Books are legacies . . .

Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.

- Joseph Addison

You have to wonder . . . what's the point?

As we have all seen/heard on the news, the popular fast-food restaurant, Chick-Fil-A is still taking a hit because the gay community objects to the founder supporting traditional marriage. In order to make their point, they plan to boycott, harass, and hinder service and customers at the restaurants because a CEO dares to enjoy his Democratic rights to have a personal opinion. Chicago is even trying to have the restauant banned from the city. According to the CEO and founder of Chick-Fil-A, he has welcomed and given  good service and food to everyone coming in for a meal. He doesn't discriminate in hiring so there are gays on staff. He respects other people's life choices and expects his own to be respected, too.  So, what's the point here?

A protestor was interviewed on the radio today and his objection was that the CEO of the restaurant used his own money to support traditional marriage. If supporting organizations in line with your beliefs is going to be deemed wrong, does that mean we have to give every church money in the Sunday collection? I mean, if I give five dollars to my parish, shouldn't I be expected to support the other denominations in my town? Makes about as much sense as trying to put a company out of business because you object to the owners use of his private funds.

Contitution hits the shredder . . . again . . .

This has to be one of the saddest commentaries on our country yet. Why? Can't politicians defend their stands on issues on their own merit? Do they need to silence and punish people who have a different view on the subject? More shredding of the Constitution and it, according to this Fox News Report, passed overwhelmingly through our elected officials. Another show of how our support for candidates doesn't trickle down into protection of their constituents' legal rights.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=7SGWH3kirzg&vq=medium

That explains it . . .

The Sign of the Times . . .

The 44th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae . . .

September 12, 1968

Your Holiness,

… I know that your heart is suffering much these days … for the lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the high teaching that you, assisted by the Holy Spirit and in the name of God, are giving us. I offer you my prayers and daily sufferings as a small but sincere contribution on the part of the least of your sons in order that God may give you comfort with his Grace to follow the straight and painful way in the defense of eternal truth, which never changes with the passing of the years. Also, in the name of my spiritual children and the Prayer Groups, I thank you for your clear and decisive words that you especially pronounced in the last encyclical "Humanae Vitae"; and I reaffirm my faith, my unconditional obedience to your illuminated directions.

May God grant victory to the truth, peace to his Church, tranquility to the world, health and prosperity to your Holiness so that, once these fleeting doubts are dissipated, the Kingdom of God may triumph in all hearts, guided by your apostolic work as Supreme Pastor of all Christianity.

Humbly yours,

Padre Pio, Capuchin
San Giovanni Rotondo

If only the world understood . . .

The best mind-altering drug is truth.

- Lily Tomlin

My Sewing Buddies!

 One kitten from each of the litters we were 'blessed' with have become fast friends. The gray one is an outdoor cat but comes in to play with the other one two or three times a day. They are especially helpful when I am trying to sew. Their favorite place to rest after trying to destroy the house is on top of my fabric scrap box.

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

 

When I have leftover chicken, my family is always happy to see bowls of Tortilla Soup on the dinner table. There is no set recipe for this. You just need diced, cooked chicken, chicken broth, and the seasonings of your choice. I personally recommend the addition of some pickled Jalepeno peppers to the broth! Some diced tomatoes work well. Sliced carrots and celery add some vitamins and good taste. To serve it, ladle it over hot rice, toss on a good handful of tortilla chips with a scoop of grated cheese.

This is one of those recipes that tend to evolve in a family. No one makes it the same and every version suits the family it 'grew' up in just fine. No wrong way about it!

The Battle of the Chicken Continues . . .

The United States is in an economic mess. The president is signing executive orders left and right . . . mostly in favor of the left! The unemployment numbers are much worse than reported and what is the current battle about? A chain restaurant that dares to live under the definition of tolerance. Tolerance being:  The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Chick-Fil-A is a restaurant business founded by people who believe in the sanctity of marriage. Period. They are daring to stand up for their beliefs. In the eyes of our leftist world, this is not tolerance . . . even though the definition is being followed.

Chicago, who averages a number of murders a week, is fighting to close down the restaurant because they have a different idea of tolerance. To the liberals tolerance means what they believe should be tolerated and if anyone differs from their beliefs, well, they are just not tolerant.

Okay,  say they manage to chase an innocent establishment out of their city and state. What about the employees who work there? And I would be willing to believe the staff just might include some people who don't entirely agree with Chick-Fil-A's stand on marriage yet they like being employed so they are . . . oh, what is the word? Oh, yeah, they are exhibiting tolerance.

Interesting that the people who are most against these 'old-fashioned' values find their vocabularies short on words and have to resort to gutter language. A movie star recently accepted an award and said she loved everyone except the ****** conservatives. Nice to see a pretty face spew foul language. Another one wishes cancer on anyone eating at the restaurant in question. Can the conservatives 'match' them in verbage? Nope, why lower their standards.

When will people start respecting other people's views and live and let live as they, themselves, keep proposing.

As they say, it is the economy, stupid! If you don't have a platform on which to stand, stop picking at the people who actually provide employment. You can't fix the country if you go after viable businesses and try to close them down.

Poppy Seed Bread and Variations . . .

A fast and easy loaf to get into the oven and have ready for a change-of-pace breakfast. It also freezes well so think about slicing up a cooled loaf and freezing slices in individual sandwich bags. Great for pulling out of the freezer and dropping into a school lunch bag.  It will be defrosted by lunch time!

Poppy Seed Bread
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup poppy seeds
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Vegetable oil spray and dust with flour, 2 bread loaf pans.

Beat togetehr the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat to combine. The batter should be smooth. Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes. To test: insert a toothpick towards the middle top of the bread. Toothpick should come clean with no damp batter.

Ideas . . .

You can go with sesame seeds instead!
Shelled sunflower seeds are interesting and toasted slices are good.
Use 1/2 cup of your favorite ground nuts instead of the poppy seeds.
While still warm in the pan, drizzle loaves with either a lemon or orange icing.