Local Vegetables at Schnucks

Yesterday also held another pleasant surprise -- our local Schnucks grocery store has begun carrying a wide variety of local vegetables.
They had a good supply of local sweet corn, tomatoes, summer squash, onions and other seasonal veggies, and it all looked good! The prices were reasonable, the quality good.
I'm glad to see this; it's more efficient, energy-wise, and it's welcome support to our local economy.
Good for Schnucks!

A Little Work, A Little Play

I remembered something important today -- how much fun it is to play.
I'm not sure what puts me into such a nose-to-the-grindstone mood. Maybe it's guilt: I have so many opportunities I'd better make the most of them. Maybe it's achievement hunger: I want to do something that matters, and I want to do it well. Or maybe it's just habit: I get into the routine of doing what needs to be done, and there is always something that needs to be done.
I enjoy the things I do, even -- shhh, the cleaning -- but after awhile things are so predictable I even bore my own self.
Play is unpredictable and not boring. It's exploring, it's adventuring, it's having fun seeing and hearing and doing something we enjoy. Usually play is creative, fresh, fulfilling.
Sometimes work is like play, usually when singing is involved, but if there is too much work and not enough play, it can be hard to keep on singing.
So today I went exploring. I drove through a part of the local countryside I haven't driven through for a long time, and admired the crops growing so lushly in the fields. I honked at a field full of black-and-white cattle. I stopped at a new store in a little town near our home, The Main Street Mercantile, and explored their store, indulged in lunch.
The Main Street Mercantile is charming, specializing in what my husband would call primitive country (not his favorite, although I like it!) You'll find handcrafted furniture, pictures, candles, wreaths, cards, linens, even toys from Melissa and Doug. There is a whole line of foodstuff -- preserves and jams, flours, popcorn, trail mixes, noodles and more.
Lunch is served at the back of the store in a cozy dining area, and carry-out is available. I had a made-to-order roast beef sandwich (delicious and filling) served with potato chips, and a peach smoothie --worth going back for all by itself!
So why did this little side trip through the country fill me up and give me fresh enthusiasm for my everyday work? Because seeing something new stirs up new things in me. Being around the creative work someone else has done, even if that creative work is planting and nurturing a good crop, is stimulating.
I believe God is creative, and that He made us in His image. We are meant to be creative people one way or another, incorporating that creativity into even our most everyday tasks, but also being open always to the possibility of other creative work.
Work and play are two sides of the same coin, I think; we're meant to spend ourselves in creating something true, something honorable, something right. We're meant to incorporate purity and loveliness into our lives, and that requires creativity. We are meant to be busy with excellence, whether that is simply creating a lovely, orderly home where the people we love can live and thrive, or creating an altogether original something else.
That takes work, but it takes play, too.

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Speaking of creativity, it's a handy thing to use in managing a household. I wrote about this in a column for Hearts at Home that appeared in The Pantagraph, and it's being reprinted on the Hearts at Home website here.

Back from Missouri

Driving back from Missouri this past Sunday, we found ourselves detoured away from the fast four-lane because of flooding. The detour took us through a part of that state we don't usually see, past fields thickly planted with corn and beans, past small towns busy with unexpected traffic, past farm houses neatly trimmed in sunflowers and shade trees.
As we drove, I thought about detours and how they become part of the trip. We didn't intend to swing through that part of Missouri but now those scenes will always be part of how I think about coming home from our first visit with our tenth grandchild.
Detours can be inconvenient and time-consuming but they also offer us a chance to see things we'd never go looking for.
Life is like that, I think. We find ourselves detoured away from what we'd planned, doing things we'd never thought of doing. Suddenly we find the detour is really the trip.
What detours have you taken lately?

A Thrilling Day to Read!

It's grey and rainy this morning – not to mention humid! It's just the kind of day to sit on a porch with a tall chilled glass of lemonade and a good book.
Here are more suggestions!
My friend Joyce reports she “hasn't read much this summer,” but then says, “I enjoyed Sea Glass and The Spiral Staircase was interesting. I'm reading Sail by James Patterson. I read another one of his earlier this summer . . . I prefer mysteries. I'm enjoying Max Lucado's 3:16.”
Have you noticed that a lot of people who say they aren't reading much have long lists of books that they've read?
Meanwhile, Amy is reading Dying for Chocolate but doesn't remember the author. She says, “It's a little more in depth than the old James Patterson books I've been reading.”
I don't know – this seems like just the kind of day for a good mystery or thriller! Enjoy!

More Book Recommendations for Your Bookstack!

Have you finished up all the recommended books from the Bookstack Blog Party?
I've indulged in one or two already, but here are more recommendations!
My friend Jody is just finishing up the book Trading Places by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. She says, “I love their materials on marriage. This one is about the important value of empathy in marriage. My husband and I serve as marriage mentors through our church and so I'm always reading up on marriage books to recommend to our couples. This book is great!”
Jody continues, “I actually just returned from a doctor's appointment. When the nurse came into the lobby to call me back she said, 'Boy, what are you reading? It must be really good because as I went to call you, I saw you had a big smile on your face as you were reading.' Made me laugh.”
I think Jody is a power reader, because she just read a book by John Maxwell: 25 Ways to Win with People. She says, “It was written in 2005. I take advice from Bill Hybels and he recommends that you always have a book on leadership that you're working through. This was a great book.”
Finally, Jody says, “My most recent fiction book I read was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I LOVED it! Very gripping story. I have yet to read a book by her that I didn't like.”
If you've picked up a book recommendation, let me know – your insight and comments are always appreciated!

Summer Pleasures . . .

I picked up The Atlantic magazine's Special Fiction Issue 2008 last night. Wendell Berry has a short story -- Stand by Me -- that I loved! I've had a hard time getting into Berry's books, but I'll have to give them another try after reading this story about Jarrat, his two sons, and the parameters of grief and loss. It sounds depressing, but really, it's a great story!
It's fun to read through these fiction issues – the New Yorker has a summer fiction issue I l look forward to each summer – because I love the short story form. It's hard to convey a whole story in shorter form, and I respect writers who are good at it.
Ann Patchett has an essay – My Life in Sales – in The Atlantic's fiction issue, and I'm looking forward to reading it next.

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I picked up our CSA order last night, and once again I am amazed at how beautiful fruits and vegetables are. The table was heaped with neat piles of produce – beets, kohlrabi, swiss chard, basil – a wonderful tangle of color, fragrance, and texture. It's not hard to understand how artists are drawn to still life – the things they paint are still, but so alive!
There was also a table of sunflowers large as dinner plates, and lovely bouquets of snapdragons. I didn't bring any home this time as we have flowers of our own in the garden, but what pleasure it was just to look!

Mixed Thoughts . . .

A big thank you to all of you who took part in last week's Bookstack Blog Party! It's been fun to see what you all are reading!
Maybe it's just because I've been thinking about books all week or maybe it's just the season, but it seems as if a lot of people are into lists – lists of their favorite books, or the books that have influenced them most or even the most influential books of all times – so I think sometime soon, maybe in August, we'll have to have another Bookstack Blog Party in list form. Start thinking!

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On a much more somber note, I came across a news story about the Taliban executing two women, and this morning I saw there's a link to photos on Compuserve. I didn't look at them; it was horrible enough to think of them existing.
The women were said to be prostitutes, consorting with American troops.
I am sickened at the thought of the Taliban given any authority, credibility or space to operate.
The first time I heard of the Taliban was on a television sit-com. Remember Seventh Heaven? We used to watch it occasionally while we lived in Dubuque when John was in seminary.
One episode involved the mom trying to persuade her daughters and other friends to picket somewhere because of the way the Taliban in Afghanistan treated women – this was before September 11.
I remember being indignant, and thinking “someone should do something.”
But I didn't.
As we know now, the Taliban is wicked. They insist women stay in their houses, often with windows painted black so that no man passing by would see a woman inside and be tempted into sin. Girls are not allowed any education, and women cannot go outside without a male escort. If there is not male family member to escort her, she stays inside.
If she is widowed she has two choices: prostitution or begging. Well – make that three choices. She can starve. Her children, too, unless she allows a male relative to take them.
And of course, the chador, that repressive fashion statement, also meant to protect Afghani men from the wiles of women.
Jesus said we should pray for our enemies, and on behalf of women everywhere – our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends – I am praying for these wicked men, that God would change their hearts, that they would be open to His Holy Spirit.
Failing their positive response to His initiative, I am praying for His justice for them.
Please join me in prayer.

A Smorgasbord of Books . . .

I read an editorial this week – I think it was in the Chicago Tribune – about how blogging is simply a self-indulgent form of narcissism.
For a few moments I was worried – had I somehow gotten myself involved in something totally self-centered – again?
As I thought about it, I decided the editorialist isn't reading the right blogs.
There may be some blogs that fit that description, but I haven't come across them yet. And this Bookstack Blog party reminds me more of what my grandmother would have called a conversation over the back fence – the kind of chat she often had with friends who lived nearby, friends she saw almost every day.
Most of us don't have back-fence friends any more, the kind of friend who lives so close she can drop by for coffee on the spur of the moment. What we do have to keep in touch are blogs, and what a pleasure it is to hear from friends in response to a simple question like “What are you reading?” !!!
In answer to that question, my friend Terri says, “I recently started In My Father's House by Bodie and Brock Thoene . . . I'm enjoying the book – I love books rooted in history.”
Christina just finished Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. “It is about the affair Frank Lloyd Wright had with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, which was the scandal of Chicago at the time,” says Christina. “He left his wife for her, she was later murdered by an employee of Frank's. It was a fascinating book; I just had no idea. The newspapers painted her as a home wrecker, but the truth was they had a deep intellectual connection; she truly understood him in ways his wife didn't (of course that is not grounds for leaving one's wife.)
Christina also just finished If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation by Janine Latus. She says, “This book haunted me for days. I found myself baffled by what the women in this family would accept from the men around them. A lot of abuse, control, and degradation. It was sad and riveting and in the end a bit triumphant.”
Finally, Christina says, “I was debating whether to e-mail you about this book, but to be honest – I loved it! Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster made me laugh out loud several times, partially out of recognizing myself in her, but also because she is blunt, graphic, and so very self absorbed and egotistical. I have loved all her books and pass them around to my girlfriends.”
If books are food for the mind, and we are what we eat – these past few days offer a smorgasbord of books!

And Even More Books . . .

One of the surprising things about this Bookstack Blog party is how many of you have multiple books going – Cheryl even has a book for every room!
My friend Rosemary has quite a bookstack going, including The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz; Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland; The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde; Tell Me Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen; and Trace by Patricia Cornwell.
Rosemary says, “Obviously I started summer reading early.”
We can only hope a hammock was involved!
Rosemary goes on to say, “The Diaz book is about Dominican culture and people and I probably missed some of the slang and a lot of the Spanish – liked the story, though. Hyland book I am just starting and it is about Australia and a woman who returns to the Aboriginal camptown of the workers on her Dad's farm to solve a murder.”
And there's more! Rosemary adds, “Cornwell is Cornwell – forensic pathologist Kate Scarpetta triumphs again after quite a bit of intrigue. The Fforde book is by a Welshman so that is probably why it attracted me. It is a mystery/fantasy book. Quite new type of mystery for me but funny and interesting.”
Rosemary concludes her report, “Naturally there are probably some other things that are not fiction. These do not end up in my book diary except for the Barbara Kingsolver Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which you know I loved.”
Maybe someday Rosemary will publish her book diaries – now that would make a good read!

The Teetering Bookstack . . .

Are you finding books listed here you might want to read? I hope so – I know I am!
Suzanne says, “I must say that I am pretty one-dimensional! I'm on a memoir kick and that's all I've been reading for months!”
Suzanne goes on to say, “I'm currently reading Nasty: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints – yes, it sounds dubious. But it's very well-written and funny. The author, Simon Doonan, is a lot like David Sedaris or Augustin Burroughs – really witty and sarcastic and outrageous. He tells stories about growing up as a misfit in London.”
“Before that,” Suzanne goes on, “I read two books by Firoozeh Dumas, which I highly recommend. They're called Funny in Farsi and Laughing Without an Accent. It's about growing up Iranian in an American culture. It's very funny and perceptive and even a little heartwarming. I'd also recommend Finding Home: An Imperfect Path to Faith and Family by Jim Daly, who is the president of Focus on the Family. It's about his almost unbelievably difficult childhood and how he managed to come out of it, with wisdom to boot.”
And Jane – not the Jane in previous posts but a different Jane – says “I loved A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. It's the Bloomington/Normal summer read selection; I loved the book, loved the characters, learned a lot about a part of WWII I didn't know, which set me off to find out more about it. The story was brilliant and desperately sad, in fact I really wanted to cry when I finished it. Instead I felt angry that this really could have happened and probably lots of similar stories did happen.”
Jane is also reading Chosen and Infidels from Ted Dekker's The Lost Chronicles of History series. She says “These are the first 2 in a 4-book set. I am waiting for the junior high kid I teach to finish book 3 so I can read it. They are youth fiction/Christian and really good stories; it actually reminds me a little bit of Dune which I loved in junior high and high school.”
The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik is also on Jane's bookstack. “I liked the story, liked the crafting of the characters, did not like the Kristi Casey character, or the subtle tone that evangelicals are all morons who believe everything they hear. But the book made me laugh out loud, cringe, and feel empathy for the characters. Overall, a decent summer read.”
Two more books Jane is enjoying include Music Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best, and Christianity For the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass. Jane says, “Music Through the Eyes of Faith is a great book I am reading as I have time; one of the chapters has a thought provoking discussion on contemporary music and the issues surrounding the music industry.
Christianity for the Rest of Us is a book for our church summer reading group. I am still in the first half and am a little put off again by the narrow minded attitude towards the evangelical movement. What I find most disturbing is that she takes an us-against-them attitude, again subtle. She has some great profiles of living mainline Protestant churches, and the 10 things that they have that work for them. It is well written and it is challenging my thoughts about what I truly believe about churches. I am interested to hear what the others in my group think as well.”
That's one of the best things about reading, I think – the opportunity to read something, consider it, then share what you think about it with someone else who is interested, who has an opinion of her own.
Among other things, a book is a privilege . . .