Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

When people I respect tell me I should read a book, I usually do and I rarely regret it. Shawn and Lianna recommended Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and I have already devoured my way half through it. I don't know to explain the importance of this book other than it is changing my worldview. (It has changed Shawn into a Locovorus Rex.) I have always had an obsession with food, but it was not in a healthy way. Now I think I am reclaiming the joy of eating through the healthiest choices possible. Don't get me wrong - this is not a diet book. It is a delightful, enlightening narrative of one family's move from Tucson to an Appalachian farm, abandoning industrial food in favor of only locally grown food. No more processed foods- but it is not about deprivation, it is about amazing abundance and FLAVOR! Did you know lettuce has flavor? Iceberg from the store does not even seem like the same food I am eating from my garden. I have been eating Shawn's homemade doughnuts and bacon, Lianna's lattice top cherry pie (cherries picked and pitted by us), Melanie's pasta salad, and more. It is all delicious and I lost almost 2 more pounds this week. Again, this is not an "eat all you want and lose weight" diet book; it is very informative about the food industry and what we have been missing out on. I highly recommend it. Enjoy the Iowa harvest - it is wonderful!

Isaiah 62:9
but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.

Live Simply

My mom and siblings gave me a little pocket charm that says "Live Simply". It was chosen for me because they know me well and understand that is what I want to embrace. I have a tiny plaque that says, "A happy Family. A cozy house, A heart at peace. All is well" That says it all for me. But it isn't always simple to live simply, is it? It is easy to get caught in the complicated webs of career, commitments, consumerism, other people's problems,the insanity of politics and economics, the multitude of philosophies...the list could go on. Even if I can keep myself out of that madness, my brain just likes to complicate things. So, I decided the first step in living simply is thinking simply - the 'what and when' of my thinking . The only time I am really stressed is when I am regretting yesterday or worrying about the future, so the 'when' of my thinking simply has to be in the now. OK, so brain is engaged in the now. Next, what do I think about in the now? I have to decide what to do with my day. So I choose to live my hobbit-like existence worrying myself only with what to plant where on my little plot of land, what is ready to harvest today, how much to eat and how much to store, should I go play with children at the Cornally's or keep reading my book, should I take a walk or go for a swim? Simple problems with no wrong answers. If God should choose to call me out of the Shire and go on a mission to fight some world evil, I will be ready and willing. (That is how I kind of view my job). But it is still July and life is indeed simple. Today the beans need picked. Can we eat them all or should I freeze some? I might play with children at the Cornally's while Lianna freezes sweet corn. An afternoon swim would be nice. A happy family. A cozy house. A heart at peace. All is well.
1 Thessalonians 4:9, 11-12: You have been taught by God to love each other....and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

I can see clearly now

I stopped writing. Not entirely...through encouragment of my family and some truly happy moments, I could still write occasionally. But the clouds have had me blind for awhile and I couldn't write much. Also, my name has changed so I had to change my google account and it took me forever to figure out how to get my blog from bailey.janis to jan.powers. But here it is. I read through my past entries and I am blown away by the changes in my life over the past few years. It is really painful and really beautiful all at the same time. That is how I tend to experience life. I wonder if other people feel this way too or if it is just me. I can have deep pain over one thing and absolute ecstasy over another all in the same day. Example: November 19, 2010. My baby girl had a baby girl - I was there to witness the first breath of Lenora. That is the same day my divorce from Darrell was finalized. I have never been happier and sadder in my life than that day. But happy wins over sad, good triumphs evil, and this blog will not end here. Even though most of my previous posts contain stories of Darrell, I will not erase this blog or start a brand new one. The whole me continues, happy/sad, good/bad,real me. My journey is not the fairytale that I thought it was, but I believe it will have a better ending than I could have dreamed up. I may not even see it until it is all over, but I still believe it. I am so thankful for my family who stays with me on this journey no matter what.
My family gave me the best birthday bash I could possibly imagine. I am now officially a senior citizen, which is weird because I can still feel a 5 year old girl in my heart that has been around for 55 years. It is possible that I could double my age before going on to the next life, so in a way, life is only half over. Probably not, but it COULD happen. What will the next half bring? I hope this birthday party was the beginning of what it will continue to look like: family that stays as long as they can, friends and neighbors that drop by to join the fun, sunshine, really good food and drink, vegetable and flower garden, art, great music, talking, laughing, dancing, singing, playing games, sweet surprises, loving words, hugs and kisses, babies crying, children laughing, phone calls and cards from those who couldn't come, the grace of God covering it all. I have everything I need. Thank you family. Thank you, God.

Eli

Last Tuesday was a fantastic day! I got to leave work at noon because I had a very important meeting with very important people - Melanie and Eli came to Iowa City! We met at Lianna's and then went to Wilson's Orchard. It was a beautiful day, but I didn't spend much time looking at the beautiful scenery because I could not take my eyes off of Eli. Check out the pics - it's just me babbling at Eli and trying to get him to smile again and again. He smiles so easy but I just couldn't get enough of it. Isn't he so handsome? Mel calls him muscular...of COURSE it's muscles! We also drove down a gorgeous country road and enjoyed the sights downtown Iowa City. No, there are no pictures of any of that - just me oooing and ahhing over my Eli and enjoying the time with my beautiful daughter. This is the stuff that life's about.

Blogging class

Our assignment is to create a blog. I already have this one so thought I would just add a post. I have only used blogging for my personal journal, shared only with my family. I am looking forward to using blogs in education. My son-in-law has a great blog that is getting hits from all over the world called Think, Thank, Thunk. He is a former research scientist turned educator, teaches calculus and physics at Solon, and is an evangelist for standards based grading.

tilling and waiting

With Shawn's and Lianna's help, I was able to get a nice sized portion of my lawn tilled up to get ready for gardening. My muscles are sore (in a good way) from trying to manage the big beast of a tiller. You are probably wondering, and the answer is "yes" - it has names. The engine's name is Viper, the machine's name is Earthquake, and we just call it Rick - short for Richter. So now that all the sod and mulch and various weeds are "ground" up, it's time to just work it with a hoe and rake and wait. Planting season is SO soon, and then there will be new growth and then a harvest. My soul is in the same place. My heart feels tilled, like something chopped through everything solid, like maybe an earthquake ripped through my soul. But I know it is just tilling season, and the Master Gardener will hoe and rake and will soon plant new seeds and my soul will be green and growing again. I believe that. But right now, I am still sore, physically and spiritually.

Believe in prayer or believe in God

I spent alot of time and energy on my yard this past weekend. I love participating in God's work of nature - cleaning up the winter damage, preparing the ground for new growth, and nurturing what is already growing. I thinned out the peonies and transplanted them to try and make a hedge. I mowed and pruned, dug around the fence Shawn just repaired for me and planted Hollyhocks along it. I did some work in the garden that should have been done last fall. Then my final job was spraying a bit of Roundup on some dandelions and on the Creeping Charlie invading the stone circle around my favorite tree - the hardwood red maple. I planted it after it sat a year in its pot looking dead and two-dimensional and now it is full, round, and beautiful. The tree's resurrection story makes me love it more. Anyway, after this final chore, I then went and showered, had a cup of tea, and settled in for a good night's sleep. At 1:13 AM my eyes slammed open and I remembered my last chore and thought, "Oh God, I might have killed my tree!!" I sat straight up in bed and said, "Please, Dear God, don't let my tree die! I am so sorry!" Since I believe in the power of prayer, I should have gone back to sleep, right? No, I laid back down and closed my eyes for 2 seconds, then sprung out of bed and into work clothes. I went out and got the shovel and wheelbarrow and dug up everything within 3 feet of the tree. Yes, I know I looked creepy out digging in the dirt in the dark. It crossed my mind that the neighbors might wake up and see me and think I have gone mad, but I don't really care what they think. I do care what people think of my spirituality and faith, however. Since I prayed for God to save the tree, I might be accused of not really believing since I did not just go back to sleep. But I believe when I pray I am not talking to a God "up there" or out in space somewhere; I am talking to God who dwells right inside me. When I pray, His Holy Spirit ignites a fire in me and puts me to work. That's why I like to think I am participating in His work, especially in gardening. I did not invent the system that makes things grow - I just join in. Sometimes I do stupid things that get in the way, like spraying Roundup around my favorite tree, but I join God in forgiving me, too, and helping make things right again.