It's Like Herding Cats

Apparently I started this - in January 2011 and never published it.  We eventually did end up reading the book and enjoyed it, as well as the snippets of videos by Patsy at the beginning of each class.  Our group of women has increased and we've continued to study books, including the most recent one, Stained Glass Hearts, also by Patsy Clairmont.  We've grown closer to one another and drawn closer to Christ as we've studied and laughed together.

Our Women's Sunday School Class is like herding cats!  And that's my blessing from yesterday.

(Google "herding cats" and watch the video of cowboys herding cats.  This was a commercial for a software company meant to reinforce their ability to pull all the pieces together and make order out of chaos. Being a cat lover, and having tried many times in the past to geta group of people all moving in the same direction, I find this hilarious!) 

Our group started with a dozen who had prepurchased the book Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont and grew the first week to include several more.  We had to drag an extra table into our room.  Like little kids, we played with my friend's collection of kaleidoscopes, and laughed ourselves silly watching a video of Patsy at a Women of Faith Conference a couple years ago.  We had yet to actually STUDY a Proverb, but during the week, several more signed on and we ordered still more books.

Yesterday we had 17 ladies there, with 3 missing - due to illness and snow filled driveways (that driveway is like climbing Mount Everest - I wouldn't drive up or down it until summer if I lived there!) We talked about Proverbs 27:1 - and got a little sidetracked into diversity until one lady gathered us back - just like the cowboys herding the cats.  We spoke of the difference between bragging and boasting, and humility, and ended by talking of planning for tomorrow and what we would take with us into a new day. 

Because we had to drag in still another table to make room for everyone, we've decided to move the class upstairs to a larger space next time.  Hope everyone in the group finds us in our new location!

And the Farmers That Grew It!

We have a friend who ends each table grace with thanksgiving for "the farmers that grew it!"  He's been involved in agriculture since college - probably before that, since that's what he studied in college.  So he's especially aware of what it takes to be a farmer.  Tonight I thought of Terry as I ate my first bowl of lettuce from my garden this year.  In other years I've grown enough spring lettuce that I could hardly give it all away.  Not so the last couple years - just can't seem to get it going.  My Simpson Elite sprouts but won't grow - maybe I need to water a little more carefully?  Perhaps it's been too hot?? I have a single square foot of mixed greens and one of arugula - both are doing well, and I harvested enough tonight for two bowls.  Mmmmm!  The spicy taste of arugula and the peppery mustard greens -  Delicious!  Sorry, Wegmans - your produce department just can't compare!

So I'm saying a prayer of thanksgiving for farmers, knowing that if I relied on myself to FEED myself, I'd quickly grow hungry!  (Or more serious about gardening!) The Auburn Farmer's Market opens this Saturday and I hope to be one of the early customers.  Will there be lettuce for sale?  (My little bed of mixed greens isn't going to fully satisfy my desire for salads.) What about spinach or garlic scapes - a new culinary discovery from last year!

I thank God for the farmers that grow our food!

Warm Toes, Warm Tushie

As the fall days alternate between periods of summer like temperatures, and decidedly cooler temps, I am enjoying two recent indulgences.

The first is my heated bathroom floor.  Installed last winter, we turned it off in the spring, rather enjoying the cool tile on our feet duirng the hot summer.  Paul turned the thermostat back up in September - which seemed a little early to me (our heat hasn't even been on yet this year.)  But one morning, I stepped on the bathroom floor with my bare feet, and noticed it was warm.  Aaahh!  How nice!  My brother, who did  most of the work for us, was the one who suggestd the heated floor.  Only when I felt a sample heated tile at the home improvement store did I fully realize how nice it would be.  Caryl said that sadly, we would probably take that warmth for granted after a while.  The bathroom remodeling job was much needed, and we did it right - excellent quality cabinets, lots of new plumbing, everything matching towels and bathmats.  As I worried a bit about the cost, Paul pointed out we were only going to do it once - and it hadn't been done since before we bought the house nearly 30 years ago. Time for a makeover. 

Shortly after the bathroom was finished, I had the trusty old green 1998 Subaru inspected.  Our mechanic solemnly told me, when I picked it up, "It's good for now, but it won't pass inspection another year - the frame is showing some real signs of rust.  So we knew the time had come to start thinking about a new car - or at least a new to us new car.  We finally got around to it in the summer.

In August we picked up a spiffy looking white Subaru - ten years newer than the old one - a 2008.  A lot has changed in ten plus years of cars - starting with an electronic key to open the doors.  I have power windows instead of crank windows.  I had to exchange my old cassettes for CD's, and instead of using a lever to move my car seat forward, it's all electric.  (Actually that's a nuisance - it takes LONGER to use the electric button than it did the old lever!)  But the most indulgent thing of all is the heated seats in the front.  And I've turned mine on a couple times already.  No need to heat the entire car - in fact it won't warm up between my house and the parking lot at work since I live so close.  But that little switch turns on the warmth to my tushie in just a few seconds. 

Now that's a blessing - warm toes in the morning, and a warm tushie in my car. 
And I'm still not taking either one for granted.

Book Review: Praying in the Messiness of Life, by Linda Douty

The title was appealing. Whose life doesn’t seem messy at times? Following a transformative experience at a Walk to Emmaus retreat years ago, I found myself wanting to pray and study more regularly and more effectively than I previously had. I struggled to find ways to do that in the midst of a busy life, and having now discovered Douty’s book, wish it had been available to me then.

I immediately identified with Douty, admiring her honesty in admitting she at first just tried harder, to reach the closeness with God that she sought. She asks, “How can I open myself to growth in this crazy, busy life? What can I actually do, rather than constantly wishing it would change?” Her book explores a variety of approaches to prayer that are extraordinarily accessible, and practical, and really make a difference.

For example, I recently needed to walk a short distance from one building on the campus of my workplace to another. Instead of just walking along, anticipating the upcoming staff meeting, I deliberately prayed a version of Douty’s syncopated steps from the chapter on Praying with the Body. With each step, I prayed, “Fa-ther, Son and Ho-ly Ghost. Fa-ther Son and Holy Ghost.” When I found myself distracted a couple times, I let it go and returned to my prayer. What an invigorating walk that turned out to be! My attitude at the meeting and through the rest of my day was far different than it otherwise would have been. Such a simple approach to prayer, and it fit right in to the busyness of my day.

Douty’s presentation of dozens of simple approaches to prayer will help any believer draw nearer to God, in a relationship that becomes more and more in depth as it becomes more and more a part of every moment of one’s busy life.

I received this book free from Upper Room Books as part of their Book Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Blink and You'll Miss It!

Last evening Paul pointed out the two robins hopping around the neighbor's yard - they seemed a little confused by the patch of lingering snow.  But I was glad to finally see the birds whose song I've been hearing the last week or so.

I intended to get out this week and snap a picture of the snowdrops poking out of the snow - but by the time I actually went out with the camera, the snow was gone, and all that was left were the snowdrops. Nestled up against the house, they often bloom through a bit of snow or ice; the first indicator of spring.  The resiliency of nature.

And then this morning, it had snowed again.  So I could go back out and get another picture.  But I probably won't.

Such is spring in central New York - winter one minute, spring the next, with an occassional blast of summer thrown in just to keep you on your toes. 

Green Tomato Pickles

If you can't give them away, and they don't ripen, and you've eaten all the fried green tomatoes you care to, what else is there to do but pickle the green tomatoes?

So I Googled 'pickled green tomatoes' and made a jar based on the following recipe.  Similar to the refrigerator dill pickles I've made for several years, these were easy and surprisingly tasty.  And they don't have that green tomato taste that I really don't care for!  They just taste like - pickles!

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
2 pounds green tomatoes, about 4 or 5, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno chile, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dill seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon canning salt

2 wide-mouth pint jars or 1 wide mouth quart jar, sterilized

Evenly distribute the sliced green tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, cumin seeds, peppercorns, celery seed, dill seed and garlic in jars. In a saucepan, bring to a boil, the vinegar, water and salt. Pour the boiling vinegar mixture into the jars leaving a bit of headspace. Cover with lid and fasten with rings. Allow to cool and refrigerate. They will be ready after 4 hours and will last for 1 month in the refrigerator.

Alternatively, you can place the covered jars in a canning pot or stockpot, cover the jars with water, bring to a boil and then cook on high for 10 minutes. Remove the jars with tongs and then allow to cool. These jars will not require refrigeration until after opening.

After the success of the first jar, I decided to can some for more long term preservation.  A successful venture, except that the half pint jars really only used one small tomato each - not much help in the quest to deal with the bounty.  Many of the others have actually ripened, so I made still another batch of tomato sauce for the freezer last weekend.  A few tomatoes succumbed to decay and were tossed into the compost bucket.  We're down to one tray of green tomatoes. I'm almost finished with the garden for this season - ready to turn to the blessing of indoor domestic pursuits for the cold weather. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

They’re not my favorite vegetable, but when you have three large trays full of green tomatoes, picked in fear of a frost, and it’s the end of the season, and you hate to waste the food you’ve so carefully grown, you consider them a blessing. I posted a note about the green veggies on Facebook and one coworker offered to take some off my hands – once I took some to her, a couple others wanted some too. Then I really went to town on the vines, pulling them down off the fence to discard for the winter, and found another large bowl full. So I pretty much still have three trays of green tomatoes even though I made my brother take some too.

My hope is that many of them will ripen, and that the coworkers might want a few more (bags). The rest will likely end up in the compost pile. It’s been a good year for tomatoes I guess – my six plants grew well over my head – I needed to use a step ladder to tie them up to the fence and then reversed the process when I cleaned things up on Saturday. I wish I could remember what variety they were as they were so productive – somehow in my gardening efforts of spring I failed to either hang onto the tag or record the genus and species!

I have some strong memories of helping Mom can tomatoes grown in the backyard on Standart Avenue. Apparently, there used to be chickens back there, and the garden was quite productive. I was frequently sentenced, or so it seemed at the time, to weed a row or two of green beans. One of my all time favorite vegetables, I remember taking the colander out to pick the beans, or cut Swiss Chard for dinner. At the end of summer, the extra tomatoes lined the glassed in back porch, ripening on the windowsills. We dipped the tomatoes into hot water and then plunged them into cold water to get the skins to loosen – we felt really fortunate to have a garbage disposal, as that made the slippery, messy job of cleaning up so much easier.  There's nothing more satisfying than hearing the jar lids seal after boiling them in the canner.

My Dad read my Facebook posting (I still find it hard to believe he friended me - but he’s always been a somewhat early adopter of all things technological) and responded with the following about green tomatoes:

As a child; Don’t you remember having fried green ‘maters at home?

Dipped in egg, flour, salt and pepper, fried in hot grease until golden brown – favorite of your Grandfather Peck and mine.

On Grant Ave; We had some how gotten a whole bunch of green tomatoes at the end of the season. We wrapped individual tomatoes in newspaper and put them up in the attic and they ripened…. Didn’t taste like fresh but we enjoyed for quite a long time.

I imagine the tomatoes ripening in the attic on Grant Ave. were a great blessing to my folks at the time. We had only recently moved here and they were on a strict enough budget that we didn’t have a telephone, relying on the pay phone down at the corner, or the landlord’s phone for important incoming calls. Our family lived on a policy of “Eat what’s on your plate,” and Dad was known to say, more than a few times, “It’s not what you like in this world that makes you fat, it’s what you get.” A pragmatic approach to food and life.

Guess I’ll go fry some more green tomatoes - yesterday's blessing, and tomorrow's and the next day's!