10 recent blog posts
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Painting
Posted 31 hours ago
My friend Matt can create watercolor paintings like nobody’s business. I have great admiration for the way he can control watercolor paints because that is something I’ve never been able to do.
My mom has bought and completed more than a few paint-by-number kits. It sticks in my memory that she has actually done DaVinci’s Last Supper. Tacky, I know, but it does confirm the secret code theory that’s been circulating these days.
Far from being the “fine artist”, I’m at my best painting walls. I abhor the prep work, though. Taping off all the baseboards, outlets, radiators and light switches is not my cup of tea.
I do insist on quality paint. There’s nothing worse than painting with thin, cheap stuff. When we first moved in to our flat two years ago, we painted the whole place with a type of paint you mix yourself. You buy a bag of paste, add water and color. It worked okay for lighter colors but we wanted to do some walls in a deep red. The red ended up looking more purplish and chalky. So, we decided to bite the bullet and buy a more expensive ready-mixed brand. Coating the walls with that stuff was sheer pleasure. It was worth the price.
If there’s one skill I wish I could add to my repertoire it would be the ability to create stunning works of visual art, painting included. Alas, I don’t think it’s “in the cards” for me, though.
A lot of what I know about ...
September
Posted 4 days ago
Oh, September. The dog days of summer are gone (what on earth does that mean, anyway? Why thank you, Mr. Google for this information) and the brutal routines of school mornings are back. The temps are still a bit too warm for comfort and going all day without a nap is killer.
This September is full of newness for our family. Meg and Nic are in a new school, which is quite a distance away. In order to save money, they ride with a teacher. He has to be there early, so on the most brutal days, they have to get up at 6:30 and leave by 7:15.
It’s full of growing-up kids. Meg is going to Middle School camp with her class tomorrow and won’t be home until Thursday. She’s been helping me pack school lunches, something we’ve never had to do. Today we picked up her new phone (for emergencies, not gabbing with friends) so that eventually she and Nic can take the metro without us but still be able to get help if they need it.
September has more limbo in it than normal for me this year. If I get the school job I am hoping for, I have most of September to get my life together. If I don’t, I probably need to start looking for something else. I’d be really happy to know, one way or another.
I’m looking forward to the part of September that brings crisp air and cool nights.
September loosens
its sweaty grip
on summer
out of ...
Alleke's Cooking Show
Posted 5 days ago
On today's show Alleke demonstrates how to make Saturday morning pancakes from scratch.
Watch Alleke's Cooking Show on Vimeo.
Alleke's Saturday Morning Pancake Recipe (stolen from Grandma)
1 cup buttermilk or natural yogurt
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/8 cup vegetable oil
Also, some tips on making pancakes in Spain...
2. simplicity saturday: time and light are relative
Posted 7 days ago
This is part of a series of pictures that were taken in late July 2008 when our family took a holiday in Salzburg. Each photo, in its own way, reminds me of the beauty of simplicity. I post one here every Saturday. To view in a larger format, click on the image. --Troy
Follow these links to...
Start the series at the beginning.
Firsts
Posted 7 days ago
First CD I bought:
Yeah, uh huh: cuz that was worth the money.
First vinyl album I bought (before CD’s existed):
Ain’t he cute?
First job: feeding two golden retrievers down the block from us when I was 8. This job resulted in my first savings account, believe it or not. This is why I'm a millionaire today.
First dog we had when I was a kid: a Pekingese Poodle named Fonzie.
We got rid of him pretty quickly cuz he bit me. I didn’t taunt him, I swear. Cuz I was a well-mannered little scamp, dontchyaknow.
First full-length play I performed in:
My character’s name was Bud Frump. The name “Frump” tells you what kind of person he was. It wasn’t typecasting. I think.
First school: Sunset Terrace Elementary in Rochester, Minnesota.
This is where I first sniffed glue.
First time overseas: spent most of my time in Birmingham, England. Cuz, yeah, Birmingham has such a booming tourism industry.
First time I kissed Heather: in Henry Hallgren’s basement while watching this movie:
We necked because this flick is such a romantic movie.
First time I rode on a plane: I was 17.
First job in ministry: part time youth pastor at Evangel Baptist Church in Wheaton, Illinois.
I wore a tie and pretended to be sophisticated.
First car I owned: an old station wagon. I bought it for $1 from my pastor in Minnesota. I’m not sure I didn’t get ripped off.
The first time I ate sushi, I was hooked.
The first time I left my family, I flew ...
Closet Progress
Posted 7 days ago
I am so happy with the way my front closet has shaped up. I unfortunately just plowed into it one afternoon without taking any before photos.
This is the left side of the closet, with great built-in shelves. The top shelf holds things we don't use often: games, toddler toys for visitors, games, our picnic basket etc. The side shelves hold our videos (yes, we still own some and use them!), candles, and my scrapbooking supplies. The Ikea bins on the bottom hold more scrapbooking stuff. I like to keep it here because I most often scrap on our table with Meg or anyone else I can get to scrap with me! We thinned out the coats and keep the kids' current season's coat in this closet and their others in their closet. Troy hung hooks on the inside of the doors for his murses, backpacks etc.
I bought cheap magazine holders at Ikea to store my scrapping paper etc. The boxes hold photos, the wire basket holds candles.
These Ikea bins hold the rest of my scrapbooking stuff. Since it's all together, it's easy to move it to the table and back.
The right side of the closet is my favorite! I also got these organizers at Ikea, and they didn't cost me an arm and a leg. Troy keeps his shoes in this closet, so now they are organized. Everyone has a one of the little drawers for gloves, hat and scarves.
The top right shelf holds the ...
Swim Tube
Posted 8 days ago
Alleke swims by herself for the first time.
Watch Swim Tube on Vimeo.
Dessert
Posted 8 days ago
We don’t normally eat dessert after meals in our house (unless you count our son who asks for a cookie at 9:30 on Saturday mornings when he ate breakfast, oh, 45 minutes before.) When I was growing up, dessert was reserved for when we had company. Normally we just ate another spoon of mashed potatoes or something if we wanted something more to eat.
Since I don’t enjoy baking, I was happy to carry that tradition on with my own family. If they do want something sweet after a meal, their choices usually consist of yogurt or a store-bought cookie. Nothing but the finest for my family.
Here are my favorite desserts, if I don’t have to make them myself:
Tiramisu (My favorite is at La Finca de Susana here in Madrid.)
Brownies (from a box is just fine.)
April’s warm chocolate chip cookies.
Kim’s chocolate cakey pudding thingies (do you notice a trend in the fact that OTHER PEOPLE make these?)
Ice cream (not vanilla, unless there is plenty of chocolate sauce).
Cheesecake (Carolyn’s, with caramel sauce whenever possible. Or Café Latte’s chocolate raspberry. I’m warning you, don’t click that link unless you can get in your car and go over there. RIGHT NOW.)
In a pinch, a few squares of Valor’s sugar free dark chocolate with almonds.
And now I need to go run 100 miles, if you’ll excuse me. Except, oh yeah, I don’t run any more than I bake. Oh well!
I had to ask Heather if the topic she selected was ...
What does a dog say?
Posted 9 days ago
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Puppy Dog Eyes by ny156uk.
Alleke scampered along behind us through the park picking up leaves, too busy to notice what was going on around her until a puppy bounded over, all wriggles, and sniffed the leaves in her hand.
Alleke froze, then dropped the leaves and made a run for it. I picked her up, and she wrapped her arm around my neck like I was her life preserver. Together we watched the puppy paw at the leaves.
"Alleke, what does a dog say?" I asked.
Selfishly, I take every opportunity to ask Alleke what dogs say because when she was less than a year old she started making this adorable noise that sounds a lot like a dog barking. It's "um um," and the sound is deep and muffled like someone drilling into the wall next door.
I suppose what makes Alleke's "um um" so adorable is watching her try to express what she is hearing around her, with the result being both remarkably accurate and uniquely Alleke.
Imagine my sadness, then, when Alleke pointed at the puppy playing in the leaves and answered, "Ruff ruff."
beauty matters
Posted 9 days ago
My 8 year old son reminded me of something recently: Beauty matters.
While looking at a marble fountain, he wondered: "Dad, why do people make fountains?"
I thought for a second and said, "To make the world a beautiful place. It's important to make beautiful things because God made things beautiful."
He still does.
