a gift for love

The first of many changes: For Valentine's Day (and my brother, Matt's birthday), my sister, Sara, who is visiting, and I took a little trip out this morning and donated my hair to Locks of Love. I needed a cut and although, I love my long hair, I am glad a child with cancer will get a wig with some of my locks! I truly hope that he or she will have the opportunities and adventures that I do in life; and see as many places as that hair has visited!

For posterities sake, here's the "before" picture Sara took for me.

some changes

On 21 February, it will be a year since I worked last. From that date in 2008, I have had quite the year. I hope that in hind sight I see less of the frustration and manic job searching; the nearly 250 jobs or companies I applied to, and more of the blessings in having time off. Listed below are some of the wonderful notables from the past year of my unplanned unemployment:

• My flight pattern since I was at McMurdo Station: ZCM-CHC-AKL-SYD-BNE-LAX-SEA-BLI, YVR-YYZ-ORD-SDF-ORD-DEN-MIA-PAP-MIA-DEN-PDX-SEA-BLI, SEA-DFW-GRU-DFW-SEA, BLI-SEA-DEN-SEA-BLI. I love to fly!
  
• I took two road trips: One by myself to California, and one with Storey, in Australia.
• Brazil. Simply Fantastic!
• There are a few new and way-old friends who I never expected to hear much from again, but who have become quite dear to me. Thank you specifically to, Janelle, Maria, Leeps, Amanda, and Scott.
• I have been able to see every member of my immediate family, including Sara who moved closer to me in Seattle.
• I served with my church in Haiti. Unforgettable.
• Finding my great coffee spot in Boulevard Park!
• I spent a wonderful amount of time with the children of my friends and cousins (thanks Aaron & Jen for the photo)!
• My 30th birthday rolled around!
• Somehow, I managed to stay financially afloat. You know that story in the Bible about the woman who's oil is miraculously replenished...
• Coffee...mmmm...
• I have been able to spend about four months in Washington, which is the closest I have to 'home.'
  

Things will be changing here on my blog and in my life this week. I am both excited and apprehensive about moving forward in my life. As I have been looking for a job, there have been a few people at the top of my list who have taken extraordinary amounts of time with me or made me feel valuable when I was most down. Thanks again for the patience and positivity; you know who you are!

back to bellingham

I arrived in Bellingham on Wednesday, late afternoon. On Tuesday, I had arranged to meet with my high school friend, Andrea, in Vancouver for lunch and we had a lovely time getting reacquainted and talking through life's events since high school. She is an amazingly vibrant woman and I'm glad we were able to spend a couple hours together!

I had hoped to meet another friend in Tacoma, but, due to illness, canceled that and drove out to Shelton, Washington to have dinner with Rich, one of the Air Force crew who flew on my deployment flight last year to Antarctica. It is strange to reconnect with people from The Ice, but usually a lot of fun; and this was no exception.

From there I drove to Seattle, in a massive rain and windstorm (in three places, I could see that trees had fallen across the freeway only minutes or hours before). Sara played hostess for the evening and I slept at her apartment.

In the morning, I met up with Susan, another friend from high school who is home from studying in Switzerland. She and I have a great relationship and could probably talk for days.

Here's my trip by the numbers. I drove 2565 miles total; 1102 down, 1463 back. I was gone 3 weeks, or 21 days, visiting 3 states in that time, and stopping at 7 gas stations. I celebrated 2 holidays with 2 different kinds of my "family." I sat in 1 interstate closure for a 6 semi, 23 car pileup. I saw at least 15 elephant seals and picked up 1 new Starbucks mug for my collection (Portland). I returned to 26 Christmas cards in the mail. And, I drank lots of coffee.

awfully orangey

After Christmas, Mark took myself, his brother-in-law, and two of the boys out to his orange orchard. My Uncle Jim has fruit orchards in Washington that yield apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and such, but I had never actually seen groves of oranges (just a tree, or two when I was in Cameroon). I was mostly surprised by how bushy the trees can grow.

Mark explained some of the differences between the variety of oranges and we tasted a couple off the tree. The little Satsuma Mandarins were pretty ripe and we picked up a few boxes of them on the way back to the house, directly from the packer. I also learned while I was in California about another Dutch tradition of giving oranges for Christmas. This trend started in the Netherlands as a way to prevent scurvy; a small gift of health at Christmas time in the form of vitamin C.

Growing nearby were some rows of persimmons. I had never tried this fruit before. I had seen them once or twice and figured they were a bit like a tomato, but after testing one out, I thought they were a lot like papaya. In any case, this one tree was left with fruit. The fruit is the last thing to fall off the tree. Persimmons must be easy to pick since they are easy to spot among the leafless branches!

The other exciting thing we did among the trees was test the wind machine. The boys seemed to think it was a little too loud, but those machines can certainly stir up the air and keep the fruit from freezing!

my holiday

I had a good Christmas. It was the first such holiday that I celebrated with family in two years. Along with all the trimmings, I got to be part of all the tradition, too.

Mark and Annette hosted a Christmas Eve party after church on the 24th. I helped a little bit with the hors d'oeuvres. The event turned out to be a fantastic little party complete with a garage-turned-living-room set up for extra seating. There was no lack of excitement when Annette's sister, Laura, and her family showed up to be part of the festivities from Idaho!

Not to be forgotten is the boterkoek (Dutch butter cake). I can't turn down anything with almond paste in it and this stuff is no exception! Annette and I made 6 cakes with her mom in preparation for Christmas. I even got one to take back with me!

Christmas day I participated in Annette's family party. They were gracious to have me along for their present opening extravaganza (see one of the boys studying his gift in this photo), Christmas dinner lunch and amazing olie bollen (a terrific Dutch treat) later in the day. Meeting new people and seeing their family celebrate was really fun! And, of course, I had a blast hanging out with Mark, Annette, and their three boys, too!

the rest of the story

I left Portland around 11:40am and headed south again. I hoped to ditch the snow around Salem, but the white weather lined the roadways all the way through Northern California; until I arrived about 30 miles north of Redding. Over the pass in the Siskiyou Mountains, I was required to carry chains for my tires, so I spent a few bucks in Ashland, Oregon on chains that I can return. I never even came close to needing them. I spent 8.5 hours in the car on a mostly wet interstate.

I have friends in Chico, California where I spent my night. I had a good time hanging out with Storey and Jayden for the evening. The next morning, I was on the road again toward Visalia, California. Although, it was my shortest day and the roads were in much better condition, I was tired and glad to arrive at my destination.

I have had a great time so far with my cousins, Mark and Annette, and their three boys. We have made all sorts of Christmas goodies and I have had fun playing with the boys. I have learned more about Thomas the Train this trip than I thought I would be familiar with! And, I'm much warmer than I would be if I had stayed in Washington!

staying with sara

I stopped off in Seattle to spend a couple days with Sara again. I have been doing quite a bit of walking around the city and today was no exceptions. We intended to only visit R.E.I. so she could get a water bottle, but then we ended up getting coffee, walking toward the waterfront, and Pike Place Market, and Ivars for clam chowder.

Since we were down there and we saw the ferries floating in and out of the pier, we figured we could walk on a ferry, so we had one of the most fascinating rides I have ever had into the fog on the ferry. The sun was also disappearing, so we felt quite strange traveling through the thick fog on the water as the evening turned a faded blue to black.

We caught the Seattle to Bainbridge Island Ferry. On the other end we had to get off and walk back on for the forty minute ride back. Even at night, the city lights did not beat the fog that was looming over the tall buildings.

The whole city is still engulfed in clouds, but not rain.

a relative celebration

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to spend with some of my relatives and celebrate all we have to be thankful for. My relatives gathered on the eastern side of Washington and enjoyed our time out on the dairy.

My cousin, Brad, provided some hay rides which were particularly fun for the five kids running around; but you'll notice there are some great smiles on the adult faces here, too!

I was hoping to milk a cow, but the closest I came was walking by their pasture while I took a little tour of the farm. There were no cows ready to be milked, so I'll have to save that for another time!

One thing that the kids will probably remember about this Thanksgiving was the pumpkin smashing. Since it's about that time of year when pumpkins start rotting and smelling, and when the evergreens replace the harvest theme, we had to get rid of the pumpkins decorating the house. So, on the day after Thanksgiving, we all went outside, and tried all measures of throwing, catapulting, and slinging pumpkins to crack them open. Then the kids went after them with a hoe, or their foot to destroy what was left. I enjoyed the process and found it rather humorous.

I drove from Eastern Washington to Seattle on Saturday. On the way towards the Cascade Mountains, I had fantastic sunny weather, along with another ding in my windshield, too. It didn't take long for me to find some clouds again, as well. By the time I reached Snoqualmie Pass, my car was drenched.

my cherry pie

Over the past couple days, I have been making a few "flexible" plans for the next month, hoping to hear back from a few jobs I have applied for (no luck yet), and hopping over the mountains to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday, I was able to meet my friend, Kelsey, for coffee (I borrowed this image from her blog). We are high school friends and have recently caught up with each other in some similar life circumstances. I was really glad I could talk with her in person before she heads off to start work in Greece. We celebrated a lot of things, and reflected on both the good things and the disheartening things that have happened since graduation. I am so thankful that I can reconnect with people like Kelsey to see how God works in our lives. I was encouraged by our time together and hope to keep in touch with her and see how her ministry goes in Athens beginning next month.

After coffee in Bellevue, I drove to Sunnyside, Washington to spend the week with my cousins and their children. I was able to go to their son's Thanksgiving chapel and Pilgrim and Indian feast. I love the paper costumes and remember donning my own paper pilgrim hat and white paper collar when I was his age!

I also made my first cherry pie. In fact, this was the first pie crust I made from scratch. I have some improvements to make for next time, but since my cousin Brad and I don't like pumpkin or pecan pie much, this should be a great substitute!

Happy Thanksgiving. We have much to celebrate by simply being alive!

sitting in seattle

This week I have been with my sister, Sara, in Seattle. There is a lovely view of the Space Needle from her new apartment and the ferry boats floating in and out of the city; when it's a clear day, that is.

Yesterday, I met up with Tia, a friend from Antarctica who drove shuttles with me my first season in McMurdo. We had a lovely walk through Volunteer Park and then sat at a coffee shop and caught up with each other. Tia makes amazing jewelry and has been finding great places to expand her business.

Strangely, we hardly talked about our time on Ice at all; mostly caught up on life since then and where we saw ourselves going in the next months. It was really good to meet with Tia in the "real world!"

Regardless of how you voted, this has been a turning point in history. It's been fascinating being in such a democratic venue (the city of Seattle) during this time when Obama won the election. At the coffee shop, they sold Obama cupcakes to commemorate the historical event. Of course, Tia and I had to have our little indulgence in history, so we each purchased one with our coffee! Aside from patriotism, they tasted as good as, or better than, they looked, too!

crazy day

What a crazy day! I found it both amazing and disconcerting that so many American voters were so emotionally moved on Election Day. It's wonderful to know that people care to vote and take the time to invest in the candidate of their choice. I wish I were a little less cynical, but, put in perspective, this energetic day will, in the end, be a memory; and likely lead to "just another president of the United States."

Obama was exactly right in his speech when he said not everyone would agree with the decisions he makes all of the time. He will, undoubtedly be the next target for the news media attacks that examine his every move and word. But, he is the next leader of our country and as citizens, we are required to respect his leadership; not every particular issue he takes on, but who he is. I appreciated what he said to those who did not vote for him: "I'll be your president, too."

My night was a lot of fun. I drove to Seattle and met up with my sister, Sara. I found my way on the guest list of an "intimate acoustic performance" with Brett Dennen by being one of 150 people to e-mail in last week. So, the two of us took the bus to the W Hotel in Seattle. We found seats by a table with a couple glasses of wine. The event included hors d'eouvres (which was great since I missed lunch) and a champagne toast when the results were announced. Brett played a little, and then we would watch the coverage, play a little more, and then listen to Obama's speech. What a great way for a musician to spend an evening celebrating our freedom and right to vote!

After the evening came to an end, Sara encouraged me to get my picture with Brett, so I took my turn. She snapped this shot right after I told him I had listened to his music in Antarctica. Yes, a dorky attempt to make a connection with someone, but it did yield this interesting photo of the short dialogue.

Sara and I were walking back toward the bus stop to catch a ride back to her place when we heard a lot of people and saw a number of police cars up ahead. It turns out that a large number of people (nearly entirely between the ages of 18 and 35) were rallying up Pike Street. A couple blocks up the street, we realized the bus would not likely make it along the normal route, so we followed the crowd and snapped a number of photos.

The crowd stopped at Pike and Broadway and filled the streets. News helicopters were flying overhead, police blocked off the intersection, flags were being waved, champagne bottles tumbled down the sidewalk, and the energy from this group was absolutely electric. From this point we realized we were going to have to walk all the way back since no buses would make it through that mess. We left the rally before people could potentially turn the it into a less civil party and finished what turned out to be a 2 mile walk. Now, I can tell my children that I remember when I had to walk two miles uphill, in heals, at night because the transportation system in Seattle was compromised on the night Obama was voted president.

maple leaf

I have a special affection for maple leaves. This does not come, as some of you might guess, because of my half-Canadian nationality. I enjoy this particular leaf because growing up I spent many hours climbing in an enormous maple tree that grew in my back yard.

I remember being scared at first to have dad boost me up the base and climb in it. And, then, as I got a bit taller and braver, and with the addition of a knotted rope up the middle of the trunk, I found myself spending more and more time up there. Matt (much less cautious than myself) and I would often be up there with some of the neighbors for hours; climbing to new heights or testing out new branches.

When the leaves started changing colors we would mop them up into piles. Mom helped rake them up for us to jump in, run through, and redistribute around that portion of the yard; or, uh...maybe we "helped" mom gather them up to clean up the grass. Either way, that smell of dry maple leaves has left quite a dent in my mind.

Today I was out for a walk with my camera. I walked through thousands of yellow and burnt orange leaves and kicked up the smell that instantly transport me back to my 7 year old self under our big maple tree in the back yard. I almost smells like hay, but there's a distinct flavor to this leaf. I could nearly imagine walking in the house with pieces of orange hanging from my hair, or attached to my clothes, or stuck in my velco shoes.

The colors here, this year, are second-to-none. I thought I would miss the autumn in the midwest without all the trees turning, but I have found a spectacular showing out in the Evergreen State this year.

first autumn in three years

It occurred to me this week that I have not experience the season of autumn for three years. No wonder leaf collecting is such a novelty!

This morning, the relatives took a trip to the McPhail Farm in Lynden for a hayride to the pumpkin patch. The weather was cool (rather autumnal) and started out a bit cloudy, however, this neck of the woods is due for some lovely sunny skies in the weekend, and we saw some sun rays split the clouds before we left.

Our trip involved a short hayride to the pumpkin patch where we wandered about; searching for the perfect orange vegetable. I took some pumpkin pictures, watched the three boys trip, skip, and fall through the muddy vines and weeds, while honing in on the bigger and better looking orange pumpkins. Heading back to the farm buildings, we fed some animals, had some fantastic apple cider, and eventually got chased off the property by some late-season bees.

After lunch and some pumpkin carving (of course), I was able to meet up with Angie, Jessica, and Lucy at the Re-Store. There are plenty of interesting and unique, sometimes old pieces of home improvement projects there. I definitely saw some creative potential with some door handles and a couple of cupboard doors.

The four of us also indulged in a bit of coffee at Espresso Avellinos which is a lovely, quaint spot downtown Bellingham with a quite tasty amaretto latte!

What a great crisp autumn Saturday to spend with family and friends!

people against waxing apples

I made caramel apples today. My sister, Laura, put them together with her friend, Bri, last week and she ate one for me in honor of my birthday. But, I just got a hankering to make my own, so I had mom send the recipe this morning, picked up the ingredients on my way back from the coffee shop this afternoon, and whipped up a batch.

The caramel tastes fantastic. After coating the apples, I made a big goober of the leftover caramel on the waxed paper for "later" (ie. as soon as I post this blog).

Unfortunately, this was not my finest batch of the candied apples. My mistake may have been not letting the caramel cool enough before putting it on the fruit, but I believe more of my problem came due to the wax on the granny smiths. I'm quite sure that the caramel melted the wax and forced my candy coating to slide off the apple.

The flavors are all there; they just don't appear to be as beautifully coated as they should; all because people would rather buy a bright, shiny green waxed apple rather than a dull one. Such is life.

the celebrations

The celebrations that contributed to my birthday weekend were wonderful! I did not get to throw myself the birthday bash I had anticipated, but a number of people came together to make it a low-key, special weekend.

On Friday evening, I went out for pizza with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and their children, only to arrive and find out that Aunt Faye (who also contributed the photo) had also invited a few of my friends from the area. Unfortunately, only Janelle and her son were able to come, but it was certainly a good surprise and a warm party to be at!

Saturday brought a trip to the Seattle area to see Sara and participate as one of four birthday honorees at a dinner hosted by some family-friends from our days at Bellevue Christian School. After a late summer and early autumn of stresses and changes for both Sara and myself, this reconnection with friends over a great meal and festive celebration was just what we both needed. Cynicism and sarcasm ran wild, and I haven't shared that many laughs with folks in quite awhile!

Late Sunday morning, I met at Dave and Chelsea's house with Sara and Chelsea's mom for breakfast at Hattie's Hat. My sweet tooth that morning was definitely satisfied with some crepes and the sunny morning was enjoyed with a waltz through a Farmer's Market.

So, now I'm 30. It's back to the job search and trying to exercise patience while waiting for the next "place" in life. The celebration is continuing through my "postcard project." It's nice to have something special in the mail nearly every day.

fifteen years too soon

I was walking through the grocery store the other day and happened upon a trendy new beverage that reminded me of something I would have rather left fifteen years in the past.

When we lived in Bothell, Washington, my dad's office was in the same building as a nutrition store. My dad would come home with the strangest "cures" or treatments for ailments; pills, powders, energy bars, and the most peculiar: A fungus that grew on our kitchen stove in a clear glass container. The actually cooking took very little time, but this fungus was perpetually in some state of growth on our stove or on the counter bathing itself in "tea." Somewhere during this process, it was drinkable and "healthy." And, at some point there was a place for regrowth of a new fungus from the parent. Whoever came up with this cycle and medicinal relevancy certainly had a peculiar sense of discovery.

In any case, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw this, kombucha, bottled up and sold at the grocery store, blended into juices and teas. There was an entire refrigerator full of different brands and flavors. If only those folks picking up this modern day supplemental drink (shown in picture from linked website) could see what it came from!

I guess my dad was 15 years ahead of the trend. It certainly would be something I would pick up and try a whole lot easier if I had not see the process of growing the stuff! But, in the end, perhaps I'll see what it tastes like anyway.

the traveling part of travel

Tuesday evening I drove to Seattle to spend the night with my sister, Sara, before heading off to the airport on Wednesday morning. It was nice to see her and I was glad she could bring me to the airport and use my car while I'm gone. On the way down I thought I saw a fire up in the foothills until I realized it was the moon rising through the clouds.

My flights were great. On the first from Seattle to Dallas I even received a warm cookie from the warm flight attendant. The woman next to me was eying me suspiciously when he passed it over her to me.

The flight from Dallas to Sao Paulo was too long to sit and too short to get any good sleep, but I survived. A kind Brazilian man who spoke English sat next to me and answered a lot of questions and provided some traveling tips. We watched a spectacular orange, now-waning, moon rise somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico. The flight landed early, I zipped through the airport, withdrew some reais from the cash machine (a challenge when the instructions begin in Portuguese), and had time to sit and collect some early morning thoughts before getting in touch with Shaun.

a day for hiking

Sunday was a day made for the outdoors. It seems as though summer has finally reached Washington State for a stretch of time in September. You will not find me complaining.

Uncle Jerry, his friend, Lou, and myself spent the afternoon up in the Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan area of the Cascade Mountain Range.

One of my favorite places on earth is up at Lake Ann; our destination for the day. I traveled this trail last year as well. The trail is about four miles each way. First, it is a decent into a meadow-filled valley, a stroll through the woods, and then up some rock scree towards a ridge.

Once over the ridge, the lake is in sight and a minute later, you realize you're in the arms of an enormous mountain; Mount Shuksan. We arrived late enough in the day that we could hear the glaciers creaking, groaning, and breaking away. However, we were just too late to see the bear that was roaming through the area.

The lake itself is crystal clear as glass. We walked all the way around it and were offered some amazing photographic opportunities. I cannot say enough to describe what a gorgeous day we stumbled upon up at the lake!

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!...For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! -- Romans 11:33 --

my labor day labour

This morning I went out, determined to find the rest of the blackberries I needed to make blackberry jam. It did not have to walk too far; instead, I tramped through the vines and held a few stickery branches back to reveal a number of ripe berries. Regardless of my efforts not to get scratched and poked, my arm has a number of minor abrasions right now.

In any case, within 20 minutes, I had my container full and headed back inside to sieve the seeds out. Aunt Faye left me with instructions on the jam-making process, so while I strained the seeds from the pulp and juice, I ran through the recipe a couple times to remind myself of the steps. Making jam is a remarkably easy process; you just have to keep an eye on the pot.

After finally achieving five cups of juice and pulp, I could heat it up, add the sugar and pectin and finally get the jam in jars. There is an immense sense of accomplishment (for me) in seeing this process complete from start to finish. I remember making candles in 1st or 2nd grade by dipping our wick into wax over and over again and thinking the project would have been more fun if we could have procured our own wax from beehives! Being able to pick my own berries and mash them up and create something tasty that will last for awhile was rewarding in its' own domestic way.

And, of course, I had to sample some of my wares. I scraped some of the already-congealed jam out of the bottom of the pan and put it on toast. Yum! I have to say, this is a project I could definitely repeat every now and then! Perhaps next time I'll branch out and try a different fruit. Stay tuned.

warm fuzzy feelings

In the last couple of days, I paid attention to those good feelings:

one. smelling evergreen trees.

two. watching a good, redemptive movie with a cute lead actor (totally recommend Bella).

three. attending the church I grew up in and still feeling like I'm part of the family.

four. listening to great music with my sub-woofer in my car on a rainy day.

five. circus animal crackers; ya know, the ones totally coated with pink and white frosting and sprinkles!?

six. enjoying lunch with old friends, catching up with old neighbors, and snarfling* dessert with cousins and relatives.

seven. receiving a phone call from a friend who makes me feel like I still have an interesting life; even when I've got nothing to do except talk about what could be, should be, or might be (thanks, Amanda).

eight. sending a letter to a friend, or five friends, about all the things that could be, should be, or might be, but are not yet.

nine. making a kid smile. I make faces at them all the time and it makes them laugh (for ages 3 months to 4 years-ish only, though).

ten. sharing a similar experience or emotion with a friend and knowing someone else "understands."

*This is not really a word, but I used it a lot when I was little and think it should be revived:
Snarfle: v. the act of eating rapidly.
example 1) Jane was so hungry, she snarfled her breakfast.
example 2) No one else will get any supper if you keep snarfling all the food!