I Never Promised You an Organic Garden » Family

Red River Gorge & Backwoods Baking

Becky McKimmy — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:32:08 +0000

Matt and I went to the Red River Gorge Geological area this weekend and spent the weekend camping and hiking with his parents. It was a wonderful weekend, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We did quasi-car camping in a primitive site. There were bears in the area so we had to carry all our food back and forth between the car and the campsite everyday and there was no water available, but we had a pretty nice campsite. Our huge Coleman tent was especially nicely decked out. Matt’s parents have a double height air mattress that looked like a real bed and we even had throw rug to keep our feet clean.

There are miles and miles of trails in the area with amazing views, and we spent all day Saturday hiking. We covered between 6 and 7 miles and saw quite a few natural stone arches, unusual rock formations, and spectacular sandstone cliffs. The hike itself wasn’t overly difficult, but it did include some pretty steep uphill sections and long stairways. We took Haley with us and even with her newly arthritic hip, she did really well.

One of the other exciting parts of our trip was my attempt at backwoods baking. Using a pie iron given to me by my Pennsylvania friends, I introduced Matt’s parents to “mountain pies”. They are amazingly simple to make and quite tasty. All you need is two pieces of bread, copious butter, and filling. We made a number of different pies using cherry pie filling, chocolate bars, and marshmallows. My favorite was the chocolate filled pie. It reminded me of a redneck version of a chocolate croissant. By the time we were finished, I had my pie making skills perfected, and they were flipping out of the pie iron all golden brown and yummy. It was alot of fun, and Matt’s parents really enjoyed making and eating them.

Overall it was a wonderful weekend and in true McKimmy style, we took a ton of photos. Once I have looked through them all I will post the highlights on Facebook and Flickr for everyone to see.

Cooking Success

Becky McKimmy — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:29:10 +0000

I thought that since I previously posted some of my cooking fiascos that it would only be fair to myself to post about a cooking success. Matt went to Elgin, Illinois for a business trip today, which meant I was responsible for my own dinner this evening. And not only did I cook a good meal for myself, but I also fed two of my friends.

I made whole wheat penne with a homemade tomato sauce from the Cook’s Illustrated Pasta cookbook. (the pasta was NOT homemade). It wasn’t anything fancy or difficult, but it was certainly a step above pasta sauce from a jar, and it was quite tasty.

Amazingly, nothing was overcooked; nothing caught on fire; I didn’t pour boiling water on myself; all the appropriate ingredients were added at the correct time; no one was bleeding during or after the cooking process; and I am pretty sure all everyone enjoyed their food.

Does this mean I will cook more often? Not likely. Does this mean I will happily feed myself at least a few nights while Matt is in New Zealand this fall ? Probably. But feel free to invite me over for dinner.

Giving Lent Another Try

Becky McKimmy — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:46:34 +0000

Lent and the practice of giving something up for 40 days has never been a spiritual discipline that has been particularly useful for me. Instead of feeling reflective and grateful for what I have, I usually end up grumpy, mean, and focused on the one thing I chose to give up. I remember specifically one year giving up Dr. Pepper, and even though I was allowing myself coca cola to deal with my caffeine addiction, I was still quite a baby. I moped around the grocery store carrying a Dr. Pepper I knew darn well I wasn’t going to buy, whining about how stupid lent was. It was not one of my finer moments.

It is possible that this particular instance could be accredited to my addiction to caffeine, but most likely it has more to do with my personality. I am not known for my patience or ability to deal with change. So with that in mind, a few years ago I decided for lent I was giving up lent. No more withholding things from myself, no more suffering because the liturgical calendar said I should, no more fixation on the one thing I couldn’t have. And you know what…I liked lent a lot better that way. I still complained about all the hymns being in a minor key at church, but I no longer dreaded lent.

Now, fast forward five years to today, and I am finally willing to give lent a try again. Only this time, I am not giving something up for 40 days. Instead Matt and I are going to challenge ourselves to do something different for 40 days. Calling it a challenge makes it more fun and insures that my competitive side will keep me committed. So for 40 days Matt and I will be purchasing our groceries from the Clear Creek Co-op or other local sources. No more grocery stores. No more quick runs to Meijer to pick up a few things for a special meal. We are going to eat what is available at the Co-op or from local farmers. To be honest, I should note that we did not rid our pantry or fridge of items that don’t come from the aforementioned sources, so at least in the beginning we will have a few items from Meijer still around. By the end of lent, however, it should be a whole new ball game. The other exception we are making is to purchase fresh produce from the grocery store until the Co-op gets their shipment. We are told this should be soon. But really, going 40 days without onions or potatoes or green peppers, I am sure that isn’t healthy!

It will be interesting to see if we have to change our eating habits much or how many of the meals we normally eat we won’t be able to make with food from the Co-op. I am not 100% sure what sort of spiritual impact this practice will have, but I think it will help us to continue to be more intentional and mindful about what we are eating. It will also give us a closer connection with the food we are eating. My biggest hope is that in 40 days we will realize that we really don’t need to go to Meijer anymore. Or at least not more than once a month.

Should be an interesting 40 days. Are you doing anything for lent?

Fight against Lupus

Becky McKimmy — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:50:19 +0000

For those of you who don’t know her, the girl in the photo next to me is my little sister. I say little knowing she would quickly remind me that she is no longer my little sister but my younger sister. Only 3 years, 11 months, 10 days, etc. I am pretty sure she even has the number of minutes separating our ages memorized. But to me she will always be my little sister. (Deal with it Meg, it’s not changing).

My little sister who, by virtue of me being her BIG sister, I feel the need to harass, help, direct, give unsolicited advice to, support, and protect. So two years ago when I found out she has Lupus it was quite upsetting. Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. Basically it causes your immune system to attack various parts of your body. In Megan’s case, it is currently manifesting itself in joint pain and extreme fatigue, but it can vary from person to person and even from year to year. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Lupus only treatments to keep the symptoms under control.

However, this May, Megan is participating in a walk to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of America. The money she and other walkers raise will go to support research for a cure and help provide programs and treatments for people suffering from Lupus, along with supporting their friends and families. I would love to be able to join her team and walk with her in May; however, the walk is taking place in North Carolina, and I am in Indiana. So in order to still participate and support my little sister, I am trying to help her raise as much money as possible.

Her team has set $1,000 as their goal, and they are on their way. But, they could use your help getting to that goal. You can donate online at Megan’s website or by giving me check or cash. I will be sending her all the cash donations I round up before the walk.

I know everyone is probably already inundated with request to support various causes or groups, and I am sorry to pile on. But this is something extra close to me and my family, and I want to do anything I can to support my little sister.

Thank you for your help!

The knitting gods smiled on me

Becky McKimmy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:36:38 +0000

I had a once in life time experience when it come to knitting. I started a scarf for my husband a year & 1/2 ago using gorgeous bamboo yarn I got from Unwind Yarn Shop. I made the mistake of letting my non-knitting husband pick out the pattern so it turned out to be a little more complicated that I intended. It requires my undivided attention so I haven’t worked on it much. Sunday night I picked the scarf back up and after doing some math realized I would not have enough yarn to finish.

Normally this would be a disaster. There is no way a year & 1/2 after I purchased the yarn that the yarn shop would still have 3 skins of yarn in the same dye lot. But they did! I couldn’t believe my luck. For those of you who don’t knit or crochet this is very important because if you purchase yarn from a different dye lot it is very likely that the yarn will be a slightly different color and it will be very visible in your finished product.

Considering the time I have put into the scarf and it will require to finsih, I super excited to actually find the exact yarn I need and not have to “wing” it.

Mission Accomplished

Becky McKimmy — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:48:06 +0000

Very Exciting News: I have finished my first hand knitted wool sweater. I started this in February, and I just finished sewing up the sleeves at 9:30pm this evening. I still need to take the time to block it, but it is totally wearable at this moment. For all you non-knitters, blocking is dousing a completed project in water and pinning it out into the final shape you want. This helps to work out uneven stitches, ensure proper length and width, and generally improves the final look of your project.

Overall, I am very happy with how the sweater turned out and will wear it with pride. The body is a little longer than I intended but still stylish, and the sleeves are a little shorter than I expected but can be corrected with blocking. For those of you who knit or know this sort of information about clothing, the sweater is a raglan style (something to do with the shoulder seems) and was knitted from the top down, which allowed me to knit the sweater in the round and not have to sew all the sections together at the end. There really is no better way to make a sweater in my opinion. Who wants to sew pieces together?

When I began the class at Unwind Yarn Shop, I thought there was no way I would ever finish a wearable sweater, but I have really surprised myself. While it did take me seven months to complete the project, I did not spend all that time working on the sweater. I put it down this summer to work on other projects. All in all it is very empowering to complete such a big complex project and feel good about the result. Of course, at least part of the credit goes to Vicki and Julie from Unwind for answering my seemingly never-ending questions and being great teachers.

I think I will definitely be knitting another sweater someday in the future!

I am back!

Becky McKimmy — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:59:08 +0000

Well, after a month-long self imposed hiatus, I am back to blogging. Life has been very crazy the past month and something had to give. Unfortunately it turned out to be my blog. If anyone is still paying attention, thanks for your patience.

So what has been going on all this time, you ask? Matt and I have been, and still are, buying a house. Yes that’s right, buying a house. Now I know we said we were going to do the responsible thing and wait a year so we could save up a substantial down payment and then buy a house, but the more we thought about it the more now felt like the right time. It is truly a buyers market, interest rates are they lowest they have been in years and are only going to go up, and we are tired of throwing our money away paying rent.

After looking at what felt like every house in Richmond, we chose a wonderful house in a neighborhood called Hidden Valley. It is a gorgeous area. Very peaceful and private but still with great proximity to work, friends, and everything else life entails.

It has been a learning process to say the least, and we definitely couldn’t have made it this far without help from our very knowledgeable and supportive friends and a good realtor.

Now what you have been waiting for: Photos of the House

I got a perty mouth

Becky McKimmy — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:53:33 +0000

Checkout our recent photos of Garrett and Haley

Another trip down memory lane

Becky McKimmy — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:06:55 +0000

Last night Matt was looking through old photos to find some for his new office, and it reminded me that we have been together for 9 1/2 years and married for nearly 5. It was quite humorous to look at us 9 1/2 years ago and us now. We have been through a lot together, and I am happy to say have only gotten closer over the years.

So I thought I would share a few photos from over the years (don’t laugh too hard):

June 1998

June 2003

May 2008

It’s Official!

Becky McKimmy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:43:09 +0000

Some of you may have noticed a very conspicuous lack of posts here in the last couple of weeks. This has been caused by a big change in our life that has been taking place, which used up a lot of my time both physically and mentally as I was processing everything.

Matthew, as a recent graduate, has been looking for a job and within the past two weeks has undergone the process to receive his first call. He is now officially the pastor at Richmond Church of the Brethren in Richmond, Indiana. After two interviews and negotiations, he preached his trial sermon this past Sunday and the congregation voted to call him as their pastor. It is very exciting, and we both feel like this will be a great place for him to grow as a new minister. It will also be a very welcoming and loving community for me to feel out and live into the role of “pastor’s wife”.

So between his interviews, our daily life, and the mental work that goes into making a decision that impacts your life in the way that becoming the pastor of a church will, I have been negligent in my posting. Now that we have a better idea of what our future holds, I am hoping to find more time to return to my regular posting. I am sure I will have plenty of anecdotes and stories to share as we enter this new phase in our lives.

One other related announcement is that Matt and I will now officially go from being people living in Richmond as transient students, to a functioning, participating members of the Richmond community. Our current plans are to look for a house to buy within Richmond in the next year, and for the first time since leaving our parents’ houses, have a permament home.

I Never Promised You an Organic Garden » Family

Red River Gorge & Backwoods Baking

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Cooking Success

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Giving Lent Another Try

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Fight against Lupus

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The knitting gods smiled on me

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Mission Accomplished

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I got a perty mouth

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Another trip down memory lane

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