Tip for a Tuesday....

"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup."

~ Ludwig van Beethoven

Or those who use a Proctor Silex Hand Blender.

Soup making is easier and quicker, when I use a hand blender for the final step when making soup.  Instead of pouring small portions of hot soup mix into the blender to achieve the desired  consistency, while also trying not to burn myself, I simply place the hand blender in the soup pot.  Within minutes, the softened chunks of ingredients are perfectly blended.  

Easy Peasy!

A Monday Memory...

Remember these?

Full front seats in your family car.  If you're as old as I am, you certainly do.

Or as old as my daughters, who I'm sure well remember their Grandma's Cadillac. And how it would take both the driver and front passenger, rocking back and forth, to make the seat move.

I recall the dilemma these all in one front seats used to cause when I was first dating.

Do I sit next to the passenger side door or closer to the middle, next to the driver?

Back then, the seriousness of the relationship seemed to be the determining factor in answering that question.  It was usually a relief when a new date turned up with bucket seats and the decision was made for me.  But you could also "drive home" a point, so to speak, if you were upset with your boyfriend by pressing yourself tightly against the passenger door instead of him.

Oh, and remember when we were the power source, cranking the window down ourselves? And those triangular shaped windows in the front, that could be opened and angled back to provide the most glorious breeze?

OK. Time to stop cruising down memory lane now....

Friday Fotos....

Before and after....

Decided to go for a more "beachy" look for a cabinet the Englishman made years ago.

Quite happy with the results!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend!

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

Juan Williams wrote a beautiful piece: "Love of Life: Feeling thankful in new and unexpected ways."
October 29, 2015 at FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/10/29/love-life-feeling-thankful-in-new-and-unexpected-ways.html
In the article, he mentioned the lyrics to a familiar Van Morrison song, citing that it was originally written about the singer/songwriter's love of God.  

It all makes sense now....

For those who are unfamiliar with the lyrics, I've copied and pasted them below:
    
 "Have I Told You Lately" is a hit song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded for his 1989 album Avalon Sunset. It is a romantic ballad often played at weddings although it was originally written also as a prayer.

Have I Told You Lately"

Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do

Oh the morning sun in all its glory
Greets the day with hope and comfort too
And you fill my life with laughter
You can make it better
Ease my troubles that's what you do

There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine
Like the sun at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray to the One

Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do

There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine
And it shines like the sun
At the end of the day we will give thanks
And pray to the One

Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do

Take away my sadness
Fill my life with gladness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
Fill my life with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what you do.

Wednesday's Wisdom....

     "It's ironic that we forget so often how wonderful life really is.  We have more time than ever before to remember it.  The men and women of generations past had to work long, long hours to support lots and lots of children in tiny, tiny houses.  The women worked in factories and sweatshops and then at home too, with two bosses, the one who paid them, and the one they were married to, who didn't.
     There are new generations of immigrants now, who work just as hard, but those of us who are second and third and fourth generation are surrounded by nice cars, family rooms, patios, pools-the things our grandparents thought only rich people had.  Yet somehow, instead of rejoicing, we've found the glass half empty.  Our jobs take too much out of us and don't pay enough.  We're expected to pick the kids up at preschool and run the microwave at home.
     C'mon, let's be honest.  We have an embarrassment of riches.  Life is good."

excerpted from A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen

I reread this book the other night and the passage above jumped out at me.

So true.  So very true.

There seem to be numerous articles lately, such as the one in the New York Times today, titled "Stressed, Tired, Rushed: A Portrait of the Modern Family"- stating it's just so difficult to "balance it all" - that there isn't enough "quality time"; stories of parents and students claiming that homework causes too much frustration and should be banned; young mothers posting photos of themselves on Facebook, with their afternoon glasses of wine - saying it's the only way they can cope with their small children.

Whoa.

I feel extremely grateful to be living in the United States, in the twenty first century.

Grateful for simple things - like indoor plumbing, when I'm up during the night. Seriously. 

When I think of what women had to cope with, back in the days of "Little House on the Prairie" or the women today, who live in countries like Afghanistan.

Anna Quindlen is right.  Life IS good. 

Knowing and acknowledging that, for me, is good too.

Tip for a Tuesday....

A Monday Memory....

Long ago, before there was an Internet or Fed EX or Amazon, shopping was done via the telephone and a catalog.  Growing up, my parents would give us the Sears "Wish Book" catalog to peruse to make up our list for Santa.

As a young mother, I relied on the Spiegel catalog for gift ideas and purchases.  

(As luck would have it, back in the mid 1980's, I was able to order three Cabbage Patch dolls from Spiegel, just as the craze was taking hold and emptying all stores of the coveted dolls.  They arrived in plenty of time for Easter that year.)

I had a wonderful assistant in helping me maintain the secrecy of all the gift items I would order:

Ted -  the UPS guy.

Ted took great care in keeping an eye out for any of my daughters when he would back his UPS van up the driveway, so they wouldn't see what he was delivering.   If he was concerned they were within earshot, he would spell out the names of companies marked on the return labels of packages, so as to alert me to what needed to be quickly put aside.  One time, among several boxes he had on the truck for me, was a large package with photos of the enclosed toy all over the outside of the box.  Since no one was home to receive the drop off, Ted made sure to hide the packages behind some bushes near the garage door.  He left me a note, explaining what he had done.  I really appreciated his efforts in trying to prolong the mystery of "Santa."

These days, there are no tiny eyes eagerly searching to see what's coming up the driveway.  When we do get a delivery, it seems there are several different drivers who arrive, either from UPS or Fed EX.  But I will always remember Ted with gratitude for his ready smile and help.