First and foremost, Happy New Year!
We last wrote a Windermere update in October about the August and September goings-on around the Ranch. As usual, so much has happened since then, and we have a lot we are looking forward to, including the upcoming Laughter, Humor, Joy and Happiness, The Golden Age Is Now | A Fundraiser and Birthday Party for Leigh Taylor-Young to benefit Windermere Ranch.
In preparation for the fundraiser we've scheduled two Volunteer Service Parties:
January 11 & 12 (Click Here to Learn More and RSVP)
January 18 & 19 (Click Here to Learn More and RSVP)
In this newsletter we are updating you on the highlights from October, November, and December. We encourage you to take a moment, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy a short article about the highlights from each month.
Before we get started on the monthly updates, allow us to officially introduce our newest ranch residents:
The Gries Family, who initially planned to visit for just a month, extended their trip to two months, and now will live at the Canyon Ridge House for the year–and hopefully beyond. Cary and Amanda, along with their two sons, aged 8 and 11, have been a wonderful presence on the ranch. They helped to initiate our weekly ranch meetings, feed the ranch animals every morning , and always show up to participate in service. We love the Gries!
In September, John Floyd and Lori Bullock traveled from Mt. Baldy to Windermere Ranch in their camper and are here to stay. Their lovely daughter, Makeda, also came for an extended stay in the Drake Cottage.
The Bullock-Floyds, in addition to being a steady presence at volunteer service parties, are supporting ranch residents in maintaining optimal health with daily doses of celery juice and by hosting weekly J-R seminars.
With the Gries family and the Bullock-Floyds on the ranch, the Windermere community is flourishing, creating many opportunities for impromptu get-togethers, walkabouts, conversations, and helping hands.
Read on for more stories from the community and the ranch. Enjoy!
If you've been following this newsletter, you may have noticed that a big focus has been cleaning and organizing the Windermere Barn. We owe a BIG thanks to all the volunteers who contributed to this project, whether through participation in our work parties or individually. We've come a long way!
A cleaner, more organized barn means that things on the ranch can flow more smoothly. We can find the tools, supplies, and materials we need when we need them. We have a convenient space to bring in vehicles and work on projects out of the weather when necessary, and we now have room to gather and host fundraisers.
On October 26th, we hosted a One-Day Spiritual Exercises Workshop and Fundraiser in the barn. The workshop was facilitated by the beloved Pauli Sanderson, and John Morton shared with participants during the event. John also served as auctioneer for the Windermere fundraiser, which featured items ranging from a one-week stay in Orvieto, Italy, and S.F. Symphony tickets to vintage Windermere t-shirts (I was lucky enough to have someone buy one for me. Thanks, Martha!).
During the lunch break, we celebrated John Morton's birthday, which was the next day, by bringing out a cake and singing for him. At lunch, plans were also made for a group of MSIA ministers to gather in the barn on October 27th to watch the global ministers meeting—which is exactly what we did.
John and Leigh joined us in the barn and made their contributions to the meeting from the stage, which was still set up from the SE Workshop the day before. The ministers meeting even included an impromptu appearance from one of our barn cats.
After the weekend, it was back to business as usual in the barn as we cleared the space and dug in for another round of cleaning and organizing—sorting everything we’ve kept onto sturdy shelves recently donated from the MSIA products department by David Jaramillo.
We’ll be hosting two service parties this month if you’d like to join us (see below for more details). We tend to have a lot of fun when we work together!
Other highlights from October include a Hogwarts-themed birthday party, hay bale rides, and a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner (see photos).
I, Ashley, LOVE the fall and the nostalgic traditions of hay bale rides, drinking apple cider, and growing, picking, and eating orange foods—especially pumpkins. I dream of having a pumpkin patch where families gather to harvest and celebrate the abundance of spring and summer. This year, we were especially abundant in pumpkins and other squash, including acorn, kabocha, and Blue Hubbard.
Our largest Blue Hubbard made its grand debut the night before our first annual PeaceGiving, a meal we shared with ranch residents and visiting guests. Six children, accompanied by eleven adults, brought dishes of their choosing to the Buddha Rock House. We gathered around a long table adorned with a fallen oak branch, flowers from the garden, and chicken eggshells painted to look like mushrooms. Each person's place was marked by a leaf painted to resemble a fox, complete with their name. The only thing more magical than the tablescape was the company, united in the joy of being together.
After the meal, we boxed up plates for the Bullock-Floyd and Gries families, who were feeling under the weather. To let our tummies settle before dessert, we powered on our battery candles and walked in the dark to deliver the meals, singing impromptu PeaceGiving carols along the way.
The sweetness continued with an assortment of pies and time spent together. As for our Blue Hubbard, what began as roasted squash slightly fermented in the slow cooker during reheating. There was so much of it—I didn’t want to let it go to waste! So, what was once roasted and mashed became bars and muffins for a High Tea we hosted for guests visiting that weekend. The tea’s theme was “leftovers” and featured dishes like a broccoli crunch salad (with sunflower seeds I wanted to use up) and a savory leftover pie with Thai food takeout. We're all about sustainability up here, folks.
With full bellies, we headed to the barn to circle up and share things we wanted to use up or release—fitting since we spent the afternoon doing just that in the barn. The week before, we had completed our "ReSET the QuonSET" project, moving the remaining items left outside during a previous shed clean-out party either into the barn or to the trash trailer.
Both our service and squash dishes carried on throughout the month. To use up the entire Blue Hubbard, I made smoothies, a pie, pancakes, tomato soup, a pumpkin roll, and a casserole.
Amanda told me about a book titled Too Many Pumpkins. Were there too many pumpkins? David, although a member of the Whitaker family, who once spent almost an entire year eating chicken soup for lunch, told me he needed a week’s break from anything squash-related. I almost obliged—but I did sneak a freshly roasted squash into some savory turkey rolls.
Next year be on the lookout for Windermere Pumpkin Pies for sale.
A typical Advent calendar experience includes opening doors to access delicious treats. Our 25 Bays of Christmas Service Project was perhaps a little less delicious. Throughout December, we gathered as a community each day at 4:00 PM, opened a bay (barn stall) door, and cleaned it. As it turns out, there are exactly 25 bays in the barn–the perfect advent calendar.
You might be thinking, Wait, didn’t you already clean out the barn for the event in October? Well, yes... and no. Leading up to that event, our focus was on identifying what each bay held and relocating items to their proper places. We accomplished that, as you saw, and hosted a beautiful event.
This time, our goal was to take it to the next level: clearing out the mats in bays that had become homes to things we didn’t want—like mold and rats—and removing items that were no longer useful. We only put back what serves a purpose, and organized it, ensuring everything is now easily accessible.
We could probably create a parody of The Twelve Days of Christmas to capture what we uncovered during the 25 Bays of Christmas. On the first day of Christmas, the barn stall gave to me... but we’ll stick to keeping our association with furry friends with tails to the cute felt ones that hang as ornaments on Christmas trees.
In December, we also embraced the spirit of Service while enjoying the festive season—creating bay leaf wreaths, baking cookies, watching J-R seminars, and gathering together in matching family pajamas to share delicious food. We are deeply grateful for the Windermere Ranch community, which you are a part of, and we look forward to all that the new year will bring.
If you’re interested in visiting us for a day trip or an overnight stay, simply reply to this email. We would particularly love to see you at one of our upcoming service parties to help bring the barn cleanup to completion.
Photos & Videos!
Enjoy these photos and videos from Windermere Ranch.
Album: January 2025
Invitation to Serve
January 11 & 12 (Click Here to Learn More and RSVP)
January 18 & 19 (Click Here to Learn More and RSVP)
Nota: Las cartas y diversas actualizaciones ahora están disponibles en español! Puedes por favor enviarme un email, si deseas recibirlos en español.