Packing

To St Catherine's for the Eucharist after breakfast to celebrate the Conversion of St Paul. Over coffee after the service, Mother Frances gave me a belated Christmas present, mail ordered nearly two months ago from an American publisher, a book from which she'd read a meditation at a service back in early Advent. It's called 'Mother of God - Similar to Fire', and consists of fifty one full page images of icons by William Hart McNichols an American priest and iconograph. All of them are of Mary, under a wide range of titles used to honour her name in different parts of the world wide church. Each is accompanies by a poetic text of reflection on what an image so titled evokes for the writer Mirabai Star. It's a beautifully produced book with profound thought provoking texts. What a treat!

After coffee, chat and farewells, I went to collect this week's veggie bag, then helped Clare prepare our lunch. Then, a big effort to pack the right clothes for my Spanish sojourn and round up necessary.  bits and pieces. The devil is always in the detail! It's more difficult than just packing for a summer trip. It can get pretty cold in Spain at this time of year, but by the time Clare comes it could be quite warm, if not hot, so I need to be prepared both ways. I'm slightly regretting not having hold baggage, though it concentrates the mind to pack with hand luggage only in mind. Many times I've travelled with a large bag and not used half of the clothes I've taken with me. 

After an hour of packing, I went for a walk around the streets of Canton, trying out a pair of wet weather shoes to decide if I can live with them for the next few months, rather than take walking boots. I've got a comfy pair of trainers and would like to take sandals as well, for when it get warmer and drier. But will all this fit in my rucksack and cabin bag? We'll see.

After supper, I made some packs of turkey sandwiches for the journey, then re-packed both my bags with a different distribution of clothes, shoes, bits and pieces. Somehow everything I wanted to take fitted in. I'm not sure about the weight, however. When I went to check with the bathroom scales, I found it's broken. Still, all seems to be in order now, with a free morning to relax before I go for the bus at twelve.