Week 37

Day 252: Apr 19, 2015

Saying goodbye is.....

hard

sad

an excuse to visit other cities to visit

exciting- they are off to new adventures

Two friends left today. Mark and Max. Saying goodbye is one of those things that we get lots of practice doing here and we are entering the first of the twice-yearly major set of goodbyes. This time was one of the harder departures we have had in a while. Both were fairly long-term staffers and both were 20-somethings. Part of what I do to help cope with the frequent loss is to figure that these are not forever goodbyes. I will visit many of these people or they will visit me. It makes it a little easier. Today was different, though. Max has been fighting cancer for a few years now. The cancer has reoccured 3 times. The last time was about a year ago. The tumors were found in his neck and he was only given a year to live. They preformed surgery and the cancer has not reappeared yet. In this case, it is hard not to realize that I may not see him again. I may not get the chance to visit him. I hope and pray that I will have many decades left to visit and hang out with him but...

Day 253: Apr 20, 2015

Josh left today. We had a going away dinner last night in his chalet where we reminisced about his last year and then after eucharist we hung out in the jacuzzi. It was another one of those weird goodbye moments where I was both happy and sad. I was and am happy to see him moving on and he is going to have a great time on his road trip to his new home in Maine and I think he will be really good at and will enjoy his new job. It made me happy to see all of the love poured out toward him and I knew how much that meant to him. However, knowing that I will never see him in the village again was hard. I will see him again though, of that I am sure. I have never been to Maine before so that gives me the excuse to visit and he is a Bears fan so he will probably show up in Chicago at some point to see a game.

Day 254: Apr 21, 2015

A quiet and uneventful day.

Day 255: Apr 22, 2015

It's Earth Day!!!!!!! We didn't really do much to celebrate. I read an excerpt from A Sand County Almanac in the morning and vespers was somewhat based on the environment. Otherwise, it was a pretty exciting day. The new directors officially moved in. They brought their old, little dog. He is one of those dogs that is so ugly it is cute. It will be nice to have a “village pet”. I mean, he won't be outside much but he will be out more than any of the other pets. We also welcomed Alan Story. He is a Methodist pastor from South Africa and is doing bible study this week. I went to bible study this afternoon because I have heard really good things about the way he does it. It was very interesting but also slightly uncomfortable. He made some really good points about our country. We are the only country to drop an atomic bomb. We have the most military bases around the world compared to any other country. He raised the question, “are we the most terror spreading country in the world?”. If we look at ourselves from the view point of other countries, I think we have to say yeah, maybe. The other point that he raised is that empires never explode, they implode. In history, this has happened mainly because they begin to spend extraordinary amounts of money on security. Sound like any country/empire we know? There were quite a few points that he made that made me uncomfortable because they were the ugly truth. Our country is also pretty great in a lot of ways but knowing that we can also be looked at in the same light that we look at the Middle East is unsettling. IDK

Day 256: Apr 23, 2015

We had a variety show tonight so I opened the cart beforehand. We almost ran out of milk which will make tomorrow interesting. That was about all that happened though.

Day 257: Apr 24, 2015

Some of my regulars from last year came back into the village today! It was fun to see them again. It is funny because they are still all hanging out together like they used to. It is like a relatively calm frat of construction guys who range in age from 20s to 50s. Some have kids and some act like kids. I missed them and am glad to see them back.

Day 258: Apr 25, 2015

Oh man, it was cold today. There was a chill in the air that just did not go away. Otherwise it was an average day at the village.

Week 36

Day 245: Apr 12, 2015

Well, over night, it snowed another 2-3 inches. It is supposed to be pretty warm all week so I doubt it will stay long but still. It hasn't really snowed in over a month and now, once construction starts winding up, it snows. Today's entry is going to focus mainly on the kids in the village and one in particular. So we will focus on them in general first. So a few of the kids are starting to read Harry Potter. It is great for us because we can see the kids getting excited about books that we read and got excited about. So now all of the elementary school kids plus a younger brother are running around the village with “wands” and scars drawn on their foreheads. It is hilarious. Now onto one of my favorite kids here. He is a kindergartener named Jonah and he has the best imagination. For example, he will run around the village in some imaginary battle. This is a daily activity. At one point he said that he has an army in the palm of his hand. A few weeks ago, he died very dramatically in the middle of vespers. This was not the first death during vespers and so someone asked his dad how many times he thought that Jonah had died. The answer said in a very tired manner, “Today?”. So great. Another more recent story happened when the kids were on their field trip. Apparently, he was hugging one of the teacher's assistants around the neck. She commented about how he was being so cuddly. His response was “I'm not hugging you, I'm trying to kill you”. If he were older, I would be concerned but him saying it was just so fitting. Sometimes I wish I could see the world through his imagination.

Day 246: Apr 13, 2015

Nothin' special today. I am opening the cart almost 2 hours earlier tomorrow than I did on Saturday but finding that out was top of the list of “exciting” happenings of the day.

Day 247: Apr 14, 2015

Today was the first day of the coffee cart season. Basically, that means that the coffee cart was open on a day other than Saturday. People were excited but it was still a fairly quiet day over all. Other than that my day was pretty normal. I took a nap in the afternoon and watched TV with some friends in the evening. It did snow again today. Not enough to stay on the ground but it was swirling around on and off all day.

Day 248: Apr 15, 2015

I saw a pine martin today! It is like a cute ferret and it was running around on the loading dock as I was bringing dishes up to the dining hall. It was adorable.

Day 249: Apr 16, 2015

I started my day sitting in my “corner” office with 5 windows. It was actually a really busy day at the coffee cart. By closing time it almost felt like a real coffee house. It was a beautiful day so we ate lunch and dinner outside and then hung out on the porch as we watched the sun disappear behind the mountain. As we were sitting on the porch the pine martin came out and was playing on the ark, until the kids saw him. Then he ran underneath the raised wooden platform that is the ark to hide. The kids were not happy about that so a few of them started jumping on the ark to scare him out. I don't think that the kids realize how dangerous pine martins can be. They are omnivores and have been known to try to take down a fawn (the size of a small child). I was almost expecting to see it run out and attack when they were trying to scare it. We ended up yelling at them to stop both for their sake and for the poor pine martin.

Day 250: Apr 17, 2015

The jacuzzi opened today!

It was a beautiful day- upper 60s, low 70s- so we ate meals outside and basically spent as much time outside as possible. After vespers was when the real party started. Today was the grand opening of the jacuzzi and I got to go early because I won a contest. Those that won were allowed to go in 15 minutes earlier than everyone else. It was funny, though, because other people showed up even earlier just to hang out outside the fence. It made it kinda fun though to be in the jacuzzi while others were wanting to come in. It was a na-na-na-boo-boo moment. Once everyone was allowed in it got crazy but the opening was still a ton of fun. It was great.

Day 251: Apr 18, 2015

I won an event during our all village track meet! I won the Ladle Jump competition. We spun around in a circle while looking up at a ladle. Once thoroughly dizzy we were to drop the ladle and try to jump over it. It was a judged event so I wore a costume and went all out with my jump. I committed. Because of the continued centrifugal force from the spinning and the dizziness I totally missed. In fact, I ended up jumping away from the ladle and fell. I laid on the ground for a few seconds after falling. Partly because it helped to get rid of the dizziness and partly because it made it look like I committed more. Apparently, something worked. Whatever it was, it was totally worth it.

Week 35

Day 238: Apr 5, 2015

Happy Easter! Most of our easter celebration was last night but our food celebration was today. We had two feasts, brunch and a dinner of both pork and lamb. The only other celebration that was particularly different than any other day was the easter egg hunt that the kids and kids at heart partook in. The eggs were hidden around most of the village and were filled with all kinds of treats. It was a nice day and was also my final shift in the kitchen. The shift was filled with a bunch of great people and wound up being a great shift. It has been really wonderful working with these people. Even though there were times when I really wanted out I will miss working with these goofballs.

Day 239: Apr 6, 2015

Construction season has officially begun. We cooked all three meals of the day but ESS has arrived and we are transitioning. I was given some extra duties during the transition. Most of the kitchen staff are completely done with the kitchen and will have nothing to do with it from now on. I, on the other hand, will be a point person for the next few days. If ESS has any questions or needs anything I will be on hand to help.

Day 240: Apr 7, 2015

So I am helping ESS transition in today and I am amazed by what they can and cannot use. For example, they can't use the deli slicer which unless you are not using it correctly is about as safe as a sharp instrument can be. There is a hand guard so your hand isn't even touching the food as it goes through the blade. A plain knife is more dangerous. If they need to use a knife they have to wear crazy large cut-resistant gloves which get in the way of your cutting and, although they protect from cuts, probably make the whole process more dangerous. It is like working with a dull blade makes it more likely to cut yourself. Apparently, they are not allowed to use the bread slicer because the bread this morning was hand-cut. That is another machine that definitely makes the process safer. In order to cut yourself on the bread slicer you have to put your hand awkwardly in front of the bread while using a lever to push the bread in.

Day 241: Apr 8, 2015

Another day of making sure that ESS is settled in. Today was much smoother for them. I only needed to answer one question for them and it was about where dried ranch packets were (aka we don't have any but here is the recipe we use). They are really getting into it and are learning really quickly. It only took one day for them to label foods as gluten-free which was a really big step. The head chef did not even know that gluten was in anything other than bread. Considering that they do not have internet at this point to look up a list of things with gluten I think it is impressive but I also have a crazy amount of sympathy for the kitchen. I am a little biased, though.

Day 242: Apr 9, 2015

Today's meals were pretty much the epitome of ESS food. There were french toast sticks and chocolate eclairs for breakfast and ribs and chicken for dinner. On the other hand, they made a chicken and rice soup for lunch that was pretty darn amazing. I went on a lovely walk around the loop because it was beautiful outside. I was going to go down to Ten Mile Falls because I prefer the walk through the woods to the walk along the road and through the construction but Leah said she would come with if I did the loop. I figured the loop is going to close soon so I agreed to go that way. Also, the ticks are out in mass right now. Apparently, there is only a two week period when they are really bad. I have bug spray with deet that I can use when I go out though. Some people are weary about deet but honestly, I worry more about ticks and diseases they carry. Plus, with ticks I can just put some around clothing joints (where the shirt meets pants, where pants meet socks) and maybe a little in my hair because even the idea of ticks in my hair makes me cringe.

Day 243: Apr 10, 2015

Just a relaxing uneventful day.

Day 244: Apr 11, 2015

We had our first official spring snow today. It actually stuck too. I think we ended up with maybe a half inch on the ground. It was mostly melted by the end of the day but while it was still snowing it was great packing snow. The kids have been playing outside a lot lately and the snow did not change much. They still played only this time it was in short sleeves and in the snow. The only other event of the day was my first day back at the coffee cart. I went in a little earlier than I had to because I knew that there would be some organizing that I would want to do. Other than that it was a nice shift, shorter than before because there are only 15-20 construction workers here right now so I didn't open at 6am. It just isn't worth it to open 2 hours earlier if only one person is going to show up. This also meant that I didn't get the internet to myself or much spare time to read but those opportunities will come soon enough.

Week 34

HOLY WEEK

Day 231: Mar 29, 2015

Today was Palm Sunday. This was the first Palm Sunday service that I have been to where there weren't palm leaves of some kind. Instead, we walked to church first from the east (the direction that Jesus came from when entering Jerusalem) and then we walked past the building where we have church and eventually turned around and walked to church from the west (the direction that Pilate would have been coming from). It was a cool way to start Holy Week. I spent most of my day working on a storyline/script for a skit based on Noah's Ark. It will be very similar to a skit that I did in youth group 6 or 7 years ago. The goal is to keep it fairly short because it will be part of our easter vigil. Apparently, the whole service is going to be something like 3 hours long and we will be walking around the village listening to a bunch of different stories and readings. Although our skit is second, my goal is to start things out on a funny/fun note. I will have a bouncer Noah, a pregnant female God, a flying stuffed animal bird with a pine branch taking the place of an olive branch. It is going to be very similar to a Sunday school telling of the story which I think fits well with the story. Noah's ark is one of the first stories that children learn so pretty much everyone will know the story. After church, I even went down to the craft cave and painted an ark and a rainbow to act as the set pieces. It would be fun to actually build a little ark and have our Noah finish it on stage but there is no way I could build something before Saturday and actually do my job too. Plus, I think it will be funnier to have Noah “build” the ark by unfolding and taping the painted ark to the wall. It should be good, I just have to find a time when we can run through the skit at least once. I didn't actually write out the skit word for word so it would be good to go through it so my actors know what I am looking for.

Day 232: Mar 30, 2015

Today was pretty chill. I read my book, enjoyed the outdoors-it smells like spring, and went to an art show of the two artists in residents here. The amount of beautiful art that they have gotten done in the last few weeks is amazing. Their work is beautiful.

Day 233: Mar 31, 2015

Today was pretty great. We had a grill night for dinner- burgers, salmon, slaw, and malts. I helped man the grill which was crazy smokey but a bunch of fun. Other than that, not much to report.

Day 234: Apr 1, 2015

Today we had a passover seder which was nice. I made bagels for lunch. The would have been pretty easy to make except that we didn't have regular flour. I have to use a mix of cake flour and gluten which meant that the bagels soaked up more water than they should have. That resulted in longer and uneven cooking. It was incredibly frustrating but in the end they still tasted great which is really all that matters.

Day 235: Apr 2, 2015

Lent is officially over. We had a vespers service where we cleared the worship area of everything. The chairs, everything.

Day 236: Apr 3, 2015

Because we emptied out the worship space yesterday we had our good Friday service while sitting on the floor. The other exciting part of my day was that I got three packages today! One was a box of wood game pieces for a game of Catan that I am making. It was way more exciting than you would think. The other two boxes were easter baskets from my mom. It was wonderful. Not only that but I also got two letters from my little cousins. I love getting letters from them. They just make me so happy.

Day 237: Apr 4, 2015

Wow today we had the longest worship service that I have ever attended. It was a 3 hour vigil. The first half was the telling of multiple stories. I helped to tell the story of Noah's ark and I would have to say that our portion of the first half was, by far, the most entertaining part. We had a pregnant female God, a lazy, tired, and slightly sick Noah, a rejected sabertooth tiger and a few happy stuffed animals. We also found out, today, that the directors got a new pet bunny. They are thinking of naming it Pebbles. It is grey and still pretty small and feels like my cat. He even snuggled up to my neck, right after he left little presents all over my lap. Luckily bunny poop is dry like raisins.

Week 33

Day 224: Mar 22, 2015

It was pretty rainy today so I spent the day reading. Not having a computer has really increased my pages read numbers but has also severely cut down on my knitting hours. I have finally finished the book I started reading when my dad came to visit (it was called Hild). It was a good book by had a bunch of old English (like 6th century old) which made it harder to read. I finished another book today called Plastic. Hild was a historical fiction novel whereas Plastic was nonfiction. Plastic was nice because it didn't just glorify or rip on plastics the whole time. The author focused on 5 common plastic items and told the story of plastic through them. For example, she wrote about the IV bag. It has saved many lives and has made storing blood in blood banks a possibility but it can also leach out chemicals and is a one use product. I like environmental or "green" books that are not one sided. I like to know the facts so I can make up my own mind on the subject at hand. Wow, that was a ton of writing to do on a phone, I think I will end there for now.

Day 225: Mar 23, 2015

My computer did not make it to the boat on time but I will live. I started a new book called The Pillars of the Earth. It is another historical fiction book and it is really good. I read more than 250 pages today and that was mainly done in the morning. Other than that I finished someone's baby shower gift for Shane and Meredith. They wanted a crochet edge on a hat that looked like a cupcake. I knew it wouldn't take long so I didn't mind doing it. In the afternoon, after sitting outside for an hour waiting for the bus, Alex, Jess, and I watched Jumanji, a crazy yet awesome Robin Williams film. I read before and after dinner. After a vespers about forgiving, Alex, Leah, and I played Catan again. It was a good game and only lasted about an hour. I also won which was pretty great.

Day 226: Mar 24, 2015

Today was the baby shower! After the dinner shift we all headed to one of the chalets and had a party. There was ice cream and toppings, games, and gifts. Shane, the soon to be father, had to put a cloth diaper on a doll and we had to guess the circumference of Meredith's stomach. At the end they opened gifts. There were lots of onesies and shoes. There was a diaper changing kit, a baby carrier, and a stuffed bunny. I knit them a baby blanket. It is a pale yellow with confetti-like accent colors and a soft multi colored crochet border. It is simple but cute and they loved it. I'm a little worried that Shane might keep it for himself rather than give it to baby Ember (the future baby girl who will be called Emmie for short). It was a great time.

Day 227: Mar 25, 2015

My computer came today!!! I no longer have to write my entry for the day on my phone! I am slowly getting things onto this computer but there are a few things- like some photos that are being stubborn.

Day 228: Mar 26, 2015

Another pretty average day although it was a beautiful average day. The only thing of note was that I burned my arm pretty good within the first hour of my shift so that was fun (not at all). It is a triangle an inch and a half long by about an inch wide. Luckily, it is easy for my to see so I can make sure that it isn't getting infected. Stuffi got a burn a week or two back and it got infected, not too bad but still.

Day 229: Mar 27, 2015

Another pretty average day. My burn is getting better so that's good. Otherwise a normal day ending with watching bones with Pat.

Day 230: Mar 28, 2015

I am writing this at midnight because I just spent 3 hours playing a short game of Catan and talking with my floormates. We bitched and talked about issues, how we were feeling and where we are at in our Holden experience. It was interesting. We questioned motives and found another example of being at Holden for too long. It seems that it can be too easy for people to sign up for another 6 months or whatever and by the end of their time they are down with the isolation. They are done with the issues of being in community. They are done with being constantly “on” (the only time when you are truly not working is when you are in your room or sleeping). This seems like a good place to leave while you are still on top. It is like being a professional athlete. You may feel great and at the top of your game but that might be the perfect time to leave. Brett Favre should have left the first time he retired. He was still on top but everyone knew that his prime years were behind him and everything would go downhill from there. Holden is the same way. You might feel like you can keep going and continue to be your best but when you decide to extend your contract it can result in you struggling to the finish line. The other main excitement that happened today was that I finally mended my pants (they needed some patches). It was way more exciting than it sounds.

Week 32

Day 217: Mar 15, 2015

It was a surprising Sunday. I woke up to snow falling and it continued to fall all day. When writing this we had about 4in of new snow which was surprising considering that we thought spring was here. The only downside to today was that my computer died. It won't turn on anymore. I gave it to IT to see if they could do anything but my hopes are not high. By the end of the day we had about 5in of snow. Because of all of the snow something happened at the hydro plant and the power ended up going out right at the end of dinner. It was light enough outside to walk to vespers but I brought my headlamp just in case. It turned out to be a good idea because I needed the extra light to knit by during vespers. The power was still out after vespers so we ate dessert by flashlight light and went to lodge six to play a game. The power finally came back on at 9:30- about 4 hours after it went off. Something big must have happened at the plant. I didn't mind the outage though. I think it brings us closer together as a village and as friends.

Day 218: Mar 16, 2015

Most of my day was spent reading but the day ended on a much more exciting and fun note. After vespers we had a "cozy night in". It was basically a bunch of people gathering to drink wine and tea, have snacks, and chat. We heard kid stories, stories about when we were kids, and stories about things happening in the village. It was really nice. It was an inter generational group so a certain person couldn't go around saying that we had a crazy party. All in all it was a pretty great night.

Day 219: Mar 17, 2015

Today was interesting to say the least. Our shift was pretty boring mainly because there wasn't much to do. The corned beef had been in the oven since seven am so we had to chop some carrots and potatoes but that was it. So, we did some inventory and cleaning. We were out of things to do by 1:30 so we decided to make some cookies to get ready for the stop day on Thursday. I found out that my computer is most likely dead. Jade (the little girl who lives above me) is leaving on Friday. One of the teachers here has been bullying her and it has gotten to the point where she no longer feels safe at school so her mom basically said unless she could be homeschooled they were leaving. It is almost impossible to work and homeschool a child at the same time so they are leaving. It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to her. After dinner, I went to a mono printing class and then there was a hootenanny to celebrate st. patty's day. The day was a real roller coaster between boring, sad, and just having a good time.

Day 220: Mar 18, 2015

I have officially bought a computer with my own money. It feels like another step into adulthood. I knew my computer was not doing real well so I knew this purchase was coming. When you realize that you just spent 2 months of stipend that hurts a little more. At least I have always been good about saving and not spending money for no reason. Tomorrow is a stop day and I wish I already had the computer so I could set it up but what ya gonna do?

Day 221: Mar 19, 2015

STOP DAY!!!! I took this stop day easy. I spent almost three hours sitting and talking to people in the dining hall in the morning and then watched a movie with Pat and Leah in the afternoon. Jade is leaving tomorrow so we threw a game party where we played charades mainly. As it got later people left and Jade went to bed but Leah, Alex, Alex's brother and I decided to play the new Settlers of Catan game that Alex got. Because none of us had played this new version it started slow but ended up being a ton of fun. The game ended up taking two and a half hours and we were giggly and cranky by the end. It ended up being a close game- three of us could have won in the last round. Total worth the late night.

Day 222: Mar 20, 2015

Jade and her mom left today. I was able to hold it together for them (although I almost lost it when I hugged Tamara). Everyone was trying to hold it together because we all knew that if one of us lost it we all would. At least they are moving to Decorah where I went to college so I will most likely see them again.

Day 223: Mar 21, 2015

Today was a pretty average day. The evening was a ton of fun though. We played Catan and talked for a while. It was great.

Week 31

Day 210: Mar 8, 2015

I saw a bluejay- Another stream of consciousness poem

Today, I saw a bluejay

It flew from behind and landed in a nearby spruce

I would have thought nothing of it but things have been melting

Spring is quickly on its way

The birds are coming back

Rivulets of melted snow are carving their way though the ice

Trails are emerging

Gravel and dirt are appearing around the village and around the local trails

The bluejay was just another sign that winter is ending

the time for frolicking outdoors will soon be upon us.

Day 211: Mar 9, 2015

It was a beautiful day so I decided to head out for a walk this morning. I had garbo this afternoon so I needed to keep the walk fairly short. I ended up going out to Ten Mile Falls. I made it more of a thinking walk rather than an exercise hike. It was really nice. I was able to clear my head at times and I was able to think about life and other things with a clear head. I didn't come to any life changing conclusions but it was a nice walk. Tomorrow is a stop day which means that no one works unless absolutely necessary. So, that means that I get another day off so I am going to go on another hike tomorrow morning. It should be fun.

Day 212: Mar 10, 2015

Today was pretty awesome. In the morning, Hallie and I headed up to Lower Copper Basin. It was really steep and pretty darn icy. Conditions made the assent slow but by the time we got up there my curiosity was stronger than my tiredness. It was beautiful. I knew it was going to be steep and I knew that enough people had done the trail that there would be a path trod down. It was a pre-made luge track. Needless to say, we brought sleds with us. The trip down was probably the best sledding I have experienced. I mean, how many people can say that they sledded down a mountain? We were able to stay in control of our sleds by keeping our feet in front of us and using the steps on the side of the ice to help slow us down. It was so much fun!

Day 213: Mar 11, 2015

Well, we doubled the size of our village today. A bunch of people came in for the naturalization ceremony tomorrow. It was a pretty good day until my back started to hurt. It started to get really bad after dinner. I ended up icing it and heating it for a while which seemed to help. At least, it has helped enough that I think I can sleep at this point. Getting old sucks.

Day 214: Mar 12, 2015

I had the privilege to learn how to make tamales today. Family members of those who got their citizenship today taught and helped us to make over 1000 chicken and pork tamales. It was a busy shift and we took about an hour off to go to the naturalization ceremony. It was a very interesting ceremony. I mean, the people getting their citizenship had to totally denounce their old country (in this case, mostly Mexico) and there were basically propaganda films that were shown, including the music video for the Proud to be an American song. In talking to some staffers, the common feelings were pride (for the new citizens and all that they have accomplished), disgust/shame (the videos were that bad), and some level of confusion (why the videos, why some of the comments in the keynote were made). All in all though, it was a good experience. I, also, really enjoyed making tamales.

Day 215: Mar 13, 2015

Some guests saw Jesus in the snow pattern on the mountain today.. That was about all that happened other than lots of tortillas made.

Day 216: Mar 14, 2015

Happy Pi day! At exactly 9:26 and 56 seconds us kitchen folk ran out of the kitchen and spun in circles in order to enjoy the beauty of the circle. It was pretty darn fun. The day ended with a showing of Guardians of the Galaxy. When it first came out I thought it looked stupid but it turned out to be really pretty good.