It's all about the Tofu....

What is it about the soothing power of Tofu? Or maybe it was the company?

I went St. Stephens for the plainchant evensong with my spiritual director, Fr. P, and a mutual friend of ours I hadn't seen in ages. Then later, we went out for dinner at a very good, authentic Chinese restaurant. (I think it was called the Lucky Garden, on Smith Street in Providence. If you are in the neighborhood, you should definately check it out. It serves a lot of very interesting food. (And some typical Chinese-American fare if you are timid about, say, crispy eel....)

The plainchant evening prayer was beautiful. It was a drizzly night... the chapel was lit only by candles when we first got there. Fr. P and Adrienne and I sang the psalms together. Fr. P sang the male parts, while Adrienne and I sang alto and soprano on the female parts. It was really lovely. I especially like the Magnificat, which is song together, male and female. And there is some latin thrown in for good measure!

After the service, we drove separately to the restaurant. It was a still raining. I listened to George Winston on my stereo and thought about how much it sounded like a movie score. I realized, too, that it was dark at 6pm, which means that Fall is definately advancing, even if the weather isn't cooperating.

Dinner was great. Fr. P was in his clerical garb, so when he suggested grace, I thought we should go the whole way and hold hands. We were quite a spectacle, I am sure, especially since he said grace in Chinese. (He has studied in Taiwan for several years...)

What became clear during dinner was that we all three are facing major shifts in our lives these days. We are all in places of transition. It was nice to talk with each other about our various life journeys. And share tofu and steamed rice and ginger beef and pea leaves. And plenty of cha. All in all, it was great. We are going to do it again in a couple of weeks.

Spicy Tofu in pork sauce: It's what's for dinner.