I love it when a plot line comes together

Wonderful!

Two itsy things: orange grove, not orchard, I would thnk. And, "I am she," not "her".

This is really cool Connie! And yeah, oranges are grown in an grove.

"I am she" is grammatically correct, but "I am her" is more colloquial. I don't want Sister Agnes to be too well-spoken.

Are there any common orchards in that part of California? I'm strangely enamored of the word orchard in that context.

Hmmm. Connie, the central valley does have nut orchards (walnuts and almonds, mostly), and also cherry tree orchards. They go back hundreds of acres from the highway.

But I'm not sure how far south they grow.

piffle, better go with grove, then. Oranges would be better for a place that grows most of its own food.

edited because I know the bloody difference between it's and its

There are also apricot orchards grown commercially (and probably tons of other fruits, certainly for non-commercial plantings -- pears, peaches, plums, whatever you want) -- and olive orchards. Olives would actually work very well for you if you like the sound, as and ancient order would very plausibly press their own olive oil for both culinary and sacramental uses.

Plus olive trees are amazingly lovely things.

You know, I thought of olives, but wasn't sure if a semi-mountainous area would support them. Hellwidit, they're olives. The wood's pretty, too.

Olives are scrappy things; they'll grow just about anywhere, as long as it doesn't get too terribly cold.

Oh -- now that I've poked my head up again -- I should add that I've lurked here on and off, and love your Career Change story. I'm looking forward to whatever happens between the two vamps and Buffy once Glory's dealt with...