Tag Archives: live

Photo stories

Color story | March | Daffodil

1 April 2011 – 8:30 am

Jules, of Pancakes and French Fries, hosts a monthly color story series.  Each month, you see, she recaps the month before with a series of photos, each woven together with a theme of color.  She’s inviting us to join the fun.  You can find the details here. As you see, ‘daffodil’ popped up for March; ‘grass’ colors April.

If practical jokes are suppose to be reserved for the first of April, then the joke’s on me. The whole month of March was a bit off kilter. Everything I put my hand to seemed to fail, fall apart, or impart some sort of injury upon my person. By the time I reached last Friday, the metal shower ring falling upon my head was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I stomped my foot and yelled to the heavens, “Is this funny to you?!”

Thankfully, He didn’t respond.  God is gracious like that.

In some ways, this little project kept me {somewhat} sane. You see, I’m nothing if not stubborn. I started this series, by George, I’m going to finish it … No matter that I didn’t feel like it. So out I set, camera in hand.

Funny thing—when you take the time to actually look, you just might find something you’ve never seen before …

And if there’s one thing March did, it made us look. It made us take a good hard look at our lives—our blessings and our sufferings, our insufficiency and our solidarity. Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, reminded us that try as we might, we simply cannot be prepared for everything. There are things that come out of the blue with such force, we can’t imagine how we’ll ever catch our breath. It’s also those things that teach us the only way to survive, is with the help of each other …

Even the weather seemed to reflect the uncertainty of the world around us. The skies darkened, the wind whipped, and the rain poured. Just when it seemed grey was the new blue, the sun came out for a visit…

The Forsythia bloomed bright and full of cheer…

Other early bloomers joined suit …

There were even blooms in the most unexpected of places…

God’s sweet reminder that there is a time for everything under the sun: a time to weep, and a time to laugh…

Happy April, my friends!

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Miscellany

Food for thought

22 March 2011 – 8:34 am

A commute that consists of shuffling from one room to another, a uniform of jeans and a sweatshirt–these are but a few perks of being a freelance copywriter.  Writing for myriad companies and organizations allows me to meet great people, learn interesting tidbits, try new things–and eat.

That’s right.  Last week I wrangled another copywriting friend, and we headed to Baan Thai …

As snow fell like feathers outside, we sat with steaming cups of Jasmin tea, and sampled plate after plate of Thai food …

Oh, the flavors!  Coconut milk and lemongrass, chili paste and house lime dressing.  If you live nearby, and you haven’t paid visit, you simply must. It’s like nothing I’ve tasted before–a fact we mentioned, when sitting down with the chef and her interpretors.  And that’s when the fun really began.  The two of us sat listening to the three of them talk of their homeland. They talked of a seasoned minced pork dish with fried egg and Thai basil, how it’s a staple–”much like Americans and their hamburgers.”   They talked of the richness of the Tamarind fruit–and how the taste differs as the fruit matures. They talked of the importance of Kaffir lime leaves and how many Thai restaurants in America are tempted to leave them out because of their high cost.  But Thai food is dependent on the melding of all the flavors.

At one point, one  ladled the thin rice noodles from a rustic clay pot …

“So many noodles,” she said, shaking her head, “there would never be this many noodles in Thailand.” In Thailand,  you see, it’s the broth.  People will spend days on a good broth … restaurants are known for their broth.  Many of us tend not to understand.  ”Here,” she said, “it’s always the broth that is left … I want to tell them, ‘you left the best part’!”

There are a lot of reasons, I’m sure:  we like hearty meals, we’re afraid we’ll fill up before the entrée arrives, broth is associated with illness, we’re too busy to bother.  But I dare say, it would behoove us to get past our aversion.

At the very least, the next time we’re at an authentic Thai restaurant, let’s make a point to take the time … to appreciate the flavors … to sip the broth down to the very last drop.  Then we will experience the cuisine as it was meant–the work that went into the preparation will not be in vain–and we’ll be all the richer for the experience.

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Life of greatness

In the footstep of children

7 March 2011 – 9:57 am

image-preview

On a typical Sunday morning, after worship and the sermon, the people of our wee congregation tend to do their thing and, you know, congregate.  Unlike days of old where you attended Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, and—on good weeks—revival meeting Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings … we have but one day a week to see one another and catch up.  It takes time, don’t you know.

But not yesterday.  Yesterday was an exodus like none other.  After all, we had to make it downstairs for Hannah and Sasha’s Super Sale, where, as Hannah so aptly put it, “People [were] going crazy!”

Could you blame us?  There was handmade jewelry, flower magnets, notecards—there was a raffle—there were chocolate chip cookies and pies.  Oh, the pies!  You know that wedding banquet of which the Bible speaks? That pie is bound to be on the menu.  Pretty sure.

It was a grand time—and all because one Little Miss got together with another Little Miss, and decided they wanted to raise money for those in need.  If it weren’t for them, us adults would have done as we do each week.  We would have chatted a bit—then promptly took our quarters and dollar bills home.  After all, what good could chump change do?

I dare say, we’ll never find out if we don’t have the faith of a child.

You see, sometimes the smallest shoes make the biggest prints … sometimes breaking bread comes in the form of chatter over a slice of chocolate cream pie … sometimes all we have to give is a pittance and sometimes that’s more than enough.

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My life

Keepin’ on

1 October 2010 – 8:49 am

 

And a happy October to you!  Only three months remain of the year … three months to accomplish all we had planned for 2010. 

As for me, I keep plugging way. 

I keep working on things like getting in shape.  I’ve wandered here and there, strayed the course.  I’ve fallen off of and been run over by the bangwagon a few times.  But by george I keep going!   

This includes walking three times a week. 

I’m still not loving it. 

And there’s a lot not to love.  I have to cut my morning routine short.  I have to get dressed before a shower.  Since falling through the deck, everything seems to hurt.  We also walk the concrete jungle–so once we emerge from the neighborhood, there’s not a whole lot of beauty.  There’s a spot that smells of decay nearly every day.  I kid you not.  One day it was so strong I nearly gagged.  Animals?  Bodies?  I don’t even want to know.  People stare as we walk  up and down the hill.  It’s unnerving.  We saw a hachet in the middle of the road one morning.  Disposing of evidence?  We’ll never know …

But I’ve come to discover, there’s a lot to love too.  The sun is one of my favorites.  It dances through a hilltop of grain as it comes up, making it appear as waves of gold.  We can’t actually see the sun, mind you,  for most of the walk.  It simply hovers below the foothills–until, suddenly, without warning, it bursts through the trees in a great flash of light!  The sun, I’ve discovered, is a playful sort.

There’s also the people.  People out in the mornings seem friendlier–must be all those endorphins.  There’s the woman who jogs by, manages a smile, and hufts “Good morning!”  … the little boy on crosswalk patrol who saw a car behind us–so he walked into the crosswalk with his stop sign to make sure we had room to pass.  One morning we saw an elderly gentleman, out walking his frisky terrier.  We stopped, said our hellos, gave the pup some pets.  And as we prepared to go our seperate ways, he said, “Happy Trails!” 

It made me smile. 

It also reminded me that yes, there are a lot of rough patches on this journey–a lot we just plain don’t like.  But there’s a lot of good too.  You just have to keep going.  When the road gets dark and disconcerting, you think maybe you should turn back, that’s the time you need to put on your brave face and trudge through–for if you do, it’s only a matter of time before the sun pokes through.   

So to those of you trying to be in better health … those of you trying to kick a bad habit … those of you starting a new venture … those of who have faced a year of sadness and uncertainty … take heart, my friends, and …

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Miscellany

Treasures

20 September 2010 – 9:20 am

{handsome little fellows}

Did you have a fabulous weekend?

I did.  It was full of treasure–cakes to bake, parties to attend, food to eat, conversations to be had, laughter to laugh … you know, that sort of thing. 

Saturday a friend of the family invited my mom and I to the estate sale of her “parents.”  It didn’t take me long to realize the lady of the house was a kindred spirit.  Her house was bright and cheery; her belongings proof she loved sharing her home.  If I didn’t have to save money for such silly things as bills, I could have gone hog-wild–beautiful silver pitchers, platters, and bowls … covered ceramic bakers … around every corner I would GASP! – point – and sigh. 

You know, estate sales can be a tad melancholy.  After all, it’s someone’s life, up for sale.  But in this instance I had but to look around to see the former owners had truly lived while alive.   

And I have a sneaking suspicion their spirit will live on in a little silver cream & sugar set … ready for more family dinners, more teas for friends.   Sure, the faces may change, but the love, laughter and memories will be much the same!

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