Tag: core

A Family Journal

June 2, 2019

A Family Journal

I’ve been working on two projects for each of my children.  One was a crocheted blanket for each – king size, crafted from their favorites in a pattern they chose.  I’ve only completed one.  The second is about 15 rows from completion, but I haven’t worked on it since Thea was born.  It took me 17 months for the first half of Christina’s, but during one superbowl at Louis’ dad’s house, I completed the other half!  So I’m fast, but it will likely be the next week I have off – and then I’ll start on the third of seven.

The second was started in December 2016.  It looks like a simple book, right?

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Actually, I started a journal for Christina.

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It tells family stories, I write my Bible study notes, discuss issues, and write my prayers.  I tell “her story” from my perspective starting from the last page moving forward.  I saved the fourteen pages in between this story and my “journal” for family.  I am going to ask women in our family to write encouragement and blessing to her in their own hand in the journal before I pass it on to her.

I’ve got a central core of stories I will have in each journal – all will be slightly different because I never write the same exact words each time.

I want to write all the wisdom I’ve heard in stories from my grandmothers, mothers, fathers, and mentors in a way my children can read them when they choose.  Maybe they will be encouraged, challenged, or just smile realizing that they are not alone in a struggle they feel slightly too proud or too embarrassed to ask for help about.  I try to relay life and our journey in these bits.  I manage to write at least once a week and direct most of my writing as if I’m talking to her.  This also helps me to process my thoughts.  I also have a required study day if I forget. (Which, yes, sometimes I read without studying, but at least once a week I remember to write my study!)

Such a simple little book.  It holds our family memories, stories, and encouragement for a young woman.  (I need to get busy on Becky’s as they are growing up too quickly for me!)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Songs and Movies… How can that make me cry?

Why does she cry? Even she doesn’t know, but the right song or movie certainly can start it.

February 6, 2019

Songs and Movies…

It has almost been two months since my Daddy passed.

I can’t find it to cry, normally.  If I think about crying, I remember how happy he is in heaven.  Then crying feels selfish – because I know he was in pain every day here.

But sometimes, I can’t explain it.  And it’s always a song or a movie.  And even that doesn’t always make sense.

I was coming home from work one early afternoon and on comes “Small Town Southern Man.”  No, that wasn’t my Daddy, but the core of the song “…He bowed his head to Jesus… always loved one woman, was proud of what he had… he said his greatest contribution was the ones he left behind…” Yes, that was my Daddy.

I was bawling when the next one happened to be “Love Without End, Amen” – which yes, didn’t need any alteration and went all the way to heaven.  I’m glad my car has cruise control and I’ve been driving 207 for over 20 years.

A song.  A movie. (okay, this one was crazy)   Never saw it with my Daddy, but he had given it to us.  Annapolis.  A story of a determined young person getting to his goal – my Daddy liked stories with real character.  At the end of the film, Louis comments, “I know why your Dad liked that one.” And that was it.  Not that anyone else saw, but I ended up tearing up over the simple thought that I can’t ever discuss this film with Daddy.  It had so many side stories and threads woven this way and that – prime film material for our long-drawn-out discussions.

Whenever something makes me want to cry, I remember the silliest of song lyrics/movie lines and it’s really odd that those four lines remind me of Daddy because he didn’t like that movie. (I’m not a fan or having that one on continual repeat, either.)  “He lives in you.”  And, yes, my mind sings it.

I’m thankful for memories.   I’m thankful for times when I hear my Daddy in my siblings and children – just things he often said or quirky humorous lines.  I almost cried when I first saw my little brother in his new glasses with the hat and stubbly beard – because if the beard were a bit longer, that is how I remember my Daddy (from when I was a toddler) and my little brother is a spitting image (face) of my Daddy.

I feel sad that Daddy won’t see Teddy or Thea (our Baby, named after his/her great-grandfather Pearson) but I know I’ll keep “Living the Legacy” (another song… yes) and just like the girls don’t “remember” their Great-Grandmother Jeanette yet they know her love and life through us, my children will know their Grandfather Pearson’s legacy because it’s in us – and my extension, also in them.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Pineapple

May 2, 2018

Pineapple

One of our favorite fruits is the pineapple.

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The best of the best is fresh cut.  (We will get them straight off our bushes someday!)

Pineapple is great with pork, in oriental dishes, on pizza, in a cake, in muffins, or just plain and juicy sweet.

Up until a few months ago, I’d never cut a fresh pineapple!  It’s really easy if your kids are like mine and want to eat as close to the rind as possible.  My mom cuts the rind off and then dices the meat for a no-mess-later snack.

You cut off the top.  (Be sure to leave a little meat so you can plant the top in a sunny spot and a year later you’ll have more pineapples!)

You cut off the base.  (My kids call it the butt because the pineapple sits on it.)

Now stand the pineapple up and slice through it from top to bottom in two or three cuts.  I always use three because I like narrower bites for small-child mouths to make less of a mess.  Lay these four or six strips flat and slice into wedges.  They will look like pizza slices.  The yellow pineapple meat is pretending to be the cheese and the rind is being the crust.

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And voila!  Easy treat to grab and eat!  Our chickens love pineapple rinds.  Prim always thinks she wants them when we are cutting, but that’s just because we have the cutting board out and she thinks she’s a human.

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Pineapple is loaded with vitamins and minerals needed for healthy bodies.  It has an enzyme called bromelain that is anti-inflammatory and helps sooth coughing too.  For the calories (82 per cup), pineapple is considered nutrient dense and low sugar.  One cup of fresh pineapple has about 180mg potassium, 2g dietary fiber, 0.6g protein, 0.7% Vitamin A, 40% Vitamin C, 6.7% Vitamin B6, as well as copper, iron, folate, magnesium, thiamin, niacin, and 130% daily value of manganese!  (Among others, check it out!)

So, for a healthy, easy snack that tastes great, try some fresh pineapple!  (Just watch out for the “burn” you can get on your lips after a few slices.)

Fun facts:

Did you know that adding a little salt to pineapple makes it taste sweeter?  Just not too much!

The pineapple is technically a berry!  It is formed by several flowers fruiting together at the core (the hard central “Stem” through the middle of the pineapple) and fusing together into the soft, yellow meat of a single fruit per stalk.

The core and rind are edible!  The core can be too tough to eat in an unripe pineapple.  The rind is traditionally used to make a fermented drink!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

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