Poem

Here in the village, it is Lent Group time. One group is studying poetry. Not a lot of God in it, but beautiful verse. Here's a sample. It's by a contemporary American poet called Mary Oliver.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Not for the squeamish

Here's a scary photo of the Plaster-hacker Monster who's been in our house recently. Thankfully his job is almost done. Today I have undercoated all the woodwork in the sitting room, and we have made a Decision on tiles for the new fireplace.

I find myself most content with our current life, given the qualms I had about moving.
We are comparatively clockless, certainly as concerns getting-up time. So that last night when I woke around 4am. it was OK to get up and look up at the sky and see the eclipse, and then to wake Himself who got up and took a photo of it. No need to worry about getting up late, though in theory I'd prefer 7 o'clock.

And we are eating well, mainly because I'm still overcatering, but also because I'm being Organised. Miss P thinks that's bizarre but it really helps me to know what's on the menu each day and that I've shopped for it.
We are trying a different shopping area each week, and so far I've discovered I don't like Aldi at all (Head of Finance likes the bargains, though) or Summerfield not much better. Tuffins is quirky and refreshingly unsophisticated, but Tesco is probably tops for fruit and veg. Sadly, we have no Waitrose.
This is turning into a very Stepford Wives meandering.
We had the Rev S to dinner this week and found that she doesn't use supermarkets at all, since seeing a TV prog about their appalling lack of hygiene. That strikes me as quite an achievement. Somehow I don't think the Head of Finance would approve if I tried that trick though.

Bah, humbug

We said 'Bah, humbug to decorating' and went out on a beautiful day to the Elan Valley lakes. Beautiful and unspoilt, not too many people at this time of year especially, and hardly any traffic on the roads. Bliss.

Elan Valley

Caban Coch

More Darvell

I promised some thoughts on the negatives of living in community.
Well, first of all there's getting up at 5.30 am for breakfast at 6.30.
Then there's fasting for lunch to appreciate what it means to say 'Give us this day our daily bread', and to identify with a suffering world. Actually because I was a visitor I was given lunch, so they are not legalistic.
Then there are no holidays, or going off independently.
And then there's the cold for this person used to a cosy house.

It's almost like taking up your cross.

This is the challenge, isn't it? You can't have community in whatever form PLUS independence. Which do we want more? There's talk these days of folks setting up small communities for their old age rather than going into a home. It will be interesting to see how these develop.

Look, grandchildren

One of the locals! And look at his lovely ear muffs. Do you think he looks funny?