Powell House Quaker Musings

Cooking for Halloween

2011-04-29T17:10:00.016-04:00

Hi Friends,

Yes, that's Jacki serving the ghosts in the graveyard cake at a youth conference.

Throughout the year, our cooks find ways of celebrating the seasons. This blog will feature Halloween and yes, the two cakes will be in our new Cooks' Book.

At our fall work weekend last year, Tom Rothschild created faces on the ghosts for the cake.

The "litter box" cake was so popular with the youth, that we tried it in Pitt Hall with a few monthly meeting retreats. It wasn't nearly so popular!

Plan on attending our next fall work/contra dance/story telling weekend and try these cakes.

Our cooks

2011-04-17T10:10:00.010-04:00

Hi Friends,

What's your favorite food at Powell House? As you can imagine, each cook is known for their recipes. Here are our current cooks at PoHo. We also have wonderful volunteers who help out as assistants and butlers. You know that if you are a butler in the ACC with Jacki during a youth conference, you'll work a lot harder than if you're helping in Pitt Hall.

Jacki Gray is our Food Service Manager and she keeps the other cooks in line ....

Chris Koster making cupcakes at a WinterSong

Edie Kramer is at the end of the table working away while the cookie bowl gets cleaned out!

Amy White, currently on Sabbatical from cooking here, is known for her granola.

Martha Gurvich took time off from the EarthSong kitchen to see her daughter, Sky, graduate.

Anita Thacker who now lives on Cape Cod manages to come over and cook a few times a year. I'll have a photo of her here, soon. Remember Anita's coffeecake?

Our newest cook, Soleh Nagbe-Greene, will be cooking her 1st conference later in May.

Powell House Cooks' Book coming soon

2011-04-16T10:33:00.006-04:00

Hi Friends,

Jacki Gray has been feverishly checking 200 pages of recipes from our Powell House cooks. You'll be delighted with our "standard" fare (depends which Cook's standard). The Youth attenders have created wonderful drawings and sketches to illustrate the recipes e.g. zucchini bars (just imagine).

Here are a few photos to wet your appetite.

Martha's summer salad

Chris's gazpacho soup

Stay tuned for future photos and maybe even some recipes.
Ann

Growing, Eating, and Preparing Foods Locally

2009-09-22T09:39:00.010-04:00

Healing the Earth,Nourishing Ourselves: Growing, Eating & Preparing Food Locally

August 21-23, 2009

We held an experiential weekend in August with Andrew Faust, pictured above. Andrew is one of the premier Permaculture teachers in North America, from The Center For Bioregional Living in New York City and Ellenville, NY. He shared his expertise with us in several sessions. We then went to work.

Here's Debbie Way slicing up a cabbage for kimchi or sauerkraut

More prep for the kimchi. Jotham Bailey and Mimi McGiver are in the foreground.

They're almost done with the preparation before canning. You'll see the finished product in the last photo.

They cut up apples, made applesauce and canned it as a model for preserving fruit.

Here's Andrew Faust sharing the sourdough starter - yes, the group made sourdough bread. YUM. You can see some of the jars of kimchi on the left side of the table.

Buffy Curtis shares her recipe for yogurt. It's Buffy, Andrew, Susan Corson-Finnerty and Mimi.

Here's the group with their bounty from the weekend.

Work weekend - Quilters finish 4th quilt for Barclay

2009-05-08T11:20:00.006-04:00

Over 5 years ago, Liseli Haines, our property manager, put out a request across the yearly meeting -- we wanted quilt squares in order to make 5 quilts -- one for each bed in Robert Barclay.

The response was amazing. There were plenty to make all 5 quilts. Hazel Haines and Liseli pieced those 1st quilt tops together and then volunteers coming to Powell House began to quilt.

The 1st two quilts took one year each. The 3rd 2 years. At the spring work weekend, we finished the 4th in one year! Here are photos of some of the volunteers from this weeks work. Young and old; experienced as well as those who had never quilted before.

These young women worked long and hard.

A new quilter!

Anita Paul, in the middle, checks for dropped stitches. It looks great.

Anita at her sewing machine, beginning to piece the 5th top together. Nan Olsen took it home with her to finish piecing the top and then we'll begin quilting again. Goal: to finish the 5th quilt before the 50th anniversary of Powell House 2010-2011.

Spring work weekend - building community

2009-05-05T10:31:00.013-04:00

Some of our most popular weekends are our intergenerational ones -- even the work weekends. We had over 100 attenders ranging in age from toddlers to over 80 years old. There were chores that fit everyone's ability, energy and attention.

The ice storm left us with lots of downed branches. Here are 2 of our willing volunteers hard at work.

Other jobs included cleaning out the herb bed

After most of the sticks were gathered, we had a controlled fire. We moved the leaves to be composted.

The ice storm of December '08 has given us lots of firewood.

One of our annual jobs is cleaning out the gutters. This year, Brandon & Tom Glenn volunteered for the job. Carolyn Heary is in the background raking leaves.

We kept the log splitter in use for the whole day.

Reminy, in the foreground, is helping move firewood to our shed.

Jacki's wonderful bread kept us going.

Along with Martha's wonderful matzo ball chicken soup.

We also moved some of the downed tree trunks from the campground to the downed beech tree logs. We'll have a sawyer come and make them into lumber which we will later use around Powell House. Remember the cherry and butternut used in the ACC renovations?

We moved wood from the campground to our wood shed and found that several passengers were "into" tractor rides, too. Mike loves to drive that tractor.

Constructing a Boiler

2009-02-28T15:48:00.016-05:00

It's been a busy 7 days. A week ago, Anola Gowin primed the boiler room, painting over WHITEWASH, if you can believe it.

Sunday afternoon found Liseli and Buffy cleaning out around the edges of the concrete floor, so that the plywood would fit.

After a couple of tries, the plywood fell into place.

Now the room was ready for Buffy to paint. All this was in preparation for the new boiler, being delivered on Monday.

Monday: The bobcat made several trips to and from the truck; taking the 6 new sections to the basement and then picking up the 8 old ones. Here's the 1st delivery of the old.

and a wooden flat with 3 new sections.

Don't they look whole (refer to an earlier blog).

Now, putting it all together. Here's Ed measuring the space needed.

Tuesday afternoon the boiler looked like this.

Wednesday!

Thursday found Mike connecting pipes.

This is the "before" photo -- notice the hole in the pipe in the foreground as well as the space around the wall.

Here's Scott repairing the wall and replacing pipes outside the boiler room.

Back inside the room, Ed and Mike work together to get the connection good and tight. Ed's wrench weighs over 40 pounds!

Friday! Now we're waiting on tiny parts for the controls. Hopefully the manufacturer will actually send the right parts this time.

Old Boiler removed today

2009-02-19T14:42:00.008-05:00

Hermann Schmidt Heat and Plumbing are taking care of our boiler. Today they were here to take out the old one.

Here's Ed explaining the situation to Liseli. What caused the 11 1/2 year old boiler to fail? Ed, our steam expert, explained that it was the corrosion from a variety of sources: fresh water coming in too frequently, chlorine in our well water a few years ago and minerals in that water.

There are 8 sections to this boiler. Here's Scott cutting apart the sections with Mike Schmidt looking on.

Poor old boiler! This inside shot shows the high water mark that shouldn't be in there! It's supposed to be dry!

This is the close up of some of the corrosion inside out.

Each section weighs about 200 pounds. Here's Scott man-handling one of the sections.

All is quiet now. Ed is pictured here cleaning up some of the debris.

The new boiler will be here Monday!!

Keeping the Fires Going

2009-02-13T14:21:00.008-05:00

As many of you know, the Pitt Hall boiler cracked open Tuesday, February 3rd. We're getting bids on repairing or replacing the boiler but in the meantime, we have to keep the building warm enough so the pipes don't freeze. We're using a combination of roaring fires in 2 of the fireplaces so that the chimneys heat the building as well as using portable electric heaters.

Of course, we've had to cancel the workshops and retreats scheduled in Pitt Hall.

Yes, it's steam heat.

So we've gone through most of our firewood. Liseli and Buffy have been taking turns with Rick Townsend and Ethan to keep the fires hot. Here's Ethan chopping more wood.

This was one of the warmer days -- probably 18 degrees.

We are so grateful that Rick is here to paint the formal staircase and hallway in Pitt Hall. Between plastering in Pitt and painting trim in the ACC, he still finds time to warm up in front of the fire. Thanks, Rick.

Supporting and Nurturing the Life of the Meeting: Rediscovering Eldering

2008-09-18T16:21:00.002-04:00

Our fall schedule has begun and with it, we can offer epistles, queries and advices or other Quaker musings that come out of the weekend. This past weekend we were blessed to have Elaine Emily facilitate a workshop, “Supporting and Nurturing the Life of the Meeting: Rediscovering Eldering.”

We spent time in 2’s, 4’s and as the group as a whole, experiencing various facets of being an elder. Here are the queries we came up with on Sunday morning – each group presenting to the rest of us. May they provide food for thought:

1st Group

1. How does our meeting call us to higher standards?
2. Who voices the hard truths in this Meeting?
3. Are hard truths voiced with love and compassion?
4. How are the gifts among us named and lifted up?
5. What opportunities do we provide for training and support?
6. Do we pay appropriate attention to history and good order?
7. Do we seek out the spiritually mature Friends among us?
8. Does our meeting nurture us to deepen our spiritual maturity?
9. Is there integrity and accountability in our agreements, activities and relationships? How do we assure that?

2nd Group

1. What do we do to nurture and support gifts and leadings of members and attenders?
2. What are ways we elder our elders?
3. Do we acknowledge the elders among us and the work they do?
4. Is God present in the Meeting, is it Spirit filled; are there tears? Joys? Quakes?
5. Are we holding each other accountable to each other, to God, to the Spirit?

3rd Group

1. Are we attentive to the health and dynamics of our Meeting and members individually?
2. How do we support our meeting’s connection to Spirit?
3. Do we hold our Meeting spiritually and financially accountable?
4. What is our spiritual practice to maintain our spiritual center?

4th Group

1. How do we perceive our elders today?
2. How has the role of Quaker elders evolved (over time, change)?
3. How do we support those that can no longer sit or stay silent?
4. How do we hold sacred all of our Quaker worship (including business and committees)?
5. Are there holes in the fabric of your Meeting that “elders” could fill?
6. What would these “elders” look like (action, role)?
7. How do we name and draw out the spiritual gifts of others?
8. How do we, as elders, support our history, tell our stories and draw out the stories of others?

5th Group
(to be sung to the tune of “Inch by Inch”)

Heart by heart
Soul by soul
Gonna help those gifts to grow
Gonna feed them love and care
And honor the Spirit they share.

First we name them
Then we claim
Playing in the Spirit’s game
In eldering there is no shame
Joy and laughter
And some rain.

Toolbox for Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture

2008-08-14T14:06:00.004-04:00

Toolbox for Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture – that’s what brought about 30 people, including teenagers, families with children, and grandparents, to Powell House from August 1st to 3rd. The conference was led by Ethan Roland, a graduate of the PoHo youth program, a permaculture designer (http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/), and a wonderful teacher. What an inspiring weekend!

We talked about the fundamental ethics of permaculture: care for the land, care for people, and sharing of resources, and were introduced to some of the underlying design principles of this elegant, subtle, and sophisticated approach to doing more with less. The weekend was packed full of valuable and interesting information, chances for group discussion, and finally an application of what we learned as we planted a permaculture garden on the edge of the field behind the ACC on Sunday morning.

We very soon discovered that in one weekend it would be impossible to explore every aspect of permaculture or all the places where these principles could be applied in the garden and beyond, so we focused on Ethan’s particular specialty: edible forest gardens. We learned that this low-maintenance type of garden is not only healing to the land, but also provides abundant and varied foods and other valuable materials for the gardener, and is beautiful, lush, diverse and adaptable. The way that these gardens operate in a simple, self-evident, and yet complex way to provide so much was incredibly inspiring.

Throughout the weekend we discussed many different theoretical tools and ideas, and on Sunday morning we got our hands dirty! Along the stream bank of the Bacon Brook that runs between Pitt Hall and the back field, the whole conference came together to plant two edible forest garden beds that will soon provide food for Powell House. In a bed of sheet mulch we planted pawpaws, a relative of tropical fruit trees that is hardy in our area and produces an abundance of large, soft fruit. To support these trees, protect the soil, and provide berries, we planted several varieties of currants and gooseberries. Finally, as all purpose helpful plants for both the garden and the gardener, we planted water celery and both dwarf and regular comfrey. From a weedy patch, in two hours we transformed the stream bank into a useful and beautiful edible forest garden that will need hardly any maintenance.

If we weren’t convinced of the ease and practicality of planting our own permaculture gardens by Saturday evening, by the end of Sunday, we were all enthusiastically planning our own backyard gardens over lunch and on the way home. Hopefully there will be more to come, with additional permaculture workshops or even a full permaculture design certification course at Powell House next summer!

-- Elizabeth Hanka and Santha Cooke (weekend participants and newly-fledged permaculturists)

Intro to Permaculture

2008-08-10T09:22:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, we had a great multigenerational group for our Permaculture weekend. It was a combination of hands on and theory. Here's the group.

We were ably led by Ethan Roland, a PoHo youth graduate. Ethan is explaining what each plant offers to the plot, from ground cover and bushes to trees.

What the 2 patches looked like before we started our permaculture plots.

Hard at work clearing for the planting.

As you can see, we divided our tasks up, with some people soaking the cardboard that was going to be put down after the compost.

Compost is under the cardboard layer which will keep the weeds out. You can see the planting going on.

The cardboard was then covered with wood bark. Doesn't it look great?

The Saga of the Chest Freezzer

2008-08-02T11:29:00.010-04:00

Grain Cage built by Mark Holstein.

Two days ago staff looked in the chest freezer and discovered that it wasn't cold and hadn't been for awhile. Buffy and Liseli then salvaged as much meat as possible. We lost 1/2 the freezer full of food. What we could salvage, we cooked.

Some of the bounty

Last night, Liseli and Buffy made a trip to purchase a nw freezer and this morning, we had willing and able volunteers remove grains and flours from the grain cage.

Then Liseli and Todd had to take out the table that had been so well built by Mark Holstein several years ago.

The old freezer on its way to glory.

voluntteers carrying new freezer to grain cage.

New frrezer in place and it works!

Jacki Gray and Chris Koster are here today cutting up cooked meat and freezing for upcoming groups as well as getting the grain cage back into order.

Welcome to musings from Powell House

2008-08-01T12:22:00.007-04:00

This blog will keep you up to date on the happenings and musings at Powell House. Perhaps they'll include an epistle from the youth conference, queries from an adult conference, lots of photos (my passion), and other goings on here.

Gatherings earlier this summer included Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves with Tom Sotiridy. One person commented, "It reinforced my understanding of the awesomeness of God and how God has provided everything we need to heal ourselves and heal the earth. We “just” need to rediscover it / listen within and to creation"

The group is practicing finding water underground. Tom is on the right.

In mid-July, Chris DeRoller and Christopher Sammond facilitated a multi-generational weekend, Exercising Spirit. The joy-filled energy and the deep connections made carried us well into the summer sessions of New York Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay. As you can see from the photo above, we also exercised our creativity with ice cream sundaes.

It was great being together.