Summer Checklist.
Jun/101
There are many great events happening around Lexington in the summer. While my favorite season is spring, my favorite time of year is summer. There is just so much to do! Here are some things on our summer checklist that we hope to enjoy between now and fall…
Music:
+Thursday Night Live – Free live music downtown at Cheapside Park every Thursday from 4:30-8:30pm. Come August 12th when Faith in Action will be the featured non-profit organization of the night!
+Big Band & Jazz at Ecton Park – Free live jazz/big band music, bring a lawn chair and be prepared for crazy crowds and parking far, far away. Lots of dogs.
+Southland Jamboree – Free live music, more folk and bluegrass in style. Bring a lawn chair. BBQ concessions on site. Located next to the bowling lanes.
+Tunes in the Vines and Jazz on the Porch – Vineyards featuring live music!
Arts:
+KCTC Summerfest – My #1 favorite summer event… outdoor theater at the UK Arboretum! I even had the experience of being an Assistant Stage Manager for The Taming of the Shrew for this summer theater series in 2001. We bring a blanket, a picnic dinner, and enjoy pre-show music followed by the feature as the sun sets. Beautiful, enjoyable atmosphere, and offering a great variety of performances for all tastes. There is always a Shakespearean production and two others. This year will feature The Merchant of Venice, Pride & Prejudice, and the musical Rent. Tickets are $10 and worth every penny. We already purchased season passes for 2010. Join us on one of the Friday night performances!
+Ballet Under the Stars – Only Trevor has been to this event, but we hope to go together this year. After 2 years in a country that reveres the ballet, I’ve learned that it is really not *that* boring!
+Woodland Arts Fair – Tons of artisans, a great event, albeit also very crowded. I tend to prefer Mayfest that occurred over Mother’s Day weekend this year.
+Gallery Hop – We’ve missed the June event, but are looking forward to attending in the fall. Last time we attempted going, we neglected to remember it ended at 8pm instead of 9pm and didn’t arrive downtown until 7:45pm just as things were closing down… whoops.
Recreation:
+Paddle boats at Jacobson – We enjoyed this on my birthday this year! For $3, you get a paddle boat for 2 people on the lake at Jacobson park for half an hour. It was plenty of time to roam around on the water, and catch sight of several birds.
+Lexington Legends – While I’m not a baseball fan, it’s still fun to go and eat a hot dog at least once every summer. We’ll be there Saturday July 17th to support Faith in Action as the organization in the Community Spotlight for the evening.
+Second Sunday – Community bike rides the 2nd Sunday of the month. The last Second Sunday ride was at the airport, as we previously chronicled here. Upcoming bike rides this summer will go to Masterson Station Park, Jacobson Park, and Beaumont Center.
+Hiking Spots – There are many parks to hike. From the Red River Gorge to Raven Run, McConnell Springs to Shakertown, there are plenty of woodlands and breath-taking nature spots to explore! We’re hoping to both hike and camp several times this summer. Here’s a great list of hiking destinations around Kentucky.
Other:
+Bluegrass 10K and July 4th festivities – Yep, lest we haven’t already told you enough, we’re running with a team of friends at the Bluegrass 10K on Saturday July 3rd to raise money for Compassion’s Child Survival Program. Fourth of July festivities will be around downtown the whole day as well.
+Summer Classics at the Kentucky – Several classic movies showing on Wednesday afternoons and evenings throughout the summer. I’m hoping to check another one off my list of the AFI Top 100 – “From Here to Eternity” showing on August 25th.
We hope this list inspires you to get out in the community and have some fun!
Want to know how we know so much going on? We read the Southsider/Chevy Chaser! Free publications available at coffee shops, Paneras, and other restaurants around town that lists events around town at the back.
Community Church Garden.
Jun/101
Recently, our home church decided to start a community garden. This community garden would be different from what you would usually refer to as a community garden. There would be no plots assigned to individuals for their own use of planting and harvesting. Instead, this garden has a decidedly mission-oriented purpose. The church-goers become the volunteer gardeners, and the harvested crop is given away to those in need – low income families that might not be able to afford fresh produce, as one example.
When the idea was first on the table, we were both excited about getting involved. The project just got sweeter when it turned out that Karen, my sister, would be overseeing the start of the garden! Soon, I found myself signing up to help as a team leader for the garden. This means that I will be overseeing garden maintenance at an assigned time (every other Saturday morning) and plugging volunteers into the ministry of working in the garden. My role may also develop into one of coordinating food distribution, drafting recipes utilizing the produce, or even mentoring kids via the garden, but for now our focus is on garden maintenance.
Here’s a shot of the empty, plowed up plot on the church property:
Day 1 of planting: here I am after having helped bury a soaker hose and getting ready to hook it up to water the just-planted tomatoes.
Day 2 of planting: folks hoeing the ground and getting stuff planted:
Trevor posing with the palettes-turned-compost-bin that he helped build behind the tool shed:
Lastly, the beautiful rows of plants and some of the many volunteers who helped out:
This community garden will hopefully successfully grow:
-Tomatoes
-Corn
-Bush Beans
-Squash
-Broccoli
-Cauliflower
-Okra
-Onions
-Cucumber
-Herbs
-Marigolds, Cosmos, Zinnias, and wildflowers
-Sunflowers
There may even be a few random plants, like cantaloupe, thrown in the mix thanks to some plant donations.
Can’t wait to see how everything does this summer! We hope it will be the start of a unique and yet practical ministry.
Digging the CSA Thing.
May/101
It’s a mystery box! What on earth could be inside? (hint: not tomatoes!)
Well you won’t have to wonder too long… the reveal is about to come!
The box contained our first week’s worth of our CSA share. Never heard of a CSA? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. I’ll quote from the website of our CSA farm, Elmwood Stock Farm, what they have to say about CSAs:
CSA members participate in their own food supply by committing to share in the harvest of a local farm. Members purchase shares in the spring, and each week receive seasonal vegetables: a subscription to the farm’s weekly harvest. A CSA creates a unique relationship between the consumer and the producer – nowadays, not only do many people not know what country or what state their food comes from, they certainly don’t know the farmer who picked the tomatoes they are eating. By joining a CSA you express your support for locally grown food, for clean food, and for the farmers that grow it. CSA may not replace patronizing a farmers market. It does guarantee your access to the best of each week’s harvest. This is a way to be a part of something positive for you and your community.
We had a desire to be more “green,” community-focused, and healthy. The idea of joining a CSA fell into place as a great way to achieve these goals: it is more green because it is local (and therefore, seasonal); it is community-focused because it supports local business; it is healthy because the majority of the produce is organic. Shares were sold in the spring, both “mini” shares, “regular” shares, and “robust” shares for different prices. They also had optional egg, chicken, and beef add-ons. We opted to split a regular share with Chad & Karen (sister and bro-in-law), which was cheaper than getting individual mini-shares AND gives us the greater variety of produce that comes in the larger share.
Our regular share came out to around $24 dollars a week, or $12 for each couple. For this price, we get 22 weeks of fresh, locally harvested, organic produce, from May 10 – October 4. While this is more than we might usually spend on produce at the grocery weekly, we believe the additional cost is worth the stretch in our budget. We’re caring about our community, and caring about our bodies by choosing organic. This is an investment worth making. This investment isn’t just a sacrifice of money – it’s also a sacrifice of choices. We don’t choose what we get in our box each week; this depends on what is growing and in season, and also depends on if the harvest is plentiful this particular year or not, which is highly dependent upon weather conditions. This requires us to be satisfied with new foods we may not have chosen for ourselves (and the fun part: learning how to cook them). It also forces us to give up foods that must be imported at great cost from other climates where they are grown; we will have to adapt to a simpler palate in some cases. The quantity is also not in our control, so we will learn to be satisfied with what we get each week.
Well, if up to this point you’ve been bored hearing about the “why” behind buying a CSA share, we’ll turn to the “what”: what was hiding in our mystery box for week 1?
Week 1 CSA Share:
-Garlic Greens (organic)
-Baby Lettuce (organic)
-Radishes (organic)
-Fresh Sage (organic)
-Strawberries (organic)
-Over wintered Spinach (organic)
-Asparagus
-Dried Beans (organic)
-Over wintered Rutabagas (organic)
One final note: there is another great benefit to going with a CSA. You eat produce that was harvested that same day. The freshness of the food is unparalleled to what you’ll find at groceries, where most of the produce they have on hand had to be picked before it was ripe to survive the time it takes to ship it and stock it in your local store. The benefit? Rich flavors you can’t get anyway else unless you were to grow it in your own backyard! Check back this weekend to see how we’ve been enjoying the bounty.
Third Sunday.
Dec/090
Third Sunday of Advent.
I have been relishing in Christmas music. Sometimes I sneak in some Christmas music in midsummer when I’m feeling blue, but in general, this is the only season for listening to some of these glorious songs. Granted, many songs I would rather do without. I don’t need even 1 playing of Jingle Bells or Santa Claus-whatever-themed song to make me want to turn it all off. But when I can indulge in some artful and quality Christmas music, my heart soars. Plus I also just love to sing…
I’ve been in the mood for questions, so I’ll ask, what are your favorite Christmas songs?
I think I’ve determined that my favorites would include:
Handel’s Messiah – the Hallelujah chorus is just awesome: Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – you have to sing it beyond the first verse on this one! Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings. Ris’n with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by. Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing. “Glory to the newborn King!”
Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming – I suppose I have this one on my favorite list because of the nostalgia of singing it at St. John’s. I also enjoy the atypical musical tone and lyrics of this song in comparison to many other Christmas tunes. O flow’r, whose fragrance tender, With sweetness fills the air, Dispel in glorious splendour, The darkness ev’ry where.
One that almost makes my top three would be Joy to the World. In fact, my favorite rendition was when a bunch of our friends got together and hummed the tune en masse on kazoos. Yes, it was glorious… and hilarious. A highlight to our Thursday Advent gathering last week. Joy to the World indeed!
To finish the second half of this favorites list comes my second half…
And I’ll start by being honest — I don’t share (to the magnificent extent) Kristi’s love of Christmas music. Only a few years ago did I begin to appreciate the warmth and joy of seasonal songs. I can now fondly remember cozy days at my parents’ house with nothing to do but relax and listen to holiday tunes (and, of course, watch White Christmas) — but it hasn’t always been that way.
I can, however, share Kristi’s distaste for the “traditional” music played during this season. It has its place, but she’s right — it lacks the deep heart and mind, as well as artistry, of the old hymns and masterpieces.
So, to bore you no more, I present my top 3:
O, Holy Night — I love the message (Truly He taught us to love one another/His law is love and His gospel is peace/Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother/And in his name all oppression shall cease), and my heart sours when a talented singer performs a vocal run for the proclamation (Christ is the Lord/O praise His name forever)
Holy, Holy, Holy — I’ll admit my love for the song came only after hearing Sufjan Stevens’ minimalistic styling. There was something folksy — human and lowly — about his performance that made for a contrast to the Biblical representation (the song being sung by angels). I love this song so much, I made it a music selection for our wedding.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel — Perhaps it is the longing for the revelation and presence of God that speaks to me in this song. I most resonate with songs in which the lyrics cry out to God for deliverance. While I also love songs springing from the joy of our relationship with God, I think it is my heart’s longing to always know the nearness of God.
As a note, though I only mentioned it once — every one of these became my favorite after thoroughly enjoying Sufjan Stevens’ Christmas collection. Say what you will about such things — I still appreciate them, regardless of whether one values him as a source of genius or not. I love to hear these songs sung, whether by a choir or just hummed by myself…but it was the simplistic arrangement from Stevens that (and I believe this is no coincidence) made the “mixture” of “holy heavenly” songs into something I could understand as flesh and dirt.
10K Training
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Good Reads
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