a few days

Holy Thursday dawned bright & sunny.. a gorgeous autumn day.
Joe and I went for an early morning walk so that I could investigate what weeds were available to forage.

the lovely thing about living in a small community is that sometimes you come across things like this:

a bag of surplus Ruby grapefruit.. left there to share with passers by
After lunch, I had planned to catch the train to Katoomba by myself to purchase my organic nuts, seeds & lentils. I arrived just on lunch time and took myself off to lunch at a favourite 'The Hattery'.. ordered a pumpkin & lentil burger without the burger thankyou very much. and a spicy chai latte.

visited Zuri - an eco friendly shop and bought a small box of fairtrade easter eggs to have on Sunday after lunch. Plus a lovely ball of handmade lavender and chamomile soap.. then lastly a big bag of fresh walnuts in the shell [last year I went walnut gathering but this year the local walnuts are scarce due to far too much rain. my purchased walnuts come from Tasmania.. not perfect for Slow Food but better than coming from California and being irradiated as they come into our country]

(I have been pondering lately, the safety of irradiated food coming from overseas - organic nuts, seeds and dried fruit from all over the world, subjected to gamma rays during quarantine.. are they still organic? are they safe to eat?)

then back on the train heading home to Villa Maria..

THEN to the local supermarket shopping for organic chicken and lamb for the weekend. [have no idea why so many shoppers think that they will starve to death over the Easter break and load their trolleys to the top with food..]

The Lords Supper Mass at night.. Joe and I walked up to St. Thomas's. [as I sat during Mass, reflecting on my journey, listening to the readings, I realized that this is part of my own folklore].. those stories can all be mine.. I just have to find a way to relate them to what is happening in my own life.. .. afterwards, we walked home in the moon light.. then I returned to the church, to sit in the Garden and did some centering prayer..

[Easter time is very close to my heart as 19yrs ago, I was confirmed into the Catholic church.. I love the tradition of the incense, chanting and candles.]

Good Friday..dawned to a perfect Good Friday if there can be one.. sunny but with clouds slowly moving across the sky as I went to greet the day and do my morning blessings.. a real stillness.

the planned chicken soup gets under way with the chopping of organic carrots, celery, onion & garlic. parsley picked from my garden and a bay leaf plucked from my tree.. all thrown into the pot along with the chicken to simmer gently for a few hours..
this will be lunch tomorrow and then for a few days on.. adding bits just as my grandma did.
and then 10am..another walk to the Church for me.. to attend Stations of the Cross..
lunch was a frittata made from my own eggs, a few leaves of Kale, parsley & tomatoes..
a few hours in the garden planting mustard greens, radicchio, leeks, parsley and coriander..

and a start to making my own gem essence for my liver, throat chakra and heart.
another walk back to church at 3pm - the Passion of Christ..
dinner Salmon & Puy lentil patties, a glass of red with a dash of water and settling down to watch James Herriot - All Creatures Great and Small. a small glass of parsley-honey wine with a small piece of dark organic chocolate..