Goodness in a Soup Pot

Dinner was homemade, mostly organic, vegetable soup and it messed up my vision.

The whole time I prepared and cooked, all I could see was this pot, brimming with vibrant, beautiful colors and a delicious assortment of shapes. The entire kitchen paled to plain old black and white, all except that glorious pot of goodness. 

John 8:12

"I am the light of the world. 

Whomever follows me will never walk in darkness, 

but will have the light of life."

John 8:12

Free MySpace wallpaper from somewhere online. I like it. I used it in the e-invitation for our young adult discipleship group DiG. It made me think of how all the truly creative thoughts (lightbulbs...) are really just an expression of God's creativity already demonstrated, but in a good way because we're "plugged in". I am hoping to have more lightbulbs in my future.  Until then I'll enjoy the flash of brilliance that others offer.

:)

The Magic of Cheese

How the Magic Happens

 Milk the cow or goat.

Take the milk to the creamery.

Pour it into the holding tank.

Sterilize the cans.

Fill the vat and heat to temperature.

Add the vegetable rennet and stir. 

  

Let it sit some hours to form curd.

  Cut through the curd.

Drain the whey.

 Cut and drain and stir some more.

Fill the forms with curds. 

Apply pressure.

Yield a 40lb block.

Seal and label the box.

Age the block for weeks or even years. 

Cut into smaller blocks and wrap.

Take it home.

Smell it, slice it, eat it. 

Marvel at the colors, the textures and the flavors that result from this process.

Think about how amazing God is to have thought this up.

It's a 'Perfect' Day

     I decided to hang out at the Perfect North Slopes lodge today. S is a little under the weather, but thinks he's well enough for skiing with his friends, so I'll just happen to be nearby if he runs out of steam before he expects to. 

     I have lots of computer 'To Do's' so this may be an even better place than home for getting those done.

Great Weather to Not be Amish

     It's hard to be culturally sensitive AND get a good picture of the Amish. This will have to do.

     Our time at Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op with N & R went very well. We affirmed each other's value and expressed appreciation. It did not go exactly as we had hoped going in, but we had given it all over to the Lord before we walked through the door. Our fellowship and business relationship grew as did our understanding of each other's operating methods, convictions and situations. Vast and fascinating cultural differences! In the end, we will be making some changes to help them save time and costs on invoicing our orders and they will be improving the packaging on our retail orders and letting their store customers, especially the non-locals, know about the website. We also began what will be a long and slow dialog about an issue we could not have touched over the phone. So it was good. 

     The best parts? Seeing my friend R and hearing about the young man in her life who 'brings her great joy'. Also visiting face to face with D and C, two younger gals who work there too, who I sometimes speak to over the phone. Also, trying Goat's Milk Fudge (It was good! I know, how weird is that?!) AND bringing home the new in-house Parmesan Cheese! It should make the order forms by the next order cycle along with Fiesta Cheddar and maybe White Gouda.

     We also hammered out details regarding carrying some other Amish products from their store, so in the near future we may be adding some things like noodles, baking mixes, maple syrup, honey, jam and small, round, containers of GOAT'S MILK FUDGE!

So that's why we had to switch rooms....

   We have an Amish cheese business. (www.simplycheese.net)

   We're in Amish country for the night to meet with the cheese-house managers tomorrow. We got to our room, unpacked and settled in when G walked near the exterior wall and found the carpet completely soaked. We told the lady at the desk that it didn't matter, just send up a bunch of towels. The lady at the desk would not allow us to stay in the room.

   This sign is in the new bathroom. It cracked me up. Perhaps we should let her know that this sign is not posted in the old room. :)

   We're praying for a good time of fellowship and understanding with our friends tomorrow, and a good result from working together for a common goal.
 
   If nothing else, I thoroughly enjoyed the long drive with my wonderful husband, had a delicious dinner, and had fun peppering the staff of Zoup! about the franchise's business model. It is a delightful little restaurant where we were able to taste as many of the 12 soups offered as we wanted before making our selection. They use no preservatives or msg, and the flavors were, well WOW! I had Collard Green Chicken Barley and G had White Chicken Chili. The Chicken Pot Pie and Tomato Basil were ones we tried and they were great, too! It was cool to see a part of the business model that I have on the back burned fleshed out in some ways in this casual eatery.

(Btw, the real reason for the flooding was ice-jamming outside on the gable roof. Lots more snow here than at home.)

Hope and Happiness

The Dog Pack

C, barely visible behind the other C, and a couple of friends

sledding in the backyard this afternoon.

Venison French Dips

       We are still enjoying C's buck from the fall. This meal was an easy crowd-pleaser! I slow-cooked the venison in organic beef broth with a quartered onion on low for most of the day. Then I strained out the pieces, pulled them apart and loaded them onto the bottom half of 4 whole grain hoagies. I used thick slices of mozzarella and fresh cracked pepper, broiled them, then closed the sandwiches and broiled them a little longer. The Aus Jus was the strained broth with mushrooms added after I removed the venison and onions. 

It was a loud meal full of smacking, oohing, ahhing and mmming. And what do you know? 

No leftovers.  :)

A Realistic View

I open my eyes each morning to this

view which changes

 by the hour

                               and the season 

                       and the weather.

And before my feet have even hit the floor

            I need no other reminder 

that

       God is 

consistently,

                 abundantly,

                             excessively,

                                         and eternally 

             kind to me.

Unadvertised Truths

Golden Prairie Fire Dogwood (Cornus alba 'Aurea')

    I picked this photo today for it's beautiful color, but it really got me thinking about what a disappointment this particular plant has been in the landscape and why. So often a variety of plant is acclaimed and advertised for some spectacular feature, some take-your-breath-away-you-must-have-this characteristic that seems to elevate it head and shoulders above the others. But they don't mention that it comes bound together with unseen weaknesses and problems that in the end make a gardener wish they had spent their money and effort on something less awe-inspiring and more reliable. 

    I admit that the Aurea's twig color is gorgeous, but in my yard this shrub has been a one-trick pony and you're looking at its singular virtue: it has pretty sticks. The unadvertised truth about this plant is that it is weak and easily diseased and it's colorful leaves barely reach full size before they are overrun with fungus. The swallowtail butterflies adore it so it is covered all season with powdery white caterpillars that devour what leaves remain after the fungus has done it's work. It is a slow grower and lacks a nice shape, which on it's own could be corrected if it weren't for all the other issues I already mentioned. To compound matters though, it is planted next to one of the healthiest, happiest, fastest-growing, shapeliest red twig dogwoods that I have ever grown and it is hard to not make comparisons. I am beginning to think that it may just be suffering from low self-esteem.

    People are like that. We are quick to focus on the obvious externals. We forget that no human being is ever fully defined by some take-your-breath-away-you-must-have-this characteristic that elevates them above others. The Lord sees past all this nonsense and makes no distinctions between us in either His love, care or judgement for all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)  That we would be so wise! We are complex creatures that come with a wide array of strengths and weaknesses, blessings, problems and issues. We may have one glaring strength or beauty that others focus on, but it would be a mistake to define ourselves by it or to do the same to them. The truth is we are just normal human beings.

    I have decided that I will move Aurea this spring and see how she does in a different place with fewer accomplished beauties to compare herself to. But I realize that in the end I may just have to appreciate her deep coral stems, help her with the issues I can and recognize that she comes with a full set of imperfections and weaknesses--just like me.

Bread Bowl Bliss!

It's been a long time since we had soup in a bread bowl. Thanks to a friend we had the opportunity to make it last night.
I am always amazed and thankful at how easy it is to make my guys happy with something new from the kitchen!

Death and Life (In that order)

     I was too sick with mono this summer to keep up with my garden. We enjoyed a small portion of the abundant tomatoes and peppers that did better than in any previous year here, but we did not consume many, and I did not can them which had been one of my summer goals. It was simply unmanageable for me. To even think to ask for help with it was not possible.

     By fall, with the virus still wreaking havoc with my cognitive function, hundreds of fruits fell to the ground, dead and rotting. It was one more symbol of defeat in a simple corner of my world that is precious to me.

     But some time around our first freeze I happened past the atrophied remains of a potted patio tomato. A bit of green caught my eye and I saw, poking out amongst the downed brown maple leaves below my potting bench, that a seed had kept warm and protected enough to sprout and grow to almost 3 inches tall. It was the same patio tomato that had blessed me with fruit in the sunroom the winter before! Digging down in the dirt bin below the frost, I filled a pot with soil and scooped the little tomato trooper into it. Then as I passed through the garden on my way to the sunroom I picked up the remains of three fallen comrades of various colors -dried out tomato skins filled with seeds- and poked them into the pot around my little green banner of encouragement. It was more an act of faint hope than any real expectation.

In John 12:24 and 25 Jesus is referring to his upcoming death on the cross and said: "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

I have hated my life a great deal of late, and have felt the loss of significant and unexpected portions of what has meant life to me from basic physical function to ministry, and even some friendships. I have even felt, on some very dark days, that real death would be far better than the unrelenting smallness of what my life was becoming. But I am beginning to see again, I think, and today I have a few glimmers of hope that this time has produced seeds that will someday sprout and, Lord willing, bear fruit.

The picture at the top is the mess that litters the ground in my tomato beds. It looks like a wasteland to me and used to represent months of disappointment and sadness. What a shock that every one of the seeds in those three dried out skins burst into life by the dozen! In a few weeks they will need to be transplanted and to be honest, I'm not sure how or where I will keep them until April or May when they can safely be put into the garden! They will be huge by then, so this will prove to be an exciting, unexpected adventure for a frustrated and recovering gardener and something to really look forward to. And to the right is my 'tomato trooper'. It is blooming and I have used my soft, fine brush to pollinate the flowers in the absence of bees. In a month, there may be fresh tomatoes in our salad! And I am hopeful that my season of 'death' will result in new beginnings and growth and fruit, too.

Easier Said Than Done

We have so many different nooks and pantries and storage spaces and doors that we must distinguish one from another somehow.
This is our beloved 'Abi Door' --so titled for the young friend (with a wonderful sense of humor) who offered her name as a way to identify this part of our kitchen. It displays my blackboard which displays my latest "inspiration" which often displays a part of what's on my heart.
It is a worthy, and sometimes difficult goal.
:)

Colossians 3:12-15

Treasure Chests

From Left:  regular lentils, French lentils, yellow split peas, sweet black rice, oat groats (steel cut b/c we wouldn't want them cut by...um...weed wackers?), mixed Amish popcorn, regular popcorn, more French lentils, more yellow split peas (guess I can put these together now), mixed beans (we LOVE bean soup), cinnamon sticks (yes I use them--in the steamers), black turtle beans, alfalfa sprout seeds, sesame seeds, and red lentils.
I like the way these look, and I also like the way they taste, and I also like the way I feel as though I'm taking good care of my family when we eat this stuff.
Real Food.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

We do most of our heating with wood. This picture does not do our stove justice. It's beautiful and I'll always be glad that G & K talked me into it. You were right.

If I Had a Penny for Every Sunflower Seed...

It's been a busy day at the feeders. 

Fortunately, everyone is waiting their turn.

Hand-Me-Downs

Since I owed the world a picture after forgetting a couple of days ago, here is my offering.

S washed and dried his favorite wool sweater. We were all so sad when we saw it. Then this afternoon Lil was standing outside the door shivering so we thought she might like it. Now it makes us all happy--most of us anyway! At least she isn't shivering anymore. ;)

Finding the Color

Our landscape is pretty colorless right now. The world outside is basically a study in white, brown and gray.
The crystal hung in my window reminded me this morning that the colors are all still there, just harder to see. If I look closely through this lens I can still find purple, turquoise, red, pink and green--all the vibrancy that means life.
It's a good analogy for my inside world right now. It, too, seems pretty colorless, but I know that like the landscape outside my window, the beauty and vibrancy is still there, just harder to see at present.
I am looking forward to Spring!

Snowfall

This is wonderful to wake up to. 

I love how the house is warmed and quieted by the extra layer of insulation.

Snow Ball

I don't have a picture for today, or the motivation to take one, so I thought I would put up this one of K & S when they went to the Snow Ball in December. It is a formal-ish gathering of the youth and friends of the Calvary Chapel Youth Group (we have many friends in this group). The organizers provide a light meal and then a professional caller instructs and calls an evening full of English Country dancing (think Pride and Prejudice).
Everyone looked so grown up and beautiful. They had a delightful time and are looking forward to going again next year.

Can't You See that I Am Suffering?

We do not keep the animals indoors, but all 3 cats and 2 of the 3 dogs have access to the sunroom via doggy door. I keep it 40-60 degrees, except during the afternoon when the southern sun heats it up to a balmy 80 or better. Nevertheless, ALL try to convince us of their sorry condition and that they really should be kept as indoor pets...
I love my sunroom. It was our very first salvage project on this house, begun in hopes of saving my Florida bougainvilleas and orchids all of which succumbed to the first freeze of our first winter here, a mere day or two before the room was completed almost entirely out of salvage yard materials. Ok yes, it was for the dog and cat we brought with us, too. Fortunately for me orchids are easy to come by here and my collection has been more than replaced, and I have come to terms with letting our 4 years in Florida satisfy me for the glamorous bougainvillea. (This is made easier by the fact that in person they are unruly, have cruel thorns and drop their colorful bracts daily.)
I might rather call this room "The Conservatory" if only there was space for a piano, because "Sunroom" really doesn't do it justice or convey the joy it brings to my life. I winter over certain 'temperamental' favorites here like my variegated lemon, key lime, and orchid trees, amaryllis, my christmas cactus (blooming to the right of Sylvester), and this year the one fuchsia that was both successful in our hot-humid climate AND a beautiful specimen, too. I even have a tomato in bloom that I am anxious and ready to pollinate with my fine soft paintbrush and then wait expectantly for the first fruit! (it's across the room to the left of Syli). I have been known to start vegetable seeds when the planets align, which, interestingly, they have, sort of by accident, but more on that later. And "Greenhouse" is too utilitarian and singular in purpose, whereas "Doghouse" well, no, although I will reluctantly admit that it smells that way when the sun is hot and the dogs are damp. 
The "Pampered Paw Palace" comes to mind when the labs are curled up in front of the heater on their padded carpets and the cats are snuggled in their faux shearling cat bed on the perch near the ceiling. The perch was a fun project: it is come to by way of a series of 3 catwalks. The lowest, where Syli is seated crosses half the slider, then there is a corner turnaround about two feet up from there and then another catwalk goes across the top of the entire sliding door to the 2x3 carpeted perch which used to be the hinged hatch of an old outbuilding. 
I will not say that it is easy to keep this room clean. The firewood ring sits just through the slider on the left and litters the floor with bark. Between that, the repotting of plants, the shaking of wet dogs and the occasional deer leg or dead animal that is drug through the door for idle chewing, it is actually almost impossible to achieve. (Another good reason it can't be called "The Conservatory".) Since nothing else will do and the sun is very much there when it is shining, I guess it will remain the "Sunroom" for now. Whatever it is called, I love it.

Ice Fishing?

My new official low temperature operating record is 15 degrees! 


(I just don't have the guts or money to test keeping the pump running at lower temperatures.)


Amazing how the goldfish will be alive and swimming when it all thaws out! 

Down and Out

Still feverish and coughing with eye and body aches, C listens to the dramatic audio Narnia series in his Dad's chair. He's got an appointment with our favorite doc tomorrow if he's not much better by morning. Meanwhile S's muscles are healing, but don't make him laugh--it hurts! Oops, sorry about that S!

One Guess Who Got a Haircut this Morning

That was easy.

Caught in the Act

I tried to sneak up on Bella and Gracie while they were playing with the rope this afternoon, but they caught me. All of us big dogs are laying low at home today b/c of illnesses and a skiing accident. We all expect to recover soon; meanwhile the dogs are finding ways to entertain themselves.

Consider it all JOY

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials...

James 1:2                 

     When I came into the kitchen this morning I laughed out loud at this scene. Last night I pulled out and bagged dried beans and peas, and cooked many pounds of meat with onions and spices for K's '3 Month Shopping' stint at the Master's Mission. They have to plan for and live off of one shopping trip for the next 3 months (except for fresh eggs and milk.) It was a lot of shopping last week and I am slightly overwhelmed by the number of pots and pans I need to wash today. Glad that I'll have help! :)

Ready for the Road. Or Not.

K was going to head back to TMM after church, but it would have been very late by the time she got to the mountain and she was beat. So G decided she would leave early in the morning instead. She's got a good Dad. Then she napped for 4 hours!

On the East side

The first day of the year and they're in shirt-sleeves! Not quite 64 degrees like yesterday, but warm enough. G&S making progress on the East (and FINAL!) side of the house. Gotta love pink!