Breathing Peace

Hello there again! Well last week was a short work week! Veteran's Day we all got off from work, so we decided to work on our garden! We borrowed a pick-up truck from Cece's dad and went around to different spots we found on craigslist for dirt, pots, and pallets for the compost. We also stopped by Ace Hardware to get potting soil, top soil and manure (we kept saying "that's horse shit!") haha. We constructed a compost that's right under our kitchen window, so we can just open the window and throw compost out into it. That's right, we're that bad-ass! We tied the pallets together with old plastic shopping bags. Doing the REUSE part!

(<---me+compost) On Saturday, we had some more time to work on our garden. When we went to actually dig it though, it proved to be more difficult that expected! The ground here is close to rock hard so it has to be pick-axed first, then dug up. It was very taxing on the pick-axers (I stuck to the shovel most the time, because I learned that I suck at using the pick-ax!) After digging, mixing in soil and manure and covering, we ended up with a garden that is about the size of a grave (it kinda looks like one too....oh well!)

<--Me, Jeff, Jen, and Erin with our garden (compost is behind me, kitchen window right above!)


Saturday night, to get ready for Sunday, we went to a gathering at Southside Presbyterian church (where the Sanctuary movement started!). And that is where I saw Father Matt! It was good to see him again and we talked a bit! He got to meet my community members as well! They had a free lasagna dinner and then a get together that included singing, prayer, reading and tai chi! I really liked the tai chi. Never having done it before, I didn't know what to expect, but I really liked the whole "breathing peace" idea. Coolness. So, what we were preparing for was Sunday when we drove to Fort Huachuca to protest torture and war. It was my first protest in a while, and definitely the biggest I had been to. There were about 100 of us protesting together in song and prayers for peace. Very awesome.

On the other side, there were counter-protesters who were very rude! They swore to us, told us to leave the USA and move to Afghanistan or Iraq. They kept telling us "torture works!" and shouting "USA! Support the Troops!" I don't think that promoting peace is anti-American, but they seemed to think so! Anyway, it was a very interesting experience to say the least!
Now, I'm on my last full week before Thanksgiving break. Next week I'm working Mon-Wed with a half day Wednesday and then driving 6 hrs to Palm Desert for a family Thanksgiving! woo! This week so far has been a good teaching week. I had a great class with the 2nd graders, teaching them computer terms and they had to search for them in an online picture search. Overall, things are going pretty well!! :)