Birds, Birds, Birds

Driving home from work last week, I noticed what looked like a lot of birds. I was amazed at the sheer number. That is until I got a good look at the sheer number. There were so many birds it was like a black ribbon in the sky stretching on for MILES. When I say miles I mean miles! I drove for a good 10 minutes and the birds just kept coming. They were coming as if they had been released from a cage -maybe a cage called winter? Then, I started driving in a different direction and I couldn't see them anymore.

I happen to tell the pastor about my amazement over the birds and he said he has seen them before. Sometimes they'll sit in the trees around his property. He agreed there are a lot of them! He thought it was ironic or rather providential that I brought this story up just before he was about to work on his sermon. He opened his PowerPoint slide to this verse Matthew 6:26:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

So many birds and yet God knows them all.

I saw the birds again later that week in a completely different area. So I guess they get around. But I was drawn back to the verse the pastor brought up. In the light of some of the things I worry about why do I bother? All of those birds are in his care surely I am too...

The birds also reminded me what this blog is really all about - drawing attention to the small things that really aren't that small. Those amazing things that we get glimpses of that remind to notice what is around us because hope, glory and wonder do abound in this world.

Leftover Ramblings

We love leftovers for lunch because frequently they look like this...


That's a nice looking lunch of leftover isn't?
Hubby emailed me, "Looked so good I photographed it."

I appreciate the appreciation because I do put a lot of thought into what I will make during the week so that we can be sure to have leftovers... leftovers that hubby can enjoy and my co-workers drool over. ;-)

I made this 6-7 inch long bottom round roast last for 11 meals! We had it with pierogies and then I made stroganoff with pasta. Good stuff... I am even learning to write down the recipes that come out good.

Now if only I had a dishwasher to keep up with all my leftovers.

Together Again

In July 2006, my neighbor Charlie passed away. He was a fixture in my life. He let me use his little greenhouse to start my seeds back when my green-thumb was young and energetic. My deep love of hollyhocks started in that greenhouse -long since torn down. In the last few years of his life, you would frequently find him sitting in an old lawn chair under an oak tree. He was usually napping. It grieved me deeply when the chair was removed. I still picture it there when I drive by and remember him and then think about his wife Mary - who was still hanging in there.

Mary always knew what was going on in the neighborhood. Their porch was the place to be in the evening. I'd just go and sit for awhile or until the mosquitoes got too bad...She was always asking me, "So how's your love life?" And she really wanted to know. She really wanted the answer to be a good one. I was so happy to finally introduce her to my love while she could still appreciate the news. She's been pretty frail and went senile after Charlie passed. It wasn't something I could bare to see. I wished she could be at my wedding and to see her dance as she once promised, but she was too frail to come.

Monday, Mary passed away too. Its sad because know era is ending but it is so good to know that Charlie and Mary are back together again. Its been hard to see them apart for so long.

Abounding Thanks

Sometimes I get to bogged down by logistics and how things will work out. And sometimes I get flustered when I need to communicate with people about the logistics I am trying to work out in my life. And sometimes I get upset when the logistics I have been trying to work out aren't working out.

And then I cry a little. And sometimes I cry a lot.

Then, somehow the logistics work themselves out. So much so that they are even better than anything I could have planned. And I know its God and I wonder why I got bogged, flustered and upset.

But, I get over it choosing rather to continually bask in the better outcome and abound in thanksgiving for working out logistics in my favor and for my own good.

Everyday Food

For 4 years, I ate lunch with one fabulous cook. At least I think he was good, I only sampled a couple things over the years. He explained in detail how he made each dish and everything always looked and smelled fantastic. I was never much for recipes. I usually made things up as I went along. But thanks to my lunch buddy I acquired a respect for the recipe. He introduced me to his 2 favorite sources of recipes... Williams and Sonoma and Everyday Food. I have become a fan of both myself.

Williams and Sonoma has produced such sweet creations as pecan pie made with maple syrup and the tasty concoction percolating in the crock-pot as I type.

Everyday Food is like a box of goodies for me. When it comes in the mail, I curl up on the sofa and slowly leaf through the little magazine looking at each pictured dish trying to decide, "is that something hubby and I would like to eat?" Then, I will turn the corner of recipes I want to try. I actually tried a lot of recipes and repeated the recipes too.

The books were piling up and so I came up with a quick reference plan for looking for a favorite recipe or when I need to be inspired. I stuck a post-a-note on the back of the magazine and listed the recipes that interested me + the page number. Its been working for me.

Everyday Food is keeping us well fed.

Decorating

I have tried not to cover the house in red and green and holly. Isn't amazing how we can squeeze snowmen and candles into places we would normally not ever put stuff. All in the name of holiday decorating...

To feats of decorating success I have had this Christmas are my swag and my Tiffany bowl.

One Christmas I fell in love with this idea... I was at friends house for Christmas Eve and she had lights and glass Christmas balls hanging from an evergreen swag and they all hung over the living room windows. I have tried to duplicate her masterpiece - minus the lights because there is nowhere to plug them in. Notice the little snowman hanging on for dear life!

Last Saturday, I went to a craft show looking for something Christmasy for our coffee table. I saw a few possibilities but nothing that made me want to spend my future house money on. So I came home empty handed. But when I started decorating the next day I came up with this creation using the Tiffany bowl we received as a wedding gift + Christmas balls + a few sprigs of the tree that were cut off. And what do we have a ? a colorful bowl of found items that didn't cost me extra. Gotta love that!

To Tinsel or Not to Tinsel

Sunday we bought our first Christmas Tree together. I was more excited than Hubby... I carefully laid out all the ornaments that I would put on the tree. This is the first Christmas tree I have ever decorated all on my own and I quite liked the freedom to dress it up just as I wanted.

The results are mostly red, white and silver. I am still asking the questions though do I tinsel or not?

I hung one of my favorite ornaments. I have had since I was a baby. For the last 3 years, I have been unsure where to hang it. I planned to hang it on my roommate Christmas trees but when I thought about the fact that on Christmas Day I wouldn't see my little angel on a swing I decided to bring it back home to my parents. But now I have my own home and my own tree and I will actually be able to enjoy my little angel on Christmas Day even if it isn't on my parents tree. So here she is...

Sometime I wonder why do we go through all these trappings -Christmas trees, cookies and presents- they really don't have anything to do with Jesus' birthday. And I highly doubt that Jesus was even born on December 25th. Nevertheless there is some thing nice about the warm glow of the lights and the shiny red balls that make a drab day pretty special. Not to mention many of the ornaments hold special memories or remind me of special people.

... The question still does remain to tinsel or not to tinsel...

neverfindout.org

neverfindout.org

Quintessential Italy

This has always been one of my favorite pictures taken in Italy. I took this on my way to Mount Vesuvius.
I recently realized our new printer is also a scanner so presto scano. I can finally post it.

The woman was hanging wash and yelling down to someone walking in the street. Which to me is the quintessential Italian way! I don't think she was yelling at my for taking her picture though. I tried to be discreet.

Late Bloomer

I have always been a later bloomer. Somehow even at my age, I still keep finding areas of my life where I still haven't opened up or changed.

Recently, I was visiting a favorite creek and it was a very different experience than the last time I was there when I walked in the water in my socks. I found rest in this spot but was little a disappointed that I couldn't recreate the exhilarating romping good time I had years ago. It was a case of too tired, not enough time or extra socks.

I did catch this nice shot and it kind of reminded me of me. Seems to me, it is a late bloomer or to be more exact a late changer. Things change and some things stay the same or take longer to change that seems to be a fact of life. And everyone who knows me knows it took a long time to "change my name." I still seem to be a little green in some areas when it comes to be a wife. Sometime I look at my finger and see that wedding band and wonder "How did this happen?"
I think it will sink in eventually just as I am sure those green leaves will be changing colors.

The View

It started off as a drink of water and then grew into a flower. I was so intrigued by the view I ran for my camera and tried to recreate what I saw. I think I captured it well. I suppose it was a moment of seeing things from a different perspective and finding emerging beauty. Not only did I notice the flower but the lovely way the sun was reflecting in the water. In the end, I was glad I noticed and took the time to appreciate this wonderful glimpse.

Of New Jobs, Hard Things and Pumpkin Sorbet

New Job
Tomorrow it will be 1 month since I started my new job. It is going really well. There are definite difference but a lot of similarities too. I was well received and I like to think I jumped right in to the job. I have learned more about Excel in the last few weeks than I ever thought possible. I had no idea it could do some of the things it does and sometimes its capabilities scare me. What alarms me even more is how quick people are to say "Oh we could make an Excel spreadsheet and blah blah blah...." I am told it comes from being around so many DuPont chemical engineer types.

There is no denying that I am happy about the shorter work day and the shorter commute, but I do miss my old friends.

All in all I am happy that God has put me in this new place, I am being challenged and inspired.

Hard Things
Things like Excel can be daunting. There are plenty of other hard things I have had a hard time tackling and sometimes just been too afraid to tackle. Lately, I have found my self doing something I never thought could or would happen. And I am faced with the decision, loose hold of the wonder and amazement that I have actually mastered or overcome some hard thing or take it all for granted soon forgetting that once upon a time I couldn't do... Excel, pump my own gas and the list goes on of hard things... I am trying to hold on to that wonder - that sense of gratitude as I tackle new hard things.

Pumpkin Sorbet
Yes, its that time of year again. Time to experiment with sorbet recipes so I can try and recreate the frosty pumpkin pie without a crust I was blessed enough to partake of last fall. I have been making all kinds of sorbets this summer such as peach, plum, strawberry, and pear with Riesling. There is still no Pumpkin recipe out that satisfies me so I had to create a recipe based on a super easy peach recipe I found that doesn't require simple syrup -which is always the thing that holds me up.

Result: I am getting closer. Overall I am pleased with it but I will keep trying to perfect it.

Dancing Bride

So who knows where I have been for the last 2 months but to make up for being AWOL... have a look at this video - It might just turn your head!

Milestone Mileage

I have racked up a lot of miles in the last 3 months. So I was able to reach this Mileage Milestone a lot quicker than if I was commuting a reasonable distance to work.

It was with great excitement that I anticipated the turning of my mileage to 100,000. Really I am serious, I was like one on the edge of her seat! I had planned on you using me cell phone camera to document the event -because I forgot my camera.

Fortunately, Jeremy summer intern extraordinaire needed a ride to the mechanic. I asked him to bring his camera because by my calculations I knew we would be on route 476 when the "turn" took place. I was so thankful for his keen photography skill that caught this monumental occasion in a digital snapshot so that I can fondly look back to the day my dear Honda "Billy" turned 100,000 miles. Billy now has reached the point in its life where a $600+ timing belt is now right around the corner hence its name Billy short for "Responsibility" fulfills its name.
I am glad that not only did I have some to take the pictures but that I had someone there to celebrate with. Thanks Jeremy!

Hope on Youtube

It's amazing what you can do when you go get "help". So I have finally learned to post a youtube video! This is Marina Micalizzi and Kira Dutzmann performing at Project Dance NYC 2008 to Sara Groves' "It Might Be Hope."

I have been listening to Sara Groves for the last 2 weeks. This is the only video I found with the song I like. These 2 girls did a lovely job. (Though I have no idea who they are!) I find it somewhat ironic that they performed this 5 days before my wedding. Something I have been hoping for for a long time.

I am finding the need for hope and desire for it to be just outside my window or on the other end of the phone has not diminished now that I have a dear husband.

Our hopes change but the need for it doesn't.

P.S. Maybe now I can figure out how to post a video from the camera. You might get to see the Dancing Bride

Rumble Seats

Once upon a time we had a couple posters of antique cars hanging up in our cellar. One of them had a rumble seat. I always wanted to ride in a rumble seat. This spring I finally got the chance...

Isn't nice when these little childhood wishes come true?

Friday with Quilters

After I finally found the quilt shop I was looking for, I started to mill around looking for the piece of fabric I have pictured in my mind -a perfect shade of Robin's Egg Blue with speckles of brown.

Instead of found this lovely piece:

This might work but it is still not exactly what I am looking for. So I decided to only get a "Fat Quarter."

It was near to closing time and the shop owner and one of the workers started to pull out fabrics for a new sample quilt.

Now one of my most favorite things to do is pick out fabrics for a quilt. There is something so invigorating and artistical about pulling fabrics off shelves and out of boxes and saying: "Ohhhh yes they go together perfectly!" (And this is what I was hoping to do when I found the perfect Robin's Egg Blue)

And that's exactly what these 2 women were doing! So I subtly wiggled my way into the process and before long the 3 of use were pouring over bolts of fabric and experimenting with different ideas for the needed 6 fabrics for the quilt.

They listened to my opinion and ultimately choose 2 of the fabrics I pulled out. So I am anxious to stop by in the next week or so to see the completed project.

In the meantime, I might pull out my box fabrics and see what I have that matches my lovely blue and brown.

Since I got married...

Since I got married...

I have only made pancakes once, but I have used my new waffle maker multiple times.

I have doubled the amount of laundry I do, but I am fortunate Walter doesn't require ironed clothes for work.

I have racked up 2040 miles in 34 days driving 68 hours to and from work.

And after living in Pennsylvania for 4 years of college and almost 4 years in Wayne and Havertown, I have finally started to pump my own gas! Yes, I decided one day when I was on "E" and no where near a full service station that since I was a married woman I ought to learn to pump my own gas. And so I have.... since I got married.

Distilling Trust

I have spent much of the afternoon crafting cover letters and submitting resumes.
I could be wearing a T-Shirt that says:

“I rather be Blogging!”

I don't know where any of my applications will lead. I can tell you, I hope one will lead to a good paying job that only takes 20 minutes or less to get to rather than 60!

I am distilling what trust looks like after you get married. And I am finding that trust looks differently these days. I trust God through Walter and I trust Walter through God.