Living Simply
Friends invited us over yesterday for borscht soup.
Huh … it’s definitely red. Made from beets and served cold.
There were sliced zucchini that you added to it, large diced potatoes and yogurt.
Our hostess said that normally one uses sour cream but they prefer yogurt.
It was okay. I wouldn’t want to have it more than once every couple of years. lol
I think it’s definitely something that you acquire a taste for.
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| Boardman Lake |
My husband and I decided to go on a hike today to Boardman Lake near Verlot, Washington.
The hike is said to be “largely gentle” but we didn’t find it very gentle.
Perhaps because gravel and a little mountain climbing aren’t considered gentle to us.
The trail starts gently enough with 2-3 boardwalks along the way.
But then, the trail throws a twist at you.
We soon found ourselves having to look down all the time as there were small to medium sized rocks that we were walking on.
Later we encountered more of what you see in the picture above — large tree roots across the trail.
Although the trail is less than a mile, you have to go up to get to the lake.
We did make it to the top but were glad that we brought water bottles with us as it made us huff and puff.
This is a huge mushroom that we found along the way up to the lake.
There were many people on this trail — going up and down.
When we finally reached the lake people were swimming in it.
Wish we had brought our bathing suits with us.
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| Logjam at Boardman Lake |
Heading back, we had to climb some large rocks to make it back on the trail.
Overall it was a good hike. Challenging yet doable.
And the lake is beautiful. Next time we’ll pack our bathing suits, lunch and some folding chairs so we can stay awhile.
Sometimes I pretend to be normal
So I decided to try arroz con gandules today.
Gandules are pigeon peas.
It actually came out pretty good so I’m passing the recipe along.
Ingredients:
Directions
Enjoy!
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| Arroz con Gandules |
More recipes:
1 pound of gandules (pigeon peas)
1 tablespoon of alcaparrado without liquid
1 ounce Jamon de cocinar (Cooking ham or smoked ham)
1 one packet of Sazon with achiote
4 ounces of tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste
1 pound of gandules (pigeon peas)
1 tablespoon of alcaparrado without liquid
1 ounce Jamon de cocinar (Cooking ham or smoked ham)
1 one packet of Sazon with achiote
4 ounces of tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste
I’m working on a new website to help people find resources who are in abusive relationships.
If anyone knows of any resources they think I should check out, please feel free to post them for me.
Thanks for all your help.
I’ve been asked, since I post recipes, if I have any recipes for beets.
The answer is no. I don’t think I’ve ever had a beet. lol
Although this Sunday, friends have invited us over for borscht soup so I’ll have to let you know how that goes.
There is a website that I’ve used in the past that I have gotten good recipes from and there are beet recipes there. The site is www.allrecipes.com.
If anyone decides to try the site and a beet recipe, I’d be interested in knowing how it goes.
Cheerios!
Attended another funeral this weekend.
My friend was 87 years old and died of cancer.
I found out so much about him during the funeral service. I guess that’s what happens when you put total strangers in a room who know the same person. They all have different stories, different views of the person and their character.
I can’t forget what one person said: “I know the person he is today, not the one from the past.”
I can say the same thing.
He was a gentle, loving, giving person and had a great sense of humor.
But that was not how he started his life. He abandoned his children from his first? or second marriage.
Only in the past year had he contacted his son, now in his 50’s, to ask for forgiveness and to reconcile with him.
His grandson, who he never met, was a minister and gave the eulogy.
His adopted daughter spoke of how he was a tyrant while she was growing up. Never had I seen that in his personality. Only gentleness.
In the Christian world we would call the change in his life a transformation. And indeed, he had Christlike qualities that one wanted to emulate.
I hadn’t spoken to him in over 2 years but he was one of those people who when you saw him it was as if no time had passed.
Goodbye my friend. I’ll see you in heaven.
I always like to get visitors when I’m sick.
It makes me think of something other than myself. A nice distraction.
Why don’t people visit or call anymore?
Especially when a person is sick — it feels good to be remembered.
Otherwise, one could think that if they were to die no one would care.
What a horrible thought!
I recently had the experience of getting general anesthesia. Prepped, rolled into the operating room and having a mask attached over my face.
Next thing I know, I’m waking up. I look around. I see a man cleaning up and taking things off a table where someone else once lay. He puts the things in a plastic container.
I look to my right — another person who just woke up from their anesthesia.
What happened to the 45 minutes that passed? No dreams. Nothing. Emptiness.
Can one call this peace if one can’t experience it?
Dictionary.com uses one definition of peace: freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety.
A second definition: a state of tranquility.
But if you don’t feel tranquil or free from annoyance are you truly at peace?
Lost are the 45 minutes of nothingness. And they can’t be recovered.
Such is life as it is. Every moment on this earth can be useful or wasted.
Time is truly fleeting. Moments become minutes, minutes become hours, hours become days, days become weeks and weeks become years.
The “lucky” ones age and die. And then?
Walked out the door with a package, went down the stairs and almost bumped into a spider and its web.
It was furiously working to create its web across my steps.
I was annoyed. I know spiders are good for the environment but they get in my way.
Over and over again.
I got a broom and moved the spider out of the way. Oops! Where did it go?
No idea. The way was clear and I went on my way.
Life as it is.