From Phillip Keller's A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23; "...only those who have been through such dark valleys can console, comfort or encourage others in similar situations. Often we pray or sing the hymn requesting God to make us an inspiration to someone else. We want, instinctively, to be a channel of blessing to other lives. The simple fact is that just as water can only flow in a ditch or channel or valley-so in the Christian's career, the life of God can only flow in blessing through the valleys that have been carved and cut into our own lives by excruciating experiences. For example, the one best able to comfort another in bereavement is the person who himself has lost a loved one. The one who can best minister to a broken heart is one who has known a broken heart. Most of us do not want valleys in our lives. We shrink from them with a sense of fear and foreboding. Yet in spite of our worst misgivings God can bring great benefit and lasting benediction to others through those valleys."
Have you read Phillips Keller's lovely little book?
Encourage one another, Donna
Monday, July 30, 2012
Katie and I just got home from the dog park with Ginny. I can hear her panting behind me.
She got along very well with the other dogs and people. A+
She does not come when she is called. D
I even brought smelly, delicious treats, but even that did not entice. It was only when she was very tired and was milling around with the other tired and hot pups that Katie was able to nab her.
We kept the leash on her and walked out of the park that way. She was fine with that arrangement by that time. She had used up a lot of energy. A little white puppy chased her round and round :o)
The other dog owners were friendly and very nice.
They all get a A+ too :o)
It will be a REALLY nice place to go when it is COOLER out.
Sure wish there was a lake dog park like in Chicago....that water was a special treat!
Ginny definitely needs a fenced in area tho....I will not be letting her run wild any time soon.
So it goes from the Dog Reporter,
Donna
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Hello Saturday.
Hello dance class and Starbucks.
Hello farmers market and swimming pool.
Hello blog-sistahs!
Ice Venti. Nonfat. Seven Pump. Chai.
My favorite thing to drink.
I was in the mood to take pictures. It was pretty dark out...past the gloam. Way past.
Cute story.
About a week ago Patrick and Katie and Ginny and I Skyped with Matthew and Melinda and Asher.
On Thursday Melinda texted me to tell me "Asher keeps saying, "Yaya Puter".
That made me super happy.
It's too hard being apart from family.
I won't think about that now.
I'll think about that tomorrow.
Have a happy weekend!
Encourage one another,
Donna
p.s. My spell check does not know the word 'texted'. Get with it, huh?
Friday, July 27, 2012
Flash Back Friday
Olympic Edition
I had this picture on my bulletin board in 1972.
How I loved tiny Cathy Rigby.
In 1972 I could do a back handspring.
My friends and I practiced all summer.
My arms were not especially strong and I remember bouncing off my head over and over.
Olga Korbut was spectacular on the uneven bars. Flipping like no one else!
This was 1972.
And then came Nadia Comeneci
Nadia's grace and strength was so special.
The girls now are manly strong. Wait until you see the routines this year. The girls basically do men's high bar routines on the uneven bars. It is shocking how strong they are. These little girls.
There is no room for gentle grace any more. Even the floor exercise is on springs and the routines are ALL power flipping. I don't find it as enjoyable as the dainty sprites of long ago.
The pretty is gone from the sport.
Cathy and Olga and Nadia.
I remember you.
My best Olympic heros.
Donna
Thursday, July 26, 2012
In Columbia Missouri sits an honest to goodness Dive. It is called Mugs Up. I think they make their own root beer hence the name. But that's not what my family likes. we like the loose meat sandwiches. I think if you get one with cheese you call it a Cheese Zip. (I hope Cindy will correct me. )
Sue and Cindy and I went to Mugs Up a few years ago...
Here it is.
From what I remembered Janice has made Mugs Up at home. (I'm just gonna call them Mugs Up..that's what we do.) I pestered her for the recipe on FB. Cindy chimed in to say that she had the recipe from the newspaper. Tuesday the recipe came in the mail. Snail mail. Go Cindy!
Yesterday I made them.
Cheesy Loose Meat Sandwich
1 1/4 pounds ground chuck
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Cheez Whiz to bind or to taste
4 buns (soft)
onion
mustard
hamburger dills
Brown the meat. Drain the grease. Add chicken stock.
Season the browned meat with paprika, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
(At this point I added dried mustard and a big tablespoon of butter because Janice said so.)
Simmer for 15 minutes to reduce liquid. When liquid is reduced add about 2 heaping T. Cheez Whiz.
Mix.
You done.
Scoop the meat onto a soft white bun.
Add more melted Cheez Whiz, chopped onions and pickles on top of the meat.
(Apparently I was suppose to put mustard on it. I forgot and it didn't bother me at all.)
It went splendidly.
Now, I did not look at the picture of the real Mugs Up until this morning. It is more mushy.
Since the recipe does not say how much Cheez Whiz to add to the cooked meat, I was very tentative.
I used about two tablespoons of Cheez to bind. I was so afraid if I made them too cheezy Patrick and Katie would not like them.
As it turned out, they both liked them and ate them. (They had their Mugs Up plain. Just meat and bun.)
Around here this is a huge success.
All three people eating the same food at dinner.
Shocking.
This is a very small recipe. It only makes four sandwiches.
It was really and truly delicious.
I'm not sure how much it tastes like the real thing...cause it's been a few years. But it was tasty and easy and a big HIT around here!
Come Halloween, this will be my pumpkin. I am delighted that I have a plan.
I have alerted Katie to this fact. We will have to find googlie eyes.
We've got time.
Somehow... I need to make a room look like this.
Do you love wallpaper? I do. It came and went and came and went out of fashion. I think it's making a comeback.
Do you remember the scene in Tootsie when Tootsie and Julie are lying in bed talking about the wallpaper in her childhood bedroom. I do.
It is a very tender, lovely scene.
Emma is headed to Omaha today to visit Melinda and Matthew and Asher.
Our grass is growing and it is long and green and messy and it is beautiful.
I think I will go and get my driver's licence renewed....I'm only nine months late with it.
Ginny is sleeping so I can blog without interruption. I'm happy.
Life is beautiful especially when it's shared. At least that's how I feel.
Thank you for being here.
Encourage one another,
Donna
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Today I will post my 3000th blog post.
When I started blogging on Jan. 1, 2004 95% of the people I knew did not know what a blog was, they had never even heard the word. It was a little embarrassing even mentioning it.
A few of my Well Trained Mind friends had started blogs. The two I most remember that started before me were Carmon author of Buried Treasure and MFS author of Mental Multivitamin. They both did such a beautiful job with their blogs that I decided to give it a try.
I had a purpose and I know I would never kept going for this long if I did not have that purpose and remind myself of it when I felt weary.
In 2004 we attended a church where I was not allowed to serve because I was not a member. That was the rule and I respected that. However, I very much wanted to encourage women to love their husbands and children. Elisabeth Elliot spoke over and over on her radio show about how we older women needed to encourage the younger women. Since I could not do this in my community, I formed my own little community on my blog.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands. ~1 Thess. 4:11
I was able to link my blog from The Well Trained Mind website so many friends for the forum came by and started reading. I shared my blog address with my sisters and brother. Hey! My blog was even in a magazine one time; Homeschooling Today.
I wrote very pure, earnest, serious posts for many, many months. They were the real me, but I must admit I was careful not to offend.
Then I confessed that I liked to watch TV. Like Chance the Gardner from Being There.
Since then I have let people in on that nutty, tv watching, fashion loving side of myself, too.
I have tried not to complain too much and believe that I must never speak smack about my spouse.
I have been blessed by kind and thoughtful readers.
I have learned from, been comforted by and laughed at comment after comment.
Sharing my life on this blog, with you, has been remarkable.
With you.
You are the key.
When I want to quit because I feel boring and redundant, Stephanie yells at me in big capital letters that I am not allowed to quit.
So if you like it here...you have Stephanie to thank. I can not let her down, younger woman that she is.
I have loved sharing poems and quotes and scriptures, fashion, movies and songs.
Sharing my joys and happy times has been a blast. Graduations and weddings, babies and vacations.
All great, great joys and blessings.
When Suzy got that horrible brain tumor and died so quickly my heart broke as did my spirit.
Your prayers and words of love and support and encouragement helped me more than you will ever know.
You prayed when I could not and I will never, never forget it.
And so I will go on, I guess.
I don't know what I would do without you.
I would miss my girlfriends:
The young moms and faraway friends, the homeschool buddies and the blog-sistahs.
You have encouraged me over and over. I hope I have done that for you once or twice.
Thank you!
Love you.
Mean it.
Donna
Favorite Quotes about writing.
"There is one type of writing, however, that may have more to offer than most movies. It is called personal writing, or writing that comes from within, carried out because you have a personal need to explore or share your experiences." ~Writer's Inc
"Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it,...and, above all. accurately so they will be guided by its light." -Joseph Pulitzer
First Recipe
Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams. I have altered her recipe by adding cauliflower for some variety.
Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad
1 bunch broccoli 1 head cauliflower 10 slices bacon 1/3 cup raisins 1 large red onion 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
Chop up broccoli and cauliflower. (Eight cups all together.) Fry bacon and set aside. Chop onion. Combine broccoli, cauliflower, onion, raisins and bacon. Whisk together mayo, sugar, vinegar, and pepper. Pour dressing over vegetables. Refrigerate. Top with sunflower seeds.
Often prayed and quoted poem;
For Our Children Father, hear us, we are praying, Hear the words our hearts are saying, We are praying for our children. Keep them from the powers of evil, From the secret, hidden peril, From the whirlpool that would suck them, From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them. From the worldling's hollow gladness, From the sting of faithless sadness, Holy Father, save our children. Through life's troubled waters steer them, Through life's bitter battle cheer them, Father, Father, be Thou near them. Read the language of our longing, Read the wordless pleadings thronging, Holy Father, for our children. -Amy Carmichael, from "For Our Children."
****
A poem for me and Katie
Us Two
Wherever I am, there's always Pooh, There's always Pooh and Me. Whatever I do, he wants to do, "Where are you going today?" says Pooh: "Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too. Let's go together," says Pooh, says he. "Let's go together," says Pooh.
"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh. ("Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.) "I think it ought to be twenty-two." "Just what I think myself," said Pooh. "It wasn't an easy sum to do, But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he. "That's what it is," said Pooh.
"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh. "Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me. We crossed the river and found a few- "Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh. "As soon as I saw their beaks I knew. That's what they are," said Pooh, said he. "That's what they are," said Pooh.
"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh. "That's right," said Pooh to Me. "I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh, And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo! Silly old dragons!"- and off they flew.
"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he, "I'm never afraid with you."
So wherever I am, there's always Pooh, There's always Pooh and Me. "What would I do?" I said to Pooh, "If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said: "True, It isn't much fun for One, but Two, Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. "That's how it is," says Pooh. -A. A. Milne -from Now We Are Six
Wisconsin love:
If a man can't be happy on a little farm in Wisconsin, he doesn't have the makings of happiness in his soul. -Nick Engelbert (1881-1962), farmer-artist
Go Pack Go
*****
The way we were...
Anthems
Love Wins. Add to the Beauty. What happens Matters....
Encourage one another, Donna
Monday, July 23, 2012
Once upon a time in Lincoln Square...
there was a beautiful cat named Digs.
The wind blew in from the lake and it was glorious.
It was the best I have felt in months while being outside.
Ginny had the time of her life.
She was entirely and completely in heaven at the Montrose Dog Beach.
Dear Wisconsin,
Do you have a dog beach?
Love,
Mother of Moon Doggie
I LOVE the action in this picture.
In fact, it's about my favorite Instagram in a long time.
Well. I like the one of Katie from Saturday too.
We all got such a kick out of all the dogs playing and swimming and being so good and happy.
I was especially fond of the pair of Great Danes we were sitting near. Amazing creatures.
Andersonville is one charming area. This couch is outside of Brimfield on Clark.
I urge you to visit this store. It is my favorite store in the world. It's like walking into a magazine or Pinterest page.
The wind blew in the windy city and then it stopped blowing and it felt like the hot summer again.
And I cried and cried.
But the yogurt place had air conditioning so I did not die.
I will forever remember our first visit to the dog beach and the cool wind and the happiness.
That's what I will remember.
I will say without reservation.
A good time was had by all.
The End.
Donna Elsie
Saturday, July 21, 2012
We found the most wonderful dog beach.
I'll tell you on Monday where it is.
According to Ginny....it's heaven.
Enjoy!!
Donna
Friday, July 20, 2012
Flash Back Friday
Fashion Edition
My favorite styles come right out of the 50's. Those feminine dresses. Those full skirts and tiny waists.
Oh how I love them all.
I am very sure my love for these clothes was influenced by the movies.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Encourage one another,
Donna
P.s. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving the sweetest comments. It would be awfully lonely without each of you.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Good morning!
It's seems to me that surfing the internet and reading blogs is on the downswing. At least with the people I know.
(Apparently Blogher doesn't feel the same way.) There are so many ways to connect now that even my sisters don't have time to stop in every day. And that's okay. I love them anyhow. :o)
But I have found a few blogs that have inspired me; one for the gorgeous styling and photography and the other for their clever product and styling.
The first is called La Tartine Gourmande
Jep aka Judy sent me the link to this blog and I fell in love instantly.
Mostly due to this picture and others just as lovely.
(photography taken by Gabriel Ryan, design by Jesi Haack)
***
I am also using the internet and Pinterest to find recipes quiet a bit.
Do you want to know something funny? One of the very first books written about blogging was called.
"No one wants to know what you had for lunch." (2006) haha
How very wrong that was.
Food blogging is the HUGE.
