Mac Area Masons

What better to do on Labor Day than write random blog posts? Seeing as how all those lovely outside areas are no doubt packed with day trippers, we're, well, sitting around the house today. After yesterday, when I got overly domestic (baking banana bread, thoroughly cleaning the kitchen including the fridge, doing laundry, and making homemade pizza which didn't turn out so great) it's kinda nice to have a day to just sit around and watch Sponge Bob and NCIS. Okay, maybe not the best use of a day off, but it's kinda nice.

We've been living in Oregon for the past six months, which means plenty of time to wander around the countryside looking for interesting sites. On one of these jaunts we wandered on a backroad near Lafayette, and stumbled across a sign for a Masonic Cemetery. Being the cemetery enthusiast that I am, I was naturally curious, and the blocked off weedy road made it even more appealing.

We parked by the side of the road and hiked up the winding trail into a grove of trees. In my past experience, most Masonic cemeteries are pretty well cared for. We checked out one in McMinnville that actually had people in their mobile homes camping out. Okay, that bit seemed a little dodgy, but at least the place was well cared for and it looked like they wanted to keep it that way. The cemetery at the top of the hill, however, was more on the unkempt side.

It took some work to make it through the weeds, and many of the stones were completely overtaken, but we still managed to find some great views.

Amidst the stones and weeds there were also some interesting close up finds.

The most interesting find was this sheltered grave. It was well protected with a fence, complete with secret handshake symbols of some kind. It seemed that even the trees were protecting this area.

An interesting piece of history, hidden away in the hills. Interesting how places that were once so integral to a community become forgotten and overgrown in time.

Bravery Really is...

Someday I'm going to speak Czech. I wish that someday was now. I wish it was a language a bit more closely related. A language I could just fall into. I could spend all my time being frustrated with the fact that I sound like a toddler at best when I try to choke out as word or two here and there. Sometimes that is exactly what I do. Other times I say, sure I'll go shopping with you all day my dear parents-in-law, without the company of my husband. (He had to stay home and keep an eye on Katcha, who does happen to be doing better. She's walking around and eating and drinking, and even went outside a couple of times today which is definitely a relief for all of us.) As soon as we were in the car my phone rang. Just a little quick question from my Love, but it was enough to alert the parents that I do have an operational phone now. Which led to them asking for my number. I'm not quite sure what we would be able to say if they did need to call me, but it was a nice gesture all the same. And I even managed to tell them that my phone is very old because I bought it when I lived in Hong Kong. I felt relatively pleased with the exchange. It was very nearly an actual conversation with at least a couple complete sentences. We headed out toward Plzen, but made a cemetery stop first. I came out here once before last summer. There is something so powerful about visiting a family grave site. I'm not sure how many years it has been since Mark's grandmother passed away, but it is obviuos that his father is still very much attached. A Christmas bouquet was placed beside the headstone, and an electric candle, that flickers like a real candle, was added to the glass candle box. Czech graves are quite different from the ones we have in America. They are often more like little stone boxes and they're set so close together that there is now way of knowing where the body actually lies. We stood a moment, admiring the new additions, and then said goodbye. An emotional experience, even though I never met the woman. After that it was shopping time. It was the final shopping weekend before Christmas, so there was plenty to get done. Our first few shops were busy, but not over the top. I've been in American malls at this time of year. I've experienced the frenzy. It wasn't really like that here. There wer lots of people, but they weren't so frantic. Christmas is a big deal here, not like in Hong Kong where it's more like just another excuse for grand displays and materialism. They get really into it, but I feel like the focus is more on making millions of Christmas cookies, and preparing for the big day than it is about spending every spare moment shopping. Or at least not until after lunch. We took a break at the classic food stop, the York Hotel. Lunch was nice. Being the conscientious Czech parents that they are, they insisted that getting a small salad and krokety did not a proper meal make. After scouring the menu for things they thought I might like, they know I like pizza and pasta, they accepted my choice of a salad with chicken. At least it involved meat. We returned to shopping and it seemed the floodgates had opened at last. The parking lot of the next place we tried was ultra full. Full to the point that after ten minutes of driving around we totally gave up and drove off. We had better luck at the next couple places (did I mention that Plzen has a LOT of shopping malls?) but there were definitely bigger crowds. There are some people who get all antsy about Christmas shopping, but I'm just not one of them. I actually enjoy being out in the crush and rush. Probably partly because it does remind me of Hong Kong on a normal day. I also just love looking at the rows and rows of fresh clean things. I suppose you could call it some twisted materialism, but I don't even need to buy anything. I just like to see it. I like to see things and get ideas about how it must be to have stuff like that. Totally bizarre, I know, but there it is. In the end, I know everything I'm getting for Christmas, but it was all fun anyway. I also know what Mark is getting, and I just have to enjoy that he, who doesn't like surprises, doesn't know, while I, who do like surprises, knows. It's a bit odd, but sometimes you just have to accept doing things differently, right? By the time we got home it was about 6PM. It had been a long language overload sort of day. I didn't succeed in talking as much as I would like, but I was there. I spent the whole day struggling to understand, and trying to make myself understood at least every now and again. It will get better one of these days, I'm sure of it. Just not sure exactly when that day will be or how it will be achieved. For now I just have to be content with the small things and thankful for every victory in overcoming the language barrier.

Finding my place.

I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost anyone who might wander here. It's been a while. I'd say it's been a busy summer, but that wouldn't exactly be the right way to put it. Yes, there have been busy things. There were visits from nieces and nephews, the endless tedium of the work place, and trips around all the little villages and cemeteries that populate this corner of Idaho and Washington. But there hasn't been anything big. Nothing pressing. Nothing of the sort to call big news, or to blame my absence on.
I just haven't been around. I haven't had the moments to sort my head and get things out. Yesterday I had the day off and was able to force in some journal time. I was almost a month behind! Not even funny. It's just that nothing seems to get done the way I'd like it to.
Things I'd love to be doing:
1)Writing - this includes both literary as well as personal. Journals, blogs, books and poetry.
2)Learning Czech - this is one of those things that seems to escape me most of the time. I'll spend a few minutes going over word lists from Byki, and then I'll lose the time somehow. I know the kind of motivation I need to really study and get down to it, but there just aren't classes on Czech at U of I to immerse myself in.
3)Reading - This summer I've managed to acquire quite a few great books via Goodwill, yard sales, and even an antique store. But do I have time to read said books? Well, not nearly as much as I'd like.
4)Quality time with God - Yeah, I try to get in some spiritual reading in the mornings, and I make it to church most Sundays, but I feel the strain of living a life less passionate than I would like it to be. It's always hard when I find myself in situations where I feel so little purpose. It's in these times that I long to really life, but instead find myself waiting.
The truth is, I've done to much of that in recent years. Waiting for "real" life to start. Whether it was waiting on paperwork to come to the US, or paperwork to make it possible to leave, it seems we've been putting life on hold for a long time. A constant sense of delay before we get into something that matters, something we can call worthwhile. I took a temporary sort of job thinking it'd be a month or two. Now it's been four months, and counting.
5)Transition - I guess this sorta goes with that last thought as well. I've lived a transient life for so many years you'd think this would just be old hat. One year at a time has been the model. Free summers to visit people and have fun. Jobs that follow school years and take me to different locations. This is the last week for all the summer holiday students to be at work. They're getting ready to get back into their studies and I find myself oddly jealous. I was so happy to be done with school, and have often worried that I would have no idea what to do with myself if I went back to school again. But now I find myself missing the thrill of spiral notebooks, colorful folders and pens filled with fresh black ink. I miss the thought of entering new classrooms, trying to figure out what style will best impress the teacher and make the grade, searching for the students that connect with my way of thinking, and those that will irritate me to no end. Yeah, oddly enough, I even miss those types.
Then there's also a girl who is heading to Spain for a semester and the travel bug starts to wiggle and squirm inside my stomach. Even though I know it will happen again, I'll get on a plane and see both old familiar places and new, it's hard to watch other people starting their new adventures while I'm floundering to make it from one lousy paycheck to the next.
Living is such an important thing to do. Vital. To breath in the moments of this life. To suck the marrow out of each day as those Dead Poet's Society members would chant. Just have to figure out how to get it all done, and how to keep on living life to the fullest while I'm at it. The time is just too short to put it all off and wait for tomorrow for things to be more interesting.
I read a blog about living an authentic life. I think it's very true that we need to learn how to be true to who we really are, how to live out what you believe, and to me, a part of that is learning how to really live. It's so easy for me to get caught up in routine that I forget to enjoy, to look deeply at the things and the people that I've been blessed to experience life with, and to be thankful for them.
I noted one of the comments on that blog in which someone said that in order to be true to themselves they wanted to do things just only for them. While I believe that we shouldn't allow ourselves to be overly influenced by the opinions of others, to be truly authentic I want to be able to live in such a way that I make life better for others. Working at Mother's Choice in Hong Kong, teaching English in the Czech Republic, helping to work on a church in Italy, Bible Schools in the Pacific Northwest, these are the sort of things I've been blessed to do, the moments in time when I've been able to impact the world in my own quiet behind the scenes sort of way. I know that, when life is somehow properly lived, I can have an impact on the people around me whatever my job or locale. It isn't always so easy to see, but I know it can be done. And I honestly believe that writing here can be a part of that. I have no notions about having a massive following list or anything like that, but I hope the little bits of my life, the little deviations and thoughts and diatribes that I go off on here, will touch people in some way, make them think about their own lives differently.
I'm hoping that, as summer winds down and we're trying to save money and travel less in order to afford a Christmas trip back to the Czech Republic, that I'll have more time to keep up here. I'm hoping I'll stay caught up in my journal (once I manage to get caught up that is), and that I'll be able to solidify a few more Czech phrases in my life. I don't know if the people I hang clothes with will remember me a few years from now, but I hope that in my quality of work and the way I speak, that I will have a positive impact on them, maybe even help them to see the world in a fresh new light. This is where I am for the moment, and I want to live...

Of Paychecks, Sunshine and Cemeteries...

So today, for the first time since June of last year, I finally had income. Pretty amazing. I've always been pretty good at saving money, but this whole having a husband thing makes it a lot more challenging. After all, he has to eat. And he's a man. And a fairly young with high metabolism one at that. So after all the airline tickets, the wedding, and the food, it's great to finally get something back. Not that my part time job provided a whopper of a pay check, but at least enough to cover about a third of our most recent paperwork fee. At least it's all in now, so all we have to do is wait at the mercy of the government. We'll see how that goes.
In other news, it's sunny. It's been in the 70's several days this week, and I couldn't be happier about that. Now if the gas prices will just go down like some person on the radio said they should, life would definitely improve. Mark and I have been doing quite a bit of exploring over the past several weeks as the weather has gotten better, and it takes a toll on that gas bill for sure.
We're currently living in Moscow, ID. For those who don't know anything about Moscow, well, it's a far cry from Hong Kong or the Czech Republic. It's a little town with a fair sized state university, plopped down right in the middle of the Palouse. The Palouse is a region of Idaho and Washington characterized by it's rolling hills of farmland. It's surrounded by a large number of miniscule village like towns, tucked away in the hills at the end of winding dirt roads.
Since Mark and I are both fascinated by history, and the life stories revealed in cemeteries, we've been meandering about on these little byways in search of historical treasure. I think I wrote about one of the little cemeteries we went to a few weeks ago. Yesterday we were driving into Genessee after taking a long circuitous route along Lenville road. The sun broke through the scattered gray clouds to reveal a cemetery on a hill. It was a bit chilly, but we braved the cold and checked out the remnants of Pine Valley, a place that no longer even seems to exist except as recorded in the Cemetery. Someone had erected a stone there that talked about the family connections that could be witnessed when looking at the scattered graves.
Today, we went in a different direction. This time our search took us to Little Bear Ridge Cemetery, a very small plot that held maybe thirty or so stones. Again, this little place recounted the lives of early settlers, remembered only in this bit of ground set apart long ago. We then made our way to Burnt Ridge Cemetery. This one revealed a strong Swedish population. It was really quite fascinating. Of course, Mark had to harness his feelings regarding the fact that Sweden beat the Czech Republic in Hockey today (after the Czech's totally slaughtered the Americans a few days ago of course), but he managed to do so. It seemed that a large community had come there together to start a new life, probably during the famine that hit Sweden in the 1860s. Many of the stones were even written in Swedish. It made me think of my own maternal lineage, and how most of them settled out in Minnesota in that era.
As always, I was fascinated to think of the lives of the people, now nestled peacefully on these little hilltops. There was evidence of great loves and tragic losses sprinkled across the quiet green field. It reminds me of our frailty and the importance of living this life to the fullest while we have a chance.
So in honor of these thoughts we enjoyed half price frappucinos from Starbucks and later on buy one get one free frozen strawberry lemonades from McDonalds. So the weekend is on. I have three days off, so hopefully the nice weather will hold, although I've heard there are thunderstorms in the forecast. At least that could be interesting, and could mean the warm weather will continue as well. As always, here's to hope!

Into the Swing

And so it flows. Life captures a rhythm and catapults me into a running momentum. The days begin to blend. Their flavor softens into a dull monotone. Get up. Throw self together. Head out the door. Then rush rush rush and say that it all matters, all the while knowing it'll be the same again the next day and the next.
I got called in for an extra shift on Saturday. Mark and I were enjoying the beautiful sunshine, walking around the Moscow cemetery when the call came in. Not sure if I mentioned the last cemetery we went to in one of my posts. If not, it was a pretty incredible place. (Yes, this is an aside in the middle of a paragraph again. I swear I don't do this when I write for "real.") It was a small family cemetery mostly. Many of the stones must have been damaged beyond recognition only to be replaced by little plaques saying things like "Mrs. Johnson" when they couldn't figure everything out. The one we were at Saturday sprawls out over a quiet green hillside. The stones are varied and numerous. The old section is, well, quite old. There was clear evidence of hard eras when, perhaps, a bout of influenza cleared a bunch of people out. The large baby section is a quiet witness to just how hard it was for life to press on in those pioneer days. There is even a solitary crypt, as well as a couple plots that reveal a strong European influence.
It's always remarkable to wander through these peaceful burial grounds, reminded of all that has come before, and how all that is will one day be. We're all just travelers after all. Temporary pilgrims in this war tossed world. I wish it were easier for us to find rest and joy in the time we spend here, but, as evidenced by current events, we're not very good at doing that. (sigh)
Anyhow, I got a few extra hours of work in the middle of the weekend. I can use what I can get to be sure. Better to be someone they can count on than hoarding my time off. Plus, since I haven't been register trained, I got to work on "projects" the whole time. Things like colorizing the ties (exercise in futility) and making the ends of rows all pretty and themed. In toys I created a Princess display in honor of the Royal Wedding. I wasn't one of those who got up early in the morning to watch the proceedings, but I did take in a rerun just for the fun of it. Mark and I both remarked on how easy it must have been for them. They could just say, "I'd like this" and it was done and more than paid for. Far less stress. Well, except for the bit about having the whole world watching.
After the fabulous weather we had yesterday, it appears that the clouds have returned. At least it's not too cold. We were really able to enjoy the day. (Another aside, a big branch just fell on the roof. It was so loud I was afraid a tree might have fallen, but it doesn't look like it did any damage so all is well.) Anyhow, we checked out a park we'd never been too, played a game of soggy Frisbee (I still totally lack throwing talent) and checked out the Renaissance Fair. In all, a busy and enjoyable Sunday. So nice not to have to be bundled up for a change. Yes, I'm totally looking forward to Summer. Hopefully we'll have one this year.
My parents are home for a few days which changes the color of life around here as well. It's always nice to see them and to catch up on the little adventure they're having out in Montana. All the same, that work schedule pattern has got me in it's grasp and I know that time will continue spinning faster and faster with each passing day until I suddenly discover myself old and gray...horrifically frightening thought, perhaps even more so in rhyme...

Wrapping up with Miscellany

Maybe it's because I'm feeling edgy that I'm suddenly posting so many blogs. It's that strange waiting period when you know the moment is almost over and you just want to be on the plane going, but you still have to wait another day. It's that halfway sort of place. Obviously if you could stick around longer you'd enjoy it. You could keep living life as usual. But when you get beyond the point of really being able to do anything else it's hard to know what to do with yourself. That's sorta where I'm at. My bags are mostly packed. And I still have a day before we leave. It's night time, and I could be going to bed, but instead I have all these thoughts inside my head, and I'm sure I wouldn't sleep yet anyway, so I figured I might as well add one more blog to the November list. Keep my mom happy after the long silence the first half of this month or something like that.
So I thought I'd fill in some pictures from the past few days to sorta tie up some lose ends. We'll start out with my birthday when Laura was here. Since she wasn't able to be here for the Bridal Shower in June she decided to bring a little showeriness to my birthday instead with this stunning pair of glasses.

Yes, I did look this positively ridiculous in public, and it was totally worth it. We had quite a laugh and enjoyed talking shop about weddings and whatnot. Having been a primary planning helper for her wedding last summer, planned predominately while she was here and carried out two weeks after her arrival in the states, it was fun to have a chance to turn the tables in my direction :)
I'm not sure if I mentioned that we have snow here now. Well, we do. Can't say it's exactly how I would have chosen to end my time, since it makes flight delays a question to ponder, but it does make the place beautiful. At this moment I'd say we have between two to four inches. It's crusty underfoot at this point, but super beautiful. The first day it snowed it wasn't quite so solid, which meant our last trek to the garden was a bit gushy. There was just barely enough for Mark to make snowballs that he enjoyed lobbing at me. However, I got him back pretty good when he was bending over and a little skin was exposed. Evil, well, maybe I am a little ;)
It now has windows, which is pretty cool. This was on Wednesday when it first started snowing so you can see there isn't too much yet.
As promised before, here is a picture of my Thanksgiving lunch.
It was quite the tasty little number. Sadly I didn't remember to take a picture of the Pumpkin Cheese Cake. It was also pretty dreamy. I'm still looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner with my family when I get back to the states. They want to show Mark a bit of American style. Should be fun.
After our lunch we had to take Eva back to her school. I was really so glad to have had the chance to catch up one last time.

Then Ann and I climbed the tower in the square and enjoyed the view from the top.

We also enjoyed the door at the bottom :)

She had plans to go on a general free tour the next day, so we decided to go someplace that she wasn't likely to see. We made our way over to the Jewish Quarter. So crazy, I hadn't been there since I went with Nicole back my first year in Czech. Once again it was staggering to enter the first synagogue and see the list of names written on the walls of all the Jews from Czech who were taken from their lives and never returned. The devastation is so eerily felt as one cannot even begin to grasp the numbers accounted for there. Especially considering the fact that they are only the Czech Jews, and there were oh so many others. Not a "fun" sort of tourist attraction, but definitely a powerful testimony to the horror that took place. Even more overwhelming was the room full of the artwork of children who lived in the concentration camp at Terezin. I'm truly amazed that so much of it was kept and marked. For many of these children this is all that really ever was of their lives. A small handful survived, but most lived and died in the camps. Certainly makes the miseries of my own life look paltry.
We then moved out into the cemetery. While cemeteries aren't generally taken as "cheerful" places, it was definitely far more peaceful than the hall of Holocaust memories. Especially because this cemetery is in no way connected to the war, but is far older than that. We paid for photo passes, so even though I'm sure I took a lot of very similar pictures before, I still had to get my money's worth.

We then finished up by going into a few other synagogues which were mostly dedicated to the actual lives of the Jewish people who lived in Prague in the past.

This Franz Kafka statue was near one of the last ones we went into. I have yet to read any Kafka. It's one of the things I've been meaning to do for as long as I've been living here, but still haven't managed. Strange how that works out sometimes. But there is still time. It just won't happen while I live here is all.
It was such a great day of catching up and I'm really thankful I was able to have such a unique Thanksgiving day.
My last pictures are from yesterday. It's funny how I tend to forget I have things in the kitchen. Probably because I don't often take the time to make anything there. A couple weeks ago Mark pointed out that we really should use up some of the stuff I'd been given in the past so I started with baking. First there were sugar cookies. Then two batches of apple cinnamon muffins. Next I made chocolate peanut butter chip cookies for my birthday. They were pretty spectacular taste wise, but not the most beautiful cookies. Mark thought they resembled elephant dung...hmmm...I'm not quite sure I agreed, but they were a really dark brown, so no pictures.
Yesterday I decided to use up the Andes' Mint chips my mom sent to me. This was the second bag of the crumbles that I had. The first bag I just mixed with normal chocolate chips and make my usual chocolate chip cookies with a mint infusion. This time, however, I decided to try the recipe on the bag. Not being a frequent baker, I was pretty impressed with the fact that I succeeded in making them. They were quite a bit different than my usual fare, but they turned out really good, and I thought rather beautiful.


These pictures were taken while I was still in the process of baking them. In the end I did get nearly the 4 dozen they predicted I could make, much to my surprise. Typically I think I just make my cookies bigger than the recipes expect. I got them finished just in time so I could deliver a few to Tammy along with a bunch of my excess stuff. It was sad to see it go. The soft egg crate that has made my bed in Czech sleepable, as well as the body pillow I've had since I was a Junior in High School, are now no longer in my possession. Believe me, my body feels it after last night's sleep. Here's to hoping tonight will be better. They also got my other kitchen left overs and a random assortment of other things.
It was quite sad to say goodbye to Tammy. After three years of being part of a team, it's weird to know the time is over. While I'm definitely ready to move on with life, it's always hard to close chapters, especially when you've spent so much time in the process of writing them. What a blessing the internet is to be able to still keep the connections alive even when there is added space in between.
Now today has been spent packing and sorting, and deciding what can stay, and reminding myself that we really will be coming back. This is not the end. It is only a new segment of the story. Now if we can just make it through tomorrow we'll be heading for the plane. I'm hoping I'll be able to breathe better once we're in transit, but I really don't think I'll be able to fully relax until we've gotten through all the immigration stuff and I know we're good and clear and free. Okay, probably I don't be wound down until I'm actually safely with my family again. Soon and very soon. What a wonder.