Week 39

Day 266: May 3, 2015

We had a campfire tonight. It was a beautiful night (and day) so a campfire was the perfect close. Plus, we will only be able to have fires for a little while longer. Soon, the forest will get too dry and we will be worrying about natural forest fires and adding the possibility of a man made one is not something we want to do. We, meaning my housemates and I, also hosted coffee and conversation this morning which meant that we had to clean up. We even swept the porch. The place looks beautiful. Since it was a beautiful day, I spent pretty much the whole morning outside and even carved a spoon. If it is nice tomorrow I hope to carve another one.

Day 267: May 4, 2015

I was asked to carve a new hand for a gnome today. I guess it is my first commission job. Does it count if I won't be paid specifically for it? I will count it as work hours (it is work for the village). It is more fun if I count it as a paying job :) .

Day 268: May 5, 2015

THE ESPRESSO MACHINE BROKE!! The steaming wand broke off. Luckily, we had an extra one and as soon as we announced that the cart would be closed both our electrician and our electrician engineer came running. It was hilarious and nerve raking all at the same time. We figured out what the problem was pretty quickly- the nut that was holding the wand in was worn down to the point where the ball basically just fell right through. So, we had to turn off the machine to let it cool down. Then we had to take off the top, and start taking things apart. It took about an hour and a half to replace the wand but once we got it done it worked beautifully. So now we are ordering another spare for next time something happens. In the end, the whole process was way less painful than it could have been and the machine got a good deep clean in the process.

Day 269: May 6, 2015

Well, I was surprised this morning by a little mousey friend running through my hallway. I wasn't going to mention it to anyone, just set the traps. Alex really doesn't like mice. At breakfast, Leah asked if I had heard any yelling in the middle of the night. I hadn't, but apparently the mouse had been in Alex's room and tried to crawl across his face. Lots of swear words were said. They said that they ended up spending almost an hour in the dining hall trying to calm down. The mouse was not seen again all day. The remaining hours of the day were normal and I finished the day playing Settlers of Catan with Leah and Alex.

Day 270: May 7, 2015

We caught the mouse! It is a little sad to see a mouse in a trap when you first get up but it does mean that I will sleep better tonight. I felt bad not taking the mouse out but I was going to be late if I did that and I thought Alex might like to see that the mouse was gone. It was not enough to make his day a good one, though. They started painting his bathroom today only to realize that some of the electrical stuff was not up to code. That meant that the electrician had to come in and work on it. It was worse than it originally looked. She ended up needing to cut out a 1ftx1ft piece of drywall. I looked in later and saw that she needed to expand that hole to 1x3. She must have found something really bad. I heard her say something about the fact that anyone using the shower could have been electrocuted. That is one of the really bad things about having volunteers do things here. Most of the time, the people who are doing things around the village have very little experience in their assigned jobs. We are lucky enough, right now, to have a certified electrician, a certified plumber, and a professional painter. That means that things that have not been done right in the past are finally getting the attention they deserve. It also means that dangerous situations are being found and it is emotionally very difficult for the electrician to see that her friends could have been electrocuted and possibly killed. Knowing that there are all of these hidden dangers also makes it very hard for her to leave, even though she has been here for two years. Hopefully, we will be able to find someone qualified to replace her.

Day 271: May 8, 2015

Tonight, I prayed that the people in my life and around the globe might find the courage to forgive. I prayed that my cousins might find the courage to forgive their father. I prayed that my family might find the courage to forgive an ex-boyfriend turned boyfriend again. We may not agree with the decision made but it is her decision to take him back. I, also, prayed that my cousin had/ has the strength to be with him out of love rather than loneliness. I prayed that I might have the strength to forgive him and support her on whatever decision she makes. I prayed that people around the world might be able to forgive the wrongs done to them. I prayed that our country may learn to treat others with respect. That our justice system may deliver just that, justice. I prayed that those who have been wronged by that system also have the strength to forgive. There is far to much anger, fear, and violence in our world. I wonder what our world would look like if we had the strength and courage to forgive not seven times but 70x7 times. I know it is a big request but I hope that at least those in my life will be able to forgive.

Day 272: May 9, 2015

A normal day filled with lots o' pollen. After vespers, we had a porch crawl where people had food or things to do on their porch. We had cornhole, nerf guns, and a toilet as a chair. Our porch is decorated with christmas lights, a disco ball, and streamers. It was pretty great!