Solstice

Overcast and cold but no rain

Tonight is the winter solstice ... precisely at 00.23. That's the longest night of the year and the shortest day of the year. The rain has stopped after 2 days and the ground is well soaked. Maybe too much ... my shoes were caked with mud as I walked through the park to get to school. Now I have to wash it. Anyway the Lake of Galilee has risen by 1.5cm which is a big deal.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5429804,00.html?fbclid=IwAR0OFmPtHdvgZrCG9pXaCLbby0FJWQO4W-R15Wbx1PSSkzegE1cdnzDExWw

Everyone was busy today ... putting up Christmas decorations. I had to organise 2 gatherings for the staff of the 2 libraries ... to thank them for the year's work and share the Christmas cheer. We eat traditional Panettone or Pan D'Oro and chitchat. Then I had to buy candles for our refectory for Christmas. And I walked 2 km to the Salesian University to cut fir branches to decorate our refectory. Thank goodness some of my students were around and helped me cut the branches. I collected 2 large bags and walked home with them. It was tiring. On Sunday I'll start preparing the 8 small candle accretions for the tables plus a large one on our main serving table. But one element is missing ... the red berries. That one is tough ... I have to go out in the night to get them. Hope it won't rain tonight. well it's after all the solstice so the night will be very long, giving me more time to gather them in the cemetery. And the fill moon is a big help as it will give me enough light to see where the berries are. And yes ... they're found in the muslim cemetery. It can get quite scary at 3am.

Then tomorrow morning I have to preach a retreat. In the afternoon I have to meet 3 groups of people followed by confessions for the nuns and then meeting a group of pilgrims. Not sure if I'll survive all that. So I'll be sleeping early. After all I have to start the day with gathering berries in the cemetery at 3am.