Defining Marks

"Peaches" in colored pencil (8/3/2016)

In developing my new hobby, drawing, I have been using things that are found in my garden as my subject.  This summer, fruits seemed to be the obvious choice.  Being in close proximity, I thought that I would have a better grasp of the appearance of the fruits and the relationship between light and shadow on their form. I found out that I have no mastery of the fruits I have been eating and growing in my garden.  Take the peach for example,  I may be familiar with the general appearance but I found it difficult to draw and depict that general impression of a peach even if I am actually looking at a picture to copy during the process.  At first it came out looking like a lemon and I would have been happy to call it so but the leaf did not match the fruit. Oh, the joy of teaching myself something new.  I'm sure that there are instructions on how to do these simple things but I want to experience the process of discovering the marks that define an object.  There is indeed a deeper sense of understanding required in being able to duplicate what we see as beautiful.

Life presents us a similar structure. We are always copying something and Christians for example are called to copy the life of Christ. The question is, what is the rate of success in producing the Christ-like appearance in their lives?  We have a general idea of what a Christian should look and we admit that we live that life and yet we still need to tell others that we are Christians.  Should it not be enough that others look at us and know that we are?  I have learned, as clearly depicted through my attempts in drawing, that it is the small details of our lives that define our true form when we are exposed to light.  A slight deviation from such details will distort the image.  This makes me think of my own life.  What image does my life illustrate?  Do people see a picture of a follower of Christ?  If not, what defining marks am I missing?

"An unexamined life is not worth living."  Socrates

Sweet Sixteen

Miriam is sixteen!  As if it was only yesterday... It was a very hot day when I had to go to the hospital to have a baby, my smallest baby.  Now she's not that small anymore.  She has grown to be a beautiful smart, confident and considerate person. As much as I would describe her siblings as such, but she is completely different and unique.  God was gracious to give her to us.  

At sixteen...

Boss Drummer 

Four AP classes

Braces in place

Long term friend of Becky Carmickael

Owns a bunny and a dove

Traveled alone on a multiple-legged trip

The only girl in the group "Half and Half"

Successfully denied hope to several admirers but remained as friends

Filed a thousand songs in her playlist

Avid fan of "Hamilton".  She can sing the whole sound track.

Wears Converse shoes - primarily in primary colors.

Has a good friend named Keeton West. 

Legally permitted to learn to drive. She's a calm driving student.

Loves Macaroni and Cheese, Brie, Cheese Curds and Caesar Salad

She thinks she and I can eat a whole tub of cream puffs while watching television

Has a high-paying job dog-sitting three dogs.

Been to eight countries, so far.

 But then again, she's only sixteen...I can only imagine what God has in store for her.  God Bless my daughter so that she will walk closely with Him.

Focaccia

Here is another recipe that we like to make at home and now I am writing it so that my children who are away from home can make it - to remind them of home.  

Focaccia

(Based on Anne Burrell’s recipe)

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp active dry yeast

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup water

2 Tbsp

Steps:

1.       1.  Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.

2.      2.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 4 tablespoons olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft. Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.

3.       3.  Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, and then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Again, give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.

4.       4.  Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

5.       5.  Coat a cookie sheet pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  (Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily crusted bread. This is why it is so delicious!).

6.       6.  Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan.  Make sure the other side of dough is also coated with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. (Chef's Note: Yes, this is strange. But when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy looking focaccia. If you do not make the actual holes in the dough, the finished product will be very smooth.)

7.       7.  Put the dough in the warm place until it has doubled in size, about 30 min. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

1.      8.  Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle a little oil on top. Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool before cutting and serving.

   

2.              Eat :)

R Street - July 2016

G-Ma: A Profile of Maturity, Balance, Stability and Beauty.

Ninety Years Old. If her life was a garden,it would have reached climax community - fully mature, balanced, stable and distinguished.  A life like hers can only be described by the wealth of experience and depth of wisdom achieved through years of growing.  All of us who know her are aware of her godly and loving character.  My kids like her a lot - and in spite of the generation gap, they think she's a cool great grandmother.  

The Gossards

Paul and Pam were so kind to bring the whole family together to celebrate the occasion.  They made all the necessary arrangements necessary for the multi-generation family to have fun including opening their beautiful home the night before we all went to Mattole - where Carl and Paula hosted us in "paradise".  

G-Ma with Paul and Pam

Because everyone was there, we had a family worship service at the R Street House.  Pam made a beautiful program where Tim gave the message on "How Not to Waste Your Life"; Daniel led the singing accompanied by Paul; and the some of the Lewis kids were given turns to read the scripture. It was very nice to part of a family where everyone share the same faith - old and young ones alike. 

G-Ma and the Latin/Classics  Girl

Mom (Marilyn) and Johnnye made sure we all had a great breakfast on that Sunday.  Served from the iconic G-Ma's kitchen and unto the plate-decorated dining room, nostalgia made the food taste really good!  It is like one of those days when we used to go to G-Ma's house and be awakened by the irresistible smell of food and the comforting sounds from the activities in the kitchen.  

G-Ma and the Software Developer

G-Ma and the Percussionist

Elisha: The youngest of the Gossard Clan

G-Ma and the Farmer Anthropologist

G-Ma and the Nerf Gunner and Duke Owner

The Family on R Street

We look forward to more years of making memories with the family - to imprint more of God's words into our hearts so that we can impress them on our children; to spend time with each other as we live out the knowledge we are learning about our Maker so that those outside our families will know that we serve Him.

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” 

~ John Barrymore

Miriam's Driving Lesson Begins...

Miriam started her driving lessons today.  Even if she had already gone practice-driving with her father a couple of times, this is the official one!  It seems that Miriam is a calmer learner than her either of her siblings - which I attribute to personality.  I am glad that she has the confidence and calm but that does not help my lack there of.

Like an Airport

The convergence of cousins.

The airport is not the destination.  It is only a stop towards the destination.  People going to different destinations overlap at the airport. Some passengers stay there for few minutes,some for hours, some for almost a day, and still some stay at the airport for days - remember the movie Terminal?  The airport is like a house that is not your home because there you have chairs, food and restrooms. It is actually better than camping, as far as I am concerned.

Our house was like an airport in the last week. And this is an account of the comings and goings of guests (like passengers) during that time. Our own family (Tim, Miriam, Brahms and I) was like Tom Hanks in the Terminal - we live at the airport.

First Day: The Lewis- Nashville, Dave, Saskia, Juliana and DJ, arrived and stranded at the airport - their flight was delayed for three days.  It is always good to be with these folks.  There is always something new with them.  Julianna is getting getting ready to go to Oxford for a term and DJ will be going to high school!  These folks like diet coke now more than ever! :)

Second Day: The Grandparents (George and Barbara) and their dogs from Hollister arrived and stayed for half day.  Barbara is looked good and a lot better than the last time we saw them.  Thank God!  George is the same except for the normal signs of ageing - because who is not ageing at this point?

Third Day:  The Mussselman/Jordan Family (Kyrk, Jen, Maya and Jason) along with their new puppy from San Francisco , arrived at the airport at noon and left before six in the evening.  It was a few hours layover.    Jen looks great as usual.  This is the first time we met Kyrk since they got married, I think in March this year.  Looks like they make a good match and seem happy together.  Maya is growing up to be a smart and beautiful girl.  She learns very quickly, in fact she learned the game Settlers of Catan and she was very good at it.  David named her the Queen of Catan.  Likewise Jason is growing up as fast as his sister.  He is more quiet than Maya but he is also very keen and smart. The family recently moved to their new and got a new puppy named McGyver.

In the evening of the third day, my niece, Hazel, from Canada, arrived at the airport and stayed for day and a half.  She was on her way to go spend vacation time with her friend who she roomed with during the time she lived in England. She was only stopping by to bring some presents to us and to say hello.  She's a sweet girl.

Fourth Day:  Caroline, my sister-in-law's sister living in Sacramento, stopped at the airport only for a few hours - like a comfortable layover.  She and Saskia had enough time to catch up.  She was curious about plants and wondering if they would be good for their new yard.

In the evening Shannon, flying from Madison, arrived.  Now my own family is complete.  :)

Fifth Day:  The Lewis-Nashville flight finally departed after breakfast.  Later on that morning Hannah from Pleasanton came - we had lunch together and then she took flight with Hazel. Then there was just us, the people who live at the "airport".  :)  A few days later we too will have to leave the airport to go to a destination - Eureka, California.  At that point, the airport will be empty for a couple of days while we were all in a family reunion.

(http://fineartamerica.com/featured/portuguese-planters-pat-katz.html)

There is always food at the airport - not a lot of choices but there is  always something to eat.

Cousins

The Lewis guys in one place - the kitchen :)

Cousins

Taken before a silly photo-shoot with a cup of grape juice.

It was a happy time having relatives come  to our place.  We enjoy opening our home.  We like to catch up with each other and see the progression of things from the last time.  Getting together is a way of setting up markers along the road of life.  We might not remember everything that happened during the time but each person will remember something unique about it. 

Mattole

The Lewis Cousins

With the exception of Shannon, I think all of the Lewis cousins have never been to Mattole before.  If not for the 90th birthday celebration of their Great Grandmother Lois, they probably won't have gone together to visit their ancestral homestead. Thanks to Carl and Paula who hosted and encouraged us all to survey the beauty and grandeur of the place.  My kids in particular really liked the place that they started imagining their next trip back. 

Tim has many fond memories of Mattole when he and his brother were younger.  In fact Tim and I spent our honeymoon in the older Mattole property.  The whole place to ourselves for miles away.  It was very romantic for sure!  

And now our kids have been introduced to the place...

Miriam always manages to fins a stick

Two Sisters

All the members of the Lewises are in this picture except for me who was behind the camera.

Tim looks like a very proud dad.

There will always be a water fight whenever they are in the water together.

Saskia models the blue kayak.

Who needs a floatie when you have a brother.

Brahms was entertained by the sight of his cousins trying to pull their mom into the water.

Type A people

Free Lewis Style Diving