Adventure 572: Cave Creek Regional Park/Post G

St. Francis Sanctuary

Today began all about St. Francis. We attended mass at St. Francis Xavier this morning, I must say, it was the most uplifting mass I've been to in a while. The scripture reading told the story of Simeon and Anna, and in his homily, Father made me see a side of that story I'd not realized before. As you may know, Simeon had been told that he would see the Lord before he died, and Anna, a widow, spent all her days and nights in the Temple. Joseph and Mary, as was mandated by law, brought Jesus to the temple for presentation. Both Simeon and Anna held the child. Here's the part that Father pointed out. Simeon and Anna began the day with no notion that it would be different from any other day. Interesting, because both held the Lord in their hands. Let me say that again. Each held the Lord in their hands. It made the idea that we know not when He will return more meaningful because clearly we just need to be ready. My cousin, Douglas, often a man of wisdom, sent me a text this morning suggesting that whatever I let into my spirit I would become. I let the gift of understanding I realized from the story of Simeon and Anna in this morning. My spirit is better for it. We followed mass with a brunch at the St. Francis Restaurant, which we discovered on our first visit to Phoenix. It was as excellent as we remembered it; however, they did change the Chili Verde recipe, and while it was still really good, ours has overtaken this version. During brunch, an exceptional Jazz combo led by singers, Diana Lee and Dennis Rowland, provided music. They were ably supported by bass player Fellix (Papi) Sainz and pianist Dave Henning. We weren't expecting the music, but it just added to the spiritual uplift I received at mass. After brunch, we did some necessary shopping at the local Trader Joe's, a madhouse, but since we were in town, we took the plunge. At the benediction, Father said that God probably didn't take sides in the Super Bowl , but he did live in San Francisco for a while. As part of our food frenzy, we bought two fat burritos after church from a group raising money for the homeless. We enjoyed them during the Super Bowl, so regardless who wins the game, we'll go to bed aware that life is good, especially today.

Saguaro of the day.

A very nice dining experience to be had at the St. Francis Restaurant.

Dennis Rowland, dowapping diddily bop.

 Chili verde, while delicious, didn't match our memory.

 The Pig dip, a combination of pork, bacon, sweet onion marmalade, and comte cheese, was spectacular.

 Falcon out for a walk today. "Ooooh, I like this."

Church burritos for dinner. Yum.