Life of a Steward

Frosty the Snowcar

2012-01-23T20:22:00.001-05:00

By the time we got outside to enjoy the snow on Saturday, the rain had covered it with ice, making it impossible to construct a snowman. Undeterred, the girls decorated their grandfather's car with a carrot nose, corn-cob pipe, and button eyes (not exactly true to the song, I know, but the pre-made Frosty kit they got for Christmas didn't come with coal).

First Snow

2012-01-03T10:42:00.001-05:00

Having missed the snow that came through in October because we were traveling, the girls are loving the break from class to dance in the snow. Hoping it keeps coming down, but probably it'll stop soon - they weren't predicting much today.

Packing Again

2011-11-30T16:55:00.001-05:00

After three months with Somer's parents, we are packing up to move. Four trunks, three duffels, two suitcases, and one fish - a Betta named Freddy. Tomorrow we head to my parents' house for the second phase of our Home Ministry Assignment in Baltimore.

Deep Fried Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:11:00.001-05:00

Continuing our theme of new American experiences, today we're having deep fried turkey for the first time. My brother built a little porch for the fryer well away from his house. It's out of the pot and we're just waiting for it to be cut!

VA Team Retreat

2011-11-23T17:07:00.001-05:00

We spent a weekend down in Virginia with some other couples who are raising money to join us in London. It was a great time of getting to know each other and having some fun. We stayed at a friend's house that was fully equipped with fishing rods, kayaks, and mini-golf clubs.

Learning American Culture

2011-11-23T12:08:00.001-05:00

Our girls have grown up with kids from so many other countries, that it's forced them to be more self-consciously American. Which is cool, except that they have never experienced American classics like Baseball and the State Fair. This summer, we remedied some of that.
The girls joined the junior dugout club at the Baltimore Orioles, even meeting the Oriole Bird himself. We also went to the Maryland state fair, where Andi won the water cannon game, and we discovered deep fried Oreos.

Earthquake at Claires

2011-11-23T11:42:00.001-05:00

Andi finally decided to get her ears pierced. While waiting her turn, she tried on hats at Claire's. Then the earthquake hit, making an already scary experience that much more traumatic.

London at night

2010-02-16T17:34:00.002-05:00

Our friend Simon took me and a couple of visitors from the USA on a night-time tour of London. This was the view from in front of the Tate Modern, according to Simon it's the best place to view St. Paul's. The Millennium bridge is just to the right, which you may recognize from the latest Harry Potter film.

Portrait for my birthday

2010-02-16T17:27:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm in my thirties, my perspective on what constitutes a good birthday present has changed a bit. This self-portrait was my present from one of my daughters, and she now proudly adorns the side of the bookcase in our living-room.

Monument

2010-02-16T17:22:00.003-05:00

I had a doctors appointment a few weeks ago down in the center of the city. When I finished the appointment, the tube station was closed because of crowding on the platform. Rather than wait for the station to reopen, I found a quiet place to sit and spend some time with God. As I was leaving, I realized that the monument to the great fire of London was nearby, so I decided to go up. I'd never been up it before, and the last time we tried to visit it was closed for repairs. 300+ steps later, and I got to see London at its foggy best. Quite beautiful, really. And the view back down the tower was pretty cool too.

London Snow

2010-02-16T17:13:00.003-05:00

We've missed all the great snow in Baltimore. We did get a few inches back in January, and made our way up to Regents Park to enjoy it.

Belgian John

2010-02-16T17:10:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed that I'm catching up here on lots of pics I've been meaning to put up. Back in December John, Oli, and I went to Brussels for meetings with the International Presyterian Church. Here's John looking happy.

Funky Jah Punkys

2010-02-16T13:51:00.003-05:00

I met these American dudes in one of the bars where we do weekly prayer meetings. They were in Camden for a gig, which I went to. They definitely know how to put on a show.

Bond Street Juggling

2010-02-16T13:49:00.003-05:00

Ever the center of attention, Jodie enjoys being part of the show with street jugglers on New Bond Street in central London. This was from around Christmas time.

With God & People - Church Planting Bath

2010-02-16T13:44:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I wish church planting were a bit more like taking a bath...but it's usually not that easy. Late last year I went to a church planting conference in Bath. I meant to stick up pics but never got around to it. This was a sticky note from one of our brainstorm sessions that captured the heart of the conference for me. A reminder to be with God and people.

London Rain

2009-12-09T07:15:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's winter in London.

The Fourth Plinth

2009-10-03T17:40:00.005-04:00

The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square has hosted interesting pieces of art over the years. For the next 100 days (ish...it's been going on for a bit already, not sure exactly how many days are left) someone will get the chance to spend 1 hour on top of the plinth, doing anything they like. A new person gets up there every hour. Tonight, my friend and fellow church leader in Camden, Brandon, got up there for an hour. He gave out little gifts, there was a fishing rod involved, and a make-shift boat. We left before his hour was up - had to put the kids to bed - so I don't really know what the end of the story was, or if there was an end. Check out the One & Other site for more info, as well as live video of what's currently on the plinth. Right now, there's a guy calling out Twister instructions to a bunch of people down below.

Art Show

2009-10-03T17:39:00.005-04:00

My daughter is taking an afternoon art class. Her teacher was part of an exhibition last night, and he has had the kids helping him out. Here she is pointing out the area she helped paint.

Anarchists get the boot

2009-07-31T06:26:00.002-04:00

We have a friend who tends bar at one of our local pubs. He also happens to be an anarchist. Not the 'smash everything up' kind of anarchist, but actually a well-read, socially conscious anarchist, who sees a need for society to focus on tackling social problems as well as technological ones. He recently was part of a group that took over an abandoned house that was being claimed as the 'primary residence' of a couple of MPs so they could get expense reimbursements for their 'second residence', a nice flat near the river. We went to the court case where the squatters were given 24 hrs notice to leave, and hung out with them while they partied after the decision. They knew they were going to lose, but they had done the job of raising awareness of the abuses of taxpayer money by elected officials.

LockStock Music Festival

2009-07-31T06:18:00.006-04:00

Last night the LockStock festival took place in Camden Lock market and surrounding pubs and tea shops. We listened to one of the bands at the outdoor stage.

Austria Retreat

2009-07-31T06:13:00.005-04:00

Last week we spoke at a retreat for World Harvest's summer interns in Austria. Our good friends from Philadelphia, the McMullens, were there, and we were really encouraged by them. A few pics of the beautiful scenery.

Climbing

2009-06-28T09:15:00.004-04:00

I've been taking Andi with me on my weekly climbing sessions with Dave and Barry (and sometimes Andy). She's been improving each week. This week, she got to the top four times, on two different routes. Very exciting.

Everything's OK

2009-06-04T13:09:00.004-04:00

This is Danny. Danny doesn't take himself too seriously, though he has a very serious message:

Everything Is OK
Except that everything is not OK. He rails against Capitalists, bankers, the police, government drug and terrorist policies. He says we just need to love each other. But then he says that everything around us, all the differences, are illusion. So what's the good of love if we're all the same? Kind of self-serving if you ask me. But that's ok, you see, in fact, everything's ok. Because Danny is just having fun. Or maybe not.
His speech is riddled with paradox, irony, sarcasm, and contradiction. At one point, he gets stopped by the police because he appears to be promoting drug use. At another point he grabs the megaphone away from his friend to announce to the crowd that I'm a Presbyterian. His partner and I chat for a while about why Jesus came, and why Christians teach that faith in Jesus is essential for life. It's easy to talk about these serious things, because nobody's taking themselves very seriously...or are we?

Dept of Urban Censorship Strikes Again

2009-05-29T13:02:00.003-04:00

On my favorite abandoned building in Camden. You can clearly see the "18" in the red circle next to the door. "This area contains violence, drug use, and bad language" the sign reads.
I'd love to see this place turned into a monastic house where prayer and glassblowing are the order of the day.

Dept Urban Censorship

2009-05-16T19:11:00.002-04:00

This 'sign' has been popping up in random places around Camden. It's quite big - maybe a meter wide. There's one on the side of the Dev pub, and one on the empty office building across the street from us. It's a clever bit of graffiti - if that is the right term (it looks like it's just a massive sticker). But what does it all mean?