Great Depression Cooking with Clara

I love watching and listening to Clara. If only all Grandmas could be captured for all generations like this.

1sts of Spring

I mentioned last year about our Firsts of Spring charts I used to always recreate every year. It's so ingrained that we all have eyes to see, without a chart. Sitting here, I just heard a flicker bird drumming his beak on our stove pipe. That's always a 'first' I look for - it's a mating thing.

I just walked around outside with my cup of breakfast tea looking for garden firsts. I'm seeing an inch of bulb greenery starting to poke through. No Glory of Snow, chionodoxa, in the grass yet. Yes, in the grass. I posted last fall about aerating my grass - I did it with a hand drill!! dropping the little bulbs in the holes (I had posted it on Facebook and my son Travis responded, "I hope you're not going to start cutting your grass with scissors!")

I had read about putting those flower bulbs in the grass, then there'd be a carpet of purple-blue first thing in the spring, and die back by the time to mow. I can't wait!

I need to walk around in the meadow and see if any wild crocus, pasque flowers, are up yet. That's another first. What else do we look for? The first robin and bluebird. In May the hummingbirds come and I love hearing them all summer, looking for the fiesty Rufous to show up early July. Hummingbirds leave Laborday weekend. We look for Aspen tree catkins, coming before the leaves. The kids would often run to me saying, "I smelled the first stink bug!"

Have you cleaned out your birdhouses? I told you to last month. Little bugs in old nests can kill this year's babies. We look for cow birds each spring, and the boys had permission to shoot them. I know that's not politically correct, but they are parasites (Audubon says, "promiscuous" - no pairing). They lay eggs in other bird nests and because their babies are bigger, growing faster, they starve out the other babies. Luckily we only have a couple that come around, my hope is, if the birdhouse hole size is specific to the bird, they usually can't get in. I do like their gurgling notes. Travis and me, and then Dawson and me, made lots of our birdhouses over the years.

Spring? I know it's not spring yet. I heard that Denver usually gets around 45" of snow each year, but only 18" this year. We are so dry, but we're probably not done yet. Unfortunately we often get dumped on in March - April (like 3 feet! Spring dumps melt fast, but not that one Christmas dump!). As the garden wise-guys I listen to on the radio have been saying, "don't let this beautiful spring-like weather we've been having fool you!" But with the warm weather predicted this week, I will go out and water again.

Monte and me already got a load of manure, the rancher filling both our trailer and the back of the pickup. That's the earliest we've ever gotten it. But with the nice weather ... and when I start needing it, we usually have snow and the ground around the manure pile is so mucky. So now we're prepared!

Dawson took the picture of my statue with snow on the back table in January when I was in Texas.

Smiling Will

Heather sent me another picture of Will. I need to call her. I haven't cuz I've been so sick with the flu since it hit hard last Wednesday night. My fever stopped Sunday night and today is the first day my body's not aching and not minding the feel of clothes. But my voice is weak, sometimes giving out, and I try not to cough, as much as I'm able. Still wondering if I should keep my dental appointment Thursday ...

The last time I was this sick was when the Denver Broncos went to the Supper Bowl. I can't tell you when cuz sports isn't my thing and I don't hold those things in my brain. We had gone to a friend's house cuz we don't have a TV (no reception, cable or satellite)(only watch movies). I sat in the background knitting and coughing. Because I didn't slow down enough then, it went into a secondary infection, and I don't want that to happen this time.

Now if we had TV, all this sick time I could have watched the Food Network, History or Discovery Channel ... But instead, I've gone thru all the library books I had on Cottage/Kitchen Gardens, dreaming, and ordered my fruiting plants and veggie seeds. I also have been researching tapestry online and reading the books I have.

What I didn't tell you, is that when I was in Texas with Heather, Monte drove down past the heart of Denver on Supper Bowl Sunday and picked up my large tapestry loom I bought from craigslist the day after Thanksgiving, having sold my large Swedish Glimakra loom (I'm going to miss that loom for it's beauty, but I still have a smaller 8-harness one).

I'm the one who found out what my secondary infection was that last time. I have a history with illnesses (and our doctor's often call Monte "Doctor Monte", he's so analytical). They had done the typical-to-today swab of the throat with the quick strep test. I told them to also swab a petri dish and watch it. It wasn't until a week later that it showed up as positive!

I had strep a lot as a kid. If it wasn't for my Homeopathic Grandma making me continuously eat yogurt, my body would really be messed up today. Since antibiotics kill the good with the bad bacteria, yogurt helps us with the needed good bacteria the strengthens our system. My homemade yogurt is my favorite! I love eating it just plain.

In high school, because of strep, mono, and valley fever (a desert disease), antibiotics helped me graduate. But I couldn't have PE classes for two of my years - oh bummer - sure, remember me, the non-sport, hate exercise person?! But I had to take up the gap with something: so more hands-on classes! Since I already was taking my favorite art class, which I took every year, I took photography - roaming the campus with cameras and learning to work in the dark room; I took woodshop, and printing - learning movable type, block printing, etc.

Oh ... once Monte kissed me, I never had strep again except that one Supper Bowl year. Now what does that mean?!

Purim

Purim is a Jewish Festival and it began last night. Purim celebrates victory over enemies, like the redeemer in Esther. Mordecai self-sacrificed himself in raising and teaching Esther - passing on the Torah by educating the children. Purim's lesson is to not lose hope and continue to teach the generations.

In the story of Esther lots were cast ("pur" in Persian) and a day was chosen for the annihilation of the Jews. Persian law could not be changed, but the people were allowed to defend themselves - yet only because of Esther's intervention. She was called, and she obeyed, saying, "If I perish, I perish".

Purim is a carnival celebration full of hilarity. It's celebrated with costumes and the story of Esther is either read or dramatized. Every time the name 'Haman' is said, everyone noisily stomps their feet, hissing and booing. Lots of cheering with Mordecai's name.

It celebrates survival, asking the question, "How do we live with people who hate us?"

Some years I make Hamantaschen (Haman's pockets) cookies. Sweet dough is rolled and cut in circles. A filling is added in the center and the edges are folded over to make three corners. The filling is either a poppy seed filling or fruit (often prune, but any jam can be used).

Some years Purim and Good Friday fall together and my first thought is, "Oh great, such opposite emotions." But it's only seemingly opposite when Purim is a 'Hilarious' holi(y)day. But maybe Good Friday (it is called 'good') should be celebrated hilariously too. With hissing, booing, and stomping of feet (much as Jesus did to the snake in the Garden of Eden in the "Passion" movie) over Satan, and cheering for our Redeemer Jesus who sacrificed his life for us, that we might have life. God provided a redeemer in Esther.

Purim reminds me to ask myself, "Who am I for such a time as this?"

Barbie

Barbie is 50 years old today. My aunt Recie gave me my first Barbie and it was identical to this picture - ponytail and dress. When I had heard awhile back how much that original Barbie was going for, I had to go look for my Barbie case. Yes, I still have it! And I thought I had saved that original head! But no. (That thought makes me think of all the doll heads I have around - all my bodyless felted heads. Am I weird? ....)

I saved a bunch of my Barbie paraphernalia. I had made lots of her clothes. My Grandma had knit a lot of her clothes. I made her a lot of dishes and pots and vases out of clay. I saved all the good CrackerJack prizes - like real books, to adorn her house. I braided her doll house rugs, sewed and wove curtains and pillows. I needlepointed things for her and embroidered. My mom taught a bunch of the neighbor girls to sew making Barbie clothes.

I never gave Heather a Barbie, but actually, Heather wasn't a doll girl. She used to have 'car families' and they'd talk and drive around with each other. (I'd bet you that Heather has the largest matchbox car collection! And she still has a lot of it. I found it when I was organizing her home!) But when we walked down a toy store aisle and little Heather saw "The Hart Family" (Barbie with a family) her eyes grew big and she looked up at me and breathlessly said, "Look Mommy, it's a FAMILY!"

We bought it!

My doll today sits on a shelf in our home on a velvet chair my Grandma made for me from an opened tunafish can.

Food for Thought Quote

The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

Spiritual Birthdays and Tacos and stuff

Today is Travis's Spiritual Birthday and last thursday was Dawson's. When our kids were little there'd be God-talk-times, but there seems to be a definite time when children ask deeper questions and want to commit their life to God. Monte said he did it when he was eight, soon after realizing that his dad wasn't 'God' and in control of everything. He simply transferred that trust in his dad to trust in God.

I wrote these times on the calendar for each of our kids. Then each year we'd celebrate that birthday with a special treasure hunt meal. The meal had lots of condiments so we could hide them around the house. Since curry (which makes a great treasure hunt meal) isn't a favorite of my kids, we tended to do a taco meal. We'd make up riddles as clues to be left with each food item, guiding them to the next. Eventually everything is at the table and we can eat. There's a final note at their plate reminding them of their treasure in Heaven.

I quick fry corn tortillas so they're soft. Then there's bowls of cooked ground meat, grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, green onions, and sour cream, and sometimes guacamole, chips and salsa, and maybe beans. It's one of my favorite childhood meals I grew up with, and my family loves it too. I prefer the soft cooked shells to the traditional crisp shells because the first bite tends to crack the shell down the middle and everything falls out! If you travel to Mexico soft corn tacos is traditional.

I still remember the first time we did this - and we usually retell the story. Heather was just learning to read. Monte was out of town and my sister Kelli was living with us (and that's a powerful story!) so I wrote out very simple clues. Travis, not able to read yet, was practically hanging on to Heather's shirt tail waiting for her to sound out the clues so they could run and find the food. Like she'd be saying, "Look in the re-frig g g g ..." with a hard 'g' sound, as she was slowly walking upstairs. Finally I said, "The refrigerator is not upstairs!" And they'd take off running and laughing.

When Deuteronomy says several times, "teach the children diligently", "tell the children" - this is kinda like another commemoration as is the Lord's Supper and Passover. I'll tell you, our kids never grew up wondering if they were a Christian or not. And what great memories we have celebrating (partying) together around God's Truth and Presence in our lives.

Yesterday at MOPS I did the devotional. It was Tea and Testimony day, so the whole time was filled with five people's stories. Lots of laughter, tears and evoked memories. I combined two things I've posted: The Jar of my life and the Spouse story.

Monte and me thought of some new connections: each of us, so not just me, but Monte, my kids, our friends ... have jars of their lives. I see the larger items as relational, long lasting, for better health and living beyond maintenance, and maybe even eternal. When I got to the part in the story where Sarah's mom felt an urging to pray for Sarah's future mate at the same timing as Travis' horrible illness (if you're lost you need to click on the above stories and read) - I really started crying this time! Through my tears as I put my hand over my beautiful jar of fruit (I took it as a visual aid) I told of the possibilities when other persons have a grapefruit in their jar that they've named "Heart Keeping" and have that relationship with God - that there's a depth in relationships between spouses, relations, friends and community.

I was given a glimpse, tho twenty-some years later, of what the power of prayer can be. And I bet paradise is going to be full of these stories!

Another twist Monte and me are still pondering, is what if two people marry and they seem compatible and their jars are just filled with sand? What might that say? I had quickly voiced the book title "Amusing Ourselves to Death" as a possibility.

This morning I emailed Heather, telling her I think I absorbed her fever last night. I'm sitting here with a thermometer in my mouth. Last night I all-of-a-sudden started getting a tickle-cough, and slept terribly hot, and now if I cough, it's hurting deeper than my throat. We'll see ... we so rarely get sick. I guess it would be good for my immune system.

Heather's fever is low-grade and comes and goes. She talked with the lactation nurse who helped us so much at the hospital. So between having her advice and all Heather's reading and doing, she's going to be ok. Probably the beginnings of mastitis. Other than still wishing she could sleep longer ... she's really enjoying little Will. She says he copies her facial expressions and likes holding her fingers.

My temp is 99.9.

Heather

Monte and Me have been trying to call Heather regularly. Sounds like Bill and her talk regularly too and see one another on their computers. Heather has both church and military wives, who's husbands are deployed in the same unit, getting together regularly with Heather too. She's not had to go to the grocery store, as others bring her her needs. Some come and clean. She's got gals to talk to and a new neighbor. She has gotten out on her own, walking and driving, getting used to the car seat, and stroller and all.

Other than learning everything new and getting used to one another, I think they're doing good. Heather tho is starting to feel some soreness and has a slight fever as of yesterday and will probably check into it tomorrow, if still the same or worse. So hopefully it's nothing much.

Heather has prayed very specifically since she was about 10 about her desires to marry and be a mother. I prayed too, that God would honor a little girl's prayers, who never gave up, tho she approached the age of 30 with neither. When she filled out her profile on eHarmony, initially, she had no matches. After talking with me about it she said, "Maybe I'm looking for Papa or Jesus." And then came Bill.

So more prayers please.

 

The Prodigal or Love of God Story

"For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair.

Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not 'How am I to find God?' but 'How am I to let myself be found by him?' The question is not 'How am I to know God?' but 'How am I to let myself be known by God?' And, finally, the question is not 'How am I to love God?' but 'How am I to let myself be loved by God?' God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home."

From The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Art: The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

I love both the artist's work and the author's books. In my lifetime I have been the prodigal, the elder brother, and too, "I am my beloved's and He is mine".

Paul Harvey

This is going to be a day of hearing about Paul Harvey. I read about him dying at 90 this weekend and it hit me this morning. For probably over 30 years (tho he's been doing radio since he was 17) I've listened to Paul Harvey. In fact, since we've lived in Colorado since early 1983, every morning I wake and turn on the radio in the kitchen to 850 KOA and hear what's in the current news and every 7:30am, 11:45, and 3:15 is Paul Harvey, with his news perspective, icon voice, and his "rest of the story".

Lots of 'icons' have passed on. Can they be replaced? Not exactly. It seems it's been at least five years or so that people have been filling in for Paul Harvey occasionally, as he wrestled with this throat/voice problems ... It's his voice, besides his choices of news, and style in presentation that has made him iconic.

So for quite awhile 7:30's are going to feel a void.