What's in Papa's Pocket?

Adrian entertained his grandparents this week while his Mommy went to Bible study.

It is always a learning experience when Adrian comes to our house,

not only for him, but also for us!

On this particular visit, Adrian wasn't feeling too good,

so Papa piqued his curiosity by pulling something out of his shirt pocket.

The following pictures show the progression from curiosity to victory!

Where did you get that, Papa?

Can I see what else is in there?

Let's see if my hand fits inside that pocket.

Ah ha! I knew something was in there! I can feel it!

I'm touching it, now I want to take it out of there.

See, Papa? I took this out of your pocket.

Is he going to tell me I have to put it back?

Please let me play with your pocket some more, Papa!

Yay! Playing in Papa's pocket is so much fun!

Treasure's Haircut

I took Treasure to Petsmart today to get her hair cut.

She was looking pretty dingy and all my trimming that I've done

over the winter was looking ragged. And I thought she should

look her best when she goes to see Dr. Earl next week for her ultrasound!

So here she is, sporting her summer "do" and showing off her precious Westie ears!

And just in case you were wondering how she looks from behind,

well, here is her, um.. here is her behind!

My, my, she is so pretty, from head to tail!

It Finally Came!

Look what finally came in the mail today! I ordered this Jim Shore Covered Bridge figurine way back in January, after we had visited Lancaster Country, PA and fallen in love with that area. We saw several out-of-use covered bridges on our tour. And I know my niece Barbaranne is familiar with many others, as I have seen some of her pictures! So, this is very much a visual reminder of our enjoyable vacation.

What I really love about this piece are the little quilt blocks on the sides of the bridge. They just reinforce my perception in the cross-stitch pattern that I am working on. No, I never actually saw a quilt on the side of a barn or a covered bridge, but quilts are the very essence and charm of the Amish people and are an accurate representation of what I enjoyed there.

So, have a good look at my little covered bridge! It's going right next to my Jim Shore Westie, who also shares an artistic essence of the Amish people!

Play Date with Jefferson

Lois and Doug came over this morning to help me with our His Greater Works display for the GES conference. We thought that would be a good opportunity for Treasure and Jefferson to have a play date. So Jeffie brought over his new Fuzzuki motor scooter he got for Christmas and showed Treasure how to ride it!

After she got the hang of it and Jefferson was sure she knew what she was doing, he stepped out and let her take a spin - solo! Treasure found it to be a good fit, quite comfortable, and so she sat a spell, enjoying Jeffie's new wheels.

Meanwhile, Lois and I finally figured out how to open the new portable desk display unit I bought for our ministry display at the GES conference in April. Once we got it up on the table, she and Doug went to work with their pencils and paper and began the design process for how best to market our products. Ideas were flying around, many of them upgrades on what we already have done. But there are also a lot of new and exciting projects that will require my immediate attention. I'm certainly not afraid of hard work, especially when there is creative design involved!

All the brainstorming came to a halt as we realized it was getting close to lunch time. Doug could barely get situated on the couch before both Treasure and Jefferson crowded in on his lap. Jeffie leaned over to tell Treasure a secret about his Dad before we decided to leave the "kids" at home and go down the street for a bite to eat.

"Eat? Eat? What do we get to eat?"

"Come on, Jefferson, I'll share my Wee Bits with you!"

Lois says Jefferson is a picky eater -- until he has a chance to have lunch with Treasure! Those Wee Bits are just his size. We left the dogs to nibble on their kibble while we went to eat our lunch. When we came home, both of them were shaking off the sleep from their naps. All in all, a very good day.

Oatmeal-Walnut-Cranberry Cookies!

What you see here is yummy goodness! I had a taste of a Cranberry Oatmeal cookie last Sunday and I've had a craving for more all week. So I pulled out my container of oats, found an easy cookie recipe on the side, and modified it to satisfy my need for a cranberry cookie!


Here is the simple recipe:
1 box of Cake Mix (I used Butter flavor, but pick anything you like)
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick) melted
2 large Eggs
2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 cup Walnut pieces
1/2 cup Craisins

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine cake mix, butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, on low speed, mix for 1 minute. Then mix 1 more minute at medium speed. Dough will be thick. Add oats, nuts and cranberries and mix well with wooden spoon.

I used a small cookie (ice cream) scoop and placed one full scoop every two inches on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. Cookie should be golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a baking rack to cool.

I'm telling you, this is one delicious cookie and is so easy to bake.

I got 44 medium size cookies from this recipe.

You can substitute raisins or pecans or chocolate chips if you like.

Treasure's Research

Today Dr. Earl's office called to have me bring Treasure in for a blood-draw for the research project at Perdue School of Veterinary Medicine. You may recall that I introduced him to a research study on Westies with TCC - transitional cell carcinoma - in the bladder. He followed up on the email and we are now an official part of the study. From the papers I filled out, it appears they will try to keep me informed of her contribution to the study.

Aside from that exciting news, she continues to act like a healthy little dog. The only thing I notice now is that it takes her a lot longer to empty her bladder. I don't mean her frequency in "marking" spots along our walks, but first thing in the morning, or last thing before bedtime, it seems to take much longer to "finish" her business. Other than that she is still very spunky for an eleven year-old and most days has a good appetite and eats well.

She tickled me last week. Our weekly Bible study has not met in full attendance since November and for two weeks we stayed home while I had the stomach flu. So last week we were able to go to Bible study and everybody was there, including her pal Jefferson. Treasure was one happy dog! It was so obvious that she had missed both Jeffie and all her lady friends. I will have to be more conscious of her routine and what it does to her when she misses something!

We see Dr. Earl in a couple weeks for her next ultrasound. I hope I have more good news then.

Here's What I'm Working On

This is my stress reliever. I find cross-stitching to be both relaxing and absorbing.

I have to pay pretty close attention to what I'm doing

or I spend time ripping and re-stitching.

So when life according to Fox News gets to be too much, out comes the stitching!

When we went to Pennsylvania last December,

one of the sights I found most charming were the Amish farmhouses.

I love the fact that successive generations just build their own homes

onto the existing family farmhouse.

Some of those houses were just sprawled out all over the place!

When I came home I began looking through my Jeremiah Junction

cross stitch magazines for a pattern that would closely resemble

that Amish country influence. And this is what really caught my eye.

When it's finished I have the option of stitching a verse across the bottom

or, perhaps, stitching the words "Lancaster County, PA".

Then it will be framed in a little "half-moon" type frame

and hung over a door in my house!

Random Thoughts

Now that's a great opening! Who would be interested in my random thoughts? But it just seems that everything in the news is so random lately. I keep hearing one objection to the stimulus plans - that the plan has no plan. That's just too random. I can't imagine giving Congress control of almost a trillion dollars and they don't have a written plan outlining what they intend to do with it. Are we crazy?

Enough of that. I have to change my TV channel every once in a while, just to keep some sanity.

So, changing channels, my ladies Bible study just completed a study on the Psalms of Ascent. Those are the psalms, from 121 to 134, that centered on the pilgrimage of the children of Israel to Jerusalem for the great feasts. These are very personal songs between God and His child. Our study with Beth Moore was excellent. Now we are embarking on her study of Esther. It's sub-titled "It's Tough Being a Woman." I'm looking forward to this one as well.

I was first introduced to Beth Moore Bible studies over ten years ago. I had previously done Precepts studies which were done with large groups of women. Like Bible Study Fellowship, the "small group" classes consisted of 15 to 20 women. My preference for intimate study has been along the lines of five to eight per class. So the Beth Moore groups I have led have been independent of church sponsorship and can stay small. My group has grown to seven for this spring, a number I can be quite comfortable with.

Coinciding with the start of Esther is our Sunday school class beginning the study on Revelation. That is the curriculum we just put the finishing touches on - over 300 pages of commentary, questions and charts. That brings our inventory of Bible study curricula to nine. As soon as the final corrections are made to the Acts study, it will go up on the ministry website. All of our curricula is "class-tested" and proofed, then corrected before it is available for sale.

One final thought... It seems like this winter has been exceptionally brutal. I have cyber friends who live in the north and northeast and they have been inundated with sub-freezing temps and piles of snow and ice. Down here in the balmy south Texas winter, we have had mild temps but rampant sickness. Schools have closed just to keep the germs from spreading. The pews at church are half-filled. Makes me wonder about biological warfare. Think how easy it would be to wipe out an army with a stomach virus!

I'm Back with the Living... Again

I have had quite a coaster ride the last ten days, having ups and downs with a stomach flu that has made the rounds. It hit me pretty hard a week ago and, with some anti-nausea medication, I managed to weather that storm. So it came as a big surprise last Thursday when I woke up with the same blankety-blank thing! And since I had not fully recovered from the first bout, this second one hit me even harder. When we finally got in to see a doctor, he said the hospital beds in San Antonio were filled with flu patients, gave me a shot and sent me home to live or die. I decided to take a little more time getting well and have stayed in or around my bed for four days. Thankfully, this south Texas sun infuses me with rejuvenating strength. I think I'll live!


After three days of liquids and jello, Meredith brought over a bag full of co-op produce. I have fresh fruit, potatoes, onions, lettuce and tomatoes! Her neighborhood co-op meets twice a month and she has thrown my $5 into the kitty. I'm looking forward to some vegetable soup and a big salad.

I just want to throw in a word about Treasure. I know many who read this blog are following her progress and I haven't written much about her lately. That's because she is doing so well. Honestly, if she had not gone for that geriatric check-up I would not have had a clue she was ill. It has been almost 6 months since her diagnosis and she acts and looks like a very healthy eleven year old. I am thanking God for each day we have together. We start another round of antibiotics today, but those are tolerated with her food. She has been the most loyal dog throughout six days of my laying in bed, not able to take her out walking. I think she suffered as much or more than I did! So today's walk was a very special time indeed!