Christmas Festivities

The month of December seems to have flown by! I can't believe we are only 2 days away from Christmas. There is 15 inches of snow on the ground in Corinth, so it definitely looks like Christmas. I've been busy the last few weekends with the usual holiday performances. I finished up my work at Foxcroft Academy with our winter concert on the 13th. It was sad to leave those kids, but they were very sweet to wish me good luck in my new job. I feel very fortunate that I had the chance to work with them and get to know them the past few months.

In addition to performances at FA, the choir at Mom's church had a big performance this past weekend. I've been directing the choir this fall in preparation for their Christmas Cantata. We've had a great time rehearsing every Wednesday night and I've enjoyed getting to know this group of church people better. They did an amazing job on the cantata and it was so fun to stand in front of them and conduct them in their performances this weekend. We all had a great time and I am so thankful to all of them for their energy and commitment. Here is a (bit blurry) photo of me and the choir as we warmed up before the performance on Saturday night. We sang to packed crowds both Saturday night and Sunday morning and it was great! Mom and I also had the choir over to the house for a party after the performance Saturday night, which was very fun. Lots of yummy food and good fellowship!

New Job!!!

Yes, you read that correctly - I have a job, a full time job!!! A few weeks ago I was hired as a long term sub for MS/HS music in Newport, NH. At that time, the job was only going to be for 4-8 weeks, beginning Jan. 5, but there was the possibility that the music teacher wouldn't be back for the rest of the year and I could stay through June. I heard from the superintendent today and it is official - the music teacher isn't coming back this year and the job is mine for the next 6 months! I really got a good feeling about Newport and the school when I went out there for my interview. The principal and superintendent were great and they just built a new fine arts wing on the school with a beautiful, HUGE band room. The job is 6th grade beginning band, 7-8 grade band, and 9-12 grade band and jazz band. I had a chance to hear the HS band the day I was there and they sounded really good. It was nice to see full instrumentation (I had no brass players in Peru - very tricky when it comes to band music) and they played at a pretty high level for such a small school. I can't wait to get in there and start working with them. I'm planning on going in over Christmas vacation to spend some time in my classroom and choose music and all of that stuff that I love!

And, of course, I need to find a place to live. I'm working on a couple of leads and hope to have something lined up in the next week or so. Then the next task is going through all my stuff in the basement and deciding what I need to take with me and what Mom will continue to let me store down there. I'm very appreciative that I could live at home for the past few months, but I am also very excited to have my own place again. And to unpack all my things, some of which I haven't seen since I packed them up in my apartment in Concord before I moved to Berlin.

So, things are looking up in my world and I am very excited about it! I'll keep you posted on further developments. And you're welcome to come visit me in the Newport/Sunapee area anytime!

Christmas Preparations

I have to admit that I do like living at home during Advent. My mom always decorates the house really beautifully and it helps get me in the holiday spirit. We were a little slow getting the tree and the decorations up this year, but they are up now and everything looks so nice.

Most of my ornaments are in storage in the basement (in a box that I wouldn't even begin to know where to find), but it was fun to put up all of Mom's ornaments. She has lots of nativity and Noah's Ark ornaments that are beautiful, but my favorite one is this very old picture of Marc and I. Yep, that would be 1979 - I was 3 and Marc was only 3 months old. I love it!

My mom has always collected Nativity sets and she has some really neat ones. I've bought her ones from the places I've lived or visited, so it is quite a multi-cultural collection. Here is a sampling of just a few of them, arranged along the windowsill in the dining room.

I hope you are having a beautiful Advent!

Giving Thanks

The past 12 months have been pretty rough for me, but I am hopeful that the holidays will signal the beginning of a new, better year. I used to measure time in school years as opposed to calendar years, as I'm sure all teachers do, but lately the marker of time for me tends to be events and big things that have happened. It was exactly a year ago that the whole situation in Peru started and that marked the beginning of what I didn't know would be an incredibly hard year for a variety of reasons. But that 12 month period of change, uncertainty, pain, disappointment, and frustration is over and while I am still dealing with many things that occurred during that time and I still have lots to come to terms with, I am looking forward to the next 12 months and am figuring that they really can't be as bad as the last 12 have been.

In the midst of all the bad stuff this past year, there have been moments of great joy and happiness and I am incredibly thankful for those. I was sitting in church last week (zoning out during Mom's sermon - sorry!), thinking about what I had to be thankful for, given how this year has played out, and while the list isn't incredibly long, it is very important to me. These things have kept me going this year and have helped me to remember that there are good things out there and that I should continue to look forward.

It seemed appropriate that the calendar end of my awful 12 months should fall at Thanksgiving, when we pause to remember what we are thankful for. So here is my list of things I am so thankful for in the past year:

1. My friends who have held me up and loved me through this entire year, even when I may have been a bit difficult to love. I hope I can be as good a friend to all of you as you have been to me.
2. My mom, who is truly the bravest person I know. As much as I think I am all grown up and I don't need her to teach me things and mother me anymore, I realize that she is constantly striving to grow and be a better person and I CAN still learn from her example.
3. The kids in my life who give me lots of hugs, make me smile despite whatever else is going on, and remind me that I am loved. Caitlin, Lauren, Alyssa, Ross & Kassie Clark, Christel & Faith Bellen, and Emerson, Alex, & Eloise Moore bring me lots of joy.

And some highlights of the year, in the midst of all the rough patches:
1. Family dinners in Lima with Reada, Dave, and Tim
2. Karisti's visit to Peru the month before I left
3. Chicago and Iowa with Karisti and Michelle
4. Footnotes at Wanakee
5. George's Pond with Mom, Marc and Megan

I am very thankful for all the good things in my life and I look forward to a new 12 months ahead. Happy Thanksgiving!

Update

I feel the need to blog today because a) I haven't updated in a while, and b) I changed the background/layout of my blog and I want to show it off. However, there hasn't been a ton going on lately, so I'm afraid the update may not be super exciting.

I'm continuing to substitute, with varying degrees of success. I had a few weeks where it was really slow and I only subbed one day each week. That was rough. Then this week hit and I ended up subbing 4 days (and could have done a 5th, but chose not to). This week's subbing was at a local elementary school that I really like. I never thought I would enjoy being back in an elementary school, but the kids and teachers at this particular school are really great. And I've learned some important things about myself and what I want in terms of teaching, specifically the age range of kids that I enjoy working with. High school is obviously my first love and I know I am a good high school teacher. But I also really like teaching kindergarten. Who knew??? I can't imagine I would ever choose to teach kindergarten over high school, but at least I know I can survive a day with 18 five year olds and hold my own. Now 2nd grade is another story... no thanks! It looks like I can do either end of the age spectrum, but not the middle. Keep me away from any classes older than 1st grade and younger than 7th grade and I will be a happy teacher.

In addition to subbing, I've started actively looking for full time jobs for next year, and even for the rest of this year if something comes up. I had a lead about a long term sub position at Singapore American School starting in February that was really appealing to me, but they ended up hiring locally (thanks to Michelle M. for all her help - if she and I had had our way, we'd be teaching together in the same school again). I'm following a few other leads for possible jobs for the rest of this year, but nothing that I am ready to write about yet and possibly jinx (fate/karma/luck hasn't been on my side this year, so I'm not taking any chances). And as for next year, who knows!! The international schools are starting to post their openings for the 2009-2010 school year and more jobs will be posted over the next month, with hiring to start in full force after Christmas. There is a tentative opening in Prague that I'm going to pursue and this job in Singapore might open up for an overseas hire for the fall, so that is an option too. And jobs at private schools in the States will start to be posted, so hopefully CS&A (the recruiting company I'm using this year) will start to refer me to some of those jobs too. I really have no idea where I'll be in the fall, but I'm open to anything at this point. !

So, that's the story for now. It is snowing here in Maine today, so I'm hunkered down for the day. I think I see some knitting and quilting in my afternoon/evening plans... I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are and are enjoying this winter Saturday!

By the way, any guesses where the picture on the top of my blog was taken? I've been going through pictures from the last 4 years and reminiscing. I'll give you a hint - for those of you who received my Ofoto albums when I lived in Berlin, you've seen this picture before. It was taken exactly 4 years ago next weekend - my first Thanksgiving overseas. Any guesses??

It's A New Day

Here is a link to the new will.i.am video "It's A New Day". I highly recommend checking it out. Very inspiring. It is truly the dawn of a new day in our country!!

November Weekend

I've decided to be creative this winter and try to make some Christmas presents. I got into quilting in the year before I left for Berlin and started to make a quilt for myself that I never finished. Stacey was a great, very patient teacher, but I don't think I had enough patience for it myself. However, now that I am living at home and not getting many calls for subbing, I have a lot of time on my hands, so I am much more focused this time around. Here is the quilt I'm making, in its earliest stage. There will be no more pictures of it until it is done, as much as I would love to show it off in its various stages of completion. But the quilt is a gift for someone who reads this blog, so I don't want to give anymore of it away. Look back for a picture of the completed quilt after Christmas.

Saturday night I went over to UMaine Orono to hear Kate play her oboe recital. Kate was one of my students at West and we've kept in touch over the last few years. Her recital was great and I"m so glad I could be there! I'm very proud of her and all she has accomplished as a musician in the last 4 years. She has grown so much since the last time I heard her and it was so fun to see her play again. She played a great piece by Copland, "Quiet City", that I loved and I highly recommend you give a listen to.

On Sunday Mom and I drove to Portland to meet the Clarks for a late lunch/early dinner. I haven't seen them since I left Hedding in August (they have a cottage there too so I got to see them every day throughout the summer) and it was great to be with them and to get lots of hugs and love from the kids. Here we all are at Build A Bear - my mom decided to build a Navy bear for Ian, the 2 year old son of our friend Melissa (she is in the Navy). The kids loved helping build the bear and we put 9 hearts inside the bear to send our love to Ian.

Our new history

President Obama

The headline of the Bangor Daily News today reads "America's Next President: OBAMA". I bought a newspaper today so I could save this headline. I want to have this newspaper to look at years and years from now and be reminded of the amazing time we are living in right now. I want to remember the incredible change that has occurred in our country and I want to be reminded of how proud I am to be an American at this very moment. I am filled with joy and hope!!

Last Weekend

I spent last weekend in NH and while I didn't get a picture of myself in my fabulous ladybug costume at Sarah and Reg's party, I did take some pictures of sweet little Faith Marie. She was 3 weeks old on Sunday and she is beautiful. It is amazing how much she looks like Christel did when she was a baby. Stacey brought out some pictures to compare and they are nearly identical!

Christel is quite enamored with her little sister, though she had some issues sharing the attention as the night progressed. Remember, she is only 3 1/2, so this has definitely thrown her world for a bit of a loop. It took me years to get used to my brother after he arrived when I was 3 1/2!! We did manage to convince her to snuggle with Faith and me for a few pictures, so here I am with my goddaughter and her baby sister. They are too cute!!

All and all, it was a good weekend in NH. I ended up spending the majority of my time at Sarah and Reg's, which is always nice. Sorry I don't have pictures to show from the Halloween party, but it was fun - a keg of Long Trail, lots of food and candy, and a big bonfire in the yard. My costume was a hit and a good time was had by all. The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key, which is fine with me. It was nice just to be in NH with my friends - I feel like it had been forever since I had been down there (more like 4 weeks, but it felt like forever).

YES WE CAN!!!

Halloween Sneak Peek

I couldn't resist posting a sneak peek at my Halloween costume. I don't usually get very excited about Halloween - I'm not very creative when it comes to costume ideas. But Sarah and Reg are having a party on Friday night and I thought a ladybug would be a cute costume. One of the perks of living at home is that my mom could help me with the costume. Actually, I should be honest and rephrase that. I came up with the idea, picked out the pattern, and ironed on the black dots, but Mom did everything else. There wasn't much "helping" on my part - I'm much better at moral support and gratitude as opposed to actual sewing and creating. I think Mom did a great job and the dress came out very cute. I can't wait to wear it on Friday! Thanks Mom!!!

Fall in Corinth

The foliage in Maine has been amazing this fall. Everywhere I drive there is one beautiful sight after another. My favorite spot is on the way to Dover-Foxcroft where I drive through this area surrounded with trees that are the most gorgeous colors, especially with the sun shining through them at 7:30 in the morning. However, I either never have my camera with me or I can't convince myself to actually stop the car and get out in the cold to take a picture, so I've just been enjoying the views for myself. I did stop the other day on the way to Bangor and take a picture of this tree that I thought was particularly pretty. It is just a tiny taste of the beauty we've been experiencing up here. I really do love fall!

Leonard Bernstein's 90th Birthday

This year is the 90th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. As many of you know, Bernstein is one of my favorite composers and conductors. This picture is my most favorite one of him and I am always inspired by the emotion on his face (he is conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood). I've had this picture hanging in either my apartment or my classroom for at least the last 10 years and my students in Peru especially were quite familiar with my Bernstein passion (I had an entire bulletin board devoted to photos of Bernstein). I told them I hoped one day to conduct with the emotion and inhibition that Bernstein shows in this picture.

In honor of Bernstein's 90th birthday, many orchestras are featuring his music this year and there have been a lot of articles about him lately. I thought this one was really great. And his official website has amazing stuff on it as well. Check it out - maybe you'll fall in love with him a little bit too! :)

Progress

I was poking around the Obama website, trying to decide which t-shirt to buy so I could wear it up here on election day (I figure I'll be the only one in Corinth voting for him, so I wanted to proclaim it proudly), and I came across this poster. I think it is really beautiful and I wanted to share it with everyone.

Good times...

Our friend Erin posted some old Wanakee photos on her Facebook page and I couldn't resist sharing this one here too. Yes, this is Jean and I, circa 1997, when we lived together with Heather at the house in Epping. Our house was often a gathering place for all our Wanakee friends and we were hostesses for some great parties. I'll be honest, I don't remember this partyu at all, but this picture is priceless. Good times, good times...

Fall Weekend at Wanakee

I spent a wonderful fall weekend up at Wanakee, visiting Jean, Mike and the kids. The weather was PERFECT and I loved seeing camp in all it's fall glory. This is the first year in a long time that I will be able to experience Wanakee in all four seasons and I'm looking forward to it. I love camp during the summer when it is filled with kids and energy, but there is something very special about it during the off season, when it is quieter and more peaceful. I love feeling like I have the place to myself. And the beauty of the foliage this weekend was overwhelming.



Jean and I spent all of Saturday cooking meals for a youth group that was using camp for the weekend. It makes for an incredibly long day (we worked 14 hours straight on Saturday), but I'll be honest, it is work I like. I've always felt like I learned how to do things at Wanakee that I would never have learned anywhere else - this includes painting, fixing toilets, building yurt platforms, putting up drywall, including mudding and taping, and mowing a lawn with a tractor. And, of course, how to cook for large numbers of people. As most of you, I hate to cook and am not good at it at all. Luckily Jean is a VERY patient teacher and we always have a good time cooking together. Some Indigo Girls on the radio and some good conversation with a dear friend even makes cooking chicken for 25 people seem like fun. :)

New Addition

It was an exciting weekend for my goddaughter Christel and her parents, Stacey and Fred. Christel's baby sister, Faith Marie, was born on Sunday morning. I talked to Stacey on Sunday night and everyone is doing well. Christel seems quite enamored with her baby sister, which is good. She's been any only child for the past 3.5 years, so I'm sure this will be a big adjustment (just like it was for me when my brother showed up after I had had the place to myself for over 3 years!). I haven't had a chance to see them yet and meet Faith, but I copied this picture from Stacey's hospital blog so I could share it with everyone. I'll have pictures of my own to post after I visit them over Halloween weekend. Congratulations to my dear friend Stacey and her beautiful family!!

Obama '08

Every day I miss my life living overseas, but one of the best things about being back in the States at this very moment is being able to be part of the election process firsthand. Yes, the coverage can get to be too much sometimes and Sarah Palin's voice (and everything she stands for) drives me crazy, but I love being inspired by Barack Obama and the vision he has for our country. I can't wait to cast my vote in person in 31 days and watch our future unfold in a new, positive, exciting way.

My friend Amanda made a great video with the music from "Yes We Can" as the background and it reminded me of how much I had loved this video when I first saw it. I thought it was worth posting it here as a reminder and an inspiration to us all.

Some changes are good...

... at least that is the mantra that I keep repeating in my head in attempts to convince myself that I am okay with the changes that have happened in my life over the last year. I haven't quite gotten myself to believe that all the changes that have happened are for the best, but there is at least one recent one that I am definitely okay with. After growing my hair long for the last year, I was desperately ready for a change. I haven't had my hair that long since I was in college and, while it was nice to have it long for a while, I got to the point where I just couldn't handle it anymore. My students in Manchester used to joke with me that the more stressed I was, the shorter my hair would get. There was a measure of truth to this - for me it is very relaxing to have my hair cut, so it is a good remedy for stress. Needless to say, things have been a bit stressful lately, so a hair cut was in order. I went in and had 8 inches cut off and I'm very happy with it. Here I am, posing with Ralph. He loves to be held like this - what a nut!

I hadn't seen Stacey and Christel in a long time, so it was nice to visit with them while I was in Epping. They came over to Marc's one night and hung out with me and Ralph. Christel thinks Ralph is pretty great (which he is, of course) and she wore him out - patting him, trying to get him to do what she wanted, laying on him. Ralph was very patient, then slept like a log for hours after they left!

Christel is 3 1/2 and has definitely reached the age where she likes to do what she wants to do, not what anyone else wants her to do. After all these years of everyone taking lots of pictures of her, I think she has gotten sick of always posing, so she isn't very good at smiling nicely for the camera anymore. I had to bribe her a bit to get her to smile for this one, but it was worth it!

Things are looking up!

I had high hopes that a change of season would bring about some positive changes in my life and it seems like that has actually been the case!! The summer was rough for me this year and I was very happy to see it be over. Now that fall has arrived, I'm feeling like my luck/karma/destiny/fate/whatever you want to call it is changing for the better. The job situation is slowly getting resolved, which I am very happy about. I've started teaching part time at Foxcroft Academy, a local private/public high school. I contacted their music teacher, Shane, a few weeks ago and asked if there was any opportunity for me to become involved in the music department. He immediately emailed me back and offered me a job! Because it is a small school with lots going on, many of the music ensembles meet at night from 6-8. I'm now directing a percussion ensemble on Thursday nights and the select choir on Tuesday night. I've had my first rehearsals with both groups and I love it!! The kids are great and they are very enthusiastic and dedicated. It is a big music department and Shane is obviously doing great things with them. I'm so happy to be able to be a part of it. In addition to directing these two ensembles, I'm also going to be accompanying the full choir that meets during the school day and Shane wants me to play piano in the pit for the musical in the spring. I'm really thankful that he is willing to have me do so much and that there is such an active, exciting music department so close by that I can be a part of. I didn't realize how much I missed teaching until I started working with these kids. I'll definitely be ready to have my own gig somewhere next year!

In addition to my work at FA, I've been slowly getting some subbing work as well. I've subbed for the vocal/general music teacher here in Corinth twice, which has gone well. Given the state of their music classrooms, or lack there of, it is pretty obvious that Corinth as a district doesn't put much emphasis on the arts and music. The music classrooms are shared with health and social studies and the choir has to meet in the cafeteria. And none of the elementary schools even have music rooms. It is sad to see and really makes me think about the kind of place I want to be teaching in in the future. But for subbing it is fine - it is easy and close by, so I'm fine if they keep calling me. Yesterday I had the chance to sub in Hampden, a suburb of Bangor. It was completely the opposite of Corinth - I was subbing MS choir and the music room was amazing!!! The MS itself is beautiful and fairly new and I just couldn't get over the facilities. It was the absolute other end of the spectrum from Corinth. I wouldn't mind teaching in a district like Hampden, that's for sure!

So, things are moving along in the right direction for me, which feels very nice. I still don't have anything full time, but I'm okay with that at this point. I'm committed to the work I'm doing at FA and I would hate to have to give it up for another job. I'm coming to terms with what this year is going to look like for me and am accepting it as it is, while also looking forward to finding a great teaching job somewhere for next year.

Retraction

Thanks to those of you who read my previous post about Sarah Palin banning books and made comments. After some further research, I found that the information was not completely accurate and I apologize for posting it as fact. Hearing anything about banning books gets me pretty riled up and seeing my favorite author, Madeline L'Engle, on the list was enough to set me over the edge. Thanks to whoever wrote the following comment:

The source (of the list, in response to Sean's question about who was the source) is the librarian releasing the list, which may not be accurate. It is accurate, however, that she asked the librarian if she would support a ban on books if a list were provided. The answer was no and the librarian was later fired along with other public officials who did not support Palin during her campaign. A little fishy, and we can come to our own conclusion as to her motive for asking the question and the subsequent firing. That's what's so wonderful about living in a democracy!

I agree with the author of the comment - it is wonderful that we live in a democracy where we can question others and form our own opinions. The internet is a powerful tool, especially in these heated political times, and it provides us with incredible access to information. It is important to be smart and to ask questions and to be sure the information is correct before we believe it as fact.

And, while Sarah Palin may not have banned books, there are still plenty of other things that make her a very scary candidate to me. I'll be using my precious vote on Obama and will be very proud to cast it.

Georges Pond

This post is long overdue (seems to be the story of my life lately), but better late than never, right? I'm sure most of you have seen my photos from my week of vacation at our camp on Georges Pond in Franklin, Maine. I've included some of the photos here, but I also wanted to write some thoughts about the place and the week. We've been coming to Georges Pond for nearly my entire life and I am incredibly grateful to have spent my childhood summers here. As we were sitting around the dinner table Saturday night, Mom, Marc and I enjoyed a little trip down memory lane as we shared stories about summers at camp - Megan is a real trooper for listening to us for hours!

Here are some of my favorite memories:
* Taking baths in the lake with Marc and Amanda (my friend Amanda used to spend every summer at camp with us) - we originally had no shower or bathtub in our camp, so my mom would send us into the lake in our bathing suits with a bar of Ivory soap and a bottle of PertPlus shampoo/conditioner. We would swim out to the raft and lather up and jump in, over and over again. And the best part was when we would lather up the dock with the soap and shampoo and then run and slide off it. It was so fun!
* The time we came back from Bar Harbor and there was a bat in the camp - we all stayed outside, in terror, while my dad climbed into the rafters and went after the bat with a canoe paddle
* How our weeks at camp were the only time Mom would let us have sugar cereal, so it was a really big deal!
* Going up to Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor for sunset and always talking about going up for sunrise someday, but never actually getting up early enough to do it (I still haven't seen sunrise at Cadillac!)
* The week I spent at camp with Marc and Nicole and how Nicole and I would spend every morning kayaking around the lake and picking blueberries on the island - so peaceful and relaxing

Here is a very incomplete list of things I love about Georges Pond:
* The view of the lake from the deck of our camp
* The colors of the sun as it sets behind the island
* The smell of the inside of our camp - it just smells like camp and is comforting
* The sound of the loons calling to each other across the lake - there were 8 loons this summer!
* How each of us always calls out when we spot a loon and everyone goes to look for it and what a big deal it is for us, no matter what our age
* Sitting on the reading tree and looking out over the lake

And this summer in particular I loved:
* Watching Ralph try to catch ducks in the lake, and fail miserably every time
* Kayaking with Mom and pointing out the camps that we like, and would love to own some day
* Eating yummy corn and green beans from the farmstand in Ellsworth
* Playing ongoing games of Scrabble with Mom and being proud of ourselves for using bigger and better words as the week progressed
* Watching Ralph be so excited to swim in the lake
* The "dumb duck" that Mom and I fed one day - he didn't even notice the bread until we threw it at his head - not very smart!
* Swimming on the one day that was warm and feeling like a little kid again

More Joy

I had a great weekend in NH, which was really nice since I'll be moving up to Maine on Wednesday to live at home for the year. It started out with Saturday night, when my Wanakee friends and I met up for dinner at Zampas in Epping. It was really fun to see everyone - we haven't all been together since Sean and Victoria's wedding (I think it was in 2003). And Lisa provided us with a great surprise - Kristina! KB lives in Iowa, but was home for the weekend for her sister's birthday (she was a surprise for her sister too) so she was able to come to dinner too. The 11 of us, including Eric and Meredith's 1.5 year old daughter Lucy, took over the back room of Zampas and enjoyed hours of good food, good drinks, and good company. It was fabulous!

Sunday was a day of family for me. I went to Old Home Day up in Wilmot, NH with my grandparents. My Papa and his family are from Wilmot and my Mimi grew up nearby too. Mimi and Papa always go back for Old Home Day and I've been with them a few times, though the last time was 1996, so it has been a while. I always love going with them and seeing them with all their old friends. And I definitely feel a strong attachment to the area - I'm way into family history and I love seeing the old houses and cemeteries and hearing my grandparents tell stories and make connections for me. Old Home Day was held at the the Wilmot North Church (see photo) and it was a beautiful day. And, to my surprise, a bunch of my extended family showed up. My papa's sisters Althea and Jean were there with their husbands, my uncles Chet and Henry. And Henry and Jean's sons Randy and Steve were there, as well as Chet and Althea's son Kent Michael. It was great to see my cousins and great aunts and uncles and catch up with them. And it is always neat to see my papa and his youngers sisters all together. Kent Michael reminded me of Old Home Day in 1983 when he and his now-wife Chris asked me to be the flower girl in their wedding (their wedding is one of my favorite childhood memories) - he said he remembers it perfectly - they took me for a walk to ask me and he even remembered that I was wearing a white dress. It was really sweet of him to remind me that day. Good memories at Old Home Day!

From Old Home Day, I went to Wanakee to see Jean, Mike and the kids one more time before I head up to Maine. It is always great to be at camp and to spend time with Jean. We spent Sunday night cleaning the showerhouse, which was not part of our initial plan. We went into the showerhouse to fix a broken toilet and were overwhelmed by how disgusting the whole place was, so we rolled up our sleeves and got started on cleaning. Nearly 3 hours later, the showerhouse looked better, but still needs work. I"m always amazed at the things I will do at Wanakee - things I wouldn't do anywhere else - like cleaning boys toilets and washing mold off walls. But I love doing work at camp - it makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. After all of our work on Sunday night, Jean and I treated ourselves to a nice day on Monday. We lounged around with Emerson and Eloise (Alex is a camper this week) in the morning, then Jean and Eloise took me out to lunch at the Common Man. Jean and I have been talking about going to the Common Man all summer, so it was nice to finally make it. We both love it there and it brings back good memories of being on staff at Wanakee and going to CM on Saturday nights. It was fun to be "ladies who lunch" and we had a good time with Eloise. I love the picture of her and Jean above. So beautiful!

Joy Anyway

As some of you know, this hasn't been the best summer for me, for a variety of reasons. My teen camp job has been extremely challenging and I haven't been able to find a teaching job for the fall, along with a million other things that are just throwing me for a loop. I've been seeing a counselor since I returned from Peru and my work with her has been helpful this summer. She challenged me to find "joy anyway" in my life, even when things seem like they are going horribly, and I've luckily had some moments of joy to keep me going, including hanging out with Ralph, the wonder dog.

You've seen Ralph's adorable picture on this blog many times and I couldn't resist a few more cute shots. Marc was helping replace the headlight in my car and I was loading things into the back and Ralph loves the car, so he had to show us how adorable he can be. Right after this shot, he proceeded to get out of the back of the car, go around to the front where Marc had the hood up, and jump up onto the engine. Not the sharpest tack, but he sure is cute!!

Ralph is quite the rock star of Hedding. Whenever any of the kids see him, they yell his name and make a beeline for him. He is usually very good about taking all the attention he is given and he loves to be loved. And he never gets tired of hearing people say how beautiful he is and what a good dog he is. It is a rough life!

Eggplant Parmesan

As most of you know, I am not a good cook at all. I wish I enjoyed it, but I just don't. I appreciate good food, but I have no desire to create it myself. However, yesterday I was inspired. Actually, it was thanks to my brother, who knows how much I love eggplant parmesan and planted eggplant in his garden this year so I could have it. He was very proud of the eggplant and anxious to cut it and give it to me, so we harvested it the other day, which meant I needed to do something with it. So last night I made eggplant parmesan from Marc's fresh, organic eggplant and it was great!! I was so surprised and pleased that it turned out so well. My mom was down at the cottage and I think she was a little nervous about eating it, but she ended up loving it too. I wish I had taken a picture of my creation, but we were hungry and just dug in. I don't think I am going to turn into a cook by any stretch of the imagination, but it is nice to finally discover something I can make, and that I actually enjoying making.

Nicole and Sierra

My dear friend Nicole, who I have been friends with since first grade, called me last week and asked me to come down and visit this past Sunday. I had met her 3 month old daughter Sierra once and had a wonderful time with her, so I was excited to see them both again. We had a nice, laid back visit - lots of time holding Sierra and chatting with Nicole, and Nicole and I even made it out to see "Mamma Mia". Here is Sierra in the bathtub - she is so cute, even when she has her serious face on!

Nicole is a wonderful mom and it is fun to see her in this role. A lot of my friends have had children and I love watching them be parents, but it is extra special to see Nicole, who I've known for so long, take on the role of a mother so naturally. Sierra is very lucky!

Footnotes

This post is long overdue, but I was waiting for photos of the concert from my mom's camera, so better late than never!

I spent an amazing week at Wanakee directing Footnotes and I couldn't have asked for things to go any better. This was my first year of directing the entire event and I was nervous, but it seems like it was just meant to be. Sue Rudolf has directed Footnotes for the past 20-something years and she had always told me that she wanted me to take over when she was ready to give it up. This year was the year and I am so thankful that Sue entrusted Footnotes to me. She has built an amazing program and it is always one of the best weeks of the summer at Wanakee. Because it is so well designed, it was easy for me to just step in and take over. I was a little concerned that the kids would be disappointed that Sue wasn't there, but I didn't hear a single complaint. The kids were amazing and I had such a great time standing up in front of them every day. It was honestly the most fun I have had all year!!! The volunteers and staff were incredible and it just made for a perfect week.

There is always a Variety Show at Footnotes, which gives the kids and staff a chance to show off their various talents. Here is the Footnotes Staff and Friends singing "I Looked Up", a beautiful song Sarah brought to Wanakee years ago. I LOVE singing with these women. I don't pretend to be a good singer (I like to sing the melody down in the tenor range), but nothing makes me happier than singing with Jean and Sue and other Wanakee folks.

Sue has always said that God is smiling down on Footnotes since it has never once, in all these years, rained on the Saturday morning concert. I was a little concerned this year, since my karma and luck haven't been so great lately, and it did downpour Friday night, but Saturday morning was dry and sunny. Hooray for another beautiful Footnotes concert!!

I'm so thankful I was able to spend this week up at Wanakee. It was everything I needed right now. I could forget about looking for jobs and dealing with life and everything else that was going on and just make music with kids and enjoy being at Wanakee. It reminded me that life is good, even if it might not feel like it all the time. If only I could just stay at Wanakee forever...

"Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa!"

The main reason for our visit to the Midwest was to go to Iowa. The majority of the people I met in Berlin either came from Iowa or had some connection to Iowa, so it became quite a joke amongst all of us. Michelle and I both felt the need to experience Iowa firsthand, so what better tour guide than Karisti, a native Iowan. The first stop in an Iowa adventure was the Field of Dreams. The minute Karisti told Michelle and I that she would take us there, we couldn't stop talking about it. The words "heaven" and "Iowa" became the most used in our conversations.

The Field of Dreams didn't disappoint at all. It was beautiful!! It looks exactly like it did in the movie, of course, and just has this great feeling to it. There were some visiting families who were throwing around a ball and running the bases, but other than that we had the place to ourselves. The house is gorgeous from outside - definitely my dream house - though in my dream it would be looking out over a lake instead of corn fields. Michelle and I both acted out the scene in the movie where they come out of the corn fields and utter the famous words: "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa." It was incredibly fun and I am so thankful to Karisti for driving a few hours out of our way to take us there. I think I need to watch the movie again sometime soon...

Michelle and I were determined to get our picture taken with something that said "Iowa", so here we are on the steps of the old statehouse, which is now the main building on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Karisti went to U of I for grad school, so it was fun to have her show us around the campus and the town. While we were there, there was a tornado warning, a first for both Michelle and I, being East Coast girls. The sirens went off and we took cover first in a store and then in a cafe, which had the bonus of food, a TV, and a bathroom. The tornadoes didn't end up coming through Iowa City, but they were nearby, so it wouldn't have been a good idea for us to get on the highway and drive back to Cedar Rapids. We watched the news coverage until the warning was over, then headed back. It was a very exciting afternoon!

So, the moral of the story is that Iowa is wonderful! I'm so glad I had a chance to see where Karisti is from and experience Iowa firsthand, after hearing so much about it. It was great to see Karisti's parents and just spend some time at her house. It was a fabulous trip from beginning to end!

Chicago is my kind of town...

It has already been almost a week since I was in Chicago (and it has been quite the week!) but better late than never for this post. Karisti, Michelle and I met up in Chicago last week and had a fabulous time! For those of you who don't know, the three of us lived in the same apartment building in Berlin for my first year, then Karisti moved to London and Michelle moved to Singapore. The last time the three of us were together was my 30th birthday in Berlin 2 years ago (it was also the World Cup, which was super fun), so it has been way too long. Karisti lives in Iowa, so meeting in Chicago to start our trip was the most logical. I had never been to Chicago before and I loved it! What an incredible city!! I could very easily live there.

We had a couple of fun-filled days in the city, including:
* Taste of Chicago - The annual huge food festival was going on while we were there, so we ate and drank our way through it. Tons of people and lots of great food, even some vegetarian things!
* Bike tour - Chicago is a flat city, so it is perfect for biking. Michelle booked us on a 3 hour, 11 mile bike tour of the city that was fabulous! We biked along the lake and through a bunch of the parks. I had forgotten how much I love to bike and it is the perfect way to see a city.
* Boat tour - I'm also a big fan of boats, so a boat tour along the river and on the lake was right up my alley. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and kept throwing information at us about all the buildings we were seeing, most of which I can't remember. But it was very cool to be on the river and look up at all the amazing architecture.
* Fireworks - Chicago does it's fireworks on July 3rd, which worked out perfect for us since Michelle and I were leaving on the morning of the 4th. We camped out in Grant Park, took turns going to get food and beer at Taste of Chicago, listened to the Grant Park Orchestra perform (they did 1812 Overture, which is Michelle's favorite, so she sang along), and then watched the fireworks, which were awesome. They set them to radio music and started out with Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", so we had a great time dancing and singing along.

All in all, a wonderful time in Chicago with the girls!

Josh Ritter and the Boston Pops

It has been a busy week, so I figured I should start posting some items, in hopes of covering everything as soon as possible. I'll start with oldest and work my way forward. Last Friday night Karen and I went to see Josh Ritter with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. We had first seen Josh at this tiny jazz club in Berlin in 2006. It was just him and his guitar and we loved it! We even went up to talk to him after and he was super friendly, and probably very happy to be talking to Americans in the middle of Berlin. We heard him again last year at the Somerville Theater, then I saw that he was playing with the Pops this year. It was so fun to see him and his band up there on stage with these classical musicians. Josh was visibly blown away by the moment and kept talking about what a big deal this was for him and his band - all their families were there and he just couldn't get over the fact that he was playing on stage at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops. It was great!! And the audience loved every minute of it - Karen and I were talking about the members of the Pops probably aren't used to an audience that hoops and hollers and sings along to every word. It was cool to hear his music being played with orchestral accompaniment (some songs worked better than others) and he played some old favorites along with music from his newest album. And he made me incredibly happy by playing my favorite song, at least my favorite of the last few months, as his final encore of the night. Check it out below.



And here is the link to his website if you are interested in checking out more of his music. I highly recommend it!!
JoshRitterWebsite

Birthday Dinner

I turned 32 on June 19 (yikes!) and celebrated by going out to dinner with Marc and Megan at Zampas. It was nice to be home for my birthday again for the first time in four years and we had a great night! Good food, good wine, good company - all the things you need for a fabulous birthday!

Boston

I spent a few days last week in Boston, getting a little dose of culture outside the mecca of Epping, NH. It is always fun to go down and hang out with Rosemary and Karen and this trip was no exception. Rosemary and I went to the JFK Museum, which I absolutely love. As some of you know, I've been a JFK fan for as long as I can remember and was particularly infatuated with him in middle school and high school when my political aspirations were in full swing. I remember going to the museum at one point in high school (I think maybe my dad took me down...), but I honestly remembered very little of the museum, except for the architecture and the fact that I loved it - I just didn't have very many details about it still in my head. So it was great to go back now and experience the museum again. It is incredibly well done and just so beautiful.

It was a picture-perfect day in Boston and the museum is in a beautiful location out on the point in Boston. I love the architecture of the building, particularly this dramatic part of it that is all covered in glass. All in all, a wonderful trip to the JFK Museum - Rosemary, thanks for taking me!

The highlight of my trip to Boston was meeting little Sierra Piche Nicholas. Sierra is the 6 week old daughter of my friend Nicole and her husband Joshua. Nicole and I have been friends since the beginning of first grade and we stayed friends even after her family moved to Massachusetts in 2nd grade. Nicole is definitely the keeper of lots of my childhood memories and I love that we are still friends. It was wonderful to meet Sierra and to see Nicole being such a fabulous mother. Sierra is beautiful and I had a great time cuddling with her all day.