Strawberry Fields Forever

Walking far along the unpaved road into the fields of strawberries, the three of us take turns rolling the bouncy red wagon behind us. The red wagon wobbles unsteadily while the wheels bicker and squeak, protesting the dirt beneath them.  We can hardly hear ourselves speak during such a racket so we pause in brief moments of rest to share our observations and memories.

The noisy Red Wagon holding our  juicy treasures!

While Susie and I scour one field, Jeff wanders to another and finds a kid-sized,  painted wooden-plank replica of a scarecrow complete with cardboard shotgun. This field seems untouched and holds rounder and more robust strawberries. We pick here. The strawberries we snap off the plants make crisp popping sounds if done just so.  Sugary scents are inhaled as we hold red berries up to our noses. "Smells sweeter than candy," we chime. 

Fresh out of the field, some U-pick Strawberries from Sauvie's Island

This year we go earlier in the season. Our picking experience is greatly different than last year. There are more strawberries, and bigger ones too!  We are pickier about what we decide to pluck. 

Small waves of sunshine coupled with light breezes and cloud cover make for ideal weather. We have a fun afternoon picking strawberries. 

This summer I am bound to make strawberry ice cream and strawberry-chocolate-chip pancakes. We have been known to plop a strawberry or two in a glass of sparkling (or white) wine for a refreshing weekend treat.  And of course, we will be adding them to our spinach (green) smoothies!

Other ideas of what to make with our U-pick strawberries are welcome! :0)

Book List

I start Wednesday's theme, Book Review, with my book list:


Bring it to the Table: On Farming and Food --Wendell Berry
Fast Food Nation --Eric Schlosser
Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea --Alice Waters
Food Matters-- Mark Bittman
The Locavore Way --Amy Cotler
The Ethical Gourmet --Jay Weinstein
Botany of Desire--Michael Pollan
Omnivores Dilemma--Michael Pollan
Small Wonder--Barbara Kingsolver
Commonwealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet--Jeff Sachs
The Working Poor: Invisible in America--David K Shipler
United States of Americana--Kurt B. Reighley
Financial Peace--Dave Ramsey
Homeland and Other Stories--Barbara Kingsolver
Denialism--Micahel Spector
The Total Money Makeover--Dave Ramsey
Generation Earn--Kimberly Palmer
Exposed--Mark Schapiro
Hot, Flat, Crowded--Thomas L. Friedman
The Progress Paradox--Gregg Easterbrook
The Life You Can Save--Peter Singer
How to Live a Low Carbon Life--Chris Goodall
Life Inc.--Douglas Rushkoff
Give Me Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker--Matt Love
Pedaling Revolution--Jeff Mapes
No Logo--Naomi Klein
The Story of Stuff--Annie Leonard
Becoming Animal: An earthly Cosmology
Broken Open--Elizabeth Lesser
The creative Family-- Amanda Blake Soule
U-Turn--Bruce Grierson
A Poetry Handbook--Mary Oliver
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui--Karen Kingston
The Art of Simple Food--Alice Waters
Home Economics-- Wendell Berry
What to Eat--Marion Nestle
The Urban homestead --KElly Coyne and Erik Knutzen
Country of Marriage--Wendell Berry
The World without Us--Alan Weisman
Green Barbarians--Ellen Sandbeck
The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience
American Wasteland--Johnathan Bloom
The feeding Web--Joan Gussow
Eat More Dirt--Ellen Sandbeck
Better Off: Flipping the switch on Technology--Eric Brende
Second Nature--Michael Pollan
This Organic Life--Joan Gussow
Radical Homemaking-- Shannon Hayes
Natural Capitalism--Paul Hawkin, Amory & L. Hunter Lovins
Last Child in the Woods-- Richard Louv
Drive--Daniel H. Pink
Nurture Shock--Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
Green Housekeeping --Ellen Sandbeck
Not so Big Life-- Sarah Susanka
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek--Annie Dillard

I can't wait to go to the library tomorrow!

Themes!

As I always seem to have trouble coming up with ideas of things to share here on Double Dekker, I figured I could start themes for each day of the week. Here are my themes:

Week in Review Sunday
Healthful Homemaking Monday
Poetically Tuesday
Book Review Wednesday
Thankfully Thursday
Recipe of the Week Friday
Simply Saturday

Week in Review Sunday: Because every week is special.

Healthful Homemaking Monday: I'm not quite sure what will become of Monday's postings but there are a lot of topics that I have become quite passionate about recently that have to do with the choices that we make on a daily basis that effect our family's well-being.

Poetically Tuesday: As an adult its all too easy to get caught up in the seriousness of life. My ritual of writing poems will be an attempt rekindle my long abandoned creative side. I'd like to attempt to repossess the skill of creativity and this seems just the way to do it!

Wednesday Reader: Reading and life experiences are great ways to accomplish cultural and world exploration. Because my life feels limited in its breadth of experiences lately, reading is a way I can choose to gain knowledge and examine the world without leaving the comforts of my living room! I don't think I'll attempt to read one book a week but when I do finish a book or a chapter I like, I'll write a blurb about it here.

Thankfully Thursday: When I was growing up Thursdays were my least favorite day of the week. It always seemed to rain on Thursdays. It was not yet Friday but it was far enough along in the week that I began to grow weary. Now that it rains everyday here in Portland, I've decided to change my tune about Thursdays and dwell on gratitude instead. Not just because Thanksgiving is around the corner but because its always good to be mindful and abundant in the expression of thankfulness!

Recipe of the Week Friday: Recipe of the week is more for me to share a meal idea from the week so I can keep myself in check. This will help me remember that I need to be creative in the kitchen instead of just serving mac 'n cheese and ramen which have been staples in our home for the past few weeks. It will help me be motivated to make something fun and try something new if I have to share a new recipe on my blog. Also In the Kitchen is already a prominent 'label' on this blog so it should be pretty easy.

Simply Saturday: Simple living is a big idea that weighs on both Jeff's and my hearts. Saturdays will be an ode to minimalism.

Obviously it is important to keep in mind that I am in no way an expert on any of these topics but I am just passionate about them and would like to share snippets from Jeff's and my life together.

A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

With the vibrant changing leaves, the cooler crisp air, and consecutive rainy days- the beginning of my favorite month, November, started out with both of us falling ill. Jeff was fraught with the sniffles and a hacking cough while I suffered more flu-like symptoms and my own version of Jeff's cough and cold... (thanks babe.) Luckily, we happened upon our weekends (Tuesday and Wednesday) together so we could rest and heal our weary bodies and tired minds. After getting 15 hours of sleep on Monday, Tuesday we lazed about- I was in no mood to do anything and Jeff is eager for days of pure relaxation- even when free of illness. By Wednesday we were both feeling slightly more energetic, a bit stir-crazy, and thus ready to take on our long awaited project: simplifying our apartment. We had already discussed how we were going to rearrange the furniture- I made several drawings of floor plans- and we made lists of items we wanted to share or store.
It was during my lazing about on Tuesday that I happened upon several blogs that were devoted to "minimalism." For both of us, "minimalism" was an entirely new label to a concept that both of us had previously contemplated: eliminating the unnecessary. In the past, the underlying principles of minimalism resonated with both of us as more of a desired ideal than a tangible practice. I read a few blog posts out loud to Jeff and we both grew enthusiastic and energized about organizing and minimizing our unnecessary clutter. Reading the posts gave us momentum to begin the project. However, in the ensuing hours, I was challenged by my realization of how attached to my possessions I really am. Honestly, going through our stuff was not as easy as I would have liked it to be. During the most desperate moments of this project: when most of our possessions were strewn about- Jeff wondered aloud where we had kept all this stuff prior to it filling up our living room and entryway. He had a valid point. Where did we ever have room in our apartment to store all of this stuff? We also wondered why we hadn't done this sooner. Because efforts to simplify and minimize is ever-continuing, we are not striving to proclaim a lifestyle of complete minimalism by any means. We are, however, planning to hold onto and apply what we learn so that our possessions and activities fill our lives with meaning and purpose rather than clutter.

Highlights of October

In October we hung out with Jeff's family alot!
Got to see my good friend Laura for the first time since the wedding.
We went to McMenamins to see Toy Story 3
We watched a few sports games with Jeff's family
Celebrated my 26th Birthday!
Played Rock Band Beatles edition
Jeff got his haircut.
Drove to OHSU for some medical tests
Got sick with cold and a cough
Slow danced to the Beatles CD I got for my birthday
Went to Bread and Ink twice in the same week!
Made pizza three times
Tried baking a carnival squash.
Started our simplifying project
Cleaned out three drawers
Gave away some books
Cleaned out our closet

Simplifying Project

We are currently in the process of moving. Not out of our apartment. But moving away from our clutter... Organizing our lives so we have more time to do things we want. An upheaval if you will of everything in our apartment. The first step is complete. We made a list of everything we need in our apartment. Everything else we've decided is either going in storage (aka our closet) or we will be sharing with others. Because we tend to create too many dishes and don't clean the ones we have, we will try living off of one fork, knife, steak knife, spoon, plate, bowl, cup, mug, cutting board etc. for each of us. While I'm not sure where I heard this idea-probably multiple sources, we are both excited about trying it out. We want a kitchen that isn't so filled with clutter. Its gotten to the point where I won't eat breakfast until Jeff gets home at 3:00PM because I'm so tired of the mess that I can't even think about going in there. (We will be keeping our extra dishes at easy reach in storage so when we do have guests over for a meal they won't have to eat off the place mats.) While we clearly aren't doing anything as provocative as limiting the total number of items in our apartment to 200 things, as was suggested by author Leo Babatua in his book "The Power of Less," our plan its just drastic enough for us, we hope, to help us accomplish our priorities.

Arranging our furniture differently so we can create a more inviting environment for conversation and hospitality is another part of our project. Just picturing it in my mind our place gives off a different vibe. The Television, which we don't use that often, will no longer be the focal point of our apartment. :0) Our dining table will be the first thing you see as you walk in through the entry way. Unveiling the bottom portion of our beautiful picture window-as the couch will no longer block some of the natural light-will hopefully allow us to cut down on our electricity usage (during the day at least) and allow us a fuller view of autumn's changing leaves.

My make up drawer, which is probably the scariest drawer in our apartment is another area that will receive an afternoon of cleansing. When it comes down to it I realize that it is not necessary to keep 3 tubes of non-water-proof mascara which I used in California (especially with all the rain we have here.) Do I need 4 half-empty bottles of foundation or the Blush container that is cluttering up my drawer whose contents have been depleted for 5 months now? You get the picture. It is not pretty.

Clearing out our clothes has been a much debated part of our simplifying project. Not debated as whether or not to go through our clothes, but as in- which items to keep or share. Jeff likes certain clothes on me more than I do. And while I'm willing to give up my 5th pair of jeans, I have several jackets that I am partial to. It is perhaps the most necessary part of the process as we need more space in our closet to store the "un-necessities.' But also the most difficult. The thing that will help is remembering that there are so many clothes that we don't wear that someone out there could use and maybe would love to have.

We are excited about all these changes... I will keep you posted on how these ideas work out for us and hopefully post some pictures when the moving is complete.

Goals for September

Some self-reflection the other day brought about the desire to better myself. So with that said here are my goals and a little blurb about how I'm going to achieve them in this new month.

1. Stay within our budget- track spending closely with MINT
2. Have fun in Hawaii- spend time with family, relax by the pool, and drink IN MODERATION.
3. Meditate daily- Before sleep and when I wake.
4. Spend less time on the computer- self explanatory.
5. Practice genuine hospitality- with Hope & Rob, and have Josh and Carolyn over more often.
6. Make a new friend. -Invite a coworker out for coffee.
7. Have patience with myself and with situations I find myself in.
8. Read daily- whether from a book or magazine, whether one page or fifty.
9. No library fines- read, return, and renew books in a timely fashion.
10. Think before speaking- don't vent unnecessarily.
11. Pray for friends and family often.
12. Show Jeff more acts of kindness- do at least 3 thoughtful things for him each day.
13. Volunteer my time- walk over to Russellville Retirement home and inquire about a volunteer program there.
14. Deep clean apartment- get ready for Hope and to make it nice for Jeff while I'm in Hawaii.
15. Keep our kitchen immaculate- no leaving the house with dirty dishes left in the sink.
16. Share with others- Give thirty items or more away this month.
17. Exercise more- Take a walk or Jog with Jeff at least 2 times per week.
18. Finish reading 4 books this month- Chopra, Kingsolver, the In-law book, and simplify your life.
19. Complain less about aches and pains.
20. Date Jeff- Do something new and different together each week.
21.Eat at healthy times- no later than one hour after I wake up.
22. Be mindful of what Jeff's and my future selves would like and act accordingly.
23. Try new recipes as long as they don't add extra expense to our budget.
24. Enjoy Jeff- talk with him and practice active listening.
25. Get enough sleep

25 things

1. I married my best friend, Jeff late last year. It was the best decision I've ever made because I can say for the first time in my life I am truly happy.

2. My twin sister and I are nothing alike. But we are really good friends.

3. Having a stroke at the age of ten during heart surgery changed me in many ways. The most difficult years of my life followed. I had trouble communicating (and still do sometimes), lost my personality, suffered from depression, and had to relearn some skills that everyone else takes for granted. I still struggle in social situations and have a general lack of self confidence but am back to 'normal' for the most part, if there is such a thing.

4. My favorite foods are: my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with pecans and almonds, fishy crackers, vanilla ice cream, home made granola, whipped cream, goat cheese, tomatoes, mashed red potatoes.

5. My parents are some of the most patient and loving people I know.

6. I had a crush on my husband for over a year before we started dating. At 1:00 AM I asked him out. We were on a 5 hour stroll through the snow. The moon that night looked magical. Exhilaration is the word I'd use to describe the feeling of finding out that he liked me too. I am still in awe that he loves me.

7. My parents instilled in me a love for learning. As educators they were always providing teachable moments at home.

8. I'd take sparkling wine or champagne over beer any day. (Except Pomegranate beer).

9. I love playing hand bells.

10. I've traveled to Australia, Canada, England, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand. Some day I'd love to go back to Japan and travel to Africa, France, Holy lands, Ireland, Italy, and Spain.

11. At age 21 I finally got my drivers license. I still don't like driving... so much responsibility.

12. One of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten was to "take one risk every day". If I actually followed this, my life would be more interesting.

13. My left ear wears a hearing aid.

14. My husband and I had a short 4 month engagement before we got married. He proposed on my Grandparent's anniversary July 20th. We got married on my parents wedding anniversary, November 20th. And Jeff's parents got married on August 20th.

15. Moving to Portland, Oregon was the easiest yet hardest decision I've made. I miss my family who still lives in California.

16. I didn't try drinking alcohol until 2 months after I turned 21.

17. I'm excited that spring is here because all the farmers markets in the Portland area open in April. Using fresh veggies and trying new recipes even though I know I won't stick to them are my favorite types of cooking. I've always loved vegetables and creating ways to make them taste even better.

18. Going to college in Michigan was a challenging experience. I'm proud of myself for getting my bachelors degree. I just wish I had applied myself more.

19. I contracted malaria from Jamaica in 2007 which remained dormant in me for 5 months before the symptoms showed up. I was hospitalized over a weekend so they could monitor its progression.

20. Before we got married, my husband and I felt united in the fact that we wanted to live simply. It wasn't until after the purchase of our 40 inch flat screen T.V. that I learned my husband's definition of simple living is much different than mine. I always imagined that simple living meant living with out some unnecessary modern conveniences. While his was more like its o.k. to have nice things but the less stuff the better. Learning to compromise with each other is something we are working at.

21. I've never been to Las Vegas.

22. When I was younger, I wanted to be an actress, an opera star, a composer, a veterinarian, an author, and a restaurant owner. Now, I don't know what I want to do with my life.

23. My family grew up with out watching T.V. This spurred lots of creative moments for my sister and me.

24. If I were to do college over again I would think about majoring in Philosophy or Religion. My favorite course was Philosophy of Social Science... It altered the way I think about life.

25. Camp Del Corazon (Heart camp) was a life saver... I learned so much about myself especially that I shouldn't let my heart disease hold me back from living.