The day before Thanksgiving Holly brought Hannah and Summer over to my house for a visit and to help prepare for dinner the next day. Hannah has always been my sous chef when we prepare meals for the family and this day was no different. She helped chop celery and onion for the stuffing, she scrubbed sweet potatoes to bake for the pies, she peeled boiled eggs and mixed the yolks and other ingredients for the deviled eggs and pitched in wherever needed. Since Hannah and I are both a bit messy when we cook, Holly was a trooper and cleaned up behind the two messy girls. Little Summer ate potato chips, watched Spongebob and occasionally wandered into the kitchen for a hug or more snacks.
Our friend Cody stopped by to visit. He's a rambunctious 12 year old who livened us up. A little later in the afternoon, we took a break from the cooking and went on a golf cart ride around our neighborhood where we enjoyed the cool, sunshiney day and the breeze blowing through our hair. We had the excitment of a few dogs barking and chasing after us and a quickly weakening battery on the cart, but we got home safely and because the battery held up, we didn't have to walk home. It was an absolutely lovely time.
Thanksgiving day, my grandson Sid was moseying around the yard waiting for Summer to get here and he found a unique way to keep himself busy. He came into the house holding the front of his shirt up in his arms. The tail of his shirt was full of dark pink rose petals from my front yard. He liked them and decided to pick them and bring them in to me. I was a little taken aback when I saw them but when I saw how excited he was to bring them to me, I was touched. We didn't want them to go to waste so we fixed them for decorations for the dinner tables. I gathered up some small cut glass bowls and filled them with water, then Sid and I sprinkled the petals on top of the water where they floated beautifully. We set seven little bowls of floating dark pink rose petals around on the tables where they added a graceful accent to our dinner. They were very pretty and Sid was proud of his good work.
Our family showed up on time for dinner and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was a good day with many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for the prep day with my daughter and girls and I'm thankful for Sid's rose petal gathering. I am thankful for a delicious meal that day. I am thankful for Amy and Holly jumping in to get the final details done with dinner and all their help cleaning up afterwards. Most of all, I am thankful for peace and contentment in our home during our Thanksgiving gathering.
We know the Lord blesses us in big ways; with salvation, with protection, with heaven, but He also blesses us in small ways that are precious to my heart--lavish time spent with grandchildren, tasks successfully completed, a peaceful spirit, and time to smell the rose petals.
Thank you, Father. If you never did another good thing for me, I would still be a most blessed woman. I love you.
Suz
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
planning holiday meals
Next week is Thanksgiving and my family is coming to eat dinner with us; my daughters, their husbands and children, my sister and her family and my nephew and niece and their families--about 17 total. We'll cook lots of good food, eat too much and laugh a lot. That's how it usually is when we get together and I don't expect this year to be much different.
I'm mentally making up my shopping list for the meal, trying to get all the details straight in my head and before I forget anything, I will write it down. Gotta have it down on paper or I will forget something important. It's happened before.
I like planning for a get-together. I enjoy the hugeness of it all. Ten pounds of potatoes, ham and turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, pies and cakes. I love looking through magazines for new taste treats and watching the Food Network for something tasty and different to serve. This whole thing would be very enjoyable were it not for one special person missing--my mother.
I miss my mom a lot right now.
All the arrangements, the menu ideas, different dishes to try--that's what we did every holiday--we'd talk about and mentally prepare dish after dish beforehand. She would get so excited about some new dessert or veggie dish she'd see on television that I'd have to find the recipe for her online. She'd study it and we'd discuss how good it sounded and how we could tweak it and make it even better than the original. We did it every holiday, every year. When we couldn't discuss anything else, we could talk food. That's what we did until she died. I'd sit in the chair in her room and she'd be in her bed, and we'd watch Paula Deen or Emeril or Ina Garten and we'd cook along with them, thirty minutes at a time.
"Now, Suzy, I think if we added just a little bit more butter..."
According to my mother everything tasted better with a little more butter. Funny thing is, it usually did taste better. So, we planned, and we cooked, and we baked--if only in spirit. I can still talk a good game when it comes to food, and I daresay I can cook a little too, but the sparkle is gone right now because my cooking partner isn't here to share it with me. Maybe that sparkle will come back one day soon. I surely hope so, because when it's good, it's grand.
Here's a simple side that is different and tasty. It's one we saw on Paula Deen's cooking show and we had it for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Mama and I loved it. I hope you like it, too.
Pineapple Casserole
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 25 min
8 servings
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained
6 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1 cup cracker crumbs (recommended: Ritz)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Gradually stir in the cheese. Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
I miss my mother so very much right now but I plan to enjoy the rest of my family and these special days to the fullest this year. They are my joy and the lights of my life. The Lord has blessed me with the best family anywhere. The Lord is good and I appreciate his vast blessings to me.
Father, my heart is full with thanksgiving to you. I am a grateful woman. I love you.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Suz
I'm mentally making up my shopping list for the meal, trying to get all the details straight in my head and before I forget anything, I will write it down. Gotta have it down on paper or I will forget something important. It's happened before.
I like planning for a get-together. I enjoy the hugeness of it all. Ten pounds of potatoes, ham and turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, pies and cakes. I love looking through magazines for new taste treats and watching the Food Network for something tasty and different to serve. This whole thing would be very enjoyable were it not for one special person missing--my mother.
I miss my mom a lot right now.
All the arrangements, the menu ideas, different dishes to try--that's what we did every holiday--we'd talk about and mentally prepare dish after dish beforehand. She would get so excited about some new dessert or veggie dish she'd see on television that I'd have to find the recipe for her online. She'd study it and we'd discuss how good it sounded and how we could tweak it and make it even better than the original. We did it every holiday, every year. When we couldn't discuss anything else, we could talk food. That's what we did until she died. I'd sit in the chair in her room and she'd be in her bed, and we'd watch Paula Deen or Emeril or Ina Garten and we'd cook along with them, thirty minutes at a time.
"Now, Suzy, I think if we added just a little bit more butter..."
According to my mother everything tasted better with a little more butter. Funny thing is, it usually did taste better. So, we planned, and we cooked, and we baked--if only in spirit. I can still talk a good game when it comes to food, and I daresay I can cook a little too, but the sparkle is gone right now because my cooking partner isn't here to share it with me. Maybe that sparkle will come back one day soon. I surely hope so, because when it's good, it's grand.
Here's a simple side that is different and tasty. It's one we saw on Paula Deen's cooking show and we had it for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Mama and I loved it. I hope you like it, too.
Pineapple Casserole
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 25 min
8 servings
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained
6 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1 cup cracker crumbs (recommended: Ritz)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Gradually stir in the cheese. Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
I miss my mother so very much right now but I plan to enjoy the rest of my family and these special days to the fullest this year. They are my joy and the lights of my life. The Lord has blessed me with the best family anywhere. The Lord is good and I appreciate his vast blessings to me.
Father, my heart is full with thanksgiving to you. I am a grateful woman. I love you.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Suz
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
heartburn
I had an endoscopy today. My gastro doc put a camera down my esophagus to my stomach to see what he could see. Personally, I didn't want to do the scope even now, but I'd put it off as long as I possibly could. I have been suffering with heartburn for ten years. Yep. Ten.
Trouble was that I'd tried recently to go off of the Prilosec and each time I'd feel terrible because of the heartburn. I was becoming concerned. At least now I know I just have chronic heartburn. Yippee. That makes me feel better.
The nurse who prepped me for the test asked me some questions about my history and when I told her how long I'd suffered with heartburn she asked me, "Why did you wait so long to check it out?" Before I could answer she said,
"Never mind. I suffered with plantar fasciatis in my feet for three years before doing anything about it. I know how so much time passed before you did anything. Women just deal with stuff on a daily basis without paying much attention to the time." I wonder how much better we might feel if we'd just go ahead and take care of our health issues as they pop up.
Another nurse set me up in the procedure room where she put my oxygen canula over my ears and the openings in my nostrils. As she hooked the tubing over my ears she said,
"Nice ears."
I laughed thinking she was making a joke.
"No, really. You have nice ears. I do this everyday and some ears are flat, some sticky-outy, but you have nice ears."
"Thank you."
It's funny what we notice about people.
My test went off rather uneventfully and without a hitch. The doc took a couple of biopsies and said they didn't look bad but we'd know for sure in a few days. I'm waiting hopefully for the official good report. Then I guess I continue with the meds.
I had a test, it came out well, and I am thankful. I guess everyone has something and mine is heartburn. Without it or with it, God is good.
Suz
Trouble was that I'd tried recently to go off of the Prilosec and each time I'd feel terrible because of the heartburn. I was becoming concerned. At least now I know I just have chronic heartburn. Yippee. That makes me feel better.
The nurse who prepped me for the test asked me some questions about my history and when I told her how long I'd suffered with heartburn she asked me, "Why did you wait so long to check it out?" Before I could answer she said,
"Never mind. I suffered with plantar fasciatis in my feet for three years before doing anything about it. I know how so much time passed before you did anything. Women just deal with stuff on a daily basis without paying much attention to the time." I wonder how much better we might feel if we'd just go ahead and take care of our health issues as they pop up.
Another nurse set me up in the procedure room where she put my oxygen canula over my ears and the openings in my nostrils. As she hooked the tubing over my ears she said,
"Nice ears."
I laughed thinking she was making a joke.
"No, really. You have nice ears. I do this everyday and some ears are flat, some sticky-outy, but you have nice ears."
"Thank you."
It's funny what we notice about people.
My test went off rather uneventfully and without a hitch. The doc took a couple of biopsies and said they didn't look bad but we'd know for sure in a few days. I'm waiting hopefully for the official good report. Then I guess I continue with the meds.
I had a test, it came out well, and I am thankful. I guess everyone has something and mine is heartburn. Without it or with it, God is good.
Suz
Sunday, November 9, 2008
finding God
We sing this beautiful chorus in church:
The more I seek you, the more I find you.
The more I find you, the more I love you.
I wanna sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand,
lay back against you and breathe. Feel your heartbeat.
This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace. It's overwhelming.
When we sing this song, it's as though all the cares of the day fall away and as I do what the song says, worship follows. Seeking God. Finding him. Loving him. Sitting with him. Accepting what he gives with his own hand. Resting in him. Saturating in his love. In the midst of this worship, I melt into his perfect peace.
It doesn't get any better than this. So why do I often struggle in setting aside time from my busy day to find this peace and rest. There is nothing more important than spending time with the Lord to be strengthened and renewed and yet it seems like an indulgence. It's as though my heart wants to stop but my mind says that the time would be more productive spent running errands or doing laundry. How foolish!
There is no errand, no laundry, there is nothing so important that worship should take second place, or third or fourth place. My mind goes a million miles a minute worrying about one thing or another. A sick or brokenhearted friend. Financial woes of another friend. Trouble in a family member's household. My health. Your health. The list goes on and on...and that's the problem. There is no help for these issues in worry and fretting. There is no help for these things from trust in false gods, false doctrines, or solutions the world gives. Real help comes from trusting the Lord Jesus with all these things.
The Lord does not play games with our needs. He doesn't hide, making us work to find Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. When we find Him, we love Him. The Lord is easy to be found. Refreshment for our weary minds and hearts is there for the receiving.
Oh Father, I want to lay back against you and breathe. I want to feel your heartbeat. Help me melt in your overwhelming peace. I love you so much.
Suz
The more I seek you, the more I find you.
The more I find you, the more I love you.
I wanna sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand,
lay back against you and breathe. Feel your heartbeat.
This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace. It's overwhelming.
When we sing this song, it's as though all the cares of the day fall away and as I do what the song says, worship follows. Seeking God. Finding him. Loving him. Sitting with him. Accepting what he gives with his own hand. Resting in him. Saturating in his love. In the midst of this worship, I melt into his perfect peace.
It doesn't get any better than this. So why do I often struggle in setting aside time from my busy day to find this peace and rest. There is nothing more important than spending time with the Lord to be strengthened and renewed and yet it seems like an indulgence. It's as though my heart wants to stop but my mind says that the time would be more productive spent running errands or doing laundry. How foolish!
There is no errand, no laundry, there is nothing so important that worship should take second place, or third or fourth place. My mind goes a million miles a minute worrying about one thing or another. A sick or brokenhearted friend. Financial woes of another friend. Trouble in a family member's household. My health. Your health. The list goes on and on...and that's the problem. There is no help for these issues in worry and fretting. There is no help for these things from trust in false gods, false doctrines, or solutions the world gives. Real help comes from trusting the Lord Jesus with all these things.
The Lord does not play games with our needs. He doesn't hide, making us work to find Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. When we find Him, we love Him. The Lord is easy to be found. Refreshment for our weary minds and hearts is there for the receiving.
Oh Father, I want to lay back against you and breathe. I want to feel your heartbeat. Help me melt in your overwhelming peace. I love you so much.
Suz
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