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leaning against the sun (note icon)
Oh my. The flowerbed behind LeFrak? Has got to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. It's completely covered with blooms, so colorful, dense and well-placed that it looks planted, but it's actually all wildflowers as far as I can tell. Dandelions, blankets of blue-eyes, profusions of purple loosestrife, stands of tall yellow buds which open into what I think is thistle, white asters, green-and-gold, several types of tiny white blooms that I wish I knew names for, others I've forgotten. The hill behind St. Mary's is completely taken over with incredibly lush clover and there's more of the little blue ones completely hiding all the manhole covers on the hill behind the library. The trees are still mostly bare but the ornamentals are all still in flower or coming in-- the only ones I know offhand are forsythia, cherry, Bartlett pear, and what I think is crabapple. If I had a digital camera you can bet I'd be making a guide right now. If I thought the class would involve learning common names and habitats of local plants instead of anatomy and chemistry, I'd be all over taking botany, too. . .
Let's see, other news. I went home last weekend to see the school play on alumni night-- read![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
speakerender's report, that mostly covers it-- and go to the Palm Sunday service the next morning. Palm Sunday is my favorite day of church all year, and it always makes me feel like spring. I got a whole handful of palms to wave around and walk with, and at coffee hour afterward I wove a lopsided but surprisingly sturdy Easter basket out of them. I've done this every Palm Sunday I've been to church since I took Advanced Basketweaving. (Which is, um, twice?) It became almost a performance-- I think everybody stopped by at least once to watch me and aske question or offer their own palms in Christian charity.
Then on the ride to school I folded all the cut-off ends into crosses to tuck into the basket. I must have had almost two dozen, all different sizes, and when I got back to the dorm I put the full basket outside my door with a sign "Palm Crosses-Take One!" since I always missed having them the years I didn't make it to church. There's only about five of the smallest left now. I was pleasently surprised-- they went faster than the condoms the RA put out for Valentine's! I wonder if they'll be put to equally good use; frankly I was half-expecting the basket would be kicked over and they'd be trashed or just disappear before too long.
Instead, they've been steadily going for the past three days, and I've had several really good conversations with people about religion and culture. This is International House, after all, Americans are allowed to share too! Roommate Jen's friend wanted to know if they were a Japanese custom, and I had a fun talk with Lilly about Judaism (Jew) and the Easter holidays well summed up, I think, by this line from her, "I hate it when Passover falls the same week as Easter, because that means I don't get to eat all the Easter candy!" Actually, I've been astonished by how many people, even nominal Christians, have no clue about Palm Sunday. . .
Let's see, other news. I went home last weekend to see the school play on alumni night-- read
speakerender's report, that mostly covers it-- and go to the Palm Sunday service the next morning. Palm Sunday is my favorite day of church all year, and it always makes me feel like spring. I got a whole handful of palms to wave around and walk with, and at coffee hour afterward I wove a lopsided but surprisingly sturdy Easter basket out of them. I've done this every Palm Sunday I've been to church since I took Advanced Basketweaving. (Which is, um, twice?) It became almost a performance-- I think everybody stopped by at least once to watch me and aske question or offer their own palms in Christian charity.Then on the ride to school I folded all the cut-off ends into crosses to tuck into the basket. I must have had almost two dozen, all different sizes, and when I got back to the dorm I put the full basket outside my door with a sign "Palm Crosses-Take One!" since I always missed having them the years I didn't make it to church. There's only about five of the smallest left now. I was pleasently surprised-- they went faster than the condoms the RA put out for Valentine's! I wonder if they'll be put to equally good use; frankly I was half-expecting the basket would be kicked over and they'd be trashed or just disappear before too long.
Instead, they've been steadily going for the past three days, and I've had several really good conversations with people about religion and culture. This is International House, after all, Americans are allowed to share too! Roommate Jen's friend wanted to know if they were a Japanese custom, and I had a fun talk with Lilly about Judaism (Jew) and the Easter holidays well summed up, I think, by this line from her, "I hate it when Passover falls the same week as Easter, because that means I don't get to eat all the Easter candy!" Actually, I've been astonished by how many people, even nominal Christians, have no clue about Palm Sunday. . .
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Ok, I killed a homeless person for a basket of porn. I hope you all are happy.
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I keep missing these plays. Dang it!
Never understood the whole "palm cross" concept. I nean, I *have* crosses. Personally, I prefer an intact palm to a folded leaf. It would have been creepy (and a little foreboding) if people had thrown palm crosses in Jesus' path.
I can see where the crosses would be more accessible, though.
*reads again* OoH! A basket! You could almost make a functional basket from one still-connected palm. The spine would give for an interesting structure.
nominal Christians
Almost sounds like you're mocking them. Then again... I'll shut up now.