Monday, October 02, 2006

Home again, home again, jiggity jog...

After a terrific, busy weekend on Vashon Island with the Fellowship there, I'm home again on Cottontail Acres. I've read the interesting mail and saved the stack of catalogs to browse over breakfast or lunch tomorrow, made a list of what needs to be done tomorrow, paid the rent, and am ensconced at my trusty MacBook with Loosy the Love Cat on my lap purring madly, now that she has forgiven me for being gone four days. Lily is still looking at me askance.

On Friday when I went to Vashon (normally a 2+ hour trip including ferries), morning fog had screwed up the ferry schedule and I was late getting to a worship committee meeting, which they obligingly have on the Friday afternoon of my weekend there. I'm one of those folks who would rather be thirty minutes early than thirty seconds late (it's genetic---my dad was the same way), so it was excruciating, waiting in the endless ferry line for a boat and getting to the meeting an hour late.

The highlight of the weekend was a Friday night performance of Mozart's Magic Flute, abbreviated only slightly and including all the best songs and--get this-----performed by an all-island cast of opera singers. Real Opera Singers! No kidding! This bitsy island has a fabulous arts community and this performance was put on by locals who could have knocked the roof off of the Met! The Queen of the Night rocked the Methodist church, where the performance took place. Papageno was the local associate minister of a conservative community church. The three fairies were elementary school girls in tattered jeans who sang their trios so authoritatively you'd have thought they were pros.

Wow! What an experience! But it's good to be at home once again.

4 comments:

Joel Monka said...

This post reminds me of very pleasant memories, visiting my Mother in Law at Port Townsend- my first ferry ride. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and I was highly amused by the seagulls being able to hover and take a crust of bread right from your hand. You live in a wonderful corner of the world.

Lilylou said...

Port Townsend is one of my favorite places, Joel! And it's so easy to get there from Whidbey. I can park my car near the ferry terminal at Keystone, buy a passenger ticket at the kiosk, and walk on for a 30 minute ride across the Strait, then walk the streets of Port Townsend or catch a bus out to Fort Worden or any number of lovely activities.

Glad you mentioned it!

Berrysmom said...

Isn't waiting for the ferry a spiritual discipline for you PNW'ers? If it isn't, it probably should be. Lord, help me to remember that there are things beyond my control... that kind of thing.

Lilylou said...

Yep, BMom, it sure is. I always have at least one book in the car, plus water and a powerbar if I think of it, to keep me company. One church year I read Anna Karenina in twenty minute bursts.

It's a good place to rehearse the sermon as well, or jot down sermon ideas, or just vege. But I love sitting by the water no matter what. Puget Sound is normally clear all the way to the bottom and you can see the rocks and fish and other critters in the shallower parts.

The salty air smells so good and the birds are so entertaining, as Joel mentions. It's good living.