Posts

Showing posts from December, 2009

Goal for the New Year: Learn to Make Chapatis

Image
You will laugh when you read this.  I grew up with my grandmother and aunts making Fried Indian Bread, American Indian.  They always had their flour bowl ready for whipping up a batch when guests arrived. Tonight I had bought some Tabouli and Hummus for supper.  When I arrived back at my daughter's, she said, 'We need some pita bread', she then called her husband, but he was not able to stop on his way home for pita bread.  I said look up how to make flat bread.  She did but was unable to find a recipe.  I then suggested she look up Indian fried bread, thinking of my grandmother's.  She excitedly exclaimed I found it! Chapatis!.  I looked over her shoulder and there, sure enough, was a recipe for Indian Chapatis.  The two breads are very similar in ingredients.  The preparation of Chapatis is definitely different.  Chapatis and Indian Fried Bread are both made with flour and water, but you just make a patty of the Indian Bread and fry it.  The Chapatis you knead,

Reporting on Progress The First Year

Image
I have known I would have to make this post for a month now. I have mulled over in my mind how I would write it. This will be long but it is needful to be so. It is the first anniversary of my husband’s death. He died Dec 23, 2008, after, in the terms of cancer battles, a short battle of colon cancer (less than 3 years). I have missed his friendship, but I was not left wanting. The memories are very uplifting, from the first time we met, to the last “I Love you”. We met when I was working nights in a cafet eria. He was still trying to find out why his first wife had divorced him. Our eyes met and I knew him as a special person for me. Although I must say, I was leery of dating a divorced man. I got over that in a hurry and I knew on our first date I would marry him. It took him 6 months more to figure it out. (smile, and a wink) We were married a year and one m onth after our first date. I remember him h olding me in his arms protectively when I thought I was goi

Saying Good Bye Will Be Hard

Image
I will be leaving on Tuesday to go back to Texas.  I have had a wonderful time and the joy of being with this special family has been like a breath of spring.  I know I will shed a tear when the parting time comes because my sweetie T and I have shared some special times this visit.  She has a special spirit, and a sweet loving countenance. Is she perfect?  To answer that question, I would ask is a two year old perfect?  No.  She is a masterpiece in the making, and I love her so. Her mom and dad and little sister are special too.  I will have to return at some point to get to know little miss Em when she gets a wee bit older. Walking through life and having to leave those you love is heart wrenching, but the blessings are knowing that that walk was worth it.  GrandmomE will be back.

It All Started With Bubbles

Image
If you have ever worked in a toddler nursery, you know one way to capture the attention of a little one is to get the bubbles out and blow bubbles for them.  They are fascinated.  (Clip art from Fotosearch) On the second day, after I arrived at my daughter's home, my granddaughter wanted to go outside and blow bubbles.   We did.  She had so much fun chasing them around and trying to stomp on them.  There was one that was so pretty and I wanted to catch a picture of it just resting peacefully on the grass stem when, WHAM!...the little foot came down and with a peal of laughter she was off to catch another bubble.  We were both fascinated with the one that rose gently and gracefully into the sky and passed over the house until we couldn't see it anymore.  What a fun memory it is to have. That day was also the day she discovered that my screen saver on my computer is bubbles.  It fascinated her.  She will come into my room with a sweet shy smile and say "Bubbles?"

The Snow.

Image
  Late Winter Snowfall Snow falls on snow. Lazily drifting above to below. I shuffle through the white. All is still... no sounds tonight. The trees covered in frozen ash. Quiet, serene they watch, abashed. I am obtrusive, so I leave. Saddened by thoughts I cannot conceive. Outside snow falls on snow. What else is out there? I do not know. Copyrighted by Texasblu (click on this to view other poems by Texasblu)

The Fun of Creating Christmas Decorations For Your Children.

Image
As my children were growing up and my first grandchildren, I would make ornaments that would be personally theirs for putting up on the tree.  My oldest helped when she was little then the others followed suit each year making salt dough ornaments.  We had a full set of Dorthy of Wizard of OZ, Disney Characters, and misc. bears, angels etc.  I was heart broken when we moved to the country and mice got into my storage and ate most of the ornaments.  (Hope they got heart burn.)  My next attempt at personal ornaments were embroidered ornaments.  We had a panda bear, angels, my favorite were the Holly Babies ornaments, and mercy the rest escapes me.  My aunt, their great aunt, made crocheted bells, and stockings to put on the tree.  As they left home, I would give them their own ornaments to keep.  I bought some porcelain Holly Baby Angels to represent each of my children on my own tree as mine grew bare from giving away theirs.  I still have those.  It had warmed my heart to see my Em

A Christmas First For Me,

Image
My son-in-law saw a flyer for an old fashioned Christmas parade in downtown Tehachapi.  Tehachapi is in a valley surrounded by mountains.  At this time of the year it is cold.  I was excited and joined in with a "Yes! Let's go".  The day came for the parade and I was ready to go into town at noon.  'No', I was told, it is not until the end of the day at 5pm.  That's good, I can do that.  Now something I have not told you was that all I brought with me was a knitted poncho for a coat.  I had a hoodie, so I decided that would be enough, after all it was 47 degrees and the sun was nice as we left.  My daughter was on the cell and was not paying attention.  We got into town, the streets were busy as people began choosing the site they wanted to sit at to watch the parade.  Everyone had parkas, blankets, hats, gloves, I began to ponder the situation.  The sun was setting, the wind was "breezy".  I began to get cold. It was evident that I did not

Setting Up For Christmas

Image
Conversations around picture taking time.... Introducing our new Christmas Wreath! "Mommy, do I have to?" 'Yes.' "Okay" Click "Ha ha ha I did it"   I love Christmas time, but I love my blog background because it feels like me. So I will include Christmas in my blogs. These are pictures of our Family Evening on Monday.  My ham granddaughter is showing off the wreath we made using rose hips and rosemary.  She is a joy.  Next she 'helped' her dad with the lights.  Afterward, we made stain glass windows with tissue paper and construction paper...she helped with the glue      ; ) . This is always a fun time for me seeing the excitement in the children's eyes.  There are things that will be changed and adjusted but that just adds to the fun. The scriptures " Parenthood is a sacred obligation and privilege, with children welcomed as a 'heritage of the Lord"