Well we are back on Andros! WE - get it? Ginni is here too!
Gin left for most of November so being back home TOGETHER is a treat.
Thanksgiving was wonderful and it was fantastic to see all my old friends at St. Timothy's once more. Being up on the altar at the 9:30 and 11:00 Masses once again was very special.
The trip started with Thanksgiving in the Hamptons where my sons Joe and Mike live. Our oldest, Matthew, flew in from Houston with his wife and son as well so it was the first time all three of them have been together for awhile.
This Thanksgiving was extra special in that we me Mike's 'special girl', Catherine, and her family invited our family to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. Once we all sat down there were 28 of us. We brought the turkey and some veggies, and they provided even more veggies and desserts and let's just say nobody left hungry and we all carried home leftovers!
I must say that, coming from the mission field in the Bahamas, spending a week in the Hamptons was a bit of a culture shock. Everything there was elegant - absolutely over the top. Even the trip I took with Mike to the hardware store made me shake my head. Absolutely everything you would ever need is right there - no waiting for the boat to bring it in at all! While Mike picked up what he needed I was able to get a masonary bit for my drill back on Andros. Now I can fix that hurricane shutter that was ripped loose by hurricane Irene. (Getting a masonary bit like this usually means a trip to Nassau).
The day after Thanksgiving Catherine's parents invited Ginni and I for dinner and it was great to finally have time for just the four of us sit and talk. We had a wonderful time and look forward to getting to know them better over time - if only via the internet and email.
After a week in NY we headed back to Canton, MA and every minute of out time was booked. We had lunch and dinner with friends almost every day and took an overnight trip to NH to meet with new tenants for the cabin up there. There was also the do-to list of things needing to be fixed that got done.
Coming back to Andros was not uneventful. We got in on Friday and we were scheduled to do an evening Benediction at the Navy base - only to find that the van's battery was dead. So I pushed it down the hill to try to start it by popping the clutch, but to no avail. So one of the people on the base came and picked us up, we did the Holy Hour, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and Benediction then he took us home, promising to come back the next day to jump the battery, which he did.
That next day we learned our toilet was broken - and I didn't have the right tools - so off to my hardware store to learn they didn't have any wrenches right now, but they could be on the boat on Wednesday So - Saturday evening we start our weekend liturgies and by Sunday morning the tail pipe on the van disconnects from the muffler (don't ya love it). We still did all four weekend liturgies but the van was a bit louder than normal.
Suffice it to say, I am writing on Wed, the boat from Nassau is on the horizon - one of our parishioners welded the tail pipe back onto the muffler, and we're almost back to normal.
This is exam week for our students here, after which they have a 3 week Christmas break. We have had two CCD lessons already this week and two to go, then it'll slow down a bit. Christmas is huge here with Junkanoo being a major celebration. Marching Bands dress up to the hilt and the competition is fierce. Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnival in Rio has nothing on Junkanoo in the Bahamas. I will definitely try to post pics -- its a two day parade if you can believe it.
Next week we go to Nassau for our monthly clergy meeting and it couldn't be better timed. I am so low on consecrated hosts that I will be bringing a ciborium and tapping the Tabernacle at the Cathedral once again. I hope I can stretch what I have to get through this weekend. I know that I cannot count on having a priest for Christmas so I need to replenish on my own.
Well, enough for now, I gotta go meet the boat and see if the wrenches made the trip.
Till next time - please keep us in your prayers.
Deacon Frank
