The Wrong Hallmark Holiday

I think today is Valentine's Day. It's funny how when you live in a place that has no access to Hallmark... some holidays just fade away into memories of cute little candy hearts and red paper doilies on the window. Instead, I am listening to what sounds like the aftermath of a WWII battle as the canon-like fireworks continue to work their way through the city streets. Outside I can see the piles of red paper strewn about the icy sidewalks and parking spaces, where faithful celebrators last night steadily filled the air with ear-splitting crackling til the wee hours of the morning. In China, the New Year is upon us.

We've spent the last couple weeks preparing in our own small way for this all-important Chinese holiday. We attended some festivities with our Chinese friends, we gave nice bonus and some much needed vacation time to our faithful Ayi, we crafted some New Year Greetings and decorations for our home, and last night we made the traditional New Year's Eve fare, jiaozi.

Traditional dumplings use pork, beef, or vegetable combinations. But we decided to go with our own American flair and fill them with anything that sounded good to our Western-stunted influenced taste buds. 

The homemadeinchina menu: 

Italian jiaozi (ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella cheese!)

Greek jiaozi (chicken, spinach, feta cheese, tomato, olive oil!)

Yummy Jiaozi (cream cheese, crabmeat, sweet chili garlic sauce and deep fried!)

If you know anything about Chinese culture, you may know that you could study it forever and always be learning more. I feel like I have barely begun to scratch at the surface of the veneer that covers the bubble that this mass of cultural understanding sits in. So, instead of worrying myself about that... we made lanterns... and sorry excuses for some Chinese characters (but the kids had fun, it was interesting, and I felt like a good mom for about an hour).

The Chinese character pronounced "fu" means good luck, blessing, or happiness. We chose to emphasize the blessing part of that and made small greeting cards for our friends and family back home.

During the New Year, this symbol is written with black ink on red, diamond-shaped paper and is plastered all over the doorways, walls and windows.

When our day was finished we had a house that resembled the war zone we felt we were in with the booming of fireworks outside (you have never experienced fireworks until you have been to China during the New Year when the arsenal that is usually only available in the U.S. to county and city officials is here unleashed to your each and every next door neighbor). In spite of the mess, we had experienced another important Chinese value, which is the wholeness or completeness of a family together. We had... and had not. I thought of all the people who were not with us. I thought about the people I know who have broken families, missing families, no family at all. I was thankful for the way we are given surrogate family members, people with whom who we may not share the same bloodline, but are surely as close in spirit as any I would call my kin. I was thankful for the way that God has surely given us blessings as faithfully as he has every other year. 

Happy Chinese New Year my friends!

Guo Nian hao

May the Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord make his face shine upon you

and be gracious unto you

The Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace

Finding Beauty

Sometimes beautiful things slide right by me, going unnoticed in the blur that is my life. If it's true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder than it must also be true that the beholder's eyes need to be open. I'm kind of a glass half empty kind of girl (I like to couch it in words like "critical thinker" but really, too often it's just plain old negativity) so most of the time my eyes are, if not shut, at least drooping pretty low.

To my long List of Skills to Learn that I seem to be endlessly adding to these days, photography has generously added itself. Over at one of my favorite little crafty/photography blogs, Bluebirdbaby has started a photo challenge called 30 Days of Beauty. The idea is, during these long winter months, to find something beautiful in your day and try to photograph it. It's a way to lift your gaze, open your eyes, and experience thankfulness in the simple, lovely things we too often leave unnoticed. You can see these and other new photos over on flickr. 

Yesterday we had our annual Once-A-Year-All-Out-Craft-Day to create some festivities for Chinese New Year. Some people hold these weekly in their homes with their children but I live on a lower plane of parenthood. I have to admit however, that even though our entire house was trashed and my daughter ended up wrapped like a cocoon in a knotted mass of red yarn, glue and paper scraps, it was a fun and beauty-filled day. More to share on that later. 

For now, I'm enjoying this day of simple indoor activity... with a hint of lemon.

Feasting on Film

I think the first movie I ever watched in the theater was A Little Mermaid for one of my friends birthday parties. I'm pretty sure most youth group events I went to as a kid had a showing of The Princess Bride or some other such harmless entertainment. For the most part, my experience with the world of film was innocent and pretty thoughtless (although I do remember sneaking a peak at Pretty Woman as a sixth grader at an overnight sleepover and then running home to confess all to my  mother). But all that has changed, for the better I hope. It's been decades since The Princess Bride and I've found that there is more to a good film than it's rating.

Since moving to China however, our access to movies shrank significantly. There is the local undercover DVD shop where you can slink in through a hidden back door and peruse all the bootlegged films fresh out of the theaters (some not even showing yet). But our treasured stream of Netflix documentaries and film noire delights has come to a standstill. But being committed to beating this February slump as we are, we recently dusted off our long forgotten film loving lenses and started looking around for ways to access some of our old favorites. Thank you itunes for your help in this matter.

Today, I bring you two films.

The Age of Innocence
Let's begin with the eye candy: Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel-Day Lewis. Yes, they are beautiful people but they transform this story with their artistic skills, pulling you into the unspoken, stuffy world of high society New York in the late 19th century. It is the story of a young man who is torn between his commitment to the societal norms and the adherence to their pressures, and the passionate longing of his heart- namely a woman he desperately loves. The story is well-told and beautifully shot, as well as delicately portrayed by Lewis especially. But, the heart of the film poses some excellent questions. As the final scene closes, you are left to wonder, did he make the right choice? Does the film seem to say that he did or did not? There are layers of questions about human nature and the ethics of why we do what we do all throughout the film. And they are there for you to enjoy and muse over and discuss... go watch the movie! It's kind of old school now (early 90's) but it's still a good one.

Babette's Feast
I am putting this on here a little sheepishly... I mean it is thee cult classic on food and is probably cited or quoted or mentioned more than any other when it comes to thinking about theological themes in film. Whatever needs to be said about this movie has already been said, and much better than what I could say here. But, every generation needs a new voice (or blog) to repaint the old truths with new words so I'll just talk about it anyway... maybe it will make you watch the film if you have never done so before.

There is so much there: the inherent goodness of creation, the beauty of giving, food as a means of transmitting grace, the importance of feasting, the act of the artist as a service and a means of blessing, and more. Much more. It's simple, but so beautiful and profound. Babette is a French servant to two old Danish ladies who are part of a strict religious sect. The small group of parishioners has become rife with quarreling and infighting which grieves the sisters. Babette holds a secret and through her personal sacrifice she gives a gift to the town that brings both redemption and grace in a most surprising way. Watch it and you may never make dinner the same way again.

On that note, here are two great resources for good films and thinking through them...
Reel Spirituality: theology and film in dialogue by Robert K. Johnston
The Kingdlings Muse (a website with great podcasts on faith and culture and they always discuss the latest movies)

I'd love to hear what you are watching and enjoying these days... even if it's about a mermaid.

New Things Coming

February... brrrrrr. February... blaaaaah. February... yaaaaawn. But then... KAPOW! February.... fireworks? Yes. It's cold and dreary and there's not much of ANYTHING going on this time of year, except that we're in China and the biggest celebration of the entire calendar is about to be upon us. The last couple years I've been a little bummed about being stuck in the frigid, grey, concrete sea of our city while everyone else seemed to be traveling to warmer, more exotic climates. But this time around I'm determined to embrace the season a little more and that began today (our first day of the 2 week holiday) with adding a little COLOR and some home baked goodness to our lives. Beware, I have included pictures. 

{cinnamon oatmeal raisin bread: after trying many different recipes over the past three years (I like raisin bread, okay?) I have finally found one that I love}

{I just wanted to include a picture of the old gas oven that gets a LOT of use here in this house. I think it has a leak too... which means our gas bill is kind of high. It reminds me of camping in the ole Jayco...}

{the prettiest little corn chowder you ever did see. I got this recipe from an old friend of mine back in my case manager days (thanks Mel!) I've added some colorful veggies today like celery,red pepper and carrots. And I think you could pull this recipe off if you were trying to eat seasonally/locally too as long as you blanched and/or roasted and then froze some of the vegetables. More on why I can't fully live up to my own convictions on this issue at some later date...}

{yum}

In the coming weeks families all over this massive, teeming country will prepare for what is perhaps their most important holiday, Chun Jie (literally, Spring Festival but it is also the beginning of the new Chinese Lunar Year). Homes will be scoured; rugs and curtains cleaned, windows washed, every nook and cranny scrubbed in preparation for the incoming year. Family members will travel to their hometowns if possible, others will gather with those who live nearby. There is food to prepare, lanterns to hang, special gifts to buy and exchange, and of course the never-ending barrage of evening fireworks to endure enjoy for nearly 3 straight weeks. This is just a small glimpse of the preparations and the festivities to come.

{I love Chinese paper cuttings... they are intricate and beautiful in their detail and precision. This was one of the samples they had available for us to try- the very simplest possible for our fumbling fingers!}

While many of you may be celebrating Valentines Day and enjoying snowy afternoons, we will be making a go at bringing in the Year of the Tiger with a bang.

 February... ggrrrrr.

added later for those of you who want the recipe!
Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1-1/2 cup oats
1-1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp salt
5 to 5-1/2 cups flour
(2 Tb. butter melted and 2 tsp ground cinnamon)


-dissolve yeast in warm water and let it become frothy
-cream sugar and shortening, then add eggs, salt, oats, and milk.
-Add enough flour til it becomes a soft dough.
-Turn onto flour surface and knead until smooth and elastic (6-8 mins)
-Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top and cover. let rise in warm place until double
-Punch dough down, cover and let rest 10 min. 
-Divide in half; roll each portion into 8x16 in. rectangle (so it can fit in pan when rolled up).
-brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and raisins if desired
-roll up and pinch seams to seal.
-Place loaves seam side down in two greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place til doubled.
-Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter.

{book}worm wednesday

My husband brought home a book by Flannery O'Connor yesterday. This afternoon I read her short, dark, disturbing, but incredibly deep and profound story while my son read Make Way For Ducklings at my side.The irony of this made me think about the variety of books we have lying around; on bedside tables, coffee tables, dining room tables, dresser tops, beds, bedroom floor, kitchen floor, bathroom floor (and yesterday, the bathroom tub)... basically everywhere all the time. I try to clean them up but they just get taken down and spread out all over again. I should be grateful for this, and I am.

Today I had a fitted bed sheet spread over our couch like a tent in order to dry out quicker, and halfway through the morning I realized I had not seen little Ari for some time. As I stopped to listen I could hear the soft, rhythmic rustle of a page turning every few seconds and discovered he was sitting under that little tent, content as a mouse with a pile of books at his side.

I love to hear what other people are reading. Perhaps you do too so with Flannery and the Ducklings in mind, let's get on to the list! Here are a few books we are into these days. Maybe you'll be inspired, or find that our current reads are sitting on your coffee table as well!


what i'm digesting...
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
(delightful book about one family's attempt to eat local for one year. She's informative without boring you, evangelizes without preaching, and basically makes eating out of your own backyard farm look like the best thing you could ever imagine doing with your life)



The Hungry Soul by Leon R. Kass
(I adore the way this man thinks. He moves beyond health benefits or even environmental responsibility to thinking through the way human beings are unique among the animal kingdom and that eating, specifically carries social and personal ramifications... even for the soul!! love it)


The Joyful Christian by C.S. Lewis
(well, it's Lewis and he's talking about joy. What else is there to say? I need this book. Really, it's a collection of short essays covering the whole range of... everything. It's brilliant (imagine me saying that with a cute British accent).


the husband list...
A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor
(this is the disturbing short story... but apparently her best work on the death/salvation theme. If you're smarter than me you'll be able to read her work and appreciate it at first glance... but for the rest of us you'll want a slew of articles and such to help you think through all the themes and ideas she is playing with)


Jayber Crow by Wendell Barry
(my husband oohs and ahhs over Wendell. He (my husband) is the grandson of farmers from Maine and it runs deep in his blood... which sometimes leads to pining over things his profession doesn't allow for. I think reading Wendell lets him live in that idyllic world for awhile and also makes him think more thoughtfully in this one.)


the kids corner...
Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow
(a sweet book about the cycle of the year and all it's exciting holidays from the perspective of a questioning little girl. beautifully sweet pictures, and the little girl is a redhead so what's not to love?)


Billy and Blaze by C.W. Anderson
(the whole series about Billy and his horse is wonderful. The pen illustrations are great... my 3.5 year always wants to know why Billy wears pulled up socks with dress shoes, shorts, and a button down the front shirt, so he's getting an introduction into little boy's attire in the mid 1930's! I also love books like this because for kids like mine who don't get a lot of exposure to animals and ranches and farms, they get to learn about bridles and lassos, stables and a horse's diet all while watching a boy be an adventurer!)


Goodnight Moon and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
(They are classic and true to form my 15 month old is enraptured... as are her older brothers still. They somehow come creeping in and are hanging over my shoulders or scooching in under my elbows before the story is finished.)


Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(I adored this series like every other child when I was a girl and I am sooo excited to be starting it with my boys. I do have more questions this time around though... like WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BABY CARRIE when Ma is doing all her work?? Clearly she did not have legs to climb or crawl, nor lungs to cry or a belly that needed filling. Am I the lamest mom in the world? Ma Ingalls stands apart as an incredible woman of her time.)

keepin' it real (I literally scooped all the books off our coffee table and am giving you the as-is list)
The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik
(great resource on upping your miles, racing, running workouts, nutrition... and just some motivation if you need it)


Not So Fast Songololo by Niki Daly
(Malusi, a little boy in South Africa goes out on a shopping trip with his Gogo or grandmother. A sweet and unusual story but one ever kid could relate to)


I'm Thankful Each Day by P.K. Hallinan
(great for little, itching, moving toddler readers)


Better Homes and Gardens
(fresh out of a package from home! Love this magazine. I know it's old school and there are better ones like Real Simple and Martha or something out there... but I love the house renovations, cooking ideas, and gardening tips (for that plot of land I pine for)


The Berenstain Bears and The Truth by Stan and Jan Berenstain
(Not your children's literary classic but they are fun in their own way. And how Stan and Jan ever came up with the idea to write an entire series based on their last name is a story I'd like to hear. Were they both on board from the get go? Was Stan as much of a loser as Papa Bear? Somebody write the biography)


Photography for Dummies
If you've seen any of my photos you'll know why I have this book.


The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
(she's the daughter of Martin Lloyd-Jones so it has to be good, right? It is. It's incredible. It's the best Kids Bible out there these days. "Every story whispers his name" is the subtitle and she so creatively and in modern-day lingo makes that come alive on every page. It's really great for all ages. The illustrations by Jago (what kind of cool name is that??) are really fun and innovative as well.) A MUST HAVE.


There you have it my friends. Now, if you're not too shy... let me know what YOU'RE reading!!

knitting my head around it

My mother tried. She really did. There were machine threading tutorials in elementary school, simple clothing projects in middle school, and countless times when she willingly took over a project I started, and never finished. She tried with all her maternal powers to instill in me the skills and desire to craft and create masterpieces of textile and thread out of my own bare hands... but to no avail. I just simply hated it. I liked the idea of the end product, but had no patience for the process.

Now here I am, thirty years old and wanting to reform my wanderlust ways. To make it worse, I have stumbled across a wicked web of ridiculously gifted and crafty women who will leave you with enough inspiration to knit , sew , photograph, cook, craft, and write for a lifetime. It's out of control how much talent and creativity they have oozing out of their every blogpost.

This desire to become more of a handmade homemaker comes at a time when my resources to do so are more limited than ever. Is that ironic or is there some sort of lesson I'm destined to learn here? And if you know me at all, these "little" questions always lead me skipping, dare I even say galloping at breakneck speed down the path to the BIGGER questions of life. What is my problem? I cannot simply let something bother me like any normal person would. No, it has to PLAGUE my brain to the point of unraveling as I try to resolve all of life's deepest issues, all because of one little thing like not being able to plant a garden, or buy some knitting needles.

It first occurred to me that perhaps there was more to this issue of "wanting to learn to knit" than I realized when I found myself nearly breaking down in tears while reading some of the above mentioned blogs. Who does that? They are supposed to helpful and fun. But, I was really struggling with envy at the lifestyles these women are able to lead and the kind of homes, resources, creative talents, and family lives they have. It forced me to a) stop reading so many blogs, and b) question and think through (for the __nth time... I mean,  how often do most people have to do this??) what my ultimate purpose in life is and why I believe God has our family here, in this place, doing what we do.

When we moved overseas, people would often comment on what an opportunity this was for our children-- to be exposed to another culture and language, etc. etc. I appreciated their sentiments, but it was never the reason we left. And it continues not to be the reason we remain. The phrase "there is no ideal place to raise a family" has gently encouraged me time and time again as I try to remember that though my children miss out on many things here (grass comes to mind), they gain much in return. The same however is true for what they might gain... there are always things we are sacrificing or doing without (bonfires, grandparents, gardening, sledding... lately the list grows long). Sometimes it really bothers me to think of the kind of life we could be (trying) to live back in the States and how little of that we are able to do here. But as my dear friend Jack Lewis says, "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."

Are you wondering what all this has to do with knitting? I'm painfully trying to get there.

The crazy talented photographer lady (above) calls her site walkslowlylivewildly, which led me to try to think of a succint little phrase that wraps up how we should aim at heaven, while not neglecting this earth. thinknearlivefar? livefullylovew(holy)? Hokey, I know. Thinking through this has been a serious challenge to my inner thought life and how much I do wrap my contentment around this present world. I'm all for living well, and living gratefully and responsibly in the bodies and environment God has given, but I think I'm missing a dose of the eternal perspective lately... the one that says this world IS passing away and that our Highest Joy and joys will be found in the One to come. As Elisabeth Elliot says, if you place your (whatever it is) in his hands as an offering to him... it may burn- but it knows no bounds when in the Potter's perfect hands.

Meanwhile, I knit. It's okay I think, to try to challenge myself with a new project or skill. I'm hopeful that I can somehow tread back over years of ungrateful tutelage and somehow recover some handcrafting skills. But, I'm also growing mindful of my need to think and dwell more on the place and Person I'm heading home to be with someday. Like a Daddy who's missing his girl, I know He has things for me to do (and enjoy) while He's away, but I'll never be truly at home til I'm knitting with Him.

My final January Challenge was supposed to be picking some sort of new skill to learn, but now I'm not sure exactly what that skill is. There appear to be many, both physically and mentally that I am lacking! Hope you are finding your skills (or lack thereof) challenged, whatever they may be...

Simply Thirty

When you are little the world of adulthood seems like another dimension. You think that not only will you likely never enter it, but it's contents are entirely impenetrable, like a bubble of underwater voices that rise and fall in and around you as you scurry through doorways and tear through the driveway on your latest upgrade of wheels. You never think you'll be thirty.

My son asked me how old I was on my birthday yesterday and he couldn't even count that high so it just left him baffled, awed, and bored... so he left to go play. I entered the Thirty's Club with a bang about as loud as the toilet lid smacking me awake at 4:30 a.m. I didn't think too much about it, but my husband was thrilled that I am finally old enough to hang out with him in public. He always rips on me for being born in the 80's. An entirely different decade than his superior self. I barely escaped being as cool as him by a mere 25 days. I thanked him again profusely for marrying me anyway.

It really was a lovely birthday (despite all my sarcasm that sometimes ruins everything)! It was so simple and sweet and I thought I would share just a few snapshots from the day that really made it just that... simple and sweet. Some things are not pictured and the first of those was my rockstar neighbors who dropped off some freshly baked lemon cranberry scones on their way out the door. How sweet is that? Made my morning. Others included the cascade of emails that made me feel hugged, thought of,  and missed (thus making me miss them again) from many miles away. A few moments did make it on camera however, and here they are.

  

: birthday breakfast :

: busy blur... really, most of what I see of her all day :

No, I am not becoming a mad scientist, creating homemade bombs or anything. This is just yet another contraption for making, what else? an intensely perfect cup of coffee. Thank you honey.

: very cool cards

  

She crawled up there and stayed put for several minutes. They are so sweet together. I think they know they look alike or something.

Dinner by candlelight, the best ice cream I've had in a LONG time, and some seriously authentic Tiramisu, all with this (see below) man. Perfect, perfect birthday.