Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Laundry Time, Soul Starch...

My friends are all in various stages of life, and each of us has our own unique set of problems.

I was discussing this very thing with two friends the other day. One has a multiplex of relationship issues and is in the midst of trying to sort out the details, the other, well, she has some relationship issues, too.

Another friend doesn't speak the same language as her husband. Wait. That likely describes every married woman I know. Let's just say that her communication failures seem extraordinarily confusing. Another. Well. We probably all struggle with the fine balance of supporting, loving and respecting our men with varying degrees of success and failure waning and waxing with the phases of the moon and/or hormones. 

And that's just the marriage struggles. Pile on work issues, church issues, children, budgets, extended family, friends, health...oh we can have some problems.

As my friends and I chatted we all looked at each other and said things like, "I could not have survived what you went through." or "I think my life sucks, but it's nothing compared to yours. How can you even get out of bed?' Or, "I'd have locked and shut that door a long time ago." And an old story came back to me. Three women hung out laundry to dry. They compared their items, they lamented with the others stains and struggles, gave advice and listening ears. In the end, they all chose their own laundry, folded it and took it home.

When I look at the lives of others, I am amazed at what the human spirit can endure for love, or for sanity or for survival. Amazed. And when they look at mine, they may well wonder why I've made the choices I have.

Bottom line. We humans are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. The will to live, survive, thrive and love is a strong one indeed. When given the choice to choose faith over substances, peace over numbness, joy over bitterness, the survivors in life choose faith, peace and joy. 

Bottom line. Our paths are ours. And given the choice, we will still pick our path over our neighbor's. Our laundry may be stained and dingy, but it is ours and is permeated with our essence. We who will continue to live will choose our journeys no matter how difficult they may become.

So survivor. Put those feet on the floor, pray hard, slide on the freshly laundered big girl panties, make one decision at a time, and go thrive on that path. It's all yours, and for all it's bumps, potholes and ruts, you know you'd choose the same one.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Herd Mentality

Trying to blog with a herd of animals surrounding me is a challenge of epic proportions. Trust me. Especially if two of said animals have the need for scritches, scratches, constant attention or want what you are eating/drinking. Oh. And their heads are the size of my lap top.


Duncan may have been on my list several times (read daily) this week. But, I have a feeling he's taking home some different and possibly as annoying (ha, more annoying than stealthy pooping on the floor, doubt it!!!) habits. He's run with two big dogs (and manages to join their wrestling matches without fear or injury) all week, and he's made a frenemy of Feral.

Feral thinks he's part of the pack. And he pretty much is, however, Lola is always annoyed at Feral's ability to jump onto small spaces to get closer to the humans, and often head butts him or slugs him. Duncan is a little more up close and personal with Feral and he can get to places that Lily and Lola couldn't even consider, leaving Feral with a very unwanted shadow more often than not. Feral has done a lot of growling (yes, he growls... weird cat trick...he growls when someone knocks on the door) and running.

Duncan also has discovered the peanut butter knife ritual. Every morning I make Rob and I a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. And every day the girls get to lick the magically delicious peanut butter spreader. Duncan now lines up with them and sits, waiting his turn for a lick of doggie nirvana proportions P B and J. 

He'll leave tomorrow and I'll kind of miss the little nugget... but not his stealth nuggets, mind you.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Presto-Chango...

The more things change, the more they stay the same.?.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. 

James 3:17
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:16-18 

Duncan is still pooping on the floor. Check. This has not changed. Even though he is using the outdoor facilities almost as often.

The girls still stop everything when it's time to make peanut butter sandwiches because they get to lick the "spoon".

Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Pie is delicious for dessert and for breakfast. 

No. These things have not changed.

My hair has. Drastically.

And there is a big decision in our future and Rob and I are praying for wisdom. After three and a half years we may be opening our home again to someone who needs us to. And it's really scary. I crave peace and my home is a place where that emotion reigns. Even when it's a mess (often), hurried/busy/harried (yep, often there, too), more often than not I breathe a sigh of contentment when I walk through my red front door. 

But, our home has not always been that haven. As a matter of fact it has been a battlefield.  And I remember having to put emotional armor on before walking through the door. The conflicts had grown subtly so that the intensity of the ugly didn't fully become apparent until the big battle ended with lots of casualties. In the absence of shells and bombs, we noticed that peace was creeping back in.

self portrait with crappy camera phone....new hair.

Our decision is probably already made. See the verse in James above. The details will need to be ironed out, decided and fully agreed upon. But our hearts are already longing for this to be the thing that helps and brings restoration and healing to a past combative, present tolerable relationship with our child. 

I have no idea what this new change is going to look like and what it's going to cost me. I am struggling with the concepts of helping vs enabling, toleration vs. acceptance, selfishness vs. what I know to be right, hope vs. fear. 

This week that the world touts Random Acts of Kindness...I feel very convicted that a deliberate act of kindness toward someone I love is required of me. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Dig-Doggity Day

If something fails to make sense in this post (more than usual) it might be because I'm being leaned on by a needy big dog.

We have a visitor. Day 5 of said visitor. The girls are still adjusting. 

Meet Duncan. 

& has a dog-sitting/house-sitting side job that is booming. Duncan is part of that.  Usually she stays with to-be-sat-upon dogs and we get the girls but every once in awhile the dogs come here. 

Duncan, with his gray bouffanty Dutch boy haircut and his shifty human-like eyes is quite the character. Rob is keeping count of the times I have told Duncan that he's on my list. This is why he's on my list....he keeps stealth-pooping on my floor. 

Why stealth-pooping? Well, it would be because we will spend long, long periods of time in the great-out-of-doors, the frigid great-out-of-doors, I must say, doing all the things we think might entice him to use the said great-out-of-doors as a potty.

Until yesterday (Day 4 for those of you who are keeping track) he had only been enticed once. (So, if you are doing the math, that would be seven little piles in various assorted indoor locations.) Often those little piles are right upon returning inside after twenty minutes spent out. 

It's not the frigid temps, or the snow. I know this because he will bound and hop and play and pee with great doggie gusto. If he cowered near the door and whimpered to go in I'd assume he was delicate and couldn't handle the cold. Oh no. That's not the case. But yesterday, and so far today (well, yesterday after the early morning gift deposit....in his defense it was Valentine's Day and I guess he was feeling generous.) he has used outside four times. This is a cause for much joy. I'm sure the neighbors are enjoying the high-pitched celebrations that we've been throwing. 

And. All this "clean-up in aisle 5" business is making our girls seem like perfect, perfect doggie angels, so I guess it's win, win, win for them, too. 

Here's hoping you don't find special brown, fragrant gifts in your life today...unless they are brownies, that is.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Kindness of Strangers and Ginger Pear Kindcakes

Day two of Random Acts of Kindness...

Here is something I thought was pretty cool. If you are a writer, or love getting letters, this might be just right for you.

It's a group that sends out handwritten letters to people who need a little boost. I know that a written note can make all the difference to someone. Words and the feelings behind them are important and I think they bear eternal weight.

Yesterday & and I took the dogs outside and began shoveling the driveway. I was working the edge of the driveway where it meets the street and picks up all the nasty ice accumulation. I wasn't really paying attention to the cars driving past. All of a sudden I hear. "If you step back, I'll get that for you." A guy in a pickup with a blade had stopped. He had a kid and a dog in the backseat. I told him thank you and backed out of the way. He scraped away the ice and dirty snow, backed up and made a pass at the driveway, and again. I sent & in for some cash. And He waved it off, told me to have a nice day and rode off into the sunset. Super cool.

So. Two big blessings on the first day of Random Acts of Kindness. I guess I'll call these pancakes...

Ginger Pear Kindcakes...

2 Cups flour (I used half unbleached all purpose, half whole wheat pastry)

1/4 Cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup applesauce

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 and 1/2 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP and 1 tsp cinnamon

3 Cups non-dairy milk (I used vanilla almond)

2 pears small dice

1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Mix all dry ingredients until incorporated. Add applesauce, syrup, milk until mixed thoroughly. Add diced pears and walnuts. Prepare as you prefer to prepare pancakes. : ) Eat up. Makes about 20 medium sized pancakes. Freeze the extras, they are great popped in the toaster.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Feeling Like a Winner on This the First Day or Random Acts of Kindness Week....

Didn't know this. Did you? 


It's Random Acts of Kindness week. 


And according to Milkshake and their daily updates there is one more fact I didn't know. 


"A single smile can generate the same level of pleasurable brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate, according to British researchers. Smiling can also reduce your stress levels and overall blood pressure. So go ahead, smile at a stranger—doctor's orders!"


That's a pretty amazing "fact" especially when we all know the value of a good piece of chocolate.

So here's my smile-maker of the day. I am beaming 2,000 bars worth of chocolate, the really good kind, insert your favorite brand here, because I won the Forks and Beans Best Tasting Recipe category.


Ironically, most of my recipes have flour, and this one was required to be gluten free. I worked and worked on those cookie/bar recipes to make them just right. And at the last minute remembered my Thanksgiving project...my Salted Caramel Pecan Fudge Pie recipe. And guess what? It won. 


Here is what the judges had to say.



"Rich, fudgy, incredibly sinful! The caramelized pecan topping is enough of a reason to make this; as well as the filling would be simply delicious served as a parfait. But combining all of these flavors together? Sheer chocolate heaven!"


Grin. 2,000 chocolate wattage grin. I was up against these recipes. Including Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie (which is to die for.)


So join me and have a very happy, very smiley Monday. And if you aren't smiling now, make a dessert, with lots of chocolate and share the love. :  )

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lame-da, Lame-duh Recapped Week

such a "poem" deserves such a picture.

Week in summary in freestyle kind of random poemish type verse. Scarily, there was a cadence in my head as I typed. And Scarily is probably as creative as it gets...


Cat's on the table, what a nasty trick
Finally got winter snow was nice and thick

Germs fill the household, the nasty kind
Had a birthday party, and spent some fam time.


Tweaked a few recipes. Read a few lines.
Watched old TV episodes on Netflix
While  "shopping" ideas on Pinterest. 
Went to a funeral, The sixth in the past few months.


Walked a few dogs. 
Supported a few grocery stores.
Read a few blogs. 

Going to meet Toad-man for coffee at 6:15.
Ugly time of morning 
but such a blessing.


Hope you didn't gag at the lame-o poem.
And I'm out of words. And out of steam.