Yearly Archives: 2012

Rice pudding was on my radar yesterday.

Thursday night our young adults potluck had a rice night.  There were leftovers.  A good bit of leftovers.

Now, I enjoy rice pudding.  Others may not.  But I do.  With lots of raisins and a hint of cinnamon.  At least, that’s what I think of from my childhood.

When I Googled the recipe for rice pudding on www.allrecipes.com (quickly becoming a favored site of mine), I found a five star recipe.  Printed that off and gathered the ingredients.  Thankfully they were all available!

Following the instructions, the concoction was soon simmering over the stove.  But, as I looked closer there was no cinnamon included.  I knew that five star recipes would be good (I’ve tried some others).  But, I also knew that I would be missing a certain taste.  With some flourish, I emptied a bit (I realize that more than a bit makes bitter!) into the pot.  Later in the evening, as I ate the pudding, I sat back and just enjoyed!

Which brings me to a quandary in my life.  I am beginning to really enjoy this cooking thing – I think it was passed on to me from my wife.  Also, one of our values in life was hospitality.  So, as much as I enjoy my “tastes” in life, I’m also trying to gather a sense of others’ tastes.  When those friends arrive, flavored to my liking is secondary to their desires.  I want to set my table with others in mind.  And when I am with like minded “tasters” – I’ll go hog wild on the cinnamon!

Reminder alert!

God is in control.  The beginning of the day is the first opportunity to agree!

“This is the day the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

A simple start.

Yesterday we unloaded furniture and filled an apartment with boxes.

In the midst of all this, I have to think back less than five years.  At that point, my knees were in bad shape.  I was about to have total knee replacement surgery.  I could barely walk around the block.

The surgery was successful.   The legs were no longer bow-legged.  Nor was there the constant pain of arthritis.

The one catch?  Keep on exercising or you will lose the mobility.  So, I have kept on exercising.  I try each day to spend 20 minutes on a stationary bike.  I enjoy fun times with children and youth.  As I come to the end of the day I am thankful for all I have been able to do.

And so, yesterday, I was in and out of the trailer.  I was not winded, nor is my body feeling overly tired today.  Of course, I used a wheeler and made sure I took trips back and forth with a judicious amount of weight – nothing too heavy. 

Some common sense along with continued exercise meant yesterday was enjoyable! 

Here we stand, getting ready to pack the trailer!  A quick overview of a one bedroom apartment and we all think we can make it fit.  We have packed other trailers before.  But we have underestimated!  And so the afternoon of packing takes a bit longer that we thought.  In the end we find a way and we are ready to head out the following day.

As much as we try to get rid of stuff, more stuff appears.  That’s what I see in the basement of my house.  I have more boxes to go down.  Boxes of music and other paraphernalia from Jill. 

It all adds up.  Until the adding machine stops.  And I realize that something has to go.  We realize that subtraction is what we need to do.  Things have multiplied way too much and now it’s time to take stock and restock.

I’ve had to do that type of evaluation.  I’m expecting a new boarder in a few weeks.  My basement suite has a few things (toys and winter clothes and baby play pen) that can either stay in the suite, or be moved to make more room.  Saturday is my take stock day.  We’ll see what I come up with.  Hopefully I won’t add anything more before then!