there's no place like gnome.

That’s what the pilot on the plane kept saying. Not ‘welcome’ but ‘you are welcome!’ Thanks, Mr. Pilot. I feel welcome.

And tired. We are six hours ahead of you in central standard time and after a pretty solid night of non-sleep on the plane, we are trying our best to stay awake just a bit longer to help kick the time difference.

I think airplane meals are just cute.

River Liffey.

A calzone as big as her face!

A few fun grocery finds from Aldis.

We made it here without any big delays or troubles of any kind. We arrived and met my sister at the apartment we are renting while here. We waited for Matt to arrive and then went out and about. Lunch, a little shopping, and groceries at Aldis. I must say – that’s one of my favorite things about traveling to other countries. Checking out their grocery stores! We plan on at least eating breakfast in our apartment, if not more meals, so we stocked up on a few things. (Including ready made pancakes?! What?! We just had to try them!)

I must say that it wasn’t until we were taxiing to the runway to take off from Chicago that I fully realized that I was going to Ireland. I got really,super excited as I hadn’t allowed myself before with so much to do. All behind me now, I’m in Ireland. Crazy.

I read once that if you’re sleepy and need to stay awake, you should eat an apple.  Fair enough.  But sometimes I still like coffee.

Tonight, just to be sure, I did both.  I ate an apple and drank a cup of coffee.

At 12:30am.

And there is still a long night ahead of me.  Somehow, before the sun comes up, I need to write a few things for work, do a little necessary quilting, and pack to leave for ten days in Ireland.  And then I need to be well enough and awake enough to endure four hours of interstate driving home tomorrow.  [My mom and I fly out of O’Hare on Friday.]  Did I also mention I have a sore throat?  [I will not get sick.  I will not get sick.  I will not get sick.]

Normally I would blame my own procrastination but it really hasn’t even been all that.  It has simply been a doozy of a week.  One in which things kept coming up [Ministry is in the interruptions.] that needed attending to.  Things that were not me prepping bulletins and newsletters for while I’m away.  Things that were not me getting ready to leave for two weeks or the yearly congregational report to the synod [aka a yearly thorn in my side].  And so after a long day of many emotional visits, a care center worship service, and confirmation, that’s what I’m left to do in the middle of the night.  Oye.

One of those ministry interruptions was a dear, dear member [the one I mentioned in the last post] dying.  I spent time with her and her family many, many times in the past week, and again today as they began the funeral planning process.  A funeral that I actually won’t be here to lead.  And I am so sad about it.  As I shared with the family how I wished I could be there to preside, I started to cry myself.  I loved Doris.  I love her family.  She was such a neat woman; her husband too.  Multiple times over the past couple days, her husband would lament aloud, I wish I could say I love you to her one more time.  

Yeah.  I’m serious.  tears streaming down face  They should win cutest couple for eternity.

Alas, back to work I go.  Most likely my next post will be from the airport or Ireland itself.  I look forward to sharing photos and stories and leprechauns with you!  Until then …

It’s been a week where I love my job and I hate my job.  One of those weeks.

[Please note: When I say I hate my job, I don’t hate my job.  Tongue in cheek, people.  It’s like when Jaime says, “I mean, I work at The Maple but I don’t work at The Maple.”  Name that movie.]

Love my job:

• My job allows me to substitute teach on Fridays.  Who had her first, full-on classroom sub job today?  This girl.  Third grade.  Thank goodness for the other third grade teachers who reassured me the class is always challenging; it wasn’t just me.  Challenging it was but fun too.  [Plus, a little extra money in my pocket before Ireland won’t hurt.]
• My job took me to the hospital bedside of a beloved woman twice this week.  Tonight, I gathered with her and her family in her ICU room.  We laid hands on her and prayed.  Then, as I stood to the side, I watched as her dear husband of 65 years stroked her cheek with his hand, trying to lend any sort of relief from the pain she is feeling.  Cutest, holiest, most precious moment ever.  I almost cried.  Almost.
• The confirmation kids wrote devotions for the church’s lenten devotional booklet on Wednesday.  Let’s just say that what they wrote, how seriously they took the task, and their support of one another blew me away.  Reason #375 why my confirmation kiddos are the best.

Umm, kinda don’t like my job:

• Sometimes I think it would be lovely to have a job that I can just leave and someone else could easily take over.  This week I remembered that preparing to leave for two weeks is loads of work.  [I know, tiny violin.  I am preparing to go on vacation.  To Ireland.  Poor me.]
• Remember that way awesome modern quilting workshop I signed up for in the Cities?  It’s tomorrow.  But now I’m not going.  There is a funeral to be led.  [Let’s be clear that I’m not hating that I have to preside at a funeral.  That’s part of why I do what I do.  What is frustrating is that practically anything I plan in life is up for disruption.  Sigh.  That’s what I was reminded of this week.]
• On a related note: What’s Lindsay doing on Friday night?  Writing a sermon.  What will Lindsay be doing on Saturday night?  Writing a sermon.  I will drink coffee and eat popcorn while doing so.  That will ease the burden.

So there we are.  My week in a job-related pro/con list of sorts.  If we wanted to add to the pro/con list on the personal level, it would mostly be pro.  Overall, it was a good week.  We could add in a taco fundraiser dinner with my Owatonna gnome friends [pro], a delicious chicken soup in the fridge [pro], learning that my ipad cover can allow my ipad to be at optimum treadmilll viewing level [pro], a very busy/non-introvert weekend [con], a second date [pro], quilting – hexies and baby [pro], finding the cutest chunky paper straws at Target [pro], and much more.

What about you?  I hope your week had more pros than cons!

It’s been a couple weeks since I have posted and linked up with my current EPP project – the Union Jack hexie quilt. Since I’ve last posted, I’ve made crazy progress and the basting and sewing made its way to Montana and back. My sewing kit kept me busy and entertained on a long train ride from St. Paul to Havre, and also on a car ride from Havre to Essex (Glacier National Park).

Car ride across MT.

Train ride across ND.

And now I absolutely can’t stop. It’s to the point that I just want to sew, sew, sew until all the hexies are connected. Eek! EPP excitement at this pastor’s parsonage! Here is a quick layout to show where I’m at, big picture style:

I write from the train ride home. I’m sad to be on the train home. Very sad.

Our conference in Essex ended on Wednesday morning. Just as it began to snow. It was picture perfect and we were sad to leave. We left Glacier on snowy roads, winding through beautiful scenery. It wasn’t too treacherous … until we left the mountains and after we stopped for lunch at a cute little cafe in East Glacier. Cue the blowing snow and icky roads. What should have been just shy of a four hour drive turned into over five hours. But we made it. Car dance parties and sing-alongs helped.

We stayed one more night in Big Sandy, drinking wine and watching the latest episode of The Bachelor. After that, it was time to pack up and head to the train station. Boo.

It was indeed a great adventure to Montana once again. Insightful learning, new scenery, and catching up with some of the bestest friends I could ever have. There was much laughter and loads of baby giggles. I joke that life at home with Mabel will now be incredible dull … but it’s not a joke. There will be no little girls running around, staring at me, gobbling up crackers, and no dancing to “The Muffin Man.” There will be no late nights of chatting, like at the Isaak Walton Inn. Life will be quite quiet. I will miss the excitement and the laughter. A lot.

(A shout- out to my Montana friends, Joel and Melissa. You know, I didn’t really become friends with them until senior year at seminary. In those days, when Joel and I first began talking in classes, I called him Kevin and he called me Penelope. (Those were our code names from previous lives.) Then I learned he was awesome and so was his wife. I’m so glad I discovered how awesome they are. And now they have two awesome girls that make up an all-around family of awesome. Gosh, I’m so glad they are my friends and they let me come live in their basement, bake scones in their kitchen, and play with their children.)

Alas, it’s time for the next great adventure in life. After long hugs and blown kisses and tearful goodbyes, Paige and I boarded the train and almost immediately were swept into the wine and cheese tasting for the sleeper car folks. We both won bottles of wine for answering trivia questions. Dinner, three episode of White Collar, and a night of sleep will land us back in St. Paul, hopefully relatively on time to the scheduled 7:05 arrival. (Not holding my breath. We left Havre over two hours late. UPDATE: I’m still writing from the train. We are scheduled to get into St. Paul at 3:00. Only eight hours late. Thank you, freight traffic hauling oil around ND. Thank you. SECOND UPDATE: We finally arrived in St. Paul at 7:09pm. That is almost exactly twelve hours after we should have arrived. Thank you, cracked track and new crew. Thank you. I am staying in the cities tonight and tomorrow morning…) I will pick up Mabel from the kennel and drive home. Home where my dance parties are solo and my curse words aren’t censored.

What is the next great adventure? Probably laundry and grocery shopping. Then it will assembling the large pieces of the hexie quilt together. (It’s almost ready for the BIG exciting step!) Catching up on Downton and prepping for my quilting workshop next weekend. As the gentleman on the train ride out said – Life is all about the great adventure. Here’s to finding some of that everyday … even without a Hannah and a Harper to show me the way.

Here there are mountains. A cozy bar downstairs. Quirky decor. Friends. Snowshoes to rent. Must I leave?

It’s been a great time here at the Isaak Walton Inn in the middle of the wilderness. Alas, after a morning session tomorrow, we are heading back to Big Sandy for one more night before hopping back on the train. Le sigh.

Today we ate delicious breakfast, learned more about the book of Revelation, and ate lunch before renting snowshoes and heading out on the trails. We went on the untrodden paths; so untrodden and steep that we fell, slid, and had a mighty adventure. After an afternoon excursion*, we ate dinner and had one last session of learning before meeting at the bar for beer and games. (The bar is also where the wifi is.)

As per usual, photos do no justice to the majesty of the mountains. Seriously, beautiful. New life goal: Return to the Isaak Walton Inn. Stay for a week. Love every minute.

* word attributed to Joel. Thanks for being my thesaurus.

Paige and Joel too.

It’s still technically Friday in Montana and though I keep swaying and feeling as if I’m on a train, my feet are planted firmly in Big Sandy. In the spirit of Friday Favorites, here are my favorite things about train travel.

The people. This time around, Paige and I met a hugger, a hiker, and a woman who loved to ask questions. My favorite was the hugger. He was a grandpa-like character and traveling with his wife. He said he was collecting hugs. In fact, he wanted to write a book about the benefits of hugging. We ate lunch with them when, afterwards, he felt a deep connection to Paige through their love of Slovakia. He hugged Paige. THEN, after supper, he made his way from his table to ours to give us farewell hugs. He said he wished that his hug with Paige would last for twenty more minutes …

The time to play games, quilt, and catch up on episodes of The Bachelor.

Watching the countryside from the observation car.

Sleeping cars. Laying down flat is not overrated and dessert is covered with all of the meals.

Arrival. Our train ride was five hours longer than it should have been due to a train derailment the day before, heavy train traffic, and a detour route. We were quite happy to step off the train and be greeted by friends. We are here. Hurray.

No Friday Favorites last week. No Monday Morning Star Count. No other posts.

Life gets crazy, you know?

I subbed last Friday in a kindergarten class. It was fun. I counted a lot and helped redirect kiddos as they worked on their journals and number lines. One kid also told me about a nightmare he had; aliens tried to murder him with a fork.

Then I went bowling. Spent a Saturday sewing. Sunday morning worship and a visit from Sara and her pup, Kimber. We took a long walk in the sunshine and ate homemade waffles. Sherlock returned to PBS and then there was some more bowling. (One would think I would be getting good at the game; I am not.) Tuesday stressed me out like no other; ROG hosted the pastor conference gathering which meant I had to preach and lead worship in front of colleagues. Lindsay = complete ball of nerves. But, hey, I survived.

Now it is Wednesday night. We cancelled confirmation because of nasty cold, windy weather and while I love confirmation classes, I was slightly relieved. You see, I leave tomorrow night on a train bound for Montana and I had packing/laundry/cleaning to do. Paige and I are stopping in Havre to visit our friends, Joel and Melissa and Hannah and Harper, before we hop in a car with Joel to drive to Essex for a conference. All in all, it should be a fun winter learning adventure. Plus, it’s supposed to be in the upper 40s in Havre when we arrive; I won’t complain about that!

And so that is a summary of my crazy. My next post will be from Montana. Until then, stay warm, Midwest friends!

Mabel and Kimber

Saturday quilting. In progress …

A gift from the neighbor girl – a Sunday morning surprise!

My friend, Kim, always has wise words to offer.

Sewing Saturday – a case for my iPad mini.

It’s a leap year for Lindsay. We are only a couple weeks in and I’ve been taking some leaps.

I have been joining in an online quilting community with the MMStar Count blog posts and loving every minute of it.  What wonderful encouragement and inspiration around EPP.

I have taken some dating leaps. (*cough, cough*  Wasn’t expecting that, were you?) Nothing serious; just awkwardly testing the waters and, it appears, doing an awful lot of bowling.

I’ve been called in for my first sub job tomorrow.  It’s not a teacher position; I’ll be a para for two kindergarten rooms and will likely have recess duty.  I’ll take it!

Now, the true leap that inspiried this post – I signed up for a workshop with the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild.

*gasp*

(You’re still stuck back on my dating leap, aren’t you? Do you rather wish this post was about that? Sorry to let you down; it’s not.)

I’ve wanted to join the Minneapolis MQG for a while now but it makes little sense to drive to the cities for the meetings. [Plus, I’m very intimidated by them and their lovely advanced quilting skills.]  But I still stalk them on facebook. That’s how I learned they were hosting a sewing workshop on scrap management on a Saturday in February.  It’s a bring-your-sewing-machine-and-we’ll-email-you-a-supply-list kind of workshop.  Probably with really, really good, experienced quilters.  And then there will be me, walking in with my case-less $99 Kenmore machine slung over my shoulder in a thirty-one tote.

Another perk – are you ready? – is that the workshop is led by Amanda Nyberg, co-author of Sunday Morning Quilts, a book which I own and cherish and from which my on-going gumdrop quilt comes.  [I can be a little star struck by quilt book authors, right?]

It is one step towards making more modern-quilt quilty friends, learning new modern-quilt quilty skills, and being brave enough to check out SewDown when it comes to Minneapolis this summer.

Leap, leap, leap.