My stay at Mepkin Abbey Part 1

So there is a lot of things to tell about my time at Mepkin Abbey and I might have opportunity to write a good amount tomorrow, so please check back in. But in the meantime I wanted to share with you a photo of the path from one of the gardens.

I also can summarize my stay by saying that I returned feeling rebooted, relaxed and an inner peace that I haven’t had in a very long time. I also returned with a longing for a more intimate spiritual relationship with my creator and as it says in Psalms I now long for him like a desert for water.

 

Fender-bendered cabs

Have you ever avoided getting in a cab because you see the vehicle bears the scratches and dents of a fender bender? Yet have you ever heard yourself saying to a cab driver: ” I’m in a hurry so the quicker you can get there the better.”?

I have.  But until a cabbie started ranting about it to me the other day I failed to realize how often they are asked to hurry. The cabbie told me that he’s sick of being stuck with red light camera tickets and speeding fines for a couple of extra dollars.  Since then, I’ve tried to refrain from mentioning my time crunch when I slip into a cab.

I also have this fear that the cab will get in a car accident. As a result I’m always surmising from the outside and inside of a cab what I believe to be the driver’s recent road record. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m always a little disappointed when I get in a cab that is slightly run down… just because I like to feel posh.  Silly me.

Today, for example, I climbed into a dark blue cab that on the outside seemed to look safe enough. Yet when the driver started moving I heard this grinding noise of metal on metal and felt every little bump in the road to the point that my back started to ache. The guy was driving fine but his car wasn’t in the best condition. It felt like his alignment was off and that something was loose under my side of the engine. I tried to ignore the rattling noise until we arrived at my destination near Georgetown.  It was with a sigh of relief that I paid the driver my $6.50 and exited the car at my reporting event.

Oh and one more thing. Even though I’ve lived in the area most of my life, I never know how much to tip a cabby. If the trip is bad, I usually give them a dollar but if they get me there fast and without making me reach for the “oh sh*t handle,” I sometimes give them $2.

On Friday night I caught a cab from near DuPont Circle out to Glover Park. I didn’t end up leaving the guy a tip and he made a noise of disgust at me that sounded something like the air being let out of a tire for a split second. I felt guilty when I realized I’d failed to tip the guy but from the way he acted it didn’t make me feel too bad.

Still, I must admit that today I gave an extra dollar to a cabbie just to get my cab Karma back in sync.

 

My group BeadforLife on PBS: “The NewsHour” with Jim Lehrer

BeadforLife, a non-profit organization that sells recycled paper beaded jewelry made by women in Uganda, was on PBS last night on “The NewsHour” with Jim Lehrer.  Check the segment  out online.

Note:  in addition to paying the women upfront for their jewelry, all donations and sales profits go into community development projects to give the women the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

I’m a community partner with BeadforLife, meaning I represent BeadforLife in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. I’ve been with BeadforLife for four years as a volunteer. I get a special warm joy in my heart every time I have the opportunity to sell the jewelry and tell the stories of these incredible Ugandan women.

p.s. I’m always on the lookout for “affordable” local events where I can have a BeadforLife sales/info booth or where I can give a power point presentation about BeadforLife and what each of us can do to make a difference.

I’m also always on the look out for people who are willing to help me with the booth during events.

If you know of any local upcoming festivals, symposiums, conferences where I might be welcome, please send me a note.

Also, if you want to help me make a difference also send me a note and tell me you’d like to volunteer for a BeadforLife event.

And thanks for stopping by my blog.

 

Days of silence: dates chosen

I’ve chosen the days that I will take a retreat and spend a week (ok 5 weekdays) in silence:  Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12.

It’s the perfect time, two weeks after the Master Chorale of Washington’s farewell luncheon and immediately following the wedding of two friends in Las Vegas.

I’ve also narrowed my retreat location down to three places where there is silence observed (with only one or two designated places to talk in each facility). Also, I’ve called/emailed each place to start off the process of making reservations:

1. the Desert House of Prayer in the Sonoran Desert outside Tucson, Arizona.

*provides stark beauty, high temperatures and group meditations (voluntary participation in anything). $50/night for room and board (vegetarian too I think)

2. Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina

*provides a garden like location near bodies of water, free room and board (vegetarian meals)–donations accepted

3. The Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky

*provides a garden like location surrounded by woods, free room and board (vegetarian meals)–donations accepted

 

landlord’s surprise

So last night I got a call from my landlord at 9 pm. I was still working at the office so it went to my voicemail.

Apparently he wanted to get into my apartment this morning to make some repairs that the housing authority told him to do. The housing authority toured my apartment about two weeks ago.

This week has been hectic. I’ve had choir practice/dress rehearsals every night. In addition, this is a short work week (therefore my story deadline was moved back a day) and two reporters who share my beat are on vacation… the perfect storm. In other words, my place is not tidy. In fact, I’ve been lucky if I get 5 hours sleep each night.

The place is cleaner than usual but not enough for me to be comfortable with my landlord traipsing around the place.

I was at work until about 9:30 last night. And when I got home I ran around the house making sure all potentially “embarrassing” items were tucked away in in drawers/trash/laundry bins.

But I didn’t have time to wash the sink full of dishes, clean off the couch from paperwork and unsorted mail or pick up cookbooks, novels and crochet books that were strewn around the living room, among other things.

URG.

My landlord is pretty low maintenance. He doesn’t bother me very much and I appreciate that. The downside is that he isn’t very good at telling me things I need to know until the last minute–if at all.

I’m not sure what he needs to fix in my apartment but I guess I’ll find out.

So this morning I locked my dog in the bedroom — and by locked I mean I stuffed a t-shirt in the crack of the bedroom door when I shut it. Ran around the back yard to make sure my dog hadn’t left any little smelly gifts, and dashed for the bus.

I’ve made it through the worst of it now.

I have tomorrow off from work and a concert in the evening but I’m going to spend most of the day tomorrow cleaning. Oh and I’m picking up an “older Danish-style upholstered chair”–whatever that means… form someone using freecycle. I need another chair in my living room so I can put away another folding chair.