A new friend

She was raised in North Dakota.  Both her parents are of German descent.  She met her husband.  His family's from Tennessee and Kentucky, "a good ol' southern boy."  He said he saw her and immediately knew that he would marry her.  He went to Germany for the war.  Phone calls were expensive.  Over three months, they spoke twice.  He returned, they were married, and she went to Germany with him.  Hardest year of their marriage, she says.  But they really got to know each other.  Complete isolation, no family around.  Eventually, they returned.  Now they live in Georgia.  And they've been married for 40-something years.

She said she never had a major liking to vegetables.  She grew up with two German parents!  Her mom's idea of vegetables were white navy beans cooked like baked beans.  Or sauerkraut.  Her husband, of Tennessee-Kentucky origin, however, absolutely loves vegetables.  He'll take extensive time in his soups.  Lentils, dried peppers from the market down the street, and every vegetable you can imagine.  "I always tell him just make enough for you, because I am just not gonna eat that.  I'll eat a salad, but I won't eat what he makes."

She makes me laugh.  Beautiful, this woman.  She's soon to be my ex-coworker.  But today, her story...it was a breath of fresh air.

A sad note

I meet many women day to day.  But one woman stood out today.  She told me a story that happened only last year.  

A police officer pulled two men over for speeding.  Just off I-20.  In Greensboro.  There was a young girl in their backseat.  The police officer felt uneasy about the girl...he saw the fear in her eyes.  He asked the two men to step out of the car, and spoke to the young girl.  She said she was taken when she was 11 and has been raped by many men.  She was only 16.  The police officer later found that her parents had been looking for her and didn't know what happened to her.  For years. 

I recently attended a seminar about sex trafficking.  There were stories from unexpected areas, off I-20, I-285, North of the Perimeter, South of the Perimeter.  Areas you would not suspect.  Areas that should be safe.  People you would not suspect.  They were your neighbor.  Your friend. Even church members.  Atlanta's within the top cities being targeted.  I learned that Atlanta's doing such a good job that now they're moving...to Athens, to Augusta, and anywhere in between.  They don't stop, they just move.

It's a scary thought.  But that's just it.  For me, it's just a thought.  For those girls, it's their reality, their everyday.

Thankful for this woman for telling me this story.  As sad as it was to hear. 

Mandy

It's funny what old pictures can do.  I have been rummaging through life. And remembering this free-spirited, blissful, wide-eyed shy young girl...me. 
Makes me smile.

 I've connected with so many.  Young and old.  Colorless, colorful. What I love is that each has so much heart.  So much life.  So many stories.

My friend Mandy is no different.  We crossed paths at a pizza social event years ago.  Our connect: a friend and the same birthday.  

She's a beautiful woman, filled with so much heart.  Kind and loving.  I'm amazed by the ways she respects and finds beauty in the little things.  And how she takes everything in such stride.  Skills she puts to good use as a speech-language pathologist.

But she is not without her own struggles--recently lost some work hours.  So she is not able to cook those magnificent meals she'd like.

 Leftovers and crockpot are her way.  But like everything, she does it with such an esteem.

 Her inspiration: her parents, her family.

   
"My mom is a wonderful cook." 

Mandy grew up around a garden, family, and wonderful southern cooking.  Every meal was filled with quality time.  "It was a special time where we could connect at the end of the day, pray over food and the week, and talk about what's going on in our lives."

All that rapidly changed during her college years. That was a time of social food activities and late night study indulgences.  Now, Mandy makes more conscious choices.  Easy, conscious choices.  So simply and wonderfully, she indulges healthfully using her crockpot.  Delicious, tempting meals.
"Whether it’s eating with my family when we get together, eating at work with my co-workers, or getting coffee with a friend, food has been a major part of the glue between comfort and communication."

A glue I equally indulge in: food, people, life and love. Enjoy this delectable recipe:

Lemon Garlic Chicken White Bean Stew

Lessons

Sometimes, just sometimes, I have weekend fortune.  Ones filled with cooking and life lessons.  This was such a day.
I enjoy my grandma and mom time.
Behold, fried indian snack goodies.

Squash

I have an aching to grow and eat some delicious squash.  Maybe soon, I'll make it my garden reality.  I made spaghetti squash today.  Roasted until browned, forked, and thrown into a delectable light sauce.  Something lemony garlic-gingery.  It's an essential summeresque addition.

Morning weary

I begin my days rushed.  This day was no different.  But I always have a brief moment of peace--as I peer out my window and witness the beginnings of a sunrise.  But today, I gazed out to see my newly planted daisies dead.  :( The silver lining? My sunflowers are still growing. I never had much of a green thumb, it seems.  Lady extraordinaire that I recently met claims she has a black thumb.  Yet, she is growing her own version of a tremendous garden.  So there is. Hope.  What I am living by these days.  HOPE for great movement and belief.

Sandice gave me this wonderful book:

Meet her: FrugalFashionableFarmer.  She's a wonderful lady, filled with insight. And she has a farm.  We have future plans to play with her goats.  Stay tuned.

Thoughts: What's so wrong about self-sustenance?  Build your own, harvest your own, make your own, and (my personal fave) cook your own.  We're so indulgent...I love the simplicity of it all.  Let's create life...sort of exciting, isn't it?