Cranberry Chutney

I never thought much about cranberries and Thanksgiving dinner until I found a recipe for Cranberry Chutney. Pre-recipe, cranberry "sauce" appeared as a can-shaped block, complete with ridges from the can. After trying Cranberry Chutney, I never looked back.

Among many other ingredients, the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice. In the early years, I bought small jars of both. But because both are used sparingly (if at all) in anything, I found that I was throwing away tasteless jars of powder the next time Thanksgiving rolled around.

Enter mortar and pestle, whole cloves and whole allspice. Not only did I learn a new technique, I discovered the joy of very fresh spices. My beloved chutney was elevated from wonderful to
fa-a-a-a-a-bulous!

There are two quarts of freshly made chutney in my fridge right now. I like it best when it has a few days for each flavor stop shouting its own name and learn to blend its voice in that "fabulous" harmony.

Oh... life is good. And I am so thankful.

I hope for you a Thanksgiving filled with the blessings of God... from small things like chutney to the greatest of all, salvation.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever. I Chronicles 16:34

Instructions for life

I read this quote a few weeks ago -

"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Talk about it."

The quote is from a woman far from God. No person intent upon living a holy life would emulate her lifestyle. And yet, as I read these short statements, I was amazed at how perfectly they capture the way every christian should live!

antique German tiles

Pay attention - Do you notice the hand of God upon your life? Do you see the blessings that fill your minutes, hours, days? Do you read His Word and find guidance for your life? Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (Psalm 119:18)



acquired on a recent trip

Be astonished -  It is astonishing that the God over all is aware of us, works in us. Aren't you amazed that God's grace is freely given to you?  "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh on me..." (Psalm 40:17)

Talk about it - Do you? Do you talk about what God does in your life? Do your friends know how that verse you read today has impacted your thinking, your actions? Do your kids know what you saw God do today? Is He the passion of your life that you can't keep to yourself? "In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name forever. Selah." (Psalm 44:8)

"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Talk about it."

Catching up

The last few weeks have been filled, edge to edge, with wonderful moments. I 've been so busy living them, I haven't blogged them. Today is the day to start the catch-up process...

Our annual church bonfire was amazing. Every year the flames go higher and the question is raised... Do you suppose the astronauts on the space station can see this?

Note the tiny people on the right. That's as close as anyone could get to the heat!

We celebrated two family birthdays. The time has come when the chosen desserts won't hold the correct number of candles, so we use as many as will fit. Hmmm... mini bonfires?

two cherry cream pies!

Gramma's reward for making pie just for him.

There has to be time for guerrilla art. I'm still having fun finding new ways to use the time cards and the library file cards. 

 

 

There's more... but, bread needs to go in the oven, dinner needs to be on plates...

You know how it goes.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. III John 2

Patience prolonged

After waiting the full 90 days, it wasn't too hard to delay the exploration of my paper bundles for another 5 days. Late Saturday night, I cut the wires and started digging through my treasure.

It was still damp (even after 5 days in the house) so I peeled the layers apart and laid them all over the workroom to dry. My first impression? *sigh* At least it wasn't labor intensive.

Yesterday, I started sorting the dry papers. Some went straight to the wastebasket. Others, though they don't look like much, hold some promise with a bit of manipulation. A few, just a few, were worth the wait.

Interesting color bleed from the book covers

A weathered edge that might add texture to a project?

This tattered piece was my favorite.

Rust patterns from the wires holding the bundles together.

The book covers that were the center support for the bundles showed the most change.

Yards of lovely rusty wire. I hope it's malleable.

I'm not overwhelmed with visions of beauty in the making... but there's always hope. For a person who hates to throw anything away... this is a monumental challenge.

I hear that winter is going to be very harsh this year. That's OK. I'll be hunched over the work table trying turn bits of paper into bits of beauty. Time will tell if it works.

Check with me in 90 days. *grin*

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Psalm 119:18

Today is the day

Today is the day that we hit the road for a mini-getaway together. Pennsylvania is the main goal, Mama's on the Half Shell (MD) the anticipated highlight, and lots of wandering back roads along the way.

My purse is packed with guerrilla art. Lots of new venues await me.

 This is also the day that the bundles of weathered paper comes inside to start a new life. Because of "this is the day" #1, the excitement of "this is the day" #2 is being done in stages. The bundles are in the house... I will open them after shopping, eating, resting, wandering.
 

I'm am seeing some lovely edges though. Can't wait to dig deeper.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Joy in the trees

Did I mention that I love October? Every year I end up taking pictures of the beautiful colors that fill the trees in the yard. It soothes my soul... speaks to my heart... makes me thankful...

These are all SOOC. I couldn't think of any way to improve on God's handiwork. The only thing that could improve the view is if you were here, beside me, taking in all this beauty.

... the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

A paper-y October

In between bacon, multiple birthday celebrations, and the sheer love of October *sigh*, it's all about paper here. While bundled paper disintegrates at the speed of weather...

now only 6 days to wait

other papers are being changed... from plain and coffee stained tags to guerrilla art.

Add to that few cards here and there.

I do love October. 

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth:

make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Psalm 98:4

And we have BACON!!!

That's right! Today was the unveiling of the home cured bacon experiment. I thought I had to wait another week before the curing was complete, but I read the directions again  and discovered I was wrong. It said -

1).Remove meat from salt/sugar mix. (The dry mixture that was packed around the meat turned soupy by the end of the week.)

The top layer came off in crusty chunks.

2) Rinse the meat in cool water to remove any residue.

3) Cut the bacon into thin slices.

I added  one more step... DO AN IMMEDIATE TASTE TEST!!!

Although it was very salty (Soaking the meat in cold water for at least an hour will reduce the salt level), it was unbelievably good.

I didn't really have much confidence in this recipe a week ago. It was more a "why not?" when I actually took the step to order the pork belly. But... with results like this? I will definitely do this again... and again...

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until  the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6