An Older Mom

Click on the picture to enlarge it so you'll be able to read the poem. This is a poem I tore from a magazine when I was a young mom. Something in it touched me, so I saved it. Never did I think that I would be 56 and have a 14-year-old child. I am that woman in the poem. Yes, it makes me sad that my youngest child won't ever know me as a young mom. All she knows is a graying, middle-aged spread mama. I tell her that I'm a much better mama now than I was in my 30's. What I've lost in physical beauty I've gained in wisdom and patience, although sometimes I have neither. I have a greater capacity for love now and a greater awareness of our human condition. I'm much less judgmental. But how can a young teenager know these things and understand? She can't now nor should she know. I think she will someday when she's raised several children and become a grandmother herself. But I know I'll never see it in my lifetime. I take it on faith that God will continue His good work in her already begun. And with that I must be content.

When Life Gets To Be "Too Much"

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.


— Wendell Berry

Are Cheese Straws a Southern Thing?

I mentioned making Cheese Straws in a previous post, and several of you said you'd never heard of them. Here's the recipe from our church cookbook. I served them yesterday at my book group meeting.

Disclaimer: I didn't actually make these in the photo. Our Farmer's Market had them for sale, and I was on a time crunch this week, so I bought some. That's why they're in those squiggly shapes. I don't have the gadget needed to make them in this shape. When I make mine, I make round ones about the size of half dollars.

CHEESE STRAWS

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten. Bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.

So what about it ya'll? Are Cheese Straws a 'Southern' thing?

What Is True Religion?

A paragraph from Knowing God by J.I. Packer: "Godliness means responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God's Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion."

Hex Floor Tile Redo

I need advice. I've read somewhere about how to make grout black, other than mildew, between tiny hexagonal tiles. When we put this floor in with white grout, I didn't think about how it would look twenty-two years later. It's a dingy shade of tan. I've bleached it and tried all kinds of cleaners. It just won't come white again. So I want to make the grout black. Would a Sharpie permanent marker do the trick? Any ideas or suggestions?

Postcard Swap A Hit!

All the postcards are in from the swap mentioned here:http://artfulaspirations.blogspot.com/2012/07/fun-with-postcards.html

They came from all over the world. There were three photographs and three artworks. They also put their websites or blogs on the backs so I can contact them and see more of their work. I love exploring the art community and making new friends. This swap was a great idea!