Woman's T-Shirt/Gardening from Zazzle.com
Cute woman's t-shirt. Photo of young girl in the garden and the words: "I'd rather be a gardener than the President!"
So many things to write about - everyday life,gardening, cooking,France,Kansas,family,holidays, church,God,Jesus Christ,Christianity,missions, ministry,abortion, politics, art, music, "Sullivan" our English bulldog,reading .....
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Necklace/Friends from Zazzle.com
Pretty sterling silver plated necklace - in circle or square shape. Charming watercolor of two Haitian women with multiples of the word "friends".
Back-to-School Kids' T-Shirt from Zazzle.com
Back-to-School Kids' T-Shirt from Zazzle.com
Cute kids' t-shirt ... design: a charming drawing of a European village and the words: "No kids home. We're back at school." This t-shirt is pink and long-sleeved, but same design is available in other styles, colors, fabrics,sizes and prices. Come check out some "not-everyone-will-have-one" t-shirts. :)
Cute kids' t-shirt ... design: a charming drawing of a European village and the words: "No kids home. We're back at school." This t-shirt is pink and long-sleeved, but same design is available in other styles, colors, fabrics,sizes and prices. Come check out some "not-everyone-will-have-one" t-shirts. :)
Back to School Poster "Sioux Indian Proverb" from Zazzle.com
Back to School Poster "Sioux Indian Proverb" from Zazzle.com
"A people without history ..." A great poster for college dorm walls, your wall, your child's bedroom wall, etc. Take a peek!
"A people without history ..." A great poster for college dorm walls, your wall, your child's bedroom wall, etc. Take a peek!
Sweatshirt from Zazzle.com
Sweatshirt from Zazzle.com
Cotton, long-sleeved sweatshirt with photo on front of a dog riding in the back of a pick-up ... and the words: "Easy Rider". Makes a great back-to-school gift .......or, for your hubby - or for yourself! :)
Cotton, long-sleeved sweatshirt with photo on front of a dog riding in the back of a pick-up ... and the words: "Easy Rider". Makes a great back-to-school gift .......or, for your hubby - or for yourself! :)
Rachel / Mug from Zazzle.com
Rachel / Mug from Zazzle.com
This is a mug I made up for a gift for a daughter.....you can have one with YOUR family photos on it. Completely costumizable. Come order one!
This is a mug I made up for a gift for a daughter.....you can have one with YOUR family photos on it. Completely costumizable. Come order one!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Apron/hospitality from Zazzle.com
Apron/hospitality from Zazzle.com
Nice-size, barbeque-style apron with photo of blue china cup and saucer sitting on red-print cloth - and the Bible verse, in French: Hebreux 13, versez 2 / Hebrews 13:2 about hospitality
Nice-size, barbeque-style apron with photo of blue china cup and saucer sitting on red-print cloth - and the Bible verse, in French: Hebreux 13, versez 2 / Hebrews 13:2 about hospitality
Monday, July 25, 2011
Summer Squash
Due to some unpleasant things (husband's major surgery, long hospital stay, etc. ) happening at crucial gardening moments ... as well as this Kansas drought, our garden this year is pretty much dead. :( This is disappointing, after our nice, green Spring garden of lettuces, radishes and green onions. We are still watering tomato plants, okra and a few pepper plants, but don't know what will happen with them. The big question amongst Kansas gardeners in our area seems to be: "Do you have any tomatoes setting on?" Well,,,,,,,,,we DID pick and eat two little cherry tomatoes recently. A sign of hope? :) We'll see; but I'm not REALLY getting those hopes up.
Fortunately for us, we do have some friends who have managed to have some garden, with their regular watering. And, also fortunately for us, these same friends have been very generous with us and others with the fruits of that garden. We have, therefore, been feasting on garden potatoes, onions, turnips, cucumbers, okra, zucchini and yellow summer squash (also some home made bread and rolls!).
I have been putting many bags of this fresh produce into our freezer.
Did you know you can freeze cucumbers? I didn't, but read it in my "old" how-and-what-to-freeze freezer book. So, I gave it a try and, sure enough, you can. :) In case you'd like to know about the cucumbers: the book says to just chop them up in the blender, then freeze the chopped-up cucumber in ice-cube trays and freeze; than you can defrost a cube or two and pop them into winter salads - and the cucumber will actually still taste like cucumber. Well, I decided to try it. I froze two trays-worth of cucumber, popped them out of the trays and put them into a freezer bag ... defrosted a couple to see, and they DID taste like fresh cucumber! Learned something new from that old freezer book after all these years. Actually, when we lived in France, I learned to also COOK cucumbers ... saute them, sliced or chopped up, with a little onion, bacon and bacon grease (or, olive oil). Yum! I decided to also try freezing some peeled, cut in half, and seeded for cooking. Will see how they turn out.
Now, back to the title of this post: squash. Summer squash is one of my favorite things. I love cooking them. I love eating them. So does my husband. They are such a versatile and easy to fix vegetable. My absolute favorite is the yellow squash. As I blanched slices of yellow squash to freeze I would snitch a piece here, a piece there, pop it into my mouth and, mmmmmmmmmmmm, good! Just plain like that. That may sound strange to squash-haters, but you squash-lovers will surely understand.
Probably my favorite way to cook the squash (zucchini or yellow) is to cook a few slices of bacon, add some sliced onion and then the sliced squash and stir it all around, cooking, for just a few minutes. Talk about "fast food" - this is it! And good for you, too.
This basic stir-fried squash can be eaten as is, as a side-dish, or used in various other ways as a main dish. Some of my tried-and-true uses:
Do the cooking in a skillet (I use cast-iron), then spread the mixture out over the skillet ...I then
crack eggs, individually, over the squash mixture (I usually do 4 eggs) - sprinkle with grated cheese (or not, we like it both ways), cover and let cook two or three minutes until the eggs are set. I also often top the eggs with: chopped cilantro, chopped parsley, chopped green onion,finely-chopped red pepper, etc. ...use what you like. We've had this for both breakfast and supper, with a green salad added. It's a quick, economical and delicious dish.
Another way I use this mixture is to use it as the topping for rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta. I've put it on top of rice, adding some salsa on top of the squash mixture and then some grated cheese, for a Mexican "flavor". It's very good with spaghetti, too - adding some Italian-flavored pasta sauce on top, if you'd like. Haven't tried this one yet, but have thought it would be good: mix the squash mixture with some cooked rice and use as stuffing for bell peppers ... with (again, or without) some tomato sauce and grated cheese on top. Sounds good to me.
The other night I stirred up a skillet-full of this mixture, with a little red bell pepper I think, and then stirred in some already-cooked barley that I had in the freezer, sliced a few okra pods into it, sprinkled on some salt and pepper and cayenne pepper flakes, some half-and-half, and some shrimp. Simmer on low for just five minutes or so, 'till the shrimp are pink and cooked. That was supper. Quick. Simple, And, good! Try it.
Fortunately for us, we do have some friends who have managed to have some garden, with their regular watering. And, also fortunately for us, these same friends have been very generous with us and others with the fruits of that garden. We have, therefore, been feasting on garden potatoes, onions, turnips, cucumbers, okra, zucchini and yellow summer squash (also some home made bread and rolls!).
I have been putting many bags of this fresh produce into our freezer.
Did you know you can freeze cucumbers? I didn't, but read it in my "old" how-and-what-to-freeze freezer book. So, I gave it a try and, sure enough, you can. :) In case you'd like to know about the cucumbers: the book says to just chop them up in the blender, then freeze the chopped-up cucumber in ice-cube trays and freeze; than you can defrost a cube or two and pop them into winter salads - and the cucumber will actually still taste like cucumber. Well, I decided to try it. I froze two trays-worth of cucumber, popped them out of the trays and put them into a freezer bag ... defrosted a couple to see, and they DID taste like fresh cucumber! Learned something new from that old freezer book after all these years. Actually, when we lived in France, I learned to also COOK cucumbers ... saute them, sliced or chopped up, with a little onion, bacon and bacon grease (or, olive oil). Yum! I decided to also try freezing some peeled, cut in half, and seeded for cooking. Will see how they turn out.
Now, back to the title of this post: squash. Summer squash is one of my favorite things. I love cooking them. I love eating them. So does my husband. They are such a versatile and easy to fix vegetable. My absolute favorite is the yellow squash. As I blanched slices of yellow squash to freeze I would snitch a piece here, a piece there, pop it into my mouth and, mmmmmmmmmmmm, good! Just plain like that. That may sound strange to squash-haters, but you squash-lovers will surely understand.
Probably my favorite way to cook the squash (zucchini or yellow) is to cook a few slices of bacon, add some sliced onion and then the sliced squash and stir it all around, cooking, for just a few minutes. Talk about "fast food" - this is it! And good for you, too.
This basic stir-fried squash can be eaten as is, as a side-dish, or used in various other ways as a main dish. Some of my tried-and-true uses:
Do the cooking in a skillet (I use cast-iron), then spread the mixture out over the skillet ...I then
crack eggs, individually, over the squash mixture (I usually do 4 eggs) - sprinkle with grated cheese (or not, we like it both ways), cover and let cook two or three minutes until the eggs are set. I also often top the eggs with: chopped cilantro, chopped parsley, chopped green onion,finely-chopped red pepper, etc. ...use what you like. We've had this for both breakfast and supper, with a green salad added. It's a quick, economical and delicious dish.
Another way I use this mixture is to use it as the topping for rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta. I've put it on top of rice, adding some salsa on top of the squash mixture and then some grated cheese, for a Mexican "flavor". It's very good with spaghetti, too - adding some Italian-flavored pasta sauce on top, if you'd like. Haven't tried this one yet, but have thought it would be good: mix the squash mixture with some cooked rice and use as stuffing for bell peppers ... with (again, or without) some tomato sauce and grated cheese on top. Sounds good to me.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Trusting God With Life's Disasters
Life is never certain from one day to the next. Things may be going well one day, everyone well and happy and healthy. The next day, or hour, or moment - disaster. Our family has just had this happen - again.
My husband came home from a nine-day emergency stay in the hospital on July 4th. Though we didn't celebrate the 4th this year with fireworks bursting in the air, our hearts were bursting with gratefulness that he was still with us. I could have lost him a couple of times from heavy bleeding. I never cease thanking God now that my husband was able to get to the hospital and was diagnosed and treated by such wonderful and capable doctors and nurses.
My husband, John, had had colon cancer four years ago, and has had regular colonoscopies ever since. He'd had his last one a week before he entered the hospital, bleeding profusely. He'd never had any bleeding from the colonoscopies before.
Our son and their four kids had been here for several days. The day the bleeding started my husband and son and grandkids were going to another town a couple of hours away to visit Grandma. Before they left my husband told me there had been some blood in the toilet when he went to the bathroom, but said it was probably from the colonoscopy and nothing to worry about so he would go ahead and go.
Mistake.
At noon he called from a restaurant where they'd gone for lunch before visiting Grandma, and told me to call his doctor, as there was a lot of blood when he went to the bathroom. The doctor said, "tell him to come straight to the hospital immediately - go to the lab, where I'll leave instructions ...". Long story, short: he was hemorrhaging so badly and his blood pressure dropping so quickly that he was admitted to the hospital right away. He was about two days in our local hospital, losing lots of blood and having transfusions. Late the afternoon of the second day he was sent by ambulance to a larger hospital in a larger town a half-hour from us.
In the new hospital the surgeon kept hoping for the bleeding to stop on its own . Tests were done to find the reason and location of the bleeding - which was from the areas where two polyps had been removed after the colonoscopy, and from some diverticulosis that was discovered during the colonoscopy. After several days of continual bleeding and transfusions, there was one day of no bleeding; giving everyone hope that surgery would not be needed. My husband was moved from the ICU unit to a regular room. The next day the bleeding started again, and the surgeon then decided he'd have to go ahead with the surgery.
Surgery happened. Colon removed.
The doctor came to tell me the surgery went well - that my husband was in the recovery room. And ... something else had come up during surgery ... "had to take out a small part of the small intestine as there was some hardness there, need to biopsy it for cancer; also had to cut a tiny piece of the liver that had a small nodule on it to send for a cancer biopsy ... will need to wait several days for the results ...". Wow. The colon surgery had been enough to take in; now, two biopsy results to wait on to see if there is cancer.
Thankfully, the biopsies came back early and showed no cancer. Now, we could concentrate on the colon removal and recovery. No colostomy bag was needed, as the small intestine was attached to the rectum. According to the surgeon there are many people living long and happy lives without their colons. God created such amazing bodies!
Minutes before my husband was rolled into surgery I asked him, "Are you still praying?"
"I've never stopped", he replied.
I quietly said, "I'm angry right now with God."
"Why?", my husband asked.
"Because I've been praying this wouldn't happen; that you wouldn't have to have surgery to remove your colon. That you wouldn't have to suffer through surgery again. How come God isn't answering my prayer?"
My pastor-husband looked at me, quiet for a minute, as we held hands, then said, "Sandy, has it occurred to you that He DID (answer my prayer)? We could have been in Haiti or somewhere else (Haiti was mentioned because we've ministered there) where we might not have been able to have the medical care I needed as I lost all that blood? Or, out somewhere where I couldn't have gotten to a hospital ...".
Well, no, it didn't occur to me, as I was honing in on the only way I thought God should be answering my prayer. I simply didn't want my husband to suffer anymore; and I thought I knew what was best.
My husband's answer, though, made me stop and think. God's way is not always MY way. My way may seem so logical from my human viewpoint - but God sees and knows and understands so much more than I can ever hope to this side of heaven. His answer made me think of the old "embroidery illustration": that our lives are like an embroidery-in-progress. We are down below, seeing only the knots, tangles and loose ends of the underside of the embroidery motif. God, though, not only knows of the knots, tangles and loose ends ... but He sees the top. He sees the whole picture. He knows what the finished piece will become.
So, it comes down to trust. Trusting God. I may not completely understand God's way; but I can choose to trust Him. Trust that He cares for my husband and knows what's best for him. Trust that He Cares for me and understands and forgives my anger at Him, my fears.
Trust. Yes. This pastor's-wife has been through the fear/anger thing before. You'd think I'd have learned for sure by now that I can trust God. I could have trusted Him from the beginning of this ordeal and saved myself from some of the stress and worry. I can trust Him now, as He is with my husband through the recovery period. I hope I will remember the following verses, and not let my trust in God waver if, and when, another life-disaster arrives.
Psalm 31:14 (NIV)
"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' "
Psalm 30:11 & 12 (NIV)
(11) "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
(12) that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."
My husband came home from a nine-day emergency stay in the hospital on July 4th. Though we didn't celebrate the 4th this year with fireworks bursting in the air, our hearts were bursting with gratefulness that he was still with us. I could have lost him a couple of times from heavy bleeding. I never cease thanking God now that my husband was able to get to the hospital and was diagnosed and treated by such wonderful and capable doctors and nurses.
My husband, John, had had colon cancer four years ago, and has had regular colonoscopies ever since. He'd had his last one a week before he entered the hospital, bleeding profusely. He'd never had any bleeding from the colonoscopies before.
Our son and their four kids had been here for several days. The day the bleeding started my husband and son and grandkids were going to another town a couple of hours away to visit Grandma. Before they left my husband told me there had been some blood in the toilet when he went to the bathroom, but said it was probably from the colonoscopy and nothing to worry about so he would go ahead and go.
Mistake.
At noon he called from a restaurant where they'd gone for lunch before visiting Grandma, and told me to call his doctor, as there was a lot of blood when he went to the bathroom. The doctor said, "tell him to come straight to the hospital immediately - go to the lab, where I'll leave instructions ...". Long story, short: he was hemorrhaging so badly and his blood pressure dropping so quickly that he was admitted to the hospital right away. He was about two days in our local hospital, losing lots of blood and having transfusions. Late the afternoon of the second day he was sent by ambulance to a larger hospital in a larger town a half-hour from us.
In the new hospital the surgeon kept hoping for the bleeding to stop on its own . Tests were done to find the reason and location of the bleeding - which was from the areas where two polyps had been removed after the colonoscopy, and from some diverticulosis that was discovered during the colonoscopy. After several days of continual bleeding and transfusions, there was one day of no bleeding; giving everyone hope that surgery would not be needed. My husband was moved from the ICU unit to a regular room. The next day the bleeding started again, and the surgeon then decided he'd have to go ahead with the surgery.
Surgery happened. Colon removed.
The doctor came to tell me the surgery went well - that my husband was in the recovery room. And ... something else had come up during surgery ... "had to take out a small part of the small intestine as there was some hardness there, need to biopsy it for cancer; also had to cut a tiny piece of the liver that had a small nodule on it to send for a cancer biopsy ... will need to wait several days for the results ...". Wow. The colon surgery had been enough to take in; now, two biopsy results to wait on to see if there is cancer.
Thankfully, the biopsies came back early and showed no cancer. Now, we could concentrate on the colon removal and recovery. No colostomy bag was needed, as the small intestine was attached to the rectum. According to the surgeon there are many people living long and happy lives without their colons. God created such amazing bodies!
Minutes before my husband was rolled into surgery I asked him, "Are you still praying?"
"I've never stopped", he replied.
I quietly said, "I'm angry right now with God."
"Why?", my husband asked.
"Because I've been praying this wouldn't happen; that you wouldn't have to have surgery to remove your colon. That you wouldn't have to suffer through surgery again. How come God isn't answering my prayer?"
My pastor-husband looked at me, quiet for a minute, as we held hands, then said, "Sandy, has it occurred to you that He DID (answer my prayer)? We could have been in Haiti or somewhere else (Haiti was mentioned because we've ministered there) where we might not have been able to have the medical care I needed as I lost all that blood? Or, out somewhere where I couldn't have gotten to a hospital ...".
Well, no, it didn't occur to me, as I was honing in on the only way I thought God should be answering my prayer. I simply didn't want my husband to suffer anymore; and I thought I knew what was best.
My husband's answer, though, made me stop and think. God's way is not always MY way. My way may seem so logical from my human viewpoint - but God sees and knows and understands so much more than I can ever hope to this side of heaven. His answer made me think of the old "embroidery illustration": that our lives are like an embroidery-in-progress. We are down below, seeing only the knots, tangles and loose ends of the underside of the embroidery motif. God, though, not only knows of the knots, tangles and loose ends ... but He sees the top. He sees the whole picture. He knows what the finished piece will become.
So, it comes down to trust. Trusting God. I may not completely understand God's way; but I can choose to trust Him. Trust that He cares for my husband and knows what's best for him. Trust that He Cares for me and understands and forgives my anger at Him, my fears.
Psalm 31:14 (NIV)
"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' "
Psalm 30:11 & 12 (NIV)
(11) "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
(12) that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."
Monday, May 30, 2011
"On Second Thought"
On Second Thought
Lonely is the wind
flowing through the windows of my soul.
Does it seek
another lonely one to share its lonely life?
Or, does it
poke and thrust to coax me out for fun?
"Go away!", I say
and wrap myself tighter in my arms.
"My soul is wounded, bleeding, it can take no more."
Oh, but it can, I know,
because He is always there within
He will heal and love and help me grow.
So, lonely wind,
perhaps you are a friend.
And, if I loosen my grip on me,
if I slip out of my window
and join you on this day,
could it be that you and He
will lift my soul in play?
flowing through the windows of my soul.
Does it seek
another lonely one to share its lonely life?
Or, does it
poke and thrust to coax me out for fun?
"Go away!", I say
and wrap myself tighter in my arms.
"My soul is wounded, bleeding, it can take no more."
Oh, but it can, I know,
because He is always there within
He will heal and love and help me grow.
So, lonely wind,
perhaps you are a friend.
And, if I loosen my grip on me,
if I slip out of my window
and join you on this day,
could it be that you and He
will lift my soul in play?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
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