Another week

The monastery
kitchen garden

Yesterday was a busy day ... waiting. There was much work to do but there were also meetings to attend and projects to discuss. The weather was wonderful though so walking from one place to another was great ... except that I get tired very easily. I can feel the physical weakening much more marked these last month as the fever and pain continue. Tomorrow is my 3rd operation in the series and I'm a little nervous. The last time the sedation created problems in my breathing ... like an asthma attack. That sparks a panic attack which makes breathing even worse. Let's hope for the best tomorrow.

Preparing for Mass with my students

This morning I had Mass with my english language students. It was in a new chapel that I had never seen before ... well I hardly know the seminary monastery as it's out of bounds to non-residential friars. Anyway it's good to see my students responding at Mass in english, doing the readings and practicing their english. After Mass they invited me for a cup of coffee and it was then that I saw the kitchen garden below all neat and tidy. It was for all these 20 years a messy patch of ground with weeds, crumbled timber and snakes and scorpions. It was always out-of-bounds to all of us except the kitchen staff. But now it's all planted with daisies and calla lilies, vegetables and herbs. And the old grapevines are still there. Absolutely lovely ... and the best part is now we're allowed to enter it. I could spend hours and hours doing gardening there. Instead my present house is a concrete jungle ... pure stone and concrete except for my few pots of flowers. I miss the grass, I miss the trees and flowers ... the open spaces with wind blowing and scents of wood and flowers.

There's been a storm brewing in the coming elections when in response to a TV star the PM was saying Israel is a State for only jewish people, thus denying its arab citizens of the same rights. Today Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot waded in the controversy but siding with the TV star. It's frightening what the PM said especially now that he's creating a coalition with extremist far-right parties for the next govt.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5476850,00.html   and https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-belongs-to-jews-alone-netanyahu-responds-to-tv-star-on-arab-equality-1.7003348?fbclid=IwAR3QMf3HHaRbPl7IkWH4qFPpex9Lx1ijpFnrx0uSIT06dhrW4aBR1LUEGy8