Goodness in a Soup Pot

Dinner was homemade, mostly organic, vegetable soup and it messed up my vision.

The whole time I prepared and cooked, all I could see was this pot, brimming with vibrant, beautiful colors and a delicious assortment of shapes. The entire kitchen paled to plain old black and white, all except that glorious pot of goodness. 

John 8:12

"I am the light of the world. 

Whomever follows me will never walk in darkness, 

but will have the light of life."

John 8:12

Free MySpace wallpaper from somewhere online. I like it. I used it in the e-invitation for our young adult discipleship group DiG. It made me think of how all the truly creative thoughts (lightbulbs...) are really just an expression of God's creativity already demonstrated, but in a good way because we're "plugged in". I am hoping to have more lightbulbs in my future.  Until then I'll enjoy the flash of brilliance that others offer.

:)

The Magic of Cheese

How the Magic Happens

 Milk the cow or goat.

Take the milk to the creamery.

Pour it into the holding tank.

Sterilize the cans.

Fill the vat and heat to temperature.

Add the vegetable rennet and stir. 

  

Let it sit some hours to form curd.

  Cut through the curd.

Drain the whey.

 Cut and drain and stir some more.

Fill the forms with curds. 

Apply pressure.

Yield a 40lb block.

Seal and label the box.

Age the block for weeks or even years. 

Cut into smaller blocks and wrap.

Take it home.

Smell it, slice it, eat it. 

Marvel at the colors, the textures and the flavors that result from this process.

Think about how amazing God is to have thought this up.

It's a 'Perfect' Day

     I decided to hang out at the Perfect North Slopes lodge today. S is a little under the weather, but thinks he's well enough for skiing with his friends, so I'll just happen to be nearby if he runs out of steam before he expects to. 

     I have lots of computer 'To Do's' so this may be an even better place than home for getting those done.

Great Weather to Not be Amish

     It's hard to be culturally sensitive AND get a good picture of the Amish. This will have to do.

     Our time at Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op with N & R went very well. We affirmed each other's value and expressed appreciation. It did not go exactly as we had hoped going in, but we had given it all over to the Lord before we walked through the door. Our fellowship and business relationship grew as did our understanding of each other's operating methods, convictions and situations. Vast and fascinating cultural differences! In the end, we will be making some changes to help them save time and costs on invoicing our orders and they will be improving the packaging on our retail orders and letting their store customers, especially the non-locals, know about the website. We also began what will be a long and slow dialog about an issue we could not have touched over the phone. So it was good. 

     The best parts? Seeing my friend R and hearing about the young man in her life who 'brings her great joy'. Also visiting face to face with D and C, two younger gals who work there too, who I sometimes speak to over the phone. Also, trying Goat's Milk Fudge (It was good! I know, how weird is that?!) AND bringing home the new in-house Parmesan Cheese! It should make the order forms by the next order cycle along with Fiesta Cheddar and maybe White Gouda.

     We also hammered out details regarding carrying some other Amish products from their store, so in the near future we may be adding some things like noodles, baking mixes, maple syrup, honey, jam and small, round, containers of GOAT'S MILK FUDGE!

So that's why we had to switch rooms....

   We have an Amish cheese business. (www.simplycheese.net)

   We're in Amish country for the night to meet with the cheese-house managers tomorrow. We got to our room, unpacked and settled in when G walked near the exterior wall and found the carpet completely soaked. We told the lady at the desk that it didn't matter, just send up a bunch of towels. The lady at the desk would not allow us to stay in the room.

   This sign is in the new bathroom. It cracked me up. Perhaps we should let her know that this sign is not posted in the old room. :)

   We're praying for a good time of fellowship and understanding with our friends tomorrow, and a good result from working together for a common goal.
 
   If nothing else, I thoroughly enjoyed the long drive with my wonderful husband, had a delicious dinner, and had fun peppering the staff of Zoup! about the franchise's business model. It is a delightful little restaurant where we were able to taste as many of the 12 soups offered as we wanted before making our selection. They use no preservatives or msg, and the flavors were, well WOW! I had Collard Green Chicken Barley and G had White Chicken Chili. The Chicken Pot Pie and Tomato Basil were ones we tried and they were great, too! It was cool to see a part of the business model that I have on the back burned fleshed out in some ways in this casual eatery.

(Btw, the real reason for the flooding was ice-jamming outside on the gable roof. Lots more snow here than at home.)

Hope and Happiness

The Dog Pack

C, barely visible behind the other C, and a couple of friends

sledding in the backyard this afternoon.

Venison French Dips

       We are still enjoying C's buck from the fall. This meal was an easy crowd-pleaser! I slow-cooked the venison in organic beef broth with a quartered onion on low for most of the day. Then I strained out the pieces, pulled them apart and loaded them onto the bottom half of 4 whole grain hoagies. I used thick slices of mozzarella and fresh cracked pepper, broiled them, then closed the sandwiches and broiled them a little longer. The Aus Jus was the strained broth with mushrooms added after I removed the venison and onions. 

It was a loud meal full of smacking, oohing, ahhing and mmming. And what do you know? 

No leftovers.  :)

A Realistic View

I open my eyes each morning to this

view which changes

 by the hour

                               and the season 

                       and the weather.

And before my feet have even hit the floor

            I need no other reminder 

that

       God is 

consistently,

                 abundantly,

                             excessively,

                                         and eternally 

             kind to me.