End of mission

Ancient olive trees at the park

Today was my last day to say Mass at the Ivrea convent. A total of 104 days flat I've walked 1km at 5.30am to the convent ... for the whole of summer. It was fun in a way ... the 3 old nuns singing out of tune, the large breakfast of fruit, yoghurt, coffee and milk, 3 types of cheese and bread rolls, the 2 bakeries nearby churning out pitta for sale, the 3 dogs that roam the park ... I will miss all that.

Fat cat in the Park

The walks to the convent is really amazing at 5.30am. From July at the height of summer to now autumn in October, I've seen the sun rising later, the streets get quieter and the hot dry weather turning cold. I stop at Rockefeller Park for a breather every morning because my asthma and coughing spasms prevent me from walking all the way. In the Park, there are a dozen ancient olive trees ... and in the early morning cold, the strong thick smell of olives are incredibly beautiful. The warm damp air reminds me of all the summers I have spent here. Then there is the troop of cats that scavenge the trash left by the arabs the night before ... all over the park. The sprinklers suddenly shoot up and spray torrents of water at the dying grass and the cats scatter. It gets funny every morning watching them ... and the cats don't seem to learn.  

Well ... I don't have to go back to Ivrea convent till 3 months later. So for now, I get to rest ... theoretically. School begins on Monday so I have to prepare the library staff for the new academic semester. I have the armenian Mass tomorrow morning but I have little time to practice with the organist and our 2 new armenian seminarians.  We'll have to play by ear tomorrow.

Meantime at our southern border, 20,000 gazans protested at the Israeli border yesterday. 126 wounded and one 12 yr old was killed, so say report. The Old City is tense with police stopping many passing arabs for identification.   https://www.ynetnews.com/articlesnc/0,7340,L-5364482,00.html