Adventures On Commercial Street

Last Tuesday my friends Alicia, Cynarra and I did some volunteer work at The Missouri Hotel. Although I wasn't sure that helping out at a homeless shelter was the most appropriate opportunity for a photo session, I cannot be stopped. Here is our experience in photos.


While my friends went to the front desk to check us in, I began snapping. Here is the front entrance staircase. It makes you wonder when the hotel was built, who stayed here, and how it eventually made its turn to giving shelter to those with no place else to go.

Front entrance Missouri Hotel

Alicia was apprehensive about taking selfies and having fun in a space where people are down on their luck. I, on the other hand, felt like being joyful was totally ok.

Leanne and Alicia

The kitchen space. 

The kitchen

We put on our aprons and hair nets and prepared to serve food.

Leanne and Cynarra

Alicia signed people in for the census. Everyone who eats must be counted.

Very important looking with her clip board.

Cynarra served the hot food of chicken nuggets, green beans and macaroni and cheese. Needless to say, her stretch of buffet was the most popular. I was on dessert (a chocolate cake and some Sponge Bob cupcakes) and the salad and vegetable section. I was working in this area with another volunteer named Shelby. He is a regular volunteer at the hotel and was really helpful in showing us where things were located in the refrigerator and answering other questions we had.

The serving station

Cynarra is ready for business!

The guys back in the kitchen were very helpful and answered any questions we had. One guy, Dave I believe his name is, told us that the food is all donated. A lot of it is from grocery stores after it has expired and they can no longer keep it on the shelves. He mentioned that a lot of the frozen food they get is badly freezer burned and can't be used and that the dairy has to be carefully inspected before they serve it because it too is usually out of date when they get it. Churches and other organizations make donations as well, but by the end of the day I felt that even more than volunteers, the hotel could benefit from quality food donations.

The pass through to the kitchen.

With all the light streaming in the big windows it was difficult getting a photo of the dining area.

The dining area looking out on Commercial St.

Dave was in charge of the kitchen operations. He signed us in when we arrived and showed us the ropes.

Dave in the kitchen.

The kitchen crew.

Before we left I insisted that we get a photo with the volunteers.

Dave (well, half of Dave), Cynarra, Kevin, me, Alicia and Shelby

I am really glad we went and spent some time at The Missouri Hotel. I recommend volunteering at least once to gain some perspective on your community. Even more important, I feel, are the food donations and if your church or other group can collect food to donate, it would feed a lot of grateful people. Fresh food and perishables are the most needed. For more details on what to donate or how to volunteer please call 417-837-1540. 

After leaving the hotel we decided to stop at the fire station a few doors down. Alicia's husband, Marcus, is a fire man and he is stationed at the location on Commercial St. 

Of course the first thing I wanted to do was climb up into a fire truck.

Inside the cab of a fire truck.

Oh, no! Someone melted! Just kidding. Gear on the ground next to the truck so they can suit up quick after a call.

Control and gauge panel on the side of the truck.

Hallway heading to the rec room.

Some of the other firemen, who had just finished lunch.

Marcus gave us the full tour and I won't share all the pics I took (because really, how rude would I be if I showed you the locker room and shower) but I wanted to share the sleep area. I just think it's interesting and most people don't usually think about how these guys live to be available as our first responders to keep us safe.

Slumber party at the fire station!

Of course, with that many guys in one space, you gotta have rules!

The highlight of our visit was when Marcus took Cynarra and I up in the bucket! Alicia stayed on the ground to take photos.

Marcus, Leanne and Cynarra in the bucket.

Wave for the camera!

The bucket can go up to 100 feet! At about four stories up I thought we were plenty high and we stopped.

Just chillin' in the clouds.

I've known Marcus since I was 13 and he was Alicia's first real boyfriend (I've known her and Cynarra for even longer!). These are some of my closest childhood friends!

Marcus in his gear.

Leanne, Cynarra, Marcus and Alicia!

That concludes our adventure on Commercial Street. I might not be blogging very much this week with Thanksgiving in a few days but I hope to get a least one more small post up before Thursday. 

~ Love & Light ~

First Snow

Winter has arrived early this year and yesterday brought our first snow! It was beautiful.

THE RIVER

There is a radiance inside the winter woods
                    That calls each soul by name:
Wind in young boughs, trees shaking off thick coats of snow,

The rattle of frozen rain on a barn roof: all these
                    Will help you lose your way
And find a silence older than the sky

That makes our being here a murmur only,
                    That makes me walk along the river
Beyond where it has flooded itself

While freezing over, past these dead firs,
                    The great assembly of cedars,
So that I must say, I do not know why I am here, 

And move around in those few words
                    And feel their many needles
Upon my lips and warm them on my tongue

Though I say nothing, for it is a calm
                    Beyond the calm I know
That wants to talk now, after all these years

Of hearing me say spruce, wind, cloud and face,
                    Not knowing the first thing about them all,
Not knowing the simplest thing,

That every word said well is praise:
                    And someone deep inside me wants to say
I am not lost but there are many paths! 

While someone else will whisper back,
                    So you are on the longest quest of all,
The quest for home, and not appear

Though I have walked along the river now
                    These good five miles
While letting wind push me a little way

And letting thoughts grow slow and weak
                    Before I feed them words, for what
Is told to me this afternoon

Is simply river , with each I and it dissolved,
                    A cold truth but a truth indeed
Held tight on the way back

Past curves and forks, as evening takes hold,
                    A strange light all the way
That falls between the words that I would use

When talking of this strangeness or this light
                    So that I speak in small, slow breaths
Of evening, cedar, cone and ice

In words that stick to skin – 

-Kevin Hart

~ Love & Light ~

Travel History: Exploration #30

Today I bring you exploration #30 from the book How To Be An Explorer Of The World: Portable Art Life Museum by Keri Smith. For those of you new to No Place Like Home (or NPLH as I often call it), I have been working my way through the explorations in this book since October of 2012. I made a commitment to do them all, and I'm sticking to it.


Exploration #30


TRAVEL HISTORY


Collect objects that tell a story of your travels. Document where you found each object.


For this assignment I focused on several of the big trips that Mark and I have taken since 2012. If I tried to do all of my travels we would be here all day (I'm very sentimental and most of the things in my house are things I've gathered while adventuring). To begin I have included a photo as a visual aide.

1. Paddington Bear is from a shopping district in London on the famous Portobello Road.

2. The candle jar is from a Moroccan shop in London.

3. The Hanuman murti (deity statue)  is from the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in New Mexico.

4. The pyramid lamp is from a little shop in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It is really neat. It plugs into a laptop and changes colors. 

5. The amethyst stone we picked up at a gem gallery in Taos.

6. A magnet from White Sands National Park in Alamogordo, NM.

7. A Kachina figure from a shop in NM.

8. Wand of mountain sage from the Taos Pueblo.

9. National Parks passport book was a token from the gift shop at White Sands.

10. The dream catcher is also from the Taos Pueblo.

11. A magnet from a street stand in Paris. 

12. A magnet from a shop in London.

13. A leather journal from a metaphysical shop in Albuquerque, NM. It has an image of Ganesha on the cover.

14. A Portobello Road magnet.

15. A miniature snow globe from Washington D.C.

16. An ancient ocean fossil from a gem gallery in Taos.

17. A New Mexico magnet

18. A silver ring from Silver City, NM.

19. A magnet from the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. 

20. A magnet from Chicago. 

21. A magnet from Colorado.

In retrospect, including the magnets in this project might have been a lousy idea. But there it is. It's clear I like to buy souvenirs in New Mexico too. What can I say? New Mexico is best. 

I hope this assignment wasn't too dull. I thought it would be more exciting to put together until I realized most of the things I buy when traveling are clothing or body products like lotions and lip balm or candles and food. I like to experience a place while I'm there and not necessarily hunt for things to bring home (hence the magnets...they're easy). 

I hope all of you are warm and cozy. It finally got cold around here. Now let's see if we get that snow they are talking about this weekend! 

~ Love & Light ~

A Mighty Wind

The wind today has been so powerful! It is the really noisy (thanks to all the dry leaves everywhere) strong winds that move patio furniture around. I have had the back door open all afternoon enjoying the whooshing sounds and the warm breeze. The bag boy at the market warned me that today might be our last warm one for a while, with chances of snow this weekend. Of course, when I got home I had to take a short video of the river with the wind merrily pushing it along. I realize that I am probably the only one who is quite so obsessed with the river's every change, but how can I hoard all of this beauty to myself?

Saturday I attended another class with my Springfield Area Herb Study Group. We enjoyed hearing from a new instructor named Katrina Bogdon, ND, FABNO. She is in the process of moving her practice from Tulsa to Springfield and we are very lucky to have her in the Missouri Ozarks. The course was a study in Western Herbalism and specifically the respiratory system. We split into groups and made three different cough syrups and then shared our creations (in small doses of course). 

The Springfield Area Herb Study Group

Below is the recipe that my group used to make our cough syrup.

Each of us brought home a bottle of the syrup we had made and then we picked one from another group to take home as well. The cough syrup that Cathe and I made is good for when you are feeling cold and need some heat and have mucous to clear up. The other syrup I chose is great for when you have a dry cough with heat, and want to cool down. They both taste delicious. 

Homemade herbal cough syrups.

The osha root tincture I am making is coming along nicely. It should be ready to strain and bottle on December 8th. You can see the nice color it is developing below.

Osha Root tincture with lapis lazuli.

In non-herbal news, the Christmas lights will be turned on at the Finley River Park this Saturday, and next weekend is the Christmas parade here in Ozark. The holidays are sneaking up on me quickly! 

I will leave you with a squishy picture of Penny. She is the sweetest hound ever! Have a great week!

Penny aka Sleeping Beauty

~ Love & Light ~

Settling Into Thirty Five

On October 30th I turned thirty five years old. Thirty five. A milestone if I do say so myself. Well into my adult years and really embracing the idea of putting down roots (a previously almost foreign concept to a self proclaimed gypsy such as myself). But here I am, living not even 10 miles from the very hospital I was born in, happily married (also a previously foreign concept to a self proclaimed free spirit such as myself) and embracing life in the Ozarks. Thirty Five is good. Life is good. 

Mark gave me a really beautiful rose quartz crystal lamp on my birthday. Isn't it lovely?

And a groovy electric stove for our bedroom. It makes things so cozy and toasty and the glow of the "fire" gives the room a nice ambiance.

While I am playing show and tell with my new toys, I want to show you the oil diffuser we bought last night. I have been talking about buying a diffuser FOREVER! The problem is that I was caught up in reading tons of reviews and doing price comparisons and was making the decision really difficult. I decided to bite the bullet and just bought a well priced one from MaMa Jeans because it is pretty. Yep, after several years of fretting over which diffuser to buy so that I could get the best quality and a good bargain I bought one because it looks pretty. I really love it and the house smells amazing. It runs for four hours (or until the water runs dry) and it only cost 40 dollars. The brand is Spa Glow by Greenair if you are interested. 

I realized the other day that I haven't posted a video of the river in quite awhile. Here is what my world looks like right now...

I love this time of year so much. The river is high, the leaves are falling on its surface to be carried away, the sunlight seems to cast a golden spell over everything and the giant snowflake lights have been hung from the street lamp poles in town. It's perfect.

Before I head off to yoga class I want to mention a show that has been on for a billion years that Mark and I have just discovered on Netflix. It is called Parenthood and it is my new favorite ( I just found out last night that Witches Of East End won't be renewed for a third season--so the position was open). You don't have to have kids to enjoy this one but you might need a box of tissues for every single episode. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an awesome series to get into. I think they are on their last season in real time but it will be awhile before I get caught up. I think my sister said it has six seasons and Mark and I are just now starting the second one. 

~ Love & Light ~

October Reflections

Stew in the crock pot, fireplace glowing with warmth. The smell of pumpkin harvest from the wax burner and cinnamon candles lace the air. Autumn winds push the current of the river quickly along and leaves fall from the trees like a dry snow. Burning wood pops and crackles, the rustling of the trees a lullaby of sky ocean, an owl hoots on the bank across the water. The hound is curled up in a tight ball nestled into the soft leather of the couch, and soft, heavy blankets drape our legs cocooning us in comfort. The coffee mug warms my hands as I bring its sweet elixir to my lips...bitter bean caffeine to keep me alert during this season of slumber. I watch the world fold into itself around me. A beautiful winding down. A time we call October. 

Queen Of The Forest (my baby sister) photo credit: Dallis Peterson