Bursts of energy
There were several times this week when it seemed that I had more energy than I’d felt in some time. One morning I was awake before 5:30 am and ready to be awake and out of bed. It was a nice to be able to use that energy in productive ways.
Remembering
Remembering a recipe I used to occasionally follow to make meatloaf, I went looking for it. We had eaten it often enough that I had included the recipe in a small cookbook of some of my favorite recipes to give to our children and to a class of teenage girls I was teaching at church at the time. This week I made meatloaf again, the first time in I don’t even know how long.
Discovering
When I made a simple dessert this week, I found out what happens if you accidentally leave out one ingredient. Thankfully it wasn’t ruined. It was just a soft dessert instead of a crisp, but still tasted good.
Learning
In years past I cooked meatloaf in a loaf pan. This week I tried something different and decided that will be the way I will do it from now on. I put the prepared meatloaf mixture in a greased loaf pan and put in the refrigerator to chill. When it was time to bake it, I ran a spatula inside the sides of the pan and inverted the pan on a broiler pan rack until the shaped loaf descended. Any fat drippings drained into the pan below the rack during the baking process.
Coupon via my phone
This was the first time I had accessed a coupon on my phone. I imagine many of you are chuckling by now, but hey, better late than never. In my defense, I have had my new phone less than a year. You are probably thinking, that isn’t much of a defense. . . but I am on board now. Besides getting 40% off a regular priced item I wanted to get for the watercolor painting class I am taking was an unquestionable incentive.
Poetry
When I was in grade school I discovered Trees by Joyce Kilmer in an old book of poems we had in our house. There was something about that poem that resonated with me, and still does. I am thankful that I was motivated to peruse several volumes of poems this week.
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| A well worn path in the grass in a grove of pine trees |
Walking under and through the pines
There is something awesome about walking through acreage where years ago my husband planted young pine seedlings. Now of course the pines are towering above our heads and provide quite a different habitat than was the case when we moved here. The deer seem to be enjoying it too, as they have left several impressionable highways through the understory.
There was a time when stores were closed on Sundays. There still are some owners of stores who choose to keep their stores closed on the day which is their particular Sabbath day. (I remember seeing my Catholic grandmother cry when her local grocery store started staying open on Sundays.) I am thankful for this special day of the week when I am not disrupted by weekly tasks, am able to attend church, study scriptures and gospel topics and serve my family and others in various ways.
My husband and family
I love and appreciate their goodness and desire to help their families and others and wish all that is good for each of them.
Pine trees are very enjoyable. Grow fast and orderly (the ends of branches and all) and provide a sense of the wind that other species do not (seem to)... you can hear the progress of the wind as it approaches (and sometimes as it veers off in a different direction) before it is upon you.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting to compare how wind impacts various kinds of trees and being able to feel and see it from varying viewpoints too.
DeleteGlad you had extra energy this week. Good job with using the coupon on your phone! Seeing the pine trees always reminds me of the time we had a picnic with the goats there, and learning that Molly loved frosting and graham crackers!
ReplyDeleteYes, yeah for energy. Hoping for more of the same this week.
DeleteThat is a fun memory about Molly, although at that time we were in the midst of very tall scotch broom and a few barely living prune trees. Much still needed to happen before the pine trees were planted.
I remember when Missouri had a "blue" law and nothing was open on Sundays except grocery stores. And not all of them were open. But we lived near the state line, and Kansas did NOT have blue laws, so sometimes, we would go across the line and go shopping. Actually, I think the blue law existed until the early 1980s, because in the summer, the resort town of Branson, where I lived after college, did not observe it during tourist season, but from November to May, the sidewalks were rolled up on Saturday evening and didn't unroll until Monday morning!
ReplyDeleteWow! That is amazing that the blue laws may have existed into the early 1980's.
DeleteI imagine Branson has changed a lot in the way of touristy things since the '80's. We've never been there, but I know there are a lot of great shows that happen there.
Making an old, familiar recipe you haven't used in a while is a joy, and i very much enjoy my Sundays in church, too.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I notice about the older recipes is how much salt was used. The new recipes often times call for half or more less salt.
DeleteI know from reading your posts how much you enjoy your church and church family. :-)
Lovely ttot! Your interests in art and poetry align with mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa. It is fun having interests in common with others and developing new friendships where you discover things you have in common.
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