And Then I found a Kitten!

Hi all,

See? An actual kitten. Who is now named Cooper. Since Schmee drives one and I work in a Co-op, we found it fitting. We spent the morning of the 4th weeding. I was in the vegetable garden with our house, and Schmee was in the seed garden. I'd taken a break after an hour to go get my forgotten hat, and also to pick up water for everyone - so I'd taken the car back down. As we were driving back, we saw a mother cat drop her kitten on the dirt road and run. So we went out to look.

The kitten is a fluffball, but obviously past the age that it should be having it's eyes open at...which they weren't. This equaled a moral quandary for us...because if we didn't take the kitten home, it was doubtful it would get better. So, we did. After many phone calls to many houses (it apparently takes a village to raise a kitten as well!), we got some good advice on cleaning it's eyes (which popped open, only to get gunked up again after it sleeps...sometimes giving it a pirate-look) and also made a formula for it, as best we could.

Anyhow, it's squeaking, so I need to go feed it..again. Dropperful at a time. Vet visit tomorrow to see what kind of sneezels it has, and to confirm the sex maybe...
Hope all is well,
Steph

Buttermilk Banana Pancakes!

Hi all,

Obviously I'm well aware it's been over 3 months since my last post, and to be honest, at least 6 months since my last post of any interest. Not that my life has gotten any less riveting, I assure you, but responsibility and friends tend to eat up your life. The village hasn't gotten any smaller, and ripples of excitement still flood our pond of existence, but I find myself a little removed and part of the bigger picture now.

So, where exactly am I at?

In a week Schmee will be leaving to go home (fortunately only 1.5 hours away) for the next few months to be on jury duty and then move to New Hampshire for grad school. Baker will remain in the house until the middle-end of September. I really have no idea what I'm doing yet - I've asked to stay another year, but only in a position of really supporting the co-op. There's not really a precedent for this: I'd be attached to a house and still be a volunteer, but have evenings for studying for the GRE and looking for grad schools. So there have been many meetings and I'm hoping to hear soon. I'll be out of my house by August 1st, when one of the new house team members moves in. Not sure where I'd be going yet. We'll see.

I went on vacation at the beginning of June. It was very low-key, family-oriented and busy. Saw my one of my cousins, volunteered/rode at the barn, made a German feast, shopped, went to my brother's college graduation - and had him move only 40 minutes away for the summer!, played cards and saw lots of other family. It was a good trip, if a little short.

I have still been working in the glass shop once a week and loving jumping into new projects. New co-workers have been arriving - but none for the co-op yet. This also means others are leaving...a bittersweet experience. Calvin leaves next week, which just seems surreal to me. We have acquired two young staff kids (10ish?) at the co-op. One is doing a lot of errands and the other comes in 2 afternoons a week to clean. The one in the morning is full of the dickens, and must be kept occupied every second or mild chaos can ensue. Good kids though.

We're also starting our switch to the electronic point of sales system (ie, barcode scanning into computer instead of writing items in a book). Not sure if this will complicate or simplify things, but the answer for the short-run is obvious.

Anyhow, about that Buttermilk Banana Pancake recipe: it started with a base recipe from Deborah Madison's cookbook, but I then modified it.

Steph's Buttermilk Banana Pancakes                                           Serves 6

Combine and set aside for at least 10 minutes:
(Buttermilk Mixture)
2 c. milk
1 c. yogurt (or milk, if none available)
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

In a separate bowl combine:
1 1/2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. oat (or any other) flour
4 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Nutmeg (opt)
4 TBSP sugar (opt)

Combine in a second bowl:
5 eggs, beaten
1 mashed banana (option, but very recommended!!!)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 TBSP oil or melted butter
Add "Buttermilk Mixture"

Optional: Berries or chocolate chips

Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat sparingly, until just mixed with no large lumps.
Cook over medium-low heat (gas stove, cast iron pans...otherwise, your best guess, but lower is better) in oiled pans. Pour batter onto pan and sprinkle with optional item (berries or choc. chips), when small bubbles begin to form around edges, or steaming occurs, flip pancake. May lift edge to "peek" to see if done - a light golden brown is desirable. Cook until batter is cooked through - will be moist due to bananas.

Enjoy!

Hope all is well,
Steph

Iced In

Hi all,

So, last Sunday evening we had a nice huge ice storm that Schmee and I got to drive home in from her parent's house. Trees were so weighted down with ice that several came down low enough to hit the car, one was even swaying back in forth in the lane and we had to dodge it in a maneuver vaguely reminiscent of a video racing game. We made it home shortly after 11, and I was just going to bed when the power flickered several times and went out. Starting around noon the next day, we got a generator, which was our only source of power until about 5:00 Wednesday evening.

So, that was an adventure. I was worried constantly about the Co-op. Apparently we used to have a generator strong enough to run the fridge and freezers, but last time a house's generator broke and so it went to the house. But they never got a new one....so the whole time I was freaking out that we'd lose a couple thousand dollars worth of food. So that was a huge relief that temps stayed OK. Not ideal, but ok to prevent food spoilage. We also had to cancel the Carnival celebration, as there weren't enough generators/good enough planning to heat the hall. :  (

We had moments of humor waiting for power, Schmee had some good quotes from both then and the previous week. The previous week, during cooking for a villager's birthday, she asked if we couldn't just bake the hamburgers. Apparently my face gave her the answer. A few days ago she asked "How do we give the cat a bath? You know, for when she gets really dirty..." Have I mentioned that she's only ever had a dog? She carts the cat around (who mostly tolerates it), and treats it pretty much like a dog, but she's learning - one bite at a time... That was a fun conversation, though.

We also had a profoundly sad moment. A special co-worker (son of a longterm coworker who never left the community, he'd been here for over 30 years...), passed away completely unexpectedly...apparently a aorta aneurysm. Obviously it's a huge blow for the community, and devastating for his mother. We'll all be attending the funeral tomorrow.

Anyhow, I think that's about it for now.

Hope all is well,
Steph

Stay On the Sunny Side

Hi all,

So as I sat on the train to NYC yesterday (drying out from the downpour that kept me hydroplaning on the way to the station), the thought arose "This could be the biggest interview of my life", followed by "I sure hope not!". Because, honestly, I hope that I'll never have to look back and be able to find a single moment that is able to define my entire life. Sure, if I get the JET position I'll definitely walk a much different path then if I don't. But, if it's meant to be, it's the only path I can be on. I'm honestly at a very good point of equilibrium, if I get this position, I think I could be up for a great new challenge. If I don't, there's obviously a different place that I'll just have to find my way to.

After a minute of misdirection, (and one of the grossest bathroom changing experiences Grand Central could offer), I was able to find my way to the cleverly hidden Japan Embassy on Park Ave. I was greeted at the desk where I became I67, led upstairs with a guard escort in a group, walked through a metal detector, handed back my penny, met some recent JET returns, listened to some very hyped-up other interviewees and fought a minute of inferiority. Both JET returnees insisted that you didn't have to know Japanese, but both had some. One of the guys had been there before and became smug, while the other whitened a shade and desperately looked for an in for the conversation. I had a moment, but I realized that I was there and had represented myself honestly, and was good enough so far. I went in, shook hands, and was utterly me. I gave an honest account of my experiences and opinions on why I wanted to go, and got to demonstrate my horrible drawing skills. Not the brightest moment, but it was still fine. When I found myself back in the lobby I wasn't terribly relieved, except that now I've done all that I can. They seem to know what they're looking for, and hopefully they'll be interested in what I have to offer.

Now I get to sit and wait.

For 6 weeks.

On the bright side, I'll probably catch up with seminar soon. Hopefully. It was a busy week. Monday found me balancing a garage door (light, pull down) on my shoulder, with a 70+ villager hanging off the handle. "Dolly" lives in my house, and is the doll that her name implies...she's got a great sense of humor but is always into something (getting up early doing harmless things like denuding a dying houseplant to the not-so-harmless putting a ribbon around the cat's neck and locking her in the bathroom. When another villager commented that Dolly had been up since 5 and we asked how she knew she answered that she'd come downstairs to use the bathroom. Why? Because the cat was shut in the upstairs bathroom. Now that we've discussed that there's no litter tray and we'd rather not have a repeat of the kitty poop in the sink incident, this may stop. We hope. Anyhow...story). She has a thing about closing doors, which is limited to 1 in the house. Apparently she always closes the neighbor's garage door. This isn't very safe as she has to walk on the icy path by their car, plus she's been requested not to do it. This was the first I'd heard of it...so I picked my battle. She came back after her first attempt, but I stoically held my ground and repeated it was time to go to work and no, this wasn't our door to close. She went away a bit weepy, but was consoled by her friend.

When I returned home from lunch, she seemed to be in fine spirits. Wanting to make sure that she knew this wasn't personal, I asked "Are we ok about that door?"

Dolly leaned over, with a glint in her eye and said "Yes...I closed it! Heh heh heh" She cackled.
She got it on the way home.

It's a start.

She really keeps us smiling though, so it's easy not to take it personally.

 I walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders (she's a hugger and very affectionate), and she suddenly proclaimed "Don't undress me!" And then burst into laughter...

What can you say to that?

Anyhow, a villager passed away this week. It was an interesting experience. I didn't know this one, (which is surprising, but they were sick for a long time since before I even came to the village). It wasn't a big surprise, and the end came painlessly. But a loss is always felt throughout the whole community, and I attended the funeral with Schmee and the house today because it felt like the right thing to do and to support the house. The funeral wasn't what I expected, but the music was beautiful and carried a sense of peace.

This week had quite a few ups and downs. Lots of nightmares filled with death and stressful situations, but also wonderful experiences. We were having dinner Thursday night and the phone rang. This is annoying, since no one is supposed to call during meals (although we'd been interrupted at breakfast and resthour that day, so it was becoming a trend. Baker answered it, and when I asked who it was he whispered the name. I wanted to know which one, since we have 2 in the village, albeit with a great height difference, so I pantomimed the question. Short or taller? He shook his head and gestured REALLY tall..."Don't be silly, that one is in Germany!"

Nope, he wasn't.

"HE NEVER SAID GOODBYE!"...yes, he did hear that on the phone.

I also said it again when he came to our living room and flung myself at him for a hug. His response?

"Well, I didn't say hello yet either..."

Smartass.

Anyhow, it was wonderful and unexpected to see him. But disappointing, because he'd come over to get a ride from Baker to go back to NYC that evening. BUT, he was in town until Monday, so I got to make plans for after my interview to get together for dinner.

So, after my interview (and another gross Grand Central bathroom-changing experience) we met up. I put him in charge of navigation and we went to Chinatown/Little Italy and walked around talking until we found a place. It was pretty authentic...forks were not provided, and Dusty laughed at my feeble chopsticks attempt. Something I'd work on if I get accepted by JET. Anyhow, I was the one laughing when he realized that the panfried noodles were going to prove a big challenge.

We managed.

So, that was such a nice surprise. This year is kind of a dud. We have a TON of couples, and we don't have an "organizer" like last year. Also, everyone isn't anywhere close to 21,  which limits our after-nine activities. It's much more cliquish. I think that part of the problem is that an American could step up and organize things, but we're all pretty over-committed and simply don't have the time. (Or possibly patience). Anyhow, it's late and I need my sleep. I took a later train back last night, and it took me an hour to get home, as the rain had turned to snow and ice. Most of the roads were fine, but I was (gratefully) behind 2 snow plows, and the last few miles were actually quite bad. But I made it.

And now I need sleep.
So, hope all is well,
Steph

PS. Might've watched "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" tonight with Schmee...