Milkshakes for Breakfast

Okay, so here's the story about milkshakes for breakfast. I was going to share this story with Caley, but decided it might be fun to share this story with everyone else. When I was a kid, we used to go camping at Hebgan Lake every summer for two weeks. For those of you not familiar with Hebgan Lake, it is near West Yellowstone, and was the epicenter for the 1959 earthquake. Anybody wanting more info should Google it. We vacationed there every summer for two weeks for many years. Many of us have fond memories of these vacations. Between the first and second week, we used to go into West Yellowstone to the laundromat to do laundry and take showers. I don't ever remember going to the grocery store to load up on provisions. I am stating this fact so that the reader will know how loaded down our camper and boat were. We had enough food and provisions for the full two weeks.

The particular year in question of the Milkshake Incident, we lived in Missoula. I don't know how far it is from Missoula to Hebgan, but it took hours--maybe 8-10? to get there. Once we got to the lake, it was about another hour's drive to the campsite. We used to go to Spring Creek Campground which is on the South side of the lake. At that time, that side of the lake was mostly undeveloped, so the road was this one lane path that wound through the mountains. A lot of times in June, there was still snow on the ground or it had just left, and the road was treacherous with mud. Later on, they built that fancy wide gravel road that went to the Watkins Creek Dude Ranch. Compared to the old road, it was like a super highway! Another reason we only went into town once--it was hard to get there. Anyway, we left Missoula very early in the morning, all loaded down. After starting, out, it became very clear that there was something wrong with the pickup. It would go a little ways, and then die...go a little ways and die. Any of you familiar with the Missoula area, going east and a little south on I-90, will know that there aren't too many towns along the way. After about two hours, we made it to Drummond, which is about 60 miles from Missoula. Since we used to leave at the butt crack of dawn, it was possible that it was only 8 AM when we arrived in Drummond. While waiting for the local mechanic to open up his shop, we went to the Drummond Cafe for breakfast. As kids we didn't realize it, but you can imagine how exasperated and frustrated my parents must have been. I was probably in Junior High, so my sister would have been about three or four years old. Maybe I was in HS and she would have been about Kindergarten age. Anyway, we stopped for breakfast, and while waiting to order, my sister got it into her head that she wanted a milkshake for breakfast. She asked my mom if she could have one, and my mom said, "No. Not for breakfast." But my sister, being a very persistent and stubborn youngster, kept it up, asking about milkshakes and questioning why she couldn't have one. For those of you who have ever had young children, you will know what I am talking about! After several minutes of this (and I have told you how frustrated my parents were already!), my mother finally blurted out the famous words we will remember forever: "FINE! We'll ALL have milkshakes for breakfast!!!!" And we did. Turns out there was an electrical connection problem with the pickup which was easily fixed and after breakfast, we continued on our way down the road.

Planning

Is anybody out there a planner? I'm a planner, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! I always thought it was kind of anal, but it can be a good thing. Now don't get me wrong....this planning only extends to certain parts of my life. Don't look at the organization and cleanliness of my house. TOTAL DISASTER! I'll give you a few examples of my planning.
When I plan a meal get together or a coffee hour at church, the first thing I do is decide upon a menu. Once I have the menu, I write up a grocery list. After that, I might write up a timeline. This timeline includes when certain food items need to be cooked, when the table needs to be set, things I might be able to do the night before, or the morning of...Sometimes, I might make a list of the other things I might need for the table--tablecloth, flowers, utensils I might need...I do this because I am usually short on time, and doing a little organizing ahead of time makes me more efficient. Since I became a baker, work and sleep have taken up a lot of my time. What little is left over has to be used wisely. I also do this because it helps me bring the whole meal together all at once. I am not very good at seeing the whole project, and to bring a meal together takes a little planning. Some things need more cooking, others need less. How to bring them together at the same time?
It used to be when I went to the grocery store, I organized my shopping lists into departments--like produce, bulk foods, dairy, meat, etc. That way, all I had to do was make one grand sweep around the grocery store, making forrays into the aisles as necessary. I read once that most of what you need is around the edges of the grocery store. I find this to be quite true.
Again, doing this makes the most efficient use of your time, and saves having to crisscross the store fighting the hordes of people several times. I don't always do this anymore, at least on the list. I am now able to see the items on my list and recognize what department they are in, though they may not be grouped together on the list. I still physically go around the store in a methodical way.
Often times, I organize my errands so that I start at the farthest point away from my house and I work my way back, doing errands along the way. This is why the library and bank are almost always linked together. Walgreens is almost always linked with the grocery store. Again, makes more efficient use of my time, and you don't spend all your time, energy, and gas, fighting traffic and people.
I also have a basic timeline at work. A guideline for when I have to do what to pull it all together. This timeline does change slightly depending on seasonal items that need to be added in, but my basic timeline is pretty much the same.
Could I be flexible enough to deal with something unplanned? Absolutely! But most of the time this planning just gives me a game plan, a shape to what I am doing so that I make the best use of my time. Anal? Maybe, but I find it practical. What do you think?

I am thinking that if I am going to have a blog, I should be writing here a little more often! LOL. The idea was appealing at first, but like many new things, I quickly lose interest. One of the reasons I haven't written here in awhile is because I have been on vacation.
Interesting concept, going on vacation...it is literally vacating one's life...It's like there is this spot in Portland where I used to be, but where I'm not because I vacated it. It is like it is being held open for me, like the Red Sea, awaiting my return. And if I didn't come back, what happens to my spot? Does it close up?
And one of the most wonderful moments for me, is when the plane lifts off the ground. I love that feeling of being physically disconnected from my life. Not that my life is so terrible. It's just nice to lay it down once in awhile, to be able to leave it behind and go have fun. I always hate coming back, but that's okay. It's my life, and it's mine to play with.

Short and sweet today: My friend Josh is one of the most positive people I know. He once said happiness is a choice. So if we have a choice to be happy or not, how come so many people choose to be unhappy?

My thought for the day--I have the spiritual gift of intercession. For those of you who don't know what intercession is, it is the ability to pray for long periods of time and get results, particularly on behalf of other people. It's not the best spiritual gift, and sometimes I wish I could exchange it for a nicer gift, like...hospitality! But intercession is my gift and keep it I must, but it is tiring. Pretty much it is "praying without ceasing", and sometimes it takes a long time to get results. It wears me out. Since people know that I have this gift, they are always saying,"Can you pray for...?" I always find this funny because we ALL have our private cell phone line to God. All we have to do is dial HIS number and talk. I do not exclusively have God's private number!
Anyway, a co-worker told me today that she has an interview for another job, a BETTER job, and she wanted me to pray for her and the interview. My thought was that I don't want her to leave, so why should I pray? Well, this is the difficulty with the gift of intercession. Sometimes we have to pray for things we don't want to happen. My cop out is to pray not for what was asked of me, but to pray,"Lord, thy will be done". That way, I don't have to pray for the thing I dislike. While seemingly a cop out, on further examination, this is the correct prayer. I should be praying for the will of God to be done, even if it is contrary to my wishes. So maybe I AM doing the right thing, just not with the right attitude!

Today is my day off, and I've stayed in bed a little later than I should have, and I've had a glorious breakfast of fresh raspberries and nectarines with sugar and real cream. Such decadence! And while this simple meal was quite good, and the raspberries looked most excellent--big berries, beautiful color--I had this thought...these berries looked good, but they didn't have very much flavor. They weren't what they seemed. Aren't people like this sometimes? They seem really attractive in appearance, but there is nothing to them, at least, not what we think they should be.
I have experienced this many times with fruit. I make jam every summer, and one of my favorites is Pear Ginger jam. Almost every year, I get pears from a friend at church. He has a tree in his yard. These pears are not much to look at. They are small, they are blemished, discolored, gnarled...Hold that thought...
A few years back, another friend went to a fruit orchard in Bend, OR, and brought me back some peaches and pears. The pears were picture perfect--large, unblemished, yellow with a red spot...the nicest pears you could ask for. So I made jam with them, thinking it would be really great jam.
Well...you can probably guess the outcome...It was the ugly imperfect pears that made the best jam, not the ones that looked perfect.
So I guess that raises a thought that I want to leave you with. We shouldn't judge people by what we see. Often the ones that look the best physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc. don't have much to them. They literally have no "taste". The people who have "taste" or character, are the ones we might shy away from because they are blemished or imperfect. These are the kinds of people that enrich our lives and make the best "jam".

So I am writing a blog now...

I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time now. Why, I am not really sure. I guess that I have always had this need to write, to organize my thoughts. I have always said, "I write, therefore I am!" I used to write letters, but with the advent of the computer, this practice became obsolete. Nobody was writing to me. So, I got with the program and joined the computer age. I now hear from my friends a lot more through e-mail and Facebook. And having seen the movie "Julie and Julia", the idea of writing a blog seemed attractive, but I didn't know what I would write, or who would want to read it. However, I have come to the conclusion that doesn't really matter, does it? What matters is that I am writing. My friend, Cameron, has encouraged me to do this, and he might be my only follower! So, anyway, for better or for worse, here I am....