Friday, August 17, 2012

I Wonder What God Sees?


If I can see this (note Mr. & Mrs. Quail in the background!)... 
  ...and I can see this...
...and my camera can capture this...
...I wonder what God sees?

Monday, June 18, 2012

Makeit Simple - It's-Really-Good Soup

It's-Really-Good Soup




Brown some ground beef.  I was experimenting only for me, so I think I used about 1/2 pound.   Mince two cloves of garlic.  Boil and chop two small red potatoes.  Add about a cup of cooked Northern White beans.  (Are they available in cans?  I always just make a big pot of beans to use for “whatever!”)  Chop about 1/4 to 1/2 cup onion.  Add about 1/2 to 1 cup kale.  Put everything into a pot of beef broth or water with beef bouillon.  Add between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon turmeric (I have no idea because my hand slipped and it just dumped!)  Simmer together.  Oh, WOW!  Was this ever GOOD!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

I'm Baaaaack!

My computer was out of commission for a month and a half!  Don't wanna go through THAT again!  And I see that I'm going to have to tighten my security settings...how did all these little green frogs get in here???

A lot happened during that down time.  One thing was that SPARK FM 90.9 enlisted the help of the Sierra Vista First Baptist Church and painted the exterior of my house for Operation Paintbrush 2012!  WOW!


Twenty-five people converged on my house at 8:00 a.m. with paint, rollers, brushes, everything!


Mia and Max didn't quite know WHAT to think!

But the First Baptist Church team did an AWESOME job!  Many thanks!  Many thanks to SPARK 90.9, too!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Gifts Outside My Window

This summer morning was almost perfect.  The air was cool and refreshing as the sun had not yet climbed very high into the sky.  Only a whisper of wind touched the trees.

I looked out my window and saw two people jogging.  It was evident they were completing their morning run.  Both looked a bit weary, their strides were close to the ground, hair was disheveled, you could see that they were sweated and breathing heavily.

Though it appeared as if they were almost home, neither of them seemed to lose focus.  Their heads were up and their eyes were fixed on something ahead.  Perhaps it was exactly thoughts of finishing the run that defined their goals.  Perhaps they were anticipating the rewards of a long shower and breakfast.

I am running a footrace here on this earth, and my Father in heaven is waiting for me to finish.  He encourages my steps when I become winded and fatigued, and reaches out His arms to catch me if I stumble.

Seeing those two joggers this morning reminded me to define my focus towards Jesus, and not stop running until I reach my eternal Home.

... and let us run with a perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus ....  Hebrews 12:1,2

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Ransom Note!

Ransom Note

Tell the Tech Guy to fix the computer or the blog gets it!
or send M&M's & no one gets hurt!

Signed,

Blog Frogs

Friday, April 20, 2012

Hijack Alert ~ Frogs!


This blog has been hijacked by Blog Frogs!  (giggle)  We have been toad to let you know Ms. Pandora's computer died suddenly... without warning... all-of-a-sudden.  She is currently in the midst of planning a wake ~ or perhaps calling for geek-help!


While we are here, we are taking the liberty of redecorating a little.  We hope she doesn't croak when she sees it!  We created a blog button for Pandy and left it on her home page where you all can grab it and paste it in your "Favorite Blog" sections!  See it over there on the right??   Of course, we already have one on our "Blogs I ♥" page at The Thrifty Frog Blog!


Ms. Pandora - Out of the Box will return just as soon as she is able to get back online.   The computer is her lifeline, so please say a little prayer that whatever gremlins got into it are easily squished and that she will be back here quickly!


In the meantime, you may leave comments here or email her here and we will hop on over to her pad with your news!  Hoppy to do it!


Huge green hugs,

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Snap-Shot


I think it’s interesting that I found this picture now, while Joe is in town!

Now, Daddy MUST have been looking into the sun…he did not typically “scowl” like this!  And, yes, that little bopper is my brother Joe.  I look at this and can't help thinking that it's a picture of Joe in his "big boy" coat...that looks much like his father's.  There’s no date on the photo, but I couldn’t have been very old at the time.  The development looks pretty new with it’s sparse housing.  It also looks as if it was taken in front of their first  house which would have been at the end of the block.

I did email Chris to ask his dad (who is staying with him for this trip) to let him know that I have this picture, and would he like to have it?  But I had to scan it so I would have a copy to keep!  For ME!  Even though I’m pretty sure I was only a baby, this is a snap-shot of my world at that time.  And of the people I loved.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Makeit Simple - Orange Blossom Balls

1 12 oz. box vanilla wafers, crushed
1 6 oz. can orange juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1 c. finely chopped nuts, your choice ( I use pecans)
1 pkg coconut, flaked sweetened

1.   Crush vanilla wafers very fine. Mix with sugar
2.   Add undiluted juice and nuts. Mix well.
3.   Shape into small balls. Roll in coconut.
4.   Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Poetry Pause - Ghost of the Forest

Nestled deep within the woods
runs a line of abandoned railroad tracks--
rails now rusted,
wooden ties weathered
or missing altogether.
Tall weeds and grasses grow
giving testimony to the passage of years
since this forgotten line
was active through this woodland.
Are there quiet memories held tightly
in twisted boughs laced overhead?
Or, when stars swirl through the sky,
do they still hear the whistle
blowing through the night?

by Pandora

Manna
Spring 1993 - Volume 14 Issue 1

Sunday, April 15, 2012

We Had an Awesome Visit!


We had a great visit!  Joe and I had a good long talk during the first two hours or so (Big Bro/Lil Sis Bonding Time!), then Nancy, Chris and Mother came over and we all had lunch.  Unfortunately, I was getting tired and completely forgot to get pix of Nancy!  But, still, we laughed, and the guys "punned" until we girls groaned (my brother is the ultimate Pun Meister!), ate chicken and cake (huh?  what?  oh, I'm SURE the cake was diabetic!)...in short, we had a wonderful time together!

That being said, I'm going to take a nap now!  But I cherish these special family times.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

LOVE my big brother!


WOO HOO!  My big brother is coming this morning!

My brother, Joe, and his wife, Nancy, live on the east coast.  But they manage to come visit us in Arizona every year or so and, when they come, Joe and I take a morning where he and I visit, have a huge big bro/lil sis talk, and drink copious quantities of coffee!

Now, this is an old pic of us.  I think it was taken somewhere around 2004.  Wow.  Joe and Nancy have visited us more recently than from eight years ago when this was taken, but I’ve always liked this picture.  Even though Joe was still sporting his “80’s-style” glasses!

Joe is Chris’ dad.  Both love big band music, and both have spent/are spending time as a part time radio DJ!  There are lots of other similarities.  You can’t mistake Chris for being anyone else’s son—mannerisms, speech, strawberry blonde hair, and their warped senses of humor!

Sometimes it’s like a two-fer-one sale!  Ya know what?  I’ll take them both!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Gifts Outside My Window


After a summer storm, I open my window and sometimes see rainbows.  Prism fragments, half arcs, full arcs and, once, a double arc have combed through the sky at different times.  Not only do these beautiful ribbons of color astound me all in themselves, but often they appear and share a stage of paradox – brilliant sun with storm clouds.

Life’s journey seems to be one of traveling “along the Road of Paradox,” experiencing combinations of highs and lows, goodness with tribulation, joinings and separations, life and death.  Through it all, however, God is dependable, and one of His signature promises is the rainbow.

Looking to the sky, I find a sense of hope that the sun above can simultaneously share a heavenly expanse with dark, angry clouds.  In the same way, there is hope that the Light shines in the midst of my personal storm.  I find comfort when I see a rainbow suspended overhead – a silent promise that God has not forgotten me nor my journey.

Whenever a rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on this earth.  Genesis 9:16

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thoughts....

God must have quite a creative eye.

He spoke creation into being...
and it was good.

From "in the beginning"
through to this day,
He continues to create...

maybe not worlds and universes, but
anything new
anyone born
every Springtime....

All wear the signature
of the Master Artist.

I thank you God for this most amazing day,
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees,
and for the blue dream of sky
and for everything which is natural,
which is infinite,
which is yes.

~e.e. cummings

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Makeit Simple -- Blue Hake with Penne


Boil penne pasta, drain.  

In olive oil, sauté blue hake (or any mild fish fillet) and 1 clove garlic, minced.  Turn heat to low.

Add to fish 1 small tomato, quartered then halved; 4 thin slices onion, rings separated; 1 Clementine or Mandarin orange, sectioned; sprinkle fish with Mrs. Dash.   

Add pasta, stir and serve.

Simple!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Gifts Outside My Window


"Find a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck.”  No, I truly don’t believe that pennies bring good luck but, as a child, I pocketed each one I saw on the sidewalk.  Well ... I still do!

Today I saw a little girl who could have been me several years ago.  She almost fell over onto her nose as she stooped low and reached out her hand ... and then I heard it ... “Look, Momma!  A penny!”  Into her pocket it went!

Coins have always held a fascination for me.  I enjoy studying old coins, or those from other countries.  I can’t help but wonder what stories they could tell – whose pocket or purse they were in, for what were they used to purchase? 

Inevitably, I also think of those silver coins.  Four months’ wages.  The price of a slave.  Could those thirty coins have told me anything about Judas?  Were his hands hot or cold when he accepted them from the priests?  Did those coins sparkle in the sunlight when Judas, filled with remorse, threw them into the temple?  “I have betrayed innocent blood!”  (Mt. 27:4)  To whom did the priests hand them to buy the potter’s field?

We use money to purchase things almost every day.  The priests used money to purchase the betrayal of the very Son of God.  But Jesus purchased our means of salvation; not using money, but the Way was paid for with His blood.  How much more valuable were those droplets of His blood than any number of coins, any treasure on earth!


Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on Him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field ....  Matthew 27:9, 10 


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Wordless Wednesday -- I FORGOT!!!! :(

 What's goin' on?

 It wasn't on the calender....

 The beginning of dinner....

 Afternoon nap....

Go away, Mom....

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Poetry Pause - Amusement Park

Rides, games,
scare me, thrill me,
laughs and screams
and wheelchairs.
Children
point, giggle, smile
to watch the fun of others.
Healthy arms hold them,
their eyes shining bright
as they wait in line
for the Ferris wheel
or the train ride
or the slow boats.
Tonight
dreams of children
will shadow the stars--
roller coasters, bumper cars,
and fast, wet water rides...
All will dream.
There will be no wheelchairs
at the park.

by Pandora
Feelings--A Journal of Poetic Thought and Verse
Summer 1996

Monday, April 2, 2012

Another Special Moment


Whatever would we do without friends?  I love these three tulips--a surprise from a friend!  Now, this friend happens to live near me, but I have a number of friends who live in other states....


Thank You, Lord

Thank You for this quiet place
of gently singing trees,
for fragrances of green and earth
that carry on a breeze.

Thank You for the warming sun
that rides a blue expanse.
It shines music through these leaves
and makes soft shadows dance.

Thank You for my special friends
and, though we’re miles apart,
You nourish memories and love
that grow within my heart.

Thank You for this quiet place
of softly singing trees,
and silent tears of joy for friends --
thank You, Lord, for these.       
by Pandora

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Gifts Outside My Window

I look out my window and see that this is a beautiful day!  The morning sun is warm, a hint of breeze moves leaves on the trees, birds call and sing to each other.  This is a morning during which I watch mothers as they take their babies for a walk in the fresh air.

Babies are marvelous!  It’s wonderful to see these tiny people, new and pure to the world, with literally their entire lives ahead of them.  It’s staggering for a parent to think of days and years to come, and of what potential will unfold and be realized within their child.

More staggering, though, is the fact that God knows, right now, who they will become as they grow!  He created their very being and holds the Plan for their life.

These infants remind me that He also knows every one of us, right now, even better than we know ourselves.  So how can I not trust Him nor depend on Him?  Nothing I do or say or think is of any surprise to Him.  He created me, He understands me, and knew all about me before I was even born! 

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Psalms 139:13,14

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Journal Entry in March

...12:30...light breezes, sunny with clouds (the big, puffy kind!) and LOTS of doves calling today!...have to laugh when some of the sparrows go to feed on the ground...from the tree limbs, they fold their wings close to their bodies and drop straight down!...it's a wonder their little beaks don't get smashed flat against their faces!...THOSE little guys have FOCUS!

...it's about 70degrees and beautiful out here today...I feel beautiful...and strong...and confident...God is watching over me and I feel so GOOD!

...saw a little yellow butterfly yesterday and was reminded once again of God's voice whispering in the midst of trials, "It'll be okay.You're going to be okay."...I'm thankful for little yellow butterflies

...guess my general mood right now is optimistic...how can one not feel optimistic when there is an explosion of Life going on all around them?!...guess I'll fold my wings against me and dive right into a focus of new surroundings, new circumstances, new beginnings

...read a good quote the other day...don't remember the author:
"It is the Life in all that has value,
and the quality of the Life that determines the value."

...well, considering that the Life in me is Jesus, there's no arguing with that saying!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Makeit Simple! - Creamy Chicken and Noodles


2 cups sliced carrots
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
2 Tbsp. snipped parsley
bay leaf
3 chicken legs and thighs (about 2 lbs.), skin removed
2  10-3/4 oz. cans cream of chicken soup (fat-free, reduced sodium)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup peas
8 oz. wide noodles, cooked

1.  Place carrots, onion, celery, parsley, and bay leaf in bottom of slow cooker.
2.  Place chicken on top of vegetables.
3.  Combine soup, water, thyme, salt and pepper.  Pour over chicken and vegetables.
4.  Cover.  Cook on low 8-9 hours, or on High 4-4 1/2 hours.
5.  Remove chicken from slow cooker.  Cool slightly.  Remove from bones, cut into bite-sized pieces, and return to slow cooker.
6.  Remove and discard bay leaf.7.  Stir peas into mixture in slow cooker.  Allow to cook for 5-10 more minutes.
8.  Pour over cooked noodles.  Toss gently to combine.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

It Has Been A LONG Four-and-a-half Months!


Mid-November of last year, I had to have all (except for eight!) teeth pulled.  The drug I was taking for my Multiple Sclerosis destroyed my teeth.

I put off the decision for as long as I could.  Who WANTS dentures?  But teeth were breaking every time I opened my mouth (it seemed!). 

Sooooo, I talked with my dentist.  Fortunately, he was familiar with MS and scheduled me with some oral surgeons.  He was also upfront and truthful with me.  “I will make dentures for you, but I will NOT put them in your mouth right away.  With your MS and medical history, I want you to HEAL first.  You’ll be without teeth for a minimum of three months.  Now, if you don’t want to do that, that’s fine.  But then you’ll need to find another dentist.”

I agreed, but there were times I half-wished I hadn’t.  I was without teeth for my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s….

Well, yesterday was The Day!  I still have to go in for adjustments, but at least I can SMILE again!  For me, that's pretty important.  In fact, I never realized just how MUCH I smiled at people.  I smile to say "Hi", smile to encourage, smile to share joy, smile to express thanks, so much more.  

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~Mother Teresa