Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New Collage

I've put on a new collection of pictures in the header and since I don't care for pictures without captions I thought I'd walk you through this collection of pictures from our family...

from L to R... top to bottom

Heather last Christmas... peering through the palms
Mr. D with our tiny Christmas tree
Joanna when we went sledding 12/27/2009
Mom and Dad on their wedding day, Asbury Park Baptist
My brother and I in the sandbox
Our wedding day, my Mom and Mr. D's Mom and Dad
Brandon with a Luna Moth this past summer
The little "camper" our family lived in in Maine for 6 years - don't know how my Mom did it.
J and H last summer
Mr. D on his tractor
Our little "camper in the woods" covered with snow last winter
Washington DC in the cherry blossoms this past April.

Thank you for visiting.

Have a wonderful day.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hello Again...

I am participating in
To join in the fun go to... "From This Side of the Pond"

How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis?  Would we want you nearby an emergency?
Honestly, I don't panic but I do shake.  Guess that means something is going on inside.  Once got into a heated discussion with a parent of one of my students who would not listen to reason.  To this day I can feel the trembling in my gut.  It was time to leave and breathe.  It's the only time I gotten like that so guess I wouldn't be too good at debate.  On the whole in emergency situations I am very calm and am able to think clearly.  It is something I got from my Dad who was so wonderfully calm... at least on the outside... when things got crazy.  My mother would react more easily, but she also was a calming factor.  My brother also, so being surrounded with such calm people... how can you help being calm.

Caramel apple, Caramel sundae, Caramel corn, Caramel macchiato... of these four, which caramel treat would you choose?
I love caramel apples but my dentures do not... however, that doesn't stop me from eating them... I just get out a knife and fork.  I do love warm caramel corn, but not so much caramel sundaes or macchiato.  Of the two, guess my favorite would be warm caramel corn... like you get on the boardwalk.

Is there such a think as destiny?  Explain.
Of course there is destiny. 

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."  Ephesians 1:4-6   

Also Romans 8:28-31
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Probably not what the world thinks of as destiny... like in matter of love and wealth and possession.  I can't think of any "higher" destiny that becoming a child of God and living for Him.

What's your favorite piece of furniture?  I'm referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list.

About the second year of our marriage my Sweetie got me a mission rocker for Christmas.  I love that rocker and can't wait to get into our home again so I can enjoy it once more.  I also have a tall sewing chest that was in my Mom's family.  My Nanna always had it stuffed with old velvet purses.  When I inherited it the drawers were still stuffed with ancient sewing stuff... needles, thimbles, threads on old wooden spools and a knob for mending socks.  I kept all that stuff where it was and only use the top drawer for my current hand sewing/mending needs.  This also is in storage till we get moved in.

Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you're not an American do you find the title 'World Series' annoying or amusing?


Oh my... we don't watch sports in our house.  I loved watching my kids play sports... basketball and soccer, but now I really don't have a lot of interest.  I hear a lot about it at work... mostly in the pools that are going on and who won for the week.

A sound that takes me back to my childhood is....

We had some old records... George Beverly Shea recordings that my Mom loved to listen to while she was working around the house.  Not too long ago on our Christian Radio Station I heard one of those songs from that recording... wow was that a wave of nostalgia.  Sometimes there are smells that I catch that take me back to childhood like "Bell Seasoning" my mom always used in her turkey stuffing.  Those reminders are getting less and less these days.

On average, once you've linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?

This is the first time I've participated in Hodgepodge, but I like doing these Q&A posts.  It's fun to read others too, so I'll probably look at them throughout the day today.  It depends on what happens today whether I'll get to read all of them.

Insert your own random thought here.



God has been giving me lots to do lately.  I'm just plugging along and getting something done each day.  I try to prioritize, but the rules keep changing ;)

We've been trying to get the camper ready for my daughter to move into.  We hoped to rent the little excavator this weekend, but it's looking a little iffy... we still don't have all the supplies together (ie drainage pipe, underground wire etc.).  I finished laying the plywood in the kitchen, but haven't screwed it down and filled the holes, then it needs to be sealed.  I would like to get that done this weekend if we can't get the ditches done (see what I mean?).  We also have a muskovy drake to butcher and chickens to tag.  I also have carrots and beets to harvest and squash to cook up and freeze.  The chores just never end.  I'm not complaining really, just stating facts.  I think I need a helper for a few weeks to get everything done.  Any volunteers?

Well, it's been an incredibly busy year all way 'round.  As you can tell by my blog posts, I just don't have time to sit down and do anything on the computer even though I would like to.  Maybe this winter...  there isn't a lot of gardening to be done in the winter, or butchering, or ditch digging, but I have lots of sewing I want to do... we're expecting another grandchild and I WANT TO SEW (little temper tantrum there).  Hope it's a girl.

That's my "random thoughts" and there's lots more where that came from.. really too many to type out here.



another little "blast from the past"  my Auntie had a book with this picture in it.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

What's up with us....

I haven't been sitting around reading, or sleeping, or twiddling my thumbs ya know....

Here's our new "egg box". Quite an improvement over a cooler on a folding chair at the end of the road...


The cooler is in the middle section.  On both sides are some veggies.  Some are free and some we're selling.
Mr. D made the boxes and I painted the door.

Then on the 21st and 22nd we went and had some fun at camp :)


That girl out there grinning at me is my daughter.  Yup, she went with us and we had lots of fun.  What a great weekend.  It was sooooo cold that night... first frost... and though we were prepared we slept little.

Our speaker was Mardi Collier who came from SC to be our speaker was wonderful.  God was really working through her to say just what I needed to hear.  She spoke about the promises in God's Word and "100% words"  such as "...my God shall supply all your need..." Philippians 4:19  or "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" Ephesians 1:3  or another one of my favorites "...hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness..." II Peter 1:3  How cool is that?  Not just some things that we need, but all things that we need.  What a great God we serve!

I needed to hear this message. We've been through some unsteady times lately and it can be frightening, but God is my stability... He is my rock and fortress.


This is Mardi's book and if you have a chance you should find a copy and read it... well worth your time.


So glad that my daughter could go with me too.  It was fun to share a little mother/daughter time.

We've got more stuff to get in from the garden.  I pick lots of green beans and all the corn. We do not have all the squash in yet, but probably will stack it under tarps for a little while... it's going to get cold tomorrow night and probably will frost.  Don't want the little squashes to get rashes :)

I made some stuffed squash blossoms on 9/30 for my Sweetie's birthday.  He had gone to pick up my daughter's camper that day and it was driving rain facing one challenge after the other.  First he had trouble meeting up with his dad.  He got questioned by the police while he was waiting to meet up with him.  He was stopped by the police after he and his dad got separated on their way back.  He had to replace all the tires before coming home with the camper 'cause they had dry rot.  I'm telling you, my Sweetie has huge amounts of patience... after all, he puts up with me.

So a special dinner was in order.


first I sauteed some onion, mushrooms and fresh herbs in a little olive oil
I picked about 12 squash blossoms... not going to produce fruit now anyway
I removed the insides, they give the flower their sweet smell and I just don't care for them in my casserole.  Watch out for bees if you pick them when the weather is a little cold... I found about 5 or 6 tucked down inside.  I washed the flower to get any sand/dirt off.
I took a small container of ricotta cheese and mixed in the sauteed vegetables, which I had cooled off a little then added some Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)


Then I stuffed the blossoms with the cheese and veggie mixture and laid them in a small baking pan.  I did not fry them first to avoid all that step and all that oil which neither of us need.
I then laid a little sauce over the top, not too much and this is organic spaghetti sauce I buy at Price Chopper grocery store.  I could have used some of my own, but had this open already.  I put on some mozzarella cheese and popped them into the oven. and this is what we got....

This was really yummy.  I noticed we have lots more squash blossoms out there... maybe there's still some time to make more before the end of gardening season.

Hope you have a great week.

God Bless!