miracles do happen...

every single prayer, thought, candle lit.. whatever it was you did for my brother in law, Paul has worked. Wrapping him in that cocoon of love & light has manifested a miracle.
yesterday, Dr. Teo successfully removed 100% of the brain tumour.. which was the size of a medium potato - 5cm x 10cm.. Paul woke from the operation and after recovery, apparently, he proceeded to eat a sandwich. The prognosis is good. He will most probably have to have radiation mop up to kill of any rogue cells that may have been left and he may not have full control of his legs.. but hey.. that is a small price to be paying....

we are all in a little bit of shock, still numb from being told a week or so ago that there was no hope.. this has reinforced my thoughts of taking control of our own health and always seeking a second opinion and to never, ever give up hope...

thankyou all for the love, care & support for us .. please keep Paul in your prayers and thoughts as he continues to heal.

peace in the familiar...comfort in the mundane

it is suprising how the simple, ordinary tasks can bring comfort and focus in times of stress...

folding the clothes early this morning, I realised that my mind had stilled and my breathing had slowed... I was thinking of Paul. My mind wasn't worrying and I wasn't jumping from one task to the next. I was focused... I was praying but not in the normal way...

Today as I go about my housework, I will be thinking of Paul alot, I know... but now, I won't be stressing or panicking, I will simply turn to a familiar task.... to take me back to my centre of peace. a candle is lit on my altar for him.. as I go about my chores, I will add little touches of beauty.. flowers in an old jar.. to bring peace & beauty to our lives today

today Paul (Dutch husbands brother), faces his brain surgery. hopefully to successfully remove 95% of the tumour.. chemo and radiation will follow. he will most likely lose control of his left side... thankyou so much for the continuing prayers & thoughts, for candles lit & love sent.

Carcassone

I woke this morning thinking of Carcassone... have no idea why.. it could be that I watched Rick Stein a few nights back and he was in the area and had a little segment about the Cathars... when I hear of them, it makes me shiver... same as when I hear of the Templars... were they the same people? I don't know, but I do know that a past life of mine involves that time in history, along with the catholic faith and is very strong in this life that I am living now, ....I had never heard of any of it until I read the DaVinci Code, which by the way had me mesmerized - I even cried in the movie.. had to control myself before i left the theatre as I was sobbing so much. As usual, I will wait to see what is revealed to me over the next weeks... there is a reason why I woke thinking of Carcassone, there is a reason why I am drawn to France right now..(never have been before) and there is a reason why I have yet another yearning in my soul.. this time, I am at peace with my journey. thank God.

I have been harvesting beans! eating some and saving others for next years planting... perfect time to do it.. coming up to the Autumn Equinox next week.

my bean plants have been prolific this year.. I love my garden and I am sure the plants thrive on love as we all do.. they repay me with abundance.

gathering beans, shelling and seed saving, all meditative practices which help me through anxious times....

I have been having anxiety attacks the past week, to the point of not being able to breath.. it is awful. I am trying to get to blogs to visit but just cannot sit for any length of time.

an update on Paul: he is now in Prince of Wales hospital under a specialist called Dr Teo - a neurosurgeon who has success with this kind of tumour... not sure where this will all go but Paul is being operated on, this Monday.. so I ask that you continue sending love, prayers and light.
if you are interested in Dr Teo.. here is an interesting article.. there is always hope..Dr Charlie Teo

alresco dining

yesterday we got together with friends, to celebrate my friend Peter's 76th birthday.


I love to cook and quite often I am asked to make the birthday cake..being in my french mode, I chose a Comice Pear cake.. this morning I had harvested beans, so I bundled a handful into a brown paper bag, picked some sprigs of rosemary and a few bay twigs to take as an offering of friendship.

this time the lunch was set in a brick courtyard under an old persimmon tree...a few bottles of wine, a warm autumn day. the sun twinkling through the branches as only an autumn sun can.

and the most Sacred thing this Sunday, is dutch husband (Sheila has Portuguese husband, we are getting quite an international husband collection going here!) Dutch husband is the most caring, gentle man I have ever known.

I am praying for a miracle for Paul.... do you think that the person being prayed for must believe in miracles for one to happen? I have placed Paul at the feet of Mother Mary & am asking St.Therese to pray for a miracle...one can hope.

thankyou for continuing prayers for Paul, he is home at the moment, the medication is keeping him comfortable... We have heard of a Dr who has had amazing results operating on these kinds of tumours & are hoping that he will see Paul and take him as a patient. when I heard of this Dr, I thought maybe this could be the miracle that we pray for.. . I thought that maybe there is hope

autumn long shadows & the sacredness of gathering rosemary.

today March 1st, the autumn crocus bloomed!
I haven't much felt like blogging the past week or even visiting blogs.. sorry. Today the day was such a glorious day and both Joe and I knew we had to get out and put our hands in the earth. doing manual jobs which will take our minds of what is happening ... we both know that we must get on with life, we both know that we must laugh and be jolly even though one of our bestest relatives is dying. That, is difficult..but there was much to be done.

the tomatoes have finished. I harvested my last lot this morning to make a napolitana pasta sauce for dinner tonight.. using my own basil, tomatoes and welsh onions. After gathering the tomatoes, I got to work scrubbing the stakes and painting them. I painted red & purple today, tomorrow I think I will paint aqua and yellow. I love how the stakes stand out in my garden adding brightness all year round. As I painted, I thought of Paul and how he use to paint our home for us. He is a master house painter and never tired of me constantly changing my home, using colours that I am sure made him think I was crazy. He always accommodated my outlandish ideas of mixing sand in with paint to achieve a rough sandstone look on my walls. stippled other walls for me or sometimes ragged them. He even painted over my 'mistakes'.. whenever I decided to paint myself. Of course he complained but I know that secretly he loved it!

as I gardened, a kookaburra sat nearby, watching for worms. I think the Kookaburra who I call Jacko, was sitting with me as a comfort. He reminds me of my dad. I chatted away to him as I gardened and the little fellow turned his head this way and that as if he knew exactly what I was saying.

autumn has arrived... hanging the clothes out yesterday, I noticed those long shadows of autumn. that turning in the air - feel. And even though it was quite hot and humid.. they were still there. the choughs are back to... I heard them in the afternoon... a haunting call. One that reminds me of cool evenings, soup and gathering sticks. I absolutely adore autumn. it is my very favourite season of all. The crickets chirp in the late afternoon, another sign of autumn approaching. The rose hips too, signal autumns arrival. such a vibrant colour. I wonder if I could use these somehow in my cooking. tea perhaps? The mornings are cool and there is a slight cooling in the afternoons... autumn is definitely on the way.

and to finish my day, I gathered a large bunch of rosemary and placed in a vase in my kitchen. a sacred Sunday for me.

And a very happy birthday to Sr. Kathryn.. a special woman in my life.. xoxo

*thankyou for your continuing prayers, thoughts, candles and support for Paul. This will keep him wrapped in a cocoon of love xo*