*Clarification: The work of two naptimes. If we didn't have a toddler to care for, play with and feed, this would be done.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
The Work of a Weekend*
Garden on Friday:
Garden on Sunday evening:
It might not look like much to you, but it's serious progress for me. I don't know what that garden bed was last used, but the soil was pretty good, not too compacted. A little clay-y, but brimming with worms. This is the lower bed, at the bottom of our drive. I'm a little worried about the amount of sun it'll get, so I'm putting more cool weather crops down here. It will have 8 3x3 squares. Each square was hand tilled: I turned the soil over with a pitchfork, then sat with my small hand tiller to pull out old roots and weeds until it was completely loose. Then each patch received some top soil and some compost. I'm ready to plant! Peas and beans and some of my seedlings should go in this week, although I'm watching the end of the week forecast- it's looking we might get below freezing.
*Clarification: The work of two naptimes. If we didn't have a toddler to care for, play with and feed, this would be done.
*Clarification: The work of two naptimes. If we didn't have a toddler to care for, play with and feed, this would be done.
Friday, March 20, 2015
The Faithful, Unorganized Gardener
I read somewhere that the best time to be a gardener is January, leafing through seed catalogs and gardening books, imagining the large garden that will magically sprout up this summer.
This is currently my "garden:"
It's a big pile of wet clay-y dirt (yes dirt, it's going to need some more love before it becomes soil). The idea that it could transform and grow something we might eat or otherwise enjoy is magic, or faith, or some of both. Mostly hard work that has yet to happen. A lot of weeding is going to happen this weekend.
I though I'd have cool weather crops in by now and I'm feeling shamed by the gardeners I follow who have peas and radishes coming up already. But we had that late snow and this is my first year in this garden, so I probably need to cool it and give myself a break.
I also thought I'd have some beautifully organized seedlings growing. This is what's currently happening in my basement:
I don't know what most of those seeds are, because I wrote down which row had what but then promptly moved them a few weeks later and forgot. Thankfully I've already gotten toothpick flags made up for my tomatoes, which have not been planted yet, yes I'm behind there as well.
I'm so bad at keeping up with my gardening plans, but as they say, anything worth doing is worth doing badly. The effort of growing things is never in vain. This is my second or third- fourth? year having a little garden of my own. Back in 2010 when I moved home to my parent's house in Wisconsin, my Dad and I were left our own devices at the garden center and came home with a Concord Grape plant. "It won't even produce fruit for a couple years!" my Mom exclaimed. "Then we better get it in now," we replied, grinning. The fruit of that grape plant has hung heavy on the vine for the past couple summers, and it shades an old bench in the back of my Mom's garden. (I hope they're bringing that bench to Tennessee, now that I think about it...) That's why I'll plant berry canes this year. That's why I'll dig in my clay-y plot, and build another raised bed, and scheme planting a couple fruit trees and throw kitchen scraps in the compost that might be ready in the fall. I'm not the first person to compare gardening to faith, but there's a reason it's a common comparison: it's a lesson in patience. A lesson in persistence even when you don't see immediate results. Lessons in seasons of life. Lessons in the small daily work of weeding and watering your garden and your heart. And lessons in small, unexpected spots of beauty.
This is currently my "garden:"
It's a big pile of wet clay-y dirt (yes dirt, it's going to need some more love before it becomes soil). The idea that it could transform and grow something we might eat or otherwise enjoy is magic, or faith, or some of both. Mostly hard work that has yet to happen. A lot of weeding is going to happen this weekend.
I though I'd have cool weather crops in by now and I'm feeling shamed by the gardeners I follow who have peas and radishes coming up already. But we had that late snow and this is my first year in this garden, so I probably need to cool it and give myself a break.
I also thought I'd have some beautifully organized seedlings growing. This is what's currently happening in my basement:
I don't know what most of those seeds are, because I wrote down which row had what but then promptly moved them a few weeks later and forgot. Thankfully I've already gotten toothpick flags made up for my tomatoes, which have not been planted yet, yes I'm behind there as well.
I'm so bad at keeping up with my gardening plans, but as they say, anything worth doing is worth doing badly. The effort of growing things is never in vain. This is my second or third- fourth? year having a little garden of my own. Back in 2010 when I moved home to my parent's house in Wisconsin, my Dad and I were left our own devices at the garden center and came home with a Concord Grape plant. "It won't even produce fruit for a couple years!" my Mom exclaimed. "Then we better get it in now," we replied, grinning. The fruit of that grape plant has hung heavy on the vine for the past couple summers, and it shades an old bench in the back of my Mom's garden. (I hope they're bringing that bench to Tennessee, now that I think about it...) That's why I'll plant berry canes this year. That's why I'll dig in my clay-y plot, and build another raised bed, and scheme planting a couple fruit trees and throw kitchen scraps in the compost that might be ready in the fall. I'm not the first person to compare gardening to faith, but there's a reason it's a common comparison: it's a lesson in patience. A lesson in persistence even when you don't see immediate results. Lessons in seasons of life. Lessons in the small daily work of weeding and watering your garden and your heart. And lessons in small, unexpected spots of beauty.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Spring Weekend
Spring has officially arrived in Nashville. I just about called it last weekend, when we had 2 snowdays followed by 2 days of nice weather, but I'm calling it now. Our week long rain storm finally tapered off on Saturday evening, just as we were heading into the Symphony and Sunday was a 70 degree glorious day. Here's a rundown on our spring weekend:
1. Saturday Date Night. Saturday night we scored free tickets to the Nashville Symphony from a friend and planned a date night out. After getting the tickets, I complained and complained about going downtown on a Saturday night. The SEC tournament was happening that evening, streets would be closed, we couldn't get a reservation anywhere, can't we just stay at home and nearly cancelled. Thankfully it turned out that dear friends from Milwaukee were passing through Nashville and managed to get dinner and see the performance with us! I'm so glad we made ourselves leave the house. Note what wasn't the list of complaints: leaving Caleb with a sitter. My good friend babysat, and she's got a recommendation list for being an awesome babysitter a mile long: a former professional children's pastor, 5 or 6 godkids, even familiar with cloth diapers! Plus she loves Caleb and they had a great time- no tears.
2. Sunday Outside Work. Sunday was the kind of day that makes you glad you're alive. 70 degrees and sunny, I'd say we made the most of it. Church followed by lunch out with friends followed by a serious nap for Caleb. I had to go in to wake him after nearly 3 hours down! That kid sure loves his sleep. We took a long walk and let Caleb play outside until dinner. Brian and I worked outside for most of his nap. Brian's done with the baby gate, so I started painting and he worked on building his work bench. I raked the last of the leaves off my raised bed, and there is a lot of work left to be done. Weeds galore and other plants coming up that will need to be moved. Tulips, hyacinths, day lilies and something else is sprouting green leaves. That means I need to find someplace to put those plants, as well as plant my veggies! I think I'm seriously behind on planting peas and beans, but we had snow 2 weeks ago and rain all last week! Everybody else is held up in their planting, right?
3. Grilling Season Kickoff. We started grilling season with pork chops and asparagus on the grill. I made an extra lemony-garlicy homemade mayonnaise to drag the asparagus through, and I am seriously addicted. It was a cut above my first version of homemade mayonnaise, which I made with olive oil. This one I made with a farm fresh egg yolk, extra lemon juice, a huge garlic clove and canola oil. I also managed to make a version of quinoa that I enjoyed, which meant cooking it in chicken stock instead of water. Caleb was lurching his body toward the spoonfuls of quinoa and peas, so I considered it a triumphant dinner.
4. Cocktails on the Deck. Finally, we capped the day off with cocktails. I begged off my regular Sunday night girls get together in favor of sitting on the deck with my husband, cocktail in hand, watching the last of the light disappear from the woods. The stars came out and I tried to see if there was a bat in one of our trees.
5. Future Weekends. Next weekend will be focused on getting the guestroom ready for my Mom, and other future visitors, and the weekend after will be another garden focused weekend. It's got 2 weeks to dry out, then I'm going in!
1. Saturday Date Night. Saturday night we scored free tickets to the Nashville Symphony from a friend and planned a date night out. After getting the tickets, I complained and complained about going downtown on a Saturday night. The SEC tournament was happening that evening, streets would be closed, we couldn't get a reservation anywhere, can't we just stay at home and nearly cancelled. Thankfully it turned out that dear friends from Milwaukee were passing through Nashville and managed to get dinner and see the performance with us! I'm so glad we made ourselves leave the house. Note what wasn't the list of complaints: leaving Caleb with a sitter. My good friend babysat, and she's got a recommendation list for being an awesome babysitter a mile long: a former professional children's pastor, 5 or 6 godkids, even familiar with cloth diapers! Plus she loves Caleb and they had a great time- no tears.
Our seats at the NSO. Their Symphony Hall is very different from Milwaukee!
2. Sunday Outside Work. Sunday was the kind of day that makes you glad you're alive. 70 degrees and sunny, I'd say we made the most of it. Church followed by lunch out with friends followed by a serious nap for Caleb. I had to go in to wake him after nearly 3 hours down! That kid sure loves his sleep. We took a long walk and let Caleb play outside until dinner. Brian and I worked outside for most of his nap. Brian's done with the baby gate, so I started painting and he worked on building his work bench. I raked the last of the leaves off my raised bed, and there is a lot of work left to be done. Weeds galore and other plants coming up that will need to be moved. Tulips, hyacinths, day lilies and something else is sprouting green leaves. That means I need to find someplace to put those plants, as well as plant my veggies! I think I'm seriously behind on planting peas and beans, but we had snow 2 weeks ago and rain all last week! Everybody else is held up in their planting, right?
Not in my garden, but I do have a couple surprise bulbs coming up.
Walks outside sometimes end with mud.
Warm weather means a lot of running around in the diaper. Caleb thinks it's the best ever.
Ready to play!
Kisses from Daddy.
With DST, the sun is rising as we pull out of the drive in the morning.
It's breathtaking most days.
Friday, March 13, 2015
From the Lectionary this morning
A quick reflection on the lectionary text this morning, Deuteronomy 6:4-12
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
In this text we are am tempted to focus on the first half- the all important first commandment, yes? However, this morning I am struck by the overwhelming grace found in the second half. God provides us with land, with homes, with water and food and we can take and eat and be satisfied. It's easy, especially in a first world country, to say "Yeah, I get this! We just moved into this awesome house, and we are going to be stewards of our land and we have unlimited water for which we pay a nominal fee!" But it's not always like that, right? The West is going through a drought. The Jews and the Palestines, not to mention ISIS and the other splinter groups, are fighting for that exact land referenced in these Old Testament passages, physical land they believe God has awarded to them. Does it mean we do not need to work hard for what we have? Our house did not just land in our laps. Brian and I have been stewards of our funds, which in turn allowed us to buy our house.
When I read that text, I see it describing not physical land and vineyards and food, but God's continuous grace. What else is continually available to us, without price and without end? We have so much good in our lives, and when I see that good, when I see my husband, our son, our family, I see God's grace manifest in the world. I am filled again and again and again. I am careful that I do not forget the Lord, lest I think that I can create this all on my own. That I can create anything, really.
In the church that I grew up in, we often spoke of God as being right here with us, closer than our own skin. If you listen closely, prayers were affirmations of God's grace and presence, not petitions for future help. I see evidence of those prayers in this passage; God has always and is always providing for us.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
In this text we are am tempted to focus on the first half- the all important first commandment, yes? However, this morning I am struck by the overwhelming grace found in the second half. God provides us with land, with homes, with water and food and we can take and eat and be satisfied. It's easy, especially in a first world country, to say "Yeah, I get this! We just moved into this awesome house, and we are going to be stewards of our land and we have unlimited water for which we pay a nominal fee!" But it's not always like that, right? The West is going through a drought. The Jews and the Palestines, not to mention ISIS and the other splinter groups, are fighting for that exact land referenced in these Old Testament passages, physical land they believe God has awarded to them. Does it mean we do not need to work hard for what we have? Our house did not just land in our laps. Brian and I have been stewards of our funds, which in turn allowed us to buy our house.
When I read that text, I see it describing not physical land and vineyards and food, but God's continuous grace. What else is continually available to us, without price and without end? We have so much good in our lives, and when I see that good, when I see my husband, our son, our family, I see God's grace manifest in the world. I am filled again and again and again. I am careful that I do not forget the Lord, lest I think that I can create this all on my own. That I can create anything, really.
In the church that I grew up in, we often spoke of God as being right here with us, closer than our own skin. If you listen closely, prayers were affirmations of God's grace and presence, not petitions for future help. I see evidence of those prayers in this passage; God has always and is always providing for us.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Snow day, second verse same as the first
We are in the second round of snow days this winter here in Nashville. According to natives, this is an unusual winter- my neighbor commented that this is the most snow his nine year old has ever seen. We have 4 inches- not much for this Midwesterner! Nashville + frozen precipitation = total panic. We had an ice storm in mid-February and the public schools were out for the next two weeks. Two ENTIRE weeks. That was the second half of February! Thankfully Caleb's school was only out for 1 week (private school means no bussing) and my parents were here to stay with him once Brian and I had to go back to work.
This week we are on snow day number 2. All of us were off yesterday, but Caleb's school is still closed today so I'm taking time to be with him since my parents are back in Wisconsin. Caleb going to a school rather than a traditional day care has its pros and cons. We love the feeling of the school and the community it creates- football games, a campus for the babies to take buggy rides, etc. But when weather hits, we find that they close for longer, like a school. Other daycares might have a late start, but Caleb's school is flat out closed.
So today I'm a stay at home mom. I'm pretty much always happy to be working and am looking forward to a career in ministry, but today I'm remembering how much I liked maternity leave. Maybe it's not having to go out in the winter? There was snow on the ground for 100% of the time I was on maternity leave. But I'm remembering once Caleb was past 6 weeks or so, there was a schedule we followed, and today I'm feeling the same way. There are snacks breaks, with milk for him and tea for me. Today there will be an outing to the grocery store, saving me a weekend trip. He's currently taking his first nap, and will take another later, an opportunity for me to get a jump on dinner. I have this image in my head, if I was a stay at home mom- lazy mornings with a real breakfast, a schedule of crafts and snacks, outings to the library, walks, etc. We are also saving money because at home Caleb wears his cloth diapers. This week I paid $8.99 for 18 diapers (Pampers) so at that rate, a cloth diaper saves 50 cents each. That's $3-5 per day! We use Pampers overnight, Target brand at school and cloth on the weekends/snow days.
Sometimes staying at home sounds perfectly idyllic. The reality is, 90% of the time I like going to work, knowing that Caleb is giggling with his friends, doing crafts at school and being cuddled by his teachers. It's not financially feasible for our family, but today that stay at home mom dream is awfully tempting...
This week we are on snow day number 2. All of us were off yesterday, but Caleb's school is still closed today so I'm taking time to be with him since my parents are back in Wisconsin. Caleb going to a school rather than a traditional day care has its pros and cons. We love the feeling of the school and the community it creates- football games, a campus for the babies to take buggy rides, etc. But when weather hits, we find that they close for longer, like a school. Other daycares might have a late start, but Caleb's school is flat out closed.
So today I'm a stay at home mom. I'm pretty much always happy to be working and am looking forward to a career in ministry, but today I'm remembering how much I liked maternity leave. Maybe it's not having to go out in the winter? There was snow on the ground for 100% of the time I was on maternity leave. But I'm remembering once Caleb was past 6 weeks or so, there was a schedule we followed, and today I'm feeling the same way. There are snacks breaks, with milk for him and tea for me. Today there will be an outing to the grocery store, saving me a weekend trip. He's currently taking his first nap, and will take another later, an opportunity for me to get a jump on dinner. I have this image in my head, if I was a stay at home mom- lazy mornings with a real breakfast, a schedule of crafts and snacks, outings to the library, walks, etc. We are also saving money because at home Caleb wears his cloth diapers. This week I paid $8.99 for 18 diapers (Pampers) so at that rate, a cloth diaper saves 50 cents each. That's $3-5 per day! We use Pampers overnight, Target brand at school and cloth on the weekends/snow days.
Sometimes staying at home sounds perfectly idyllic. The reality is, 90% of the time I like going to work, knowing that Caleb is giggling with his friends, doing crafts at school and being cuddled by his teachers. It's not financially feasible for our family, but today that stay at home mom dream is awfully tempting...
Pulling out the usually hidden toys from the closet.
Real snow, not just ice!
Snow days mean homemade everything. Link to recipe below.
This is from the ice storm back in February.
Snow day fort! This is also from February, I just happen to really like that outfit on Caleb.
First snow outing! As you can see, we're especially unprepared. Those are socks on his hands.
In this amazing stay at home fantasy I also make homemade everything for meals. Yesterday that meant bbq crockpot chicken with homemade buns and cole slaw with homemade mayo. The buns are so easy and ten times better than storebought ones. Very little hands on time and you most likely have everything in your pantry. Same goes for the mayo- it's a Serious Eats recipe that uses a stick blender. It does not involve slowly drizzling oil as you attempt to whisk, which takes three or four hands. I would encourage anyone to try it- I'm not sure I'll buy mayonnaise again!
I'm grateful for these little extra days that means time with our sweet boy who's growing up so fast.
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