The Lost Are Found

I may have mentioned before that I am an INFP.

In other words, I can be scattered.  I am good at coming up with big ideas, but not necessarily following through on little details.  I get inspired.  Very inspired.  Then I get depressed when reality does not seem as inspirational as it should.

Also, I lose things.  Many things.

When I was very young, I would get stacks of books out of the library.  In classic INFP fashion, I would then straw them from one end of the house to the other, reading as I went.  Perhaps it is no surprise that on the day the books were due, I had some difficulty collecting them all to return to the library.

After that, my mom limited me to two books at a time.  I could usually keep track of both of them.


Remember the camera?  Yeah, me too.  Well literally, not a week after I wrote that post, I was packing for a beach vacation, and what did I find wallowing in the bottom of my closet among flip-flops and sneakers and sandals???  MY CAMERA!  Yes, the very same camera that was thought to have been lost in New Hampshire was really only lost in my closet.  And no, numerous interrogations have not yielded any information as to why it was there.  I literally had not seen it since that trip...

Then there was my J hook.  For those who do not crochet, crochet hook sizes are labeled in letters.  So a J hook is just a hook for crocheting that is medium-sized.

Anyway, last year sometime, I took a notion to teach myself to crochet.  Again.  (Another classic sign of an INFP -- starting projects and not finishing them.  Yeah.)  Well, the crochet pattern that I found required a J hook and some thick yarn.  I found the thick yarn.  But the J hook had mysteriously disappeared from my case of crochet hooks.  I vaguely remembered taking it out to do some project, but who knew where it had ended up after that....

I went to the craft store to buy a new J hook.  I ended up buying an I hook by mistake.  Then I gave it up and just used a K hook.  Alas...

Just yesterday, my J hook was resurrected from the bottom of a bag containing materials for loop weaving with a plastic loom.  Who would have guessed?

Rereading my blog posts, I noticed my enthusiasm at the beginning of the summer.  How much writing I would do with so much time in which to do it!

My last post?  A month ago!

Apparently, stress motivates writing more than lack of stress.  Who knew?

I think perhaps it is too late to change my personality.  I will always lose things.

But the sudden inspiration of finding lost things is all mine.  And I am OK with that.

My Camera is Back... and So Am I!

As you may recall, I left my camera in New Hampshire last September.

So, to punish myself, I had to wait until I could save up enough to get a new one.  Thus, my mostly picture-less posts up till now.

Fortunately for me, a lovely deal site called Plum District, offered an amazing deal where I could get a very basic camera for less than half price.

Needless to say, I jumped on it.

So now I have a camera again, finally! *cheering*  It is not a great camera, but it is a camera.

Not only that, but I am about two weeks into summer, which means I will have much more time to write.  Hooray!

Now, on to the story!

My sister, niece, and I went blackberry picking on Saturday.

Ellie was excited for her first time picking berries!

And also a little silly!

But very excited!

We had a great time wresting the berries from the bees and other crawly bugs.  Ellie alternated between running up and down the rows of bushes and finding berries that she could reach, announcing with gusto, "Here's a BIG, fat one!"

What else to do with delicious, fresh-picked blackberries but make a superb dessert for Father's Day?

I call it...

Sarah's Famous Berry Crisp

(adapted from a Blueberry Crisp recipe from Peas and Thank You)

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups of any berries (I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and, of course, blackberries)

2 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 c. oats (can use gluten free)

2 T. almond flour (made from ground almonds -- you can use whole wheat flour if you like)

1/4 c. toasted almonds (I used the slivered almonds and toasted them in the toaster oven)

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 t. salt (optional)

2 T. butter

Instructions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and drain berries and place in a small casserole dish or 8 x 8 baking pan.  If you are using strawberries, quarter them before placing them in the pan.

2.  Sprinkle berry mixture with two tablespoons of brown sugar, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg.  If you like, you can also sprinkle some vanilla or almond extract over the berries at this time.  Mix well.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, almonds, remaining brown sugar, and salt.  Cut the butter into small pieces.  Use a pastry cutter to mix in the butter until the mixture has small chunks.

4.  Sprinkle topping over berries.

5.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Delicious!



 Indeed, it was well received by the Patriarch.  And also his loyal subjects.

So ends a blackberry adventure well begun.





The Center Holds

    "Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold..."

--W.B. Yeats "The Second Coming"

I am an introvert; my mind is always busy.  It rushes and chatters, a waterfall over rocks, leaving me desperate for silence.

For something like seven years, I have practiced Centering Prayer, a Christian contemplative practice somewhat akin to meditation.  I have practiced, I should say, in hopes that some day I might get better at it, might access that mind-peace that so many claim they find in it.

To no avail.  Instead, I spend countless minutes chasing mind monkeys, and occasionally stumbling upon a smooth lagoon of soft waves and sweet breezes.  But only occasionally.

This morning was no better.  Amid the background noise of my darling hubby watching Sports Center in the next room, and my cat purring loudly at my side, I settled down for prayer.  The kitty then decided that my prayer period could only benefit from her methodically sticking her claws into my leg as she kneaded my thigh.  Finally, fascinated by some video or other on the computer, my loving partner began to blast some sort of mechanical noise over the murmer of the TV.

I could only laugh to myself and attempt to refocus.  Surely, Lord, you are in the midst of things falling apart.

I felt the prayer period was a mega-fail.  I spent more time refocusing than focusing.  Just how was I to meet God when I could not even hear Him?

Oh, well, try again next time, right?

And I headed off to work.  I was surprised to find, though, that the time of day when I usually start to get a bit frazzled, hadn't arrived quite on schedule.  I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting it to appear any moment. 

But it did not.  By the end of the day, when I checked my state of mind (this only sounds strange if you've never taught in an elementary school classroom -- you do not have time to check your state of mind during the day!), I dipped deeply into a clear calm in the core of my soul.

And where did that come from?

Many teachers of Centering Prayer say that there is no "wasted" prayer session.

Perhaps they are right, after all?

What I'm Reading...

I have always been an avid reader, from the time my chubby hands could barely hold the book that I had memorized and was now "reading" to anyone who would listen, and it amazes my husband how I can read multiple books at the same time.  It amazes me how he can not read multiple books at the same time!  Here is a peek into my current bookshelf.

The Art of Slow Reading by Thomas Newkirk.
Bought for me by my principal as a "professional development" tool, this book surprised me in the first few pages.  It graduated almost immediately to a "reading for fun" book.  (Shhh -- don't tell my principal -- I don't think we're supposed to enjoy "professional development.")  Newkirk begins with the premise that when it comes to reading (and many other things), speed is not necessarily an advantage.  He proceeds to demonstrate in voice-laden exposition six practices that help readers to literally wallow in good writing.  If you are a reader or a teacher of reading, this book will inspire you!

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
I've enjoyed reading several accounts of life in Afghanistan and have been amazed by its troubled history and the immense personal strength of its citizens.  This story, told by an American journalist, displays the beauty of bravery in the most powerless citizens as the Taliban conquered the country.  This book  courageously lays bare the facts but weaves a thread of compassion throughout the narrative.  I am still early in the book, but I am looking forward to developing a relationship with it as I continue to read.

The Gospel According to Moses by Athol Dickson
This is my second attempt to read this tangled mass of exposition and narrative.  I had to get about fifty pages in before I could sense the rhythm of the book, but now I am determined to finish this time.  Dickson tells the story of his visits to a Jewish Torah study (Chever Torah) and the insights it provided him about his faith.  Although the prose is clumsy in places, I applaud his open mindedness to questions and ability to tie together the threads of Judaism and Christianity.

Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness by Nan C. Merrill
This book makes me a bit uncomfortable in a sense, but I figure that in discomfort there is growth, so I push ahead anyway.  This is not the Psalter, and I cannot read it as such.  But there is beauty in what it is -- a reimagination of the Psalms from a certain point of view.  I take issue with certain key phrases that Merrill uses, like "ego," which I feel has no place in poetry.  However, she does manage to capture much of the rhythm of the original psalms with a certain contemporary flair.  Not a read for the faint of heart or even for people whose roots are deep in fundamentalism.

So there you have it -- a tiny taste of what I'm reading.  What are you reading this week?

Alas! A Failure Already...

The Great Farmer's Market Experiment is going well...that is, it would be going well if I were actually doing it.

Unfortunately, I fell prey to the high gas prices (almost $4/gal., thank you very much).  Publix, our nefarious local grocery store, offered $10 off a $50 gas card if you buy $25 in groceries.

The temptation was too much for me, and I caved.  I bought ice cream and frozen-meals-in-a-bag and Cape Cod potato chips -- vast numbers of highly unhealthy things with so-not-local-or-humane-ingredients.

I guess that's why they call it a process; I shall forgive myself and begin again next week!

The Great Farmer's Market Experiment

...otherwise known as "A Break from Couponing Never Hurt Anyone."

A little background -- I've been a mildly avid (as opposed to extreme) couponer for almost two years now.  I follow two different deal blogs, pretend to organize each week's coupon inserts from the newspaper, and manage to usually save right around 50% on my groceries each week (on average).

Lately, I was surprised to find that my stacks of coupons I brought to the grocery store were getting smaller and thinner.  And the sale ads were looking less appealing.

Perhaps the ads and coupons had changed.  Or perhaps I had changed.

Recently, I've begun reading a several books about our food -- where it comes from, what is in it, how it is grown.

And with that growing knowledge has come a sense of responsibility.  See, I'm not really liberal, and while I care about the environment, I'm not extreme in that sense either.  But it struck me that stewardship means taking care of and being responsible for the plants and animals around us.  Even though Jesus didn't say "Thou shalt not eat factory farmed food," I think the compassion we are called to live into extends to more than the people around us.  Indeed, if we are to be truly a loving presence in this world, we must be more aware of the ongoing effects of the actions we take.

That being said, I have also realized that being aware, being present must be practiced and walked out...day by day.  I cannot find change all at once.

With that in mind, we have embarked on The Great Farmer's Market Experiment.  This is our way of hopefully changing what we buy a little bit and being more aware of what we eat and where it comes from. 

Resolved: we will shop mainly at the Farmer's Market during the month of April with the exception of certain items that cannot be bought there (mainly dairy products).  We will work towards saving our extra food budget money to be able to buy humanely raised meat from a local farm.

So, with much patience for steps backward and much hope for steps forward, we are working towards more simplicity in our food supply.

And may our efforts make us more loving as well.

Amen.

On the Beauties of Refrigeration

Yesterday morning, I had a glass of milk with breakfast.   And as I was drinking, it occurred to me -- this milk tastes a bit warm.  Odd....  So I went to the refrigerator, and no blast of cold air greeted me when I opened it.  I placed my kitchen thermometer (usually used for making yogurt) in for five minutes, and when I took it out, it read only 70 degrees!

YIKES!

I proceeded to  very calmly inform my husband that we needed a new refrigerator. run around the kitchen randomly removing things from the refrigerator and freezer while yelling for my husband to come there right now.

Long story short, we ended up unexpectedly paying our fifth visit to Lowe's this week.  We were able to find a very serviceable fridge/freezer combo at a reduced price (due to a new model coming in), with the promise of a free ice maker, and, of course, free delivery and take away.

It is not a lovely side-by-side like our previous model, but I have high hopes that it will also not suddenly decide to stop working on a Friday morning for many years.

The ice maker is also a bonus because we did not have one in our old freezer, and my husband is quite famous for his love of ice.

In the end, I am thankful that one year ago, we decided to take a class by Dave Ramsey that encouraged us to start a budget and begin a small emergency fund.  We still have a long way to go down the "getting financially healthy" road, but I am grateful that a minor disaster is just that -- minor. 

And I am also grateful for Lowe's dudes with trucks that know how to move furniture.

And I will not take cold milk for granted.

That is all.