A Gentle Nudge

Sweet Readers,

Last week would have been my mother’s one-hundredth birthday and my father would have celebrated his one hundred seventeenth birthday two days later. I hasten to add I was born late in their marriage! LOL! I wish I had asked more questions about their childhoods and early marriage; we think we have all the time in the world, and…we don’t.

Watching the ball fall on New Year’s Eve made me more aware of how fleeting time is. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NSV) says: Be carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The day I started writing this post my watch stopped working; a conspiracy or a gentle nudge from God, saying, “Be a good steward of the time I’ve given you, my child.” How best do I manage my time? A dear sister, Adrianna Vermillion, gifted the attendees at the NCompass writing conference a tool to help with this matter. The sheet Adrianna gave us had a breakdown of how we use our time. She said that we needed to tithe our time as well as money. Tithe my time, I thought, somewhat hesitantly. But it works, sweet readers. Try it and see how much time we waste on unimportant things. Oh, and I was given a clock for Christmas!

Last week I promised a recipe for biscuits and vegetable beef soup. Hope you enjoy this cold weather favorite of my family:

(Sweet readers, I don't cook by written recipes so be kind as I start trying to get the hang of this.)

Vegetable Beef Soup  — Your home will smell all "wintery" divine!

Ingredients:

• one and a half pounds stew beef
• (2) yellow onions
• (1) 28   oz.  canned whole plum tomatoes
• (1) 15   oz. canned tomato sauce (add to taste-some like a more beef broth flavor-some more of a tomato flavor)
• (3-4) 15   oz. cans of mixed vegetables
• (3-4) med. cubed potatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• And more broth and water as needed

Preparation:

• Place stew beef that has been cut into cubes in stock pot.
• Add 2 diced onions and the box of beef broth. 
• Finish filling pot to three quarters full with hot water.
• Cook until beef has had time to get partially done.

Then:

• Add can of plum tomatoes (I cut off ends and chop)
• Add tomato sauce
• Add mixed vegetables
• Add cubed potatoes
• Add salt and pepper
• Add more broth and water as needed

Bring to a boil and then let simmer for a few hours so flavors can marry.

Yum!

Eating instructions:
Find biggest bowl in house and grab a spoon!!!!!!


Rain and fog set in the hollow for the past few days, completely hiding the far ridges. I feel the rain gives me permission to slow down and snuggle with a good book. I am reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts.  Oh, the blessings we receive daily.

The kittens are growing; I gave them names today, probably not a wise move on my part. I am trying not to get too close to them (slim chance), thinking of the day they will go to their forever homes.

It is a slow week in the hollow and my mind turns to cooking. I think I will make a potpie tonight and add a salad and maybe some homemade applesauce. As I always say--YUM!  My mother and father owned a restaurant and I have so many good recipes of theirs...I’ll gladly share.

Having spoken to you about time management, I better do-as-I-say and get to the kitchen. Don’t you just love the way cooking warms the kitchen and the heart?

Come go home with me next week.

Love to each of you my sweet readers,

Dee Dee

Breaking Up Christmas

Morgan, my son’s talented fiancé, has revamped my blog spot including the lovely photo used as the site header. The photo was taken as Theresa Garret (sister of the heart) and I were on our way to the Christian Communicators Conference in South Carolina. Theresa and I left my home in the Appalachian mountains of N.C. and stopped as this beautiful sunrise flooded our souls with joy while painting the ridges in shades of pink and purple. We huddled closer into our coats on this crisp October morning and Theresa took the picture. We sang a worship tune to our heavenly Father, watching the sun herald a new day. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Morgan and Theresa for the beauty and professionalism of my blog.

I hope each of my readers had a merry Christmas and I pray blessings for your new year. My hubby and I were extremely blessed to have our son, Brad, and Morgan with us as we reveled in family time, making the old farmhouse more merry and bright. We felt the hush of the silent night and rush of angel’s wings.

This Christmas brought unexpected visitors who have decided the farmhouse suits their needs just fine. The first visitor was a sweet mama cat and her three kittens that found refuge in our wicker rocker complete with a fleece throw for snuggling. 

The second visitor was a handsome rooster whom I (ever the romantic) believe senses the ghosts-of coops-past.

Once Christmas is over, the old custom of “breaking up Christmas” would begin deep in the mountains' hollows, ushering in a time of music, dancing and food. Folks would take turns going to each other’s home for two weeks after Christmas, possibly to extend the merriment of the holiday before the bleak winter reality set in. What a lovely idea; mountaineers were certainly good at making the best of any situation.

The farmhouse smells of my homemade vegetable-beef soup and melt-in-your-mouth biscuits (Morgan’s offering to our winter meal). I will give you the recipes on my next post. YUM!

Candles with their Christmas scents flicker as they burn down to their final layer. Yes, it is time to break up Christmas as the calendar gently reminds, but, like Tiny Tim, I choose to carry Christmas with me throughout the year.

Again, I pray blessings on you, sweet readers of my blog. As I watch the snow flurries dance by my window, I wish you warmth and shelter this New Year. May God grant traveling mercies as family members return to their homes after the holidays.

I hope you will come go home with me often this year.

Dee Dee