White Christmas

If our current weather pattern is any indication, we will definitely be having a white Christmas in Boylston. We have had a lot of snow fall in the past few weeks!

We have 42"accumulated in our front yard.

Here is a tree God decorated for us.

So pretty!

Here is a tree I decorated in our living room. :)

Adventures in Pumpkin Pie Making

So... I had the brilliant inspiration (from Uncle David) to make a pumpkin pie... completely from scratch. The crust? Piece of cake... ummm, pie? No problems there. I've got that one down pat. The pumpkin... hmm, not so easy. It was a "small" pumpkin (2-3 lbs) but I didn't have a cutting utensil big enough to go through it. What resulted was a comedy routine worthy of the Apollo. I was tempted to borrow Grandpa's chain saw, but eventually prevailed with a butcher's knife.

All you need for a single pie is 2 cups of cooked pumpkin, but as I was cutting it up, I discovered my "little" pumpkin yielded WAY more than I needed. Dilemma: What to do with all the extra? 1) Cut up the whole thing and make more pies, 2) Cut it up and freeze it raw, 3) Cut it up and freeze it cooked, or 4) Leave it uncut and freeze the whole pieces. After a few unsuccessful phone calls to my mom & siser for advice, I decided to go ahead and make more pies. Whoops. Didn't really think that one through. AFTER making the filling, I discovered I had enough for 4 pies... BUT only 3 pie plates! Oh dear. What to do? What to do? Being a firm believer in Improvisation, I dug out my creme brulee rammekins and made a bunch of mini-pies. They're really cute!

Start to finish, this pie-making adventure lasted 3.75 hours! I had a lot of fun but now have a new dilemma: What am I to do with all these pies???? I can probably count on Levi to eat 1 by himself (one of his favorites) but what about the rest?? Anyone want a pie... or two? :-)

Talcott Falls

Ok, wow, I have no idea how I got from mid-July to the beginning of October without a single post. Time sure flies.

Today I had the opportunity to enjoy a local waterfall on my drive home. Talcott Falls is on Route 11, just north of Adams Center. It was absolutely gorgeous with the sun shining (even though the ambient temperature was NOT in the least bit warm) and the water flow was substantial due to recent rains. It was a wonderful chance to take a deep cleansing breath and let go of the worry and anxiety of life.

Click here to see the rest of the photos in the album.

Happy Birthday to me! :)

I had a phenomenal start to this next year of my life. It was a busy, busy day and I wouldn't have changed a single thing.

Here's a timeline of my day yesterday:
~5:30am - Got ready for work and sat down to THE BEST breakfast ever: Mom's biscuits and sausage gravy. YUM!
~6:45am - Was continually entertained on the drive to work. (It amazes me sometimes how well we get along.) Received the perfect birthday card and a fantastic present: Six Collector's Edition Thimbles, each one representing the History of the John Deere Trademarks.
~12:00pm - Treated myself to a birthday lunch at Panera. I love the strawberry poppyseed salad with a half chicken caesar sandwich. I then crossed the parking lot to Target and used my birthday money from Grandma Wilson to buy a lime-green jersey dress and matching earrings.
~2:30pm - Was serenaded by a slightly off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" by my coworkers and enjoyed a piece of marble cake. I was a little surprised when the customers at the counter joined in the singing, but I rolled with it. Spent the rest of the day at work in a sugar-induced coma. That was SOME CAKE!
~4:45pm - Dragged Levi away from his office and enjoyed being chauffered home via the scenic route instead of boring old I-81.
~6:30pm - Played softball on the Union Church team, but had to cut out during the 6th inning because I didn't want to be late for SUPPER!
~8:00pm - Savored every last bite of the birthday supper that Aunt Cindi prepared for me which I was privileged to share with my fabulous family. The menu: Pork chops cooked in the crockpot in a creamy onion/mushroom marinade, white rice with gravy from the pork chop marinade, and mixed veggies with Catalina dressing. Dessert was a decadent strawberry shortcake and Chrissy's famous fruit pizza. YUM, YUM, and YUMMY!
~9:30pm - Opened presents! Debbie bought me a bobblehead turtle statue for my garden... SO CUTE! Aunt Cindi & Uncle David gave me matching earrings, a necklace, and bracelets to go with my favorite LBD. Chrissy & Joe gave me a specatular pair of earrings purchased from Ten Thousand Villages. Joel gave me a collection of items from Grand Turks: a conch, a basket of mixed shells, and a bobble dolphin (the tail and flippers are on springs). Mom gave me another year's membership to AAA which is greatly appreciated. I have had to use it at least once every year and it's such a comfort whenever I'm on the road to know I have that resource.
~10:45pm - Fell into bed, pleasantly exhausted from the day's activities, and dreamed about the year to come. See Photos.

I'm looking forward to what God has in store for my life. I'm so blessed! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped make my day so special. I LOVE YOU!!

Politics

Hmm...how on earth are we to truly know how a politician will serve once elected? Does history repeat itself so that by knowing their past decisions we can predict their future decisions? Makes you wonder.

http://www.votesmart.org/ - Good research source

Below is an article about Obama. Interesting.

Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun
It's an amazing time to be alive in America. We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.
We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender.
Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.
The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.
Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton.
Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America. But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial 'beauty.'
Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.
Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on 'the rich.' How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.
Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, 'All praise and glory to God!' but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have 'hijacked' - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and pr omises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois, he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood, and San Francisco values, not Middle America values.
The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of 'bringing America together' means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandon ing any conflicting beliefs.
But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.

Different opinion

This was striking enough to catch my attention and I wonder at the validity. Anyone have an opinion?

http://www.slate.com/id/2191491/?GT1=38001

Experiment

So, I decided to conduct an experiment to see if redheads have more fun. So far, it's been a positive experience, but I'm only 4 days into to project. Much more research will have to be conducted before a conclusion can be drawn. ;)

Whee!!!

Only in L.A.

This is just too funny! I had to share it with everyone.

Only in Los Angeles!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Well, it has been some time since I last posted. I wish I could say that in the resulting 7 weeks, we have made significant progress in the cleanup and recovery process. Alas, I cannot. Instead, God has been teaching me what He meant in 1 Thess 5:18 when He (through Paul) said "In everything, give thanks." Four simple words with so much power and authority. In the midst of my frustration and pain of dealing with the fire, I find myself challenged. I have never struggled to give God thanks for all the good things in my life. Something wonderful happens and I say "Thank you, Lord, for this blessing. Thank you for loving me and giving me these good things." God has been showing me that this is only half of the effort required. I focus on the word "EVERYTHING" and am convicted to give thanks for all the bad things as well. "Thank you, God, for allowing these bad, unpleasant things to happen so that I can become more and more dependent on You and Your strength. Thank you for pushing me to grow in love and patience and understanding, both for You and for others in my life."

I have not yet mastered this great command. I may never "arrive" in this lifetime. That's ok. The important thing is that I TRY and God has richly blessed me in the process. I have been given opportunities to do so many things for His glory and to find joy in places that I wouldn't have even looked if I hadn't been seeking the strength to give praise and listening to God's gentle guidance. He truly knows what is best for me and I CELEBRATE in that knowledge. It is SO freeing to accept that I don't have to have it all under control or figured out. I am learning (over and over again) to LET GO AND LET GOD. There are times when I get impatient and wrench control back from God, as if I could somehow do better. :/ How marvelous that He doesn't give up and leave me to my own devices!

Ooops!

So, I've had an interesting weekend. First, some background info. Grandpa left on Wednesday to visit John & Tonya in KY which meant I had to remember to keep the fire going in the boiler so the house would stay heated. I did that just fine until Friday night when I forgot to add more wood before going to bed. I woke up around 2am Saturday absolutely FREEZING because the fire had gone out and the house temp had dropped to 58F. I went out and couldn't find any embers whatsoever so I laid down kindling to start the fire from scratch. I tried lighting it with matches but it wouldn't stay lit so I thought it would help to put in a little kerosene. I went back into the garage from the woodshed to get the can labeled "kerosene" and poured a little bit on the wood. It proceded to explode into flames which knocked me off balance and caused me to drop the fuel can. The can also caught on fire and the wall of the woodshed and subsequently the gloves I was wearing. I was able to throw off the gloves but the fire was spreading FAST and I couldn't get past it to the door leading back into the garage. The flames and smoke forced me to use the the 10' sliding door as my exit point. I struggled a bit with the latch, but I knew I had to get it open or I would die in the woodshed. I finally managed to get the latch loose and simply pushed it out from the wall so I could slip out. I ran around to the front door and called 911. The dispatcher told me to get a cordless phone and GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! I scooped up my purse so I would have my cell phone and since the cat, Charlie, was at my feet, I grabbed him too. I ran out to the yard and stood by the old truck while I spoke to the dispatcher. I threw Charlie in the cab of the truck and promptly forgot all about him for several hours. I left the cockatiel and fish to fend for themselves. I didn't try to save anything at all. After the trouble I had getting out of the woodshed, I wasn't taking any chances of getting trapped again. I called Mom on my cell while I had the dispatcher on the cordless and told her what was happening. The fire trucks arrived pretty quickly (it only FELT like it took them 200 years) and they immediately started working to keep the fire from spreading to the house. I called Phil Rombach and Mom called George & Trina and all 3 came to stay with me while the firefighters did their thing. My car was in the garage and Grandpa's tractor was in the woodshed, so they were completely destroyed. The garage is no more but the firefighters did a phenomenal job saving the house. The fire did get under the eaves of the house on the SE corner which meant they had to rip out the ceiling in the loft in order to put out the fire in the rafters. The east half of the loft was soaked, but it could have been a lot worse. I gave my statement to the county fire investigator around 4:45am and then went down to Lottie's house to get some sleep. Mom left IN around 4am and arrived here Saturday afternoon. She's been a tremendous help to me with the recovery process. It's going to be a long road to restore things back to normal but I am thankful to be alive and well. It's a miracle I escaped from the woodshed (Jamie Martin borrowed the tractor on Thursday night which meant we had to get the sliding door unstuck after the freezing rain from Thursday morning) and yet another that I wasn't burned. God is good. He must still have plans for my life! :)

P.S. I apologize if anyone is offended by my warped sense of humor. It has been an extremely traumatic 48 hours and I'm tired of crying, so I'm looking to laughter as a release for the emotional backlash.

SNOWMOBILING

I have found an outdoor winter activity that I actually enjoy! SNOWMOBILING!! What a rush! Levi took me out for a ride last night and I had a blast. I didn't even care that I had lost all feeling in my nose. I had on boots, Carhart overalls, scarf, gloves, and helmet, but the visor on the helmet is stuck so I had the wind in my face. And the snow spray. And tree branches. Good thing Levi was driving. He proved to be an excellent human shield. :) It was really cool (no pun intended) to ride under the bright moonlight. What a thrilling way to experience God's creation.

"Love is...

patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (1 Cor. 13:4-8a)

There are days when I struggle with my humanity and forget the WHY of what I am doing here. Today is one of those days. Today was depressing, disappointing, and disillusioning. Today felt like "Pick on Becky Day" and I failed at every endeavor undertaken throughout the course of the day (according to my critics). By 8pm, I threw in the towel, gave up on the day, and retreated to my room. My mother always taught me that if I couldn't say something nice, I shouldn't say anything at all. My self-control had been taxed to the limit and I decided isolation was my only recourse.

I spent a nice quiet few hours reading and then emerged to check out the lunar eclipse. (Way cool, BTW) God impressed His love on me through His creation and I started to pull myself out of my negatively focused thoughts. I rest on His promises and unfailing love. I need to focus on what is important. These earthly things are insignificant when compared to eternity. "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, My Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be."

6 weeks ago...

...I waved goodbye to Phoenix and began the journey east. So much and yet so little has happened since that day. Grandpa and I have settled into a routine of sorts. I cook and clean, he pays the bills, and we both put wood in the boiler. :) I am still actively seeking employment but without much luck. The economy/job market here in North Central NY is not necessarily "hostile" but not so "friendly" either. I am trusting God to show me His path. I look to Philippians 4:19 for encouragement when I start to worry about car payments and student loans. I know He will provide all my needs.

Let it SNOW!

After a strange winter "hiatus" that brought 62 degrees and sunshine, the snow has returned as a reminder that it is indeed still January. The natural order of the seasons has been restored and all is well with the world once again.


It has been snowing steadily since yesterday morning. We aren't yet approaching the 48 inches for which Levi continually prays, but it's enough to require boots and to cause road hazards.