incarnation

A byproduct of having taken the SAT, ACT and the GRE at various points in time (and actually having prepared for one of the three) is that some latin word roots are etched into my brain and pop up with their definitition like a parenthentical note when I see them. Two examples: "mal" = bad as in malevolent, malicious; "bene" = good as in benefit, benefactor. (You don't really want to know many more details about how my brain works.)

"Carne" (or is it officially "carn"?) is another one -- meat as in carnivore or chili con carne. And my favorite use of it is in the word "incarnation." It's a theological concept that really just sends shivers down my spine or chokes me up a bit, depending on the day. It's what I really love thinking about and celebrating at Christmas. The Incarnation. Giving something meat. Specifically, God giving Himself physical meat to walk with us on this earth so we could get a picture of something we have so much trouble understanding - who He truly is. How fantastic is that? I actually really like the fact that at the same time I see the word "incarnation" the words "carnivore" and "chili con carne" jump into my head because they keep the meaning so literal. God with meat. That's how real He is.

oregon christmas requirement

When I first moved to Oregon 12 years ago, I was on a "limited income" so to speak. Anyway, as Christmas approached and the 4 of us who lived together were discussing Christmas decorating plans for our apartment, I made the comment,"Well, we don't need to get a Christmas tree." To which they all promptly replied, "What?!" in a mix of shock and bewilderment. My next line was even better: "Well, they're really expensive." We sorted out a little bit of what I expected a tree to cost ($80 or so for a real one), and then they said, "Shelly, this is OREGON. Trees don't cost $80." I conceded in the matter and actually picked up a tree for us from school -- $15.

I do enjoy the whole real Christmas tree thing, but I'm still pretty clueless about tree details that Oregonians have distinct opinions about. I think native northwesterners who move to other parts of the country or world must experience more than a little shock when they discover how unique their tree experience is. Other people just don't drive past Christmas tree farms on a daily basis.

In our 4 christmas tree seasons since getting married, we have yet to actually purchase a tree. We won free trees in drawings the first two, didn't bother because we'd be out of town last year, and were kindly invited to help ourselves to one off someone's property this year. I have to say, they've all been beautiful trees - lush, fragrant, dark green. It is a pretty fantastic treat.

I'm adding some pictures of the farm we got ours from for those of you who don't know the experience. We cut ours down last Sunday. Nia joined us in the truck (small space, two people, big dog - it's pretty comical), and it was pouring rain. Sadly, while we happily collected a tree in the pouring rain, the same storm was flooding the Oregon Coast. (FYI the last picture features a silhouette of Nia's head - John thinks she was pretty excited to check out the tree)

silkscreening

Want to know a little about silkscreening? I started teaching myself this summer - well actually I made t-shirts on two occasions for students in the past with a very basic paper stencil one time and the directions from the kit the second time. I've been wanting to learn for quite a few years as a means of making cards like some I'd seen and loved. I really love the texture of the ink on the paper when you silk screen... Anyway, this summer I expanded my knowledge considerably primary via websites and blogs. It's amazing what's out there! I discovered a site called instructables, and the amazing thing is that there are instructions on how to do some pretty random things -- like building batteries out of mini altoid cans ... or maybe they were flashlights?

So, I took over the kitchen to make cards that I intended to sell at a bazaar at church. I sold some, but I have a whole lot more left! Here are little glimpses into the process:

The basic concept of silkscreening is that you block out some areas of the fabric that's stretched across a frame and use a squeegee to force ink through the open areas. There are a variety of ways to block out parts of the screen. The traditional way involves using an exacto knife to cut out this masking film that is adhered to the screen -- but I would have needed nasty chemicals that weren't really suitable for kitchen sink use. :) I used a readily accessible process with a light sensitive chemical that gets spread across the screen. I photocopied my drawing (I made all my own drawings) onto a transparency, taped it onto the screen, put a piece of glass on top of it and set it out in the sun. The bright green chemical turns blue-green when it has hardened from the light. I took the screen inside at this point and washed out the areas that had been blocked out, leaving the clear/white areas where the ink will pass through.

(the other colors you see on the bottom screen are just stains from ink pigments -- and the garden tools where just holding the fabric down in the breeze)

So then there's this whole process of attaching the screen with hinges to a board and lining up the paper and design. The red tabs make sure that every piece of paper I print on is in the same spot.

The screen goes down over the paper with the ink spread across it. (there's clear tape over the second design on the screen that I'm not printing at the moment), and the big squeegee you see propped on the sink is dragged across the ink.

And this is the result. (It's just the background color of one of the designs)

And this is what the process does to our kitchen!

This is that particular design printed in all three colors.

cider

Several weeks ago we went up to John's family's place to participate in their annual cider press. As is true of our natures, John was happy to work the press, and I was happy to get to sit by the fire and drink hot cider.

...and then us

So we're on our way to Kandern, Germany to work for a ministry called Crescendo Arts (it's part of Crescendo, which is part of Agape, which is part of Campus Crusade for Christ International ....). We've been on our way to Kandern specifically since about late December when we first made contact with folks there. We've been on our way to working overseas for a couple of years, knowing that God was tugging at us that way, but not knowing what it would look like.

We're getting closer to actually going everyday. At this point we're in the process of looking for ministry partners, and when we find them, we can go - which might take another 9 months. We'll see what God has in mind. What that means for our everyday lives is that each day is spent on the phone, meeting with people, making trips to the mailbox and post office, sitting at the computer working on things. It's a pretty different lifestyle than we lived when we were teaching. We both really miss students.... but we are so grateful for this time and the ways that it's different. We have conversations with fantastic people and soak in the encouragement that comes from it. Clearly it's great preparation for us.

This said, if we're really honest, we can't wait till we actually get to go!

first things first

Meet Nia, our primary entertainment and most frequent photo subject.

Stats:
5 year -old female Rottweiler
85 pounds
Most likely to lick you to death
Terrified of water, strange noises, and things that might fall on her head
Loves Bank of America, Chevron and Dairy Queen - drive-up window = doggie treats
AKA Poochola, Big Ni


Some of Nia's buddies:




Nia's version of Disneyland:
1) Watching 2) Getting curious 3)Loss of self control



The only time Nia went into water by her own free will (the sea star was worth it):