Tuesday, November 29, 2011

"This Little Light Of Mine..."

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.  If you were fortunate, you had loved ones to be with. We were among those blessed to be with wonderful friends on Thursday for a great traditional Turkey dinner.  On Saturday it was so good to have our daughter in-law, Joanne  and the grandchildren, Mikayla and Nick with us.  A bonus blessing was having our step-grandson, Chrys and his sweet wife, Julie here too from California.  The weather was cooperative and we could go for a swim after lunch.



We are having some cooler weather today and for a few days to follow the weatherman tells us.  Last night we were in the dark for 3 hours after a rain storm, although not a bad storm, something went wrong somewhere around 7:15 PM , plunging us all into darkness.  Looking out the window we could see that we were not the only house without power.  All our neighbors up the street were also in the dark.  The only light around was from some small solar lights folks use in their yards.  Den lit us up with his trusty little pocket flashlight until I could round up and light three candles.  Now what a cozy atmosphere these wavering little flickers of brightness made in this very dark night! A really peaceful quietness surrounded us.  No mechanical, electrical or technology related noises!  Even the refrigerator was silent.  Now if we were in Vermont we would make some popcorn on the old wood stove in our kitchen but here we would have to go out on the patio and fire up the grill to do that as we don't even have a gas stove here!

I thought about  the folks who lived before electricity and even before the use of kerosene lamps became a source of light.  How really dim it is on a dark night with only the candle glow!  A big fire in a fireplace would give off a lot of light but on a really warm night would not be so good. I guess there would have been spinning to do but most sewing needs good light.  How long their winter nights must have been!  But I'll bet there were lots of good story tellers in those days!

We had blown out all our candles except one and gone off to bed by the time the problem was fixed and the lights came on again.  It is pretty scary just how dependent on electricity and its gadgets we are.  If we are prepared for being without the electric, we don't seem so  deprived.  Like our summer visits to Darling Hill in our little camper where there is no electric. Something else to be thankful for in this season of pondering all the many things we sometimes take so for granted.

As we prepare for Christmas, the season to celebrate the greatest gift mankind will ever receive, the birth of our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, let us be most thankful !

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving Thoughts

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !



Thanksgiving Day was always a favorite day when I was growing up.  We'd go to Grammie's house and enjoy a wonderful meal and all my favorite people around the long table in her huge old fashioned kitchen. (It even had a pantry!).  Coming in from the crispy Nov. day, the mouth watering aroma of the turkey roasting in the oven is still one of my favorite memories. There was always mince pie for dessert,  my very favorite, warm and with vanilla ice cream .   My Aunt Ethel always made sure that my dad and I had some left-over goodies to take home with us.

My family loved to play games, card games and boardgames.  My cousin and I were the only children there and we were included early on in some of the games even though they weren't geared to little kids. We also loved to hear stories from the oldest members of our family.  Really good stories of happenings in the old days.  We'd beg for these stories over and over again.  If you've ever been treated to good stories that kept you on the edge of your chairs, by good storytellers in the dim light of a late fall afternoon, then you know just how great it can be.  This, of course, before television!  Later, when we were a bit older, out oldest cousin and her husband had a TV and would have Thanksgiving dinner at their house.  It was pretty amazing to watch a parade or a football game on that little, funny shaped screen...black and white and sometimes quite snowy but still really cool!
I'm so thankful for the joy found in good memories.  The simplest things that were so eagerly looked forward to.

Remembering good things is kind of like opening a mason jar of blushing, sun-ripened peaches on a blustery winter day when the snow is drifted up to the window sills... and as the cover comes off... the aroma of late summer days wafts out  as you taste those peaches.  These memories are a real treasure.
So when I am feeling a bit wistful, I just close my eyes and open one of my mason jars labeled 'home canned memories'  and as that lid comes off, out will come the warm, sweet memories, put up long ago with that best of all secret ingredient... LOVE!  

Let's give thanks for all our many blessings and good memories!  Happy Thanksgiving to you all !
  PS  And "Please pass the Love..."

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Harvesting The Crop


We are so glad that someone planted this Red Navel orange tree!  Someone before we came here to enjoy the sun and warmth of 'Southern Living'.  Our basket holds the 18 oranges we picked today.

It was also yard sale day here in our Park yesterday. Anyone wishing to sell things simply set up shop in front of their place and the rest of us ran around shopping for bargains.  This was our year to do that as last year we had a super sale of our own after selling our little place and moving into our newer bigger one.  Amazing what we collect, save and just plain hoard!
The Bible urges us to 'store up treasures in heaven, where there is no erosion, corruption, moths etc. 
God has truly supplied all our needs and so many of our 'greeds' as well.  Our Heavenly Father so delights in giving us good gifts.  As parents, we can relate... it is a joy to give good things to our children and grandchildren too.  I will try, with His help, to be more generous and compassionate and use these good gifts wisely, sharing and being aware of the needs of those around me.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Words, Words, Words

" Words are of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind"
                                                                         Rudyard Kipling

I came across this quote the other day.  I've been thinking about it for awhile.  Sometimes I am at a loss for words. Now, my good husband would look puzzled at this and immediately ask..."And just when was that...!"  He thinks I have way too many words!  Chatter, chatter, chatter!  I guess he is right, somewhat, as I do like to yak it up with my friends and sometimes thoughts and ideas just bubble up and overflow into...words!  Other times, when trying to write something, I am word deprived.  Sometimes the thoughts and ideas just dance around in my mind with other thoughts and ideas to completely different music and won't fall into place in any sensible, orderly manner.


My pen has been still for a bit. I haven't had words to write here for awhile.  Maybe I haven't sorted out the dancing ideas... or maybe its writer's block.  My winter months are spent in a different environment than my summer months in the hills of VT.  I do love to be with my Snowbird friends and enjoy doing activities with them.

We had a 'Ladies Day Out' last week.  this time it was a trip to Leesburg, the nearest big town.  You've heard of how quilters go on 'Shop Hops', well, we had a 'Thrift Shop Hop'.  Here in our area there are many nice thrift stores.  It seems that folks around here like to donate their nice things to churches and helping hands organizations that operate these shops.  Just about any item you are looking for can be found here. Some shops are like boutiques  with the merchandise arranged  in an attractive manner and some shops where things aren't displayed so nicely. Available is anything from a cast iron skillet to a wedding gown or a silk flower arrangement to a complete bedroom suite, and everything imaginable in between.

There were eleven ladies in two mini vans on this trip.  We still had room in the way-back for all our loot. All this shop hopping gives us a good appetite .  So many good places here to have our lunch.  How do we choose?  Today Ruby Tuesday's gets the bid.  A coupon for 25% off cinched the decision .  One coupon provided the discount for the whole table of eleven! This and the fact that we can all be seated together in a pretty room.  The choice of entrees here is to our liking too.  Small portions for a noontime meal is another plus here, not to mention the wonderful cheesy biscuits served while we await our meal!

Today we had some rain in the morning and the humidity is gone now, a gentle breeze is blowing and it is cooler.  One can be as busy as she wants to around here! Last year we published a cookbook.   Tomorrow we will have a meeting to plan for our annual Christmas Party for needy kids.  Each year we adopt kids at two local day care centers who we call "Our Kids".  We plan a nice party here in the Park for them with food, a gift under a pretty Christmas tree for each one, a toy, some clothing and a goodie bag to take home to share with their families.  Our very own Santa stops in and passes out the gifts and eats with us. He is already practicing his HO HO HO !   This year we hope to raise enough money to provide each family with a box containing the makings of a Christmas Dinner. Our fundraiser is a really a fun time for us.  I will be sure to include a picture or two of that event later.

I am hoping to see family sometime during Thanksgiving week.  Two of our grandchildren live near by and their older brother and his wife are expected from Calif. next week.

Happy preparation time for Thanksgiving Day to you all.  We do truly have so much to be thankful for!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Chasing Illusive Butterflies




The other day a whole flock ( is that what one calls a large group of butterflies?) visited us here on their way elsewhere.  They were here feeding on any flowers they could find and were gone the next day.
They were really gobbling up the nectar from the flowers and moving so quickly from one blossom to another.  They sort of reminded me of people at the Golden Coral !  This is a great place to visit for a really huge buffet...just what we all don't need...huge platters of food!  We haven't succumbed  to this temptation yet... there are months yet to go !
I went for my camera and chased a couple of these illusive bright yellow lovelies around for awhile.They seemed to either be just the other side of a fence and gone by the time I made it around to their side or in a flower bed right under some one's window, and I really didn't want to be thought of as a peeping Tom-asina!  I finally caught up with one who seemed to really like blue flowers, up near the pool.  I asked her real nice to slow down and really enjoy a bite from each of these blooms before moving on.  While she pondered my plea, I got a pretty good shot of her and then...Zip...off she went.  Moving on!

I guess we might learn from these flighty ones.  Keep moving on.  Set our sights heavenward...keep moving on...run a good race.  When one door closed, God opens another for us to go through.  Each day brings something new.

The Pastor on Sun. asked us to remember and think upon three things:  God's Promises, God's Presence, and God's Power.

He will always go with us whereever in life He takes us.  Mark 4: 35-41 is the story of how Jesus and the disciples got into a boat to 'go to the other side'.  A great storm arose, nearly filling the boat with water and Jesus was asleep, His head on a pillow in the back of the boat!  The disciples woke him, and said, "Master, do you not care that we parish?"  He arose and spoke to the sea..."Peace, be still", and the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

He Promises  to be with us and when storms arise in our lives.   His Presence in our lives will carry us through the storms  and His Power  will calm the storms.   I know this to be true.  True to His Promise, He has carried me through storms with His Presence and quieted them with His Power.

May you have a great day and be sure to look for that little something special that, though it may seem as illusive as the little yellow butterfly, will surely let you glimpse it and chase it a bit and find joy in it...each day!

Monday, November 7, 2011

A New Recipe

I clipped a recipe from the paper the other day that sounded easy to make and with ingredients that one most always has in the pantry.  Except for the apples, this was the case today.  So after going to the open air market today, like I do most Mondays, and having purchased some gala apples, I stirred it up.

The recipe promised to tast like apple pie...thus its name...Apple Pie Cake.  It was baking in the oven when a friend popped in to see if I had time to trim her hair a bit.  That apple pie cake filled my  kitchen with such a great aroma of apples and cinnamon, she wanted the recipe!  Sometimes when we try something new it just doesn't come out as good and doesn't taste as good as it smells while baking. Well, not so this time.  As soon as it had cooled a bit, Den came in and we decided it had to be sampled...now.  It tasted as good as its aroma promised. So I share it with you.  Only wish you could come in and sit a spell and have a cup of coffee or tea to go with it !

                                                         Apple Pie Cake
1 C. Sugar                      1 C. Flour                          2 1/2 C. apples, cored but not peeled
1/2 C. Butter                   1/4 tsp. salt                        1/2 C. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 Egg                              1 tsp. baking soda             2 Tbsp. hot water
                                        1 tsp. cinnamon
                                       1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter.  Beat in egg. Sift together dry ingredients and add to batter.  Add apples and nuts, then stir in hot water.
Grease a 9 inch pie plate. Pour batter into it. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near middle comes out clean.  Serve warm with whipped cream or rum sauce. or just plain.  We had whipped cream on ours.
Rum Sauce:   In sauce pan combine 1/2 C. brown sugar and 1/2 C. whipping cream. Bring to boil and add rum and stir until blended. Serve immediately over warm cake.

The only thing missing in all this feast of aroma... apples, cinnamon etc. was the faint smell of wood smoke emitted by the old black cookstove  in our VT kitchen.  I do so miss cooking on the woodstove on a crispy late fall day!  In the early morning, nothing tastes better than a scone or a left over biscuit  toasted slowly on a special- for - making - toast round- thingy with holes in it that sits atop the stove and makes 'just right' toasted bread or whatever you want to toast.  The old stove looks quite like this one, minus the water resevoir.
Happy Cooking to you as you try this one !

                                                           

                                       

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Of A Cousin And A Grammie

My friend Cyndy was talking about cousins yesterday.  I know about cousins... or one in particular.  A second cousin to be exact.  We were both the 'only child' in our households, this we had in common.  My Mama died when I was but 3 1/2 years old.  How I wish I had more memories of her.  I was raised by my Daddy with help now and then by his Mom, my Grammie.  My cousin, Mick, was a victum of a broken home which left his Mom to raise him as best she could. Again with his Great Grammie (my Grammie) to help.  We two were not the first younguns my Grammie had helped to raise.  After raising her own two boys with her husband, she took on the rearing of their eldest son's two little girls who were left motherless thanks to the Spanish flu in 1918.  One was only a baby and her sister just two or so. It was the baby, grown now, who was my second cousin Mick's Mom.  We lived almost next door to them, my Dad and I.  And Grammie's house was home to four generations.  At our house it was just Dad and me. (Now this topic is fodder for yet another story, or two!)
We always had holiday meals with them all at Grammie's house.  Her kitchen was huge with an old fashioned pantry off in the north corner.  Mick and I were always together and we were quite like sibblings.  We had our little spats and rivalries .  I was almost 3 years older than he.  But he was the adventurous one.  We managed to get into trouble often and give the older folks a hard time.  we were little imps and many times Grammie would tell us she'd be taking the shallalie to us.  She was an Irish woman and we took this to be some kind of a whip.  We knew there was one of those out in the shed!
As we grew up I always watched over this fearless and daring cousin who could never say "No" to a bad idea!
I have many memories of the things we did as kids.  Once we built a cabin out by the garden out of slab wood which he talked his Grandpa into buying for this purpose.  It was a great place!  We even had a porch on the front.  What a pioneer cabin that was.  From somewhere we procured a deer head, a 10 point buck, that someone had looked at long enough on their wall...we sure liked it on our wall !  His Grandpa was my Uncle and his Gram, my Aunt.  Beteween Auntie and Grammie we always had pleanty of goodies for our cabin.
We had a friend, Charlie, who was more Mick's age than mine.  He was a real pill and wouldn't mind his Gram, who took care of him everyday.  She would call him to come home which was next door to Mick's, for lunch and he never would go home.  She always had to come and drag him off.  Her house and my Grammie's house were side by side along the high bank above the Black River at the falls.  Just below these falls were many rocks and an old ladder had come over the dam and was wedged between a couple of the bigger rocks, sticking up out of the waterl  Charlie's Gram told him that the 'Riverman' lived down that ladder and under the falls and that he ate bad little boys for supper.  Charlie believed this to be a fact.  One day she had to come fetch the disobedient Charlie home to lunch...again.  She was MAD!!  She went to the edge of the bank and yelled down to the Riverman to come right up and he could have yummie bad boy,Charlie for his supper! Well Charlie was some scared and headed home fast, promising to forever heed the call to come home when called the first time.  We never let on to Charlie that we knew there was no Riverman.
I unearthed a couple photos of 'the cousins'.  You will see how we looked in our everyday duds and how really good we cleaned up on Sunday.  Love those patten leather shoes, kept shinny and crack free with Grammie's vasoline petrolem jelly. 
As for my Grammie, she was truly super woman and lived her whole life, she lived to be nearly 90,devoted to taking care of her family. She may have coined the phrase " Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without".  My children were her great grandchildren and she would hunt around her house and find a piece of fabric and the next thing I knew she had fashioned a little shirt or a pair of pants for one of my children. No pattern needed, just a measurement or two.  A truly amazing woman.


In our play clothes



We cleaned up pretty good, huh?  Note the patten leather shoes.


An earlier photo of the cousins.







Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Thoughts for Sunday and Monday

Sunday was a quiet day here.  I rode over to church with my friend Angie.  The little Baptist Church (really not so little) is just up the street from the Methodist Church.  There are at least two other churches in this small community,  Each church has an overflow of cars parked around it.  It is so good to see so many people in church on the Lord's day.

At the Baptist church the music was lively and good , the pews were full and the folks we met so friendly.  The message was good and the children impressed us with their recitation of Bible verses they had learned.
 I always miss my wonderful church family in VT but it is really nice to gather anywhere and feel welcome as part of God's family.

After getting home and finishing fixing and eating our chicken dinner, I am enjoying a peaceful time, again curled into my corner of the couch on the porch, listening to the soothing sounds of our new little fountain...so like a bubbling brook.  A gift from some of our FL friends who came by with it the other night after we had supper together at the restaurant with the great ribs.  Den is getting his siesta and I have a good book I am nearly finished with, an Amish story.  Then we will go for a walk and see what is going on around here.  It is quite breezy today and the wind chimes are getting a good shaking!  It was
quite cool at 50 degrees this morning and is just pleasantly in the 70's now... no urge to go swimming today.




We have green grass on our little lawn !  Wow!  Only 5 days since we planted it and it is up ! I guess the warmth and the moisture and probably some real dirt instead of sand helped.  Will include a picture in a day or so.  Can only send one at a time lately with this S L O W internet !

Now it is Monday.  It was really rainy early today so we didn't go to the market until around 11 AM when the sun came out.  Did a quick trip around just to get the fresh veggies etc.  We are having a party at the Sunrise Pavilion, an outdoor area where we can hold gatherings.  Hamburgers and Hot dogs are provided and the ladies bring a dish to pass.  We have a lot of good cooks here so it is always a feast.
It is Hallowe'en and some dress for the occasion.

I have such good memories of times gone by of how excited our kids would be, so eager to get into the costumes we'd made and make the rounds of the village with their trick or treat bags.  It wasn't just the candy that they liked.  They knew everybody in town and were so thrilled when folks couldn't guess who they were.  Of course they loved it when they had to be told and show their happy faces under their masks.
All this takes place after supper and birthday cake and presents for our son Chip, who was born on Hallowe'en.  I always told him I went to the hospital to trick or treat and he's what I got. He always loved to celebrate his birthday !

 I am missing him so today!  It was at his birthday party three years ago that I last saw him.  He was celebrating his birthday by hosting a party with his good friends all gathered around. I treasure the memory of all the warm, loving hugs we shared that evening. We left for FL the next day and on Nov. 9th he was gone from this world and from us.  For now.  Each memory I have is a treasure now.  I thank God for each day we had with him.  He was a wonderful, good, loving son.