Day Fifty-Nine- 2/28/11 Trying Syrian Food and Prayer Day from Last Week

Day Fifty-Nine: 2/28/11
New Thing: Trying Syrian Food and Prayer Day from Last Week          
Inspiration: CAYA Class, Andrew
Cost: About $17   
Time: About an hour     
Bottom Line: You know you are in for a treat when the restaurant's slogan is "Food so good, you'll think we kidnapped your mother."

So delicious.

Reflection: I forgot to mention yesterday that I had reserved my weekly "new prayer style" day for Sunday. However, it actually has fruits for the entire week, so it maybe appropriate to list it today. In our CAYA youth Sunday Forum which I co-lead with my friend Andrew (you may remember him best as DJARM from my very first new thing) we have been discussing the seven deadly sins in contrast to the Beatitudes and in preparation for Lent. We discussed each sin and where we see them in our lives and in society, but we took it a step further by incorporating them into our prayer lives this week. 

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things"- Hieronymus Bosch, 1485.

You may remember me devoting one of these prayer days to trying out a new meditation from the book, "Praying in Color." For this class, we decided to try out another exercise and pray in color using the author's "calendar" idea. Essentially, the prayer takes one day and devotes it to a particular intention such as a person, place, or thing. Then, you fill in that design with more detail and color. We decided to devote one day a week to each sin (it works well since there are seven sins and as many days) and ask God to help us remove these since from our life.

Here is a "Praying in Color" calendar example using Lent.

For example, I chose to have "sloth" listed on Monday because I always have a hard time staying motivated on Monday. I colored in my Monday block with ugly colors and did not actually fill up the whole Monday block to symbolize the way sloth can keep us from using all our time for God's work. This little exercise has helped me stay motivated all day, even starting with helping me to get out of bead and work-out this morning. I have been known to sleep in on Mondays, but instead of hitting my alarm clock when it coldly rang this morning, I visualized that ugly little pile of sloth on my prayer paper and got up.      

However, I am very happy that I had not listed "gluttony" as my sin du jour because my other new thing of the day was trying Syrian food during a work lunch. I had a meeting at the Syrian Restaurant "Damascus" in Allentown. I have had plenty of Middle-Eastern food before, but Syrian food has its own flare. We had warm grape leaves, some kind of cheese, pita, babaghanoush, and lamb kabobs. Again, it was all very similar to other delicious food Middle-Eastern food I have had before, but that did not stop me from enjoying this so much! Also, they sell t-shirts which read, "Food so good you'll think we kidnapped you mother." It was indeed delicious, so maybe I'll call Mom tomorrow to make sure she's ok.  

Day Fifty-Eight- 2/27/11 Try the Bagpipes and Ride my Bike into Church

Day Fifty-Eight: 2/27/11
New Thing: Try the bagpipes and ride my bike into church.         
Inspiration: Cheryl, 4 Baptisms, 4 Confirmations, St. David of Wales, Bishop Jack's Visit, new bike 
Cost: $0   
Time: All Morning and into the afternoon     
Bottom Line: Today was a beautiful day of fun and celebration of the Holy Spirit.

This is a lot harder then it looks.

Reflection: Today was a huge day in the life of Trinity! We welcomed Bishop Jack with four baptisms, four confirmations, and the bagpipe band in honor of the ceremony and St. David of Wales whose feast day in on Tuesday. This wonderful band blesses us with their music to have from time to time. It was a beautiful service.

Best friends on their way to Church.

One of our parishioners, Cheryl (who also helps out our Soup Kitchen and sings in the choir) also plays with the pipers. She very graciously let me try her set and helped me attempt to work the bellows. I was unprepared by how much force it took just to get a sound out of it, let alone achieving a note. She also taught me about the different parts of her uniform which included three knives and a fork for battle. Very cool!

I also took advantage of the weather and new bike and rode to and from work. I already enjoy the fresh air and exercise that it allows me without taking an hour.    

Day Fifty-Seven- 2/26/11 Purchase a New Bike and Celebrate my Mother's Birthday!!

Day Fifty-Seven: 2/26/11
New Thing: Purchase a new bike and celebrate my mother's birthday!!!        
Inspiration: Commuting and Mom 
Cost: A lot more then $20   
Time: All day     
Bottom Line: This was a GREAT day! I have a wonderful new bike and an even more wonderful Mom.

Reflection: Last night, Ken and I had a long conversation about how we could help our household run a little smoother and with a little less stress. Among other things, we discussed our commuting patterns, and we decided that it was time to invest in a bike. As mentioned before, we are a one car family. Since Delia has started school, getting to work has not been a problem. I normally bum a ride from Ken as he brings Delia to school, or I bring Delia myself, or I just walk. The problem has been when it comes time to pick her up which takes over an hour in the middle of the day. I either have to drop everything to get her, or Ken has to come and pick me up at the end of the day--both options are stressful. So, we decided that adding a bike to the mix will help me get to and from work quickly and will make for one less back-and-forth trip for Ken. I also plan on using it to run errands (like getting groceries) and taking Delia on outings.

My New Bike!!!

I had a really fun time picking out my bike! I have never had a brand new bike before, but I have really been thinking about getting one for a while. I spent over an hour with the bike expert who taught me all about bikes and why they are so much more complicated then even 5 years ago. It is a mountain bike/cruiser hybrid, with a blue finish, 21 speeds, and a basket on the front!! I am thinking of getting a bell and/or streamers.

To finish up the day, we ventured up north to celebrate my mother's birthday. (On the way we also listened to the new Radio Head Album--another new thing.) We had a really fun time eating my Aunt Dee's delicious food (they live together) and laughing our heads off. It was super fun and I am very grateful to be celebrating my mother. Happy Birthday, Mom! We Love you.

Day Fifty-Six- 2/25/11 Watch "An Idiot Abroad"

Day Fifty-Six: 2/25/11
New Thing: Watching An Idiot Abroad        
Inspiration: Kevin, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkinton 
Cost: $0    
Time: An Hour and a half     
Bottom Line: As funny as I had hoped.

Reflection: I am a big fan of Ricky Gervais and his comedy writing partner, Stephen Merchant. I especially enjoy all of their old Pod-casts which feature their friend and radio show producer, Karl Pilkington. So, I was thrilled when our friend Kevin who came in from Connecticut for a visit and brought us some episodes of their new show, An Idiot Abroad. Karl has a very narrow word view and hates being taken out of his comfort zone. So, Ricky decided to produce a travel show in which Karl has to travel to all the 7 Wonders of the World to experience new cultures just to make him squirm. As predicted, Karl hates it. Not only is he not impressed with what he sees, but he is simply stunned by the way other cultures live. Hilarity ensues.      

Day Fifty-Five- 2/24/11 Taxes and Psalm Pointing

Day Fifty-Five: 2/24/11
New Thing: Taxes and Psalm Pointing       
Inspiration: Clergy Day, Canon Mark Laubach, and The Government
Cost: $??? (will we be billed later)    
Time: About 1.5 hours for the taxes and about 30 mins. for the Psalm    
Bottom Line: I am done with my taxes and I learned a new musical/liturgical skill.

Reflection: Today, Ken and I went to our CPA and walked through out tax stuff. Clergy taxes are some of the most complicated out there, so we are always very happy to take ours to our knowledgeable CPA. At least they are done with for another year.

Later on back at work, I put the final touches on the upcoming Diocesan Clergy Day Leaflet. Often when I work on these leaflets, there is a Psalm chant which needs to be pointed. This can normally be done by following the pointing assigned for a paritular Psalm in a standardized collection of metrical Psalms such as the Plainson Psalter or the Anglican Chant Psalter. However, today's Psalm was very tricky as found in the gradual, and so it was decided that we should chose a different Chant setting then one of the standardized ones. This meant that the Psalm had to be pointed without a guide.

Briefly, Psalm chant pointing mixes music, poetry, and liturgy all together. When you point a line from a Psalm using an Anglican Chant focus, you have to match the line of music with the syllabus and inflection of the words. This can be tricky where there are more or less syllabus then there are notes in a line of music. As Fr. Bill Mouser explains:

Anglican chant is a form of singing, a union of melody and words. It differs from the singing described above in this way: the words control the music. The duration of any note is determined by the words. Words are assigned to notes by a marks in the text called “pointing marks.” And, so, every repetition of the chant melody will have different durations to every note in the melody. The only constant in the melody will be the sequence of notes. The sequence will be the same every time the melody is sung. As you might suppose from the above, there is no rhythm in Anglican chant. There may be the perception of rhythm in any line of a psalm that is sung to Anglican chant, but this sense of rhythm is coming from the cadence of the text, not some sort of meter in the ordinary sense of that word.

So, when you are pointing a text, you have to ask some pretty intricate questions of the poetry and the music. Where do you change words? Would you like to extend a word or make another word the focus of a line? Would it be singable if I change notes in the middle of a phrase? I found this explanation which makes the point nicely:

Anglican chant is a form of singing, a union of melody and words. It differs from the singing described above in this way: the words control the music. To see how this is so, sing these words to the conventional melody:

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

Now, sing the following to the same melody:

Row, row, row your flat-bottomed boat,
Gently down the trout-filled stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a fisherman’s dream.

Doesn’t work, right? Why not? Because the words don’t fit. There’s too many syllables to fit comfortably into the melody.

If all this seems complicated, don't worry, it is. In fact, after I had tried to point a few lines myself, I decided I better call an expert in this, Canon Mark Laubach the Canon Precentor for the Diocese. He is a world-class organist, a college music professor, and a friend of mine. He graciously looked at my pointing and commented on what I had missed and (less frequently) what I had done correctly. Then he walked me through it to really see how it is done. He was great! I really have a new appreciation for the theological, poetic, and musical decisions that go into pointing a few lines of scripture. I am very grateful to him, and I am sure that the clergy who will read the leaflet will be as well!

Here is the final product:

Psalm 16:5-11                                                                Plainsong Tone II.1

©Copyright 2011 Church Publishing Incorporated, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 1001-Hymnal 1982 

                    5 O LORD, you are my portion and my | cup;*

                     it is you who | uphóld my lot.

                     6 My boundaries enclose a | pleasant land;*

                     indeed, I have a good- | -ly héritage.

                     7 I will bless the LORD who gives me | counsel; *

                     my heart teaches me, | night áfter night.

                     8 I have set the LORD always be- |- fore me; *

                     because he is at my right hand | I sháll not fall.

                     9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit re- |- joices; *

                     my body also | shall rést in hope.

                     10 For you will not abandon me to the | grave, *

                     nor let your holy | one sée the Pit.

       

                     11 You will show me the path of | life;*

                     in your presence there is fullness and joy,

                     and in your right hand are pleasures for | evérmore.

Day Fifty-Four- 2/23/11 Wittness Tibetan Monks Create a Sand Mandala (with Steampunk Bonus!)

Day Fifty-Four: 2/23/11

New Thing: Witness Tibetan Monks Create A Sand Mandala (with Steampunk Bonus!)

Inspiration: The Tibetan Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Connie

Cost: $0    

Time: All day   

Bottom Line: One of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

We were able to get this close!

Reflection: Today, Ken and I traveled to Penn State Berks Campus to wittiness Tibetan Monks paint a giant sand mandala. This is a very ancient tradition, and these mandalas are believed to have their roots in the Tantric legacy of Buddhist India, extending back some 2,500 years. The Tibetan Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery have toured all over the world to bring this art form to millions. Here is their description from their website:

From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. Formed of a traditional prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols, the sand-painted mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.

These are the chak-purs and the different sand that they used

The lamas begin the work by drawing an outline of the mandala on the wooden platform, which requires the remainder of the day. The following days see the laying of the colored sands, which is effected by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. Each monk holds a chak-pur  in one hand, while running a metal rod on its grated surface; the vibration causes the sands to flow like liquid.    Traditionally most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor of the impermanence of life. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of water, where it is deposited. The waters then carry the healing blessing to the ocean, and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing. 

The Monks spend days (up to a month sometimes) working on these painstakingly intricate designs, only to destroy them at the end. I asked one of the monks about the ability to let go of such a piece of art that they had put so much into, and he replied, "if you cannot let go, you will never know happiness. In life, letting go of pain, jealousy, anger, and disappointment is the only way to know true happiness." In other words, if you can't let go of a little sand, what else will you be unable to let go of? It also strikes me as incredibly moving that the destroyed mandala itself becomes a source of healing--both for the crowd which is gathered to be with these monks in their journey, as well as the whole world when the sand is distributed in a natural body of water.  Healing as the fruit of death. (Sermon Spoiler!) We were so impressed that we bought a chak-pur and you many very well see that in an up-coming post. My one criticism of the whole thing was that they were set up in a very loud student lounge and it was hard to hear the monk speaking. However, it did not seem to bother them. They can let go in ways I cannot apparently.

Steampunk Ken

We then went downstairs where we visited the student art gallery. They were having a steampunk exhibit which was hands-on! Another new thing for the day! For those who are unfamiliar with steampunking, here is the shows description: "Steampunk is part science fiction, part alternate history. It features anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as people in the Victorian era may have envisioned them and highlights the Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architecture style, and art. A Steampunk wheelchair, a mechanical arm, robots, and ray guns are just a few of the objects featured." We definitely enjoyed this. 

Also, I tried a new kind of steamer---raspberry. Notice, this one did not make it into the headline for today. I steamer is simply hot, steamed milk with a shot of flavor (I normally have sugar-free vanilla, in order to literally have the most lame drink imaginable) but the only sugar-free option was raspberry. It was alright. PERHAPS, not the greatest thing that I was party to that day, but I will let you be the judge.

Day Fifty-Three- 2/22/11 Make a Cherry Pie to Celebrate Washington's Birthday

Day Fifty-Three: 2/22/11
New Thing: Make a Cherry Pie to Celebrate Washington's Birthday.        
Inspiration: George Washington
Cost: $11.37 in baking supplies.    
Time: About 2.5 hours   
Bottom Line: I cannot tell a lie--I made a cherry pie. (I'll try not to rhyme again.)

A legend is born.

Reflection: Today is George Washington's Birthday and so I decided to make a cherry pie for the first time in honor of the legend of the cherry tree. I distinctly remember learning about this tale in grade school. Our story begins with a young Washington as he chops down one of his father's prized cherry trees. When his father finds out, our intrepid young hero, all ablaze with the glory of honor declares, "Father, I cannot tell a lie. It was I who cut the tree." As the daughter of a forester, I knew how valuable a wood cherry was, and I was moved by this story. In fact, I remember feeling awful for weeks after when ever I would look at the little paper ax with the cherry detail that we had made in class. It seemed to only serve as a reminder that I would never be as virtuous as that amazing Washington. (Even then, I had a crippling guilt for sins I had not yet committed.) Of course, I found out years later that it was all a myth made up by his biographer--but still, he was an amazing man. Certainly worthy of a pie.

You may remember that I do not have a love for baking, and part of that is due to the precision that it takes. In cooking, I can just add things as I feel and not worry to much about the specificity of ingredients. But that is not the case in baking since you have to have exactly the right amount of everything--time, ingredients, patience.

Well, I made a mistake in this vein right away by adding to many cherries. It called for a full can and 3/4 of a second can, but I thought that would be a waste, so I put in two whole cans. Then tried to pour the batter on top of that not realizing that the extra room which would have been left in the crust by the lack of 1/4 a can of cherries was designed to serve the purpose of letter the batter fill-in. Batter got everywhere. However, I made it anyway. It's cooling now (I was tempted to let it do so on a windowsill, but did not want it to get stolen by some kids with yo-yo's and sling-shots in their pockets) and I will let you know how it tastes tomorrow.

Day Fifty-Two- 2/21/11 Write a President's Day Letter to the President

Day Fifty-Two: 2/21/11
New Thing: Write a President's Day Letter to the President       
Inspiration: President's Day, Barack Obama, The MDGs 
Cost: $0.44 (the cost of one stamp)   
Time: About 30 minutes   
Bottom Line: Hail to the Chief!

A photo of the President reading my letter.

 Reflection: In honor of President's Day, I wrote Barack Obama a letter. In it I thanked him for the hard work that he is doing, told him that I keep him in my prayers and asked him to support the UN Millennium Development Goals. All 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. These eight benchmarks include ending world poverty and hunger, achieving universal education, striving for gender equality, strengthening child & material health, combating AIDS/HIV, achieving environmental sustainability, and increasing global partnerships.  As a two time General Convention Deputy, I was pleased to have the opportunity to join with my Episcopalian sisters and brothers in voting to support this effort, and feet that writing this letter urging him to make these goals a priority is part of my commitment to this movement and part of my duty as a Christian and a citizen. I am so grateful that we live in a country that we are able to write directly to the president--even if he never actually reads it.  

I was curious about how likely it would be that Obama might see this letter and come across this nice little video about his philosophy on reading correspondence. Turns out he reads 10 a day and writes back to about 15 a week by hand. He feels that it helps to keep him connected, and I am very impressed by that. 

Day Fifty-One- 2/20/11 Visit the Great American Model Railway-Northlandz!

Day Fifty-One: 2/20/11
New Thing: Visit the Great American Model Railway- Northlandz!      
Inspiration: The Dr. Seuss 51&1/2 Travel Cards 
Cost: $37.25 (for a family of three)   
Time: About 4 hours with travel  
Bottom Line: This place was amazing--even if it ended poorly.

"Look Honey, over eight miles of track!"

Reflection: Lately, we have been going through a bit of a rough patch as a family. I have had a few pieces of professional setbacks as well as burning the candle at both ends, Ken has had a hard time finding a job, and Delia has been sick. On top of all that, I am also feeling something coming on (although I refuse to acknowledge that). So, thanks to Mo. Laura, we decided that the best thing for the family would be to lay low this morning and stay home from church. We all work up feeling a little better but very cabin-fever-ish. Thus, we decided that in the afternoon, we would venture over to Flemington, New Jersey to the Guinness World Record setting Northlandz Model Railway gallery.

I first heard about this amazing place through a little pack of travel cards we have called, "The Dr. Seuss 51&1/2 'Oh, the Wondrous Places You'll Go' Adventure Cards. These cards are filled with 52 of the most amazing places in the universe that people could visit. To give you an idea of how impressive Northlandz truly is, the list also includes such places as Machu Picchu, Galapagos Island, Antarctica, and Mars. That's right, this place is on par with visiting Mars. I was thrilled to see this card and to learn that it was only about an hour from our house. That is much better then trying to get to Mars. Here are some statistics from it's card.

Scale of model to real railway equipment: 1:87

  Length of track if scaled to life-size: over 700 miles

With eight miles of track, more than 300 bridges (some up to 40 feet long), and as many as 100 trains running daily between small towns, around mountains, through a desert, and even past the site of a small plane crash, this model railway has been dazzling visitors since it opened to the public year round in 1996. Step into the Northlandz Music Hall to hear the pipe organ [which were did], played several times a day [by the guy who actually built the place]. 

This impressive instrument has 2,00 pipes arranged in 37 ranks and 5 keyboards.

It is even more amazing to see in real life. Delia loved looking at all of the little towns and people and was always excited to see a train come out of a tunnel. The doll house was really impressive as well. At the end of the tour, we took a little train ride around the property. 

However, when we were about 60% of the way through the gallery, Delia announced that she needed to go to the bathroom. When we got there, she got sick, and we felt like awful parents for not realizing that she wasn't over her illness. So, we all went straight home and she took a long nap. If I am bring totally honest, I was also going down hill and felt glad to be home where we should have been all along. She is now back to her old self, and seems no worse for the wear. I highly recommend going, but not if you are sick.

On the Train

Day Fifty- 2/19/11 Take Part in Leading a Diocesan Renewal Event

Day Fifty: 2/19/11
New Thing: Take Part in Leading a Diocesan Renewal Event      
Inspiration: The Diocese of Bethlehem 
Cost: $0 
Time: About 3 hours.  
Bottom Line: It was nice to see how many people are dedicated to renewal in their parishes.

 
Reflection: Today I was part of one the Renewal Assembly in our Diocese. This day was devoted to helping congregations learn ways to help encourage their members to grown in faith and prayer. Here is a description of the day from the diobeth.org website: 

The day began with a keynote video featuring Bishop Paul, Mother Laura Howell and Father John Francis talking about personal and corporate prayer.  After the video and group discussion, a Bible Study will be introduced by members of the Diocesan Commission on Lifelong Faith Formation. “We will introduce the meditation on Holy Scripture called Lectio Divina. This approach to the Scripture is not only a reading but it is praying with the text,” opines Mother Hillary Dowling Raining, of Trinity Bethlehem and the Commission.  “The Call to Prayer and Discernment” assembly will take place in six sites across the diocese.

I was stationed at the Cathedral site, and we have a nice time discussion possibilities for our parishes. My piece was the Lectio Divina Bible Study, and I was very grateful to all the participants for their willingness to dive right into this activity.

Day Forty Nine- 2/18/11 Watch My Father Prepare Dinner

Day Forty Nine: 2/18/11
New Thing: Watch My Father Prepare Dinner     
Inspiration: Dad 
Cost: $0 
Time: About an hour.  
Bottom Line: A delicious way to turn my world upside-down.

My father the chef--I can't believe I am typing this sentence.

Reflection: Today continues my father's visit from Kentucky. We had a very low key day because Delia had been up sick 3 times the night before. So, Dad very sweetly decided to make us dinner. That's right, Dad made us dinner. I had to see this with my own eyes, so I watched him make the whole meal from start to finish.

Now, this may not seem like a very big "new thing" for this experiment, but to understand the true magnitude of this experience, one has to know the history of my father and the culinary arts. Growing up, I saw my father cook exactly three types of food: hot dogs (which he used to cut in such away that they would look like cow-boys when they had been cooked. He dubbed these "Frankie Franks."), pancakes made from Bisquick mixed in its own plastic container, and food cooked over an open flame on the hiking trail (these meals would normally be freeze-dried and required boiling water and mixing). That is it. My mother once told me that when they were dating, my father made her a home-cooked meal by opening a can of mushroom soup and pouring it over a chicken breast. Up until today, I was not sure that he would ever surpass that culinary tale of yore. But there he was, making stuffed shells. On top of all that, they were delicious. Good job, Dad!! 

Day Forty Eight- 2/17/11 Skiing with New (to me) Skis!!

Day Forty Eight: 2/17/11
New Thing: Skiing with New (to me) Skis!!     
Inspiration: Ali, Dad & Doug 
Cost: $14 in tolls (and nothing else to that wonderful little sis!)  
Time: All day.  
Bottom Line: Awesome day!

The Motley Crew on the top of Elk Mt.--Doug, Ali, Me, Dad.

Sisters in Crime.

 Reflection: Today was really, really great. My father is in from Kentucky which would be treat enough. But we celebrated his brief return with a ski trip to Elk Mountain which made it even better.You may not know this, but one of my favorite things to do on this earth is to go skiing. In my opinion, it is the nearest thing to flying you can do without leaving the ground...much.

The day started with a gift from my sister, her hand-me-up skis! Now, I have had exactly two other pairs of skis in my life, and I have been skiing since I was in 4th grade. The first pair was a set of PRECISIONS ("Pres" for short.) The Pres were already obsolete, outmoded, and outdated when I received them. In fact, they were probable about 10 years old BEFORE I skied on them for another three years. At one point in their existence, they had a bright neon yellow, pink, and purple motif. But they had had much of that paint chipped off by the previous owners poles and thus had more of a "pot-marked" motif. One of the poles was also bent, although not originally. That damage was obtained when I was trying to get onto the chair-lift with my father early on in my skiing career and I mistakenly stuck the pole into the ground in front of the chair. As it swung around, it got caught under the lift, hit me in the face, chipped my tooth, and bent. I remember my father crying out, "Oh no! THE POLE! Don't drop it!" I didn't and neither the pole or the chip was ever replaced. I believe that my father's rational for strapping his eldest daughter onto these deathtraps was that he, "wanted to make sure I was going to like skiing before he spent too much money on me." Well, I did somehow managed to grow to love skiing and he also managed not to spend to much money. Two birds, one dangerous stone.

This family is lucky to be alive.

The second pair of skis came later when I joined the middle school ski club (that is also the time that my father joined the ski club, and bought himself "new" skis for the occasions. He never missed a single bus for his free chaperon ticket...even if I was too sick to go myself.) These were a set of Elans and were more patriotic in nature, sporing a red, white, and blue speckled motif. They had been rentals for a season and were now discounted, and my father smelled blood in the waters of a good deal. I have been skiing on these skis for fourteen years. They have been with me for so many great moments in Hillary skiing--the famous "Mt. Tone Incident" in which we almost lost both my sister AND my mother to the ice (That was the one and only time I have ever seen my mother ski and it took 3 instructors to get her down off the mountain while my father and I continued to ski right past her on the only trail that was opened. Meanwhile, it was my sister's first time skiing and the "bunny-slope "was covered in ice and was actually just the bottom half of the expert slope which my mother was caught on. Ali was in tears trying to get down that slope only to have to use the extremely treacherous rope tow which claimed at least one pairs of my gloves to get back up.) , the time I almost saw my friend Dan die (he literally broke his board in two), ONE of the times I almost saw my father die (he was cut off and flew off the trail and was almost impaled on a snow gun), several trips to Vermont, several New Years Eves being frozen on the lifts, and hundreds of ski club trips to Elk.  I have literally skied these babies down to their rusty edges. My sister has taken pity on me and given me her old skis which are being replaced by her brand new shinny ones. I am very grateful to have them, even if it means that my old ones are being turned into (I can barely believe I am about to type this) "shot-skis."

The fire-pit at the "half-way house" lodge.

On our first run of the day, we headed down a black diamond called the "Wissahickon." Now, some might call it hubris to try to race down a mountain, after not skiing for a year, on a new pair of skis. It seems that they might have been correct because both Dad and I took a spectacular fall off of the second head-wall which took us both by surprise.  As per usual, Dad went into a tuck about three second into the run, and I followed. (I am not sure why we feel the need to race on every trail, but we do...we really do.) When we hit the second head-wall we both left the ground, which was unexpected. He fell, and I followed suit as I tried to miss him. Ali came up behind us and said we looked like a shipwreck. They we skied for the rest of the day, cooking our lunch over the fire-pit in the little know "half-way house" lodge that only the locals know about. The weather was also perfect and there was hardly anyone there. We finished it all up with dinner at "Chet's Place" for pizza. Awesome day!

Day Forty Seven- 2/16/11 Trying a New Tea and Tea Infuser

Day Forty Seven: 2/16/11
New Thing: Trying a New Tea and Tea Infuser    
Inspiration: A love of tea 
Cost: $18  
Time: About 2 minuets to brew  
Bottom Line: Relaxation in a cup.

Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom Tea!

Reflection: Today I had a brand new kind of lose leaf tea prepared with my brand new tea ball infuser. I love tea, but I try to steer clear of all caffeine. This often means that herbal teas are my best bets. Yet, I normally do not like most herbal teas--I know, I know. This is the greatest dilemma that has ever confronted humanity. Well, today, all that has changed. Ken and I bought some new tea (Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom) from a tea shop called Teavana. It was both delicious and has such a low level of caffeine that I do not get the jitters. Brewing was also a very pleasant experience and my office smelled like a tea shop all day. It may sound snobbish, but I really do feel that lose leaf is so much more delicious and it retains so much more of the health benefits of the tea. Snobs unite!

Day Forty Six- 2/15/11 Hang a Clothesline in the Basement

Day Forty Six: 2/15/11
New Thing: Hang a Clothesline in the Basement    
Inspiration: Wet Clothes, the Earth 
Cost: $0  
Time: About 10 minuets  
Bottom Line: Hopefully this will help cut down on how much we use the dryer.

Reflection: I know what you are thinking: "Hanging a clothesline in the basement: this is perhaps the world's most perfect way to follow up a romantic post about marital love." Yes, we truly do know how to keep the fires of romance lit 365 days a year.

This one doesn't need to much reflection. It is my monthly "Eco Stewardship" change that I am undertaking for February. (You might remember that each month during this year, I will be making at least one small change to better the planet.) By hanging up our clothes in the basement, we will be saving money and helping the environment.

Growing up, we used to do all of our laundry in the basement, and we had several clotheslines down there. However, there were several times when things got totally out of control in the basement--dirty clothes just dumped into one HUGE pile, things hanging up for weeks-on-end that would smack you in the face every time you walked through that area (I suppose we could have taken them down and folded them, but that thought never occurred to us), and several large barrels dedicated to off season clothes. We had a pug at one point who use to burrow in that pile and I used to joke that she had an elaborate tunnel system build for herself complete with buttresses, a mine of some kind, and trolls. it got to the point that I would just have my own laundry system and by-passed everyone else.

My sister was the worst when it came to laundry. Eventually, she had so much dirty clothing downstairs that it simply become easier for her to buy new clothes rather then wash the old ones. This practice has really paid off for me, though, since she will now give me all her hand-me-ups! It is seriously like Christmas when ever I get one of her huge bags because her style is infinitely more advanced than mine. 9 times out of 10 if I get a complement on an outfit, it was originally from my sister's closet. Thanks little sis!

Day Forty Five- 2/15/11 Write a Valentine's Day Poem for Ken

Day Forty Five: 2/14/11
New Thing: Write a Valentine's Day Poem for Ken   
Inspiration: Valentine's Day, Ken 
Cost: $0  
Time: About an hour  
Bottom Line: I will treasure Ken's poem forever.
Reflection: Ken has had alot of great suggestions for things to try for this experiment, one of which was to write each other sonnets for Valentine's Day.  Then we'd each post the results on our blog, as kind of a crossover.  Well, we ended up not writing sonnets, but we still wrote poetry. Ken's poem to me can be found here. My poem to Ken are based on the 5 senses.

 

taste

there are times when I just want a little taste.

a little something

that is more then what I have

on my plate. 

yet, you always seem to have  just the right thing

to satisfy my curiosity, and cleanse my pallet.

just the right amount to keep me satisfied.

and so, I take a little bite. and maybe one more.

touch

there are nights when I foolishly think about

what it would be like without you.

of course, this is the best way

to work myself up into a quiet frenzy.

gone would be so much—

the companionship with no more communion.

the bonds that would cease to grow

like plants with their root systems severed.

the bride without her husband.

the daughter without her father.

the soul without its mate. 

but the moment that the tears

force themselves out

come when I think about

being without your touch.

like the bread and the wine,

it is in the tangible

that love is truly known.

the hand that I squeeze

the lips that give me my clouds of kisses

the warm legs that I can chase under the covers with my icy feet.

the incarnation of the spirit I love.

the temple that my love lives in

that I must touch.

sight

you don’t believe in “love-at-first-sight”

and it’s true that that

was not our style.

not our story.

yet, there are moments

that I have witness in you

acts of such beauty—

the kind that delights the eyes,

and makes them wish

that the sight they behold

would burn into their retina

and they could see you

like a picture negative

whenever they blink.

blink

you hold the door for a small child and smile sweetly to them.

blink

you on one knee in the rain on your porch

blink

you, the light at the end of the aisle

blink

you straining in pleasure

blink

you holding a new little light  looking back at you

blink

you dancing with the small one in our little house

I would hold my eyes shut tight

to see you always before me

if not for missing what you will do next.

smell

I fell that as a species,

we have reached the zenith

of banal songs

in which the singer professes that they

have been left “breath-less”

by their lover. 

you, my darling,

do not leave me breathless.

You leave me feeling

as though I have just taken the deepest

fullest

most life giving breath

that I have ever known.

the breath the yogies spend lifetimes

trying to perfect.

with you,

I never have that which is necessary for life

sucked out of me.

I am never left gasping,

as a fish without water,

a ship with a lagging sail.

with you

it is though I have stepped outside

after a long winter

and I can smell spring on the air

and I fill my lungs

because I know that hope

is on the wind.

sound

the first time

I ever really thought

I had said something truly witty—

it was when I told a joke

that made you laugh in a full body way.

I may have said something funny in my life

before that moment,

but who can say for sure?

the first time

I ever truly heard the city at night.

I was in your arms

and did not feel scared.

the first time

I ever heard you profess you love.

my heart was racing,

yet I felt strangely calm.

as though those words

had be written on my heart

and were finally spoken into existence.

you are what my memory sounds like.

you are the sound of memory itself.

Day Forty Four- 2/13/11 "Make" Valentines with Delia for her class

Day Forty Four: 2/13/11
New Thing: "Make" Valentines with Delia for her class  
Inspiration: Valentine's Day 
Cost: $3  
Time: 15 minuets   
Bottom Line: Delia is ready to spread some love.

"This one is for my teacher, Miss Kelly!"

Reflection: This afternoon Delia and I filled out her first ever class Valentines. We went to the store and she picked out the ones she wanted (I know, I know--we didn't make them ourselves. Have I told you about my Grandmother's recipe for cookies?) which was "Toy Story 3" themed. I filled them out and she put on the stickers. Get ready school,  Delia is ready to say "Howdy Valentine!" (ok- I admit that I'm a little tiered).

Here is my Valentine to you all:

Fairy Boots

Day Forty Three- 2/12/11 Listen to Gettysburg Address on Lincoln's Birthday

Day Forty Three: 2/12/11
New Thing: Listen to the Gettysburg Address on Lincoln's Birthday  
Inspiration: Lincoln's Birthday 
Cost: $0  
Time: Just over two minuets   
Bottom Line: Seriously, that is one great speech.

Reflection: Today is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday! I have always bee an admirer of Lincoln. In his life, he overcame personal tragedy, hardship, and embarrassment, but still lived a life that was admirable and history changing.  So, today on his birthday, I decided to listen to the Gettysburg Address which I haven't done since elementary school. Wikipedia has a great description of this speech:

This picture it in one of Delia's books.

It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. Abraham Lincoln's carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as "a new birth of freedom" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens, and that would also create a unified nation in which states' rights were no longer dominant.

What an amazing few minuets. It is incredible to hear someone weave all the threads of history, freedom, and vision together with the dignity and solemnity that the moment called for--in barely two minuets! It is an impressive exercise in the power of using words economically. And to think, he wasn't even the keynote speaker (who actually went on for 2 hours!). Less is more.

Day Forty Two- Hitting Balls at the Batting Cages

Day Forty Two: 2/11/11
New Thing: Hitting Balls at the Batting Cages  
Inspiration: Date Night 
Cost: $11  
Time: About a half hour  
Bottom Line: Once I got the hang of this, it was really fun!

Reflection: Today actually began for me at 4:00am when I picked up the Presiding Bishop at her hotel to take her to the airport. However, this is actually not the first time I have done this since I was blessed to be her driver for a week when she visited the diocese over a year ago. So, it wouldn't count as a "New Thing" since I've done it before. It was very nice getting to be with her one-on-one again as she is very inspirational yet still down to earth.

Instead, Ken and I had a date night while Delia had a pajama-party at her school. They were having a "parent's night out" fundraiser and we were happy to take them up on their offer to let Delia stay up with her friends eating pop-corn and watching movies.

While she was having fun, we headed over to the local batting cages to hit a few balls since I have never tried this before. We tried one round with "fast balls" and quickly changed to "slow balls" when we failed to make much contact with the later. By the end of our time, I was getting into a good rhythm and was having a blast sending the balls falling.

This is a picture from her last visit when I was the PB's driver as well.

Day Forty One- 2/10/11 MC at the Episcopal/Moravian Full Communion Service

Day Forty One: 2/10/11
New Thing: Being the one of the MC's at the Inaugural Service to Celebrate the Full Communion Between the Episcopal Church and the Northern & Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in America. 
Inspiration: The Episcopal Church, The Moravian Church, and John 17:21
Cost: $0
Time: All day and a good part of the night.  
Bottom Line: A beautiful service to celebrate a landmark moment in Christendom.

Helping to set the table at the Eucharist.

Reflection: You might remember the post that I wrote back in January about the prayer session that I had dedicated to the joy of being in Full Communion. (You can find that post here.) In that post I described the new union that we have entered into as the Episcopal Church by joining with our Moravian brothers and sister in Full Communion which is defined by the national church as:

A relation between distinct churches in which each recognizes the other as a catholic and apostolic church holding the essentials of the Christian faith.  Within this new relation, churches become interdependent while remaining autonomous...Diversity is preserved, but this diversity is not static.  Neither church seeks to remake the other in its own image, but each is open t the gifts of the other as it seeks to be faithful to Christ and his mission.  They are together committed to a visible unity in the church's mission to proclaim the Word and administer the Sacraments...The historic special service will commemorate and celebrate the Full Communion relationship between The Episcopal Church and The Moravian Church In North America. This relationship, which brings a greater unity to the Christian church, was approved by the Episcopal Church in 2009 and by the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in 2010. Full Communion is not a merger; the relationship fosters mutual recognition and ordained ministries while maintaining what makes each denomination special or unique to its members.

The Bishops Knelling

To quote myself in the previously mentioned post, when two churches enter into a Full Communion with each other, we are saying that we agree on the most important matters of theology and we express these beliefs in such a way as to consider each other family. In practice, it means that our clergy can celebrate communion almost interchangeably (as long as permission from superiors has been granted) and there are greater partnerships which are formed between them. This is a very big deal because in John 17:21 Jesus prays that his followers "may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." He is calling for a unity of spirit and love that will witness to the world the same unity and love that is found in the Trinity. Full Communion relationships are a step closer to the fullness that Jesus longed for his Church and which makes the kingdom of God a reality in the here and now.

This service is truly a once in a life time moment and was held at the Central Moravian Church here in Bethlehem. It began with the Moravian Service for Christian Unity and included the Bishops of both denominations kneeling before one another and laying hands of each other to seal and confirm the ministries and successions of both traditions before extending the Right Hand of Fellowship.  We finished the service with the Episcopal Eucharist Prayer D. There were many blended elements of both denominations liturgies, music and worship traditions. Leaders of both denominations, including Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Moravian Church Provincial Elders' Conference Presidents the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth D. Miller and the Rev.David Guthrie, along with bishops, clergy, guests and members from both churches were there.

That blur in the right hand part of this picture is me.

My role in this whole thing has evolved of the last few months. Originally, I was asked to be on the planning committee to help with catering. But, by the time we reached the service I was somehow uprated to one of the two Masters of Ceremonies along with the National Church's Chief Ecumenical Officer. My roles included things like meeting with the people of Central to work out all the logistics, help move all the people and things around before, during, and after the service and trying not to trip. It was alot to handle, and there were some definite slip-ups. I could never have done it without the help of many friends and loved ones (Laura, Liz, Maria, Mariclair, Ken, Andy, and more--thank you so much!). But even though there were some mistakes, the good news is that the service never came to a crashing halt (in fact we got out earlier then we had expected), we are indeed in Full Communion, and God was praised. I am honored to have been a part of this amazing moment in Christian History.

Here is a video to the whole thing if you missed it:

http://episcopalchurch.org/multimedia/celebration-of-full-communion