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“L”ive worms
Why do we insist on using the word "live" before things that should be universally understood. Oy!
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#CTST: Fresh berries!
Celebrate the Small Things: I am celebrating fresh berries! They are a favorite of mine. Add them to pie crust and they are just about nature’s most perfect food. I like Grand Traverse’s Mountain Berry Crumb pie and enjoy a slice anytime I can. Over the weekend I was craving fresh berries (in pie form) and found this wonderful recipe online from Feeling Foodish. I had to try it, to see if it even came close to GT’s pie. Do you know what? It did! The recipe calls for frozen berries but I used fresh and it was awesome. I’m afraid that frozen berries when thawed are too mushy. And, I substituted…
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CTST: Hummingbirds are such sweet visitors!
Celebrate the Small Things: Our hummingbird friends are back! We have a pair of hummingbirds that come and dine with us each year but with the busy, hot summer, I was remiss in putting their feeder out. I was in the kitchen working on my computer last weekend and one of them “dropped by” to let me know! It’s hilarious and sweet! They hover with their helicopter wings and look me right in the eye (or so it seems). And, while they are polite, they are also persistent. So, I ran to the garage, got the feeder, mixed up the food and placed it, with suction cup, on my window.…
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CTST: Yummy new option for healthy living
Celebrate the Small Things: Market District specialty store in Carmel, Indiana I first heard about Market District from a staff person at work who discovered it when she was up in Indianapolis. A friend and I happened upon it this past Thursday and it was a delight. It’s like an amusement park for foodies! We were so excited about the choices that we bought a refrigerated sack, put a bag of ice in it and prepared our more delicate items for the two-hour transport home. Whether we wanted cheese, meat marinade or spice rub, or types of freshly baked bread, the selection was plentiful. We found old-time favorites as well…
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CTST: Summer time harvest
Celebrate the Small Things: Taking stock of life’s summer harvest It’s the end of August, which is a month that marks for many the beginning of school, the end of vacations and an end to summer, which has breezed past us in a humid fog. I ran across this photo from last year and it reminded me of summer’s progress. I’ve accomplished some of my goals (indicated by the harvested area of the field) but there is still time to water, weed and harvest healthy crops. There’s still time to celebrate what’s left of summer. And, I’m trying really hard not to rush into fall, which is my favorite time of…
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CTST: Baby birds and new life
Celebrate the Small Things: New life in nature reminds us of God’s care for all creation. This week I’m celebrating the new life of these baby barn swallows. They are the second brood of the season. I marvel over the intricate design of the nest that the birds built outside the building where I work. It takes commitment from both parents to make such a sturdy family home with mud pellets, sticks, grass and other plant fibers, working through natural elements (rain, wind, heat, humidity) to create the nest. They even sometimes battle humans whose first instinct is to remove the nests so they don’t make a mess outside the doorways.…
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CTST: Tasty produce and the farmers who grow it
Celebrate the Small Things: The hard work of farmers to produce healthy, tasty fruits and vegetables. This time of year, the farmers start to see the fruits of their labor and we have especially tasty choices at local farmers’ markets and in grocery stores who feature locally grown produce. I can’t wait until those juicy red, yellow and orange tomatoes ripen and the tender, yellow sweetcorn matures! Until I took part in a Consumer Support Agriculture (CSA) several times, I didn’t know there could be such a difference in taste, between organic, locally grown vegetables and those found year-long in big-chain stores. There is a huge difference and I’m spoiled.…
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Kindness Challenge (wk5) and CTST: Grateful for kindness
Celebrating the Small Things: For the first time in 43 years, I can see 20/20 without glasses, contacts or reading glasses. I had cataract and cornea reshaping surgery last week and it’s truly amazing what the doctors can accomplish! During this seven-week Kindness Challenge, I’ve become more aware of the large and small kindnesses in my life. Here are a few that I’m especially grateful for, and none of them require money. 1. Marriage My husband is one of the kindness people I know. He was a struggling college student when I met him, getting his master’s degree in Denver, and yet he always found ways to help people around…
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Kindness Challenge (wk3) and CTST: Kind energy
In Celebrating the Small Things – I got through the week with the flu and work and tried to get enough rest to heal quickly. Still shooting to have my cataract surgery on Wednesday, if I’m not coughing. Please pray for me! Kindness Challenge update: I’m realizing that although the goal of week 3 is to incorporate kindness into my thoughts and actions, that this is probably going to be a life-long journey. I certainly didn’t master it this week. My husband and I both had the flu so I tried to be kind but failed as often as I succeeded, because my energy level was nil. I tried to…
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Kindness Challenge (wk2) & CTST: Find kindness
I’m a little late because the dreaded flu bug got a hold of me late last week. The kindness I noticed around me was encouraging, although I didn’t feel well. My husband and I even remarked that living in a smaller town, people are nicer to each other, whether you talk with them at the local grocery store, restaurant or gardening center. There’s a sense of community even if you don’t personally know everyone. It also seems more important to frequent local, family-run businesses versus large company chains, because you are usually supporting generations of families. It’s sometimes the smallest acts of kindness that stick with me. A co-worker bringing…
