i'm a bad friend

ooooh hi! remember me? it's okay if you don't. it's not like i've been posting much...um, or ever.

you know, one of the things about having a blog is the tension of feeling like you need to write in it, while trying to weigh the importance of what you're going to say. or debating if there's anything worth saying.

it's kind of like when you have a friend who lives far away. at first, you regularly call and catch up, and you can chat about everything! you talk about how beautiful today was, or the project going on at work, or the ridiculous thing you overheard in the grocery store. you touch base on the real things too - faith, relationships, emotional well-being. but those things come out of the regular conversation. 

but then, you go a few weeks without talking, and then a few months. and suddenly, that phone call feels like too much. how can you possibly catch your friend up on every single thing that's happened in the last six months? you've been to the grocery store dozens of times and heard multiple ridiculous things! you've gone through cycles of "everything's awesome, everything's awful!" you've heard sermons you loved and sermons you've hated! how can you possibly recap all of those things in a phone conversation! that would be impossible!

so you just don't call at all; there's too much to catch up on to get started now. 

and that's how i've been with this blog. there's too much to catch up on! so i just haven't written a thing. 

so! let's change that!

1) i am officially employed as the summer camp director at ligonier camp. full time employment! a salary! benefits! a house and purpose! a job i love working for a ministry that has changed my life! there's a lot to this that i'm still unpacking and figuring out, but the end result is that i'm blessed.

2) my house is awesome. i mean, it's just material stuff, but um, i love it. my furniture from mcconnellsburg made the move, and i have a great tv on which i'm watching the steelers pound the titans. hines ward just jumped right over a man into the end zone. so there's that!

3) sometimes i'm really lonely, but mostly things are great in the social realm. i have great community; i just need to adjust to the off-season flow of it. 

4) i've been doing a lot of thinking and research into updating website stuff and publishing stuff for camp, which has lead me into the world of looking at macs. so many monies! but i'm ready to have the right tools to do my job. that's part of my personality, i've discovered, and it's one i inherited from my dad. the big question: am i ready to move to macs after growing up PC all the way?

5) some benefits to living in ligonier in the fall include a bounty of wild apples, pawpaws, and the arrival of hunting season. we're livin' off the land! i've made apple crisp, apple chips, and i'm investigating pawpaw recipes. and michele's responsible for "catching" me a deer. 

i mean, i think that'll do for now. my hope is to be more disciplined in writing in here, so you don't just get bulk updates. i'd like to think i have more worthwhile things to say.

Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock

I work! As in, I have a job. Not really news, but did I announce that yet? I'm working a retail job part time now, which is actually pretty great, thus far. I'm still in training, but everyone is quite nice, and I'm meeting new people. Young people! People who aren't in my family or my church!

That is kind of a big deal.

The only (kind of) downside is that I'll probably be working a lot of Saturdays. That's a negative since, for the most part, everyone I know works a job that would give them weekends off; having to work on Saturdays means fewer weekends with my teacher friends. But hey, making money? Worth it.

Anyway, on to other things! I've been listening to some good music lately. For starters, there's the obvious: Arcade Fire's The Suburbs. It's good. I'm no Pitchfork reviewer, but take my word for it and give it a spin. Or a download. Or whatever. And while you're deep in the heart of the iTunes store, you might as well go ahead and pick up Mumford & Sons Sigh No More. It's very Avett Brothers-esque, with lots of traditional folk roots and some great spiritual themes.

And now, an album that I consider to be a well kept secret: Anais Mitchell recently released Hadestown, a folk opera (stay with me) based on the myth of Orpheus. In case that doesn't temp you (I can't imagine why not), I'll sweeten the deal: it features Justin Vernon (Mr. Bon Iver himself), Ani DiFranco, Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem), Greg Brown, and the Haden Triplets. It's beautifully arranged, musically diverse (think soul, rock, folk, traditional American music, and the like), and rife with poverty, romance, fear, betrayal, sacrifice, and speakeasys. Speakeasys, I say! In Mitchell's words, it is "based on the Orpheus myth, and set in a post-apocalyptic American Depression era" Which, for nerds like me...well, what more could you want? And this is the real deal: they stage it and perform it as a show, not just a concept album. It's really quite gorgeous. Do yourself a favor and listen to it. For more info, you can check out the website.

Finally, one last bit of news! My aunt and uncle just gave me my graduation gift: a beautifully restored antique washstand.

It's chestnut. And gorgeous.

It looks a bit out of place in my Ikea furniture filled room, but when I have a place of my own someday, it will have a home that's a bit more fitting, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'm thinking about making a blanket or something to hang on it. Maybe I'll finally put those little granny squares to good use! ...Maybe.

Green Gardens!

Plants. We got 'em. I wouldn't call myself much of a gardener, per se. I mean, I've done my fair share of planting, weeding, irrigating, and picking, what with growing up on my grandparents' farm, but if you asked me to list my passions and interests, I don't think "Gardening" would make the top 10.

That being said, I enjoy fresh picked produce just as much as the next gal, and let me tell ya, there will be plenty of picking to do soon.

My parents planted a lot of stuff in the garden that rests atop a retaining wall running beside the sidewalk. That's where our little strawberry patch resides, and it's also home to a veritable jungle of plum tomato plants now.

I mean, seriously. We're talking about lots of tomatoes. May I remind you that my parents live two counties over now? My house has two people living in it: my brother and me. In two weeks time, I could literally bathe in tomatoes...if, you know, bathing in tomatoes was a thing. Instead, I'll be eating them. And once I've had my fill, I'll be dumping them into our Squeezo (it's like magic, seriously), making gallons of tomato sauce, and canning it.

Other than plum tomatoes, I gave into the awesome trend of planting some heirlooms. The variety we went with are pineapple tomatoes, and they look beautiful. They're yellow and red striped. I've been baby sitting this one for the last couple of days waiting for it to get ripe:

I'm giving it until the end of today, and then it's MINE. I don't know why I'm so impatient. I'll be getting a lot from the harvest in just a little while.

And to conclude tomato fest 2010, we have one cherry tomato plant that is going nuts. I love cherry tomatoes, so I'm down with this development.

We might get a few. You know, one or two.

We're also in the pepper buisness too! We have plenty of red & yellow bell peppers:

...and a veritable bumper crop of cayenne (which I string up to dry for later use) :

We have zucchini:

And cucumbers!

I'm sorry, did I say cucumbers? I meant The Tiniest Cucumbers Ever. Let me add my finger to the photo for the sake of scale.

Also featured in the garden (but not pictured): broccoli, which has mostly run its course (and is now happily living in my freezer), a cilantro plant that's bolted, allowing me to harvest fresh coriander seeds (some of which I've reseeded to grow more cilantro), a basil bush (not exaggerating), and a flippin' viciously invasive mint plant. I hate that thing.

But hey, what's a garden without the pretty?? People love flowers. Obviously this garden should be no exception. And since we Walkers don't do things half way, take a gander at these flowers:

In the lower garden, marigolds and petunias.

A morning glory plant that seems to be fixated on eating my mailbox:

And sunflowers! Glorious, enormous, sunflowers! They line the garden leading to library next door (and yes, I live next to a library. Now do you understand why I'm a nerd?).

There are also some marigolds in that garden, too.

And this year, the sunflowers yielded some really beautiful varieties beyond the usual yellow ones:

Even the honey bees appreciate them.

So there! That's our garden! And the best part of it all? It's pretty low-maintenance, believe it or not. For one thing, the fact that the gardens are between the sidewalk and the retaining wall means that we don't get any pests (bunnies, deer, etc.) munching on our stuff. Furthermore, since my dad is pretty brilliant, we have a drip irrigation system on a programed timer. There's a pump under the porch that keeps all the gardens watered from water we collect in our underground cistern. It's pretty money, frankly.

And now that I've uploaded a million pictures of my produce, I think I'm going to go eat some. And if you want any tomatoes, you know who to call.

I Make Stuff!

Being unemployed (hopefully not for much longer!) gives me a lot of time to do stuff during the day. "What stuff," you may be asking? Well...I'll tell you! I even have some pictures!

For starters, I've been cooking a lot. I don't have any pictures of this stuff, because hey, this isn't a food blog! Plus my camera is lame, and Dad's nice camera lives with him now. But anyway...on to the list of things I've made recently:

- More tiny jar pies (I've been sharing the tiny jar pie wealth...it's a good deal)

- I roasted garlic and made garlic butter and garlic infused oil. I haven't used the oil yet but the butter is UNBELIEVABLE. If you haven't roasted garlic before, please stop reading this and go do it. It's so easy! And so delicious! And if you want guidance, I'd recommend going here.

- Roasted Red Pepper and Black Bean soup. It's cheap, it's spicy, it's filling, it's unbelievable. I found the recipe here, and I made some cilantro yogurt sauce to go with it. Just put a few generous scoops of plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt, 'cause we had it), the juice of half a lemon, and a big 'ole bunch of cilantro in a blender and give it a whirl. You can thank me later.

- Salsa Verde! I love the Trader Joe's kind, but it's not worth the commute to the nearest TJ's. Ken and I have been tweaking our own to get it right, and I think we're close. 

- The easiest, most delicious tomato sauce known to mankind. Three ingredients: tomatoes, butter, and an onion. Give it an hour of simmering and enjoy. If you don't believe me, take Smitten Kitchen's word for it because she knows what's up!

I've been doodling a lot lately, too, which resulted in  a Valentine's Day Comic (which I never got around to sending to anyone...whoops.)

I also found and fell in love with the comic My Cardboard Life which is easily the most charming comic on the internet.

Finally, I have pictures of the room transformation that's been taking place over the last couple of months. I think I can say it's finally finished for reals as of today. 

For starters, here's one of my walls mid-repainting...ahhh I do not miss that pink.

...isn't that pink carpet nice? I don't miss it, either.

I think this brown is a little more...grown up. I'm a fan.

There's the same wall, as of tonight. I hung some of my paintings, put out some little wee candles, and I'm enjoying some good 'ole Ikea furniture. 

But really, all of this is kind of old news. I've been done painting for over a month, I've had my carpet about as long, and the furniture has been here since January as well. What's been occupying my time this week has been painting a design on the wall over my bed, which is FINALLY finished as of today:

Ta da! I'm really quite proud of it. I painted some big abstract flowers on Anna's walls at my parents' new house in Boiling Springs, and I got inspired to do the same on my own wall. And there it is! I'm kind of disappointed that it's all over, because it's been a lot of fun this week, making thumbnails, doing scale drawings, and finally getting to the painting part of it. So if anyone out there wants something painted on their wall...just let me know! I'm all experienced now, so I'll hook you up. 

So that's what I've been making! How about you? Create anything awesome as of late?

Where has the time gone?

It's already February! What in the world? I know I shouldn't be too taken aback at that, but I feel like January flew by in a whirlwind of paint, errands, and cleaning. Lots of cleaning.

My brother and I are alone in the house these days, since the rest of the family migrated to Boiling Springs to be closer to my step-mother's new position as a itinerant teacher for the visually impaired students in the south central part of PA. Anna, the dogs, and our couches got packed up and shipped out at the beginning of January. Since then, I spend most of every day sorting, scrubbing, and otherwise restoring the house to it's proper state.

I started with my own room, attacking the teddy bear border and pepto pink that plagued my walls and carpet since fourth grade. Now I have an accent wall with green, surrounded by a nice warm brown on the other walls. Last Friday I said PEACE to the pink carpet and in came some nice beige carpet as a replacement.

So that's the work I've been doing...other than that? God is blessing this time over and over again. For one thing, I'm kept pretty busy between cleaning, hanging out with my family, seeing friends who are close by, Community Chorus, church choir, and helping my dad with the musical set. But even more than that, I'm in awe of how much the Lord has been making his presence known. I feel so in touch with Him right now, which is such a relief. I'm at peace with where I am, and I'm enjoying the work that I'm doing.

I'll have to take some pictures of my room, my house, and some of the other projects I've been up to. Included on the list of stuff I've been doing? On Monday I made some jar pies for my brother and me. What's a jar pie? Well, you can go here to see what inspired me, and later I promise I'll take pictures of the ones I'm making and post them. They just didn't quite last long enough for me to take pictures last time!

A Very Handmade Christmas

Merry Christmas! Or, more accurately, Happy Boxing Day! And if you really want to get personal, Happy Half-Birthday to ME!

Christmas this year was wonderfully low-key. My favorite gift by far was the simple gift of my brother and dad removing the exercise machine that took up about a quarter of my room. They also helped me move in my desk and bookshelf, a task I couldn't do by myself.

Other highlights? Anna's gift to Ken and I of matching mini notebooks complete with golden retriever puppies on the cover, an Espresso machine from Ken (who may have purchased it mostly just to use it himself, but hey, I'm not about to complain), a beautiful scarf from Tanzania that my uncle brought back after a mission trip, and the tiniest bottle of Chambord (airplane size!) you've ever seen from Aunt Karen. It's adorable. Aunt Karen has mastered the art of stocking stuffers by stuffing them with the most useful things: chapstick, mini Tide pens, tissues, mini lint rollers, and - since my 21st birthday - wee liquor bottles. It's awesome.

As far as gifts I gave? I'll share a few:

I made a pair of fingerless glove/mittens for Ken




a scarf for Aunt Karen





and another scarf for ...someone. Not telling who, since I haven't given it yet.




So that's that! Also, since I've been home, I'm making full use of my Dad's super fancy digital camera. So that's why I've had all the pictures lately. It's fun! And what a blessing to be home right now -- I've spent all of my time with  my family and it's terrific. I love them very much.

Oh, Hi!

My name is Stef Walker, and I'm a college graduate.

I think?

We got mega snow here in PA this weekend...so much so that I drove home on Friday night and missed my graduation ceremony at Kutztown on Saturday. I was a little bummed about it at first, but after the skies stopped dumping the 11+ inches of snow on my hometown, I got over it. Wanna see what I mean?












Of course, Anna, Ken, and I had to play in it. Anna's flinching because Ken had an entire shovel-full of snow he was about to throw on her.

SO. What's next, you may be asking (you and everyone else I know...sheesh)? I cleaned my room BIG TIME on Saturday, and I'll be doing the same thing to my entire house over the next few months. I'll be substitute teaching and painting and sorting and helping my family move into their new house. I'll be knitting and crocheting like cuh-ray-zay because I acquired an incredible boon of beautiful 100% wool yarn for FREE from a company that went out of buisness in Reading, PA. You want to see that too? Oh, Okay.





Other plans for the next six months? I'll be hanging out with my brother and my grandparents. I'll probably still spend my weekends going places and doing crazy things. And I'll be looking for like, you know, a real job too. So if you hear about any of those anywhere -- let me know.

But other than that, life is excellent! And preparation for the Christmas season is in full swing. Today? Cookie baking and shopping. Good stuff :)

Sick day...

Ugh. I'm home sick today with a cough and some of that "general malaise" that comes with a cold. I don't think it's anything more serious than that, but I figured I'd better rest up instead of spread it around at school to my babies.

Speaking of my babies, they're wonderful. Really, they are. I'm teaching high school kids now, and they're...lots of things. Funny, endearing, ridiculous, lazy, surprising, and sometimes a little crazy. I taught them how to crochet, a task which they picked up (well, most of them) with incredible speed and talent. They're like little iPod cozy and hacky sack factories now!

Yesterday I had the blessing of being able to just sit and chat with one of my students for a class period. I had a prep period and was grading some projects while my co-op worked on some things in another room. One of our students came to the classroom during her study hall to work on her crochet (she's making a beret, and she's pretty much an all-star) and I got to just listen to her tell me about her family, her hopes for the future, and her faith. Like....tada! Here it is! I use the word blessing to describe that, because it really was. I'm so honored that she wanted to share that with me, and furthermore, that I would even get that experience while student teaching is just so amazing to me. It reminds me that teachers are more than people who hand out knowledge. I want to know my students, not just teach them.

So other than that, life is going well. It's moving quickly, too. I'm graduating in 2 weeks from Saturday, my senior art show opens this Sunday, and I'm finishing up the last of my homework this week.

And Thanksgiving? It was wonderful. I much-needed break to spend with my family and start to sort out some of that future stuff. While there's still much uncertainty about where I'm going to be, I think some of the pieces are starting to fall into place. And I'm content with that much.

I'm kind of failing at this, aren't I?

Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about that! I think about writing, but then I go and do something else, like write a lesson plan or something crazy like that.

Student teaching is flying by! I'm finishing up with my first placement this week. In fact, because it's a six-day cycle, I'm saying goodbyes all week to my students. It's pretty sad. I've been given drawings, cards, hugs, and even a round of applause from my students...in addition to a lot of other less tangible lessons. They're crazy, their lives are impossibly hard, but they're so sweet and they work so hard! Well...most of them do. I'm feeling sentimental, so I'm being a bit generous.

Other than teaching, my life is pretty normal...I went home last weekend and went to see Where the Wild Things Are with Ken, HS Beth and Anna. It was, um, kind of a downer. I mean, it was beautiful and well done, toed the line between sweetly heartbreaking and devastatingly painful. There's kind of a sinister thread that runs through the whole thing, with each wild, childlike scene reminding you of how cruel and broken childhood can be. By the end HS Beth and I were both tearing up while my sister tapped me and saying "WHY IS THE MONSTER CRYING???" I wanted to answer her with "Because life is awful and broken and relationships are impossibly complicated!" but I settled for "Because...um...because he's sad." Or something.

This Saturday I'm going with the Thayers to visit Whit, and I'm going to Virginia next weekend...so things are picking up! And starting next Monday I make the switch from poor, Hispanic, elementary school to rich, white, high school. So that should be interesting for sure...

What Will Stay?

I feel like I must update this more when I'm at home than any other time! Well, maybe it just feels that way because I've been so busy lately. A short update:

I moved to Lancatser last weekend and got started with my student teaching on Wednesday. The kids are adorable! I'm in Lebanon at an elementary school where the kids are primarily Hispanic and totally cute. Seriously, the first graders melted my heart a little. Sadly, the school has struggled to make AYP with their test scores for the last several years, and they've cut the art program to the point where I only see each class once every 6 days for a grand total of 30 minutes. Imagine trying to teach anything to a group of 8 year olds in 30 minutes, let alone the prep/clean up that's required for an art class! But it's a challenge I'm excited to face. My co-op is great, and even though it's kind of a long commute (around an hour each way), the time in the car is good time to mentally prepare for the day and to debrief when it's all over.

I had a four day weekend this weekend, which seemed a little silly, but it'll be a good way to ease into the student teaching. Yesterday, I had lunch with Amanda in Lancaster and then drove home through some holiday traffic.

So now I'm home. For a lot of reasons, being home right now is really good and really hard. There are some potential changes happening in my family that will be great in the long term, but are hard to process today. I'm sorry for being vague; nothing bad is happening or going on...just some thoughts my parents have been having about THE FUTURE. Good thoughts, but still...change is hard.

And today is hard. It's been 15 years since my mom passed away, as of today. For that reason, home is where I need to be today. I'm able to spend time remembering in the right context...but that somehow makes it more difficult. Walking around my house and being in places where my mom used to be...well, it's just hard to comprehend sometimes. And 15 years? That's a lot, too. I can't really believe I've lived this much of my life without her..and yet, it seems only natural, too. What else have I known? But even though today is painful, it is good to spend time remembering.

Memorials

Well, I'm in the home stretch before it's time for camp...I head out on Friday, which means I need to spend this week organizing and packing up my stuff for the summer. It's hard to believe it's already time for this; I feel like last summer just ended! But on the other hand, I'm getting almost giddy with excitement...Friday can't come soon enough!

So today is Memorial Day. Yesterday in church we had a supply pastor filling the pulpit because our pastor is continuing education in Georgia or something. And yesterday had two possible directions it could've gone in: Ascension Day or Memorial Day. We went the Memorial Day route.

Ugh.

I'll clarify the "ugh." I put a lot of stock in Memorial Day. I have a lot of important people to remember today. I'll go visit a grave, I'll take flowers, I'll remember my loved ones. I know that, traditionally, this day is meant to honor veterans and their sacrifice for our country - I'm fine with that too. It's important to remember the cost of war (though I think it's quite telling of our culture that we find it so easy to forget that cost - casualties from both sides, that is). Here's where Memorial Day get's mucky for me: when it becomes GOD BLESS AMERICA (AND NO WHERE ELSE) Day.

The pastor who preached yesterday didn't really hammer that point home, for which I'm grateful. However, he spent little to no time discussing scripture and a whole lot of time talking about remembering the cost of freedom. You want to talk about that? Fine! But don't do it from the pulpit. God's heart breaks for our lost ones as much as it breaks for the soldiers on the other side of the line. We're not a country executing vigilante justice, or the swift hand of our angry God. We're a nation of broken people, who ask for God's blessing because of our brokenness. Not because of our awesomeness. So when we spend our Sundays contemplating how our nation is out there "puttin' a boot in the ass" of terror, I think we're focusing on the wrong thing.

We should ask God to bless America because we, like all people, need God's blessing. Not because we're the only country in this world who's finally got it right. Because...well, we haven't.


ANYWAY. I'm probably preaching to the choir on that one, but whatever. Now I'm going to go enjoy my Memorial Day! I have loved ones to remember, and loved ones to be with. I hope you can do the same :)

Post-California & New Adventures

California was beautiful!!!! And I had a wonderful time meeting Lisa's friends and seeing her school, her coffee shop (what a weird thing to say is "hers" but she spends a ton of time there...you know how it is), and her church. I love seeing where my friends live, especially when they're far away. It's fun to know their context and being able to match names to faces and locations to images.

Speaking of images, here are some pictures!



This is a view from Pepperdine University. That campus was...incredible. Hello, ocean!



Malibu! There's a man in the bottom left hand corner who looks like he's showing off his butt, but I don't think he is...



Sunset from the Santa Monica Pier



The Getty! A sweet museum with beautiful gardens, a nice collection, and no contemporary art! (We asked to make sure we hadn't missed it.)



One of the many fountains at the Getty



Flower trees from the Getty gardens



Tourism! I made Lisa take me down to the Chinese Theater. We were in Hollywood anyway for church, but this photo proves I'm still a tourist.



Fun!

Anyway, today I'm just relaxing at home. I have some fun stuff going on tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday. And on Friday High School Beth and I are going to catch a movie and hang out, which will be a nice time. And a week from Friday? Helloooooo CAMP!

Home, Sweet Home

Well...it's true. I'm finally home. Actually, I've been here since Wednesday...I've just been busy doing lots of fun things like cleaning my room, hanging out with my family, and helping my 8-year-old sister clean HER room. Which was a disaster...the room, not the cleaning. The cleaning was a success! Hopefully she'll start to learn how to keep it that way, lest it devolve into the wreck it was before Saturday.

I'm home tomorrow still, and then on Tuesday I'm driving down to Galena, MD to hang out with Mr. & Mrs. Thayer (love them!!) for the night. Then Wendesday morning...I fly! And around noon California time, I'll be hanging out with Lisa!

I also heard from a friend of mine from high school who's been living in LA since we graduated. I haven't seen him since high school, but we might try to catch up while I'm out there. It's strange how someone can go from being in your life every day to...well, not at all.

I've been thinking about that a little with Kutztown lately...next semester isn't going to look like this one at all. I'll be living with CB (yesss) which will be a lot of fun...and if I weren't living with her, I'd probably be dreding next semester entirely. But there will be a lot of my friends from this year whom I will pretty much never see. And that's a little bit of a bummer.

And speaking of school - I had a nightmare last night where I failed one of my classes and was trying to beg my painting professor to change my grade. Ugh, I work up anxious about it. And while I know I don't have anything to worry about...well, it made me worry. Not that I usually need much encouragement in that department...

Anyway, I'm going to bed! And tomorrow I'm packing and probably running a few errands. I have a car full of stuff to take to Goodwill, and a few things I need to buy for my trip. WOO California!

CCO and Chorus Concerts

What a beautiful Sunday! It was so nice at home - sunny, warm, breezy...just a perfect spring morning and afternoon.

I went home after my day sitting in on CCO training on Friday. My interview went well and the day was pretty fun. I didn't know that Tiffany Okel would be there, so it was pleasant surprise to know someone else who was there as a perspective staff member! It would've been a little awkward, otherwise. Though there are a lot of Ligonier people who are involved with the CCO, so I actually saw quite a few familiar faces.

The whole CCO thing is pretty crazy to me right now. I'm excited, apprehensive, nervous, and curious all at once. There are lots of thoughts swirling around in my head about all of this, but what I keep coming back to is the fact that the Lord will put me where He wants me. I'm not sure where that calling is right now - as an art teacher or as an employee of the CCO, or as something else all together - but I know I'll end up there in time.

I had some really good conversations with my parents over the weekend about the CCO stuff. They're pretty supportive of me in this, which is important to me. It's good to know that they're backing me up, even though it might seem like I'm doing something a little crazy.

Anyway, the weekend at home was great! I went to a community chorus concert last night in my high school's chapel. I googled it to find this ridiculously beautiful picture that I did not take (it's just as beautiful inside, believe me):



The Mercersburg Area Community Chorus is directed by my great uncle, and is made up of around 100 area musicians who do Christmas and springtime concerts. Not only is my uncle the director, but my dad, grandma, and other uncle all sing in it, while my aunt plays the bassoon. And there are about 5 or 6 other people from my church or high school that are involved as well. So beyond my familial obligation to attend, it's beautiful music! Incredible, really. Last night they performed Ralph Vaughn Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and the orchestra was just breathtaking. Do I sound like a nerd? I am one. Sorry for waxing rhapsodic about this, but it's pretty cool to see my family do something so awesome.

Today was great too: church, lunch with the family, a little baking, and then a nice drive back to school. The weather is supposed to become chilly and rainy overnight, but the weekend was so beautiful that I don't really mind :)