Cute Purse!

Is this not the cutest thing? Guess what it is made of! Go on....oh, please guess!

....it is made of plastic grocery bags!

::delighted squeak::

I know, right? Who thinks of these things?

(Many thanks to Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman, for posting about these on her blog - I never knew anything like this existed before this moment. Oh, epiphany, epiphany...)

But if you ever catch me making one? Shoot me on sight. Juuuuuuust shoot me.

Time For Myself

My latest project, begun today...

I tired long ago of blog-histrionics about rain drops and solitude. Gah. I'll never linger over another webpage extolling placid moments spent with livestock - the home education movement is rife with quasi-rural wannabe's. Full of pseudo-deep thoughts, these blogs and books are entertaining in a pathetic sort of way. Treat them like you would an episode of The Real New Jersey Housewives.

Never. Tune. In.

Having said all that, you'd be mistaken if, in reading about all the hustle and bustle of life here at the cottage, you thought I never enjoy nature or a quiet moment.

Oh, I do. You have noooooo idea.

See, it is the busy-ness of my life that makes me really, really...really...good at leisure.

But it goes more like this: lots of work, lots of projects, lots of family, lots of friends, lots of people make up my days...and the moments or hours or days of quiet are the hem that keeps me from unraveling.

Not the whole fabric of my life. Not even most of the fabric of my life.

The hem. The quiet moments are just the hem, but without the hem? It falls apart, thread by thread. The quiet moments are just the trim...the lace, the rick-rack, the beautiful gilded braid, but without it, the borders of my time here on earth would not be well defined, much less enchantingly lovely. This is the meaning of solitude. Much like the life of Jesus, quiet alone-ness is meant to comprise a small portion of a life that is mostly spent loving people, busily and actively and (often) painfully.

Without a peopled, busy life, all the quiet and long walks and the flock of Nubian goats and raindrops on roses and "dappled things and skies of couple-color as a brinded cow" (my favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins) - well, its all just so much crap.

The only things we take into eternity are relationships.

Which reminds me of a very well written book on interior design entitled "A Perfectly Kept House is A Sign of a Misspent Life". Such a wonderful book on home design - one that lets the philosophy, that a home is the place where people love and are loved, rule everything...that philosophy should guide design, and take precedence above slavish displays of wealth, or even above showcasing a certain style, like Colonial or Victorian or Arts and Crafts or Mediterranean villa or French country (my fav) or Rustic or Whatever.

I could write a book: A Whole Lot of Days of Long walks and Quiet Are A Sign of a Misspent Life.

Time to myself, "quiet time", walks and dew and dappled things - these are not my life's essence - they are what recharge my spirit, enabling me to get right back into the essence of my life: nurturing people.

Busy. Is. Good.

But this week? Oh, it is me-time all the way, baby.

My beloved is two states north of here, left this past Sunday, and won't be home until Saturday night....late. My youngest son is with him, and they are having a blast, just the two of them.

Me? I have sat in a coffee shop all by myself reading an e-book, gone shopping for five hours all by myself, eaten cake all by myself, watched chick flicks (yes, plural) with my daughter, snuggled my grandson, prayed, cooked, and been inspired, all by myself. And it is only Tuesday.

This week is my own version of "Eat, Pray, Love".

I'm really, really good at quiet-time. Precisely because I don't have much of it.

Bacon For a Crowd - The Easy Way

Am I the only one who thought bacon for breakfast meant standing over a cast iron griddle, flipping and flipping (the bacon...not me, silly!) and getting those painful pinpricks of hot grease on your arms?

For twenty years, that is what bacon for breakfast meant to me. But we still ate a lot of it.

Well, no more! No more standing over my griddle, flipping bacon, that is. Shoot,people...I'll never go without bacon. There'll be bacon, or some version of it, in heaven, I'm pretty sure. And I have deep theological reasons for thinking so.

So here's what you do. This is so easy, you'll want to kiss me.

Take a large griddle, or rimmed baking sheet, and line it with foil. (My pan up there is a Calphalon nonstick, hard anodized griddle - the biggest size they make. It barely fits in my oven...it is also oven-safe, to 500 degrees.)

Pop it in a cool oven. Put it in diagonally, if your griddle is also too big for your generously sized oven. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees. Walk away for 17-20 minutes.

I'm serious. Go get dressed, or read your Bible, or grab a shower. In 20 minutes, here is what you'll get:

Um...sorry. A bunch of bacon got inhaled before I could even snap the picture. Soooooo good. Soooooo easy.

And no more of those pesky little pinprick-size grease burns. No flipping.

No. Flipping.

This tip is worth a thousand dollars. I should have a Paypal up and running on my blog, for all the eager and happy and grateful contributions that ought to come rolling in. (Just kidding...)

"The Baby" Turns 18

These stats are from this one season, so far. His national tournament is in Springfield Missouri next week...Tim is leaving with him this Sunday, right after church, and they will be there for one whole week! Isaac will be playing game after game after game.

His gift from Hannah and Justin...Hannah wrapped it so cleverly and creatively. Isaac's playing style is similar to that of Derek Rose, or so others have told him. Actually, I noticed that when you look at these pictures up close, you can kind of see it.

We can't believe he is 18!

Opening his gift from Sarah and Jonathan...

How many people does it take to open a life-sized vinyl "Fat Head" wall decal of Derek Rose? (Justin and Hannah's gift. If you look, you'll see Justin holding baby Tim...Jonathan and Hannah are helping Isaac get the package open. Sarah is on her way to help, too. See Isaac's change of clothes from the last picture to this one?)

Our boy is being looked at by three small colleges, all in other states. He's been bookmarked...flagged...he's being watched...however you say it...by a recruiter out of Colorado, and also Georgia, and North Carolina, so far. Since he has only played high school basketball on an organized team this year, he has chosen to delay graduation in order to be eligible to play one more year. This was a difficult decision for him and for us, as he is ready to graduate. Much prayer has gone into the decision. He has all his necessary credits to graduate this year, and a perfectly average ACT score that, while it won't get him an academic scholarship, will let him attend any state college this fall.

But if he can play an extra year, the possibility is strong that he'd be noticed by some bigger colleges...he could get a full ride. Trust me, we wouldn't be making this kind of decision if that were not a distinct possibility. And this gives him time to work for even better than average ACT scores.

While out shopping for his birthday cake yesterday, I ran across something that perfectly sums up his/our decision to play one more year of high school basketball, and literally "shoot for" a college scholarship:

Precious confirmation.

Happy Birthday, Youngest Son!

You wouldn't be wasting a prayer on him, or on us. God is up to something with this young man.

Lenten - Preparing the Way of the Lord

The season of Lent, whatever your doctrinal or denominational persuasion, has a valuable basis. Think of Advent, leading up to Christmas, how the anticipation builds. Lent, leading up to Easter, can be utilized to build appreciation. We have seven weeks, between Ash Wednesday and Easter, to prepare our hearts to fully appreciate the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Seven weeks to contemplate the unspeakable gift of grace.

Lent, or Lenten - from an Old English word meaning "to lengthen". And along with the lengthening days, and burgeoning flowers, our hearts can also be enlarged to love the Risen Lord with greater understanding and budding affection and increasing appreciation. Lent is meant to be a contemplative season, even a sober season for some, but it should not be introspective. After all, the whole reason for the Easter celebration is the resurrection miracle that once and for all time freed us from the penalty of sin. All the introspection you can muster, in a lifetime of self-knowledge and self discipline, carries no hope of making you one whit holier. God is pleased with Christ Alone. He is the Better Hope.

Take seven weeks to consider the merits of Christ. Take seven weeks to lengthen your cords by adding to your knowledge of Scripture; take seven weeks to strengthen your stakes by driving them deeper into the doctrines of grace. So shall the tent of your innermost being be enlarged. So shall you be prepared for Personal Pentecost.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, which in the liturgical church is a time of fasting and introspection.

For me, as well as my liturgical friends, this marks the beginning of the Easter season. Easter is the most important celebration in all Christendom. Easter is far more important than Christmas. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation.

"... if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! "
(I Cor. 15:17)

For me, Ash Wednesday and Lent is the start of about 40 days of inward celebration, not introspection. God, in Christ Jesus, has forgiven me all my sins at the cross. Christ took my sin, became sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God. That was an absolutely extravagant, unbalanced, unequal exchange. Where it concerns the grace of God, if you even say the word "balance", you do not understand the depth of your sin nor the greatness of grace.

In recent years, I have begun keeping the Easter Season with the same sweetness and focus as the Christmas season. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, and ending in Pentecost, these are weeks bursting with joy and new life - flowers, sunshine, green grass, deep thoughts, stunning Scripture passages, new plantings, seed sown....and yes, bunnies. Our bunnies made their spring appearance three days ago. I simply must figure out how to protect the lettuce sprouts, when they come up.

Won't you join me? Beginning today, will you consider how to decorate your home to reflect the sweetness of spring and resurrection? Join me in forging family traditions that honor Easter in simple but meaningful ways? Will you take some time each morning and evening to consider the sacrifice of Christ and the grace of God?

Today, I deeply ponder the fact that He gives beauty for ashes. Oh, how my life, just this past one year alone, has been a living testimony to this truth!

This year, for Lent, I am going to fast from unbelief. I am actually going to live like all my sins were forgiven more than two thousand years ago.

Join me?

Delicious, Easy, Feeds a Crowd...East Tennessee Asian Beef

Here is another recipe that is a "go to" here at the cottage. It is simple to make, easy on the food budget, and can feed six or more. Like soup or chili, if more people than you expect show up for dinner, this recipe can accomodate. Just add more veggies.


This happens to me often. Two nights ago, we ended up with seven around the table, when we invited our friends, the Cummins, over for dinner. Last night, we had seven again, because Jonathan and Sarah dropped by, and brought sweet Emily Prince with them. Shouldn't there always be room for one (or four) more at the table?


To illustrate how you can add to the recipe, when we invited the Cummins, it was very impromptu. Unexpected. But we really, really wanted them to stay. I had already started this recipe for supper. To be sure we had enough, I added another half-cup of rice and a bit more water to the skillet, and threw in a can of sliced carrots at the end. But I get ahead of myself.

Gather your ingredients:

Ground beef, two or so heaping cups of Asian vegetables (I buy the huge bags from the freezer section at Sam's or Wal-Mart, with the zip top, and keep a measuring cup in the bag, in the freezer), two cups of long grain brown rice, a can of coconut milk, some soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. (Post-edit: you'll want a pinch of ginger, a cube of beef stock, and some coarse salt too.)

Start your brown rice, in your handy dandy cast iron skillet:

Put your two cups of rice in, along with about three cups of water (whatever ratios the package directions call for), a cube of beef stock, and about a quarter cup of soy sauce. All these flavors will simmer together, as your rice absorbs the liquid. Bring all to a boil, reduce the heat, put a lid on it, and simmer it.


After a half hour or so, when your brown rice is halfway done, add the coconut milk, re-cover your skillet, and finish off your rice, stirring occasionally. This will already start smelling heavenly.

As your rice is simmering, brown your beef, with...oh, about a teaspoon of ground ginger, and a pinch of coarse salt:


When your rice with the coconut milk mixture is ready, combine your browned ground beef with that. Then, at the end, add your Asian vegetables, and heat them through. Finish off with as much or as little red pepper flakes as you'd like.

Then, have some friends over.

Gabbi Grace is in the white onesie, and our grandson Timothy is in the green onesie. They were having such fun, hanging out in Timothy's crib. They're BFGF. (Boy friend/girl friend)

The Cummins family, Michael, Megan, and their new baby girl Gabbi Grace.

The "East Tennessee Asian Beef" recipe is, I am sure, a tweak of something I saw somewhere, some years ago. It is a cottage favorite. I'm pretty confident you'll love it too. Couldn't be easier, it is so inexpensive, and feeds a lot.