A couple of my favorite pictures from 2008

Fresh Bread

I have no talent for making bread.

So I set out a store bought loaf of frozen dough to thaw (cheating, and not at all the real thing, I know!), thinking to have a "decent" loaf of baked bread for my parents while they were visiting. I set it out in the morning before running to the dealership to pick up my car from inspection and service (ouch!), and then we ran to town for an all day shopping excursion through the usual stores that we hit when they come to town. Marshall's (my fave!) JoAnn's (my other fave). Lunch at Buca's. Costco's on the way to Barnes and Noble (my other, other fave!!) then to Half Price Books (need I say it. my o-o-other fave...). These just happen to coincide with the 'rents fave stores as well, so we had a rather pleasant long day (and more ouch!).

But when we got back, it was still miserably flat. I forgot to set it near the warmth of the stove, which since it wasn't on, wasn't really warm anyway.

Well, they were planning on heading home after supper, except the snow kicked up and the temps went down, and reports remained steady -not good out. So they stayed and I baked the bread later. Then it came out of the oven, but not out of the pan. Silly me, I forgot to grease the pan before hand! Well, needless to say it was a bit mangled in the process.

Made me think of sharing bread. We can make bread for ourselves and it can be a beautiful loaf, but to enjoy the fruits of our labors and to share it with others, we need to have greased the pan beforehand, or if we're not careful, it may come out a mangled mess... So here's a prayer set "loosely" to hymn 213/235.

We love the tender way of God
And in all Thy will abide
We love Thy gracious gentle hand
That thru each new day will guide

Grant us the wisdom of Thy Son
That we His image may bear
We Thy infinite mercy seek
To show us His tender care

Although a narrow path we walk
Help us to find the words to speak
That our words and actions meld
To answer in Spirit meek

Grant us the patience to be kind
Even when the world would not
A life was paid for our name
In patience our souls He bought

When all the world around us rage
Mold our spirit to Thy Will
That we may find Thee in peace
Help us Father to be still.

A.E. Eaker 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving! I've always loved Thanksgiving, probably more so than any other holiday. There's something relaxing about going home to all the good smells and anticipation of roasted turkey with stuffing (my fave as long as mom doesn't slip in any oysters!) mashed potatoes and homemade pies... oh the pies! This year I think we had more pies than main dishes. Let's see, there was an apple pie, sweet potato, mince, a couple orange cheescakes, I have no idea how many pumpkin pies, raisin cream. And we never got to the pecan pie that I know is in the freezer. I guess that one's waiting for the descending family on Christmas! And we must've been so hungry we started going after the empty dishes too! Nah, I just owe my sister a new baking dish! She could hardly believe that I broke her good dish with a spoon...

We also decided to round out our turkey leftovers (of which there wasn't too much left) with a duck. I'd never had duck before and thought it would be fun to try it out. There was just one little problem. My niece is raising a few ducks and is pretty attached to them so we didn't want her or the others turning their noses up at it or bursting into tears. It was difficult trying to say "fowl-poultry" all the time! But the duck was out of the bag, when their dad let it slip. After the meal of course. Eyes went wide and Sheryl asked, "Did you check your ducks this morning?"

As for relaxing on Thanksgiving, we had our dinner in the evening as schedules varied quite a bit, but we all managed to be there on time. I even managed an extra day off as clinics and patients canceled on us for Wednesday.

So I decided, to come up a day early and surprise mom and dad and anyone else who happened to be at the house. I was to stay with my sister down the road so I let her know I was coming early and checked to see the road conditions as there was some snow coming down. Snow's always worse up there.

Well I got on my way and things were going fine, until I decided to use my windshield wipers. I wasn't in desperate need of them but it would've been kinda nice if they'd worked. But no, the driver side wiper made a half hearted effort while the passenger side wiped merrily away.
"You couldn't have switched sides? You couldn't wait til tomorrow?" I griped the whole way up. No way to turn around, and of course the snow was getting thicker. But without light reflecting on the windsheild and having switched to RainX, the water slid right off and I never had a problem. I wouldn't suggest this as a usual mode of travel however. Not highly recommended.
So I was very thankful for my arrival! It had an unusual side effect that caused my car to travel much slower than normal.

Well, I finally made it and dropped a few things off before heading out to my sister's as my final destination. Ooops! Lo and behold, I was stuck in the driveway. I was not going to get to her place after all. I think I left a few rocks on the driveway.

So I got to spend the night with the little kiddos! Oh and the adults too of course! Becca and Ben insisted on a night time snow ball fight with their Aunt. They now think I have bad aim and make a good target for great big lumps of cold wet snow . Which is true...

So I'm sitting here a little glum from all the snow outside my window. Ok, it's not really a lot, just a dusting, but it's still snow, and it's not enough to have fun with either. So I was just perusing some of my summertime pictures in preparation for my next 6 months of hibernation! I came across this picture taken early Labour Day morning this year. We have an annual picnic at Cook Forest State Park where it overlooks the beautiful Clarion River, and some of my family traditionally go down early in the morning for breakfast grilled outdoors. This was a perfect late summer day, the sun was shining in a clear sky, with mist just rising from the cooling river. Beautiful!

I was reminded of a great summer, when I looked at my poor potted herbs this morning straining for a glimpse of sunlight beyond my living room window. It doesn't get a whole lot of light during the day, a giant oak stands right outside and the leaves are stubbornly sticking to its branches. Also it's right next to the heat vent, which is not good for them. They were so vibrant and wonderful this summer, and I loved coming home to fresh herbs growing next to my front door. I had hoped to pot some of them and keep them for those cold winter evenings, to make some great hearty soups!

Well, I'm not known for my green thumb and I think that is still true! I'm going to have to watch them carefully this winter and I'm not known for my patience either!! My parsley tends to dry on the vine and my thyme just can't seemed to get a break. But on a better note, my oregano has taken off even more so than in the warmer weather. Now, I just need to keep them watered. I think that just might be an important part of plant care...

Stop Requested!

So I was on the bus the other day sitting in the back, barely conscious as usual, when I happened to notice near the front, a little family sitting along the side bench. There was the cutest little girl with her Momma and baby Brother, a petite little thing with these stiff puffy ponytails sticking straight out from the sides of her head. She was just fascinated with the scenery going by the window behind her.

Momma was trying to keep her seated and prevent her from falling backwards, while holding onto baby Brother as we had the maniacally crazy driver this particular trip. But this little girl was just so precious in her curiosity that she almost couldn't take it all in. Her head was turning this way and that, with those little pony tails brushing against the window.

There was just one problem. The buses have cords running across the tops of the windows, and at the front of the bus, there is a cord that runs vertically down the window so that people can reach it without standing up. The little girl wasn't interested in pulling the cord as most little kids are when they ride the bus (there is something fascinating about pulling a cord that speaks and makes a big bus stop!) No, this little girl was more interested in watching the scenery. However, her ponytails had another idea...

She would turn her head this way and that, and as the bus rocked back and forth on its way down the Boulevard, her hair brushing against the windows would every so often catch against the cord. For a while nothing happened.

But then, yep, that ponytail got tangled up with the cord. Now, Momma was engaged in conversation with another passenger at this point and her attention was elsewhere. The girl gave her hair a good tug and continued peering out the window. And naturally the cord as it was designed to do said, "Stop Requested!" Well there was one stop left on this particular part of the route so the driver slowed and stopped, and a woman got on. Not off.

So we continued on our way, when, yep, once again, another little ponytail got tangled in that persistent cord. And again, " Stop requested!" Now we were downtown, and quite a few people get off at that stop, but no one had pulled the cord. This happened a few more times, and each time could have been a legitimate cord pull. Unless you were watching carefully!

There have been quite a few interesting experiences, some of which involved me at the periphery, some as merely an observer. Some have been disturbing and strange, others simply inspire my most confused "Huh?"

Over the years, I have tried many things to keep from being the focus of these odd, but entertaining, approaches. OK, so I thought, I'll just stare out the window. Well, no, that doesn't work. Maybe, I'll read a book! Nope.
I don't have an iPod, but I have a random pair of earbuds, I'll just tuck the other end into my purse. Looks like I'm listening to something. Well, nope, that doesn't work either. Hmm...I know! I'm perpetually short of sleep, I'll catch up on my morning ride and nap in the evening. Well, you guessed it! That doesn't work either. So now I just grin and listen!!

Motivating Myself One Step at a Time

How do we know we like something? How do we know we don't? We try.

I've been lucky, I get to work with quite a range of nationalities and cultures. As a result I have begun to try, and to learn some interesting new things; some things that I probably wouldn't have on my own. A lot of this is with ethnic cuisines, and it's amazing the amount of culture we can learn and share through the culinary efforts of friends. Some things I've tried I didn't even know could be eaten, let alone possible!

Sea cucumber/urchin (good), salt cured duck eggs (not so much...), spiced dried seaweed, shrimp flavored chip-like snacks, tiny dried fish in oil (not my favorite, nuff said) diced jellied pig's ear (not too bad, if you don't think about it) greenbean flour gelatinous stuff (don't know the real name, but excellent), amazing curries (curry makes everything taste better!), some spiky Indian fruits that I have no idea how to spell, and can barely pronounce, (very good), ghee and nan common in Indian cooking, middle eastern kebabs, steak and chicken-like tofu...

Normally I probably wouldn't have tried very much of the above, but I grew up hearing my dad's "If you won't try it, how do you know you don' t like it?"

So how do we know we can't do something? How can you succeed if you don't begin?

Too, there is often a perception that if something is outside the realm of our experience, it's not something we can do. For example, I've never gone rock climbing.

I tell myself, "You're not strong enough. You'd be ridiculous dangling from a rope. You're afraid of heights." All legitimate excuses, I suppose, to keep me from actually having to make an effort, or to prove myself wrong. But I know it's not something I can't do, it's not something I couldn't learn, if I would just try.

Sometimes we just need a swift kick to get jumpstarted! And instead of setting one major goal to reach at a certain point in time, (and becoming overwhelmed by all the logistics of its accomplishment along the way) I think I need to set a few dozen smaller goals that I can finish off, one at a time, one day at a time, in order to "stairstep" my progress. Maybe then, I'll reach my final goal before I know it.

In the grit and grime of city life
Amongst the smoke and dirt of daily strife
There lies the simple drudge.

In the walking of the weekly mile
Human kind grinds on, not a little while
Barely finding daily bread.

Tho close they walk, they are miles apart
And never knowing where the race to start
Living only for dreams.

The sky is gloomy now and so gray
But for a simple life now, none will stay
Dreaming their life away.
A.E.Eaker 2007

Now I just need to work on my patience...