so, I've been thinking.

The whole world, it seems is in crisis.
More specifically, the economy is in crisis.
Every day, its something new. And things aren't magically getting better. The government can throw money at the problem, but that is only a temporary solution. Because, you see, the problem is us. The problem is the American Dream. The problem is that credit card companies hand out credit to anyone with willing hands (believe me you, it is a travesty that Somalian Refugees are handed credit cards without being given knowledge of how to use or pay off such a thing.). The problem is that we are all used to living beyond our means. We buy peaches and pineapples and mangoes year round because we believe that is is our right to have such delightful produce at any given time of year. We buy clothing from large retailers and do our best to not think about what that "Made in Indonesia" tag really means.

These are the things I have been thinking about.
All of it, is wrong.
This whole system is grossly wrong.
I've succumbed to our consumer society. I am a consumer. I shop the sales, I demand my buying freedoms, and I want what I want when I want it.

After praying and talking to a lot of friends and reading up on helpful sites, I've made a few decisions.

1. I will not buy clothing from any retailer that supports sweat shops. No more Forever 21, no more Target, etc. I will only buy recycled clothing, American made clothing,or clothing that is proven to be made in fair conditions. If you are interested, these stores (and more info on lots of wonderful things) are listed at www.coopamerica.org.

2. I will buy local & organic (as much as I possibly can). I will buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, rather than indulge in something that has been trucked across the country and has wasted valuable resources. Granted, buying local and organic is seemingly more expensive, so for now I am buying items that are on sale as much as possible. For Thanksgiving, I talked my mom into purchasing a fruit & vegetable bin from Organics To You (www.organicstoyou.org), and it will be delivered to my place tomorrow. I am so excited to see my bin of fruit and vegetable goodness! We decided to plan our Thanksgiving menu around what fruits and vegetables were available from this local co op, and if I do say so myself, it is going to be awesome. I plan on making twice baked herbed yams, a cranberry apricot chutney, mashed potatoes, and lots more.

3. And, lastly, the Strannigans are re-visiting "Thrift Store" Christmas this year. We only give gifts that we get at thrift stores (or things that are handmade). We've done this once before and it has been one of our best Christmases to date! I am not very good at making things (I dont sew or knit or draw or paint or ANYTHING) but I am good at thrifting and at making Mix CDs. SO my presents are usually some fun thrift store kitsch and a good winter mix.

So, these are the small steps I am taking. I think the clothing commitment will be the most difficult, but I look forward to the challenge. I am blessed to live near 3 awesome clothing recycling shops (like Buffalo Exchange) and so I really cant see why I would ever need to go to Forever 21 again.

Thanks to Danielle & Krispin, Myste & Phil, Cameron & Erica, Nich, and Denison Witmer for encouraging me in such actions. I am proud of all of you for your faith, your convictions, and for taking a stance against consumerism. I would LOVE to hear other ideas, thoughts, suggestions from any of you readers about the subject. I am just barely delving into all of this and I am excited to be a part of the solution for once, and I am excited to be a responsible steward of what God has given me.

So, those are my thoughts. I want to hear yours!

On love & coffee.

On Saturday morning, I slept in.
I snuggled with Penelope for a while, basked in the sunlight, and I lazily exited my bed at 10:30 am or so. I got ready in a flash, grabbed an apple, and biked up to the Albina Press for a little morning cappy from Nich.

What I received from Nich was this:





And, that right there about sums up my weekend.

There were a lot of bicycles, a lot of coffee, a lot of sunshine, and a lot of love. It was a lazy and peaceful weekend. The air was crisp, the leaves have turned and have nearly all fallen. Penelope even seems happier than usual. I watched documentaries and ate pizza with new friends, I got more than 8 hours of sleep (2 nights in a row!), and I've averaged 3 coffee beverages a day.

This morning, Candyce and Nich and I all ate at the waffle window (I had mine with huckleberries and lemon Curd, Nich's had basil, bacon and brie on it and we all split a pumpkin pie waffle - they were SO good.), we dropped by the Albina Press to get a cup of joe, we attended service at Imago. Then Nich and I took Nolte on a walk, then we biked over to Stumptown for more coffee. Lastly, we came home and squeezed in an episode of Battlestar before Nich had to go to work. This was all before 2 o'clock!

I am not ready for the magical weekend to end.
The big boss man from London will be at work tomorrow, which means my job will be under more scrutiny than usual and I have to dress in "business clothes". Sigh.

For a moment, I forgot all of my woes. I forgot that I am poor and that I am tired and that I feel helpless and that the doctor's can't seem to figure out what's wrong with me. For the weekend, I enjoyed the people that I love. And that was rather nice. This is a life long struggle, I know - to find contentment in the place Christ has me. I am grateful for so many things. Some days I just forget.

oh, how I miss the internet.

Well, first off: I am no longer an internet junkie.
My work installed all sorts of crazy internet security systems and so my blogging, chatting, facebooking, etc has all come to a halt. Thank goodness for my fancy phone (which allows me to stay connected during the day, but just a bit), I had no idea how attached to communication I am.

Honestly, this is really difficult for me. All of the sudden I feel disconnected from so many.
So, I had to carve out a night in which to upload photos, write a blog, chat with friends, and the like. This is strange. It would seem that my blogging will be less frequent. Unless I figure out a way to post blogs from iGoogle, in which case, we may be in business.

Secondly.
Holy moses, we have a new president. I definitely stray away from talking politics on this here blog (my readership is quite varied in opinion) but I will say this: we are in for some changes. Lord only knows what those changes might be, but things will be different. I am not anxious about the future, and for the most part I'm excited. I'll say it, I like Barack. But I am not putting my hope in him. He's human, after all. I'm just glad this election mess is over and we can all go back to concentrating on other things. Really, there are better things to think about. (Gasp! Blasphemy! I know.)

And, lastly, the last couple weeks have been a blur of busy, but they have been good. The beach weekend was absolutely fantastic. It was everything you wanted a beach weekend to be: relaxing, romantic, beautiful, inspiring, and full of good friends and AMAZING food. Seriously, we ate like KINGS! I am thankful for my friends, I am thankful for my wonderful boyfriend, and I am thankful for long(ish) drives home with fall colors and falling leaves and listening to Sufjan Steven's Illinois all the way through (We were in love! We were in love! Palisades! Palisades!). I honestly think the drive back was quite possibly the most beautiful drive of my entire life. It was magic.

Kristin came into town for Halloween (which was also magic), and it was so nice to have an old friend here for the holiday. Kristin, Nich, and I dressed up as Project Runway peoples and while no one had ANY clue who I was, I still had a blast. It only got slightly annoying the 8th time I got asked if I was Katy Perry. Like, seriously? There is some photo evidence of the night on facebook currently, I'll try to get them on flickr or something soon.

Kristin and I also visited the Velveteria, which is the only museum of velvet paintings in the world. awesome! There were so many amazing paintings -- Unicorns, Bat Boy, Willie Nelson, Polar Bears - you name it, they had it. Its only 5 dollars to get in and it is only open on weekends. Best 5 bucks I ever spent. We also took a trip to Oaks Park to visit the Roller Skating rink. Kristin collects pressed pennies, and by 'surfing the web' we found that you could get a Rollerskating Squirrel pressed onto the penny. Done and done. All I can say to you Portland people is: please go to the roller skating rink at Oaks Park. Please! It is old fashioned with a beautiful wood floor and while it is a little pricey ($7.25 was my total after skate rental) it was worth it. First of all, this is a legitimate and competitve roller skating rink from the 1950's. There are lanes for backwards and forwards skating, as well as a center area for 'tricks'. There is a HUGE Wurlitzer organ hanging from the middle of the ceiling and a little old man (by the name of Gary Russel) playing the organ from a little glass box on the side of the rink. They play showtunes! And Elvis Presley! And the sound of music! On a HUGE Organ in the middle of a skating rink! And, they had a large oversized chipmunk/squirrel thing (roller skating rink mascot, apparently) walking around. Sadly, it wasn't skating. Buuuuut, it was still awesome.


My heart is good, my head is good, my body is even starting to feel a little better.
Portland in the fall is magic.
Come see Denison Witmer, Day of Lions, and Kelli Schaefer tonight.
:)