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Monday, October 12, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Reflection
"As fragrance abides in the flower
as reflection is within the mirror,
so does the Lord abide within you
Why search for Him without?"
Julian Price Park
Blue Ridge Parkway
Day Trippin'
Today we decided to take a little trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Thought we might sniff out a trail to hike ~ get everyone away from the mini-farm for awhile and breathe. I drove...to avoid getting carsick. My husband, bless his heart (that's what people say when they are fixin' to gossip ya know :) well, he was silently swearing, sweating, and shaking his head in exasperation. Poor thing questioned my driving skills...."Stay on your side of the road" (Don't you think it's a waste if no one is even using the other lane???) "Do you know what the speed limit is??" (Of course I do, and we all know it's merely a suggestion.) Well, it might not have been that bad...but I have to admit something...a confession if you will ~ The more incredulous he becomes, the more I want to "incredulate" him...I know, calm down, that's not even a word...but seriously, the more exasperated he becomes, the funnier it is...(I'm not talking about when it's something serious and he's for real upset of course) It's a vicious cycle and I totally enjoy frustrating him....now you know how to pray for my husband.... :D
Okay, anyway.....we found a trail to hike at Julian Price Park. It was the Boone Fork Trail....which is a 5 mile, moderate/strenuous loop. Since Isaac's birth we have yet to complete a large loop. Problem is, we don't get started walking till after lunch...today it was 3 pm. And walking with a two year old definitely provides the time to stop and smell the roses...and pick up rocks, and play with leaves, and trip over roots, and charge toward every hint of water, and stomp in puddles, and....well, you get the picture... :) So, at 4:15, we notice that we have traveled approximately 1 mile. Hmmmm....well, I started counting fingers and figured (with Darren's help) that having taken an hour to travel one mile, that would put us coming out of the woods at around 8 pm.....8 pm is dark....with four children...in the woods....hmmmm....not an ideal situation. Not at all... Sooooooo, we did what we've done since having babies on a loop, we turned around and went back the way we came. But the walk was invigorating. The kids all enjoyed themselves...as did the adults. It was nice to walk away for a bit and have a change of scenery. We may play hooky from church and do it again tomorrow. I don't think God minds if His children take a break every now and then.
Okay, on the subject of church...I just can't help myself here....seriously ...have you ever noticed the magnitude of available churches?? You drive into these little bitty communities and they have four or five churches....can you even divide up the people and still have someone attending each church?? I'd really enjoy sharing the names of some of those churches with you...I swannanoa they are amusing...I imagine after all the "regular" names have been taken, people have to get creative...like "The Glory Hallelujah Jesus Revelation Full Gospel Baptist Church of the Apostles". LOL!! ....I nearly miss the Little House of the Prairie days when there was one church and everybody attended. Surely that cut out all the squabbling and trying to figure which church was "right".
But anyway, we had a wonderful day and hopefully will get one more day tomorrow to enjoy a change of pace.
Okay, anyway.....we found a trail to hike at Julian Price Park. It was the Boone Fork Trail....which is a 5 mile, moderate/strenuous loop. Since Isaac's birth we have yet to complete a large loop. Problem is, we don't get started walking till after lunch...today it was 3 pm. And walking with a two year old definitely provides the time to stop and smell the roses...and pick up rocks, and play with leaves, and trip over roots, and charge toward every hint of water, and stomp in puddles, and....well, you get the picture... :) So, at 4:15, we notice that we have traveled approximately 1 mile. Hmmmm....well, I started counting fingers and figured (with Darren's help) that having taken an hour to travel one mile, that would put us coming out of the woods at around 8 pm.....8 pm is dark....with four children...in the woods....hmmmm....not an ideal situation. Not at all... Sooooooo, we did what we've done since having babies on a loop, we turned around and went back the way we came. But the walk was invigorating. The kids all enjoyed themselves...as did the adults. It was nice to walk away for a bit and have a change of scenery. We may play hooky from church and do it again tomorrow. I don't think God minds if His children take a break every now and then.
Okay, on the subject of church...I just can't help myself here....seriously ...have you ever noticed the magnitude of available churches?? You drive into these little bitty communities and they have four or five churches....can you even divide up the people and still have someone attending each church?? I'd really enjoy sharing the names of some of those churches with you...I swannanoa they are amusing...I imagine after all the "regular" names have been taken, people have to get creative...like "The Glory Hallelujah Jesus Revelation Full Gospel Baptist Church of the Apostles". LOL!! ....I nearly miss the Little House of the Prairie days when there was one church and everybody attended. Surely that cut out all the squabbling and trying to figure which church was "right".
But anyway, we had a wonderful day and hopefully will get one more day tomorrow to enjoy a change of pace.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Robert Frost
two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.
My Driveway :)
Life in a Picture...
beauty and pain....
life and death...
joy and sorrow...
Musings....
The mind is a funny thing...
It rejects people, thoughts, places, events
and childishly attempts to eradicate them
it tries....
but is never successful...
Hidden in the cavernous places
in the dark abysses
are those thoughts that would,
if let loose,
threaten our pretty world.
We pretend...
we try to make excuses
for things we strive to imagine
do not exist.
We paint on smiles,
and cordial greetings,
and happy events, and even
times of worship...
We play a convincing role -
we are the epitome
of emotional and
spiritual health....
But from deep in the darkness
those hidden things
whisper to us...
call to us....
to say their name
and give them life...
And we Pretend.
It rejects people, thoughts, places, events
and childishly attempts to eradicate them
it tries....
but is never successful...
Hidden in the cavernous places
in the dark abysses
are those thoughts that would,
if let loose,
threaten our pretty world.
We pretend...
we try to make excuses
for things we strive to imagine
do not exist.
We paint on smiles,
and cordial greetings,
and happy events, and even
times of worship...
We play a convincing role -
we are the epitome
of emotional and
spiritual health....
But from deep in the darkness
those hidden things
whisper to us...
call to us....
to say their name
and give them life...
And we Pretend.
Time Alone...Part 3
As I got out of the car, everything but me, the river, and the arms of the willow vanished....I could almost swear the river was reaching out to me as I hesitantly approached. It was such a part of my life. It heard my fears, my sorrows, kissed away my tears, and held me in my loneliness. It comforted me in ways others could never understand. My river was steady, stable, neverchanging...yet always moving and breathing and caressing. I'm not sure that the peace I found there could ever be explained. I think sometimes that is how the soul was meant to worship. ...in silence ...where all other thoughts can be put aside and you are free to just "be". The river makes me reflect...absorbs all those little things that distract into its depth and simply gives you a mirror image of you.. It forces you to look inside that image and dust off the places that get neglected by daily life....forces you to sift through those thoughts you've tucked away to be dealt with in a "quieter time". I love the constancy of the river....love the way it's always flowing, yet always the same. It is inside me.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Buttermilk Biscuits...
We had breakfast for supper tonight...fresh eggs, homemade strawberry and blueberry jams, bacon, livermush, and buttermilk biscuits. I recently found an easy *successful* biscuit recipe. Now, if you've the time, money, and desire, Sam's has an excellent butter flake biscuit mix that turns out divine biscuits. However, on occasion you've gotta work with what you've got. The recipe I have found that produces a pretty darn good biscuit is quite simple....
3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, cold (as in straight from the fridge cold) *** I know, I know...that's a hunk of butter :)
1 - 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pour in buttermilk gradually, stirring mixture with fork. Add milk until the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl and all flour is absorbed into the dough.
On a clean, dry, floured surface, roll dough until it is floured enough so that it doesn't stick to the surface. Press dough out until it is about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick.
Using a floured biscuit cutter or floured glass rim, cut biscuits. ****Okay, I have to share a HUGE tip with you...I saw on a cooking show once that if you turn and twist the cutter it seals the edges of the biscuit preventing it from rising properly!! Just press straight down...no twisting...I'll give you something later to twist to....H@! Bet you're curious now...be patient...
Place on an ungreased pan; biscuits should be barely touching.
Bake (oven rack should be in middle position) for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Immediately brush with butter.
I found this recipe on Cooks.com....
A few personal tips of my own:
**If you do not have buttermilk - Use 1 tbsp of lemon juice and add enough regular milk to equal up to 1 cup. This makes 1 cup of buttermilk.
**If you're out of self-rising flour, no worries!! Mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt ...Voila!
But, I think they do taste a little better when you use fresh sr flour and buttermilk.
Now for the twisting part...when I was in maybe 7th or 8th grade, my neighbor introduced me to a *slightly* stupid but rather funny rap....I never fail to think about it when I make buttermilk biscuits...I'm hoping to curse you into being brainwashed as well...misery loves company, right??? :)
Copy and paste this link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZlz_UzAaRY
Enjoy! H@! H@!
3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, cold (as in straight from the fridge cold) *** I know, I know...that's a hunk of butter :)
1 - 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pour in buttermilk gradually, stirring mixture with fork. Add milk until the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl and all flour is absorbed into the dough.
On a clean, dry, floured surface, roll dough until it is floured enough so that it doesn't stick to the surface. Press dough out until it is about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick.
Using a floured biscuit cutter or floured glass rim, cut biscuits. ****Okay, I have to share a HUGE tip with you...I saw on a cooking show once that if you turn and twist the cutter it seals the edges of the biscuit preventing it from rising properly!! Just press straight down...no twisting...I'll give you something later to twist to....H@! Bet you're curious now...be patient...
Place on an ungreased pan; biscuits should be barely touching.
Bake (oven rack should be in middle position) for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Immediately brush with butter.
I found this recipe on Cooks.com....
A few personal tips of my own:
**If you do not have buttermilk - Use 1 tbsp of lemon juice and add enough regular milk to equal up to 1 cup. This makes 1 cup of buttermilk.
**If you're out of self-rising flour, no worries!! Mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt ...Voila!
But, I think they do taste a little better when you use fresh sr flour and buttermilk.
Now for the twisting part...when I was in maybe 7th or 8th grade, my neighbor introduced me to a *slightly* stupid but rather funny rap....I never fail to think about it when I make buttermilk biscuits...I'm hoping to curse you into being brainwashed as well...misery loves company, right??? :)
Copy and paste this link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZlz_UzAaRY
Enjoy! H@! H@!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Time Alone...Part 2
Okay, tonight's thinking time is put off...gonna wait till Thursday when it is sunny and warm...I hope...I told you these things were delicate....
Time Alone....
I think it's going to happen...I don't want to get to excited because matters like this are delicate and things could change...but I think it may just work out...I'm excited..you'll never guess so I'm going to kill the suspense and just tell you...I think I have carved out a little, bitty niche in time tonight to go sit at the river and ....think. Yes, think. I'm ready for it...it has been calling to me. Actually more like screaming, but that just doesn't sound as romantic, does it?? I mean, who wants to be screamed at?? Wait, we're getting off track...time alone is what I was talking about...I'm thinking it's going to work. I've told my husband that I need it. My psyche can't live without it. It's overdue. My whole being is craving the silence, the solitude, the sound of water lapping against the boards of the pier, the trees standing guard around me, the air wrapping around me in a tight embrace....I'm ready.
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