Cold hands, warm hearts.

My friend Emily Blunt came down from Palmdale Friday night. We drove up to Camp Maranatha Saturday morning and spent a very un-it's-a-month-until-summer Memorial Day weekend working in Idyllwild. In fact, the weather was not unlike December's, when we worked together last, during Christmas break.



Here is Emily admiring the rain from our little cabin. While some flurries floated down in Idyllwild, elev. 5500, they positively stuck above 7000 feet, and the peak was completely white.



Here we are in a standard cabin. Emily was excited to stay in one since she never had before, but we switched to deluxe the second night after one of the groups left, because, let's face it, we're sissies. Emily might have snowy winters at Liberty in Virginia, but she's desert born and raised, and I chose my school largely for its location. I'm a sucker for temperate weather. That's why I flee the triple digits and take refuge in the mountains. Idyllwild is perfection in the summer.

It wasn't that bad this weekend, either. The groups we served were a lot of fun; the Formosan family group braved the chill to do tai chi out on the grass in the mornings. A few summer staffers from previous years came up, and we worked quickly and easily. Josh Tate hosted us for cookies and conversation, and Lisa Richard got back from Norway with tales and chocolate from her trip. Just a few more weeks until summer actually starts . . .