An Introduction!

As you probably know, our 2000 Focus became an organ donor back in the spring, when the philosopher was run off the road driving down the interstate. (No one was hurt!)

So since then, we've been searching for a new vehicle. We have a really beat up Dodge Dakota, so it was decided that we should sell the Dodge and replace both vehicles with a single small truck. After much research (do remember ... I am a librarian!) we decided on a Ford Ranger, or perhaps a Toyota Tacoma if we could find one cheap enough. (Not likely, as Toyotas hold their value amazingly well.)

This weekend, we purchased Strider!


As you can surmise from the name, we were thinking that a Ford Ranger would be our only option. But to our happiness, we scored an AMAZING deal on this 1999 Tacoma. Still, the name had already stuck. Since "Strider" was merely a guise for Aragorn, then why should it not work for our Toyota?

Yes, we are nerds. Did you just now realize that?? ::grin::

Yes. I'm fiddling.

I'm playing with the new layouts and designs. Don't be surprised. Do not adjust your screen!

A Good Sermon

I heard a good sermon yesterday. It was on Luke 14: 16-24, the parable of the man who has a feast, and all his friends make excuses not to come so he invites the lame, the poor, and the blind. You know, the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday after Trinity!

Fr. Ed said a couple of things that really spoke to us. The first was "what excuses do you make not to come to the feast?" In other words, what excuses do you make not to come to church so you can partake of Holy Communion? The other thought was a bit tangential from the text, but equally provoking. The statement went something like, if you attend a church, then you should be able to say "I go to this church, and I agree with my church's teachings".

I won't go in to why we left our church back in 2004. But we did, and we did it because we really do believe that second thought. So that's put us in a situation where it's difficult to *find* a church where we can say "I agree with my church's teachings". They're out there, and they're multiplying, but in this Baptist-land they are few and far between. So, as you'll know if you've been following my blog, we've been considering going to a different, nearby local church. We don't agree with everything (for example, we are not five-point Calvinists!) but the fellowship is good, it's a large stable congregation with lots of opportunity for Bible study and small groups. We've been driving over an hour every once in a while to a small Anglican church where we can have communion, because the Nearby Local Church doesn't do that very often.

So Fr Ed's sermon hit us on two fronts. Why are we attending a church where we don't agree with all the "first order" issues, and why are we making excuses to NOT regularly attend a church where we can receive communion *and* have a common theology? On our drive back yesterday from the Hour-Away-Anglican-Church (I've blogged about it before), we talked about the sermon we'd just heard. If you go back to the post I just linked to, you see the excuse - it's so far away! And really, is that any kind of excuse at all?

Now where does that leave us, you ask? We're starting to talk about transferring our membership. The philosopher still wants to visit some other little-over-hour-away churches that we hadn't considered before because they were, well, Too Far Away. But based on several things Fr. Ed said yesterday (and not just in his sermon) I think it likely that this is where we'll end up. And that, yea verily, would be a Good Thing Indeed.

Why do I garden? Let me count the ways...

You know, I actually don't even *have* a garden (yet) in the traditional sense. We have a patio container garden and an herb bed and some volunteers out by the compost bin, which to my joy and pleasant surprise are actually thriving!



Of course, our life is transitory right now, so we haven't been committed enough to actually till and dig and work an in-ground bed. So perhaps that's why. I don't garden because it "saves money at the grocery store". My yields aren't nearly enough to significantly lower our produce purchases...well, maybe the cherry tomatoes and basil. (Heh. We call that our bruschetta pot!)



I don't garden because I have a brilliantly green thumb. I think of "Green Thumbers" as those who garden instinctively and confidently - I actually fret over our little plants, always hesitant and uncertain about doing the right thing to make them thrive. I have a bag of bonemeal and a bag of bloodmeal and a bag of sulphur pellets we bought for the holly bushes. But I always have to run to my Vegetable Gardener's Bible and look stuff up... definitely not the hallmark of one with a green thumb! Still, this summer is shaping up to be more successful than last summer (blast those tomato hornworms and squash vine borers of 2009!) so I am taking that as a positive sign. And my flower / shrub beds are doing even better.

So, again, why am I so drawn to gardening? There's a satisfaction to it, and a heritage, too. I am so proud that I've successfully transplanted many of my grandmother's (and by extension, my great grandmother's) plants: hostas and callas and roses and lily-of-the-valley and daffodils... seeing them grow makes me inordinately happy.



There's an aesthetic quality to gardening, too. I detest "manicured" gardens - those whose shrubs are forced into boxes and balls and other unnatural shapes. But I like tidy gardens, on the other hand. Garden plots where plants grow in their natural patterns but complement their bed-mates with color and smell and texture. But... how do I square that with the idea of raised bed gardening? I delight in the idea of several neat and orderly raised beds with walkways between them and a cute (but functional!) garden fence around them... with a gate, even! Something like this, or this, or this. Maybe it's because I like the plants to look natural but I like order in terms of beds and layout? Hmm. I think that's the librarian in me transferring to my garden design...

With that mind, I've talked the philosopher into a single raised bed for next year. We're going to use the Square Foot Gardening method, which involves raised beds dug really deep and an intensive gardening style. Basically you divide a 4' x 4' block into 16 squares, and each square gets a crop according to its spacing needs. (ie: one tomato per square, but 24 carrots!) Then when you harvest one square, you can turn in some compost and plant another crop. We're going to put it out by the well house, so there's easy watering and a nice flat space. I really think I talked him into the project by agreeing that we should rent a tiller for an afternoon. He got oddly excited about that! ::grin:: Anyway, we'll prep the space and start amending the soil this summer, and (maybe) plant a late crop of lettuce before the weather turns cold in November. Then we'll be ready to go next year with a REAL garden. And that, my friends, will be a Happy Thing Indeed.

16 Years and Counting...

This past Saturday was our 16th wedding anniversary. He spent it in South Bend, Indiana, attending two conferences (one on, erm... open theism, I think, and the other celebrating Alvin Plantinga). I spent it here in Alabama, madly painting the bathroom and building new vanity doors and sewing a new shade.

Something to ponder - why do I always take on a huge project when he goes out of town?

So we are in the process of purchasing him a new vehicle. Our 2000 Focus became an organ donor after the wreck (no one was hurt, and that is a Good Thing), and now we're looking for a early 2000s Ford Ranger to replace it. And yes, I've already named it.... "Strider". ::grin:: Anyway, since we're paying cash for the truck, I didn't want us to spend money on fancy gifts. So I got the philosopher a salad spinner. Nerdy, you say? OF COURSE!

But I digress. He actually spent nearly 14 hours in a car on Sunday, driving home. He didn't have to do that - he had an offer of a place to sleep at about halfway. But he wanted to be home, and I am Very Glad. That was the best present he could've given me. (Well, that, and he's promised to cook some tasty meals in the next few days!) Actually, what's even better is that he returned from his weeklong trip renergized, mentally recharged, and ready to get back to work on The Book.

Sometimes the care and feeding of a moody philosopher can be tricky, especially when their batteries are drained. So this past week was really a blessing for both of us, even if it meant we'd be apart on May 22. And even though we're still in a place of uncertainty in our lives, and where we should be, and what *exactly* we should be doing, right now All is Well.

Cracking me up (and speaking boldly)

OK, I live in Alabama. And I'm sure y'all have heard the many jokes about Alabama, and its backwardness and redneckness and... well. Yeah. (For example: "Hey, we're Alabama - at least we're not as bad as Mississippi!" and the Application to Live in Alabama)

Well, Alabama's in the news again, and it's not about the Gulf oil spill. Apparently several candidates running for office in the June primaries have caught the attention of some "big names" and bloggers out there. Like Tim James (on Bill O'Reilly). And Rick Barber. And then there's Dale Peterson (interviewed by Glenn Beck, no less). I mean really, who even KNEW that Alabama elects its Agriculture Commissioner? Amazing.

Now, I have friends and family on both sides of the political spectrum, and this isn't meant as a slam on either side. But my goodness, if all our politicians spoke forthrightly about the issues and what they *actually* believe, do you think there would be as much craziness in DC right now? Do you think we'd all still be thinking "will those folks we elected actually look after *our* interests, like they're supposed to?" Would we be wondering "what does that Senator actually believe", and "what does that Congressman actually want for our country"?

So whether or not you vehemently agree (or disagree) with Mr. Peterson or Mr. James or Mr. Barber, at least give them props for speaking boldly and letting us voters know what they *really* think!

Another Hiking Adventure

This weekend we trekked back to Cheaha State Park for an eight-mile loop hike. We started at the Cheaha Trailhead and took the Cave Creek Trail south to the Pinhoti Trail connector, then came back to the trailhead via the Pinhoti. It was a glorious day, a bit windy, but beautiful nonetheless. What's really cool is that we've hiked from a southern trailhead north to the same connector, so bit by bit we're visiting entire trails!

We had lunch at McDill Point, an absolutely stunning overlook about a quarter mile off the main trail. And even more interesting, there are the remains of a plane crash there. Being the librarian, of course I wanted to know the details. Surprisingly enough, there have been at least a dozen crashes that have happened near Cheaha since the 1940s. There was one in 1991, one in 1986, one in 1967... and the list keeps going. After researching on the NTSB site with the small bits of info I had, I believe this (2003) is the crash. It's in the right place (near Hernandez Peak) and it's a two-seater. So, my prayers go out to the families of the two men who lost their lives. I took a photo of the debris, but I don't think I'll post it... and actually, I'm surprised that the park left the debris on the mountainside. There's a forest road not too far away, and what's left is mostly aluminum.

Anyway, back to our hike. Here are some photos from McDill Point...



There was a pair of hawks riding the thermals just below us, and that was amazing to watch. We hiked the Pinhoti part of the trail back last November, and the difference in the landscape is something to behold. Six months ago it was barren rock and leafless trees, and this weekend it was lush with spring flowers and all kinds of green undergrowth. My favorite is by far the many, many sassafras saplings. You can't transplant them worth a darn (and I speak from personal experience), but they smell So Good!

I'm hoping for at least one more spring-like weekend, because once summer rolls around in Alabama, it's just too hot and humid to hike!