Sabbath Keeping

"Train up a child in the way he should go

and when he is old 

he will not depart from it."

~ Proverbs 22-6 ~

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while."
~ Josh Billings ~
"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate." ~ unknown ~
"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." ~ John W. Whitehead ~

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." 

~ Henry Ward Beecher ~ 

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." 
~ Emma Goldman ~
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
~ Nelson Mandela ~
"Why is it that a child's death amounts to a tragedy, but the death of millions is merely a statistic?"
~ Patrick McDonald ~

"If I could relive my life, 

I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!"

~ D. L. Moody ~ 

"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed."
~ Frank Buchman ~
"You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable."
~ Diana, Princess of Wales ~
"There's more to doing good than hating evil." ~ unknown ~

"The country clubs, the cars, the boats,

Your assets may be ample,

But the best inheritance

You can leave your kids

Is to be a good example."

~ Barry Spilchuk ~

"If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." ~ Abigail Van Buren ~
"Your children will become what you are, so be what you want them to be." ~ David Bly ~
"Do not handicap your children by making their lives easier." ~ Robert A. Heinlein ~
"The most important thing that parents can teah their children is how to get along without them."
 ~ Frank A. Clark ~
"It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings." ~ Ann Landers ~

"A baby will make love stronger, 

days shorter, 

nights longer, 

bankroll smaller, 

home happier, 

clothes shabbier, 

the past forgotten, 

and the future worth living for."

~ unknown ~ 

"What's done to children, they will do to society." ~ Karl Menninger ~
"I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." ~ Harry S. Truman ~
"To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today." ~ unknown ~
"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." ~ The Talmud ~
"Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation." ~ C. Everett Koop ~

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us 

that we should be called the children of God."

~ I John 3:1 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Joshua ~ Emily ~ silent requests ~ Sandra ~ 

Let's Talk...

Patrice, Everyday Ruralty, is hosting Chats on the Farmhouse Porch #113...I don't know how she does it week after week, monthly after month, but here are this week's questions and my answers.

1. Ar you doing any crafts or DIY projects now? - Yes, I'm knitting hats, mostly for children and for the hunters in the valley. Most of the hunters are also farm labor and I like to make sure they have blaze orange atop their heads. A lot of my hats are blaze orange with little green stems...iow, pumpkins! Like in the photo above.

2. If I could snap my fingers, I'd make ____ for dinner. - I adore seafood but only have it once or twice a year. I'd love to have shrimp scampi with rice pilaf, nice Caesar salad and creme brulee for dessert followed by a tot of B and B.

3. What author would you like to have lunch with? - Esther, of the Old Testament, comes to mind as does Rosamund Pilcher. Mrs. Pilcher was graduated from the Harvard Business School as well as University of Cambridge before she began writing fiction. 

4. I wanted to tell all of you folks at chats ___________ - like Patrice, I really enjoy visiting with participants and seeing their responses. A lot of times, I meet new bloggers and have thoroughly enjoyed making new blog friends.

5. ___________ has been on my mind a lot lately. - The unbelievable way our veterans are being treated; the unbelievable way the government has shut down memorials, businesses, and anyone else who stands in the way of the petulant, pissy, pompous person residing in OUR house.  Nixon was impeached for a LOT less; what's it going to take with this clown?

Blessings ~ Patrice ~ interesting questions ~ Benedictine and Brandy ~ shrimp scampi ~ creme brulee ~ Caesar salad ~ rice pilaf ~ Rosamund Pilcher ~ knitted hats ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

~ Sam P. Spade, Secret Agent...he can keep a secret ~

"Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; 

it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!"

~ Proverbs 15:23 ~

"Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space lies our power and freedom to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness." 
~ Victor Frankl ~
"I don't want to be married just to be married. I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can't talk to, or worse, someone I can't be silent with."  ~ Mary Ann Shaffer ~ 

"I love to talk about nothing. 

It's the only thing I know anything about." 

~ Oscar Wilde ~

"I am a master of logic and a powerfully convincing debater. In fact, against my better judgement, I can talk myself out of doing anything." ~ Jarod Kintz ~
"Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine."  ~ Fran Lebowitz ~
"Talk, talk, talk: the utter and heartbreaking stupidity of words." ~ William Faulkner ~

"Verbal hemophilia. 

Why can't I clot?"

~ Scott Mebus ~

"The real pacificus is he who promotes peace, not he who gasses about it." 
~ C. S. Lewis ~

"They never taste who always drink;

They always talk who never think."

~ Sandra Pierson Prior ~

"Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking."  ~ Bernard M. Baruch ~

"The word 'listen' contain the same letters as the word 'silent'". 

~ Alfred Brendel ~

"There is so much good in the worst of us, 

and so much bad in the best of us,

that it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us." 

~ G. W. Cooke ~

"When you have nothing to say, say nothing." ~ Charles Caleb Colton ~

"Live your truth.Express your love.

Share your enthusiasm.

Take actions towards your dreams.

Walk your talk.

Dance and sing to your music. 

Embrace your blessings.

Make today worth remembering.

~ Steve Maraboli ~

"I mean talk. Never forget that God is your friend. And like all friends, He longs to hear what's been happening in your life. Good or bad, whether it's been full of sorrow or anger, and even when you're questioning why terrible things have to happen. 
So I talk with him."  ~ Nicolas Sparks ~

"Let your conversation be gracious and attractive 

so that you will have the right response for everyone.

~ Colossians 4:6 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Max ~ Timi and family ~ Kurt ~ Kathleen ~ Royce ~ Sandra ~ 

Read at Your Own Risk

I'm feeling quite irascible so read at your own risk and with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I had a business meeting today and it was a great learning experience. I learned a lot about the coal industry and how the current administration and other nut jobs Al Gore have been riding a dead horse re. the environment. I mean, who can blame Al, right? He's come from a paltry $1.7 million to a net worth around $200 million; apparently dirty environment pays veddy, veddy well and he's hot on the heels of Romney, wealth wise. About $100 million of Al's money is coal money so there's a connection, the only connection, between Al and me. Thankfully.

Do you know the earth has gone through several ice ages? Do you know we're in the midst of an ice age now? Simplified, that means the earth cools, the earth warms, the earth cools, the earth warms. According to this site, we're had 5 ice ages so it rather puts that whole environmental fright in an entirely new light, eh? Like Dave always said, "Where you stand depends on where you sit."

One more thing about today's meeting...I met a delightful woman, much older than I, who opened her heart to me when she overheard me telling someone Dave died. She reached across the table, took my hands in hers and wept with me. How unbelievable to meet someone that enormously real; who knows what being a widow is like and did not hesitate to give her heart to another woman in pain. She gave me council...told me life would get better and not just go on. She said, "...don't discount meeting someone else and re-marrying because to have loved someone as much as you loved your husband, means you have a lot of love to give." Then she said, "Be sure and get a pre-nup because some "fxxxxxx" would take you for all you're worth." I about fell off my chair and almost got whiplash from the eye blinks I was doing! I'm telling you, it was hilarious; this beautiful, and beautifully coiffed, older woman using such language and she never blinked an eye. Too funny!

By my own admission, I usually leave the farm only when I have to leave the farm. I mean, would you leave the above view for sidewalks, street lights, people and traffic? I'm also not crazy about J. Q. Public...s/he tends to annoy me and it's not good to annoy me. It makes both our lives poorer for the experience. Anyway, for the past "while", every time I go into a store, upon exiting, they ask for money. "Would you like to donate $1 to xxxxx today?" "Actually, no, I would not. I have places to which I give charitable donations and your charity is not on my list." No, of course that's not what I say, but it's what I think. What I say is, "Not today, thanks." One day I counted it up...if I would have given a dollar every time I was asked, that would have been $9 that day alone. Is it the money? Yes, actually it is the money. It's also because I like to research charities and see how much they use for salaries, administration, publicity, asking for money, housing, utilities, etc.

Yes, it is my right to make a judgement call because it's my money. I try to be a good steward and sometimes that means saying No. A wise person said, the only people who don't pay attention to their money are the people who have no money to give their attention.

Christmas is coming, less than three months, so there are a few places to check when money requests appear. Charity Navigator and Charity Watch are two places to check and always remember, it's your  money so it's perfectly all right to make a judgement. Actually, it's expected you make wise decisions regarding your money. It's part of the responsibility of giving money, making wise decisions.

Since Dave died, it seems the vast majority of people who contact me want something. I'm sure they feel they all have good reasons for wanting me to do...or give...or donate...or, or...whatever but the answer is still no. Someone wanted to come tour the farm and I explained my husband died and the farm was closed to tourism. This person said, "So, is that permanent or what?" Did they mean Dave or the tours, I wonder?

Another person wanted to tour my home. I said, "No, it's not a good time for me". They said, "But...." and had a string of reasons why I should do what they wanted me to do and when I said "No, it's not happening"  this person began to bully me. I finally said, "NO" and hung up. Frankly, I don't have to give a reason...no is perfectly acceptable and, no, I really don't care what you think of me. Like I always told Dave, "I care enormously those opinions of people I respect; the others, not so much."

To the folks who make anonymous comments on my blog...go away. If you don't have the courage to stand behind your mouth...you're not allowed to comment. I'm tired of folks leaving comments when they disagree with what I write and leaving no way for me to respond, other than here. Hey YOU! News flash...it's not your blog but it is my rules. My new rule is...no anonymous comments. Those who are respectful, courteous dissenters are welcome but I've had it with rude people. GO AWAY or get some manners! You're not welcome here and you're not allowed to comment here. Capice?

Told you I was feeling irascible. grin

Blessings ~ Miz Sarah ~ charities of my choosing ~ the view from all my windows ~

Is Your Congress Rep a Hero or a Putz?

I'm fed up with this stupid government and the idiots who are playing fast and furious with WE THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. Yeah, it belongs to us and they are supposed to answer to us...those heinous people like Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Warren, Biden.

HEAR THIS...I am sick and tired of all of you and want you all to QUIT and GO HOME.
P.S. Leave the money. It doesn't belong to you and if you take it, you're a thief.

Congressional Representative Randy Forbes represents the 4th District of Virginia and has written the Chief Administrator of the House of Representatives to request that his salary be withheld. Further, he has cosponsored H.R. 3160, the Government Shutdown Fairness Act, which would withhold all Members of Congress' salaries until the impasse has ended. He also request that Congressional paychecks be reduced by the number of days the government is shut down.

Rep. Forbes has voted against Member pay increases and also introduced H.R. 284, the Congressional Accountability Pay (CAP) Act. This would make Congress members personally accountable for overspending and would tie their salaries to grown in government spending. IOW, the more the federal government spends, the less Congressional members earn.

WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Forbes has supported legislation that would require the President, the Vice President and all political appointees to join Congress and all staff in obtaining health insurance through health care exchanges and eliminate any employer contribution to health insurance purchases. No opt out!

Nonessential employees in Mr. Forbes' office have been furloughed but essential employees are on site to ensure constituents have a voice in the process. IOW, his phones are being answered and he's fighting for the people of Virginia's 4th District.

If you want to tell your "representative" you want him or her to support and vote for Mr. Forbes' house bills, click here. If you want to read more of Mr. Forbes' revolutionary ideas, click here.

So, is your representative in favor of reducing his or her salary? How about being a part of obamacare? In my book, Congressional Representative Forbes is a HERO. Which is yours...a hero or a putz?

Blessings ~ representatives with integrity ~ H.R. 3160 ~ H.R. 284 ~ Randy Forbes ~

Boring and Bummed Out

No problem admitting this...I am a boring woman. I tend to stay on the farm, doing things that need doing in order to (right now) put the farm and house to bed for the winter. Today was a good day, mostly, but I am so bummed out. More to come on that later; right now, I'm talking about Quikrete and the places in the limestone foundation that, over the years, have crumbled and fallen out. 

 I've never used Quikrete before so it's new to me but, hey, I bake so how hard can it be, right? -grin- Quikrete comes in 40 or 80 pound bags but, of course, the feed store only had 80 pound bags. Oh boy. I'm sure to regret this tomorrow, my shoulders and back are already getting tight and, around here, the only help I have are the dogs and they don't carry. The "recipe" calls for 80 pounds of Quikrete and 6 quarts of water but there was no way I could make up that much and use it before it hardened. So, I mixed it up, small amounts at a time so I could take a bit longer packing it into the foundation. I haven't a clue how much Quikrete I used nor how much water I used but I mixed it until it looked ready to use. 

Some of the places that needed mortar were huge and I cannot believe it's taken us me this long to figure out...duh...Quikrete! It's a fast acting concrete and it can be colored but not by me. Frankly, I think I'm brilliant for having gotten this far. snicker...

This was the largest place that needed patching and, I'm pretty sure a professional would say, "Um, not such a great job." Frankly, it looks great to me! It's already hardened and I'm hopeful it's going to last a long time. Or, until I sell the farm and move, which ever comes first. It should help with the heating bills this winter...hallelujah!

This side of the house is the side that gets the worst weather; it also had the most places to patch. There are a few more places, opposite side of the house, but it can wait until later this week.

 Donald, Mary's husband, came over Saturday and picked up my lawn mower to sharpen the blades and do some other stuff. Today, he came back, repaired lawn mower on his trailer and, while he was here, he put together my John Deere wagon. This wagon was a fabulous thrift store purchase and now, totally able to be used since Donald put it together. Yay, Donald!

I helped but not enough to brag about.

 Finished! Doesn't it look fabulous? It's heavy and, using the handlebar, can be either pushed or pulled, or attached to a hitched and towed behind my Polaris Ranger or JD lawn mower...suweeet! 

On Saturday, I bought this iron wood rack; paid a whooping $20 for it and think it'll hold a week to two weeks worth of wood. It's going to be so nice, having the wood up off the porch! Donald delivered it and we set it on the back porch. Now, to get it filled with wood so I'm ready for the first snow storm. 

 Now for the bummed part...the circle is where my dusk to dawn light used to be. For some reason, it stopped working so was removed and taken to Lowe's where they said, "Okay, we'll replace it." For the record, let me state how much I enjoy dealing with Lowe's. The staff is almost always helpful, generally knows what they're doing and, whenever I've had to return stuff, they work with me to a satisfactory end. Thanks, Lowe's!

Big, strong, handsome Lowe's man says he thinks the sensor button went out and was going to replace the button. Then, big, strong, handsome Lowe's mans' boss said, "Naw, let's just replace the whole thing." Yahooooo!

Today, I decided to put up the dusk to dawn light but, having never messed with electricity...too frightened...I made a basic mistake. I didn't throw the break box so when I touched the black wire...shivver me timbers! It lit up my little world. Fortunately, it was a little light up so I didn't fall, nor jump, off the ladder. Thank You, God.

I turned off the breaker, connected all the wires...white to white, black to black, ground to ground and screwed the light to the building. I sat on the back porch until dusk, waiting for that dang light to come on but nooooooooo. Didn't happen. I want to cry. It's still dark, the light isn't working and tomorrow, I'm going to try again. Hopefully, it'll be something simple, like a crimped wire. If not, I haven't a clue what I'm going to do. I'm boring and bummed out. Totally.

Blessings ~ didn't get my hair curled when not turning off the breaker ~ a new wood rack ~ a new wagon ~ Quikrete ~ holes plugged in the house limestone foundation ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:

except the Lord keep the city,

the watchman waketh in vain."

~ Psalm 127:1 ~

"Ask for no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away." ~ Henry de Bracton ~
"Security...it's simple the recognition that changes will take place and the knowledge that you're willing to deal with whatever happens." ~ Henry Browne ~ 
"Without a measureless and perpetual uncertainty, the drama of human life would be destroyed." ~ Winston Churchill ~

"I don't want expensive gifts; I don't want to be bought.

I have everything I want.

I just want someone to be there for me,

to make me feel safe and secure."

~ Princess of Wales, Diana ~

"There can be no security where there is fear." ~ Felix Frankfurter ~ 
"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking...is freedom." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~
"The ultimate security is your understanding of reality." ~ H. Stanley Judd ~
"Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness is a menace to our security." ~ John F. Kennedy ~
"The greatest security for Israel is to create new Egypt's." ~ Ronald Reagan ~
"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within."  ~ Douglass MacArthur ~ 
"Distrust and caution are the parents of security." ~ Benjamin Franklin ~
"The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!" 
~ Earl Nightingale ~

"Security is mostly a superstition.

It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

~ Helen Keller ~

"We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security." 
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

"Security depends not so much upon how much you have 

but on how much you are willing to do without."  

~ Joseph Wood Krutch ~

"Anyone who says that economic security is a human right, has been to much babied. While he babbles, other men are risking and losing their lives to protect him. They are fighting the sea, fighting the land, fighting disease and insects and weather and space and time, for him, while he chatters that all men have a right to security and that some pagan god -- Society, The State, The Government, The Commune -- must give it to them. Let the fighting men stop fighting this inhuman earth for one hour, and he will learn how much security there is."  ~ Rose Wilder Lane ~
"There is no security on this earth, only opportunity." ~ General Douglas MacArthur ~
"Yet one thing secures us what ever betide, the scriptures assures us the Lord will provide."  ~ Sir Isaac Newton ~

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons, 

neither the present nor the future,

nor any power,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

~ Romans 8:38-39 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Timi and family ~ Sandra ~

Knitting as Therapy

It's that time of year when the needles are covered in yarn and a lot of flat surfaces have piles of knitted hats, scarves, cowls, fingerless mitts, etc. There are two little girls and four little boys in the valley and hats have been made for all of them. I'll make more hats, for the other children and folks in my life, before giving the remainder to someone who can put them in the hands of others who need a bit of warmth and prayer in their lives.

The hats are knitted on circular, round needles and finished on double pointed needles (dpn). Those dpn's take a little getting used to but the best way I've found to finish a hat. 

The blaze orange makes the little boys happy and, for some of them, keeps them warm while they are hunting with their Dad's.

Kollage Yarns make a square knitting needles which is, surprisingly, easy on my hands and the yarn doesn't slip off the needles...at least not as easily as round needles. Kollage Yarns also has a yarn made with 80% milk 20% cotton; I'd love to give that a try!

The brownish yarn is some Lion Brand Homespun given to me by my sister. She hated the dark color, found it difficult to see but, for years, I've used OTT lights that make all the difference in the world in my ability to see true colors. 

Even with the rainy weather and the sprained hands, a little bit of knitting is getting accomplished. Beats housework or mucking the stable any day of the week, eh?

Blessings ~ knitting ~ OTT lights ~ yarn ~ Kollage Yarn square needles ~ finished hats ~ DPN's ~ Lion Brand Homespun ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor; 
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; 
and he shall be blessed upon the earth: 

and thou wilt not deliver him until the will of his enemies."

~ Psalms 41:1,2 ~

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving." 
~ Mother Teresa ~
"A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog." ~ Jack London ~
"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed." ~ Maya Angelou ~

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. 

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. 

People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, 
revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. 

Remember if you ever need a helping hand, 
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, 
one for helping yourself

and the other for helping others."

~ Sam Levenson ~ 

"No one has ever become poor by giving." ~ Anne Frank ~
"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." ~ John Bunyan ~
"I care not for a man's religion whose dogs and cat are not the better for it." 
~ Abe Lincoln ~
"Charity, if you have the means, is a personal choice, but charity which is expected or compelled is simply a polite word for slavery." 
~ Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation ~
"If you're in the luckiest one percent of humanity, you owe to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent." ~ Warren Buffet ~

"What I spent, I had; 

what I saved, I lost; 

what I gave, I have."

~ proverb ~

"Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves." ~ Horace Mann ~

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

~ Luke 6:38 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Sandra ~

A Bowl of Warm, Homey Goodness

Today is the Autumn Equinox and it's chilly, raining and, in one word, miserable. Daddy always says the weather we have on the season's change, will be the predominate weather for that season. 

yay.

Cold, rain and misery for the next three months. And, if what I heard might even be true, snow flurries tomorrow.

Oh joy. 

 The weather report for this past week said, 10% change of rain on Monday and clear the rest of the week. 
Where, I wonder?
"Cause it wasn't here. It rained every single solitary day. A lot. My laundry went through several rinse cycles...sometimes the same day. 

Yep, it's true.

I'm sure some of the neighbors were talking. 

 Sometime during this past week, I stood at the open door of the refrigerator. As usual, I was waiting for food to jump enthusiastically into my arms, already prepared, hot and ready to eat. 

didn't happen.

What I did see were some of the raw vegetables left over from Daddy's birthday party.

Hmmm. 

Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, some onions to be rescued from the pantry, a package of bratwurst to be thawed, home made croutons and a box of chicken stock. 

Possibilities, all.

So, the vegetables were put into a roasting pan, cracked sea salt and black pepper added along with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and put into a 350 degree oven for a couple of hours. While those vegetables were roasting, a pan was placed on the stove top, heat turned on and when the pan was hot, a tablespoon of EVOO pour inside. 

hot pan, cold oil.

Then, a couple of large onions were put into a pan to sweat and brown; when they were ready, they were removed and the sliced sausage put in to brown.

When the roasting was finished, everything was put into the stock pan with a quart of chicken stock (store bought because I'd run out of home made) and cooked for about 30 minutes. The heat was then turned off and everything sat for a while before I added the home made croutons and ate. 

This meal was, in a word...delicious. Seriously, this was one of the best soups I've ever made and, I think, due to the roasting of the vegetables beforehand. I'd contemplated cutting those cherry tomatoes in half but leaving them whole was the best decision. Each time I bit into a tomato, that sweetness would burst and was the perfect touch against the meatiness of the sausage, the richness of the chicken stock, the bite of the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I thought about making bread...white, bird seed or cornbread, even crackers...but decided it was beyond my reach. 

Maybe tomorrow. 

Maybe not. 

My hand still hurts and that seems to be a really good excuse to do not as much lately. 

Don't you think so? 

Does anyone know the name of this pattern? The back says KS Benchmark 1984 or 1884, but I can't tell which year. I've been using this flatware for forty years but, along the way, a few pieces have gone missing and I'd like to replace them. Can you help?

Blessings ~ a bowl of homey, warm goodness ~ roasted vegetables ~ EVOO ~ change of seasons ~ still serviceable flatware ~ 

Happy 85th Birthday, Daddy

 Daddy, center, celebrated his 85th birthday this weekend and we gave him a surprise party. There were a couple of big surprises...the first was Dustin, his youngest grandson (right of Daddy) who flew in from Florida. This photo shows his brother, JW, to Dustin's right, and Steve, Daddy's only son and on his left.

 Daddy, on the left, with Tommy Wright, VA House of Representatives, and Jerome Hancock, Pastor at Southside Nazarene Church.

 Mr. Green, Daddy's right, was in the same high school graduating class as Daddy. He told a couple of good stories about Daddy, then Daddy told him a couple of good stories about Mr. Green. Can you imagine being 85 years old and celebrating your birthday with a high school class mate? Their high school has a reunion every July and 4 classmates are still attending.

Mom and Daddy celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary next month.

Below is the group family photo...back row, left to right...Walter, my BIL and Steve, my brother. On the front row...Stephanie, JW, her eldest, Dustin, her youngest, Daddy, Mom, me, Gwen, Steve's wife. 

 Stephanie had a surprise for Daddy and Dustin...the county fair was about 1/4 mile away and this 'copter pilot was selling rides. Daddy and Dustin went for a 7 minute ride...exciting and memorable for both.

It was a great weekend, filled with good food and friends who relieved old memories, made new memories and enjoyed the day and themselves. The only down side was I took a tumble and sprained my left hand so typing (and most everything else) is terribly painful right now. All that to say, it's going to be a while before I'm able to visit your blog or post on my blog. In the meantime, y'all take care, keep me in your prayers and have a good week...or two.

Blessings - my parents who are healthy - wonderful siblings and their spouses - terrific nephews - good friends and acquaintances - great memories - only a sprain, not a break - 

Sabbath Keeping

Jim and Gladys, children, grandchildren, DIL, SIL

"The glory of young men is their strength; 

and the beauty of old men is the gray head."

- Proverbs 20:29 -

"Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you'd never complete your life, would you? You'd never wholly know you." 
- Marilyn Monroe -
"Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you have to start young." - Theodore Roosevelt - 
"Error is acceptable as long as we are young; but one must not drag it along into old age." - Goethe -

"I still have a full deck, 

I just shuffle a little slower now." 

- unknown -

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
- Satchel Paige -
"The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball." - Doug Larson - 

"You are as young as your faith, 

as old as your doubt;

as young as your self -confidence,

as old as your fear;

as young as your hope,

as old as your despair."

- Douglas MacArthur -

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."  - Chili Davis -
"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." - Samuel Ullman - 

"The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance 

of blessing previously secured." 

- Cicero -

"In youth the days are short and the years are long; in old age the years are short and the days long." - Nikita Ivanovich Panin - 

"Old age: the crown of life, 

our play's last act." 

- Cicero -

"Old age comes on suddenly and not gradually as is thought." 
- Emily Dickinson - 
"The years teach much which the days never knew." - Emerson -
"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." 
- unknown -
"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative." - Maurice Chevalier -
"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." - Mark Twain -
"It's important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle." - unknown - 
"Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur." - Muriel Spark - 

"Everyone is the age of their heart." - unknown -

"Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty." - Coco Chanel -

"Give me chastity and continence, 

but not yet."

- Saint Augustine -

"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." - Edward Stanley - 
"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."
- Henry David Thoreau - 
"Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty -
they merely move it from their faces into their hearts." - Martin Buxbaum -

"Old wood best to burn, 

old wine to drink,

old friends to trust, 

and old authors to read."

- Francis Bacon, Apothegm -

"Don't worry about avoiding temptation - as you grow older, it starts avoiding you." - unknown - 
"The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of fifty you must have made yourself what you are, and if it is good, it is better than your youth." - Marya Mannes, More in Anger, 1958 - 
"The boy gathers wood for a temple, and then when he is thirty, concludes to build a woodshed." - Henry David Thoreau - 
"Beautiful is old age - beautiful as the slow-dropping mellow autumn of a rich glorious summer. In the old man, Nature has fulfilled her work; she loads him with blessings; she fills him with the fruits of a well-spent life; and, surrounded by his children and his children's children, she rocks him softly away to a grave, to which he is followed with blessings. God forbid we should not call it beautiful." - J. A. Froude - 

"But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, 

sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

That they may teach the young women to be sober, 

to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

- Titus 2:1-5 - 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping - Maxine - Kurt - Cindy - Sandra -