Small Quick Updates...

1. Jason turned 14 on Sunday, and to celebrate, he and 5 friends microwaved "things you're not supposed to microwave", including a light bulb, cd, and a whole egg (we bought a $5 thrift store microwave for the occasion, and did it all outside. The light bulb was colorful and amazing, kind of like a Pink Floyd concert, or so I'm told)

2. Grace got her SAT results back and CRANKED, just like we figured! What a smarty-pants. Now she's running for Senior Class President. I stand in amazement of her almost every day....

3. We got three small chicks, to replace the 5 older hens that retired to a large acreage in Los Osos, down by the beach. The new ones are Barred Rocks, which means they will be the black and white kind pictured above when they grow up. For the moment they are spending the cold nights in a box in our living room, under our desk light, pecking the cardboard and waking me up several times each night.

4. Jamey spoke at a men's retreat up in the redwoods, north of San Fran, and took Jason and his friend Deven. They had a spectacular time and found yet another fantastic bbq restaurant.

5. Baseball season started!!! To celebrate, I signed up for MLB Audio on my computer so I can listen to games while I am working. Also, Jason's Babe Ruth League games have started and he is on the Angels this year. So far the team is 3-0 and he is batting .500. Show off.

6. Today I filled up the truck with gas and the final amount was $85.69. It's so awful I took a photo (on my cell phone, which I haven't yet learned to transfer to this blog). I may have gotten a little teary.

7. My Farm Girls group met at my house and we ground wheat into flour and made bread from scratch. I learned that kneading the dough takes approximately 10-15 minutes by hand, and about 60 seconds in a cuisinart. Guess which one I will be using from now on?

8. Jamey and I helped to process applications for staff, stint (one-year overseas missions), and internships, for students who are hoping to work for Campus Crusade in our region next year. We had about 165 students apply!! That's a huge increase from last year.

9. Because of all of the winter rain, the oaks and pines around us are so loaded with pollen that they are yellow. Pollen coats our cars, porch, and front walk with yellow dust. SO, I am currently running on the treadmill inside the gym, where my nose is assaulted not by pollen, but by "After Shave Man", the guy who wears way too much cologne.

10. We got a new, cool gopher trap and caught our first gopher! And so it begins.....

Spring On The Central Coast

Subtitled:

"Why we love it here so much", or -

"Why you should come and visit us", or -

"Another reason I consider myself a very spoiled person"

Did I mention that as I took this photo it was about 65 degrees and the air smelled salty and clean?

Or that I took this photo when I was on a hike at Montana de Oro State Park?

Did you know that they have a great campground there? And a beautiful old ranger station? And about a million raccoons?

Well, 'great campground' to us means no noise, no frills (i.e. toilets that flush, sinks, etc), but a nice flat spot and a big fire pit (we are rather into fire).

Just thought I would send out an invitation to come to our neck of the woods (or rub it in, depending on your viewpoint).

It's Spring!

My neighbor's pasture has once again become my favorite place, because of the baby lambs that are currently being born. And now that I have refilled my allergy medicine, I can once again run (or walk!) past them every day. There are still turkeys and deer wandering around the fields, but the sheep are by far my favorites. The babies are SO cute. They actually frolic - there aren't many creatures that do. Sometimes they butt heads for fun, and sometimes they run amok. I am easily entertained.

One of the reasons I love the lambs is because of a book I read, Phillip Keller's A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23. Keller really was a shepherd, and describes the incredible difficulties of keeping sheep. What a pain! Sheep apparently are scared of just about everything, and can't eat or drink well unless they are calm and relaxed (thus the need for green pastures and still waters). They will, though, eat stuff that kills them, and will run off of cliffs if so led. Yep, sounds like us. No wonder God has to be a Good Shepherd - and what an unending job! So as I hang out in my own green pastures (our yard, a baseball field, the rolling hills that are that crazy green color), I find myself being extra grateful for my Shepherd and His amazing and patient care of us all.

More Farmgirl Adventures

We had our 'farmgirl' meeting yesterday, at farmgirl Sally's house, which is out among the oaks, and beautiful. The winter rains have made everything that crazy bright green color that I try to capture every year on film, to no avail. And Sally has a front porch swing that looks out over the landscape, which made me want to just bring a book and park there for a while. But we had to head inside, because we learned to make ricotta cheese yesterday. I thought it would be complex and stinky, but discovered that it is extremely easy, much to my joy. And it doesn't smell at all, because the cheese doesn't sit around. The whole process took about 20 minutes - I am not kidding! And it involved only milk (or half and half, or cream), lemon juice or vinegar, and salt. In fact, it was so easy that I made up another batch when I got home and we ate it for dinner with some pasta (I put the 'recipe' below). It is always exciting for me and my self-esteem to find out that I can indeed do something that previously seemed scary or intimidating. And if a dairy product is involved, well, then, all the better!

However, that was not even the most exciting part of the meeting - we got news that one of our farmgirls could not attend because she (this is so awesome....) got run down by a bull and actually tumbled down a hill and cracked a rib. This is possibly the 'farmiest' thing that's ever happened to someone in our group. And it wasn't even her bull...there is a rancher named Chet (how's that for a cowboy name?) who owns 700 acres that back up to everyone's property, and a few of his cattle broke through the fence and entered her yard, and she was simply trying to shoo them out. All I could say was, "Wow!"

Well - here's the pasta recipe that we happily ate last night for dinner:

3/4 lb whole wheat penne, cooked

2 cups grilled chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and warmed through

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

1/4 cup torn fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and let sit in a warm oven until warmed through

To make homemade ricotta cheese:

We used 'recipes' and directions that we got online at allrecipes.com and epicurious.com

Ricotta cheese is also referred to sometimes as 'Farmers Cheese'

Some Women Buy Shoes....

I had a book on the waiting list at the local library and got a call that it had come in. The book is I Am Hutterite, by Mary-Ann Kirkby. A friend recommended it to me because I enjoy reading memoirs, particularly of people who have had interesting spiritual experiences. Besides, the cover says that it is both 'riveting' and 'fascinating'. Those words, to me, especially coming with the recommendation of a friend I trust, are like the words '75% off sale!' in a shoe store for some other women. I cannot resist, even if I don't need another book to read.

When I went inside to get the book, I was compelled to walk down a couple of aisles just to browse. And the photo above is what happened after that - 3 mysteries, the hilarious sequel to A Girl Named Zippy, a memoir about a couple who bought a farmhouse in France, a book about a girl in China....

Clearly I have a problem.

Simplicity

One of the things that Jamey likes to do with our staff and interns is a weekly 'development' time, where we can discuss a skill or concept in-depth, and perhaps do some reading and / or thinking together. It is my turn to lead the discussion this time, and the topic is 'simplicity'. Basically, the goal is that, when you can view your things as gifts and blessings, you can be more content with what you have, and don't need to strive for more 'stuff'. The old, "do you own your possessions, or do they possess you?" question. The discipline of simplicity can be applied to not only material things, but also time and tasks. I think that my being in charge of this topic is, in literary terms, what I would call "ironic". I have posted a photo of our attic as proof, and to 1) keep me humble, and 2) illustrate my lack of expertise in the area of keeping things simple. Ahem.

I have taken the opportunity to re-read a couple of my favorite books: Richard Foster's Freedom Of Simplicity and Margin by Richard Swenson. Swenson's book is really good, but also ironic because, at the end of the final chapter, it contains a list of at least 50 things that you can do to simplify your life. Am I the only person who snickers about that?

And now, I must stop typing and go clean out my closet....

I Gave Birth to a Cheesehead

The Packers are playing the Steelers tomorrow in the Super Bowl (in case you've been in a cave for the past 2 weeks).

Jason is a huge Packers fan, and I, his mom, am a life-long Steeler fan.

Our house is divided (except that I will be ok no matter what the outcome, because I love Aaron Rodgers).

We will be wearing among us: a Mean Joe Greene jersey, a Greg Jennings jersey, a terrible towel, and an authentic Green Bay Packer cheesehead.

Our Super Bowl Sunday fine dining will include a variety of Utz chips and Tastykakes, sent from Philadelphia by my cousin, who braved a large snowstorm to get to the UPS store.

How much Super Bowl coverage can one family watch? Much to Jamey's chagrin, we are at about 100 hours and counting....I'll let you know on Monday, when I'm watching the recap....or on Tuesday, when I'm watching the parade.