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Is Your Garden Well Watered ?
July 17, 2010 — Angela I began my day today as I do most mornings, with a cup of something hot to drink. I sat on my deck enjoying the quiet of the 
morning and then noticed what the past blistering days had done to the lawn. No rain, and local watering restrictions led to a scorched earth. I enjoyed a few more minutes of solitude and then puttered over to my morning quiet time spot.
As I was reading from Isaiah 58 I thought back to that scorched earth, and I thought … Well Angela God is telling you today how not to have YOUR LIFE look like that barren ground. God shows us in his word how to order our life and even “spend our life” so that our life becomes what we see in so many Tom Kincade paintings … namely a well ordered and well watered garden.
And so I’ve made the little chart (below) for myself that I’d like to share with you all.
I’m going to print it out and put it inside my bible. I have to do a bit more study on the keeping the Sabbath” part for we know that we are no longer “under the law”, but I believe (without having dug into scripture) that the idea the Lord wants to impart here re: the Sabbath, is that we should not forget and forsake him, that we should make time for him, that we should order our lives the way he has shown us in his Word and through the examples of the saints who have gone before us and walk among us.
(Is. 58:14) … “ then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the LORD has spoken. (emphasis mine)
In other words, you have God’s word on it.
Have a happy happy day and be blessed of the Lord, for he has shown you the way.
Illarraza Come Forth
April 9, 2010 — AngelaEd Illarraza is raised from the dead on Easter Morning
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Look at the hint of “Lazarus” in Ed Illarraza’s name.
I am reminded of how Lazarus was Raised from the Dead by Jesus
Lazarus, come forth. And with those words Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is arguably the preeminent public miracle of Jesus’ earthly ministry. So note the following key facts about that event that are recorded in the 11th and 12th chapter of the fourth gospel:
The miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead was done in front of witnesses; the Jews that showed up to mourn the death of Lazarus saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead and some of them went and reported this miracle to the Pharisees
he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth Then many of the Jews
which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done (11:43-46)
Kale Chips
March 6, 2010 — Angela
REPRINT FROM: Fairfield Green Food Guide
KALE CHIPS – if you haven’t had them, you have to try them..
Lacinato Kale, aka dinosaur or black kale, turns into “chips” when dressed with olive oil and salt and roasted in a low oven.A member of my CSA sent around a recipe for Tuscan kale chips that had run in Bon Appetit magazine and recommended making them for an unusual yet crispy and satifsying alternative to the usual sauteed or braised kale. I took a quick look at the recipe, and upon discovering that it was by Dan Barber, the chef at Blue Hill, I knew it had to be special. He’s all about fresh, local foods that are minimally manipulated yet incredibly delicious. And I had just been to a tour of Stone Barns and gotten a taste of his food at lunch. The lure was irresistible.
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Lay the leaves in a single layer so they roast evenly. Technically, this is the easiest recipe to make, yet it yields an end product that belies its simplicity.
Tuscan Kale Chips waiting to be eaten.
The roasted whole kale leaves, dressed with olive oil and salt, are a beauty to behold, fun to eat, and taste like nothing you’ve had before. The work is in the prep – removing the leaves from them stem. Get your largest kitchen knife and sharpen or hone it before running it down each side of the center rib to remove the leaves. My only advice on the roasting is that the recipe calls for a 30 minute cooking time and I consistenly cook them for only 20 in a convection oven. So set your timer for 20 minutes and if they feel light and crispy and you can smell them, they’re done. The leaves will turn amber and taste bitter if overcooked.
After they cook, pick one up with your fingers, crunch off a piece and enjoy the burst of nutty, salty flavor. Serve them with dinner, snack on them, or pack them in a lunch box. I promise you’ll enjoy them and make them again and again. Maybe you’ll even grow some kale next year! It’s the crop that keeps on giving since you can harvest the leaves from the bottom up and continue to harvest as new leaves emerge from the top.
Interesting variations I haven’t tried yet include sprinkling the kale chips with Parmesan cheese as they finish cooking and dressing them with sesame oil and soy sauce for an Asian rendition. Here’s a link to the original recipe. Store at room temperature and I don’t recommend reheating; they’re too easy to ruin.
Lacinato Kale, planted square foot gardening style, with a bunny-proof wire cage. The one crop, other than lettuce, that did well in my backyard garden this summer was Lacinato kale, the very kind the recipe called for. Having lost my entire crop to the bunnies last year, I had my husband build a special wire cage to sit on top of the raised bed to keep them out! So I headed in the backyard, harvested some of my Tuscan Kale (aka dinosaur or black kale), and got to work.
Benny Hinn’s Wife files for Divorce
February 20, 2010 — Angela
Once again we see Jesus’ words are true.
You shall know what kind of a tree it is by its fruit!
Time is a great clarifier. It will tell all.
Matthew 12:33-34 (New International Version)
33“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
May God help them both, their families and the Church. How sad.
Life is a vapor ~ Like Steam it vanishes
February 1, 2010 — Angela
CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEOI asked Mom if she’d like to drive around Troy and see some places that she hadn’t seen in a while and/or perhaps places that had evolved or changed. She guided me around several streets, telling me stories all along the way. This journal and pictorial account is what Mom shared with me.
Now … what you’re about to read was Mom’s Memories (and a few of my own, as I look back now through the eyes of both a child and an adult) The account below coincides with a slide show link attached.
This is a house Mom said she lived in with Dad in their early marriage years.
The Family relocated to Cliff Haven in Plattsburgh NY in the late 60s. It was a happy time, full of promise. A new beginning.
I remember Mommy showing us the “plans” for a new house we were relocating to. I thought we had become rich. The artist rendering showed a birch tree in the front yard. I couldn’t wait.
The humble little brand new house held all 10 of the Family. Mother, 
Father, 6 girls and 2 boys. Daddy had just begun a new job. Things didn’t work out in Plattsburgh and, sadly, in a short time the family relocated back to Troy and lived in a Three-family house on the 2nd floor.
Here’s the building from across the street. Our flat was on the 2nd floor on the right hand side of the building you see here. Can you imagine moving your family from the suburbs with access to a lake for your children to frolick in to this walk up flat in a depressed part of town?
There are no words.
Two houses to the left of our building lived Grandma. Mom said that Dad found the flat on his own while Mom and us kids waited for word up in Plattsburgh. I (Angela) remember being devastated at the news we were moving back to this awful area of Troy. I can only imagine the rivers of tears our dear mother and Father must have cried.
A view North on 5th Avenue, taken across the street from the apartment building.
A view South on 5th Avenue, taken across the street from the apartment building.
* Mom shared with me that one day while on her way to work at her new “sewing” job she just couldn’t bring herself to go inside. She had only been there a couple of days. She would walk to that big factory building you see there (on the right), take her position at the sewing machine and sew (like a common laborer) all day. She just couldn’t bear the thought of being holed up in there one more day. So Mom said she saw a bus coming. She got on that bus and took a ride to Montgomery Wards. She worked at Wards for a few years, then leaving to stay home for a while. As I write this I can only imagine the pain she must have been going through. Well … the bus took her to Wards. She applied for, and got a job immediately that day. Remember she had wonderful secretarial skills, and in those days those skills were in high demand. That day was a turning point for Mom. We talked about that quite a bit. That took courage/strength and faith.
* Here’s the building as she got closer. Can you imagine her emotions?
* Here’s how the building looks now. It’s missing windows, and it should be condemned.
* Here’s the door that our dear mother walked out of and into to take her position at the sewing machine.
* Well . . . Mom and I continued our journey south toward 4th street. An area where she spent her childhood.
* We went past this church. St. Jean the Baptist (now closed). She said that they would only go there on Easter.
* Here is her favorite. St. Mary’s church. Mom had previously gone to school 10, but a kind Nun took an interest in her (and her sisters) and said that the girls should be going to Catholic School. So, the nun paid the tuition for Mom and her sisters, along with uniforms thus beginning their Catholic education starting with Mom in grade 5.
* St.Mary’s School has been turned into apartments. Mom was sad about that.
* St. Mary’s Apartment Building.
* She loves this church and that beautiful round window.
* When she saw this pillar which reads: St. Mary’s School, she started to cry.
* And the same for this cornerstone…it brought tears to mom’s eyes. 
* Directly Behind St. Mary’s school was an old shack. Grandma Quinn (Grandma’s Mom) lived there in a shantytown kind of shack. This plot of land, best we could tell is where it used to sit.
* This is the house we lived in on Tibbets Avenue.
* MoM and her family lived in this house until graduation.
I will add to this journal as time moves forward. If anyone has any digital graphics they’d share, feel free to send
them to me in an email.
Impossible
November 27, 2009 — Angela
From Streams today:
We love to see the impossible thing done …
and so does God!
