Photo update

Two weekends ago the Service Adventure unit did a bake sale fundraiser at our church.

We spent Saturday afternoon baking copious amounts of cookies (we ended up with over 400, I think), muffins, bread, and granola.

By the time we left after church on Sunday, we had sold all our baked goods!

It's technically spring now, but nobody told Colorado.

Easter care package from my wonderful parents!

Easter morning choir.

We had such a lovely potluck Easter dinner with these friends from church!

Deviled egg chicks.

The six of us were introduced to a new-to-us Easter tradition, common in Mexico: Our Easter egg hunt was made up of hollowed-out eggshells, which had been painted and re-filled with confetti. The tradition is to smash the eggs you find on top of someone else's head, showering them with confetti.

The colorful aftermath.

And our happy Service Adventure family!

How to Convince Your Landlord to Allow You to Get Chickens

The latest episode in my quest to become a homesteader: Backyard chickens.

We're renting our house, and our current lease states that animals are not permitted on the property without express written permission from the landlords.

But I really want a few laying hens.

I've never had them before, but lots of friends of mine have. They are so easy to care for and are happy to putter around in a little fenced-in yard (and our backyard already has a tall sturdy fence). They improve your soil, give you fresh eggs for free, eat your leftover food scraps, and cut down on your carbon footprint. Obviously this is has been on my life list for a long time.

On the off chance that anyone who reads this is considering getting chickens at a rental house, here is the text from the letter I just sent to our landlords. (I haven't received a response yet, so the jury is out on whether or not it will work, but I'm optimistic.) Permission granted for anyone out there to use this, if you're thinking of getting chickens to make your corner of the world better.

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To Whom It May Concern:     3/17/2016

As a resident of one of your properties, I am writing to you with a proposal. Our current lease states that animals are not permitted on the premises without written permission, and our household is hoping to begin keeping chickens in the backyard for eggs. Keeping backyard chickens is an easy and harmless way to reap environmental, financial, and health benefits: They are placid and self-sufficient animals that take up little space and few resources, and the eggs they produce are fresher than store-bought eggs and have essentially no carbon footprint.

To alleviate any concerns you might have about the situation, I have addressed below a number of issues or complaints that sometimes come up in keeping backyard chickens.

• Noise: Under no circumstances will there be a rooster on the premises. Hens make very little noise (generally much less than that of a barking dog), so I do not expect noise to be an issue.
• Accommodation: The chickens will be kept at all times within the fenced-in backyard and enclosed in their chicken house at night to protect from raccoons. They will never be inside either of the buildings on the property (house or garage). They will not be visible from the front yard or the street.
• Destruction of property: The chicken coop will be mobile and free-standing, involving no alterations to existing structures.
• Destruction of lawn: The chickens will indeed peck at the ground, but this does not cause any harm to the land, and they typically do not damage grass. In fact, they actually improve the soil quality through aeration, and their manure will act as a fertilizer, thus making the land more viable for future gardening, landscaping, and cultivation.
• Smell: We plan to have an open-air coop, which allows for an essentially smell-free environment.
• Volume: We plan to have 2-4 chickens, a number that will not overwhelm the capacity of the land we have.
• Zoning Code: The City of Colorado Springs allows residents to keep up to 10 hens as long as there is adequate space provided. I am enclosing a copy of the ordinance.

In summary, I believe backyard chickens will be a viable and beneficial addition to our household life with no major drawbacks. I hope you will find this to be a satisfactory arrangement.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns! I would be happy to discuss my plans in more detail.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

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Happy homesteading!

Musicals!

So a couple of weekends ago Daniel and I went to a concert at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts (a concert venue attracting world-class musicians, and home to the Colorado Springs Philharmonic). It was called Comedy Tonight, and it featured three seasoned Broadway performers singing a variety of solo selections from musicals old and new, accompanied by the Philharmonic. As per the name of the concert, they only chose the funny/upbeat/feel-good songs.

It was, of course, delightful in every way.

As we were leaving I came up with a little idea.

Step one: Make a list of all the musicals that any reasonable person should have seen.
Step two: Cross of the ones that both D and I have seen.
Step three: Watch all the rest.

The thing is, for a professional musician, I have yet to see a surprisingly high number of well-known shows. Daniel has somehow seen way more than me.

Here's the hastily brainstormed first draft of our to-watch list.

• West Side Story
• Rent
• Grease
• Wicked
• Mamma Mia
• Forever Plaid
• Chicago
• WHAT ELSE??? I'm leaving off lots of potential options simply because I don't know enough about them to know if they're required viewing or not.

Lest you think we are heathens neglecting a host of essentials, here is a list of the shows that we have both ALREADY seen.

• Les Miserables
• Phantom of the Opera
• Fiddler on the Roof
• The Sound of Music
• The Music Man
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• My Fair Lady
• Godspell
• Oklahoma!
• Into the Woods
• The Lion King
• Annie
• The Wizard of Oz
• Beauty and the Beast
• Mary Poppins
• Hairspray
• Moulin Rouge

So help us out: What are we missing? What are your favorite musicals that you feel any reasonable person should see?

A week in photos

Okay it's really more like "a week and a half in photos" but work with me.

Waiting in line to caucus for Bernie at our neighborhood high school last week. It my first time at any sort of caucus/primary, and there were a LOT of people there.

This was the classroom used for just our precinct. There were nearly a hundred people crowded inside this one room: the vote was 48 Bernie - 46 Hillary.

Just for fun, here's a look at the chore chart we use every week to sign up for cooking and household chores. Artwork by Anali, of course.

Amazon gift card well spent.

It is arguably too early to plant anything outside in Colorado Springs, but this is supposed to be very cold-hardy spinach, plus I'm a rebel like that. And what else am I supposed to do with all the unseasonably warm days we've been having?

In short: Plants + books + community involvement + lovable housemates = a very good week.

A Day in Photos: The Service Adventure Unit Goes Skiing

On Saturday morning our household, plus two friends, left to go skiing for the day. It seemed like an important experience for us to have, as we live in a city that's obsessed with fitness and in a state that loves winter sports.

We soaked in the lovely scenery on the long drive to Monarch Mountain, about two and a half hours southwest of the Springs.

All ready to go.

A beautiful (and surprisingly warm) day to be outside. Not a bad view here either.

Of the six of us, Sarah and Anna were the only ones who had ever been skiing before.

Our token snowboarder.

All in all, it was a fun day, and we're now one step closer to being true Coloradans. Many thanks to Joe and Leah, our fearless adventure guides, for the opportunity and the encouragement!

Political Anxiety and the Pursuit of Hope

I don't consider myself to be an anxious person. I'm pretty good at staying optimistic and recognizing that most stressors are minor in the overall scheme of things.

But last week, a knot of stress curled up in my stomach one afternoon and made itself at home. There was no discernible reason for its appearance at that particular moment, and it took me a while to figure out what was causing it. I eventually determined that it was general anxiety over a certain political candidate whose name I am not even going to pervert this blog by mentioning. I am sure you know who I mean.

I was incredibly burdened by the fact that one person's originally laughable decision to run for president has turned into what sometimes seems to be an unstoppable force. I was enraged that while the intelligent American public -- liberal and conservative alike -- condemns the rhetoric of hate that spews form this person, he continues to garner support from what I can only call the underbelly of the American population: places where there exists a disproportionate number of people who believe in utterly horrifying ideals like white supremacy and politically inflicted religious violence. This situation disturbs me greatly on a daily basis. For whatever reason, it turned into a visceral bodily symptom on this particular day.

I tried my usual pick-me-ups: I ate some dark chocolate. I listened to my favorite podcast. I drank some peppermint tea. I took deep breaths. Nothing worked to dispel the knot in my gut.

Eventually, a few hours later, it did go away. But the fear of what caused it remains.

Today, on the day when thousands of people (including, for the first time, myself) will vote in primaries and caucuses, I'm encouraged by three things.

Firstly, the fact that so many people ARE voting. I've sensed a lot of interest in this year's primary elections, and I'm eager to see how the voter turnout numbers compare to prior years. Let's hope that desperation has spurred lots of new voters to show up and speak out.

Secondly, these verses.
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
-Psalm 27:13-14

And finally, the existence of beauty in the world.

May you find hope in one or all of these things today.

Listening with grace

On Sunday, I attended a relatively new Sunday School class at my church, called Rewilding the Way. It's essentially a discussion of Todd Wynward's new book Rewilding the Way, which I highly recommend. To begin the discussion hour, the facilitator read aloud a passage from the book.

One of the topics mentioned in the passage was climate change.

The grim future that [Roy] Scranton had witnessed in Iraq had come home -- not through enemy attack but through social collapse in the face of an extreme and unpredictable climate. (p.165)

The discussion facilitator suggested we go around the circle and respond with our thoughts about the passage, or about the book in general. Many of the responses touched on climate change, and the perspectives ranged across the spectrum -- from "The facts are clear, and the situation is dire" to "I know I should do something, but how much can one person do?" to "The experts disagree on this subject so I don't think it's a big deal."

If you know me at all, you know how I feel about this. As my blood began to boil at certain comments, the urge to spout factual evidence at the people who were so blatantly wrong grew and grew.

A quick side note:
I have often cited with pride Beth-El Mennonite's theological diversity. As the only Mennonite church in a city of 440,000 people, it makes sense that our congregation would be more diverse than most. Our people are all across the board on social, religious, and political issues. And somehow, through the grace of God and the hard work of the pastor and worship leaders, it works.

Conversely, I spent most of my childhood in Harrisonburg, a small city of about 50,000 people that supported nearly thirty Mennonite churches. In that kind of setting, why bother having contentious conversations when you can easily surround yourself with people who agree with you?

Here we don't have that option.

While sitting in that classroom listening to my fellow Christ-followers talk about their beliefs, I realized something important: I can't claim to value theological diversity without practicing grace myself. In order to fully participate in being church with people who disagree with me, I have to be willing to do the messy work of having conversations about difficult things. I have to extend grace and love to my neighbors who disagree with me. I have to prioritize relationships over being right.

It was an important reminder that what I claim to value in my church is not something I am actually used to participating in.

Sitting there, together with twenty-odd other people who chose to be there that morning -- just to show up regardless of conflict or contentiousness or controversy, and to leave the room still full of love --
I was grateful.

Winter shenanigans

Last weekend we had the absolutely delightful experience of being at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp for one of their snow camp weekends.

I am now convinced that snow camp is the best thing to ever happen to winter. It is SO MUCH FUN.

For starters, I'm sorry, but I'm obsessed with this frozen pond. I grew up in Virginia. We didn't have these.

Snow camp was everything that winter should be: Piles of snow everywhere. Sunshine and rosy cheeks. Sessions with a great speaker. Tubing down a giant hill. Singing. Sports that don't require you to be athletic. New and old friends.

 Human curling.

Semi-captive audience.

This is broomball. It's like a primitive version of hockey: an old volleyball, some duct-taped brooms, and no skates. Also tons of fun.

It didn't take me long to figure out why I liked broomball so much. After an unusually warm week, the top of the ice had thawed and re-frozen multiple times, creating an especially slippery surface. So, while playing broomball, staying on your feet was the number one challenge.

Which completely levels the playing field. I grew up with gym class as my arch-nemesis, and it took me years after finishing high school to realize that what I hated was not the physical exercise. Rather, what I hated was my own lack of hand-eye coordination. And even more so, the people who made me feel bad about it.

So when the naturally athletic people were handicapped by a slippery pond, I quickly realized my opportunity: I just had to learn how to keep my balance more effectively than they did, and then I might actually be good at a sport.

This weekend was short and sweet. Physically and mentally stimulating. It fit perfectly in my Lenten intention of spending more time outdoors. I can't wait to go back.

I'm telling you -- if you have any opportunity whatsoever to go to RMMC for a snowy weekend -- DO IT.

Garden of the Gods: Winter edition

As you've probably figured out by now, one of my favorite things about our house in Colorado Springs is that we live on the west side, thus extra close to the mountains. And one of the best outdoor features of the city is Garden of the Gods, a free public park with incredible views and a lot of great hiking trails, only a ten minute drive from our house.

It's always swarmed with tourists in the summer, but not so the rest of the year. Especially on the Saturday after a large snowstorm.

Despite the snow on the ground, the temperature was close to fifty degrees, so it was the perfect morning to explore.

I struck out with no particular destination in mind, and discovered this gorgeous trail.

And while traipsing through the park, seeing only one other person the entire time I was on this trail, I began to realize what was so wonderful about this experience. It was the feeling of being completely alone, held in juxtaposition with the sense of being one part of the collective.

It was an aloneness that had nothing to do with being lonely.

The aloneness was a blissful solitude, knowing that the only sounds I heard were the crunch of my boots on hard-packed snow, the chirping songs of birds in the nearby trees, and the occasional breath of wind.

And the powerful sense of the collective came from the knowledge that the snow had been tamped down by dozens of boots before mine, by other souls seeking that perfect solitude of nature.

Every inhale was energizing, every exhale a prayer of gratitude.

May you find reassurance today in solitude, while feeling a profound sense of being held up by our collective humanity.

A week in photos

Taking advantage of an unseasonably warm -- and windy -- afternoon in Garden of the Gods. Excuse the squinty faces.

Snow day that basically became snow week.

My view from the parking lot of the doctors' office. I don't think I'll ever get used to this.

Here's the setting of my first concert with Chamber Orchestra of the Springs.

And the rest of the gang as enthusiastic listeners!