… fresh from the garden direct to the kitchen!
A productive morning…
HelloFresh: A new experience
There are times when reading a cookbook is like having a new novel in hand; the excitement builds recipe-by-recipe as I imagine preparing each savory entrée and delectable dessert. But, lately, I admit to being in a mental food desert. My menu planning prior to grocery shopping has been boring and littered with old standbys which then translates into irritation brought on by missing ingredients all because I relied on memory when shopping.
Then a friend shared her positive experience with HelloFresh and we subscribed. Last night we tried our first meal kit – Miso Peach Pork Chops with Ginger-Lime Rice & Green Beans. The kit included all the ingredients, in pre-measured portions, even down to supplying just one garlic clove. Just as Goldilocks found the little bear’s chair and bed, everything was just right. Not only was there less food waste (I composted the chopped green bean tips and zested-squeezed lime rind), the packaging is also recyclable.
We did laugh when we realized another of our selected meals, Alfredo-Styled Spaghetti, included a zucchini when our refrigerator vegetable bin is full of this versatile vegetable. Oh well, those beauties can always be transformed into Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread.
Bon Appétit!
Photo credit: HomeFresh
On the Road with Banned Books
Long ago, my bookmobile days were spent on the byways of rural west central Georgia and southeastern Minnesota. The custom-built school-bus sized vehicles carried a general collection of books and media for children and adults; fiction and non-fiction and, maybe, some of same titles that are on the new Banned Bookmobile.
Unlike a traditional bookmobile where materials are available for check out and must be returned to the mobile library when the route repeats every few weeks, the mission of the Banned Bookmobile is simply to get banned titles into the hands of readers. The titles in this giveaway collection include those most frequently challenged in schools and libraries. Titles like Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb and the delightful picture book, and Tango makes three, based on a true story and re-told by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. When the Banned Bookmobile made its debut in Orlando on July 5, all of the copies were gone in just 10 minutes!
In the coming weeks, the Banned Bookmobile will visit Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin with a goal of “giving people access to books that are inclusive of the full diversity and experiences of all of our communities.” In addition to distributing free books, the tour will be customized by location and include presentations by authors whose works have been banned, as well as working with local officials and activists to encourage the freedom to read.
Photo credit: MoveOn
Up, up and away…
While we may not be traveling very far from home these days, we are soon going to enjoy hints of Switzerland. Six Kuster cousins landed in Chicago last Saturday, toured the Windy City, and are now heading north along the shores of Lake Michigan. They will spend time in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and beautiful Door County before driving west to my hometown, Eau Claire. Another four Kuster cousins will depart Zurich on July 20 for O’Hare and immediately head north for the all day Kuster-Custer Family Picnic on July 22 in the small burg of Bloomer (population ~3,700). At last count during yesterday’s Zoom planning session, we are expecting 180 picnickers, including our 10 Swiss visitors. Amazing to think what the two brothers, Wilhelm and Vincenz immigrating from Switzerland, created.
Photo credit: Marianne Deluca
Brought to you by the letter B
If we were on Sesame Street, today’s harvest would be a B – day with a Basket of Basil, a Bunch of Broccoli, and a little bit of Blueberries.
The basil is drying in the oven, the broccoli is ready for tonight’s salad and the blueberries may make muffins, grace vanilla ice cream, or simply provide the perfect snack. We anticipate a meager berry season as this first picking only yielded a cup and did not fill the Caradori bowl. Thus, the tasty decisions must be made with careful deliberation.
After the Bs, my alphabet harvest gets a bit jumbled, as I also harvested Mini-Me™ cucumbers (a first time variety in our garden) and rhubarb for another dozen scones.
Celebrating Summer on the Banks of the Mississippi
I always have at least one project on my knitting needles just to keep my hands busy and my brain alert while streaming the latest Netflix series or watching F1 cars race on circuits around the world. A tally of projects, February 2022 through February 2023, totals 15 with six items designated as gifts for The Directors – my library loving, book reading, wine drinking group of retired friends. Having missed joining the group due to my April Covid woes, each finally picked a favorite silk scarf or shawl last week. Just in time for the summer solstice.
Building Notes
When I worked with the architects (nearly 25 years ago) to design the SELCO building, I blended all that I knew about library operations, office flow, and the ILS (integrated library system) connecting over 70 libraries with the practicality garnered through decades of home renovation projects. While some features, such as the Novabrik™ exterior, were unique to the project, the construction was conventional enough that I never hesitated. Five years into retirement and having agreed to co-lead the Building Our Future team at church, I am a bit more realistic about my learning curve.
I had anticipated the need to study solar reverse metering or options for EV plug-ins but I was surprised when the first term I needed to check in the dictionary was charette – a meeting in which stakeholders attempt to resolve conflicts and map solutions. Our church architects suggested this opinion gathering process as a way to define key proximity questions.
With proportionally sized, color-coded wooden blocks, church members placed the blocks on a site map. They shared their rationale for each placement or shift as they discussed the spatial relationships for such questions as: One story or two? Where is the gathering space in relation to the sanctuary? Are the classrooms near the kitchen? How to keep the little ones near but still give parents “adult” time during coffee hour? While each of these questions (and many more) still needs resolution, the architects came away with insights into the everyday practical use of church space and the participants have a greater understanding of the challenges inherent in designing a new church building.
An interesting historical tidbit – Charette is derived from the French word for “little cart” & a time when beaux arts professors in Paris collected student drawings.
Photo credit: Locus Architecture
Tea For Two (or now 14)
I am not sure if the hobby of collecting fine porcelain cups and saucers was limited to Midwestern women of a certain age during the 1950s and 60s or a pastime enjoyed over a greater geographical area, but my mother collected a lovely assortment of 12 cups and matching saucers. She used them when serving dessert and coffee to her friends making up the three card tables for 500. To showcase the cups, she set her table with complimentary clear glass plates.
In 1986, while on a trip to Toronto for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ quadrennial convention, she purchased a delicate cup graced with yellow coneflowers for me. For a short time, I used it for my morning coffee at work, but it was a bit small when I needed caffeination for the day and I carefully packed it away. I never acquired any more.
Then came an event at church – an English high tea complete with cucumber sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, and a delicious assortment of sweet and savory delectable treats. In striving for the proper ambiance, a call went out for pretty cups and Momma’s dishes went into service. They never made a return trip to Eau Claire and my collection of one grew to 13. I have considered adding to my selection, if only as insurance against breakage, but there is something special knowing all 13 cups and saucers came from Momma.
During World War II, she worked in Washington, DC as part of the war efforts. In 1943, she made the bold purchase of a complete set of dishes, which were shipped to Eau Claire for Mother’s Day. Throughout my childhood, these dishes were on Grandma’s table for every special dinner until she died in August 1970. They moved to my childhood home when my grandfather came to live with us in January 1971.
As she nears her 100th birthday, Momma has begun giving away items she no longer uses. Before Grandma’s good china is donated to the thrift store, I commandeered a cup and saucer which rounds up my collection of cups and saucers to 14, all gifts from Momma.
Tempted but not this summer
Step back to a May (nearly June) day one year ago, or two, or three, or four years and you would find me studying pattern release notes and making yarn and color choices for Marie Greene’s annual 4-day sweater knit-along (KAL) but not this summer. Instead, with July’s arrival, I will observe rather than participate in this summer’s KAL since I have a full task list as the co-lead of the church building team.
After spending several years in discernment, in what now feels like it was a leisurely drive on a blue-line road, it is like we are in the F1 pit lane prepping for 78 fast laps on the streets of Monaco. As May began, we purchased 40 wooded acres of urban wilderness, engaged the architects, performed soil borings and tested for Decorah Edge. In just weeks, we will begin listening sessions when we will dream of all this building might represent and then move into conceptual and schematic designs before breaking ground in September 2024 and dedicating a new building in September 2025.
With weekly planning meetings, frequent discussions with the architects, and writing regular eNews updates intended to keep member congregants and friends informed and engaged, the 4-day sweater KAL, just doesn’t gel with my mindset. But my needles will not be still as yarn for a summer silk shawl and two scarves are tucked in the rattan basket by my TV room chair.
Happy knitting!
Our time to dream
Together, our church community has been engaged on a critical path of Building Our Future activities. We find ourselves, as a congregation, its members and friends, in the midst of a great call for creativity.
After a successful congregational vote supporting the purchase of the Viola Road property as our future church home and having concluded that purchase this past week, we are entering into what our board president has described as, “our time to dream.”
I can sometimes be a broken record. I never miss an opportunity to remind anyone who will listen that there is a long wish list for our new space; a list that has been growing since 2019 with heartfelt suggestions offered at forums and casual comments shared during mahjong games in the Chapel. But even with this long bulleted list, I believe there is more creativity out there.
Rest assured, the Building Our Future team is grounded in reality and we know that not everything will be possible whether prohibited by cost, or time or discovering that today’s technology is not quite ready for the future we want. Even knowing that, we want to hear everyone’s dreams. Every idea will be held tight and, if not incorporated into our 2025 building, then that bit of dream will be saved and maybe implemented in 2035 or 2050 or even 2125.
I feel the advice shared by Rev. William Sinkford’s in a recent article entitled “On Predicting the Future” pertains to what we are doing – Building Our Future – Beyond Ourselves. His words were intended to offer guidance as congregations continue to re-gather and try to understand how we, as faith communities, will behave after having lived through a significant worldwide experience. But I believe his message is not just about post pandemic activities but also about how we acknowledge; how we embrace change. His article is based on an essay by the award winning science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler and her rules for predicting the future: In that essay she wrote:
All that you touch You Change All that you change Changes you The only lasting truth Is Change
I know our congregational world is changing, that this beloved community will be simultaneously the same and different in a new church home. In the early morning hours, I will admit to the same worries and concerns that may be on each member’s mind and in each heart when thinking about the magnitude of this project. But then I look at the person next to me at a Tupper Supper, I look at the faces of people sitting in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning and the librarian in me begins cataloging the depth of the talent pool, the variety of skills in our toolbox and I am infused with confidence.
We have over 150 years of history in this community; a history that includes drawing blueprints, fundraising, constructing, and moving into four different buildings. But before any of that hard work began so many times before, so many years ago, before ground was broken, or rafters set, before church bells were hung or buildings dedicated, those that came before us dreamed of what their new home might be. So let creativity soar and let us dream of the place Rev. Luke has described as:
“A church at the intersection of public witness and preserved wilderness. . . A Sanctuary for community, for nature, and the soul.”
It is our time to dream.
Graphic credit: Chalice Art © Karin Lindsey
Knit+ Librarian 