Inspiration

Just thought I'd share a couple stories of people who've been inspiring me lately:

1) A little English woman who came to the nursing home a few days ago. Marqueea and I had to figure out how to assemble her jigsaw-puzzle-like back brace before she could get out of bed that day, and she didn't want to waste any more time IN THAT BED! This 80-year-old woman (who looks about 65) had gotten a stress fracture in her vertebrae, a broken rib, and a badly bruised shoulder from hiking the week before. Hiking has been a favorite pastime for the last 30 years, and before that she and her husband were avid cyclers, biking around the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium (which I really want to do now!). Oh, and in the last two years she has hiked to Machu Picchu and spent a month in Costa Rica studying the local flora and fauna (another two things I definitely want to do at some point). She's been taking Spanish classes the past couple years (cool, huh?), but says she confuses the language with the French she learned in high school. This lady ROCKS. I'm sure she'll be back on the trail in no time.

2) My good friend Haley. We did dinner a few nights ago. Not only is she a beautiful and delightful person, but she is also one of the sweetest, godliest, most humble people I know. I am always a little taken aback, in a really good way, when I hear her telling one of her prayer stories--how she was praying that God would help her love people on the way to the clinic that day, like she does every day, and listen to what God had to teach her about love. I appreciate her openness, unjadedness, and honesty. I love that she would rather talk about how to love like Jesus than debate theology. She is one of those rare people who, when you get to know her just a little bit, you know what she's all about--following Him more nearly. Very cool girl. If you haven't met her yet, you should go out of your way to do so ASAP.

A week in Minnesota

Hannah watering her flowers in the greenhouse: lilacs, lupines, statice, dahlias--all to be bouquets at this summer's market.

Last week I got to visit my dear organic-farming best friend Hannah, her beautiful, great-with-child sister Rebecca and dexterous brother-in-law Joe, in the rolling country of southeast Minnesota, about a half hour from Rochester. About thirty minutes after pulling up to the farm in Hannah's red '91 Tercel, I milked my very first cow, Frieda. :) Milking a cow is HARD, I learned. Hannah's about four times as fast as I am, but I think if I milked twice a day like she does, in a couple months, I could get the hang of it.

Hannah milking Frieda

tenacious Frieda

Hannah and I got to have lots of espresso-talks, just like old times, transplant baby flowers in the greenhouse, make butter from Frieda's milk (isn't that awesome??), check the maple trees for sap (which is actually just water--not sticky, like you think of it. And it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of delicious maple syrup!), feed her chickens, cook really good food, eat really good food, speculate about the new baby, and get to know her boyfriend and other friends a little. Such a delightful week.

Oh yeah, did I mention we watched Season 4 of LOST every night? Just like last time Hannah and I saw Becca and Joe at their farm in NY! :)

Back home, with Danny at the pool the day I got back, to be followed by a delicious shrimp and mushroom pasta he made me!