I’m reading a book right now called Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. You’ve probably heard of it; it came out in 2008 and won the Pultizer Prize for Fiction in 2009. It was also reviewed glowingly by Oprah and just about every other magazine and newspaper on the planet and was finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It’s a small book–I’ve noticed it for years on bestseller and paperback displays at various bookstores and read the back, but I’ve always set it back down, thinking it didn’t pique my interest much. It’s described as being about a retired school teacher on the coast of Maine, and mentions a few other players including her son and husband. It says, “As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty.” I imagined it to be some sort of slightly fluffy, feel-good Little House on the Prairie Goes to Maine.

Well. Recently my parents came to visit and my mom brought Olive with her, saying, “Have you read Olive Kitteridge?!” With her heartfelt endorsement I finally decided to give it a try. My first surprise is that it’s not exactly a novel, per se. It’s a collection of interconnected stories, each one (at least so far) focusing on a different towns-person, with Olive playing only supporting roles. I’m finding myself not wanting to read more than one vignette at a time because the plot doesn’t flow into the next and they’re so emotionally hard-hitting that you just want to linger on the language a little while longer. I just finished a chapter that ended with the sentence, “Look how she wanted to live, look how she wanted to hold on.” I turned the page to keep reading, wanting to devour the book as I usually do, and I found myself unable to concentrate on the words on the page because my mind was still saying, “Look how she wanted to live, look how she wanted to hold on.” I closed the book. I had to leave the taste of that sentence in my mouth for just awhile longer.

My freshman year of college I took an Interim class called Novels Right Now. In it, we read several recent literary bestsellers and debated whether or not “bestsellers” had the literary merit to stand the test of time. One of the books we read was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (also a Pulitzer Prize winner). It was similarly slow, but in its case I resented the slowness; I wanted more to happen. Somehow with Olive, though, I’m appreciating that it’s driven by language rather than plot. I don’t know whether I’ve changed and matured or whether Olive is a better book, or if it’s just different enough that I’m experiencing it differently….but either way, I hardly want Olive to end. Granted, I do want to know more about Olive herself, but perhaps that is coming. I guess I’ll find out, as I read my one chapter at a time.

Have you read any beautiful books lately? What’s a sentence or image that stands out in your mind?

I don’t have a picture today…instead I have some words! We sang this song at church on Sunday and it really struck me. I hope it gives you some food for thought on what is (here, at least) a rather dreary Wednesday

Lord, we trust this word of promise As we hear Your word anew. When we’re lost among the mountains Of the world’s ways that confound us, Show the path that leads to You.

~text from Isaiah 2:1-5

I’ve been a little lost this week–gotten frustrated with my sewing machine, made a disastrous pot of coffee, brought a container of old rice in my lunch instead of the delicious leftover pork chop and sweet potatoes–so here’s to a fresh start in the middle of the week!

When I was growing up, the sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving did not have marshmallows on it. Instead, it had a crusty layer of buttery, brown sugary pecans and was sweet and salty and good underneath. The recipe came from Miz Lyla, who I think used to be my parents’ aerobics teacher of all things, and was read every year from a classic recipe index card that was stained and worn from years of enjoyment.

This year we were with A.’s family for Thanksgiving and had a different type of sweet potato casserole, so I decided to give Miz Lyla’s a try last night with some pork chops! My dad sent it to me in an email with the tweaks he’s made over the years.

Here’s the original:

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup white sugar 2 beaten eggs ½ stick butter ½ cup milk ½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and pour into greased 2-3 qt. casserole dish.

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup flour; 1 cup chopped nuts (almost always pecans, but could be anything on hand); 1/3 stick butter

Combine these ingredients to form a coarse “sandy” mixture.  Sprinkle evenly on casserole mixture.

Bake at 350 deg F for  30 – 40 minutes.

My dad commented: “As you might guess, the above is pretty ridiculously sweet.  As it evolved, and to mollify your mom so I could serve it at all, I eventually cut it down to just mashed sweet potatoes with a little salt.  For a while I did a version with only one beaten egg, milk, and some butter.  That was pretty good – creamier.”

Since I happened to have milk and eggs on hand (somewhat of a rarity, especially the milk), I decided to go for the creamy version. I baked the sweet potatoes on Sunday afternoon, since that’s the part that takes forever, and I bought some pecans last week. (Side note: have you noticed the price of nuts lately? It seems exorbitant to me, but then again, maybe they are always that expensive and I’m just not usually buying nuts. Or maybe they bump up the price knowing everyone is buying them for holiday baking.) I don’t know if I’ve been buying defective sweet potatoes or what, but the two times I’ve tried to bake them they haven’t seemed to want to to get soft. Anyway, after about an hour and a half I deemed them done.

I was having a domestic fail day yesterday where everything I touched seemed to spill or otherwise turn into a disaster. I didn’t know exactly how to peel a baked sweet potato, so I dug in with my fingernails. I guess it worked, but if anyone has suggestions on the real way, let me know!  In spite all my other disasters, I think the casserole turned out well. I liked the texture of the sweet potatoes with the egg and milk, though I think I might add a bit of salt or sugar or something to them next time. And, as always, the topping is the best part. :-)

(P.S. The baked pork chops were pretty good too. At the last minute I randomly Google and used this recipe. I used bread crumbs instead of Ritz crackers and no parmesan cheese. They didn’t take nearly as long as the recipe claimed–maybe 35 minutes total. They stayed really tender and had good flavor! I would make these again, though perhaps with a bit more forethought and planning.)

Do you have any foods that are traditional to your family? Have you tried your hand at any of them?

Do you know about fair trade? According to Wikipedia, that bastion of all knowledge, “Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability.” Basically what that means is that different organizations provide outlets for (most often) women to create goods and sell them to a desiring public in order to reap the proceeds (usually 100%). This allows them to provide for their families and have a purpose in life. Though the items are not necessarily inexpensive, it’s worthwhile to buy them because you know they are directly supporting a great cause.

Many things are available in fair trade versions–not just handicrafts, but things like coffee and chocolate, too. It’s another designation like “organic” to look for on a label if you are conscious of such things. I definitely don’t buy everything fair trade, but I love browsing different shops when I have the chance. The items are usually so cool! And tonight, my church is hosting a fair trade sale event featuring several different organizations! I’m working the checkout, but I’m hoping to get in some shopping as well.

I definitely have my eye on some handmade paper beads like this:

 from The Apparent Project, supporting women and children in Haiti

I helped set up Wednesday night, so I scoped out the scene and have a few things picked out that I’d like to buy, including one more ornament for our little Christmas tree! If you’re in the Atlanta area you should come check it out at City Church-Eastside. And if not, here are links to several of the organizations whose items we are selling. You can do your fair trade Christmas shopping online!

• The Apparent Project
• 3 Seams
• Amani Ya Juu
• Rahab's Rope

Since I work for a non-profit ministry, I am very aware of the problems in my own city and passionate about supporting them. But when provided an opportunity like this to spread my support a little more globally, I am more than happy to take the bait.

Do you shop fair trade items? What’s your favorite cause to support?

At the end of October, I made these leaf cutouts from some scrapbook paper:

 The plan was to have them as decoration in a bowl on the dining room table and write something I was thankful for on one each day in November. I thought they turned out really cute and it made me happy to look at them. But…I only wrote down about 3 things I was thankful for the whole month. :-/

I have tried to keep gratitude lists in my journal before, especially in light of the recent popularity of Ann Voskamps 1000 Gifts (which I haven’t read but which I’ve read blog posts about). Cultivating an attitude of thankfulness is difficult for me. I know that I am absolutely blessed beyond measure with so many things, both tangible and otherwise, but when I try to distill those down to bullet points on a list, I either draw blanks or end up feeling flippant. However, when I read other people’s lists of the small, daily things they’re thankful for, I always find myself nodding in agreement, not thinking they’re being flippant at all.

So event though November is over, this thankfulness business is still on my mind, because I don’t feel like I’ve got it figured out yet. I don’t know how I’ll proceed from here. Maybe making lists of things I’m grateful for is not the way to go for me (quite surprising, given my love of lists in other areas). But as thoughts come to me, I’m trying to be more mindful and aware of the little things that make my life so great.

Today I am thankful for running water. Yesterday, as I was lugging a bucket of water from the bathroom to the kitchen in order to mop, I had the realization that many women the world over carry that much water and more far longer distances than the 15 steps between my two rooms every day in order to allow their families to survive. That water, too, is likely unsanitized and has to provide for cooking, drinking, and any number of other things. I drink a LOT of water, and it’s no small thing that I can simply turn a faucet and have drinkable water. Sometimes I complain about the taste of tapwater in different places but jeez….I shouldn’t take that for granted. And for that I am thankful.

What does gratitude look like for you? How do you cultivate and celebrate thankfulness?