Under Angel Wings

Happy St. Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3:17
May Christ through your faith dwell in your hearts!
May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love.

Do You Have Room?

2011-12-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

Please click on this beautiful and meaningful song below, and sit back and sing along with the words...

Do You Have Room?
They journeyed far, a weary pair, they sought for shelter from the cold night air.
Some place where she could lay her head, where she could give her Babe a quiet bed.
Was there no room? No corner there? In all the town a spot someone could spare?
Was there no soul come to their aid? A stable bare was where the family stayed.

Do you have room for the Savior, and do you seek Him a-new?
Have you a place for the One who lived and died for you?
Are you as humble as a shepherd boy, or as wise as men of old?
Would you have come that night? Would you have sought the light?
Do you have room?

A star a-rose, a wondrous light, a sign from God this was the Holy night.
And yet so few would go to see the Babe who came to rescue you and me.
This Child Divine is now a King. The gift of life to all the world He brings,
And all mankind He saves from doom, But on that night for him there was no room.

Do you have room for the Savior, and do you seek Him a-new?
Have you a place for the One who lived and died for you?
Are you as humble as a shepherd boy, or as wise as men of old?
Would you have come that night? Would you have sought the light?
Do you have room?
Will you come tonight? Will you seek the light?
Do you have room?

Do You Have Room? Lyrics by Shawna Belt Edwards, Sung by April Meservy

Happy Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

Most of All

Thanksgiving Day brings to mind the blessings in our lives
that usually go unnoticed:
a home that surrounds us
with comfort and protection;
delicious food, for pleasure
in both eating and sharing;
clothes to snuggle up in,
books and good entertainment
to expand our minds;
and freedom to worship our God.
Most of all we are thankful
for our family and friends,
those treasured people
who make our lives extra special.
You are part of that cherished group.
On Thanksgiving, (and every day)
we appreciate you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Joanna Fuchs

Thanksgiving Prayer~Thanksgiving Song

Pig Pickin' Cake

2011-08-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my great niece Elizabeth's 11th birthday. Happy birthday, Lizzie! We decided to celebrate by making a Pig Pickin' Cake. "WHAT IS THAT?" you say! Pig Pickin' Cake is a local favorite here in our town in Northern California, and don't worry, the title does not cast aspersions on the person eating it. This cake is a grand tradition that originated in the south, enough said!! In order to better explain the history of this wonderful dessert, I'm going to About.com to give you the whole explanation as well as the recipe...then you can look at Lizzie's creation as we made her birthday cake. Click on this link:

Pig Pickin' Cake a.k.a. Mandarin Orange Cake a.k.a. Sunshine Cake

Now you know the whole story about Pig Pickin' Cake. You can buy one here in our town by The Cake Lady, or you can make your own and save a bunch of money!

Pour a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix into the mixer bowl. Chop fine an 11-ounce can of mandarin oranges and put in the bowl with the juice, or simply process in a food processor with the juice, then pour into the bowl. There should not be any large pieces of fruit in the cake. Crack four eggs into the bowl and add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.

Beat for two minutes with the mixer.

Pour into three greased and floured 9 in. cake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. I'm glad I checked the cakes at 20 minutes because they were done!

Let the cakes cool for an hour or two, then you are ready to put the frosting together.

Put an 8-ounce carton of frozen whipped topping in a bowl. I had bought a second one and added about half of it as well, just to make sure I had enough, and I'm glad I did, as all of it was used to frost the cake.
Stir in an 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with the juice. Add and stir in a 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding. Stir well until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Start frosting the layers and build that cake. Lizzie is left-handed and it is fascinating watching her learn how to spread frosting around! Didn't she do a wonderful job?

I can hear you asking, "Is it as good as The Cake Lady's?" The answer is, "I don't know because Lizzie liked the looks of it so much she took the whole thing home!" She promised to bring us some tomorrow, though... :D

Happy 11th birthday, Elizabeth!

Note: The cake is delicious. The cake layers are a pretty light golden orange color inside and are very moist and very tasty! The frosting is light and yummy with tiny pieces of pineapple...and it is just as good on days two and three as it is on day one!! The ingredients cost about $10.00 which is less than it costs to buy the cake, and it is very easy and quick to put together. All in all I give it 5/5 stars!! *****

Welcome Baby Sophia Grace

2011-07-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

On Friday, July 29, 2011 the world welcomed little Baby Sophia Grace. She was born in the Bay Area to her loving parents, Claudia and Rocky. Looking on is her honorary Auntie Olivia!

Sophia decided to come into the world a week or two early, so she is catching up on her sleep all snug in her blanket and cap. Sleep tight, little one. Welcome to our world!

Happy Fourth Of July

2011-07-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

God Bless Our Troops Around The World

Grady and Marianne's Wedding ~ June 25, 2011

2011-06-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Grady, our son, and his fiancee, Marianne, were married on Saturday, June 25th, 2011 at the Garden Vineyard outside Portland, Oregon. Everything about the day was gorgeous: the bride and groom and all the family and friends, the setting, the food and wine, and especially the weather! We were so blessed with a day full of sun...as I receive more candid shots I will post them up to share with everyone.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

   Mother's Love
   ~Author Unknown

   There are times when only a Mother's love
   Can understand our tears,
   Can soothe our disappoints
   And calm all of our fears.

   There are times when only a Mother's love
   Can share the joy we feel
   When something we've dreamed about
   Quite suddenly is real.

   There are times when only a Mother's faith
   Can help us on life's way
   And inspire in us the confidence
   We need from day to day.

   For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith
   And a Mother's steadfast love
   Were fashioned by the Angels
   And sent from God above.

The Meaning Of Easter, by Billy Graham

2011-04-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

We worship a risen, living Savior who has promised to give immortality to all who believe on His Name. No longer do men and women need to stumble in the fog and darkness of hopelessness. A light shines brighter than the noonday sun, offering hope to everyone who has been born again.

Jesus promised, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." (John 11:25-26).

Long ago Job asked the great question of the ages: "If a man dies, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14). Death carries with it a certain dread. It has always been the enemy, the great, mysterious monster that makes people quake with fear.

Death stalks the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated. Death is no respecter of race, color or creed. Its shadow haunts us day and night. We never know when the moment of death will come for us.

Is there any hope?

I take you to an empty tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea. Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Salome had come to anoint the body of the crucified Christ, and they had been startled to find the tomb empty. An angel sat on the stone by the door of the tomb and said, "I know that you seek Jesus...He is not here; for He is risen." (Matthew 28:5-6).

The greatest news that mortal ear has ever heard is the news that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, as he had promised. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the chief proof of the Christian faith. It is the truth that lies at the very foundation of the Gospel. Without a belief in the resurrection there can be no personal salvation. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9).

In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have the answer to Job's question. The Bible teaches that because Christ lives, we also shall live. The greatest truth that you can ever hear is that Jesus Christ died but rose again, and that you, too, will die but can rise again into newness of life.

The resurrected Christ still lives today. Though Jesus is in His glorified body in heaven, through the Holy Spirit He dwells in the heart of every Christian. The Scripture speaks of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). Christ, in whom "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9), lives within the hearts of people. This is a mystery that is beyond comprehension and yet is gloriously true.

The Scripture says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead on the first Easter will raise us from the dead if the Spirit lives in us. Call upon His resources. His grace is more than sufficient; He will cause you to triumph over the world, the flesh and the devil.

From PRAYER FOCUS, by Billy Graham
Thank you to my dear sister in Christ, Carol, for sharing!

An Irish Blessing

2011-03-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

       An Irish Blessing

   May neighbors respect you,

   Trouble neglect you,

   The angels protect you,

   And heaven accept you.

Link to a beautiful Ireland video especially for St. Patrick's Day:
This Blessing Is For You

Jubilation In Egypt

2011-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

The huge crowd in Tahrir Square, Cairo, reacted in jubilation today to the stunning news that the dictatorship government of President Hosni Mubarak fell. The military council will be setting up a provisional government until political parties can be formed and elections held.

Mubarak's regime ruled for over 30 years. Eighteen days ago the people of Cairo began an uprising in Tahrir Square which played out on TV screens around the world, even when Mubarak shut down all internet and cell phone usage in Egypt.

The Egyptian people have earned the right to re-write their constitution and embrace democracy so that they can be free. Besides watching history unfold in the mid-east, I have a special interest in the political outcome in Egypt as I have a dear friend, Rawia, who lives and works in Cairo. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family and friends on this historic day.

"All About God," By Ethan

2011-01-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

Early Friday morning Ethan, one of our fifth graders at Valley Christian Academy, came into school and walked up to me with a big smile on his face. He handed me a piece of paper with red ink words and music chords scrawled on it, and the title of the song was "All About God." He said to me, "This is for you."

This was one of those moments that you live for as a teacher. A few months ago Ethan had never touched a piano, then my co-teacher began to teach him to play chords to some of our songs that we sing every day. To our amazement Ethan was soon accompanying us daily and even when we performed!

On Thursday night he was playing his keyboard at home, (a Christmas gift from his parents), and he started to hear words in his head and a tune. He said to himself, "I'd better start writing this down!" Smart boy.

Within forty-five minutes or so he had a song, fresh from heaven.

The first thing we did when school started on Friday was to start learning "All About God." Ethan stood by me and sang the melody as I played the chords on my guitar. The other students quickly picked up the melody and the words, and Ethan had exact instructions for us such as, "Sing it through, then repeat the song playing the chorus at the end twice." My co-teacher spent some time with him writing out the melody and chords for us. It truly sounds beautiful! What a blessing for Ethan and for our school.

New Year's Blessing

2011-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Blessing

As we look toward a brand new year

Then gaze back to the past

We pause with mixed emotions

And memories that still last.

For these years have taught us lessons

We never thought we'd learn

To stand in the face of adversity

Seeking peace for which we yearn.

Our nation still stands together

Since that sad September day

When in an instant all was changed

And so many taken away.

Each life a precious memory

Each face burned in our souls

The heroes, the innocent, those who were lost

Were halves who made someone whole.

So we pray for this year to be peaceful

For strength to see us through

For each one who lost someone precious

And for all that is holy and true.

As we pray God's eternal blessings

For our leaders and our land

We walk toward the future together

Heart to heart and hand in hand.

by Allison Chambers Coxsey

Count Your Blessings

2010-12-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, dear family & friends, all around the world!!!

Count Your Blessings Video from my friend, Pat

Advent Angels

2010-12-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

During December I am posting a beautiful Christmas music video every day on my blog,

Rest With Him.

I hope you enjoy visiting there for a bit of inspiration during this busy holiday season!

For this site today I have selected a lovely song by a group called All Angels.

Enjoy, and many Christmas Blessings to All!

All Angels- Silent Night

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

2010-11-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and may God bless you and yours abundantly!

GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART, a beautiful music video by Integrity Worship Singers

Valley Christian Academy Fall Program

2010-11-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

Some of our students dancing and singing to "Every Move I Make (I Make In You)"

Last week our students put on their first program! They sang contemporary Christian songs, they danced, and they recited fall poetry. Two of them accompanied on instruments they had never played until less than two months ago, the piano and bass guitar, and they sounded like they had been playing for years.

The audience was wowed, but more importantly it was all for the glory of God...How wonderful it is to be able to sing, dance and pray to God with students after teaching public school for 16 years!

EVERY MOVE I MAKE~ song and dance video by our students

A Happy Announcement!

2010-11-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

   Grady and Marianne

   of Portland, Oregon

   have recently become engaged to be married!

   We are so pleased and proud of them both,

   and we are overjoyed to welcome Marianne into our family.

   We know you will all join us in offering the happy couple our

   hearty congratulations!


   With much love,

   David and Sylvia

God Blesses Our School

2010-11-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

Eight is enough at Valley Christian Academy

October 08, 2010 11:59:00 PM

By Ryan McCarthy/Appeal-Democrat

They start each day with a pledge to the United States flag, the Christian flag and the Bible — then sing a patriotic song and a religious one, read a passage from scripture and pray.

The eight students and two teachers at K-8 Valley Christian Academy in Yuba City sang "God Bless America" when the smallest school in Sutter County began Thursday at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church.

"It's a beautiful thing to see," Principal and teacher Sylvia Lamon said. "I thank God for the privilege of teaching here."

Teacher Suzanne Reed said Valley Christian, which started in 2007 and is surrounded by five acres of grasslands, could seem like a return to the one-room schoolhouse — but all students are assigned their own personal Apple computer.

"I talk to other teacher friends and they're a little bit jealous of my school," said Reed, who as a youth was homeschooled for 10 years and also attended nearby Faith Christian School and Yuba City High before beginning college.

Student Matthew DeWitt, 12, started at Valley Christian this school year.

"I've learned a lot more," said Matthew, citing the individual instruction from teachers. "They know when you need help and when you don't," he said.

Eighth-grader Kevin Hall, 14, also appreciates the one-on-one attention of instructors.

"It's better, I think," Kevin said.

Pastor Tom Baumgarten of the Valley Lutheran Church leads a chapel service Fridays and the school holds monthly field trips. Students went to Red Dog Ranch in Yuba City last month.

The smallest school in Sutter County may be the only one in the United States where half the student body are twins. Two sets of twins, including sixth-grader Matthew and sister Megan, are among the eight students.

Matthew, who is interested in an acting career, and his sister appeared as extras in the 2006 movie "The Pursuit of Happyness.""It was a really good experience," said Matthew, adding "they feed you really good food."

Students at Valley Christian take classes that include language arts, math, science, history, Bible, Spanish, penmanship and music.

"Our goal is to get everyone playing some kind of an instrument," Lamon said, "and have a Christian band."

She taught for 16 years at Nuestro Elementary School in Live Oak before coming out of retirement to return to education this year.

Lamon grew up on a ranch north of Yuba City and attended Encinal Elementary School as a youth. She was one of five students in the graduating class at the Live Oak school.

"I'm used to a small-school environment," Lamon said.

She noted how it's possible at Valley Christian to customize instruction for students — and spoke about the foundation youths will have all their lives because they attended the nondenominational Christian school.

"We keep our eyes on God here," Lamon said.

CONTACT Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmcarthy@appealdemocrat.com.

The Shepherd Of The Valley

2010-11-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

The Good Shepherd

Many of you may have been wondering why I have not been writing on my blog for the last several months. My life has changed dramatically! This is how God works in my life...

Three and a half years ago I retired from teaching, but I continued to really miss working with children. One day towards the end of last May, my husband came home to tell me that he and all his fellow employees would be receiving a 15% cut in pay beginning in July. I was just trying to figure out how we were going to cover that, when about three days later I received a call from the pastor of the church where my congregation also worships.

He told me that the current principal and lead teacher of their private Christian academy was retiring, and would I please help "shepherd" them through the process of finding her replacement? I said I would be delighted to, and he and I began discussing what could be a vision for their school.

To make a long story short, pastor asked me to come and share that vision with the school board, and I had a wonderful time talking about teaching and children. I went home that night and had the best night's sleep I had enjoyed in a long time...when I got up in the morning, there was a job offer for the position in my e-mail box!

I had two months to get to know my wonderful co-teacher, Suzanne, and we worked hard putting together a great program. We reorganized and painted classrooms and designed our school schedules. I learned a new computer program, as the third through eighth grade students have several of their classes online. School began on August 16th, and life has been very busy ever since!

God has blessed me mightily. The really interesting thing is that my modest salary exactly fills the hole left by my husband's pay reduction...yes, this is exactly how God works in my life!

GOD SPEAKING, a beautiful music video by Mandisa

America's Independence Day

2010-07-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

God Bless America ~ Sung by Celine Dion, with Patriotic Slideshow

I Am America ~ A Scenic Tour of the USA

Memorial Day, in Honor of Our Troops

2010-05-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

And I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm free...

And I won't forget the men who died,

Who gave that right to me!

Lee Greenwood

God Bless The USA Music Video

Our Birthday Celebration

2010-05-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend my friend Candy had a wonderful celebration for our birthdays at Lake Tahoe. I was born on May 30th in California, and she was born on May 31st in Illinois, just one day apart. She is the closest person in age to me that I have ever met! Needless to say, we have a lot in common, and our husbands have a lot in common as well...they are both engineers, love tools, and love to golf, so we all have a great time. We both are wearing our birthday heart key silver necklaces from our friend, Janet...thank you, special friend!!

On Saturday evening Candy had a lovely dinner party with delicious food and wine. Turkey, dressing and all the trimmings, and everyone else brought dishes to share as well. Candy is such a kick...she decided to make little biscuits so we could all have a bit of hot bread and enjoy the last of my homemade pomegranate jelly. They were tiny, piping hot, and we decided to call them 'Petit Biscuit.' Here she is cutting them out with a wine glass! You know, when a woman reaches a certain age, she can pretty much change the rules to suit her fancy, at least I think she can!

With Candy lifting her glass for a toast, we were ready to taste the best bread pudding you have ever eaten, hot with a Whiskey Cream Sauce over the top. It was de-licious! One day soon I'll give you the recipe on this blog. Janet is seated facing the camera between her husband, Tom, in the blue shirt on the left and Candy's husband, Ray, in the black shirt on the right. My husband, David, is taking the photo!

Yankee, born in the USA of German sire and dam, in the ring working out...

On Sunday, my birthday, we went down to her ranch in Reno so Dave and I could visit her beautiful horses. (See this blog, May 31, 2009.) Two weeks ago Candy and Yankee, her stallion, had a serious mishap and Candy was badly injured, but she is bouncing back fast. Candy was attempting to get up on Yankee on the spur of the moment, but somehow it didn't work well as he was already moving, and her spur touched his back so he ran fast, and she was accidentally thrown down onto the ground, then she bounced and landed about 10 feet away!

Ray was somewhere else working with another horse when suddenly he turned around and there was Yankee loose behind him, and no Candy in sight. Ray found her on the ground and very slowly got her up to go to the ER. After a CAT scan they found that she had broken a rib, and several other little things of which I don't remember the names...

Candy has another horse, a fabulous, big black gelding named Nevada who is 17.2 hands high, one of the biggest most beautiful horses in the state! He is a French Selle Francais, about 9 years old. I have never in my life seen such a huge horse, and so magnificent when he runs. He got jealous when we were over visiting Yankee in his stall, so Nevada started running all over the pasture, and got himself all worked up into a sweat until we came back to him. Candy took me into the pasture with him on a lead, but I am very cautious around him. One false step and he could really injure you, even though he wouldn't mean to! The pictures do not do justice to the size of him...He weighs 1200 pounds!

Today is Candy's birthday, so one last "Happy Birthday To You!!" As we left Tahoe to beat the traffic home this morning, Candy and Ray were leaving to attend a surprise party for her. What a celebration!! Thank you Candy, so much, for a great birthday Memorial Day weekend, and here's to another wonderful year for the both of us!
THE BEATLES BIRTHDAY SONG

Fancy Fruit Basket Cake

2010-05-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

My sister and I grew up on the family farm, and our mom was a good cook who put three hot meals on the table year round. Our desserts were mainly fruit pies and puddings such as tapioca or chocolate, with an occasional cake for a birthday. One that was especially delicious was mom's white layer cake with sliced bananas between the layers and whipped cream frosting.

Our local supermarket has a wonderful cake they call the Fruit Basket Cake. It is a white layer cake with sliced bananas and sliced strawberries between the layers with whipped cream frosting. It is really tall with all the fruit between the layers, and really expensive as well!! We have indulged in this cake for two or three very special celebrations, but you can make one at home for a few dollars compared with spending a small fortune at the bakery.

Here is the cast of characters: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic White Cake (or any white cake mix), oil, water, egg whites, heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, bananas and strawberries.

Grease the cake pans including the sides. These pans are my old faithful Bake King pans with the arm that slides around to release the cake after it is baked. Very, very handy!! :D

Add some flour...

Shake the flour around the bottom...

And the sides...

Now that the baking pans are prepared and the oven is preheating, let's start making the cake. Open the bag and pour the mix into the mixer bowl.

Add the water...

And the egg whites...OOPS! One of the yolks fell in...No worries, it didn't make a bit of difference to the quality of the cake. :D (It's challenging to add ingredients with one hand and take photos with the other!)

Add the oil...

And mix according to directions.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake.

Take out the baked layers and set aside on racks to cool while you whip the cream and slice the fruit.

Pour the whipping cream into the mixer bowl. I used three cups, one pint box and one 1/2 pint box.
It is always better to have more whipped cream than less so you can cover the cake. Any extra can be used in your morning coffee...better than Starbucks!! Oh yummy...

While whipping the cream, add some powdered sugar to sweeten it. I added three scoops, but my family likes it sweet! Gosh, I'm giving away all the family secrets...

Now I can just hear my mother admonishing me to not whip the cream too long or it will turn to butter!
I actually had that happen once...so I had to send my hubby to the store for more whipping cream. You want the cream to be whipped with stiff peaks so it will stay on the cake, but you don't want butter!! :D

Put a doily on the cake plate and start to frost the bottom layer with the whipped cream. As our 9 1/2 year old great-niece Elizabeth said recently, "Everything looks better with a doily on the plate!"

Ummmm...it's starting to look like a cake...

Slice a banana thinly and evenly...

And lay the pieces carefully on the top, then spread a little more frosting over the bananas.

Put the second layer on top and start frosting it...

Slice the strawberries thinly and lay on a plate...

Shake on a sweetener that you use: regular sugar, Splenda or in this case, Stevia...

Lay the sliced strawberries on the top of the cake...

And frost the top layer with the remaining whipped cream...

Don't forget to do a good job on the sides as well...

When I was slicing the strawberries, I noticed that one of them looked like a red heart, so I saved it for the top of the cake...I made it for my Aunt Dorothy's 97th birthday, so Happy Birthday Aunt D.!!

Be sure to refrigerate your cake until you serve it. Then enjoy, enjoy, and make some memories!

Note: For a red, white and blue cake add some blueberries between the layers.

Little Quiches

2010-05-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

When my daughter, Olivia, and her best friend, Katie, were young I had a children's cookbook with some really good recipes in it. One that was a particular favorite of the girls was Little Quiches. Now that our great-niece Elizabeth is about the same age, we have gotten out the same cookbook to try some of the recipes!

The great thing about quiche is that you can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and appetizers. Elizabeth was new to quiche so she was learning the process without ever having seen it or tasted it! :D

The Cast of Characters includes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, milk, eggs, butter, ketchup, salt, onion, Canadian bacon, and grated parmesan cheese. To make 12 little quiches, the recipe calls for:

1 tube of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (8 rolls)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 T. ketchup
1/2 t. salt
1 cup diced ham or Canadian bacon
2 T. diced onion
4 T. butter
6 T. grated parmesan cheese

Begin by setting the oven to 375 degrees. Spray Pam in each of the 12 muffin cups. We use the spray outside the kitchen slider to keep the cloud of oil out of the kitchen.

The tube of crescent rolls is pre-divided into 8 triangles. This turned out to be a great math lesson for Lizzie because we needed 12 sections of rolls for the muffin pan. We rolled out the dough, and made our own two cuts on the dough, instead of following their one perforation which divided the dough in half.

With our two rows cut, we divided the dough into three sections of four rolls each. With a little additional pinching off here and adding there, we got 12 pieces of dough that were roughly the same weight. Don't be too concerned about this; only a small piece of dough is needed for each quiche.

Put a piece of dough into each cup, flattening them to cover the bottom and working up the sides a bit. Take a fork and poke little holes around in each piece of dough. Put the muffin pan into the oven to pre-bake the dough for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned..

Dice the onion into very small pieces...

Dice the Canadian bacon or ham into small pieces as well.

Put the butter into a frying pan and add the onion.

Add the Canadian bacon or ham and saute together with the butter and onion. Right about now this dish is starting to smell really good!

Now go over to the mixer and crack the eggs into the bowl.

Pour the milk in...

Add the salt...

Also the ketchup....

Mix all together into a custard-like filling.

Add in the sauted meat, onion and butter.

Ladle the filling into the muffin cups, being careful to scoop up a portion of meat at the bottom of the bowl into each ladle full.

Shake enough grated parmesan cheese onto each quiche to cover the tops.

Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until lightly browned and cooked through. Then you'll have to pop one onto a plate, and pop a bite into your mouth as quickly as possible, because honestly, these little quiches are really yummy!!

Here is the Pillsbury Doughboy dancin' for us:

French Braid Fun

2010-04-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when Elizabeth was over after school we decided to try out a new hairstyle. When my daughter, Olivia, was young she taught herself how to do a French Braid on her own, then she taught me how to do it on her hair. It has been years, tho, and I was a little unsure on how to do the first few "stitches." So we found a YouTube video to help us!

Elizabeth sat on my step stool so I could watch the laptop and braid along with the video. I sat in my desk chair behind her. Chloe, our little Papillon, had to get in on the fun as well, especially since she is a little French dog. :D

Voila! Magnifique! Here is the finished French Braid.

With her beautiful chocolate brown hair and eyes, she could be a little French girl.

"Bonjour, mon nom est Elizabeth."

Here is the video we watched:

Healthy Chocolate Muffins

2010-04-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Healthy Chocolate Muffins?? Yes, I know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but it is possible to bake a healthy, ooey-gooey, moist and dense, melty chocolate muffin that is low in fat. My husband and I have been treating ourselves to a Deep Chocolate Vita Muffin every night, and even at just 100 calories each they are delicious!! But pricey, at $5.99 for a box of four, and my good sense won't allow me to go on paying that kind of money, so I was forced to find a home-baked alternative.

I Googled 'low fat chocolate muffin recipe' and came up with many choices. (What did we ever do before Google search??) The one I decided to try is from eHOW: How to make One Point Chocolate Muffins. The 'One Point' is Weight Watchers terminology for low in fat and calories. My version, because I add a few chocolate chips to each muffin, is probably 1-2 points each. They are ridiculously easy to make and low in cost as well!

Elizabeth, great-niece and budding chef, was on hand today to demonstrate the process. The Cast of Characters includes 1 box reduced fat or regular dark chocolate brownie mix, 3 cups All Bran Cereal, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and about 6 ounces (one half of a package) of semi-sweet chocolate chips. That is all!! The recipe makes 14 muffins.

Pour the dry cereal in the mixing bowl...

Add the water and stir to moisten. Let sit for 10 minutes or so until the cereal is completely wet and soft.

Start the mixer on low speed for a minute to mix the cereal with the water.

Add the pouch of brownie mix and continue to mix on low.

Add the baking powder and continue mixing...

Scrape the sides of the bowl to mix in all the dry brownie mix.

When the batter is well mixed, pour into a large measuring cup for ease of handling.

Spray the muffin cups with Pam, and pour the batter in. Each cup should be almost full. These are not high rising muffins, they are moist and dense with a really chocolate-y taste!!

Sneak a taste (chef's prerogative)...

Drop 6-8 chocolate chips into each muffin and place the pans in the oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.

Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until tops of the muffins are dry and springy to the touch.

Remove from the oven and run a knife around each muffin to loosen while they are warm. Let cool and place on a pretty plate to serve, or put in a large zip-lock bag to freeze. To warm a frozen muffin, microwave for approximately 30 seconds and enjoy!!

Earth Day 1970-2010

2010-04-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

   Earth / Moon Mural

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day that was celebrated on April 22, 1970. On that day I was a senior at the University of Oregon, about to graduate and return home to California. The U of O April 22nd campus newspaper included an Earth Day poster (which I still have) to commemorate the occasion.

Today, let us set aside all strife, and celebrate all life on Planet Earth!

Psalm 148

1 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights.

2 Praise him, all you angels of his; praise him, all his host.

3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him all you shining stars.

4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens.

5 Let them praise the Name of the Lord; for he commanded, and they were created.

6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever; he gave them a law which shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth, and you sea-monsters and all deeps;

8 Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing his will;

9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;

10 Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds;

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the world;

12 Young men and maidens, old and young together.

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his Name only is exalted,
   his splendor is over earth and heaven.

14 He has raised up strength for his people and praise for his loyal servants,
   the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
   Hallelujah!

This image can be found at Google Images and Wallpaper Murals

April Showers, May Flowers

2010-04-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

My sunny backyard sunflower 2009

For the last couple of weeks, Elizabeth (my great-niece) and I have been trying to find a space of sunshine so we could go out on the patio and start planting flower seeds in our seed trays. Our spring weather in the valley this year, however, has been very unpredictable!! Yesterday Lizzie was over after school and it was pouring buckets of cold rain, again, so we decided to do our seed planting in the kitchen, or we would not have any flowers until late summer.

I had fun recently picking out some seed packets. Zinnias are always a favorite since childhood when our grandmother Pearl had lovely tall zinnias all around her home. Hollyhocks were a favorite of our mom, and they used to grow wild all around her house on our ranch. When the flowers died I picked off the seed pods and started some in my backyard where they look so pretty standing by the fences. It's always a surprise what colors you will get with hollyhocks, at least it is in my garden! Then sunflowers are important to provide those huge sunny faces that are so cheerful, and wonderful for the birds. I also picked up some delphinium seeds to try as an experiment.

We put a bag of potting soil in the sink and Lizzie started filling the little sections in the trays. There is room in the bottom of the trays for drainage, and each one comes with a clear plastic dome lid to protect the seedlings as they sprout and grow...

We made a matrix of all the sections so we could keep track of where we planted the different varieties of seeds. Then Lizzie will know what she is planting when she puts them in the ground!

Now the seeds are planted and it's time to water. We're going to keep the trays indoors by the sliding glass door where they will get lots of light and not be too cold outside in the wind and rain. Last night right before sunset I saw one of the biggest, darkest clouds to the north of us that I have ever seen!

Last summer Uncle Jim helped Elizabeth plant some sunflowers and pumpkins in his garden. Uncle Jim's sunflowers were some of the biggest I have ever seen! He probably had to use a chain saw to cut them down. Our soil in Sutter County is some of the best in the world for growing things.

Last summer was the first time I have ever planted sunflowers in my yard, I don't know why. Every time I looked outside they gave me joy. They don't stay beautiful that long, tho, so it would be a good idea to stagger their planting times so that you always have some lovely fresh ones in the yard all summer long. I wonder if I can actually be that organized this year! The heads were so heavy I had to tie them to the fence to keep them standing tall.

Last year at Easter my two grown children, Olivia and Grady, were home for some family time and Dave and I twisted their arms to help us plant this bed of zinnias. It was amazing how fast this job was completed with four people helping!! We redid the bed, fixed the sprinkling system, leveled the dirt, spread on fresh bark and planted the little plants I had purchased in 6 packs. I enjoyed these flowers for about six months, so it was a great investment of time and money.

The cut flowers were gorgeous as well.

There was only one problem...I forgot that zinnias get mildew if they get wet from overhead, and this bed is right next to the lawn. Every day they got sprayed and eventually some of them started turning ash gray which was disappointing. This year I am planting my zinnias all around the pool where they will just have drip irrigation at ground level, and hummingbird mint and shasta daisies will go in this bed. We live and we learn!!

Last summer I had a volunteer plant come up right next to my fountain. It was a complete surprise!! In fact I didn't even know what it was for sure at first, because the leaves were so big. When I saw the stalk coming up I knew it was a hollyhock, perfectly placed for our enjoyment!! The color was the prettiest pink, and I just loved it.

I didn't have the heart to cut the plant off at ground level in the late fall the way I should have done. I cut off the flower stalk and left the plant all winter, because I was afraid it wouldn't grow back. The plant survived the winter and is twice as big this spring as it ever got last summer, with one problem. Hollyhocks are prone to rust which I did not know, so I have had to cut off a lot of leaves to try and save the plant. It seems to flourish no matter what I do to it! It has multiple stalks this year, so oh my goodness it should put on quite a show for us.

Tea Party Patriots Rally

2010-04-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Garrett Tharp, Yuba-Sutter Tea Party Chairman

First off, let me just say that I don't care for politics. In fact I have always said that I "abhor"politics. I just don't feel comfortable with activities that are divisive; I prefer to spend my time doing things that unite people. Only the gravest concern for the direction that our country is headed in could possibly drive me out of my warm and snuggy house on a cold and windy day!

After years of not being involved in politics, however, millions of us are coming out to voice our opinions on a wide range of issues. We are taking a stand for what this country used to stand for! What I like about the Tea Party Patriots is that by and large they are a respectful group of people who have worked hard all their lives and just want to be heard on what is important to them. They want government to listen to them!

Last year I attended the first Tax Day Rally on April 15th on the steps of the California State Capitol. There were 12,000 people there, and it was one of the nicest crowds I have ever seen. No one was disrespectful in any way that I saw, and I felt totally comfortable there. This Thursday a large group of us is headed down to Sacramento for Tax Day Rally II, barring any complications from the rainy spring weather we have been having lately.

The Tea Party Patriots don't endorse candidates, and the members come from all three political parties. The message is simple, and this is what we believe in, which is stated on the back of our t-shirts:
ORDINARY CITIZENS RECLAIMING AMERICA
Free Markets
Fiscal Responsibility
Constitutionally Limited Government

FOX- 40 News showed up at the very end of the rally and caught some video of the event. I'm on there showing the simple message on the back of the t-shirt (we sold a ton of them yesterday), and my 1776 flag was flying in the prow of the "boat." I'm impressed that young people came out to support the cause as well...the chairman of our local group is Garrett Tharp, shown in a Patriot costume. For a 20 year old he has a really good grasp of the issues. We signed up pages of new members! I think the Tea Party Patriots of this country are going to be around for a long while!

Enjoy the video clip. Hopefully it will stay on my page at least for a short time. Please remember that there are no "sides" to the Tea Party movement!! Everyone of all parties, races, backgrounds, religions, ages and genders is welcome to join us.

Yuba-Sutter Tea Party Patriots

Easter Greetings

2010-04-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

He Is Risen

Hiking Inside the Sutter Buttes

2010-04-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Image from Sacred Land Film Project

In the middle of the great Sacramento Valley in Northern California exists what is known as "the smallest mountain range in the world," the Sutter Buttes. Between 1.5 and 1 million years ago volcanic activity occurred there, leaving a ring (sometimes called a "rosette") of peaks and valleys that is 10 miles across and covers an area of about 75 square miles. (This view of the Buttes is from the north looking south).

For millennia the valley was an inland sea, then in recent thousands of years the land was covered in trees, grasses and wildflowers, the rivers teeming with fish and the skies dark with wildfowl. Native peoples such as the Maidu and the Wintun lived along the banks of what became known as the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, but retreated to the ramparts of the Buttes when winter storms flooded the valley.

The Maidus called the mountains Histum Yani, and the Wintuns knew them as Onolai-tol, both names roughly translating to "Middle Mountain." These buttes were very important spiritually to the two tribes in terms of their belief in creation, and at the end of life when they believed that their spirits would go to the Buttes on the way to the spirit world.

In 1806 Gabriel Moraga, a Spaniard, was the first European to see the Buttes. Another Spaniard, Luis Arguello, led an expedition in 1817 to explore California by water. He named the Buttes "Los Pichachos," or "the peaks." He also named the Feather River "El Rio del Las Plumas" because he saw many feathers of wildfowl floating on the water.

The renowned mountain man, Jedediah Smith, trapped in the vicinity of the Buttes in 1828. Then in 1833 a brigade of French fur trappers from the Hudson Bay Company passed through, possibly infecting the Maidus with small pox and contributing to the decimation of their numbers. In 1845-46 Captain John C. Fremont led an expedition through the Sutter Buttes and established a base camp there.

John Augustus Sutter, after the 1841 settling of Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, established his Hock Farm south of what would become Yuba City. In 1848 gold was discovered at his sawmill in Coloma, and Sutter County was named for him and established in 1850.

The native peoples gathered acorns from the oaks and hunted wild game to sustain themselves during the times they lived in the Sutter Buttes. Many acorn grinding holes are still evident in the flat rocks. The land inside the Buttes was bought up in the 1800's and has been passed down through the families for generations.

Even though this means that accessibility is limited for those of us living in the valley, the good news is that the land has remained relatively unchanged for over a century. Local valley residents may enter the Buttes each spring by signing up for annual day hikes with the Middle Mountain Foundation.

This gorgeous photo of the Buttes was taken last week by our cousin Joanne, while she was visiting Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge, on the northwest side of the mountains. This is one of the prettiest shots (and there have been thousands taken from around the valley) that I have ever seen! Thank you, Joanne.

One of the most interesting aspects of these mountains is that since they are in a circle, all directions have a completely different look. Each one of us grows up with our own "view" of the Buttes, and it's always fun to drive completely around them to see what other peoples' views look like! This view is very different from mine, because North Butte is on the left, whereas in the view that my family has looked at for 100 years, North Butte is on the right.

As we drive into the Buttes on our day hike, we follow dirt roads through sheep pastures. There are low rock walls still standing which were made by Chinese immigrants during the gold rush era. The rocks were blown out of the volcano during the eruptions, and hundreds of thousands of them still lay where they dropped! Thank you, cousin Rich, for sharing your sheep and cattle photos...

Cattle are also raised here during the winter and spring, until the grasses turn dry and they are taken up into the higher Sierra Nevada range to feed. The elevation of this range is fairly low, more what we call "foothills," so the weather becomes quite hot and dry in the summer and fall.

Once we have slowly and carefully driven through the pastures, opening and closing the gates as we go so as not to let any of the animals escape, we arrive at the ranch of our hosts. This family has very graciously opened their property for the day, and we intend to have a wonderful time exploring it!

Here is Elizabeth on her very first hike in the Buttes! She even is carrying a walking stick, just like the adults. Rattlesnakes live at this elevation, so the hikes are scheduled in the early spring when the weather is still too cool for them to move around in. We always remain vigilant, tho, as we have seen a number of rattlesnakes and had some very close encounters over the years!! No bites, thankfully...:D They like to sun themselves on the rocks, so we are always careful where we put our hands and where we sit down.

If the rainfall has been average or better during the winter, we are treated to some beautiful wildflowers!

I borrowed this sun-streaked photo from the California State Parks web site. It shows an interesting rock alignment on a contour break overlooking Peace Valley on the other side of North Butte. One day we went on a beautiful hike through the valley which is now part of the state park system.

This tree has been converted into a granary by the woodpeckers. The birds actually drill the holes and insert acorns into them!! It is pretty amazing to see.

One of our little hikes takes us to what is called the "drum rock." It is a large rock that sounds semi- hollow when you knock on it. The rock is literally at the base of North Butte. Right behind it you can start a steep climb up to a larger outcropping of rock known as 'Little North Butte." This is my husband, David.

My sister Jan, center, (blue shirt) and her group of family and friends so happy to be in the Buttes on a gorgeous day. Jan is past president of the Middle Mountain Foundation, and the organizer of our hikes. Joe, to the right in sunglasses and hat, leads us up and over the hills and teaches us about the flora, fauna, and native peoples who lived in the area at different times of the year.

A beautiful "bouquet" of wildflowers!!

My sister, Jan, and I sitting at the base of North Butte. Mittens and scarves were required on this day due to a brisk spring breeze.

I've always thought that the rocks at the top look like a craggy castle, even from many miles across the valley!

One of many lovely views taken by my husband, David. Notice the little-used cattle trail across the slope.

Elizabeth and I leaning on Drum Rock on her first visit into the Buttes.

This photo was also borrowed from the state parks web site. It was taken from the very top of North Butte, looking in a northwest direction toward the valley.

Elizabeth enjoyed exploring one of the mortars that the native peoples used to grind their acorns in.

This is "Little North Butte" that pushes out from North Butte itself. It's a nice steep little climb up and around it and back to camp.

In this longer view you can see all the way through the rock on the right. I always imagine that small boys must have delighted in climbing up to sit in the hole and play in ancient days. Perhaps girls as well!

Everywhere you turn, there is a fabulous view inside the Buttes!!

A very well-preserved grinding stone.

Willard, Jennifer and myself bringing up the rear of course!

Elizabeth, my sister's granddaughter, and our great-niece.

Here are a few of the wild animals that live inside the Sutter Buttes. Coyotes...

Golden eagles...

Diamondback rattlesnakes....

White deer...

and Wild Boar!!

This is one of my favorite photographs of inside the Sutter Buttes. I have a dream, and that is to climb North Butte! Both of our parents climbed it, our mom in high school, and our dad climbed it many times in his youth with his brother and friends and their dogs. In those days, in the early 1900's, permission was not needed!

I should have climbed it when I was younger as well, but we usually hiked in a different area of the Buttes, and the opportunity never presented itself. I surely would like to climb it now. It looks deceptively easy from this viewpoint, but believe me, that mountain at 1,863 feet is higher than it looks and it's no easy climb!! Perhaps next spring...

Now we are home again, looking at the Sutter Buttes from "our view," across the valley to the east a ways.

Elizabeth, Shining Star

2010-03-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I knew something was up very early in the day as I started receiving several comments on Elizabeth's cooking lesson, Peach Cobbler Bites, from the day before on this blog. Then later in the morning I went on the blog to check Sitemeter, to see how many visitors I was getting.

My jaw actually dropped as I saw the number of hits was up over 500!! I thought it must be a mistake, as that number had never occurred before...the visitors just kept coming, so I asked my daughter, Olivia, to help me figure out why these high numbers of people were coming over from facebook.

She checked the Pillsbury page, and there was a brief mention of Elizabeth and a link to my blog!!
By late last night we had 688 visitors, and a number of very nice ladies took the time to go back to
Pillsbury and leave encouraging comments there as well. Lizzie had a GREAT debut as a young cook with her very own recipe! Here is the link and the comments she received at Pillsbury:

Pillsbury What recipes do your kids love to make? This blogger's 9-year-old niece taught her how to make Peach Cobbler Bites yesterday. How fun!

Under Angel Wings: Peach Cobbler Bites by Elizabeth
81 people like this.
Carolann Quinn My daughter can make a great paella. She's 16 now but she's been making it since she was 13. :)
Ann Dennis LOL my daughter learned how to barbecue chicken on the grill at 16 and that is still her specialty.
Just Dancin I've taught all of my sons to cook, you never know anymore if the girls they meet will be able to do it.
Cheryl Wodowski Knepper Something easy for the kids to make!!!! Thanks
Judy Husk these days girls don't cook, they eat out a lot
Crystal Shady Taylor mine love making homemade cinnamon rolls!
Patricia Ann Kelly my 8 year old daughter makes awesome baked ranch drum sticks. and my 9 year old makes delicious mac n cheese with broccoli
Jodie Moncrieff-Hennigar My kids are 6 and 8. Both love to help me. They make us supper one night a month...usually sub sandwiches...we slice the tomatoes and cheese for them then they put them together for us.
Lori Sherman Very easy and I bet they are tasty! & YES I love the green nail polish!!
Sandy Flanagan Camus Both my boys have been cooking since they were 10 or 12. Their menus have improved, over the years, from mac 'n cheese or burgers on the grill to some quite delectable dishes. Now that they're married, they share that responsibility.
Gerri Walsh this sounds good I want to make them right now but don't have the ingred. on hand !!!!
Kimberly Millsap I have been cooking for years. I cooked with my mom and grandma when I was very young. I now am married and love to cook. Hopefully I will be able to pass this on to my children.
Celesta Gunter Those look so good! My family loves peach cobbler! Thanks for sharing!
Patti Willis Cunningham GREAT job Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing Aunt Sylvia! Mom Kendra should be VERY proud of her! (the green nail polish is awesome!)
Sue Williams My grandma taught me to cook and bake: homemade rolls, potato candy, meatloaf that is out of this world. I let my grandchildren help me do easy things when I cook. They love to stir the bowl and cut out cookies.
Christy Groff- Clouser thats a great idea. smart girl. simple and easy. :o)
Laurie Wells how cute is she and her little recipe :-)
Amy Beth Carlin Sendaydiego I love to make "pigs in a blanket" using the crescent rolls and hot dogs! Yummm!
Fabiola Robichaud Way to go!! Good idea!! Love your nail polish too!!
Gina Marie Petitfils Mmmm.. They look delightful!
Fabiola Robichaud I do mine with the wainer wrap and put some chocolate chips, slivered almonds & coconut ... then wrap around and pinch each sides. Delicious!
Karen Jakab wow, those sound amazing and I bet you could do that with cooked apples too. MMMM, can't wait to try them. How amazing that a 9 year old came up with this. My 9 year old likes to cook, but I'm too scared to give her freedom in the kitchen. she does make really good grilled cheese sandwiches, my 5 year old prefers them over mine. LOL
Kathi Ballard My 2 (17 & 19) can cook somewhat, but they'd rather microwave everything................
Tina Chudilowsky My 10 yr old daughter LOVES to cook and she is really good at it! I'm very lucky :0)
Patty Barker These sound fun and wonderful! I think I'll try them with my granddaughters this weekend. Good job Elizabeth!
Carla Binai this is alot better than yesterday's making faces with veggies.
Beth Roberts Sounds great!! Gonna try this one we love peach cobbler!!!
Angel Wiles Dickson love it, maybe I can try it with my lil girl :) Nice job
Linda Field Sounds great!! Gonna try this one we love peach cobbler!!!
Janet Engdahl Avey YUM!
Ann Golden yum for me also
Connie Fitch Kids sometimes come up with the best things!!
Shiney FromWise My kids love making homemade pizzas...they LOVE tossing the dough themselves :)
Evelyn Smith Brown ooh, sounds good
Cynthia Hersey Now isn't she just too cute! I love having my granddaughter come and cook and bake with me. Elizabeth is on her way to becoming the next Sandra Lee, Ina Garten, or Paula Deen. I think it's wonder and amazing that she's creating her own recipes!! WELL DONE ELIZABETH!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND DON'T QUIT.
Kendra Gibson Schmidl I'm so PROUD of my girl- and I can say from experience these peach cobbler bites are YUUMMO!!
Sylvia Lamon Thanx everyone for the wonderful comments!! Blessings, Auntie Sylvia ♥

Peach Cobbler Bites by Elizabeth

2010-03-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

My great-niece Elizabeth came to visit today after school, and she is ready to teach me how to make her own original recipe, Peach Cobbler Bites. She makes these at Grandmother Jan's house, so naturally we wanted to see what all the excitement is about. Elizabeth is 9 1/2 years old and already is devising her own recipes!

This is the Cast of Characters: a roll of Pillsbury Lite Crescent Rolls, a can of peaches, honey, and cinnamon sugar.

The first thing Elizabeth did was to take the baking pan outside to spray it with Pam. That prevents the mist of oil from landing on my counters and furniture!

Then it was time to pop the Pillsbury tube and pull out the section of dough. The other section can be left in the tube and put in the refrigerator to keep it cold. It is always easier to handle dough that is cold!

Find the straight seam that goes across the roll and unroll on the counter so that you can see the perforations marking the triangles.

Drain the can of peaches in the colander so there will not be too much liquid within the dough.

Place a slice of peach in the middle of the triangle, and dribble a few drops of honey over it.

Wrap the dough around the peach slice, gathering and pinching the dough together on the bottom. Turn the bites over and lay on the baking pan. Don't you just love the green nail polish? :D Perfect for spring...

Shake cinnamon sugar on each dough bite.

Pop them in the oven at 375 degrees for thirteen to fifteen minutes until browned and cooked through.

Put on a pretty plate and...

share with mom (Kendra) and Uncle David. They really enjoyed coming home from work and walking into a house that smells like peach cobbler. We even saved some for Elizabeth's dad (Chris).

These are really delicious, easy, and fairly healthy, if anyone cares about that! What a great recipe for a nine year old to be able to fix on her own. Congratulations, Elizabeth!!

"St. Baldrick's Day" Fun

2010-03-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

There once was a fireman, Tim--

Who went down to the pub on a whim--

They cut off his hair,

On a charity dare,

All in St. Baldrick's Day fun!!

I received an invitation on Facebook today to go down

and participate in the St. Baldrick's Foundation

charity event to raise funds for childhood cancer

research.

I taught Tim and Sara's daughter, Tara,

in Kindergarten, so I just had to go down and see him

get his head shaved...Tim, you are a great sport, and

you certainly earned my donation!

Congratulations, Tim Crowhurst

Engineer, Y.C. Fire Engine #7

If any of you should find yourself with a few extra

coins in your pocket on this St. Patrick's Day,

please consider donating to this vital cause!!
www.StBaldricks.org

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

An Irish Friendship Wish

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you!

Oh, Fiddlesticks!

2010-02-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what that expression, "Oh, fiddlesticks!" originally meant? According to Google, it is a style of fiddling where one person plays the fiddle, doing the bowing and the fingering, while another taps rapidly on the fingerboard with a pair of sticks in order to get more sound out of the instrument.

Click on this web site to hear a song performed with "fiddlesticks."

Somehow, "Oh, fiddlesticks!" became a way to express frustration about something...I prefer to use it in my knitting! To me, these long needles seem more like sticks, so I call them my fiddlesticks.

A few years ago our daughter, Olivia, got really interested in knitting with a group of friends down in the Bay Area. She got me a cute little book, Knitting, by Anne Akers Johnson, that is for beginners and has some easy projects in it. It's actually one of the Klutz books for young people, but it worked fine for me!! :D

One of the first projects I made was this beautiful, light blue shawl in cashmere...pricey, yes, but I wanted something very, very soft for my mom, Mary, on her 88th birthday in 2005. She was so pleased with it, and had it wrapped around her constantly in that last year of her life. I liked it so well I made myself a scarf just like it to remember her by.

Mom was a knitter in her younger days, around the time I left for college when she had more time for a hobby. She actually progressed to the point where she could make a sweater or two, which turned out very nicely. She did crochet around the edges of the sweater, and around the cute little pockets. I hope someday to be able to make a sweater that turns out so beautifully! Mom and her mother, Pearl, were both excellent seamstresses as well.

In 2007 I was ordained as a deacon in our church, and I decided to start knitting prayer shawls as part of my ministry. I looked around our parish for a woman who was struggling with illness, and then picked a shawl pattern and some yarn.

There is quite a bit of information on the internet about making prayer shawls which can be knitted any way you want to do them...the important thing is to say a prayer for that person during each row. The look of thankfulness on their face when they receive their shawl is so heartwarming, and I love making them.

This is my dear friend, Carrie, who received my first prayer shawl. It was a simple rectangular shape in burgundy color, long enough to wrap all around her.

Sometimes I just make up a pattern, such as this shawl for our pastor, Joy, which is basically just knitting with yarn overs to create a 'lacey' look.

In June 2007, both my dear friend, Judy, and I retired from teaching. She and her husband were moving to Oregon for their retirement and I wanted to knit her something to take with her.She has a really nice wool blazer in the light green color above, and I was lucky enough to find some matching yarn. We were so busy in that last week of school, that I forgot to get a photo of her in the scarf!! This is the first scarf I knitted with the cable stitch which I find challenging and fun. Thank you to my daughter for teaching me how to do it!! :D Recently I have completed several projects. The blue scarf I made for my teacher friend, Nina, in her school color to help keep her warm out on the frigid playground. O.K., so we live in California, but at 7:30 a.m. in the dark of winter, when the north wind is blowing, it's frigid to us!! I added another cable to the pattern to make double cables.

This is Carol, who is wearing the prayer shawl I just finished for her. Carol is especially dear to me because she helped take care of my parents for a year or two. She is a wonderful caretaker and friend, so I was honored to create a prayer shawl for her! She is helping take care of my Aunt Dorothy, my dad's sister, now.

Candy is my friend who was born one day after me. I just finished this incredibly long cable scarf to help keep her warm up at Tahoe and Reno. She happened to have this darling hat that matches quite well. Go to my May 31, 2009 post to see Candy working with her beautiful horses in Reno, Nevada!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

2010-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

Three years ago our daughter, Olivia, found a very entertaining blog online about a young wife and mother who lives on a cattle ranch out in the middle of nowhere in this great big country of ours.

According to the back flap on her new cookbook just out, Ree began blogging in 2006 and built www.ThePioneerWoman.com into an award- winning website. She has won several national 2009 weblog awards: weblog of the year, best-designed weblog, and best photography of a weblog.

Ree shares recipes, with her signature photographs accompanying the directions, showcases her ranch photography, and writes hilarious chapters about how she met her "Marlboro Man," hubby Ladd. The name she has given this story, sure to become a future book, is "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." It really is an amazing story...you've got to go on her site and read it!

Actually, after Liv got hooked on Pioneer Woman, she got my husband, David, hooked on it, and finally I gave up and succumbed to the fun.

What makes Ree's blog irresistable is the recipes, the photographs, the funny daily postings with Ree's gentle, self-deprecating humor, the colorful design of the site, the contests when she has 20,000 plus entrants in a day, the great prizes she gives away, the home schooling stories about her four children, and the adoring fans who check in daily and leave thousands of messages themselves. She has built up thousands and thousands of readers in her fan base.

Whew!! How she does it all, I can't imagine, no one can, but she has regular followers from all around the world, and now she has come out with a big-time selling cookbook!! Actually The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl debuted in the #1 spot for nonfiction hard back.

By now you are probably wondering what the tie in is for me. Yes, there is a personal story here which has now become part of our family lore...

In December of 2007 I was reading Pioneer Woman one day and she mentioned that she was "going to do pies on the blog for Christmas."

My first thought was, "Oh my gosh, I hope she has a really good pie crust recipe or they won't turn out very well no matter what she does." (Have you ever eaten what could have been a really good piece of pie, except that the crust just wasn't very good?)

I don't know about you, but I'm getting to the age that something has to be really good, like a really good cookie, or a really good piece of pie, before I'll eat it.

I mean, who needs the calories of all the bad or mediocre stuff?

Anyway, I had a brilliant thought: "Why not send in my pie crust recipe to Ree? Whatever happens, happens." So I e-mailed it to her, and waited to see what happened.

By this time my family and I had traveled to Maui for Christmas. I was going on the Pioneer Woman site on the laptop each day to see what kind of pies she was going to showcase...then lo and behold, on her December 22, 2007 posting, there it was!!! Perfect Pie Crust, with the story about me sending it in, the photos and the recipe. I think I let out a shout that must have been heard all around the Pacific Ocean at the very least.

Please note: I did not make up the recipe, but I recognized it as being a great one about 35 years ago and adopted it as my own. I have seen it written up in the newspaper since as one of the premiere recipes used by some of the best chefs, so it truly is worth trying! A lot of people commented on Ree's site that it is the same recipe that their grandmother used, so it has been around for decades...the vinegar and egg combination may seem odd, but they produce an extremely flaky crust, especially after freezing, which allows you to make up your crusts ahead of time, which is what caught Ree's attention.

My family and friends had always loved my pie crust, but what a funny thing to become known for! Over the days and months ahead all manner of people from all over the planet were writing in their opinion of my recipe, most very positive thank goodness. I still remember the man from some foreign country (France?) who left a message whining because how could he possibly make my pie crust when they don't have Crisco in his country and he doesn't even know what it is?!?

Well, my family celebrated our 'sort of' new-found fame,' and from time to time I would check in to see what kind of comments readers were continuing to leave about my pie crust on Ree's site. Then one day last winter, about a year ago, I received an out-of-the-blue email from Ree stating that she was writing a cookbook, the New York editors were making her turn it in that day, she was really in a hurry, and would I please give her permission to use my pie crust recipe? I said, "Yes, of course," and then she asked what name would I like on the page? I quickly decided Sylvia Lamon of Jenkins Farms, and that is how it turned out.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks was released in the fall, and I made up my Christmas list of close family and friends and ordered the books. What fun it was to receive them, sign and wrap them and give them as gifts! It really is a great cookbook- wonderful recipes and photography, and lots of family photos and information about living on their cattle ranch in Pawhuska, Oklahoma of all places. My nephew Jim's fiance, April, has already made a number of the recipes and loves them!!

As a Christmas surprise for mom, my daughter sent a copy back to Ree and had her personally sign it for me and then presented it to me on Christmas morning. It will be a treasured keepsake! Ree wrote, "To dear, wonderful Sylvia: Enjoy and thank you for sharing the Perfect Pie Crust with me! Heart, Ree/PW" (Pioneer Woman).

Go on Ree's website and see what it's all about. Chances are you will love it!! Then buy the cookbook, and I guarantee at the very least that your pies will be fabulous. Here is a video of Ree ~

In the Beginning...

2010-01-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Recently, right before Christmas, I finished reading the entire Bible for the third time in the last three years. I would love to share with you how reading God's Word has changed my life.

I grew up in a Christian home, but one in which the Bible was not read. My mom had mentioned a few times in her life that she had read the entire Bible for a class in college, and she was proud of that achievement.

We did attend church most of the time, so I grew up with the foundation of Christian worship in my life, which was very important to me. During college years away from home, however, I drifted away from church as so many do.

Thankfully I married into a strong Christian family, and that is when my spiritual life began to change! My husband, David, was raised in another mainline church, but his family said grace before meals, prayed together and read the Bible. In addition, there was someone wonderful in the family who's faith made a very deep impression on me: Gram Lamon, the matriarch of the family.

Gram Lamon

Gram had been raised in Alabama as a Southern Baptist, and Gram Lamon knew the Bible backwards and forwards, really the first person I knew well that did. My grandparents had all passed away when I was young as my parents had married later in life, so I was thrilled to be getting a grandmother as an adult who I could really enjoy.

Gram taught me how to cook 'southern style,' old-fashioned good home cooking with roast beef, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and some fabulous southern desserts like three-layer fresh coconut cake!

While I was learning all those things, and giving her her first great-grandchildren, I learned to love her quaint southern sayings like, "Oh, lawsie mercy!" One day I went to her apartment to visit, carrying a child on my hip, and when I went in I asked her what she had been doing. I saw her Bible open as usual on the little table next to her chair and she said, "Studying for my final exams." By this time Gram was in her 70's.

I decided to write a cookbook for the family, with all Gram's favorite recipes that we had all grown to love, and I put her favorite scripture passages in the book as well. All of this was having an impact on me as Gram showed me what a life of faith could be like.

By the time Gram passed away, she and her faith had made a life-long impression on me. Gram was beloved by so many people, and she was an awesome woman of God in her own quiet way. Gram died in her early 80's, having lived a full life: she raised three strapping sons, all pillars of the community, numerous grandchildren, and helped found a family construction company.

Years went by and my husband and I and our children faithfully attended church, with David and I each holding various volunteer and elected positions. We worshipped God and we loved God, but we still didn't know the Bible! How could people attend church for decades and not know the Bible, the very foundation of the church?

Pastors Joy and Steve

One day, however, our lives changed, because our church did a great thing...we called two pastors (married to each other), who really know and love the Bible. I thank God for Pastors Joy and Steve every day. Without them I would never have begun my journey reading and studying the Bible, the greatest book ever written in the history of mankind, about the greatest person who has ever lived and walked on earth, Jesus Christ.

With Joy and Steve's encouragement three dear friends from our congregation, Brad, Martha, Nancy, and I took instruction and were ordained deacons in the church on September 11, 2007.

Reading the Bible for a few minutes everyday helps us develop a deeper relationship with God. Think of the Bible as a lifeline, especially for you, from God in heaven!

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Ancient Words~ Song by Michael W. Smith

Merry Christmas to All!

2009-12-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her king;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods,
Rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nation prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, and wonders of His love!

The Feast of St. Nicholas

2009-12-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

This morning, we are devoting our posting to the memory of a remarkable man named Nicholas, who was born during the third century in a village in what was then Greece, but is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to his disciples to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to help the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325, where our Nicene Creed was written. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day.

Probably the most well known story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer future husbands something of value—a dowry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home, providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings, or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas was a gift-giver.

One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children took place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year was a very sad one. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, it was said that Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. She spent the day praying for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was working at his tasks serving the emir, legend says he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children.

Several stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought to be holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is held to be the patron of sailors and voyagers.

Other stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, and sparing the lives of those innocently accused. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death he was celebrated as a saint.

Sailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. Nicholas was so widely revered that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England.

Nicholas' tomb in Myra became a popular place of pilgrimage. Because of the many wars and attacks in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. The Italian cities of Venice and Bari vied to get the Nicholas relics. In the spring of 1087, sailors from Bari succeeded in spiriting away the bones, bringing them to Bari, a seaport on the southeast coast of Italy. An impressive church was built over St. Nicholas' crypt and many faithful journeyed to honor the saint who had rescued children, prisoners, sailors and famine victims. The Nicholas shrine in Bari was one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage centers and Nicholas became known as the "Saint in Bari." To this day pilgrims and tourists visit Bari's great Basilica di San Nicola.

Through the centuries St. Nicholas has continued to be venerated by Catholics and Orthodox, and honored by Protestants.

Widely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas is celebrated on the 5th, the eve of the day, by sharing candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters and coins, small gifts, and riddles.

While it is difficult for us living in the 21^st century to know the exact facts of Nicholas’ life, and to be able to tell which stories are mere legends, the important thing for us to remember is that Nicholas lived, he loved Jesus, modeled his life after him and lived his life in compassionate service to the people around him. He was a truly holy man.

“Amen.”

More information about Nicholas can be found at www.stnicholascenter.org

Giving Thanks, Today and Always

2009-11-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803-1882)

The Prayer of Jabez

2009-11-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

Recently I was walking through my patio room when I happened to look down at a stack of books on the coffee table.

My attention was drawn to a small book that I had purchased several months ago at our local Christian book store, but had not read yet.

The title, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life, was suddenly compelling enough for me to sit down and spend a very enjoyable hour reading it.

The book was written by Bruce Wilkinson, and was released in 2000 to become a multi-million copy seller. Wilkinson first heard about the prayer from a seminary chaplain over 30 years ago, and has been "praying Jabez"
ever since.

The prayer of Jabez (accent on the second syllable), is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10, where it languished for some 2,500 years in one of the biblical genealogies.

Jabez is listed as the 35th "son of Judah," but there the Jewish author, (Ezra, according to tradition), breaks stride to acknowledge that Jabez was "more honorable than his brothers," and that he had a favorite prayer which the Bible then relates. Here is the prayer that Jabez cried out to the God of Israel:

"Oh, that you would bless me,

and enlarge my territory!

Let your hand be with me,

and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

And God granted his request. "

Now, I want you to know that I had previously read this prayer several times while making my annual pilgrimage through the Bible, but somehow with the sheer volume of information presented on each page, I missed the significance of it.

This is why I often say that no matter how many times I read God's Word, I always have so much more to learn! Thank God for people who study the Bible, receive inspiration and are able to inspire us in turn in their sermons and writings.

Upon reading the prayer in the book and really meditating on it, I was struck by each line:

Oh that you would bless me

Jabez didn't ask God for any particular blessing, he left it up to God! In looking around the web I found some rather cynical reviewers of the book who suggested that praying this prayer could be likened to what is currently touted as "prosperity theology," which amounts to praying for dollars. Heaven forbid! Jabez doesn't pray for any single thing, only that he would receive God's blessings, and that could be any one of a million wonderful things. In other words, we should want for ourselves nothing more and nothing less than what God wants for us!

and enlarge my territory!

At first I thought this would mean something that would make Jabez more important somehow, which would definitely not be what I would be seeking in prayer. But Wilkinson explains that this is Jabez's plea for God to enlarge his territory for Him, so that he could carry God's word to more people and have a larger ministry. Now that is a great thing to pray for!

Wilkinson tells in the book about personally asking God for "Jabez appointments." While going about his daily life he often reminds God that he wants to be his servant, and asks God to enlarge his territory and send somebody who needs him. Inevitably someone appears on his doorstep, on the phone or at the table next to him...providing larger territory, appointments to keep, opportunities to minister to people who need God right then.

Let your hand be with me

If in our prayer we are seeking God's blessings, and asking to do more for Him is our utmost ambition, then asking for God's hand upon us is our ultimate need to help sustain and continue the great things that God has begun in our lives.

Wilkinson says that's why we can call God's hand on us "the touch of greatness." We do not become great, He does great things through us. We can step out in faith and do and say things that only could come from His supernatural power. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

and keep me from harm that I might be free from pain.

After asking for and receiving supernatural blessing, influence and power, Jabez's last prayer is a brilliant request to help him sustain a blessed life. When God's blessings enrich us, and we have more territory for God, and the hand of the Holy Spirit is upon us, guess who's attention is drawn to us? That's right, the enemy, who would like nothing more than to doom us and our efforts to failure. Praying for protection from evil, and from doing evil, is a necessary and vital part of the blessed life.

Some of the other people who wrote negative reviews about Wilkinson's book spoke of praying what they term a "rote" prayer, lacking in spontaneity. I have no problem with that concern, because in my own prayer life I have, since reading the book, been praying the Jabez prayer daily, but I use it as a framework and a springboard for daily morning prayer.

My own belief is that we need to always begin our prayers with thanks and praise. After that I begin my prayer of Jabez, but every day it is different as the Holy Spirit guides me, but always with the framework of the four requests. As we repeat the steps daily, we set in motion a cycle of blessing that keeps multiplying over time. It creates exponential growth~ we prayed for more blessing, more territory, more power, and more protection. As we receive it and continue praying each day, it grows and expands.

Now for the most awesome thing, my personal testimony. My husband and I have been privileged to own some property in Maui over the years, purchased for investment purposes, as well as personal use. We had a modest little condo on the beach, but it was a studio, and on the ground floor of the building, neither very desirable in selling as it turned out, but very enjoyable to us. We have tried for several years to sell the property, even investing more money in the property to improve it, all to no avail. We were beginning to despair of selling it, especially in this economy, but continued to pray and pray over the years. Others joined us in praying.

I read the Prayer of Jabez book, began to pray the prayer, and the very next day we received a call from our realtor in Maui. We had a young couple who wanted to give us an offer! A month and a half later we no longer own the property, and I have a check on my desk for the modest proceeds, a blessing that amounts to a miracle to us. In my prayer I asked for nothing specific, just that God bless us.

"And God granted his request."

Diane's Pomegranate Jelly

2009-10-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is our cousin, Diane. We were having coffee with some of our teacher friends recently, when one of us happened to mention that we wanted to make Pomegranate Jelly. It turns out that Diane learned how to make it from her friend Cara, whose grandmother taught her. Diane said she had some pomegranates that would be ripe soon, so we made a date to go shopping for supplies.

This is Diane at the end of our jelly-making afternoon when we decided to toast ourselves with some freshly squeezed juice. There is nothing better for us or better tasting on the planet!! This jar full is for the next day's batch, as the juice needs to sit overnight in the fridge so that the sediment will fall to the bottom.

As you can see, the kitchen survived, and so did we!! Here is the game plan...

These are most of the things that you will need. Jars, lids and rings washed and dried, lots of sugar, fresh juice that was squeezed the day before and allowed to settle overnight, several boxes of MCP pectin, a bit of butter, measuring cups, spoons, a canning funnel, a strainer (or cheesecloth) and a medium size cooking pot.

And of course you will need a large grocery bag full of ripe pomegranates!! Enough to make 12 pints, shown pictured...the fruit is expensive in the store, anywhere from $1.50 each to $2.00 each, so you'll need to search out friends and even strangers who have trees by the road or in their yard. Ask permission to pick the fruit! A lot of people don't bother picking any or all of them...

I researched the varieties of pomegranates on Google, and we are going to plant a few trees on our farm. They will start producing after about 4 or 5 years. The trees actually look more like large bushes, although they can be pruned to look more like trees. We are going to plant the 'Wonderful' variety. All of the varieties sounded good, tho!

Now for the tricky part...Diane loves to make Pomegranate jelly, so she asked her hubby for an orange juicer and a steam canner as gifts. Those two items are what make it all possible, but they are rather expensive, so I suggest beg, borrow or buy as a last resort. I borrowed the machines and the expert, which turned out to be a really fun thing to do!!

One last word, I don't believe it would be a good idea to make a double batch of the jelly at first. Start on a single batch until you get comfortable with the process. I have made double batches in a larger pot and they turned out equally as well, but it is a lot of boiling hot jelly to contend with at once!!

For a single batch, I use a 4 quart pot
For a double batch, I use a 6 quart pot

Here is the recipe for a single batch:

Pomegranate Jelly
Makes 6- 8 oz. jars or 3- pint jars

3 1/2 cups fresh pomegranate juice, squeezed the day before and allowed to settle overnight
1 box MCP pectin
5 cups white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon butter

In a medium size cooking pot, mix the juice and pectin. Stir, dissolving thoroughly by scraping the sides and making sure all the pectin is dissolved.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Add sugar and butter and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. The butter will prevent excess foaming.

Boil hard for two minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and IMMEDIATELY pour the jelly into the jars. If you pause to do something, a "skin" will form on the jelly which will not disappear. Even with stirring it will not reabsorb properly!

After jelly is in the jars, get a table teaspoon and quickly skim any foam or bubbles that are at the very top of the jelly. You want the jelly to be completely clear from top to bottom. Then take a damp cloth and carefully wipe the inside of the jar rims and on the top of the rims to make sure there is no residue.

Put on the lids and rings and process the jars in the steam canner for 10 minutes after the water starts to boil. Remove carefully with hotpads- you should hear a 'ping!' for each jar as you remove them to cool on a cloth on the counter. Screw down the lids so that they are just tight.

Stand back and be amazed at yourself. You have just created something beautiful and delicious!!
Make several batches to give for Christmas gifts, because my family fights over the jelly, and I bet yours will as well! Tie the jars with a colorful green and red plaid ribbon, make fancy Christmas labels with your name and date, and tuck a little decorative spreader knife down the side of the jar, and voila!! Homemade gifts given with love...

On the day before you make jelly, you can cut and squeeze the pomegranates. This is a lot easier than I thought it would be, IF you use the orange juicer machine. Cut the fruit in half, and if it is a big pomegranate, cut the pieces in half again. Cut the little pointy ends off as well to eliminate bulk when you squeeze.

We set the juicer down in the sink to eliminate any splashes. There was very little squirting of the juice. Diane amazed me when she said that her pomegranates were a "stainless" variety, but it turned out to be true! No stains, I promise... Place a measuring cup between the legs to catch the juice. Place the piece with seeds pointing down, and pull the handle down firmly; you can move the piece to the side a bit to press more seeds, and you will get some more juice out of it. Throw the pulp in a pan or bowl to throw out when you're done. Pour the juice through a strainer or cheesecloth as you put it into the jar.

Continue squeezing the fruit until you have enough for the next day's batches. Put the lid on and store in the fridge overnight. In the morning you will see some sediment in the bottom of the jar which you will not use, it will just stay down in the bottom while you measure it out into a cup. It's very fine sediment so don't worry if some gets into the pot; it will be O.K.

Here Diane pours the freshly squeezed juice through a strainer into the jar to keep overnight. What we really wanted to do was drink it right then!! :D

Here's when I got into the act. Have everything set up ahead of time because that jelly gets to boiling fast and you have no time to fiddle around with anything. The jars, rings and lids should be pre-steamed in the steamer canner for 10 minutes after the water starts to boil, and they should be sitting by the stove with the funnel in one, ready to receive the jelly.

This is the rolling boil. Be very careful, it is way hot!! Stir a lot.

Like I said in the recipe, don't hesitate a second when the jelly has been at a rolling boil for 2 minutes, or a "skin" will form on the top of the jelly which you can not get out. It won't reabsorb with stirring. Tip the pot and begin pouring through the funnel and into the jars. Fill up to the bottom of the screw lines.

Take a teaspoon and gently skim the bubbles/foam off the top of the jelly. You want it to be clear from the top to the bottom. Discard the skim. To the right you can see the top of the steam canner. Everything is hot when you handle it so things tend to get set down quickly!

Take a damp cloth and carefully wipe the inside of the top of the jars, and the tops as well, to make sure that there is no residue. Put on the lids and rings and steam in the canner for another 10 minutes after the water starts to boil. Remove the jars very carefully, with potholders, as they will be VERY hot. You will hear a 'ping!' for each jar as they begin to cool on a cloth on the counter. Tighten down the rings and allow the jars to cool.

This is what the steam canner looks like without the lid on. When you remove the lid, tip it back towards you so that the steam goes toward the wall, thereby not burning you! These are the brands of the machines:

Juicer~ OrangeX Jupiter Large Commercial Juice Press (www.amazon.com)

Steam Canner~ Back to Basics brand (www.backtobasicsproducts.com)

O.K., O.K. I confess!! It was a bit of a mess, but it cleaned up quickly, and there were no stains.
I promise.

The very next day, my great-niece Elizabeth came over after school and she helped me make another two batches of jelly. I was so busy I forgot to get her hair combed before photos were taken...she had been wearing a Halloween hat all day at school! :D

This is what a nine year old does...she made toast, buttered it, and promptly cut around the crust in a square!! Oh well, you're only young once!! Lizzie loves Pomegranate Jelly and the juice. We all do!!
Dave came home from work and he just had to fix some toast and jelly right away...Enjoy!!

Note:
A very special thank-you to Diane and Cynthia for sharing and seeking out pomegranates for me!!
Diane sent this photo of her luscious pomegranates from her backyard tree. Aren't they gorgeous??

Meet Marianne!

2009-10-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is Marianne, our son's very special friend, whom we got to meet and welcome to our home recently for our family celebration in honor of my dad. The day after the party we went up to visit the ranch and Marianne got to pick her first peach, a VERY historic occasion! The orchard had already been picked, but thankfully there were a few still left on the tree.

The weather was so beautiful, after our tour of the ranch we decided to go back home and get a picnic together and go down to the river for a hot dog roast. Since Marianne doesn't eat meat, she took a veggie burger to heat in a pie plate over the fire. That was a definite first on Jenkins Farms!! :D

Later in the week my great-niece Elizabeth came over after school and we made some pie crust together for Grady's favorite dessert: Mile High Apple Pie. It turned out really, really good. I think we have some future expert pie bakers here!

On Thursday, Dave and I drove Grady and Marianne down to Monterey to get ready for her Triathlon on Saturday at Pacific Grove. We took the beautiful 17 Mile Drive down to Carmel which Marianne had never seen. It was a gorgeous day and we had a wonderful time. Notice all the kelp out in the water!
That was a preview for what Marianne was going to have to swim through at Pacific Grove in the first leg of her Tri.

Saturday early morning arrived and Marianne swam both of her laps out into the ocean!! Here she is emerging from the sea and getting ready to run up the steps to the transition area where she would get ready as fast as possible to ride her bike laps.

Here she comes, full speed ahead! We had our sign and shouted out encouragement as she rode by...

Another lap, still smiling!! Marianne's times on her four bike laps were all less than 15 seconds of each other, an amazing feat. Obviously she had trained very well!

Now it was time to run, the last leg of her Tri. She never seemed to falter and always gave us a great smile!

Marianne REALLY poured on the steam as she came across the finish line. Her final time beat every one on the Portland team except four teammates and her coaches!!! Woo, hoo Marianne!!! We are totally impressed. And all her efforts at training and fundraising went to benefit Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She had to fundraise $4,000!! Way to go, Marianne.

The day after arriving home, Marianne looked at a house that she really likes in Portland. She had been looking for awhile in this great buyer's market. She decided to put in an offer and it was accepted, so Marianne is now a proud owner of a darling home in a great neighborhood. Grady has signed up to help with the renovation on the bathroom and a redo of the backyard where a lot of concrete needs to be removed. That will keep him busy for awhile!

Congratulations, Marianne, on a very successful Triathlon, and a beautiful new home in Portland. You are really on a roll, girl, and we are VERY proud of YOU!

Bruce's Centennial Celebration

2009-10-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my family celebrated what would have been our dad's 100th birthday. He actually passed away in 2006, but our family loves history and loves to celebrate, so my sister, Jan, and I decided to have a party!

As the centerpiece of the event all of us cousins contributed family photos to an already organized slide show which had been prepared by our cousin, Ron, for my Aunt Dorothy's 90th birthday celebration 6 years ago.

I have selected a few favorites to share on my blog.

Dad was born in Point Richmond, California in 1909. At that time his father, Clarence, was editor of the Richmond Record newspaper and Superintendent of the Contra Costa County Hospital in Martinez. City life did not suit him well, though, and the doctor recommended that he return to a life of farming.

So Grandpa C.W. climbed on the train and traveled up the Sacramento Valley to look for good farm land. He saw the prime soil and plentiful water of the Feather River, and got off at Live Oak where he was taken around in a horse and buggy to see the Sunset Colony farms. He purchased land near the river and our family farm was born!

C.W. and Minnie's family was complete with the births of Bruce, Raymond (left) and daughter, Dorothy.

Aunt Dorothy and her husband, Ron, returned to live on the farm at Ronnie's retirement, and she continues to live there to this day, at the age of 96!

This is a family picture of, from left, Raymond, Bruce, Minnie and C.W. Dorothy took the photo.

When they purchased this home the ground all around was completely bare. C.W. and Minnie planted many trees over the years to create a garden showplace.

Dorothy and Ronny built a new home on the site in 1980, but all the trees remain.

Bruce and Raymond grew up hunting and fishing on the farm and in the river bottoms in order to put food on the table in the early years.

One year Grandminnie (what she wanted to be called instead of grandma) had to go to the Rideout Bank in Marysville and borrow $60 for sacks of beans and supplies to get them through the winter!

This is Bruce with his first deer at age 18. The vehicle is what was left of the Model T that dad's friend, Earl, had worked on. Daddy said it ran 25 mph at top speed!

After attending Yuba Junior College, Bruce was accepted to the first class of the California Nautical School, now the California Maritime Academy. As an important part of the curriculum extended cruises were taken by the cadets on the ship, the U.S.S. California State, including trips to South America in 1932 and around the globe in

1933. The trip in 1933 was the first time the California state flag circumnavigated the globe.

Bruce and his fellow cadets had many momentous experiences during the 'round the world cruise, including climbing the pyramids of Egypt, and having audiences with Mussolini and Italian King Victor Emanuel. In Rome they were privileged to have an audience with Pope Pius XI when they were allowed to kiss his ring and think of an object on their body to have blessed. Bruce could only think of a beer bottle opener resting uncomfortably in his dress uniform pocket which was thus blessed and became a treasured keepsake.

Bruce graduated as a Marine Engineer in 1933, and was Commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He sailed with the United Fruit Company on ships such as the S.S. Talamanca until 1938.

Raymond (left) and Bruce showing off their pheasant while home visiting the farm.

Bruce volunteered to sail with the Merchant Marine in 1943 until the end of the war. He had several close escapes while ferrying Marines and explosives across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. His ship was nearly hit by a kamikaze in the Battle of Okinawa, but the plane was shot down by the guns on board.

After the war Bruce returned to ranching with his father and brother. On Palm Sunday, 1947, he married Mary Higgins of Live Oak, both on left. Standing up with them were Anne Tomasavich and Raymond Jenkins.

Bruce and Mary on their honeymoon in San Diego at the home of Bruce's sister, Dorothy. They continued on down to San Felipe, Mexico for the rest of the trip.

In the 40's and the 50's Bruce, Raymond and Dorothy had several children to add to the next generation.

Sitting on the front steps of the old farmhouse are (from left):

Holly, Larry, my sister Jan, April, Ron, Rich, and Rob holding the baby Sylvia. I guess I wanted my mom!!

Jan and I amongst the prune blossoms.

Sylvia at my first job on the ranch~

picking up prunes! I'll bet it was not a very fast process at that age...:D

This is my favorite portrait of my family. It was taken on one of our Christmas trips down to San Marino to visit Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Ronny, and Rob, Ron and Rich.

Isn't this the quintessential American family from the 1950's? I still have my ballerina doll, just as beautiful as it was on that day...

Sylvia, Mary, Jan and Bruce

Bruce and Mary, on the advice of C.W. who said it would remain cooler during the summer heat waves, designed and built themselves an adobe brick home across the street from the old farm house.

In the back yard is a now 500 year old Blue oak tree, an anomaly in the area as they usually grow in the foothills, not in the valley. It has provided shade for our family for several generations, and before that for any number of Maidus and Spaniards.

Bruce and Mary on a summer's day during the early 1970's, in the back yard with my dog, Winnie.

Also, Mom and Dad at their surprise 25th wedding anniversary party in 1972.

Bruce holding his granddaughter, Olivia, in 1977, with an adoring grandmother looking on.

Bruce standing with Dorothy and Ronny under the Blue oak.

In 1979 Bruce celebrated his 70th birthday at a party at my home in Marysville. Bruce's family was now complete until the next generation came along!

Back row: Bob, Sylvia holding Grady Bruce, Dave

Middle row: Jan, Chris, Jim

Front row: Bruce, Olivia, Mary

Mary and Bruce under the Blue oak.

Bruce and Mary hold Elizabeth Marie, their first and only great-grandchild. Hopefully more will come!

Lizzie is our shining star of the next generation, and the future of our family farm.

John Nichols and his brother, Tom, grew up on the farm adjoining ours.

Their parents, Tom and Rosemary, were childhood friends of Bruce, Ray and Dorothy, and attended the same country school.

Here John talks to Bruce on a visit home.

This is mom and dad at Christmas time in 2005.

Daddy passed away in January of 2006, mom in September of the same year.

We will always miss them both greatly, but all we have to do is look around at their family and their farm and we can see their lives continuing on into the future.

We honor their lives of hard work and devotion to God, country, family, friends, and farm, and their marriage of 58 years.

Angels All Around

2009-08-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Worry looks around,

Sorry looks back,

Faith looks up.

Look up and have faith!

Photographed in the Vatican and unretouched

Mother Teresa

2009-08-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation

in this world than for bread."

Mother Teresa of Calcutta 1910~1997

A tiny woman with a huge heart for God...

Top photo from the iGoogle gadget, Contemporary Quotes of the Day

Bottom photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Happy 30th, Grady Bruce

2009-08-04T11:34:00.001-07:00

This past year our family has celebrated some milestone birthdays and today is one of them! Our son, Grady Bruce, named after both of his grandfathers, is turning 30 today.

He and his girlfriend, Marianne, are on a wilderness hiking/camping trip in the Olympic National Forest in Washington for a few days, but I was able to wish him a happy birthday on Sunday before they left. So he couldn't completely escape the "Oh, I can't believe that 30 years have gone by already!" sentiments over the phone from his mom. :D

The family in Walnut Creek for Mothers' Day

Grady is a really fun and amusing guy with lots of interests. In school his favorite subject was science. He played sports all through school beginning with soccer and baseball in kindergarten, and eventually concentrating on basketball through junior high and high school. At 6'7" he was the "big man" on the team so he always played center.

He and his best friend, Grant, grew up playing outdoors, and especially enjoyed our family farm where they built tree houses and went fishing in the river. How they actually survived each others' exploits, I don't know!!

In college at St. Mary's he majored in biology and psychology, graduating in 2002. He moved to Portland with a company and has remained there since, loving the outdoor opportunities which abound in the area: snowboarding and snow camping, climbing mountains, fishing and camping in the summers, hiking and mountain biking.

Grady testing his new hammock for a Belize trip

Grady works in computer business sales and marketing. He is very good on the Mac and the PC, and helps me a lot. For my birthday he gave me The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Web Page & Blog. He sure got that right! :D

Grady's hobbies include cooking and photography. He has evolved into a great cook in some areas, especially BBQ. I think he makes some of the best ribs we've ever eaten!

His photos while hiking and climbing around Oregon are fantastic. So far he and his friends have climbed Mt. St. Helens, he and Marianne climbed Mt. Adams, and he and the friends recently climbed Mt. Hood this summer. We have a deal: he doesn't tell me before they go so I don't have to worry!! Then I can enjoy the story when they get home safely. :D

Marianne on their camping trip, Mt. Hood view
Last summer Grady met Marianne who had recently moved out from the Chicago area. They share a love of outdoor activities and have had lots of fun trips together. She is a writer for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Portland.

Marianne is currently training for the Pacific Grove Triathlon in California. Grady has been training with her: running, swimming and biking around the Portland area.

Our family is going down to the event to offer support and encouragement any way we can. We are very proud of her efforts for Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Both Olivia and Grady have run marathons for them, and Olivia is training for the Chicago Marathon this fall. I am SO impressed with these young athletes!

Happy birthday, Bud. We are so proud of you...

Note: I sent this photo into Batter Blaster. I thought they could use it for an ad, but I guess they didn't go for it!!

Welcome to California, Cousin Eliza

2009-07-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today is our little cousin Eliza's 9 month birthday!

She is our newest "Girl from Williamsburg," great-great granddaughter of Minnie, who wrote the book of that name. You can see her welcome to our family story on December 17, '08 on this blog.

Eliza recently flew across the country to visit her California cousins for the first time, over the 4th of July week-end. It was so much fun to meet her and be able to hold her in our arms!

It was a very hot week-end, but Eliza is no stranger to heat, being from Williamsburg, Virginia. Here she is meeting my Aunt Dorothy, daughter of Minnie, for the first time. Aunt Dorothy just celebrated her 96th birthday this last May!

Aunt Dorothy lives on the site of our family's homeplace on the farm where we have lived since 1910. Minnie and C.W. established the farm and it has been continuously run by our family for almost 100 years. We will have to have a celebration next year!

We took Eliza on an up-close-and-personal tour of Aunt Dorothy's orchards and gardens.

She loved the holly hocks, and my jewelry!

Here are Aunt Dorothy and Eliza visiting with her family on the front porch of the "new" home built in 1970 by Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Ronny.

Heather tells me that since returning back home Eliza has learned to stand on her own, sit up and crawl with her tummy off the ground.

She loves swinging in the park, riding on the Busch Gardens merry-go-round and going swimming.

We hope you can all return to California soon!

An Historic Day!

2009-07-20T13:30:00.001-07:00

Forty years ago today, our country reached a milestone that was previously thought to be impossible~ Apollo 11 landed two Americans safely on the moon, while a third astronaut orbited overhead.

President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 had challenged our space program to achieve this lofty goal as a response to the achievements of the U.S.S.R.

I was a little girl living on our family farm on the night that the Russian satellite Sputnik 1 first passed overhead in low orbit. It was October 4, 1957. My dad took us out in the dark to peer up at the night sky; I remember it clearly.

The Russians had a good head start in the space race, and it was up to the U.S. to catch up and overtake them as quickly as possible. It was unthinkable that the U.S.S.R. might beat us to the moon...

On July 20, 1969 I was home from college for the summer. I had a date that night, and he had just arrived at our house when it was time to turn on the black and white T.V. and watch the landing on the moon. You need to understand that even Neil Armstrong only gave about 50% odds that the mission would be completed successfully!

My mom and dad and my date and I gathered around the small set in the kitchen and proceeded to hold our collective breaths while the Lunar Module searched for a safe place to land. The tension as we waited was unbearable...would they make it, would they live? What would happen when they stepped outside? Then those wonderful words came flying back from the moon to us, "The Eagle has landed." I get chills even today just remembering the thrill of that landing...we were all so proud to be Americans!

What the general public didn't know at the time was that Aldrin and Armstrong had overshot their landing site and only had 1/2 of a minute's more fuel left when they landed on the other side of a crater in the Sea of Tranquility.

Buzz Aldrin had arranged with his pastor ahead of time to bring consecrated bread and wine so that he could pray, read from the Book of John, and take communion. This was the first food consumed on the moon!

Then Neil Armstrong descended the ladder and uttered one of the most famous quotes in history:

"One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

I read recently that many of the scientists thought that Armstrong would sink down many feet into moon dust when he stepped off the ladder. They literally did not know what would happen! Watching Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin cavort around on the lunar surface had to make for some of the most exciting T.V. coverage ever aired. And let us not forget Michael Collins, who kept the Command Module safely orbiting overhead...

I am so in awe of the courage it took to fly that mission into the unknown...

Neil Armstrong is a bona fide American hero. He has led an exemplary life since that mission,

turning down lucrative offers to make endorsements and choosing to live a quiet life with his family. This is a man we can continue to admire, and I thank him for that!

When I was teaching kindergarten, I used to enjoy telling my classes about the times that our country landed astronauts on the moon. The students were always thunderstruck when I told them that an American flag is still standing on the moon, even when I showed them the famous photograph. That flag was designed to be forever unfurled, looking just as if it is flying in the nonexistent wind, a lasting testament to the ingenuity of the American space program.

When I look up at the full moon, it is still hard for me to believe that we actually accomplished this great feat. I read this morning that Armstrong's footprints (and those of the other astronauts) will remain on the moon undisturbed because there is no wind, as long as the moon exists. That alone is an amazing thought!

The following school year I was a senior at the University of Oregon in Eugene. I stood in line for an hour or so to file by and view the "moon rocks" that Apollo 11 had brought back to earth. It was pretty exciting! Actually they looked a lot like our rocks: sharp edges, small in size, dark grey in color as I remember. That is the closest I will ever come to the moon!

Here is one of my favorite quotations I frequently shared with graduating classes at our school:

Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you will land among the stars!

"Auntie's Little Angels" by Elizabeth

2009-07-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

One day recently my grand niece, Elizabeth, came to visit. She is eight years old, soon to be nine in August. We have been having a lot of fun during the last few months thinking about how to write a story about my doggies, Chloe and Max.

We wanted to make it funny, with the dogs doing naughty things that Auntie (that's me) never figures out. So Eliz. sat down at the laptop and we started writing, bouncing ideas off of each other so fast the story practically wrote itself!

Just so you'll know, neither Eliz. OR the doggies are ever naughty. This is a complete work of fiction! We hope you enjoy reading Elizabeth's first published story, with a little help from Auntie. ;D

Auntie's Little Angels

One hot summer day I was at my house helping my mother and father pack for their trip to Hawaii. I was supposed to go to my grandma’s house to stay while they were gone, but my grandma plays Bridge almost every day. So I’m going to my auntie’s house for the week.

When I got there, my aunt was making lunch. She came over to me and gave me a hug and went back to what she was doing. I said my last “good-byes” to my parents and then they left. So I sat down at the table. I called Max, one of my aunt’s dogs, to come over to me, but he wouldn’t come. He just gave me a dirty look!!

Then I called Chloe over, but she only made it halfway across the room before Max stood in front of her looking bold. Auntie was busy making lunch, so she didn’t see what that rascal Max was doing!

Auntie brought a sandwich for me to the table and one of the pieces of meat from the plate fell to the floor. Then Max and Chloe made a dash to the food and quickly gobbled it up!! I told auntie, “Oh no, Max and Chloe stole some of my lunch!” But auntie said, “They’re my little angels. They would never do that!!”

I was starting to think to myself that auntie never sees her doggies being naughty because she thinks that they are ‘her little angels.’ I wondered if I should help her see that her dogs are taking advantage of her sweetness, or should I tell her what they are doing. I thought to myself, “Decisions, decisions!!”

After I finished lunch, auntie took me outside to go swimming in the pool. Auntie went back inside for a minute because she forgot her iced tea. While she was gone, the dogs ran outside to me. Then Max bravely took a deep breath and jumped into the pool with a big splash, even though he doesn’t know how to swim! He had to use all his energy to try to swim to the wall, and he barely made it. Max let out a terrifying bark just as auntie was running outside.

Auntie said, “Elizabeth, what has gotten into you?? My poor little angel almost drowned in the pool!!” She fished Max out of the water and rolled him up in a towel like a little baby and took him inside and laid him down on the sofa.

I sat outside waiting for auntie, because I knew I was in trouble! I could hear auntie inside saying to Max, “What did that girl do to you, my poor little angel?” Auntie came back outside with a stormy look on her face.

Then auntie said, “I don’t know why you did such an awful thing as pushing my little angel into the water, but now you must be disciplined. So Elizabeth, please go to Olivia’s room and stay in there until I say you can come out.”

I went in to Olivia’s bedroom, but I kept the door open a little crack. Then Chloe pushed the door open and ran in. Chloe gave me a strange look and then she let out a big bark, falling to the floor with her leg curled up. While I was trying to pick her up, auntie ran in the room and thought I was going to give her another slap! Auntie was horrified. She said, “Elizabeth, now I have no idea what to do with you! My little angels are getting hurt and it’s your fault!” Auntie pointed her finger and shook it at me in a sassy way. I knew I was in really big trouble then!!

I heard the front door opening, and I realized that uncle David was home. “Thank goodness,” I said to myself. “He will help me get out of this mess.”

I ran out of the bedroom and into the front hall and threw myself into uncle David’s arms. He said, “Well, hello there, little missy. What are you doing here?” I said, “Long story, but the dogs are being so naughty today, and auntie thinks it’s all my fault because her doggies are ‘her little angels.’”

Uncle David said, “I’ll have a talk with auntie while you go get washed up for dinner.” Auntie was sitting on the sofa, holding her little angels in her arms. Uncle David tried to sit down to talk to her, but Max and Chloe both bared their teeth at him. Auntie missed it because she was so distracted by the news on the TV! Uncle David said to himself, “Why have I never noticed this naughty behavior? I must have ‘auntie’s little angel-itis,’ too!”

When I came back to the family room, I saw auntie and uncle David talking so I ran back down the hall and poked my head around so I could listen to what they were saying. While uncle David was talking, I could hear auntie sniffling. Then he noticed the sniffling, stopped his sentence, and uncle David said to her, “Is there something wrong?”

Auntie said, “They couldn’t possibly do such things because they’re ‘my little angels.’” Uncle David said, “Even angels lose their halos once in a while.” I peeked around and saw Max and Chloe walking toward me wagging their tails. I knew then that we would have a fun week together after all!

The End

Chloe, on left, and Max~ Auntie's real little angels

Happy Birthday To My Sister

2009-07-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

This last year has been a memorable one for my family, with two of us reaching those decade marks in our lives, and one more to come in August. Today it is my sister Jan's turn!

Happy birthday, Jan! Even though it's just a half-decade mark, it is still memorable and important to all of us.

And I always take note that what my sister experiences, will happen to me in a few years. :D She is the trailblazer!

Jan and Sylvia among the blossoms

Jan and I grew up on our family farm together, attending the same elementary school that several generations have now attended.

We rode our bikes to school with the two neighbor boys, John and Tom, who have always been like brothers to us. Jan is the oldest of the four of us, and I am the youngest, so they all had to look after me, the tag-a-long!

We grew up picking peaches, prunes and walnuts, and learning how to drive on the tractors, then we graduated to the pick-ups. We worked on crews with our cousins, throwing out lug boxes for the pickers, accompanied by our faithful dog, Joe.

Our childhood consisted of summers filled with fun, playing cards, eating watermelon, climbing trees and swimming in the river. The school years passed oh-so-quickly! We had weekly piano lessons and school band to practice for: Jan played the clarinet.

All ready for church on Sunday

Jan went to a private girls school for her high school years. She played the organ in the church for services, further developing those musical skills.

During that time she met the young man who was to become her husband. They married and raised their two sons, Jim and Chris, on the farm as well.

Jan became involved in many community activities over the years. She was a private piano teacher, a member of the local school board, president of the Middle Mountain Foundation, a member of the county planning commission, and active in Junior Women and Toastmistress, just to name a few!

When I married, Jan was my matron of honor, and when my children came along she became known as "Auntie Jan." She used to invite both of my children separately at different times to spend the night with her family, cooking special meals and doing fun activities.

Syl and Jan under the Blue Oak with Jan's dog, Freckles

Jan and I had a lot of fun over the years planning get togethers for family and friends. We organized hot dog roasts on the sandbar, camping trips to the ocean and the mountains, daddy's fishing trips with all the men in the family, and our annual trek into the Sutter Buttes at Easter time.

What fun we had! Now Jan's days are filled with caring for her granddaughter, Elizabeth, and occasionally Lizzie's baby cousins.

Recently Jan has taken up playing Bridge again, which she dearly loves. Life should be all about continuing to do what we have always enjoyed, while adding new and interesting activities as well!

Best wishes, my sister, for a year filled with good health and happiness.

Joy's Birthday

2009-07-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our retired pastor, Joy, is celebrating her birthday today. Everyone in our church wishes her a very special day!

We have been very privileged to have Joy and her husband, Steve, as our pastors for several years. They helped us found our new church and have enriched our lives greatly.

Joy is an awesome woman of God. She has encouraged all of us to read the Bible daily and study the scriptures. It has made an incredible difference in our lives!

Joy is loved not only by her family, friends and church members, but by many others in our community whom she has ministered to over the years.

We all join together in praying that Joy has a wonderful year filled with good health, happiness, and God's abundant blessings. We love you!

Phil. 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.