It's a cool 67* outside, so why am I procrastinating on my 2nd day of the weight loss campaign? Get off your duff, Cathy, and take it for a walk.

40 mins later. Check. I came back with a gardenia for my office. This flower always reminds me of the song my father used to sing -

The girl that I marry will have to be
as soft and sweet as a nursery
A girl to call my own
She'll wear satin and laces and smell of cologne
Her nails will be polished and in her hair
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
'Stead of knittin' she'll be sittin'
By my side and she'll purr like a kitten.

Well, the kitty may not purr anymore, but the nails are still polished and the fragrance of gardenias is still one of my favorites. The song was more about the first wife who died than the one who bore his children, he told me in later years. Of course, it had a tremendous impact on my own ideas about femininity, too. He sang that song a lot.

But I digress. For some reason my father has been on my mind a good bit this week. On one of Benji's posts, he describes taking Pip through one of the cathedrals in Paris: My favorite memory of Sacre Couer was Pip pointing at all the windows and ornamentation available in this gorgeous, candlelit cathedral and going "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah" as loudly as he could, just to hear his own voice echo in its halls and altars. Surely a preacher born into his element, my sweet Silas.

I wonder if Daddy went through this cathedral when he was stationed in France during WWII. He saw several.

George posted more pictures on his website. The latest was of Madge Bailey, Merle Partlow, Grace Birmingham, and Moman Partlow. Talk about stepping back in time! What a precious picture! He must have got Grace's pictures after she died. Thursday's nostalgia about 1955 soon dissipated after I realized I was in the fourth grade that year and had the hardest teacher I remember ever having, Mrs. Gooch. It's good to be 51 years past that.

I always had a special affection for Ms. Merle, or "Mimi", as her grandchildren and a few others called her. She and "Daddy Roy" were attentive to children, affectionate, and generous with their resources. They purchased the Hammond organ for the church around 1960. I was 16 when I became the organist, and Mother played the piano. The grand piano and the console organ were both added during Daddy's tenure, and as far as I know, are still being used.

It's time to do another chore that always gets procrastinated - clean the litter box. Poor Mick, it's a good thing he goes outdoors as much as he does.