Valentines

Posted on February 13, 2011 by heidiannie

When Robin and I were little girls, Valentine’s Day was one of our

favorite holidays. We would bring home all the valentines we

had received from our classmates and tape them up on the

wall of the staircase coming down from her bedroom- then we would

dress up in our finery and take turns at being the “Queen of Valentine”.

It was a little sappy- even for us- but this was before it was cool

for every little girl to play at princesses and we had precious

little play time.

We grew up in a working business family. When we got home from school

in the winter we changed our clothes, grabbed a quick snack and went

out into the greenhouse to fill packs with dirt so that our mother could

transplant seedlings – tomatoes, peppers, petunias, etc. to sell in the

Spring. When it was dark, we would come in for dinner, watch a little

television and get ready for bed.

And Valentine’s day wasn’t really busy in the greenhouse- not like Easter

or Memorial Day- so we stole some time from work to play.

Over the years, it remained our holiday. We made each other special

valentines and a special lunch that we shared. We also shared the

boxes of chocolate and flowers that our men gave us.

To us, it was special- not ROMANTIC! WE were the Queens of Valentine’s

Day. It would have hurt more if either of us had forgotten the other, than

if we didn’t have a guy or a date.

Today, I was sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store, waiting for my

husband to pick up an item we had forgotten, when I saw a woman with a pot

of primroses in her cart. From the back, she reminded me of Robin- same height

and weight, same hairstyle and color- and as I watched her examining and

arranging the flowers and then write out a card and place it in the plastic card

fork- I somehow knew that she was going to give that plant as a gift to her sister.

I watched and waited as she carefully put the plant into a decorative bag she

pulled out of her back seat and then placed the bag onto the front seat of her

car. Then she pushed the cart back to the cart stall and made a phone call.

A couple of minutes later, a woman pulled up behind the car, and I saw her

present the gift to her friend- with a hug.

Maybe. Maybe that is what happened. It may have been a gift for a sick friend.

It may have been meant for their grouchy demanding mother. Perhaps it was

going to end up on the table of her daughter’s teacher. I guess I could have

made up any story to go with the little drama I had seen.

But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.

And something about this lady reminded me of Robin.

So- as I sat there- I thought of all the hoopla that goes on with Valentine’s Day.

And of the angst of single women who aren’t in a relationship-

also of the married women who are neglected and don’t feel like a Valentine, anymore.

Mostly, however, I thought about how Valentines are about love, and consideration.

And I thought about what a glorious gift we gave each other all those years ago-

because we chose each other to be our valentines.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

Sunday Psalm-121- guest blogger

Posted on February 12, 2011 by heidiannie

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

¹ I will lift up my eyes to the hills
         From whence comes my help?
² My help comes from the Lord
         Who made heaven and earth.
³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
         He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
         Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD is your keeper;
         The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
         Nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
         He shall preserve your soul.
⁸ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
         From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 91 is referred to as the psalm of The safety of abiding in the presence of God,

this psalm should be sub titled as finding God’s presence.

It is a psalm of ascents, of religious pilgrims climbing towards the temple mount to worship.

My Bible titles it, God the help of those who seek him.

Whereas Psalm 91 speaks to the protection God the Father provides for His Son, this psalm

refers to the protection He provides His children.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills

from whence comes my help?”

Why does the psalmist look to the hills?

Because it is a throw back to an ancient patriarchal worship site-

Abraham’s mount Moriah; Jacob’s Bethel and Shiloh where the ark of the covenant rested

during the time of the judges.

A place where rocks could be found to build an altar for a whole burnt offering.

Just as God could keep His Son from having His foot dashed against a rock,

our God could keep our feet from slipping .

His care is constant day and night.

It is as constant as the ordinances of the sun and the moon, which

He created and as His authority over them. He has extended

it over us as well – even as “ the shade at our right hand.”

His presence preserves us from evil; His presence is not stationary- it

is mobile It preserves our”going out and coming in.”

It endures forever “from this time forth and even forever more.”

-this study provided by Frank Fodor-

Beef stew- a recipe

Posted on February 12, 2011 by heidiannie

There are many recipes for beef stew out there.

I don’t like most of them, they seem to be meat and vegetables in a soupy base.

This is actually made with an oxtail base and finished off with toothsome dumplings.

It is slurry thick with goodness and sticks to your ribs on a cold winter’s evening.

This is the magical pot of stew that you have read about in fairy tales- it’s aroma

wafting out the doorway and enticing hungry and weary travelers to come in and

sit and eat.

You need to start early in the day to make this for dinner, although it only gets

better with time- so if it isn’t completely ready in time for dinner- order in some

pizza or Chinese and serve this the next day.

It is worth the wait.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized oxtails

1 medium sized onion

1 stalk celery

Oxtails are often fatty- I braised the oxtail with the vegetables (adding about 2 TBS water)

until the water mostly evaporated and the fat had laid down a good coating on the bottom

of the large pan. Discard the onion and celery.

1-2 lbs. of stewing beef or chuck roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large onion, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

3 large carrots, peeled, chopped

1 parsnip, peeled, diced

1 cup frozen peas

2 TBS paprika

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

3 cups beef broth or water

Salt and pepper, to taste ( I use about 1 good tsp each)

Dumplings, recipe to follow

With the pan still hot from the oxtails, and the cooked vegetables discarded,

drop about half of the cubed beef into the pan and sear. When it is lightly browned

you can add the rest of the beef and brown on medium high heat.

Add onions and turn heat down a little – cook until onions become

translucent. Add paprika and stir, then add vinegar and put lid on pan

letting the beef simmer in the spice and vinegar mix for about 10 minutes.

This sets the flavors into the beef making each bite succulent.

Now add the tomatoes and again, cover the pan and allow to simmer for another 10-20 minutes

– this will break down the tomato and give the meat a nice deep flavored sauce.

Add vegetables (except the peas), bay leaf, and 2 1/2 cups water or broth and season with salt and pepper.

You may need to add just a little more or less broth- you want a very liquid-y look

because you are going to let it simmer for at least an hour and a half.

Taste a small piece of beef after the long simmer and if it doesn’t almost melt in your

mouth, cover and allow it to simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Now, add 1/2 to 1 cup broth and raise the temperature until it comes to almost a slow boil.

Make dumplings.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups plain flour

large pinch of salt

1 large farm fresh egg

1/4-1/2 cup water

Place flour and salt in bowl and make a well in center of bowl.

Slightly beat egg and 1/4 cup water together and pour into well.

With a fork, keep beating the egg, adding a bit of flour from the sides

as you go along- if it seems too dry add some more water. You want

a sticky dough.

Using a teaspoon, wet the tip in the stew and take a small amount of

the dumpling dough and slide the spoon into the stew to release the

dumpling. Make the dumplings as small as the beef chunks you started

off with. This will take some time, but the dumplings are worth it, believe me.

When you have made dumplings out of the whole bowlful, cover the stew,

add the frozen peas,

and let the dumplings cook about 12 minutes or more. Taste and make

sure they aren’t raw in the middle.

The stew should not be boiling fast, turn the heat back down to low – fish

out the bay leaf and serve.

My husband loves to eat the oxtails in his stew. If you don’t have anyone

who loves meat that much, fish them out as well, and you can cut off the

meat from the bone and add it back into the stew.

Hanging with the icicles!

Posted on February 11, 2011 by heidiannie

Sub zero temperatures.

This is not about the weather. Or at least, not complaining about the

weather. But we have been going through a cold snap.

My rhododendren is partially encased in ice.

In fact there is a symphony of ice sculpture around the house.

Even my glass bowl of marbles is frozen in place.

So I’m spending a lot of time in my kitchen.

Where I can be warm inside and out! Smile

There is nothing like beef stew and dumplings with fresh bread to warm you up!

And if you want to warm up your kitchen, make a batch of granola- nutty and grainy-

salty and sweet- baked for 4 hours at 275 degrees F ! It makes the kitchen toasty and

the aroma is just plain wonderful! Bakeries don’t smell this good!!!

I could put up recipes.

Do you want them?

Because I’d RATHER show you some pictures of buttons.

I collect buttons. Or I did.

I’ve used them in a lot of projects.

Like wreaths…

And pins and trees-

I just can’t find my button box right now.

And that is frustrating.

Kind of like hanging with icicles- cold and drippy with only a puddle at the end.

I’m going back to my craft room to look again.

Wish me luck!

Guess what I’m knitting?

Posted on February 6, 2011 by heidiannie

AND following a pattern to make!

Handwarmers- or fingerless mittens!

I made the hat a couple of years ago.

The scarf I knitted up whilst watching Lord of the Rings.

And the fingerless mitts ? Allison of Yellowbird Yarn Room- –

my knitting coach and friend shared a copy of a pattern she

was making.

So – I now have a whole winter knitted set!

And it is so warm and “toasty” *!

*- toasty is the name of the pattern for the mittens!

What are you making ?

Psalm 121- another psalm with promise

Posted on February 5, 2011 by heidiannie

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

I go to the psalms when I need comfort. When sleep eludes

me and the night is long and dark.

I go to the psalms when I am hungry for the presence of

the Lord. When I need reassurance of His loving care.

I go to the psalms when I am confronted with the evil around

me and the evil that I often harbor inside me, as well.

I go to the psalms to find words of worship and praise- so that

the fullness of my soul may be given voice.

I go to the psalms when I am caught in a web of despair.

I go to find the Author and Answer of hope.

I go to the psalms- because therein are the words and the

Truth of our God displayed to fill the yearning of my heart.

The promise within the psalms are real. They will be and have

been kept. But they are not always for each individual to claim.

The promises in this psalm are meant for the nation of Israel-

God’s servant. Israel- the bride He sought to make His own.

There is a study to go with this statement that follows the path

from the mountain with Abraham- to the altar of Jacob in Peniel

and on into the hills of Canaan. It encompasses the battles on the

plains and the ascension onto God’s holy hill.

But that is for next week….

Looking into the face of WINTER-

Posted on February 2, 2011 by heidiannie

Looking out my kitchen window,

the view is rather drear.

The sparkle of my bottles and glasses and lavender

helps make the scene cozier and dear.

But , no.

Winter has more than one expression

Soft snow has melted into any icier declension.

There is ice caked on my sidewalk.

Ice is coating all the trees.

Ice is running down the windows.

And has covered all the streets.

So I sit inside my ice cube-

Slippered feet up, cheerful fire crackling on the grate,

and sip chai tea and nibble on cookies-

The world is frozen-

chores can wait.

Chicken Paprikash and spaetzle.

Posted on January 31, 2011 by heidiannie

This is always a favorite at my house. But especially when it is cold.

AND it is cold. 10 degrees F this morning- with expected snow showers

-later turning into an icy coating. Brr! We need some comfort food-badly!

Start off sauteeing an onion in a tablespoon of oil.

Most of my recipes for soups and main dishes start out that way.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced

6 to 8 chicken pieces- small breasts,thighs and drumsticks

1 to 2 TBS. olive oil

3 TBS Hungarian paprika- I like the smoked rather than the sweet

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

sliced carrots- about 3 large

2 ribs of celery, sliced small

1 package frozen peas

Spaetzle , recipe here.

Place chicken in pan, and sprinkle with s+p to taste,

then sprinkle paprika over the pieces.

Brown one side and then turn over and gently sprinkle

some more paprika on top.

The name is Paprikash- so you basically are coating each piece.

Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the chicken loses the pink raw look.

Add carrots, celery and chicken broth.

Cover and cook about 45 minutes.

Turn over pieces once more, add peas and let simmer another

10 minutes or so- don’t overcook- you want the peas a bright green.

Make spaetzle –

And enjoy!

Psalm 91- Where do I dwell ?

Posted on January 30, 2011 by heidiannie

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
         Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
         My God, in Him I will trust.”
³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
         And under His wings you shall take refuge;
         His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
         And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
         And see the reward of the wicked.
⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
         Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
         To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
         Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
         The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
         And show him My salvation.”

This is one of those Psalms that people keep quoting to me when

troubles appear. It is a psalm of comfort and promise- and makes for

good reading. But I don’t read it the same way people quote it to me.

I don’t see the promise made to believers.

My husband and I discuss Scripture, and this is one that we are in agreement

upon. This psalm is speaking more of Jesus Christ and His position and

placement in God’s care during His earthly ministry.

Because – although I do trust in God’s providence and protection-

although I bow to His authority and throw myself upon His grace and

mercy- although I have been grafted into His family through the agency

of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice- I have to seriously consider the

question- “Where do I dwell?”.

This is the verse I am looking at today. Verse one sets up the premise for the

rest of the psalm. “ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”…

WHO is that? It is Jesus Christ – and He alone who dwells there.

This is not about me. It is not about us.

We dwell here on Earth. We can keep our mind set on Jesus. We can pray

unceasingly- rejoice in His presence in our lives and seek to do His will.

But- we dwell here.

We can’t move into the Father’s house and expect Him to provide for our needs

and protect us from the consequences of our decisions.

He does protect believers who are fulfilling His will- sometimes.

And sometimes, believers who are in dangerous places- following

God’s plans- spreading the Gospel- sometimes they are killed.

Or imprisoned- or tortured for the sake of their belief in God.

We dwell here. And God loves us.

And sometimes, we are attacked by disease, and terror, and evil.

And sometimes, we die.

This psalm is not filled with promises of protection for believers.

It is about the relationship between God and His Son.

And it is beautiful and real and comforting.

Because we are part of that relationship-

and we are not alone.

Pocket book slippers- in a couple of hours!

Posted on January 26, 2011 by heidiannie

Size No.10 Needles
4 Ply chunky yarn
Cast on 5 sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Next Row: Increase in 2nd stitch of each row until you have 22 stitches on the needle.
Next Row: Increase in each stitch to 44 sts.
Next Row: Knit 2, Purl 2 for 6 inches.
Next Row: Knit 2 together across giving you 22 sts.
Next Row: Decrease in 2nd stitch at beginning of every row until you have 5 sts.

Knit 6 rows.
Cast off, fold in half and sew the K2, P2 sides together and the 5 sts on top together to form strap.
Decorate with buttons or beads , embroidery, ribbons- whatever your heart desires!

They are really cute and quick to make! And they fit into your purse!

I made these today!

Steps On The Journey

walk with me a while

Valentines

Sunday Psalm-121- guest blogger

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

Beef stew- a recipe

Hanging with the icicles!

Guess what I’m knitting?

Psalm 121- another psalm with promise

Psalm 121

Looking into the face of WINTER-

Chicken Paprikash and spaetzle.

Psalm 91- Where do I dwell ?

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

Pocket book slippers- in a couple of hours!