wedding flowers ... a cold glass of water in the morning ... rain for the garden ... reconciliation ... four days till Portland!!! ... sharing good news with friends ... having a job I look forward to going to ... a weekend run date with a good Milwaukee friend ... having a great partner like Paul to share household responsibilities with ... coworkers who are patient with my communal bowl hoarding habits ... Diego's new ability to sit and (kind of) stay ... conspiring with new blogging friends ... so much good rooibos tea ... meeting the new Milwaukee Jesuit Volunteers ... a new hair color ... things falling into place with our transition out of community ... donations to our moving boxes stockpile ... friends who make from-scratch Indian meals ... weeks that start off very nicely ...
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I'm liking this challenge more than I thought I would. Turns out if you take enough selfies - and you focus on parts of yourself you really like - you inevitably like how some turn out. Here's my recent favorites. My favorite pictures are the ones above - the ones where I was trying to capture a wink. I guess we know where my talents lie...and it's not in winking. So how about I just cover that up with some sunglasses? Happy Friday!
See part 1 of my challenge photos here. One of the goals of our community garden is to make our space more accessible to people with varying physical abilities. Coming into this project with no experience in accessible gardening, I've had a steep learning curve and I feel like most of the time I'm making things up as I go along - which is about how I feel about gardening in general. But I also feel that we're making at least slow progress with improving gardening accessibility. Last year, we partnered with a local Eagle Scout to install two raised beds that we've dubbed our "no bend plots." The beds are three feet high and four by eight feet across. The two gardeners sharing this plot both use scooters and have benefited from the raised height of the bed. They have been able to plant and do general gardening activities without having to leave their chairs. At the beginning of the season, we realized that water access would be an issue (like I said, making this up as we go along). One of our garden committee members came up with this nifty technique for making the hose connected to our rain catch system easier to reach. It has been working well so far and has allowed these gardeners to water their garden plot independently. BUT....what to do about all that grass surrounding the bed? Grass does not get along well with scooters or walkers or wheelchairs. Especially when the grass is wet. We've seen lots of spinning wheels and frustrated faces. The gardeners have been troopers, but we want gardening to be as pleasant and enjoyable for them as it is for the rest of the gardeners. We've looked into this option for dealing with the grass issue and this guide for making paths more accessible, and the plan is to work on these projects next season. When talking to one of my coworkers of our ongoing quest for garden accessibility, she invited us over to her house for a tour of her garden. My coworker uses a walker and has made great changes to her backyard garden, transforming it into an accessible paradise. First - her wonderful deck complete with a sitting area, lots of pots, and a wide ramp down to the lower portion of the garden. She's made good use of ledges, covering them with pots of herbs for cooking. She can access these right outside of her backdoor. Pipes are installed around her deck area with extendable hoses for easier watering of her backyard plants. One of my favorite parts of her garden was this raised tomato bed. The downward angle of the bed makes it easier for gardeners in wheelchairs or scooters to get closer to their plants. A neccessity for planting, weeding, and harvesting. It also has a smaller width which makes it easier to reach the middle of the plot (another perk for folks who have difficulty bending and reaching). If we would ever add additional "no bend" plots to the community garden, I'd like to use this design. Notice that the whole backyard area is covered in flat, hard surfaces - not grass. While not great for overall water drainage, covering grass is almost a necessity for gardeners who use assistive mobility devices. Grass does not get along well with wheels. I was very appreciative for the opportunity to see my coworker's garden and for what she shared about her gardening journey. She even shared one of her first tomatoes with me! YUM.
This whole accessibility adventure has been extremely educational and a great lesson for me. I take so much for granted, including my health and even something as simple as being able to walk through grass and bend down to harvest my vegetables. I've began seeing our garden in a new light, wondering how we can ensure access to all parts of our garden for people with all types of abilities. Gardening is such a wonderful, therapeautic, nurturing activity; it really should be available to everyone. Have any accessible gardening resources? Please feel free to share! Have I mentioned I love making lists of goals? It's about one of my favoritest, nerdiest activities (besides watching Games of Thrones, Buffy, and Star Trek). Two years ago, I made the ultimate goal list: 101 goals in 1001 days. I've been updating my progress here and here, and I'm now down to just six months left to finish my last 53 goals. I'm a little nervous about finishing everything since it's taken me four times as long as I have left to finish the first half of my goal list. But I'm thinking positively, and I think I've got a good shot at hitting 100% (best to aim high right?). I'm doing a full update post to give myself some accountability and to celebrate what I've accomplished so far. So first the good news: the 48 goals I've checked off my list. 1. Visit another continent 2. Run a 5k with JVC roommates 3. Take coats to the dry cleaners 4. Go camping 5. Take an art class 6. Take an anniversary trip with Paul 7. Design our wedding invitations and save the dates 8. Make juice 9. Buy a bike 10. Send out Christmas cards 11. Go to a music festival 12. Take a spin/cycling class 13. Make painting for our room 14. Complete idle ironman challenge at YMCA 15. Lose ten pounds and keep it off for four months 16. Learn how to put on eyeliner 17. Go to Pat's graduation 18. Consolidate my student loans 19. Stay current on my student loans for one year 20. Learn how to make sushi 21. Keep a spending diary for one month 22. Get a new job 23. Read a spiritual book 24. Call Mom once a week for 6 months 25. Blog regularly for 6 months 26. Get a dog 27. Make a birthday cake for someone 28. Make gifts for wedding party 29. Learn to drive stick shift 30. Take steps to sell prints of Jesuit paintings 31. Change my last name 32. Identify 100 things that make me happy 33. Start a community garden 34. Plant flower cutting garden 35. Plant a vegetable garden 36. Go to Mike's graduation 37. Dye my hair red 38. Start a community and live there for at least a year 39. Go skinny dipping 40. Make a wish at 11:11 on November 11, 2011 41. Visit a new city 42. Visit another country (Canada, England, France, Iceland) 43. Finish decortaing office 44. Make pie on Pi Day 45. Thankfulness exercise every month for one year 46. Make a compost bin 47. Keep a garden journal for one growing season 48. Dress up for Halloween And here are the 52 goals I'm still working on:
Bike to work ... Go snowshoeing ... Go Dancing ... Hike the Ice Age Trail ... Visit a new state ... Plan a girls' weekend with friends and family ... Take a French class ... Read a book in French ... Learn 100 new French words ... Take a cooking class ... Learn a new photography skill ... Memorize a poem ... Read 50 books (almost done!)... Read the news everyday for three months ... Learn to identify every country on a map ... Start saving for retirement ... Increase my student loan payment ... Make a list of friends' and family's birthdays ... Talk with Libby once a week for six months ... Host a dress up dinner party ... Host a holiday party ... Send a letter to an old teacher ... Make a Grandpa photo album ... Meditate/pray/journal daily for two months ... Read a book about a spiritual leader ... Make a wedding album for us and our parents ... Making painting gifts for 5 people ... Sell a new painting ... Paint a new collection ... Make a San Francisco photo album ... Make a Europe photo album ... Cook an Indian meal from scratch ... Write letter to myself to open in 10 years ... Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet (in progress)... Make list of my top ten favorite movies ... Make list of my top twenty five favorite books ... Visit Mitchell Domes ... Sketch every day for one month ... Create a painting once a month for a year (in progress)... Complete a photo challenge (in progress) ... Donate $5 to charity for every item not completed on this list ... Save $1 for every item completed ... Make a 30 before 30 list This was such a fun post to write! Thanks for reading and for keeping up with my latest goal journey. Are you inspired to make a 101 goals list now? I'll guarantee that it will be an adventure! The best part of this goal list is that I've identified the things that I want to do but feel like I won't get to without a little bit of extra motivation. Putting something in writing and then getting to check it off a list after completing it is sometimes all I need to get my butt in gear. Check back in February to see how many goals I was able to finish! Leave me a link to your list if you decide to write one. I'd love to check it out! Last weekend, Paul and I joined my family in Holland, Michigan for a little family vacation time. My family has been taking annual trips to Michigan for over ten years. It's a great destination for getting a break from the St. Louis summer heat and for relaxing on Lake Michigan, where there's a beautiful sunset every night. My family follows the same routine every year - the trip starts with a weekend in Holland and continues for another week in Frankfort. Because Paul and I have too many travel adventures and not enough vacation time, we just joined for the Holland leg. I have such good memories from all of our time spent on these Michigan vacations (and I feel super grateful that my husband is willing to join me to make new memories). I remember Mom and Dad were at their most relaxed here, and there was something special about having vacation adventures with my siblings. Lots of swimming in the lake, karaoking mini van style, jumping off the pier, bike riding, book store trips, and of course, ice cream. This trip's memories included: reminiscing about how this candy shop used to be a mandatory stop for me (funny how tastes change, literally)... an afternoon shopping spree with my mom and sister (the Holland boutiques are so quaint and inspiring)... posing for the family Christmas card photo... walking out on the pier for beautiful views of the shoreline... taking photos with Libby like a boss... remembering to take a selfie at the lake... enjoying a picnic pizza party at the beach... watching the sunset... and posing for pictures like a movie star....Oh who am I kidding? Smiling at just the right time in just the right light for a husband that has mad photography skillz.
What a fantastic trip! What trips have you been taking this summer? Have any special family vacation memories? Michigan sunsets ... pizza on the beach ... evening ice cream trips ... reminiscing about past family vacations ... laughing with my siblings ... support from friends ... pink and orange scarves that make any outfit feel brighter ... buying gifts that you know someone will enjoy ... shopping adventures with Mom and Libby ... my health ... watching old episodes of Buffy ... painting ... flower cookies from Panera ... going on family vacations as an adult ... rain for the garden ... our community transition falling into place ... sticking to a budget ... so many good books to read
We're off to Michigan for the weekend - home of the best blueberries in the world! Hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend! Look for pictures from our trip next week.
This is our first picture together, taken when we still little baby Jesuit Volunteers. We both loved our respective communities (mine in Syracuse, New York, and yours in Hartford, Connecticut). We loved community life so much that when we later moved to Milwaukee, we decided to start our own intential community.
We had a vision of a "grown-up" community, an intentional housing space for young adults who wanted to continue the experience they had in their volunteer programs. We would share meals and groceries and participate in community and spirituality nights. Community life would help us live our values of simple living and working to make the world a better place. Because we had friends that were interested in the experiment but couldn't live in the actual community space, we also invented an option for "associate members." These members would join us for community events and be considered part of our extended community. Later we decided this was the greatest strength of the community. People thought we were crazy for starting a community as an engaged couple, but people thinking we're crazy never stopped us from doing anything. Two years ago, we moved into our new community, the Casey Sister-Brotherhood, and invited a few others to live with us. We put so much work into starting the project, and we both grew in unexpected ways from the experience. The personality combination in our house was a struggle, and through that I learned the value of being honest with difficult feelings and the power of reconciliation. We also made some of our best Milwaukee friendships through our community and found comfort in friends who understood our values and where we were coming from. Neither of our baby Jesuit Volunteer selves could have predicted the challenges and rewards of "grown-up" community life. But I know they would have been really happy that we gave this dream a chance. Twenty four months after we signed our first lease, we've decided it's time to move out and to live on our own for the first time as a married couple. We'll now be associate members and get to enjoy the support of community relationships without the ups and downs of living with people we're not married to. I can't wait. To my former-baby-Jesuit-Volunteer-love: thank you so much for going on this adventure with me. Couldn't think of anyone better to have by my side. |