A Tender Farewell

Sarah Margaret and I had a nice conversation over BBQ chicken at the end of Mother's Day weekend. I think we bonded. She left me with this:

Well hello, fogies

This is Al. Thanks for outing me, Boogs. I mean about my pathetic first attempt at nonchalant quasi-clever charm. I thought it was gone forever. But no such luck on the www, so it seems. So how did you do that cool font stuff and pictures? Oh, yes, on that toolbar just above where I'm typing. Fascinating.

Great work on the black bean quesadillas! Guess what we had tonight? Not that. But something involving black beans and tortillas. Great minds! I made, yes made the tortillas using Deborah Madison's recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I'm so proud! We had a version of huevos rancheros, only I can't exactly remember precisely what that is, but it was easy, cheap, and tasty! Soft, warm, homemade tortilla on the bottom (mmm . . .), then black beans, then shredded cheese, then two over-easy eggs, topped with salsa (really just mild Rotel from the can b/c I had it on hand), sour cream, and cilantro. Oh, and Charlie added verde sauce. "It wath . . . delishouth." (Are we supposed to explain everything?)

Charlie is putting the girls down AND cleaning the kitchen while I, uh, write a test for my class tomorrow, so, I can post no longer with a clean conscience. I mean this post, not ever. Sarah, I'm glad you started the recipeeps. (And way to go making mayo!! So did you have to pour in the oil in a slow, steady stream? I've never made it, but I think I remember reading that.)

Chipotle "Sauce"

Al! You're so amazing! and creative. I love that you wrote your own screwtape letter...though Chris said it was almost like adding to the cannon of Scripture. (what a dweedle.)

You're so right, though, to examine the subtleties behind our criticisms or 'assessments'. That's something I've become more aware of myself recently. A friend of mine is having a really difficult time (and has been for several months), and I've noticed a simultaneous growing intensity in her critiques of others. As a mutual friend said, 'Don't criticize me because you're unhappy.' That's made me think about what's behind my own critiques and criticisms of others: what's going on inside of me that has led me to interpret others negatively? BUT that still leaves us with the problem that you bring up, Al: the subtle tweaking we make of our criticisms that turns them into something seemingly more benign. Oh, the necessity of prayer! Sometimes we can't even discern our own selves.... :)

So Al made an awesome little intro at the beginning of her post about shedding the 'pressure' to be witty and insightful, etc. She then went on to write a post that packed spiritual punch (mmmm...punch!) concisely and eloquently. It's my turn to post now, and I'm wondering if it's okay to just write about the delicious black bean quesadillas we made from the Flying Biscuit cookbook!! I guess it's too late :)

Here are some shots of our big adventure (obviously, 'adventure' is a relative term...we're such homebodies):

And the chipotle sauce actually tastes like it does at the Biscuit! Oh, and here is what I realized: it's mayonnaise. it's chipotle mayonnaise. Chris had tasted the sauce from the restaurant and really liked it, so he was excited to make it at home. In my head I thought, Uh oh...I bet this sauce has mayonnaise in it, and Chris hates mayonnaise. As I made it--blending the peppers with an egg yoke and lots and lots and lots of oil, it occurred to me that, really, I was making mayonnaise....it wasn't just an ingredient; it was the thing itself. Who knew people could make mayonnaise??!!!

In closing, I was just looking at the list of posts we have (you know, behind the scenes stuff--we've a lot to learn), and there were four. There was the first one (Introducing...), Al's First Ever Blog Post, and now this one, but there was another little post stuck between the very first and second posts which simply said, "Well, hello fogies. This is Al." I clicked the expand arrow to see the rest, but that was it. :) Thanks, Al.

My Very First Ever Blog Post!

This is Al entering my first ever blog post. I'm a little nervous. I feel like I have to be witty and casual and insightful and charming and endearing. But I'm also attracted by having an outlet for writing some of my thoughts which otherwise never get written down. So I'll just start with what is at the forefront of my mind today.

I'm reading The Screwtape Letters for the first time. I know, pretty pathetic for a Wheaton grad. Betsy and I agree that it is so "helpful," a non-descript sounding word perhaps, but perfectly fitting in this case. In case you haven't read it, The Screwtape Letters is a novel by C. S. Lewis that is written as a collection of letters from Screwtape, a senior demon, to his young nephew Wormwood. Screwtape gives Wormwood advice about how to best attack the newly-converted Christian to whom he's been assigned. Reading Lewis's speculation of the strategies used by the forces of evil against Christians is making me see my everyday challenges in a new, clarifying light. I'm thinking about what may be going on in the larger spiritual picture when I'm tempted to holler at my girls, snap at my husband, or go sullenly through my day because not everything is going exactly as I would like. And I also have started examining more closely attitudes or thoughts that I wouldn't have questioned before, seeing if there may be deception lurking there to which I've been oblivious. So. Here is the latest spiritual communication I "overheard" behind a conversation I recently had with a friend. I think they've advanced to e-mail now.

Wormwood,
If your subject is confronted with teaching regarding an area in which the Enemy would like her to develop (e.g. studying scripture, maturing in prayer, serving the poor, etc.), encourage her thoughts first toward evaluating the teacher rather than the truth of the teaching. That way, if someone challenges her to, for example, spend more and better time in prayer, she will first observe the teacher's tendency to "overemphasize" personal piety over corporate religion and private holiness over social justice. Suggest terms like "extreme" and "balanced," "limited" and "holistic." But don't go too far in your rhetoric -- using terms that are too negative may signal to her that she has a critical spirit, and the whole effort will be lost. By careful choice of terminology that will not distract her from our aim, you can turn dangerous teaching into an opportunity for judgmentalism toward a fellow (and probably more mature) believer and false pride in her own "balanced" spirituality.

Screwtape