A woolly christmas to you all

Merry Christmas. It has been a day full of pies, luminarios, family, and presents. My mom has been knitting me a pair of socks for Christmas for several years now. And then I go and walk holes in them. This year I was cutting it close, I only have one pair of homemade socks left, and they are on their last leg (or foot, as it were). This Christmas was special because I am finally at the point where I can knit a pair of socks for my mom as well. Here are our feet thoroughly enjoying the new wool!



Socks are a wonderful gift. They are practical, they are fun to make (at least the first on is...), and as Stephanie McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) says, they are the ultimate expression of love. There is a lot of design that goes into knitting a seamless sock, getting just the right number of stitches, the heel flap, the heel, picking up stitches for the gusset, the long time it takes to get to the toe. And then you have to do it all over again (although mine don't usually match, on purpose). To quote the Yarn Harlot:

The knitter then gives the finished socks to a worthy recipient, who will, the first time that he or she puts them on, undergo a transformation, a moment of sacred joy, swearing off machine-made socks forever. And then--in a celebration of the knitter's art, a festivity of yarn, a homage to knitting in the round and needleworkers everywhere--the recipient will walk big honkin' holes in them.

That's love. That's why socks are special.

Winter harvest and back to the southwest.

Before leaving for three weeks, I decided to harvest the herbs I could, assuming that they would most likely not survive the break. Perhaps they are magical plants, with camel-like super powers to store water, but I'm not taking my chances. I think we'll have enough dried basil, cilantro, dill, and mint to last us for quite a while. Here's some pictures from the harvest:

Basil at it's wildest.

Mr. Mint needs a haircut.

I learned this on the internet. You cut the stalks then bundle them and hang them upside down in dark, warm space.

My dark, warm space is inside a paper grocery back placed next to the heater. I'll let you know how it works...

And now I am back in the Southwest, not under 2 feet of snow, and enjoying the sun and 60 degrees. Oh, and it stays light here till past 5:30! Oh, and my parents took me out for green chile enchiladas straight from the airport. Such amazing people! It's good to be home.

From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

It was then that the fox appeared.
"Good morning," said the fox.
"Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
"I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree."
"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
"I am a fox," the fox said.
"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."
"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."
"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.
But after some thought, he added:
"What does that mean--'tame'?"...
..."It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
" 'To establish ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince...
..."My life is very monotonous," he said. " I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all them men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."
The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
"Please--tame me!" he said...
...So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--
"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields."...
..."Goodbye," he said.
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."...
..."Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for whatever you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."



And that, my friends, is love.

Free Rice

If you haven't seen this yet, check it out. It's kind of addictive. www.freerice.com

snow day.

SNOW DAY!!!! WOOOHOOO!


After finding out that the schools are closed and thus I did not have to go into work at 6:00 this morning, I promptly fell back asleep. Waking up at a much more reasonable hour, I knit for a few hours this morning while my roommate made scones, then we went out to play. We gave birth to Gertrude the Snowwoman, several snow angels, and an almost completed igloo. Some kids even came by to help us with the igloo, yea outreach! I feel like a six year old who spent all day playing with friends. It's wonderful...get outside and play if you haven't in a while!

Here's some pictures:








Now I'm cuddled down with a snack to write a lesson plan for tomorrow. This evening I'm going to go see John McCain speak in Manchester and it's going to be filmed on MTV. Not a bad day!

Imagery

From most recent to "how long have these been on my camera"...















This morning's fog with several corps members...




















The first snow of the season as seen from my window.















On a fire look out tower a couple weekends ago















Roommate Amanda touching the ocean for the first time this year.















My teammates "planning" for a field day we ran at the school.

Giving Thanks

So I'm totally ripping off from Tamie's blog and writing about what I am thankful for today. Seems appropriate somehow. This is my first thanksgiving away from my family, which makes me all the more thankful for the time I will spend with them soon. I am thankful for the family who let my co-workers and I use their house to cook and eat our turkey. I am thankful for all the people who saved up turkey points for the grocery store so we could afford our dinner in the first place.

I am thankful for the snow that fell yesterday! (picture to come) I am thankful for the work I am doing, because I feel like I am making a difference even though it exhausts me. I'm thankful for Callie's wedding and that I will get to spend time with my friends/sisters. I am thankful for people all over the country who love me and whom I love. I am thankful for the stars and the wind and the fog and homemade socks.

And cheese...can't forget the cheese.

Timberland re-mix.

Today I sat in a round table discussion with the Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz. It was inspirational to say the least. Timberland is a company that tries its darndest to live out the ethics that they preach. They are not perfect and they know it, but they try and you have to respect that. I think I've put their web link up here before, but here it is again ... right here.

The discussion made me realize how complex these issues are on the company side of things. It is easy to say that Wal-mart is bad, but to really consider what is going through the minds of CEOs is considerably more difficult. Maybe they really are trying to do what is best...maybe?

Anyway, Timberland really is doing cool stuff, just so ya know. We talked about how nowadays, we vote more at the cash register than at the voting booth. So, where is your vote?

Daylight savings time makes me mad.

So I got in this rhythm with my work schedule. No, it wasn't perfect, but at least I was driving to work watching the sunrise and most times making it home with half an hour of daylight to spare. And yes, I know that wouldn't have lasted very long anyways, but I was hoping for at least a few weeks. But then the government stepped in...

Maybe I was just spoiled living in Arizona (which doesn't observe daylight savings time) for the past four years. I feel like me schedule is off, my patterns are eschew, my nature is disturbed. I expect that to happen if, say, I fly to London, but not sleeping in my own bed. Not going to lie, I'm a little bitter. I don't blame old Ben Frank for coming up with the idea, but does DLS actually help anybody, or does it just mess with our heads?

Did you know that...

...the Equal Rights Amendment guaranteeing equal rights based on sex is not actually part of the constitution. It was passed by Congress in 1972 but only got 35 of the 38 states needed to ratify it. Arizona, Nevada, and Utah didn't ratify it, neither did most of the South. It has been reintroduced to Congress every year since then. I always thought that all my rights were secured, but nope, just the right to vote. Which I do appreciate.

~Gettin' my feminist grove on.

They weren't kidding

It's true that fall here is beautiful. And it has finally come! Here are some pictures of my town in all its autumn glory.

My room is in the house in the back, second floor on the left.

This is a cemetery a couple blocks from my apartment. It's a nice place to run.

This weekend was a good one. Mostly because I finally got a chance to make and can applesauce from when we went apple-picking several weeks back. I got six pints out the batch! It is nice to have time to just putter around the kitchen.

A lot has been going on. I'm getting settled into my school; I'm working in four different classrooms, mostly with language arts. Possibly the coolest part of my job is that I'm learning to play the trombone with the band (there is only one poor little sixth grader for all low-brass, he is sooo over powered). When I told the band teacher that I played tuba for eight years, he nicknamed me "Tuba Girl". I think it has a good ring to it :)

I'm working a lot, which is both good and bad. Time is flying and I can tell that I will never be bored in this job. But I rarely get home before it is dark (that is partly because it's getting dark so flippin' early!), and when I'm home I have zero energy (thus the declining number of blog posts). I have promised myself that I won't work at home, which takes some pressure off and lets me actually relax a little each night.

In conclusion, life is good and I'll keep you updated.

In the news

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize with the UN Commission on Global Climate Change, my friends have started getting married, and the kitchen herb garden is growing tall.


I just got back from Minneapolis where two friends who met at Goddard Space Flight Center in the summer of 2006 got married. Congratulations Luke and Rayna! It was great fun to see friends, reminisce, and dance. It delights me how natural it was to see them again. We practically breathed each other for ten weeks then went our separate ways. Many of these people I hadn't seen for over a year, but it seemed simple to pick-up where we left off. That has been the case with many of my friends who I have moved away from over the years and it gives me hope that it will be the case with many others. Besides going to the wedding, I went to the Mall of America to ride roller coasters, ate lunch with the bust of the Pope at Buca de Bepos, and walked around downtown.



Of course going to a wedding makes me think of my own "special day". Even if I never find my Prince Charming I want to invite everyone to come celebrate with me because it would be one helluva party. There are important people in my life who have never met each other and might not cross paths except at my wedding. That sounds very ego-centric, but I realize that is the case with all of my friends, which is why I look forward to meeting your important people at your wedding (or wedding-like party).

One thing I realized yesterday is that every group I'm close to loves to dance. And that makes me happy. So all I can say is that if I do ever get married, we are going to need a wicked huge dance floor and its going to be going all night.

And now for something completely different...

A cool interview

So, normally I'm not such a fan of the Colbert Report. But the pure awesomeness of a man who has been to the moon, *twice*, and the fact the Stephen seems completely star-struck won me over. Enjoy.

Things that I like.

1) Apple picking! I went to an orchard slash harvest festival this weekend and it was a blast. Now we have half a bushel of apples to do something with. I'm hoping to can me some apple sauce this weekend.




2) Live bluegrass at a wicked cool club (and yes, they actually say "wicked" out here). The club is called the Stone Church and it really is an old church. It has some pretty sweet acts come through and its fame is widespread (whenever I tell someone here where I'm living, they ask if I've been there). The atmosphere reminded me so much of Flagstaff: lots of dreadlocks, local artist work on the wall, awesome people watching.

3) My new bookshelf! I got it for free from the side of the road. I love this state. Now it actually feels like I live here!



4) Waking up early (or at least I'm hoping that I'll like it soon). Check out the time down there and then think of me setting my alarm for 5:30 AM. I more fully appreciate what all you teachers out there are working with :)

Update

It's been quite the week. Last weekend we went for a hike; we made it all the way up to 5200 ft! And the leaves are changing color, I hear we are coming near peak leaf viewing season which I am looking forward to with great anticipation. In the midst of the hike, we had several album cover poses, here they are for your enjoyment.





On Monday I went to visit the school I'll be working in and met with the principals. It made this whole year seem more realistic to be walking around the building. It also overwhelmed me a little. They are trusting me to work in classrooms and mentor kids through Big Brothers Big Sisters with only a month of training (and only about 2 days of it on actually working with kids). I feel under-qualified, but maybe that is how all teachers feel (at least at first?). Next week we are in the schools all week observing classrooms and then the week after we really start.

In other City Year news, we got our uniforms this week...including the much anticipated Timberland boots! Yes, they are everything that I imagined them to be. I can't wait to get them dirty and wrinkled. The rest of the uniform, is well, a uniform. The pants fit kinda funny and the x-small shirt is way too big. But I feel approximately 13.2 hundred times cooler working in it. Really unifies the group.

Friday was our Opening Day, basically the official start of the year. We listened to lots of people talk, and said the City Year pledge which I'm putting here because I actually think it is pretty cool. Here ya go:

I pledge to serve as a City Year member to the very best of my ability,
To honor the rules and expectations of City Year,
To respect my colleagues and the people and communities we serve,
To provide excellent service,
To lead by example and be a role model to children,
To celebrate the diversity of the people, ideas, and cultures around me,
To serve with an open heart and an open mind,
To be quick to help and slow to judge,
To do my best to make a difference in the lives of others,
And to build a stronger community, nation, and world for all of us.

So, it's official. On Monday we get our jackets and have a jacket dedication ceremony which should be cool. I'll let you know how that goes.





Here's something for you to think about. What is the best way to open a can of tuna without a can opener? Let me know if you have any better ideas, because I still have three cans and no opener :-)

Water

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

from the tao te ching by lau tzu, translated by stephen mitchell

Sprouts!

Yesterday I woke up, groggily walked to the kitchen and started the coffee, turned to the herbs that weren't supposed to sprout for another couple of weeks to find glorious green heads poking through the soil! It made my morning. I couldn't stop smiling the whole way to work.





Then on the way to work we drove behind a clown in a minivan. It was fine until he saw us staring and started waving. Then it was just creepy.

I'm in.

I like to think of myself as a critical thinker not easily swayed by the popular opinion or engulfed in groups just because they exist. But I find myself completely buying into the whole City Year idea. Don't worry, I won't drink any Kool-Aid no matter what they tell me will happen :-). It's just that I really agree with the goals of this organization and I am even excited about getting my uniform so that I can wear City Year colors proudly. Oh, and the boots. I am very excited about the free pair of Timm's work boots!

Today we had an event called Serva-a-palooza. It is an annual Timberland event where they basically shut down all operations for a day in order to serve in communities across the world. Afterwards there is a big party...that's the palooza part. I worked at a park in Rochester clearing brush out of a wonderful pine forest. It was so overgrown it was creepy when we got there. But six hours and 150 volunteers transformed it into inviting paths and beautiful views of the river. It is truly amazing to see a community like this at work.

The other very cool part of today was working with high school students from the nearby school. On girl came with a pink and bleached mohawk that was at least 8 inches tall. Amazing. They were wonderful to work with and excited about City Year. One of the first things they asked me was how they can join. I thought, "Wow, way to be thinking about the future...I didn't even know this program existed until last November".

Back to me buying into City Year. The CEO of Timberland is an amazing man by the name of Jeff Swartz. He spoke at the party tonight and you could feel his passion radiating into the crowd. He does good with his company not to make money, but because this is what he believes. It inspires me. He was on the Colbert Report a while ago, so check it out!

I am feeling good about my team. I really got to know them this week working together and living together at our retreat. They are amazing people, and I look forward to continuing to build these relationships.

In conclusions, service is fun and you feel good afterwards and yea for free boots!

Here's two pictures from BTR...

Life in the 'Shire

Hola. Here is an update and pictures. So far we have had: 2 service days, 6 days of training, 1 trip to the school where I will be tutoring middle school students, 2 hikes, and lots of laughs. There have been a few tense moments with my team, but I am confident that we will find a way to work it out.

These are my awesome roommates after our second day of service. We helped out at a 200 mile relay race across the state. The runners go all night for 24 hours straight. Crazy.

Amanda worked the night shift so she was a bit tired by the time I took this picture. Her team all wore funny wigs to help the time pass, so, no, that's not her real hair :)

So after working for 10 hours yesterday, we got up and hiked a mountain. It was an easy incline, but the view from the peak was beautiful. It awed me so much that I had to take a nap before heading down.

And yes, it was only 2804 ft. in elevation, but when most of the state is at sea level that is a tall peak. A little trivia, the highest point in New Hampshire is Mt. Washington at 6,288 ft. We are hoping to hike that before the end of the year!

Tomorrow we are going on the Basic Training Retreat (or BTR as they say in the business). We are going to a summer camp up north and chillin' till Wednesday. Should be fun. But if I am out of touch, that's why.

Pictures from a while ago.

Here are some photos from the road trip that I never got a chance to upload.

This is where I lived in Charleston for the first three years of my life.

Sunset in Pennsylvania.

Self-explainatory.