Weekend round-up

Here it is Sunday night, the end of another Spring weekend. I love Spring, but I am always so afraid of it's departure. One day soon I will wake up and it will be full on Summer. I am not looking forward to that. I love living with the windows open (i haven't closed them in a little over a month) and the doors open and cool nights and chilly mornings and warm days and new flowers. sigh.

ANYWAY, back to my weekend...

Friday I came home from an exhaustingly busy work week and baked a peach Tart (more on that in another post). I am not a baker, but am determined to bake something new every week. The Tart was a success. It was sweet and tart and soft and warm...like any good tart is. Friends and I devoured it in one night amidst laughter and silliness.


Saturday, I started at Urban Standard with Carrie and John, followed by Pepper Place. There I procured radishes, peaches, goat cheese, eggs and an alien looking vegetable called a kohlrabi. I love going there and talking to the farmers and sampling the honey and cheese and asking them about their farms. It feels very communal and connected. I also took a bunch of photos (many people asked me if I was a photographer with my fancy new camera!). Had lunch outside with a friend which was surprisingly delightful, to catch up and talk about life.


After all of that, I thought a nap was in my future. However, an idea had popped into my head that simply begged to be listened to. So, I called Jenn and she agreed that it must be done. So, we packed a little picnic of red wine (in a Nalgene bottle!), plastic cups, hard boiled eggs, water and books...and headed to the botanical gardens. After I took about 100 photos of the rose garden, we found a little place where we could read and hang out, quietly drinking wine that is strictly forbidden there. It was lovely. People kept coming by and asking if we were students, to which I replied "No, but thank you for asking!". It was really fun. I took a little nap in the sun and we saw some lizards and birds.




A good day.

Sunday I slept late, cooked breakfast and chilled. Some friends stopped by and we talked about food and farms and gardens, topics I never tire of. I decided to go back to the Gardens, not realizing that it was apparently "bring your bride and photographer day". There were 2 weddings, 2 brides walking around having their pictures taken and a perfect looking couple about 5 feet from my favorite swing taking engagement pictures. it was sad, but did not bother me nearly as much as it would have a month ago. Progress, slow and steady. It was actually a very enjoyable afternoon spent on a secluded little swing, reading.
I left there for church. Tonight in my little church we welcomed new members, baptized a beautiful boy and prayed for a former Pastor. It was, to me, a striking picture of the Gospel. Hope and brokenness, all mixed up together.
Tonight i made some yummy hummus and now am going to drift off to sleep.

I hope each of you is enjoying the Spring.


This is a kolhrabi! crazy looking, huh?

Weekend round-up

This weekend round-up is going to be a bit redundant, as I've blogged a bit this weekend.

Friday night, I did what I do almost every Friday night. Not a thing. I came home, ate and took a little nap. Awoke and putzed around the house, showered a read until bed at midnight. This is my little routine on Fridays and I find myself looking forward to it starting every Wednesday.

Saturday I spent the day in Waverly, AL. See last post for more on this.

Sunday was a lovely, lovely day. Breakfast with a dear friend at V Richards. We normally only spend about 45min to an hour, but today it was nearly 2 hours. I sorely needed the encouragement and fellowship. Thanks Charlotte. I came home, grabbed a blanket, book and glass of water and headed outside. I laid on the ground and perused the Times Book Review. After about an hour, I realized that the backs of my knees were sorely sunburned (oops) and I headed inside...to finish my nap. It was a heavenly rest with the breeze and the smell of fresh earth and the birds chirping. Next up was a grocery store bike ride, where I was nearly run over by the many, many, many people in my neighborhood for the Earth Day free admission to the Zoo and festival at the Botanical Gardens. I had planned on strolling over to the gardens later, and promptly decided that was a terrible idea.
I have found that a great way to talk to my neighbors is to park my bike somewhere. Everyone wants to talk about it, or reminisce about the time they rode a similar one, of how badly they want to start riding again. Today it was an older gentleman who told me that he belonged to, and helped start, the Birmingham Bike Club. He described the bike he used to ride (flown in from Japan!) and the good times the club had. He fondly recalled the picture that the inagural group took and described it to me in painstaking detail. It was certainly a refreshing, surprising conversation for a balmy Sunday afternoon.
Went to church and was again delighted at how at home I feel. It is such a gift. Scott K. gave a great sermon and music was, as always, inspiring and worshipful.
Home to cook. Sat down on the kitchen floor, with NPR's The Splendid Table podcast (a Sunday night ritual) playing and cookbooks spread around me. I decided what to cook for dinner (summer squash), and blanched some green beans to make a green bean salad in the morning. I love looking through each cookbook and seeing what strikes my fancy. Today it was Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan as well as Provence: The beautiful cookbook. Both highlight the flavor of vegetables with simple preparation. Planned some meals for the week, ate the one prepared tonight and dreamed of a trip to Italy. Instead of Italy, I opted to do laundry. What an exciting life I lead! Just like those single women on Sex and the City...or the complete opposite.

Well, off to read Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt:The River Run (do you sense a theme in my life?!). I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable weekend. Sweet Dreams.

return and redemption

Update:
I went back to church last night. It was not scary at all. I went with someone who would protect me, and it was wonderful. I am not going to be able to articulate how redemptive it was to go and feel safe. So I will not try. I will say that there comes a point where the fear itself begins to be bigger than what you fear, and once you face it, it can stop owning you. That was also at play here.

This post is all kinds of rambly and nonsensical. sorry.

church and loss

I miss church. A lot. Many of you know that I have left the church that I belong to. Sort of a sabbatical that I do not anticipate ending, but could. Every Sunday I find myself sad that I am not going. I could go back to my church, but it does not feel safe for me. And it is not necessarily that particular church that I miss (although I did become a Christian at the church and had hoped it would be a home for me). It is the act of worshipping in a group. Feeling that you are understood just a little bit in a broken world. It is hopeful. and messy. Beautiful.
Communion is something else I long for. To taste the wine and bread, to feel it slide down my throat and really feel Grace and Repentance and Love, all in a bite and a sip. To watch others take it and feel comraderie. A sense of belonging. Sharing sorrows and joys.
Singing. My church has wonderful, wonderful music (thank you BTM and company). I love the sound of many Christians singing the words that were written so many years ago, yet strike a chord with so many of us. Closing my eyes and singing, tapping my toe to the beat, watching a child that I love get into the music and just let go, unaware of how she looks. To see a women crying during the same song.
sigh.
I miss it. all of it.