part one: seattle to atlanta to new orleans

Hello friends,

It's been over a week since I said my see-you-laters, and I've already delayed doing what I assured folks I would, which is to keep in touch through writing! My irregular absence online is both a result of a very active week and an effort to live in alliance with the simple lifestyle that the Catholic Worker encourages, which is to say, my new home does not pay for the internet.

I arrived in New Orleans last Saturday by way of car with friends Colleen and Katie. Prior to that, the three of us spent a lovely 4 days in Atlanta, Colleen's hometown, visiting her family and home and exploring the places she loves most, including Greendale Farm, a family-owned livestock farm where she has worked all summer. We drove from Atlanta through Alabama, where we took an unexpectedly long detour to deliver frozen chickens to a couple who make cheese on a small farm; through the bottom of Mississippi and into Louisiana to seek our beloved New Orleans. For the first few days we stayed with a friend of Colleen's who lives in the University District, where we wandered about through Audobon Park and other parts of the area.

Tuesday my friends moved me in the Catholic Worker house, which is located in the Lower Garden District. The house is two units which were converted to one; a good size to support a small community. I have a room upstairs to myself, which won't necessarily be the case all year as we welcome more residents into the house. Right now there are 8 of us sharing a home, some of us from New Orleans and from other parts of the country. So far I've had the opportunities to visit with each of my housemates a bit, who are in various places in their life journeys, and this house community is very much about supporting people wherever they're at. Decisions are consensus based, and we share in the house upkeep and cooking, and all are encouraged to join together for evening meals, weekly prayer/meditation, events at the house, and more.

This week the Catholic Worker house hosted a potluck and conversation with anti-war activist Kathy Kelly, whose work has an international focus on conflict resolution. I saw her speak the next day at a home for women and children seeking stable housing and living, and will go tonight to a peace liturgy at St. Joseph's church where she will speak again. I've found her message and spirit quite inspiring and suggest you research her.

In other events, our house is committed to growing our own vegetables, and yesterday a housemate and I spent a few hours working in our gardens, planting seedlings and "organizing" our plots. Over the next few months we shall watch our brocollis, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and the like flourish (hopefully), and becoming a successful gardener is something I'd like to devote more learning toward.

For now, I'm really focusing on familiarizing myself with the city, meeting folks and developing those relationships with my housemates and neighbors. Soon I'd like to find a part-time job and get involved in some of the justice work that groups here are doing, but one thing at a time. I realize this was a very long post, and will likely cut these down in the future, but for now I thought I'd describe a lot of my initial transition.

Looking forward to hearing from y'all, and I'm always open to questions or comments about anything you see or don't see me write about on this blog!

Peace and thanks to your listening (reading),
Steph