Last year I learned of a star called T Corona Borealis that is supposed to brighten every eighty years. 2024 was the due date and the star was behaving somewhat differently than it had for the past eighty years. BUT it never popped off. This is when it’s important to settle down and realize things. We haven’t really got thousands of years of data showing that star becoming brighter and then dimmer. We have perhaps two observations done with good instruments in the 1940s and the 1860’s. That’s not really enough to say with precision, This Year. I’m actually impressed with the people who did make the prediction. They were wrong. Now they have the chance to get better. If you never try, you never succeed. The prediction was made based upon certain observations of change in the star and those observations are still reality.

I did not realize that the one reason for discussing T Corona between March and September is that the star is more easily visible in the northern Hemisphere between March and September. Now that March has arrived again, there are plenty of articles discussing T Corona again, along with instructions for finding the spot in the sky where it will briefly appear, so that when it shows up you can be surprised and realize, yes indeed, something has changed. Anyway, the general constellation Corona Borealis appears in the sky between the two bright stars, Vega and Arcturus. At the moment you can only see them close to midnight but that will change as the season moves on and the summer constellations take the place of the winter constellations.
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A lovely vestment maker named Elizabeth Morgan died last September. She helped me get started on a vestment for my son. I didn’t know at the time, and only found out when I went to look at her website (https://www.churchlinens.com) for some information. According to Legacy.com, Helen Elizabeth ‘Bunny’ Morgan (1939 – 2024) studied Veterinary Medicine and History, and then in her 40’s moved on to making vestments and altar linens. She wanted to reclaim these activities for local parish women, helping them to make beautiful local objects for worship.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3

Elizabeth wrote to me with helpful advice like this…. (I’m leaving out the actual advice…)

Dear Jane –
No, no!  Never feel badly about asking a question!  The questions I receive – many! – tell me what I need to explain better.
 
I can completely understand your not seeing what I was saying right away.  I’ve done that so many times!  It’s right there in front of me and I cannot SEE it!
…
The problem with fitting lining to the body of a chasuble is the same problem we have with frontals:  The lining should not be so tight that it makes the chasuble buckle.  The lining should not be so loose that it pooks out around the edges.  That’s a tricky balance to achieve!  Knowing this ahead of time is helpful. 
…
In Christ –
Elizabeth

And she sent me this picture of her backyard.

Rest in Peace, dear Elizabeth.