Tina The Storyteller

And then it was the last day of lent. How did that happen? Last night we went to a Good Friday service. It was different than our mid afternoon tenebrae, but still worship. I still get distracted sometimes in worship, even though my daughter is 9 and old enough to worship on her own. She still needs encouragement and occasional instruction, as do we all. One interesting thing that happened last night as we were waiting in the church, we looked at the missionaries that are supported and recognized a face. In fact, we recognized three faces, Marta Bennett and her two children. As I pointed to them, I reminded Hannah that she had seen a movie with them before, she remembered that it was the movie Brave. It was fun seeing them there, knowing that others are praying for them and supporting them.  Tomorrow is Easter. Celebration of life and in a lot of ways the end of our winter hibernation. I always feel hesitant to see winter go. It's turned into a favorite season. A time when you can ...

Lent's almost over. Hard for me to believe in some ways. Good Friday normally means the hard spiritual work of a midday tennebrae service. Not this year, our worship will be shared with another congregation. New things to experience, new ways to walk into that Saturday vigil. I don't want to rush, but part of me can taste that Sunday sunrise already.

I'd hoped to finish strong in Lent but it appears I am actually finishing weak. We had hot cross muffins for breakfast. I hear that they taste like buns but obviously don't have the same texture. It feels like a defeat, but I'm glad I hot crossed something! We have a busy few days ahead. I'm hoping to be prepared for them by the time I need to be. With God all things are possible.

It's tax day! We celebrated by having beans and rice for dinner. Mainly because it's the day of the year that the government not only wants us to square up last year's taxes, but also to start making payments on this year's. Kind of a tough day for many folks financially. 

It's a stormy day here. After a week of open windows, there's snow predicted. Spring is such a fickle season. It's also the start of Holy Week. Starting with Maundy Thursday, we have lots of emotions to go through. I'm trying to prep myself now. I'm looking forward to the Easter sunrise service. But the celebration of a meal together on Thursday and the cross on Friday are two things I don't want to pass over.

Life has been very beautiful the last couple of days. Our sister left this morning. We already miss her, scheming of how to see her again soon.  sometimes I wish that we could just go ahead and invent that transporter business from Star Trek.

I think it was the end of 2012 when I agreed to knit a hat for someone. I probably cast on that very same day. I did not get far. It was a yarn I had used before, a simple pattern I've made a couple times, my favorite needles. It should have knit up pretty quick. Instead it just sat. I'm going to blame the yarn. It just wasn't meant to be a hat. I finally went and bought some new yarn yesterday and within hours, I was further along in the project than I had made it in over a year.  Sometimes, when WIPs stall out, it's time to rethink the why, the what, the how, the everything. Sometimes I just let someone else have my half finished project, sometimes I deconstruct and repurpose, sometimes I push through and get it done. It's important for me to remember that a stall isn't always a definitive no, sometimes it's just a not now. Here's my latest wip, in case you were curious.

Yesterday, we went shopping for shoes. Somehow, Hannah has outgrown just about everything she owns in the last three months. The first one was her snow pants. Then her pants, her summer shoes, and finally her jeans. She's down to four pair of pants, which I'm happy with. They fit and are comfortable. But because it's hopefully almost the end of winter, I don't want to buy her anymore. I have a feeling she's got some more growing in her before winter returns.  It's kind of odd though when your kid just wakes up one morning officially too big for kids size clothing (even the plus size line from Lands End). But in some ways, I'm thankful. It's work, but you can find modest adult size clothing on the rack. That's not necessarily as easy to do for tween size clothing. Not that it's not there, but you have to wade through so many other cute clothes to get to them. I find it easier to say "That's too old for you" in the adult clothing than...

We have a guest in town this week. And are looking for fun things to do. Which Spring can be a tough season to have fun in in Michigan. Too cold to spend long days exploring the woods at Maybury, not snowy enough to make a trip to a ski hill worthwhile. Shopping and the zoo are on the agenda and maybe some bowling. What fun things do you do in spring?

Our sister is currently on a plane, hurtling her way across the countryside to get here. We're looking forward to her visit. It should be a fun time. I've been thinking a lot about running lately. Even though it's been getting up to the fifties lately, when I have time to run in the mornings, it's still in the 30's. I'm just a little bummed. I guess I could be riding the exerbike instead, but nope, instead I contemplate running and how cold it is in the mornings. Maybe next week.

I posted a cooking video yesterday. Does that count as a day? I'm going to use anyway.  Today, we're resting. It somehow turned into a long week right at the end.  One of the scriptures I've been noodling this week was from Nehamiah (why is that name so unspellable?). Supposedly, the joy from the celebration was so loud it could be heard very far away. I remember in Austin, we could hear the stadium on game days. You knew when someone scored. It was an interesting thing for me. I had never been around a stadium like that before, but even with it's noise, I was never interested in going to a game. I guess it's related to the question I've been having and it's what is the source of my joy. I know that it's God, but how do He and I live that out, how is it expressed in my life? What events, activities, things point to that? We aren't a very loud people, until we get angry. No one has ever accused me of my happy being too loud. But I think I might like t...

Oven Roasted Salsa is so easy, it makes it difficult to buy the store bought stuff. The recipe is found on Chow.com . We've been using it for a few years. It's especially good with garden fresh tomatoes and peppers. Last year we even canned a few jars. They did not last long. We have discovered that if you need more than the amount from one batch, you should only blend one batch at a time. For some reason two batches blended at once is not as tasty. And make sure you don't skimp on the salt, it's definitely needed. If you can't access the video through the player, you can access it directly http://youtu.be/oBg-_bNIcwg    

Do you ever just have pajama days? Il when I look at my schedule and see that it's blank, I start to wonder if it's a real possibility. Currently, nothing planned outside of the home for tomorrow. I think a pajama day may be in order.

We cook up our super secret recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. Get your blue box ready for an extra special treat.

It's April Fool's day. Be on the look out for jokesters. I like the idea of practical jokes, but I don't always plan far enough in advance to pull them off. And quite honestly, some are just cruel. So as I sit here, contemplating my day, I'm looking for places to add mischief and fun. I'm going to the dentist today, imagine what fun I could have there!!