Paw Pawesome

This entry is dedicated to Mikki the fearless eater.
Last week Jen showed me a paw paw. She bought it a farmers market. It has a floral quality, slight banana taste, and a custard texture. The skin is tough like an avocado, but not as thick. I was so impressed by them that I went and bought some this weekend.

There are several seeds in the fruit that are like a fave bean.


The flesh is golden yellow and can be mashed and used in cookies or muffins.

The fruit is native to North America and is high in protein. Go to here to learn more. There is even a paw paw festival in Ohio. The graphic advertising the festival is very nice.
The fruit reminds me the life is full of surprises if your eyes are open. Also, it is an odd and sad truth that we live unaware of richness of our environment. I realized this a few years ago when I learned about Michigan's lizard the Five-lined skink, the Marble salamander, and the spotted turtle (all endangered).

Paw Paw Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 350.

3/4 c mashed paw paw flesh (seeds and skin removed)
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 coarsely chopped walnuts

Mix butter and sugar. Blend in egg. Mix in flour and baking powder. Mix in the paw paw mash. Finally add walnuts. Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 min.

A rare and wonderful treat!

Sweet September

My one year old Autumn Drift clematis is blooming. The little white stars have a delicate sweetness.

The overcast sky and cool days keep my morning glories blooming for more than twenty four hours (through the night!-I think they enjoy looking at Jupiter. Hope you have you been noticing Jupiter). These longed lived blooms turn a lovely shade of violet in their creases, a quality not seen in those that have a few hours of blooming.

Aireanna (the school kid) came over and collected some buckeyes for her mom who needed "a lot." She intends on feeding them to the squirrels.

Super Wonderful

I went and saw my girl the weekend of the 18-19th. I hadn't seen her play soccor since she was in eighth grade. Although her team lost on Friday it wasn't a demoralizing loss, they weren't expected to do well against St. Scholastica. MLC scored first, but the final was 1-2. They went into Saturday's game feeling pretty good about the close game on Friday, they ended up winning 3-1 with Kadie making TWO of the goals (the first and the last). OH MY GOSH!!!! Such a perfect time for me to go. I miss my girl so much, but she is having fun in Minnesota, which makes me feel good.
Why God can't a decent picture of me be taken?



This is the fancy car I was renting, a Traverse. I called him "Mr. Big." He has lots of nice features including a camera for reverse moves.
Jen gave me a Led Zeppelin anthology to listen to. So the time in my car was nice.
I discovered that Jack White and Robert Plant have a similar kind of verve in their vocals.

Pie

When Randy and I went up north there were signs for "Homemade Pies" everywhere. I wanted pie so bad, but the driver never stopped to satisfy my appetite. One day while crusin the tunnel of trees, a wasp got stuck in my pony tail and stung me twice. We stopped in Hart for baking soda and there on the counter was a raspberry pie with a heart cut out in the middle. I wanted it, but it was such a big pie! Last week, I made raspberry pie, but I made sure there were little hearts cut into the crust of every piece. I gave a piece to Elizabeth and she said it was the best raspberry pie she ever had. It must be because it was made with love. I had her take a piece home to Jim.
Jeff and I ate most of the pie. Turns out,Randy doesn't like raspberry pie. It only took 20 some years to learn that fact. So. . . I am looking for a small pie plate for future raspberry pies.

Chair-ity

It's my third year making chairs for the local Boys ans Girls club chair-ity auction.
This I did two chairs. The following is my artist's statement for the chairs.

Round Heaven, Square Earth, 2010


Round Heaven, Square Earth
Spirit, Matter
Spherical, Flat Planes

I had been thinking about the phrase, “We are spirits having an Earthly experience.” Additionally, I have thought about the spiritual and Earthly battles waged within and outside ourselves.

I took some time to study Ephesians 6:11 – 18, parts of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” and I listened to the Flobots album Fight with Tools.

The syndicated cartoon character Pogo said, “We have met the enemy . . . and he is us,” additionally the saying goes, “We are our own worse enemy.” While these statements suggest that we might sabotage our own efforts, perhaps these sayings also suggest that the naive thinking “everyone is essentially good and has our best interest at heart” is what does us the most harm. Maybe it is our preoccupation with the worldly that weakens our spirit?

Some of us seem to have limited endurance, while others, both good and bad, seem limitless. Readiness for war includes understanding your enemy while building up your strengths as a warrior. These are the best weapons to WIN the battles we each face.

Where there is war bring peace.
Where there is sickness bring healing.
Where there is poverty and disaster bring resources.
Where there is hate bring love.


That's it. I love them. It was an emotional struggle to do anything creative this year, but these chairs helped to get me through that battle.

OH! When I went to Dr. Garza's to take picture's of the chairs I saw what I thought was a butterfly, once I focused I realized it was a BAT! It was out in broad daylight! I tried to put a positive spin on the situation. The word for bat in Chinese sounds like the word for blessing, so the image of a bat in Chinese art means blessing (the bat is revered as it helps out the farmer by eating bugs). Otherwise the bat was just ill and wanted to attack me.

Climbing Like a Crazy Man

A few weeks ago I shared with my friend Beth some of my ideas, my secret musings and hopes for the future. I suppose in my voice Beth detected some doubts, but also she sensed some vision flowing from the Divine. Beth challenged me and said, “What do you need, a burning bush?”
I have been interested in the burning bush for sometime now, mostly after discovering a painting from Albert Herbert that shows a burning bush at the birth of Christ. Also, I did a brief study of the work of Minnie Evans, and Seraphine Louis and found in the works of these spiritualist artists, burning or illuminated bushes. The plants in their paintings had a scary other worldliness quality about them. They were both considered “crazy.” Even Albert Herbert wasn’t taken seriously.
Recently I have been reading some devotional lessons comparing Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion. Sinai is where the LAW was handed down, where Moses found the burning bush. Zion is where our MERCIFUL God sits on his throne.
My niece stumbled across some of her old writings, and in a journal she found what she recorded as she hiked toward the summit of Machu Picchu. In her blog she shared her find, the memory of her experience, and her long ago journal entry recording the sensation of her climb. In her reflection she discovered that she longed to feel that way again, “Feeling terrified and persevering at the summit; your summit, not necessarily the one on the map. It was all completely unknown. More than wanting it again, I want to know it when I feel it. . . honor it and document it.”
I haven’t been sharing that fact that I lost my job at Morenci. I don’t like talking about the poop, the hassles, the grief, anger, loan deferments, fear, unemployment, or the retirement issue. I’ve been quiet. This spring and summer I have been descending down Sinai.
Lately, I have been quiet and quietly moving up a mountain pass, thinking of the possibilities of a new summit, and feeling terrified. I responded to my niece’s entry saying, “I am on the side moving UPward feeling excited, doubtful about my own strength, wondering if where I end up will be less meaningful than what I hope for. I can hear and feel the thoughts of others; psychically reading their encouragement, doubts, and jealousy of me. I keep reminding myself to block out the voices and forget the results. It's the adventure of the journey and the trying that matters.
Am I on the right path? Do I need a burning bush? Which mountain am I climbing, Sinai or Zion? There is a passage in 1Chronicles that tells of David receiving some discipline. David could choose whose hand he would suffer under, God’s or David’s enemies. David chose God, because He is merciful. I don't need a burning bush to tell me what to do. I am at a point where I want to take my chances with God, with Zion, even if I look crazy doing so.