Birthday Celebration

We celebrated my mother-in-law's 76th birthday this past weekend.  Her birthday was on Friday and we had all the Chicago family over to celebrate.  I used it as an opportunity to bake a cake from scratch.  I think I have done that one other time in my life, and I wanted to see if I could do it.  I found a recipe online for a black forest cake.  Yum.  We had a jar of cherries that we bought in Door County on our mini-moon and I used those for the filling.   The recipe said to mix 40 oz. of cherries with 1/4c. of corn starch and 1/2 c. sugar, heat it over low heat stirring constantly until thickened.  Well, I didn't have 40 oz of cherries, the jar was only 32 oz, but I figured that would be enough.  So I did everything it said, stirring for about 20 minutes, but it didn't thicken like I expected.  It actually turned out pretty stretchy and more runny than I would expect I tried turning up the heat and stirring, and there was no change, so I let it cool and resolved that I would use it anyway and pray that the cake would cover up the starchy flavor.  One thing that the recipe said to do that worked out nicely was to grease and flower the cake pan, and then line the bottom with wax paper.  I didn't have wax paper either, so I used parchment paper.  When I turned the cake out of the pan, the bottom came out beautifully. I didn't know that trick, but I think it's one I will use from now on.   Cutting the layers in half was also a challenge.  It said to use a long serrated knife, and I used the longest brad knife I had, but it wasn't long enough to cut through the layer without having to cut around the cake, so needless to say, the halves didn't turn out perfectly even.  Maybe there is a long knife made for cake cutting out there somewhere?  Also, when decorating the cake with whipped cream frosting, I was wishing for a fancy decorating bag with the special tips, but instead I used a plastic baggie and cut off the tip.  It turned out alright, but not very even... I think that was probably my fault. And, the recipe said to crumble up one of the cake layers and save it to decorate the sides of the cake.  I had the cake decorated and the crumbs ready but I couldn't figure out how to get the crumbs from the bowl onto the cake.  It wasn't exactly as if I could pick up the cake and roll it around in the crumbs, and I thought if I picked them up in my hands and tried to press the crumbs on it would wreck the frosting and make it worse. So, I left it as it was.  It didn't look like the picture,  BUT, for all the little issues, the cake actually turned out pretty good.  It tasted wonderful, and it looked alright.  I am anxious to have an excuse to bake a cake again!

Happy Birthday Ruth!

Please join me in prayer

I have a friend who needs our prayers.  She is trying to decide if she should carry her child to term or have an abortion.  If you could join me in immediate prayer for her and her child, I would be truly greatful.

 

PRAYER FOR THE UNBORN CHILD

Almighty God, our Father,
you who have given us life 
and intended us to have it forever, 
grant us your blessings. 
Enlighten our minds to an awareness 
and to a renewed conviction 
that all human life is sacred 
because it is created 
in your image and likeness.  
Help us to teach by word 
and the example of our lives 
that life occupies the first place, 
that human life is precious 
because it is the gift of God 
whose love is infinite.  
Give us the strength to defend human life 
against every influence 
or action that threatens or weakens it, 
as well as the strength 
to make every life more human 
in all its aspects.  

Give us the grace...

When the sacredness of life 
before birth is attacked, 
to stand up and proclaim 
that no one ever has the authority 
to destroy unborn life.

When a child is described as a burden 
or is looked upon only as a means 
to satisfy an emotional need, 
to stand up 
and insist that every child is a unique 
and unrepeatable gift of God, 
a gift of God 
with a right to a loving 
and united family.

When the institution of marriage 
is abandoned to human selfishness 
or reduced to a temporary conditional arrangement 
that can easily be terminated, 
to stand up and affirm 
the indissolubility of the marriage bond.

When the value of the family is threatened 
because of social and economic pressure, 
to stand up and reaffirm 
that the family is necessary 
not only for the private good of every person, 
but also for the common good of every society, 
nation and state.

When freedom is used to dominate the weak, 
to squander natural resources and energy, 
to deny basic necessities to people, 
to stand up and affirm 
the demands of justice and social love.

Almighty Father, 
give us courage to proclaim the supreme dignity 
of all human life and to demand 
that society itself give its protection.  
We ask this in your name, 
through the redemptive act 
of your Son and in the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

(Adapted from Pope John Paul II's homily of October 7, 1979.)

Dreaming

I have been thinking a lot about the value of being more self-sufficient. Recently I have been trying to teach myself how to crochet.  I started last year around Christmas, and taught myself how to make hats.  Since then I have been trying to learn more stitches, but have yet to complete any other project...but I'm working on it.  As I crochet away, I think to myself  "how cool would it be if I could make my own yarn and I could make something from start to finish.  I would need a little bit of land and a couple of sheep, some sheep shears, and a spinning wheel.  I would probably also want dye of some kind.  I could make my own dye if I grew things that produced vibrant colors.. maybe beets.  I could research what other things dye could be made of.  Then I would have to sheer, wash spin, dye de-tangle, and wind the yarn into skeins.  It sounds like a log of work, but completely do-able.  But would it save money?  I have to buy the land, feed the sheep, invest in a spinning wheel, and put lots of man-hours into the labor.  I don't know if it would be cheaper, but what a sense of accomplishment.  On that tangent, I thought I could raise a few chickens also.  I heard on the news that there is an urban chickens movement where people are raising their own chickens in big cities and in small spaces.  We could totally raise a few chickens and have fresh eggs every day.  And if we already had some land, we might as well grow our own vegetables.  We have already talked about canning and preserving our own vegetables and have that equipment readily accessible.  How much electricity could we create for ourselves if we had a windmill?  Could we power our own house?  Maybe we could get some solar panels to help out.  Could we go off the grid completely?  Probably not. But, if we got a group of people together with different skills, could we start a little self-sufficient off-the-grid village?"  Now I am starting to sound Amish. But there is a lot to be said for simplicity and knowing how to do things for yourself.  And, in today's economy there are added benefits.  If you can't afford your own food, you have chickens and vegetables.  If you can't afford your electric bill, you have a windmill.  If you can't afford clothes, you have your sheep and your spinning wheel and can make a few things for yourself.  Not that it's easier, but it does seem somehow better.  When you can't rely on your government or your economy, you can rely on yourself and your friends.. and practice your religion... (more on that later) Who's with me?

Random act of . . .??

I noticed this little sticky note stuck on the door to our condo building as I left the house this morning.  I read it, and then thought to myself : ok, that's random.  And then took a picture, you know, because it was random. 



I started walking across the street to my car, and I noticed that ours  was not the only door that had been stickied, and also, that it was not only doors that had been stuck.

Fence posts, the handicapped parking signs and lamp posts were also plastered.   As I drove down the street on my way to work I wondered how far this went.  Only to the next block.  So, it looks like just our block stretch need the encouragement. 

I came home from work and some were still up, so I took some more pictures so that you also couldexperience our neighborhoods random act. 

I am wondering if someone is watching people walk down the street reading them perched somewhere in a high-up window and smiling.





Or, maybe it was completely random? Who knows, but it was definitely the most interesting thing that happened in my day.