Quotes Full of Truth . . .

"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is stoned to death."
-- Joan D. Vinge

"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work."
-- Richard Bach

"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
-- Benjamin Franklin

Thoughts for a Thursday . . .

I was thinking about the state of the world today. In a lot of ways it was a depressing thought. For a moment it seemed to me that we needed another Lourdes, a Fatima, a miracle or two to bring us reverently to our knees. Upon further reflection, I realized that even an extraordinary miracle would probably not be heeded by those who needed it’s revelations the most. In fact, the years have given us a multitude of miracles that stand tribute to our Faith yet, for some, the world continues in a spiritually downward spiral.

Then on even further contemplation, I realized that the world is full of miracles each and every day. It is the appreciation of the people that is lacking. We definitely do not have a deficiency when it comes to miraculous events!

Our daily miracles start early each morning. We wake up without mishap, healthy and able to pursue the challenges of a new day. The water runs hot and cold, we have food for breakfast and children to love. We have spent a secure night under the guardianship of our angels.

Each person’s day takes it own separate path. Some people experience more outward evidence of God’s continued power, some people quietly enjoy the serenity of it. Every 24 hours of our day are filled with strength, the expected, the hoped for, the unexpected, the longed for and the triumphant rewards of spiritual living. Mini and maxi-miracles color and encompass each moment of our lives.

A new baby is born, a child smiles, the car starts even when the mechanic feels there is no way it can make another trip. It is not just coincidence. These can be some of the miracles of our day.

There are many hectic moments when I watch the hands of the clock approach six in the evening. I'm behind in my dinner preparations. I turn it all over to our Blessed Mother, Mary, and somehow things smooth out before my husband comes home. He thinks it is a miracle that I can cope with all I have to do. He is exactly right! It is a miracle.

We take so many blessings for granted yet continue to watch for something spectacular to happen in our life time. We want a Lanciano, another Eucharistic miracle even though dozens of them have occurred and endure to this day. We attend Mass as often as possible where we do witness a Eucharistic miracle every single time. Do you always take the time to consider it as such?

"Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed." (John Chapter 20, Verse 29)

Good advice from Mark Twain

October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.

Mark Twain

Easy Way to Asian . . .

I'm not Asian but a lot of my cooking includes Asian dishes. I'm sure a true Asian will not find my offerings totally in line with actual Asian cuisine, but my all-American family enjoy them. Anyway, I just ran across a recipe that looks easy and would have that foreign flavor I keep trying to achieve.

Easy Chicken Satay
1 envelope favorite dry onion soup mix
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thing strips
10-15 wooden skewers, soaked in water

In a large plastic bag, combine the soup mix, olive oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add the chicken and shake to evenly coat the meat. Set bag aside in the refrigerator to marinate for approximately 30 minutes.

Drain the marinade from the chicken. Do not save the marinade. On the wooden skewers, thread on the strips of chicken. You will have to sort of 'weave' the strips on to accommodate them.

Broil in the oven or grill on the barbecue until chicken is done. An Asian dressing would make a simple and easy dipping sauce. There are several varieties in the salad dressing aisle of most supermarkets.

Quotes to Quote . . .

"Every man serves a useful purpose: A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor."
-- Laurence J. Peter

"Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water."
-- W. C. Fields

Pass the Hardtack!

When I was  a child, the concept of 'refrigerator cookies' came into vogue. Refrigerator cookies merely means that you prepare the dough, form it into a roll, and then slice and bake them when the dough is cold. My mother was always interested in trying new things so she mixed up a batch. I don't know if she misread the directions, the recipe hadn't gotten the kinks worked out, or if it was just a bad recipe. The cookies were okay but spread more than desired during baking and were thick and hard. My mother was disappointed but left them on the table and we could help ourselves. She didn't have much hope of the cookies ever getting entirely eaten and was dismayed about the waste of ingredients.

A few hours later, she was surprised to find half the cookies gone! Just as she stood there musing over this, I raced in and grabbed another handful. Curious, she followed me outside and discovered me and a bunch of neighborhood children standing by a billowing old sheet we had attached to the fence. We were all munching on her failed refrigerator cookies. She smiled to herself thinking that, perhaps, the recipe did have some appeal, afterall. As she headed back to the house, she heard one of us shout, "Ahoy, maties! Pass the hardtack!" Hey, pirates need to eat, too!

Anti-depressant thought for the day!

“Depression comes not from having faults but from refusal to face them. There are tens of thousands of persons today suffering from fears which in reality are nothing but the effects of hidden sin. The examination of conscience will cure us of self- deception. It will also cure us of depression!” ~Bishop Fulton Sheen