The Price of Abortion . . .

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/09/30/incredible-video-tells-the-story-of-boy-missing-because-he-was-aborted/

A Chain of Kindess - Try it, it's contagious!

http://www.videosmotivational.com/best-clips/making-a-difference-videos/chain-of-kindness/#sthash.wXEC47c0.dpuf

Headlines from the Year: 2059

HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR: 2059


Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest
country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.
Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.
Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more
years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other
country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!
Last Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported
legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2060.

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail
delivery to Wednesdays only.

85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.
Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in
Mexifornia and Floruba.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed
they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States.

Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4532
Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

Supreme Court rules any punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

A Couple Finally Had Sexual Harmony,
They had simultaneous Headaches.

Average height of NBA players is now nine feet seven inches with only 5
illegitimate children.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters
and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2060.

IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.

A reminder of what has been lost . . .

This was a sad reminder of how much the Catholic Church gave up in order to be 'with it' and in touch with the laity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAcmODuUz44

A culinary miracle . . .

As mentioned, Pomegranates are one of my favorite fruits, but I often hesitate to enjoy them because they are so messy to eat. My husband will often treat me by seeding one for me but he ends up with stained fingers for days. Cutting one in half and just picking out the seeds is slow work and hardly worth the effort of the mess.

I just ran across this video that changes all this! The person demonstrating his method of seeding a Pomegranate assured one that they would be amazed and he was right. In about 10 seconds, you can thoroughly remove the seeds from half a fruit with little effort. Just had to share!

http://lifehacker.com/5895852/deseed-a-pomegranate-in-10-seconds-using-a-wooden-spoon

The Coming Fall Harvest . . .

 I'm excited this year. One of my favorite treats is a Pomegranate. They are always expensive in the store and you are never sure if you will select one that meets all the attributes of tang, taste, and sweetness.

Two years ago, my husband planted such a tree in our backyard. Every Spring I would see the spindly tree put out some hopeful buds only to see them scattered underneath the tree, no fruit for that year. This year, many healthy buds appeared. I wasn't impressed. Months later, they were still on the tree and I figured the dog would also take note and help himself. The buds remained unscathed and, as you can see from the picture, I just might enjoy a home-grown Pomegranate this year.

There are about 15 on the tree and they are bigger than a fist. I ignore the tree around the dogs lest they start taking an interest in it.

Back to Quilting . . .

 Driving my son back and forth to college has taken a toll on my sewing time. I've finally worked out a schedule that gives me at least an hour most afternoons to do a little bit of work on various projects.

Right now, I decided to try a large, Dresden Plate design. In my anticipation of doing this one, I started cutting before realizing that each square takes 21 pieces to for the Dresden Plate. Three day later of cutting and pressing, I finally got the first few pieced together.

Yesterday, I found sales at the fabric store and even have my backing fabric and the color I wanted for the applique work on the front. Nothing like getting what you need/want and at a discount, too.

The final triumph was a sale on batting, the stuff that makes the quilt fluffy, and a 40% off coupon got me a wholesale roll of it which is now sitting in our entry way. My husband didn't notice it the first three times he went that way but he has now. This should get a closet cleaned up as I attempt to find a resting place for the bulky item.

Christmas Baking - Gluten-Free Style!

When we initially decided to go gluten-free, my husband was concerned that many of his favorite Christmas treats would no longer be an option. At that point, we were trying eating gluten-free and didn't realize that many of my husband's health concerns turned out to be gluten intolerance. I assured him, however, that we could still figure out a way to replicate some of his favorite cookies even without the use of wheat flour.

Once we discovered that my husband really couldn't ingest wheat/gluten products, it increased my research to find books that helped us eat well, healthily, and creatively. With the Christmas season coming all too soon, I was very happy to discover two gluten-free baking books geared especially for scenting my home with the smells of Christmas baking while still protecting my husband's health concerns. Thought I'd share them with you.

Gluten-Free Holiday Baking
by Ellen Brown
More than 150 cake, pies, and pastries made with flavor, not flour.

This book is destined to be a keeper midst my other cookbooks of the same genre. Some of the recipes? Popovers, Pannetone, Stollen (to tempt my German ancestry), Gooey Sticky Pecan Buns, and more. There is even a gluten-free version of Old-Fashioned Southern Biscuits. I'm already thinking of hot biscuits with sausage gravy for a special treat.

Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays
by Jeanne Sauvage
60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats

Again, lots of wonderful recipe surprises along with hints, tips, and helpful information. My husband's first question was whether it included a recipe for his favorite Mexican Wedding Cookies . . . and it does! Biscotti and Lemon Bars are in evidence. Rugelach, Spritz, and Shortbread are there for the trying. It even has directions for baking and making a traditional Gingerbread House.

God Knows Everything . . .

 ·  ·

Warning to Plan Ahead . . .

During Clinton's term of office, Hillarycare came into play and our politicians has the gumption to say no and vote it down. This did not happen with obamacare even though the majority of the taxpayers did not want this drastic change in how we deal with our medical needs. Although the Republicans acted like they would fight the funding, as usual, they caved and this goes into effect this October. Funding, however, doesn't mean people will take it in stride and just deal with the fallout. Here is a head's up to America by the truckers. They advise that we stock up before October because they plan to stop work for three days in protest. This means groceries won't be delivered, stores won't be restocked in a timely manner, office needs, warehouse needs . . . if they pull this off, it would mean a major slowdown.

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/09/1-million-truckers-protest-barack-obama-shutting-america-3-days-october/#ixzz2fEs09BpX

What next?

What next is a question we get answered most every day with more and more stupidities in our laws and prescribed behaviors. Christian values are out the window and basic rules that make sense, like the Ten Commandments, are disrespected. Children rule the world no matter their age because real grownups wouldn't waste their time on this stuff. I just read that Colorado actually has a ruling pending to grant trees, plants, and flowers 'the right to life' same as humans. On the surface, I'm wondering if we won't be allowed to pick flowers or eat vegetables then realized that if the flora of the country is given 'the right to life' same as humans, we will still be free to 'abort' all the vegetables and fruit we want, right?

 

http://eaglerising.com/1759/pittsburgh-government-outlaws-parking-driveways/

Then, there is a law on the books from back in the 1950's that said cars cannot be parked within 30 feet of a home. As the article explains, this made sense back then but now people are not allowed to even park in their own driveways! And, to all intents and purposes, they powers that be are enforcing this old law, probably to increase revenues to the state as the citations for parking in your driveway are high.

 

http://eaglerising.com/1757/ready-public-school-porn/
Read this one at your own risk but suffice to say the liberals seem to want our children's minds tainted before they even get out of school. The required reading at the school mentioned, is porn and not something I'd allow in my home. Doctors, to take a sideline on a related subject, are now asking patients about their sex lives and noting down the information. A friend said her daughter was chastised by the pediatrician for not talking about the fact of life to her eight year old. Yes, there are some aspects of life that need explaining at that age but not all aspects. The innocence of our children is fast leaving the world.

 

http://eaglerising.com/1754/new-york-nanny-state-steroids/
This article could change one's mind about hosting a party! Again, a law is being enforced where it has no right to intrude. Seems that having a 'secret' nightclub or dinner house in a private home that feeds the public, is against the law. Fine, I agree with that, BUT, they are now invading private homes that are having company over and so help you if someone brought a hostess gift or chipped in some money towards refreshments because now you are a dinner house that is taking in money!

Decisions change the world and who takes responsibility?

This article says it all regarding the disregard of tolerance and protection for all people of all faiths and creeds.

http://lastresistance.com/3176/obamas-syria-decision-mean-death-syrian-christians/

Saving the citizens of our future . . . but not always.

Yesterday, the president gave a powerful speech on fighting what is wrong with the world especially when it hurts, maims, or kills the most innocent.

"When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied."
It seems rather a contradiction that while the president bemoans, and so he should, the meaningless deaths in Syria, the plight of the unborn everywhere is ignored and the world has for decades looked the other way "until those horrifying pictures fade from memory". In his own words, obama stated that "The facts cannot be denied." He was referring to the gas deaths in Syria that killed over 400 children. Does he realize that his support of abortion has caused the death of millions of children and in equally horrible ways?

It is sadly interesting that while the atrocities in Syria need and should have the attention of the international community, the ongoing horrors of abortion continue minute by minute and are not considered a violation of any law except that of God’s . . . but so many gloss over God’s involvement in any part of their life where it might be inconvenient.

Perhaps, while dealing with the events in Syria, we should also include the waste of humanity on a daily basis here in America and many other parts of the world. And, untoward death to children is a ‘danger to our security’ as we blatantly allow the demise of our future in many ways.

" . . . "I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain and going still on a cold hospital floor, for sometimes resolutions and statements of condemnation are simply not enough." Does the president actually know what an abortion entails? Does he realize sensitive unborn infants are burned, stabbed, and torn apart also while ‘writhing in pain’. While he purports to mourn the few that died in Syria and they should be mourned and future actions stopped to prevent a reoccurrence, why doesn’t he ever stand by the children that represent our future?

"Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That's what makes America different. That's what makes us exceptional."
Yes, terrible things happen every day but currently America is rather particular about who gets attention and saved and who is ignored. Besides his ardent support of abortion, he has initiated laws that are against Christians. In many ways, our freedom of religion is being tampered with in order to command a world of tolerance according to government views. We could go on with lists of where we have to toe a line that is not totally in line with how our country was founded. It just hit me as rather awkward that the president would use the death of innocent children to make his point when he is in favor of so many unborn citizens being tragically disposed of every day. Yes, something needs to be done about countries that use poison gasses to arbitrarily murder their citizens. Too bad this attitude doesn’t apply to all.

Benghazi left in the shadow of Syria . . .

We have a anniversary, today. It's been exactly one year since the attack in Benghazi. Sad to say, the liberal media has yet to demand answers and hold the Obama administration accountable for unanswered questions. Americans died horribly in an American Embassy while the powers that be either neglected or ignored the protocol required and necessary to resolve the situation. The American people still have a right to answers about this. The American people are still not getting these answers.

Why did Hillary Clinton, head of State Department, continue to blame the attack on a video when the documents revealed that it was confirmed to be a terrorist attack within a couple of hours of the attack?

Shouldn’t the Secretary of State Clinton have been further questioned by the Accountability Review Board regarding her acceptance of ‘full responsibility’ for the attack?

Help was within reach yet commandos were denied permission to go to Benghazi and help fellow Americans under siege. The attack lasted for hours.

The Foreign Emergency Support Team was denied permission to go into Benghazi as conditions were too dangerous . . . yet, Americans were left to die there.

To this day, we have yet to really hear from survivors about those hours under siege and you have to wonder why. How often have tragic events seemingly immediately been made into ‘made-for-television’ movies . . . but things are strangely quiet about this one.

Today, the president is schedule to talk to the American people about the crisis in Syria . . . on the anniversary of the tragedy in Benghazi? Makes you wonder if this was a manufactured event to overshadow the deadly events of this time last year.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies - Two Ways!

We eat gluten-free so when I see I recipe that appeals to me, I have to study it a bit to see if I can turn it into a gluten-free version. Success today! This is the recipe in it's original 'format':

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/chocolate-hazelnut-cookies-recipe

In order to make it edible for my gluten-free husband, I had to omit the flour and substitute. I took a leap of faith in myself and used the recipe, as is (except for the wheat flour) and added a couple teaspoons of xanthan gum powder to the mix and used the gluten-free flour mix from Nuts.com. I've tried many brands and this has become my go-to flour for baking these days.

The cookies didn't turn out as thick as shown in the picture on the link but they are thin and chewy . . . which is what I like in a cookie. The mixture of hazelnut spread, unsweetened cocoa powder, and some powdered espresso provided a very tasty cookie.

So, you see, this is a 'two-way' cookie! If you are avoiding wheat products, it is possible with this recipe. If gluten-intolerance isn't a problem for you, just follow the recipe as stated.

Where Does Wheat Hide Out?

As I've mentioned before, my family decided to go wheat and gluten-free the first of this year. Although my husband is the only one with celiac tendencies, the whole family joins in the new diet. Much to our surprise, it is relatively easy, we still get to enjoy our favorite treats and such with the necessary tweaks to avoid the gluten, and all feel better. One problem that we have learned to contend with is reading and then re-reading product labels as wheat and gluten can hid under many names. I looked around, did some research, and found this link which is very detailed and even surprised me with some of the items listed. For all the gluten-free readers, I'm happy to share the following:

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=52

Alarming Find of the Day . . .

After a summer out and about in the sun and dealing with the passing years, many of us consider using a skin whitening lotion to lighten sun spots and uneven skin tones. I was browsing through some sites that offered a variety of the stuff and there are two ingredients that keep showing up in the ingredient list - Hydroquinone and Clobetaso. I assume these two items must work in the lotions but decided to investigate further. Found out some worrisome facts.

Hydroquinone is a carcinogenic agent which can cause cancer when used excessively or over a long period of time. The more pigment in your skin, the higher the risk. Eventually, it can cause permanent problems or disfigure your skin.

Clobetaso is a strong corticosteroid usually used in treating psoriasis and eczema and over seen by a doctor.

Reading this made me much happier with my uneven tan marks. Finding out that over 100 such lotions on the market do contain one or both of these ingredients is shocking. The world would like to deprive us of  free choice in what we eat or drink yet let companies continue to use potentially harmful ingredients in non-prescription products.

Thought I'd share my finds of the day. The more I consider things, the happier I am to stick with the uneven tan marks I've been blessed with over the summer.

The world gets crazier every day . . .

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/09/06/republican-chairman-blasts-democrats-who-prayed-for-abortion/

I'm finding it difficult to understand why people would pray for abortions and abortionists as evidenced recently in the news. I can see people praying for someone to not kill a living baby and save his or her life for the plan God has in mind for them. However, to pray that babies continue to be murdered in the womb astonishes me. When these pro-choice people bow their heads in prayer, what do they exactly pray for and to whom? According to God's Commandments, 'thou shalt not kill' so how would one phrase a prayer to God that is in direct opposition.

A contradiction that needs no explaining . . .

A Smile for the Day . . .

Travel Plans for 2013-2014

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito.  I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane.  They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much into physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt.  That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense!  It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!

I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in.  It's an age thing.  They tell me it is very wet and damp there.

(shared by a friend via e-mail)

Labor Day - Prayer from the Christian Foundation for the Children and Aging site . . .

This Labor Day we recall that many of our sisters and brothers in communities around the world long to be able to have meaningful work. A hymn, "Those Who Love and Those Who Labor," reminds us work is vital on both the material and spiritual levels. Those who love and those who labor, follow in the way of Christ; Raise the stone and you shall find me; cleave the wood, and there am I. Where the many work together, they with Christ himself abide. But the lonely workers also find him ever at their side. Lo, the Prince of common welfare dwells within the market strife; Lo, the bread of heaven is broken in the sacrament of life.

Please pray

Loving God, we thank you for the labor of work and the privilege of being co-creators in your divine economy. May we learn through the sacrament of work to be ever more aware of the material and spiritual needs of each and all. Amen.

Seemingly not widely known but why not?

I love throwing out what I know to be a fact and then bet with people who haven't learned by now that I don't present something I haven't researched a bit. This is a good question to ask - Did the Japanese attack the West Coast during World War II? No? Check out this interesting link:

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/japanese-bombing-west-coast.html