Tubing the 'Doah

Last year began a tradition of Staycations with two other families whom we've vacationed with for several years. One of the eleven kids got married last summer so thus began our goal of doing fun summer activities locally. Not everyone makes each part of the "Staycation" activities, but we all do our best to take time off to be together.

Last year we did a white-water rafting trip down the Shenandoah, but this year decided to do a shorter trip by tubing down the 'Doah. The top photo is a beautiful view of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia as you drive over the bridge from Maryland into West Virginia. It was a welcomed cooler day, overcast with bits of sprinklings.

Here's the gang above: Clancy, Trevin, Jessie, Hannah, my hubby Michael, Katie, Paul T, and Beckie. Yes, those are the tubes in the background which were incredibly comfortable to rest and relax while floating down this beautiful river.

We had to buy these cute little "floaters" for our sunglasses and of course, Clancy and Trevin found fun ways to wear them. Check out this ironwork on the bridge, it's almost as beautiful as the river and mountains. I took photos on the river with a waterproof camera they sell in the tube rental office, but have yet to have them printed. So, imagine four fifty-something adults with six young adults floating lazily along the river. What a glorious way to enjoy God's incredible creation. Being propelled along with a gentle current of the river and looking up at the sky, an occasional osprey, and friends and family made for a great summer day.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 1 Tim. 6:17

Thank you Lord for a day of rest in the middle of the week to enjoy your rich provisions.

St. Patrick's Day

In our home St. Patrick's Day is a fun day to celebrate with family, food, and traditions. Even if you didn't celebrate yesterday, make this bread! It's basically a large buttermilk biscuit studded with raisins. Slather it with good organic salted butter if you want to go to Shamrock heaven. LOL!

You don't have to be Catholic or even Irish to celebrate this saint. He was a follower of Jesus Christ and sacrificed his life to spread the gospel in Ireland. Go to the library and find a book about this saint before you don your green, or even think about putting green food coloring in everything you eat March 17th.


Although not the traditional way to celebrate St. Patrick's day in Ireland, we enjoy corned beef and cabbage along with Irish Soda Bread each year. Below is a recipe shared by my husband's boss's wife. This man was from Ireland and came to America with the name of one man to contact for a job. He was given the job, and then later when he became President of that same company, he gave my husband a job in the same circumstances. My husband became Vice President of that company and then later went on to start his own business.
Try this bread recipe, it's more like a large biscuit with a nice crust and yummy raisins.

Mary Ward's Irish Soda Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9 inch round pie plate or cast iron skillet.
4 cups flour3 Tbsp. sugar1 Tbsp. baking powder1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. salt6 Tbsp. butter, cold and cut into pats1 1/2 cup raisins1 1/2 cups buttermilk2 eggs, beaten. Reserve 2 Tbsp. for brushing on the top.Extra flour for kneading.
Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins until they are well coated with flour and separated.Mix buttermilk in with remaining beaten eggs. DON'T forget to reserve two Tablespoons. Stir into flour mixture until flour is moistened. Don't over mix. Dough will be sticky.
Turn dough onto well-floured surface. With floured hands knead into a ball for about 10 strokes to mix thoroughly. Shape dough into a neat ball, place in plate or skillet. ( I prefer the skillet)In center of bread with a sharp knife cut a 4 inch cross about 1/4 inch deep. Brush with reserved beaten egg.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.
This is best eaten hot out of the oven and slathered with butter. My family fights over the big, chunky, crusty parts.It's also good toasted the next day. Enjoy.

Our St. Patrick's Day menu:

Roasted Salmon with Pesto
Corned Beef
Colcannon, a mixture of cabbage and mashed potatoes, and onions
Regular Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Cabbage
Irish Soda Bread
Guiness
Yingling (for the beer wimps, uh, that would be me!)
Key Lime Pie

No, Key Lime Pie is NOT Irish, it's just this Irish family's favorite so my daugther makes and we eats it, with lots of whipped cream. Yum!

A PRE-Valentine's Date Night

My parents gave us tickets to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which turned into the beginnings of a wonderful date night. The evening began with dinner in Little Italy at our favorite restaurant, "Chips" or Chipiarelli's. They serve whole wheat pasta now, so the seafood pasta dishes with fresh tomato sauces were much healthier choices. Their salad is rather tasty at Chips, full of garlicky dressing, and lots of parmesan cheese. It's just made with iceberg lettuce, but a classic nonetheless. Below is the sign painted on the side of a building as you enter Little Italy, which is a wonderful old Baltimore neighborhood tucked between the Inner Harbor and Fells Point.

Our sons have worked for several years during the winter months for a valet parking service in Little Italy, Blake, our 22 yo is working this winter, but unfortunately he was not scheduled to work this night. Too bad, since I'd have rather tipped him a kiss plus a few dollars than the other guy who parked our car. I didn't kiss the other guy!

The next stop was Baltimore Symphony Orchestra home at the Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall to see Cirque de la Symphonie, which was a wonderful show blending beautiful aerial and stage circus acts with classical music. Some of the feats were amazing and "ooooh" and "awww" inspiring. Thanks for the tickets Mom!

We have a friend who plays the voilin in the BSO, and it was fun picking her out on stage. "Hi WonJu!" we whispered.

After finding the car, we wound back to Little Italy to a favorite spot, Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop. This place only serves drinks and desserts, but has an exhaustive menu and is famous for it's humongous desserts. You should see the Napoleons, and the Bacci balls! They serve 2-4 people at least.

One time we took some friends there for dessert and the table next to us provided pure comedy relief. The lady in the party was quite petite, and the gentleman was rather large, and it was obvious they were tourists. Their orders arrived and it was a Kodak moment. Set before the little lady was a Napoleon which literally extends off the sides of the plate, oozing with filling, and covered in chocolate icing. Before the gentleman was a smallish piece of cake. When we saw they realized the irony of the moment and had the attention of several surrounding tables, we all enjoyed a good laugh.

Oh, are you still waiting to hear what we ordered? First let me tell you my summertime favorites. A single (humongous!) scoop of Hazelnut Gelatto, creamy, nutty, and cool. Or an Italian Iced Tea which is a scoop of lemon Italian ice floating in a tall iced tea. It's chilly and lucious, and the perfect ending to a hot summer night! We've driven down just for dessert many times for a special treat.

But this is February folks so after a classic dinner, and wonderful music, it had to be a classic Italian dessert with something warm to drink. A cannoli and a cappuccino. mmmm..... Why I thought we should order two cannoli, I'll never know, be we did and it was heavenly, even though a bit too much.

What a lovely evening, and it was so nice we didn't have to fight the "gotta go out because it's V-tine's Day" crowd. Yes, there was traffic, but we were in the city. With reservations and lots of margin in our time schedule it was the perfect evening.

I felt a little like Cher in Moonstruck when she went the opera with Nicolas Cage. Except this was no movie folks and the man I was with is much cuter than Nicolas, and he's been commited to our marriage for 28 years. No, this was a date night with the love of my life. Thanks, babe!

Oh Happy Day!

We've just returned from St. Augustine, Florida where we celebrated our oldest son's graduation from Flagler College. Yippee!!! God gave this young man a wonderful mind, a great sense of humor, an amazing ability to memorize, a curiosity about the world in which he lives, and a love for people.
Thank You, Lord for these gifts through this son.

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Join me friends and pray as this young man seeks employment and God's path for his life.

Crafting for Babies

I saw this lovely rag quilt tutorial on Prairie Muffin and decided to try it out for a friend's new grandson.

I found some cute flannel with construction trucks and traffic cones, and loved the combination of orange and blue. Cutting out the squares was easy, quilting the sandwiched squares from corner to corner was easy too.

Here's a close up of me snipping the raw edges to give it that frayed looked once it's washed and dried. This part was time-consuming, but I passed the time by listening and occasionally glancing at some Monk episodes from season four. I wonder if Monk could do this sewing project? Probably not, the strings would drive him nuts, and the frayed edges would drop him over the edge.

Happy Birthday Billy Graham

Today is Reverend Billy Graham's ninetieth birthday. In this picture he's seen with his grandson, Tullian. Tullian is a friend of our pastor, and has written a wonderful tribute to his grandfather here.

In June of 2006 my mother, my daughter and I sang in the choir at the Franklin Graham Crusade at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. What a privlilege it was to hear him, along with his father speak that day to thousands. The gospel was proclaimed and we had a chance to get a taste of heaven worshipping and singing praises to the Lord with so many people.

Billy Graham was helped to the podium and spoke, his unforgetable voice still strong while inviting attendees to give their lives to the God of the universe who loves them and knows their every need.


In the 1958 my husband attended a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles, California with some neighbors. This was back when the crusades were held nightly for a week. One of those nights God spoke to my husband and prompted him to go down to speak with a counselor and pray the sinner's prayer. Not being raised in a Christian home, and unfortunately without follow-up with Biblical teaching and discipleship, this seed was not watered for many years. It was a decision non the less, and in hindsight we see now God's protection over his life, and bringing him to a greater understanding of the gospel today. Thank you Lord for Billy Graham and the way you've used him and his family to glorify your name.

By the way, while dh was attending the crusade in Los Angeles I was being born to a young couple in Oklahoma City. God's plans are infinitly higher and broader than we could ever imagine, don't you think?

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all"
1 Chronicles 29:11

Cornbread says Fall

Cornbread says fall to me and it's tradition here in my home to make it along with a big pot of chile for Halloween. We're in a neighborhood with lots of kiddos, so turning off the light and going out is not an option for Halloween night.

I like dry savory cornbread, hot and slathered with lots of butter, and thought I'd found the "best" recipe ever until I tried this one on Friday night. It's from the King Arthur's Baker's Companion cookbook, and even though the instructions say to bake it in an 8-inch square pan, there's nothing better than cast iron in my book. I also substituted bacon grease for the oil. I know, I know, you're thinking "Horrors!" Get over it, and use it. You'll have it leftover anyway after you fry the bacon. See look at that cornbread in the skillet, don't you want to grab that wedge right now?

Try this recipe, and let me know what you think.

Bacon Cheddar Cornbread

9 servings

This recipe uses the spice cumin, which has a warm, toasty flavor. Cumin is popular in chile recipes, but it isn't hot at all. Fresh or frozen corn will work for this recipe, and both are equally good. So don't wait until summer to make it.

1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 5/8 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
1/4cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil (I used bacon grease)
1 cup (4 3/4 ounces) cooked or thawed corn kernals (I used canned corn)
6 ounces (6-7 slices) bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup (4 ounces) grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8-inch square pan (or wait and use a little bacon grease in your cast iron skillet)

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cumin in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vegetable oil (or bacon grease) and add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the corn, bacon, and cheese.

Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until it's golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and cool on a rack. (or gobble it up HOT!)

Confession: I doubled this recipe and I was so excited to try it, I forgot to add the cheese. I know, "What a dope, that's the kicker in this recipe!" To compensate, I sliced open a wedge, laid on a piece of cheddar and popped it under the broiler. Yum! You wouldn't believe how good it is served with chile. We've also been enjoying it leftvoer for breakfast, toasted and slathered with butter.

The Birthday Girl

Yes, I know her birthday was last week, but when it's your baby you enjoy celebrating all week long. Friday began with birthday gifts for the sleepy girl seen in this first picture. Then onto a fun lunch with grandma at our favorite place; Nordstrom's cafe. It's the ultimate in a girly luncheon. The birthday girls favorites here are Blue Cheese, Pear and Walnut salad, She-Crab soup, and iced tea. We always split one of their enormous chocolate dipped macaroons topped off with a cup of tea or coffee. One of these split three ways is enough sweet stuff to last all week.

Then of course there were other celebrations including the men in our lives; Dad, Grandpa, and brother Blake, but those pics. are on grandma's camera. Next weekend she'll celebrate with her friends by spending the evening in Annapolis.

This last picture is from last night right before our cotton-pickin', birthday girl headed out the door for an evening of fun with friends which included "watching the stupidist horror movie ever," eating pumpkin pie, and just hangin' out. Oh, and they did trick or treat one of their friends homes just for kicks.


I'll close out this post with the good-night blessing we say to her every night. It's from Numbers 6:23b-26 when God gave Moses instructions to give to Aaron and his sons regarding blessing the people of Israel:
....you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

We never say the word "peace" but instead replace it with giving one another the universal peace sign.

Eighteen years ago today.....

I was holding my baby girl who was just a few hours old. I was still marveling at the thought of having a girl, convinced God had made me a boy mommy since I'd been enjoying seven years of mothering sticks and snails and puppy-dog tails. Now I had some sugar and spice and everything nice. Our family welcomed her into our arms and she's been a blessing in many ways. Happy birthday to my favorite daugther!