Monday Musings with Willie

Monday Musings is hosted each Monday by Barbara at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers

We enjoy watching the show Monk, repeats now.  We watched last night and the episode Mr. Monk and the Re-Headed Stranger was on again.

Today I offer the best Willie Nelson quotes from that episode.

Monk walked onto Willie’s bus and the following conversation takes place:

Mr. Monk: Do you smell that.
Willie: Un, no, I don’t, and you don’t either.
Mr. Monk: I don’t either.

Then still on the bus:

Adrian Monk pulls out an old record.

Willie: Where in the world did you get that? I haven’t seen that one in a long time.
Mr. Monk: Ah, I have ‘em all. And if you could just—if you could make it out to Trudy.
Willie: Sure.
Mr. Monk: She worshipped you. On our first date, we went to see one of your shows. It was the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Willie: Yeah, I remember y’all. You were sittin’ on this blue blanket.
Mr. Monk: Really?
Willie: No, I’m just kiddin’.

Daybook for June 29

FOR TODAY June 29, 2009…

Outside my window… we are having triple digit heat as the heat wave continues.

I am thinking… of how great my house will look once I’m finished organizing/decluttering!

I am thankful for… a husband who makes me laugh!

From the learning rooms…we going to finish with school this week!

From the kitchen… egg and cheese biscuits.

I am wearing… lightweight gray cotton.

I am creating… goals, plans, dreams and schemes. 

I am going… to be so happy once the weight (burden)/wait is over!”

I am reading… Front Porch Tales by Philip Gulley and Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money — That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not by Robert T. Kiyosaki

I am wishing (praying/hoping)… to get a blessing, to be a blessing!

I am hearing… summer locusts, birds, the dryer tumble, and Songs of the Civil War, and children.

Around the house… purging, deep cleaning every room, every closet, every shelf, every cabinet, every drawer, every inch!

One of my favorite things… is waking up early and watching the sun come up in the cool morning air while enjoying a good “cupa coffee” after a great night’s sleep.  AND having the energy to get something accomplished before noon!  :)

A few plans for the rest of the week: sewing lessons, swimming, JULY 4th, and the library.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing…

More Daybooks here.

Sings My Soul on the Highway to Heaven

  

I love bluegrass gospel, I love old time preaching, and I love this song!

HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN
by The Rochesters

The old preacher man stood there in the pulpit,
The church house was empty almost;
His eyes filled with tears, his mind filled with memories,
Of not so long ago.

When the church house was full, not one pew was empty,
The altar was stained with Saints’ tears;
As he stands there this morning and sounds out the warning;
Once again letting them know.

There’s a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun;
The way is still straight, there’s a race to be run.
You can live as you please, but you must pay the cost;
And the highway to Heaven still goes by the cross.

Some of the members thought he was “old fashion”,
Unwilling to change with the times.
So they found a new church with more modern day preachers,
Who were willing to let things go by.

But the old preacher stood for what he believed in,
And what he had preached forty years;
As he stands there this morning in a near empty church house,
His opening remarks are these words:

There’s a Heaven to gain, and a Hell to shun;
The way is still straight, there’s a race to be run.
You can live as you please, but you must pay the cost;
And the highway to Heaven still goes by the cross.

You can live as you please, but you must pay the cost;
And the highway to Heaven still goes by the cross.

Friday Fill~Ins

And…here we go!

1. She had a great __smile and great hair!  It’s hard to imagine a world without Farah or MJ___.

2. __Jesus___ is by my side, always.

3. I know this: __you can’t always choose your circumstances but you can choose  a better life than a bitter, negative, and narsistic existance; because life is too short to be that miserable.  ;)___

4. _She was just a moonshiners daughter but he loved her____ still.

5. These words apply to me: __
“I never saw a purple cow;
I never hope to see one;
but I can tell you anyhow;
I’d rather see than be one___.”
                                   ~ Gelett Burgess

6. __She stretched out her lean frame upon the lawn, tossed her golden locks back, turned her face to the sky, and heaved a heavy sigh because after a long winter, finally___ the sun was shining.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to __doing NOTHING___, tomorrow my plans include ___reading__ and Sunday, I want to __go to church___!

The Perfect Apple Pie

I found this recipe in the Kraft Food & Family magazine a few years ago.  I’d always wanted to make a pie from scratch, and this lived up to it’s name!   
 
 Prep 35 min.   Total 1 hr. 25 min

2 1/4 c flour
1 c shortening
5-7 T ice cold water
6 c thinly sliced peeled tart apples – about 4 large (I used jonathan, granny smith, and red delicious)
3/4 c sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1.  PREHEAT oven to 400 (I used glass dish) F.  Mix flour in large bowl.  Cut in shortening using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2.  ADD water, 1 T at a time, mixing lightly with fork (don’t over mix pastry!) until flour mixture is evenly moistened and clings together when pressed into a ball.  Divide dough in half; shape each half      into a 1/2 in thick round.  Wrap each dough round in plastic wrap; refrigerate 10 – 15 min.

3.  MEANWHILE, toss apples with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg in large bowl; set aside.   Place 1 dough round between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap; roll out dough with rolling pin to flatten slightly, working from center of dough to edge.  Turn over; continue rolling until dough round is about 2 in larger than diameter of inverted 9 in pie plate.

4.  PEEL off top piece of plastic wrap; invert dough into pie plate.  Peel off remaining piece of plastic wrap; press dough evenly onto bottom and up side of pie plate, (I used pie tin to press it in.) being careful not to stretch the dough.  Trim any excess dough hanging over edge of the pie plate with sharp knife or kitchen sissors; reserve trimmings.

5. FILL with apple mixture; set aside.  Roll out remaining dough as directed; place over filling.  Trim top crust about 1/2 in. beyond edge of pie plate.  Fold edge of top crust under edge of bottom crust; pinch edges to form a ridge.  Flute edge.  Cut several slits near center of pie to allow steam to escape.  Ise small cookie cutters to cut out decorative shapes from the top crust or the leftover pastry trimmings.  Arrange on top of crust.  Brush top crust with beaten egg (for a golden brown top) and sprinkle with 1 T granulated sugar (for sparkling top).  Place foil over the edge for 1/2 of
the cooking time.  Bake 45 to 50 min. or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. 

Cool.
    
     Makes 8 servings

13 Thursday 13s

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In honor of reaching 100 blog posts, here are 13 of my past Thursday 13s!  As fate would have it, there are EXACTLY 13 past TT posts.  Cool, huh?

1. 13 Ways to Say “I Love You”.
   
2. Thirteen Beautiful Words
3. Thirteen Blessings
4. Thirteen Irish Blessings and Proverbs
5. Thirteen Reasons to Love Easter
6. Thirteen Things I Loved About my Elopement
7. Thirteen Beans (Favorite Bean Dishes)
8. Thirteen Wildflowers
9. Thirteen Cats
10. Thirteen Things That Terrify… (slash terrified) all or one of my children, at one point or other
11. Thirteen Things that Satisfy 
12. Thirteen Things I’d Enjoy on a Trip Back in Time
13. Thirteen Things I’d Enjoy on a Trip Back in Time (Continued)

View the New Thursday 13 here for a list of participants.

101st Post!

This here post is to announce that this is the official 101st of The Old Mason Jar. 

And that is all I have to say about that!

Creamed Tuna

Make a cream sauce from 1 cup evaporated milk, 2/3 c water (or 1 2/3 c regular milk), 1 T butter, 2-3 T Flour, salt and pepper to taste.  When sauce has thickened, add 1 can tuna.  Stir until heated through. 

Serve over hot biscuits, rice, or mashed potatoes accompanied by a tossed salad.  Serves 2

(Variation – Instead of making a white sauce, use a can of cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup.  Add 1/2 can milk to soup, instead of the usual 1 can.  Then stir in the tuna and heat through.)

Daybook June 22

 

FOR TODAY June 22, 2009…

Outside my window… we are having triple digit heat, on this first day of summer!

I am thinking… of how simple everything was when Mama’s kiss could cure anything.

I am thankful for… hand-me-down clothes!

From the learning rooms…we are almost finished with Saxon Math! 

From the kitchen… tacos.

I am wearing… clothes.

I am creating… goals, plans, dreams and schemes.

I am going… to  “wear a smile hold my head up high and say, I’m happy in the Lord anyway!”

I am reading… Front Porch Tales by Philip Gulley.

I am wishing (praying/hoping)… it would rain just pour out from on High!  We need your touch, we need it so much!

I am hearing… summer locusts, birds, airplanes above, the dryer tumble, gospel music, and children.

Around the house… There is no time for play. There is no time for fun. There is no times for games. There is work to be done!

One of my favorite things… is triumph of good over evil!

A few plans for the rest of the week:  church, perhaps sewing,, and the library.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing… 

 

The watermelon cake I made on July 4th!

More Daybooks here.

Heroic Monday Musings

Monday Musings is hosted each Monday by Barbara at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers

I really don’t like surprises or waiting.  Still the waiting.  The suspense kills me.  Watching a suspense movie will literally put me on the edge of my seat, yelling at the hero to run faster!  I enjoy the slow black and white movies that bring a calm and a smile and a yearing for a simplier slower time.  May the wait be over.  Soon.

Suspense is worse than disappointment. ~ Robert Burns

Even cowards can endure hardship; only the brave can endure suspense.  ~ Mignon McLaughlin 

 We all live in suspense from day to day; in other words, you are the hero of your own story.   ~ Mary McCarthy

Friday Fill~Ins ;)

And…here we go!

1. All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting__them to turn out  just like you!___.

2. Show me a good loser and I will show you a __person who didn’t really want to play in the first place___.

3. __An answer to prayer___ is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs at one time.

4. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy __serving elsewhere___ and __not acting ungodly and anti-American___.

5. I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine __housework___ and __parenting___.

6. It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without __lots of love, labor___ or __fresh organic ingredients___ in it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to __rest___, tomorrow my plans include __yard sale___ and Sunday, I want to __collapse___!

Thursday Thirteen Things I’d Enjoy on a Trip Back in Time…Cont.

Header from Samulli

If I could somehow travel back to a time when kitchens were done in harvest gold, before 30 was old, when Elvis was King, Ali was in the ring, before Wal-Mart opened shops, when bell bottoms went with handkerchief tops, or beyond but I wasn’t allowed to make major changes (like buy stocks in microsoft or something); I would…

1.  …gladly spend one thin dime at a pay phone to call Ma Bell or some such place just so I would not have to hear, “Press one for English.”

2.   …treat myself to some yummy marshmallow coconut cookies that I can no longer find.

3.  …I’d go to the library and use the card catalog on paper and not have to worry about there being an open computer or too many logged on so that it takes forever to use the computerized system.

4.   …watch an old TV program and not have to turn down the volume when the commercial came on.

5.  …play some instant win games from products like Dr. Pepper, without having to log on and sign up online to win.  Just turn the cap in at the store and get a free soda.

6. …enjoy the slower pace, of no multi-tasking – no cell-phones, no headphones, no gadgets to keep us from interacting with real in the real world.

7.  …check out the children’s clothes and notice how easy it is to buy slips for little girls and dresses with lace like little girls’ clothes should look, instead of the teeny lingerie that passes as clothes in the girls’ section today.

8.  …listen to people say what they think without being afraid of offending the PC police, within reason of course.  It just seems people go too far with the PC stuff today.

9.  …go and have a bite at the restaurant and not be afraid of getting salmanilla from the lettuce.

10.  …ride in the car and enjoy the freedom of not being belted, less traffic, and not worry about locking the door once I arrived!

11.  …eat recipes (like ice cream, banana split dessert) with raw eggs and not worry about getting sick.

12.  …enjoy a lazy Sunday because nothing but the church and nature would be open.

13.  …buy food and leave it set out and see how long before the bugs come and compare it to the dead food we eat now, that even the bugs won’t touch!

View the New Thursday 13 here for a list of participants.

Thankful Thursday Gratituesday ~ Friends in the Dark

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” ~ Helen Keller

In this life, we will all walk down a few dark paths.  Some are darker and longer than others.  Recently, I have found myself walking on said dark path, and I have to agree with Ms. Keller.  I tried to walk it alone and the way seemed so unsure and frightening.  My mind began to play tricks on me and my imagination became my worst enemy.  I was my worst enemy.  My burden was heavy and I was foolish to try to bear it alone.  It was me and Jesus against the world, but it wasn’t enough because I only allowed Jesus in part way as I wasn’t allowing Jesus to work through my friends.  When I allowed my friends a glimpse of my darkness, my friends were quick to join me in the dark; to pray with me, cry with me, and to help me carry the burden so that I was able to breathe again.  I can now lift my eyes without fear and see the light ahead.  I am blessed to have such a group of wonderful friends.  I know that it is our faith that binds us and that brings so much compassion and love and hope.  May God grant me the ability to bless others as I have been blessed.  May I not be afraid to enter with another who is walking in the dark.

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. ~ Romans 13:8

To join the Gratituesday fun visit http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/
View more Thankful Thursday Posts here.

Mom’s Cabbage with Bacon and Onions

Ingredients
At least 3 slices of bacon
1 Head of Cabbage or 1 bag of shredded cabbage
1/2 – 1 Onion – sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 C water

Directions
Fry bacon in large skillet until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towel. Set aside. Drain from pan all but 2TB bacon dripping (if you use a lot of bacon – otherwise don’t drain). Make sure grease is hot when add cabbage and onion.

Add sliced onions and cabbage to skillet and sir frequently. Add about 1/4-1/2 C water.

Cover skillet and simmer on medium heat until cabbage is cooked to desired texture. Serve hot with crumbled bacon on top or can add mix in with the cabbage!

Add salt and pepper to taste. : )

Monday Musings for those who wait…

Monday Musings is hosted each Monday by Barbara at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers

I hate to wait.  I hate having things hanging over my head while I endure the wait.  I hate how my imagination goes into overdrive until the wait is over.  I hate to wait.   Here’s to waiting!

“All good things arrive unto them that wait – and don’t die in the meantime” ~ Mark Twain

“Everything comes too late for those who only wait.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

“Things may come to those who wait…but only the things left by those who hustle.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Funny Monday Musings

Monday Musings is hosted each Monday by Barbara at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers

“The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.” ~ Robert Bloch 

“Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils … ” ~ Louis Hector Berlioz

“I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth.”  ~  Janeane Garofalo

“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” ~  Jack Handey 

“Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself” ~  Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)  
 
“A line is a dot that went for a walk. ” ~ romanticinct Paul Klee (Swiss Artist, 1879-1940)

“Life begins at 40 – but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times.” ~  Helen Rowland quotes (English-American writer, 1876-1950)

Daybook June 8, 2009

FOR TODAY June 8, 2009…

Outside my window…  Breezy, highs expected in the 90’s.

I am thinking… What a difference a week can make!

I am thankful for… the Word of God and the Life and Truth it holds.

From the learning rooms… VBS ;)

From the kitchen… fried eggs and buttered toast

I am wearing… peach top with culottes.

I am creating… goals, plans, dreams and schemes.

I am going… to be running my kids to activities this week!

I am reading… In the House of My Bibi: Growing Up in Revolutionary Iran. by Nastaran Kherad

I am hoping (praying)… for an answer. 

I am hearing… I have been listening to Hank the Cowdog.

Around the house… I need to get back to cleaning and purging!

One of my favorite things… going through old photos and reliving good times! 

A few plans for the rest of the week:  library, church, perhaps sewing.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing…

 

The Simple Woman’s Daybook is hosted by Peggy Hosetler.  Visit her blog to learn more!

Friday Fill~Ins ;)

And…here we go!

1. __”A house is made with walls and beams.
A home is made with love and dreams.”

2. My favorite thing for dinner lately has been __whatever is easy___.

3. _My dog wagged his tail, jumped in my lap and asked me in his friendly way to just stop and play.  His dirty feet soiled my clean skirt and I pushed him away because all I heard was____ “bark! bark! bark!”

4. A nice long walk __is great exercise___.

5. __I could really use___ some good news.

6. When all is said and done, __we can rejoice!  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”  Romans 8:28___.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to __being with my family___, tomorrow my plans include __work___ and Sunday, I want to __rest___!

What Not Wednesday ~ Car Parts

The Auto Industry is in the news. So, let’s go for a drive.

1. What was your first car?
The 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic in GOLD

 2. Ever name your car? If so, what was the name?
Yes, FRUMPY – I name my cars by license plate.  I use the letters on the plate to make up a name to help me remember the plate.  For instance if the letters were KLR , I might name the car Killer.  :)

3. Go fast or watch the limit?

Watch the limit, I have no need for speed or a ticket!

4. Which is most important to you dependability, looks, or speed?Dependability! 

5. Could you do without?
I have, and like the commercial says, “Life stinks without a car!”

Gratituesday & Thankful Thursday ~ A Stirring in My Soul

Sometimes there is nothing like writing to help me get something off my chest.  I’m so grateful that I have an outlet that allows me to forget the past, dream for the future, remember the present, or even just to  immortalize a moment.  Working out my issues with my pen, I can wake up tomorrow bright and fresh with all my issues of yesterday, back in yesterday.

A Stirring in My Soul

There’s a stirring in my soul
I believe He’s letting me know
‘Cuz I feel the breeze of change blowing through me
Whispering to me, “Get ready, It’s time to go.”

Should I leave the state, fear my fate?
Is this a Spiritual attack, the final curtain?
I can taste the tension of late.
There’s uncertainity in the cosmos, certain.

My anxious flesh is waiting, anticipating.
My spirit turns to Him, zeal renewed
as I hear the conflict growing, accelerating
in the midst of this present interlude.

Pray, Preach, Plan and Prepare!
Diligently let’s teach our children Truth
As we see the signs of change everywhere.
Christian, we’ve no time to be aloof!

There’s a stirring in my soul
I believe He’s letting me know
‘Cuz I feel the breeze of change blowing through me
Whispering to me, “Get ready, It’s time to go!”
~ Auntie Q

To join the Gratituesday fun visit http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/
View more Thankful Thursday Posts here.