Election Day...remember to go Vote!

(after note: I was trying out the publish-at-a-later-date thing with this post...somehow it was posted a day late...)


I think that Election Days should be a whole (or half day) national holiday.  

It would make a lot more sense. than a lot of holidays we have!

 I voted for people like:

Josh Furnish

Rick Evans

Glen Addison

Ron Paul

Vote for principled people. People with integrity.

Vote your conscience- you are the only one who has to live with yourself. 

Can you sleep in peace?

Memorial Day

Why do people say "Happy Memorial Day" ? 
Why does the USA go crazy with sales & shopping on Memorial Day? 
Why do people say "Thank a Veteran"? I thought that Memorial Day was a day to remember the dead....
Where have all the flowers gone? 
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"I wish everyone would stop wishing our current military members a happy Memorial Day. You cheapen the day or you don't like our military. The day is set aside to honor those that gave their lives...not those that have yet to do so.  So, unless you actually want more of our current military members to go die on foreign soil, please stop including them in today's honors....oh...and vote tomorrow for the only guy who will support them in NOT being honored on this day anytime soon."  ~ Reed King
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  "If there is a sin superior to every other, it is that of willful and offensive war." ~ Thomas Paine
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  "Joining the military necessitates a willingness to die to defend others. That noblest intent at the center of what it means at the individual level to be in the military is honorable. In thanking veterans for that, it's very important to keep policy separate." ~ Adam Kokesh, ex-marine and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War

"Today I'm remembering all of my friends who died in vain fighting in pointless wars. And hoping that some day soon America will begin to reject these wars instead of celebrating them."  ~ Antonio Buehler, West Point graduate and combat veteran of the Kosovo & Iraqi wars
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 "I hate this day (Memorial Day). It glorifies what should have never happened! It is an attempt to shift the focus on to those great people who have given their lives and away from the fact that their deaths were for the profit of government, banks and big corporations. Not a single person who lost their son, daughter, father, mother, sister or brother wouldn't rather the fallen still be alive or have lived their life to its natural end. I also wonder how progress has been affected as certainly countless Davincis or Einsteins have surely died for the sake of war profiteers."  ~ Gina Rodriguez
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 "Memorial day should be a day of mourning for those unfortunate enough to be caught up in our horrific foreign policy. Every soldier who enters the military believing they are serving the greater good, deserves our respect. But now as we see with the creation of The Dream Act, not enough of our own boys are feeling like these wars are in our interest.
They are not, but now we are going to pay brown kids that barely speak our language, to come go over and kill other brown kids who barely speak our language.
I don't want people coming to America for war, I want people coming to America for peace."  ~ John Jay Myers

"I've been catching a lot of heat over my posts on this Memorial Day weekend. Let me say this: To my friends who believe whole-heartedly that you served the best interest and in defense of your friends, family, and neighbors while in the military...thank you for putting your life on the line to do so.
I am sorry to inform you that the US Military serves ONLY the US Empire, a barbaric global gang with seemingly endless resources to oppress and pillage any/all who are unwilling to sacrifice their independence to protect "American Interests" (CORPORATE PROFIT!!).

The US Imperial Forces (aka US Military) are victimizing our fellow Americans by using them as pawns for profit. Our brothers and sisters are manipulated into believing that their service and blind obedience to "country" is somehow keeping us safe and/or free. Nothing could be further from the truth!! It disgusts me and on this day, MEMORIAL DAY, I remember and mourn:

1) All of the soldiers who have taken their lives because they can no longer bear the thought of the atrocities they have participated in...
2) All of the innocent live which have been ripped from our world by war profiteers...

I both resent and pity the US troops, for it is their humanity which they sign over when signing up with the US Military.

You make of this day what you will...I will do the same! ♥ "   ~ Heather Fazio

"In this war – as in others – I am less interested in honoring the dead than in preventing the dead." ~ Butler Shaffer

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 "If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."  ~James Madison

Psalm 4:8

It does not seem to matter much what the translation, 
this verse is a good one....

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.

I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O LORD, enable me to live securely.

In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest: for thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.

In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; for thou, Jehovah, alone makest me to dwell in safety.

A few commentary notes:


The Geniva Study Bible says:

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD*, only makest me dwell in safety.

* This word in Hebrew may be referred to God, as it is here translated, or to David (or me!), signifying that he (I) should dwell as joyfully alone, as if he (I) had many about him (me), because the Lord is with him (me).

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And Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible:

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,.... Signifying, that he had such a calmness and serenity of mind, amidst all his troubles, that he could not only lay himself down in great peace, and much composure of mind, but sleep also, and that as soon as laid down almost; some lay themselves down, but cannot sleep, through the anxiety of their minds; but the psalmist could do both: or the word rendered "both" may he translated "together"; and the sense be either that he would lie down and sleep together with his friends, committing himself and them to the care and protection of God; or that he should lie down and sleep together with his enemies; meaning that he was assured that there would quickly be a reconciliation and peace between them; see Proverbs 16:7.


...for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety; suggesting that his protection and safety were owing to the power and presence of God only; and that was the reason of the tranquillity of his mind, and why he slept so quietly in the night watches, though in such danger from his enemies; or "thou, Lord, makest me only" or "alone", being solitary and destitute of friends, to dwell in safety; finder the shadow of thy wings, encompassed by thy favour, and surrounded by thy power; see Deuteronomy 33:28

The end of a long day~

 Most of the Crowd:    (4 of Paul Perry's children were there too)

 

Paul and Mom, discussing talking points:

 

Beth (from Dallas) and Mom:

Don't ask me what happened to this pic of Danya (also from Dallas) & Paul....

 Kelly and Steve, from Dallas too.  It was nice to meet you Kelly! Next time bring Joe too. =)

 

 Thanks Danya, for taking this photo!

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After we got done in Ellis CO, we came back to Hunt CO for Election Training....picked up a few groceries, and then it was: "Home, James!".  =)

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Fresh Squeezed organic OJ ~ Thanks Mom!  (Mom's post is here)

An Orange Juice Song embedded for you:

Memory Lane~

Click here for more pictures of our little dog Angus, RIP.

Lots of Chocolate for Me to Eat!

Photos from our Eliza Doolittle Day party can be found here:
http://adrienneand.blogspot.com/2012/05/eliza-doolittle-day.html

Doolittle Chocolates

Melt in pan on the stove:
The equivalent of one bag of Chocolate Chips-
              -Half and half: Dark Chocolate Chips & Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Coconut oil (optional)

(watch and stir carefully)

When melted, add handfuls of the following types of things:

* Chopped Dried Fruit
* Chopped Nuts
* Flaked Coconut
* Rice Krispies

Until you have a fairly thick chocolate coated mess, then you can:

1. Pour onto a sheet of Wax Paper or Tin Foil (on a cooky sheet or cutting board), to make a "bar" that you can cut up, after you chill in the fridge.
or
2. Place little muffin/candy wrappers or a sheet of Wax Paper or Tin Foil, on a cooky sheet or cutting board, and drop by bit sized amount. Chill in the fridge.

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I made 2 kinds:
Toasted Cashews, Coconut & Rice Krispies
 and
 Dried Cherries, Toasted Sunflower seeds & Rice Krispies
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I like to use Rice Krispies because they are unabtrusive and keep the chocolate "lighter" and not so hard to bite.

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

P.S.  

I made Mom a bar with Toasted Sunflower seeds, Coconut, Rice Krispies & Dried Cherries...she liked it!

Let me know what combinations you try!

Eliza Doolittle Day, 2012

Our 3rd annual Eliza Doolittle Day Celebration

 was Monday, May 21st (I know, it was a day late!).

Will I ever stop climbing up on the counters & cabinets? 

(I do seem to have the habit of going after dishes after company arrives...and getting caught on camera...)

 (I was going to be "Lucy" (I Love Lucy), but I ended up just wearing "Church clothes" & a fancy hat.)

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We know that Eliza had a soft spot for Strawberry Tarts, but we decided that Strawberry Shortcake would be good this year! 

Hello Ladies! =) 

The invitation stated: Hats are necessary, dressing up/costumes are optional.~If you don't wear a hat, you will be at our mercy... =O  (Everyone wore a hat!)

The Hunters brought meatballs, the Davis girls brought cookies, Mom provided homemade cheese, strawberries and cream & celery, and I added chocolate & shortcake! (and peppermint tea: here)

We know that Chocolates are VERY important to Miss. Doolittle, so I made 2 kinds!  Click here for the recipe.

 Pretty cheese! =) 

After eating and visiting, we adjourned to the living room where we voted & watched 2 scenes from MFL: Just You Wait & The Ball! 

 How kind of you to let me come! =)

Happy Mother's Day!

What do you think of this photo?

Come back later, after I write the post... =)

Molasses Ginger Cookies

It's about time for another recipe, don't you think?

How about Molasses Ginger Cookies, for the "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world?
(That means that these are (so far anyway) most definitely a diet food, that no one else would would want to eat.)

Mix together in a small bowl:
3 cups of Oat Flour (I wonder if Barley flour would work better?)
2 tea. Baking Soda
3 tea. Ginger
2 tea. Cinnamon
1/2 tea. Salt

Then "Cream" the "wet" ingredients:
3/4 cup Rice Bran Oil
1/2 cup Xylitol
1/2 cup Molasses
1 egg (I know I really should have used 2 whites)


Gradually add the dry to the wet.  Chill for a while...a long while....
GREASE/SPRAY your baking sheets. Because of the spreading problem, I could only bake 6 cookies per pan...I would suggest baking a test cooky to see for yourself.

Bake for about 8 mins @ 350. Remove from pan immediately.

Chilling the Cooky dough for a long time is a must. But they are so light and fragile- They are really good frozen~ more like a gingersnap! 
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To speed things up a bit, and try for some Cake, I put some of the dough in a pan...it rose nicely, but fell tragically. =(   And it was even more light & crumbly than the cookies are...it needs a bowl of milk & a spoon!  (mmm, mmm, good!)

(Why is there a funny blue/green stripe across the bottom of my picture???)

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

Make your own no-sew fun shirt!

I was blog hopping, and came across this Portuguese Blog posting about using bleach to make an old t-shirt new again! (Or a new t-shirt fun!)

"Book Nerd" is what Cath's shirt says. (Click here for more info & photos!)  I also saw one that just had the child's name on it (here)...the possibilities are endless! =)

Oh, and I saw this tip on another blog: 

"My top tip would be to make your letters a wee bit bigger than your finished design plan as the bleach did spread a bit UNDER the templates. Oh, and use a light touch when spraying the bleach. You can add more but you can’t take it back...."

~And I think that I'll be spending some more time on Cath's blog...I think that it may be just what I need for some summer inspiration~

Snowflakes round 2

Please note: I started this post at the end of December, as a part 2 (part 1) showing the rest of our First Day of Winter Party/crafting & decorating for the winter season...sorry that it has taken so long to finish the post! =]   ...better late than never, right?
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Crocheted Snowflakes~

 (Red Heart Shimmer yarn is mostly what I used, I had a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby)

Anneliese's blog: Aesthetic Nest is one of the blogs I follow, well actually I am subscribed~ it comes right into my inbox! (you can subscribe to my blog too, you know...and you would be anonymous- blogger does not tell me who is subscribed...)
Click here for the instructions...And then Anneliese made them with twine too: Here

 I made a little how-to video, you can watch it here: (click here)
(I was not very loud...be sure that your volume is turned up!)

While we were out shopping on December 26th, we met my grandparents & Uncle for lunch. While we were at Panera Bread, I was crocheting snowflakes, and the nice lady in the booth catty-corner from us was interested in what I was doing! She really made my day~ I knelt in the aisle, gave her my set of printed instructions (& my e-mail address), and showed her how to do it! She mentioned how she crocheted the little green wreaths, and I said that my Great-Grandma used to make those, and she said "MY Grandma used to make them! That's why I do!". Mrs. Griggs did e-mail me, and I replied...I wonder if I've found a new friend, or if we just touched each others lives in passing. =)
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Embedded here is Harry Nilsson's "The Puppy Song" :

The rest of the decor:

LED lights strung across the living room, with both kinds of snowflakes hanging off them~

LED lights around the window, with paper snowflakes in the window~

We buy our lights and other decore on clearance after the holidays.
It's more fun that way, and the dollars go MUCH further!

We like snowmen, can you tell?  They are so happy and jolly and fun!

1930's Children's food Ads~

  Isn't this baby a DOLL?!?!  =)  ...I wonder if Rachel & Jack's baby will be like this...

(Their baby was born Sunday night- Anna Joy, she was 8lb 8oz!)

 We used to eat Cream of Wheat from time to time...Most of the time we made our own (hand cracked) Multi-Grain Hot Cereal, or ate Oatmeal, or Eggs & Toast...or Homemade Granola...that was the best. Sunday's were Pancake morning, and on very special occasions (maybe a few times a year) Mom made French Toast!

 

  I think that we originally ate Jiffy, then Peter Pan (that's what Sam's sold), and then we ate Store Brand & the Ultra-Healthy EastWind. When we started shopping at Costco, we bought their brand of Organic~ it was really good! Until they changed the recipe...and it was okay (still better than EastWind!), but they changed to Non-Organic...we don't see a reason to buy that! 

 So, now we just buy a little from the store when we want it...

Organic for eating, and cheap non-organic for baking.  

But really we are trying to eat Almond Butter instead. =]