We are back from camping! It’s very sad that weekends are so short, and I discovered that parks in the winter are wonderful places to be because they are mostly empty. I can say, without hesitation, that it was awesome to have most of the place to ourselves. There were about 4 other RVs there and a couple of the cabins were being rented out, but compared to what it would be in the summer, it was very quiet. The only sad thing was that all day Saturday was overcast and somewhat drizzly, and as we were breaking camp yesterday morning the sun came out. Isn’t that how it always happened? We DID find out that the little electric fireplace hubby bought for the motor home really does a great job heating the place up! Very nice! It’s nearly silent and beats the noise of the big propane heater all to pieces. The fact that it gives off a soft fire glow just adds to the ambience. Now we are back to reality and on to planning our next camping trip!
Verse of the Day
January 15, 2018
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
There are few things more coveted than freedom. People die for it. People pray for it. People strive for it. True freedom comes from knowing truth. Knowing truth ultimately comes by living in obedience to Jesus. Truth is not just something you think about or believe. Truth is something you do, you live. Jesus’ teaching often ends with the exclamation: Blessed are you who do these things! Only by doing will we ever know the truth that liberates us.
www.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
For everything there is a season. We’ve all heard that but when that season is nearing an end in one’s own life it really takes on a powerful meaning. Friendships, the location of one’s home, where we earn our living, and even life itself. For everything there is a season. What does that mean to you?
Humanitarian Day/Martin Luther King Day – I’m torn on this one. I don’t really like celebrating the BIG ones here, unless they are religious or family oriented in nature. And, to be quite honest, there are conflicting reports about Martin Luther King, Jr. However, that can’t take away from what he did do to try to unite the country; something that has been systematically torn apart in the last 8 years or so. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while he was making a speech from the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, TN. His birthday became a National Holiday by an act of Congress in 1983. His actual birthday was on the 15th, so they must have settled it on a Monday so a lot of people get 3 day weekends. I am not one of those people, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Like I said, I’m torn on this one.
National Hat Day – I’ve never felt I had a face that was good in hats, but in extreme situations . . . horrible hair on a Saturday morning when I have to run to the store, hiking, out on the lake fishing . . . those would be extreme and worthy of a baseball cap. Anything other than that and my face just doesn’t seem to work with it. Many folks do look great in hats though, my daughter is one of them. I’ve never seen a hat that didn’t look great on her. My hubby looks pretty awesome in hats – my favorite being his black cowboy hat. He looks SO handsome in that hat . . . well, he looks handsome with or without the hat, but you know what I mean. I make the dog wear hats for holidays – you’ve all seen them in Christmas, birthday, Easter and Halloween hats. There are SO many different shapes, sizes, colors and styles of hats, that there should be one to fit every size head and personality. Some folks wear hats to make a statement, to promote a cause or even to advertise a product. There are hats that work for us too . . . like hard hats or helmets that protect our head (I used to have a neon pink one when I worked in a log yard years ago), hats that keep our heads warm, or even the sun out of our eyes. A lot of people may not know this, but we lose more body heat from our head than any other part of the body, so if you are really cold – even at night in bed with the covers pulled up – put on a stocking cap and you’ll warm up faster. It’s true!
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Lemonade Day – According to the food calendars, today is Lemonade Day. I had it listed in August, so maybe there are two? I celebrated it anyway by making some fresh, from scratch lemonade using a low carb sweetener (Erythritol). It’s easy. Just take 4 or 5 large lemons, warm them up in a bowl of very warm water – it seems to loosen up the juice from the fruit (tip from my daughter), and juice them to make 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. Don’t waste that lemon zest! You can zest the lemons and freeze it so you can have it for later! Put the lemon juice in a pitcher, add ½ – 1 cup of sweetener to taste, then top off the pitcher with filtered water. Hubby likes his on the tart side so I use less sweetener. It doesn’t have to be summer to enjoy lemonade – you just have to be in the mood for it!
National Strawberry Ice Cream Day – Don’t let this childhood favorite get crowded out by vanilla and chocolate. While only the third most-popular ice cream flavor, strawberry always makes people smile. If I’m being honest, I love strawberries, but I’m not overly fond of strawberry ice cream. I’m not sure why! I know hubby really likes it though. I’ll eat it though – especially if it’s diet friendly, and seriously, how many diets do you know where strawberry ice cream is OK to eat??? How decadent! It’s quite easy. Take 1 cup of half and half or whole cream, mix it up with 1/2 cup erythritol (I used powdered so it would dissolve more easily), and about ½ cup mashed/pulverized strawberries. This will tend to freeze up too solidly to scoop out – I know mine did – so add a couple tablespoons of vodka in the initial mixing process. I added mine too late so it didn’t get fully incorporated. Pour into your ice cream maker and let it run for about 15 minutes. If you don’t want to make a low carb friendly ice cream, just see any of the recipes below and enjoy one of them! Oh, and I don’t have a picture of my ice cream. It was just far too hard to scoop so it looked like pink shavings. It tasted good though!
- Strawberry Ice Cream Like Ben & Jerry’s
- Ultimate Strawberry Cheesecake Shake
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Balsamic Strawberries and Ice Cream on Pound Cake
- Grandma’s Quick Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Cake
Many people are off work or school today, so traffic on the way to work should be good. I like it that way. For all of you, enjoy your extra day. For those of you who go to work – have a wonderful day! God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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