(Jaden’s 3-year-old version of “reading” the Happy Trails sign on the camp store door of Ironwood Springs Christian Retreat Center)

Happy Trails to you, until we meet again…
But we have to sing this over and over….

Summer day in the Northern tier: blue-sky-white-clouds
We carry on as if everything was normal, driving across two states
to deliver our children to the airport where our happy trails converged last week.
But everything is not normal: we are saying good-bye

At the airport, I gather last-moment wherewithal to say what has been avoided…
“Give Nana hugs and kisses; we have to say good-bye.”
XOXOXOXO
“Where are you going, Nana?”
How to evade this ever-dreaded announcement?
“You are taking the airplane back home to Texas, sweetheart.”
Puzzlement
Public farewells that dictate dispassion and abhor anguish should be banned…
“You have to come play at my water table in the back yard, Nana!
The airplane can bring you, too!”
Hope in his eyes
Tears in mine

There he goes
Hop-skip-jumping innocently twixt parental pillars
Woody and Buzz bobbing rhythmically
The end of a captivating movie
and me, still sitting in the theater, waiting for the sequel

Children get it
When do we stop listening to them?
WHY do we stop listening?
When do they follow our example and stop listening to their hearts?
Lord, no wonder You love children so…
can you make me a child, again?

The Clarence Michaelson 'Kids'

One of the most meaningful parts of the whole event was the celebration of a 60th, a 50th, and a 40th wedding anniversary by three of the Michaeleson “kids”: Bob & Phyllis (Michaeleson) Thomas [Bobbi's parents], Alan and Mary Michaelson, and Paul and Gloria Michaelson respectively. In each case, some of the children of these celebrants reminisced about their family experiences. Lots of laughs, a few tears, and many heartfelt thanks for years of faithfulness.

50 - 60 - 40 Years of Marriage: WOW!

For our little segment of the Michaelson demographic, it was a great time of being together. Since we were not all together at Christmas, this was the first time for all of us to be able to spend time together relaxing and talking. Britt was able to enjoy her role as Jaden’s “Aunt B” and almost convinced him to join her for a ‘talent show’ rendition of the Veggie Tales theme song (which he knows quite well in all its detail except for ‘waltz down the mile’ instead of ‘waltz down the aisle’ with potatoes). The presence of great-grandpa and great-grandma Bob and Phyllis was special — Jaden decided the best name for them was ‘superpapa’ and ‘supernana’. He also enjoyed tagging along with his older cousin Jaden Holdsworth.

Bob & Phyllis Thomas, Britt/LeRoy/Bobbi Kroll, Jaden/Jeanette/Will Kroll

Jaden Kroll & Jaden Holdsworth Dominate Dominoes

“Jaden, what did you plant in your garden?”

“Seeds, Nana!”

Spring and Easter have been well coordinated this year. Both in San Antonio, where we spend a few days in March, and Upland in early April, the flowers are in bloom, trees are leafing out, and the grass is getting green again. Rains are bringing new growth, and when it does not always rain enough (like in Texas) a watering can or two will keep the seeds sprouting and peas, broccoli, carrots begin to show their unique shapes.

I’ve been reading Eugene Peterson’s new book, Practice Resurrection, and that is also a timely thing this season. Peterson gets behind the clichés and casual understanding of Easter and the Resurrection to make it part of daily life for believers. He says, “We maintain our (Christian) identity in the practice of resurrection… our identity is not something exterior to us, a label, a nametag. We live out our identity in the practice of resurrection.” Movie versions of the resurrection make it seem like a bomb-blast, breaking into everyone’s lives in an impossible to ignore spectacle. Peterson makes it clear that it was not quite such a spectacle:

In resurrection Jesus was still unimpressive: Mary Magdalene mistook him for a gardener; Cleopas and his friend walked seven miles with him without recognizing him, in conversation all the way… Why do so many of us who see Jesus every day of the week never see him? Are we looking for Jesus walking on water, a cosmic light show, a charismatic circus?… The short answer: God reveals himself in personal relationship and only in personal relationship… He isn’t out to impress us. He’s here to eat bread with us and receive us into his love just as we are, just where we are…

Just like planted seeds, our lives in him are slowly transformed as the light of his Word and the water of his Spirit provide the things we need for growth. Like Jaden’s garden, we will be changed gradually into growing things that bear the crops we were intended to produce, as long as the light and water continue to be provided. And along the way, maybe there will be some beautiful flowers and a little pleasing fragrance as well.

In the text below, when a recipe is on the web (as at Epicurious) the link will take you right there. When it is a PDF file, you will be taken to another blog page, where clicking on a link will download the file to your computer so you can look at it or print it out. Enjoy!

The Salads (part of the first course) were from a variety of sources. The Red Cabbage, Beet, and Apple Salad, which definitely qualified as the surprise hit of the dinner, is from the Scandinavian Feasts book by Ojakangas. The Winter Salad is from the new Gourmet Cookbook (based on the now-defunct magazine, Ruth Reichl editor) but can also be directly viewed via Epicurious at Winter Salad . The third salad, a rich Seafood Salad, is from a cookbook by an unusual Swede, Marcus Samuelsson (he was an Ethiopian orphan adopted by Swedes). He runs a Swedish restaurant in New York City (Aquavit) but the recipe is available via Epicurious at this link: Seafood Salad Recipe . I have the other salad recipe at SmorgasbordRecipeSalads , along with comments about changes or sources for the others.

Other Starters include the standard Per Henriksen sandwich (named after the Dane who ordered it often), my wife’s excellent Limpa bread, and Smorgastarta, a multi-layered hors d’oerve made by layering thin Pepperidge Farm bread slices (crusts removed; I used whole wheat, not the white bread called for) with salads and herbs in dairy products. I ditched the Aebelskivers at the last hour due to time pressures but Williams Sonoma now sells the pans, and even a mix, to make these. We love ‘em and can be prevailed upon to make some for you if you invite us to breakfast sometime. Again, Epicurious is the place for the recipe for Smorgastarta at this link: Smorgastarta Recipe , but I have a few comments about the recipe at the link for the starters below. I made the Per Henriksen as requested in the recipe from Beatrice Ojakangas in Scandinavian Feasts. It is on the pdf file reached by this link: SmorgasbordStarters.

Soups were nice to prepare because they all could be made in advance! In fact, some required it. The very popular Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms and Thyme was a Cooks Illustrated recipe. I am a member of their web site so I have created a PDF of the recipe:  BeefBarleyMushroomSoup. The directions are quite detailed so I am happy to not have to recreate them. I followed them except for two items: they request “6 pounds of beef shank meat cut from bone in large chunks” and that was not exactly on the shelf anywhere — so I used 6 pounds of nice short ribs from Joe O’Malia’s. I used the smaller type of portobello mushrooms (“porcinis”) as the mushrooms requested in the recipe. The White Bean Soup with Winter Vegetables is also from Cooks Illustrated and here is its PDF:  WhiteBeanSoupWinterVeg. I did the recipe pretty much exactly as requested; finding the dried cannellini beans was a BIG challenge but the web came through with a supplier (iHerb) that had them and a lot of others. The last soup, Lentil-Sweet Potato Soup was an incredible creation from Thomas Keller, found in his ad hoc at home cookbook. I can’t give you this recipe without asking for a promise that you will commit a week to do it: you have to first make his incredible chicken stock, clear as white grape juice, then go from there. The recipe is available on the web at a Thomas Keller foodie site: ad hoc at home recipes. I used “beluga” lentils (a black variety of French lentils) uncured applewood smoked bacon from Trader Joe’s, and Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder.

The Meats were lots of fun to decide on. We wanted a mix of them and I guess we got that! The incredibly tender Rosemary Beef Filet (the only item we really ran out of) is from the Gourmet cook book, but it can be found at this link at the Epicurious web site: Rosemary Beef Fillet. I bought the cleaned beef tenderloin at COSTCO; it was double the size requested, so I scaled up the recipe. The Swedish Meatballs were an excellent Cooks Illustrated recipe, made just as specified (double scale) using Joe O’Malia’s ground pork, grass-fed organic buffalo, and more of Thomas Keller’s chicken stock. Here’s the recipe PDF:  SwedishMeatballs. The German standard, Sauerbraten, was based on a recipe from The Spice House in Chicago, from which the special spice mix used was purchased. The beef roast used was a grass-fed organic roast from the Muncie Farmer’s Market at Minnetrista (bought frozen just as the season was ending in October). Ginger Snap crumbs are required: we got the cookies from Trader Joe’s. This is the recipe:  Sauerbraten. Finally, one of our favorite Indiana restaurants, FARM in Bloomington, is the source for Chicken Casserole with Potatoes, Peppers, and Oregano. This recipe is in FARMfood, the cookbook recently written by chef Daniel Orr. I have produced a summary of the recipe as a PDF, which I doubled the scale of (and used skinless chicken breasts instead of the ones with skin recommended). The chicken was from COSTCO; the vegetables and herbs were from Fresh Market on 146th St in Carmel. The recipe:  BakedChickenPotatoesPepper.

Sides were a few good items that begged to be made. These included Hoosier Spoonbread for the FARMfood cookbook. This ‘trendy’ recipe included sage, goat cheese, and winter squash puree. I used genuine Hoosier whole grain cornmeal from the mill at beautiful Spring Mill State Park, a Hubbard squash, and goat cheese from Trader Joe’s. Again, I have produced a ‘customized’ PDF of the recipe:  HoosierSpoonbread. We also had Swedish Brown Beans made according to a recipe from Ojakangas’ Scandinavian Feasts as well as her recipe for Asparagus with Saffron Sauce (for the latter, I used saffron powder Britt gave us upon her return from Greece). I put both of these on one recipe PDF:  SwedishBeans&SaffronAsparagus.

The Desserts had a multitude of sources, but two came from Cooks Illustrated: the Best Shortbread and the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake. they were made pretty much just as directed. See BestShortbread and StickyToffeePuddingCake. There was also a recipe from the Gourmet cookbook, Marbled Lemon Curd Cheesecake which can be found at Epicurious again:  Lemon Curd Cheesecake. The Danish Pastries were based on recipes from The King Arthur Cookbook but that is a very long, multipage recipe, so I have instead chosen a smaller version with “Pain au Chocolat” as the goal. You could use the dough for any Danish pastry desired or (if you are Kelsie, and require chocolate) make the recipe as it is written:  PainauChocolat. Finally, the fifth dessert was Cardamom Cream Cake from Scandinavian Feasts again. It’s quite simple; here is the whole deal: grease and flour a tube or bundt pan; warm the oven to 350°. Combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 t baking powder and 1 t ground cardamom with 1/2 t salt in a mixer bowl. With the beater blade slowly stirring, blend in 3 eggs, one at a time, followed by 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until done. Cool 5 minutes, remove from the pan, and cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

The Beverages (other than coffee and water) were all varied nonalcoholic versions of Glogg, the Scandinavian holiday beverage. All the recipes came from the same source: Scandinavian Feasts by Beatrice Ojakangas. Here is the file: SmorgasbordDrinkRecipes

In closing, remember:

“I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work.
Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.”  – Ecclesiastes 2:23-25

Sometimes it is because of so much joy. On January 2, our daughter’s friend Lindsay Will was married in Archbold, OH (‘arch’ + ‘bold’, no syllable between them for those who do not know someone from there).

The Wedding Party

We were invited since Britt was in the wedding, so we loaded up the car and drove to northwestern Ohio. There we saw a beautiful ceremony, with great friends of Lindsay and her fiance, Ben, supporting them in joy and celebration — made solemn by vows framed in a forceful sermon on marriage. Kevin Butcher was the preacher, one of our favorite people, and we got to enjoy dinner with the Butchers and two other couples from NW OH. There was good food, good talk, and dancing (most of which we observed, but one husband-wife round was also part of the joy). Two lives became aligned into one couple and many others joined in affirming that fact. Before we knew it, the evening was over. A quick night’s sleep, a drive home, and we were back in our world of Upland.

Sometimes it is because of sorrow. One week later, almost exactly to the hour, I received a rushed call from my sister-in-law that my brother Bill had just been rushed to the hospital with a serious heart attack. Our couples’ Bible Study was just leaving the house as the call came, so we immediately asked our friends to pray for Bill. The next evening, after a day of praying and anticipating, we got a call that summarized the surgery planned for the next morning. But, in the night hours after 1 AM Tuesday, the final call came — Bill had died after a series of additional heart attacks. Now we waited and tried to plan — when was the funeral? would there be a viewing? should we both go?… Finally, on Thursday we learned from Britt (she had received a call) that the viewing was Sunday and the funeral was Monday. We started working on travel plans, left on Saturday morning, and returned Tuesday, January 19. Nine days were gone: days full of reflections, thoughts, concerns, and time with family and Bill’s friends. Even now, I have occasional times when I think of some past time with Bill, when I again see him in the coffin, when I remember a part of the service. (The memorial I wrote for Bill is also posted on this blog.)

Returning from the funeral, I had to rush into the things I was planning to do in the previous week or so. Thank God, I was able to get my basic class materials edited and revised for the new semester (Feb. 1) but only completed the final web materials for each class late Friday. So that’s it for January…

I nearly missed the special month of focus in our church this month, because of the Sundays missed for the wedding and funeral. Special times of prayer and fasting passed without a chance to know or participate in them — yet the experiences of the month also involved prayer and separation from normal daily activity, so in a way I did take part, but not in a community of participation.

January ends in five hours, but it feels like I have only been around for a week or so of it. In his recent book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller talks about a friend who is trying to recall all that he can from his life, because he says that if he forgets things, its as if they never occurred. Miller comments that when he gets to heaven, he will get to talk to God about what he remembers (and that he’s afraid he will just gave a short chat, while his friend will have days of conversation. Fortunately, I think the real situation would be that GOD remembers all of the events and He will be pleased to joyfully go over them with us. So even a short month like this could be the basis of a lot of conversation! “Teach us to number our days, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 92:12).

PDF version of my memorial to my brother, Bill.