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!