My husband said take a picture of your salad. It was served with a big roasted turkey, cornbread sausage stuffing, and gravy, and banana nut bread. Very simple.
Christmas day food update: Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, a little chopped mix of cabbages & carrots, Chopped cucumbers, orange & yellow peppers, a mix of small tomatoes, chopped marinated artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts. We have a small selection of dressings to please everyone. Individuals can top the salad with the dressing of their choice.
We want to start off the new year of 2025 with more healthy choices of food. The cornbread sausage stuffing has lots of celery & sweet onion cooked into it.
The salad was twice covered and briefly stored outside on the deck. The refrigerators are full. The outdoor temperature was perfect for it. (app.41 degrees F)
I received a mustard seed necklace from my grandmother Florence when I was a young girl. I was reminded of this today when I saw a modern version of it for sale. The mustard seed can hold powerful symbolism depending on one’s faith. Jesus uses the mustard seed to represent how the smallest grain of faith can grow and grow into something big and powerful.
I cannot say that I have always been faithful. However a small seed was planted in me long ago when I was a young girl. It was pushed into the back of my mind as I grew. As an adult and a mother my faith has been remembered and nurtured again. I cannot say that I am the most pious person, however, I have never sought to harm others. I try to live by a creed of kindness, and by acceptance of others different from myself. During the past decade my faith has come to my rescue many times as I struggled with depression and the illness of family.
Seeing the mustard seed necklace recently reminded me how this symbol can be a great gift for someone. It serves as a reminder to them that through faith they can thrive, and become a force for good. Life can be long and tiresome at times, but faith will hold your hand, and God’s love is unconditional.
This is the AI image generator’s version of a mustard seed necklace. It made me laugh, however, I like the idea of showing some growth. The common version is simply a lone seed.
Old brass bells found in box of books. Now they hang from the doorknob of a new door.
The holiday decorations in our house are getting sparser as I age, especially since it has always been only me that puts them up and takes them down. The bells help celebrate the “reason for the season”. I put the new keys to the new door on a guardian bell key fob. Keeping with the bell theme, I decided to hang the bells pictured above from the door lever. They make a strong and clear clanging that is musical to my ear.
This new door was one of the upgrades that was researched this summer. Planning ahead is always a good idea. This door is fully accessible and opens out to our deck, patio, and back garden. It replaced an old sliding glass door that was too narrow to be fully accessible.
As I went through the old Christmas decorations picking and choosing a few reminders of the season, I found a garland of tiny gold bells. Hanging them over the new door was my private celebration. The 3 brass bells were found this summer in old box of inherited books. They seem appropriate for Christmas, and I can imagine them being attached to a gift box of books. Giving books for Christmas was something my great aunt Bess liked to do. You cannot take the teacher out of an older retired teacher.
This Thanksgiving season I am grateful for many things. My father’s favorite poem, Desiderata, comes into my mind. He used to have it on a poster in his home office. My favorite lines from this poem are: “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
My hope during this time of year is that love and faith continues to guide me. And to anyone that might read this post, I hope that you can find peace and joy during this season of Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow night 11/15/2024 will be the peak of the last super moon of 2024. (AI generated image)
The chill in the air today gave me hope that our winter will be memorable.
The beaver prepares for winter. It builds a dam and stores up food. Here it looks to be praying by the water, asking the moon for guidance. This month’s full moon is named in its honor.
This reminds me of the new Reservoir Park in Loudoun County, which is a partnership between Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks. It is situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir. I have not yet had a chance to visit it this year. I will have to put this on my 2025 list of things to do if I do not get a chance before then to visit it.
My hope is that the sky will be clear of clouds tomorrow night. It is raining now and expected to continue through until morning. Shine bright Beaver Moon!
I voted around 10:15 EST in Virginia today. This is the sticker I was given.I used a None Such jar of mincemeat and added thinly sliced jarred Pears from Wegman’s. I made a streusel topping, then added some toasted black walnuts in the middle. Oops, I misspelled streusel on the picture.
It is evening now.I am not so sure I will be able to successfully avoid election coverage. My curiosity will probably make me look.
Evening update: The tart has now been taste tested. It is delicious!
Sweet olive flower artistically designed as a drop earring. I imagine it can whisper.
Osmanthus fragrans is its scientific name.
This flowering plant is native to Asia from the Himalayas through several provinces in China, Taiwan, southern Japan, and S.E. Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.
In China, it is the “city flower” of several cities, and in Japan it is a “city tree” of several prefectures.
In Chinese mythology it is said that it grows on the moon. Wu Gang was a Chinese character who is known for endlessly cutting it down. It is seen as a divine punishment for him because this “self-healing” Osmanthus could and would regrow an equal amount every day.
I was inspired to look up this flowering plant when I saw this pair of earrings today. All the information here I have gleaned from Wikipedia. The picture has been edited from a picture on the Etsy website. Wikipedia did not suggest this flower can whisper. This thought came from my imagination, and when I read about the mythology, it confirmed to me it must have magical powers. Ha!
I even looked to see if I could grow this fragrant flowering plant in my garden. I think it needs a slightly warmer garden zone than where I am located. In the future when I get the chance to seriously renovate my garden, I will explore this possibility again.
AI generated image with the prompt: “Prim-rose path with gate”
I was looking through my medicine cabinet this morning when I saw the Prim-rose Oil hiding in the corner. I have not used it in a long time, and I decided to look up “primrose” in my dictionary, even though I knew it to be a yellow flower.
Right below the “prim-rose” entry was the entry “prim-rose path”. This turned out to be far more interesting. This phrase was made famous by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. According to my dictionary, it means “an easy or pleasurable way of life, especially one that leads to disaster.”
At this website I learned that Shakespeare used this metaphor in more than one place. I also learned that Shakespeare’s idea goes hand in hand with the bible verse: Matthew 7:13. So, I looked up this bible verse. It states: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
I am not a Shakespeare expert nor a Bible expert, so I will leave the comparison for you to explore, and to draw your own conclusions. I do think the lovely primrose should not be maligned for it is those who knowingly walk the wrong path with evil intent that are at fault. It matters not whether the path has flowers or whether the gate is narrow or wide.
First day of fall surprise– Two blooming “Going Bananas” day-lilies.
Last night desire was running with the undercurrents in the room.
My senses were on high alert. That sensual feeling that seeks me out now and then was reaching through the invisible walls around me.
And then I fell asleep.
I woke to the first day of fall which can also be called autumn.
Out my window I was surprised to see two bright yellow day-lilies blooming once more.
It does not look like a change of seasons from the past.
The rain last night brought renewal in its wake.
I also spotted a little chick-a-Dee and a tufted Titmouse.
I have not seen either in quite a while. It is a joy to watch these birds in flight.They look like they are jumping through air.
Katherine Phlox back from the mid-summer browning.
Another surprise this morning was the blooming Katherine Phlox. It had dried out in our summer heat. I had cut it down and watered it well, and then it was forgotten. Today it is blooming again.
I have a feeling that this fall will be full of renewal. Happy Sunday!
This is an AI generated image. The prompt was “general dynamics artificial intelligence.” I was curious how AI would picture artificial intelligence.
I pass Sally Ride Dr. almost every day I drive home. Occasionally I take a different route. This past Friday I finally wondered what was located on this road. I looked it up to discover a General Dynamics location was there.
I knew the name Sally Ride because she was an incredibly accomplished woman who worked for NASA as an astronaut for several years. She had a long and impressive resume. Sadly, she is no longer alive, though her legacy lives on. Today I discovered one of her projects which coincidentally is specifically for middle school students. Here is the link. (Update 9/15/26 — I deleted the link because it no longer works.)
The name of this drive has been in my mind all weekend. I learned that Dr. Sally Ride graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with a double major in Physics and English. She continued at Stanford, earning her Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics in 1975 and 1978. In 1977, Ride answered a newspaper ad placed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
After learning this I think they should rename the road: Dr. Sally Ride Dr. This would make me smile.
I am a little hooked on using the AI image generator. I wanted a picture here, so I indulged my curiosity. Here it is alone at the office working unassisted.
