An old post from April 2:

Hi friends.

So, we had sunshine today!  It was such a joy to see blues skies and sun.  I could hardly wait to finish cabin cleaning so that I could soak in some vitamin D :)  The sun was especially welcome after we had the snow Monday and sleet later week.

However, my sunshine time was cut a little short for two reasons: 1. The wind was pretty chilly.  2.  I was invited to learn to make Indian food with Suzanne.  Suzanne is one half of a missionary couple down here.  Suzanne is the Women and Children's Coordinator.  She's five feet tall of awesome!  (Her husband Bob is the Materials Coordinator of workcamp and pretty cool as well.)  So, I scampered off to fry some naan and stew some lamb.  Several hours later, my finger tips are stained yellow, my belly is full and my clothes smell like Taj India.  In other words, I had a blast.  Suzanne taught me to make naan (a little bit of a cheater kind), cucumber raita (the yogurty dish to cool everything down), tandori chicken, saag aloo (spinach, potatoes and spice!), kashmiri rogan josh (a lamb dish), and basmati (Indian rice).  Mmm Mmm good!

Borrowed pictures from the birthday week of AWESOME

Martha, the head cook made a triple layer chocolate cake. Mmm yummy goodness!  The Wisconsin crew was happy to help me celebrate.

Fair warning, this is the group from the last post. Check out our awesome backrub line :)

Yeah, they were that cool.

In the Words of a Very Brave Man...

It is hard work to chase hope.  Hope is not for sissies.

These people and this past week reminded me that it is totally worth it.  Thanks Wisconsin. (P.S. note the gorgeous nature of those stairs!)

The Best Advice I've Ever Gotten But Haven't Learned to Follow

How's that for a title? So, chatting with an almost Methodist pastor (he's a local pastor and 1 step away from ordination to Elders Orders, which means the whole she-bang), this advice came up.  I originally heard it six years ago now from my kickboxing coach.  Despite many blows to the head and a penchant for S Club 7, he gives good advice. He told me to "Relax and enjoy the journey."  Simple advice but true and important for me.  It has also followed me, because as I mentioned earlier, I haven't quite learned the lesson yet.

On other news, I had a visitor today.  Dana dropped by!  I was so excited to see her.  Apparently, I missed her on campus but she saw me driving the snaky road back to campus and flagged me down.  We had a wonderful chat on the side of the road.  You know you live in the sticks when the side of the road is an acceptable and logical spot to chat. Haha.

Tomorrow, I venture forth to work on a front porch, kitchen floor, kitchen windows, toilet, and living room ceiling.  Here's to hoping my crew brings their A game because we're going to be busy :)  Blessings to all my friends reading this!

Update :)

Recent happenings:
1. Our regular group of the season is here.  :D  They make me very happy.  It is such fun to have new people about and to head off campus to build things.  This week it is a mixed crew of college kids and community members.  They are new to RedBird Mission and quite laid back.

2.  We had Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner.  It was wonderful.  We had a crowd.  Linda organized everything as the pancake master.  I also became a church lady: you know, I made a beeline for the kitchen, said hello as I begin baking hashbrowns and flipping pancakes.   Of course this also meant a few pancakes never made to the serving line, but there is a kitchen tax after all.

3.  I had a semi-spring break despite the fact I don't attend school right now.  I went to Candler by way of Birmingham for a scholarship event Fri-Sun am in Birmingham and then Sunday-Wednesday morning at Candler.  Then there was Wednesday evening in Birmingham finished off by a trip to New Orleans for the Endymion ball with my family.  Fun all the way around.

4.  I get my own workcrew this coming week.  I am both scared and excited!

Not Quite the Next Betty Crocker

Well, I have some fun things to report. I attend the singles small group/Bible study on Monday nights.  We are right now reading Max Lucado's book Cast of Characters.  We also eat and watch Syracuse basketball, so we aren't paricularly serious.

Aren't we cute? Left to Right: Back row Duane, Angela Shoney, Tim.   Front row Terri, Linda, me :)

Our last escapade and first adventure I was party to was a progressive dinner.  It landed squarely on Valentines Day, which made me laugh.  The Volunteer Quarters were saddled with appetizers.  So  Duane and I prepared a yummy/easy course.  We made a veggie tray with ranch dip, stuffed cherry tomatoes, and spiced tea.  Yes, I felt rather accomplished.  I'm not great at it but love to play hostess.  Take a look at our lovely table.

The rest of the dinner was even more fabulous.  We sauntered the short walk down the sidewalk to Tim's apartment for crab bisque (Tim is our usual host).  Then we walked off our soup as we crossed the housing complex to Terri's for spinach-citrus salad.  Danielle, her daughter, kindly served as event photographer.   After, salad we headed to the other side of the volunteer quarters for the main course and a little Syracuse basketball.  Sryacuse won (Duane and Linda are from New York) so we celebrated as we feasted on turkey and ham, cinnamon-baked sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, and yeast rolls.  Mmmm.  Finally, a bit stuffed and reduced to more or less waddling back across campus.  We ended at Angela's for dessert and coffee.  I paired dark chocolate hot chocolate with chocolate pie, delicious!

So, I had quite a Valentines evening tons of food and much laughter.  It is an incredible crew: two school teachers, a former missionary to Africa turned Development Director, a Certified Public Accountant, Craft Market Associate, and me.  Sometimes, Tim will even speak Portuguese with me!  Score! 

One is the loneliest, nope, coldest number

Read on assured that this is not a whining post about my love-life.  No, this is a serious discussion of my survival yesterday.  It was a single digit day, temperature wise, this morning.  Single digit!!!!  That, my friends, is COLD.  However, I live to testify that even thin-blooded/cold-natured/cold-weather-wimps can survive in single digit weather.  I can't say that I enjoyed it, though.

Let's recap.  So, I get up and dress for work, the usual many, many layers.  (I must have had a premonition about the frigid nature of the great outdoors because I had a nightmare in which I went camping without my sleeping bag and shivered all night while my friends slept toasty-warm in their teal and brown mummy bags...)  Anyway, stepping outside was like getting slapped in the face by cold air.  The sunshine and sparkly snow were rather deceptive.  (Did you know powdery snow that melts just a little and then re-freezes becomes really sparkly snow?  It's pretty.)  Shoulders up to my ears, I practically run to the truck to ride for work.  I tell Blair the blatantly obvious, "It's COLD!"   He says yep only 9 degrees.  Nine!  Well, we drive the half-mile to work and the temperature drops: 9, 8, 7, 6.  I practically bolt out of the truck making a beeline for the chair nearest the heater for morning meeting.  "Blair, I had to get out of the truck before the temperature drops anymore," I said, "I came to Kentucky not the north pole!"  Of course Blair just laughs.  He's from Michigan, which is kind of like the north pole; it's a place where people think temperatures are even allowed to sport negative sings instead of a digit in the tens place, which is clearly madness.

See the snow :) Note: This is not the sparkly snow, but freshly fallen snow.

Now, I willingly admit that the day before was a snow day and super exciting.  It was a nearly legitimate snow storm.  All the snow came at once more or less so that you couldn't see 100yds away.  It was so neat.  I got to marvel at the snow a little bit longer than usual because I was accidentally left at work by my carpool (not a big deal, as it is less than a mile walk and it gave me plenty of ammunition to tease the two older fellows.) So, during the height of the snow 'storm', I walked back.  Everything was so quiet and white.  It was like Narnia during the reign of the white witch, for any C.S. Lewis nerds.  Nor was I the only one lost in wonder.  There is a man from AL that works up here too.  He was out walking his dog.  I think snow still fascinates most of us southerners :)  

The campfire on campus.

Never fear though.  It's not always snow covered here.  And the area is gorgeous, blue skies, tall trees, mountain ridges surrounding it all.  To quote Mary Bennett, "What are men compared to rocks and trees?"

Please ignore my mullet.  I'm going to get a haircut today.