Best Book for Celebrating Small Victories

Dough: Simple Contemporary Bread by Richard Bertinet

Rather than kneading with one's palms, Bertinet teaches bakers to stretch and the fold the dough. Also, his bread recipe uses 4 (four!) ingredients. No milk, no butter, just salt, water, yeast, and "strong" flour (bread flour). With these 4 ingredients, he gives over 30 recipes.

I just made my standby bread recipe (Rustic Italian Bread) using Bertinet's kneading method. This bread was so much more airy and light then the 10 other times I've made it. I'm sold! (Below is the bread before and after baking: normally, it's about half that size.)

Also...(but less for victories and more for commiseration)

How to be a Dometic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson.

Why? Because of lines like this: "The good thing is, we don't have to get ourselves up in Little Lady drag and we don't have to renouonce the world and enter into a life of domestic drudgery. But we can bake a little--and a cake is just a cake...This isn't a dream; what's more, it isn't even a nightmare."

With her by your side, blunt and truthful, what ever about the day that didn't work--it doesn't matter anymore. My mind is forced to move on to the challenging but fundamental task of baking.

I have an interview! (Sort of)

Today has been filled with lots of little victories!

Background:
Michael's been away most days at the Portland Rescue Mission this week, and, as he puts it, I've been "without a playmate." I bake and bike and read, which is fun. But summers are always difficult for me in that I don't have many people to hang around. I also get this weird, "Gotta get away" panic when I'm around new people--not all the time, but more so when I'm not a good place spiritually.

So, this week has been lonely as well as rife with the question, "How, exactly, am I suppossed to meet people?" Work and church are the usual answers, but no work (yet)and no church (yet).

But today!:
But today I got a call from one of the first positions I applied for and they'd "like to move forward with my candidacy." Translation: interview! It would be an editor position (yay!) but only $15-17 (not yay). However, a foot in the door is a foot in the door.

Also, I found this great website for meeting up with people based on interests: www.meetup.com. It's like Facebook and Craig's List had a baby. I might be going with a group tomorrow to check out a farmer's market and then have a picnic lunch. There's also a really cool book group that meets at a pub!

Afterwards:
And now, I celebrate. Rustic Italian Bread is baking in the oven and I'm listening to a fun, silly audiobook with dragons and dopplegangers. What a good day!

(And you know what Michael prayed this morning for me: "Lord, please give Bethany something unique and different for today" while I added, "And [something] good" (just in case). But God, like Domino's Pizza, delivers.)

Job Search

Been a while since our last post, and a few things have happened - mostly job search stuff. We're still in Vancouver and we're now seated in front of an inflatable screen about to watch the newest Star Trek movie in a park downtown while surrounded by a Friday evening market. Bethany sets herself apart by looking 20 but sitting on a foldable chair with a blanket over her legs knitting.

The last few days have been interesting. We settled in to our nice little apartment then visited an international food festival a matter of yards from our apartment (first ever in Vancouver) where we met a lot of promising contacts. Turns out it was organized by local Christians. Seemed like providence.

Since then I've visited the Portland Rescue Mission twice (got free lunch and cake this last time!) And I felt very welcome. I was worried that the friendliness of Water Street was a local phenomenon. Kevin Bradley even seems interested in making an intern out of me. I know God will put me where he wants, but it would be nice to have something so soon.


The job search is certainly complicated by my priorities. I want to spend as much time as may open up at the mission, but those hours are 1 to 5. I tried my hand at being a canvasser but I felt guilty and only lasted an hour. So far there is nothing else open, though we are both checking out some internships in Boston. Do I hear another roadtrip?

The dogs are doing fine and have enjoyed meeting a lot of other dogs in the apartment and the dog park. Phillip has to be careful because he looks like a running hot dog.

Toodles!

Bethany Wants Something, She Gets It

We moved in! Our address is 1800 Murton St Apt 106, Vancouver, WA 98661. The entire process took less than a day. Crazy!

Most fast-paced miracles seem to occur when Bethany tells God she wants something. I picture God going: OK! I'll get right on that, Ma'am! Wednesday we decided we wanted to move somewhere close to Portland (close enough that I didn't have to drive to the mission) was safe, inexpensive, and generally nice. That morning when using the internet and power at a coffee shop (in exchange for buying a pot pie!) I chatted with a lady about the area, shared a bit about what we were going through, and she turned out to be a Christian (not as many out here as in Bible Country) with a great recommendation for a place that is about 15 minutes from downtown Portland, is safe, inexpensive, etc!

We decide to drive by the place, then stop in after driving by. A few hours later we have the paperwork signed and the van unloaded (mostly). We are greatly enjoying the place and all its amenities (such as a work-out room and sauna - for cheaper that we've ever paid for a place) and the quiet we get in spite of the fact that it is an apartment complex. Oh yeah, it's also cheaper than staying in campgrounds every day. Bit cleaner too.

I'll post soon about what my plans are at the Portland Rescue Mission and whatever temporary or long-term work we find. :)

"After Tuesday, we don't know what happens..."

Tomorrow Michael visits with the Director of the Learning Center at the Portland Rescue Mission. What we are hoping for...a paid position in Oregon (Portland?. What we are preparing for...he doesn't have any leads.

This could mean the end of our road trip, or the beginning of another one.

Since Friday, the puggies, Michael, and I have been hanging out along the Hood River, an hour outside Portland. They've got some awesome mountain biking (for Michael) and I've got some awesome books from Powell's City Books in Portland--a bookstore that sells used and new and takes up an entire city block! Also, it's right down the street from the Portland Rescue Mission. While we've been relaxed and enjoying our time, at the back of my mind is something that Michael said on Saturday--"After Tuesday, we don't know what happens..."

After Tuesday, we find out if we are settling in Portland or are on our own again. I'm really not excited about the job search. It's been a good six months since I've looked at jobs for myself, even longer for Michael. It just seems that it's a path fraught with frustration and, quite frankly, hopelessness. It's been a stress that I've wanted to avoid. Moreover, I just don't have any sense of direction: do I want to teach, do I want to go into publishing? The only consistent response is that I don't want stress, I want something fun, challenging, different. But mostly, I want to be where Michael is loving his job. I've had my shot at career-dom, now it's his turn.

Hitch-hiking Hikers

Here are the two hikers to whom we gave a lift while we were in Yosemite National Park; one is a former cop and the other had a lot of jobs, including blues club owner. Michael gave some details earlier in the post.

What he didn't tell you is that we were in the middle of a fight--I'd been attacked by mesquitos (15 bites in less than 5 minutes) and was picking a fight with Michael. Michael was not being very good and refused to fight and went into the local store. I'm still fuming when he comes back 5 minutes later, saying, bright and cheerily, "I've got these two nice guys that want a ride." We have only the driver's seat and the passenger seat, the other seats have been removed for better storage. The rest of the van is packed with our gear.

I'm thinking, "First of all, I'm not done being right. And second of all, where the heck are they suppossed to sit?"

It was very nice giving them a ride--I was expecting a couple of obnoxious SoCal boys, but they were so fun to talk to. They gave us the inside scoop on the contentious Oregon/California relationship.

Best Book for Driving Through California

If you ever get to see the golden hills of CA, then I highly recommend the book The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. This is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a young adult fantasy book that I read as a teen, and, unlike so many YA books, I read as an adult and continue to value. The language, characterization, and plot are all sophisticated though appropriate for teens, and yet they are compelling and interesting for adults.

The reason I recommend this book for California is because Harry, the main character, lives in a world similar to ours--but not (there's magic). She is kidnapped from her Victorian-esque colony and eventually trained as a warrior by her Arabic-esque captors (think Lawerence of Arabia). The setting of this novel takes place in a desert colony and the bordering "hills." I had such a hard time picturing this environ but driving through CA, the setting finally made sense. The hills weren't PA hills; instead, they are lush, overwhelming mountains and valleys, dry and barren and yet so awe-inspiring.

Ask and You Shall Receive

The title of this post works on a few levels. First, Kate Flint requested more photos. As of this moment, I have uploaded 13% of the photos/videos we have taken so far. The link is:

2010 Tip Photos

I'll put that somewhere else on the blog as well.

The other way that the title relates is; we are really liking Oregon. I imagined there would be a bit of disenchantment when we finally arrived. Maybe a lot of snobs or the wrong types of hippies. :) But when we strolled/biked through Eugene today, Bethany and I felt very vindicated. The town is about the size of Lancaster, is very social/eco - conscious, and in need of a learning center director.

I had a surprisingly great amount of success chatting people up about the missions in the area. It appears they are not centralized though they are well staffed with volunteers. Also, this is not the bible belt. Christianity meets with a little hostility. I worried at first that if I begin a learning center here, will it ever have the success water street experiences? Will there be much support? Will it be well-received? Then I thought; doing the Lord's work is not about my own success. No mission will be able to flourish under me if I make it about me and not about the clients.

Also, for those reading this at water street: Robert, I have had some very good fried chicken here, but not as good as the chicken I've shared with you. I need to have some more. I'll owe you a bunch if you finish all 7 books. Manny, I would not have been able to get internet during this trip without your advice on tethering. Murphy, I have been to the bayou, and I still found no one with your accent.

I wanted to get some feedback on a debate Bethany and I are having. Which state has the worst drivers? I think California, though Florida is scary and I have heard bad things about New York. Please weigh in on the poll on the right side of the page. In Oregon, while driving the speed limit, I had 53 cars pass me (therefore speeding) 11 were from out of state, 11 were from Oregon, and 31 were from California.

Finally, I wanted to say we've hit our stride on the road. We can have dinner, set up camp, feed the dogs, and clean the van in under 30 minutes upon arrival at a camp site. Also, I've learned how to make camp coffee (using a gravity filter). Finally, I've learned how to completely disassemble my bike and fix it up new in order to save space. I won't mention that I've also saved on storage and time by wearing the same thing day-in day-out. Please ignore the fact that I am wearing the same thing in almost every photo.

I meet with a fella from Portland Rescue Mission on Tuesday. Till then, we're burning some time. We might spend another day in Eugene, but soon we'll check out Salem then Portland. Toodles!