Interview with Daphne the Cat!

Daphne, where do you think we humans go everyday?
Daphne: “I don’t know, I’m asleep all day!
…Wait, you LEAVE all day?”

favorite song: I Whip My Tail Back and Forth! (or something like that.)

favorite book: Of Mice and Men

Least favorite activity: Pooping in the toilet.

If you could be any flavor, what flavor would you be?
Daphne: You may not realize this, but I’m too disdainful of humans to answer the question. However, if I were to answer, I would say… strawberry.

favorite food: Aristocats

hero: Simba and Nala

“Danger? I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger!” -Simba

Daphne, what color do you see things in?
Daphne: “Danger! Ha ha ha!”

favorite memory: the day Bethany picked me up from the rescue.

favorite animal: toy mice

favorite game: Fetch with Travis.

Biggest mistake I ever made: Going to a dog park.

favorite activity: Biting peoples’ noses.

most embarrassing moment: When the other cats noticed my pink claws and made fun of me.

word of wisdom: “Never stop playing. Or… always sit on the window sill. Or… always take pride in your tail.”

greatest mystery of life: I’ll never understand how to land on all four feet.

biggest fear: Snow

greatest achievement so far: climbing a fully vertical ironing board.

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Jay’s List = 192 Things

As you may have seen in our previous post, we are tackling the 100 things challenge.

Our idea was to inventory first and then whittling down later.

Realization # 1: There are several different ways to count things.

According to one way of counting, I (Jay) currently have 83 things. But, that does not include my 48 articles of clothing. It also does not include the 61 things that Amber and I co-own together. Altogether I own 192 things. (83 + 48 + 61 = 192)

This does not include things we have in storage in Missouri, or things we are hold in common with Formation House this year, such as kitchen stuff and living room furniture.

There is probably room for more thoroughness in the way I have listed things below. Who is to say whether I should count individual handkerchiefs? There are no established rules for this sort of thing.

My rule of thumb, which I am trying to apply as consistently as possible, is: If I think of them as individual things (like my frisbees) I count them individually. If I think of  them as a unit (like my hammer and nails and screwdriver) then I count them all as one.

The real question is: is this just a mindfulness exercise for me, where I learn to appreciate the well-edited life, and the total number of items isn’t what is important? Or is this an exercise in being a spartan, a mendicant, whittling the list down strictly to 100 things? This remains to be seen. But I expect the answer for me will be somewhere in the middle. If I were to choose the latter, I would need a strong, specific rationale.

Realization # 2: I can stand to get rid of some stuff. For example, there are razors in my shaving kit that I’ve had for two years and have never used. I also have clothes that I never wear. What am I doing owning 16 t shirts??

So, I still have some editing to do. But for now, here is the working list:

– – – – – –

Toiletries

1.       Toothpaste

2.       Toothbrush

3.       Hair brush

4.       Electric trimmer

5.       Mustache scissors

6.       Bar of soap/shampoo

7.       Bath robe

8.       Pj pants

9.       Warm pj pants

10.   Towel

11.   Wash rag

12.   Fingernail clippers

13.   Hand cream

14.   Shaving bag

15.   Deodorant

16.   Toothbrush holder

Personal stuff

1.       Wedding ring

2.       Pocket knife and backup knife

3.       Wallet

4.       Keys/whistle/bottle opener

5.       Map of city/various bus schedules

6.       Handkerchief x 3

7.       eyeglasses

writing stuff

8.       Writing paper/notebook

9.       Pen

10.   Pencil

11.   Pen cup

12.   clipboard

13.   Journals

14.   Envelopes/stamps

15.   Letter box

Transportation

16.   Bicycle

17.   Helmet

Gadgets

18.   Cell phone/charger

19.   Wireless headphones

20.   Scientific Calculator

21.   Alarm clock / radio

22.   Battery powered alarmclock

23.   Voice recorder

shoes

24.   House slippers

25.   Waterproof shoes for winter

26.   Other shoes (Toms)

27.   Dress shoes (black and brown)

28.   Old pair of shoes

29.   Flip flops

Winter stuff

30.   Coat

31.   Hat/Scarf/Gloves

32.   Hoodie

33.   Fleece

34.   Umbrella

books

35.    KJV

36.    Anthology of texts of world religions

37.   Dictionary

Frisbees

38.   Ultimate disc (currently missing)

39.   Free style disc

40.   Golf disc putter

41.   Golf disc midrange

42.   Golf disc diver

43.   Other Frisbee

Misc.

44.   plastic tote

45.   Bottle cap collection

46.   Pillow

47.   Plastic drawers for socks

48.   Tool box

49.   Maglite

50.   Shot glasses x 2

51.   Hammock

52.   Luggage

53.   Memorabilia: rings, college pennant, yoyo, etc.

54.   Ceramics tools

55.   Backpack

56.   Green stuffsac

57.   Canvas backpack

58.   Lunchbox

59.   Mug

60.   No spill insulated mug

camping

61.   Tarp

62.   Rope

63.   Thermos

64.   Camp saw/hatchet

65.   Long underwear

66.   Compass

67.   First aid kit

68.   Stuff sac

69.   Twine

70.   Camp salt and pepper

71.   Call of the Wild

72.   Igloo water cooler

73.   Underarmor

74.   Small flashlight

75.   Carbineer

76.   Camping desk of cards

77.   Sunscreen

78.   Bug spray

79.   Cooking sterno

80.   Lighters

81.   Work gloves

82.   Camp Mirror

83.   Sweat pants

Clothes

84.   Black polo

85.   White polo

86.   Striped polo

87.   Many White t-shirts

88.   Sweatshirt

89.   Button down shirt short sleeve 1

90.   Button down shirt short sleeve 2

91.   Button down shirt short sleeve 3

92.   T shirt 1

93.   T shirt 2

94.   T shirt 3

95.   T shirt 4

96.   T shirt 5

97.   T shirt 6

98.   T shirt 7

99.   T shirt 8

100.            T shirt 9

101.            T shirt 10

102.            T shirt 11

103.            T shirt 12

104.            T shirt 13

105.            T shirt 14

106.            T shirt 15

107.            T shirt 16

108.            Long sleeve dress shirt 1

109.            Long sleeve dress shirt 2

110.            Long sleeve dress shirt 3

111.            Long sleeve dress shirt 4

112.            Long sleeve dress shirt 5

113.            Short sleeve dress shirt

114.            Shirt other 1

115.            Shirt other 2

116.            Shirt other 3

117.            Dress pants kaki

118.            Dress pants other

119.            Dress pants other

120.            Blue jeans 1

121.            Blue jeans 2

122.            Blue jeans 3

123.            Blue jeans 4

124.            Blue jeans 5

125.            Shorts 1

126.            Shorts 2

127.            Shorts 3

128.            Shorts 4

129.            Belt

130.            Dress belt

131.            Socks / underwear

TOGETHER LIST:

132.            Tiny Glass figurine of a a flamingo and a giraffe

games

133.            Chess

134.            Scrabble

135.            Settlers of Catan

136.            Risk

137.            Stratego

138.            Cranium

139.            Deck of cards

140.            Rook cards

141.            Blockus

142.            Racko

143.            Penta

144.            Boardgame remix kit

145.            Taboo cards

146.            Madgab cards

147.            Dice

148.            Travel scrabble

149.            Things cards

150.            Scatagories

arts

151.            markers

152.            crayons

153.            colored pencils

154.            oils

155.            acrylics

156.            brushes

157.            brush cleaner

158.            sketch book

159.            drop cloth

160.            tape masking, packing, duck, scotch

161.            paint thinner

furniture and room accents

162.            Desk

163.            Desk chair

164.            Bed

165.            Curtains

166.            Sheets – 2 sets

167.            Blankets – 4

168.            Detergent

169.            plant

170.            Framed picture

171.            Poster map of city

172.            Picture of family

173.            Scented candle

174.            Painting of flowers

175.            Painting of gumdrop tree

Transportation

176.            Car

Gadgets

177.            Laptop

178.            Ipod

179.            Camera

Camping

180.            Picnic set

181.            tent

misc.

182.            Medicine box

183.            Letter binder

184.            Ceramic bowls

185.            Space heater

186.            File box/important documents

187.            Calendar

188.            various towels

189.            Bag o chocolate

190.            Bag o candy

191.            Pile o burned cds

192.            A few (6) extra writing utensils

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100 Things Challenge

Hi Everybody!

Today I am excited about the 100 things challenge. A story in Time Magazine (2008) introduces the challenge this way:

“Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can become oppressive…Which is why people are so intrigued by the 100 Thing Challenge, a grass-roots movement in which otherwise seemingly normal folks are pledging to whittle down their possessions to a mere 100 items.”

I’ve been thinking about cutting back on the amount of stuff I own for a long time. This 100 things challenge is just the inspiration I have been looking for! I’m not sure if I can whittle down to 100 or not, but I’m going to give it a shot, and I’ll report back soon about how the challenge is going.

– – – – –

The 100 things challenge reminds me of the story of Saint Antony the Great, also know as Antony of the Desert. Many different lessons can be drawn from the life of St. Antony; but if Antony was anything, he was the poster child for simplicity.

At the age of 34 Antony decided to devote himself to Matthew 19:21, so he got rid of his stuff, moved to the outskirts of town, and became a disciple of a local hermit. Before long he decided that the outskirts of town weren’t cutting it for him, so he actually moved into some tombs which were nearby. He closed the doors of the tomb in on himself and was reliant on others to bring him food each day.

But Antony was not content even with this arrangement. Seeking still greater solitude, he moved into the desert. And when he finally found the ultimate retreat spot in the desert where he could be alone, of course, people came from everywhere to visit him, and he became extremely famous. Go figure.

– – – – –

The lesson here is: if Antony the Great saw simplicity as essential to his life and his faith, and if Antony had to live in the desert to finally find simplicity, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt for me to think about whether I need my box of chocolate truffles.

After all, here I am in an intentional community. We read the Rule of Saint Benedict aloud at mealtimes, for crying out loud! Where are we ever going to find a better setting in which to seriously explore the concept of the simple life?

That said, I have not yet sat down and drawn up a list. But I am excited to give it a shot. I will report back soon on how the challenge is going. If you would like to read more about the challenge in the meantime, you might try here, and here.

Wish me luck!

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Holidaily

Hey everybody! Check out our new Holidaily blog! We thought it would be fun to celebrate and document those funny little holidays that should mean a day off from work, but don’t. Like Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.

Send us your favorite unofficial holidays and we’ll add them to the list. Send us stories and pictures of how you celebrate these holidays and we’ll include them, too!

Happy celebrating!

Your friends,
Amber and Jay

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A Day in the Life

Awhile back Jenn wrote a superb post about a day in her life. I’ve been meaning to steal the idea. So, the following is a description of a few of the things that you might find me doing on any given day. Then a sideshow.

– – – – – – – – – – –

Nothing happens unless first an alarm clock. My day starts with me getting out of bed, although I do not really wake up until significantly after that. This is a little bit scary because it is during this early morning stupor that I usually play with matches in order to heat up some water for my morning tea. Ryan, our resident coffee shop aficionado, has helped to supply us with the finest teas in all the land.

After tea and breakfast I doodle on our bathroom mirror with dry erase markers. All of us here do this from time to time, leaving funny messages or pictures. In the sideshow below you will see my depiction of a bunny-rat, a mythical creature which is featured prominently in a story from Amber’s work.

I then hightail it to the bus stop. I enjoy the beautiful fall colors along the way, provided I’m awake enough. Otherwise I find myself sitting at work with little recollection of how I got there—namely, the Pittsburgh city bus system.

Once I’m at work my day revolves around AmeriCorps, books, and library programming.

After work, I generally go directly home. However, I sometimes go to the Braddock ceramics studio where I am in the process of making a set of bowls. I was inspired by local artist Marlene Boyle, whose work I first saw at Affair in the Park. Compared with her technique and firing skill my bowls look like they were created by a caveman. But I am steadily refining my technique and having fun along the way.

I then go home. The slideshow below depicts me making a red lentil red pepper soup and Amber making a magnificent loaf of artisan bread. The six of us—Karen, Dave, Jenn, Ryan, Amber and I—almost always eat supper together, except on Tuesday Night Dinner, which really deserves its own blog post, and on Friday Date Night, during which each couple does their own thing. For example, last Friday Amber and I went to a steak house and then saw the movie Waiting for Superman at the theater.

We then have community prayer around 9. During prayer this week we have very much enjoyed Ryan playing songs on his guitar, such as Be Thou My Vision.

After prayer, people drift off to bed. I usually stay up reading or journaling. When I do go to sleep, I usually stay that way until some time after my next morning cup of tea.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Missouri vs Pennsylvania!

Or, more specifically, the St. Louis Cardinals verses the Pittsburgh pirates!

We got free tickets to a Pirates game through AmeriCorps. I jokingly viewed the game as a symbolic battle for our loyalties. The Pirates won, but I’m still a Cardinals fan. We attended the game with our friends Jen and Ryan.

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Speed Bump is one of my favorite comic strips. It’s drawn by Dave Coverly. The inspiration for the strip is, “if life had bloopers, these would be them.” And every once in a while he features monks. This one really made me laugh. Enjoy!

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