a weekend of firsts

it was a quiet weekend full of firsts.

first purchase of new speakers. ever. i’ve never had to buy them. i’m not one to part with old electronics. i still have my first real stereo. okay, it really should be called a “boombox” as it was probably labeled that in the store 16 years ago.

first pages of new books:

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
Because doubt and belief are each on the rise, our political and public discourse on matters of faith and morality has become deadlocked and deeply divided. The culture wars are taking a toll. Emotions and rhetoric are intense, even hysterical. Those who believe in God and Christianity are out to “impose their beliefs on the rest of us” and “turn back the clock” to a less enlightened time. Those who don’t believe are “enemies of truth” and “purveyors of relativism and permissiveness.” We don’t reason with the other side; we only denounce. p xv

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Let me say something about that word: miracle. For too long it’s been used to characterize things or events that, though pleasant, are entirely normal. Peeping chicks at Easter time, spring generally, a clear sunrise after an overcast week – a miracle, people say, as if they’ve been educated from greeting cards. I’m sorry, but nope. Such things are worth our notice every day of the week, but to call them miracles evaporates the strength of the word. p 3

i’m reading enger’s book for a book discussion on jenni’s book blog, and books for calvin. the first chapters have been great and i smiled when i read the above paragraph because not 5 minutes earlier i was holding asher and thinking the same thought. though my thought didn’t include the witty part about the greeting cards.

first sentence by elisha. to preface, this is not and never will be a blog about the detailed happenings of my children. especially anything having to do with their, ahem, bowels. but i can’t help that this was his first sentence, and omar was sitting with me as witness. elisha walks up to asher, puts his hand on asher’s diaper and says, “asher has poo.” my dad was just impressed it had a direct object.

first nibble. asher tasted a sweet potato.

first purchase of a book on knitting. remember this? well, that little piggy is being disemboweled as we speak by a little one year old. i think we need to call him an “unstuffed” pig now. so i’m jumping into the land of knitted farm animals. i will be testing my new found knitting skills.

first time with a new recipe. and it was an easy and tasty one, too. manchego stuffed pears with prosciutto. delicious. i didn’t have any little pears so i opted for pear slices. still delicious and so easy. here is the recipe. try them. and don’t buy the packaged prosciutto – too pricey. just go to the deli counter and ask for four really thin slices. you’ll be good to go.

manchego-stuffed pears with prosciutto adapted from cottage living 11/2007

1 bartlett pear cut into 8 slices
olive oil
manchego cheese, enough for eight 1-inch cubes
4 slices prosciutto (cutting each piece lengthwise into 2 strips)

1. preheat oven to 350. brush cut sides of pears with olive oil and place on baking sheet, skin side down. bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender but not overly soft. remove from oven and cool slightly.

2. place a cube of cheese on top of each slice of pear and wrap with a strip of prosciutto. return to baking sheet, keeping seam under pear.

3. bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. serve warm.

a good monday to you.

a colorful break

a ball of yarn, a baby, a boy, a bear (pink).

we visited omar’s grandparents. the boys played and omar and i discovered food network hd. beautiful.

morning sprawl

where plates, toys, babies, and beans scatter

the first week of spring

omar’s definition of “grocery shopping” for easter dinner.

elisha’s got that youtube glow here. what do you do with a kid who starts to get a bit fussy amidst all the easter preparation? flip on youtube: cute puppy footage, a kitty montage with a remarkably well synchronized bjork soundtrack, patches the horse (oh so weird and oh so funny), and bruce springsteen singing a rendition of elisha’s favorite song, this little light of mine.

and a celebratory easter berry tart.

ugh

i have gotten a few emails asking me if i have finished john taylor gatto’s the underground history of american education. i said here that i would let you know when i finished it. well, it is still sitting on the coffee table and has been renewed from the library at least three times. it’s good. really good. but i’ve realized i can only take a few pages of him at a time. lots of information combined with a fairly fiery passion make it good – in small doses. take this quote, for example, where gatto quotes ellwood p. cubberley (dean of teacher education at stanford in the early 1900s and a prominent voice in the development of government controlled education):

This is the same Ellwood P. Cubberley who wrote in his Columbia Teachers College Dissertation of 1905 that schools were to be factories “in which raw products, children, are to be shaped and formed into finished products…manufactured like nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from government and industry.” p.39

or this:

The third lesson schools teach is that children are assigned by experts to a social class and must stay in the class to which they have been assigned. This is an Egyptian outlook, but its Oriental message only begins to suggest the bad fit it produces in America. The natural genius of the United States as explored and set down in covenants over the first two-thirds of our history has now been radically degraded and overthrown. The class system is reawakened through schooling So rigid have American classifications become that our society has taken on the aspect of caste which teaches unwarranted self-esteem and its converse – envy, self-hatred, and surrender. In class systems, the state assigns your place in class, and if you know what’s good for you you come to know it, too. p.309

it just takes time to read all of this and process all of this – and check up on a lot of this. thus far the facts of his writing that i’ve checked up on seem sound.

but i think i’ll be trying to finish this off soon. the subject of homeschooling has been coming up quite a bit with the ruling in california and this book would fit in with that discussion. this book and its topics bring up some pretty intense issues, so if anyone out there would like to pick it up and read along with me i’d enjoy the company and conversation. or if you have read it – speak up!

risen

easter morning has come. and it has been a good morning. we are trying to teach elisha to say, “he is risen!” which comes out garbled but quite energetic. flowers have been set out, the food is prepared (almost) and even my cinnamon rolls have risen (wink). we are off to worship and celebrate. a happy easter to you.

mary ran and ran, all the way to the city. she had never run so fast or so far in all her life. she felt she could have run forever. she didn’t even feel like her feet touched the ground. the sun seemed to be dancing and gleaming and bounding across the sky, racing with her and shining brighter than she could ever remember in the clear, fresh air.

and it seemd to her that morning, as she ran, almost as if the whole world had been made anew, almost as if the whole world was singing for joy – the trees, tiny sounds in the grass, the birds…her heart. was god really making everything sad come untrue? was he making even death come untrue? she couldn’t wait to tell jesus’ friends. “they won’t believe it!” she laughed. she was right, of course.

the jesus storybook bible – sally lloyd-jones

get your plan on

i am the queen of reading about a topic i’m interested in. and reading. and reading. and then often times nothing happens. case in point – advent 07. i sat around yesterday thinking of all the things i’d like to do/eat for easter. i then decided enough with the obsessive mental planning and made my way to the library for some books. our library trip turned into an event. what library opens at 12:30? evidently the miami library. and of course we get there at 11:45. a gaggle of the elderly stood outside with us waiting for help with their taxes. elisha and asher were adored – my “cute baby” spanish vocab is pretty good now. one little lady was especially chatty. “i don’t know how you do it. i’m cuban, of course,” (of course) “and we had nannies. how do you keep your house clean?!” “have a small house,” i responded and she gave the boys one more adoring smile and made her way back to the tax line. 5 minutes before the doors opened we almost had another cuban revolution on our hands. i think one guy was just pretending to not understand what was going on to get ahead of everyone. tisk tisk.

books were checked out, recipes have been copied, so i guess i’m doing alright. note the cheese book. um, amazing. and anything alton brown endorses has got to be worthwhile. cheese is somehow going to be incorporated into the easter celebration.

if i had little girls i’d also be getting my shop on. but easter outfits for boys conjure up images of seersucker and i’m just not a seersucker kind of girl – except on matlock.

back to planning.

song discussion

there is a good music conversation going on over at half pint house. click here and take a look.  the songs being discussed are by arcade fire, the killers, damien rice, rascal flatts, and neko case (my contribution).

that morning light – pre 9am

a quote

“welcome into our lives as we live them. join us in the rhythm of our day.”

a quote for monday. this is what i wish i could say to anyone who comes in our home – but i think i’d come off as a bit creepy if i said this as people walked through the door. so i’ll just say it in my head. i heard this on a lecture (thanks, caron) given by christine pohl based on her book making room: recovering hospitality as a christian tradition. the quote above helps remind me that hospitality, in the true sense, is not entertaining. it is inviting people into your life and living it honestly in front of them. i read the book a few years ago but its fuzziness in my head is prompting me to pick it up again.

the lectures are available for free here if you’d like to listen (search under pohl’s name). and if you do, feel free to share your thoughts.

a good day

thank you for all the kind birthday wishes. it was a good day – a great day. i would love to share pictures of our delightful dinner with you but it was dark outside. really dark. like so dark they hand you small flashlights to see the menu. when we were being walked to our table the hostess said, “oh, someone hired a mariachi band to play for them.” a mariachi band. at baleen. supposedly the most romantic dinner spot in miami. as we were led to a covered table outside overlooking the bay she asked, “or would you like a better view of the mariachi band?” um, thank you, no. don’t get me wrong, i love a good mariachi band. and these guys were good. but it’s not what i was expecting. evidently it wasn’t what the fussy ascot-wearing british man behind us was expecting either. “this is gah-bage!” he kept saying and had the waiters rushing around in a flurry trying to get the band to stop. they eventually did.

the food was wonderful. my plate really deserved a picture: cane sugar blackened tuna with crab and cocunut rice, green papaya salad, and a creme fraiche avocado wasabi sauce. oh my. but between appetizers, drinks, and entrees there was little room for dessert. can you believe that? a birthday without dessert. two and a half un-rushed hours later we left.

omar, his family, my family, and friends are indulging my new found sewing/crocheting passion. i think omar was just tired of hearing me say, “let’s go fabric shopping!” to which he would passionately respond, “but you don’t sew!” well, he has now brought me one step closer to actual sewing. he bought me a sewing machine. the sweetie. family and friends gifted me some sewing supplies and i treated myself to some books, yarn, and fabric. asher is to be the recipient of the first crocheted blanket and the fabric…well let’s just see if i can get over my giddiness and actually open the sewing machine box first.

and what’s a birthday without a little trip to anthropologie to buy some totally unnecessary dish towels? it’s not one, i’ve decided. thanks, mom.

my first weekend as a 28er will be spent crocheting, reading and coffee drinking, zoo playing, and perhaps box opening.

a mere 28

i woke up this birthday morning to a cool sunny day and pancakes. and two children. two years ago today there were no babies but there was a plate full of strangely awful cornflake covered french toast. we have never been back to that diner. i’ll take pancakes at home with the three boys anyday. tonight omar and i are going to baleen, a restaurant on the bay. a gracious and generous friend gave us a gift certificate and i’ve been browsing their menu online. you can sure bet i am not ordering the iceberg wedge – i don’t care that it is “baby iceberg” and covered in roquefort. people, it’s a chunk of 13 dollar iceberg lettuce!

so here is to my first day being 28. let us hope it is full of happy kiddos, breezy skies, and a quiet birthday date.

a cup

i’m folding up the stroller to put in the car and i look in the cupholder to find a plastic disposable communion cup. it’s not far from elisha’s empanada remnants. and it ticks me off – the cup not the empanada. enough so that i proceed to have the longest thought about communion in a long while.

worship is work. and it feels a bit harder with two babes squirming and fussing at times next to us. i have realized recently that i feel most alone in worship during communion. and i don’t think it is because omar is up front assisting. i feel rushed and far from contemplative and communal. and when i am finished with the cup, utilitarian thoughts rush to the forefront, “what do i do with this cup? go out and find a trash can? place it on the chair in the quiet room?” evidently last week i opted for the stroller and don’t really remember doing that.

i want that sense of community – of the covenant. hughes oliphant old’s book worship: reformed according to scripture mentions spurgeon’s discussion of the lord’s supper as “table fellowship.”

this table fellowship establishes the same bond with all who participate. our covenant is with christ and with each other. then spurgeon goes on to emphasize that fellowship entails a mutual pledging of faithfulness. christ promises his faithfulness to us, and we pledge our faithfulness to him and each other. obviously for spurgeon, sitting at the table is an important part of the sign, just like the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup. p144

the church i attended during seminary had the congregation walk to the front for communion. we could pray with elders. our children could go up with us and they would be prayed for. there was movement. and during the time the congregation could sing. it helped with the rhythm of worship. it made you feel like part of a community. it was not perfect. and to be honest there have been other stages in my life where i felt fully part of the community of believers when a plate was passed in front of me.

last night as i was trying to wrap these thoughts up, at least for the time being, i realized all celebrations of the lord’s supper will be imperfect here on earth. i will always be longing for more. this morning i came across this quote in john frame’s book salvation belongs to the lord:

as we eat and drink, we look forward to the greater banquet to come (1 cor. 11:26). we eat only little bits of bread and little cups of wine, for we know that our fellowship with christ in this life cannot begin to compare with the glory that awaits us in him.

perhaps that is what my deeper longing is for: a greater fellowship with christ. in the mean time the scriptures have helped. john frame’s words have helped. and hughes oliphant old’s words have helped. and i smile when i think of old. omar and i went to dinner with him once and he ordered a campari. is it wrong to say that perhaps i liked him even a bit more after that?

sunday

we headed over to omar’s parents’ house. we were late for his sister’s surprise party. but we made it for the rum cake and got to sing happy birthday in two languages. elisha led the way to the garden to pick some produce.

tarts, a recipe, and a gripe with a californian

dear friend laura came over last night for dessert. i had the best of intentions to dazzle her with a homemade creation, but i didn’t feeling like topping the molten chocolate cakes from the previous week and the creative juices simply weren’t flowing. chocolate fashion to the rescue. a lemon tart, a chocolate raspberry tart, and a baltazar. i scarfed mine down. laura savored for close to an hour – both signs of utter goodness. but to appease a few of you who have been asking, here is the recipe for molten chocolate cakes. enjoy.

molten chocolate cakes – adapted from food and wine, october 2004

2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for the ramekins
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cake flour, plus more for dusting. (or you can use unsweetened cocoa powder to dust the ramekins)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
4 large whole eggs
4 large egg yolks

directions
preheat the oven to 350°. butter six 4-ounce ramekins and dust with flour.in the top of a double boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate. remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolks. whisk in the flour and salt.scrape the batter into the ramekins and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sides of the cake are set, but the center is still slightly loose. let the cakes cool for 1 minute, then run a thin knife around the sides and invert them onto plates. serve with freshly whipped cream and perhaps fresh raspberries.

on to california. it is a state i would love to visit. i think i have a favorable view of the state on the whole…and then this week happened. on monday i received our march issue of gourmet magazine. i am a big fan of reading the letters to the editor so i flipped to page 32. but here is the backstory: the january issue of the magazine was a truly wonderful one with a section dedicated to southern cooking, particularly the late edna lewis – a granddaughter of freed slaves who ended up becoming the chef of a famed manhattan restaurant. from the photography to the stories to the recipes, it was a great section. but not so says ms. marianne wishner of rolling hills, california. (i feel quite bold using her whole name and location, but hey, she sent in the letter for all to read…and comment on.)

for those of us who are not enamored of the culture and cuisine of the southern part of the united states, the january 2008 issue was one for the recycle bin. i went from page to page and not once did i crimp a corner to remind me to go back and savor a recipe or an article. it seems to me that creating theme issues like this one is bound to leave more than a few readers reaching for your competitors.

seriously, that was her letter. what does that mean – “not enamored of the culture and cuisine of the southern part of the united states”? if she was forced to explain herself i am afraid her answer would be a touch prejudice filled and ignorant sounding. that is fine if you don’t care for the food but do not turn it into an assault on an entire people group. she was careful to point out that her unappreciated issue would still receive thoughtful treatment and end up in the recycling bin. too bad she didn’t show consideration in her verbal treatment of southern readers. also, gourmet is almost always a themed magazine. the march issue focuses on various french regions and their cuisine. what do we bet she’s pouring over this month’s issue – you know, because it’s french – and crimping numerous corners.

i have another california related gripe pertaining to homeschooling. but i need to cool off and collect my thoughts before addressing that maddening issue.

eggs and links

 

friday mornings are peaceful.  and omar takes over with the kids, making breakfast, letting me sleep in a bit, read in bed, or browse around the internet. this morning over some eggs i opted for browsing:

 

small magazine - interviews, pictures, art, and overall good stuff.

 

an interesting video, courtesy of my brother, on fractals.  what is a fractal?  check it out.

 

this short film found courtesy of mollie.  quite sweet.

 

the oloop squareplay - i think the boys need one.