Chinois Update

A dear friend from Community Bible Study (aka church school to Dacia Grace) owns a chinois that she has so graciously loaned me. Thank you, Audra!

Also, tomorrow (Thursday) I am going to pick up a chinois from a fellow Freecycler. Here is hoping that is will be in good shape and will in fact be what I am looking for in a chinois.

I do have to say that I really, really like freecycle.org. If you have never checked it out, you really should. It is a way to pass on things that you no longer use to someone who is in need of the item. No money is exchanged. All that is asked is a courteous thank you and for you to pass on something to another that you are not using. We have added many necessary items to our home this way.

Chosen Name

This morning I had a very interesting conversation with Dacia Grace regarding what she likes to be called. Her choices were:

Dacia, Dac or Dacia Grace

Her choice.......Dacia Grace.

"When you introduce yourself to someone, what do you tell them your name is?" I asked.

"Dacia Grace!" was her very definitive response. "You need to work on that Mommy."

"Okay, I will Dacia Grace."

Off she went to play but coming back several times today to ask me, "So what is my name, Mommy?"

So cute!

I remember I was about her age when I had a similar conversation with my mother about my name choice. So I guess....like mother, like daughter!

Oh Where Is My Chinois? Sniff, Sniff!

What is chinois you ask? A cone shaped food puree sieve used to make sauces and broths of all kinds (i.e. applesauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, fish broth, etc.) As I continue on in my endeavor to make things from scratch thus avoiding the long list of allergens that plague this family, I found out the mine is MIA! I have looked high and I have looked low. So sad. Not only was mine very useful but it also held many memories of making applesauce with my mom and my sister. Ahhhhh...... I guess I will have to add it to several other things that are MIA as well. Meanwhile I will make work on my 37 pounds of apples while reminiscing about Chinois!

If by some chance you have one of these collecting dust on your garage shelves and you would like to donate it to a lonely housewife, I would be so happy!

My Times Are in Thy Hands

Hymn by William F. Lloyd

My times are in Thy hand;

My God, I wish them there;

My life, my friends, my soul I leave

Entirely to Thy care.

My times are in Thy hand;

Whatever they may be;

Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,

As best may seem to Thee.

My times are in Thy hand;

Why should I doubt or fear?

My Father’s hand will never cause

His child a needless tear.

My times are in Thy hand,

Jesus, the crucified!

Those hands my cruel sins had pierced

Are now my guard and guide.

My times are in Thy hand,

I’ll always trust in Thee;

And, after death, at Thy right hand

I shall forever be.

Almost 20 years ago to the day, this thought provoking song ministered to me as I was seeking God's direction while in college. It ministered to me again today as I was doing my Bible study and praying for our family and all that God has in store for us in the coming year.

We have an amazing God who lovingly asks us to follow Him and trust Him! What a reminder to me during the current economic "slump" and during this pre-election time! Our times even as a country are in His hands......what a wonderfully comforting place to be!

DG Approved!

Yummy Italian Minestrone Soup!

Courtesy of Arlene on Clean and Cozy Yahoo!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced potatoes
2 cups sliced cabbage
1 cup sliced zucchini
1/2 cup garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
1/2 cup navy beans
16 oz can tomatoes with liquid (I used Fire Roasted from Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup celery
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup rotini (uncooked) (I used macaroni because that is what I had in the pantry)

1. Sauté onion in oil until brown. Add broth, carrots, and potatoes, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 20 minutes more.

NOTE: When I make this again I will probably double the broth since this was more of a stew than a soup. I plan on adding the broth right before serving.

Makes 8 servings (1 serving = 1 cup)

Calories - 116
Fat- 3 gr. (23%)
Carbohydrates - 19gr. (66%)
Protein - 5 gr. (17%)
Fiber - 4 gr
Sodium - 188 or less mg
Cholesterol—O

Wasp Stings, Trojans and Leaking Roof

What do all three of these random things have in common? Why would I be blogging about them? Well.........all three happened within the span of about 36 to 48 hours here at Fanno Lodge.

That's right folks! Tuesday started very bright and early with me out in the front yard taking advantage of the cooler weather to tame the Weed Dragon that had overtaken the flower beds. Arthur was up and out of the house for a busy day at work. (He is down an assistant at work so the work load has doubled and in some cases tripled.) Dacia Grace had come out to learn how to use the special garden tool for yanking out nasty dandelions by their roots. When all of a sudden, OUCH! and into the house I ran calling for Dacia Grace. She followed as I began to .... ahem .... divest myself of my pants for you see the dang wasp had gotten trapped in my pants from the pant leg. As I began to inspect the pants to see if I could kill the dang wasp, it proceed to sting me not once but two more times on my upper arm......I SCREAMED!

For those of you who do not know, I have a history of BAD experiences with bees, wasps, mud dabbers, you get the picture. (Actually the week before this happened I was at the allergist being tested for bee sting allergies....I failed on the first test so they had to do a blood test to determine the extent of the allergies....we don't have the test results back yet and won't for quite some time.) I digress.....so 50 mg of Benadryl later, a 911 call, a frantic call to Arthur's work requesting him to come home as soon as he arrived, two phone calls to Arthur FROM the 911 and paramedics found me quite loopy but doing just fine. So yes.....I am allergic to bees, wasps, yellow jackets, mud dabbers, bumblebees. Yes, my purse now weighs more since an Epi Pen is carried with me EVERYWHERE!

Trojans and Leaking Roof......our trusty computer started acting excessively weird that same evening. But it was not until the following day that I was able to discover through the help of my trusted computer advisor, Melissa and her wonderful hubby Sam that our computer is infected by a virus, a trojan and a worm! Yes, you read that correctly....all three!

At about the exact same time that I was discovering this nasty bit of news, I went outside on our wonderful screened in porch to rest on our couch.......WET! It has been raining quite a bit this week and our roof is leaking! Not just one spot but two!

So folks, no pictures available on this post of our beautiful girl because....well.....I just can't upload one right now. This will be my last post for awhile until our trusted computer (I need a name for this member of our family) is repaired and in working order. Neither will I have much email access so I will catch you all when I can.

Artist in Training

Not only is Dacia Grace an artist in training but she is also very compassionate. She loves her friends and when one of them is hurting she is very concerned about them. When she found out that a good friend broke her bottom jaw in three places, her first response was, "Mommy, we need to share my Princess band aids with Amarissa! That will fix her owie!" What a sweetie! So this morning Dacia Grace is busy painting Princess pictures to send with the band aids to her friend. Later today we will mail the picture and the band aids along with other cards for some sick and hurting friends.

Father, I pray that You will continue to grow Dacia Grace's compassionate heart for the sick and the hurting. May she always be willing to reach out and share Your love with those in need.