In a recent article from the Washington Post entitled, The Handwriting is on the Wall, I read of some slightly disturbing news. Children in elementary and middle school are receiving fewer lessons in penmanship and more so in the area of cursive. Computers are taking over in the area of actually writing something by hand. A friend of mine who works at a National Park (and blogged on this very subject) says that he rarely receives a request for information that is hand written and the signature is usually a scribble of illegible scrawl.
I must say that I LOVE to write. There are times when I find it "appropriate" to type out a request, response, an essay, etc. Even as I type these words I find it a little crazy that I am typing out my "rant" on the issue. I will say that I thought about writing it all out and then scanning it into the computer. That may be taking the issue a little too far. Then again, maybe not. I love getting handwritten notes from my friends and family... and I love writing in return! It makes me sad that children today may never really learn or struggle with reading letters from grandma. My grandma sent me notes written in beautiful cursive up until she was about 90. Now, at 97, she has a harder time seeing and writing is a bit of a chore. But my cousin, Joyce, will always send some note about the weather on the farm, what's happening in life, etc in any card that she sends. It's a wonderful way to be personally connected with a person whether they are across the street or across the country. My favorite notes from Matt are always the handwritten ones.
I think what got to me in this article was the fact that many teachers are teaching cursive mainly so their students can read it should it come up in the future or so the students can formulate some sort of signature.
Future historians will be up against new challenges as authenticity will be harder to determine as people move away from handwriting. It's an interesting issue on a variety of levels.
It was an interesting thought to ponder for awhile. I think that I will try to resolve to write more handwritten things (even recipes... there's something about the Russian Tea Cookie recipe being in my grandmother's handwriting that makes it all the more special and helps usher the Christmas season into full swing) and make sure that (God willing) our children know the power and art of the handwritten note.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Thanksgiving 2006
This is the first Thanksgiving that Matt and I celebrated as husband and wife. It's interesting to think that last year at this time I was in Austin with Amanda Traviss cooking for a bunch of her friends, and Matt and I were just beginning to speak on the phone... now we are married! God is so good and we have much to be thankful for.
Papa Tash flew in from New Mexico to celebrate with us, Matt's parents (Dave and Penny) drove down from Peoria, and our fun friend Julius joined us as well. Many people were shocked, astonished, and even encouraged to find out that I was going to take on the "challenge" of making this special meal the first time as a married woman. I guess my thought was, "Heck, why not? I'd really like to and it means people will be in my home!" I am always a little off with trying to get it all out at the same time piping hot... this year it finally worked out! So this year I just dove right in and I think it all came out just wonderfully!
The morning was met with baking two pumpkin pies, one in the traditional way and the second with an experimental walnut topping. (The walnut topping was met with rave reviews and second helpings!) Julius brought a pumpkin cheesecake from CostCo... it's quite good... especially if you are a fan of pumpkin AND cheesecake. We had quite the assortment of pumpkin goodies. I even had some pumpkin bread (with dark chocolate chips) later in the evening!
Later, Matt put the turkey on the rotisserie that in on our grill. The turkey was rubbed down with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, thyme, tarragon, and sage. (Ah! So, good and juicy!) In the kitchen, a green bean casserole (with a twist, the best I have ever had) was being made along with dressing, corn on the cob, crescent rolls, gravy (made by Papa Tash), and a mashed potato (yes, real potatoes) casserole-type dish (which was handy because it's a make ahead recipe which Matt put together on Wednesday afternoon.) The house was filled with a wonderful aroma! Penny brought corn bread to add the spread... it was awesome!
As a new household, Matt and I realize that we have traditions that we bring from before we were married. However, we also want to create traditions that are new and unique to our family. Before the dinner Matt read Psalm 136 which almost had me in tears as I looked around the table and remembered all that God has done in my life and before I ever took a breath. His mercy endures forever. Then we went around the table and talked about the things that we were thankful for this year. They were moments that I will cherish in my heart. We prayed and then dug into the bounty that our Lord provided for us. Over dinner we talked about things from our childhood that were "staples", good or bad, that were part of the holiday meals. It was pretty funny at times.
After we were thoroughly stuffed with turkey and pumpkin we enjoyed conversation and coffee in the living room. As the evening wore on we watched "Deal or No Deal" (yes, I think we are all fans) and then "ER." (Tivo recorded "Grey's Anatomy" for me to watch later.) Soon, everyone was gone, except Papa who is staying with us, and we all went to bed pretty tired but fully satisfied with the day.
Today, we had plans to possibly venture out to Cost Plus World Market and then maybe to the top of South Mountain. Unfortunately, Papa is quite sick (while the rest of us are all healthy) and we are all at home... Papa sleeping, Matt and I on computers goofing off, and I am also taking in some of my favorite football games... Texas A&M vs. #11 Texas (A&M won! whoop!) and now the Colorado vs. #22 Nebraska (I am wearing my Colorado shirt, but know that Nebraska will win and they will probably win the Big 12 Championship... I am okay with that, too. I would cheer for Nebraska... except they are playing Colorado... I love the buffalo.)
Tomorrow, we hope to go to Cabela's... we will see how Papa is feeling.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Papa Tash flew in from New Mexico to celebrate with us, Matt's parents (Dave and Penny) drove down from Peoria, and our fun friend Julius joined us as well. Many people were shocked, astonished, and even encouraged to find out that I was going to take on the "challenge" of making this special meal the first time as a married woman. I guess my thought was, "Heck, why not? I'd really like to and it means people will be in my home!" I am always a little off with trying to get it all out at the same time piping hot... this year it finally worked out! So this year I just dove right in and I think it all came out just wonderfully!
The morning was met with baking two pumpkin pies, one in the traditional way and the second with an experimental walnut topping. (The walnut topping was met with rave reviews and second helpings!) Julius brought a pumpkin cheesecake from CostCo... it's quite good... especially if you are a fan of pumpkin AND cheesecake. We had quite the assortment of pumpkin goodies. I even had some pumpkin bread (with dark chocolate chips) later in the evening!
Later, Matt put the turkey on the rotisserie that in on our grill. The turkey was rubbed down with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, thyme, tarragon, and sage. (Ah! So, good and juicy!) In the kitchen, a green bean casserole (with a twist, the best I have ever had) was being made along with dressing, corn on the cob, crescent rolls, gravy (made by Papa Tash), and a mashed potato (yes, real potatoes) casserole-type dish (which was handy because it's a make ahead recipe which Matt put together on Wednesday afternoon.) The house was filled with a wonderful aroma! Penny brought corn bread to add the spread... it was awesome!
As a new household, Matt and I realize that we have traditions that we bring from before we were married. However, we also want to create traditions that are new and unique to our family. Before the dinner Matt read Psalm 136 which almost had me in tears as I looked around the table and remembered all that God has done in my life and before I ever took a breath. His mercy endures forever. Then we went around the table and talked about the things that we were thankful for this year. They were moments that I will cherish in my heart. We prayed and then dug into the bounty that our Lord provided for us. Over dinner we talked about things from our childhood that were "staples", good or bad, that were part of the holiday meals. It was pretty funny at times.
After we were thoroughly stuffed with turkey and pumpkin we enjoyed conversation and coffee in the living room. As the evening wore on we watched "Deal or No Deal" (yes, I think we are all fans) and then "ER." (Tivo recorded "Grey's Anatomy" for me to watch later.) Soon, everyone was gone, except Papa who is staying with us, and we all went to bed pretty tired but fully satisfied with the day.
Today, we had plans to possibly venture out to Cost Plus World Market and then maybe to the top of South Mountain. Unfortunately, Papa is quite sick (while the rest of us are all healthy) and we are all at home... Papa sleeping, Matt and I on computers goofing off, and I am also taking in some of my favorite football games... Texas A&M vs. #11 Texas (A&M won! whoop!) and now the Colorado vs. #22 Nebraska (I am wearing my Colorado shirt, but know that Nebraska will win and they will probably win the Big 12 Championship... I am okay with that, too. I would cheer for Nebraska... except they are playing Colorado... I love the buffalo.)
Tomorrow, we hope to go to Cabela's... we will see how Papa is feeling.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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