Hospitality for the Rest of Us: What's Stopping You?

At the start of all this, I said that hospitality is creating the time and space for people to be real. I think that's still a pretty good definition. I've talked about several different ways to find that time and space. But the question remains, what's stopping us?

All sorts of things stop up us from doing what we want to do. But I've found that very few things stop us from doing what we really want. Just want it and it will start to happen.

Being real with people can be painful and terrible, but occasionally, it's beautiful. So beautiful in fact that it will make all that terrible pain seem small and negligible. I can't do it for you. You're the one that will have to take the risks and determine if they are worthwhile. I can only speak from my experience. My experience says there is nothing better than having people in your life that are real with you and expect your reality in exchange.

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Hospitality for the Rest of Us: Long Distance

People are moving more and more. When I was a youngster, it was a rare instance for a friend to move away. Now it's me that moves away. We've moved a lot, especially when we first got married. It was something like five addresses and three states in the first four years of our marriage. We've slowed down a bit. In the midst of all that moving, we've made some friends along the way. I try to keep an open line in case of times of grief and celebration. One of the best tools I've found for keeping in touch with loved ones far away is Facebook. As much time as I could spend doing other things instead of checking it, it's the best thing I've found. It allows me to communicate with others, without having to call. I know calling is amazing, hearing people's voices, but for introverts, there are no body language clues for us to pick up on that help make our conversations easier. It's also why we prefer to video chat :-) Back to Facebook, some etiquette.

Stories from the Kitchen: Taste and See

I celebrated my birthday last weekend. It was wonderful and the leftovers left me with a question or two. Find out what they are and how I'm currently answering them in this week's podcast. Stories from the Kitchen Season 2, Episode 2: Taste and See Notes from the episode: Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg Dad’s New York Cheesecake (from the back of a Philidelphia Cream Cheese package) 1 ⅞ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ to ½ cup butter, melted 1 cup sugar, divided 2 lbs cream cheese (4 packs) 2 large eggs (lightly beaten) 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 cup sour cream Preheat oven to 450F Mix well graham crackers, 2 tbsp sugar, and enough butter that the mixture holds together. Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Chill in the freezer while preparing the filling. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth and light. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch until just blended. S

Threadbare Knees

I feel sure that you've heard the saying "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well, recently I picked up a pair of wool cashmere blend slacks from Salvation Army and upon further inspection at home, the knees were threadbare, practically holes. Easy enough to miss, when your knees don't fall in the same spot as the previous owner. They were inexpensive, so it wasn't a big monetary loss, but I felt like it would be a shame to toss such nice fabric and so I searched the internet to see what I could do. I found this cute little purse pattern, for free! You can go check it out by clicking here . It is a great little pattern and I was able to make the entire purse in one rainy day! Here are some pictures of my threadbare knees purse. Don't you just love those little pleats? And there's even a little pocket inside. I'm so impressed with myself! Time to fill it up with my keys and such non-sense! And remember, when life gives you th

Tina The Storyteller

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