still hoping

“To love means loving the unlovable. 

To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable.

 Faith means believing the unbelievable.

 Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

~G.K. Chesterton

Still hoping and waiting,

Donna

Poppy Seed Bread

My dear quilting friend posted a recipe for a nice loaf of bread....
I wanted to make it.  But, alas, there is NO YEAST left on the planet.

So I decided to make a quick bread.
I had all the ingredients except butter flavoring.

I checked out what Target had in the baking aisle.

The whole section was empty.
Every flavor....gone.

I asked my resident baker if he thought it would be okay without it.
He said yes.

And so.....

I share with you a delicious, throw back recipe. 
This is from my sister Cindy.


Poppy Seed Bread

Preheat oven 350°
grease and flour two loaf pans


3 cups flour
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder


3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cooking oil
2 1/4 sugar
1 T. poppy seeds

1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 t. almond flavoring
1 1/2 butter flavoring


Mix wet ingredients, add dry ingredients, mix for 2 minutes on medium.

Bake 1 hour.  Check at 50 min

****

Now make the glaze.

1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. butter flavoring
1/2 t. almond flavoring
1/2 t. vanilla


Stir and pour over hot bread.


Cool- remove from pan.
wrap and refrigerate. (I don't do this)

I just love the glaze on this bread.  I made 1/2 the recipe...but used almost the full amount of glaze.
I should have just gone with it and used it all. 



What are your quarantine favorites?

What are you five must haves?  desert island foods?


Encourage one another,
Donna

Unspeakable love

There is a sacredness in tears.
They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.
They speak more eloquently than 10,000 tongues.
They are messengers
of overwhelming grief,
of deep contrition,
and unspeakable love.

~Washington Irving



It has been ten years since Suzy died.  I want to tell you about her sons and her grand-babies but that causes me the overwhelming grief spoken about above. 

How I wish.....


She is always on my mind and forever in my heart.
Beloved sister.


Love you, Mean it
Donna Elsie

Gladden the hearts of those who travel with us....

My friends, life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts

of those who travel with us, so be swift to love and make haste to be kind.

And may the blessing of the One who made us, 

and the One who loves us, 

and the One who travels with us, 

be with you and those you love this day and always.

Amen.

~ Adapted from Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)gl

Encourage one another,

Donna

p.s. The baby above is Asher but he reminds me of River in this picture.  

Holy ground is here.

"No matter where life takes you... the place where you stand at any moment is holy ground.  Love hard and love wide and love long, and you will find the goodness in it."

~Susan Vreeland



Encourage one another
Donna Elsie

Will. Rise.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

~Victor Hugo

Encourage one another,

Donna

Blinded by the Light..a delightful movie

This is a great, fun, sweet movie....with amazing music... :o)

It is free on Amazon Prime.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Hear our prayer, Lord.

View this post on Instagram

Since so many of us are missing our Sunday services or traditions, sharing these prayers written for my church this morning. Sending a hug to all.

A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie) on Mar 22, 2020 at 10:52am PDT

I stumbled upon this last night and I think it is calming and beautiful.
I am going pray with them every day.

Hear our prayer, Lord


Donna

just love

“We must be careful with our lives, for Christ's sake, because it would seem that they are the only lives we are going to have in this puzzling and perilous world, and so they are very precious and what we do with them matters enormously.”  

~Frederick Buechner

Encourage one another

Donna

Easter Blessings

"The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies."

~Kate McGahan

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."

~Lady Bird Johnson

God bless you, this Easter day.

I hope,

Donna

There is a hope.

We have lost most of the things that help us celebrate

the Easter season: Church services, lilies, choirs singing, dinner with family.

But that does not stop what happens in our hearts as we reflect on what Jesus has done for us....

and how we will respond to that love.

I think it's kind of good.

Love

Donna

Unforgettable

“I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people KNOW more... though I know that IS the noblest ambition... but I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me... to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born.” 

L.M. Montgomery


I love to share what I see and hear.  It's grown up show and tell.  The good parts.  You know.

I got it from my mom.  She delighted in nature and loved to point out the ducks that flew into our pool or the mesmerized deer on a winding road in northern Wisconsin. She wore tap shoes to parties and laughed the loudest.    She made things pleasanter.
She added joy and beauty just by being herself.

It's her birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom.


"Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, that's how you'll stay"


Encourage one another,
Donna Elsie

You need this today, don't you?

Have a listen to this sweet story, kind words and pretty cello.
Thank you Brad Montague for adding to the beauty.






Encourage one another
Donna

p.s. Brad is the author of the Kid President series that we all love so well.

Slice of heaven

My cousin, Paul, mentioned the following quote in his sermon last Sunday.
I know you all will love it.



“Every time I wonder who I should love and for how long I should love them, God continues to whisper to me: Everybody, always.”

~Bob Goff



Isn't it incredible?
Remarkable?

To see people all across the nation doing this thing,
this unselfish thing, this sheltering,
for someone they do not know.

In our divided country, people have become their best selves because of this crisis.
They are sacrificing so that others may live.
Putting others before self.

Whether it is going to work so others may eat.
Going to work so others may breathe.
Going to work so that others may live.
Staying home to make the way easier for others.


I am so thankful to ALL who are choosing to love others.


It is a slice of heaven I never imagined I'd see.


Encourage one another
Donna


****

34 “Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; 36 naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? 38 Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’

40 “And I, the King, will tell them, ‘When you did it to these my brothers, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 25

Pray for New York

Join me in praying especially for the people of New York today.

Help.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Joy on purpose.

"We made a choice to do joy on purpose. Not in spite of life's sorrows. But because of them." 

~Katherine Center

It's a constant head game to keep the bad thoughts away.

I am choosing to fight the gloom with positivity.  

I glob on to stories about potential treatments, stories of flattening the curve, 

stories of people encouraging people and stories of charity toward others.

I nearly had a panic attack yesterday at Target.

My heart was racing and I was afraid my breath was short and I darted away from anyone I saw.  

I'm a chicken.  It's true.  

I applaud the medical workers who walk into a 'burning building' day after day.

God bless you all.

But I do come home and breathe...

I listen to another doctor on youtube on how to be safe.

I read another article on how it is contracted....

and I pray for the people on my bathroom wall list and the prayer goes on and on from there.

My mind is set.

I will choose joy.

Encourage one another,

Donna

p.s. thank you for the quote Jep

Encourage one another!

Melinda shared this with me today!  Isn't it wonderful and inspiring?

We are replacing scary negative thoughts with positive encouraging thoughts and it really works!

Love and prayers,
Donna

What happens matters.

Katie is finally home.

I am thankful that this little chick is in our cozy nest.

March

The sun is nervous

As a kite

That can't quite keep

Its own string tight.

Some days are fair

And some are raw.

The timid earth

Decides to thaw.

Shy budlets peep

From twigs on trees,

And robins join

The chickadees.

Pale crocuses

Poke through the ground

Like noses come

To sniff around.

The mud smells happy

On our shoes.

We still wear mittens,

Which we lose.

John Updike

One day at a time,

Stay home.

Save lives.

What happens matters.

Love you guys,

Donna Elsie

We can be Heroes!!!

If we all do our part we can be Heroes.

Stay home. Save lives.

God bless those of you who are on the front lines.

We will stay home to try to ease your burden.

You are the big heroes.

We are the little heroes.

But heroes, none the less.






From Melinda:

Today I join you all in trying to balance the details of this new life.

I am lucky to still be working. I am proud to be a nurse, and happy to go take care of mamas welcoming new babies into the world. Even if it looks a little different today than it did a few weeks ago. And I never planned on having my school aged children home 24/7. I never planned on homeschool, or social distancing, or the anxiety of not knowing what I may be walking into with my hospital nursing job.

But. We can do hard things.

I tell my patients this a lot. When labor gets hard, and they want to quit. We can do hard things. Especially for our babies. We can do hard things.

So, today. I remind myself of this. This is going to be hard. This is going to be stressful, but we have to show each other grace. This is going to be stressful, but we have to be active in forgiveness. This is going to be stressful, but we must practice patience. This is going to be stressful, but we have to be kind. This is going to be stressful, but the sun will still rise tomorrow. This is going to be stressful, but we will do our best.

We will do our best. We can do hard things.

And we don’t have to do them on our own. We are all doing this together. With our family, with our friends, with this sisterhood of other women and other mamas next door and around the world. We are entering into this great challenge, this great responsibility, with an entire world of support.

And how lucky are we? To have fridges full of food, and access to world class healthcare, and warm houses, and books, and electronic devices for learning and entertainment. We have yards in which to play, and roads that are safe for travel.

And we have so many helpers. The grocery store workers, the delivery drivers, the farmers, and manufacturers, the civil servants, the teachers, the healthcare workers. They are all working and adapting and helping us along the way.

Am I sacred? Yes. Am I uncertain? Absolutely. Am I stressed? A little. But am I still oh so very blessed? More than ever. I am holding onto faith. I am practicing joy. I am searching for peace.

We are doing our best. Because we can do hard things.


*****
Thank you Melinda.  Just perfect.

Yes.  I love that....We can do hard things.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Wait and hope

"Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and

never forget that until the day when God shall deign to

reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in

these two words, -- `Wait and hope.' 

Your friend,

"Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo."

This is Finlandia sung by Cantus

Isn't it the most beautiful song....


1. This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

2. My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.

3. This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms:
Thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
And hearts united learn to live as one.
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations;
Myself I give thee, let thy will be done.

Text: vv. 1-2 Lloyd Stone (1912-1993), v.3 Georgia Harkness (1939)
Tune: FINLANDIA 11 10. 11 10. 11 10, by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)


I just spotted this on Facebook and thought I'd pass it on.
Thanks Tom Faller....old friend from Marinette :o)

Waiting and hoping with the whole world.
Donna

Encourage one another.

I wish you love.

Some encouragement from Pope Francis during these difficult days:

“Tonight before falling asleep

think about when we will return to the street.

When we hug again,

when all the shopping together will seem like a party.

Let's think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other.

We think about when it will be all a memory but normality will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift.

We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us.

Every second will be precious.

Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts, laughter.

We will go back to laughing together.

Strength and courage."

Encourage one another,

Donna