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.