Mom, this one's for you!

The last many Christmases we have purchased an Amaryllis bulb for our Aunt Wilma. We have picked several different colors over the years, and I believe all have bloomed with the exception of one that got left in a vehicle overnight in freezing temps. It makes a nice gift for a shut-in, and brings such a cheeriness to any room. This last Christmas was no exception to our rule, other than Mom reported the amaryllis had a total of five blooms on one stalk.

 Also this last Christmas, the insurance man decided it was about time we had an amaryllis around our house as well. So while he was getting one for Aunt Wilma, he also got one for me as a present under the tree. They are a bit different, in that instead of being potted, they sit in a glass vase on small pebbles above the water. The roots grow down into the water. Of course, this is designed for a big show just the once, and then it's finished. We have been patiently waiting, and are now rewarded with the above beauty.

Mom told us that Aunt Wilma's bloomed right away, and has been long gone...but ours is just getting into it's glory, with another stem on the way. Even bulbs are each individually unique, with their own schedule. What a blessing.

A Good Thing in the News

Our daughter Joy lives in the State of Washington, which is also where I grew up. It's hard to imagine but I do think Washington is even more liberal in it's thinking and politics than Oregon. Joy has worked in the Pregnancy Resource Center in her community since it's inception 10+ years ago, serving as the treasurer and on the board. Last year she asked us to pray for the leaders in the Washington State Senate, as there was a lot of pressure on the senators to pass a bill that would effectively shut down all resource centers in the State. Fortunately, the bill was narrowly defeated. But, they are back at it again in this session, hammering away at all 'roadblocks' to uncontested abortions. Please continue to pray that they won't succeed.

Yesterday in our newspaper I found a good article about the State of Washington. It seems that two pharmacists and a pharmacy owner went to court to contest a state ruling requiring them to dispense Plan B, or other emergency contraceptives, stating that it went against their conscience and violated their constitutional rights to freedom of religion. Washington's rules require that pharmacies stock and dispense drugs that can destroy a fertilized egg, equal to an abortion. Fortunately, US District Judge Ronald Leighton sided with the pharmacists, and overturned the state ruling. The Judge recognized that "the state's true goal was to suppress religious objections" by druggists to dispensing abortion medications. The Judge stated "the most compelling evidence that the rules target religious conduct is the fact that the rules already contain numerous secular exemptions...the rules now exempt pharmacies and pharmacists from stocking and delivering lawfully prescribed drugs for an almost unlimited variety of secular reasons, but fail to provide exemptions for reasons of conscience". Now it does, thanks to an insightful Judge. It's a small victory, but any victory is welcome, and especially when favorably reported in our newspaper. May more Christians stand up and fight for their beliefs.

*The photo above is one of Elijah right after her was born in January of 2011. I used it not just because he was so cute, but to remind us once again of the value of human life.

Beauty at sunrise in the Grand Canyon

Yesterday morning I was up early and working on a scrapbook I am putting together of our vacation last Sept. I was at the point of working on photos we took of an early morning sunrise at the Grand Canyon, and it was just like living it all over again. Oh so gloriously beautiful and full of the grandeur of God's creation. What a wonderful way to start a Sabbath.

Later, after Church the insurance man and I attended a performance of our Central Oregon Symphony. What a delight and joy to find on the program three selections from the 'Grand Canyon Suite' by Ferde Grofe. The first was 'Sunrise' and I felt like I was enjoying it yet again. I checked YouTube this morning, and sure enough there was a really good video of the Canyon while enjoying the beautiful music. So, here is the link so that you too can experience the early morning sunrise at Grand Canyon. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCM8u-YlGQE

JoAnn's New Look

Today, JoAnn decided to go and have her hair cut after she picked up a new pair of glasses. I think she decided it was time for a totally new look.

It's hard to tell, but the glasses are dark brown with a light pink trim on the inside. Very nice with her coloring. She let me take  a couple of photos, and these show her new haircut...one with her hair tucked behind her ears, and one with it full . She has such beautiful thick hair, it always hangs so nicely. And the stylist layered it perfectly. It's always nice to get a change, isn't it?

Seashells for the Jones Kids

You may have noticed that it has been a while since I posted. We were/are having major computer issues, with the last two weeks ending with a crashed computer. As of today, we have a new one and I am trying to get the hang of the Windows 7 operating system.

I took these photos some time ago to share with my grandchildren, and am now going to try and post about them. Over the years I have collected quite a few seashells. Some from actually finding them on a beach, some passed on from my mother, and some from our friend Doris. She has been to some rather exotic places, like the Canary Islands or the coast of Africa, and picked up some beautiful shells.

 This doesn't really give the exact feel of the size of the shells, but it was the best my camera could do. You have to click on the photo to enlarge it to see the wonderful and intricate patterns. I am quite fascinated with shells, and the detail and artistry God put into fashioning these houses for crabs and snails.

Some are smooth, some ridged, some spiny, some pointy sharp, some smooth & rounded like glass, and each amazing. The colors are wonderful too, both solid colors and combinations like tiger stripes, or a surface that rivals any pottery man can produce.

I don't pretend to know the names of each, but just marvel at creation. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote a small volume 'Gifts From the Sea', where each chapter is a lesson taken from a seashell. I have enjoyed the first chapter especially, about the intricacy and simpleness of a seashell.

Maybe 12-year-old Samuel can tell us the names of some of these beautiful shells.

Warm Food on a Cold Day

We woke up this morning to a really good snowstorm. It snowed hard for about two hours, and was snowing when I left to go to the Church about 8:45. It was such a pretty drive, with the big thick snowflakes, that we haven't seen all year. I noted that it was 36 degrees. But just a little while later, it was raining hard (which it has continued to do all day) and only 33 degrees. Does that make sense to you? Weather is really not understandable, no wonder they have such a hard time predicting it. It is just good to know that God makes the weather each day, and we can just stand in that truth, and enjoy it. I do love a rainy day, it's pounding on my skylights right now, and it also makes me want some good hot comfort food. One type of meat that has been really popular for the last couple of years is pork loin. It takes a good marinade to make it flavorful, and I am going to print out a couple of my favorites.

Marinade #1

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1/4 C Fresh Lemon juice

1/2 C Soy Sauce

1/2 C Red Wine Vinegar

1/4 C Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Rosemary

1/2 teaspoon Marjoram

1/2-1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (to taste)

Marinade #2

3/4 C Olive Oil

1/2 C Soy Sauce

1/4 C warmed Honey

2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

3-4 Sliced Green Onion

1/2-1 teaspoon Ginger

3-4 cloves of Garlic, minced

For either of these, place ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Place 2-3 lb pork loin (or more) in a large zip lock bag and add the marinade. Seal and shake to distribute. Place the loins in a dish and refrigerate. 24 hours is best, but it can be up to 48 hours as well. You do have to think ahead on this.

 Here are my two loin pieces, placed in the marinade and ready for the refrigerator. It is good to turn them over after several hours, so that both side marinate evenly. By the way, Marinade #2 is for a larger cut of loin, so if you need just a small piece cut the recipe in half.

When it's time to cook, remove the loin from the bag and discard the remaining marinade. Put the loin on a rack in a shallow cooking dish, like the one above if you are going to bake it in the oven. It is also a good idea to line the pan with foil for easy clean-up. Pork loin is also really good grilled on the barbecue, and I will give directions for that at the end. I tend to oven bake this in the fall/ winter, and grill in the spring/summer.

Put the meat into a pre-heated 450 degree oven, and immediatly  turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Roast until the internal temperature shows 170 degrees on a meat thermometer (it doesn't take all that long). Take it out of the oven, tent with foil and let stand about 15 minutes to distribute the juices.

Carve and enjoy the meat. It is juicy and tender and has great flavor with the marinade. *For grilling, place on a pre-heated hot grill and barbecue for 10-15 minutes per side or until 170 degrees internally. I like to quit the cooking process when it is still just a bit pink, and let it finish cooking under the foil, as it sits for the additional 15 minutes. It remains a bit juicier that way. Enjoy it on a cold snowy/rainy day!

A Quiet Escape

 Last week, the insurance man and I were able to get away for a few days to the Oregon Coast. What wonderful weather we had for January! It was cool, but bright, clear, and sunny, with no wind. Not even enough to fly our kite. It's rare to have the sky completely clear, day and night, but it was and we enjoyed it. We got in several really great walks on the sand, watching the waves. They were small-ish when we arrived, but bigger each day. We actually just got the best weather right up until we left last Saturday, with a monster storm approaching, in sheets of wind-driven rain, and the crashing of much, much bigger surf . We made it home and over the pass before the snow, but they did have snow on the sand that night, a fairly rare occurrence. We stayed at the home a friend inherited in Lincoln City, just two blocks from the beach, with a great access. It was so nice to have a whole home to stretch out and relax in.

We mostly ate in, as there was a complete, fully-equipped kitchen, but we did go to one of our favorites for lunch one day. We almost always go to the Otis Cafe for breakfast, but this trip it fit in our schedule to go at lunchtime. 

 It is just a few miles east of Lincoln City, at the 'big' town of Otis. It has been a favorite spot to stop for many years. I had a white cheddar tuna melt on home-made bread, with a truly gigantic chocolate milkshake, made like they used to in the 'good ol' days'....enough for both of us. The insurance man couldn't resist having his breakfast favorite...sausage gravy over home-made hash browns, a big plate full. Not a healthy eating place, even if it is all natural. Every thing's full of butter, cream, cheese....you know all the good stuff! It was full on a Wednesday, 14 of us in there...including the four guys with burgers at the counter.

The house was quiet, peaceful and just what we needed for taking the stress level down a few notches after the holidays. I actually took this photo for JoAnn, because her favorite colors are purple (or lavender) and green. There was purple (or plum or eggplant depending on which generation you are) all over the house, which suited me just fine.

The irony of this picture is that the insurance guy had to hold my coffee container so I could take his picture, smile. He just loves doing that....But again, sweatshirt weather on the beach in January...an unexpected blessing.