April  26, 2020

Time to update. I find that using the cell phone more and more, the tw0 thumb thing, I am losing my typing skills. Ha.

We had no Easter Vigil service this year. First time I missed, I think Ever! Strange feeling. They had something In the monastery but because there are two others who can’t move that far, rather than let them feel that they are abandoned, Two of us stayed behind to keep them company ( in the spirit of Easter)’

We had the Easter mass at 9am on Easter Sunday. I was hoping that our Fr. Proud (Jonathan) could find some time to come and do some counselling to my computer and printer as they seem to be refusing to talk to each other. This has gone on for a couple of weeks now. Fr. Proud is our local computer guru. He has managed to fix everything so far whenever I have a problem.

It is now the 28^th. I was lazy in between or just didn’t want to head over to the monastery where I needed a signal to get this blog going on the internet.

On Easter the superiors from the monastery came to pay us a visit here at MD (Mater Dolorosa), the abandoned ones.  Nice of them. We had a 9am Easter Mass here at MD, but no Easter Vigil, Christ the Light. It felt strange that something important was missing.

For a couple of days there was a lot of rain, and it is badly needed,,

On the 25^th, I took Fr. Urs to the monastery to show him how to get onto the internet. It had been weeks that he had no way of communicating. I told his to just use the battery of his computer. For the short time he would be on the internet. His computer is old and we discovered that his battery was as dead as common sense. What is the next move. He has the wherewithal and should invest in a new computer.

   One day the left wing of my glasses came off.  I wanted to glue it back on but I had loaned my glue to someone and it was gone. I wasn’t allowed to buy some at the store (when I went to get my yoghurt) because it is not an absolute necessity like food. My neighbor, Bishop Lobinger loaned me his and I succeeded in putting it back together.

Someone in a message said I should get Zoom so we can see each other when we communicate. I think I downloaded it but don’t know how to use it. Don’t laugh

On the Friday after Easter, among other things, we had prunes for dessert. Just what I need for my chronic constipation. But it was a once off and the next day they were gone, it seems, forever.

Fr. Proud came over at the end of the week and got my computer and printer talking to each other again. A simple. He just cleaned off the electric terminals on the ink cartridge and it was like the Holy Spirit blowing new life into a person. He also got me a way to top up my mobile router in case it runs out of juice before the end of the month. Hooray. Good ending to the first week after Easter.

Monday, April 20. BP 161/76   Wed. 22,  BP  152/72.   I think I am pretty healthy, all except for these bloody spasms. Ai swear they can calculate. They will let you in peace for a certain time ( lying down or sitting) but as soon as you get up, you pay dearly for the favor….There will be a wild spasm in direct proportion to the length of time they left you in peaaaace.

    On the 24^th, I took my first trip to the pharmacy to get a refill on my BP pills and a few other things. Also put some petrol in the tank in case one of us old timers decided to surprise us with an episode, we will be ready to take him to help, without fear of running out of petrol on the way. This is called “ forward thinking’. Learned from experience.

  I have spent hours on Google, trying to decipher Skype’s web page so that I could change my credit card information. Hopeless. Then a notice comes from Skype to remind me that my contract will end at the end of the month if I haven’t updated my credit card info. Ha. Then they said to go to such and such a place and then press “account”. Well, that sounded a bit too easy and  I was right. However when ai went to such and such a place, there was no “account’ (I knew that was going to be the case) but I went here and there and eventually manage to put in the new information, without any help from Skype. It is important that I continue with Skype because I use it to phone people, like my Uncle Cas, who is 92, and has macular degeneration and it is the only way to communicate with him now. Also, there are others who don’t have Skype (Skype to Skype is free) and I can use the good rates from Skype (2 cents a minute to the States or Europe)

And I can’t afford normal phone charges.

A friend from the UK sent some money to my socio-pastoral account, and now my brother too, so that I have been able to help lots of people with money to buy food and pay rents and other bills during this lockdown when no one can work and when many literally live from hand to mouth. No money today, no eat today

So for all of you who have contributed to this fund, I pass on their thanks to you. I keep telling them that it isn’t my money but I will tell those who made it possible, that you send your thanks and appreciation. That’s it for now. I will get this on the internet this afternoon.  Someone said that if you have everything but don’t have jesus, ( or some higher power besides yourself) you are a real loser.   Love and peace and patience and determination and hope during these challenging times.     Fr. Cas