The company, the food, the fun, the ouzo--last Sunday was Greek fest at the house! Following the Elf event, we decided we needed another reason to eat well and watch some movies. Valentine's Day weekend seemed a great excuse, and somehow we decided that we needed Greek food; there was some discussion at some point about gyros, and the deal was sealed.
Mama Mia! and My Big Fat Greek Wedding fit the bill for both romance (Valentine's Day) and Greek inspiration, so the gals came with ingredients, we cooked and sang with Meryl Streep, and we ate and ate and ate.
Feast your eyes on the yumminess:
Spanakopita and Greek-seasoned zucchini...
Olives and dates and hummus and pistachios...
Pita and homemade tzatziki and gyro fixin's...
More spanakopita and Greek orzo salad and a happy green salad with some feta sprinkled in...
And, because it's in the movie, a bundt cake! "It's a cake!" We had Greek/Turkish/Arabic/Armenian coffee (take your pick, depending on your preferred nationality) to top it all off. Heaven!
Full tummies and fun gals...and one bitty baby boy who thinks Stef is the "Baby Whisperer", thinks I am goofy, and has a crush on Harriet. No ouzo for him :)
There were several "Doh!" pictures while I was trying to get either the remote or the timer on the camera to work. This one is my favorite, as I raced back to the couch. I call it "Flying Sluss" in honor of my hair going completely horizontal as I tried to slam myself into the bunch.
Stef treid to warn me that I would smell like a Greek deli after all our feasting. Um...that's affirmative, kids. I went to sleep that night thinking there was a giant gyro on the other side of the bed.
What she did not warn me about was that my house would smell like a Greek deli for the rest of the week, and that every time I opened my leftover-laden refrigerator, a raging fist of garlic would barrel out and grab me around the throat. I think a little Greek man died in there.
Can I just say that I LOVE my house for being able to have heaps of fun like this? Lots of laughter, good stories, hilarious singing, delicious food, all in the same room. Thanks to Grandma Mel for the dining room table, Mom and Dad for the fridge and half the living room furniture, Liann for picking out great decorative accents, Holly and Mike and Joanna for the blankies that people love to cuddle when they watch flicks, my pals in Jordan for the perfect coffee set and coffee, and lots of others (Kathleen, Lynn B., Masha, Grandma Quack-Quack, Uncle Chris, etc.) who have given me pieces that make my house, my house. And praise Jesus for the gift of this house in which to live and laugh and love!
I sent this to Liann today; it just came out of my fingers when I typed. She liked it and said I ought to bloggy it.
I find I still keep trying, in spite of my overt intentions to embrace both joy and sorrow, simplicity and unavoidable difficulties, to smooth the water I swim in and make the air as still and comfortable to me as possible. My mind and mouth speak one thing: "There is no embracing you without the uncontrollable hard, God!", but my heart goes surreptitiously about the day with a trowel trying to smooth the cement, the atmosphere, the ocean--whatever I am in at the moment--and even trying to smooth my own interaction with the world, making me bring less of me to it. So very odd.
I war with myself. Paul was pretty smart.
I was worried about the fact that it was a huge mixed metaphor, but considering I am the daughter of a mixed metaphor master, she said I should own my heritage, and quit sweating about it because it ministered to her. Maybe it will minister to someone else, too...you never know.
I also told her
Your body is a shambly tent, but your heart is so gorgeous and restored and scintillating.
It applies to just how Jesus works in all of us, really (except Christian decathletes, maybe--their bodies are not so shambly). Lianni liked it, but she is jealous because she never thinks to use the word "scintillating".
Well, I never think to memorize all the American presidents in order. We're even, I think :)
Luke 2:19 and 2:51 both talk about Mary treasuring the things she was experiencing, as a result of Jesus' arrival and growth, deep within her heart. She stored them and pondered them. She kept them to herself.
This would be quite different than my usual tack. I can keep things about others to myself, but all the things about me typically come blathering out on a blog or in someone's long-suffering ear.
I have to say, though, that those two verses have been coming to mind frequently in the past several weeks. Didn't know why. Like I said, keeping things that I am pondering to myself is, well...not what someone who has had written on every report card since kindergarten, "Bright, but a bit too social, and quite talkative," does.
I took a DAWG today (day away with God). Didn't really go away; it's cold here in Idaho, without too many wintery places to sit comfortably soaking in God's creation. I could have picked a coffee house or something, I suppose, but it doesn't make for a handy spot to burst into tears or yell out loud if God suddenly stirs something in ya.
So, I retreated to my upstairs bonus room. Nicely lit, sunny, spacious; kinda happy, actually.
And I had an interesting day. And, miracle of miracles, wonder of wonders, I feel led to ponder things in my heart, treasure them up, hold them dear. In the general scope, I was reminded that God will meet my every need, that any "needs" I dream up or things I think I require to function well are to be surrendered to him and forgiveness asked for, and that I don't have to hold in my heart or mind or spirit some schemed-up level of preparedness for different situations that may or may not ever crop up in my life or the lives of people I care about.
Their lives are not mine, and my life is not mine. Pretty simple.
Oh, yeah. I was reminded that I make so many things way too complicated. Step back, Sluss. It's just not that hard.
Manna for today. Listening to Him more than the world or people. Obedience and grace and love, not one of them at the exclusion of the others. He is good.
First, the good news. I have a guest staying with me this week from the UK, and she brought treats! Chocolate-covered honeycomb, REAL English tea, Yorkshire pudding mix (which I have since been told is SO simple to make that it was utterly humiliating for Harriet to buy it in a mix), lovely chocolate, and the most gorgeous shortbread ever. Gorgeous, I tell you.
On the bad news side of things, I came to a realization yesterday morning as I pulled my hair back to put it in a barrette. My skin is so very mid-winter pale, and my hair so very old-age gray now, with a lovely hunk of white up the right side, that it's official.
Valentine yummies and pretties arrived last week from Mom and Dad!
Mom and Dad are such sweet valentines :) They sent me enough treats to share; I agree with that idea, except for the cookies. One of the boxes contained two Harry and David's Raspberry Galettes, with little hearts cut into them.
If you are looking for cookie crack, this is it. So, so soft on the outside and perfect filling. There WAS NO COOKIE SHARING. That's right; past tense.
That's how we sing it, anyway. And the "I Will Survive" video prompted Mom's memories about Italy...and a certain Italian guitar player who chose to lavish much attention on our beautiful Lianni.
Yes, there were five of us at the table...
But he only had eyes for Liann...
And a song for Liann...
Then he had lips for Liann!
Oh, and Mc? That phrase we couldn't remember the other night? The evening stroll where you show la bella figura? It's la passeggiata, mi amica cara!
Brought to you courtesy of a glorious vacation to Italy in July, 2001 :)
In homage to a Tuesday afternoon that suddenly went 24 directions at once. And I still have some hair left...
I will survive!
Maybe it was just me, but I laughed like a fool when I saw this today. Reminds me of all the guys Mom, Dad, Liann and I saw singing thickly-accented John Denver songs in Italy--fantatsic! And the little Thai guy Liann and Paul and I watched sing Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" in Lampang. Those weren't quite so classical, though ;)
Who else looks this ridiculously happy and dopey as they snowblow?
Becky kept saying I was doing her a favor by snowblowing the driveway at her family's cabin in Cascade so we could have 16 very fun gals spend a hoot of a weekend together. Whatever. Doesn't she know that snowblowing ROCKS?!
We went up early on Friday ahead of the rest of the bunch to prep the house and get all set for a time of jigsaw puzzles, reading, eating, the McCall Winter Carnival, Mexican Train dominoes (YEAH!), Gold Fork Hot Springs, more eating, napping, sudoku, a surprise birthday event, laughter, listening, tears, sharing, encouragement, and prayer. Becky is an exceptional hostess and so very generous with her time and talents and gifts. Thank you, girl!
What we didn't have to prep was the view from the cabin. Wowee.
In a non-snacking moment...
In our true realities...
Last year, Becky's mom provided warm fuzzy socks for all the gals who went up (She's never even met most of us--why is she so nice?). It was so kind, and we took a picture of our socked-feet. This year, she sent pairs of both stretch and suede gloves for all the ladies to help them stay cozy. Here's our jazz hands shot...
A ball was had by one and all. Especially the gals who made it to the Hot Springs. There's naturally-occurring lithium in the water. I was apparently so at ease when I got back to the cabin that the moment I walked upstairs, before I even said one word, three people said, "Wow, you look WAY relaxed!"
I said, "What, is my face all slack or something?"
"Um, actually...yeah."
Also, I was enthusiastically informed over the weekend that even if I get married one day, people are still going to call me Sluss. And then I will have to explain myself. And that's just too bad. So there.
Stef treid to warn me that I would smell like a Greek deli after all our feasting. Um...that's affirmative, kids. I went to sleep that night thinking there was a giant gyro on the other side of the bed. 
