Tuesday 4~ Foody Questions

This picture reminds me of my mother in her 
kitchen...her mixer looked a lot like that too!

Foody Questions

Welcome to Toni's Tuesday 4..
Can we talk about food ?


1. What was your favorite suppertime meal when you were a kid or a teen? How about fav breakfast and lunch while you're at it.

I'm trying to remember...that was such a LONG time ago! LOL.  My mother was an excellent cook, but she also worked a full time job from the time I entered first grade. (I was the baby of the family).  So anything she cooked had to be done after 5:00 p.m. No such thing as Crock Pots back then.  I remember her Salisbury Steaks and Mashed Potatoes and gravy, and we probably had green peas for a vegetable.  Her salisbury steaks were really like hamburgers with onions and egg/bread mixed up like you would for a meat loaf. She would brown them in her electric skillet, which she used for almost every meal, Drain off the grease, and then add water and cover them and let them simmer until done, then make the gravy with the pan dippings. Her mashed potatoes were always good, and she used frozen peas, never canned unless they were those little LeSeur peas once in a while.  I still like to make this meal, but hubby prefers green beans instead of the peas.  Oh, and my mother used to make us "salads" of things like canned pears with cottage cheese or also a pear half with a dollop of "Miracle Whip" and some shredded cheese on top, on a bed of lettuce.   Or we'd have canned peaches or fruit cocktail or some other kind of fruit. Tossed salads were rare back then, but sometimes we'd get a wedge of lettuce with homemade French Dressing (Miracle Whip mixed with Ketchup). My mother always used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise.  I never had mayonnaise until I met my husband, and he did not like Miracle Whip, so I switched to mayonnaise.

Here's a picture of my mother in her kitchen, cooking up one of her wonderful meals!

Do you see the mixer in the corner?  Isn't this a lot like the picture of that young woman above in her kitchen? Just maybe a little more modern.

Breakfast when I was growing up was usually cereal because we didn't have time to cook breakfast before school.  Pancakes and eggs, bacon, etc., would be a special treat sometimes on the weekends, or sometimes for supper!  

Lunch...well, of course I ate in the school cafeteria, and we had really good "home-cooked" meals back then, with home made yeast rolls that you could smell baking when we walked down the walkway to the cafeteria.  I remember spaghetti probably more than anything else at school.  At home for lunch we would have sandwiches like ham salad or egg salad or peanut butter and banana. (I never remember having jelly with my peanut butter when I was growing up).  

 
2. How about now? What is your favorite dinnertime meal? And for breakfast and lunchtime?j

Dinnertime now?  Favorite?  Hmmm, I like to keep it simple...hubby likes one-pot meals, like different kinds of meat or chicken/rice or noodles (he doesn't realize it takes two pots to do that usually, plus a vegetable or salad).   Or soups or stews with beef or chicken, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, etc. 

For lunch I usually have a tossed salad with lettuce and fresh spinach and some shredded cheese and maybe some deli ham or chicken if I have any left over. I also usually eat an apple with my lunch.  

Breakfast, we rotate things around. I don't eat cereal nowadays. I don't like milk.  I sometimes eat yogurt with granola and fresh fruit like strawberries or blueberries in season. I cook eggs and toast and grits or make omelettes and sometimes we have sausage or ham or "Spam" with our eggs/toast. Hubby likes biscuits or waffles once in a while. I try to avoid anything with syrup or jelly anymore. I can't eat the sweets, but occasionally I will splurge and have pancakes or waffles or french toast, but I have to have a good helping of eggs or meat to balance out the starches.


3. How has your taste in food changed over the years.

I've learned to like a lot of new things over the years that we never had when I was a kid at home.  Things like Mexican food, Pizza, Lasagna, and seafood.  And I eat a lot more salads now.  And I can't eat hardly any sweets anymore.  I rarely want to eat dessert, and if I do, I regret it usually.


4. What's for supper at your house tonight?

Well, I am writing this on Monday night, and we had chili for supper.  Here's a picture of the leftovers: 

And we'll probably have more of it tomorrow night...sometimes I like to put it over lettuce and tortilla chips with some shredded cheese and make it like a taco salad, except it's chili instead of taco seasoning. Still pretty much the same thing. Or we will have chili dogs (hot dogs with chili on top).  

I didn't get around to doing a Monday post. It was a busy day. We went to the grocery store in the morning and then we had Bible Study in the afternoon, and then I made this chili.  Plus I am continuing the little walk across the street twice a day to feed the neighborhood cats  at my neighbor's house.  That may become a regular thing as I don't see her being able to keep it up. Eventually we may have to lead the cats over here to our house for feeding time, but one thing at a time. 

We had a nice weekend...nothing too major.  Our youngest son Scott came over yesterday after we got home from church and had lunch with us and got to use our new washing machine to get his laundry caught up!  He was pretty pleased with it too! LOL. Then he left and went back home over an hour's drive and realized he'd left his cell phone here.  We had found it, but had no way to contact him to let him know we had it. (He doesn't have a computer...just his phone!) Thankfully he had another old phone at home that he could turn on and connect it with his wifi and send us a message on Messenger. Couldn't call us, but we got the message and told him that his phone was here. He said he'd be back to get it today when he got off work.  Poor guy, had to drive another hour + to get here. Thankfully he works early hours and gets off by noon usually, so he didn't have to fight too much rush hour traffic.  We were at Bible study when he got here so we didn't get to see him, but that's okay. He'll be back on Friday because we plan to celebrate my hubby's birthday here on Friday with the family. My sister and her hubby are driving up almost two hours to be here, and then they will go back home that evening. I invited them to spend the night, but sometimes that's harder than just driving home.  I may just go ahead and prepare the guest room just in case they change their minds.  Oh, and Tuesday, today! (the 11th) is their 59th Wedding Anniversary, so we will be wishing them a Happy Anniversary too!!  

Just to change the mood a bit...it's time to gather "Fairy Bouquets" again from the yard:

I love to gather these delicate little purple wildflowers now before we have to start mowing the grass again, because once that happens, they will be gone.

And the Carolina Jessamine vine is starting to bloom again along the fence row and in the tree tops.

Oh, and I discovered something unusual happening in our yard:

What on earth?  

Oh! It really IS a Gnome Home!

And it looks like it is inhabited!

And this fella is ready to welcome us to come in and sit a spell...

Oh! What fun!! 

"Gnome Sweet Gnome"....LOL.

Looks like the Woodpeckers may have been helping to build some more rooms in this "Gnome Home".

This looks mysterious and interesting...I wonder where that crevice leads to?  Wouldn't you like to be tiny enough to find out?  

So fascinating to discover this little place out there in "Fairyland"!  I expect there will be more activities and adventures there in the future. We'll have to wait and see.

I love this verse:

Isaiah 55:12  NKJV

12 “For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Can't you just picture that in your mind?  When we follow the Lord, we do have joy and peace, and we cn actually feel the joy of all of God's Creation around us breaking forth into singing...and yes, even the trees of the field shall clap their hands!

These are some of the verses that precede that passage above, to give it more clarity:

"6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Some wonderful words to ponder as we settle down for the day and rest of the week.  Read them and then look for the ways God's Word is being accomplished  in and around you as you go through your days.  You may be amazed!!

Okay, friends, that's all for this post.  If you want to join in for the "Tuesday 4 Foody Questions",  click HERE and go see what good things are cooking with our other friends.  Be Blessed my friends!!

Tuesday 4: January!

January    


Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in the new year. 

 We wish you a very Happy New Year!
January is named for Janus the two faced god who looked into the past and future. Some believe he was Noah who may have been worshipped by his progeny. He certainly looked into the pre flood world and the new world. The Anglo Saxons called this month Wulfsmoanth. Let's talk about January.

1. January 1, 1892 Ellis Island opened it's doors. Did any of your relations enter the United States through Ellis Island? If not, do you know your family's history?

I am not sure.  Many of my ancestors migrated to the United States way before 1892, so I guess they didn't have to pass through Ellis Island if it wasn't in existence yet!  I am learning more about my family's history through Ancestry.com, and it is quite interesting. But there is still much to learn and I really haven't spent as much time on it lately as I would like to. Maybe in this New Year I can get back into it again.

2. January's birth stone is garnet and the flower is the carnation. Do you have favorite gem stones or flowers?

My favorite gemstone is the blue sapphire, because that is my birthstone (September). The flower for September is the blue aster, but that is not a common flower here where I live so I haven't had much opportunity to enjoy it!  My favorite flowers would be roses and wildflowers in general. I love flowers that grow in God's garden, where I don't have to do a thing to make them grow!  However, right now this is what is blooming in my kitchen "garden":

This beautiful Christmas cactus continues to blossom and make me smile!

3. January 6 is Epiphany. Many take that day as the final day of the Christmas celebration and take down their decor. What about you?

January 6th is also my mother's birthday. She would be 106 this year! But she will be celebrating her birthday and Epiphany in heaven, as she has been there since  May of 2006. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her in some way.  Especially when it comes to the holidays, and how she managed to cook and decorate and make everything so special, even though she was working a full time job in addition to taking care of our family of six.

Regarding the taking down of Christmas decorations, I've mentioned before that in our home growing up we never took the tree down before Jan. 6th, but I always thought it was because it was my mother's birthday and that is what she always did in her family.  I never understood the connection with Epiphany until later.  Normally we do leave our tree up until January 6th now as well, but this year we are taking things down early since we are going to be leaving for a trip to north Georgia on the 5th, and I would like to have everything cleaned up before we leave so I don't have to deal with it when we come home. I started working on dismantling the tree and other things yesterday, but this morning when I woke up I wanted to enjoy the beauty of the lights on the tree one more time...

The tree with just the lights

And also savor the coziness of our "Christmas at the Cabin" one more time...

(you can see the boxes of tree ornaments stacked up to the right)

And enjoy the peacefulness of this cabin scene a little while longer...

Here is the scene on our Still Waters Pond early this morning when I woke up...

I stepped out on the porch so I could "listen" to the sounds of the bullfrogs and early morning bird songs while it is still calm and peaceful on this foggy morning...

4. There is some evidence that January can set the tone for your entire year.
What do you think of this? Do you make resolutions, etc?

Yes, I do believe this. That is one reason why I select a "One Word" for the new year, instead of trying to make resolutions.  As I wrote yesterday, my new "One Word" for 2023 is LISTEN.  And that is the "tone" I am trying to set for this year, as I "listen" to God's voice through His Word and through the things and events surrounding me, I will be watching and listening for what God is speaking to me.  This morning I went back to the book of Isaiah chapter 55 and read further beyond what I shared yesterday from verse 2.  And the further I read, the more I "heard" God's voice speaking to me, encouraging me to continue in this path that I believe He has directed me to.  Here's a few of the verses that stood out to me in this early morning time...

Excerpts from Isaiah 55

3. "Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

6. Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

8. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

11. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

12. “For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

This is the "tone" for the New Year that I want to have set for me. Starting the year out seeking the Lord will lead to joy and peace and fulfillment.  And this weekend we are heading into the mountains and the hills...and even though we are going to "celebrate the life" of my husband's cousin who passed away last month, we expect it to truly be a time of joy and celebration, because we know he is with the Lord and is already celebrating his new life in heaven. 

I may not be able to comment or respond to posts while I am gone, but I will try to get caught up when we return next week.  Meanwhile, you all have a blessed and beautiful new beginning to this new year. 

Now, let us go see what our other friends are sharing over at the Tuesday 4 link up! 

"Be Led Out With Peace"

It's Sunday, and I think we all need a little bit of  "peace" today.

So I am going to share some pictures with you from my day yesterday, beginning with my early morning journey around "Still Waters Pond" in the kayak.

These pictures speak peace to me.

I hope they do to you as well.

As you can see, the lilies and the lily pads are very prolific here in our pond...

It was early, and the water lilies were just beginning to open their beautiful faces to the sun.

Isn't it interesting to see the veins of life on the undersides of these lily pads? From looking at the tops of the lily pads, one would never imagine that they have such intricate details underneath.

Kind of like us human beings! From looking at the outward appearance, 

one would never imagine just how intricate the details of our lives must be on the inside.

You know, God created each of us uniquely wonderful, with different talents, gifts, traits, abilities and purpose. Except for identical twins, none of us look exactly the same on the outside.

But on the inside we each have all the same parts that are necessary for life.

Heart, brain, skeleton, blood vessels, muscles, all other organs, and blood.

We may not all think the same or like the same things, but if you take away any of the above mentioned parts, we could not function properly and would most likely die.

And just as our body functions better when each part works the way it is supposed to,

our society also functions better when each one does his part as designed.

When people start pulling apart and fighting against one another, our society does not function well at all. And when our society is at odds with one another, our inward being also becomes dysfunctional and out of sorts.

Many of us are feeling that kind of dysfunction right now because of the state of our country.

We are struggling and hurting and grieving, and we need comfort and peace.

I hope you don't mind if I insert these pictures of this beautiful Red Shouldered Hawk right here. He was outside my window, doing what hawks do...looking for his next meal.

I think he spied something...

And then he spied me.   

After this photo he flew to the ground, snatched up his prey, (I think it was an unlucky lizard), and off he went. But he was doing what hawks do. Maintaining the balance of nature and the food chain...

So, what are we doing? Are we doing our part to help maintain peace in this time of turmoil and anxiety in our world?  I know at times we really don't know what our part is, except to "abide by all the rules" and live responsibly. But our inner peace is being eroded away and we are finding it more difficult each day to maintain our own balance, especially when we are seeing things coming apart at the seams. Many of us are being stirred up inwardly to do more and to take a stand for what we believe is right.

Yesterday, a dear friend of mine wrote about her feelings about this and looking for "signs" that God was listening and that He was there with her. (See "Signs" by my friend Susie at Walking Butterfly) .

As I was reading her beautifully written post and writing my comment at the end, God truly did provide a "sign" that He was listening...

Here is what I saw outside my window while I was writing to her--

This beautiful Mourning Dove sitting in the tree.

And here is what I wrote to Susie as I saw this dove sitting there:

"Oh, just as I am sitting here writing this to you, I am looking outside through the window that is right in front of me above my computer, and there is a Dove sitting in the pine tree out there, just sitting there in the tree, looking around without a care in the world it would seem. He is at peace…and he speaks peace to me. Doves are a sign from God of the Holy Spirit and of God’s peace. Also a sign from God to Noah when the flood waters were receding and it was safe to go out of the boat. What do I see in this “sign” just as I am sitting here writing to you? God says He is sending His peace to us through His Holy Spirit, and we will soon be able to go out from our “Ark” of protection and back into the world as the “waters” are receding…the waters of this virus…the waters of fear and doubt. "

As I wrote these words, I was praying in my own heart that it was really true...that God was indeed reminding us that He is still in control, and He wants us to be at peace in our inward being.  And He also gives us hope that there is an end in sight...the "waters" are receding, and we will soon be back on 

safe ground. 

We read this morning in our devotions from Isaiah 55.  Here are a few verses of hope and comfort:

1.  "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, 

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

and your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

and let your soul delight itself in abundance..."

6.  "Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

7.  Let the wicked forsake his way, 

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

and He will have mercy on him;

and to our God,

for He will abundantly pardon."

8.  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

9.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

and My thoughts than your thoughts.

10.  For as the rain comes down,

and the snow from heaven,

and do not return there,

but water the earth,

and make it bring forth and bud,

that I may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11.  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

but it shall accomplish what I please, 

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

12.  For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,

and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;

And it shall be to the Lord for a name,

For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

 "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace." 

Good night my friends.

May the Peace of the Lord be with you.

Amen.