Silly Introvert

Friday Five: Spring!

From Sandra Boynton's FB page

Today's Friday Five of RevGalBlogPals:

I always think that daffodils are harbingers of spring, which arrives today. Although they do not grow here in south Texas,  I was able to see them blooming this past weekend in Washington State.

For today’s Friday Five, write about five signs of spring that you look for each year and most especially this year.

While in Seattle this past week, I took pics of spring bloomings that I do not see in TX:

1. Daffodils

 2. Tulips

3. Flowering trees

downtown Seattle near Seneca and First Ave.

4. First greening of mesquite trees (in TX)--hasn't quite happened yet.

Our mesquite tree last March 28, 2014

5. Wildflowers in TX, especially after a rainy winter and spring, like this year.

Facing One's Mortality

 Our last day in Bellingham, Washington, I wanted to look at the spots where my parents' ashes were placed after their deaths in 1992 and 2002. I also remembered that Green Acres is a place that has beautiful flowers, so I was hoping to see daffodils, which I did.

Last year Chuck and I decided to buy a plot near them.

We were surprised to see that our marker is already there! It made us pause in silence as we gazed at our names, indicating "the end."

 Since both my parents and maternal grandparents are here, this seemed like more of a central location than anywhere else that we know of.

My mother's parents, whom I knew as Grandpa and Nana. They were George and Anne.

My parents. Their families knew them as Rudy and Faith (their middle names), but friends called them Dave and Margaret.

For daughter AE's birthday last week, I posted this picture on Facebook. I haven't looked at it for a long time, and it amazed me to see how young and thin Chuck and I were 33 years ago!

DC, Chuck, AE, and Jan 1982

Prays Well With Others

I post this on Facebook a few days ago. When I encountered a friend I rarely see, the father of one of my oldest child's friends, he called me a "heretic" for posting this. He walked away when another friend I said God is bigger than the names we give Him.

Say not, "I have found the one true path of the Spirit!"

Say rather, "I have wonderfully met the Spirit walking on my path."

For the spirit walks upon all paths.

~Kahlil Gibran

(Richard Rohr adapted this from Kahil Gibran, The Prophet (New York: Alfred a Knopf, 1923), p. 55 in Rohr's book Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi.)

Flowers in Seattle

On walks with my friend Terry, I saw lovely flowers in yards. I miss seeing daffodils popping up in TX.










That was when it wasn't raining yesterday afternoon. Today there is heavy rain. Still it is beautiful!

Returning to Friday (Five) the 13th in MARCH!!

Almost three months since I last blogged, I am going to participate in today's RevGalBlogPals' Friday Five before going on a short (6 days) trip to Washington State. So here it is:

Woo hoo!  It’s not only Random Friday Five time, but it is also Friday the 13th.  And also Lent.  And, in my neighborhood, the snow is starting to melt and I can see a patch of grass in my front yard.  Oh my,  what could be more wonderful?  (Okay, a lot of things, I know.  At least little things make me happy.)
So, without further ado, I present you F13RFF!

1.  What have you got going on today?
In two hours, Chuck and I are driving to San Antonio to go on a direct flight on Alaska Airlines to Seattle. We'll get there tonight, thankfully met by our daughter AE. We planned this quick trip during Chuck's spring break from teaching chemistry at the local community college, so we could visit his younger brother Tom and wife Chris, who is under hospice care for rampant breast cancer.

2.  What about a prayer request, how can we pray for you today?
Please prayer for Chris and Tom, but now I also add Dennis and Terry. Terry texted me yesterday about her husband Dennis going back into the hospital with a severe infection, probably due to sores on his feet which brought sepsis to his artificial knee. This is what he went through last year, too. Today he will have surgery where they might even replace his knee replacement. I am glad we'll arrive tonight.
 
3.  What makes you curious?
Right now I am very curious about the changes in U.S. culture in all aspects as related by Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, which is a book I continue to cite in classes and to friends. His latest book was just published and addresses what is affecting our children in Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis and I am reading it now. It connects in places with the new book for the Wisdom Class: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, even though the authors are focusing on different viewpoints
of U.S. society.

4.  If you got stuck in an elevator for three hours, (if that is too scary, locked in a room or stuck in a traffic jam), and could magically have any book or activity appear in a pouf to you to while away the time, what would it be?
 I guess I would like my smart phone or Ipad to magically appear, because I could contact people, see the news, and access a book! Otherwise, I would probably pray--a "good" chance to do contemplative prayer.

5.  Use these words in a sentence.   Thirteen, lampshade, [a historical person, like Cotton Mather or Judy Garland} basket, hedgehog, and daffodils.
Saint Francis watched a hedgehog sniff the basket of thirteen daffodils, while the lampshade was non-existent.

 As always, have fun, be fabulous, and let us know you played in the comments, and take care!

STOP Rushing!

As I rush to take Chuck to physical therapy and then drive to San Antonio to meet MJ and her boy friend flying in from Salt Lake City, this reminder is very good for me:

It is also a good word for Advent!

Lean Into the Darkness

Advent Longing

In the darkness of the season, in the silence of Mary’s womb,

          new life waits and grows.

          Hope is shaped in hidden places,

          on the edges, in the depths

          far from the blinding lights and deafening sounds of consumer frenzy.

In the darkness and silence of my own life,

          I wait,

          listening for the whisper of angel wings,

          longing for a genuine experience of mystery,

          hoping for a rekindling of joy and the establishment of peace.

I lean into the darkness

         and silence.

         Expectant.

                                                            ~Larry J. Peacock

I need to remember to TARRY!

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. . . . What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God's (back) fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

~~Jan L. Richardson

Mea Culpa!

Despite committing to blog two weeks ago, I did not come through. Helping Chuck get ready for his knee replacement surgery plus Christmas preparations kept me busy the first week. Then one week ago today, Chuck's right knee was replaced by an excellent orthopedic surgeon and his staff. So this week has been even busier than the first one!

Although not true, I have been feeling overwhelmed by all there is to do. In fact, I cried and fell apart last Thursday when Chuck was released from the hospital. Getting him home, out of the car and into the house, I forgot that the car had been parked by the back door for easiest entry for him. However that meant the gate was NOT closed, and forgetting that, I let the dogs out--who streaked off.

Cisco, the older German Shepherd mix, came back when called, but crazy Maisie (Lab and hound mix) had disappeared. She does this at any opportunity and that's when my tears let forth. . . .as I went off to drive the neighborhood, trying to spot Maisie.

Somehow Chuck felt sorry for me in his own pain and called me up to tell me to come home. After I did, someone called to say they had found Maisie and would walk her home. Even though Maisie bolted again, this kind young woman ran her down and brought her back. People are so good.

I have not noticed Advent as much as usual, with Chuck's surgery. He had some rough days at the beginning, but has been doing better since the weekend. His mobility is increasing, and he has cut his pain meds way back.

I still have to drive him places, because his right knee was replaced. We've heard stories that it will take a month before he is able to lift his foot and leg quickly enough to drive. Only three more weeks! But it's easy to take him around, especially because he is so cheerful.

Center Oneself

From Shalem on Facebook

Our Granddaughters

Avery and Emma

Thanks to our son and these girls' daddy DC, here is a picture of our beloved granddaughters in Austin this past weekend. I am glad that they will spend Christmas with us!

Advent Is A Time of Creation

"In the beginning, the Spirit brooded over the face of the waters and God spoke and there was Light. Likewise, in the fullness of time, an angel announced to Mary and the same creative Spirit visited her and she conceived the Son of God. This Advent, our Advent, is equally a time of creation. God's same Spirit abides in us--brooding over our waters--shaping and forming us, being formed and shaped by us. We are God's creative works in process. God alone knows what we shall become. What might God have in store in the fullness of our time? In the beginning, God created Light. In Mary, God became flesh. What will God become in us this Advent? Is there room in us for God's seed to take root and grow? God has visited us with grace and favor. Are we ready to become Light?"

~~by Thomas Hoffman

Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent!

Some years ago, a friend gave me this Advent poster that has been taped on the inside of my pantry door ever since then. Every Advent, I look at it again, even though the suggestions could be used daily!

AND this year I finally ordered some of these from Forward Movement. If you want one, it is entitled "2014 Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent." The cost is $12 for 25 copies.

Sorry I am so late with this thought--or at least in sharing it.

Below you'll see what suggestions are given for the first three days of Advent.


And here's how it looks:

And in Texas. . . .

I am sad at all the weather problems in the north, but here in TX about the only snowmen we ever get are these:

from Facebook

Ha-Ha to the Dogs!

Window open

Window closed

Our cat likes to taunt our dogs from the safety of the kitchen. She was officially named "Gracie" by youngest daughter MJ, but she's known as "Kitty" these days.

Visitors!

Daughters AE and KA came to see us on a brief trip from Seattle to Texas. They spent Friday night with us and Saturday night in Austin with their nieces Avery and Emma (and their parents).

Daughter-in-law KA and Emma in Austin

For Emma's first birthday, her parents gave her a matching chair (purple) to her older sister's Avery's pink chair. Even at 1 year old, Emma already prefers her older sister's chair--sibling rivalry!

Congenial idol?

We are your people and mostly we don’t mind,

          except that you do not fit any of our categories.

We keep pushing

                    and pulling

                    and twisting

                    and turning,

          trying to make you fit the God we would rather have,

                    and every time we distort you that way

                              we end up with an idol more congenial to us.

In our more honest moments of grief and pain

          we are very glad that you are who you are,

          and that you are toward us in all your freedom

          what you have been toward us.

So be your faithful self

          and by your very engagement in the suffering of the world,

          transform the world even as you are being changed.

We pray in the name of Jesus,

          who is the sign of your suffering love. Amen.

(In anticipation of reading Jeremiah 4-6/2000)

Brueggemann, Walter. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. 147.

Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

Now that it is fall, I feel like I can make soups again. I love to make soups!

This is Jan’s adaptation to the original recipe of Carrot and Ginger Soup in The New England Soup Factory Cookbook (171). The ingredients in parenthesis are the original components, which I did not use.

3 Tbsp. butter

2 whole cloves garlic, peeled

1 onion, peeled and diced

3 ribs celery sliced (2 ribs)

3 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced

3 Tbsp. peeled and chopped fresh ginger

4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken)

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. cumin  (1 tsp. ginger)

½ cup honey

2 cans coconut milk (1 ½ cups heavy cream)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and gingerroot. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and simmer until the carrots are soft and tender, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the spices and honey. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or working in batches with a regular blender until smooth.

Add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Stir (and maybe warm) until the ingredients are well combined.

Makes 8-10 servings.

From this highly recommended cookbook:

Druker, Marjorie and Silverstein, Clara. New England Soup Factory Cookbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. 171.