"It isn't as if there was anything very wonderful about my little corner. Of course for people who like cold, wet, ugly bits it is something rather special."
- Eeyore, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

"We who cut mere stones must always be envisioning cathedrals."
- Creed of a dedicated quarry worker.

"Accept that some days you're the pigeon; somedays you're the statue."
- unknown

Mini-Tutorial in Catherdral Guardians:
Chimièra are merely decorative and are OFTEN mistaken for gargoyles.
Notre Dame's chimièra include a pelican and an elephant.
Gargoyles are rain gutters with faces..gutters which gurgle, hence the name.

Photos of the Domestic Web Goddess' visit to the top of Notre Dame .

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"god bless the rain, and the stormclouds that bring it.
god bless the music, and the voices that sing it.
god bless the ones who sing everything wrong.
god bless the creatures who do not belong." -- dav pilkey

  Gargoyles, Chimera -- misunderstood, maligned, lonely guardians

god bless the gargoyles

by dav pilkey

in a long-ago time, when long ago peoples
were building cathedrals and raising up steeples,
they crafted stone creatures and set them on perches
to guard and protect and watch over the churches.
so gargoyles were born, and they stood night and day,
keeping evil and terrible spirits away.
and ne'er was a creature so true and so loyal
as the watchful, courageous, and fearless gargoyle.
but the years came and went, and the people did, too.
and in time, they forgot what their ancestors knew.
and whenever they passed by the gargoyles' lairs,
they trembled in fear at the gargoyles' stares.
and as time went along, people's fear turned to spite,
and they sneered and they cursed at the gaurdians of night:
"demons!" they grumbled -- "grotesque!" and "horrid!"
"those beasts don't belong on the house of the lord!"
when the gargoyles heard these words that were spoken,
their stony old hearts became crumbled and broken.
then storms rumbled in, and their eyes filled with rain,
and in stillness they stayed, alone and in pain.
but as it so happened, some angels were near,
and heeding the grief of a gargoyle's tear,
they each fluttered down from the heavens on high
to sit with the gargoyles beneath thundering skies.
now, angels have ways of making things right,
so they stayed with the gargoyles all through the night,
patting their heads and wiping their tears
and whispering life into gargoyle ears.
and soon all the gargoyles did magical things:
they gurgled and coughed and shook out their wings.
then together the angels and gargoyles took flight,
and they soared through the clouds on a blustery night.
and while over pastures and hills they were winging,
the voices of angels were radiantly singing
music of healing and songs of rebirth
to all of the creatures in all of the earth:
"god bless the rain, and the stormclouds that bring it.
god bless the music, and the voices that sing it.
god bless the ones who sing everything wrong.
god bless the creatures who do not belong.
god bless the hearts and the souls who are grieving
for those who have left, and for those who are leaving.
god bless each perishing body and mind,
god bless all creatures remaining behind.
god bless the dreamers whose dreams have awoken.
god bless the lovers whose hearts have been broken.
god bless each soul that is tortured and taunted,
god bless all creatures alone and unwanted."
and the gargoyles beheld wherever they roamed
that the souls of the lost weren't really alone.
each one had an angel, each one was protected,
and each one was cherished and loved and respected.
and so it is true with the gargoyles this day,
for all of the angels who love them have stayed.
and together they wait until days become nights,
to embark on their dark and most glorious flights.
so if you see shapes in the night sky, don't fear --
for it simply means angels and gargoyles are near,
easing the earth with their gentle night call:
god bless the gargoyles. god bless us all."

~ ~ ~

If one likes the text of dav pilkey's god bless the gargoyles, the text is not enough. One will love the illustrations. The drawings are blessed. There is one that mirrors Edward Hopper's (and Gottfried Helnwein's version of) Nighthawks [Boulevard of Broken Dreams]. dav pilkey has painted the scene with people walking along said street, accompanied by an angel..."the souls of the lost weren't really alone."

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La Sainte-Chapelle -- a gem hidden amidst the mass-marketed sights of Paris. I found the stained glass here breathtaking as opposed to the merely awe-inspiring artistry of Notre Dame -- Direct your attention to the upper level, which has earned the appropriate nickname The Jewel Box. The star-speckled roof rises airily over brilliant red, blue, and gold stained glass windows, among the oldest glass in Paris dating to the 13th century. It still allows light to flood in and alight the area as if crusted in gems.

Also enchanting was one particular gargoyle who looked like he had to relieve himself really BADLY. I've never seen such a funny gargoyle! Getting a still photo of him was my excuse for a return trip to Paris and the La Sainte-Chapelle near the flower market.

God Help The Outcasts
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

"I don't know if You can hear me or if You're even there.
I don't know if You will listen to a humble prayer.
They tell me I am just an outcast, I shouldn't speak to You.
Still I see Your face and wonder, were You once an outcast too?

God help the outcasts, hungry from birth.
Show them the mercy they don't find on earth.
The lost and forgotten, they look to You still.
God help the outcasts or nobody will.

I ask for nothing, I can get by.
But I know so many less lucky than I.
God help the outcasts, the poor and downtrod
I thought we all were the children of God.

I don't know if there's a reason why some are blessed, some not.
Why the few You seem to favor
They fear us, flee us, try not to see us.

God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn
Seeking an answer to why they were born.
Winds of misfortune have blown them about.
You made the outcasts, don't cast them out.
The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd,
I thought we all were the children of God."

~ ~ ~

"god bless the rain, and the stormclouds that bring it.
god bless the music, and the voices that sing it.
god bless the ones who sing everything wrong.
god bless the creatures who do not belong." -- dav pilkey

Other misunderstood gifts at the Thistle Patch:
Dandelions ~ Drosselmeiers ~ Bats ~ Worms ~ Gargoyles & Chimeras ~ Dragons