Things that BUG ...

Dirty, stinky, boy socks all over my house.*

Young women in big trucks or SUV's who fail to look for me in my little Honda.

Apathetic people

When people talk about TV shows, as if they are real people.

Screaming Chefs who think if they yell and act mean their food will taste better. ( I personally think food should be made with love.)

When young ones who do not see or recognise older ones.

When Older ones do not notice the needs of someone younger.

A waitress at a nice resturant that interrupts a conversation, constantly.

A waitress at a nice resturant that does not pay any attention to needs of customer.

Flakiness, (Especially if I am the Flake!)

Being teased when I am trying to be serious.

* The stinky socks are not such an issue now that the boys have grown up and moved. But when all 7 were home, it meant that 14 dirty socks were all over my house Every day! It was a real problem!!! To this day I still hate ALLL socks!!!! (Yes, even clean ones, espeically if I can't find their match.)

Split Pea Soup -

Always good on a cold day. Now that the rain is gone, the wind is cold! So this is a soup that will warm you up and does not take too long to make.

Double Pea Soup:

1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 Tbs finely chopped garlic
1 Tbs chopped fresh Thyme leaves, or you may use 2 Tbs dried thyme leaves
1 Bay leave
1 Bag dried split green peas, rinsed & sorted
7 cups chicken broth
s smoked ham hocks (1 1/2 lbs)
1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
1/2 tsp each of salt & pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas.
2 Tbls chopped fresh mint, plus sprigs for garnish
seasoned croutons & sour cream

Heat oil in a 5 or 6 quart pan over medium heat; add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook, 2 minutes, stirring. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and cook 10 minutes. Stir in split peas and cook 1 minute.
Add broth and ham hock; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf. Stir in sherry, if using, and salt & pepper. Remove form heat. Remove ham hocks; cover soup. When ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove skin, then cut lean meat from bones and finely shred. Stir in ham and frozen peas into soup; heat over low heat until peas are hot; add mint. Ladle into bowls. Top wiht crouton & sour cream and mint sprig. (I like to serve corn bread with mine instead of croutons. I very seldom use the sherry)
I hope you are all staying warm!

It's Raining - but Not Pouring

Looks like we are going to have rain.
I am making plans to enjoy it.
The hills are turning green right before my eyes!

Maybe I should make one of these:

It looks very interesting!

Genesis -Chapter 3- The Source of All Suffering

Now the serpent...began to say to the woman: "Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?" -Gen 3:1

At this the woman said to the serpent: "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But as for eating of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it that you do not die." -Gen 3:2, 3

At this the serpent said to the woman: "You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad." -Gen 3:4, 5 (Compare: John 8:44)

This devil stated just the opposite of what God had said earlier at Gen 2:17. Satan's claim was that humans could rule themselves successfully, without God's help, deciding for themselves what was right and what was wrong, instead of following their loving Creator's direction. Later, Satan claimed that he could turn away from God all of Adam and Eve's offspring. (Compare: Job 2:2-4). Notice, Satan did not challenge God's power. This devil challenged His Sovereignty, God's right to rule, and he maligned God's name or reputation by insinuating God lied to his human children and withheld knowledge from them, knowledge they should have. What would the first couple do?

Consequently the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something to be longed for with the eyes, yes, the tree was desirable to look upon. So she, began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward she gave some also to her husband when with her and he began eating it. -Gen 3:6

Adam and Eve imitated, not Jehovah God who gave them life, but Satan by allowing a wrong desire to become a sin. -James 1:14, 15. Many ask, why did God not just wipe out these rebels on the spot? Why allow them to have children in an imperfect state? -Romans 12:15. For the sake of the myriads of Angels in heaven who were watching and for humans yet to be born, Jehovah allowed time for Satan to try to prove his claims. To immediately wipe out the rebels would have proved Jehovah's power, but would not answer the issues Satan raised. What are the results?

You may read the judgment sentences the "serpent", Eve and Adam received from God in your own Bibles at Genesis 3:14-19. Today, we only need to listen to the news to see what a mess this world under Satan has become.( 1 John 5:19) Yes, time has proved with out a doubt that humans cannot rule themselves successfully without God. People have suffered terribly under the governments of men. (Compare: Jeremiah 10:23)
"With that Jehovah God put him out of the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. And so he drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life." -Gen 3:23,24

Paradise was lost, however, God's judgment against these three rebels did not leave Adam and Eve's children without hope. Notice, God's words to Satan at Gen 3:15 it reads:

"And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel."

As you read your Bible notice this theme threaded throughout the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. This first prophecy gave hope for the vindication of God's Sovereignty and the sanctification of God's name and for God's original purpose for the earth to be restored to a worldwide Paradise, filled with perfect people who love and appreiciate their Heavenly Father. (Matt 6:9,10; Ps 37: 29, 34) Will we be there to hear God's words at the end of the seventh day say, "It is very good. And it came to be evening and it came to be morning , a seventh day."

Random things That caught my eye.

This is a bike in Morocco. This is an interesting place.
I will have to revisit via internet

And I found this picture and fell in love with it!
Learning is not just from books.

Little Flower

There you are!
What's up with you?

Awww Show me your "Pretty Face!"

Kisses and Hugs to ALL the Family!!!

Skillet Dinner

When I am trying to save a little extra money I go to the store as little as possible. Sometimes I see just how far I can push it off and still have something good to eat, besides my beloved soup. This is a skillet dinner that I like and can pull out of the cupboard.

First, if there is any bacon, fry until crisp. Then set aside, pour off drippings and add some olive oil to your pan. Saute some chopped onion and garlic. Then add rice, stirring until it just starts to turn golden. Now chicken broth (1 c rice to 2c broth.)and a can of drained beans. (black eyed peas, or kidney or white or black or pinto or garbonzo or....) Add any seasonings you may like. I use a big pinch of saffron if I have any. And 2 tbs salsa, and if any cilantro is in the frig I will add that. cover, about 20 -25 minutes. Just before done add the bacon on top.
Serve with corn bread. And enjoy your thrifty dinner!

Genesis -Chapter 2- Details of man's begining

"And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and man came to be a living soul." -Genesis 2:7
Having received his life from Jehovah God, he was a "son of God."

Body + Breath = Soul

"And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of E'den to cultivate it and to take care of it." -Gen 2:15

God gave Adam a home with beautiful surroundings, plenty of food with a variety of flavors to enjoy and to eat to satisfaction. Also, this man was given fullfilling work that was pleasurable.
Yes, everything a man needed to live a productive life, was given to him. What gratitude Adam must have felt! What could he give his Creator in return, when everything came from the Creator? Even this provision was given to the man.

"And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: "From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die." -Genesis 2:16,17

Yes, man could show his love and gratitude by using his free will in the right way. Perfect obedience to his life-giver would be the best gift Adam could give his Heavenly Father.

Adam continued enjoying his peaceful life, enjoyable work and the best education from his loving heavenly Father, whom he enjoyed a close relationship with. Man's Creator now gave him another task, a special one, a challenging assignment!

"Now Jehovah God was forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever he would call it, each living soul, that was it's name. So the man was calling the names of all the domestic animals and of the flying creatures of the heavens and of every wild beast of the field, but for the man there was found no helper as a complement of him." Gen 2:19,20

Adam took time to study each different animal, observing it's distinctive habits and makeup; then he would select a name that would be especially fitting for it. What an enjoyable job! What can we learn about our loving Creator from these scriptures? Our heavenly Father loves to share life and information with his earthly son, enjoying a close relationship with him. But that is not all, look what Jehovah does next for Adam!

"Hence Jehovah God had a deep sleep fall upon the man and, while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God proceeded to build the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and to bring her to the man." Genesis 2:21,22 How did Adam react to this new gift from God?

"This is at last bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh.
This one will be called Woman,
Because from man this one was taken."
Genesis 2:23

And so we see the first marriage performed by God, in the garden of E'den.
"That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

What a wonderful future lay ahead of them. As a happily married couple they loved to hear the voice of God talking to them, teaching them, guiding them in the best way to live. (Gen1:28) In their mind's eye they could envision the whole earth filled with their grown children, all perfect in body, having perpetual youth, with fine health and joy of living, all of them expressing perfect love for one another, all unitedly worshiping their Creator, their heavenly Father. Yes, they would "subdue" the earth. Finally the steadily enlarging garden would cover all the earth and an earth wide paradise would flourish as mankind's everlasting home. Think of what it would look like from God's standpoint, a beauty spot for him to view from heaven, one that would bring glory to it's Creator. For this first man and woman to carry out this commission from God would take time. They were standing at the "evening' the starting of a new day according to God's own marking of creative days. This new day was to be blessed and sanctified to God's own pure, righteous purpose. This seventh day has yet to be pronounced very good, for it has not yet ended. (Genesis: 1:31-2:4) Will it be possible to pronounce this seventh day "very good"?

A Gypsy Caravan!

Shall we hit the road and see where it leads?
What do you think? Would you like to come along on a road trip, slow and carefree?
I think it would be fun to build and paint my own gypsy wagon and then spend a year of so as an artist! (Is it the hippie in me coming out?) O, well we can dream!

Clean House?

It's hard to keep your house clean, when construction is going on in the next room!
Also, regular life goes on.... and the special project goes on and on and on.....

Then of course the Vacume Cleaner belt broke, I don't think they make the parts anymore for my model.

Any way, that's my life at the moment. Love you all