15 May

Tending Gardens, Tending Hearts

Posted by EQ in Budget, Community, Composting, Faith, God Stuff, Lent, Ponderings.

I’ve been busy tending things: worms, chicks, vegetables, friendships, flowers, kefir, fragile hearts. We’ve been busy building a greenhouse, a chicken coop, a chicken run, a tree house, a straw bale compost. I’ve been trying to destory an anthill that sits a foot away from my greenhouse. Naturally. With no success. And things have been blooming without any tending from me: junipers, irises, dandelions, weeds, mint. And other things are growing because of me, like the pile of laundry and ironing, messes in the kitchen, my kids.

After Lent’s focus on the brokenness of the world, it’s refreshing to see the cycle of life in growth, in flower, in birth, in restoration. But somehow, I’m still stuck in feeling the pain of a friend who has an unknown disease, of another who’s marriage is in the season of winter, of another who’s husband lost his job, of another who lost her child and her home within the same year. People are hurting out there; people are hurting right here, people I know and love. It drives me crazy when I hear of all the ‘ministries’ that have to close down because the tithing belt has cinched another notch. I think it’s a blessing in disguise. When God shuts one door, he always opens another, and if we use these creative minds God’s bestowed upon us, I bet we can get pretty creative in ‘ministering’ to others, those among us who are hurting. Without the money.

So, I’ve been tending to some broken hearts as well as the chickens and the vegetables in my garden. They just need some love and care, time to strengthen, time to grow, some weeding, a little sunshine and nourishment.

And yes, the vegetables and chicks need all that too.

14 Apr

Soyrizo spaghetti sauce

Posted by EQ in Recipes. Tagged: , , .

I love spaghetti! Uh, spaghetti sauce to be more specific. When I was a kid, I’d ask just for a bowl of spaghetti sauce, douse it with Tabasco sauce, and eat it like chili.

Over the years, I’ve tried to make my Mom’s spaghetti sauce to no avail, so I make do with my own: it’s a vegetarian sauce with grated carrots. I don’t really follow a recipe, just throw in ingredients I have handy so it turns out a bit different each time. The other day, I happened to have some soyrizo around, and threw that in along with with my sauce, and it was a slightly spicy, savory hit!

Here’s what I do, more or less:

In a fry pan, saute with a dash of olive oil till soft:
1 chopped onion
2-3 minced garlic cloves

Add 1/2 to 1 package  soyrizo (depending on your taste and desired level of spicyness) and brown slightly.

Add and simmer 20-30 minutes:
1-2 grated carrots
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Italian herbs/seasonings to taste

Enjoy!

P.S.  Try it with some Tabasco sauce!

13 Apr

Plastic bag drying rack

Posted by EQ in Budget, Consumption, Recycling, Reusing.

When the kids go off to school, they take their lunches with them.  It’s cheaper, more nutritious, and they pack their own lunchbags themselves so they eat what they make. . . and their small school doesn’t provide hot lunches so they have to bring a lunch or go hungry.  The kids would stuff apples into one plastic baggie, a sandwich into another, carrots and celery into yet another baggie, and perhaps a cookie into a fourth baggie.  That’s times two.  Oh wait, then there’s the adult who packs his own lunch every day too!  Times three.

At the end of each day, we had a stack of plastic baggies waiting to be washed and dried.  (We recycle the bags till there’s no life left in them to reduce our consumption, make less of an environmental footprint, and it simply costs less to reuse!)  None of us wanted to wash them because the washing process resulted in wet bags being squished together and NEVER completely drying out!  We had to individually dry each bag inside and out to use again.  We don’t like standing there and drying baggies.  I have much better ideas of how I want to spend my time: sewing pillowcase dresses, knitting, biking, sweeping, gardening, heck- even cleaning the toilet!  So, eventually those baggies would accumulate on the left side of the sink (dirty side) and wait till someone was willing to brave the war with the baggies.  OR someone would be happy to wash them all (like me) only to have them sit on the right side of the sink (clean side) to air dry (that’s how I dry all my dishes, much to my husband’s horror).  And sweet husband would succumb and do the drying.

One day that said sweet husband disappeared into his workshop for half a day, and came out with this:                                                          drying-rack-frontHis ingenious idea has made plastic bag washing and drying a delight in our household!  The washed bags simply sit on the rack, drip water right back into our kitchen sink, and are whisked away to the drawer for use in another life. 

closeup-drying-rack It will get another use this summer when my  herbs are in full bloom: an herb dryer!

For those of you who don’t have the means to make one of these yourselves, you could always use chopsticks in a jar to dry your baggies.  Just place your washed bags over the chopsticks, and let the air do your work.

30 Mar

Is the Kindle Eco-Friendly?

Posted by EQ in Books, Consumption, Green.

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Some are touting the Kindle as the “green machine” in literary circles.  At first, it would appear it is just that:  a device that is saving trees one electronic Kindle at a time.  If we only bought a Kindle instead of real live books, which are made of real live paper, which comes from real live trees.  Yet I have to wonder if the Kindle is truly as eco-friendly as one might think it is?  After taking the toll of manufacturing, transporting, energy wasting, wireless covering, recharging, human laboring, land filling, and high costing effect on this earth of ours, is the Kindle still greener than the old standby of perusing (or devouring) bound books of paper and ink?   

 

I wish I could say that I’ve personally had the benefit of reviewing the Kindle as I have the traditional method of reading books.  But the $359 price tag barricades a lot of book lovers from trying it out, though for someone like me who likes to stick my smeller into many books at once it would be nice to tote a 10.2 oz Kindle as opposed to a heavy straight-armed stack of books around. 

 

Aside from the benefit of its size and weight, the Kindle is a manufactured product,  which means that the Kindle not only takes up natural resources to produce the end product, but that the Kindle is made with human hands, Chinese hands to be more specific.  Is the Kindle a fair-trade product?  Were the hands that produced this luxury for Americans treated justly, humanely and respectfully?  Were they given a fair price for the work done, a safe environment to work in, fair labor hours?  I can’t answer those questions, but it must be asked of all manufactured products:  are the people who labor over our products treated well?  What of the cost of transporting thousands of Kindles from Asia to America?  What of the cost of packaging and delivering the same product into the hands of the consumers once in America? 

 

While it’s true that most everything we do requires energy consumption, one must take into consideration the things behind the scenes.  For example, one can download a book from Amazon in 60 seconds flat.  How does that book get from Amazon’s library to your Kindle?  By their Whispernet technology, a wireless coverage in all 50 states… just think of all that energy expended to supply Kindle followers of unlimited entertainment.  Or how about the battery installed in each Kindle?  Amazon thoughtfully installed a rechargeable battery, but one must use power to recharge that said battery.  Where does that electricity come from?   

 

Even though I still like the idea of the Kindle, regardless of the fact that it takes resources to produce it, I still have a difficult time with its fast extinction.  Americans want bigger, better, faster, easier, and they want it NOW.  Though the Kindle debuted a short two years before, Amazon has already introduced Kindle 2.  I hate to think of all the resources wasted on Kindle 1, and I’m bothered even more to think of where Kindle 1 will end up.  It will go to the landfills, along with the dinosaur computers and ipods of the first or second generation.  Then, I wonder how soon will it be before Kindle 2 will be near extinction?

 

So, before I answer if the Kindle is eco-friendly, I think you have to ask yourself what kind of reader you are, because you will find that the answer lies within yourself.  You see, if you are a reader who likes to own your own private library and buys every book you read brand new, then the Kindle may be more of an eco-friendly choice for you.  If you are like me, however, and utilize the public library for your reading pleasure, and only buy books (used ones, at that!) when you absolutely must have a copy, then the Kindle may be a less eco-friendly choice for you.

 

But if you’re also like me, and like having gadgets and a world of books at your fingertips, then take the greener road and buy a used Kindle, even a lesser, older, slower Kindle 1 version.

 

Or you could wait…

 

… ‘til Amazon figures out the true green path of Kindledom:  public sharing of good reads to good friends.  After all, the best books in life are meant to be shared, not kept. 

 

Sharing is what being an eco-friend is all about.

13 Mar

Global Worming (making your own composting worm bin)

Posted by EQ in Composting, Consumption, Recycling, Reusing.

“The Environmentals” made this video on how to make your own composting worm bin.   Kinda makes one want to go make one this instant!  Check it out:

http://vimeo.com/2235946

7 Mar

Being Grateful for Temper Tantrums

Posted by EQ in Faith, Ponderings.

The house is unusually quiet right now.  Five minutes ago, it was filled with crying, laughter, questioning, phone calls, sweet little voices.  I’ve got an empty nest, and my oldest has yet to reach the double digit status.  But they’re gone.  For now. 

 

I’m realizing how my world is so wrapped up in the needs of three other little bodies that when they’re not here, I feel a bit lost.  Whose mess do I pick up now?  Which quarrel do I stop?  What food do I prepare for lunch?  Which hand needs to be held?  Whose tear do I wipe away?  Where is the scrape I need to tend to and kiss?  Who do I tell to be quiet?  To get along?  To use words, and nice ones at that?  Where is that body that barely squeezes on my lap but still needs a snuggle?

 

I admit, I grow weary doing the refereeing, the washing, the cleaning, the cooking, the guiding, the disciplining, but I miss those kisses and hugs, the snuggles, the smiles and laughter.  And right now, I even miss those temper tantrums too. 

 

Today, I am choosing to be thankful for those difficult moments because that means I still have three extra bodies to hold.  I am grateful for all the moments God’s gifted me with my little ones.  Because life can get unusually quiet in so short a time.  And next time, it may not just be for the day, but eternity.             

26 Feb

Woodstove Soyrizo lettuce wraps recipe

Posted by EQ in Health, Recipes.

I made these the other night on my woodstove:soyrizo-lettuce-wraps-1

Here’s the recipe:

  • in a cast iron skillet, brown one package of soy chorizo
  • add 1-2 cups kidney beans
  • add 1-2 cups black beans
  • add 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • add 1 cup water, or enough to make thick consistency
  • let simmer covered, till hot and flavors have fused (I left it on there a couple hours because I was out of the house, but 20 minutes should do fine)
  • serve with rinsed whole lettuce leaves (we used romaine since that’s what we had around, but it worked well since it’s a firmer green than others, and held the soyrizo well)

soyrizo-lettuce-wraps-2

Enjoy!  It was a winner in our household!

25 Feb

Lent is not about subtracting, but adding

Posted by EQ in Faith, God Stuff, Kid Faith, Lent, Ponderings.

In discussing this Lenten season with my two elementary-age daughters tonight, my eldest declared she would give up sweets for the length of Lent, starting tomorrow. 

“Tomorrow?  Why tomorrow?  Why not begin today?” I asked, thinking it is Ash Wednesday, the official starting point of Lent.

“Because it was someone’s birthday today and we had birthday treats in school,” she replied, somewhat sheepishly.

I asked her how giving up sweets would bring her into a closer relationship with God.  She thought on this a while before responding, “Mom, it’s not about giving something up for Lent that brings you closer to God, it’s about adding something.”

She then proceeded to tell me how she was going to  spend daily time with God for the Lenten season.  At eight, she is adding a significant step and subtracting a lesser one.

25 Feb

Lent is NOT about Chocolate

Posted by EQ in Community, Faith, God Stuff, Lent, Ponderings.

I love chocolate. 

I grew up with chocolate as a food group, all on its own somewhere between the grains and the dairy.  It was {still is} meant to be savored, letting the sweetness melt on the tongue as opposed to being grossly masticated and ingested without taste or smell.  Dining on chocolate is an experience of the whole body. 

Imagine my sacrifice, then, as I gave this one *thing* up for the practice of Lent.  Granted, I’m Quaker, and had no experience with Lent other than watching my friends in high school give up sugar or sweets or chocolate for Lent, all in the good purpose of getting closer to God giving something up.  I wanted to give something too.  And I chose not to imbibe in my one vice: chocolate.   

What followed was 40 days of “No thank you, I’m not having any chocolate during Lent,” while I longingly followed each bite of something chocolatey to and from the plate to one’s mouth, whoever’s mouth happened to be indulging at that moment.  I thought that sacrificing something would allow me to focus more on God instead of the “golly-I-am-being-so-holy-by-giving-chocolate-up,” or “I-wish-I-could-have-a-bite,” or “it’s-only-twenty-nine-more-days-till-I-can-have-a-piece-of-chocolate.”  Where were my God-thoughts?!  Really, I only thought more about chocolate than if I’d never [given] it up in the first place.

Then I ran across this by the Mustard Seed Associates.  I realized that Lent is not about chocolate.  It’s not about gaining something for myself.  I still haven’t figured it out, but it’s more about giving something up of myself that will actually bring me closer to God:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…  Psalm 51: 16-17 

It’s about doing this {sacrifice} together with a {community} of Christ seekers and followers. 

So today, on Ash Wednesday, I join a community on-line as I enter into this Journey into Lent.  Also, for the next 6 Sundays I will join people in my own community with whom I will travel the Lenten journey. 

I might even partake of some chocolate on the way.

24 Feb

Giving in Times of Need

Posted by EQ in Community, Faith, God Stuff, Ponderings.

I’ve been wondering how to help others during this season of hurt. 

Many people, good folks who’ve worked hard most of their lives, are finding themselves in a predicament:  they simply can’t pay their bills.  After being a part of a house church community for the last nine years, we have found we have extra money that tends to ”build” up instead of going towards a “building.”  So, we’ve been looking for opportunities of helping folks in need, who could be blessed by a little extra money here and there. 

Long ago, the Acts church would come together, gather their resources, and divide them up so none of them were in need.  What a powerful way of living in community and living the love out for others to see!   For the most part, though, our family has done this alone with our own mason jar of money.  I began wondering what kind of impact we could have as a faith community, pooling our resources and filling needs, while still pondering how this post would allow us to stand together, instead of apart, and meet one another’s needs. 

So, last week, we became a new generation of the Acts church.  We brought what we had to give, dumped it into a brown paper bag, and started asking who had needs.  The blessing among those of us who gathered was that not one of us had financial needs that night.  So, we expanded our family to other brothers and sisters in need, those nearby and those as far as Pakistan.

And God met their needs that night.

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