Why is it that this modern Nanna usually doesn't have pictures in my purse to show off my granddaughters. That's because all my photos are online. Anyway, I snitched this video off of Bev's Facebook. Had to show it to my NR friends.
For some reason, I can't get the video to work. If you have a couple of minutes could you go here to view it? Thanks!
I love these two little girls! You grandmoms know how it is.
"The other day, while walking about my home, attending to the normal duties of a housewife, minding my own business and causing no hurt or harm to a single soul, I was attacked by a vicious assailant. This assailant had no mercy, but deliberately and cruelly ambushed me. I made an attempt to retaliate, but to no avail. The culprit was gone. As quick as had been the attack, just as quick was the retreat. My enemy was a flea. And, unfortunately for me and my household, he was not alone."
The above words are a direct quote from one of the first blog entries that I made almost exactly three years ago. When I wrote these words, I was in the midst of a fierce battle with one of the Lord's tiniest creatures, and I am sorry to say, he is back. He is indeed a tiny foe, but one of the most difficult to defeat due to his best weapon: the power of numbers. His strategy could be envied by the best military operatives in the world--he sneaks in by hiding in the woolly coats of our most beloved family pets. After causing them hours of misery if you don't catch him in time, lo and behold, he (or should I be saying she) can leave behind a growing army in your carpet and you don't even know they are there. That is, until they attack!
Get the picture? That's what greeted us on our return from vacation, and this weary housewife has added to the many duties needing finishing up upon our return, warfare against this dreaded enemy. I'm getting there. Three days ago I resorted to lethal weaponry in our home and on our poor Frodo, who returned from his visit to the kennel to become the victim of a savage and brutal attempt on his well being.
We're beginning to relax again. I'm starting to taste victory. I think I see signs of retreat on the part of the enemy. I'm still constantly using what is considered to be the most effective piece of artillery--the vacuum cleaner--hoping with all my might that things are getting back to normal.
So, I'm finally getting to make a blog post. Thanks for all your little notes of concern. I hope to post a few pictures of our vacation soon. I didn't get too many good ones, so I may have to steal a couple from one or both of my daughters. My neck is tons better, but I cannot say that it's gone, as I still can feel signs that this is a chronic problem that will probably always be with me. I only hope it's nothing too serious, but if it gets painful again, I may have to go to see about it. For now, though, the new pillow has been a blessing.
One more thing: Sometimes as I'm vacuuming around my house, I've been thinking about how the flea reminds me of sin. You see, this was all my fault--I was not diligent. I didn't treat my dog soon enough in the spring and I was so busy with neck problems and vacation preps that I wasn't looking for the enemy as I usually do. So he got a stronghold on us, which makes him much more difficult to do away with. Sin is like that in our lives and hearts. If we're not diligent, it will bunker down, get a good strong hold on us, and be much more difficult to eradicate. Our best weapons are the Word of God and prayer. It's so easy to become busy with our daily lives, that we begin to neglect our relationship with our Jesus. It's best not to let sin sneak in because of our lack of diligence, like the almighty flea did in the furry abode of our Fro.
I'm still here! We've been back from a great vacation for a week now and for lots of reasons, I haven't gotten around to posting. Just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a blessed Independence Day. We all need to be praying for this dear country of ours.
Hope you are all well. I don't know when this blogging break will be over but I hope it won't be too very long that I can get over to see you folks. God bless!
Next week my family will be away on vacation so I won't be around. Just stopping by with another quickie. Hope you are all well; I have been making a few pop visits this evening, but if I missed you I'll try to catch you when I get back. I've just finished having a birthday and an anniversary and these are the flowers that have been prettying our table for those occasions. Thought I'd leave them here while I'm gone.
Here in our state it's primary voting day and there's a hotly contested race on the Republican side for the governorship. (Is that a word?) Well, we went and voted for the candidate of our choice. You may remember some things I said back at the general election about the community we live in. We are VERY much in the minority. So one of the ladies who waited on us was so shocked when she saw that we were voting on the "REP" side of things. She was so excited (quite obviously because she too was another of those strange R's in the community) that she actually kissed my hand in jest and whispered her thankfulness to see another of us come in. It was quite obvious that the other lady behind the table did not share her view. Actually, it was all quite amusing to say the least. It was late morning, and I was only number 2 to vote in our district for our political party. I wonder who the other one was? Oh, it was probably that lady. Well, my husband followed along as number 3 and she was all the more tickled.
Not that I think any particular political party is the answer to all the woes that we are enduring as a nation. Our only hope and answer is the Lord. This country needs Him desperately. We need to RETURN to Him. We never were following Him perfectly, of course, but there was a day when we at least showed some semblance of seeking God. That's why the button you see above was not an offense to me. You see, while I am thankful for many of the advances we have made here in America, there are so many ways that I would indeed like to go backwards. Actually, this button made me think. How and where would I like to see this country of mine go backward? Here are a few:
1. There was a day when it was considered an abomination to intentionally kill a child in the womb, let alone that it would be legally sanctioned by the government.
2. There was a day when there would have been absolutely no question whatsoever that marriage was between a man and a woman. The fact that it would even be questioned at all would have been unheard of.
3. There was a day when prayer and Bible reading in public schools would never have been considered an offense to anyone. It was just a normal part of the school day.
4. There was a day when teaching abstinence was not questioned.
5. There was a day when you could turn on your TV to look at regular network programs, sit down and watch them with your children, and not worry what was going to be seen or heard from across the airwaves.
6. There was a day when stores and other places of business honored the Lord's Day.
I could do more, but I have to go start dinner so I'll stop for now. I wish I had time to go on, but maybe some of you have something you could add.
I love, love, LOVE, this classical arrangement of this beloved hymn. I've posted this video before on my other blog and I know a few others who have too. But I felt the urge (or need) to post it again. Dear friends, it's worth the six minutes or so of your time to listen. I NEVER tire of it. Turn up the volume and let it resonate the beauty of praise in your home. You will think you are in glory. That's the way I feel every time I listen--this is what we'll be doing together in heaven, folks. Praising His great name. Come thou fount--tune my heart to sing thy praise! We'll be weeping tears just as the young lady is towards the end of the video. How can we not? Even though we've been "prone to wonder," He has forgiven us and redeemed us. Hallelujah!
There may be more concerns and worries now; we're not and never have been perfect; and we desperately need to turn back to God. But having said that, I'm still proud (and thankful) to be an American. For me, it's the best country on this planet, and I wouldn't want to have been born anywhere else. Remembering today those who have given their lives and who are currently risking their lives for the freedoms which we enjoy day after day. Praying those freedoms continue. God bless you, America.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
I took note of this verse in our family Saturday night Psalm reading, and immediately thought of this hymn. This hymn was not one of the ones I knew from my growing up years, as many of the old familiar ones were, but I fell in love with it when I discovered it. It's been quite a while since I've sung or heard it, so I thought it would be good for a Saturday evening prelude to worship. Meditate on these precious words, especially if you have any burdens, as most of us do at one time or another. Then, listen to the beautiful melody here.
Fan Benno-Caris is a champion race walker. We hear of lots of "champions" who do this and that, but what caught my eye (and ear) about this lady is the fact that she's 91 years old. Now she's running for her city council, because having lived through the Great Depression, she feels she has the experience to help out with the current recession. Sometimes I feel as though I'm slowing down because of getting older. This story inspired me: I'm not so old! See the short video here. You may be inspired too.
Guess who I think I just saw? Let me tell you, it's been ages since he showed his face around here. I was beginning to think he was mad at us about something. Did you guess who? Yes indeed, it was Mr. Sun! I just saw him. At least I think I did. Lately, it's only been that weepy Miss Spring Rain who's been showing up. Now, it's not that I have anything against her, as I know she has her good points, as everyone does, but she's been making somewhat of a pest of herself. You know what I mean: some people don't know when enough is enough. And it's one thing when Spring Rain drops her sweet little showers of blessings on us, but for the past few days she's been, well now, how can I say this? She's been pouring it on, I'd say. Also, unfortunately, when she hangs around for the number of days that we've been seeing her, she tends to let Mr. Gloomy and Miss Down in the Dumps slip in and hang around too.
Hopefully, Mr. Sun is making a gallant attempt to chase these folks away this afternoon. I really do think I'm seeing him. Even though those folks who think they're prophets are telling us that the aforementioned lady is determined to return this evening, I'll wait and see if she does make a comeback. So what if she does? One thing we all need to remember around here is that if she comes, or if Mr. Sun stays, or whoever makes an appearance in the coming days, the dear Lord sent them, meaning we should welcome them and ask Him to chase away that other guy and gal who often show up with the weepy lady.
The other day, when Miss SR was having quite a day, Neesie asked me about this soup that our pastor's wife had made last week, a soup which we all loved. I checked it out with Wendy (pastor's wife) and checked online and realized that this Chicken Shaker Soup, while great for company, was much too rich for our family to have on a regular day. So I went searching for a recipe that I could "adjust" to my liking, that is cut down fat and calories, and sure enough, I found one. I made it on Monday and absolutely love it! I thought I'd do my good deed for the day and pass it on to you. I'll give you the ingredients for my version and then give you a link to the original recipe, for any folks who'd rather not make the changes I did. And another tip: make it plenty ahead of time because it's much better after it sits awhile. We liked it even better for yesterday's lunch than we did for Monday's dinner. And you HAVE to have homemade bread with it!
Bev's making it today, but we enjoyed it so much better when Miss Spring Rain was around!
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
1 Tablespoon butter; 1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (breast)
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (Healthy Choice)
5 cups chicken broth
1 scant teaspoon of poultry seasoning (or sage)
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas,carrots, green beans & corn)
1/2 cup evaporated whole milk, undiluted
1 cup evaporated skim milk, undiluted
4 oz. whole wheat linguine, broken into thirds (cook first if you want)
In a large pot, melt butter and oil and saute celery and onions until tender. Add the parsley, broth, soups, chicken, and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer for approx. 20 minutes. [Next time I may simmer longer on low.] Add the frozen veggies, cover and simmer for ten more minutes. Stir in the milk and cooked noodles. [I would say you could put the pasta uncooked into the soup and add milks when the pasta gets done. May try that next time.]
Heat through after adding milk and serve. [They say salt to taste, but I didn't need any salt. I used Goya bouillon to make the broth-two packets for five cups- and it was just right.] ENJOY!
The link to the recipe I used: About.com Southern Food
Uh-oh, while I was typing this Mr. Sun took off again. Is he showing his face where you are today?
