A Kiss is Still a Kiss

It is still the same old story - but Happy Valentine's Day to all - even the goats nibble in affection and if all else fails - as time goes by - eat some cherry pie!

1 Corinthians 13:12-13(msg. version)
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

It is good on Buhlaland and we wish you extravagant love today - and for eternity!

He'd Hate This IF He Ever Read What I Write!

UPDATE: - DH did read this one - he googled his own name the other night and found this - wouldn't you know it? The one time I really break his desire to remain off-blog and he found it - not much was said but I don't think it really bugged him much!

I read bloggers who say their spouses and Significant Others read devotedly each syllable they print. My husband hates it when I write about him on "that blog thing of yours". He really doesn't want pictures of himself on "your blog". Sometimes he might sneak a peak but I don't know 'cause we are a modern marriage and each have our own computers!
Yesterday was his birthday - won't say how many he has had but it has been quite a few (and not nearly enough!). Here he was as a curly haired tyke in Michigan.

Restaurant picture was in Germany on our one big travel adventure several years ago. Picture was taken by our good friend - Yasser and his beautiful wife Mirella.

Our beautiful wedding ceremony on a New Year's Day - we were married in the bed and breakfast we owned in Colorado for a couple of years.

I love the picture of DH walking in our Texas winter landscape with two of our rat terrorist dogs. All our pets love him best - he is a good pet master and a loyal, funny and hard working best friend. Last picture he was literally saying - don't take a picture of me as I photographed him talking on his cell phone (probably to his brother, Roger).

Yes the porch needs repainting and it IS on the list - if you don't die until you complete all the work God has for you on earth - my sweet guy will live to be 150. Happy Birthday -

Keeping an eye on things

I haven't been blogging much - actually have had real life to do. Chickens continue to grow and are developing real "chickatude" - pecking at my feet or the dogs!

We had guests on Sunday - made a "lemonade" cake and dadgum it was good. Several activities at the end of a school year, even with no children of our own we can rejoice with the children in our extended family-by-choice.

When I get down about not having a family of our own - I am blessed by contact with the family of our hearts - thanking the Lord for those we love.

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the other person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."C. S. Lewis

Still busy - didn't want you to think I'd forgotten y'all - there is a time to reap and a time to sow - this is the time we are sowing whether it is a cake or hospitality or tending chickens and it is good on Buhlaland!

True Love

Happy Valentine's Day - hearts and flowers and Hallmark worthy sentiments - stress and guilt - all the components of an American holiday about expressing true love. While reading this morning I went from here to TRUE love . Don't read these two articles if you need to be chipper and cheery. They deal with authentic deep eternal love - not the stuff of Godiva chocolates, cute teddy bears and a dozen roses.
Many of us say we walk in faith - Amy Welborn's total dependence on God after the sudden loss of her husband is terrifying (to those of us with a spouse or loved one we fear losing), deeply comforting and a lesson in what it is walking in faith looks like.
Faith - it's not just for Sunday school you know.
"If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”Psalm 139:8 NIV

Corazon

Squirrels in heaven - you'd better watch out. The rat terrorist of squirrel (and bird) chasers is coming. Had to say goodbye to our dear Corey yesterday - the struggle had become about medications keeping her heart beating and trying to reach a balance of drugs to avoid seizures while still breathing. In other words- it wasn't her life any more. So now it is much quieter in our household, the other little dog, Conan the Destroyer, is very confused and still looking for his pal. But a page has turned and that story ended. It's my blog and this is self indulgence at it's peak - I wanted someplace to acknowledge my 4 legged friend - she loved us, guarded us and made us laugh. Thank you little heart - and we miss you.

Hi!

In an attempt to be clever I took a self portrait yesterday while in the back pasture. I'm waving hello. Evaluating things with that first of a new year almost my birthday ruminative mindset. Still working through issues about church, unsure about the directions it is going but not feeling any pull to go elsewhere. One of the blogs I check on has been discussing issues within the Southern Baptist Convention and tensions over baptism, private prayer languages and who can or can't do what. While an internal denominational issue, since they are one of the largest protestant denominations they influence many people. Seems to me - we as 21st century Christians are not seeing a clear outline of our faith (like calling my goofy picture a self portrait- you didn't think I'd be able to tie this to anything did you? HA!) because we obscure scriptural commandments, direction and admonitions with man made rules. A person can take from scripture and decide "hey - you aren't allowed to wear braids"because of 1 Timothy 9:9. Problem comes when interpretation ignores context -Paul was directing women to clothe themselves with good deeds as is appropriate for women of God. He wasn't giving fashion instruction - be decently covered but primarily cover yourself up with what is good.

I am perplexed at how we take the love of Christ and turn it into an industry, marketing system, and scale for judging everyone else. Finished reading McManus'"The Barbarian Way" and still digesting that - my basic reaction is we become church ladies (Dana Carvey's cutting character on SNL)too easily. Certainly we should use discernment but that isn't even in the ballpark with being judgmental. Our love of God allows us to be free, less worried about tomorrow. We know how things will turn out but we continue to fret the small stuff. OK this is a big 180 away from my pets and recipes - I said in the beginning I was working through spiritual issues in my life, the blog was to serve as a discipline.

Counting down to the 100th blog - this is number 98 if I didn't get confuzzled about when this post will appear. I don't think there are 100 things about me worthy of putting in writing but I might include the ingredients for bread or something.

In my rantings - I have to conclude 1 Corinthians 13:13 means "love trumps everything"

In Buhlaland the current plan is to love extravagantly it is never wasted.

Dog days of winter

Conan the Destroyer is the smaller of our two rat terrorists. Corazon is going to be 10 years old this year. A perfect day includes laying in the sun on carpet where they can watch whatever is happening in the house. Then going for a long walk with DH - wandering all over the pasture checking on smells. Aha - Corey thinks she's found something special - oh dear - get away from that Corey. (she tends to find vile, dead type things).

While dog days of summer are in August - dog days of Buhlaland are every day - lots to smell, plenty to eat, a warm spot for a nap, stuff to bark about and most of all people to love. Sounds like a good life doesn't it? Proverbs 17:22 (the Message paraphrase)"A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired"Our dogs are tirelessly cheerful - and good for everyone's health on Buhlaland.

100th Blog post will be soon!

Apparently that is a big deal - 100 blog posts. Seems like I've gone on about most everything but I'm sure that I'll find something to post - tonight I put up numbers 95 and 96. What kind of blogo madness could ensue with #99 to 100? In Buhlaland ya just never know - could be fun though!

A scripture verse in honor of a friend ministering in Pakistan who like Paul is ". . .hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 nd letter to the Corinthians chapter 4: 8-9. Asif(just read this again - the person's name is Asif - I'm not saying As If) we are praying for you, Paul went on to say "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." amen and amen

Chicken Soup for the body and soul

Feliz Ano Nuevo and or Happy New Year y'all! Tomorrow is our 8th wedding anniversary , amazing.

It is a little cool today so I decided to experiment with chicken soup recipes. Easy to make and you could freeze individual servings and microwave them for lunch this month.

Ingredients are in bold type

In a LARGE skillet heat two tablespoons olive oil,

1 cup of onion coarsely chopped

1 cup of diced carrot

1.5 pounds or two whole chicken breasts cut into small cubes

Add the onion, carrot and chicken to heated skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes until lightly browned. Add 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic, then 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves. Stir until the spices and garlic are mixed in with the chicken - keep heat fairly high so chicken will continue to cook.

Add:

one 15.8 ounce can Great Northern Beans - drained and rinsed

one 15 ounce can Black Beans - also drained and rinsed

2 cans (4.5 ounce each) chopped green chiles (about one cup)

4 cups of high quality chicken broth

Allow this all to reach full boil, stir in 1/4 cup of ground yellow corn meal and stir briskly to avoid lumps. Keep temp up , the corn meal will begin to thicken the soup slightly. Add sea salt to taste and I added a teaspoon and a half of white pepper - you could use black pepper to taste also.

We served this with a dollop of sour cream on top - DH and I each added several shakes of hot pepper sauce but we made the soup NOT spicy on purpose so it could be jazzed up if desired. Would be tasty to add some corn and/or a handful of chopped parsley. Quick soup to make and flavorful, smells great. The 3 of us had a bowl which holds about a cup and there is enough left for almost that again. So I'm guessing 5 - 6 servings.

There is something elemental about making soup for yourself and people you love - feels like nourishing instead of feeding. We finished reading the bible today (DH and I have a discipline of reading the bible through each year - starting anew on the 1st ). I depend on that time each day to open the eyes of my heart - to see the world in a different way. If you show up here (and few do!) I pray that you will be nourished in some way - making a recipe, enjoying pictures or connecting to one of the books,blogs or resources available here. Feliz Ano Nuevo y'all - it is almost a new year and I'm grateful for the blessings of our life - the fun, peaceful times, and I'm beginning to understand about thanking the Lord for the trials. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (the Message paraphrase)"Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time;thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live." If you don't follow Jesus - I hope you will consider where you want to be when you leave (as C.S. Lewis called earth) The Shadowlands. I'm not a gifted evangelist - I only know what a change has occurred in my life and that it definitely was NOT me who changed - I'm still Linda Sue though not a beta version anymore - the real Linda 2.0

Here's to food, friendships, faith and faithfulness - and you are always welcome to visit Buhlaland.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I think I've mentioned before that my dear husband can literally do almost anything - this year for Christmas he made these lazy susans - I get the red one and other was for someone else. They are like him - useful and attractive . (explanation of couch cushion sticking up there at an odd angle - only way to keep our little dogs from nesting on top of the cushion and breaking it down - we actually move the cushions into more normal couch position to sit there!)






One of his "lines" when he was courting me (or I was chasing him? - hard to remember which direction that went) was there were only three things he couldn't fix, the break of day, a broken word and a broken heart. At the time I thought it charming male malarkey but he has proven it over and over.

The small picture is one of my keepsake ornaments - a big deal here in Texas is the yellow rose (old song -the yellow rose of Texas).

Trees picture is the very last bit of sunlight on a blessed Christmas 2007. We had a lovely Christmas - life is good here on Buhlaland (and very early to bed - we were laying there reading by 8 pm!).

The lonely walker?

OK - he wasn't really lonely - I was behind him taking pictures of the beautiful morning. DH was finishing up our walk about two mornings ago - it was in the low 40's type cold so we don't linger on our 2 miles. I liked the look of this picture (after I cropped out all the vehicles,trailers and stuff to the side!) Nothing earthshaking here - we've had a good week and I'm so grateful that my husband is a person who likes to exercise. We are aging (beats the alternative) so it takes more work to keep things working.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The beauty of nature and the joys of a good husband - those things I see - but what is unseen is our blessing in Buhlaland.

Thanksgiving food and memories

Don't panic, of course we spent time praying in gratitude for the OVER abundance of our blessings - we had a great walk early,just as the sun was coming up. DH and I are delighted with the beauty of where we are living.

That being said -

I hate to shock people, but for those in the south or raised by southerners - Thanksgiving is about the food, well the food and the football. Unfortunately for my "adoring public" - not much of the food turned out great. I tried several "low fat, no cholesterol, super healthy" recipes due to our current need for cholesterol lowering, fat reducing getting fittedness (not bothering to use spell checker today!). Mashed potatoes were excellent, cranberry sauce was good, gravy was OK, green beans were simply a vegetable. BEST part was the turkey breast. For 3 of us - a whole bird would have been too much. Earlier in the week, a tv chef did a herb and olive oil mixture under the turkey breast skin before cooking it and I decided to try her method. WOW - very moist, lots of flavor and the best we've done. I semi brined the breast ( for the last 2 hours of thawing it was in a huge bowl of lukewarm water salty water and seasonings). After drying off the turkey, loosened the skin to make a pocket in which to put the herbal essences (that sounds like I used hair products doesn't it?) In a Cuisinart,finely chopped onion,olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, flat leafed parsley, sea salt and a mixture of freshly ground peppercorns (white, pink , green and black - available at WalMart ). Put prepared turkey in a small roaster - in oven around 350 degrees for an hour, put the roaster cover over it for another hour. After the second hour timer went off - I began testing with digital thermometer until it reached about 175 internally. Just delish and will do this again for sure - you could use any kind of seasonings and make it totally different.

My Mom was a great cook - she made everything from scratch and our holidays were amazing meals, we'd wake up to the smell of sage, onions and celery on Thanksgiving. She usually baked the dressing separate from the turkey. Drier dressing makes a great receptor for gravy!

Dressing in my household is artery clogging level of fattening because it is made with a couple of sticks of butter,6 or 8 whole large eggs and lots of rich cornbread. To go low fat , used healthier recipe for cornbread and whole wheat bagels - added usual sauteed in broth chopped celery, onions, parlsey, pimento and mushrooms, generous measure of poultry seasoning - then eggbeaters instead of real eggs with low fat chicken broth to moisten. Turned out to have a lot of texture (euphemism for a little grainy) and plenty of taste.

Thanks Mom for teaching me to try new things (even some that definitely went in the trash )- if you don't try you don't find great new foods or for that matter new people, adventures or ways to remove facial hair.

The smells and work of a holiday definitely create nostalgia for being at home with my parents and brother - watching the Macy's parade on TV, nibbling on whatever goodies were already on the dessert table and being together as a family with inside jokes and eye rolling lame stories- all the stuff you don't know you'll ache for and miss until much later in life.

Here in Buhlaland, we ate well, too much and talked a lot about memories. It is good.

Memory Walk

DH and I did a 5K walk on Saturday for the Alzheimer's Association of North Texas - the red flag in this picture is for my Dad - he was robbed of his pleasant old age by that vile disease. Very emotional day, so many stories people share and a beautiful location. One gentleman was there by himself, walked alone and said he was walking for his wife who evidently has Alzheimer's - that's love folks - real love. If someone you love has this disease - make every minute with them count - it is the small things that touch your heart and keep them with you mentally as long as possible. My older brother and his wife were primary caregivers for our parents - and did an fabulous job - they showed incredible levels of compassion and patience during this "long goodbye". Thanks Bob and Shell!

Walking wise - we did pretty well - defnitely have the fever to do another 5K walk soon (not a fund raiser - I stink at fund raising). Buhlaland is a bit in turmoil right now - I'm not my usual positive self and it is difficult but the best and worst thing about this life is that absolutely nothing (other than faith) lasts forever. So it is still good on Buhlaland.

Memorial Day is NOT just about picnics

Memorial Day is about memories of loved ones who answered the call to serve their country. The black and white picture is my father , Robert L. Porter, receiving commendation service bars in 1963 at his retirement ceremony at Walker A.F.B. in Nex Mexico. He served in the United States Air Force for over 23 years and was proud to be part of the defenses of America.

Growing up in the military made us very aware of the value of freedom and the price. Strange how in church yesterday there are so few people who stand up to be honored when the pastor asks who served in active duty military. My husband, Skip, served his country during the Vietnam era and knows the cost as do so many of our generation. Our neighbors son, Zack, is going into the reserves this fall. Our dear friend, Joe, is serving now on a compassionate mission in Central America. Thom Porter, a cousin, is a military chaplain. We have so many loved ones who have answered the call and a few who made the ultimate sacrifice. My Dad's brother died in WWII in the Pacific. The generation of our parents was the one who seemed to truly "get it" about loving others more than self.

We sang "America The Beautiful" yesterday - I love the lyric "O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self the country loved And mercy more than life! " Loving something more than yourself is the hallmark of those who serve - whether military or in any role of putting others above oneself. My Dad - Bob Porter - served his God, his country and his family. Thanks Daddy. For all those still serving - Thank YOU for understanding that the cost must be paid - sooner or later there is a price to pay for freedom. God Bless America, our President and all those who serve.