Tulip Time & Elephant Ears

Yes, it's Tulip Time in Holland and that means Elephant Ears are back! Seems that many folks live for the deep-fried batter, slathered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. This is as close as I ventured to said ears as folks were claiming space before the parade. Instead, I opted for a safe, rather ordinary hot dog and chips from the vendor next door.

Meantime, back at the ranch...Sammy is enjoying watching the birdies on the feeder we have mounted on the deck. Jim took 2 days to stain/seal the deck in, what felt like, gale force winds! We've also started working in our yard -- see all the green green grass in the yards across the little lake? We are coaxing our little yard into becoming pretty and green, too. The little oak tree that we brought with us from San Anselmo (Jim found it growing out of a crack in the cement at the SFTS Maintenance Shop on Ross Ave) has just this week shown signs of new life. We celebrated by planting a weeping willow, a Japanese maple and 2 Douglas spruces.

Happy Easter! St. Luke's Episcopal, Kalamazoo. Jim's first Sunday was Palm Sunday and we all gathered out in the courtyard, the daffy-dills, hyacinths, forsythias all in bloom. The next Sunday -- Easter -- we were bundled up, ringing bells and singing our Aaaa---lle-llllu-iiiias through chattering teeth! It's a lovely church -located right across the street from First Church, K'zoo. (No, I haven't been there...yet.) Jim is serving as the interim rector and seems to really enjoy that kind of work; there are 18 openings in the Diocese of Western Michigan.

Well, I reckon that's enough for now. When I saw this sign on the marquee at the Knickerbocker Theatre, downtown Holland, I couldn't help but think of you all...and us all! How strange it is to remember where we all were less than one year ago and to be writing you from this new space and place. What a dance it has been! Hoping this finds you all well and enjoying "bright sacred days and warm blessed nights."

The potential dangers of the BLOG

I had a sad reminder the other day of the potential harm a BLOG can do. I know we all know to be careful but it doesn't hurt to remember before we post that anyone, and I do mean ANYONE can read what we write. (Including your CPM) Recently an SFTS student has gotten into some hot water with his CPM because of his personal Blog. How who got ahold of what I do not know. I do know he goes up for candidacy this week and has been told that the issue may come up on the floor of the Presbytery. YIKES!
That said I do love having our BLOG to keep track of what's new with all of us and hope we will continue.
love and blessings to you all,
Cheryl

things that grow

Here is this starter pix for the 2007 Kitts-VonSeggern Vegi garden. On the right are about six plants of broccoli which sat around small and not doing much till the recent run of warm weather and then went straight to skinny stalks of blooming flowers skipping over the buds-we-get-to-eat stage. Also some califlower which shows signs of simular intentions. In the front are a bunch of carrots that I planted last July and which refused to show up till November/Jan last year. They are doing some root work but some are going straight for the flower/seed stage a well. In the middle are a range of tomato plants and basil. My little tomato starts that I showed in an earlier post had a great start from seed but then refused to do anything more once they put out their real leaves. If I put them out, I'm thinking I should also just put up a sign saying: Snail Snacks Here!


Speaking of snail snacks - I have been working on rehabing a strawberry patch that existed when I showed up. As an Oregonian not only am I picky about my coffee, beer and salmon, I'm also opinianated about my berries. May is not strawberry season. Yet here they are and once in a while I get a few before the snails snack on them. At any rate, they are pretty.






I also planted rasberries last year. Bill and the boys have expressed doubt about how high the canes were going to grow. They are no longer questioning me on this issue. We'll have a small harvest this year but next year should be quite plentiful.

I am hoping to put up some strawberry freezer jam from one of the local farmers markets this spring. I miss that fresh taste and have run out of the supply from two years ago.

Its odd living in this climate - things just move faster than one expects. Yesterday and the next few days will be pushing 90 degrees. Water districts all over the bay area - and I suspect over in the central valley too - are declaring this year as a drought year so I don't know how well my tomatoes will do before we're done.

One more picture of that which grows so fast:




Dana Marie Rasmussen graduates from American University this Sunday at 4 p.m. She's out hustling up an apartment and a job. She wants to stay in Washington D.C. I'll post photos next week sometime.

Anitra

New Jobs

Heather and I have both had two weeks to settle into our new jobs, not that two weeks mean we necessarily get to settle into anything. My church fired their church secretary two days before I started, so right now I'm a church secretary. I make copies and use my M.Div to use a hole punch and figure out whether or not to capitalize church in the bulletin. It's really hard. Also the Episcopal Church has just entered into full communion with the Methodist Church, so I have found my ordination loop hole. I can be ordained in the Episcopal Church and get to pester (I mean serve) in the Methodist Church. Heather's church is going well. She is running into all of that church stuff that you run into in a new job; politics, loyalties, and the crazy parishioners who if you let them could take up all of your time.
But the good news is that we are moving into our new house. We just painted all of the rooms, the previous owners had painted EVERY SINGLE ROOM a crazy, institutional yellow. The living room is red and for right now the rest is white. We are putting in an herb garden and we are planning our garden in the backyard. It was very inspirational to see Heather and Lars garden on its way, makes me want to go out back. We have to teach Roux to stay out of the mommies strawberries, she loves strawberries. If anyone knows anything about the growing zone we are in I would love the advice.