Takin' a Break . . .

It's time to get our fall on . . . and plant those hardy mums!

In the midst of my sixth month of blogging, I have to say that I’ve enjoyed doing it immensely.  Thank you to those who have been faithful readers.  It’s time for me to take a break, as I’m deep into teaching and grading papers, pursuing free-lance article ideas, and implementing all of those gardening plans that I've said I'll do!  I will continue this blog at some point, possibly going on the wider web and opening it up to the public. We’ll see!

Please have a wonderful and blessed fall, and thank you again for visiting my site throughout the months . . .

My Backyard DIYs

My backyard Do-It-Yourself projects include finding pieces of old furniture and painting them wonderfully bright colors!  The inside of my house is pretty traditional, so I enjoy using really fun, lively colors outside my house!  Hope you are inspired!

I found this old wooden table at an antique
store when I was looking for a potting bench.
I painted it "John Deere" green with a mint
green drawer for contrast.  It's got a nice wide
aluminum top that can be easily washed off
with a hose.  I love it!

I painted this chair "Tangerine Dream."
I've got it on the deck as a plant stand,
now holding an ornamental pepper.

I use this little bench for my watering can,

pots, and garden trinkets. I call this color

"French Blue."  It was fun to paint with

such a lively color!

This window frame was made of old fence

 posts. I've wanted to paint something robin's-egg

 blue, so that was my choice (it looks paler in

this picture).  I then planted pansies in the

windowsill and hung it on the side of

the garage.



Homemade Muffins and Pie, Oh My!

These muffins look yummy cooling off on the baker's rack.

I’ve got a great muffin recipe given to me by a friend – it makes normal-size muffins (not those monstrosities you see nowadays) and they are very healthy (also not like the ones they make today).  They’re only 127 calories per muffin, and are full of lots of yummy stuff.  Here’s the recipe:

Apple-Carrot Muffins         

1 1/3 c. Raisin Bran cereal

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

¾ c. sugar

1 ¼ t. baking soda

1 t. ground cinnamon

¼ t. salt

1 egg

¾ c. milk

¼ c. canola oil

¾ c. finely chopped peeled tart apple

¾ c. grated carrots

¼ c. chopped walnuts

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  In a small bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple, carrots and walnuts.  Fill paper-lined cups ¾ full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-23 min. Cool for 5 min before removing from pan to wire rack.  Serve warm.  Makes 1 dozen.

My annual fresh peach pie just waits to be dug in to!

Also, when the peach season peaks at the end of summer, I always make a fresh peach pie.  I admit I don’t do a homemade crust, but the refrigerated pre-made crusts are a good substitute.  Here’s a basic recipe that I use for this delicious pie.  At 200 calories a slice, it’s a modest splurge. And of course, each piece needs to be topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or whipped topping)!  Too good for words . . .

Simple Peach Pie

Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie (I use Pillsbury)

5 cups fresh peaches, sliced

1 c. sugar

½ c. flour

½ t. cinnamon

2 T. butter

2 T. sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together flour, 1 c. sugar, and cinnamon and set aside. Wash, peel, and slice fresh peaches.  Mix together peaches with the combined dry ingredients. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan and dot with butter. Cover with top crust, cut slits in it, seal the edges. Sprinkle top with 2 T. of sugar. Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning; remove foil for the last 15 min. of baking. Bake 35 to 45 min. or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust. Cool and enjoy!

Sports: What I Love, What I Don't

The K-State Wildcats face our rival, KU!

Since my grad school days at a Division I school, I have become a fan of college sports. There’s nothing like the electric atmosphere of a football stadium on a crisp fall day; likewise, the energy and talent on a college basketball court pumps me up as well. I do watch the Superbowl and catch the NBA Finals and Wimbledon every June, but otherwise, it’s college sports for me.  Yet there are things I don’t like about the sportsworld. Here are the good and the bad, as I see it.

            First, I’ll talk about what I love.  I love watching outstanding athletes perform during the best years of their ability.  I admire it because although I can do other things well, I don’t share that talent!

I love the way that sports binds people together.  I like that I can walk into a sandwich shop and talk with the clerk about how he filled out his bracket during March Madness.  I like that I can call my dad on the phone in Indiana after seeing a great play on TV, and know that he just saw the same one, and we can share our enthusiasm.  I like the community and spirit that sports builds at a large university.  And I like the feeling of walking around Aggieville before a game and seeing everyone proudly wearing their purple.

I love the energy a good game generates. This happens both on the court and the field, as well as in the crowd.  It’s a great emotional release, and allows everybody to forget the stresses of everyday life and put their focus on something fun.

            I love learning about the game.  Although I’m still an amateur spectator, as I learn to appreciate the different strategies involved in coaching, teamwork and plays, it becomes all that more interesting to me.

            Now for what I don’t like.  I don’t like that sports are driven by money, unfortunately, even in the college world. Especially in the college world, because ultimately schools are supposed to be about academics, right?  I don’t like all the scandals that go on, and that some athletes really don’t give a rip about their classes – they just want to play.  I don’t like the sense of entitlement that some of them project, thinking they’re special.  While I know that fancy stadiums are the result of private donations and not school funds, it really bugs me that our buildings on campus too often don’t match the quality or luxury of the sports facilities.

            I don’t like when people take sports too seriously. Many make it their religion, because that’s where they put their money, their time and their energy.  There are just too many more important things in life that don’t get enough of these, that people are apathetic about, yet when it comes to sports, they’re totally there.  I don’t like when fans get upset in the stands and take the game so seriously that they get angry and cause riots.  Get over it, and get a real problem!

            And lastly, especially with football, I don’t like all the macho stuff that often goes with it.  I don’t like the ads with the male-adoring girls holding beer bottles, or the silly guffaws of the sports commentators behind the desks. Sports are watched by everyone, and while I appreciate the physical strength and talent behind them, I don’t like it when the testosterone levels get too high!

            Does the bad outweigh the good?  It may not seem like it here, but I still think it does!  So grab some munchies and a good cold drink, get comfortable in your seat in the stadium, arena or at home, have fun with those around you, and cheer on your team.  It’s some of the most exciting entertainment there is.

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!

Tailgating is always a good time!

Outside the Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

A sea of purple covers the student section.

Watch out for the drunk guys in the big purple shirts . . .
(I don't even know these people!)

Dinner With Farzaneh

A gorgeous Persian feast. Delicious!

           

  

Last Sunday evening we were honored to be the guests of Farzaneh, a warm wonderful friend from Iran.  We got to know her through her tailoring business, where we take our clothes to get altered (I told her, it’s good I can’t sew, or we would have never become friends!).  We’ve spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other over the years and thus have become special friends.  So last week she invited us to come for a fabulous Persian feast, much of it cooked by her mother who is visiting.

             Have you ever joined an international table?  It’s one of my favorite experiences.  Lots of beautiful, new foods laid out before us, different languages flying through the air, and lots of cross-cultural bridge-building.  Laughter comes easily as we are assured that our commonalities outweigh our differences by far. And the colorful diversity adds extra spice.
            This was a most eclectic crowd.  Farzaneh, a native Muslim, attends the Unity Church here in Wichita, which is part of an international religious movement. Their pastor was present and told me that their church “considers the Bible their text and Christianity their foundation, but adheres to the universal truths of all religions.”  So there are members that are Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu as well.  His wife is Colombian, and she was a most interesting woman.  She got her master’s in chemistry in Russia, so considers English her third language.  Of course, my husband got a kick out of visiting with her, being that he has studied Russian and enjoys meeting people who speak it.
             Again, I find it a rich experience to meet all kinds of people, and the past two days have been full of such experiences.  Saturday night we skyped some friends from China, last night we enjoyed a Persian feast, and tonight we will deliver a meal to a new Mexican-American family in town.  I’m grateful for these times.

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!

           

My caring friend Farzaneh and me.

Mike enjoyed speaking Russian with his new Colombian friend.

Fun with the group after our feast!  Good times.

New Beginnings

My daughter's school supplies neatly laid out on our table.

This week marks the beginning of a new school year – which around our house means my daughter starts fourth grade and I get back to teaching.  As for my husband, well, he continues to plug away in his cubicle at work, as always.  It’s been a fun summer, and I’m a bit winsome about it coming to an end – except for the heat!  But as my girl counts out her new pencils and other school supplies on our dining room table, and I start to get a peek inside the new textbook I will be using, I start turning my attention to the fall and the year ahead.

          Even if your life doesn’t revolve around the school calendar, what new beginnings are in store for you?  I’m not good at transitioning from one period of life to another (getting back home after vacations is always a welcome relief, but it takes awhile for me to feel comfortable in my old routine), but it’s important to be pulled into new adventures.  As I think about this coming year, I’m optimistic about the new experiences it can offer.
         Are you happy?  Are there ways that you can make yourself happier?  A strange segue I know, but I’m thinking about a book I read this summer and want to share some of its ideas with you.  It’s called The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin.  Now, I’m not one for self-help books – personally I think they’re pretty shallow, but this one intrigued me, and I wasn’t disappointed.  This author said she already felt she was reasonably happy in her life, but wondered if she could improve her situation by making specific resolutions each month (for instance, she found that by just getting to bed thirty minutes earlier each night, she felt much better and things went more smoothly the next day -- my goal would be to get up a bit earlier each morning).

            Anyway, here are a few of her thoughts:

• What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.
• Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
• “Happiness,” wrote Yeats, “is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth.  We are happy when we are growing.”
• You can’t change anyone but yourself.
• Work can be a source of many of the elements for a happy life: the atmosphere of growth, social contact, fun, a sense of purpose, self-esteem, recognition.
• Denying bad feelings intensifies them; acknowledging bad feelings allows good feelings to return.
• It’s important to keep happy memories vivid in your mind, so you can recall them when you’re discouraged.
• New experiences are an important source of happiness.
• Having strong social bonds is probably the most meaningful contributor to happiness.
• Don’t gossip.
• If you can find the time, making a new friend is extremely energizing. New friends expand your world by providing an entrance to new interests, and opportunities. And, you can play the same role for them.
• Actively invite others to join a conversation.
• Stop the venting and complaining.
• Give thanks: for the ordinary and the extraordinary.
• Stop buying useless crap.
• Shit happens – count on it.
• Choose not to take things personally.
• Play the hand you're dealt.
• Your physical state is crucial: getting enough sleep, exercise, nutritious food, etc.
• Indulge in a modest splurge.
• Money can buy happiness if it is used wisely.
• For many, fear of what might happen is a source of great unhappiness—yet they feel there’s a propitiatory virtue in fretting. Stop worrying.
• Cut people slack.
• When listening to other people speak, listen intently.
• Don’t eat fake food.
• Direct your thoughts away from subjects that make you angry or irritable.

        Please excuse the abundance of ideas here – I tried to list things that were provocative and not too cliché.  Take what you want from this list – I find it worth pondering.  For now, have a good week, and a good new year!

For life is what you make it. So make it good!

           

Connecting With Cousins

My cousin Ben, me, and his wife Vikki in Iowa.

 

 

 

I’ve had some fun in the past year or two getting together with first cousins that I haven’t seen in a long time.  As kids, even though we lived all over the country, our folks got us all together regularly for holidays and family reunions.  As we’ve grown, however, we’ve kind of gone our own way . . . attending college, getting married, raising families, etc.  So, it’s been fun for me to call cousins that I haven’t seen for years and stop to visit them as part of larger trips that I take.

            It kind of reminds me of seeing classmates at a class reunion (though much more fun). We know how squirrely we all were when we were little and we have similar memories of times spent together. And, it’s always interesting to share our different recollections of just what happened and why. But more than that, the family bond in today’s mobile society is important and it’s always good to reinforce that and enjoy our shared history.

            Another thing that’s interesting is that our age differences are so insignificant now. I just got to re-connect with my cousin Ben and meet his wife and kids up in Iowa on our way to Indiana.  I always thought of him as “Benji,” but now I realize that he is older than my husband! Ha.

Another layer of this re-connecting has to do with meeting each other’s spouses and having our kids meet.  What fun!  I told my daughter that I want her to meet as many of her second cousins as she can, and being that a lot of these kids are around her age, she’s had a ball.  Last year I visited a cousin in Baltimore who has three children, and my daughter fit right in as the fourth sibling (their mother, my cousin Ann, also remembered with me the silly skits we would perform for everyone at Thanksgiving). What fun to see the beautiful children my cousins have “produced” – to see how their looks and personality traits have been carried on.

My cousin Ann and I during a recent visit (we called her Annie!).

I hope that our re-connection keeps us in closer touch with each other as time goes on.  This has been a joy in life, and I plan to get in touch with more cousins in the future. Let’s see, I only have seventeen more to go  . . . 

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!