What should I call this one…?

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated my blog… time is getting away from me. There’s not all that much new happening other than the normal new stuff — new volunteers, new guests, new empty rooms…

Katie is leaving in a week or so. 😦 She will be missed, but she’s ready to head out. She’ll go to Colorado for a bit before going to Oregon via Australia. Then hopefully she’ll become a children’s book illustrator / writer. When she becomes famous, I’ll loudly boast that she was my friend at Gould Farm…

Orchard House (the brand-spankin’-new guest house) is now open, making residential team stretched. Then add to that the fact that we are at 5 full time people on our team when we should have 8 full time and 1 part time. And then additionally, we are losing our team leader, our most reliable team member, and an important mentor, leaving the most senior person on our team as a person who has been on residential for about a year. Aaacckkk… We’ll make it… We don’t have much choice about it. But it’s going to be a hard summer. Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear much from me.

Orchard house is beautiful and the guests are loving being there. There’s already a living room culture, which is quite refreshing. Some of our long-time guests are leaving, which is really exicting and really sad all in one. It is certainly what they need and it is certainly an opportunity for them to use their many gifts in the world.

I got my computer to work, which means that tomorrow I’ll see if I can do some picture taking of my apartment and cats and put them up here. If not tomorrow, it’ll be soon.

Thank you, Manchester, for sending us some volunteers. I haven’t gotten to meet them much yet, but they seem quite nice, if a bit quiet. And they know how to play Euchre — it’s been 10 months or more since I’ve played real, seriously-taken Indiana Euchre, and I’m going through some serious withdrawal… I’m trying to get the culture started around here, but it’s flopping mostly, unfortunately.

So, if you are the praying type, please pray for the farm in it’s staffing crisis and the residential team in it’s super-tiredness and long-summer-ahead-ness. If you are not the praying sort, please blow us some good thoughts or something. And regardless of whether you pray or not, please, please, please send anyone you know that might be even somewhat interested in the farm this direction!!!! (every single team on the farm is understaffed right now, with the exception of farm and administration… lots of opportunities!)

Not much else for now… I’ll get to updating my book list soon.