pumpkins, puppies, and legalism

Today was Halloween. As a Christian, a mom , and a Pastor's wife, the subject of Halloween is always a toughie. The mention of this 'holiday' can stir controversy and start fights faster than you can say "Holy legalism, Batman!" .

After a few years of avoiding this event like the plague, I finally grew tired of basing my actions on the fear of prying eyes and wagging tongues. The end result?: a great day. Maxwell gleefully skipped around the house in his dalmatian costume. He enjoyed the imaginative play. All day my little 'doggie' pretended to bark and scamper about on all fours.

In the afternoon, Paxson and Richard came upstairs to carve pumpkins with Max and Dante'. It was a rare moment to have most of the kids gathered together having fun. Paxson pronounced Maxwell to be cute and kissed his forehead. William emerged from his room dressed like a Ninja and he looked fabulous! I actually saw him smile before heading out to a football game.

Max loved trick-or-treating. It really was nice to be out in our neighborhood, chatting with friends, admiring the cuteness of other little kids and being a part of our community. We saw almost no 'scary' costumes. The smaller children go out earlier and were dressed very sweetly. I connected with people I hadn't seen in a while.

What is my point? Well, tonight stirred a bit of a memory in me. As a child, it was that feeling of wonder at being outdoors at night, the smell of the fresh, cool air, holding my mom or dad's dad, and that little bit of attention given by grownups handing out candy. "Aren't you cute?", they might say. Over the years , most of that got replaced by fear, legalism, and political correctness. Over time, Christmas parties at school became generic winter parties. Easter parties were blandly re-named spring parties, and Halloween became the devil's playground in the eyes of many.

Please don't give me a lecture on a pagan event practiced eons ago in a foreign country. That is not what we are doing here in the U.S. By that argument, we would have to give up Easter as well, and Christmas would simply have to go. After all, those same pagans who invented Samhain, also created Ostara, aka Easter, and Winter's solstice, aka Christmas. I can't speak for everyone , but I am assuming most of you reading this celebrate both the birth and resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and savior and don't give a hoot what the druids were doing about the same time hundreds to thousands of years ago. There is my point.

Last week one my son's little playmates informed him that he loves Satan, simply because he was excited for Christmas to come! Now what on earth am I supposed to say to that? That just broke my heart on behalf of both the kids. But I am not about to interfere with what a little one's parents have taught him/her. It isn't my place.

Haven't we learned through the real teachings of Jesus , that what we eat, how we eat, when we worship or where, is not the way we 'earn' a ticket to heaven? Does anyone assume that God is so shallow we can buy His glorious love by refusing to eat meat, or worshipping only on saturdays? If I refuse to acknowlege the day of my birth, does it make me more holy?
Newsflash: read the book of Matthew. It says plainly "No man comes to the Father but through Me!" in reference to Jesus.
That's it. The only way.

Is Halloween really important to me? No, not at all. But it has become the point at which I stop following a crowd and look to Christ for my direction in life. For those who choose to eschew this day, that's great. Please follow your own personal convictions. And I understand your concerns, as I have weighed these same matters many times over. But God is to be the centerpiece of our lives, not our lists of legalistic 'does' and 'don'ts'.
Peace,
EJ

"Best Friends"

Joshua , Jade and Max


Thank you for the pic, Annie!

An ordinary day

What was great about today? It was ordinary. What a blessing.

I spent the morning getting the kids into their schoolwork, Annie and Josh came to visit, and we got to go play with the horse and goats.

The best part was making stir-fry for the boys and then taking my daughter and husband to dinner. Dante works hard around the house so she was treated to a quiet meal out with mom and dad.

Now its late, everyone is asleep, and I'm enjoying a few moments of personal time before bed. Good night, all.
-EJ

More pics,AKA "Making a goat shelter part deux"

This post should be called "What everyone else was doing while Phil made the goat pen!

building a goat pen

Dante' and her papa work on the fence together:

Another day, another endeavor. My sweet husband patiently supports my interests. This weekend he started building a shed for Dante's goats.

Since the goats live where we board our horse, stable owners/friends Coral and her husband Phil helped us out. No, that's not a typo, Coral's husband is also named Phil. We all had a great time. Around two everyone stopped to have a big lunch. Coral made sausage and chicken on the grill. There was also crudites, chips and soda. Coral's Phil brought out his guitar for my Phil to play. Max and Jade played happily for hours in the round pen. In the end, it was all about team work. Country life is pretty good.

Misc.

Lettuce in the home garden is really doing well. At the community garden today we actually got to pick a few radishes. This new batch is a different variety, red at the top, white at the bottom. Max loves them. Well, loves to eat them is a more accurate statement.

The goats, Robin and Locksley are my new obsession. ( I know I say that about everything) They are just so darned cute. They 'baa' for us when we arrive and bleat piteously when we leave. I feel like such a heel when they do that.

Lots of life stuff happening. Nothing to call the press about, just normal life. Youth group is going well. It's a great group of kids with a heart for the Lord. They are just super. We meet at a nursing home and have already made a new friend there. A woman named Teresita has sort of adopted us and we adore her. She is a retired school teacher, 77 years old, and she LOVES kids. We visit Teresita every week after youth and she prays for us.

The fine art of procrastination, part II

One of my favorite ways to avoid actual housework is to go to the beach. If I'm really indulging in avoidant behavior, I'll take the kids and go crabbing as well. Here is today's adventure: Dante' baited the crab pots with chicken. Then we all took a walk on the beach. Max found plenty of treasures to enjoy.


All the things featured in this and last post were done today. The only exception is the fall art. We did that yesterday. Is it any wonder I seem to always be posting at midnight? Maybe one of these days I'll wise up and learn time management.

Btw, I promised to be 'eating Oregon', and I did. We caught five crab that became an addition to tonight's dinner. They were fantastic!

-EJ

The fine art of procrastination, part I

What do we do all day? More than you could ever imagine! It goes something like: Shower, feed kids, feed bunnies, Homeschooling, cleaning, laundry, chores, errands, canning or preserving, feed/exercise horse, feed goats, come home, make dinner and start all over again the next day.

We do manage to work in quite a bit of fun due to my being a compulsive procrastinator. Some examples:

Playing with the goats. They have such darling personalities!

Fall leaf 'stained glass art'. This is the one we all did as kids. It's a classic. I had intended this to be a project for Max, but all the kids seemed to want in on the fun.

Playing with the bunnies is always a favorite.Today the weather was so gorgeously warm and mild. The sky was deeply blue, the air smelled of fall. We put all three bunnies outside to play.

Jack, our 'Senior citizen' bunny, sedately enjoyed his outdoor time. The little ones went spastic. They seemed to be playing tag with each other. One would pounce the other, they would hide in their little playhouse 'til suddenly one would dash out into the yard with the other hot on its tail. They coyly looked for ways to escape the pen and were sometimes successful. Cute, but naughty.

Expanded Menagerie

We finally did it. We found, and purchased two Nubian goats. They are lovely little doe-lings , just now old enough to breed.

Robin and Locksley, (formerly known as Lacey and Penelope) are sweet little girls and we love them already. Robin is friendly and affectionate. She has quite the personality. Locksley can't bear to be separated from Robin and is rather standoffish with us two-legged types.

The goats are officially Dante's 14th birthday present. Now comes the task of caring for the little beggars. I'll continue to post our successes and failures as new goat owners. This should get interesting.

Always tired but never bored,
EJ

mounds of mint

It's been said that in case of nuclear holocaust , only cockroaches and Hostess Twinkies would survive. Or maybe George Hamilton. That man has more preservatives in him than an embalmed cadaver. But I digress...
Allow me to add the lowly mint plant to the "post-armagedon party" guest list. This stuff grows anywhere. With a little encouragement, mint could grow in the Le Brea tar pits. I swear it has the half-life of Mc Donald's french fries. (anyone seen "supersize me"?) Have I made my point?

That said, be careful where you plant mint, as it is a notorious garden bully. Thus we come to the crux of today's post. My friend Coral has a mutinous patch of mint threatening to dominate the entire back yard. Mowing has only made it stronger and more determined. She was more than happy to let me take some home. After my verbal assault on mint, why would I want to take some home? Answer: Mint tea and mint jelly.

My kids love mint tea. They drink it like water. And I , like a dork, have been buying it at the grocery store. So today, as I lugged home a trashbag full of mint, I gleefully added up cash savings in my head. As I write this, the first batch of mint is drying in the dehydrator.

Tomorrow,if time allows, I would love to conjure up a batch of mint jelly. Yummy. Thank you Coral!

This just in....

Grampie called. Said he made me a cheese press, finally. Now I can't wait to play with my new "toy". Pics to follow.
-E

Newport Photojournal

Eating Newport

If your not eating well in Newport, Oregon, you've got one of two problems:

a. you haven't left the house in years

b. you've never ventured outside of Mc Donald's and Taco Bell

Newport boasts some of the freshest and most unconventional offerings on the Southern Oregon Coast. This afternoon Phil and I had the pleasure of stumbling onto the Village Market and Deli. The word "market" lured us in, the cheese list kept us there for hours.

Co-owners Robert and Deborah Trusty graciously answered all our questions about their meats and cheeses. Robert cut us wafer-thin slices of heavenly sopressata to try. At our request he also obliged our interest in the large chunk of real Monchego from Spain. Robert and Deborah have a delicious assortment of artisanal breads and an impressive wine list.

It had been our intention to sight see in the Nye beach area, but when the rain started to fall heavily, hubby and I hunkered down at the deli for coffee and conversation. Phil was astounded to learn that Deborah had graduated from the very same high school he attended in California. And just one year ahead of him. Even odder, He and Robert shared a common friend from the Fairfield area.

Another favorite of ours is Sada's. We discovered it years ago and daydream about it's gorgeously decadant millenium rolls. But Sada's is not just another ubiquitous sushi joint. It has real japanese cuisine. I have tried for years to get them to tell me what they put in their spinach/shitake dish. It is so unbelievably good.

Once my son asked them for zaru soba, which isn't on the menu, and they were happy to oblige. Now, back to that millenium roll: Imagine generous chunks of lobster, in a cream sauce, rolled into sushi rice and baked in the oven. mmmmmmm.......

The restaurants here are understandably proud of their fresh seafood. You just can't go wrong ordering salmon, clams, or dungeness crab.

If it sounds like we've spent most of this vacation eating, that's not far off the mark. I complained to Phil after dinner that I'm sick of eating and don't want to ever again. Then I realized what I had uttered, panicked, and repented.

-EJ

Adventures in Newport

Phil is in the shower, Max is watching 'Handy Manny' on playhouse Disney, I'm debating making breakfast. The kitchen countertop is littered with literally hundreds of Chanterelles. Already it looks like home around here.

Yesterday we piled into the car and went searching for wild mushrooms. Phil and I found what we thought was a logging road and parked the car. After hitting the Chanterelle 'motherload', we drove back down the mountain only to discover we were locked in. It turns out we had been parked on private property. The owners had left for the day and blocked off our only way out. In the end, a sweet older gentleman named Jim came to our rescue. Jim had a key for gate and before long we were on our way.

Later in the day we took Max to oldtown. There are two docks below the boardwalk that are a favorite daytime hangout for sealions. They just lie there all day barking loudly, napping, and putting on displays of dominance over each other. These sealions are astonishingly large. Their mammoth bodies are covered in thick fur. Why did I think they would have shiny, smooth skin? Tourists crowd the boardwalk taking pictures of these gregarious show-offs.

Prophets wear lime green flip-flops

Saturday afternoon, Phil, Max and I left for a week in Newport. We are using a week of condo time and wanted to relax close to home. Before leaving, Phil got a tip that an old friend had started a new fellowship just a couple of minutes South of Newport.

Sunday at 9:00 a.m. we pulled up to southbeach community center, home of South Beach Chapel, led by Pastor Andy Green. Andy is quite the enigma. With wirey gray hair, thick white beard, jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops, he is not your grandmother's preacher man.

Including Phil and myself, there must have been about twelve folks in attendance. The atmosphere was homey and sweet. Although I expected a roomfull of old people, there were two young couples and a single young man.

Andy himself led worship on a badly tuned guitar. What he lacked in musicianship, he certainly made up for with joy and enthusiasm. The following teaching was just fabulous. Andy has the gift of an intimate, conversational teaching style. It's a bit like sitting down with an old friend who has extensive insight on the One who created us. Andy is just too hard to define, or categorize. Eccentric, friendly, peaceable, wise......

After church the tiny congregation served lunch. We left with full bellies and full hearts. May God bless Andy and his wife Katie. Next time your in Newport, drop in and say hi. Tell him Phil and Ellen sent you.
-EJ

What to do with green tomatoes

It's pouring rain in October. Some blight is overtaking the tomatoes. The plants are heavy with large, green fruits that will not ripen before succumbing to either the blight or the weather. What's a girl to do? Turn the internet! Twenty minutes of browsing yielded a fascinating jam recipe.

So at 8 pm, Max, Richard, Dante' and I stood in the unlit community garden cutting green tomatoes from the vine. I got home to find my friend Coral was visiting. "Aren't you going on vacation tomorrow?", she asked. Well, yeah. "Are you packed yet?", she pressed. um, no. How do I explain an almost obsessive need to can and preserve the fruits of our labor? (all puns and cliche's aside)

The outcome is 5 pints of very tasty but odd jam. Odd because it calls for pureeing the green tomato, boiling it for 15 minutes with sugar, then pulling it off the heat and adding raspberry jello from the box. Amazingly, it tastes like raspberry jam.

My personal thanks to whomever came up with this recipe. It saved a lot of tomatoes.

-EJ
btw, anyone with a good green tomato recipe send it to me please

Oregon's Autumn Edibles

With most of our summer crops long gone, the winter crops are now emerging. There are at least 6 different types of lettuce planted in our front yard as I type this. My neighbor Vi graciously gave packages of kale seed I hope to have in the ground tomorrow. Gardening friends say that peas and broccoli grow well in the fall, also. I'm not sure just how ambitious I am concerning fall/winter gardening so we'll see about that.

As promised, the rains have brought seemingly millions of mushrooms bursting forth from the musty forest floor. Mushroom hunting is my personal 'zen' activity. There is something about the earthy fragrance of the forest, the spongy retraction of rotting logs, pine needles and debris under my feet as I walk, the dimmed light of being underneath the pine and fir canopy. The preternatural quite has an odd effect on my pulse which quickens with adrenaline as I forage. All mushrooms are lovely. The loveliest are usually inedible. Many are deadly. "Mom!" one of my kids will shout, "What is this?". Out comes the identification book. We stoop, we peer, we search the pages. Ahh, a bolete.

Salmon celebrations are in the works. Salmon is an important part of Coastal life. It is a major source of income for some. Ocean caught, non-farmed salmon at $12 a pound is an occasional treat for most of us. It's joke here that acquaintances with boats become best friends during salmon season.

Blackberries are nearly done. Several jars of jam and preserves line our shelves. Huckleberries are still around for those who don't mind the tediousness of picking them.

With summer over, the crab catching should be better and better. I'm not entirely sure, but I think crab molt during the summer, making for puny crabs with little meat in the shell. Regardless, I'm ready to ditch the canning and head to the docks with a crab net. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats fresh, sweet, Dungeness crab. You East Coasters can keep your little-bitty blue crabs. I will take Dungeness any day.

Fall is glorious on the Oregon Coast. Abundance is everywhere. Join us. Oh, and bring a rain coat.

-EJ

Our newest 'babies'

You know if I could get away with it, our backyard would be more like a barnyard. As I don't see that happening anytime soon, I'll be happy with the two newest additions to our pet collection: Beni and LuLu. They are part mini-Rex and , less obviously, mini-Lop.

The breeder informed me that 'sexing' bunnies at such an early age is difficult. She "thinks" they are both female. If , in a few months I find them snuggling and sharing a cigarette, I'll assume the breeder was wrong. At any rate, here is a picture. Beni is white and gray, Lulu is Rust and Blue-gray.

-EJ