As We’re Adventing

December 5, 2010 By 11 Comments

“Shhh…” One of the older girls hushed her brother as we prepared to light the second candle of the wreath. “Stop making weird noises. We’re ‘Adventing’!”

Yes, we are Adventing in a big way this year, with multiple countdowns in progress throughout the house.

First, there’s the Journey to Bethlehem tradition that I told you about when describing how Advent first came to our home ten years ago.

That scene is set up on a side table in the dining room. The kids take turns moving Mary and Joseph forward one stone per day.

This year we’ve added something new: [Read more...]

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Food on Fridays: Repurposed Turkey

December 2, 2010 By 9 Comments

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Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe.

If you want, you could photograph a stack of tins you’ll be using for an upcoming cookie exchange—position them next to your recipe box, upload the photo, and you’re good to go!

My point is that we’re pretty relaxed over here, and posts like that are as welcome as menus and recipes. [Read more...]

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Notes from the Father

December 2, 2010 By 5 Comments

On Sunday, we lit the first candle of our Advent wreath and talked about the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled and how hard it must have been for God’s people to piece it all together.

I wrote out some prophecies on paper, folded them up, and asked the older two kids to create a simple scavenger hunt. The younger two raced off in search of the messages, which they found and brought back to share…messages like Micah 5:2, Hosea 11:1, and Isaiah 7:14. [Read more...]

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The Advent of Our Advent

November 30, 2010 By 36 Comments

The church I attended as a child did some things for Advent, though I don’t remember much. I think that candles were lit and the color purple was involved. Also, I recall white ornaments with Christian symbols hanging on a large Christmas tree in the foyer.

All of those colors and details were associated with church. It never occurred to me that someone might observe Advent at home. [Read more...]

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Food on Fridays: Breakfast Casseroles

November 26, 2010 By 6 Comments

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(smaller button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe.

If you want, you could just post photos of your Thanksgiving pie leftovers. Or…did you have any leftovers?

My point is that we’re pretty relaxed over here, and posts like that are as welcome as menus and recipes. [Read more...]

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Finding Bliss in the Better

November 23, 2010 By 4 Comments

Poetry’s been on my mind quite a bit lately.

First, there are my poem-promoting/poem-lovin’ friends. Yes, indeed, a lot of my friends are enjoying poetry, whether reading, writing, sharing, publishing, or even tweeting it (check out TweetSpeak Poetry on Twitter tonight, November 23, 9:30-10:30 p.m. ET).

Also, I went to that Wendell Berry reading, and though he read from unpublished fiction (or is it autobiographical??), he did end by reading a poem of his that I liked very much.

And then of course, as I mentioned, I met Maurice Manning. [Read more...]

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Food on Fridays: PG Tips Green Tea

November 19, 2010 By 15 Comments

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(smaller button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe.

If you want, you could tell us your Thanksgiving plans. Where will you be? What will you eat?

My point is that we’re pretty relaxed over here, and posts like that are as welcome as menus and recipes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Food on Fridays, tea

Wendell Berry Road Trip (Part 3 of 3)

November 18, 2010 By 7 Comments

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here, if you like.

After Wendell Berry finished reading “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” his handlers—an English professor or two—whisked him away to a book signing table.

I walked up to Maurice Manning to introduce myself. I explained how I remembered him from the Writers Colloquium where Haven Kimmel was the keynote speaker.

Charity was standing off to the side, so I motioned her over and introduced her. Because she and I had been separated during the reading, she had no idea who he was or why I was talking with him—and I didn’t have a chance to explain to her that he was single

I can be impulsive, zany and something like a schoolgirl at times, but I decided to stop short of tacky and refrained from mentioning to Maurice that she was single. So we were just three civilized adults chatting about Wendell Berry. [Read more...]

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Wendell Berry Road Trip (Part 2 of what may have inadvertently turned into 3 parts)

November 17, 2010 By 7 Comments

Charity and I made plans to drive down to the university last Thursday, leaving late in the afternoon. We would be cutting it close to get to the Wendell Berry reading by 7:30 p.m.

I told Charity about how packed the event was the night before; how it was standing room only and we barely got seats. I asked if she was okay sitting on the floor or standing in the hallway. Would she still want to go, even if our situation was less than ideal?

She said yes. Definitely. You see, Charity has read just about everything that Wendell Berry has ever published. [Read more...]

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Wendell Berry Road Trip (Part 1 of 2)

November 16, 2010 By 15 Comments

A friend of mine moved to the university town where I was a student. A week-and-a-half ago, she sent me an e-mail with this subject line:

“Wendell Berry here all week”

Wendell Berry? Right in my own state…at my alma mater?

Sure enough. Last Tuesday night he was to read from his work; Wednesday was an interview of some kind; Thursday he would do another reading; and Friday night he was participating in a concert intermingling his readings with music.

At first it didn’t look like I could attend any of the events. My days were full, so the thought of all that driving—three hours round trip—for just an hour or so of Wendell Berry didn’t seem like a wise investment of my time. After all, I’d be coming home late and needed to be rested for several meetings. Plus, I still had papers to grade and two classes to teach at our co-op. It just didn’t seem prudent.

Then something clicked. [Read more...]

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