Water Under The Bridge

 It has been a long time since my last post.  And it has been a busy year.  Winter came and went in 2013.  We survived it.   Then spring and summer....they were a little on the lazy side....Took their time in appearing....They come so slow and leave so fast.

I finally got around to getting my book published...changed the name to "The Last Apple On The Tree."  Turned out much better than I hoped.   So, what project shall I go to now.  Linda is going to start an EBay business.  Don't know what her name will be.  I'll keep you posted.  I know she will make it a success...She is honest....neat....careful.   And has a lot of merchandise.  So, I hope you will take time to look her up....when she gets started.   It isn't as easy as just putting your teapot or whatever on a list.....there are rules and regulations.  
   Well, if I can manage to do this with Jeremy's help.   Mostly Jeremy doing it.  For what it's
worth.....Here's my little gem....It is good.
                "The Last Apple On The Tree"   on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

 

 

     Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of  your wings.
                               Psalm 17:8

Deep in the Heart of Winter

It has been some time since my last post....Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and now it will soon be February.  I have to say as far as weather...this has been a terrible winter.  It snowed a week or so before Thanksgiving ...eleven inches of snow....we still have every snowflake that fell.  I think.  Anyway the ground has been cold and white for the last 2 months.

Weather aside...It has been a pleasant winter.  I have about 13 little bunnies that come to see me every morning...and of course I put out carrots for my visitors.  I had so many birds, and I felt sorry that it was so cold and snowy I made the mistake of  putting bird seed on the porch.....Now I have to have someone come and de..bird it and de...seed it.   They made quite a mess.  Now I have been putting their seed in the bird bath....come spring.  Birds will be put back in their proper places.
My girls, Emily and Sara are so anxious to be outside.  We did spend one afternoon of the porch, it is such a sunny place.  The sky is so blue and beautiful, the air so clear, the sun so warm.. Hope today will be one of those days, so we can spend the afternoon outdoors.

Yesterday I decided it was time to bake cookies again...So, I looked on the cooking shows. and found a Oatmeal Cookie recipe by Barefoot Contessa....looked good, and tasted better.  They were nice and crunchy and sweet....so here it is........

Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cup pecans....(I used walnuts, didn't toast them)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter  (mine was salted)
1 cup dark brown sugar               
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats..(I used regular oats.
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Put pecans in oven and toast for 5 minutes. (I didn't do this for my walnuts)  Chop coarsely.

Beat butter and brown sugar and granula
ted sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time and the vanilla.
Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl.  Mixer on low slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.  Add the oats, raisins, and nuts and mix, just to combine.

Drop 2 inch mounds of dough onto pans lined with parchment paper. 
Flatten slighthtly with a damp hand.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.  Transfer to baking rack....Cool.      Eat!  Enjoy!

                                               

This was all that was left....so, it seems everyone enjoyed them.

I'm going to try and get a picture of my bunnies and birds, but the bunnies run and the birds take flight the minute I step out on the porch.  My granddaughter, Karie  has a special long  range camera.  I'll try to capture her this weekend and see what she can do.

Until next time.........Be thankful....Enjoy the day.               

In The Beginning

The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands

 

day after day they pour forth speech,

 

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth.
Their voice to the ends of the world.           Psalm 19:1-4

Saints or Sinners?

Many years ago, went to my first Camp Meeting.  It was at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don't remember the speeches, the sermons, the people.  I do remember 2 songs..."Christ For Me" and "Jesus, There's something About That Name."  And I remember thinking "How wonderful it is to be among all these Saints.  I was a newly baptized Christian.
Twenty three years old, with a loving, kind, beautiful husband and a prescious 2 year old daughter.
I believed that I had joined a Church of  Saints.  My first surprise came at a Dorcas Meeting.  Here was all the saintly ladies.  One of the lady saints was. absent.  Listening to the conversation I soon discovered....the missing member was not a saint.These dear precious lady do gooders listed the missing saints faults, sins and shortcomings.  My first awakening.. 
  We are all sinners saved by the grace of our God.  These dear ladies, I learned to love them all and I still do.  Will be seeing them in Heaven.
   I look back over the years, I wonder how many people have I disappointed, with my remarks about someone?  Believe me, I make them.  Thinking how disappointed I was in my lady saints, speaking unkindly.  How much more has my Lord and Savior been sadden by my words, my actions, my thoughts. 
Lord Jesus, forgive me.  I don't deserve one drop of the precious blood you shed for me. And yet you suffered humilation, pain, separation from your Father...
     No, we don't deserve your love, your forgiveness, your loving kindnes to us.  And we expect you to answer our prayers.  To save us from Satan's attacks.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us.., that we should be callled the children of God.  1st John. 3:1.

Goodbye Summer

 

Here we are again.  At the back side of summer.  Winter is knocking at the door.  Just yesterday morning, we woke to a beautiful white snow. Snow, about 8 inches.  My grandson, Jeremy shook    the snow from the trees, so we wouldn't have broken branches.  The trees still have beautiful green leaves.  Not for long, I guess.

Yes, it was beautiful.  But, I'm not snow person.  It means winter.  Winter means cold weather, coats, boots, gloves, slushy roads, turning on the furnace.  I'm a summer person.  Pretty flower beds, vegetable garden, picnics, sitting in the porch swing on warm summer nights, walks in the park.     The neighbor kids playing out after dark.  Just a wonderful time.

I'll get use to you, Mr. Winter.  We'll be friends.  Spending evening in by the fireplace.  Sunday aftenoons hearing the guys yelling at the football on television.  Making plans for Thanksgiving.  Checking your Christmas list..present buying, mailing cards...And putting up the Christmas tree.    Turn around and we're coloring Easter eggs.  Before we realize it, we're looking at seed catalogs.   That beautiful sun will melt the snow and O' Blessed summer, you will return.
All things considered, maybe a change of seasons is a good thing.
        Our Heavenly Father is so wise and wonderful.  Thank you, Father your world is perfect.


As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.                                   Mathew 24:32




                                      

 

Bird Watching

This has been a great summer for the humming birds.  I must have over a dozen at a time...Besides all the other birds.....Oh, how I love summer and all the little visitors it brings.  My little rabbit friends still make a visit and I leave them unnessary carrots, which they munch on.  Since their are so many other little green plants for them to chow down.  Then the chipmunks...and the birds...it seems like there are hundreds flying around.  I have a pair of doves that must be mates...they are regular visitors, I think they are the same ones that came last year.  I have read that doves mate for life...these seem like they have been together a long time.  Back to my humming birds....I hope they stay for a while.  Does anyone know how to keep the other birds from their feeders....They have feeders of their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap, or store away in barn, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.    Matthew 7:26

   

 

Scenes From The Past

This weekend was a trip back to the past ...in a lot of ways.  We took off about 10 o'clock in the morning...south on Highway 285.  Our intention was to visit the little towns tucked away in the valleys and mountains ...It was a beautiful day...Sunny and warm. The mountains all around us were beautiful all covered with snow.  On our list was Romeo, Antonito, Manassa, and La Jara.  These are little towns  that is really a stretch, that have been settled by the Indians, the Mexicans, the Mormons and strange as it may seem...there are some Amish living in the area.  This area has such an interesting history.  Sad to say...so much of it is ..just that - history.  So many building are boarded up, decaying...looking like one of those old ghost towns in the wild west movies.

First we come to La Jara, very old town.  They have  a grocery store , a restaurant..the usual small town stores...a post office, as we drive out of town, a gas station, a run down motel.and of course a liquor store. Across the road and a block farther; on the other side of the street.  A Catholic Church with a big sign that says "Bingo...Sunday afternoon"..  Across the street  and  down, the  road,  is a beautiful big Mormon Church.

We go on down the highway about seven miles turn off the highway, over the railroad tracks just a half mile or so.

 

There we see the old decaying town of Romeo.  Same old story, old buildings that once were the hope and promise of the owner.  They did business with the locals.  Families  raising their children...going about their lives....Now, gone, all gone. But as usual one business....hangs on...A liquor store.....??

Five miles down the road east is the town of Manassa.  The story is, and I'm not all that knowledgeable about this part of history, ( must look it up)....that Manassa wanted the Railroad to go through their little settlement, but instead it went by Romeo.   Doesn't seem to have done them much good.  There are some beautiful cared for fields as we drive along ...must be raising hay. Also a few farm houses.  We pass this home that has a long shed...housing 4 Amish buggies.  

                                     

The town of Manasea: Famous as the birthplace of Jack Dempsey.  

The have a little museum dedicated to him and his history.  

There is also a statue and a little park.  The younger people would probably not know who he was.  Born in 1895 and died in 1925.  To my dad he was really a great fighter.  How did he ever get to New York from this little town? 

Along the "main street" we see this little Mexican restaurant...So we decided to give it a try. It is filled with the locals...good sign...?  The food was delicious...I had a Chimmy Changa (whatever?)...We decided it was well worth the drive....whenever  we get hungry for Mexican food. 

On through town....not much here...a nice park....2 big churches....One Catholic and one Mormon....(the Mormons have quite an interesting history here).  We turn off on a side road that promises to take us back of the Flattop Mountain.....An interesting surprise....It seems a step back in time.....Indian teepees...really...and Indians.  One of the men on a horse comes to meet us. 

He seemed friendly enough.  But said they really didn't encourage visitors...He did let us take his picture....but no more.I'm quite sure Indians didn't really live there...I thought maybe they were taking pictures, camping, whatever.   Then we took our curiosity and retraced our steps.   As we come back to the main road...we decide we have had enough for the day...so we head back toward Manassa.  Along side the road we see these little road signs.....Strange....we hadn't really run across any of the Amish farms....Maybe farther down the road...We'll check it out next time.   

We're tired so we decided to head for home.....We stopped at Little Caesar's and bought a pizza.  It's been a good day.               

The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.    Psalm 24:1