A week long hermitage for me~~

I'm spending a week at Hesychia House. Four nuns from a benedictine order live on some land facing the Boston Mountains. The Boston Mountains, as everyone knows, are in Arkansas!

You can hermit on the land, in one of several cottages scattered in the woods. I have been told that there are walking trails, a chapel, and a library. Each cottage is stocked with food the nuns grow in their garden. It's a pay-what-you can offering, and no one is turned away.

I'm hoping that I won't need to tap into their food stores. I emailed ahead and asked if they have cooking gear. They have 4 burners, a munsey oven, and small fridge. I'm not sure if the gear is in their place or mine, but I plan to use the burners and fridge.

So, for my own cooking I'm bringing:

A large jar of dry pinto beans
4-7 sweet potatos
A bag of Jasmine Rice
2 and a half gallon water jug
Fruit
Something light for breakfast

Small pot, one bowl, one spoon, a slatted spoon, and seasoning for the beans (garlic, onion, cumin, salt).

I plan to write while I'm there. Finally. I have an article to finish, that I will submit to Mothering, HipMama, or Compleat Mother. Then, there's the book/booklet. I'm thinking booklet, but the publisher is thinking book. I'm thinking he's crazy. I don't have enough info on attachment parenting in the hospital (the booklet's theme) to fill a book.... but I think I could fill a booklet. We'll see.

There are so many ways to start this blog. I think I'm going to patch it together from various angles, and see where it goes.

We are living in central Arkansas. I'm slowly adding to the list of my, um, talents, the things that I hope will be useful living in a home out on the land. We haven't decided where to build, but that's the general direction in which I'm moving.

In the meantime, here's part of a poem I wrote to dh. We met almost twelve years ago. He's awesome, amazing, wonderful. So the first day we met...


Two hands hold a cup
He’s sitting
(cords worn, sweater pitting)
on the porch
a neighbor
getting coffee
drinks the vision
too

In the yard I smiled
and you
turned
And we
drew closer
Too

Each other,

Visions burning, bright

Treelight swaying

Illuminating

Here, the face remembered right!



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First, I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to create a blog. You were right, signing up at this site was easy! Hope you like the blog title :) ~here as ever, Heartmama