Monday, September 28, 2009

The three stooges

The three stooges...

Here is Lua Belle with her and Cleo's Christmas gifts... Cleo is a black lab who visits every now and then, so I'm sure you'll see pictures of Cleo eventually :-) I did make her share after I took the picture. Lua will be 6 years old in January 2010.


We got Lua from a woman who said she had rescued some Golden Retriever puppies. I'm no dog breeder, but one look told me she wasn't a Golden. She is a Lab/Bird dog mix.


Here is Obi-Wan Kenobi... We got him at Papa's farm after he fell asleep in my lap while Joel was hanging Christmas lights for Papa. We left for Papa's a family of 3 and came back with the fourth. He is 5 years old. Geez... time flies!



Obi-Wan rules the roost. He keeps the dog under control by taking over her bed whenever he wants to, regardless of whether she is currently using it or not.

And now for the newest addition!! His name is Jasper Cullen* ... He currently torments Obi-Wan and tries to outsmart Lua. He's so full of energy!


I need to take some more recent pictures of him. He is growing furiously! And purrs all the time. Live action shots to come later!

*okay, so Julie reminded me that Jasper's last name was not Cullen in the book. It was Hale. I can't decide whether I want to change his middle name to Hale, something else, or just leave it Cullen... decisions, decisions!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Meredith College Book Club

I don't often feel the need to write like I did when I was a child/teenager. I'm not positive that I will stick with the blog... we'll see how it goes. Mostly I prefer to read. I'm going to be in a book club for the first time this year. It is for Meredith College alumni and I am SO excited. I love being able to discuss what I have read with someone. Mom always listens to me (yay!) but I don't often meet people who enjoy the same books as I do. Right now the book club is reading Unbowed by Wangari Maathai. I was a little skeptical about the book (I have no idea why) but it is a really good book. I'm over half way through and so far it has been very interesting. She suffers discrimination because she is an educated woman, because she is a member of a certain tribe in Kenya, and because she dared to take on corruption and discrimination in the government. However, nothing ever stopped her from standing up for what she believed in. What an example for women everywhere. (And I don't even consider myself a feminist.) Along with doing all this, she supported her husband who eventually left her and she raised three children with the knowledge that their emotional, physical, and spiritual welfare depended on her. A woman who could do it all and do it perfectly? Probably not. But she did not toss her family aside to become an activist. To me she is a great example of an intelligent woman who knew that family, community, and respect are necessary parts of life. Sometimes nowadays, we get that all mixed up.

War Time Cookbook

In honor of the eighth anniversary of 9/11, I thought I'd write about a cookbook I bought this morning at an estate sale. I bought 3 little old ones, and I knew I had one that was published in 1950. I started reading through the titles and couldn't help but laugh... Fluffy meatloaf, Full O' Bologney, Nutburgers (are you kidding me?), and Victory Pancakes. But something was funny because it started talking about making your meat go further, using vegetables. So I checked the publication date.... You got it, 1943, right in the middle of WWII.

This is the foreword of the the Betty Crocker Your Share cookbook:

"Hail to the women of America! You have taken up your heritage from the brave women of the past. Just as did the women of other wars, you have taken your positions as soldiers on the Home Front. You have been strengthening your country's defenses-as plane watchers-as flyers-as members of the armed forces-as producers, in war plants and homes-and in Red Cross and Civilian Defense activities. The efforts and accomplishments of women today are boundless!

But whatever else you do-you are, first and foremost, homemakers-women with the welfare of you families deepest in your hearts. Now you face a new and more difficult problem in the management of your homes. You must make a little do where there was an abundance before. In spite of sectional problems and shortages, you must prepare satisfying meals out of YOUR SHARE of what there is. You must heed the government request to increase the use of available foods and save those that are scarce-and, at the same time, safeguard your family's nutrition. Never has there been such an opportunity, and a need, for what American women can contribute.

So to you women behind the men, behind the guns, we offer this little book, with its daily helps for wartime meal-planning and cooking. And we salute you all!"

Betty Crocker
Home Service Staff
General Mills, Inc.

Talk about a call to action! Here are some tips from the cookbook:

" Meat is Rationed. Watch your P's and Q's (points and quantities) Ask for bones and trimmings. Put into a soup kettle and with bits of vegetables. Simmer for soup."

" To help your country, save every bit of FAT that comes into your kitchen!"

" Spread the butter thin."

"CALL VEGETABLES INTO SERVICE *this one made me laugh
-They must pass inspection (tells you how to chose good veggies)
-When they are inducted (how to clean and retain vitamins)
-Prepare for combat (retaining vitamins again)
-Prevent mass execution of Vitamins... and killing of flavor"
this section also has a General Strategy and Commando Tactics :-)

"Spare the Sweets! Here's the way we save our sugar when we must."


At the end is a piece called FOOD IN WAR-TIME. Here are some exerts.

"Food is vital war material. Our fighting forces and those who fight with us need good food. Every American home-maker who selects food wisely, prepares in carefully and conserves it diligently is an important link in our national war effort....Food habits may have to change from day to day if we are to be well-fed in wartime. A change in food habits is a small matter in comparison with our fight for freedom and for country. At the end of the day, let us be sure we can say:
'I worked for freedom today.
I served at least one food from each of the basic seven food groups.
I prepared the food I served with care.
I wasted no food this day'."

I am thankful that despite eight years of war I have never had to think about rationing my food or going hungry. But I know some of our troops have had much less food than they needed at times. Not because of failure on the government's part, but because their supply lines have been cut off by the Taliban. It is terrible that the men and women fighting for us have less food than those of us at home. Pray for their safety and pray for their food to get through. God bless our troops!