The Master Craftsman

October 16, 2011

Fall makes me appreciate the big things

and the little things of this world.

But more importantly, who made them.

Amazing.

Crafting Extravaganza

October 7-11, 2011

In past university working experiences, I have always assumed that I would have to work breaks, all except winter break. This time, that was not the case. For fall break I decided it was time that I reciprocated a visit.

With much of my free time being spent poking around on a website called pinterest, I was overwhelmingly inspired to create­– to craft. The enjoyment of creating things is only magnified one hundred fold by sharing the experience with someone. So I headed up to Messiah College to pay my friend Aletheia (a crafting enthusiast) a visit.

I could not have asked for a better break! Each day ended with at least one if not two creations complete, some of which were culinary. Plus we hit some amazing thrift stores and yard sales. Both Aletheia and I walked away with some great finds! For me, my foldable bookshelf hit the top of the list. I have been in the market for one for over two years. I had to surrender a whole whopping four dollars for it. Such satisfaction is felt when the deal you have waited for finally arrives.

It was the icing on the perfectly baked weekend cake.

So great.

Indeed.

Here are some of our creations:

Words folded into a book

The Magazine Bowl

Flower out of book pages.

Going with the Flow

September 30-October 1, 2011

October has arrived. Faces and places are becoming more and more familiar. Still new experiences cross my path. Example: this past weekend I went canoeing. For those that know anything about what I have done in the past, you might be thinking that this is not new territory. You would be right in thinking this. I have many miles of paddling woven into my aching shoulders. However, I have never canoed on the Roanoke River in the northeastern part of North Carolina. Nor had any of my companions.

The small band of us­­– my boss, 4 of our student trip leaders, and I –drove out on Friday to navigate a 14-mile loop. The plan was to stay the night at a campsite that was accessible only by boat. The plan was executed beautifully; however, the nature of our surrounding brought about an interesting first experience.

The campsite wasn’t actually on the ground. Instead it was a platform built among the beautiful Cyprus groves common in marshy, swampy lands. With our feet never touching soil, one very regular activity that usually required land became a little tricky. For some, this duty would not raise any concern on an overnight trip. For me, the ins and outs of life are like clockwork. After a good night’s sleep, another “first” experience took place.

Fortunately, prior proper planning took place and the necessary tools needed for this special occasion we brought with us. Whoever built the platform even built this small place surrounded by walls so one would have some privacy.

All I can say is that I read the directions on the bag thoroughly before I set it up in the bucket and went about my business. Could I have held it? Probably. But I figured, if I ever am going to tell others how to go through the process, I needed to buck-up and experience it for myself.

Making Up for Lost Time

September 24, 2011

As my mother can testify, I have never been a great reader. As a kid, when I was caught reading a book it was always the same one. I checked out a book called Funny Bones so many times I knew exactly where it was on the library shelf.

Then something happened. In 2005 I discovered how reading put me in other worlds. My desire for travel and adventure could, somewhat, be fulfilled through the pages. I went from reading maybe 10-12 books a year to 36 books! Reading became a pleasurable pastime.

Halfway through my grad school experience I discovered that I missed reading for fun. The required reading for my courses had been informative and, for the most part, interesting. Last summer, I had a little more time on my hands, so I went to the local library. Not wanting to read something that required too many of my overworked brain cells, I turned to the author Lois Lowry who wrote one of my favorite childhood books, Number the Stars.

When I picked up The Giver, I noticed that along with Number the Stars this book had won a Newbery Medal. Out of curiosity, I looked up the list of winners to see how many I had already read. To my surprise, I could check off three in my late-blooming-literary life.

Then in an instant, it hit me. Why not read all of the Newbery Medal winners? The Medal is given to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children speaking to the quality of the books. As a Medal winner even the older books should be easy to find. With a generated list, I would never have to wonder what I was going to read next. And to top it all off, all of the Newbery books at the local library had a sticker on the spine so I don’t even have to carry a list! How was this a bad plan?

And so my Newbery Medal Winner literary journey began. The books in bold shown below are the ones I have read so far. Only two thirds left!

Newbery Medal Winners

90.) 2011: Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

89.) 2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

88.) 2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean

87.) 2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

86.) 2007: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan

85.) 2006: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins


84.) 2005: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

83.) 2004: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

82.) 2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

81.) 2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

80.) 2001: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

79.) 2000: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

78.) 1999: Holes by Louis Sachar 


77.) 1998: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

76.) 1997: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

75.) 1996: The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

74.) 1995: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

73.) 1994: The Giver by Lois Lowry

72.) 1993: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

71.) 1992: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

70.) 1991: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

69.) 1990: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

68.) 1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

67.) 1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

66.) 1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

65.) 1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

64.) 1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley


63.) 1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

62.) 1983: Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

61.) 1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard

60.) 1981: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

59.) 1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos

58.) 1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

57.) 1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

56.) 1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

55.) 1976: The Grey King by Susan Cooper

54.) 1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

53.) 1974: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

52.) 1973: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

51.) 1972: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien 

50.) 1971: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars

49.) 1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong

48.) 1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander

47.) 1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

46.) 1967: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt

45.) 1966: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino


44.)  1965: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska

43.) 1964: It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville


42.)  1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

41.) 1962: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

40.) 1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

39.) 1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold

38.) 1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare 

37.) 1958: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith

36.) 1957: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen

35.) 1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

34.) 1955: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

33.) 1954: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold

32.) 1953: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

31.) 1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

30.) 1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

29.) 1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

28.) 1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

27.) 1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

26.) 1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

25.) 1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

24.) 1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson

23.) 1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

22.) 1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

21.) 1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds

20.) 1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

19.) 1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty

18.) 1939: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

17.) 1938: The White Stag by Kate Seredy

16.) 1937: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

15.) 1936: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

14.) 1935: Dobry by Monica Shannon

13.) 1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs

12.) 1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis

11.) 1932: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer

10.) 1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

09.) 1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by RachelThe Field

08.) 1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

07.) 1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji 

06.) 1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James


05.)  1926: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman

04.) 1925: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger

03.) 1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes

02.) 1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

01.) 1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon

Can I Get an Address?

Usually when I take a new job housing is somehow automatically attached. Whether campus housing temporarily or living on the facility, I have never really had to worry about finding a place to live. Well, this time it was different. I was on my own.

Or so I thought…..

My journey to Durham was not exactly a direct route. I wasn’t due to start my job until the 15^th so I had a couple of weeks to live a bit of the nomad life. The journey started from Tennessee to Raleigh (thanks to Ginger for letting me store my car at her place). From Raleigh to Durham to catch a bus to DC. After a ride on the Metro, Laura’s house was the second destination.

This pit stop at the Messerly house was full of highlights, as many visitors inhabited the house from all of over the world. With a trip to DC and across the Bay Bridge to Annapolis, the following week took Laura and I to the Marsh. With the opportunity to earn a little extra money, the Marsh needed some counselors to help with the Day Camp. So for a week, I was known as Chief Heather and got to spend everyday playing in a pool with kids and more!

Let’s pause for a moment. Now remember during all of this I am without a home…a place of residence… an address. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I was looking for places and making inquiries. When I returned, I had two places lined up to look at.

The Saturday before I was to start my job arrived. In transit back to Durham on the bus, we had some problems. We hit traffic and were going to arrive hours late to Durham. Thankfully I left my spare car key with Ginger. She was kind enough to drop my car off at the bus station. Because of the delay, I had to reschedule my viewings for Sunday evening.

Another friend came through for me at this point. An old college friend, Alicia, lived an hour and a half from Durham. I already had plans to stay at her place that evening. After church the following day I headed back to Durham to look at the places I had lined up.

I knew that I was taking some risks. I had been in correspondence with people in both places. I had years of experience living with roommate/housemates and saw no point in stopping the trend. One room was available right away to move into. The other wasn’t available until Wednesday. If the one that was ready to move into didn’t work out, what was I going to do? Where would I stay Sunday through Tuesday night? I had feeling everything was going to work out. And it did. Just not in the way I expected.

I started work on Monday, just as I planned. However, half of my stuff was making the commute to work with me. The room that was available right away didn’t work out. I still was with out a place to call home. God’s provision arrived in the shape of my friend Alicia’s grandmother. Betty lived only 20 minutes away from Duke and had a spare room.

After my available Wednesday hope fell through on Monday (another person was ahead of me in line), I started the search process once again. Thankfully, Betty was willing to let me stay beyond the originally thought day of Wednesday.

It only took one viewing. I didn’t have time to be picky. Out in the country, I found a room that was an edition to a house with its own private entrance and room for just me. One might call it a studio of sorts--an open room with large windows and a bathroom. Fortunately, I have never been one that has desired a large kitchen. The reason: this “kitchen” consisted of a microwave, two hot plates, and a mini-fridge that lived in the bathroom. Nevertheless, with one week of working at Duke under my belt, I needed a place to call my own. The house hopping came to an end. I finally had an address.

Material Diet

My two years in Tennessee have come to a close. The amount of items I own has to be slimmed down once again. First Step – Yard Sale.

Although rain cut our yard sale short, it was worth the effort as many of the big items that we inherited when we moved into Apt B found new homes. Unfortunately, with the addition of so many books and binders from grad school, I wasn’t able to fit everything into my car. Some last minute give-aways had to happen in order for me to hit the road toward North Carolina (the laundry basket and bulletin board didn't make the cut). Although this process is somewhat stressful, I think cramming all of my material possessions in the back of my car is an overall healthy thing to do.

My First Sailing Lesson

July 26, 2011

For months we have been trying to find a time to go sailing with Nelson. Originally, we were going to try and go before Christina moved back to Washington. However, the one-day we found in April was washed away by the weather.

Laura and I knew we had to find a way to fit it in. With this being our last chance, we prayed for good weather. The sun was out indicating a beautiful day.

As we got the boat ready, Nelson began to explain what things were called and some of the basics of how to tie things off. Before actually going out into open water, Nelson let us warm-up by maneuvering the craft with the oars. After all, if there wasn’t any wind, we had to have a way to get from point A to point B.

With our warm-up complete, we picked up Nelson and headed toward our destination: Patton Island.

As we put up sail, I was surprised how little wind was needed to get things moving. After a while, we found ourselves at our destination. Lunch was served followed by some exploring of the Island.

The way back proved to be a bit more challenging. The little wind needed to move the boat was becoming scarce. On occasion, we would pull the oars out to gain some ground. Then all of the sudden, the wind would pick up. Quickly, we would draw in the oars and pull up the main sail and the jib.

The wind would never push in a wonderful straight trajectory. Instead we had to move in a zigzag pattern. This is when the phrase “prepare to come about” was key to listen for and respond to immediately. If you were sitting anywhere near the boom, it was time to duck or else a nice piece of wood would whack you in the head as the main sail was being shifted to the other side of the boat. I thankfully, never had to learn that lesson the hard way.

I was thankful that any threat of rain stayed away. When the sun got to intense, a dip in the water brought instant relief or an umbrella equaled instant shade.

All in all it was a pleasant day on the water. Filled with both relaxing moments as well as intense and exciting moments. I could not have asked for a more quality first lesson. Thanks Nelson!

Job Hunt Stats:

July 22

10 submitted resumes

10 cover letters written

4 multipage applications filled out

3 phone interviews

1 two-day face-to-face interview

4 rejection letters

1 offer

1 answer

In less than four weeks, I will be employed at Duke University as the Outdoor Adventures Assistant.