Halloween, AmeriCorps rally, etc.

Hi all. Today is Veterans day so we get the day off service. It's a little overcast and dreary here so the plan is to just relax which will be nice. This evening we are having the first annual Le Hac house "Dip Off" where we will create delicious dips for all to enjoy. My friend Kal and I are making a spinach-artichoke dip. Yummmmm.

Well let's see, what has happened the past few weeks? The end of October was enjoyable, with lots of scary movies, baked treats, and pranks. For Halloween most of my house went to a party hosted by an AmeriCorps alumni who's sister is currently in the program. We all dressed up in costume and at the last minute I came up with the idea to be the ghost, Ruth, who haunts our house. My friend Chris (on the far right) dressed up as the other ghost, named Rupert. We were actually able to come up with decent costumes and the party was lots of fun.

Costumes include: Rambo, a pirate, a spork (yes, the utensil), Lady McBeth, Robin Hood, and the Lehac Ghosts.

Recently some clubs have formed in our house including the Wellfleet Sophisticated Reader's Guild, the Masterpiece Theatre Society, the Stephen King Short Story Guild, and the Woody Allen Neurotic Film Watcher's Club. I am in the last two, which are thoroughly enjoyable. Over a week ago our new member, Abbey, moved in, and we had a nice potluck dinner to welcome her. So far I think she's fitting in well and she gets along well with everyone. Luckily she did the program last year so her transition is probably easier than it would have been for someone completely new.

Last friday everyone in the program traveled to Boston to attend a rally for every AmeriCorps member in the state of Massachusetts. It was interesting to learn about all the different AmeriCorps programs in the state and talk to people from all over. I discovered that we are one of only two environmental programs, as most programs focus on tutoring for underprivileged kids or other poverty related issues. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend much time in the city since I had to get up early to serve on saturday morning. Saturday was Drop & Swap, an event I helped organized with my IP. People in the community came to drop and pick up gently used items for free. The members of my house who volunteered picked up some awesome items, like a big house plant, a lamp, a blanket, a pan, and more. For the event I helped organize special collections of eyeglasses for the Lions Club, sneakers for the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program, and crayons to be recycled through the organization Crazy Crayons. It was great weather for the event and it went well.

Various other events recently:

• For one group service project we removed an invasive plant called Phragmites, which were about 12 feet tall! Since it was a marsh area we got to work in the mud and it was messy but fun. 
• Jen and Orus came to visit and it was a brief but enjoyable visit!
• I climbed the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown (the northernmost town on the Cape), which was built to commemorate the landing of the pilgrims there. It was a really cool view from the top. Here's a cool old picture I found: 

Well hopefully I covered most interesting events since my last post. Sorry I haven't taken too many pictures lately, I keep forgetting. I'm going to try and work on that, though! Hope everyone is doing well! :)
-Margaret