by jphilo | Nov 1, 2013 | Current Events, Family
Bragging about the rellies is so passe`, don’t you think? Makes the old eyes roll when somebody gets going, right?
I agree.
Even so, today I’m bragging about one of my rellies, Ashley Molzen. She was mentioned Tuesday in the Young Professionals section of the Des Moines Register. Not just a little mention. An above the feature with pictures, quotes, and a story so long it had to be finished on one of the inside pages.
Why so much coverage?
Because Ashley, who is the daughter of a cousin who was a bridesmaid in our wedding, is also the librarian at the Forest Avenue branch of the Des Moines Public Library system. And in that capacity, she’s developed an innovative program called Conversations and Coffee. The program helps refugee and English-learning populations in Des Moines improve their conversational skills in their new language.
That’s pretty cool.
But don’t take my word for it. Read the article for yourself at Leading the Conversation. Be sure to read to the end where my cousin and Ashley’s aunty, Julie Roy, is quoted, too. Even though you didn’t know Ashley as a little girl, like her busting-their-buttons-with-pride family did, her story will restore your faith in the younger generation and keep your eyes from rolling when we brag about her.
Ashley Molzen, you rock!
Photo Source
by jphilo | May 29, 2013 | Recipes
Today’s recipe won the Des Moines Register’s Memories of Mom recipe contest and was announced in the Mother’s Day edition of the Register. I modified the recipe by cutting the sugar, using half whole wheat flour and half unbleached white flour, and substituting water for the milk to make it dairy-free. The rolls were light and fluffy and had just a hint of sweet. Delicious!
That said, here’s my version of Marjorie Peterson’s original orange roll recipe, along with many, many thanks to Marjorie and her family for sharing this delectable dish!
Marjorie Peterson’s Orange Rolls, Dairy-Free Version
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages dry yeast
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) Earth Balance buttery vegan sticks
2 eggs, well-beaten
3–4 cups whole wheat flour
3–4 cups unbleached white flour
grated rind of 1 orange
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons softened Earth Balance buttery vegan stick
Directions for rolls:
- Add 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and 1 buttery vegan stick to boiling water. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour into large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
- Dissolve dry yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water.
- Once water/sugar/salt/buttery vegan stick has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast and eggs to it. Stir well.
- Beat in about 6 cups of flour. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface.
- Knead dough until soft and pliable (about 7 minutes), adding more flour as needed.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Set in a warm place and let rise until double.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and punch down. Divide in half and roll each half into an oblong shape. Spread each half with a tablespoon of soft buttery vegan stick, 1/2 grated orange rind, and 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Starting with a long edge, roll into a tube. Slice each tube into 24 rolls and place in a well-greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Set in warm place to rise until double again.
- Bake at 375° for 20 minutes
Directions for frosting: Melt 2 tablespoons of vegan buttery stick in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add the juice of an orange, teaspoon by teaspoon until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread frosting on rolls, dividing it equally between the two pans.
by jphilo | Dec 7, 2012 | Current Events
The November 25th issue of the Des Moines Register ran a story about how many aging authors are continuing to write and publish well into their eighties and nineties. Several authors who follow this trend were listed, pictured, and/or quoted in the story:
- Elmore Leonard won the National Book Award this year at age 87, and it inspired him to keep writing.
- Tom Wolfe, 81, released Back to Blood this year and says being an octogenarian is a hobby of his.
- Herman Wouk, most famous for his WWII book, Winds of War, released a new work this year. He’s 97.
- In March 88-year-old William Gass will release his first book since 1995.
The article listed several more authors still writing and publishing in their 80s and 90s. Only Philip Roth, the youngster in the group at age 79, bucked the trend. He says he’s done enough writing and his novel released in 2010 will be his last.
One of the aging authors, A.E. Hotchner, 92, attributed the trend to clean living. William Gass adds, “During the 1950s, the academic world was full of people who drank too much. The parties were cocktail parties and pretty potent. Now, there are dinners with nice wines.” Hermon Wouk’s editor says the author has taken care of himself since his first book came out 60 years ago. “His lifestyle has remained steady–work, family, religious faith, studying the Torah daily.”
Though that explains why these authors are living and writing longer. But it doesn’t explain why every author mentioned is a ma, with the exception of Toni Morrison, 81, who’s a Nobel laureate and thus hard to ignore. Women’s life expectancy has been greater than men’s for years, so there must be a few more women writers still wielding pens and tapping keyboards far into their golden years.
Since the press doesn’t seem to notice aging women writers (unless they won a Nobel prize) it’s time for clean-living female authors to toot their own horns and remind people they’re not dead yet. They need to let the world know they’re still pounding away, cranking out new books so libraries stay in business.
In that vein, I’m jumping on the aging writers bandwagon. Not that I put myself in the same category as the well-known writers listed above. And it’ll be several decades before being an octogenarian becomes my new hobby. But what compels them to keep writing is what compels me. The need to capture thoughts into words and put them on paper in a way that’s engaging, informative, and thought-provoking.
That said, if my mind goes before my body, I still want to keep writing. So whoever’s still around can put a keyboard in front of me. No doubt, I’ll type a whole lot of gibberish, and I’ll be happy as a clam while doing it.
That’s how much I want to be an aging writer when I grow up.
photo credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net
by jphilo | Oct 8, 2012 | Daily Life
An article about cutting edge business buzz words in yesterday’s Des Moines Register gave me an entirely new outlook about change. The story explained why the business world prefers the word pivot to change this way:
When things didn’t go well, it used to be that you would have to change. But that word sounds so negative, doesn’t it? Instead just pivot. If you lost your job, you might say, ‘I was a teacher, but I’ve pivoted into fast-food service.
Wow! By changing one little word, people can eliminate negativity in their personal lives, too. Here are a few ideas:
- No need for man or critter to complain about the past weekend’s cold snap and hard frost. Next time the deer along the walking trail stand with hooves planted in the frosty grass, their sides shivering with cold, just say, “Looks like the weather’s pivoting into winter.” Nothing like positive buzz words to warm a body up.
- I can tell Hiram, “Let’s pivot the furniture in the living room,” or “The weather’s pivoting, so we need to lug the flowerpots from the porch all the way upstairs,” and the man of steel will want to do it, what with all the negativity taken out of the pivoting process.
- When I look in the mirror and see more grey hairs, I can say, “Why Jolene, you’re pivoting into a new look.”
- Likewise, my recently acquired status as grandparent can be considered a pivot into maturity.
- Pounds gained from overeating during the upcoming holidays will be a pivot into a new wardrobe.
This word has pivoted my attitude toward change. The other words on the biz buzzword list – crowd funding, showrooming, cloud (as in the internet), BYOD (bring your own device), data mining, freemium (use this one quickly as it’s on the way out), social and mobile (for pitching business ideas), and lean start up – not so much.
But that’s okay. Adding one new buzz word to my vocabulary is all the pivoting I can handle. Though it’s important to make the pivot quickly ’cause you know what they say. The only constant is pivoting so get used to it.
Hmmm…oes that sound right to you?
by jphilo | Aug 1, 2011 | Church Newsletter Columns
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2
Riding a bike is one of my not favorite things. Being outside on a hot July day is another of my not favorite things. Along with sweating, being windblown, sleeping in a tent, and using a port-a-potty. So when the Des Moines Register announced that our town would be an overnight stop along the July 2011 Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), I was underwhelmed. In fact, my exact thoughts ran along the lines of Oh great, there will be 30,000+ crazy people in our town overnight, followed by If I lie low, maybe I can avoid contact with them.
My strategy worked perfectly until two weeks before the big day, when a neighbor asked if any RAGBRAI riders were staying with us. If not, four friends of their friends were looking for a place to spend the night. Were we interested? Suddenly, the first answer that came to mind – No, we’re not interested in having strangers crazy enough to ride their bikes across Iowa in the middle of July stay at our house! – sounded a little inhospitable.
Then I thought about all the families who have invited me to stay at their homes when I travel for speaking engagements. Maybe traveling around the country is one of their not favorite things. Maybe speaking to groups of strangers is another of their not favorite things. Along with hauling boxes from here to there, selling books, and wondering if there’s a booger hanging out of your nose.
Maybe they think I’m crazy. Even so, they open their homes to me. We begin the evening as strangers, but then we start talking and discover common acquaintances, common interests, common heartaches, and common joys. They may still think I’m crazy when we say good-bye, yet they send me off with a hug and a prayer. Surely, after being on the receiving end of so much hospitality, it was time for me to offer some, instead.
Sure, I told my neighbor, send them this way. Turned out, our four house guests were hot, sweaty, windblown, hungry, and tired. But the Davenport natives – a high school English teacher, a school development office worker, and a mental health counselor – and the IT guy from Australia weren’t as crazy as I’d thought. They were young people grateful for comfortable beds, hot showers, home cooking, and conversation in air conditioned comfort.
Hiram and I waved good-bye to our guests the next morning. And I wondered why I’d been reluctant to share God’s riches with strangers in our town, why I had almost disobeyed his command, why I hadn’t trusted his promise in Hebrews 13:2.
Crazy. I shook my head. Crazy how hosting bike-riding strangers has become one of my favorite things.
