Month: February 2011

The Guanabana Plant

When I visited Puerto Rico a couple of years ago, I wanted to bring back a little piece of the island with me.

As we were driving towards the airport, we stopped alongside the road to pick up seeds from pods that had fallen from the trees.  One seed was from the flamboyan tree.  It is a beautiful tree that I’ve seen in deep colors of red and orange. Unfortunately, the seeds I brought back with me did not sprout.

The other seed I brought back was from the guanabana tree. This seed did sprout and at two years old is still thriving — not very tall but still striving.

Guanabana Tree

Guanabana Leaves

In English, the guanabana is known as the Soursop Tree.  Click here to read the Wikipedia article.

This has been a very slow growing tree for me.  When I first planted it, I was in Seattle.  Then we decided to move to Minnesota so most of the plants I had were thrown out except for the guanabana and a cactus which I carefully put in a box in the car.  I thought for sure it would die along the way to Minnesota.  But I would carefully take it inside the hotel room with us each night that we stopped.

Today, the guanabana is starting to flourish again.  It turned halfway yellow when we first transported it but has adjusted to the new environment in our apartment.  Although, it is much too young to provide us with any fruit yet.

An interesting note about the guanabana.  It has a chemical called annonacin that recent reports have shown has caused brain lesions that are consistent with Parkinson’s disease.

Although, a different article talks about the benefits of the leaves of the guanabana helping with cancer.

As with anything, one has to do a lot of research to make sure they have the most current information on the benefits and disadvantages when trying something new.

For me, it’s just a pretty plant that I hope to someday have as a tree, uh, if not in Minnesota then in a more tropical environment.

Gerber Cereal for Babies

I was single when my first son was born and we were living in a small attic apartment in Chicago.  After my son turned 3 months old, I would add a spoonful or two of Gerber baby cereal to his milk so that he would sleep through the night.  And, it worked.

Gerber Baby Cereal

Not being very rich as a single mother, I would sometimes have the baby cereal for my dinner since it was fairly inexpensive.  I would add it to warm milk with a wee bit of salt and sugar.

And now, every now and again, I will buy a box and have some for breakfast.  Seems like the taste is different though. Perhaps my taste buds have changed or Gerber has toned down the flavor.

I wonder though, since Gerber has been around for babies for so many years if they are considering a product for the aging baby boomers who grew up eating their product.

Just a thought.

Foot Washing

My first visit to the Seventh-day Adventist Church was when they were having communion.  Not being a member, I didn’t realize that they have the practice of washing each other’s feet before communion (the eating of the bread and drinking of grape juice).

Feet

The men went to one room and the women to another.  Pails of water, a large ladle and towels were set on a table.  Chairs were arranged so that one person could sit while another person washed the other person’s feet.  Having my feet washed by a stranger was odd.

Doing a little studying in the Bible, I read in Scripture about Jesus washing His disciples feet and it made sense to me. Some people think it’s awkward.  I have found it to be humbling.

A couple weeks back, I attended a Seventh-day Adventist church in Hudson, Wisconsin.  Again, they were having communion and they asked those who wanted to partake in the communion service to separate to wash one another’s feet. When I arrived upstairs, everything was ready although I didn’t have a partner.  A young woman came up to me and asked me if she could be my partner and I agreed.

The young woman went to get the pail of water and a towel.  While she was gone, I took my socks off and when she returned, she washed my feet.  The “washing” is not with soap and water but plain warm water.  She carefully wiped my feet dry and then I took the pail with the used water back to the table, added fresh water to the pail and went back and washed her feet.

Afterwards, we prayed.  I prayed for her family, her health and her spiritual condition.  I am always reminded of the Scripture where Jesus washed His disciples feet.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.  John 13:3-5

Serving each other.  Some would think it’s stooping too low but in reality it’s lifting us up towards God and humanity.  Our world would be so much different if our leaders would follow this example.

Surely if the Son of God can humble Himself to be a servant to us, we can humble ourselves to be a servant to others.

A fine example you are Jesus.  A mighty fine example.

The Desire of Ages: A Classic on the Life of Christ

 

Orange Moose in Black River Falls, Wisconsin

Traveling back and forth to Chicago now to visit relatives, we usually stop along the way to have a bite to eat.

The last time we stopped it was at a restaurant called the Orange Moose in Black River Falls, Wisconsin.  The restaurant is located right off of I94 between Chicago and Minnesota.  Outside, is a large orange moose.

Orange Moose Bar & Grill, Black River Falls, Wisconsin

The bar is apart from the main dining area which is nice.  They have tables instead of booths where we were seated.

 

For being off the interstate, and not a MacDonald’s, this restaurant is pretty good.  The tables have a paper placemat on them that accentuate their name.

 

The food came quickly and was hot.  We had a Ruben sandwich (looks uncooked but my husband says it was cooked) and a Philly Steak sandwich.

Ruben Sandwich

Philly Steak Sanwich

It looked like we were the only ones there around 5:00ish.  Too much food though.

And then, with the sun setting in front of us, we were off — back to Minnesota.

 

Perfumed Feet

Her name was Mary and I have to assume she had long hair.  Her sister’s name was Martha.  They, along with their brother Lazarus, received Jesus in their home for dinner.  Martha served the meal while Lazarus was reclining at the dinner table.

Mary gets up, takes .5 liters of perfume and goes to Jesus and pours it on His feet.  Then she wipes His feet with her hair.

That’s unusual in and of itself.  Imagine any woman going to a man’s feet and pouring perfume on them and then wiping the perfume with her hair.  Whoa!  Most of us would raise our eyebrows and gossip about it.  After all, Mary was not married to Jesus.  They were friends.

One of the people in the group, Judas, spoke up about this to Jesus.

John 12:4-5  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?  It was worth a year’s wages.”

Judas — his concern was about the money that could have been had by selling the perfume.  No concern about the unusual act of perfume being poured on Jesus feet.  We’re not told that anyone else spoke up about this, uh, act of love.  The Bible tells us that Judas was a thief and he used to take money from the money bag that they had.

I don’t understand why no one said anything.  Embarrassment?  Minding one’s own business? I wonder what the people there were thinking.  I would think that there had to be an intimate relationship between the two.  A very friendly bond. Some have alluded to Jesus having an affair with Mary but the Bible doesn’t state He ever had a relationship with a woman.

What did Jesus say about this act?  John 12:7-8  “Leave her alone, Jesus replied.  It was intended that she should save this perfume for my burial.  You will always have the poor among you but you will not always have me.”

Although Jesus could read people’s hearts, He did not condemn Judas as a thief but instead He directed His attention to what Judas said about the poor.

How often we think that God condemns us harshly.  It reminds me of the verse found in the book of John 3:17  “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.”

No condemnation for Judas even though He was the one who was going to betray Jesus.  Does God really have to condemn us?  Don’t our acts condemn us by themselves?

Mama’s 85th Birthday

Vague recollections of childhood bring back memories of the many times we moved to different apartments. Growing up was a matter of survival.

We were poor but never without food or clothing.  An education was the one thing Mama insisted we have.

Mama had to leave Papi because of his alcoholism and his extreme views of Christianity.  In spite of his religion, Papi would go on drinking binges to come home and be physically and verbally abusive.  He threw my sister up against a wall once.

It took courage for Mama to leave him.  On the outside, he was handsome and affable.  But the dark side loomed within him.  Occasionally, Papi would come back to visit but he wouldn’t stay very long.

Some time in my teen years, I learned that Papi had changed his name.  No one seemed to know why although rumor has it that he was wanted for murder.

With 6 children to feed, clothe and educate, Mama stayed home and worked.  She was the June Cleaver of our day although she was very strict and didn’t mind taking a belt to us if we didn’t behave.  She would cook, clean and make sure that our basic necessities were met.  Mama would make pasteles (a Puerto Rican dish) and then go door-to-door selling them.  She was very good at doing this.  This helped us with getting school supplies, extra food and much needed clothing.

Going to school was an adventure as Mama knew how long it took us to take our tiny steps there.  She even knew how long the crossing light took to change colors.  So we had to be home on time or we would be punished.

I hated Mama.  I hated that we couldn’t go out or have any friends.  I hated that she made Papi leave.

Children are like that — they don’t see the big picture but only what’s in front of them at the time.

It wasn’t until later in life, when I was in my 20’s, that I looked back and understood most everything Mama went through.

Raising 6 children on her own with no outside job was not easy even with help from the Catholic church.  She sacrificed a lot.  She wouldn’t go out or buy fancy things — only basic necessities.  She tells me over and over again “I just wanted you all to get an education.”  And we all did.

It doesn’t matter now that I didn’t go to the prom or get high school pictures.  No high school ring for me.  At the time, I had a hard heart and pretended not to care but inside I did care about what everyone else had and I didn’t.

Mama — 85 years old now — still treats me as a child when I go “home.”  She cooks for me and buys me food (I wonder when that will stop) to make sure we don’t go hungry.  Always looking out for me.

Mama — God could have given me another but He gave me you.

Mama — How often I wanted you to hold me as a child, but you couldn’t because you had never been held so didn’t know how to show affection.

Mama — You are to be admired for all the sacrifices you made for us.

Mama — I am frugal now because of you.

Mama – You were my protector.  I made it out alive and not in a pine box because of you.

Mama — I love you and know that, unless I die first, you will be terribly missed.

Mama — You raise your eyebrows at me because you think the way I practice Christianity, so very different than you, is different.  But you never tried to change me.

 

My Mama

You are the best Mama God could have given me.

Hastings, Minnesota

In a previous, I wrote about Hastings, Minnesota and the neighborhood that I drove through in looking at a house we wanted to see.  Most of those houses were cookie-cutter type houses.

I drove back again with a different “eye” to see what the town looked like.  The town itself sits on the banks of the Mississippi River and has approximately 23,000 residents.

Hastings, Minnesota Water Tower

There are a lot of homes that are different than what I saw before.  More colorful.

Hastings, Minnesota house

Hastings, Minnesota house

Hastings, Minnesota House

There is a lot of architectural detail in some of the buildings.  The house below has been converted into condos.

Old Hastings, Minnesota house

The picture below is of the Hastings Public Square City Hall and Police.

Hastings, Minnesota Public Square City Hall and Police

The downtown area reminds me of the town in the Andy Griffith Show.

Downtown Hastings, Minnesota

And, of course, every older town has to have large church buildings.  This one is the Berean Bible Baptist Church.

Berean Bible Baptist Church in Hastings, Mn

An old railroad bridge sits unused.

Hastings, Minnesota

The Hastings High Bridge, built in 1951, is scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a new bridge according to Wikipedia.

Hastings High Bridget in Hastings, Mn

A nice little quaint town.

Krusteaz Blueberry Muffins

When I don’t have a lot of time to bake and need something quick to serve with soup, I resort to a box of Krusteaz muffins.

Krusteaz Wild Blueberry Muffins

The muffins are easy to make as all that is required is adding water to the mixture.

They taste good — unless you overbake them.  Since each oven is different, I usually put the timer on for the least amount of time it says is required.  If only one time is given, I usually check them about 5 minutes prior.  If overbaked, the muffins will come out tasting tough and chewy.

Krusteaz Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix

The blueberries come in a can that’s in the box.  The instructions say to rinse them first.  The company’s website says that the blueberries are from Maine.

I put PAM inside the cookie sheet instead of using paper liners.

Krusteaz Wild Blueberry Muffins

These were overbaked by about 2 minutes (I was talking on the phone and got distracted). Overall, they are pretty good muffins.

Krusteaz Wild Blueberry Supreme Muffin Mix, Fat Free, 17.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)

Simple Barley Soup

A friend of mine made this delicious barley soup when I lived in Seattle.  It can be seasoned with whatever flavors one likes. I happen to like thyme and cumin.

The ingredients are as follows:

6 cups water

1/4 cup medium barley

3 medium red potatoes

1 1/2 large onion

4 carrots

3 celery sticks

Salt to taste

Thyme to taste

Cumin to taste (not pictured)

Garlic to taste

Rinse the barley in cold water.

Put 8 cups water in a pot and boil.

Add the barley and simmer for about 45 minutes until the barley is cooked.

Coarsely chop the carrots, celery sticks and onion.

Put them in the pot with the barley and stir.

Add the garlic, thyme, salt and cumin — stir.

Chop the potatoes coarsely and add to the soup mixture.

Let the soup simmer for about an hour.

Taste and adjust the flavorings as needed.

Simple Barley Soup

Simple Barley Soup

This soup tastes especially good the following day.

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