Garden Veggies

Garden Veggies
Made into tile for my stove backsplash

Portland Rose Garden

Portland Rose Garden
Mike and my 2 youngest sons Ian and Leif

Grandson Michael's Birthday 2014 throwing water balloons

Grandson Michael's Birthday 2014 throwing water balloons
With son Beau, Grandson Luke and his mom Jennifer

Maren

Maren
I cut this out of a wedding line. I must take more pictures of her.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

FAITH AND AGING



"The spiritual process that makes us gentler and kinder may be mistaken for the effects of aging to those who are uninformed or uninitiated. For those who have felt that distinctive (and welcome) change, it is much more than aging. It is the most serene of God's miracles. It is a process that is repeated thousands of times as we progressively rid ourselves of the natural man to make room within us for the disciple." Wallace Goddard, God Dragged Before Another Earthly Tribunal.



Friday, March 27, 2009

REPOST OF ORANGE OAT MUFFINS - recipe mistake


I submitted this recipe to my Ward cookbook. Someone made them recently and told me that they were not very good...too much oatmeal. I feel bad that they ended up in two places with the wrong amount of oatmeal. I am re posting this recipe so if you saved it or tried it you can make them right. I just made them today so I know the recipe is as it should be and I still think they are good. I also took a dozen to the lady who discovered my error and ate 6 myself so they have been thoroughly tested. Thanks, Janet and sorry to anyone who made them with my mistake.


The recipe makes 2 dozen medium muffins. 1 C. of cranberries is good and nuts too if you are so inclined.
Heat 1 cup of milk until hot not boiling add 1 C. quick oatmeal and let sit while you measure everything else into another bowl.
1 T Grated orange peel
1 C Fresh Orange juice
1/2 C. oil
1 C. Brown sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Soda
2 1/4 C. Flour


Add oatmeal and mix until everything is moistened.


Bake 350 for 15 min. in well greased muffin tins


Juice another small orange or 1/2 of large - add 1 tsp. grated peel and 2 T. melted butter with enough Powdered sugar for a thin frosting. Frost hot.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE




I found this on http://chronic-fatigue-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/03/mexican-style-chicken.html this week and cooked it last night. I changed a few things because my husband would not touch the green peppers or the onions. This is my version. It is very simple and quick to put together (a great leftover rotissere chicken dish) and I thought it was very tasty. I will make it again.

Ingredients1 T. oil
2 Cloves of Garlic – grated
2 10-3/4-ounce cans cream of chicken soup
1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles (I used the ones with jalepenos), undrained
1-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 6 inch corn tortillas, cut into thin, bite-size strips
2-3 cups cubed cooked chicken
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese or a mexican blend. I added a little more because my hubby likes more and it was good.
Directions
1. Cook the garlic in the oil until it starts to brown add everything down to the tortillas.


2. To assemble, sprinkle about one-half of the tortilla strips over the bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish . Layer half of the chicken over tortilla strips; spoon half of soup mixture on top. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cup of the cheese and another one-half of the tortilla strips over the soup mixture. Layer with remaining chicken, soup mixture and half of the remaining cheese.

3. Bake, uncovered, in 350 degree oven about 35-40 minutes or until bubbly around edges and center is hot. Remove from oven; sprinkle with remaining cheese the last 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Green onion or as is. Makes 8 servings.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

THE WORD OF THE DAY - ASTRONOMY


As a writer I am excited about a tool that I have learned from Cori Connors (see my blogger friends) Cori has been using this tool for years to generate stories (and songs) and she is a master at it. Right now she has committed to write every day of the 40 days of Lent (she is not Catholic) If you want a treat go read her "Word of the Day" entries. She gets her words from a "Random Word Generator" on this site : //watchout4snakes.com/creativitytools/RandomWord/RandomWord.aspx
Cori says she will pull up about 3 words and then chooses one to incorporate in her musings. When I teach writing classes I try to get my students to do a "stream of conscious" writing session every day with no thought of anything but practice. The "Word of the Day" concept is more focused and perhaps easier to do. I am not sure I would be able to publish 40 in a row like Cori is doing but I am enjoying this adventure. Here is one I did this week and no, it didn't fall out of my brain necessarily as it appears here. I had to work on it plenty after the initial session. But, without the inspiration of the word I might not ever have written this:


WORD OF THE DAY - ASTRONOMY


We began as astronomers, Mike and I. Mike was intrigued with the stars when we met and I tagged along because I liked the stars he put in my eyes.



Mike understood lots of things that I didn’t. It was enough for me to recognize a few constellations and know that planets don't twinkle but stars do. Orion is exciting because it sprawls over a huge expanse of overhead sky. This Hunter is easy to spot with the bright jewel like stars in his belt. Scorpius is my astrological sign so I like it with its giant tail curled up on the Southern horizon. Once during our astronomer days the red planet Mars was plunked in the middle of Scorpius. It was a rare occurrence, symbolic and poetic so Mike wrote a poem about it. Did something about stargazing enchant his poetic mind at this time? He waxed eloquent often then.



Then there was Cassiopiea the Queen in the shape of a giant leaning "W." I could always find her. And I liked the Corona Borealis, the crown, as a "C," symbolic in my mind of Charmaine. Yes, it was a very romantic time.


I bought a little telescope that we used a short while. Someone broke into my Salt Lake Avenues apartment and stole it along with a small record player I had. I remember how upsetting it was to me. I had so little in material treasures then. In an attempt to feel better I tried to dwell on the scripture in Matthew 6:20 when Christ said: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
I haven’t had a lot of things stolen in my life. Someone snatched my purse after a baby shower in San Pedro when we lived there. It only had a few dollars in it. I guess I am lucky because this first big invasion was very painful at the time.



Sometime in our astronomy life Mike bought a 4-inch reflector. One summer, on warm balmy nights, we would set it up in his sister Alicia’s back yard to look for exciting celestial things. My favorites were the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter, which were both clearly visible in the telescope. I also liked the craters of the moon because they appeared so large and close.



Mike had infinite patience with this stuff. My job was to hold the star map with a nebula or a star cluster pinpointed in the sky. It could take hours, but Mike was always excited when he located what he "thought" was it. I tried to be excited too as I peeked into the finder to see a fuzzy spot of light. I suppose the idea that you knew what it really was (and the time it took to discover it) made the find something to celebrate. A couple of times that summer we hobnobbed with the local astronomy geeks at the planetarium’s star party looking for fuzzy lights in the sky. It was fun.



Telescope or no, there is nothing more awesome than a clear night sky, void of city lights, strewn with the milky way and constellations clear and distinct marching around in a wondrous pattern. I understand why men have always been fascinated with these magical lights in the night sky.

Then we got married and life seemed to crowd out the time and energy to be astronomers. The 4-inch reflector sits in our storage room rarely opened since those long ago summer nights. Maybe there is still time to get it out so Michael and Luke can see the rings of Saturn, craters on the moon and the moons of Jupiter.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A RARE ABILITY



The following slide show is of a group of pictures that my son Ian worked on last year for a gallery show in Portland Oregon. God plunked him here on earth as an artist. From the time he was a very little boy his imagination was evident and amazing. At two years old he was carrying around little pieces of paper with his drawings. We have boxes of his art work from those early years. He would draw animals for awhile, then sea life, dinosaurs, dragons, space ships then Ewoks and Star Wars stuff. He even got obsessed with Chinese writing at one time. He spent 4 years becoming expert at airbrusing at Lagoon. By the time Ian was in high school his abstract renderings had their own look. He has a style of his own which every artist longs to develop. Ian you are something quite unique!
Gwash is a watercolor like medium. Ian actually does oils also. There are a couple of his pieces at the bottom of my gallery on this blog.

IAN'S HORSE PICTUES IN GWASH

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

LEFT TO TELL - Book Review


By Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin
DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST


Lessons from the book:1. The genocidal murder that took place in the Book of Mormon never seemed real to me until after reading this book. A cultural tradition of hate and superiority fosters a situation where neighbors and friends can turn and kill you in a tribal frenzy. The Book of Mormon teaches that when societies begin to seperate into tribes humanity and order falls apart. The visual image and the smell of rotting bodies stacked up in heaps and laying along the road with flies and dogs eating their flesh reminded me of some scenes in the Book of Mormon.


2. Immaculee hid from the Hutus with 6-7 other women in a very small bathroom for 3 months. She weighed 115 lbs. when she went in and 65 when she came out. Satan will scream negative self-defeating thoughts in our heads if we let him, especially when we are in emotional and physical crisis. The negative head talk includes self pity, hate, anger and vengeance. If Satan can get us so discouraged that we lose hope he has won. The only way out is positive head talk associated with prayer—deep, soul wrenching, pleading prayer. I saw God rescue Immaculee in this way. Her prayers were amazing to me. They included her seeking scriptural promises and her core religious teachings. Only when the negative self-talk was controlled by prayers was the spirit able to teach her—then the ideas began to flow through her. Her ideas included ways to keep them safe as putting the wardrobe in front of the bathroom door and her inspiration to begin learning English. She was able to get some books from the Minister in whose bathroom they were staying. God helped her to learn quickly. Her ability to be taught and inspired continued through the entire ordeal as she was an instrument to help many people.

3. Imaculee began to understand that God was there for her and she started to lay out her righteous needs and wants and then go forward working hard as if they were already a reality. She imagined herself with a job at the UN, going every day, filling out the same forms and never giving up until she finally ran into the right person. When she decided she wanted to get married she made a list of characteristics she wanted, even drawing a picture and finally said, "by the way could you make him Catholic."
4. Nothing is more healing than forgiveness.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

WASHING DISHES AND THE HIP REPLACEMENT


This is day 11 of Mike’s hip replacement. He is doing well. His pain isn’t bad and he is walking a mile on the treadmill in 10-minute increments 3 times a day. He has been able to walk up and down the basement stairs from day one. His appetite hasn’t been good, which for me has always meant a lack of zest for life. Something about the desire for food makes everything seem better. I know—that’s why we get fat. I am blaming the appetite problem and his intermittent sick feelings on to the remnants of anesthesia. Getting him to wake up after anesthesia is a bit of a challenge and scary. I know that yuky stuff can stay in your system for some time. All in all it could have been worse but I am not sure he is ready for the second hip surgery. Hopefully it will be like having a baby and he will forget the bad parts. I think the hardest thing for him has been his dependence on me—mostly for his right sock. My fingers are bad and it takes longer than he would like.



So what has been the worst part for me in all this?: I forgot how much I appreciate Mike washing the dishes. He made that commitment about 10 years ago and it has been a wonderful addition to my life. I don’t mind cooking but having help with the dishes feels so nice. There have been many times when we have had guests and Mike has left me at the table visiting and gotten up to wash the dishes. I feel indulged. Sometimes I think he should stay and visit too but he never wants to let a dirty dish sit for too long.



My dad with all his crazy faults would clear the table after dinner. I remember him often taking the food away before we were finished. Mike is not that bad.



Mike is not good at what to do with leftovers and that is fine. I actually don’t mind helping him. Dish time is good amiable chat time for us as I help him dry the pots and pans and put away the leftovers. I still feel spoiled. My problem with doing dishes alone is; well, maybe it is the aloneness. It seems to take so long with one, especially after I have cooked. I find myself getting distracted and wandering off to do something else half way through the job. The other night I was finishing the dishes at 11:00 PM. I know some women leave dishes in the sink all night because they just can’t face the prospects after cooking, but that was something that never happened in my mother’s home. I can thank her for wanting to wake up to a clean kitchen.



Could this be the secret to our happy marriage? : "...researchers...found that the best single-item predictor of long-term marital success among the couples they studied was ‘husband voluntarily and cheerfully participates in the housework.’ There may be a number of reasons why this item turned out to be such a powerful predictor, but my guess is that it has to do with attitudes. The husband who pitches in to do his share without having to be cajoled is clearly a team player." My Parents Married on a Dare, Carlfred Broderick, p. 77.


So here is a big cheer of gratitude for my dish-doing husband and a hearty wish for his quick recovery so he can get back to the job.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

GLORY IN TRIBULATION

Can anyone really "glory in tribulation" even if we know our trials are good for us? I have come to believe that only through trials will we learn certain important lessons in this life. I hate this mortal fact but it is true.

Romans 5: 3-5 ...but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope; And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Hyly Ghost which is given unto us.



Spencer W. Kimball: "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven." (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98)



Boyd K. Packer: "Some are tested by poor health, some by a body that is deformed or homely. Others tested by handsome and healthy bodies; some by the passion of youth; others by the erosions of old age. Some suffer disappointment in marriage, family problems; others live in poverty and obscurity. Some (perhaps this is the hardest test) find ease and luxury. All are part of the test, and there is more equality in this testing than sometimes we suspect." (Ensign, Nov. 1980)

Friday, March 6, 2009

GROWING OLD

"Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals, their faith. There is always the love of wonder, a childlike appetite for what is next, and the joy of your life. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, and as old as your fear or despair. In the center of our heart is a recording chamber and so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage, and faith, so long are we young. ( David B. Haight, Ensign, Nov. 1983)

Monday, March 2, 2009

MY FAVORITE BOOKS



I am not a prolific reader with lots and lots of books under my belt but I do belong to a Book Club and try to read a few books every year. Here are some of my favorites and why I like them. Check out the used books link here for some of these that might be out of print. http://www.fetchbook.info/


HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY by Richard Llewellyn—The story takes place in a Welsh coal mining village, about the turn of the century, as seen through the eyes of a child. It was written in 1940. My cover says "A beautiful story, told in words which have Welsh Music in them." I agree.


THE GIANT JOSHUA by Maurine Whipple. This book won the Utah author a national award when it was written in 1941. The late Eugene England of the BYU English Dept. said it is the most beautiful Mormon fiction ever written. I agree. The story is about polygamy and the settling of St. George. And although the book was nationally acclaimed my mother said the books were hard to come by in Utah in the 40’s. The church did not like it. They have since repented and it has been republished and sold in Deseret Book several times but because of the church rejection Maurine never wrote anything else...which is sad. This is a book that stays with you forever.


A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith - This is a coming of age book set in the immigrant tenement housing in 1912 New York. Francie learns that "there had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background its flashing glory." The book is charming and a testimony to the great opportunities of being an American even in poverty. While reading it I thought of my grandmother who was Francie’s age about this time.


IF A LION COULD TALK by Mildred Walker - Mark Ryegate is a Baptist minister who felt he had been called by God to teach the gospel to the Indians in the wilderness. The Introduction says this about him: "He is self-absorbed as only a man with a message can be; he is manipulative; he is in love with his oratorical powers." We watch as Mark is humbled in a unique way. It made me think of the difficulties of our own missionaries going into strange cultures and languages to teach the gospel. Another book by Mildred Walker Winter Wheat is also excellent.


THE WOMAN IN WHITE by Wilkie Collins - OK, You see I like Victorian stories. This is a great mystery. The BBC made a fun adaptation.


KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER - THE WREATH by Sigrid Undset – This is a Norwegian translation and the first of a trilogy. The Nunnally translation is a must. The culture is beautifully captured in a story that takes place in 14th century Norway. The introduction says this: "...Kristin’s greatest sin is not the fact that she succumbs to her sexual desires and yields to the amorous demands of her impetuous suitor before they are properly married. Of much greater import is Kristin’s decision to thwart her father’s wishes, to deny the traditions of her ancestors, and to defy the church; her worst sin is that of pride." This is young adult worthy.


THE FORSYDE SAGA by John Galsworthy – This is an epic story addressing the rich societies of Victorian England. Mike says if its old England I will like it, which is probably true. Masterpiece Theater did a wonderful adaptation.


PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger - I loved the family, their spirituality, the magic. This is reviewed on this blog in June of 2008.
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM by A. J. Cronin - Francis Chisholm is a humble priest who wants to help others as a result of some personal tragedies. He is sent to China where he establishes a flourishing Catholic mission amid desperate poverty, civil war, plague, and the hostility of his superiors. The immensity of life’s problems causes Francis to question his faith and why he keeps trying. It was very thought provoking.


A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute - I often read books after watching the Masterpiece Theatre movie version. I loved the movie and the book. The story takes place during WWII and begins with the forced march of some British women who were living in Malasia based on a real experience. One of the young women in the march meets an Australian who she believes was killed by the Japanese because he stole a chicken for them. Parts of the story take place in Australia and Britain. It has some interesting twists. Young adult worthy.


ANYTHING BY CATHERINE COOKSON - This is escapist fluff. She is an English Author who lived until her late 90’s pumping out books till the end. I have read a lot of them. They are clean with no worries about sex but they do have a human violent element. Cookson writes about the poor rising above their class in the Newcastle part of England. The BBC has made 10-15 of her stories into movies and Cosmos video in Kaysville has them all. I have watched each one several times. Some of my favorite books: The Dwelling Place, The Banniman Legacy, The Black Velvet Gown, The Whip, The Tilly Totter duo, The Girl, and well, they are all fun.


THE GATHERING OF ZION the story of the Mormon trail by Wallace Stegner – I have heard that this was President Hinckley’s favorite book. A master storyteller and non-Mormon tells these wonderful pioneer stories. This book is void of doctrine--only great stories and people who lived them.


RADICAL SON by David Horowitz – If you ever wanted to know what happened on the radical left during the 60’s this is your book. Horowitz was there on the front lines and has remarkable insight into what went on. Maybe its because I grew up in this era but I found this book compelling.


THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF PARLY P. PRATT – PPP was in the trenches from much of the beginning of the restoration. His writings have preserved the details of many events that might have been tragically forgotten. After I was half through the book I thought maybe I should have kept track of the number of miles he walked for the Lord’s work—it was thousands and a lot with bare feet. The new and enhanced edition has lots of pictures and notes by the compilers the Proctors. Nothing I have ever read has given me a better understanding of church history.


SURPRISED BY JOY The Shape of My Early Life, C. S. Lewis-- I love this quote: "You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifed even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all Entgland." This was the beginning of his Christian writing that I believe changed christianity.