High Desert Home

I'm Doing a Summer-Time Blog. . .

2011-06-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

and you are welcome to visit me there, if you'd like:

My Summer Notebook

I've barely gotten started, but I'll be writing about a lot of different things: my life over the past two years, house, home, family, food, books, summer-time activities, God's goodness, nature, and all of those things that I love.

Blessings and Happy Summer!
Susan

And Another One Comes Into the World!.

2011-01-22T14:03:00.001-08:00

Aimee's sweet new girl, Avery.
One day old.

(All grandchildren must be added to this blog!)

One-year-old. . .

2010-12-18T22:32:00.001-08:00

Sweet Liya.

(It just doesn't seem right
not to have her on the old blog.
She's so much part of the family now.)

2010-06-10T10:47:00.001-07:00

At the zoo.

Update. . .

I'm continually asked about my daughter's baby. Michelle had a truly beautiful baby girl on October 3. Liya is sweet-natured and about as smiley as a baby can be. Now, at eight months, she's a high-speed crawler who likes to be right in the mix of her brothers' play. And they adore her as much as she adores them.

I'm in a new place living a very different kind of life than the one I lived before (I just moved again last week), and I'm thankful for all that God has taught me and shown me about Himself in the past year. I am in awe of Him. He has guided and provided and opened doors and done miraculous things.

I Believe...

2009-05-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

This can't really be much of a surprise, but because I've never directly said what I believe, I want to make a clear statement of it now in my last post. I believe the following with all of my heart and also with all of my mind. I don't want a crutch to lean on. I don't want religion. I'm not looking for something to make me feel good. I seek Truth. And I wholeheartedly believe this to be true.

My relationship with God has brought a great deal of peace and light and deep joy to my life in spite of many challenges, trials, losses, and hardships. The Bible says that God daily bears our burdens, and this has been so very true for me. I am loved and forgiven, blessed and kept by His hand. My hope remains in Him. I pray that you will have that hope, too.

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen.

~taken from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

:~:~:~:~:

Thank you for your kindness and great warmth to me. Thank you for your prayers and blessings and encouragement. Thank you for appreciating the things I've shared about my life and family and home.

Gratefully,
Susan

A Very Quick Answer to Leigh's Question and Our Tasty Dinner...

2009-05-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yet another post, and it's not even the last one! :-) I guess this is my final furious flurry.

In the comment box, Leigh asked this (don't feel selfish about asking, Leigh!):

"Speaking of "three little things" :), I remember you commenting on one of your posts that there were three things you wanted your kids to do each day. Would you mind sharing what they were? Actually, I guess it would be the two other things :), since you already mentioned writing."

I've long wanted to address this kind of thing because it's been asked more than once, and I've felt remiss in not responding. It's not that I haven't tried, though; it's that I get bogged down every time I try to write about this because there's a whole philosophy behind this, so it's not as cut and dried as my answers seem. (A good part of the philosophy behind this is in my learning posts, especially the ones on a learning atmosphere. I never did finish those and that pained me a great deal.)

This is not yet the answer to Leigh's question, but, just to let you know, the last three topics in my learning atmosphere notes were going to be:

1. The great importance and value of chores and doing good, hard, physical work and having real responsibilities.

2. Do real things. John Senior talks about this in his wonderful book The Restoration of Christian Culture. Read it if you can get your hands on it. :-)

3. Um, um, um... Oh, my goodness, I can't remember the other one, and all of my papers are packed! :-) It must not be important...

Anyway, a very quick, unwieldy (because I'm not taking the time to think and edit-- cringe-- but I have thought much about this over the years, and I have lived it with my kids), off the top of my head response to Leigh is this:

The three things I expected my kids to do daily besides living a full and intersting life of learning in our free time--

1. Reading

Whatever they wanted as long as it was quality, well-written stuff. And there's much of it out there for children (especially older books), so no one was ever-- or ever felt-- deprived! They were supposed to read every day, but it's almost a joke to list this because reading was their favorite thing to do. They loved books. They read alone. We read together. For hours. Sometimes I had to tell them to stop reading and do something else. The most common topic of conversation in our home was books. It's still that way.

2. Writing

Whatever they wanted. Anything. It was open-ended! Journals, essays, letters, copy-work, dictation. They created newsletters. They had their own little writing club. They made lists and plans and all sorts of things. I have boxes and boxes of journals the kids kept, and they did a prodigious amount of other writing. Andrew Pudewa says that reading (and memorizing) good poetry is one really great way to learn to write. I believe him. My kids did read and memorize poetry for fun and wrote and wrote. They wrote in their own way. I didn't correct it or grade it, but I did read it, and if I saw patterns of things they were doing wrong, I'd mention it to them. Honestly, most stuff self-corrects if they are reading well. Doing that and then writing, writing, writing, brought it all together nicely. All of them eventually really wanted to be good writers, so they took it upon themselves to work on it. We had loads of good handbooks and helps for writing on our shelves, and the kids used them often. I absolutely mean it when I say that all four of my kids are much better writers than me. I'm glad I didn't dumb them down by trying to teach them. :-)

3. Math

Making progress every day, at their own pace, which was most often fairly accelerated. We selected materials together. Different kids needed different programs. I wanted them to like and "click" with what they were using. From 4th grade on, the kids completely taught themselves math.

~:~:~:~:~

These were our basic, everyday things. On top of this, we explored our natural world and appreciated the world of the arts with great enthusiasm. We delved into many hobbies and interests. We did real things. We tried to avoid things that kept us from the real things, the good things, a true education. The kids were enthusiastic doers, creators, thinkers. It was lovely watching them fill their days with learning and creating. Unless something else was on the agenda, the business of our days was to get an education. And we all took it seriously. It didn't fit within any particular hours. It went on from wake-time to bed-time and on the weekends. It was what we did, and it is what we still do. Even my college kids pursue their own life and education along with their school assignments. They get it.

I think this worked for us because of the kind of atmosphere and expectations we had in our home. We kept a lot of distractions out of our home environment, like media and too many activities, and not everyone will want to do this. That's okay. This is just what we did. We lived in the country where the kids roamed and played and explored. We read together and worked together and talked an awful lot. Learning was fun for us. And I think our enthusiasms rubbed off on each other.

Other kids and families played a part in our lives, too, and people were in and out of our home often, but we had an awful lot of long, quiet days at home to work and go about the business of learning. If one wants to create a learning lifestyle atmosphere, it takes a lot of work to do it. And, as we go along, we realize what works and what doesn't, and then we make a choice as to how we want to proceed because we have to work within the reality of our situations. If we are home educating, then education is not to be shrugged off. If a natural course of learning isn't working, and if we have tried to adjust our environment to make it work, and it's still not working, or if we are unwilling to make the necessary adjustments, then we need to reevaluate what we're doing. Not everyone's family will thrive in the same way, but, hopefully, we can all love to learn and make it a natural, everyday endeavor, not limited to certain hours or certain days or a certain part of our lives.

(Another home education book I really like is Educating Children at Home by Alan Thomas.)

~:~:~:~

Okay, there. Now for dinner.

I didn't intend to post this (neither did I intend to answer any questions, but here I am), but it was so good that I had to write one last bit about food. Cooking is so relaxing and enjoyable for me. I'm trying to eat whatever meat is in the freezer and whatever food remains in cupboards this week. There's not much left, but this afternoon I did have a few Yukon potatoes, a couple onions, and four organic chicken thighs. There are always lemons and olive oil about the house, and there are currently lots of fresh herbs in the garden. Beautiful gobs of oregano and sage and tarragon, with other herbs coming on nicely. I chose to use oregano because it would work well in a Greek-flavored lemon-chicken-onion meal.

So, that's what I made-- a lemon-oregano potato, onion, and chicken dish that looked so pretty before putting into the oven that I was wishing badly I could photograph it. It looked just as pretty and tasty when it came out. And it tasted just wonderful. A dinner with my very favorite kinds of flavor. It makes me thankful for so much good food.

I turned the oven on to 375 degrees.

I sliced one yellow onion.

I cut three or four smallish-medium Yukon potatoes into big, bite-sized chunks.

I wish I had thought to add a whole bunch of whole cloves of garlic to this.

I chopped a whole bunch of fresh oregano.

I squeezed the juice from one small lemon.

I fried the chicken thighs, with skin on, in butter to brown well and begin the cooking process. I sprinkled the tops with salt.

When the thighs were nicely browned, I set them in a parchment lined baking dish.

When I finished frying the chicken thighs, I set them in a parchment lined baking dish. I placed the potatoes and onion into a bowl and tossed them with some sea salt, the lemon juice, most of the oregano, and some olive oil (a few tablespoons?). Then I placed this around the chicken pieces. (The size dish depends on how much you're making. You'll want the potatoes and onions to fit in, if not one layer, in close to it. You don't want a deep mound of vegetables or they won't get that nice roasty look and taste.) I sprinkled the rest of the oregano over the chicken and the potato mixture. I drizzled any juice that remained in the bowl over the chicken and then the potatoes and set it into the oven to bake. For how long, I'm not sure, but it was over an hour for sure. I just kept checking. When it looked done enough, I let it cook even longer. I wanted it to be really done! I let it go until the chicken skin was lovely crispy brown and the meat was fall-off-the-bone done and melt-in-your-mouth tender and the potatoes were nicely browned, too.

When it came out of the oven, Michelle and I oohed and ahhed, and when we ate it, we oohed and ahhed even more energetically. We loved this. I hope you will, too.

That's all for now, but I'll still try to respond to recent comments before I go to bed tonight. Last little post coming in the morning.

I'll leave comments open for about a week, and then I'll close them. I'll leave the blog open so people who want to catch up on older posts can. Eventually, but not right away, I'll "hide" the blog so that it can't be accessed. If you want to make copies of anything for your own use before that, you are welcome to. Please, though, do not republish anything I've written. While the blog is still open to the public, you are welcome to link to it. Thank you!

Three Little Things...

2009-05-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

1. Why do kids find such delight in creating forts that are like little dens? As I sat at the table drinking my coffee this morning, Jayden and Roman made a fort underneath, by my feet. The opposite side of the table was enclosed by a chair, and the open side had unused moving boxes leaning up against it, so it did create an obvious fort, and if you're a little child you will notice these things. My own kids made forts under tables and behind furniture all the time. They'd drag out just the right things to turn these forts into little homes, and then they'd play happily there for hours.

It's the same kind of delight they got from books like Brambly Hedge or Beatrix Potter or The Rescuers or so many other books featuring anthropomorphized animals. I don't know that there's a connection between the forts and the stories except that the words "den" and "cosiness" tend to come to mind for both, and the imagination is delightfully engaged in both cases, too. My children still love Brambly Hedge-- the illustrations in particular, I think. My 23 year old son still enjoys occasionally perusing his volume of the entire collection of Brambly Hedge stories, and he's not embarrassed to say so!

2. In the midst of the moving and serious talk of changes and decluttering and simplicity, I've not dropped off shopping for thrift or vintage items altogether. It's just that now, the things I buy need to be needed. And I needed dish towels. I used to like Martha Stewart's K-Mart dish towels (the only thing I ever entered K-Mart for), but when I stopped by recently, they didn't have any. So, I looked at the antique store, and somehow, these really kitschy old linen souvenir and calendar dish towels caught my eye. They were all in great/perfect condition, well made, sort of fun and tacky, and cheap, so why not?!

So, I now have in my possession one really cute bright orange (and other early 70's colors) rooster calendar dish towel from 1971. I have a 1979 light blue and green and brown towel with an adorable picture of owls on it (the little boys particularly like this one). There are two linen souvenir towels from Australia-- one with koala bears and one with eucalyptus plans. There's a cool one from the Grand Canyon. And there is one that's clearly from the 1950's-- it's bright pink and lime green-yellowish and black, with a typical 50's design style, set in Paris. There are unifying-color-theme issues with this little set of towels, but that's okay. I like them.

3. And I am reading. The books I'm reading are mostly of the spiritually-oriented variety right now, but I'll pick up others again when I am settled. Currently, there are several in my stack, but two that I'm just starting to read are Esther de Waal's To Pause at the Threshold and Joan Chittister's The Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully. I know I'll really like the Threshold book (it's perfectly suited to my situation), and I'm loving what I'm reading in The Gift of Years. I haven't read it thoroughly yet, but I've browsed through it, and I'm pretty sure that when I'm finished I'll be highly recommending this. I might as well do that now, since I won't be blogging when I finish. There is a lot of wisdom and joy in this book. If you are middle aged or older, or you're just interested in thinking about what really matters, there is a lot of insight and inspiration to be gained from this book. It's light, but thoughtful and deep.

And now I'll carry on with my work. My last, short, post will be tomorrow. Nothing wordy or thoughtful on my part, but one little thing I want to say before I leave. Also, I'll try to get back to respond to recent comments later.

Transitions...

2009-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

"In the Gospels, we watch a Christ who, in dismissing certainties, shows us what freedom might mean. We watch the way in which he enters into people's live and dissolves an existing situation, whatever it might be. The likelihood was that the condition had promised security, safety, but now Christ challenges the people to leave their nets, or to leave a nice, safe booth and to follow him. He says to Peter, James, and John, 'Come,' and to Matthew, 'Stand up, move, walk, come with me.' Our God is a God who moves and he invites us to move with him. He wants to pry us away from anything that might hold us too securely: our careers, our family systems, our money making. We must be ready to disconnect. There comes a time when the things that were undoubtedly good and right in the past must be left behind, for there is always the danger that they might hinder us from moving forward and connecting with the one necessary thing, Christ himself."

~Esther de Waal in To Pause at the Threshold: Reflections on Living on the Border

In the process of moving house, most things have now been packed and are ready to be transferred to our storage unit. The little bit of furniture that will be hauled to our new home has mostly been moved to one corner of the living room now. And, without thinking, I've moved myself there, too

Next to one of the living room windows, I set up a beat up little table I'll set up in my apartment. A lamp rests on it, and it didn't take long for a small stack of books to form beside the lamp. Even though the table is there only temporarily, awaiting its move, it has become my morning quiet time place and the place I sit when I want to eat something, to read with pen and paper at hand, to make lists, or to write in my journal. And it's a very pleasant spot.

I realized this morning, as the coffee finished brewing in the French press and I began to walk toward the living room to sit down with my journal and coffee, that I have made something of an initial transition already without even thinking about it. I have left behind my old familiar spots for reading and relaxing-- the dining table and the chair in the corner adjacent to the woodstove-- and I've left them behind with good memories but no regrets. I'm at the threshold of a new time, a new stage of my life.

As I thought about this, I realized something. Keeping this blog has been a gift to me in a way that I didn't expect. It's a journal of my very ordinary daily life over the course of an entire year, through the seasons and holidays, of our celebrations and joys, through times of grief and times of delight. It's a keepsake glimpse of one year of our family life and some of the philosophy that has guided that life, lived here in our High Desert Home.

It's not a journal of everything we did, of everything we thought, of everything we enjoyed or endured, but it's a real, honest, grateful glimpse of the lovely life the Lord blessed us with here. I can look at my blog and recall good things. Through photos and my words, I can remember and enjoy and be thankful all over again for God's many blessings.

I will look back with a smile and a full heart, but not with yearning. I've loved living here. It's where my kids mostly grew up and where we enjoyed day after lovely day together. This place and the time we spent here has become part of the fabric of our lives, and so, in some nice ways, it's always with us. We have been made and shaped and changed here, but the time has clearly come for us to move forward. The kids already have, and Mike's job took him away long ago. Our thoughts of retiring here are gone, and we have no regrets about that.

I look forward to what comes next, and I feel extremely blessed. God continually surprises me with His provision in every way. I want to make the business of my life to be one of seeing the blessings of God and of counting them every single day.

I'm moving, transitionally (more changes will come in time), to a small apartment. No, it's teeny-tiny. And like I said earlier, that's okay with me. I don't mind living a smaller life; in fact, I welcome it. If there's one thing I've come to know, it's that things really are just things. When I narrowed my possessions down to what I would take with me and what I would not, it came down to three things. Useful. Beautiful. Meaningful. And when this is narrowed down to what is most useful, beautiful, and meaningful, it enlightened me a bit to my values.

~I really do intensely dislike clutter in my space and would rather get rid of special things than live in a frustratingly crowded place.

~Not much matters as far as material possessions go. It really doesn't. But that doesn't mean I won't try to make my surroundings pleasant and cheerful. God surrounded us with beauty. That matters. Some of my stuff has seen its better days, for sure, but that's okay, and it wouldn't be beautiful to anyone else, but because it's charged with meaning and memories, there's a sweetness to it for me. When I talk about beauty, I'm not talking about magazine-home beauty. What's going with me is either well loved or useful.

~My books were the most difficult to narrow down. (I'm taking half cookbooks.) I realized that the books I wanted were the ones that spoke of the kind of inner life I love. The ones that are lovely to read. The ones that inspire me to simplicity. The ones about giving and sharing and showing hospitality (yes, even in a teeny-tiny world). The ones that challenge me not to be about myself, but to be about others. Without trying to, I narrowed the books down to what is extremely well-written-- things that are accepted as classics or are "classic" to my own life.

~Oh, you don't need to have the whole list, and, anyway, I don't have time to write it!~

I think the biggest challenge I'll get to meet is the kitchen stove. :-) It's like a dollhouse stove. I don't think a 9x13 inch pan can fit into the oven. The burners are all laughingly small. Will I be able to use two of them to heat my Dutch oven? :-) I love to cook, and I'd really like to have a great big, six-burner, restaurant style, gas stove, but I think I've got the smallest four burner electric stove that was ever made! People have cooked on a single electric burner on their counters before, though. Really, this is nothing to complain about. It's something to have fun adjusting to. And I mean that.

One of the blessings of middle age is that you've been through a lot of changes, a lot of ups and downs, maybe some crises, probably some loss. And what you learn, if you welcome the lesson, is that it all ends up not mattering. What matters-- really matters (and I'm not being spiritually trite here)-- is loving God and loving others.

Smooth transitions, changes, and adjustments all start with choice. With openness. With no demands. With letting go. There's a huge amount of freedom in this and a sense of adventure. Why not see each threshold or transition as an adventure? As exciting? Or at least as good. Can I stand on that threshold and feel the welcoming breeze, smell the fresh air, see the warm and compelling light? What's out there? I just need to step through to find out.

Like what is behind, what is ahead will not be perfectly ideal or always-sweet and giddy. Life is not like that. But if we believe that God is leading us along, what is there to fear? Why keep looking back? He says He has us hemmed us in behind and before. He says He lights our path. He says He will never leave us or forsake us. He says His plans for us are good.

I believe Him.

Stillness...

2009-05-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

"Stillness in one individual can affect society beyond measure."

~Bede Griffiths (1906-1993)
(as read in Paula Huston's The Holy Way)

photo: amolife.com

Speaking of Having No Air Conditioner...

2009-05-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

"The Siesta" by Paul Gaugin

"Only mad dogs and the British go out in the noonday sun."
~an Indian saying

This bit of commentary was motivated by my eating of really spicy food in the middle of this very warm day in the hottest room in the house, all of which adds up to a bit of light perspiration even when one is sitting still. And then I realized that the spicy food and the perspiration actually ended up cooling me off, and I began to think of other cultures who live in hot climates, and how they live (and often eat spicy foods), and why we all sweat, and why we didn't used to work in mid-day, and all sorts of things, including how our western "advances" just might not be...

Until modern times, people in very hot climates around the world lived without electric air conditioning units or systems (many or most still do). For the most part, there was no choice in the matter, but our modern, particularly western, and maybe more particularly, American, way of hot weather living is now mostly geared to and centered around air conditioning.

When it's hot, we wake in air-conditioned bedrooms. Most often, when we leave the house, we step directly into an air conditioned car. When we leave the car, we walk straight into air conditioned buildings, and when we return home, we do this in reverse. And if any of the air conditioners in this routine happen to go out, we are miserable. Why? Maybe because we are battling nature, and when our tactics (in this case our A/C's) fail, we lose.

Ever notice that 75 degrees in very early spring can feel almost too warm, but when temperatures start dropping back down toward 70 degrees in the fall, we're just about chilly enough to pull out the sweaters? I read once that it takes the body two weeks to totally adjust if it goes directly from cool to hot temperatures. For those two weeks, the hot temperatures will feel hotter than they will when we finally physiologically adapt. But if we follow nature, there's a thing called spring that usually eases us into hotter temperatures, and physiological changes happen more gradually, more comfortably, and more naturally.

When we move continually from air conditioned environment to air conditioned environment, though, how is our body supposed to adapt? Is it possible that we're not allowing nature to take its course, and so we never allow our bodies to make the adjustment that would ease the effects of heat? Are we maybe more miserable than we need to be in the heat because we've tried to outsmart it? Might this be poetic justice? (I'm kidding.)

The same need to allow time for the body to adjust is true when we encounter large changes in altitude, as high altitude mountain climbers know well. To disregard nature's timetable in making physiological adjustments, in their case, would mean death. It's wise, and healthy, to work with nature.

But we were talking about heat, weren't we?

Nowadays, people don't often think about planting trees to shade a window in summer and, conversely, to allow light in the winter. Why should they? We have air conditioners! Not many people consider the things that used to be done, guided by common sense, to keep their homes from getting unbearably hot in summer (and I think "unbearably" used to mean something different than it does nowadays). Without even thinking about it, we tend to count on our air conditioners, and I think this can sometimes be to our detriment.

I'm not saying I'm 100% opposed to air conditioning. There won't be an air conditioner in my apartment when I move, but here at our house, I have a little window air conditioner that I sometimes turn on when the temperature reaches the upper 90's or when company is here. In recent years, I've tried not to use it, but most people aren't accompanied to sweating it out, and I don't intend to train them, so I turn it on for company without making a to-do about it.

It feels nice to walk into an air conditioned place straight off a hot sidewalk, and there are good-- even life-saving-- reasons for certain people to keep their air conditioners running, so I'm certainly on no crusade against them!

Being A/C-dependent may be one way we moderns are losing touch with our natural rhythms. In some cultures, a siesta was set for mid-day when it was too hot to work. Cultures all over the world have established rest times during the hottest part of the day.

There's some interesting info on this here:

Siesta

People have traditionally rested according to the dictates of nature. Whether or not they would have chosen this if they had been able to foil nature is another thing (because we tend to like to override nature whenever we find a way), but the fact remains that they did indeed rest (and still do in many places), and it became an established part of those cultures.

My great-grandpa was a wheat farmer in high desert Oregon in the early 1900's, and, without fail, he rested-- laid himself down right on the floor of the living room-- every day after lunch. He spent the hottest part of the day indoors and worked the rest of the daylight hours. Even intuitively, this seems good, doesn't it?

Because we are busy, taking time to rest or relax is something many people now consider a nuisance, a hindrance, or even a luxury. As we get wealthier and technology advances, we find ways to vault past the gentle, body-wise guidance and limits of nature-- like heat (we use air conditioners) and darkness (we have bright electric lights) and even natural human energy (we load up on sugar and caffeine to keep our systems up and running when our natural energy tanks are empty). This is to our peril, I think.

Natural rhythms are good ones. There is darkness, and there is light. There is a time for waking, and there is a time for sleeping. There is a time for growing hungry, and there is a time for eating. There is a time to be busy, and there is a time to stop and relax. There is work to do, and then there is rest. There is heat, and there are natural ways to stay cool.

Taking some of these natural steps are good for the environment and will reduce our power bills, but because, as a culture, we've worked so hard to find ways to outsmart nature, we haven't needed to take things like heat into consideration as we build our homes, our daily lives, and our routines. Most of us would need to educate ourselves just a bit and make some simple adjustments to the way we think if we wanted to live more naturally in hot weather once again. If.

On that note, here are a few good tips for staying cool without an air conditioner for those who are interested and don't mind perspiring a bit from time to time. Perspiring is extremely good for our health, and yet we avoid it like crazy! I wonder why. Maybe so our hair and clothing won't get messed up. :-)

How to Cool Yourself Without Air Conditioning

(I have not watched the video in this link, so I do not know what that guy there is doing with all of that liquid or what that liquid is. I hope he's behaving!)

I have have to say that I've read here and there in writings about eco or sustainable building, that people are again considering the old ways of keeping cool. So, it's definitely being done.

My Final Daybook Entry...

2009-05-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

I have no new pictures because my camera battery has run out and the charger has gone missing, so I'll take this from my files (this isn't my house) as a representation of the state of things here. The house is emptying quickly.

I hate to make a big pronouncement of the fact that this is the last week I'll be blogging (but it is, and, no, this is not yet my last post), as if I'm communicating something important because that feels really, really silly. So let's just move right along...

I'd like to fit in one more Monday Morning Daybook, so let's get down to it, and let's make it a long, rambly, stream of consciousness one:

Outside my window...

I enjoy the view out across the meadow as I sit at the computer drinking this morning's bold, black French-pressed coffee from my favorite round handmade-in-Poland mug. It's a bright, lovely morning. The rising sun shines lovely pink light on the western hills. Birds fly busily and cheerfully about, twittering and singing, as in a fairytale. The sky is vivid blue, and the morning air is crisp and refreshing, as always.

One last time. Here it is. My favorite mug. No scones this morning, though. :-)

It's supposed to be in the upper 80's here today for the second day in a row, but the nice thing about the high desert is that, even when days are very warm, temperatures drop considerably in the evening (is it because of our elevation? 4500 feet?). The thermometer had dipped into the upper 30's this morning-- a nice, cool way to start what will should become a very warm day. We don't have an air conditioner to cool us on hot afternoons, but I've long been of the persuasion that it's not necessary to feel perfectly comfortable every moment of one's life.

Around the house...

The big push begins. My goal is to have every single thing in the house, except for the daily essentials (like my coffee press), packed today. And I want everything to be in storage or on its way to our new home by this weekend. Then I'll come back here to have the sale that was necessarily postponed last weekend and do a bit of final cleaning up.

It's a busy mess around here, but somehow there are still spots of order, and even little corners that are pleasant and pretty.

Reading...

Paula Huston's The Holy Way. I've really benefited from this book. Some of Paula's insights have been timely and helpful. I've just discovered her blog, and I hope she'll be posting regularly.

That beautiful book by Tessa Kiros, Falling Cloudberries, though I must say I avoided it for two days when food, for maybe the first time in my life, repulsed me.

Jane Brocket's book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, again, just because I am, you know, an incurable domestic. Jane is the kind of domestic who makes lovely things with her hands and admits to not caring much for cleaning (although her home is clearly very clean). I'm the kind of person who actually finds peace in the rhythms and order created by daily housework, and I even think of it as a holy task, but I'm with Jane when she says that a house should have the appearance of actually being lived in. Actually, I'm with Jane on just about everything. I think her book is great!

When I think about my domestic ways-- my inclination to tend to matters of house and home-- I realize it started when I was a young girl...

I was the type of young girl to want to make my bedroom happy and cosy. I loved playing house more than anything else, and when I was in third grade or so and got a cardboard corner cupboard for Christmas, I was in little girl domestic heaven! I placed the brand new transistor radio I also got for Christmas on one of the shelves and let carols serenade me as I quite happily puttered around cleaning my bedroom on Christmas morning.

I must admit, though, that "cleaning" my bedroom in those earliest years was often done in the fashion of piling all messes and clutter in the corner, covering it with a big blanket, and pulling it all into a tight ball, loose blanket ends tucked neatly underneath. (There! Doesn't that look nice?) In fact, I remember setting the corner cupboard up on one of these nicely covered piles of stuff-- they were actually sort of like miniature, indoor landfills! Apparently I didn't have much of a decorator's eye.

At any rate, while I was quite the domestic-minded little girl, I could tear around the neighborhood, on bike or on foot, with the best of the boys (and my sisters). We all loved playing sports, climbing trees, racing bikes, and building forts. (I suppose I was the most domestic tomboy ever.) When I was involved in fort-building, it was always with an eye toward making it a domestic haven. There would definitely be a kitchen, some place to sit, and a nice entryway. I would make sure there were wildflowers or greenery inside. And there would be a broom-- whether it was an old one Mom let us use or one we fashioned from a tree branch-- and I would happily and industriously sweep, sweep, sweep. When a fort has a dirt floor, there's never-ending sweeping material. Nary a pine needle or a leaf rested long on the floor of any fort I inhabited!

I can't say for certain that I keep my house as well as I kept my forts (I know I don't sweep that obsessively), but I was, still am, and will continue to be, I'm sure, an incurable domestic.

In the kitchen...

Not much, I'm afraid. First, I was too sick to eat. And on that note, let me interject a free tip here. When you've been too ill to eat for two days, do not start off again with a few bites of chocolate mousse, no matter how much you love chocolate and even if it's healthy avocado-based chocolate mousse. Not a good idea. By yesterday evening, though, the green lemonade tasted good. I think I'm on my way.

And suddenly, this morning, things like chocolate chip cookies sound good. Why? I haven't made them in ages, though I mentioned once before that I do believe I've made more chocolate chip cookies than any other person in the history of the world. I used to keep a continual supply of them in my home, and with my four kids, one hungry husband, and a constant stream of neighbor kids and visitors moving in and out of our home, the cookies didn't last long. Today, if I'm feeling well enough, I shall take a break and bake some cookies (and then I'll pack my baking sheets).

Thinking about...

How much different my life is going to be when I leave this country home for life right in the midst of the city (yes, that's right, and I'll say more about this later this week). Pretty much everything will be different. I'll be able to walk or use mass transportation almost every place I'll need to go, which I love. I'll have no yard (but I will have window boxes, and there are parks right at hand). And my living space is, oh, more than six times smaller than the space I have now (!).

Did I mention my life will be a lot different when I move? But I really don't mind. In fact, I look forward to the challenges and blessings of this as I attmept to continue living quietly and simply in a very busy, bustling place. I've wanted to live a smaller life. I've wanted to develop a life of less being more, and here's my chance! Here's an opportunity to grow and learn and find joy exactly where I am. I know it won't always be easy, but I believe it will all "work together for good." So, I really do embrace this change. Home is wherever you make it. Home is wherever God leads you. And I know that where we're going is where we're supposed to be for now.

So, as I pack, I'm decluttering more than I ever have, and I've done a lot of it. I'm packing some things away for storage, and I'm taking just enough with me when I move. I've measured every bit of wall space in our new apartment, and have calculated what things will fit inside without leaving me with a cluttered jumble of stuff. It's been sort of fun to think what I want to take the most (or what will fit), and narrow things down to what is useful or beautiful (right, Lucille?!). And most meaningful.

What new things will I need there? Do I have those things, or can I use something I already have in place of it?

Which brings me to another thing I may as well ramble on about. If I need to buy something, I try first to buy something used, usually from a thrift or antique shop. I actually prefer older things because they have often have more interest, history, character, and charm than what is new. Plus, they're usually constructed of better quality than a similar new item, at a fraction of the cost.

I've always been draw to the plain beauty of vintage things. (These are not mine, though I have some utensils like this. I got the photo from a favorite blog, Vintage Living.)

But I'm not buying whatever strikes my fancy at either the thrift shop or the antique shops since I'm trying to live with less, not more. (And, at the same time, I'm trying to live more with less!) So, instead, when I need something in particular, I'll pop in to Goodwill or the antique warehouse to see if they have what I'm looking for or at least something I can creatively use in place of it. I guess you could say that, instead of hobby-thrifting, I'm Intentional-Thrifting.

Doing...

In the midst of writing this, the boys woke up and wanted their "Mama," who had left just a short time before to take their dad to town. I took both boys to the couch and distracted them by pointing out birds and all of the pretty and interesting things we could see outside. I put their attention to looking and listening carefully so as not to miss anything. As always, it worked, and soon the bird-watching became so engaging that we were snuggled together, reading through the boys' favorite bird book. Roman decided that he is a Mountain Bluebird and Jayden is a White-Breasted Nuthatch. Jayden nodded enthusiastically in response and said, "I a nuthatch!" We watched the swallows move back and forth from their nest colony they built onto the side of our house to the surrounding countryside in search of food for their noisy babies. This faithful, relentless work by the adult birds to feed their babies amazes me. I'm thankful I'm not a bird. I'm too lazy. But maybe I should learn something...

Glad to be human, I lazily sipped my coffee and sat on the couch with the best two little boys in the world and enjoyed observing God's gift of nature that is around us. And finally, we got up and had ourselves some cereal.

We'll be leaving in town in a short time to stop by the bank, pick up the mail, and gather some more boxes for packing, so it's time to close this daybook.

Have an extra lovely day.

Bedside Flowers...

2009-05-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

When you are feeling too poorly to lift your head from the pillow, let alone get out of bed, it's very nice to have someone place a cheery pot of flowers on the table beside you. Then to lie there, hearing the quiet whispers of people moving through the house, doing the work that you should be doing-- packing and moving and organizing-- and occasionally coming in to see if you need anything.

And, on day two, feeling much better, but still unable to arise, lying in bed reading, while those nice people once again move through the house thoughtfully, quietly, and unobtrusively.

Lying still and quiet. Pretty flowers brightening the room. Morning sun falling gently in the wide open window. Sweet, cool, fresh air blowing lightly through the room. I can't think of a more pleasant way to feel poorly.

I'm moving around a bit this evening. And maybe someday I'll feel like eating again.

Thanks, Mom and Nancy, for everything. You'll never know what a help you were (in so many ways) while you were here.

Thank You Both, Kristen and Anonymous, for...

2009-05-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

the mint chutney recipe! How really nice of you both to go to the trouble.

Kristen, I really enjoyed your comment. You live in Belgium. Oh, how fun! Thanks for letting me know you've been reading here. I'm so glad to know that. I smiled reading about your own morning quiet time with your coffee. And about cleaning that press... I don't know what to tell you except that I do it the Lazy Homemaker way, and most of the time, I leave the press intact and simply wash it the best I can with my soapy dishrag. Occasionally, I'll dismantle it and give it a good cleaning, but this is rarer than the Conscientious Homemaker would smile upon, I'm afraid. All the best to you, Kristen!

I Keep Turning Comments On and Off...

2009-05-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

When I let you know awhile back I'd be ending my blog, I thought I'd just slide out quickly, so I turned off comments. Then I'd have a reason to allow them for one post, so I'd turn them back on. Then I'd turn them off again. It all seems a bit thoughtless. So sorry!

I was talking with someone this evening, and I mentioned that it feels rude to have a public blog and no way for anyone to contact me. No email. No comments. So I think it's best just to leave the comments open until I'm gone. I won't be changing this again. :-) Thanks for being patient with me!

And hello to you Dorothy and Laurel. It was nice to see your comments this morning even though you didn't have that recipe I was looking for. About the recipe, I decided to that there's a thing called "delayed gratification" that is good to practice. So, I'll just wait to have the fish with mint and apple chutney when I have my book back.

A Belated Mother's Day Post...

2009-05-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

I wrote this yesterday morning, but then I didn't post it. I wasn't sure if I seemed to be pointing fingers or if it was critical in any way. That's not what I mean to do. So, I read it aloud to Michelle while she was doing something, and she said she didn't know what I was concerned about and that I should go ahead and post it. But maybe that's because she's my daughter, and she knows my spirit.

Anyway, here's what I wrote...

For Mother's Day, I was going to put up a photo of my mom and dad together (because that's the way they were for 54 years), and I thought I had a whole disc of photos to choose from, but when I inserted the disc, it had been mislabeled. There was a small amount of text on the disc and nothing else. Sad.

But I can still say how much I love and appreciate my mother. I can still say that she amazes me. I can still say that she is my hero. I've posted about Mom before, here and here and in other places, and I don't want to repeat myself, but I do want to honor her today. She deserves it.

Mom married young, when she was just two months past 18, and she had her first child right after turning 20. By the time she was 25, she had five children. Wow, huh? Mom and dad used to joke that they grew up with their kids, and I think we were pretty lucky it was that way. A lot of people say that waiting until you're older to have children is better because you're wiser, more stable, and more settled.

I happen to disagree that older is better, but I'm not really arguing for or against either youth or age in parenting. Maybe God means for both to happen. If there's a choice, maybe we should be having kids when we are young and continuing to have them til we are older. Children are a blessing, you know.

But I do think that sometimes (certainly not always) older parents with young children can be too calculated, too careful, too logical, too perfectionistic, too worried, too analytical about it all, and, as George MacDonald wrote long ago, "Analysis is well as death is well." This can be true in parenting. Really. We need to be attuned and prayerful and take our responsibility seriously, but we also need to be light and child-like and cheery and airy and loose. Good, consistent discipline and happy, orderly routines, combined with freedom and fun-- with Love in and through it all-- works well.

To be fair, I'll have to say that I think today's young parents can (but certainly don't automatically or always) have their own temptations. Never before has a generation been so incredibly media-saturated, so distracted, so busy, so seemingly disoriented and not knowing what to do about it (I say this based on real life experience with lots and lots of young mothers). I often (again, certainly not always) see a restlessness, a distractedness, a lack of order, ennui. And I can see how it affects parenting. I see frustrated and exasperated moms who don't realize that they might be doing this to themselves by being reactive and inconsistent in their parenting, maybe because they're too distracted or busy to be proactive and consistent.

My mom didn't know the first thing about raising kids, either, but I look back at how God gave her amazing wisdom. Today, we have a gazillion books, classes, videos, and parenting aids. Mom didn't, and I think many parents today don't "get it" nearly as well as my mother did. Of course, she was imperfect and had her own frustrated moments, but a lot of love, warmth, humor, affection, playfulness, happy spirit, apologies, and God's grace more than amply made up for it.

Young or old, it comes down to all of us needing to take a long, hard, prayerful look at ourselves to see where we we need to tighten ship. I guarantee there's something for all of us.

I smile sometimes when I hear a bunch of older moms clucking about how girls nowadays don't know how to keep a home. Well, it's certainly a good thing if a girl does know how to cook and clean, sew and garden, make and do. Her life will be smoother and easier and better for it for sure, but it's also not the end of the world if she can't. She'll learn. And we moms who have older or grown children sometimes need to lighten up and laugh and encourage rather than shake our heads and feel pleased that we raised our girls to keep a home. (As a mom of grown children, I shake my head at all of my mistakes and all that I'm still learning. Yikes.)

When Mom was first married, she didn't even know what to do with a can of corn. If she bought meat, she'd ask the butcher what to do with it. Apparently, grocery store employees taught her to cook! And she was quite able to read and learn. Her Betty Crocker cookbook was well-used, I think. In the end, it didn't matter. Not a bit. Mom must have learned fast. My memory is of eating good food and of warm times in the kitchen. Food cooked with love and a happy spirit just tastes good to a child.

And Mom depended on God and His grace. I caught her many times on her knees early in the morning, praying, because she knew that was the thing that mattered most. In parenting, maybe ignorance really is bliss, as long as we take the posture taken by the people of Israel long ago when they prayed, "We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on You." That was Mom's posture. Her weakness was her greatest strength.

Because, when it comes down to it, all of our ideas and philosophies and knowledge and capabilities and self-assuredness about raising kids aren't going to make us successful parents. It comes down to the grace of God in our children's lives every single time.

Thanks, Mom, for all you did teach us kids, pointedly and by your example, in our home-life and on your knees. The best lessons of all were learning that the key to everything is knowing where our true Strength and Wisdom lie. Your loving ways toward us are what made us want to find our Strength and Wisdom there, too.

Do You Have This Recipe? (Help! Comments Open For This One)...

2009-05-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today I had the great idea to fry some white fish and top it with Padma Lakshmi's Green Apple Mint Chutney. I love this! And the more I got to thinking about the chutney, the more I started craving it. It's raw and absolutely delicious.

So, I went to my cookbook shelf to look up the recipe in Padma's book, Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet, and I suddenly remembered that the book is still at my mom's house with the things I still haven't brought home from my stay there.

So, I came online and did a search for the recipe. There were lots of references to it (seems a lot of people like it), but no recipe. Drat!

So, we went to town, and I stopped by Borders to see if the book was there. Nope.

Then I went to the library. The library has the book, but it's checked out. Overdue, in fact.

My girls don't have the recipe, and my mom is out of town, so she can't look it up in my book for me.

Now what?

Well, I honestly don't know if anyone but my kids is looking at my blog anymore, but just in case someone is reading, and on the off-chance that one of these someone's has Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet (I hope, I hope), could you please leave the recipe in comments for me? I would be so glad if I could pick up the ingredients when I'm in town tomorrow and have the fish tomorrow evening.

Thanks. :-)

Busy, But Relaxed, Progress...

2009-05-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Scraps left on the table from a small sewing project because, yes, we do take breaks from all of the work we've been doing to get ourselves...

...moved out of here!

We've gotten a lot more work done than it appears in the reflection in this mirror. The bookshelves behind the boxes now contain garage sale items. The things on the hutch in the background are waiting to be packed or put onto the sale shelves. Most stuff is packed, though.

There have been some nice things going on. A lot of simple (and big!) nice things, like...

~It's a girl! Yippee! Michelle's third child, after two sweet boys, is going to be a girl. Michelle had her 20-week ultrasound yesterday, and we were all elated at the news (though we would have been thrilled with a boy, too).

~A thoughtful neighbor who really surprised me by coming to mow the entire (big) yard. He was driving that riding lawn mower around my yard for almost two hours. Wow.

~A daughter who is sooo helpful with packing and sorting (and so much fun to have around)-- thanks, Michelle. (Boy you did a lot today!) Love you.

~Grown kids who call home just to chat with their mom and are so pleasant and interesting to talk to. See you guys soon-- can't wait!

~A mother and a sister who call to say they're coming to help me next week.

~Eating our family's traditional Saturday morning scones with Michelle and the boys this morning.

~Sitting by Michelle in the pleasant (not hot) sun on the back deck this morning while the boys played and got very, very dirty (as boys do and should).

~Raw "pumpkin" soup with no pumpkin in it (from Natalia Rose's book, Detox4Women). Suprisingly yummy. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the abundance of good food we have available to us.

~Little boys who can just sit and think. Or sit and read. Or spend hours a day imagining and playing without needing to be entertained.

Healthy, Tasty (Another Food Post)...

2009-05-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Vegetable pizza for Michelle and me tonight.

This one's ready to slide into the oven.

We spread a large sprouted grain tortilla with just the tiniest bit of basil-tomato pesto and topped it with a big mound of whatever raw vegetables we were able to round up: a bed of chopped spinach leaves; a mix of red and green bell pepper, yellow onion, and sliced mushrooms; some marinated artichoke hearts and sliced grape tomatoes; a sprinkling of slivered basil leaves and some sea salt. There are lots of vegetables on this pizza, but no cheese. Nope, none at all, and we like it that way. We popped the pizza into a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes until the tortilla was nice and crisp and brown. Yum. We liked it so well that we made a second one and enjoyed it as much as we did the first.

One of Our Favorite Dinners...

2009-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Melissa's chicken-rice bowl from an al fresco meal we ate last summer. We love this. I added mango to the rice bowls last night, and I thought it notched up the tastiness of this dish nicely.

I've posted about these chicken-rice bowls before, but I didn't share a recipe. Well, we ate it again last night for the first time in quite a while, and it tasted just heavenly. I will, once again, make a point of having it on the menu regularly.

This meal is easy to prepare, and much of it can be done ahead of time and pulled together quickly at the last minute.

Let's say this serves 3 to 4.

Cut up (into bite-sized pieces) 2 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (depending on how much chicken you want). Marinate it in the following for at least 1/2 an hour in the refrigerator (leave it marinating in the fridge for hours if you want-- you'll cook it right before serving dinner):

1/2 c. shoyu or tamari
4 T. sesame oil (toasted)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. tahini
4 T. maple syrup or rapadura
3-5 green onions, chopped

(I actually wing it most of the time with the marinade, adding and changing at my whim, but the recipe above works great. Sometimes I add a little bit of brown rice vinegar and mirin.)

Cook 1 1/2 c. short grain brown rice in water according to directions on the package (basically, it will be 1 1/2 c. rice in 3 cups water for 50 minutes). If the rice isn't done in 50 minutes, just cook longer. If the water dries before the rice is done, gently pour in some more water to cover the bottom of the pan. If the rice is done before the water is gone, drain the rice in a sieve, return to pan, replace lid and let sit for a bit before fluffing and continuing.

When the rice is cooked, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Then fluff and stir in the following (the rice and nori part of this dish is from a recipe in Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson):

1/2 orange, zest and juice
1/4 lemon, zest and juice
1 T. rapadura
1 T. shoyu (or tamari)
1 T. brown rice vinegar

If you do this ahead of time, refrigerate the rice, and warm it before using. Just before serving, stir 2 sheets toasted Nori, crushed, into the rice. The Nori adds a delicious taste to this dish, so I wouldn't think of leaving it out!

When you're ready to eat:

Cook the chicken (which takes merely 2 or 3 minutes). Heat a wok to fairly high heat, and spoon in a bit of coconut oil/butter to coat the wok nicely. While the wok heats (or before, if you're slow!), cut an avacado or two and a nice, ripe mango into chunks or slices. Chop some green onions, and have some toasted sesame seeds on hand, if you want to use them.

I cook the chicken in stages, and I serve these chicken-rice bowls one by one as they are ready to go. Plop a big spoonful of chicken into the wok (drain off the marinade by either picking up the chicken with a slotted spoon or by tipping a regular spoon to let the marinade run off), and spread the chicken in a single layer across the pan. The chicken shouldn't be crowded. Let it brown (it will happen quickly) and then began stirring it until it's brown all over and cooked through (don't overcook-- it happens fast-- but let it get nice and brown). When the chicken is done, you can cook some of the marinade for sauce, if you'd like, but it doesn't require it to taste delicious.

Put a serving of rice in a bowl. Layer chicken on top of this, then avacado and mango chunks or slices. Top with a bit of green onion and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, if you like.

Afternoon Coffee Time...

2009-05-07T16:02:00.001-07:00

Afternoon coffee time. 3 p.m.

Make sure it's really a break, and wait until the appointed time. It all tastes better and is more pleasant this way.

Essential-- hot coffee; cookies or just a tiny bit of leftover dessert or dark chocolate; a book or two for browsing.

Not essential, but nice-- company.

See the cookies on the plate above? I made these up (if you can call it that) one day two or three years ago when I felt like having a treat but I didn't want to bake. I had a box of Carr's whole wheat crackers (which are more like cookies than crackers) and a bar of Green & Black's 70% dark chocolate. I melted the chocolate in my makeshift double boiler, which is a pyrex bowl set over a pan of boiling water, and then I spooned the melted chocolate on top of the crackers, gently smearing it with the back of the spoon to spread it around. I put the cookies in the freezer just long enough to let the chocolate harden (otherwise, it's really messy!), and then I put the cookies in a jar. These are addictive.

Impressive...

2009-05-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

Rubbish Free Year

That's one bag of trash for an entire year. I'm inspired and challenged.

Portland's Best Coffee Company Moves to New York (Alert for Laura!)...

2009-05-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

A photo from a long-ago post. Stumptown coffee. Normally, there's a colorful card in that slit on the bag, telling what type of beans it contains. I probably pulled out the card and used it for a bookmark...

I just read today that the owner of my absolute favorite coffee roasting company-- Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland-- is moving (or has?) to New York and is opening up for business there. I had a moment of panic when I saw this. I was pretty sure that the company would stay open in Portland because they are so highly popular and successful there (and the company's roots are there), but are things going to change? Will Stumptown go the way of Starbucks (apparently, too much growth, resulting in quality that is stretched thin and watered down to the point of who even wants to go there)?

Stumptown Roasters have have kept a good rein on their business. You can't find these beans just anywhere (but you can order them online at stumptowncoffee.com), and it's always a draw when I see a shop or business that proudly displays a sign saying they serve Stumptown Roasters coffee. Those shops have always been in Portland or in close reach of Portland. But now Stumptown will be in New York, too. I suppose this is natural and inevitable since the owner has moved there-- of course he'd want to open up for business in New York, too! But I hope that, somehow, Portland's great coffee company will not change, while, at the same time, I hope it will be appreciated and highly successful in New York, as it has been here in the northwest.

This is the coffee that I featured in my blog sidebar for ages under the heading "Daily Grind"-- Stumptown Sumatra (they roast more than one type of Sumatra beans). I happen to be typing this as I drink a nice, hot mug of Stumptown Roasters "Sumatra Gayo Mountain" coffee. I ground the beans and brewed the coffee in my French press, as always. This coffee is good stuff.

A barista in a Eugene coffee shop that I frequent (only because they sell Stumptown coffee beans) told me that she didn't even drink coffee before working there, and she had every intention of making great coffee drinks without ever consuming them herself. She sighed and said that this coffee just smelled too darn good and that eventually she learned that it tastes as good as it smells. She justified her lack of resolve by saying that Stumptown is all about nuance, like fine wine, and how can a person resist that?! :-) Indeed.

Stumptown Coffee Owner Moves to New York

Specialty Coffee Roasters Brew in New York - NYTimes

I know. I'm raving.

Five Nice Bits of Randomness...

2009-05-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

The lovely Tessa Kiros, as pictured on the back cover of Falling Cloudberries.

#1-- I mentioned Tessa Kiros in a recent post (about cookbooks). I love Tessa. She is at the top of my list when it comes to cookbook authors (along with Viana LaPlace, Nigel Slater, and Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid; I'm talking about readable and inspiring authors, as well as stellar cooks). Tessa truly inspires and motivates me with her style and manner and the culture she creates within the pages of her books. And her food is amazing and beautiful. And now something wonderful has happened! Tessa's absolutely gorgeous book, Falling Cloudberries, is back in print. This is my current favorite cookbook. I discovered Gourmet magazine's "cookbook club" yesterday, and, what do you know, Falling Cloudberries is their cookbook of the month for May. (I think I've managed to include enough superlatives in this paragraph to adequately get my feelings across!) :-)

#2-- Awhile back I made a list of non-toxic products I like and use. Something new I've been trying/testing for a month now is an Aveda line of hair "bodifying" products. I use things for a long while before giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down because, often, after using a non-toxic product for awhile, it's starts building up on my hair and making it really dull. I'm happy to say that the Aveda products haven't done this. And, as they will eagerly tell you in their salons, all of their products are "at least 96% pure." I told my daughter that, for all we know, the other 4% is radioactive waste, but 96% pure sounds good! Aveda does have a good reputation with "green" advocates, like Renee Loux, for one. Here are the products I like:

Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Shampoo
Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Clay Conditioner
Aveda Volumizing Tonic with Aloe
Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Hairspray (the first non-aerosol that has good hold but hasn't made my hair look like oily concrete)

#3-- I thoroughly enjoyed my salad tonight. It was a thrown-together affair that I made up in steps as I got going. The salad looked sort of messy, but I really liked it. I smashed half an avacado and squirted the juice of about a third to half of a lemon on it. Then I plopped on a little bit of stoneground dijon-style mustard, added a few drops of liquid stevia (agave would work), and stirred. I gently smooshed this around on some chopped romaine until the lettuce was well-coated. That alone was good, but then I added some nicely ripened mango chunks to it. Yum. Very thinly sliced pieces of red bell pepper and some chopped cilantro would have added nice color, but the salad wasn't going to win a beauty contest anyway. It sure hit the spot, though.

#4-- I'm really proud of myself for getting all of my boxes of journals and papers and writings sorted and packed away in good time. You have no idea what a feat this was for me, and I am quite proud of myself. Usually when I even crack open one of these boxes, I'm doomed to stand in front of it, reading and remembering for hours. I did, though, enjoy quickly perusing a few of my journals from three or four years ago-- the one I kept on our Yosemite camping and hiking trip; the one I kept when I gave up the computer for Lent (that was an eye-opening experience); some of my eating journals; lists of books I've read; and more. As I read, it struck me that my life has changed in some ways since I started blogging-- there are both pros and cons to this-- and it will be good for me to be routinely away from the computer again for awhile. I hope to learn much this time around, too.

#5-- One nice thing I found in my pile of papers was what appeared to be something I printed from a blog in November 2007. It is simply a pretty photo of a vase of flowers with a quote below it (the flowers pictured below are my own):

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

~Thomas Moore, 19th century poet

If that quote with the photo is from your blog, thank you for sharing it. Those words are more profoundly true than many people imagine or want to believe. And I'm glad to end this post on that lovely note.

"Chapel Time" (Making Progress)...

2009-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Pretty much all of the sorting and packing for our move is finished in the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Most of the stuff I'll take with me is coming from these three rooms, so even though I've got a lot of house yet to sort and pack, I feel like I've conquered the biggest part of the job. In these rooms, I've got empty drawers and cupboards everywhere (and a lot of stacked boxes) except for a few things I'm still using and will pack to take with me when I leave.

Furniture that is going with me (like this pictured antique pine sideboard/dresser from England) is shoved up against the walls at one end of the living room. The lamp made the cut. This Hummel clock-- it's called "Chapel Time"-- has been wrapped and placed inside a box a few different times, but for some reason I keep pulling it back out. So, here it sits in this spot on the sideboard-- telling the wrong time because the battery has been removed-- while I consider for a bit longer what to do with it.

We lived in England in the mid-1980's, and it was during that time that this limited edition Hummel clock showed up in the shops. I hadn't collected any Hummel figures during my time in England (I know. Hummels are German, but they were in so many of the shops in our area of the UK), but I was continually drawn back to this one. All Hummels are sweet, but the clock struck me extra well for some reason (I still can't really explain it). I thought I'd like to have the clock, but I put it out of my mind because being drawn to something is no reason to go ahead and buy it.

A few days before we left England to come back to the United States, Mike, big bag in hand, walked through the door of the furnished flat we were temporarily renting. He smiled and handed the bag to me, and when I looked inside, there was the Hummel clock. I was touched by Mike's thoughtfulness, and I've loved the clock ever since.

Bringing "Chapel Time" back to America was a bit of a challenge because our household items had already been packed and moved home. I had to hand-carry the clock, and this wasn't particularly easy to do on traveling day because I had four very young children (ages 6 weeks, 1 year, 3 years, and 4 years) to mind, as well as my luggage and theirs and my carry-on items and theirs (diapers, snacks, dolls, toys, books, surprises, distractions) and my purse. This wiggly mound of people and stuff moved around from place to place as one for hours and hours and hours.

It started when we rose early in our London hotel, bright and chattery and eager to get back to friends and family in America, where we hadn't been for over three years. It proceeded by herding children and lugging baggage down five flights of stairs (no elevator in the old hotel) and down the street to the underground (and managing to get people and paraphernalia aboard the train in the morning work rush), making our way to Heathrow airport, waiting in a little airport cafe for our flight, being suddenly hurried outside by airport officials because of a bomb threat (we stood in one spot in the chilly air for what seemed like hours), finally boarding our plane, keeping everyone busy and content and in one place on the plane for more than nine hours, disembarking in Seattle (with all of the little ones and our stuff intact), making the long trek to customs (at least it seemed long) while I continued holding a baby and hauling bags (luggage had no wheels in those days) and keeping three little ones beside me. Whew.

Thankfully, the kids were very good kids, but they were tired, and I was dragging a lot of stuff with me. By the time we moved through customs in Seattle (a nice man took mercy on us and eventually moved us to the front of a very long line), my brain was numb (think zombie) and my arms were aching.

But our entourage arrived in good, mostly cheerful, jet-lagged form, thanks to what had to have been a wonderful army of helping angels and the very grace of God.

This little Hummel clock went through it with me that day. And I think I've just decided. I'm taking the Hummel clock with me.

(And, so, another spontaneous post has been written when I should have been packing instead...)

Through My Kitchen Window This Morning...

2009-05-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Thrift Shop Blue...

2009-05-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my Goodwill Blue.

Over the past couple of years, without completely realizing how much I've been drawn to it or how much I have collected, my thrift store shopping has resulted in a bunch of kitchen things that lean toward a particular shade of vintage blue. Even when I picked up my fabrics a while back to make new couch pillows, one of the colors I purchased and planned to make predominant in the pillows was this shade of blue. I guess I like the color, at least in touches here and there.

And then I find out that others like it, too.

Apartment Therapy San Francisco More Interiors with Robin's Egg Blue

When All is Said and Done...

2009-05-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Make a life.
Know who you really are.
Do what you love.
And don't copy others.
You are not them.
God made you you.

He has given you gifts, desires, talents, and inclinations.
Pursue them with gratitude and great joy.
They are God's gift to you.
Make them your gift to Him.
Even if no one understands.
If no one is impressed.
He is honored and pleased.

Enjoy stillness and quiet.
Appreciate His created beauty.
There is loveliness all around.
Choose to see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it.
Open your eyes to wonder.
Then create.
Make your own kind of beauty.

Smile, inside and out.
Laugh heartily and often.
It's contagious and brings good health.
Choose to enjoy each day.
It is a gift.
And enjoy others.
They are a gift, too.

And take yourself lightly.
Rather, think much of others.
Be attentive.
Be magnanimous.
Share your life.
Give your life.
"Be the change you want to see..."

Sometimes life really is hard.
But "count it all joy."
Because we have hope.
And we have purpose.
And we have Strength.
And, anyway, we're just passing through.
We might as well do it joyfully.

Let go of expectations.
Hold things lightly in an open hand.
Let them flutter freely away.
It simply means there's one less thing.
And a little bit more freedom.
Let go and find peace.

Because, when all is said and done,
Only three things remain.
Faith.
Hope.
Love.
And the greatest of these is Love.

And when we have that, we have Everything.

I'm Turning Off Comments for Good Now...

2009-04-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for sharing with me and for being so kind. I've followed your links and have enjoyed your blogs and am glad to have had a chance to "meet" you. I'll have more to say before I leave, and I'll let you know when I put up that final post.

Blessings to you all,
Susan

Perusing Cookbooks Like Laura...

2009-04-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, look, here's a photo of some of my cookbooks. I thought I had one in my files of all of my cookbooks, but I don't want to take the time to search for it (lazy!). And there are some of our Saturday scones and my French press and sunflowers from the market and the cake stand that I was tempted to give to Aimee-not-my-daughter.

Here I am posting when I should be packing, but, on the other hand, one needs to take breaks, and since Laura brought up the topic of cookbooks on her blog today, I couldn't resist doing this. Go on over and tell Laura what cookbooks you're enjoying.

Some of my favorite cookbooks are still at my mom's house, but the following are the ones I'm currently reading, perusing, and using. I say "currently" because the cookbooks I have in my reading stacks are constantly changing.

I mostly buy and use cookbooks that are prosey, educational, and kitchen-philosophical (I've said this all before). I don't have many books that are simply collections of recipes. There are some good ones out there for sure, but I want to spend most of my cookbook reading time really learning about food and cooking from the great chefs and cooks who write these books.

Laura mentioned in an email to me that, of the 1/8 of my books I'm packing to take with me, she's guessing there are a good number of cookbooks. Well, Laura, you are absolutely right! Exactly half of the books I'm taking with me are cookbooks. These are my comfort books. I love to read them, browse them, glean ideas from them, and find inspiration in their pages. I make up most of the things I cook, but the cookbooks help me pull my ideas together. And sometimes I follow recipes verbatim. That, too, though, is a way of learning to cook food your own way. It's like doing copywork to learn to write!

Here's my list of the cookbooks I'm currently enjoying. As always, I have made this much longer and more complicated than it needs to be, but that makes this a whole lot more fun. Sorry I'm not adding links to the books (lazy again!), and sorry I use the word "love" so much in this post, but I can't help myself:

1. The Unplugged Kitchen and Verdura by Viana LaPlace. There's no need to make things complex with you're working with outstanding ingredients. When you have that, you're almost home. Simple, fresh, hands-on, and to the point-- my kind of kitchen philosophy!

2. Any Deborah Madison book. Judging by the five cookbooks I own by Deborah Madison, you might say I like her food. Yep. In fact, in the oven for dinner right now is her Olive Oil Bread (foccacia) from her Greens cookbook.

3. Lindsey Shere desserts. I haven't been cooking from this lately, but I read it a lot, and I will make something from it before too long. Everything I've cooked from this book has been excellent. Lindsey Shere is my kind of pastry chef.

4. Nigel Slater, always. The Kitchen Diaries and Real Fast Food. That's just a start. I guarantee I will buy more of his books in the future. I love his writing, and I love his simple food.

5. Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. I have four of their books (not including the latest one on China), and I love them. Love them. They're right at the top of my list of favorite cookbooks. I read them, look at them, and cook from them often. The photography is gorgeous, the stories are interesting, the cooking instructions and information is excellent, and the food is delicious (if you like various world cuisines).

6. Rick Bayless. Mexican Everyday, in particular. Bayless won the James Beard award for Best Chef in America last year (I'm pretty sure I've got that right... should check on it... nah!), and in this book, he shows his skill. Einstein's book on relativity is really, really short because he is a master of the subject. Likewise, the recipes in this cookbook are easy and to the point, and they're also really tasty. I guess I'm saying I think Rick Bayless is something of a master at what he does, and I'm sure he'd consider that high praise coming from an ordinary housewife in very rural Oregon!

7. Claudia Roden. Lately, I'm once again perusing Arabesque. I love the look of this book, it reads wonderfully, and the food is good, too!

8. Alice Waters. The Art of Simple Food. At first I thought of this as simply another good book on the basics of cooking, but the longer I have it around, the more useful I find it, especially as a resource and general guide. The simplicity of this book can be deceptive. It's really quite good.

9. How to Eat Supper. I've been packing this book around with me, reading through it again, and enjoying it just as much the second time through as the first. For dessert tonight, we'll be having the rustic jam tart from this book. I topped the almond shortbread crust with Bonne Maman cherry preserves, and-- yum!-- this super-easy-to-make tart is really good (Michelle and I were compelled to test it this afternoon).

10. Shall I say Tessa Kiros and her Apples for Jam or Donna Hay's The Instant Cook or Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques? All are good books that I've been perusing, but I'll go with Kiros because her book always makes me smile and want to bake a chocolate cake and decorate it and celebrate whatever is happening, or not happening, today. I've cooked very few recipes from this book, but I like reading it. Tessa has some nice essays and stories woven throughout her recipes.

By the way, yes, I'm still posting. I'm going through a little flurry of it right now, aren't I? But it will come in spurts because I won't be here all the time, and, yes, the computer will be packed away soon, and I'm still going to close the blog. :-)

My Evening Book...

2009-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

"When evening arrives-- no matter what happened during the day, whatever "sturm und drang" occurred, whatever challenges were unmet, whatever disappointments and regrets-- people have a universal desire to find a serene place where they can put all the parts of the day together in some tranquil way. Given the spirit of forgiveness of the prior hour, at Vespers we are free to let go of the day and to luxuriate in the quiet beauty of the evening. The serenity of Vespers, wherein we gather together all the day's contradictions, is truly healing, since healing essentially involves a knitting together of what is apart, what is broken."

~David Steindl-Rast in The Music of Silence

Outside...

A cold wind blows hard, bringing in clouds and making dramatic the sky that was clear earlier today. A mix of rain and snow is expected tomorrow, so we're having our typical, temperamental, high desert spring mix of weather. I wouldn't say it's as bad as the author of Letters of a Homesteader Woman put it about her Wyoming climate: "We have three seasons here. July, August, and Winter." It does seem that way around here sometimes, but I love our unpredictable weather.

Everything is turning green outdoors. Perennials and herbs are growing more quickly every day. There are now some harvestable herbs in my humble little fenced garden area-- tarragon, marjoram, lemon thyme, and oregano (and maybe something else), and I need to remember that they're ready to use!

Inside...

I continue to build a fire in the wood stove most mornings because even on really warm days, our nights and mornings are cold and frosty. It was down almost to ten degrees yesterday morning, and it was somewhere around 20 degrees today when I awoke. And, once the fire is rumbling and crackling, I stand beside it with my mug of black coffee and a little stack of books. Once the warmth of the stove moves further out into the room, I sit on the chair or at the table for a bit of quiet time.

Boxes are everywhere, and it seems I've hardly made a dent in the packing. Today I was hit by a renewed wave of desire to get ruthless about getting rid of things. Who wants to pack and store or haul them? Things can be so encumbering, and since I tend to eagerly shake off whatever becomes entangling and burdensome, I'll take advantage of this current mood.

The hardest thing, by far, to pack has been my books. 7/8 of them are going into storage for a good year, and it gives me great pain to tape shut the lids on the book boxes. The rest of the stuff has been easy.

This evening, another fire has been built, and light is playing on the dining room furniture as the lowering sun shines through the wind-blown trees. It's quiet in the house as I'm here alone.

In the Kitchen...

Which happens to be inside (like everything in the description above) but deserves its own special category... I'm always happy when I'm working in the kitchen. When I settle in and embrace the rhythm and importance of the work and enjoy the process, it's satisfying, nurturing, therapeutic, and enjoyable on many levels. We've been having simple things to eat. I'm attempting to eat frugally without sacrificing nutrition and yummy food. I made whole-grain blueberry pancakes for everyone for breakfast this morning. Later when I was feeling really "snacky", there was an extra avocado sitting around, so I made my good old avocado-based chocolate mousse to share with Michelle.

For dinner, I was here alone, so I had a salad I put together from whatever was leftover in the fridge and available in the cupboard (pickings are currently thin). I mixed a vinaigrette consisting of lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and a squirt of agave. I tossed chopped romaine leaves with a bit of the vinaigrette, then I mixed some cannellini beans with minced red onion and chopped tomato and tossed that with some of the vinaigrette, too (if I'd have thought about it, I would have added some chopped fresh herbs from my garden). I spooned some of the bean mix onto the greens. The salad was fresh-tasting and enjoyable, and it looked bright and pretty in my clear Pyrex mixing bowl. I sat at the counter by myself, eating slowly and perusing a cookbook.

Pretty much everything in the kitchen is packed for storage except for what is going with us when we move. We'll be living small in our new place, and I'm determined not to have clutter around me, so I'm making a point of keeping things as simple as I can. And I'm really liking this!

Reading...

Oh, I'm not reading anything that is overly demanding of my intellect because my mind is currently being pulled and stretched in a few different directions, but I'm reading (in some cases, re-reading) plenty that is thought-provoking and worthy. The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. A few Deborah Madison cookbooks (I've always loved her good, simple food). Detox4Women by Natalia Rose.

Thinking...

I'm not even going to scratch the surface of this! I'm thinking about many things-- Simplicity. Service. Different ways of giving. Frugality. Community. Church. Growing and learning and developing. Family. God's goodness and provision. Making do. Recycling and "repurposing." Different types of hospitality. Caring. Frugal creativity and beauty. I guess I'm thinking about what it means to live responsibly as a Christian today. You know how it is. When hands are busy with routine and rhythmic manual work, like packing boxes, the mind is free to wander and contemplate.

Currently and until bedtime...

Just a few minutes ago, I stepped outside for a bit and was met with a bracing wind. I'll exchange my flip-flops for socks and warmer shoes, bundle up in a winter coat and gloves, and go back outdoors to stack firewood on the deck, to put the outside dog into her kennel for the night, and to bring in some things that were left on the deck this afternoon when Michelle, the boys, and I were sat out there together (it was warmer then).

Then I'll move around the house to do some tidying, drink some green lemonade, and sit down for some quiet reading time. I'll think over my day and count my many blessings and thank the Lord for them. Likely, I'll talk to at least one of my kids on the phone-- a welcome evening pleasure.

(I keep forgetting to turn off comments. Maybe I'll just leave them alone for a while longer.)

I Want You to Know...

2009-04-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've heard (directly and through the grapevine) that some of you have commented below (on the post where I announced I'll be closing this blog soon), and your comments have either not gone through or they've disappeared after a time. I want to make sure everyone knows that I've never deleted a comment on my blog. If something has not shown up or has disappeared, I'm not sure what happened to it (this has happened to me before, too). I'm sorry to those of you who have had trouble commenting.

Also, some of you have my email address, and I'm having trouble with that, too. In the past few days, my emails started disappearing. I've lost everything from January up til now, so if you've written to me and you don't get a response, I don't mean to neglect replying. (Please resend any recent emails you've written to me if you don't mind... but only if you'd like.)

Thanks again for your warm kindness. I appreciate it very much.

The Littlest Pastry Chefs...

2009-04-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

We were in Portland visiting Aimee and Josiah this past week, and, after dinner, someone (okay, maybe it was all of us) suggested that Josiah should bake chocolate chip cookies (he makes great cookies on demand). Aimee said it would be fun if Roman and Jayden could make the cookies, under supervision, of course.

Since there were no chocolate chips in the apartment (and that's the only type of cookies one should make when a craving strikes for freshly baked, warm cookies), Josiah and Roman walked to Trader Joe's, with Melissa and I tagging along behind (Aimee assigned Melissa the task of taking photos of the trip to the store). While Melissa followed Roman and Josiah around the store snapping photos, a Trader Joe's employee said, "Someone's first trip to Trader Joe's, huh?" Well, no, but we were on an adventure. It was dark outside, after all, and past someone's bedtime...

We walked back home and up two flights of stairs, with Roman holding Josiah's hand and jabbering the entire time. Somewhere near the top of the final flight of stairs, I overheard Roman say, "We've had a fun time, haven't we Josiah? Yeah, this was a fun adventure wasn't it? ...Whew!... My legs are really tired."

And then we went back into the apartment where aprons were tied round the boys and cookie making ensued. Aimee and Josiah measured the ingredients and put them into bowls, and the little boys did most of the dumping and mixing with Josiah there to oversee and help. Roman surprised us all by cracking an egg perfectly, pulling apart the shell, and dropping it into the bowl, like he'd done it a hundred times before. Really, it was his first time.

The boys grabbed handfuls of dough, plopped them randomly (wildly misspaced and greatly varying in size) on the parchment paper-covered baking sheet, and into the oven they went.

And, of course the cookies were absolutely delicious. The best ever, I'm quite sure.

"Moving" Right Along...

2009-04-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

Books are in boxes, and the bookshelves are now being used to store some stray garage sale and Goodwill things, plus a few things I'm as yet undecided where to put (store, sell, move, or donate). (See, Lissy, I really am busy packing!)

If I have time and inclination, I might post a few more things before I go-- maybe, maybe not-- maybe some pictures and a few light words, but nothing big. There is at least one more thing I want to say for sure, but I have a good two weeks before this computer will be shut down and packed, so there's no hurry. I think I'll turn off comments for any future posts I write since you've all already said good-bye and so many nice things. I'll just ease out of my blog and fade away... :-)

I'll go ahead and leave the blog up for at least awhile for those of you who said you'd like to have a chance to read it some more. I haven't made a longterm decision yet regarding that, but I will not, for sure, resume this blog again in the future. (Just wanting to let you know that I'm sure about this.)

Anyway!

I made cinnamon-banana smoothies for everyone who was here this bright, sunny morning, then I took an early walk down the road with the dog. Afterward, before it got hot, I sat in the sun on the deck for a little while to read, and then I got busy. I cleaned out all of the cupboards in the kitchen, living room, and dining rooms, sorting and packing as I went.

We've lived in this house for almost 13 years, and as I empty cupboards and go through my things, memories are stirred, and I tell Michelle stories of where things came from and what they mean to me. Aaron's plastic airplane spoon-- his first. The antique Neill's strawberry jam crock that was sold as a base for a lamp that I bought in England twenty-some years ago. The driftwood frame with shells on it that my Dad made for me. The glass candy jar that sat on Grammy's small, antique cupboard when I was a little girl (sometimes it was filled with old fashioned hard candies, and sometimes it was full of nuts). Things the kids made or collected while we lived here. So many good things. We are, and have been, blessed.

Some of this stuff is hard to wrap and place in a box because I don't want to store it away, but other things I'm happily discarding. Moving is a chance to gain a bit of freedom from possessions, even for someone like me who regularly gets ruthless about discarding and decluttering.

As for eating, our meals were light today. I made a beet and apple salad with orange vinaigrette as part of dinner, and it was extra refreshing and delicious on this warm day.

As long as I'm here, I'll keep enjoying our sky. I just love the blue sky and the type of clouds we get here. Weather was perfect today. 80 degrees in the desert dry air is quite comfortable. I love our clear, black night sky, too. One of the gifts of living in the country, in clear air like we have here, is the amazing view we get of the stars.

I'm glad to have my daughter and grandsons here while we sort through things and prepare to move. Michelle is a hard worker and always gladly jumps right in to help without being asked. She's seventeen or eighteen weeks pregnant now, and we're all excited to find out in a week or two what the next baby will be.

Roman draws a "guy" and a "bug."

And now it's dark, the air is refreshingly cool, frogs are croaking, and a skyful of stars are twinkling. I'm going to clean up the random messes that litter the house, find a good book, and settle in for some reading.

And Another Thing!

2009-04-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd put up a photo that was hanging around in my blog folder. I don't think I've used this one before... I'll be hanging clothes on this line til the day I drive away for the last time! :-)

I just have to say that I'm really touched by your nice comments in the post below. Truly. Thanks for being so kind. I told someone yesterday that I just mosey along, putting up blog posts, thinking that just a few regulars are reading occasionally, and lo and behold, out pop more nice people to say that they've been reading here regularly for awhile. What do you know?! It's very nice to meet you, by the way.

I'm considering what some of you have asked me about leaving up the blog. I'm not yet sure what to think about that, but, for a little while at least, I'll keep it posted. That way I can think about what I want to do with it (but I'll likely turn off comments when I pack the computer and move). I really don't want to monitor the blog because I'll be focused on other things, and I'm not sure I want to leave it out there without keeping an eye on it. So, let me think about it...

It's a beautiful day, and the family is outside kicking a soccer ball around, so I'll go out with a big glass of lemon water to sit on the porch and watch! Take care.

It Seems This is Inevitable...

2009-04-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

To get straight to the point, I won't be able to keep this blog going. We'll be moving away from our actual, physical home in the high desert in the next several weeks, and, at the same time, I'll be closing the door for good on my High Desert Home blog.

Some of you have recently wondered if I was going to stop blogging. And when I responded that I fully intended to carry on, I meant it. And now, quite suddenly, everything has changed. I've known for a long time that changes were coming into our lives, but they came about much differently, more quickly, and more wide-sweeping than I'd imagined. I realize that it's just impossible to keep this blog going-- and neither will I be starting a new blog. I don't even know yet if I'll have internet in our new place (I haven't yet decided).

I really wanted to finish my "learning atmosphere" series of posts, but try as I might, I haven't finished yet, and I cannot imagine having time to do so now. I am so sorry to have promised them only to suddenly have everything in my life turn hard in a new direction.

I have much to do in the next month. I've just gotten back to town after having been away, once again, for several days. We've been working out details and getting things arranged in the place where we'll be living now. I'm sorry I'm not offering more details than this, but I prefer to keep them private (and I appreciate your understanding).

Let's just say that our new life will be quite different from the one we are living now, and I don't consider that to be a bad thing. If the Lord is leading us elsewhere, very good things are in store. Always.

But I will miss this remote, rural, wild, arid part of Oregon that feels wonderfully like the edge of nowhere (it really sort of is the edge of nowhere!). I'll miss the big, gorgeous high desert sky. I'll miss the rare kind of high desert beauty that not everyone sees. Some people see this region and terrain as a barren wasteland, and that strikes me as sort of sad. There is beauty everywhere if one has eyes to see it.

I'll leave the blog up for a short time in case anyone who is new here cares to read back a ways in the archives, but soon I will delete both this blog and my kitchen blog.

So...

I sincerely wish for God's best to those of you who have stopped by to visit so often. Thank you for your kind encouragement along the way. Thank you for just being so nice. I've very much enjoyed sharing the ordinary days and pleasures of my High Desert Home life with you.

I've Been at This for a Year Now...

2009-04-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

On a whim, I started this High Desert Home blog a year ago in early April. I'm not sure exactly what day it was because my blog disappeared soon after I started it, and all posts were reposted on April 7, 2008. So, I'm right at one-year-old. And I've put up 239 posts not counting this one. Wow. Yikes.

I'm leaving sometime tomorrow to head west til Easter. And then I'll be back. There will be no posts until then, but I want to republish the very first post I put up a year ago. It's a favorite passage of mine from Agatha Christie's autobiography. I love that this is my first post because it so represents the way I think. I tend to be exuberant about what each day brings, and what can be nicer than a lovely spring morning outdoors? The passage also reflects my thoughts about children and learning. For children, I think nature is the best schoolroom. There's a time to put nose to book and pencil to paper, but with a child, those times should be very brief. Much more time should be spent outdoors, smiling and working and playing and enjoying God's amazing world.

Here's that first post:

On spring days like this, when the sky is blue and the sun shines warmly, and all one wants to do is be outdoors, I remember this lovely passage from Agathie Christie's memoir, and I smile because I can't agree more. And it makes my heart sing with gratitude to the Lord that He led my family into a delightful, free, and natural learning life at home.

"Having arrived on the mound at half past six, a halt is called for breakfast at eight-thirty. We eat hard-boiled eggs and flaps of Arab bread, and Michel (the chauffeur) produces hot tea, which we drink from enamel mugs, sitting on top of the mound, the sun just pleasantly warm, and the morning shadows making the landscape incredibly lovely, with the blue Turkish hills to the north, and all around tiny springing flowers of scarlet and yellow. The air is wonderfully sweet. It is one of those moments when it is good to be alive. The foremen are grinning happily; small children driving cows come and gaze at us shyly. They are dressed in incredible rags, their teeth gleam white as they smile. I think to myself how happy they look and what a pleasant life it is; like the fairy stories of old, wandering about over the hills herding cattle, sometimes sitting and singing.

"At this time of day the so-called fortunate children in European lands are setting out for the crowded classroom, going in out of the soft air, sitting on benches or at desks, toiling over letters of the alphabet, listening to a teacher, writing with cramped fingers. I wonder to myself whether, one day a hundred years or so ahead, we shall say in shocked accents, 'In those days they actually made poor little children go to school, sitting inside buildings at desks for hours a day! Isn't it terrible to think of! Little children!'"

~Agatha Christie in Come, Tell Me How You Live

So, Happy Anniversary to me, and thank you to you. What a really nice bunch of people have stopped by my blog over the months with warm thoughts and comments. I appreciate you all.

Have a good Holy Week and a beautiful Easter celebration. He is risen!

This Evening...

2009-04-02T20:33:00.001-07:00

These are the traveling tulips. They made their way to various places in the house and into several blog posts. And now they're gone.

I happen to be happily and productively distracted by some things I'm working on around home and in my life, so there's no post for here yet. I may just have a whole bunch to say soon, though, with all that's on my mind. I'm feeling inspired and motivated, and I'm also having to work harder at things than comes naturally to me (this is a very good thing).

I had my next "learning atmosphere" post very close to finished, and then, not at all surprising if you know me, I accidentally and irretrievably deleted it. I've done this before (maybe even with this particular topic!), but hopefully, I will never do it again.

Anyway, now I'm left with a sheet full of scribbly notes in my own messy, unorganized outline style, and I hope it's enough to give me the oomph I need to write the post again fairly easily. I'll start on that in the next day or two, and, hopefully, since I've already written most of it once, it will roll right out for me.

But I did put something up on my kitchen blog about our really tasty dinner tonight-- Asian Salmon Packets. Go have a look if you eat salmon and love an easy, good, healthy, delicious meal.

And Shannon and others, I did see the questions you've asked in comments, and I will get to them as soon as I can. Thank you for your comments! :-)

Now off I go to tidy any stray messes that are lying around the house, put some wood in the box for tomorrow morning's fire, return my daughter's phone call, and then read until I fall asleep. It's a very good night...

Snow is piling up outside, covering everything in white as dusk deepens into night. I hear the sweet sound of my daughter reading aloud to her boys and them laughing in response. The fire is crackling away in the wood stove. We're all fed and full enough and grateful to be blessed with good food to eat. And we've made plans to cook a nice dinner, eat dessert (one Melissa made up for herself), and watch a DVD tomorrow evening. Party Night! When the kids were growing up, every Friday night really was Party Night, and we all have fond memories of those special, fun times.

Signing off...

This Morning...

2009-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

This morning's coffee made in a French press and drunk from an old Goodwill find-- Syracuse Carefree "Nordic" dishes.

Outside...

At the moment, the western hills are pink in the rising sunlight. It's 11 degrees. Lately we've had sunbathing weather alternating with snow and freezing temperatures. Mostly it's typical springtime weather-- frosty mornings, longer, warming days, cold nights. And the desert spring winds blow hard many afternoons.

I like to walk around outside in the morning to breathe deeply and to enjoy the fresh sunlight. The clothesline is in use once again. This year's first game of croquet (which is not a mild, sedate game when played at my house) was played in our yard on Friday on our still mostly dormant grass with its typical spring molehills and pinecones scattered everywhere. My little table and chairs will be moved to the back deck soon. And, on a not-too-distant extra-nice day, I'm sure I'll be grilling something good-- salmon or vegetables or something.

Around the House...

There are a whole bunch of boxes of stuff sitting by the front door, ready to be donated to Goodwill today. I'm decluttering my home and life again, and I've barely gotten started, so the number of boxes that are already set to be taken away surprises even me. I so enjoy the space that comes from weeding out the extraneous. What is useful or beautiful or meaningful? How much is necessary? How much is good? This is different for all of us, and I happen to be one who likes things scaled back. Books, of course, are not clutter, so they stay.

Learning...

Always something, whether intellectual, practical, spiritual, or creative. I'm learning (and have been for decades) to let go and hold everything in an open hand to the Lord. I learn from watching others. I learn from sitting still. I learn from reading. I learn by doing.

I'm learning to eat when I'm hungry. This sounds so obvious, but it's really something new for me. I don't have a weight problem, but I graze and eat all day. I rarely feel a sense of hunger. This seems unhealthy in many ways, and I've been aiming to change it. I've read exhortations to "eat when you're hungry" many times, and I've always brushed it off as being connected to someone who is dieting or trying to get their weight under control.

Jesus said that we should eat to live and not live to eat. My trouble is eating to eat. What inspired me to change is something I read recently in, of all places, a book by surfing great Laird Hamilton. (This guy is a physical phenom!). I don't remember his exact words, but it was basically, and simply, "Eat only when you're hungry." Okay!

I've been up for three hours this morning, and so far I've only drunk a tall glass of lemon water. I haven't felt hungry until right now, so as soon as I finish writing this, I'll go to the kitchen for something to eat. I like the feeling of doing this. I like how much it helps me appreciate and enjoy of food. It seems you can taste more, and better, when you're really hungry. I like the feeling of lightness and clarity that comes with this.

Creating...

Space and quiet. I'm getting ready to sew pillows for the living room couch. I'm making a brighter, fresher, airier home for spring and summer.

Reading...

Not much this past week because other things took precedence. Little Heathens is almost finished. I'm well into Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. (I started this book last year, and Laurel encouraged me to finish it, and now I am.) And there are other things.

In the Kitchen...

Whatever is simple and real and tasty. Lots of raw foods throughout the day. A lightly cooked dinner. I want to incorporate more eggs and a bit more meat. I don't know why, but I haven't eaten meat much at all lately, and this has not been on purpose. So, today, I'll buy a salmon fillet at the meat market, cut off a portion to cook, and freeze the rest. Maybe I'll make packets of salmon with julienned vegetables in parchment paper. Or I might make one of my favorites-- salmon with roasted asparagus and lemon-garlic vinaigrette.

Doing...

I'm trying to focus really hard on doing real things every day. Move! Do! I only live once, and, more to the point, I only live this day once. Reading good books, sewing for the home, walking for exercise, walking to explore, breathing deeply, cooking new things, digging in the garden dirt, hanging laundry on the line, writing letters, spring cleaning, reading to the grandchildren, sitting at the table to drink almond milk chai with Roman and his mother, being about people more than about things or ideas... This is something I'm still contemplating. What kind of life do I want to lead? What kinds of things do I want to do well or learn to do? What is good to do? (We are created in Christ to do good works, the Bible says.) And beyond this, what am I called to do?

Looking forward to...

Everything turning completely green outdoors. Perennial herbs making a good showing in the garden-- both for their beauty and so they can make a good showing in my cooking! Moving my life outdoors again. Morning coffee in the sunny table on the deck. Summer hikes. Camping with family.

Inspired by...

The birds and their morning chorus. It's so beautiful and full of hope and promise. I want always to sing with great hope and cheer in the morning, too!

Ann to do this post. I love reading Ann's blog. Everything about it inspires and refreshes me. There's a sense of peace and beauty and gratitude and authenticity there that feels real. She doesn't seem to want to be anyone else. Just herself. I like people like that.

I enjoyed, and was inspired by, Elizabeth's daybook this morning, too.

Natural, Simple, Eco, Healthy, Frugal...

2009-03-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

A recycled photo from an early blog post.

Some of my kids are coming home today, and by the end of the week, all four of them will be here, along with their husbands and children. So, I will be quite happily occupied and may or may not show up here with a post this week.

Awhile back, Kelli asked if I'd share some of my favorite non-toxic products. Once I started this list, it took on a mind of its own and expanded to include a lot more than face and body care!

Because the whole of life eventually begins to fall in line with this way of thinking and living, I could easily expand this list to include a much broader and deeper range of things, but since I am not trying to make a master list for conscientious living, and since I have written this off the top of my head, let's just call this a start. My start.

There are lists like this in many places-- lists more thorough than mine-- but this is where I am right now, learning and growing and without any expectations for anyone else. If you have anything you're dying to add to this, please do!

So, this is a sampling of some favorite things I use, have read, enjoy, and aim for:

~use compassion
~be deliberate
~be content
~be grateful

~get fresh air and sunlight
~Weleda Rose (or Iris) face lotion
~Kiss My Face Sudz citrus bar soap
~MyChelle face lotion
~Tom's of Maine toothpaste and dental floss
~Kiss My Face spray toner
~Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap
~Gabriel lipstick
~Giovanni hair stuff
~Jason cocoa butter body lotion
~Badger lip balm and foot balm

~smile and laugh often

~do less laundry
~use a clothesline
~make homemade cleaners
~Mrs. Myers dish soap and laundry soap
~Seventh Generation carpet spot remover
~Clean House, Clean Planet
~Annie Berthold-Bond books and website (care2.com)
~buy fewer clothes
~use the cold cycle
~use the sun to bleach whites
~Biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus

~Easy Green Living

~cook simply
~eat plenty of raw/living foods
~compost
~buy in bulk
~use lidded glass jars for storage
~eat slowly
~use cloth napkins
~visit farmers' markets
~use cloth shopping bags
~eat smaller portions
~go to a farm and u-pick
~grow some of your own food
~Vintage Pyrex storage containers
~unbleached wax paper bags
~unbleached parchment paper
~join a CSA
~eat real food
~Slow Food
~Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
~read Wendell Berry
~Simple, Green, Frugal, Co-op

~water-wise gardening
~decorate simply and timelessly
~no-VOC paints (remembering, though, that even lemons have VOC's)
~Elspeth's eco-house
~Noah's Garden
~A Pattern Language

~make do

~cut back
~do without
~don't buy it
~repurpose
~make it yourself
~give simple gifts
~buy used
~play the how-little-garbage-can-I-throw-away game
~don't buy bottled water
~recycle
~use cloth diapers
~Living More With Less

~Little Heathens

~drive less
~walk
~limit technology
~use fewer machines
~turn down the heat and put on a sweater
~take shorter and cooler showers and baths
~avoid using the air conditioner (it's okay to perspire a bit and to adjust)
~explore and intimately know your own backyard/neighborhood/town/local area
~ride a bike
~take mass transportation
~stay home more
~use the library
~be more people-oriented than activity-oriented
~Better Off!
~The Simple Living Guide

~share with others

~be compassionate

~use wisdom

~give to the needy

~take care of the widow/orphan/oppressed

~do good works (and don't tell anyone about them)

~Small is Beautiful

Home and Thinking...

2009-03-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Back home.

I sat on the red bench on the front porch this afternoon where I ate a great big green salad for lunch. It was warm and relaxing there, so I lingered, flipping through a new book called A Slice of Organic Life (thanks so much for the recommendation, Aimee; I'll have more to say about this book soon) and watching clouds form in the sky. And I thought and thought.

See:

That's what I've been doing for most of the day. Thinking.

Recently, I knew it was time to tip the balance from spending most of my time on that side of the mountains to this one. Time to come home. I'll now be "here" more than I'm "there."

As I drove across the mountains yesterday and started the short descent to the basin floor and the high desert, I was struck by how much I love living in this wild and remote part of the state and how happy I was to be going home. When I drove into the driveway and stepped out of the car, the sun shone, the sky was blue, the air was warm, and my grandsons were grinning and waving at me through the window as they bounced up and down on the big chair. I dragged my things into the house and set them aside to be dealt with later. I visited with Michelle and the boys for awhile, and then I was struck by a great, energizing wave of Exuberant Domesticity!

It's spring. Time for my annual decluttering and spring cleaning. And there's so much work to be done! I flung open doors and windows, washed some clothes and hung them on the line, and piled some wood on the porch. I put my cookbooks and knives away, first thing, because I have my priorities right. And then I made lists and plans for what I want to get done around here.

I can't wait to bake long-ferment whole grain breads again (it seems I need to do this). If I can, I want to start picking up raw milk and eggs from my friends who sell them. I want to sew together strips of the pretty fabric I bought last fall to make couch pillows. And, while I'm at it, maybe I'll make new curtains for the kitchen window. I want to clean up my herb beds and get them ready for planting (even though I can't plant until late May). I want to go through every box, drawer, and cupboard in the house and get rid of a great deal of what I own. Walls need scrubbing. Curtains and bedding need washing and airing. I'll get this place all spruced up, decluttered, fresh, and clean!

First thing this morning, I got up and wanted to get right on it. I built a fire in the stove to take the chill off the frosty morning air and had my usual quiet coffee time, and then... I was paralyzed. Overwhelmed. Couldn't find a good place to start. My wave of exuberant domesticity had overstimulated and swamped me. So, after flailing around fruitlessly all morning, stabbing at this, poking at that, and dabbling around here and there, I stopped. And that's when I relaxed on the front porch bench with my salad and the book. I stared at the sky, slowed down my mind, and thought.

I've always tried to live and work at a steady, puttery pace (one accomplishes much this way), and I reminded myself once again to slow down. Make a list, yes, but start simply, focusing on one thing at a time. Don't hurry. Enjoy what I'm doing. Do it thoroughly and well. Then move on to the next thing. No struggle. No pressure. No time limits. No stress. And leave plenty of room for people, writing letters, reading, interests, hobbies, fresh air and exercise, just sitting around, and other important things.

Okay. What about blogging? I thought about that, too. How do I want to proceed? I know for sure that I have gotten away, in the past four months, from the things I want to do here. I've gotten more personal, at times, than I want to be. I don't consider myself to be particularly wise or knowing, and I certainly have nothing to say that hasn't been-- or can't be-- said better by someone else.

I don't want to attempt to create another blog that is meant to be pretty or clever or deep, and I couldn't do it well anyway. There is nothing about me or my life or my talents that is grand or unusual or striking. I'm a very ordinary woman living very ordinary days in a very ordinary house. But I've learned lessons about living well and making a good home, and I hope I can share some of this in a simple way that is encouraging.

Basically, if I keep blogging, it has got to be light and positive. Hopefully, what I write will be a help in being joyfully domestic; in creating an atmosphere for relaxed, happy, fruitful learning; or in living simply and well, with broad margins. For me that encompasses a range of things-- cooking for joy and good health, daily rhythms and routines, reading (I've learned about so many good books through blogs!), living green, good things for children, hospitality and relationships, work, creativity, and much more.

But it won't include pointedly spiritual lessons or deep and personal ponderings of my heart. (I'm not being critical of blogs that do that; it's just not for me.) It won't include attempting to be "transparent" (I will not be less than real and honest, but I won't get personal; please consider it implicit in my posts that my family has not been exempt from struggles and trials and deep waters, and, I have to say that a good, joyful life can be lived in spite of them).

I also don't want to give too much time to the computer, the internet, or the blogging world, so I'll post things when I'm ready, when I can, without hurry. I kept a computer time limit in the past (I don't need to say what it was), and I'll keep it again (maybe even shorter than before). It's nice that, when something is on my mind, I can usually write about it really quickly.

I'm actually eager to get back to what is most fun for me and fits my vision for blogging (not that I haven't been having fun all along)-- sharing with you the things that have made home and learning life very pleasant for my family. In fact, I've pulled out my list of 10 Things that Make a Positive Learning Environment, and I'm making good progress on numbers 8 and 9-- "Good Work to Do" and "Doing Real Things." As long as I can keep writing them, they'll be here for anyone who is interested in reading them.

About a Book and in Defense of Rain...

2009-03-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

Spring rains in my neck of the woods.

Photo from MichaelTotten.com.

Since I sort of half-complained about the rain yesterday, I think I shall sing its praises today. (But I'm still glad to be going tomorrow where the sun shines most of the time!)

I've mentioned before that I love rain. In fact, I've mentioned it more than once. Some of you may even remember the sweet poem I posted on my blog, not once, but twice before: "Who loves the rain and loves his home and looks on life with quiet eyes...," but I'm not going to go looking for those posts right now. You can just take my word for it that they're there. :-)

Last night I finished reading an enjoyable book called Dear Mad'm by Stella Walthall Patterson. It was written in the 1950's after Stella moved (when she was 80-something-years-old) to live alone in a very remote mining cabin in a rugged area along the Klamath River in the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California. Her plan was to live in quiet solitude for awhile, but it worked out not to be totally that way.

By the end of the story, this woman had come to know and love the people who lived in the remote places around her, and she found a sense of purpose among them. Her relatives wanted her to move back to San Francisco, but she realized that their intention was to look after her and care for her and give her every comfort, when all she wanted was to be needed and for her life to have purpose and meaning, something she found living among the people in these remote mountains. (We all need a sense of purpose and meaning, at any age, wherever we are.)

The book is not as well written as Letters of a Homesteader Woman, but, like Letters... it's light in spirit, a bit adventurous from time to time, and fun to read. And being (sort of) set in the region where I live (if you give the word "region" a bit of a stretch-- because out in the rural west, "nearby" can mean an hour or two or even more away) made this extra fun reading.

I may have you wondering how this is a defense of rain. Well, it isn't yet, but there is a passage about early spring rains in the book that warmed me with recognition. I could have written the words myself:

"We get a good deal of rain in the Siskiyous during the winter and early spring, with now and then a light snow. So our mountains are beautifully green, and the many springs and lovely streams pour their bright waters in to the might Klamath all the year round. But a rainy day in our mountains is as beautiful in its way as a sunny one. Wisps of filmy cloud drift among the great pines and cling here and there to the peaks. The evergreens glisten with moisture and the madrone trunks and limbs return to burnished copper. The close, intimate sound of rain on the tight walls and roof of a cabin has an unalloyed charm when inside there is warmth, the comfort of an old chair that creaks companionably when you move, books both old and new, and an adoring dog. How could anyone wish for more?"

On days like that, indeed! Reading snuggly in my comfy chair by the crackling woodstove while rains pelts the windows and pounds the roof, and, yes, even with an adoring dog at my feet, how could I wish for more? (I must say, though, that spring snows falling quietly and gently or blowing sideways in the howling wind and piling up in soft drifts makes for a nice before-the-fire reading setting, too.)

The book next in line (waiting to be started this evening) for this category of my daily reading is the memoir Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. This book received high praise when released, including being named one of the top 10 books of the year (it was published in 2007) in the New York Times Book Review. I'd never heard of Little Heathens, but I ran across it in a bookstore recently and thought it sounded just like something I'd enjoy. I'll let you know.

I hope you're reading something good, too, and appreciating whatever weather early spring is bringing your way. Sunshine lifts the spirits for sure, but showers bring flowers! It's a hopeful season, no matter which way you look at it.

Sorry I don't have time to post book links!

On This (Almost) Spring Day...

2009-03-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

(I only wish this was my porch and table and scene.)

I’ve spent a very nice, peaceful afternoon in my kids’ apartment, and for the first time in a weeks, I sat leisurely in front of the computer to browse and poke around. I wasn’t looking for news or depth or anything serious-- just simple things, ordinary rhythms and routines, and beauty. I appreciate a grateful spirit. It’s next to laughter for good medicine.

So, I stopped by some blogs I haven’t had a chance to visit in weeks, and I followed any rabbit trails that appealed. One place I ended up was Simple Sparrow, a blog I used to visit frequently, and while I was there, I enjoyed her Five Senses Friday list. Apparently, the Five Senses idea started at this blog (a place I’ve never seen before today because, honestly, I don‘t do this internet surfing thing much), and I liked the idea so well that I started writing my own list just for fun. And then (even though it’s Monday and not Friday) I decided to post it on my blog, in spite of the fact that I have no photos to go along with the items I’m listing (I’ll soon be home for a while, and I’m sure I’ll be taking loads of photos then).

Sight...

Aaron at the computer, with the cat on his lap, studying for this week’s university finals. I love that he is smart and studious and loves to learn.

Out the window. Rain-- incessant rain-- falling, falling... but in a couple of days I’ll be in the high desert where the rain knows how to take a break.

I’ve enjoyed seeing and visiting with my wonderful two youngest kids the past few days.

Taste...

Afternoon coffee, shared with Aaron while he sat at his computer and I sat with Melissa’s laptop. And, along with the coffee, we had Girl Scout “Samoa” cookies.

A roasted sweet potato with butter and salt-- something simple I’ll never tire of.

Whole grain hazelnut French toast with bananas and pure maple syrup, eaten while breakfasting out with Aaron and Melissa at a very busy campus-area restaurant on Saturday morning. Yum.

Touch/Feel...

The giant lump in the middle of the futon where I slept the past few nights. I could either sleep on the summit of the bump or sleep on either side and slide gradually down the slope through the night.
In spite of the misshapen futon mattress, I slept well, and I am grateful to my sister and her family for having me in their home. They are truly the most hospitable people I’ve ever known.

This is an inner feeling, but it is so peaceful and nice in my kids’ apartment this afternoon. Rain falls. There is quiet while we do our own things, but it’s punctuated with comments and conversation. Aaron read aloud some simple and powerful poem/prayers that he‘s now trying to track down for me in an English translation.

A little bit too chilly when I take off my fleece jacket and a little too warm with it on. So, off and on it goes...

Smell...

That particular freshness in the air after a hard rain clears and the sky is blue.

Freshly brewed dark roasted coffee made from fresh-ground beans.

The thickest, richest, darkest hot chocolate ever. Made by my sister on Sunday and served in demitasse cups with fresh whipped cream. I’m listing this under “smell” rather than “taste” because, somehow, I resisted temptation. I’ve had it before, though, so I can attest to the accuracy of the three adjectives I used to describe the hot chocolate.

Hear...

Whatever music Aaron happens to be playing on his computer. At the moment it’s Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.

Cars splashing past the window.

Melissa taking a shower after going for a run in the rain with her cousin.

(Looking this over, I realize that I have once again made wordy an idea that seems intended to be minimalist.)

A Luncheon...

2009-03-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

(I think if you click on this photo, it might enlarge so you can read the recipe and see a better photo of the salad.)

For a potluck lunch get-together Mom hosted yesterday, I made this potato salad (with a few minor adjustments) from Jamie Oliver's book, Jamie's Dinners. I wanted to make it because it seemed like a bright and spring-like thing to have with its smoked fish, chives, new potatoes, and lemon. In lieu of smoked trout (which I love), I used smoked salmon. That worked well, though I can imagine the trout being just about perfect.

One of Mom's closest, longtime friends has been in town and will leave in a few days, so Mom wanted to have her and a couple of other friends over while she could. I was privileged to sit and visit with these ladies yesterday afternoon, thoroughly enjoying each of them and joining their conversation, but mostly, I wanted to watch them and pay attention to their words and their lives.

The women who came ranged in age from the early 70s into the 80s, and each of them is vibrant, inwardly beautiful, bubbling over with laughter and goodness, and young in spirit. These women were part of the church where I grew up, and all of them have known me for most of my life. They've had me into their homes over the years, made food for me, prayed for me, taught me how to do new things, hugged me, shared their wisdom with me, written me letters, and just plain loved me.

I sat back and listened to them talk. They clearly give no thought to being deep or wise, but depth and wisdom oozes out of these ladies-- the everyday sort of depth that comes from many years of faithful walking in the mundane, daily round; from years and years of studying the Bible; from faithful prayer; and from learning to bear all things in patient trust.

As I sat, watching and listening to these women, my heart was full of love and gratitude and my eyes filled with tears. Life is brief, and I am so blessed and privileged to have grown up with these women beside and behind me, encouraging to keep onward, urging me higher. I am so grateful to have-- and to have had for all of these years-- these examples of beauty, loving service, and faithfulness.

And truly these ladies are beautiful, each one of them, with the kind of beauty I want to have-- the inner beauty of kind, good, loyal, consistent, faithful, serving, praying hearts. Life has brought each of these women deep pain, heavy trials, heartache, loss, ups and downs, and through it all, their faith has remained steady and has even grown. They shine.

What wise, good, and faithful souls has God put in your life? What a gift it is to be able to be with them, to pay attention, and to learn from them.

Birthday Cupcakes...

2009-03-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

These are not my cupcakes, but they look sweet.

It was my birthday yesterday, and Melissa baked me my favorite cupcakes: Cinnamon-Scented Devil's Food Cupcakes with almond frosting. It was a lovely, quiet day, full of family time, good wishes, birthday greetings, phone calls, emails, and plenty of thoughtfulness.

I'll be in and out of town often for the next two weeks, but I'll pop in here when I can (maybe often, maybe not).

In the meantime, I hope your weather is turning spring-like and flowers are blooming around you and your windows are open to let in fresh air. Maybe you're even doing some spring cleaning, hanging your sheets on the line, working in the garden, and sitting outside for your morning coffee. Whatever the case, spring is just around the corner, and I, for one, look forward to it!

Lissy, in my sister's kitchen yesterday.

Recently...

2009-03-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

We saw this fence on a recent long beach walk. The fence is meant to keep ATVs (or "quads") off the beach.

Mom, off to the left, walking on the beach. The clouds that day looked like they were hanging from strings.

An abandoned railroad track less than 1/4 from Mom's house. I walk down this way sometimes.

Trees along the abandoned tracks.

I drove by this yesterday and had to take a picture of it. The lumber industry used to be the big, booming industry in Oregon. At least one great-grandfather, both grandfathers, my father, my brother, and two brothers-in-law all worked at one time in various lumber industry jobs-- loggers (my great-grandpa was a pioneer logger who worked in the Oregon forests on horseback, and one brother-in-law did some helicopter logging), sawmill workers, longshoremen, tugboat operators, and more. There were mills, log trucks, big ships from around the world, tugboats, and log rafts everywhere, it seemed. Our lumber towns bustled. These sawdust burning wigwams were a common sight next to sawmills. I have a clear childhood memory of seeing them in use at night, with the top of the cone glowing orange from heat and flames.

From Oregon State University:

A curl of smoke wafting from a wigwam sawdust burner used to be a common sight in Oregon timber towns. Unless sawdust was burned, people would have been buried in the stuff. It was a waste product without much value and in seemingly unlimited supply.

Times changed. Timber supplies dwindled. Wigwams were outlawed in the mid-1970s for polluting the air. Instead of burning it, Oregonians found uses for lumber mill waste: to make fiberboard, paper and cardboard, and to furnish the growing horticultural industry with pots, compost and mulch. With declining timber supplies and increased demand, the price of sawdust skyrocketed, up to five times its former cost.

Back of the store.

Last week, as we drove along the freeway on our way to the mountain pass that would take us home to the high desert last week, Melissa and I got hungry. We didn't want to eat fast food (I'd rather skip lunch, actually) or even grocery store food, so Melissa used her phone to search the internet for a natural foods store in the town we were passing. Yes, there was one in town, and the comments about it on the internet were positive. Melissa noted the address, we asked for directions, and we found this great little store where we bought some kombucha, dried mangos that were so delicious we stopped by the store on our return trip to pick up some more, a couple of oranges, a "raw" food snack bar, and some dark chocolate. Then we were happily off along the freeway again.

The road home, covered in a small amount of late-winter snow. Our house is less than 1/4 mile away, just past that white fence and down around the corner a little ways.

"Books for Simpler Cooking" at my Kitchen Notes blog.

"Happy, Happy..."

2009-03-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Along our road.

When my one-year-old grandson Jayden enjoys something, however mundane and ordinary, he does a little dance and chants in sing-song, "Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy..." His cheerful enjoyment of the simplest things is an admirable trait, so I will follow suit and make a point to notice and exude "happy, happy, happiness" about simple, daily, easily overlooked things.

This time, some "happy, happy" things surrounding home:

The drive back home last week across our magnificent Cascade Mountain range. Snow falling gracefully into drifts around home. Branches laden with snow. The rhythm and work of scraping the wide shovel under snow and flinging it aside to create neat paths. Running through powdery, unshoveled snow in my warm snow boots. Winter air that feels its most icy-crisp and invigorating when the sky is that deep, unreal shade of blue. Falling asleep in a pile of warm blankets while frigid, fresh night air comes in through the slightly open window. Carrying wood to the back porch and building toasty-warm morning fires in the woodstove. Sitting in my favorite chair across from the woodstove with a steaming mug of early morning coffee. The heavenly aroma of a simple, long-simmering tomato sauce made from tomatoes I froze from last summer's harvest. The laughter and hugs and kisses of the two cutest, funniest, smartest, busiest, imaginative, most creative, interesting little boys anywhere. Two of my girls baking mini-fudge cakes together in the kitchen. And then eating the fudgiest, ooziest, most deliciously intense mini-fudge cakes imaginable. The Bangladeshi hospitality of Michelle's in-law's who warmly welcomed us into their home for a perfectly brewed cup of hot tea, delicious fresh-fried spring rolls with a Bangladeshi twist, and an afternoon of friendly conversation in their living room. The gradual creation of a pile or two or three of books-- collected from shelves and tables and everywhere-- to browse and read and explore and enjoy while I'm here (and gathering a few to take with me back to the coast). I've spent these days looking around and paying attention and realizing how very blessed I am. Every single day. Here or there or wherever I am.

And tomorrow, I'll say good-bye to Michelle and her family and drive across the mountains once again to take Melissa home to the valley and then travel across the coastal range back to Mom's house.

Just down the road from our house this late afternoon.

Almost home. I climbed to the summit of this mountain a year and a half ago.

Roman draws.

Jayden reads.

A Yummy Raw Muesli Recipe...

2009-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

I spent a big chunk of today driving back and forth between here and there to pick up Melissa and bring her back to the coast. We'll leave from here in the morning to drive to our home across the mountains to see Michelle and her family. Yippee! (Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures while I'm there.)

While I was in Eugene, I stopped at my sister's house for a few minutes. JoAnne pulled something from her fridge and told me I had to taste it because it's delicious. I looked into the bowl and could tell right away that, whatever it was, it was raw, so I was extra happy to try a bite. Raw muesli with apple-- yum! Guess what I'll be eating for breakfast in the morning? Thanks, JoAnne!

I haven't made this myself yet, but I've tasted it, and Melissa has, too. She liked it as well as I did, so I thought I'd share the recipe here for anyone who is already eating raw, aspires to eat raw, or simply thinks the muesli sounds good.

The recipe, featured in Sunset magazine, is from Rancho LaPuerta, a resort and spa in Baja California, Mexico. There are two options given for making this, and I'll post option two because it suggests soaking the oats ahead of time. In Nourishing Traditions, one is encouraged to soak oatmeal overnight in water and something acidic like whey, all-natural yogurt (my choice), or lemon, and it's perfectly easy to do this with the muesli recipe:

1 c. old fashioned rolled oats
3 T. fresh lemon juice
2 firm tart apples, such as Granny Smith
1/4 c. toasted or raw sliced almonds (a raw foodist would use raw or dehydrated nuts)
3 T. agave syrup, maple syrup, or raw honey (JoAnne used maple)
1/4 c. toasted or raw unsweetened shredded coconut, or dried currants (JoAnne used the coconut)
1 c. plain low-fat (I would only use whole fat and all-natural!) yogurt

1. In a medium bowl, combine oats with 1 1/2 c. water and 2 T. yogurt, whey, or lemon juice. Let sit on the counter overnight.

In the morning:

2. Put lemon juice in another bowl. Peel 1 apple, then cut out 8 very thinly slices. Turn slices in lemon juice and lift out; set aside. Peel and coarsely shred remaining apples into lemon juice; mix immediately.

3. Stir apples, nuts, syrup, and coconut into oats. Divide among 4 bowls. Serve with yogurt if you like (JoAnne says she much prefers it with the yogurt); garnish with apple slices.

I have this recipe posted at my kitchen notes blog, along with my daughter, Aimee's, food log for today. If you're interested in that, head on over there and have a look!

Bookish...

2009-02-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

Books I recently browsed, scouted for future reading, and returned to the library. I will likely, eventually, read all four in that stack of novels by Pym and Taylor.

I'm always reading something. Lately, as the melancholy that's plagued me off and on in recent months seems to have mostly dissipated, and I'm starting to feel back on my feet again, I'm not so much willing myself to do the things that make my days nice as I am eager to get at them.

Reading is one of these hobbies. I love books, and I'm always reading something, whether melancholy hangs round or not, but, recently, I've noticed that I seem to have made my way back to the reading rhythms and habits I have always enjoyed.

I tend to usually have four main types of reading going at once:

1. Some kind of journal, diary, or narrative of a person's life or experience.

Currently, the book of this sort that I'm reading is The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year by Susan Hill (a book that was recommended to me in the comments on my blog many months ago). I truly love this book as it stirs something deep within me. I so warmly relate to the way the author thinks and feels about her country life, solitude, community, nature, making a home, and pretty much everything else, that this feels like my book. The author describes her country life with charm and appeal, but she doesn't oversentimentalize it. The book is cosy and cheering, but it is also honest about the fact that country living presents challenges that not everyone would want to embrace. I am taking my time reading The Magic Apple Tree so that I can enjoy each line because the writing, as well as the sentiments, are lovely. This one will be read many times over, I'm sure.

2. A book of fiction.

Currently, the one I'm reading is Alice in Wonderland, which I fell asleep with last night. I awoke at 4 a.m., with my glasses crushed beneath me (all of my reading glasses are bent and sit quite crookedly on my nose-- usually tipping way up to the left-- because I have fallen asleep wearing them) and my book placed carefully to the side of the bed. Alice in Wonderland is a book my son has wanted me to read since he was a boy, and being a bad mother, I haven't. So he gave it to me for Christmas. Now, I'm reading Alice (and, finally, I'm making steady progress) and very much enjoying it.

During busy times or times when things are "off," I tend to set aside my fiction reading because I have not yet mastered myself well enough to know when to put a book down. I obsess with fiction once I get going! (I won't talk about the time I read Jane Eyre and neglected my children and made them fix cereal and toast for themselves all day long... but they did live, and they don't seem to be the worse for it.)

In the fiction stack to be read soon: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, The Brothers Karamazov (finally), and either a novel by Barbara Pym or Elizabeth Taylor.

3. A non-fiction book, usually informational.

The book in this category that I'm reading now is Living More With Less by Doris Janzen Longacre. I've read through this book countless times. It's one of those that challenges me to rethink the daily habits I've gotten into and to evaluate where I am in a quest for living simply and with compassion. (I seem to be on a steep and endless uphill climb with this-- or I'm going in circles-- but I'm not discouraged. I've definitely made progress, and the point is to keep walking and to enjoy the hike.) Making a conscious effort to systematically work through this process of self-evaluation is good for me.

4. Whatever strikes my fancy.

Books I read at whim or browse just because. The stacks of books on my bedside table, on the tables beside my chairs, on the floor, on shelves and tables everywhere, simply make me happy. One book lying somewhere is nice, but a stack of books is brilliant! These are the books that suit my current needs or fancy, the ones that are there to satisfy my curiosity about something, the books that are there to tell me something or to answer my questions. These are ever-shifting, ever-changing piles of books. Some are read in snatches, some are merely browsed, some are read back to front or every which way, and some are eventually read through, which moves them to Category 3 in this list (above).

These are books of essays, fiction, information, art, architecture, beauty and inspiration, poems (I want to read more poems), and interest. They are cookbooks, gardening books, housekeeping books, simple living books. Books on hiking and nature and weather and geology and trivia of all kinds.

Magazines fit into these stacks, too. The ones that currently tempt me (because I've narrowed down and simplified my magazine reading for now) are Outside magazine (great writing, and I like outdoorsy stuff), Saveur (also good writing, about cooking authentic cuisines from around the world), and the British Country Living (I don't much care for most American home magazines, but I really do love this one. It's just that I can rarely get my hands on a copy...).

These ubiquitous stacks of books can be a distraction (a delightful one) from my other reading if I let them, and this is one of my new aims-- not to let them... not too much, that is, because they're a whole lot of fun!

Home Again? At Least for a Visit...

2009-02-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

Home. Taken last summer... because I don't have any new photos of home to post!

I left my house in a hurry on December 1, and I haven't been home since. But, unless the winter weather turns severe in the mountains, I'll be going there for a visit next week. I hope to stay for at least several days before returning to Mom's. Maybe it's time to start going back and forth between here and there, gradually working my way back into to my own home. However long that process takes, and it really might take a while, I'm looking forward to the visit.

My daughter, Michelle, and her family, are currently moving into my home as they prepare to move away from our high desert area in early May. Michelle has called daily to update me on the state of my house. The first call went something like this:

"Mom, it was almost creepy when I walked in here. It's dead cold and silent and the curtains are drawn. There's no one moving about-- not even a cat. And the house is decorated for Christmas!"

Oh, and Michelle let me know that the pipes under the sink had cracked in spite of the fact that we had carefully drained everything and had turned off the water completely. But, really, it's not surprising there was a problem with the pipes. The only source of heat for our home is our wood stove, and with no heaters to leave set on low, it was impossible to keep the abandoned house from freezing to its very bones. And the house happens to have been unoccupied in the most frigid parts of winter when temperatures can drop below zero degrees at night and occasionally barely rise above it during the day.

But Michelle is my sharp and undaunted one who can pretty much do anything she decides to do, including plumbing in a pinch, it seems. Michelle has now replaced much of the plumbing under the kitchen sink, and while she's been at it, she has also identified a potential problem with some bathroom pipes. She says she just might go ahead and replace those, too, before they really do become problematic.

(Thanks, Michelle! I'm so glad I let you tinker with everything you wanted to tinker with when you were growing up! Oh, and feel free to put away the Christmas stuff and to decorate for spring if you want. Yippee-- spring is coming!)

So now, the plumbing works, the wood stove warms the house to cheeriness once again, the curtains are pulled back to allow sunlight to fall warmly into the rooms, fire wood has been stacked on the back porch, and when Michelle phones, I can hear my little grandboys chattering and laughing as they play in the background.

It will be very nice to walk into a warm and lively home when I return for a visit. I'd like to stand at my kitchen sink, my hands in warm, soapy dishwater, and stare out the window. It sounds nice to rise early in the morning and sit in my green chair across from the woodstove with my morning coffee and journal. I look forward to perusing my bookshelves and getting my hands on some of the books that I've wished I had with me here at Mom's. Maybe I'll get to watch the sun set below those familiar western hills in the evening. And perhaps I'll take a long walk down our country road if it's not too muddy.

It will be especially nice to see Michelle, Monty, Roman, and Jayden again after these months away. I can't wait to see how much those boys have grown, to give them a big hug, to read aloud some stories, to sing some songs, and to chatter and play and laugh with them once again.

If all goes well, Lord willing, and I'm able to make it home as planned-- even if it is just for a short time-- it will be nice to be there.

13 Things That Improved My Health...

2009-02-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

Mom gave me these flowers on Valentine's Day.

This is mostly for Joanna and "

Hill," who asked about my health and what kinds of things I did to improve it. Hill, I appreciate your sensitivity in not wanting to pry, but I don't mind answering your questions. I'd already written this post before I read your comment, so let me know if there's something more specific I can say, okay?

I actually prefer not to focus on the ups and downs and ins and outs of my old health problems (thank you for understanding that!). Sure, I felt a whole long list of rotten sometimes. I'd hurt all over, and my brain was foggy, and I was fatigued beyond belief, but, even when I was going through it wasn't helpful or encouraging for me to discuss it.

So. How did I start getting better?

I think there were lots of factors. I thought about how I might improve my health, and I worked really hard at it. I thought about modern life and how unnatural much of it is, and it made sense to me that to live as naturally as possible couldn't hurt, so I aimed to do that.

I'm not prescribing anything I've chosen to do as a remedy for what ails anyone else. I just knew that I needed to make changes, and I figured the ones I was choosing to make couldn't hurt. I honestly think that each of the following made a definite difference in my actual physical health, but the choices were not only about physical health. They were about living a life that felt coherent, whole, and healthy in every way.

I also don't make any judgments about these points. It's just the path I chose to walk in my search for good health. Some of my friends and family do almost none of the following, which is perfectly fine by me. I don't even tell most people my feelings about this stuff because I don't want to put anyone on the defensive or make them think I'm judging them if they don't do likewise.

I realize that a lot of the lists I post on my blog overlap in many ways, but here it is...

1. Morning quiet time. Prayer, Bible reading, meditation, contemplation, journaling, and, yes, coffee. Coffee that is made in a French press. A dark roast. Poured into a pretty mug.

2. Widen margins and eliminate stress. This was serious business for me. Most of us are blessed with the power to choose. I chose to live slowly, with broad margins around everything, and it has been a huge help, healthwise, and a big part of reducing and eliminating stress.

3. Simplify, declutter, and streamline everything. Daily life. Homeschooling. Routines. The schedule. Involvements. Possessions. Work.

4. Attitude is everything. First, be positive. I have always told my kids to avoid negative people-- to choose friends with a positive, cheerful, encouraging, and strengthening spirit. I don't let people drain me or cling to me. And I aim to be cheerful, grateful, hopeful, and positive. Don't dwell on troubles. Do not dwell on them. Pray and cry and deal with them. Then leave it all with the Lord. Choose to have a good day, no matter how you feel, and most often you will. I aim to enjoy my days and my life and my relationships, even when difficulties try their best to knock me down. Do I do this perfectly well? Absolutely not, but it is still my aim.

5. Enjoy beauty every day. It's there for us. Nature. Literature. Music. Art. Whatever is beautiful to you, enjoy it. Beauty soothes and heals. And don't forget to make beauty, too, with whatever creative inclinations and gifts God has given you.

6. Nature. God's world refreshes when we learn to slow down enough to see, to hear, to smell, to notice, to wonder, to be quiet.

7. Make my atmosphere nurturing and refreshing. Both my home and my self. They both should be lovely, inviting, warm, and good. Joy should characterize an atmosphere. As should Faith. Hope. Love.

8. Do something I love to do OR love something I already do.

9. Get lots of fresh air and sunshine. I'm a "swing open the windows and doors" kind of person. Even in the most severe cold, I keep my bedroom window open a crack at night. I want my air to be fresh (yes, I know-- outside air isn't fresh everywhere!). I know this has helped me. And sunshine is an amazing gift. Don't be afraid of it. Go outside all year long. Full spectrum bulbs in winter lift the spirits of those suffering from S.A.D., and lifted spirits mean better health.

10. Which reminds me. Laugh. Laughter is the best medicine. Some people can see humor in just about anything. Be one of them. (I am blessed to have a family like this.) My mom told me about an Olympic athlete who went through some awful health struggles, to the point that she was bed-ridden. She said she meant to take seriously the verse that laughter is like medicine, so she bought herself the entire set of I Love Lucy videos, and laughter helped her along the way to good health. She went on to win another gold medal.

11. Non-toxic everything. Cleaning supplies. Soap, lotions, lipstick. Dish soap and laundry soap. I don't take over-the-counter medicines for anything, ever (it's been at least a few years since I've had a cold, anyway). I don't use sunscreen or insect spray (though I have on hand non-toxic insect spray). I don't use antibacterials. A home and all that goes in it can be pretty toxic nowadays, and I still have a long, long ways to go to sort out what kinds of things I want to own and use.

12. Good Nourishment. Eat real food as God made it to be eaten. I like mine fresh, without chemicals, additives, or antibiotics. If He put fat in food, I leave it there. No skim-anything or light-anything for me! I eat organic as much as I can. My eating style is a mix of Nourishing Traditions and "raw" or "living" foods, currently leaning more toward the raw side of the spectrum. There's a lot of overlap between these two ways of thinking, but there are differences as well. The way I eat has played a critical role in the improvement of my health, but I'm not sure that the same way of eating works the same way for everyone. Oh, and this is important for me-- I don't like to overanalyze or overthink my daily eating, my daily food log on my kitchen blog notwithstanding! I just want to enjoy my food and my increasing good health.

13. Exercise. It's essential. As much as I can, I try to exercise outdoors, and I try to do something that I enjoy. Mostly, I think it's important to keep moving, however much, and however vigorously, I can.

(I'm coming on just after posting this to my blog to add number 14. I actually meant to write something about this, but I seem to have left it off. I'll make this quick):

14. Move my focus away from myself. Do something for others to make them happy. Love them. Serve them. Surprise them. Care for them. Enjoy them. This is extremely important.

That's 13 items in the list. (Well, now it's fourteen!) Thirteen is a good number. It is the number I wore when I played high school sports. :-)

Exercise (Answering Michelle's Question)...

2009-02-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

Today's food log.

Because a nourishing diet + exercise = good health.

Okay, I need to write quickly because I didn't get a chance to sit in front of the computer to write this earlier today, and it's past bedtime now. :-) I started to answer your specific question about how to find time to exercise with children at home, Michelle, but then I decided to write a very brief overview of my history of exercise and fitness in case anyone else of another age or situation might be reading. So here's much more than I'm sure you could have imagined me writing (and I hope somewhere in this is something helpful!)...

First, I'll say that exercise has always been very, very important to me. I was raised in an athletic family, starting with Dad and Mom, and running all the way down through the five kids. We played school sports, and we played hard outside all the time as a family. We were in good shape without really thinking about being, or getting, in good shape.

I played sports on scholarship in college for my first two years, and after that I kept busy playing racquetball, tennis, running, biking, intramural volleyball and basketball, and whatever else anyone wanted to do that would keep me moving. I did something most every day, and I loved it.

When I was first married, with no kids, I kept doing the things I'd done before. I wasn't the type to go to a gym or use workout equipment (I'm still not). I'd much rather be moving and playing a bit more naturally.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I took up walking (the kind that gives a workout) and I also did my own aerobics program throughout my pregnancy. After Aimee was born, I kept walking for exercise, but now I was carrying a baby in a pack. I discovered the 20 Minute Workout at this time, and I did it while Aimee napped.

When I was pregnant with my second child, Michelle, I continued with the walking and aerobics. And then she was born, and I carried her in a front carrier while I pushed Aimee in the stroller.

And then I was pregnant for the third time. I still did aerobics and fast walking (Michelle was now carried in a backpack and Aimee rode in the stroller). And when the third child, Aaron, was born, I pushed Michelle in the stroller, had Aimee standing on a bar on the back of the stroller and hanging onto the sidebars while I walked (she loved doing this!), and carried Aaron in the front pack.

When I was pregnant with the fourth, I still walked hard, all the way through the 9th month, and you should have seen me! I pushed Michelle in the stroller, Aimee continued to ride on the bar behind the stroller seat, and Aaron was carried on my back in a pack. And I was sticking out nine months pregnant in front. We all had great fun walking through the streets of our British town like this! :-)

And then Melissa was born, and not long afterward, we moved back to the US. And I took my walks on Mike's lunch hour or after he returned from work, pushing Melissa in the stroller when I went. Sometimes I went for a run instead of a walk. And sometimes I'd do aerobics in the morning (the kids were well-behaved and kept themselves busy). The aerobic workout was only 20 minutes long...

(All of that stuff about where different kids sat or stood or were carried is a bit convoluted and probably confusing, but just know that I was determined to go on my walk! :-) )

And then we moved again, and Mike had his own home-based business. He was also the kind of dad who never, ever minded watching the kids, so I was able to go for a walk whenever I wanted. That was easy.

And then I had some health problems. There were days I couldn't even walk to the mailbox let alone go for an exercise walk. The health problems continued for several years, waxing and waning in intensity. Off and on, there were short periods of time when I could exercise, but never more than moderately.

Four years later, my husband was no longer self-employed (thank goodness!), and by now, my oldest was old enough to be in charge if I wanted to go out for a walk. I was still struggling with health issues, though. And then we moved again (to our high desert home). And I began working hard at getting well without a doctor or medications.

And I did get better. (This is why I'm sooo picky about what I eat, and why I use all non-toxic products, and why I do some other things... but that's another story.) Now I could exercise regularly, with increasing vigor. By now, my kids were older, so figuring out what to do with them when I exercised was not a concern.

Walking was, and is, the thing I chose to do for exercise. I walk. I hike (sometimes very long, steep hike/climbs in the mountains). I am now healthy and can push hard when I exercise, so I can get really fit again! Yay! It feels wonderful, and I'm thankful for the blessing of good health every single day.

Michelle, does your husband have the kind of schedule where he can give you some free time for walking? Even a very fast short walk is hugely beneficial. And, further, even sporadic exercise is better than no exercise at all.

Just so you know, the following is not aimed at you, Michelle. It's just my exhortation (for all of us) to move, however often, however much. Even a little bit is better than nothing!.

If I walked only 2 miles, two times a week, that's 16 miles a month and almost 200 miles a year, much better than nothing. Even one mile, two times a week, is better than nothing (it's almost 100 miles a year)! I say that we should all just do what we can, and we shouldn't quit altogether just because we aren't consistent. A little here, a little there is much better than nothing at all. Even dancing all around the house or jumping rope or doing anything that gets us moving is great. Just move! I think it should be a priority for everyone.

And we can, and should, do things as a family. Bike rides. Whiffle ball games. Swimming. Hikes on pretty trails. All sorts of games and play and exploration. This is beneficial in many ways. We live in a culture that is not active. We sit around, then we go to the gym and work out violently to get in shape. It's much better for kids and parents to consistently move and play hard outdoors.

I think it's really important to make fitness a priority for many reasons:

1. Life expectancy goes up.

2. Happy hormones are released.

3. One has a better sense of well-being.

4. Exercise reduces stress.

5. Good muscle tone is good for health.

6. A person feels stronger and much more energetic.

7. Motivation increases.

8. Self-discipline grows.

9. Confidence increases.

10. Appearance improves.

A Breath of Fresh Air...

2009-02-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

"The art of abundance is the art of awareness. It is a way to count our blessings and practice mindfulness in our daily living. Becoming aware of the small, the little, and the least offers us an opportunity to open our heartrs to a larger perspective. We learn to value the tastes, textures, scents, sounds, and sights of our lives as they present themselves to us moment by moment.

"Children practice the art of abundance naturally, but often as adults we lose the ability to explore and experience wonder. By choosing to be aware of the gifts life brings, we become lovers instead of critics, believers instead of doubters, and childlike mystics instead of world-weary critics."

~Candy Paull in The Art of Abundance.

The forecast for today was rain, but, instead, it turned out to be another beautiful, sunshiny day. Mom wasn't able go to the beach, but it would have been just plain wrong for someone not to go on a day like this, so I took Penny, our sweet, old, funny-looking, crookedy-walking dog. The beach was wind-free and warm enough to walk along without a jacket. Occasionally, I just sat in the sand and looked all around.

I also walked down the beach, and I think I found the sand dollar mother lode today. I filled my pockets with 15 whole, unbroken sand dollars, and that was without even looking really hard. That has never happened to me before. There were so many shells washing up in the surf that they tinkled like windchimes as they clinked against each other.

I meant to go on a vigorous walk down the beach with Penny, but I decided that not every day is meant for business. I had a good, hilly walk yesterday, and today just seemed like a perfect day for ambling, exploring, and beachcombing, not for power walking. So, that's what I did. I ambled and looked around and explored and sat in the sand and watched the birds and boats and the beach walkers and surfers.

I thought I'd only be at the beach for a short time, but I ended up staying for at least a couple of hours, and it felt like a gift. Fresh air, sunshine, nature, warmth, quiet. I love going to the beach with Mom, and we hope to go together tomorrow since the weather is supposed to be lovely again, but the alone time today was pleasant and refreshing.

This beach is a popular surfing spot, and the surfers catch waves right here alongside the jetty. There's a fishing boat out off the jetty (don't know if you can see it in this shrunken photo).

Here's that boat, headed toward the jetty and home.

These are oyster beds in the triangle between jetties. (I seem to have had trouble keeping my camera level today!)

Here's the fishing boat that was aiming for the jetty in the photo above. It's almost home. Home is the fishing village harbor in the photo at the top of the page.

And here a couple of helpful signs seen on the roads near the beach:

(Clicking photos should enlarge them.)

"Cherish the Natural Order..."

2009-02-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

"Does it nurture people?" and "Does it protect our environment" are the conformed-to-God's-image questions." ~Doris Janzen Longacre in the chapter, "Cherish the Natural Order," from her book, Living More With Less

"Who wants to take the scenic route?!"

When my kids were young and we'd all pile into the car to go somewhere, I'd often ask that question. That meant we'd take the back roads or go out of our way to see something interesting along the way to wherever we were going. It always meant by-passing the main highways that shot us straight into town like through a chute.

And, without fail, the kids always answered my question about taking the scenic route with an enthusiastic, "Me!"

We weren't in a hurry. We enjoyed ourselves. The roads meandered prettily and gracefully through the countryside. Roads tended to curve, so the pace was slower than on the highway, but we didn't seem to lose much time (what makes time "lost" anyway?), and there was always more of a grace and beauty and enjoyment to our "scenic" drives. We seemed to have more of a natural mindfulness that is absent on a fast and busy, super-efficient freeway or highway.

Why are people in such a hurry anyway? In the end, I think, no matter what our circumstances, it comes down to choice, and most of us are currently blessed enough in our situations to be able to make those choices if we'd like.

On family trips when I was growing up, my dad was the sort of traveler who would stop at general stores for candy or ice cream. He'd stop at parks and beaches so we could play and eat our lunch and play catch with a softball or frisbee. We took our time, but it was such a nice pace and so much fun. We took the metaphorical scenic route (and, most often, the literal scenic route as well).

On my in-town walks, I like to look at the old houses and the new developments. On a recent walk, I was looking at some huge mansion-like homes high on a hill with a stunning view of the city and the valley below. These homes were behind fences (usually with an obvious, and, I'm sure, necessary, security system). I've seen the trucks, equipment, and workers of gardening companies at these homes (their presence is continual in the summer), but I've never once seen an actual occupant of any of these homes. They do not seem to work in their own yards or even stay home much. The landscaping of these yards is on a grand scale, requiring much work and maintenance. The homes strike me as meaning to impose and impress, though, of course, really nice people probably live in them. Rather than looking inviting, these huge homes seem to isolate the owners and bar true community from occurring.

In the same area, I've walked and driven by a small eco-development. Melissa and I went by there yesterday, in fact. This appeals to me. The homes are small and quite charming. Garages did not impose like they do in so many developments. Landscaping is completely natural. The houses are close together, but not all lined up in a row, and there doesn't seem to be a feeling of being too-crowded or invaded upon so much as being part of a nice community. The feeling I get from this place is lovely, appealing, and inviting. I would want to live here.

Then I got to thinking about what I would want ideally in a home (which will likely never happen, but I can work in as many factors as possible into any place I do live). As I've written these items down, I realize that I want them to fit within the questions asked at the top of this post in the quote from Living More With Less: "Does it nurture people?" "Does it protect our environment?" In other words, does it cherish the natural order? We are, after all, stewards of this world, and our main business should be people. Relationships.

1. I want a small, simple, charming home, made according to my favorite patterns in A Pattern Language. A simply, prettily designed home doesn't need much in the way of decor to make it attractive or cosy. The cosiness can largely be inherent in the design. I would be willing to move into an existing house that I could make into my ideal home, or I would build one. I would want the interior, exterior, and placement in the landscape to be conducive to relationships and community.

2. I want it to be a green home. This is really important to me, but I have an awful lot to learn in this area. I've done quite a lot of reading over the years, and I want to do more:

-- made of natural materials
-- everything non-toxic (inside and out)
-- eco-heating (I love radiant floor heating)
-- sustainable construction and daily living
-- healthy
-- solar or other alternative sources of power
-- made of high-quality materials and construction (which is more affordable in a small home)

3. I want to have natural landscaping. I'm not against designed and planned gardens (I love places like the Japanese botanical gardens in Portland or some of the large, orderly gardens I saw in England), but my personal aesthetic leans toward natural:

-- a xeriscape or close to it
-- use of native plants and flowers (lots of pretty, colorful native wildflowers and perennials make gorgeous gardens)
-- leave as much nature in the surroundings as possible
-- grow a simple, efficient, organic fruit, vegetable, and herb garden for produce
-- I never want to use chemicals or anything toxic in my gardens or landscaping
-- nature (birds and other creatures) friendly

4. I want my home to be simple (I'm repeating myself!):

-- really attractive and inviting
-- cosy and appealing to the human spirit (which is really a repeat or an underscoring of the item just above this one)
-- scaled back (way scaled back) possessions-- few things, but attractive, interesting, well-made, quality things
-- bookshelves are a must
-- a fire I can see (maybe a very eco-efficient woodstove)
-- I like a fairly open floor plan that is relaxed, casual, and allows people to be in proximity to each other.
-- a simple kitchen with open shelves and room for a table; this can be a large room because, in my opinion, the kitchen really is the heart of the home

As I write, I realize that I could go on and on. I certainly have ideas about what I'd like my home to look like, what it's purpose would be (a place for rest, growth, sustenance, and relationship), etc., but this post is not so much about itemizing what I want in my ideal home as to say that, even in the way I build and live in my home, I want to cherish the natural order. I don't think this is always done very well.

It seems there was a time when, generally speaking, man-made things didn't seem disruptive to the natural order. They even seemed to enhance it in some ways. Think of a beautiful, well-made old barn, gracing a country hillside. Or an old general store along a country road. The homes were often charming. The roads were scenic and pretty. Places of work were often well-designed and people-friendly. There was a naturalness and beauty to them, for the most part. This was not just a country thing-- even some of the old places of business in towns or cities often had something appealing about them (of course there were also the polluting, dehumanizing factories that came along, too, as well as other bits of ugliness, all coming with "progress"). People at leisure really seemed to be at leisure once, where now, it can seem that leisure is an exhausting affair.

And now, with progress and the busyness and hurry and desire for speed and efficiency that come with it, there seems to be so much ugliness. When I take photos, occasionally I have to struggle to avoid getting power lines in the shot, or the ATV tracks on the beach (we tend to avoid the beaches where they can be ridden), cell towers, and other bits of obtrusive ugliness. But this isn't about not liking what messes up my photos; it's more about me suddenly noticing how very unnatural or unattractive the order of our surroundings and way of life has gotten. Modern progress doesn't often seem to have a pretty face. And what, if anything, does this do to the human spirit?

I don't know about anyone else, but I want to keep things slow and simple. I want to strive for, and cherish, the natural order and I want to take the scenic route.

While We Were Gone...

2009-02-16T23:39:00.001-08:00

We saw two of my favorite people in all of the world-- Aaron and Melissa, my youngest two.

My niece, Nicky, playing one of my favorite Bach pieces (I knew it first from YoYo Ma's CD of unaccompanied Bach cello suites).

We went to stay with my sister this past weekend to see my 17-year-old nephew's soccer game (which I ended up missing, and in which he sprained his ankle) and to see my niece, Nicole, and my nephew Conner play in a strings recital. Nicole, 11, is a fine violist, and Conner, 8, is doing very well on the violin. He's adaptable, too. He walked on stage to play his recital piece, and the pianist started playing a different piece altogether. Conner knew this music, too, so he said he thought, "Well, I guess I'll play this instead." He played beautifully, but he wasn't entirely able to suppress a hint of a smile and an occasional amused smirk.

I discovered a yummy "raw" snack yesterday at a natural foods store near my sister's house-- a lime and cilantro seasoned pack of nuts. The thing about these nuts is that they are soaked and dehydrated, giving them a roasted sort of taste without the high heat of actual roasting, which kills the enzymes in the nuts. This was a really delicious snack (the store cashier told me he's addicted to this particular flavor), but the nuts are expensive! So now I have one more reason to buy a dehydrator-- so that I can soak nuts and fool around with lots of different flavors for dehydrating them!

My sister, Nancy, who has a dehydrator. :-) I don't think I've ever put her picture on my blog, so here she is. She's my older sister! By 15 months.

I've been wanting an Excalibur dehydrator ever since I started looking into raw foods. My sister, Nancy, has one, and she uses it all the time. I love what she does with her dehydrator (for one thing, she makes the best dried apples ever-- even better than the ones our Grampy used to make!). So, next on my list of bigger purchases... a nine-tray Excalibur dehydrator.

Oregon is celebrating her 150th birthday, and lots of museums had free admission on Saturday, so we visited the University of Oregon art museum. Both Melissa and I said our favorite piece of art was probably "Wreck of the Old 97" by Thomas Hart Benton (above).

~:~:~:~:~

And, finally, because I'm too lazy to go over to my kitchen blog to post today's food log, I'm just going to add it to this post. Listing what I'm eating helps to keep me in line!

JoAnne made farina for breakfast. I ate mine with butter and maple syrup.

Then JoAnne and I drank some French pressed Sumatra coffee.

A banana.

A Gopal raw snack made from macadamia nuts, coconut, goji berries, and agave. Not bad!

Passionberry Kombucha. Not bad, either, but grape is still my favorite.

Some Green & Black's dark chocolate. Plus I tried a piece of Chocolove 70% chocolate. I can't help but adore this chocolate because there's a love poem on the inside of every wrapper.

A fresh-juiced orange.

A large green salad topped with homemade "Parma!".

A roasted sweet potato, smashed with butter and salt and pepper.

A tall glass of green lemonade.

Chocolate of the Gods Mousse (the "raw" chocolate mousse made with avacado).

Exercise... Mom, JoAnne, and I walked up and down the hills (some of them long and steep) and streets of JoAnne's neighborhood, probably logging around three miles. It was a great walk.

Appreciating...

2009-02-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

How could I not miss these two precious boys?!

"The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions-- the little soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling." ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I'm still reading Living More With Less, and I'll definitely be posting more on that next week, but here's something quick and light for this evening. Some things I thought about, did, and appreciated today:

Simplicity...

This is something I've been thinking about since I was in college (a long time ago). And, as life has a stealthy way of complicating itself if we don't keep an eye on it, I'm recognizing (once again) a need to re-simplify, and to further simplify, my life. Doing this doesn't make me feel deprived; it makes me feel freer and lighter. Less entangled and encumbered. More coherent and at peace. More available and attentive. It's good.

Also, in honor of Heather, who, in her comments below about what number 10 might/should be on Alice's list of guidelines for eating wonderfully, made this suggestion: "Keep Cooking Appliances and Utensils to a Favorite Multi-Functional Few." Yes! I know what she means, and it sort of reminds me of something I posted once, and since most people don't see my sporadic kitchen blog, I thought I'd mention it here.

Simple Kitchen

Movement...

The walking in nature kind of movement, that is. And this time Mom and I didn't walk along a sandy beach or drive to town to walk the hills. We stepped out the front door and headed down the road, taking one of the dogs with us. The air this afternoon was breezy and invigoratingly chilly.

I walk down this road with the dogs every day, but I can't walk far before the busy, nearby highway runs interference. Today, though, Mom and I dodged traffic, crossed the highway, and headed up into the hills. The first thing I thought as we walked those forested roads was that, no matter where we seem to go, it's so pretty around here!

We stopped for a bit to talk to a new neighbor who has moved in just down the road from Mom. And, somewhere along the way, Mom and I both expressed gratitude to the Lord for health and strength and endurance. Mom is kind of like the Eveready Bunny. It just amazes me how she can go and go and go.

Mindstuff...

Or should I say "lifestyle stuff"? It's not like I'm reading anything intellectually intense, but it's what I'm thinking about.

Because it's on my mind, I went to the library today and checked out six books on the topic of simplicity. Some of the books are light and breezy in tone; others are intense, challenging, and even extreme; some are spiritual in nature; and some are very informative and practical. All of them, though, are interesting, and most should be inspirational or helpful.

I am also packing around a stack of books about eating "raw" or "living" foods. It probably seems that I'm obsessing about this, but that's sort of what I do when I'm interested in a topic or working at making changes in my life. I'll read and read and read and try to get hold of anything that might inform, challenge, or inspire me on the subject.

Amazon delivered a new book to our doorstep today-- ex-super model Carol Alt's book, Eating in the Raw (a fairly basic book, probably geared to inquiring minds or beginning raw foodists). I think I like her! Alt, like me, has no problem with the idea of eating raw dairy or meat or even a little bit of cooked food.

Hurrah for libraries and Amazon.com!

Nourishment...

What we're eating lately really does seem to be making both Mom and me feel better (even though I really wasn't eating poorly before). I feel stronger. Brighter. Clearer. Less tired. More eager and energetic. But I'll try not to be preachy.

This evening we had a cooked, but healthy, meal-- homemade Yumm! bowls-- for dinner. This consisted of a layer of brown rice, a layer of Yumm! sauce, and a layer of black beans. This is topped with avacado, cilantro, and tomatoes. Lots of people like a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on their Yumm! bowls and possibly some cheese and olives. I prefer to leave these off, but I do like some salsa on top of the beans before adding the other toppings.

And then I had Coconut Bliss ice cream with cacao nibs. And, later, we drank green lemonade.

I'm deeply thankful for good, healthy food to eat. Every day.

Sweetness...

What could be sweeter than a phone call from my three-year-old grandson, Roman, who repeatedly said to me, "I love you, Grandma Susy." And, "When are you going to be at your house? You should go there right now." "You can come to my house and eat pizza, if you want. Okay." And in the back ground, I could hear almost-two-year-old Jayden chanting in his sweet voice, "Grandma Susy. Grandma Susy. Grandma Susy..."

I'm so thankful for precious grandchildren who love me (and I love them), and for their Mom-- my daughter-- who lets them call me. And for the new baby that will join Roman and Jayden's family this September. Yay!

And you know what else always strikes me as sweet? Well, first let me tell you that I read the blogs of those of you who comment here, and I enjoy them all, but since I'm talking about "sweetness," and since when I read Beth's blog I'm always struck with a sense of sweetness, I'm going to single her out today! I really enjoy swinging by Beth's blog when I'm online, and if you haven't done so, you might enjoy it, too.

Bethgem

Going...

We're off to the valley tomorrow to visit my two youngest kids, to watch my nephew's soccer game, and to watch a viola performance by my niece and a violin performance by my nephew. And we might just visit an art museum, too. And, almost for sure, we'll take a nice long walk or hike.

To me, family, walking/hiking, and the arts sounds like an equation for a nice weekend. I hope your weekend will be lovely as well.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Alice's Fundamental Guidelines for Eating Wonderfully...

2009-02-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

"The fact is that it takes more than ingredients and techniques to cook a good meal. A good cook puts something of himself into the preparation-- he cooks with enjoyment, anticipation, spontaneity, and he is willing to experiment." ~ Pearl Bailey

I was browsing through some of my cookbooks yesterday evening, looking for ideas and just enjoying myself, when I ran across something written by the almost-legendary American food revolutionary, Alice Waters, in her good cookbook, The Art of Simple Food. It's her list of fundamental guidelines for eating wonderfully. I always enjoy this kind of thing, so here's Alice's list and a few quickly written comments by me on each point:

1. Eat locally and sustainably.

I really do work at this. I'm on the Oregon coast right now, as anyone who has read my blog in recent weeks knows, and, thanks to relatives who love to catch and grow their own food, I've recently enjoyed fresh-caught fish, crab, and clams. I also sometimes stop by a fish shop in a little fishing village for salmon or some kind of white fish (I like snapper). I've gotten the best smoked (in house) tuna there-- oh, yum! But I don't eat loads of meat, so I mostly shop for food at the local natural foods co-op. I buy lots of organic produce! Also, I enjoy berries and peaches from my mom's freezer-- all from not-too-far-away in Oregon (the northwest is something of a fruit and berry heaven), picked ripe, organic, and in season. The Berry Bible was written by a someone from Portland (Oregon). Need I say more? :-)

2. Eat seasonally.

Oh, yes. I'm eating lots of oranges and citrus and consuming what should be, before long, a waning supply of root vegetables and winter squash. I do try to eat mostly seasonally. I certainly don't buy fresh strawberries or peaches in early February. I wait until spring to consume asparagus. I prefer not to touch anything larger than a cherry tomato in the winter. It's worth waiting for those wonderful heirloom tomatoes to show up in farmers' markets in August. Seasonal foods taste better, they're more nutritious, and they cost less. It just makes sense to eat this way, doesn't it?

3. Shop at farmers' markets.

As soon as they open, I'm there! I love farmers' markets. And I love the CSA program I've taken part every year it's been available in my home town. We don't live in an area with year-round farmers' markets, so I buy my produce in local natural foods co-ops. Sometimes I'll buy something in a larger grocery store, but I do like to support local, small businesses, and, since I'm able, I'm willing to pay more for what I buy at the co-op. The quality is much, much better anyway.

4. Plant a garden.

I haven't had a vegetable garden in a while (that's always been my husband's thing), but I've been growing herbs for a lot of years, and I do love snipping fresh herbs to use in my cooking. My herb garden is plain and simple-- a small fenced garden with three raised beds-- but I really enjoy it.

5. Conserve, compost, and recycle.

At home, I do all three. I try to be frugal in my food spending, but I also spend enough money to eat in a way that I think is healthy. I have no doubt that my way of eating has significantly improved my health, so I consider the food I buy to be something of an investment. At the same time, I'm currently trying to conserve in every way, including my food spending. I'm trying to eat less and to eat more frugally, yet to eat very well. I'm also trying not to waste a single thing, an area where I am improving but have not yet completely succeeded. I used to almost make a game of seeing how little I could put into my garbage cans each week. I do what I can here at Mom's house, and when I return home, I'll resume my own particular focus on this.

6. Cook simply.

I do. I love to cook. I love good, fresh, vibrant-tasting foods, and I don't want the preparation to be complicated or time-consuming.

"In cooking, as in all arts, simplicity is a sign of perfection." ~Curnonsky

7. Cook together.

Nothing is more fun than sharing the kitchen with others who love to cook, especially when their food philosophy is the same as mine. So, when I'm at my sisters' homes, I always enjoy cooking with them. We talk all about food and eating as we cook. We split tasks-- "Here, you make the salad, and mix some kind of vinaigrette while I chop these vegetables for roasting." "What shall we put in the salad?" "Shall we do something with this winter squash?" "What else shall we make?"

My girls are really fun to share the kitchen with, too. They eat like me, and they are all excellent cooks who inspire me. Aaron is quite a good cook, too, but he tends to go solo. We all talk about food, cookbooks, cooking supplies, health and nutrition, restaurants, ingredients, and good eating over the phone.

8. Eat together.

Yes! At home we always, always do, even if there are just two of us. We sit and eat and talk and talk. In winter, I usually put candles on the table, no matter how casual our meal. Food is nourishment, but it is also a very communal thing, so I believe in lingering round the table. People open up around food. An old Bible study group of mine had a potluck every week before our study, and, without a doubt, it improved the dynamics of the group and made the study better.

9. Remember food is precious.

I do remember this, and every single day I send up thanks to the Lord for His blessings. I realize how very rich I am not only to have food on my table, but to be able to eat essentially whatever I want. It is a gift. And wherever we live, there is something special that grows there. And the closer to the source you purchase your food, the better it usually tastes, so enjoy!. It's very good to appreciate and those particular gifts. Are you well acquainted with your local and regional foods?

10. Alice didn't have a number 10 on her list.

She stopped at nine. Doesn't Alice realize that all lists must have ten points or they don't count?! What should number ten be...?

Simple Steps Toward Doing Justice...

2009-02-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

From a recent trip to the beach.

We've been out of town, so I've been away from the computer for several days. This could easily be a pattern for as long as I'm on the coast (I don't know), but I'll just post when I'm around and when I have time and inclination.

I'm currently reading a book I've read many times over the years, Living More With Less, a Mennonite book published in the 1970's (link to this book is in the sidebar list of my current reading). I have a strong desire to live a simple, compassionate life, and this is a book that inspires me in that direction. Some ideas in the book seem a bit dated (but surprisingly, considering the age of the book, not much), some of it will never work for me, and some of the ideas seem too extreme for now, but much of it is helpful or at least thought-provoking and challenging. Sometimes I get complacent and lazy about "doing justice"-- caring well for the world and its people-- so a bit of this kind of challenge is good for me (I seem to need it again and again).

Five themes in the book are:

Do Justice.
Learn from the World Community.
Nurture People.
Cherish the Natural Order.
Noncomform Freely.

This morning, I spent some time thinking about this first point, Do Justice. I don't have anything deep to share here. In fact, I purposely want to keep my thoughts (as I read and think through this), simple, focused, and practical because I aim to live what I learn.

Excerpts from this morning's reading:

"'Do justice' must become the first standard for living by which Christians make choices. Our knowledge of others' needs and our guilt must resolve itself into a lasting attentiveness.

"To make 'do justice' a standard is to live by both reason and compassion.

"All of us should walk more, save hot water, use less aluminum foil. These are small ideas, small acts. But they offer a realistic place to start.

"Certainly your influence is small. But whether you conserve or waste, it is real. Many people using or not using affects things in a big way. Gathering up the fragments of our waste-- recycling, conserving, sharing-- is a logical and authentic beginning. Such actions are the first-fruits of the harvest of justice. They are the promise of more to come."

I like the idea of starting in simple steps rather than feeling like I need to take care of the entire world-- singlehandedly!-- all at once. It's easy to get overwhelmed with the enormity of the world's problems, but it helps to think that I can take small steps, beginning right where I am.

I need to start right in my own kitchen, yard, neighborhood, and community, possibly focusing on acts as simple as using less foil or plastic (which I have been doing for quite some time). Composting. Organic gardening. Buying and eating as locally as I can. Driving less and walking more. Consuming less. Sharing with others. Finding ways to work together and help each other. Finding new uses for things. Whittling down the amount of garbage in my can as far as I can. Making or buying non-toxic cleaners. Using less power.

There are no rights and wrongs here. No one-plan-fits-all. This is simply a matter of walking according to my conscience, in a way that is consistent with what I believe to be true, needed, and important. And this is not meant to take away the things that make me happy or to sacrifice quality. In fact, appreciation for what I have increases greatly as I begin to narrow things down and simplify my life.

There is great pleasure and joy in creating enough space in our lives and among our possessions to more deeply appreciate the beauty of each individual thing. We then have time to manage and care well for our possessions and even the world, as well as time to give real attention to our relationships and the human needs that are all around us.

There are so many things we can do-- "small ideas, small acts"-- and I like how even these small acts matter. As we do them, we make a real, difference, however small. If many people do them, the difference increases exponentially. And these are just the "first-fuits," the promise of more to come, because, as we do these things, our awareness, attentiveness, compassion, and desire to do even more increases.

So, today, once again, I'm focusing on simple beginnings. What is needed close at hand, in my own daily life? I've been making lists in my little notebook of these beginnings. Most of them seem too simple and insignificant to mention, but I've listed them anyway because they demand my attention. The following sample list merely reflects what is currently needed in my life right now; it is not a list of things I think everyone needs to do.

I'm focusing on things like eliminating between meal snacking; simplifying my wardrobe; simplifying my eating; reducing grocery costs without sacrificing nutrition and enjoyment; drinking less coffee; doing things by hand; using the back sides of all papers in my notebooks; not using the printer; buying cheaper cod liver oil; driving less; making less garbage; being more vigilant about using cloth shopping bags; not buying cappucinos every day I'm out of town (I'm out of town often lately!); being more vigilant about recycling everything I can; etc.

Simple, ordinary things for sure, but they are a start. And I don't intend to stop there.

"He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" ~Micah 6:8

10 Good Things for Daily Balance...

2009-02-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

"Freshness trembles beneath the surface of every day, a joy perpetual to all who catch its opal lights beneath a dust of habit."

~Freya Stark

I wrote this awhile back, first just for me in my own notebooks, then I began to turn it into a blog post, then I changed my mind and left it sitting in my files. I think now that I'll pull it out, dust it off and update it a bit, and post it. I'll have to leave it a bit rough around the edges, though, because company is coming any minute (my sister and Melissa, and later on, two of my nieces), and I need to move along.

I don't know how long I'll be here at my mom's house and away from my own, but, for now, this is where I am. Since I temporarily have no home of my own to "make," I'm sort of out of my element, so I sat down one day to think about what things really help to have as part of my daily routine. What things will help to keep me focused on what matters and what will help me to keep a pleasant, orderly, meaningful routine?

Not all that surprisingly, I suppose, I realize that the things that keep me feeling grounded, steady, and cheerful in my high desert home are basically the same things that I need to be doing here on the coast. In addition to the things I'm posting here, I could list others, like cooking and healthy eating, but here are 10 basic things I aim to make a place for most every day:

1. Quiet time and morning coffee. As I said recently, both are pleasant, and both are needed. Bible reading, prayer, and coffee in the morning are essential. I could surely live without the coffee, but why should I?! It's a really nice part of the morning, and just smelling the stuff brewing perks me up a bit and gets me moving in a good mode.

2. Journaling. I've written about this before, too. I've kept journals, written in notebooks, and scribbled notes on random scraps of paper for years and years. It's enjoyable, and it's also very therapeutic. Journaling through my muddled thoughts often helps me to get my mind clear. So, I sit with my journal each morning, along with my morning coffee. And I write in my notebooks each day, too, detailing my plans and making lists, both utilitarian and esoteric, both serious and fun. I keep little notebooks in my purse, and, wherever I am, I'll stop to jot down notes, comments, or phrases, if I think about something and want to remember it. I write this and that, here and there and everywhere, with no thought of anyone ever reading it. I just seem compelled to write things down!

3. Solitude. Which is not to be confused with quiet time. Some of us have a need for lots of space and elbow room amidst the busyness of our days. We have a need to draw away so that we can quiet our overstimulated minds and think coherent thoughts. We have a need to sit and be still, to pull away from it all for a time here and there in the day just to get our bearings so that we can walk with balance. The time doesn't necessarily need to be long, but if I don't do this, I start to feel edgy and a bit stumbly and bumbly.

Aimee (my daughter) and I were talking about the need both of us have for solitude. Everyone needs it of course, but some of us get out of kilter more quickly than others without it. Aimee was saying that solitude is essential for clearing our heads, for really dealing with life and situations and our inner selves well instead merely identifying what is going on and carrying on without letting our revelation or insight soak into us and begin to direct and change us.

When things are difficult, it is often in solitude that we can be strengthened and changed. It is also in solitude that we are made ready for people-- for community-- and one without the other (solitude or community) is unhealthy.

When things are good, it is in quiet solitude that we have the time and focus to fully acknowledge that God is the giver of all good gifts. We can more easily build a life that is based on gratitude when we take time to sit before Him to recognize and enumerate His blessings and all of the ways He cares for us.

Again, solitude does not have to be long, and if absolutely needed, we can do like Catherine of Siena and make a little chamber of solitude in our minds and hearts. That takes discipline and focus for sure, but it's better than no solitude at all.

4. Make a life of beauty and interest. I try to deeply appreciate and enjoy beauty wherever it is found, and I also aim to make beauty wherever I can. The beauty I make may not be at all impressive, but we are each created in the image of God, and we have the capacity to make things beautiful in some way, even if it's a small thing that only we will appreciate.

Even though I am not presently keeping or making my own home, I am always making a life. And I do have a nice place to lay my head and space to keep my things and a lovely environment where I spend my days. I am blessed. I can aim to surround myself with what strikes me as beautiful or interesting. I can do all things well and make them as cheerful as possible-- even the most mundane, simple things, like the way I make my bed or place things on the little table beside it. Or in the way I set up at the kitchen table for my morning quiet routine. I can choose to do the most ordinary, routine things with great care and enjoyment.

There are endless ways to make a life of beauty and interest. One very simple thing I've been doing since I've been here is collecting treasures at the beach. Every time I walk down the beach, I collect at least one thing to bring home with me. Sometimes I bring several items. I have many of these things on the table by my bed-- some pretty, tiny shells; a small, interesting piece of driftwood; a variety of interesting stones that I found in the surf; and some other things. I'll see how many whole sand dollars I can find before I leave the coast. There are plans to go agate hunting soon at a particular beach with some friends (I'm signed on to take coffee and scones). And who knows what will wash up on the beach? It's fun to explore and gather pretty or interesting things.

And I try to keep learning and thinking. I want to stay curious. I want to retain forever a sense of wonder and delight in God's world. I try, every day to read something challenging, to think hard, to pay attention and stretch and grow. I try to be interested in whatever is around me, wherever I am. I try to listen to people and the stories of their work and lives. And I aim to pursue my own gifts and interests and abilities.

5. Meaningful work to do and routines to keep. Having a good, working rhythm to the day and work to do helps to keep acedia at bay. It's a good discipline. It honors God. It is healthy-- even essential-- to a person's well-being. I must admit that housekeeping in a home that is not really yours takes a bit more willful effort than cleaning your own house (but once you get in and do it, there's something really nice and satisfying about it). There's a certain joy I get in keeping my own home clean and cosy, in moving things around, in putting things out to celebrate various seasons and special days and events. It's my home, and I have my pleasant routines for keeping it. Here, my days are different. My routines are not the same. But rhythmic work is essential, so I'm gradually finding a good, but flexible, pattern for my mornings.

6. Nature. Both looking at it and moving in it. This is God's world, and being in it and watching it, makes me want to draw closer to Him. Here, I am blessed. I've loved the rain, and we get out in it even when it pours. We simply wear waterproof coats with hoods or carry umbrellas. We've gone to the beach in hard rainstorms. We've taken morning walks in the rain.

Lately, we've been blessed with a long stretch of very warm, sunny weather, during which we've been to the beach almost every day, and it has been incredibly beautiful there. There has been absolutely no wind, which, along with the sunny warmth, makes it more perfect than any summer day when the seaside wind often blows with a good amount of force, sometimes to the point of blasting so much sand into your face that you can do nothing but huddle near the jetty (and that is nice, too). The rains will come again soon, but this period of lovely beach weather has been glorious, and we've enjoyed it. Also outdoors, I've been kayaking with my friend, Laurie. I've hiked beautiful trails with family members. I've walked and explored and breathed the freshest air imaginable.

7. Relationships. Family, friends, church, neighbors. We weren't created to live in isolation. We were created for "community," for relationship, and our lives cannot be healthy and whole without it. It's been nice here to connect again with old friends. Here on the coast, I've been going to the church my family has attended for 50 years, and it's been wonderful to have a chance to visit with some of those souls from my past! So many of them have had an enormous influence on my life, both by their words and by their examples. Especially by their examples.

It's been lovely to be around my mom and some of my siblings again. And nieces and nephews. One of my nephews is the one who has gotten the recent family crab feeds and bonfires going . {Oh, and I should add that this same nephew recently ran a family football pool for the NFL playoffs and Superbowl, and while I was in the basement (tied for last place) at first (a "dud" is what he called me then-- ahem!), I made a great comeback and surged upward into a tie for second place. I am feeling victorious. Wahoo!} Anyway. While I absolutely miss seeing Michelle and Monty and my two grandsons almost every day, it's been very, very nice to be able to spend time with my family here on the coast.

8. Reading. For me, it's important to continue to read, think, and learn. I can't be without reading material. I'm always reading something, even if it comes down to having to read the back of the shampoo bottle in the bathroom! For someone who loves books, there's something secure and stabilizing about having them around. Plus, reading is just a whole bunch of fun! I brought more books with me to the coast than anything else, and there are still so many of my favorite books that I miss. I wish I could have brought them all with me! :-)

My kids gave me books for Christmas (we all give each other books for Christmas-- our favorite gift to receive!). :-) And I've bought a new book or two since I've arrived here (notably Kathleen Norris's book dealing with acedia, which I'm finding very interesting). I reread A Gift From the Sea last week. I've been reading through some of Ruth Graham's books again. And contemplating my way, once again, through Amy Carmichael's If. I've enjoyed reading back and forth and all over in Elspeth Thompson's cosy book, The Wonderful Weekend Book, quite a lot. And, as I always have, I've been reading some of my cookbooks because a well-written, prosey cookbook is a reading treat for one who loves to cook.

I've reestablished myself at our favorite local library-- the same one the kids and I visited at least once a week when they were young. I went into that library to sign up for a new card, and, lo and behold, I was still in the system. My account from all of those years back was still valid. That was kinda cool. When we were the library, Aaron, Melissa, and I spent quite a while looking over the familiar shelves of the children's section. Aaron and Melissa reminisced as they picked up old copies of favorite books: "This is the very copy I first read of this book!" A children's librarian (who worked there there when the kids were young but didn't recognize them so many years later), watched them and smiled.

9. Involvement. Everywhere I've lived, I've been involved, in some way, with other people. Joining or starting Bible studies. Leading large, community homeschooling groups. Starting a homeschooling support group in my home. Starting meetings for the purpose of talking about living healthy, whole lives. Participating in a MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. Then speaking at MOPs groups or junior high girls camp, retreats or brunches. Then mentoring a MOPS group. Leading an Awana group. Serving soup and bread. Lots of things.

Mostly, in recent years, my involvement has been leading different kinds of groups and meetings in my own home or having people over for coffee, brunch, lunch, or dinner. When I am not involved with others in some way, either formally or informally, I begin to feel that my life is too centered on me. Too ingrown. So, I was wondering how I could plug in or connect in some way here on the coast. Then Mom asked if I wanted to join a church "mentoring" group (which is sort of a Bible/book study) with her. Sure! So, we're working through the study with several other ladies on Wednesday evenings. I enjoy it. Then Mom let one of the church kitchen ladies know that we'd love to sign on to help. They work so hard and do so much and have such fun doing it. Some of those same ladies were working in the kitchen when I was young, and they continue to do it so cheerfully. They inspire me.

10. Something creative (no matter how amateurish). I just need to be doing something that stretches my creative muscles. It's soothing, somehow, and satisfying, too. I don't pretend to be a writer or a photographer, but ever since I've been little I've been keeping diaries and writing things in notebooks and on scraps of paper everywhere. I just need to do this. And maybe that's why I continue to enjoy keeping a blog when it probably makes sense to take a break.

I also enjoy taking photos. And nowadays everyone is a photographer! (I think it's nice that so many people enjoy taking photos now that digital cameras make it so easy to play around with pictures.) I make no pretense at knowing what I'm doing. So far, I've shot every picture on "auto," but am starting to fiddle around and stretch and try new things. Mostly, I just point and shoot and play around, and, for some reason, I really like doing it. One of the things I'm doing while I'm here on the coast is taking photos everywhere we go. Hopefully, I'll end up with a photo album that will nicely represent the time I'm spending in this place-- the beaches, the geology, a bit of history, my family, my friends, my activities.

***

There's a bit of redundancy or overlap in those items, but there it is. If I do these things (and eat well), my days are nice and feel fairly in balance. And there's no reason that I can't do all of this no matter where I go. In that case I could say, I suppose, that I may wander but I'm not lost.

(Photo above was taken this morning, as Emma, my dad's cat, joined me for "Psalms and Morning Coffee.")

God's Good Gifts...

2009-02-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Today. Mom and JoAnne arriving at the ocean after hiking across the dunes.

With all of the posts I've been putting up of our recent outdoor adventures at the beach, on the dunes, and along pretty hiking trails, my sister says it's like Mom and I are on vacation. And it really does feel like it! The weather has been crazy-warm and wind-free, and-- ahhh-- it's been blissful! It's common to have a few of these days on the coast every January or February, but not for weeks on end like this year. It's been summery, only nicer because there's not that cold, hard summer wind blowing on the beach.

The weather has been a gift-- unbelievably pleasant and strengthening. For some people, dark winter days can seem long and endless, and lack of plentiful sunshine can be dispiriting at times. This effect is even stronger in times of difficulty or grief. So, truly, this amazing weather feels like a mercy. A gift just for us.

Someone asked how long I'll be here at my mom's house. Will I move here permanently? That is such a nice thought, but I don't know how long I'll be here, and, no I won't be moving here permanently, unless, of course, the Lord has other plans. As it stands now, I have a husband who is trying to leave Washington DC ( but things beyond his control are keeping him there). And we have our own home across the mountains in the desert. Only God knows how long I'll be here at Mom's. For now, I just carry on, one day at a time, and I count it a huge blessing to be here.

I have to say, though, that I do miss home. I miss the everyday domestic rhythms of homemaking. I miss the busy daily puttering and making things pleasant about the house. I miss decorating for the seasons and going to Goodwill with Michelle. I miss the work of home-- the cleaning, carrying wood to the porch, shoveling the walks (though it's been unseasonably warm there this winter, too), building morning fires, daily walks down our country road. I miss messing about in my own kitchen and being hospitable. I miss the neighbors and my friends. I miss seeing my daughter, her husband, and my two grandsons almost every day (I miss them all terribly). I miss a lot of things.

Mom has made being here just about as easy and ideal for me as it could possibly be. I feel at home. She gives me total space and freedom to do what I want around here and to do it my own way. She is amazingly easy to be around. I love being able to spend so much time with Mom and the family. I love being here on the coast again; I'm so enjoying the beauty and the longtime friendships I have here.

But, again, no matter how nice it is for me to be here now (and it really, really is), I'm still away from my home. I'm 50-years-old, and I've had my own home for a long time. When it's all said and done, I'm really a visitor here, in both very lovely and very difficult circumstances.

There are the daily reminders of Dad. My bed is in his office, so all around me are mementos of his life and his days. It's sweet and bitter all at once. Mostly, it's been nice to look around and see his gifts and interests and abilities and character traits, all clearly communicated in his books and pictures, in the quotes he has around on his desk and around the room, and in the amazing organization and arrangement of his things. I love seeing all of this.

And Mom grieves, of course. I see it as nothing short of heroic how she deals with her situation every day. She smiles and presses forward with amazing cheer. She is thinking of others all the time. She is positive and aims to learn and grow, both in her faith and in her character, through struggles and difficulties. I am sort of in awe as I watch her choose how she will proceed each day. But, of course, she also weeps. It's next to impossible to come to terms with the end of a beautiful, truly loving and happy marriage that lasted 54 years. Nothing can ever be the same, really.

And that is part of the reason for our "vacation."

Mom has always found a peace and rest in being near the ocean. When we were young, whenever things were stressful or Mom was exhausted, she'd load us in the car and take us to the beach. She'd sit there in the sand and watch the steady, rhythmic waves and sense the reality of God's love and presence and care while we kids ran and dug in the sand and splashed in the water. We were a family who spent much of our time at the beach, and not only in times of pressure, but just because we loved it, too.

Years later, even though Mom and Dad lived just a few miles from the ocean, Dad would take Mom up the coast to a place where they could stay in a room for a few days with large windows overlooking the beach. He knew this was the most relaxing, refreshing thing in the world to Mom-- to stare at the ocean-- so he was giving her the best gift he could. Mom could either sit inside at the table by the windows or walk out the door and hike up the beach, and she loved nothing more than these little vacations.

No doubt Mom's love of the ocean started when she was a little girl. Her father was a tugboat operator for an Oregon coast lumber company. He loved the water, had his own small boat, and regularly took Mom out in the water, down the river, and across the bar to sea. She says this was what she loved doing more than anything else as a child. She loved the rolling and breaking of the waves and being with her father. She felt safe and happy.

As we were driving in the car recently, Mom told me that she was trying to live by something her father used to tell her about going through rough seas in the boat. He said that you have to go straight into the waves. Don't turn sideways or try to outrun them, or you'll be swamped or capsize. Go straight into them. And that's what Mom is doing now, every day. She doesn't want to sidestep things or run away from them. She's trying to go straight into the waves and deal with things as they come. She's taking, head-on, the many new responsibilities that have now become hers. With God's help, she wants to face things directly and deal with them.

Another thing that Mom said has helped her is remembering something my Grammy (my dad's mom) told her once. When my dad was a boy, Grammy lost her little four-year-old girl. She said the death of her little daughter was unbearable, and the only thing that helped her to survive it was to walk. So she did. She said she walked and walked and walked, and it was the way she got through it.

Mom is also a walker, and she has been since I can remember. She still loves walking. And so she walks. She walks up and down the road. She walks on the treadmill. She walks down the beach. She walks the hills with me in town. We walk and walk together because I need it, too. And Mom says it really does help her. Plus, we just plain enjoy the invigorating fresh air and the exercise. It strengthens both body and spirit.

Isak Dinesen said, "The cure for anything is saltwater; sweat, tears, or the sea."

I think that Isak Dinesen was onto something. Mom is onto it, too. (And I hope I am as well.) The "salt" of the beautiful, powerful sea; the sweat of hard work in the yard and around the house, along with all of the walking; the tears that give release and bring some relief; they are each healing and consoling and strengthening. They are, truly and powerfully, good gifts from God.

And the weather, too. I really see it as a mercy and another of God's gift. It's given us a chance to have this little "vacation."

God is good to us all.

Today's Dunes to Beach Hike...

2009-02-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

We drove up the coast a ways today to another trailhead on the sand dunes. This time the trail would take us across the dunes all the way to the beach. The temperature was in the 60's today, and there was a very slight breeze. Some of us started out wearing sweatshirts or jackets, but we spent most of the day in t-shirts or tank tops and jeans or shorts.

Here's JoAnne at the overlook at the start of the trail.

Mom and JoAnne walking across the dunes.

Nicole, Alia, Conner. We've hiked across the sand dunes, taken a short, pretty walk through brush and trees, and are back out in the open in the dune grass near the beach.

And there is the Pacific ocean.

Conner, running from the waves. Alia stands in the water.

Zane beachcombing.

And what did we see at the beach today?

Shorebirds. These birds were adorable, running en masse and in formation-- their little legs churning hilariously fast-- toward the surf, then suddenly turning and fleeing en masse just as quickly when the water approached them...

A fishing boat. A common sight at the beach...

And a snowplow??? (Okay, Aaron, I know. It's a bulldozer, but it looks like a snowplow, so I'm calling it one!) This one had us laughing. There is no road that we know of near this beach. One hikes across the dunes to get here and then walks along the beach in a fair amount of privacy and isolation. To see this machine come churning down the beach was a surprising and strange sight, but there it was...

A Beautiful Day at the Sand Dunes...

2009-02-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

This is my sister and her family, left to right: Nicole (age 11), Zane (age 16), Conner (age 8), Alia (age 15), JoAnne (old). I wish you could see this better. The faces these guys are making are great!

My sister (younger than me by 15 months) and her four homeschooled kids showed up early this morning to spend the day with us. In the afternoon, we drove up the coast a ways to a trailhead that led to the sand dunes. We had a lot of fun playing in the water, climbing and jumping down the dunes, and trotting around in the sand.

And, because the weather is so beautiful, and it's supposed to be even nicer here on the coast tomorrow, my sister and her family decided to spend the night here and do something fun with us again tomorrow.

Here are some photos taken today at the dunes:

Interesting trees on the trail.

Conner walking along the trail.

Arriving at the open dunes.

Alia walking on water.

JoAnne, watching her kids slide down the dunes.

JoAnne, sneaking up on her kids.

Nice stride, Nicole.

And this is the family singing "Happy Groundhog Day to You" in a cell phone call to their dad, Gene, who had to work today and couldn't come with his family.

A Jumping Duet...

2009-02-02T20:24:00.001-08:00

This is my sister, JoAnne, and me. Everyone was running and jumping down the dunes, but since I have a slight hip injury, I was afraid that I might injure it worse if I were to join them in the jumping. I'm the kind of person, though, that likes to be right in the middle of the action, so I tried doing some small bunny hopes down a hill. It didn't hurt, so I took bigger and bigger hops. Then my sister and I decided to do a jumping duet, and we were trying to jump in sync.

I think we spent more time goofing around at the top of the hill than we did actually jumping down it, but it was fun. We thought my niece was down below in the sand getting the camera ready to take one shot of us jumping down the dunes, so were being silly while we waited. What we didn't know was that she was taking a really quick series of about 30 photos of us... Here are a few of them:

We're jumping from here.

Isadora Duncan waves her scarf in my face.

Ta Da!

Here we go.

Perfect tandem landing!

And we're still in sync.

Wheeeeee...

My Sister and the Beach...

2009-01-31T22:28:00.000-08:00

This is my little sister, Beverly. At 5' 10" she's three inches taller than me, but she's also three years younger, so she's still my little sister. For awhile, when we were young, my three sisters and I shared a bedroom, but later, Bev and I shared our own room. We got along really well and had a lot of fun as roommates. If you knew Bev (and some of you do), you'd know why. She is a funny, funny person and a blast to hang around with.

When I was a very young girl, I adored watching the Miss America pageant. I thought those women were perfect, and I wanted to be one. I reluctantly had to admit that I wasn't Miss America material, but I could tell that Bev was, so I had it in mind to groom her for the crown. Bev really was a pretty and talented girl (still is), but I lost interest both in Miss America and in coaching Beverly to win the pageant. She was never interested anyway. We'd rather climb trees and play in neighborhood tackle football games. Bev was voted homecoming queen in high school, though, so I think my eye for picking beauty queens was spot on.

As roommates, Bev and I weren't quite Oscar and Felix, but it was definitely the case that I liked the room clean most of the time and Bev didn't much care. Once I walked into the bedroom, and she was lounging on her bed. She said, "Look. The room's clean." I was pretty shocked at this sudden show of neatness, but because I knew Bev, I was also skeptical. So I looked under her bed, and there, wadded and smashed, was everything that had previously been spread openly across the floor. (Thanks, Bev, for cleaning the room!)

I slept on the top bunk, and Bev was on the bottom. At night, when the lights were out and everything was quiet and I was peacefully drifting off to sleep, it wasn't uncommon to suddenly feel the bed lifting and falling, lifting and falling. Instead of springs, there was a sheet of plywood under the mattress, and Bev would put her feet on this and lift me into the air-- up and down-- as I fruitlessly protested. But for some reason, it was hard to be annoyed with Bev. She just so easily made me laugh. She still does.

Now that I'm here on the coast again where I grew up, I get to see Bev often. She works during the week, but often on one or the other of the weekend days (sometimes both), we'll get together. Since going to the beach is the favorite thing to do for Mom, Bev, and me (and others in the family), we often head off somewhere where we can walk or just stop at viewpoints if the weather is bad. We just like to see and smell the ocean.

Today was sunny and pretty, but it was cold, and there was a hard, icy wind blowing. So, instead of walking down one of the sandy beaches, we went, once again, to the view-places along the road where the ocean crashes into rocks and cliffs. I've taken pictures in these spots before, but today was clearer than the first time I was there, so I was glad to get a few more pictures. (I take photos everywhere I go-- even if I've been there before-- because I want to make an album of this coastal area while I'm here.)

Above, Bev is looking out the reef.

She could be looking at this. See the sandy beach in front of that big rock? Those barely visible brown and light colored lumps on the sand are sea lions. This rock/beach happens to be the northernmost breeding ground (is that for the whole US or just in the west? I think it's the US) for sea lions. This spot is also a popular whale-watching site.

Looking north from the viewpoint. The waves aren't particularly big today, but the water is sure choppy out there.

I like this lighthouse.

And I like this cove.

This is near the cape at the end of the road.

I won't always mention my Kitchen Notes blog, but I will today just because I got side-tracked from my daily food log and talked a bit about another one of my sisters. So it's Sister Day at my blogs, I guess.

Fish for Dinner?

2009-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Some small fishing boats in the harbor this late afternoon.

This afternoon, Mom and I went on another long, hilly walk in town, then we drove to a small nearby fishing village to pick up some snapper at the fish market. But they had no snapper today, so I bought sole instead. I had intended to make one of my favorite fish dishes for dinner-- snapper with Padma Lakshmi's raw apple and mint chutney. I love this delicious, vivid green chutney. I make it in the food processor, and I could stand there and eat the entire thing all at once, one spoonful after another, straight from the processor bowl. But I don't. I behave in a more civilized manner and put the chutney in a bowl to share with others.

The rest of the post can be found here, including answers to questions that were asked below.

And how about another harbor picture or two?

Getting Healthier...

2009-01-29T23:26:00.000-08:00

This photo has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but my photo of the chocolate mousse didn't turn out, and I didn't want the post to be photo-less. So, here's a picture taken last time we were at the beach (a few days ago). The ocean was pretty that day, and I liked how that little pool of water (at the bottom of the photo) looked.

No, I'm not going to make this a kitchen, health, or food blog, (I already have one of those... it's sadly neglected, but it's there), but I'm determined to keep on track with my getting-healthier plan, so I think I'll post about it regularly for awhile (after today, I'm mostly going to put my food and health posts on my "Kitchen Notes" blog) just to keep a journal of how I'm doing.

Currently I feel pretty well, I eat healthfully, I'm basically fit, and I'm not overweight (though I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds if they were to disappear), but, once or twice in the past, I've felt even better than I do now, and why not go for taking care of myself as well as I can? I aim to do just that, and that's why, as I mentioned yesterday, I'm narrowing my diet to the foods I know make me feel really, really well.

There's a certain way of eating that helps me to feel great-- my head clears, my energy level increases (though I have a good amount of energy to begin with), I feel stronger, my endurance increases, I need less sleep, my skin gets brighter than ever, my allergies improve significantly, I rarely feel hungry and pretty much never want sugar, any extra weight drops off without me really thinking about it, and on and on. Health problems that occasionally plagued me at one time have disappeared, some of them gradually, and some of them quickly, as I've improved my eating. (Gee, as I read over this, I am struck that it might sound a bit hyperbolic, but, alas, it's all true.) Three times in the past, I've stuck pretty strictly to this way of eating, and I like the foods I eat when I follow this "diet," so why don't I eat this way all of the time? ...I have no idea.

I'm going for a minimum of 50% raw or "living" foods, but I'll shoot more toward at least 75%. (I won't eat all raw.) I'm not a raw food purist, nor do I want to be. I just know that I feel really, really well when a good percent of my diet consists of living foods. And, already, in a fairly short time, there's already clear improvement in how I feel.

So, here are some of my eating parameters (I'm sure there's a similar list somewhere in my archives):

--Eat real food.

--No sugar. Use all-natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, rapadura, maple sugar, agave nectar, but not too much.

--Keep intake of grains low. Whole grains only. Grains should be sprouted or soaked before using. Mom loves oatmeal that is cooked after having been soaked all night in water and a little bit of all-natural yogurt.

--Not much meat.

--Little or no dairy. Dairy products should be raw or cultured.

--Lots of leafy greens.

--Consume a large amount, and a good variety, of produce.

--Daily green lemonade.

--Nuts should be soaked and dehydrated.

--All organic, or at least as much as possible.

--Lacto-fermented foods and drinks are highly beneficial. (I like grape kombucha and raw sauerkraut.)

--Eat as much organic as possible.

--The fresher the produce the better-- home grown, farmers' market produce, CSA produce.

--Eat mostly seasonally.

Also, I take a few daily supplements-- cod liver oil, evening primrose oil, acerola powder, and dolomite powder.

Another thing I'm making sure I do is to get lots of fresh air and increasing amounts of exercise as my fitness improves. Mom and I have been walking together pretty much every day, and we're both increasingly feeling the benefits of it. We often walk down the beach or on a nearby country road, but today we parked the car when we were in town and walked along the sidewalks and up and down the hills (it's a hilly town). We walked and walked. And when we had finished our walk, instead of going back to the car, we walked on down to the natural foods co-op and picked up some produce. It was a really pretty, warm, sunny day, so it was hard to stop walking.

What I ate today is almost a repeat of yesterday. I'll certainly be eating more variety, but one also has to eat what is on-hand so things don't go to waste!

--I started my day with a glass of water mixed with fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

--Sprouted grain toast with my peanut butter spread, again.

--Morning coffee.

--An all-fruit smoothie made from the same fruits as yesterday-- banana, orange, strawberries.

--My usual lunchtime giant salad, this time sprinkled with a homemade, vegan, "raw" parmesan substitute (basically made by food processing 1/4 c. nutritional yeast, 1 1/4 c. walnuts, and 1/4 t. sea salt).

--A few small pieces of dark chocolate.

--A tall glass of green lemonade-- same recipe as yesterday, with the addition of half a cucumber. Mom is starting to like this drink. My aunt was here in December, and she drank some of my green lemonade occasionally. She called this week to ask for the recipe because, she said, she's been craving it. And she got online to order a juicer so she can make the green lemonade for herself every day.

--A tiny bowl of leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

--A generous portion of Heidi Swanson's Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with (Dark Leafy) Greens, from her cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. Yum.

--Dark Chocolate Coconut Bliss sprinkled with cacao nibs.

--Renee Loux's "Chocolate of the Gods Mousse". Raw, vegan, chocolate. The recipe is unusual, but tasty. I made it for tomorrow, but I ate just a little bit tonight. Mom had some, too, and she loved it.

So, there you have it, and now I'll move this topic over to the kitchen blog so you don't have to read about my eating and exercising every day (unless, for some reason, you're interested)! I'll probably post simple lists there since I have very little online time each day, but I'll try to take some pictures and post recipes from time to time, too.

And I'll also get back to my more typical posts on this blog as I have time. I've got quite a few things mostly or partially written, but I don't seem to have time to pull them together enough to make them post-able.

A Few Comments and Answers to Questions...

2009-01-29T23:20:00.000-08:00

Sandy, about making coffee in a French press, I posted about this very thing a few months ago. Here's that post for you:

High Desert Home: Making Coffee in a French Press...

Ellen, you know what? I don't really know how to tell you what a Fuji apple is except that it's my favorite apple. Large, always crispy and juicy, sweet (but not overly so). :-) Not much help, I know.

To my daughter, Michelle... I saw your comment below. I miss you guys, too. Terribly. And I can't wait to see you again. Love you. <3

To "Prairie Prologue"... I don't know if you'll see this, I saw your comment to an older post of mine below, and I followed your link to the story of your own coffee journey. Loved it!

To those who have introduced themselves and I haven't gotten back to your comments (like Melissa and I think some others), I'm sorry. I really do appreciate you taking the time to introduce yourself and to let me know that you're reading here. And it's very nice to meet you.

And to Hannah (daughter of my good friend, Laurie)... I don't know if you'll see this, either, but I caught your comment below, and I wanted to say hello back to you. Hello! It was really nice to see you here, and I'm glad you came by! I think about you and your family often. And, thanks to your mom, I see pictures (you're a great looking bunch!) and have kept up on what you've been doing. :-)

Now to answer some questions about Ruth Bell Graham books. Someone asked about the origin of the passage I quoted, not in my recent post, but a long while back (about the duty of mothers). That one came from Prodigals and Those Who Love Them.

The recent excerpt I quoted in my post titled "Laughing, We Endure" came from a little book by Ruth and her daughter, Gigi, called Coffee and Conversation with Ruth Bell Graham and Gigi Graham Tchividjian.

And someone asked for Ruth Graham book recommendations. Where to start? I don't really know the answer to that. The books I've read in the past are books my mother has sent to me. I'm not particularly knowledgable about Ruth's writings, but I do enjoy her, and I benefit from her writings very much.

There's a fun collection of Ruth's writings about a variety of things called Legacy of a Packrat. A similar book by Ruth is titled It's My Turn (I've been reading bits from this one again lately). Years and years ago, I read a biography of Ruth's life called A Time for Remembering. And a fairly recent, lovely and worthy little book by Ruth Graham (the daughter of Ruth and Billy) about her mother is called A Legacy of Love: Things I Learned From My Mother.

Hopefully, that's at least somewhat helpful.

Lists to Help Me Get on Track...

2009-01-28T22:52:00.001-08:00

The Giant Salad.

Not the most appetizing photo, I know. I could have taken a shot of this when the salad was freshly made and looking quite pretty in the bowl, but I was in the middle of eating it when I thought about snapping a picture. The salad bowl I'm eating from is actually a mixing bowl. Like I said, it's a giant salad. When we were both living at home, Lissy and I ate really big salads every day for lunch (we actually bought special, extra-large bowls just to hold them), and this was our standard one-- greens, grated carrots, sliced cherry tomatoes (or, when in season, heirloom market tomatoes), thinly sliced Fuji apple pieces, dried cranberries (or raisins), chopped crispy pecans (or walnuts). I always toss it with whatever leftover vinaigrette is in the bottle, or I make it fresh. This is all organic.

I'm living by a check-list today. I prefer to live a life of "filling in" the spaces of my days in a pleasant, puttery manner rather than "checking off" items on a to-do list, but sometimes I need to tighten ship. (Like right now.) Occasionally, I need to put more specific structure and order to my days to regain good habits. (Like right now.)

A life of puttering and casual leisure only works when one is disciplined, and, right now, I'd say-- besides my fairly steady, nice morning routine-- my daily routine is going very much according to wildly random whim. That's okay, too, sometimes. I'm all for spontaneity and fun, except that I've been letting some things go that really need doing, and until I'm taking better care of business that needs to be done, I'll be working from a check-list.

Not too much, though. :-) I have to be careful because to-do lists kind of overstimulate me. They get me a bit wound up and wired, driving me forward and taking my eyes off what is right in front of me. Off of what I'm doing now and onto conquering that list! (And I do mean conquer.) It's hard for me to settle down and make the process of what I'm doing nice or beneficial when I'm under, what feels like to me, the tyranny of a to-do list, but I shall work on that, too. I'll add it to the list!

Wherever we are, at home or away, we're making a life. There is good work to do, routines to make and keep, people and things to care for. I like my days to be enjoyed and flexible but not squandered. Work should not be too much, and I don't want to be driven (I don't see this becoming much of a problem), but work is also good (for many reasons), and it can be enjoyed. And sometimes checklists are beneficial...

I'll post just one thing from today's to-do checklist:

Eat well.

I'm eating a lot more "raw" or "living" foods again. I do eat some cooked foods, but I like the way I feel when I eat a lot of living foods. I actually made an eating checklist for the day in addition to the regular to-do list just because I want to re-focus intently on eating well. I'll make a planned-in-advance list like this each day for awhile until a few bad habits I've picked up (like eating too many Salt and Pepper Kettle chips) are gone and better habits rule.

So, here's what I ate today:

1. Morning coffee. Stumptown Sumatra brewed in the French press, of course.

2. Sprouted grain toast with Nourishing Traditions homemade peanut butter. Eaten while I drank the coffee.

3. An all fruit smoothie made with a banana, a big handful of frozen strawberries, and the fresh-squeezed juice of one orange.

4. A giant salad. (The one in the photo.)

5. Fresh-juiced orange juice. In the Breville juicer, one orange, all by itself, comes out all frothy and delicious like an orange julius.

6. Leftover coconut rice with a little bit of chicken and peanut sauce. Leftover baby bok choy, too. Tossed together and reheated.

7. Roasted baby carrots (tossed with cumin, olive oil, and sea salt) from a farmers' market in Eugene. These were actually pulled from the ground just before market.

8. Green lemonade. Made with romaine, kale, a Fuji apple, and lemon.

9. Dark chocolate Coconut Bliss ice cream sprinkled with cacao nibs.

I also had a few small pieces of Green & Black's dark chocolate swiped through my homemade peanut butter spread. And I could not resist just the tiniest piece of fudge swirled with peanut butter that the hostess of our church mentoring group made for the meeting tonight. I think it's only polite to eat what she worked so hard to prepare for us, don't you?

What is a Sand Dollar?

2009-01-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is for my blogging friends, Sian and "Hill."

I guess sand dollars aren't ubiquitous on beaches all over the world, or at least not in all parts of the UK and Australia.

After I mentioned them in a post below, Sian asked in the comment box, "What is a sand dollar?"

And I realized, "I have no idea."

Given that I grew up on the Oregon coast and have picked up countless sand dollars from local beaches over the years, and since I took marine biology courses both in high school and in college, my ignorance seems inexcusable. I know just a few, very basic, things that any casual beachcomber would know about sand dollars, and this, being pathetic, inspired me to look up the Western Sand Dollar or Dendraster Excentricus on the internet.

And now I know a few more things.

Looking at the top photo in the linked article, I've never seen a sand dollar that looked hairy and purple like that. The ones that we find along the beach tend to be white or grey, and most often they are broken into pieces. Occasionally, I've found greenish hairy ones (sort of like the purple ones in the picture), and I've seen a few non-hairy purplish ones, too, but most of the sand dollars I find are white.

Sand dollars wash up in the surf, or are uncovered, at low tide. Most of them are broken.The whole sand dollars I've found this past month range in size from 1/2-inch or less to a good 4" in diameter. The little ones are sweet and delicate.

"Hill" asked if I could post a picture of a sand dollar because she had seen one in America once but couldn't remember what it looked like. So, while I was at the beach a couple of days ago, I ran across an almost perfect sand dollar and many broken ones (which is far more common) lying in the sand, and I took some pictures.

This one is almost perfect. There's just that chip on the edge and a few small holes on top, but I brought it home and counted it good enough to be displayed with my whole sand dollars.

And here's a broken one. It's not uncommon to find them like this, but usually they are broken into smaller pieces.

A Few Very Simple, Very Nice Things for Today...

2009-01-26T14:38:00.001-08:00

An old, recycled, summertime blog photo, but a cheerful one for a winter day, I think! :-)

I've been out of town for several days. I thought I'd finish a post I started writing last week (I have a few things bouncing around and some questions I'll answer in the next day or two), but it's really hard to find time to write much of a post. And, anyway, I felt like putting up something specifically having to do with today. So, here are just a few simple, ordinary things I've enjoyed so far:

1. A good cup of coffee. I've always loved the smell of coffee. When I was in first grade, my teacher kept a large thermos on her desk, and every morning, after we'd said the flag salute and had gotten to work, she'd sit down at her desk and pour herself a cup of coffee. I loved the smell of fresh coffee so much that I'd strain to think of questions to ask the teacher just so I could go to her desk to stand in the aroma that was wafting from her mug. And, over the years, when I'd visit Grammy and Grampy's house, every time I'd walk into the kitchen, I'd give their coffee container a big shake and take off the lid to enjoy the lovely smell that rose from the can.

When I married Mike, he drank instant Folgers coffee. I didn't drink coffee then, but I knew that what he was drinking didn't smell as good and couldn't possibly taste as good as the coffee I'd always liked smelling, so I went off to our really great local kitchen store to surprise him with a coffee maker. After talking with one of the owners, I came home with a French press, a grinder, and a bag of good coffee beans. As I experimented with making coffee in the press, I'd always pour myself a little bit of coffee in the bottom of a mug just so I could monitor and analyze it in order to adjust the proportions and grind for the next brew. As I was learning to make decent coffee in the French press, I was also learning to like it. Gradually, I began pouring more and more coffee into my mug, until, one day, I realized I had become a coffee drinker. It didn't start in Starbucks or in any other coffee house; it started in my own kitchen, and I've enjoyed drinking coffee ever since, especially when it's brewed in a French press.

Anyway, Mom and I went to Eugene this past week for several days, and I picked up a bag of Stumptown Roasters' Sumatra coffee beans to bring home. This morning I ground the beans and brewed a pot of the coffee in my French press, and mmm, it was nice.

2. Green & Black's dark chocolate with Nourishing Traditions peanut butter. This might not sound good, but to one who adores peanut butter and chocolate, it's a real treat. I've always loved peanut butter-chocolate desserts. My dad perpetually kept a bag of miniature Reese's peanut butter cups in the cupboard in his office, just for his kids and grandkids to raid, and I'm pretty sure I ate more than my fair share of the little candy pieces. We finished the last bag of Reese's cups in December, and we left the empty bag in the cupboard. No one wants to throw it away, and it keeps reminding me of another sweet thing about Dad.

When I was at my sister's house this past week, I tasted her "peanut butter." It's made from the recipe in Nourishing Traditions, consisting of peanuts, virgin coconut oil, a bit of honey, and salt. Yum. It tastes really, really good, so I made some right when I came home. I was thinking this morning that the peanut butter tastes almost like candy, and then I got the brilliant idea to put some on a little piece of dark chocolate. Brilliant, if I must say so myself. A nice little snack.

3. Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. Thanks to Aaron for introducing me to this French composer and his music. Actually, thanks to Aaron for introducing me to much of the music I love-- Arvo Part, Messiaen, Sigur Ros, others. When Aaron was here during his college Christmas break, we went to the library. He checked out this CD for me and insisted that I should listen to it because he was certain I'd appreciate it. I've been listening to the CD again today (no, it's not overdue; I renewed it), and I do indeed love the music.

Quartet for the End of Time was written when Messiaen was in a German POW camp during WWII and was first performed in 1941 in Stalag 8-A by Messiaen (at the piano), along with a violinist, a clarinetist, and a cellist. The eight movements of this quartet are based on Revelation 10. Messiaen is a Christian composer, and this is a very lovely and hopeful Christian piece of music. In light of Messiaen's situation when this music was written, its hope, joy, and faith in God is striking.

Messiaen has written very brief notes on each movement-- just enough, in my opinion. I appreciate enough commentary or explanation to inform and enhance the listening, but-- while I recognize that others do seem to enjoy and benefit from it-- I've never much liked lengthy, academic analysis of either music or literature. This isn't because I'm lazy and don't want to put my mind to it; too much analysis simply spoils a thing for me.

I may not fully comprehend George MacDonald's meaning, I suppose, but, in music and literature, I'm with him when he says, "Analysis is well as death is well." I remember hearing that music analysts, despite much study and analysis of the music of J.S. Bach, simply cannot put their finger on why his music is so moving and powerful. I prefer to leave it that way. I love Bach. His music strikes me mysteriously beautiful, yet full of clear meaning. It seems hopeful, joyful, real. True. William F. Buckley, and many others, have said that the music of Bach alone is proof of the existence of God. I think there's something to that, but I certainly couldn't explain it! :-)

(I've also been enjoying another CD today-- "Christ is My Hope" by The Innocence Mission.)

4. The pajamas Aunt Cherie sent me in the mail today. I only have one aunt, and I'm lucky enough to have gotten the best one in the entire world. I'm talking about Aunt Cherie who lives on an Alaskan island-- my mom's sister-- who happens to be a wonder woman of good cheer, humor, and thoughtfulness. And she's also is a total blast to hang around with. Cherie must have taken note of my pathetic-looking "pajamas" when she was here in December (how could she not have noticed?!) and taken great pity on me because she sent me a fun set of "Life is Good" pajamas. You know the company? The one with the motto running round their tags that says, "Do what you Like. Like what you do. Optimism can take you anywhere."? All I can say is when I head to bed tonight, I'll do it in fine, optimistic style.

5. A couple of good books. I'm actually reading several good books right now, notably Alice in Wonderland (finally, huh, Aaron?)-- I won't comment on this book now because I want to say something about it in another post specifically for my niece, Nicky. One of the books I'm reading today is Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris. I've been interested in the topic of acedia ever since I was first introduced to the concept in a First Things magazine article. I'm only at the beginning of the book, but I really like it so far. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think Acedia and Me might appeal to those who have jobs or responsibilities that are done over and over again, day after day-- tasks or routines that require a bit of discipline or a determined willfulness to press through at times. Motherhood can occasionally be this way, for some of us. So can homeschooling. Housework. A job we don't like. A job we do like. Anything! Those who struggle at times with lack of motivation, melancholy, mental and spiritual lethargy, or even depression might find the book interesting and possibly even enlightening. Probably everyone faces some struggles with the over and overness of daily life at some point, but, even if this isn't the case, I think the book could be interesting for anyone.

I hope you're enjoying the simple, nice things around you today.

An Attempt to Reform Myself in the Art of Writing Letters

2009-01-20T20:04:00.000-08:00

Corresponding on paper lets you elevate a simple pleasure into an art form. And art has always survived technology. A handwritten note is like dining by candlelight instead of flicking on the lights, like making a gift instead of ordering a product, like taking a walk instead of driving. Handwritten notes will add a lot to your life. You can still use the telephone or the Web for the daily chores of staying in touch, but for the words that matter, it's courteous, classy, caring, and civilized to pick up a pen.

~Margaret Shepherd in The Art of The Handwritten Note

I'm in the midst of an attempt to reform myself.

I've never been a really good correspondent, and I've always been a bit ashamed of myself for this. I've taken comfort when I've read the words of others who have struggled with letter writing, like JRR Tolkien, who seemed to apologize often for being so slow to respond to his correspondents. The difference between Tolkien and me, though, is that there is a whole book of Tolkien's letters, and I'm sure this is only part of the correspondence he wrote.

I could probably fill a book with my letters, too, but not with much that's worthy or interesting. I've written many, many letters over the years, but it takes a lot out of me to write one, so I burn out and too easily find excuses for writing them. I have never-- for long-- settled into any kind of letter writing routine, but I've always wanted to and meant to.

I love reading collections of letters. The correspondence of NC Wyeth or the Letters of a Homesteader Woman or The Letters of JRR Tolkien have kept me enthralled in their pages. I own quite a few books of the collected correspondence of various figures of literature, art, and history, and, in these books, letter writing is clearly elevated to an art form. The letters often seem to exude thoughtfulness and care. It's inspiring. Or it should be.

The plain, honest fact is that I don't very often feel like writing letters. I've always known that to behave in accordance to my feelings rather than according to what I know is right or good to do is a flaw, but I've somehow been able to shrug off the value of letter writing as something not falling within these sorts of moral parameters, and maybe they don't, but if Margaret Shepherd is correct, it is at least "courteous, classy, and caring to pick up a pen."

A clincher in my recent decision to attempt a letter writing reform was this selection from the devotional, Joy and Strength:

"She constantly yielded to that kind of selfishness which makes the writing, or not writing, of a letter depend upon the inclination of the moment." ~Sarah W. Stephen

Ouch.

Last week I decided that, after five decades of sporadic letter writing (I'm quite sure that no one waits by their mailbox for a letter from me!), I need to reform myself. I have a bundle of letters that have come to me in the past month and a half and many, many more letters that have remained unanswered for far too long (some of them for years, I'm ashamed to say).

So, I bought myself some stationery and some stamps (which I promptly lost), and each morning, after my quiet time, I sit at the table and answer one of the letters in the stack. I finish it while I am still sitting there (if I get up and set it aside for awhile to come back to it later, I'll never finish it), then I place the letter in an envelope, address it, and put the stamp on it. Now I can get up from the table.
Knowing some of my hindrances to letter writing, I made a few guidelines for myself. One of them is not getting up from the table until I've finished writing. Another is stamping and putting the letter in the mailbox that day. I don't have to write on weekends unless I want to, and when I am out of town, I'm off the hook, too. Another guideline is keeping the letters short until I catch up with my correspondence, and then, if I want to and have the leisure to do it, I can take two days to write a letter. The main thing is that I will have a letter writing time each day right after my quiet time. A short, thoughtful note is much, much better than no letter at all, right?

So far, four letters have gone out, which does not make me feel even slightly victorious because I've gotten way past this stage in previous efforts to reform myself. I think it takes a while to break a bad habit and even longer to build a new one. And then, I hear, it takes something like 1,000 days for a new habit to become an actual, natural way of life. But I'm just going to think about tomorrow.

I feel almost like a child learning to do something new. That's how pathetic my letter writing habits have been for the past five decades. But I really do want to improve, and I intend to keep working at it. So, if I owe you a letter, don't faint if you find one in your mailbox soon. (Though, I must say, it will take me a long time to catch up!)

Another Fine Day at the Beach...

2009-01-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

We're still enjoying amazing weather here on the Oregon coast. Every day for awhile has been sunny, clear, warm, and wind-free. So, pretty much every day, we've gone to the beach. Today was no exception, and, once again, we drove to the beach closest to home, which happens to be our favorite beach anyway because the waves are always so pretty, and it's often a great place for beachcombing.

As we stepped over the crest of the dunes to walk toward the water this afternoon, we saw that the tide was low and the surf was rough. Mom and I had already been on an "exercise walk" down the road in the morning, so we just ambled along the beach, looking for shells, watching the waves, and enjoying another beautiful day at the beach. I told Mom that if I could find a whole sand dollar, my day would be perfect. So, on we walked, looking and looking. There was a long strip of shells that had washed up on the beach, and we spent quite a lot of time looking there. And there it was, a tiny whole sand dollar. Perfect. I put it in my pocket and kept looking.

It wasn't long before we ran into our friends, Laurie and Dave, who were also walking the beach and looking for shells or any interesting thing that might wash up. (We crossed paths with them at this beach last week, too.) They'd been out there longer than we had, and they had their hands full of shells and whole silver dollars. Dave gave me some of his sand dollars and then I found a couple more. (When I came home, I had seven of them, so the day really was perfect!)

We looked around in the sand at the water's edge, and we noticed that in the spot we were hunting for shells, the water was moving crazily in all different directions. I'd seen this happen before at this beach, but it always amazes me when I watch waves going straight backward toward the sea, breaking and crashing into the waves coming in. I'm not just talking about an undertow here, or the normal action of water going back to ocean after it breaks on the shore. I'm talking about serious, literal waves moving toward the incoming sea and breaking over on the waves coming in. I have no idea what might cause this-- it's very strange. In the same place there are also strong currents pushing the waves perpendicular to the bigger ones coming in to the shore. The water looks really crazy when this happens (which seems to be rare), and I tried to a capture a photo of it, but it didn't work.

We walked on down the beach, and when we approached the jetty and the end of our walk, Dave and Laurie headed back to their car, and Mom and I stuck around for a while. It was a beautiful late afternoon and evening at the beach, so I'm glad we did. Plus, clouds are finally starting to form after many days of clear skies. The weather is making a shift for sure, and by the end of the week, rain is expected to fall here again.

It was a bit rough out there today.

Dave and Mom, walking along.
Laurie and me, walking along.

Bye Dave and Laurie.

Mom watching the ocean as the sun drops lower in the sky.

End of day.

Laughing, We Endure...

2009-01-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

I've been writing this for myself, over the past few days, just jotting down my thoughts, but I decided to share it here because it's what I've been thinking about. I turned it into something more like a post, but I don't have time to cut and edit, so please forgive the length and maybe some redundancy.

I hope you'll have a lovely weekend. :-)

***

My mom is a Ruth Bell Graham fan, and over the years, she's given me copies of some of Ruth's books. I love Ruth, too. She is honest and down-to-earth. She doesn't play saint. She's very real and very funny. She's also encouraging. One thing I like about Ruth is that she is clearly deep and deeply intelligent, but she writes plainly about ordinary things.

There was a time when I thought of her writings as somewhat simplistic-- more geared to a new or young Christian-- but the older I get, the more I realize how very simple I need to stay in my spiritual walk. So, I am finding encouragement in Ruth's simple thoughts and words, and, growing older, I increasingly realize that simple truths run very, very deep.

Here at Mom's house, I've been picking up and perusing Ruth Graham's books again. I find them encouraging in the same way that Edith Schaeffer's and Amy Carmichael's writings encourage me. Even if they are not saying anything that is new to me, they give me a large sense of someone who is a kindred spirit on the path. Not that I am where they are or know what they know or have walked what they have walked, but there is the same attitude and hope and desire and spirit in their writings as I have been putting into my journals for years. All of these women are mentors to me, and, recently, I'm especially connecting to Ruth Graham.

How can I not like someone who writes honestly, like this:

"The job of raising five little Grahams to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ is too big for me, who am not a good soldier myself. Feeling particularly distracted (or I should say overwhelmed and confused) this morning, I have been looking to the Lord asking, 'Where, from here?'

"Bill will be leaving soon for the San Fransisco meeting. And I almost have a sinking feeling. Not altogether a left-behind and left-out sort of feeling, but swamped, knowing that all the things I have depended on others to do, I shall have to do myself.

"And things have not gone smoothly. There is a terrible amount of fighting among the children, ugliness and back talk from Gigi, and peevishness on my part backed by sporadic, uncertain discipline...

"And I don't look to the ways of my household. The children are not well taught even about brushing their teeth and keeping their rooms straight. Regular family prayers at the supper table are not very regular. I don't always keep the children's clothes mended, neat, and organized. We get ready for Sunday on Saturday. Well, there's no use going into it all. It just boils down to the fact that I am not being a good mother.

"So I took it to Him this morning..."

And there, in the last line is the answer. We all feel out of sorts and incompetent and that we are just not doing our job at times. And we might feel guilty and a bit discouraged when we see the evidence ever so plainly in front of us. But just do like Ruth and take it to Him. She found her answer, and we will, too.

I have kept journals for years, and many of my writings start with the very tone that Ruth uses. Like hers, my husband was also away more than he was at home, and I was left with four little kids and the animals. I was left with all of the work (and there was plenty, but four kids to help!) and responsibility, and, like Ruth, I often felt incompetent. My daily journal entries occasionally started out reflecting that, but by the time I had finished writing, they had usually taken on a different tone, only because I had "taken it to Him," and, by His grace, a bit of hope and even humor emerged. I most often arose from the table with an optimistic energy, and God knows I needed it! :-)

I have watched, and have emulated, people like Ruth, who refuse to wallow in a discouraging situations, but have eventually worked their way-- in quiet and prayer and trust-- to laughter, because they have taken it to Him. And mostly what I get from Ruth's example is laughter. She struggled honestly, but she was joyful because she, I think, chose joy. In one poem, she ended with the words, "laughing we endure."

Ruth had a wonderful sense of humor and fun. She was light and active, busy and family-oriented, grace-filled and a lover of beauty. She created a lovely home and made it into a warm and secure refuge for her family and for friends. It was full of laughter. A child who grows up in a home with people who can laugh, no matter what, has been given a very good gift.

As I was thinking about how Ruth Graham's writings connect with me right where I am and inspire me onward, I was trying to remember a Bible verse to the effect that we should follow the example of the faithful ones who have endured. I couldn't place it, and then today I just happened to run across it (or one like it) in my morning Bible reading:

"...imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6:12)

There have been many people and many authors who have had a huge impact on my spiritual life, on my decisions, and in the way I choose to live my days. I would even say that there are many authors whose writings I like better, in some ways, than Ruth Graham's. They stimulate my spiritual intellect. They challenge me deeply. They make me think about things I sometimes haven't thought about before.

Ruth Graham is different. She meets me just where I am in my plain, everyday, ordinary life, and she tends to think and write about it in just the same way I would. But Ruth has gone much further than me. She is one who "through faith and patience has inherited what has been promised." I am following along on a path she has already walked faithfully.

I relate well to Ruth's stories of both her joys and her difficulties, and I can imitate her pursuit of God in all things because she has walked faithfully to the end. The faithfulness and the joy are what inspire me. Life gets a bit messy sometimes. Sometimes we fail in our attitudes, in our tasks, in the raising of our kids, in our relationship with our spouse, in everything! And sometimes we struggle and even flounder. But no matter. We can just get back up, praying, and carry on. Don't wallow. Don't be discouraged. Don't give up. And for heaven's sake, laugh! Life is just too short not to choose to laugh. As Ruth Graham writes, laughing, we endure.

I am thinking of many people whose example of laughter through the ups and downs of life has taught me to laugh. And, more specifically, I am thinking of my mother, who, every day, pointedly chooses to press ahead and to laugh along the way. She hurts like crazy just about every minute, but her humor marches on. She had me laughing so hard in the car the other night (and she was laughing, too) that I was practically in tears. Laughing, she endures. And, so I will imitate her, too (and I do).

I'm reminded of a favorite Chesterton quote, a saying I try always to remember: "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly."

I have been given the gift of a family who laughs. A family who takes themselves lightly. A family who does not make things bigger than they are. A family who does not wallow in emotions, but deals with them, and refuses to do anything but press ahead.* A family who tends to look things in the eye and feel unintimidated. This isn't to say we don't hurt or struggle, but, thankfully, I have been given the example of a long string of ancestors who carry on, who endure laughing, who take themselves lightly.

A cheerful heart doeth good like a medicine, you know. And, laughing, we endure.

*(I don't want to discount or discourage those who struggle with depression or are truly and deeply depressed. That does happen, and one shouldn't feel guilty about it, but should continue to seek God and seek encouragement and maybe find some help. But even in this case, it is good to willfully look to find a way to laugh.)

Five Things...

2009-01-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

Pretty soon I'm going to have to change the name of my blog from "High Desert Home" to "In Which She Goes to the Beach" or something. :-) But right now we're having amazing weather-- in the low 60's and no wind-- so we're taking advantage of the lovely days while they're here.

And I suppose if you're going to the beach every day, you may as well take pictures. Here are a few things I noticed and enjoyed during today's late afternoon visit. And just as nice as the things we saw was the fresh, clean seaside air. It is really invigorating, and, like I told Mom, it almost seems healing. Mom and I walked down the beach for awhile, then hung around til the sun disappeared behind the ocean.

Interesting patterns in the sand. If this wasn't a beach post, and I didn't tell you that was sand, would you know?

The light green color of the waves in the sunlight. This beach is my favorite, partly because of the color of the water.

Mom again, in her beach hat again, sitting on a log, with a lighthouse on her head. :-) (I do wish I would have shifted my position so that the lighthouse was further left, but I was too quickly snapping away.)

The grass and sand in the evening sun.

The lighthouse at dusk, taken on our way home. We drive right past the lighthouse when we go to the beach. I thought this was lovely.

Psalms and Morning Coffee...

2009-01-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

Morning at the kitchen table. Old kitchen table made in the town where my dad was a young boy. Cloth crocheted by my grandmother. Jug and bowl belonged to my great-grandmother.

"My strength returns to me with my morning

cup of coffee and reading the psalms."

~Dorothy Day

I ran across this quote again today, and it made me smile because what Dorothy said here is true for me, too, and it really is the coffee as well as the Psalms. This will sound silly, but once, in the past, this gave me pause. I didn't want to think of drinking coffee or other little pleasant routines and rituals of my day as having that kind of importance in my life. I mean, I may not always be able to start my morning with coffee. I may not always be surrounded by pleasant things. I may not have as much discretionary time as I do now to live slowly and to enjoy the little material blessings that surround me. They may be gone someday. Who knows? Things change.

I wasn't feeling negative about life or guilty about my pleasures. I liked drinking coffee in the morning, and I would continue to enjoy it, but I wanted my daily strength, I thought, to come down to simply trusting Him. I wasn't sure it was a good thing for the coffee (or anything else) to factor into the equation of what gives me strength and joy.

And, really, it does come down to Him alone. I know that. If everything I enjoy now went away, the true source of my strength and joy would still be there. So that little doubt about morning coffee having too much importance passed quickly And right now, I do happen to be blessed with pleasant things around me and cheerful daily routines and rituals. I have been given the gift of time and the freedom of choice to order my days as I like. I'm blessed to be able to grind my own coffee beans in the morning, fill my coffee press, sit beside the fire or a window with a view, and sip and think and read and pray. This is a gift, and I'll take it gladly.

Many mornings I wake up feeling bright and cheery and ready to go. Other mornings are slower, and like Dorothy Day, when I open my Bible, sip my coffee, and write in my journal, my strength returns to me. And I really am glad for both the Psalms and my morning coffee!

And I'm glad for the fire in the stove or the sunny window with a view. I'm glad for the quilt (made by my grandma) that I wrap around myself each morning and the feel of the pen scratching its way across my journal. I'm glad for the books that end up in the stacks that surround me as I sip and read and write in the morning.

Yes, my strength returns to me with my morning cup of coffee and the reading of the Psalms. They are good rituals for starting the day, and I take them with glad thanks to God, who means for me to enjoy and benefit from them both.

I Have Discovered a New Favorite Thing...

2009-01-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

Me, kayaking today. Well, actually, in the picture, I'm just sitting there. And the tip of Laurie's kayak. I think this photo will enlarge if you click on it.

Hey, JoAnne, remember the New Year's Day hike on the lake? Well, here's that point where we took a photo of everyone-- but this time it's the view from the water looking in. You would have loved being out there today.

What a perfect day for kayaking! It was so much fun, and it was just beautiful in every way. I'll take a kayak over a canoe any day!

Thanks, Laurie, for the great day kayaking on the lake. Next time we take coffee and biscotti! :-) And thanks for the photos. I'll probably put the others up soon and write more. (And thanks to Dave for loading, unloading, loading, and unloading the kayaks!)

To the Beach Again!

2009-01-13T19:27:00.001-08:00

Taken on the walk back toward the jetty and where we started.

(This post dedicated to you, my sweet daughter, Michelle, because you wanted me to write about our beach visit-- and put up some photos-- on my blog. Love you and miss you and your family!)

I know, I know. All I do is go to the beach. Hence, all I do is blog about going to the beach. But that's just fine with me. I'm enjoying every moment of it.

It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day today. Mom and I had been doing things around the house, and after lunch she said, out of the blue, "Would you like to go to the beach?"

"Yes!"

So, we hopped into the car, and in just a few minutes we were there. We ran into our friends, Laurie and Dave, in the parking lot. Because it was a beautiful day, the two of them had packed a lunch to enjoy in front of the ocean. They were just leaving for home as we were arriving.

Laurie and I talked for a minute about our plans to go kayaking tomorrow morning on a local lake. Awhile back she'd asked if I'd like to do this as soon as we have one of those amazing, unseasonably balmy January weeks. Two nights ago she called me, saying, "It's that week!" So we put it on the schedule for Wednesday (tomorrow) morning, and, according to the forecast, we should have beautiful weather for exploring the lake. While I've been canoeing many times, I've never been in a kayak, so I am really looking forward to this.

Lighthouse. Photo taken from the jetty.

Mom and I walked and walked down the beach, one that is often particularly good for shell hunting, but the tide was fairly high this early afternoon so it wasn't a good beach combing day. No matter. It's just nice to walk along the sand in the fresh air, enjoying the view of the dunes and the ocean.

We noticed some interesting and pretty pieces of driftwood along the beach. A sea lion popped its head out of the water right alongside us as we walked and seemed to be watching us.

Mom, sitting at the end of the jetty this afternoon.

I climbed up on the jetty and walked out on it a little ways. Mom sat on a rock to watch the ocean (she loves nothing better than doing this). There were several fishing boats nearby on the water, and I noticed a surfer bobbing around. Then he caught a small wave, rode it in, and paddled back out.

As I turned to walk back off the jetty, I noticed quite a group of surfers collecting at the top of the beach and trotting toward it with their boards. Nice day for surfing, that's for sure, even if the waves weren't gigantic.

We left the beach vowing to go back often. Why not eat lunch there on a nice day rather than at home? And why not take our walk there since we intend to walk daily anyway? After all, it takes just a few minutes to get to the beach, and it's so, so refreshing to be there.

A Grumpy Story...

2009-01-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

I've already posted about some recent blessings, but as I lay in bed last night writing in my journal, I was thanking the Lord for His goodness and kindness of another sort. And so as not to paint a too cloying picture of my life, I want to tell this.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday morning. I didn't like feeling grumpy, and I kept trying my best to overcome it, but that feeling of being out of sorts only seemed to get worse as the morning went along. I hadn't slept well. My stomach was upset, and I was dizzy. My eyes felt gritty and they were puffy from allergies. And on top of this my head was throbbing.

I was hurrying to get ready for the early morning church service, and when I took the dog outside, three big, friendly neighborhood dogs swarmed and jumped all over us, getting my pants muddy. I tried to shrug it off, but my grumpiness increased, and I was now feeling in no mood to go anywhere or to be around people.

At the same time, I felt incredibly immature, and I struggled to get over myself. Struggled to choose to be cheerful, since, so often, all we need to do is to change our focus a bit. I was trying hard not to allow my feelings to affect my behaviour, but I was clearly not winning the battle. Mom, as usual, was cheerful. And, poor Mom, the last thing she needs is me being moody!

We arrived at church a bit late, thanks to me. I sat with Mom through the service, enjoyed the sermon, and liked visiting old friends afterwards, but when we went home, I was still dizzy. Still not quite right. Still feeling out of sorts.

I knew I needed some quiet time and some rest, so I climbed under a quilt on my bed, opened my Bible, journal, and devotionals, and started reading. One devotional reading confronted me with force, and I needed it:

"It is a sign that the soul is living in God, if it maintain calmness within through the consciousness of His Presence, while working for Him in active ministrations. Such restfulness will show itself in the commonest ways, in doing common duties at the right time, in preserving a sweetness and evenness of temper in the midst of ordinary interruptions and disturbances, in walking to and fro quietly on the day's varied errands, in speaking gentle words, in sweetly meeting unexpected calls. A calm, restful temper grows as self is learning to lose itself in God. Such grace tells gradually on the daily life; even the minutest detail may be brought under the power of God, and carried out in union with Him." ~T.T. Carter

How very, very far I was walking from this. And how very impossible I'd found it to conquer my attitude all by myself. So I prayed. And I got quiet. And soon I began to sense a change in the way I was looking at things. That closed-in, ugly feeling started to disappear as the Lord began to adjust my attitude and give me a bit of His love and His grace.

My hermit-like tendencies were gone, and I suddenly realized that my puffy eyes and throbbing head really weren't as bad as they'd seemed. I threw off the quilt and walked into the kitchen to ask Mom for an Advil. When I did, I burst into tears (this happens more easily lately).

Mom, of course, hugged me. I told her I was sorry for being a damper on the morning and on her cheeriness. She, of course, said that I wasn't at all! I felt silly and very un-50-years-old, but at same time, I was once again thankful for God's patient grace and for a sweet mother.

I know this is such an ordinary, everyday story, but, for me, it's just another very simple reminder of the truth of that verse I posted already:

"All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful..." Psalm 25:10