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Theater’s Fall Guy

Theater professor Ezra LeBank teaches students how to tell stories through body movement, including stage combat.

Ezra LeBank is, literally, always falling down on the job.

As the head of Movement in the Theatre Arts Department at Long Beach State University, LeBank teaches students how to use their bodies to communicate a story. One of his specialties is the art of stage combat, which means teaching and demonstrating things like how to take a punch, how to throw a punch, and how to – safely – fall down.

LeBank is trained in theater and movement and known internationally as an expert in partner acrobatics, contact improvisation, stage combat and clown. He recently co-authored a book with USC’s David Bridel called “CLOWNS: In Conversation with Modern Masters”, which explores the art of clowning through conversations with 20 master artists.

Ezra LeBank, head of movement for Long Beach State’s theater department, strikes a warrior pose. He teaches students to tell stories through movement.

He admits that it’s often difficult for non-theater folks to understand what movement or physical theater is, but LeBank believes the techniques he teaches in his classes are beneficial for everyone. “I’m always deeply aware of how superficially we communicate when we’re only talking. …. Movement teaches us about essential layers of meaning, context and subtext in how we relate to ourselves and others,” he said.

LeBank’s stage combat classes in particular are unique at Long Beach State, because he said it teaches students to incorporate acrobatics in stage combat and incorporate narrative and composition into their coursework. In short, he teaches how to tell a story that involves a fight without ever throwing a 1-2 punch. That means even students who don’t plan to become physical actors can learn to use their whole bodies to convey a message.

Students learn how to throw a punch without hurting anyone.
Students learn how to throw a punch without hurting anyone. They practice it again and again.

“Most of the students here have never heard of physical theater or stage combat, so when we begin, I focus on educating them about possibilities,” LeBank said. “It’s so interesting when they learn, because the students have a deepened personal sense of what it means to make physical theater.

“Once they’re educated in those structures or concepts, it’s joyful to share the secrets and tools with them about how you create this kind of performance because it speaks to young artists in a visceral way. It’s natural for them to imagine and create dynamic images and it allows them to use their energy, strength and eagerness to participate in a way that is really fruitful.”

Ezra LeBank, head of Movement in Theater Arts, shows how he teaches students to tell stories through actions.

Movement, whether it’s in the movies, television or live on stage comes down to understanding a few basic principles, according to LeBank. The first, he said, is understanding how to improvise and teaching actors how to be safe in the unknown. Then, there’s the whole falling thing.

“Or what I like to call ‘moving floorward’ so that students aren’t afraid of hurting themselves,” he said.

Theater students also are taught basic acrobatic skills, so they understand how to create images out of their bodies both alone and in an ensemble. They tell stories through building dynamic shapes that suggest characters, landscapes, and objects. This work fuses classical mime and clown techniques with acrobatics and biomechanics.

Theater students practice moves
Theater students learn how to kick, punch and fall down in stage combat classes.

“There’s a kind of ethos here where students arrive and they’re hungry and ready to work and they’re so excited to learn and create,” LeBank said. “There is a sense of eagerness and openness, and there’s zero entitlement. So, you have a group of people where everyone’s ready to do whatever they can to help, and it breeds a real sense of ensemble and community.”

LeBank’s interest in movement was inspired by a range of creative movers – from Charlie Chaplin’s slapstick routines and Buster Keaton’s stunts, to Pilobolus Dance Theatre and Cirque du Soleil.

“The work they did is still some of the best that’s ever been done,” LeBank said “They’re so specific and virtuosic and political and engaged. Bringing the brilliance from the silent film era into conversation with spectacle and ensemble acrobatics, students invent their own vocabularies and aesthetics to create a style of physical theatre that is entirely their own.”

LeBank’s latest production, “Alice’s Wonderland” begins Sept. 21.

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Geologist gem

Ritu Ghose, who graduated with a master’s in earth and environmental sciences, studies geology to help boost the economy of Bangladesh. (Photo by Erin Pence)

Ritu Ghose sees rocks differently than most people.

“Different types of rocks have different histories,” she said. “By studying a rock sequence you can discover interesting things such as whether it was deposited in an ocean or land environment or what type of organisms were present during that time of deposition.”

Studying geology also allows her to determine the direction of the wind when the rock was deposited, based upon the texture and details of the rock, she said.

For Ghose, who graduated in April with a master’s in earth and environmental sciences from Wright State, studying geology provides an opportunity to better the economy of Bangladesh through the use of fossil fuels.

Born and raised in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Ghose received her undergraduate degree in geology from the University of Dhaka. She wanted to earn her graduate degree from the United States.

Wright State was a natural fit since the university could provide Ghose opportunities to conduct research in her field. In the summer of 2015, she was offered a fellowship and later a graduate teaching assistant position in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in Wright State’s College of Science and Mathematics. She studies reservoir geology with a focus on hydrogeological and petroleum geology.

Ghose has a vision of earning her doctorate degree and becoming a petroleum geologist working in gas discovery and production in her home country.

“Bangladesh is a developing country, and the energy sources are something that can boost the economy of the country,” she said. “I’d like to join the exploration team in my country and work to identify gas deposits.”

She participated in a reservoir study to analyze how the variance in sedimentary attributes controls the petrophsyical properties that control carbon dioxide movement and trapping in a reservoir rock. A reservoir rock stores gas, oil or other fluids in its subsurface.

Ghose researched the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide by working with the Center for Geologic Storage of CO2, for her thesis. Wright State partners with Illinois State Geological Survey, University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne and other universities and companies throughout the country, on the project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

“From my point of view, we’re still relying on fossil fuels until the point comes when we can completely rely on solar energy or other environmentally friendly sources,” she said. “Until then, we need to continue our exploration and production for the fossil fuels.”

While Ghose came with the knowledge of her field, transitioning into a new culture provided a challenge.

She noted that American students may put their feet up on the back of chairs, something that is disrespectful in her culture. Students may also send texts or eat in class with little staff intervention, unlike her experience in Bangladesh.

She added that many students in Bangladesh memorize material instead of applying what they’ve learned to their projects since they are often taught much information and have difficult exam admissions.

Her experience with higher education at Wright State has been a positive one, observing how school is designed to be student-friendly.

“Americans smile a lot,” she said. “You don’t know a person and they’ll pass you and smile at you, and I like that a lot. That’s very friendly and welcoming.”

Ghose also does classical Indian dancing and has performed for many events, including the Wright State International Festival. She is also the event coordinator for the Bangladesh Student Association at Wright State.

Outside of school, she is passionate about painting and has won national awards from Bangladesh and international awards. She taught painting at Bangladesh’s Children’s Art School for five years.

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Why are you reading this? Go Read the Novel!

By WriterHubris, member

Mar 12, 2017: I actually dropped this novel when I first started it. It wasn’t the novel’s fault, something else that I was reading at the time had done a huge release of like ten chapters and I got pulled into it. I almost completely forgot about this novel even before I really gave it a chance . . . Gotta admit, I goofed when I did that.

This novel is a great piece that manages to buck a lot of cliches and tropes that are normal for stories like these. On top of that, the main character is interesting enough that being in his head doesn’t get boring. Rather it makes his reactions to the world around him all that more interesting thanks to his viewpoint on them.

Many other authors tend to make gary sue characters for these stories, and rarely does it create a character so apathetic toward what’s happening without it becoming a dark and dreary story of teen angst. But while this story SHOULD be going that way, it doesn’t. I’m actually expecting for some goth teenager to show up using a razor blade to play violin using his arms, but nope, never happens.

That’s actually good too, considering it has great portions in it that are actually funny, and would lose that dark comedy aspect if it got too serious of it’s own self.

I give this story a 5/5, and hope the author enjoys writing it as much as I and hopefully many others enjoy reading it.

3 of 3 members found this review helpful.
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cyclos clusterPreviously, we shared How to Install Cyclos 4 in One-Click in Less than 10 Minutes. In this tutorial we will show you a more complex setup of a Cyclos cluster with master-slave database replication, scalability and high availability ensuring redundancy.

Using Jelastic you can run Cyclos on Tomcat, Jetty and Glassfish. The database for Cyclos 4 is the open source database PostgreSQL (not less than 9.3). The minimal memory space requirements to run a single Cyclos instance is 500 Mb (so you need to use at least 4 cloudlets).

jelastic cyclos
High availability prevents failed transactions and other issues that can affect your users. Extending the application across a number of the servers provides redundancy. This redundancy ensures that if one of the servers fails, the users from that node will be automatically switched to the other instance of this Tomcat cluster. Thanks to the replication, the other instance already has all the sessions of the failed node, so the end-users experience is not impacted.

In addition, the PostgreSQL database master-slave replication improves the performance and the fail-over capabilities of your environment.

Follow this tutorial on how to install and deploy Cyclos in Jelastic with PostgreSQL 9.5.2 and Tomcat 7.0.67.

Database Replication

Once the Cyclos application is deployed, you can move on to database settings. We will configure PostgreSQL master-slave replication in to protect your application from data loss or down time.

PostgreSQL in your environment with Cyclos deployed will be used as master database. For the slave database you need to create a separate environment.

Within the Jelastic dashboard create an environment with a PostgreSQL node which is going to be used as a slave database. Name your environment (e.g. slave-database) and click Create.

slave database

Find the environment with the master database in your environment list (with deployed Cyclos in our case). Click the Config button next to the PostgreSQL node.

Open the conf > postgresql.conf file. Uncomment and change the following settings to enable streaming replication:

wal_level = hot_standby

wal level
max_wal_senders = 3

max wal senders
archive_mode = on

archive mode
archive_command = ‘cp %p /tmp/%f’

archive command

Open the pg_hba.conf configuration file, which is located in the same conf folder.

Permit the standby database cluster connection by stating the following parameters:

host replication all {standby_ip_address}/32 trust

Add an additional line after you add these settings.

host replication standby ip

Tip: To get the IP address of any server, click the Info button next to it and copy the address in the opened frame:

standby ip

Next, access your environment with the master DB via SSH and enter the PostgreSQL container it contains.

If you haven’t done this before, you need to:

generate an SSH keypair
add your public SSH key to the dashboard
access your account via SSH protocol

Once you’ve entered the container, you need to stop it, delete the old WAL log file, and create a new empty one:

sudo service postgresql stop
/usr/pgsql-9.3/bin/pg_resetxlog -f /var/lib/pgsql/data/

Finally, start the container with the following command:

sudo service postgresql start

config master via ssh

Slave Database Configurations

Access the environment with standby database (named slave-database in our case) via SSH in the same way you did it for the master one:

config slave database

Just after you’ve entered the DB container you need to stop it and remove the old database with the following commands:

sudo service postgresql stop
rm -rf /var/lib/pgsql/data/*

Then copy a new database from the master server:

pg_basebackup -U webadmin -R -D /var/lib/pgsql/data/ –host={master_IP_address} –port=5432

Note: Substitute the {master_IP_address} value with the IP address of your master PostgreSQL server, located in the environment with Cyclos app deployed.

master ip

To complete the configuration of the standby PostgreSQL database, switch back to your Jelastic dashboard and click Config icon next to it.

In the conf folder locate the postgresql.conf file, uncomment the hot_standby = off parameter in the Standby Servers section, and change its value to on.

hot standby on

Save the changes.

Switch to your SSH console and run the container with the slave DB:

sudo service postgresql start

sudo service postgresql start

After both of your databases are configured, login to the admin panel of the master database (the one in the cyclos environment) and create a new database:

  • enter the DB name (e.g. cyclos4)
  • choose template0 and UTF8 encoding from the drop-down lists
  • click Create

This will result in a newly created database which will be replicated to the slave base.

Note: Because we have copied all data and configurations from the master PG server to the slave PG server, credentials for admin access to the slave database became the same as the master.

Navigate to the PostgreSQL Replication document to get more info on how to check if the database is replicated to the standby database.

Configure Cyclos

Final configurations of the Cyclos application need to be made to complete full clustering settings by switching on High Availability.

Within the Jelastic dashboard, click the Config button for Tomcat.

config tomcat

Navigate to webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes folder and create file.

Copy the content of file in class folder and paste it to the newly created file.

In the opened file, specify your master PostgreSQL data:

  • in cyclos.datasource.jdbcUrl parameter state the host together with the name of database created while DB configuration:

  • database credentials you’ve received via email

Save the applied changes and Restart Tomcat.

Next we need to configure the cluster. Select the Change environment topology button next to your Cyclos environment.

cyclos topology

In the opened window, enable High Availability. Select the amount of resources for the automatically added NGINX-balancer node (it will handle and distribute all the requests in front of your cluster).

high availability

Click Open in browser and get started with Cyclos.

Note: That applying these changes to your environment takes several minutes and opening Cyclos for the first time can take just as long.

After opening Cyclos there are several configuration steps or you can simply use the credentials from your initial installation.

Cyclos license server authentication

cyclos4 system administrator settings

That’s how to get your own highly-reliable Cyclos cluster in the cloud, ensuring that no server is a single point of failure and that one server failure doesn’t overload the rest of the servers.

in Jelastic

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The Simple Math of Weight Loss

the simple math of weight loss

There is a simple math of weight loss that you can use to see guaranteed results.

You may not realize it but there is a simple math of weight loss. Though you may be trying like crazy to lose weight, it all boils down to a numbers game. If you have the right calculations and are in tune with the right numbers to aim for, then losing weight can be much easier than you think. Sure there are certainly more real life factors at play in your ability to lose weight, and that’s something to keep in mind. You need a lifestyle that supports long term weight loss and a shift in mindset to ensure that you stick with the right factors. However if you look at the simple math of weight loss, it can really help to keep you focused and heading in the right direction.

Let’s start with one of the most basic and fundamental equations within weight loss, dieting, and health in general. This one can really help to shed some light onto what you do in the here and now can affect you well into the long term.

1 Pound of Fat = 3500 Calories

So think about that for a moment because the numbers really matter. What this should tell you on a short term basis is that a simple cheat here and there won’t hurt you in the long run. However if you keep up with bad habits, then that can really tend to accumulate and therefore the big picture does matter. So this is how many calories it takes to make up one pound of fat. That also means on the other side that in order to burn fat from the body you have to really work towards a calorie deficit, but

Read More The Simple Math of Weight Loss

How to Balance Healthy Nutrients to Promote Weight Loss

Nutrients to Promote Weight Loss

Promote weight loss by eating the right nutrients and avoiding certain foods.

Today we are getting smarter about our routines to promote weight loss. We know that diet can be a dirty little word–that if not done well–can cause more harm than good and make us gain even more weight. But, if we learn to eat right, we will never feel deprived again. What’s more, we will banish the weight and the cravings that cause it by working with our bodies instead of against it. Here we will explain how to balance the correct nutrients to promote weight loss and keep it off.

How our body reads hunger and how it reacts to it

When people go on what we like to call crash-diets–they send a definite message to the body. First, they think it’s great because they dump weight in time for that special event coming up in two weeks. This is due to emergency fat burn that your brain asks the body to perform for energy. But then, something interesting happens–you begin to put back tremendous weight after eating–a cracker! Why? This is because you brain is telling your body that it is starving and it needs to store every last calorie you eat in order to give you the energy you need to live–not to run around and do whatever–we mean to keep you breathing and you heart beating!

How to balance the right nutrients to promote weight loss and keep it off

In order to lose weight and keep it off you can’t shock your metabolism into doing it. The aforementioned will be the result and an endless Yoyo effect will ensue leading to health issues for sure. Eating nutritionally viable foods every 3 hours is the way to communicate to your brain that you

Read More How to Balance Healthy Nutrients to Promote Weight Loss

Weight Loss Calorie Counter Apps for Your Phone

weight loss calorie counter apps

Weight loss doesn’t have to be complicated with the help of weight loss calorie counter apps for your phone.

You might not realize it but using weight loss calorie counter apps on your phone can be of great help to you. Not only can this help with weight loss, but it can also give you a greater awareness of what you are eating in a day. You learn to be accountable for every single food that you eat and are therefore very aware of what you’re doing right and wrong. By using your phone, you can find some great apps and sites out there to make your calorie counting work much easier.

There are so many great apps and sites out there, that it can be difficult to find which one will work best for your specific needs. Some of the weight loss calories counter apps out there will help you keep track of all of your calories and also track your workouts. An app such as My Fitness Pal is great because it’s comprehensive in this manner and also very easy to use. Using calorie counter apps on your phone ensures that there is never an excuse to forget to log what you ate or the type of activity that you did.

Some Great Calorie Counting Options Out There offers a great calorie counter for your phone through an app. This is also a great website to check in on proper nutrition, health and dieting tips. It’s reputable, so you can be sure that you are using calorie counter apps on your phone that are accurate and therefore helpful. With this particular app you even get a nice snapshot of what your calorie make up looks like throughout each day.

Calorie Counter Pro or Tap & Track

Read More Weight Loss Calorie Counter Apps for Your Phone

Pre-Christmas Weight Loss Goals

With Christmas looming on the horizon, many people think that this would be a terrible time of year to start a diet. However, starting a diet now and setting pre-christmas weight loss goals is one of the best things you can do if you want to keep the extra weight off during Christmas.

Read More Pre-Christmas Weight Loss Goals

Lifting Yourself from a Weight Loss Funk

Lifting From Weight Loss Funk

No matter how committed you are to your weight loss program, everyone hits a low point at some time. Instead of letting it get you down, try boosting your motivation by recognizing your achievements, changing things up, and rewarding yourself. Using these techniques can help lift yourself out of a weight loss funk in no time and continue on your way to a healthier and thinner you.

Read More Lifting Yourself from a Weight Loss Funk

5 Simple Tips for Easy Weight Loss

By following these 5 Simple Tips for Easy Weight Loss you should start to see a drop in your weight in a few days. Although these tips aren’t the answer for long-term weight loss or weight maintenance, they will show you how making just a few small changes in your daily diet can help you start losing weight.

Read More 5 Simple Tips for Easy Weight Loss

Big Fat Excuses

Making “Big Fat Excuses” is something that all of us who have wanted to lose weight have made at some point. In fact, over the almost 20 years that I have been either overweight or obese I have probably made a hundred different excuses for why I couldn’t start a diet, or stick to a diet, or get more exercise, or stop eating junk food, and so on. What I hope everyone who reads this post will do today is take a moment to reflect on what excuses they may have been making that are preventing them from reaching their weight loss goals.

Read More Big Fat Excuses

Weight Loss Blogging: The Best Dieting Tips I’ve Learned

Now that I’m calming down from my excitement from this morning’s weigh in I can begin to reflect on what I have learned over the past year of blogging. As I’m searching through my old posts and reading through some of my favorites, I feel that today would be perfect for pointing out the best dieting tips I’ve learned over the past year.

Read More Weight Loss Blogging: The Best Dieting Tips I’ve Learned

Weight Loss Done Cheap

Although you may want to join that weight loss program that has you spending hundreds of dollars on their products and “support”, or you may want to join the local fitness center with the monthly fees, these things are not critical to your weight loss success.Weight loss done cheap is as effective and successful as weight loss that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. If losing weight is something you really want to do, don’t let money stand in your way.

Read More Weight Loss Done Cheap

Weight Loss and Clothing

Buying a couple new items of clothing when you reach one of your weight loss goals can be a rewarding experience. You may have spent your life celebrating your successes with food, but that is probably one reason why you are dieting in the first place. You can instead find other ways to celebrate reaching your weight loss goals and one of those ways may be to go out and get yourself a new outfit in your new size.

Read More Weight Loss and Clothing


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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Reading Daniel

One of my favorite times of the day has become reading the Bible with my kids each morning. Let me tell you...when I don't do it, my day stinks! And, it really is up to me. I can't rely on my kids to motivate me to sit at the kitchen table and pull out the Bible. If it were up to them, they would continue to putz around in the morning. But, I am banking my children's lives on one verse of scripture: Isaiah 55:11 "...so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

God's Word will accomplish a work. Period. God's Word has power and is effective.

My job, as Momma, is to pour that Word into my children's lives. Daily. And then trust that His Word will do a work. It's not about me...it's about Him.

It took us only four months to get through Matthew - ha! Those four months of reading and conversations were amazing, though. The kids got to know Jesus. To actually read his words and not simply be told a story in Sunday School was a new experience. They get bits and pieces of Jesus' teachings at church, but they had never been given the whole picture; birth to death to life again, sprinkled with thought provoking teaching, miraculous wonders, and challenging requests. And the three oldest kiddos soaked it all in.

My question for weeks was where do we turn next? Harry wanted to study Revelation (that is so like Harry!), Eleanor requested an Old Testament book that was more of a story (that is so like Eleanor!), and Isabel just sat and played with her hair (that is so like Isabel!). I didn't make a decision for a few weeks - I simply let us finish Matthew. Then, in a clear voice I heard DANIEL. Perfect! There is an amazing story for Eleanor, deep and confusing prophesy of end-times for Harry, and for Isabel...well...it is time spent together.

So, on Monday we started Daniel. I am always amazed at the questions the kids ask as we read. The kids wanted to know why we call Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego those names, when those are NOT their given names, but rather names that Nebuchadnezzar gave them. They wanted to know how old Daniel was and what had given him the courage to not partake in the good food, but rather chose the better path. They commented on how Daniel's first response to being told the king's dream was to praise God...not to run to the king crying, "I've got it!". And then they laughed at how short the king's memory was (falling down praising God and then the next moment building a golden statue of himself that all must bow down to!). This is good stuff!

The home school mom in me pulled out maps of the different empires and we discussed those in reference to the statue of gold, bronze, silver, iron and clay. And we were even able to tie in teaching from Matthew and the kingdom of God, how it is here and it is coming. I often sit back and am amazed at how much these three "get it".

And then, I am reminded, that it is all about God's Word! If I am faithful to my part, pour it into their lives and their hearts, God's Word is going to see to it that something is accomplished. I have no idea what that will be...for now, it is knowledge - historical and Biblical. There are also spiritual gains - I am sure of that! I want my kids to have this knowledge in order to guide them as they face tough decisions as teenagers and young adults. I am learning that the Bible is so rich in so many ways....the kids gain that history knowledge, an understanding of geography and how places in the Bible correlate with places in today's world, and their vocabulary is enriched. But, most importantly, they are learning how to recognize the voice of God. They are hearing His words daily. My prayer is that they recognized God's voice so well that they know when they are hearing a voice that is NOT God's - and turn away from that voice, seeking the one true voice.

All three older kids have come to me in the last two weeks saying the same thing: I have decided to follow Jesus, but I don't feel any different. Do I have to ask him again? Did I do something wrong?

I am sad that our children feel like asking Jesus into their hearts should bring a rush of emotions, should result in a drastically new life...when in reality, they wake up in the same bed in the morning, are faced with the same annoying little brothers making too much noise, and go off to school to do the same thing over and over again. I think the Christian world has sold us a bill of goods - instead, I should be telling my kids that deciding to follow Christ will be challenging, difficult and hard at times. There WILL be those mountain top experiences where you feel your heart leaping out of your chest, but we can't live there. God is in the whisper, the slightest breeze, the mundane of our lives. That is where we learn how to follow Him.

All I can do right now is model and teach my children the importance of being in The Word each day. The Word will teach them how to follow. And I know, without a doubt, that God has great plans for these kids!

Heather said...

Traci- thanks for sharing this. I have been wanting to just sit with my kids in the morning to read from the bible or pray, but just haven't gotten myself together enough- thanks for the inspiration and example!

milreb said...

What a great foundation you are giving your kids that will serve them no matter the directions their lives take. It sounds like you are all being blessed by your investment!

Brooke said...

Love the 2nd to last paragraph! So true, and so great that you are teaching your kids that now! They will be wise beyond their years!


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Dexter Town Hall Meeting Topic Centers on City Offices, Fire Station, Sheriff’s Substation

Dexter municipal officials, both village and city, have been wrestling with the question of how to revamp government facilities including the village/city offices, the fire department and the sheriff’s substation since at least the beginning of President Barack Obama’s first term, if not the end of George W. Bush’s last term.

Initially the push for new city offices focused on the space where core village officials like the village manager, finance director, and community development manager conducted their day-to-day business. Later the discussion broadened the scope of facilities concerns beyond the Dexter municipal offices to the Dexter Area Fire Department’s downtown facility on Main Street, as well as the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office substation in a building that adjoins the DAFD’s location.

Dexter residents will have an opportunity to add their voice, or additional words for those who have already spoken at public meetings and town halls on this topic, of which there have been many.

The town hall is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“The Village/City Facility Committee has been meeting for 8 months to analyze the deficiencies in the Fire Station, Sheriff’s Sub-Station and Village/City Offices,” City Officials said on their website. “The Committee has been working with an architect to create conceptual drawings of possible facility improvements. The information is now ready to be presented for public comment. Every resident & business owner is encouraged to attend and provide feedback on this important decision for our community.”

Those who would like more information can go here.

See the January 27 Regular City Council meeting agenda for more details starting on page 61 of the embedded document below.

[embeddoc url=”” viewer=”google”]

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Football Invitations

Blake's 10th birthday is coming up and this year he chose a football theme. How surprising. I was kind of hoping he'd find a printable on Etsy that he liked, but no, he wanted me to make them myself. So I got busy paper piecing 30 invitations.

Somehow I forgot to take any pictures before this step, but basically I just did a Google search for a football coloring page. Once I found one that would work, I resized it in Paint and printed it out. I used the whole football as a pattern to cut the balls out of brown cardstock. Then I cut off one white strip at a time and did the same.

I used the leftover piece above as a guide for gluing the white strips down.

And then I went back and trimmed off the excess.

I used a white paint pen to draw on the stitches. Much easier than cutting all those little pieces!

I typed up the wording in Microsoft Works, printed it out and glued them to the back of the footballs. My edges aren't perfect, but that's what happens when you do everything by hand. I need a craft cutter!

He likes them, so I'm happy. More party posts coming soon!

Linked to:
Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Watcha Got Weekend at Lollyjane Boutique, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, College Football Saturday Tailgate Party at Mom Endeavors, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

Sara @ Mom Endeavors said...

Super cute! How fun is a football birthday for a little guy?! The invitations turned out great! They'd be adorable for a football-watch party too!
I'd love to have you link them up at the football-themed link party I'm running this fall! :)

gail said...

Of course he wanted you to make 'em! The invitations turned out so cute!
love them!

Tracy Suzanne said...

I love them. You can make anything!

Diana - FreeStyleMama said...

Another great one for Thematic Thursday.

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Friday, September 14, 2012

Le Rêve

You told me that I had watched too many movies, and that it would never be real. You said I was living in a fantasy. Now I know that it is possible, and that make believe can exist...

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France is a country, part of which is located in Western Europe, with several overseas territories on other continents. France is bordered with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra and Spain. France is a founding member of the United Nations. The currency is the euro;

France is a democratic state. Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,808 m above sea-level Lowest point: Rhone delta 2 m p.p.m. Official language: French. Spring is the best time to visit Paris, you must be prepared for rain. In the autumn wounds tend to be rather cold and uncomfortable.

In 2006, France was the world's first tourist destination. France has a significant aerospace industry, led by the European consortium Airbus. France has the second longest navigable system in Europe. The main routes are navigable river Seine, Rhône, Garonne, Loire and Rhine. Air transport is relatively well-developed branch of economy in France. The major French airline is Air France. In the Toulouse Airbus factory find myself. In many cities such as Paris, Nice, Lille and Grenoble, highly developed network of trams. In many cities it has recently, by the fact that the lines were dismantled and restored, because they are cheaper to maintain than metro.We France enjoys great popularity of football. Often grown as sport is rugby and cycling. Well-developed traditions of equestrian. Famous French philosophers include Descartes, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Charles de Montesquieu, Henri Bergson. Paris is the capital of France. It is one of the most popular cities in the world, annually visited by crowds of tourists. Paris is a city of numerous museums, galleries and historic architecture. No other city in Europe is not so much connected with the river, such as Paris. The Seine is the primary point of reference. While in Paris, visit places such as Notre-Dame Cathedral - erected on the site of a Roman temple in the XXII century. Its construction lasted almost 200 years. Today is a landmark not only in Paris but throughout France. Arc de Triomphe - with a height of 50 meters, decorated with numerous carvings and dates for France, winning the battles and the names of the great military commanders of the Napoleonic era. Eiffel Tower - built in the late nineteenth century to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution reached a height of 319 meters. Terrace at an altitude of 274 m can accommodate 400 people.


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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Then Sings My Soul

Then Sings My Soul

I love singing hymns and songs of praise to my Lord, and this was a great read for that! Then Sings My Soul is a book written containing many of the hymns we sing today. It not only has the hymn on one side of the page, but it also has the story behind the hymn and translations as applicable. I have found that I appreciate many of the songs that I sing everyday a bit more after reading this.

This is also a great book to incorporate into your devotional time. I have found that it has helped me to lavish and reflect on God’s love for me as a sinner and as His child. I look forward to sharing this book with my family and friends. I also look forward to continuing to use this book in my spiritual walk.

It is amazing to think of what went into not only writing the songs but also putting them to music so that they could be used for worship. The Lord is good and we should sing and praise His name!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Then Sings My Soul through Book Sneeze. I received no compensation for my thought.

  1. That sounds like such a good book -- I'd love to know the stories behind each hymn. You are so fast with your book reviews . . . Between booksneeze and the library, we will never have to buy books again! :)


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Monday, February 13, 2012

California Stars

The alarm woke me up one morning with this song. How random. I had never heard it before, and I immediately fell in love with it. I researched it later that day and fell in love with more. How incredible that these are Woody Guthrie lyrics penned sometime before his death and put into song many years later by Billy Bragg and Wilco. I have so much awe and respect for Guthrie as one of the best and most influential songwriters of the century. His lyrics are powerful and meaningful. And the recent artists did a fabulous job capturing the feel of the song as they added the music.

Not to mention, I have a thing for California. I was born there, after all. So this song is really quite perfect for me. And Cody surprised me with a copy of the song as a gift after I had only mentioned it once...he knew I'd enjoy it, and he was right.

1 comment:

Elaine said...

Yes - love that song! I haven't heard it in a couple of years but Wilco and BB cover it beautifully.


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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Hmmm…what to do with a Kershaw pumpkin? - Part III - Kershaw Pumpkin Pie!!

Okay…back again with the final installment of the Kershaw Pumpkin saga!  If you’re coming in late, you can catch up by reading my previous posts (linked below):

Since last Sunday was “covered dish” Sunday at church, I decided some Pumpkin Pies would be yummy (they’re NOT just for Thanksgiving ya know!), so I set aside some of my pureed pumpkin before freezing the rest of it.

I had a couple of frozen pie shells on hand (from a sale at the grocery store), so I grabbed those and decided to save some time.  HA!  BIG mistake!!  They were not deep dish pie shells, and apparently my recipe made a bit too much filling for my two small 9” pie shells.  Oops!

Since the shells were too full, a good bit of overflow spilled onto the crusts as they were going into the oven (darn that oven shelf for sticking when I tried to push it in!).  This caused the spillover filling on the crusts to cook WAY too quickly, and get far more “browned” than I had planned.  Besides that, with my tiny pie shells, the pies were much too thin, and looked TERRIBLE (which is why there are no pictures with this post!), but I decided to take them anyway.

(I sampled a small piece of one of them and it was DELICIOUS - despite the way it looked, and it was headed for CHURCH after all.  Those folks love me and wouldn’t judge me for a pitiful pie crust would they?)

No worries…despite their imperfections, my pies brought several compliments…they were that good!  (I’m sure those good-hearted church folks wouldn’t lie.)

The recipe really is good folks, just don't overfill your pie shell(s) and avoid spilling it on the way to the oven!  If you don’t have the fresh pumpkin puree, a can of store-bought solid pack pumpkin will work fine.

I got my base recipe from Suzanne McMinn’s blog:  (, then I adapted it as always to come up with my own version.  (By the way, you should really check out Suzanne’s blog, it’s got some GREAT recipes, and her pie is MUCH better looking than mine was!)

Faithy’s Kershaw Pumpkin Pie

2 cups prepared Kershaw pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin - if you have to)
2/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup HEB Real Eggs (or 3 regular eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 large deep dish pie shell (at least 10” size - 9” is definitely too small, and homemade is best)

Whisk together your pumpkin puree, brown sugar, salt and spices in a medium-size mixing bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix again.  Gently whisk in the evaporated milk, and pour into your pie shell.

 Bake on the lowest oven rack at 375° for 60 to 75 minutes (or until a thin knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean).

(Your whole house will smell fabulous while this is cooking!)

Chill thoroughly before serving with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

See what happens when I get behind in my blogging?  I go nuts catching up!  Hope I haven’t bored you to tears today.

Have a wonderful week folks, and keep your eyes open for God’s blessings.  They’re all around us ALL THE TIME!!

Hmmm…what to do with a Kershaw pumpkin? - Part II - Pumpkin Seeds

HOWDY friends!  Hopefully you’ve already read Part I, so you know what we’re talking about here.  If not, check it out and then come back!

Once I had the pumpkins roasting in the oven, I separated out all the seeds from the stringy pulp I had removed (amazing how many there are in one small pumpkin…and how well they like to hide in all that stuff!), rinsed and dried them.  Then I tossed them with a tiny amount of olive oil and tossed them into a skillet to roast over medium heat.

I cooked them just until they started to brown, then sprinkled them with sugar and seasoned salt.  I can’t really say how much of either one, just until it looks right (as my Mom always says).  Stir them well as the sugar mixture melts and caramelizes.  Once they are really hot and the sugar is well browned, remove them from the heat and let them cool completely.  Then break them apart and enjoy!

I often do this with almonds.  They’re really good to snack on and DELICIOUS tossed into salads.

I took a small bowl of these to my church potluck (mentioned in my Fig Cake blog) last weekend (as a snack), and a sweet, unknowing soul thought they came with a salad that the preacher’s wife made, so she tossed them in there.  When she found out they weren’t intended for the salad, she was so embarrassed.  It was a hit though!  I think the 3 of us were the only ones that knew it had been a mistake.  Everyone else just thought it was yummy!  LOL!

(If you want plain salted pumpkin seeds, they are really easy to do in the oven…just toss them lightly with olive oil, spread them on a jelly-roll pan and sprinkle them lightly with salt.  Then roast them - at 350-375°F - until lightly browned.  Cool and eat!)

If you like to garden, you’ll definitely want to save some of the seeds (resist the temptation to eat them all!) to plant in the fall.  Just air dry them and store them in an envelope in your freezer.

Come back and join me soon for Part III - Kershaw Pumpkin Pie!!

Hmmm…what to do with a Kershaw pumpkin? - Part I - Pumpkin Puree

When I was growing up, both my father and grandfather did a lot of gardening.  One of the things they grew was something my Dad referred to as a pumpkin, and my Mom referred to as a Kershaw.  This is what they look like (although the ones my Dad grew were usually MUCH bigger than this)
My brother decided to plant a garden this year, and he thought it would be fun to plant some, for old-times sake.  Once we had them, we had to figure out what to do with them!  LOL!
I remember my Dad making a really delicious soup with them, but of course I don’t have his recipe.  I really don’t remember much else, except that we always grew a lot of them.  Since Dad always called them “pumpkins” (the only kind we ever grew)…I figured any recipe for pumpkins would probably work.
A little internet research informed me that all pumpkins are actually squash in disguise.  There doesn’t really seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why some are referred to as pumpkins and some as winter squash.  (These particular ones are apparently more commonly known as “Cushaws”, but not at our house!)  I’ve always been a squash fan…no wonder I’ve always liked pumpkins too!  Hee, hee…
I used to make a yummy pumpkin soup by taking a mini orange pumpkin, cutting a “lid” out of the top, scooping out the “guts” and seeds, then putting the “lid back on and roasting it.  Later I’d scoop out the cooked pumpkin flesh and put it a blender with heavy cream and spices.  YUM!
I figured something similar would work with these, so…
I cut the “pumpkins” in half lengthwise, scooped out the “guts” and seeds (taking care to save the seeds for later…I’ll discuss those in Part. 2), and placed them cut side down on a jelly roll pan.  I baked them in a 350°F oven for about 1-1/2 hours or until soft enough that they could be pierced easily with a fork.  (They kinda collapse a bit as they soften, so don’t worry if that happens…they’re supposed to!)
Once they are fully cooked and soft, scoop all the flesh out of the skins, and puree it in your food processor or blender.  (You can also use a hand masher if you want.)  You’re looking for a finished product about the consistency of mashed potatoes.
From this point you can use the puree the exact same way (and in the same amounts) you would use canned solid-pack pumpkin, but it tastes so much better you may never want go back to the can!    I'm told you can refrigerate the puree for up to a week before using or store in the freezer for several months.  (I divided mine up into 1/3 cup portions and froze them in a muffin pan, then once they were frozen transferred them to zipper freezer bags.)
My husband gave me a hard time because I kept “snitching” from the puree before I made the pies!  (This stuff is naturally sweeter than those orange pumpkins, and trust me, it’s REALLY hard to resist!)
Okay…I’ll close out this post, and continue the saga of the Kershaws in another post.  Catch me again for Part II!
Back in a bit…

UPDATE:  For more good information on these "pumpkins", check out this post by Adam J. Holland over at The Unorthodox Epicure: Confessions of an Aspiring Food Snob, and spend some time looking around while you're there.  Lots of great recipes and fun info.  Be sure to tell him Faithy sent you!

This morning I tried a recipe for sweet potato pancakes (out of a cookbook I will not name), and I stayed pretty true to the recipe with the exception of my usual substitutions HEB Real Eggs for the eggs, 1/2 the salt, sodium free baking soda instead of regular and 1/3 wheat flour for the flour.  I also substituted canned pumpkin for the mashed sweet potatoes - because that sounded reasonable and I didn't have any sweet potatoes on hand.

The batter was REALLY thick, but I tried it anyway...cooked 4 pancakes for 20 minutes and they were still raw in the middle!  So...I started trying various ways to "help" the recipe....

I started by adding additional milk.  Nope...didn't work.  Same problem.

Then I added some whipping cream.  Nope...didn't work.  Same problem.  I thought maybe a little more canola oil.  Nope...didn't work.  Same problem.

The batter tastes really good (HEB Real Eggs are pasteurized, so I figured they're safe to sample - not so with actual eggs), but the pancakes just NEVER get done in the middle.

I've NEVER seen anything like it.  (And I've made LOTS of pancakes - even pumpkin pancakes - over the years!)

So...I guess we'll just chalk this one up to a major breakfast FAIL, and move on to dry cereal for breakfast!  LOL!

If you have any recommendations or suggestions on what on earth went wrong, please let me know.

Have a blessed Lord's day...

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Taste and see...

Taste and see that the Lord is good. -- Psalm 34:8

Happy Saturday my friends!  Sorry I’ve been AWOL lately…life has been busy, busy, busy!  Last weekend, I did quite a bit of cooking, but didn’t have time to tell you about it.  I’ll try to catch up a bit this weekend.

A potluck luncheon (or “covered dish” as we like to call it here in South Texas) at church last Sunday prompted me to search out some new recipes to try.  Thankfully, most of them were pretty successful.

First, I did a Fig Cake, which gave me an opportunity to use up some of last year’s fig preserves.  It turned out delicious!!!  If you have any extra fig preserves laying around, you really should try it.

I got the recipe from the “Bountiful Blessings Cookbook” - © 1998 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Apparently it was also previously released under the title, “Homegrown Heaven Bound Cookbook.”  This is a fun book of “favorite old-fashioned, down-home, family-tested recipes” submitted by members of a large Christian book club.  The “Fig Cake” recipe was submitted by Virginia Lear, from London, KY, and may be found on p. 247 if you happen to come across this treasure.

As usual, I’ll give you my version of the recipe…

 Don'tcha want to try a piece?

Faithy’s Fig Treasure Cake

1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour if you don’t have whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cloves (I NEVER use as much cloves as recipes call for, because they have a tendency to be overpowering - the original recipe called for ½ tsp.)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup Smart Sugar (the original recipe called for 1-1/2 cups sugar…you can divide it up however suits you!)
¾ cup HEB Real Egg (or 3 eggs, beaten)
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fig preserves
1 cup chopped pecans (I actually only used about ½ cup because I’m running low)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and cloves.  Set aside.

Cream together sugar and eggs (1 at a time if you’re using regular eggs).  Add oil and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly.

Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternately with buttermilk.  Stir in preserves and pecans.  Mix well.

Pour into a greased (I sprayed mine with cooking spray) Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.

Cool (if you can wait that long to try it!), slice and serve with whipped cream or plain.

The original recipe listed the buttermilk in the ingredients list, but then never mentioned it again.  LOL!  Not to worry, I’ve baked before, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out a good place to add it.

It smelled so good while it was baking that I just couldn’t stand it.  My husband and I had to sample a couple of slices - just to make sure they were good enough to serve at church! J  Also needed to show the inside for the blog picture.

Hee, hee…that’s me, always willing to make a sacrifice for the good of someone else.

I’m thinking this recipe would be good with other types of preserves too…I’m thinking peach preserves off the top of my head.  Mmmm…maybe we’ll try that next time I end up with some fresh peaches to make preserves with!

If you have a chance to experiment with it let me know!!

I'll try to get back online this weekend and post my other potluck experiments.
 Hope your weekend is filled with blessings,

Monday, July 18, 2011

When life gives you lemons...

I’ve always been a fan of fresh homemade lemonade, so I’ve made many versions over the years.  (ANYTHING is better than that powdered stuff!)  I came across this recipe in a magazine a few years ago, and have considered it my favorite ever since!  Sad to say, I can’t remember which magazine, much less which issue, but I do know it was something put out by Reiman Publications (my absolute favorite cooking publisher!).  They publish a variety of cooking magazines and cookbooks.  If you’ve never checked them out you should! (

Faithy’s Favorite Lemonade

5 lemons
5 limes
5 oranges
3 quarts water

Sugar or sugar substitute, to taste (the original recipe called for 1-1/2 to 2 cups, but I generally use much less - I often use amber agave nectar …delish!)

Squeeze the juice from four of the lemons, limes and oranges, and pour into a gallon container.  (I often use store-bought orange juice if I don’t have any oranges in the house.  Just measure the lemon juice and use an equal amount.)  Thinly slice the remaining fruit and set aside for garnish.  Add water and sugar to juices; mix well.  Store in the refrigerator.  Serve on ice with fruit slices:

Yield:  12-16 servings (about 1 gallon)

If you don’t want to make a whole gallon, just use 1 part each of the fruit juices add water and sweetener to taste!  By the glass or by the gallon, it’s guaranteed to refresh your body & spirit!!

Happy Monday!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Another Saturday morning, another new recipe to try….

This morning I decided to try another recipe from the same little treasure book I found my apple-pecan muffin recipe in last week.  As I mentioned then, it’s a little 4” x 6” cookbook called Texas Morning Glory:  Memorable Breakfast Recipes from Lone Star Bed and Breakfast Inns - ©The Great Texas Line Press (no year listed).

On pg. 42, I found this recipe listed as “Lemon Raspberry Muffins” from the Mound Street Bed and Breakfast in Nacogdoches, TX.  Since I’ve got family ties and lots of precious memories associated with Nacogdoches, this one interested me.

(I’m posting my version of the recipe, as usual.  If you want the original let me know and I’ll send it to you.)
Lemon Black Raspberry Muffins
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sodium free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Smart Sugar (you can find a link for Smart Sugar at the bottom of my blog page)
1 cup black raspberries (I found these in the freezer section at H.E.B. and thought they’d be worth a try - but you can use any kind of fresh or frozen raspberries or blackberries)
1/2 cup HEB Real Egg (you can use 2 lightly beaten eggs if you prefer)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I know, I know…but I couldn’t resist!)
1/2 cup skim milk (there…does that make up for it? LOL!)
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat your oven to 425°F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt and Smart Sugar.  Gently fold in the black raspberries.  Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the eggs, whipping cream, milk and lemon extract.  Add to dry ingredients.  Stir gently until just moistened.  If you stir too hard you’ll end up with a purple batter.  J
Spoon batter into greased muffin tins (I always use a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop for the perfect amount of batter and MUCH less mess!) and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.  The original recipe said that it would make 18 muffins, but mine only made 13 regular sized ones.
--The original recipe said that it would make 18 muffins, but for me it only made 13 regular sized ones.
--The recipe also said to bake for 20 to 22 minutes, but mine were just a bit more “golden brown” than I would have liked at 20 minutes.  Next time I’m going to try 18!
--Although still very good, I think the lemon extract caused a bit of a medicinal flavor.  I think I’m going to try lemon juice and a little bit of fresh lemon zest next time.
On a side note, if you’ve never been to the “Oldest Town in Texas”, you should go.  It’s a great place for a weekend trip.  They’ve got LOTS of history (which I love!) and some neat bed and breakfast places, etc.  Not to mention that they’re deep in the beautiful Piney Woods.
Another bit of trivia…did you know that Nacogdoches County is the top blueberry producer in Texas?  Hmmm…guess maybe I should have tried using blueberries.  Sounds like an experiment for another day….

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Raisins...a yummy lesson in patience!

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. -- James 1:2-4 --
Do you ever end up with more grapes than you can eat before they start to lose their fresh appeal?  It seems like that happens to me all the time!
I absolutely cannot stand to waste food if I can help it, so years ago I started making raisins out of all my “past prime” grapes rather than throwing them out.  If you’ve never tried homemade raisins, YOU SHOULD!  They are so yummy, and easy to make.
Just pull all the grapes (any kind of seedless grape will do) off the stems and discard any that may be too far gone (with large brown spots, or mold).  Lay them out on a sheet pan, trying to keep them from touching each other if possible.  (This can be tricky if they are still nice and plump because they just love to roll around on the pan!)  J
(going into the oven!)
Set your oven to its lowest temperature (mine is about 150°F), and pop them in.  Then just leave them there.  (That’s the hardest part!)  I usually do this before going to bed, and just leave them overnight, although I’ve done it during the day as well.  It’s just harder then because I tend to need my oven during the day.
It works best to use grapes of about the same size, that way they cook in about the same time.  If you have small and large ones on the same pan, you may have to remove the smaller ones before the big ones are done.

(almost done!)
Depending on the size of the grapes, they can take quite a while.  (I usually leave my oven light on while they’re in there so I don’t forget about them completely.)  When they start to look like raisins you can taste-test them to see if they’re done.  BE CAREFUL THOUGH…THEY’LL BE VERY HOT!!
It may take you a couple of times to get them the way you like them.  I’ve overcooked a few, and they become char-flavored little rocks.  J  I’ve also learned that they tend to plump back up after a while, which is a sign that they’ve been in too long.
These raisins are larger and have SOOOO much more flavor than the ones you buy at the store!  I sometimes have to chop them up to use them in recipes, but they are absolutely delicious!

(Want some?)
This can be a great “recycling” project for your kids too!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Hey Faithy...what's for breakfast?

I’ve got a terrific new recipe, and I’m so glad you asked!  I tried out another new cookbook yesterday, and the results were so yummy I’m having leftovers for breakfast today!

As my husband can confirm, I have spent many years and countless hours trying a variety of apple muffin recipes to find one I REALLY like.  I’ve made many good ones over the years, but never really found “THE ONE”.  I think I may have actually found it this time.   Mmmmm, these are good!

I found this simple treasure in a little 4” x 6” cookbook called Texas Morning Glory:  Memorable Breakfast Recipes from Lone Star Bed and Breakfast Inns - ©The Great Texas Line Press (no year listed).  It’s on pg. 42, listed as “Apple-Pecan Muffins” from the Wicklow Inn in Corsicana, TX.  Makes me want to go to Corsicana!!

(As usual, I adapted it a bit to make it my own, so I’m posting the adapted version.  If you want the original let me know and I’ll send it to you.)

Faithy’s Favorite Apple-Pecan Muffins

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oat meal
2 teaspoons sodium free baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 Smart Balance buttery stick (1/2 cup), softened (or 1/2 cup butter)
1 cup brown sugar (I would have used Whey Low Gold, but I am out)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup HEB Real Egg (you can use "Egg Beaters" or 2 lightly beaten eggs if you prefer)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add sour cream and eggs (1 at a time if you’re using regular eggs), and blend thoroughly.  Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, just until blended.  DON’T OVERMIX!
Fold in apple and pecans.  (I’m thinking I might try adding a few dried cranberries next time too!)  Pour batter into greased muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.

The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star. -- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin --

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Trying new things can pay off...

-- This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. -- Psalm 118:24 --

I tried making some Banana Zucchini Bread last week.  Got the recipe from The Christian Bed & Breakfast Cookbook - published by Barbour & Company, Inc. - © 1997 - p. 260 (Not By Bread Alone chapter) - submitted by Emil & Barbars Schoch - Sanctuary Ministries in Defiance, OH.

Won't share the recipe today, 'cause I don't have time.  (Message me if you want me to send it to you!)

It was pretty good, but I think I liked the Pumpkin Zucchini Bread better.  However, I did learn something new.  It called for raisins (which I thought sounded icky with banana bread), so I made 1/2 the batter plain and 1/2 the batter with raisins.  The raisin batch was yummy.  WHO KNEW?  J

A good reminder that it's always good to try new things, even if they sound a bit odd.  You never know what you might like if you don't try it!!

If you have a second, please leave a comment and let me know some of the odd things you have tried that turned out better than you thought they would.

Have a GREAT day!!!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!!! (Pumpkin Zucchini Bread)

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
--taken from Bountiful Harvest - published by Taste of Home Books - ©1994, Reiman Publications, L.P. - p. 25 (Squash Chapter)... submitted by Pat Thompson, Spokane, Washington

3 eggs, lightly beaten (I always use HEB’s “Real Egg” egg substitute- similar to Egg Beaters, but nutritionally healthier - AND cheaper - in my opinion - it helps keep my cholesterol down, and I really can’t tell any difference)
2 cups sugar (I used “Smart Sugar” - see
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter or margarine, melted (I always use “Smart Balance” buttery sticks)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (I almost always use ½ all purpose flour and ½ whole wheat flour when I bake)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (I only use sodium free now - you can find it at Whole Foods Market or online)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I always use 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of salt in my baking - with no noticeable difference)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I only used ¼ tsp. - because I don’t like a strong nutmeg flavor)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I also only used ¼ tsp of cloves - they can easily be overpowering)
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (I always use pecans - I am a Texan after all!)

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar.  Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.  Stir in zucchini and nuts.  Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.  Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done.  Cool in pans 10 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack.  Yield:  2 loaves.

While enjoying the extra time at home this holiday morning, I decided to do some baking.  I made mine into muffins and baked them about 25 to 30 minutes.  They were DELICIOUS!!  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

But first and above all, our thanks are due to the Almighty God for the numerous benefits which He has bestowed upon this people and our united prayers ought to ascend to Him.
-- President James Buchanan --

Happy 4th of July my friends...
Today I am especially grateful to live in a country where I have the freedom to worship my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!  May we never forget the values our country was founded upon...and may we always remember the sacrifices of those many men & women who have given so much to allow us to maintain the freedoms we so often take for granted.
God Bless America!!!


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Saturday, October 20, 2007

The meaning of sport

When Danny Blanchflower was working as a football pundit, somebody asked him who was going to win the match.
"I don't know," he said. "That's why they're playing the game."
Banal or the only worthwhile you can ever say about sport?
You play the game to find out who wins the game.
South Africa are a better team than England. Even England believe that.
But that didn't mean that tonight wasn't, in the words of Wellington, "a damned close run thing."
And I still think this was a try.

  1. It was a stonewall try. And the ref missed a glaring obstruction and an obvious accidental offside.

    But you are right the best team won.

  2. Anonymous11:16 pm

    If there's any doubt, you can't give the try. And there was doubt - no-one could be 100% sure that was a try.

  3. Stuart8:00 am

    That's a nailed-on try. There's no doubt there. There's clear green field between his knee and th line and his foot's in the air.

    The TV judge was an Aussie. We beat them in 03, and knocked them out this year. I bet he was smiling as he slid the knife in.

  4. I always remember the late, great Brian Clough being a guest local radio commentator on a Derby County match about a year before he died:
    Usual Commentator: "Well, Brian, what's your take on the match"
    Clough: "What's my 'take'? Please speak to me in a manner I can understand"

    Nothing really to do with your post but it always makes me smile.

  5. I thought it was pretty clear that he dragged his foot along the line before lifting it up in the air as he touched the ball down.... so no try. On the line is out in rugby, right? And the fact it was in the air when he placed the ball is irrelevant if it had been in touch before.

    Not that I think it would have made a material difference to the result.

    We (yes, I am English) had all the possession on the day to enable us to win, and in the final analysis we just weren't quite good enough and we lost to a better team. No shame in that at all, and we can take a lot of pride in how we tried to defend our title after 4 years of total shambles.

    We woz not robbed though. Make no mistake about that. Any whingeing about the ref's decisions in this game will have our southern hemisphere cousins rolling about in the aisles as they think of our lack of sympathy over their demises.

    Well done South Africa. Worthy winners who have conducted themselves with dignity throughout this tournament.

  6. I watched it on a French channel we discovered somewhere down the murky end of my friend's Sky box. What a relief. No Stuart Barnes, no Jim Rosenthal, no adverts at the end while the boks were celebrating, and they actually do say "ooh la la" when things get exciting. Brilliant.

    The one time we switched over some ITV wonk was trying to pretend that "You seem to be able to keep your composure which must be great for you" was actually a question for Jake White. Never let them have anything to do with sport again.

    Oh, and it wasn't a try.

  7. It wasn't a try. I thought it was last night but today - when I'm a bit sober and have seen the photographic evidence without triple vision - the TMO got it spot on. It deserved to be a 7-pointer though...

  8. Not a try. If you look at the photo you can see the mark on the line where his foot dragged onto it before he lifted his foot into the air.

  9. per Brian Clough and very simple answers to very simple questions, a local policitican round these here parts failed to retain his seat in the Irish Government. He was to speak live to the RTE studios where Brian Farrell (our version of Robin Day) asked the simple question 'Sean Doherty, you lost your seat, what on earth happened?'

    with the faintest twinkle in his eye, Doherty looked straight into the camera and said to Brian Farrell, professor of politics at University College Dublin...

    'Not enough people voted for me, Brian...'

  10. I really really wanted it to be a try but I'm afraid it wasn't. Five Live had an interview with Matt Dawson and he recounted that he'd had dinner with some mates and some of the england squad on Saturday night. His mate was going on about it being a try when Paul Sackey interupted him, looked him dead in the eye and said "I wasn't a try, now drop it".

    Sad as it is it seems that it wasn't a try.

  11. Stuart, rightly reproached7:45 am

    Gah. I've now seen the photos you lot are talking about, and yes, it wasn't a try after all.

    Mind you, old Aussie TMO matey said his foot was "25-30 centimetres in touch" in today's papers. Which is total cobblers, and perilously close to protesting too much.

  12. You're missing the caption to this pic on It says:

    "The divot on the white line betrays where Cueto's foot strayed into touch before lifting again"...

    No try.

    As for the ref missing things, what about Lewis Moody's dumb trip? Rolland gave a penalty but was that not a yellow at the very least?


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1 Mar 2010

Elena Gilbert's famous leather jacket

KRMA Clothing
Anyone who watches The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" must have noticed Elena Gilbert's (played by Nina Dobrev) obsession with leather. The gorgeous leather jacket that can be seen worn by her at any given point in time and is definitely one of the biggest fashion trends right now. If that's not enough, the KRMA leather jackets have also been worn by other celebrities such as Pink, Alicia Keys & Audrina Patridge.

I personally think these jackets are super cute. They can be worn on casual outfits to create a rock-star look, or can even be paired with a flashy dress to add a fashion forward feel. Whatever your style, take your pick!

To check out these jackets and to buy one of your own, check out KRMA Clothing online. The jackets retail at around $600 (depending on the style).

1 comment:

Brenda Faircloth said...

Leather is always in fashion specially in winters. Coz we have to wear stylish stuff so we can go with stylish leather jackets.Amazing design and stylish stuff i liked it alot. i have known some of these kinda website in this valentine i gifted my boyfriend Celebrity Fashion Jackets and he loved it.


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2 Jun 2010

Hilary Duff's YSL platform sandals

Hilary's jaw-dropping YSLs
Have you ever seen such a magnificant work of art - I sure haven't! Hilary Duff is pictured above wearing an incredibly stylish outfit, looking perfect from head to toe, but what stands out are her shoes.

Hilary is wearing a pair of Yves Saint Laurent "Hamptons" Platform Sandals, which reflect the signature style of the YSL shoe. What I love about the shoes are the rope detail and the beautiful creamy brown colour of the leather.

The shoes are the perfect choice to glam up any casual outfit, which is exactly what Hilary Duff has done. It's been a while since I wrote this post, and the shoes are no longer available but for a similar style (in black) click here and click here to visit the official site to find out more about YSL and to shop the collection.

Side note: Hilary Duff is wearing a Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM – Timeless tote.

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Friday, August 3, 2012

Let's save $$$$$ Ideas for great , natural cleaning

  This week I have been trying some new cleaners, always liked a scouring product thats soft and creamy, and have found a very cheap replacement, that  I like better. Grab your box of baking soda, I used 1 cup but you can use 1/2 or whatever suits your needs to give it a trial run. Next grab your dish washing liquid, and add to the soda, stirring til you have a soft, almost pourable paste. I love the smell of lemon so added some essential lemon oil, but thats optional, you can stop with the soda and dish soap or add whatever scent makes your warm fuzzy place.  I put mine in an empty olive oil bottle, but a squeeze container like a plastic ketchup one would work fine, or just a covered plastic bowl of some sort, dip your paper towel, or cleaning cloth, into it for as much as you need. Don't use too much, it takes a very small amount to work.
  I have also been trying home made laundry soaps, and checked on the ingredients at Walmart this week, they carry everything needed to make a great, super cleaning detergent.  In the laundry aisle, find Fels Naptha bars of soap, washing soda and borax. Borax has a lot of other uses we will explore later. You also need a big box of baking soda. Mine cost just over $2.00. The borax and washing soda run about $3.00 and the Fels Naptha is 97 cents a bar. So get a big container, a covererd bucket etc, and mix 3 bars of grated Fels Naptha, with a box of washing soda, a box of borax, a box of baking soda. My baking soda is 4 pounds, the others are similar in size. That's all there is to it, mix well, keep in covered container, add 1 tablespoon for normal loads or 2 tablespoons for heavy soil. This makes about 384 wash loads, at 4 cents per load. I looked at the amount of loads and figured I would not live that long so  here is a smaller version, 1 bar Fels Naptha grated, 1 and 1/2 cups of borax, 2 cups of washing soda, and 1 cup of baking soda.
  I also made a spray cleaner for my counter tops, stove, frig etc.  Very simple and works well. Put 1 teaspoon borax, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap into 2 cups of hot water, in a spray bottle. I added my fave, lemon essential oil, just a few drops. This cleans, shines and leaves a nice scent.
  Last thought for today, my son has a blog called Simplelifeprattle, and he shared this with me this week. We have been canning tomatoes, and making sauce and usually the skins get tossed. But stop, this is great! Save those skins, let them sit in a colander until they have dried out some, then spread them on trays of a dehydrator, or cookie sheets  and dry thourougly. Put them in your food processor and pulse til you have a fine powder. This will keep in your pantry in a tightly closed jar for a long time. If you add a little water, you have tomato paste, more water, sauce. or just add the powder to soup etc for the tomato flavor. Can't believe no one thought of this sooner, great idea!
  Hope you have a happy, healthy week, how can it be back to school time already. See ya soon.

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Local Impact Fountations Training

Wheaton Bible Church is committed to equip and mobilize the people of our church on a disciple-making mission right here in DuPage County. We do this by sending people out into the community to build relationships through service and by doing life together. Our hope is that through these relationships, there will be an opportunity to share the message of God’s love and saving truth.

Most of this relationship-building is with people in the community who are at risk: refugees, immigrants, migrants, and economically challenged children, families, singles, and others.

This is hard work! That’s why we want our people to be as prepared as possible as they reach out to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Through a three-step process, we invite individuals to explore, apply, and receive training in preparation for their involvement in one of our many Local Impact initiatives:

Step 1: Connect
If you sense God leading you to serve with Local Impact, contact us and let us answer your questions and help you find a ministry opportunity that is right for you! Stop by our Serve desk in the Atrium, or contact Local Impact Volunteer Coordinator Chelsea Kesavadhana, 630.876.6684.

Step 2: Apply
If you want to serve on our Hunger Team, with Refugee Resettlement, or through Puente del Pueblo, we ask that you complete an application process. This process includes an application, an interview, and background and reference checks.

Step 3: Training
We ask all volunteers to attend Local Impact Training. These trainings are held about four times a year and include a free lunch! They equip new volunteers to think biblically about building relationships with and serving the vulnerable in DuPage County. You are welcome to attend training before or after you apply to serve. Then, once your application is accepted, you will receive training that is specific to your chosen ministry area.

View Upcoming Event

Connect With Us


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Four Benefits of Using an Airport Taxi Services
Posted on: March 6, 2018, by : superadmin

Making use of an airport taxi services has the possible to deliver a variety of benefits above most other sorts of transportation, including the buses and trains. It really is most likely to present probably the most convenient and time effective alternative for arriving on the intended destination. Below are 4 on the positive aspects of making use of an airport taxi services:

Saves time

A taxi provider can conserve a lot of time and avoids the majority of the pressure and energy required to organise transport following leaving the airport terminal. For example, with a general public transportation provider there’s the extra inconvenience of having to wait for your up coming timed arrival and likewise needing to carry the luggage to the longer length. But, choosing a taxi house has the likely to avoid wasting time using a taxi accessible to select you inside a quick duration of generating a scheduling. Also, Heathrow airport taxi, with all the need to arrive in the airport properly ahead from the flight time, there is certainly less chance of needing to truly feel so pressured about arriving at your spot in time.

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Seasoned and expert motorists

Any trustworthy taxi company will employ the nicely seasoned and expert drivers. By using the motorists which make the standard airport transfers, the drivers can have a fantastic knowing of the quickest routes as well as the site visitors styles for the certain city. This means that travelling using the seasoned driver will give a perception of assurance, reliability and protection. Also, they are much more most likely for being punctual in comparison to the bus or teach solutions, so there is certainly a whole lot considerably less time expended waiting around.

Increased versatile

In contrast to a neighborhood bus or train service, the taxi can provide better adaptability and it’s achievable to completely customise the provider to match the precise needs. This suggests it is possible to journey in a chosen time instead of need to suit within the time-frame of community transport. Also, there is absolutely no require to generate the typical stops for selecting up other users in the public.

Additionally, a lot of in the taxi firms hold the power to offer a 24/7 service. This means a taxi is well booked despite time from the day or night time the support is necessary.

An additional useful advantage of utilizing the airport taxi provider is the better peace and tranquil although taking pleasure in a private journey expertise. Most kinds of public transportation may have arguing partners, boisterous youngsters or screaming children, that’s fully prevented when travelling inside the comfort of the private taxi.