Times-Squared

I'm back...from Texas. From vacation. Back to wifi, and blogging.=)
We had a wonderful trip. I got lots of "sib" time. It was the first time in over three years that we had all been together. And we made the most of it. Lots of good food, conversation and laughs. My sister, Brian and I ran in a race in Dallas on Thanksgiving day. It was a huge event! Almost 40,000 people. I finished within my time window, but I didn't finish as strong as I wanted because I had leg cramps in the last mile. But I am glad that I did it.
And now I am wondering just where November went? The month that I really don't like. It's practically gone. And we're jumping full speed ahead into Christmas. My favorite station has been playing Christmas music for weeks now. Needless to say, I boycotted them for a while, but now that Thanksgiving has breezed by, I can be okay with Christmas music. But the Christmas season as a whole can be overwhelming. The presents-shopping, making, wrapping (give me some tape to sniff)- the get togethers, Christmas programs and concerts, all on top of regular life-school, BSF, church, four kids.
Before we left on vacation I saw a diagram that was strangely enlightening, and encouraging, and helpful. It is by a guy named Stephen Covey and it looks like this.

Every activity in our lives fits into one of these categories: urgent/important, non-urgent/important, not important/urgent, not important/not-urgent. We all can think of Q1 stuff-baby needing fed, house burning down, making dinner, paying bills. Things that have to happen now! Q-2 stuff is exercise, family time, paying those bills before they are due, reading, school, writing this blog. Q-3 stuff is like answering the phone instead of screening phone calls.=) Q-4 stuff would constitute things like Facebook and web surfing. Most people tend to spend their time doing Q-1 and Q-4 activities. Living in crisis mode between time wasters. If you spend all your time in Q-1 you feel as if you are always behind the ball, under the gun, and putting out fires. This is not the way to live. Stephen Covey's revolutionary idea is to spend the majority of your time doing Q-2 activities. We want to spend time doing prevention activities-like brushing your teeth.=) Or relationship building activities-like time with family and friends. Investing in people, not just being busy. Not just checking Christmas gifts off a list a mile long. Taking time to plan your day/week, and laying it before the Lord for multiplied time, and flexibility as necessary. Exercising to get those endorphins flowing. Investing in our children's future, and fulfilling our responsibilities by schooling and maximizing teachable moments. Those moments when they are most prepared to hear and apply the truth. Doing things we enjoy-like blogging, cooking, singing, reading, sleeping.=) Cleaning the house. But also realizing that some cleaning should fit into the Q-3 or Q-4 categories. Under the fridge doesn't need to be edible clean every week. Dusting can wait until tomorrow-just like that poem says. Can you tell that time, and not enough time has been on my mind a lot lately?  I was thinking last night about scheduling, and how I am confident that most of what I'm doing is what God wants me to do. Even knowing that God transcends time, and multiplies time, it just seems like there is far too much on my plate. But I think the balance is going to come in the more I live in the reality that I can't, NOT I can. I know that God calls, equips and stretches. I don't have to rely on me to get through.
So, my goal for this holiday season is to focus on the quiet. The important, but not urgent. To take deep breaths, and enjoy this month. Love on my family. Enjoy our traditions. Be a blessing.

Not too bad=)

Thanks, Mr. Covey.

Hoarded Resources and Cracked Pots

The finished product. Move over Panera!

potato soup

As I sit here preparing to blog the background noise includes the sounds of kids playing (nicely for once=)), the dishwasher running, and The Four Seasons, I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. My favorite Pandora stations are Motown, Leahy, and the Beach Boys. I find that Beach Boys radio is a great blend to cook and clean to. To say nothing of dancing to.=) The kids love b-bopping to tunes and words that are now very familiar to them. Ethan's favorite is Don't Know Much About Anything. He occasionally asks me what some of the terms mean. Sociology, theology, biology...and whatever other "ologies" that we add for fun. Brian Marcus likes American Pie. I like Bar-Bar-Bar-Barbara Ann.=) Meredith and Elsie seem to like them all.
But some times the Beach Boys is not where its at. Like when you feel empty, or in a hole that you can't climb out of. Then I turn to the hymns. What a rich heritage we have at our fingertips! If you think about it, our hymnbooks are filled with centuries of Christians' lofty thoughts about God. They are filled with encouragement that they experienced when they were discouraged. They are full of praise and prayers. These Christians' testimony to God's faithfulness, put in a much more poetical way than I could ever frame up myself.
Yesterday, I was feeling rather bogged down with paperwork and planning for our trip to TX tomorrow.  We are paying astronomical rates on our insurances, and the rates just keep going up. We would be rich if we weren't pouring money down this rabbit hole. I'm not kidding. Anyway, we are shopping around, and I had to find papers, and fax papers, and copy papers. It took way more time and energy than I had yesterday. Then I had Bible Club yesterday, and I felt so empty. Like, I just can't do this. And this was God's answer to me.

But though I can not sing, or tell, or know, the fullness of thy love while here below
My empty vessel I may freely bring, O Thou, who art of love the living spring
My Vessel fill.

Then fill me, O my Savior, with Thy love. Lead, lead me to the living fount above:
Thither may I in simple faith draw nigh, and never to another fountain fly,
But unto Thee.

Mary Skeleton wanted to be filled, just like me. Same desire, same need. And thankfully, the same God. Or how about, He Giveth More Grace? This is a somewhat newer hymn, written in the 1900s. Annie Johnson Flint lost her parents when she was just 6 years old. She was adopted. She developed arthritis when she was a teenager. She wrote her own poetry and music for her poems, but as she got older she couldn't hold a pen anymore, so she would type out her poems on a typewrite using her knuckles. This lady knew God's grace. Its abundance and sufficiency in trials. She wrote...

the bread bowls

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted the end of our store of endurance,
when our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
The Father's full giving has only begun.

His love has no limit; His grace has no measure; His power has no boundaries known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

That "hoarded resources" is such a rebuke to me. Oftentimes I give out of my own strength. I CAN DO THIS. But then I hit those times when I clearly can't. When it has to be all God, because I have nothing. I have been holding on to my time, resources, money, strength. And then its just gone. And God gives. He fills. Despite my failures. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. He can't fill me when I am full of myself. I am so glad God is so patient with me. I can make choices. To strive for excellence, not perfection-in myself or my family. To hold my baby, and cherish this too short stage of her life. To not try to be all things for everyone, or superwoman. To blog, and not dust. (I'm leaving tomorrow, so who is going to see?) To let the glory, power and grace of God shine out of this cracked pot. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Cor.4:7)

table set for company

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Polka Dots and Potatoes

Currently I am having a love affair with polka dot tights. I had that one black pair with the white polka dots that got the unrepairable hole. Well, Brian told me I could replace them. I did this weekend. My new pair debuted at Bible study last night. I got 10 comments if I got one-about my tights. Seriously, I could start a fashion trend here. The comments that cracked me up were from the two older women who live at the local rest home that I give a ride home. The one lady was like, "look at those legs." This is from a lady in her 80s. It makes me want to run out and buy her a pair, you know? Bless her heart. And then as we were crossing the street a car was coming. It stopped, and she said it must have been because of those socks.=) I'm thinking its because the person didn't want to go to jail for running over two old ladies on the way home from Bible Study. But I will take what I can get.=) I tell you, its a great way to spend $6.
I haven't always been in to polka dots. Its a rather new like for me. As a matter of fact, I hated polka dots. Why? Well, it is one of those things I can blame on my mom. When I was like 10 years old she bought me the ugliest old lady bathing suit-black with white polkas dots. I have hated them ever since. I'm not kidding. It almost permanently scarred me.=) But, I have fallen back in love because they are in for little girls. And I have two little girls. It started with the blanket I made for Meredith-pastel polka dots on a soft flannel. And she was given a pink and green newborn outfit with white polka dots (kind of a cute watermelon affect) that I had her newborn photos taken in. And she had a tan onesie with white polka dots. Are you picking up on a white polka dot theme? And then someone gave her a squeaky toy rhino thing-pink with polka dots. And I bought her a navy blue romper with white polka dots. And my sil just gave her a black shirt with white polka dots and pink highlights. Its so adorable. Anyway...that's the polka dots. But don't expect to see me wearing any except for on my legs. That would be so "80s".=)
How about potatoes? Potatoes are quite the subject. They belong to the deadly nightshade family, and originated in the Andes region. There are more than 5000 cultivated varieties worldwide, making potatoes the fourth largest crop following rice, wheat and maize. Potatoes were introduced into Europe in the late 16th century after the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire. Both Sir Francis Drake, and Thomas Harriot, an employee of Walter Raleigh, are credited with bringing them to England. European farmers were rather suspicious of this tuber, and were slow to adopt the potato as a main crop. By the 1800s the potato was a big factor in Ireland, which led to the Great Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s when potato blight destroyed the potato crop several years in a row. In the first decade of the 21st century(that's now) the annual diet of the average global citizen consisted of 73 pounds of potatoes. And how do we eat them? French fries, potato chips, latkes, stumput, mashed potatoes, colcannon, and baked potatoes to name just a few.
Personally, I like to eat my 70+ pounds of potatoes as potato soup. That's what's on the menu tonight. Potato soup in bread bowls. The soup recipe is an old standby. The bread bowls are an experiment.

Bernadette's Creamy Potato Dill Soup
3 lbs potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T salt
1/4t pepper
1T dill weed
2 T butter
1 c sour cream
1 c shredded cheese
1 lb bacon-fried OR 1-2 c chopped ham
parsley

Peel and cube potatoes. Place in a large pot, cover with water and cook with a dash of salt, onion, celery and garlic until tender(45-60minutes). Mash in water. Add remaining ingredients, and bring back to a boil. Add more water or milk if needs thinning.

My aunt, who is a faithful blog reader, thinks that bacon with potatoes is an abomination. But she doesn't like donuts either, so should we really trust her judgement?=)

You can eat this soup in a  bowl, or try this bread bowl recipe with me. It is from AllRecipes.com


Bread Bowls

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
•  
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
4. Punch dough down, and divide into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 inch round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make bowls: Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from top of each loaf; scoop out centers, leaving 3/4-inch-thick shells. Fill bread bowls with hot soup and serve immediately.

No soup and bread bowl photos yet, (I'll take them tonight and
add them later) so you are stuck with the Polka Dots.=)

So, if you're behind in your 70 pounds of potatoes this year, why not have some potato soup tonight?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Every once in a while I wonder what I would DO if Mr. Hippie died. I mean, I think I would pay off the house with the insurance money, if we haven't already done that. And then I'd try to live on the rest for a while. But, if I had to provide for myself and my fam, what marketable skills do I have? Since I don't have a degree, and never went to college, would I be up a creek? All I know how to do is run a home. What to do? (Btw, this is pure conjecture-I'm not planning to bump him off any time soon. Maybe later.=))

What are my strengths? What do I enjoy?

Well, I love to read. I could work in a book store or at the library. A library would probably be the better option. Then I wouldn't spend grocery money on books.

And, of course I've made it abundantly clear that I also love to cook. One of the best experiences of my life was being a camp cook. I wouldn't mind doing that again. Food service is hard work. But it is so rewarding when people eat and enjoy what you cook. I don't specialize in fancy food, just GOOD, economical dishes. I could be a line cook. I probably wouldn't start my own restaurant without Mr. Hippie here behind me. But, maybe I could run a cookbook bookstore/restaurant.

I also like to boss people around.=) I played around for a while with the idea of going to culinary arts school. That was pre-mister. But the other course that sounded like a good fit was culinary management. You know, the people at banquet facilities who keep everything running smoothly. I think I could do that. Organizing and details are right up my alley.

I'm also in to fitness. I'm not an expert, but I'm stubborn. I have no training, but I've gotten better, learned a few things, and not given up. I've been at this swimming thing for over 10 years, and running for over 3 years now. I could be a fitness coach. For real people. Moms with young children. Who want to "strengthen their arms" and be healthy, not Barbie dolls. That would tie in very well with my skill of bossing people around.

I think I picked up that characteristic from my dad. We always referred to him (not to his face) as a drill sergeant. Maybe I could combine my love of cooking with fitness. Like run a restaurant, good food-not overly healthy, and you have to exercise before or after you eat. What do you think? I'm sure it would be an overnight success. Rags to riches and all that.

And lately, I've come to realize how much I like teaching. I really enjoy our fun school on Fridays. Especially the history and geography parts. Making timelines, drawing, finding out facts, cooking the meals. Its a lot of fun. I like telling stories. Making all the details come alive. Really digging in. Unit studies. I'm sure we could tie that in somewhere.

I would NOT open a daycare. Not my bag of beans. Nor be a secretary. I can do that stuff, but I don't enjoy it. I would not work outside, like doing gardening. Or book-keeping. I guess if all else fails, I could clean houses, or flip burgers. I don't know....

Or I could always teach spoon dancing...=) I know people would pay big bucks for that skill.

I'm Thankful for...

Every year the kids and I play the "thankful"game each morning throughout the month of November. It is a great exercise to think of all the big and little things God blesses us with every day. Here's part of my list for this year...
Brian-my husband and best friend. My leader and running partner. My ministry partner. The love of my life...forever. My knight in shining armor. My scrabble partner. My biggest cheerleader.
Brian Marcus-my right hand man. He is my big helper. I couldn't do a whole lot that I do without his help.
Ethan-"great heart"-his salvation, baptism and spiritual growth this year have been a blessing.
Elsie-THE princess. My shopping partner, chic flick partner, toe nail partner. She is a sun beam.
Meredith-my newest treasure-I so love her. She doest NOT like to shop. Or be in her stroller. But she does love to snuggle. And her smiles are golden. I can't imagine life without her.
My parents, and in-laws-I am so thankful for the godly heritage they have passed on to Brian and I. They raised us well. Instilled great life principles-about love, marriage, finances, spirituality. The older I get, and the longer I am a parent, the more I appreciate them. When you are a teen, you tend to knock heads with your parents, strain at restrictions, think you know better. When you are a parent yourself, you might do things differently, but you can appreciate the heart behind what your parents did.
My sibs, and sibs in law-the majority of my close friends are our siblings. We fought growing up, but we are great friends now. Distance, you know.
The BFF-Mary-I am so thankful for a friendship that spans well over 20 years now. Teens, twenties, now 30s and parenting. But still chatting and cooking. Tuesdays are the highlight of my week-second only to coffee with Brian each morning.=) I love how we have grown closer each year. How we understand each other so well. And the awesome desserts we share at least once a week. And the fact that she thinks I'm always right, and the other person is obviously wrong.=)
I am thankful for people. All the people who have invested in my life-given something of themselves to make me a better(hopefully) person. Margaret-teaching me how to make pancakes, laughing with me over Reader's Digest jokes, being my "second hand" shopping buddy, and "green jello." Mary P-showing me an excellent example of being a woman involved in ministry, but also home economics, and being a good business partner for your hubby. And your sense of style. When I wear something particularly colorful I still refer to it as a "Mary P outfit."=) Pamela-we met years ago, and have continued our relationship. She is a mentor to me. I know that she prays for me daily. Such an encouragement! Ann-sound advice, good perspective, partner in ministry. Beth-another long time friend, and breakfast partner. Miriam-a great friend. We commiserate about exercise and stretch marks. She is beautiful inside and out.
To say nothing of my thankfulness for my house, piano, Pandora, computer, my blog, my mini van with heated seats, my running duds and the ability to run, my pool and the faithfulness of the lifeguards, my dish washer, washer and dryer, sewing machine, tempur pedic mattress, my special dishes, paint for walls, clothes, mascara, coffee, chocolate, flowers, cookbooks, novels, history, magazines, food, fruit and vegetables, my new kitchen aid mixer, my refrigerator, air conditioning, for our family vacation this year, my health, BSF-that all of us can go and study Acts together...such Abundance!
I am thankful for The Bible, God's Word-it teaches me about God-who He is, and about the world-His plan for it, and about me-what He wants from/for me.
I am thankful most of all for Jesus Christ-that He died on the cross for my sins, was buried, rose again the third day, and is now seated at God's right hand-ever living to make intercession for me.

So, on this snowyish November morning...(which I am not too thrilled about, that, or the Christmas music on the radio) I will count my blessings. There are so many.

Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17 It is God who has given me all these things, and blessed my life with all these amazing people.

Thank you, Lord!

Just a Trifle

There are things I can do, that I spend a lot of time doing, that I really don't like doing...i.e.paperwork. I probably spend 1-2 hours every week taking care of paperwork for our business or our home. I can do it-which is why I do do it, but I really don't enjoy it. At all.
What I do enjoy doing is looking through cookbooks and picking out new recipes. My bff gave me 2 new cookbooks for my birthday, and I finally took time this Sunday to look through one of them to pick out recipes to try. Seven caught my eye, and they will find their way to our menu over the next month or so.
Like I've said before, I like food. And I really like dessert. So the perfect new recipe to try out is a dessert recipe. When I make a dessert I am looking for a lot of bang for a little buck. And what fits that description perfectly? Trifles...

All ready for a recent church dinner.

Think about it. You layer cake, fruit or candy, and some kind of cream mixture in a pretty glass bowl for a stunning effect. The Hippie family has a favorite. Its fondly known as Mrs. Johnson's dessert, or punch bowl dessert, or (as I like to refer to it) liquid gold. It regularly makes an appearance at functions where a huge, delicious dessert is required. And it is always a success. It is layers of angel food cake, whipped topping mixed with egg yolk and powdered sugar, and lots of crushed butterfingers. Outstanding!












Liquid Gold

Liquid Gold

1 pound powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
24 ounces whipped topping
Mix together until smooth.
9 large butterfingers, crushed
2 small or 1-1/2 large angel food cakes.
Layer 1/3 of the cake, 1/3 of the cream mixture, and 1/3 of the candy bars in a punch bowl. Repeat layers 3 times, ending with the candy bars. Refrigerate.

I also like the chocolate pudding, brownie trifle my sister in law makes for a lot of the extended Hippie family functions. It incorporates my favorite thing...chocolate brownies, with my favorite candy bar-Heath. How can it be anything but amazing?
Brownie Trifle
9x13 pan of brownies, baked, cooled, 1" cubes
2 boxes of chocolate pudding, mixed up with half the milk
16 ounces of whipped topping
6-8 Heath bars, crushed
Layer in 2 or 3 layers in a 5 quart trifle bowl, ending with candy bars. Refrigerate.

The key to trifles is the abundance of crushed candy bar. Can you do too much? Probably not. The key to the spectacular look is ending the layering with the candy bars. Trifles are so pretty, with the cakes, the candy, and with the cream oozing down over all like those waterfall rock things in underground caverns. And most trifles feed anywhere from 12-20 people. Invested time for those 12-20 servings is way less than an hour. You can't beat that.

If you are a coffee/chocolate lover, this trifle is for you. It combines artfully arranged lady fingers with grated chocolate and fruit.
Strawberry Tiramisu Trifle
1 quart fresh strawberries-leave 3 whole for garnish and slice the rest
1-1/4 c cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces)vanilla pudding mix
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
4 T strong brewed coffee at room temperature, divided
8 ounces whipped topping
1 package (3 ounces) lady fingers, split
6 (1 ounce) squares of bittersweet chocolate, grated
Mix milk and pudding for two minutes. Let sit 2 minutes until soft set. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 T of the coffee to the cream cheese. Beat. Beat in pudding. Fold in whipped topping. Brush remaining coffee over lady fingers. Line the bottom of a 3 quart trifle bowl with half the ladyfingers. Top with half the berries, half the chocolate and half the cream. Repeat layers. Cut reserved berries in half; place on trifle. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Maybe you say, "chocolate is not my thing. Coffee is not my thing. Fluffy white cake is not my thing...I like fruit." Well, here is the trifle for you.
Apple Spice Cake Trifle
1 package (18-1/4ounce) spice cake mix
1-1/4 c cinnamon applesauce
3 eggs
1/3 c oil
*You can mix and bake this up in a 9x13 pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes until a tooth pick comes clean, or omit these first four ingredients and just make up your favorite spice cake recipe. Cool then cut into 1" cubes.
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
1 T butter
7 t cinnamon
3 cups cold milk
2 (3.4 ounce) packages vanilla pudding
16 ounces whipped topping
1/2 c chopped walnuts
2-3 Heath bars, crushed
In a saucepan, cook pie filling, butter and 1t of cinnamon until butter is melted, and everything is well blended. Cool. Combine milk, pudding mix, whipped topping and remaining cinnamon. Beat on high until thickened, about 5 minutes. Spread a third of the pudding cream topping in a 6 quart glass bowl, place half the cake cubes over topping, half the fruit mixture and walnuts and half remaining pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with all the Heath bars. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

The oozing waterfall affect 

     `

So, why don't you put just a trifle of trifle on your menu this week?

Auf Wiedersehen

Applesauce is bubbling on the stove, Meredith is sleeping on the living room floor, the other three are playing and fighting over legos, and me, well I'm going to blog.=)
We've just finished our eighth week of school. I can hardly believe it. And we've just finished our fourth week studying Germany. We spent the first week studying the highlights-flag, culture, major cities, and such. The boys learned how to count to 20 in German from their good friend Benny-of German descent. They made up interview questions for Benny's dad, Gerhard-a home grown German. Then we dug into the history. It is rather complicated, but if you look at the changing maps of Germany, you get the general idea.

The salad. I don't know how authentic it is, but it looked nice.

spaetzle

Yesterday we indulged in German food. This would be the crowning moment, the culmination, the coup de grace. Germans are known for their breads, beer, salads, and brats. To quote Rogers and Hammerstein, we had "schnitzel with noodles..." I have brats and a gallon of sauerkraut for tomorrow. Our German friends filled us in on some traditional German dishes, then I looked up recipes on the internet. I found Jaegerschnitzel-breaded, fried pork cutlets served with a white wine, onion, mushroom cream sauce. Amazing. I was going to be uber industrious and make spaetzle but when you can buy imported spaetzle at Aldi, why bother? I did toast my own bread crumbs to toss with them. It was a ton of work.=) I also made a German salad. Christina told me that the Germans don't mix up their salads like we do-they pile the vegetables in their own groups. Artfully. She gave me an herb mix from Germany, and I added some of it to a balsamic olive oil dressing that we drizzled on top. Pretty good. The dinner was topped off with German Chocolate Cake. I made a mistake on the frosting, so it wasn't exactly what I intended. I was going to do the coconut pecan frosting on the top and between layers, and then put chocolate buttercream on the sides, but I ended up with way too much of the coconut stuff, so no buttercream. It was not my favorite. I don't even know if it is authentic. But at least it calls for German chocolate. Everyone was pleased with the overall results. I'd have to say it was more popular with the kids than the Egyptian food was. And it really fills you up. All that breading, and bread crumbs and noodles, and rolls. Wow. I was eating it and thinking, "good running food."

Jaegerschnitzel

"schnitzel WITH noodles"

Anyway, as we finish up this foray into all things German, I am reminded of an I Love Lucy episode. Typical storyline...Ethel wants Ricky to sing for her lady's club benefit. Lucy will only let him if they can do a duet. Everyone thinks that will be a disaster, but Ricky agrees (when his arm is dutifully twisted by Lucy) and picks out a song, Auf Wiedersehen. Ricky and Lucy begin rehearsing together with Ricky telling Lucy that she only sings the words on her sheet music-which incidentally reaches to the floor. Ricky starts playing the piano and singing his part, with Lucy chiming in "auf" on a somewhat regular basis. That is the some total of her part. She gets perturbed and tells Ricky that she sounds like a barking dog. It is hilarious. Watch it. German culture with a Cuban twist, you know?

German Chocolate Cake

So in the words of Ricky and Lucy, "Auf"(Lucy)"Wiedersehen"(Ricky).

November Appreciation

Yesterday the calendar flipped to November, which frankly, I find rather depressing. Why? Because this year is flying by...hours turn into days turn in months turn into years. Which more and more seems a summary of my life the longer I live. But also, November ranks among my least favorite months of the year, right up there with February. It does contain my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving-which I'm sure I will blog about later this month. But the reason I just don't like November is because its a "between" month. The vibrant colors and warm fall temps of September and October are a distant memory. The pristine snow and holiday cheer of December are yet to come. The trees are bare, the sky is too often grey, and it just seems a bit bleak. Of course, today is a beautiful sunshiny day, but you know what I mean.=)
A friend posted a portion of Robert Frost's poem, November Guest, as her status yesterday. She reminded me that life seasons are like year seasons. Each are beautiful in their own way. Each have their good parts and their not so good parts. When I was younger my favorite seasons were summer and winter-the extremes. At this point in my life I appreciate the balance of spring and fall. The promise of new life in spring. The crisp gorgeousness of fall. As I looked up and read this poem, it reminded me that there is something of beauty even in bleak November and interminably wintery February. I hope you enjoy this bit of Robert Frost.

My November Guest

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,

 Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

 Are beautiful as days can be;

 She loves the bare, the withered tree;

 She walks the sodden pasture lane.

 Her pleasure will not let me stay.

 She talks and I am fain to list:

 She's glad the birds are gone away,

 She's glad her simple worsted grey

 Is silver now with clinging mist.

 The desolate, deserted trees,

 The faded earth, the heavy sky,

 The beauties she so truly sees,

 She thinks I have no eye for these,

 And vexes me for reason why.

 Not yesterday I learned to know

 The love of bare November days

 Before the coming of the snow,

 But it were vain to tell her so,

 And they are better for her praise.

So I tell myself, "Self, how about some November appreciation?"