Tying Up Loose Ends

In preparation for our big move to Chicago, I have found myself rather scatterbrained. It’s hard to know what to tackle next. I can’t really pack until I know when we’re moving, and to know that, I need to find an apartment. To know what price range we are looking at for apartments, I need to figure out if our house is going to sell any time soon. It’s somewhat of a cyclical catastrophe. Tomorrow - otherwise know as the DAY of Apartment Hunting - I’m looking at at least five different apartments. Tonight, right after I fly in, we are driving to Logan Square to go to an open house (or…open apartment, I should say). Then, after all that, who knows?

Through all this, I find myself thinking about God quite often. One recurring question I have is: “With all the big problems out there in the world - genocide, torture, slavery - why would God care whether I get this apartment or that one? Or whether my house sells now or three months from now? Is it prideful to think that this issue even matters to Him?” Certainly, I know that God cares about us, but what about the specific apartment that we live in for the next two years, while the Josiah Community is developing?

I’ve ushered a lot of little, one-line prayers to this effect: “God, guide our footsteps.” But it is hard to know exactly how that guidance will reveal itself. Scripture is full of the stories of men and women, all including a God who is intimately involved in the background details. I have to believe that He is likewise involved in my story.

Today has been a rather sad and discouraging day, but also hopeful. First, we heard back from the second apartment we applied to: we were turned down from that one as well. Then, we placed our largest dog with a new family. She spent the night with them and they called this morning to say that she got along great with their dog and they wanted to keep her. We are so excited about this, since we didn’t want to leave her at a shelter, but it is also a little hard to say good-bye to a friend we’ve had for almost three years. We still have our three other little beasts to keep us busy, and we are happy that Reina is going to be in a great home.

Change is an interesting journey. I personally enjoy change, even with the difficult parts, because I know that I am growing through the experience and I hope that I am listening to what God is teaching me.

Bragging

I have to take a few minutes to brag about the hubby…he just wrapped up a website/store project he has been working on with a friend. The Baby Habit is an online store for infant/toddler clothes and other products. A lot of the clothes can be embroidered…very cute stuff, especially the babysoy line. Brad has been working some pretty late nights building the store application from scratch in about a month (if you don’t know anything about programming, that’s pretty much record speed for this kind of a project). So if you have any kiddos or know someone who has kiddos, get your self over to the site and snag some super cute clothes! Also, a lot of the models for the clothes are friends’ kids. And about half of the photographs were taken by our friends, Jonathan and Becky, who run their own photography business. Lots of good stuff there too. Overall, I have a lot of people I’m very proud of right now.

Homemade: Butter

Sorry for my blogging absence, folks. I’ve been sidetracked by our hopefully-soon-move to Chicago. No offers on the house yet, even though we’ve had lots of lookers in the past few days. Everyone seems to like the house, but no bites yet. I’ll be up in Chicago looking for an apartment next week, so I’ve been spending most of my free time scouring Craigslist for apartments in our price range. We have an application in on another great one that my parents visited this past Monday. It would be absolutely wonderful if the accepted us! I’ve also been searching for a new home for one of the dogs, as we can’t have all three in an apartment. I have several possibilities there as well, so things are looking better, even though I’m still anxious for something to happen (hopefully that something would be the selling of our house).

This past week I discovered a new food love: making butter. This all started as a joke, with one of my friend’s stating that he just churned the butter he brought to our small group meeting. Then everyone commented, “That sounds like something Kristen would do.” Oh yes, friends, I am the hippie of the bunch. Well, when I saw a butter making kit on Leeners (man, do I love Leeners), I knew I had to have it. Now, as much as I love Leeners, the butter making kit was a bit of a disappointment because basically all you need to make butter is a jar. Here’s how to do it:

Fill said jar about 1/2 to 3/4 full of heavy whipping cream, and then shake. That’s it. Shake. And shake some more. It works best if the cream is room temperature first, and you don’t have shake fast. After about 20-30 minutes the cream will start to thicken and turn into whipped cream (go figure). The jar will feel really light at that point but a few more shakes and you will feel the cream thicken even further. After about a minute, the butter will separate itself from the rest of the cream. The liquid is now “buttermilk” and the solid is “butter.” Dump out the buttermilk into a separate container (save this and make buttermilk pancakes…YUM!) and then add some ice water to the butter and shake for another minute.

Fill a bowl with ice water and put the butter in the water. Use a spatula or small spoon to push down the butter. This part is necessary to remove the buttermilk from the butter. Leftover buttermilk will make the butter go rancid very quickly. Dump the ice water when it gets cloudly and add more ice water. Repeat until the water remains clear.

Now you can store your butter in a butter keeper. This container allows you to keep butter (go figure) without refrigeration. You fill the top portion with butter and the bottom portion with ice water. Then you tip the top over into the bottom. Some of the water will be displaced, but this is what creates a water-tight seal between the two parts of the container. Now your butter will stay soft and fresh for 30 days.

This Saturday I found a handmade butter keeper at our local farmer’s market. It is beautiful (sorry for no picture - I am lazy). I almost kissed the potter for making it! Yeah, I get a little excited about food-related items.

Social Frays: Gentrification

As Brad and I are looking into our options for moving to Chicago, we have had a lot of good discussions about gentrification. This all started when we were listening to a segment from This American Life where a Lawndale (yes, the Lawndale we want to move to in Chicago) resident complained about gentrification in the area, specifically noting that she could tell that Lawndale was gentrifying because of all the white people walking their dogs. And I thought, “Wait. I am white. And I have dogs. So if we move to Lawndale, will the residents just see me as one of those people.”

Wikipedia describes gentrification this way:

Gentrification, or urban gentrification, is a term applied to that part of the urban housing cycle in which physically deteriorated neighborhoods attract an influx of investment and undergo physical renovation and an increase in property market values. In many cases, the lower-income residents who occupied the neighborhood prior to its renovation can no longer afford properties there.

The last thing that I want is to be a part of a movement that is forcing low-income residents out of their homes and into areas with even higher rates of poverty and crime. There are, however, lots of different viewpoints surrounding the issue of gentrification. Some people say that by bringing in businesses and wealthier homeowners, the economy of the neighborhood is improved: people can find more jobs, schools improve, crime decreases. Often times, the government provides grants and low-cost loans so that current residents can move into newly built/remodeled houses or condos. On the other side, as I originally said, many of the residents are forced to move to a new neighborhood because they cannot afford the higher rent or property tax.

This history of gentrification all begins with the creation and design of cities. Many of the neighborhoods that are currently being gentrified were originally built for the middle class and blue collar workers. The idea behind cities in general is to create a lot of housing and public services for a large concentration of people who are intimately involved in the local economy. After the end of Word War II, with greater number of people owning cars, it became less important to live near one’s work. Suburbs were created, and with them, the phenomenon of white flight.

Starting in the ’70s and ’80s wealthy young adults of all races began rejecting the suburban sprawl for the appeal of the city. Their return is gentrification. This is the position Brad and I find ourselves in: we know that we want to live in the city rather than the suburbs. That kind of lifestyle, closeness of resources and neighbors, and public transportation appeal to us. We also know that we don’t want to isolate ourselves from lower-income neighbors. We would like to live in a lower-income neighborhood in order to be an active part of that neighborhood. We don’t want to separate ourselves from the poor. But we also don’t want to be seen as part of the problem that is increasing poverty for our neighbors.

The best solution may be living in the neighborhood and fighting for quality, low-cost housing. The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation builds low-cost housing for Lawndale residents. The Stevens Square Community Organization has built $70,000 lofts in Minneapolis. I don’t think adding a Gap and Starbucks to Lawndale is going to help much, but change can happen if so-called gentrifiers truly become neighbors.

More about Gentrification:

Flag Wars: a PBS documentary about gentrification in Ohio

There Goes the Neighborhood: a book about racial and social tensions in four Chicago Neighborhoods

Gentrification a boost for everyone: a USA Today article discussing whether or not gentrification really forces large numbers of people to leave their neighborhoods

Handmade: Oven Mitt

My wonderful mother-in-law wrapped up my birthday present in some really fun red fabric with dogs on it. My present was a set of kitchen towels, also with dogs on them, which is great because my kitchen towels had been looking kind of ratty. So I thought it would be a great idea to use the fabric to make an oven mitt

First I laid out one of my oven mitts on top of the fabric, which was folded in half. I traced about an inch around the outside of the mitt. Then I cut out the pieces and used those pieces as templates to cut out some black quilted cotton fabric, which will be the inside of my mitt.

I pinned the four pieces of fabric together and then sewed it all up. Around the bottom of the mitt, where your hand goes in, I folded the fabric up so it makes a nice edge. Now, I haven’t used my sewing machine for at least 6 months, and this only took me about a half hour, so we’ll just say it was pretty dang easy.

It’s not the most well-made oven mitt there ever was, but it sure is cute and it will be very useful. I even have enough fabric left over to make another one, and probably a potholder too.

Crawfish Boil

Saturday, the hubby and I went to a good-time ol’ fashioned crawfish boil at a friend’s house. Being from Chicago, I had never attended - okay, never even heard of - a crawfish boil, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I case you’re wondering, these are crawfish:

Our friends had them shipped live (like lobsters I guess) and then they are thrown into a pot of boiling water with all kinds of other good stuff.

Surprisingly, none of the kids were scared of these little suckers. And let me tell you, there were a lot of kids at this thing (all the kiddos gave me a little - no, actually, a TON - of baby fever).

The dogs also enjoyed the crawfish.

This is my kind of meal. They actually just poured about 15 pounds of crawfish, potatoes, and corn on each table.

To eat the crawfish, you have to break off the tail and then suck the meat out of the tail. It is a bit complicated. Lots of hard work for a little bit of meat. The experience is the fun part. Oh, and the stuffed belly.

These are my leftovers.

Then they poured shrimp on the table.

Then we had dessert. Notice that I’m photographing the photographing of the cupcakes (and that Brad is trying to sneak one).

Then there was playtime!

The whole time I was thinking, could we get a giant pot like that and do a crawfish boil in Chicago. Brad says he could use a giant pot for making beer. Could we use one pot for beer and crawfish? Or is that gross?

Anyway, crawfish boil = good times in my book.

Apartment Update

We didn’t get the apartment, but I’m not too disappointed. At least we know. And we had an excellent, excellent showing of our house today and the people are coming back on Wednesday. So if our house sells, that’s even better. We’re still looking for a good 2-3 bedroom apartment in Logan Square/Wicker Park/Humboldt Park (but mostly Logan Square) so if anybody knows anything, send me info!

Fair Trade: Coffee

I used to work at Starbucks, so I know my coffee. Wait. Ignore that. I know the sickly sweet drink with 8 million pumps of vanilla syrup or layers of white mocha (goo?) or an inch of whip cream on top that Americans call coffee. For real, I once had a customer come in and order a cappuccino made from heavy whipping cream. Do you know how much that stuff splatters when you steam it? Don’t even get me started on the drinks made from egg nog or maple syrup. I guess I’m getting a little bit off track. Sorry.

Real coffee, the dark brown stuff that comes from your coffee maker, actually originally grows on a bush, as bright red berries! No really. It’s true. Bright red. What you want to make your drink is actually inside the berry, the seed or the coffee bean. And these beans are green. Green. The beans are then roasted to varying degrees. That is when they turn brown. Starbucks says that the longer you roast the beans, the stronger the flavor. That’s what “dark roast” means. My husband (and I) would argue that there is a point when you’re just burning the heck out of those suckers and the result of a “dark roast” often becomes simply a cup of hot water that tastes burnt.

Now, if you want a good cup of coffee, the best thing to do is to buy the whole beans and grind them yourself. An even better way to make coffee is to buy the green beans (no, not green beans, you weirdo), roast them yourself, grind them right before you make the coffee, and enjoy. Green coffee beans will last a long time on the shelf, but roasted coffee beans start to go bad after seven days (even if they come in the special Starbucks bag or you put them in the freezer or any other method of preservation).

Now I know you’re are saying to yourself, “That’s a lot of hard work for a little cup of coffee.” And it is, but (please notice me getting on my soapbox) making your cup of coffee is a lot of hard work even if you are not the one working. Someone has to tend to the coffee plants, clear the land, pull the weeds, harvest the berries, procure the beans, roast the coffee. You may only see the barista pouring you your cup of joe, but a lot of people had their hands in producing that drink. Most of those people worked long hours for very little money.

Global Exchange says this: Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt.

Because coffee is in such high demand (America drinks 1/5 of the world’s coffee), many farmers clear their land of traditional crops to feed their families (corn, tubers, leafy greens) in order to grow coffee for export. If the farmers cannot recoup their losses, they not only have no grown produce to eat, but they cannot afford to buy food to feed their families.

Fair trade changes that because companies that sell certified fair trade coffee make sure that their laborers are paid a fair wage and work under fair conditions. Do you see a recurring theme here? Fair. So I’m just going to say it: drink fair trade coffee. And it’s even better if it’s organic because that means the workers didn’t have to harm land or themselves by using harsh chemicals. Fair trade and organic is more expensive than buying Folgers in the can, but a way to get your coffee as fairly and cheaply as possible is to buy fair trade and organic green coffee beans (about $4-7 a pound) and roast them at home.

Want to learn more?

Oxfam Resources: Includes reports called Mugged: Poverty in your Coffee Cup about the international coffee crisis and Just Add Justice about bringing fair trade to your community

Roasting Coffee on the Cheap: how to roast your own coffee at home using a $15 popcorn popper (this is the way Brad does it)

Want to buy fair trade coffee?

Pura Vida: fair trade, organic, shade grown - all the good stuff

Seven Bridges Cooperative: where we buy our organic and fair trade coffee beans to roast

Just Coffee: a Christian organization that works with poor communities to share Christ and help them develop economically through fair trade coffee - w00t! It’s the Kingdom in your cup!

The Waiting Game

Let me just come out and say it: once I get excited about something, I simply cannot wait for it to happen. Patience is not my strongest character quality. And the reason that I am writing about this today is that I am in the midst of an anxious waiting game. You see, last Saturday Brad and I visited an apartment in Logan Square that is such a great price, we could afford to move even if we don’t sell our house beforehand. We saw it, liked it, called the landlord to say that we want it. And now we are waiting. She apparently didn’t get our message and I’m not sure that she likes the idea of us having three pets (we actually have four, but we are giving one away so we can get an apartment). And we are waiting. At this point - a week later - I don’t really care if she says “yes” or “no” (okay, I really want her to say yes), but I just want to know so that I can move forward. Right now I am just hanging in the balance. I can’t start planning for a move, and I can’t start looking at other apartments. Let me just let out a Charlie Brown wail right now: AAAAARRRGG!

With each passing day I feel a greater longing for Chicago. It’s almost a physical feeling now. I was reading a blog today and when the writer mentioned Jewel (a grocery store in Chicagoland) and my heart literally flipped. I don’t even shop at Jewel when I am in Chicago, but the association was so strong that I almost couldn’t stand it. I wanted to pack up the car right then and there and drive home today. Now, you may think that I’m being irrational. The funny thing is that I know I’m being irrational, but I can’t seem to put these feelings aside or ignore these longings to be in MY city.

In a way I know (more in my head than in my heart) that this is a good thing, this longing, this waiting, this appealing to God to make sure that we are headed in the right direction. At some points I wonder whether this is what God really wants for us. Would he make it so difficult, force me to be so patient, if this was really the way? Wouldn’t it just be easy: sell the house, find a place, move and be home? Then I am reminded of all the times in scripture when people had to wait for God’s will to be accomplished:

• Abraham waiting for a son
• Joseph waiting to be release from prison
• the Israelites waiting in slavery (surely that wasn’t easy, was it?)
• the Israelites waiting to enter to Promised Land, or to return to Israel after exile
• the whole world waiting for the Messiah
• Jesus waiting for the Jews to repent and follow him
• Paul waiting to travel to Rome (he actually says to the Romans “I have been longing for many years to see you” - Romans 15:23 - that certainly sounds familiar)
• Paul waiting for a fair trial

A wonderful friend we visited with during our past weekend in Chicago reminded us that what is most important is not necessarily seeking God’s will but seeking intimacy with God. If we a closely connected to God’s side then the decisions that we make will be His will because we are thinking with the mind of the Father.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

Even though I don’t like it and it makes me uncomfortable, I must conclude that this time of waiting is an important part of God’s plan for my life. It’s not like I’m siting in a waiting room, just passing the time until I can get on with my life. This waiting is part of my life. If I let Him, God can use this time to do a good work in me. Ah, that sounds cheesy but I don’t know any other way to say it. This waiting, this slow step-by-step journey is God’s Way. He is not drowning in busyness like most Americans. He is consistent, steady, reliable, and trustworthy. And I am learning (hopefully and slowly) to quiet my heart and allow Him to build this kind of character in me.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Josiah Community

This past weekend Brad and I visited Chicago for a number of reasons, but probably the most important reason was a meeting with the Josiah Community. This is a group of folks from Chicago who are coming together with a vision for a building in North Lawndale. This building, in fact:

The vision of the Josiah Community is to transform this building into a L’Abri-style learning center for urban ministry and spiritual growth. Also, the top three floors will offer 45 cohousing units. What is cohousing? Cohousing is a architectural development style that centers around building community. In a cohousing community, each individual or family owns his own living space (a house or condo) but also shares a good deal of space with the rest of the community. The plan for the Josiah Community project is to have a shared kitchen and dining room (where members can enjoy dinner together each night or eat dinner in their own condos, using their own kitchens), playroom, music room, tool room, laundry facilities, garden, dog run, canning/food storage room, and a lot more that hasn’t been figured out.

The whole purpose of cohousing, and of the Josiah Community in particular, is that we would be a true community. A hundred years ago, folks lived in small towns and worked together to build the town. If someone needed a barn built, everyone would come together to accomplish that task. Women would work together to can the summer’s harvest. Families would share tools and that responsibilities of watching the children. Cohousing seeks to create that sense of shared responsibility and support.

Another important aspect of the Josiah Community is making a strong impact on the outside community, our neighbors in Lawndale. Lawndale is a low-income area with a lot of social, spiritual, and financial needs. God is doing incredible things there, especially through the work of Lawndale Community Church. It would be wonderful for the people in Lawndale to see Josiah Community as a place where they can go and find people that will love and care for them no matter what. This is the prayer.

The final part of this project is the Josiah Community learning center, where people can come from around the world to stay in the guest rooms or hostel and learn more about spiritual development, social justice, and urban ministry.

I came across this project somewhat by accident (or probably not so much by accident) and the concept floored me. I would love to live in a place with other Jesus followers, learning and sharing with each other, as well as trying to make a difference in a very struggling part of Chicago. The Josiah Community is just starting out, but let me tell you, this is an amazing bunch of people. We just met for a few hours last Sunday but I already feel like I have known these folks for a lifetime. They are incredible, smart, passionate people who are really trying to seek out God’s will for their lives and this building. Brad and I are taking the plunge to become a part of this project. It is our prayer that it will turn into a reality.

Brad and I were able to get a tour of the building, and it was absolutely incredible! This is on the fifth floor, where Brad and I would like to get a unit. There is enough ceiling height here to create lofted space. The glass block in the windows will be knocked out and used for shower walls. Huge windows with photovoltaic awnings will take their place. The goal is to having the building create enough energy for itself, and even to sell some electricity back to the grid. And did I mention there will be a canning room in the basement. Oh, it makes my heart flutter!

This is the view from one of the windows. Look closely and you can see the Chicago skyline.

So right now the goal for Brad and me is to get an apartment in Logan Square, which is a bit north of Lawndale, a bit of a nicer area so that we can adjust to city living before taking the plunge in Lawndale. Once we are in Chicago, we will continue meeting with the Josiah Community and being part of the process to bring this vision to reality. And there is still room for more people to join us (hint, hint)