Slow Food Movement and Notes from a Blue Bike (5 book) Giveaway
Curled up in our bedroom, book in hand, hot cup of tea in the other, kitty by my side, and warm Ugg boots keeping me warm in our cold Oregon winter, I couldn’t help but smile as I read my friend Tsh Oxenreider’s newly released book: Notes from a Blue Bike – The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World.
I love so many things about the book–how can I do it justice? in one blog post? The answer is: I cannot. You just need to pick the book up yourself (or several books – one for yourself and a few to give away!) Your mind will soak up Tsh’s words (who blogs at The Art of Simple), and the wheels will start turning with ideas for how you can slow down, simplify, and prioritize your family in a greater way.
Being intentional.
Tsh’s “food” chapter was my favorite, probably because my niche and passion for blogging has to do with people and food. We are intentional when it comes to inviting people over for dinner, and for our family, meals are garden-to-table (14 raised garden beds). Even in the winter, we try to buy organic and local.
A meal together in Oregon.
Tsh and I have not shared a meal together with our families, but the day is coming. She and Kyle will be invited with their 3 small children to our Oregon home, and hopefully our 3, now adult and 1 teen children, will be there to mingle with the guests. It’s what we’ve always done. The older with the younger, a party on our side patio, a garden-to-table meal— oh, and with no cell phones at the table. Our parties are never perfect, but people are priority. So because of this, we have to fight the technological culture war … (which I love how she trickels this concept throughout the book). Our kids know what is expected around the table … I don’t need to say more. :)
Slow Food Movement.
Her chapter on “slow food movement”–giving up fast foods, knowing where your food comes from, getting families to cook together, prioritizing the family table–goes straight into my heart. Slowing down with intentional family time was always a key for us. Even with sports, we still tried to eat together. Mealtime with our family–melding healthy foods and intentional conversation together–I’m convinced is what has shaped our children and made them who they are today. It’s rather cute, I’d say, when I get pictures texted from the boys up at college (U of Oregon) of their “healthy” rice or quinoa bowls, filled with beans, eggs, and asparagus, squash. Somehow, some way, all our years of showing and growing real foods, made our kids value the “slow food movement.” It paid off.
Eating slowly.
Eating slowly also means that as a family, we dine around the table more often than not, all five of us present. Sure, our small children have nowhere else to go right now, but we hope to root deeply in their minds that dinner means togetherness around the table, in no hurry to be elsewhere. To do that, we must stop working in time to devote an hour or more to cooking the evening’s fare and to letting our kids help in the kitchen, so that little by little, they understand that real food takes time. Later when they’re adults, slow food will be normal to them. – Tsh
More about the book.
Tsh’s book is part memoir, part travelogue, part practical guide, as she travels from a hillside in Kosovo to a Turkish high-rise to the congested city of Austin to a small town in Oregon. It chronicles schooling quandaries and dinnertime dilemmas, as well as entrepreneurial adventures and family excursions via plane, train, automobile, … and blue cruiser bike.
My tiny bit of advice.
Here’s my (50-year-old) advice, having already raised 3 kids. You will fall off the bike, which will sometimes hurt (yes, it does!), but you have to get back on and keep cruising, making healthy decisions for your family, trying new paths ahead (don’t always feel like you have to stay on the same path). This part is very important: Watch and observe the map that has been ridden before you by friends and family. You’ll be able to learn from others’ mistakes, and possibly take a different route. :)
Lastly, I love Tsh’s challenge.
I invite you to climb aboard your own bike, ask yourself these same questions, and explore your own ideas for slowing down. From the conversations I’ve had with many of you, it sounds like you’re dying to veer over in to the slow lane as well. Less chaos, more freedom, fewer events on the calendar, deeper relationships. Many, many cultures around the world aren’t running the treadmill of efficiency. So what does it look like to live like this in the Western, post-modern world? If you’d like a friend on your journey to finding a life that’s slower, more intentional, and soaked with more meaning, then put on your helmet and bike with me. It’s a bumpy ride, but that only makes it fun. – Tsh
Giving away 5 books!
I’m so happy to be giving away 5 copies today!
Follow the Rafflecopter instructions, here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck! And thank you, Tsh, for the opportunity to spread the news of such a fabulous, much-needed book for our society today!
I wish I could focus more fully on one task at once. I really hope I am able to read this book in the near future. I need it! xo
Hope I win!
I would love to have slower weekends, to savor quiet time & family time.
I want to be able to see friends and family more and not be so driven by my calendar!
I need to learn so much in this area – but especially with food. I would just love to read this book. It really sounds amazing!
I would like to master cooking and stop opting for the fast option.
I would like to have more time to read good books and really enjoy them. I just have to stop being a clock watcher.
I need to learn how to slow down and enjoy life more.
We are coming out of a season where we were home a lot. We spent the minimum amount of money buying nothing we did not not need. We took care of each other. In some ways it was very hard, but in many ways we learned wonderful things about unplugging from the consumer mentality and just being. I want to hold on to that.
I wish that I could start my day with a relaxing walk outside!
I want to slow down by turning off my phone…not checking facebook, pinterest, email so much!
I wish I could say NO more. Sometimes I feel like I’m taking on too much and the next thing I know is that time has gotten away from me.
I’m working on getting rid of all the extraneous stuff in our home and moving to buying bulk and making our own to cut down on the amount of waste and recycling that we create.
I wish I could slow down with my boys!!
I’d like to work on being more intentional with my time…my kiddos are growing up so fast and I want to enjoy this time with them, not be so focused on my to-do list.
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I cannot wait to read this! We have been trying to slow down by being very intentional about family times, date times and we are going to get back to walking together in the mornings!
Slow down make a list of the days adventures and not let the phone, friends or others absorb the day….have fun in everything
I think what my husband and I work at the hardest is just keeping ourselves available to our kids. We have 4 teens and they have busy schedules. I think we tend to work at decluttering our schedules to leave open for whatever may come available. Sometimes it ends up we get a night to ourselves which is a hugely fun bonus! But most wkends we end up with one on one time with some kiddo or get to host a bunch and spend time with our kids’ friends. I think it sends an important message of hey we love you and like you too… And I think it has worked… We are a family that enjoys time together. Unless of course we’ve had 5 snow days in a row… Then it’s total mayhem. :0)
I want to slow down by being more intentional. I am not a list maker but I need to find a way to have a little more direction in my life…. The days pass so quickly and I am on the down hill slide of life. I may have done one thing right though with slow food. My kids grew up on “Made from scratch” Tonight we celebrated a birthday. The meal of choice….. home cooked won out over eating out by request of the birthday girl. The day was kind of crazy… I thought I didn’t have time for home cooked. I thought we might just have pizza but I made time for home cooked because It is what the Birthday girl wanted. It is always good to gather around the table at home. Janita
To live more intentional
I need to focus more on people – developing relationships takes time and I want to slow down so I can spend more time with enjoying others.
I want to see more sunsets.