A Rose to Remember . . .

 

My children don't really remember my mother as they were relatively young when my mother died. The last few years of her life, it was necessary to have her live in a rest home. It was a nice place run by an order of nuns. My mother wasn't quite in possession of her mental faculties but she knew she didn't want to be there.

The first week she was in residence, we promised to come down and visit to see that she had settled in and all. We lived over an hour away so it was always an event to pack four children in the small car and get going. The planned day for the visit, it was pouring rain. Visibility on the road was minimal. We passed several accidents on the freeway and considered turning back but realized how disappointed my mother would be if we didn't show up. Naturally, the traffic problems and the rain made us late and we arrived just 15 minutes before lunch time. My mother was in one of her vague moods so seemed to enjoy the brief visit but was just as happy going off for her lunch. We sighed and left the building and headed back to our car for the long ride home.

As is the rule with rainy days, we could only find a parking place two blocks away. As is the rule with parking that far away, the rain waited until we exited the building to come pouring down again. We were plodding along, holding the baby, grabbing toddler hands, and just trying to reach the car. Our mood was anything but cheerful.

Suddenly, our eight and six year old broke into song and started dancing along the flooded sidewalk, kicking up water and singing a la Gene Kelly, "I'm just singing in the rain . . .". It broke our somber mood and we joined in the singing if not the dancing/splashing part.

The rain let up when we arrived home and my husband decided to take advantage of the lull to plant a rose bush we had purchased the day before. He prepared the soil, unwrapped the root base, and then noticed the name of the rose on the tag: Singing in the Rain! We have since considered it our little blessing from God for our efforts that day and the rose bush is still flourishing over 15 years later.

Residents at the 'horse farm' hotel in Normandy . . .

True to it's nickname, the horse farm 'hotel' also had resident horses in and around the property. My son and I got up early in the morning for walks and to visit the horses and the family dog. We were still getting used to European time zones so enjoyed filling in our wakeful hours checking out our surroundings.

When we came up to this particular field of horses, they were all calmly eating their own breakfast. Suddenly, one of the horses looked up, saw us, and nudged the horse next to him. That horse, in turn, notified the next horse and so on until they completely stopped their eating and just stood and stared at us.

Interior Design . . .

 
We got to stay at a 'refinished' horse farm on the earlier leg of our recent tour. The hotel was in Normandy. The rooms were extremely comfortable but you could tell they were 'reclaimed' from what was originally stables in the olden days. The walls were almost three-feet thick. The walls in the rooms were plastered and finished about eight feet up (the rooms all had second stories) with the orignal stone work showing from that point up to the ceiling. Great, private bathroom, comfortable beds, quiet . . . and with this wonderful picture on the wall! I'm assuming it was either an original or a good copy of an original but we found it . . . interesting! My son enjoyed trying to match up the French words to the parts of the cow to which they applied.

Recipe Ideas from Barbara - Entering the Meat Loaf Wars!

Chunks of beef tend to be expensive these days, especially when there are many people to feed in a family. The beef sales are most often the ground varieties. I like ground beef. It is versatile, filling, and quite presentable. Of cours, the first ground beef meal that comes to mind is meat loaf. Competitive meat loaf recipes could initiate wars! Everyone has their favorite and I can't and won't dispute it here. I, too, have my preferences but like to hear about other methods of stretching ground beef.

Basic Meat Loaf

2-3 pounds of ground beef (More or less depending on need)
4 eggs
2 cups fresh bread crumbs, Panko crumbs, crushed croutons, or oatmeal . . .
1 finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients and form into rounded loaf and place in greased baking dish. You may not have a sufficiently large enough dish so you can divide the meat and make two. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes depending on size of your meat loaf. Drain off accumulated fat, slice, and serve.

For interesting variations . . .

*Coat the meatl loaf before bakine with tomoatoe or barbeque sauce.

* Lay strips of raw bacon on the bottom of your baking dish before you form your meat loaf.

*For a tasty version, add half a cup of crumbled Feta cheese to your mixtures.

*Mix in a cup of sharp, grated cheddar cheese and you have a one-dish, baked cheese burger.

*Don't forget to check out the herbs and spices! Basil, Dill, Chili flakes, etc. can all be considered according to your tastes.

If you work it right, you can have enough leftovers for another meal. Don't worry, we are not talking about reheated, dried out meat loaf. Slice the leftover meat loaf into thick slices. Dip into beaten egg and then into seasoned flour, coating both sides. Place in sizzling frying pan with a bit of olive oil or butter (or both!) Brown on both sides and serve.

Interesting reminder . . .

“God will not hear our prayers unless we acknowledge ourselves to be sinners. We do this when we ponder on our own sins alone, and not on those of our neighbor.”  ~St. Moses the Ethiopian