Guess What?

Lilla sweetly tagged us with this "Stylish Blogger Award."  Behold this gleaming model of style:

Along with this award, I am charged with sharing seven utterly random and little known facts about myself.  Here are my self-absorbed nuggets:

1. On past April Fool’s days, I have frosted a foam cake and hidden little frogs around the house, but I have yet to pull a truly epic prank. Those sorts of things are years in the making, so let's just say that someday…In the meantime I find delight in Google's yearly pranks.

2. When I was younger, for some reason I thought that one typically graduated at age 16. I still remember the devastating day that I found out the typical age of graduation from high school was actually 18. My first words upon learning this sad truth? “What a waste!” I graduated at age 17.

3. I am going to be the shortest person in my family. It’s my destiny, and there is no escaping it. I’m a nice 5 foot 2 ½, but Mikaela has me beat, and my little sisters are my height if not a bit taller right now.

4. I am an incorrigible girly girl in my tastes. Pink lipstick, cute earrings, fluffy skirts, flower in my hair…  What can I say?  I love my femininity! 

5. Right now I am taking “Financial Freedom” in school. With Scripture memory work, lectures to watch, interviews with other people, and essays to write, I am keeping busy and learning a lot. Anyone else out there Dave Ramsey nerds?

6. My favorite passage of Scripture has, for the past several years, been Isaiah 43. In my Bible next to that passage I wrote, “I am in love with God, and He with me.” The end of verse one on to verse two just overwhelms my heart:

“‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.’”

7. I finished my 123 page novel when I was twelve about a family of nine children during the Great Depression. At that ripe young age I had nearly completed several other books with Mikaela. One was a mystery having something to do with logging and twins, and the other was a time travel story back to the era of Daniel in the Bible. Both of these stories we decided one random day to delete in order to save space on the computer. This seemed to make so much sense at the time, but now it would head my “Biggest Regrets” list.

I hereby tag these ladies:
Sarah of Lord's Lass
Samantha of Tea and Ink
Ruthie of Journey of Faith

And I hereby tag all of you who read One Bright Corner--I would love to read your zaniest facts and anecdotes about yourself! 


Picture Credit: daniel_pfund

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cloud in a Bowl

I existed for the last 20 years of my life as an innocent tea party addict, who gleefully made "Mock Devonshire Cream" for every great event by combining sour cream with cream and sugar and vanilla, and whipping the concoction to create a thick, slightly sour, delicious topping for scones. Then I went to England.

And I met clotted cream. (Cue picture from the archives.)

Clotted cream, oh my sweet, darling clotted cream. Where were you all my life? (Excuse me while I go compose a love song to clotted cream.) Mock Devonshire Cream may be an appopriate substitute for creme fraiche, but it has nothing on clotted cream. And so, with the sweet, carmelized, airy taste of clotted cream still melting in our memories, Mama came to me one day with a passel of internet recipes and a question. "Do you want to make clotted cream?"

The first try...not so good. I baked the cream at 180 degrees F for six hours...and twelve hours...and eighteen hours, and by that time, I had evaporated milk more than anything. Then I tried the stovetop method, and just as I was about to get discouraged, I got wise and began to peruse only UK sites. They, after all, know their clotted cream. The method is now perfected, my friends, and I hope you will try your hand at this luscious nectar.

Start out with unpasteurized, unhomogenized fresh cream (some people have had success using cream that was pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized, so it is worth a try if you don't have a source for straight-from-the-udder cream).

You'll need five cups.

Now, pour it into a heavy-duty large saucepan or casserole dish--the cream should be no more than three inches deep. Cook this uncovered on the stove on the lowest heat setting, and do not, under any circumstances, allow the cream to boil. Or simmer. (This picture was taken after four hours of cooking.)

You are, however, looking for a thick skin to develop on the top, and small bubbles to form on the edges. Once this has happened (I cooked mine for six hours), take it off the heat, cover it, and let it cool down for four to six hours, preferably in a cool but not cold place (that is, a cellar, cool pantry, or garage). Carefully spoon off the crust and skin on the top and heap into a dish. My five cups of cream yielded about 3/4 cup of clotted cream (the amount in the dish shown in the first picture). Let this solidify in the refrigerator for another six to twelve hours, and then enjoy your clotted cream! You can use the remaining unclotted cream in your baking or cooking.

I had cream tea the Cornish way--jam first, then cream on a scone or biscuit and accompanied by a cup of Yorkshire black tea. The Devons swear by cream first, then jam. Clotted cream also goes by clouted cream (a clout is a thin fabric, and clouted cream refers to the crust that forms on the cream when it has clotted), clabbered cream, or Devonshire cream. My version turned out neither as sweet nor as smooth as the English clotted cream, but I blame this on the cow and not the cook.

"Its orient tinge, like spring-time morn,

Or baby-buttercups newly-born;

Its balmy perfume, delicate pulp,

One longs to swallow it all at a gulp,

Sure man had ne'er such gifts or theme

As your melt-in-mouthy Devonshire cream."

A eulogy on a can of cream sent from a lady in Exeter.

—William Barry Peacock, Manchester, 1853

And do you know the origin of clotted cream according to legend? Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived amongst the branches of a Dartmoor oak, dreaming of the pisky [A Westcountry pixie] prince she loved. She longed for the day of her wedding, which by tradition, required a bath in cream. Sadly, there was an evil woman who took up residence at the foot of the princess's tree; she conspired to have the princess marry her crude miner son. Knowing of the required cream bath, the old hag soured the couple's milk and made their wedding impossible. The pisky was not to be thwarted, however; he made an extraordinary cream treated with both fire and water that resisted the woman's devices. At last, the princess was able to bathe in the cream and marry her prince. The couple passed on their secret to the moor maidens, and everyone lived happily ever after with the secret of clotted cream safely entrusted to them.

Clotted cream (n): cloud in a bowl. Epitomy of lovely. Tastes of whipped cream and butter blended together with a carmelized sweetness and the intensity of rich cream. A bite of heaven.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8744000/8744481.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/pda/A32016539?s_id=3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotted_cream

No Auditions For Role Modeling

I remember the moment of climax in the battle for modesty in my life. I must have been around fourteen or fifteen, and, believe it or not, I wanted to dress like “all the other girls” around me. I was confused as to what modest standards were, and my wise mother took me aside and we had long wonderful talks on the subject. “What are the godly older girls around you wearing?” she asked at one point in the conversation. My oh-so-on-top-of-it sin nature immediately searched through my acquaintances filed under “godly role models” and I named a few whose attire supported my desire.

“Yes,” my mother consented, “But what about this girl and this girl and this girl?” She proceeded to name several young ladies whom I highly respected and whom I had to admit I had never seen in anything less than modest. We eventually finished our important discussion, I talked to my father on the subject, and I now look back at that time as the moment when I truly took on convictions concerning modesty for myself because I realized that was what God wanted me to do.

But I also look back on that experience and think about those young ladies that I looked up to, and I wonder if they knew to what extent I was willing to go to emulate them? I wonder if they knew that I was using them to rationalize my desire for “looser” standards of modesty? The fact remains that this desire was my sin nature, and I alone was to blame--I should have been strong enough in my convictions not to be swayed by what others were doing.  But I was, and my mother knew that.  All those young ladies that my mother and I discussed were my role models, whether they chose the role or not, and they had a serious impact on that time in my life, whether they knew it or not.

I cannot, of course, reflect upon those that were and still are role models to me without reflecting upon those who look to me as their role model. When I recall my detailed mental files on the state of modesty in each of my role models as a teenager, I get worried. And I shudder at the thought that any of the girls I know might use me in a discussion with their mother: “But Lauren does that!”

It makes me contemplate the “weaker brother” concept all the more: would not younger girls--baby Christians--be weaker sisters? Romans 14:12-13 expresses my state of mind perfectly:

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.”

One of my favorite verses is I Timothy 4:12:

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Being a role model is not a role that we audition for or even choose. Instead, we all are role models (even if unwilling or unknowing ones) to our siblings, to those who read our blogs, to the bright-eyed little girls at church. There is no way that we can abandon this responsibility--we will either be bad, careless role models, or we will be purposeful, virtuous ones.  On the flip side of the coin, we all have role models as well—whether we choose them well or slip into them because the rest of the world bows down to their whims is up to us.

Girls look up to us. They note what we do or do not wear. They note how we talk about the Lord, how we interact with young men, and how we treat our parents. If for no other reason than the fact that young ones in the Lord are observing, we cannot afford not to walk circumspectly in all that we do. Their eyes are upon us, and we live righteously not for a show of our great maturity, but so that if they indeed choose to follow in our footsteps, they will find that our tiny footsteps are planted firmly within the unblurred outlines of the footsteps of Jesus—the entire journey through.

Picture Credit: ultrakickgirl

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pay It Forward

Photo Credit: Courtney Dirks

This weekend, our friends invited us to participate in their second film festival--a celebration of complete amateurs gaining an appreciation for the art of filmmaking. ;-) (If you missed our first short film, you can see it here: When the Rain Comes.) This time, we had a very comfortable alotment of one whole weekend in which to create our film (last summer, we had a mere 12 hours). We received the word on Saturday morning: kindness. Brainstorming, planning, and decision-making took up our day, as well as the Saturday chores, sewing classes, and a baby shower. By Saturday night, we had the concept, the roles, and the scenes sketched out: we were ready to shoot!

Sunday afternoon we filmed, and we had lots of opportunities to practice kindness to each other! There is nothing like working under a deadline with six different opinions, ideas, strengths, and weaknesses to challenge one's expression of kindness and gentleness to others. While filming, however, we were blessed to have an audience in a young boy who couldn't have been more than ten. God provided me an opportunity to witness to him and present the Gospel to him (he knew about Jesus, but he didn't think he had sinned--nope, never lied...nope, never stole a cookie...but when I asked if he had ever disobeyed his parents, he had to admit that, yes, he had). This was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. Please pray for Jacob!

Monday was editing--Melanie was our editor extraordinaire, and let me tell you--those people don't get enough credit! Everything was finished up and tied with a beautiful bow (figuratively speaking) by the time we arrived at our friend's house for a fun evening of pizza and movies. Ours won "Best Application of Biblical Principles," and we received a symbolic bag of lifesavers for our efforts.

So, without further ado, please enjoy Pay It Forward. We are by no means skilled at this craft, but we sure enjoyed trying our hand at it!

As American as Apple Pie

 Tuesday was many things.  It was a day so grey and cloudy that we never could tell if the sun even rose that morning. 

In an equally shocking turn of events, Tuesday was also a rainy and blustery day.  But the rain could not restrain us, and the bluster could not fluster us.  In fact, the weather only made us puff up with that much more patriotism for our state, because Tuesday was also "Homeschool Day at the Capitol," and everyone knows that going to the Washington state Capitol when it is not raining is akin to going to Buckingham Palace when the Queen is not in.  There is just something missing!

But the excitement does not end there!  Tuesday was also "Apple Pie Day" in which hundreds of homeschoolers across the state added dashes of love and cups of gratefulness in with their pinches of cinammon and mounds of freshly peeled and cut apples. 

These pies were paired with thank you notes and information on our WA state homeschool conference, which we were then privileged to help hand deliver with a smile and a fork to our senators, representatives, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor.  What fun it was to walk through cubicles and hand out homemade apple pies, leaving smiles and happiness in our wake. 

Below, Susanna and Micah prepare to deliver another pan of scrumptiousness!

Mikaela and Micah--Pie Delivery Team Extraordinaire!

After we had traipsed all across the Capitol campus and discovered just how heavy apple pies can be, we slipped in for the last part of the introductory session for the homeschoolers.  We were updated on the issues currently being battled at the Capitol and had the opportunity to ask questions and receive vital answers from a wonderful husband and wife team who devotes six months of their life every year to making sure that homeschool rights are protected in Olympia. 

Spending the day with dear friends was one of the highlights!

You cannot resist that face! 

In the rotunda, sitting on cold marble steps, we heard from a Representative who is actually a homeschooling father and devoted Christian!  Of course, he is not our representative, but he was an inspiring speaker nonetheless! 

We heard from a white-haired legislator whose grandchildren are being homeschooled, from a legislator who public-schooled his children, but whose nieces and nephews are being homeschooled, and from a legislator who joked that the flaky sound system didn't bother him because he grew up in a family of ten children!  Four or five representatives and senators spoke in all, and we prayed for each and every one, with men laying their hands on these public servants and asking the Lord to bless them with wisdom and integrity.  That was a special time! 

Our hands were clapping and our feet were tapping along with this great homeschooled sibling fiddle trio!  Old Joe Clark, Cripple Creek, and Bile 'em Cabbage combined with the musicians' infectious smiles meant that you couldn't help but love their music!  Several friends leaned over and whispered to me incredulously, "How can her fingers move so fast?" 

Don't we fit right in in the grand Reception room? 

Over a hundred years ago, it was decided that we needed a state seal.  And rather than pay an expensive designer to create one, our savvy leaders got together and decided to hold a contest.  A pair of equally savvy local jewelers decided to enter the contest, and hearkened back to their kindergarten days to do so.  I can see them now, haphazardly tracing an inkwell onto a sheet of paper, glancing around for a slightly smaller circular object, and reaching into their pockets for a silver dollar, which they traced just inside the inkwell circle.  I can imagine them scribbling, "The Seal of the State of Washington 1889" in between the circles, grabbing a handy stamp of GW, plopping it right in the middle, and then nodding in satisfaction at their brilliant design.  This is now our illustrious state seal that is emblazoned on flags, floors, and yes, even the bathroom door handle! 

 Left to right: Jonah, Lauren, Micah, Susanna, Melanie, Mikaela

Our day at the Capitol was busy, but wonderful, and though I've gone to the Homeschool Day at the Capitol several times, it was wonderful to see my younger siblings getting excited about this hub of government in our state.  We discovered new nooks and crannies (who knew that half the representatives don't get marble halled offices, but instead are relegated to a trailer park of mobile homes?), greeted old friends, had a lively discussion with an aide to our senator, and drove home through the driving rain exhausted, but quite happy. 

Note: All photos taken by Mama or Mikaela.