Over.....already! I've come down the mountain!

I'm home again and trying to reflect on Holden Village. How do I ever begin to explain the treasures and gifts I received? Holden is a very special place and it was difficult to leave! I will be posting some pictures and experiences soon! I gave Matins on my last day! A bit scary...to say the least! Such incredible memories and relationships! Thank you to everyone at Holden!

Peace!

Karen

Abriendo Caminos

This week at Holden Village we are celebrating Abriendo Caminos and have mostly spanish speaking families in the village. What an adjustment. Everyone is really nice but I don't speak any spanish and there are communication problems with some of our younger Narnia kids. We also have a serious autistic 10 year old that doesn't follow directions as well as 24 other kids! Lots of energy and patience. I have a feeling that this week will teach me patience!

Last night at eucharist the music was lively and fun. I may actually have tonight's Vesper's off musically-I need it! It will be nice to just be. This week end I got to weave on a loom and practiced throwing pottery! VERY humorous with the pottery! Pictures later!

I have a new roommate and she just resigned as a writer for the ElCA. She wrote a book on simplicity that looks intriguing! Off to finish my weaving and to read! The end is coming! It will be an adjustment to return to the real world of cooking, cleaning, and school after Holden! I am so glad I have had this opportunity!

Karen

Coming and going!

Life at Holden changes everyday because people constantly come in and leave. Today, I had to bid farewell to 3 incredible families that I have gotten to know! It is so sad to have to say good bye after getting to know people! Both bus departures brought tears to my eyes. I think leaving in two weeks will be very sad as well.

This week is the Luther Alumni week! WOW! It is great fun to connect with friends from 1980 or so! Yesterday I was scooping ice cream and a woman looked at me and said, "You look familiar!" and she did as well. I asked her name and she was my freshman RA at Luther, not with the Alumni group! In the Cascades, my freshman RA! Crazy and completely random! I love reconnecting! We hope to do a Luther Alumni piece at Friday's vespers-won't that be fun! Ok-bed-It''s been an exhausting week! I'm excited to learn how to throw pottery tomorrow and I get to weave on a floor loom on Thurs. YAY! Oh ya, and Narnia, vespers, ,....the week is going to get easier! YAY! Take care!


Karen

Trying again!

Hi!


Trying again to post! It's been almost a week and the experience of Holden Village is amazing! It becomes increasingly difficult to say good bye to people leaving for home! Worship has been funny, serious, contemplative, ...lots of variety! I absolutely loved working with Jane Lien and Bob Scholtz last week! Bob even gave me a quick voice lesson! Probably one of the kindest, most intelligent people ever! Those lucky St. Olaf kids were so fortunate to have worked under him! The choir last week was an incredible experience! Check the Holden Archive to listen to the Wed ot Thursday pm vespers. The anthems were amazing!

The children I work with are a dream. They give me hope for our world! I think I had truly lost some! I know that I'm in an alternate universe at times here....people are nice, accomodating....yup! The children listen and are polite! Even when they aren't happy! I've gotten a new appreciation for those who scoop ice cream and do dishes---ugh! It was exhausting and gross! Really!

It's been hot here almost every day-I suspect that air conditioning will be such a treat when I get home!

The Luther Alumni group comes in tomorrow! I'm excited to see some old friends again! Go Norse! I'll try to post a couple pictures! The internet is really slow! Take care!

Karen

Karen and ice cream scooping!

Last night after a beautiful musical vespers, I had the honor (duty) of scooping ice cream for the longest line of people--I wish you could have seen it! Ice cream stained clothes-exhausted and sore! Good thing I can't eat much of that stuff! I'll post a picture when I do it again on Saturday!

Night!


Karen

Music peope and the most awesome dishteam ever!

Happy Tuesday! Fun day! The weather is hot, our children were funny, and I had my very first dish duty today! We had veggie lasagna and got to clean every dish in the village! 2 long and hot hours in the dish room! If you know me, you would be proud! I even got a bunch of water poured over my head-the 4-6 year olds loved it They grinned at me all day when they saw me! :)

Dish duty: thank you Joan for making a yukki job fun! We sang songs and were silly and totally exhausted! Then on to vespers! I continue to meet a ton of people and every one is so kind and nice! It is sadder every day to see people

Young children, hot weather, hard work!

Whew! It is hot and humid here at Holden this week! An air conditioned room, (or even one with a fan!) sound heavenly! Thankfully it cools down at night so we all sleep well!

Narnia ha18 4-6 year olds today! Where do they get their energy? I'm tired! We hiked to the hobbit house in the woods. It is literally a tree trunk carved into a house. Really well done! Still getting to play for worship and have been singing in the choir! A retired St. Olaf prof is directing and he is marvelous. I've learned so much about vocal music and technique this past week! Jane Lien from Central Lutheran in Minneapolis is the other musician and brings great variety to worship! Last night we had a global worship eucharist service. It was packed!

The food is great we had an excellent veggie stir fry tonight --yum! I miss you all!
Take care!

Karen

Narnia-Day 1

Narnia-

At Holden that means children's programming for kids from age 0-10. Today I got to be with the 4-6 year olds. I have not been this tired in a long time! We went on a 2 mile hike to the field and did art projects, played, read a story, and the things one does with a big group of young kids! They have soooo much energy! Needless to say I'm bonetired!

I played flute last night and will play again tomorrow night for the Holden Service. It was fun to add something to worship! Next week I'll get to do some clarinet!

The sheer beauty of Holden is magical. I've never been in the mountains like this. It is very remote yet, there are people around all the time! I've met so many people and all of them are friendly and interesting! The sense of community here is solid and the real life families I've seen are outstanding!
Every child I've met is polite and sweet and wonderful! It gives me hope to see so many like this. Holden is not very diverse, I haven't seen this many blond, blue eyed children since Luther! Many do come from Minnesota!

The weekend will be relaxing and then Monday it's on to real life Holden with garbology, ice cream scooping, and dishes! Hard work! Yet, I love it here! Take care all!


Karen

I MADE IT!!!! FINALLY!

HELLO! I made it! I kept thinking it couldn't get better! It did! As tired (exhausted) and hot and tired as I was yesterday-I couldn't stop to rest!

The boat ride:

I had checked out pictures and was amazed at the beauty of the Lake Chelan area! It kept changing every step of the journey. Every person met was friendly and genuine! The scenery...there's nothing to say but --WOW. I sat back on the back of the boat and simply watched for a long time. I stayed out almost the entire boat ride....I couldn't keep my eyes off the scenery! It's really overwhelming...then again,,,I could have been really tired, but it kept me going!

We stopped at our Landing , Lucern, and Honey, the yellow school bus was waiting for us!
They loaded our luggage and loaded us up and we drove for 45 minutes through steep and beautiful switchbacks up to Holden Village. Then, in the clearing ahead, there it is...Holden Village. They stpped the bus to give us a chance to hear the important things about this area....forest fire, safe hiking, etc....then we drove forward to a large group of people excited for our arrival.....it was great to know Linda from Luther and I picked out Maren right away, because she had a welcome sign for me! It turns out that we are roomates! Awesome! Maren is considerate, kind, funny and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better!

Lunch was very simple, brown rice, yet, it was filling! They send the proceeds out once a week to some hunger organization. Then it was orientation and volunteer meeting. Very helpful and again, everyone is so kind and takes time to say hello!

Railroad Creek is right by here so I went exploring and wadeing...the water is really cold and was so wonderful after such a hot day! Last night was a spinach dish-I didn't think I qould like it-it was awesome! Again, very filling!

They end the day with Vespers and it was quite good even though I was falling asleep! Last night , I went to bed around nine and woke up at 7:30 am! Think I was a little tired??

I'm so thankful to be here! I really love this place! I feel like I m at camp with awesome people! I start Narnia Friday because today is a special Jubilee Celebration! It should be fun and interesting! Take care!

Karen

Majestic, beautiful...indescribable scenery

Are you familiar with the hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth? Today was a day that enchanted me with the natural beauty of our world! After sending much of today in Seattle, I took the Amtrak Empire and we traveled right next to Puget Sound for about 45 minutes! I could see the Olympic mountains, the beginnings of the San Juan Islands and water. How can a picture ever do justice to such amazing sights? It simply can not.

Oh, wait, after the Puget Sound area we begin to go to the Cascades...this is my backyard for the whole summer! I've never been to a big mountain before and I was mesmerized for the entire train ride! I wish we could have stopped many times for pictures...the scenery changes as we traveled and when I got off the train in Wenatchee it was even more humid than Urbana...who would have thought?! Did you know that Wenatchee is famous for the Washington Apples that we eat!? It even smells like apples from the train. I met a really sweet woman on the train and she gave me a ride my hotel......I know....don't take rides from strangers! I met her on the train and she was genuine and has children and it saved me the hassle of the taxi! I promise not to make a habit out of this! The people in Washington have been so friendly and nice!

Tonight I am staying at a Super 8 in Wenatchee and catch a link bus at 6:30am to reach the boat that goes to Holden Village. This is really happening! I know I am WAY OUT OF my comfort zone here and it will be such a learning experience both physically and spiritually! Wish me luck, say a prayer, and even grin as you think about Karen in the mountains! I know I do!

By the way, Beth you were an amazing tour guide! The restaurant today was outstanding..I could have looked out the window all day! You came up with one incredible sightseeing activity after another! Thanks so much ...lets do it again! I really enjoyed spending time with you and CJ

Off to bed for an early wake up call! Not sure when I'll get on again!

Peace

Seattle!

Seattle!

What an incredible town! Thanks Beth for showing me so many things! This was a perfect day! We went through the Pike's Peak Market Place-the colors, smells, throwing fish, and the artsy atmosphere are so fun! I had my very first latte from the original Starbucks and two fantastic meals. Dinner was on fisherman's pier at a popular seafood restaurant! So, I had Teriaki Chicken! It was yummy! (I dislike seafood!)

The Duck Tour was fun! Totally cheesy and silly while providing snippets of info about various sites in Seattle! It was fun!

The scenery here changes frequently! I can see the mountains in the background but not clearly because of the haze! I did get a hazy glimpse of Rainier! The Olympic Mountains were clearer, but just a bit! I can see what draws so many people to live here! No humidity and the fantastic scenery!

I have to add what a joy it was to be with Beth and CJ! Cj is only 6 weeks and was astounding! Such a sweet, content and happy baby! Beth is a super 1st time mom! We had some funny moments with her today!

Tomorrow, we'll be doing some sightseeing again and then I board the Amtrak going through the Cascade Mountains and Stevens Pass. It's supposed to be beautiful!

On a side note, I was in such a big panic to get everything together and out of the house yesterday that I left the garage door wide open to my house! I thought that I left the front door unlocked.....thanks Janet for checking it! When she came to my house to check, my brother Kenny opened the door and replied, oh, she locked the door but she forgot to close the garage!
He enjoyed that one! He called to tell me and he was amused! The joys of middle age!

I'll post tomorrow night again, but am not sure when the opportunity will arise at Holden. Enjoy a couple pictures from today! If you've never been here, you should plan a visit...incredible!

Hello! Finally....packed and checked in and waiting for my flight to La...then Seattle. I'll get there around 11:45 pm. It was a major and crazy few days! Packing and preparing to be gone for a while and doing all the crazy errands one needs to run when you know there's not a Walmart or Target around the corner!

I conned Pastor Bob into doing the Holden Service last night! THANKS! It was a fun service to play and went well in the new chapel! Today I played flute in church...sometimes I worry about my lack of common life sense! It was fun and went pretty well for no rehearsal or decent warm-up!

I am so excited for Holden and scared to death. A month can be a LONG time! I'll post a couple pictures from Seattle as I visit there! It should be a blast!

Ok---here we go!

Peace,

Karen

2 weeks until Holden!

It's coming! Only 2 weeks and then I get to leave for Washington! Am I ready? Is all the prep for school done? (NO! :) ) Do I know how I'm getting to Chelan and then back to Seattle-nope! Guess I have a few things to figure out yet! I do have some awesome shoes and water safe keen sandals! I am finally getting my house in better order! I need to get the music stuff ready and make sure I have enough clarinet reeds-somehow, I don't think they will sell them in the Holden Village store!
I get to visit Seattle for a couple days and am thrilled that my hotel points were able to be used! I think transportation is decent and I may be able to get away without renting a car! I think I'm going to the famous market and hopefully the sea shore! I have a feeling that it will be by a tour like the Ducks! Those are fun and you get to see a decent amount in a short time!
It's back to work here! Hopefully, I'll be able to get some things done so I can have some "guilt-free" time before I leave! I wouldn't bet on it!!

School ends Dorian begins

Luther College and the Dorian Music Camp is already done for the 2009 season! Luther College has had a profound influence in my life!! The positive attitude, the old friends, great students, getting to see Fred, and simply feeling a sense of home continue to draw me. I've been doing this for ages and look forward to it every year. This year I saw several old friends and it was such a gift to visit for a short time! IT doesn't feel like 27 years, only a couple and I'm thankful for those people in my life! It's exciting to watch the UMS kids be excited about making music and having fun together.

4 weeks until I am in Washington! I'm a bit nervous and a LOT excited. I hope that it is a great experience and that I come back with a peaceful heart. I am collecting yarn and string to take to Holden at St. Matthew! WOW! People are generous, or, the live in the land of good intentions and realized it would be easier to buy anew if they knit the project they wanted to!

I can feel it in the air!

Summer vacation. I can make it! There are some times of the year that are overwhelming and the last week always qualifies! This year the end of school and Dorian Music Camp at Luther overlap. This is the first time in all the years I've gone! Hopefully, my car will be fine for the trip (the mechanic said it was!) This has been a great year in many aspects and the toughest year in others. As life continues, I know how blessed I am with incredible friends, a great job (seriously!), a phenomenal church family, and life.
Not many people have been granted so much! Hoping to embrace patience, a sense of peace, God's all-encompassing love and a healthier lifestyle. 2 days! Then renewal!

Going to Holden Village!

I'm going to Holden Village as a volunteer for a bit over a month this summer. I will be working in Narnia with young children and playing flute and clarinet in any services needed. I'm also working on a project to help out young people become more involved in the instrumental worship life of the church. I hope it works.

Why Holden Village? Several people from my church have gone and everyone raves about it. I've never been to the mountains and certainly never been in such a remote location. No phone, TV, and very little internet! It will be a big change from how I live and a challenge to be in the rustic environment. I'm ready! I am enticed by the beauty of the mountains, the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, to have the time and space to simply stop running in circles every day. I am hoping to feel a sense of peace and God's all encompassing love as well as learning to live as a joyful and loving person everyday. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to step back and renew both in mind, body, and spirit.

Peace