Varia
I just wanted to pop in and relate a few items.
The leaves are all down now here at crazyacres. What I notice most is the ability to now see the positively gorgeous sunsets, formerly hidden by the trees. It seems as if God designed nature in such a way as to offer a consolation of new beauty when a different beauty is lost to the change of seasons.
I also notice how I can see things that were hidden to me all summer. Lost toys, lawn ornaments (I have a beautiful cement owl that gets swallowed up by the hosta all summer. I can see his little self once again), neighbors, and even the beauty of the shapes of the actual tree brances. I think of my life, as it progresses, now into my 40's, that charactor traits in myself and others are much more visible to me now than they were when I was in the full bloom of my 20's. I realize I have alot of life to go yet (God willing), but I can see one of the advatages of aging is clarity. Something to look forward to!
Also, just an aside, we had a great day in school today. The beginning of the second quarter, and we had our first day the really "CLICKED", smoothly, and didn't feel as if I was pushing a large boulder up hill. Thank you God.
And, in my thrift store perusing today, I found two large sets of silverware (actually, stainless steel) for $11.00. We have a lot of company, and I am always running out of silverware or resorting to plastic utinsils. This is more attractive, more useful, and cheaper in the long run. I also got 2 very pretty and high quality artificial pine swags with pine cones and red berries and twigs for $1.61 each. I plan on putting them over my icon wall in the living room, and the prayer space in my icon studio, for the Nativity fast and Christmas season. Yea! I love thrift stores.
Then, to top off the successful day, I made a quick trip to our local, brand new, beautiful Aldi, and got food for the week, including two roasted chickens for dinner tonight. They sell these yummy thin frozen green beans, which I roasted, and have fruit coctail in a jar that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it. Add that to left over stuffing and gravy, and we had a great, quick, and inexpensive dinner. Again, thank you God. Plus, like I said, food for the week, and I only spent $80 on it all. Keep in mind I have a pretty well stocked freezer and pantry, so that will be supplimented, but still. Thank God for Aldi. It would be so difficult to feed our large family with out those stores.
For those wondering why we had chicken during the Nativity Fast, I will confess we do a modified fast rather than the fast like the one of Great Lent. We do the fasting Monday, Wednesday and Friday, best as we can. But, as always, I am looking for good recipes that are fast friendly, so if you have any, share, please! So far our fasting dinners seem to all be soups or stews, and I am specifically looking for dinners not of that type. I can't even think of one at this time.
Anyway, I'm still here, plugging away at my life.
God's choices blessings to you all~
The leaves are all down now here at crazyacres. What I notice most is the ability to now see the positively gorgeous sunsets, formerly hidden by the trees. It seems as if God designed nature in such a way as to offer a consolation of new beauty when a different beauty is lost to the change of seasons.
I also notice how I can see things that were hidden to me all summer. Lost toys, lawn ornaments (I have a beautiful cement owl that gets swallowed up by the hosta all summer. I can see his little self once again), neighbors, and even the beauty of the shapes of the actual tree brances. I think of my life, as it progresses, now into my 40's, that charactor traits in myself and others are much more visible to me now than they were when I was in the full bloom of my 20's. I realize I have alot of life to go yet (God willing), but I can see one of the advatages of aging is clarity. Something to look forward to!
Also, just an aside, we had a great day in school today. The beginning of the second quarter, and we had our first day the really "CLICKED", smoothly, and didn't feel as if I was pushing a large boulder up hill. Thank you God.
And, in my thrift store perusing today, I found two large sets of silverware (actually, stainless steel) for $11.00. We have a lot of company, and I am always running out of silverware or resorting to plastic utinsils. This is more attractive, more useful, and cheaper in the long run. I also got 2 very pretty and high quality artificial pine swags with pine cones and red berries and twigs for $1.61 each. I plan on putting them over my icon wall in the living room, and the prayer space in my icon studio, for the Nativity fast and Christmas season. Yea! I love thrift stores.
Then, to top off the successful day, I made a quick trip to our local, brand new, beautiful Aldi, and got food for the week, including two roasted chickens for dinner tonight. They sell these yummy thin frozen green beans, which I roasted, and have fruit coctail in a jar that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it. Add that to left over stuffing and gravy, and we had a great, quick, and inexpensive dinner. Again, thank you God. Plus, like I said, food for the week, and I only spent $80 on it all. Keep in mind I have a pretty well stocked freezer and pantry, so that will be supplimented, but still. Thank God for Aldi. It would be so difficult to feed our large family with out those stores.
For those wondering why we had chicken during the Nativity Fast, I will confess we do a modified fast rather than the fast like the one of Great Lent. We do the fasting Monday, Wednesday and Friday, best as we can. But, as always, I am looking for good recipes that are fast friendly, so if you have any, share, please! So far our fasting dinners seem to all be soups or stews, and I am specifically looking for dinners not of that type. I can't even think of one at this time.
Anyway, I'm still here, plugging away at my life.
God's choices blessings to you all~
posted by Renee at Tuesday, November 27, 2007
5 Comments:
Maybe I should be looking for clarity instead of feeling gloomy every time I see the barren mountains here...
Thanks for giving me a new perspective! ;o)
Do you really want ME to offer you any recipes? BWAHAHA
So, Lisa, have you decided to laugh about it now? 'Cause you know it's up to you, and until then, I am not bringing it up!!
Good shopping! And, I love seeing the beauty of Fall through your eyes.
Have I already passed on to you our vegan/vegetarian burrito recipe? We really enjoyed this last Great Lent, and are now enjoying it again. It's very cheap and easy, and if you add cheese and sour cream, the leftovers make a great dinner for a non-fast day. Anyway, I can't remember if I already gave it to you, so here it is, possibly again:
1 c. chopped onion
6 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. olive oil
1 7-oz can chopped green chiles
1 can refried beans
1 1/2 c. of salsa (any kind)
2 cups cooked rice
2 cans of black beans
1 cup corn (I use frozen)
3-4 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. cumin
salt, to taste
In a large pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onion is soft. Add green chiles, and let cook 3-4 minutes (until onion browns). Dump the rest of the ingredients into the pot, and cook until heated through. Serve with tortillas and, of course, guacamole:-). I've also used this to make chimichangas by filling some tortillas, wrapping them up, brushing them with oil and baking them until they're crispy.
I have to laugh about it. What else could I do? :o)
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