Thanksgiving Extravaganza!

Thanksgiving in Ashland was full of food, football, friends and fun. Since no one was going home for the holiday we invited the JVs from Billings and Hays to spend the weekend with us. James and Annie took on the turkey while Hays showed up with a variety of homemade pumpkin pies and literally a ton of mashed potatoes, and Billings handled sweet potatoes and homemade apple pie. Harry impressed us all with his culinary skills by making dinner rolls from scratch as well as deviled eggs. Peggy shared a family recipe and baked corn souffle. It was quite the spread.

Friday included the annual Turkey Bowl where Team Win took on Team LaurAmy. Although Team LaurAmy had some fantastic plays, they were no match for Team Win (obviously). A few of us walked away with bruises, but a good time was had by all players. Friday night we took our visitors to their first sweat. It was nice to be able to share that experience with them and hopefully we can all sweat together again sometime soon!

Team Win looks ready to go!

Team LaurAmy- what a good lookin' bunch!

Is it cold in here or is it just me?

In an effort to show solidarity with those we serve, we decided as a community to turn our power off and try not to use any energy for the weekend. The energy fast began Friday at 5 pm and ended Sunday at 5 pm, and although it felt as though we spent more time in the dark than in the light, it was well worth the experience. Friday night we played an epic 3 hour game of Trivial Pursuit by candlelight, and Saturday included a spirituality night hosted by Peggy and our first folk band rehearsal (sans instruments). In order to keep warm, and also because it was just fun, we had a sleepover both nights on the living room floor.



What exactly did this energy fast entail? No electricity, including lights, heat, appliances, or stove. It also means no hot water, no car, and no food from the refrigerator. Why would we put ourselves through this? If anything, it was a great community-building activity and it reminded us to be aware of how much energy we use on a daily basis. As an added bonus, we finally found a use for all the candles and extra blankets in our house!

This is Halloween!

The past few weeks have been full of Halloween celebrations here in Ashland. We had started planning for Halloween upon our arrival in August, so we were excited that the time had finally arrived to put our planning into action. The fun began two weeks ago when the Billings JVs hosted a Halloween party at their house. After several community meetings, we agreed on dressing as the "7 Deadly Sins." Other options had included "Harry Potter Characters," and "Breakdancers." Annie was gluttony, Sarah wrath, Harry greed, Jess pride, Peggy lust, Cori envy and James sloth. The Billings JVs tried to out-do our costume by dressing as the Simpsons, but they were no match for our sinful ways.

After a great evening catching up with the Billings JVs and meeting some Americorps Volunteers stationed in Billings the Halloween celebrations continued at St. Labre the following week. Tuesday was the Middle School Academy's Halloween Dance. Jess got to chaperone and enjoyed watching as the boys stood on one side, girls on the other, and not much dancing occurred.

Friday night was St. Labre's annual Halloween bizarre. Since we so desperately wanted to scare little children, we decided to transform a elementary school classroom into a full-fledged haunted house for the night. We worked hard all week putting it together and on Friday night it was a hit! Our haunted house included Peggy dressed as a corpse in a red dress, James as a ghoulish figure offering tea to the kids as they crawled out of the creepy tunnel, and Sarah, Annie and Jess adding scary surprises along the way. It was a fun night for everyone involved!

A Weekend Away

Last weekend we had our first retreat of the year on beautiful Flathead Lake. The nine hour trip to the other side of the state was worth it for a weekend of relaxation and reflection. We retreated with the JV communities from the rest of the "Big Sky Region"- Hays, Billings, and Missoula, MT, Boise, ID and Spokane and Omak, Washington. It was great to see everyone again and to hear about their experiences so far.

The retreat was led by Fr. Larry, the former director of JVC Northwest. He challenged us to reflect on forgiveness, compassion and mercy and how these qualities come into play in our work this year. It was an interesting and challenging weekend as we considered the many ways these traits permeate our everyday lives. The theme for the weekend was "Right Relationship" and besides thinking about those we serve at work we were encouraged to reflect on how we interact with the other members of our household communities as well as the community at large.

In the midst of all of that reflection there was also plenty of time for fun and catching up with the JVs from other communities. The retreat center was located in the midst of beautiful trees, just a short walk from the lake shore, with the Mission Mountains as a picturesque background. We spent a lot of time exploring the grounds and enjoying the natural beauty. On Sunday, a pretty large group of us decided to go for a swim in the very chilly lake! We also had a pretty intense game of Mafia and learned a new house favorite- the paper bag game. Who knew that nothing more than a paper bag could keep us occupied for hours!

The drive to and from Flathead took us through every major city in Montana except for Helena and Great Falls, as well as some beautiful scenery. We also passed St. Ignatius, the oldest church and mission in the state of Montana. Named for the founder of the Jesuits, it seemed appropriate that we take the time to stop there and look around.

Overall, the retreat weekend was a great opportunity to relax and reflect on our year so far. It was nice to catch up with the other JVs and have some time away from Ashland to put everything into perspective.

Hays Visits!

A few weekends ago, we were delighted to find out that the JV house in Hays, Montana decided to grace us with their presence and spend the night in the big city of Ashland.  They came down on a Friday night to watch their football team play St. Labre, and even though the Braves lost, it was fun spending time with the Hays JVs and hearing about their experiences so far.  Following the football game, we had a rousing game of Cranium and then headed outside to make s'mores in our firepit. 

Saturday morning included a continental breakfast provided by Peggy and the discovery that the Hays JVs had somehow locked their keys inside their car.  Luckily, one of John's many skills includes being a locksmith, and he was able to get the door open using a wire hanger.  That was perfect, except for the fact that the car battery was now dead, and we were back to square one. 
After flagging down a friendly neighbor, we were finally able to get the ol' Subaru up and running and headed off to the Amish store.  Our new friends were both delighted and shocked at the plethora of cheap food available on Amish Lane. 

We had a great time visiting with the Hays JVs and hope that they can make the trip to Ashland again sometime soon!
   

First weeks in Ashland

Hello Everyone!

This is the first of what we hope will be many posts to keep you all updated on our lives here in Ashland!

We arrived three weeks ago after a long (27 hour!) bus ride from Orientation in Portland and have since jumped head first into life in Montana.

Our first full weekend here was spent camping out at Crow Fair, otherwise known as "the tipi capital of the world." During the day on Saturday we watched, what was for most of us, our first rodeo, and at night we attended the pow wow. Watching all of the dancers and hearing the loud beat of the drum circles even as we crawled into bed later that night (into our tipi ) was a wonderfully new experience for all of us!

The following morning, we stopped by Little Big Horn Battlefield and took in some amazing views of the Montana skyline. After a great weekend together, we headed back to Ashland and to warm greetings from "Pup," the vigilant guardian and caretaker of our house.

More to come soon!

With love,
Ashland
(Peggy, Harry, Sarah, Cori, Jess, James, and Annie)