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...."

Fall Equinox Friday Five

I'm up to my eyeballs in projects and have found no time to blog (like that's anything new), but can't resist a quick Friday Five about my favorite season, from Songbird over at RevGals:

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance
The smell of burning leaves on a crisp day.

2) A color
The flaming red of a Japanese maple.

3) An item of clothing
My clogs.

4) An activity
I used to rake long trails for the kids in the yard before we moved. Now we live where there are no big oaks in our yard, only around the edges, and there's a lawn service that picks up the leaves, and something has been lost....maybe I'll manufacture a path this year.

5) A special day
Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday, with no gifts to buy, and no huge service at church.

God Days of Summer Friday Five

It has been far too long since my last post. But my fingers are itching to type a little today, and nothing else is pressing on me right now except the laundry. And the gorgeous weather today. So....an attempt to get back in the habit, with a summer Friday Five fromPresbyterian Gal at RevGalBlogPals:

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?

Sweet summer memories include long days at the lake with a big pot of boiled peanuts on the stove, eating dinner in my bathing suit, and making drip castles in the sand with my sisters.


2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.

This summer it is my brown sandals. I spent awhile finding the right pair, and I love them. Clarks Indigo Hibiscus.....


3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?

See above picture of boiled peanuts. I will also now include grilled veggies from our new grill. Zucchini, onion, red pepper, whatever. Yum.


4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.

There were lots of summers spent at camp, both as a camper and a counselor. Plenty of family trips as a child. Summers now as a mom are different and memorable as I watch my children store up their own experiences. One summer that is standing out today is the one right before seminary. I spent about a month at home with my parents before starting Greek School. There was no job, no real responsibility. I recall lots of time at the pool down the street trying to learn the Greek alphabet, and looking forward with fear, trembling, and a sense of call to this new phase. Such anticipation. The summer I met Mr. Incredible during CPE has to be the winner, though. Falling in love in the hospital, over Snickers ice cream bars from the cafeteria and verbatims.....it was dizzying. (Note: I first wrote "Sickers" instead of Snickers.....)


5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?

I suppose my hesitation at this question means I need to slow down and listen a little more closely. I've certainly felt grateful that my family is healthy this summer. For the first time in three years neither myself, nor any member of my extended family has been in the hospital or in treatment of any kind for cancer, brain injuries, whatever. At the same time there are others we know facing such a summer. I am cautious about just being grateful to feel well again, and not attributing it solely as a sign of God's grace, since there must be some grace in suffering. Other people say there is. I just haven't figured it out yet.....


Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?

A shower, a tank top, a new book, and (new as of yesterday) fresh squeezed lemonade made with SuperGirl!

A Word Association Friday Five

From Singing Owl at the RevGals site, here is the Friday Five:
Think summer......are you there? Below you will find five words or phrases. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story. You get the idea:


1. rooftop
Surely someone else has mentioned this, but I haven't read any other blogs yet today, so here it is: James Taylor's "Up on a Roof". Such a summery voice, he has. Check it out here:


2. gritty
The feel of sand under my feet. I am headed for the beach TOMORROW!!

3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words)
Um.....it's hot here. As in temperature. Not really hot as in happening.

4. night
Up above is a great night picture that says "home" to me. The view from my childhood home's backyard.

5. dance
I'm also sure some of you have seen this before, but in case not, here is The Evolution of Dance:

Taking in the View Friday Five

Sally at RevGals asks these Friday Five questions:

1. How important is the "big picture" to you, do you need a glimpse of the possibilities or are you a details person?

I am almost all big picture. I can sometimes muster up an hour or two of detail work if needed, but that is all.

2. If the big picture is important to you how do you hold onto it in the nitty gritty details of life?

By avoiding the details, of course! Getting someone else to tend to them helps. But often I wait too long to ask for help from the right person, and end up having to do it myself anyway. I am also a list-maker, but seldom look at the list again after I make it, which exposes some drawbacks in my (visionary, big-picture, but short-on-details) system....

3. Name a book, poem, psalm, piece of music that transports to to another dimension ( one....what am I thinking....)

Oh, this this this!: Elgar's Enigma Variations - Nimrod:

4.Thinking of physical views, is there somewhere that inspires you, somewhere that you breathe more easily?

Anywhere around water. I grew up on a big river, and have to have my fix regularly. It can be ocean, lake, stream, whatever. Just blue and wet and wonderful. I also have a very physical response to a certain stretch of road leading to the mountains, where they first come into view and I do breathe deeply, without even trying.

5. A picture opportunity... post one if you can ( or a link to one!)
I scanned through a bunch of possibilities here, and finally settled on the one posted above, that is not too far from home - the Blue Ridge Mountains.

WonderBoy is 11!

A hot birthday morning here at the parsonage. Began with pancakes and enough time to try a little of the new Wii game he bought last night with birthday money: the new Lego Indiana Jones game. Then off to school. My job is to go buy the over-priced huge birthday cookie from the mall, then get to school in time to share it with the class at lunch. We've already had the friend party (small this year with just the 2 best friends) and the family party (early this year since Dad is out of town). So today is the school party (such as it is) with the cookie at lunch. It's been a whole birthday week, here. How is he 11? He was 5 just the other day!

I've posted before about the strange time of these four days between the birth and the subsequent death of his twin brother. Today is all about our WonderBoy, though, and what a gift he is. I can't wait to see what he does with his life, but I'm not liking how quickly we seem to be moving towards the day when we'll be waving from the end of the driveway as he drives off into that future. Middle school in a few months....(gulp) He'll be fine, but I have that same feeling I had about kindergarten. The lump-in-the-throat thing even while I am proud of him taking the next step. When I look at how he has grown and thrived after such a bumpy beginning, I am amazed.

Mr. Incredible is blogging now....

So we can both sit around with our laptops and post to blogs which, mostly, only the other reads. Takes longer and is more complicated than having an actual conversation. But fun, too. I set him up with a blog since he is off to his United Methodist Annual Conference, where he wants to report on all the crucial business of the day, like: What are the hip pastors wearing this year? What is the best answer to the question, "How are things going at your church?" And, what is that speaker really talking about, and is anyone listening? I plan to read his blog while he is away. I would post a link, but my anonymity bubble would shrink.....

Friday Five - Garage Sale!

Welcome to your irregularly scheduled RevGalBlogPals Fifth Friday Five, hosted by will smama and Songbird! Since will smama is preparing for a joint garage sale with her parents, and Songbird's church had a Yard and Plant Sale last Saturday, we have five enormously important questions we hope you will answer:

1) Are you a garage saler?
Not usually. It requires getting up and out the door too early on Saturday for me. Our one day to sleep in, apart from soccer games and such, and we like our lazy mornings when we can get them. I'll answer the other questions with the few garage sales I've been to in mind, though.

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?
Immediate. Stuff gets gone.

3) Seriously, if you're not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one.
(That wasn't really #3.)
Uhh...yep.

3) This is the real #3: What's the best treasure you've found at a yard or garage sale?
Three plastic mixing bowls 10 years ago. I use them all the time and they've held up well until just this year.

4)If you've done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?
Haven't done a whole one myself. Mr. Incredible says he doesn't want church members in our neighborhood going through our old stuff. We did participate in a neighborhood yard sale, recently. No advertising. Just pulled some outgrown kid stuff out into our driveway, and sold it to the hordes driving by. Easy. I had a dream the night before, though, that people were coming in our garage and trying to buy things. Then they came in our house and were wanting to buy SuperGirl's shoes. Clearly, we have privacy issues.....

5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?
Not well.

BONUS: For the true aficionado: Please discuss the impact of Ebay, Craig's List, Freecycle, etc... on the church or home yard/garage sale.
Not an aficionado, but I will report that our recent hire of a non-ordained staff member at church came through a craigslist ad when our usual methods produced no resumes.....!

HTML Woes

I've been tinkering with my blog layout and finally got the header looking like I wanted it. (After 2 days of trying to figure it out. This is akin to reading ABOUT writing instead of writing. Reading ABOUT blogging instead of actual blogging.) Of course, I lost all my widgets, despite following detailed instructions on how not to lose them. I'm hoping the header looks good in other browsers than Firefox....I'm also hoping the beautiful picture inspires me to write a little more often, simply for the habit, if nothing else. I solemnly swear not to alter my blog layout again anytime soon.

Grand Tour Friday Five

In honor of several wonderful trips some of the RevGals are taking in the next few days, Songbird posts this Grand Tour Friday Five:

Name five places that fall into the following categories:

1) Favorite Destination -- someplace you've visited once or often and would gladly go again
Only one? Okay...I'll pick Australia. I went in 1991 for the World Council of Churches meeting. Got to stay a month on a study tour, but had almost no time to travel around, so I would like to see more of the country and go hang out in New Zealand at the same time. (But my favorite is probably just a regular old beach or mountain trip near to home.)

2) Unfavorite Destination -- someplace you wish you had never been (and why)
Besides the Oncology department, and the NICU (love how I sneak in more than one answer?), I would say....an unhappy trip to Rome with a sister and her husband when their marriage was breaking up. The tension on the trip took all the fun away, seriously. Ugh.

3) Fantasy Destination -- someplace to visit if cost and/or time did not matter
I don't know, but it would involve mountains and lots of water. An island somewhere, with someone to wait on me. And my family could come too if they let me sit and read a lot.

4) Fictional Destination -- someplace from a book or movie or other art or media form you would love to visit, although it exists only in imagination
Is it too cliche to say Hogwarts? Either that or one of the manor houses from Jane Austen's books. I'm rereading Persuasion now. And I did live in Bath for awhile, so that's not fictional, but the great houses where the characters lived otherwise are. And I would pick one of the big houses, not one of the small clergyperson cottages. I already live that life!

5) Funny Destination -- the funniest place name you've ever visited or want to visit
In preparation for a visit to England in January, I have been looking at maps, and I have to tell you British gals, there are some funny names there. But I do also like the little town in South Carolina called Pumpkintown.

And I am off on a little trip myself this weekend, which will involve a group of moms who write together, lots of good food, a great view, and skipping church. Lots to be done before I can leave though....

The Trinity Window

Trinity Window - Upload a doc

Mr. Incredible loaned me this idea. (He got it from Richard Lischer's book Open Secrets.) I am trying to explain the Trinity to my 3rd-5th grade Sunday School class. We've talked about apples: whole, cut up, applesauce, etc. but I like this visual representation too. Maybe we'll discuss it while we eat apples.....

Read this doc on Scribd: Trinity Window

The Name Meme (or how to procrastinate when there is lots of stuff I should be doing...)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Clover Odyssey
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Coffee Clogs (uhhh...yeah.)
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Blanche Jacksonville
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first three letters of your last name, first two of your first name): MumQu
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Latte
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Johnny Ray (I can see it.)
8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Lavender Reeses Cup
9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Hiett Hollywood
10. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Fall Tulip
11. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Strawberry Shorts
12. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Waffle Willow

Revelation Friday Five

With this Sunday's gospel reading in mind, that wonderful revelation of Christ to the companions on the Emmaus road. Sally at RevGals wonders where we might have been surprised by God's revelation recently.

So with no further waffle here is this weeks Friday 5:

How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book
Most of the books I've been reading have been of the "let me escape" variety. Designed to entertain, and so long as I don't have to think too hard, I'm good. I did enjoy "Bread and Wine", what I read of it, and am glad I will have it for next Lent, as well. I finished "The Testament of Gideon Mack", and found in it God and the devil, both, so I'll leave it until the discussion to say more.

2.Film
Lately we've been watching the "Planet Earth" series. There is a segment where they show the Iguazu waterfalls on the border between Brazil and Peru, pictured above. The first time I saw it, it took my breath away. Living water, indeed.

3. Song
Here's a fun one someone pointed me to recently:
Billy Jonas, "God is In." Click on the little icon that says "Play."
http://www.billyjonas.com/index.php?page=songs&display=47

4. Another person
Yes, frequently. In my family, most of all.

5. Creation
I am looking out my window at the damp spring. Overcast and chilly again today, but, as SuperGirl likes to say lately, "it is really greening up out there". I can see a white-flowering Bradford pear tree, and a pink cherry blossom tree in the side yard, though the birch(?) tree nearest the window has nothing but bare branches yet. We are in the between time. Spring on the calendar, and the allergy producers are heating up, but the weather is still iffy every day, and there is a mixture of old and new life in the landscape. I can focus on the chill damp when I step outside, and grumble, or give thanks for the birds already singing and the green and pink and white, and the knowledge that the rest of the greening-up will come. It always does, thanks be to God.

Oh, and the Grand Canyon....

Bonus answer: your choice- share something encouraging/ amazing/ humbling that has happened to you recently!
The biopsy I had at the very end of January was benign scar tissue left over from my mastectomy and reconstruction. I am only now realizing that I had been holding my breath, and am starting to breathe deeply again....It took me getting through Easter to really shake the lingering fear I hadn't even acknowledged. And my mom is still healthy too....Hallelujah!

In preparation for the movement of Holy Week, Mother Laura from RevGals gives us... a Friday Five about time and transitions....

1. If you could travel to any historical time period, which would it be, and why?

I always wanted to be Laura Ingalls, and live on the prairie. It's a time when people lived a simple life. Not an easy one, but simpler. On the other hand, there is part of me drawn to the elaborate nature of the Tudor court around the time of Elizabeth I, and I'd visit that time if I was rich enough to wear a gorgeous dress and eat well in the castle. Contradictory? I guess.

2. What futuristic/science fiction development would you most like to see?

Teleporting. And holodecks. And the ability to teleport OUT of the holodeck if you start to get eaten by lions. (Flashback to "The Veldt"...anyone?)

3. Which do you enjoy more: remembering the past, or dreaming for the future?

I am most certainly a dreaming of the future person. But I sincerely hope to be able to appreciate the past, the older I get.

4. What do you find most memorable about this year's Lent?

I am enjoying reading "Bread and Wine".

5. How will you spend your time during this upcoming Holy Week? What part do you look forward to most?

I look forward to the Stations of the Cross on Friday at Mr. Incredible's church. I have no responsibility for it, and can simple move through it.

The Book Meme

I am probably the last person to get around to this, but here goes:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
The Chronicles of Narnia, taken from SuperGirl's "reading room" behind the chair. It's an edition with all the books bound together.

Find page 123:
Page 123 is in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Find the first 5 sentences.
Okay.

Post the next three sentences.

The reindeer were about the size of Shetland ponies and their hair was so white that even the snow hardly looked white compared with them; their branching horns were gilded and shone like something on fire when the sunrise caught them. Their harness was of scarlet leather and covered with bells. On the sledge, driving the reindeer, sat a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing.

It occurs to me as a read these lines about Edmund, watching the White Witch approach in her fantastic sled: Sometimes evil comes to us disguised in such lovely trappings that we are lulled into accepting it, even valuing it. And by the time we figure out our mistake we have been drawn into a web of tangled strands, and getting out will be a job we can't do alone. I suppose there are preachers and churches that spend a lot of time trying to dissuade listeners from aligning themselves with evil/sin/the White Witch. I guess I am more comfortable being part of a church and tradition that recognizes how we have all jumped up on the sled and eaten our Turkish Delight of some flavor or another. We need each other to figure out that we really don't want any more, and in fact would rather be having tea with Mr. Tumnus and our family somewhere else altogether.....

Look Before You Leap - It's the Friday Five!

Songbird and will smama pose these questions for a Leap Day Friday Five:

Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked

I don't do this often. My usual way is to over-analyze, research, and then go with my gut instinct, which I usually knew right away, but had to work on it for a while before I trusted myself.

2. Leapt to a conclusion

Nothing specific comes to mind, probably because of my answer to #1. I like to get the facts before committing myself to things, either action or conclusion. General situations would involve me thinking I know what other people are thinking, about something I did or said, or didn't do or say. It seldom works out the way I assumed it would, which is a good thing.

3. Took a Leap of Faith

Well, that would be going to seminary and then marrying a Methodist (your bishop can tell ME where to live??) So far, I wouldn't change either one! (Although I reserve the right to complain about the bishop when necessary.) I would also have to say, getting pregnant again after a difficult pregnancy ending in the loss of one of our twins. And where would I be without SuperGirl? Surgery choices during the whole cancer treatment plan time also felt like a leap of faith.

4. Took a literal Leap

At summer camp, when I was about 13 (awkward age) we went over to the boys' camp to take part in these wretched muddy games. There was a rope swing over the lake. I worked up the nerve, but had to remove my glasses before the swing, and so couldn't tell when to let go of the rope. I almost crashed back into the platform, but luckily let go in time and ended up in the shallow water. I vowed never to do something so potentially risky and humiliating again. But in college, I managed the high ropes course, and the free fall zip line at the end was such a rush, and felt like a real accomplishment.....easier because I had contacts this time. I could SEE my impending doom at the end of the rope!

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?

Helping WonderBoy transition to middle school....another one who doesn't like risky situations, like his mama. I am hoping this is the hardest leap ahead. No more biopsies or diagnoses or surgeries for me or anyone in my family. Oh, and perhaps towards the end of the year, trying to help Mr. Incredible with the decision about when the right time to move might be.....there are yearly decisions to make, even though when it comes right down to it I like to blame the bishop......

This Stretched-Out Season

My Lenten Discipline of writing more has not been going well. Obviously. From the 20 day gap in blog posts. I have such little self-discipline, it is shameful. The family giving up fast food has gone swimmingly, though. SuperGirl asked me to come eat lunch with her in the cafeteria yesterday. She gave a big sigh and said, "Other people can eat McDonald's when their parents come. I guess they aren't giving up fast food for Lent....." Then she asked if I could bring her take-out from Olive Garden instead. I compromised and made macaroni and cheese at home and brought it in for her. She told me she explained Lent to her friend Zachary, who goes to church, but had never heard of Lent. She decided she would rather not have Lent, too, since it makes the time before Easter (and Advent before Christmas) "get soooo stretched out." I am finding that the older I get, the more I rely upon the tempo of the liturgical year to bring some order to my days and seasons. Moving through the year with an eye on the church's calendar (not the one hanging in the secretary's office, but the one shared among so many different churches (though apparently not Zachary's)) is soothing and grounding. I admit, however, that I could use another couple of weeks of Lent this particular year, not just to try to wrest some discipline out of my days, but to get ready for Holy Week and Easter. I would love to set up a sort of Stations of the Cross or Maundy Thursday reflection for families, but I don't honestly see it happening this year. Not on a part-time schedule. If I allowed myself to overwork (a tempting thing), I could do it. Maybe I don't love Jesus enough, (aren't we supposed to spend ourselves for the Lord??) but I am trying hard to honor the part-time nature of my call, in fairness to my family, and to whoever might fill this position after me someday.

Friday Five: what are you doing for Lent?

Mother Laura over at RevGals asks these timely questions:

1. Did you celebrate Mardi Gras and/or Ash Wednesday this week? How?

Ash Wednesday this year included a potluck dinner (best spread all year), me telling a Godly-Playish Ash Wednesday story for children, and then a quiet service in the sanctuary, in which I was primarily a participant this year. The best part of the night was the story with the children, where we talked about how Baptism marks us as God's child, but afterwards you can't see the mark of the water. With the ashes, we can see the mark on everyone, and remember that all our lives long, and even after, we belong to God. My own SuperGirl (7) offered that the ashes remind her of her brother, whose ashes are in a beautiful garden columbarium. Yes indeed, in life and in death, we belong to God.....

2. What was your most memorable Mardi Gras/Ash Wednesday/Lent?

Canberra, Australia in 1991 (?) at the World Council of Churches, in a huge white tent, with Christian people from all different traditions and cultures. The guy with the ashes got a big glob on my forehead, and they fell down on my nose, and we looked each other in the eye and grinned. We probably didn't speak the same language. We looked and dressed very differently. But in that moment, we were brother and sister.

3. Did you/your church/your family celebrate Lent as a child? If not, when and how did you discover it?

I did not grow up in a congregation where Ash Wednesday was celebrated (at least not that I knew of). My first experience was in the big Gothic college chapel, where a few of us sat in the choir pews mid-day, and then went out, marked. I recall feeling very...different from other people on campus afterwards. I went alone, but felt connected to those sitting with me in a way I hadn't experienced before with strangers.

4. Are you more in the give-up camp, or the take-on camp, or somewhere in between?

A little of both. Each year is different. For a number of years Mr. Incredible and I were fasting once a week during Lent. That got harder when I was pregnant and nursing, and more recently, recovering from surgery. I'm not good at true fasting. The take-on camp is where I usually land, since I tend to be undisciplined, and it bothers me.

5. How do you plan to keep Lent this year?

In my Lenten Disciplines post below, I mention that I am doing two things: eating/cooking more at home, rather than eating out for convenience. Also, writing everyday.

The Great Oven Fire of 2008

I have a new oven, after a small fire in the old one. It was rather exciting. And no, I didn't burn dinner (as several people - men - have joked to me). I was preheating the oven, and noticed a strange glow emanating from one corner. Upon further investigation, I calmly told Mr. Incredible: "We seem to have a small oven fire." I was terribly calm, I think. The element in the bottom of the oven was giving off sparks and a flame.

I turned the oven off. Nothing changed. We threw some baking soda on there. Nothing changed. The fire was making its way around the curve of the element, burning through it, sparking all the way. I was sort of mesmerized, wondering what would happen if it made its way all the way around and into the wall.... Mr. Incredible called the kids in to give them an object lesson in how to use a fire extinguisher. (Note: Do not use a fire extinguisher unless you really really really need to.) That yellow stuff went Everywhere. Everywhere. I am still wiping it up, even on the floor above the kitchen. It wafted over everything. Everywhere. And....nothing changed. Still fire and sparks. How can the fire extinguisher not put the fire out?! Finally Mr. Incredible thinks to shut the circuit breaker off. Genius! The fire goes out. Would that we had thought of that before the fire extinguisher.

Since dinner was ruined (remember the fire extinguisher stuff went Everywhere, including in my pasta sauce), we decided to go out for dinner, but wondered if it was safe to leave the house. So we called the fire department down the street, on the non-emergency number, and they decided to come out without the sirens to make sure there was nothing going on in the walls. They brought a thermal imaging camera and checked for hotspots. WonderBoy, who loves all things sciencey, thought that was very cool. We stopped first to eat at Waffle House, but they were closed. Waffle House. Closed! Some kind of kitchen repairs. At this point, we introduced the concept of "resiliency" to the kids. Over pancakes and other breakfast-for-dinner treats at another restaurant nearby, we decided that we want to be a resilient family. A worthy goal, I think, and one which we are well on our way to achieving.

Anyway, since the element was destroyed, one burner didn't work anymore, and the oven was original to the house, the parsonage people sprang for a whole new one. I went shopping with the parsonage committee chair, and ended up with a new ceramic glass top oven that is nice and shiny, and still giving off that smoky smell, after cooking two dinners in it. I feel protective of it, and have been making pledges to it. I will not leave food spills to burn and tarnish you. I will not leave hand-washed pots to drip dry on top of you. I will wipe you down each night. I will use the special glass-top cleaner you came with regularly. The oven looks back at me so trustingly. Meanwhile I can hear the microwave and the dishwasher and fridge laughing behind my back.

Lenten Disciplines

I've decided that one of my Lenten disciplines will be to write a little every day. No other dictates. Just write about anything. I think one reason I don't blog more frequently is that I feel like I should be doing my "real writing", namely, one of the several book projects I have started over the years and not finished. When I think about blogging, my mind immediately goes here: "If you have time to write, you should work on the book...." Or the Sunday School curriculum I am writing. Or the church blog I (also infrequently) maintain. So for Lent I am giving up that voice in my head that tells me I should be writing something else, and I am just going to write.

Mr. Incredible proposed that we give up fast food. Now, we don't eat a lot of fast food, but we do go out to eat sometimes because it is fast and convenient and we haven't planned ahead. So we will be eating more meals at home during these next six weeks. Good thing the kitchen is cleaned up after the Great Oven Fire of 2008. More about that in another post.

Friday Five - Read any good books lately?

RevHRod from the RevGals site asks fabulous questions for my birthday! I love to read, and am as proud as I can be that WonderGirl is an insane reader, as I was, at the ripe old age of 7. (She's on the fifth Harry Potter book right now, and takes her book everywhere. She sulked at the Thai food place last night because I wouldn't let her read at the table. An occasional conversation, please!)

So with the given that some books are indeed better than others, here are my answers to this week's Friday Five:

1. What book have you read in the last six months that has really stayed with you? Why?

My problem is that I usually inhale a book quickly, then forget all about it....six months, huh? Well, I just finished Wicked, in preparation for a springtime touring production of it. I must say, it wasn't what I expected, and I'll keep thinking about it, since I don't know how they are going to make a musical (comedy?) of it.

2. What is one of your favorite childhood books?

Sorry, can't do just one. Here's a VERY abbreviated list: Anne of Green Gables, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Charlotte's Web, Julie of the Wolves, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, etc.

3. Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Do tell!

Genesis, because of the great narratives. Epic, sweeping, full of wonderful characters. I love a good story.

4. What is one book you could read again and again?

I read Jane Austen just about every year, especially Pride and Prejudice. But I must admit, I also need some Harry Potter fixes every now and again.

5. Is there a book you would suggest for Lenten reading? What is it and why?

I don't have a specific book to suggest, but I look forward to the suggestions of others.

And because we all love bonus questions, if you were going to publish a book what would it be? Who would you want to write the jacket cover blurb expounding on your talent?

Right now I'm actually working (very beginning stages) on what I think will be a middle-grade novel in the spirit of Roald Dahl (think big, why not!) For the jacket for this one, I'll take Katherine Paterson, please.

Friday Five - Birthdays!

Mother Laura from RevGalBlogpals, just a few days away from her birthday, asks these questions:

1. When is your birthday?
Does anyone else (famous or in your own life) share it?

Mine is next week, on January 18th.
Famous people: Cary Grant, A.A. Milne, Kevin Costner, Oliver Hardy, Danny Kaye, and Roget (the thesaurus guy)

2. Do you prefer a big party or an intimate celebration for the chosen few?

Just a few special people will do it for me.

3. Describe your most memorable birthday(s)--good, bad, or both.

The worst was the one where not one of my sisters called me. AWFUL!

There was the 10 year old party at Putt-Putt (mini golf) where my name was on the sign by the road. Loved that one.

Also the 21st one while I was studying abroad in England. There was a special drink and the whole pub celebrated, and I think I crawled back to my flat vowing never to celebrate quite so much again. It was both good and bad.

WonderBoy was baptized on my birthday. That was a good day, but bittersweet, missing his twin.

Every birthday after cancer is a GREAT ONE!

4. What is your favorite cake and ice cream? (Bonus points if you share the cake recipe). Or would you rather have a different treat altogether?

Growing up I wanted my mother's chess or pecan pie instead of cake. For my mom's pecan pie, you take the recipe from the back of the Karo corn syrup bottle and change it like this: Use a combination of both light and dark corn syrup. Turn the heat down, and cook it longer. Perfect. Now, I like any cake or pie that the kids pick out for me. Chocolate and Reese's cups somewhere on it are a bonus.

5. Surprise parties: love 'em or hate 'em?

Never had one....sniff, sniff. But I think I would like it....maybe.....?

Bonus: Describe your ideal birthday--the sky's the limit.

My whole family calls me. I get taken out to dinner (it will be a grown-up one with friends this year). The kids make me cards. There is a cake (or pie) at home with singing and candles. I spend a little time grateful to have had another year. Cards or emails or calls from a few friends. And if the sky's the limit, I'll take that new battery for my laptop, and a trip, too. Okay, maybe a whole new laptop and several trips. (And the 3 pairs of shoes I already bought over Christmas.....)

Enough

It's been a sobering night and morning. I got word last night that a colleague from a former church died suddenly, in his 50s. He has a wife and two high school/college-aged children. Then this morning I learned of the death of a former neighbor. Something went wrong on a snowy road out west. Details are sketchy. Another colleague recently lost 3 members of her family in two days.

I know that death happens. To all of us. As a pastor I have walked though enough too-early, too-sudden deaths with families. I know that the most powerful message I can give someone at a time like that is, "you are not alone", and represent the God who grieves with them. But sometimes I want to say "enough already". There are days when I just feel weary of bearing up under loss. Today is one of them.

In other news, my sister and her family have made it safely to Kenya, and are settling in. The jet lag has been fierce. But the violence seems to be calming down. I will continue to pray for peace. In Kenya, on snowy roads out west, in congregations and in families where loss is swift and sharp, and here at home. Dona nobis pacem....

Friday Five - New Year's Edition

1. Do you make New Year resolutions?

Yes, but I don't often talk about them. Or keep them.

2. Is this something you take seriously, or is it a bit of fun?

I intend them to be serious, but you wouldn't know it from my follow-through, usually.

3. Share one goal for 2008.

Write more. It was going to be to write every day, but I have already blown that one, so I am going for "more".

4. Money is no barrier, share one wild/ impossible dream for 2008

To visit my sister and her family who are moving to Kenya TODAY. Pray for peace and safety, please....

5. Someone wants to publish a story of your year in 2008, what will the title of that book be?

She Wrote More: The true tale of how one woman discovered again the creative process inside herself, and behold, it was very good. (The process of discovery, I mean, but the writing wasn't bad either.)