And that seems to be especially true this year with Thanksgiving coming so late.  Just two days ago we were singing “We Gather Together” over at St. P’s, and tomorrow we’re singing “O,Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”  I am barely getting this stuff off the tableand it’s time to put the Advent stuff in the front hall.

That’s my Advent calendar in the frame.  Every year Joannie sends me one and gets one just like it for herself, that way we can talk about each day’s surprise when we talk or email every night.  For many years, my dear friend Helen Koernig  got an Advent calendar for me, and when she died, Joannie took over for her.  If there is anything dearer than a sister, I don’t know what it is.  We didn’t get to grow up together, so we never miss an opportunity make up for lost time now. Tempus fugit.

In several western states, I am on the most wanted list for murdering house plants.  A few years ago when Elizabeth moved from Colorado to Maui, she abandoned her potted plants here.   Last year, I cut back her Christmas cactus within an inch of its life, but, ever valiant, it is bursting forth once again.  It does not know about Advent but it knows when the days grow shorter, all by itself.