it's compost time?

It's compost time!

...I hope.

I've been thinking about starting to compost for a while. I remember my grandfather had a compost pile near his garden in the backyard, and we'd carry out leftover foods and scraps after meals. At Wadmalaw (see last post) I was the compost champ, diligently emptying the bowl once or twice a day. As one of our hosts, Trenholm, put it, "Isn't it cool to think that you're returning it to the Mother?"

...And it is. By composting, I participate in the natural cycle of death and life, consuming and producing, eating and feeding that which feeds us. There is definitely a spirituality in this process - a deeper recognition of our connection within Creation and with other created Beings.

Apparently, it is a spirituality that Suzy does not share.

When I floated this idea to her in the car, she was...hmmm...shall we say, less-than-enthusiastic? I believe her exact answer was, "Hell no. Look at me. (Remember: I'm driving the car.) Look at me. There is no way in hell you are going to put a big pile of trash in my backyard."

And no matter how much I tried to explain the process of composting, that it wasn't really "trash," and the benefits of composting, she wasn't going to hear of it. 

Maybe I can start a pile without her noticing...

Here's some info on composting.

EPA Flyer on Backyard Composting

Top 10 Composting Tips

How to Start Composting

If you know of other information or resources, or if you have any experience with composting - good or bad - let me know!

wadmalaw

After the end (kind of) of our Lenten journey, we took another journey - a vacation to Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. 

Wadmalaw is a small, relatively unknown island near Charleston, population of less-than 3000, and the home of America's only working tea plantation and Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. It's also the filming location of the popular rom-com, Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook.

The house we stayed in was right around the corner from Ryan Gosling's back

The house is the weekend house of our friend Emily's aunt (check out her amazing website here), and it was amazing!

The view from our room

Canoe, marsh, and spanish moss at sunset

The back deck

Seriously...this is what heaven should be like

But the company was even better! We got to spend the week with our friends from divinity school and their spouses (clockwise from Suzy): Stephen, Justin, Chrissy, Emily, and Josh.

But the best part of the week was the food. We spend most mornings drinking French press coffee and slow-cooking breakfast in stages.

One night we decided to do a lowcountry boil, and we all became a sous chef to our head cook, Emily's husband Josh. Josh has worked in "the industry" for a number of years and is now basically the second-in-command for The Comfy Cow, a local (but expanding) small-batch ice cream parlor.

So after we descended on the Piggly Wiggly like a swarm of locusts, we procured the necessary items and got to work. I'll let the pictures tell (most of) the story.

The table was set, including hand-woven fabric centerpiece from "magical" Aunt Susan. Also notice the screened French doors to let in the cool evening breeze. (*sigh*)

Prep work. The oranges were thrown in with the lowcountry boil. Never done this before, but will never NOT do it again. Adds so much flavor!

Mussels for the boil, and greens to saute.

Cooking it up. 

Notice the hushpuppies frying on the right. We had the oil already heated up, so we started frying other stuff: Potatoes. Corn. We even rolled some andouille sausage in hushpuppy batter and dropped it in, resulting in the most delicious corn-dog-esque food EVER! 

(And I feel very confident making that claim.)

 The finished product, complete with sauteed okra. Yum!

Josh even made us homemade cocktail and tartar sauce. They are surprisingly simple, and so much better than anything you can get in a jar. Here are the ingredients, and it is almost every one is simply "to taste."

Tartar Sauce
Mayo
Half white onion, diced
Dill
Ground mustard
Apple cider vinegar
Salt/pepper

Cocktail Sauce

Ketchup

Horseradish

Worcestershire sauce

Hot sauce

Lemon juice

Salt/pepper

We even got to compost our scraps, returning our food to its source (and feeding the crabs).

The last night we were all together, we went into Charleston to see Emily's aunt and uncle at their Charleston-style home. We sat on the porch, talked about life, and drank our house cocktails - pomegranate juice, selzer/tonic, and lime. A refreshing drink, and perfect for a warm afternoon on the porch with friends.

Suzy and our boy on the porch

I really cannot think of a better way to spend a vacation. Relaxing with friends, sharing great conversations about ministry, and taking our time together, making delicious food and sharing life together in the kitchen.

And the best part? We're going to make it a yearly tradition! I can't wait to see what we'll cook up next year...

day thirty-two: fertilizer

*Warning: This post contains adult language. Reader discretion is advised.


"Mary, Mary, quite contrary: How does your garden grow?"

One thing's for sure: It's not with silver bells and cockle shells. You've got to fertilize.

Today Suzy took mushroom compost to the organic garden at Travelers Rest High School (her alma mater, and also where my cousin Kevin goes to school...Go Devildogs!). Suzy walked into the school office and told them she had something for Ms. Chance, the teacher who oversees the garden. The lady at the front desk said to leave the bag with her, so Suzy plopped this bag o' compost on the desk...

...which sucks for the lady at the desk, because this stuff reeks. It smells like crap (which makes sense, since its compost). But that's the best kind of fertilizer. New life grows from that which is dead.

When I went under the bridge on day twenty-one, Tom (who works at the Rescue Mission) struck up a conversation with Adam, one of the addicts we met, and invited him to come to the mission to get some help. Adam said, "I can't go there. Too many rules, too many people telling you what to do. I don't wanna deal with all that bullshit."

I wondered how Tom would respond. But he calmly said right back, "Yeah, but bullshit is the best fertilizer. You ever grow tomatoes?"

"Yeah."

"Well to get good tomatoes you gotta put up with some bullshit to get 'em to grow. It's kinda like with us. God can even use the bullshit in our lives and get us to grow and be healthy."

I just noticed that there's a tomato on the package. Nice coincidence.

Tom went on to talk more with Adam, but I don't remember the rest. I was floored. I'd never heard someone preach with profanity (although I have fantasized about doing it myself, just never had the courage). But it was one of the best sermons I'd ever heard. New life grows from that which is dead.

I know some might think it would be blasphemous to talk about God and minister to others using profanity. But that's fertilizer.