Gravy Geiser
The morning of Thanksgiving Day 2013 started calmly and sanely enough with me doing a marathon cooking feat of mashed potatoes and gravy, yam casserole, and a homemade sweet potato pie. You can't believe how everything was in perfect order as we loaded the car and started off to our Thanksgiving dinner. All went so well until at an intersection, now set in infamy for us, Norm had to brake for a red light.
A strange sound came from the back of the car and we thought, "What in the world is that?" Well, THAT was half a crock pot of gravy all over the seats, floor and, magnificently enough, all over my well labored over, first time ever made in my lifetime, sweet potato pie!
Well, what a fine mishap this was!
Strangely enough, the pie survived quite well, as it was covered with saran wrap, and our hostess had made some gravy from the turkey drippings!
What's that play of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well?
Friday, November 29, 2013
Hot Cocoa And Vanilla Ice Cream In The Winter And Root Beer And Vanilla Ice Cream In The Summer
During the evening of Thanksgiving, we went for a walk through Caldwell's "Winter Wonderland" of holiday lights. Afterwards, we drove back to our toasty warm apartment to enjoy hot cocoa ,cookies, and vanilla ice cream.
To our surprise, one of our guests shoved aside her bowl of ice cream, quickly scooped her ice cream in the hot cocoa and announced, "Now THIS is the way to enjoy hot cocoa!"
In turn, most of us abandoned our ice cream bowls and followed suit.
You've got to try hot cocoa this way!
For me, this is the method I'm going to use to enjoy hot cocoa forevermore!
Hot cocoa with vanilla ice cream in the winter and root beer with vanilla ice cream in the summer! Now THAT is the good life!
During the evening of Thanksgiving, we went for a walk through Caldwell's "Winter Wonderland" of holiday lights. Afterwards, we drove back to our toasty warm apartment to enjoy hot cocoa ,cookies, and vanilla ice cream.
To our surprise, one of our guests shoved aside her bowl of ice cream, quickly scooped her ice cream in the hot cocoa and announced, "Now THIS is the way to enjoy hot cocoa!"
In turn, most of us abandoned our ice cream bowls and followed suit.
You've got to try hot cocoa this way!
For me, this is the method I'm going to use to enjoy hot cocoa forevermore!
Hot cocoa with vanilla ice cream in the winter and root beer with vanilla ice cream in the summer! Now THAT is the good life!
The Fruitful Fields And Healthful Skies Of Our Beneficent Father
President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863, 150 years ago,in the midst of the greatest conflict our native land has endured thus far, invited the nation to embrace a spirit of Thanksgiving to our Creator, the God of us all.
From this time forward, the citizens of the United States of America would be asked to pause each fourth Thursday in November to ponder and consider their many blessings - seen and unseen.
Listen with your heart to President Lincoln's words so many years ago.
"This year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.......
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, Who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.
I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States,and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last
Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens...."
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day 2013, we, as an American people, had the most precious privilege of celebrating the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation of October 3, 1863.
May God be praised for our native land, a promised land to us, the United States of America!
President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863, 150 years ago,in the midst of the greatest conflict our native land has endured thus far, invited the nation to embrace a spirit of Thanksgiving to our Creator, the God of us all.
From this time forward, the citizens of the United States of America would be asked to pause each fourth Thursday in November to ponder and consider their many blessings - seen and unseen.
Listen with your heart to President Lincoln's words so many years ago.
"This year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.......
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, Who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.
I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States,and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last
Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens...."
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day 2013, we, as an American people, had the most precious privilege of celebrating the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation of October 3, 1863.
May God be praised for our native land, a promised land to us, the United States of America!
Lest We Forget
The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, was, as we know, the pivotal battle of the civil war when the south made it all the way up to Pennsylvania. This most horrific of battles was fought bravely by both sides and has been memorialized through formal history as well as private conversation from that time to the present day.
The north proved the victors and President Abraham Lincoln traved to the battle site on November 19, 1863 to commemorate the loss of those noble ones from both sides.
November 19, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. As we reflect on this battle and the bravery of those who fought, no doubt some of us, if we listen hard enough, will be able to hear those Rebel yells.
May God bless the United States of America.
The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, was, as we know, the pivotal battle of the civil war when the south made it all the way up to Pennsylvania. This most horrific of battles was fought bravely by both sides and has been memorialized through formal history as well as private conversation from that time to the present day.
The north proved the victors and President Abraham Lincoln traved to the battle site on November 19, 1863 to commemorate the loss of those noble ones from both sides.
November 19, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. As we reflect on this battle and the bravery of those who fought, no doubt some of us, if we listen hard enough, will be able to hear those Rebel yells.
May God bless the United States of America.
Head Bowed In Reverence ForThe Year 1863
For me just about no other year in the history of the United States, my native land, brings the avalanche of emotion as does the year 1863!
This most definitely would NOT have been the case if Norm and I had not taken our two and one half month trip to the southern states in the summer of 2012. There the Civil War came alive and I learned the perspective of the South during this monumental conflict. My heart softened towards both sides and, after reflection, I held on to this dear country of mine even tighter than ever.
The most prominent events that spark my solemn thoughts and emotions are The Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863, and The Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863.
For me just about no other year in the history of the United States, my native land, brings the avalanche of emotion as does the year 1863!
This most definitely would NOT have been the case if Norm and I had not taken our two and one half month trip to the southern states in the summer of 2012. There the Civil War came alive and I learned the perspective of the South during this monumental conflict. My heart softened towards both sides and, after reflection, I held on to this dear country of mine even tighter than ever.
The most prominent events that spark my solemn thoughts and emotions are The Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863, and The Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
A Tailor And Porcelain Dolls
Brand new suits always mean a visit to the tailor for Norm. So one cold morning when Norm visited the tailor, I was prepared to wait out in the car contentedly reading, my all time favorite pastime. But my contentedness was jarred by Norm saying, "You've got to come in and see the tailor's porcelain dolls. Come on!." My brain was making adjustments like crazy with the words tailor, sewing, thread, sewing machine,and measuring trying to connect with the words dolls, porcelain, doll clothes, painting, casting, and firing. Okay, okay, I'll come in to check out this expected horrific menagerie. Why should I be afraid of in a tailor's shop in Caldwell, Idaho anyway?
My first thought was not sophisticated or even academic, when, upon entering the shop, my brain registered the mental response of "Holy cow! These dolls are unique, gorgeous, and there are so many! The clothing is stupendous with a wide variety of fashions from Victorian to Bohemian (my favorite by far.) What's going on here?" All this happened in nano seconds before my mouth sounded a "Good Morning" to the tailor followed instantly by "Surely you didn't cast all these dolls AND make all the beautiful clothing , did you?" To which he answered, "Why yes I did and I even give doll making classes here in the evening. Watch for the outside yellow sign in early January 2014!"
The tailor's porcelain doll story began many, many years ago when his daughter was very young and wanted a porcelain doll. When the tailor discovered how costly porcelain dolls were, he decided to take the bull by the horns and learn to make them himself. Of course, clothing them would be no problem since he was a tailor, for heaven's sake.
Thus, the tailor and porcelain doll maker, similar to the horseshoeer and horseshoe art sculptor, prove, once again and forever more, that from little things great things can proceed.
Brand new suits always mean a visit to the tailor for Norm. So one cold morning when Norm visited the tailor, I was prepared to wait out in the car contentedly reading, my all time favorite pastime. But my contentedness was jarred by Norm saying, "You've got to come in and see the tailor's porcelain dolls. Come on!." My brain was making adjustments like crazy with the words tailor, sewing, thread, sewing machine,and measuring trying to connect with the words dolls, porcelain, doll clothes, painting, casting, and firing. Okay, okay, I'll come in to check out this expected horrific menagerie. Why should I be afraid of in a tailor's shop in Caldwell, Idaho anyway?
My first thought was not sophisticated or even academic, when, upon entering the shop, my brain registered the mental response of "Holy cow! These dolls are unique, gorgeous, and there are so many! The clothing is stupendous with a wide variety of fashions from Victorian to Bohemian (my favorite by far.) What's going on here?" All this happened in nano seconds before my mouth sounded a "Good Morning" to the tailor followed instantly by "Surely you didn't cast all these dolls AND make all the beautiful clothing , did you?" To which he answered, "Why yes I did and I even give doll making classes here in the evening. Watch for the outside yellow sign in early January 2014!"
The tailor's porcelain doll story began many, many years ago when his daughter was very young and wanted a porcelain doll. When the tailor discovered how costly porcelain dolls were, he decided to take the bull by the horns and learn to make them himself. Of course, clothing them would be no problem since he was a tailor, for heaven's sake.
Thus, the tailor and porcelain doll maker, similar to the horseshoeer and horseshoe art sculptor, prove, once again and forever more, that from little things great things can proceed.
392 Years Ago
Try to set your mind in backwards motion to the year 1621, 392 years ago. For the American people, 1621 is truly a year to remember and cherish in the great and inspiring history of the United States of America, our native land. That year the Pilgrims, all 110 of them, celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day on American soil. What a minute. Something doesn't seem right. When 47 of the 110 died during the first grueling winter, how could the remaining 63 possibly consider a mind set of hope and harvest the following autumn?
Incredibly, this legacy of the American spirit of hope, plenty, and industry has been handed to us as a precious gift. Now, with this gift in hand, what are we going to do with it?
H.U. Westermayer said, "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished; nevertheless, they set aside days of thanksgiving, days of praise and prayer."
Reconciliation and Thanksgiving Dieter F. Uchdorf
Try to set your mind in backwards motion to the year 1621, 392 years ago. For the American people, 1621 is truly a year to remember and cherish in the great and inspiring history of the United States of America, our native land. That year the Pilgrims, all 110 of them, celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day on American soil. What a minute. Something doesn't seem right. When 47 of the 110 died during the first grueling winter, how could the remaining 63 possibly consider a mind set of hope and harvest the following autumn?
Incredibly, this legacy of the American spirit of hope, plenty, and industry has been handed to us as a precious gift. Now, with this gift in hand, what are we going to do with it?
H.U. Westermayer said, "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished; nevertheless, they set aside days of thanksgiving, days of praise and prayer."
Reconciliation and Thanksgiving Dieter F. Uchdorf
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