I Thank Thee With Pot

Last week, as I sent off five more thank-you cards, I noticed that there was something vaguely familiar about the leaf on the front of the card. I had bought the cards after my bridal shower and since I liked them I had bought a great quantity of them, anticipating a future need for thank-you cards. I used them for thank-you cards for my bridal shower and more recently as thank-you cards for wedding gifts.

In my mind I was associating the leaf with something important but I was at a complete loss to recall what it was. Then, suddenly, while discussing the issue of the legalization of drugs with some friends, it came to me. There was a stylized marijuana leaf on the front of the thank-you cards I had been sending out.

This is a marijuana leaf:

This is one of the cards in question:

I find this utterly hilarious. (Or as Silas would say "I was hilarified.") For half a second I was worried about certain people of my acquaintance being offended by this strange resemblance. But I decided that no one would notice except the people who live in Eugene and the people who live in Eugene wouldn't care anyway.

Right? I mean, that's a totally logical conclusion...

The point of it all (is really to use more bullets).

• Death  Cab for Cutie is playing from Silas's macbook pro as I stare at the screen of my own macbook, thinking about what I want to blog. Silas is sitting next to me, also blogging. We're kind of competing for blog hits right now. We're kind of total and complete geeks.  
• Not that this will surprise any of you.
• You are all quite aware of this, I'm sure. 
• In fact, that statement of fact was totally unnecessary. 
• As was that one.

• Anyway(s?), the point of this post is to tell you about something very important that happened this evening; I had ice cream for dinner. 
• In fact, not only did I have ice cream, but I had ice cream covered in reeses cups, kit kat bars, and milk duds. 
• And not only that, but I topped it off with chocolate fudge sauce and swedish fish.
• Oh, yeah.
  

•  And you know what I had for dessert? Chocolate brownies made by my husband, who is a freaking amazing cook.
• Tomorrow night he has promised to make me his long bragged about family recipe of "Spaghetti Without Meat" or what he sometimes refers to as "Mayonnaise Spaghetti".'
• Can. Not. Wait.
• I love my husband.

From the Depths of Woe

Psalm 130
From the depths of woe I raise to thee
The voice of lamentation;
Lord turn a gracious ear to me
And hear my supplication;
If thou iniquities dost mark
Our secret sins and misdeeds dark
Oh who shall stand before thee?

To wash away the crimson stain
Grace, grace alone availith;
Our works, alas, are all in vain;
In much the best life faileth;
No man can glory in thy sight
All must alike confess thy might
And live alone by mercy.

Therefore my trust is in the Lord,
And not in mine own merit;
On him my soul shall rest, his word
Upholds my fainting spirit;
His promised mercy is my fort,
My comfort and my sweet support
I wait for it with patience.

Though great our sins and sore our woes,
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our utmost need it soundeth.
Our shepherd good and true is he,
Who will at last his Israel free
From all their sin and sorrow.

This psalm is like a sweet and soothing ointment spread over all the cracks and sores caused by living in a sinful world.   "His promised mercy is my fort, my comfort, and my sweet support. I wait for it with patience."

Picture via Craig Stephens.

Jason

I tend to talk about pretty inconsequential subjects here on my blog. I post silly pictures of my husband and I, of the food that I bake, the places that I visit, and anything else that I find amusing. Some might claim that these subjects are actually of eternal importance. In fact, I'm pretty sure that some very scholarly papers have been written on the subject of the delights of vainity. An entire book of the Bible if I recall correctly (Which I do.). But as Elizabeth Bennet in says "Of some delights, a little goes a long way."

Today, however,  I'd like to take a short break from my usual silly fare and talk to you about something a little more serious and close to my heart. This is my cousin Jason and he's four years old.

This picture was taken just a few months before he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was  misdiagnosed for a long time before they finally ran blood tests to discover the cause of his mysterious sickness. By the time he started chemo, the day after Christmas, he was a very sick little boy.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for longer than 8 months will recall that I ended up flying from Oregon to Iowa to help my aunt and uncle look after my cousin at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital.

I spent three months in the hospital with Jason. I learned all sorts of things about the hospital and caring for sick children. I also got to know several of the other children who were cancer patients on Jason's floor. He gradually improved over the period that I spent there and by the time I left he was in remission. None of his immediate family were bone marrow matches, so the doctors decided it was best to not pursue a transplant at that time. Jason left the hospital a healthy little boy.

A few days after Silas and I got married the news reached us that Jason has relapsed and was scheduled to return to the hospital the next week. Silas and I were really glad we had decided to stop and visit on our way to Pittsburgh. Jason looked great when we saw him. It was hard to believe that his body was actually fighting cancer. Shortly after we left he returned to the hospital. As you can see, his hair had barely started to grow back from his last round of chemo when he had to return to the hospital.

One week ago he had a bone marrow transplant. Someone we don't even know donated bone marrow for Jason so that he can have a chance to live. We're hoping and praying that this will mean Jason will be rid of his cancer forever. You can follow his story here.

His chance, however, was only possible because someone, somewhere wanted to share life and joined the "Be The Match" bone marrow registry. I'd like to encourage you to think about joining the registry if you are in a position to donate bone marrow. They send you a little kit in the mail and you just swab your mouth and send the kit back in, no needles required.

In addition to bone marrow Jason requires platelets and blood while he recovers from his transplant. These things are often in very short supply and hospitals sometimes try really hard to put off transfusions so there is enough blood for everyone.  Recently at the University of Iowa hospital they were down to 4 units of platelets for the entire hospital. So if you are in a position to give blood, I encourage you to consider donating.

There are so many resources available with information about doing either of these things. So I hope if you take an interest in helping people with conditions like Jason's, you will do the necessary research  to make an educated decision regarding donating and sharing life with your fellow man.

"Freely, freely, you have received. Freely, freely give."

The Fifth of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

On the fifth of November, 1605, Guy Fawkes, along with several other plotters,  attempted to blow up Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder concealed in a cellar beneath the house of lords. His plan, however, was foiled when he was discovered and arrested.  He  and his fellow conspirators were exicuted the following January.

Great Britain still celebrates November 5th as "Guy Fawkes Day", the day when a terrorist was thwarted from causing massive destruction to his country. Today they shoot off fireworks, hold bonfire parties, and burn effigies of Guy. I can't tell you why, but I LOVE this holiday. I'd so much like to be in Britain on Guy Fawkes day at some point in my life. It's one of my life goals, I think.

Silas and I had a little Guy Fawkes party this evening where we watched "V for Vendetta" (Among my top ten movies ever.) and ate cake. I wanted to burn effigies in our living room. Silas said no.  Sad face. Such a kill joy, is my husband.

So, anyway, happy Guy Fawkes Day to you, however you choose to (or not to) celebrate!


(And may we all raise our voices to proclaim DEATH TO TYRANTS!)

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Without a doubt, my favorite Pittsburgh feature (next to my husband, obviously) is the Carnegie library, a massive structure in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh.  It was built in 1895 with money donated by Andrew Carnegie, the second richest man in modern history.

The Carnegie library, unlike most libraries till that point in history, was an open stack library, which meant that patron could browse through the books rather than requesting a clerk to retrieve a certain book from closed stacks accessible only to the librarians. What's more, there was no charge for using the library. Boldly emblazoned across the front of the library are the words "FREE TO THE PEOPLE".

Andrew Carnegie had an interesting philosophy on life, it is what's known as the "Carnegie Dictum" and it follows thusly:

A) To spend the first third of one's life getting all the education one can.

B) To spend the next third making all the money one can.

C) To spend the last third giving it all away for worthwhile causes.

 

I wish, at this moment, that I had taken pictures of its amazing staircases and the beautiful antique painting on its walls and arches, but alas, I failed. Not that any pictures I could have taken would have done it justice anyway.  You just need to come and visit me so we can take the bus to the library together.

Whenever I have any free time I take the 54C to Oakland to get lost in the library. There are rooms upon rooms upon rooms of books. Not to mention the sheet music collection and the extensive music, recorded books and movie collection. Recently I've been on a documentaries kick, so I've really enjoyed selecting documentaries on a variety of subjects for me to watch as I sew, do dishes, or do general housework. And did I mention the volume of books contained in the library? I did? Well it bears repeating.

 

I remember once searching two huge rooms of non-fictions books only to not find the section I was looking for. There were so many books in these two rooms I figured it had to be here and I was just missing it. I finally glimpsed a sign on the the wall that read "Not finding what you're looking for? It's down the hall." Sure enough, down the long corridor of books was a small doorway I had missed and it opened up into three more huge rooms of non-fiction.

 

It reminded me of the Children's song "In my Father's house there are many mansions." The song is talking about heaven and the place that God is preparing for us there. I know it's small minded, but sometimes I can't help wondering if heaven is something like The Carnegie Library.

Glazed Apples and Sausage

Silas recently introduced me to a book called "More with Less" a cookbook of his childhood. He told me that as children he and his eight siblings dubbed it the "Less with More" cookbook. But don't let its trite title and modest cover fool you, this book is a fabulous resource. It's a collection of recipes from Mennonites that focus on the creation of simple foods that are both healthy and inexpensive.

Most of the recipes have specific measurements etc..., but as I was flipping through the book I saw this recipe submitted by a woman who described herself as "An old Mennonite grandmother" and there were no measurements, just a series of instructions. What's more, her recipe sounded amazing. Here is my version of her recipe.

Begin with four apples sliced and cored Leave the skins on, though, as they are vital for keeping the apple together as it cooks.

Get out a largish skillet. This is the skillet I used. It's the biggest one I own and if I was going to be making dinner for more than Silas and I the stockpot would have to have been pulled out. (Also, isn't that tea kettle LOVELY!? It was a bridal shower gift. Every time I look at it I get happy.)

Slice up four five inch sausages and add them to the skillet. We happened to have these chicken sausages in the freezer from before Silas and I got married, so I used them. But anything of the "conglomerated meats stuffed in intestines" variety would work.

Next, add a white syrup. One could use corn syrup, but that stuff will kill you scares me. So I suggest you make a simple sugar syrup.  I didn't end up doing this because Silas had made a big batch of simple syrup for mixed drinks about a week before I made this recipe, so I had some on hand. I added roughly 1/2  a cup.

Then I added 1/3 a cup of sugar, a tsp. of salt and a stick of butter.

 Just look at these ingredients. How could this NOT be good?

Now just let it simmer until there is a glaze over everything.

Mmmmmm. This picture is all steamy.

 

I served this with corn bread and Silas and I both loved it.

 

This made enough for Silas and I to eat for dinner and enough for him to pack the leftovers for lunch the next day. So roughly four servings. The only thing I didn't like was that if felt too sweet to me. So next time I make this I think I'll use less sugar and syrup and I will add something savory, like onions or broccoli.