Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Zoo Trip


Zoo 020
Originally uploaded by missouri_gal
Raja put on quite a show for us. He really knows how to please a crowd.

On the Ferry


On the Ferry
Originally uploaded by missouri_gal
Here's my birthday photo for 2011. Out to Kinder's, on the Golden Eagle Ferry. I love this place - it's just bar food, but the view from the deck is wonderful - not to mention the hummingbirds.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Gethsemani - Arrival


Gethsemani 032
Originally uploaded by missouri_gal

I flew into Louisville on a seering hot Friday, and within minutes was driving down to Trappist, KY, the home of the Abbey of Gethsemani - the oldest monastery in the US. My goal - to spend a four-day silent retreat and evaluate my life, backward and forward.


I came across the web page of the Abbey by Googling for something else - which is how I find all kinds of great stuff. It seemed perfect - no pressure, no activities, no talking. It's Catholic, but I found several blogs and reviews by people who, like me, are not members of that denomination. It's a completely open, loving facility.


I arrived at lunchtime, and found a note at the front desk that instructed retreatants to go have lunch, then come back to check in. I walked into the silent dining room and saw people eating in silence - one to a table - staring out the window into a lovely garden. In a way, the people in the dining room were also like a garden - each person very different, coming to the retreat with very different goals, thoughts, problems, lives.