Interconnectivity

Theorists say that you are linked to everyone on the globe through a chain of five people or less, one of whom needs to be an acquaintance of yours.

The first 7-or-less connection I heard was this:

1.       A friend of ours

2.       was raised in the Middle East. He happened to be visiting family in the US and they took him to a Christmas pageant

3.        performed by a Hutterite colony.

4.       Fifteen years later, under the stars in Africa, he described the pageant to a group of friends. One of them had a Hutterite heritage. “That was the colony I grew up on,” she said. “I know who played those parts.”

Suddenly, a man raised in the East had a direct link to a Hutterite Christmas pageant he had seen fifteen years before. Or, taking it one link further, because I am acquainted with him, I am connected to Mary of the pageant.

Links are everywhere. This takes the Mennonite Game to a whole new level, folks. This is the advanced version and can be played with anyone, regardless of their bloodlines. For example:  

1.       My

2.       Mom

3.       has a cousin who is a State Representative.

4.       He was invited to the home of the Governor

5.       who has dinners with influential Politicians

6.       who have an audience with the POTUS.

There you have it (albeit shakily). Trump and I are linked with only four intermediaries (he must be thrilled) which puts only five links between myself and Kim Jong Un.

This theory of our interconnected world is called the Six Degrees of Separation. Arguably, there are holes in it, like the impossibility of being connected to remote tribes on forgotten islands who reject communication with the Outside World. But, hypotheticals aside, ours is a remarkably connected world, broadening the scope of influence we give and receive.

Through these chains of influence, you have a greater impact on the world than you might realize. Strangers might be affected by your testimony, making it more important than ever for us to live Spirit-filled lives. People who are impacted by a word of encouragement or a living testimony rarely keep it entirely to themselves. They tell their friends about “that person in Wal-Mart” who paid their bill or about the lady who traded seats on the plane and took the one in the back. They post encouraging quotes on social media. The world needs positive voices of Christian influence. 

The flip-side, of course, is that we are equally as likely to be a negative force in the world through compromise and sin.

Together, let’s form a chain of faithfulness that leads many to victory.

 On another note, according to this theory, you are connected to me in some way. You must be thrilled.

Seeing the Hippos

We fell in love with Button and Jenny, the two hippos at New Jersey's Adventure Aquarium. Our close-up view of these massive creatures reminded us of the canoe safari we went on in Ghana. Hippos live in the Black Volta River, and we wanted to see them in their natural habitat. 

But when we arrived at the river and saw young men bailing water out of two canoes, I almost second-guessed the wisdom of the adventure. For one thing, it was rainy season, so the river was swift and flooding its banks. Our guide said our chances of seeing the hippos were almost nil because, being buoyant, hippos cannot navigate a fast-moving river. Rainy season is their time to live in the flooded area on the shore. There, hippo mamas give birth and hide their male babies among the trees until they are big enough to defend themselves from other males in the pod. I was happy for the hippo mamas, of course, to be able to give their offspring a safe start on life. But when doubting the integrity of the canoe, I was less concerned about the hippo babies than I was for my own. 

Deciding the canoes were safe, we got in and hoped for a rare, rainy season sighting of a hippo. 

One bank of the river is Burkina Faso, the other bank is Ghana, a fun aspect of the trip. Even though it was a limited view, I was happy to see another African country.

If you notice the dense trees on the banks, you will understand
why our chances were so low for spotting hippos. Usually the river is much
narrower and shallower and the hippos are seen on rocky islands that
are covered by water in these pictures.

When he tired of swinging his feet into the river,
my baby played in the puddle that kept growing at my feet.

No hippo showed his face that day, but we enjoyed the experience enough not to regret our time on the river.

We also don't regret that this view of Button's tonsils was taken with a wall of thick glass between us. Some shots are best when you aren't in a canoe. 

An Olive Oil Tasting Party

Each month my sisters and I spend a day together, sometimes working on a project and more often spending quality time over coffee and Boggle. Recently, we started taking turns planning an activity for the day. This time it was my turn, and I stumbled upon the idea of doing an olive oil taste test. It was unique enough that I decided to keep my plan a surprise. The only information I gave my sisters about my activity was that none of us have ever done it before. That piqued their interest and kept them guessing:

"Are we going to practice giving IV's to each other?"

"Is it a hotdog eating contest?"

"How much carpentry have you done?"

"Handstands? New aerobics moves?"

In between laughing at their ideas, I was doing research on olives and oils, a fascinating study. Here are only a few points of interest I gleaned and shared with my sisters:

• The black olives you buy in tin cans at supermarkets are actually green olives that have been treated with oxygen and iron compounds to give them their shiny, patent leather appearance.
• "Cold pressed" is largely an archaic term. Extra-virgin olive oil is made from olives fresh off the tree and ground by a large garbage disposal-type machine. The oil is extracted from that paste by a centrifuge. No heat is used. If there are imperfections in the oil, disqualifying it from earning an extra-virgin olive oil status, it is heated, making it refined or "Pure Olive Oil." 
• All olives are excessively bitter straight from the tree, even ripe, black ones. They need to be brined to make them palatable. 
• Color does not affect the flavor of olive oil. Experts use blue containers when tasting olive oils.

For the taste test, I found Italian, Chilean, and Californian olive oils which we used as dipping oils and to dress a simple salad. The Italian oil had the most bite, a flavor that comes from polyphenols which are the healthy, cancer fighting, cholesterol lowering properties. Our favorite oil was the milder one from Chile. Flavor is affected both by varietals of olives and regions they are grown in. If olives are harvested early, they have a harsher flavor. The riper the olive, the softer the taste. Tuscany oils tend to be pungent and peppery because the olives need to be harvested before snowfall; our Italian oil likely was affected by that. 

I made an artisan bread to serve as a conveyor for the seasoned dipping oil. Even with garlic and herbs, the different flavors of the three olive oils came through. 

The printouts list words the experts use to describe oils (grassy,
peppery, buttery, soft, etc.) to help us knowledgeably describe their smell and taste.

To round out our meal, we had baked, herbed ricotta to eat on the bread, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, and an orange-date salad. (Three ladies with not much else on their agenda for the day can make a fine lunch.) 

Stuffed grape leaves in the making. Yum!

Oranges, dates, almonds,
cinnamon and mint. Delish!

While I might never host another Olive Oil Tasting Party, as fun as it was, I am completely sold on the artisan bread. I found the recipe on this blog.

No-Knead Artisan Bread

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix flour, salt and yeast together, then add the water. Stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes a cohesive, craggy mass. 

Cover with plastic wrap poked with a toothpick or in a plastic container with the lid not entirely closed. Let it rise on the counter overnight and as long as 24 hours. It should get little bubbles or "eyes" on the top when it is ready to bake.

When you are ready to bake it, use well-floured hands to form it into a ball, manipulating it as little as possible. You can cut an X or slashes on top if you like. 

Let it rest while your oven preheats. 

Preheat oven and the baking dish to 450 degrees. 

When they are hot, carefully place the bread into the baking dish. 

Bake covered for 30 minutes. 

Uncover and bake until brown, about seven minutes. 

NOTES: --Whole wheat flour doesn't work well with this recipe.
--Kosher salt is strongly recommended. I made it with regular salt and was happy with the results. But maybe I don't know what I'm missing.
--Bake it in a 5.5 quart Dutch oven, on a baking sheet with a bowl inverted over it as a lid, in a crockpot insert with an ovenproof cover, or, as I did, any large glass casserole dish with a lid.

--If you like, you can add herbs and cheese when you  mix in the flour.