Advent Theory

If I could take a year off and just read, I think I’d jump on it.  My co-workers are convinced that I have an Amazon.com “problem” and have threatened an intervention.  But the packages keep coming.  The boxes smile and I smile when I see the boxes.  There are such diverse genres to choose from, and my reading habits definitely mirror where I am in my life.  Growing up it was always science fiction or fantasy that could take me away.  I was figuratively light years away.  Then I went through a mystery phase that seemed to match my real life drive to figure things out.  Now much of my reading is split between business technology and spirituality, with a smattering of “how-to.”

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My friend has been on a quest to master the art of Chicago-style deep dish pizza and I am her happy, happy tasting assistant.  She says she like to share the calories so that her waistline can afford to experiment more often.  I love these dinners.  I don’t argue.  The aroma last night was mouth-watering.  The cast iron skillet came out of the oven and the scent of heaven washed over us.  Slicing into the pie brought out strings of melted mozzarella, but it was the filling that had me won over.  Instead of spinach it was lightly sautéed Swiss chard & garlic with lemon juice layered with razor thin slices of onions and mushroom sautéed in butter and pepper.  Provolone cheese held the bottom and added a smoky base to the light, fresh mozzarella.  Tomatoes with a medley of seasoning topped it all off with freshly grated parmesan.  It was delicious!

This summer I dreamed the perfect vegetable garden.  It never made it far past the dreaming stage, but I did get to the bed preparation before losing my way.  I was going to have the perfect vegetable garden.  It wasn’t going to be big.  I haven’t wanted a big garden since I was a child growing up on a farm and realized how much work a big garden can be, but I have missed fresh home-grown vegetables.  I decided to implement “Gardening by the Square Foot” technology and dug out my small four square foot garden.  My neighbor lent me his tiller and I plowed in compost that I had been cultivating for a year.  The composted earth was dark and full of wonderful worms sure to bring great vegetables.  All was going according to plan, better than plans actually, all until the weather turned.  Things “snowballed” from there, if you can imagine a snowball in May in Texas.  Between the weather and weekends being consumed by work and workshops, I looked up to see the planting season gone.  But next year… Next year there will be tomatoes, peppers, squash.

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Today at lunch I played Magic, the card game, with my coworker.  It’s a great way to relax in the middle of the day and let my brain rest for a bit.  I find that taking my mind off a problem I’m working on can often help me find the solution even quicker.  The other part is that it is nice to have a fun game to play while we talk.  Sometimes we just joke around.  Sometimes we talk about life in a way that is wonderfully meaningful.  Today, we brainstormed over a game of our own that we are creating in our spare time.