I am on holiday for the next fortnight so will take a break from blogging.

For the information of burglars I shall not be going away, but shall be staying put with my Income Tax and several novels to read.

I gave away my first prayer shawl yesterday at church to an ex-member Ann who was visiting before going in for hospital treatment. She was delighted with it and I only hope it does indeed get chilly of an evening so she can get some benefit from it! Whenever she puts it round her shoulders she can feel as if she is enveloped in our love and prayers.

I am going to hold a workshop on Prayer Shawls soon so keep your eyes peeled for details.

Day off today so I sat in the garden (with the clouds until about 4pm) and read a book. It was The God Squad by Paddy Doyle, a leading disability activist in Ireland. It was his own story about being sent to an institute at the age of four when his mother died of cancer and his father hanged himself. One of those books that you wished was fiction but know it wasn't. More scarey nuns and abuse and then horrific stories of long stays in hospital where he was given brain surgery countless times.

It was very sad - a story of hell if ever there was such a place. And most shocking of all is that it happened in my lifetime.

I have just finished a fabulous book called Rococo by Adriana Trigiani. It is about an interior designer called Bartolomeo Di Crespi whose dream is to do a makeover on his Church - Our Lady of Fatima, New Jersey. If you love Italian-Americans, art, fabric, religion, families, humour, food and love then you will adore this book. It is even peppered with recipes throughout.

I won't spoil the ending but what dreams I've been having ever since about makeovers and churches I love. Perfect holiday read.

Heatwave today? I think not. Tar melting and reservoirs running dry? Not in Edinburgh where it is cloudy, misty and chilly. What's going on?

I just hate it when the news speaks out about the weather as if we all lived in London. Twas ever thus.

Actually that should read 'Hair yesterday gone yesterday'. Had to go and get my hair cut because of the heat. The only hairdresser I could find that would take me yesterday was at Asda! But I won't be going back. Nuff said.

Came home and did lots of work in preparation for my holidays next week. Then went out into the garden at 4pm with my book for a wee break. The good thing about living near the sea is that there is often a breeze so it was actually quite pleasant. However as the evening wore on I realised that the sun had burnt me so I now resemble a rather pink lobster. Never a good look.

I am getting so much spam these days on the old blog - and all on the same entry for some reason. I have even tried to change its title in case that was attracting those wicked people but to no avail. So I'm afraid I shall have to scan comments first before posting them.

Why do they spoil things?

We used to have a cleaner at St Mark's but she left. Nobody leapt forward to replace her so the church has been starting to look a little grubby around the edges. The sanctuary is always kept sparkling by the Sacristy Teams but the rest of it was really needing a good scrub. Not to mention clearing out all the things that churches acquire over time. I mean, how many vacuum cleaners does one church need?

Yesterday we had a big clean where, it was hoped, the whole congregation would come along and lend a hand. Not quite as successful as we planned but 10 good and honest folk did turn up. And clean we did.

I found a good selection of prayer books, shorter prayer books, baptism liturgies (now defunct) and ASBs by the score in the sacristy, but no bibles worth reading from.

I also have a theory that when people are throwing out old crockery etc at home they must think to themselves - "Oh I could give that to the church." No! Why should God get the cast offs? God should get the best? Keep your old stuff and buy God's house a nice new set. And when are we likely to serve tea to 412 people at a time?

Not to mention the amount of aluminium tea pots, pans and urns we found. Now that could explain a lot!

We are now awaiting a skip.

I can't believe Nikki was evicted last night on Big Brother. She was by far the most interesting character in the house, and fascinating to watch - like a car crash. I almost had a tear in my eye when she stood at the door looking like bambi caught in headlights. And what an attention seeker! I could learn a lot from her! (yes, I know you think it's not possible for me to learn any more about attention seeking)

Of course, the only reason I watch Big Bro is to study the people. I am fascinated by people and their behaviour - should have been a psychologist. And Nikki was one of those people that you can watch for hours and still not fathom her out. The house will not be the same without her.

And now I shall be left to pray for those I find it difficult to love. Yes, Jayne, that's you.

Watched Walking the Line (the Johnny Cash story) and was a little disappointed. It was all right I suppose but I don't get why everyone was raving so much about it. Nice singing though.

Is it ever right to celebrate mass in sandals?

Got a new pair of specs today and I can see to read again! Hoorah! They are pinky-purply and gorgeous and made by Gucci. The man in the optician said that these are specs to wear if you want to come screaming through the door yelling "I'm here!" So, no contest really.

I have ordered another pair of more subtle dark purple ones but they will arrive later. (It was buy one get one free.)

We couldn't get an organist today because they are all on holiday or covering for those on holiday. So we had to make do with CDs instead. We already have the mass setting on CD and are used to that, but it was going to be much more difficult to swap CDs around in the right places. And made all the more difficult when our Skip Track button only appears to work once the CD is actually playing. So that meant that John (my faithful server) had to play around with the volume control fading us in and out as required.

However, despite all that John did remarkably well and we managed to sing all the hymns to the correct tunes. So now we know that we will always have something when we can't find an organist. Mind you, the choice of hymns is a little limited and nothing much written before 1900. Now once upon a time that would have suited me fine, but things change and I have grown to like some of the more modern hymns. Not sure thought that we could manage Be still my soul to the tune of Let all mortal flesh... And next time I need to remember to take along something suitable for a Voluntary.

Excellent sermon too this morning from our guest preacher, Fr Alex Black. He managed to meld Cary Grant, scandal and the current state of the Anglican Communion into a beautifully crafted work of art. Ah, you can't beat experience! I am but a novice sitting at their feet.

Popped in to the National Gallery this week for a bit of culture. You may remember that when I returned to Edinburgh I had great plans to go to the theatre, cinema, and art galleries. So far I have been to the cinema once, the art gallery once and haven't managed the theatre at all.

But I was happy to see that the Scottish section had my faves on display again: John Duncan's St Bride and Phoebe Traquair's The Progress of a Soul. Also spotted a lovely painting of Rosslyn Chapel which I hadn't seen before, but I can't remember the artist.

There was also a small exhibition of Rembrandt's religious drawings.

But why oh why did the shop not have postcards of any of my favourites? I couldn't see anything in the shop on the Rembrandt exhibition. Bad marketing there.

I did notice that there was also an exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe. I hadn't heard of him and didn't have time to explore so missed what I have been told might have been a very interesting exhibition. So it looks like I may be going back with a certain fellow blogger some time soon.

And just to finish off this arty blog... when I was in the Cornerstone I noticed a calendar (of lighthouses) by the Scottish artist Jolomo. I am not normally a great lover of modern art, and I suppose that is what he does, but I do love his use of colour and the energy in his art. I have a friend who has a penchant for lighthouses and I was going to send it to her but she appears to have moved and I know not where. So, I might just have to keep it myself!

Just as I mentioned Ken Leech in my blog last week I got an email from him asking if i could get in touch with a friend of his from Washington, USA, who was going to be in Edinburgh for a conference. Ken is one of those remarkable people who remembers everyone he meets - what a gift!

So Elizabeth and I met for lunch earlier this week and we got on so well that we met again last night at St Michael and All Saints for mass. Elizabeth is a priest in ECUSA so it was lovely that mass was taken last night by Mother Marion. Then we had a nice meal out.

Today I am doing some tourist guide stuff. Where would you take a visitor in Edinburgh?

Some friends in the USA were telling me about prayer shawls which are knitted for the elderly and housebound of their congregations. I suppose they would also be useful for mums to be and nursing mums too. The idea is that as you are knitting the shawl you pray for the recipient. The stitches are easy - plain and purl - and in three's (for the Trinity). Then you can put tassles on with beads or shells which can be used for counting prayers - like the rosary or orthodox prayer ropes.

I thought it was a lovely idea and I might even have a go myself. Even my limited knitting skills could manage that - unlike a certain Provost, known to this blog, who knits jumpers for himself.

The website is here with details if you are interested:
http://www.shawlministry.com/instructions.html

Wow! What a Sunday we had at St M's yesterday. First we had a wonderful baptism with a church full and lots of children. Perfectly behaved baby who looked at me as if I was the strangest creature he had ever seen in his albeit short life. And probably I was. We were both wearing our slippiest outfits so there was a risk of him shooting off my hip into the font but I held on for dear life and all was well.

Then at night we had a Healing Service by candlelight with my glamorous assistant the Rev'd Sheila Cox. It was a lovely service and, for me at least, very moving. Lovely to have Sheila back at St Mark's too.

So may all those who asked for healing for themselves, for others or for a situation in the world, find peace and wholeness and an awareness of God's presence.

Just what you need when you do a funeral visit... crashing thunder and flashes of lightning. That really put the bereaved at ease. Thank you very much.

My front garden is mostly paved (for parking my car). But in the evening it becomes a snail rave. I even found one half way up my front door and s/he stayed there for days until a brave man came to call and removed it for me. Any why do they have a reputation for moving slowly? Not my snails - oh no! Mine are Grand Prix snails.

Now, much as I love all of God's creatures - yeh, right! - I am not too chuffed at this abundance (or plague perhaps) of snails. Any bright ideas out there?