Wednesday Medley

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Tomorrow is National Croissant Day!!

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY – January 30

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY

In the United States, National Croissant Day is observed each year on January 30th. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Lang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant or try making your own using this recipe: Croissants recipe.

1. Well, I do love croissants when they are fresh, but day-old croissants need to be turned into a donut. I happen to really like the croissants that have a donut-like glaze on them! Sugar overload but so good. So... do you like croissants?

What's not to love about a fresh croissant..  We have a bakery/coffee shop  nearby and they serve the best Eggs Benedict on fresh baked croissants..

 YUM! What is your favorite way to eat them?

Anyway I can get them...  

2. Speaking of food... How do you handle stress?

Confession.. I do get the nibbles as my comfort  from stress...  I know not good,  but it is a life long habit...  So I try to find  things  of a more healthy nature.. nuts are good!

3. Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy, and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?

I suppose of these  it would have to be anger... but more than anything I'd call it a righteous anger,  for example, over the state of the   government.... Hubs tells me,  "Hey, calm down,,  not  a thing you can do about it, so settle down and  pour yourself a cup of tea!!!"

4. Out of the positive emotions of compassion, positivity, enthusiasm, and initiative, which one is your biggest strength?

My aim is positivity..  in my faith walk  I  purpose to be positive and  bring  light in  my realm of influence.  I'm not perfect by any means...  but that is my  goal!

5. What do you get every time you go grocery shopping, other than the staples such as bread, milk, butter, flour, sugar...I  love Coffee Mate Bliss natural coffee creamer...  they have stopped making  my favorite, Salted Caramel... WHY!!!???!!!!  So I just get vanilla.. But it is  completely natural..

6. Please tell us something random about your week so far.

Sad to say, I  awakened from sleep last night with a horrible sore throat and had to get up and rummage through the meds  .. Thankfully, I found some  sore throat lozenges...  took one and  so  I sat up  and  fooled around with my tablet then went back to sleep, until  about  3 hours later my throat felt slit again...  went through the same process again, but by the time  I was ready to roll back over it was  daylight and Hubs was up  downstairs making my coffee... Thankfully, the sore throat is gone today!!!A nice steamy shower helped!  Now  it is just the sniffles...  Hoping that is all it will be!!

Happy Homemaker Monday

   

Click here for our hostess!!!

The weather:::

It is now 37°  with a high of 41°

Snow and much colder  for the next few days

Right now I am: 
I am enjoying my first cup of coffee and  my fruited yogurt. I had a  bit of a later  morning...  I could actually sleep in a bit until after 8:30!yayayaya

Thinking:

I am thinking  about  this coming week. I have something and someplace to go everyday.. a bit unusual for us  retirees!  So I am enjoying my morning today  lazing about in my jams!!!

On my reading pile:::

Isaiah Bible Study, today I am finishing up lesson 18 today covering Chapters 42 and 43 of Isaiah

Daily Thru the Bible readings  from Genesis, Mark,  Romans

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading Calendar

 my audio book, Venetia, read by Richard Armitage 💕 

Becoming Gertrude, by Janice Peterson, How Our friendships Shape our Faith

I realize this hasn't changed much because  the study  takes up  most of my reading time..

On my TV:::

Victoria, Hallmark movies, I was compelled  to finish The English Patient on Netflix...  Wish I hadn' t .... rather depressing...  Not my cup of tea really,    So I enjoyed  Escape to the Continent..

On the menu for this week:::

Monday 

baked chicken

Tuesday 

tossed salad with bbq chicken strips

Wednesday

meatloaf

Thursday

?

Friday 

Fish and slaw

On my to do list:::

clean upstairs

laundry

church committee meeting

Bible Study

Visit  the  Physician's Assistant  to discuss some alternative    meds

final visit with the  cataract surgeon

 Visitation Team meeting at church

choir

prayer meeting   

Looking around the house:::

It is good to have the  last  remnants of Christmas put away and the mid winter out...  this will  help me move right into Valentine's Day  soon!

From the camera:::

My fireside where I will sit to do my Bible reading, study and anything  I want to read...  I also love to just visit with the Lord right there basking in the warmth of  the fire!!!

What I'm wearing today:::

Sitting here in my jams and my thick terry robe...   with  my  fur lined slippers and  my hair uncombed..  I'm a mess actually!!!

One of my simple pleasures:::

I love to  spend a bit of time sitting in the sun room enjoying the many birds that come to the feeder..

Bible verse, Devotional:::

SUnday Stealing~Conversation Starters

Click the icon to return to our hostess, Bev!

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. 

Here are some Conversation Starters.

There are actually 200 of them; I just chose a few.

What are some small things that make your day better?

That first cup of coffee,  music, Bible reading, prayer,face time with our daughter and grands, feeling  good

What shows are you into?

Hallmark movies, Victoria, Doc Martin,   Cooking shows like  Valerie's Home Cooking

What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?

A DIY  Network  for  fixes and  things for the home

Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?

Our daughter... she was  so bright and outgoing... she studied hard and made it to Governor School,  was on the softball, soccer, tennis, track,  and volleyball teams during her years  in school from 7-12 grade.  She learned to play the piano and violin and  was  the Concert Master of the Youth Symphony  as a senior in HS.    She had an amazing singing voice and in second grade was chosen to be in the Roanoke College Children's Choir..  She sang with them for about 5 years,,  during which time she sang at Carnegie Hall and the White House.   During her  HS years she voluteered at the hospital and  was mentored by our dentist for  some time as she wanted to go to medical /dental school ,but  that didnt pan out after all,  and so she got her  master's degree in Biology. Her marriage kept her  by her husband's side    as you will see later....She quit piano  at age 12 because of her  busy sports  schedule,  but she had taken for 6 years and knew, well, how to play... but,  at age 16  she  took a job to make her own money to pay for more piano lessons to  play  more classically and continued piano in college. Plus, she and her boyfriend/husband..  married  when he started his  PHD at Virginia Tech,  so she stayed at Tech and   worked on her Master's even though she was accepted  to MCV,  they both played  violin in the college Symphony, plus both played in a quartet during HS and College and made  quite a bit of money   playing weddings, bar mitzvahs, and various events..  Amanda was, also, chosen at Tech to be a hostess at the  President's Home for  Special Events when dignitaries and    important patrons of the college were wined and dined... Her keen personality and charm  won  her this special  job and  she loved  schmoozing with the chefs and learning the finer points of elegant entertaining. Out of school Amanda and  Josh moved to  the Boston area for their jobs...  She  worked in Cambridge doing cancer research.. Now she is a stay at home mother of two beautiful daughters.. her crowning achievement!

What age do you wish you could permanently be?

Funny you should ask that question!  All the previous years of my like for some reason I had picked the age of 36  as the perfect age..  I suppose  it wasn't  too old, but just right for  having succeeded in a career and family..  The family didn't come along until  age 35,  when we adopted our daughter..  and then for sure age 36 was the best year of life....  but since then I love every year. ...change is good!!

What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?

Anything violent , like the CSI or  police  investigative  shows..  too much for me... Or horror films... I live by the adage,  be careful what you see..  or it  sticks to you.. in my mind  especially at bedtime...

What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?

I collect  English dish ware  and  items  to  create  lovely teas...  Not really luxury of the grand scale, but  I'd say  items that  charm me  that many others may not even consider...I love  beauty in my life.  And I love to share hospitality

What’s your claim to fame?

I am known in wide circles as the Tea lady, I suppose.

I used to be known as the story teller  when I taught.. I loved  creative writing and  expounding history through making it  almost an adventure story.. It really helped the students remember things.. Storytelling is a gift passed down  through my family line on the Scotch side!

What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

Celebrate Christmas the old fashioned way.. holding on to the wonderful memories from  Christmas's  long ago  at Grandma's  on the dairy farm.

What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?

Romance,  especially historical  British stories,  Scottish  and English!  I love time travel  romance, too.. Favorite author in that is Lynn Kurland!!!!  Love , Love!!!  

How often do you people watch?

Not as often as 

 I used to. Life is too short to do that much anymore!  

What have you only recently formed an opinion about?

My opinion about  the national crisis  is an evolving  thing... unfortunately getting worse and worse!!!  I am so glad I do not teach now...  No way could I teach the 3 branches of government...  Does not even faintly resemble what I taught them to be!

What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?

Eschatology

What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?

Lived in Germany for a year in my early twenties

What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?

Those face book videos of  tots trying on earring aids and hearing for the first time...  the  astonishment, then,  glee on their faces when they first of all hear  their mama speak then when they hear their own  laugh!  Gets me every time!!

What is the most annoying question that people ask you?

When we adopted our  3 month old  daughter from Korea in 1985,  People would ask us  , "Will she speak Korean,  How will you teach her English?"" DUh!

What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives

If you were dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?

I would dictate that every day  people should  walk the beach and collect seashells..  string them into  wind chimes  that  tinkle  and  create  a lovely   on going    music around the island  

Find  seas turtle nests and  assign people to  help tend  the  hatchlings to the seas  ..protecting them from  scavenger gulls

Pronounce  National Luau Day  every  July 8th,,, my birthday

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?

Fly  east across the ocean over night and watch the sun come up over the horizon

A Mid Winter's Tea

Today another arctic blast is ushering a  really cold snap.  so  I sat by my fire doing my weekly Bible Study in Isaiah!
I thought that a lovely thing to do  would be to celebrate this mid-winter time with a  bit of tea and  a tasty!!!

{{Just as an aside I found  the  wonderful  tribute  from Sibelius , Findandia to  enjoy  while to  enjoy this post...   I remember  when Amanda and Joshau used to playnthis  when they  were in the Youth Symphony!It is  the next post following  this one}}

I recently  purchased my  cups and saucers  online   depicting Finlandia...  which makes me think  icy cold  and  lovely wintry views.. So I  originally set my tea on the dining table that is  set with a wintry mood!!


I had switched out the red transfer ware for the blue!

And I brewed  some spicy Red Roobios tea  to warm me up!!!

Yesterday at the bakery I couldn't pass up the beautiful macarons!!!

I could barely keeps hubs  snitchy fingers off of his German Chocolate one!!!

I was looking forward to the beautiful lavender one!   So   delectable.. I love that   very fragile crunch and then the chewy goodness inside!!!

Earlier in the week I had reset  the  sideboard  with a tribute 
to my grandmother  who loved  blue.

Last night I redid the mantel  for a Mid Winter's    salute!!  My handsome fox couple will usher in a valentine theme  soon!!

So I moved my  tea to the parlor so I could enjoy the fireside  while I  supped my tea and  enjoyed my sweet!!!

Pink Saturday

Friends Sharing Tea 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup 

Jean Sibelius - Finlandia

Wednesday Medley Celebrates PIE!

Visit Terri here...

NATIONAL PIE DAY

National Pie Day is celebrated annually on January 23rd. (Not to be confused with March 14 which is PI π Day.)

National Pie Day was created simply to celebrate the pie. It is a day for all to bake or cook their favorite pies. Even more importantly, it is a day set aside for all to enjoy eating pies!

The first pies appeared around 9500 BC in the Egyptian Neolithic period or New Stone Age.

1. Okay, fess up. Tell us your top three favorite pies, please. Will you have some pie today?

My pie tastes run  very near  our  dear Terri's..

As per the  top photo  my number 1 pie is coconut chess pie: number 2 Lemon Merengue; number 3 Chocolate merengue.  No, I probably wont have pie today unless we drive to  a neighboring town and go to  their cafeteria for lunch..  they serve the best  coconut Chess pie!!!  Small chance of that!

  

2. While we are talking about food... are you a picky eater or are you ready to try almost any new food? I am not a picky eater. What is the worst thing you have ever eaten? Haggis

3. Baking could be considered an art as could cooking. How do you define art? Art is the by product of the imagination at work to create  something pleasing to the artist.

4. Tell us a really stupid joke that made you laugh, please. My boss told me to have a good day.. so I went home.

5. January 23rd is also National Handwriting Day. Do you have nice handwriting?  I think so..  I taught  cursive  for 30 years.  Did cursive writing come naturally or did you practice in those double-lined practice books until your fingers hurt?As a student I loved to practice my cursive..  I would buy lined tablets  for fun!

Why erase this.. I love it so I made it larger!

6. Tell us something random about your week.

I suppose the best part pof this week will be Saturday .  Poor Hubs...  it seems he  has been set aside  from birth to  be  surrounded by women..  He  works on a church committee with only other women.. His   Commanding officer and then his  boss at work was a woman.  Well,  the only remaining cousins he has are all women.. and  about 3 years ago we all started getting together to go to eat once a month and we have  stuck to that  promise... I mean,,  yeah!! This week ar egoing to probably one of my top two restaurants in town..

Everything is made from scratch!

Peace & hugs!! God bless!!
PS.  I never dreamed I'd actually get  some pie today!!!


Hubs and I split this at lunch today!!!
Yum!!!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Click here for our hostess!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and a blessed week ahead. Let's get started with our Happy Homemaker Monday !

The Weather:::

Right now our wind chill is -6, 12℉  wind 15 mph
I'm sitting beside a space heater  blowing on me and I'm still feeling cool air around me!

Right now I am: 

Hubs  got up and fixed us some breakfast a little  bit of bacon and  a couple of  Eggo waffles...    lovely piping hot coffee...   I  am  still enjoying the coffee  and working on this post!!!

Bbrrr cold brrrr 

morning!! 

Thinking:
I needed a second cup of coffee to get my brain to thinking... uhm..
well,  this morning I think I shouldn't have gone through face book posts because  everything  mostly just made me mad,,,   then I  decided to  visit some  special  people... I found this one  taken over   Jerusalem...  amazing!!  

And I'm thinking how marvelously creative and  huge our God is...  That when bad news  fills our day,    He is there  in His majestic glory!!!

On my reading pile:::
Isaiah Bible Study, today I am finishing up lesson 18 today covering Chapters 42 and 43 of Isaiah

Daily Thru the Bible readings  from Genesis, Matthew, Nehemiah, and Acts

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading Calendar

 my audio book, Venetia, read by Richard Armitage 💕 

Becoming Gertrude, by Janice Peterson, How Our friendships Shape our Faith

On my TV:::

we enjoyed a new Peter Rabbit  movie on netflix

 rated PG ...  I wouldn't show it to my  granddaughters,  but it is a very cute film.. a mix of  cartoon and   live action...  very well done!!!!

Favorite Blog post this week:::

Carla's  The River  blog is  a  lovely  place to visit and rest awhile..lovely gardening photos

On the menu for this week:::

Monday~chili  and  nachos

Tuesday~   romaine/ and  veg salad with  bbq chicken strips  on top
Wednesday~Tacos  dinner

Thursday~baked potato   and salad

Friday~Fish and chips with slaw

Saturday~  cousin dinner out and about

On my to do list:::

no laundry today  too cold in the basement  unless Hubs has plans to do it~~~

Correspondence

Bible Study for class tomorrow

 first visit with my new  Primary Care doctor

choir

cousin get together  and dinner

Looking around the house:::

ok, I looked..  and saw  some things that need doing...  but  not  today...

I am pleased to see  how well  the poinsettia is doing...  wow,  no leaves on the floor..  amazing!!!

There is a box  I  found in the storage room of items I can  use  for  winter decor that I didn't use for Christmas, so  maybe today I will  put some  fresh items out  to celebrate this fine winter season!!!  BRR

These are my new  cups and saucers I  got  in the mail last week from Etsy...  to  add to my blue transfer ware collection.. I needed cups  and  I love this  Denmark design by Mason Pottery.

From the camera:::

A vintage 1962  January  family shot

 These were taken in Jauary of 2016

Hubs  hanging plates in the kitchen

January in Massachusetts with the kids!

January snow of 2016

On my prayer list:::

The President and his family, and the administration, for protection and godly counsel! I am praying Trump will go ahead and side step Congress with military funding and Corp of Engineers to build the wall  as a matter of national security!

Pray against all division in our nation, that harmony and peace will reign supreme throughout the land.

For the God's will to work its way through our Congress to promote a healing and a functioning environment

Pray against delusion and lies of the enemy, protect the hearts and minds of the young!

Pray that pastors across the nation are renewed and re edified to preach the gospel using the whole counsel of God...  Let no personal kingdom or agenda sidestep the work of the Spirit in the church!

Please, God, take back our institutions of higher learning

Pray for the sick that they might be healed

Pray for the peace and harmony of Jerusalem 

Pray that the light of Christ will shine boldly through His people and everyone is establishing within their own hearts the manner in which to live for Him in 2019

Pray for our service men and women overseas who put their life on the line everyday to protect our freedoms. I lift up particularly my own sweet cousin Josh.... Please add in the comments other names you would like named here!!

Pray for the lost who are bewildered and lost... they are hopeless in need of a loving savior!

Pray that our Congress will find a way to work together to protect our borders.. a country without borders ceases to be a nation!

Inspirational Quotes or Devotionals::::

found on Pinterest

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