a long view

So, I'm sure you are all dying to know what happened to the kale.

I bought some kielbasa, some cream, and some bacon and made zuppa toscana, which took me 45 minutes and used approximately 6 pieces of kale. So, there were many pieces of unused kale, which I...did not cook. I gave them away. That's right, I gave up on the kale. Judge me.

In other news! I am now in the throes of deciding on a Halloween costume. As some may know, I pride myself in my Halloween costumes (see last two years below). This year I was thinking of Indiana Jones but I think such a costume requires too many additional items. I have: khaki pants, brown belt, swagger. I would need: leather jacket, a button down shirt, adventurer's hat, dirty knapsack, whip. That's a lot of purchasing. Any other good ideas out there?

I have been:





so I have a lot to live up to. what can I be?

so I'm attempting the CSA (community supported agriculture) vegetable box thing. a friend from church pointed me towards a CSA that sells single shares, so I signed up for one and for 1/2 dozen eggs.

the problem is, they are pretty ambitious about what they think one person can eat as far as vegetables goes in a single week.

last week, I got bok choy. which I have never even seen in its raw form. in fact, when I saw the bok choy at my aforementioned friend's house, I thought it was a leek. so I figured out a dish, made some "Bacon-y Bok Choy" (thanks Allrecipes.com!), which was enough at least three meals. I also made homefries for breakfast one morning. but everytime I ate some place else (restaurant, at church), I felt guilty, thinking of all the vegetables slowly rotting in my fridge.

the point is that out of the box last week, I ended up only eating the bok choy, half of a pepper, and three mini potatoes. I was therefore left with 6 mini potatoes, the other half of the pepper, two winter squash, two cucumbers, lettuce and arugula. I have all that and yesterday I picked up a whole new box!

I think the ultimate result of this is going to be me not eating out as much. people are going to invite me out to eat and I'm going to be like, "what about the kale, man? WHAT ABOUT THE KALE??"

ok, so I have been bad.

we're going to try this one more time. if I get lazy again, I'm giving up forever. but if I stick with it and get prolific, someone has to mail me some cookies. that's the deal.

Here is the end of my sermon yesterday:

Martin Luther King Jr once wrote from jail a scathing letter to his fellow pastors, whose behavior was not being regulated by their love for God but rather by their fear of going against society. In his letter, he says this:

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than [people]. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

... If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

These words were written almost 50 years ago, but they still have resonance today. Whether its the battle against racism, poverty, or greed, whether its speaking out about how God wants us to use our minds, our money or our bodies, we as Christians and as the church, are made to obey God and not people, to speak with power and conviction about who we are, who we belong to, and what we are made for. Are we silently sanctioning the abuse of the freedom we are granted in Christ? Are we a weak, ineffectual voice, a social club, intimidated, not wanting to ruffle feathers or make waves or be different? Instead, let us be God- intoxicated, proclaiming with strong voices that we are God's people, saved and redeemed and freed by Christ's work on the cross, living a different and more abundant kind of life out of that freedom, for the good of our neighbor and for the glory of God.

...finished reading: A Mercy, by Toni Morrison. Toni Morrison is not Danielle Steel -- fans have to wait a long time in between books, but each book is so carefully woven, it's worth it. A Mercy is no exception. Short, but tight, well researched, well told; the story of a slave girl and the strange little community she lives in, a household made up of orphans and slaves, mail order brides and indentured servants, each getting a chance to tell their piece of the story, ending in a way both resolved and unresolved. I really enjoyed the different perspectives, each time a new person told their story the reader understood a little bit more about it -- teaching us that to hear any whole story we have to try and look through many different sets of eyes.

reading: Mudhouse Sabbath, by Lauren winner. A Christmas gift to myself. She talks about how Jews do their faith better than Christians, how in their practices they increase their faith. A solid thesis, I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.

panning: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I get it. Broad, sweeping epic. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, both looking lovely. A fascinating premise. Beautiful cinematographic. Golden Globe nominated. But ultimately? empty. I loved the idea of the movie, especially as I get older and I watch my parents get older. what would it be like to take all the knowledge that comes with age and put it into a young body, able to really understand and appreciate all the experiences able-bodiedness affords? After reflecting on that concept, I am angry at the filmmakers and Brad Pitt that more wasn't done. In the end, I didn't care about Benjamin Button or Daisy, his love. I didn't know him, I didn't know who he was, I didn't know why his experiences were so powerful for him. I felt more connection with his surrogate mother, who was onscreen for about 20 minutes of the totally unnecessary three hours of this movie, than I did with the characters who were in almost every scene.

resolving: Just three: 1. Send real letters. 2. Read more. 3. Create more.

cooking: Butternut squash soup -- a MAY zing, probably because it was made with cream cheese (although it did not look as good as the soup pictured). Also chicken pot pie, slightly less successful, but once you took the burnt parts off, serviceable. I decided to try and cook with the seasons, then on researching found out that Massachusetts has NO seasonal food between November and May. So, so much for that goal. At least until April.

love this.

"The Atlas of the Real World uses software to depict the nations of the world, not by their physical size, but by their demographic importance on a range of subjects. Here, we select a series of travel- and news-related maps."

Apparently this is coming out as a book on Oct. 6, but the maps in this article are amazing -- some interesting (aircraft travel vs. rail travel), some thought-provoking [wealth in the years 1, 1900, and 2015 (projected)], some poignant (HIV/AIDS distribution).

Check it out.

Super Helpful Store Assistant One: AC Moore, can I help you?
Me: I'm looking for some self-hardening clay.
SHSAO: Yeah, we have that.
Me: What brands? (because I want to search them online to figure out which will have the consistency I want)
SHSAO: We have Nicole, Sculptee and DAS.
Me: What sizes and at what price?
SHSAO: I don't know, I'll have to give you to someone on the floor. Hold on.

No pleasant hold music. Some weird beeping noises.

Super Helpful Sales Associate Two: Hi, can I help you?
Me: I'm looking for self-hardening clay.
SHSAT: We have that.
Me: OK.
SHSAT: ...
Me: Can you tell me what sizes you have and how much they are?
SHSAT: OK, hold on.

Weird beeping noises.

SHSAT: We have a big size and a smaller size.
Me: A big size and a smaller size?
SHSAT: Yeah, one is big and one is a little bit smaller.
Me: What are their weights?
SHSAT: I don't know, hold on.

More weird beeping.


SHSAO: Hello, ma'am?
Me: Yes. I'm looking for self-hardening clay
SHSAO: I know, I'm the first person you talked to.
Me: OK
SHSAO: 56 grams.
Me: 56 grams is the weight of the clay?
SHSAO: Yeah.
Me: What's the price?
SHSAO: I don't know, she just gave me the phone and told me to tell you 56 grams.
Me: Can you find the price for me?
SHSAO: OK. Hold on, I'll walk over there.

SHSAO: Which brand?
Me: All of them?
SHSAO: Well, do you have 3 years to listen, because there's a lot of brands.
Me: OK, then, what's the biggest size you have?
SHSAO: 5 lbs for $13.50
Me: and what's that brand?
SHSAO: Something Mexican, Mexican something. I don't think it's well known, I'm pretty sure it's a discount brand. (the brand he's talking about is actually AMACO, which is very well known...they sell a Mexican style clay. I have the feeling he walked away from the aisle again at this point)
Me: Do you know if it feels like regular clay you would use to make pottery?
SHSAO: Yeah, when it dries, it feels more like pottery than clay.
Me: ...
SHSAO: ...
Me: OK! Thank you.
SHSAO: Bye.