December...

 

Hello again to anyone who is still reading here.  I've been away from the blogs for a little while, just taking a break and doing some things.  One  "thing" I've been doing for December is drawing or painting or creating each day.  Even just a very small drawing suffices.  Each day there is a prompt that can inspire the art.  I'm trying to think outside the box with it.  It's been fun for me and reflective in a way.  I'm finding that the more I draw or paint, the more I want to do it, and this is one of my goals.  To just keep on with it.  Winter is a very good time for me to work on art, but I'd like it to be more of an everyday thing throughout the year.  I've been learning a few watercolor techniques on YouTube that have been very fun and have brought some nice results. 

Last week some of the women and girls in our family attended The Nutcracker ballet in the city.  The Moscow Ballet Troupe performed and the local ballet studio supplied the children's parts.  It was spectacular.  The little ballerinas in our family were greatly inspired, and those who are not ballerinas were much impressed. 

 

Do you remember string art from the 70s?  You know....the nails all pounded into a board and then different colors of strings were woven in and out to make a picture?  Well, my daughters, my mom, and I went to a class where we made a string art snowflake.  It was a three hour class and we spent four hours there to complete it.  Some who attended the class did not complete their snowflakes, but took them home.  We were happy with our results, but all that pounding was quite an experience.  String art has become the new rage once again.  It would not be my first choice in art, but it was fun to try it and have something pretty to bring home.

I still don't have my Christmas tree up yet.  I'm really not a Grinch, but I am just taking things slow and not getting too wrapped up in the Christmas hurry & flurry at the moment.  I will though.  I think.  I am lighting candles, making juniper wreaths, and placing sprigs of evergreen here and there.  My father-in-law brought me a beautiful poinsettia which brings a dose of red and green Christmas cheer to our home.  I do enjoy a cup of chai tea in the evenings by candlelight or by the wood stove fire -- small signs of Christmas-ness. Oh, and there is snow.  I didn't have anything to do with that part, but it looks more festive here when there is snow on the ground.  I heard one lady who wasn't keen on holiday decorating say, "If you want to enjoy the season, just look out the window."  Amen!

The part I really love about winter is that we are in a nice, slow-down time here at the ranch and it's really been wonderful.  We needed it after a very busy year of work. We have more time with each other, more time to play, more time to just relax and be.  Again, it's a reflective time for us, for me.  We have been looking back on our year, evaluating what we did and did not do, planning for the year to come, and assessing how to go about it.  It's a good thing.  My favorite reflection is that Babe in the Manger, Jesus, whose name means, Jehovah Saves.  I'm so glad He came down to us, to save us, to be with us, to bring us His peace.  I hope you are enjoying the small, quiet things and the big, loud, joyful things of the season.  Christmas Peace be yours.
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy every moment!

Partly Cloudy....

 

Look at that beautiful, bright, blue sky behind the quilt. 

Now that's blue!

And it's cold too.

Four below zero this morning and a high of 21 today.

Brrrrr!

 

 

 

 

Partly Cloudy is the name of my newest quilt creation.

I found this quilt design & pattern on

BlockM Quilts.

Daniela graciously shares her pattern for free.
My quilt turned out to be 74x57".
I had to do a little trimming and editing along the way.

 

I made this quilt for my nephew & his fiancé's wedding.

We will be driving to Wichita soon to take part in the celebration.

I chose the name Partly Cloudy because even though a wedding is one of the

Brightest Days of Life

marriage comes with many cloudy skies, rain, snow, sleet, heat waves, winds

 and all of the other things we must weather as a couple.

My prayer is that they will know the comfort of being

wrapped in the arms of God through it all.

And I hope the quilt will remind them of that.

............................................................................

 

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
            Stormy wind, fulfilling His word.

Psalm 148:8

Happy Easter

Since Jesus Christ Rose from the Dead

Brandon Cox

He is Risen!

We have hope.

A bit o' Irish for you...

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock. 

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's wisdom to uphold me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's host to save me... 

~Attributed to St. Patrick
Ireland 389 (?) - 461 A.D. 
......................................................................

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I share with you some wonderful stories about the Irish by one of my favorite children's authors, Tomie dePaola.   Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland, Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill,  and others.  He has a nice book called The Miracles of Jesus.  Both Littles and Bigs can appreciate the stories and art of Tomie dePaola. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy LOVE Day....

Sweets for the sweet.

I baked the favorite sugar cookies with red-hots

for our kids and grandkids.

Grandpa Jim brought me the flowers.

I hope you are feeling loved today.

 God loves you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. 

Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

~Romans 12:10

(Berean Study Bible)

Nature journal -- Deer...

 I've added new pages to my Fall Nature Journal --

the dear deer.

We have a lot of deer roaming on our ranch, and the harvest is on.

Our hunters are getting some prime hunting here.

As for me, I enjoy capturing deer with my camera

and now I'm using my paint brush.

It's all a learning experience for me and that keeps it fun.

The Christmas (all holiday) Cactus is in full bloom.

It just missed Halloween, but I am sure it will be blooming

full-tilt for the remaining winter and even spring holidays.

I've seen it bloom all the way to Easter,

all in the quiet and humble laundry room where it thrives.

Are you gearing up for Thanksgiving?

I am.

We'll have a nice houseful of guests,  although not the entire tribe this year.

I'm cooking the major stuff and our guests will fill in with their favorite dishes.

It's always nice to see how the dinner rounds out.

I wish you a week of humble and joyful preparation

and a day of true thanks and giving.

Happy Independence Day!

Look at these fireworks!
Even the flowers sing:

Happy Independence Day!

God bless America!

Happy Mother's Day and a recipe

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there!  It's been a nice day in my neck of the woods with a little lawn chair sitting, a little iced tea, and a little book and magazine reading.  I did also do a little mowing with the rider, but just a little bit.  I'm trying to be more restful on Sundays.  However, I know several mamas out there who are "on duty" this fine Mother's Day.  They are nursing sick children, feeding hungry babies, disciplining unruly toddlers, and moving college students home from school.  A mom's job is never done, really.  We must always be able to see the good and be thankful for each day and each duty and each Someone that God gives us under the sun.

Today I'm sharing a picture of my flower patch and my lawn chair sitting spot along with my rhubarb patch.  It's growing beautifully.  We had a nice thunderstorm overnight and it was just the thing for the rhubarb as well as all the other green things growing.  I also want to share a recipe with you for Rhubarb Salsa.  I know!  Can it really be good?  Yes!  It's fabulous!  OnlyDaughter brought some out a couple days ago for us to try and we all loved it.  I insisted that we make another batch so we did and we tried it out on the rest of the families here.  Even the kiddos liked it.  I'm sorry I don't have a fine picture to show you, but we ate it all up!

Rhubarb Salsa

Serves: 4-6 persons

 

The rhubarb replaces tomato in this unique salsa. To balance the tartness, I've added some honey and the kick of a jalapeno will bring it together for a surprising burst of flavor!

 

Ingredients

• rhubarb (1 to 1½ cups) diced small
• ¼ cup of sweet bell pepper, diced (I used red and orange)
• 2 tablespoons of diced white or red onion
• 2 tablespoons of diced scallions
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed and diced (used red pepper flakes)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of honey (raw if you have it)
• kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 2 cups of water in a saucepan to boiling. Blanch rhubarb by placing in the boiling water for 10 to 20 seconds. Quickly remove the rhubarb and place in a colander. Run cold water over the rhubarb to stop the cooking process. Blot the rhubarb with a paper towel to dry.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the bell pepper, onion, scallions, jalapeño, and cilantro. Add rhubarb and mix ingredients.
3. In a small separate bowl, dissolve the honey in the lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Drizzle this dressing over the rhubarb salsa and stir. Add the salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

This recipe comes from Simply Fresh Dinners 
so if you want to see a beautiful picture of the salsa, you can click over there and see how wonderful it is!  I wanted to tell you that I didn't have jalapeno so I used red pepper flakes.  I didn't have scallions either so we added a little more onion.  I had lemon juice instead of lime juice.  I also threw in a tablespoon or so of diced Hatch chilies from my freezer.  So you see, you can fiddle with this recipe to your tastes as I always do as I did.  We at our salsa on corn chips and later that night I had it on my tacos.  Scrumptious! 

Some of my fondest memories are picking rhubarb at my Grandma & Grandpa's farm.  It was a prized fruit and Grandpa took good care of it making sure to heap on the decomposed horse manure every fall.  We kids would eat the picked stalks raw, dipped in sugar.  (We also ate crab apples and choke cherries fresh -- SOUR!)  Do you grow rhubarb?  What are your favorite rhubarb recipes?

Ravished with wonder...

I mentioned to you that I am reading The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp for my Advent meditations and so far, it's been a very good thing for me.  One phrase that has captured my attention comes from a quote from John Calvin.  

Every human being is "formed to be a spectator of the created world and given eyes that he might be led to its author...first to cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the world in which God wishes to be seen by us...As soon as we acknowledge God to be the supreme architect, who has erected the beauteous fabric of the universe, our minds must necessarily be ravished with wonder at His infinite goodness, wisdom and power.

The phrase "ravished with wonder" has captivated me.  I think about it now in lots of little things I see and feel and hear and smell.  Since I am a lover of nature, I am ravished with wonder at the chickadees, nuthatches, starlings and grouse that overwinter with us.  It's cold here.  Just 10* tonight and promises of colder days yet to come.  And they are here, happily visiting our feeders and living in the tree patches and hay stacks.

 Red-breasted Nuthatch from WikiCommons

Since the cold has returned, we've been building fires in our wood burning stove and I am ravished with wonder to watch the beautiful tongues of fire and to feel it's warmth as I stand with my cold backside to it.  In winter there is no better way of warming-up that is better than the warmth of a wood fire.

 

Walking in the biting wind with snow pelting my face as I close a gate in the pasture, I am ravished with wonder at the power and strength of the wind and the cold temperatures combined, and I am amazed at how quickly I get chilled, bundled up as I am, but our thick-hided Hereford cows and woolly sheep can tolerate this weather seemingly without a care.

 

Do you love the smells and tastes of Christmas as I do?  Are you ravished with wonder at the aromas of fresh-baked bread,  juniper branches, or the spices of star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves and ginger?  I love those warm, earthy smells and flavors.  I like to put them in my pot of water on the wood stove and let their spicey goodness permeate the air, and I like to taste them in my hot lemonade and in cookies and cakes.  The pomegranates are in the grocery store now.  They are so delicious!  I am always taken by the beautiful red jewels that grow inside -- the sweet, juicy seeds that we love to eat this time of year.

I am ravished with wonder at the sounds of our youngest grandchildren learning to talk, saying the names of their siblings or saying, "Bye bye" and "Yeah" and "No!" and "Air compressor" and "Water tank" and "Bye Gammy!"  And I am blessed to hear the older grandchildren learning to read and love books.  It is a fine thing to have little people climb up into my lap with their favorite books who seem to be ravished with wonder as I read the same stories to them over and over again.  It's a joy, and an honor, and a blessing to me.

So I challenge you to be ravished with wonder this Advent season.  Go to the window, to your back door, go for a walk, look up at the stars, listen to a child and listen closely.  Breathe in the spices of the season, taste it, feel the cold of a snowy day or the warmth of a mug of hot tea.  Love is there.  It's a gift, just for you, from the God of Love.  He is the author of it.  Come, let us adore Him!

Day of Preparation...

It's the Day of Preparation at my house. Yours too?
Helpful tip of the day....
Taste your batter, fillings, and everything.  You never know if you missed an ingredient like sugar.  Yes, sugar!  One year I was making pumpkin pies.  I poured the filling into the shells and slid them into the oven.  While cleaning up the bowls and beaters, I tasted the pumpkin pie filling -- ick!  No sugar!  Thankfully I was able to pull the pies out of the oven poured the filling back into the bowl so I could add sugar.  One little lick of the spoon or beaters just might save the day!


Happy Thanksgiving!

35 Years....

We're celebrating!
(Thank you God)

35 years married.

Best friends and lovers.
You Take Me The Way I Am.
...............................
 

We went for a Canyon Drive,

ate at our favorite place, 

and went to the movie, Ben-Hur.

You should go see Ben-Hur.

It's Friday, but Sunday's a coming...

 

We remember.

Valentine cookies, Raisinets, and Pistachios....

Soon it will be Valentine's Day.  We aren't big celebraters of the day, but we like to give a little chocolate and nuts to each other.  Today Hubby and I shopped together for groceries, and I threw in a bag of Dark Chocolate Raisinets (from him) and he chose Pistachios (from me) for Valentine's Day.  Yeah, we are weird like that.  In addition to this lavish display of love and affection, I did have a little "heart fun" by baking one of my favorite cookies -- iced sugar cookies with red hot centers.  I really like a red hot candy with every bite of cookie, so you might spot a cookie or two in the pic below that I WILL eat!  I totally made the cookies for my grandchildren and their families, but I saved a few back just for us.  (That's romantic, isn't it?)

When I was a girl we had a local bakery downtown that  made these delicious heart-shaped sugar cookies with red hot centers for Valentine's Day.  I think they were a nickle apiece back then, and I couldn't wait to walk to the bakery after school to buy myself a heart cookie.  I never forgot those hearts and when I got old enough to make my own cut-out cookies, I made sure to bake up some of those beauties to celebrate Heart Day.  The recipe is my mom's, and if I do say so myself, they are The Best Sugar Cookies Ever.  Yes, they really are.    You should try them.  Want to?  Ok.  Here ya go!

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. Crisco shortening

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

4 1/2 c. flour (plus a little more for rolling out)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

1 t. vanilla

Cream together butter, shortening and sugars.  Add eggs.  Add dry ingredients and then vanilla.  Mix well, scraping down sides of bowl.  Chill in the frig for several hours.  If rolling out dough for cut-out cookies, you may need to add a little more flour.  You don't want dough too sticky.  

Divide the dough into four chunks and roll out on a floured cupboard for cut-out cookies or roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten with a sugared glass bottom.  You may also like to sprinkle some extra colored sugar on these.  Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes.  Do not over-bake.  You barely want a golden tinge on the edge.

If you like, you may frost the cookies with an icing mixing:  powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a little almond extract.  Make as thick or thin as you want.  Add sprinkles.  This recipe makes a large batch, approximately 4 dozen cookies or more.

**Famous Christmas, Valentine’s Day or Easter cookies.

Farewell old year. Welcome New Year!

Thank you 2015!  You were good to us. 

I was paging through my journal to see what stuck out to me through the year.  Honestly, I lead a very low key, almost boring life, but I love it, and I feel so blessed. I'm so glad that the things I wrote down in my book were simple, everyday kinds of things like:  birthdays, two births, the first rhubarb pie, the veggie garden arrangement, the first lambs and calves born, the new haying equipment, deaths of old friends, fires and rains, misty fog, sewing projects, and afternoons spent with the grandkids.  All little parts of a year in a life.

I'm looking forward to the New Year, seeing what God has in store for me and for my family. Thank you for coming to visit me here at Gumbo Lily.  It's fun to read your kind comments and know that you think what's going on with me is interesting and worth stopping in for.  You're such nice people.

I wish you all the best in the New Year.  Be blessed.  Be joyful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a busy Day of Preparation here.

The buns and pies are baked,

The cranberries are dipped in chocolate,

Potatoes are mashed and waiting for their oven-bake,

Cheese ball is chilling,

and the Ham and Turkey and Dressing are waiting in the wings for the big day.

The rest of the fixin's are coming with the guests.

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving! 

We have so much to be thankful for....

like teeth to eat Thanksgiving Dinner, 

and being together!
God bless your day.

Halloween Fun!

Dressing up

Trick or Treat

Eating "bones, skeletons, and monster cookies"

Chili and Cauliflower-Cheese soup

Pumpkin Ale

Jack-o-lanterns

Candy

Grandkids

Halloween!

Happy Birthday...

It was Honey Hubby's 53rd birthday today.  Some of our kids and grandkids came for a pancake supper with bacon and side pork.  It's a family tradition to request your favorite meal for birthday supper.  It was sure good.  The big Ta-da was the Pineapple Upside-down Cake.  I didn't have the proper pineapple rings called for in the recipe, but I did have pineapple tidbits and marchino cherries.  It worked just fine.

The lambing has been in a slump these past three days, but I know it won't last for long.  We're expecting a change in the weather, and that usually means the babies come in a wave when that happens.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe it is the weather.  Today we had a good number of babies born, and we have one bum lamb.  She was a twin.  The mama ewe loved one, but not the other, so I'm her mama now.  She's a good lamb and took to the bottle right away.  There's a chance we might find her a new mama yet.  We'll see.

OnlyDaughter is waiting on her baby which is due March 5th.  She's feeling very heavy-with-child just now.  We're waiting for the phone call that tells us it's time to pick up the children when Mama goes into labor.  There's a family contest, guessing what sex the baby will be and on what day he/she will be born.  I guessed February 28th, boy.  Hubby thought it would be ok if the baby was born on his birthday, but we're running out of time for that at 10:00 pm just now.  It would have to come fast!

Hoping all is well with you.  Thank you for stopping by.

Brand New!

 What I love about a new year is that we get to start over -- a brand new calendar with fresh new dates and nothing filling in the days.  This is the calendar I picked this year.  I love big, open spaces to write in.  How quickly that open space changes.  I don't know about you, but when I get my new calendar I immediately write in all of the family birthdays, anniversaries,  due dates, and lastly, add in the dangling January appointments scribbled on the bottom of the December page.  For one small moment though, the new year is fresh, clean, open!  It's fun to think about it for that small moment in time.  (Let's pause and think about it.)  How swiftly the new year marches in with its schedules, appointments, special dates and events.  

Do you ever take a little extra time to look at your old calendar as you add the birthdays and anniversaries onto your new one and notice what a full year it was?  It is quite fascinating to me.  My mother-in-law had a large wall calendar that she received yearly from a livestock newspaper.  It had big boxes for writing in, and she always kept a mini-diary on it.  I loved seeing her teacher-like penmanship written in each square with all the activities of the ranch and family life inked in.

I'm not a New Year Resolution Person.  Are you?  I like to think of a few things that I want to do and hope to do in the new year and pencil them into my journal, but I know that sometimes my best laid plans do not always materialize for one reason or another.  I like to remain open to things that God might put in my path, things that I may not have had on my radar screen for the coming year at all.  That's not to say I don't plan, but I know that My Plans are not always God's Plans.

Another thing that I have been thinking about in this new year is the fact that God is in control.  I have had to remind myself of this fact a lot lately.  There are so many, many things that trouble my heart, especially when I watch the news or read the headlines.   Sometimes I just want to cry for humanity.  The other day I was typing an email to a friend, and I believe God inspired the ending with the lines from the carol, O Holy Night. 

 "Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever!  

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!"   

Christ is the Lord, I will trust Him.  I will put my hand in His.  I won't worry, but believe.  I will wait to see His power and glory happening, and then I will proclaim it.  

 Dear Friends, I wish you all the best in this new year, 2015.  May God speak to your heart and may you have ears to hear His whisper.  May He show you big, beautiful things, and give you keen interest in the humble little things too.  In the troubling things, I hope you'll be able to trust.  Above all, may you know His love, forgiveness, peace, and hope.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  ~Romans 15:13

Happy 4th of July!

 

 

Hometown, USA 4th of July Parade.
Sunny and HOT -- 94* F