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Welcome! I am glad you are here. Join me with a cup of your favorite beverage and see what is going on in my life and what is on my mind. I would love to have you join my site and you can do that on the left side where it says 'followers'. And please leave a comment! Thanks for visiting.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

HONORING VETERANS


When I was growing up May 30  was called Decoration Day. Several years ago that was changed to Memorial Day, and on a Monday so that it could be a 3-day weekend holiday.

A little history lesson - the first Decoration Day was declared 3 years after the Civil War ended. That was 1868. It was a day to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.

Today, we decorate anyone's grave, usually family that have passed on. It is good to remember them as well, but it seems to me that the original intent of the holiday has lost its meaning. Our local American Legion puts a star next to the graves of veterans, along with a small American flag, so there is some distinction to show others there is a veteran buried there. Most cemeteries will have some kind of ceremony on the grounds, including Taps on a trumpet.

The mural in the picture above, is painted on the side of our Legion building. That wall is also right next to the property where my husband and I lived. Our garage was directly in front of the Legion wall here. It is so fitting to have the mural here, since my husband was a WWII veteran and very proud of it. He was also a Legion member from the time he got out of the service, until his death.

According to a newspaper article about this mural, the faces of the men were purposely left blank so that you could picture your loved one there.

I hope you have spent a little time this weekend, remembering those that have died in your family, as well as friends, but especially any veterans in your family. They fought hard for your freedom, and many lost their lives in the fight.

Friday, May 22, 2015

FORGOT TO THAW GROUND BEEF?


This weekend officially begins the summer cookout season.


In the past, every year on Memorial Weekend we went camping. Naturally, we had to grill hamburgers or it wouldn't be a holiday weekend, right? Or maybe you get together with some friends and have a picnic.

Some of you may remember that I am one of the world's great procrastinators, and I usually forget to take the ground beef out of the freezer ahead of time, whether for picnics or a meal at home. So here I am, with frozen meat at the last minute. What to do?

The usual way to defrost when you don't have time to put it in the fridge overnight, is to put the package under running water, leave it sit on the counter top, or try defrosting in the microwave. My experience with putting anything frozen in the fridge overnight is that it never thaws overnight, but takes a couple of days. Leaving it sit on the counter top until thawed is not safe, and still takes a long time. So I end up trying to defrost in the microwave, which can be tricky. Sometimes the outer edges get cooked before it is thawed and that doesn't work well if you want to form patties or balls.

I was reading a beef council section of the newspaper recently and found a tip on how to thaw ground beef a safe and quick way. You may wonder why I would be reading such a section since I don't raise beef cattle, but they often have good tips and sometimes recipes for using beef. If you would like to see more, check out this website:  http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/.

Here are the tips listed in the news article on how to defrost ground beef in the microwave in less than 5 minutes, and you can still form burgers, patties or meatballs this way!

1. Remove a pound of frozen ground beef from packaging and place in a gallon size storage bag.

2. Seal the storage bag leaving a small opening for steam to escape.

3. Heat the bag in the microwave (on a microwave-safe plate) for one minute on high.

4. Flip the bag over.

5. Heat on HIGH for 1 more minute, then wait 1 minute.

6. Remove beef from the microwave and massage the beef for 10 second.s

7. If needed, heat on HIGH for 30 seconds longer, followed by 30 seconds rest. The leaner the ground beef, the less time in the microwave.

The ground beef should not be hot to the touch. You don't want to cook the meat, just thaw it enough to form it into your desired shape.
(From the Iowa Beef Industry Council)

Now I admit I have not tried this yet, but will do so when the need arises.

The best thing to do is form patties or make meat balls as soon as you bring the ground beef home from the store, but we are often in a hurry so just throw the package in the freezer to deal with later. You can also buy already frozen patties, but that is not as frugal, plus the ground beef may not be the best, or you like to add your seasoning and other ingredients before freezing.

Sometimes it is just easier to grab a package of frozen hot dogs and put those on the grill instead!

Have a great holiday weekend, and don't forget to honor the veterans first.

(the Beef Industry Council did not pay me to write this. I discovered this myself.)

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

DOWN MEMORY LANE - PAL AND ME


My daughter recently posted this old picture of me on Facebook. One of my friends mentioned putting this on the blog, so here it is.

I have my new pet, Pal, in front of me, dressed in doll clothes. I did that a lot with both the dog and the kitties, poor things. They were my live 'babies'. I had a lot of dolls, too, and loved to play with them.

It looks like the doll dress might match the dress I am wearing. Mom made most of my clothes as well as doll clothes so it is very possible they match. The doll clothes would be made from the fabric that was left after making mine. The matching dresses could be the reason Mom took the picture, showing off my new dress and doll's dress.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

FAITH FRIDAY - ON TUESDAY

About 7 years ago I received this in an email, printed it, and never thought it would become part of a blog. I pray you get as much out of it as I did.


THE DEVIL LEFT HIS BAGS

You put the devil out, but you let him leave his bags.

Never quite looked at it like this before. . . .

You got out of a bad relationship because it was bad,
but you are still resentful and angry.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You got out of financial debt, but you still can't control
the desire to spend on frivolous things.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You got out of a bad habit or addiction,
but you still long to try it just one more time.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You said, I forgive you, but you can't seem to forget
and have peace with that person.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You told your unequally yoked mate that it was over,
but you still continue to call.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You got out of that horribly oppressive job, but you're still
trying to sabotage the company after you've left.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You cut off the affair with that married man/woman,
but you still lust after him/her.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You broke off your relationship with that hurtful abusive
person, but you are suspicious and distrusting of every new
person you meet.
You let the devil leave his bags.

You decided to let go of the past hurts from growing up in an
unstable family environment, yet you believe you are unworthy of love from others, and you refuse to get attached to anyone.
You let the devil leave his bags.

When you put the devil out, please make sure he takes his bags.
                                                                 
                                                                       Author unknown

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

MORE MEMORIES OF THE GROVE

In another area of the grove, my dad built a lazy susan picnic table. I don't know why he chose that spot as that area was more dense and had lots of weeds and undergrowth there, which also meant more bugs and mosquitoes. Swatting bugs at a picnic in no 'picnic'!

I wish I had a good picture of that table but I didn't find one. Here are two pictures of one of the picnics we had out there. Look at all those weeds!



Notice all the women have scarves on their heads and most of the men had caps, but then farmers always had caps on. It was too long ago for me to remember the reason for the scarves. It might have been protection from bird droppings? Or maybe to keep the bugs out of the hair, or it was just chilly out there.

Notice the bench made with two large old wooden wagon wheels and planks. There is a large log stump standing in front for a table and a metal picnic basket sitting on top of it.

Now, about that lazy susan table. It was also made from an old wooden wagon wheel plus the hub and axle. The axle was planted into the ground so that the wheel would turn. Dad covered that with wood to become the lazy susan part of the table. We could just spin the wheel around to get to the dish, catsup bottle, or whatever we wanted. Around the outside of the wheel, Dad used planks to make a stationary ring where we put our plates and cups so we could eat. You can see some old chairs being used, but Dad also had pieces of logs cut to chair seat height that we could sit on. I thought both the table and bench were unique ideas. I don't know if he thought them up himself or if he had seen something like it somewhere. It was fun, except for the mosquitoes!

At first I was thinking this is the same bench that was in the grove. But when I look at the other one, this is made a little different. The one in the grove seems to have planks on both sides of the back board, so you could sit on either side. I think the one by the house only had one seat, and this back board is wider than the other one. The wheels might be smaller on this one too. Wish my memory was better, or maybe that I had paid more attention at the time. I think we take things for granted when we are kids.

Dad didn't make a lot of things that I can remember. He was too busy farming for one thing. I do remember watching him make a ring for me out of a dime. I wish I still had that ring.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

DOWN MEMORY LANE - CHILDHOOD PLAYHOUSE

Memories. . . . . . .

Growing up on a farm with a large grove, I and my friends often played in the grove. Sometimes there were vines hanging from the trees that were strong enough to swing on. I have no idea what kind of vines these were. One day my girlfriend and her older brother decided to make a playhouse in the grove. There was a small junk pile in there, where Mom and Dad threw things that couldn't be burned. Among the items were old metal tractor seats that looked something like this:


And there were old seat springs that were something like this:


Those became our sofa and chairs in our playhouse. We would find old aluminum coffee pots, teakettles, and I don't remember what else. We made 'walls', or at least marked where the walls would be, by pushing short forked tree branches into the ground and then laying long, narrow branches in the forks. I am pretty sure the older brother came up with that idea. My memory no longer tells me what else was in this playhouse, but we did have some fun with it. Maybe it was more fun just making it than it was playing in it. This just shows what kids can do with old junk and some imagination to make their own playthings. Those were the 'good old days.' That was before television, computers, cell phones, WIIs, Playstation, and such. We made our own fun.

Monday, May 4, 2015

CHURCH TERMS THAT OUGHTA BE


I had clipped the following from a church magazine some time ago, and just ran across it again. I am sharing it with you, and then I get to throw the paper away because I will have it recorded here. One less paper in my pile!

ROBELASH: When the sleeve of a robe catches the arm of a pew and abruptly turns the person sideways -- and becomes a pain in the neck. (When you witness robelash, look for that person after worship to offer a neck rub and some kind words.)

BIBLIDUE:  The build-up of bookmarks, bulletins, notes, and other miscellanea that collects in one's Bible.
(guilty of this one!)

HYMNASTICS:  1. The entertaining body language of the song leader. 2. The contortions of juggling multiple songbooks.

NARTHEXEGESIS: Unsolicited post-sermon commentary given the preacher by armchair biblical theologians.
(don't know how to pronouce this? --- narthex.eh.gee.sis)

PEWTRIFY: To occupy a precise spot in the sanctuary for more than fifteen years without once, showing signs of sentient life.
( I had to look up what sentient means - able to perceive; feel things; conscious)

DEACONSCRIPT: An unwilling church officer cajoled into a position of leadership.

HYMNPROVISATION:  The abrupt and unannounced transition from one song to another, usually a chorus unfamiliar to most present.
(that is when our praise team are the only ones singing.)

PULPTUITARY: That phenomenon familiar to those seated on the front pew, during which a preacher produces hazardous conditions with alliterative Ps.


I hope this gave you a giggle or two.

Friday, May 1, 2015

FAITH FRIDAY - THE THRESHING FLOOR


It has been quite awhile since I did a FAITH FRIDAY post. I have been saving some, so it is time to get back to this.

I listen to several ministers on TV, and one of them is Ron Carpenter. One week he talked about Ruth and Boaz, and how Boaz slept on the threshing floor. A threshing floor is where wheat is tossed into the air so that the wind blows the chaff away. The wheat kernels are heavier than the chaff, so they fall to the floor.

When harvesting anything there is always a part that is kept and a part that is thrown away.

Jesus lives on the threshing floor. He throws US up in the air. The Holy Spirit is the wind that removes what we don't need, so that eventually only what is good remains in us.