Birdies like Bread

Birds like bread and so do I.

Birds dive for bread, but not I.

Birds fight for bread, perhaps will I.

yeah. Sorry- that was a bit cheesy.

Sarah is in a photography class and has to photograph something from multiple angles. Her teacher wants her to "explore the topic". Explore we did! We went down to Vilano beach (love that place!) and it was my job to toss pieces of bread up into the air and she would take pictures of the seagulls.

It reminded me of the time when...

My siblings and I were playing on the beach at South Padre Island and the birds started to swoop and I started to scream. They thought it was funny and that I was being dramatic, so they started tossing the bread crumbs OVER MY HEAD. Oh, the love. I mainly remember huddling down on the beach screaming as seagulls squawked and swooped around my head.

Today I tossed the bread. And I can't wait for Sarah's film to be developed.

Garden

Today we made a garden. "We" being the youth group here in St. Augustine. It felt nice to run my fingers through freshly tilled dirt and cover up itty bitty seeds that will grow into tasty produce.

Sarah took pictures to document the event (as she does for so many life events).

Reta and Boyd (part of the older church population) came this morning and helped us break the ground. We now have 11 beautiful mounded rows by our church. We want to share our produce with those who need it most and as a learning ground for the children and youth in our church.

Here is what we have planted so far (in row order):

Kaleidoscope carrots

Swiss Chard

Spinach

Romaine Lettuce

Radishes

Sweet Salad Mix

Spicy Salad Mix

More Romaine Lettuce

Bib Lettuce

Green Onions

White Onions

...and more to come! We are saving a few rows for seeds that need to planted in a few months.

Having a garden is a good start to any health ministry if you ask me, but maybe I am partial. :)

Tourist

Today I was a tourist.

I ate a late breakfast with my grandparents at their motel. With a tummy full of continental breakfast food, we went outside and admired the lovely Florida sunshine and spring-like day.

Next: the tourist trolley ride. For those of you who have never been to St. Augustine, FL- it is pretty much a tourist town. All day long the horse drawn carriages go around the same block and all day long the trollies go to all of the historical sites and say their clever things ALL day long. Every day. For the rest of their lives.

I feel sorry for them sometimes.

But today we supported them by going on a trolley ride. I learned all about Ponce de Leon and how short he was. Mr. Flagler and how rich he was. And the man who founded St. Augustine who's name I cannot pronounce nor type.

I felt so much like a tourist and so when Mrs. P apologized when she left me with 150+ rolls of bread to rotate in and out of the oven, I jumped on the idea of doing something productive with my day. Starting now.

First Week

Last night we had our first health ministry meeting. Looks like I have a lot on my menu this year. I am not sure exactly how to get Vegan President Bill Clinton to come speak at one of our seminars, so instead I am writing a blog.

I like the people I will be working with. Emmeline and William are part of our team and will especially help us with the depression recovery program. She is a psychiatrist from Haiti that speaks at least four languages. Her husband William is a tailor from Jamaica. William, as it turns out, probably likes singing than he does sewing. He even has his own website, and here is a sample of one of his songs. At church he introduced himself to me as William Shakespeare. At supper he said to just call him Willie Nelson. It also turns out that that happens to be their last name. The Paris family is a powerhouse of big ideas. Looks like the health ministry at church is going to turn into a vegetarian restaurant.

I have felt pretty at home here. As much as home as one can be in a place that is not one's home. The Paris' have really gone above and beyond the call of duty in making sure that I have everything that I might ever need. They also like to play the game Acquire. To my amazement, I nearly won last night.

The house hunt is more of a hunt than I wish it was. If I was willing to pay $100-200 more/month I would be able to choose from a rainbow selection of glittering homes. But alas, I want a perfect house for the price of a junk house. All things are possible, right? Meanwhile, my car is still packed. Oh, on a funny note- I found some apartments in my price range, but they said that since I am a nurse that most likely I make too much money to live there. Ha! Apparently they only let people live there if they make a certain amount of money or less. She was quick to add that they weren't "low-income housing... just transition housing".

I am hoping for an interview soon for a part time job. Didn't do so hot on my arrhythmia test at the hospital today, but did great on the other three tests. They said to study up and I could come and take the cardiac one until I got it right.

I don't know what else to tell you except that people grow kumquats in their front yards and that I really like going to the beach and seeing dolphins.