The "International" South

So it was time for me to get out and get ready for New Year's Day by purchasing the standard black-eyed peas and sauerkraut/kielbasa (every year on new Year's Day we eat black-eyed peas with ham and sauerkraut with kielbasa). I hadn't purposely looked for "Southern" food in the grocery store since we moved here, but today when I found the aisle with the black-eyed peas I couldn't help but chuckle and take out my camera for a snapshot. Apparently here in New England, "Southern" food is considered "International" because right there between the Mexican and Chinese food, there it was— the "Southern" section. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!"


~Sarah E. Rose~

A Todhunter Christmas

Since we've been married (eight years now), we've previously only shared one Christmas with Sarah's dad and stepmom. Separated by distance and little available vacation time in the past, we opted to spend most of our holidays near our home in Tennessee. The last six months living near once distant relatives has been a gift in itself, so spending today with Mike and Robbin was just another treat to an already blessed year. We visited with family and friends, and like most people on Christmas, ate our way through the day! We finished the evening off with some games and our favorite gift exchange, the White Elephant.

More Snow

Today we were hit with the second of the two storms Connecticut was in line to get this weekend. We are pretty faithful to our Sunday morning mass so we braved the weather and headed to church as usual this morning; however, there weren't that many people there. Although Connecticut gets several snow storms throughout the winter months, we have noticed that the roads are less traveled during the flurries and most people seem to stay put until it stops. We are learning to adjust to it and enjoy venturing out to see the virgin snow before the plow trucks come and dirty the white canvas.

Mangiafico's Pastry Shoppe

Since moving up here, one of the things we've enjoyed most is the opportunity to experience different cultures through locally owned shops and restaurants. When we first moved into our apartment, Sarah's dad and stepmom gave us a package of coffee and a tray of delicious cookies from their favorite Italian bakery, Mangiafico's Pastry Shoppe, in Plainville, Connecticut. Sarah's dad was headed to Mangiafico's today to pick up an assortment of pastries for Christmas and invited us to tag along since we had yet to visit this family owned bakery. There still was a lot of snow on the ground from yesterday's storm, but that didn't prevent us or the other Mangiafico's customers from venturing out for the Italian sweets. What a delight for the senses! From the moment we walked into the bakery, we knew we had already consumed a few calories just by breathing in the almond scented air. The bakery was full of vibrant, colorful confections, many of which we had never seen before. Of course, there was a line, but we didn't mind since it gave Sarah time to take some photographs of the beautiful pastries and cookies. We even sampled a few of their creations while waiting for Sarah's dad to place his order for his holiday cookies. This caloric excursion was a perfect match for the cold winter day!

Snow!

Okay, so we are starting to understand that this white stuff comes pretty regularly up here. From what we've been told by other Nutmeggers (that is what Connecticut residents call themselves), today we were hit with a medium-size snow storm. Although we are only responsible for shoveling the snow off of the steps leading up to our apartment, Sarah picked up a shovel and gave shoveling snow a try around the house— even tried the snow blower too! We then went out for some "no-one's-on-the-road-so-let's-visit-the-empty-stores" shopping in Sarah's dad's four wheel drive Nissan Pathfinder and had fun skidding on the turns and going up and down the hills of Bristol (at least everyone had fun doing the sliding EXCEPT Sarah). They are forecasting another storm for Sunday and next Wednesday so it looks like we'll definitely have a white Christmas too. As a matter of fact, we're probably in for our first long, white winter!

Thematic Photographic

Carmi, at his blog Written, Inc., has posted a new subject for his regular weekly thematic photographic project. This week’s project is "quiet" and there is something about this time of year that speaks very softly to me. Sometimes we need breathers, breaks from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, to stop and remember, "Peace Be With You. Be Still. Quiet."

Today I got a much needed and unexpected break in my day. Thanks to the snowstorm that's slowly made it's way across the United States, my employer let us go home early in anticipation of the snowfall. By the time I left the office and got on the road, the snow was falling pretty heavily. By the time I arrived home twenty minutes later, it was falling even more heavily and accumulating everywhere it landed. Having just moved up to Connecticut from Tennessee over the summer, heavy snow is something unusual for me (or at least as far back as I can remember as I'm told I experienced a lot of snow when I was a toddler in Indiana). For me there is something very peaceful and still about the winter months. Maybe it's the fact that things tend to slow down more, or maybe it's something as simple as newly fallen snow that reminds us to quiet down and take things a little slower. I'm sure the long winter months of New England will give me much time for reflection.

I have no purposely sought out photographs for this week's entry other than a picture of our house in the snow that I took just moments ago when I arrived home. The other picture of the red building on the water is a picture I took this summer in Canton, Connecticut— about 30 minutes from our home in Bristol. It is an old factory that sits on the side of the Farmington River. It's since been converted into a museum and antiques store— quite picturesque and quiet looking, wouldn't you say? My third and final entry this week is a picture I took of Rosemarie, my stepmother's mom, this Thanksgiving. Her sister and last sibling, Cha, passed away Thanksgiving Day. Although her passing was expected, death is never easy for those of us left behind. Rosemarie sat quietly most of that day in her sunroom. Although she didn't say much, her eyes were telling and her thoughts distant.




~Sarah E. Rose~

First Snow of Winter 2008/2009

Okay, so we understand that to pretty much everyone else in Connecticut, snow isn't really that big of a deal, but we were excited to get our first snow of the winter! It actually started snowing on us last night while we were traveling home from a concert. We decided to take Baden out this morning in his sweater to see how well he would tolerate it. Needless to say, he will probably be getting a little coat and booties too because he didn't seem to pleased with the cold white stuff!

Behold the Lamb of God Concert

Tonight we took the youth group to see a concert in New Milford, Connecticut. The concert, Behold the Lamb of God, was written, arranged and performed by Andrew Peterson along with several other talented musicians. This concert marked the beginning of an all night program we had prepared for the youth group. Unfortunately though, Justin got pretty sick at the concert with an intense headache so we weren't able to go back to the church with the youth. The concert was still pretty amazing and I understand from speaking with the other youth ministers that the "Advent Sleepover" was also a huge hit as well.

~Sarah E. Rose~

Annual Christmas Baking

Every year I take off from work on the first Friday in December to start my Christmas baking and candy making. This has become a tradition for me and a move to Connecticut wasn't going to slow this woman down!

Each year I've done this, I've been fortunate to have different friends come over to help me with the baking and the day will usually include some Christmas music and/or some favorite Christmas movies playing in the background. This year my stepmother Robbin, her sister Deb, and their mother Rosemarie came up to our apartment to help. This was definitely the smallest kitchen I've ever had to work in for my Christmas baking day, but with Rosemarie washing dishes the whole afternoon and my Hoosier cabinet counter-top pulled out, we made the space work. Baden was even entertained with a stuffed gingerbread dog toy my mom sent up for his St. Nick's present!

Here is a list of this year's goodies:

• Dark Chocolate Covered Mini Nutter Butters
• White Chocolate Covered Mini Golden Oreos
• White Chocolate Covered Homemade Mounds Candy
• Dark Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls a.k.a "Buckeyes"
• Chocolate Crinkles
• Swedish Sugar Cookies
• Mint Meltaways
• Russian Teacake Cookies
• Lights in the Snow
• Grandpa Jim Cookies a.k.a. "Holiday Spritz Pressed Cookies"
• Peppermint Bark

As usual, we had a great time and although I didn't get everything finished, thanks to my helpers, I got a great start on this year's Christmas baking.

~Sarah E. Rose~

Wordle

I ran across "Wordle" on another blog and have just had a BLAST playing with it. Give it the words you want, choose your font and layout, and viola!!!! Click here and give it a try.

~Sarah E. Rose~

This Grasshopper Has Grown!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson from A Return to Love

Sometimes we need reminders of how far we’ve come. Not only have I traveled a great distance to the state of Connecticut, but I’ve also grown in so many other ways in the past few months, let alone years. It wasn’t until tonight that I truly realized how much.

I started a new job in the summer of 2004 with an acquaintance I remembered only vaguely from my teenage years. Funny thing was, neither he nor I were looking for full-time permanent work, but our temporary job turned out to be a three year long position and the beginning of a new career for both of us.

By the time I started that job, I was angry at the world and very bitter in general. I had very little self esteem and I didn’t understand what qualities I possessed or what others saw in me. I did not value or even love myself. God knew all this and brought me to a place where I could be healed.

Through this rekindled friendship, I slowly began to work on becoming the person I am today. My friend would always know what to say and would give me words of encouragement. I looked forward to these life lessons and especially loved the nickname, Grasshopper, he used when he was trying to teach me something. He actually sent me this Marianne Williamson quote in 2004 and I had all but forgotten about it until I ran across it tonight. I don't think I truly understood what he wanted me to get out of it until now. Only when you learn to love yourself do you begin to realize and see all that God is doing in your life.

I am so proud of who I am today. I acknowledge my flaws, but I also now see my many gifts too. It's not always easy and I do have my moments, but I don't think I would be the person I am today without my dear friend, Shannon. So, here's to you Shannon! Watch me shine because this Grasshopper has grown!

~Sarah E. Rose~

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Shannon preached the homily on Sunday, November 23, 2008 at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Click here to listen to his message about addiction and recovery.