Thanksgiving post

Belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States!

This year we decided against the traditional turkey and I made duck. Since ducks are quite a bit smaller than turkey, we got two and I had the opportunity to make duck two ways giving us even more variety on the feasting table.

The first duck was done in the style of a Thanksgiving turkey. I stuffed it with a mixture of rosemary focaccia and the solids of a chicken soup that my sister, Sam, made. I added a little extra rosemary, but left the rest as is.

My Apple Pie

The second duck was stuffed with fresh cranberries, garlic, and onions chopped finely. Over the top, I spread a pomegranate and saffron sauce made with a cranberry base that I got from the Brattleboro Food Co-op. I roasted both of the birds for about three hours, and they came out beautifully!

It was a wonderful feast, in addition to the duck, we had both mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, green beans sautéed in butter, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a beautiful salad with cranberries and feta, and homemade southern style biscuits. For dessert, we had four kinds of pie!

As I look back on Thursday, I am thankful for all of the people who care for me and care about me. I am grateful for the opportunity to eat decadently and well. I am thankful that I have the privileges I have in life and the obstacles that challenge me every day. I am thankful that I have a place to stay when I’m in the city and a wonderful home in the country. I am thankful for the family I was born to, and the family I have chosen. I am thankful for all that I have and all I can give.

Sunset from my sister's office

Thank you.

Time doesn't stop.

A surprising amount can happen in a week.

In the past seven days, the priorities of my life have drastically shifted around. My average day has gone from lonely and leisurely, to unable to get enough minuets in to wash the dishes! In the course of a few days, my trip to Israel has taken over my life. Every day I realize how soon I’m leaving – How soon I have to buy a plane ticket, what needs to be packed away for the rest of the winter, what I need to buy before I leave, who I need to make sure I call to talk about the trip, and ever so many other little details.

Dread Falls on Etsy

But everything else I was doing and planning has not dropped out of existence. Yule will still be here in barely over a month and I still have my responsibilities to my community. Before my decision to take this opportunity to go to Israel, I was planning the Yule feast, working on designs for a new banner, and trying to stock my Etsy account (www.etsy.com/shop/starofjoy).

I am still doing all these things. The fabric for the new banner has all been cut and ironed, the background has been sewn and hemmed. I am excited for my first appliqué project – a huge 4 and a half by 12 foot banner depicting the wild hunt. Tomorrow I will pin the creatures onto the background and finally see what it will look like.

My first banner, needle-felted

I’m debating a Christmas pudding for yule this year, and I may start working on some natural dyes for the marzipan on the yule log. I still need to find gifts for some of my community mates, not to mention my family.

I have been planning to spend almost a week at my sister’s house for Thanksgiving and now I’m feeling a bit like I don’t have the time for it.

But I do. I do have time for all of these things. And they are all exciting! There is so much for me to do and love doing before I leave, and I am so lucky that this trip fits into my life as well as it does!

The timing of this trip allows me to have Yule with my community, and still have a few days to get myself pulled together. It will get me home in time for May Day and Rites of Spring and Claire Trail’s graduation!

But time is short and I have money to raise, so back to work for me!

Snow in Vermont

Fiskii

 Yesterday, I spent some time thinking about all the things I will miss while I am away. While there are a lot of little things, like my community here, my cozy yurt, the kittens, and the wood stove, the thing I will miss the most is the snow. 

Cobweb

I know, most people are not fans of winter. It can be dreary and depressing, not to mention seriously cold, but I really love the snow. I talked to a friend yesterday morning about how I would miss the soft snowfalls when you feel like you are surrounded by the softest feather down falling from above to coat the Earth in white.

The kind of snow I will miss

I forgot about this conversation in the course of the day. Life went on and things happened.

When I went out to the Yome for the night, I stoked the fire and let myself relax for the evening. Around midnight, I went out to get a last arm load of wood before bed. As I stepped out of the door, I experiences bliss.

Snow was falling gently onto the Earth. Big white flakes, falling like feather down.

Perfection.

The Yome in Winter

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If it fits...

Sometimes I feel a little like I’m living two lives at one; one where nothing works out, I am never on time, and technology fails; and another where everything falls into place, the Universe is working with me, and I have perfect organization and management. Lucky for me, going to Israel fits into the latter category.

I spent much of yesterday thinking about the logistics of this trip. How will I pay airfare? Can I afford my expenses back at home? Will I be able to bring gifts back for friends? Am I going to be stuck with a meal plan or will I be able to use my free time to go out to eat? There is one common theme, for me, in these questions: money.

But then, something amazing happened. I put my needs out into the Universe (i.e. the internet) and suddenly, I got my first online donation. And not a little donation either. $400, for me, for my trip. Amazing! Suddenly, my first financial hurdle in the trip is taken care of. I suddenly have people telling me they are giving me sums as well.

Then this morning, I get a call from one of best friends (who I rarely see, only slightly less rarely talk to). I tell her about the trip. She has some questions, of course, and some concerns. So we play the throw-obstacles-in-front-of-me so-I-can-question-myself game, and somehow I have already thought of all the things she brings up.

Sunset at home last month: sometimes perfect happens

Then, this afternoon, I get my first IN PERSON donation $5 from KP, the electrician at Marlboro College (to be posted on gofundme after I put it in the bank tomorrow)! I’m putting my intentions out into the world, and I am being returned with goodness of the people around me. Thank you! This is becoming real. Really, really real.

I am going to Israel, the pieces are falling into place, and the road is before me!

As always, I welcome any and all donations for my trip. You sharing this is donation enough of you are willing.

Time moves very quickly

In the past few days I have gone from *probably* going o Israel to going to Israel. I am currently head over heals for a program in Jerusalem. This program mixes Jewish studies with Cultural studies and an urban planning internship. Not only that, but it will get me home in time for all the Spring Festivals. Here's the down side; I have to pay a deposit by the end of the week and, since I lost my job back in September, I'm broke. In light of this, I am asking you, gentle reader, to help me. 

"But why should I help you?" you might ask. Well let me tell you:

Going back to Israel means a lot to me. It means so much that I made a holy oath to return to the Holy Land by the spring of 2017. Of course, this is still two and a half years from now, so I have plenty of time. I am not sure, however, that I will ever have so perfect an opportunity. Right now the circumstances of my life are colliding to give me the freedom to travel (though without the financial means) and there is an Israeli governmental organization that gives grants for certain programs for people in their 20s (which I will only be for another year). I have no obligation of work keeping me here. I do not have a car that I might have to store without being driven. I do not have a significant other who I am leaving behind. I am not currently in school and I do not have very many obligations this winter. 

That list of things puts me on a prime track to travel. To experience thins that I can not experience in the place I am now. And I would like to do that.

I want to spend four or five months in a place where the only familiar face is that of a (somewhat) distant relative. I want to be forced to learn a new language and to be challenged about my beliefs. I want to truly experience a very different part of this world. And most of all, I want to explore my religious and spiritual life in the place where my traditions were birthed. I want to be in Jerusalem for Passover. This is an opportunity I have never had before and may never have again.

There is only one small barrier in my plans: my lack of funds. This is why I am asking you to help me. To donate to my gofundme or send me a check. The gofundme is set for more than what I need on purpose so that I can take the time to fully enjoy the experience. I will update as often as possible on what I am doing and how I am doing it, and I will do my best to send you a small gift in return.

Thank you

I think I'm going to Israel.

This is so scary and exciting! I am currently in contact with 3 different groups about long-term study (4-6 months) in Israel. I expect to be choosing a trip within the next two weeks and making a deposit by the end of the month. This is the kind of experience that I have been wanting for years, but I have never really had the opportunity. Right now seems like the perfect time in my life to go on a long trip and do something I have never done before.

In March of 2006, I had a very powerful and life affirming experience in Israel. This experience helped me to define my life goals and to come to where I am today.

Now, I have an opportunity to return to Israel for a longer period of time to delve into both my personal cultural history, and my studies of community living and sustainability. Using a Masa Israel grant, I will be able to fund the majority of the trip itself, however I am looking for help with funding the other expenses of the trip.

The first  of the three trips I'm looking at are a 5 month stay at Kibbutz Harduf in either Ecology, Conservation and Sustainable Development or Interfaith Dialogue and Creative Conflict Resolution. "A Kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture." I have been fascinated by this style of intentional community from a young age and it has influenced my life choices in matters of study, lifestyle, living situation, and religion.

Second is an internship in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. This one includes on the job training and classes in Hebrew and Judaism. The specific internship will be based on an interview I will be having next week. This trip would not start until May or August, but it includes  lot of perks.

I am also looking into various other long term study trips. Ideally, I think archaeology would be really great, but I haven't found any good digs, yet.

My first deadline in December 1. Please help me to get to Israel.

My first gofundme goal is $300 for a deposit. Any funders who help with this goal will receive a small handmade item from me (jewelry, key-chain, or coaster). This will be a custom item either made to order or surprise gift!