SNAP THAT

The end of another year is here and just as I've done for the last few years, I'm taking a few moments to look back at my progress on the goals I set for 2012. These goals are really mostly guidelines for me to keep moving forward through the year rather than hard and fast rules about what I need to do. They probably aren't that much interest to my readers but I do it because I find that setting out broad goals each year helps me to keep things on track and gives much needed structure to my year.  Blogging about it makes me more motivated to work on the goals and holds me more accountable for my time. Last year, I structured my goals into several categories: Spiritual, Health & Lifestyle, Family, Financial, Hobbies and Home. SPIRITUAL Implement an appointment time for prayer and study Use a good study guide for bible study Support one person in reaching their goals Make one loan to a female entrepreneur in a Kenyan village

Christmas is over for another year. I hope that each of you enjoyed the day in your own way wherever you were and however you celebrated.  This year's celebration was different for me and my family.  One brother and my nephew and I drove to the north a few hours away from where I live and there we spent a few days visiting my mother and my niece. This photo is on the highway going northeast from Vancouver. One doesn't usually see the mountains so clearly defined. On a rainy day you cannot see them.  On a clear day it is usually too bright to see the mountainous outline. I love the wintery looking sun. The mou ntains are beautifully si lhouetted today. I rented a motel room with a small kitchen unit in case I decided to cook something while I was away. It turns out that I only cooked once (bacon and eggs).  But the kitchen unit was nice to have as I was able to keep juices, fruits and breakfast cereal on hand.  I like to minimize eating out in the res

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (or A Visit from St. Nicholas) by Clement Clarke Moore  'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.  The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.    When out on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.  The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of midday to objects below, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.  With a littl

On Wednesday a friend who has recently returned from a holiday in India, invited a small group of women to her home for masala tea, nibblies and poetry readings. I thought this was a lovely idea and decided to share a happy poem. One that brings me joy when I read it or hear it.  I can  "see" the daffodils come alive through the words of the poem  "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" (sometimes known as "Daffodils"), by William Wordsworth.   For the nibblies, I contributed some Gingerbread Cake.  I haven't made it before and I found it had a nice, dense texture which was perfect for dunking in tea.  I left my cake plain rather than add a sweet topping because I knew there would be other sweet nibblies at the gathering. I  added some fresh ginger to the recipe in addition to powdered ginger but it was the fresh lemon zest that really gave it it's great taste. Not too sweet. Just perfect. First I'll share the poem and then the recipe in case yo

I had a happy surprise today. I learned a few weeks ago that I had won a giveaway.  Since it was being mailed from Oklahoma, USA I was prepared to wait awhile.  My experience is that even a mailed package from California can take up to a month to reach me so I thought a package from Oklahoma would take a lot longer. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to wait as long as I thought I might. Isn't my little guy cute?! A photo of Roarbert the Lion and his lavender scentsy pak. Beth of Masterpiece blog, had this terrific Scentsy Giveaway. She let me choose my stuffed toy and preferred scent.  I chose Roarbert, The Lion and French Lavender as the scent pak to put inside. I love Kenya and I love lions so the choice was easy. I think Roarbert is adorable. If you've never visited Beth, please do so here . She is an awesome woman of God who shares from her heart. Thank you, Beth!  I'll take good care of Roarbert.

Hi friends, We've had a lot of gray skies and rain this past while so it is wonderful to get a patch of blue sky and sunshine now and then. Here is what greets me today.   The wind whipped up this afternoon and changed the shape of the clouds. It also revealed all the fresh powder of snow on the mountain tops. This is my submissions to Skywatch Friday today. Enjoy your weekend.

In my last post I mentioned I had been at the mall to see a movie. It so happens that the mall was also having special artisans and guests as part of the Christmas program. Every weekend there will be a different theme and different artisans.  It seems to be a great idea as I had never seen the mall so busy in all my years of going to it Even Santa made an appearance. I loved looking at all the brightly lit Christmas trees from my vantage point on the 2nd floor. Unfortunately my cell phone camera doesn't do justice to the sight. I promised in my last post to share a short video of a young boy I saw giving a dance performance in the mall. As I watched him I was very impressed and felt proud of him as  he danced in the tradition of the Plains Indians. I was too far away to get a good shot but this will give you an idea of the regalia of the young boy who is wea ring white and turquoise.   Y ou can see it much better in the video below.  The female dancers are wearing

From time to time I like to participate in memes; my favourite ones being Skywatch Fridays and Our World Tuesday.  I used to participate in Scenic Sunday too except that it doesn't seem to be so active.  The last week on line was from October. Oh well, I will present anyway *wink. I was at a local mall yesterday to see the new version of the movie "Anna Karenina". It is a movie I have seen before when Greta Garbo played the role of Anna.  I saw it as a child and the tragedy of Anna's story made such an impact on me that I never forgot the film. Many years later, I read the book while on a journey to Kenya. I enjoyed the book very much though I felt it was overly long.  Of course this classic, by Leo Tolstoy, was translated from Russian into English and that likely had a bearing on the length of the book too. If you take the time to view both the original trailer for the film and the trailer for the latest remake, you will see  just how differently the film

A very short video clip. I uploaded it for the sound of waves. Joining the wonderful meme, Skywatch  today .

After I cleaned out one of my closets the other day, I felt like making some bread. I used this recipe for some healthy oat bread. I used 4 cups of whole wheat flour, rather than the 3 cups white flour + 1 cup whole wheat called for in the recipe.  I also skipped the topping because I like to keep my egg usage to a minimum. Baking With Whole Wheat Flour - After I baked my bread, I read on line that if you want to keep your bread 100% whole wheat you should use vital wheat gluten so that your loaves are not dense and flat.  Vital wheat gluten is super-concentrated gluten flour, and it really helps to give low-gluten doughs better structure. Add one tablespoon of vital wheat gluten for every 2-3 cups of flour in your recipe. While I was kneading my whole wheat flour dough I did notice that the dough felt very hard. To make softer loaves, try letting the dough rest for about 20 minutes before kneading. This will give the flour time to absorb the water and soften the grains of