"Is that your van out there?" a stranger asked as he approached our lunch table today. He seemed overly loud and intrusive as he stuck out his hand and asked our names. He went on to say that the van belonged to him!
"I know every bump and curve on that van," he went on, "That's my van! My sister gave it to me two years ago!"
Obviously the man was disturbed, although we didn't detect it at first. "Do you have the title on it?" he demanded about our vehicle. By this time, Howard was getting irritated. After several improbable stories that didn't make sense, Howard waved him off.
Since the guy had threatened to take our transportation, Howard called the police. We were a little concerned that he might have explosive behavior and were getting uneasy.
Thankfully, the officers finally arrived, and began questioning the man, who was loitering in the fast food restaurant. We were only too happy to get out of there, so we don't know the outcome, but he was probably arrested.
It is sad that so many in our population are victims of drug and/or alcohol abuse and often wander aimlessly or dangerously through life. Christian efforts to reach out to them may be futile, but we can always pray!
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Pig Out!
No, not that kind. Our pig got out! It wandered into one part of the corral leading to the pig-pen, but the gate was shut! With everything fenced in, my wanna-be-farmer husband could not reach over to open the gate. He was standing on a couple of railroad ties beside the fence, trying to maneuver a length of chain into position to pull the heavy, pipe gate open.
What could I do, but climb up and try to assist him? He got back into the adjoining pen, attempting to pull the gate open so the rooting pig would go in. I was dispatched to get a scoop of corn to scatter within the pig's reach to lure her toward the gate which was slightly ajar. Hopefully, the grunting porcine would root into the gate with her big snout and push it open. Didn't happen.
The only solution was for Howard to get on his riding lawn mower, which he uses to navigate around the farm, unlock the pasture gate at the top of the hill, drive down and herd Miss Oscar Meyer through the gate. Meanwhile, I kept enticing her by sprinkling corn in the pen to attract her, which her sister pig was greedily eating!
It worked! They were safely enclosed again and we breathed a sigh of relief. Now we were relaxed enough to look at hubby's garden effort and notice that the potatoes were coming up. I was worried that he had planted them too deep, but the distinctive leaves were bent on pushing through the soil and the thatch that came from the chicken yard. Looks like before long, we'll be the ones to "pig out" on new potatoes!
What could I do, but climb up and try to assist him? He got back into the adjoining pen, attempting to pull the gate open so the rooting pig would go in. I was dispatched to get a scoop of corn to scatter within the pig's reach to lure her toward the gate which was slightly ajar. Hopefully, the grunting porcine would root into the gate with her big snout and push it open. Didn't happen.
The only solution was for Howard to get on his riding lawn mower, which he uses to navigate around the farm, unlock the pasture gate at the top of the hill, drive down and herd Miss Oscar Meyer through the gate. Meanwhile, I kept enticing her by sprinkling corn in the pen to attract her, which her sister pig was greedily eating!
It worked! They were safely enclosed again and we breathed a sigh of relief. Now we were relaxed enough to look at hubby's garden effort and notice that the potatoes were coming up. I was worried that he had planted them too deep, but the distinctive leaves were bent on pushing through the soil and the thatch that came from the chicken yard. Looks like before long, we'll be the ones to "pig out" on new potatoes!
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Kitchen Follies
I was stirring the filling on the stove for some lemon meringue pies I was making, but the more I stirred, the less the filling thickened! Then it hit me! I had forgotten to put in the corn starch! Quickly I got the can of corn starch and emptied the rest of it into the mixture. Thankfully, everything thickened properly.
Now I just had to add four egg yolks per pie (I was making three) to a small amount of the filling. then pour it into the bubbling cauldron and stir thoroughly. Getting the yolks separated from the egg whites had been a major endeavor, when I accidentally broke the egg white into a small bowl of yolks I had set aside!
Nor was getting the juice squeezed from the lemons without its pitfalls! I had let the lemon seeds fall into the juice, intending to scoop them out before adding the juice to the sugar mixture, which I painstakingly did, only to see the seeds floating around in it! Thankfully I was able to strain them out with various utensils made with holes.
Meanwhile, the pie crusts were baking, to be ready for the deep yellow filling to go into them shortly. The whites from a dozen eggs were ready for the mixer to turn them into fluffy, sweet meringue, using the last of the sugar in the house. By this time, I was ready to put them together. Only one step remained. Browning the meringue in the oven.
The pies browned beautifully, and I set them on a rack to cool. Now to clean up the kitchen from all the utensils, bowls, beaters and pans used to create these masterpieces!
Now I just had to add four egg yolks per pie (I was making three) to a small amount of the filling. then pour it into the bubbling cauldron and stir thoroughly. Getting the yolks separated from the egg whites had been a major endeavor, when I accidentally broke the egg white into a small bowl of yolks I had set aside!
Nor was getting the juice squeezed from the lemons without its pitfalls! I had let the lemon seeds fall into the juice, intending to scoop them out before adding the juice to the sugar mixture, which I painstakingly did, only to see the seeds floating around in it! Thankfully I was able to strain them out with various utensils made with holes.
Meanwhile, the pie crusts were baking, to be ready for the deep yellow filling to go into them shortly. The whites from a dozen eggs were ready for the mixer to turn them into fluffy, sweet meringue, using the last of the sugar in the house. By this time, I was ready to put them together. Only one step remained. Browning the meringue in the oven.
The pies browned beautifully, and I set them on a rack to cool. Now to clean up the kitchen from all the utensils, bowls, beaters and pans used to create these masterpieces!
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Artistic Design
Why is he taking that flame lighter to the door? I wondered. Then a couple of days later, I saw him doing it again,
"What are you doing?" I questioned my husband. Turning, he showed me a dangling, almost invisible, gossamer thread with a singed end. Then I realized it was part of a spider web he had been running into every morning.
I didn't think much about it till I opened the door a few days later and was met with a perfect work of art glistening in the morning sun. Charlotte's Web! I exclaimed. The octagonal, meticulously constructed shape with evenly spaced strands of silk was ready to snag any hapless fly or other insect that had the misfortune to become the spider's breakfast.
Before I knew it my hair was entangled with the sticky, clinging web. No matter how many times it is torn or sizzled down, a new web appears the next morning!
Proverbs 30:24-28 says, "There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; The locusts have no king, Yet they advance in ranks; The spider skillfully grasps with his hands, and it is in kings' palaces."
By observing these small creatures, we can learn persistence, industry, resilience, and order. But I do wish Charlotte would make her web somewhere else!
"What are you doing?" I questioned my husband. Turning, he showed me a dangling, almost invisible, gossamer thread with a singed end. Then I realized it was part of a spider web he had been running into every morning.
I didn't think much about it till I opened the door a few days later and was met with a perfect work of art glistening in the morning sun. Charlotte's Web! I exclaimed. The octagonal, meticulously constructed shape with evenly spaced strands of silk was ready to snag any hapless fly or other insect that had the misfortune to become the spider's breakfast.
Before I knew it my hair was entangled with the sticky, clinging web. No matter how many times it is torn or sizzled down, a new web appears the next morning!
Proverbs 30:24-28 says, "There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; The locusts have no king, Yet they advance in ranks; The spider skillfully grasps with his hands, and it is in kings' palaces."
By observing these small creatures, we can learn persistence, industry, resilience, and order. But I do wish Charlotte would make her web somewhere else!
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Paint Box
Coming back from the mail box today, I glanced around in awe! I was in an emerald world! Everywhere I looked was swathed in green--grass, trees, bushes. Gigantic trees loaded with their heavy weight of drooping new leaves, tall grasses surviving in hard-to-mow places, distant woods in various tones: dark green, yellow green, new green, the old green of cedars.
Not to mention our lawn, mowed smooth a few days past, now a craggy carpet of uneven growth, every blade showing glistening jewels of recent rains.
The Bible is full of verses about His creation, including us:
"As for man his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And his righteousness to children's children to those who keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them." Psalm 103:16-18.
Then there are the admonishments of Matthew 6:28-30:
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you than even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
Many testimonies are given by those who have had near-death experiences and remember the beauties of Heaven. They say the colors are like nothing on earth, the grass a green they cannot describe. Emeralds are jewels from which we borrow the description of the color green. In Revelation 21:19 the King James Bible says, "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald."
I love the color green!
Not to mention our lawn, mowed smooth a few days past, now a craggy carpet of uneven growth, every blade showing glistening jewels of recent rains.
The Bible is full of verses about His creation, including us:
"As for man his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And his righteousness to children's children to those who keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them." Psalm 103:16-18.
Then there are the admonishments of Matthew 6:28-30:
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you than even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
Many testimonies are given by those who have had near-death experiences and remember the beauties of Heaven. They say the colors are like nothing on earth, the grass a green they cannot describe. Emeralds are jewels from which we borrow the description of the color green. In Revelation 21:19 the King James Bible says, "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald."
I love the color green!
Friday, May 3, 2019
Paw Prints
"Jack! Jack!" I called this morning, when I didn't see our dog on the front porch where he sleeps at night. We always keep him confined to the backyard during the day, since he sometimes disturbs the neighbor's horses.
"Howard," I called to my husband, "I don't see Jack anywhere!" All I could see were his paw prints on my white bench I had been fussing about. His bed that I had made him looked barely disturbed. His faithful owner began scouring the property, checking his dog house, the barn area and in back of the house, calling his name all the while.
Looking out a side window toward the road, my heart froze! A familiar brown shape lay sprawled at the edge of the highway! Oh, no! He must have been hit by a car! My heart broke as I gave the news to Howard when I waved him down in his search.
Sure enough, there was no denying the sad reality when we got up to the highway. We knew he lay in the path of the mail carrier that would be coming along presently, so we tried to pull him out of further harm's way. At some 70 pounds, we couldn't move him far, so Howard called a friend who came out and buried our pet.
Pebbles, our little house dog, is grieving, I can tell, as she hides quietly behind a pillow looking out with mournful eyes. Gone is her playmate, her partner in crime, her best friend and exercise partner.
Howard says he will get another dog, but I don't want one. I had fallen for Jack, who loved me and liked me to rumple his back, bring him treats, and who always came when I called him. Until today.
"
"Howard," I called to my husband, "I don't see Jack anywhere!" All I could see were his paw prints on my white bench I had been fussing about. His bed that I had made him looked barely disturbed. His faithful owner began scouring the property, checking his dog house, the barn area and in back of the house, calling his name all the while.
Looking out a side window toward the road, my heart froze! A familiar brown shape lay sprawled at the edge of the highway! Oh, no! He must have been hit by a car! My heart broke as I gave the news to Howard when I waved him down in his search.
Sure enough, there was no denying the sad reality when we got up to the highway. We knew he lay in the path of the mail carrier that would be coming along presently, so we tried to pull him out of further harm's way. At some 70 pounds, we couldn't move him far, so Howard called a friend who came out and buried our pet.
Pebbles, our little house dog, is grieving, I can tell, as she hides quietly behind a pillow looking out with mournful eyes. Gone is her playmate, her partner in crime, her best friend and exercise partner.
Howard says he will get another dog, but I don't want one. I had fallen for Jack, who loved me and liked me to rumple his back, bring him treats, and who always came when I called him. Until today.
"
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Lunch Munch
"Would you like anything else?" the friendly waitress inquired, as we dawdled at the table chatting with friends who had spotted us and came to say hello.
"Well, you could bring us some pie," my affable husband joked, to which she said, "What kind? I'll bring you some!" Going along with it, Howard said, "Apple," but I chimed in "Cherry!"
Sure enough, she came back in a few minutes with four individual cherry pies, at no charge! Remembering his sugar problem, Howard declined to indulge. Mine tasted so good--the flaky crust, the sweet, yummy cherries--that I offered to eat the extra pie! (Later, I thought of the saying, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!")
Red light! I woke up in the night with the stomach ache of my life! I paid for pigging out! It still hurts a little this morning!
I am reminded of the scripture in Philippians 4:4, where Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord, always: and again I say, Rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."
A verse in Proverbs 25:26-28 says it is not good to eat too much honey, and goes on to say "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control."
Lesson learned!
P.S. I was reminded of a lady preacher in Mississippi who said one day she made a pie and treated herself to a slice. It was so good, she had another piece. Then she thought about her family finding out she had eaten two pieces, and not knowing how to get out of her dilemma, she just went ahead and ate the whole pie!
"Well, you could bring us some pie," my affable husband joked, to which she said, "What kind? I'll bring you some!" Going along with it, Howard said, "Apple," but I chimed in "Cherry!"
Sure enough, she came back in a few minutes with four individual cherry pies, at no charge! Remembering his sugar problem, Howard declined to indulge. Mine tasted so good--the flaky crust, the sweet, yummy cherries--that I offered to eat the extra pie! (Later, I thought of the saying, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!")
Red light! I woke up in the night with the stomach ache of my life! I paid for pigging out! It still hurts a little this morning!
I am reminded of the scripture in Philippians 4:4, where Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord, always: and again I say, Rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."
A verse in Proverbs 25:26-28 says it is not good to eat too much honey, and goes on to say "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control."
Lesson learned!
P.S. I was reminded of a lady preacher in Mississippi who said one day she made a pie and treated herself to a slice. It was so good, she had another piece. Then she thought about her family finding out she had eaten two pieces, and not knowing how to get out of her dilemma, she just went ahead and ate the whole pie!
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Waterfall!
"Howard, look out the window!" I called in alarm yesterday morning. "I think the dam has broken!" He rushed to see, and was as mystified as I was! Water was gushing in a torrent below our house! We feared it was coming from the pond (small lake) on the property.
We'd had horrible storms and rain all night, but now the rain was slacking up, although the deluge we watched was like an open fire hydrant in its continued fury!
"Let's go look," I strongly suggested. We quickly donned shoes and jackets and headed into the wet grass of the pasture. Slogging through the wetness, we got as close to the dam as we could see, and miraculously, it was intact, picnic table sitting where we had placed it months ago. Where was the water coming from?
Getting into the car and driving down the highway for a better look, we saw the rushing water was coming from a small creek of its own beside the normal drainage ditch from the lake. All day long the unrelenting flow poured violently down the ravine, finally slowing at nightfall.
Meanwhile, we went about our day, dodging showers, not paying attention to any weather warnings. Later in the evening, I began to notice news reports on TV about the gravity of storms throughout our state. So that's why our son in Houston had called to inquire about our safety! I hadn't even connected it, and chatted lightly of family news with him!
After hearing the news, we considered getting into the basement if a tornado was imminent, but dismissed it with the possibility of the house coming down on us. That left the option of going outside to the cellar!
Thankfully, nothing happened, and we slept peacefully, trusting God for our well-being. There is more rain forecast for the rest of the week, but hopefully not causing the geyser we had practically in our back yard!
We'd had horrible storms and rain all night, but now the rain was slacking up, although the deluge we watched was like an open fire hydrant in its continued fury!
"Let's go look," I strongly suggested. We quickly donned shoes and jackets and headed into the wet grass of the pasture. Slogging through the wetness, we got as close to the dam as we could see, and miraculously, it was intact, picnic table sitting where we had placed it months ago. Where was the water coming from?
Getting into the car and driving down the highway for a better look, we saw the rushing water was coming from a small creek of its own beside the normal drainage ditch from the lake. All day long the unrelenting flow poured violently down the ravine, finally slowing at nightfall.
Meanwhile, we went about our day, dodging showers, not paying attention to any weather warnings. Later in the evening, I began to notice news reports on TV about the gravity of storms throughout our state. So that's why our son in Houston had called to inquire about our safety! I hadn't even connected it, and chatted lightly of family news with him!
After hearing the news, we considered getting into the basement if a tornado was imminent, but dismissed it with the possibility of the house coming down on us. That left the option of going outside to the cellar!
Thankfully, nothing happened, and we slept peacefully, trusting God for our well-being. There is more rain forecast for the rest of the week, but hopefully not causing the geyser we had practically in our back yard!
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