Read Who They Read

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from a mentor was that if I admired an author, I should read who they read. Don't let "old books" put you off!

Case in point: I started out by admiring Elizabeth George and enjoying her books when I was a new wife. Elizabeth George quotes a lot of Elizabeth Eliot, so I started picking up more of her books (up until that time I had only read Passion and Purity). Elizabeth Eliot quotes Elizabeth Prentiss quite a bit, and so began my long love affair with the book Stepping Heavenward.

If you like Piper, read Edwards.

Any other examples you can think of?

Boston Girl

Last night's opening act was Chris Trapper, who was quite entertaining. My opinion might be slightly colored by the fact that he sang this song, entitled "Boston Girl."



Lyrics here.

Conversation with a Ghost

Tonight we're headed to the Evening Muse to hear Ellis Paul. When I sat down to think about it, I realized I've been a fan of his for over fifteen years of my life.

Here's one of my favorites. The lyrics are below.




I'll respond to you in letters
Sorry so slow, sorry so few
In a nutshell, I'm much better
So far the complaints I hear are few

So how have you been? Have you been to the races? Did you take my mother --
Is your sister in braces? I wish I could've been there to see you through
Hey, are all those things you told me once still true?

Do you remember that time
It was cold in the park
You were running a race, I was there on a lark
Who would've thought that New York could be such a small town

So how have you been? Have you been to the races? Did you take my mother --
Is your sister in braces? I wish I could've been there to see you through
Hey, are all those things you told me once still true?

Margaret is tired,
let's let her get some sleep
Bored with these letters,
let her count her sheep
So goodbye love, goodbye love...

So how have you been? Have you been to the races? Did you take my mother --
Is your sister in braces? I wish I could've been there to see you through
Hey, are all those things you told me once still true?

Operator Error

Yesterday morning I was replanting some pots on our front step so it no longer resembled The Front Stoop Where Plants Go to Die and Then Their Corpses Burn Up in the Fiery, Hot, Hot, Southern, August Sun...

*takes breath*

and since it was (as you may have gathered) hot, I was working quickly to get them
a. into the dirt so their little roots wouldn't spontaneously combust
b. watered so they didn't go into shock from all the hotness and all the moving. And all.

Quick! Get them in the pots. Quick! More dirt.

Wow, it's hot out here and my sweat is running into my eyes.

Quick! Get the hose.

Oh, good, here we go and OH MY!! WHAT IS THAT HOT, HOT SENSATION ALL OVER THE LEFT SIDE OF MY BODY? IT'S WET AND HOT AND OH MYLANTA WHAT IS HAPPENING?!??!!?

Oh, the hose is hooked up to the sprinkler, which is sitting next to my left foot.

I wish I had taken a picture of myself when I came inside. I was a muddy, sweaty mess.

The children had a good laugh at my expense. That's what I'm here for, kids.

ANNOUNCEMENT

(alternate title: "Because You Never Know Until You Ask")

Three months ago on a whim I sent a somewhat apologetic email to Andrew Peterson, asking if he and his friends Andy Gullahorn and Andy Osenga (they call themselves "Andy and the Andys") might be willing to do a benefit concert to help out our friends Jason and Shawnda with their adoption fund.

I was fully expecting to get a form message back that said, "ha ha ha, no way, silly person, you could be a crazed psychopath wanting to take money from us."

Instead, I received a wonderfully polite reply from Andrew himself stating that he'd love to help out my friends and to please not feel silly for asking, because, "that's how these things happen."

Wow. So there you go.

And if you think I don't feel completely over my head in the arena of concert planning and promotion, you've got another thing coming. But basically, Jason and Shawnda are the salt of the earth and I'd do anything to help them out.

PLEASE COME and SPREAD THE WORD!


Andy and the Andys

appearing at

The Neighborhood Theatre
511 East 36th St
Charlotte, NC
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Doors at 7/Show at 8
General admission $16

All proceeds benefit Ugandan adoption fund



IF you can...
be on the "street team" (publicizing the event at your church or organization)
OR
volunteer at the concert, please leave a comment here or contact me at
andysincharlotte at gmail.com

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Updated info on the concert as it approaches can be found at
andysincharlotte.blogspot.com

Maddie is One

Maddie's birthday included all the usual goodies...

presents

cake

singing

(she is just as shy and delicate about eating as her mother is)

and a photo shoot with Mom

(I think this would make a nice advertisement for Bennington Potters, don't you?)

Before the Food Network, There Was JULIA

This past Wednesday, a few friends and I went to a late show of "Julie and Julia." It was quite lovely and of course put me in the mood to do some cooking.

Also, before the movie there was this preview, which made me want to dye my hair blonde, buy a big house, and adopt ten children:

Ten years

(Here is the promised slideshow; regrettably the song I was hoping to use didn't work, so just hum along.)

Our wedding: ten years ago this evening.

From Movies

Fair Warning

...if you hate musical montages, this is not the week for you here at the blog. There is the small matter of a ten-year anniversary approaching on Friday and I'm going to be reaching back into the archives to properly document it.

The Five Stages of Wal-Mart Grief

Last night I headed out to our local 24-hour Walmart to buy school supplies. This weekend is our tax-free holiday in North Carolina; it began at 12:01 midnight (this morning). Here is my sad tale.

1. Denial

10:45 Drive the ten minutes to the store, blasting old 80's tunes on the radio. No late-night errand is complete without Chicago or Air Supply. Pull into Walmart parking lot, remarking how busy the place is. "There must be a lot of other people doing the same thing I am," you think. With a spring in your step, you secure a cart and decide, since you have a little time to kill, to do a little grocery shopping first.


Everything is going great! This is the best idea ever! I am so smart and thrifty!


11:10 Head to the school supply section at the front of the store. Pick up a few items on your list, trying not to give into disappointment over a seeming lack of variety. Remember the school-supply aisle at the rear of the store. Perfect. The better selection is hiding back there, and you find everything you wanted.

Walmart is not that bad. The employees are friendly! That man wanted to talk Red Sox with me: I love that!

12:01 Congratulate yourself on completing your task in ample time. Walk to freezer section and put a celebratory choco-taco in your cart.

2. Anger

12:02 Begin march to front of store to check out. Wait a minute, why are the lines so long? Why do they only have THREE registers open out of twenty-plus? Why are there at least TEN customers in each line?! It's MIDNIGHT, people, why aren't you all in your beds?!

Grrr...no matter what time it is, there are always impossibly long lines at the checkout counters at Walmart. I'm tired. I don't like it here. Blarg. Why am I so tired? My bedtime in college used to be one AM or later. Oh wait, that was ten years ago. Someone hand me the Polident and tuck me into bed. Grr.

Attempt to soothe your anger with reading a checkout-stand magazine as the line wait continues for twenty minutes.

3. Depression

12:20 Finally make it to the head of the line. Start unpacking school supplies from your cart onto the conveyor belt. As the cashier scans the first of your carefully-selected portfolios and binders, you decide to get a verbal confirmation of what you already know: the tax-free shopping started twenty minutes ago.

"This is tax-free, right?"

"No, it doesn't start until one AM."

*cough* WHATINTHEWORLD!

"I thought it started at 12:01," you say, referring to the printout you got off the internet earlier in the day, which you diligently brought with you.

Cashier looks extremely annoyed, sighs deeply, and goes to find a manager.

12:25 Manager approaches, and over the din of the angry mumbles from the customers behind you, you hear her say,

"We started downloading the changed prices at midnight, but they don't take effect until one o'clock."

NONONONO

"Well, I guess I need that stuff back then, because I don't want to check out until I don't have to pay tax on it."

Manager voids the order while you restock your cart, apologize to the angry people behind you, and turn around back into the store, which has now become a bit more like prison.

Return celebratory choco-taco to freezer.

*sigh* I'm so sad. I'm so tired. Why did I think this was a good idea? Braving the crowds at Target with the kids would be better than this.

Just thirty minutes ago, you were high on school supplies. The smell of fresh pencils and new paper had obscured your vision....made you silly...made you stupid. You now see what your rose-colored glasses were hiding: every single aisle is jammed with boxes for restocking. The employees act like you're in their way, crossing in front of your cart without warning and not even acknowledging your presence.

The light is grey and harsh as you stumble around wasting time. You buy a few more groceries. You sit down on the bottom shelf in the book section and page through a magazine. The electronics department, over your shoulder, rings deafeningly loud with Michael Jackson's Number Ones and the movie Cars. An hour ago, this was fun. Now it's the stuff of bad horror films.

Will I ever make it home? Is any amount of school supplies worth this torture?

4. Bargaining

1:01

Maybe if I get in line right at one, they'll get me right through. If they just get me through the checkout line faster, I might actually darken the doorstep of this store this time next year. Or not.

In an ironic twist, the lines are remarkably shorter than they were an hour ago. You have just one customer to wait behind. This still takes ten minutes, since the customer is getting her daughter ready for college.

Also in an ironic twist, your (different) cashier smiles as she confirms that, yes, the tax-free pricing has taken effect. She is the picture of friendliness and courtesy.

It's almost as if the store -- nay, the entire Walmart empire -- is toying with you.

5. Acceptance

1:20 As the total rings up and your cart is filled up with the tax-free merchandise, you remind yourself that you're in Walmart. You should have known. Yes, there are five young children who need you at home, and they will be greeting you in about five and a half hours' time. But there's coffee. There's always tomorrow night for sleeping. At least you don't have to cram some shopping into an already-packed weekend.

1:40 Arrive home, carrying packages with you. Make repeated trips to car. Remark how quiet your neighborhood is at this hour. Unpack refrigerated groceries and wearily head upstairs to bed.

1:55 Your husband stirs in bed, sighs, and asks, "how did it go?"

You have no trace of sarcasm or malice in your words as you reply, "do you see what time it is?".

You've finally accepted your fate.

Your process of mourning is complete.

Steel-cut Oats My Way

The introduction to oatmeal has been a rocky one in our family. I didn't eat it growing up, so it was not part of my routine. Our kids ate it as babies, but as they grew and were able to eat other things like cold cereal and eggs that were (a) less messy and (b) able to be self-fed, oatmeal took a back burner.

But now it's back!

I've read about the health benefits of steel-cut oats for a while, but I wasn't sure if we could do it. All my prior oatmeal-cooking experiences had gone over like a lead balloon. But what I found is that the steel-cut variety is more palatable to the kids, since it's not so mushy. There's more texture to the oats, which makes it more appealing.

I tried and tried again until I finally hit upon a recipe that works, both with the cooking time and the approval rating from the kids. This morning when I told the kids that we were having oatmeal for breakfast, they actually cheered!

So here you go...

I buy organic "Country Choice" steel-cut oats at Trader Joe's.

Place 4 cups of water and 1 cup of uncooked oats in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down heat to low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until oats are consistency you'd like.

(Side note...this provides a lovely time for you to drink your coffee, read your Bible, and enjoy the quiet gurgling of breakfast on the stove.)

When oats are finished cooking, stir in 1/4 C powdered milk for added creaminess, calcium and protein. Mix thoroughly.

This is the point where I usually turn off the burner and leave them covered on the stove. The texture is so thick that they stay nice and hot until everyone is dressed and at the table for breakfast.

Serve with brown sugar, maple syrup, raisins, fruit, jam...whatever you'd like.

To make it even easier on yourself, make them overnight in the crockpot. I got this idea from MckMama. Same ratio of oats to water; just turn them on low and let them cook all night. I found that you might want to add a bit more water than 4 cups, but try it yourself and see what happens.

Enjoy!

Compassion Children

Compassion, International has been on the radar for us for many years, since performers like Caedmon's Call and Bebo Norman have been dedicated to the organization for a long time and are faithful to raise awareness of the work Compassion does.

Two years ago, David and I made a commitment that for each child's seventh birthday we celebrate in our home, we would take on sponsorship of an additional child from Compassion.

Why seven? I don't know. It's a Biblical number. It's a long time of God's provision in a child's life, and seemed an appropriate time for a child to start to broaden their horizons of the scope of need in the world.

What made the sponsorship a little more special is that Compassion has a feature on their website where you can search by birthdate. So we now sponsor two boys: one -- in Kenya -- shares his birthday with Cam, and the other -- in Bolivia -- shares his birthday with Ben.

As long as finances allow and the Lord deems it, we will continue this trend. It's been a wonderful thing for our kids to correspond with our sponsored child.

Linkage

Challies had some gems in his A la Carte today. The first two items are his.

• Piper Quotes 2: A collection of out-of-context side-splittingly hilarious quotations from one of my favorite preachers. Perhaps my favorite: "That’s what it’s going to be like in heaven. Skin and bouncing balls and lions and lambs lying down together. Dogs. No cats! Well, I guess the lion’s a cat."
• Verse Card Maker: type in a Bible reference, and this tool will find the verse and format a memory card for you. Um, wow. Thanks, says this homeschool mom.
• If you have ten minutes to kill, this video is a pretty big hint about the upcoming announcement I promised. Yes, I am a few days late on that. It won't be much longer now.
• And lastly, for my husband, this entry from Indexed. David stands by the efficacy of the neti pot, although his version of it means slurping saltwater up his nose out of a spoon whilst "sputtering" over the bathroom sink. But he hasn't had a sinus infection in three years...he used to have them repeatedly every winter.

I Couldn't Do It.

Sorry to everyone who liked the paper dolls. I just couldn't tolerate them anymore. We had a brief, beautiful love affair.