Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Taking Care of the Things on God's Heart

Yesterday was the celebration of Father's Day. And other than saying that I've been blessed with a great father and a great husband, I don't want to talk about fathers at all. 

I want to talk about foster care. 

I can't share much with the world other than to say my daughter has been certified to do foster care. 

I have had the privilege of observing her, and interacting with her little visitors for the last two weeks. 

I am not going to judge the situation that landed these children in her care as I don't have facts, and there, but for the grace of God, go I. Honestly, I can't imagine there is a single person on the planet who would enter into the daunting world of parenting with the plan that their child(ren) will enter the foster care system someday.  The pain felt by every person involved in the breakdown of a family has got to be tremendous. 

That said, I have to share a little bit of my experience with this huge thing in my daughter's life. For starters, all of the people who have had a chance to cross paths with my daughter and her little ones will experience life and love being played out. The grace I've seen, the heart expanding to embrace every bit of the experience, the unconditional love... I tell you, it's amazing to see your child grow into a woman of integrity and beauty and grace. Then the children. I have become a foster grandmother to little ones who may or may not be part of my life for much more than a few weeks. Honestly, my heart is going to break a little or a lot (it will get harder each day) when they return where they belong and leave my life. Every conversation, every hug, every smile and kiss that these sweet kids are sharing with me is precious. I can't help but love them and I can't help but pray for them. My hope is that through this transition time that their parents are doing everything they are capable of doing to become the kind of parents that nurture and heal. If not, I'm praying that this brief period of time will show these children how precious they are so that when they make choices they choose life. 

I can't imagine how much more powerful this must all be for my daughter. After all my involvement is minimal. I didn't sit through forty hours of training and homework. I haven't had home visits or phone calls where I had minutes to determine if my house was a proper fit for a child or children. I didn't have to listen to and read about case studies of real situations and go home and process reality for some children. 

I don't have to tuck children into bed and see them first thing in the morning. I haven't had to show patience and compassion when they are processing through negative emotions. I haven't had to comfort a crying child who misses a parent. 

God's heart is toward the women and children who have no husband or father. He has asked us to care, too. 

I encourage you to join me in saying thanks to foster parents who step out in faith and hope that they can make a difference in a child's life. Pray for children, pray for families, pray for the caretakers who are willing to love these kids.  Pray that they will indeed make a difference in each life they touch. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Spicy Curry Garlic Cereal Mix

Spicy Curry Garlic Cereal Mix

3 Cups cereal (a mix of Chex flavors if wanted, puffed rice or Cheerios)

1 and ½ Cups or additional add-ins. Nuts, seeds, pretzels, crackers

2 TBSP melted Earth Balance (or oil of choice)

1 TBSP garlic flavored oil (or more butter)

1/2 TBSP worcestershire sauce (find a vegan one, last time I checked Whole Foods 365 brand was. Traditional worcestershire contains anchovies)

½ TBSP soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Melt the butter, add the spices. Mix well. Dump the cereal in a bowl, add nuts, pretzels or crackers of choice. Pour the buttery spice mixture over it and mix very well. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and stir every 15 minutes. Dump onto paper towels and let cool. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Rocking the Pink Harnesses...

  Gertrude and Gladys first official "walk". 

 Did Gertie and Gladie love the harnesses? Did they love the walk? 

Well. Not so much. The harnesses definitely cramped their style. Gertie was oh, so, needy of a friend who'd carry her. 

Distance covered? Pups or people carrying pups? Former, yards, latter, 1/4 mile. BTW things on the trail, like rocks, sticks, and who knows what are fascinating to Beagle pups. The first few feet of the trip was rich with new experiences. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Ranchy Cereal Mix

Ranchy Cereal Mix

3 Cups cereal (a mix of Chex flavors if wanted, puffed rice or Cheerio type)

1 and ½ Cups of additional add-ins. Nuts, pretzels, crackers

2 TBSP melted Earth Balance

1 TBSP garlic flavored oil (or more EB)

1/2 TBSP worcestershire sauce (Find a vegan one, that doesn't use anchovies...last time I bought Whole Foods 365 brand was vegan)

½ TBSP soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground celery seed

3/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon (heaping) ground black pepper

Melt the Earth Balance, add the spices. Mix well. Dump the cereal in a bowl, add nuts, pretzels or crackers of choice. Pour the buttery spice mixture over it and mix very well. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and stir every 15 minutes. Dump onto paper towels and let cool. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Spicey Dicey Onion Rings and Frying Pan Factoids

Taking another break from posting puppies. I don't know why anyone would not want to look at the sweet puppies all day long, but I digress. 

A few months ago an author I Linked-In'd with, Nancy Jarvis, contacted me about a cookbook she was putting together. Nancy had the cool idea of gathering recipes from different cozy mystery authors. 

Because Michelle and I have an upcoming release (without a date, or...ummm exact publisher yet, the wheels turn veeerrrry slowly sometimes) she asked if we wanted to submit a few recipes. 

I asked Michelle. What would it hurt? We need a few recipes for the book anyway because Zula is an amazing cook who can whip up some mean dishes. But it turned out the deadline for recipe submission was looming and there was a whole lot of food mentioned in Out of the Frying Pan. I asked Michelle to send me dish names. (Zula names all her signature dishes.) Michelle tossed out the appetizer from a dinner party fail. (Well, the food didn't fail at all, unless you count the uneaten bombe when tension ramped up and sent everyone scurrying after their own agendas instead of toward dessert.) 

The appetizer winner? Spicey Dicey Onion Rings. Yum. And what did Michelle have in mind for this recipe? I asked her. "I don't know. I just liked the way it sounded," was her paraphrased response. "Make something up." So I did. And submitted it. We were able to submit two recipes and do a mini write-up of our character or a scene, etc. 

It was terribly fun. And the onion rings were off the charts. 

Here's the link to the cookbook. 

Here's one of our recipes. The write-up is on the sneak peek. Or it was when I looked. Some of the other recipes in the sneak peek looked pretty fabulous, too. Be sure to check it out.  

Spicey Dicey Onion Rings

1/3 Cup garbanzo bean flour (besan)

1/3 Cup water ( use 1/4 and add a 1/2 TBSP at a time until you get consistency for the batter you want, you may need less)

1/2 TBSP lemon pepper or lemon garlic blend or lemon peel/fried garlic

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (additional for cooked rings if desired)

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley

1/2 TBSP brown or yellow mustard

1/2 TBSP lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon of siracha sauce or pepper sauce of choice 

Mix dry ingredients until well mixed, add 1/4 cup of water to the wet ingredients and mix into the dry. Add more water if needed. You don't want watery nor so thick it's gooey. Just dippable. 

Slice a medium onion. 

Heat oil on a stove top or in a deep fryer. When hot add the dipped rings. When the rings are golden either flip if you don't have enough oil to cover the top of the onions or remove and place on paper towels to absorb the grease. Sprinkle with salt if desired. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ You Know You Want a Puppy Update...

Gertrude and Gladys have grown quite a bit in their week at our place. Not doubled or anything crazy like that but they are bigger. The most amazing part is the increase in their coordination and steadiness. We have two or three steps to the out of doors and after they go potty they now can take the steps back into the house all by themselves. They can do the steps, but it's not graceful, but they can do em. 

However. I'm sure you don't want to know all of these details. Right? 

So here's just a short list of things that we've discovered or experienced this week with the girls. 

Nights that I was awakened at two a.m. ZERO

Mornings I was awakened by squealing just a wee bit earlier than my alarm?THREE. The worst morning? The 5:15 a.m. Poopageddon morning. Human babies finger paint with things that fall out of their diapers...or so I'm told. Apparently, adorable puppies can paw paint water bowls with certain substances as well. But only three mornings contained that substance in the kennel and only one included art. 

Reactions of other people? Everything from squeals to utter and complete disbelief that we succumbed to two puppies, to enthusiasm for the breed, to blank stares, to warnings about bad beagle behaviors in other beagles...pretty much the same kind of responses I got with announcements of my pregnancies.  (except for the beagle thing...but I believe the word breed was mentioned.)

Loads of puppy laundry? 

Guesstimate? Seven to ten. There was the Poopageddon morning. And the number of times where bladders didn't quite hold their liquid or puppy All-Star wrestling took place in the water bowl. 

Initial cost of our free puppies?

We thought ahead a bit. Got two sets of harnesses and leashes, because these speedy little suckers are going to need containment every time we get outside and are growing like weeds. We had to get a cute puppy bed, and a brush, and a brush/mitt, a few bandanas, a chewy toy or three, matching and adorable food and water bowls, food...soft puppy mush, and organic dried puppy kibbles for the near future. Chaching. $170.00. Note: My brother runs Properpet.com If you are looking for great prices on supplies, check them out. And $170.00 is a bargain, right? In entertainment value alone. 

What's been chewed on? Absolutely everything including finger, toes, ears, necks, socks, shoes...

   

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Father's Day Ideas or NOT...

If you could put a face and a personality on a mullet it would be that of my dad.  

Don't get me wrong...he doesn't dangle a wallet chain, rat tail or a full Joe Dirt doo. No. But the man can dress up or down for just about any occasion. 

When Dollar Shave Club asked me to participate in their “Father’s Day Gifts From Years Past,”blog extravaganza
where bloggers share memories and pictures of gifts we've given our dads, I just couldn't pass it up. Because I once captured the essence of my dad's multiple personalities in a handmade gift.

My dad's gift a few years back, quite a few...if you'll notice, the smudges in the middle of the faces are his mustache... a wee bit faded. But a decade or two will do that to an object d'art. 

This double-sided gift was personalized just for him. Respected, tie-rocking registered pharmacist, community and church leader, all around great guy. Flip the little bugger around to the back side and his near/dear ones all recognize that guy. See, Dad had/has this project self-challenge thing he does. The outfit, as in crazed standing up hair, and the plaid shorts and T-shirt got lots of play during DIY and self improvement remodeling adventures.  

I remember two pairs of project shorts from my formative years. The featured blue and yellow ones and a ratty red and blue more patriotic model (which I believe started as pants and ended up as shorts). Dad's super-remodeler costumed epic adventures were made all the more exciting by the split-second precision with which he could finish (or hide) the evidence of the project and disappear into the shower just as the guests began to arrive. 

He is pretty much legendary for this sweet ninja style skill. People wander in, comment on the smell of fresh paint or glue, wonder out loud about the sound of the running shower, or ask if the "project-of-the-day" was new. 

Dad has gotten a little more difficult to shop for. I mean, my parents have every handmade gift I've ever given them, and I almost hate to burden them with more of the same. However, I won't lie. This little guy does bring back some great memories. 

If you are looking for an easy gift for dad, I hear the Dollar Shave Club is epic in its own rights. Maybe up there with a mullet. Not my dad, of course, that mold was broken after he was made. There is only one of him. 

More about Dollar Shave Club ~ 

Dollar Shave Club couldn't be simpler. Select one of our great
razors, pay one low monthly fee, and we send 'em right to your
door. No more over-paying for fancy brand name shave tech.
No more forgetting to buy your blades.