Letter from Birmingham Jail

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail.pdf

It's good to read this every once in a while just to remember where we have come from.

The public schools I attended were completely segregated.  I remember the separate water fountains.  The only blacks I knew were the maids. I never ate at a restaurant where blacks were served.  And most interesting, JMM has the deed to the house that his parents bought just after WW II; the deed specifies that the property could not be sold to Negroes.  This is not ancient history, it is within my lifetime.  And we wonder at lingering resentment.

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

This is a beautifully written account of a young woman's journey to Christian faith. Caro arrives as a scholarship student from Canada in Oxford to study the literature of the Romantic poets. The beautiful descriptions of student life in Oxford are certainly enough to keep one reading but the spiritual questions that she asks are so universal that it was hard to put down. As she questions and searches for answers, her honesty, humor, and humility keep the book from being pompous or condescending. The many references to literature have me wanting to pull out my old volumes of English literature and drink in the beauty of the masters. In addition to the story of God's love, a tender human love story unfolds.
Not everyone will find the answers that Caro finds, but just about everyone asks the same questions

Soup of the Month--December

Yes, yes, I'm two weeks late on this but better late than never.  The soup for December was Split Pea and Ham soup.  I've never made this before so I got the recipe from the Whole Foods website:

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

1 (16 oz, package dried green split peas, rinsed
1 meaty ham bone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham (I had frozen leftover ham from Christmas so I used that.)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh parsley (I used 1 Tablespoon dried parsley>)
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth or stock

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given, adding broth last.  Do not stir ingredients.  Cover and cook on high  4- 5 hours or on low 8--10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off the bone.

I served this with hot buttered cornbread and it was scrumptious.

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie (1)

Since this book is 575 pages long, it will be a while before I actually finish it but I plan to give updates on the book as I read it.  I am now on page 80 and have decided that it is much nicer to live now as an ordinary person than it was 250 years ago as an empress.  For one thing, people got sick and died early and often.  Another is that as an heir to the throne, you'd better watch your back--literally.  Marriages among nobility were arranged for political advantage and to heck with love and affection. 
 As of page 80, Catherine (born Sophia) has been called to Russia by the Empress Elizabeth to marry Elizabeth's nephew Peter.  That Peter had some physical and emotional issues is at best an understatement (but given his early childhood, quite understandable).  The wedding has taken place amid spectacular finery but the marriage is an unconsummated dud.  That's where I left off and we will pick it up again in another 100 or so pages.

Retirement Social Life

One of the aspects of retirement that I am enjoying very much is the opportunity to have more of a social life.  I've never been one that needs a crowd all the time but while I was working, I withdrew from most activities that required time and energy.  It seemed like all I could to to keep house and work.  Then when I retired, it took me about 6 months to just rest, unwind, and get enough energy and enthusiasm to decide what to do.  It was (and still is) a joy to wake up and not have to jump in the shower, grab something to eat, and be out the door and off to work.  In the past, the holiday season was very stressful with the hospital usually full, staff short from illness or PTO, and all the holiday stuff to get done on top.  But not this year.  We have socialized more this holiday season than in many, many years and it was just plain fun. We had a party for my birthday, a lovely family Christmas dinner, the neighborhood New Year's Eve Potluck at our house, and this weekend a fun birthday party for JMM.  Another way that we are socializing more is that we can be more active in our church.  We have a great Adult Bible Fellowship group of people our age, all boomers.  What makes it so nice is that we are all old enough to have had life's happenings knock the sharp edges off and we can just love and support each other.  And finally, I have joined a book club at the library and found a congenial group of biblioholics. 
Can you tell that I'm taking to retirement like duck to water??

Fourth Quarter Financials

This was a really good quarter for us. We increased our Emergency Fund by $3500 and our total retirement funds went up by $44,500.  We continue to have no debt. 

We are thankful that we are in good health and that JMM is fully employed.

BHAG for 2012

We have decided to double our giving this year from what we gave last year.   Since I retired last year, our income was cut almost in half.  It will be a stretch but looking at the numbers, it looks doable.  Living debt free makes it possible.  We have already doubled our January giving so only 11 more months to go.

(BTW, a BHAG is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. )