The Labyrinth

About a mile west of Holden Village proper lies the "Ballpark." The "ballpark" has been called the ballpark since the 1940's when Holden was a mining town. During the summer the miners played baseball there every Saturday. Sometimes they even had teams from others towns come in for a little competition. Great village picnics were held there too. The Fourth of July and Labor Day were big celebrations in those days with all the families turning out for food, games, and celebration.

Once in a great while the Holden Villagers even play ball there--except it is usually soccer, not baseball. Mostly though it is just a large open area to pass through on the way to the wilderness trail head for back country hikes to Hart Lake, Holden Lake, Lyman Lake and many other hiking areas. However several years ago some former directors built a labyrinth at one end of the ballpark. (Never fear, there is still room to play ball of any kind).

The labyrinth is a popular place for some people to go. It is a long labyrinth and takes awhile to completely walk it. The path is made out of wood chips and lined with rocks. A yellow rope outlines the perimeter of it. Right now the rope and the sticks that hold the rope are suffering from the heavy snow that laid on it all winter. The grass is barely starting to grow again and the flowers (which would be considered weeds anywhere else) are stiff and brown. During the summer wild flowers and grasses grow in the areas between the paths. By mid summer the growth is knee high in some places so you have to be at the perimeter to see the path.

Yesterday afternoon Wanda and I rode our bikes out to the ballpark and walked the path of the labyrinth. Being out of shape as I am, it was very tiring, but it was good for the soul. We then walked over to the firepit and sat and talked and rested for awhile. From this point you can see into the woods surrounding the area and hear the rushing water of Railroad Creek. I could have spent more time there but pizza was on the menu for supper, so we biked back to the village in time to partake of that.

Miscellaneous Stuff

I haven't updated my blog for awhile, so here goes....
I left the village for a week on May 14th and flew to Texas to visit family and friends. I had a nice visit there with several friends. Eileen Larsen was good enough to make two trips to DFW airport to pick me up and take me back. Thanks, Eileen.
And Chris McClure did the same for me in Seattle to Sea-Tac and back. Thanks Chris.
When I got back to Seattle, Chris and friends, Ramona, Becky, Jan and Wanda, had a luncheon at Ramona and Becky's home. It was wonderful!
I came back to a drizzly Holden Village and still haven't caught up on all the work that piled up while I was gone. But I will (hopefully) this next week.
The snow is practically all gone, the window screens are up, the flowers are blooming and the wildlife is back. It amazes me how the deer just roam the village and are not afraid of people. There have been a few bear sightings along the road too, and of course the little chipmunks are as pesty as ever.
This afternoon I am going for a bike ride. I just hope I remember how after the long winter hibernation.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Gail

Downsizing

For the last seven or eight years I have been on a mission to downsize my possessions, to have a simpler existence without all the "stuff" I have in my house. At home I have garage sales usually once a year and get rid of some things I have decided I can live without. However I still find myself having more than I need. I am tempted by store displays, catalogs, garage sales, etc. I am not an obsessive consumer by any means, but little things tend to catch my eye when I am out and about.
Living at Holden for the last two years has been a lesson in how much "stuff" I don't need. I have been living in one room with a minimum of possessions and have discovered how easy it is to get along without a lot of things. I don't buy books anymore, but get them through the mail order library in Wenatchee. I have written to the catalog companies that send me catalogs, asking them to stop sending them. That way I can't be tempted, plus it helps reduce the amount of recycling that goes on here. This year I made a pledge not to buy anything new. I am finding that kind of hard though as I have bought three Holden specific items from our bookstore (souvenirs, I tell myself), one inexpensive gift, and a couple of greeting cards. (Gee, I feel like this is confession time or something.) Anyway, I have rededicated myself to not buying anything else now. I'm feeling guilty enough about those things.
This weekend I am downsizing the stuff I have in my room here. I am sending some things home, putting some in our give away room, and giving some other things away. I am already making plans to have a huge sale when I get back to Texas next Fall and really get rid of a lot. And I am looking forward to it!

Gail

Changes

Things are always changing at Holden Village. Now that Spring is sometimes in the air and May youth weekends have started, we have moved vespers from the Fireside Room into the Village Center for the summer. The first weekend just ended, so we are back to a small village again until Saturday when the next group arrives. The elementary school kids also left today on a week long field trip. Next week the high school students leave on their field trip.

But the change of seasons is not the only change here. Staff are always coming and going. In the next two weeks we are saying goodbye to four long term staff members. Several more will be leaving in June. As a matter of fact everyone who lives in Agape with me (eight people) will be gone by the end of June, leaving me the only current staff person still there. I will be living with all new people then. We have also started getting several of the new summer staff on board. Some have been here before and some haven't. My friend, Wanda, from Florida, arrived last Wednesday to become part of the long term staff for the next year.

I was scheduled to leave here this month also, but have been extended through the summer and will end on September 1.

Today is my birthday and I was kind of bah-humbug about it this morning, but so many people have been singing and giving me candy and cards that I can't help but feel better about it now. I also have received several cards in the mail and I love getting mail. (hint, hint)

Gail

Pictures

This was the view from our front window on Blitz Day morning.
Wednesday, April 23rd

Yes, we had a snowy Blitz Day on Wednesday. But all the work got done and by afternoon the snow had let up. Work week is over and now we have a small and quiet village......until Saturday when the first May youth weekend happens. The youth weekends are from Saturday until Monday every weekend in May. The high school church groups from the three Washington synods attend these gathering hosted by staff from Trinity Lutheran College.

I wanted to post a couple pictures. First the one above and also one I took on Wednesday evening while on a walk. Here it is.

What a pretty view!

It's been raining today for the first time. The hummingbirds are slurping up all the nectar in the various birdfeeders in the village. Bicycles are seen on the road again and the kids are all muddy. And there have been bear sightings! So I guess spring is here.

Gail

Before and After

This is Spring Work Week at Holden. We have 40 some volunteers here this week to get the village ready for summer. They have been hard at work cleaning lodges, making repairs, and finishing projects that need to be done before summer. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is BLITZ DAY. It is the day that completely "changes" Holden from winter to summer. The Dining Hall, Village Center, Snack Bar, Pool Hall and Bowling Alley all get a good cleaning in anticipation of opening for the summer. The biggest change for the long term staff is the changeover of the Dining Hall. During the winter, half of the Dining Hall is turned into a living/game room. It's where we hang out during the long winter, knit, read, play pool or pingpong, or just visit with each other. By tomorrow afternoon all that will be gone and will once again be changed into one huge dining room ready to feed hundreds of people. Tomorrow night we have our "transition dinner." It is, of course, a dress up dinner. "Dress up" at Holden means going to the costume shop and picking out something weird to wear!
We still have about 4 feet of snow on the ground and it snows a little every day. Yesterday it got quite cold again and I brought out the long underwear that I had put away a week and a half ago. We are operating the whole village on 53 watts of electricity. (Last year at this time we had 150.) So our Utilities folks are scrambling to keep things going for the workers. We have had to turn off the large coffee urns and go to small pots, put away our commercial toaster and have a regular small one obtained at a thrift store somewhere. Lights in the dining hall are hardly ever turned on--thank goodness for daylight savings time! At times there is no hot water for showers so it's either a lukewarm one or none at all. But it's par for the course here in the winter and we are used to it. As soon as it warms up more and the snow starts melting for real, we will have a good amount of power again.
By the end of this week we will be ready for the infiltration of the high school students of the three Washington synods as they have their gatherings here every weekend in May. It actually helps get us psychologically prepared for the multitudes of people who come during the summer.

Tree Removal

In case you are wondering, I did get arrangements made to have the fallen tree in my yard in Texas removed. Supposedly it will get done tomorrow. Through a friend of a friend I had hired a man to take care of my yard this summer. Last Saturday when he went over to clean up the yard for the summer, he took some of the branches off the fallen part of the tree. Then this week he found a tree service to remove the rest of it and grind the stump. This was such a wonderful gift to me and I don't even know him. There really are wonderfully helpful people in the world.

Gail