Progress. Some Slow. Some Fast

So the hat is done. Yippee!!! This was the Kauri hat - the one I frogged what? Two or three times? So I ended up doing it in a more plain style. It's a tad big, but I can work with that. It's toasty, but I could use more "warm" around my ears. 

DPNs

See the decreases? Sorry - like turning a heel, hat decreases still jazz me. So I'd do another, but I'd take it down one size. I have some superwash wool and I'd just do a "scrap hat" to use it up. 

And the button? It's a button, but I looked at it, and decided to make it a "hat pin" or actually, it could be a shawl pin. At least this way, I can remove it when I hand wash it. 

Decreases

Also, I have enough yarn left over for some wristlets. Not a full mitt, I think, but at least pulse warmers. Those will be nice, because they can be worn with my gloves. You know that little space where it always manages to attract snow, between your sleeve and your glove? Well -- wristlets! Voila - it's handled. 

I think what I'll do for the next one is a moss stitch band for the "rib" section. Oh, and I did manage to find some short-cable circular needles. Yay, again! Thanks to Le Mouton Rouge Knittery, I was able to get the button/pin as well. Hey - if I ever find that purple shawl that just needs its collar finished, this swirl will be a nicer shawl pin than the sheep pin that I have. 

Where there's hope, right? 

Hat pin/shawl pin/ button

I'm not a hat person, really. I prefer earmuffs, but I really wanted to see how the Kauri yarn felt and knitted up. Frankly, I don't think I would make a sweater with it. The brush-tail possum sheds. I'd use it for a scarf, mitts, another hat. But that's about it. The silk gives it a nice sheen, so it would also make a very pretty shawlette. 

Of course, now my mom wants one. A hat, I mean. I don't think she'll either care or want it knit with the Kauri. Besides, I'll have to order it. I got it in Indianapolis, and I'm not driving out there again! 

Actually, this thing knit up relatively fast; just took about a week of knitting time, considering I also have a full-time job. 

So now I'm back on the Nephew Afghan. It's a slog. My hands hurt. But I may end up just taking a picture of it and giving them an IOU for a wedding gift! I'm almost at the end of the 3rd set of yarn balls. I have one more set. So, progress, but a slog. 

Catholic Church...

Speaking of progress, the slower progress is with the Catholic Church. The Archdiocese of Chicago released a boatload of records regarding the pedophile scandal. Even Cardinal Bernardin, who was held up as a paragon in the Archdiocese, was implicated. He shifted priests around and asked forgiveness when he should've asked for prison time. 

Now the victims and their families have to pick up the pieces. And the congregations are left to wonder if the "crisis" is really done. I don't mean to demean it by calling it "crisis" with scare-quotes - but what I'm trying to say is: is the BULK of the abuse uncovered now, or are Catholics just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Is there another generation of pedophiles waiting in the wings? 

Don't know. But hopefully, the Church might have learned its lesson. If it's going to come back under Pope Francis as a stronger, more viable institution, the transparency has to be there. I think this pope is trying. But I'm also in the "waiting for another shoe to drop" category. 

I'm not going back to the Catholic Church. But I would not like to see the whole edifice fall because of institutional blindness. 

Recipe...

In all truth, I have no idea where I got this from. But it's a good one. I like dark greens and this is a rather flexible recipe. You can use a variety of greens, or a mix. 

Garlicky Greens Recipe

1 lg. bunch of kale or chard                2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt                                 5 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped
1/4 c. grated Parmesan (opt)            crushed red pepper flakes (opt)

De-stem the greens (if they're the big ones); grab the main stalk and strip the leaf from the stem to the top. Tear big leaves into bite-sized pieces or dice them with a knife. Wash them in a large bowl or sink. 

WASH CAREFULLY to remove the sand/grit. Wash, rinse, repeat - at least twice, in my experience! Set aside.

JUST BEFORE you want to eat them, in large skillet, heat the oil, add the salt (a couple of big pinches) and the greens. They should hiss & spit when they hit the pan. Stir till they're bright green and they just start to collapse - perhaps up to 4 minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and the size of the chunks of greens.

About 30 seconds before you pull the pan off the heat, add the garlic, and stir up to cook - don't burn the garlic! Pull off the heat, add the cheese and then the pinch of red pepper flakes if you want. 

**You can make this vegan by removing the cheese and using toasted almonds or pine nuts. 
**You can use bagged baby greens - in that case, you don't need to de-stem, but perhaps 
trim the stems.

I've done this and it's fantastic. I prefer the baby greens or a mix of kale and spinach. The big kale kind of knocks me across the room. The baby greens are lovely. I will seriously eat the whole pan. And you should; greens are good for you!

In addition, I might consider using this as a base for a soup. Or maybe add this to a soup in the last minute or so that I was heating it up.

Raisa & the Elkhounds...

Well, things are progressing both fast and slow. Fast in that she's adapting to our routines. Slow in that Quinn is a bit sketchy toward her. And this morning, she jumped on Tippi, who was NOT happy. We've tried to defuse the snarl-fests, but at some point, they'll learn. 

This pic was before she lost her "couch privileges." She's only allowed on the floor for now, till everyone figures out where they belong in the line-up. 

We figure a couple of weeks and then we'll all be one big happy family. 

She goes to "Puppy Play" next week, and then her lessons start in February. She and Quinn will be trained together, and then she and I will proceed through the CGC training. With luck, she'll also be a therapy dog. 

Right now, everyone's pooped out and napping. So we have a "little piece of quiet" before all heck breaks loose again. 

Weather...

It's snowing again, and about 15* outside. It "feels like" 2* - which is warm, compared to this morning, when it was about -6*... But wait, there's more! 

We're supposed to get somewhere around -28* by 10 p.m. tonight. The wind has picked up. The birds are at the feeders. The dogs really want to be out there. But it's too cold. 

It's January and this is what I remember when I was growing up. People are griping about it now because we've been spoiled due to the climate change. 

Random Picture...

It's not a picture. It's what happens when you give a baby Siberian Husky a tennis ball. Yes, it's a little blurry. But she moves FAST! 

Raisa passed her vet check with flying colors, though the vet says she's a little on the light side. We've got her back on puppy food. From what we understood, perhaps her rescuer had her on "big dog" food. But they need the nutrition and extra fat of the puppy food for that first year, so we've got her back where she needs to be. 

We're looking for her to fill out eventually. She's already as tall as Quinn, but not as "beefy" as our River. 

And boy is she noisy!! The Elkhounds are still wondering how such a little puppy can make so much noise. 

Pfleger is Wrong.

Mind you, 99.99% of the time, I would disagree with Cardinal George on just about anything with regard to the Church. I think he's got blinders on in a great many areas, and he's too theoretical for his diocese. The church has lots of problems, and the administration often fails to address problems until they are forced to do so.

But in this case, Cardinal George is right.

There are 3 vows that most religious take when they are accepted into a vowed community: Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

The Catholic Church has a requirement that priests be moved every so often. Even with the priest shortage, the various dioceses will try to shake things up. Even in my community - they did that a few months ago by moving two priests - Priest A went to St. Something, and Priest B, formerly the pastor of St. Something, went across town to Priest A's church, Holy Smokes. I obviously made those names up, people, but the point is, our diocese just switched two of 'em around. It was time.

Fr. Pfleger has failed to lead his congregation. He has failed in the most basic task that Jesus taught: servant leadership. Yes, he was instrumental at St. Sabina --- he brought that church back. That's a great testimony to his leadership.

The next best testimony to his leadership is to move on and go lead somewhere else. Can he honestly tell Cardinal George that St. Sabina will fall apart without him? Can he honestly in his heart say that there isn't a troubled parish somewhere that he couldn't help?

Can St. Sabina's congregation say in all truthfulness that they will leave en masse if he's transferred? And if they can, then how strong is their faith in the Church as opposed to their faith in Fr. Pfleger? When you get baptized and agree to join the Catholic Church (if you join as an adult, you agree ... babies are just baptized by their parents), you pledge your faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Not the guy in the cassock standing there.

Cardinal George floated the idea of Pfleger being the president of a Catholic high school. What better position for a true leader to be in? Think of the way he can energize and motivate the young students at that school. And for pete's sake: it's in the same neighborhood as St. Sabina. I think that's a mistake, but I'm not in that position, so I can't say what's up, unless Cardinal George thinks this is a "kinder, gentler" move for Pfleger.

Now, according to today's Chicago Tribune, Pfleger is threatening to "go preach at other churches." And he's saying that his lawyers tell him that the Cardinal was not following canon law by suspending him. Really? Is he so delusional as to think that Cardinal George wouldn't have thought all this through? If you agree with nothing else, you can see that George is a pedant. He makes sure every "i" is dotted and every "t" is crossed.

I know that in some denominations, it's not uncommon to see a pastor who's there for decades. In one of our Baptist churches in town, one reverend who is very much respected in our area was there for over 45 years. But that doesn't mean the Catholic Church should do the same. I believe the Church's policy of moving religious is a good thing: you are not your assignment. You are not the center of that universe. You are a disciple of Jesus, and he didn't stay in any one place very long either.

Heck, my favorite priest (so much a favorite that Kid #2 is named after him) got moved after TWO YEARS to Guam!! Of course that was while he was serving in a Naval chapel on a base, and they moved them every 2 to 3 years. That was normal. But that doesn't mean we didn't mourn the loss just as much as any congregation.

And let's talk a little about this concept of servant leadership. Pfleger actually meets many of the criteria for a successful servant leader: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth and building community. It's an old concept, going back to 490 BC, where Lao-Tzu writes: The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware...The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. When his task is accomplished and things have been completed, all the people say, 'We ourselves have achieved it!'

Following the concept of servant leadership tends to give a leader more authority versus power.

The concept was "revivied" in a way when a man named Robert Greenleaf wrote an essay in 1970 called "The Servant as Leader." I remember taking a class for my MA where his subsequent book was the centerpiece. I attended a Catholic university, and part of our "mission" classes (everyone has to take these to graduate) include classes on social justice and social responsibility. We turn out students who are hopefully aware of their place in the world, and that they have to leave the world a better place than when they got there. 

Where Pfleger went wrong is that he assumed "power" was the issue. It was a power struggle between him and the various cardinals in the hierarchy. Where the Diocese of Chicago got it wrong was that they left him there lo those many years. He should've been moved out of St. Sabina after a maximum of two "terms" (which would've been anywhere from 12 to 16 years total in one parish) and he should never have been allowed to stay there. He's been there since 1981, and he was ordained in 1975. Being at the parish that long is just not done.

Has he done good things? Obviously. But has he also thumbed his nose at the Church? Yes. Adopting children in direct opposition to his Cardinal's orders is just one of the problems. The kids obviously needed a good home, and that's great. But before those kids, the collar was there.

And it's not a collar that stifles you. It's a collar that reminds you of your vows. Reminds you who your Ultimate Boss is. And why you need to be reminded. And reminds you again that you are living a specific life, with a specific mission. Your mission is to go out and preach The Word. To everyone. Not just your parish.

You really aren't supposed to be the end-goal. You're the rudder, steering your parishioners toward their goals. You're not the ultimate achievement of your flock. A good leader is "invisible" to the process. Again, he's done great things. So now it's time to go do those great things elsewhere.

Well, Fr. Pfleger. Go.

One Intelligent Comment...

In full disclosure, I like Bob Schieffer. I find him to be honest, and straightforward in his delivery, with professionalism and no hint of sensationalization. Therefore, I offer you this video... due to copyright issues, I can't post a link here, but go to www.huffingtonpost.com and search for Bob Schieffer and watch his commentary entitled, "Catholic Church Has More Than PR Issue" which just aired on Easter Sunday. Finally - someone who's got some sense and is MAKING sense of the issue. It's not the abuse (well, it IS, but take a moment and let me make a point) - it's the COVER-UP that has Catholics steamed. And yes, it IS the abuse, too. We see our Church playing the ultimate game, lying to us, all the while preaching the Gospel and the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have it done unto you." So you want me to donate to your Annual Appeal? You want me to help you with many charitable endeavors. I'd love to. Unfortunately, I don't believe for one minute that my money isn't going to a big bucket and being parceled out as legal fees for various areas wherein the priests have finally come to trial. All the while, Pope Benedict washes feet on Holy Thursday with a gold bowl. Somehow, I think Jesus didn't have a gold bowl. The lavish externals of the Vatican are covering up something as vile as the hidden picture in Dorian Gray - the vestments, crosses and gold are hiding something worse than leprosy. Worse than the most vile thing you can imagine. The gold bowls are hiding abuse. The vestments are covering the sins of the Fathers. And the Pope is maintaining a stony silence that does him no good. I realize church processes are not quick. And sometimes there's a reason - for example, when you're discerning a vocation, you want to take time to make sure you're being "called" for the right reasons. And the congregation that accepts you wants to make sure you fit. But there are times that call for swift action. And whenever children are involved, "swift" beats "slow" any time. I can't recall any abuse victim who's finally seen justice ever saying, "I'm glad they took their time and it was 12 (or 15 or 20) years till they finally got around to my case." This will cause an exodus from the pews. And Rome has only itself to blame. You take time when you're praying. You take time in meditation. You don't take time when there are issues of child safety. Ever. No matter who you are.