Outings

Now that the weather is warmer, we take advantage of every day that isn't rainy, and get outside. I love taking walks, and that suits the children just fine, who happily watch passing scenery from the stroller. Zander really enjoys playgrounds."Go to the park!" he insists, kicking his feet vigorously against the stroller's footrest. He prefers to carry a big stick as we stroll; he drags it through puddles or whacks trees and sign posts. Maybe he's marking his territory.

We went to the park today, and Livy had her first ride in the swing! She was only travelling a couple inches back and forth, but she giggled and froggie-kicked and was terribly cute.

Signs of Spring in Minnesota

Crocuses and tulips pushing up through the soil.
Robins hopping across the yard.
Temperatures frequently in the fifties or higher.
Road crews repairing potholes.
Joggers in shorts and tee shirts.
Lawns beginning to green over.
Buds swelling on trees and bushes.
Children converging on the basketball courts and plagrounds.

We all have the itch to get outside, to breathe deeply the air with its smell of moist earth and puddles; to stretch our limbs; to soak in the sunlight; to shake off the closed-up feeling, the chill and palor of winter. We want to feel and smell and hear and see Spring!

We Love Books!

Friends and family know that the Galls are book people. We have shelves of them lining our living room - literature, history, theology, philosophy, cultural commentary. Rich is one of those seemingly rare people who has actually read almost every book on his shelves (as opposed to keeping them on a "planning to read" list, which means having them mainly for aesthetic purposes).

We enjoy receiving books as gifts, but the book-buying experience is just as great -- particularly when we're in a used book store, browsing through shelves of titles, pulling out various volumes and lovingly turning some pages, as though trying to get some judgment of the book by its weight, texture and smell, in addition to reading the flyleaf.

I just discovered through a friend's blog that there's an opportunity to win a number of books (and CDs). Free books! We should check this out! So I followed the link and came to Encyclopedia Kevinannica, a blog by a fellow Christian. (Looks like some interesting posts to read, too!) If you follow the link, you too can learn what books he is giving away and how to submit your name for a chance to win. This would be a good opportunity for someone to expand their theology shelf.

A Fun Read

Although this qualifies as youth fiction, I really enjoyed it. The plots of the three novels (in this one volume) were entertaining and provided a look at Elizabethan culture and life as a Player (stage actor) in London. An option for some light reading.

With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

This is the first spring that we are living in a house with our own yard. Naturally, I'm very excited to plant my own garden this year, and I want to start out right. What better way than to read a book? The New Northern Gardener by Jennifer Bennett seemed an appropriate title, so I picked it up from the library and am reading through it. It's great for a beginner like me because it covers everything from choosing a plot and preparing the soil to varieties of vegetables and flowers that grow well in northern climates. The book encourages beginning gardeners to start out small - it's easy to get excited about choosing and planting lots of vegetables and flowers, but the summer weeding and watering can get to be a drag and discourage future gardens. Kinda like the phrase, "your eyes are bigger than your stomach," only in this case, I don't want my "eyes" to be bigger than my time and enthusiasm when the real work of maintenance sets in. So after reading the book and getting advice from my mom, who has planted gardens for many years now, I hope I will choose wisely and conservatively for my first garden. (I know I want at least some herbs and tomatoes! And maybe peppers, lettuce, summer squash, onions, beans, plus flowers and other foliage around the house... oh, dear! Choices, choices!)

Fish Soup or Gingerbread Cake?

I hosted our book club on Friday night, and we had a good time discussing Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. We had a good turn-out, and we all agreed this book was the easiest Russian literature we had ever read! (For a review of the book, see Leaf and Frame.) We have read quite a variety of books over the nearly two years that our club has met together, and different ladies have hosted our gathering each month. Oftentimes the hostess will provide thematic refreshments, hors d'ouevres and dessert that somehow tie in with the book's setting, or are mentioned in the story. For example, when we read Hawthorn's The Scarlet Letter, the hostess found recipes from Puritan New England (lots of molasses-sweetened things!). The Chosen was accompanied by a Jewish sweet bread. We had an English trifle (if I remember correctly!) with Pride and Prejudice.

When I was considering what to make for this month's book club, I realized I could make thin, oily fish soup with the bones still in; or pasty oatmeal gruel; or dark bread left out for a few days to get nice and dry. That is, if I wanted to make the food mentioned in the book!

I decided on a sort of "opposite" theme -- serving something that would stave off the Siberian cold and fill the deprived bellies. So I made a gingerbread cake with cider sauce and whipping cream. Together with mixed nuts and hot coffee, it was just the thing to counteract the scant, unappetizing rations endured by the characters in our book. Perhaps it would do us comfortable Americans good to endure some discomfort and icky foods. But not at a social gathering! :)

Here are the recipes for the gingerbread cake (a recipe from my grandma) and the cider sauce (adapted from Betty Crocker, I believe).

Gingerbread Cake

Blend in large mixing bowl:
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Mix and add to above ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Finally, add 1 cup boiling water to thin the batter. Pour batter in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Apple Cider Sauce

Mix in a saucepan:
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Add to saucepan:
1 cup apple cider and 1 Tbs lemon juice

Bring to a boil, cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbs butter.

cartoons

Here's another great one!

tom and jerry-jerry and jumbo

YouTube is fun for kids, too! There are quite a few classic cartoons posted there, and Zander likes to watch them. Here's a recent one he enjoyed (and I must admit I got some chuckles out of it too!).

Outdoor Play

Yesterday the snow was at the perfect consistency for building a snowman, so that's what Zander and I did. Armed with boots and gloves and other winter gear, we created our 5-foot high friend, giving him a clementine nose and rock eyes. We accessorized him with a navy stocking cap and red scarf--those colors are so in right now. :-p Then of course I had to snap a couple pictures! Zander had a ball, which was the main thing. I had a pretty good time myself! Alas, though, it got so warm later that afternoon, Mr. Snowman suffered a fainting spell, and is now lying prostrate in our yard. With the almost spring-like weather now here, I'm afraid his complete demise is not long in coming!

Share with God's People

A couple weeks ago in our church ladies Bible study, we finished reading Wilkins' Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality. (See an earlier post I wrote on this book in January.) I really enjoyed it, especially the emphasis on community and the necessity of demonstrating visible, tangible love through hospitality. Hospitality is something that we are to pursue vigorously -- a Scriptural command enjoined to us in numerous passages, and demonstrated numbers of times in the Bible by God's servants. I think of Abraham preparing a meal for the angels in Genesis 18; and Lydia the seller of purple (Acts 16), who became a Christian and hosted Paul and the other missionaries who preached in her city; and many other examples. I enjoy hospitality - both giving and receiving it - and the expression of love it is to serve others, to minister to their needs, to provide them with a feast, to fellowship and laugh together as God's people. Face to Face was a good biblically-based exhortation and encouragement to pursue hospitality as a means of conveying love and blessing to others.

"Share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

Repetition is Good

I've read (and experienced) that children learn quickly from repetition, and their enjoyment of something is tied to their familiarity with it. This is especially true of books. I remember choosing the same books over and over for my parents to read to me, and now Zander is doing the same thing! His favorites right now include Mouse Soup; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; and Curious George Takes a Job. He also still loves many of our board books, particularly the ones with rollicking rhymes, like Sandra Boynton's books. I think the cadence and the rhyming helps him pick up the vocabulary more quickly - plus with all the repeated reading, he has some of the books almost memorized! A friend of mine who is a speech therapist agrees with me. She says that rhyming books, particularly nonsense ones like Dr. Seuss, help kids learn a lot about sound and the formation of words; hearing and identifying the similarities is a beneficial precursor to learning to read. Sounds good to me!

Another Pic

Gotta put up a picture of Zander, too! I managed to snap this (using that helpful tool, the camera phone) before he got his supper all over himself.

Happy Five Months, Olivia!

We're so happy you've been with us for five months, dear daughter. Your smiles bring us joy!

Apricot Chicken

On Saturday we had friends over for dinner, and I made an Asian dish that I have done before for church potluck. It's Apricot Chicken - quite easy, and very tasty served with basmati rice. I got the recipe off of allrecipies.com (thanks to Vicki Ruiz who submitted it). You can visit the link to see the orginal version, but here's what I made the other night, with a few alterations. The recipe is easily doubled or tripled for more servings.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs chicken broth
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 lb boneless skinless ckicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped (I also added red and yellow bell pepper, carrots and brocolli - makes it very colorful, and you don't have to make an additional vegetable side for your meal)
• 1/2 cup salted cashews

Mix the first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the cut up chicken and pour it all into a wok; cook on medium (about 325 degrees) until chicken is fully cooked, about 20 minutes. (I have also made this in a large saucepan on the stove; the original recipe gives directions for cooking in the microwave.) After the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables (carrots first, if using them, then peppers and other softer vegetables); cook until they are crisp-tender, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in cashews the last couple minutes of cooking (or serve them on the side as I did). Serve hot over rice.

Let it Snow!

Another several inches so far today, with no sign of letting up! (Good thing I stocked up on groceries yesterday!)