Snow with a high probability of bacteria

I heard the other day that snow has lots of bacteria in it. Hmph. Go figure on that one. Hey, I remember from my own childhood being reminded Not eat the yellow colored snow. Well, really, I wasn't that dumb. But it seems that bacteria actually play a part in forming snow and there is 'good' bacteria and 'bad' bacteria. some are very helpful to plants, and some not. Nothing about whether you should eat it or not! Well, after pictures of the wonderful melting snow in my backyard, alley and street I think I'll just stick with grumbling about it when it needs to be shovelled and keep it firmly away from my mouth! (The dog likes the snow in the winter time for his outdoor duties. When it all goes away he has trouble knowing what he should do!)

And in other snowy news tulips are up and through the snow in many places. The library has them up in a very shady snow covered corner. Just goes to show that EVERYONE/THING is desperate for spring! The forecast is for more snow next week, but I think I'll stick to this enjoying one day at a time.

Bathroom Changing

Remodelling again. Well, ok, so we're just going to paint. We had big plans to remodel the bathroom. That was last year. The thoughts about what we could do got pretty big and so we waited until a. we had time. b. we had money. c. we were sure about what we were going to do. Of course, in the mean time our idea about what should be done changed. I wanted block glass windows and a claw footed tub. Ron wanted a corner shower. But in the end we decided to take out the huge walnut narrow cupboard (with lots of junk in it and .... paint. Hopefully we will be done and put back together by Easter. Ron says that the shower, tub remodel etc. is just on hold. Wait just a bit more. Hmmm. Everything always takes longer than i think it should. There's always one more little detail that we need to do in order to make it 'perfect'. I know, I'm too impatient. Good work takes time.
Well, I have the before pictures. I wonder how old this wallpaper is. 1970's? Maybe early 80's. Either way, I don't think I want to endure it too much longer. It's dirty. Not to mention hideous. (though in this house there was more hideous stuff than this!)
Ihave all day Saturday to paint. Hurrah. But even with just paint it's amazing how much pre work one has to do for such a small room: take down, clean out, put away.

Promises

Did your brother ever promise? With his fingers crossed behind his back, and so you learned the hard way not to trust in his promises? Ever have the promise of someone you loved broken or forgotten? Is it that the word was forsaken or that the hope you had for something better was destroyed? You believed something and it didn't happen. By the time we reach adult hood it's hard sometimes to be able to trust anyone anymore. We should bemore surprised that anyone actually keeps their word. That's why I look with amusement and some amazement at people who believe the promises of the politicians in this political season. It can't be that anyone, Democrat or Republican will tell the truth and keep his/her word. The promise is always broken. That seems to be the given. You probably wonder where this cynical piece is coming from. One too many political ad, news report, I guess. But I was thinking about the promise that we have, the one hope that is sure and true. Though I've struggled often with the reality of it, I still choose to believe it. What promise is that? The sure and certain hope of Jesus. Savior. Redeemer. Returning again.

Easter Feast

Haitian Eggs

We are having Easter dinner here in a couple weeks. So I am planning what to serve the family! Can you help me out? Ham is traditional. But I'm thinking Pork Loin would be even better. How does this recipe look to you all:



APPLE BRAISED PORK:
2 large onions, peeled and sliced 2 apples, cored and sliced 1 boneless pork loin roast, approximately 4 pounds 2-4 cups apple cider or apple juice 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325° F.
In a roasting pan, place the onion and apple slices.
Place the pork roast on top of the apple/onion mixture. Pour 1 ½ cups apple juice or cider around the pork roast. Sprinkle with thyme and salt.
Cover with foil, and roast 20-30 minutes per pound, adding apple juice or cider as needed, until tender and a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 160° F., or until the Pop Up ® Timer deploys.
This is good served with apple sauce.
Serves 6



I'll serve it with twice baked potatoes and let everyone else bring the veggies and salads! Dessert at our house is always what everyone waits for anyway. Seems I can't ever get away from making my mother in law's sour cream raisin pie. While the men love that for some reason, this year, I'm going to fool them all and make cake!



I never thought I'd be one for Easter Egg hunts, but I've changed my mind since the grandkid have arrived on the scene. We will have a hunt and hope that all the snow is gone. (Tell me I'm not dreaming) We'll use plastic eggs since Isaiah is allergic to eggs, but I'm sure he won't care.

Dancing with Grandma...

We headed to Sioux Falls yesterday p.m. I used to go up there just for shopping. But there's a bigger, better attraction there now! Grandsons! (oh and my son and daughter-in-law. They really do count, too) We haven't had a chance to be with them for awhile, so we enjoyed the afternoon and evening. Can I tell you how cute, bright, funny, handsome and smart they are? Why didn't I know that when you are three years old you can already know a great deal about the world? Like, all about camoflage or tractors, cultivators, and combines, or that learning letters was not such a tough thing to do, or that you could already know who made you and why! Of course, when you're only 16 mos. old, as Phin is already, some of your big things are all about that important belly button and doing exactly what your brother does! And Food. But only certain kinds. Among the other fun things: Dancing to country music and eating ice cream! Have I asked this before: Why didn't I know that being a grandparent could be so coool!

Can anyone say "I'm tired of snow." As of this evening we are again getting dumped on. This time in blizzard like conditions, and the weather man promised only flurries. Hmph. It figures. I am snow weary. Anxious for warmer weather, flowers and being able to again walk outside.

Electricity

When I was young there were several times while living down on the farm that we would lose electricity. It was an adventure in those days. Mom had a big old kerosene lamp and we would get it out and play games by its light. But then we didn't have to worry too much about the food in the refigerator spoiling. Perhaps we might get cold, because, invariably the electricty never went off in the summer time! Only one time do I ever remember that losing electrical power was a major inconvenience. Christmas Eve, 1973. I had a huge dinner cooking in the oven and we lost all our power. I don't remember what we ate that eve, it just wasn't my planned meal. I do recall being enormously unhappy about it, though. Even though our meal was a candle light supper.

Haiti was another story. In the year 2008 they still don't have electricity in the area that we were in. What's more, when it was dark, which was about 6:30 p.m., there were no kerosene lamps or even candles being lit in the little houses of the city. It was just plain dark. No street lights, no house lights, no glowing neon lights advertising the local market. We were out walking around in it on several occasions. Flashlights were called for, but we were even unprepared for that. Here I never even think about such things. The compound had a generator and it ran from dark until about 10 or so. It powered up my camera batteries. But it also meant that there were no cold drinks, no ice cream on those hot 90+ days, and no hot showers. Such a little thing, electricity! On the othe hand, we had beautiful star filled evenings! And a full moon while we were there!