catapult!

There's a new issue of catapult magazine out titled Cohabit. It's a good one (as always), and I contributed a very small piece titled "All that I let in". I'd promised to write an article a long time ago, and waited until the week before and got sick. So, it may be a little scattered. But, that's okay, because really, I'm scattered most of the time without any excuse!

micro finance

I just heard Rob Rooy give his January Series talk and I'm so amazed and blessed. it was fascinating. It really was not about film very much at all, even though he's had some amazing experiences as first-assistant director and is obviously VERY talented. But he talked all about microfinance - how it works and the stories he's learned through his work filming communities all over the world. check out this website: http://www.kiva.org/
it's a website where individuals can make micro loans, starting at $25 and on up, to families or communities all over the world. amazing! And the main page has a picture of a Peruvian community in the Andes! :)


You can listen to Rooy's talk (and any other January Series lecture) here. I'm really looking forward to the last lecture of the series from International Justice Mission's VP. IJM is one of my favorite organizations, and I did hear Gary Haugen, their President, speak at Willowcreek Leadership Summit this summer. If you've never heard about IJM it is a nonprofit that hires lawyers to represent the most trod-upon people in the world (children forced into prostitution in India, farmers in Nigeria or Nicaragua, etc.) and they do much, much more - like counseling, education, offering safe housing, etc. Check out the New Yorker piece on IJM from this week's edition!

winter love

December 2008 was particularly snowy for Michigan, and I loved every last flake of it. But now I'm working hard to reconcile myself to, dare I say it?, three more months of winter. sigh. So, I made a list of what I love about winter to cheer myself up and to refer to when I get tired of it all. It's just a season; it won't last forever.
Then I thought, I should share this list. Maybe it will remind someone else that there are good things in front of us all the time.

our little neighborhood park at night when it's quiet and snowy
tea - every kind HOT
wearing my toggle coat, russian boots, and wool hat
cooking new recipes
red wine
using my fireplace to it's full potential
candles scented like pine
snow on pine trees
new lotion
sweat pants and turtlenecks
tights!
ever-changing daylight
snowflakes
knitting
movies at home and at the cheap theater
Schuler Books: tea, a cookie, and a pile of magazines
breakfast at Gaia and Realfood cafe
my hot pink alpaca throw
sledding and skiing, of course!
reading novels in bed
TV seasons
floaty snow, sparkly snow, sugary snow, sticky snow
the quiet
store-bought flowers
laundry that's soft and steamy from the dryer
chapstick
occasional attempts at wearing makeup
my red-cardinal cardigan
spicy hot cocoa
warm lemon curd on bran muffins (why don't I make those ALL year round?)
baked oatmeal with summer's blueberries from my freezer on a cold morning
long, hot showers
snow outlining all the branches of the trees
birds coming to our feeder every morning
Conrad eating the snow
the smell of clear, frosty air

what would you add?? what do you love about winter?