A quick shout-out to Veterans and...AmeriMom!

Happy Veteran's day. I don't care if your politics are anti-war or anti-patriotic. people's lives are not about politics. It is a human thing. It is love. As long as there are people ending up over seas for whatever reason, I will support their health and safety to the fullest extent. i would like to give a special shout-out to my cousins Mike and Sabrina, my dear friend Bill and all of the other Veterans who have shared their amazing stories of sacrifice and endurance with me. May this day extend beyond its symbolic significance as we continue to fight for the rights of all vets to receive the care and embrace that they need upon returning from such surreal lives. 

Mary and I opted to close the open gym for Veteran's Day yesterday and joined our team at Jordan's mom's house for lunch. She was bubbling over with excitement about meeting us and insisted on having us all for a meal. Besides some amazing chili and cornbread - a comfort food indulgence I rarely experience - it was Jordan's 24th birthday (Happy Birthday!) and so we also got to enjoy her requested birthday treat: Homemade Amaretto Cheesecake. One of my three taste-driven reasons for not being vegan. 

AmeriMom makes AmeriNoms!

In return, we all participated in her inquisition rounds of get-to-know-you questioning (really quite a delight, actually) and we were adopted into her family and ours into hers by the time we left.

A Dam long day of Rainbows and Sweat

Unfortunately, not another hiking story. But a good long day nonetheless.

As of yesterday, we have commenced the trial runs of our Civic Engagement Camp units, a camp week that we will be leading for some 25 or so students this spring. The 6 units bring together the components of what it takes to be an engaged citizen in a community and organize a community service project cooperatively.

Unit one is about understanding individual freedom and community. The best part though, is that we get to do all of the projects we intend to do with the kids, so yesterday we got more swag.

 

Made Tye-die....cause, how could you not build an
awesome community off that?

Made Journals: my back.

my front

At around two, we ended our meeting day and headed over to Mossyrock for a tour of the tallest Washington dam completed in 1968, which boasts a height that dwarfs the Seattle Needle. We had a very enthusiastic and kind-hearted tour guide named Randle who led our cars across the dam in a very v.i.p. fashion and winded us down to the power house that stores two jumbo generators. We got to walk inside the generator casings and watch the things spin as fast as 80-somethin hundred basketballs shooting through your arm per minute….or second…something ridiculous. In the control room on a digital color-coated monitor, he showed us how they track the movement of water energy through the power house and how they adjust the levels to keep the generators spinning at 128 revolutions per minute(…second? Am I getting that confused again?) to keep it at exactly 6 hertz, the “correct wave of electricity”. It had never really crossed my mind that a dam would be all that interesting but I did appreciate hearing about their Hydropower methods and their environmental philosophies that focus on using the natural resources wisely, keeping the fish population thriving in their natural cycle and focusing on all surrounding components of the environment as well. I also appreciated his balanced view on dam efficiency, not being a hard-lined advocate for saving dams that are no longer serving their purpose. He said that of the 7500 dams left in the USA, a good portion of them qualify for revisions. The Hydropower type that they run is one of the most sustainable and efficient methods, the 240 or so are providing 10-15 percent of the power. At the end, more swag ensued: flashlight keychains and snazzy folders of statistics and why we should work at a Hydropower plant.

The whole day had been shades of gray, speckled with slightly clear-ish patches of a meager blue trying to poke its way though. By the time we finished the tour however, a steady drizzle was setting in and the lack of color was making it quickly feel late into the evening. However, I still had plans in front of me. Instead of succumbing to the weather’s suggestive prompt of curling up with a movie, I was off to Chehalis to visit my first-ever WWOOFing farm, Twinbrooks! Since my time there in 2011, Lorna and Carl had built a Sweat lodge and the prospect of the steamy cleanse kept me awake amidst the drab.

I surprised myself in how well my visual memory worked to navigate me through the back country roads to the farm. Tree lines and fields where I’d waved at baby foals and farmers rolling their hay all jumped out with familiarity. As soon as I saw the rickety farmhouse, a grin lit up my face. Lorna came out to greet me with her sweet whimsical smile worn on her rough-and-tough farm woman stature. She welcomed me as I remembered, calling their current wwoofer by name like a son that had been with them for years, and one that I knew well, none the less. Instant family.

In the house, Jared had been put to work cutting up tons of Quince, a fruit I am still on the fence about after trying it both raw and cooked. Lorna left us to get to know one another and finish up dinner preparations while she started the fire and took the dogs on a walk. When she returned, we 

added a couple more logs and then waited for the fire to burn down to hot coals and expose the glowing rocks in the center. Lorna ran around and prepared  towels and water and cautiously asked about our level of shyness to determine what to wear. I was gung ho for whatever dress code was established and Jared seemed apprehensive but open. I silently gave him kudos, having learned this was actually only his second day there and that he had never done a sweat on top of already getting to know Lorna’s quirky personality.

The sweat was wonderful. Certainly not as intense as a traditional sweat but we got some good steam going with 7 rocks and Lorna and I offered up some chants. Afterwards, we all took turns with the outdoor shower before meeting inside where Acorn squash was warming in the oven.

The next morning, I stayed for a breakfast of Zucchini patties and Jared and I took a walk around the wood/creek trail before I headed out.

That night after errands and a long drive home, I hosted my second Karaoke night. It was quite a bit different since my partner in crime was at the teen center until 11 and I remained sober as part of my 3-week hiatus from Alcohol, coffee and chocolate. Despite the clarity of my judgment, I managed to get myself to do my first solo performances in front of a Karaoke machine. Granted, I had my hands in the pockets of my sweatshirt and my face was probably redder than hot coals but that was a plural. I did three songs all on my ownsome. And quite a few more for backup support. I am not from these parts though. I am currently sitting with the Karaoke book at my side because I am going to have to learn more songs that these people jive with. 

Remember November? Its here again...

So, I last wrote about Halloween. That means it is here. November. On its seasonal cue (despite the unpredictable Autumn spurred by a changing climate) grey and fog and wet color the scene. The sky is darkening by 4:30 in the afternoon. The inclination to hibernate is being fiercely battled.

If this writing seems out of sorts, it is probably because it is. October rallies up the last bit of fire energy in its halloween antics before this ashy lull sets in; a simultaneous calm yet unsettling quiet before the demands of the holiday season seizes us.

Our first week of Open Gym in November, everyone seemed to be feeling it. The kid's moods were especially fragile, their frequency of complaints over little banters increasing, their energy plummeting with the sun, eager for snack or just to go home.

I have slowly been trying to inject some new inspiration into the atmosphere. On one of our last few nice days, I wandered outside with a couple of the girls, stringing my camera along. For the next two hours, they took turns posing or just randomly firing away at the camera and so I thought I should sit with them and let them look through their artwork. Thinking back to a photo workshop we did with kids in art school, I thought why not let them pick out a few to print? So last week, I finally cleared the gym board of the outdated artwork from years ago and created a space for a new art wall. On Wednesday, I surprised the girls with their photo work up on the board and offered them little labels to title their pieces with. I also tested the idea of putting a poster for the date each gym period and writing about a significant celebration or time in history for that day. For instance, November 6th was Finnish-Swedish Heritage Day to celebrate the bilinguality of the two Scandinavian countries. I am hoping that attention to the wall will catch on through the months.

Some of the photos the kids took:

L was getting accustomed to her "Hobo" role for Halloween.
She makes a very adorable Hobo. Almost wanted to let her keep my hat and coat. 

C titled this "the forest"

They were fascinated and freaked out at the same time

All of these little side projects I am creating are probably of no use in keeping me on track for the big ones. But they will offer me something to work on when these slow November weeks are wearing on me.

I also happened to regurgitate these ideas after a horridly frustrating Garden meeting with the Superintendent and the White pass principal. As I should have guessed, a whole bunch of unforeseen logistics and red tape arose and I left with what felt like a bag of skepticism with a side serving of sympathetic support. Rebecca hacked our idea of the Tennis court, citing no water source (legit) and demanded much more comprehensive estimates before she would even think about taking the project to the school board for any of their involvement. As I sat there listening to her list all of the groups and organizations I should get in touch with and toe-stepping that needed to be considered, I felt trapped in that quintessential web of politics where everything isn't just as simple as it seems it could be. There was still hope and an offer to come to the schools and present the project to the kids once we had a concrete cost analysis but I definitely left just wanting to set the whole thing on the back-burner. A few days before the meeting, our garden group had met up at the library with some new faces on board, most notably E, an incredibly bright and talented 11 year-old. She is nothing short of a highly ambitious go-getter and before the meeting was done, she was begging to hop on the computer to make a website for us then and there. At Open Gym, she began posting signs about "wanted talent" for a talent show fundraiser we had discussed as an option. The day after the school meeting, E came up to me and handed me a one-page write out of a sort of recruitment pitch. I hated having to tell her that the Tennis property fell through. As it stands, I have an excuse to play the waiting game before having to pursue anything else as one of our new members is getting details on a possible deal with a local man's cultivated property that we could use for free.

And so I feel out of sorts. Everything is being acted out in little dents. Small efforts. Not one contained focus. Oh, November...

A final October sunset

Halloween

No longer shall I resign myself to defeating excuses of laziness or busy-ness! I have entered into the sphere of halloween-giddy costumed adults with a loud bugal!

I had almost once again given up. The team had let the ball drop on a group costume and never being one to believe I could pull off a worthy last minute costume, I was ready to just play the role of old foagie. And then the Wednesday before halloween, Kelly came up to me at Taco night. ''So, you ready to host Karaoke this Saturday?"

"Uh, wait...isn't this Saturday your halloween party?"

"Yup! Its gonna be a blast."

Hence, the hasty need for a costume.

So that saturday, after a morning of planting popcorn and playing scrabble with some seniors at the nursing home (hows that for some sterotyping?) Mary and I spent the afternoon hopping from home supply stores to thrift stores and marketplaces in a last ditch effort to garner some inspiration. I was leaning towards an elk but by the time we got home, I had the making for three different outfits. After trying on the "Cowgirl" and "RetroDisco" looks and realizing these were clothing items I would probably wear on a regular day, I returned to the Elk idea. With my brown pants and shirts, I didn't feel to hopeful but once I had started shaping out some antlers the costume bug took hold. Smudging a black nose onto my face and wrapping a fuzzy brown scarf around my neck really pulled it together but  what topped it off above all, was when Mary handed me a towel and a sewing kit. "Here, make yourself a tail."

Mary pulled together a very black and white ghoulish thing and decided she was whatever people wanted to call her. I suggested Monster High Barbie.

Ain't we a cute couple

The party was a blast, although a cannot speak from the perspective of everyone I kept hitting in the face with Elk antlers. I couldn't even walk straight through a door with those things. They made for some comedic form on the Karaoke stage when Kelly, who was donning a big blonde wig would come close to help with the machine. I'm surprised I never pulled it clear off. The antlers also started a collection of cobwebs, grabbing them from the low hanging ceiling where I had to stand to work the machine.

I probably sang more Karaoke that night than I ever had in my life. Anything from the good old Beatles  and the Time Warp (which almost no one knew so I did practically alone) to ridiculous contemporaries like Beyonce's Single Ladies. Even though the same 5 or so people performed throughout the entire night, we didn't call it quits until about 1 am, just enough for one round of pool.

About half way through the night, Kelly called a costume contest. placing first was a couple dressed as road kill with tire tracks up and down their face and t-shirts. Second was a diva. there was a couple dressed as a leprochaun and pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that I thought should have won. Mary had thought about dressing as a hunter and I said if she did that, we probably would have been contenders also.

                              

The next Wednesday was the day before halloween and I decided to try and get a last-minute halloween activity together for the kids at Open Gym. I gave a pathetic attempt at decorating the front table with frustrating spider web clumps and bought supplies to make paper bag luminaries. I was surprised with how many of the kids took to making one...or three. Even a couple of the older kids became intrigued near the end of the night and made one. Of course, I also got candy for them and wore my elk costume, sans black nose. My antlers had really taken a beating at the party and I had to take them off shortly after because they were flooping in front of my face but the kids enjoyed seeing them.

Stick out your Tongue and taste the sun!

October 22

The kids had half days all this week. It is a stupid system if you ask me. They do not have block classes  but rather cram all 7 periods into measly 28-minute circus classes before noon. How the hell they expect the kids to learn anything in this time beats me. They might as well not have school at all for the week. Luckily I am not in the school to witness the chaos but the concept already gets me hot and bothered enough. On the upside however, this meant that Mary was done early every day and so on Tuesday, I met her at the school and we drove up near Cispus to hike Tongue Mountain before our evening Teen Center gig.

Admittedly I had grazed somewhat enviously numerous times over facebook photos of some of our team members who had done the hike a few days before I had arrived. The distance is nothing epic - a modest 1.7 miles to the top - but it was the view that made it a vied for experience.

From the top of Tongue, all three Mountain Wonders - Adams, Rainier and Helens - are in view. Mary even swore she remembered seeing Mt. Hood on a particularly clear day.

Autumn hues lining the trail

The drive up was a bit longer than she had remembered (and with the new sound effect on her car from all the potholes, we got nervous that we would be stopped all-together) so at first we were nervous about having enough time but the trail itself really only took about 40 minutes to complete. At the last .5 miles, Mary insisted that I go ahead so that I could have a chance to savor the view and for that last leg, I was stopping constantly, as the trail made a bunch of switch backs along an ever-expanding opening. First Mt Helens and then Adams peered into view. Silver felled trees and stumps formed benches beaconing me to stay up there forever. I was so astounded that I had not even made it to the final pavilion when Mary caught up. We hiked up together and spent a good hour photographing and becoming re-baffled with our neighborhood.

Oh hey, I found Helen!

And Rainier...

Hey Mary, whatja find? Adam!