Of Trees

We love trees. Especially my husband, who used to have a small nursery on his parent's farm, and continues to grow trees in the wooded acreage that his family owns and manages. The Mister is heavy into sawmills, fine woods, and carpentry. He has the appreciation for fine wood furniture that I was supposed to cultivate somewhere along the way, and never quite did.

(Except for my "Give us this day our daily bread" cheery wood bread box, which was a precious gift. )

I just think trees look nice, provide shade, and am impressed when they grow fruit or flowers. One needs to look no further than pictures of our wedding trip to see a healthy respect for trees. After all, we spent a week in the redwood forest area of northern California, and even stopped by the Arbor Day Foundation in Nebraska City on the way home.

On a related note, I was a little surprised to receive an e-mail from some environmental group in Europe who are attempting to "...raise awareness of the carbon emissions resulting from the use of the internet - specifically of blogs." Yes, you read that right, my blog and your's may be bad for the environment. Don't ask me how, it's all too complicated. But don't worry, there is hope! The "Make It Green" people (as the call themselves) are willing to plant a tree as a way to "neutralize" my blog's noxious emissions. In exchange for participating, they will give me a snazzy button to put on my blog that declares The Mennobrarian to be "carbon neutral." Well, that's a nice gesture, even though I'm not convinced that posting a few anecdotes, recipes, and pictures here on the internet is going to leave a massive carbon footprint anywhere. But I do like trees, so I might just go along with it just to have one planted. After all, even if it doesn't help, it surely won't hurt, and I'm not convinced there's a problem anyway.

Is it safe to come out yet?

In and Around the Home This Week

Do you ever do this? I'm in the store the other day, a small bulk food store and it doesn't look like they have anything I really need. I wanted pretzel salt and a certain type of flour. Suddenly, the clerk materializes out of nowhere and asks if I need help. I thank him and tell him I'm just looking, and then turn to leave. But then I see that he is now standing at the cash register, expectantly, or maybe just a little hopeful, that I will buy something. I feel bad, and so I look over the spices again. Surely, there is something here I am out of or could use more of? So I keep scanning the shelves of plastic containers. Finally, I spot a container of something I don't have and might be able to use, but it's only forty cents. Meanwhile, the man at the register is patiently and cheerfully waiting for me to ask a question or make a selection. Okay, there must be something else here- this could be a stocking-up trip. There is a gluten free cookie mix that I use to make cookies for a family member, and although it seems more expensive than it would be at my usual grocery store, I buy it. There. I just spent almost ten dollars on things I don't need so I wouldn't feel guilty about the nice man at the register. And I didn't get a single item on my list of things I really do need!

Our garden seeds are sitting by the window, waiting for some sunlight to make them burst to life. I love watching those hopeful seedlings emerge from the dirt, tiny green stems with microscopic leaves. We'll be planting peas outside soon. All we need is some drier ground. Also, uncovering the strawberries.

In the Kitchen: This is a soup I love to make in the slow cooker on Sundays. It cooks in just the perfect amount of time and is easy and low-prep. If you added a can of beans it would be similar to chili, but it's perfect just the way it is. The basic recipe is from the Fix It and Forget It Big Cookbook but it's versatile enough to add your own special touches.

Taco Soup

8-10 servings

2 lbs. ground beef, browned
1 small onion, chopped and sauteed in ground beef drippings
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T taco seasoning
1 quart pizza sauce (you could also use tomato juice)
1 quart water
1-2 diced jalapeno peppers (optional)

Shredded mozarella cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream

Combine ground beef, onion, salt, pepper, taco seasoning, pizza sauce and water in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.Top each serving with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream.

Morning, interrupted

The shiny gold car was two lanes to my right when I noticed it swerving in and out of its lane. It did not slow down or stop as it pulled off the road, and the message was clear that something was drastically wrong as it pulled farther up the road, riding the side of a hill before coming back down to the shoulder of the road again. Still, at top speed, the car road along the shoulder until it drove off the grass and took out an enormous hollow sign pole, the kind that overhangs the highway letting you know what the next three exits are. When that enormous industrial pole went flying through the air, I left my lane and drove up on the grass to get as far away as possible. And I wasn't the only one. Five other witnesses also watched in horror as the car became air born, doing a full flip in mid-air before landing in a ditch full of trees and branches.
I can't believe I just saw that, was all I could think.
Six of us stopped our vehicles and simultaneously pulled out phones, bombarding 9-1-1 with emergency calls. We all waited for traffic to slow down so we could cross the busy highway and made our way towards the crumbled car.

"What exit is the accident? Were you heading north or south?" the dispatcher asked.
"North. No, SOUTH. Noooo...NORTH. Definitely north! The victim is getting out of the car! He's ALIVE!"

We stood aghast as a young man crawled out of the wreckage on his hands and knees, and miraculously, stood up. He asked us how long he had been in the wrecked car for, and we told him it all just happened. He had no recollection at all of the accident. "I must have blacked out." He told us it was a brand new car, and started to cry. Someone lent him a phone so he could call his wife, and we all stood around waiting for the police and an ambulance, telling him how amazing it was that he is a) alive, and b) not more badly hurt than he was. The young man, visibly traumatized, had little to say except for repeatedly lamenting the loss of his new car and wedding ring. I was reasonably sure his wife wouldn't care.

The witnesses compared notes. We had all thought that the man was trying to pull off on the side of the road, but quickly switched to wondering whether a heart attack or seizure was taking place. We all told the man that we couldn't believe he was walking away from the wreck. The young man's face crumpled in tears once again as he noted that it was a brand new car.

Soon, the local police arrived, and the state police arrived, an ambulance, and a fire engine. Two of the witnesses left, and four of us stayed, speaking to police and lending the man our phones. The young man had only been able to reach a succession of voice mails and had not spoken anyone in his family, a terrible irony considering the dozens of ways we use technology to communicate these days. As the EMTs transferred him to a gurney, the young man continued to shout phone numbers at me that reached only more voice mails. Finally, I made contact with his mother. Soon after, I left, late for my destination and a little shaken.

I recounted this to a wise woman I know who said it best: "I hope all the people who were supposed to get messages from this really got it. It takes an awful lot to get the attention of some people."

Wise words, indeed. And something for all of us to think about. Is God trying to get my attention?

Follow up: The young man, whose name is Robert, called me that evening having gotten my number from his mother's caller ID. Having no recollection of the accident, he was seeking details about what happened, and amazingly survived with only a concussion, bruised ribs, and some scrapes. He was not wearing his seat belt.

Sewing and Sowing

The sky has looked deceptively sunny for a few days, but as soon as you step out the door a wave of cold air hits you like a sheet of ice. The snow has melted and things are looking deceptively spring-like. I have venison sausage, onions, and peppers simmering on the stove for sandwiches later, and am finally feeling like I am getting ahead on some sewing projects.

Last summer I saw a great pattern in a quilt shop for a sewing machine cover. It was by Lazy Girl Designs, and I just loved the name! It sounded like something that might be easy to do, and how perfect- I needed a sewing machine cover. Most patterns are somewhat complicated for me to read, possibly because of my dyslexia. They never have enough pictures to show me what to do (I'm big on visual learning) and sometimes the language leaves me wondering what in the world they are talking about. But I was so delighted with this pattern and, wonder of wonders, it really did come out okay. Plus it only took a few hours over the course of two days to complete. Count me as a fan of the Lazy Girl Design patterns.

Now I am piecing those charm squares I showed you last time for a table runner project. So far, it's going well, and I'm so excited about the colors. It's the Nature's Notebook collection, April Cornell for Moda, if you are a fabric enthusiast. (which I am not, but there is potential there.)

Oh, and I'm cutting out 144 charm squares for a new quilt project that will some day be called "stuff I wore" and I just get so excited about sewing this time of year, which is so unfair. Because in another couple months those projects will be dormant and I will be so excited about gardening, again. In just a few short weeks we'll be planting peas.

Speaking of projects, I'm sorry to see Beth at The ImPerfect Housewife announce her plans for an extensive blogging break. But, I completely understand the need for a break and the need to manage and prioritize life and its many projects. And I was thinking maybe, just MAYBE, she could stop by and do a special post as a guest blogger sometime to tell us how and what she is doing. What say you Beth?

Library Do's and Don'ts

Don't start your question with the phrase "I hate to bother you..." I don't mind you bothering me- I'm here to help you. It's the deal I made with my employer. Don't worry, I'm compensated for helping you. Also, lets face it: If you really hated to bother me, you just would not unless things got desperate. Don't be insincere.

Do tell us when you think we've been extremely helpful or when you find something you like at the library. We really care about what you like as much as what you don't like.

Don't (and this is a big one) leave your small child unattended anywhere in the building while you go to the restroom/check your e-mail/mess around with your phone. This is a public building. Anyone can, and does, come through our doors. That includes predators. And although most of us are woefully overqualified to watch your child, we are not a daycare.

Do be courteous of other people who are also waiting for help.

Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask us anything. We really have heard it all, and some of your questions are ones that we hear several times a week.

Do take your phone calls to the lobby where you won't disturbs college students trying to study, homeschool families, people writing resumes and looking for jobs. It's distracting the first time when your phone goes off with its ring tone playing "New York, New York" and it's worse a second time when we listen to you shout "What? WHAT? YEAH, I'M AT THE LIBRARY."

Don't forget to use the library and remember that we're more than just books. We're also a free source of entertainment, a free place to bring your family, a free place to take classes, and a place where information professionals can help you find out about anything. For free.

Love,

Your Librarian

In and Around the Home This Week

I have a quality that may be a gift. I can get along with difficult people. Often with hilarious results. This does not mean that people whom others have a hard time getting along with are really not difficult to get along with, or that they go on to become my best friend or anything like that. It simply means I can tolerate them, usually long enough to work with them for a few hours, and a few here and there even rise to "buddy status" where they seem to become less difficult. Part of it is that difficult people like me because, up to a point, I allow them to be difficult. I can stand there and nod my head sympathetically while they complain about whatever it is they have to complain about, and I let them complain and don't jump in and try to fix the problem. To me, that just seems like being polite. The other part of it is less charitable: If someone is really a BIG pain in the neck, inflexible and unbending, I simply write them off as crazy and then they don't annoy me as much because I recognize their handicap of sheer madness. And yes, like everyone else, there are a few people who I really can't stand, and literally, can't stand them enough to stand there and listen to them. That is when the grace runs out and I walk away. I'm imperfect too!

This quality is one that I've somehow recognized I have over time, and one that I hope grows because it makes life easier and less stressful.

Yesterday's message in church was "Love your enemies." But I had been thinking about this for a while. How timely.

Anyway, I had a slight panic yesterday when I pulled biscuits that look like this out of the oven:

What?! How can something so simple, something I've made a hundred times, go so wrong??

I worried for a minute that maybe I had lost my "gift" to bake, and then where would I be? No place, that's where. So I baked a self-confidence booster, just to make sure I haven't lost it.

Ah, that's better. Yes, the earth is still on its axis. A perfect Sunday evening snack.

I cleaned out the refrigerator this weekend and learned a few things. If the "use by" date on the bottle is so old that it's worn off, the date has probably passed. For some reason, we own a dazzling array of mustard. Pickles, too. And unbelievably, we've decided it's better to open a new jar of jam rather than eat the last tablespoon in a nearly finished jar, judging by the number of jelly jars I unearthed with just a fragment of jam or jelly left in them.

My productivity stats:

Ovens cleaned: 1
Number of old dresses turned into quilt squares: 2
Number of days until spring: 18 days
Amount of snow the past 3 days: A measly 4 inches
Meals made into a second meal: One big pot of chili served up as second time as cheesy chili quesadillas. I found my inspiration here.

In and Around the Home This Week

It was an uphill battle from the start. You see, I pieced it, and was full of good intentions to finish it in a timely manner when the first hurdle appeared. We announced our engagement. With a wedding looming on the horizon, a dress to make for the special day, and non-stop dates with a realtor in our search for a home, it laid dormant for a year. That second winter, I picked it up again and kept at it, stabbing it with the needle in tiny stitches. A few stitches here, a couple more there. A whole block. Sigh. It would take forever and I was already so tired of seeing it. I didn't even like the looks of it anymore! And then the snow days happened, providing endless time to stitch away, until finally, one winter night, the last "X" was quilted on a corner square and the hard part was done. It was finally time to dig out the old binding that I made a hundred years ago and sew it on.


But then, to just put the binding on without any complications would not be in line with this quilting odyssey. So one evening last week there was a flat tire that set off a whole chain of events that ended with a time-pressing crunch as I attempted to get to my sewing spot to finish it off. I finally did arrive, and in just a few hours had the binding sewn on my ancient "eternity" quilt that took an eternity to finish. (It's actually not an eternity design- it's called a "variable star" pattern.)



The specs: Variable Star lap quilt, finished size 45"x45"
Machine pieced, Hand quilted
Fabric: Cheap stuff from JoAnn (because I wasn't confident on how this was going to turn out and didn't want to invest a lot in good fabric. Also, there were no nearby quilt shops around when I started this, but in the time it took me to complete this project, two have since opened!)


Yes, I'm glad that's over. I am not someone who likes unfinished projects hanging around that never seem to get done, so you could probably hear my sigh of relief when this was finished from wherever you are located.

February is always the hardest month for me. My energy level is LOW Low low and I'm worn out from the weather. It's hard to find balance during the darkest moment of the year, but let me try...

I'm thankful for finished projects.

I'm giving thanks for the ten pounds of venison sausage that was given to us by a generous coworker of my husband's. That should make for some easy meals.

I'm enormously thankful that when that flat tire happened on the interstate, at rush hour, a nice man from the state Dept. of Trans. was nearby and saw me right away, put on my spare tire, and got me back on the road in under twenty minutes! Talk about tax dollars at work.

I'm barely surviving the mud, but giving thanks that I saw something green under melted snow this morning. And a robin in the front yard last week.