'

prayers for the people Syria, for the people of Darfur, for the healing of Charles Taylor's victims.

prayers for the people who live in the shadow of the Mexican-American border, and those who sacrifice their lives there.

prayers for John Andrews and B.C.'s discenment. for all those in discernment. prayers for those needing a way forward. prayers for all those gathered up in Bishop Steven's powerful prayer/blessing today.

birthday blessings for Jane whose day it is.

thank-you beloved Giants

love always- always Love

David@Montreal

Heart thread - 05/06/2012

This is my niece Jannita who has just started chemo.  She has a good prognosis but we would all appreciate your prayers for her as her body goes through chemo and radiation.  She has five children and three grandchildren, with another grandchild on the way.  Many thanks for the prayers that have already come her way.  She was not keen on my taking photos but I know it is easier to pray when we can visualize.

I also ask your prayers for M. who is in rehab and has had a long struggle and for M's family.  And for K. and A. and N. and D. who have been working their way through lots of difficult tensions.

For the people of North Carolina as they vote on the hateful Amendment One on Tuesday.  And for all victims of oppression, prejudice, and bullying.

I give thanks for all who uphold me in prayer and who join me in remembering others.  You are a blessing.

--the BB

Published at last

It probably will not be visible on Amazon until tomorrow but I clicked "publish" this afternoon. For a mere $5.99 USD you, gentle reader, can now purchase the e-book of my first novel for Kindle. Don't have a Kindle? There is an app for your device. Just look here.

The title to look for is The Demon Chasers and the author name is Grevedan Deveril. You may read more about who he is at the sister blog dedicated to all things Mídhris.

If you can, please go to OCICBW and use the Amazon widgets in the right margin to order as this costs the reader no more but helps support a friend.

OK, fans of sword and sorcery, snaffle up those e-books. There will be more, God willing and the Rio Grande don't rise. Volume two before Christmas this year and volume three next year. Help me retire early!

Also, dear articulate friends, reviews on Amazon make for more hits and more sales, so if you feel so inclined....

Thanks!

-the BB

Heart thread - 04/18/2012

My sister reports that my niece Jann's surgery went well and things look good. Now, of course, we await the pathology report. Jannita has a good attitude and the doctors are encouraged.

Thanks to all who have held her in prayer.

--the BB

Heart thread - 04/14/2012

I ask your prayers for my niece Jannita. My sister reports:

Jannita will be having surgery on Wed. next week. She has stage 2 cancer, a grade three....

This has been rather sudden news.

--the BB