The other day I stopped by 7-11 for a slurpee on my way back home after a round of visiting parishoners. The clerk, who looked middle eastern and had a slight accent, was giving me this very weird look the whole time I was in line. Finally I got up to the counter, and she says to me very politly "excuse me, I am wondering: what is that thing on your neck?" I didn't know what she meant at first, but then I realized that I was wearing my clerical collar! I guess she had never seen one.

Peter is away on holidays, so I'm in charge, more or less. So far, nothing has collapsed. I did another interment today - and had to dig the hole for the ashes. What made it tricky is that there was already one set of ashes in the hole, and they were not in a container, so I had to be careful not to disturb them. But the service was quite nice.

Other than the odd interment or funeral, things have been going along quite normally. My idea of people's ages is beginning to skew - I see more 90+ year olds in a week than ever before in my life, and 70 is beginng to seem quite spry! I had to do the my first children's time at church - the parable of the kingdom of God being like yeast working it's way through dough. So, I got up that morning and mixed up a batch of pizza dough to show the kids. Then I took it home, and made pizza.