Get Ready...Get Set....Go!

Get Ready...

It's finally time to get serious about this

trip to the Holy Land.  I've been thinking

about it for over a year and trying to prepare

myself for this once in a lifetime experience.

 

The logistics of being gone for fifteen days, and

all the "have to do's before I leave" have about

killed me off.  As soon as I got one list completed, 

I had to start another one.  I need to get on 

the plane and take a deep breath......

 and let the vacation begin!

Lots of reading.....flight itineraries (that changed a 

couple of times), quick reading up on Judaism and

the culture I'm entering, learning about shekels ( a

shekel is worth $. 28.), and reading about the

day to day plans of the trip.  Here's a few things

 I will see and do while I'm gone:

Caesarea and Galilee

 the Mediterranean Sea

Journey to Nazareth

Mt. Tabor

Mt. of Beatitudes

Jerusalem

Bethlehem

Mount of Olives

BYU Jerusalem Center

Qumran Caves (Dead Sea Scrolls)

Followed by three days of Pyramid hopping in Egypt

Just writing this has me so excited I can hardly stand it!!!

Get Set....

What to wear?  Pack light.  It's fall here, but

it will be much warmer there.

So....lots of layers sounds right.  And then there's the

 shoes issue. Which shoes will be the most comfortable and 

still look ok with my outfits?  I've switched back and

forth so many times and I'm still a little worried about 

it.  I've packed moleskin and lots of bandaids, in case

I end up with blisters from all the walking. (oh,

please don't let me get blisters!)

Mark and I, trying to set up Skype, so we will

be able to talk to each other while I'm gone.

This was kind of fun.

I have a new carry on bag that I'm in love 

with.  So many little pockets and sections

for organizing all my goodies.  (One of those

candy bars is for my sister. :)

Go!!!

And I'm out the door.  See you in a few

weeks.  I might be able to blog while

I'm gone...but if not, I'll have much to

talk about when I get home.

Yippeeeeeee!!!!!  I'm really excited!

Can you tell?

*MYOF Goal #25 - Travel to Israel.

October Gave A Party

"October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came-

The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,

and leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band."

George Cooper- October's Party

Delicious Autumn!  My very soul

is wedded to it, and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth seeking

the successive autumns!

George Eliot

October makes me wax poetic.  Each morning when I go out for my walk,

I think to myself, "today's the most beautiful day so far", and then the next

day comes and I say the same thing all over again.  Even a light drizzly rain

can make everything look magical in October.  And then we have a string of 

cloudless, blue sky, days that take my breath away.  Nature really is throwing 

a party!  And I'm so grateful I've been invited.

This month has been challenging because I'm getting ready to take an
amazing trip, which requires a lot of preparation and brain space.  At the
same time, I haven't wanted to miss out on all the October things that I love to
do, because when I return, the calendar page will be turned and we'll be well
into November.  With a good deal of effort, I've managed to fit it all in.
Whew!

I started off the month by taking a trip to the temple with Kathy.

*MYOF Goal  #24- Attend the temple each month.

I went to a Scouting training at beautiful, Camp Durant,

with two of my scouting buddies, Pam and Ann.

I learned a lot of things that will help me in working with the Primary

age scouts in the church.  But one of the best things that happened that 

day, was running into an old friend that I hadn't seen in years.

It was so good to see Leslie!  We had lunch together and had plenty of time 

to catch up on all the news of her growing family.

*MYOF Goal - Give 50 hours of service.

I picked apples with Kenzie and made apple sauce, apple butter, apple

pie filling and dried apples.

We carved pumpkins.....

 

and sang our traditional jack o lantern song with the pumpkins lit and 

the lights turned off.

I took a picnic on the parkway with my sweetheart.

Sparkling apple cider and a little apple pie that was a gift from a

friend, was the perfect picnic food.  We had some other things

too, but these were the highlights!

*MYOF Goal # 49 - Have 50 romantic interludes with my husband.

Yes, October definitely knows how to throw a party and I'm counting

my blessings once more.

Counting October's Blessings

1384-the crock pot

1385- plates piled high with taco salads

1386- a concert in the living room

1387- waking up to the sound of rain

1388- Carol, at my door, with a pan of brownies

1389- watching Kelly dance to ONS

1390- hearing a nursery child sing

1391- reciting the Articles of Faith to Daniel

1392- a sabbath nap

1393- the beginning of a new week

1394- acorns

1395- lunch with Kathy and Phillip

1396- visits with godly women

1397- the smell of an apple dessert

 baking in the oven

1398- fifteen new hens

1399- pumpkins on porches

1400- glorious fall day

1401- loaded apple trees

1402- new scriptures

1403- warm pumpkin pie with

 freshly whipped cream

1404- eight hours of counsel, instruction

and encouragement

1405- hard working sons

1406- stacks of firewood

1407-George Winston - Autumn

1408- training at Little Philmont

1409- visiting with Leslie

1410- Sandy's birthday

1411- oatmeal raisin cookies

1412- the smell of cooking apples

1413- baby talk

1414- a blue streak in beautiful

 long, black hair- and a young woman 

very excited about it!

1415- hearing Kenzie speak "frugal-ese"

1416- the earthy smell of fall

1417- little girls catching falling leaves

1418- picnics on checked tablecloths

1419- a visit with Maury and Sandy

1420- the smell of pumpkin "guts"

1421- leaf peeping on the parkway

1422- purple and yellow mums

1423- roses from my sweetie

1424- playing a beautiful song on the piano

1425- family home evening

1426- warm clothes snatched from the dryer

*MYOF Goal # 35- Keep a gratitude journal.

Beethoven In My Basement

Summer's probably not the best time to try and master a difficult
piano piece. (well, difficult for me).  I had good intentions, but
the garden kept me busy, and the yard kept me busy and the hiking
and the playing in the great outdoors, kept me busy, and I just
didn't practice as much as I should have.  I mean, who wants to
sit in a basement and practice piano when it's gorgeous outside?
But summer's over and I've been cramming to get this piece down pat.

This is a beautiful piece by Beethoven.  I absolutely love it, which
is a good thing, because I had to play it over and over and over....
Just when I thought I had it, I would try and record and I would mess
up miserably.  This final video has a little bobble in it, but as much
as my perfectionist self would like to do it just one more time, I'm
calling it quits.  I need to move on to Christmas music!!!

When I went to my lesson with Emily, I had her play it for me, just
once.  I closed my eyes and listened to how beautiful it sounded as
she played.  After recording my video, I did the same thing.  I closed
my eyes and listened and by golly, it didn't sound half bad.  I surprised
myself.  She gave me three wonderful pieces to work on for Christmas,
with a little warning that, "they were hard".  That makes me a little
nervous.  But she thinks I can do it, so I've got to work hard to prove
her right.  It's a good thing I love Christmas music.

*MYOF Goal # 32 - Practice piano 15 minutes a day.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

This year our theme in Primary has been, "I know the Scriptures are True."

I've had the great opportunity to travel throughout western NC and spend
time with primary children and their leaders as they've explored this theme
together.  I've been pleased to see children coming to church with scriptures
in hand and reporting to their primary leaders how they've been reading their
scriptures at home with their families.   They are learning how to find their
way around in the scriptures- from Genesis to Moroni.  Each month they
work on memorizing a scripture, as well as learning the Articles of Faith
before they graduate from primary.  The Articles of Faith are thirteen
statements that explain the tenants of our faith.  You can read them here.

In a recent visit to one of the units, I listened to an eleven year old boy report
to the adults in the congregation that he had memorized all thirteen of the
articles of faith. (This is no small feat.)  The primary president then put him
in charge of working with the other children and marking their names off
on the chart as they memorized each verse.  On this Sunday, he challenged
the adult members of his ward to come to him after church any Sunday and
recite the Articles of Faith to him and he would mark their names off on the
chart.  I loved it!!!  I hope the adults take him up on that challenge.  I know
I did.  After church was over, I went to him and told him I was ready to
recite the Articles of Faith to him.  

He was very encouraging to me and when I stumbled, he would give me

hints to help me out.  I made it almost all the way through.....but I need to

work on a few of them.  I told him, when I came back to visit, I would recite

the rest of them to him, and I plan to keep my commitment.  So, I'm memorizing.

The thirteeneth article of faith is quite long and one of the best ways to 

learn it, is to sing it.  All the primary children(and adults) in Hendersonville

have been challenged by a four year old who has memorized many scriptures

this year, including the thirteenth article of faith.  Take a look...

 

Wonderful, huh?  

Last Christmas, I ran across the following video when I was blog 

hopping one day.  I don't know this child, although I would love to.

He's so cute!  I enjoy reading his mom's blog from time to time.  You

can go here to read her blog entry about the video.   I've watched this 

over and over and it's a reminder to me how quickly children pick up 

what they hear.   This family was not trying to teach the little boy to 

memorize the christmas story, but after reading it each day as a family,

they discovered that he had picked most of it up on his own.  

It's precious.

Are you smiling?  I know you are.
Children are truly amazing.  There's so much we can learn from them.

"..... and a little child shall lead them."

Isaiah 11:8

*MYOF Goal #42- Memorize 50 scriptures

Fried Green Tomatoes

Near my home there's a large field of tomatoes.  Every time I ride by,
I look at those tomatoes and wonder why they aren't being picked.
It's definitely the end of tomato season and it appears that this field
has been forgotten.

Sunday, on our way home from church, we rode by the field and
I commented on how all those tomatoes were going to waste, and
how I sure would love to have some of the green ones to make fried
green tomatoes just one more time this year.  My husband said,
"well if you'll stop,  I'll get some for you."

"Really?"
"Would it be okay?"
"They are going to waste and no one is using them."
"If the owner was here, I would ask if it was okay....but since he's
     not...."
"This isn't really stealing, right?"
"Just gleaning...."

The irony of the situation isn't lost on me.  Yes, we are stealing,
I mean gleaning tomatoes on our way home from church!
We had a friend with us, who was an accomplice to the mission.
They went into the fields for the tomatoes, and I drove the "get away"
car.

I justified my actions all the way from the field to the frying pan.

Perfectly good tomatoes for making a very delicious  version of fried green
tomatoes.  This is adapted from a dish I had in Charleston (on more than one
occasion... we won't discuss how many times we went to Vickery's just to eat
their fried green tomatoes).  Hopefully you have access to some green
tomatoes or maybe you will get lucky and find some to "glean".

There are several components to this dish and you really shouldn't
leave any of them out, in order to experience it's full deliciousness.
It's not hard, just has a few steps, that's all.
Notice there aren't any measurements.  You just have to play around
with the ingredients until you get it right.

Step 1- Soften some cream cheese. I would say half a block would
be plenty.   Then add some feta cheese to the cream cheese.  How
much do you like feta cheese?  I love it....so I added a big chunk.
Then I sprinkle italian seasonings into the cheese mixture.  Stir and
set aside.

Step 2- Pesto Oil.  You might be able to buy pesto oil.  But I just take some 

of my frozen pesto, thaw it, and thin it out by adding more olive oil.  It

needs to be pourable, not thick.

Step 3- Buy some good jarred marinara sauce (or you could make your

own - I don't).  You will only use a little of this, so you'll have plenty for 

a pasta dish later on.  Heat a little in a bowl in the microwave.

Step 4- Mix up a thick batter with eggs and buttermilk.  A couple of eggs

should work and then add buttermilk until it's a nice consistency for 

coating.

Step 5- Mix up the breading, which is simply Autry's Chicken Breading

and panko.  I use more of the breading than I do the panko.  But I like

the lightness that the panko adds.

Step 6- Wash and slice your tomatoes.

Heat oil on the stove and get everything lined up and ready to go.

Dip the tomatoes into the batter

and then into the breading.

Into the oil they go.  I don't have a picture, but you know how to fry
things, right?  When they are golden brown, take them out to drain
on a paper towel, lined plate.  While the tomatoes are still warm, assemble
the plates.  This is key. The plates have to be assembled as soon as
the tomatoes come out of the oil.  At this point, it's nice to have an
assistant who can help fry while you assemble, or vice versa.
This isn't a dish that holds well, so have your diners lined up and
ready to eat.

A little marinara on the bottom for the tomatoes to sit in.

Place a little cheese mixture on the tomato

Stack another tomato and put a little more cheese on top.

Add one more tomato and a little more cheese.  I guess you could just

keep stacking, but they will fall over eventually and three seems to

be just right for one person.  You might think you can't eat three, but

trust me, once you try this, you will eat every bite and be tempted to 

lick the plate (I've never done that.)

The final touch is a drizzle of pesto oil, across the top and around the 

sides.  If I were a good food photographer, I would have wiped that

plate before taking this shot....but truth be known, all I was thinking

about was diving in. 

Oh, my, goodness......so, so delicious!

It must be a sin to eat something this good.  Especially if you stole, 

I mean, "gleaned" (without asking) your tomatoes.  I will repent.