Monthly Archives: November 2007

Computer Problems

I woke up to the dreaded Black Screen of Death this morning on my laptop. Hard Drive failure! Fun, fun, fun.

I should receive a replacement early next week and hopefully we’ll be able to get my data off the failed drive. I’m currently using the family desktop so posting will most probably be fairly light if at all.

added: It also means that I am going to have to remake all my settings to get back to my comfortable place. Yuck. If we can’t get all my data off, I’ll have to remember all the logins and passwords and all that crap too. I will have to back up some data immediately I will, keep it safe…. I am so NOT looking forward to all this.

Mary Did You Know?

I heard this song for the first time today on the local station that does All Christmas All the Time until New Years’. It’s just beautiful.

 

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I AM

(buddy greene, mark lowry)

Monday Morning Musings

We go to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving and therefore have no leftovers.

So, generally, I make a turkey on Friday with only some of the sides. On Friday I made a pumpkin pie, an 11 pound turkey, in the bird stuffing and out of the bird dressing, gravy, and haricots vert (o.k.a. green beans.)

I also made my own cranberry sauce with Craisins, pineapple-orange juice, brown sugar, lemon peel (dried spice jar kind), maple syrup, and some key lime juice. It turned out pretty good.

On Saturday, I took the turkey carcass, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, kosher salt, and sage and started my stock.

Yesterday, after many, many hours of simmering and reduction, and after straining it, I packaged up 10 pints of stock. To what I had reserved I added some cooked turkey, a diced turnip, a diced parsnip, a diced onion, three diced Fuji apples, 2 tablespoons of Grey Poupon, and the leftover gravy (just over a pint). Then I made a half recipe of Bisquick dumplings and added those. Marvelous Turkey Apple Soup. Egg noodles go well with this soup instead of dumplings if you want. After eating soup for dinner, I still had four pints left! But only one dumpling, so I’ll have to add some more (or some noodles) when we eat the rest.

Talk about tryptophan with that soup though, turkey, onions, and apples, it’s a triple whammy!

There’s another pumpkin pie in the oven too…

Christmas Cactus

This plant spent the summer out on the porch and I brought it in about mid-October. It immediately went into a closet. Three weeks later, it had started to bud and now it’s blooming very nicely.

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Christmas Cacti need to spend some time in the dark because that is what makes them bloom. In the jungles as night falls earlier and earlier, the plant is triggered into bloom. Since we humans tend to light our homes well into the evening hours, putting the plant in a closet for a few weeks will trigger the bloom response.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Hymn

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.


Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!


We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Words: Nederlandtsche Gedenckclanck, 1626;
trans. Theodore Baker, 1894.
Music: Kremser

Enjoy this day with your family and friends.

Star Wars at the MSI

This guy rode up in the elevator with us. He posed nicely even though I had just said he had really big toes….

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click for bigger so you can see his drool in all its glory

This guy, though scary looking, was making the chicks feel well protected. They’re sleeping under him…

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More pictures after the jump!

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Our Birthday Plans

We have two birthdays coming up. Our Big Girl will be 17-years-old on Monday. Seventeen. Where has the time gone? She was only 4 pounds 10 ounces when she was born and 18 inches long. We were able to take her home the next day because she only lost 2 ounces after birth and was at the minimum weight of 4-1/2 pounds so we could take her home. She weighed less than a regular bag of sugar.

She’s special needs with epilepsy, developmental delays, a moderate hearing impairment, and last year she was diagnosed with Lupus too. She loves Barney and her favorite movies are the Shrek movies and Elephant and Elephant in the water (Ice Age and Ice Age II: The Meltdown).

Little Guy will be 7-years-old on Sunday. He was born the day before her 10th birthday. He’s in first grade, but goes to a second grade class in the mornings for reading. His latest test had him at grade level 2.7 for reading.

We are going to spend tomorrow at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. We have tickets to see the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit. Today the museum opened its annual Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light Exhibit as well.

A Proud Tradition

Christmas Around the World, which features more than 50 trees decorated by volunteers from Chicago’s ethnic communities to reflect holiday traditions from around the globe-has been dazzling families for 66 years. It began in 1942 as a United Nations Day salute to American allies during World War II. That year, a dozen trees graced the Museum’s halls; now, the exhibition has grown into a dazzling forest of trees and displays lovingly created by the citizens of Chicago. This year, a new tree from Kenya joins the Museum’s forest.

We’ll bring the camera and have some pictures tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Poll

Our last poll was quite lopsided.

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So here’s another. In this one you can add your own response if you wish.

{democracy:12}

Army Victory

for Project Valour-IT.

Via Blackfive the scores are as follows (still awaiting “absentee” (mailed in checks) “ballots”)

Army: $53,023.00
Marines: $39,673.00
Air Force: $25,638.34
Navy/CG: $20,081.75
And non-team donations $29,954.82

He says that the Army Team had twice the number of donors than the other teams as well.

Sgt Hook

Big Dog’s Weblog

Blackfive

From My Position… On the way!!!

Gazing at the Flag

Homefront Six

Tammi’s World

Danger Room

Dadmanly

Techography

Badgers Forward

Conservativa

Hooah Wife & Friends

Technicalities

Noblesse Oblige

Ayatollah Ghilmeini’s Neocon Madrassa

Miss Ladybug

Winds of Change

Most Certainly Not

Cursed by a Classical Education

Random-American

Shultz Infosystems

confabulation

Cop The Truth

When the Smoke Clears

Conservative Musings

Tanker Brothers

Where I Stand

Second City Sarge

G.R.I.T.S. a/ka Keep My Soldier Safe

Insanity

Milblogging.com

Power Line

Iraq War Today

AmeriCAN-DO Attitude

Laughing Wolf

billoblog

Babalu Blog

Balloon Juice

Oh!That’sGonnaLeaveaMark

Military Families Voice of Victory

Combs Spouts Off

The Kneeslider

Blonde Sagacity

My Side Of the Puddle

Thanks to Kate for her donation and plea for help for the Army Team as well.

mm-5