Laughter
is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
- Victor Hugo
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Vote and Vote responsibly . . .
This year is our chance to start taking out some of the political trash. Don't forget to exercise your freedom to vote. The preliminary elections to decide candidates usually have low voter numbers and we really need to vote in the prelimnary ones to insure we have reasonable candidates to vote for in November.
I have to wonder, however, about several little, old ladies at our parish morning Mass. After the last presidential election, I was chastised roundly for not being in support of the new president. When I said I could never vote for anyone who advocated abortion so strongly, I was told that this was merely a rumor by the conservative factions. Huh? I still remember the news on the Friday evening after the inaguation, the then new president quietly signed away a lot of the limits on abortion set in place by President Bush. It seemed to me at the time and he has proven to be a person set on providing abortion.
It is kind of amusing, in a sad way . . . Two of the 'little, old ladies' stopped speaking to me before and after Mass when they found out how I voted in that presidential election. All this time later, they still ignore me. I wonder if it is because they blindly perceive themselves to still be right in their vote or they are afraid I might have grounds to chastise them this time. They have to live with what our country has become, today, because the result of their thoughtless vote is a daily plague on our nation in many ways.
I have to wonder, however, about several little, old ladies at our parish morning Mass. After the last presidential election, I was chastised roundly for not being in support of the new president. When I said I could never vote for anyone who advocated abortion so strongly, I was told that this was merely a rumor by the conservative factions. Huh? I still remember the news on the Friday evening after the inaguation, the then new president quietly signed away a lot of the limits on abortion set in place by President Bush. It seemed to me at the time and he has proven to be a person set on providing abortion.
It is kind of amusing, in a sad way . . . Two of the 'little, old ladies' stopped speaking to me before and after Mass when they found out how I voted in that presidential election. All this time later, they still ignore me. I wonder if it is because they blindly perceive themselves to still be right in their vote or they are afraid I might have grounds to chastise them this time. They have to live with what our country has become, today, because the result of their thoughtless vote is a daily plague on our nation in many ways.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake
This is an easy way to get a cake in the oven for dinner and still have time to cook dinner, too. If you have a family like mine, they would figure dessert should be prepared first and the meat, vegetables, and other mundane things can happen when they will!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake
2 cups coarsely chopped, salted peanuts
1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest (It really brings out the peanut taste.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Vegetable oil spray a 9-inch, round baking pan and then line with parchment paper.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan evenly. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Let cake cool for ten minutes before removing from the pan and letting it complete the cooling process on a wire rack. Either dust with powdered sugar or frost with a peanut butter cream frosting.
Peanut Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 stick softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
Whip up the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients and beat to form a spreadable frosting. You might need to add a few drops of milk to reach this depending on the weather and the dryness of the air.
Generously spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake. If you want to add chocolate sprinkes or crushed peanuts, do so.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake
2 cups coarsely chopped, salted peanuts
1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest (It really brings out the peanut taste.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Vegetable oil spray a 9-inch, round baking pan and then line with parchment paper.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan evenly. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Let cake cool for ten minutes before removing from the pan and letting it complete the cooling process on a wire rack. Either dust with powdered sugar or frost with a peanut butter cream frosting.
Peanut Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 stick softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
Whip up the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients and beat to form a spreadable frosting. You might need to add a few drops of milk to reach this depending on the weather and the dryness of the air.
Generously spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake. If you want to add chocolate sprinkes or crushed peanuts, do so.
A very sad commentary . . .
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/now-planned-parenthood-bullies-catholic-food-bank-for-saying-no-to-them
This link speaks for itself. People don't seem to come into the mix on this debate. It is one organization wanting to undermine another. Planned Parenthood doesn't come across as anyone's real friend. Very sad . . . Hurrah for Paul's Pantry that stuck to their ethics!
This link speaks for itself. People don't seem to come into the mix on this debate. It is one organization wanting to undermine another. Planned Parenthood doesn't come across as anyone's real friend. Very sad . . . Hurrah for Paul's Pantry that stuck to their ethics!
More quotes to start the day . . .
"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
-- Benjamin Franklin
-- Benjamin Franklin
"No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless
absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation."
-- Fran Lebowitz
-- Fran Lebowitz
"Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with."
-- Bob Wells
-- Bob Wells
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad
judgement."
-- Unknown
-- Unknown
Our petitions to God and here is OUR list . . .
We have been praying and praying for rain. Finally, we are promised a pretty wet storm. While we are thrilled with the damp forecast, we had to give more detailed directions to God in our rain request - Can He hold it off a bit on the day my husband has to travel on business! Human nature! We want what we want when we want it and then follow up with further instructions! God's Will . . . But, could He consider that Thursday request!
Some funny/applicable quotes on life:
"My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists."
-- Jean Rostand
"Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything."
-- Floyd Dell
Some funny/applicable quotes on life:
"My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists."
-- Jean Rostand
"Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything."
-- Floyd Dell
Ambition . . .
A
man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man
with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive. Having
been alive, it won't be so hard in the end to lie down and rest.
- Pearl Bailey
Returning in Triumph from the Fabric Warehouse!
Although I never leave the fabric warehouse without some fabric, each visit provides different choices. You can't depend on finding the same pattern you wish you had gotten more of the last time, but there is always something to get your creative juices going.
We must have hit a good day on our visit. We did see a lot of what we call the old favorites . . . The ones that are there time after time and you have to wonder who thought it would be a good idea to put a pattern like that on fabric. Yesterday, however, there was some new fabrics in the bargain section and I literally returned home with exactly what I wanted.
The fabric store is divided into two sections. Although everything is drastically marked down compared to the fabric store prices, some are still too rich for my blood . . . of bank account! Along one side of the place are about eight rows of flat fold fabric. This is either surplus of a particular fabric, end pieces, or last year's patterns. The aisles are almost five-feet high and you need muscles to pull out likely fabrics. My husband provides the muscle! All the fabrics in this section are $2.49 a yard. I have been looking for a run of fabric that has basically the same pattern but in different colors, sort of a blender fabric to fill out quilt patterns. Found it, yesterday, and actually got ten different colors and it was by one of my favorite fabric companies, David's Textiles. You have to understand that this is not seconds fabric but good, quality fabric that is just not popular or they had a surplus.
The other side of the store has fabric on bolts like at the regular fabric stores with prices ranging from $3.99 to $10.99 a yard which is still a lot less expensive than retail stores. I shop the $5.99 or less fabrics but allow myself a wistful tour of the expensive ones . . . without buying!
I'm not charged up and excited to begin another quilt . . . as soon as I finish the one I promised my younger daughter for her birthday!
I've had some interesting experiences at fabric stores. One time, I was visiting a really, really seconds fabric store where you had to be careful as there was a reason it was so cheap. There was a whole row of the most awful fleece fabric. It was a camouflague pattern in off olive green, neon orange, and bright yellow. I don't know what situation would have every matched that pattern for hiding! I was standing in shock at the display when mother walked into the store with five, little boys . . . all sporting obviously homemade jackets . . . made of that very same fabric.
My favorite time was when I was having my fabric measured and cut at the fabric warehouse and the clerk got a phone call. She looked perplexed as she listened and then said, "Yes, we do have pink fabric but you will have to come in and see for yourself. We have more than one pink!"
I have also been one to purchase fabric that made people wonder! My youngest son was five years old and he fell in love with a deep reddish pink fabric with giant, lifelike snakes on it. I told him he could pick the fabric he wanted for his shirt . . . and he did! The clerk laughed as she measured and it cut and quipped, "This is the first we've sold of this since it arrived last week!"
We must have hit a good day on our visit. We did see a lot of what we call the old favorites . . . The ones that are there time after time and you have to wonder who thought it would be a good idea to put a pattern like that on fabric. Yesterday, however, there was some new fabrics in the bargain section and I literally returned home with exactly what I wanted.
The fabric store is divided into two sections. Although everything is drastically marked down compared to the fabric store prices, some are still too rich for my blood . . . of bank account! Along one side of the place are about eight rows of flat fold fabric. This is either surplus of a particular fabric, end pieces, or last year's patterns. The aisles are almost five-feet high and you need muscles to pull out likely fabrics. My husband provides the muscle! All the fabrics in this section are $2.49 a yard. I have been looking for a run of fabric that has basically the same pattern but in different colors, sort of a blender fabric to fill out quilt patterns. Found it, yesterday, and actually got ten different colors and it was by one of my favorite fabric companies, David's Textiles. You have to understand that this is not seconds fabric but good, quality fabric that is just not popular or they had a surplus.
The other side of the store has fabric on bolts like at the regular fabric stores with prices ranging from $3.99 to $10.99 a yard which is still a lot less expensive than retail stores. I shop the $5.99 or less fabrics but allow myself a wistful tour of the expensive ones . . . without buying!
I'm not charged up and excited to begin another quilt . . . as soon as I finish the one I promised my younger daughter for her birthday!
I've had some interesting experiences at fabric stores. One time, I was visiting a really, really seconds fabric store where you had to be careful as there was a reason it was so cheap. There was a whole row of the most awful fleece fabric. It was a camouflague pattern in off olive green, neon orange, and bright yellow. I don't know what situation would have every matched that pattern for hiding! I was standing in shock at the display when mother walked into the store with five, little boys . . . all sporting obviously homemade jackets . . . made of that very same fabric.
My favorite time was when I was having my fabric measured and cut at the fabric warehouse and the clerk got a phone call. She looked perplexed as she listened and then said, "Yes, we do have pink fabric but you will have to come in and see for yourself. We have more than one pink!"
I have also been one to purchase fabric that made people wonder! My youngest son was five years old and he fell in love with a deep reddish pink fabric with giant, lifelike snakes on it. I told him he could pick the fabric he wanted for his shirt . . . and he did! The clerk laughed as she measured and it cut and quipped, "This is the first we've sold of this since it arrived last week!"
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