(Little Chloe looks so cute that I am reluctant to write a post and move her down the page.) Doug and I are staying in a wonderful spot out in the heartland of America, Ohio. Lots of land here, with a house and a big red barn and silo every so often. Lovely! And it is sunny, cold, and the grass is starting to assume its gentle spring Continue reading ‘Doings’
Monthly Archive for March, 2009
Page 3 of 4
 So here is a silly thing for silly children. Or rather a silly pattern for silly mothers of silly children. If you want to make one yourself, you can print the pattern here.  You need nothing more than basic knitting skills and cheap cotton yarn, and very simple finishing makes it a super quick (crank them out in time for Easter baskets) kind of thing. A penguin is coming soon, as well as some other animals because I have four children!  Just slip in a bar of baby soap, and you are in business. owlie_soap_sack.pdf
I am secretly preparing to be a granny. Even though I prefer knitting (I really do), these hexagons are sucking me in! Someday they will grow up to be an afghan, and probably have children of their own.
One of the best things about reading Scripture is how the seemingly irrelevant passages sometimes really hit home. This morning I ran into this (right in the middle of a very unsuspecting passage about tongues and prophecy):
“And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8)
Well, I don’t want to go into details or anything, but I am pretty sure Paul is speaking here to the singular tendancy of children to limply swag themselves on furniture when you desperately want them to zip up their pants and put their boots on and hurry because go blow your nose I said on the counter it is still on backwards do you have your coat not in my purse set that down and hurry get the wet wipes.
Tell me I’m not the only mother out there who cracked up at seeing herself, not just as a bugle, but as one giving off an “indistinct sound”!
This coming weekend, Lord willing, Doug and I will be in Toledo, Ohio at Christ the Word church (pastor David Bayly) where Doug will be preaching on the Authority of the Word. We have been looking forward to this trip, and it is finally here. I used to think that we were going in the spring, but it turns out we are going in the dead of winter (leaving several inches of new snow). But snow or not, here we come.
Maybe it will be spring when we come back on Monday. I know, I know. Spring is not officially here until March 20. I will go out on the front porch and give my snow shovel notice that his lease is up in just eleven days.
Meanwhile, in Toledo I will have the privilege of teaching the women at their annual retreat on the subject of the feminine heart. Do you have any idea how much the Bible has to say on the heart? It is truly astonishing!
When it comes to the challenges of putting on a Sabbath Feast each Saturday night, the biggest help I have found is to keep the menu simple. Once I find something that is easy, stress-less, and delicious, I serve it up regularly, and so far no one has complained. I love cooking things that the men in particular love because they are so expressive about their joy when they fill their plates. My seven-year-old grandson is just like the rest of them. When he arrives, he always comes barreling into the kitchen, gives me a hug, and then starts reconnoitering the kitchen to see what’s coming. It blesses me no end!
So here is my latest easy-peasy roast-in-a-crock-pot-with-loads-of-gravy recipe that I brought back from Bekah’s kitchen. I think I will call it Oxford Roast with Gravy.
Rub down a roast (nothing too specific here…this week I bought two chuck roasts to fit in my big crock pot) with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Brown it up in some hot olive oil on the stove. Remove to the crockpot. Using the leftover oil in the pan, stir up some sliced onions and garlic until tender. Put them on top of the roast.
Then combine one can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup red wine, 2 T. worchestershire sauce, 3/4 c. hot water, 1 T. beef bouillon granules. Pour that over the roast, shut the lid and let it cook 8 hours on low.
When you take it out, you will have loads of gravy material. Strain out the onions and thicken it with some flour and water and you will have a jug full of delicious gravy to send around with the potatoes.
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