Recipe Boxes are Powerful Things

 “Life is so brief that we should not glance either too far backwards or forwards…therefore study how to fix our happiness in our glass and in our plate.”- Grimod de la Reynière

 There’s a skeleton in my closet—or, more accurately, a recipe box.  A recipe box that I’ve kept unopened in a cabinet since my mom passed away. I moved it from Ohio to Illinois, to Arizona and finally to Tennessee, shuffling it around, unable to sift through the recipes but unwilling to part with it. Finally today, I pulled the box down off the shelf. It's just a plastic index card box, a treasured little box of recipes that my mom had, a fixture of the kitchen counter of my youth.  I finally got to the point where I could open it and run my fingers through the cards. The hand writing, the notes and the food memories were all so overwhelming.

 It holds droves of my mothers life; her handwriting, neat and perfect, my grandmothers severe slanted cursive, on those little recipe cards that reads, "from the kitchen of."  The notes she jotted in the corners, the time worn, tissue thin recipes that I grew up with, faded with time, care-worn and beloved. Memories of years of Sunday dinners, picnics, potluck dinners, the chicken and dumplings she made when the weather was dreary. The "Danny Crisp" chicken that she made every Tuesday when my brothers friend would join us for dinner. Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes that probably belonged to her mother's mother. I also found some mystery recipes and some just plain mysteries. Why is the word “relax” printed on the back of a cookie recipe? It was a wonderful  portal into her world. The love with which she had fed her family all those years was palpable in the recipe box’s greasy, smudged index cards.

Recipes are funny things.  They carry so much with them.  Recipes are so much more than words on a page.  There are some we love not because they are the best, but because they are what we grew up with and fold in memories. 

Autumn Burned Brightly

"Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the hills, a torch flung to the trees."- Faith Baldwin

What a blessing it is to live in Middle Tennessee! Autumn in these hills is quite a spectacle!  Vibrant reds, oranges, yellows and browns, and I've been able to witness it for 3 years!

I love the chorus of color that accompanies the church steeples here as they sing the praises of another glorious fall day.  

After a few days of beautiful weather, it didn't take long before I was doing what I love to do, seeking out the back roads and the countryside.  Every turn brings a new surprise, even for an experienced leaf peeper like me.  

 

The people who work the land here shaped it into a fascinating mix of old and new that is uniquely Middle Tennessee.  Thanks to the abundance of rocks that seems to sprout relentlessly from the land, people built miles and miles of picturesque stone walls.

 

Some of these walls guide you along idyllic country roads, others disappear into the new growth woodlands, croplands and pastures.  

I love how the blazing trees and the red barn vie for attention.  

 

Franklin, Tennessee, a beautiful place to put down roots. 

 

Technology Overload

I'm overloaded with information and electronic technology.  My brain has ceased bubbling up with creativity. I've decided that I'm done sacrificing myself for false immediacy.  I'm needing a direct old fashioned touch from God.  Information is only information after all.  Our epistemology will take us no further than our metaphysics.  

I will start small, almost like an exercise program.  I will start taking my e-mails in limited fashion, like a glass of wine before bedtime, and controlling my access to Facebook to once a day.  

I love these thoughts by T.S. Eliot in "The Rock"  

"Where is the life we have lost in living?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"

The clearest way to see through a culture is to see how it speaks to itself.  

 

 

Learning How To Be a Southern Yankee

 It's taken me almost three years to realize that to Southerners, a Yankee is anyone not from the South, not necessarily someone from the Northeast, as I had always thought. I am also realizing that there is no crash course that teaches you how to be Southern.  Real Southern tradition is taught at birth and passed down from generation to generation.  An "outsider"  just doesn't have a clue. Anyway, certain behavior may be perfectly acceptable in places that I've lived, in the east, midwest, and west, but if you break the "rules" here, you will hear about it, and "true Southerners" will never forget. You will be "discussed."

I've broken several rules so far, and I'm sure that I'm not finished yet. Here are a few rules never to break in the south:

Never stop at Costco to pick something up for a potluck and fail to transfer it to good china.  

Never serve iced tea and call it sweet tea.  (I never imagined there was a difference!)

Make sure you understand the concept that everyone waves, it's called being friendly.  Oh, yes and make sure you acknowledge someone when you pass them on the sidewalk.

Never use Miracle Whip in chicken salad.

In the summer, never serve anything that is big enough to fill you up.

 I think we typically, as Northerners, stereotype what the South is in so many negative ways. We kind of forget all the beautiful things that they contribute to make this country a country. The South has a completely different history than the north, east or west, both good and bad that is fascinating for everybody.  It makes people work together who usually don't, and it is really beautiful! I am American by birth and one day hope to be Southern by the grace of God.

Finding the Beauty and Peace in Ordinary Things

I have always loved  cozy, flea market furniture and dumpster finds, even before "Shabby Chic" became "Chic." I have wonderful memories in my Grandmother's kitchen at her distressed wooden dining table where the chairs didn't match. I was fascinated with the narrow rust rivulets on her stove and it's chipped and yellowing enamel. I adored the dried herbs and dried flowers that hung from the beams in her pantry, and the old armchair near the wood stove that had seen better days.  I wanted to sit there forever helping her can, preserve, shuck corn and snap beans.  Most of all I loved that nothing was new and everything had a story and a reason for being in her home.  

I do so appreciate things that are imperfect, primitive and incomplete. My father instilled into me from a young age, a gentle rebellion against globalized mass production.  That must be why I love Franklin, Tennessee. Franklin is gracefully weathered, rusty and exactly matches my own proclivities. Franklin is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not laminate.  Franklin respects age and celebrates humans over invulnerable machines.  It finds beauty in cracks and crevices and all the marks that time, weather and use leave behind.  Franklin finds beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, accepting the cycle of growth, decay and death. It is slow and uncluttered and regards authenticity above all, the glory and the impersonal sadness of age spots, rust and frayed edges and the march of time they represent. 

Sacer Simplicitas

Sacred Simplicity. A place of rest.  Rest from the distractions and the slowing of centrifugal forces that have been keeping me off balance for a while.  I came across a quote from Helen Keller that reads; "What a joy it is to feel the soft springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb in riotous gladness."

Hiking. That's what I need. Oxygen therapy. Since moving to Middle Tennessee, Jerry and I have longed to form a hiking group for families like the Sonoran Family Hiking Group that we were part of in Arizona.  We loved hearing hikers rhapsodize about their experience in the Arizona wild- the solitude or camaraderie, the connections among family members and friends that have been strengthened on the trail.  We loved hearing parents rejoice in the time spent with their children.  It was quite satisfying to share outdoor experiences with others, like hiking to a fabulous vista, conquering a high peak, sighting a rare bird or insect and admiring waterfalls and wildflowers. Nothing made us happier than seeing our children delight in the outdoors and unstructured play, the way God designed it to be. We loved coming back a little more refreshed and rejuvenated. It is a great art to saunter.

I realized that I was suffering once again from Nature Deficit Disorder.  As Garrison Keeler said; "Walk out the door and find good health.  There is not fever that a 10 mile hike can't cure."  I'm not sure if I can handle 10 miles yet, but maybe 3.  

So here it is.  The Fellowship Family Hiking Group.  A group of families who like to hike with all age groups. We will tend toward shorter but fun hikes that all ages can enjoy. Jerry and I have found that kids enjoy and have more energy for hikes that have some mildly rugged terrain with rocks to climb, and that hiking with other families makes for good fun. It is an opportunity to spend some time with your family and to meet new people at the same time. We will add some more challenging hikes as our skill level increases.

Our inaugural hike (weather permitting) will be this Saturday, June 9, 2012.  We will be hiking the Meriwether Lewis Loop in Hohenwald, TN.  It is a fun hike, with a good mix of elevation change and flat distance hiking.  It is a 3.5 mile loop hike that travels on very historic ground.  Meriwether Lewis died here in 1809 during his return trip to Washington from St. Louis.  The trail is mostly shady and takes about 2 hours to complete.  There are restroom facilities and water available, and there are no fees or permits.

Wear comfortable shoes, good socks, shorts or pants and a hat/cap.  Make sure to bring sunscreen and insect repellent as well as at least 2 liters of water in a leakproof/shatterproof container or camelback.  For munchies on the trail, I would suggest high calorie, quick burn energy food like dried fruit, nuts, granola bars  etc. The temperature is expected to be a high of 86 with partly cloudy skies.

For anyone that would like to carpool, we will meet at the Publix parking lot (off Royal Oaks near the
intersection of 96 and Royal Oaks) The address is 1021 Riverside Drive.  We will meet at 7:15 AM THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2012.  (Rain date July 7) We will pass out directions and information about the trail. It takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the trail.  After the hike, if you are interested, we can meet at the Pizza Hut in Hohenwald.  They have a saladbar/pizza buffet and menu available for eat in dining.

FYI, Here is a link to background information on Meriweather Lewis  http://www.lewisclark.net/biography/index.html.

Let's take a hike!!!