oh spring, you are good to me

Did I move back to the west coast?

yes

Does that mean I will stop taking pictures of pretty flowers and blooming trees?

nope!

The season of spring...there are too many things I like about it. I love having more light and how the day feels differently with each morning dawn breaking a little earlier and the sun setting a few minutes later. I love the smell of orange blossoms where my car is parked and jasmine over the neighbors' fences. Trees are indeed blooming and flowers popping up from the ground. I notice the birds chirping louder and I find myself walking around the house more often with bare feet.

I certainly miss the east coast season changes. In college I practically dug up the crocuses and tulips from the ground when I saw them starting to peak and I sometimes went on bud-searching runs where I specifically tried to find trees who were making the most progress getting their buds a'ready for spring time. And when those crocuses did bloom, when I could hear the crickets chirping loudly at night with my window open, when those tulips and daffodils came up in their full glory, MAN OH MAN was I in heaven. Like almost tears in my eyes, gotta-run-all-over-the-neighborhood-to-see-every-flower-in-the-city-of-Wenham-type excitement. I'm telling you, flowers and seasons became a new passion of mine.

And I think that excitement has given me more observant eyes to see that spring happens here too. It happens differently, much less dramatically, and it's not as vivid of a change from white snow to purple crocuses, but spring does come to Santa Barbara. And spring still makes my heart happy and thankful. 

California Seasons

Something VERY exciting happened in my house on Friday:

We turned the heater on for the first time this fall!! 

While that fact might not seem to be exciting, it signaled a change in the weather patterns here in Santa Barbara, California. I am ready to be done with 80-degree Sundays. As beautiful as they are, they are not for November (but my dad and I did enjoy an ocean swim last Sunday since it was so warm!!). 

Nothing compares to New England fall. Santa Barbara certainly can't compete in the color/fall crisp-ness/leaf color craziness category, BUT...SB proves to have some seasonal beauty that I am very grateful for and am looking forward to appreciating as I live here during the fall/winter months (first time in 5 years. Yikes!)

I love the way the sunlight is different in the fall and winter months. I love having the sun just rising and the sky sort of pinkish as I'm heading to work and the way the sun hits the plants in our backyard in the afternoon. I can't really describe it..but it's different and beautiful.

In the fall and winter months, SB is usually spared of FOG so the mountains stand against the blue ocean and you can actually see the Channel Islands. It's incredible. The summer months in SB are usually plagued with fog for the first part of the day (sometimes even into the afternoon), so the fall/winter clear skies provide breathtaking views.

 You can see a little bit of leaf change at the top of our maple sweet gum tree (thanks for the correction, Dad!) in the backyard and the purple-ish leaves of the ornamental plum tree (the purple color feels sort of fall-like to me)

The maple tree has plenty of leaves below it and the green is turning yellow - slowly but surely!

And, I'm living with my mother again and she has impeccable taste in seasonal decorating. There is no shortage of pumpkin love in our house.

I realize that so much of what I love about the winter and fall coziness at home is a privilege -- things like heat, and warm tea at night, and electricity for when the sun goes down at 5 pm. I am so thankful for these gifts and getting to experience some seasonal beauties here in Southern California.

fall deliciousness

While I'm missing scenery like this....

I'm indulging in one of my favorite foods: SQUASH!!! If you know me well enough, you know that I buy squash frequently -- butternut, to be specific. When I first lived in an on-campus apartment at Gordon and was learning the ropes of cooking meals for myself, I discovered how easy, delicious, healthy, and FUN cooking squash could be!! All I had to do was cut the squash through the middle, seed it, and put it in the oven. I might add too much brown sugar to continue classifying it as "healthy," but it's the thought that counts, right? I continue to love squash - and other kinds too, like spaghetti and acorn. And I've "graduated" from just making plain squash to making some delicious recipes, too thanks to friends and magazines. I thought I'd share two of my discoveries here....

My all-time favorite recipe for butternut squash can be found here, per the recommendation of my friend Kelly Soifer -- all to her credit. I LOVE this recipe - I've made it quite a few times already and don't plan on stopping.

Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Coconut Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lentils
• 1 butternut squash (peeled and chopped into cubes)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cups vegetable stock, or water, or enough to cover

Tempering:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard (you're supposed to use mustard seeds, but I've used ground mustard)
• Red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it - I'm not a spicy fan, so we just put in a few)
• 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 lime juiced (or a lemon works too)
• cilantro leaves (to taste)

How to make it:

Rinse the lentils, then, in a large pot, combine squash, lentils, tomato, coconut, turmeric, cumin, and enough vegetable stock (chicken broth would work too) to cover. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and simmer 10 minutes (squash should be soft). 

The tempering (I had never done this before - and it's kind of fun!!): In a small frying pan, warm the oil until it's hot. Add the mustard (or mustard seeds) and the red pepper flakes, garlic, and salt. Pour the contents into the soup (including the salt) and then spoon a ladleful of soup back into the frying pan (it will sizzle so don't get too close!) and then pour it back into the pot.

Cilantro is an excellent topping and I think other things like honey would be delicious too (I've just put the honey straight in the pot and it adds a nice flavor). You can serve this over rice, or even without it - it's pretty hearty :)

Another one of my favorite's is this one from Family Circle Magazine:

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients: 

• 1 large butternut squash; cut into wedges
• 3 tablespoon oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1 peeled, cored, and chopped apple
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
• Salt, ginger to taste
• Sour cream and cilantro = optional toppings

Here's how you do it:

Peel and seed the squash and roast in the oven with 2 tablespoon oil @ 350 for about an hour (maybe more - it should be soft). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a soup pot and once it's hot, saute the chopped onion and garlic. Then add the roasted squash, chopped apple, chicken broth, and apple cider. Simmer 30 minutes (apple should be soft). 

Puree in food processor (or, what we do is use the "magic bullet" mixer - quite handy for this recipe so you don't have to take the soup out of the pot!). Add salt to taste and serve with sour cream and cilantro.

My one problem with butternut squash recipes is that they can be a bit time consuming when you have to peel, cut, and roast the squash. However, if you plan your time out well, you can roast the squash a day in advance -- or maybe just earlier in the day. And if you have a good knife, the peeling isn't too bad (that was NOT the case in my apartment so I opted for frozen squash to save my fingers and sanity. I know frozen defeats the purpose, but it was still good :))

happy 1st day of spring!!!

if you didn't know already...

i'm a little obsessed with spring. and flowers. and birds chirping. and tulips and daffodils and crocuses and trees blooming.

 the crocuses are BACK!!!

 and this year i found a new friend to enjoy blooming crocuses with! :)

the massachusetts winter....that wasn't

 singing beach, manchester-by-the-sea

 marybeth & i at singing beach

dane street beach, beverly

so remember that post i wrote about having a very difficult time adjusting to massachusetts winter? for some reason right after that post, the winter got quite a bit warmer. and it's honestly been one of the most glorious things i've experienced the past few weeks.

friday afternoon:

took my little bag of M&M's to singing beach in manchester-be-the-sea and walked along the beach while watching the sunset and eating chocolate

saturday afternoon:

coffee at essen with marybeth and then walked along the same beach and watched about 50 dogs running around on the sand chasing each other (made me miss my dog tanya)

sunday morning:

made chocolate-chip pumpkin pancakes with my friend alyssa and took them and freshly brewed coffee to dane street beach and enjoyed the marvelous beauty while indulging in a delicious breakfast.

IN.... FEBRUARY (!!!)

"get outta town!" as my dad would say

i can't explain how excited i get with this winter - i went to the beach and enjoyed climbing on the rocks and smiled so widely to myself, i got sand in my shoes which i usually don't like but i was like "what a great problem to have!!" and any beach view in the morning is one of the most beautiful things you can ever see. 

i am 

so. 

thankful. 

because winter is approaching

35°F

Wenham, MA

it's officially back.

the cold new england weather i have been avoiding for the past 10 months.

there are things i love about winter. i love pink rosy cheeks, especially on adorable little kids who are covered head to toe in jackets, scarves, and mittens. there is a remarkable beauty to the way trees can become completely white, and there's something magical about watching snowflakes stick to your dark eyelashes and just sitting still, listening, to the snowfall around you. i love after a snowfall when the sun shines so brightly and everything looks so clean, and white, and lovely..and even though you're cold, you forget that you can't feel your nose or your lips because you're captivated by how beautiful it is.

there's the excitement of waking up at 6:00am to "Gordon College Notification System" saying school has been cancelled for the day because of snow and you put your head back to the pillow for a few more hours and then spend the rest of the day cuddled on your bed or the couch watching TV, drinking hot chocolate, and catching up on work you haven't been able to get done for days.

but then winter has its downsides (but i'm trying to be optimistic with the things i love about it first). what is at first so clean, beautiful, and white, soon turns into gray, brown and ugly, especially come March when you start to destroy snow cubes along the side of the road because you are begging the weather to warm up enough so there is no longer snow anywhere in your sight. sometimes the wind blows so fiercly that it feels like no matter how many layers, how thick your long underwear is, or how many cups of tea/hot drink you can drink, the cold blows straight through. and there's the awkward passing-by people along the road when you try to smile but your mouth just doesn't really move because it's frozen. it's embarrassing - and sort of depressing because you don't see as many smiles through those months.

the past few years i have been learning to embrace winter - the highs and lows, the crazy wind or the beautiful snowfall, the dry and cracked skin, or the coziness inside my dorm or apartment. what i probably appreciate the most is how much more thankful i am for spring -- the first sighting of crocuses, the tulips starting to burst from the ground, the slight increase of the temperature on my weather site ...it brings tears to my eyes (literally).

love from snowtober,

alyssa

new england: me hace falta

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

[summer]

[winter]

[springtime]

[harvest]

the first post

yikes! i actually DO have a blog now...i have wanted to have one for quite some time, but came across some bumps along the road, the primary one being: what do i TITLE this thing?? and i will admit that i know MANY blogs that have much better names than mine...mine is a little cheesy/strange, but i think that the word "transient" really identifies with this time period in my life.

tran·sient   [tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt]
–adjective
1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.
3. staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.

yes, every period of our lives is "not lasting" but i feel that our years in college are particularly like this and create a special dependency on Christ because we have so many unknowns. i have a home to return to during vacation times, but i don't always feel like i belong there since i have spent so much time away...and when i am back at school i am often homesick for the familiarity of life in my home state.

but yet this time is also exciting because i don't know what the next day holds, where i am going to live this summer, or if i am going to grad school after graduation, or getting a job. i don't know if i belong on the east coast or the west or the mid west for that matter. i don't know a lot of things, but i do know that God wants me to be content as i sit and dream of my future, move different places, chat to random strangers on the airplane as i make that joyous ride out west/east periodically, enjoy home-cooked meals with my mom, or apartment-cooked meals with my friends.

I was blog-reading one day and found this quote from one of my favorite authors:

"And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?”

— Donald Miller (Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road)

i am in a season of goodbyes and hellos, lots of thinking and pondering, as well as lots of laughing and learning. one of the biggest parts of this learning is better understanding how to communicate my learnings to others...so i want to do some of that through writing. i often come away from classes and conversations so full of new things that i want to share with people, but the words don't come or the wrong ones do. i hope that i can write to better express what God is teaching me and how he is using so many different elements of his creation to show me more of himself.

and as i think about transience, i don't want to forget that this life on earth is not permanent. no home will ever feel like true home until i am in Heaven and nothing will ever satisfy me completely until i stand there. so while i travel, learn, grow, and dream, i hope that i will remember that i am like an israelite, waiting for the promised land, but guided patiently by a loving father.