The Owl Nest - Urban Homesteading Blog

Yeshua Gave His Disciples A Pattern

2012-02-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

There will be times when Satan comes inlike a flood and you will find yourself battling enemies on the frontlines ofplaces in your life you had thought were peaceful valleys and genial havens ofhospitality. The precious victories we gain during these battles will hingeupon our commitment to extended periods or arduous, exhausting, and prevailingprayer – passionate prayer that make you feel as though you are sweating bloodas you press forward in breakthrough prayer. There will always be turningpoints in our lives when we must havean answer. There will be undertakings for which our abilities are insufficientand only the intervention of the supernatural Holy Spirit power of Almighty Godwill suffice. There will be crises beyond our control; then everything elsemust be laid aside until we have prevailed.

Something of this nature may appear only afew times in our normal lifespan; but when it does, we shall be eternallygrateful for the faith born in the hours of sweet communion with Almighty God.

Basically God snags our attention and says,“Let’s talk!” That seems simple and easy. But, we have sadly learned by examplethat because people don’t talk when theyneed to, relationships, marriages, and familial unity break down.

Thus David cried, “O Lord, open thou mylips” (Psalm 51:15). And thus thedisciples cried to Yeshua, “Teach us to pray!”

As God responded to David, so Yeshua responded to His disciples. He gavethem a pattern which covers the whole spectrum of prayer. Phrase by phraseit encompasses the totality of prayer. Yeshuasaid, “After this manner therefore pray ye,” (Matthew 6:9). In other words, “Pray along these lines.” The Lord’sPrayer is a guideline, not a formal requirement for prayer techniques. TheLord’s Prayer points out that prayer should cover all areas that affect ourlives and the world around us.

“Our Father.” RELATIONSHIP. A meditation on allaspects in which God reveals Himself.

“Which art in heaven.” IDENTIFICATION. He is not to be confusedwith contrived gods. He has an identity and a location.

“Hallowed be Thy Name.” RECOGNITION. Not empty praise, butrecognition of His attributes, His works. He is properly placed in the scale ofvalues.

“Thy Kingdom come.” A PROPHETIC VOICE. Unlike Lot who wascontent to vex his “righteous soul from day to day” (2 Peter 2:8) with the“filthy conversation of the wicked” (v.7), the child of God is to actively seekthe coming Kingdom, and behave as an ambassador of that Kingdom.

“Thy Will be done.” SUBMISSION. A transcendent value systemoutside and above one’s self.

“In earth, as it is in heaven.” RELEVANCE. Where theaction is.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” PETITION. Every needprovided from the practical to the divine.

“And forgive us our debts.” REPENTANCE. Reparation converted intoaction.

“As we forgive out debtors.” EXHORTATION. “With what measure ye mete,it shall be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).

“And lead us.” GUIDANCE. “I being in the way, the Lordled me” (Genesis 24:27).

“Not into temptation.” PROTECTION. Recognition of humanfrailty.

“But deliver us from evil.” PROVIDENCE. “All things work togetherfor the good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

“For Thine is the Kingdom.” STEWARDSHIP. My survival is God’sbusiness.

“And the power.” REALITY. All human power is a tragicmimicry of God’s dominion.

“And the glory.” PERFECTION. The splendor of the ultimateand definitive good.

“Forever. Amen.” CONTINUALLY AND PERPETUALLY. Withoutend. So be it.

Every phrase is a wellspring of livingwater springing up and surging forward into everlasting life. Together thephrases constitute the sum total of the God-developed personality. Extendedinto eternity they speak of those things of which “it doth not yet appear whatwe shall be” (1 John 3:2).

These concepts, explored in prayer, established in practice, andengrained in character, constitute the “whole person (Acts 9:34). It is said ofthe whole person, “Being clothed we shall not be found naked” (2 Corinthians5:3).

Recipe: WW PRAWN CURRY

2012-02-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

This weight-watcher’s recipe is so simple and so delicious!

This yummy spicy recipe only takes about30 minutes to pull together. It comes from my ‘Weight Watcher’s FavoriteHomestyle Recipes’ cookbook.

WW Prawn Curry – makes 4 servings

1 TBSP + 1 tsp. vegetable oil – ½ cupchopped onion – 2 garlic cloves, minced – 1 tsp. ground cumin – 1 tsp. ground coriander– 1 tsp. chili powder – ½ tsp. ground turmeric – ½ tsp. ground cinnamon – ½ tsp.freshly ground Black pepper – ¼ cup tomato paste – 1 tsp. honey – 2 cups COOKEDrice – 15 ounces shelled deveined large prawns

1) In a large skillet, heatoil; add onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionallyuntil onion is translucent – about 2 minutes. Add spices and pepper; cook 1minute longer.

2) Add ½ cup water, tomatopaste, and honey; cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionallyuntil shrimp is pink – about 4 minutes.

Per serving: 400 calories

Aaaaahhhh …

2012-02-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

Spring-like weather for a week :-)

And I am making the most of it daily & going tobed early - and having little time to post anything because it all starts allover the next day. Three days a week for a total of five weeks Bean has Driving School from 3 to 5 p.m./sometimes 3 - 7 p.m. And the other four days of the week I have had windows and doors open while I clean indoor rooms,shift and rearrange indoor furniture, and then I attack the slumbering flowerbeds hoping to relieve the struggling flower leaves and stems from a thick strangling weed carpet before the Spring rains begin and the creeping weeds spring forward totally out of control:

Repotted indoor Spider plant. 'Babies' clipped from their anchoring stem and transplanted around the mother plant to grow lush and thick :-)

Weed choked flowerbed begging to be freed from strangling weeds.

Same flowerbed ... now the gladiolus can send up fresh leaf shoots, the new Shasta Daisies leaf growth can actually be seen, and the Hens & Chicks sedum's showy burgandy winter foliage shines. I like a tidy cottage style flowerbed.

I have struggled with burning lung inflammationsbecause of the cleaning and weeding but I’ve enjoyed being able to get a jumpon theses chores that I normally can’t get to until late April. Yaaahoo-hooooh!!

Through the Bible in A Year

2012-02-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Eight months ago my husband and I started the“Through the Bible in a Year” commitment. We reinforced some thoughts, learnedsome new insights, and have experienced refreshing new growth :-)

My husband and I have much to consider thisyear as our lives change over the months and we ponder decisions for ourfuture. We are going to be setting a time aside each day to meet with our Lordto seek His Will in all matters regarding our lives, and also to read throughboth books of Scripture in a year’s time :-) This can be done – I have done it many, many times. I enjoyScripture readings because time spent with the Lord, learning of Him and HisWill is always time well spent; and the history of who we are in Him is neverboring! LOL

Scripture tells me … and I KNOW from personalexperiences that “with God, ALL things ARE possible”.

With God, I am a jubilant Joshua ducking thetumbling bricks of the Jericho Wall.

With God, I am a fire-producing-weather-controllingElijah.

With God, I am a wave-walker with Peter.

With God, I am an escaper of death standingin front of Lazarus’ tomb.

With God, I am a rescued prisoner washed upon the shores of a strange island.

With God, I am an overcomer of every obstaclethwarting the advance of His Kingdom.

With God, I am an upholder of righteousnessin a world gone mad with sin.

With God, I am an instrument of deliveranceto the tortured and the torn.

With God, I am a proclaimer of good news –heralding, “The war is over – be reconciled to God”.

With God, I am the announcer of thebreath-taking message, “Behold, the King is coming!”

Every month I will be listing here in my Blogcolumn, a new listing of daily readings that we will be reading together tomeet the Through the Bible in a Year goal. Feel free to join us if you wish to… and to comment if you want to share an insight or inspiration that lines upwith the daily reading.

Your knowledge of the Word and the Will ofFather will grow and mature as you progress through this year in theScriptures. God bless you richly and abundantly as you read:

FEBRUARY

1) 2 Kings 24 & 25

2) 1 Chronicles 1-3

3) 1 Chronicles 4-6

4) 1 Chronicles 7-9

5) 1 Chronicles 10-12

6) 1 Chronicles 13-16

7) 1 Chronicles 17-20

8) 1 Chronicles 21-23

9) 1 Chronicles 24-26

10) 1 Chronicles 27-29

11) 2 Chronicles 1-4

12) 2 Chronicles 5 & 6

13) 2 Chronicles 7-9

14) 2 Chronicles 10-13

15) 2 Chronicles 14-17

16) 2 Chronicles 18-20

17) 2 Chronicles 21-23

18) 2 Chronicles 24-26

19) 2 Chronicles 27-29

20) 2 Chronicles 30 & 31

21) 2 Chronicles 32 & 33

22) 2 Chronicles 34-36

23) Ezra 1 & 2

24) Ezra 3-5

25) Ezra 6-8

26) Ezra 9 & 10

27) Nehemiah 1-4

28) Nehemiah 5-7

Recipe: Baked Fish w/Mussels & Broccoli

2012-02-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I have ever made thisdish – but it will not be the last! This fish dish is yummy … Bean even ate hers, and that makes ita winner in my eyes :-)

Besides tasting delicious, this recipe iseasy to put together and quick to cook. This recipe comes from my “Eat Right, Eat Well – The Italian Way”cookbook. I am posting the original recipe, but I halved it for our smallfamily; I substituted SWAI Fish fillets forthe fish called for and to theoriginal recipe I also added one medium sized parboiled spud for each of us.

I bought the fish in this recipe bulk at ‘Cash-n-Carry’which caters to the local restaurant business: very reasonable prices :-)

Baked Fish w/Mussels & Broccoli – serves 6

1 bunch broccoli – About 3 pounds halibut,striped bass, cod, or haddock; cut into 6 steaks, about 1-inch thick – 24 blackolives – 2 dozen mussels, well-scrubbed – 4 TBSP. finely chopped parsley – 2 clovesgarlic, minced - *Freshly ground Black pepper or hot pepper flakes to taste – 2TBSP. Olive oil – 2 TBSP. safflower oil – ½ cup dry White wine - *Sea salt totaste

Remove broccoli flowerets; peel stems, cutinto manageable pieces, and blanch 2 minutes in boiling water along with the flowerets.Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Place fish in ashallow baking pan. Arrange olives, mussels, and broccoli around the fish.Sprinkle the parsley, garlic, pepper, and both oils over fish and broccoli. Addwine and salt. Cover the pan tightly and bake until mussels open – 5 to 10minutes; fish should be cooked by then.

Divide the fish and veggies and servewith broth poured over the top.

Another Dike Walk

2012-02-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

I like walking, I always have – when I wasyounger I would walk 20 miles every weekend and my legs were very shapely … not so much now as my walking has beencurtailed over the years. LOL!

Anyhow, I drove over the hill and walked the lowerend dike; about an hour walk both ways, so it’s not very long. But it isrefreshing and I do enjoy the wildlife that shows up. Still no sign of the bigfat turtle that makes a show now and then, but the mallards were out in forcetoday – mating season must be underway:

Mallard pair; drake & hen.

Bufflehead duck; male.

Mallard bank-side community; LOL

Mallard ducks.

Cloistered Mallard duck community.

Mallard ducks.

Spooked Mallard ducks bolt from the sheltering bank-side cloister when I venture too close.

Bathing beauty; LOL

The rain held off today, but the gray cloudshovered overhead:

A little patch of blur showing through the thick gray clouds about 9 a.m. on the dike walk.

The sun above the clouds ... is making itself known.

The hidden sun beautifying the stark gray overhead.

I almost missed the barely discernible shafts of sunlight piercing the thick blanket of gray clouds.

After the dike walk I spent a few hours backat home reading a Clive Cussler novel before I picked Bean up at her school anddropped her off at her Driving School class; when she was finished there we gotour hair trimmed and headed home to enjoy a delicious‘Baked Fish w/Mussels & Broccoli’ Supper … recipe follows this post :-)

Recipe: Brittany Pork Chops

2012-01-26T16:16:00.000-08:00

Juggling Fellowship, HS shuttle hustle, DrivingSchool, and looking to HS transfer in a new school district and preparationsfor listing our house next month takes a LOT of time, so I am on a mission toreschedule, shift, and utilize everyspare ounce of time I have in my day to get things done on schedule and eatreasonable healthy meals again – since November we’ve eaten takeout and fastfoods more times a week than I am comfortable with.

I found this recipe this morning that soundsdelish :-)

The recipe comes from an old “Family Circle Quick & Thrifty Meals”cooking magazine … it’s in the oven cooking right now, and I gotta say thepromise of a yummy meal is wafting through the entire house!

I am serving this meat dish with hot butterednoodles and green beans. This pork chop entrée is flavored with a dry whitewine plus vinegar, which gives this dish a definite Northern French nuance.

This recipe makes enough for two meals if youdo not have a large family; eat one half and freeze the other half for anotherday :-)

Recipe: Brittany Pork Chops – serves 12

12 loin pork chops, cut 1-inch thick – Sea saltand ground Black pepper to taste – ½ cup flour – 2 TBSP oil – 1 large onion,chopped – ¾ c. dry white wine – ¼ c. cider vinegar – 16 ounces tomato sauce – 2TBSP. prepare mustard – 2 TBSP. well-drained pickle relish

1) Sprinkle pork chops with saltand pepper; coat lightly with flour. Heat oil in a large skillet and brownchops – a few at a time – on both sides; remove browned chops to a large bakingdish or a roasting pan.

Browning chops ...

2) Pour off all but 1 TBSP of fatfrom skillet; sauté onion until soft, stirring often; add wine and vinegar.Cook until reduced to ½ cup. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil; pour overchops.

Sauce ...

3) Bake in a moderate oven(350-degrees) for 1 hour. Remove from oven.

A Flip-flop Kinda Day

2012-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while waiting in the HS parking lotfor Bean to take her to her Driver’s School class, I saw several girls walkingpast my car wearing flip-flops on their feet! It’s still very wet & coldhere so I was surprised they did not have something more appropriate on their feet,but it did get me to thinking … ‘hmmm.Pretty soon it will be Spring and Bean will probably want to start wearing herflip-flops. I think I have a pattern at home for flip-flop socks …’

And I did :-)

So when I got home I ferreted it out and gotbusy knitting one; this is a pattern I found on the Internet and it makes up inabout 2 & ½ hours – it will take about 5 hours to complete a pair. I onlymade one up today to see if Bean even wants to wear a pair: if she does, I’llfinish the other tomorrow:

The 3 x 2 rib sock pattern.

I worked the sock in rounds on 3 little double-point knitting needles; this way there will be no bulky seams.

It's got a good stretch to it ...

Time for the big-toe division ... I divided separated the big toe and little toe portions of the sock among 3 needles and one 'holding pin'.

To make the 'holding pin', I unwound a large plastic-coated paper clip, slipped the required sts onto it and tied it off while I finish the rest of the sock off.

The little toes portion of the flip-flop sock will also be worked in rounds & loosely bound off, keeping to the sock pattern.

Now its time to evenly divide the big toe stitches among 3 knitting needles and knit/bind off as before.

Ta-da! Flip-flop sock finished :-)

After completing the little flip-flop sock Iwanted to go for a walk, so we did. We drove over the hill and walked the lowerend of the Old Pacific Dike:

While walking we looked across the water and saw a few squirrels friskily playing on the hillside underneath the widespread bare limbs of a hardwood tree.

This one posed for me after I zoomed in on it - isn't it cute? Hahaha!

Then it started raining so we turned around and headed back to the car; looking to the right I saw a large flock of geese that had touched down in someone's back acreage.

Gray clouds are a perennial fixture in our neck of the woods ... the clouds flip-flop at amazing speed from white and cheery to gray and gloomy: one minute the sky is a pretty blue, the next it's a stormy gray.

But all in all, it's been an enjoyable flip-flop kinda day.LOL!

BLOG W/INTEGRITY BADGE

2012-01-24T13:48:00.000-08:00

By displaying the Blog with Integrity badgeor signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the bloggingcommunity is important to me.

I treat others respectfully, attacking ideasand not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.

I believe in intellectual property rights,providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

I disclose my material relationships,policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference betweeneditorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I dosponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.

When collaborating with marketers and PRprofessionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalisticstandards.

I always present my honest opinions to thebest of my ability.

I own my words. Even if I occasionally haveto eat them.

Minimum Wage Increase for 2012

2012-01-24T09:46:00.001-08:00

The 2012 minimum wage is $9.04 beginning Jan 1, 2012 … a 37 cent increase, which means I nowneed to update the price tags on everything. Even with the increase, my low pricefor handmade items is still the best deal around :-)

Recipe: Skillet Turkey Stew

2012-01-23T18:48:00.001-08:00

I had some left over pressed turkey breastand really hate the taste of it, but I am too cheap to chuck it: LOL. Sotonight I used a package of it and hoped the recipe I used would disguise theterrible turkey taste and add some much needed flavor.

It did … and it was surprisingly delicious:-)

The recipe I used came from my “Weight Watcher’s Quick-Start ProgramCookbook” book.

This recipe makes a fulfilling serving for 2 –if you have a larger family, just multiply the recipe x2 or x3 … IF YOUMULTIPLY the recipe use a Dutch Oven instead of a skillet.

Recipe: Skillet Turkey Stew – Makes 2 servings

1 TBSP + 1 tsp. all-purpose flour, divided – ¼tsp. Sea salt - *Dash Black pepper – 10 ounces skinned and boned turkey breast,cut into 1-inch cubes – 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided – ½ cup diced onion –½ cup diced celery – ½ cup sliced carrot – ½ garlic, mashed – ½ tsp. instantchicken bouillon – 1 cup skimmed milk – 6 ounces peeled, cooked potatoes; cutinto cubes – ½ Bay leaf – ¼ tsp. poultry seasoning

1) On a sheet of waxed paper orpare plate, combine 1 TBSP flour with the salt and pepper; dredge turkey inseasoned flour to coat.

2) In a 9- or 10-inch non-stick skilletheat 1 & ½ tsp. oil; add turkey cubes and sauté until browned on all sides.Remove turkey from skillet and set aside.

3) In same skillet heat remainingoil; add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté, stirring constantly untilvegetables are tender. Sprinkle remaining 1 tsp. flour and the bouillon mixover vegetables, stirring quickly to combine; cook for 1 minute. Gradually stirin milk and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmeruntil mixture thickens. Stir in turkey, potatoes, Bay leaf, and poultryseasoning and cook until heated; remove leaf before serving.

Each serving: 357 calories; 41 g protein; 7 g fat; 31 g carbohydrate; 694 mgsodium; 90 mg cholesterol

Recipe: Chicken-Cabbage Soup

2012-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

We have started going to fellowship meetsagain :-) It has been a while. A new fellowship has started up in our immediatearea and Bean is here to help with Precious, so we switch off: Bean & I goin the morning and hubby stays home with the wolf; then hubby and I go in theevening and Bean stays home with the wolf … so far it’s working. YAY!

But there were a few things I forgot – like welike to eat when services are over: LOL. For the last two weeks we have had DQand Chinese takeout, but that puts a deep bite into the budget so I need to bemore thrifty if I want to have the ready money we will need to move in a fewmonths; soooooo … back to crockpot cooking. But it can’t be too elaborate eitheron Sundays because of the time-crunch factor; Wednesdays will be left-oversdays – I already thought ahead (whoopee!) and set aside a portion of yesterday’sSupper for Bean’s Wednesday evening meal.

This morning I decided to make soup. Soup isquick, easy, and tasty – it’s fits the bill for today’s Supper fare :-) It’s afull-bodied soup with low calories. Thissoup would taste richer & boost our immune system during this cold and wetseason (but with higher calorie count) if I has used homemade chicken stock,but I didn’t have any and I didn’t have time to butcher a chicken today andmake the stock; LOL!

Recipe: Chicken-Cabbage Soup - 8 servings

Good source of protein, niacin, and Vitamin A

3 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce – 3 cups dicedturkey – 2 cups water – 5 cups finely chopped green cabbage – 1 can (16-ounces)sliced carrots – 1 can (16-ounces) sliced carrots – 1 can (16-ounces) slicedcarrots – 2 medium stalks celery, chopped – 2 TBSP instant chicken bouillon – ¼tsp. ground Black pepper – ½ tsp. Sea salt – ½ tsp. paprika – 3 TBSP margarineor butter

Place everything in a crockpot – in the orderit is typed – with the margarine or butter on top, cover with a lid and settemperature to HIGH. Cook for about 6 hours or so … and you should be finishingoff a tasty bowl/mug of soup before heading out the door in plenty of time for eveningservice ;-)

PER SERVING: 8 servings (about 1 cup); 240 calories

We Have Skype :-)

2012-01-20T22:09:00.001-08:00

DAVE – CONVO US!

Bean set us up … she’s a great kid.

Blossoming Palm

2012-01-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

Our friend Dave sent a struggling palm tree home with me about 2 months ago when we were at the beach visiting him and his rott, Katie. The palm started blossoming this week; I had NO idea palms blossomed, so this is a nice surprise :-)

I put the palm in our bathroom because that's where the air is more like it's natural habitat :-)

Palm fronds grow like the sharp pokey thing on the left ... then they begin to spread out like the center thingee ...

THIS little frilly "blossom" is something new; and a nice surprise!

I think it’s safe to say this palm WILLsurvive and rebound, nu Dave?

Yes!

Mallard Touchdown

2012-01-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

Our annual migrating ducks are back …

And we have new neighbors too. I think theducks are what cinched the deal for the no-longer-vacant house next door; LOL.

DC Rats Insanity

2012-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Oh Lord!

What is WRONG with the folks in DC???

Washington DC has a rats problem – no, notthe 2 legged kind, though there are plenty of those types of rats in DC too – butthey do NOT want the rats killed: they want them captured live and “relocatedin family units”. The DC nutcases have truly outdone themselves this time.

Don’t they have REAL ISSUES to deal with,such as REALLY BRAINSTORMING ideas that will halt the fatally wounded and limpingobama economy? How about kicking special interests to the curb and getting backto Judeo-Christian Values again that will give the young people of this generationand the next one a firm foundation to stand on instead of the trendy psycho-babblethe politicians do their utmost to spin as acceptable while America is fallingapart due to their misguided tunnel-vision?

Seriously, folks – can we really trust the 2legged rats in DC to know what’s best when it comes to the 4 legged rats?

Rats NEED to be eliminated, not transferred.

And where EXACTLY do they plan on “relocatingthe rats” to?

Do they understand that the ‘relocated rats’will not stay put; they will RETURN to the place where they are fed the best:WASHINGTON DC Rat Heaven, where they can feast on pork and never run out!

Maybe the 2 legged rats are just so used toexcusing their own disgusting behavior that they fail to understand that ratshave no honor in the animal kingdom and do not practice ‘family unit’ values – rats are not particular about ‘family’ concerns.The deadheads in DC think rats should be protected under the Wildlife ProtectionAct, but that is not the case: The Washington Post reports that "rats andmice are exempt from the life-saving protections, meaning homeowners couldstill trap and kill them."

But Councilmember Mary Cheh’s latest piece oflifestyle legislation has government observers around the Nation bristling. TheWard 3 Councilmember has introduced a Wildlife Protection Act to the Council,which would require D.C. "wildlife control operators" to sympatheticallytrap live animals that infiltrate our residences. Yes, that includes mice andrats.

==The passage of the bill in question:

“A wildlife control operator shall make everyreasonable effort to preserve family units using humane eviction and/ordisplacement and reunion strategies. Wildlife captured by a wildlife controloperator may be held in captivity for up to 72 hours when reunion attempts areemployed. A wildlife control operator shall not knowingly abandon dependentyoung in a structure.”

Rats are not cute and cuddly. RATS BITE! They do not go meekly into a liveanimal trap; when cornered rats become a toothsome force to be reckoned with.Not only do rats bite, but they spread diseases that can destroy entirepopulations. Honestly! How much whacky tobaccy is going up in smoke in thehallowed halls of DC? There must be plenty because those folks in DC are walkingaround with their heads in a perpetual cloud.

It is clear to me that our government isrunning amuck with special interest agendas and has NO IDEA what the heck theyare talking about. But I guess that’s pretty much what we can expect with the pompousdead weight in DC that promotes political propaganda instead of actual HISTORY –can it be that they are truly as clueless as they come across? Or are they justplain diabolical and don’t care about The People in general?

Call me heartless, but I HATE rats. There isabsolutely nothing to love about a rat. They over breed and will overrunneighborhoods. They will viciously attack animals and humans without feelingthe least bit guilty. I DO NOT WANT ‘relocated rat family units’ coming to myneck of the woods. If they are sent here I WILL not feel one shred of sorrow atdigging out my box of trusty DeCon and murdering entire family units thatattempt to set up housekeeping on my property.

DC can keep their rats – both types.

How about we just stop the political insanityand get rid of both types of rats? DeCon for the 4 legged rats and the VotingBooth for the 2 legged rats. Neither deserves a second chance to chew their waythrough my life.

In The Early Morning Hours

2012-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

We got EIGHTINCHES of snowfall!

EIGHT INCHES of snow fell in the early morning hours! It was eight inches ... I measured the depth: LOL

My poor birch tree!

Hubby's tracks.

Hubby being kind to me; he fed my chickens while I gawked like a little kid at the snowy landscape.

Snowy boughs everywhere.

Snow-topped Rhodies alongside right boarder.

Precious enjoying the snow.

Heavy snow-laden Hen Pen.

When I commented on the snowcapped HP, hubbysaid, “Look behind you …”

Oh no! My Patio Canopy has caved under the snow weight.

‘Big Boy’, my beautiful fat golden Koi is hibernating deep down inside the snow-shrouded Patio Pond.

Hubby drew my HH poke across the top of the HP and relieved it of its heavy snow burden.

Broken branches under my poor birch tree; hubby shook the icy snow off its small branches so they would rebound.

I used the back of my large garden rake to smooth a pathway from the back door to the canopied patio so the falling rain wouldn't make a treacherous icy walk.

We hauled the step ladder out and used my littlekiddie garden shovel and hubby’s man-sized shovel to scoop and lift the snowoff the collapsed canopy top; then we took the top off and put it in the garageto dry – we’ll survey the damages later when it’s dry:

We shoveled the heavy snow off the canopy cover, but hubby will have some strong-arming to do in the Spring to get the bent support beams back to where they need to be.

It started to rain while we were working onthe canopy, so most of the snow will be gone by evening unless we get a freeze,then it will become a crusty slush, so I took one last shot at the pretty stuff:-)

One last shot of the snow out back before the falling rain melts it away ...

School was cancelled, so Bean went out toenjoy some of the snow when she woke up and I went out front to pick up theneighbor’s littering fallen branches; he won’t do it and I don’t want the deadfall to get stuck in the underside of my car when we go into town later on:

Neighboring tree litter is blocking our driveway; I will have to remove all of it before we leave our drive because the neighbor will just leave it to rot and drive off.

Recipe: Light Fish Soup

2012-01-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had this soup for Supper tonight and itwas delish! Even my fish-hating granddaughter says she likes it: YAY :-)

This recipe is a light thin based soup buttastes rich and sweet (I’m thinking the fruity white wine I used added thesweet flavor). I used homemade shrimp shell stock and Swai fish fillets, and Ikid you not – there was no discernible fish odor or overwhelming fish flavor:this smooth tasting fish soup won me brownie points with my granddaughter; LOL

This soup is also quick and easy to make; andadded bonus :-)

Light Fish Soup – serves 5 to 6

2 c. shredded carrot – 1 medium red onion,diced (1 c.) – 1 & ½ TBSP Olive oil – 2 large garlic cloves, minced (2tsp.) – ¾ tsp. dried thyme – 4 c. fresh tomatoes; peeled, seeded, and coarselychopped (or 2 16-oz. cans) – 1/3 cupwhite wine – 2 pounds Swai fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces – 4 cups fishstock, heated – 2 TBSP chopped parsley - *Salt to taste, if desired - **Freshlyground Black pepper to taste

1) In a large heavy saucepan, cookthe carrots, onion and garlic in the oil, stirring until the onion istranslucent – about 5 minutes.

2) Add the thyme, tomatoes, andwine; simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.

3) Add the hot fish stock and thecubed fish meat, and bring to a boil; turn heat down and simmer for another 5minutes.

4) Stir in the parsley, salt &pepper. Serve.

Looking Into the Sun v.s. The Son

2012-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

The day dawned sobrilliantly this morning though it was a bit nippy. I snapped off some pics ofthe sunrise at three intervals before the day officially got underway:

Its was still pretty dark here when Bean walked out the front door to meet the school bus ...

30 minutes later the sunrise was beginning to come up over the eastern hills; isn't it pretty? So colorful!

The sun rose in all it's glorious splendor about 60 minutes from it's murky emergence.

After snapping off picture #3 all I could seefor 45 minutes was black spots before my eyes. And that got me to thinking …what a difference there is between looking into the sun versus looking into TheSon. Both are heavenly bodies. Both are created of God, yet only one of thosebrilliant bodies (Yeshua, God’s Son) is also the Creator of the sun. One ofthose bodies will eventually destroy our eyesight if we stare long enough intoits unbelievably hot glow – the other will sharpen our eyesight the closer wemove towards its all-encompassing glow.

When we look intothe sun, we are blinded for a while by it’s brilliance: our vision is blightedby tiny black spots that dance before our vision making sight difficult andsteps forward dicey until the spots fade. Sometimes we need to sit down andwait the wait out; the lure of the sun’s tempting brilliance ends up stoppingus from doing what needs to be done while time moves forward. But when we lookinto The Son, everything is suddenly crystal clear! Yeshua The Son, holy One ofGod, clears away all the blights of our lives – there is not one spot surrounding our line of vision when our eyesare turned to His magnificent radiance. Looking into The Son we can seeclearly and move forward in confidence of His warming glow :-)

Welcome Surprises

2012-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Prayer Gathering, winter roses, and an earlyRobin … these are just a few of the surprises the first week of 2012 hasblessed me with so far :-)

This has been a pretty warm winter here inthe PNW, and it’s very possible we will have an early Spring: today I spotted roses blooming in the back flowerbed,and a Robin eating fallen birdseedwith the Juncos under the patio birdfeeder.

I sure hope the warm weather holds because wehave a LOT to do to get the house ready for show this Spring – we want to havethe property in picture perfect shape with weeded beds and mowed grass … and Ineed to get things spruced up inside too: so warm weather drying the ground upoutside to get outdoor tasks done, and allowing me to open house windows to getinside work accomplished is a must!

I did wash some windows on the insideyesterday, but the fumes burned my lungs some, so I think I’ll hold off alittle longer to get the others done. There are a L-O-T of windows …

This morning while making our bed I lookedout the window and saw some Juncos at the patio feeder, cleaning up what the messyNuthatches left behind earlier this week: LOL

This bird feeder was FULL of seed 3 days ago ...

Dark-eyed Junco

I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted a fat perky Robin among the busy little birds eating the scattered fallen birdseed underthe feeder: A Robin! Very early … andalso a few roses are already blooming in our warm weather winter. Hubbysays there is also a yellow rose bud on a side yard rose bush. WOW!

Robin eating fallen seed among the Alpine Strawberry leaves at base of patio feeder.

Earlier this week messy-eating-Nuthatches flung seed to the patio from the feeder above; Juncos are happy to clean up; LOL

Pink Roses already setting bud! Waaaay early.

We haven’t had any snow this winter, but wehave had a lot of rainfall this past week. Today it was more a drizzle than thepelting rainfall we have had, so the hens would race back and forth between theHen House and the Hen Pen between misty showers and grab the tasty wriggling proteinthat would be brought to the ground surface after a brief showering (they lovefresh worms :-) ). But Ofira would wait the light showers out by ducking intothe shelter of the side-leaning green plastic bin when the misty drizzlestarted again – the others would just make a mad dash back to the Hen House andwait under the warming light bulb, running back outside when the drizzle let up:

Hens slurping slippery worms between misty showers.

Ofira waiting the showers out.

Happy hens enjoying a wriggling bonanza of tasty protein surfacing after rainfall.

The Dutch Irises are starting to send up theirtall spiky green leaves among the colorful red foliage of the AlpineStrawberries in the patio flanking flowerbeds, but ‘Big Boy’ stayed submerged atthe gravelly bottom of the patio fish pond. It may be a warm winter, but it’s stillnot warm enough today for my brilliant golden Koi to surface …

Dutch Irises coming up.

'Big Boy' staying submerged.

This past Wednesday I went to a Prayer Gathering; thefirst time I have been able to meet with other like-minded people in 9 years(since Precious joined our family) and had a wonderful time of blessing andrejoicing in the Lord. Now that hubby is retired, and Bean is living with usagain, I am free to do now and then as there will be someone at home withPrecious while I am gone. This group of people is a ‘launch' Body of Believers, so they are fairly new to the area though their faith and form of expression isvery familiar to me; I am glad my husband and grand-daughter will also be ableto enjoy their fellowship on occasion as we take turns gathering with the Bodyand sitting with Precious at home. It will be a workable and refreshing situation.Thank You Lord :-)

This New Year has already shown forth so manywelcome surprises: I am joyfully looking forward to all that 2012 holds for meand mine!

Through the Bible in a Year

2012-01-01T00:23:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEWYEAR! Six months ago my husband and I committed to reading specified daily Scripturechapters listed in the “Through the Bible in a Year” itinerary. We reinforcedsome thoughts, learned some new insights, and have experienced some new growthover this time period :-)

My husbandand I have much to consider this year as our lives have been in a whirl of changeover the months and we ponder decisions for our future. We are going to besetting a time aside each day to meet with our Lord to seek His Will in allmatters regarding our lives, and also to read through both book of Scripture ina year’s time :-) This can be done – I have done it many, many times. I enjoyScripture readings because time spent with the Lord, learning of Him and HisWill is always time well spent; and the history of who we are in Him is neverboring! LOL

Scripturetells me … and I KNOW from personal experiences that “with God, ALL things AREpossible”.

With God, Iam a jubilant Joshua ducking the tumbling bricks of the Jericho Wall.

With God, Iam a fire-producing-weather-controlling Elijah.

With God, Iam a wave-walker with Peter.

With God, Iam an escaper of death standing in front of Lazarus’ tomb.

With God, Iam a rescued prisoner washed up on the shores of a strange island.

With God, Iam an overcomer of every obstacle thwarting the advance of His Kingdom.

With God, Iam an upholder of righteousness in a world gone mad with sin.

With God, Iam an instrument of deliverance to the tortured and the torn.

With God, Iam a proclaimer of good news – heralding, “The war is over – be reconciled toGod”.

With God, Iam the announcer of the breath-taking message, “Behold, the King is coming!”

Every monthI will be listing here in my Blog column, a new listing of daily readings thatwe will be reading together to meet the Through the Bible in a Year goal. Feelfree to join us if you wish to … and to comment if you want to share an insightor inspiration that lines up with the daily reading.

Yourknowledge of the Word and the Will of Father will grow and mature as youprogress through this year in the Scriptures. God bless you richly andabundantly as you read:

JANUARY

1) 1 Samuel 25-27

2) 1 Samuel 28-31

3) 2 Samuel 1-3

4) 2 Samuel 4-7

5) 2 Samuel 8-11

6) 2 Samuel 12 & 13

7) 2 Samuel 14 & 15

8) 2 Samuel 16-18

9) 2 Samuel 19 & 20

10) 2 Samuel 21 & 22

11) 2 Samuel 23 & 24

12) 1 Kings 1

13) 1 Kings 2 & 3

14) 1 Kings 4-6

15) 1 Kings 7

16) 1 Kings 8

17) 1 Kings 9-11

18) 1 Kings 12 & 13

19) 1 Kings 14-16

20) 1 Kings 17 & 18

21) 1 Kings 19 & 20

22) 1 Kings 21 & 22

23) 2 Kings 1-3

24) 2 Kings 4 & 5

25) 2 Kings 6-8

26) 2 Kings 9 & 10

27) 2 Kings 11-13

28) 2 Kings 14-16

29) 2 Kings 17 & 18

30) 2 Kings 19-21

31) 2 Kings 22 & 23

Busy Loom

2011-12-31T13:58:00.000-08:00

The celestial loom that weaves the tapestryof our lives is always busy; the shuttle never stills. Change is always takingplace as the forethought design unfolds :-)

Life Changing Decision for the New Year

2011-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Anyone familiar with my Blog knows that Ihave been wanting to move for a long time. Well we have made a life changingdecision that we have high hopes of carrying out in 2012, and it very VERY different than what I had anticipated; but I think –given all that has happened since August – that it really IS the BEST decisionfor where our lives are being directed: instead of pitching our tent further inthe country, we will be putting more Urban stakes down locally. This was aH-U-G-E adjustment for me, but I’m gonna throw my support behind the decisionand go with the flow. I know that this is the best thing given all thecircumstances that have come to light over the past couple of months and I knowthat I will be exactly where Father wants me when we pack up and leave here.

I spent an hour online this morning lookingover City Living Regulations and Codes for our immediate area; there sure are aLOT of rules! I’m not keen on rules, and usually buck them, opting for a moreindependent lifestyle – but in this case I suppose I’ll have to give a littleto get a lot of what we are needing at this point in our lives (more urbanized, less rural: BOOHOO!!). But I know from pastexperience that one can still live a very determined self-sufficient lifestylein citified settings. And we can still take leisurely drives into thebackcountry when the need for tall grass and mountain air pulls us in the direction:-)

Hubby & Bean want to stay local, and myspirit would be soothed knowing they aren’t unduly frustrated by the move.Hubby wants a calmer environment (he can’t ditch me … hahaha! … but we can getaway from the neighbors from hell) and Bean wants a specific school district tograduate from. I just want a garden area and a chicken run! And to know thatthe driving distance from home to school and to any future job she gets won’tbe an outlandish distance for her to drive; or excessive worrying for us. Noneof us want Precious licensed but that seems to be a necessary evil if we wantto walk anywhere with her in the city limits … oh well … other than that oneglitch everything else looks like it’s workable.

Now we just need ourinterested part to come through with the moolah!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME :-)

2011-12-29T16:53:00.001-08:00

Eric Clapton & BB King

2011-12-27T00:03:00.000-08:00

My granddaughter asked me tonight who EricClapton is! Obviously I’ve been negligent in her musical education; LOL.

Eric – Lead Guitarist for Cream (and vocalistin this song – I believe this is HIS own song): GREAT ROCK BAND

Eric singing a passionate love song to GeorgeHarrison’s wife, Layla:

Eric with George Harrison – who was veryforgiving after Eric stole his wife … maybe that’s why his guitar weeps? Ericplays the red guitar, and even though he is a shameless cad to have stolen his "best friend"'s wife he is still a gifted guitarist. And something tells me that since the two remained best friends, George wasn't all that broken up to have lost faithless Layla:

Eric Clapton is a natural guitarist, but hedid come to America from England to be mentored from BB King – the all-timegreatest guitarist J

NO ONE CAN TOUCH THESE TWO MEN when it comesto guitar greatness. When they are gone, there will be a H-U-G-E hole in guitarmusic that comes from the heart. Practice CAN NOT teach what these two weregifted with.

Any guitar player worth their salt in anyrock band (or punk band, or pop band) admits that they made mecca to see BBKing and to sit at his feet and learn from him … he was that good: everyonewanted to get as close as possible to his genius with Lucille (his guitar andthe love of his life) :-)

Peter Frampton & Son :-)

2011-12-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

I was holed up in the bedroom playing Jewel Quest Solitaire all by my lonesome trying to shake this bug that won't leave me alone, when Hubby clued meinto Peter being interviewed on Guitar Sessions tonight, so I switched the tele on and got anadded bonus: it’s the first time I’veseen any member of his family. He played a song with his son – the musicgene is definitely alive and doing well in the younger Frampton; and dad stillrocks too!

Dad Peter, onguitar … son singing:

Following is a clip of younger DadPeter. For about a decade or more, Peter disappeared from the music scenechoosing to live a quiet life with his wife and children. He reappeared about10 years ago with live concerts. He may have buzzed white hair now, but this goldencurly-haired version is how I still see Peter in my mind:

Love thesynthesizer! Very “cutting edge” in the 1970’s :-)

Hanukkah

2011-12-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah beganthis December 2011, on the 20, at Sundown. Tomorrow is the last day. Although Ihave always celebrated his candle-lighting celebration with my grand-daughterwhen she is with us at this time, it was always in a playful way – spinning thedreidel (a four-sided top marked with Hebrew letters) and telling Hanukkah storiesscaled down to a child’s understanding. This year is the first time she’s beenable to light the candles with me in four years so it was a very special timefor us this year :-) And now that she is 16 years old, and she asked what “themeaning really is” behind the candle-lighting ceremony, I will share thisinsight with her:

Several hundredyears before Yeshua (Jesus) was born, during the time of the Syrian rule overPalestine, the Jews suffered terrible persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes,ruler of Syria - a wicked and godless man. Antiochus entered Jerusalem,destroying a large part of it and slaughtering men, women, and children in hiswake. Not only did he not honor Almighty God or the Hebrew people (God’s Chosenpeople), but his most blasphemous act was to enter the Sanctified Temple of theLord, taking away the golden altar, the golden candlesticks, and its vessels,as well as other Temple treasures, and setting up an idol to Jupiter in theHoliest of All (the inner Temple Sanctuary). He also sacrificed swine toJupiter, sprinkling swine’s blood around the Temple. This was specifically egregiousas religious Jews are forbidden swine by God. Antiochus was blatantly dissingthe people and their God in glaringly horrific ways.

In 164 BC, afaithful company of Jews, freedom fighters, resisted and revolted against thishorrible desecration of the Temple. Notable among these was the priestly familyof the Maccabees. These freedom fighters rose up and went to war against the intrusiveenemy. Eventually the Syrians were driven from Jerusalem.

Judas Maccabeusthen solemnly cleansed the Temple from the abhorrent abominations to which ithad been subjected under Antiochus. He removed the old polluted altar and putthe ruined stones in a separate place on the Temple mount, and then he restoredthe worship of the Lord (1 Maccabees 4:52, 56, 59). This “cleansing of theSanctuary” (Daniel 8:13, 14) took place on the 25th day of the 12th month,Chisleu (corresponding to our December 25th), and the joyous celebration lastedfor eight days.

During the“cleansing of the Sanctuary,” specially prepared Holy Oil was needed to keepthe Temple Menorah continually lit. According to tradition, only a small amountof this oil could be found - but it miraculously lasted for eight days; longenough for Temple laborers to prepare more sacred oil.

The lighting ofthe menorah begins with the highest candle, the ninth, called the shammash, orthe servant, a picture of Jesus (John 8:12). This candle is lowered to givelight to the other eight candles, adding one each day, until all eight candlesare ablaze on the last day of the holiday. This whole celebration is highlyprophetic for these last days, as God’s army resists and overcomes the spiritof antichrist in the earth (see Matthew 24:15–31). The spirit of antichrist works in anyone who sets themselves against Almighty God and God’s people - today God's People include the people who make up the Lord’s collective Body.

Yeshua observed Hanukkah, and so do His Followers,along with Jews everywhere during the eight days of the candle lightingcelebration :-)

John 10:22-23 “Thencame the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter and Yeshua was in theTemple area walking in Solomon’s colonnade.”

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Princess For A Day

2011-12-23T12:17:00.001-08:00

I’m not feelingwell today, so I am claiming my ‘princess status’ and turning the running ofthe house over to my husband for the day. I was up and about briefly thismorning – just long enough to eat some breakfast (NOT a good idea, I amrealizing) and make a few phone calls regarding my Granddaughter’s Driver’sSchool Enrollment: she should be able to be counted among the student’s in oneof January 2012’s two enrollments. She stoked! And we are both excited for her.

I will bespending the majority of this day napping or propped up in bed surrounded by the whitenoise of televised Christmas Specials, my laptop, a book of fantastical lightreading material (Christine Feehan – a garage sale buy), and a stack of paper/coloredfelt pens in case inspiration to addto my expanding bazaar cache hits me; LOL

We had all three intendedto drive to the Beach to visit Dave today …

Perhaps next week:-)

Christmas Party Haul

2011-12-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Lemmon’s Christmas Party;every year the local trucking company hubby worked for puts on its annual Christmasparty for the employees: this year was the last year we’ll be invited, so wewent to see the friends we had made over the past 15 years hubby drove Lemmon’strucks. Some friends we still see – some have fallen to the wayside of life’sbusiness, but last night hubby was in his element yakking it up with everyonegathered and he walked away with a load of goodies too :-)

Retirement Gift from the Company; hubby looking good in his gift: YOWZA! LOL

Yellow heavy-duty Load Tie Down Straps were a 'ticket gift' - the Leatherman Tool Set was a retirement gift along with the jacket. The Tool Set has hubby's name and years of company service engraved on the handles.

Tool set folded up and ready to carry ...

Before we entered the Dining area, we weregiven a name tag for employee and spouse along with a raffle ticket for eachemployee at the dinner; the ticket numbers are randomly chosen/called and therecipient goes forward to choose the gift if their choice: there were 20 gifts totaledto choose from and hubby got lucky … every year we have gone to these dinners,he comes home with something. The first year he came home with a nice roomy sizedtent – we still have that tent and use it when just the two of us go camping.The tool set is real nice too; heavy duty, spring loaded handles, and an assortment of various tools that can handily be used at home or on the trail.

I am happy for hubby that the night went sowell for him.

Bean babysat Precious for us while we wereout of the house for a few hours and that was much appreciated too. They arevery familiar with each other and comfortable together: Bean has been with hersince day one - we chose her together and I would not have brought Precious hometo live with us if Bean and she had not gotten on famously. My pampered specialgirl is good with our pampered furry girl and deserved her appreciation paywhen we got home around 11 p.m. :-)

Bean’s Hand Cuffs :-)

2011-12-15T22:53:00.000-08:00

I hadn’t intended to get to this projectuntil this weekend, but I decided to get started on them tonight whilelistening to the televised debate. I started working on them around 5 p.m., andfinished attaching the last pom-pom at 10:35 p.m:

Bean's hand knitted Hand Cuffs :-)

Bean chose the green ‘Guacamole’ colorherself because it’s in the color realm of her favorite color of green. Theyarn is Red Heart Soft and normally I wouldn’t be using it because it’s veryslippery worsted, and hard for me to work with (the yarn slips off my needles likeit’s greased!) but Grandma’s will do things for their granddaughters thatthey wouldn’t normally do … within reason anyway: at least this Grams does! And I do have to admit there is a nice soft sheen to the green color when the pom-poms move :-)

I worked pretty steadily on these hand cuffs tonight– only taking a 30 minute break to wolf Supper down and quickly swipe thedishes – because I wanted them done quickly to keep her hands warm while shewaits in the frosty early mornings for the school bus. We haven’t had snowfallyet, but the weather feels right for it any day.

Hubby’s House Slippers :-)

2011-12-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

When my husband saw all the house slippers Iwas making for strangers he was smitten with the green eyed monster; LOL. Herequested – and I promised – a pair of his very own house slippers :-)

The Bazaar Season ended December 3^rdand I got started immediately on his double-warmth slippers. But I ran out ofgreen yarn sometime last week and had to wait until this past Monday before Icould run into town and grab another skein to finish up … tonight I finishedthem, and hubby is happy.

My husband is a big man and his feet matchhis size, so I had to adjust the pattern to fit; I suck at math, so I am verypleased my sketchy calculations fit!

Hubby's snug-happy feet :-)

Tomorrow I will get busy on Bean’s fingerlesshand cuffs. And after that, another pair of house slippers for my husband so hecan change them out on laundry days.

Christmas Music …

2011-12-13T20:16:00.001-08:00

U.S. shouldn't 'zero-out' Israel defense aid - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

2011-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Have ALL the prez candidates LOST THIER MINDS?

I refuse to call any one of the 2012 candidates ‘President material’ until they show some manly backbone and stop running gutless popularity contests … MHOP is that NONE of them – especially the extreme black militant backed muslim in the White House … is worthy of the Office of The People.

Wake up Americans and vote responsibly. Ending aid to Israel is a death kneel to America!

Vote Obama and his obomanites out of their stolen power and do not vote for irresponsible replacements.

THINK! Don’t give sway to bullying political correctness.

Vote for a better, WISE America :-)

U.S. shouldn't 'zero-out' Israel defense aid - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

FEDERAL AGENTS DEMAND CUSTOMER LISTS FROM MORMON FOOD STORAGE FACILITY

2011-12-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

While we are not mormons and we do not advocate the mormon religion, this raised a RED FLAG with me so I thought I'd share the link. It is NOT the government's business to question who buys food in bulk, or where American Citizens buy their food.

Squirrely obama NEEDS TO BE DETHRONED - and his cabinet appointed administration officers need to go also.

First he was placed as prez in the first Anti-American Presidential Coup in our national history instead of being voted in (remember Hilary was front runner and a sure winner until she was taken aside and spoken to); then he threw all his weight and that of his administration behind this disastrous health bill that is killing jobs; his 'proud baby mama' threw her militant weight behind an equally disastrous American Weight Control Program that includes cracking down on junk foods because the obamas think we're all too stupid to know what's best for us and our families; anti-american obama also backed the criminal Fast & Furious furor that puts military weapons in the hands of anti-american terrorists (mexicans that hate Americans are anti-american terrorists: ((((HELLO!!)))); and now the government funded feds are demanding name lists of American Citizens that buy food in bulk and store it in their homes against rising inflation so their families can eat without worry?

WHEN WILL AMERICANS GET BOLD AGAIN AND STAND UP AGAINST GOVERNMENT TYRANNY AND REGAIN THEIR COUNTRY AGAIN?

We, as American Citizens, do not answer to the government for ourfood supply; we do not give the government supreme dominance over us!

FEDERAL AGENTS DEMAND CUSTOMER LISTS FROM MORMON FOOD STORAGE FACILITY

If you think for one moment this does not concern you and yours, think again – Obama has made it abundantly clear that he does not want Americans to prosper on their own without government interference (aka the ‘fair share’ mantra that Obama drones on about: the government is wanting to interfere with your paycheck and now it wants to interfere with your food supply – these things are your business, not the governments).

Next the feds will be knocking on doors asking about the neighbor down the street that has an urban homestead and practices sustainable living methods …

Christmas 2011

2011-12-09T23:15:00.001-08:00

The Granddaughters decided to get togethertonight – Krisa drove Briana up from the city; Brie will spend the weekendhanging out with Bean, and Krisa will come back and fetch her Sunday afternoonafter work. The teen trio exchanged gifts among themselves before Kris headedback home:

The girls arrive - and Precious nearly knocked Bean over with excitement; LOL

The Teen Trio: our girls :-) Bean is ecstatic to have 'real coffee' again instead of Grams' decaf.

Cousins exchanging gifts ... but no one wanted Precious' kiss-gift because her breath was rank.

Briana and Bean also decorated the treethemselves this year – and Grams just sat back and watched them :-) Theydecided to use EVERY TREE TRIM we have! Andsomehow they managed to get it all on the tree …

Bean & Brie hauled out EVERY tree trim we own, and laid them out among the protective wrappings.

Decisions, decisions ...

Brie hanging a bird's nest.

Bean carefully hung my special handmade 42 year old 'Old World Santa' made by my maternal Grandmother.

Chase ignoring all the holiday hoopla ...

Finished & feeling pretty proud of themselves :-)

It sure is good to have the girls togetheragain under our roof. I’m so glad they are so close in age. They are building memories that will last a lifetime.

Recipe: CC Red Snapper w/Vegetable Sauce

2011-12-08T20:17:00.001-08:00

This morning dawned with a dusty rosehorizon, iced rooftops, glazed grass and a sick teen.

The rising sun kinda overrode the pretty dusty rose hues on the skyline in this picture ...

Very crispy grass this morning: 35 degrees

The hens were walking in the tips of their toes this morning trying to make as little contact with the frozen ground as possible: LOL

By 10 a.m. the rosy dawn had brightened to abeautiful robin’s egg sky even though the warmed-up 40 degree weather felt significantly colder.The warm sunrays melted the ice from the rooftops and grass, mysick granddaughter played hooky from school and by 5 p.m. her slightly elevatedtemp was down and my fish dish hating sweet girl was feeling well enough to stomachthe meal I slated for this evening’s Supper :-)

My plan is to have one fish dish meal a week,so I have been thumbing through my cookbooks to find fish recipes that do agood job of camouflaging fish odors and fish tastes because Bean can’t standeither. This calorie counting fish dish really is tasty and even she gave it athumbs up (Whoopee!). The recipecomes from my dog-eared Betty Crocker’s ‘NewAmerican Cooking’ cookbook. This dish is a good source of protein andvitamin A.

RED SNAPPERwith VEGETABLESAUCE – 5 servings

1 pound red snapper fillets – 2 mediumcarrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup) –1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup) –1 medium stalk celery, thinly sliced (about½ cup) – 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped – 1 Tablespoon instantchicken bouillon – ½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves – 2 Tablespoons butter ormargarine – 1 cup water – ½ cup White wine – ½ teaspoon Sea salt – 1/8 teaspoonground Black pepper – 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch – 2 Tablespoons cold water

If fillets are large, cut them into 5 servingpieces. Cook and stir carrots, onion, celery, garlic, chicken bouillon androsemary in margarine in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat just untilcarrots are crisp-tender – about 10 minutes. Place fish on top of vegetables.Pour 1 cup water and the wine over fish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat toboiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until fish flakes easily with fork – 8 to10 minutes. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Mix cornstarch and2 Tablespoons water; stir into vegetable mixture. Heat to boiling; boil andstir 1 minute. Spoon vegetable sauce over fish.

Per Serving: 175 calories each

HE IS MY KING ... AND SO MUCH MORE

2011-12-05T21:38:00.001-08:00

The Bible says My King

Is the King of the Jews

He’s the King of Israel

He’s the King of Righteousness

He’s the King of The Ages

He’s the King of Heaven

He’s the King of Glory

He’s the King of Kings

And He’s the Lord of Lords.

That’s My King!

I wonder …

Do you KNOW Him?

My King is a Sovereign King

No means of measure can define His limitlesslove.

He’s enduringly strong

He’s entirely sincere

He’s eternally steadfast

He’s morally graceful

He’s imperially powerful

He’s impartially merciful

Do you know HIM?

He’s the greatest phenomenon that evercrossed the horizon of this world.

He’s God’s Son

He’s the sinner’s Savior

He’s the centerpiece of civilization

He’s unparalleled

He’s unprecedented

He is the loftiest idea in Literature

He’s the highest personality in philosophy

He’s the fundamental doctrine of theology

He’s the only ONE qualified to be the all sufficientSavior.

I wonder IF you know Him today?

He supplies strength to the weak

He available for the tempted and the tried

He sympathizes and He saves

He strengthens and sustains

He guards and He guides

He heals the sick

He forgives sinners

He discharges debtors

He delivers the captive

He defends the feeble

He blesses the young

He serves the unfortunate

He regards the Aged

He rewards the diligent

He beautifies the meek

I wonder if YOU know Him?

He’s the Key to Knowledge

He’s the Wellspring of Wisdom

He’s the Doorway of Deliverance

He’s the Pathway of Peace

He’s the Roadway of Righteousness

He’s the Highway of Holiness

He’s the Gateway of Glory

DO YOU KNOW HIM?

His Life IS matchless

His goodness is limitless

His mercy is everlasting

His love never changes

His Word is enough

His grace is sufficient

His reign is righteous

His yoke is easy and His burden is light

I wish I could describe Him to you, but He isindescribable

He’s incomprehensible

He’s invincible

He’s irresistible

You can’t get Him out of your mind

You can’t get Him out of your hand

You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live withoutHim.

The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him

But they found out they could not stop Him.

Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him

Herod couldn’t kill Him

Death couldn’t handle Him

And the grave couldn’t hold Him!

THAT’S MY KING!

Tell me …

Do you know Him?

McClelland Arts Center Bazaar

2011-12-03T21:12:00.001-08:00

Was a top-dollar event :-)

I made sales all day long – sales werehopping left and right and I have no complaints at all about my monetary gain.Bean’s glasses can be bought this week (YAY), tonight’s Supper was take-out (YAY),I can renew my driver’s license this week (YAY), and I still have money leftover (YAY)!!!!!

Around 10:30 a.m., just as I got my tabledisplay together and was making my second sale, hubby’s cell rang and he wascalled away; he left for home around noon. Thatwas also good because he was able to get his 4x up and running again: it’sbeen sitting idle in the driveway for about a month, so the interruption waslong awaited and very, very welcome.Thank you BIL, & thank you BIL’s friend! The pickup was checked out andfixed at a fraction of the cost Ford’s mechanics would have charged and hubby wasback by my side from 2:30- to 3 p.m.

We are so happy … and Father WILL BLESS THOSE who lent us a helping hand in ourtime of need.

God IS good.

Through the Bible in a Year

2011-12-02T05:41:00.001-08:00

I apologize for being a day late this monthin posting the new reading passages! Time got away from me, but I have reignedit in today :-)

A couple months ago my husband and Istarted the “Through the Bible in a Year” commitment. We reinforced somethoughts, learned some new insights, and have experienced some new growth overthe time spent enjoying The Word with renewed Spiritual insights :-)

My husband and I have much to considerthis year as our lives continue to change and evolve in unforeseen ways overthe months and we prayerfully ponder Father’s decisions for our future; we wantalways to be in His Will, doing His Will.

Hubby and I are going to be setting atime aside each day to meet with our Lord to seek His Will in all mattersregarding our lives, and also to readthrough both book of Scripture in a year’s time :-) This can be done – wehave done it many, many times. We enjoy Scripture readings because time spentwith the Lord, learning of Him and His Will is always time well spent; and thehistory of who we are in Him is never boring! LOL

Scripture tells me … and I KNOW frompersonal experiences that “with God, ALL things ARE possible”.

With God, I am a jubilant Joshua duckingthe tumbling bricks of the Jericho Wall.

With God, I am afire-producing-weather-controlling Elijah.

With God, I am a wave-walker with Peter.

With God, I am an escaper of deathstanding in front of Lazarus’ tomb.

With God, I am a rescued prisoner washedup on the shores of a strange island.

With God, I am an overcomer of everyobstacle thwarting the advance of His Kingdom.

With God, I am an upholder ofrighteousness in a world gone mad with sin.

With God, I am an instrument ofdeliverance to the tortured and the torn.

With God, I am a proclaimer of good news– heralding, “The war is over – be reconciled to God”.

With God, I am the announcer of thebreath-taking message, “Behold, the King is coming!”

Every month I will be listing here in myBlog column, a new listing of daily readings that we will be reading togetherto meet the Through the Bible in a Year goal. Feel free to join us if you wishto … and to comment if you want to share an insight or inspiration that linesup with the daily reading.

Your knowledge of the Word and the Willof Father will grow and mature as you progress through this year in theScriptures. God bless you richly and abundantly as you read:

DECEMBER

1) Deuteronomy 25-27

2) Deuteronomy 28

3) Deuteronomy 29-31

4) Deuteronomy 32-34

5) Joshua 1-3

6) Joshua 4-6

7) Joshua 7 & 8

8) Joshua 9 & 10

9) Joshua 11-13

10) Joshua 14-17

11) Joshua 18-20

12) Joshua 21 & 22

13) Joshua 23 & 24

14) Judges 1 & 2

15) Judges 3 & 4

16) Judges 5 & 6

17) Judges 7 & 8

18) Judges 9 & 10

19) Judges 11-13

20) Judges 14-17

21) Judges 18 & 19

22) Judges 20 & 21

23) Ruth 1-4

24) 1 Samuel 1-3

25) 1 Samuel 4-7

26) 1 Samuel 8-10

27) 1 Samuel 11-13

28) 1 Samuel 14 & 15

29) 1 Samuel 16 & 17

30) 1 Samuel 18-20

31) 1 Samuel 21-24

Recipe: WW Cajun Seafood and Noodles

2011-11-30T18:22:00.001-08:00

A new recipe tonight for Supper :-)

Simple, quick, and relatively easy toprepare; if frozen shrimp and crab are not available for you, canned shrimp andcrab will make suitable stand-ins.

This recipe comes from my Betty Crocker’s 125 Low-Calorie Main Dishes.This guilt-free pasta dish is only 225 calories per serving …

Cajun seafood and Noodles – 6 servings (about 2/3 c fish mixture/1/2 cnoodles EACH)

6 ounces UNcooked medium noodles – 1Tablespoon vegetable oil – ¾ cup chopped green Bell pepper (about 1 medium) – ½cup chopped onion (about 1 medium) – 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley – 1/8teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) – 1/8 teaspoon ground Black pepper – 2cloves garlic, finely chopped – 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour – 1 can (16ounces) whole tomatoes, UNdrained – 1 package (10 ounces) frozen okra, thawed –1 package (6 ounces) frozen COOKED small shrimp, thawed & drained – 1package (6 ounces) frozen crabmeat, thawed, drained and cartilage removed

Cook noodles as directed on package;drain. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat. Cook Bellpepper, onion, parsley, red pepper, black pepper, and garlic for 3 minutes –stirring frequently. Stir in flour and tomatoes; break up tomatoes.

Cook uncovered, stirring frequently,until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in okra, shrimp and crabmeat, stirringoccasionally. Serve over noodles.

Per serving: 225 calories, 15 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 85 mgcholesterol, 240 mg sodium

The Power of Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

What Can the Righteous Do?

2011-11-28T20:11:00.001-08:00

Written by Charles P. Schmitt

When the foundations are being destroyed,what can the righteous do?

The following is Public Law 97-208, ajoint resolution by the 97th Congress of the United States authorizing andrequesting the President to proclaim 1983 as the “Year of the Bible.” In thatyear, 1983, Immanuel’s Church was born, with one of our dearly held values, tobe “A SPIRIT-FILLED, BIBLE TEACHING MINISTRY!” Note the powerful words of ourCongress—

“Whereasthe Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping theUnited States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people; Whereas deeplyheld religious convictions springing from the Holy Scriptures led to the earlysettlement of our Nation;

Whereas Biblical teachings inspiredconcepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration ofIndependence and the Constitution of the United States;

Whereas many of our great nationalleaders–among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson–paidtribute to the surpassing influence of the Bible in our country's development,as in the words of President Jackson that the Bible is "the rock on whichour Republic rests";

Whereas the history of our Nation clearlyillustrates the value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the Scripturesin the lives of individuals, families, and societies;

Whereas this Nation now faces greatchallenges that will test this Nation as it has never been tested before; and

Whereas that renewing our knowledge ofand faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and apeople: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate [Republicanmajority] and House of Representatives [Democratic majority] of the UnitedStates of America in Congress assembled, that the President is authorized andrequested to designate 1983 as a national ‘Year of the Bible’ in recognition ofboth the formative influence the Bible has been for our Nation, and ournational need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.”

This our President did on February 3,1983: “I, Ronald Reagan, do hereby proclaim 1983 the year of the Bible in theUnited States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, toreexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message.”

Twenty-eight years later we are compelledto ask with the Psalmist, “when the foundations are being destroyed, what canthe righteous do?” (Ps. 11:3)

1. Most certainly we can PRAY—“If mypeople, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and PRAY….” (2Chronicles 7:14)

2. And most assuredly we canPROCLAIM—“Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell my peopletheir transgression….” (Isaiah 58:1, NKJV) We are called to be a “Yom Teruah”people!

—data courtesy of John Hansen

Low- Key Monday

2011-11-28T14:36:00.001-08:00

Busy, busy, busy!

I made some couching phone calls thismorning after Bean left for school to get things underway for her upcoming new yearadventures (like Driving School for one …), dashed into town early this morningto get my hair trimmed for this weekend’s final 2011 Bazaar, ran a few errandsthat I have been procrastinating over since before Thanksgiving, and mulled over what I still need to doin case all 3 grand-daughters are in residence on the 10^th.

After I whirled back through the housedoor, danced around hubby & Precious to put things away, and grabbed aquick mug of hot java while kicking off my sneakers and heading for my easy-peasyrecliner, I was amazed at how easy this Monday has been regardless of all the business. THANK YOU YESHUA! So,in a kick-back mood, I put together a homemade Spaghetti Sauce, planning for areal low key Supper as well :-)

Recipe: Turkey Carcass Soup

2011-11-26T20:20:00.001-08:00

Since Thanksgiving our waste-not/want-notfamily of three has been eating a bit of turkey leftovers daily – the animalseven got a little of the turkey and leftover stuffing for their meals; LOL.Today I woke up hungering for chicken soup, so I decided to use the turkey pandrippings and refrigerated turkey carcass to make a rich caramel colored stock…

Turkey Carcass wrapped in cloth and ready to cook for stock.

Jelled turkey roast pan-drippings added to cooking turkey stock for flavor and color.

Cooking turkey carcass stock & homemade canine food with added turkey meat, left-over stuffing, and left-over turkey gravy. The animals are enjoying the feast fare too; LOL!

… which I used to whip up a deliciousfull-bodied turkey/noodle soup: the housesmelled soooooo good all day long! The rest of the turkey meat (half the bird) will bedivided into serving size portions to be frozen for winter meals.

This soup is a wonderful immune booster,which is perfect for the dreary winter months when it’s wet, wet, wet &frosty outside. I skim the congealed fat off the top of my cooked & chilledstock; but I leave ‘just enough’ fattymatter to make the soup worthy to be medicinal – that rich stock along with theskeletal bones that contribute nutrients, flavor, and color to the stock, the naturalpenicillin in the fatty skin, the mushroom and minced garlic to boost thebody’s immune system, the celery to keep the heart healthy, the barley forfiber, egg noodles for energizing starch, and spices to heat the blood. This soupis a miracle worker in regards to keeping the body healthy :-)

I’d rather have chicken or turkey stockon the back burner & in my freezer ready for use, than a papered MD at theready. MPO

And barley is just too darn good for justbeer and beasts; did you know that barley was cultivated in ancient Egyptbetween 6000 and 5000 B.C. and used for food for mankind and feed for beasts ofburden? Barley grains were among the many treasures found in the tomb of thegreat Egyptian king, Tutankhamen – necklaces of barley were commonly placed onmummies to symbolize rebirth. Barley was used as currency. The Sumerians usedbarley for nearly 2,000 years as their measuring system.

Barley was also an ancient medicament. Itwas applied to burns, cuts, and bruises. It was used as a remedy forrespiratory congestion (just what I’mneeding at the moment!). And it served as a means of diagnosing pregnancy anddetermining the sex of an unborn child – the woman’s urine was added to wheat& barley: if the barley grew first, the child was said to be a boy; if thewheat grew first, the woman was expecting a girl … if neither grew, the womanwasn’t pregnant. LOL!

Of course, barley was the chief bread grainfor the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans – although it eventually yielded it’s supremacyto wheat. Barley was grown in Europe during the Middle Ages and was brought toAmerica by Dutch and British colonists, mostly for brewing beer, which was saidto be healthier than water. Due to the higher yields of maize in America,barley isn’t utilized very much in America for breads or cereals; in thiscountry, 90% of the barley grown is either fed to animals or fermented to makebeer or used to add body to soups. Still, barley is a highly adaptable crop andit is cultivated in Europe north of the Arctic Circle; its southern rangeextends to within a few degrees of the equator, and into the mountains of Ethiopia.

To look at barley’s limited status in ourcountry, you’d never guess how valuable and diverse a crop this grain has beenfor thousands of years. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has analyzeduncooked “pearled barley” for nutritional content and came up with thesefollowing ‘approximations’: IN ONE CUP OF BARLEY, you will find about 6 g of protein(the amount of 6 ounces of milk), less than 1 g fat, practically no sodium, andabout 250 calories, along with generous amounts of niacin, thiamin, andpotassium. Barley is also a rich source of dietary fiber.

Barley has also been shown by scientistsat the University of Wisconsin to contain an as yet unidentified substance thatinhibits the enzyme that controls cholesterol production. The substance,contrary to most expectations, is found in the nonfiber portion of the grain.Chickens fed a barley-based diet had cholesterol levels in their flesh that was30% lower than chickens fed the usual corn-based diet. Laying chickens producedeggs with 25% less cholesterol in the yolk when fed barely. The Wisconsinscientists noted that atherosclerosis and its common consequence, coronaryheart disease, are relatively rare in areas of the world where barley is animportant staple of the people’s diet.

Turkey Carcass Soup

Turkey Carcass Soup – 4 servings (about 6cups)

2 Tablespoons minced onion – 1 clovegarlic, minced – 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine – 1 cup thinly sliced carrots– 1 cup diced celery – 1 cup sliced mushrooms – 1 & ½ Tablespoons flour – 6to 7 cups homemade turkey stock – 1 teaspoon marjoram - *Sea salt & Blackpepper to taste – 1/3 cup raw barley ORrice – 1 cup egg noodles - *Dash hot pepper sauce (optional) – 2 Tablespoonschopped parsley

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion andgarlic in butter until they are soft. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms,and cook vegetables about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add the flour, and cook themixture, stirring it, for another minute. Add the stock, spices, and barley –bring soup to a boil; reduce the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer thesoup for about an hour. Add the noodles and hot sauce, adjust the seasonings,and heat the soup to boiling – boil at medium heat for 8 minutes, or until thenoodles are soft. Sprinkle soup with parsley and serve.

Preparations

2011-11-25T22:32:00.001-08:00

Today – day after Thanksgiving – we rakedthe fallen leaves from the Maple tree and spread them over the lower end of myenlarged veggie garden plot, preparing it for Spring's sowing; I switched out the soiled HH straw and laid freshbedding for my prolific hens … and spread fresh straw in the HP, preparing a cushy footing for them to escape the seasonal wetness while outdoors :-)

Then we putthe large lighted window wreath in the center of the big four livingroomwindows and put the lighted topiary tree on the landing of the front porch: I don't like dealing with electrical things in the rain, so while the rain abated I pestered hubby "to set things up now". Weare now set for the Christmas Season to begin! As soon as November ends I’ll putthe Christmas tree up and flick the indoor/outdoor light switch every night toherald in the season with bright festivity; LOL

This is my favorite time of year: don’tknow it it’s because it’s so bright and cheerful with the colorful displays orbecause December is my BD month; but whatever the reason is, I really enjoyDecember. I hope we get some snow at some point … last year we has snow on ThanksgivingDay, but this year all we had was high winds and rainfall.

We are really enjoying Bean being with usthis year :-) It kinda puts an extra special kick into our seasonalpreparations. She is such a blessing; I sure hope Father blesses her real goodfor the love she showers our lives with.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T17:06:00.001-08:00

Woke up early this morning and read insolitude for a bit before starting to pull the Thanksgiving Supper together;finished one novel and stared a new one. I am quickly working my way throughone series by a particular author because I want to get to the Clive Cussler novelsthe first of 2012 :-)

Anyway … back to Thanksgiving this year.

While cooking the turkey and preparingthe ‘last minute’ side dishes, hubby & Precious came indoors and hubbysaid, “Next time you go outside and happen to stand next to the Hen House (I think he was letting me know in around-about-way that he’s been picking up the slack as far my chickens golately; LOL) look up and over the roof of our house and take in the bignest in the top of the Maple tree.” I said ‘thank you Babe’, then I asked, “OurMaple tree?” And he said, “Yeah; our Maple tree.” Now my curiosity is in fullgear, so I stop what I am doing, pull my boots and coat on and head outside. Ican’t wait until I get as far as the HH, I have to turn and look up as soon as Iclear the patio and know I can see over the rooftop: he’s right! There is a BIGnest in the top of our Maple tree:

Huge nest in top of our Maple tree.

The nest could be a Green Heron's nest - but there's no way of knowing for sure until we actually see a visiting bird.

And due to the high winds that came alongwith the continual lashing rainfall the past few days, 98% of the Maple leaveshave been ripped from the tree limbs to heavily litter our front and leeward lawn…

The wind is so strong that tree brancheshave been snapped off with the continual battering, and the rain never lets upso the neighbors’ back yards are filling and beginning to lap at our edges and we,along with our companion animals are soaked within seconds of being outside:

The 'duck pond' next door is filling rapidly. If the rain continues as it has been falling, the water there will creep over here ... in our back. The wind is even lashing the Yucca leaves, bending them forward.

One soaked wolf ... and wind whipped Willow.

Chase plays it safe when he stealthily pitty-pattersbehind any of us out of the house: he hunkers down in the garage where he issheltered from the punishing winds and the lashing rainfall …

Smart cat; LOL

After getting back inside out of theelements, Bean and I finished up the side dishes, her mother arrived, and weset the table fare out: turkey w/gravy – mashed spuds, candied yams, andstuffing – sweet gherkins, dill pickles, hot pickles vegetables, andolives - wheat rolls – and pumpkin pie:-)

Between bites we caught up on each other’slives this past week and literally rolled away from the table after our lastbites; LOL!

The girls left together to spend time witha friend before they all do the Black Friday rounds, so now, it’s just us old folks lazing around a quiet house until 5 a.m.which will be when Bean will get back home.

It was a good day. I have soooooo much tobe thankful for – and I am! God is good.

2011-11-21T20:53:00.001-08:00

Recipe: WW Captain’s Flounder

2011-11-21T19:01:00.001-08:00

This is another delicious Weight Watcher’srecipe, and it will even make fish dish lovers out of fish dish hater’s :-)

My granddaughter informed me as I waspreparing Supper tonight that she hates fish dishes, but I gave her a grannypromise that she’d like this meal … and atSupper time she did indeed clean her dish of this delish fish dish; sheleft the cooked spinach though, so now I have to find a way to entice her tastebuds into savoring that tasty food too. LOL!

This recipe comes from my ‘Weight Watcher’s 365-Day Menu Cookbook’– doubling it, as I did tonight – is relatively simple.

Captain’s Flounder – Makes 2 servings

1 teaspoon margarine – 1 cup mincedmushrooms – ½ cup minced scallions – ½ cup minced celery – ¼ cup minced redBell pepper – 2 ounces cooked ORdrained canned crab meat – 1 slice enriched white bread, made into crumbs – 2 Tablespoonslemon juice – 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley – 1 teaspoon mayonnaise – ½ teaspoonDijon-style mustard – ½ teaspoon Sea salt - *Dash ground White pepper – 10 ouncesflounder fillets – ¾ cup chicken broth – 2 teaspoon white wine - *Dash paprika –Parsley sprigs and lemon wedge to garnish

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Melt margarinein nonstick skillet; add mushrooms, scallions, celery, and red Bellpepper. Sauté until vegetables are soft.Transfer mixture to bowl; add crab meat, bread crumbs, lemon juice, parsley,mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper; mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture into a shallow1-quart casserole. Top with fillets, tucking ends under. Pour in chicken brothand wine; sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes – or until fishflakes easily when tested with a fork. Garnish if desired.

Per serving: 254 calories; 32 g protein; 6 g fat; 16 g carbohydrates; 936 mgsodium

Recipe: Hoppin’ John Jambalaya

2011-11-20T16:05:00.001-08:00

When it’s cold outside, this spicy dishwill warm your innards :-)

This recipe was clipped from an old Bon Appetit cooking magazine.

Hoppin’ John Jambalaya – 12 to 16 servings

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil – 2 largeonions, chopped – 1 green Bell pepper, chopped – ½ cup chopped fresh parsley –3 garlic cloves, chopped – 2 pounds smoked hot sausage, sautéed and sliced – 1 poundsalt pork, boiled 15 minutes and cut into small pieces – 1 pound black-eyedpeas, boiled until about half cooked – 6 cups chicken broth – 3 cups rice -*Sea salt and Black pepper to taste – 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Heat oil in Dutch oven or other large potover medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, parsley, garlic … and sauté about 10minutes. Add sausage, salt pork, peas, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Addrice and return to boil. Cover tightly and simmer about 45 minutes; donot lift lid. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add green onion,mixing well. Let stand about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.