Five Minute Friday on Sunday — Relevant

On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.

For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.

For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

RELEVANT

go . . .

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices. . . Hebrews 10:11

daily ministering
daily offering
the same sacrifices

of time. . . of dreams. . . of selfishness

daily being relevant
daily being real
daily being in the right now

not missing anything
because everything is relevant

Relevant to the whole
relevant to my home
relevant to my family
relevant to my tomorrow

If I am not here today; I won’t be prepared for tomorrow!

So will I sing praise (give thanks). . ., that I may daily perform my vows.   Psalms 61:8

What I do is relevant,   it is necessary,  and it is blessed.

stop.

Pictures ,scriptures and indenting for emphasis added later,

now it is time to do those dishes!

linking with:

  http://thegypsymama.com/2011/10/five-minute-friday-relevant/

Published in: on October 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm  Comments (2)  

{this moment}

I’m joining this ‘new’ to me photo blog

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


See more ‘moments’ here:

http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2011/10/this-moment-3.html

Published in: on October 29, 2011 at 7:51 pm  Comments (1)  

Wordless Wednesday — Springtime and Harvest

Wordless Wednesday is for pictures only.

Springtime
and
Harvest

link up here  —http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Published in: on October 26, 2011 at 12:27 am  Comments (1)  

Mothering, Yesterday and Today

I’ve been ask to bring a lesson to the Young Married class, so I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking of mothers and parenting. How I was as a young mother so confident that I knew what I was doing and yet so selfish! How I saw so many things as black and white, because that is where I felt secure. Looking back, I’d like to think I’d change a lot of things, but I really wouldn’t be able to because then I would not have been who I was, and  I could only work with what I knew and what I thought was expected of me.

Mothers today have so many choices that I don’t think I had. With those choices comes insecurity, too. Am I making the right decision? Am I doing enough? Can I fulfill my expectations and dreams for my family?

I wrote a comment on this blog.
http://www.incourage.me/2011/10/tiger-mothers-or-the-making-of-velveteen-mothers.html

I wanted to write it here, it is my prayer for today’s mothers.

Dear Mothers, my heart is full for mothers
Mothers so hard on themselves,
Mothers so tender,
Mothers so clearly wanting with their whole hearts to do it all and to do it all right
Mothers who look back and see clearly — it is called hind sight
Mothers who look forward through a glass darkly — it is called faith
Mothers who must take one day at a time trusting God to fill the gap between what I am doing and what I want to be doing — we are just not capable by ourselves.
Some days, yes, tigers, coming quickly “to their temples” shaking the doors, getting their attention, making it, oh, so plain the need of the moment.
Some days, we are that velvet comforter, wrapping, holding, nurturing, healing, still not in our own strength but in God’s comfort by which we are selves are comforted.
Remember to everything “there is a season” and all seasons are covered by grace and all seasons are to be filled with thanks.

I’m still growing in grace, still learning,still thankful for God’s plan for mothers.

I just Love this picture!

(pictures found by googling ‘mothering pictures- thanks )

Published in: on October 25, 2011 at 11:44 am  Comments (1)  

The Saga of the Bologna Sandwich

It was time to make cornbread for family night.  Mary was making jambalaya and fried zucchini so cornbread seemed to be the proper compliment. What about Cajun cornbread instead of the tried and true version I’ve been making since I was 8 years old.

Where else to look for a recipe in these modern days but Google.  Cooks.com came up with several versions. I didn’t have all the ingredients for any of them. So while pondering do I fake it, do I run 🙂 to the store and buy stuff, or…….. when I saw listed  —  Bologna Sandwich.

I couldn’t help myself ……..click……….

Buy some ham or bologna (one pack) and some bread (one loaf) and buy a little jar of mustard. Then you make yourself a bologna sandwich. Put the bread down on the table, put the bologna on it. Spread the mustard on the bologna. Put another piece of bread on the bologna, then eat it with some milk. Then clean up.

and  5  PAGES  of comments. Talk about a walk down memory lane.

Bologna

with white bread

with mustard

with mayo

with lettuce, tomato, pickles

with Miracle whip

with peanut butter (I’ve never done that one)

Fried bologna

Babs – Am I the only person who’s fried bologna makes a big bump in the middle?

Fran  – yes it will make a bump in the middle! You take a knife and make a slice in the middle, then slice the outside rim (4-5 slashes around) for it not to curl!

Fried called a Flat Dog Sandwich

Grilled  with cheese

Ghetto steak and cheese:  from Bid Daddy  “OK here’s what you really do… butter 2 slices of bread and place the bologna and Sharp Cheddar in between them… now place the sandwich in the skillet buttered side down… basically your making a grilled cheese sandwich with a Lil flat hotdog in the middle… now enjoy what me and my kids call “ghetto steak and cheese sandwiches” camping favorite…. don’t forget the strawberry soda and the potato chips…..”

Isabella said, “OK here’s the deal. Cut all the crust off of two slices of white bread. The fresher the bread, the better. Then put a slice of bologna on one slice of bread, and mustard on the other slice of bread. Put them together like a sandwich and with your hand press down on the sandwich until the mustard squishes out and the bread is as thin as the bologna. It’s so good this way and your sandwich won’t fall apart. I guarantee.”

Robert added, “I am a food vender. I cook bologna on a smoker grill. I cook with wood, people love it. I put cheese on it with a little mayo and a tomato on it but I call this Kentucky round steak. They love this at the fair’s.”

Noelle replies  “Wow, who knew that a simple recipe would evoke such a passionate & nostalgic response? All the recipes sound great. My grandfather used to fry a piece of bologna in an iron skillet & place a square of American cheese on top while in the pan just so the cheese would melt ever so slightly. The square on the circle looked so neat to me as a child. He called it a flying saucer because the balogna would bump up in the center. You can bet that all of us grandkids were eager to eat something with such a cool name.”

Remember this:  from Hanna – When I was a kid, the greatest snack was a piece of bologna and eat two holes for your eyes then a hole for your mouth and its tons of fun! I’ll have to try frying my bologna – that sounds yummy!

International :  All Austinians know fried boloney is elephant ears, and all off the aforementioned recipes are just as good with spam if you add melted brown sugar & butter. Boloney & gym, here I come =:)  Hormel Baby

I would never have thought of this from Francis

“John, from Wisconsin, I have enjoyed reading all of these recipes, but loved your remark, before you clean up, make sure you offer your mother one, since I am a mother. I am for the deep fried bologna, dipped in milk, not water, followed by immersion in flour, then fried in bacon drippings, followed by deep fried tomato slices, loaded onto cheap rainbow or sunbeam bread, smeared liberally with mayonnaise. If you must have mustard, open the jar, set it in the middle of the table and stick a flower in it for ambiance.”
(Apparently she doesn’t like mustard.)

Thanks for the help:

Thanks I’m just learning how to cook. This one really helped, anyone have a recipe to peanut butter and Jelly? – Marcy

OMG …..my mom use to make a sandwich just like this one. I lost the recipe years ago,I never thought I’d EVER find it again. Bless you for posting it. My kids and I thank you 🙂  -Denise

Thanks so much!! This is my husband’s favorite meal and my mother in law would never give me the recipe (she even took the recipe card out of her box when we house sat). I’m going to run out to the store and make this for him tonight. I’ll show her!!  Debbie

Jennifer —  Back home in Minnesota, we didn’t eat much bologna. We ate SPAM. Fry the SPAM, golden brown on both sides, toast and butter your bread, then slather with Miracle Whip, add the fried SPAM, and you have yourself a serious Northern meal!

But that’s a different subject!

I had so much fun reading  and remembering——–Mom, “go to the store get 1/2 lb. bologna, 1/2 lb, chopped ham )you do know what chopped ham is, don’t you?), 1/2 lb. salami and a loaf of Wonder bread.”  It was time for lunch!

Here’s where to go to see this for your self.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,169,145181-224202,00.html  

Thanks to Cooks.com for such a delightful time of smiles, snickers and wishes for bologna in the fridge.

Oh, I ran out of time looking at bologna that I had to make the plain jane  cornbread. 🙂

Published in: on October 24, 2011 at 10:13 am  Leave a Comment  

Five Minute Friday — Beyond

Somewhere over the rainbow

Beyond my fondest dreams

Above and beyond

What is beyond?

Do I get trapped by thinking beyond

beyond now

beyond today

until ———now is so hazy

that it is discounted,, short changed and overlooked?

Why?

When now is all I have;

there are no guarantees of beyond.

Planning is good,

being prepared brings peace

but living beyond isn’t real.

It’s a fairy tale

in which we create our own endings;

and when the real doesn’t match the imagined.

We are disappointed, unsatisfied and discontent with the real,

with the now

with what I actually have.

We have been  told and it is true:

This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24

Gypsy Mama says “. . . just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.”  I had a real hard time with that today. Forgive my stumbling ideas and fingers.

Published in: on October 21, 2011 at 11:51 pm  Comments (5)  

On My Mind – Tilly

It’s Friday and time for a photo of what’s on my mind!

My mother has a miniature doxie mix named Matilda aka Tilly.
Mom and Tilly live together in the mountains at about 3000 feet altitude.
Autumnl is here and the temperature is dropping.
My job was to make Tilly a sweater;
The sweater should have been done already
But I ran into a problem
I had to rip out part of it
Then I fell into the slough of later
Now it is past time….
Stay inside, curl up under the blanket, Tilly,
I’m knitting again.

Published in: on October 21, 2011 at 2:09 pm  Comments (1)  

Today is Shower Day

Showers are not all they’re cracked up to be!!

I meant it feels good after it is all over, yes.

For me, though,  a shower just feels like a necessary evil.

I just can’t stumble into the shower and get it over.

At Cozy Acres,

I have to take the laundry basket out of the shower,

find a place to put it out of the way,

try to stand in a 15×15 inch space,

step over into the tub (my knees don’t like to bend that acutely),

without falling……then

in the shower I hate to have the shower curtain touch me,

but there it is snuggling up nice and close

and did I say the bathroom is never the right temperature

summertime  I can’t dry off

the rest of the time I’m washing goose bumps

water on the body,  soap up,  rinse off

balance carefully while stepping out into that 225 square inch space,

it sounds like a bigger target when I say it that way

Hopefully considering the season, dry off

then use the towel to wipe down the shower and tub

so I can put the laundry basket back where it belongs.

but I am clean ………..

Wash my hair there, oh, no……that takes a walk next door!

 

Published in: on October 20, 2011 at 10:40 am  Leave a Comment  

Wordless Wednesday — Waiting

 On Wednesday’s pause to share a picture from your heart…

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

A quiet spot waiting for friendship and a cup of coffee…

linking up with Wordless Wednesday

Published in: on October 19, 2011 at 2:06 pm  Comments (2)  
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Quilt Show Day Trip

One activity I really enjoy is going to a quilt show. Saturday, October 15, Mary and I set off on a day trip to the Pacific International Quilt Festival XX, one of the largest quilt shows on the west coast, displayed at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

We had breakfast on the way out of town, taking our time with no time pressure. The only way to go on a day trip. As I drove, we chatted and listened to an audio book, stopping the book often to chat some more.

Quilt construction techniques and styles have changed alot since I first started attending about 35 years ago.  Then most of the quilts were traditional patterns, with hand applique, and machine quilting was just started. Now a delightful mixture of traditional patterns, artsy designs, landscapes, some making political statements or supporting causes, i.e. breast cancer. Most of the quilts were machine quilted by long arm quilting machines or home sewing machines, few were hand quilted.

I prefer traditional patterns with a twist, something extra to add interest.  I look for color combinations that show thought and daring, just a little zing.

Mary and I liked A Quilter’s Dream wares. These two quilt patterns caught our eyes. The designs are simple, (reproduction would be easy) and the color placement makes the quilt.

This quilt on left is a simple design; one six inch block is made with another the reverse color placement. The color was very pleasing, the picture colors are not true to the original.

This quilt was very interesting, with the shadow effect.  The pattern looked more complex than it really was, again the color is off in the picture. The original was very striking.

Mary bought a pattern and fabric for a tote bag from this vender. The bag patterns were really neat. We’re glad we got the web site. It will be a place to visit as funds allow.

We walked for about 3 hours and only saw about a third of the quilts and vendors. Our eyes got full and our feet got tired.

Loving traditional sampler quilts with zing, this quilt was my favorite.

I think it is delightful mixture of traditional quilt patterns, unusual setting and beautiful applique accents. I wish the colors were true in this picture. Think wagon trains crossing the Midwest on the way to California.

The label pinned next to the quilt.  No ribbon was awarded, but it is a winner in my eyes.

Mary took more pictures,  I think I’ll borrow them for a later post.

We left Santa Clara and headed to Half Moon Bay, CA, a favorite area for ocean watching. We ran into stop and go traffic on the two lane road about 5 miles from the town.  Then we saw a sign “Pumpkin Festival, October 15-16”.  Bad Sign. This small town was over run with people walking, people on bicycles and people in cars. We drove around a little while, being stopped most of the driving time, then headed north.  We ate supper at a little road side fish restaurant on a man made boat cove, (I don’t remember the name).  We recommend the crab sandwich. The sun went down during dinner.

Since the ocean doesn’t have  flood lights, I drove home uneventfully, watching a harvest moon climb high in the sky.

Come the first weekend in November, I’ll be ready to visit the quilt show sponsored by the Pioneer Quilt Guild, Rocklin, CA.

Published in: on October 17, 2011 at 12:15 am  Leave a Comment  

Asters and Goldenrod

As the days of autumn march one after the other, I ‘ve been watching my asters and goldenrod from my chair.

My goldenrod is fading away

The lands are lit with all the autumn blaze of golden-rod, and everywhere the purple asters nod and bend and wave and flit. ~  Helen Hunt

My asters’ days of flitting are almost gone.

They will come back next spring to start their song again.

  While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.   Genesis 8:22

Linking up with On my Mind on Friday.

Published in: on October 14, 2011 at 11:25 pm  Leave a Comment  

The Cat Who Came to Stay

Emily moved and her cats came to stay. This is Grissabella, named after one of the cats in the musical CATS.  When I say Grissabella, or Griss for short, I see it spelled, Grizz, so if you see her name spelled that way, it is still the same cat. Grizz’ partner came too, but ran off before we could get him acclimated, I’m hoping to see him around.  Good luck, Busterford Jones aka Buster, whose name also came from CATS.

As you can see Grizz is settling in very well. Baskets make the best beds.

Just don’t disturb, or you’ll get the evil eye!

Published in: on October 13, 2011 at 10:09 am  Leave a Comment  

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday, a brief look at gifts from God.

View from my Chair September 17, 2011 at 7:13am.

linking up with Wordless Wednesday

Published in: on October 12, 2011 at 11:41 am  Comments (2)  

Open Letter to the New Owner

One day I drove by this house, and everything I saw caught my attention. The house was empty. If a house is empty, I take advantage of the freedom to snoop. I looked in every window I could. What I saw was the fulfillment of a dream I didn’t know I had. I didn’t know I loved hardwood floors, river rock fireplaces with bookend bookshelves, sky lights and windows, Oh, I loved the windows. I loved the craftsman style and colors.

Later when I told the Farmer (who was then the Welder) about the House, I said, “It is everything we would want, but I know we can’t afford it. Please just come and look at it.” So we did. As we walked through the house marveling over the features we loved, we knew we could do this or this for the Lord here.
The Welder said, “Let’s try to buy it.” Fifteen days after we looked at the house on Lincoln Avenue we were signing papers to purchase the home.

I always wanted daffodils. Now I had daffodils.

As you walk through this door, I want to tell you a little about it. This House is a treasure box  filled with love and laughter, children and grandchildren, health and healing, sickness and sadness, singing and praying.

This House has been a house of parties, guests numbering from just a few to over 100. Emily’s never to be forgotten 12th birthday party held less than a month after we moved in.  Alex’s first birthday party was held on the newly finished 1ooo square foot deck. His grandparents and uncle from Hawaii came to celebrate with us. I can’t number the times after church,  “Come,  Bring your own snacks.” My father’s 70th birthday party as  he was entering into Alzheimer’s grip. Monthly family night get-to-gathers  full of good food, laughter, singing, games, birthdays, children, anniversaries, stories, thankfuls, and prayer.   The Crain Thanksgiving, 3 day event, often with 40-60 relatives and friends sharing much love and laughter. Ladies with their handwork and Gentlemen with their laptops.  Young People’s Class parties in October initiating the new members.  We even hosted a wedding!

This House was always seen in our eyes as belonging to God. We were the overseers. The House has been a refuge for family and friends who needed a home, or a time of care, or a place to stay between now and later. Some stayed for a few days, some for months. The House just seemed to expand and adapt and accept all that came through the door.

The door that was always open and the house always welcoming.

You would have had to see the gardens to believe them.

You would have had to taste the veggies to appreciate the freshness.

You had to be here to see how grandchildren and their fathers played.Our chicken pen

In 2010, we lost our business, we lost our home, but we did not lose our memories.  We did not lose our faith. We have not been forsaken or left alone. Our God didn’t need this house anymore, so it was time for us to move on. This was God’s plan. We haven’t understood all that has happened or why. We have trusted anyway, even in the shadows and darkness of sorrow and grief.

So today, I wiped down counters, picked up remnants of livingand put into the trash the leftovers of sorting. I vacuumed and mopped the hardwood one last time. (Use Pledge for hard wood floors, it gives the floor a beautiful satin glow) I remembered so many good times, hard times, and precious times of loving family and serving God.

Today I said good bye and walked out the door, and thanked God with my whole heart for the privilege of living and loving in the house He provided for us all to enjoy.

Dear new owner, if you will pause and listen carefully, you’ll hear whispers of love, children’s giggles, running feet, crackling fires, music loud, sometimes raised voices, questions, sighs, sobs…because real people have lived in this house.

I only ask: bring love and joy to this house, and this house will love you so much.

Published in: on October 11, 2011 at 12:09 am  Comments (6)  

Up From a Root

I love these beautiful yellow flowers whose common name is wild sunflowers.  The Farmer’s mother gave me my first start several years ago.  From just a couple roots the patch grew to be about 6′ by 4′.  The plants die back every winter and then all year they grow and grow. Just when the garden slows down and the roses are in their final bloom, these bright yellow flowers burst out all up and down the stems of the plants.

I dug up roots this spring from the Lincoln property and the Farmer planted them along the back side of the barn. I see this barn from my chair in the trailer.

I’ve watched them sprout and grow and grow and grow!

The bottom of the stems get rather ragged and the leaves die because so much energy is going into growing higher and higher.

I think they are trying to get as close to the sun and they can.

When I went to take pictures, the blossoms were covered with little butterflies swaying in the breeze drinking the sweetness found in in these pieces of sunshine.

Fall is my favorite season. Wild sunflowers are one of the reasons.

Published in: on October 8, 2011 at 4:45 pm  Leave a Comment