I am ready for fall. For several reasons, but here are a few:

1. It’s just too darn hot.

2. The AC in my car is broken, and cool air only comes out of the defroster vents, which fogs up my windshield and does little to cool the car. See #1.

3. Squash bugs have destroyed my zucchini and squash. Something got into the baby watermelons and the cantaloupe, and my yellow tomatoes keep splitting. (And I’m bad at watering consistently, and we’ve had some ridiculous rain patterns this summer too. Not helpful.) I am ready to tear out all the plants and have a nice dirt spot where nothing is dying.

4. I’ve worn everything in my summer wardrobe a million times and would like to cycle through my long-sleeved shirts again.

5. Did I mention how hot it is?

I’ve enjoyed this summer, with its barbeque fiascos and impromptu trips to the beach, but now I’m ready for a little chill in the air, wearing a light jacket, a drop in the humidity, the local Methodist church filling its lawn with bright orange pumpkins, fall smells of burning leaves and cinnamon and nutmeg, making stews and chili on cold days, opening the windows and having the house smell so fresh.

Only, what, three months to go?

Last night, it took me the longest time to fall asleep. It’s like my mind was on a loop, and it just cycled through all the things I’ve been thinking about or doing or not doing, one right after another, and I flopped around, thinking while lying on my left side, thinking while on my right. I never can fall asleep on my back, but sometimes I tried that anyway, for variety at least. I have a feeling this post is going to be a little like that–I can’t order my thoughts, can’t collect them into a narrative that is neat and makes sense. (Okay, fine, you’re not surprised, I know.)

So. There’s this–four hours of catching up with a dear friend, talking about babies (she has two; one is ten and one is six weeks. she’s an amazing woman) and careers and influence and unconditional love and politics. We voted differently in the last election, and here’s the most amazing thing. We could talk about it, openly and honestly, without having to convince one another of anything, and never did she make me feel like I had some major character flaw or that I was mentally deficient. Incredible! I’m only half joking about my surprise. Of course I wasn’t surprised that she was treating me well, regardless of what my current political leanings are. Sue is fantastic like that. What has greatly surprised me over the course of this election and its aftermath is how free other people have felt to express not only their disagreement but their contempt, shock, and disdain for my choices, and how vicious people feel they are allowed to be on this topic. But maybe that’s because we’re all talking on the Internet, and isn’t it easy to be mean when you’re typing rather than looking someone in the eyes?

And while we’re on the subject, and I promise this is the last political thing I’ll say here today, I must say I’m quite disturbed at things I’ve been hearing (especially on Facebook) about our current president. In the course of a political conversation, a friend wrote, “He needs to go.” I was floored. I don’t care who you voted for or what terrible things you may think about Obama–he’s our president, and he isn’t going anywhere for the next four years unless he’s impeached or assassinated. And I don’t know that my friend was hoping for an impeachment trial. I sincerely hope it was just an offhanded comment of frustration and nothing more. She probably didn’t mean it the way it sounded. But the fact that it was not an unusual comment in the current political climate, and the fact that no one else seemed to find it shocking, greatly troubled me. My friend is not crazy, but there are mentally unstable people out there, and they all have guns. I don’t remember anyone wishing things like that on Bush, and I have some pretty vocal liberal friends. Never did I hear any of them mention anything remotely like this. (Impeachment, maybe, but the other option…I can’t even type it again.) Why would anyone, regardless of political affiliation, wish that on our country? It is beyond comprehension.

Anyway, I’m not one to end things on a political note, and I may get in quite a bit of trouble for what I’ve said already, so how to change the subject? I think I’ve said all I can on lard without grossing more people out. I could talk about cookies, which are lovely, but cookies are better to eat than to talk about. I’ve been watching a lot of Rob Bell’s stuff lately and can I say how refreshing it is? He is a great mind, and the things he puts out are always artfully done. Of course, just by saying good things about Rob Bell I may be putting myself in the “fringe” category with some people, but oh well, I’m already there with them anyway (and sometimes I get a kick out of that).

Yesterday I watched “The Gods Aren’t Angry” and was blown away by some of the things he said. The purpose of sacrifice, the clearing of conscience, the whole Abraham and Isaac thing. Stories I’ve heard all my life, turned on their heads. Yes. Love it. (Go here: http://player.flannel.org/ and click on “Free Tickets” and watch it on a fast computer.) Isn’t that better than politics? Why, yes, of course it is. You don’t feel mad at me any longer for being different, now do you?

I’ll probably be talking about “TGAA” again if I can ever put my thoughts to words, so if you watch it we can have a lively discussion. Now wouldn’t that be fun?

My mom sent me a food care package from an organic farm in Pennsylvania that raises pastured beef and milk-fed pigs and sends out all kinds of goodness. She sent a couple pounds of hamburger (which went into the nachos and the stroganoff and had the silkiest, softest texture), a dozen eggs (huge brown ones with bright orange yolks), and a container of…lard. Which I’ve been using to make biscuits and pie crusts and all sorts of lovelies. I will admit, the first time I ate biscuits I’d prepared with lard, I thought I might possibly fall over dead immediately from a lard-induced heart attack. (Even though I knew lard wasn’t as bad as people in the 70s thought it was, I still felt nervous!) But I didn’t die, and the biscuits had fantastic crispy exteriors and fluffy insides. The pie crust I made last night was flaky and light (though next time I think I’ll try half butter and half lard to get some buttery taste in there). I used it to make a quiche–a kitchen-sink kind of quiche, with bacon, spinach, peas, mushrooms, onions, and of course plenty of cheese, cream, and organic eggs. Some people wouldn’t have touched it with a ten-foot pole, and, frankly, it’s their loss.

I’ve been doing some reading, since Mom sent the lard. Apparently, while it does win the Worst Name Ever award, it has some benefits too. It’s got no trans fats, and it has twice the good fats of butter. It’s good for the environment, too, since it ensures more of the pig gets used. It has a higher smoking point, so your food soaks up less of the grease. And on and on. (If you’re still worried about fat and animal fat in particular, the whole fat/heart disease connection has been largely debunked. Read this: What if fat isn’t so bad? And no, I’m not going to incorporate lard into my everyday diet, mainly because I’m not going to make pies and biscuits every day, sadly.) I find it funny that we’re all terrified of rendered pork fat, but we’ll go to KFC and get their grilled chicken because it’s “healthy.”

But even if these new studies are wrong, and animal fat is bad for you after all, I’ll take my butter over margarine any day. I know what lard is. I’m not so sure about Crisco. And those biscuits and that quiche? Worth it.

Extra reading:

Lard: The New Health Food?

Lard: After decades of trying, its moment is finally here.

We finally got our KFC “rain check” coupons in the mail and had a two-week span to use them. So, Friday we went to “Un-Think” KFC and try their new grilled chicken…which was basically on the level with their fried chicken, except with a little less taste. And I’ve never seen such a small drumstick, so that perplexed me. Rachael braved it with us. It started pouring as we drove there, and even though we had an umbrella we were soaked when we got inside. There were only a couple other people in the restaurant at the time, and they all seemed, well, like people you would expect to see in a Leland KFC. I spent a few minutes thinking about that line, trying to come up with a nicer way to say it. But, I couldn’t. So, there you go. Anyway, the AC was chilly, and we were wet, and people were kind of looking at us funny, but it was Friday and the weekend was ahead of us and we were eating chicken with sporks, so life was good. We ran by Food Lion afterward and got vanilla ice cream and a brownie mix, and later once the brownies were done we ate way too much but didn’t care. We stayed up late talking about spirituality and salvation and Israel and Whale Wars.

Saturday, Jesse and I went to Story’s baby dedication, and we sat in a circle with six other people and Warren and Sharon, while Story played in the middle and took turns grinning at each of us. They told us how they wanted to raise her, what values they wanted emphasized in their family, and we asked questions and prayed and grinned back at Story. Later that afternoon, I took a three-hour nap. When I woke up, I was convinced it was Sunday morning and I was late for the Bookstore (where I volunteer at church), so I jumped out of bed and started running around and gasping, “Oh no! Oh no!” I put on my glasses but couldn’t see because I already had my contacts in, and I just kept running around until I saw that it was 6:15. And it didn’t look like morning. So, I figured it out and had to lay flat on my back for a few minutes while my heart rate slowed enough to get up and move around. Once I recovered, Jesse and I went to the mall and wandered about. We ate mall food for dinner and felt like teenagers.

Yesterday was church and eating beef stroganoff for lunch and inviting ourselves over to Stew and Kat’s place for a bring-your-own dinner and a movie with Brandon and Kara. And now it’s Monday already, another week. If June was traumatic, July is inefficient and busy, a bad combination. But July’s weekends have been good, at least, so one can’t complain.

It doesn’t really feel like this week has happened. I mean, the days have passed, and each one was what it was. But it’s Thursday? Right? And it doesn’t feel like almost a whole week has passed. I guess that’s one reason I’ve been so quiet on here lately. It feels like I just posted something, though that was days ago.

So, life? What has life been like lately? In a sentence, or rather a collection of phrases: being underwhelmed by the latest Harry Potter movie, being overwhelmed by the amount of writing I want to get done right now, letting the chores go undone, plowing through a stack of books, eating homemade nachos. Free lunch at the church twice in one week (a fridge lost power, and a bunch of burgers had to be eaten…I was only doing my civic duty). Talking about the feminization of the church and the concept of godly masculinity. Thinking about the discussion framing health care reform. And puppy sitting. You know. The usual.

And, because I can’t just mention nachos, I have to talk about them at great length, if you haven’t made nachos at home lately, let me encourage you to do so. Mmm. Giant pile o’ goodness. Chips, cheese, refried beans (the organic Harris Teeter ones were the cheapest!), taco-seasoned beef, tomatoes from Rachael, green onions, olives, jalapeños from Brandon, sour cream, salsa. They taste the best with Dr. Pepper and “Jeopardy!” And if you haven’t been watching lately, the guy who has been winning for the whole week is a tall blond video-game tester/camp counselor from California who seems charmingly casual and surprisingly humble. And none of the guys in suits are coming close to beating him. Awesome? Yes, quite.

Check out this super-old “Wheel of Fortune,” courtesy of Sandy. Ha! Make sure you watch until the bonus round.

Last night I made beans and cornbread for dinner. My grandmother had bought me a bag of Anasazi beans when I was in West Virginia. They’re these adorable red-and-white speckled beans, and they’re similar to pintos in taste and texture, but they cook quickly and require no soaking. I cooked them with a ham hock and some chopped onion and garlic, and they were insanely flavorful. Right up to the edge of too flavorful, but not too much. Even Jesse liked the beans, and he’s not much of a bean person (though he eats anything put in front of him, bless him). The cornbread was good too, soft and sweet. We ate it in front of the TV, watching “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” We could answer almost all the clues on “Jeopardy!” because it was Kids Week, except the clues about Disney Channel shows. We threw our hands up in frustration when no one wagered enough for the final clue.

The meal made me think of my grandfather, who ate his fair share of beans and cornbread, who ate sliced tomato and whole green onions straight from the garden. And the TV made me think of childhood, when on Wheel’s bonus round contestants only got to pick from the letters W-H-E-E-L for their prizes, not some stupid wheel with a billion possibilities and flashing lights. I’d always think about which letter I’d pick. One of the E’s was always my top choice, but what if they had both been chosen already? Oh, the dilemma! What to pick? And then, which letters to choose in addition to R-S-T-L-N-E? Important decisions, something to consider carefully when you’re ten, or when you’re twenty-six, mopping up the last of the ham-flavored juice with a lump of cornbread…