Stuff Mennonites Like #2

Food with uanppetizing names
Oddly, most of them are dessert.

These are the ones that come up often. Before you read further, you should just know: Mennonite's have qutie a way with food. Delicous, filling, carb-o-licious, and using limited ingredients. Genius.

Name
1. Plumemoss (PLOOM-a-moose)
2. Platz (pronounced more like Plotz)
3. Ofenschlupfer (just like that)
4. Blette Torte (BLE-ta-torte)
5. Fleischballe (ei=long "i" sound)

First thing you thought
1. Where would a mennonite get a moose? (wait... is this one of those jokes?)
2. I don't want to eat that.
3. Sounds like the typical backwards German way of saying something like "it fell off the"
4. That belongs in the bathroom!
5. Flesh. Balls.

What it really is
1. Cold Fruit Soup. Mostly made with dried fruits such as plums, cherries, blueberries. It's very dark and sweet, a little bit thick and sticky.
2. Soft thin crust, topped with mounds of fruit of your choice (usually rhubarb, blueberry, or apple) and sprinkled with a sugar/butter topping. Mmmmmm.
3. Bread pudding. (But really the "schlup" sounds like the sound it would make if it "fer Ofen" the table)
4. Simply a torte. With many thin layers, separated by homemade vanilla or chocolate pudding.
5. Meat. Balls. I don't know why the Germans decided to use the word Flesh to describe all meat. It almost turned me to vegetarianism.

I think maybe we do this on purpose. We know their recipes are top-notch, but (being stingy/cheap by nature) we don't want anyone else to know. So we veil our innovations with disgusting names. Yup. We're the smart ones.

Blessings

Pretty crazy thing happened today.

Bit of a back story first.

Me and Dave are getting married. We hardly have any money to our names. In order to really be able to live (food, shelter, clothing) we needed for me to get a permanent job (the one I have now is only temporary) and for Dave to get a good-paying summer job.

I've been working at Schmidt & Funk Financial for a couple months. It was temporary. They were looking for someone more experienced but saw my potential, and told me to keep looking for a job, but in the meantime I could work for them. It's been quite slow. I don't have much to do, and they're not sure if they should bother to start training me. But they know I needed to earn money while looking for a job, so they kept me around. And I am so thankful. In the meantime I'd been applying at many many jobs (administration, secretarial, reception, word processor), and was fortunate enough to get a referene from Jocelyn for Power to Change as an Administrator in the Donations department. In the last 2 weeks I've had 3 interviews with them, and they emailed me a long questionnaire to fill out. I was wondering when the hoops would end.

Dave just finished up his semester at school. He's been working 2-3 nights a week serving at Montana's. It's not great money; it keeps the bills paid, but with not much left over. Now that school is over, he's been applying to every job he can find. Silence. No call-backs, no hints of interviews... nothing. And it's already been a few weeks. He got referred to Andrew Briscoe at church, who was just appointed Foreman at a cabinet making company. Zach and Sean work there too. So Andrew was going to see if they were willing to hire seasonal staff, and Dave should call him later on tonight.

SO

On the way to work this morning at 8, I was praying like crazy. "God, please give Dave a job today. The longer we wait the more sketchy our finances will be. Please, give us some good news today."

At 9:30 today he got a call from Andrew, saying to come in and meet the Boss. He went in at 10:15. No interview. Walked out with a job!

He sent me a message, I sent a congratulatory one back, then I checked my email. "Offer of Employment - Power to Change" I accepted immediately!

Dave starts tomorrow, I start next Friday.

PRAISE THE LORD.

I've never seen an answer to prayer in such an obvious, mind-blowing way! Excitement has faded and all that remains is disbelief. I am so thankful.

It's all going to work out. It was always going to work out. It will always work out! (I know that was cheesy, but I decided to roll with it.)

Stuff Mennonites Like

So there are a few blogs out there these days with similar names; Stuff White People Like, Stuff Christians Like... I thought there needed to be a Stuff Mennonites Like. Here's my first attempt.

Deals, Bargains, Penny Pinching, Coupon Clipping, Saving Money, and... Being cheap

Ask anyone what comes to mind when they hear the word Mennonite, and those are likely to be some of the first few items. We mennonites used to be ridiculed for these characteristis, but with the world economy going where it is, I feel like people are starting to appreciate this about us more and more.

They watch us as we go through the grocery store on our carefully planned out route, caluclator in hand (the one that I keep in my purse), hoping to pick up some saving tips.

They observe as we scoure the newspapers and flyers, clipping out every single coupon. Even though we don't need a new mattress (we sleep on beds of straw), maybe someone out there has a coupon for 40% off a Dirt Devil vacuum (The straw leaves shrapnel all over, and I have allergies). We could trade. It's like a giant game of Go-Fish. I don't usually shop at Superstore, but this week Grapes are on sale. I don't see Safeway offering a wicked deal on avocados...

When a group of friends go out to dinner, the mennonite couple gets top priority in restaraunt choice; they'll be sure to pick the cheapest one with the best food (Mennonites are also quite fond of food).

Maybe people are even becoming jealous of our scrimping ways. They're not doing so hot; they'll start trying to subtly invite themselves over to a mennonite house for dinner, knowing there will be no shortage of farmer sausage, perogies, or saurkraut. And there will at the very least be some two day old Butterhorns for dessert. Everyone knows mennonite food will keep a non-mennonite going for two days without another meal.

It's true. When it comes to saving money and buying only the bare essentials, Mennonites take the gold medal. (We would melt it down, add a bit of water to stretch it, and then form it into Loonies that look just like the real thing. Why pay for something you can make yourself?)

Alpha

(I've been recently bitten by the poetry bug - and have discovered it's effects in killing time... so... consider that a warning. But the good news is it gives me a reason to put up my pictures again. This picture was taken by Butterfly Photography.)

Face to sky
Back to earth
Hold onto palm, fingers, wrist
Linked.
Rib-to-rib
Except for one

Cheek tickled by blade
Of green, slim, lush
Dewy
Thick carpet
Until woods edge

All silence
Not wire-hum
Not metal-noise
Just life-breath

Color new
Vibrant, young
Alive and dancing
Organic intense
Splash art

They dance too
Whisper
“I am yours and
You are mine.
Only for each other
Joined together fit.”

Inspired by some photos of one of my friends (these are hers) – she was travelling around Asia for about 6 months… I’m a wee bit jealous.

To go
Be away, disappear
Don’t tell
We’re gone.

The air
Carries scents, different sound
Laden
With opportunity.

To feel
Release held breath
Soar but stand,
Exalt.

The movement,
Soft earth
Ease of the wet
Feet first.

To taste
Full-bodied infusion
Moisten lips and tongue flavor
Biting fire-heat.

The glimmer
Glimpse color
Blush of dusk flicker,
Blue light

To lose
Ourselves you and I
Hidden up in saturated green.
Tree shanty

The distance
We’re away
Disappeared they don’t know.
Go, gone.

No Work

Float
Slowly
Slowly
So slowly
Shift body
Groan of plastic
Water displaced crawls over
Cool caress on sun-saturated skin
Shiver
Remember
Melt again
Eyes close lashes kiss cheek
Turn head
Bright
Face burns
Radiates and glows
Embracing breeze, a breath
Drifts down every bare inch
In swirls
Leaves where water waits
On to the next
Heat
Head rolling
Heart pounding
Hard to see
Up
Leg raised and slowly lowered
Dip
Both
Lift up and set down
Water
Moves too
Up and down
Up down
Stand
Step
Sand
Wet material dry
Drops on neck
Scent warm hair
Fingers through
Tangle
Twist
Arms raised
Arch back
Stretch taut
Contract
Breathe in hold
Out
In
Out murmur