8.20.2015

One-Way Conversations

Someone was trying to send a message. 
The pink scripture stamped on this postcard looks like an after-printing addition. 
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -- Romans XII 21 

A word of friendly encouragement for Mr. George C. Hust. 

The sender started to address the card, but stopped for some reason. 
Was she embarrassed to send such a bold, biblical statement, fearing the opinions 
of all who would handle the card as it made its way to Mr. Hust?
Did she hesitate, too faint-hearted to admonish a fellow believer, and shove the card away?
Did the nib of her feathered pen snap, with no replacements in the house? 

There's a story here...

---------------------------------------

I found this card at a flea market for 50¢, tossed 
among other lovely bits of junk. I'm always sidelined in 
antique stores reading vintage postcards, eavesdropping on 
long-ago, one-way conversations. 
"Florida is lovely, we've eaten fish everyday!"
"Tell Mother I'm doing just fine, a city girl now."
Recently I found this on the back of a photo postcard - 
"What I have against Hitler is the way he deals with young people." That single statement and nothing else.
It's fascinating! If you've missed it before, check out 
the typical box of old postcards in any antique junk store.





8.15.2015

What Rhymes With Nine?

It's my forty-ninth birthday today, and
I'm pondering my slogan for the coming year.

You have birthday slogans, right? A new one every year?

A short motto, preferably rhyming, to launch the 
the next year of life. I'm leaving behind last year's:
Life will be great while I'm forty-eight!

A lot of great things rhyme with "nine" ...  and I'm happy 
to take suggestions.
Side Note:
Heavenly Blue morning glory is twining up the greenhouse downspout.
When the early morning sun lights those blooms - OH! 
There's no choice other than an hour or so of pajama photography



8.11.2015

More Than a Momento


 I have a copy of A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. This small, worn book was published in the late 1940s and belonged to one of the great mentors of my life. She passed it on to me years ago, and I have to admit that I kept it as a memento,  and cherished it mostly because she wrote her name inside the front cover. 


 When I was a younger me, the emotion my elders expressed over the handwriting of their elders seemed a little excessive to me. I remember my mom saying, "Look at this - that's Dad's handwriting!" I just smiled and nodded, never sensing anything unusual. Now, here I am at the end of my forties, and I get it. I'm not sure if I inherited it or if I'm just finally old enough to understand it, but seeing my friend's name, written in bold ownership on that cover, causes emotion to wash over, or maybe through, me. 

Running my finger over the faded blue lettering is irresistible; a way to touch the tiniest bit of the person she was when she made that signature. Someone who defied the conventions of her own times to live a peculiar life, one that included reading difficult books such as this one. She let her light shine brightly, and sometimes I had to sort of squint in her company.

Ten years ago, if you had asked me who among my older friends would finish well, I would've said her name without hesitation and added a fist pump or two. She would've laughed and refused to give me a high-five.


But age can be cruel, dear friends, even to the best and brightest among us, and we all know it. Even the most fervent followers in our company may, in their last years, mourn aloud the darkness of their own heart.

I know her Savior is near, that she is never alone, and that He is faithful. I tell myself these things and focus my thoughts on these TRUTHS when her present condition becomes overwhelming. 

Her younger self, the one that signed Tozer's thin volume when it was brand new, would tell me to read the book and stop being so silly and sentimental. She would remind me of this and tell me to trust thisSo that's what I've been doing. 

She would encourage you to do the same. 
Read some of the hard stuff - rock solid theology from the last century's midpoint. Get a copy of anything by A. W. Tozer in your hands, hunker down and, in the words of a wise friend of mine - CHEW.

The one I'm reading is free at this website
We could read it together...?




8.07.2015

Summer Dinner - Upscale BLTs


I could eat BLT sandwiches every night. 
Ask my family - EVERY night.
I tried it, but quickly ran out of tomatoes. 
There's plenty of green and very little red out there. 
Is this what summer in Canada is like?

This is my first time growing basil. 
Aside from pesto, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it, and there's so much of it!
A dear pal noticed my abundant basil bush and promised to share 
her  superspecial  basil mayo recipe. 
The one from her Tried and True, Lifelong Cookbook.
The one especially for BLTs.
This is my modified version - less basil, more hot sauce, extra mayo. 
Put these in the blender, and you'll wind up with a glorious, basil-green mayo. 

1 c fresh basil, loosely packed
1 c mayo
2 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 to 1 tsp hot sauce

Go all out and make specialty bacons for your sandwiches. 
I arrange my pound of bacon on a heavy cooking sheet and let it 
bake in the oven instead of frying it, which eliminates the stove-top mess. 
Before baking, sprinkle with ground pepper to make peppered bacon. 
Sprinkle brown sugar across your pan of uncooked bacon and you'll end up with 
sugared bacon that will make your family happyhappyhappy. 

Prepare to be bacon hero of the day. You might be carried around the backyard 
on the shoulders of delirious, bacon-eating admirers - who knows? 
I can almost hear the cheering crowd...
* Caution - add too much brown sugar and you'll have a scorched mess. 

And, do I have to say it?  Sourdough, people!

The meal theme for the last family gathering here was ... 
"BLT Blowout."
It was easy to knock out almost all the preparations ahead of time;
only the bacon required last minute attention.
Great articles with all the details of throwing a BLT party here.



8.05.2015

Worth It


Look - there they go! 
My family. 
I love to lag behind and watch them walk ahead of me.

When my boys were little, love for them overwhelmed me sometimes.
Can you identify?

As they've turned into adults, my mostly-grown men have put us through 
some wear and tear. It's the way of transformation - 
bystanders often sustain injuries. 
Can you identify?


But family vacations have magical, healing properties.
The air of  other places  threads between and around each person, 
and silken bonds of shared memories twine among us.
Vacation jokes, navigation mishaps, food indulgences, music choices - 
things we'll talk over, and laugh about, for years to come.

We would certainly have more dollars in the bank if we bypassed these trips.
Every year, we consider this fact.

Right before we begin to make plans to go again. 

* * *

Check out these vacation websites - you can take a vacation 
and keep some dollars in your pocket, too. 
Here and here