wouldn't it be fun....

to meet all the lovely people I read about in blogworld. to reach out my arms and say thankyou for the words and the pictures and the beauty shared, quite often, to perfect strangers. When I started blogging I was unsure of how good a thing it could really be. The temptation to be overly self absorbed. to escape into a community that was really not very real. I still worry about these things sometimes, but mostly I have found a good deal of beauty out there in the land of blog, and for that...i say thankyou.

here are two strangers, that i wish were less strange...to me, that is.

• cassia showed me this superhero when I started being open about our difficulties with having a baby. i really really think this person is a beautiful human. too bad she lives so.far.away.

• i never met this girl when we were in st. louis, but she has great recipes and good stories. the bread in the picture was a recipe I used from ann's blog. it was very very good.
  

and of course, to those of you I know, keep blogging. I like seeing your faces and hearing your words, even if I cannot always be in your presence.

oh, in 6 hours i will be 31. wow.

a new year, anticipated

I am very ready for a new year. a soul cleansing. more exercise. less yuck. more liturgical life. more fruit, less caffeine. more magic. more bread making, wine, and people around my table. less dog hair. new kitchen. i intend to give more hugs, get less mad at people for not being perfect, sit on my porch more. more walks with the dog. visit st louis. pray. and laugh alot. wait better. take deep breaths.

holiday

holiday chronicles

well, our holiday travels have begun! josh and i left on a very rainy friday to come to atlanta. though the traffic was awful, we got to go here and here

today we went to the art museum. it was a beautiful day to see art. now we are home. more pics to come

picture of the week

little man

good idea, leslie

leslie sent me some beautiful handmade cards for Christmas and I love them. I loved them so much that I copied her. I needed some last minute Christmas gifts, and these did the trick! Thanks Les....

music genome project

Meet Pandora. Josh got me hooked on this. Type in someone you want to hear, and then Pandora plays all kinds of music in the same genre.

southside folk and target

Hello fellow southside blog readers.

I go to Target for groceries. alot. I tried Walmart, it just scares me. Publix is outragous. It really is very very expensive. Target, I can deal with. Its not the cheapest (scary walmart is). but its alot cheaper than publix. the only thing is... the dreaded 280. I was beginning to feel the same angst about 280 as I did with scary Wal-mart. until today.

God. love. Trussville.

I did it. I have been wondering if it were just as close to drive all the way to Trussville. It was. it took me 18 minutes from my house to the parking lot, and you drive fast the whole way. I loved the whole experience. It was quiet. I felt like I was in another town (I guess I was, actually). And, it was better. They had better stuff, they really did.

you should try it. and then be a loser like me and blog about it:)

thanksgiving prayer

two funny conversations with a little girl

So josh and I had thanksgiving with some friends from his work. We were in town, because I was on call for the holiday at the hospital. I know this family somewhat, very nice people. We gather to pray before our meal. Little girl wants to pray.

"dear God. Thankyou for Thanksgiving. and please let the jareds have children. amen"

pause. awkward silence. we sit. I say thankyou, I needed that prayer (I really did). I am pretty desparate these days. I think to myself, maybe this is a sign!

We eat. She looks at me.

"I never met a wife with out a children"

pause. drink a sip of wine. I smile. I say something like, "I am kind of weird". she eats her turkey.

So what seemed like a prophetic prayer might have really been that she found me to be a very strange wife. without a children.

kids. love them. i really do.

put the lights on the tree

the lights are up. whoo. hoo.

sissy

sissy was our family dog. we got her when I was in 9th grade, maybe even before. She was very small. a miniature daschsund. she was a yappy little dog, and I admit I kept my distance from her at times. I remember thinking once how much of my life she had seen. She saw alot in her 17 years. she was a good dog. my grandmother (who is a legend all on her own) had adopted cissy this past year. she's been keeping watch over that little dog's soul for so many months- and today little cissy went to sleep. 17 years. that's quite a life for a such a little thing. I feel pretty sad, because its difficult to say goodbye. but then there's mary. my dear grandmother. I cannot tell you how much she reminds of that patty griffin song, also named "mary"...

"Jesus says Mother I couldn't stay another day longer
He flys right by and leaves a kiss upon her face
While the angels are singin' his praises in a blaze of glory
Mary stays behind and starts cleaning up the place"

When I spoke with my mary this morning, She cried. I asked what she was going to do today- that it was ok to be sad, you know. She said she was getting out soup cans. She was planning a thanksgiving meal. and then she needed to clean up the place.


on an unrelated note. it's old school R.E.M. day. I've been listening to this little jewel all day long. a little vintage comfort always helps the sadness go away.

b.jared photos

here goes.

sleepy dog

I know noone really cares about my little beast, but I love her and sometimes I let her sleep on the couch. It's like getting a free nite at the Ritz.  

stop the madness

There are Christmas decorations everywhere. Seriously. It is October 31.

why i am falling in love with my community group

"if I got thrown in jail, my mom wouldn't bail my ass out....she'd mail me a stack of bibles"

and yes, you had to be there. but it was pretty darn funny.

crafty.

fall does strange things to me. on the one hand i want to be outside all the time. breathing in and out, in and out..because its been so long since i could. but then, i have this other part me that says, hunker down, get cozy, and sleep. ahhhh, how i love to slumber. I am not a sleep until noon kind of person. but i love naps, whenever they happen. mid morning, mid afternoon. whenever, i love a nap. i have also gotten kind of crafty. this weekend i made this. proud. very proud.

little river canyon

we took a day trip to little river canyon. it was such a beautiful Saturday. we skipped rocks. sat on this cliff. see above. ran into some serious rednecks and a motorcycle gang. gotta love the wilderness in alabama. 

new obsession

I can't stop playing this

walking the line between faith and fear...when you cry, i taste the salt in your tears.

we're all in this thing together. these are words to a good song, as are the words of the title of this post. i have been thinking about this song today, by old crow medicine show. i think God is changing me in surprising ways. a difficult thing for me to admit at times, is how detached i live in the world. i think people check out in a myriad of ways. some run marathons. some drink. some smoke. some scrapbook. whatever works for you. i have taken a more holistic approach if you will. keep it safe. distance. try not feel....anything. don't feel love. don't feel a buzz. minimize the stimuli, stay numb.

but, as i said. things, they are a changing. the tears are starting to fall more easily. and not just for myself. but for others. i sat on a porch last nite, in the fall nite, with home-made margaritas and smokes, with people i know, and people i'd like to know better. it really was a beautiful mess. i mostly listened, and laughed some. but it was a strange laughter, the kind that brings comfort in the nite. the kind that knows when the moment is over, the sadness still lingers, but you laugh anyway, because its comfort and a gift, of sorts. and it was a gift, this nite, because i could feel every feeling with such intensity.

i am learning to live in a world where the rules are not as clear as i would like. where people feel crushed and wounded and they have no idea how to be a christian, but they are trying. i am learning that you don't always know the whole story, or the whole person, and to think you do, deprives people of the mystery and care with which they were made. I am learning that there is evil in all of us, and that God's grace can seep in, even in the foulest of human situations. I am learning.....

fall

finally. finally it is fall-ish here. i love the fall. i love it for its blue skies and orange leaves. i love it for chili and soup and hot tea. i love it for walks and hikes and driving. i know fall means things will die, but it just makes me feel like i can get by.

last weekend i went to the gulf with my dear college friends. i had a serious hangover from the 72 hour conversation we participated in. it was lovely, and i miss them already.

on another note, a song made me cry today. her name is lori mckenna. the song is fireflies. its the kind of song you grab onto, and hold it for dear life. sometimes i get so far from where i came from that i forget what it was i wanted. the song reminded me.

so scared

i hate to even make fun of my sweet dog, but its pretty funny, odd, whatever, to come home and find your 150 lb dog with her head in the corner. she is really scared of rain. this is her safe place, or so she thinks. i feel bad for her, i really do...

 

thai curry...yum.

we made this dish tonite, and it was quite good, for those who like to indulge in a little ethnic cuisine. here's the recipe. it has a bite, so if you don't like spicy, then go easy on the curry paste. this will feed at least 6 people; and it's really quite inexpensive.

thai curry with chicken

first suggestion: if you have an asian market near you, i would get the coconut milk and the red curry paste from there. it's better, and it's cheaper.

what you'll need:

1 onion/ sliced
1 bell pepper/ sliced
2 cloves garlic/ minced
1 can red curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
2 chicken breasts/ sliced
2 cups rice/ steamed

go ahead and start your rice while you are making the sauce
saute onions and garlic in olive oil...however much you want
add bell peppers, let them get a bit soft
add curry paste (i bought a small can; but it's a liberal amount)
mix all together for a minute or two
add the coconut milk
let the sauce get hot, so that you see it bubble (you want sauce to be hot enough to cook the chicken)
add raw chicken, let it cook for 10 minutes or so, until chicken is cooked through
serve over rice!

sooo good.

re: four letter words

this is one of those subjects where i seemingly get to make up the rules for myself, but everyone else should adhere to a fairly strict use of proper language at all times, which means, keep your curse words to yourself. This really is something I wrestle with quite a bit. I do say curse words (gasp, I know, shocking). However, I do have this law loving side of me that says, bad words= bad person. but i also have this let's be real part of me that says, well, sometimes the four letter word, whichever suits your fancy, is the only one that fits a given situation. what a conundrum.

i think there is something to be said for manners. for taking into consideration your audience. that maybe not laying out one's display of colorful four letter words could be a way of being selfless, loving, God forbid, polite.

and then sometimes, that forbidden word may be the most loving thing you could say.

either way, words matter, they say something about us whether we like it or not, and i think that there is some wisdom in considering the virtue, or lack thereof, of the beloved curse word.

listen, i can be as fundagelical as the next guy. it's alot easier to fool myself into thinking that if I do x,y, and z, then i'm all right with jesus. this is bad.

but to think jesus doesn't care about words, and how i use them, seems foolish, too. for a man who cared so much about man's heart, and used his own words to break ours, well...it just seems like words our connected to what's inside us...and jesus had alot to say about that.

all that to say, sometimes i say shit. and then sometimes, i am sorry for it.

to share, or not to share?

this is a wierd thing to post, and i am not even sure that i will when its all said and done, but it is a big, gigantic part of life right now, and to not write seems weird, too. so the subject is about a baby, and how we are not having one, yet. i have never been a dreamy kind of person. i don't know if i was born with old genes that saw the world all distorted way before i should have, but i have never expected things to just happen "as they ought". I suppose I have expected some rejection and failure along the way. This is life, right. I am growing in this, or should i say out of this, slowly. trying to see the beauty and hope in things. but this, this baby thing, or lack of a baby thing, is a real drag. and this is where it gets weird. does everyone really want to know about all your failed attempts at making a baby? i suppose not, nor do i particularly want to recount them to you, o world of blog. But, but, but....many of you are my friends and family, and you should know, this is hard. really hard.

so, if you are of the praying kind. you can pray for us. even as i write this, i am overcome with something akin to holy laughter. i mean, really, you have to admit that i am, in essence, asking you to pray that a certain sperm might meet a certain egg, preferably soon, and well....that is just weird. but it's real.

and if this seems taboo, for some of my more "mature" readers, please forgive me. just think of it as science.

vanity.

i got a new haircut today. pardon my weird facial expression. 

sigh.

this has been a crazy month, so the posting has been light. sorry. i really don't even know where to start, as so many things seemed to have happened, yet not to me, per se. A good friend had a baby, and then her dad passed away suddenly. another good friend lost his brother. my grandmother got injured at Lowe's because some punk wasn't paying attention and dropped something on her. isn't that just crazy? she's ok, but still? and then my dear friend from work, just three weeks ago, noticed a lump on her neck. She started chemo yesterday for Hodgkins Lymphoma. she had not felt sick. nothing, and then a dr. tells you are sick. really sick. crazy. really crazy, i say. so I was with her yesterday, along with some other friends of hers, as they pushed 20 cc's of red chemo into her port. that was wild. the nurse said the drug would burn your skin if you touched it. I am a nurse, but that was...well, it was strange. but... my friend is brave and unafraid and is going to fight this with everything she is, and i love her for that. so last nite after a day in the chemo room, errands, lots of heat, and gigantic headache, i went to sleep. i dreamed about red chemo drugs all nite.

a good dish

hello dear people who read this blog. i made this really good spinach quiche the other day and it is so easy, good, and a keeper. it makes a enough filling for two quiches, which is even better. you can freeze it. eat it. whatever. I froze mine and then cooked it a few days later...and it tasted great. and don't freak out about the fat content of this recipe. it does stretch over two quiches, and you know, everything in moderation. also, if you are like me, sometimes quiches are to eggy...this is not. also, for you mayonaise freaks (those who hate it), it does have mayo, but you can't taste it, so try to get over it.

spinach quiche

4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup minced onions
Salt and garlic powder ...to taste
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach (you'll need to defrost it a bit, so you can mix it)
2 premade piecrusts (i bought the frozen, already in the pan kind)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, mayonnaise, and flour. Add the remaining ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the the two crusts and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is golden brown. make sure the eggs have set. i only cooked one at a time, and mine was frozen so i cooked it a bit longer....

oddly tall?

so i bought this painting yesterday for our living room. i have been looking for just the right thing to go on a very blank brown wall. the people are oddly tall and weird, so i am not sure exactly why i liked it, but i do. funny, as josh and i are barely 5 ft 5 inches.

i'm thinking

someone on another blog posed the question...what are you thinking about today? here goes.

i'm thinking....

• is it ever going to rain again?
• north korea scares the ##?x out of me
• two weeks of vacation has been really nice
• is work really that important?
• my dog really is cooler than any other dog
• how many headaches can one endure in a week (i am going on #3)
• how can i convince myself that painting the kitchen this weekend is going to be real fun
• i think about sweet tea way too much.
• st louis is better than birmingham, but jobs are good. especially ones you like.
• dub-ya needs to bring the boys home.
• i think i want mexican food tonite
• but first, i am going out to get a sweet tea. right now. seriously. right now i am going.

i like this

i've been listening to this cd and i really like it. that's all.

more beach and a few sharks

josh and i went to a state park this morning, just down the road. it was naked. just sand and fish and a few people pointing. yes, as i was about to literally dive in the clear blue water and swim with all the little creatures in the ocean bliss, something said wait. josh walks up behind me, as does a ranger, who very calmly says, " there are bull sharks in the water". hold please. back peddle. sad, angry, intrigued...where where where? we walked to the pointing people. and there they were. everywhere....swimming there little aggressive selves all over the place. later, josh wanted to get in just to cool off. i was on the look out and sure enough one was coming right in. i have swimmed in the ocean all of my life. i love love love the beach. but today i went shopping.

beach

we are having a great time at the beach this week with josh's family. the water is brilliant. we all went kayaking today on the ocean and it was a blast....

good words

the second coming is my favorite walker percy novel. i find it the most hopeful...and these are by far my favorite words to my favorite ending of my favorite book.

"will barrett stopped the old priest at the door and gazed into his face. the bad eye spun and the good eye looked back at him fearfully: what do you want of me? What do i want of him, mused will barrett, and suddenly realized he had gripped the old man's wrist as if he were a child. the bones were like dry sticks. he let go and fell back. for some reason the old man did not move but looked at him with a new odd expression. will barrett thought about allie and her greenhouse, her wide gray eyes, her lean muscled boy's arms, her strong quick hands. his heart lept with secret joy. what is it i want from her and him, he wondered, not only want but must have? is she a gift and therefore a sign of a giver? could it be that the Lord is here, masquerading behind this simple silly holy face? am i crazy to want both, her and Him? no, not want, must have. and will have."

slide.

landlords, in scotland

what you see here in this picture is the land we own in scotland. it is exactly one square foot. you, too, can be a land owner. just buy some whisky from here.

doo dah day

one cool thing birmingham does is doo dah day. it's a bring your dog out kind of party with music and parades and lots of dogs. our neighbors call it doo doo day. of course, other pets are welcome. i saw some ferrets. i don't know even know how you spell those creatures, but they really creep me out. all in all, it was a good time, and now we know for sure that we have the coolest dog. ever.

rhodes family grows

my friend tirzah had her second baby. meet robert .

an exercise in listening

josh's seniors graduated last nite, and it was really great. i was feeling somewhat cynical about it all, to be honest. you go to enough ceremonies in your life and they cease to surprise you, inspire you, etc...maybe my memories of highschool are less than fond, but then again, i didn't get what these kids have already gotten at such a young age- a rich, well-nourished education.( dad, don't get mad, i am really thankful for all of my PAID education)...i digress, there was nothing pompous about this little ceremony. they had recieved wisdom, a diploma, and then they were charged to be humble with it, to remember that the education on its own was rubbish. they were told to remember their literary heros, among other things. and i cried. maybe i cried because i found out about literary heros a whole decade after highschool. maybe i cried because i have seen how much josh has given these kids this year, how lucky they are to have someone labor over their education. maybe i cried because my cynical heart made an appearance and was put to shame by kind, honest, and humble words.

if you get the chance, have someone read romans 12 to you out loud; somewhere other than church or community group or whatever spiritual circles you gather in. have someone read it to you at dinner, after a long day, after you've read a million things that made you mad, or said a million things without a care, or whatever you did. one of the teachers read this last nite, very slowly, and i felt comfort only God can give. words that heal and give courage in a mad mad world.

so much to think about

i have spent most of my sunday morning thinking, reading, and sleeping. i have been reading alot of blogs today, some people i know, some i don't. i am encouraged by the honest conversation...and then i am discouraged...sometimes, in the same moment. it seems like a lot of people are pretty mad at the world. i can understand this. i get mad alot. it seems like alot of people love and hate the church. i get this, too. josh laughs at me alot because i often introduce statements, or close statements with.. "that's the dumbest thing i ever heard". there are variations on this, of course, but it always includes the word dumb. not the most sophisticated term, i know. but i have been thinking alot about this, the way i use words to judge the world and words i hear.

as i read these blogs, it seems that what most people want is to be understood. all the verbal assault and attempts at honesty are really just a cry...please understand me. i suppose some people just want be to be right, but i think more just want shalom. funny how we try to get it....words, words, and more words.

i heard margie haack speak once on authenticity...(ransomfellowship.org). she spoke of post modern infatuation with authenticity. she said there is an honesty that is destructive and an honesty that is....i can't remember her exact words...but the idea was redemptive. she played these two movies to explain the concept. the first was high fidelity. sadly, it was one of the funnier scenes...when the yuppy dad comes in the record store and asks about a cd for his daughter..jack black rips into the poor guy for asking about such a ridiculous cd...its pretty funny. but this was the bad example, the one that shows destructive honesty. darn it.

the other film was jane austin's emma...the scene is in a meadow and all the friends are eating strawberries, and emma (gwenyth paltrow) makes a snide remark towards a lady who is poorer, uglier, more awkward than she. she is immediately given the evil eye by her friend mr. knightly...and later rebuked harshly for her inconsiderate, ungraceful actions....an example of honesty that is meant for the purpose of redemption...showing emma the way the world is always broken, and the need to be gracious to those whose place in life has landed them in more desparate circumstances. the words he used were meant for redemption, not destruction....yet they were painfully honest. basically he said "emma, you were an ass"

i have returned to this often in my thoughts. when i want to say whatever want....i ponder if i am having a jack black moment or mr. knightly moment.

it's usually jack....

she really is that big

sometimes i have to see a picture of welsie to be reminded of her large-ness. i don't really see her as big or horse-like, though people walk a little faster when they see her on our porch. i wonder if this is how people justify getting bigger and bigger houses. i wonder if when you live among giant things, the world just seems smaller. i at least can have some compassion now...but in the end, my dog is a giant, and to admit otherwise is quite ridiculous.

a garden of my own

flowers. 

herbs. 

a new place

a friend recently has asked me to talk about life here in Birmingham, our new church, and what that's all like. One thing that I love, and the one thing that keeps me from going mad, is that white people have actually moved their families into the city, into this little neighorhood in Southside, and called it home. I have neighbors that are also in my worshipping community, and i like that. it's important i think. when i was small, we knew everyone on our street. i can still go house by house and tell you who lived there and if i ever ate dinner at their home. it was safe in all the ways home and community are supposed to be, and i have wanted that ever since. southside is a bit more ghetto. i have bars on my windows, and someone recently stole our lawnmower. this is frustrating, and yet expected. but i do have neighbors who care and in some small way are becoming a part of my family.

it is difficult to leave a place you love, and return to a place you liked. st louis was like a dear old grandfather to me. it cared and taught me things i could not know because of my youth. it showed me the fruits of history, and the trail of tears that comes with that. it gave me a great cloud of witnesses...and then said be on your way, feed my sheep.

our little church here is an infant. young in history and demographic. sometimes it feels like the first time my mom let me stay at home by myself. God actually trusts us to do this?

i wish i could say i love everything about this church. i don't. it feels awkward sometimes..like we have a body, but all the parts are disconnected, kind of like when a baby realizes he has toes. they are not sure what to do with them, so they just bite them. it's strange, and this church feels strange...and i suppose i am a part of that strangeness.

so what i am learning is that some things are worth fighting for---even if i feel like i worship where we're all eating our toes instead of walking on them.

i think of annie dillard..."A high school stage play is more polished than this service we have been rehearsing since the year one. In two thousand years, we have not worked out the kinks. We positively glorify them. Week after week we witness the same miracle: that God is so mighty he can stifle his own laughter. Week after week, we witness the same miracle: that God, for reasons unfathomable, refrains from blowing our dancing bear act to smithereens. Week after week Christ washes the disciples' feet, handles their very toes, and repeats; it is all right -- believe it or not -- to be people. Who can believe it?"

going home and coming home

we drove all day. back home, leaving home. home is strange, no matter where it is or was. St. Louis was beautiful this weekend. It was Spring's first appearance there and it felt new and hopeful. We drove to many of our old haunts. We settled in like we never left. I suppose this is where the sadness and strangeness kiss. We are home, but we are not. We are here, but we will not stay.

Josh and I realized this weekend that perhaps what we miss the most is the wisdom we met there. The wisdom of kurt and susan. ted and gladys. bob and sandra. ron and kathy...to name a few. beautiful people, ahead of us on this road of life. examples of hope to come. hope that we can be 50 or 60 or 80 and care about the world and the church and a 30 year old married couple. we are lucky people, and miss their presence.

We missed church this morning to drive back, well, home. I wanted one more piece of wisdom. One more memory of a place I love. one more word to feed my soul.

I was thankful to read this blog when I got home. I got my word.

heading north

Josh and I are heading to St. Louis this weekend for our dear friend Maria's wedding. We are thrilled to be heading back to our last home. If you are around we will be at Meshugga sometime Friday morning. We'll be the ones with big grins and cream cheese bagels.

here comes the sun

the weather has been perfect here the last few days. i have loved and needed it. i could feel the vitiman d making all things new within me. we now have one of those good "suthern" porches with rocking chairs. so nice to sip tea and watch the crazies pass by. josh and i watched a man pass by with a suitcase and lots of bags. he just waved to anyone who would look and spoke something, though not understandable. i love our little neighborhood, but it is...how shall i say....interestin'.

i am shocked by how my accent has returned with such strength....like i never left. josh is becoming quite the southern gent, too. he taught on the civil war this past week and decided that if we ever had a boy, maybe we could name him "bobby lee jared" (a.k.a. robert e. lee)

wierd things happen to people down here.

on another note, you should watch this video of some twins here in town....hysterical.

black and white and grey all over

perhaps one of my greatest strengths and weaknesses(these things have a way of being one in the same) is the need for things to be right and true. The expectation upon my fellow neighbor to be anything other than this is, well, well beyond what any person this side of heaven could be. Ironically, the standard upon my own soul is much less demanding. Floundering is ok when its me. Somehow I have convinced myself that my own inconsistencies are less damaging. What a hoot. And yet there is something valuable in seeing what is false. I see something in a person and I think, this is hurting you. you think you are being honest, but its really just destructive. It's love, sometimes, that drives this wanting for things to be right. Sometimes, however, the wanting for things to be right actually keeps me from people. My patience grows weak, and the stupidity of it all overwhelms the patience I need to love and the wisdom I need to see that I, too, have my own bag of tricks that hurt people, the church, God. I, in some small way, have been convinced of the value of community. There is something about food and space and people that make the world seem right again, safe, home. But then, we are people, right, and when the music fades and plates are caked over with our leftovers, something else real is revealed. the gaze starts to shift inward, and all i think about are how none of this is right, really really right. it's a mess, even, and I have had enough. So the joke is on me. What's black and white and grey all over? i think it's me.

a walk on the beach

Josh and I went to the beach this weekend. We had a beautiful walk on the beach Saturday morning. There was a thick fog over the ocean, which made you feel like you were somewhere other than Florida. Somewhere North. Somewhere in England. Far Far Away. We are back, in Alabama. South. Very South.

black beans and rice avec turkey sausage

josh has been pestering me to write another entry. i am not having any profound thoughts as of late. i just started reading a good book recommended to me by a new friend, cassia. it is called gilead. i have only read a few pages, but already it reads like a river. (cassia described it this way, and i must say i agree) it is written in the form of a letter, which is probably why i like it, and well, that's about all i can say seeing that i have hardly read the book. so, though i have few thoughts to share, i do have a nice recipe that i made up tonite with some ingredients i rounded up from the pantry and the freezer. i don't have exact measurements...so consider the spices as1/2 teaspoons...add to your liking.

you need:

1 small onion (not tiny, just one that comes in those big bags)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 pack of turkey sausage( has two links..i used healthy choice)...cut them up into slices
cilantro(1/2 cup or so)
olive oil
cayenne pepper
cumin
chili powder
salt and pepper
garlic-1 large clove
2/3 cup water
rice..however much you want

directions:

saute onion and garlic in olive oil (1 T or so)
add spices; beans(rinsed and drained); and 1/3 cup of water
simmer on low heat (add some water if gets too dry)
in another pan cook sliced sausage..doesn't take long..
add to bean mixture
you may want to add some water

continue to simmer (you want it to thicken)
add cilantro (small handful)

cook rice

serve bean/sausage mixture over rice
garnish with cilantro and sourcream

bon appetite

welsie's cousin, henry 

love me