Why Faith Matters

In every situation take the shield of faith and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16

In hand-to-hand combat, the shield is king. For without it, one’s weak spots are exposed to the enemy, severely reducing her capacity to fight well. If I had a choice between a gun or shield, I choose the shield. For what use is the gun if my enemy can take me out in a second because of lack of protection? With a shield I can hide behind it, waiting until my enemy tires or runs out of ammunition or I can use it to advance, secured against harm, towards my enemy. Best of all, the shield's protection gives me confidence, which frees me to think and act more clearly in the heat of battle.

What happens if my shield is knocked out of my hands during battle? I hope that I swiftly pick it back up in order not to miss a step in fighting the good fight. But what to do if I am badly wounded and unable to get to my shield? That’s a toughie because when feeling bad, I am inclined to curl up and ask to be left alone. However, I know that my best hope of getting out of the battle alive is to put my big girl panties on and cry out for help. I am also gonna need swallow my pride and ask a fellow soldier if she would share the protection of her shield with me until I can get mine back.

Sometimes we get hit and totally blindsided to the point that it rattles our faith. I am talking about the kind of rattling that leaves us unable to even hear the Name without flinching. The kind that darkens and covers our soul in such apathy and exhaustion that we can not even lift our heads to pray to the One we love. The kind where we secretly want nothing to do with the Church.

If you read the last paragraph with tears or a lump in your throat, know this was written for you. Your reading of this is not coincidence, for you are passionately loved and were never meant to be let go. Use whatever energy you have left to do two things:

1. Lay face down with your arms open wide and out loud pray " Maker of heaven and earth! Restore my faith! I believe! but help my unbelief!"
2. Enlist a faithful prayer warrior who will share her shield of faith to stand with you and over you. And who will storm heaven with prayers until you receive your shield back. Together pick a verse for you to meditate on night and day. This verse will be your hope, your rallying cry and your praise for the coming restoration.

Try it. I know it works. I stake my life on it.

New doors

Finally! Our new doors have been installed. In the before photo, you can barely see the 70's plastic yellow "window" on the left side of the doors that was killing us. The transom was larger than we liked.

After. We ordered taller doors, shortening the transom. Next steps are to remove lights and paint the house a different color.

Our mailbox snapped at the base and fell over. I have always wanted a stone mailbox, so we bit the dust...

For Monks

Monks- I came across this on the Willows home and garden blog. I love them! Are these smocked curtains? For a better look, click here and scroll down to the picture. Can you make me a pair for upstairs living room? I was thinking of just buying sheer white curtains from Sears and then having you to smock. What do you think? Too much work???

Kitchen stoves

Ah- it has been a while since I've blogged. We've been busy campers over here but getting back on the updating-the-house program makes me realize I need to also get back on the blogging program.

Tomorrow, providing it does not snow anymore, the guy is to come install our front doors! As soon as they go up, I will post before and after pictures. I have officially decided against ripping the walls in the kitchen and have been drawing up different designs for our current kitchen dimensions. Since the stove is king of the kitchen, I am currently perusing several ranges as my starting point...

Now, I have long been obsessed with the Wolf. I've had good cooking experiences on it and friends who have one rave about it. So, it is at the top of my list. Since I have gotten used to only having one oven, I will probably go with the smaller 4 burner range but could not find a photo of it.

Although I am not into french designs and have never cared about the french ranges, I really like this one from La Cornue. I love the way the oven doors swing open to the side instead of downward. I also love that all the oven racks are designed to fit in a dishwasher. I also love that both ovens are different sizes...

grief

mama's brother was killed in a terrible accident on july 15th. we buried him yesterday.
thoughts on my mind:

• silence speaks volumes
• there are no words to comfort a 15 yr old who feels responsible for his grandfather's death
• funerals are for the living, not the dead
• God alone suffices
• a close-knit family is king
• the call to duty is helpful for getting through nightmarish days
• thankful for the love of good people
• love hearing the memorial bell ring three times before he was carried into the family cementary
• love hearing the strains of taps
• grateful for the many memories at the farm.

Chocolate Croissants and Caramel Cups

While holiday two weeks ago, sister and I very quickly got into a morning breakfast ritual of coffee and chocolate croissants followed by the splitting of a mother-loaded omelet. We would slather our croissants with butter and Nutella. Very good.

Because I have really missed those croissants, Hubby took me to Panera Bread this past weekend for a breakfast of chocolate croissants. It was awful! I could not even finish it. Who in the &*^% screws up chocolate?!?!?!?! If it were not for Panera's egg souffles, I would totally quit that place because, in my book, if you can not get chocolate right, you should not be allowed to serve food to the public.

This morning I attempted to make my own chocolate croissants and they actually tasted better than the ones on the ship! Big giddy up!! However, they do not look as pretty. So I am going to need to make more batches to get the pretty department down pat. Once they look good, I will post photos and the recipe.

I did make some caramel cups for a meeting a had last night. I am not usually a fan of fillo cups, however, I found that the combination richness of the caramel and dark chocolates more than made up for the bland cups. See what you think:

Caramel Cups

2 cans of condensed sweetened milk (do not use fat-free version)

2 boxes of Athens Mini Fillo shells (in frozen section)

Package of Dove's Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises

Peel labels off the condensed sweetened milk cans. Place both cans in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil cans continuously for three hours. Add water as needed throughout cooking time to ensure cans are always covered in water. At the end of cooking time, pull cans out of water and set aside to cool until warm enough to handle. Take Fillo shells out of freezer and let them thaw for about 10-15 minutes. Open cans and scoop caramel into fillo cups. Cut 4-8 Dove squares into four pieces and place each piece on top of caramel.

Pesto Amended

I've moved my tiny basil garden to another spot in the yard, where there is a tad bit more shade than the previous location. Apparently, they are quite happy there as evidenced by the abundance of huge fragrant leaves. Big leaves call for making a batch of pesto. Instead of pulling out my recipe, I just decided to make the batch based on my mood. And I must say that this pesto batch was fabulouso.

Right now I am going through a phase in where I am over Parmesan cheese and more into Pecorino Romano cheese. Romano cheeses, in general, are sharper. Pecorino is made from sheep's milk and has more of a salty & tangy taste. I usually buy a big block of it at Costco's and use it in pasta, salads and pesto. I am eager to try the Caprino Romano, which is made out of goat's milk, but have not found it in the local stores yet. If anyone knows where I can get this without having to order it online, please email me.

Anyhoo- back to the pesto. This time I substituted Parmesan for Pecorino and pine nuts for pecans. We have the motherload of pecans in the freezer from my in-laws, so why buy pine nuts when I can use pecans? Turns out that I like the taste of the pecans much better than the pine nuts. The pecans gave it an earthier taste while the Pecorino brought a saltier flavor (I did not add salt). I also added more garlic cloves (3) and used less olive oil.

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Naples and Rome

Yesterday we were in Naples; however, Bee was feeling under the weather and stayed behind on the boat to rest. Mom, Dad and I got a driver and toured around town, taking in an old monastery, a magnificent cathedral and a glass domed gallery with some high end shops. Unfortunately, a family member was not all we left behind...the camera got left as well and so only one pic of Naples.

We were up around 5:45 this morning to start our long day of sightseeing in Rome. The tour started with some interesting history on Rome and a view of the old senate building and Forum from Julius Caesar’s reign, as well as the oldest shopping market on the planet.

We spent some time in Trevi Square viewing the Fontana del Trevi but did not toss any coins since we have all already found our true loves...

No trip to Rome would be complete without a trip to the coliseum, where we actually saw some gladiators fight. Outside there are many men dressed as gladiators hoping to make money off of tourist by taking pictures with them. Apparently things got a bit territorial between an old timer and a new comer and a good-old-fashion fist fight broke out. Several other gladiators got involved and we were just as enthralled as the Roman mobs of old...

After a homemade lasagna (fabulous) lunch, we spent the afternoon in the Vatican City where we were in awe of the Sistine Chapel and the Museum galleries. Bee’s favorite item was an enormous circular, marble bath tub that filled an entire room and belonged to Emperor Nero’s wife. Due to her issues with dry skin, the tub was frequently filled with Donkey’s milk. Unfortunately this was a great expense to the emperor and when he got tired of paying the bill, he had her killed. Ladies, let this be a lesson to you about staying within the budget...

We ended our time at St. Peter’s Cathedral, which is built over the tomb of Peter and is also the site of his martyrdom.

Another Day, Another Beautiful Island

Today we returned to Italy, more specifically, to the island of Sicily. We began in the port town of Catania, an architecturally amazing town built in the seventeenth century. In the distance we could see Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano.

From there we headed to Taormina, a lovely town situated on Mount Tauro overlooking the Ionian Sea. Here we visited a Greco-Roman theater that had originally been built before the time of Christ.

Afterwards we spent some time shopping and enjoying gelato...

F Harry’s Toe, Mother-n-law’s tongue, and Drunk as a Donkey... A few things we learned in Santorini

Our last day in Greece was spent on the island of picture perfect Santorini. We had really been looking forward to this because this is the location of the typical pictures you see in brochures of Greece, with the white buildings and blue roofs overlooking the sea. All the villages are set high on cliffs which provide spectacular views. The available modes of transportation down to the sea are sky gondola, walking or donkey ride.

There are over 400 churches in Santorni, adding to the beautiful architecture...

We spent some time shopping in the town of Oia, which has very narrow cobblestone streets that are only about two shoulders wide. Dad’s version of shopping...

Seventy percent of Santorini is covered in grapes, which makes wine one of their top exports. We were able to visit one of the local wineries, Domaine Sigalas. Here we learned about the production of the wine and got a chance to taste it as well. In addition, we were told about the myth of Bahkos, who is attributed with bringing vines to the island. The story goes that he planted the original vine in the bone of a bird for transportation to the island, but when the vine out grew the bone he planted it in the skull of a lion. Eventually the vine out grew the skull and he moved it to the skull of a donkey. Therefore the locals say that if you have a little wine you get light as a bird, a little more and you get the courage of a lion, and any more than that you will become an ass.

The island receives very little rain fall, and the grapes are actually watered by a mist that comes up from the sea over night. This arid climate allows for cactus to grow throughout the landscape, and the following picture is of a prickly cactus the locals refer to as Mother-n-law’s tongue, which we thought was hilarious.

Our last bit of knowledge gained was that “thank you” in Greek sounds like F Harry’s Toe in English. So F Harry’s Toe to Greece, we loved our time here!

The Greek Isles, Part 2

This morning we woke to Argostolli, Greece, a quaint town on the island of Kefolonia. If you have ever seen the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, it was filmed here.

This Island is made up of steep mountains that plunge to white sand beaches, edged by a clear, torquoise sea. We toured an underground cave via a boat ride on Melissani Lake, and then took a winding ride down the beautiful coast line...

which took us to the village of Fiskardo for coffee, Baklava, and shopping. Dad was a good sport on the shopping...

Another great day in paradise...

Greece

We are currently spending three days in the Greek isles. Today was spent on the island of Corfu, where lemon, orange and olive trees are king. Although the olives are not in bloom yet, the lemons and oranges are about ready to pick and we have been so tempted to pick some. But given that Susan got a bit irritable with a chick who picked a flower at the palace on our tour today, we were able to refrain...

The day began with a tour of Achillion Mansion, former summer home of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and Wilhem II, King of Germany. It was later used as a hospital during the second World War. The Empress had a great love of Greek Mythology, particularly Achillies, whom the property is named for and who also has an enormous statue displayed in the main garden. The surrounding gardens were full of greek statues and fantastic views of the Adriatic Sea and an Albanian Mountain range.

From there we continued on to Kanoni and toured Mon Repo Palace, summer home of the Greek Royal family and birth place of Prince Philip of England. This palace was built for the second British governor of the island.

It was very exciting to see the ruins of a Christian church from Roman times. We discovered that Christianity was first brought to the island by disciples of Paul!

We wrapped our tour in town at one of two forts built by Napoleon during the French occupation, and headed by to our balcony for cocktails and sunset...another great day.

Croatia

Today we toured the medieval town of Dubrovnik in stunningly beautiful Croatia. The Dalmatian coastline has the best of both worlds, combining lush green mountains and the deep blue of the Adriatic Sea. We were fascinated by the rich history of this old world town that began on the rocks by refugees looking for a safe haven.

As seen in the below picture, the limestone walls originally served as a fort complete with a draw bridge and surrounding moat.

The architecture is quite impressive having been constructed of hand hewed stones and encompassing forty-seven Roman Catholic churches, some dating back to the seventh century AD.

After a morning of exploring, we continued south along the coastline to the Montenegro border for lunch at old country home. Here we saw how olive oil is produced. We had a fabulous lunch of red wine, salad, potatoes, beef and apple strudel. The salad was dressed with olive oil made on the property.

After lunch we wandered through the shops and outdoor cafes of the charming coastal town of Korcula...

At the end of the day, we said goodbye to lovely Croatia with a toast from our deck over a plate of nachos. We loved this country and would love to return!

Hello from Europe.

We are happy to report that we made our way to Italy via Amsterdam with without incident. In fact, it could not have gone better. We were prepared for long delays between the storms in Nashville and the volcano ash hovering over the Atlantic, but the biggest delay we encountered involved 30 minutes of taxiing around the Amsterdam airport due to a pilot that apparently needed more taxi hours to get his certification. Giddy up.

The real fun began in getting to our hotel in Venice. Did we take the water taxi that routes you directly to the hotel? Heck no, what is the fun in that when overcrowded public transportation can be combined with four clueless travelers carrying way too much luggage? Oh, did we mention that the bus initially pulled away without Dad, who was returning a cart to get one stinking Euro back (thank heavens Susan was able to bring the bus to a screeching halt with panicky screams of “stop” from the back of the bus)? Or, that at our next stop, we forgot to pull our luggage up into the bus away from the doors, causing the doors to jam with the suitcase securely locked in place? There was most certainly applause from the locals once we finally made our exit.

As you may already know, old Venice is a town of canals and no automobiles; therefore, anything that cannot be reached by water taxi is reached by your own efforts. For us this involved a climb across a high bridge with quite a few steps hauling our 10 plus bags. Then a “slight” walk through a million people over wet, slippery cobblestones. Needless to say, we looked like ridiculous tourists (of the Chevy Chase European Vacation variety) while sweating, panting and giving each other a good cussing. Good news, every one was brought back to a general state of familial friendliness by local wine and pizza at a neighborhood restaurant. We were all impressed after dinner at the local gelato shop when mama looked poised to pick up the tab with her “foreign money” hauled across the pond from a bowl back home. Unfortunately, this was an entire coin collection of British pounds, and we realized we were out of luck because a good bit of gelato had already been consumed. Luckily no one had to wash dishes...

After spending the night in a small hotel in the heart of old Venice we made our way this morning to the boat. We checked in and all appeared to being going well until mama decided to use the bathroom in the ship’s lobby on our way out for sight seeing. Now some of you fellow Americans may take note that in this part of the world the flush button can only be reached by closing the toilet top. For the uninformed, there is always the bright red emergency button...and if it doesn’t work, keep on pushing until the guy with the crash cart shows up. Also called to the scene were a crew member with a wheel chair and several supporting players...Hello, Dorothy - we’re not in Kansas anymore...

Today started well with delightful pastries and strong coffee from the local bakery. And all was right with the world right up to the moment we missed the prepaid tour of the outlying islands; however, we were able to take a wonderful gondola ride through the magical canals of Venice instead. Susan was unafraid to take one giant step for mankind into the gondola that almost resulted in a refreshing dip in the Mediterranean...note to self, that first step is a doozie. Our driver was an adorable, third-generation native that shared some interesting facts along the way. In addition, we were highly entertained when he decided to play chicken with an oncoming boat under a tiny bridge. We lost this contest with our heads held high because the competition almost took a swim. The canals, quaint bridges and old buildings were more beautiful than we had imagined. It was a great afternoon of shopping and wandering through town.

Conversation of the day:

Call on global phone from Uncle Jim...

UJ: Hey Mel when are you leaving on your trip?

Mel: We are already in Venice.

UJ: Get out of town!

Mel: I already did...

Apple Martini

The obsession over my Vita Mix continues to increase. I have used it everyday that I have been in town since I bought it a month and half ago. After making margaritas using of fresh fruit, I have become a true believer. The difference between fruit-sweetened and fructose-sweetened margarita really is amazing. The difference has made me back off margaritas at restaurants. Today I experimented with an Apple Martini recipe. One word for you: fabulouso.

Apple Martini for one

2 oz of vodka

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 apple, unpeeled

dash of Cinnamon

Combine and puree above ingredients in Vita Mix and pour over ice in a martini shaker. Shake, strain and pour into iced martini glass.

Seattle and Whistler

So, last week hubs and I headed to Seattle and then Whistler for a pleasure and business trip. I don't have time to give an exhaustive list but wanted to note some things that we enjoyed before I forget them.

Seattle-

We skipped most of the tourist things with the exception of a day trip to Victoria. I adored, adored Pike's Place Market. If you enjoy food, this is not to be missed. Fish market. European bakeries. Fresh flowers market. Stalls full of Latin American spices. Clam chowder stalls. I sampled the famed Beecher's Mac and Cheese. This stuff is so worth standing in line for. We took a ferry over to Victoria, British Columbia and did tea at the Empress hotel. Did not think my duck-hunting and motorcycle-riding hubs would sit for long at tea but even he enjoyed it! We had a fabulous view of the water and I am sure the wonderful white wine along with the tea made it more fun for hubs. We rented a car and drove to the Butchart Gardens. Mama had recommended this and we were so glad we made the 30 minute drive. The gardens are beautiful and truly masterpieces. Saw a few ideas I wanted to try out in our yard. During our stay in Seattle, we lodged at the Edgewater and I really really liked it. Some reviewers on Tripadvisor did not like the small size of the rooms but it reminded me of a cozy European hotel. Would definitely stay there again.

Whistler, BC-

We flew into Vancouver and then headed on to Whistler, BC. Seeing the skis slopes made me nostolgic for my skiing days but did not want to risk a bad fall, so passed up on the skiing. Whistler reminds me of Park City, Utah before the rich and famous discovered it. Beautiful. Rustic. Charming. Down to earth. When not working, we spent our time walking and enjoying the cold. We stayed at the Westin in the Upper Village and really enjoyed our location. Again, if you are a foodie, check out the Araxi. We thought it was worth the expense. Fabulous ambience. Great martinis and wine selection. The cheese souffle and entree of seared scallops were fabulous. We took our clients out to Ric's steakhouse and that was nice. Good wine selection. The appetizers of goat cheese crostinis and Mediterrean dip were huge hits. Lobster was delicious even though it was slightly overcooked. Clients said steaks were tender and cooked well.

basil, tomato and garlic pasta

so ready for summer. bought some tomato and basil plants this weekend. could not wait for the taste of summer so last night I made pasta. simple and yummy.

basil, tomato and garlic pasta

olive oil

1 box/can of Pomi or San Marzano crushed tomatoes

2-3 cloves of garlic

palmful of red pepper

angel hair, cooked

8 leaves of basil, sliced (go ahead and buy a plant at the grocery store- its cheaper in the long run. do not cut individual leaves, cut the main stem with leaves)

mound of grated percino romano cheese

kosher salt

heat pan on medium high heat for a few seconds. drizzle your olive oil around the pan three complete circle. put in tomatoes, and let it simmer 20 minutes or until sauce thickens. 5 minutes after tomatoes have been cooking, add garlic and red pepper. cook angel hair one minute less than total cooking time (did mine for 5 minutes). drain pasta and add to sauce, stirring until coated. add basil, cheese and kosher salt. stir until well mixed and immediately serve with more cheese on top.

best eaten on the porch with a glass of read wine.

Food on my mind

Have appetite back. Will eat.

Missing Indian food. Hubs took me to Bombay Bistro on Sunday for some northern Indian food. Wonder if Hubs is interested in driving me to Atlanta for some southern Indian food at Saravanaa Bhavan. Am thinking that answer is going to be a resounding no.

I am not a bread person but I have become addicted to an Indian flat bread called parantha. All in all, it is pan-fried flour that can be stuffed with different vegetables or potatoes. It is not low fat. My favorite restaurant in Delhi, Not Just Paranthas, serves many different versions along with a black Dal that will prompt you to ask for a wheelchair instead of a take-out bag. So so fabulously good.

Not sure how I made this jump, but all of these musings about Indian food has led to a craving for lamb. So yesterday I had a long chat with the butcher at Publix about cooking lamb and am going to attempt cook it on the grill this weekend. This should be highly entertaining. Hubs will be standing by with a alcohol(for me), Valium(for him), fire extinguisher (for lamb) and Pizza Hut number. So if any of you have advice, please email me!

Have a great weekend.

india gate blog

so, i am in new delhi, india with lynn for the next 10 days to purchase more "lifestyle" goods for india gate. consequently, i will be spending the next couple of weeks on the india gate blog. check it out.

http://indiagatechickadees.blogspot.com/

My Very Own Office

While the parents were here, we tackled the hall closet. I so wish I had taken a before shot because this closet was a mess. Everything that did not have a place in the house was shoved in this closet. I was totally jazzed when I found some toile wallpaper at a discount. I think toile is such a timeless pattern. I have never gotten tired of it. It took Daddy, the best wallpaper guy around, under 2 hours to paper the whole closet.

When he finished, we knew that it could never go back to being a closet. So the idea for a small office took hold as Mama and I pulled things around the house for the new space. The table started off in the entertainment room and then behind a sofa before being recruited as a desk. The lamp came from the guest room. Doesn't the shade go so well with the paper?

I am currently working on a funky collage to hang over the desk. In the collage there is a pink crown, so when I found this Alice-in-Wonderland clock on sale at Walmart, I knew it had to go home with me.

One of my favorite things in the library is the pen holder that my grandmother made for my father when he was a young man.

Across from the desk is a shelf for all of my books and files. I have not yet arranged it completely, so those photos are another day's project. Although I adore my Hous, I am thrilled to have my very own office!