Playing With My Food

Just for fun I decided to play with my food this afternoon. Acorn squash was on the menu. Vegetables are so fascinating. The thought that this delicious squash started as a little seed--just as we do, is beyond comprehension yet is a part of everyday life.

The seeds look like they could be a nice pair of earrings, don't you think?

By the way, I tried roasting the seeds. There is a reason you don't find acorn squash seeds on your grocery shelves. They are edible, but not very good.  

However, supper was a perfect winter time meal. The roasted squash was coated with a little melted butter and maple syrup, the pork chops were brown and a little crusty with their brown rice flour coating and the tossed salad added just the right balance. YUM!

Yesteday I presented a "sermon." At our church, we've been discussing the idea that Stewardship isn't just about money. It's also about taking care of our time & talents, our health, and our relationships with one another as well as Mother Earth. So each week a different person in the congregation presented their ideas on a different aspect of stewardship. I had earth.

Since I am a visual person of course I HAD to present a powerpoint video with slides, statistics, music. I learned quickly that I had a lot to learn. It was frustrating. PowerPoint is easy. Adding music and videos to it at home is easy. Getting it to work on the church's computer wasn't easy.  Did I say it was VERY, VERY frustrating?

But it all worked out. There was a lot of prayer involved in the process, a lot of trust in the process and Sunday morning and again at the evening service, I realized there also was a lot of love in the process.

While preparing my remarks and the PowerPoint, I came across these photos and a map of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It consists of trash that's been dumped by humans and is estimated to be twice the size of Texas.  We can make a difference--you've heard it. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Do you have any great ideas that make a difference in your part of the planet?

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Celebrating Life

We attended a memorial service today. Doris was 91-years-old and had been ready to close her eyes and leave this world for some time. When I took this photo she was in a wheelchair.

I'm always relieved at a service when people get up to share memories and stories. It is a time of shared laughter, a time to celebrate a life well-lived.  On cue today, the stories were backed up with a wonderful assortment of photographs projected onto large screens.  Visually, we were carried through Doris's life as a vivacious dark-haired young woman, a glowing bride, an excited new mother and a grandmother. You could see her gradually age, gain some weight, get grayer and grayer, then lose the weight. It's a cycle even the most beautiful and rich people on earth cannot avoid. We all are part of this circle of life.

The reception after the funeral is when the emotions really flow for me because that is when the love can really flow. People hug and laugh together. Babies are passed around for others to hold. Food is shared. Looking around the room at people moving from table to table, wanting to talk, wanting to reach out--I could feel the love and I felt blessed to be a small part of that.

Thank you Doris--and family. I'm so very grateful that we somehow found each other in this circle of life.

I've always liked this photo but I've never done anything with it. That happens A LOT. I yearn to take my camera for a walk, I go out in various types of weather, come back refreshed, load the photos on to the computer and do nothing with them.

This particular shot was taken at a retreat with some yoga buddies a few years ago. No yoga was involved in the weekend. It was a time to get away and enjoy the company of other women. This photo reminds me of that time and space in my life. I feel the peace of that morning when I look at this photo. I remember getting up, grabbing my camera and heading to the kitchen to catch the light.

I'm at a place now when I want to do something with my photos. I want them to speak to me and share them with others and just see what happens.

Tonight I added the layers of texture and the Bible verse. I thought the verse was appropriate for yesterday's post so I couldn't resist it.

I hope that sometimes you find those peaceful mornings when you can just be.

Reporting to God

My mind thinks up crazy things as I'm falling asleep. Sometimes it's ordinary like, "I forgot to lock the back door."  But many times, I have irrational thoughts that make little sense.  Two nights ago  as I was drifting into sleep I remember thinking, "I wonder what it would be like to report to God like I used to report to a boss?" Where this came from I do not know. I'm involved in a couple of Bible studies which I enjoy. I try to involve God in my daily life, but am forgetful at times.  More about that in future posts.

This thought of reporting to God has followed me around for two now and I'm rather attracted to the idea. I've had all kinds of bosses. One was an alcoholic who was smart when he was sober which wasn't often. Thankfully, he didn't come to work often either and we learned to be independent. Another boss was distant--literally. He worked in another building and I can't remember him ever dropping by my office. You went to him only when necessary. More independence.  In my career I had other bosses and there were times when I was a manager as well. I learned a two big things from those experiences

1. Don't micro manage. People have brains, let them use them. (And although boss and employee have the same goal, they may take different paths to attain it. Let it happen.)

2. Communicate. If you mess up, fess up.  It really is a team effort. If you are humble, the boss is always understanding (although there can be some tension on his/her part.) 

So how does any of this involve reporting to God? I'm not sure. From my understanding, God doesn't micro manage, but he does appreciate communication.  He wants me to understand that he is the boss and I am not. He wants me to share my burdens--tell him where I'm troubled and where I'm grateful. A good manager cares about the whole person, not just the productive side of the equation. I believe that God wants to be involved in it all, but it is up to me to allow that--to give up that independence I wanted so much when I first became a professional.  And when I report to God, it's 24-7.  I like the idea of being on God's team. 

Rainy Days and Mondays

Remember that song--"Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down" by the Carpenters. (Yes I enjoyed the Carpenters!)  I  love rainy days. I love the sounds of rain splashing into  puddles. Rain sounds different depending upon what it hits--leaves, mud or tin roofs. Each sound is unique. Near our screen porch are a dozen large trees and sitting on the porch wrapped in a blanket listening to the water hitting and falling from leaf to leaf is relaxing and meditative. Even after it stops raining, you don't know it because the leaves keep dripping moisture. The sound is surprisingly loud and wonderful.

Our day looked like this photo although I took that photo a few mouths ago in Plymouth Harbor while in England. Don't you love the way nature mutes the colors of that charming village. I bet on a sunny day, the colors from those houses pop.

Nature is a beautiful thing. I love rainy days---as for Mondays, today was a good day. Hope yours was. Happy "Year of the Dragon."   

I remember

Ghosts of Christmas past--

* Snow. My brother and I would walk with our dad on quiet snowy mornings traveling into the piney depths of a nearby forest. Our loyal dog, Cissie, would get snowballs entangled in her hair because her belly dragged through the deep snow.

* more snow - we lived where there was lots of snow every winter. Luckily there also was a big hill made for every kid in the neighborhood and their sled. Cissie was there too and enjoyed riding the sled with us.

* Cookies. As a kid, I loved the Spritz cookie press. Nothing like green food coloring and a few sprinkles of sugar to make you feel like a kid again.

* Feeding the birds - stringing popcorn, orange slices and cranberries to offer as a gift to our woodland friends was something we did with our daughter in our first home one Christmas Eve. The next morning, every morsel was gone.

* Showing off your "stuff" - It was common in our neighborhood, to visit our friends Christmas afternoon prounding wearing a new sweater, coat, etc.

* Lights - remember those large colored bulbs on the live tree? I would turn off all the lights in the room, turn on the music and just stare at the tree.

So many more memories of course. Share some.