So I guess I'm not quite ready to change the name of this blog yet...
I've had a wonderful two months at my parents' home in Oregon while readjusting to American culture and getting used to life outside of a monastery... 2+ months filled with camping trips in the woods/mountains with my parents,
visits to friends and grandmothers, raspberry-blueberry-blackberry-picking, jam-making, playing marimba,
going to the farmers' market, a day at the beach,
a friend's wedding, sorting through the boxes
of stuff I have stored in the attic, pesto-making, a mozzarella cheese experiment, a little bit of gardening, and babysitting the kids in the community - mostly the very calm and adorable Amada (8 mos). In other words: lots of things to keep me
occupied and help me avoid planning my next move... :\
But after the celebratory festivities of my dad's 60th birthday and one final camping trip, it's on the move again for me -- this time in my new super-classy gold 1998 Toyota Camry with leather seats and fake wood trim... It's a cross-country road trip to Massachusetts to be reunited with the other bits of my life and decide where to go (or see where it takes me) from there.
I envision: living in the country/city outskirts. living simply. living in community - even better, a community with spiritual values. being part of a religious community (church, small groups, etc.). living close enough to an urban area to be able to take advantage of what it offers - cultural and educational opportunities. plenty of access to quiet outdoor space. working with kids (esp. 7-11 yr-olds). working outdoors. gardening. improving my folk-guitar skills. taking some classes, get some training to increase my knowledge and skills re:gardening/working with kids/communicating, figuring out if i want/need to go to grad school/seminary...
If you have any ideas about places/towns, organizations, networks, farms, communities, programs, jobs, people, resources, I'd love it if you could point me in their direction!
I imagine the next few months will be more unsettled than I'd prefer,
but hopefully my visions and dreams and trust in god's goodness will keep me going and lead me
through it to a place of firmer rootedness...
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2012
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
adventures in bogland
i did a very silly thing on my day off last week, which invovled me getting very wet and tired.
i've been wanting to go to Lochbuie all season, having read about the ivy-strewn castle and the ancient stone circle located there, and being captivated by the scenic valley leading to it with its three consecutive lochs.
i left Camas at 1:30 and hitchhiked all the way, first to Bunessan, then Pennyghael, then to the top of the trailhead, arriving there at 3:45. mistake number one: getting out of the truck there, rather than letting it take me to the Lochbuie road turnoff... It was an insane decision, which i didn't realize until it was too late.
i had enjoyed a warm sunny walk up until that point, but about 10 minutes after i started hiking, it began to rain -- so not only was i getting wet from the top down, i was also getting wet from the group up... As the hike was along a lake, i had been expecting the path to be boggy, but it was very rough going, with uneven tufts of grass and small channels. I couldn't say how many times I almost twisted an ankle by slipping and tripping along a path that turned out to be more bog than trail. There were at least 7 creeks/waterfalls to ford, full of water from the previous day's rainfall, making it quite difficult to find adequate crossing points. Eventually the rain stopped and the trail evened out, turning into a rocky creek-bed instead of a bog... I stopped at least 3 times along the way to empty out my wellies and wring out my socks!
The last part of the hike was beautiful - the sun came out and dried out my clothes, the river turned into a waterfall, and you could see the view down to Lochbuie. The stone circle and Moy castle (covered in scaffolding) were a disappointing reward for such a rough journey, but the shoreline was simply stunning.
It was past 7 by the time I started heading back, and it was at this point that I became fully aware of the predicament I'd gotten myself into. I had only seen two people down at the Loch, and there were very few houses, meaning my chances of getting a lift back up the road to Craignure were practically nil. I had walked one mile up the road, and just passed the marker stating "Craignure - 13 miles" when a lovely elderly couple drove by on their way to a function in town for the evening. They let me off at the Craignure road junction, and only 5 minutes later I got another lift from a woman heading home to Bunessan -- wow did I feel lucky!
Now, Bunessan is only 2.5 miles from Camas, but it was 9pm when I got there, hungry and tired - too weak to feel brave, and not desperate enough to be bold. So instead of seeking out the people I knew to help me get those last couple miles down the road, I just kept walking. and walking. and walking.
It was dark, and none of the 5 cars that passed me stopped to ask where I was going or what my situation was. So I kept walking and jogging, with a few pauses to sit and recuperate, east some nuts, and wonder why I hadn't gone to find someone to drive me or a phone to call Camas... my consolation was the light provided by a beautiful moon, and that my legs hadn't given out on me, even though just about everything else had...
I finally made it to the top of the track at 10:15pm, and began making my flashlight-less way back to Camas. I was 5 minutes away when I saw the bouncing beam of a flashlight ahead of me, and Rosie and Adam were soon within sight, having come on a rescue mission to find me! It didn't matter that I was almost back - it was still an an overwhelming feeling of relief and joy and being cared for, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude. they even saved me some dinner, but after a small snack, i fell asleep quite promptly! whew.
i've been wanting to go to Lochbuie all season, having read about the ivy-strewn castle and the ancient stone circle located there, and being captivated by the scenic valley leading to it with its three consecutive lochs.
i left Camas at 1:30 and hitchhiked all the way, first to Bunessan, then Pennyghael, then to the top of the trailhead, arriving there at 3:45. mistake number one: getting out of the truck there, rather than letting it take me to the Lochbuie road turnoff... It was an insane decision, which i didn't realize until it was too late.
i had enjoyed a warm sunny walk up until that point, but about 10 minutes after i started hiking, it began to rain -- so not only was i getting wet from the top down, i was also getting wet from the group up... As the hike was along a lake, i had been expecting the path to be boggy, but it was very rough going, with uneven tufts of grass and small channels. I couldn't say how many times I almost twisted an ankle by slipping and tripping along a path that turned out to be more bog than trail. There were at least 7 creeks/waterfalls to ford, full of water from the previous day's rainfall, making it quite difficult to find adequate crossing points. Eventually the rain stopped and the trail evened out, turning into a rocky creek-bed instead of a bog... I stopped at least 3 times along the way to empty out my wellies and wring out my socks!
The last part of the hike was beautiful - the sun came out and dried out my clothes, the river turned into a waterfall, and you could see the view down to Lochbuie. The stone circle and Moy castle (covered in scaffolding) were a disappointing reward for such a rough journey, but the shoreline was simply stunning.
It was past 7 by the time I started heading back, and it was at this point that I became fully aware of the predicament I'd gotten myself into. I had only seen two people down at the Loch, and there were very few houses, meaning my chances of getting a lift back up the road to Craignure were practically nil. I had walked one mile up the road, and just passed the marker stating "Craignure - 13 miles" when a lovely elderly couple drove by on their way to a function in town for the evening. They let me off at the Craignure road junction, and only 5 minutes later I got another lift from a woman heading home to Bunessan -- wow did I feel lucky!
Now, Bunessan is only 2.5 miles from Camas, but it was 9pm when I got there, hungry and tired - too weak to feel brave, and not desperate enough to be bold. So instead of seeking out the people I knew to help me get those last couple miles down the road, I just kept walking. and walking. and walking.
It was dark, and none of the 5 cars that passed me stopped to ask where I was going or what my situation was. So I kept walking and jogging, with a few pauses to sit and recuperate, east some nuts, and wonder why I hadn't gone to find someone to drive me or a phone to call Camas... my consolation was the light provided by a beautiful moon, and that my legs hadn't given out on me, even though just about everything else had...
I finally made it to the top of the track at 10:15pm, and began making my flashlight-less way back to Camas. I was 5 minutes away when I saw the bouncing beam of a flashlight ahead of me, and Rosie and Adam were soon within sight, having come on a rescue mission to find me! It didn't matter that I was almost back - it was still an an overwhelming feeling of relief and joy and being cared for, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude. they even saved me some dinner, but after a small snack, i fell asleep quite promptly! whew.
Friday, June 17, 2011
a whole week of fantastic
We just had two fantastic, beautiful days - (addendum: actually a whole week) - of gardening, wonderful weather and fun! No kids this week, just some lovely visitors to help with the work.
Today i helped transplant broccoli and then released the rhubarb plants from the grass that was smothering it and gave it some compost. Hopefully it will be twice the size by next week!* After i finished with the rhubarb, i spent the remainder of my afternoon off laying crosswise between two lazy beds** in the sunshine for about 45 minutes, just smiling. people have commented to me about how happy/calm i look when i've been gardening, and i do feel that way -- it's cool to know that it's noticeable!
Not only did i get to spend lots of time in the sun and soil, i also went for a bike ride to Kintra and a walk through an abandoned village, kayaked all the way up the salt marsh at high tide, where we could see little flowers growing in the grass under the water, and then out to the end of the bay with its amazing view of the Burg. We ended the week with an evening reflection involving a hike up to the top of the western ridge, from whence we dropped shells into a pool of water, watched the sunset, and were captivated by the stunning views in all directions.
today it's back to the miserable rain and cold...
* two weeks later, the rhubarb doesn't look like it's grown an inch... :(
** if you check out my photos, you'll see pictures of the lazy beds in the garden. between the set of raised beds, there a ditches for drainage, which create a perfect hollow for your bum, while resting your back on one bank and your feet on the edge of the opposite bed. if the ground isn't too wet, that is.
Today i helped transplant broccoli and then released the rhubarb plants from the grass that was smothering it and gave it some compost. Hopefully it will be twice the size by next week!* After i finished with the rhubarb, i spent the remainder of my afternoon off laying crosswise between two lazy beds** in the sunshine for about 45 minutes, just smiling. people have commented to me about how happy/calm i look when i've been gardening, and i do feel that way -- it's cool to know that it's noticeable!
Not only did i get to spend lots of time in the sun and soil, i also went for a bike ride to Kintra and a walk through an abandoned village, kayaked all the way up the salt marsh at high tide, where we could see little flowers growing in the grass under the water, and then out to the end of the bay with its amazing view of the Burg. We ended the week with an evening reflection involving a hike up to the top of the western ridge, from whence we dropped shells into a pool of water, watched the sunset, and were captivated by the stunning views in all directions.
today it's back to the miserable rain and cold...
* two weeks later, the rhubarb doesn't look like it's grown an inch... :(
** if you check out my photos, you'll see pictures of the lazy beds in the garden. between the set of raised beds, there a ditches for drainage, which create a perfect hollow for your bum, while resting your back on one bank and your feet on the edge of the opposite bed. if the ground isn't too wet, that is.
Friday, June 10, 2011
a "knackering" week
whew, that was a WOW of a week, full of ups and downs, fun, uplifting, draining... I got to go abseiling and kayaking and hang around playing and singing our of Rise up Singing; built a shelter, did some gardening, made a fabulous swede & cardamom soup, ate some salad (first of the season!), collected some cow manure and seaweed for the garden, led an evening reflection, and rode a bike to Fionnphort and Kintra on my day off.
The group took a lot of energy - eight 18-20 year-old male students from a Steiner school, all with some mild-medium form of autism. Mostly they were fun, funny, and brilliant, but sometimes they got overly demanding, loud, inappropriate, and, well...frustrating...and it was tricky to know how to respoind given their age and disabilities. We were very glad that they had a 1:1 ratio of staff and students.
And I'm very glad that we get two weeks off now with no groups! because I'm just "knackered". it'll be just us, the sheep and the garden and maintenance projects and some visitors... (yay Emily!)
The group took a lot of energy - eight 18-20 year-old male students from a Steiner school, all with some mild-medium form of autism. Mostly they were fun, funny, and brilliant, but sometimes they got overly demanding, loud, inappropriate, and, well...frustrating...and it was tricky to know how to respoind given their age and disabilities. We were very glad that they had a 1:1 ratio of staff and students.
And I'm very glad that we get two weeks off now with no groups! because I'm just "knackered". it'll be just us, the sheep and the garden and maintenance projects and some visitors... (yay Emily!)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Day 3
In which I wake up at 7am, take a shower and eat a late breakfast followed by some child protection training and a late lunch, after which some laundry is done and hung outside to dry whilst a number of us hike through the boggy hills to the bay and play on the beach, whereupon it begins to rain and we scurry to put our socks and shoes on over our wet sandy feet and tromp back through the bog (I without a rainjacket) and bring the clothes in from the line; and in which I video-Skype with my parents (for the first time in 3 months), enjoy a delicious dinner, play a funny word game, and diddle around on the guitar before dashing back to my bedroom in the rain at 11pm.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
to build a forest...
back in January, Conn got excited about trees. so excited that he applied for a free community tree pack from the Woodland Trust - a pack of native trees for wood-burning: cherry, rowan, birch, ash, and oak. 420 of them.
it fell to Mike and me to carry out the project. to figure out where to put them, how to lay them out and space them, choose a method for planting, and organize/lead group tree planting events. and figure out what to do with all of the extra ones! because what Conn didn't know when he ordered them was that only 200 of them would fit in the field he had allocated for them. there was a lot of excitement but not a lot of forethought put into this decision...
the trees were delivered on March 10. it took us two more weeks before we were prepared to plant any of them. on Monday, April 18th, the last of the trees were finally potted (we managed to get about 300 around the site! the remainder have been potted). In between, volunteers and friends of Kilcranny came by to help plant them, and we had three groups from the community: an eco-club from a local elementary school, a pre-school playgroup, and a teenagers in a job training program.
the group plantings were exciting because i got to use skills that i haven't had a chance to since last summer, and the folks here got to see me in a different role, too. organizing logistics, coordinating an event, leading a group...none of them was perfectly smooth and flawless, but they all went over well and everyone had fun! the most chaotic by far was the 4-year-olds playgroup, which included parents and baby/toddler siblings and totalled about 50 people...
we invited people to make dedications, to name a tree in honor of a person, place, or concept, and it's been a really great aspect of the project, particularly to see the young people getting excited about dedicating a tree to someone they love or to their future children, or to peace -- they will not just have a cool memory about planting a tree, they've formed a meaningful connection between themselves and the earth...
so Kilcranny (which is Irish for "church (cille) of the place of many trees (crannagh)) finally has its own Cranagh! Plus a row of cherry trees near the entrance and a tree-lined path around back. And two volunteers who have finally figured out how to work together. :)
it fell to Mike and me to carry out the project. to figure out where to put them, how to lay them out and space them, choose a method for planting, and organize/lead group tree planting events. and figure out what to do with all of the extra ones! because what Conn didn't know when he ordered them was that only 200 of them would fit in the field he had allocated for them. there was a lot of excitement but not a lot of forethought put into this decision...
the trees were delivered on March 10. it took us two more weeks before we were prepared to plant any of them. on Monday, April 18th, the last of the trees were finally potted (we managed to get about 300 around the site! the remainder have been potted). In between, volunteers and friends of Kilcranny came by to help plant them, and we had three groups from the community: an eco-club from a local elementary school, a pre-school playgroup, and a teenagers in a job training program.
the group plantings were exciting because i got to use skills that i haven't had a chance to since last summer, and the folks here got to see me in a different role, too. organizing logistics, coordinating an event, leading a group...none of them was perfectly smooth and flawless, but they all went over well and everyone had fun! the most chaotic by far was the 4-year-olds playgroup, which included parents and baby/toddler siblings and totalled about 50 people...
we invited people to make dedications, to name a tree in honor of a person, place, or concept, and it's been a really great aspect of the project, particularly to see the young people getting excited about dedicating a tree to someone they love or to their future children, or to peace -- they will not just have a cool memory about planting a tree, they've formed a meaningful connection between themselves and the earth...
so Kilcranny (which is Irish for "church (cille) of the place of many trees (crannagh)) finally has its own Cranagh! Plus a row of cherry trees near the entrance and a tree-lined path around back. And two volunteers who have finally figured out how to work together. :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This may surprise you, especially if you live in Boston or Chicago, but it's not as easy to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland as you may think it would be. Like so many other things here, whether you celebrate it or have the day off of work or school has religious/political overtones. It is seen as a mostly Catholic Nationalist holiday, and schools and businesses have the choice to remain open or not. Coleraine, being a Plantation town, is still primarily Protestant, and there were no city-wide, city-sponsored events, although some community organizations and schools had programs.
I had thought of going to [London]Derry (another religious/political distinction), which has a much larger Catholic population and a big outdoor festival with music and a parade – but I got a late start because it was rainy this morning, only to learn that the buses and trains were on holiday schedules, which ended up making it unfeasible for me to get there in time for the festivities.
So instead I went to Portstewart, wandered the cold and windy Promenade, and sat in on the last hour of a community music and dance concert at the town hall, which was filled with families and little noisy kids running around. That was followed by some coffee and a chocolate-filled croissant in a cafe on the Promenade, reading my book, and walking along the shore a bit more. By this time, the sky had cleared, the sun had come out, and the evening was calm and beautiful, and I got to watch the sun set over the water. At 6:15 I hopped on the bus to Portrush, wandered the [very quiet] streets a bit, and then headed back to Coleraine and Kilcranny.
I bought some Guinness on the way home to share with Mike, since he'd decided not to go out, and we celebrated in style with our cans of Guinness and some freshly baked Irish soda bread...because if you're going to be in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, you have to do something Irish!
Tomorrow - planting potatoes? That seems to be the farmers' Paddy's Day tradition!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
paperboy
The other night, I attended a book reading by local author Tony Macauley. It did exactly what those kinds of things are meant to do, which is make you want to read the book. In this case, the book is Paperboy, a memoir about Tony's life in the Shankill, Belfast as a 12-14-year-old paperboy from 1974-6.
Read it. I plan to, whenever Conn gets around to bringing his copy by.
And, in a few years, go see the movie (screenplay in process).
Conn had asked last week if we were interested in going, talking it up as one of Northern Ireland's favorite and famous authors. He neglected to mention that Tony was also a personal friend of his. Turns out, Tony's primary work has been with peace & reconciliation programs, particularly for youth, in Northern Ireland. Also turns out, he was Conn's first boss after Conn finished his degree, hiring him to run a new program he had just started. (sorry about how vague that is -- i'll try to find out the actual details...)
Northern Ireland is a small place.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
picture perfect...
Thank you, CVS, for printing my photos correctly! And no thanks to you, Walgreens! At least I didn't have to pay for all of their messed-up prints, but they still set me back a whole 3 days in getting my UK visa application submitted.
Of course I take responsibility for taking so long to get around to getting the photos printed in the first place, but still -- what kind of "Photo Tech" at a photo printing place doesn't recognize when their machine is messing up? No, my original was not out of focus, not even when zoomed in. it was a perfectly good, perfectly clear picture. It was so obvious -wasn't it?- that the blue-red color alignment was off! I'm sure I pointed that out 4 or 5 times. But nobody could seem to figure out why or what to do about it. Hello? Well, I hope the other customers who were having hundreds of prints made this week are happy with how theirs turned out...
Meanwhile, I'll be putting my application in the main tomorrow, so I can go to Northern Ireland in February!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
trot trot to boston, to find a place to live
the second two weeks of November were two of the most difficult weeks of my life. not the most, but they ranked pretty high up there.
i decided to move to Boston, thinking it would be nice to live near friends (most of whom are part of the "creatively maladjusted" group of young adults from Agape) for once, and earn some money to beef up my savings so that i can travel or continue doing quasi-unpaid jobs in the spring...
easier said than done. searching for a job and place to live in a new city simultaneously is not an easy thing to do, especially when you've never done it before! and especially when you're only looking for temporary work and temporary housing.
it all came to a head on Nov. 11, as i wrote in my journal:
"i am sick, sick, sick of this! all i've been doing for the past weeks is switching between tabs on my browser looking at craigslist and other job and roommate sites. i've had absolutely zero success, and it's gotten to the point where i just feel sick upon thinking about it. it's like drowning, like treading water with tired legs and an out of reach shore. yes, i want to be here near these people, but i don't want to do what it seems like i have to in order to make that happen, which is rent an apartment for $500 and work a full time temp job.... what's wrong? what's wrong is that i've 'gotten off the beam' in order to earn money. what's wrong is that i haven't been listening to or caring for my soul. and i've run out of creativity and passion. i've burnt out."
and of course, after that, things started getting better. a couple of people responded to my inquiries about rooms, i filled out some online job applications, and i took a day off from it all. then, inspired by a new friend, i decided to take a different approach. i decided to swallow my pride and ask for help; to be vulnerable and put myself and my needs out there, to the mercies and graces of the united methodists of boston. would any pastors or members of their congregations be willing and able to take me in for a couple of months?
eight days later, i moved into my new home in Dorchester, with Linda and Gary, two semi-retired methodist pastors, and the next day i had a job interview.
community, community, community! how does anyone survive without it? our society teaches us that we should be able to go it alone and take care of ourselves, be independent and self-reliant -- and, consequently, to isolate ourselves from others, refusing to be vulnerable, to ask for help when we need it, to create a safety net of community; forcing us to rely only on our wits, skills, and personal finances.
as i became more desperate to find a solution to my homeless and jobless situation, i became more aware of how my cultural and class identities played into my dificulties. i realized that it had never crossed my mind to seek out a social service agency that could help me, and that i wouldn't even know how to find one. despite my miniscule savings and lack of income and housing, i didn't identify myself as someone who would need or qualify for that kind of assistance - i had always seen myself on the other side, serving rather than receiving. those were the cultural ideals and experiences i'd been raised with. i could hear myself forming the thought "i never thought i'd be one of 'those' people" and immediately cringed at my use of "those".
would "giving in" and going to an agency for help be a "sign of weakness"? or would it have been a sign of strength? of courage? of humility? to ask for the help i needed, never mind my college degree and middle class ideals, and be willing to cross out the word "those", to erase the line, and let me become a part of "us," to be a recipient of grace rather than a dispenser; to be vulnerable and depend on others' wisdom. even though i did not take that step (although i did in my own small way by emailing all of those unknown methodists), i gained a much greater respect and understanding of people who find themselves in that situation, and made an important discovery about myself along the way.
i decided to move to Boston, thinking it would be nice to live near friends (most of whom are part of the "creatively maladjusted" group of young adults from Agape) for once, and earn some money to beef up my savings so that i can travel or continue doing quasi-unpaid jobs in the spring...
easier said than done. searching for a job and place to live in a new city simultaneously is not an easy thing to do, especially when you've never done it before! and especially when you're only looking for temporary work and temporary housing.
it all came to a head on Nov. 11, as i wrote in my journal:
"i am sick, sick, sick of this! all i've been doing for the past weeks is switching between tabs on my browser looking at craigslist and other job and roommate sites. i've had absolutely zero success, and it's gotten to the point where i just feel sick upon thinking about it. it's like drowning, like treading water with tired legs and an out of reach shore. yes, i want to be here near these people, but i don't want to do what it seems like i have to in order to make that happen, which is rent an apartment for $500 and work a full time temp job.... what's wrong? what's wrong is that i've 'gotten off the beam' in order to earn money. what's wrong is that i haven't been listening to or caring for my soul. and i've run out of creativity and passion. i've burnt out."
and of course, after that, things started getting better. a couple of people responded to my inquiries about rooms, i filled out some online job applications, and i took a day off from it all. then, inspired by a new friend, i decided to take a different approach. i decided to swallow my pride and ask for help; to be vulnerable and put myself and my needs out there, to the mercies and graces of the united methodists of boston. would any pastors or members of their congregations be willing and able to take me in for a couple of months?
eight days later, i moved into my new home in Dorchester, with Linda and Gary, two semi-retired methodist pastors, and the next day i had a job interview.
community, community, community! how does anyone survive without it? our society teaches us that we should be able to go it alone and take care of ourselves, be independent and self-reliant -- and, consequently, to isolate ourselves from others, refusing to be vulnerable, to ask for help when we need it, to create a safety net of community; forcing us to rely only on our wits, skills, and personal finances.
as i became more desperate to find a solution to my homeless and jobless situation, i became more aware of how my cultural and class identities played into my dificulties. i realized that it had never crossed my mind to seek out a social service agency that could help me, and that i wouldn't even know how to find one. despite my miniscule savings and lack of income and housing, i didn't identify myself as someone who would need or qualify for that kind of assistance - i had always seen myself on the other side, serving rather than receiving. those were the cultural ideals and experiences i'd been raised with. i could hear myself forming the thought "i never thought i'd be one of 'those' people" and immediately cringed at my use of "those".
would "giving in" and going to an agency for help be a "sign of weakness"? or would it have been a sign of strength? of courage? of humility? to ask for the help i needed, never mind my college degree and middle class ideals, and be willing to cross out the word "those", to erase the line, and let me become a part of "us," to be a recipient of grace rather than a dispenser; to be vulnerable and depend on others' wisdom. even though i did not take that step (although i did in my own small way by emailing all of those unknown methodists), i gained a much greater respect and understanding of people who find themselves in that situation, and made an important discovery about myself along the way.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Carrie Newcomer, one year later, in Boston
I finally have a copy of Carrie's new CD, Before and After -- with an autograph! =) I've wanted to get my hands on a copy of it ever since she sang "A Small Flashlight" for the encore of her concert at Warren Wilson College last year (a song that I could have sworn she sang just for me...).
She of course remembered me - and my name. We checked in before the concert and I realized that I'm in a similar position to where I was a year ago when we talked in North Carolina - and the year before when we first met in Oregon: trying to figure out where to go next in life...
She made a comment about life being a cycle of circles of re-discerning that never stops (although hopefully it's a little different each time and we can get through it a little easier...). Then, to top it off, she opened the concert with "There is a Tree," and when she came to the line "in circles that grow ever wide" she looked right at me. And I smiled, and she smiled. =)
She of course remembered me - and my name. We checked in before the concert and I realized that I'm in a similar position to where I was a year ago when we talked in North Carolina - and the year before when we first met in Oregon: trying to figure out where to go next in life...
She made a comment about life being a cycle of circles of re-discerning that never stops (although hopefully it's a little different each time and we can get through it a little easier...). Then, to top it off, she opened the concert with "There is a Tree," and when she came to the line "in circles that grow ever wide" she looked right at me. And I smiled, and she smiled. =)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
cohoot connections
our parents always forget that the two of us haven't met. just because we're the same age and interested in farming and live on the east coast and because our parents live in the same cohousing community in oregon where we've both spent time doesn't mean we know each other!
but now we do. i decided to make our parents' delusions a reality by calling up Laura and visiting her in Brattleboro, VT. and we had a fabulous time. :) lots of beautiful fall hiking, planting garlic, and cooking of garden-fresh produce! pumpkin pie, pumkin bread, minestrone soup, brussels sprouts, kale, squash...and a giant miatake mushroom found in the woods.
can life be like this all the time?
so mom, dad, yes - now we are friends, and not just in your imaginations. :)
but now we do. i decided to make our parents' delusions a reality by calling up Laura and visiting her in Brattleboro, VT. and we had a fabulous time. :) lots of beautiful fall hiking, planting garlic, and cooking of garden-fresh produce! pumpkin pie, pumkin bread, minestrone soup, brussels sprouts, kale, squash...and a giant miatake mushroom found in the woods.
can life be like this all the time?
so mom, dad, yes - now we are friends, and not just in your imaginations. :)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Cold Pond Community Land Trust
South Acworth, NH
My stay here at Cold Pond has been quite nice - and very quiet. I got here just in time yesterday for Steve to greet me before he went off to go bowling, and then I was on my own until almost 11pm to figure out how to make a wood cookstove work, take a walk, build a fire in my little cabin, and search unsuccessfully for matches, among other things (including talk to the neighbor about the horses that had gotten loose and were in the road...).
Today, it snowed. It was heavy, wet snow, mixed with rain at times - like the way it snows in Western Oregon. And it was windy. So, we didn't do anything. In fact, from the time I walked over the house at 9:30am, I didn't set foot outside again until I walked back to the cabin at 9:30pm. We made potato-leek soup, and Steve made an apple cobbler - yum yum!
It's down to Brattleboro tomorrow!
My stay here at Cold Pond has been quite nice - and very quiet. I got here just in time yesterday for Steve to greet me before he went off to go bowling, and then I was on my own until almost 11pm to figure out how to make a wood cookstove work, take a walk, build a fire in my little cabin, and search unsuccessfully for matches, among other things (including talk to the neighbor about the horses that had gotten loose and were in the road...).
Today, it snowed. It was heavy, wet snow, mixed with rain at times - like the way it snows in Western Oregon. And it was windy. So, we didn't do anything. In fact, from the time I walked over the house at 9:30am, I didn't set foot outside again until I walked back to the cabin at 9:30pm. We made potato-leek soup, and Steve made an apple cobbler - yum yum!
It's down to Brattleboro tomorrow!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
on the river that flows both ways
"River, take me along
In your sunshine, sing me your song
Ever moving and winding and free
You rolling old river, you changing old river
Let's you and me river run down to the sea!"
I just spent 10 incredible days with 17 incredible people on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. It was loads of fun, and I loved it, but I think I discovered that even though I love the water, I'm not a sailor. Or a chemistry teacher. I was originally only supposed to be on the boat from Sunday through Saturday, but I ended up staying 3 extra days because they were short on staff and volunteers. I'm glad I did, because there was a lot of lousy, rainy, windy weather the first week and 4 groups cancelled their sails!
My job description as a volunteer was to help in every way I could - with boat operation, maintenance, and education. So I learned how to tie a highwayman's cutaway, a round turn and two half hitches, and a stopper knot; how to clip the lizard onto the otter trawl net line; how to coil a line (always clockwise!) and make a butterfly coil; how to tie a reef in the sail. I did 7am saltwater deckwashes, scrubbed soleboards, cleaned the hold shelves, washed dishes in the galley, and helped furl the jib. I slid a lot of fenders between the rub-rail and the pilings, manned the tiller, and did bow watch in the rain keeping a lookout for logs and moving vessels.
On the days we had group sails, I taught kids about dissolved oxygen and turbidity, tides and salinity, navigating on a river, the history of Hudson River sloops, how to identify an oyster toadfish, tell the difference between male and female blue crabs, what a hogchoker is and how it got its name, and how to touch a fish (use one finger - your "fishy finger"- to stroke it, not poke it, because we don't want to squish the fish!). I even played some music. And of course I hauled away on those halyards to help raise that gigantic 3,000 pound mainsail!
"Come along with me upon this broad old river
and we will see what we can do,
for when we work together in all kinds of weather,
there's no telling what the power of the people and the river can do!"
In your sunshine, sing me your song
Ever moving and winding and free
You rolling old river, you changing old river
Let's you and me river run down to the sea!"
I just spent 10 incredible days with 17 incredible people on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. It was loads of fun, and I loved it, but I think I discovered that even though I love the water, I'm not a sailor. Or a chemistry teacher. I was originally only supposed to be on the boat from Sunday through Saturday, but I ended up staying 3 extra days because they were short on staff and volunteers. I'm glad I did, because there was a lot of lousy, rainy, windy weather the first week and 4 groups cancelled their sails!
My job description as a volunteer was to help in every way I could - with boat operation, maintenance, and education. So I learned how to tie a highwayman's cutaway, a round turn and two half hitches, and a stopper knot; how to clip the lizard onto the otter trawl net line; how to coil a line (always clockwise!) and make a butterfly coil; how to tie a reef in the sail. I did 7am saltwater deckwashes, scrubbed soleboards, cleaned the hold shelves, washed dishes in the galley, and helped furl the jib. I slid a lot of fenders between the rub-rail and the pilings, manned the tiller, and did bow watch in the rain keeping a lookout for logs and moving vessels.
On the days we had group sails, I taught kids about dissolved oxygen and turbidity, tides and salinity, navigating on a river, the history of Hudson River sloops, how to identify an oyster toadfish, tell the difference between male and female blue crabs, what a hogchoker is and how it got its name, and how to touch a fish (use one finger - your "fishy finger"- to stroke it, not poke it, because we don't want to squish the fish!). I even played some music. And of course I hauled away on those halyards to help raise that gigantic 3,000 pound mainsail!
"Come along with me upon this broad old river
and we will see what we can do,
for when we work together in all kinds of weather,
there's no telling what the power of the people and the river can do!"
Friday, August 6, 2010
Ratatouille
Wow.
Cary just made one of the most delicious meals I've had in a long time.
It all started with the fried sage: crispy, salty, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth amazing. tasted kind of like artichoke! sensational.
Next came dinner: spicy ratatouille made with fresh vegetables from the garden including yellow summer squash, zucchini, and the most delicious potatoes ever, honest. served with spaghetti and french baguette with sage butter. So-o-o savory. simply splendid.
That was followed up by a viewing of the movie Ratatouille, which was interrupted halfway through by a plate magically appearing over my shoulder containing a wedge of baked apple pastry goodness with a dollop of ice cream.
mm-m-m delicious!
Cary just made one of the most delicious meals I've had in a long time.
It all started with the fried sage: crispy, salty, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth amazing. tasted kind of like artichoke! sensational.
Next came dinner: spicy ratatouille made with fresh vegetables from the garden including yellow summer squash, zucchini, and the most delicious potatoes ever, honest. served with spaghetti and french baguette with sage butter. So-o-o savory. simply splendid.
That was followed up by a viewing of the movie Ratatouille, which was interrupted halfway through by a plate magically appearing over my shoulder containing a wedge of baked apple pastry goodness with a dollop of ice cream.
mm-m-m delicious!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Unpacking “Ware”
A member of the United Church of Ware told me the story of the origin of the town’s curious name. It has nothing to do with a creative spelling of “where” or with the selling of “wares”; it is not someone’s last name or the name of a town in England. It comes from the word “weir” (no, not as in “The Weir of Hermiston,” which was my immediate association, even though I don’t even know what that means…).
Weir (wear/weer) is a native Nipmuk word meaning “many fish.”
Before the white settlers took over and built dams for their mills, there was a natural falls on the river. The Nipmuks used to build nets that they would stretch across the falls to catch the salmon going upstream.
By the time Ware was incorporated, there was already a town in Massachusetts named “weir”, so they had to change the spelling, which also changed the pronunciation.
That was in the 1700s. The Dalles Dam was built on the Columbia River in the 1950s… A ruling was just passed last week to allow the construction of a dam in the Amazon.
When will we ever learn?
Monday, April 5, 2010
a blessed Easter
my easter weekend was full of wonderful easter-y things:
It began with a Maundy Thursday tenebrae service at Christa’s UCC church involving a simple, candlelit seder meal of lamb eaten in silence interspersed with the passion week readings and a few songs, ending in darkness.
We did a Stations of the Cross in front of the State House in Boston on Good Friday from 12-3pm. It is done as a statement against the death penalty and all state-sponsored violence, including war and economic exploitation. I wrote and read the 12th Station (Jesus dies on the cross) and sang and played music (flute) with Fran Reagan (guitar) in between the stations. There were about 30 people participants taking turns reading, holding the cross, and holding banners. It was warm and sunny and i didn’t wear sunscreen…
That was followed by a Passover Seder at my cousin Jon’s house in Hadley. I met my cousin Amity in Boston and carpooled with her. There were 16 people total, including my aunt Lenore and Bill. The rest were Liz’s family. It was fun – my first REAL seder experience – i.e. how a real American Jewish family does it, not a presentation to show non-Jews how it’s done. Celia played the violin, Rita asked the four questions in sign language, and their other two cousins also participated with music and a modern-day interpretation skit about the Exodus from Egypt. I got back to Agape at midnight…
On Saturday, we had an Easter Vigil service here at Agape. I of course was on the music team. I sang the “Exsultet” at the beginning, which is basically an intro to what the service is all about: we rejoice, we remember what God has done for us, etc. I had never been to an Easter vigil before and never heard it before, so I plunked out the melody on the piano and found it to be very minor, modal, and chant-like. So I said, “this is a happy declaration , it should sound more joyful than that!” So I spent a half hour modifying and practicing it. A couple hours later, as I stood there in front of the 30 people in attendance, I looked down at the music and realized I didn’t really remember what I’d practiced… John, the priest, must have noticed my nervous hesitation because he laid a hand on my shoulder and said a little blessing prayer, which was exactly the boost I needed to get started and not get wrapped up in the perfection of the performance, trust in my own ability and rehearsal, and just sing whatever felt right. it wasn’t “perfect”, but it was good – and I got a lot of compliments from Catholics who had never heard it done that way before. I have to say I was impressed too, because I’ve never done anything like that before and wouldn’t have thought It’s something I could do!
i only got 6 hours of sleep Saturday night, but i managed to get out of bed at 6am on Sunday and drive to Ware for the Easter sunrise service at the United Church. They did it in the adjacent cemetery, which was nice symbolism, and we were facing a stand of trees with the golden haze from the shining behind them. It was short and nice – about 20-30 people present – followed by a pancake breakfast. Then I went for a walk in the park along the Ware river, below the church. It was cool, beautiful, and calm, with lots of birdsong.
later in the morning, i went to the UCC church in Hardwick (Christa’s parish again) for a lovely, fairly traditional-style Easter service including a brass quartet and music by Handel. To my surprise, Christa’s parents invited me to attend Easter brunch with them afterward! It was a lovely buffet at a local “Herb farm.” Apparently they have beautiful gardens and host a lot of weddings in the summer.
In the later afternoon, i drove to a nearby state park with a small lake and sat, read, walked, journaled, in the breezy sunshine. It was about 70 degrees outside and there were people fishing, kayaking, and playing on the little beach. On my drive home i stopped to watch the sunset.
what a beautiful Easter!
Monday, March 22, 2010
here comes the spring!
It’s spring in MA! The ground is thawed and the birds are singing. Listening to the birdsong reminds me of being in Honduras. There’s a pair of bluebirds living in the birdhouse right in front of Francis House. Royal blue backsides, reddish fronts. beautiful creatures.
Trees are pruned and beginning to bud, lettuce has been planted in the greenhouse, garden beds are being turned, mosquitoes are hatching… We had almost 2 full weeks of over 60-degree weather with sunshine! With a few days of flood-inducing rain in between…
We had 2 college groups here on work trips during that time, so we were able to get a LOT of work done! My body got really tired the first few days because it wasn’t used to doing that amount of physical work in one day – hasn’t happened since the fall! We did lots of wood hauling down from the woods.
I can’t wait for everything to be green and colorful – a season I haven’t experienced since I’ve been at Agape!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A 2-woman monastery for a week
At the end of February, Brayton went to Haiti to be with some close friends who are medical missionaries there. While he was gone, it was just Suzanne and I running the show here: two women, one 64, the other 25, praying together 3 times a day and doing all the daily work to run the place, including hauling wood in for the woodstoves.
Suzanne joked about us being like two nuns at a monastery, especially when she saw me sitting in the chapel with my black sweatshirt hood pulled over my head looking like a habit! The next day we wore matching purple sweaters (unintentionally, I swear!).
We couldn’t help but see the parallels between that and my sister’s life in Honduras and laugh at how two daughters from the same family ended up where we are today…does that mean our parents did a good job?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Advent
Now it feels like Christmastime is upon us! The Advent Evening last night was beautiful and it snowed an inch and it was a gorgeous day today and I’m listening to Christmas music in front of the fire. =)
There were about 30 people here last night, despite the weather forecast. That included three young children who helped with the lighting of the Advent candles and six college students who participated in our dramatic performance. It was a festive, fulfilling, and filling evening (with quite the pot-luck spread!), and a great thing to be a part of.
It began with a prophetic reading from Isaiah about God restoring the world to a peaceful and just order, followed by a song calling us to “prepare a way for the Lord”, which Christa and I accompanied with a flute duet. After the lighting of the candles, I led that most wonderful of Advent hymns “All Earth is Waiting” (toda la tierra).
The best part of the evening was the dramatic poetry reading by Suzanne: a prayer for a Christian soldier to lay down his arms and leave it all behind. With a young man sitting on a stool center-stage, Christa did an interpretive dance while the poem was read. It ended with a few of us holding hands and joining in a song of peace.
There was a gospel reading, a homily by Brayton, and a ritual that involved lighting candles and sharing what “tools of enmity” we were going to lay down. As that ended, Christa and I played a hauntingly slow flute duet of “Down by the Riverside.” The program ended with the another poem, the O Antiphons, and everyone singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
After our souls and spirits were filled, we filled our bodies with delicious food, and then sat around in the living room sharing more music and poetry together until 10:30 at night.
Happy Adventing, everyone!
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