Our Anniversary in Solesmes

May 27

What a beautiful, sunny day!  It was Wednesday and we really did have our morning routines established.  Already I had learned to draw the kitchen curtain aside a bit so that Dad could use light from the kitchen door to navigate his way through my "bedroom" without stumbling against the table and chairs.  

So we're having our breakfast and reading when suddenly I see a funny looking mini-truck parked outside the window.  "Oh my God, look Cy!" I laughed, as I watched a man exit the vehicle and proceed to scoop all the pansies out of the huge ceramic tub next to the road.  And then another.  And another.  All the flowers were taken out of all of the tubs lining the road.   And they had been so full and so pretty.  Dad commented that most probably he had done it just in the nick of time, before they started to deteriorate, and we'd see new flowers planted in no time.  He was right.

Tub right in front of our house...before the massacre.

By 10 we were sitting in Church waiting for the monks to show up and for Mass to start. (The monks always seemed to run a little late for Masses and the Hours).   I was forlorn; I had forgotten all about trying to get a message to Michael about our Anniversary intention and Leo's birthday.   But meeting later at the house, Michael explained that the priest who is "on the altar" isn't allowed to offer intentions as he might be tempted to have them all be personal.  With this is mind, and knowing we were to be there when he was "on the altar",  he had specifically offered intentions the previous week for "anything and anyone Brewster".  Good Man.

The previous evening at dinner, Mary had suggested we drive to Le Mans to see the Cathedral.  It wasn't too far away and we were ready for a "going out" and so took her up on the suggestion.  It was a mistake.

Le Mans is an ugly, busy city.  We eventually found and visited the Cathedral but agreed it wasn't worth the trip.  It was a nice Cathedral but nothing spectacular.  "You've seen one, you've seen them all".   Dad and I have seen many Cathedrals in Europe.  

We were happy enough to get back to Solesmes and relax before doing some shopping for ourselves and Aloise and Mercedes; we wanted to make sure they had coffee, bread and butter for breakfast.   As I took my place outside to read, Dad went to the bank.  And I only mention that tidbit because while leaving the bank, he scraped and slightly dented the car against a white turnstile hidden in the bushes.  Oops!   That little incident would busy his mind for days.

Another pleasant cocktail hour with Michael after Vespers.   And before leaving to pick up Aloise and Mercedes at the train station in Sable at 8, we took another walk around the town, came home and had our fresh bread and cold cuts for dinner.   

It really was delightful to see Aloise and Mercedes.  We learned that a friend of Aloise's from Germany ( they've known each other for 20 yrs.) would be arriving the following evening to spend time in Solesmes.  She was particulary interested in knowing more about Monasteries and the monastic life.  Aloise and Mercedes settled themselves in their house and came over for a look at ours.  We visited for a bit, made plans for Mass the next morning and said our goodnights.

One thing we had to do the next day: take the trash to the local dump - the Decherie - in Sable.  We had missed trash day on Tuesday and the trash barrel was overflowing thanks to it being almost full when we arrived.

All in all, it turned out to be a good Anniversary day.  The sun and warmth had finally arrived, with more forecasted the rest of the week;  it was very, very good to have Aloise and Mercedes as courtyard mates; Dad and I had made plans to visit "the oldest Medieval town" in France the next day, and we were feeling very much at home in Solesmes.