My [Pentecost] Sunday Best

I'm joining Rosie today for the My Sunday Best link-up at A Blog for My Mom, to fill you in on what I wore for Mass this Pentecost Sunday (in case you were wondering).

I'm still a bit jet-lagged from our recent trip to Germany to visit with our youngest son, even though we got home on Thursday and my body should be adjusted by now.  (It's called "getting old," I believe.)  We were planning to go to the 9:30, because I thought there was no way I'd ever be able to get up for the earlier Mass.  But my eyes popped open at 6:00, miraculously, so off we went to the 7:30.

My good-natured (but long-suffering) husband, who keeps getting roped into taking pictures of me to post on this blog, got the opportunity to show off some more of his iPhone photography prowess this morning after we got back from Mass.  I posed (rather awkwardly) on the deck of Oyster Haven, our VRBO house on Lake Champlain, which will soon start welcoming vacationers.  (Our very first renters arrive on June 10!)

I was not wearing liturgically appropriate red, unfortunately; instead, I wore a royal blue polka-dotted knit dress that I bought on sale a few years ago when I was out for a day of shopping with my mom.  It's belted around its rather high waist and has a swingy skirt.  I wasn't so sure the shape worked on me, but Mom insisted I should get it and like an obedient daughter, I did.

I decided I needed to wear a cardigan over my short-sleeved dress--because it was a tad nippy outside, for one thing; but also because I just like cardigans, and I also like to keep my skin as covered up as possible for as long as possible.  (Summer is coming, I know; and soon, I'll want to jump into that lake you see behind me here.  But I'm encouraged by the fact that the most recent Land's End catalog that came to our house showcased all kinds of modest swim dresses and long-sleeved swim shirts.  Finally, swim fashions I can feel comfortable in!)

For Mass today I covered my "crowning glory" (although that might be giving my straight-as-a-stick, mousy-brown-and-turning-gray hair too much credit) with a lovely black and gray lace mantilla that once belonged to my late mother-in-law.  Since her death in 2009, her kids have been slowly going through the house and deciding which of her things they can't bear to part with and which need to find new homes.  When I discovered this veil of Mom's tucked away in the back of a drawer, I was so thrilled.  I own about five veils now, but not one of them is quite as beautiful as this one.  The vintage lace is such high quality--soft, with a lovely drape to it.  And it has the added bonus that it was once worn by a woman who was truly like a second mother to me, a woman whom I loved so dearly and miss so much. 

I really like the patent leather wedges I wore today.  They are super-duper comfy and super-duper cute.  I can't remember the brand name (and I've worn them so often that it's been rubbed off the inner soles); but I know I got them at TJ Maxx, where you really always do get the max for the minimum.

As Mass was ending, I was thinking how lucky my husband and I were that just one week ago, we were in Germany attending Mass at the huge, magnificent cathedral that's just down the road from our son's apartment.

But then I looked up at the altar and realized that this church--the same one where we exchanged our wedding vows over 35 years ago--is just about as spectacular as any cathedral you'll ever see.

The altar was dressed in red for Pentecost, even if I wasn't.  And it was glorious.

Now if you'd like to see what other Holy Spirit-filled ladies wore this Sunday, head on over to Rosie's.