Esther's Heavenly Dipped Strawberries

You are going to love me for this!

I don't very often post about recipes but when I do, it is because I've found something too good to keep to myself. Remember that Hot Fudge Crockpot Cake? There you have it.

This week I remembered something I learned years ago. I can't believe that I hadn't done this in awhile. When we were in our 20's (just a couple of years ago) our little family moved to Issaquah, Washington. Mike was going to college there and  we knew we'd be there for a couple of years.  It was a big adventure but we didn't know anyone in the area.  Not to worry. One of the first things we did was find a church home. That is one of the best places to make new friends!

It was at church that we met an older lady named Esther. Although we felt we were a long, long way from little Turner, Montana, we'd found a piece of home in our new church clear out in the Pacific Northwest. You see, as it turns out, Esther was also from Turner, Montana! She had moved away many years before but we knew her relatives and she knew Mike's relatives. That felt so good! In fact, the "shop" at Mike's family's farm had been an old schoolhouse, moved a few miles to their property when Mike was a little boy. Esther had taught in that little building...or maybe she'd been a student in it, I'm not sure I remember the story exactly but she had some sort of connection to that building. 

Anyway, considering how small Turner is, we had not expected to meet anyone in the Seattle who knew where it was. Esther became a sweet part of our time there. She gave us many gifts and had us over for supper...things like that. This "recipe" comes from one of our meals with her.

OK, are you ready for this?

Wash some pretty red strawberries. Put some sour cream in a nice little bowl (Maria, I bet vegan sour cream would work wonderfully well), along side brown sugar. hold a strawberry by it's leafy top and dip it first into the sour cream and then into the brown sugar. Taste and enjoy!  That's it! That's the recipe to delectable bliss!

On a less than healthy note, I discovered that if you have left-over sour cream and brown sugar in your bowl at the end, you can stir it up together and use it as a dip with potato chips for a wonderful sweet and salty experience. It may not be good for you in any way, but it is yummy!

  

Thrifting and Mall Lunch and Floating the River

Yesterday I do believe I made good use of my day off. I did do some laundry, bought a few groceries and did a teeny bit of cooking, but otherwise I just had fun.

Sam came with me and we met up with Maria and Elise for some thrifting.  Cordelia was having a play date with her preschool teacher, Teacher Gwen. She was sooooo excited and felt so special to be invited to the teacher's house (or maybe she invited herself...not sure)! 

Anyway, Elise found a hat she needed.

FYI, she is wearing clothes that Maria wore as a baby.

Sam was a good sport and tried on

some fun things. I had his photo here but decided maybe

he would not appreciate that.

I will definitely save the photo, though, in case

I need to blackmail him someday.

Cordelia was back with us in time for mall lunch.

She had some fun at the little indoor playground there.

Actually, one little girl was kind of rude to her.

Cordelia is baffled by such behavior.

She went right up to an adult man and asked him why his

daughter was being mean to her!

He very kindly told her that girl wasn't his daughter so Cordelia

headed toward an adult woman to ask the same question.

Maria and I intervened. 

Elise doesn't know that she is smaller than Cordy.

She just takes off and plays like the big kids now!

 When Grandpa arrived, both girls wanted him!

By lunch, Cordelia was beat.

She was sad.

She said she missed Teacher Gwen.

After the mall, Mike and I had a river date.

It was our first float of the season!

 We have a new raft!

I think Mike missed the old way we rafted

but I think we looked cooler in this new raft.

It was a good day.

Turning the Pages of My Photo Album

It is my day off and I decided to start it by opening up my digital photo album.

Flying Babies!

Babies are everywhere! Baby birds I mean.

Have you noticed? It is that time of year when baby birds are taking flight... sort of. I've noticed some aren't so very good at it. We had a baby blue jay in a corner of our back yard for a couple of days. His parents were very attentive but it worried me that he stayed on the ground so long. Thankfully, Bode isn't much of a bird dog. He was oblivious. I wondered if this guy was one of the attentive parents.

I also had a baby robin plop against our front window one day when I was sitting nearby. She clung to the little lip there for a long time. I could hear her parents encouraging her as well. Finally, she made a quick jump to a nearby tree.

The worst is all the baby birds that fly as far as the middle of our street. They are slow to take off so when I am going to work in the early morning I feel like I'm braking and braking and braking.

They are so cute, though! Babies just are, aren't they? 

Anything But Love

You know how some scents or maybe a song can take you back to a different place and time? For instance, the smell of Dove soap takes me right back to my Grandma Rose's house. I love Dove soap for that reason! Do you have things like that?

Well, lately Mike and I have been taking miniature trips back to 1989 and on into the early 90's. We lived in Montana and Mike was pastor at his first parish. Our first year there I was able to stay at home. It was an especially sweet time with Ben, our second oldest. He was 4 years old and I loved that year of getting to focus on time with him. Several years later I was able to stay at home another year when Sam was a baby.

During those stay-at-home years I also got to see more of Mike. We were living in a church parsonage, only a block from our church. One of the nice things about that was that Mike could easily walk home for lunch. Before he went back to the church for the afternoon, we'd turn the television on and watch this show:



Do you remember that series? For Mike's birthday this year, I ordered some DVDs of the show. Holy Cow! There are a LOT of episodes on just a couple of DVDs. Mike and I are chipping away at them a little at a time.

I'm not going to tell you this show is especially edifying or anything. However the characters are quirky and fun and we are entertained. The best part of watching them again, though, is just spending that time together and walking through those memories of a different time. Those weird little strings of shared memories are part of what is sweet about growing older (I'm not saying "old" yet) together. I like that.

I Still Believe

I Still Believe 

Jeremy Camp

(Click on title to hear song on YouTube)

Scattered words and empty thoughts / seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before/ seems I don't know where to start
But it's now that I feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip, washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness / I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word / even when I don't see, I still believe

Though the questions still fog up my mind / with promises I still seem to bear
Even when answers slowly unwind / It's my heart I see you prepare
But it's now that I feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip, washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness / I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word / even when I don't see, I still believe

The only place I can go is into your arms / where I throw to you my feeble prayers
In brokenness I can see that this was your will for me / Help me to know you are near

I still believe in your faithfulness / I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word / even when I don't see, I still believe

28 Words About Ben

 

Thoughtful

Kind

Jocular

Goofy

Smart

Fun

Adventuresome

Insightful

Imaginative

Amusing

Boisterous

Dashing

Bold

Handsome

Popular

Affectionate

Good-Hearted

Amicable

Brainy

Astute

Gifted

Imaginative

Versatile

Enterprising

Suave

Honorable

Ethical

Loved

Happy Birthday, Ben!

We are so proud of you.

We miss you.

 We love you!

On Guard

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I just thought you might want to see a different view of my new haircut.

OK, now on to my problem of the week... gossip! I'm talking about those sneaky little situations that pop up and catch you off guard. 

I bet that any of you who have ever worked in a place with a lot of other employees, or maybe with just one other employee, have found yourself standing in the midst of turmoil.  You know what I am talking about, don't you? One person leaves the room and the others start talking about them. It usually is not talk wrapped in kindness. I hate that! I hate it even more if I realize it came out of my own mouth!

The thing I hate most about this is that it is soooooo easy to get sucked into the conversation! I want to be ON GUARD for this. I don't want to even give the appearance of confirming the mean things people say about each other. It is hard to do, though! It is easy to forget who I want to me in such a situation. It takes almost no effort to just ride along with the conversation. It is wrong, though.

I'm trying to prepare myself for such moments. Maybe then I will remember to say helpful words. I have decided that it is usually our own low self-esteem that makes it so tempting to bring others down. That really complicates the whole situation. How do you stop a gossipy situation from progressing without making others feel reprimanded or further demeaned themselves?

I am trying to come up with some set responses, things I have in my head and can access easily in the heat of the moment. Do any of you do this? Do you have any great ideas for me? I really think it is possible to do this and to get others to follow a more positive track in a discussion!

So, give me some ideas. If someone is saying snippy things about Mary Louse (I don't really know any Mary Louises) can I just interject something positive about her, such as "Mary Louise did a nice job cleaning off the desk this morning." ? In the moment I may not come up quickly with something positive that is unique to the situation or person. How about, "We all struggle with that sometimes, don't we?" That may work for a more wide variety of conversations.

I need some help here, people! Please give me some more one-liners that I can tuck into my little head. I want to have encouraging, kind and positive ways to do this. Give me some ideas!

While I wait for your responses, I'm going to memorize the following verse. It was in my daily e-mail message from KLOVE today and it really fits into what I've been needing lately.

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.

~ 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NLT