Public Moves! (slide show added!)

Yesterday was, as we told the girls, "the BIG day of the BIG show on the BIG HILL," Josh & Laura's creation of art and community using movements they observed on Baltimore's Federal Hill. The process of these past 2 months was amazing. They organized sound, photography and videography, & undertook to cast (and rehearse!) at least 100 volunteers. They met with college professors, did guest lecturing in dance classes, and went to as many gatherings as they could of people who might be interested in participating. Josh was interviewed (scroll down the page until you get to "Wed., Oct. 22nd, Movin' on Up") on local public radio, and an article was published in the Baltimore Sun. Then, it was all about praying for good weather! (A prayer that was answered!)

Here are Alan's great pictures of the first performance (we did it twice!) He sat at the Inner Harbor looking at the Hill, and up there are lots of family: Mom & Dad, Joan & Steve, Jon & Courtney & Anna & Aidan, Shannon, Kate & Jay, Crystal & Anthony, and me with Amelia in the backpack and Evelyn (as much as possible) by the hand. I am definitely indebted to those family members for helping me keep track of her! It was an incredible experience, in which Alan joined us for the second performance.

Josh & Laura had a "movement score", and I used their terminology to label the pictures in the slide show below. If you're interested in seeing the actual score, click here.

Here is a video of "crawling to Rest." Many of the sounds are by sound artist Steve Bradley, projected off the roofs of two buildings that book-end the hill. Steve collaborated with Josh and Laura to fill the space with sounds both common and uncommon to it. Don't we look like a bunch of crazy insects? I love it!

Deep Creek 2008!

Over 20 years ago my mom initiated the family weekend at western MD's Deep Creek Lake. At first it was just 7 or 8 of us staying in a one-bath A-frame (Aunt Sharon & I shared a pull-out couch; Jon & Josh slept in an unfinished loft. One of the 2 bedrooms had a toilet in the corner--functional--but just sitting there like an arm chair. I guess that made it a bath and a HALF.) Since then, there have been years where it was only 3 people and years when extended family was bursting out of two huge rental homes. Only two things have remained unchanged: Uncle Steve & Aunt Joan have gone every time, and there is always good fellowship around fishing and food.

This year Alan & I started our Deep Creek weekend on a whim--one day early! On Wednesday Alan said, "I'd love to just leave now and rent a camping cabin halfway." It was the eve of Evelyn's 4th birthday, and we'd planned on spending it at the zoo for an "ice cream w/the polar bears" event. So we let Evelyn decide what she wanted for her birthday--to go to the zoo or go camping--and she picked camping. (I LOVE this kid!) That began a flurry of packing everything in time to get to our campsite before dark.

Alan cracks me up. He thinks packing should take 5 minutes, and is usually frustrated by the time it takes to gather all the clothes, diapers, toys, bedding, toiletries, miscellaneous gear, and food into our Corolla. And I will say that it takes longer to pack LESS than it does to pack MORE--much more thought involved! To his credit, he jumped right in, no questions asked, and we only managed to forget the games, the kazoos (for the traditional Deep Creek musical ensemble), the worms, shampoo, and makeup (and my mom had me covered for the last two.) So we made a great family memory & kicked off Evelyn's 4th birthday over an open campfire!

Then to Deep Creek--my folks, Jon & Courtney & Anna & Aidan, Joan & Steve all arrived Thursday. Friday brought in Caleb & Amanda (who drove all night from Alabama in their conversion van--and slept there!), Jacob (who drove all night from Connecticut, & slept in said van w/brother & sister-in-law), Shelley, Shannon, Kate & Jay, Barbara, and David & Darcy. We enjoyed fishing, hikes in the woods, hikes to the falls, long talks, hot tubbing, post-season Baseball, game playing, incredible food, and Alan's challenge that we use ourselves as a test sample group (secret ballot) for the upcoming election. Thank you, Caleb and Kate, who obliged me by discussing politics, which I loved and appreciated in spite of the way it mysteriously cleared the room. (For those dying to know, the poll results were dead even.) While I could go on and on here, I must say that it brings me no end of pleasure to be part of a family that embraces the whole spectrum--from those whose ideal model would be the purest form of communism to those who don't want the government to get involved in one more thing. It is so good to listen to one another, consider one another, and be reminded that our deepest passion needs to be "the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another." (I Jn.3:11)

We really missed Josh & Laura, who had to be in Baltimore to run their Public Moves rehearsals, so a dozen of us gathered at our house Sunday night to visit with them and wish Josh a happy birthday. We also laughed ourselves silly--a nice side-effect of a weekend of less-than-ideal sleep, lots of good eating, and living closely under the same roof!

(Mom, if some of the pictures look familiar, it's because you left your camera here and I, well, uploaded your Deep Creek pics. Don't worry--they're still on your camera!)

Let the birthday celebrations begin!

I've always loved October--fall is my favorite season--so when I found out we were going to have Evelyn in October it was perfect. October is a GREAT birthday month in our lives, and we started this past Sunday, October 12th, which is our dear friend, Lisa's birthday. She came over to party w/Evelyn and brought the cake. Evelyn and I made homemade pizza, Shelley joined us, and we opened presents, played together, and after the kids were in bed we popped popcorn and all watched "The Amazing Race" together. It was great!
And the celebrations won't stop there--Courtney's birthday was the 13th, Evelyn's is the 16th, Josh's and Aunt Jenny's are on the 18th, Uncle Johnny Zig is the 28th and Uncle Steve's is the 31st! We'll get to party at Deep Creek, and then we'll take the celebration into November, when we partner Evelyn and Cousin Casey, whose birthday is November 5th (just like Esther!) and who will, like Evelyn be FOUR!

I will save my ponderings of Evelyn for later...we are currently in the mode of preparing for the Deep Creek weekend, so I should move away from the computer ("step AWAY from the computer!!") and get to work. I have a lot to say about this kid! :)

Amelia

Here's our little chatty patty. These are two of our current favorite pictures of our little one. We need to blow up that first one and frame it--it is just that sweet! And the second picture--she's wearing a dress from Singapore that Aunt Jenny bought for Diana's daughter Olivia (who is now 13!) and was just perfect for her. The first day she wore it just happened to be the first day of the Olympics, and people at church thought I'd done it in celebration of the Games taking place in China. If only I were actually that organized. We put her in the dress because she looks so darn cute in it! Aunt Jenny, thank you for the dress you bought Liv more than a decade ago, and Aunt Di, thank you for passing it down!

Meet our new roommates!

You've met Laura and Josh before, but now it feels so much like they are just part of our normal, everyday lives. It will be hard to see them go! We are four adults and two toddlers living under the same roof. The four adults all have weird, sort-of-work-from-home schedules that are computer and phone based, but then require us to be "out and about" (Alan: gigs, me: RVR events & meetings, them: rehearsals & any festival or party where they can drum up participants for www.publicmoves.net)

Speaking of parties, we came home one night to find them heading out to a costume ball, dressed in "found items" from our home. Josh is sporting Evelyn's pink cowboy hat & plastic stethoscope, and Laura managed to put her hair up using our turkey baster and a wooden spoon. She also managed to make that apron she's wearing!

They are staying with us through their performance on Federal Hill, which is October 26th. And remember--if you live nearby & have the time, go to the website and SIGN UP to be part of it!!

Let's be honest here...

In re-reading the previous post, it is obvious I did it while recovering from my own injuries. The truth is (and I do NOT like admitting this) I was the weakest link on last weekend's Appalachian trek. Di started the whole thing with about 15 additional pounds in her already-30 pound pack (because she was determined to enjoy home made soup, chili, and a box of wine--which we ALL appreciated.) Di was amazing. She and I shared the woes of blisters, but she held up great. Tim and I shared knee pains, but he helped carry some of my stuff the last day so I wouldn't hold up the whole works on our way into Harper's Ferry. (Peg reminded me that I'd had that knee operated on the week before Tim & Di's wedding--I was the maid of honor on crutches!) Melissa? Well, her "Litte Bird" pace and energy were unstoppable. We were all tired and sore and wanted to soak our feet in the Susquehanna River, but I don't want to give anyone the impression that I was as tough as these other three. I'd LOVE to be the TOUGHEST--but I think I need to have a little more conditioning (and a little better foot preparation!) to do it again. The "tough like Tina" phrase will have to now apply to situations where your body is telling you to STOP but you have 17 miles left to hike and you DO IT. And I WOULD do it again, in a heartbeat!

By the way, "Little Bird," is the "trail name" we gave Melissa. Apparently it's "the thing" to have a trail name. We were giving Melissa a hard time about how little she was eating during the weekend. Her perky response was, "Oh, don't worry about me. I hardly eat anything. I'm like a bird."

Di was "Swiss Miss," coined the 2nd day when it got warm and she rolled her pants up to above her knees, revealing colorful, knee-high wool socks. All she needed was a pair of liederhosen to complete the look. And to make it better, we stopped to chat w/some fellow hikers and one of the women kept remarking about Di, "Just look at her--she's just MADE for this sort of thing! Just look at those LEGS--she's just MADE for this!" The laughs about that lasted quite a while. Di's line became, "The Appalachian trail is NOTHING compared to the Alps!"

I can't remember if we decided Tim was "Puddleglum" or "Eyeore." He was the voice of reason amidst our pounding determination to do it ALL and do it FAST. He did encourage what was probably a good decision. Those extra 15 pounds Di was carrying the first day? Well, we ate the soup for dinner, then ate the chili for breakfast, lightening that load considerably. And I will say it did not seem weird at all to eat chili for breakfast (we were probably just THAT hungry.)

I'm not sure I got a nickname. What would apply? "Gimpy?" "Tina Blisterina?" "Madame Duct Tape?" All I know is that when we gathered at the restaurant at the end of the hike and John prayed for the meal, he prayed specifically for my healing. I must have seemed in bad shape. (But the prayers worked--I feel pretty much back to normal, save the remaining blisters!)

But I think there is something healthy about doing something that pushes one's personal physical limits like that. It is good to be exhausted and spent and it is INCREDIBLE to do it all outside under a canopy of woods and October sky with three good friends. I prayed a lot as we walked; prayed for Evelyn and Amelia and for a lot of other people. It was SO GOOD.

Epic Weekend!

Four friends...in their forties...backpack forty miles...in fifty hours...and make some great memories. Tim and Di turned 40 over the summer, and Di's GREAT idea was to celebrate by hiking the 40 miles of Appalachian Trail that happen to run through our state of Maryland. Thanks to the generosity and goodwill of Alan, my parents, and Shelley, I was able to go as well, joining our other friend, Melissa for the adventurous trek.

I wish I could even start to tell all the stories here, but pictures will have to suffice. We started at the Pennsylvania line at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon, driven there by Esther (more goodwill!), and managed to hobble into Harper's Ferry, West Virginia just before 5 pm on Sunday. Meeting us at "the finish line" were John & Peg and Shelley, who rounded out the celebratory meal at a local restaurant. Among us there were many aching muscles, wobbly legs, bum knees, and numerous blisters, but thanks to duct tape, ibuprofen, and determination we were able to look beyond the physical discomforts and see the beauty and enjoy the friendships.

Sometimes I wonder what's going on in there.

Recently it seems when Evelyn tells me things, she morphs between reality and some not-quite-parallel universe. Yesterday we caught another of the uninvited, furry guests who've decided it's too chilly to live outside anymore. Evelyn came upstairs to tell me about it.

E: Mommy, Daddy caught a mouse!
Me: Did you see it?
E: (with awe and wonder) Yes!
Me: What did Daddy do with it?
E: He put it in the garden so it can become a king.

She's always named things oddly, too. "Donto" was a favorite for a while, as well as "Lontie" and "Dah Dah" (said forcefully and with much emphasis on the consonants.) But this week she came up with the biggest doozies of all. She drew a series of portraits, and when she showed them to me I asked her who they were.

E: Well, this is Santa (yes, like the jelly-bellied dude in red), Danta (rhymes with aforementioned dude), Seccaladanta, and Deccaladanta. (I'll just let you have fun working those out syllabically.)
Me: (noting two other, rather messy looking figures) And who are they?
E: (shrugging nonchalantly) Oh, they're just a couple of cucumbers.