Saturday, October 3, 2015

Blessing of the Animals and Henna

As many of you know, I love St. Francis of Assisi's feast day. On his special day, many of the churches offer a Blessing of the Animals service.


Although I would prefer to attend a full service like I did at Holy Cross in Redmond a couple of years back, the local Catholic Church (Our Lady of Sorrows) was offering a blessing in the parking lot. I decided I wanted to stay a bit more local and try it out.

Yes. There were roosters again (some of you may remember the roster incident a couple of years back the first time Nim went to church) but this time it was the goats that had his full attention. These are actually some goats of a really nice gal I know. That is a good thing too because when Nim yelled at them she was unfazed by it. And yes, I think the goat started it too.


I would have liked to have taken more photos. But in truth, I really wanted to be part of the ceremony and participate in it with Nim. He can be a lot to handle in situations like this and the more present I am, the more meaningful it is for both of us. Well. As much as it can be for Nim anyway.


The service was very nice and included singing, a reading, prayer, and the blessing (sprinkling with holy water). In attendance were cats (those are some brave people), a hamster, a bearded dragon, the goats, the roosters, and several dogs. One dog howled while we sang. :) I really appreciated Father coming up and talking to me afterwards and just petting Nim.


I don't know. Nim looks like he appreciated his blessing doesn't he?


After we left Our Lady of Sorrows, we headed out to Bothell for a henna event so I could get a little spirit boost too. I have been really craving some major henna. Actually, I have been craving a tattoo which is usually what I want to do when my life is totally in a lurch, but henna usually helps me quite a bit.



Sarah of Sarahenna did not disappoint. The photo above was right after the work was done, and the photo below was after a couple hours. I am so looking forward to wearing my design for awhile. I told her I needed future luck and clarity and balance. The design is intended to flow up my arm. There are also peacocks involved which are good for luck.


Fall is upon us. I leave you with pellet stove "snuggling."


Have a blessed evening.

2 comments:

  1. I can only imagine what Walter would have done with goats around. Glad Nim had a good time at his blessing. Your henna is beautiful! I hope it brings you what you need.

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    1. It is funny because Nim is around a pig at the obedience matches sometimes and doesn't bat an eye. The goats however are very different, especially facially. And they do tend to sort of bow? Kind of like they are initiating play. If nothing else, the henna made me happy. :)

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