Persistence

Anders did not easily give up his plan to move the large colander around the center divider of the cupboard. After some discouragement, he crawled out without it.
Dear boy.

After the Party

After the party, I went home with these guys. Lance was on tour in Alberta and it's always good to have some grandma company and help. I sure wasn't super grandma, but we did enjoy lots of play and much walking about exploring the neighborhood, which is new to me since Aimee and Lance moved. There is a terrific authentic Jewish bagel shop nearby and another fantastic bakery - just perfect for take out picnics like the one below. We're having the tail end of summer and it's been great to soak it up.
I have my Canon camera back from the shop and boy do I notice it takes better pictures than our little camera. I bought a bigger memory card so I can experiment with a little video footage. Enjoy - especially you Alberta folks who got to see Lance recently - but not these guys.


At one of the playgrounds. There are so many! This one - you don't even have to remember your own sand toys as they are already supplied. Never saw anything like it.
Beauty. Even thought the population is dense in the city - beauty abounds. Many streets are canopied by tree branches. Gardens burst from front yards and owners even garden the boulevards. We walked through a secret passageway to get to the main street. I felt like Bob in What About Bob in the scene where he is eating with the therapist's family. Yumm, yumm, yum, yum, yum. Only this was a feast for the eyes. Check out the, likely Asian, garden with the hanging gourds. They grow on trellises - not on the ground. One day there were two, the next day one had been harvested.

I was at Aimee's for three days and when I came home - our other kids had moved out! Cara, Andy, Sarah and Jacob have moved into their new basement suite after our six month stretch of communal living. We're really glad we could share this time and invest in Andy's organic farming venture.
I was over to the new place this morning for the first time helping to unpack the kitchen and organize Sarah's room with her a bit. It's nearby, spacious, clean, sunny, and has pretty good storage, plus generous counter space for the creative cook and bakers. Our house now seems gigantic! And quiet - which for now is OK. I look forward to many visits.

What a Party!

Sarah turned FIVE on September 19 and her parents had a fun-tastic birthday party for her at Grandma Judy's house. Sarah began the planning well in advance and this so extended the birthday fun for her. First is a picture of all the kids donning the birthday hats that Sarah had made for them.

Games, games, games. I say that Cara has an idea a minute, and that great creative thinking was put to good use in fun group games. I had just as much fun watching her direct as I did watching the kids play.

Getting ready for another game. Draw a picture of something you like to do. Later the kids got in a circle and the cards were picked one by one and read. Everyone who also liked to do that activity was invited to jump up and down or act it out.

See? There they go jumping like crazy!

Some side action. Anders and Laura enjoyed hanging out. Grandma Judy is caught in a love sandwich.

Birthday lunch. Grass fed beef hot dogs - the BEST. Fresh corn on the cob, potatoes, veggies and dip and chocolate bunny cake with berry gelato. The bunny cake was made by Sarah and Cara together and this gave Sarah much joy. Andy cooked the hot dogs and and potatoes, of course from his garden. Birthday girl grin.

Happy Birthday to you!!

Sarah is our first grandchild and it is just a delight to have her in our family. She is sweet, creative, sensitive, thoughtful, loves to learn and has a budding faith that is very precious.
We love you Sarah!!

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Thanks for your comments on my last post - Reading. A special welcome to Anonymous and Laura for reading my blog. Blessings all.

Reading

I am eating morsels of this book at a time and God is using it to sustain me. Jerry experienced horrific loss through a car accident that took the lives of his mother, wife and daughter. He was left single and with three children to raise. Jerry wrote this book three years after the tragedy, and it is not a pity party, nor is it a book that says your losses are nothing compared to mine. It is a book that speaks to the commonality of all losses and how we might be changed by them.

Jerry writes,
"What we consider opposites -- east and west, night and light, sorrow and joy, weakness and strength, anger and love, despair and hope, death and life -- are no more mutually exclusive than winter and sunlight. the soul has the capacity to experience these opposites, even at the same time." p48
I know this to be true. My dad also experiences this these days.

I've moved beyond feeling dumb, and on to feeling like my brain is spongy - filled with holes and not entirely dependable. I need notes. I get overly stimulated easily. I roam in my home and do not accomplish too much. I isolate myself. I crave beauty and solitude. I go the the cemetery, but I'm unsure what to do when I am there - so I just remember. I don't like the rainy days. I sing hymns and say Jesus a lot. I sleep with my little olive wood palm cross often. I look at old pictures and sigh. I go help my dad sort - this drains me but also provides time for us to process our feelings about our loss together. I eat - too much - this is not good. I sleep a little better at night but have become an expert on morning sleep and naps. I guess I'll take it where I can get it. I think this is all good and normal, not easy, but normal.

I identify with this, I know my dad would more so,
"Loss creates a barren present, as if one were sailing on a vast sea of nothingness. Those who suffer loss live suspended between a past for which they long and a future for which they hope". p66
My roaming in my home, and even about town, is part of my barren present and sharing my dad's very much more barren present.


The first book I read by Jerry Sittser is called "God's Will as a Way of Life" and I loved it. Now is the time for this book.

Memory Lane Salad

It was my turn to make dinner tonight - well it was way more than my turn. I've only cooked dinner for our communal group about four times. ANYway. I was told that we had a lot of cabbage and carrots. I googled recipes with these ingredients and this colorful salad, which I could remember from the remote past, came up. I made it almost as recorded below, but I put in extra cabbage, no celery (because I forgot), and no walnuts in the salad because I thought they might get soggy. The crunch factor of this salad is great. I had three helpings and a little more for a bedtime snack!

I don't often make jello salads but this one is just full of goodness. I served it with a layered casserole dish, and Andy's savory onion bread. Yummy.

Recipe: Crunchy, Fresh, Lime Salad

This gelatin concoction has always been a mainstay of summertime lunch and dinners at our house! If you've never had anything like it, you're bound to love it! (It's Jan's recipe and she says this)

Directions:

Grate and set aside:
1 cup cabbage
1 cup carrots

Mince and set aside:
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup unpeeled red apple

Chop and set aside 1/2 cup walnuts (optional).

Open and drain crushed pineapple. Reserve pineapple juice. You will add the juice to the cold water used to make the gelatin.

Make gelatin according to directions on the gelatin package (lime, two small boxes). Using two packages of gelatin will make a thick salad. Be sure to use two cups of boiling water and two cups of cold water *for two packages of gelatin. If you prefer more gelatin (less "salad"), then use three packages of gelatin, using three cups of boiling water and three cups of cold water*.

*When adding cold water, pour pineapple juice into measuring cup first. Add enough cold water to measure a total of two cups of cold water for two packages of gelatin or a total of three cups of cold water for three packages of gelatin.

Once gelatin is made, immediately add ALL other ingredients. Stir well and refrigerate.

Chill until gelatin is firm. You will need to stir the gelatin salad occasionally to keep ingredients mixed evenly (that is, to prevent everything from settling to the bottom). You may want to set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes, stir when the timer buzzes, and then reset the timer. Continue until gelatin is completely firm (set).

The gelatin salad is very colorful! If you like even more color, add 1/4 cup halved maraschino cherries.

When the gelatin salad is made in a loaf pan, you can cut the salad into squares and serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt with a Maraschino cherry on top.

My mom's gelatin salad makes a nice addition to a summer brunch or luncheon. It is also just sweet enough to be something cool to eat in the evening as a bedtime snack.

For those who are counting calories, use sugar-free gelatin and pineapple in light syrup.

http://www.jansdough.com/Poppo/JelloSalad.htm

Oh ya, the pecans around the edge were a nice touch suggested by Cara. Little Sarah wanted to know what a date would taste like in the salad - so that's why there is one in the middle just for her.

The Reveal

Woah - I didn't really intend to keep you in suspense so long! The mystery picture is a zucchini vegetable block print that Sarah had been painting with. This is what the zucchini looked like the morning after.

I'm going to declare Demara as the winner because she is the only one that merged vegetables and painting. Congrats Demara. Elsie - I do remember the melting crayons art! Thanks for playing everyone.

Last night Ron Dart, a professor at UFV, spoke at our store, House of James. He's doing a two part series on the beatitudes - and he has a book to read. I so loved his talk. Last night he was addressing the interior well being spoken of the the beatitudes. He invited his listeners to read over Matt. 5:1-12 and let it simmer. Next week, Monday at 7:00, he will address the outward living of the same passage. If you live in my area I invite you to come to this free event. These are part of a social justice series taking place in the coffeehouse.

Contest

I discovered this beautiful thing. I'd never seen anything like it before.
Can you identify it?
My granddaughter, Sarah, knows what it is.



Please record your guesses in the comments.
Invite the kids in your life to guess!

Wiggly Jacob

This little wiggle fest took place after super one night. Auntie Heidi - I worked really hard to learn how to post this especially with you in mind.

Jacob is laying in the same basket that his daddy, and later his big sister Sarah used. I made the bedding for Sarah. The basket is his safe place to be in the living room.

Isn't he so busy working those little muscles! There's a surprise at the movie's end!

PS. Thanks for the input on my last post. I welcome the discussion!! Please do continue to add your thoughts.

It is a month today since my mom died. Today I was especially sad. It's how it goes.

Sticking Your Oar In

In our society there is a great emphasis on privacy, minding your own business and not sticking your oar into someone elses. I do not consider myself to be a busybody, curious yes, nosy no. Still, I have real trouble knowing when to involve myself, when I might be called to involve myself in another person's life - even if they won't like it.

Case in point. When at Deception Pass I observed a couple of mom's on the beach with their children. One mom seemed cheerful enough - the other - yikes a menace to her family. Two brothers had rolled a large log to the ocean to float on. Apparently one of the boys had earlier hurt himself and the other boy had laughed. OK - so not compassionate. Later, the second boy got injured when the log rolled onto his ankle with some force by an ocean wave. He cried, and painfully limped his way back to his mother - who got furious with him, told him to stop right now with the crying, jerked on his ear (sheesh does anyone do that - apparently so) and failed to do any sort of first aid checking. The boy's shoulders fell. In fact his whole body sort of arched forward as he hung his head and his heart received the message - I not only don't matter to my mom, I am a complete inconvenience and worth less than nothing.

I wondered if this boy was adopted since his mother and brother were white. How might that feel to be chosen in adoption, and then treated like crap? Of course I don't know the background - just speculating and being a white mom myself - I don't want to give any impression that I'm faulting a black mom. Any mom can be a good or poor mom.


The moms were going to move from the ocean to the lake beach - just a walk away. This boy was told to stay and not come. He sat on a log, disheartened and everyone else left. It was at this time I pondered going over to him and speaking some kind words. What words? How's your leg? That was pretty rough treatment you got there. I'm sorry. I just want to tell you that you are precious in God's eyes, that you matter and are his treasure. Do you need help. I didn't know where to start. If I should start. If I had a 'right' to start. So I prayed for him. I think of him every now and again and my heart is sad. No one should treat a dog like that mom treated her boy.


And now this. I got a call from a friend named Danny regarding a former high school friend of his who is struggling with drug addictions. He and his wife wanted so much to arrange for this friend to go into a good rehab place. It seemed to be falling into place when a social worker told the mother of the friend that those with addictions are not ready for help until they hit rock bottom. This is an old theory, a popular theory, but NOT something that has to happen. People can be assisted in seeing where the path they are on might lead them and they can decide to get off that path before the bitter end. Motivational interviewing, a respectful open conversation full of honest questioning, can help the person with addictions to come to their own conclusions and courageously step into a new direction.

So now it's kind of off. Hope is the rug ripped out from under this young woman's feet because she is viewed as not being at rock bottom - yet. Of course addicts wear their families down completely and it is hard to know when someone is ready for help. But what about me? Do I stick my oar in? Do I call the mother and have a conversation with her out of the blue? It's times like these I wish money grew on trees. Danny too. Rehab is so expensive and often it takes several tries - many times five attempts - before maintaining a clean lifestyle.

What about being my brother's keeper? What about interdependence? That's what I believe we are called to. I just have trouble living it in our culture.

Berries Again!

A boy in a field of blue is what I saw when I came to the berry patch to join the Odegard blueberry picking fest. The branches are loaded and it was the first time picking for Linda, Bernell and Jane. Bernell picked straight into a cooler to take back to Alberta!

Anders is really growing up - 11 months now. He enjoyed eating the berries that were placed in a pan for him and sometimes eating the dirt too - although it didn't taste as good.

Aimee is wild about blueberries. I think this is one of her happy places.

Eva didn't know I was coming to pick berries. This is her expression when she found me. "I didn't know YOU were down HERE!!!" She'd just walked the length of the row and found me. Her astonished expression lasted long enough for me to get my camera out and take a picture.