Recent Happenings

Here are some pictures from our recent trips to Newport, RI (in November) and New York, NY (for my birthday in December).


Some scenes from our walk along the famous cliff walk in Newport


Liz's elementary school in Greenwich Village

Holiday decorations around Rockefeller Center

A Very "Special" Election

A couple weeks ago we had the primary for a special election here to fill the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in the US Senate. I did my part and cast my vote though very few people did as it wasn't much of a race (Martha Coakley easily won her spot on the democratic ticket). As I reflected on this most recent voting experience I thought about why people are so uninterested in the process and it wasn't hard to find the reasons.

Our polling place is very conveniently located just around the corner from our place. It's in a not-so-nice nursing home that incidentally is built on the spot where the home of Helen Keller used to stand. There are the remnants of an ancient, yet finely crafted wrought iron fence that probably belonged to the original house but back to my original point. The whole experience was rather depressing. I was the only person voting at the time I stopped by and apart from the poll workers checking people in an out the only other people around were a couple of the nursing home residents who came to sit on a bench in the hallway to watch people come by and the most bored looking police officer sitting at a table in the back of the room reading a newspaper.

I thought about why it's so difficult to get young adults to vote and realized that this experience is part of the reason why. Whether you're in school or have just finished with school the last thing you want to do is drag yourself down to the local nursing home and fill out what's basically another scantron test. Maybe the answer is another format (and venue). What if instead of scantron forms you threw darts to pop balloons with the name of your candidate written on them, or you shot a squirt gun into the mouth of a clown that looked like who you wanted to vote for, or any other sort of carnival game. Anyway, I'm not sure what the answer is (beyond the obvious goal of making people more engaged in politics and elections) but I know that filling out little bubbles in a tiny booth in a nursing home isn't an appealing way to attract voters.

Snowed in

Today we woke up to several inches of snow here in Cambridge and it continued to snow all day long. It finally let up late this afternoon so hopefully the commute to work tomorrow will be manageable. Roxy thoroughly enjoyed romping around outside today while I shoveled the car out. She doesn't ever seem to get cold and could probably lay in the snow for hours and be perfectly content.

A Return to the Rose Bowl !!!

Yes, it's true, we've got a reason to celebrate because the Oregon Ducks are headed to the Rose Bowl. After a 37-33 win in the civil war game over the Oregon State Beavers the Ducks finished their season with a 10-2 record. They will face Ohio State in Pasadena on New Year's day.

New England "Mountain" Cimbing

Yesterday we took a family trek up Mount Watatic. It is a 1,832 foot peak at the southern end of the Wapack range on the MA/NH border. I've been excited to do some backpacking next spring and have been getting some of my gear together so this was a good hike to do some testing (we boiled some water on the butane stove at the summit for hot chocolate and filtered some water using a new filter from a mountain stream on the way back down). It was a steep climb on a cold day but we were rewarded with splendid views and a nice break spent sitting in a grassy area we found just short of the peak. Roxy also has a backpack and it was her first time using it--it didn't slow her down at all!

The only wildlife not scared away by Roxy
At the summit
Making the hot chocolate to warm back up
Ah, life is good

Oregon

Well we had a wonderful trip to Oregon to visit family and friends. We were able to spend time in Eugene, Portland, Cannon Beach and Monroe and Bellevue, WA. Here are a few photos.

Newport, OR
Cannon Beach, OR



This is the co-housing place that Liz's parents are moving to (still under construction in these pics). You can learn more about it here.
It even has a rooftop hot tub!

New England Clam Bake

After living in New England for more than three years and never having been to a clam bake it was about time. And it couldn't have been for a better reason. Our good friends Leanne and Bill are getting married today and for the rehearsal dinner last night they hosted a clam bake in a beautiful yet rustic barn up in Topsfield, MA.

Here's what I ate, not being much of a fan for clams, but I heartily enjoyed the lobster and the first course of chowder and green salad (not pictured).


This is the barn.



And here's the gang figuring out how to get all the good meat out of the lobsters.

For Your Entertainment

Here's a little quiz to test your cinematic knowledge. Can you name these movie quotes? Here's a hint, these movies span from the 1930's to the current decade and are from a variety of genres. Good luck!

1. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

2. Yes, the actual 10 Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses came down out of Mount Horeb and smashed if you believe in that sort of thing. Didn't you guys ever go to Sunday School? Look, the Hebrews took the broken pieces and put them into the Ark. When they settled in Cainan they put the Ark in a place called The Temple of Solomon where it stayed for many years. 'Till all of the sudden, whoosh, it was gone.

3. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.

4. Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerve-hurter.

5. I'm sure that in 1985 plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955 it's a little hard to come by.

6. I'm telling you this guy is protected from up on high by the Prince of Darkness.

7. I run my unit how I run my unit. You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill me, so don't think for one second that you can come down here, flash your badge, and make me nervous.

Extra points if you can name these last three:

8. Well, I guess the gentlemen are in a pretty tall hurry to get me out of here. The way the evidence has piled up against me, I can't say I blame them much. And I'm quite willing to go, sir, when they vote it that way - but before that happens I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before, and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not going to leave this body until I do get them said.

9. Come on, *all* the long distance lines are down? What about the satellite? Is it snowing in space? Don't you have some kind of a line that you keep open for emergencies or for celebrities? I'm both. I'm a celebrity in an emergency.

10. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage, and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution.

The Russian Icon Museum

So, what else would we be doing on a Saturday afternoon in the summer other than visiting our local museum of Russian Icons. Okay, so it's a little random, I know, but we heard about this place a while ago (I'm not sure how) in Clinton, MA and figured today would be a good day to drive out there to check it out. And we're glad we did. The museum is the largest of its kind in North America and has a collection of around 370 icons. You can visit the museum online here.

We have an icon in our house of Saint Euphrosynus who is the patron saint of cooking:


And Liz has an icon in her office at the church. It looks like this:

They are such an interesting art form and part of church history. It was fascinating to see so many in one place and to learn about the various styles. I highly recommend stopping by this museum if you're ever out by Clinton, MA.

Here's a picture of the museum, it's no hole-in-the-wall:

A Khmu picnic

I am quickly learning that as the spouse of a pastor I get to attend all sorts of events that I wouldn't normally go to and this weekend was no exception. Last night we attended the monthly Oasis Coffee House performance at 1st Pres., Waltham. It's part of the mission of this church to support the arts (and the hope is that the program will grow to support the mission of the church as well). We heard two folk/blues singers, one of whom, Danielle Miraglia, was particularly good. She was an excellent guitar player, singer and songwriter with a surprising bluesy voice.

Today, we drove out to Cochicuate State Park, about a half hour west of Boston for the annual Khmu picnic. There are a few members of Liz's church that are of the Khmu ethinic group and today I learned about their fascinating and difficult history since the Vietnam war. The Khmu are the native ethnic people of Laos but have faced extreme discrimination by the Laotian's which drove many of them to seek refuge in other countries like Thailand and the United States. Many of the Khmu in the Boston area came to the states in the 1980's and 90's. Today they seem to be thriving here and they get together once a year for a huge picnic where they cook amazing food. We had spicy noodles, all sorts of BBQ'd meats (Liz accidentally ate chicken liver), fried rice,
sticky rice and spicy chicken in lettuce wraps. Here are some pictures of the get together and this beautiful park.

It's official

Now preaching at a church near you ...

June Happenings

It's been a while since I've updated the blog so here's a run down on what we've been up to this past month.

A couple weeks ago we marched in the Boston Pride Parade with Liz's new church. It was amazing to see the reaction of people in the crowd when they saw a pastor in a clerical collar marching in the parade. Liz carried on a Smith family tradition by carrying a "Choose Love" sign. It's a message that works for pretty much any occasion.


Last weekend we took a trip to Owatonna, Minnesota for Ryan and Mariah's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony at Mariah's church and reception at a nearby golf course.



Touring the modern art of Minneapolis.
Interactive Art?
This afternoon will be Liz's Installation at First Presbyterian Church, Waltham so more to come on that soon ...

Rev. Liz, ad gradum Divinitatis Magistri

Yes it's true, when my wife preaches to me I have to listen to her now. On Thursday, June 4th Liz earned her Master of Divinity (M. Div.) and today, Saturday, June 6th she was ordained as a minister of the word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA. She will go on to begin a position as co-paster at the First Presbyterian Church of Waltham, MA beginning in early July.

The graduation ceremony was held at the Harvard Memorial Church and was followed by a very nice luncheon on the lawn at Andover Hall. The ordination was held at Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church where Liz worked during her third year of divinity school. We had many friends and family at both events and enjoyed getting the chance to celebrate with them all. Here are some pictures of the events.

Graduation

Dean Graham awarding Liz her degree

Angels Mariah and Liz (see them featured also in the Boston Herald)
Michael, Leanne, Mariah, Anna, Liz and Rob

Ordination

Liz doing her first communion

Augustus, Ann, Rob, Liz, Karl, Dudley and Burns
Ann from Presbytary of the Cascades
Rob, Liz's new co-pastor

Congratulations Liz !!!