Laughter

    There seems to be so much in life lately that simply is not funny. 

    First ...  my Mom was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and given only 8 - 12 weeks to live, and it is becoming quite obvious that they knew what they were talking about. I'm not ready to say good-bye yet, There is so much I still want to talk about with her. Time I want to spend at their house. I want her to meet her great-grandson, and the list goes on.

    Second ... we've been dealing with a poisonous spider bite on Steven's leg. The doctor prescribed several medications for it, and it is looking a lot better, but for a while there it was quite a sight, even while following doctor's orders.. Growing from the initial inflamed bite, to wrapping entirely around his leg and reaching from his ankle to an inch below his knee.

    But last night ... last night laughter rang through the house when LV was in hot pursuit of a pesky housefly. I was in the kitchen preparing a pizza. I had the toppings arranged nicely and was just ready to pop it in the oven when the fly came to check it out. LV tried to grab it with his hand. He missed the fly and sent the pizza toppings flying across the kitchen. Both our mouths dropped open, and then we dissolved in gales of laughter.

    I redid the pizza, and we ended up with little later, but still delicious supper. The slight delay was worth it though. It felt good to laugh again.

Processing Life

     Some day I may turn my thoughts and feeling into writing, but right now life feels too full to be able to do that.
    Baby T is doing well, and has brought so much joy into all our lives. We are so very thankful to God for his gift of life.
    There have been weddings, events, and extended family to spend time with.
    But ...
    Our world was rocked when my Mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I still believe in the power of prayer, having seen and experienced first hand how God still performs miracles. If you care to join me in prayer for healing for my much beloved mother, we would be most grateful.

Blueberry Ice Cream

     LV gave me a lovely ice cream machine for Christmas. I have enjoyed trying different recipes for ice cream and gelatos, but this week I decided I want to try my hand at creating my own recipe. I'm so glad I did. It just happened to become our favorite ice cream yet. 

    I jotted everything down as I did it, so I won't forget if I ever want to make it again. I 'm glad I did, because I already have requests to make it again. Since it was such a hit I decided to share it with you as well.

Blueberry Ice Cream

1¼ c wild blueberries (frozen is fine)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ c. sugar
Pinch of salt

Combine and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly. Boil for about a minute or so. Remove from heat and cool. Pour into a blender and blend.

In a medium size bowl beat:

1 egg

Add 
½ c sugar
½ Tbsp cornstarch

Mix well then add:

¾ c. whole milk
½ heavy cream
blended blueberries 

Heat in top of double boiler until thickened.

Cool and freeze according to your ice cream freezer instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes. Scoop into a container and tuck it in the freezer until ready to eat. 

Currently

 Reading ... In the Bible I'm in the Psalms again. I love them so much. 

In fiction I'm not engrossed in any book for my own reading pleasure at the moment. Instead I'm in the middle of another read aloud with Steven. He's a voracious reader on his own, but he still enjoys our story times. So do I, even if the chapters I read are long enough to make my mouth dry by the time I'm done.

Watching ... the cats. They have have claimed a spot behind the house next to the entrance of a mouse hole. They stare at it watching for any activity and then try their best to catch it. So far they have not been successful.

Listening ... to the beautiful sound of a variety of birds singing in the trees here around the house.

Wearing ... a mint green dress. Not my favorite, but it's comfortable so that balances out the color for me.

Baking ... bread and cookies. Neither of which I'm pleased with the results. I used my mother-in-law's recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread. I've made it many times already, but this time it didn't rise well at all, and now that it's cooling it feels super heavy. I'm almost afraid it may be doughy in the center. I guess we'll find out tonight.

The cookies were a new recipe from a fancy cookbook. I followed the instructions precisely but the first cookie sheet full turned out lacey. I added more flour to the rest of the dough and they're better, but I'm still not impressed. The flavors are good though so at least they have that going for them.

Cooking ... for supper I'm making mashed potatoes, fried beans, hamburgers, and a salad. 

Playing ... most recently Apples to Apples. It's always a fun time when we pull that game out to play.

Cleaning ... the lazy susans in the kitchen. I have four of them, and it seems they need regular maintenance.

Loving ... sharp knives. Rosie Mae knows a guy who sharpens knives so I sent most of my chef knives off to be professionally sharpened by him. They came back yesterday, super sharp. Today I wanted to cut up potatoes and grabbed one of the newly sharpened paring knives to use. Only I forgot it was newly sharpened. The knife went flying through the potato and came to a stop inside my thumb. Ouch! But what a dream to use. I'm really happy with them.

Yesterday ... was a sleepy somewhat unproductive day. LV and I had spent all night out on the road, only getting home in time to hear the alarm go off signaling time to get up. We ignored it and went to bed anyway. I ended up with two hours of sleep, as a result I kind of stumbled through my day.

Later today ... I am hoping to get some Baby T snuggles in.

W ~ Water Witching

     School work was laid aside for a while as the teacher allowed all of us to gather at the window and watch the man who was walking around the schoolyard carrying a forked stick.
    He held the ends of the forks in his hands and walked with slow measured steps back and forth across the schoolyard. Finally about ten feet from the west side of the schoolhouse the stick started turning in his hands. He stopped and counted the revolutions until it became still again.
    Taking a stake he had tucked in the side pocket of his pants, he pounded it into the ground. Water would be found at around 300 feet he said.
    The next week well drillers moved in and started drilling. The teacher wasn't nearly as excited about it as we were and pulled the blinds to keep us from being distracted from our work.
    Strangely enough water was struck at the depth the water witcher had said it would be found. 
    I don't understand how it worked, and haven't really delved into trying to understand either. I do have some opinions about the whole thing, but I'll save them for another day.