Holiday – movingforwardslowly

Oh, When the Ants Come Marching In…

Today is the vernal equinox or the start of spring, though I do not need a calendar to know that spring is upon us. I have been seeing the signs of spring all this week, (even with the crazy temperatures we have been witnessing.) First I saw some yellow crocuses beginning to rise up and bloom, and then I saw my diminutive iris blooming by our mailbox, and then just yesterday I noticed the tulip magnolia tree near an entrance to my school beginning to show an increasing number of pink buds.

Yesterday I noticed to my dismay the small black ants wanting to come through the radiator in my personal bathroom. We have an older home, so we have a few places where every spring I can reliably see the tiny black ants wanting to seek new territory inside. They are easily eliminated and pose no problems once the season is in full swing. They are a sure-fire beacon of the change of season.

Early this morning when I looked out the kitchen window I saw the wild cherry in our backyard showing a spray of opened blooms. They have suddenly appeared, almost overnight it seems. The popular cherry blossoms downtown around the tidal basin are showing their signs, though I am not sure what stage they are in at this point.

Here are a few pictures of our backyard wild cherry tree blossoms.

I am off work today because of Eid.
"May this Eid be a reminder to carry kindness, gratitude, and generosity throughout the year."

River Blessings

When doing my Sunday reflection this morning the thought of rivers came into my mind. I am still thinking about March as a month to honor my Scots-Irish heritage. River symbolism runs deep in many cultures, and the river is used symbolically in the bible as well. As I was researching rivers in Scotland and Ireland, I remembered the Riverdance show starring Michael Flatley. My daughter was in love with this show, and we bought her the VCR tape which we still own and can still watch on an old TV/DVD/VCR machine we still have. I took a picture of it. See below.

She is watching this today. Luckily the tape still works and so does the TV/VCR/DVD player. I wish we could buy another newer version of this same machine. It is made by Toshiba. When we bought it was being discontinued. We got the last one.

This coming week Saint Patrick’s day will be celebrated, and not necessarily in the way it was historically intended. However, we live in America and the year is 2026, so the spirit of celebration is one of happiness with family and heritage.

Cheers!

Scots Irish or Scotch Irish

https://www.jameswebb.com/books/born-fighting

With Saint Patrick’s Day being celebrated this month, I have been thinking about my heritage on my mother’s side of the family (the Irwin’s). She always said they were Scots-Irish. She even traced her family tree back to Rev. John Craig of Augusta county Virginia and the Old Stone church. She was able to visit it and take pictures before she died.

“The present building was dedicated on January 22, 1749 and is the oldest Presbyterian church in Virginia.” (https://www.augustastonechurchva.com/our-history)

The book pictured above was purchased by my mother and it came to me when she passed away. I read the book and enjoyed it. It contains a lot of good historical information about the Scots-Irish in America, and their influence on American culture.

Here is my great aunt Bess Irwin, and her sister, my grandmother, Myrtle Irwin DeVall. They were proud to be Scots-Irish and their father was an Irwin. . Their father was a teacher, and his father was a doctor.

I have decided to honor the Scots-Irish this month!

A Week of Celebrations

Chinese Fire Horse 2026 image generated by AI. My daughter was born in a Metal Horse year. “Metal Horses are often described as ‘spiritual warriors’ due to their immense inner strength and endurance.”

President’s Day holiday, Mardi Gras, the beginning of Ramadan, and the Chinese New Year all will be happening this coming week.

My brother’s birthday was last week, and he wrote to me that his wife was making him an angel food cake. When we were growing up together our mom would often make him one with strawberries and whipped cream for his birthday. I cannot remember the last time I made one.

This conversation got me to thinking about making an angel food cake for my family. I have one of the special inverted cake pans that is very old, so I decided to search for a new one. This took me outside my normal day to day radius, and I had fun exploring the Galleria. I found a nice new angel food cake pan.

I have been researching recipes because this cake needs to be dressed up for more flavor. I did not want to make the standard strawberries and whipped cream version. I found a recipe that uses pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. I happen to have a can of pumpkin leftover from the Christmas holidays. This recipe does use whipped cream with added crystallized ginger for the middle and top of the cake. I had previously read that “gourds, particularly bottle gourds or hulu are significant in Chinese New Year for symbolizing prosperity, health, and protection.” Since pumpkin is in the gourd family, the pumpkin angel food cake will be the recipe I use. If I can successfully make one and get a good picture, I will post it later. I will need to wait a day for the crystallized ginger to arrive.

I hope your week ahead is productive and festive in one way or another.

I made the cake. There were a few small problems I worked around. It tastes great! I am not a professional baker. This was the first time I made a whipped cream frosting. It was made with a pint of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. It made more that I expected. I had not originally intended to ice the whole cake. It will need to be refrigerated. You cannot see it, but between the two layers is a crystallized ginger paste. I made the mistake of putting some in a food processer and it made a sticky paste of it. Fortunately I did not put all of it in the processor, so I had some to chop into smaller pieces for the top. I think this will be my early birthday cake.

Looking Ahead to Next Year

Al generated image. I asked for a pistachio cake.

As New Year’s Eve approaches I am thinking about the year ahead of us. This is when I realized that my birthday will be on what seems like an auspicious date–02/26/2026. I will be turning 67. At first this scared me a little, though I know God will be watching over me as always.

Do numbers and dates hold power? I am inclined to think they do when I look around at the news and advertising media.

I decided to look up the date to see what I might find. An AI overview stated that it is known for celebrations like National Pistachio Day and Tell a Fairy Tale Day. This information made me laugh and put me at ease.

Then I looked up the day of February 26 in history and was pleased to see that in 1919 The Grand Canyon was officially designated, in 1929 Grand Teton National Park was established, and in 1933 the ground-breaking ceremony for the Golden Gate Bridge was held.

Now, I feel relieved that when the day is put into a bigger perspective, the day will pass like any other day. Perhaps I will eat a pistachio cake for my birthday, and maybe a fairy tale will be told.

Smile and Have a Happy New Year!

Horseradish

All the pictures shown above came from the Wikipedia site.

I’ve been looking through my Treasury of Christmas cookbook and perusing online recipes. The holidays is definitely a time when I do more cooking than normal. I have a boneless leg of lamb in my freezer, so I have been researching lamb recipes. The lamb recipes in my Christmas cookbook all use mustard or horseradish in the cooking and serving. Neither of these spices appeal to me at this time.

I do remember horseradish from my childhood. The first time I tried it I ended up spitting it out. My father liked it and used it generously on some meats, specifically roast beef. I never ate it after trying it that first time.

I am interested in plants so my curiosity caused me to look up more information about it. Plus, I wondered how it got its name. It has nothing to do with horses, and it can be toxic for them. Linguists think that perhaps something got mixed up in translations. It is a root of the plant Armoracia rusticana. Thank goodness for scientific names. There is also a Horseradish tree which is a different plant altogether, and should not be confused with the horseradish condiment.

According to Wikipedia, “The root was used as a condiment on meats in Germany, Scandinavia, and Britain… and both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson mention horseradish in garden accounts.”

After researching horseradish I have turned my attention to other spices. A lamb leg will be cooked, using neither horseradish or mustard in the cooking or serving. I am still reading about different spices, and I have not decided definitively what spices I will use. I saw a Persian slow cooker recipe that used pumpkin pie spice (or a Persian spice blend.) I do have pumpkin pie spice I could use. This recipe also used saffron spice. My husband recently gifted me a bottle of saffron threads, so I am leaning toward using this. I might end up using a more traditional rosemary and sherry blend. We will see…

Right now, my house smells like corned beef. It has been cooked for a breakfast casserole I will cook this week.

Happy menu planning to anyone out there who might read this!

Don’t Knock the Shoebox –From Dollhouses to Nativity Scenes, and to Habitat Dioramas

Recently I saw an online news headline which used the phrase "shoebox size" to describe the size of a home. It was being used in a denigrating way to mock the size of a home. This got me to thinking about all the uses of shoeboxes. Then I remembered seeing students make habitat dioramas using shoeboxes. I started to research the use of cardboard boxes in different types of crafts. I was amazed at all the numerous websites that show examples of cardboard box crafts. I decided to ask the AI image generator on my WordPress resource to generate an image of a "shoebox nativity scene", next a "cardboard shoebox dollhouse", and lastly I asked for a "shoebox habitat diorama." Above you can see the images it produced based on these prompts. I especially like the use of an old worn out shoe in the outdoor habitat diorama. This made me laugh.

Many school holidays will be beginning soon, if they have not already started. I think making shoebox nativity scenes to teach about the birth of Jesus, or dollhouses to give as gifts, or habitat dioramas to teach a little science, are all great ideas of ways to spend quality time with your children, friends, nephews, nieces, or neighbors. This might make a greater childhood memory, and have a greater impact on their creativity, than simply buying something.

Anyone who uses the phrase "shoebox size" to describe a home is a snob. Maybe they need to do a little research on all the creative ways to use and enjoy a shoebox, and be grateful for what they do have. (This a just an older lady's advice. Take it or leave it, but don't knock the size of a shoebox size home, at least not in a public forum.)

Happy Thanksgiving !

Miss Piggy and her friends give thanks for all their blessings. They will pray at the dinner table. (This is an IA generated image.)

My family and I are having a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked a turkey breast and all the traditional fixings about two weeks ago. I did not want to repeat it so soon. Today we are having Beef Bourguignon with Sopa Paraguaya (which is a hearty cornbread), and a few other dishes. The other day when I was shopping for a red wine to use for cooking the beef I was surprised to run across a cabernet with the name “Katherine”. I stopped with a strange feeling of serendipity. I was currently reading Dan Brown’s latest book, The Secret of Secrets. One of the main characters in this book is named Katherine. Also, the picture featured on the front of the wine bottle reminded me of a black cutout profile picture of me when I was very young that had been artistically framed. My black profile picture has a ponytail much like the one on the wine bottle. The resemblance ends there, though my name is Katherine also. I bought the wine on a whim. I bought another bottle of a different wine to use in my cooking.

This is the picture from the bottle I purchased.

You might be asking why I used a picture of Miss Piggy at the top of this post. I thought it was funny since “piggy” , possibly a relative of Miss Piggy, has been in the news recently. Of course, I was instantly reminded of Miss Piggy whom my daughter grew up with and whom we all love. She had a Miss Piggy doll that was so loved and played with so frequently that eventually I had to throw it out. I was able to find one book, which we still miraculously possess, featuring Miss Piggy.

Here is the book we own. The dirt in the bottom right must be from a pulled off price sticker.

Another interesting side note about Miss Piggy is that she has been featured several times at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I read that in 2016 she saved Tony Bennett from falling off the float they were standing on.

I hope anyone that might happen to read this has a fun and happy day.
I am thankful for many things. Too many things to elaborate here.

Washington D.C. in 1950

https://www.katequinnauthor.com/books/the-briar-club/

This novel begins in Washington D.C. in 1950. I picked it up about a week ago at my local library. After a few days, I realized it had to be returned earlier than I expected since it was in high demand. I started reading it on Friday and got hooked immediately. I had to force myself to set it down this weekend when my family needed attention. I was able to finish it before bedtime on Sunday evening. Before I finished my first Kate Quinn book I ordered her book, The Rose Code. I bought it because I did not want to be rushed reading it.

I loved reading The Briar Club novel. After I finished reading it, I read a few reviews of this book, and heard some complain that it was too slow-paced with deep dives into characters. The in-depth attention to portraying all the characters is one of the things I really liked about this book. I, like Grace, enjoy watching people, and studying their behavior and trying to understand their motives. The book has several surprises which I did not expect. I am normally very good at predicting what is going to happen in movies and books before they happen.

The setting is a boarding house in Washington D.C. during the 1950's. If you are a student of history, you will know this was when Senator Joe McCarthy was terrorizing everyone with his investigations into complaints about Communist sympathies. I guess bullies will always exist, and flourish when people are too afraid to stop them.

I would highly recommend this book.

It is Veteran's Day today. I would like to thank all those men and women who have served our country in the military, and in some case had to put their lives on the line.

Pippi Longstocking Pumpkin Sculpture!

(AP photo/Markus Schreiber) “Pumpkin sculpture depicting fictional Swedish book character Pippi Longstocking is displayed at Klaistow’s farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates ‘powerful women’.” It is near Berlin, Germany. See the link below .

https://apnews.com/article/germany-pumpkins-halloween-farm-festival-cb94e3a160a87a8041cbd23c78487f24

You should click on the link to see a fantastic pumpkin festival that has a 22 year history. They have several other sculptures that you should see of real-life women who were strong in a real life sense. I have never seen so many pumpkins in one place. Thank you to AP news for posting this story.

Pippi Longstocking books were enjoyed by me when I was a young girl. She was super naturally strong and this was depicted in the very first book where it shows her lifting her horse onto the porch of her home. She could overpower all men who tried to trick her or her friends. I will post a screenshot of the history of these books.

This AI summary was taken from a **Bing** search.

My own daughter, Laura, owns a few Pippi Longstocking movies.

I received a Pippi Longstocking book for Christmas when I was about 9 or 10. I have a picture to prove it. Unfortunately we cannot read which Pippi book it was. This picture is very old and of poor quality.