Happy Monday!!
Spending a great weekend with my parents ... the most unbelievably gorgeous fall weather in the history of the world ... a staff retreat spent at a beautiful garden in Madison (see above) ... a successful house warming party ... walks with Pedro and Diego around our neighborhood lagoon ... getting to make dinner and wash dishes with my mom (it was so simple, but so nice) ... taking my parents to our favorite local spots ... a trip to Port Washington and remembering my Papa ... leftovers ... pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin chai latte ... having a house full of people we love ... getting to be with my dad on his birthday ... the opportunity to drive my dad to the airport and begin repaying the dozens of times he's made those trips for me ... enjoying happy hour with Paul's coworkers ... pretty new lipstick ... new tea flavors ... my St. Francis community and a great lesson on faith... how gratitude turns everything into enough
Happy Monday!!
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Our community garden dreamed of having a canning workshop last season, but with all the work days creating the actual garden, we ran out of time to can. We made canning a priority this season and scheduled a whole Saturday to hang out in the kitchen together. Two of our garden committee members are canning queens (and one is a master preserver!) and were kind enough to teach the rest of us the canning process. We opened the workshop up to all of our gardeners and used garden funds to offset the workshop cost so that finances wouldn't keep anyone from learning. The day was divided into two parts: tomatoes in the morning and pears in the afternoon. Everything seemed to go a lot faster with all the people we had helping, and before I knew it we had several dozen jars full of beautiful food. Each participant went home with a jar of tomatoes and pears. We were all so excited, and I feel I am so excited to can more and now that I know the basic skills, I feel confident enough to can on my own now. Just need to pick up my own canning kit, and I'm set! Please excuse the weird quality of these photos. I took them with my mid grade camera in weird light, and this was the best I could with them. If you're interested in learning to can, you can check with your local community center, library, university extension program, or nature/ecology center. There's lots of workshops out there if you keep your eye open for them. Pickyourown.org is also a great resource to check out for canning information and recipes. We used this recipe for our tomatoes and this recipe for our pears.
Have you canned before? So I know I've been a bit MIA this week. Our camera had to go to the shop for lens repair, and picture taking hasn't been quite as easy or as awesome without it. The new and improved camera arrived Tuesday night, and I feel much more settled now that I have it back. Strange how much photography has become part of my life. Strange but also nice.
I snapped a couple photos of my pups on our morning walk yesterday. I've really been enjoying these walks with them in our new neighborhood. They seem to enjoy the sights and smells, and I enjoy that they go to the bathroom more quickly than they did in our old neighborhood. We met our first dog friend - some type of old sandy dog named Seinfeld (my brain is incapable of remembering dog breeds other than labs, beagles, and anything ending in -poo). Paul and I spent some time cuddling with "the boys" last night, and we all seemed happier as a result. I really needed that fun time with them. Pedro and Diego can act so obnoxious - with the chewing and the howling and the jumping and the peeing in the house - I need that fun time to remember how adorable and snuggly they are. It also helps hearing Paul have mini "conversations" with them. Pedro's always had a voice that matches the dog from UP, and Diego now has a voice that is amusingly much higher pitched than Pedro's. But it matches him so well. P.S. This is our new awesome front porch. Our downstairs neighbors seem to think it's a great idea to store their couch upside-down out here, but I still love it. Hosting a very successful canning workshop this weekend (more photos to come!) ... celebrating our parish feast day and feeling so energized ... homemade "from scratch" mac n cheese ... a date night to see Gravity ... another date night to our neighborhood gelatto shop ... weekend naps ... falling leaves ... looking forward to some great events this week ... feeling motivated at work ... having a job I enjoy going to ... trying new recipes ... visiting with other former Jesuit Volunteers in Milwaukee ... when the years of hard work building new friendships and a new community pays off with a feeling of being home ... having a partner who shares household responsibilities ... living a few blocks away from a beautiful park and lake ... autumn outfits ... making a commitment to exercise and eat healthier ...my parents visit this weekend!!!
Diego: 3. Library books: 0. It's been that kind of week. The kind where you have a long day at work and come home to the lifeless remains of a beautiful library book - and the victorious howls of a loud, ear-infected beagle.
This week has been hard. I feel drained and tired from busyness at work and home. A friend had her foster child taken away. Another friend is worried that her friend's boyfriend is abusive. Paul and I have been picking fights like siblings. And I'm pretty sure little minions are sneaking inside my room every night and shrinking my pants (because it couldn't possibly be all the ice cream I've been eating that is causing them not to fit). And all this is on top of the grief and sadness we're still dealing with. On top of the stress of living away from both of our families and many of our good friends. On top of the uncertainty of not knowing what city we'll settle down in. BUT. And here's the big but. Even though life is hard, it is still so good. The weather has been so gorgeous. The colors in our neighborhood look like they could have been painted by someone. Our neighbors love our beagles and are magically tolerating their howling. I met a dog named Seinfeld this morning. We have built a wonderful Milwaukee community that is very life giving. I have a colorful $5 bouquet of flowers brightening my office. I found all the tomatoes for our canning workshop this weekend for $25 (photos to come next week). My acupuncture appointment made my shoulders feel a million times better. I love my job. I was able to tell a person without health insurance (and with a terrible heart condition) that he could buy affordable insurance January 1. Fro-yo is amazing. Accepting the reality that life is both hard and good is part of the reason I started this blog. I had developed a bad habit of focusing on the hard and forgetting the good, and it was turning me bitter. Blogging has been helpful over the past month especially - when I have felt angry and annoyed at the world, but I can still pull it together enough to write a positive post. The practice has been good for my well being and overall happiness. And that is all I have to say this week. I hope you have had a great week and can think of a few things that have been positive. And as always, hope you have a fantastic weekend! I learned to focus on the positive in my blogging from Emily over at Today's Letters. I highly recommend her blog. Another few blogs that are excellent at this: Love Taza, Say Yes! Change Things, and Petal and Plume. They always put me in a good mood. Do you have any blogs that make you happy? I am very excited and surprised to report that I have completed one of my four simple goals. This weekend, I visited Amaranth Bakery and Cafe, one of the local bakeries I've been wanting to try. A friend of mine used to bake bread for their bakery, and I had heard lots of good things about Amaranth's atmosphere and food. Paul and I rode our bikes a quick five minutes there and picked out lunch (Paul) and dessert (me). I loved the decorations and design, loved the owner (who asked me if I was from Homeland Security), and loved the food and casual atmosphere. Amaranth exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to go back. It doesn't hurt that it gives me a great excuse to ride my bike! Do you have a favorite local bakery?
Today Finding Joy is featuring a guest post from my friend Kate from Say Yes! Change Things. We met while we were volunteering in Syracuse, New York, and we recenlty reconnected through the blogging world. I love Kate's reflections on her blog, and I am so happy to share her thoughts with you! When in the summer, Mary asked me if I would guest post, I jumped at the chance! I love Mary's words and felt honored to be asked. But, I may have overlooked the new and radical change that was upcoming: GRADUATE SCHOOL! Nevertheless, I wanted to write. Yet, have not found the time to let alone think these words, lest even write them. Further, once school began, the focus became adjustment. Survival. Transition. So where is joy? I find myself challenged to answer this honestly. The gut reaction is "What? Joy? I don't know! I'm so overwhelmed as it is, who has time to contemplate joy?". Oh, what's that inner voice? Me! Joy elements from today:
One thing I don't want to loose in graduate school is balance. This means moments to explore, to laugh, to love, to find incredible joy. Whether it's yoga one day, and improv show another, or a deep belly laugh with new friends, these moments are the essence of my joy. Sure, finding and honoring this necessity will be different than before, but I am committed because balance and joy are deeply intertwined. So, for me, I want to still seek and be surprised by the moments of joy that abound, especially in the busyness. Life won't always be at this frenetic pace. But while it is, its' important to find my joy. It's my essence. Photos by Mary.
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