Cooking

I decided not to obsess over food-related Lenten disciplines, though I have managed to do without cookies and cakes.  After finishing off last week’s Baked Rigatoni and Italian Herb Focaccia, I brewed up a big batch of Lentil Soup and baked a loaf of 10-grain bread (using the recipe in Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Bread Bible).  So I’ve been eating simple but hardy soup & bread all week (and have quite a bit frozen for future meals).

Sewing

Several years ago I bought this beautiful, bright fabric to make a curtain for the window in my stairway.

A few days ago I finally made the curtain.  I think it looks perfect!

The remaining fabric will go for a similar curtain for my back door.

Lenten Reading Group

After my Willa Cather Book Group disbanded, I decided to join a Lenten Reading Group through the University Episcopal Community in a study of Lactantius’ Divine Institutes.

The syllabus describes this project as follows:

Lactantius was the first Christian to compose a comprehensive account of the faith of Christians in the Latin language. The Divine Institutes, written during the last Great Persecution of the Church by the Roman authorities (303-13 A.D.) was meant as a definitive description of Christianity that would answer all possible pagan objections and provide a permanent way which would draw middlebrow folk on to ‘that full and overflowing fount of teaching which slakes thirst in the inmost parts’. Among these middlebrow folk was Constantine the Great (306-37), who emerged from the years of the Great Persecution as the first Christian emperor. The Divine Institutes open a window onto the Christian experience of persecution and onto the sort of Christianity embraced by Constantine. What they have to say, in particular about Christian ethics and the Christian hope, still has the power to illuminate lives today.

For the first week our assignment was Books I-III, 225 pages setting the stage for the rest of the book’s defense of Christianity.  I made it through 187 pages.  So far Lactantius’ primary rhetorical device seems to be ridiculing the beliefs of the pagans and calling them “stupid.”  He is rather witty (probably more so to those more well-versed in classical literature) and I did mark several passages that made me laugh out loud.  I marked even more passages that seemed to contain criticisms which could be as easily leveled against Christianity as against the pagan gods.

In any case, the man leading the group is entertaining and full of great stories, so I’ll likely plow through the remaining 250 pages, which spread over the next five weeks should be less arduous than this first section.

Images of Haiti

My church, which has a partnership with a church in Bigonet, Haiti,  has produced a book of stories (and a set of posters) about Haiti, in English and Haitian Creole.  I’m helping out with a bit of internet research locating Haitian Studies and Creole Language Programs for possible marketing of the book and associated posters.  The book and posters are being sold through SyracuseCulturalWorkers.com.  Or contact me to learn more about it!

WOW!

On top of all that, in the evenings I’ve been trying to stay awake to watch the Olympics, though don’t get me started on the NBC Olympic coverage–ARRGGHH!!

And I’m still managing to take my naps, do my yoga, and otherwise manage my CFS.  I doubt I can keep this up for long (I occasionally have bursts of energy followed by periods of total exhaustion), but I’m thankful for this productivity nonetheless.

TheAltitudeExperience.com

It’s only about 25 minutes walk each way, but with my CFS I still had to rest for quite a while at the library before heading home. I arrived home safely and immediately took a long nap.

Unfortunately, the sunshine blinded me to the fact that Minneapolis was under an Air Quality Warning today. So I wake up from my nap and notice my throat is scratchy and I’m sneezing. Then I find the notice on my computer saying “sensitive people” (that’s me) should avoid outdoor exercise today . . . Yikes! I guess that’s what I get for attempting exercise No good effort goes unpunished as they say.

Time for a neti pot treatment to clear the nasal passages and then some tea with honey and lemon to soothe my throat.

It really was a beautiful day for a walk . . . if it weren’t for that need-to-breathe thing

I’m about to update the theme for this blog to a newer version, so if things look a bit kitty-wompus (sp?) for a while, I’m working on it.

If a week goes by and it still looks funky, let me know . . . it’s possible that certain bizarrenesses won’t show up in my browsers.

Wish me luck!

The day did not begin well.  The morons at Minneapolis Public Works picked today to start digging up the street in front of my house (which happens to be half a block from the local polling place).  At 6 am they arrived with their big truck and back hoe.  Since then they’ve added more heavy equipment.  They’ve just finished sawing the pavement and are now using jackhammers to break up the asphalt.

Some of you know that I have a bit of a bad history with jackhammers.  I worked in an office where they decided to jackhammer cinderblocks in the basement beneath my office at the same time they were tuckpointing bricks on the exterior of the building.  For a month I couldn’t hear myself think or talk on the phone because of the noise.  I lost a filling from the vibrations.  And I still have ringing in my ears.  Needless to say the sound and vibration of a jackhammer sets my nerves quite on edge.

I’m trying to re-vision the road work as part the revolutionary changes that I hope begin today . . . but it’s a stretch!

More after I return from the polls.

As some of you know, I’ve been growing out my hair for several years. A few months ago, I decided to donate it, but it took a while to figure out which organization and what the requirements were, etc.

I ended up going with Pantene Beautiful Lengths because they are more focused on providing wigs for adults (and it seemed that many people were doing the “Locks of Love” thing for kids).

Finally, on August 22nd, I took the plunge. The before and after pics are below.

So now you know that the picture at the top of these pages is rather old (about 15 years old) . . .

My next post will deal with some of the craziness related to the recent Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota . . .

Unfortunately, two of my most vivid fireworks memories involved screaming frightened children. One year we went with the neighbors, including two very young girls, maybe 5 or 6 years old?, to the Doerhoefer Park fireworks. This was back in the 70s when they still shot the fireworks right over the crowd. Inevitably there are a few duds in the bunch of fireworks and this time one landed right on our blanket by these two little girls. Very frightening for all! The dud didn’t explode, but I’m not sure if those two girls ever wanted to see fireworks again. (Jenny or Leslie if you see this, let me know if you ever recovered . . .

Another year I went with a friend and her four children to fireworks in Indiana that were shot off over an old quarry. Unfortunately, it was a very windy night. We all ended up covered in ash. At least one of the children was so frightened by the noise, ash, etc. that he started screaming. Several of us were crying from ash in our eyes. We’re lucky nothing caught on fire and no permanent damage was done. Needless to say, not a very happy Fourth (though my memory is that we had yummy food before heading out to the fireworks).

So, be forewarned–if you invite me to accompany you and your children to any fireworks, it might not be a fun experience.

Nowadays safety seems to be a bigger consideration at the displays. At Powderhorn they shoot off the fireworks from the north shore of the Lake so that the ash, debris, and any duds should fall into the Lake. I always sit along the east side of the lake; most of the explosions end up just overhead in front of me. There was one scary moment last night when one of the fireworks exploded right on the ground, but as far as we could tell, no one was injured. The wind also seemed to blow some of the fireworks back north towards the workers rather than out over the lake, but all-in-all it was a pretty good show. I believe at one time they may have shot the fireworks off from an island in the middle of the Lake (any old-timers out there? leave a comment to let us know), but I suppose that wasn’t very safe for the workers (being trapped on an exploding island if anything went wrong!).

Enjoy the rest of the Holiday Weekend!

Yesterday was the Indianapolis 500 (aka The Greatest Spectacle in Racing) or “an intimate gathering with half a million of your closest friends” as I like to call it. I miss not being in Indiana during the month of May–practice, time trials, qualifying, race day. This year’s field was filled with too many rookies, newcomers, and idiots, many of whom had difficulty turning corners and entering/exiting pit row. Danica was knocked out by one such knucklehead. Not the most exciting Indy 500 ever raced, but not the most boring either.

My Cubbies are holding on to first place in their division, but just barely. Lou keeps making excuses for Soriano’s miserable outfield performance. Easier to listen to when he is on a hitting streak, but when he’s not it’s more annoying than all the other annoying things Lou says . . .

MATT MURTON, my favorite Chicago Cub. Resurrected from the minors due to Soriano’s calf strain/sprain/pull/tear . . . . Matty is only 1 for 8 in two games, but yesterday he had two very “productive outs” producing 2 RBI. I’m sure he’ll do better once/if the Cubs stop playing head games with him. (When Soriano went down, they first brought up Eric Patterson who went 0 for 6 in 3 games—possible publicity stunt so they could play up the Corey/Eric Patterson matchup.) I will resist the urge to rant about how Soriano has been a big waste of money, but you might notice that the Cubs scored 53 runs in the 6 games since he’s been injured compared to 59 runs in the 12 games he played (his average .175)

BTW—if you didn’t get the “adorable redhead” reference, see
Are You Smarter than A Cubs Fan? #3

In other exciting sports news, Danica Patrick is the first woman to win an Indy Car Race (the Indy Japan 300)! This news brought back memories of cheering for Janet Guthrie in the ’70s and watching Lyn St. James at the Indy 500, especially the one year (I believe it was 1992) it was about 35°. My parents and I had seats on the backstretch bleachers. Cars were dropping like flies due to cold tires and driver stupidity, so lots of yellow light racing. Eventually mom & dad gave up and went to wait in the car. I stayed to watch Lyn finish 11th (okay, there were only 12 cars that finished, but on a day like that, just staying on the course was a victory!). A long cold day.

This past weekend was a busy one. Nephew Sean was in town on Wheaton Academy’s “Instrumental Tour 2008: Phil. 2:3-4″. Went to hear them play at Bethel University on Friday and at the Salvation Army on Saturday morning. The highlight was the Percussion Ensemble, especially their “Jam” with the clients at the Salvation Army. WOW–very powerful and moving.

On Sunday poet Mary Oliver read at the State Theater. Lovely. And I got to see three of my favorite writers on the same stage (thought not at the same time): Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew had the honor of introducing Mary, and Mary Rose O’Reilley moderated the question and answer period.

To top off the weekend, Monday brought the Home Opener for both the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins. At 10 am the Cubs held a ceremony to unveil the new statue of Ernie Banks. Even the rain and a cold couldn’t keep Ernie under the weather. Unfortunately, the rain did delay the game by about an hour, but just before 2 pm, Wayne Messmer sang The National Anthem and things got underway. A pitchers’ duel through 8 innings, the game broke open in the ninth with each team scoring three runs. Our new outfielder Hosuke Fukudome was the star of the day. Unfortunately, the Brewer’s came back in the 10th and the game ended with the Cubs losing 4-3. But “it’s a long season and you gotta trust it” as they say in the movies.

Due to a mid-Cubs-game rain delay, there was just enough time to change channels and catch the start of the Twins Home Opener at 6 pm.

Heavy wet snow had been falling all day, so the question of the day was “Can anybody say ‘Retractable Roof’?” If this were 2010, the game would have been scheduled in the new outdoor ballpark (sans roof). The Twins organization, cheapskates that they are, and MLB, get all the revenue from the stadium, but it is being paid for primarily by the taxpayers of Hennepin County. When it was clear that the voters had no interest in paying for a new stadium, the County just decided to go around the law and not put it to a vote. But they knew there would be an absolute revolt if the price included the extra $150 million for a retractable roof, so they went ahead and (stupidly) started building without one. They’ve promised not to come asking for more money for a roof later, but I’m not putting any money on that promise. [Am I bitter? YES!]

Okay, back to the game. Another good start for a new outfielder: Carlos Gomez (who Burt Blyleven renamed Gonzales
Thanks to him, the Twins won over the Angels 3-2.

Unfortunately, last night’s Twins game was too painful to watch. The Angels won 9-1, hammering Boof Bonser pretty hard.

On the food front, more recipes soon; I was on a rice kick for a while and have several of my favorites to add. Of course, Opening Day is all hot dogs and brats and root/beer.

Enough for now. Enjoy the season.