Call It Even

My parents visited us in Virginia this Christmas. True to form, Mom baked with the grandkids and Dad did fix-it projects around the house. By the time they left yesterday, we had new caulking in all of our bathrooms, a house number drilled above our garage, and a downstairs toilet that filled much more quickly after flushing. Graham and I are not fixer-uppers, but my dad sure is.

For years, I've watched other couples refinish their bathrooms, add a deck onto their homes, rewire lights in their kitchens. And I've lamented that those things are not true of our household. When we have a problem with the plumbing, we join message boards and try to familiarize ourselves with new terminology like backwater valve and refill tube. Once, Graham tried to fix a leaky toilet by installing a new toilet kit. Six hours later, we put a bucket under the commode and called a plumber. The first time we lost heat in our home in Orange, I was sure it was a furnace problem, until our pastor came over, measured the oil in the tank, and pronounced it empty. This stuff is just not intuitive for us.

But then, a few days ago, our computer wouldn't start. A gray screen appeared with the infamous apple icon, and then went black. Without warning, our computer had crashed and I had no back-up for my documents and pictures. But instead of freaking out by this internal operating error, my husband calmly went to Best Buy and bought an external hard drive, then proceeded to transfer our entire operating system onto the drive, "clean" the existing computer, and reinstall all the apps and programs. Wait. What? You see, all the years that I had been slightly embittered over a husband that couldn't build me a kitchen table were years that I forgot to recognize the amazing gifts and talents that he does possess.

This man that I've been married to for a decade this January 1st works hard and provides, loves our kids well, does incredibly kind things for me, and evidently is a computer genius in his spare time.

So, the next time I read a post on Instagram announcing that a friend's husband built her a bench out of 150-year-old salvaged barn wood to go in their front entryway, I'll remember that mine fixed a crashed computer that held our most precious memories, and we'll call it even.

Worthwhile Wednesdays: You Choose

 After several weeks of spotlighting nonprofits I was introduced to at a blogger's conference in October, it is time to choose which one will be receiving the proceeds of my clothing sale earlier this fall. Your job? Comment on this post or on Facebook and cast your vote for one of the following worthy organizations:

1. Sole Hope- This organization's voice is raised for children in Uganda and other sub-saharan African countries who fall prey to jiggers, a sand flea that burrows in the feet and hands. The donations from my clothing sale would go to fund all aspects of the Sole Hope mission, including hygiene and jigger removal clinics, fair wages for shoemakers, and an Outreach House that works with the most devastating jigger cases.

2. Ornaments for Orphans- This organization sells fair trade items with proceeds benefiting orphans in Africa. A gift to O4O benefits Pearl Ministrie, a Christian non-profit corporation dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of Ugandan orphans and children through Gospel-centered and holistic development programs.

 3.  Preemptive Love- This nonprofit organization funds heart surgeries for children in Iraq, where heart defects are remarkably higher than in other countries. Money given helps fund a surgeon's travel expenses to Iraq, pays for supplies, and helps cover the surgery itself.

It's your choice! My clothing sale raised nearly $500. Let me know which organization should receive the money. Vote by Friday at noon!

Lessons from Belgium

The first time I went to Europe, I wore spike-heel boots. Seriously, spiky heels. And we were in Rome. On cobblestone streets. By the end of the first day, I was in tears. Late that night, we found ourselves at a shoe shop buying flat, supportive riding boots. I still have those boots and often think about the painful experience that required their purchase.

Ah, the lessons learned from going to a foreign country. This latest trip was no exception. Graham and I celebrated our ten year anniversary in Brussels and it was absolutely charming, and wonderful, and romantic. Do I wish I had brushed up on my French before we left? Yes. Did I hope to see more museums, pack in more sights? Of course, especially Flanders Field on the Centennial anniversary of WWI. Would I have done the trip any differently? Not a chance.

In looking through pictures and processing our time away, Graham and I are both in agreement on a few suggestions to follow when traveling to Europe:

1. Eat like a local.

If the restaurant is too Americanized, skip it. If the food is too familiar, scratch it. Find yourself at a local pub in the afternoon or a restaurant late at night and make sure you're the only ones speaking English. That's when you know you're on the right track.

On our trip, instead of getting ketchup on our Belgian Frites, we opted for the traditional mayonnaise. Mind you, this was no Hellman's. Belgian mayo is homemade and absolutely divine. Instead of eating our Belgian waffles with powdered sugar and syrup like we might in the states, we chose to eat it plain and got a true taste of perfection, complete with crunchy caramelized edges.

One of my favorite food experiences was heading a few blocks up the street from our hotel in southern Brussels (away from town) to a place called Les Clans des Belge. We showed up at 9 o'clock for dinner and the place was hopping with locals. We ate our most authentic meal that night as Graham chose the canard and I had mussels vin blanc. Another real treat was finding a little Greek restaurant while dining solo one afternoon. The very kind owner walked me through the menu start to finish. I ate octopus there for the first time and it was mild and tender and delicious.

2. Find a church and sit for a spell.

The Catholic churches in Europe are positively breathtaking and you don't have to visit the most famous ones to have a full experience. We walked into a little church just outside of downtown Brussels that had been built in 1635, and marveled. The musky smell of candles burning, the craftsmanship in the artwork, and the simple wooden benches on which to sit were mesmerizing. We rested there for a spell and whispered back and forth about what the four walls of this church must have borne witness to throughout the generations. Plagues and epidemics in the 17th century, the rise and fall of rulers and kingdoms, and world wars abroad, then at home, this little church stands as a place of comfort amidst the fear and loss.

 3. Get lost on a side street.
The art of getting lost in a European city can make for the most enduring memories of the trip. Giving yourself permission to have just a bit of wanderlust allows you to truly experience the location you are visiting. Had we not stepped off the beaten path in Bruges, for instance, we wouldn't have found these charming sites:

4. Bring hair tools that work.

A voltage adapter doesn't help anybody when the curling iron prong doesn't fit the shape. This makes for bad hair days. I speak from experience. Without the use of my curling iron or flat iron, I wore lots of up-do's and thankfully, found a fabulous hat along the way to mask the hair issues. Seriously though, make sure your hair products will work. You can go ahead and thank me in advance.