SNAP THAT

In my quest to eat better and get healthier I am back to cooking from scratch.  The recent make was potatoe and leek soup.  This soup, and leeks in general seem to be more popular in England than it is here in western Canada.  I've never fancied leeks and though I like potatoes I don't eat as many any more. I've also never been a big fan of cream soups. However over the past few years I crave more variety in my food adventures and I'm now more willing to try combinations of vegetables and totally new to me vegetables and find they all taste quite good. First I scoured the internet for a general idea of how to make the soup. I checked out these recipes here and here .  As always I adapt recipes to suit my style of cooking and what I have on hand so here is what I did. Ingredients: 2 large leeks washed and chopped 2 long celery sticks washed and chopped 1 large onion, diced 3 small potatoes 2-3 tbsp. oil 1/4 tsp. dried thyme 7-8 cups of chicken broth Metho

 “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”  Dr. Wayne W Dyer Hi friends, The quote today is something I reflect on now and then as a result of my health challenges.  I can either sit and say woe is me or I can try and learn things that help me get into better health. I choose the latter. I have not posted for a few days so I am just popping in to say "hello" and to thank those of you who have been kind enough to visit my blog this month. ( I have been by to visit all of you but if by chance I have missed someone please do let me know ). Where does the time go? The month is almost done and a new one beginning! I have to get some birthday cards for friends and family who celebrate in February so I better get a move on. Not a cloud in the sky today. The weather here continues to b

In taking my walks the last two days I've realized just how warm it is. We haven't had nearly as much rain as we normally do at this time of year. I had heard that in December we got one - fourth our usual rainfall. I think it was a week ago today when we had a downpour and I got quite soaked on a short walk. I had to cut the walk short and take a bus home. I like the pastel colour in the sky as the day was ending. Usually too when it isn't raining, it can be very chilly here. But this year is an exception. I'm finding it rather warm. Pussywillows...we always love to see their arrival. When I went out yesterday I noticed that the pussy willows are budding. Egads!! It is very early for that. I used to think February blossoms were early.  One of the nation's meteorologists has been saying the last few years that in terms of the weather we should now learn to "expect the unexpected".  I can see he is right. We've been having a bit of f

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude  we will embrace for that day. Charles R. Swindoll Hello everyone, I hope you've been having a good week so far.  I've been busy with this and that.  I have a friend who is applying to university in my city. The process is complicated, labourious and expensive.  I've been helping him get things sorted out. We are very close to the wire (upon the deadline). Please keep him in prayer. I have another friend who has just moved to a new apartment and needs a few things. I've been checking out my cupboards and the thrift store for some unique items to donate to his kitchen and he has been taking things home little by little. I thank God that he has at last found a place of his own after living in several different unsuitable sharing situations. Salad tongs from Africa for my friend's kitchen. They just need a bit of oil to" freshen" them up. I have a m

It's raining; it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed and bumped his head, And he wouldn't get up in the morning. Did you sing this song as a child too? I don't remember where I learned it or at what age in school but I've never forgotten it.  In those days I lived in a small city where it seldom rained except prairie type downpours in the summer month. These downpours came complete with thunder claps and light shows (lightening). Some days or nights I would be babysitting and when the thunder and lightening began at the same time, I was terrified.  I can remember it would be so loud and the lightening would literally light up the entire house (with lights off) as we were taught to unplug and disconnect all power sources once a big storm came through. Photo:  Looking toward downtown and False Creek from the waiting room of a doctor's office.  You can make out the reflected lights of the doctors office, some chairs and a person in the corner (bo

Photo Credit:  Fountain Hills Christian Center, Arizona ( website ) Last year I made a goal to read through the Bible chronologically. I got as far as the 2 Chronicles in the the Old Testament. I've probably read the Bible several times over since I was a child but I've never done it chronologically and I've always felt there was something missing as a result. I've renewed my commitment to reading through the Bible chronologically in 2014. One thing I discovered is that I really like to "read" the Bible by listening to it and reading along silently or out LOUD ,  rather than just reading the Bible like I would any other book.   I used the on-line resource Bible Gateway last year to hear someone read the Bible out loud. The problem is that in order to listen to the day's readings it took me a good hour and more if I want to include time for praise, prayer and study.  What happened is after spending time doing Bible readings I would then sit at

{For my Skywatch Post, see here } Hi friends, I trust you are all settling in to a New Year. I love the changing of years where we say "goodbye" to one year and "hello" to another.  In recent years I've used it as a opportunity for reflection and planning.  A time to reflect on the year gone by to see what things went well and what things didn't go so well. A time to discover whether there are things that I have the ability to change or whether I need to "let go and let God". It is also a time to think about the coming year and plan and look forward to limitless possibilities. If you have followed me for a few years you might remember reading my review of goals set for the year.  At the same time I consider whether I had to change my goals in mid-year, accomplished them or had to carry them forward for one reason or another.  I usually also plan and post my goals for the coming year in late December/early January.  This year however I fel

The weather has been very mild of late and we haven't had much rain for awhile.  Thursday we were back to a bit of rain. (Thursday night was very windy so perhaps Friday will be clear skies again, woot, woot!)   It got me reminiscing about warmer and sunnier days.  I went through my archives and found these beautiful sky photos from summer 2012.   I hope you enjoy them. If all goes well a friend and I will finally go and see the new movie about Nelson Mandela's life, "A Long Walk to Freedom". Both of us have been wanting to see it since we first heard it would be released in December. Have a wonderful weekend. I am joining in at Skywatch Friday today.