Bacon and eggs

I awoke early this morning to check to see how much snow we received overnight, but then when I realized I was in Amman, I headed for a cup of coffee. I'm glad everyone I know is safe from the blizzard. Unfortunately, a few deaths occurred. One boy was trying to stay warm. He sat in his car with the engine and heater turned on and he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast as it is a Sunday. It was delicious. Every strip of bacon was uniformly cooked - lightly crisp, but not overdone. Yum. I had some bread, cheese, olive salad, and a banana for dessert.

Last night at the parish was fun. Much was going on and it was difficult to catch a breath. We welcomed a young woman into the R.C.I.A. process. She's from a Protestant background and has been meeting with me for a while to learn about the faith. Her sister is also interested in understanding more about Catholicism.

I ran around. I heard confessions, organized the Rite of Welcome, rehearsed the choir, made sure the hall was open (which is always a major effort), set up the altar, met two visiting priests, made sure the second collection was going to happen, and gather my notes for announcements. When I started saying Mass, I found out I also had to cantor the psalm. I was introducing new music anyways. I just had to brush through Mass rather than think about anything.

I baked two cakes for the parish gathering after mass. I was very happy that 40-50 people came to meet one another, especially to meet the woman who is to be received into full communion this Easter. It was filled with good spirits - a very happy time. They loved that I baked a cake for them. Some suggested I ought to market it for commercial value, but it is really just out of a cookbook.

I'm beginning two classes this week on spirituality. I'm glad to be offering something like this to the parish. It is where I excel.

Spring is in the air! Shrubs are noticeably expanding and early spring flowers are dotted the few gardens. We have miniature jonquils, buttercups, and a daffodil-like flower in bloom. An apricot tree produced a bud and flowers are popping up because the amount of daylight is lengthening. I'm told that spring comes in early to mid-March. We are almost there.

But............ I don't like hot weather.

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I learned why many people in Jordan still smoke a lot. Jordanian cigarettes cost 1 JD, which is equivalent to one U.S. dollar. The price was lowered in November from 1.5 JD because the government wanted to have lower prices for home-grown cigarettes rather than have people spend money on foreign brand cigarettes. People will never stop smoking as this is a disincentive.

Traffic is heavy again as the children have resumed classes this week.

We had a Jesuit visitor from the U.S.A. east coast this week. It was good to be with him. We went to a Jordanian Italian restaurant called La Calle and had a very tasty pizza and two pints of beer. The next day I ate at a Mexican restaurant and I enjoyed the food and the company a great deal.