On Fridays, the Badger works from home and Alice doesn't have to go in to her job at the library. Hebe had painted two coffin plates, so we took those down to the funeral director to be checked and handed in, and then went across to the stone masonry, where she works as a letter-cutter. She is self-employed, and fits her free time around the jobs that have come in to the masonry, and what needs doing by when.
Hebe likes working at the masonry. She can't bear the idea of a nine-to-five job in an office, she always wanted to work as an artisan craftswoman, making things with beauty and skill. Her dad runs the masonry, and she loves working with him - socialising creates a far more superficial bond than living or working with someone.
The masonry belongs to Towners funeral directors. Ed Towner owns the firm - it is a small family firm with a well-deserved reputation for excellence. Ed is a faithful evangelical Christian, and his faith informs the way he works and treats people. There is professionalism in his approach, and a certain panache, a meticulous attention to detail, and an underlying kindness and compassion which makes all the difference.
When we'd dropped off the coffin plates and been to the masonry, Hebe and Alice and I went to the farmers' market at Brede, for meat and vegetables. I've changed my approach on that. For the last year I've been eating mostly vegan with some fish. Hebe, Alice and I all have a dairy allergy, but not eating meat has been for the sake of the animals and because farming animals takes up way too much cereal and water. But recently I've been thinking that processing food (vegan protein foods are sometines highly processed) and the environmental cost of food miles are issues I have to consider. I've been thinking I might do better to take an approach that cares for the earth the animals live in more than the individual animals, if you see what I mean.
So I bought some meat at the farmers' market - sausages from wild deer, and feral pheasant. And some tiny brown shrimps and crab from the fishermen at Rye Bay.
There's an old man there who sells delicious vegetables - and we bought swede and Pink Fir Apple potatoes, carrots and parsnips and broccoli and a big cauliflower, and some Rosemary Russet apples.
When we got home, we had lunch together, then I worked on the re-draft of my novel my editor has asked for, and went out in the afternoon to see a young man whose mother has died - not someone personally known to me, but I will be taking her funeral.
When I came home I prepared the supper for everyone, which is cooking now, and when we've eaten it will be time for our housegroup. We're going to take a look at my new book, The Road of Blessing - the first copies are just through yesterday.
Hebe probably won't make it into the housegroup as she's cutting a stone for her cousin's wedding present, a bautiful rough-hewn chunk of slate that will say 'Luke & Esther' on the front, and a picture of an acorn and oak leaves. Their marriage is coming up soon, and she wants to get it finished.
Tony is just putting his day's work to bed (he publishes Christian books), and Alice right now is getting to know her new MacBook Pro that she has been saving for ages to buy.
The Maha-Mangala Sutta of the Buddhist faith sets out the Buddha's teachings on the way to live that brings blessings. It's a very wise and thoughtful discourse giving guidance to householders. It includes the advice that living in suitable places and engaging in peaceful occupations, cherishing and caring for one's family, are among the greatest blessings. That seems to me to accord well with the Plain vision of home-based employment, where families lives and work closely together and eat home-grown and home-cooked food together.
An important aspect of keeping things small and simple is that we earn money in very direct ways, and purchase goods in very direct ways as well - and this increases accountability. If we do a good job, the customer comes back. If the veggies are good, we go there again - it is a sounder way forward than the big corporation where those we would hold to account cannot be contacted.
So - the pheasant is roasted, Hebe has mashed a pot of root vegetables, the gravy is done and the brussels sprouts have finished steaming. The folks will be here for housegroup in an hour - better go and feed the family!