Time For Myself

My latest project, begun today...

I tired long ago of blog-histrionics about rain drops and solitude. Gah. I'll never linger over another webpage extolling placid moments spent with livestock - the home education movement is rife with quasi-rural wannabe's. Full of pseudo-deep thoughts, these blogs and books are entertaining in a pathetic sort of way. Treat them like you would an episode of The Real New Jersey Housewives.

Never. Tune. In.

Having said all that, you'd be mistaken if, in reading about all the hustle and bustle of life here at the cottage, you thought I never enjoy nature or a quiet moment.

Oh, I do. You have noooooo idea.

See, it is the busy-ness of my life that makes me really, really...really...good at leisure.

But it goes more like this: lots of work, lots of projects, lots of family, lots of friends, lots of people make up my days...and the moments or hours or days of quiet are the hem that keeps me from unraveling.

Not the whole fabric of my life. Not even most of the fabric of my life.

The hem. The quiet moments are just the hem, but without the hem? It falls apart, thread by thread. The quiet moments are just the trim...the lace, the rick-rack, the beautiful gilded braid, but without it, the borders of my time here on earth would not be well defined, much less enchantingly lovely. This is the meaning of solitude. Much like the life of Jesus, quiet alone-ness is meant to comprise a small portion of a life that is mostly spent loving people, busily and actively and (often) painfully.

Without a peopled, busy life, all the quiet and long walks and the flock of Nubian goats and raindrops on roses and "dappled things and skies of couple-color as a brinded cow" (my favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins) - well, its all just so much crap.

The only things we take into eternity are relationships.

Which reminds me of a very well written book on interior design entitled "A Perfectly Kept House is A Sign of a Misspent Life". Such a wonderful book on home design - one that lets the philosophy, that a home is the place where people love and are loved, rule everything...that philosophy should guide design, and take precedence above slavish displays of wealth, or even above showcasing a certain style, like Colonial or Victorian or Arts and Crafts or Mediterranean villa or French country (my fav) or Rustic or Whatever.

I could write a book: A Whole Lot of Days of Long walks and Quiet Are A Sign of a Misspent Life.

Time to myself, "quiet time", walks and dew and dappled things - these are not my life's essence - they are what recharge my spirit, enabling me to get right back into the essence of my life: nurturing people.

Busy. Is. Good.

But this week? Oh, it is me-time all the way, baby.

My beloved is two states north of here, left this past Sunday, and won't be home until Saturday night....late. My youngest son is with him, and they are having a blast, just the two of them.

Me? I have sat in a coffee shop all by myself reading an e-book, gone shopping for five hours all by myself, eaten cake all by myself, watched chick flicks (yes, plural) with my daughter, snuggled my grandson, prayed, cooked, and been inspired, all by myself. And it is only Tuesday.

This week is my own version of "Eat, Pray, Love".

I'm really, really good at quiet-time. Precisely because I don't have much of it.

Bacon For a Crowd - The Easy Way

Am I the only one who thought bacon for breakfast meant standing over a cast iron griddle, flipping and flipping (the bacon...not me, silly!) and getting those painful pinpricks of hot grease on your arms?

For twenty years, that is what bacon for breakfast meant to me. But we still ate a lot of it.

Well, no more! No more standing over my griddle, flipping bacon, that is. Shoot,people...I'll never go without bacon. There'll be bacon, or some version of it, in heaven, I'm pretty sure. And I have deep theological reasons for thinking so.

So here's what you do. This is so easy, you'll want to kiss me.

Take a large griddle, or rimmed baking sheet, and line it with foil. (My pan up there is a Calphalon nonstick, hard anodized griddle - the biggest size they make. It barely fits in my oven...it is also oven-safe, to 500 degrees.)

Pop it in a cool oven. Put it in diagonally, if your griddle is also too big for your generously sized oven. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees. Walk away for 17-20 minutes.

I'm serious. Go get dressed, or read your Bible, or grab a shower. In 20 minutes, here is what you'll get:

Um...sorry. A bunch of bacon got inhaled before I could even snap the picture. Soooooo good. Soooooo easy.

And no more of those pesky little pinprick-size grease burns. No flipping.

No. Flipping.

This tip is worth a thousand dollars. I should have a Paypal up and running on my blog, for all the eager and happy and grateful contributions that ought to come rolling in. (Just kidding...)

"The Baby" Turns 18

These stats are from this one season, so far. His national tournament is in Springfield Missouri next week...Tim is leaving with him this Sunday, right after church, and they will be there for one whole week! Isaac will be playing game after game after game.

His gift from Hannah and Justin...Hannah wrapped it so cleverly and creatively. Isaac's playing style is similar to that of Derek Rose, or so others have told him. Actually, I noticed that when you look at these pictures up close, you can kind of see it.

We can't believe he is 18!

Opening his gift from Sarah and Jonathan...

How many people does it take to open a life-sized vinyl "Fat Head" wall decal of Derek Rose? (Justin and Hannah's gift. If you look, you'll see Justin holding baby Tim...Jonathan and Hannah are helping Isaac get the package open. Sarah is on her way to help, too. See Isaac's change of clothes from the last picture to this one?)

Our boy is being looked at by three small colleges, all in other states. He's been bookmarked...flagged...he's being watched...however you say it...by a recruiter out of Colorado, and also Georgia, and North Carolina, so far. Since he has only played high school basketball on an organized team this year, he has chosen to delay graduation in order to be eligible to play one more year. This was a difficult decision for him and for us, as he is ready to graduate. Much prayer has gone into the decision. He has all his necessary credits to graduate this year, and a perfectly average ACT score that, while it won't get him an academic scholarship, will let him attend any state college this fall.

But if he can play an extra year, the possibility is strong that he'd be noticed by some bigger colleges...he could get a full ride. Trust me, we wouldn't be making this kind of decision if that were not a distinct possibility. And this gives him time to work for even better than average ACT scores.

While out shopping for his birthday cake yesterday, I ran across something that perfectly sums up his/our decision to play one more year of high school basketball, and literally "shoot for" a college scholarship:

Precious confirmation.

Happy Birthday, Youngest Son!

You wouldn't be wasting a prayer on him, or on us. God is up to something with this young man.

Lenten - Preparing the Way of the Lord

The season of Lent, whatever your doctrinal or denominational persuasion, has a valuable basis. Think of Advent, leading up to Christmas, how the anticipation builds. Lent, leading up to Easter, can be utilized to build appreciation. We have seven weeks, between Ash Wednesday and Easter, to prepare our hearts to fully appreciate the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Seven weeks to contemplate the unspeakable gift of grace.

Lent, or Lenten - from an Old English word meaning "to lengthen". And along with the lengthening days, and burgeoning flowers, our hearts can also be enlarged to love the Risen Lord with greater understanding and budding affection and increasing appreciation. Lent is meant to be a contemplative season, even a sober season for some, but it should not be introspective. After all, the whole reason for the Easter celebration is the resurrection miracle that once and for all time freed us from the penalty of sin. All the introspection you can muster, in a lifetime of self-knowledge and self discipline, carries no hope of making you one whit holier. God is pleased with Christ Alone. He is the Better Hope.

Take seven weeks to consider the merits of Christ. Take seven weeks to lengthen your cords by adding to your knowledge of Scripture; take seven weeks to strengthen your stakes by driving them deeper into the doctrines of grace. So shall the tent of your innermost being be enlarged. So shall you be prepared for Personal Pentecost.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, which in the liturgical church is a time of fasting and introspection.

For me, as well as my liturgical friends, this marks the beginning of the Easter season. Easter is the most important celebration in all Christendom. Easter is far more important than Christmas. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation.

"... if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! "
(I Cor. 15:17)

For me, Ash Wednesday and Lent is the start of about 40 days of inward celebration, not introspection. God, in Christ Jesus, has forgiven me all my sins at the cross. Christ took my sin, became sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God. That was an absolutely extravagant, unbalanced, unequal exchange. Where it concerns the grace of God, if you even say the word "balance", you do not understand the depth of your sin nor the greatness of grace.

In recent years, I have begun keeping the Easter Season with the same sweetness and focus as the Christmas season. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, and ending in Pentecost, these are weeks bursting with joy and new life - flowers, sunshine, green grass, deep thoughts, stunning Scripture passages, new plantings, seed sown....and yes, bunnies. Our bunnies made their spring appearance three days ago. I simply must figure out how to protect the lettuce sprouts, when they come up.

Won't you join me? Beginning today, will you consider how to decorate your home to reflect the sweetness of spring and resurrection? Join me in forging family traditions that honor Easter in simple but meaningful ways? Will you take some time each morning and evening to consider the sacrifice of Christ and the grace of God?

Today, I deeply ponder the fact that He gives beauty for ashes. Oh, how my life, just this past one year alone, has been a living testimony to this truth!

This year, for Lent, I am going to fast from unbelief. I am actually going to live like all my sins were forgiven more than two thousand years ago.

Join me?

Delicious, Easy, Feeds a Crowd...East Tennessee Asian Beef

Here is another recipe that is a "go to" here at the cottage. It is simple to make, easy on the food budget, and can feed six or more. Like soup or chili, if more people than you expect show up for dinner, this recipe can accomodate. Just add more veggies.


This happens to me often. Two nights ago, we ended up with seven around the table, when we invited our friends, the Cummins, over for dinner. Last night, we had seven again, because Jonathan and Sarah dropped by, and brought sweet Emily Prince with them. Shouldn't there always be room for one (or four) more at the table?


To illustrate how you can add to the recipe, when we invited the Cummins, it was very impromptu. Unexpected. But we really, really wanted them to stay. I had already started this recipe for supper. To be sure we had enough, I added another half-cup of rice and a bit more water to the skillet, and threw in a can of sliced carrots at the end. But I get ahead of myself.

Gather your ingredients:

Ground beef, two or so heaping cups of Asian vegetables (I buy the huge bags from the freezer section at Sam's or Wal-Mart, with the zip top, and keep a measuring cup in the bag, in the freezer), two cups of long grain brown rice, a can of coconut milk, some soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. (Post-edit: you'll want a pinch of ginger, a cube of beef stock, and some coarse salt too.)

Start your brown rice, in your handy dandy cast iron skillet:

Put your two cups of rice in, along with about three cups of water (whatever ratios the package directions call for), a cube of beef stock, and about a quarter cup of soy sauce. All these flavors will simmer together, as your rice absorbs the liquid. Bring all to a boil, reduce the heat, put a lid on it, and simmer it.


After a half hour or so, when your brown rice is halfway done, add the coconut milk, re-cover your skillet, and finish off your rice, stirring occasionally. This will already start smelling heavenly.

As your rice is simmering, brown your beef, with...oh, about a teaspoon of ground ginger, and a pinch of coarse salt:


When your rice with the coconut milk mixture is ready, combine your browned ground beef with that. Then, at the end, add your Asian vegetables, and heat them through. Finish off with as much or as little red pepper flakes as you'd like.

Then, have some friends over.

Gabbi Grace is in the white onesie, and our grandson Timothy is in the green onesie. They were having such fun, hanging out in Timothy's crib. They're BFGF. (Boy friend/girl friend)

The Cummins family, Michael, Megan, and their new baby girl Gabbi Grace.

The "East Tennessee Asian Beef" recipe is, I am sure, a tweak of something I saw somewhere, some years ago. It is a cottage favorite. I'm pretty confident you'll love it too. Couldn't be easier, it is so inexpensive, and feeds a lot.

New Blog

There's a new blog I'd like to recommend to you...my daughter Hannah has begun a blog entitled "Daughter of Design".

Hannah is a talented decorator, with a flair for design, both in fashion and home interiors. She has a background in retail visual merchandising, shows great promise as a photographer, knows her way around Photoshop, and has just embarked on the challenging career of the stay-at-home mom.

If you get a chance, stop by and leave her an encouraging comment!

Bifocal Readers - Where Have You Been All My Life?

I'm excited. Soon, the UPS man (I heart him, have I told you that before?) will be delivering these to my address:


A cute pair of rimless bifocal readers.

I never knew bifocal readers existed! I have near perfect eyesight, except for that "slightly-over-forty" issue with reading print up close. I've had an eye exam, and don't need prescription glasses...just readers. But life is such a hassle, having to take my readers off and put them back on, over and over. So I just wear 'em jacked up on my head, mostly. It is either that, or search for them constantly, or wear them around my neck like an eighty year old.

I am hoping these will solve my dilemma. A dilemma that gets especially acute when I am going back and forth between looking at, say, my checkbook registry, and my calculator that sits on the right hand corner of my desk. I get so confused. I've been known to rip off my readers, and mess up my own hair, with my own two hands, in sheer frustration.

Please agree with me that these glasses will look extremely cute on my face, and allow me to read my books and Kindle, and look off meditatively (and attractively) into the distance, and read the pharmacy phone number off my bottle of thyroid medicine, and also drive safely. Maybe even all at the same time.

I want it all. And I want it now.

The Grandson

Steak, Cooked in Cast Iron - A Tutorial

Last evening, I did a side-by-side taste test between a grilled steak, and a steak cooked in a cast iron skillet. The steak cooked in cast iron was 99% as good as the grilled steak...and when it is the middle of winter, that makes the cast iron technique a very good option. Besides, this method is the way many restaurants do it. Ready? Are you in?


First, gather your ingredients. In this case, there are very few~




a cast iron skillet, your steaks (I prefer ribeye, but in this case NY strip is what I decided to pan sear) coarse salt, cracked pepper, grapeseed oil, and a glass of whatever you like to drink when you are cooking. You will not - I repeat - will not be using dish soap in this recipe. Please disregard the dish soap.

The grapeseed oil is really important here, because grapeseed oil has a very high smoking point, whereas olive oil has a low smoking point. You are going to be getting your cast iron skillet screaming hot. Do not use olive oil. You could use plain vegetable oil.

Set your oven to "broil". When it is ready, put your empty cast iron skillet in your oven....for fifteen minutes. That is not a typographical error. Fifteen.

While your skillet is under the broiler, rub a little grapeseed oil into your steaks, both sides, and season both sides of your steaks with more coarse salt and cracked pepper than seems necessary. About 1/3 of it will come off on the plate and in the skillet.


Turn your stove eye onto its highest setting...

Then, I recommend that you double up on your oven mitt protection...

Grab that hot skillet out of the oven, and immediately set it on that hothothot stove eye. Then, you sear each side of your steak(s) for 30 seconds...

Then put the whole skillet back under the broiler. Broil steaks for 2 minutes on each side. For a one inch steak, this will hopefully give you a medium to medium rare steak. Test it for doneness, but no less than two minutes per side, unless you like your steaks to moo.

When you pull them out, they will look something like this:



I promise, your husband will murmur, "Come to daddy..."

At this point, do not eat. It is imperative that any steak, grilled or pan seared, be allowed to rest. Wrap these in foil. Besides, you have a few more minutes of work to do...

...asparagus. Drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with coarse salt and cracked pepper, under the broiler for 8 minutes...

Someone else will have prepared your mashed potatoes, or you will have prepared them ahead of time, for a quick reheat. Then, voila ! A supper fit for the gods!

This is the strip steak, removed from its foil tent...then you have your asparagus...potatoes...and by the way - those Red Wine Mushrooms? They take eight hours to simmer. That was not a typographical error. Eight hours. Make sure you are feeling extravagant on the day you make them with me, because they will require about four glasses of your best red wine. And a whole stick of butter. Because they will absorb every drop of your red wine, they go from white to nearly black. I will show you how to make them in a future blog post. These red wine mushrooms are absolutely decadent, and will spoil you forever and ever and ever.

Just for comparison, here is the grilled steak. (Justin and Hannah had the cast iron, pan seared strip, and gave it two thumbs up. I tasted it too. Realllly good.) Tim and I had ribeye off the grill. Here is my plate.

(With those sinful, decadent, eight hour red wine mushrooms, which I will show you how to make later.)



I've had fun making pan seared steak with you. Let's do it again soon!

Laughed At...by a Baby.

As I've shared before, I have this morning ritual.


The back story here is that last night, right before bed, I tossed my hair straight up in a messy bun, to get it out of my way. One must do that to read without distraction.


Unfortunately, I fell asleep that way. This morning, I got dressed without even looking in a mirror. As I was throwing on clothes and a necklace in record time, I heard my grandson making sweet noises to himself. I went to him, bent over him, face to face, to say my good mornings.

His eyes disappeared behind a smile. He broke out in a broad, amused grin.


Then, he made a sound that can only be described as....well, as scathing laughter.



I decided to scoop him up, grab the point-and-shoot, and take our picture together...just so I could see what he sees. What does he find so amusing about his Mimi?




Oh. ::clears throat:: That.




Sometimes, it bites to see ourselves the way others see us.

Good grief.

A Quick Spring Sewing Project

A set of dishtowels for my kitchen - here's one of them.

I propose a toast to bringing some Spring Color into our homes, my friends! Our pear trees are budding, daffodils are coming up, and the maple tree has its characteristic red buds all over it.

Which reminds me of the time a friend of mine was looking off into the distance, at the tree line of her property. This friend was known for correcting others when they mis-spoke. She said knowingly, "I love spring. See the Redbuds coming in down there?"...

....but...they were Maples. Maple trees. Maple trees bud red. Redbud trees don't really bud bright red, and they are smaller than most Maples. But did I correct her?

Nah. It isn't my thing. I just let it go, and thought she might figure it out when her redbuds sprouted green maple leaves.

I heart trees. I know a few of them by name.

Spring has almost sprung around here!

Ritual

I have a ritual that makes me happy, in a deep down durable way. I don't need to wake up to transcendent views, or look over my daytimer as I get dressed for my high powered job, or pad about in jammies through my McMansion. All those things are fine, but they wouldn't make my heart sing. They don't even raise one of my eyebrows - no piquing of even a little bit of interest or wonder in my mind. Just give me a cup of coffee, and this...

Me and my grandson, just this morning. (Sorry for the flash, but it is a rainy day here...no natural light to speak of.)

I am one of those grandmommies with the rare privilege of living with her grandson. My daughter and her husband, after being married a year, moved back in with us, so that Justin could complete his internship and Master's degree without having to work a third job. They will be here until he starts teaching Advanced Math full time in the fall.

It's all very joyful, very homey, very "Walton-esque", to be honest with you. You know - all the generations together, under one roof. The way things were when times were simpler and more difficult in some ways, but better in all ways that matter. The days of our grandparents, that greatest generation. Tim and I are almost embarrassed to convey how delightful it is, to play board games in the evening (when we aren't rushing out to youngest son's basketball game), how sweet it is to feed our grandson his bottle once in awhile during the day, and to say goodnight to five dear and near souls every night - each other, our youngest son, our daughter and her husband, and Little Britches.

Every morning, my ritual includes cuddling my teacup poodle, Rambo. Tim usually brings me my coffee about that time. Then, when I hear my grandson stirring, I go and just look at him in his crib. Marveling.

Only this morning, I scooped him up and snapped our picture.

What can I say? It rocks to be me. Four children who know God, two sons-in-love who are Godly and gifted, and now an adorable grandson....who lives with me for now. God has been mindful of me, and has blessed and increased me. My job is to enjoy it.

~Linking to "The Sunday Creative", at the delightful blog of MadelineBea.

Gabbi Grace's First Sunday-And Our Baby Total is Now SIX!

Remember my friend Megan Cummins, who was expecting her first child, a girl they named Gabbi Grace?

Here is our Gabbi, in all her glory, on her very first Sunday at church~

One eye open, while daddy feeds her her bottle...

The proud pappa and his Gabbi Grace!

Oh, and by the way. The whole "fruit of the womb is a reward" thing? As a church, we were expecting four...then five, when Meredith discovered she is pregnant for the first time. And now? SIX. Sweet Lisa and BJ are expecting their first.

SIX babies. In one mini-mega church. Wonder what God thinks about us?

Reaching the Nations Without The Plane Ticket

I'd like to introduce you to our new Chinese friend, Jimmy. I believe he is weeks, if not days, from being radically saved. He came to Harvest Church for the first time today, and we went to the restaurant where he works (Ichiban) after church. Jimmy came to our table and talked at length with Tim and I, and our friends Scott and Cyndy.



Here's where it gets absolutely exciting. Jimmy came to church this morning because a Chinese friend of his, Eric, came to Christ at my church two weeks ago. Our dear friend Jeff Kear led Eric to Christ, after he and his wife Maria spent months of going to Ichiban to eat, had many conversations, and several conversational English speaking sessions with Eric and his wife in their own home.



So Eric brought Jimmy to church today. Later, at the restaurant, Jimmy told us (and this is the condensed version), "I came to church, I look for life, I feel life. I look for love, I feel love. So much love. I think to myself, 'There is only one more thing - laughter. I want laughter' and next come laughter. When singing start, I feel God, my heart beat faster. I will come back. I am very close to contacting Jesus Christ. I will bring my wife and daughters to Harvest, but first my wife is flying back home for ceremony. She is Hindu, and when I married her 8 years ago, her father did not have the Hindu ceremony that releases her to my responsibility. He now agree to have ceremony, my wife is flying home in a short time for ceremony. I not feel right bringing her to Harvest to hear Christians until her father release her to me. Then I bring her."



Yeah. I looked at Tim, he looked at me. We could read each other's minds: "It is Harvest Time, baby."



His Hindu wife, soon to be coming to our church. I had to be careful not to allow my very effusive (and very Western culture) personality reveal my complete delight at the idea of this whole family coming to Christ Jesus. I just calmly nodded my head and said, "Many Christians also believe that the father needs to release his daughter into the care of her husband, too. We often include that as part of the wedding ceremony."



He seemed to find that very interesting.



I couldn't help but smile when he said he came to church looking for laughter. Jimmy has a sharp wit - he is hilariously Chinese. How brilliant, that he looked for three distinct experiences: life, love, and laughter. He called it, "three L's." He said he wondered if he'd find laughter, and then, "It happened. Lots of laughing."



I felt better, because I had cut up quite a bit when I made the announcements that morning.



::sigh::



I can't help it. But this time....God used my shtick as an evangelism tool. I feel so vindicated!



The food at Ichiban was....wow. Amazing. Art on a plate. Look at the sushi~
After Jimmy offered us three different desserts, all on the house, I have felt no need to eat the rest of the day.

I'm so proud of my friends Jeff and Maria. So thrilled about the way they love to include the whole body of Christ in their evangelism and relationship building efforts.

Oh. One last thing Jimmy said. He said, "Many yellows are searching for God. Many, many."

(He calls Asians "yellows".) Again, Tim and I glanced at each other, caught off guard, sort of startled...

...like how you'd feel if you were out fishing, and five big mouth bass jumped in your boat before you could even put your hook in the water.

Our Missionary To Cambodia is Returning to Cambodia...

Our missionary to Cambodia, Jonathan Trentham, lovingly known as "Jono", came home on furlough in late January...


We surprised him with a "Welcome Home" gathering at the church...

Look closely...can you see the love and respect on those faces? This young man is greatly esteemed, and much loved by all in Harvest Church...



And by one Timothy Paul. (This was shot the next morning, at my house...) We all believe that Timothy will go on a "big trip" with his tall uncle-buddy Jono one day.

And now...his time here stateside is over. As soon as it began, it seems, it is over. My heart is actually a bit heavy as I turn into my bed this evening. Tomorrow is the last Sunday I will get to see Jono for the next 6 months.

Ah. My heart. I love this kid. (No, he isn't a kid, but he is such a sweet "boy" to me!) Actually, Jono came home a grown man. You could see it.

Jono, I will dwell on this happy picture, until you come back home, my friend. Godspeed.

Netbook Cover

I am missing my beloved, who is in Atlanta. (Oh, and to any bad guys out there, I am not home alone. I am home with my daughter, my son-in-love who happens to pack heat and is an excellent shot, and my adorable grandson...)

To stave off the melancholy, I've been sewing my little heart out this morning.

After pricing covers for my netbook, I concluded they are all ugly, and overpriced. I mean, who wants a hot pink "neoprene" bit of hideousness to house their prized netbook? Not this would-be designer. And I don't want the black leather zipper case for it for every day. I only need that when I am traveling via plane...not very often.

The beauty of a netbook is its delightful and utter portability. Coming in at a very slim and small , oh about 7 inches by about 10 inches, the exact dimensions of an i-pad, if not a bit smaller, I can easily slide it into my purse. Thus, the need for a soft cover.

The least expensive thing I found was a cover for an i-pad. Ugly. $9.99. I knew I could do better, so I went to the fabric store and purchased some nice charcoal gray felt. For about $2 worth of felt,and some scrap ribbon and trim I already had, I came up with this:





and here she is, at home on my bedside dresser: