AN EVENING JAUNT

Since it is staying light out now until 9:00 pm we

have a lot more opportunities to do things after

work and dinner.

My husband and I went out with my brother to their

cabin to install a woodstove. He and his family have

really been enjoying their cabin and with the addition

of the stove they will be even more comfortable.

The most committed step of course, is to cut the hole

in the roof:

I wonder if he saw his shadow?

X-Tra Tuffs working hard:

The herring eggs along the beach are deep and smelly:

2 hours later--voila!

Heading back we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

The water was dead calm, more like a pond than

the ocean. It puts a smile on your face!

Some pretty shots; the sun was setting as we

came through the harbor:

ODE TO MY MOM AND DAD

GRANDMA

John is out with his friends and stops by his grandmother's house for a visit.

There's a bowl of peanuts on the coffee table...

So, John and his friends start snacking on them.

When they're ready to leave, his friends say, "Nice to meet you, ma'am, and thank you for the peanuts."

Grandma says You're Welcome.

Ever since I lost my dentures all I can do is

suck the chocolate off them.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

I love tortillas! I don't love the price!

So I went to a demo evening at the library

last year and a lady was showing how easy

it is to make your own. Her recipe was an

old traditional one (she was Mexican)

and it is made with oil. She said a lot of

them are made with lard, but she has

always used oil. Plus she rolled them

a little thicker than I am used to seeing.

As a result these are actually closer in

taste and texture to Pita Bread, which

is great by me. I love Pita Bread! They

fold nicely around your filling without

breaking open like tortillas from the

store usually do.

Fill these with some thinly sliced

chicken, sliced onion, tzatziki sauce

and tomato slices and you

come pretty close to a homemdae

Gyro Sandwich.

I make these in a hot cast iron frypan so

they are super easy and fast plus you

don't need any extra grease or oil for the

pan. They are really good the next day

for breakfast with some cottage cheese

and plum jam layered inside.

TORRES FAMILY TORTILLA RECIPE

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Mix these together well.

Add 6 tablespoons of oil and mix thoroughly until oil is well

incorporated.

Add 1 cup very hot water and use a fork to mix it in. Add water

as needed until dough is no longer dry. You may need up to 2

cups of water, depending on how hot your water is (I used boiling

water) and the humidity where you live.

Mix into ball, add a little more water if too dry.

Knead dough for a minute or two then roll into small balls.

Each cup of flour makes 2 medium balls, so with this recipe

you will make 8 balls.

Flatten each ball into a semi circular shape with your hand to

help you roll it circular with the rolling pin. Roll out the balls

into the size tortilla you want with the rolling pin.

Place a tortilla on hot griddle or pan and cook on each side for

20-30 seconds. The amount of time varies depending on how

hot your griddle is when you put the tortilla on. You should get

nice brown spots on each side--watch them carefully so you don't

cook them too long and dry them out. Practice make perfect!

WE LIVE IN A SCREWED UP WORLD

What a disturbing example of the times we live in.

50 years of tradition--POOF--gone with one human being's

decision. If you follow any news other than the Mainstream

Media that dominates the TV, you already know that this is

just the latest attack at a national level on all Christian believers.

Did you know there is a large mall in CA that has banned the

wearing of any T shirts or other clothing that has a Christian

message? That a youth pastor was arrested and taken out of

the same mall in handcuffs because he was talking with other

people (privately) about Christ?

Or that a graduate student in Michigan was just denied her

diploma for standing up for her Christian beliefs?

Jesus told us in scripture that the world would hate us because

they hated Him first, but He also said not to fear because He

overcame the world.

If you haven't already, it is high time to put on the Armor of God:

Ephesians 6:12-14 (New International Version)

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Judge: Natl Day Of Prayer

Unconstitutional

April 15, 2010 - 4:49 PM | by: Mike Levine

The National Day of Prayer, honored in the United States for more than a half-century, is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled.

In a 66-page opinion issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said the holiday violates the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment, which creates a separation of church and state.

"I understand that many may disagree with that conclusion and some may even view it as a criticism of prayer or those who pray," Crabb said in her opinion. "That is unfortunate. A determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful, unimportant or undeserving of dissemination."

The opinion comes in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of self-described "atheists" and "agnostics."

Crabb said her ruling is based on "relevant case law," and it does not prevent religious groups from organizing prayer services or prevent the President from discussing his views on prayer.

"The only issue decided in this case is that the federal government may not endorse prayer in a statute," Crabb said.

The Justice Department would not say whether it expects to appeal Crabb's ruling.

"We are reviewing the court's decision," a Justice Department spokesman said.

Within hours of the ruling, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee urged the Justice Department to "immediately" file an appeal.

"The decision undermines the values of religious freedom that America was founded upon," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Tex., said in a statement. "What’s next? Declaring the federal holiday for Christmas unconstitutional?"

Crabb said the ruling would not have any effect until any appeals are exhausted.

She insisted her ruling was not a judgment on the value of prayer.

"No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer," Crabb said in her opinion. "In the best of times, people may pray as a way of expressing joy and thanks; during times of grief, many find that prayer provides comfort. Others may pray to give praise, seek forgiveness, ask for guidance or find the truth. ... However, recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic."

The National Day of Prayer was first established by Congress in 1952, with a more specific date for the holiday set in 1988. It is now observed on the first Thursday in May.

Smith said he can "assure" Americans that "Congress will do everything in its power to protect the National Day of Prayer."

On the holiday last year, President Obama issued a statement saying Americans have always "come together in moments of great challenge and uncertainty to humble themselves in prayer."

"In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new Nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer," the statement said. "Almost a century later, as the flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the American people to pray as the fate of their Nation hung in the balance."

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Remember I talked about us having a small

group bible study here?

In anticipation of people wanting coffee to

go with the baked goods I would be providing,

I thought I should use my large coffee pot.

I bought this from a friend awhile back and

had never had occasion to use it until now.

I had my husband get it out of the closet

downstairs and he pulled it out of the box.

Hmm. Looks innocent enough.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a large rock

in the box with the coffee pot.

Me: ???

Now I have to pause here and explain something.

Polish people have certain beliefs about some

very different things. I won't call them

superstitions, but they come awfully close.

And when you are raised with these beliefs

you can't help but incorporate them into

your own life.

Useful things like Never clip your fingernails on

a Saturday or you will marry a stupid woman.

Another one: Never keep rocks in your

house or you won't have any bread.

Now I know for a fact that it can't possibly

mean the bread you eat because it seems

like all I do is make bread in this house.

No, it must mean bread, as in money.

O.K., back to the story.

So my husband sees the rock in the box,

walks over to the patio door and throws

the rock over the deck outside. I saw him

pause for just a nano second, then he shut

the door and as he was walking away he

paused again. Boy, that sure didn't sound

like the rock hitting gravel...

He turns quickly, runs out on the snowy

deck in his slippers and yells NOOOOO!

He comes back in muttering to himself

I can't believe it I can't believe it I can't believe it

Turns out the jeep (MY jeep) that he had

just moved there 3 minutes before

to free up more parking spots was directly

underneath the deck, in the exact flight

pattern of the evil anti-bread rock:

Oh yeah. How fantastic that the circular pattern

coincides perfectly with the placement of my eyes.

I can't duck under or look over--it is like driving

looking through a kaleidoscope. Every time I

saw a cop I went down a side road to avoid them

in the fear that I would get a big fat ticket on

top of everything else.

Boy does that get old. Don't they have anything

else to do besides drive around???

The only place in town that replaces windshields

quoted $450.00 for a new one installed. Hey,

now I get the part about no bread in the house!

So by calling around my husband was able to find a

place down in WA state that sells new windshields

and would ship it to us for a total of $150.00

Of course, that is with his labor to install it.

Talk about a messy job--yuk.

Now I know there is a lesson rolling around

in there somewhere, but so far I haven't figured

out what it is.

So, I have a brand new windshield which is wonderful:

AND I have a gnarly new sticker to boot!

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

That's what our pastor says every Sunday and I

tend to agree with him. It is so pretty today with

bright blue skies, lots of seagulls and very warm.

It is a good thing it's not like this all the time

because this island would sink with all the

people that would want to live here.

To give you an idea of some of the wild weather we

have had; this was taken just a few days ago:

I just went outside and took this:

Oh the poor dear. Stuck outside in the sun doing math.

(cue sad violin music)

This picture just cracked me up. It is so typical for here.

Sitka Commuter. With his dog.

I have been steadily busy in the kitchen with more and

more people ordering things like bread on a regular basis.

I haven't quite figured out how I am going to do it, but

I am getting a lot of requests for standing orders. I have

converted a few wheat bread haters to customers I am

happy to report. They thought it needed to taste like

cardboard of it was good for you and I said just Try it!

There is nothing like freshly ground, organic wheat

to make your bread taste like pure health.

These were for a baby boy shower. What fun to make

these cute cupcakes and it's even more fun to see

people's reactions. Their little cheekies were

made with edible glitter.

This was my daughter's 13th birthday cake. She picked

out her 3 very favorite books and I made that into a cake.

These are the really fun cakes to me because I truly

don't know how I am going to make it work until

I actually get started. I guess I like the challenge...

Here are the books and cake side by side...

Can you believe it is almost the end of the school year?

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

COMMUNION ON THE MOON (This is an article by Eric Metaxas) Forty years ago two human beings changed history by walking on the surface of the moon. But what happened before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin exited the Lunar Module is perhaps even more amazing, if only because so few people know about it. "I'm talking about the fact that Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon. Some months after his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine. And a few years ago I had the privilege of meeting him myself. I asked him about it and he confirmed the story to me, and I wrote about in my book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask). The background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian Church in Texas during this period in his life, and knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history, he felt he should mark the occasion somehow, and he asked his minister to help him. So the minister consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine. And Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth's orbit to the landing on the surface of the moon. He and Armstrong had only been on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin made the following public statement: "This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way." He then ended radio communication and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Here is his own account of what happened: "In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the Scripture, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in Me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing." I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute [they] had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O'Hare, the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly. I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements. And of course, it's interesting to think that some of the first words spoken on the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the Earth and the moon --- and Who, in the immortal words of Dante, "is Himself the Love that moves the Sun and other stars."

A GREAT VISIT

We had a great time last week with our good friend

Cori from Colorado coming up for a visit. We had the

hardest time deciding when would be the best time

for her to come...wait until summer in an attempt

to hit some good weather but subject her to the

tourist madness, or have her come now and

maybe she would see the Herring Fishery

and the weather might not be very nice...

We totally lucked out and she came the day

before the herring fishery opened. The whole

town comes alive when the herring arrive and

it is really a site to see 60+ boats racing down

to the deadline for a chance at a million

dollar set of herring in their net. We ran

into a customer of my husband and he was

kind enough to invite us over to their house

to watch the fishery from their living room:

We went up Castle Hill where the exchange

of Alaska from the Russian's took place, we

went out in the boat, we saw whales, whales

and more whales, we ate out a few times

and she was even here for my daughter's

birthday party.

Our little fuzzy buddy that greets visitors at the airport.

The gun. Always with the gun. And in my kitchen for

crying out loud.

A beautiful day at the harbor. I know we look a little

"thick" That's because we were going out in the boat

and you have to dress for any weather. The layers

can be peeled off once you get out there, but if

you get cold it's miserable. At one point Cori was

wearing so many layers she looked like Randy in

A Christmas Story--I can't put my

arms down Ma!

My husband took her down to see the seafood processing

plants in town. Lots of herring to be shipped to Japan.

Brrrrr, 16 degrees in here all day long.

Sitka's version of a parking lot.

Fishing was lots of fun, even if we didn't catch any halibut.

As soon as the line goes in the water there is something

on the end of it to pull in. We lost count after 25.

These smaller fish are really good eating gently fried in

a little butter.

The whales just swam round and round while we fished.

We went to 2 museums and did the walking

tour of Totem Park. There sure is a lot to

learn about totem poles and what the

carvings mean!

Remember that old Hitchcock movie The Birds?

The weather was pretty nice, with a couple

of days of rain and of course, colder than

she was used to, but overall it was a really

fun time and we are so glad she came!