Saturday Morning Waffles

A tradition in our family was for Dad to make waffles on Saturday mornings. I don’t remember how this tradition was born, though I have fond memories of my father cooking eggs and potatoes on occasion. Somehow, Dad’s cooking tasted extra good – probably because of the novelty of him cooking. I’m sure that Mom must not have appreciated our making such a big deal out of Dad’s cooking when she did the lion’s share of fixing meals!

In our “empty nest” we rarely have waffles. In fact, we no longer own a waffle iron. But on Saturday morning it was a big deal to dig out the thrift store waffle iron and make a big batch. Here is the original recipe I used:

Combine:
· 2 cups flour
· 2 heaping tablespoons baking powder

In a separate container mix:
· 1/4 cup oil
· 2 cups milk
· 4 eggs

Add all ingredients together, mixing well (add solids to liquids so it doesn’t lump on the bottom). Cook in a hot skillet. Eat and enjoy!

One modification I made later was to separate the egg whites, beat them until stiff, and then fold the whites into the batter (don’t mix too much).

Happy Birthday!

We observe birthdays annually, advancing one year every 365 days (plus one day in a leap year). This cycle is tied to planetary motion, of course, reflecting the orbit of the earth around the sun.

I remember when Emily celebrated Autumn’s pi-day at 3.14 years old. Imagine if instead of observing annual birthdays, we all marked pi birthdays. (A one-pi birthday is three years and 51 days, a two-pi birthday is six years and 102 days, and so on.) This might be ideal for those who like to shave years off their actual age. “How old are you anyway, Dee?” “Well, I am coming up on 18 pi … still a teenager.”

Conversely, we could also celebrate metric birthdays. A metric birthday is not quite as long as a pi birthday, and uses a different taxonomy. (A one-kilo birthday is 1,000 days, a two-kilo birthday is 2,000 days, and so on.) If someone asked me how old I am today, I could reply , “Today I am 19.9 kilodays old. On April 30 I’ll hit the big 20-k!”

So here’s a little fun. As of today (ages rounded to one decimal point):
▪ Brenda is 18.2 kilodays old
▪ Ben and Emily are respectively 10.8 and 9.5 kilodays old
▪ Autumn and Prairie are respectively 1.9 and 1.3 kilodays old
▪ Lisa and Brian Higginson are 10.2 and 12.3 kilodays old
▪ Vaughn and Dean are 1.3 and 0.2 kilodays old
▪ Brian and Laura Wangerin are 9.6 and 8.5 kilodays old
▪ Laura is 8.4 kilodays old
▪ Lindsey and Dustin are 7.5 and 8.9 kilodays old

Maybe I’ll figure out pi-birthdays later. Right now my head hurts, but I also feel much younger!

All I want for Christmas is ...

This year we planned to stay home for Christmas, but in the end we could not stand to celebrate the holiday without seeing the grandchildren. Oh, yes, and our children, also. So we braved the icy roads of Interstate 80 and spent a lovely week in Utah.

Normally I don't put much emphasis on gifts I receive. After all, we continue to practice our tradition of "used Christmas" and it is easy not to get excited about receiving a gift with a history.

But this year! I received a bust of the Savior (I've always wanted one). I received an iPod (I've always wanted one). I haven't figured out how to download music yet, but I will ... someday. I received a training kit that will teach me to play the piano. (I've always wanted one.) I received an annotated (with personal notes and memories) book about why daughters need fathers (I hadn't always wanted one, but do now because it made me cry). I received home-bottled salsa (I've always wanted some). And more! (I've always wanted more.)

Unfortunately, Brenda cheated. She broke our rule about giving only used Christmas gifts to present me with the following:

I forgive you, Brenda, for buying me the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes. (I've always wanted one.) I haven't quite been able to bring myself to actually open the set so far, but plan to do so ... soon.

Illusions

I've always been intrigued by optical illusions. We tend to trust in what we can see ("I'll believe it when I see it!"), but it is very evident that it is easy to trick our eyes and brains. In each example below, we see something that isn't so, or see only part of the whole.

For example, the illusion at the upper left appears to show lines moving toward or away from each other. In reality, the lines are perfectly parallel. Immediately to the right are two lines enclosed by arrow points at either end. The lines are the same length, but the top one appears to be shorter. And the figure to the right spells a word. Is it "Good" or "Evil"?

On the next row is an elephant with a confusing number of legs. Is the number four? Or more? To the right of the elephant is a black and white figure of a young woman. Or is it a musician playing an instrument? And which figure is longer, A or B? Both are, of course, the same size.

In the last row the circles in the center appear different sizes, but are not. The wavy checkerboard turns out to be composed of straight lines. The next figure does not contain a drawn circle, though one is clearly visible. It is only the appearance of a circle, composed of off-setting horizontal lines. And Lincoln's hat is just as wide as it is tall.

Illusions of this type can be fun. But it important to remember that much of what we experience in life is very illusion-like. Events in life are inherently meaning-less; we are the ones who provide the meaning. Human beings are meaning-seeking. We tell ourselves stories (i.e., give explanations) about everything we experience in order to make sense of life. But we mistakenly assume that our conclusions are the truth rather than just stories we tell. And our emotions flow from our conclusions and stories.

We need never be in the grip of strong emotion because we enjoy the greatest power ever ... the power of agency, or choice. We can always choose to tell a different story and, by so doing, experience a different emotion. Those who learn this lesson early in life escape much pain and suffering.

My hope is that we all become "dis-illusioned" with life and with other people. I find personally that I do much better in life when I am curious about what happens rather than when I am angry or frustrated or upset. Curiosity causes me to see behind the illusion I hold to other possible truths, some of which are even more likely and many of which do not cause me to suffer.