bekahcubed

Categories My Beloved Daniel

Telling the World (Part 2)

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This is the next installment in a rather long series about how Daniel and I met–and have become engaged. Click on the “Our Story” tag for context.

My Bible study friends weren’t the only people who were incredulous that Daniel and I were engaged.

Anna reports showing up (late) to worship practice the morning after our announcement and having the entire worship team asking for the scoop.

“Rebekah is engaged?” our pastor asked. “I didn’t know she was dating anyone.”

(In my defense, his wife knew I was dating someone; as did at least two of his elders. It wasn’t like it was a secret.)

Consensus was that they all needed to meet this guy, check him out.

Anna let them know the good news. He would be visiting that very morning.

After teaching the Sunday School lesson and getting the children into their small groups with their small group leaders, I left a little early and went out to find Daniel. We strolled, hand in hand, through the church building and towards the sanctuary. As we passed the visitor welcome center, my pastor interrupted his conversation “Hey, Rebekah, good to see you today. Engaged, I hear?”

I affirmed that this was true, introduced Daniel quickly and left Pastor Justin to his conversation. But as we walked away, Justin informed Daniel that he (Justin) would be talking to him (Daniel) later.

Later didn’t end up being after the next service as I’d expected.

Instead, Justin mounted the stage to give the morning’s announcements–and opened with “Sometimes, in the course of this life, two people decide that instead of walking separately, they’re going to join their lives together and walk the rest of this life together as a married couple. If you are in the congregation today and have made that decision in the past week, could you please stand up?”

Groan.

Daniel and I stood to applause.

At which point Justin came off the stage and towards us, microphone in hand.

“Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist,” he said, “to figure out that Rebekah is one of the most eligible young women in our congregation. We’ll be very sad to see her go.”

Turning now to Daniel, he asked him to introduce himself and tell what he did for a living.

Daniel did so, but didn’t quite give the answer Justin was looking for, so Justin supplied it himself: “So you could almost say you’re a rocket scientist?”

Ermm…not quite, but we’d let him keep his punchline.

His next question for Daniel had us looking back and forth to decide who would answer and how. “How did you propose?” he asked.

Thankfully Daniel, not liking how he’d automatically contradicted me when I started telling the story to my family the day before, had helped us get on the same page as to the story we’d be telling the world.

I gave the short version. “Well, Daniel didn’t so much ‘propose’ as we mutually decided to get married during a conversation this past week.”

Justin wasn’t content with this answer, so he asked Daniel for more detail.

Daniel gave the long version (although still shorter than my long version.)

And, if anyone was in doubt of the veracity of my Facebook status change, they were now convinced. Thanks to a ten minute in-church interview, they now knew that Rebekah Menter was indeed engaged–and knew exactly how it had happened.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Contraception Guidebook” by William Cutrer and Sandra Glahn

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Subtitled “Options, Risks, and Answers for Christian Couples”, Cutrer and Glahn’s The Contraception Guidebook attempts to provide “medically reliable, Biblically sound” information regarding contraception for Christian couples. In my opinion, this book not only attempts but succeeds at providing medically reliable, Biblically sound information.

The first section of the book provides background for contraception. In chapter two, we review a brief history of contraception through the ages (oh boy, women used to put some really disgusting things in their vagina) and take a look at some of the modern contraception myths (for instance, that a woman can’t get pregnant while she’s on her period.) In chapter three, the authors discuss the purpose of sex from a Biblical standpoint. It is important to note that the authors do NOT discuss the quiver-full type argument (that children are a blessing and that conception should never be prevented) in this section. Instead, the authors save this discussion for the very last section of the book, when they discuss the theological implications of family planning, especially in light of the command/blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” and the clear Scriptural teaching that “children are a blessing from the Lord”. The fourth chapter of the book, and the final chapter in the first section, discusses the basic functioning of the male and female reproductive systems.

While I appreciated the overall content of the first and last sections of the book, I probably would have preferred to have had them laid out in a different manner. My preference would have been to have all the theological implications of contraception (the purpose of sex, the theological implications of family planning, and the sanctity of human life) combined at the beginning of the book before discussing methods of contraception. Instead, the authors seem to assume that their readers are in favor of the idea of contraception, even though they might be confused about appropriate methods of contraception. Only in the last section of the book do they address questions of the appropriateness of family planning at all.

I also have to say that, while I generally agree with the authors’ conclusions regarding the theological appropriateness of family planning (versus taking a Quiver-full type approach), I do not feel that this book is particularly useful to those who are wrestling with that question. The real strength of this book is in the second section, which deals with methods of contraception.

The second section gets into the nitty-gritty of contraception options, discussing Natural Family Planning, a variety of barrier methods, spermicides, hormonal methods, and sterilization techniques. The authors carefully address what each option includes, what the mechanism of action for each method is, as well as any ethical considerations. The authors are clearly opposed to abortion (as they ought to be)–and they carefully evaluate each method for any potential abortifacient effect.

This was probably the most interesting section for me (and probably the section most readers are looking for). I appreciated how comprehensive the authors are, discussing not just broad groups of birth control methods, but getting into the details of each. For example, in Natural Family Planning (NFP), the authors address withdrawal (not an effective form of contraception), the calendar method, breastfeeding as contraception, the ovulation method, the sympto-thermal method, monitoring cervical changes, hormone tests, and saliva tests. I use natural family planning as an example not because it is promoted as the best method of contraception (the authors don’t appear to have any strong biases towards any particular form of contraceptive, apart from being strictly opposed to abortifacients), but because it is a form of birth control that I haven’t seen covered a lot in other literature.

I have done quite a bit of reading on birth control methods in the past–first because I was a student health aide, then because I was interested in pretty much anything to do with women’s health (I wanted to be a midwife, once upon a time), but also as Daniel and I were preparing for marriage. But in all my reading, I have rarely, if ever, seen a balanced look at NFP. Almost everything I’ve read has basically said “Natural Family Planning uses various methods to predict ovulation and works by avoiding intercourse during times of peak fertility. NFP requires a lot of work and isn’t always very accurate.”

This book, on the other hand, carefully addresses the techniques behind different methods of predicting ovulation–and gives the relative effectiveness of each. It turns out that NFP can be a highly effective form of birth control given enough information (that is, enough information about one’s own cycle).

Honestly, I really wish I’d read this book before I got married. If I had, I might have more seriously considered NFP combined with a barrier method from the beginning–and started collecting data (basal body temperature, cervical changes, mucous changes) to make our predictions more effective. As it is, we’re having to be pretty conservative (in other words, using condoms or a diaphragm most of the time) because we can’t pinpoint my ovulation very closely from the currently available data.

I’m glad that this book is very thorough regarding the different methods of contraception, addressing the pros and cons of each, including the relative effectiveness of different methods. For this reason, I highly recommend this book to couples who are trying to decide which method of contraception to use or who want to evaluate their current contraceptive use in light of the sanctity of life.

Rating:4 Stars
Category:Christian Living/Medical
Synopsis:An in-depth look at contraceptive choices from a pro-family, pro-life perspective.
Recommendation: An excellent choice for couples trying to weigh their contraceptive options (the most thorough treatment of the subject that I’ve ever read.)

Categories My Beloved Daniel

Telling the World (Part 1)

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This is the next installment in a rather long series about how Daniel and I met–and have become engaged. Click on the “Our Story” tag for context.

Telling the world that we were engaged took time.

We told our parents on Thursday–Daniel told his by e-mail (since his dad was in a foreign country and didn’t have reliable phone service), I told mine over Skype.

Daniel’s dad wrote us back a quick e-mail giving his blessing, which Daniel’s mother quickly replied to with her own.

We met my parents Friday night so Daniel could officially ask my dad’s blessing. It was a bit awkward since our decision was already made. We weren’t asking for permission–we didn’t need permission. (A sentiment, by the way, that my dad has expressed on several occasions.) Instead, we were doing the Fiddler on the Roof thing (with none of the undertones of defiance). “We’re not asking for your permission, we’re asking for your blessing”.

Blessing given, we were ready to tell the rest of our families.

Saturday morning, we met Daniel’s sisters and mother for breakfast–my first time meeting my future mother-in-law and the older of my sisters-in-law. Then we went shopping for a ring.

We’d been talking a bit about our story, about how Daniel didn’t propose, about how we just decided (mutually) to get married instead of having a schmancy and elaborate proposal. On our way back from ring shopping, Daniel got down on one ring, in jest, and asked “Rebekah, will you marry me?” I answered with something cheeky, I’m sure, because I remember him telling me that I was forgetting the script. I was supposed to say “Yes, I’ll marry you.” Duly chastised, I said the prescribed words.

Which is why, when we told my siblings at our family lunch that day and when they asked how Daniel had proposed, I replied “He got down on one knee, asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

Daniel immediately contradicted me, always honest and not wanting to give the wrong impression. The story came out, how he hadn’t proposed, how we’d just decided–on Tuesday.

“You mean you were engaged on Wednesday?” Anna asked. “You made me a liar!”

Yes, I did. I told her. I was sorry, but I didn’t see any way around it. (Thankfully, she forgave me :-) )

We had Grace take some photos of us that we could call engagement photos–which we posted to Facebook along with our changed relationship status later that afternoon.

Later, I’d realize that my order of telling was out of order. In all the secrecy of the first few days, I’d skipped a vital group who ought to have heard from me personally.

The Bible study gals I hadn’t told that first night because I hadn’t told my parents yet?

Ruth learned when a friend she was going to a movie with saw it on Facebook.

Incredulous, she texted Beth, almost certain it was a joke.

Beth’s response was “No… She wouldn’t have gotten engaged without telling me.”

Except I did.

Oops.

Thankfully, they also forgave.

Categories Uncategorized

Babies in Abundance

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So, you all know that one of my nieces is Little Miss Menter.

And you all know that Little Miss’s Little Sis was born just a couple month ago.

Well, I am happy to announce that we now have a third Little Menter.

Little Master Menter was born tonight, just before June 1st Okinawa time.

Welcome Little Master!

:-)

Categories Everyday Life

A (Second) Naming Exercise

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In my first naming exercise, I suggested using a thesaurus as a baby-naming tool. This remains a great source for unique, incomprehensible, and unpronounceable names–but I’ve learned even more naming tricks in my tenure at WIC.

One popular choice is to take a common name and switch one or more letters to make it an uncommon name.

I’ll use some of my cousin’s names as examples.

Eric becomes Aric
Sarah becomes Barah
Joel becomes Coel
Jennifer becomes Dennifer
Adam becomes Edam
Tabitha becomes Fabitha
Kyle becomes Gyle
Susannah becomes Husannah
Elizabeth becomes IyLizabeth
Christine becomes Jistine
Joseph becomes Koseph
Joanna becomes Loanna
Caroline becomes Maraline
Lauren becomes Nauren
Aaron becomes Oh’ron
Naomi becomes Paomi
Caleb becomes Qualeb
Donna becomes Ronna
Daniel becomes Saniel
James becomes Tames
Anthony becomes Untony
Luke becomes Vuke
*Note that W has been skipped because I can’t countenance lisping a name, even for an exercise*
Brett becomes Xett
Paul becomes Yaul
Benjamin becomes Zenjamin

Of course, this is only switching up the first letter of the name. Multitudes of additional combinations can be made by trading out one or more of the middle or ending letters. For example, Jane can become Hael by changing the J to an H (Hane), switching the e and the n (Haen) and then switching the N to an L.

The possibilities are endless.

Please note that all names (except those of my cousins) are fictionalized. Any resemblance with actual WIC client names is entirely accidental. :-)

Also note that this is not a complete listing of my cousins. Exclusions were made to keep the number at 25. My apologies to those whose names I have not butchered.

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (May 2013)

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I really expected I would be on time with this Nightstand post. After all, I’d have the whole Memorial Day weekend to work on it since I’d have Monday off and no family in town to barbecue with.

What I hadn’t expected was that Daniel and I would lead a team from our church down to Moore, Oklahoma on Sunday to help out with relief efforts.

Between preparing, going, and recovering, that took half of my weekend–and I still had the normal stuff to do (help some friends move, sewing with a friend, grocery shopping, getting the compost into my garden finally).

Thus, a hastily written and photo-free nightstand post. My apologies.

This month, I read:

  • Fledgling and Painter and Ugly by Robert Blake
    When I moved, I decided I’d revise my “Read Every Book” plan to say that once I’d “closed” a category at one library, I was done with that category and wouldn’t have to catch up any unread books from that category at the next library. Which meant that I was already done with picture books through author last name BLAKE, Q. I had read all but two of the Wichita Public Library’s books by Robert Blake–and read these last two in the last month to finish up all the BLAKE picture books.
  • The Contraception Guidebook: Options, Risks, and Answers for Christian Couples by William Cutrer
    This was an excellent review of the available contraceptives from a pro-life, pro-family (although still pro-contraceptive) viewpoint. I intend to review this in more depth at some point soon here, but my intentions sometimes end up going awry.
  • A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans (reviewed here)
    One of those uber-controversial Christian books that I waited to read until most of the buzz died down. I found that I enjoyed Evans’ experiences trying to follow the Bible’s directives to women as literally as possible–but agreed with many of her critics that her Biblical interpretations are suspect and her treatment of the complementarian movement often unfair. Check out my review for details–and a fair number of quotes.
  • Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger
    There were quite a few interesting recipes in this one–and I liked the three recipes I tried (Red Curry Chicken braised in Coconut Milk, Pork Chops with Turnips and Apples, and Vegetable Chili con Carne). I did find that the recipes made more than just two servings–but that might have been related to my propensity for using larger vegetables than recipes call for (is it just me, or do Midwestern vegetables grow larger than recipe-sized vegetables? Whenever recipes say “1 medium onion or 1/2 cup chopped onion” I end up with a cup of chopped onion from what I thought was a medium onion.)
  • Let’s Play Doctor by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg
    I enjoyed the random medical/physiological information found in Leyner and Goldberg’s Why do Men have nipples? and Why do Men fall Asleep after Sex? (In my memory, neither are actually as sex focused as they sound). So, when I saw Let’s Play Doctor at my new local library, I grabbed it. I was less than enthused. There was some information to be found here, but it was mostly silliness in the form of ridiculous multiple choice questions the reader is supposed to answer in their quest to get a fake medical degree from the “Why Do Men Have Nipples School of Medicine”. Worth Skipping.
  • A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (reviewed here)
    Standage tells the history of the world–through the lens of six beverages that dominated the world stage during different ages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola. I thoroughly enjoyed this topical history of the world.
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
    I’m leading the Reading to Know Book Club‘s discussion of this title in October–which is still a ways off, but considering how slowly I’ve been reading lately, I decided to start early. I chose to read without taking notes this first time around–but I’ll probably be re-reading and making notes in September. It’s not too early for you to start thinking about joining us in October too!
  • Sidetracked Home Executives: From Pigpen to Paradise by Pam Young and Peggy Jones
    I enjoyed reading this and think the general concept is pretty good (although there’s no way I have time to do certain chores as frequently as they recommend.) I’ve adapted their 3×5 card file system to my to-do app on my phone–but am implementing on a step-wise basis. I’m still unpacking and rearranging our home–so I’m not quite ready to start thinking about things like regularly cleaning the mini-blinds or the ceiling fan. But someday–and when that day comes, I’ve got everything in my phone ready to implement.

Currently in progress:

  • The 5:30 Challenge: 5 ingredients, 30 minutes, dinner on the table by Jeanne Besser
  • While the Clock Ticked by Franklin Dixon
  • The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women by Sara Rosenthal

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories Recap

Recap (5/25/2013)

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Stuff I’ve Read:

  • Blogging Rules that Aren’t Really Rules
    Lisa writes about the “good old days” of blogging, when we blogged what we felt like blogging when we felt like blogging it rather than turning blogging into a business with rules and guilt over not following the rules. I could certainly identify with a lot of her thoughts.

    “Perhaps three or four of the ten of you who read this blog with any degree of regularity will understand when I say I miss the good ol’ days of blogging, you know, back when we traded awards and buttons and memes and participated in weekly carnivals. Maybe my inner cynic is showing but blogging seemed funner then, easier somehow. There were no rules or best practices to follow and certainly no blog experts or or consultants or books or conferences or lists of ranks (yes, there really are all of those things in abundance).

    We all just blogged our blogs apart from any blogger guilt.”

Podcasts Listened to:

  • Prophets of Doom (from Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History”)
    We listened to this 4 hours long podcast on the way up and back to Kansas City for Daniel’s nieces’ birthday party–and I listened to the rest over my lunch hour over the next couple of days. Carlin tells the fascinating story of a polygamist Anabaptist cult that took over the city of Munster, Germany in the 1500s. It’s probably not a story of interest to everyone, but those who are interested in the history of cults, in medieval warfare, or in torture might find this story interesting. Dan Carlin is, as always, a thoroughly unobjective reporter (that is, he makes no pretense that he likes to interpret history as well as report on it)–which is fine by me so long as one is honest about it.
Categories Politics

I am a Climate Change Agnostic

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Like many conservatives, I have been known to make a crack about “global warming” during a particularly cold day. Like other conservatives, I have remarked on the change in terminology from “global warming” to “climate change”–suspecting that the terminology change is about silencing those “global warming” cracks.

But I don’t know whether or not other conservatives have the same questions and doubts as I regarding the-phenomenon-previously-known-as-global-warming.

You see, I’m not sure about climate change.

I have no doubt that climate change is occurring-the earth’s climate has never been static. Things like sunspots, volcanic eruptions, and ice age cycles have affected earth’s climate for millenia. But I’m not sure about the current conversation regarding climate change. I have questions.

My first question is what sort of climate change is occurring. My second question is what is causing climate change to occur.

I’ve heard apocalyptic tales of oceans rising and knocking off the left coast or flooding New York City. I’ve heard discussion of how world food production will grind to a halt as formerly fertile lands turn into arid deserts. But I’ve never seen the science that indicates at what scale global climate change is occurring.

How much are global temperatures rising per decade? How many degrees does it take to cause x increase in ocean levels? How many degrees does it take for the Midwestern breadbasket to become no longer fertile? I want to know those numbers.

Furthermore, I want to know what exactly is causing global climate change. What does historic data on ice age cycles predict that global temperature should be at this point? How far does current climate differ from what ice age cycles predict? What does historic data on sunspot cycles predict that global temperature should be? How far does current climate differ from what ice age cycles predict? Ultimately, what I want to know is how much of global climate change is due to natural cycles and how much is due to controllable factors?

Why do I want to know this? I want to know this because this has important implications for action. If global climate change is primarily due to natural cycles, action should involve developing technologies to deal with the inevitable change. We must work to either build protections against encroaching water or to move ourselves further inland. We must work to develop additional drought and heat resistant crops or to transfer agricultural industry to newly fertile regions. We must take action to cope with the change that will occur regardless of our actions. Knowing how fast this is occurring will give us a sense of what our deadlines are, how we need to move technology along, what technologies to prioritize.

On the other hand, if global climate change is primarily due to human activity, whether through deforestation or the use of fossil fuels or the raising of methane-producing livestock (heh), then our focus should be on adjusting human activity to maximize the “livability” of the planet.

But instead of answering my questions, stories on climate change sound a lot like a recent episode of “This American Life”. From the tagline:

“After years of being stuck, the national conversation on climate change finally started to shift — just a little — last year, the hottest year on record in the U.S., with Hurricane Sandy flooding the New York subway, drought devastating Midwest farms, and California and Colorado on fire. Lots of people were wondering if global warming had finally arrived, here at home. This week, stories about this new reality.”

In “Hot in My Backyard”, we learn that Colorado’s main climatologist has recently decided to “come out of the closet” that he believes in climate change. The instigating factor? Last year’s wildfires. Which makes for a wonderful story, but not a convincing impetus for decision. One event does not a burden of evidence make. Give me facts, I say. In the second and third parts of the episode, we learn of a Republican and a Democrat who are trying to change the national conversation on climate change–except that they’re skipping my questions and going right to “what we should do”. The Republican is trying to convince conservatives that they should take action on climate change using a carbon tax. The Democrat is trying to stir up old-fashioned (er, 60s-era) social activism to make oil companies a pariah.

I’m open to the idea of climate change. I’m open to the idea that climate change is man-made. I’m willing to discuss making changes to improve the livability of the planet. But I’m not willing to make changes until someone gives me some facts instead of just emotion.

Does anybody know of any fact-based articles, podcasts, books, etc. that can help answer some of my questions?

Anyone?

I am a climate change agnostic who wants to know.

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Events of a Week

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Thankful Thursday bannerSome weeks are ho-hum ordinary weeks where I’m mostly puttering around the house and on our regular activities. And some weeks end up being action-packed with Events. This last week was one such week–but surprisingly ended up being fun and not terribly stressful despite it all.

This week I’m thankful…

…for lunch with my mentor on Thursday
I always enjoy meeting with Bev, but this last week was a special treat. We met at a Chinese place near my work, but got carryout and walked across the street to a picnic table at the park. It was wonderful to sit out in the shade and visit.

H enjoys her first birthday cake

H enjoys her birthday cake

…for a game night Thursday evening
A friend from church hosted a game night. Daniel and I went–as did about a dozen other folks, about half of whom I knew. It was neat to meet some more people and to have a night of laughter.

…for late night sewing on Friday
Since Daniel and I were making our nieces’ birthday gifts for their Saturday birthday party and since we didn’t start on said gifts until a week before said party, we ended up sitting on our couch watching Parks and Rec and desperately stuffing, sewing, and design making rather late into the night. But there’s no one I enjoy working alongside so much as my husband–and I was thrilled to work with him this week.

Daniel, David, and Maria

Daniel and his older siblings

…for a family birthday party on Saturday
We thoroughly enjoyed Miss P and Miss H’s owl-themed birthday party. My sister-in-law Katie definitely knows how to throw a shindig! It was nice to see the family (all of my in-laws except one) and to catch up with Jeremy and Erin (P&H’s uncle and aunt on the other side), who introduced Daniel and I 10 months ago. After the party, most of us went out for barbecue and to look over some houses Daniel’s brother is considering in his house hunt. Altogether, it was a fun day.

Maria with Misses H and P

My sister-in-law Maria with her nieces, Miss P and Miss H

…for a Sunday School barbecue on Sunday
Our Sunday School has been going through a time of transition and we’ve been going out the last few weeks. This week, we met at one couple’s house for a potluck. Or at least, it was supposed to just be a potluck–but one of our number brought fresh-cut Cargill steaks (and a meat thermometer!) to share, so we ended up just potlucking the sides and desserts. The boys played yard games (and then nearly broke a tree getting a ball out of it), we all ate, and then we played a rousing game of Balderdash (which I won!) Fun was had by all.

Grandma and H play with their knees

Grandma and Miss H play with their knees

…for an unexpected basement stay on Sunday afternoon
We had just finished our game of Balderdash when the tornado sirens went off. Since the house we were at didn’t have a basement, Daniel and I rushed home, where we checked the news and decided it was worthwhile to take cover. So we snuck downstairs and cuddled in the spare room (as well as we could when I wanted to be under the covers and Daniel not) while watching the tornado’s path on Daniel’s computer. While it apparently didn’t touch down in town, the tornado did pass just a couple of miles east of us (!) Once the excitement had died down (although the warning was still officially in effect), I fell asleep. Our evening activities (another potluck) were cancelled due to the rain covering the streets in the hosting couple’s neighborhood, so I got a nice long nap in.

…for rest on Monday
I got a whopper of a sunburn at Saturday’s birthday party and was coughing up a storm all day at work on Monday–which meant I was exhausted by the time I got home from work. I cleaned a bit, made supper, and almost fell asleep at the dinner table–sparking my husband to send me to bed while he cleaned up the house some more for our guests the next day. That extra rest was very welcome–especially since the next day meant cleaning galore.

Daniel and Miss H

Miss H plays with Daniel

…for hosting Happy Food on Tuesday
Our usual Tuesday night hosts are in the process of moving, which meant they needed a volunteer to host the dozen (give or take a half dozen) people who show up weekly. After a bit of consideration, Daniel and I volunteered, knowing that it would mean we’d have to do some cleaning. I needed to get all my dishes done so we’d have counter space for all the food people would be bringing–and we needed to clear the living room to get seating for so many. It was a bit of a rushed cleaning job, but we ended up cleaning up the living areas without putting the “back of the house” into disrepair–so the net was positive. And, as always, we had great fun visiting with the dozen who showed up.

Miss H is curious

Miss H is curious about Aunt Rebekah’s camera

…for dinner with a friend on Wednesday
Shortly after Ben arrived, he told us he’d made a surprising discovery: the house he’d just made an offer on was only a few blocks south of us. If he got the house, we’d be neighbors (I warned him I’d be dropping in unexpectedly :-P) After dinner, we took a walk through the beautiful evening down to the house he’s hoping to own soon. He told us a bit about the improvements he’d like to make and we had an altogether delightful evening. It is such a blessing to have friends like him–and I’m thrilled to imagine him as a neighbor as well.

It was indeed a week packed with events; but even more than events, it was packed with people–and I am so thankful for the people God has put in my life, and for how I have opportunity to enjoy them.

Categories Recap

Recap (5/18/2013)

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Stuff I’ve Read:

  • Menter farmstead a historical site
    I have a Google Alert feed set up to notify me whenever a new webpage containing the word “Menter” is catalogued by Google. Recently, I discovered that the Menter farmstead, where my grandpa grew up, is now a registered historical place. Who’da known?

  • What is the Gospel?

    “Just like the word love, we use the word gospel at times freely and careless, rarely asking and answering the question, ‘what is the gospel?’

    …

    It was on that day that I started a journey to absorb everything I could on the subject of the gospel. I approached the question, ‘what is the gospel?’ with fresh eyes and an open heart. I wanted to be awakened again to the radical scandalous grace of God and refreshed by his ferocious love. All of this happened and more.”

    This article reminds me of a friend of mine who teaches at a Catholic high school. Beth once gave her students an assignment based on something she’d heard at a morning mass. “What is the gospel?” she asked. She kept asking that question regularly throughout the semester and included it as extra credit on her final exam. Turns out, despite the priest exulting that the advantage of going to a Catholic school was “we get to talk about the gospel daily”, not a single student could describe what the gospel was. This, of course, gave my friend opportunity to share with her students what the gospel really is.

Books added to my TBR list:

  • And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (reviewed by Jennifer at 5M4B)
    I think I have all three of Hosseini’s books on TBR list now–and I have yet to read any. Shame, shame. Someday…

  • The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb (reviewed by Nancy at 5M4B)
    I always think I’m not a mystery/suspense-type person, but then I read one of these reviews. This story is told partly in the present, partly as a fictionalized manuscript of past events. The format intrigues me–although the “creep you out” aspect may be a bit much for me. We’ll see.

Recipes Tried:

  • Springtime Frittata (from Family Table as published on Serious Eats)
    Springtime Frittata
    This was a very nice Frittata–and it does seem super versatile. Of course, I changed some things. I kept the potato peel on the potato, used Spinach instead of Swiss Chard, skipped the parsley, and used freeze dried chives instead of fresh. I also used 10 whole eggs instead of nine whole eggs plus three yolks and decreased the salt to just the first teaspoon. Despite the decrease in salt, I still thought the finished result was a bit too salty. Maybe the Gruyere adds enough salt that we shouldn’t add any more? My husband thought the whole thing could use some more cheese (but I happen to know that cheese is really his first love, so I tend to pooh-pooh his “more cheese please” requests–you can judge for yourself.)

  • Homemade Barbecue Sauce (from Ree Drummond via Food Network)
    We replaced the Chipotle peppers with 1 tsp of Ground Chipotle Pepper and added about a half can of tomato paste. I thought it was pretty good, but it wasn’t Daniel’s favorite. We’re still searching for a good recipe that he really loves.

  • Asparagus and Tomatoes (from Miracle Skinny Drops)
    Asparagus and Tomatoes
    I didn’t check this website out thoroughly–so don’t take my using their recipe as a recommendation for the site or the product–but this asparagus dish is easy and yummy as promised. I used olive oil instead of coconut or MCT and diced a whole tomato instead of using grape tomatoes. Still, it was pretty decent.

  • Enchilada Casserole
    When I got to making the enchiladas I’d been planning, I realized that while both the hamburger and the enchilada sauce were thawed, I’d forgotten one important ingredient: tortillas. But we had a game night to get to so I couldn’t take the extra time to go shopping. Instead, I made a casserole. I mixed my hamburger/onion/green pepper/black olive mix with some homemade yogurt cheese (from a batch of yogurt that went a bit sour). I spread that on the bottom of a 9×13, spread my enchilada sauce on top, and covered it all with cheese. Then I whipped up some cornmeal biscuits, added a little extra liquid so they’d be droppable, and dropped the biscuits on top. I baked the whole mix at 375 until the biscuits were done (about 20 minutes) and…wouldn’t you know? We ended up liking it.

Projects Done:

  • Sock Monkey (from Craft Passion)
    Miss H with Sock Monkey
    We made a pink and gray Sock Monkey for Daniel’s niece’s first birthday. The cutting out was a cinch, the stuffing rather not. Our final product ended up a bit weird, but okay enough that I’d try again. H seemed to enjoy chewing on it (of course.)

  • Tanagram Type Puzzle (from There is Beauty all Around)
    Tanagram-Type puzzle
    Daniel and I made this game as a gift for his niece’s fourth birthday. I cut and sewed, Daniel turned and designed–and within a week, we had 42 game pieces and about a dozen sample designs in a glossy booklet for our niece to try. I hope she enjoys it–Daniel and I sure enjoyed playing with it before we gave it to her :-)
    Miss P with Tanagram Puzzle