Eve, Persephone, and Thanksgiving

Today my usual pomegranate-seeder is on her way to Valparaiso for Thanksgiving so I got this messy but beautiful task myself. (Valparaiso, that's fun to say!)  I have always loved seeing the beautiful arils when you open the plain fruit, they sparkle like cut jewels hidden away inside. 

I have a theory that the pomegranate is the fruit offered to Eve in the garden. I would have taken it, myself. That would also explain how the Persephone story got its start. 

Why do we have pomegranate at Thanksgiving? We cut a pineapple in quarters and then chunk each quarter and replace the pieces in the shell, and set three of them out on a platter. Then we sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. I did this one year because I thought it would be pretty, and my brother announced, "Look, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria... and some of the pilgrims have been swept overboard." And thus a tradition was born.

* * * * * 

I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. ~ Isaiah 45:3

Any Way You Slice It

I am exposed to rather less advertising than most people but still sometimes something comes along that grabs my attention. 

On my email page the other day this photo popped up:

with the caption: Why women in their fifties look 35. 

Now, really. I don't recall ever seeing a woman of 35 with strawberries plastered to her face. And I am surely disinclined to try it. 

Stars

We have taken a cue from Ann Voskamp and started a journal counting our blessings. I wanted to share one pretty one that was a gift from Devastingly Handsome, number 5 as listed by Miss Language:


5. Small purple flowers clustered like unflung stars in a pot.