Gram's Place

This fall, there has been so much buzz about purple. It's in shoes , clothes , makeup . Even I.... a solomnly sworn devout black/brown/gray wearer... have to admit, it's a great fashion trend. Last week, I went to Target and tried on every single pair of dark purple shoes they had in stock, only to find nothing fit my deformed feet. I am determined to get some though... and hopefully before the end of the fall season. I also really like this , this , this , this , and these! I have always loved dark purple makeup, so this is very exciting to me!

On my word*of*the*day calendar today, the word is "yaw". I like to play this game... where I guess what the word is before I read the definition. So, today I read the word. I thought to myself. "Can I guess this word's meaning?" and I was like "yaw". Then I thought I would call my friend and say "Why don't yaw come over tonight?" Then I was thinking... I think donkeys usually say it... "eee.. yaw". wrong. as if. *1 of a ship : to turn suddenly from a straight course : swerve, veer *2: to alternate The gigantic wave caused our boat to yaw sharply to port, but thanks to some clever steering by Dad we were able to get safely back on course. I will SO never use that word again.

It isn't something I boast about. Mostly because I have forgotten more than I ever learned in the first place. But, internet, I will admit it. I'm a master gardener. It isn't what you think. I'm no master. I don't say "echinacea purpurea" instead of "purple coneflower" or "nicotiana" instead of "flowering tobacco". If you call me to see if you have aphids, I would resort to a book or the internet. I really should go back to school. I admit it. I don't even have a garden in my yard. yet. We moved into our house 2 years ago, and we've been concentrating all of our energies... as little as they are... on willing our grass to grow. In the next couple of weeks, however, I will move to the next phase. We are tilling. Normally, I would till a new garden in the spring. That's when I have the fever. But, this year, it will be fall. Because I love garlic. It's hard to believe that there was a time I had nev

  This morning as I was driving after taking the kids to school I noticed Look closely or you may miss it It begins at the top, ever so slightly, beginning to fade At first glance, things appear stable But I am watchful. I know that soon the metamorphosis will occur There will come a time when it will seem to have been overnight to the incognizant But, I will know that it began much sooner slowly, little by little, branch by branch And they will fall to the ground and scatter. I admit these first signs cause me to be a bit apprehensive I've been here before I know what is looming, I am not yet prepared. Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts

Outside My Window... are remnants of activities from the weekend. Toys strewn across the lawn, chairs perched near the fireside, sticks with marshmallow residue. I am thinking... how blessed I am to have friends and family and love. I am thankful for... my brothers and sisters both in Christ and by blood. From the kitchen... pancake mix ready to be thrown onto the griddle at the proper time, raspberry syrup, and a basketful of fresh picked apples awaiting their destiny. I am wearing... pajamas and slippers. I am reading... Psalm 123 and Luke 5 I am hoping.... for God's loving arms and healing touch for Josh and Mel at the loss of their dear brother. I am creating... nothing more really than a long list of chores for after school kids. I am hearing... the rooster from the neighbor's yard, and the traffic from the road as travellers begin with another Monday. Around the house... are signs of a weekend of a full home, much prayer, many tears, and much love. Housework will have to

  I really like Mercy Me . Today, the song "Bring the Rain" has been playing quite a bit on the radio station, and it really says a lot of what I've been praying for a lot of people that I really love right as they experience a season of not only rain, but thunderstorms. Bring me joy, Bring me peace Bring a chance to be free Bring me anything that brings you glory And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain But if that's what it takes to praise you Jesus Bring the rain! I am Yours regardless of the dark clouds that may loom above Because You are much greater than my pain You who made a way for me By suffering your destiny So, tell me, what's a little rain?

Luke 1:20 "But now, since you didn't believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born.  For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time." Zechariah doubted God.  This man was a Priest who had spent his entire life studying the Scriptures.  He was surely a very devout and godly man.  He had to have known all of the miracles God had done in the past for the people of God.  He had to have extensive knowledge on Abraham and Sara... and the child given to them at such an old age. And yet, he didn't believe God.  But, this verse says "my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time". I can so. relate. I wonder often how many times I have known that I have heard from God on a particular subject, and then when it doesn't happen quite that way, I doubt. How many times have I read the Word to learn about how God may deal with circumstances of the righteous only to see it go a different way.  I fi

  Granger Community Church is doing a series on Fear.  This past week, the sermon was about Fear of the Economy. Pretty timely considering the days we face... the price of gas, food, it seems everything is rising. It's a great sermon.  You should check it out.

  Today is Monday...but my mind is not on Monday... it is on Tuesday.  Tuesday Night to be exact. Tuesday Night at 9pm to be exacter. Last week, Dr. Phil announced his new weight loss contest.  And on Tuesday night at 9pm, Dunder Mifflin staff will participate in their own weight loss program in the Season 5 pilot. My predictions for Season 5 (some are long shots no doubt, some more obvious)... Kevin will try to hook up with a baffled Holly. Dwight and Angela will reunite Pam and Jim will relax the relationship a bit... I think Jim has cold feet and Pam will be ticked at his non-proposal. I wonder if Toby is REALLY moving to Costa Rico.... I'm guessing he's bluffing. I wonder if Phyllis will be bribed by Angela and Dwight to keep quiet. Can't wait for Season 5!

  So, I decided to check out Windows Live Writer.  I did it!  I actually successfully set my blog up to be able to update from Windows Live Writer.  Okay... so you are all probably all versed in that and all that jazz... but I'm not... and usually this type of thing requires my enlisting the help of a younger member of my family.... which is anyone but my husband... to help me out.  But, I did it this time.... all by myself.  Impressed? You ought to be.  If not, don't worry.  I impress myself. So, now I can do things like this with ease. And things like this. And bullets and such And lots of other things. I can do block quotes like this. Even if I don't know what block quotes are... and will probably never use them, I can do them! I can justify my print, and print in any color, shape or size that I want.  It really is a lot of fun to do. This nifty program allows me to insert links to my friends blogs or other random things that I do.   Or other th

I am a numbskull when it comes to figuring out new technology.  It takes me so much longer than most people.  So, I'm trying to figure out how to use Windows Live Writer.  This is a test of my figuring it out.   I have a whole lot more interesting bloggish topics to read on the rest of the site... don't stop here... please. Google

This morning I was in the office at the front desk just minding my own business when two gentlemen came in. They were not customers... but looking for information on a retratos pa pasaporte. They did not speak English. I stood for a while dumbfounded, trying to understand with hand motions and pointing in every direction I could to figure out what in the world they were trying to ask me. I suddenly had a fantastic idea. I handed the older gentleman a piece of paper and a pen as the younger one chuckled at my craziness. He wrote down the words "retratos pa pasaporte". So, I jumped on the internet and looked up those words on the first spanish english dictionary I could find. It was passport picture. Whew. So, I looked up courthouse and recorders office - which had no direct translation of course... and attempted to tell him he had to go there. Then, I called the recorder's office...thinking that someone there surely would speak spanish and be able to explain to them

Since many of my recent blog entries have been about food... I thought I'd post this and see if you will all post it too. I'm curious what you think. Coke or Pepsi? That's a toss up... sometimes I like coke...and other times pepsi. I know, it's wishy wash. Thick crust or thin for your Pizza? Thin crust pepperoni. That's really the best. Rare or Well Done for you steak? Medium or Medium Well. I've really grown up in this area over the years. I used to be afraid of pink, now I embrace it! Hot Dogs or Hamburgers? Usually hamburgers. Hot dogs require a special mood... a hot dog mood . Ketchup or Mustard on your hot dog? Ketchup, Mustard, Relish, Cheese....bring it all. Except for chili. I am not a fan of chili-dogs. Cake or Pie? Cake, of course. Nothing beats a good chocolate cake. Brownies with a fine, glossy crust, or soft cake brownies? Soft cake brownies are not brownies, they are, in fact, a soft cake. Bring me mine with a fine glossy crust...unless I'm in

Have I mentioned that I love to cook? The fall is especially my favorite time, and I love to try new recipes. I'm so lucky that I don't have a crazy picky family so they are usually pretty willing to try new things. We figured out this week that we don't like grilled eggplant. I bought a bunch of cheap ground beef when it was on sale, so I've been making all kinds of ground beef recipes lately. If you have a family that isn't super picky and willing to try something new, try out this recipe that's easy and pretty yummy. Pasta Skillet 1 lb. ground beef chopped onions 3 cups water 3 cups pasta (I used rigatoni because that's what I had) 1 jar spaghetti sauce 2 cups mozzerella cheese Brown ground beef with onion. Drain Add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in 3 cups pasta Cover - simmer 15 minutes Stir in sauce and 1 cup cheese Sprinkle with extra cheese Cover - cook 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with warm bread!

I'm in the middle of a book by Jessica Queller entitled Pretty Is What Changes. It is a very thought provoking book. The book is a memoir of Jessica's discovery after her mother's death from ovarian cancer that she has the breast cancer gene which puts her at a very high risk for developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer before the age of 40. I am not to this point, but I know from reading about the book that she makes a drastic decision to have a double mastectomy. She describes in the book her love for children and her desire to have children someday. I don't know if this part is in the book, but I know from reading about her that, although she is single, she also decides to get pregnant by a sperm donor, then have her ovaries removed. Radical choice for a young woman. I admire her. It's brave. It's unconventional. It's a young woman with a strong desire to live. The book details the overwhelming last few months with her mother. I love especially

Anytime I am asked what I need, I usually say time. When I actually think about it, I realize that there is just so much I want to do. As I get older, my answer is beginning to change to "energy", but that's for a whole different post. The concept of time is so valuable when you think about it. There are certain things in life that tell without words what a person's character is like. Time is one of them. I am not talking about just how they spend their time. That does say a lot about a person. But, moreover, how they feel about time. I know...deep thoughts for the beginning of the week.... time feelings and all that. Being on Time - Being on time says a lot. It just does. Being on time for work, on time to pick up your children, on time for meetings. Doing what you say you are going to do. I have noticed that people who value being on time also value returning phone calls and emails and following through with integrity. It seems so simple. But, in today&

I am crazy. I can't believe I'm doing it. But, I am. My sister is a single mom of a 7th grade boy. She hates to cook. So, she doesn't. I've tried helping her learn to like to cook. I've brought her over and given her recipes that are easy, and done various things with her to convince her that cooking is so. much. fun. I love it, and I just don't understand why she doesn't. Didn't we come from the same mom? Anyway, so I decided to try something for her to help her out. It's tough enough raising kids with a spouse. Even tougher when you're by yourself. I really love her and decided to bless her a bit. So, I made a menu plan and I'm making 10 meals for her freezer with instructions for her to thaw and cook them. She is buying the groceries, and I am doing the cooking. But, I need some suggestions. Do you have any great recipes that freeze well? Email them to me if you do, because I would love to try them out. I'm cooking on We

I love harvest. This is my favorite time of year. I love going to the Farmer's Market and buying produce from the local farmers. Last weekend, I went and purchased a ton of things to make my own spaghetti sauce. It was fun making it, but by the time it was done, it had taken me nearly 4 hours and cost about $10 for four jars of sauce. The last time I checked, it was cheaper at the store. I also went to the church hill and picked some of the apples from the apple tree there. Not totally ripe, but I made my own applesauce. A cup of sugar, a dash of cinnamon... and free apples. Now that was a bargain. My neighbor gave me some zucchini from her garden. I've never liked zucchini that much, but I grilled it and really. liked. it. Then, I made some zucchini bread and threw it in the freezer, pretending to be a pioneer woman who needs to store food for the winter. (It was my first try at zucchini bread, so I'm pretty sure I won't be serving it to anyone because it di

We had a great weekend. We had some good times with some good friends and just hung out. True to MY plans, we did very little. However, we -Shawn and Abbie (I was napping actually) did build a fire pit in our backyard for our autumn pleasure! (When Autumn finally comes, that is…since technically, SUMMER ISN’T OVER YET). It was cool on Saturday night so we hung out by the fire for a while and roasted the three hot dogs that were in the refrigerator. We had no marshmallows and we were overly antsy to put something consumable in the fire pit. In some ways, this summer has sped by,… and in others it has seemed like the ENDLESS summer of ’08. It just doesn’t feel like it is over yet. Although I do have to say, we hung out with some friends this weekend and they reminded me that technically, SUMMER ISN’T OVER YET. One friend went to Target on Saturday and bought some cheap swimming pools and spent the day blowing them up to celebrate that technically, SUMMER ISN’T OVER YET! So, spend