Sign of the Times

I was chatting with a bunch of friends who are technology geeks when one of them said to the others, "You still wear a watch? I just use my smartphone."

Looks like soon these two "sides" may re-converge.

At Long Last, She Blooms

More than twelve years ago Mrs. Nod and I visited the Vanderbilt estate, Biltmore, in Asheville, NC. While I was there, I fell in love with a tree form Wisteria vine that was overflowing with cascades of gorgeous purple flowers.

Sigh. Beauty is for the eyes to drink deeply.

So ten years ago I bought a purple Wisteria vine that had been trained up into a tree form for my own yard. I planted it, pruned it twice a year, gave it a trellis support and waited patiently. They said it may take up to three years before it started flowering, so I waited.

And waited.

This Spring I finally gave up and tore down the trellis which did no harm as it has been self-supporting for several years.  I had to prune the Wisteria back severely to extricate it. I had planned to dig it up with a shovel, but ran out of time on a Saturday.

A week went by and I went out back to see how to go about digging it up, when I noticed some pod looking clusters that I had never seen before.  I waited another few days and sure enough! those are flowers -- my flowers that I have waited 10 long years to see starting to peek out.

 I was a little aggressive when pruning and actually tore this branch a bit because I was going to chop it down. You can see the plastic zip ties around the branch in the lower left corner of the picture that I used to reinforce and hold it together. All of a sudden it is precious to me.

It reminds me of the parable of the fig tree that wouldn't produce fruit. The gardener begged for one more year of extra care before cutting it down. I don't know that I did anything differently, but God in his kindness has sent me a little beam of hope.  Perseverance has won the day!

At long last, she blooms.

Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
(Traditional Greek Easter greeting) Picture of the Holy Sepulchre.

Happy Easter, all. Read more Paschal greetings worldwide.

Hair Archeologist?

As a kid, every science fair I ever entered was done under protest. As a result, I either grew salt crystals or made some kind of dinosaur model. I was no budding scientist.

However, it was only after college that I discovered an interest and a modest talent for solving puzzles. Crosswords, word games, knots, sequences, mystery stories, archeology, computers -- and all things ancient Roman -- fascinating.

There are an equal number of kinds of puzzles that I'm no good at, but I do respect the craft.  One of the strangest I came across in a history article -- hair archeologist.  There really is something called a hair archeologist??

I've got no practical use for hairdressing, but I have 3 girl Nodlings who do, and I admire the forensic reconstruction this lady managed by studying marble statues and ancient coins. I give you mad props, Lady!

http://io9.com/5975123/ancient-roman-vestal-virgin-hairstyle-re+created-for-very-first-time

Janet Stephens, a Baltimore hairdresser and amateur archaeologist, has recreated the hairstyle of the Roman Vestal Virgins on a modern head — but it wasn't easy. After becoming inspired by an ancient portrait bust she saw at a local museum, Stephens tried to recreate the hairstyle at home, failing miserably. 

She spent the next seven years conducting research in an effort to properly reconstruct the lost technique. And now, the results of her work have been published in the journal Roman Archaeology.

Here's the video of her doing it live:

Official Conclave Smoke Color Guide

Everybody's doing it, so that makes me no different. Saw this one and it cracked me up. Enjoy a laugh while we wait for our new Pope!

Official Conclave Smoke Color Guide from The big big house morning show.

h/t  Kardinal