Trompe L'Oeil

I love this trompe l'oeil. It certainly gives the observor an interesting point of view. Would make most people a bit uncomfortable, I believe. It reminds me of one of my favorite places in Rome, Il Gesu, the church of the Jesuits with its remarkable trompe l'oeil baroque paintings, so amazing it's difficult not to believe the angels aren't descending from the dome.

So, here I am, the night before my first class of my second year of seminary. I'm excited about my schedule. I have my first preaching class, Ethics, a course at Garrett on Pastoral Care and Illness and Suffering, and the class that prepares us for Plunge in January (more about that later -- don't have the energy today). I had a lovely day with my brothers, my sister-in-law, and my son's family. The Cubs endured an embarrassing loss. We played a wild game of Apples to Apples (my daughter-in-law Junko won). I brought the dessert and, for the first time in about forty-five years, my family was treated to four pints of Walgreen's ice cream and a box of Maurice Lennell cookies -- a true Chicago feast. When we were kids, my Dad would often stop at Walgreen's on payday (once a month) and pick up four pints for a dollar. They were square and wrapped in folded cardboard in the way ice cream always used to be packaged. Dad would remove the cardboard "jackets" and cut the blocks with a knife, serving us our favorite flavors. Today I bought Rocky Road, Moose Tracks, Banana Split, and Creme de Menthe. They were a nostalgic hit. I'd forgotten all these years how good Walgreen's ice cream is.

I think I'm ready for the merry-go-round to begin again. My vow is to lighten up this year, to make sure I make time for myself and to refrain from compulsive/obsessive studying.