Good, Simple Food...Served at Home, Made with a Smile

Coming home at day's end, I check the mailbox and trudge down the sidewalk, kissing my fingers at the new crocus budding bravely beside a pile of snow. Unlocking the door, I absorb the silence inside and tiptoe in, as though intruding on ghostly shadows that recede before my steps. Sunlit fingers walk over the quiet plants in the solarium and warm the worn floorboards that creak under my feet. Nudging the back door open, I lean against the doorjam and breathe in the scent of warmth and sun and distant hazy mountains.

I never know exactly how long I'm there, absorbing the Comforter's presence. Finally, though, a naughty sprite nudges my elbow, breaking my reverie. You'd better get crackin' on dinner, girl. it says. The rude thing. So, snapping to energetic life, I bustle into the kitchen armed with my laptop. Now, you may laugh all you want, but this is my most important kitchen implement. Not, as you may suppose, for recipes. Not, as you may suppose again, for feverish social networking. Nay. I crave music all day and cannot have it, so I must while preparing dinner. Beginning my favorite playlist, I ply my skill with spatula and knife all the more merrily. Sometimes, when my favorite song shimmers through the air, I begin dancing round the woodstove, through the living room, into the bedrooms and back to the kitchen, with a stalk of celery in one hand and a pot holder in the other. Stubbing my toe dampens things a bit and returns me contrite to my task.

What am I making??? Perhaps something like the following recipe. Let me know if you like it.

Something or Others

-Gather

• Thawed Phyllo Sheets
• 1 lb. ground meat of your choice
• 1/2 stick Butter, melted
• Flour
• Cheese (your choice)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Oil
• Milk
• Sour Cream

Cook your meat and season as you like it. Garlic and onion go well with just about anything, in my opinion.

Spread two sheets of phyllo on a large baking sheet and brush liberally with melted butter. You can add the grease from cooking the meat to your cup of butter as well. Add another two sheets and repeat.

Spoon half the meat onto the phyllo and position thin slices of cheese on top. Delicately fold the phyllo over the meat and brush the pocket with butter. You can then sprinkle with salt or pepper or put extra cheese on top.

Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake until pockets are brown and glowing. Each serves approximately one person.

Meanwhile, add a bit of oil and flour to the meat fragments in the skillet and brown the roux to a decent tan. Add milk to thin and a spoonful of sour cream and reduce to your desired thickness. Flavor with salt and pepper to taste.

-Variations

• French: Beef, Montreal steak spice mixture, and swiss cheese
• Mexican: Beef or pork, cumin, red or green chili, paprika, red pepper, cheddar cheese. Served with guacamole, lettuce, and diced tomatos.
• Italian: Turkey or sausage, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Serve with artichoke hearts.

I think there are a gazillion more variations on Something or Others. Got any? Drop me a line.

Cheers!

Piggy Bank Portfolio: Diaper Daze

Well, it's definitely been longer than a month's time since last I posted a money saving tip. Soooooooooooo, here it is.

Baby in the cradle or on the way?

Cloth diapering saves oodles of money and eliminates harmful chemicals. Its drawback is lower convenience and higher outset cost. Dear mommy, if you have opted for cloth diapers, you are an original heroine!

As soon as you decide to ditch disposables, spread the word. Family and friends can help load you up with cloth diapers and do-dads. Some fortunate moms have even been given months of diaper service as a shower gift. (One can always dream, right?)

Hit commercial laundering services or diaper services with a phone call. Sometimes, they'll allow customers to purchase reusables by the pound.

The following are some links to disposable diaper purveyors:

Amazing Amazon
Kelly's Closet
Birth to Potty Current $269.95 special on 66 piece kit that will take a baby from birth to potty training.

Take Heart



"I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

 

~Philippian 1:6

 

Take heart, you mourning soul

Sorrow shattering your light

Oh, what, what can I say to make you whole?

Come sit on this hill and watch the coming night 

 

See the stars? They are a bridge

Between your heart and God’s

And those who bravely tread the ridge

Of this earthly measuring rod 

Dear heart, look to the fields

Washing to the glowing canvas

Yet, no pain is too small to be healed

By the Great Physician at last 

We sit upon a giant land

And feel as small

As a grain of silent sand

Lost in the ocean’s thrall 

But didn’t you know? You are

A pearl in the making…

Precious as a far off star

Wholeness woven from your breaking

Extreme Faith

I was nine or so when my Mom first told me the story of a young Jewish girl. She was about my age when the Nazis came and dragged her family away to a brutal concentration camp. Within weeks her family had perished, their smoke curling gray from the prison stacks. Somehow, one day, she found her way to a hole in the mighty, concertina covered wall, and faded through it like a ghostly shadow when the officers weren’t looking. She stumbled across a cave some miles away and crept gratefully into its blackness. Who knows what happened after that? Maybe the rains caused a landslide that buried the cave mouth. Or perhaps, she backed further and further in, terrified eyes fixed on the light until it grew too small to be seen. Then her hands could not feel their way back out.

 

Whatever the case, someone stumbled on that cave long after the Liberation. They found two things: one was the fragile skeleton of a child. The other was etched on the opposite wall, “My God, you are my all in all…”

 

What if God held out His hands and asked you to give up everything? If serving Him meant that you would live without light, love, happiness, and security. If it meant suffering day by day, never to marry, find friendship, or enjoy security: in short, to give up on all that humanity values, what would you say? How far will you take your faith?

 

“If any man comes after me, He must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow me.” God has called to to absorb ourselves in Him, burning our will as a sacrifice before Him. No personal goal shall supersede Him in our thoughts or activities. God loves us more than we can imagine and will not willingly cause us to suffer, but someday, He may allow persecution, physical suffering, and such relational tumult as may never be resolved in this life. We will have waived the right to even ask ‘why’.

 

Now is the time to evaluate our priorities. Are we holding tightly to a possession, relationship, or career? If so, we will resist God when He removes it from our grasp, instead of responding with trust and poise. When you lay down their last dream to follow hard after God, you might break. It’s like dying. Then, you will feel the breath of God like you never have before. Suddenly, He will be your all in all. Neither riches nor poverty will be able to move you.

 

So if God takes our dearest desires, and even the basic elements that seem to be unalienable human rights, if He beckons us into a labyrinthine cave, never again to see the light of day, will the skeleton of our will be found to testify, “You are all in all…”?

 

Note: I have researched the story in this article and cannot easily locate evidence to back it, so I make no claims regarding its authenticity. However, its effect is certainly a poignant one.

The Last Hope

Shattered, his eyes, molten butterflies
Wings stilled, on the waning bloom
One flicking flame in the ‘croaching gloom
And the sun fallen from the skies

 

Comrades’ shadows stained with red

Surround him where he stood

Where victory and life had fled

In the fields stained with blood

Why would death spare one man
While better warriors fell?
Never forget…only from ashes can
The golden Phoenix swell

So as the lonely soldier there stood
Final guard in the battle for good
And the evil vanguard crossing the ford
His eyes flickered alive as he raised his broken sword

 

From "On the Ship of Dreams" by Hannah Terrell

If

 

By Rudyard Kipling

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you
If all men count with you, but none too much
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty second’ worth of distance run
Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!"

Introducing...Piggybank Portfolio

While politicians are busy plunging into the fiscal abyss, the average Joe (not to mention Jane), is discovering new ways to pinch the penny so tightly as to flatten Honest Abe. In honor of this praiseworthy endeavor, this blog is introducing - drum roll please - Piggybank Portfolio, a monthly post containing nutritional tips for the malnourished wallet.

For the month of January, having worn out the almighty dollar on turkey and cranberry sauce, chefs and moms may have sticker shock when it comes to store-bought cooking oil spray.

But wait!

Snag a half-gallon of veggie oil on sale price. Mix 5 oz. of oil with a grain alcohol (such as vodka, if you don't mind having it around the house for cooking-only purposes.) Give the mixture a shake and decant into a spray bottle. Same ol' Pam for approximately .50 a pop.

A penny for your thoughts. Drop me a line and maybe I'll put your frugality wisdom into the Piggybank Portfolio!

Some of these ideas are mine, some are time-honored money saving schemes. Some I heard, but couldn't tell from what source, for the life of me.

Tears





How can I smiling fly
Into eyes shattered
And keep my heart dry,
Where your tears
Should nestle here
And find rest from fear?

How can I, singing, sight
Your waning heartlight
Yet glide on like a careless kite
When my shoulders
Bowed beneath your boulder,
Should be your upholder?

How can I curiously touch
The mournful diamonds on your face
And shake them off with no such
Tenderness as treasures them in God’s vase?

When comes the dawn
Like blushing bride
Of time un-terrified
Sorrow will be gone

But until night is washed away
From day’s own shore
Awake, my heart…this throbbing, aching fray,
Your brother’s pain; take as yours…

The Nose Stroke and Other Infant Drowsiness Techniques

Sometimes it’s easy to get a baby to sleep. Sometimes it’s not. Once I cared for a 3 month old who had vaccinations and started teething all in one week. He wasn’t a happy camper.

After a day or two of this, I settled on a routine that seems to settle every baby I’ve cared for. The Nose Stroke is a particularly magical technique, and is widely known and followed by baby care professionals and mommies.

The First Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is rapid responsiveness to cries. In some cases, letting the baby cry is a necessary part of sleep training, but for young infants 0-8 months, catching them early de-escalates what could otherwise turn into a prolonged wailing session. When baby’s eyebrows pinch together and its face turns into a little red prune, jump into action and practice the Diaper, Hunger, Gas, Contact routine. If baby is dry, fed, deflated, and cuddled, catch its attention with a rattle, mobile, or wiggling fingers. Keep doing this every time it starts to cry. Encourage it with soft phrases whenever it’s quiet, even for an instant.

The Second Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is comfort and warmth. Most babies with a milky tummy will get drowsy if someone holds them close in their favorite position, ideally in a very warm, dark room. Once I see a yawn or two and drooping eyes, I quickly transition them to their sleeping location.

The Third Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is to lay baby down correctly. Dumping a fussy baby in a crib with a blanket usually won’t cut it. For young babies, skillful swaddling provides security and lessens startling. Mats with built in pillows cradle the baby’s head and add stability. Stability mats can be replaced with a rolled blanket placed on one side of the baby (usually an infant has a specific side it rolls onto most). Another rolled blanket beneath its legs will provide more support if it tends to kick a lot. Bouncy seats with a vibrate feature are really wonderful too.  After getting baby to sleep in one of those seats, a super adept baby handler can usually transfer the infant to a cradle or crib.

The Fourth Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is white noise. This needs to be a somewhat harsh, medium volume sound so that it mimics the noise a baby hears in the womb. A loud gurgling ocean or wind sound is pretty effective. For less technologically advanced situations, singing also works.

The Fifth Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is my favorite. Rub some baby powder on your pointer finger to reduce friction and gently stroke between the baby’s eyebrows. Let your fingers pass over its eyes without touching them. At first, some babies don’t like this, but gradually their eyes will close and eventually stay closed. Often a baby will transition directly from complete alertness to a deep sleep within two minutes when I play my cards correctly! Even when the baby is crying and its brows are crammed together; rubbing that spot will calm the baby by releasing a lot of tension.

There you have it. An expanded statement of my favorite sleepiness techniques. Did it put you to sleep?

Got some favorite tips and techniques to add? Please drop me a line. I can use all the help I can get!

Agere Vitam!

Life is an amazing miracle, isn’t it? Sometimes, I forget that no matter how hard some days can be, God gave this life to me as a gift. Lately, I’ve been learning that every complaint I make about something that frustrated me or a person that’s reeeaaally been trying my patience, is a slap in God’s face. Right now I’m thinking about all the blessings that are a part of my life.

I have a family. Ok, that sounds corny and obvious, but so many people and children around the world either have no living relatives or no supportive nuclear family. In my family, I find support and encouragement, and learn things that will make me a better person. I don’t need to travel far to find opportunities to serve either. Many chances are right here, existing in the people that have known me since my first cry. If I can’t effectively serve and support my parents and sister, how can I expect to be a great wife, mother, or servant of God?

Friends have been such a blessing. Especially one young lady whom I have known for over 5 years. Last year, I got to help with her lovely wedding to a great guy, and this year, I’m will soon get to meet her very first little girl! She’s been supportive and encouraging, and has exhorted me to grow in Christ. We’ve cried together, laughed together, and worked through some conflicts too. Our enduring friendship gives me hope!

This morning, at about 6:30 a.m., I went out to say hi to my puppy, Kirby. We’ve relocated her from the porch into a large enclosed run, so she’s been missing me. You should have seen her face! She stood up on her hind legs, tail and bottom wiggling frantically, and her front paws were reaching for me. What a blessing to have a sweet little dog with boundless energy!

Even though I haven’t found a way to do college yet, God has supplied many learning opportunities and chances to serve. So maybe I’ll never get my B.A. in early childhood development or Accounting, but through life experience, God is building me for a purpose. Though, I do feel envious sometimes that so many my age are getting the knowledge and job opportunities that go with college, this is one of those areas where I’m just going to do my best and let God decide the outcome. This chance to trust and submit myself to His will is a blessing in disguise.

I get to teach at a preschool. Everyday I hold a newborn baby or read the Bible with another 4 year old, I thank God for the gift of life, which every day is growing and being shaped in the hearts and minds of these kids.

Thank you so much for reading this post. It probably wasn't amazingly informative, but writing about my blessings really helps me keep my eyes peeled for more!

HSLDA | Newborn Seized in Hospital by Police, Social Worker

Picture this.

You are about to become a new mom. The nursery is decorated; the bottles, burp cloths, and strollers are ready for action. Then, you go into labor and bring your baby into the world in an ambulance en route to the hospital.

Guess what comes next. Coos, snapshots, and deciding which parent the baby most resembles? Nope. That's too old fashioned. Are you ready to watch child protective services invade your hospital room and snatch your child from your arms. Prepared to undergo accusations and interrogation?

This picture became reality for Scott and Jodi Ferris. Read their story here. HSLDA | Newborn Seized in Hospital by Police, Social Worker


The U.S. government continues to turn from its family centered roots. For those with a heart for a Godly home, there is perhaps no greater priority at present than to make our voices heard on situations such as the one told of in this article. 


Remember, all it takes for evil to triumph is for 'good men' to do nothing.

Across the World: A House Divided

Only one year ago this July, South Sudan declared independence from Sudan, ending a 22 year long civil war. Now, the drums of war are returning to the infant nation. According to BBC News, Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir described the Sudan People's Liberation Movement as "'Insects' that need to be eliminated."  This despite South Sudan's President Kiir's pleas to sidestep another war. President Kiir told Franklin Graham in recent talks that South Sudan does not want conflict. That he does not want Sudan's young men, including his own sons, thrust into a bloody conflict. According to Graham, innumerable innocents will suffer if President al-Bashir has his way.

Conditions are especially grim in the Nuba mountains where The New York Times say civilians are being targeted by the Sudanese Air Force and ground forces who attack poorly defended villages with Antonov bombers and tanks. Because Sudan’s government has forbidden aid workers and journalists from entering the country, South Sudan has essentially been severed from help. Many are dying, and even more are suffering.

“What can be done to help?”
 

Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse encourages Christians to make their voice heard. “I urge you to add your voice to mine by contacting the White House, your senators, and your representatives.” Graham said. “Express your outrage over what is happening in the Sudan. Tell them to at to halt President Bashir’s campaign of violence, and to establish a humanitarian corridor in the Nuba Mountains.”

Those interested can call the White House at 202-456-1414 or email them at www.whitehouse.gov/contact

U.S Senate: www.senate.gov

The U.S. House of Representatives: www.house.gov

The Wind Harp

“Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.” 

-Clive Barker

Imagine feeling like a little kid again. Like when you'd wake up on Saturday morning and the sunshine would be flowing through the windows like a hug? Everything had a deeper meaning back then, and that meaning was beautiful.

I want that for me. I want that for you.

Some people say that life will really take it out of you. "It" being zest, passion, or joy. Flip that statement around and I think we have a more factual presentation of disillusionment. What if people take all the joy out of life?

God created life, and He called it good. Sure, sin has really messed things up, but we can't let sin obscure the poetry resident in life, put there by God. Consider that Jesus Christ valued life so greatly, that he died to supply it to us.

Do you want to relish life and create habits of joy and gratitude? If yes, I invite you to join me and my readers in a 30 day effort.

I've decided to call it the Wind Harp Challenge. The wind harp is a Celtic legend about a few mortals with hearts sensitive enough to hear music even in the wind. They're the ones who will suddenly stop and lift their head to the sky as though they can hear something that no one else can.

Their attendance to God’s still small voice is so keen that it keeps them going, even past the point when hope has withered and pressing on seems impossible. Many of us have lost this ability by paying too much heed to anxiety, fear, or pain. I don't think disillusionment is the issue. Illusions about the pointlessness of life numb our hearts.
 

What is your wind harp? Draw a picture in your mind of a favorite haunt, a precious memory, or a snatch of music. Call it to mind whenever numbness starts taking control.
 

My favorite wind harp is Scripture. God’s word is a two-edged sword, slicing away the cobwebs that inhibit joy. Choose a verse that never fails to recall you to life and keep it firmly installed in your heart and mind.
 

One picture I call to mind is the loveliest domestic scene. A sunlit, green field on a summery late afternoon, just as thoughts turn to evening. The trees are still and the day has that shimmery feel that sends a shiver through me. I’m running barefoot, the breeze kissing my hair, and all around me are children. Their happy, happy voices must bring a smile to God himself. We’re all going home to our little white cottage to have supper while sunbeams and the smell of lilacs waft through the open windows.
 

God meant us to take joy in the wonder of life. Life is a good thing. Will you join me in my effort and spread the word?

Comment Clear Up

A few people have informed me that the comment feature on this blog hasn't been working. Thanks to them, I dare to think I might have cleared up the issue. So, if you're interested please give it a whirl.
~Thnk :)

A Dressed-Up Dog

“Whaaaa-Wheeee-Ahhhhh-ah-ah-ah-ah.”

“No, Kirby.”

“Squeeeee-Ahhhhh-Grrrroowll-Bufffff.”

“Noooooo, Kirby.”

It is 12:30 a.m., dark as, well, midnight, and I want to be asleep. Kirby, my puppy, kenneled right beside my bed disagrees. She thinks this is the time when all good dogs wake up and ensure that their unfortunate owners, not to mention the neighbors, need a strong dose of Tylenol by morning.

To do her justice, she got spayed yesterday, and to do myself justice, I’m being a worry wart. “Gasp! What’s that sound! (On flicks the flashlight) “No, Kirby. No lickie! Your incision will heal just great without your help.”

Incidentally, the vet didn’t send a cone of shame home with her, so in its stead, she is sporting a very fashionable t-shirt, nicely accessorized with duck tape. (Reference pic below)

Struggling out of bed, it’s into my boots and off into the great, icy outdoors, where the wind chill is keeping the mercury comfortably below -229 L. (Just kidding) Thanks to the extra clothing, Kirby feels great, thank you. Just as I resign myself to a fate as a Smithsonian ice cube display, she decides it’s a great time to practice her guard dog skills. Have you ever been outside at night, in a rural area, trying not to remember all the stories about lurking coyotes and rabid mountain lions? Then your dog starts peering off into the blackness, her hackles rising. A threatening growl bubbles forth and finally a deep, somber, “Buffffff, bufffff.” at some invisible terror.

We were back inside in a military minute, and I checked the deadbolt more than once. Finally, we pad back to bed, her looking like a baggy-shirted gangster minus the reversed cap., me looking about as dopey as herself.

I pull up the covers and snuggle in. Mmmmm. G’night.

An hour later, I’m dreaming about jumping off stair wells six flights up in a spy chase, when a small dog fitting Kirby’s description starts nipping at my heels.

“Awaaaahhh-eeeeeh”

I jolt awake. There is a dog nipping at my toes. This time, the culprit is Okey, our male dog, who also got neutered. He’s sleeping on a towel outside his kennel tonight, and it would seem he wants cognizant company in his misery.

Alas for sleep.

Intentional Resolutions

Welcome to a new year! I'm not the kind of person that makes a lot of new year's resolutions. In fact, my last resolution was to make no more. ;) Still, the beginning of a year is a good time for me to look back, cry over all my mistakes, and take stock of how to grow spiritually and improve my walk with God.

There are a few intentions I am working towards this year. The most important of these is my desire to attend carefully to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If I'm talking and suddenly sense that for some reason my words are not God-honoring, I want to immediately obey by shutting my mouth. I want to be as easily moved by God as a feather in the wind, yet remain steadfast against any other impetus.

Secondly, I want to be as easy to please as a small child, delighting in the tiniest joy that showers from God's hands. This will carry me through when my desires and hopes seem to pass unseen and my life appears as barren as rain on a lonely grey cliff.

I've got other pseudo-resolutions budding in my soul, but that's all I've got time for right now.

May I ask, what are your aims for this year. How do you plan to get there?