When they give you ice therapy at the end this channel is on their television monitor. This channel is hilarious! Obviously you do not have ot watch the full hour, but it made me chuckle out loud and forget the pain of stretching!
If you are feeling poorly, this is bound to cheer you at least a bit!! Wish our cable company carried it! Maybe I can find it on YouTube app?
At our senior citizen crochet and knit group we often get our terms mixed up and sometimes call a crochet pattern a recipe. We each chuckle and understand the faux pas.
Did I tell you about my humorous interchange with a ranger at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park visitors center? He had been speaking with Bob for while when I walked up. He asked where we were from and we told the Cincinnati area. He asked if we brought any chili with us. I said, no but you can get it in the freezer section now. He said he tried it canned and did not like it. I told him, “Well I have a recipe do you want me to send it to you?” He seemed eager. Then we spoke about other things regarding the Park. They now charge $5.50 per day for a parking permit. We thought that was more than reasonable since there is no park admission. We asked how many people are willing to pay the fee and how many skip it.
He said, “Funny thing about that! If you buy the permit all the proceeds go to the Park. If you wait and get cited, the rangers have to write the citation and all the proceeds go to the (I think he said) Department of the Interior and the park does not see a dime.” Now wait a minute! The rangers do the work and the park gets nothing?!?
As we ended our visit with him and he shared with me his email address he asked if I would send him the chili formula! I almost busted out laughing. I have done the pattern and recipe faux pas but have never heard a recipe called a formula!
So if you are interested in Cincinnati Style Chili, what follows is the FORMULA my mother used! She and my dad ran a chili parlor in Norwood for several years. A three way has chili, spaghetti and cheese. A four-way has beans, too. A five way has all of those plus raw onion.
Cincinnati Chili *For vegetarian, use
(2 lbs. ground beef or venison) 1-1/2 c TVP and more water
2 onions, chopped 1/4 t ground cloves
4 c water 1/2 oz unsweet chocolate
2-8oz. cans tomato sauce 2 T vinegar
(or 4-6 frozen, peeled tomatoes) 1 bay leaf
1/2 t allspice 2 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 t garlic powder 2 t cinnamon
2-4 T chili powder 1-1/2 t salt
1 t cumin 1/2 t red pepper
Combine uncooked meat, onions & water: simmer 30 min.
Add remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered 2-3 hrs until thick (stir frequently first hour).
You may add a can of rinsed red or kidney beans. For best flavor, chill overnight.
Serve with spaghetti & cheese, chopped raw onions if desired!
*(TVP: textured vegetable protein)
Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.
KATHERINE MAY
During my formative years my parents always kept a dog. Four years ago Bob and I adopted a small beagle from a rescue shelter. She was very, very timid. The shelter had brought her from the wilds of Kentucky. They believed she had run away from a breeder. When they spayed her somehow the vet knew she had delivered two sets of puppies. They also had to pull many of her teeth. It is believed she had chewed her way out of a metal cage that the locals there called a coop. She broke off many of her teeth doing that.
We brought her home and did our best to get her settled. We gave her toys and she had no clue what to do with them. We would roll a ball and she would watch it as if to say, “So?” Eventually she relaxed in our company.
She thoroughly enjoyed her first pup cup of Starbucks whipped cream!
She learned how to help Bob drive.
About 4 months after we adopted her she was attacked by a pit bull in the neighborhood. We rushed her to the vet for an emergency Sunday visit. It was my birthday. She had head trauma, puncture wounds and soft tissue injuries. It was terribly frightening. She recovered and so did we. Bob followed through on getting that dog out of the neighborhood.
When we moved from Siesta drive to Platform street, she really came into her own. She began to think that yes, everyone could be a friend. She was convinced that certainly those visiting our house came to see just her.
Time rolled by. We loved her dearly and she in turn began to show a little affection for us. She has only barked a few times over the years, usually going many many months in between episodes. Even as a beagle she never bays or howls.
She is like my silent companion until we put her on a leash. Then she becomes the nose on legs. She has grown front shoulders like a football player and can hold her place while she reads her “pee-mail.”
About a year ago she began to show some pain in one back leg. Then it subsided and we thought no more about it. We did get her canine glucosamine chondroitin tablets. We bought a new couch and put a fabric cover on it. Her favorite place has always been lying on the couch and we allow that. She asks for so little.
I’ve taken to calling her “Beagley-beag.” She is also known as Luck-Luck and a variety of other terms of endearment. I talk to her throughout the day. If we have been gone from the house a few hours she greets us with little whines as if to ask, “Where have you been?” If we had reason to kennel her while we were away she comes out of her crate giving us a piece of her mind. It sounds like, “How dare you? Don’t you know I will be good?” She knows how to bawl us out without a single bark.
When I had shoulder surgery in January she would sometimes want to get up on the couch and had difficulty doing it. She would even cry for me to pick her up but I was unable to lift her while wearing the sling for 6 weeks. I made her a pillow bed on the floor. Occasionally she would screw up her courage and jump up on the couch. That became more and more rare.
She needed a bordetella injection and I was concerned about her refusal to jump up, so I took her to a new vet in March as the other vet had stopped offering boarding and gone corporate. The new vet put her on two medications for her leg pain and asked that she come in for more blood work before they would refill the one Rx. They wanted x-rays of her legs. We refused the x-rays as we do not plan to submit her to surgery.
When we went to the Smoky Mountains in April we boarded her with our granddaughter who likely takes more indulgent care of her than we do! We were shocked when we returned after 4 days. She had declined drastically. She could barely walk. When she did walk she held her tail with a strange bend in it as if trying to improve her balance. Whereas in the past this dog always had to be on a leash or she would take off, now we could drop the leash in the yard and she would not move. A couple times I took her out to “do her business” and she would just lie down. Bob used to walk her about a mile every morning. Now she can barely make it three doors down the street and back.
I began to grieve sensing that her time on earth without suffering had passed. I know, I have messed up this blog with past tense and present tenses all intermingled. Suffice it to say it is just simply difficult to write this out.
We decided to return to the vet that we had left. They have treated her the entire time she has been in our care. They agreed that she is definitely suffering. They offered a monthly injection for osteoarthritis (which the other vet had offered, too). We decided to try it for one or two months to see it is improves her particular condition. The vet says the problem seems to be in her back “knees.” We are weaning her off one medication. Once that is out of her system they might try a steroid medication if she still has not improved from the injection.
The quote at the top of this blog set me off on this telling. Here are a few of the bare bones of my grieving. I never mean to get attached to our pets, yet I do and I love them freely. I have a better understanding now of why farmers say they do not want animals in the house. Once you name them, and house them, and live day-to-day with them it is that much harder to let them go when the time comes.
One neighbor said she wished her 12 year old Corgi could just out live her. Too hard to let go. Another said it is not fair that they die while in our care. I do not want to embrace the alternative of not having a pet. Bob has stressed repeatedly how difficult it is at our ages (read 70’s) to walk and care for a pet. This particular beagle refused to just go outside and “do her business.” She insists on being walked. So there is the conundrum of what to do when she passes. Bob said I can have another dog I really want one. I know if we get another it would need to be half of Lucky’s weight. At 27 pounds she is just too heavy for me to carry.
Recently the Lord reminded me that Lucky is on loan to us. I will try my best to trust the Holy One with her future. I am praying for grace and strength to release her peacefully when it is time. Watching her suffer is so very difficult.
A righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal,
But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.Proverbs 12:10 AMP
The mower teams are here and their machines are quite loud. Most every Monday or Tuesday morning they arrive while I am writing entries for the blog. Today is very warm so one of my office windows is wide open.
As the mowers moved into the distance I drew a deep breath of relief that the noise had lessened. Suddenly I was startled by a loud sound. Evidently a Robin had landed in the garden mulch below the window and began to sing. I about jumped out of my skin!
When close to your ear this one can be startling!
The tulip bulbs have been decimated by the rabbits – again. I put up spinners and wooden stakes, fence pieces and even aluminum pie pans that mom swore by. I finally told my grandson when he was due to come help in the garden with his dad that he should dig up all the tulip bulbs. Before the family could get here those pesky rabbits ate all the stems and leaves. Guess I will dig them up next year when they first emerge!
Ah the joys of nature! They do not conform to our wishes. And yes, we are still blowing maple seeds off the back deck and front walkway 😉
To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Deuteronomy 10:14 NIV
Yep! The birds, the tulips, the rabbits, the maple seeds, the mower men and everything under the sun! Even you and me.
We are preparing for a blizzard here in Ohio. The pink blooms were lovely while they lasted.
Now the spring winds are bringing us a blizzard. A blizzard of pink and yellow maple seeds. Nature wants to be certain there are forever maple trees growing and spreading in Ohio. Thus the blizzard. A few have fallen already. The wind makes it sound like there are dry leaves out our door. Have you listened for that sound?
They are not leaves. Just hundred of thousands of seeds. Perhaps even millions fill the sky with whirligigs. Bob used the blower on the back deck to clear off the seeds. The next day he looked out the window and said, “I just blew those off!” I smiled and answered, “Not those particular helicopters.”
The flowerbeds will soon be sprouting these seeds. If the landscapers put down mulch before these are removed there will be an ideal sprouting medium for those seeds. I am still pulling out seedlings from last year’s blizzard!
Ah, but I would not give up living with my beloved maple trees. I was worried about the survival of two trees in the neighbor’s yard as they seemed to bloom really late. I had begun to wonder if those two trees were dying. They are in bloom now.
The shade they offer is so welcome. When the leaves turn colors in autumn I am delighted. Each year I try to video when the trees “drop their gowns.”
So this is not a blizzard we can shovel or combat with rock salt. In a couple weeks I will be removing handfuls of maple seeds from the flower beds. If I plant annuals I will be removing more sprouts and seeds.
Bring it on God! I have no control over this phenomenon, so I might as well find joy in it!
My friend, Debbie, told me about a free app called “Merlin.” https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ Cornell labs developed it and I just love it! Pictured below is how the screen looks for Merlin.
Years ago Bob and I went on a birding adventure with the Cincinnati Nature Center in the Lake Erie area. We were surrounded on a boardwalk by people from many areas. The birds were mostly high in the treetops. Even with binoculars I was unable to see most of them. The birdsong was glorious! I was very humbled when the Amish children walking with us were able to identify the birds by their song. Yes I live in an industrialized society. Sadly most of us lost touch with that sort of skill. I was taught to identify some spring wildflowers but never to identify bird song. Bob and I were not shamed as much as amazed at the abilities of those children!
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Psalm 66:1-4 NIV
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”
I have my morning prayer and meditation in my bedroom next to a south facing window. One recent morning the serenade was amazing. There were so many birds that I asked the Merlin App to identify who was singing. Twelve different birds! What a wonder and a blessing. Here is the list the app created:
Along with the bird names that were linked with the songs there were photos. I could click on any one of them and get more details.
I know there are many folks who do not like modern technology. I am not saying that all of it is unequivocally good. But to me, this one app is absolutely amazing! Sparrows abound in our neck of the state. So did I see the one pictured above or this one?
So many sparrows, so little time. Will I ever learn to identify all of them by sight? If not, I have Merlin to aid me.
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7 NIV
The April 15 New Yorker just arrived. Here is the cover artwork!
As the weather warms as it has the past couple of days, Lucky the beagle loves nothing better than to lie on the deck and bake her bones in the sun. The other day I opened the screen door to let her in.
Zoom a bee came in with her.” “Oh crap,” I exclaimed. the bee headed for the stereo cabinet. I turned to grab a couple of tissues, (the closest thing at hand). When I turned back it had gone inside the cabinet. Opened the door and it was headed for a plastic storage bin. I knew I had to act fast or I might never catch it.
Do you remember the childhood song, “I caught a little baby bumble bee, won’t my mommy be so proud of me!”
Unbelievably, using the tissues I swiped at it hoping to keep it from the cabinet. Surprisingly I knocked it right into the dog’s water bowl! Bee was swimming and rather frantic.
As an adult I have never been one to kill a bee intentionally unless there is no other way to avoid getting a sting. I went to the silverware drawer and got a tablespoon. Scooped up the bee. Put the tissues over it. Took it outside, not knowing if it would survive its unwanted bath.
It flew away. I have since tried to look around the screen before opening it for the dog. Yesterday there was a sting bug crawling on the screen. Summer must be just around the corner!
Gracious words are a honeycomb,
Proverbs 16:24
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
The speech below was recorded 13 years ago. The need right now is even more urgent today. Even if you only watch 3 minutes of this I think you will enjoy it!
The bluebells seemed to have died. Then this spring they jumped up in splendid life! The first flower formed and I was delighted. A couple days later the flower had been eaten. Another flower formed and I hoped the first tasted nasty and no one would return to eat this one. Well, either it tasted good or another garden visitor took a taste because that flower is gone now, too!
Remember my disappointment that the bulbs I planted came up as crocuses? Well, I was SO WRONG! Seems I planted the chionodoxa bulbs on top of crocus bulbs, (so hard to remember where everything is underground in November). After the crocus, the Chionodoxa bloomed and they are lovely!
In autumn the trees delight me with multicolored leaves. This spring seems especially nice as the treetops are “laced” with blooms of various colors.
The sad news is the beagle, Lucky, seems to get more lame. The vet wants to do x-rays and blood work which last week cost $90. She says the last medication made her liver values worse. We are uncertain exactly how old she is, 7 or more years? We do not want her to be in pain, but we also do not treat our animals as if they were human in terms of medical care.
We took her to the woods with us for a romp. After a little bit, I was afraid we might need to carry her back to the car. She could not jump over small fallen branches and trees as in the past. She was obviously suffering. Oh my heart misses her already. She is my companion and has her quirks as she is a rescue, but what to do for her? Yellow lace, red lace, so much joy!
Walking in the woods I found little yellow bud covers / cases and wondered what they were from? Then a few more steps and I found this broken branch.
There was not a naturalist in the State Park office, but the women working there took a photo and sent it to one. Later that day I got an email stating this is a male Eastern Cottonwood! I was amazed. I used to wait for a ride to high school under a cottonwood tree and never once saw this! We have walked under cottonwoods in New Mexico, too.
Perhaps you wish for more information? Put this in your search bar: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/plants-trees/broad-leaf-trees/eastern-cottonwood-populus-deltoides
For everything there is a season, and a time for every]purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ASV
It was a grand sunny day, though the wind remained cold. We had a morning with nothing planned for us! I had heard of a relatively new bakery called Clarity House, Bakery and Tea Room. Mention bakery to Bob and we are off on a field trip!
The bakery was cozy and welcoming. The soft ginger cookie enticed me! He ordered the blueberry scone. When we go out in the morning I often have to find a restroom as I declare, “Morning coffee, coming through!” This day was no exception. As I followed the instructions from the waitress I happened on a room with 5 women having a Bible study. I asked what they were studying. There was a pause and one answered “Jesus!” One Bible was opened the Isaiah and another to Timothy. I went along to use the facilities. When I emerged I noticed an area devoted to leaving prayer requests on tags. Bunches had been filled out. Very nice!
As we got back in the car we pondered what to do next. Montgomery is very close to Kenwood where our local Trader Joe’s is located. We had been there the week before and the dark chocolate bars I wanted for the physical therapists were on back order. The clerk assured me he would have them in 2 or 3 days. I told him I usually only visited once a month or less. Bob suggested we return there to see if the chocolate was in. In fact, it was in and I purchased it for our cupboard and the PT team.
Kenwood is just down the road from Silverton. We have tried multiple times to buy from Silverton Donuts. We arrived there to find a sign on the door that they would not be open for a couple days. Drats! We started to wonder if we would have to get up before sunrise to try their tasty treats!
Well since we were in the area we stopped at Esther Price candies. The older folks around here have been searching for “Hummingbird Eggs.” This candy is like tiny drops of cream candy. No one seems to make them anymore. Esther Price did not either. All the rest of their candy was stocked for the coming Easter celebration. We bought ourselves a solid dark chocolate rabbit. Then Bob spotted the individual candies. They reminded us so much of See’s Candy in California. They do not make vanilla walnut fudge (drats, my favorite), but the chocolates sounded divine! Bob decided on a mixed 8 ounce box. The cashier said we had the best person packing the box. When we asked why she told us, “She always puts in some extra pieces!” Sure enough she added 2 “turtles” chocolate over caramel and pecans. Oh goodness. We each ate half a turtle in the car.
Since the kids are grown and the oldest grandkids no longer seem interested in candy and certainly not Resurrection Sunday, we decided to just celebrate among ourselves, like before the kids came along. On the way home I pondered how much fun it would be to display our candy on the china layer plates that our daughter had replaced for us. When we moved I packed the display dish my mother loved and this move one of her plates broke. I chose to keep the Esther Price chocolates in the cupboard for just the two of us.
Another item missing from the Easter candy displays this year is pastel candy corn. I thought perhaps it might take the place of hummingbird eggs? Bob decided we should stop at Supreme Nut and Candy company to see if they carried it. Just a few more miles down the road right at the freeway exit. Why not? Nope. They did not have any this year. My usual evening snack that is crunchy and low carb means 2 caramel rice cakes. I have found they are extra tasty with a little bit of candy corn! So we bought regular candy corn to refill the jar!
You may remember the trip to the Amish country where we spotted the feeder pig barn.?
At times I challenge Bob that we eat our way through a vacation. This time it was a tasty road trip. Most everything made it home without any bites missing.
Wordnik says Yeti is a noun An unidentified humanoid animal said to live in the Himalayas and also “a large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the Himalayas.” Lately in America is has taken on the meaning of a tough, insulated container that is able to keep things cold for hours upon hours.
For my birthday last year my sister bought me a Yeti tumbler. I outfitted it with a lid that will accommodate the new silicone straws. It fits in my car cup holder. If I leave it on the counter overnight with some tea in it the next morning that tea is still ice cold.
Then she brought me an enormous yeti type tumbler that does fit in the car cup holder. It is so large it gets in Bob’s way when he is driving. I have not been using that one lately. It also very, very heavy when filled with ice and tea. Good for a long day away from home though!
I have friends who are working in the Himalayas. I would be willing to bet that no person living in that area has heard of an insulated container named Yeti. The ‘hairy humanoid’ is not an image I would associate with cold beverages! Now I do though, since I own one.
Whether you use a drinking glass, water bottle, Stanley mug or Yeti Rambler I hope you can quench your thirst without adding to the environmental impact from millions of plastic water bottles!
Besides, the Yeti is insulated and made from stainless steel. Will likely outlast me!!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 