AfricanKelli

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There is something so spectacularly beautiful about the tenderness growing in the garden. The wateremelon, squash and pumpkin have all sent out these fragile, curling twiny arms — searching for something to cling to.  The blooms are cantalope orange and stay open only in the early morning, recoiling as soon as the sun gets too high.

At the community garden, the okra is blooming and I cannot pick it fast enough.

I handed out another five bags full yesterday, along with a collection of recipes. I intended to keep a few for baking today (throwing them in with zucchini for sweet breads) and completely forgot.

The watermelons at the community garden are thriving with irrigated water.

And thankfully the solarization is working. These plastic sheets act like microwaves, zapping everything trapped underneath and skillfully killing Bermuda grass without a drop of chemical. We’ll use these as future plots refugee families interested in playing.

Really, what Monday is complete without seeing a field of okra?

{Might be the weirdest sentence I’ve ever written.}

If you live in Phoenix and want to help out this fantastic community project — we’ve got a workday planned this Friday and could use your help.  Leave a comment and I’ll contact you with details!

~K

This week’s Speaking of Faith discussed one African’s view of foreign aid. Specifically, Binyavanga Wainaina is angry with the way Kenyans have been portrayed in international media and how Africans in general are thought of as poor, dying orphans. He said:

“We can save you from yourself. We can save ourselves from our terrible selves. Help us to Oxfam the whole black world, to make it a better place.

We want to empower you. No, your mother cannot do this. Your government cannot do this. Time cannot do this. Evolution, it seems, cannot do this. Education cannot do this. Your IQ cannot do this.

No one can empower you except us. And if you don’t listen to us, our bad people, those RepublicanToryChineseOilConcessioningIanSmithing racists will come to get you: your choice is our compassionate breast or their market forces.”

My travels and work experience in Africa have given me a chance to see the ugly and the beautiful of foreign aid. I’d say that as an American, I look back on some of my gawking behavior with embarrassment. I should have known better than to have taken that photo, at that time, full-well knowing the shock of the horrific situation was exactly what I was trying to capture. I’d say this podcast gave me time to think a bit more about how to help others without exploitation and how aid can be destructive.

Our conversation group this morning was lively. I enjoyed listening to another PC volunteer’s experience in an Asian country as an English teacher. Additionally, two others discussed how aid to the US under similar circumstances would leave them feeling incapable of caring for themselves.

I think foreign aid has great room for systematic improvement. Like anything else with political and religious implications, it can become a terrible mess and cause more problems than it solves. Without intense and committed involvement from the community at stake, nothing can be achieved long-term. The one side to this conversation I missed was spirituality. Faith and charity go hand in hand. What are faith-based-organizations doing well in Africa? What are they doing poorly? How do people with the best of faith-fueled intentions have to say about this topic?

SOF is continuing the conversation about aid in the developing world. It will be interesting to see who else speaks up.

~K

August, I won’t miss you. Let’s be clear — it’s you, not me.  By the time you show up, I’m a cranky mess and by the time you leave, I’m beyond battered. This year you didn’t even bring monsoons. Do you know how much I look forward to those afternoon showers? And this visit  even that was too much, you sticky, miserable beast.

Your older sibling September is really much sweeter. She brings cooler winds on morning runs, a sun that sets a bit quicker and birthdays for the two men in my life I adore most. (And let’s be honest, your sister October is really my favorite for entirely selfish reasons: pumpkins, a hint of autumn, the return of sleeves and socks, and a chance to dress up and eat candy by the handful.)

And so, Ms. August — I bid you, the skyrocketing air conditioning bills, fleeting makeup, running with my Camelpack, getting sick in yoga, watering the garden two times a day, excessive heat warnings and having no mojo to cook real meals all adieu. (Although apparently I have enough energy to pour plenty of whine with my cheese.)

Okay, okay. There was some good:

August, this doesn’t let you off the hook. Perhaps one day, when I have a bbq and a pool and a family to enjoy the evenings outdoors with, I’ll reconsider. In the meantime? I’m happy to see you packing your bags. Feel free to leave some rain before you go.

~K

Today is the 45th anniversary of one of my favorite movies of all time – Mary Poppins. Oh, sing it with me, “Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down… in the most delightful way!” If you haven’t seen this movie lately, it’s worth a trip down supercalafragalisticexpealidotious lane, snapping your fingers the entire way.

Remember her amazing carpet bag full of tricks? Or when she brews up a strong wind to blow away all the other nannies so she can arrive on the doorstep as the only choice? Who doesn’t want to have the power to get rid of the competition? Or the confidence to pull out a measuring tape only to know you are just right exactly the way you are. If you’ve seen 500 Days of Summer, the blue bird scene — one of my favorites — is directly lifted from good old MP. Oh, that Mary. She really was practically perfect in every way.

Wonder and magic to all,

K

It’s really Finny’s fault I started gardening. She’s always showing what she’s growing, cooking and eating and my goodness — it is incredible. I thought I could do the same, nevermind she lives in the Bay area and I’m in the desert. Thankfully, after several years of poorly researched attempts, this is getting easier.  And it seems I’m not alone.

According to my latest copy of Real Simple:

19% more Americans are growing their own fruits, veggies and herbs in 2009

54% of households grow their own food to save money on groceries

$70 spent on planting a food garden can yield $530 worth of produce per season

There is a rectangular plot of land between my home and my neighbor’s. When we moved in, it was grassy, with a gorgeous tree in the center. Unexpectedly, the lawn crew decided to cut down the tree and place rock over the grass. My neighbor John and I discussed the state of this nonsense earlier this week and decided a winter garden would certainly make more sense. (Don’t tell our HOA.) I put a plea out for bricks yesterday on Facebook and within three hours had a trunk full, thanks to a sweet couple from church.

Several hours, and countless shovels of gravel removal later, I have a $6 garden plot — spent on compost and manure. Granted, there is nothing yet planted, but the list is long for winter vegetables. This is a great planting calendar, if you are living in the desert and interested in doing something similar.

I think using the earth we have at hand to grow good food makes more sense now than ever. Plus, gardening falls in line with all my other newly acquired domestic skills. If I can do it, so can a trained monkey. Now, what to plant?

~K