Haiku Friday.

Stained glass windows are 

etched on Her wings, royalty

sent to humble us. 

Can I Can? I think I Can...

Me as soon as we're all settled in our new place. Image found here:  http://www.dodgegrain.biz/content.aspx?cid=17 

As the weather gets hotter, Readers, a certain, strange urge begins to overtake me.

On my lunch hours, I will haunt Pike's Place market, looking for the best prices on dill. My Internet search engine history will show "jars and rings for sale," "you-pick tomatoes", and "jar sanitizing without a dishwasher".

Readers, I am becoming obsessed with Canning.

This is not the first time I've been overcome by a need for good, homemade pickles, Readers. It appears as if I am (at least) a third generation "Canner"; both of my grandmothers canned anything they could get their hands on, and my mother would "put up" homemade pickles every summer when I was little. Our basement walls would always be lined with colorful jars of pickles, tomatoes, dilly beans, vanilla, and jam.

While growing up in Wisconsin, this was (at least, it seemed that way to me as a kid) the norm for people. EVERYONE I knew canned their own food. Why on earth would anybody buy pickles from the store when you could make perfectly good ones yourself at home at a fraction of the cost? IT'S A COLLOSAL WASTE OF MONEY!

I've done a bit of canning on my own, Readers. One summer while I was in high school, I decided that I was going to make my own pickles. With my mother's watchful eye over my shoulder and my grandmother on the phone for moral support, I washed the cucumbers, sanitized the jars, boiled the lids, prepared the hot water bath, packed the garlic and dill, and after a hot, steamy afternoon (oh, GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE GUTTER!) I had two dozen jars of garlic dill pickles that would be ready to eat come Halloween.

Obviously, living in downtown Seattle presents a challenge to this would-be Canner. My mother and grandmothers (ESPECIALLY my dad's mother, who has a legendary green thumb) all have ridiculously amazing gardens that produce baskets and baskets of beautiful vegetables. For them, canning is almost a necessity; any produce that's not eaten fresh HAS to be processed otherwise food gets wasted.

I'm allowed a small "P-patch" in my apartment buildings courtyard, but this is literally only about a square foot of space. Luckily for me, I still have access to amazing and inexpensive fruits and veggies; I live within walking distance to Pikes Place market, AND the Capitol Hill weekly farmer's market. John and I also have a Costco membership.  Even if I have to buy my fruits and vegetables, I can still satisfy my urge to Can.

Another challenge, as I've written before, is the size of my kitchen. My kitchen is TINY. As in microscopic. Space is needed if a scatterbrain like me wants to can fruits and vegetables safely. This is just a sad reality of having a short attention span; my workspace is constantly cluttered with dirty dishes, papers, and whatnot,  but I'm certainly not the first Canner in my family to be easily distracted. I will clear out and sanitize my counter, dining table and even the computer desk, if I must. (My future husband, by the way, is completely supportive of my canning antics. Just so long as I don't get garlic on his laptop).

Organization of time is going to be another hurdle for me. The jars and rings need to be sanitized and organized just so, the brine/liquid/alcohol needs to maintain a certain temperature and pH, and once your cucumbers/tomatoes/beans/whatever have been packed into jars, you need to get the liquid in, lids on, and get those jars in the canning kettle ASAP or you run the risk of Botulism (a form of food poisoning that can literally kill you).

Having an itty-bitty working area and a short attention span is going to be a challenge for me. HOWEVER, I know that I am not the first to be faced with these problems. If I need to cut my canning down to 3-4 jars at a time, then so be it. If I need to get a buddy or my fiance to help me, then so be it.

Canning is a skill that I think is way overdue for a comeback. Being able to know what EXACTLY it is that goes into my family's food will make the prepping, sanitizing, boiling and stewing well worth it.

Aside from my inner granola grinning smugly, I get a strange sort of power rush when I am responsible for making my own food. I got this same rush when I picked vegetables from my garden, and still do when I knead bread dough, or when I make my own barbeque sauce.

Come what may, I can feed my family. Come the zombie apocolypse, alien attack, freak snow-storm, pandemic-du-jour...we will have food that we can trust is not loaded with God-knows-what and that tastes good to boot.

Until next time, Readers!

Haiku(s) Friday

My Allegiance is
to those who Suffer, those who
go into the Night.

My Allegiance is
to the lost Wanderers, who've
been robbed of their lamps.

My Allegiance is
to those who Stumble, reaching
into the Blackness.

My Allegiance is
to those who Cry because they've
been Raped, Tortured, Beat.

My Allegiance is
to Yahweh's People, NOT to
those who cry "Lord, Lord".

Wedding planning hooplah part 4: My Amazing Shape-Shifting Wedding!

We are entering the final stretch, Readers! Less than two months to go before my wedding day!

I'm afraid that I'm going to have to put away my knitting needles for a while. I won't be posting any projects until after September, unless by some miracle I find myself with some time to knit. I will be continuing with my weekly haikus and CAMD (Cinderella Ate my Daughter) book review, though, so stay tuned!

As far as wedding planning goes, things are starting to come together. Venue, music, cake...exciting (and overwhelming!) times up ahead!

It's amazing, Readers, how much my idea of a "Dream Wedding" has changed as I've gotten older. As I've been going through each individual piece of the upcoming celebration, I can't help but notice how my "boneh-fiday" wedding is almost completely different than the "Dream Wedding" I made up for myself when I was young.

When I was a daydreaming teenager, I thought I wanted something like this for my wedding cake:

PUT MORE FLOWERS ON IT! MORE FLOWERS! AND MORE PINK! Image found here:  http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/pink-hydrangea-blossoms-wedding-cake-2011-05-30.htm

And as a grown-up bride, I've decided on this style of wedding cake:

Take out the flowers and there you have it. Simple and streamlined, not taking attention away from John and I <3

The bouquet I thought I wanted when I was but a wee Jackie:

SPARKLES SPARKLES SPARKLES SPARKLES SPARKLES!! Image found here:  http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/100416266661040814_33Xwg15j.jpg

And the style of bouquet I'll be walking down the aisle with. Since becoming somewhat of a granola, I found myself insisting on using flowers that will be seasonal and reasonably local.

We will also be incorporating peppermint leaves into my bouquet, since John's pet-name for me is "Peppermint". Image found here:  http://ghostacademy.blogspot.com/2011/09/wild-and-wispy.html

As a kid, I imagined that on my wedding day, I would walk down the aisle looking like I stepped out of the grand finale of a Disney film. I would be wearing a big, poofy ball gown with a mile-long train, that would delicately flutter in the wind as my prince would carry me away! 

Readers, I actually tried this dress on. It's the "Beauty and the Beast" wedding  dress from Alfred Angelo. The skirt must have had 100 yards of tulle in it; it was so big that I was unable to walk without tripping! Image found here:  http://www.alfredangelo.com/company/homepage.aspx

And the wedding gown that I fought SO HARD to get, that makes me feel like less of a princess and more like MYSELF...

 You didn't honestly think I'd post a picture of my wedding dress, did you Readers? Ha. 

A weekly haiku and CAMD review can be expected on Friday! Until next time! 

Haiku Friday

My Lord and Savior
Tells me not to submit, but
To Be Not Afraid.

Wedding Planning Hooplah, part 3: fun with timezone differences!

Image found here:  http://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/time_zone.shtml 

Date: July 9th, 2012.
Time: 6:55 am.

There I was. Lying spread-eagled on my bed, snoring gently. Blankets and pillows are lying pell-mell all around me, since I seem to have a habit of running marathons in my sleep. There are bridal magazines, embroidery projects, and sewing thread all around the floor. I am in a rare moment of bliss, Readers; for the first time in weeks I had been blessed with a full night of uninterrupted slumber.

A beam of sunlight escapes through my window and gently kisses my face, causing me to regain consciousness for just a breath of a moment, as if God was shaking me awake to witness the glorious weather Seattle was having that morning. I cracked my eyes open, and seeing the tiny horizontal lines of azure that glowed through the blinds, sleepily smiled. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, and seeing that I had a good half-hour until my alarm went off, closed my eyes and let my brain get back to work bathing my neurons in glutamate and inhibitory transmitters.

Sweet, sweet inhibitory transmitters.

I was floating, in a gentle reverie, Readers, when...

Phone: "BRRRRRINGbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
            BRRRRRINGbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!"

Me: "wha...wha?..mph...urg...zzzzzz...."

Phone: "BRRRRRINGbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
            BRRRRRINGbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!"

Me: "burugh...whathehell.....muah..prerfgh...."

*clumsily picks up phone, drops it after forgetting that it was plugged in, and answers while still
semi-conscious.*

Me: "Mph...Hello?"

Un-naturally Perky Wedding Coordinator: "GOOD MORNING AM I SPEAKING TO JACQUELINE?"

Me: "ummmmm....izzat my name? i think that's my name...yyeah?"

Un-naturally Perky Wedding Coordinator: "OH FABULOUS I'M CALLING FROM THE *insert name of my wedding reception site* AND I WANTED TO JUST VERIFY THAT YOU WILL BE SERVING THE FILLET OF SOLE AND THE CHICKEN DISH PER YOUR EMAIL WITH THE CATERING DEPARTMENT AND I'M AFRAID WE CAN'T SERVE THOSE OPTIONS BUFFET STYLE SO WOULD A SIT DOWN DINNER BE OKAY WITH YOU? MANY OF OUR BRIDES PREFER THE SIT DOWN DINNER OPTION SINCE THIS MAKES IT EASIER TO SET UP THE DANCE FLOOR AND THERE WON'T BE ANY DELAY AFTER THE MEAL......"

Me: "..............................."

Un-naturally Perky Wedding Coordinator: "AND I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE 24 HOURS BEFORE THE RECEPTION FOR DECORATING THE SITE NOW I FEEL I SHOULD REMIND YOU THAT WE DO HAVE A BAN ON BALLOONS SINCE THEY CAN HURT THE LOCAL WILDLIFE..."

Me: ".................................uhhuh...."

Un-naturally Perky Wedding Coordinator: "....I'M SORRY DID I CATCH YOU AT A BAD TIME???"

Me: "............kind of......"

UPWC: "WELL I WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED TO GIVE YOU A CALL AT A MORE CONVENIENT TIME!!! :-) :-) :-) <3<3<3 :-) :-) :-)"

Me:"............mmkay......."

UPWC: "YOU HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL DAY AND THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING *insert name of my wedding reception venue*! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN SEPTEMBER!"

*click*

After four clumsy attempts to get my phone plugged back in, I sat there on my bed, blinking, trying to process what exactly it was that my wedding coordinator was trying to tell me. As my foggy mind slowly began to climb out of its early-morning stupor, I grabbed a pad of paper and wrote down as much of the over-enthusiastic colloquy as I could remember.

I knew that having the wedding in Massachusetts was going to be a challenge in the way of planning, but I didn't realize, Readers, that I would be getting phone calls at butt-crack o' clock. The vendors we hired for our wedding have all been great, but a few of them seem to have caught collective retrograde amnesia: John and I have specifically made notes to each of our vendors that we live on the west coast and would prefer that they contact us no earlier than 9am (Pacific time).

I will say, Readers, that if my biggest beef with this planning process is that I'm getting phone calls too early, that I should count myself very lucky. In spite of the (almost) bi-monthly 6:30am phone calls, John and I have had amazingly good fortune with our wedding so far. We were able to get the exact church, venue, and officiant we wanted within two weeks of announcing our engagement (however, my amazing future mother in law has had more to do with this than luck). We have freinds and family throwing themselves at our feet to help us, and Readers, don't even get me started on the Wedding Dress Incident. 

I'm not going to lie, I have had my share of tearful meltdowns. The words "IT'S MY WEDDING!" have, I'm ashamed to say, escaped my lips on at least one occasion. However, I've come to realize that when you're planning the festivities that surround the day you marry the love of your life,  these moments of difficulty are impossible to avoid. John and I are probably one of the luckiest engaged couples EVER, and yet, I still find myself in tears over details most people would find ridiculous.

It's really, REALLY hard to explain without sounding like a Daddy's Girl Bridezilla, but I'll try my best.

 I have a GORGEOUS reception venue, but I am unable to physically see it. The chapel where John and I will exchange our vows is AMAZING, but I cannot visit it in order to see how the lighting will work, and where the best spots will be to take our wedding pictures. The cake will be WONDERFUL, but since the baker is a close family friend who does not have a website, I cannot get a good idea as to what our wedding cake will look like (the same thing is going on with our photographer, but since getting our engagement photos back, I have no worries).

I trust my future family in Massachusetts COMPLETELY, but simply not being able to be there is much, MUCH more mentally taxing than I thought it would be.

John has been nothing but helpful and wonderful. Readers, you have no idea how good it is for my sanity that  my fiance actually takes an active interest in our wedding planning.

In addition to being astronomically helpful in choosing our first dance song, wedding colors, and bible readings, John has also taken on the role of designated therapist. Whenever I start to get overwhelmed and irrationally upset, John knows just what to do to help me regain my sanity.

This usually takes the form of him listening to whatever my concern is ("BUT I DON'T WAAAAANNNNTT CALLA LILIES!!! THEY'RE FUNNNNNEEERRRRALLL FLOOWWWWEEEERRRRSS!!!!!"), considering it, and offering his take on the situation. ("Well, then, Sweetheart, we will tell the florist that we don't want calla lilies.")

So, Readers, I guess that I should be thankful that UPWC is so prompt in calling me, even if he does wake me up at butt o'clock in the morning. Planning a wedding from 2,000 miles away is a little bit nuts, Readers, but guess what? I'm a little bit nuts.

Until next time <3

Haiku Friday. Nerd alert.

This amazing superhero comes from my fiance, who aspires to be the next Stan  Lee.  The blog post with this character can be found here:  http://sketcheveryday.blogspot.com/2012/07/orb-weaver.html

Some men give flowers.
My Love has made me into
A super hero.

(He really did, Readers. Seriously).