Irvine: day 2

I drove out to Ridgecrest yesterday -- a region of California that I am not at all familiar with. It was nice driving, good weather and there was a quilt shop at the end of it. On my way, I stopped at the Victorville Starbucks, ordered a drip coffee and selected a vegetable and pesto dip snack. As I approached the register, the woman standing behind it was beating on the computer with her index finger, explaining that they'd been having computer system failures all morning. Since she couldn't ring up my order, she just gave it to me, "on the house". I offered to wait for a few minutes to see if the computer came back online, and I did, but it didn't. So she shooed me out the door, off with my free coffee and veggies.

When I passed through Victorville on the return trip, the sky was looking lovely as the sunset was fading....

WIP monday, or Socktoberfest: What the @%#$ was I thinking?!?

Now, I had no -- not even one -- delusion about actually finishing one sock, let alone a pair of socks during Socktoberfest, but I guess I would have at least liked to have been a little deeper into my preparation-for-sock-knitting project: the baby hat on double pointed needles (dpns). I have pulled it out thrice now, as I seem to have an uncanny ability to put the project down, come back to it and start again, this time knitting inside out and/or backwards.... I think I have finally devised a system to get that part right, but now I am not sure that dpns and I are meant to be in the same room together (or, as I am increasingly finding, in the same airplane together). I'll be knitting along on the one needle, coming up to the second one, taking a quick peek around at the rest of the project, only to find that the second needle has lost three stitches in the form of three tiny, fragile loops hanging between the second and third needles. I put my blunt fingers to work trying to rescue the loops, and this time it worked, but I don't hold out much hope for next time.... I may just stuff it all back into the bag and go back to knitting scarves on regular needles with lovely little stoppers on the ends. I love scarves. I could really get into scarves. Working in only two dimensions could be theraputic.

All of this raises the question: am I absolutely certain that socks can't be quilted?

Irvine: day 1

Have I ever mentioned that my niece Zoe is the cutest thing to grace the face of this earth? Well, now I have.

After a beautiful flight (see Mt Rainier and Lake Shasta, below), I arrived in Irvine for a quickie at the office this week. They never have to ask me twice, since Zoe lives right down the street.

mount rainier, from my window view....

lake shasta, though I tell you that the colors were much more vibrant to my eye...


Emily and I had a lovely afternoon, dining on lox on bagels on the patio (overcast, but warm enough for short sleeves) and then a walk through the Irvine Regional Park (note: the zoo closes at 3:45 every day). Zoe walked and walked (with help). Back at their house, I made a little movie of her walking (and through my cinematographic genius, the subplot is revealed as Lucky the dog yawns)....



I love visiting these guys. After Zoe finishes cleaning the floor and retires, Miles and Emily and I have wine and Thai food and intelligently silly conversations.

How to Recycle

Check out this local Waco Video put together by the UBC Green Team. (For those of you at home, that's David Crowder's Church.

WIP wednesday

Between writing an essay for class (on which I earned a 3.93 out of 4 and a "bravo!" from the TA) and studying for the midterm exam (Villa Almerico-Capra was built between 1566 and 1591 was designed by A. Palladio as a farming villa in Vicenza, Italy), I haven't gotten much done in the way of crafties. But I do have this necklace, which I just love, but am not sure if the pendant is too weighty/massive for the piece. What do you think?

nevermind that it has no clasp yet -- it (a silver square toggle clasp) is coming.


(natural light on a rainy day makes for a cloudy photo, but I think you get the idea)

google earthiness

Happy day! My Three Hole Point photo was selected to be included in the upcoming version of Google Earth.

A Visit to the World Hunger Farm

On Thursday morning I got a chance to visit the World Hunger Farm right outside of Waco. I spent the some time touring the farm and then I was invited to stay and eat lunch with the interns. Some of my students and I are going to spend a night at the farm November 30 participating in a hunger simulation.
The World Hunger Farm is an intentional Christian community that is(taken from mission statement)committed to the alleviation of hunger around the world. God calls us to:

* Train individuals in holistic ministry that equips them to work with communities in developing sustainable farming techniques
* Educate those with an economic abundance on methods of conserving and sharing resources
* Participate in local and international sustainable development programs

Our philosophy . . .

is to live simply, helping those who struggle to meet their basic needs by sharing and investing in others what God has given to us

At the hunger simulation, 11 of my students and I will have the opportunity to sleep in a one room building with no plumbing or electricity, use a homemade composting toilet, farm and cook our own food, shower with collected rainwater, etc. The facilities we use are just like what you would find in impoverished Nicaragua.

That night the rest of my organization we be invited to the farm to participate in a Hunger Banquet, where each participant is given an identity of someone around the world. About three people will get to eat steak (upper class) at a table while some eat a nice meal of beans and rice, and then others will sit at the floor and share a small bowl of rice, etc. What a great way to bring it home.
Participate in your own virtual hunger banquet where you "choose your own adventure" at The Hunger Banquet Website

Exposing myself and students to the ways of the world is so important to me. It is so important to bear the burdens of the body of Christ, wherever they are in the world. It is also so important for us (the rich) to be at least a little more responsible with all the "extras" we have. I mean, really, it is so easy to recycle, for example.

I think as Christians, rather as people, we have the responsibility to complicate ourselves by exposing ourselves to critical issues and to think critically about how these things affect the way we live our everyday lives. The learning outcomes that I have established for my students go a little something like this:
To understand the interdependency of all people and establish a commitment to be a local, national, and global neighbor.
and
To be able to articulat critical issues facing leaders today and be able to identify practical ways in which we can address these issues now and in the future of our vocation/calling.

These are things that we cannot ignore as we live are normal lives in Waco, Jackson, Clarksville, Germany, Denver, New York, LA, Russia, Asia, Canada.

The more I know Christ and the way he interacts with me, the more responsibility I have to interact with his people in the same way of grace and compassion. Essentially we are called to die for our fellow man, just as Christ died. Even if we are not willing to do that, the least we can do is stop spitting in their faces by taking all our privilege for granted.

A friend once told me that America is poor, blind, and stupid. I agree. The only way we can truly see is if we rip away from ourselves all of the things we collect in order to hide ourselves from the true freedom we were meant to experience.

I'm not sure how I am supposed to do this, but I think spending the night on a cold concrete floor with 11 18-19 year olds is a start. I have a feeling that on November 30, the 12 of us will be fuller than we have ever been.

World Hunger Relief Website
World Hunger Farm Blog