Gathering Graces 3/6/2017

*Hey, guess what??  More snow today.  I had to head to Coeur d’Alene at about 7 a.m. this morning.  It wasn’t too bad driving over.  However there was a semi-truck that wrecked on the east bound lane.  But I just take it nice and slow, and get there when I get there.

* I was on the campus of North Idaho College today for my spring Gear Up meetings.  All the Gear Up coordinators from across the state are gathered together to learn new things, and look to the future of Gear Up.  It was a good day, even though it did involve A LOT of sitting. 

*Before I left Coeur d’Alene, I received a text message from my sister Christy letting me know it was blizzard-like conditions in Kellogg, and t0 call her when I arrived home.  As I was leaving Coeur d’Alene, it was blizzard conditions.  Ugh!!  But as I headed east, and got past the lake, the sky opened up, and the snow stopped falling, and the roads weren’t too bad until I reached Pinehurst, then it was snowy and slushy all the way home.

*When Paul got home he headed out to the front to shovel.  I went outside, and I can’t believe how much snow we still have in our front yard.  Well over three feet!!  I did see the date right on my calendar.  It is March 6th....correct!!

*I prepared for the next gathering of the Drama program at the after school program.  I am so excited to see the students again!!

*The snow kept falling off and on this evening, and the forecast calls for more snow tomorrow.  In fact there is a WINTER STORM WARNING beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning until 10 a.m. Wednesday.  I just hope the roads aren’t too bad driving to and from Coeur d’Alene tomorrow. 

Gathering Graces 3/5/2017

*More snow covered Kellogg as I ventured out this morning to visit Mom.  It did make things look beautiful!

*Spent the afternoon cleaning house before the family came over for dinner.  I always love taking the time to clean.  It feels and looks so much better.

*For tonight’s family dinner, I got the Bone In Ribeye Steaks from Mom’s freezer and looked up how to prepare them.  I tried something new, and it did not disappoint.  Thank goodness.  I wasn’t sure how this was going to taste, but it was DELICIOUS.  I made Pan Seared Steak.  I borrowed Mom’s cast iron skillet, and used our cast iron dutch oven.  You heat up butter and olive oil on high on the stove.  You season the steaks with lots of salt and pepper.  Then you sear each side for two minutes.  The recipe said to add fresh rosemary on the steak, but I used dried.  Then you put the cast iron skillet (or dutch oven) into the oven at 415 degrees for 6 minutes.  Then take them out.  Put the steaks on a plate, and pour the juice from the pan onto the steak.  Add a slab of bleu cheese and garlic butter on top, and let it melt and rest for about five minutes.  This was a very flavorful and tender steak.  If you want to check out the recipe it is here.  I would highly recommend preparing the Rib Eye steaks this way.

*It was such a joy having Mom, Christy and Everett over for dinner tonight.  Besides the steak, we had roasted potatoes, steamed asparagus, green salad and bread.  Such a lovely meal to share with my lovely family.

Gathering Graces 3/4/2017

*Today I spent the day at Coeur d’Alene Charter School judging the district speech competition.  Paul is the Speech Coach at Kellogg High School, and he had ten students participating in the competition.  I got to judge Improvisation, Oratorical Analysis, Original Oratory and Panel Discussion.  I love listening to high school students speak on topics they are passionate about.  It was a good day.

*While at the competition, I was able to see and visit with Phletha Donean Wynn, Kenzie Sherman Lewis and Andrea Peirano.  Phletha did a summer melodrama with us, Kenzie is from Kellogg, and used to teach at KHS, and now is the Speech Coach at Post Falls High School, and Andrea is the mother of the one of Paul’s speech students.  I also had a nice time visiting with another judge who is from Coeur d’Alene, but attends the University of Idaho and is a Natural Resources major.  He will be graduating this spring and he works for the Bureau of Land Management fighting fires, and plans to continue doing that once he graduates. 

*Out of the ten competitors, Paul will be taking four of them to the State Speech Competition in Jerome in April.   Savannah Hartenfels will participate in Serious Intrepretation, Jesse Campbell and Sarah Beltz in Retold Story, and Numa Poche is an alternate in Humorous Interpretation.  I am so proud of these students, and all the others who participated, including Drake Duce, Stephanie J. Ivie, Jacob Camacho, Nikki Miller, Bruce Allred and Jordan Grubb.

*I had been wanting to try the Smoked Butterscotch Latte at Starbucks for a while, so I went through the Starbucks Drive-Thru by Costco to order one.  There was a vehicle in front of me with one woman in the car who took quite a while to place her order.  I placed my order, then pulled up behind her, and she must have been ordering for a large group because it took a while for her to get her order.  When I pulled up to the window, the barista gave me my drink and said it was free because of the long wait.  Woo-Hoo!!  I did enjoy the Smoked Butterscotch flavor, but I think next time I would put the flavoring in a different type of drink to taste more of the flavor.  I’ll be in Coeur d’Alene on Monday, so I may try the flavor in something else.

*Papa Murphy’s had a Family Size Herb Chicken Mediterranean Thin Crust pizza on special for $10, so I thought that would be the perfect thing to pick up for Paul and I to have for dinner once we both returned home.  I was right.  It was delicious!!  This pizza is topped with Olive Oil & Garlic, Herb Chicken, Spinach, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Feta, and Zesty Herbs.

*  My drive home over the Fourth of July pass was so nice with the roads dry and bare, and no snow or ice to worry about.  I love driving this stretch of road when the road conditions are good.  I was a little concerned when I was leaving Coeur d’Alene, and the sign was flashing that Lookout Pass was experience Winter Weather Conditions, and chains were required.  But no snow for me on the way home.  When I arrived in Kellogg, I could tell it had snowed throughout the day, and the new snow had remained on the trees about half way up the mountains.  But no new snow on the ground when I got home.

Gathering Graces 3/3/2017

 

*I had some copying done uptown at Progressive Printing today, and had a fun conversation with Brian, the office manager, talking about his upcoming trip to the Oregon coast and I told him some of my favorite spots we have been to on the coast, since he has never been there before.

*I had taken some chicken breasts out of the freezer for tonight’s dinner at Mom’s house, and decided to put them in the crockpot with a little Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub and some Pace Medium Salsa, and cooked them all afternoon.  I shredded the chicken (which turned out delicious), and made chicken tacos.  I was very impressed with the flavor of the chicken.

*Paul was unable to have dinner with Mom and I because he went up to opening night at the Sixth Street Theater in Wallace for Escanaba in da Moonlight.  He said it went really well.  I can’t wait to see it!  Good job Casey Duncan, Drago Duncan, Roger Bushong, Ken Bartle, Chuck Tatman and Eva Corona!!!  If you want to buy some tickets to see the show, you can go to the theater’s website here.

*I listened to the Wildcat Boys Basketball team play the Snake River Panthers tonight, and unfortunately they lost.  But they have a chance to come back and win tomorrow for a third place trophy.  GO WILDCATS!!

Gathering Graces 3/2/2017

*Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess!! 

*Today was a celebration of Dr. Suess, and for me it was celebrated by reading the Dr. Suess book Oh The Places You’ll Go to Paul’s 5th hour Technical Drama class.  I covered his class for him so he could do a special Dr. Suess day project.  These students also let me experiment with them on some drama activities I would be doing with the students at Pinehurst Elementary later in the day.

*While I covered his class, Paul went down to my friend Tammi J Flores’s preschool class at Kellogg Middle School and wore his Cat in the Hat hat, and read to the preschool students, and some sixth grade students in Angie Colburn’s class.  Here are some photos from the afternoon reading time.  (Thank you Carolyn Wozny for the photos.)  When we were talking about his time with the preschool students, Paul said, “I realized at one point that the preschool student really thought I was The Cat in the Hat.”  He has gone and read to the preschool students for many years, and always enjoys it.

*I grabbed the red and white striped hat at the end of my school day and headed to Pinehurst Elementary to begin my new Drama Program with the students in the after school program.  Celebrating Dr. Suess was in high gear at this school, too, as students got to have a Pajama Day today as part of the celebration.  As I was preparing for this program, I was a bit apprehensive because I had not worked with elementary-aged students for a long time (probably since Coco was in grade school!!).  But I absolutely loved it.  They shared with me their names and some of their favorite things, we learned about Isolations, and I taught them a new game, “Zip, Zap, Zop”.  All in all, there was probably around 45 kindergarten through fifth graders there today.  I can’t wait for next Tuesday!!

*WILDCATS WIN!!!  The Boys Basketball team defeated the top ranked Shelley Russets in the first game of the Idaho State Boys Basketball Tournament!! What an exciting game to listen to!!  They play Snake River tonight at 7 pm PST.  Good luck boys!!

Gathering Graces 3/1/2017

*The snow kept falling today, but it didn’t really stick.  When I was at Mom’s house in the morning, both our her front window and her bedroom window, there were funky icicles that were bending in toward her windows.  The photo above is from her bedroom window.  Here is from her living room window.

Funky icicles

*Early this morning the Kellogg High School boys basketball team loaded on a bus to head to Meridian to play in the State Basketball Tournament. We are very proud of these boys!!  The KHS Pep Band left after school, and many other parents and students are driving or flying down as well.  We pray safe travels and that the boys do their best!!  GO WILDCATS!!!

*Today is Ash Wednesday. and at our P.E.O. meeting tonight, Rebecca Jenicek shared a program about what Ash Wednesday is all about, and the significance of the number “40” in the scriptures.  As I head into the Lenten season, I truly want it to be a time of reflection, and a time that draws me closer to the Lord.

Gathering Graces 2/28/2017

 

*The day started out like most other days during the week.  Around 5:50 a.m. Nikki picked me up and we drove to Kellogg High School to walk for about 35 minutes or so.  It had snowed all night, but when we arrived at KHS the parking lot was all plowed, and the clouds were clearing off.  Around 6:20 a.m., Mike, one of the maintenance guys said he just got the phone call, and school had been canceled because of the snow.  So I headed home for a snow day. 

*Today was Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday.  This is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.  Some countries celebrate this day by consuming pancakes.  The expression “Shrove Tuesday” comes from the word shrive, meaning “absolve”.  Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians who “make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God’s help in dealing with”.  When I realized it was Pancake Tuesday, I told Paul I was going to make pancakes for dinner.  Then my friend Beverley posted about making pancakes as well, and shared a recipe for British pancakes that are more like crepes, where you put butter, brown sugar and lemon juice in them.  So that is what we did, and enjoyed this pancake feast for dinner.  Thanks Beverley for sharing!!

*We have had a Wii system for many years.  The purpose of this system in our house is to allow us to stream Netflix onto our television.  But occasionally we will use it to play games.  Our system broke last year, so I purchased a used one from one of my former Gear Up students, and found out it was the cord that wasn’t working.  We also purchased some new games when we got the system.  So I put the Wii Play disc in today, and Paul and I enjoyed some friendly Wii competition including table tennis, billiards, target shooting and laser hockey.

*After a two week break because of other commitments, Paul and I made it to Easter Cantata practice tonight.  It was really great singing once again, and being a part of a large community choir singing praises to God.  I look forward to the weeks ahead when I can attend practice more faithfully.

 

Gathering Graces 2/27/2017

*Snow! Snow! and more Snow!  It has been snowing on and off for the past few days.  I am not tired of it yet.  I think it is beautiful.  Give me softly falling white, beautiful snow over gray, drizzly, rainy weather any day!! 

*I came home at lunch and put some ingredients into the crock pot to make Beef Stew.  I use the same recipe for stew that I started using after we were first married.  It is in the little book that came with our first crock pot that we received as a wedding gift.  It is easy, flavorful and delicious.  Sometimes I buy the frozen bags of Stew Vegetables in the store, but today, I had carrots, potatoes, celery and onions on hand, so I cut them up and put them in the pot.  Here is a copy of the well-worn recipe I have been using to make stew since 1986. 

*With the snow falling, it was nice to have a nice, cozy fire to warm up with when we got home from having dinner with Mom.  Our fireplace has had a good workout this winter!!  I am so grateful to Mr. Bisaro who built the fireplace, and did such a good job, not only making it beautiful to look at, but functional as well.

Gathering Graces 2/26/2017

*I spent some time this morning before going to church watching the birds come to our bird feeder outside the window of our dining area.  I am so glad Paul put up the bird feeder last summer.  It has been fun watching the different types of birds come and eat at the feeder.  I think my favorite are the doves.  Yesterday I think we had over ten doves in our yard eating.  I think they are beautiful.

*Today I packed up the snowmen and put them away, saying goodbye to my wintry-themed livingroom.  Now I want to find all my spring decorations.  I found a few in the basement yesterday, but I think I need to purchase some more.  I did find a tote with lots of valentine decorations in it that I forgot I had.  But I used to have more Easter decorations.  Oh well, I’ll figure something out.

*I spent some time planning out the Drama program I am starting on Tuesday at the afterschool program at Pinehurst Elementary.  It was nice to get that figured out, and to feel better prepared as I meet with the students on Tuesday.

*I also got laundry done as I was watching and listening to the “All Access” backstage show streaming from oscars.com.  The ending had quite the twist.  “La La Land” won best picture, no wait, that’s not right, it was “Moonlight”.  I haven’t seen any of the films up for best picture, but there are quite a few I would like to see, hopefully soon.

Gathering Graces 2/25/2017

*Paul and I piled into the car and headed over to Coeur d’Alene to do some shopping.  First stop was The Lockerroom where Paul got his haircut.  Next stop was Costco, where we did some shopping for ourselves, and for Mom.  For a Saturday, it actually wasn’t too busy in Costco today.  Then we headed up to Fred Meyer.  Well, I drove, Paul jogged over. Our last stop was Lowe’s, where I purchased some items for a project I am working on.  Then we headed home to then unload everything.

* While walking in Fred Meyer, a woman was watering the primroses, and I couldn’t resist purchasing some to add a bit of spring color to the still wintry landscape around our home.  (We woke up to about an inch of snow this morning, and more is expected to come!)

*It was family dinner again tonight over at Christy and Everett’s.  We went to Mom’s house a little early so we could unload all her items we got for her, and put them away.  Then she bundled up and got her walker, and we trekked over next door.  Christy prepared a delicious dinner of lemon marinated chicken, wild rice blend, fresh veggies and some beets.  We had some cookie bars for dessert.  We got to enjoy the new recliner her and Everett purchased this last week, and it was very comfortable.  Their dog Tucker and I played tug the rope, capture the rope, throw the rope until the Gonzaga basketball game began.  We watched the first half there, then Mom was ready to head home.

*We watched the second half at home, and saw the Zags lose to the BYU Cougars.  I am hoping for good things for The Zags during March Madness!!

*The Zags may have lost, but KHS had two big winners at the State Wrestling Tournament down in Nampa yesterday.  Taylor Bush, who is a freshman, won second in his category, and Tanner Figueroa, one of my Gear Up and NHS students, won first place as a senior this year!!  Everyone is so proud of, not only these two boys, but the whole wrestling team!!  Way to go boys!!  Go WILDCATS!!!

Gathering Graces 2/24/2017

*The last two Friday mornings, I have gone to grab the keys to go over to Mom’s house and they have not been there.  Paul has had them in his coat pocket...OOPS!!  Thank you Logan Jacobson this morning for driving my car keys to my house from KHS so I could use the car for the day!!

*On the way home from Mom’s house, I saw our neighborhood moose in the neighbors front yard.  I stopped and took some photos, then she wandered through our front yard, nibbled on a shrub, then headed on down the road. 

*I had a mystery I needed to solve this morning.  I was eating a sub sandwich and the phone rang.  It was a call I needed to take, and I needed to be on my computer to take care of the business of the call.  When I got off the phone, I tried to figure out if I had finished the sandwich I was eating or if I had laid it down somewhere.  Well, I had laid it down on the plastic wrapper it had been wrapped in on the couch, and low and behold, Sadie the Sandwich Snatcher had taken it and went to her kennel in our bedroom to finish it.  By the time I found her, all she was doing was licking her chops. 

*I went to the freezer and grabbed a top round roast out to cook for dinner.  There was a bottle of Coke on the counter.  I found a recipe for Coca Cola Roast.  I did some modifications, but ended up with a pretty good sauce that I cooked the roast in in the crock pot.  I made some rice, and put it in the bottom of a pan.  I sliced the roast and layed it over the rice.  Then I poured the sauce over the roast and rice, after thickening it a bit with some corn start.  It turned out really good.  Then I made a Top Ramen Cabbage Salad to go with it, and we had one delicious meal to take over to Mom’s house.

Gathering Graces 2/23/2017

*Well, Uncle Bill, your tomato sauce recipe is making its way through the family.  Molly tried it tonight on some spaghetti sauce, and was very impressed. 

*The moose was around this morning behind that back fence, then I didn’t see it until I came home for lunch, and it was relaxing behind the back fence.  I’m not sure where it spent the night.

*I visited Pinehurst Elementary to observe the students in the PASS program, and see how things are fun to help me better prepare for my opening Drama Class that begins on Tuesday.  It was fun seeing students I was familiar with, but many I have yet to learn more about.  I also had a wonderful conversation with one of Zoe and Coco’s former teachers, and with a parent of one of my Gear Up students.  When I left the school, I looked up and captured some beautiful colors on the clouds as the sun was beginning to set.

*I stopped at Walmart on my way home to pick up dinner for Mom, Paul and I.  I grabbed a Sub Sandwich, Potato Salad and Potato Chips.  There I ran into one of my neighbors, and we visited about the resident moose for a bit.  She said she had a conversation with her neighbor who has lived in this subdivision for close to close to 50 years, and my neighbor has lived her on and off for around 30, and neither of them has seen wildlife like this in the neighborhood.  Earlier there were deer, then a herd of elk resided here for a while, and now the moose.

*An exciting day for KHS athletes.  We had 11 wrestlers get on a bus and head to Nampa this morning to compete in the State Wrestling Tournament.  The day before I had a conversation with the Wrestling Coach and congratulated him, and he made very glowing remarks about the boys on his team, and what a great group of young men they are, and now they never got into any kind of trouble all season.  Tonight the KHS Boys Basketball Team won their fourth straight district tournament, and are on their way to the State Boys Basketball Tournament in Meridian next week.

Gathering Graces 2/22/2017

*Today at KHS we had a little celebration for our library assistant Taylor Hahn, who is expecting a baby boy very soon.  It is so fun to see all the little baby items and clothes.  And it is fun to gather as a staff and celebrate at lunch.

*I was feeling a little sick to my stomach around 3 p.m., and realized I had not eaten any lunch, just a piece of cake from the baby shower.  Paul had done the same thing.  So we decided to go to a local Mexican Restaurant, Casa d’Oro for a late lunch/early dinner.  Paul enjoyed his fish tacos, and I enjoyed my Tacos al Carbon.  We ran into Jim Vergobbi and his grandson Nicholas Lee finishing up eating, and it was good to say hello.  We also saw the Gilseths and got caught up on how their grandchildren are doing. It was a fun outing.

*We arrived home, and Paul left to head up to Wallace for at bit.  I went over to the modem, because our internet had not been working that morning and unplugged the modem and plugged it back in again.  It is by one of our big windows that looks out into our backyard, I look up, and was startled to see a moose posed very comfortably under out arbor in our backyard.  It was just as relaxed as can be.  I got some video and photos while she stayed in our backyard.   Apparently she has been seen various places around town, and has been named Georgia.  Around 10 pm I headed for bed, then heard some noise outside my bedroom window.  Georgia was up and ambling around the backyard.  Once I saw her upright, I realized she could do a bit of damage to the yard.  She spend about 45 minutes or so wandering around, eating on various shrubs and trees, then headed back out the gate that she had squeezed through to enter our yard in the first place.  It was a wonderful experience, but I don’t think I would want to keep a moose for a pet!!

*Throughout the evening, I talked to all three of the girls.  Actually, Cosette called me first, and I shared with her, then the other two called at different times, and I sent them photos of the moose.  It was quite the experience.  I was a little upset I had missed out seeing the elk herd that was living in our subdivision a week or so ago, so instead I got to experience the moose, up close and person.  The Kellogg Police Department had posted on Facebook about “Georgia” letting residents know they were aware she was around, and to leave her alone.  Here is what they said,  Please do not feed, pet, take selfies with, or even shoo away “ Georgia the moose” The City of Kellogg and Fish and Game are aware that she is in town for a visit. Again, Please DO NOT FEED her or even get close to her. She will run you over. Georgia the moose will eventually leave on her own. Thanks. Some people thought it was a little humorous that people had to be told not to do this, but, let’s face it, people can be idiots when wildlife is concerned.  I hope George makes it back to the forest safe and sound, and everyone just leaves her alone.

Gathering Graces 2/21/2017

*As part of my job with Gear Up, our students and their parents have to do Gear Up surveys every year,  The student ones are easy, because the students just get on the computer and take them while I have them in class.  Now the parent ones are a little trickier.  They are paper ones, and I send them home with the students so the parents fill them out, then the students need to return them to me.  Today was the first deadline, and I have quite a few returned.  I need 60 percent of parent surveys returned, and I am about 20 shy of my goal.  Come one juniors and seniors, bring those surveys back.  They need to be all submitted by March 6th.

*SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!  Sorry folks, but I love it when it snows.  Give me snow over drizzly, gray, slushy weather any day.  I love the big snowflakes that fell today.  It is so beautiful!!

*I tried an interesting combination for dinner tonight to take over to Mom’s house.  Bill had posted a couple of days ago, a recipe for Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce that sounded absolutely wonderful, so I decided to try it.  It did not disappoint.  Basically you take two cans of tomatoes, an onion, butter and salt, and you make this incredible sauce.  If you want to check it out the recipe is here.  Then I prepared a spaghetti squash in the microwave, because I read the directions, and it seemed so easy to cook the squash in the microwave.  After I cooked it for 5 minutes, you turn the squash 180 degrees, which I did, and let it cook another 5 minutes.  About two minutes into the second five minutes, I heard a funny noise, and went to investigate, and my squash had exploded!!! (Yes, I had made six or seven sharp incisions with a knife into the squash, so that wasn’t the problem.) But I was able to reclaim most of the squash, despite the explosion.  I also roasted some cauliflower in the oven by covering it with coconut oil, salt and pepper.  I cut it up, added it to the spaghetti squash and the tomato sauce, and had a very delicious veggie dinner, that received Mom’s approval as well.

*After dinner, Paul and I headed to Wallace for our monthly board meeting for the Sixth Street Theater.  We had a very productive meeting, as well as listened to the cast of Escanaba in da Moonlight rehearse for their upcoming show which opens at the theater on March 3rd.

Gathering Graces 2/20/2017

*Today was a nice and relaxing President’s Day off from work.  I enjoyed the quietness of the house, and the chance to think and meditate on things.  I also read a lot today.

*One thing I finished reading today was the book Laura Bush:An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady.  It was interesting reading about her life while in the White House, and how President Bush dealt with some things that our current president is dealing with, such as being called a fascist, legitimately dealing with fake news reports.  But the way they handled these accusations was much different.  They seemed more private and gracious, despite their treatment.  I have now started a book about George W. Bush by Frank Bruni titled Ambling Into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush.

*Sister Christy hosted our weekly family dinner tonight.  We went and picked Mom up at her house next door, and she four-wheeled it over to Christy and Everett’s with her all terrain walker.  We enjoyed a lovely meal of barbecued pork steaks, a Mediterranean salad, petite peas, and a delicious applesauce cake for dessert.  We enjoyed some good conversation, and Christy was able to show Mom her “portal” from our local clinic to see what medical information was on there about her.

Gathering Graces 2/19/2017

*One of the verses from my morning Bible reading was in Luke 6, where Jesus says, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”  Then, when I get to church, our pastor shares these verses from Matthew 5, where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemies’.  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of you Father in heaven.”  Who am I becoming?  How will I respond to people that don’t deserve my care or compassion?  What will I say or do to the one who has disappointed me and to who I feel justifiable anger?  Christ brings love to a broken and hurting world.  As a Christian, I am to share that love to others just as Christ did.  Am I loving my enemies, or just tolerating them and respecting them?  Some serious words to meditate on this week.

*After church Paul and I went to see Joan Ross at her home.  What a delightful time we had visiting with her, as well as  her sister Rachael, and her son Rob and my friend Nikki.  Later, while we were there, Bev Jacobs arrived with her son and daughter Ron and Sharon.  It was nice to visit with all of them.  It was a lively time of conversation and laughs.

*I had a quick conversation with Molly on phone about couches.  Even though is was quick, it is always nice to talk to one of the girls.  Then later in the day, Zoe called, because she had been doing research on names in the Bible, and had sent her dad an email about the name Nimrod, and how the meaning of that name had changed because of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.  It was nice catching up with her, and we are excited she will be coming home for her spring break at the end of March.

*There is a show on Netflix called The Royals that focuses on different aspects of England’s royal family. One episode focused on weddings, one focused on funerals, and one on being a teenage royal.  There was much said in the wedding and the funeral episodes about Princess Diana.  It is such a tragic story.  They referred to Elton John’s beautiful song Candle in the Wind that he sung at the funeral, so I had to listen.  If you would like to as well, here it is.

Gathering Graces 2/18/2017

*Earlier this week, brother Bill shared about making a tuna casserole with potato chips on top.  That got me thinking about my favorite casserole from my childhood, Potato Chip Casserole.  I knew I had some of the beef left over from the sandwiches made earlier, so I sent Paul to the store to buy a bag of potato chips, some green onions and a can of cream of mushroom soup, and I cooked up a delicious Potato Chip Casserole.  The photo of the recipe above is a copy of the recipe off the Nalley’s Potato Chip box that Mom used to make this recipe.

*I am cleaning bottles to start working on some projects to sell items made from empty bottles.  One thing I got done today was soaking and cleaning labels off of about 10 bottles, and another 10 or 12 washed out.  I hope to work on some more tomorrow.  The secret to getting the labels off is soaking them in hot water, and putting a mixture of dish soap, baking powder and white vinegar in the hot water that helps break up the glue holding the labels.  It worked really well!!

*Paul and I wanted to watch a movie last night, and, as I was flipping through options on Netflix, found Finding Dory. What a fun and touching movie to watch.

*I continued listening to What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell on my Kindle while working on my bottle project.  Today I listened to a story about hair color, and how an advertising copy writer came up with the slogan for Clairol Hair Color “Does she or doesn’t she?”. and how another copy writer years later came up with the L’Oreal “I’m Worth It”.  It was a fascinating story of how these two women in the advertising business changed the way people looked at women who color their hair. The Clairol ad slogan focused on how others saw the woman, and the L’Oreal ad slogan focused on how the woman saw herself.