Gosh Dottie and I had a good visit this past week in Concordia. Spending time with Mary Fran... one of the most amazing humans I have had the pleasure of meeting in this life. The kind of person who looks directly at you when you are speaking, who is so absolutely present, who hears without speaking. A gentle, original, rare, soul.
We stayed at "our" little house on state street, in the shadow of the Motherhouse - the home of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. I told Dottie "the little house on state street" would be a wonderful title for a book. I don't know what the storyline would be, but maybe it would have something to do with sneaking into the motherhouse at night, climbing all the way up to the 5th floor, and making our way to the room with the window at the very top.
We roasted carrots, fixed eggplant with garlic, oregano, and tomatoes, made big salads, scooped up hummus on cucumber slices, sipped cold white wine. All delicious.
There were morning walks and a visit to Jitters coffee on the main street downtown.
There was lots of time spend sitting in the shade outside, watching the wind blow through the trees, observing squirrels, and a large population of black bunnies who are present in a specific area in town. I must look up the story of how they came to be. Pet who escaped, reproduced, and now is the head of a colony? There also happens to be a lovely garden at the Motherhouse with rows of zinnias, among other things.
Of note, while I was there I had a piece of the MOST delicious pie I have ever had in my life. Raisin cream - a simple custard with a touch of nutmeg, plump soft raisins, meringue topping, perfect pastry crust. Oh my it was good. Like something you would eat at your relatives kitchen table at a farmhouse in Kansas with gauze curtains blowing in the breeze and the sun going down in the west. It was a moment.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia Kansas are the women who started Marymount College in Salina where I went to nursing school. I feel very blessed to have been under the tutelage of such smart, compassionate, no-nonsense, women who showed me what it was to care for others, always striving for excellence, and standing up for what is right.
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