We are grandparents! Of approximately 20 keets (baby guineas) and 10 chicks. All except 8 of which were hatched under Mrs. Buffy - the broody hen we had borrowed from another farmer. They hatched nearly 2 weeks ago and she, bless her heart, seems not to know (or care) which are keets and which are chicks - they swarm around her in a state of constant motion (hence our inability to count the precise number) and every last one of them tucks in under her ample wings when it's time for a nap.

We had to bring 2 of the keets inside for special care - one with a seeming broken leg (who died after 5 days of a feisty battle) and one with little curled up toes which are now almost straight, thanks to the splints we put on him - kind of like snowshoes. His name is Big (because he was bigger than Little, the one who died) but now we've brought him 2 other healthy ones to keep him company he's actually quite small - but we continue to call him Big. He runs to you to be petted and will fall asleep on his feet when cooed at. We are totally enchanted, Paul, Nataw and I. (No kidding!)

We lost one chick to a black snake - which was caught in the act of strangling it. But not before it had snaffled down 6 eggs from the nest in the chook house - we know it was 6 because we could see the 6 egg shaped lumps in the snake's body. Ian, who is fearless of non-poisonous snakes and kind to animals, picked it up and took it a few miles down the road so that it can eat the mice at the horse farm there. Today, we are building a snake-proof enclosure for the chicks in a corner of the chook house.

Monday, as well as being Memorial Day, was our first wedding anniversary. And what a lovely one it was - our first year of marriage, that is, and the anniversary itself. We had breakfast outside on the deck and I gave Paul his present - a registration to a one-day writing and yoga workshop to be led by the UNC teacher whom he's been studying with this year. I had wanted it to be a surprise and so had had some email correspondence with Richard, asking him not to let on to Paul about it. And it was indeed a complete surprise - it brought tears to his eyes, the dear man. It was such fun to plan that.

The rest of the day was very mellow - we went to a nice co-op for lunch and then came home and laid in the hammock in the shade for most of the afternoon - meditating, snoozing, reading, talking.

Ian (Paul's oldest) and his girlfriend, Valeda, came over for a cookout - and it was just one of those evenings where you keep saying afterwards "oh, wasn't that a nice evening?"

We have been thinking over the last months about a name for our "farm" and Bed and Breakfast to-be. And I was drawn to naming it after the place where very dear friends live in Tasmania - "The Deepings." I knew it had special meaning for them, but could not remember what. And so had written to Roslyn, asking her to tell me the story again, and to ask if they would consider the possibility of us using the name.

On the morning of our anniversary came her reply. I quote, "We would be absolutely thrilled, honoured, and we are definitely absolutely humbled, that you should want to pick up the name The Deepings and carry it on to the far side of the earth." I guess that means "yes, go ahead"!!! Yay!

The name itself comes from a collection of villages on the east coast of England and there are some wonderful saints and personalities from the 6-7th centuries associated with that area - St Guthlac and St Pega.

So we will be "The Deepings at (or "of"?) Hillsborough" adding the last part to make it our own, and are so happy to have that connection with Roslyn and Adrian's home.

Talking about names, Ian, who just happens to be a web designer designed me a super website for my new enterprise tutoring in computer usage, The Last Coach. Check it out - I'm really pleased with it.

That's all for now. My latest gluten-free bread for Paul is rising in the kitchen - I now have found the knack of getting it to be truly "feather light." I love to bake and cook for him - he is one of the most appreciative people I've ever cooked for. I think being so much in love makes the baking more special for me and probably makes it taste even better for him! Maybe.

Our garden is a thing of beauty - and so much pleasure. We got a truck load of horse compost from a friend last week - Nataw and I driving out, loading up the friend's truck, driving back, shoveling it all out, driving the truck back, driving our car home - and have added it to all our plants, vegies, trees, bushes, and flowers alike. We 3 work outside for a couple hours every day - right after breakfast, and then in the evening - and an afternoon siesta or meditation has become the standard in this house.

Our chicken hen has been sitting on the 24 guinea eggs and 4 chicken eggs for what seems forever (3 and a half weeks) and the babes are due this weekend. We are so excited. And, now that those silly guinea hens have seen what they should be doing, one of them (sometimes joined by a friend) has taken to sitting on another nest in the chook house. They are a source of constant amusement.

Mothers Day on Sunday - Ian and Nataw (Shem was away) made me a special brunch - and she brought me an arrangement of flowers from the garden in the evening. I keep saying "oh, thank you God, thank you, thank you, thank you" for these amazing and wonderful stepchildren of mine. Not only are they just such a delight, but they love me too - and as a bonus, we get to spend time with them all - Nataw living at home with us at the moment, and the boys being so close by.

Now that school is over, I'm out of work. Ro-roh.

So I had this great idea. You know I used to do a lot of computer training? So I'm putting together flyers, ads, website to get the word out that I am just the person you need to come into your home and hold your hand and teach you - at your own pace and on your own computer - how to use the damn thing. I'm aiming more at older people. I know there are free courses in libraries - but you get what you pay for. I think this thing of mine has great potential. I'm going to go and talk with people in retirement homes too. And the name of this operation? "The Last Coach" (you'll ever need). "Coach" is an in word. People have personal coaches, and exercise coaches and who knows what else. I don't expect this to be full time, but to fill in even when I'm doing adjunct work.

I had great reports from my students at Meredith - one wrote that I was "awesome" - another, that she had learned SO much. I so enjoyed having them.

I gave two really great lectures last week - one on the history of Zionism, from the late 1800s to the partition of Israel in 1947. And the other on Women in Contemporary Judaism. Both of them involved huge learning curves for me, but I was really pleased with the results, and felt very confident with the teaching - I had read a lot and knew the topics well. Do you know there are over 10,000 women (mostly in Israel) today who are unable to get a divorce because their husbands either won't grant one, or have simply disappeared. Jewish Orthodox law.

The week before we had no classes, since I was asking the students to watch Schindlers List - a long movie to say the least. Four of the seven students were able to come out here to watch it on Friday afternoon - I had wanted them to watch it together so that we could talk about it as we were watching it - and that worked out well. And two of them stayed for Friday evening dinner and had a great time. And when they left, both students said "I know you won't be teaching us after this semester, but could we please come out here again?"

We invite people for dinner nearly every Friday and some or all of our family come too. That means we can have anywhere from 8 to 14 sit down to dinner. It's become such a lovely thing to do. I bake challah every Friday - practically with my eyes closed these days - and they demolish it! Though I say it myself, it's some of the best bread I've ever tasted. And, great Jewish mother that I am, I'm teaching Nataw to bake challah!

Nataw has been spending a lot of time at home lately and we love having her here - she is good natured, fun, and a delightful companion to me (and able contributor) working in the garden.

Last weekend the local organic farmers in a radius of about 50 miles opened their farms to the public in a "Farm Tour" - we visited 9 or 10 farms in 2 afternoons and learned lots of valuable things, made some good connections, and came home with a new hen.

Our guineas have been madly laying eggs for the last month. They've made communal nests in two corners of the chook house, sharing with the chickens of course - but there's a problem. No one is taking ownership of the eggs and sitting on them. We've heard that guineas are poor mothers and they're proving the rule. So at the last farm we visited on Sunday, there were some 75 hens laying eggs. And the farmer happened to mention that two of them had gone broody - that means that they stop laying and start sitting. I asked if he'd sell her to us and he said, well no, but he'd loan her. So we promptly went out and got her off the nest, tucked her under Paul's arm, and drove home. By the next morning, she had installed herself on one of the nests, and quite happily shoved in the extra ones we put near her. Mrs. Buffy is now sitting on 25 guinea eggs. And we are thrilled to think that we will be the parents of our very own keets (guinea chicks).

Wow! It's been a busy week. Passover started last Monday evening. It's the biggest Jewish holiday - and there is not one, but two, family gatherings and huge dinner preparations. Two nights in a row. And lasting till 11 or 12. And it's still so new to me that I get exhausted with working out all the details. And yet, I wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, and I made svichkova for dinner - and everyone loves it - it went well with the potato kugel.

And then Easter. It's tricky. My dear Paul cheerfully comes to mass with me all the rest of the time. But asking him to go to church on Good Friday just doesn't seem quite right. And the most wonderful celebration of the whole year for me, Easter, is something we are still working out. So this is what we did this year....

First of all, all through Lent, we did not have meat on Fridays. And there were times when Paul remembered and I did not! And then, on the Thursday before Easter, we went to a service with a church we go to sometimes - a small, vibrant Episcopal congregation with people we like and a woman priest we very much like. It was beautiful. There was a sit-down feast - middle Eastern food - with 10-12 seated at each round table and served by one designated person at the table. The grace before the meal was the Jewish one we have at home! The Passover story of the Exodus was told. After dinner, there was foot washing - each person had their feet washed, and then, in turn, washed the feet of the next person.

I remembered the times I washed the feet of my dear Mama. And how holy that was.

And then there was a communion service. And an amazing sermon from the visiting bishop, who kept us entranced.

Good Friday was not good. I've been struggling with the old demon depression and think my meds need adjusting. And Friday was a bad day.

Easter morning I set off on my own to go to a sunrise service about 10 minutes from here. But as I came to the little Methodist church a mile up the road from home, I saw a bunch of cars pulling in there. So I pulled in too and asked someone if they were having a sunrise service. A lovely lady said yes, and introduced herself, and so I stayed and we sat together when we went inside. And it was just one of those perfect "God-moments" - I wasn't meant to go to that other service.

I had been meaning to check out this little church - there is something special about a local, neighborhood church - and they were so welcoming. After the service, I was introduced to several people - two divinity students from Duke (my age), and some interesting women.

What a lovely start to Easter.

Then Paul and Nataw (his daughter) and I went to a noon service outside, followed by a potluck lunch - with the same Episcopal church we'd been with on Thursday night. And that was lovely too.

Oh, and Ian and Valeda (Paul's oldest son and girlfriend) brought dinner over last night - and flowers and a card for me for Easter! They are so dear.

Did I say it snowed Friday night? After a week of 80 plus weather! Weird.

Last week was spring break. I've been super busy though - doing lots in the garden with spring coming on and lots of lovely weather, and also school.

We've ordered 10 raspberry bushes (my favorite fruit) and 6 new blueberries to join the 2 we already have, and have planted 3 pomegranate trees. Also, Nataw and I have been planting lots of seeds in the vegie garden, and we now have peas, kale, chard, collards, radishes and carrots showing their little tops! I wonder if I will ever lose the joy and delight of seeing those first shoots - every time something comes up I am so thrilled. I am so amazed that those things should grow - partly that I should have done something successfully garden-wise, and partly at the miracle of creation and re-creation.

Nataw and I have learned so much in our Organic Vegetable Growing class - and have also enjoyed the traveling time (30 mins each way) talking and catching up with each other. She is a treasure.

We went to the opening night of The Bluest Eye - an adaptation of the novel by Toni Morrison - last weekend. Wow. It was very very powerful. A stunning production that left us almost speechless - all we could do when we came out of there was just draw deep breaths. The director was Trezana Beverley who I gather is well known - she has done several of the productions we've seen at the Playmakers Theatre.

We're going to be out of town for the next two weekends - a conference of mine in Nashville, and then one for Paul in Atlanta - and so I've spent the last 10 days writing the next 3 weeks of lectures, in order to get ahead. It's a lot of work, but oh, so fun.

I went for an interview with Weight Watchers last Friday - and had a phone call this morning (now that she had read my resume and stuff) saying when could I start? They need good Leaders and one who's already worked in that capacity is a bonus for them. I'm happy to be getting involved again. And am now only 4 pounds from goal weight. Yay! I go shopping in my closet every week and find something new every time!

Goodness, isn't it strange to have daylight saving coming so early? We got up yesterday morning at 6.30 to go to Mass and it was pitch dark. Yuck. But the long evenings are lovely of course.

Full Belly Project - our friend Jock has designed a simple, cheap, efficient peanut sheller. It won an MIT award last year. And is being brought to African and South American villages. And they had a fund raiser dinner on Friday night to which Paul and I went. This was the fifth annual one they've done. It was hugely successful, attended by about 300 people. It was very professionally organized by the mother of our friend Gwenyfar, and was a lovely evening. This was all in Wilmington, out on the NC coast, and so we made a weekend of it. Paul worked in the workshop with Jock (the designer) on Saturday morning. I went to look at bookstores with G. who is a bibliophile and great fun to be with. And all three days we went out on our bikes which we had thrown on the back of the station wagon.

We have been listening to audiobooks when we do road trips. This last weekend we started Zora Neale Thurston's "Their eyes were Watching God" read by Ruby Dee. It is simply amazing. And so compelling that we brought it inside when we came home last night, and just lay on the sofa and listened to it.

I made absolutely delicious Indian lamb patties last week. The recipe came from the Weight Watchers website. Here it is. They were great hot, and also cold for lunch the next day. I did not have yogurt, so used sour cream. And I forgot the tomatoes and I didn't have cilantro. And it was still good!

*Spiced Indian Lamb Patties with Peas and Tomato *

*(Keema Matar)** *

* 1 1/4 pound lamb, ground
* 2 tsp Garam masala
* 2 tsp ground coriander
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 2 medium plum tomato(es), seeded and diced (1/4”)
* 1 cup frozen green peas, petite variety
* 3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
* 2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
* 1 tsp lemon zest
* 1 medium lemon(s), cut into 4 wedges for serving

* Mix all ingredients together, except lemon wedges, in a large
bowl, with your hands or a wooden spoon, until thoroughly mixed.
Form twelve 2 1/2- to 3-inch patties; place on prepared baking sheet.
* Preheat grill or broiler to high. Cook patties on grill rack or
broiler pan, gently turning once, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Yields 3 patties per serving.

The weather man says it's going to get warmer this week - could this possibly be the start of spring? In North Carolina, yes. And we're ready! The garden is in a state of readiness for the first seedlings which will hopefully go in at the beginning of March. Nataw and I shovelled shit yesterday afternoon - our next door neighbors have bulls, and so we brought wheelbarrow loads over to make a pile for spreading later on. Paul mended fences while we did that.

Our 4 chickens have doubled their egg production this week - we now get two most days, instead of the one that they've been giving us all winter. We've learned that they taper off during the darker months. Who knew?

We had a visiting lecturer at Meredith this week - Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza - from Harvard Divinity School - when I looked her up on the net, I found a description of her as "a feminist theologian's feminist theologian" in the same way that you talk about a doctor's doctor. Her hermeneutics (did you know the etymology of that is hermes - i.e. the messenger - so hermeneutics are about the message, the interpretation) are solidly feminist. Her topic was "Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire" and her argument was that, if the New Testament (she called it the Christian Testament) was written in the time of the Roman Empire, then colonialism and unequal power structures inform the rhetoric. I hadn't thought of it in that way. Her book on the same subject comes out in June and I'll get it.

Oh, and the most striking thing she said was this: She had been talking for about 10 minutes and said "women" did something or other. She looked up and said "Oh, by the way, I mean that inclusively." After all, she said, women includes men, female includes male, she includes he - and only in the English language is that true. And so, during the whole lecture, she used the word "women" when she meant "women", but also when she meant "women and men." It really sounded so different. I think I could get used to it!

Paul and I watched "Seven Days in May" this weekend - a movie (1964) with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner and Frederick March and Kurt Douglas. About a planned military coup (fictitious) in the US at the time of the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We thought it was very good.

Friday dinner, we had Margarita (a colleague from Meredith) and her husband David and a student of mine, Piper, who returned to get her bachelors degree when she ran into a brick wall in the field of, I think she said, waste water treatment. She wants to work with Engineers without Borders. We plan to have each of my students to Shabbat dinner during the semester. And Ian, Paul's son, came too. Oh, and Pat and Susan - the marvelous plumber women I've worked with the last 2 summers, and who have become very dear friends. It is so much fun putting together people who don't know each other, and watching them enjoy each other.

We had a mouse visitor last week - she/he left a little trail of droppings through most of our kitchen drawers. Yuck. So we opened all the drawers and cupboards for a couple of days and shut the cat in the kitchen at night. She's usually a very good mouser, and certainly knew this one was here - she would lie for hours with her beady eye on a spot she couldn't reach her paw into! But she failed this time. So Paul set a trap (humane of course) that lures the mouse and locks the door. The mouse came and then we set it free a few miles from here. Very sweet.

My aunt, Dolores, sent a reprint about Women in the Bible and the Lectionary. Wow. I'm disturbed (but, I guess, not all together surprised) at the omissions. No Deborah at all? No Ruth or Esther on Sundays? And yes, it's "incredible that the Magnificat...is never proclaimed on a Sunday." I wonder if Hannah's "magnificat" (1 Samuel 2) ever appears? The date of this reprint is 10 years ago. Have they (whoever "they" may be) made any changes? I liked that this writer (Ruth Fox OSB) called the Testaments the "First" and "Second" - I don't think I've ever seen that before.

This week I replied to an email sent by a dear friend in Tasmania (Roslyn) nearly 2 years ago. It's been sitting in my inbox waiting for me to get around to replying. Anyway, I finally did. And she replied. And then we spent an hour on the phone on Wednesday evening. And it was lovely. Hard to believe that we had not spoken in, what, 6 or 7 years! With some people in my life, I have found that you can pick up a conversation after long gaps as if you had only spoken yesterday. Roslyn is one of those friends.

Nataw and I are loving our vegetable gardening class - and learning so much. We have trays of seedlings sprouting on kitchen counters. And we planted carrots and peas directly into the garden this week. And we all (N, Paul, me, and a young high school boy who helps out sometimes) worked outside this afternoon, preparing the ground in the old part of the vegie garden for new plantings, and pulling roots and sticks out of the new part of the garden. What a delight!

Our handicapped guinea, Hawkeye, has taken to being carried out to the garden with us when we work out there. With the gate closed, she is safe from the other birds, and she likes having a bigger space to wander around in. She especially likes making a dirt bath - where she digs out a bowl-shaped space in the dirt, and sort of scrunches down into it, and then uses her wings to throw dust all over herself with gay abandon. I haven't quite figured out how this works, but all the birds seem to enjoy doing it, and somehow become perfectly clean.

There was a big NAACP rally and march in Raleigh yesterday. Paul and Nataw went and report that there were some great speakers and maybe 5,000 people. I did not go, siPublishnce I had already signed up for a fruit tree pruning workshop (which was also great).

School continues to be a pleasure. Paul and I have worked our way through a couple of dozen videos that I found in the Meredith library and I've been showing bits of them in the classes. I lecture with slides that I put together with Powerpoint (are you familiar with this software?) - a mixture of pictures and bullet points that keep me on track, and give the students something to gaze at. And with only 7 students, there is also much discussion. They really are a very lively and responsive bunch!

It snowed again this week. Thus another snow day. I only teach twice a week, and both times it has snowed have been on days I would teach. I love teaching, but I also love the unexpected bonus of a day at home catching up on things, and also the sense of being ahead of myself in terms of class preparations.

We've been having guests for dinner most Friday nights - because it's Sabbath, I make challah. I'm sure it's one of the reasons my stepchildren love me. We usually have 8-12 people sit down to dinner. And they usually get through two loaves of bread. Quite honestly, it wouldn't matter what else we served, the bread carries the day. Last night, we made baked tilapia that had been marinated in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. It was delicious. And we had salad made with the lettuce that Nataw and I had picked at the farm we went to this week for our Organic Vegetable Growing class. And fingerling sweet potatoes from the same place. We eat well in this house.

The gardening class is at a community college 30 minutes from here, and taught by a guy who is extremely knowledgeable. We discovered on the first night that our friend Brian is also doing the class. He is an expert in composting - that's his job - and is the one who set us up with our worms - the worms that eat the waste food that the chickens won't eat.

This afternoon, Nataw and Paul and I worked outside, fencing in the expanded vegetable garden - we have added on an area that is about 5 times the size of the garden we had last year! The fence is over 6 feet high - high enough to keep out the deer, and flush to the ground to keep out the rabbits. We ordered 15 different kinds of vegetable seeds this week, and have some seeds starting inside already. And as soon as we get the ground ready, we'll be putting carrots and peas in the new garden. I wonder how I got through 50-odd years without the joy of owning a garden. It is such a big part of our lives now.

We were in Washington DC at the weekend for the peace rally.

We went up on Friday and were trained by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) (who organised the march and rally) as security marshalls. We bundled up Sat morning in umpteen layers of clothes and were out on the Mall by 9. The rally went from 11-1 - we stood at the front, at the press risers, checking that only press people went on to the risers. And we could just see the stage. Many spiritual leaders started the rally with prayers of all traditions. And then some great speakers - an Iraqi; a Brit who assured us that the Brits are not behind Tony Blair and Bush; Jesse jackson; Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, various senators - the crowd was 4-500,000 strong (by the estimates of organizers who have been at many of these kinds of things) and completely peaceful. Angry, but peaceful. Not one arrest was made all day.

And then, for the march, Paul and I were on the front line, in front of the celebrities carrying the banner, and holding off the press. Susie roared with laughter when I told her - "you two little people holding off all those?" - well, yeah. We worked as a team, had been trained how to link arms and stand firm, and we sure did! And the Capitol was completely surrounded by the people in the march!

And then, that night, Paul read at Washington's poetry club, Busboys and Poets, along with about 20 other poets - he was great - they all were.

We pray that we, the people, will prevail in the end. And we are committed to doing what we can. Paul especially has been doing a lot of work for Move-On.org

On another note. Daffodils are blooming. And surviving the freezing nights somehow. They are lovely to behold.

I'm settling into this new class - and love the students. 4 of the 7 are 23+, two with children - and all seven are eager, enthusiastic, thrilled to be in this college! Wow! Oh, and bright too! I couldn't ask for more.

We had snow. Of course, schools were cancelled and everything ground to a halt. Well, after all, we hadn't seen snow for 2 years! The guineas were hilarious. They all came to the doorway of the chook house and craned their necks forward to see what this strange thing was. And finally pushed one out to go and investigate. He literally bounced off the ground and catapulted up into a tree. In the end, the desire to go outside overcame the desire to stay clear of this new phenomenon, and they all emerged, albeit timidly.

We went off to opening night of a play last night at the UNC Playmakers Rep Company Theatre - a professional theatre that puts on some 6-8 plays each year. The play is "Stones in his pockets" by Marie Jones - we knew nothing about the play or the playwright, but had not been disappointed before. Nor were we. A stunning production of a stunningly aching play - about an American movie company that is on location in a village in Ireland, and the disruption it causes and the chasm between the locals and the outsiders.

I continue to make great bread for Paul - and made a loaf for a friend of ours today who does not eat gluten - she was thrilled.

Pete was a guest local celebrity at the Improv Theatre last weekend - and nearly stole the show! He is missing his calling I think.

I'm still on a roll with weight watchers - 11.5 pounds in the last 8 weeks. And only 5 away from goal. At which time I'm hoping to get work again as a Leader - they seem pretty keen to have me do that - I love the work and I can sure use the income!

I taught my first class at Meredith on Thursday and had a lovely time with them - 7 women, at least 3 of whom are in their "23 Plus" program for women returning or starting late in school. They seem eager, interested, and keen to learn. What a gift! An eighth student signed up the day after - word of mouth?

The weather here is up and down all the time. This weekend it's at 70 - lovely for working in the garden, already preparing it for the spring planting, which will be here before we know it.

We have nice new neighbors - a young couple with two boys - 8 and 4 - who came for dinner on Friday. The boys were SO well-behaved and quite delightful. We're going to plant extra vegies for them this year and, in turn, they'll plant some extra stuff for us - maybe grains. In addition they have cows and have given us some of their butter - yum!

I can't tell you what a relief it is not to be worrying about UNC - I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Literally - I went for a massage yesterday and my shoulders feel two inches lower than they had been.

We went out Thursday evening (freezing) to attend a rally in Chapel Hill protesting any escalation in the war. There were enough people to warrant a police presence, but it was peaceful and well ordered. We read the next day that tens of thousands had turned out across the country. With less of a commitment at school now I can do more politically and I'm glad for that.

Happy New Year 2007

Our week back at home has been busy - the trip to Grand Rapids was lovely - good family, good friends, good weather, good rest.

I finished my paper on Weds (2 days ahead of schedule). I actually enjoyed the research and the writing of what could be my last ever paper! I hope the prof likes it as well as I do.

But then I discovered that there is an "Incomplete" on the 6 credit hours of thesis I was signed up for this term. I called the Director of Grad Studies in my department and asked her to sign off on it. She said she can't because, since I'm only allowed 6 credits of thesis, then I have to have it finished and approved before she can sign off on it. This would be hilarious if it wasn't happening to me. Besides, she said, Who was your advisor? Say I, You tell me.

That is not resolved yet. I may not get my leave of absence after all.

Peter was over last night though and, great litigator he, recommended I sue at this point. Not for money necessarily but for publicity. I'll think about it. He says it costs very little to actually take it to court. If so, I may do it. I'm certainly mad enough to want to.

Apart from that...

I had a wonderful day over at Meredith College, meeting important people and getting all the forms filled in. The most important person was Kate, the department admin assistant who, fortunately, is a darling. I'm finishing writing the syllabus now and find myself very excited for the start of classes next week.

We had family dinner last night - Paul's 3 children and their significant others and Peter - for Christmas/Hanukkah gift giving. I can't believe I married into this wonderful family. The "kids" are so great.

It's 70 degrees today. Paul and I will cycle into town (about 30 minutes each way) this afternoon to go to the "Really Free Market" - it's held once a month and people bring stuff they don't want, offer free services (hair cutting one time, bike tuneups another) and take away other people's junk. We love going - for the stuff and for the neighborly atmosphere.

I have resolved to write a little something every week to you all. Today is the start. In future, I'll post it on this blog.

Sunny November

Oh it's not where you are? I'm so sorry! The weather has been beautiful here in North Carolina and it is one more reason why I am so happy to be here.

This semester is so different from any I've had before. I think it may have something to do with being in love - and with the wonderful man I'm in love with. I started off the semester in a state of panic, wondering how I was going to juggle school (which has always been a 50-60 hour a week job) with spending time with my fiancé, with taking time to cook and eat real meals, and clean house, and take care of our 10 hilarious guinea fowl, and all the other million things one does as a normal human being (but that I often didn't as a single human being). Well, Paul was understanding, kind, soothing - and practical. "Of course I will come and pick you up from Duke twice a week" (a round trip drive of an hour for him). "Of course the most important thing is to get you through school, if that is what you want to do." Which means that my dear man cooks, and shops, and cleans - all with his not un-busy schedule of writing, meetings, etc etc.

The end result is that I am relaxed (a plus for him I am sure!) and managing to balance things - to the extent of being able even to travel with him this weekend to a writers conference he's attending - we drove up to Asheville yesterday, I worked all evening, and am working today while he is at the conference - but it was nice to have breakfast together and to have the drive together.

I have had to close down the possibility for you people to comment directly on this blog - junk mail was starting to come through and I hate it. So, you will have to just email me (elg at email dot unc dot edu) if you want to comment.

Late

...but better late than never! I've got whole heaps of things to tell about the summer, but that'll have to wait - if I don't get something on this site, it will only get more out of hand!

So. This is the start of my fourth week back at school. I have to say, going back to school was really hard. And if I'm honest, I would say that it's because the summer had been so great. It was so lovely being with Paul so much, relaxing with him, and being so much in love. I'm still in love, but very busy. However, I'm settling back in now and getting in the groove. Somehow though the shine isn't what it was. But at the same time, this may be my last year of classes and so I think I can hang in there and just get through it.

Anyway I'm relaxing a bit now (having had a couple of meltdowns in the first 10 days!) and feeling better. One thing is that we have agreed on a Sabbath routine. I had observed Sabbath for several years - not in a legalistic way, but rather as a day of rest as ordained by God - a day to re-create and to worship. When I work this hard I find it essential to take a day's rest. I had got out of the habit a bit in the first months with Paul - not his fault - it just happened. So we've talked about it now and agreed to have a movable Sabbath. On the weeks we go to synagogue, we'll celebrate the Sabbath (shabbat) on Saturday. On the weeks we go to mass, we'll celebrate on Sunday. It's working well so far.

I'm TA in Introduction to Old Testament/Hebrew Bible this semester - with a new prof whom I like. It turns out that his and my interests (academically speaking) are very much in line with each other - I look forward to more work with him.

Summertime

Oh, my goodness. Here I said I would write every month, and it's now three months since I last wrote! I think I kept saying to myself "I'll write as soon as school's out" - well, yes, but that makes for an awful long time between posts.

So. I finished my first year at UNC successfully. And happily. Mostly. I hated my philosophy class mainly because I had no clue what was going on. We were given obscure readings every week and this brain simply could not wrap itself around whatever it was that it was supposed to wrap itself around. I would get to the end of each reading and think "And your point is ...?" I have a feeling that this was not so much the fault of the subject as of those presenting it, whose intentions were completely obscure to me (and, more or less, to the rest of the class) or, to use their terms, "opaque." Anyway, I passed the exam (mirabile dictu) and thus have jumped through one more hoop on my way through the jungle of academia, and am now judged competent to continue on my chosen path.

My other two classes this last semester were great. I spent a second semester with the delightful and incredibly knowledgeable James Crenshaw at Duke Div. School. The class was Ecclesiastes (also called Qoheleth in Hebrew) and I think it raised as many questions as it answered, but it was fun to think about. And I find my Hebrew has been improving by leaps and bounds. I am really beginning to feel quite at home with it.

That is probably also helped by my frequent attendance at synagogue with Paul. I love to hear the scriptures read in Hebrew, as well as all the prayers. And to discuss the finer points of understanding, which we are encouraged to do during the service. I go Mass on weekends when we don't go to synagogue, although Paul doesn't go much with me. I understand that it is much easier for me to go to synagogue than for him to go to Mass, since I am asked to accept nothing new or beyond what I already believe, whereas Jesus puts a whole different spin on things.

I had promised myself in January that I would write my papers this semester as if they were destined for publication. Not that I thought they would be published, but just that I should stop writing mere term papers (which I know I can do now quite comfortably) and raise the bar a bit by looking ahead to publication. It made a huge difference to the topics I chose and to the way I wrote. I think the main thing was that, instead of just doing an exegetical or expository discussion, I made an attempt to really find out what Liz thinks, and guess what - Liz had some good ideas!

One fun thing was that I was able to bounce ideas off of Paul, and to talk through trains of thought. In fact, it was while we were walking in the Botanical Gardens one afternoon that I had one of those aha moments - and followed it through to develop it into the thesis for my Qoheleth paper, proposing an idea that no one else has written! I must say it was with great trepidation that I then presented the paper in the seminar. And with great amazement I found that it was received well!

The other class/seminar I attended this semester was in Eco-theology, or the theology of land and justice in the Old Testament. Did that ever open my eyes! I have learned a whole new dimension of reading the Bible. There were some marvelous classroom discussions, and a ton of really interesting reading. I enjoyed reading the book of Joel from this perspective and writing a paper on that, noticing how the land suffers as well as the people, and how the two are inextricably connected. I'm thinking about pursuing publication for that one, though taking out the Hebrew to make it accessible to a wider audience.

And now I have 16 weeks of summer. I'm working part time for two lovely women plumbers, in their office and doing some gardening. I am very relaxed and laid back and enjoying the break. Much as I love the study, it does get stressful. I always regret that I don't have more time in which to write. I've also undertaken to learn enough German over the summer so that I can take the required exam in November. I don't think it should be too hard (this being my, what, tenth or eleventh language) and am so far reveling in the challenge.

One of my brothers, Peter, arrived for a visit in January and decided to stay!! So he's in my apartment with me, has got a job at the local supermarket to pay the bills while he works on finishing a book that he wants to publish, and is good company. We have not lived in the same town as each other since 87 and it's fun. It's always fun to have family around, and this is no exception.

Our brother Chris was married to his girlfriend of the last year in Texas earlier this month, and five of the six of us siblings were there to celebrate. She is lovely and they seem right together. It was a small, informal wedding at her parents' home, with mostly family, including all their grandchildren! It still seems funny to have a brother who is a grandfather. Surely we are not that old! I took the opportunity of a Texas visit to spend several days in Houston with my darling sister and her family - always a great pleasure. My nieces love having their Aunt Lizzie come to stay.

Paul is wonderful. Simply wonderful. And we consider this a blessed relationship.

Now I will sign off. And hopefully will not leave it so long before I write again. Though the only thing to report on over the summer will probably be on all the novels I will have read - so far, three or four a week! I've read three by a writer of Young Adult novels that are absolutely charming. Gary Schmidt. The first one I read was "Lizzie Bright" or at least it had those words in the title. Recommended by my cousin. It turns out that he teaches at Calvin College. Also read Da Vinci Code - figured it was time to find out what all the hoo hah was about. It's OK. Well-paced thriller. Not frightfully well written I don't think. And I find his line between "fact" and fiction very muddy, and in some cases quite disturbing. Yes, some things are fact (e.g. there is a gospel of Mary Magdalene) but some things are not (e.g. nowhere does Jesus figure in the Dead Sea Scrolls). Hmmm.

We watched the 1953 (I think) Grapes of Wrath last night - and I am inspired to read some Steinbeck again. I read them all in my 20s. I have rarely read a novel twice, since there always seem to be so many more out there to read, but I really do think it would be nice to read Steinbeck again, since it's not just his stories and characters that are so wonderful - and they most certainly are - but his style and his language are glorious.

That really is it now. Blessings to all my friends.

Spring

Oh yes it is! I love being in the south! There are daffodils and croci (oh, all right, crocuses), and forsythia, and some days it is 70 degrees (yup, and some days it's in the 40s, like today) and I am so happy to be here.

Oh, and did I say, I've met the most marvellous man? Not only met, but fallen in love. Which is one of the reasons I haven't written a blog for a while. Partly because I've been way too busy getting to know this man, and partly because I was afraid to say how wonderful he was until I was sure how wonderful he is (and until I was sure he thought I was just as wonderful!). We are talking about planting 50 daffodil bulbs a year for the next 30 years. His name is Paul. He's a writer and poet and activist. Poet mostly. Writes. Performs. Retired chiropractor. He is bright and funny and gentle and a musician (classically trained) and dancer and outdoorsman and traveller and good cook and a reader and a thinker and the one I've been waiting for. Oh, and beautiful, did I mention?

Paul is Jewish. He accompanies me to Mass. I accompany him to synagogue. And discuss things with the rabbi. And with Paul. And he with me. We pray together. We talk about the "Jewish-Christian hurdle" (as one friend calls it). And grapple with it. We are each entirely committed to our faith and our tradition - and both to the same Lord and God.

And school is great too.

Except for philosophy which has me completely mystified. It's taught by two completely opaque professors who can't even imagine what I mean when I say I don't get it. I have now resorted to buying comic books called things like Introduction to Philosophy and Introduction to Derrida in an effort to try and find out what I'm supposed to know. The only thing I know about Nietzsche is that he said "That which does not kill me makes me stronger" and I am taking that little aphorism to heart!

Doing an absolutely amazing seminar on Ecology and Theology of Land and Work in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Utterly convicting. And eye-opening. Reading the incomparable Wendell Berry and E.F. Schumacher and Barbara Kingsolver and Abraham Heschel. And re-reading scriptures I thought I knew. And coming up with an interesting theory about why God didn't accept Cain's offering.

I must go to class now. This is not complete, but is a start on an update. I am conscious that I have not written for a while. Love to all.

Merry Christmas

...or, as the full page Zondervan ad in the paper said "It's a boy!"

Most years my Christmas letter doesn't get written until well into the following year. Here it is December 27 and I'm sitting at my computer and writing to you-all. And thinking of my family and friends spread all across the world, and thinking myself lucky indeed.

This last year has been one of great change, and not a few dramas. (If you missed those, read back to, I think, my first posting on this blog spot.) And now, at the end of the year, I have survived, nay thrived on, my first semester at the University of North Carolina. In many ways I would say it is the easiest and one of the happiest I've had in the last seven years of grad school. I finally seem to be getting the hang of how to get the most out of my studying without completely stressing out and wearing myself thin. Which is not to say that I was idle, but just that I managed to stay off that treadmill of endless busy-ness.

I enjoyed my classes. I greatly enjoyed researching and writing my three term papers. I would say that the most exciting one for me was working with a mere scrap of leather (well, just a photo at this stage) that was written over 2000 years ago - from the Dead Sea Scrolls. I become more and more focused on working with text, and the more I zoom in on it, the more I love it. Not everyone's cup of tea, but full of possibilities for me and my future contribution to scholarship on ancient texts.

I worked in seven different languages this last semester: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Latin, French, German, and, of course, English. The Latin is for a blind grad student whom I work with several times a week. The French and German are for research. I'm looking into a fellowship for next year that would require me to learn a new modern language - aw shucks - and hoping to do either modern Hebrew or Arabic, either of which would be extremely useful in my field.

I finished out my semester of teaching 60 undergrads Introduction to Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and loved them - and they seem to have loved me and my approach (one of enthusiasm and excitement and passion) and learned a lot - I was thrilled with their performance in the final exam - and saw a very high calibre of work.

I returned to my "home" in Grand Rapids for Christmas and spent a relaxed, laid-back five days with the Hrubys - aunt, uncle, and cousins. I'll be here for another week or so, catching up with friends, and then return to Chapel Hill for another fun-filled semester.

I have a wonderful two bedroom apartment in Carrboro (just on the edge of Chapel Hill) and love having visitors. Even at short notice! I continue to contra dance and bike and walk and have hopes of getting on to a masters rowing crew in the spring. I continue to proof read for foreign students. My church is building a Habitat for Humanity house this year and I'm involved in that project. I've met all sorts of interesting and lovely people these last few months. Isn't it amazing how a heart seems to be infinitely expandable, always making room for new friends?

I pray for you a blessed new year, my dear friends, - one full of growth and blossoming and love.

Love to you all.

Thanksgiving

As I was driving to Thanksgiving Mass this morning - one of my favorite services of all the year - I was recalling just what I have to be thankful for today. Since this time last year, I have had two surgeries, unrelated except that they were both debilitating, and am now fit, active, and healthy again. I have written, completed, defended and put away a Masters thesis, and graduated with my second Masters degree - this one, the Master of Theology - at the age of 51. Not bad, I'm thinking. Also I put together applications to PhD programs at four universitites, and in January was offered a place at the second one on my list. Not bad at all. And here I am, nearly at the end of my first semester at UNC. I have nearly all my family in the same country! And wonderful friends. I have an apartment I love, great neighbors (except the one who stole the seat off my bike), food, wine. I dance. I walk. I read. I'm happy, peaceful, reasonably busy, and if I had to find one word to describe my present state, I would say I am content.

Thanksgiving is a great day to say Thank you thank you thank you God. (Well, actually, any day is, but this one especially so.) I am glad to be alive.

Here I am again!

Oh dear! It says my last blog was September 12 - nearly two months, and here I was blithely promising that I would post once a month. Well, time got away from me. But delightfully so...I'm having such a good time here, but am on campus almost every day, all day, and then come home and read (or occasionally go out) in the evenings. And I'm loving it. Actually the teaching even more than the studying.

I have 60 students split into three classes which I teach back to back on Friday mornings. It's more of a guided discussion actually, reflecting and debating and clarifying things they've learned in the two lectures that week. And honestly, I could quite happily skip the studying and cut straight to the teaching at this point although, unfortunately, I need the further education to be able to do the further teaching. I am not required to but did hand out mid term evaluation forms to my students a couple of weeks ago, so that I could get some feedback on where I could tweak the classes into better shape - and was overwhelmed by the positive response! The overall message was "We love coming to your classes - we never liked these things before - everything from the lectures falls into place - you are so enthusiastic and passionate about your subject - when will you be lecturing because we want to come." Wow. It blew me away. I also love the one on one interaction with the students - they come and see me with questions relating to the course, and some with general academic fears (especially the freshmen) (don't I know that one), and they're often stopping me to just chat and tell me about things going on in their lives. I wonder if dyeing my hair magenta pink in September made any difference? No, probably not, but they sure did get a kick out of it! (It's nearly grown out now!)

While I was here in the summer before classes started, and was winding down from the last six months of thesis work, and easing myself into the new surroundings, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could hang on to that feeling of well-being once classes started. And recognizing that being in a constant state of stress is not the best way to be muddling through from one semester to the next. I think just having that in mind helped me to approach this semester differently and behold (hineh as the Hebrews say) it is so. I have had about 10 weeks of classes and yes, I'm not sitting around twiddling my thumbs, but no, I don't feel like I'm on a treadmill doing a hamster imitation. And I'm even getting enough sleep!

Writing three term papers over the next 4 weeks may change my outlook, but only slightly I think. I am prepared and looking forward to writing.

So that's the major part of what I do. I always have a novel on the go - and that's my winding down time when I snuggle down into bed at night. I read a fantastic one by Louise Erdrich "Four Spirits" I think. Lovely gentle wry humor and good story. Also a slightly wistful one by Anne Tyler (one of my favorite authors) called "Ladder of Years." Right now I've just started one by Simon Winchester (author of "The Professor and the Madman" about the making of the OED) called "The Map that Changed the World" about William Smith who made the first geological map in the 17-somethings. Not exactly a novel, but gripping reading nonetheless.

Now that I've got over all my surgeries and things of the last year or so, I've started back at the gym again three mornings a week, lifting weights. Do I love it? Not really, but it's a great way to start the day - I always feel bursting with energy when I'm done - sort of like banging your head against a brick wall - great when it stops - and my body needs strength training - so it's getting it! I do love walking to and from school and around campus, and probably clock up an hour or more every day - that, or cycling. No roller blading - it's kind of boring to do on your own, and I haven't found a roller blading buddy yet. But I'm looking! And of course, contra dancing nearly every week, with some great bands, fun dancers, and new people to meet.

I think that's about all for today - and thank you all for keeping in touch with me even when I don't post blogs as often as I promised!