Caribbean L(o)unging

Because Jolie and I have been married for 9 years and 350 days, we will be escaping to Mexico for a few days! Enjoy Mardi Gras, kids. We'll be back for Lent...

Saison, I

I threw out the annual rye seeds way back in early December, just a couple of days before Winter Part One. Austin, I maintain, has two winters – each lasting for a period of 2-5 days. Winter Part One typically happens in late November or early December, followed by two full months of springlike conditions, and finally Winter Part Two, which happens in late February or early March.

Winter Part One laid waste to our humble little garden, and so, too, the rye seeds were frozen solid. The telltale sign that the seeds hadn’t survived was that when springlike conditions returned after two days of 20 degree sludge, none of the grackles, doves or squirrels took any interest in them. “What a complete waste of time that was,” I said both aloud and to myself.

Advent came and went. New Year’s happened. Epiphany entered and exited. The hot streak continued, as did the record-setting spell of rainlessness. A few pockets of rye sprouted up, but the majority of the seeds were still visible on the ground, worthless I was certain.

When the groundhog saw his shadow, there was no reason to believe that the land of Tejas was under his jurisdiction. Saint Brigid did in fact bring us some rain, but the weather was still more springish than winterly. After the slight wet was immediately soaked up by the cracked earth and 70 degree sun, everyone declared Austin’s winter “over.” But I didn’t flinch. I knew Winter Part Two would arrive in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. And I was right. We are now in day three of a bonafide cold front, complete with the thinnest layer of icy drizzle you can imagine.

But, before you start thinking I’m too full of myself, let me tell you how I was wrong, too. No sooner than the sun had returned from Saint Brigid’s moisture-blessing than the Abbey had itself a yard loosely peppered with bright green rye. A tried-and-true germination resurrection! If it didn’t go the way of Lazarus, it at least went the way of Walt Disney’s most desperate scientific grasp, sans cryogenic sophistication.

Knowing that Winter Part Two was only a day away, I decided to call upon an encore from nature. Connor and I faithfully broadcast the remaining rye seeds all about the bald spots in the yard. Hopefully we’ll have a bright green lawn by the time Saint Patrick comes to visit.

Just goes to show: not only do you never know which seeds will end up taking root, but you can’t even be certain when the good seeds will bear fruit. The farmer can only toss ‘em out there every season and stay in a posture of meekness with the earth he hopes to inherit.

A Beautiful Day For A Wedding

I had the honor today of marrying two of the friends I have made as a result of working at Central Market. Jolie was the witness and the photographer. 5 people, a breath-taking view, a cloudless blue sky, and a Beautiful Creator.

Quotes That Have Nestled in My Brain as a Result of Watching the State of the Union Address

To defend your ideas is quite different from standing, no matter how self-righteously, on the mere sound of a word. To say that you believe in "freedom," for instance, may make you feel proud and righteous, but this has nothing to do with philosophy, or, for that matter, with freedom, unless you are willing to spell out exactly what it is you stand for, what it is that you believe, and why it is that this "freedom," as you call it, is so desirable. But most students, as well as many professional philosophers, get caught up in such attractive, admirable words, which we call buzz words (emphasis theirs)... Indeed, virtually everyone believes in "freedom" but the question is what it is that they believe in.
(from The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, Solomon, 1986, p. 3

Serious, reflective Christians find themselves increasingly at odds with the dominant values of consumer capitalism and its supportive military patriotism; there is no easy or obvious way to hold together core faith claims and the social realities around us. Reflective Christians are increasingly "resident aliens."
(from Cadences of Home, Brueggemann, 1997, p. 2)


In the face of an empire that rules through military and economic control, what is the shape of a community that serves a ruler who brings reconciliation and peace by sacrificial death rather than military might? If the empire elevates economic greed and avarice into civic virtues, while Paul dismisses such a way of life as idolatrous, then how does a Christian community shaped by Paul's gospel live its life in the empire?
(from Colossians Remixed, Walsh & Keesmaat, 2004, p. 61)

[The church] has, for the most part, stood silently by while a predatory economy has ravaged the world, destroyed its natural beauty and health, divided and plundered its human communities and households. It has flown the flag and chanted the slogans of empire. It has assumed with the economists that "economic forces" automatically work for good and has assumed with the industrialists and militarists that technology determines history. It has assumed with almost everybody that "progress " is good, that it is good to be modern and up with the times. It has admired Ceasar and comforted him in his depredations and defaults. But in its de facto alliance with Ceasar, Christianity connives directly in the murder of Creation.
(from Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community, Berry, 1993, p. 114 - as read in Colossian Remixed)

To call this an imperial presidency is unfair to emperors.
(from this news article)

A Recipe Share

This sharing the responsibility for common meals thing at the Abbey has really been a challenge for me. I've quite a knack for discovering fun facts about saints and finding interesting dishes to go with them. But the actual performance of these meals has been kind of nerve-racking. I usually bite off more than I normally chew. Jolie has come to my aid at times; but her pregnant disposition has decided that I'm on my own now! Anyway, here's the first original recipe that I've ever created:

begin with this basic St. Brigid's Oaten Bread recipe
double the amount of sugar (to 2 tablespoons)
be prepared to add a LOT more flour than the recipe calls for (maybe because I used margarine?)
When bread is baked, cut into pie-shaped slices
Pour 4 tablespoons of mixed fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries and blackberries) over the top
Add one dallup of whip cream
Sprinkle a tablespoon of Irish Cream over the top

And presto!
St. Brigid's Oaten Tart Delight
tm Oak Grove Abbey 2006