Cross Country Skiing

This week, this girl

came to Montana.

And we went cross country skiing.

Here.

With these ladies.

And this guy, of course.

John's family packed a picnic.

And then went back to pet sit this girl.

Hell

"Where does the word hell come from?" a client asked me the other day.

"I think it comes from helium," he said, answering himself. "Helium is cold. Its the coldest gas. Hell is being cold and lonely."

A JV Christmas

How to have a JV Christmas:

Ornament on our very scrawny, free tree.

Our house, plus a Christmas wreath recreated from someone's throw away Christmas decorations. Plus Jen's snowflakes.

Snow! We had more earlier but it melted. There was a dusting today though.

Christmas Cards

Snow

Advent wreath with greens we "borrowed" from a local park.

Peppermint Mochas with John

Yum.

Christmas is coming

Last week, when the temperatures thankfully and finally rose out of the single digits, and we had our first true winter snow, we also had our Christmas party! The theme was "Ugly Christmas Decoration," so we told people they had decorations they would like to get rid of (eg singing Santas) we would take them. Surprisingly few people gave us "ugly" decorations, and instead gave us beautiful ornaments that they were no longer using. Which we used to decorate our truly Charlie Brown tree. (I'll put up a picture soon). We had chili and cider, plus many delicious goodies people brought. We ate like queens for the rest of the week!

In other Christmas party news, the Salcido held its first anniversary party last Friday. We had volunteers come decorate, during which a fight broke out and law enforcement arrived. Luckily for them they had just stepped out for a few and were gone till after the police left. But the party went off with out a hitch. It had been a long week, what with the fight, a man trying to commit suicide, other dramatic events and much party preparation. But the place looked lovely with Christmas lights and trees. Plus the Poverello cooked a delicious lunch!

This past weekend I took a break from Christmas parties and went to Great Falls with John. It was great to see his family, relax, and (of course) eat well. It'll be sad to be away from my home on Christmas, so it was nice to get some(one's) family time in.

This is what my holiday will look like:
12/22: Work
12/23: Off! Cleaning, relaxing, and no baking because our house is full of treats.
12/24: Work, Christmas Eve dinner at a retired couple's house who we are friends with.
12/25: Work, half day. Probably lunch at the Pov, then Christmas movies, dinner, wine, and chocolate with my roommates.
12/26: Work
12/27: Liana, a friend from college comes in to town! We will probably go cross country skiing.

So yes, I'm working, but I think I will have a perfectly lovely time.

My Lunch, or JVs don't starve

My lunch:

Orange shrimp fried rice

Ingredients:

Rice (leftover from dinner last week)
Shrimp (left over from our Christmas party yesterday)
Celery/Carrots/Broccoli (leftover from a veggie tray yesterday)
Orange (gift from a friend of ours)
Soy sauce (bought)
Red pepper flakes (bought)
Egg (bought)

Not that what I eat on a daily basis fascinating, but I thought y'all (cough, Mom, cough) might like to know that even on a tiny budget, I can eat quite well.

Ha!

In defense of Christmas

Wrapping paper, bows. The jingling of Salvation Army's bells and there bright red pots. Christmas is a time of generosity.

It's also the time of year non-profits receive the bulk of the donations they will for the year. And for most people, it's the time cash is the tightest.

So if you want to contribute to good will to all, here's a few things I've seen you can do without breaking the bank.

* Donate items instead of cash. Homeless shelters can always use hats, gloves, scarves, blankets. Women's shelters that allow children can always use art supplies and children's books.
* Call to ask if there are any items on the agencies wish list. Something simple like a new coffee pot for $30 is probably way down on the priority list to buy if someone donates $30, but would be much appreciated.
* Donate gift cards. Gas gift cards are great for agencies whose workers drive a lot. Or a Starbucks card to a college student minister who takes people out for coffee often.
* Donate to JVC Northwest. Okay, so this isn't a shameless plug for JVC. Really, the money you donate there will go far. Through recruiting and placing volunteers, they save agencies throughout the northwest thousands of dollars each year. It's one way for a few bucks to make an even bigger difference.

www.adventconspiracy.org for more inspiration.

Forecast

Weather for Missoula, MT

Current Temperature: -1
High: 8
Low: -9

Thanksgiving

1 car, 3 planes, and 2 buses I made it from Virginia back to Missoula in less than 15 hours. Beats the heck out of a covered wagon.

Thanksgiving was a nice reprieve from work, as well as the cold. It was in the upper 60s in Virginia, and now its a high in the teens. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. A little too much like Christmas. I don't mind the cold too much, to be honest. And it's tough to mind keeping the house at 62 when I know I have clients sleeping outside. You do have to get creative with ways to stay warm when you are in JVC Northwest. Tips we've learned:

Tea. It warms inside out. Eskimos actually drink lots of tea to stay warm.
Microwave a bag of beans or rice in a pillow case or something like that. It's great to sleep with at night.
Flannel sheets are WAY warmer than regular cotton.

She's tough. She's from Virginia.

The above is a conversation I overheard between two clients while I was changing the water jug. It made me smile.

Some days, however, I do not feel tough. For example, yesterday I broke down and cried after work. I had an older gentleman sob to me about how he can't talk to his brother, who is in a nursing home in Tennessee, anymore because he just had a feeding tube put in. The brother is autistic and the last time he tried to call, he wouldn't come to the phone.

I had another gentleman insist we call 911 because he was allegedly throwing up blood. He then decided not to go along with the paramedics and to do the chicken dance across the street.

I spent hours convincing a client to call the suicide hotline for veterans. He had been an army medic and had a 2 year old girl die in his arms after being shot. He said he couldn't fall asleep without seeing her and so he just got drunk every night and high every day and was sick of it. Then the Doctor on the crisis hotline called me back to chew me out about how he was just trying to pull a ruse and find a free place to stay and was being ludicrous.

My coworker called animal control on a dog which constantly was forgotten and tied up outside.

I had another man spend the entire day trying to get in touch with his brother, who never called him back.

I had another gentleman threaten another man for allegedly slashing his bike tires.

There are some moments that are rewarding, and others that are downright discouraging. And that's why today, on my day off, I am still in my pajamas at 1 and am ready for Thanksgiving!

Keepin the Peace

"A big part of job is keeping the peace" - Pov staff member in an article on the Poverello that appeared in today's paper.

Which is true. Its hard finding, keeping, or creating 'peace.' Whether its what movie to show at work, or whose turn it is to do the dishes.

And so I like this blessing:

May the blessing of Light be on you
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
And warm your heart till it glows
Like a great peat fire, so that the stranger
may come and warm himself at it
and also a friend
And may the light shine out of the two eyes of you
Like a candle set in the windows of a house
Bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm.

And may the blessing of the Rain be upon you, the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up
And shed their sweetness on the air
And may the blessing of the Great Rains be on you
May they beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean
And leave there many a shining pool where the blue of heaven shines
And sometimes a star.

And may the blessing of the Earth be upon you, the great round earth
May you ever have a kindly greeting for them you pass
As you're going along the roads
May the earth be soft under you when you rest upon it
Tire at the end of the day
And may it rest easy over you
When at the last you lay out under it
May it rest so lightly over you
That your soul may be out from under it quickly
And up, and off, and on its way to God.

And now may the Lord bless you all, and bless you kindly.

Lastly, Pictures Part 3.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

So the other weekend, one of my housemates and I took a trip to the local graveyard for an event entitled "Stories and Stones." Local people dressed up as some of the more famous, or rather infamous, Missoulians, and stood by their graves to regale the public with their stories.

Infamous Missoulian, Mrs. Gleim, the first woman in Missoula to run her own business. Take a guess at what it was...

It was actually a ton of fun. It was a beautiful fall day and we spent the afternoon listening to local actors tell fun stories, drinking cider, and just enjoying the sunshine. One of my favorites was a story from a local Missoulian who was the first white woman to live and die in Montana. As a widow, she opened a bakery and sold slices of pie for $5 gold pieces! Apparently flour was $30 for a 100lb bag and the miners would pay anything.

Also good was the first school teacher in Missoula. She gave us a list of the rules they had to follow which included:

1. You will not marry during the term of your contact.

2. You will not keep company with men.

3. You must be home between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am unless attending a school function.

4. You may not loiter downtown in an of the ice cream shoppes.

5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have permission of the chairman of the board.

6. You may not ride in a carriage or an automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.

7. You may not smoke cigarettes. 

8. You may not dress in bright colors.

9. You may not under any circumstances die your hair.

10. You must wear at least 2 petticoats.

11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above the ankle. 

These rules are posted under our fridge, entitled "Rules for Jesuit Volunteers." I think we've broken all of them except 1, 7, and 10.

Pictures Part 2

Life in Missoula

Hiking up in the Seeley Swan Valley. John and I went and we saw some gorgeous trees, a stunning lake, and a hidden waterfall. Unfortunately, we also saw lots of clouds and not so much the spectacular mountain views I wanted. 

The Farmer's Market is a wonderful Saturday tradition in Missoula.  

Every Saturday there are two, count 'em, two farmers' market's PLUS a crafts fair to frequent. So the entire downtown is abustle with people doing their saturday shopping. It's one of my favorite parts of Missoula. I love seeing the community out and about, people on the street playing guitar, tons of local flavor to be sampled, etc. 

We bought 2 "Fireside" apples to taste test, mainly because the name was so intriguing. And yes, I am holding a (gasp) disposable coffee cup. I finally bought a to-go one for 20 cents from our church's garage sale. But getting coffee before I walk around the market is one of my favorite things to do, so I always indulge.  

Jen liked hers, I think.

PICTURES! Part 1

My computer is back and instead of doing one gigantic picture post, I will do a few separate ones:

We went on our retreat at Flathead Lake back in October. Flathead is beautiful country. The retreat was on community, which was something that was much needed to hear. We focused on forgiveness and right relationship, which is something everyone needs to hear day to day, and something that when you live with 4 other people, you need to be hit over the head with once in a while.

Flathead Lake

Doesn't this rock look like a face?

The dock

Mission Mountains

A sleepy Montana morning

The sun struggles to rise over the mountains which loom above a sleepy Montanan town. Weak rays of gray light illuminate the ominous clouds to the north. The air is surprisingly warm for November, but the wind whistles through my tires as I bike along quiet streets. Off to work before the sun has cleared the horizon.

A wind blows through the streets of downtown. A ghost wind which has cut through many small towns that morning, towns who tell tales of the mining days, of the glory days. Leaves blow in the streets, and I think to myself if they were only tumble weeds, this would be a western sight. The leaves dance around a forgotten flask left empty and open on the corner.

The coffee shops are the only stores with their lights on this early. The espresso love affair must have spread eastward from Seattle. But each cup reminds me of cowboys sitting around campfires, cup of black, strong coffee in hand. Sitting in the light of the night, cup of joe and a flask to stay warm.

On food

This weekend I went to Helena with John. And I ate, for the very first time....

antelope.

It's nothing to write home about, that's for sure. Its enough to blog about though, huh?

In other news, I've also tried elk for the first time. Now that's not all that bad, actually.

Still no pictures...

It's frustrating not having my computer because the things I'd like to write about (hiking, the retreat, knitting) have pictures to go along with them.

It's kind of a lull at work right now. The majority of people we serve receive SSI and SSDI and so get their paychecks at the end of the month. So for the first week or so of every month, we're pretty quiet. A fair number of people get a hotel for a week and drink. Which is not the picture of homelessness most people prefer. It seems that there are few major stereotypes of homelessness:

1. The mentally ill man with fingerless gloves, knit cap, green trench coat and a shopping cart full of odd-ball items.

2. The down 0n his luck, hardworking American who just needs a hand-up, not a hand-out.

3. The lazy alcoholic who just is looking to panhandle and not work.

Of course, stereotypes have roots somewhere. A good number of people who are homeless are mentally ill and are unable to sustain housing. For some people, the stress of paying bills monthly, abiding to a landlord's rules, etc. can be too stressful. Homelessness is not simply a result of housing shortages, but of a lack of supportive housing.

We do have people who are simply down on their luck, and we'll see more and more of them. We have people with college degrees who have held regular jobs and donate regularly to charities. But if your husband dies, and you're laid off, and then you get in a bad relationship and move across the state and are stranded when he leaves you, it's not simply a matter of needing a new job.

The majority of people we see struggle with some form of chemical dependency or self-medication. And its a tricky place to be in. Detox costs money, and many hospitals in our area don't offer detox services. And if you haven't been able to work because of your alcoholism, then its hard to come up with the money. And its hard to stay dry on the streets even if you start AA.

The only thing all people who are homeless have in common is they don't have regular housing. Right now, we have a 25 year old filling out job applications, a man whose 4th month of sobriety is today, a bilingual man writing a letter to his granddaughter, someone watching music videos online, a woman taking a nap, an ex-hippie, a woman with a puppy checking her e-mail. I've had conversations with people ranging from favorite cookbooks, to current events, to 80s hair bands.

It's always interesting.

One more thing

Buy in bulk. I got flour for .59 cents a lb yesterday!

Crunchy granola

So I haven't posted in a while because I wanted to put up pictures from our retreat up in Flathead. But my computer is en route to the Apple shop, so I can't. Well, by en route, I mean they sent me a DHL label, which no longer picks up shipments in the US. Of course, I could drop it off at a DHL location, but I don't think they have one in Montana. At least not Missoula. So they sent me a FedEx label. Of course, this would be a lot easier if there was an Apple store in Montana, but there's not.

So Missoula is known for being a "crunchy granola" town. I learned this when going to a wedding with John. His college roommate's mother was telling me, aghast, about someone whom she knew that went to Missoula, "for three days - just for fun!"

This is my super easy recipe for granola:

1 stick butter (or a 1/4 cup vegetable oil)

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbl vegetable oil

Mix these together and pour over 4 cups of whole oats

Spread over a greased pan

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes at a time, for about 30 minutes total. Check OFTEN, it burns easily.

Mix in 3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, if you're a JV) and 1 cup nuts (or not, if you're a JV)

So food is an interesting thing as a JV. In this house, we get $63 a week for food for 5 women. Last year we got $100 for 8 people. But this is a rundown of how we make it work, without eating rice and beans every single night:

1. Don't eat out on community money. Until you save up lots and lots and then order a pizza. Which is what we did last year on the night it snowed 24 inches in 36 hours. And it was amazing, pretty much one of the best meals I've ever had. No one felt like cooking after walking home a few miles in 15 inches of snow!

2. Eat meat about - 3 or 4 times a year. Okay, so we could probably do more this, and definitely could've last year, but meat is PRICEY. People always say that being a vegetarian is pricey, but that's just if you eat all tofuy and organicy. Meat is expensive.

3. Vary your grains. Pretty much everyone eats oatmeal for breakfast. For dinner, we have a lot of lentils, quinoa, rice. One of my housemates is allergic to beans, so we don't have those too much.

4. Eat in season. Produce is cheaper if its in season. We got apples for 50cents a pound at the Farmer's Market! Also, we're not afraid of a few bumps and bruises, or produce that's a little past its prime. Sure, maybe it used to be a little squishy, but you won't know that once it is in the frying pan!

5. SOUP! I cook a lot of soup. It's fast, simple, filling, and cheap. I think that's cause water is a main ingredient, haha. Karen made delicious cabbage and pepperoni soup last night. I know, it sounds weird but it was wonderful.

6. Breakfast for dinner. Yum, and also, practically nothing is cheaper than pancakes. Oh, and if you are out of milk and eggs, you can substitute a can of beer. Um, not that JVs would ever have beer and not milk in the fridge. Definitely not.

7. Eat at work. Last year was a painful year of kid's food. Everything was macaroni noodles seeing as how little kids aren't too good with a knife and fork. So relatively, this year, food from a homeless shelter tastes great! Its hit or miss anyway. Today I missed the soup kitchen's hours, so I grabbed a sack lunch to go. Ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of kettle chips, and a chocolate chip cookie - can't beat that. Especially since its free.

8. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. I've learned so much about recipe substitutions this year, mainly as in: "Oh, I don't have this, this, or this. Oh well. Let's just pretend its a different recipe that didn't call for that in the first place." I don't really buy for certain recipes, but instead just cook what I got. And make sure that bread ends become bread crumbs or croutons, left over rice goes into soups, etc.

That's all I got right now; let me know if you have any ideas.

October snow

The house has a familiar smell to it. The smell of electric heat coursing through the veins of the walls. The house is not chilly, it's holding steady at 65 degrees, but the old building has a habit of being drafty. I pull my quilt tighter around me and hold onto lovingly sewn flannel bag full of beans, microwaved for incredible warmth. My favorite part of winter.

Except its not winter. It's October. A blanket of snow fell early Friday morning, a blanket which provided little warmth. The snow hung on the green leaves of the oaks, which had yet to turn colors. And now the leaves hung in indecision. Should they simply turn brown, curl up, and fall off? Or should they hang on, and fade into weak shades of autumn?

"Arctic Temperatures Bring Record Lows" the headlines read. All I know is, I have a winter full of quilts and hot tea ahead of me.

It's coming...

Official forecast:

Rain and snow this evening, becoming all snow overnight. Low 27 F. Winds N at 5 miles an hour. Chance of precip 80%. About one inch of snow expected.

- www.weather.com

I must say, I am NOT ready for the snow. I think I could almost deal with it if I was doing JVC Alaska or something. But this is no exotic location - its just another town in the lower 48. And the paper, by the way, is calling for a low of 8 tonight. It's OCTOBER, for Pete's sake!

Well, at the very least, I'm sleeping inside tonight. We had someone drop off a huge donation of socks and hats tonight, which is great, because it'll be our first below freezing night of the season.

I'm excited about October. I love pumpkins and squash, football and cider. I love sunny crisp days. But here's it gone from sunny and warm to cloudy and chilly. It will be a long winter coming up, so despite the cold, I'm trying to enjoy every ounce of the outdoors I can until winter!

(As I'm typing this, a client just offered to take me duck hunting. He said all you need is a loaf of bread and a golf putter. WHACK!)

The upstairs smells heavily of urine. I should go upstairs to check and see if the clients who I assume wet themselves are awake, but....

Life as a JV...in pictures

These things comprise the basic essentials of my Jesuit Volunteer lifestyle:

And also, hiking in Montana:

That's the Clark Fork river that flows through Missoula.
Those are the mountains that surround Missoula on a cold, windy, cloudy fall day yesterday. You can see there is already snow in the mountains in the distance!
Underbrush on the hike. I like this picture because it shows new growth after fires, but at the same time, those leaves are fire red.
Hiking in Helena, this is John at the top of Mt. Helena.

That's a forest fire we passed driving to Helena. You could see the helicopters dumping water on the fire.

How to comment

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Scroll to the bottom of the comments.

Write your comment in the empty box.

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So that should work.

In other news:

It's 47 degrees here. Making last night a perfect night for....ice cream.

There's a local ice cream shop here that sells homemade ice cream. Last month their specialty flavor was Cold Smoke, which is a beer made by the local brewing company, Kettle House. Missoula takes its beer seriously - all the way to beer flavored ice cream! Right now the flavor is pumpkin. Delicious, especially now that fall is rapidly descending. It's come late here, but its making up for lost time. John emptied his pockets of quarters and I contributed my last two bucks (end of the month!) and we bought a pint of ice cream. For one, its much cheaper than getting 2 separate scoops. For another, the typically long lines at Big Dipper are much, much shorter when its in the 40s!

So we split a pint and watch the Ken Burns documentary on the national parks. It was interesting, especially since we had just returned from a talk at the University on Public Lands in Missoula. The Yaak, up in northwest Montana, is becoming a wilderness area.

Oh, Montana.

On Friday, I...

This was a busy week. On Friday, I...

Woke up at 6:30, had coffee, and biked to work.

Went to Mandt training for a few hours, which is training on how to manage crisis situations.

Learned how to release myself from holds.

Went back to the Salcido.

Met John for lunch at the Poverello, the shelter. Shared a lovely meal over meatloaf.

Tried subtly to avoid a client who hasn't bathed in a month and kept sitting down beside me.

Watched a woman spend her first 24 hours after being raped on our couch.

Listened to a woman's story about becoming homeless after her husband died.

Picked up a clean load of laundry.

Was asked by a client if I had any vodka on me.

Had someone drop off sandwiches left over from a picnic.

Listened to two clients get in a fight over capitalism vs. socialism.

Listened to a story of how someone became an alcoholic.

Listened to someone whose fiancee just broke up with him because he drank too much.

Cleaned. Cleaned. Cleaned.

Forgot to lock our patio.

Came home to a lovely meal of leftover vegetable soup revamped with rice and turkey that Karen had cooked.

Watched The Informant.

Passed out asleep.

So that's what I do when I'm not baking bread. Long day. Luckily, yesterday I went to Helena and for Carroll College's homecoming. I hadn't been to a live football game in forever, and it was great fun!

Clouds

Its a cold morning. At 8:00, the sun has still yet to come out from under its cover of clouds. I walk down the stairs into the center and the clouds sneak in behind me as the door closes. In the basement of the center, the depression hangs thick in the air. It is one of those days. One of those days I would read about before I started working here, a day where all would seem lost until one brief, shining moment would make all this challenging work seem worthwhile.

A man comes up to the desk, "Can we watch a movie?"

"No, we start the movie at 9. It's only 8:30."

He shuffles back to his seat; I return to the morning paper. One of those days.

I try to find the lesson in this. That moment that makes all the work seem worthwhile. The touching story. The moment of hope. But this is not one of those days. It is simply a day to abide, a day to be. A day where all we can offer is a cup of coffee, stale donuts, a place to sit and not much more.

And for today, that's enough.

Bread of life

I remember throughout college thinking I could never stomach a 9-5 job. The monotony, I would think, with a shudder. 

Now, I realize, I was right. 9-5s are not fun. You can never go to the bank. Nor the post office. And luckily, I no longer work 9-5. I work 7-7 three days a week. Yes, that's right. I work 3 days a week. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. (To be fair, I do have meetings and trainings in addition to this, so I am still getting my 40 hours a week average in). 

These 4 days off a week have led to lots of bread making. So far I've tried:

Bagels

Pitas

Chocolate bread

Oatmeal breads

The bagels by far were the biggest hit, though I have trouble shaping them to look like real bagels. I got the recipe from "The Art of Bread" by the Cooking Club of America. It'd be great if I could just do all of our bread making for the week on my days off, however, we lack a good bread knife for slicing sandwich bread. Also, fresh from the oven bread rarely last longer than a day, I've realized. 

Now if you'll indulge my tendencies for over-simplistic romanticized views of the world for a moment, I have a thought on food:

All plants come from seeds, water, sunlight, and soil. How amazing is that these simple, simple, ingredients give us everything from lemons to wheat to asparagus? I'm amazed.

Simple living

I think simplicity can be one of the most frustrating and fulfilling parts of the JVC. Before I go any further, let me say this:

I am ready for a real paycheck. I am not a martyr. The day I see a paycheck with more than $80 on it, I will be thrilled. 

Simple living scared me more than the other values before I became a JV. How would I make it on $80? (including our community stipend, I really live on about $430 a month, plus I get health insurance.) In reality, the stipend is one of the smaller parts of living simply.

For one, there is simplicity of time. I make a conscious effort not to over commit myself. Which can be hard to do coming straight out of college. But I value my quiet time. I walk to work most days because it takes longer than biking. And thus I have more time to be silent, pray, call friends and family. 

There is simplicity for the environment's sake. Sure I like bananas. Do I need to buy bananas? Well, they are shipped across countries, where as apples I can pick from my neighbor's trees. 

There is simplicity in my spiritual life. I don't need to join a bible study and a young adults group and read this book and that, even though those are all good things. I can also sit and be still.  Which is something I rarely did before JVC, and since has brought me much peace. Its taken a long time for me to warm up to this. In college I always had something else to be doing. Now, I'm not as overwhelmed, and enjoying silence is must easier.

I'm beginning to appreciate the little things in life much more. Where my food comes from. How long it takes to make a pair of mittens. How much more I see of a city when I'm walking. How easy and delicious canning really is. 

I'm beginning to enjoy this simple life. When I go slower, I see more and therefore appreciate more. I always thought if I slowed down I'd lose focus. But now, its hard to see how I'd concentrate otherwise.

A River Runs Through It

Photos!

Laura's wedding:

Priest Lake, ID:
John and I at Hempfest in Moscow, ID:
Spokane during Bloomsday:

I just relived "A River Runs Through It" this weekend. 

I spent Labor Day weekend fly-fishing with John and his dad at their families cabin, circa 1930s. What John didn't tell me in all the many times that he told me how great the cabin is and how its one of his favorite places, is that all of the women in the family refused to spend the night at the cabin.

(Which is fair: there was no running water/electricity, but there was a mouse)

But really, it was pretty fun. Nice to get away, enjoy the sun, see the mountains. And I even caught my first fish! First fly-fished fish anyway. 

Here is a pic of Missoula, not mine though, I just stole this one:

I get internet in one corner of my kitchen, sometimes.

I am in Montana now. 

It's crazy that about a year ago I was writing about moving to Spokane, and now I am picking it up and doing it all over again. This time, the desert of eastern Oregon was less of a shock when we passed through it on our Greyhound bound way to Spokane, and then to Missoula.  But for the most part, I'm doing it all again, but it's a whole different world.

For instance, our house was lovingly but not quite sufficiently furnished. I chopped vegetables for our first dinner with a butter knife. So we've had to trust in the goodness of the community to slowly begin to stock our kitchen. But let me tell you, once word got out that we were having trouble opening a bank account and were running low on cash, three people dropped us off dinner and groceries in one afternoon. Montanans are definitely what you would call "friendly." Our next door neighbor dropped us off a gallon of milk and sincerely apologized, repeatedly, for our financial situation, saying, "this just doesn't happen in this town." 

(Basically our agencies were confused about how/when/what to pay us and had put off figuring that out till we arrived. So that, coupled with our area director being on vacation, and a change in the rent, and trouble opening a bank account, we were getting kind of worried. Worried being a relative term seeing as how obviously we aren't going to starve in this kind of community, and of course JVC would help us out. It's all set now, but I know this house has been a headache for headquarters!) 

As for the job - working with men and women experiencing homelessness is a far cry from working with kids. Here's a few vignettes: 

One man came in with hands swollen, bloody, pussy and cracking. He said he had been to the Emergency Room and they told him he had an allergic reaction to soap, which was probably not helped out by caffeine, smoking, and stress. (He forgot the name of the condition and couldn't reach into his pocket to find the paper the doctor had written it down on.) He spent the morning trying to find a clinic that would fill a pain prescription because most of the ones that assist low-income people in the area refuse to fill painkillers. He had been out of work for a month because he had broken his collarbone, and that day he was supposed to start work as a dishwasher, which, of course, he had to decline.

Another man, who is about 50 but looks to be about 75, wheres a oversized black Diamond Rio shirt every day, along with a cowboy hat decorated in charms and tinsel. It looks like something an 8 year old girl would have decorated for a birthday party. He came in with a knee brace and a wrist brace and crutches, complete with cuts and bruises on his face, after he had been beaten while sleeping near the railroad tracks. He is off to a medical rehab facility, and told me he doesn't mind sleeping outside, but could probably use the time off from drinking. Yesterday, he found a purse on the sidewalk, clean and empty, and brought it in to see if I'd want it. 

For the most part, our days are pretty quiet. Someone will come stumbling in drunk occasionally and make a scene. But usually the clients watch movies, sleep off the night, or use the computer and I read the paper and shoot the breeze with people. I'm the only female direct service staff there, and its pretty funny to listen to them apologize for every four-letter word that comes out of their mouth. I'm currently in the process of nipping all nicknames (e.g. sweetheart, little girl, beautiful) in the bud and insisting on being called "Jackie" or nothing at all. One of the clients wants to call me Jackie the Jesuit, and I said that's okay. 

Breaking up is hard to do...

No, not John and I, don't worry.

I think breaking up is the best way to describe how I feel about leaving my housemates, Spokane, St. Anne's. It's been good, its time to go, and it hurts like hell. These are the most real relationships I've ever had in my life. Ones where we fight, make up, realize we'll never get along perfectly but cant still hang out, cry, play football in the park, and love unconditionally. And there have been a lot of conditions this year. "Could people please not put onions in things they cook?" "Could we clean the bathroom more often?" "Could people not leave their socks on the floor?" "Could people start interrupting people?" So many requests that you could bang your head against a wall. 

But on the other hand, they will always be my community.  Good, bad, thick, thin, yada yada yada. 

I feel absolutely nauseous about leaving. I'm ready to go, however. And John and I will be going to Missoula, so that's awesome. And Brian and Jon are visiting in September, so the good byes really aren't too drastic. And Alyssa will be living 3 hrs away in Spokane still.  So I'll survive. But still, these are the only people who really can understand what this year has been like. I remember talking to a JV up in Omak and she said when her year ended back in June that it was a harder tranisition than leaving college, and now I get why. (Even though I'm not really an FJV, former JV, yet). You're leaving this super intense year, where being a JV has been your identity, and leaving people who know you and know every up and down you've had this year, and then you're catapulted back into another world. College, other people have been through, but this...this was something else. 

But I'll be in Montana in 9 days. To start all over... And now I must go clean my house, which will surely squash any sentimental feelings I have about it.

On being a JV

So the end of the year has posed much time for reflection and conversation over the past 12 months. Especially since I'm bound for another year of $80 a month, I've been thinking a lot about what has it meant to live simply. So here are a few thoughts.

* Living simply has nothing to do with living in solidarity with the poor. Being poor is not simply financial poverty, but a poverty of resources. I have family, education, etc. I will likely never be "poor." The "poor" would also think you are ridiculous living in solidarity with them, because they don't want to be poor.

* I can never really complain about money. For one, I chose to make $80. If you include my community stipend, it's a little less than $400 a month for all my living expenses. And there has hardly been a time that I've really lacked anything. Your money goes where you chose to spend it.
Granted, my money goes to the bars a good bit, which is why I've been sharing contact solution the last month and John brought me home a tube of toothpaste from the homeless shelter. (Sorry to let you know the truth, Mom and Dad.) Really, I'm just waiting on my bonus ($250!) at the end of the year to restock necessities. I just don't want to spend my last two weeks in Spokane sitting around. Especially not while Harry Potter is in town.

* I've forgotten what luxuries really are. It's a luxury to go out for coffee, not a necessity to 'meet up with someone.' Going out to dinner, or to a movie is a luxury. And when you do it once a month instead of once a week, it tastes a lot better.

* I haven't missed what I can't afford, because I have 7 housemates. I don't run to Starbucks on the way to work, I make a pot of coffee every morning for whomever wants it. We don't go shopping, we try on each others clothes. We hardly go to the movies where you have to sit in silence in a room full of people, we rent movies and play "chick-flick bingo." (10 points for shopping with the best friend, 15 points for the break-up-you-know-won't-last, etc). Friends are free, and having friends who are poor makes hanging out cheap.

* People are usually more generous to JVs than to people who are actually poor. I don't know why. I think more than a few people spent the $40 we got for Christmas on beer.

* I have very few needs, and many wants.

* Bike commuting is great, but when you don't have a back-up such as a car, waking up to a flat tire is not enjoyable. Also, bike commuters can be snobby. Once, Kelly and I went to a Bike-to-Work week pancake breakfast, in our work clothes like we normally do. Everyone else there was wearing their spandex and jerseys. We felt really out of place, especially since we probably bike to work on average way more than everyone else there! (December, January, and February were the only months I didn't bike to work at all.) Heck, I even biked in two inches of snow mid-April.

* Churches that have free donuts after mass is where JVs will end up going.

It's official...

I'm crazy. I signed up for a second year of JVC.

This has been a terribly long process, starting back in FEBRUARY and just finding out on FRIDAY! So I've had plenty of time to discern/process/change my mind, and I'm still going ahead with it, so I must be crazy. The reason it took so long is that the agency I wanted to work for just got the funding to come through for a JV a few weeks ago.

So come August I'm off to Missoula, Montana to work at the Salcido center. (www.thepoverellocenter.org). It's a drop in center for people who cannot use the regular homeless shelter due to being under the influence. They also provide services that are less case-management and housing based than the main shelter's service. Like GED classes or exercise.

So I'm going to go from working with cute babies and changing diapers to drunk yoga.

I'm excited, St. Anne's has had its ups and downs, but I am definitely ready for something different.

The chillins are waking up from nap...time to go.

So its been a million years.

So I almost forgot I even had a blog. Life has been crazy at work. Catholic Charities, the umbrella organization all of the JVs in Spokane work for, has been in a huge financial crisis. Which has made life rough of many of us. I'm working a lot of overtime now (which yes, everyone does. But I don't get paid...so I have to take care of myself in other ways, such as making sure I get a lunch break!). The homeless shelter is laying off people, we're on a hiring freeze, etc... Our projects, such as the garden and the literacy program, have had to be put on hold so I can cover more time in the classrooms. Which is not fun; as much as I love kids, 8 hours a day with 8 or more of them is enough for me!

In other news, spring is beautiful in Spokane. May was a month of Sundays for me in some ways. Mid may, the family came to visit and we did the grand Washington tour. They saw dry, dry, dry, eastern Washington in the wet season. And Seattle in its wetter season. It was much fun and a good vacation.

The next weekend was Memorial day weekend so the center was closed. We went on a 15 mile hike at Upper Priest Lake in Idaho. Idaho, as it turns out, is a very beautiful state with less potatoes than you would think. We were just going to go on a 10 mile hike, but the road to that was snowed out. (Yes, snow. It will never end). Then a 6 mile hike turned in to a 12 mile hike, then a couple of back tracks turned it into a 15 mile hike. (in my new chacos!)

For memorial day we went on a 25 mile bike ride which was a lot of fun. Spokane is pretty nice in the spring. It's finally staying in the 70s here.

The next weekend, we had our retreat in McCall, Idaho. Usually JVC retreats are a bit of hippy-dippy nonsense to say the least. (I'm all for the hippy dippy, but our Social Justice retreate included a lady talking about how she spent the last 5 years in a cabin by herself on a mountain. Then she broke out her auroa rods). But this one was led be a former Jesuit (so enough against the norm to satisfy JVC) and mainly included canoeing, sitting on the porch, frisbee and a lot of reflection time.

The funny thing about the retreat was that for the JVs teaching on reservations, their year is over. And I have two more months left. (Here anyway). So lots of good byes, and then coming back to work.

So back to work...

Bikes and basketball

So I won the NCAA Tournament Bracket pool we did. $55. Not too shabby, eh? GO TARHEELS!

And with my winnings I bought a bike!

A $25 beater. Actually, it's not that bad. It needs new tires, tape on the handlebars, some oil and a little love but its in pretty good shape. It's a women's Schwinn World. Probably at least 15 years old. So I'm planning on spending the weekend fixing up the bike, because luckily (and suddenly) the weather has turned...

into Spring! So maybe we got a couple of inches of snow last week. I must thank Spokane for giving me a true taste of an Inland Northwest winter. I would've hated to spend a year on the other side of the country and miss the snowiest winter on record. There is still a pile of snow in our playground.

I'm turning into a Spokanite. In winter, Spokanites complain about the winter and in spring, summer, and fall they talk about about bad the winter was. So moving on...spring so far seems lovely. Time to start planting our preschool garden! More on that when we've gotten in started.

Jackie

Do something to change the world: Enjoy spring and take a bike ride!

Spokane: It's Not Quite Alaska

It's been a balmy 40 some degrees outside all week, and stays light well into the evening now. Hallelujah!

News from the house:

Everyone has been in and out of the house lately. Going home, going for job interviews, going to Seattle. I've been holding down the fort pretty steadily. Must say I'm ready for a break, however.
John got an unexpected vacation when he badly sprained his ankle. Poor guy.

News from work:

We are planning our Family Reading Night for Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed people actually come, I'm a little worried about the attendance. It'd be a good opportunity, if people take advantage of it!

News from life:

I applied for a second year of JVC, and was accepted. However, I'm waiting to see if they open a house in Missoula or not. If so, I am considering doing a second year. Maybe I'm crazy, but it's true. Missoula is a neat town in Montana. It's in the mountains and is a sort of hippie enclave. Could be interesting.

Other than that, life is life. Fairly monotonous right now. Definitely ready for a vacation of any sort.

Do something to change the world:
Buy someone coffee. The other day, I went to Starbucks because I (thought) I had a gift card there. Turns out, left it at home. I was pretty disappointed seeing as how I had no money, but the lady behind me bought my drink and croissant. Pretty much made my day. Her response "Oh, I have a daughter in college, I know how it is." (My thought: I have even less money than a college student...so thank you twice as much!)

Car accident

I can't really type with a baby sleeping on my arm but this just happened outside of work:
Pileup

Crazy!

Winter, Lent, Life

The biggest news from Spokane...

You can see our yard! No snow! Well, except in the berms and in shadows. This has been a long winter and has made me reflect a lot on what winter really is.

It is a time of dying. A time of stagnation, a time of slowing down.

TIme for snow and snow angels and hot chocolate.

Early nights and late mornings.

Clouds and cold.

A time of doing without - no fresh vegetables, little sun.

This winter, more than any other, has seeped in. I have had cabin fever like none other. I can't wait for sun and warmth, not just so I can get out of the house, but so my housemates can get out of the house as well! Sometimes it feels that if we all weren't at the same place at the same time all the time, we would get along much better.

And its interesting because this is the time of year lent occurs. Where winter melts into spring. Where we take the time to recognize how dark precedes light. How the green of the earth must die in order to live again. 

So it has been a long winter in Spokane. We've hit our 6 month mark, and trudged past. And now we'll march on through to spring. (cheesy pun there, eh?) 

Jackie

Do something to change the world: Give up meat on Fridays, maybe all year long. If all Americans gave up meat one day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off the road.

Nelson, BC

So those poorly captioned photos are a couple from this year. The one of the snow, trees, and valley was from our trip to British Columbia. We took a long awaited vacation (we've saved for months!) to explore a bit of the other side of Canada. Nelson is a small, quiet, hippie-friendly town in the Kootenay (pronounced koot-nie) mountains. When we got there on Saturday morning, John, Kelly and I went cross-country skiing.
Except cross country skiing is a bit of a misnomer. We went downhill skiing on cross country skis. Despite John and Kelly promising me that it is a piece of cake and there's virtually no way I could fall, it turned out to be quite an adventure. The easy trails were closed due to avalanche danger, and the black diamond trails were about the equivalent of an easy downhill ski trail. So an hour and a half of faceplanting later, we made our way deep into a valley, only to spend the next hour and a half climbing out of it. Basically, the 'gliding' technique they taught me turned out to be useless. The trip either was spent trying to stop or hiking up a hill. The views were gorgeous however. Even though I couldn't feel my nose when we returned.
On Sunday we went to the Ainsworth Hot Springs. The resort had a hot spring cave in addition to the pool. There was something about sitting in 100F water, while looking out on a lake surrounded by mountains covered in snow that just makes you think this is the life. If we had had more money/time we probably would've gone to Vancouver, and missed out on tiny Nelson.
Nelson also had its own organic brewery. Personally, I enjoyed their honey ale, though no one else did. The name of their winter ale? Faceplant.

The house

Nelson, British Columbia Spokane River

Curl up with a good book

When there is nothing but snow, ice, and cold to encounter during the winter months in Spokane, reading inside all day is definitely the best option. (With slippers and hot chocolate, of course).

Maybe that's why Kelly and I decided to do a literacy program. The literacy program basically has three parts:

1. One on one reading with preschoolers. Right now, Kelly and I are the only ones doing the one on ones but we hope to recruit some more volunteers. We spend 20-30 minutes a week reading with preschoolers with behavioral problems or ones who are beginning to fall behind and will be getting ready for kindergarten soon.

2. Family Lending Library. This is the part I'm most excited about. We are collecting books to have a lending library at St. Anne's. The objective is for parents who might not otherwise go out of their way to obtain books pick up a few to read for the week while they are on their way home. We've had a book drive at the school this week and the church we are going to also is doing a book drive for us. Someone even gave me $20 after mass to go buy books!

3. Family Reading Nights. We are going to invite parents for a night of reading/crafts/dinner and talk to parents about how to read with kids and the importance of reading. However, we have to wait till the snow melts so that people will actually come, so this won't be for a while.

My toes are freezing as I type this. John and I just went for a walk. I finished knitting a pair of mittens so I wanted get out and test them. They are warm...my toes, not so much. That's another thing to do in the long winter months - take on new knitting endeavors. (Cables are easy and a lot of fun, Meredith! I just made a pot holder with them to learn to do it first). 

Do something to change the world: Read a good book. I'd recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma or Mountains Beyond Mountains.

Finally it's melting

The 50+ inches of snow we got in December are finally melting! No sign of grass yet, but the highs are supposed to be in the upper 30s all week. Granted, this brings flooding, caving in roofs, and all sorts of other fun things. Hopefully it'll be a nice respite before the next snow!
Work is going well. Kelly and I have started working with kids who are getting ready for prsechool and are struggling to keep up. We hope to build a Family Literacy program that would be an ongoing part of St. Anne's.
There was a quite exciting day last Tuesday: we had a gas leak at St. Anne's and had to evacuate the buildings. During nap time, of course, so coats/shoes weren't on, babies were in the escape cribs, the pavement was a sheet of ice. (Granted, all of Spokane is a sheet of ice. They don't plow hardly anyhting here). Luckily the fire department approved us to reenter right before we would have had to load the kids onto buses to stay warm and relocate. It felt a little bit like the fire drill scene in Kindergarten cop, but I think we did much better than that.
Not too much else to report. The snow has pretty muched slowed life to a crawl. Buses are unpredictable, and walking is barely an option. (The best days to walk, actually, are the day after a snow - more traction). I've realized these would be handy: chains for your shoes. I like the snow, even though its just a slushy mess right now. But I still will be appreciating spring when it comes!
Do something to change the world: Shovel your neighbors walk. Our neighbor snowblowed ours!