As I said in an earlier blog, we went to a farmer’s market last Saturday. There were many, many booths there and lots of people, both sellers and buyers. We went past one booth toward the back of the lot and I noticed they were selling breads. Normally, I don’t stop for those as I have no need for more bread in my diet. However, the brightly colored labels caught my eye and I stopped for just an instant.
That’s all it took for the woman at the booth to strike up a conversation with me, telling me that the bread I was looking at was made with spelt. Not knowing what spelt was, I asked.
“It’s a relative of wheat, but makes a bread that is sweeter and nuttier,” according to the woman at the booth.
I bought a loaf and brought it home. It’s been a wonderful experience. Toasted just right, with butter (actually something called “Move Over Butter”) and my homemade pear jelly, it’s a great dessert to any meal. As you might guess, the loaf is now history.
A couple of thoughts here. First, the bakery where this was made is in the 1900 block of East 21st Street in Wichita. That’s out by WSU somewhere. I’d like to go out there sometime and see where it is and what else they may have to sell.
Second, the bread contained, according to the label, “No animal products or by-products.” Olive oil, spelt, sea salt, and other non-animal things were all that was in the bread. There were also no preservatives. I’m not vegetarian, but this bread would fill the bill for someone who was, and won’t hurt me a bit.
Third (and this is the reason for the blog), I said at the outset that I normally didn’t buy breads and pastries at places like this. I did buy a loaf of bread from this woman, however. Why? Because she engaged me right away and sold me on the product. Most all of the other booth people just watched as people looked at their products. They didn’t engage in conversation, try to sell the product, or make any real effort to distinguish their tomatoes from those sold by their neighbor.
This woman, however, was different. She was energetic, knowledgeable, and engaging. I bought a loaf at least in part because she made the effort to sell it. I know I didn’t make or break her day with one loaf of bread; however, she got her product into a household that previously did not have it, and information about her product has now appeared on a blog. Where else that information will go is anyone’s guess.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
One With the Plunger
I know this is two blogs in one day (three in two days), but I have to say this yet. A couple of weeks ago, I was called into work after hours to fix a toilet that wasn’t flushing. (If you have a weak stomach, you might want to reconsider whether you want to finish this or not). The aide that called said she had worked with the plunger but couldn’t clear the clog and hoped I would come in and use the “snake” on it. She said they had given the resident of that room a laxative, and it was vital (my word, not hers) to have properly-working plumbing.
I went in, looked over the situation, and decided that although it appeared rather grim, to just use the plunger again. It took some effort, and I had to use a couple of tricks (you didn’t know plunging a potty had any “tricks”, did you), but eventually got everything working without having to resort to the “snake”.
I cleaned things up and went to tell the aide that it was now working. She asked me if I used the “snake” and I told her that I used the plunger instead. She again told me that she couldn’t do it with the plunger and asked me how I did it. I just told her I had to “finesse” it a little, but it all came out well in the end (groan).
She then said, “Oh, so you had to become one with the plunger?”
I laughed and said, “Something like that,” and went on my way.
Being a little more serious here, I don’t know that being “one” with the plunger was the right way to put it, but the thought has merit for whatever we do, it seems. I’m beginning to think that the more we can become “one” with our task or responsibility, the better we can accomplish that task.
What do you think? Are there tasks and responsibilities in life that just don’t call for this kind of devotion? Or is this a good general principle that we could embrace a little more than we sometimes do?
I went in, looked over the situation, and decided that although it appeared rather grim, to just use the plunger again. It took some effort, and I had to use a couple of tricks (you didn’t know plunging a potty had any “tricks”, did you), but eventually got everything working without having to resort to the “snake”.
I cleaned things up and went to tell the aide that it was now working. She asked me if I used the “snake” and I told her that I used the plunger instead. She again told me that she couldn’t do it with the plunger and asked me how I did it. I just told her I had to “finesse” it a little, but it all came out well in the end (groan).
She then said, “Oh, so you had to become one with the plunger?”
I laughed and said, “Something like that,” and went on my way.
Being a little more serious here, I don’t know that being “one” with the plunger was the right way to put it, but the thought has merit for whatever we do, it seems. I’m beginning to think that the more we can become “one” with our task or responsibility, the better we can accomplish that task.
What do you think? Are there tasks and responsibilities in life that just don’t call for this kind of devotion? Or is this a good general principle that we could embrace a little more than we sometimes do?
The Market
We went to the farmer’s market this morning. We arrived about 8am and were greeted by “hordes of people” shopping for good deals in produce, household items, decorative plants, crafts, etc. We went for the produce, so I wasn’t very interested in looking at what my sister calls “crippy-crap” things.
There were lots and lots of tomatoes, a good amount of squash and similar items, eggs, potatoes, and scatterings of green beans, rhubarb, beets, watermelon, and other goodies. There were also several bakery-type stands with breads, rolls, pies, and other pastries and sweets.
We got tomatoes, sweet corn, and several of perhaps the only peaches that grew in Kansas this year. If you don’t know, there are virtually no peaches, pears, etc this year due to a late freeze this spring. Most trees are barren of any fruit. However, these peaches came, the woman said, from the Ottawa, Kansas area, and she was ecstatic that she had any fruit at all this year. The peaches were at a stand on the back side of the market, but they were going quickly and she had a limited supply.
We also bought a loaf of bread from a bakery whose address is in the 1900 block of East 21st Street in Wichita. I’m eager to try it with some of my homemade peach and blackberry jelly from last year’s crop. I’d love to find some purple (concord) grapes somewhere and make jelly this year from them. When we lived in Western Kansas, a neighbor had some frozen grape product that she gave me. I strained it and made some sooo good jelly. I’d like to do that again.
We will probably visit the market again soon. Cantaloupe are just now coming into season and there will be more tomatoes, melons, and other produce as the summer winds down. Then this winter, we’ll have to “make do” with what we find in the produce aisles of the local stores…always second-rate compared to fresh from the garden.
There were lots and lots of tomatoes, a good amount of squash and similar items, eggs, potatoes, and scatterings of green beans, rhubarb, beets, watermelon, and other goodies. There were also several bakery-type stands with breads, rolls, pies, and other pastries and sweets.
We got tomatoes, sweet corn, and several of perhaps the only peaches that grew in Kansas this year. If you don’t know, there are virtually no peaches, pears, etc this year due to a late freeze this spring. Most trees are barren of any fruit. However, these peaches came, the woman said, from the Ottawa, Kansas area, and she was ecstatic that she had any fruit at all this year. The peaches were at a stand on the back side of the market, but they were going quickly and she had a limited supply.
We also bought a loaf of bread from a bakery whose address is in the 1900 block of East 21st Street in Wichita. I’m eager to try it with some of my homemade peach and blackberry jelly from last year’s crop. I’d love to find some purple (concord) grapes somewhere and make jelly this year from them. When we lived in Western Kansas, a neighbor had some frozen grape product that she gave me. I strained it and made some sooo good jelly. I’d like to do that again.
We will probably visit the market again soon. Cantaloupe are just now coming into season and there will be more tomatoes, melons, and other produce as the summer winds down. Then this winter, we’ll have to “make do” with what we find in the produce aisles of the local stores…always second-rate compared to fresh from the garden.
Friday, July 24, 2009
MHIP
We live in an interesting (to say the least) time. Pick virtually any subject, and something is happening in that area of life and the world, it seems. Politics? It’s all over the place and seems to be something that just grows and smothers anything that is in the way. Religion? Seems like there’s always some “new” thought or someone who uses religion for some nefarious purpose of some kind. Climate and weather? Global warming is just the half of it. Rain, drought, big storms and others all contribute to the cacophony. Relationships? We’re always and constantly re-defining relationships. Technology? Anything in technology that goes into print is dated as soon as it’s printed.
You get the idea. The world seems to be going ever faster all the time and we who have made it that way seem to be playing catch up more and more. We are inundated with knowledge, deluged with problems and issues, and drowned out with the ever-faster pace of life.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to play the game. We can, to an extent anyway, set our own pace. Some people even chuck it all together and do very well living at a much slower pace. The Amish come to mind first. But there are others, religious or not, that have learned to get off of the treadmill and begin to live.
And as we age, I think we slow down in more ways than just physical. It isn’t so important to us anymore that we keep up with everything. We don’t have to have the latest this or that. And we don’t care what others think about that.
I often wondered, when I was younger, if I would ever be like those who were older in this respect. I find myself now moving inexorably in that direction and not minding a bit. MHIP (Maturity has its privileges)
You get the idea. The world seems to be going ever faster all the time and we who have made it that way seem to be playing catch up more and more. We are inundated with knowledge, deluged with problems and issues, and drowned out with the ever-faster pace of life.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to play the game. We can, to an extent anyway, set our own pace. Some people even chuck it all together and do very well living at a much slower pace. The Amish come to mind first. But there are others, religious or not, that have learned to get off of the treadmill and begin to live.
And as we age, I think we slow down in more ways than just physical. It isn’t so important to us anymore that we keep up with everything. We don’t have to have the latest this or that. And we don’t care what others think about that.
I often wondered, when I was younger, if I would ever be like those who were older in this respect. I find myself now moving inexorably in that direction and not minding a bit. MHIP (Maturity has its privileges)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Are We?
Our minister this morning quoted an unnamed person as saying that some people “are sedated by the monotony of a life that is too small for the breath of God that is within them.”
For some reason that quote really struck a nerve with me. I don’t know if I’m guilty of that kind of living or not. I do know, however, that even our stretching our lives and living to the extreme will not be “adequate” for the breath of God that is within us. And if we’re not stretching living to the extreme, are we indeed guilty of wasting, so to speak, the energy, resources, power and depth of God that even now resides within us?
I’m not going to comment further on this except to ask you to look at your life and ask yourself if you fit the quote (or if the quote fits you). If the reality what we are doesn’t grab us by the guts and make us take notice, maybe we indeed are “sedated by the monotony.” And that would be so sad, indeed.
For some reason that quote really struck a nerve with me. I don’t know if I’m guilty of that kind of living or not. I do know, however, that even our stretching our lives and living to the extreme will not be “adequate” for the breath of God that is within us. And if we’re not stretching living to the extreme, are we indeed guilty of wasting, so to speak, the energy, resources, power and depth of God that even now resides within us?
I’m not going to comment further on this except to ask you to look at your life and ask yourself if you fit the quote (or if the quote fits you). If the reality what we are doesn’t grab us by the guts and make us take notice, maybe we indeed are “sedated by the monotony.” And that would be so sad, indeed.
Monday, July 13, 2009
What a Week
Well, the week is over. And what a week it was! I won’t go into all the details, but all of the descendants of my mom and dad were here except for three who couldn’t make it. It was a lot of work, but well worth everything we put into it.
We renewed contact with those we haven’t seen for some time. We solidified even more our ties to one another and welcomed new members of the family. And of course, we ate. We ate, visited, ate some more, took in the sights (yes, there are indeed things to do in the Wichita area), and generally had a great time.
We also spent a few hours with some relatives on my mother’s side. We took our show to Hesston, Kansas and had a family worship service there along with a couple of uncles, a cousin, and other family members. If there was any time that was truly special and extraordinary, this was it.
So it’s done for another year. How many more of these we’ll be able to do is anyone’s guess. But we’re not getting younger, and some of us are getting downright geriatric. But we’ll continue until it just doesn’t work anymore and hope that the younger ones will take on the tradition of meeting together from time to time.
Thanks to all who made this past week possible. And thanks to all for the sacrifices, work, and effort.
We renewed contact with those we haven’t seen for some time. We solidified even more our ties to one another and welcomed new members of the family. And of course, we ate. We ate, visited, ate some more, took in the sights (yes, there are indeed things to do in the Wichita area), and generally had a great time.
We also spent a few hours with some relatives on my mother’s side. We took our show to Hesston, Kansas and had a family worship service there along with a couple of uncles, a cousin, and other family members. If there was any time that was truly special and extraordinary, this was it.
So it’s done for another year. How many more of these we’ll be able to do is anyone’s guess. But we’re not getting younger, and some of us are getting downright geriatric. But we’ll continue until it just doesn’t work anymore and hope that the younger ones will take on the tradition of meeting together from time to time.
Thanks to all who made this past week possible. And thanks to all for the sacrifices, work, and effort.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
An Apparition
Today we are saying good bye to our house guests, who will move over to our son’s home for the rest of the week. Our other son will stay here and we will welcome my oldest brother and his family sometime this afternoon. That seems like a lot of moving and work, but our son wasn’t home until Monday, having gone to a wedding on the other side of the family in Colorado over the weekend. So sis and her family stayed with us until they got back and settled back in.
So we’re washing towels and bedding, taking out trash and running errands. We’re also wondering about the coming heat wave that has been predicted for here. Highs are to be 100 or greater for the next several days. I changed out the filter in the furnace and cleaned out the air conditioner coils outside. Other than that, I can only hope that everything holds together over these next several days as we will host nine in our home.
As I look over at the basement bar, I see a stack of paper plates, a huge package of napkins, several cases of the snack-size chips, and a tub with assorted paper towels, utensils, etc. overflowing out the top. Our guests are carting out their suitcases, trying to get everything back into the car that came out of it a few days ago. They will be hanging around here for a few more hours before moving, but are removing their belongings from the bedrooms so we can get them ready for the other families.
And here I am sitting here typing on the blog with all of this other activity around me. Sometimes I feel like a kind of an apparition observing the goings on around me, but not quite into the reality of what is happening. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen very often and I see that it will be only a couple of minutes until I need to move the wash along and empty the trash. So much for being an apparition.
So we’re washing towels and bedding, taking out trash and running errands. We’re also wondering about the coming heat wave that has been predicted for here. Highs are to be 100 or greater for the next several days. I changed out the filter in the furnace and cleaned out the air conditioner coils outside. Other than that, I can only hope that everything holds together over these next several days as we will host nine in our home.
As I look over at the basement bar, I see a stack of paper plates, a huge package of napkins, several cases of the snack-size chips, and a tub with assorted paper towels, utensils, etc. overflowing out the top. Our guests are carting out their suitcases, trying to get everything back into the car that came out of it a few days ago. They will be hanging around here for a few more hours before moving, but are removing their belongings from the bedrooms so we can get them ready for the other families.
And here I am sitting here typing on the blog with all of this other activity around me. Sometimes I feel like a kind of an apparition observing the goings on around me, but not quite into the reality of what is happening. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen very often and I see that it will be only a couple of minutes until I need to move the wash along and empty the trash. So much for being an apparition.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
The Reunion
Things are becoming somewhat busy at our home this week. We have house guests who have arrived early for the reunion which starts tomorrow afternoon. And we’ve been running errands, buying food, moving chairs, and doing the other things that are necessary to host forty people at our home. I made a list this morning and think I got about everything done, but of course there will be something I forgot. It will be OK, though. We will get through the week just fine.
We’ve been looking forward to this for almost a year. Even though we get together each year, this reunion seems to be a little different. Most everyone in the family will be coming and we will not be staying in a motel, unlike the past many reunions. My brother, son, and I will be putting up all who come. My sister is working with food and other aspects of the reunion and is also keeping us all organized and on track.
Reunions can be great things being and interacting with those we don’t often see, or they can be a lot of work and frayed nerves. Ours have been great things in the past and I don’t see any changes this year. We are close as a family and easily forgive the good-natured jabs that sometimes come our way from a loved one. We know our family well and seem to genuinely enjoy having others around.
This year we’re going to Hesston to have family services with a couple of uncles and a cousin. This will be an extra-special time for all of us and we appreciate being able to do this. Time on this earth is drawing to a close for many of us. We never know, even if we’re younger, how much time we have available here. To make the most of the time we have been given is good, and we think being with family is one way we can do that.
So, these next several days will be a bit crazy, but interesting (to say the least), fulfilling, and fun. Memories will be made and we’ll catch up on the lives of the others in the family. What a fun time this will be!
We’ve been looking forward to this for almost a year. Even though we get together each year, this reunion seems to be a little different. Most everyone in the family will be coming and we will not be staying in a motel, unlike the past many reunions. My brother, son, and I will be putting up all who come. My sister is working with food and other aspects of the reunion and is also keeping us all organized and on track.
Reunions can be great things being and interacting with those we don’t often see, or they can be a lot of work and frayed nerves. Ours have been great things in the past and I don’t see any changes this year. We are close as a family and easily forgive the good-natured jabs that sometimes come our way from a loved one. We know our family well and seem to genuinely enjoy having others around.
This year we’re going to Hesston to have family services with a couple of uncles and a cousin. This will be an extra-special time for all of us and we appreciate being able to do this. Time on this earth is drawing to a close for many of us. We never know, even if we’re younger, how much time we have available here. To make the most of the time we have been given is good, and we think being with family is one way we can do that.
So, these next several days will be a bit crazy, but interesting (to say the least), fulfilling, and fun. Memories will be made and we’ll catch up on the lives of the others in the family. What a fun time this will be!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Another Day
This, the end of another day, is the day before Independence Day. The neighborhood is lit up and noisy as various fireworks, legal and illegal, find their way into the evening sky. I don’t mind the illegal stuff…I was brought up with it and appreciate the responsibility of using the stuff wisely. Still, there is the law….
Today I went to the rehab center and listened to my sister, nephew and niece in a piano concert for the residents. They played, sang, did duets, sang hymns, cowboy songs, etc. They did a good job, worked about an hour, and had the adoration of about half of the residents in the place who came to listen.
I hope sis knows how blessed she is that she can play duets with her grown son, sing with her daughter, and enjoy a musical time together. And I hope they also appreciate their mom and her talent and ability to make music in the air by looking at splotches of ink on paper and translating that into notes on a piano.
Having a good relationship with your grown kids is a really cool experience. And doing something with them that you all enjoy, such as singing and playing, is all the more fun and satisfying.
I enjoy working with my son. He does I/T at the rehab center one afternoon a week. Even that small time is a time I truly enjoy, knowing how much he has (and is) growing to maturity, and marveling at his knowledge of things I can only wonder about. He’s truly a help to me and to all of us there even though he only works a few hours a week.
Tomorrow is, should we be blessed with it, yet another day. We’ll have 24 hours to use. I wonder what we’ll do with all that time?
Today I went to the rehab center and listened to my sister, nephew and niece in a piano concert for the residents. They played, sang, did duets, sang hymns, cowboy songs, etc. They did a good job, worked about an hour, and had the adoration of about half of the residents in the place who came to listen.
I hope sis knows how blessed she is that she can play duets with her grown son, sing with her daughter, and enjoy a musical time together. And I hope they also appreciate their mom and her talent and ability to make music in the air by looking at splotches of ink on paper and translating that into notes on a piano.
Having a good relationship with your grown kids is a really cool experience. And doing something with them that you all enjoy, such as singing and playing, is all the more fun and satisfying.
I enjoy working with my son. He does I/T at the rehab center one afternoon a week. Even that small time is a time I truly enjoy, knowing how much he has (and is) growing to maturity, and marveling at his knowledge of things I can only wonder about. He’s truly a help to me and to all of us there even though he only works a few hours a week.
Tomorrow is, should we be blessed with it, yet another day. We’ll have 24 hours to use. I wonder what we’ll do with all that time?
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
No Other Way
I’ve been doing some thinking ever since last Sunday. We visited church at the place where we were married last Sunday. In the services, they sang ‘Showers of Blessings”. I don’t like that song because the words say, in part, “Mercy drops (of blessings) around us are falling; but for the showers we plead.”
I think that’s asking a bit much. Here we are in the most prosperous nation on earth and most of us have a roof over our heads and something to eat and wear and much in abundance more, and we sing a song that asks for even more blessings. That takes some nerve.
Anyway, all of that got me to thinking about where we were just a short time ago and where we are now. In November of 2007, we were homeless and were staying in my brother’s bedroom in their house. We had no job, but did have unemployment. We had health insurance courtesy of our church paying the premium and had food and clothing. We weren’t in as bad of shape as many, but for us we were in kind of a bad spot. We lost our jobs at the same time and on no notice. We felt somewhat betrayed by what happened and were left to wonder just what was going on.
So what did we ask God for during that time? Well, let’s see. The list was rather short (at least mine was). I asked for emotional healing from the job loss, work that I could do, a place of our own to live, and beyond that wished for jobs for us that were good enough that we could finally start putting some serious money aside for retirement. Better to start late than not at all, I guess.
In November of 2007, all of that seemed like a pipe dream. Let’s look now and see where we are and what happened. The healing has begun and is continuing. We are much farther along with that than we thought we would be. We both have work that we like to do. We are being paid good salaries and have health and dental insurance, a retirement program, etc. We have a beautiful place to live that we never would have thought we could have found, let alone afforded. And we are indeed putting aside serious money for retirement…in fact, we are stashing cash away monthly that is within a few dollars of what I had thought we would need to do but never would have dreamed that we COULD have done. In addition we got rid of a rather large debt, are putting resources away in good real estate in addition to the cash savings, and are not worrying about paying bills or cash flow.
On top of that we have apparently good health for our ages and have many of the amenities of life…good friends and family, and the “things” that make life easier.
So what happened here? Did all of this just fall into place by happenstance or by our work and tenacity? Some would say yes. And we did have to see the ad in the newspaper, follow up on the ad, submit a resume, etc. And we did have to sign mortgage papers and work hard over the past many years for a good credit rating that enabled us to buy a place. But if you only look at that, you’re missing something.
We are being blessed with “abundantly more” than we asked some 18 months ago. If we’d be doing this on our own, we wouldn’t be where we are and have what we have. We would have been satisfied long ago.
So this isn’t our doing, and it isn’t the doing of coincidence. This is a deliberate act, I believe, on the part of Someone greater than we in response to the cries of two of His children. I can see it no other way.
I think that’s asking a bit much. Here we are in the most prosperous nation on earth and most of us have a roof over our heads and something to eat and wear and much in abundance more, and we sing a song that asks for even more blessings. That takes some nerve.
Anyway, all of that got me to thinking about where we were just a short time ago and where we are now. In November of 2007, we were homeless and were staying in my brother’s bedroom in their house. We had no job, but did have unemployment. We had health insurance courtesy of our church paying the premium and had food and clothing. We weren’t in as bad of shape as many, but for us we were in kind of a bad spot. We lost our jobs at the same time and on no notice. We felt somewhat betrayed by what happened and were left to wonder just what was going on.
So what did we ask God for during that time? Well, let’s see. The list was rather short (at least mine was). I asked for emotional healing from the job loss, work that I could do, a place of our own to live, and beyond that wished for jobs for us that were good enough that we could finally start putting some serious money aside for retirement. Better to start late than not at all, I guess.
In November of 2007, all of that seemed like a pipe dream. Let’s look now and see where we are and what happened. The healing has begun and is continuing. We are much farther along with that than we thought we would be. We both have work that we like to do. We are being paid good salaries and have health and dental insurance, a retirement program, etc. We have a beautiful place to live that we never would have thought we could have found, let alone afforded. And we are indeed putting aside serious money for retirement…in fact, we are stashing cash away monthly that is within a few dollars of what I had thought we would need to do but never would have dreamed that we COULD have done. In addition we got rid of a rather large debt, are putting resources away in good real estate in addition to the cash savings, and are not worrying about paying bills or cash flow.
On top of that we have apparently good health for our ages and have many of the amenities of life…good friends and family, and the “things” that make life easier.
So what happened here? Did all of this just fall into place by happenstance or by our work and tenacity? Some would say yes. And we did have to see the ad in the newspaper, follow up on the ad, submit a resume, etc. And we did have to sign mortgage papers and work hard over the past many years for a good credit rating that enabled us to buy a place. But if you only look at that, you’re missing something.
We are being blessed with “abundantly more” than we asked some 18 months ago. If we’d be doing this on our own, we wouldn’t be where we are and have what we have. We would have been satisfied long ago.
So this isn’t our doing, and it isn’t the doing of coincidence. This is a deliberate act, I believe, on the part of Someone greater than we in response to the cries of two of His children. I can see it no other way.
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