Such a Simple Solution . . .

I was listening to the radio this morning and was amused by the talk show hosts' conversation. They were bemoaning the fact that people pay more attention to race than experience when voting in politicians. One said that everyone is so anxious to have the first Jewish president or whatever, the first Hispanic one, and so forth. At that point, one of the radio hosts piped in with, "Perhaps, we should vote for the first competent one!"

Seems so simple yet it is not so much who gains a public office but the mind set of the voters that put him/her into that office. We have a lot of information compromised voters.

Today, another radio show was taking callers to say why they thought Hillary Clinton was or was not a great Secretary of State. One woman called and said, "Hillary Clinton is a wonderful Secretary of State and just think, she is the first female Secretary of State . . . Seems a few American History lessons are called for here!

An Evening From God . . .

 After spending most of the day inside the house working on various projects and chores, I was amazed to see the sunset provided this evening . . . compliments of God! The dogs were more interested in getting their dinner but soon pictures were takens and hungry animals happy.

Our fence is white but the pink glow from the setting sun painted everything in a pretty pastel.

America Is My Name . . .

Great musical interlude that brings a tear to the eye both for what America is and how little our politicians on many levels believe and respect it.

Click here: http://www.youtube.com/v/6TPgJSZf5Vw?version=3&autohide=1&autoplay=1

New Math?

The person who calculated this bit of information is a professor at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown, where he's worked for the last 40+ years.

He says that:

• A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year.

• A new vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons of gas a year.

• So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction reduced gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

• The government claims 700,000 clunkers have been replaced so that is 224 million gallons saved per year.

• That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.

• 5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.

• More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars.

• So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million.

They spent $8.57 for every $1.00 they saved.

…I'm pretty sure they will do a much better job with our healthcare though.

Protecting reputations . . .

http://kirkcameron.com/2013/01/protecting-your-spouses-reputation/

This was a great reminder of how much power we all share in the words we use and the words we hold safely in our hearts. I used to have a friend that always made me feel uneasy. It wasn't because I didn't enjoy the friendship but the fact that her spouse was very seldom mentioned in a Christian manner. She considered her marriage rock solid but I literally recoiled every time she threw out a discouraging word at her husband or about her husband when he wasn't present.

The friend has wandered off into the past and after the initial hurt, I look back and should have seen this coming. My only question, now, is how my reputation is faring in her discussions with current acquaintances.

When we are dismayed by the antics of the world . . .

"Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

 Matt 14:27

Cheesy Popovers . . .

I made a vegetable soup for our Friday dinner but knew I'd need something to round out the meals and fill everyone up. I ran across many versions of this particular recipe but ended up doing it basically my way . . . and it was good!

Cheesy Popovers
3 cups tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup oil (I like grape seed oil)
3 large eggs
1 generous cut freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use vegetable oil spray to grease mini-muffin tin generously.

Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix until well combined. The batter will be pourable. Fill the prepared muffin tin 2/3rds full of batter. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until almost golden brown. They should puff up nicely.

Turn out of the pan and serve hot. Immediately respray the muffin tin and use up the rest of the batter. Believe me, if your family is like mine, the second batch will be ready just as they finish off the first one.

The nice thing about the recipe? No wheat flour so it fits in with our gluten-free choice of diet right now.

You could also try your own favorite cheese or a combination. I'm going with cheddar/Romano next time with a touch of cayenne in the batter.

Ontario, California Quiting Convention - I was there!

After years of wanting to attend, I finally crossed the threshold of the Ontario Convention Center and was part of the crowds at the opening day of the annual quilting convention yesterday. My kindly husband insisted we go and he used his day off to make it happen.

Naturally, the normally dry California weather was wet and rainy and, naturally, we had to park across the  highway from the convention center but we dodged raindrops, got our tickets, and waited in line for the doors to open. A huge tent had been set up for a luncheon, later, so they had everyone line up in there to keep warm and dry. It was a friendly bunch and we were about 100th or so in line. By the time the doors opened, there were about 300 people behind us in line.

Almost immediately upon getting in line, a woman started chatting with us and shared stories, talked about quilting, etc. Turns out she has a sewing room, three renovated bedrooms, and a shed out back dedicated to her quilting. Oh, and she also has 35 sewing machines! I thought I was extravagant as I have two sewing machines. Since embroidery machines seem to be the talk of the day, she shared that her favorite machine, and she has 53 machines to compare them with, is one that is computerized, embroiders, quilts, and, oh, yeah, it sews, too! She said I should take a look at it if I get a chance. I thought it best to avoid such temptation!

The doors opened and the crowds streamed in to begin the day of looking, shopping, and admiring. We barely got into the door and found ourselves directly in front of the booth dedicated to the sewing machine our new-found friend had been telling us about. It was impressive. We were about to walk on when a sales lady offered to show us around this miraculous machine. I couldn't resist seeing if it was, indeed, the machine among machines. And it was! People are shopping to buy that early in the day so the sales lady happily spent an hour with us showing us the amazing attributes of the machine. And, the machine was amazing.

Meanwhile, my husband is standing behind me during the demonstration and keeps thumping me on the back and whispering, "Let's buy it!" I ignore him. We get to the end of the demonstration and my husband is back to stage whispers of "Let's buy it!" To show him that this was not going to be possible, I ask the deal breaking question of, "How much?" I gasped when I heard the price. We prepared to continue our browsing when the sales lady showed us the discounts being offered during the convention. There was a substantial reduction with a trade-in no matter what kind of machine you had on hand. No questions asked! An additional reductions in price as some of the machines had been used in classroom demonstrations. I was blessed to get one that was not! Interest-free financing. A software upgrade for free which cost more than I could have ever considered. and a $400 Visa Gift card. I let my husband win this one!

My current machine was over 25 years old and I certainly got my money's worth out of it over the years. If I put my new one to good use, I think I will have paid off the value we paid in a couple of years by the things I can made with it. Hey, and I've figured out how to turn the machine on . . . Now to the hard part of totally figuring it out but, from what I heard, you can always discover something new every time you use it.

Jeff Foxworthy at his best - The Fence Test!

THE FENCE TEST, THINK ABOUT THIS, IT IS TRUE. You can't get any more accurate than this! This is straight forward country thinking...by Jeff Foxworthy Which side of the fence? If you ever wondered which side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test! If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life. If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect. If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him. If a Republican doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Democrats demand that those they don't like be shut down. If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his. If a Republican reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh. A Democrat will delete it because he's "offended". Well, notice that I shared it!

Quilting Convention . . . Likely this year?

For years I've been aware of the annual quilting convention taking place at a convention center relatively nearby - about  a 20-minute drive depending on the traffic. I always mean to attend yet have never made it . . . yet! This year may be the closet I've come but time will tell after today!

My husband had an unexpected day off from work which happened to fall on the first day of the convention. We have the day finely tuned in order to finally bring my attendance into reality. First, I have to take my son over to the college for his classes and then get home as quickly as traffic and weather conditions allow. Naturally, it decided to rain today! Within 15 minutes of getting home, my husband and I head out to get in line for tickets to get into the event.  Depending on the line for this, parking, etc., we will have approximately three hours to browse. At noon, we have to head back to the college to pick up my son, buy him a quick lunch in transit home, let him race into the house to get dressed for work, and take him to his job.

No, three hours will probably not be enough to see everything. I imagine it will whet my appetite for allowing for more time next year. I'm just excited to even be there today and see what it is all about. At least I have a very good chance! Several times, over the years, people have contacted me about going with them. They call me in December to tell me that the convention will be in January. I get busy and before I know it, February has come around and more than once I've gotten a call from said 'friends' telling me how great the quilting convention had been.  I know my husband won't pull this on me, however. He knows which side his bread is buttered and he knows who bakes said bread. He'll keep his promise besides, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be caught at a quilting convention without me!

Roe v. Wade - 40 years later . . .

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade when whole sale killing of the unborn was made legal. A week ago, a letter from the bishop was read from every parish pulpit. It dealt with the tragedy at the grade school with 20 children were brutally murdered. Where was the same indignation over the ongoing abortion issues? The letter had 'gun control' approval written between the lines. Where was the same desire to control the abortionist's tools of the trade?

What have we gotten from 40 years of legal abortion? We have  over 55 million dead preborn babies thrown away along with what they could have brought into this world. We have an average of an abortion every 94 seconds so by the time I write and proof this posting, two more babies will die a horrible death in the name of convenience.

I was talking to a 'catholic' obama supporter after Mass and his claim for the survival of the world was to do something about the water supply. He felt that if we slowed down the population, took care of the water problems, and then repopulated, the world would be a better place. I asked HOW he figured to take care of the population question. Abortion? Mandatory contraception? He smiled in the usual liberal complacent manner and said, "Education." With thinking like this among the Catholics . . . With the Catholic vote putting an adamantly pro-abort president in office . . . We can probably look forward to another 40 years of mutilated babies and unrealized potential being thrown away.

A friend said that we should include in our prayers a petition that the president and all anti-life people be given the gift of hearing the cries of the unborn they are allowing to die. You don't have to see the blood on your hands to know it is there.

Brave New World . . . or how bad can it really be?

Someone shared an interesting link with me this week. Some of the items covered in it have to make you wonder especially in the face of the overt actions we are 'allowed' to see happening in our government and nation. We are certainly in need of a time of prayer and reflection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyfkQkchlu4

The Challenges of Dining Out . . . and who pays?

In our family, eating out is a treat and since we all have likes/dislikes/allergies, I always felt it was up to us to decide on the eating establishment taking our own needs into consideration. If I were diabetic, I wouldn't snack at a bakery. If someone in the family was celiac, we'd avoid restaurants that specialized in pasta dishes. In other words, we would take personal care and attention to our needs and not expect a restaurant to do this for us. In this day and age, you can look up a menu on the Internet and go from there.

Today a college was successfully sued by several students because the cafeteria didn't offer enough in the way of gluten-free meals. They won and I don't find this too exceptional. If college students are living away from home and have reasonable ways of avoiding foods they can't healthily eat, then colleges should have some provisions for them. I don't know if the settlement was reasonable but the matter is settled and other colleges will probably look into this situation before they, too, are cited.

http://www.blisstree.com/2013/01/18/food/food-allergy-disability/

I think the fear now is that ALL eating establishments and fast food restaurants will now be under scrutiny and I don't think that is right. When one is enrolled and living at college, they have few choices about where to eat and some accommodations should be made for them. When one goes out to eat, they are making the choices and should not demand every restaurant to change their menu on the off chance they will get an order for specialized foods.

I have friends with foods they can't eat. What do they do? If they opt to go out to eat, they don't order that kind of food and eat around the menu offerings. Another family is on a super strict diet because of health issues. They pack a lunch or plan ahead on possible places that could meet their needs.

We recently went gluten-free for health reasons other than celiac. We don't look for restaurants to serve us specially. We just don't order items that aren't in line with what we want to eat. Some places are more accommodating about menu changes, others are not. We deal with it. We don't sit back and make unreasonable demands.

I do have to wonder about the possibility of people demanding a celiac's diet as a person with a severe case can't even be around the dust of wheat flour. How would they expect a fast food place to keep foods separate to that degree? Even with a full-service restaurant, you couldn't provide the safety that or a peanut allergy would require.

I think the world is getting to be rather spoiled. It is, however, easier to blame someone on an allergic reaction than take personal precautions to prevent one from happening.

Marriage - Husbands and their place in the home . . .

A friend shared some posts on a Catholic forum she was following. Among the many topics, one struck home for me because it seemed to adhere too strictly to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

 

The woman in the post was saying that we have to let men be men in all things. Husbands are the head of the home and should be in charge of everything that makes a household function. I've heard this many times from other women who think I take on too much of what belongs to my husband in these matters. They are especially shocked that although I don't 'work', I'm in charge of my husband's paycheck in as far as paying the bills, doing the bookwork, planning for expenditures, and doing our annual tax returns. I've often been told I was not being 'womanly' and was lowering my own respect for my husband by taking away tasks that should belong to the head of the household. I find some loopholes in that thinking!

 

First of all, my husband hates bookwork and when we were first married and he was in charge, it wasn't good. I, on the other hand, have a talent for bookkeeping and taxes. I enjoy the process and don't find it a particular burden. We figure that he works hard to bring home the paycheck and leaving the organization of the budget to me as, in reality, I am closer to the trenches than he is on that score. We work at maintaining a savings account, he is always aware of what is available to spend, the bills are done in a timely manner, and it all goes smoothly. My husband doesn't feel he is being usurped of his head of the household status and I sure don't want to BE the head of the household.

 

I think that although God says the man is the head of the home, women often forget that we can't hide our talents under the proverbial bushel basket. We all live according to our talents and a family thrives when all talents are utilized for the mutual benefit of the family.

 

 

Please, sir, may I have some more?

 Griff got an unexpected treat - he happily accepted a cat food tin to lick out. Obviously, Griff felt it was an item that could be refilled . . . if one asked politely.

A New Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!

 I'm still trying out new recipes without the help of wheat flour. Wheat certainly has a baking chemistry that isn't easy to translate into a gluten-free version. I am, however, discovering there is a whole, gluten-free world out there with a multitude of recipes, ideas, and help.

I was amazed to find a gluten-free cookie recipe on the Food Network site but it was evolved by Alton Brown (a favorite chef of mine!) so I knew taking a chance would be 98.9% safe and successful. It was! I couldn't believe how the cookies came out, the texture of the dough, and the final taste. Yes, you can tell there is something different about the texture but once the cookie is cooled down and you have a cup of hot tea at hand, you have no complaints!

Want to be adventuresome, try them - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-gluten-free-recipe/index.html

St. Pio of Pietrelcina - great quote and reminder!

“Ahead! Courage! In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backward. It happens as with a boat which always must go ahead. If it stands still the winds will blow it back.” ~St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Mother Theresa . . . and obama? A sad smile for the day . . .

A wonderful excerpt from a fantatic speech by Mother Theresa at a prayer breakfast in front of a lot of people who don't share her opinion!

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. . .

— “Let us bring the child back.” The child is God’s gift to the family. Each child is created in the special image and likeness of God for greater things — to love and to be loved. In this year of the family we must bring the child back to the center of our care and concern. This is the only way that our world can survive because our children are the only hope for the future. As older people are called to God, only their children can take their places."

In the wake of the horrible murders at the elementary school, president obama also spoke on life but I don't think he realized the inadvertant impact of his words. He is and ha been adamantly supportive of abortion and planned parenthood yet he spoke such truths and I think he still doesn't get the point.

http://conservativebyte.com/2013/01/pro-life-video-narrated-bypresident-obama/

Save the Cross in Southern California!

Anyone who lives in the Southern California area might be interested in the following link regarding the historic cross in the hillside near Riverside, California. Check it out and see if you are interested in helping out in any way.

http://save-the-cross.com/

It is interesting that religious symbols seem to be the target of the liberals these days. Guess they are feeling the 'heat'? :-)

Gun control - Yes or No?

As many of us know, the hot topic on the political agenda these days is gun control. The powers that be are sure that once we take away as many guns as possible, peace will reign and everything will be safe and good. They don't take into account that we are still children of Adam and Eve and that sin and evil still abounds in the world. Gun control merely unarms the good citizens and arms the ones with murderous intent.

All through school, we were taught history and many a teacher (I went to school in the stone ages when there was a lot of value in the educational system!) said that the world would be a better place if everyone learned history so we didn't repeat the mistakes of past history. That seems to apply in our current push for gun control. Not one of the politicians is citing any 'history' or research to support gun control. The average citizen, however, as well as many more learned and intelligent can tell you that historically gun control has not worked. This article about the UK really shows this to be true because they are living gun control and it hasn't worked.

http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/01/englands-crime-rate-nearly-four-times-higher-than-united-states/

A friend lives in Australia who now has strict gun control and says there have been three drive-by shootings in his area in the last month. Normal people don't do that so, obviously, gun control hasn't reached the ones with evil intent. This leaves the average citizen unarmed. This allows the murder rate to rise.

Perhaps, our know-it-all politicians with agendas to process should look for root concerns before banning what they determine to be the obvious concern. 

More work, less pay . . . did you vote for it?

The presidential vote was in as of November. We are now in for it as a result of that vote! Anyone who abstained from voting, were too lazy to vote, or voted without taking into consideration what your vote could mean . . . As of your first paycheck in January, you will have concrete proof that a vote does count and if wasted your vote, a good chunk of your income will now be going to government special interests and other such agendas.

I have to wonder . . . So many Catholics voted Democrat because they are Democrat, first, and Catholic second. The fact that a re-election would continue the abortion every 94 seconds platform didn't seem to phase them. We now, however, hear many complaints because that vote might disturb their way of life via their income. Voting for the continued destruction of life seems to have been easier for them to ignore but now that their means of living the life based on a certain income is reduced . . . Sad commentary . . .

http://www.teaparty.org/payroll-tax-hike-sparks-shock-outrage-18604/

Spring, Winter, Spring, Winter . . .

 The weather was still cool but really lovely since Sunday . . . until the rain came in last night. I caught some pictures of the sky just before it started clouding over, again. We were promised northerly wind that would cool things down appreciably . . . and the weatherman was right! Even now, the wind is cold. Just a race out for the mail brought winter very much back to mind.

Thanksgiving in January?

 I had some ends of bread on hand with no takers. I decided to try it out as stuffing to see if gluten-free bread would work with our favorite recipe. As you can see, it plated up nicely and looked like the real deal.  Since the last picture shows a much-deleted serving dish, I'm calling the experiment a success. Since we were going with a Thanksgiving flavor (had to use chicken, however!), it wouldn't do to omit the cranberries. I still had some frozen ones so ground them up with a fresh orange (peel and all), cooked it, and thickened it with a bit of coconut flour. It was a fun way to start winding down to the weekend.

Gluten-free version of saltine crackers . . .

 Definitely not the light crispy crackers we find in the store but a very nice, crisp and more solid cracker that should stifle a few cravings.

Interested in an adventure? You can find the recipe at:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/gluten-free-tuesday-saltines-recipe.html

Non-Fat Cupcakes!

 My latest, completed project! This was a fun scarf to crochet and I especially enjoyed making the cupcake to grace each end of the scarf. The cupcake was crocheted separately and then sewn on to the scarf. I was worried about what color yarn to use as I didn't want the dark colors showing on the back or the cream showing on the cupcake. Turned out to be easy as it was easy to use the lighter color and bury tell tail signs of it in the thickness of the cupcake applique. Mission accomplished!

Who is rocking your baby's cradle . . .?

The world is changing more quickly than any other time in history. I think instant communication and the greed of governments lends itself to this. Here is a thought-provoking that shows it is not our imagination when it seems like parents are having less and less say in the upbringing of their children.

http://mychal-massie.com/premium/the-hand-that-rocks-the-cradle/

I also read that a school has 'tags' on each child while they are on the school premises to keep track of their whereabouts. Another school sent home laptops with the students with a slight quirk that soon came to light . . . They were formulated to actually spy on the children. How did it become news? One child was chastised in class for eating candy at home the night before thanks to the computer monitoring system on the laptop.

The monitoring tags on the school children reminds me of herding cattle so none of them escape. Kind of a scary perspective when you consider the monitored 'animals' are human children!

The one thing the changes in the world have brought is bringing more Christians to their knees in prayer for the ultimate good of the world.

French Bread - First Gluten-Free Attempt!

 I just took my first loaves of gluten-free French Bread out of the oven. They come as close as you can get in taste to 'regular' French Bread without the inclusion of wheat flour. Since my children almost finished off a loaf, I'm thinking it is a success. It actually has a crunchy crust and chewy interior. I can detect the differences because I know it is wheat-free. I imagine that anyone else without this information, might not realize this. Off to try another recipe!

St. Teresa of the Cross - Edith Stein

“God is present in moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God's hands, and leave it with God. Then you will be able to rest in God—really rest—and start the next day as a new life.” ~St. Teresa of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Homemade Crackers - My New Favorite!

Snacking and wheat products seems to go together so I decided to figure out a way to have a healthy snack on hand that kept within my self-imposed dietary restrictions. This is what I came up with and I plan to make another batch . . . soon!

Cheddar Crackers
3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup slightly toasted sesame seeds
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon olive oil

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix to form into a dough. Divide the dough in half. On a large working surface, lay out a sheet of parchment paper and pat down one portion of the dough on it a bit. Cover with another sheet of parchment and using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough as thinly as possible, about an eighth of an inch. Carefully remove the top parchment paper and move to a baking sheet and place the whole thing, bottom layer of parchment and rolled out dough on it. Repeat with the second portion of dough.

You have the option of cutting it into squares, but not taking them off the parchment before baking or just baking the whole sheet and breaking them into random pieces after baking.

Bake in a pre-heated, 350 degree oven for approximately ten minutes but check to avoid burning or under cooking. Cool and serve. Keep in a closed container after completely cooled.

Words for Troubled Times . . .

“O heart of Love, I put all my trust in You. For I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from your goodness.” ~St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Pie Crust - No Wheat Involved!

When people find out that I've decided to try going wheat-free in my family's diet, they are shocked not realizing that it is relatively easy to incorporate into your lifestyle and can be done gradually. If you like to work in the kitchen, it is a new level of challenge and actually wakes up your creativity as you reinvent favorite recipes. People also forget that it is only wheat you are omitting and that butter, sugar (depending on your personal diet needs), and most everything else is still in place. It can also stretch your grocery money a bit further as you will no longer want to purchase boxed cookies, cake mixes, and prepackaged fast food items.

As I said, however, my suggestion is you read about making this change, search the Internet and browse the recipes, and ponder how and if you can make a change like this. My free time on the computer, yesterday, was Googling my favorite cookie/bread recipes but prefacing the search line with 'gluten-free'. I came up with a substitute on every search!

Over the weekend, I made a lemon custard pie to treat my family. I found a recipe that used cornstarch for the thickener and my real change was the pie crust. Wanted to share it with you as it smelled amazing while it was baking and tasted like extra-good graham cracker crumb crust.

Gluten-Free Nut Crumb Crust
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup ground golden flax seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Press the crust into a pie pan (8"-9" size).

If you need a prebaked pie crust, bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until crust is set and golden. Fill with your favorite custard or non-baked filling.

If you want to bake a filling in the crust, prebake for approximately 10 minutes, cool a bit, add your filling and bake according to your recipe.

Sobering thoughts for the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave . . .

A Little Gun History

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control.

From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.

You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late.

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.

If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun-control message to all of your friends.

SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN.
SWITZERLAND 'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE.
SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT'S A NO BRAINER.

DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

It's time to speak loud before they try to silence and disarm us. You're not imagining it, history shows that governments always manipulate tragedies to attempt to disarm the people~

　

　

　

Feast Day of the Three Kings

The final day of Christmas! The Three Kings arrive at the manger and greet the Baby Jesus. I've heard customs where, if you received any Christmas cards with a picture of the Three Kings, you save it to hang over your inside front door to bless the home for the coming year. I had a friend who used to send out only Three King Christmas cards in order to assure everyone of this opportunity.

My favorite blessing for the coming year is to inscribe with chalk the new year and the initials of the Three Kings over the outside doorway. This would appear like:

20 + C + M + B + 13
C is for Caspar, M is for Melchior, and B is for Balthasar. I've also heard that it could stand for, Christus Mansionem Benedicat - "May Christ bless this house".

I just changed the year on our inscription to '13' a few mintues ago. Not only it is it nice to remember the Three Kings in this way but it has opened conversation with door-to-door missionaries of various religions. Everyone forgets to argue faith as they want to know what the marks stand for on the door. We end up having a nice conversation, find a few things we have in common, and each go about the rest of our day with kind thoughts about the exchange.

Voice of Experience from an unexpected source . . .

(Pravda) – Americans are getting a bit of advice from a columnist in Pravda, which long was considered the voice in front of the massive power of the Soviet Union: Keep your guns.

These days, there are few few things to admire about the socialist, bankrupt and culturally degenerating USA, but at least so far, one thing remains: the right to bare arms and use deadly force to defend one’s self and possessions.

This will probably come as a total shock to most of my Western readers, but at one point, Russia was one of the most heavily armed societies on earth. This was, of course, when we were free under the Tsar. Weapons, from swords and spears to pistols, rifles and shotguns were everywhere, common items. People carried them concealed, they carried them holstered. Fighting knives were a prominent part of many traditional attires and those little tubes criss crossing on the costumes of Cossacks and various Caucasian peoples? Well those are bullet holders for rifles.

Various armies, such as the Poles, during the ????? (Times of Troubles), or Napoleon, or the Germans even as the Tsarist state collapsed under the weight of WW1 and Wall Street monies, found that holding Russian lands was much much harder than taking them and taking was no easy walk in the park but a blood bath all its own. In holding, one faced an extremely well armed and aggressive population Hell bent on exterminating or driving out the aggressor.

This well armed population was what allowed the various White factions to rise up, no matter how disorganized politically and militarily they were in 1918 and wage a savage civil war against the Reds. It should be noted that many of these armies were armed peasants, villagers, farmers and merchants, protecting their own. If it had not been for Washington’s clandestine support of and for the Reds, history would have gone quite differently.

Moscow fell, for example, not from a lack of weapons to defend it, but from the lieing guile of the Reds. Ten thousand Reds took Moscow and were opposed only by some few hundreds of officer cadets and their instructors. Even then the battle was fierce and losses high. However, in the city alone, at that time, lived over 30,000 military officers (both active and retired), all with their own issued weapons and ammunition, plus tens of thousands of other citizens who were armed. The Soviets promised to leave them all alone if they did not intervene. They did not and for that were asked afterwards to come register themselves and their weapons: where they were promptly shot.

Of course being savages, murderers and liars does not mean being stupid and the Reds learned from their Civil War experience. One of the first things they did was to disarm the population. From that point, mass repression, mass arrests, mass deportations, mass murder, mass starvation were all a safe game for the powers that were. The worst they had to fear was a pitchfork in the guts or a knife in the back or the occasional hunting rifle. Not much for soldiers.

To this day, with the Soviet Union now dead 21 years, with a whole generation born and raised to adulthood without the SU, we are still denied our basic and traditional rights to self defense. Why? We are told that everyone would just start shooting each other and crime would be everywhere….but criminals are still armed and still murdering and to often, especially in the far regions, those criminals wear the uniforms of the police. The fact that everyone would start shooting is also laughable when statistics are examined.

While President Putin pushes through reforms, the local authorities, especially in our vast hinterland, do not feel they need to act like they work for the people. They do as they please, a tyrannical class who knows they have absolutely nothing to fear from a relatively unarmed population. This in turn breeds not respect but absolute contempt and often enough, criminal abuse.

For those of us fighting for our traditional rights, the US 2nd Amendment is a rare light in an ever darkening room. Governments will use the excuse of trying to protect the people from maniacs and crime, but are in reality, it is the bureaucrats protecting their power and position. In all cases where guns are banned, gun crime continues and often increases. As for maniacs, be it nuts with cars (NYC, Chapel Hill NC), swords (Japan), knives (China) or home made bombs (everywhere), insane people strike. They throw acid (Pakistan, UK), they throw fire bombs (France), they attack. What is worse, is, that the best way to stop a maniac is not psychology or jail or "talking to them", it is a bullet in the head, that is why they are a maniac, because they are incapable of living in reality or stopping themselves.

The excuse that people will start shooting each other is also plain and silly. So it is our politicians saying that our society is full of incapable adolescents who can never be trusted? Then, please explain how we can trust them or the police, who themselves grew up and came from the same culture?

No it is about power and a total power over the people. There is a lot of desire to bad mouth the Tsar, particularly by the Communists, who claim he was a tyrant, and yet under him we were armed and under the progressives disarmed. Do not be fooled by a belief that progressives, leftists hate guns. Oh, no, they do not. What they hate is guns in the hands of those who are not marching in lock step of their ideology. They hate guns in the hands of those who think for themselves and do not obey without question. They hate guns in those whom they have slated for a barrel to the back of the ear.

So, do not fall for the false promises and do not extinguish the light that is left to allow humanity a measure of self respect.

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/28-12-2012/123335-americans_guns-0/

Religous Freedoms Denied . . .

Hobby Lobby is a great store for just about any craft or sewing item you might need. It is amazing to read how the family started the business and their fair treatment of their employees. We are currently in a bad situation in our country as far as employment is concerned. The supposed 'save' from the fiscal cliff had really done nothing but add more to our burdens. With the onset of obamacare, we are facing even more deductions to our income. Here is a company that just wants to live the American Dream and be allowed the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. As many of you have heard, this isn't happening for them which means, ultimately, the possible closing of their stores and the loss of employment. Should our government really be allowed to do this when it deals with religious freedom? Is this a wise decision when there will be other companies who have to either cut back or close? The president keeps talking about shovel-ready jobs yet keeps dumping mandates and legislation slated to take away more jobs than create. This is a letter from the owner of Hobby Lobby.

****

When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God‘s word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.

We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.

But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.

Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.

So, Hobby Lobby – and my family – are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.

My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American – and no American business – should have to make.

Sincerely,
David Green, CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Gluten-free pizza - the before and after . . .

 We eat meatless on Fridays so I was musing over what to make for dinner that would be welcome but still keep within out wheat less boundaries. I decided on pizza and immediately started looking for wheat-less pizza bread recipes. Naturally, I didn't have each and every ingredient so mixed together what I did have and prayed!

The crust was actually tasty. I used chickpea, almond, and white rice flour along with yeast, grated Parmesan, olive oil, salt and enough water to bring it all together. As you can see from the first picture, going into the oven, the pizza looked pretty good. The second picture after just my son had gotten at it, seems to recommend it highly.

Since I didn't have the ingredients required to give the crust some 'chew', mine was more crunchy but it got no complaints. With the use of the high-protein flours, we found that one or two slices of pizza along with a simple salad was quite enough.

A friend recommended a gluten-free site to me and a brief look at it has opened up a lot more baking and cooking avenues. What I like about the site is that the author sticks to more basic ingredients which is helpful for those of us who either find some of the usual ones a bit expensive or difficult to find. The site is Elana's Pantry. Also, a good place to find some of the ingredients for going wheat free is Nuts.com.

Easy Brownie recipe and it's gluten-free!

Although I've started eliminating wheat products from our diet, it is still a work in progress. I don't want to dismay my family with changes all at once. Yesterday, I made brownies without the benefit of wheat flour and they came out very well. Unless you knew about the omission of wheat flour, it would be hard to detect. Thought I'd share it with you as it works for any diet.

Gluten-Free Brownies
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1 cup bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
6 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an approximately 8x8" baking pan with parchment paper.

Combine the almond and rice flour and set aside.

Melt the chocolate and butter together and let cool down a bit. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and orange zest. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until just mixed. Add the walnuts

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and even it out. Bake approximately 25 minutes (but check at 15 minutes as oven do differ!) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. Cool on a rack before cutting. The use of the parchment paper should enable you to lift the cooled brownies out of the pan for easier cutting.

These are rich and go a long way. I served mine with a scoop of peppermint ice cream.

Rice and almond flour can be found on-line or at health food stores. If you have a good blender, you can actually grind your own but make sure you get it fine enough to avoid extra 'crunch' in your final product!

God bless, Cpl. Joshua Boston of the US Marine Corps!

I think it is hypocritical of anyone denouncing exactly what they, themselves, possess. This marine sure spoke for a lot of people when he sent this letter to Dianne Feinstein. She carries a concealed weapon and has a licence to do so. Why does she deserve what she would like to take away from others?

The following letter, written by U.S. Marine Joshua Boston and headlined “No ma’am.,” was posted in the CNN iReport on Dec. 27 with the included note from the producer and photo. It has struck a nerve with many and is being circulated around social media venues like Twitter and Facebook.

Senator Dianne Feinstein,
I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime.

You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.

I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

We, the people, deserve better than you.

Respectfully Submitted,
Joshua Boston
Cpl, United States Marine Corps
2004-2012


Read more: http://conservativebyte.com/2013/01/no-maam-letter-from-us-marine-to-dianne-feinstein-goes-viral/#ixzz2GyAHdnSh

Ten Big 'Killers' in the United States

 Interesting to note that while the noise in government these days is to ban guns because they are supposedly a major cause of death and injury in the United States, actual statistics seem to indicate an entirely different story.

Tobacco Use

529,000

Medical Errors

155,000

Unintentional Injuries

118,00

Alcohol Abuse

107,400

Motor Vehicle Accidents

34,435

Unintentional Poisoning

31,750

Drug Abuse

25,500

Unintentional Falls

24,790

*Non-Firearm Homicides

16,790

Firearm Homicides

11,490

*According to the FBI, the #1 weapon used in violent crimes . . . is a baseball bat.

Given the thinking/reasoning about proposed legislation regarding gun control, shouldn't baseball bats be considered, too? Also heard that a lot of baseball bats are sold in the UK which has strict gun control. They play that much baseball there? We don't need a nanny state. No matter what gets banned, people intent on evil will find a way.

Cookie Baking in Comic Form?

 My daughter seems to have encompassed my slight baking addiction in her recent comic. She has grown to be an expert at catching mood and expression in her comics so no one is ever quite safe from her pens, markers, and computer.

Mastered Crackers!

 Time on my hands and half a bag of flax seeds looking for a place in life . . . I was back into my new cookbook for cooking wheat free and discovered this very easy cracker that only has ground flax seeds, some sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese, oil, egg, and water. Super simple with not too much clean up as you roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. I 'improved' the recipe with a sprinkle or coarse salt over the top before baking. Another idea would be to run the pizza cutter through the dough before baking to make it easier to break into pieces. About that one, obviously missing cracker on the left? I don't know anything about it . . .!

Baking wheat-less bread - my first loaf!

Although I hadn't yet received my order for the required flours needed for this recipe, I did have the whole ingredients on hand so ground them up in my super blender. The flour wasn't exactly right but close enough.

It smelled amazing while it was baking and even though my loaf pan was a bit too big, it still rose nicely and I have a teen son anxiously waiting to slather some butter on it and try it out.

Very productive afternoon researching gluten-free recipes for some of our favorite foods. Found some great ones and will post them or their links after I give them a try.

Christmas isn't over!

 I love our neighbor across the street from us. He doesn't follow the modern norm of putting up Christmas decorations the minute the leftover Thanksgiving turkey is put away. No, he decorates his yard and home a day or two before Christmas and they stay up until the Feast of the Three Kings or there about. It is so sad that all of December is spent celebrating Christmas and just when the Octave of Christmas begins, so many people end it and the Valentine cards show up in the stores and people start planning for that.

Christmas begins the day Jesus was born and how much we and our children would miss if that was it as far as it went. There is so much more than just the Bethlehem scene to consider. What about the murder of the Holy Innocents? Herod's worry about a possible claim to his earthly throne? The Three Kings, their meeting with Herod, and their vision about not returning to Herod after their visit with Jesus and His family? Too many parts of an important history are left out.

To me, the saddest part of Christmas is all the trees dumped by the curb for trash pick up before the end of Christmas Day. Mothers sigh with relief that all this fuss is done for another year. Holiday visitors have long gone. All many have is leftover Christmas treats and forgotten reasons for the season. If Christmas lasted as long as our frantic shopping for it, we'd certainly be a happier people.

Happy New Year!

Well, 2013 has successfully dawned and I have neither broken nor started my resolution for this year yet. I will claim to be ahead of the game at this point!

The last couple of weeks got us all off schedule and I'm looking forward to resuming my projects and having a generally predictable time plan. I know, we make our plans but God makes it happen . . . or not. I'm sort of learning to be flexible!

Although I did pretty well on making Christmas gifts ahead of time in 2012, I'm starting even earlier so I don't sit there the night before Christmas and hurriedly finish up quilting and crocheting projects.

Lots of prayer required to see us through the coming year. While the government unsuccessfully deals with massive monatery math problems, we will see our taxes rise and the onset of obamacare hit our paychecks. More cost and less care as the math never has worked on that agenda.

We are praying for a change in the economy as two of my three college graduates still haven't found work. One of my children has to live and work in another country in order to even have a job.

We are trying to keep an optimistic view point but are cutting back on spending and making do. I wonder when the politicians will realize that when taxes go up, buying tends to go down which, basically, leaves things pretty much the same with no real improvement.

Anyway, we are starting the New Year, dressed in our Sunday best and attending Mass. No matter what the outcome of the year, God has blessed us with a new year to try and make better.