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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Keb Mo' sings a song for Earth Day

I missed posting anything about Earth Day last weekend, though I was very aware of it for a lot of different reasons. Every day should be Earth Day, really, so it's not to late to share our feelings about our wonderful planet in different ways.

Here's Keb Mo's way. If you've never run into him before, I recommend having a listen to his other music. My best pal, Cathy, introduced me to him some years ago through his song, God Trying to Get Your Attention, and I was hooked.

But his Earth Day song this year is something else altogether, backed up with so many images of earth's beauty and her struggle against single-use plastic. I love the images of the kids doing what they can to make a difference, and though we have a long way to go, the song is brimming with hope. Enjoy!

Sunday, April 23, 2023

A different kind of Sunday reflection

This morning at our Sunday service at Community of Emmanuel in the Inner City, Pastor Ruth spoke about how the downhearted followers of Jesus must have felt on the road to Emmaus, and how they were puzzled by the Stranger who walked with them, and surprised when he broke the bread.

Then, instead of singing as he usually does, Farley simply recited the words to Leonard Cohen's Anthem, and his voice cracked with emotion every time he got to the words, "there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." It was the perfect touch for today's remembrance of the Emmaus event. Those two disciples were stumbling along in the darkness after good Friday, but the Light found them on the road.

I leave you with Mr. Cohen's song. I'm so grateful he penned those words, there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Simple Suggestion #287 -- How to make kefir

Make what?

Kefir (pronounced kee-FEAR) is a yogurt like milk drink, slightly fermented, made with kefir grains and full of probiotics, or so I'm told. I used to make yogurt smoothies, but kefir is actually easier to make than yogurt, and I love how it tastes blended with a banana, some frozen berries from last summer, and a tablespoon of peanut butter. The banana gives it enough sweetness, the berries a bit of tang, and I just love peanut butter for the sake of peanut butter. Kefir smoothies are my daily breakfast, quick, easy, and nutritious, with the bonus of being my daily dose of calcium.

I received my first kefir culture from my L'Arche friend, Honey, in a small jar, and kept it going for probably ten years -- until the day Shadow-dog died, actually, when I used up all of my culture because I was distracted by losing him.

Running out of kefir that way gave me the opportunity to try to make it from a store-bought culture, as Honey no longer uses kefir, and I don't know anyone else who does. So I bought a bottle of it from a grocery store, the least expensive variety, and used some of it to try to make more. And voila, it worked!

Why make my own kefir? Why make my own anything? Because it cuts out packaging that clogs our landfills. If I can grow or bake or somehow make something from scratch, you can bet there will be less garbage left over. And if I'm about living simply and leaving less of a footprint on our planet, weekly plastic kefir jugs are not the way to go. It's also generally much less expensive to make things from scratch. I think I paid $6.99 for less than a litre of kefir in a plastic bottle. I can make it for under half that!

So this is how it works. For my first new batch of kefir, I filled about a quarter of my glass quart jar (pictured above) with store-bought culture and filled it the rest of the way with milk. Then I covered it with a small piece of flannel (in case of little fungus gnats who sometimes live in my house and like to unsuccessfully go for a swim). I set it on a sunless kitchen shelf, and waited for it to thicken. The first time, it took two overnights, and I stirred it to be sure it was activated when it didn't thicken quite as quickly as I expected. (Good trick to remember).

For my second batch, the thickness of the first batch convinced me that I could probably get away with using less culture, but just to be on the safe side, I used the same trick, and it thickened over night. For my third batch, I only used a table spoon of culture. It didn't thicken up over night, so I stirred it (that trick again) and waited a second night. Sometimes thickening can be slow, perhaps because the tablespoon of culture I use doesn't hold enough kefir grains, but I just give it a stir and another night on the shelf. Once it has thickened, I keep it in my fridge.

If you've never tried kefir and live in my neighbourhood, I'm happy to share some culture to save a friend from buying a single-use plastic bottle. For that matter, I'd be delighted to make you a kefir smoothie anytime!

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Everyone and everything will rise again

The last month or two have been really tough. Losing my friend Arthur, and my little walking buddy, Shadow-dog -- as well as a few friends I didn't moodle about -- has me thinking a lot about death... and resurrection. My friend Ruth, who died on Easter Sunday morning six years ago, is also on my mind.

There's a lot of death happening in the world right now simply because death happens, but also because we human beings seem to think we're in charge -- and cause death without thinking. I guess too many of us have been playing God. The problem with putting ourselves in charge instead of God is that we don't see the whole picture for all of creation, and too often we miss the small but critical details. Like I didn't notice, until this morning, the greening of my periwinkle vine...

The hope that comes with Easter is that the risen Christ, the anointed one, has anointed all of creation with him. Everyone and everything is holy, and it all will rise again with him, no matter how bad we mess up. Of course, the trick is not to wait until the resurrection on the "last day," but to change our hearts and start repairing our messes now!

Once we internalize that everyone and everything is holy, and start living like we believe everyone and everything are holy, prejudice, violence, war -- and the rest of the pestilences that plague us as a human race -- fall apart. Resurrection becomes the norm, and positive, grassroots changes start to happen, and everything rises. Or at least that's what I'm hoping, praying, and working for.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about places where injustice, broken ecosystems, war, and disaster presently have the upper hand, and I'm remembering the friends I've lost. I'm imagining all the world, past, present, and future, coming together, and becoming fully aware of our holiness and the sacredness of all creation. Now is the time to start working to change our hearts and our world, so we can all, together, reclaim our ability to wave our hands, stomp our feet, and sing a lot of alleluias as we work so that everyone and everything can rise again before that "last day". 

This song, We Will Rise Again, written by Ben Keyes and sung by folk acoustic trio, Ordinary Time, is my theme song for this Easter Sunday. Roll that stone away from us, O God, and help us all to change our hearts and do what needs to be done!

Enjoy!

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Bees and coffee grounds

Don't throw away those coffee grounds! They compost easily... and bees like them too (apparently, caffeine affects bees like it affects humans, giving a bit more edgy energy).

My compost pile is buzzing with happy little bees today! Has anyone else had this experience?

Monday, April 3, 2023

Monday Music Appreciation #7 -- for Holy Week

I wish I could post the slightly funky, bluesy Palm Sunday song that Farley sang yesterday for the Community of Emmanuel, but I can't find it online because I can't quite remember the words, and he couldn't remember where he learned it either. It was a sweet recounting of the story of Palm Sunday and the week following, and how everyone there was wondering who this Jesus was -- a madman, or the one they'd been waiting for. If you recall a song like that, please let me know!

Instead, I'll leave you something a bit more sublime for this Holy Week, Lift Thine Eyes from Mendelssohn's Elijah, a grand retelling of the biblical story of the prophet, which I heard for the first time on Friday night, sung by the Richard Eaton Singers, accompanied by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The women of RES gave me goosebumps -- they started so softly, and built into something really beautiful.

The version below is a "covid version" that brought together women from different eras of the Seattle Girls Choir. Enjoy!