Pumpkin: Too late?

Seminole pumpkins have languished in the interim between being Thanksgiving decor and waiting for some higher calling... And I got the itch yesterday.  I turned 4 squash into purees.  Oven on 350 for 55 minutes a round, and now I have something like 8 cups of puree, tidily divided into 1/2 cup servings, waiting in the freezer to become a layer in lasagne, a secret dose of vegetables in mac and cheese or muffins... and seeds.  Some drying for the garden (the plans, ohh the plans...) and most roasting for our tummies.

I took them all for a very through rinse, left them out to dry overnight, rinsed once more, and spread them on a cookie sheet.  Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, Braggs Aminos, and creole seasoning made these little guys sassy, and then I roasted them at 295 for about 45 minutes... stirring every 15 minutes or so.

Verdict:  Delicious.  Will do this one again.

Can gratitude REALLY change attitudes?

I'm not sure HOW it's October 31.  I have no idea where the month went... Or the one before it or even the one before that.  I blinked on moving day and now it's October.
No, it's 2.5 hours till the END of October.

And this is the busy stir of a life before holiday... Everything... is added in.

I've experimented with the #30daysofgratitude before, but I'm doing it again.
I want to be grateful before I am anything else because it would take fingers and toes and then some to count my blessings these days.  So, in the spirit of building positivity and good habits, I am going to commit to posting a selection of the things I am grateful for.  Stay tuned, or follow me along on Instagram and/or Facebook.

I'm looking forward to being intentional in my gratitude, for I have been richly blessed and I need to pay it forward!

Those First-Night Boxes...

...Were a Godsend.  We had 2, mostly because I really wasn't sure how long it would take to get EVERYTHING unpacked, and I wasn't sure how clean the new house would be.  I'll call them "Kitchen" and "Bedroom" for simplicity's sake, but in reality one was upstairs(bedroom) and one was downstairs(kitchen).

Kitchen:
-Cleaners and things to clean with:
     Dish soap and rags
     Paper Towels
     Dish Towels
     Window Cleaner(I use white vinegar)
     AP Cleaner(I use Mrs. Meyers Clean Day)
     broom
-a box of trash bags... for all that paper when you unwrap your dishes
-a bottle of champagne and flutes to celebrate(I wrapped mine in those dishtowels)
-toilet paper
-paper plates/disposable utensils
-list-making paper
-all charging cables and bricks

Bedroom:
-clean sheets, pillows and blankets
-towels, shower curtain
     Don't be like me.  Remember the curtain rod and the new liner.  Luckily, the old resident left theirs behind.
-Pajamas
-hand soap

We also packed a suitcase each to last for a week, as if we were going on vacation.  Laptops, journals, bibles and such were in a "personal item" bag and everything else was in a "carryon" and I think this is the thing that made the biggest difference.  Next time I would add laundry supplies to that kitchen box too... If you use clothes to pack dishes(which I suggest) it's nice to be able to start washing them.

I made this list mostly for myself, but I will go ahead and post it just incase it could help somebody.

Blessings and peace!

Moving lessons learned

We are packing in high gear at my house these days... and I have learned a few things while packing up our stuff, and moving our household.

1.  Label everything.
I have color-coded, because we will be moved into our new house by members of Jon's new congregation... But I just bought the pastel pack of index cards for that, and used clear tape to attach them to boxes.

2. Make a list of all that stuff you're labeling.
If for no other reason then because people are human, and therefore make mistakes, lists will be our friends in this move.  And then, after we move everything and need to set up renter's insurance, we will already have a list of things that need insuring!

3. Cull before you pack, then cull as you pack.
Ya.  We've been semi-embracing the Marie Kondo movement, but found even more things to cull as we packed all the boxes up.  It's a good feeling.

4. First Night Boxes.
I'll post what's in ours after I make them and use them, so the stuff I wish I'd had makes the list too.

5. Don't hesitate to have people over to say goodbye before you leave your old home.
If they love you, they will not mind the boxes.
This has been a real teaching moment for me, because I had to let go of the idea of showing off the perfect house in favor of time with friends who love us because of our mess and in spite of it.

6.  It will happen.

Growing

It's the end of springtime- Easter's arrival meant it was really feeling like it- you can't deny the world its celebration and its vibrant colors when we also celebrate a risen Lord, and as the weeks have gone on Spring's vibrant blossoms and buds have begun to give way to the bright sun and bustling gardens that have really taken off.

My grandmother planted things every Good Friday, and I added to my garden in that spirit.  A tomato and a bell pepper joined the ranks alongside the greens on Good Friday.
When I missed her on Mother's day weekend I added sage, thyme, parsley, and another tomato.  I found a strawberry pot like the one we got her for Mother's Day a while back, and I might just pick up the plants to fill it this week, even though it'll be another pot to move and be careful of on our journey South.
 I've started dreaming of next year, when everything won't have to live in containers that have to move, and when I will have a raised bed tucked alongside our little house.  Next year- when there's a yard and a little space for me to start seedlings, when peas and squash and cucumbers join the ranks, and sunflowers and bulbs are in the yard.

Next year.

But... there's joy in my tiny garden, and in my house.  There is something about watching the dog play outside the kitchen window and having the grill right outside the door- something about all of the oddities that made our strange little first house a home.  It's now.  And it won't be next year. It's bittersweet to think about the packing boxes stacking up in the next room, waiting to be filled.

Jon's career means we move in 4 weeks, and God holds something for us in the anticipation of planning and "probably" and "hopefully".  And my vocation becomes more deeply rooted in meeting people where they are, and in the glory God shows us every day in nature- in the great green growing times we have in our sights.

Preaching Preacher's Wife

Yup... That's me.

I didn't really realize it or come up with that phrasing till we were sitting in the fellowship hall of Jon's new church.  He starts there in a month, and it'll begin a new chapter for us... married for barely 6 months, and still getting used to one another.... And now to get used to a new town, new church, new jobs for both of us(I'm starting to look. Prayers, friends) and to make another house a home.

I'm tempted to blog all of the changes to the parsonage, because changes there will be.  And there are voices of preachers' wives and parsonage remodeling on a budget out there, but I don't feel like any of them sound like mine.  I want to write more, and this would be space for that- not just home decor and moving posts, but spirituality, curriculum thoughts and ideas, and gardening and seeking to care for God's earth.

But what I need to do now is run errands and make a couple of returns before I go to the dentist.  Ouch.

Stay tuned.  My hope is to write more.  Sooner than last time.

All the things!

We're making a chore chart, doing laundry every day, packing lunches, hitting 6AM spin class... The real schedule has begun. My calendar is getting a workout. We are budgeting time, resources, and making more concrete plans, and it feels... Odd in a way I know will lead to good. Routine is balm for my soul, but the getting there is always a little interesting.  Figuring out a chore chart that didn't make me pull my hair out is a topic for another post.  Meal planning is still a work in progress, but I suspect it'll get easier as I continue to work at it.

I had the day(s) of lectures you get when you start work in a healthcare field this week, where it seemed like the moral of the story is be nice and wash your hands. I knitted a lot, learned some, and am anticipating the next few weeks when more learning through the work of chaplaincy begins. Our boss gave us our official blue chaplain ribbons that attach to our official hospital nametags so that we are easily pegged.  We got keys to our office, and a tour of the hospital.  We went to visit patients with the residents... learned the mechanics of charting.  It's pretty great. Did I mention we have an office, and that it used to be a nun's bedroom??

Wearing a name badge and having a purpose outside of the little house we are making into a home and this new, strange role of wife is pretty great. And I'm only one week in.

Looking Back//Looking Forward

Happy Happy.
We're a week into 2015, and it's been a WEEK.

I onboarded for a chaplaincy internship(CPE, for you pastoral types) at St. Francis here in Columbus yesterday.

Last week, we hosted our first (hopefully of many) New Years Day gathering.  I learned a couple of things about hosting.  We had friends for lunch after church this past Sunday.  I learned some more things about hosting.

I've gotten to live in this town, grocery shop, meal plan, and do the things that make life go more smoothly.  It's been great to have time to figure it all out... and realize there will never be enough time to figure it all out.

 Jon and I have gotten to do things as a "we" in ways we didn't before now, even though the wedding was almost 2 months ago.  Working in Decatur, travelling back and forth, and then getting to witness the marriage of one dear friend and officiate the wedding of another, meant that the last weeks of 2014 went by SO fast.

Speaking of? 2014 went SO fast. Let's look at it by numbers in my poor attempt at an infographic...

More later.  Happy Day!