Winter Olympics - The Events

Broom Ball

X-Country Ski Race

The Kid Toss

Dog Sled Races

The final was on their knees.

Garbo Drag Races (Kids in garbage cans with draggers dressed in drag)

The winners

Toboggan Races

With the final entry the swimsuit edition.

Only at Holden, folks.

Happy New Year

Winter Olympics - The Torch Light Parade

Every New Years week Holden holds a Winter Olympics with a day of games such as "Child Tossing", "Icicle Javelin", "Combat Sledding", "Compost Toss", "Broom Ball" and the like. Tonight the Olympic Torch was escorted into the village and lit at the top of Chalet Hill.
My friends Wanda and Carol walked the torch into the village where it was passed off to a boy who is here with his family.

This child then passed it off to another who carried the torch up to the top of the hill and lit the official torch.

We then gathered around and soaked up the warmth from the fire. Tomorrow we have a full day of competition and fun. More to come.

White Out Condtions

Can you say winter with a capital W!!! It was slow in coming but we are up to our "bleeps" in snow now. It is near white out conditions right now with the wind kicking all the snow off of the trees redistributing it all over again. I feel a bit like Laura Ingalls Wilder with a following a rope to the the barn so I don't get lost on the way.

I love the adventure and work that all of this entails. Art spent 8 hours yesterday helping dig out a snow plow that had drifted off the road and I shovel and stomp trails as much as I can. The snow on the roofs is beginning to slide off now, "roofalanches" as we call them, and we all are careful where we walk so we are not hit by tons of sliding snow from a roof.

Holden's Living Love

I often struggle to explain to others what Holden is or why so many are drawn to it. My words fall short each time I try to explain why we have moved up to the mountains for a year. One of my friends here, Angela, also has a blog and she put such beautiful words to our shared experience. I asked her if I could share part of her posting with you.

Mietzke's Holden Adventure

"This living love is given through delicious meals thoughtfully prepared, through electricity, and fresh water. Through heaters installed and repaired, beautiful programs made and letters of invitation sent out. Love is present in conversations had and ears open to listening. Love is in music sung and played, and in poetry read. It is in candles lighted and vehicles fixed. It lives through people who respond to emergencies, and fire drills. Love has been given to us this year through people who stop what they are doing to hold a baby or play a game with my children. It is shown through the driving of buses and the loading and unloading of vehicles. There are sermons preached and lessons read. There are walls painted and doors hung. There are books shelved and a beautiful store lovingly run. There are people to help me with the computers and printer whenever I have a problem, which is actually quite often. Love is shown when furniture is purchased and quilts are made. It shines when the weekly schedule is printed! It is shown when you stop and give someone a moment of your time. It is shown when the napkins are placed on the tables and when the soap dispensers are filled and most especially shown when toilets are scrubbed and plunged. There are people who care for the gardens, who churn compost and chop wood, who sort garbage, move beds and when people make sure there are rooms cleaned and prepared for guests. Love is in caring for the winter safety board and checking to make sure everyone who went for a hike got back safely. It is programming, facilitating, and planning. Love shows in the ice cream scoopers, and bread makers, dish washers and people who spend all night looking for a leak in our water system. Love is shown through fund raising and staffing decisions made. There are sacristans and book keepers and people who are our advocates both in the village and the outside world. There are walls and stairs built and pipes fixed. There are writers and painters and weavers, and mobile makers. There are crews that spend time clearing trails and people who provide entertainment. There are clean sheets and linens. Love is shown when the mail is sent out and put away in the boxes, and when there are paths stomped through the snow. Love is shown when reservations are made and when boilers are stoked to provide warmth in the winter. Love is shown in the answering of the radios and shoveled snow. When there are roads cleared and instruments played. It is shown by the people who run staff meetings and welcome in new community members. It is present when there are outlets fixed and lights replaced. There is coffee made and open doors inviting people in. There are some who are always willing to give a hug and go out of their way to remember things about me, like my favorite color or what I like best to eat. Love is shown through the teachers that come in many different packages, and there are hands ready to reach out to me when I am in sorrow or pain. Love is given in the sharing of activities and the creation of celebrations and festivity. Love is shown through the joyous laughter of village children, and the mayor's welcome at the bus!If this daily experience is what is meant by Christ lived out in the world, then I have been gifted with Christ, and love has become the fibers that connect us all. Thank you all for being my teachers, for having patience with my short comings, for reaching out to me, for being silly with me and making me laugh. Thank you also for the gift of tears and the safety to express them. This is a beautiful community! You are doing good work in the world! "

Holiday Time

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that the bus left with a full load of guests and came back up with a full load. The winter holiday season is upon us. What a trip it is for these people who have put Holden Village in their lives this Christmas season.

We began with a wedding on Saturday, Dave (the high school teacher) married Mary (the lead cook). Friends and family from all over ventured through crowded airports to very icy roads and passes, to a small town to wait for a boat to take them to one of the most remote places in the US. Needless to say we greeted a bus full of very tired, wide eyed people on Friday. A few hot meals and some sleep and they were ready for the wedding.

The night of the wedding was magical, with fresh snow falling, as the entire village walked from chalet to chalet calling each of the wedding party out with song and bells. Many there had never walked at night in the snowy cold. The beauty of it captivated everyone.

Some left the next day while others stayed to sled and ski or just enjoy each other. Today we begin two weeks of Christmas and New Years magic, with great food, worship and tons of activities. Last night there was a candle lit ski trail for those who wanted to venture out. Art and I were both suddenly tired and went to our chalet to read and head to bed early.

Matt and Tracy arrive on Wednesday, if the roads are clear, and we share our family Christmas with many others in our mountain retreat. I do hope that all of you take time to step outside and breath the fresh cold air and remember your loved friends and loved ones. We miss many of you and we wish you all a wonderful Christmas time.

Creating Metal Ornaments

This Advent season each person, family or household has chosen a day to do a simple but "Christmasy" activity or craft with the village. Yesterday was our day and Art decided to have people draw a ornament design on a square of stainless steel. Art then would cut the design out and and give each person an ornament to take home. Below is Rachel Lulay's design.
During coffee break, a daily tradition where everyone stops and socializes, Art helped some of the elementary school kids create their design on the metal.

At 2pm Art and a few others took the designed metal squares up to the shop, where Art taught people how to use the plasma arc to cut the design out and buff off the rough spots to finish the ornaments. This was a fun project for all but especially for Art because he introduced a new craft to many.

Picking the Right Path

Saint Lucia Day

Saint Lucia Day was celebrated this morning at breakfast. The village young people, mostly the girls, dressed up to be Santa Lucia while the boys (all 2 of them) were "Star Boys". This is a Scandinavian tradition, usually celebrated on December 13th. The girls all wear a white gowns with a red sash and a crown of candles on their head. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucia's life when she was sentenced to be burned. The women sing a Lucia song while entering the room.

We were served breakfast by these beautiful children.

Our 5 year old Olaf was proud to be a "Star Boy" and posed for me.

Kick Sledding

It is cold outside here, minus 3 when we awoke this morning and 7 degrees as I look at the thermometer now. It is cold everywhere,I know, but this is the time of year that I held a kernel of worry over before I came up to the mountains. Could I do both the snow, cold and dark in the depths of winter? I am proud to say, so far so good. One thing that keeps me going is my daily trips down the road on my friend "Sparkie", the Holden kick sled; which is like the sled end of a dog sled. I love this thing and it is a nice work out.

To ride it you put one foot on the runner step and "kick" with the other. The sled works best on an icy road. I get bogged down in snow. I kick down the road and walk it back up to the village. Getting outside and moving picks my mood up and helps me justify all the wonderful Holden food that I eat.