Friday Five: Changes

Martha Spong brings today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

For this Friday Five, please answer these five questions about change.

1) Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and seen yourself with surprise? Why?
Partly, it is for being 61 years old and that's a shock. Mostly, it is because I have white hair that has turned curly on top due to meds I take for RA.

This reminds me of my mother telling me in her 70's that it was always a shock to see herself in the mirror, because she didn't think of herself as being this old. I can totally identify with those words now.


2) Have you ever witnessed a change in routine at church that upset people? (Hahahahaha!!!! I know you have!)
Change in times of the service. In fact, this Sunday features one of those changes, as on the fifth Sunday we have one service (instead of three) at 10 am. In other cases, some people get upset at the slightest rewording of a prayer.


3) Have you ever been surprised or inconvenienced by a change in a public setting (not church)?
All the road construction that keeps occurring on various busy intersections in Corpus Christi are very annoying, because left turns are not allowed and there is only one lane for traffic instead of two each way. It is infuriating when someone stops and signals for a left turn when there are multiple signs indicating it is not permitted and there is a long line of vehicles behind him/her.
 
4) Has the passage of time changed your understanding of something you used to think you knew for sure?
Mary Beth helped me out in recalling the change of spaces after a period in writing. I learned that from my eldest daughter AE, though sometimes husband Chuck will argue with me about it.

5) Is there something you're trying to change, or want to change, in your life right now?
Always. So often it seems to be the same issue, like the layers of an onion resurfacing what I thought I'd already learned. . . .


Taking piano lessons is teaching me that I try to rush through something to get it over with, while I need to do the opposite--going slowly brings more attention to how I am doing it! One time my piano teacher told me to hit the key only after she pointed to the note, and I found it so hard not to jump ahead to the other notes. Trusting the process is so hard; I want to control it.

This makes sense to me

"There was no 'before' the beginning of our universe, because once upon a time there was no time."

-- John D. Barrow

(My "best" thought for the day. . . .)

The best soup!

Gypsy Soup

About 45 minutes to prepare: a delicately spiced Spanish-style vegetable soup.

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

(I used a 28 oz. can of petite-diced tomatoes, drained)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 medium cloves garlic, crushed

1 stalk celery, minced

2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp milk paprika

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. basil

dash of cinnamon

dash of cayenne

1 bay leaf

3 cups water

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas

(I used 1 can of drained chickpeas)

1. (Optional) Heat a medium sized saucepanful of water to boiling Core the tomatoes, and plunge them into the boiling water for a slow count of 10. Remove the tomatoes, and peel them over a sink. Cut them open; squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, pepper, and sweet potato (I also added two diced carrots) and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and sauté 5 minutes more. Add seasonings and water, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.

3. Add tomato pulp and chickpeas (and I added frozen green peas). Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until all the vegetables are as tender as you like them. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve.

**The vegetables in this soup can be varied. Any orange vegetable can be combined with any green. For example, peas or green beans could replace—or augment—the peppers. Carrots, pumpkin, or squash could fill in for the sweet potatoes. Innovate!

Mollie Katzen’s Recipes: Soups. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2007. 10-11.

Today's BEST

The best thing about today is our new puppy Maisie. She is sweet and energetic (and chewy) all at the same time. We love her, though Baillie (13 year old cocker) and Cisco (5 year old mixed breed) could do without her, but at least they tolerate her.

January NaBloPoMo postings of BESTs

Well, since I've posted every day in January so far, I thought I might as well commit to posting every day for the rest of the month. That may only be difficult when CB and I go to the January conference in Albuquerque of "Following the Mystics" with Richard Rohr, James Finley, and Cynthia Bourgeault speaking, but I'll try to stay committed.

I still cannot believe that CB agreed to attend the talks with me. The last time he came with me, he would not pay or go to any of the lectures on the enneagram. So that is one of the BEST things that is happening: the Richard Rohr conference with CB!

Of course, one of the other BEST things is Maisie, the new (lost and found) puppy!