joe and jen's place: September 2008

the wine cellar

we now live in a two bedroom apartment - our new room is done! here it is, before and after (sorry this took so long, kat!):

this is looking in through the doorway, from the hall. we now have ALL our books out of storage thanks to these books shelves.

and we finally have a place to showcase joe's sailboats

my DIL built the bookcase :)

no room for lamps in this space, so my dad put in the fancy recessed lighting

here's from the opposite corner of the room, looking out the door into the hallway. i can't get the whole room in the viewfinder. but you can see where we stash our vaccuum. :) though we weren't sure we'd like it, we painted the concrete floor. it keeps things nice a cool in there, just like a wine cellar.

view through the window. it's small but it lets in the light and fresh air.

we also got a few new items for the living room, courtesy of ikea (the chair, rug, and ottomans). my goal with our house this year has been to simplify and declutter. so, although we now have more furniture, it's made the space more usable. i just got rid of all the knicknacks and things around. I'm getting pretty practical in my old age. :)

eighteen holes and some fish

my husband dwells with me knowledgeably. i needed some cheering up, and he noticed. "come on," he said, hopping out of his reading chair. "it's neptune's kingdom for you!" and off we went, and we had such fun! i can't remember the last time we went minigolfing. i had a good putt, but joe's drive was better and he won. but we both got such a terrible score that we had to walk the plank.

i guess i cheered up :0)

then we went to johnny's harborside for some fish and chips. and a little something else, too. ;)

i don't know how long this has been the thing to do, but restaurants these days are offering "bites" of desserts. i think it's brilliant! instead of a whole piece of cheesecake, you can order just a bite, and of course it's a fraction of the price.

the brownie in the middle won by a mile.

i love joe. :)

from momma's garden, just when i needed a little something...

i LOVE these roses. right next to my french poetry books from, like, who knows what century. joe wanted to buy them for me when we were in coeur d'alene with some college friends freshman year. he wanted to get them for me really badly. but, that would look bad. especially when one attends a small school in a small town. :) so, he was thankful when i bought them myself, because he wanted me to have them. but he was way bummed that they weren't coming from "yours truly, with love."

september food

i can't believe september's practically over already! we cooked a lot this month (as usual), and i didn't get a whole lot on film (not usual), but here's what i did get, which were pretty much our favorites.

pizza. we made several versions this month. this particular one had cherry tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden, basil and chive from our garden, boccerini mozzerella, ten-year aged balsamic vinegar, parmesan, and proscuitto on a cornmeal crust.

i tried my hand at a vegetarian dish (read, helping the food budget): garam masala basmati with garlic lentils and sauteed green beans with toasted almonds and cranberries. it was SO good (though it harldly LOOKS good), but unfortunately, we were both in the kitchen a few hours later looking for something to eat. perhaps a meat version of protein fills one's tummy a little more robustly. at any rate, we could never be vegetarians. :)

but speaking of vegetarian fare, joe made an awesome eggplant sandwhich last night. yah, scary, i know. never thought i'd eat the plant in my life. but, something about the pesto, sundried tomatoes, manchego cheese, and balsamic onions made it yummy. :)

chicken pesto lasagna. a little leftover basil pest + marcia harken's lasagna recipe from my college days. this was a big hit with my mil (mother in law) and fil (father in law). in fact, we got invited over to their house the next day and were asked if we might happent to have any leftovers. ;) so we had a second sabbath feast on the pesto-y goodness.

sabbath table

out with mum n' dad

at tarpy's again. you know, that restaurant that used to be the house of the guy that shot his wife and then was hung there. yah, that place. :) it was fun.

the biggest burger i've ever had. note the avacado, new addition to my culinary "loves".

"english bloke" by jen

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 46 is a song of hope and trust in the midst of great turmoil and tribulation. It is divided into three sections, each section ending with a Selah, or a call to meditation. The first section underscores the stability that our God is in the midst of natural disasters and overwhelming situations. The second section describes our God’s habitation as an unshakeable city, pitted against the nations of the earth, which rage and melt into ruin. The third section is an invitation to understand what our God has done, finding in His strength and sovereignty, our own hope and rest.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The psalmist begins with the affirmation that God is our only foundation. He is our refuge, our hiding place, our strong tower, our fortress. When the earth shakes, and the mountains crumble, and the waters roar and foam, there is not much from our vantage point that looks stable, or safe. Our eyes are beholding utter chaos and destruction, literally watching our world fall apart. With earthly eyes, it looks as if everything is coming to an end. But the psalmist knows where his, and our, hope is found. It is in the strength of God. He knows this from experience too. He knows his God from previous encounters with this divine strength. The fact that the affirmation comes first, testifies to this. His belief in the strength and might of our God is so solid, that he is able to say, “therefore, we will not fear”. The earth has not yet given away, or the mountains been moved. The psalmist anticipates with such trust what God is going to do. He has likely known this from an early age. His parents would have told him the stories of their grandparents crossing the Red Sea, or gathering manna in the wilderness. He would have grown up hearing the tales of the battles with Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, and would have known the power of God to conquer, and to sustain. He knows his God, and has experienced Him in both the stories of his community, and of his family, and also likely in the drama of his own life. His knowledge of God is firm, his trust in His goodness, so implicit, that the psalmist doesn’t care what might happen, the universe could explode, and God would be our refuge and strength. No matter the trouble, no matter the trial, He is a very present help. His help is not delayed, it is immediate. He doesn’t know how God will help him, that is not his concern. He only knows, and firmly trusts that He will. He knows this because He has, and has promised faithfulness to the those who trust in Him.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. The City of God, as Augustine has so brilliantly laid out for us, is His people. We are the city of God. We are the holy habitation of the Most High. This is made clear in the next verse: God is in her midst. Who are Gods people, if not His body? Who are we if not His temple? The Church will not be moved. And when morning dawns, God will grant her aid. The psalmist pits this unshakable kingdom, this immovable city against the nations of men. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.” These cities of men, the City of Man shakes. The city of Man will crumble. But, the LORD of hosts is with us. He is the God of our fathers, and He is our fortress. Because He is the walls of this City, they can never be moved, they can never be shaken. They are forever. Heaven and Earth may pass away, but the Word of the Lord will stand forever. God is in our midst. He is with us. We shall not be moved.

Come, behold the works of the Lord. We are called, again, to consider what our God has done. Recall to mind, the psalmist directs us, the glorious victories our God has brought us. Remember how he brought peace to our people, how He defeated the bow and spear and chariot. The nations of men rise up against our God, but He is strong, and mighty, and desolates their armies. These are things the psalmist experienced. They are deeds near enough in living memory to be able to be beheld. He is able to say to those who sing this psalm, “Look! Don’t you remember what God did?” The psalmist then ends the song with the words of his Lord, “Be still, and know that I am God.” After seeing all that He has done, God commands that we recognize that it was He who did it. He declares that He will have final victory over the nations, and in the earth. He will be exalted, for it is only right that He is. His enemies will not stand forever. They will bow the knee.

We are called to Know that He is God. How do we do this? There are three different ways we receive confirmation that God is who He says He is. First, we know from stories and histories. We know what He has done. We were taught it from an early age. We read it in His Word. Our parents and grandparents share the tales of Gods victory. The trust is implicit, because we know His promises to be true. Not only have we read the stores, and heard the tales, but we have experienced them in our own life. God has proved Himself over and over again, to the point where the first words out of our mouths in trials are “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Afterwards, come what may. But this implicit trust is learned, and honed by experience. But the Word is not only full of stories. It is full of all the riches of God’s Truth. And by His Spirit, we are taught His character, His nature, His creation, and the full economy of His redemption. We come to know who He is, how He works, and what He has done for us. Secondly, we know that God is who He says He is because we belong to His unshakeable City. We are members of the Kingdom that will not fall. We live in the fortress, the holy habitation which will not be moved. The Church is this City. And the gates of Hell will not prevail against her. We are the holy temple of God, collectively. As the body of Christ we know Him in our midst. We see Christ in our fellow members in the pew. We collectively experience His faithfulness to us. We collectively are made glad by the river of life whose streams run through our habitation. We collectively see every day that the Lord of Hosts is with us. Thirdly, we experience His sovereign hand in our lives. We can look back and see how God has directed our paths, and has been faithful to us in all things. He has preserved us through conflict, trials, and doubt. He has made it clear that He is here, whether or not we believe it.

We stand in the towers of the fortress of Jacob, peering over the edge, and we see the armies of our enemies laying siege against our walls. We stand in the towers, and still we run about, worried and anxious. We fear the armies and doubt the strength of the walls because we forget that they are there at all. Often they occupy only a distant thought, or a warm feeling. We think that God is nice in Sunday school, but when it comes to real life, flannel grams don’t hold much water. We stand in the towers of the fortress of our God, running around, blind to the safety and security of our position. God in His faithfulness, and mercy, and Fatherly love, lays a gentle hand on our over-heated shoulder, and bids us be still.

“Child,” He says, “be still. Know that I am God. Remember the walls on which you stand. Remember my faithfulness to your ancestors, the stories in the book I have given you. Remember the city in which you dwell, in which all your brothers and sisters live safely and in my presence. Remember that I will not forsake you. Remember how I caught you when you fell, and restored you when you were sick, and clothed you when you were naked. Fear not, my son. Know that I am God. I will be exalted over these enemies that rage against us. I will be exalted over the earth which melts. I am with you. I am your peace. Behold, the morning dawns. Be still, know that I am God.”

He waters the earth

last night, it finally rained.

our county has been in stage 2 of drought for two summers, our past rainless winter bringing no relief. and added to it has been the staggering amount of fires california has endured. so what a refreshment for body and soul (and all creation) to have the sky fill up with clouds, and be able to say, "boy, it feels like rain." and sure enough, i woke up in the middle of the night to hear water coming down. though it wasn't a torrential downpour, enough to refill our watersheds, it was wet nonetheless. God has heard our prayers (or, at least mine!). :)

praise God for He is kind; His mercies last for aye! may we have stormy weather!

for melodee :)

this was such a fun day. :) we thoroughly enjoyed our wedding (and we actually remember our ceremony). it couldn't have been more precious or more beautiful.

anniversary, part five

after dinner at the Patisserie, we wandered down the street to the last of the concerts for Bach Festival 2008. it was called "The Best of the Fest" and, by george, it was! these musicians come from all over the world, the cream of the crop. we sat in the very front row, down there with all the carmel grands and their jewels and tuxes, and soaked it all up. the music was more beautiful than our language can express. but our souls were soaring and full of joy.

between performances, while the stage hands were setting and re-setting chairs, hauling out pianos, setting up harpsicords, and generally being amazing, the conductor told stories about composers and their music. i forget which swedish composer he was talking about, but he said:

"when questioned on his opinions of Bach, the swede announced, 'if Bach is not in heaven, i'm not going.'"

and we pretty much feel that way too. :)

this guy was amazing! he was like a musical mario batali. his rather large fingers were dancing all over those tiny strings. :)

anniversary, part four

this was dinner at the Patisserie Boissiere, on our actual day. however, i don't know if i can ever go back, as i will never again be able to drink coffee from these demitasses. i ordered coffee, and the waitress brought me out a big old cup and saucer. what?! no demitasse? i explained my shock and discomfort, and the waitress had to dig this one out of the back somewhere, but notified me that all the others had broken! how sad! this is lil' cup o' cafe is why i go to the Patisserie!! a sad day has come. but, i suppose their simply amazing pastries will have to suffice.

here's us. do we look five years older?? :)

anniversary, part three

second day, and, we ate again. after we had driven all over monterey and pacific grove old-book hunting, we sat down in this quaint little place and had a bit o' lunch as we thumbed through our new finds.

isn't this adorable?! i think i might have to have a red house with white trim and a brick fireplace someday.

the inside's just as cute, too. old wood everywhere. so much character.

anniversary, part two

like i said, we celebrated. which means, we ate. :) (and, somehow, i returned home having lost a few pounds! how does that work??) anyhoo, we found a new restaurant that one must go to when one is in carmel. we have a few particular favorites, but this restaurant is good enough to be on that list. we will go back again...someday. maybe in another five years. :)