Work or Harry?

Back to the blog just to say that I am grudgingly working on church and church-related stuff while the sounds of the Harry Potter film fest waft in from the living room.....not fair. Maybe I need just a tiny break....?

Friday Five: Vacation Edition

Mary Beth at RevGals is thinking about VACATIONS! She poses these fun Friday Five questions:

1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?

Summer vacations growing up meant family trips to the lake house, where we swam and water-skied and ate boiled peanuts in our bathing suits. When I was older I went to summer camp, year after year. I only remember a few big family vacations: New Orleans, NYC, and a northern college tour. Mostly, we hung out in Florida, where staycations were still fun. And hot.

2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:

Whichever next one I am planning! (Currently, England and Italy...without the kids!!!!)

3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off?

This would be a good thing to figure out....I guess I'll say sometimes the movies by myself.

4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)

Beach and/or mountains. I love being close enough to drive to either.

5) What's your DREAM VACATION?

Water, seafood, time to read. And paid for by someone else. But I'll take England and Italy this summer.....!

Bonus: Any particularly awful vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)

Hmmm...the first thing that jumps to mind is getting pick-pocketed in the Florence outdoor market as a poor college student, and having very little extra cash for the next few weeks...I have a feeling I am forgetting a horrible vacation incident because I have blocked it out, and that is for the best, so I won't try too hard to remember....

Woe is the Blog

The blog lurks at the edges of my brain. Truly, it does. But the will to write is lacking. I'm okay with that right now. Busy with other projects. I'll be back eventually....

Friday Five: Favorite Things Edition

Songbird at RevGals invites us to list five of our favorite things. Here are mine:


1. Reading
I know the picture looks like clutter. NOT one of my favorite things, but one with which I am familiar. This is SuperGirl's "Reading Room" behind the blue chair. Apparently I have handed down the reading gene, because she has it bad, too. We are both just as happy reading as eating. Mostly novels. I've just started Julia Spencer-Fleming's clergywoman mystery series. And am reading Obama's Dreams From My Father. Oh, and some PCUSA booklets for an upcoming conference, but they are NOT pleasure reading!


2. Water
Lake, River, Ocean, Stream, whatever. I know I've listed this as a favorite thing somewhere on the blog before (maybe all of these....?) This is a picture of my childhood home's backyard view. I got spoiled early. Water views are now reserved for vacations, alas. I have a hard time choosing between beach and mountains, as a favorite destination. If there is water near the mountain, I am in good shape.





3. Travel
Love planning a trip almost as much as taking one. Mr. Incredible is taking a sabbatical leave this spring/summer (love the Lilly Foundation, too!) so we have a couple of trips planned. I am amazed that I can "walk" from our hotel in Italy to the place where I will take a cooking class, via Google Earth. Can't wait to go, but will be sorry when the trip is over, too.


4. Planning Education events for church families
While I tend to try to do it too much myself, and need to learn to delegate better (and start earlier), I do love to plan stuff. Right now I am working on a Holy Week walk-through of a sort of modified Stations of the Cross for all ages. I can visualize it: multi-sensory, something families can do together, and a great planning team to help me set up/clean-up that so far doesn't exist. Any fabulous ideas for a station on the trial of Jesus?


5. My Family
My husband, my kids, my sisters, my parents. They drive me crazy and I love them. They are fabulous people, and I am blessed.

6. Oh, and chocolate, naturally. With coffee. Good coffee.

Home

I'm back from a trip to a big churchy conference with a bunch of educators. My plane ride home was about half full of them, and it was loud! I loved walking down the aisle of the plane and overhearing snippets of conversation from them about spirituality, multiculturalism, construction paper, and beer. These are clearly my people. I caught up with friends, ate great food (the guacamole and beans were way better than what I can get here), and heard some good preaching and teaching. I returned to church this morning excited to nurture the children entrusted to my care.

It is good to get home. Even though our house has mounds of unfolded laundry and a funky smell from the heater somewhere. I miss my family when I am away. But I do like having the remote control to myself, although I must say that I was a little shocked at HBO in the hotel room.....didn't they used to just show movies?!

I go away again later this month to a small conference with mostly preachers, supposedly setting out some vision of re-forming ministry. While there will certainly be beer there too, I doubt there will be as much joy over construction paper.....

Christmas Countdown Friday Five

So long since my last post. Shame, shame, but there it is.

A Friday Five from Songbird at RevGals:

There are only five full days before Christmas Day, and whether you use them for shopping, wrapping, preaching, worshiping, singing or traveling or even wishing the whole darn thing were over last Tuesday, there's a good chance they will be busy ones. So let's make this easy, if we can: tell us five things you need to accomplish before Christmas Eve.

My five things I need to do before Christmas:

1. Loosen up my back, which I threw out yesterday while setting up for the Christmas Pageant. Ugh! I am now hobbling around, muttering under my breath. I do this every couple of years, and it takes a few days...(or more)...to get back to normal. Not good timing.

2. Remember where I have stashed all the things for the kids and Mr. Incredible. And wrap wrap wrap. While not bending over or stretching.

3. Finish the reader's script for the Christmas Pageant, rehearse, make sure youth who don't show up for rehearsal know what to do, give out costumes, and pull it off on Sunday morning. Oh, and finish the set-up which I couldn't do after #1.

4. Plan children's time and my part of the readings and prayers for Christmas Eve. Not too much to do, granted, but I need to think ahead.

5. Figure out what we are eating next week. It will be just the four of us, and for the first time ever we won't see other family on Christmas Day. I'm actually looking forward to it. All my family but one sister is out of the country this Christmas. We'll meet up with the other side of the family between Christmas and New Year's. It will be nice to have all Christmas Day to enjoy with one another and not rush off somewhere. But we will need to eat.....

Merry Christmas!

A Johnny Appleseed Friday Five

Questions inspired by Johnny Appleseed Day, from the RevGals site:

1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)

First let me put in a little plug for the apple slicer pictured here. I promise I am not a Pampered Chef person, but I must testify that I use this thing almost every day, and it works better than another one I have. I've given them away as gifts, I'm such a big fan. It makes healthy after-school snacks possible, and the following kid-favorite side dish quicker to prepare:

Cinnamon Apples
(serves 4 hungry or 6-8 not-so-hungry people)

4 Granny Smith apples
1 T. sugar
1/8 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. kosher salt
2 t. veg. oil

Core and peel the apples. Cut into about 10 wedges each. Toss with the sugar, cinnamon, thyme and salt. Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Saute apples over medium-high heat 7-10 minutes until softened, but not falling apart. Add 2 T. water if softer apples are desired.

2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?

I've helped plant a tree to replace one lost in our yard. And I often think about a tree somewhere in the Minneapolis area that a friend planted in memory of our son Jack. I've never seen it, but I imagine it growing strong and tall.

3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?

Can I travel some way other than horseback, like a circuit rider, or walking? I like travel. I like preaching. I don't think I would like traveling around planting trees, but I'm in favor of other people doing it.....

4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?

Good question, and I have no good answer. Johnny Appleseed's song "The Lord's been good to me...." has been sung by me since camp as a girl. I'd also have to say Joan of Arc....

5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?

When I'm not wallowing in self-pity, I like "His Eye is on the Sparrow" for a little lift. "I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free...."