Five Minute Friday - Quiet

It's time for another Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

This week's prompt is QUIET.

Go!

January certainly did not start off as planned (you can read more about how the month started off here if you wish) and, as a result, the entire month has been a whirlwind of activity as we have divided our time between caring for my dad (daily care, meals, doctor appointments, etc.) and spending as much time as possible with our daughter and son-in-law in Kansas City (most visits have been made to the hospital, but our last visit, which was just this week, was the first since Phillip's release). In addition to that I have tried to keep up with my part-time job at Prairie State Park and home life as well. Needless to say, there have been many stressful days and not a lot of down time.

Thursday evening turned out to be unusally quiet so I spent the evening deliberately quieting my heart, praying, and thinking through the many notes I've made over the past few weeks concerning the areas that I need to focus on in the coming days, weeks, and months. I am thankful for the quiet as I plan and prepare my Plan A, yet, I stand ready, willing, and able to yield myself wholly to whatever Plan B the Lord sees fit to bring, or allow into, my life.

Stop!

Have a blessed weekend!

All My Love,
~Rebecca

Five Minute Friday - Present

It's been a long and busy week and, all of a sudden, here it is...Thursday night and time for another Five Minute Friday prompt...and I'm still working on last week's prompt! I thought it was too late to add it to the official Five Minute Friday board, but it's not...so...here goes!!!

Last week's prompt...PRESENT.

Go!

Present. "The past follows hard on the heels of the present" and "the present is a gift...that's why they call it "the present".

Cliches? Yes, but, nevertheless, true. The past does follow hard on the heels of the present and the present is, indeed, a gift...one that we should value and use wisely.

For some reason, though, I'm a very slow learner. Not in every area, of course, but in the most important areas it seems...like doing life and doing it well, making wise life choices, and moving ahead. I keep thinking that at some point I'm going to wake up and figure things out...and maybe I am...but really? At 54 I really should be further down the road than I am.

I've always prided myself on being easily pleased and content with however things fall. I mean contentment with godliness is a good thing...right? But I'm starting to realize that, far too often, I am content with things...not because I'm walking in God's plan for me, but because, out of fear of what might happen if I do, I have made foolish choices and settled for much less than God's best for me. I tend to settle for 'less than' because 'less than' is how I see myself. I'm afraid that I have tricked myself (or maybe allowed others to trick me) into believing that having a low estimation of self and settling for whatever is tossed to me is equal to Biblical humility. It is not! 

It's time to take charge of my present by dealing with my  past and, purposefully, moving past it and into all that God has created me to be and to do what He has created me to do. I need to see me as God sees me. Through prayer, perseverance, and a commitment to the Lord...to His Word and His ways...I know I can overcome every obstacle!

It begins right here...right now!

Stop!

Have a blessed evening!

All My Love,
~Rebecca

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

Celebrating Burn's Night and Scottish Recipes - Reprint from 2012

Reprint from 2012...

Our Beautiful Crockpot Haggis

As home educators our family has always enjoyed celebrations of all kinds...especially ones that celebrate our Italian and/or Scots-Irish heritage. Well, today we celebrated a new holiday for the first time. One that, in truth, we didn't even know existed until late last night!


Last night I was on Facebook and something was posted on one of the Scottish groups that I'm on about Burn's Night (an annual celebration in Scotland commemorating the life of bard, Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759). After doing a little research, I decided that, while it might not be completely traditional, we were going to celebrate Burn's Night anyway!

In researching I discovered that the traditional Burn's Night supper consists of haggis, tatties, and neeps. Now...how was I going to pull that off? I mean...haggis? Cooked in a sheep's stomach? Uh-uh! Not happening here! I looked around and, after a while, found a recipe for haggis made in a crockpot. I tweaked it a bit and made it my own. Here is a link to the original story and recipe which I enjoyed reading very much!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-haggis-recipe.html

(I will share the recipe I made in just a moment.)

I also made the traditional tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed turnips), and added my own favorite version of Scottish Oatcakes (recipes included). It all made for a delicious meal! One that I will definitely make again and again! (Probably every January 25th!)

To make it even lovelier and more special we were joined for supper by our daughter-in-law and three of our grandchildren. It was fun to share a new experience with them!

We ended our celebration by listening to two of Robert Burns works...Auld Lang Syne and Address To A Haggis (which I absolutely delight in!).

Here are those recipes as promised...

CROCKPOT HAGGIS


1 pound lean ground turkey
1 chopped red onion
1 cup whole oats
a pinch each of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients, minus the broth, the same way you'd make a meatloaf. Plop it into your crockpot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Press meat down to form in the shape of the crockpot. Pour broth over top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for about 4. This is cooked fully when it has browned on the edges and is beginning to brown on top. Don't overcook and risk drying out. Using a large spatula, carefully remove from crockpot and place on cutting board (I loosened ours by running a table knife around the edges first and it came out beautifully). (Save broth to serve over top.) Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

TATTIES AND NEEPS

1¼ lb. potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1¼ lb. turnips, peeled, roughly chopped
A generous pinch of grated nutmeg
4 tbsp milk
4 tbsp butter
Sea salt and pepper

Tatties - Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt, cover the pan with a lid. Bring the potatoes to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender (approx 20 mins). Drain the potatoes and keep to one side. Add half of the butter and half the milk to the pan the potatoes were cooked in. Melt the butter and warm the milk, add the cooked potatoes and mash. Add the nutmeg and stir well to create a smooth, creamy mash.  

Neeps - Place the turnips in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt, cover the pan with a lid. Bring the turnips to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender (approx 20 mins). Drain the turnips and keep to one side. Add half of the butter and half the milk to the pan the turnips were cooked in. Melt the butter and warm the milk, add the cooked turnips and mash.

SCOTTISH OATCAKES

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. light butter
1/2 c. water, or more if needed

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With a fork, stir in the water. Dough should just cling together. Divide into 3 portions.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion as thin as possible. Cut into triangles. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Oatcakes should not be brown but be still quite blonde when done.

Happy Burns Night!

~Rebecca

Five Minute Friday: Time

This week's prompt is TIME...

Go!

Time...there never seems to be enough of it and it often eludes me. The consistancy in my postings prove it.

I know...it's Monday. Usually, when I miss Five Minute Friday ON Friday, I just skip it in hopes of catching it next week...but, I have found over the past year and a half or so, if I skip it because I didn't catch it on Friday, I usually skip it altogether in fear of being behind. Besides...I LIKE posting and I MISS being a part of the blogging community...even if my part in the community is quite small. So...yes, it's Monday and I'm three days late in posting, but I've come to the conclusion that posting late is better than not posting at all.

Maybe I just need to take a closer look at how I spend my time and determine to make better use of the time I do have.

Stop!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

All My Love,
~Rebecca

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

Five Minute Friday - First

This week's prompt for Five Minute Friday is 'first' and this first week of 2016 has been quite eventful to say the least!

A week ago today (Friday, January 1st) started off with our annual 'First Day Hike' at Prairie State Park. 53 people came out to go on the 2-mile, naturalist-led hike in hopes of viewing the bison a little more up-close and personal than they normally would be fortunate enough to do. I don't think they were disappointed.

Bison At Prairie State Park - Mindenmines, Missouri

I worked the 2nd of January (Saturday) and did my dad's, and a friend's, grocery shopping after church on Sunday the 3rd. When I got home from shopping I discovered that my dad wasn't doing so well. He hadn't been well for weeks, but was obviously worse than he had been. By Monday morning (the 4th of January) he decided that it was time to do something different, so we headed to the ER in Joplin. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and promtly admitted to the hospital.

This picture of my dad with three of the great-grandgirls was taken almost a decade ago, but it's still one of my favorites!

On the following morning (Tuesday, January 5th), our daughter in Kansas City called to tell us that our son-in-law, her husband, Phillip, had suffered a couple of really bad seizures back to back and she was headed home to take him to the ER in North KC.

Our son-in-law, Phillip.

 A few hours later, while we were on the way to see my dad in Joplin, Amanda called to tell us that Phillip had a brain tumor. Wow!

Our daughter, Amanda.

After breaking the news to my dad in Joplin, John and I headed to North Kansas City on the morning of the 6th (Wednesday) to be with our daughter and son-in-law for a few hours. While we were there, it was decided that Phillip would have surgery to remove the tumor the next day.

We came home Wednesday night. Went to Joplin early yesterday morning to see my dad, then turned right around and headed back to North KC, arriving mid-afternoon shortly after Phillip had been taken into surgery.

The surgery took about 4 hours and and everything went beautifully! The Lord's presence was over all and Phillip did great! He's got a long road of recovery ahead, but praise God! We are believing for a full and complete recovery and in record time!

We spend the night at the hospital with Amanda last night, then got the call this morning that Dad was being released from the hospital in Jopin this afternoon...so...after breakfast in North KC, it was back to Joplin to get my dad out of the hospital and get him home where he is so happy to be.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know Who holds it and that, whatever happens, He is already there. I do hope, though, that the rest of 2016 is a little calmer than this first week of the new year has turned out to be for our family.

Happy 2016!

All My Love,
~Rebecca

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."