Who's "Who" Is Your Who?

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies



• She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness

It's that time of year again. The silly season when we easily get so caught up in the prep work--cleaning, cooking, decorating, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, going to work parties and club parties and church parties and church services and family gatherings and on and on and on..that we forget the "Who".

No, not the "Who" down in "Whoville".

The real "Who".

As in, "Who are we doing this for in the first place?".

"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and mete out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

"Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?" Isaiah 40:12-13

You know. THAT "Who"

For unto us a child is given. Right?

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no beauty of comeliness: and when we shall see hime, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah
56:1-6

I love this time of year--cooking, the decorating, the presents, the lights, the busy-ness. But as I catch myself being overwhelmed by my inablity to do more and to be more, I'm trying to remember to take some time out to remember who my "Who" is. Not just during advent, but whenever I found myself distracted and caught up in the whirlwind that is life.

He's my "Who". Who's Your Who?

Until next time...

Life on the Farm is Kinda Laid Back...

Well, technically, it isn't a farm. It's my parent's camp, but it's on family land that used to be a farm.

It's where my parents go to relax...


...and watch the wildlife...

...like this wild turkey...

They usually travel in packs, but that day we spotted only one.

We did find this teeny, tiny little lizard, basking in the sun...

on an overturned porch swing.

I think he tried to ignore us...

but we we were sitting about 10 feet away, so I don't think he could.

He finally tired of the spotlight and hid out on the light string under the porch rail.

Until next time...

What's Cookin' With the Bloggerette Sorority!

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies


• She rises while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens...
  
  
  

Remember the fun we had last year with the bloggerette sorority? It's been a while since I've participated in any of the parties with my fellow sorority sisters, but I clicked over on the site to see their new look, and found a "What's Cookin'?" party that seems just right up my alley.

Some of you may know that I have a cooking blog--one that's been neglected even more (if that's possible!) than this one in the last few months. If so, this post will look familiar--if not---well, here you go!

This is one my favorite and most impressive (to me, anyway!) things I've cooked in a long time. So sisters--sit back with your favorite coffee or tea or big glass of ice cold milk and big ol' slab of this most delectable cake. It's not figure-friendly, but it will definitely put a smile on your face.

Enjoy!
There's a thrift store in our little town that holds a bake sale on the first full weekend of the month, run by the ladies from the local Mennonite church. They always have such good things--pies, cakes, and cookies, along with breads and even homemade freezer meals. One of our favorites was always an Italian Cream cake, but as with lots of other things in this economy, the bake sale items have just about priced themselves out of my comfort zone. So I decided to try my hand at baking one of these luscious goodies myself.

The recipes I found all called for egg yolks in the main batter, then beating the whites separately and folding in. Since "quick and easy" is my middle name in the kitchen, I am not much of a multi-step, multi-bowl baker. Recipes that call for beating the egg whites and folding them in seem scary and overly complicated, so I just kept on looking until I found one that called for whole eggs just plopped in the batter like the regular cake recipes I am used to making.

Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 c buttermilk


• 1 t baking soda


• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened


• 1/2 c shortening (yes it takes butter and shortening)


• 2 c sugar


• 5 eggs


• 1 t vanilla


• 1 t baking powder


• 2 c all purpose flour


• 1 c coconut


• 1/2 c chopped nuts

1. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and set aside


2. Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy


3. Add vanilla and eggs--1 or 2 at a time, mixing well in between.


4. Add buttermilk, flour, baking powder, and coconut, until combined


5. Stir in nuts


6. Pour into greased cake pan(s). I used two 8 or 9 inch rounds.
   
   Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven, 30-35 minutes (if you use a tube pan, it will take longer) or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean
   
   

Allow to cool completely before frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 
  
  8 oz cream cheese, softened


• 
  
  1/2 c butter, softened


• 
  
  1 t vanilla


• 
  
  4 c powdered sugar


• 
  
  2-4 T cream or milk


• 
  
  1/2 to 1 c coconut


• 
  
  1/4 to 1/2 c chopped nuts

1. Cream together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla


2. Add powdered sugar and mix well, adding cream or milk as needed for desired consistency.


3. You can add coconut and nuts into the frosting if like, or sprinkle on top like I did

I almost messed up by thinning my frosting just a bit too much--I usually make sheet cakes that I don't even take out of the pan, or tube cakes, where a softer frosting is better to drip over the sides. This time, though, I wanted a nicer presentation in the form of a layer cake, and when I made a soft frosting, as usual, I had a little trouble trying to keep it from sliding off the sides. Next time I do a layer cake, I'll remember to make the frosting a little stiffer.

Since I was trying to make a pretty cake, as well as a delicious one, I wanted to use my pedestal cake platter. To keep the plate or platter clean while you're frosting the cake, put down a layer of strips of parchment or wax paper.

Then put the first layer on top of the paper strips. Make sure you have enough sticking out from under so that you can pull them out afterwards.

Frost the cake as usual, then sl-o-o-o-o-w-ly pull the paper strips out from under the edges.

I was so impressed with myself for making this cake--completely from scratch, and a layer cake, at that! Maybe I'll change my middle name from "quick and easy" to "made from scratch"!

Be sure to visit some of the other bloggerette sorority sisters and see What's Cookin' with them.

Until next time...

I Got My Big Fat Check, How About You?

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies


• She looketh well to the ways of her household

Anyone remember the post I did a few months back about shopping online through Ebates?

Well, guess what? I got my big fat check for this quarter! $19.38! Yippee! It's not a lot, but sure does come in handy to get a rebate from something you'd be buying anyway.

Click on the link on the top line to read all about how you can sign up through one my referral links, and save money for both of us!

Until next time...

Crepe Myrtles in Bloom

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies


• with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard

It's that time of the year, here in the South, that the crepe myrtles are blooming.

Right in the middle of the summer, when the heat is at it's worst, and the drought still has no end in sight; when the gardens have started dying and other flowers are drooping from heat exhaustion--suddenly, the crepe myrtles burst out in all of their array of colors.

The one in my mom's front yard always blooms at least a couple of weeks ahead of mine. (Hers gets full sun, and mine are really not planted at the optimum place in my yard, they get too much shade from the oak trees.) But just when I think mine are going to give me just a couple of measly little flowers, they show up--just a bit late, but beautiful, nevertheless.

Mine are the traditional "hot pink" fuchsia color...

but variety is the spice of life, and crepe myrtles come in a variety of colors, from lavender...

to white...

to light pink.

They come in different shapes, too, according to how they're pruned, from a loose, airy look...

to one that's more tightly shaped.

Which are your favorites? I think I like them all!

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Until next time...

Garden Update, July 10th

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies



• ...with the fruit of her hands, she planteth a vineyard

I have not been very virtuous lately, even in the garden. Especially in the garden. Partly because of this...

I took this about 10:00 one morning, maybe even earlier. Already 90. Degrees. Fahrenheit.

Some days my air conditioner can't keep it cool even inside the house. On those days I'm miserable inside and out. And it shows, too.



Fortunately, most of my container plants are very forgiving. They droop, and shrivel, and close up leaves to preserve moisture, but all it takes a good drink from the water hose and they perk right back up.

I wish I were that resilient, don't you?


Some things, like this morning glory, have foliage but no blooms, but it hangs in there. (That's a periwinkle at the base, giving it at least a touch of color.)


Other things, like these lilies, come back up year after year. The top fell out of this tree six years ago with Hurricane Rita blew threw, but it continues to leaf and put out new branches, and the lilies--my husband even burns them over every couple of years, and they come right back and eventually give us the most brilliant, if short-lived, blooms.

And of course the garden....by far the star of this spring/summer garden are the cherry tomatoes.


The heat has made every one's tomatoes smaller than usual, and these are no exception, but they are by far the best tasting tomatoes I've ever had--I'll definitely plant these Sweet Cherry 100's again.

Can you see how many still-green ones I have? I've had a few that split, but most are perfect and sweet.

Watermelon vines are taking over the end of their bed...

and I actually have a couple of melons--one the size of a softball...

...and one more suitable for golf!

And while my water bill has more than doubled...

at least I can turn it on and let it go!

Meanwhile, how is your garden growing?

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Frugal Gardening 101 at Cents to Get Debt Free, Amy's Finer Things, and Smockity Frocks

It's Raining!!

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies


• ...with the fruit of her hands, she planteth a vineyard...

Yesterday in the wee hours of the morning I woke up to one of the most beautiful sounds in the world---that of rain hitting the roof and pouring off onto the ground! It's been literally weeks! We were about 20 inches down in total rainfall for last year and this one--gardens and pasture and crops have dried up and shriveled on the vine, and we've had at least a month of temperatures in the high 90's and low triple digits.

But not today. Praise the Lord! The high so far today has been in the 70's. Yesterday we got almost 2 1/2 inches at our place, that good slow, stop-and-start kind that lets it a lot of it soak in instead of running off. And it's raining again, today, too! Yippee!

Yesterday morning, off my carport...

...and out back toward the garden and one of the cow pastures...

I couldn't resist trying to snap a picture of the rain dripping and running off the roof of the back porch...

...and of water still standing on the brick walkway.

...even puddles in the driveway, and a birdbath, filled with fresh water that didn't come out of a hose!

I'm getting cherry tomatoes by the handfuls, but the cucumbers are still dying off, one by one. I'm tempted to just pull them up and wait until the fall, but I think I'll wait to see what the rain and a couple of days of cooler temperatures does (if anything) to revive them.

Meanwhile, I'm listening to the hay meadow across the road--I think I can hear it growing as we speak!

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Frugal Gardening 101 at Cents to Get Debt Free, Amy's Finer Things, and Smockity Frocks