Brothers gathering for the big event, first snow and library retreat

This past week, Br. Robert James got back home from his one week visitation to our house in Toronto. He drove back with Bros. David Hoopes and Adrian Gill. The next day, Br. Timothy Jolley arrived from Big Sur, CA, where he lives as a hermit with our Camaldolese Brothers.

All these Brothers are converging on the monastery in anticipation of the joyful day of Br. Josép Martinez-Cubero's Life Profession, next Tuesday. A couple more are expected to arrive before then.

Unfortunately, a couple of days after his arrival, Br. Adrian suffered a severe stroke and is in intensive care at Vassar Hospital, in Poughkeepsie, for the moment. Members of his family have stayed at the monastery to visit him. Br. Adrian is a Monk Not In Residence (who doesn't live at one of our houses permanently) who recently retired in New Jersey from a hospice nurse job. In the first half of this year he had been staying with us to get rehabilitated from earlier health complications. Please keep him in your prayers.

This week, we had six library volunteers on retreat with us, working with Br. John, our Librarian, to give a big push to the various tasks that always keep librarians busy (cataloging, physical processing of books, shelving, reading shelves against the catalog and so forth). On Wednesday evening, I got to join them for their traditional movie night. We enjoyed watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" and an accompanying ice cream.

Repeat Library Volunteers. From left to right, Diane Barker, from Guilford, CT, and the Three Monkeys:
See Nothing, Ann Wait, from Gansevoort, NY; Hear Nothing, Pat Moore, from Hempstead, NY; and Say Nothing, Mary Allan, from Medford, NJ.

Thursday and Friday the first snow fell and accumulated creating traffic havoc in the area. Our staff took hours to get back home on normally short commutes. Br. Carl who was coming home by train from a training day in NYC could not be reached at the train station and, for lack of taxis, had to trace back his way to the city to find a hotel where to sleep a few hours before trying again to come home.

First snow in West Park. How can something so beautiful at the monastery be so disruptive elsewhere?

With the early arrival of winter, we are halting our composting until nights are no longer frozen. Br. Aidan also found a way to take his gardening indoors and is forcing all sorts of bulb flowers on the window sill of our common room. It will yield blossoms in the middle of the winter months. I'm curious to see what he planted (amaryllis, tulips, hyacinths, I'd guess).

This weekend, I am nursing a cold that has been affecting a few brothers. I'm supposed to precent this week (the precentor intones the tunes the choir must sing). Let's hope I haven't lost all my voice.

Happy Thanksgiving!