Summer Glory

Summer is always sweet in Minnesota. We try to fill these beautiful sunny days with picnics, hikes, road trips, fruit-picking, barbeques, camping, food preservation, and productivity. The goal of a Minnesotan is to have as much fun as possible before Labor Day. Memories of summer give us reason for reflection in long dark November, and reason for anticipation as February light leads to April snowmelt.

And this summer was glorious. Nick and I filled the light with:

• 5 grad/law classes: Intro to Financial Analysis, Grantwriting, Comparative Law of US-Norway, Negotiation, Intro to the EU and International Business Transactions
• 2 full-time jobs: N is still at Thompson-Reuters, and I'm still at the University of Minnesota
• travel in 4 foreign countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland
• dancing around a Midsommar pole on Summer Solstice in Sweden
• homestays: Dalarna Sweden, Madison Wisconsin and Golden Valley Minnesota
• fruit picking: strawberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, apples
• boating: canoe, motorboat, kayak
• hikes: Itasca State Park (the headwaters of the Mississippi River!) and Afton State Park (along the St. Croix River)
• festivals: Highland Fest and the Minnesota State Fair
• home improvement: re-seeding the lawn and replacing 11 windows
• harvesting from the garden, in order of production: cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, zucchini, peppers, green beans, rhubarb, cilantro (with much more to come)

How was your summer?

yardwork

What does a stubborn feminist homeowner do when her husband is out of town and she's never before mowed? 1. Pray for more rain and less sun, so the grass doesn't grow. 2. Realize- ugh, the grass is growing. 3. Pray for some preteen neighbor to knock on my door and offer to mow. 4. Send telepathic messages to guy friends in town, my brother 400 miles away, my husband on the other side of the Atlantic... 5. Rake the front lawn desperately scanning the street for a neighbor to take mercy on me. Somebody? Nobody. Sigh. 6. Put on the rubber clogs and mow that lawn.


We spent a lot of time, energy and money fixing up the inside of the house through the winter. All of that with the help of family, friends and contractors. Snows receded in April, when we were finally able to see the yard. We really didn't know what we bought because we moved in January, in four feet of snow. We knew about the lilac bushes and looked forward to them. Our lilac surprise is that we actually have two shades of lilacs - dark and light purple. I've always loved the heady romance of these blooms. May is glorious.

Our next wonderful surprises are the other perennials that have emerged. We have two lovely types of hostas clamoring for sunshine around the rain barrel. And maybe most exciting, a patch of lilies of the valley sit just under the lilac bush. So many lovely perfumes!

Over the first weekend in May, Mother's Day weekend, we had a full house of visitors. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited to visit the University of Minnesota on behalf of my professor Dr. Miriam Cameron, the Center for Spirituality and Healing, and the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota. Our visitors included my mom Mary, our brother and sister-in-law Ben & Kat, my goddaughter Gracie, and some friends of Nick's from high school. Everybody came to see HHDL, but they also helped us around the yard. We are so grateful!

That first weekend in May we planted two serviceberry bushes (similar to blueberries), ever-bearing raspberries, thornless gooseberries, a regent chokeberry bush, a Honeycrisp apple tree, asparagus, and many lily bulbs. The former homeowner's roses have been blooming all summer. Later in May and June I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, parsley, cilantro, basil, carrots, radish, and many marigolds. Not everything 'took' but we have PLENTY. Come over for dinner, friends!

Prayers for the People in Japan

Thanks to many of you, friends and family, who contacted me in recent days. Several of you wondered whether I know anyone who was injured or killed in the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I don't. The area where we lived is quite far from the epicenter, and although our town felt the earthquakes, no one was injured in the shaking. The map below shows the island where we stayed in pink; our town was in the very middle, by the 1.

I am, however, concerned about the radiation exposure that could spread to affect more of the nation. If the nuclear situation worsens, radiation could even spread to mainland Asia or the West Coast of the United States. Blessings on those working to prevent further catastrophe! I imagine this danger of radiation exposure further traumatizes the people of Japan who have already experienced such horror.

For more information about Japan's experience with radiation exposure, please visit this site of the Hiroshima Peace Museum. The site is in English, and has lots of information for adults and children. There are even games and curriculum to share with young ones. (Here is a link to my previous post describing my visit to Hiroshima with mom and Nick.)

A Whole New Adventure

For a year and a half, Nick and I had an extra job on our hands as property managers of two apartment buildings. We managed 23 apartments and many personalities. It proved to be a lot to juggle (with our other jobs, law school and grad school) but we are so grateful for the experience, because it allowed us: 1) a chance to learn about property management and rentals, in case we want to own/rent in the future, 2) a way to hone our business and management skills, and 3) opportunity to save for a home of our own!

It's an exciting time and we feel incredibly privileged to 'get in' when so many are getting pushed out. (including our sellers, who were in foreclosure). It has 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, living, dining, kitchen with breakfast nook, and a large 3-season porch. Fantastic neighborhood and location. The purchase was 'as-is' with a lot of work to do. In the month between purchasing and moving in, we had the hardwoods refinished, new plumbing in baths and all faucets replaced, GFI's installed, electric fans installed (no air conditioing), new vinyl in kitchen and one bath, painted all the kitchen cabinets with new hardware/hinges, painted rooms... Some of the work we did ourselves, and some we hired out for. We hoped to do more but learned some of the tasks, like cloth-wrapped wiring, were not our forte.

The drawback of doing all this work in winter is that we can't open the windows (enough) to let the place off-gas. I'm concerned about the environmental reprecussions on our bodies. That's why I made such a push to get work done before we moved in, so we weren't sleeping in the formaldahyde and BPA. Here are some pics of the house after the work we did. It's a project house, but that's okay.

Here's where we spend the majority of our time in this big old house! The 80's style breakfast nook!

The sellers purchased a warranty for us, to sweeten the deal when we were concerned about all the fixes necessary. We assumed that the warranty would be useless, because we've heard that other friends' warranties never paid for anything. However, thankfully, the warranty company has been totally reasonable. They've already paid for replacement of two parts on our very old hot water furnace, 4 gas leaks fixed (eeek!), and a new water heater. Next stop, new garage door. And later, a bathroom remodel! (YES, it's okay, you can laugh at the swan.)

We began the house search in September and toured nearly 100 houses (really!). We put an offer on the house on 10/28, closed 12/28, moved in 1/28, and had our open house party 2/28. No special reason for the choice of the 28th of the month, but it's kinda funny. We're glad we did it all quickly, though. We're both busy, so we really appreciate the privacy and warmth of our new home. With plenty of rooms for friends and family to visit!

Colorado

In late July, I flew to meet my Mom for a trip to Colorado. It was a family vacation, but just for the two of us! Mom has a deep affinity for mountains, and I enjoy driving through beautiful scenery with big open skies, so we were a good pair!

We drove from Denver, over the mountain passes on I-70, and through my former haunts in the Vail/Avon/Red Cliff area. I lived there back in 2003 for six months when I worked for the Ritz-Carlton on the ski hills. Just prior to moving to Colorado, I had been working for a non-profit organization helping at-risk youth. The work environment was stressful and, like many non-profits, underfunded. It was quite an amazing switch to be suddenly working for The Ritz, with all that money to and time to pamper the hotel guests... While I worked at the front desk of the Ritz I met Al & Tipper Gore, Anne Heche, John Lithgow, Paul Rudd, and the Hilfiger family. I also loved exploring the valleys, mountains and high deserts of the Rocky Mountains.

Back to August of 2011... Mom and I drove westward from Denver, through Vail, and on to the westernmost down of Grand Junction. We stopped in a cute mining town named My favorite part of the road is near Glenwood Springs, with the incredible cliffs and medicinal sulfur springs.

Along the way, the scenery changed from green mountains to rolling hills to high desert.

We met Mom's friend Mary Jean and her daughter Shannon, who hosted us and took us camping in Colorado National Monument outside of Grand Junction. It was stunning.

Mom and I bought local oranges and mead from the good people in western Colorado, picked sage for making ceremonial bundles, and then drove back to Denver.

I managed to fit in meaningful visits with my friends Laura and Amber, and my goddaughter Gracie.

Poverty and Gratitude

Early morning in Delhi, a man was slowly waking up. His bed was on the edge of a very busy street. Lots of people in the city slept on the grass medians, sidewalks, and parks. People everywhere.

Carrying home the groceries, gracefully.

The laundry facilities at the Tibetan Children's Village. Each household hosts 30 children .

The allopathic (western-style) hospital in Dharamsala is called Tibetan Delek Hospital. I urge you to click on this photo below to see it bigger. The patients standing on the balconies are wearing masks because they have TB. This hospital also has a department committed to serving victims of torture. Many, many Tibetan refugees were tortured by Chinese forces in Tibet. Tibetan Delek hospital also has departments for surgery, obstetricts, etc. It serves Indian and Tibetan people in the region, and it is severely underfunded. If you want to learn more, go here.

This simple entrance is the welcome center for refugees coming out of Nepal and Tibet. Every year since the Chinese occupation, 1950 to 2007, several thousand refugees streamed out of Tibet. Since the Chinese olympics in 2008, the borders were locked down and Tibetans have been unable to leave. Now, only a few hundred escape each year. The situation is dire.

A dugout home in the mountains, looking from the street above.

And now that I'm home? I'm grateful for streetlights, traffic control, clean water, my right to vote in a democracy, the reminder to simplify, the peaceful example of the Tibetans, and most of all I am grateful for perspective.

Tibetan Buddhism

The purpose of my trip to the Himalayas was to study Tibetan Medicine, which I found to have great depth and wisdom. I've already written academic papers on Tibetan Medicine for my classes with the Center for Spirituality and Healing, which I should probably share with you all sometime... A secondary purpose of my trip was to observe the political structure of the Tibetan government-in-exhile which is based in Dharamsala, India. I will eventually work some of those observations into a paper or project for my master's degree in Public Affairs... But in additon I have a strong interest in religion and was deeply moved by the deep Buddhist practice of Tibetans. I found their religious culture to be rich in ritual, philosophy, and practicalities. I had opportunity to study other types of Buddhism previously in college, in Japan here and here, and in Thailand.

So here's a basic visual primer:

Religions of the world, according to adherents.com.

There are three types of Buddhism, all of which were founded in India. Theravada is predominately found in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries. Mahayana is mostly in areas further east like China, Japan, and Korea. Vajrayana is related to Mahayana.

This next image is interesting because of its depiction of the percentage populations in these nations. For the last several hundred years Tibet was almost 99% Buddhist, but since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950's, the new influx of ethnic Chinese has changed the religious makeup of the country.

One of the most famous images of Tibetan Buddhist religious practice is the use of prayer wheels. The circular wheels are painted or carved with prayers, and put on a rotating axis. Rows of these wheels are set up around a temple, so that people walk around the temple "circumambulating", spinning these wheels and saying prayers with each spin. It struck me as similar to a giant rosary, or stations of the cross. I was very moved to both observe and participate. What is it about physical ritual practice that enables deeper contemplation?

This circumambulation path weaves through the moutainous woods around the Dalai Lama's temple. Tibetan prayer flags blow in the breeze. Painted rocks remind pilgrims of scriptural passages. Vistas enable new understanding.

These people are circumambulating the Dalai Lama's temple, touching engraved metal scrolls. Each scroll has a prayer on it, and they spin the scrolls as a way to earn 'merit' for each of the prayers as it rotates round and round. People walk meditatively.

Another very famous visual expression of Tibetan Buddhism is the creation of mandalas. This sand mandala pictured below was made by Tibetan nuns at Dorma Ling nunnery, down in the valley below Dharamsala. The sand mandala is a work of meditative art made out of colorful sand. The making of mandalas is full of tradition, and the colors and symbols in each mandala are ritualistic and usually created to pray for healing and prosperity. Often, at the end of a mandala ceremony, the monks or nuns who made it will perform a ceremony to meditate on impermanence and then brush together the sand. The grains are released into a nearby river, as a blessing for healing for everyone downstream.

Just recently, I attended a sand mandala ceremony in Minneapolis along the Mississippi River. Tibetan monks in Minneapolis created a mandala as prayer for healing of the Mississippi and the Gulf. The Mississippi River is long, but we are connected even still.

These people are performing Tibetan Prostrations as an act of devotion. The movements in the prostrations are similar to the yogic asanas of Sun Salutations. Some yoga historians say that Sun Salutations are derived from these Tibetan Prostrations.

I have spent a lot of my time around nuns and monks (Catholic and Buddhist) and am attracted to their influence. However, for a while I was unconvinced that their contemplative lifestyle contributed adequately to the common good, but I am now coming to understand that their choices to live peacefully contribute and inspire us lay people to live more peacefully. Tibetan monks and nuns interact freely among the lay people. This might be an act of courage on the part of the monks and nuns, for surely our busy world distracts from the inner focus they seek. However, I am grateful for their influence.

This family of Himalayan Indians walked a beautiful white goat down the mountain path. My friend later told me they were preparing to sacrifice it! The Himalayan Indians and the Tibetan Buddhists coexist peacefully in the same mountainous region. Sometime I would like to go back and study how they influence and inspire one another.

Tibetan Foods

One of the reasons I was excited to go to India was the food. If you haven't noticed from either reading my blog or hanging out with me....I like food. And one of my favorite things about traveling is eating! So, much to my surprise, I only ate a couple Indian meals in the three weeks I was there. The weather was too hot. And, um, like many of my fellow travelers, I experienced what we called "Delhi Belly", so all I wanted was mild food.

In my rudimentary understanding of Indian food, they use more spices because it's hotter down there, and spice acts as a preservative to prevent the food from going bad. The Himalayas have less plant diversity, and the food is more mild. I was surprised to learn that a lot of Tibetan food is similar to northern Japanese food. Yum!

Most mornings I ate a big meal, because the heat of the day made my appetite decease as the day went on. This was jasmine tea, masala omlette, and porridge.

Momos are a rather-famous Tibetan food. They are basically small dumplings, like Japanese gyoza or Chinese potstickers. ( I have a good recipie for gyoza here. ) These momos were filled with a mix of cabbage and cheese, in a mild soup broth with chopped vegetables, spinach, and peas.

This Tibetan curry over brown rice was awesome! Mild and sweet, like Japanese curry.

Tibetan thentuk soup. Tomatoes, daikon radish, spinach, peas, yum. Fresh carrot juice.

The guesthouse we stayed at was vegetarian, following Buddhist spiritual principals to "do no harm". Here's another thenthuk soup with thick egg noodles. On the side is lemon-honey-ginger tea with lots of fresh boiled ginger root. Good for the digestion! Because, according to Tibetan Medicine, if you're not digesting well, you will get sick. Even if you choose healthy food, if your body doesn't digest well you aren't able to absorb the nutrients. Makes sense, huh?

Beware generous hosts, pouring delicious beers at high altitude! On our last night in Dharamsala, we had a party with the Tibetan Medical Institute professors and physicians.

Tibetan Carpets

Before going to India I did quite a bit of research about buying rugs. I was nervous because carpet sellers are notoriously misleading, and I wanted to be prepared. My plan was to buy one or two Tibetan-style carpets and perhaps one Kashmir carpet.

The Himalayan region we stayed in had lots of Kashmiri-owned shops because of its proximity to Kashmir. The Kashmiri make those beautiful wool or silk carpets that you see in fancy turn-of-the-century dining rooms. I did some shopping in a few non-Tibetan stores but, honestly, I felt like I was being fleeced. A Tibetan friend took me shopping one day in a Kashmiri-owned store and the shop owner tried to charge me way more than a reasonable price for a gorgeous blue silk rug; he said (in Hindi) to my friend that the shop would give him a 'cut'. I guess the shopkeeper presumed that my friend was a hired tour guide. We both left. A couple days later I returned to the shop one more time and offered a firm price for the gorgeous blue rug. I was determined not to be 'attached' to it; I was resigned to let it go if he wouldn't come down in price. He refused, wanting to haggle, and I left contented. I didn't want to bargain and then later wonder if I paid too much; I didn't want to spend time shopping when my purposes in India were spiritual. I was there to learn from the Tibetans about letting go!

So I did some searching of the carpet shops and was amazed by the Tibetan rugs! This store also had a workshop where we could watch the carpet makers work on the looms and then trim the carpets.

This carpet was being trimmed with big scissors. These rugs were made in the traditional Tibetan style with classical patterns. The backing was cotton, and the rug was pure wool.

This woman is using a brush to finish the fibers. Her young son sat beside her after school, doing homework.

I purchased this beautiful carpet from a store which gave all profits to the Tibetan Children's Village, a system of schools around India that raises orphaned Tibetan refugee children. We were able to visit the central campus of the TCV on our first day in Dharamsala.

I purchased this carpet from a store that gives the profits to the Tibetan Government in Exile.

I also got this resonant Tibetan singing bowl for Nick's birthday present.

I am so very happy with that which I brought back from the Tibetan artistans!