Misadventures: The Jesus of my youth.

Take a gander at our other blog, but don't watch with soda or coffee in your mouth.

Musings: A little cheezwiz to warm your heart....

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again.

There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:
I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always, Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

"Hey lady, can you help us,lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags. "Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd really appreciate it." Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

"Sir, wait!"

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.

"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"
"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. "You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street...without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day."

Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

(This was sent to me via email....)

Moments: RECIPES for my girls in the 'hood...

K, prepare yourself for some really amazing homemade crap. I'll start with my faves and the most requested ones.

SHAMPOO BASE:
1/4 cup water (I use filtered)
1/4 cup liquid castille (I used Dr. Bronner's Baby-Mild)
1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil (I used organic)

This makes 1/2 cup of base that can be used as a shower gel base as well. Here's the variation I tried:
Avacado-Jasmine
1/2 cup shampoo base
1/2 cup aloe vera gel (Not the 'gel' that comes in a tube, the kind that is thick but pour-able)
3/4 tsp avacado oil (I substituded olive oil)
3/4 tsp jasmine essential oil (I substituted lemon)

Mix this up and keep it in an old shampoo bottle and shake before each use.

Another variation to try is:
1/2 cup shampoo base
2 T. glycerine
1/2 cup water
1/2 c. fresh lavendar
5 drops lavendar essential oil

For Oily hair:
use only 1/4 cup shampoo base
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp aloe vera gel (again, the pour-able kind)
This needs to be kept refridgerated and used within one week.

HAIR RINSE:
After I used the above shampoo a few times, my hair got 'heavy', so I tried a rinse of apple cider vinegar and water. I put in maybe 1/3 cup of the vinegar in a ketchup/mustard squirt bottle (I got the set for like .73 cents at Walmart, and they work great because I can use the pointy tip to get real close to my scalp) and filled the rest with water. After shampooing, I bent forward and squirted it near my scalp, sorta rubbed it around and rinsed. Viola! Clean hair. My comb went right thru, and again, I didn't need any styling products. Oh, and the vinegar smell doesn't stick with your hair. For those who like exact measurments: use 2-4 TBLS of either apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice per cup of water. (The lemon juice mixture will need to be refridgerated).

I also tried using a teaspoon or so of baking soda mixed with a bit of water to make a paste and massaged that into my scalp, but it didn't work as well as the vinegar rinse.....though it made a fabulous facial scrub!

BATH SOAP
This is really called 'rebatching' as you won't be making soap from scratch (with lard and lye).
2 bars Kirk's Coco Hardwater Castille ($1.50 at my health food co-op)
1/3 c. boiling water
1/4 cup almond or olive oil (+some for greasing molds)
Herbs and essential oils (+ .5-5% oz volume of grapfruit seed extract for preservative)

You'll need:
a box grater (I used the grater on my food processor)
double boiler pot with lid (or use medium pot with 2-3inches water and a glass heat-resistent bowl on top)
wooden spoon
large bowl
molds (can use mini muffin or loaf pans, tuna cans, bottom of milk or 2 litre containers...I used regular muffin tins and got four big soaps.)

STEPS:
~Grate soap into bowl
~Heat over medium heat and cover with loose-fitting lid
~when water boils in bottom pot, add the 1/3 c boiling water to soap all at once. Mix slightly, then add oil
~Continue mixing til water is incorporated...should look like mashed potatoes. Turn off heat.
~Place soap mixture in large bowl and add herbs and oils. Mix thoroughly.
~grease molds and hands (I used Olive Oil Pam spray). Let mixture cool slightly then use hands to scoop soap and press into molds. Smooth top.
~store in cool, airy place (I used my basement). Takes 24 hours to 1 week to harden. When your finger leaves no indent, it's ready. Cut around to release or put in freezer for a time. Slice if using a loaf pan. Wrap in wax paper.

I added 1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 TBLS ground almonds (skin on) and 3 tsp cinnamon oil to my mixture before pressing into molds.

I've since found tons of sites that troubleshoot 'rebatching' as well as offering lots of yummy recipes. Here's some that sound darn good to me:
Coffee and Cream
1 tsp ground espresso
1 tsp powdered milk
10 drops coffee fragrance oil

Lemon Loofah
1 tsp powdered loofah
15 drops lemon oil
1 drop yellow coloring

Raspberry Oatmeal
1/3 c dry oats
15 drops raspberry fragrance oil
1 drop red coloring

Vanilla almond
2/3 c. whole almonds, ground
2 TBLS almond oil
1/4 tsp vanilla fragrance oil

Christmas Soap
ground cinnamon
mint essential oil
lemon/orange rind

Peaches and Cream
1/2 cup powdered milk
2 TBLS almond oil
1/2 tsp peach fragrance oil
2 drops orange food coloring

NOTE: I've read some places that recommend not using food coloring. I've also read not to use extracts for fragrance. Today I found some info about making rebatched soap in a crockpot, so when I try that, I'll post that method as well.

Places to get crafty with soap (and everything else under the sun)
Craftster
Soap Delicatessen
Homemade Bath and Body Recipes
Soapnuts
Craftbits
Teach Soap
Crafter's Touch
Homemaker's Cottage

SHOWER GEL
(must confess, this is technically a recipe for hand gel soap, but I plan to use it as a shower gel as well)
2 cups soap flakes (or grated castille bar)
1/2 gallon water (use more if gel is too thick)
2 TBLS glycerine
essential oils of choice

Mix all in double boiler, then transfer to jar/pump.
(I made this with lemon essential oil for hand soap. At first it didn't gel, but now it's nice and thick. I think I'll add lavendar or some other flowery scent to make it shower gel.)

Here is a recipe for liquid dish soap with a different configuration of the same ingredients above that might also make a good shower gel:
1/4 c. soap flakes
2 cups hot water
1/4 c. glycerin
1/2 tsp. lemon or other essential oil

Mix flakes and water till dissolved. Cool til lukewarm. Stur in glycerin and essential oil and leave to cool. When it forms loose gel, stir with fork then funnel into pump. (Haven't tried this one yet.)

As far as toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant.....2 words. BAKING SODA.
I just dip my wet brush in a bit of BS and brush.
I add a tsp or so of BS to a glass of water and swish and gargle
I smear some BS under my pits after showering.

I will attempt these recipes for a 'dusting' or 'roll-on' deodorant soon:
1/4 c baking soda
1/4 cup talc-free powder
1/16 cup cornstarch
Use a large makeup brush to apply to pits

OR
mix equal parts BS and cornstarch. Add water to make a pourable mix to put into a mold. After dry, moisten and apply.

Tomorrow I'll post cleaning crap. Dishwasher detergent (powder and gel), laundry detergent (powder and gel), fabric softner, disinfectant spray, scouring powder, etc. BTW, I'm storing dry goods in glass mason jars of all sizes. I got squirt bottles from the Dollar Tree. And we're reusing old plastic shampoo/hair sprair pumps as well.

Fun Fun! If you try any of these, let me know how they turn out!

Misadventures: Experiments in frugality

Hmmmm....now what might this eclectic grouping be doing in my kitchen? Well, let me 'splain.

In my pursuit of simplicity, frugality, and health, I spent a day gathering all manner of 'recipes' from the internet for homemade cleaners and toiletries. I'll start right off telling you that baking soda and vinegar are the king of natural cleaners. Olive oil and pure castille soap rank big in toiletries (with baking soda yet again making a strong finish).

Here's a brief listing of products I've made and am currently testing, none of which includes any of those 'unpronounceables':
shampoo
conditioner
soap
shower gel
hair gel
hair spray
deodorant
liquid hand soap
bubble bath
bath salts
body powder
foot soak
toothpaste
lip balm
facial scrub
facial mask
body scrub
mouthwash

Cleaners include:
laundry detergent
laundry softner
dishwasher detergent
dishwasher rinse aid
scouring powder
liquid dish soap
carpet cleaner
antibacterial all purpose cleaner
window/mirrow cleaner
tub/tile cleaner
toilet cleaner

So far the only 'bombs' have been the liquid hand gel and the dish soap. They work fine, but they didn't 'gel'. I'll give them another try next month. My favorite has been the shampoo, which is so fabulous that I didn't need conditioner, styling products or hair spray after using it! Plus my scalp doesn't itch and flake anymore. The soap is also a keeper...can't wait to try new scents and textures. The toothpaste is just plain nasty-tasting, but works wonderfully.

All told, so far I've spent about $100 for the supplies to make all this, and the priciest items were the essential oils. (Lavendar and tea tree are must-haves, but I also got cinnamon and lemon). I think in the long run, it will save us tons of money, be safe for the environment, and give me the satisfaction of being 'crafty'. As I get more experience with making and using these things, I'll be glad to post recipes, all of which can be found different places on the 'net so will be thoroughly plagarized. :o)

I feel like Ma Ingalls.....sans the cheerful disposition.

Moments: You know how to whistle don't ya......

....you just put your lips together.....and blow. Ms. Lauren Bacall, er, I mean G. enjoyed her first formal dance Saturday night. Isn't she just D-I-V-I-N-E?

Here's Miss G with the girls from the 'hood:

Musings: New Year's Resolutions

Here is a list of books I either have on hold at the library, have in my cart on Amazon, or in yet another cart at Alternatives for Simply Living:
~Meal by Meal: Balance thru Mindful Eating
~Living the Good Life on God's Good Earth
~Simpler Living, Compassionate Life
~Food and Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread
~How Much is Enough? Hungering for God in an Affluent Culture
~Irresitable Revolution: Living as An Ordinary Radical
~Food for Life: Spirituality and Ethics of Eating
~31 Words to Create and Organized Life
~Living More with Less
~Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth
~Simplicity Lessons
~Voluntary Simplicity
~Simple Living Investments
~Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity
~Your Money or Your Life
~Simply in Season
~Tis a Gift to be Simple

Ok, so raise your hand if you see a common thread or two in the above titles?

I'm seriously wanting to curb my consumerism of things....but also with the food I consume. During the next month, hubby and I (and the kids) are going to once again take stock of all our habits. We do this every now and again, but this time the impetus behind it is our newly discovered passion for those in poverty. How can I shop responsibly? How do I eat responsibly? How do I only take my fair share without taking away from others?

Case in point: Yeterday, I dropped one of my girls and her cousin off at the local mall to spend Christmas and babysitting money....After 3 hours, I picked up two giddy (and exhausted) teenagers, completely intoxicated with their many purchases....purses, beads, undies, jeans, etc etc etc.....Totally normal, totally understandable, totally reminiscent of my own teenage years as well as throughout my adulthood. So why did I feel like crying?

Ingnorance is bliss. It really, truly is. Turning away from certain realities of our world is extremely easy in our frenetic culture, one in which our time is spent rushing from thing to thing, accumulating stuff, eating on the run, only to sit down in front of the tv to be bewitched by commercials and shows that repeat the mantra "get more, be more, you're not good enough, be like me, happiness is found here." Our family doesn't even watch tv, and we homeschool thru 8th grade. We drive older cars, live in the city, buy many things on sale or at Goodwill, accept hand-me-downs graciously and gratefully. We go against the culture in many ways. Yet my teenagers have bought the 'get what you can, can what you get, sit on the can' mentality of the world that immediately surrounds them. What is the ancedote for such behavior?

I realize that often the choices I made regarding, say, tv and schooling were done because it was easier to disengage and ignore than to work thru our nature towards greed, selfishness and the like. Now that my kids are mingling and integrating with their culture thru school, movies, and friendships......the pull to conform is all-consuming. I feel discouraged, disappointed, sometimes helpless (if not all-out guilty) trying to swim upstream and pulling the teenagers along for the difficult ride.

But avoiding that difficult journey is no longer an option for me. I know too much. I read and see and hear too many things that will not allow me to turn away in ignorance and apathy. I want to learn a new pattern of thankfulness, of generosity, of humility. To live, as my hubby says, an examined life. I want to take responsibility for the consumption and greed I've participated in, and to re-think creatively about how I can better share the blessings I've been given. I told hubby this morning, I can't even enjoy what I have because it's buried under all the stuff I thought I had to have. I don't want to live a guilt trip....I just want to live with the blessings I've been alloted with a heart of thankfulness and a willingness to share. How much is 'enough'? That is the question I am repeatedly asking myself. How can I model for my teenagers a life that understands and embraces 'enough'? How can I encourage them to live simply, sacrificially, and in contentment? Our culture's idea of 'enough' is non-existent.

I wonder if that means moving out to the country into a little farmhouse with no cell phones, computers, tvs, shopping malls around the corner....or does that mean staying put where we are and learning to stop acquiring 'stuff' at the expense of the poverty-stricken in the world. The first suggestion sounds easier. But, as with most things in life, moderation is where we are forced to grow up. Where we must wrestle with non-conformity, out in the open, without withdrawing from the culture to a point where we have no impact. Living in a comfortable home, enjoying a movie and fast food now and then, shopping consciously, being watchful for opportunities to bless my 'neighbor' wherever I may happen to run into them....that is a life of simplicity and a life of enough. It must be a pattern of life that always finds itself balancing precariously between excess and deprivation. It doesn't allow for much laziness, though, and calls for being 'present' most times, in most choices. But I'm convinced this is where true joy and contentment are found.

So, as usual, I've picked out my research and plan to dive in, assured that drowning myself into the abyss of words, words, words will 'fix' me. What's that you say? Why not just do it instead of read about it? Why spend money I don't have to purchase books about consumption, simple living, and enough?

Is there an echo in here? Did you hear something?

Merry Christmas 2006!

Misadventures: Christmas Season

Well, howdy-do. Not much going on in the homeschool front these days as Christmas is upon us and there's always a million things to do. Even though I told myself this year would NOT become the harried season full of over-activity and over-spending, it has indeed become that once again. All my good intentions to sit cozily on the couch each evening and read favorite Christmas stories with the kids sipping homemade cocoa and nibbling freshly baked cookies have been trampled under shopping lists, receipts, phone calls, school activities, etc.

There's so much to love about Christmas, yet this year I've been overly sensitive to the spending frenzy I see around me...and how easily I give into it. It really gets me down. I'm sad that the things left to do such as christmas cards and holiday baking are simply 'have to's' that I look forward to simply checking off my daily list of obligations. Buying gifts this year has been no fun as we are spending money we don't have due to overspending thru the past 11 months. I desparately wanted to help the needy this season, and we have where we could, but not in the ways I wish.

I did manage to make a homemade advent calendar this year (we're 5 days behind as I type), and I enjoyed decorating the house with homemade touches here and there....but even Johnny Mathis crooning 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...' can't seem to pull me out of my funk.

It's so hard to create the magic that descended without effort growing up. It's hard to see the suffering in the world, the idiocy of some people, the frantic pace of life....and hunker down to focus and meditate on the tiny Prince of Peace who came to dwell amoung us. What a beautiful story. And to appreciate the harmony of nature as it gets itself ready for it's winter solstace...the quiet nights, the falling temperatures, the promise of downy snow and crystal icycles.

I long for simplicity especially this time of year. I see all the 'junk', and the piles of things I don't need or want cluttering up my life. My heart sighs deeply as I think of Ma Ingall's little cabin or Tiny Tim's shabby bungalow or a small cave in the Middle East that sheltered a new life, a teenage girl and a bewildered man.

>It's the time of year to reevaluate what's important...and when your life doesn't match what you value, then mental stress, physical exhaustion and discouragement follow. I'd like for once to stop this pattern in my life. For once to hear the bell ringing again and watch for reindeer in the sky. To glory in red and green life savers and tins of cookies stashed in the pantry. To sit under the lighted tree with the room darkened and Mr. Mathis singing on the record player. To hope for a white Christmas.....and to believe for peace on earth.

Moments: Erasing the lines. We can hope.

Barak Obama gave a stunning speech at Rick Warren's Saddleback church on World Aids Day Dec. 1st. I encourage you to read the entire thing, but here's one of my favorite parts that I offer in hopes of whetting your appetite. :o) By the way, he received a standing ovation...

"Like no other illness, AIDS tests our ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes - to empathize with the plight of our fellow man. While most would agree that the AIDS orphan or the transfusion victim or the wronged wife contracted the disease through no fault of their own, it has too often been easy for some to point to the unfaithful husband or the promiscuous youth or the gay man and say "This is your fault. You have sinned."

I don't think that's a satisfactory response. My faith reminds me that we all are sinners.

My faith also tells me that - as Pastor Rick has said - it is not a sin to be sick. My Bible tells me that when God sent his only Son to Earth, it was to heal the sick and comfort the weary; to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; to befriend the outcast and redeem those who strayed from righteousness.

Living His example is the hardest kind of faith - but it is surely the most rewarding. It is a way of life that can not only light our way as people of faith, but guide us to a new and better politics as Americans.

For in the end, we must realize that the AIDS orphan in Africa presents us with the same challenge as the gang member in South Central, or the Katrina victim in New Orleans, or the uninsured mother in North Dakota.

We can turn away from these Americans, and blame their problems on themselves, and embrace a politics that's punitive and petty, divisive and small.

Or we can embrace another tradition of politics - a tradition that has stretched from the days of our founding to the glory of the civil rights movement, a tradition based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another - and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done for the people with whom we share this Earth."

Moments: Go Redskins!

OK. Let me hear it. Awwwwwwwwwww! They're darling! (Why thank you *blush* I think so too.)