Mountain Musings

Katrina

Lots of bloggers around the blogosphere today are writing about the hurricane and its unreal devastation. I've been reading the news on the computer and seeing one or two pictures there but have no idea what those with television are seeing on the screen. My mom just called and said she's seeing unbelievable damage on all the news.

Mrs. Happy Housewife's site has the most comprehensive list I've seen on a blog of where to contact if you want to help. Continue to pray for the folks who have been dislocated and/or lost loved ones and all they own.

~Deb

Serving the Lord in South Africa

I didn't plan to do this, but I spent a good part of my morning reading about a missionary family in South Africa. I don't know them; but after going back through their home page, testimony page, and blog archives to read about the annual camp meeting the dad attended in Ghana, their various ministries, and their upcoming furlough back to their home state of Georgia, I feel like I do know them. They've also posted pictures of their mountain climbing adventures. Very interesting.

Thanks to Susan for the link and the chance to pray for a family's ministry on the other side of the world.

~Deb

New Recipe

Greetings from the Mountain Musings kitchen! I've enjoyed experimenting with a few new recipes lately as Sarah and I were keeping the 3 of us fed while Dad and Mom were on their trip. Here's one recipe I made from a graduation gift cookbook. If you like sampling unique and different recipes, this salad may be one you'd want to try! It is similar to a Tabouli salad except it uses barley instead of bulghur wheat, plus added ingredients. If you are not fond of the pungent, piney taste of rosemary, this may not be for you; but on the other hand, if you do like it's flavor, you still may want to cut back a little on the amount the recipe calls for so it won't become too overpowering. We liked how it turned out and couldn't decide whether we preferred it warm or chilled.

Barley, Corn, and Rosemary Salad

• 6 cups water
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 cups corn, steamed for 5 minutes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup minced green onion (I used red onion)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 t. chopped fresh parsley ( I used more)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• 2 T. vinegar

Bring water and salt to a boil; rinse barley and add to water. Simmer 40 minutes; cool. Stir in corn, rosemary, onion, pepper, and parsley. Mix together, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar; pour over barley and vegetables and mix well.

~Hannah

Update on Micah

We received a phone call from Micah last night; it was good to hear from him since he started his second year of medical school and finished the first two weeks of classes. It seems that he's really excited and enjoying studying more and more "real doctor stuff."

He has shed his crutches but is still taking advantage of his not-yet-expired handicapped vehicle tag. Eventually as the weather cools, he may try to walk the 30-minute distance from apartment to class (the 7-minute bike ride isn't an option at this point).

With the Labor Day holiday ahead of us, Elizabeth and her parents are arriving this weekend to visit Micah for a few days. They will all attend church with us on Sunday and will be helping spruce up Micah's apartment with some new counters and cabinets. Should be a busy but fun time.

~Deb

Heard Any Trees Lately?

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." ~ Isaiah 55:12

Have you ever thought about trees clapping their hands? and mountains singing? Isaiah tells us that's exactly what happens because of the joy of creation.

Years ago I began a wall hanging which was a variety of green fabrics sewn to look like trees in a beautiful pattern all over the quilt. I remember it well because when we first visited Vermont in the 80's, about the time I was working with the tree fabric, I was so impressed with that state's trees. To this day, Vermont brings to mind beautiful trees everywhere. Unfortunately, I never finished the tree quilt; four little children under the age of 5 didn't give me much extra time in those days. To my knowledge those little quilt squares are still packed away in an old trunk.

Trees have been on our minds lately because we didn't see very many at all on our jaunt out west--mostly fields of scrubby sagebrush. So we've been noticing the lush greenery in Virginia this week and especially thanking the Lord for the trees!

~Deb

Saturday Stuff

Aaahh, it's Saturday morning, and the weekend is ahead of us--always great days when Dad is home with the family. Here in our area of Virginia the temperature is supposed to be a high of 76 degrees with a 60% chance of showers this afternoon. On my agenda today:

• help Hannah plant a mum before it rains. It's a beautiful burgandy one and was a gift from friends who came over for lunch with the girls recently.
• clean out the fridge so there's room for new groceries
• straighten/clean my desk, dresser, and room; in fact, every space I've occupied since arriving home and halfway unpacking from the trip needs a thorough cleaning.
• trip to the garbage dump on the way out to make a Costco run
• settle in for the evening

Are you doing something a little more exciting than our plans? Even I can use a quieter Saturday every once in a while :)

~Deb

Hyacinth Beans, Prickly Pears, & Sunflowers

Here's a picture of a very healthy and rapidly growing hyacinth bean plant that has overtaken my birdhouse pole and feeders. I love the purple flowers, and we've seen hummingbirds feeding there all this week, but no other regular birds are coming to the upper birdhouse feeder...they can't find it hidden under all those leaves!

This one hyacinth bean I purchased has produced plenty of bean pods to produce more plants for next year, but where do I want to plant them if they grow this gigantic?

We saw so many different plants in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada-- ones we're not accustomed to seeing in our climate. Here's a picture I took of a prickly pear cactus. We learned you can make jellies and teas from the fruit found in the purple flower part of the prickly pear, although we never tried any. 

The giant sunflowers in our garden did well this year. We saved the seeds from last year's crop and will store extras away again this season.

~Deb

Just Missed It!

Did you see the news yesterday about the new glass-bottomed walkway to be built at Grand Canyon's edge that will jut out 70 feet so tourists can actually walk out over the Canyon? It's supposed to open in January--if they can find someone to insure the project.

"You're basically looking 4,000 feet down. It's a whole new way to experience the Grand Canyon," Sheri Yellowhawk said, chief executive officer of the Grand Canyon Resort Corp., the tribal-owned company that is overseeing the project.

Would we have done it had the walkway already been in operation a couple of weeks ago?

Hmm, maybe...probably...sure!

Would you? What's the most dare-devil adventure you've done in your lifetime?

~Deb

A New Experience

Bone density--something I'd never thought about before, but the doctor recommended getting a baseline test done as an addition to my recent physical exam.

Yesterday's appointment over at our local hospital's Women's Imaging Center went well for me. I arrived a little early to find the place since I wasn't familiar with where the testing was done; and after signing in, I was called back to a paperwork booth almost immediately.

The lady who handled my case was extremely pleasant with a very nice smile (this was at 7:45 a.m.), and she made me feel very comfortable in a strange situation. I also noticed that she went out of her way to help her co-workers start their day with ease because a couple of other office workers gave her a surprised, "why, thank you!" when they realized she had done something nice that morning for them.

Her extraordinary attitude made me wonder if this lady was a believer; it seems I don't usually run into folks in the workplace displaying a Christ-like behavior--although they must be out there somewhere. As I was sitting in front of her desk casually looking around her cubicle while she typed up my insurance paperwork, my eye caught something on the corkboard where several notes were tacked; there in plain view was a small, bright yellow card that stated, JESUS LOVES YOU.

Maybe I was right; I felt it in my bones.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." ~ II Corinthians 2:14-15

~Deb

"Out West" Photo Album

I just re-lived our trip by going through a zillion photos to pick just a sampling to post on the Travel Blog. It was so hard to leave out special ones, but I'm sure 53 pictures (I upped it from 40) will already seem like a marathon Family Movie Night if you manage to wade through those.

Anyway, hopefully you'll have some idea of the places we traveled and the fun time we had these last couple of weeks. I wish there had been time to do many more things and go a few more new places; but Tom has already told me he had to go back to work this week to get a VACATION after all the running around I've had him doing! :)

It was worth it! :)

~Deb