So Be It.: February 2008

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Yummy yummy food!!

Jeff and I have just discovered that Portland has two winter markets open in the farmer's market "off season". The one that we have visited is the one in Hillsdale, about 20 minutes from our house. Both Sundays that we have gone have been cold and windy yet I'm amazed how many people are willing to brave any weather for good local produce. And, the abundance and variety was pretty impressive! I talked with a lot of the vendors, most of which are organic, and have learned a lot already about what you can grow out of season, within reason of course, if you have a green house :). The couple in the right picture sell incredible eggs from pasture fed, free roaming chickens. They are really tasty, but usually sell out in 15 minutes (so I get there 1/2 hour early to stand in line :)! We also found a guy that ranches buffalo, and sells elk that he hunts. Jeff and I have been buying the ground buffalo, and oh man... it's good. I'm SO happy we found this place, and it has become the source of the majority of our food now. Cheese, milk, veggies and fruit in season, meat, nuts, beans, bread... they have it all. So, if you live around here, I recommend going. Farmer's markets aren't just for summer anymore, thank goodness!!

Really Weird Behavior

OK, I didn't think this actually ever happened in reality, but it does! And it happened to me, with a guy that is gay, which I don't understand at all.
Last night Jeff and I went with 10 of our friends to a little hole in the wall bar downtown that we really like. One of my friends started dating this guy which he wanted us all to meet. After everyone else had a few I went to the bar to get a drink with my friend Stacy. As we were ordering, this new boyfriend gave Stace a hug and proceeded to grope her! Then he reached around, grabbed me AND a complete stranger at the bar. I was so shocked I wasn't sure how to handle it, but I obviously crossed my arms in front of me so it wouldn't happen again. Unfortunately I was taken off guard a few minutes later and it happened again. Jeff didn't even see it coming either. So my question is, who does that?! And especially if you're gay, what the heck?! I'm going to have to make it pretty clear I'm not going out with that guy present if he continues to act like an idiot. People are so strange.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Hymns

I love hymns. Mostly because I detest the modern, cheesy, self-focused "worship" songs that so often get sung in church today. Isn't the whole point to actually worship GOD and His work rather than our own feelings? I'm particularly partial to hymns that are full of theology and force me to think about what I'm actually singing. Thankfully, my church is pretty good and we usually sing a good mix of old and new.

I wanted to share my favorite hymn because it has comforted me on many occasions, yet never gets sung in church. So, for those of you who may need encouragement, I share this:

How Firm a Foundation - John F. Wade 1751

"How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.

'Fear not I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee and help thee and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow will not overflow,
For I will be with thee, thy trials to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply:
the flame shall not hurt thee, I only design
thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I will not, no never, no never forsake!'"

"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." ~Deuteronomy 31:8

Miss you all

I just needed to post a little comment telling everyone that i miss them a LOT. Jeff and I have been missing Ryan and Rachelle, Eric and Jen like crazy. You all are so much fun, and we don't like living so far away. Then I was thinking about Lisette and Mary and Erik and it made me really sad that THEY don't live so close either. I LOVED spending time with you guys around Christmas and hope you can come up some time soon! And that all got me thinking about my friends here whom I don't get to see very much but still love and think about and pray for (ie: Cherie :). Then, I was stupid and went and looked at my sister's blog and almost lost it looking at the picture of her sweet little babies. Sigh.
It's not fair. So, I miss you guys a lot. Wish I could give you hugs (because I LOVE hugs) and hang out. You are SO awesome and mean a lot to me!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Thoughtful quotes from a strange book

I've been thinking for about two weeks what I want to say about this book that I just read. Aside from being really dark and quite depressing, I thought it exceptionally insightful and well written. I'll leave it at that and just give you a quote to illustrate my point:
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"This is a reconstruction.... When I get out of here, if I'm ever able to set this down, in any form, even in the form of one voice to another, it will be a reconstruction then too, at yet another remove. It's impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was, because what you say can never be exact, you always have to leave something out, there are too many parts, sides, crosscurrents, nuances; too many gestures, which could mean this or that, too many shapes which can never be fully described, too many flavors, in the air or on the tongue, half-colors, too many."
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood