I do have pretty much the cutest nieces and nephews in the whole world, by the way. (and two more on the way before Christmas!)

A late night conversation on the back deck and the visit was over! It went by way too quickly and was a not-so-welcome reminder of how far from my family I really am. But, I’m thankful that all my siblings have now gotten down to visit here in Chattanooga. Still not sure I can claim Chattanooga as my town just yet, but it is great for hosting visitors.

I was out grocery shopping since I’m having a few people over for dinner tomorrow evening, and I stopped by the farm to see if they had cilantro (which I learned is a cool climate plant that doesn’t do too well here in the Mid-South). They did have pints of the most beautiful figs, and I snatched up one to snack on and to have with some goat cheese and honey tomorrow as part of dinner. Look how beautiful they are:

Seriously, so good! I had to take a bite of one while I was capturing the shot:

By the time I was at the farm, the torrential downpour had already started (like we haven’t gotten enough rain this week, thank you very much!), and I was soaked, but determined to try to find cilantro. I tried two small groceries (one Guatemalan owned and one Mexican owned), and I came away with chorizo and these delicious chicken tamales instead of the illusive herb, cilantro. At Tienda Jalisco, they have homemade tamales (pork or chicken) for $1.50 each. When I’ve stopped by before, they’ve either run out or had pork  ones, which I like too. Today, though, they had chicken, and I ordered three. See below:

Everything I’ve eaten from this place has been great. Homecooked, authentic, and, best of all, in my neighborhood.

All that to say, I got distracted from my cilantro hunt, and I decided to change the recipe a little so I won’t need it anyway.

The non-food highlight of my day: my first choir practice with the Resurrected choir tonight. Imagine, if you will, me, who can’t sit down at the piano and pick out a tune without the written music despite 9 years of lessons, trying to learn songs without the music in front of me. Or worse, on the second song, having a hymnal in front of me and realizing that we were singing nothing like the music written there. Oh, it was good for me! I need fresh challenges in my life, and this will certainly be an enjoyable one.

Seriously, though, I am really looking forward to not only having him in concert, but having a student luncheon with him. We do this kind of event with guest speakers that come to campus, giving them a chance to get to know our students and and vice versa. With Andrew’s thoughtfulness and good humor, as well as his experience in the music business, in getting his writing published (two novels so far), in creating community among artists and others, I think we’ll have a great conversation. The demand for seats at the lunch has been HIGH!

When I look back the past few months, I am struck by the people that have crossed my path. Some photos here.

From speakers at the college where I work, to the group of freshmen I traveled with to Europe for two weeks, to the two shop workers in a large city in the middle east who grew up under Taliban rule and wanted to hear the story of the nativity, to friends from the middle east who speak in very different ways about the events in their country than anything I read in the headlines (but also want to hang out and watch The Half-Blood Prince with us!), to the students I grew with and loved this summer, to the people who shared their stories of coming to faith from backgrounds that many consider hopeless and too dark for redemption.

How did I get this privilege? Seriously. I could not have planned this life that I live. And, sometimes I forget to be thankful. I think of what I don’t have, of what I would like to add to my life, and then I am reminded that I have everything and yet I still receive more. I get hit in the face with how big our world is, how amazing the people in it are, and how God is working all over the place!

I love that in the evening, so many people stop and sit on these benches and just look at the sights around them. I love that vendors sell fresh corn on the cob for 1 lira and big containers of watermelon chunks for the same price. I love the way the sun hits the buildings. I love the bright colors of the head scarves and the green gardens.

And, this one gives new meaning to “street lights”:

Yesterday, though, I had to laugh at the weather.
4:40 wake up to rain and the first light of the day
9:40 a little warm, but dry on the walk to the train station
10:10 train was a little late, and it began sprinkling
10:40 downtown Brussels, no rain
10:52 downtown Brussels, downpour of magnificent proportions while we waited at the tram stop
11:00 ran two meters to the tram and got wet.
11:20 got off our tram stop and ran to a block to church in serious downpour. arrived late, dripping wet. attempted to use tissue to dry off. fail.
12:35 looked outside at the pouring rain and decided to stay for coffee time after service
12:45 looked outside and saw the sunshine
2:00 sat down at cafe near Grand Place and soaked in the sun. actually got a little hot.
6:30 left house of our new friends (after an amazing meal of chicken, veggies, and couscous along with mint tea). as we walk to tram and train station, wind now blowing and temp has dropped about 15 degrees.
7:30 walk from train station home and remark on the beautiful, calm, warm evening.

*Wow, wouldn’t I have SUCH an interesting Twitter feed? All weather, all the time live from Belgium here. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m leaving for another country on Wednesday, where the weather is much more predictable.

Look at this scene from the Grand Place: the people are much more beautiful than the architecture.

Tonight, I’m attending the Highland Park Tour of Homes with a few friends from work, so I can get a good look at some of the homes in my own neighborhood. Since I moved in, the house next to me has been on the market. It’s a fabulous, large home just waiting for the right owners, and I am waiting for some great neighbors, too!

a burger (with feta)
onions
portabellas
boneless pork chop with dijon maple glaze
butternut squash

Fear not, I did not eat these all in one sitting (it was three meals in one), but I figured I should go ahead and use the grill space and heat while I had it.

So, here was my plate on the table for a late lunch:

Here is the butternut squash, which finished cooking while I ate the burger/onion/mushroom pita sandwich:

I’m still figuring out the vents on my grill, but the first outing was a success.