The Things That Fun Stuff Is Made Of

 I went to King Arthur Flour's website the other day just to check out some prices and look what I found!

I'm so excited!

I can make six mini-loaves of quick breads,

 and they will have these designs on them!

I know...I'm easily entertained!

The pan was on sale for more than half off the regular price.

 I am already envisioning the loaves I am going to make

and share with some dear ones!

Cheat River Trailhead

 We decided recently to do errands in the town where our county seat is located.  There was a long list of errands...landfill, wash the truck at the carwash, Walgreens, and gas station.  

I requested a bit of fun along the way, which Strongheart was happy to oblige me.  On the outskirts of this little town is a walking trail, known as the Cheat River Trailhead so I asked if we could stop there and do a little walking.  The drive along the Cheat River is beautiful, especially this time of the year, but this particular day I was wanting to do some walking of the rail trail.

I was somewhat disappointed once we got there because there were barricades and "Trail Closed" signs up in every direction, but we did walk around the areas where it was permissible.  It was too gorgeous of a day to not do some walking. 

We started here at this pond.

There's a picnic table right in front of these huge rocks.

I loved seeing the reflection of the beautiful tree colors in the water.

What would a post be without some random colored leaves?

Strongheart had wanted us to be able to walk across this bridge that spans the width of Cheat River.

Fortunately for me, this is one of the areas where there was the "Trail Closed" sign.

You see that there's no railing on either side of that bridge, right?  

Yes, I know it's nice and wide, but, well, just not my cup of tea.

I was trying to get a good shot of the river without disobeying the signs.

If you can enlarge the picture on your screen, perhaps you may be able to see the slightest bit of the water through those trees.

This is a pavilion furnished with picnic tables and also restrooms to the right of the pavilion.  

We eventually came to this area that is clearly marked as the place to put the kayaks into the water...or take them out.

 A bit of information about the area.

In case you aren't familiar, the Cheat River is famous for its white-water rafting.

People come from as far away as California and Washington State to enjoy the rapids.

However, this year, anyone wanting to do so would have had to bring their own water because of how dry our summer was.  

The next few pictures will give you a better idea of how low the river was.

The path down to the river was a bit too steep for me,

but Strongheart was happy to go down and snap a few pictures for me.

Isn't this a lovely spot for that picnic table?  

Next time, I want to take my walking stick so I can navigate the steep incline.

I have a picnic lunch in mind already. :)

To the right of the picture where the water looks white is a little bit of a rapids,

but look to the left and middle of the picture and you will see all of those rocks.

The majority of the river this summer had many more rocks visible than it had water

.

We are so thankful for the several rains we've had in the last month that has given us this much water.

I hope you enjoyed your time at Cheat River Trailhead.

Resilience

Lisa's prompt for this month with our One Word post was for us to begin thinking about a new word for 2025 now rather than waiting until December or even waiting until January.  

At first, I thought it was just too early for me to think along those lines.  And then...

Strongheart and I went out for breakfast the other morning to a tiny little diner in the town of our county seat.  It was there that I not only found something to share about my current One Word (kindness), but it was also the jumping off point for me for my One Word for 2025.

My husband enjoys the diner because of their delicious buckwheat cakes and with my eating gluten-free now, the buckwheat cakes are one thing I can have.  We noticed as we went in that the diner wasn't very busy and soon realized that there was just one woman there and she was doing everything from waiting tables, to cooking, to serving the orders, and running the cash register.  Normally, this isn't the case.

After we had been there a while, and gentleman came in and sat down, someone the lady obviously knew because she asked if he wanted his usual.  During the course of our meal, we overheard the conversation easily between the two of them, as the gentleman's table was close to ours.  He asked her how her eyes were doing, and she told him they were doing good since she'd had her cataract surgery.  

It was her next comment that made me really sit up and take notice of this woman, who had already displayed such kindness and gentleness toward us as she took our orders and brought us our food.  She went on to say to this gentleman, "Now, if we can just get this tumor to shrink or better yet, go away altogether, I would be great!"

So, here as we are witnessing her gentle spirit, we came to realize that underneath all that gentleness and kindness, there was a battle raging in this dear woman's body as she was dealing with cancer.

It was her smile that was so sincere and never once did we hear her complain...not even about being the only one out to work that day.

I thought about her all the way home that morning, and I have thought about her many times since.  What a powerful testimony she has for she was no doubt a Christian.  A Christian who trusts herself to the working of God in her life.  She is a Christian with resilience.

It made me think of a quote by J. C. Ryle, "Christian, receive your trials, crosses, and conflicts patiently; bear them quietly; look upward, forward, and far behind them. Fight your daily fight under a steadfast conviction that it is only for a little while, and the rest is not far off."

The Holy Spirit made me aware that I was seeing that quote lived out right before my very eyes through this woman.  It brought conviction.  I tend to quit too soon, complain too much, and fail to go to my Heavenly Father first when I have the slightest of things going on.

It was then that I knew that my One Word for 2025 would be resilience.

Thank you, Lisa, for this challenge!

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace,

 who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, 

will Himself restore, strengthen, confirm, and ground you.

1 Peter 5:10

From My Journal

TODAY IS:  28 October 2024

AROUND ME:  It's quiet.  Strongheart is in the kitchen working on a trail mix that he enjoys making.  The temperatures have been on the cool side, but this week they are to be back in the 70s!  

I AM PONDERING:  the goodness of God.  Our pastor was back in the pulpit again this week...still no pain from his surgery!

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS: Seeing how God answers prayer. We have a young couple in our church who have been looking for a house and nothing has worked out up until a week ago.  They close on the 15th.  It's all about God's timing!

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING:   Refreshment for the Soul is a collection of Richard Sibbes thoughts on different topics and is compiled as a devotional.  So, it will be an ongoing reading throughout this year.

The Soul's Conflict by Richard Sibbes  I'm making a bit of progress on this read.  While Richard Sibbes writings as a Puritan are much easier reading than some of the Puritans, I have taken my time on purpose as I've read through the pages.  It's been not only a learning experience, but also a convicting experience as well.

A Place for Weakness by Michael S.Horton  

I AM THANKFUL FOR:  so many things...a warm home, food preserved for winter, good health for my loved ones, friendships that stand the test of time.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN:  that there's a need for a teachable spirit...always. 

FROM THE KITCHEN:  

Coconut Rice with Shrimp and Peas

Brussels Sprouts with bacon, mushrooms, and dried cranberries

  SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:

Anything with the Blue Willow Pattern

(This picture is courtesy of Pinterest)

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER: "Weaknesses do not remove us from mercy but inclines Him more to us."  Richard Sibbes

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Checking in on a friend who recently had knee surgery, working more on a project which partly includes doing some more Swedish Death Cleaning and rearranging things in the room.

"So teach us to number our days, 

that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:1221 

Be Encouraged

 

Let's Go for a Train Ride!

Our daughter had been able to ride The Potomac Eagle train when she was still in public school as part of a field trip at the end of the school year one year.  It's a lovely scenic ride up the South Branch of the Potomac River in Hampshire County WV.  However, we took our children out of public school to homeschool them before our son had the opportunity to ride the train.

Then one summer we took his two daughters to ride the train when they were here with us.  Our daughter, son-in-law had taken their son (our grandson) to ride the train one summer. leaving our son and daughter-in-law as the only ones in the family who hadn't ridden the train.

It's something that I have always wanted to do for them, but it just hadn't worked out for any of the times they came to visit.  Then Covid happened and that changed a lot of things.  When our son and daughter-in-law were here recently it was the first time he'd been able to be here for two and a half years.  When he'd called to work out the details of their visit, I told Strongheart that this would be the perfect time to see to it that our son and daughter-in-law had that train ride.  We ordered the tickets and told him we had a surprise for them when they came.  Finally, just the night before he came, he guessed what the surprise was, and he was ecstatic!  

Tuesday of the week that they were here, we hopped in the car and made a few stops along the way...Sam Beachy and Sons was our first stop for some apple cider.  Next stop was at Springs Store, which is a Mennonite bulk food store.  Our son and daughter-in-law had so much fun in this store because they couldn't believe how inexpensive the prices were.  They took several things home from here.  Our trip continued to Romney WV and the home of Strongheart's one sister.  Our son had expressed a desire to stop and visit with her because she used to babysit him when he was a little guy before he started school.  That was fun.  Finally, it was time to depart to the train station to begin our adventure.  The rest of the post will be pictures.

Here we are on the observation car.

The weather was absolutely perfect that day and was definitely the place to ride.

This was the view that we were looking for.

The excursion we took was a trip up the trough.

There are places that can only be reached in this area by boat

 because there are no roads.

It was at this point that the train changed tracks, and we went back to the station.

The trip was three hours total.

After leaving the station we went to our favorite restaurant in that area.  It was such a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.  After a delicious meal, we got back in the car and drove the two hours back home.

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix cheese, dressing mix, and garlic powder together.

Moisten chicken breasts with water, coat with cheese mixture. 

Place in a shallow baking dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

A Fiestaware Journey

 The week that our son and daughter-in-law were here, Fiestaware was having their annual "Tent Sale".  The one closest to us was in Flatwoods, WV and that's only a little over one and a half hours away from us.  Since it is our daughter-in-law's everyday dish pattern, we thought it would be fun to take a ride and see what they had to offer.

Strongheart and I had been to the outlet before, but never during the time that they were having a tent sale.  As it turned out, at this particular location they weren't having the sale in an actual tent, but rather had HUGE bins of items outside on the sidewalk as well as in the back room.  

All of the items that they had as part of the tent sale were seconds of course, but one really had to look hard to find why an item was considered a second.  Our son and daughter-in-law and Strongheart and I had fun going through everything and making choices.

This was one of my purchases. 

The lighting wasn't the best when I took the picture, but the color of this water pitcher is actually cobalt blue, which is a very dark blue.

The battery on my camera was dying so I didn't get out everything else I purchased but they included a bread tray, a loaf pan, and a creamer (which I use as a syrup pitcher), a platter, along with this water pitcher.  The grand total for all came to $32.

We had packed a lunch to take with us because we hadn't anticipated getting back as early as we did.  Who wants to take a picnic lunch home to eat?  Not us!

Our daughter-in-law had commented how we drive by one of our state parks that is just 15 minutes down the road from us, but we never stop, so on the way back Strongheart asked if anyone was interested in stopping at Cooper's Rock State Park to have our picnic lunch and to scout around a bit.  Of course, we were all for it!  Such a nice day.

From My Journal

 TODAY IS:  21 October 2024

AROUND ME:  We have been experiencing some beautiful foliage during these cooler days.  It's interesting to wake up in the dark now and the evenings seem longer with it also getting dark earlier.  Looking forward to November 3 when we switch back to our regular time.

I AM PONDERING:  the goodness of God.  Our pastor had surgery on his right shoulder to repair some tears last Thursday (17th) and they were able to do a nerve block on him, which they said would take a couple of days to wear off.  He was in the pulpit this morning without pain preaching!  God is good...all the time, God is good.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:  A good book, good tea, and a cozy throw to wrap up in.

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING:   Refreshment for the Soul is a collection of Richard Sibbes thoughts on different topics and is compiled as a devotional.  So, it will be an ongoing reading throughout this year.

The Soul's Conflict by Richard Sibbes  I'm making a bit of progress on this read.  While Richard Sibbes writings as a Puritan are much easier reading than some of the Puritans, I have taken my time on purpose as I've read through the pages.  It's been not only a learning experience, but also a convicting experience as well.

A Place for Weakness by Michael S.Horton  Almost finished with this one.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do a book review next week.  I had hoped to have it finished so I could do a review this week, but I didn't quite get that accomplished.  I only have one chapter left, so I should definitely finish it up and do a review for next week's blog.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:  the wonderful time that we had with our son and daughter-in-law when they were here a few weeks ago. I hope to share a bit about that this week here on the blog.  I was still missing them too much last week to share much.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN:  We have a saying around here when we are having trouble trying to figure out how to accomplish something..."you have to be 2% smarter than the object you are trying to get to work".  Well, I have had a few of those times this week.  Saturday night was the latest one.  I was trying to open a new bottle of facial cleanser that has a pump.  I tried and tried and finally took it to 
Strongheart to have him open it for me.  I knew he was 2% smarter than that bottle. 😊

FROM THE KITCHEN:  I've enjoyed trying some new recipes this past week, but I kept forgetting to take a picture to share.  The latest new recipe was for Cheesy Butternut Squash Rigatoni.  And it was delicious!  Yesterday afternoon I did prepare some apples for baking...and I did remember to take a picture of those before they went in the oven. 

 

They are stuffed with brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts.

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  

Bunny art!

What do you think they are chatting about?

I have a vivid imagination!

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER:

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Hopefully having an early morning date with Strongheart, as today is when he is going to have bloodwork done in preparation for his upcoming regular check-up with his doctor.  Then we will go out to breakfast afterwards.  Then when we get home, I want to continue on my journey of Swedish Death Cleaning.  Are you familiar?  I wiped out everything in the living room last week, as well as a good portion of our bedroom.  It's onward and upward from here!

"So teach us to number our days, 

that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:1221 

Be Encouraged

 

Sweet Potato Pie

When talking with others about sweet potatoes, Strongheart always tells people that I have a good recipe for sweet potato pie.  So, when he realized that I was posting pictures of the first of the sweet potatoes that he dug, he suggested that I include the recipe for the pie.  Seemed like a good idea, so on his authority here is the recipe that I obtained from a blogging friend from years ago...Mary Zatlik.

Sweet Potato Pie

3 Tablespoons flour

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

2 eggs

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk)

1 9-inch pastry shell

In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar.  Add potatoes, eggs, corn syrup, nutmeg, salt, butter and milk; beat well.  Pour into pastry shell.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 55-60 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes Anyone?

A few days prior to our son and daughter-in-law's visit, Strongheart spent time in the garden harvesting our sweet potatoes.  He ended up with four bushels of sweet potatoes, out of the 16 sweet potato plants that he started.

These are just a few of the very first ones that he dug.

While some of them were small (will make terrific baked fries),

as you can see some of them were quite huge.

What will we do with four bushels of sweet potatoes you ask?

We will share them.

As a matter of fact, he took a half bushel of them to church this morning to share with our church family there.  

Not a single one was left. 

From My Journal

 TODAY IS: October 14, 2024

AROUND ME: I will be trying to get back into my day-to-day routine after having fun with family.  

I AM PONDERING: this quote by F. B. Meyer "If you carefully watch yourselves, you will find that failure in temptation is always preceded by some permitted evil, which took place perhaps days before.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:   

This was a gift given to Strongheart by one of the grad students that he helped in the research lab that he was a part of.

Her grandmother made it, and we have been blessed to enjoy this in our home because we understand the amount of work that it took to make the gift.

 BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY READING:

  Refreshment for the Soul is a collection of Richard Sibbes thoughts on different topics and is compiled as a devotional.  So, it will be an ongoing reading throughout this year.

The Soul's Conflict by Richard Sibbes  I'm making a bit of progress on this read.  While Richard Sibbes writings as a Puritan are much easier reading than some of the Puritans, I have taken my time on purpose as I've read through the pages.  It's been not only a learning experience, but also a convicting experience as well.

A Place for Weakness by Michael S.Horton  Almost finished with this one.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do a book review next week.

I AM THANKFUL FOR: The wonderful time that we had with our son and daughter-in-law from Maine last week.  They were only here four full days, but we packed a ton of fun into those four days!

.FROM THE KITCHEN:  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen prior to our son and daughter-in-law's visit preparing meals to store in the freezer and baking treats for the freezer also.  I knew how much fun we were going to be packing into these few short days that they were here, and I didn't want to spend my time in the kitchen cooking, but I wanted them to be well fed.  However, I did not take a single picture of any of it.  I did a turkey breast, Julia's meatballs and pasta, pulled pork, chocolate chip cookies and raisin filled cookies, plus homemade bread for sandwiches for our lunches.

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  A bit of laundry and some cleaning, as well as spending some time in the kitchen.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 91:12

Be Encouraged

 

Please note that I will be away from blogging for the week next week

in order to spend time with our son and daughter-in-law.

Lenten Lands ~ a book review

 

Lenten Lands ~ My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis by Douglas Gresham is my favorite book of the year.  Douglas Gresham is one of Joy's two sons from her first marriage to William Gresham.  He is a wonderful storyteller and the picture he paints with words of his childhood on through to his marriage with Merrie makes one feel as though you can close your eyes and follow along with all the details, as though you were one of the people who actually were friends of Joy and Jack (C.S. Lewis).

One of the first books that I read this year was Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.  While I wouldn't tell anyone that they shouldn't read Patti's book, I will say that there is no comparison between it and Lenten Lands...mainly because Patti didn't live the life that Douglas did.

He speaks only briefly about his American father without going into a lot of detail about the divorce and the reasons for it.  He doesn't go into detail about everything that his mother did when she was ill and went to England to meet with Jack.  He really starts telling "his story" when he, his brother David and their mother Joy boarded the ship to take them to England to live.  

He shares about their very first trip out to The Kilns, Jack and his brother Warnie's home.  I loved how he talked about his disappointment when he first met Jack because of his ordinariness. He was sure that someone who wrote about such things as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and all the rest of the Narnia characters must surely be someone who would be suited in armor of some sort.  Douglas was 7 at the time, I believe.

Reading Douglas' description of The Kilns, Jack, Warnie, the friends they came to know brought about such warmth to the book.  He spoke of his mother's battle with cancer, how he and his brother were brought home from boarding school to be with her.  

He gave the reader the opportunity to rejoice with the family when Joy's treatments put her cancer into remission and how she went about putting The Kilns in order as far as hiring people to take care of the maintenance, as well adding new paint, and drapes, etc.  Once she had that accomplished, she took to the gardens outside.

Then came the day the boys were once again summoned to the director's office, but Douglas had already sensed what had happened.  His mother had lost her battle with cancer.

He shares about Jack's compassion when it came to caring for the boys in the midst of his own grief.  Also, there had been a point in Joy's fight with cancer that she was in so much pain that Jack could barely stand it, and he prayed and asked God to remove her pain and give it to him.  Briefly Joy was relieved of some of her pain while at the same time, Jack began feeling the pain in his own body.  He was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.  

Jack did not do well after Joy's death and only lived a matter of a couple of years after her death.

The cover I have pictured is a bit different than my copy that I ordered from Thrift Books, but I feel relatively sure that it's the same inside.  In my copy there is one section that's all pictures that I thoroughly enjoyed.

If you are familiar with the film Shadowlands, please be aware that the film was based off of Douglas' Lenten Lands.

I could go on and on...but then you wouldn't need to read the book!  😉

I highly recommend that you put the book on your To Be Read list.