A sad encounter . . .

After Mass a few months ago, a young woman struck up a conversation with me. This young lady, a mother of two, insisted that a woman does have a right to choose and how can the Church dictate anything else. I kindly challenged her and said what about if it is a future woman in the womb that won't be given her choice. That startled her. I said that murder was murder if you believed there is a living baby in your womb.

You could see the wheels going around in her head and she thought she had me when she countered with, "What about in the case of rape?" I just said a baby is a baby and might be a very indirect gift from God. I also pointed out that adoption was always an option.

She was weakening on her stance just a bit but then firmly said, "But how do you know the baby is going to a good family? Wouldn't abortion be kinder than risking a bad life for your baby?" It was so sad that she would prefer to kill a baby rather than take a chance on the future of the baby and leave it in God's Hands.

No respect for art . . . or mom!

Besides quilting, I also like to make pin cushions for little gifts, party favors, or church sales. I was trying to take a good picture of my mushroom pin cushion and one of my children decided it needs something extra . . . as you can see.

Smart dog . . .

Since our dog, Chick, is rather big and definitely not of the lap dog size, she is, by us, considered an outside dog. Chick, however, begs to differ. She seems to feel that a good roll in the dirt is an entrance requirement for coming into the house.

Chick is also a very smart dog. She learned early on how to open the screen door. The first few times, we would come up the open door and wonder how it could happen. Chick would be sweetly sitting in her dog house and sharing our confusion. Eventually, we'd find the door open and Chick sleeping inside the house.

We've come to a compromise. Once she loses her winter coat which literally blankets the backyard in tons of fur that could provide every bird in our town with building material, she is allowed in on very hot days but only on the mat just inside the door. She tends to migrate from day to day so she has learned her name very well as we come into the room and yell, "CHICK!" and she casually moves back into place.

Since the heat wave, once we turn on the fans, we also allow Chick some respite inside the backdoor. She usually sleeps or looks outside the slider . . . as opposed to sitting outside and looking inside the sliding door. She is banned during cooking and meals and is allowed inside, after dinner, only until we mop the floor. She is then given a treat and literally shown the door. It takes seconds for her to eat her treat and she makes the rounds of every door and window, whining, "Guys! GUYS! Don't you remember, I'm an INSIDE dog!"

Quotes to quote . . .

"I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale."
       -- Marie Curie

 

"In the United States, doing good has come to be, like patriotism, a favorite device of persons with something to sell."
       -- H. L. Mencken

 

"There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking."
       -- Alfred Korzybski

 

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do."
       -- Dale Carnegie

Just ol' peanut butter cookies . . .

 

I enjoy creating unique desserts and cookies but when it comes down to a satsifying cookie to go with a cold glass of milk, most people would agree that you can't beat the simple peanut butter cookie. It was only slightly cooler, yesterday, but I surprised my family with a batch of said cookies. I also made enough so my husband could treat his coworkers. This is my take on the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup butter (margarine doesn't do the job, here!)
1 cup smooth peanut butter (if you only have the crunchy type, that's okay!)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large egge
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (orange really brings out the flavor!)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars together until fluffy. Thoroughly beat in the eggs and extracts. Sift totether the dry ingredients and fold into the butter mixture.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and put on vegetable oil sprayed baking sheets.* using a fork, slightly flatten each ball to make a cross-hatch pattern - press one way and then the other.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Cookies should just begin to get golden. Don't overake them!

Let rest on baking sheet for easier removal to the cooling rack.

*Parchment paper is great for this recipe. You don't need to grease the baking sheets, the cookies absolutely do not stick, and you don't have baking sheets to clean.

Ideas . . .
Melt some chocolate chips and dip half of each cookie into it. Let them harden on waxed paper.
Add 1/4 cup finely diced orange slice candy.
Add 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Sandwich cookies together with your favorite jam.