Tomorrow May Rain So . . .

. . . I'll wash and hang the clothes out to dry today.

I would invite you to listen to the music below while reading.

 I bet you'll be smiling and humming as you listen to 

The Beatles 

(I can just hear Ed Sullivan saying their name) sing

I'll Follow The Sun

Not only are the clean clothes flapping in the wind (the wind that is bringing very cool temps tomorrow and a chance of rain) but my wind-chime  is serenading me splendidly.  I love AZ winters!

 Do you remember when I told you I planted my narcissus' way too late for Christmas blooms?  I was thinking in their little red pots they would look great for Valentines . . . yup, that's just how it happened too.  Oh their fragrance is just grand when I walk up the steps.  Pictures taken after the morning watering.

I LOVE the blue and white pottery peaking at you on the steps. 

 I'll never stop loving blue and white.

 

 Right above the narcissus is this tree that shades the front steps and makes it possible for plants to survive the AZ summer scorching.  It's leafing out and so lacy against a mostly blue sky.

The volunteers are back . . . bless their little hearts . . . I love that phrase I heard my grandma and aunts say so often when I was a little girl.  Funny things is I love saying it now.

Hello African daisies. 

 Let me know if you want some seeds to scatter and when harvesting their seed time is here I'll get them to you.

Shades of yellow, orange and sometimes apricot.  

Apricot is my favorite.

Now, here's the funny part of my story.  Wednesday is my personal laundry-day.  When all 6 kiddos were still at home and usually one or two at a time in cloth diapers, everyday was laundry day except the Sabbath. Well, I usually get it all done on one day now.  I noticed the weather forecasters say tomorrow may rain so I gathered up the duds and did the wash this morning . . . totally forgetting that we had a repairman come  last week and I have a working clothes drier.  May sound silly to you but a really big deal to me after well over a year without!  I'll still just use it to give a 2 minute heat and fluff to the load and then put clothes on the line.  I've been GREEN before it was a term and practice we hear much of today.  And as I've said before, just what do you think is in that drier trap you clean out after each load???? The fabric of your clothes wearing away.

Okay, kick that soapbox out from under me.

Wishing you all a . . .

On My Soapbox

Mr. Obama states his belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman and is elected President.


Miss California said the same thing and is being slaughtered in the media. Yes, she could have given the same answer with more finess BUT....where is the justice? The mainstream media is making me sick and disgusted with them more often than I thought possible.

I Am Empathetic!

When I put "one of these" type of posts on my blog I usually get no comments or maybe one. I still have to do this. Yes, I think I am very empathetic, compassionate and sensitive. I do not discriminate. I am tolerant. There comes a time when a situation gets so unbalanced, so harmful that I have had to take a stand. I drew the line in the sand. You know, how can you not, that I am in favor of AZ Prop. 102 the Marriage Amendment. I do not want to offend or hurt feelings. I have been doing a lot of study. This issue of marriage is so, so much more than let's be nice to all people. Let people be who they are. Be tolerant. There are very severe long term consequences to not legalizing marriage as between 1 woman and 1 man only. Seems such a short time ago we were all up in arms over that mess in Texas and Colorado City, AZ and the polygamists.

Here is another families view and the consequences they now live with in MA. Please, please take the couple of minutes to view this and see their point. I think we all want to be nice and kind. We don't want to hurt or offend anyone. But this is a pivotal time.

Checking It Out

I get alot of "issue" emails and Jesse has taught me to check them out at snopes.com I frequently find things to be false and don't pass along that email. Well, I was surprised to see this photo a friend sent this week. It stated that at this rally Obama refused to say our country's Pledge of Allegiance and place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. I thought this is another one of those false emails making it's way around. To my surprise when I checked it out....IT IS TRUE. I recalled Obama didn't want to wear a U.S. flag lapel pin but this is just too much.

Actually, this is rather minor compared to other large issues I have with his/the Democratic platform. I'm not jumping up and down wild about my own AZ Senator McCain and have emailed him my disappointments in the past. His office was kind enough to even mail me back a letter thanking me for sharing my feelings. I didn't have much impact I'm sure. But, having said that, McCain is getting my vote based on his experience, moral stance, security stance and I'm glad he is a patriot.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp

Taking My Own Advice

Last week Christie and I were having a few conversations on the subject of food storage. I freely gave out some advice (which is no surprise since I was asked) and then "put my money where my mouth was". I added to our storage 20 lbs. of rice, a couple packages of beans and split peas and 15 1 lb. packages of lentils (a legume). I really like lentil soup. During the Beavercreek days MTN had a girlfriend over to play one afternoon. We invited her to stay for dinner and she accepted. A little later she passed through the kitchen and saw dinner, a big pot of lentil soup and suddenly found a reason for not being able to stay for dinner. Do you kids remember we renamed dinner Ugly Soup? We have traditionally made it with bacon, diced:onion,carrot and potato. Unlike beans that have to soak and take a longer time to cook, lentil soup can be cooked in 1/2 - 1 hour. I like it cooked longer and you know it's even better the next day reheated. This site gives some very basic info on the importance of food storage and how to begin - even baby steps. I hope you'll take a peek and see what's there. And this site enables you to order a Family Home Storage Starter Kit for just $25.95 and you get:

2 #10 cans of hard red winter wheat

2 #10 cans white rice

1 #10 can rolled oats

1 #10 can pinto beans

You don't have to be a member of the church to order and there are no shipping charges or handling fees either. I think that's pretty good and helpful.

Last week I was also at the Mesa Cannery for a shift where we canned "dry" pinto beans. I came home with a total of 12 #10 cans of wheat, powdered milk and sugar. Now my problem is trying to organize and find space to store the growing supply. What a blessing, not a problem is my attitude. I hope we are all adding to our food storage and learning how to use it. Here are a few more recipes you might want to check out. Let's all follow the Boy Scout motto and BE PREPARED. Loves.

Hope this is a helpful chart:

Complete Proteins: How to Combine Foods to Create Complete Proteins
Proteins are an important element in the daily diet but many times, individuals find difficulty in fitting proteins into their meals, particularly vegetarians. The following combinations may be of help in achieving complete proteins.
How to Combine Foods to Create Complete Proteins
Legumes, rice and wheat, all vegetable proteins can be combined with other foods to create a complete protein.
Legumes, a Vegetable Protein Legumes include peanuts, dried beans, peas, soybeans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans and chick peas - commonly called garbanzo beans. To create a complete protein, combine a serving of legumes with a serving of the following foods:
Legumes + Barley
Legumes + Corn
Legumes + Oats
Legumes + Rice
Legumes + Pumpkin Seeds
Legumes + Sesame Seeds
Legumes + Sunflower Seeds
Legumes + Wheat
Rice, a Vegetable Protein To create a complete protein, combine a serving of rice (brown or white in any size grain) with a serving of the following foods:
Rice + Legumes
Rice + Sesame Seeds
Rice + Soybeans
Wheat, a Vegetable Protein To create a complete protein, combine a serving of wheat with a serving of the following foods:
Wheat + Legumes
Wheat + Sesame Seeds
Wheat + Sunflower Seeds
Wheat + Pumpkin Seeds
Wheat + Soybeans