The Midwinter Solstice

It is the evening of December 21st, the longest night of the year, which I also like to call the Darkest Night of the Year, not for any scientific reason, but perhaps because I've been influenced by one too many fantasy authors who link the power of evil magic to the winter solstice (Susan Cooper, I'm looking at you).  This time three years ago I was somewhere over the Atlantic (flying back from studying abroad in Germany), fighting a persistent head-cold, and talking with an attractive gentleman about graduate school, while trying not to fall asleep (at least, not until the conversation was finished).  This year, to chase away the dark, so to speak, I'm headed to dinner with K&R, bringing with me a bottle of excellent wine that I got for $3.49 at Safeway.  Thank you, Safeway card and (I suspect) the power of overstock.  After that, I come home to wrap Christmas presents, and hopefully get some more blogging done.  Watch the space below this post - I have at least three more to write that should come before this one.

However, to tide you over until I put out some more posts, here are two more pictures from St. Peter, which I attended on Sunday evening again (my ratings remain essentially unchanged).  I took pictures in between the end of Vespers and the beginning of Mass, so now you can see the stained glass:

Yes, there's a dude in the way, but I didn't want to be too conspicuous, since this isn't a tourist attraction.

Trendy angle shot?  Nope - the result of trying to be a stealthy photographer.  Looks like I need practice.  (Nice stations of the cross, though, aren't they?)