Mietzke's Holden Adventure

Grandpa

noreply@blogspirit.com (Mietzkes) — Wed, 7 May 2008 18:50:00 -0700

Down lake was so beautiful! The hills are greening up and all of the fruit trees are in bloom. I worked at the B&B a little on Tuesday I ran errands and did some cleaning and weeding. I had gone out to be available to the kids by phone because their school is on a week long field trip. I called them on Tuesday night and Nyrie said HI Mom, I love you but I am missing all of the fun so is it ok of I go now? I think that was my cue that they are going to be fine. There were many giggles in the background so I decided to come back to Holden Village. Before we left someone asked Jordyn if she was nervous about the field trip and she said " I am fine, but my Mom is having a hard time." It is true...letting go is hard. They are so grown up it feels like yesterday that they were babies and needed me for everything. It is really great to see how confident and self assured they both are. I am really proud of them, and I am excited to hear about their adventures.
Yesterday was the anniversary of my grandfathers death. All week I have been flooded with memories of him, and I have had this ache in my chest from missing him. I got to talk to my grandma on the phone. My Mom and Dad, Bob and Jeanne were with her but It is still a difficult time.

The swallows

noreply@blogspirit.com (Mietzkes) — Tue, 6 May 2008 08:18:19 -0700

The swallows are dipping and gliding
blue white and grey in the sky
They swoop and flutter almost colliding
then drop like stones
only to catch themselves at the last minute
with quick wing bursts
rising skywards in twists and turns
defying gravity
They fly a silent flight
Their wings cutting through the air with such precision
Then each let out a cry
As if in ecstasy
They are not bound to the earth
but toy with the earthbound notion
landing momentarily
Springs call does not easily lend itself to stillness
The swallows can hardly help themselves
after a moments pause they glide forth
Breaking the earthly connection
To commune with the breeze
Living freedom in death defying feats
Flickering and fluttering
Pausing on the brink of chaos
Only to catch themselves
Then fly again

The Sunday Sun

noreply@blogspirit.com (Mietzkes) — Tue, 6 May 2008 08:15:00 -0700

The sun came out today and was gloriously warm and bright. The Holden staff gathered in droves near the ark. Musicians brought their instruments and painters, their paint. There were people playing cards and knitting and just lounging. All of the village kids were playing in the drainage ditches making dams for the melting snow water and then breaking them apart to watch the water run down. It got warm enough for them to wear bathing suits and they were all covered in mud and smiles! Lunch was also eaten outside and the sound of running water surrounded us along with laughter and bird chatter.
Dave’s sister and her family are up with a youth group for the May youth weekend along with Dave's daughter Rachel. My nephew Alex and my niece Hiwot are playing with the girls. Nyrie has set up her tent in the square and is having a party with her dolls and throwing snowballs at Cable. It just feels so magical out here. There is bear white skin hungry for light and many of us came away from the day with pink arms and legs and faces.
The birds are amazing. There are so many of them dipping and gliding, pulling worms out of the ground and building nests. They are busy and insistent. We have two humming bird feeders on our porch and the humming birds are so loud. Their wings make a whirring sound and they fly quickly across the porch pausing for a sip and then are off again. Yesterday I ran out of sugar water in the feeders and a little humming bird kept returning and hovering around my head trying to let me know that yes indeed it was time to put more out. He was so persistent that I finally gave in. I am a sucker for hummingbirds, what can I say. The chipmunks and squirrels are also our in droves sneaking around trying to get a taste of today’s lunches off of people’s plates. They are so darn cute and fun to watch. Sometimes they are a bit too daring.
The smell of damp warm earth is so strong it makes me want to be digging and planting. It is so nice to sit here taking it all in listening to the playful banter and reveling in this beautiful creation! The May youth weekend kids just got out of their session and are out enjoying their freedom. They seem to be having a really good time at Holden and I have been really impressed at the organization put into the programming! They seem to have just enough activity and free time to keep kids out of trouble which is nice!
Dave and Hiwot and I hiked out to ten mile falls this afternoon. The snow is really slick and we had to be careful in the woods not to step in pockets around the trees and rocks. Hiwot lost her shoe in a hole while walking near the river. We had to stop and find it under the snow before she could put it back on. I can’t believe how much the trail has changed already and how much snow has melted just within the last few days. There are whole sections where we were walking on bear ground! Hiwot was a good hiker and we made good time as well as being able to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall. It was really fun to get time with her.
We had fun hanging out as a family and playing games for Alex’s birthday. I actually made a cake which is not something I normally would do. Then we played Apples to Apples. It was a nice way to end a really good day!

Bus Driving

noreply@blogspirit.com (Mietzkes) — Sat, 3 May 2008 12:01:21 -0700

I just got home from a week of bus driver training, and am now a commercial driver. I got my Class B license with a passenger and school bus endorsement. I had a LOT of fun driving the busses down lake and I am sure it will be fun to drive the busses up here.
As well as having a good time in the actual course I also had a nice week in Chelan and Wenatchee. We ate lunch every day at a taco truck that was excellent and a great value (across from the Stihl saw shop on Woodin Ave.) Ang was down for Monday and Tuesday, so we went out on a real date just the two of us on Tuesday night. It was great we drove all over Wenatchee looking for the movie theater; finally we got fed up with trying to find it and just went to dinner. We had thoroughly mediocre barbeque but it was just fine we were enjoying each others’ company enough to make up for the food. The next evening after driving Erik and I went down to Wenatchee to run some errands and have dinner. We had dinner at one of the places he had told Ang and me about; I wish we had found it the night before, it was great. I had a great time with Erik too.
On top of the bus driving we were trying to help get the B&B ready for summer visitors. We never would have made it if Nick and Ang hadn’t been there working on it while we were driving.
At the end of the week Daniel, one of my best friends up here left for a month out at his home. Daniel nailed the driving portion of the test, he had no errors at all. I had a lot of fun hanging out with him all week, and trying to talk him into bringing his boat back with him from Minnesota. No luck though, he decided that it would be just too much work to get his boat ready and out here.
All in all it was a great week, a lot of work, but so nice to be down in the spring weather. It was also pretty amazing how the much snow had gone down at the village on our return. There are huge patches of exposed ground now. Spring is finally springing.

Driving from Ocean Wet to Mountain Dry

noreply@blogspirit.com (Mietzkes) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:55:00 -0700

It is Monday evening and I am out of the village for a few days to go to a doctor’s appointment for my ears. I have not been able to hear very well since I got sick in March and my ears have been painful. So, anyway I am staying at the Holden B&B and helping to prepare for the opening on Friday for the beginning of the May Youth Weekend. Dave is also out for the bus driver training course and the kids stayed in the village with our friend Gail who is our adopted village grandma.
I came down on the boat on Sunday and drove to Seattle to say good bye to our friends Keith, Karen, and Lyla who are moving to San Diego on Wednesday. The drive was amazing! The sun was shining most of the way and it is so springy and beautiful down here! There were flowers everywhere in Seattle and the trees are that brilliant bright spring green. It was such a nice drive! I was just relaxed and quiet most of the way taking in the colors and being amazed at every turn by the beauty of the mountains and the difference driving over a pass makes in climate.
I got into Seattle around 7:30 catching the tail end of the going away party. It was so good to be with Keith, Karen, and Lyla. Keith and I stayed up late chatting and hanging out. It was really great to be with him and to hear about the new adventure that lies ahead of them. Lyla came and woke me up at about 6:30 in the morning. She climbed in my sleeping bag to snuggle and told me stories and we played and sang songs until 7:00. It is good to be three and ridiculously cute! Then Karen and I took Lyla to her school and Karen and I got great time together at a coffee shop in Wallingford. We spent the morning hanging out talking and running around Seattle. It was so good to be with all of them. It doesn’t seem real that they are leaving.
Seattle was in full bloom. The tulips were out and all of the fruit trees were in full bloom. The sun was out and dew was sparkling on the lawns. Sometimes I forget just how beautiful it is on the west side of the mountains. It felt like home and it felt really good to go back even if it was a short visit. I headed back over the mountains at 11:30 and drove over Snoqualmie pass and again was astounded at spring coming to life everywhere. On the other side of the pass where the earth is red and orange and grey rocks push upwards through fir and pine wild flowers are blooming up to the edge of the melting snow in yellows reds white and purple. I stopped my car several times to take pictures. The contrast of the wet Seattle spring and the dry mountain spring surprised me. One is home, it is known, and the other one becoming sacred to my heart as I experience it for the first time.
I arrived at the B&B at three and started to work straight away clearing winter from the flower beds. It felt so good to work the soil in the sunshine! There are several people down here from the village doing the bus training with Dave and so arriving at the B&B is a little like arriving home. We all had a nice dinner of bratwurst with a sung blessing and collective clean up. Then Dave and I went for a walk at dusk holding hands and walking along the road near the lake. It was a beautiful night for a walk, and if felt like a luxury to be together like this.
It is time for bed now and I keep wondering how the girls are doing. I bet they are having a lot of fun with Gail! I get to missing them though.