Be Still and Know...Then and Now

I was thinking this morning about how the transformation that happens in my home after thanksgiving? It is a slow gradual process as the tree gets put up and the decorations get put on. I love unwrapping all my precious homemade ornaments and finding just the right spot to place then on the tree. One of my favorites is a small baby Jesus ornament that my son made when he was a very little boy. It is made with Popsicle sticks and a peanut wrapped up in a small piece of blue cloth, Baby Jesus in the Manger, it is the sweetest ornament and quite possible my favorite. (I will post a picture of the ornament as soon as I come across it, all the ornaments are still waiting to be unboxed) But as I was standing in my kitchen pouring my coffee I thought to myself that today is the day that I will make the switch. I will take all my Christmas coffee mugs down from their shelf and put all my normal everyday coffee cups away. This for me will then signal the beginning of the holidays. It is such sm...

Wooo Hooo for me! It doesn't take much to make me feel like a rocket scientist! I figured out how to do a Mr. Linkey! I don't have anything I want you to link up to I just wanted to see if I could figure it out. I was feeling a bit inferior to all the other fabulous blogs out there who do the wonderful carnivals and vlogs or flogs and whatever else. Hmmmmm....the possibilities are now opening up before me for future Mr. Linkey applications..... Blessings Robin A.K.A Mr. Linkey Rocket Scientist

It is amazing the difference perspective brings to my life. When I think of my life and where I am at the ripe old age of 49. I see so many things that are surprising. I thought that the number 50 would bother me, but as I step into the year that I will draw near to this milestone I find that I am not as bothered by this approaching landmark as I thought I would be. The grey hairs kind of bug me at times, but not enough to exert the time, energy and expense to get rid of them. A blogging friend of mine called them credentials, Wow! I like that!! They aren’t grey hair or wrinkles they are credentials, have mercy!!!! The aches and pains are an inconvenience, but I have the perspective to recognize that they are minor in comparison to other physical health issues of some others that I know. The short term memory loss, (now what was I saying, why did I come in here and why are my car keys in the freezer?) this can be a blessing as it clears away the mind and allows me to simply lets go of ...

Your Native American Name Is... What a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nadie Kokyangwuti Your name means: Wise Middle Aged Spider Woman What's Your Native American Name? If you play let me know what your name is!!!!!! Wise Middle Aged Spider Woman signing off for now!!!!!

The other day during my bible study our facilitator opened up our study time with a prayer. Now this in itself is not unusual, we always open with a word of prayer. What I noticed were three words she spoke at the end of her prayer. After the prayer was over I leaned over and whispered to a friend that these words brought back a memory of my grandmother. I do not recall a prayer from her mouth that did not include these three words. It is one of those regrets in life that I learned the hard way, I wish now I had paid more attention to those precious moments and possible written some of them down, but sadly I did not. The ignorance of youth and the illusion that we have all the time in the world is such a fantasy. I have such a clear picture of my grandmother sitting at the head of our table and bowing her beautiful silver haired head to bless our meal. Her hands were so gnarled from arthritis that it was painful to look at them but none the less she would lift them and attempt to place...

It’s in the air, the anticipation, the preparation, and the smells from the kitchen. I have a cake cooling on the counter, a pan of brownies in the oven, a pot of green beans in the crock pot and there are plans for homemade Mac and Cheese later. With all this busyness the payoff is the gathering tomorrow at my sister’s house for our family thanksgiving. In my blog hopping this morning there was a very similar theme going on. It seems that as the holidays grow nearer our thoughts are more focused on the things to come then the things of today. I know for myself with all the turmoil on the nightly news who would not want to place all their attention on sweet potato soufflé and looking for the perfect stuffing recipe. With Thanksgiving just around the corner I am thinking about my life and all that I am thankful for. It at times is difficult to set aside the other aspect of life that at times scream louder then the praises, yet the wonderful thing about anticipation and preparation is t...

This recipe is not necessarily very thanksgivvy, but I tried it just yesterday and was so happy with the outcome I had to share it. It is one I saw on Food network, a Paula Dean recipe so of course it is loaded with butter, mayonnaise, and CHEESE etc…. however I did make a few substitutions if you feel like lightening it up a bit. I found that with my substitutions I was still very good. My substitutions are in italics. It will be a keeper for many future evening meals and covered dish suppers. Chicken Florentine Ingredients: 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach 6 chicken breast halves (about 4 pounds), cooked, boned, and shredded 2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup I substituted the 98% fat free mushroom soup 1 cup mayonnaise I substituted about ½ to ¾ cup light mayonnaise 1 cup sour cream I substituted Fat free Sour Cream 2 cup grated sharp Cheddar I cut this back by half and only uses a cup of cheese 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice I zested about half of t...

I am not sure what it is about the turn of seasons, but for me with the change in temperature and the falling of the leaves spur in me a desire for warm comforting smells emanating from my kitchen. I think that there can be no better smell than the yeasty aroma of a loaf of homemade bread filling my home. The aroma begins with the first pouring of the warm water over the dry yeast and the tiny little microbes or whatever they are spring into action. The little bubbles signaling to me that a mysterious process is taking place. The scent lifts from my mixer bowl and fills the kitchen. As the bread proofs in a warm oven it grows, and grows and again the heady aroma fills the air. The feel of the dough in my hands as I form it into loaves, it is soft, firm, pliable, elastic and again fragrant. This beginning perfume is only intensified as it is altered by the heat of my oven. The raw yeast smell transforms into a full and fragrant fall bouquet. The smell of the homemade bread laden with ci...

I love how clicking over to my blog leads me to so many different thoughts and people. This morning I was comforted by a wonderful Scottish poem and then I checked in on 2 cup of coffee and she had bounced off a blog and did a post which was spurred off of someone else’s blog and so on and so on and so on and there you have the six degree of blogeration so I thought I would add my (I've lost count what degree it is ) of separation to this random chain in the blogosphere . So here it is for all it’s worth! What is your writing process? For me it is a definite prompting. There are times when it seems as if there is a tiny voice in my head that tells me to write it down, there are multiple scriptures that reference God specifically telling his people to write something down, no I am far from saying that what I place down on paper is prophetic, but it is just an example of how best to describe my process. I will be doing something random and then a thought or germ of an idea will fla...

Que the fireworks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Release the balloons !!!! Let the confetti fly!!!! Pop the corks!!!!! Because we have a winner........................................................ In a highly scientific process involving a plastic bowl, some scrap paper and the assistance of my DD I am proud to announce the winner of my 100 th post give away is..... A Portland Granny Applause!!! Applause!!! Applause!!!!! Let's all do the Happy Dance!!!! Wooo Hooooo !!!!!!!

New information was released today to the general public about a disturbing new disorder becoming more prevalent in the knitting and crocheting society. The findings from this ground breaking study are shedding some much needed light onto a little know and newly discovered disordered. Obsessive Crocheting Disorder is a closely related form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, however the symptoms seem to be closely related to the weather. Research studies have found a link between the drop in temperature and the rise of reported cases of Obsessive Crocheting Disorder. However scientists are still unable to determine why the colder temperatures seem to bring the onset of this disturbing disorder. In researching this new disorder doctors interview a cross section of society and found that there are several symptoms that can all be indicators of this disorder. Sadly this disorder can also be genetic and passed from one generation to another. To date there is no know test to detect the geneti...

There is one day left in my 100th Post Give Away . If you would like to toss you name in the hat just leave me a comment at the link above. I will draw a winner tomorrow evening and post the winner Tuesday.

In the days prior to the election there was a sense of urgency in the air. There was also a great cloud of expectancy that hovered over everything. For what seemed like forever things had been building up to election day. Now I will readily admit that what I had been praying for did not come to completion, or at least in my limited human vision of what I wanted to happen, well lets just say that as I watched all the revelry on election eve I had a sense of disbelief and trepidation of the days to come. I began to think about the things that I know to be true. I began to ponder on what I know will never change and my “dis-ease” began to lessen. There are so many things in life that are beyond our control, the next four years will no doubt bring many changes. With those changes there are things that I can do. As we were explain the outcome of the election to my daughter, my husband and I impressed upon her that now it is even more important than ever to double our efforts of praying for ...

In honor of my 100 th post I am killing two or maybe three birds with one stone so bear with me. First, I have a small give away for one of my wonderful readers. I love a bargain and I love decorative wall crosses and I found these wonderful fall foliage crosses marked down 50% at the Hobby Lobby. ( Yaaaaaa !!!!!!!) I bought the last two they had, so I have one for me and one for you!!!!!! My two favorite things all in one. If you will leave me a comment I will draw from all of them and pick a winner. I can’t wait to see who will win!!!!!! I'll leave the contest open until next Monday!!!!! Secondly I was reading a post over at 2 nd Cup of Coffee about Linda’s Laundry Miracle. She shared with all of us about the rare occurrence of being able to fold all her white socks and actually having them all match up. I though to myself that there have been a few rare occasions when this extraordinary laundry phenomena has occurred in my universe of dirty Landry, however more time than not ...