GETTING READY TO LEAVE

I realize that I have not been posting much lately. Part of that is that the host for this site has screwed up access to a degree that I don't have the patience or energy to deal with. For instance - if you want to see pictures from Father John's Farewell Bash - you have to go to the Xavier Society for the Blind blog and I have been unable to get any of that moved over here,

(Sense my frustration?)

But right now - January 7 - in the middle of a snowstorm - I am working hard at getting ready for my Farewell Concert and preparing for getting rid of around 85% of everything I own. I have a lot of things for sale, but if nothing moves, I will simply call St Vincent de Paul. Things I want to keep I will put in a storage facility until June, and I will go over with two or three suitcases. Once I get a sense of what I will really need and want in Amman, then I can arrange for those to come over and the rest to go to a friend's house - they have offered to keep things for me. 

So the notion of a sabbatical being a time of rest and relaxation is a pious fraud. 

The real purpose of this note is just to let anyone who wants to check the address know that it is correct and in the future there will be more frequent - and hopefully more upbeat - writings. 

Below - a picture of yours truly at the end of my retreat, which ended on December 24 - below that a photo at the lunch following the Mass which marked the end of the Notre Dame Club of New York's 100th anniversary celebration, a year-long series of events to mark the centennial.

Then a picture of a Christmas table - I have a friend who LOVES Christmas and the whole house is beautifully decorated.