THERE'S HOPE IN THE VOTE...GOT YOUR STICKER?

Cielo at "The House in the Roses" is hosting "Hopeful Friday"...

Hope helps us through many things...
normal things, abnormal things...
comfortable things, uncomfortable things...

I was "hoping" to get done sooner than later...but it ended up being "later"...what presidential voting adventures have you had this year? I've tried to capture a few thoughts about my experience today...

3 1/2 hours!

standing...propping...standing...leaning

Drinking my large, 4-cream, 2-Splenda coffee

Reading THE SCARLET THREAD, Francine Rivers

(Thanx, Beverlydru!)

Hearing moanings about the 40-ish degrees enveloping us

Covering my head with my black-hooded flannel jacket

Shuffling from foot to foot, bending my knees, following the leader

Channel 46 Helicopter hovering, Channel 2 news crews extending antennas

Policemen moving the caution tape, extending the line lanes

Black, white, Hispanic, babies, Mommies, Grandparents, some seem lonely

Lots of coats, hats, closed-toed shoes, flip flops and shorts

Example ballots, back and forth, long yellow sheets

Clip boards, absentee ballot requests, ink pens...any questions?

Finally in the door, no more wind, Thank you, Jesus.

Forms, identification handed over

Electronic card...good as gold...my one vote...my vote counts

Checked my vote, cast my ballot, pulled my card

got my "I VOTED TODAY" sticker

3 1/2 hours!

For more "Hopeful Friday" go to: http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/2008/10/hopeful-friday_23.html

WORKS 4 ME WEDNESDAY

RECENTLY, I became sick of sticking my fingers while reaching for the corn holders in my kitchen drawer...

you know the kind I mean...

the yellow, little plastic ears of corn with the two steel pins that you skewer into the ends of your REAL ears of corn--so you can roll them in the corn coaster or plate,

and gather all the rich butter before you chomp down on the luscious, little white/yellow morsels of sweetness!

I don't have any fancy ones, or cute ones like you find on the internet:

(thanks FunniestGadgets.com)

Oh, back to my original discussion...

holes in my fingers each time I cook corn...

the little steel skewers are deadly when they are free in my kitchen drawer, especially when they are floating in the back behind the silverware drawer in the dark.

Plato, the Republic/Greek author & philosopher

in Athens (427 BC - 347 BC) said,

"Necessity, who is the mother of invention."

SO...I cut a sponge to fit in the bottom of a wide-bottomed plastic cup (that fits in my drawer)...then "stabbed" all the corn knobs into the sponge so they'll stay in one place and not be "laying in wait" for my fumbling fingers to be pierced by them in the dark! I probably should try to market this idea but at the moment I don't have the capital to run down that idea through the patent office.

Anyway...it WORKS 4 ME!!

Now, my fingers are much happier....

now like Dr. Seuss's, THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T, my fingers are happy like Bart's (Tommy Rettig).

He didn't enjoy his piano lessons with the mean-spirited Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried) because he figured his fingers and time were better spent playing baseball (http://filmfanatic.org/reviews).

Now I play me some piano, but I don't take lessons anymore and I don't have Dr. Terwilliker making me practice; however, I do enjoy using my fingers to crochet without having to feel the holes in my fingers from the corn knobs...

life is good again!

So,

for more WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY,

GO TO:http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

Proverbs 7:2-3

Keep my commands and you will live;

guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

Pears, Apples, and Pie, Oh My!!...FALL INTO FLAVOR

My mom has fruit trees in her yard...various apples, pears, and even two pecan trees. Back in August when I visited, the pears were the size of a large golf balls. Well, a little more time, and they are now the size of a fist.

She visited last weekend on their way back home from having gone to Katie's second birthday party...and she brought me two sacks, one of pears and one of apples!

I have washed, peeled and sliced each bagful and now am deciding what to do with the golden, scrumptious pieces of fruit.

My first endeavor was a fresh pear crumble pie...and it is not low fat...but it sure is good.

PEAR CRUMBLE PIE
Printed from COOKS.COM
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

4 c. peeled and cored pears cut in eighths

1 c. sugar

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. flour

5 1/3 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. mace

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix pears, lemon rind, 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice

nd arrange in unbaked pie shell.
Combine flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and spices.

Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly.

Sprinkle over pears.

Bake for 45 minutes or until pears are tender.

The first fruits of the treats she shared with me were not going to be in a "calorie counting" dish.

Next time I'll be good and make it with splenda, low fat margarine and whole wheat flour, but for now, we're enjoying the "fruits of their labor"...and loving every bite.

Isaiah 27:6
In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill all the world with fruit.

FOR MORE WONDERFUL "FALL INTO FLAVORS", GO TO 2nd Cup

http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/2008/10/fall-into-flavor-week-3-pluralism.html

with "Linda, Lidna, or Liddie"--whichever u prefer...We love her, call her lots of names cause she makes us LAFF!

REAL HELP....REAL HOPE

Today's post involves two blog sites--
one of "giving"

one of "hope"

Grace Arbor ...our faith-based congregational respite program for older adults with memory impairment...meeting social and emotional needs of the participants and their caregivers.

Various groups in the church volunteer and help with the social activities.

They enjoy morning devotions/hymn singing, armchair exercises, games, gardening, art, pet therapy, sing-alongs, inter-generational activities with the preschool, and community entertainment.


I absolutely love it when our youth share themselves, their time, and their love with everyone at Grace Arbor...they ALL have fun!





Each year close to Easter they celebrate a seder meal...their director usually borrows my seder plate---I love having them use it. But recently, I was pondering everything the director does...she is always giving.


Then, I knew what I needed to GIVE.

I found a special seder plate for them to KEEP...my gift to her, her commitment to the ministry, to the sweet people and to being Christ's hands and feet to our hurting world.

Hope for our future...these kids understand the changes that take place in some peoples' lives as they grow older and their compassion has increased, their giving has increased, my hope has increased!


To see more ONE DAY TO GIVE entries, go here:http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2008/10/one-day-to-give-celebration.html

To see more HOPEFUL FRIDAY, go to Cielo's http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/2008/10/hopeful-friday_16.html

Kids truly do grow up too quickly...so those times we spend together are growing more and more precious. I'm GONNA MISS getting to enjoy the theatre with my ENTIRE family...one day she'll be out on her own and it will be harder to plan these type things...but for now, we're surely enjoying the fine arts with DD.

DD, a friend, DH and I enjoyed Friday night's showing of WICKED, the musical.

Outstanding costuming highlighted by impeccable lighting effects, voices that were crystal clear and multitudinal octave ranges for each singer brought it all into reality as we sat in our overstuffed, comfortable chairs.

Wow!! What talent blessed our ears and what vibrant sets and costuming treated our eyes while the voices and orchestra combined for a dance of our senses...I'm always amazed at God-given talent that is treated with great respect and pushed to its limit. The company certainly followed their director's lead and entertained throughout the entire show.

I'm still singing "Popular"...

imaginative play writing and production extraordinaire...

take your binoculars when you go, we forgot ours...you'll want to see the details in the gowns that Ga-linda wears especially!

Go see it!!

For more tender moments that are "gonna be missed", go to http://pramom26.blogspot.com/2008/10/your-gonna-miss-this-moment-week-6.html

VINTAGE THINGS THURSDAYS...

Participating in the different day themes is always fun,
and they certainly get your ideas flowing in ways you've never expected.

My idea for today was to start with probably two of the oldest things in my home......

but, yesterday we had a "double rainbow" late in the afternoon...

Having rained all day, the air was so humid, full of miniature raindrops, and as the sun slowing dipped into the southwestern sky, there came a wonderfully vibrant, double rainbow...


my hubby called me on his way home, amazed at its irredescence and array of colors.
my pic naturally doesn't do it justice...however, it's not too bad considering it was raining while i was shooting,

while holding an umbrella with one hand and the camera with the other...
trying to avoid cars that continued driving by

as I stood out in the street to get the best angle of the shot...
kids, don't do this at home on your own...

So, thinking back on my vintage day, this is one of God's oldest pieces of art for all of us to share,
for all of us to remember his covenant with Noah

to never again to cover the earth in water....

so, these are my first pics from our early-October gift from our Heavenly Father:


Now on to my "other" vintage prizes...
the two pictures below hang in our guest bedroom...given to us by my in-laws after my hubby's father passed and the house was being prepared to sell.

If I remember correctly, these used to hang in my hubby's maternal grandmother's home.






I haven't a clue how old they really are, and I need to research and find out who manufactured them, etc

The portrayals in the pictures are peaceful but emote far different emotions to me as I gaze at them...

The young woman on the left she gazes longingly, tired from a day's labor...or possibly looking ahead to another field's challenge with back-breaking swinging of the sickle, to and fro.


The little one to the right gazing sweetly in amazement at the birdy in the tree, wondering if it will be flying away with its next movement, wondering if it has a family to take food back to in its nest.
She looks to me as she is waiting for it to sing again....maybe she had heard it from her room and run out to see it while it sang.



When these were given to us, the frames were black, covered with old mold from having been kept in a very damp basement for many years. I cleaned them with warm water and wood cleaner, not knowing what was beneath the darkness.




Look what I found!





There is some damage...

cracking around some of the old edges....like me!! Yet, I think they are very pretty in their elderliness...
: )

For more vintage, go here:


http://anapronaday.blogspot.com/2008/10/mary-aldens-cookbook-for-children-1956.html

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O LORD,

you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

REMEMBER WHOSE YOUR ARE...AND WHERE YOU'RE FROM...

My Disciple Bible study meets weekly--this time I have the "snack"...

so, I prepared "traditional Jewish" fare to eat and REMEMBER.

It's important to know the customs and legacy of our Christian faith...understanding the string attaching the Old Testament through the New Testament. Christ was Jewish, let's share and remember. Rosh Hashanah is currently being observed...bringing repentance.

Hebraic year 5769, 2007-2008

Yom Kippur (brings forgiveness)--

begins Wednesday evening, October 8, 2008 until

Thursday night, October 9, 2008...

the holiest day of the "Jewish year"

Jesus celebrated the festivals...fasting and praying to God for forgiveness and a good year. The day comes to an end with the blowing of the shofar, which marks the conclusion of the fast. (see video below)

In the basket behind the candle, is the challah braided bread I made today (eggs, bread flour, yeast, honey)...traditionally, a blessing over two loaves of bread is symbolic of the double portion of manna God gave the Jewish people on Fridays in the desert after the exodus from Egypt.

In the clear dish is home-made egg noodle kugel (sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, butter, cinnamon, pepper)...a mainstay of festive meals in Eastern European descent Jewish homes, particularly on holidays--some believe eating kugel brings special spiritual blessings.

On the left, in the white pyrex is Kharoset--chopped dates, raisins, pecans, red wine cooked down with sugar...it's symbolic of the mortar Israelites made for their Egyptian taskmaster during their period of enslavement in Egypt. To the Messianic Jew, this reminds us that even the worst of circumstances can be sweetened because the Messiah lives.

I'll also be serving cut apples with honey, grapes and orange portions...Hebraic blessings: "Blessed are you Lord, our God, Ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the tree.
May it be Your will, God, the God of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and sweet year."

Also on the table, you see three dreidels (small wooden tops), representing the children's "turn around" game, usually played during Hannukah. Each dreidel has four [Hebrew] letters...meaning “a great miracle occurred there.”

Just beneath the candle is our olive-wood Mezuzah (a friend of my husband's brought back to him from Jerusalem several years ago)...“And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of our house and on your gates”Deuteronomy 6:9, 11:20. “The words that I shall tell you this day: that you shall love your God, believe only in Him, keep His commandments, and pass all of this on to your children.”

God said,“Remake yourselves by repentance during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and on the Day of Atonement, I will hold you guiltless, regarding you as a newly made creature.”

GET CUDDLY...WRAP UP THIS FALL...

I know this isn't a typical "Fall" recipe, however, I love lettuce wraps. They're lite, tasty, easy and I use roasted peanuts in them...and those ARE Fall fare.



LETTUCE WRAPS
2 lbs. of ground turkey
sesame oil, about 3 tbsp
hot chili oil (1/2 tsp, unless you like hotter)
light soy sauce
pepper to taste
garlic to taste
1/2 c chopped, roasted peanuts
1/2 pkg of stir fry seasoning
2 tb Teriyaki-Sauce
1 bunch chopped green onions
half a bag of cole slaw mix
iceberg lettuce, washed, separated (I also use butter leaf lettuce)

Brown ground turkey (browned it in a smidge of sesame oil & a little hot chili oil.)

Add some light soy sauce, pepper, garlic, 1/2 pkg of stir fry seasoning & 2 tbs of teriyaki sauce.

After browned about half way add 1 bunch chopped green onions & about a half a bag of cole slaw mix (just thin-sliced cabbage & a little carrot not enough to worry about) and finished browning. Toss in peanuts the last couple of minutes.

Wash a head of iceberg lettuce; peel off whole leaves, dry, place on plate.

When turkey mixture is done, put some in the bowl alongside lettuce leaves; place on table ready to roll up and eat. Have extra soy sauce, peanut sauce or sesame seed sauce available for dipping or spreading on each roll.

Serve with crispy noodles and Hot/Sour Soup.

More Fall Flavors can be found at 2nd Cup/Coffee, hosted by Linda...http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/2008/10/fall-into-flavor-week-1.html

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY...

I wanted to go "flea marketing" today...but, it didn't work out that way. So, I've saved some money by not picking up anything new and I'll show you what I already have in my dining room.

Differently bordered "service plates" from Salem Co. were passed to me from my grandmother. My grandparents owned a small, country diner/Pure gas station. Naturally, they would order large quantities of flour, 'cause Granny made LOTS of biscuits and fed the local farmers before their hard day's work. My mother remembered the plates were given to retailers as thanks for purchasing larger quantities. They came in multiple colors with women, men, and children featured on each plate.

The name, service plates, is very appropriate for the remembrance of my grandparents running their business. Mother said they often fed those who didn't have the money to pay...Granny was not going to turn anyone away from "perfectly good food" she could share with her neighbors. PaPa would write "tabs" for anyone who couldn't quite make the full payment on their gas purchase...they could pay it back next week...and they never ran anything through a credit card reader or telephone line...he wrote it on a little white pad he kept in his pocket.

Papa always smelled like cigarettes and gasoline; Granny smelled of baby powder and biscuits.

I remember running through the creaky screened door into the diner/store to get a "Coke" out of the old drink cooler...the big RED abyss of a Coca Cola refrigerator I'd almost fall over into as I reached for my drink (in the glass bottle) and feel the cold air hit my face (it was the only cold thing around back in the days of NO AIR CONDITIONING). I miss those days.

ILOVE HOW DELICATELY detailed the faces on each plate seem to be. I'm currently looking for some of the same type plates; however, I want the "matching" men plates to go with my "Little Women", ha ha. I keep looking on EBay but so far have not come across what I want to complete my set. Maybe it's meant for me to just cherish the two I have and the memories they hold.

For more SHOW and TELL things:
http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2008/10/little-womenshow-and-tell-friday.html

2 Corinthians 9:12

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people

but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

WFW - EVERLASTING DOMINION

My post is very late in the day...in fact, it is 15 minutes 'til midnight and I'm just now finishing this...so I guess I can still get it in.

Today in our Bible study we studied Daniel 4

WHICH reminded me of the picture I took below of the large white oak tree standing majestically in my backyard...swaying when the winds get heavy, losing its leaves very late in the winter and watching over my corner of the world like a tower.

When I was standing at the base of this tree, shooting with my camera up the trunk to get a new perspective, it gave me an awesome understanding of just how big it is and how little I am.

I couldn't begin to even climb this tree...the limbs are so far up from the ground. It's bark is rough and scaly like a really old alligator.

If someone was able to shinny up the base of this tree, one slip and you'd have a very uncomfortable slide down until you hit the ground...then you'd fall on top of all the acorns it drops--that wouldn't be comfortable either.

Anyway, in Daniel 4 the King had a dream about a tree--how wonderful it is, how protective, how provident, how great it was...never giving any of the glory of the tree to the One who made it.

Daniel shared his understanding of the dream...the king would lose his kingship, be abandoned to the fields to eat grass, until he came to acknowledge God's greatness...go read how long it took...it wasn't quick...the hair on his body became like feathers and his nails on his hands grew like claws.

Daniel's theme reiterates “The Most High (God) is sovereign over the kingdoms of men.” God IS triumphant (7:11,26–27; 8:25; 9:27).

The climax of his sovereign rule is described in Revelation: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ [i.e., Messiah, ‘Anointed One’], and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15; see Daniel 2:44; 7:27).

HOW ARE YOU ACKNOWLEDGING GOD'S TRIUMPH AND HIS POWER IN YOUR LIFE?

Daniel 4:34

And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, ...I blessed the most High...I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

For more Word Filled Wednesday, go to http://the160acrewoods.com/