insanity

I've only had British tea biscuits once. They're like our shortbread cookies only excessively flat. And I don't think I've ever seen them for sale in the US. Anyhoo, the day after Prince William's wedding, the local paper ran an article about the cake he requested for the wedding. It's called a biscuit cake, and they provided the recipe.
I actually tried it yesterday. Kind of. We don't have British tea biscuits here, and the only dark chocolate I had on hand (which I thought was dark chocolate so didn't buy any at the store) was actually Baker's unsweetened chocolate. So combined my chocolate with some semi-sweet morsels. After all, dark chocolate simply tastes like barely sweetened cocoa. So needless to say, my version wasn't exactly what the recipe called for. Nevertheless, it's okay. Perhaps if I had the proper ingredients it might taste a whole lot better, but I seriously doubt I'll try it again. After watching this video, (which uses a different pan and the parchment in a much easier way), I decided to post it instead of the News & Observer's article. http://blogmyway.org/videos/2011/05/03/royal-chocolate-biscuit-cake/

But I branched out and tried out, despite its outcome. Kudos for that! :)

day 2

Day two was HOT! We started at 5pm, were thankful when Tim (Bobby's brother, Sammy's dad) showed up to help. Things started moving a little faster then. He could hold the boards in place a little better and I pulled boards to the sawhorse to have them ready for nailing/cutting while they put finished doors in place. All said, we "finished" (as in 96% done and the chickens can use the house) about 9:20pm. My legs are coated in 'skeeter bites (that's mosquito bites, for non-Walker County,  AL people), and I'm trying REALLY hard not to scratch but not having a whole lot of luck!

Other than the fact the chickens slept on top of the nesting boxes instead of on top of their roosting posts, I think they're going to be quite happy in their house. If not, they can just get over it.

step one

When we got home Saturday evening, we were pleasantly surprised with all the progress made during the day.

Nesting Boxes BEFORE:

 

Nesting Boxes AFTER:

 

Roosting Post BEFORE:

Roosting Post AFTER:
 

And a side view:

Since there wasn't time to finish, we simply placed a board over the gateway from the house to the pen. The chickens were most unhappy about this development, pecking at the board, piling up four high trying to get inside. But this is how it remained until day 2 of work began.

upgrades are coming!

 the chicken pen & house

 Bobby talking with our neighbor, Todd

 Bobby's nephew Sammy nailing boards.

And Sammy measuring boards.

Not that exciting, you say?  Perhaps not. But it will be. Starting tomorrow, you will be surprised. :)

reality 101

This past weekend I overheard a conversation where a daughter was very upset with her sister. It was a typical childhood situation where they're looking into the future, but the parent's response almost made me gasp. She gave her daughter a hug, reminded her that she needed to pray for her sister, that as God continued to sanctify and change her sister into being more like Him then the problem might rectify itself.

I don't think I even knew the word sanctify or sanctification at that age. I'm even more impressed that the mother recognized the heart of the matter. Addressing an argument about what might/might not happen in the future was truly futile. Helping a sister recognize 1) the need to pray for others 2) not everyone has the same strengths and personality traits and 3) only God can change a person is absolutely wonderful.

And while neither Mom nor daughter were aware, that conversation ministered to me.
So many times when I look in my spiritual mirror, I don't like what I see. (That's not a whole lot different than looking in my physical mirror, to be honest.) Sometimes it seems we focus so much on becoming more Christlike and "changing" that it's discouraging. I feel as if I'm in a never-ending cycle of failure.

It was so refreshing to hear a scenario play out where people looked at the possibilities and the improvements and the not short-comings and failures. It was a reminder that I'm to do my part but then not stress out over anything else. In short, I need to quit trying to do God's job. There's freedom in that. I can quit worrying about the journey and instead focus on today's portion of the trip. And if you've ever traveled with me, you know that means LOTS of stops at rest areas. :)

hump day

During after-school band practices, our band director would always call us up to his tower for a "word" before we called it a day at 5pm.  On Wednesdays, he would always say, "Weeellll, we've now made it past hump day."
Sometimes the arrival of noon on Wednesday scares me. The week's half-way point has arrived and my idea of what is to be done is still mountainous. Other times it comes and inwardly I mentally pump my fist and shout for I'm really getting stuff done.
Today though feels a bit different. I'm at the end of a tunnel. :)
Two months ago today I was very frustrated and a tad overwhelmed. I thought if I could just make it to this week then things would be peaceful and I could drop dead in exhaustion. But then I went and fell. Not once, but twice.  As if having a swollen kneecap and football-size/shape bruise on my abdomen wasn't enough, I had to add an egg-sized, bruised knot on the other knee, mis-align my pelvic bones, and fracture my elbow. I just THOUGHT my life was hectic. Sewing, cleaning, gardening, raising biddies...everything came to a screeching halt. We switched into coping mechanism and made it with the help of family and friends.
And now? Everything (bone-wise) is back in place. My elbow joint is "frozen" (it can bend but doesn't want to) but we're slowly making progress with exercise and therapy on that starts tomorrow. The sewing? Friends pitched in to help and we bought quite a few costumes. The quilting? Ummmm, we're making great progress. Our deadline is Sunday, June 5th. Ask me more about that later. Gardening? We've scaled back.
My house is now a wreck; the ironing pile overflows. (But that would most likely have happened even without the injury.) Weddings? All done. Travel? Sadly finished as well, though it's good to be home. And during the midst of it all, my Mom had surgery and my hometown was ravished by a tornado. And me? I was stuck here, unable to go or help anyone. Reality is, being away and not being able to do anything but pray was probably the best thing, the thing they needed the most.
I'm now back to just life: grieving with a friend who lost her Dad, praying for a friend whose Dad is dying, checking on my Mom whose health is a daily struggle, sorting through things in my mind, attempting to sift through truth and fiction, running errands for people, and wishing the process of sanctification wasn't quite so difficult or everlasting (from earth's perspective).
I can't tell you that through the humility of not being able to comb or fix my own hair, drive, write my own name, eat right-handed, or sometimes even get dressed without help that I grew in grace and wisdom. I was extremely frustrated and aggravated. But even in the midst of a trial where I semi-failed, I can sigh with relief that it's over and truly exhale. God's mercies are NEW EVERY MORNING! And because of that, I can focus on today, and not yesterday. Hump day, indeed! ;)

chatter

Scottymania has hit Garner. Big time.

Our town has a population of about 24 or 25,000.  We had 30,000 here for the Scotty parade on Saturday. That doesn't include the 500 waiting at the radio station at 8am, nor the lines at AT&T or Lowe's Foods where he worked. I think it's sweet that stores are putting "Go, Scotty, Go!" on their billboards or "We love you, Scotty!" It's nice that our town is behind their own.  When I saw the sign at Timber Drive Elementary, where he attended school as a child, that was neat. And then you see the sign at the YMCA, Heather Hills Clubhouse, the red and white painted sign with some crazy message about country music on the side of the road propped up against the trailer park mailboxes, and it becomes a little bit funny.

But then you go somewhere. Doesn't matter where. Church, Target, the gas station, a restaurant, the gym, the Garner Republicans meeting, and EVERYBODY is talking about Scotty...how proud they are, how awful Gaga is/was, how he's such a level-headed kid, how awesome it was to hear a young person talk about God, to share his faith, reminding people to vote!  You'd think it was election year, but without the mud-slinging.

And I'll watch with a little trepidation what I can on Wednesday night. I want to see how they portray my hometown. I know they made him re-do his entrance at Garner Senior High, and they DID allow him to go to his prom after all, and he posed with his half-empty jug of Bojangle's Sweet Tea near the airport, but will they show that? Will they show the tract his church passed out with his testimony? Will they hear him quoting Bible verses from his devotions or talking about his youth pastor? Will they air his meeting with Josh Turner and his comments that one of the things he admires the most about JT is his faith?  Somehow I fear those things will not be shown in Hollywood. But 30,000 people heard it. Everyone who watched WRAL heard it.

And I'll join the throngs in voting in 2 nights. No, I won't stay up late and vote a gazillion times. But I am proud of our 17 year old local kid for being a David in a Goliath world. And if for no other reason, even my mother-in-law who is (16 by her count, but that breaks down into at least 3.5 scores plus if you use the old English way of counting) quite adept at texting is voting. And she'll ask, like everyone at the gym, did you vote?