November Poem of the Month

November Morning
by Evaleen Stein

A tingling, misty marvel
Blew hither in the night,
And now the little peach-trees
Are clasped in frozen light.

Upon the apple branches
An icy film is caught,
With trailing threads of gossamer
In pearly patterns wrought.

The autumn sun, in wonder,
Is gayly peering through
This silver tissued network
Across the frosty blue.

The weather vane is fire tipped,
The honeysuckle shows
A dazzling icy splendor,
And crystal is the rose.

Around the eaves are fringes
Of icicles that seem
To mock the summer rainbows
With many colored gleam.

Along the walk, the pebbles
Are each a precious stone;
The grass is tasseled hoarfrost,
The clover jewel sown.

Such sparkle, sparkle, sparkle
Fills all the frosty air,
Oh, can it be that darkness
Is ever anywhere!

"O' Christmas Tree...thy leaves are so unchanging"

The weather was beautiful today! A grand change from yesterday. Because it was beautiful, I decided to head downtown, yes on Black Friday, amongst the throngs of people to see the annual lighting of the Christmas Tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I've often seen the tree lit, but have never seen it being lit. I parked and rode the Max down. Good thing I did, as I soon realized (as I'd predicted) that traffic was even more insane than normal downtown. I walked to the square and surveyed the land. Had time to head into Pioneer Square mall to join those throngs of people and got something warm to drink. Headed back to the square and picked a place to sit. Because it was dry there were lots of people sitting and waiting. Shortly the events began. The Patrick Lamb Band performed and then there was the countdown to the lighting. It is beautiful!

Tree pre-lighting!

Tree post-lighting!

Mrs Claus made an appearance (so did Santa, but he was too far away to get a picture of)!

Grand start to the Christmas season!

If you need to smile...

...a friend of mine has parents in Belize doing a mission...the following was written by he/his parents.

"When we last left our intrepid heroes (read: my parents) they had arrived in Belize and are enjoying it very much. My mother told tale of a neighborhood rooster that she has dubbed 'Rooster Rogers'

Now, my father seems to have made some special friends, among them, Rogers himself. What follows was written by my mother. And I can't be more proud of her for referencing both Hitchcock and Wes Craven.

"I have to tell you there are more chickens in Benque Viejo than people! Our first day here we found it endearing to watch Rogers steer his little flock, or herd, or pod, or covey, or gaggle, (what do you call a bunch of chickens!) around the yard. So day two, Chuckie pitches out hunks of stale-bread from the veranda (stale bread is a pretty common occurrence here). Rogers and the ladies think they have died and gone to heaven. Day three is a delightful repeat. Day four Roger’s group has grown from six to ten or eleven and they are now Pavlov chicks who start running for our house when they hear our front door open. Chickens running are a sight to behold. Wish I could have captured that! They are all ecstatic, but a few chicken-fights (did you know there really was such a thing?) break out on the periphery. Chuck has not gone to work yet so this continues to be the high-light of his day. He would also like to keep his feeding practices secret since he doesn’t know if the chicken owners want them eating stale bread. Day five there is a sea of chickens already waiting for him when he goes out. They are making a hellacious racket and they are all looking up at him (I don’t think chickens can blink) and swaying in unison from left to right. Chuck is scared because he doesn’t think he has enough bread. Bring rice he hollers into the house. I tell him raw rice is really bad for birds! He yells “cook it”! At this point intervention is necessary. I go out on the veranda and explain how out-of-hand this has gotten. It has to stop. He agrees, after all who is the adult here, the chickens or Chuck? So it’s been a week now and the chickens have all dissipated. They all seem to have forgotten the good-old, free-lunch era. All except Rogers. He looks up here all the time, unblinking, and I have noticed that he is edging closer and closer to my veranda when he starts practicing his 2:00 a.m. crowing. He doesn’t realize just how close Thanksgiving is!!

So now Chuckie is focusing his attention on a small, dainty yellow-breasted bird. There are a lot of them and fun to watch. They fly really fast and zip in and out grabbing bugs from the air. They will land close to us, but they are really skittish. Chuckie, of course, thinks they are hungry. So he makes a pile of crumbs on our veranda rail and sits quietly, hoping they will come and eat. Well we also have tons of black-birds. Not as big as the ones at home, but big enough. Chuckie does not like the black birds and is not willing to feed them anything because they are loud and aggressive spawns-of-the-devil. So now we have stare-downs between Chuckie and the black birds.(They don’t blink either). However, when Chuckie is sitting so quietly, not moving so he doesn’t scare his yellow birds, he often falls asleep. Then the black birds swoop in a eat all the crumbs. There is a Hitchcock movie here somewhere!!

Our prayers are with you all at Thanksgiving. We have never been away from family during any holiday so we are already feeling lonely. We are helping Robinson’s host 100 people for dinner at their house and grounds. There will be tents erected and chairs and tables on the lawn. The church takes this opportunity to say “thanks” to all the volunteers with a chicken dinner and all the trimmings. I will help our two nuns cook 30 chickens (we are using the high school home ec kitchen with 6 stoves). Turkey is a luxury here…too expensive to serve. Everyone will bring a dish to share, I’m bringing roasted rooster. There is something unnerving about picturing100 people walking across the lawn carrying pot-luck casseroles. A little Wes Craven-ish…

The nuns are really nice, but usually don’t get my jokes. I often catch them looking at me a little strangely. They need to realize that I have already been saved, I just need to be appreciated."

**Made me chuckle, and even laugh out loud! Hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving!

I'm Thankful for...

a lot of things!

As we approach Thanksgiving, I would like to share what I am thankful for, not because everyone is doing it (I'm not a 'jump on the bandwagon' kind of girl) but rather because it gives me the opportunity to reflect and share these wonderful gifts in my life. These things should be reflected upon and appreciated year-round, which they are, but here they are compiled.

Here we go:

I am thankful for--

-my family, first and foremost. My parents who support me, love me, listen to me, provide for me, encourage me...you have had a HUGE contribution to the person I am today, you shaped me in my most formidable days and years and continue to do so today and hopefully for many more years. My brother for being my brother and loving me...where ever we go we are family and you remind me of that. My grandparents, alive and with me or no longer here, but still in my heart; those I met and those I unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet. They all are my roots and I can only hope that they are and would be proud of who I am today. The variety and multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins-you remind me that there is a piece of me far reaching in this world. Love to you all.

-my friends. New and old. My "old" friends, those of you who know my soul and reflect it to me when I need reminding. You who know my dreams and aspirations and encourage me to strive for them--you help keep me aiming for the stars and the places I want to go. No matter what we've been through we will always remain connected, whether we speak often or not, each conversation feels like the previous one was just yesterday. I love you for that and for helping to keep me true. I look forward to the years where we don't remember what happened yesterday, but we still tell stories of our younger days. And to my "new" friends...if you only knew what you have gotten yourself into... just kidding. :) Truly, you are my future. I look forward to all the adventures yet to come, small and large alike.

{To all my family and friends-thank you for everything you have imparted to me in my time with each of you. My cup runneth over.}

-all the things that we take for granted so many times: the luxuries of life that I experience daily...four walls and a roof to keep the wind and rain out and the heat and sun and bugs out; a cozy flannel sheeted bed; food that nourishes my body; the books that nourish my love of learning; the music that soothes my soul; electricity, light, heat, air conditioning, water-cold and hot; bubble baths, hot showers; my car that gets me from point A to point B consistently. The senses: I'm blessed to have them...the taste of a juicy strawberry or the smell of fresh baked cookies (regular or gluten free), seeing the colors and beauty of the world and the velvety feel of Ezme's hair and the sound of energy and conversation in a room full or people, or of the beauty of silence in my quiet apartment. My education; my job; my co-workers.

-all the little things: blooming flowers, green plants; a smiling baby; the squeal of a toddler; the sounds of laughter and of sadness; the warmth of the sun on a sunny day; the warmth of a fire; the ice cold of iced tea and ice cream; the feel of a pet curled up with you; the sound of rain hitting the windows; the glistening of a freshly fallen snow; the smell and feel of freshly mowed grass. Cell phones/internet/email--they are my connection to and many times the link between my widespread family and friends; letters--I love actual paper, sent in the mail letters; games (one particular game at the moment- as I am not much of a game player) and other forms of entertainment; windchimes; the sounds of nature-chirping birds, babbling brooks, crashing thunder and the sight of a lighting bolt illuminating the sky. Rainbows-and the end of them. :)
the ability to travel, to see this world, experience new things and meet new people.

-my past...that sounds odd, but I am thankful for my past-the experiences and privileges I have had. Not everyone is able to experience the things I've experienced. And those experiences have contributed to making me who I am. I am honored to have been able to live the life I've lived and done the things I've done.

-my future...I have been given this day and hope to make the most of it. I am thankful I get to experience the here and now and can only hope that I have a lot more 'todays' to live, experiences to have and stories to tell.


There are probably a million more items I could list, but this feels pretty comprehensive for the moment.

What are you thankful for?

Blessings to you on this Thanksgiving and in the months and years to come!

Eat lots of yummy food-a bonus of the day!

A few steps closer...

...but not quite there yet.

As stated in an earlier post: I am going to D.C.! I can't wait. I also told you a bit about how I have been planning/researching/reserving places to see and the tickets for them. I now have in the possession of my hot little hands: 2 tickets to the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit; 3 tickets to the Washington Monument and 3 tickets to the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. They all have a special, safe spot; where hopefully I won't misplace them and they are already on the list of things to remember to take with me to D.C. I already told you I love lists and am OCD about certain things!

If you noticed above I did not list that a plane ticket is yet in my possession--that is why my first line stated that I am not quite there, yet. Well on my way though!

My next thought is: I will be in D.C. over Easter. 'Spose my brother would mind getting me to Arlington National Cemetery in time for Easter Services? No problem you may say....well, I think there might be issue had when I ask about getting me there by 6am because their service is a Sunrise service...I am guessing the answer will go something like this: a disgusted shake of the head accompanied by enlarged (deer in the headlight look) eyes, followed by an utterance of words, some of which may include "You are nuts. Are you serious?! No!" Worth a try anyway!

Amazing sights I will soon lay eyes on! (Above is a hall in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Below is the self explanitory Washington Monument)

And just because I am procrastinating mopping my floors I counted the weeks until I head East: 19 weeks = 133 days +/- a day depending on when I actually fly out! It couldn't come soon enough!

The Sky as of Late

I am fascinated by the sky and the colors that appear in the heavens above. These are some pictures I have snapped of the sky in the last several weeks and finally have just downloaded them from the camera to the computer.

Don't forget to look to look up-for there are amazing colors to be seen!

Tickets: Purchased

The Time: 1974

The People: Farmers

The Place: eastern suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China

The Reason: Drilling for a water well

Discovery: Massive, life sized Terra Cotta statues of strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians

Post-Discovery: Estimates are that there are 3 pits containing over 2,000 soldiers, 100 chariots with 400 horses and 300 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried

(info taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army)

If you know me, you know that I get really excited about things, especially if that thing is a trip somewhere! I have this sort of love/hate relationship with travelling- I love to do it, but hate that I can't go as many places as often as I want....there are these hinderances I call work, money (or lack thereof) and....well, those are the big ones. If I had unlimited funds and didn't have to work, I would be "on the road" more often than not. I have always had this desire to travel, see the world, this country, this state even. Someday, I hope to see all and more of the places I've got on my list of things to do before I die. That list is long, really long (and getting longer all the time) SO I better live a long time, or start doing things in a hurry.

A friend of mine in college labeled my intense desire to explore the world as : wanderlust. So true! The thing about my wanderlust is: it is always simmering, so to speak, and then every once in I while I get these big flare-ups, or boil overs. The boil overs are usually associated with one of three things; a) I am getting ready for a trip or am on a trip; b) I know someone who is getting ready for a trip or is on a trip; or c) it's been too long since I last traveled and I NEED to go somewhere. Right at this exact moment I fall into ALL three of those categories. TROUBLE indeed!

Many of you know that in May my brother relocated from Savannah GA (a source of two of my wanderlust adventures) to the Washington DC area (a place on the aforementioned to-do list). Uh oh. That can only spell more trouble. How can I have my own flesh and blood in a part of this country and not visit. That would just be terrible...right? RIGHT?! So how could a sister help but to start planning a trip to see said flesh and blood (a.k.a. younger brother, Josh). COULD NOT happen. Trust me!

I contemplated visiting for his birthday in October--didn't think I could pull myself and my act together to do that, so after a friend confirmed that Cherry Blossom Festival time would be a sure bet, I requested 2 weeks off from work for this coming spring. Mind you this was all brewing in May of this year, and projecting to March/April of the coming year. WOW! I was so excited for something that may or my not happen. A lot can happen in that about of time. Since then I have debated a lot and been hot and cold about it.

Well, not anymore. I haven't yet bought a plane ticket, I did however, just only moments ago, purchase tickets to see an exhibit while I am in D.C. And this exhibit is what spurred my decision to go, regardless of whether or not I should, whether or not I can afford it, whether or not the weather is good...all those excuses I could come up with to bail on the trip that I had and have been so looking forward to.

I got word that the National Geographic Museum in D.C. is hosting an exhibit of the Terra Cotta Warriors from November (now) through March 31st. It just so happens that I was planning on flying out on the 31st. Solution: fly out a day earlier and see the exhibit on the last evening. I like this solution! Brother agreed to go with me, and then the planning began, again! I have a list, and a travel/map book and lots of internet sites book marked as "Favorites." And, the best part--I have an itinerary started. I know, I know. Nothing like being a little premature in planning, but in my defense: that will be the beginning of peak tourist season and if I am paying to travel to that side of the country I will, by golly, be seeing the things I want to see. And if that means ordering/reserving tickets now, then so be it. Being premature pays off at times, as this evening I discoved that the day we'd planned to go to the Washington Monument, yes : SOLD OUT = itinerary gets tweaked. So, the trip at this point is fluid, with the exception of the tickets I just purchased to see the largest collection of those lovely and amazing creations pictured above!

Can't wait!

By the way, if any of you have been to D.C. and have a recommendation of a place I should be sure to see, or even a place that I could pass on seeing feel free to let me know!!

"Blessed are those who give without remembering and take without forgetting." ~Elizabeth Bibesco

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Truly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been pondering as of late. Not entirely sure what exactly has spurred my thought-filled moments, but I've enjoyed them, if I can say that. I'd have to say that I enjoy moreso my appreciation of those I've been thinking of. And truly, deep down, I guess I do know what has spurred these contemplative moments. Family. No, not my blood related family, though I love them dearly. It's been the family I've adopted. The members not necessarily all knowing each other, because quite truthfully there are many and they are varied. They are friends, families, families of friends. They are beautiful people.

I knew moving to Oregon would be challenging. I wouldn't have a single family member within a days drive. But still, I made that move. Temporary--that is what I told myself it would be. "Just for your college years, Stephanie." Well, here I am--4.5 years post college graduation, still finding myself more than a days drive from any blood related family, but only minutes to an hour from dear "family" that have adopted me and I've adopted them as pseudo-family. They are the family I choose, and who choose me.

I still am often sad knowing that my birth family isn't so close, but I choose to be thankful that I have these pseudo-families that have popped up in my life over time and allow me to be a part of their inner sanctum of "familyness." I makes it not as hard to have my own family such a distance away. I am often included in family gatherings, outings, holidays, etc. It is a blessing and very heartwarming to have these experiences and I will be forever grateful and only hope that I am able to be "family" to anyone who needs that. Thank you to any of my "bonus family members" out there!

Picture

"Band of Gold"

This band of gold never meant much to me
a link in the chain that the world wants to see
a part of the show that the world asks you for
You can do what you want behind any closed door

This band of gold slips off easily
but there's a mark underneath it anybody can see
The sun and the wind, the years and the days
made that mark a part of me and it won't go away

And just like that mark there's a part of my heart
your love protects from the storm
and there I can be a child who's free
though my body is weary and worn

And that band of gold is as big as the sky
No ocean is wider--no mountain as high
It's as soft as your kiss is and as warm as our bed
and with that band of gold every day I thee wed

*Written by Greg Brown.
**Jill, one of my co-workers sang and played her guitar at work this last week and this is one of the many lovely songs that she shared. I love it so!

Autumn Psalm of Contentment

O sacred season of Autumn, be my teacher,
for I wish to learn the virtue of contentment.
As I gaze upon your full-colored beauty,
I sense all about you
an at-homeness with your amber riches.

You are the season of retirement,
of full barns and harvested fields.
The cycle of growth has ceased,
and the busy work of giving life is now completed.
I sense in you no regrets:
you’ve lived a full life.

I live in a society that is ever-restless,
always eager for more mountains to climb,
seeking happiness through more and more possessions.
As a child of my culture,
I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.
Teach me to take stock of what I have given and received;
may I know that it’s enough,
that my striving can cease in the abundance of God’s grace.
May I know the contentment
that allows the totality of my energies
to come to full flower.
May I know that like you I am rich beyond measure.

As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in your great bounty,
let me also take delight
in the abundance of the simple things of life
which are the true source of joy.
With the golden glow of peaceful contentment
may I truly appreciate this autumn day.

-from Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, Edward Hays, 1989.

One...can

One song can spark a moment,
one flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
one bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
one hand clasp lifts a soul.

One star can guide a ship at sea,
one word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
one sun beam lights a room.

One candle wipes out darkness,
one laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
one word must start each prayer.

One hope will raise our spirits,
one touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
one heart can know what's true.

One life can make the difference,
You see it's up to 'you'.

~Unknown

**This was shared by John, our Chaplain at work, at a staff retreat. I really like the message.