Updated on August 2, 2011
Sunday Snapshot: Our newest teammate
This afternoon, Jennifer asked me to do a quick photo shoot with Lucy. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige. Lucy has now been with the Clements for about five weeks, and here as a part of our team for about two weeks. As you shall soon see, she has a smile to melt any heart. And today I found out she’s quite the willing ham for the camera.
At first, it took a bit for her to warm up.
Then, the school portrait forced smile began to surface.
However, before long, a genuine grin was beginning to break through.
A change of hair accessories.
And the cuteness continued.
Don’t you just love those dimples?
Of course, when you’ve got a momma making funny faces…
you can’t help but smile.
One thing that is for certain…
this newest team member is quite the patient picture poser.
And with a grin this big, even at the end of the shoot when we’re packing it up…
I have a feeling she might just become one of my favorite subjects.
Updated on August 2, 2011
That chill in the air
There has been that characteristic nip in the air for the past week. That slight bite that brings rushes of memories of Saturdays in the Shoe watching script Ohio, the crunch of leaves under foot, and the smell of pumpkin bread baking in the kitchen.
Have I mentioned I love fall? Oh, I have? Repeatedly? I’m sorry, but it is just the most spectacular season–in part because of the food. Fall in China became even more delightful last year for two significant reasons. One: the Pioneer Woman convinced me that I could indeed roast and puree a pumpkin. Two: I discovered small pumpkins were quite common in the marketplaces of my city.
These two discoveries led to an explosion of pumpkin recipes emanating from my kitchen last fall. And if I have my way about it, the same will be true of this fall. Which is why today I set about roasting and pureeing pumpkins.
At the beginning, I was eager and excited and feeling quite satisfied with my woman in the kitchen skills. I took pictures of my lovely pumpkins.
Of cutting them (sidenote: a great kitchen knife is one of the best investments I’ve made).
Getting the pieces set in the pan to roast. Let me tell you, I was feeling like a real pioneer woman–like I could really cut it out on the frontier before there were such things as canned pumpkin. And yes, I realize there were no ovens on the frontier. Or blenders. But by golly I could find a way. More reasonably, I mused about how even if, someday in the future, I should reside in America where canned pumpkin is easily accessible, I’ll still puree my own pumpkin.
And then several things happened. 1) It started to get dark, seriously impeding the documentation of my pioneering skills. 2) The light in my kitchen burned out. The building fix-it guy came to replace it. The new bulb has a weird yellow orange tint that makes any decent photography quite impossible. 3) Every surface in my kitchen was soon covered with pumpkin, including my hands. Who cares about the light, I wouldn’t be touching my camera anyway. 4) I reasoned if (a) I had an oven large enough to roast more than one pumpkin at a time and/or (b) had a food processor that didn’t require tender care and manipulation like my blender I might still puree pumpkins in the States. 5) Then the process dragged on and on and on and on and on. And suddenly, I thought the man (or woman) who invented canned pumpkin was a genius who deserved being sainted. 6) My teammate entered the apartment and with a chuckle declared, “It looks like you got in a fight with a pumpkin! And I think you lost!” 7) Have I mentioned that I might be the messiest cook ever?
There are now 9 cups of pumpkin in the freezer and a cup in the fridge. Tomorrow, when I make up pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookies, I have a feeling I’m going to say, “it’s all worth it!” Until then, here’s a glimpse at the carnage (with the oh so lovely yellow glow of my new kitchen light). I think I’ll hold off on moving to the frontier for awhile.
Updated on August 2, 2011
A Broken Hallelujah
Brokenness.
Brokenness has been a common refrain echoing through my own life, and perhaps even more so, the lives of those around me of late. A brokenness that leaves an ache, and a feeling of helplessness as you know there are wounds that you can’t bind up.
A few nights ago, feeling particularly burdened with the weight of the lives around me, I stumbled on the following quote by Ann Voskamp.
I know there is poor and hideous suffering and I’ve seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. But I have lived pain and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of peonies in June and the song of crickets on summer humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good Father gives.
How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is Joy Who saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn’t rescue the suffering. The converse does.
The brave who focus on all things good and all things beauty and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.
As I chewed on the truth within that quote, my thoughts wandered to Job. Job, who in the midst of being swallowed by intense grief raised a questioning voice to the Father. The Father’s response is quite intriguing…”consider the leviathan.” In the midst of unspeakable sorrow, Job’s vision had become quite narrowly fixated on the pain and loss of the moment. The Father didn’t tell Job to toughen up, but instead He redirected Job’s vision. He simply told Job to look at the world, knowing that within that creation was hid the secret to realigning Job’s perspective on the Creator.
As I reflected, I felt the call to come and “consider the leviathan.” So this afternoon, I shed my pajamas and headed out with camera in hand to study, reflect and consider the created world around me.
The delicacy.
The leaves blushing with the first sign of the impending season.
The scars.
Broken beams of light.
Inviting paths.
Handiwork.
Perfect handiwork. Complete with a spotlight.
Color.
Color teeming with life.
And even the leviathan. Well, not exactly.
In the midst of all this, I found myself with a ready, albeit broken, hallelujah on my lips.
And with Job I cried out, “I know you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plan without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
Updated on August 2, 2011
On the eve of the holiday
A few snippets you may {or may not} find interesting:
- Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Day Festival, a day set aside to gaze at the moon, think about family members that are far away, and eat mooncakes. In preparation for the holiday, everybody scurries around giving each other this aforementioned culinary delight. This stuffed pastry, while a delicacy in some people’s minds, is more like a tightly packed circle of sawdust in my own mind. Thankfully, the foreign affairs office knows the foreign teachers well enough to know that any mooncakes delivered into our hands will soon thereafter be delivered into the nearest trash bin. So instead of a gourmet collection of cakes, they gave us a gift card to the local grocery store. I love our foreign affairs office.
- Since tomorrow is a Festival day, I am now on “vacation” for the next three days. This means that at 5:30 pm, I am already in pajamas; a state of attire I hope to continue for the next 44 hours (it would be longer, but I have friends coming over Thursday afternoon). After I wrap up this play by play of my current situation, I will quite happily tuck myself away in the kitchen to whip up a big feast in celebration.
- Speaking of big feasts, this past weekend I asked Stella to pick up a package of cream cheese for me since she was headed to the nearby big city. I had a craving for carrot cake, and knew I’d have time to whip one up over the holiday. I was imagining she’d pick up a normal sized box of Philadelphia cream cheese from the import store. Instead, she returned with a five pound block of cream cheese. I am now accepting any and all recipes involving cream cheese. Needless to say, my mashed potatoes tonight will contain cream cheese (as a sidenote, have you ever added cream cheese to your mashed potatoes? not exactly good for the behind, but in all other respects, so good).
- Also on the agenda for the night? Watching the third movie in the Twilight series with the girls. Mock all you want–after the mayhem of the start of the semester, the pure fluff and ridiculousness that is Twilight is sounding mighty fine.
Happy Mid-Autumn Day to all of you! I’ll be thinking of you as I gaze at the moon tomorrow!
Updated on August 2, 2011
Do you see what I see?
Do you see it?
How about now?
Looks like the dream of fresh basil is very much {for now} alive.
If anguish were visible, almost the whole of this benighted planet would be enveloped in a dense dark vapor, shrouded from the amazed vision of the heavens! And the products of it all will be mainly evil – historically considered. But the historic version is, of course, not the only one. All things and all deeds have a value in themselves, apart from their “causes” and “effects.” No man can estimate what is really happening sub specie aeternitatis. All we do know, and that to a large extent by direct experience, is that evil labors with vast power and perpetual success – in vain: preparing always the soil for unexpected good to sprout in. ~J.R.R. Tolkien
Updated on August 2, 2011
Sunday Snapshot: The classroom
Today is Sunday. But today is also next Thursday. Which means I spent the whole afternoon teaching. I thought I’d let you have a little lengthy glimpse into my classroom.
Updated on August 2, 2011
Tomorrow is next Thursday
Which means I work on Sunday.
For an entertaining second perspective on the riddle that is Chinese holidays, head on over to one of my favorite blogs.
Added to the already confusing schedule is the fact that our school must squeeze in its annual sports meet. Which means we have an additional two days off to cheer on teachers running in high heels around a track. Which, to be entirely honest, I have no idea whether or not we make up those days. Nor do I know if we will make up the grad class that was canceled this past week. Ahhh, yes, fall in China, also known as, “What day of the week is it? No, what day of the week are we pretending it is?”
Updated on August 2, 2011
Something to smile about
There have been several things of late giving me good reason to smile:
#1: A quick drop in the temperatures ushering in fall-like weather. There’s a nip in the air, and no more sweaty armpits in the classroom. I love fall. It’s about time to start adding pumpkin back into the diet.
#2: This pot.
Which doesn’t look like much right now, but contains great hope and promise. Or, more exactly, newly planted basil seeds. If I manage to successfully grow fresh basil…well, let’s just say the thought is almost too good to be true.
#3: Homemade peach freezer jam.
Yes, I love to cook. But I also have quite the full schedule, which means I don’t always have the time to whip up five course meals. Which means I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But slap on some homemade jam, and this old standby instantly transforms into a culinary delight.
#4: Karate Kid.
So much spunk and personality in such a little creature. You don’t believe turtles can have personality? Neither did I until Karate Kid entered my life. He’s moved from his former perch on my bedroom windowsill to the living room. After staying with the Clements this summer, Jennifer informed me that his new found sociability necessitated the move. He now provides ample entertainment for my many guests. And I now have to clean his bowl more frequently, lest I get accused of turtle abuse by said guests.
#5: This, above all others, stretches my smile the widest.
My brand spanking new washing machine. It may not look like much, but now, I just have to press the button on the right.
And then this green button.
And then leave the room for 40 minutes. And then, miracle of miracles, the laundry is done. No manually filling up the machine with water. No manually draining the machine while trying not to flood the bathroom floor. No manually filling the machine again for the rinse cycle. No manually transferring the clothes to the spinner section of the machine. No manual anything–that is, except hanging the clothes up on the drying rack. But compared to the former ordeal known as doing laundry? Well, there’s no comparison. My life will {quite happily} never be the same again.
Updated on August 2, 2011
All in a day’s “work”
Yesterday, a student called to inform me my graduate reading and writing class was canceled for today. I don’t know why it was canceled. I don’t know if we have to make it up. All I know is that I had a couple hours added to my day today. The other surprise of the day was that we had electricity. Today was supposed to be a no power day (we have those regularly), so when the alarm went off I quickly hopped out of bed, started a pot of coffee and took a shower. I rationalized that working out would be too risky…I wanted to have power long enough to dry and straighten my hair. A girl’s got to have her priorities.
It turns out the power never went off. Oh shucks, guess I could have worked out. There’s always tomorrow…
With the unexpected break from teaching, I set off to some of the other pursuits that I equally enjoy. One being catching up with some students who became close friends last year.
Updated on August 2, 2011
The Trouble With “X”
When we see how all our plans shipwreck on the characters of the people we have to deal with we are “in one way” seeing what it must be like for the Father. But only in one way. There are two respects in which the Father’s view must be very different from ours. In the first place, He sees (like you) how all the people in your home or your job are in various degrees awkward or difficult; but when He looks into that home or factory or office He sees one more person of the same kind–the one you never do see. I mean, of course, yourself. That is the next great step in wisdom–to realize that you also are just that sort of person. You also have a fatal flaw in your character. All the hopes and plans of others have again and again ship-wrecked on your character just as your hopes and plans have shipwrecked on theirs.
We don’t like rationing which is imposed upon us, but I suggest one form of rationing which we ought to impose on ourselves. Abstain from all thinking about other people’s faults, unless your duties as a teacher or parent make it necessary to think about them. Whenever the thoughts come unnecessarily into one’s mind, why not simply shove them away? And think of one’s own faults instead? For there, with the Father’s help, one can do something. Of all the awkward people in your house or job there is only one whom you can improve very much. That is the practical end at which to begin. And really, we’d better. The job has to be tackled some day: and every day we put it off will make it harder to begin.
C.S. Lewis, from “God in the Dock”
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