Thanksgiving in The Keys

For Thanksgiving, T and I had the pleasure of going to the Florida Keys to spend the holiday with T's family!  T's sister, Marie, and her husband, Tyler, moved to the Keys this past year for Marie to work as a dolphin trainer at the Dolphin Research Center - lucky for us!  The weather was, yes, beautiful and a much desired break from wet and cold Seattle.  It was also great to spend the holiday with family.  Here are some photos from the trip:

 A trip to No-Name Pub - known for its walls covered in

$1.00 bills.  It's estimated that there are between 65 and

70,000 bills on those walls!

T and I pointing to the dollar that we stapled onto the wall:

"Seattle....The Keys"

Tyler took us fishing

 The expert at work

 T's catch (which was really caught by Tyler

who then handed the rod to T to reel in)

Thanksgiving morning: swimming with dolphins!!! 

We were a little excited

The Dolphin Research Center was closed to the public on Thanksgiving, so we got special access to the dolphins when Marie took us that day.  I felt so lucky to get to spend lots of time getting to know some of the dolphins and learning about what Marie does.  The dolphins were truly fascinating and amazing creatures; I could tell that everyone that works at DRC loves these animals, too.

 Being pulled by Gypsy and Luna - loving every second!

 Joy

Shaking fins

Happy holidays!

One of Tyler and Marie's friends, Pete, took us on a 

sunset boat ride through some of the Key Colony canals 

Thanks to our wonderful hosts, The Blantons!

What a great few days to get to see where Tyler and Marie lived, meet some of their friends and coworkers, and spend time with our family.  They seem to have a really loving community who have taken them in, and certainly were extra-hospitable to all of us.  I'm so grateful to their friends for welcoming us to their home for Thanksgiving, to Tyler and Marie for showing us around their town, and to the Johnson's for allowing T and I to spend such a wonderful time with our family.  This Thanksgiving was definitely one to remember!

I love my school.  Sometimes I forget that I do - mainly when I have a thousand and one things due in a very short amount of time.  But it really is a little slice of amazing.  

Last night I drove there straight from my internship for what we call Thanksgiving Vespers, "a time of rest and relaxation."  This was my first time going in three years at The Seattle School.  I was guided through a series of interactive stations (called a Labyrinth) on one of the floors of our building - candlelit, pulsing instrumental music, cinnamon-scented, contemplative.  The Labyrinth guided us to the large classroom (those of you that have visited know what I'm talking about - the one with the giant garage doors).  All of the tables and chairs had been moved out of the room and replaced with two or three big clusters of candles - that flickering light and a couple of subdued lamps were the only light in the room.  We're told ahead of time to bring blankets and pillows.  So as I walk in to this dimly-lit room filled with with the sounds of meditative music, my peers are scattered all over the floor, curled up in their blankets - some asleep, some swaying to music, some staring at candles.  No one speaking.  

And that, my friends, was an hour and a half.  

Talk about rest.  Talk about thankful. 

Have this in my head and on my heart...

I was wrong, everybody needs someone, to hold on
Take my hand, I’ve been a lonesome man, took a while to understand

There's some things we can’t live without,
A man’s so prone to doubt,
Faithful are the wounds from friends.
So give it just a little time,
Share some bread and wine
Weave your heart into mine,
My friend

Walls fall down, where there’s a peaceful sound, lonely souls hang around
Don’t be shy, there’s nothing left to hide, come on let’s talk a while

Of the places we left behind,
No longer yours and mine
But we could build a good thing here too
So give it just a little time,
Share bread and wine
Weave your heart into mine

If I fall, I fall alone, but two can help to bear the load
A threefold chord is hard to break
All I have I give to you if you will share your sorrows too,
Then joy will be the crown upon our heads
My friend

Inhale
                 [Hold]
                                  Exhale
                                                  [Repeat]

Fall Happenings

Life's been happening pretty fast.  Here are some photos of our quaint little life.  T and I visited The Farm again this year to pick out our pumpkins.  (You may remember us making our first trip to The Farm last year and taking some very familiar photos).  It's so peaceful there, away from the city.  All you hear is children laughing, feet scuffling, and animals chatting.

We had a pretty full Halloween weekend as well: three parties.  Wowzas.  One of them was a masquerade party and we made our own masks - craft time is good for the soul.

And a little photo shoot with ourselves after the party:

The following night we really did it up right.  Our Sabbath group had a lovely Halloween party and since they have really come to enjoy our Southern heritage, we decided to give it to them straight up.  Straight up.  Our alternate identities for the night were Buck and Tammy.  We arrived at Sabbath with a bucket of KFC chicken and a six-pack of Coors Lite.  Real classy-like.  

 

I bobbed for apples that night, and I will never do that again.  A horrifying experience, but I was kind of awesome at it.

This is so beautiful!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.