oyster stew

We took oyster stew to our Lenten Wednesday evening supper last night. It seemed to be well received, milk, cream, onions, diced potatoes, shaved carrots, celery, loads of oysters. The largest creatures I cut in several bits after cooking. Any cutting up must be done after the oysters are cooked, (did you ever see the insides of an oyster?) or the beautiful creamy stew will turn to gray, BTDT. There was a bit left over, and one family had brought mac cheese for the kids, also plenty left over, so I added one serving spoon of mac cheese to what was left of the oyster stew, and it’s making an elegant breakfast. If you love oysters for breakfast, eat your heart out; if you can’t stand the thought of oysters for breakfast, I reckon you just have to live with that. 

32°F here in StAndrews at this lovely moment according to the TV, winter getting in its final bites of us, but the day is clear and beautiful. Looking across StAndrewsBay, I can see over Shell Island into the Gulf of Mexico. I missed a good shot of that with the pink horizon, so posted last evening, one of my favorite views from 7H.

On calendar for today, assemble a shopping cart we bought for a mid-nineties friend whose cart that we gave her a couple years ago is worn out and falling apart. Linda’s picking her up at the towers and taking her to the grocery store this morning, so this will be a surprise gift. Early afternoon appointment with a hematologist to ask why my platelet count is falling, what the hell is a platelet anyway, I have no idea, tiny little dishes floating around in the bloodstream, I guess. 


This year, Lent A, we have readings from Paul’s letter to the Romans, his last and longest extant letter. Except for faith elements forced into the Nicene Creed, most of Christian theology seems to come from Paul, especially Romans, including from Sunday’s reading 5:1-11. Justification by faith and that Christ died for our sins. The reading is below, a good one for Lent, which almost makes Paul the orthodox Jew seem Trinitarian.

Up to shave and shower, because the note in the elevators and on the bulletin boards declares that water into the castle will be shut off from 8:30 to 12:30 while some issue is corrected. 

 DThos+ plugging on


Romans 5:1-11
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.