Sunday Dinner

Most recently, I was saddened to find that it doesn't take much to lose the connection to one's family irrevocably. A harsh word, an off hand comment, hurt feelings, or just lack of contact, can cause a lapse in communication. Then, you think, well, what do I do now? So then, another moment goes by, then another, and then you feel it's too late to make contact, or that maybe they should make contact. Whatever the reason, it just doesn't happen. Then, with a tragedy, it can no longer happen. We had Sunday dinner at our house for years. Everyone was welcome, come as you are, the more the merrier. Then I let my career get the best of me and it seemed easier to rest on Sunday, than have everyone over. Funny, I don't have that job anymore. In fact, the company no longer exists. So, now I ask myself, "Self, what was the sacrifice for?" After a week filled with tragedy and chaos, it became very apparent to my husband and myself that Sunday dinners must be resurrected. We cannot let another moment go by and not connect with family. And, what better way than around the table? This Sunday, I'm going to go all "Waltons" on my family and ask that they join hands and give thanks to God that we are fortunate to be together again, and that we have the opportunity to say I miss you, I want to spend time with you, and most importantly, I love you!

A Moment of Happiness

It was with great sadness that we traveled to and from Texas for my nephew's funeral. I cannot fathom the depth of grief his parents and siblings feel, as it is overwhelming for me, his aunt, and my family. It has been an emotionally draining trip and we will be feeling his loss for some time. A brief moment of happiness was found when we were returning home. We stopped long enough to snap a few pictures at one of the places I long to visit. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Kansas home, The Little House on the Prairie! It was closed, so no tour, but truly a brief moment of happiness for me. One day I hope to take the entire Ingalls Travels as a vacation, so I will return.

Winter Wonderland

This winter has been warmer than usual and nearly bereft of snow. This weekend we received 10 inches of wonderful snow! I decided to go outside and take a few pictures of how beautifully the "farm" was decorated. The "girls" are less amused than I. Anthony thinks it looks like Narnia! I am inclined to agree. I hope you enjoy these photos of our winter wonderland!

Measure Your Words

Last weekend, I was going to post about the lack of snow, but then, they predicted nearly 12 inches in our area for this weekend. Unexpectedly, I then had to have a dental procedure preformed, delaying the post. Then, tragedy struck our family. My nephew was killed in a motorcycle-car accident this week. He collided with a car that pulled out in front of him. Ironically, he was to be deployed to Afghanistan soon and he had completed 2 trips to Iraq. The accident happened in the state where he was stationed. His father, my brother, lives in another state and we will be traveling there as soon as his final arrangements have been made. I have been scouring the Internet for stories on the the accident, trying to make sense of this tragedy. What I have discovered, is that people do not measure their words carefully enough. The trooper who was at the scene of the accident said this, "Pretty, pretty tough. Very traumatic and, ah (pause) ah, I think it would be hard to overcome for some time for the individual that was driving the vehicle that pulled into the path of the victim" I am quite sure it will be hard for that individual, but, how about it being pretty tough for my brother, his son's mother and siblings to overcome? My latest favorite is the comment made by one of the residents who lives on the road where he was killed. When speaking of the dangers of the road, said "What's it going to take? That's a soldier, yeah, but what about our children?”. Well, guess what, he was some one's child! I don't understand people's inability to think before they speak. I never will. I grew up in a home with an alcoholic father, who had no filter what so ever. You can only believe the words "I'm sorry but.....I didn't mean it" for so long. I decided to measure my words early on, so that I would not hurt someone or have to take them back. Three take aways...1) Hug your family and tell them you love them. Life is short and you never know when God will call you home. 2) Please, please, please look twice for motorcycles. 3) Measure your words. They can hurt someone. Yes, they can be forgiven, but they are hard to forget.

Happy Birthday Vegetarian Child!

Today is our youngest daughter's 21st birthday! It's hard to believe! I see her almost everyday and in just a blink, she is grown, We have a tradition in this family to let the birthday person pick their own birthday meal. This has proved to be most interesting over the years! Her choice today is Spicy Bean Soup. While she is a vegetarian, she was conscientious enough to choose a meal that we all love. It is once again, an altered version or a recipe in the slow cooker cookbook I love! I bet you're beginning to wonder if there is a recipe I don't "tweak". Well........okay, guilty. Necessity is the mother of invention, but mostly I alter a recipe when I am lacking an ingredient, substituting an ingredient, trying to save money, or omitting the meat or bone broth to please the veg child. There is plenty of protein from the mix of beans in this recipe to please any skeptic. While this is an economical meal, you can make it even more so, if you make your own vegetable broth and use that. I have used veg bullion, veg broth in aseptic containers, or my own homemade. You decide. Today's will be veg bouillon, as that is what I have on hand. I also omit the 4oz pepper jack cheese to be stirred in until melted before serving, as we find the soup spicy enough and once again, omitting it is more cost effective.

Spicy Bean Soup ala Veg Child

1 - 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 15oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 15oz can navy beans, (I use great northern, easier to find) rinsed and drained

1 - 10oz package of frozen lima beans

1 - 9oz frozen cut green beans

1 cup chopped onions (2 medium)

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

2 Garden Veggie bullion cubes and 4 cups of water, or 4 cups of homemade veg broth, or 1 aseptic container of veg broth and water to make 4 cups total.

In a 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker, combined canned and frozen beans, onions, chili powder, basil, and oregano. Stir in broth. Cover cook on low heat for 8 to 9 hours or on high heat for 4 to 41/2 hours. Yields 8 servings.

For those who are wondering the costs, our costs were under $5.00 making it around ..63 cents a serving!

Happy Birthday Veg Child! We love you!

I Can Do This!

I had published a post on this blog about needing help adding a link to connect with my facebook page about Melia's Urban Farm. I am having difficulty figuring out where in the html of my blog, the body is. I do not speak computer and am more of a visual learner, as most baby boomers are. I shared the post on facebook about needing help. My youngest daughter's boyfriend offered to help me, albeit, long distance, and I was elated. Later that day, in an effort to clear my phone of data, I erased the post. Technology and I butt heads from time to time. That was one of those times. Today, I was inspired by the mother of a young woman whose blog I follow. She was letting her followers know about her mother's blog and fb page. I follow both and they are delightful! In fact, check out all the blogs I follow. They are funny, inspirational and informative! I figured, if she can do this, so can I! I will, with a little help (comment below if you know this html thing) get this figured out. I want to build my readership and gain followers here, and once the facebook page is up and running, fans on it. In the mean time, if you're reading this, please follow my blog. I promise to give you personal, informative, and and sometimes funny glimpses into our lives at Julie World!

Deleted Post

In an effort to clear things off my phone, I inadvertently deleted the my last post. joy