New in November

I know I haven't posted in a while so this will just be a general update on what's been going on with me and with my internship.

As you can see in the picture, I recently learned to knit! Several ladies at my internship congregation knit, as do a few of my friends, and they've all been encouraging me to try, so I finally gave in. It was a little slow going at first, because every time I made a mistake I had to wait until I saw the woman who is teaching me so she could fix it. Needless to say, I didn't make much progress for a while. But then she showed me how to fix my mistakes (the little ones, anyway) so things are moving along a little better now. I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm still pretty slow, so I have to be patient. It would be great if I could get a few scarves made before Christmas, but at this point I'll be happy if I can finish just this one! :)

We hosted a community Thanksgiving eve service at my internship congregation, and I was in charge of organizing it. It was not only ecumenical (more than one denomination) but also interfaith (more than one faith). We had clergy from Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran churches and we had an Imam from an Islamic center. Normally there would have been Jewish representation as well, but the Rabbi was unable to attend. It was awesome to have everyone worshipping together. It was a well-attended service and we received a lot of positive responses.

This was the first Thanksgiving that I did not spend with my family. Though I have a few days off, the drive from the Jersey shore back to Bville (and then to Ohio, where my family usually heads for the holiday) would have been too long to make for just a few days. I miss my family and I'm looking forward to heading home for the week between Christmas and New Years. Since I was an orphan for the day, a friend from my internship congregation invited me to have dinner with her family. We had all the traditional Thanksgiving fare and it was delicious.

Today I decided to brave the crowds and start my Christmas shopping. I waited to head out until about noon, because I figured all the crazy people who got going at 5am would either be leaving or stopping to have lunch by then. Though I did have to park like a mile away in the parking lot, and the mall was definitely busy, it wasn't too bad. The only long line I had to wait in was at my first stop, JCPenney, and I think it was mostly because their big sales were ending at 1pm. The lines at the other stores weren't bad at all, and by the time I left the mall and made it to Target, the crowds were thinning significantly. In addition to several gifts, I also got great deals on a pair of jeans and a couple seasons of "Friends" for myself. I think it was a successful outing.