Monastery Winter White

I am back at the monastery after a difficult ride over the passes.  The heat appears to work in my room.  I had some coffee, but am beginning to get the altitude headache.  Otherwise, it is rather easy to just settle in.  The snow covers everything outside, but the sky is clear blue and there is no wind. It is a postcard winter mountain day.  I will try and make this my Advent Retreat and I will preach at the monastery for the Sunday mass.  Though it is 6 degrees outside when I arrived, I can still cover up and take walks.  Enjoy the sun now because after I get my face cut up next week I will have to hunker down a bit and keep blood pressure low to let the stitches do their thing.  That would be December 12.  Santa might avoid me along with my friends since I will be looking a bit like Frankenstein's monster for a while.  But I have six days here to just get into the stillness and the quiet.  No telephones.  No TV or video.  I will pray for you all in the middle of the night when I get up for Vigils.