John 3:16 March 3/16

For God So Loved the World, that He Gave His Only Begotten Son, that Whosoever Believed
in Him should Have Everlasting Life.  John 3:16.
Today is 3/16 and I'm spreading the word.                                        The word of God, that is.

  What a statement that verse is - how Great it is to believe in the Son of God, and to be a part of a family of followers of Jesus Christ.  I don't get to spend time with all of my family and friends as much as I would like, but one day, in Heaven, there'll be this big PARTY!                     With a host of angels. 

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Thanksgiving in March

We can always say thanks.  It is one of my favorite things about thanksgiving.  Well, besides the great food.  But now I'm giving thanks to a bunch of folks that helped to provide over 1,000,000 meals for our hungry neighbors.  The hungry folks in our own town.  It's hard to believe, when we spend so much time watching our calories and fat grams, that there are folks close by that don't have enough to eat.

The post before this one was about the empty bowls event that happened a few weeks ago in Fort Worth.  Wow.  I just got a little thank you flyer in the mail that said the event raised over $263,618 dollars for the Tarrant Area Food Bank.  A quarter of a million dollars in a day!  That's impressive!

But it wouldn't be so without all the hard work of a great committee.  Donna Anderson, Amie Brock, Janet Cunningham, Robert Dillon, Lisa Fuld, Lesha Hampton, Amy Helling, Glenda Endres, Dewayne Hines, Rhonda Hines, Charlotte Jones, Holly Mack, Ken Orr, Rita Robbins, Janet Rodriguez, and David Sieja were the committee that brought this whole thing together, amongst a whole crew of volunteers.

Without all of them, nothing would be possible without the food vendors that provide the food.  Bailey's Prime Plus, Blue Bonnet Bakery, Bob's Steak & Chop House, Bonnell's, Cast Iron at the Omni Fort Worth, City Kitchen Catering, Coca-Cola, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Freebird World Burrito, Houlihan's, La Familia, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Mac's on 7th Street, McKinley's Bakery and Catering, Ruffino's Ristorante Italiano, Starbucks, Tarrant Area Food Bank Community Kitchen, Tarrant County College South East Campus Culinary Arts Program, The Culinary School of Fort Worth, Tillman's Roadhouse, Tom Thumb, Ultimate Cuisine and Events, and Vidalia's at the Worthington. 

But who really started it all?
A bunch of potters got together and decided to make a difference.

favorite quote:  "If you think you are too small to be effective, you've never been in bed with a mosquito."  -Betty Reese

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in the news!

I was mentioned in the Springtown AND the Azle News today!
Here is the link to the Azle paper....
http://www.azlenews.net/news.asp?Story=18727
and here is the link the the Springtown paper.
http://www.springtown-epigraph.net/news/get-news.asp?id=10686&catid=3&cpg=get-news.asp
They are, for the most part, the same article, but it is cool to see my name in print.

Last friday was the empty bowls event.  They made almost a quarter of a million dollars from donations of local potters and restaurants.  Said the first event was in 2003, but I think it was earlier than that - the one I remember helping to organize was much smaller - we rented a small gallery in downtown Fort Worth and I helped make the salad.  We served soup and salad and I think the price was $20.  We spent many many hours decorating bowls that were fired at a local ceramic shop. 
Now, the event has grown into two venues - one in Fort Worth and one in Dallas.  $40 a bowl now.  The food has gotten much more glamorous too.    It is all for a good cause. 

I have donated bowls every year for the Fort Worth benefit.  I make bowls for my students to finish, and some for my neices and nephew to decorate each year.  They like the fact that they are doing something to help feed people too.

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my shady B

If you haven't read my about page on my website, now is a good time to do it....
http://www.shadybranch.net/about/about2.html

While winter is still lingering, and the days are still short, a good story of promise gives us new energy, and hope for the spring.  While we are still working on this old place, it is always good to go back and see how far we've come in a seemingly short period of time. 

We had company this past weekend that hadn't been here in a while.  They were noticing all the things we had done since their last visit.  I suppose it's been longer than we realized since they stayed over, but there were quite a lot of additions over the past half a year or so. 

We installed a beautiful new handrail for the stairwell.  The wood is from the same post oak tree that we used in our bathroom.  Beautiful rich and interesting burly wood, lovingly planed, dried and stored until we came along wanting to make something out of it.  Our carpenter and my husband are geniuses when it comes to bringing my visions to life.  They take an idea and fly with it, making it even better in reality. 

We poured the concrete for our porches and walkway to the house.  This was a major expense, and my savings account still has not recovered from it.  But it made an incredible difference in the look of the house, not to mention keeping the dirt from entering the doorway.  Now, if I can keep the two little bull calves off of it and out of my flower garden......another small problem with the pasture fence that needs repair......

We finished (or almost finished) the tile on the counter tops of the bathroom. 

We installed glass in the shower.

We had our carpenter make this incredible wood chopping block for my kitchen island.  It was a gift from our friends Kim and Don, who love to come cook with us and stay the weekend.

We installed the three Aspens my brother brought from Colorado in my living room.  Yes, they go floor to ceiling in the corner, reminding me of the mountains I love so much.  Now, when they visit, they don't ask me what I want them to bring from Colorado........:)

We got my piano back from my other brother Guy, and music is a big part of our lives again.  So now, that is in my living room instead of the buffet.

Anyway, there's still lots to do,
painting
rock work
the garage made into studio space, windows put in, ceiling, a bathroom
cabin built
deck built
barn door and concrete
and maybe another barn for Larry
fencing improvements
a loafing shed

I'm just putting it out there......a vision, so to speak.......where I envision us being in another seven years.......it is all coming together.........

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Sunshine in Texas

The weather in Texas is so wonderfully weird.  Freezing nights, warm sunny days.  Though I suppose Colorado gets weather like that too.  It's one of the things I love about the place. So I suppose it is one of the things I love about Texas too.  Today is upward of 60 degrees, warm and sunny, no wind - a good day to start the garden, till the earth, plant something and then lay down in the sunshine and watch it grow.

Up north it is snowing like crazy.  Our relatives in Kansas have been under a white blanket for weeks now.  Temperatures dip into the teens at night and don't climb too much higher during the day.  We were there for a few days a week ago.  The weather took a nice turn for the better while we were there, but got cold and icky again once we had left again.  We must carry Texas warmth and sunshine with us - even the snow began to melt.

I'd like to live someplace snowy - just once - maybe a year - to get it out of my system.  I realize that shoveling would get old, and when it all starts to melt, it gets gray and ugly, but  I've always loved the comfort of it.  When it snows in Texas, we close businesses, schools, it's almost like Christmas used to be - where there was MAYBE one store open.  You have to stay all cozied up, and hope there is enough stuff in the frig to make a pot of soup.  I always have a couple of good books on my nightstand waiting to read. No fireplace, but we've got one on the TV that we can turn on in a pinch:)
But
For now, I'm going to buy my onion sets and put them in the ground.  But then, it could snow tomorrow.  We are in Texas after all.:)


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Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Christmas is all about food, family, gifts, snow, glitter, music, evergreens, holly, cinnamon, apples, bells, bows and boxes.  We get so caught up in all of that, making sure that all the gifts are ready to go by the eve of Christmas day, when the whole world shuts down, and rips into the work of the shopping season.  On the big day, we eat, drink, travel, hug, and sometimes try to find a store open to find the half and half that we need to go in the sweet potatoes, since we used it all in our coffee that morning.
I like to stay in my pajamas for as long as I can, woobied up with a cup of something warm and wonderful, and a pile of wrapping paper crumpled around me from all the flotsam of the tearing open of boxes and bags full of goodies. 
A ginormous cinnamon bun with real butter for breakfast and now I feel ready for a nap:)
Soon, it will be time to start cooking.  Or watching the various cooks do their enormous task of putting together a gargantuan feast.  We each have a contribution to the kitchen.  Turkey, ham, gravy, taters of two kinds, a half a dozen various vegetable casseroles, pies, cakes, salads,  fresh breads, the list goes on.  Lots of butter and sugar.  My contribution to the meal is the deviled eggs.  It's my job.  Well, and my chickens.  Other than the eating part.
I'll go on a diet after New Years - I mean - why not just enjoy it all NOW?

But we all know that the real reason for the season is Jesus.  The celebration of His birth, on earth, to Mary and Joseph, in a stable, in Bethlehem.  Last night our church had our first candlelight service in our beautiful church building.  Actually, it is a big barn:)  Pastor Dave read the scripture of the story and in between, our band Branded by Grace, played songs like Mary did you Know, There's a new Kid in Town,  Born in a Barn, and Away in a Manger.  It was magical and beautiful.  I felt honored to be a part of it.
The story grounds me.  Calms me. Centers me. Makes me feel like I'm in this world to reflect the light. That whatever I forgot to do for Christmas Day doesn't matter as long as I remember the story.  The real story of why we celebrate Christmas.

Happy Birthday Jesus!


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Wink or you'll miss it

So, that's supposed to be "blink".
But "Wink" is the name of the restaurant that Brad said was his favorite. 
We'll plan another trip, stay at a groovy hotel and make dinner the highlight of our trip.
Well,
that,
and spending time with friends.
Which is always the best part.

I wanted to share a little about the dinner Brad prepared for us when we were in Austin.
He's a big foodie - a lot of my friends are these days it seems.
Anyway - even though it was HIS birthday, and he was beginning a huge project with his firm,
I asked him to cook for us.  I know, I'm ROTTEN!  But the man needed a little R & R,
and cooking is just the thing for a foodie to relax a little.  Especially when he's got appreciative
EATERS on hand.  And I am that, if nothing else, a really good eater.

We gave him carte blanche.  I suppose that put a french spin on things, because he came up with a menu that included Coq au vin.  The dish that the french usually prepared when they had an old rooster on hand that was acting unruly.  Instead, he used some nice chicken thighs he found at the famous Austin Central Market that very afternoon.  He paired it with a bunch of brussels sprouts, and a fabulous salad made with this spinach from Poteet Texas of all places.  It was divine.

The chicken was tender and savory.  The vegetables were perfectly cooked  - sort of like a chicken stew.  He chose a white wine to flavor the pot, which added  a nice and fresh, very clean lightness to an otherwise heavy winter dish.  I loved it.  I had two thighs, hopefully a right one, and a left one - to stay balanced.

I have to say, the Brussels sprouts were my favorite.  Larry likes them, so I cook them occasionally, but these were cut in half and allowed to caramelize in the pan on the flat side before they were turned, and then a bit of balsalmic reduction added to flavor.  I could eat a ton of them, and in fact, did, finish off the healthy portion he prepared for us.  No leftovers there.  Sorry Barb:)

The salad was another thing of beauty and culinary delight.  Evidently, this Poteet spinach has quite a reputation.  It is sweet and tender, triple washed, fresh with goodness and nutty flavor.  Barb had this great salad dressing with blue cheese made by Martinique brand that added a pungent savory-ness to the greens.  I can't for the life of me remember what else was in that salad, but I had two helpings.  I'm telling you, I'm an eater:)  Normally I don't eat bottled dressing, but this stuff was great, and has good ingredients - well, except for the soy oil, which I understand is not great for the thyroid, but all the other stuff was good stuff - and NO SUGAR, which is pretty remarkable.   I found some today to put in my pantry.  I'm thrilled to have found it in Weatherford!

Great wine, great friends, great food, great fellowship, lots of laughter, stories well told, and best of all, the gift of time, given without hesitation. 
This.
Is the stuff that makes memories shared.
Thanks Brad,
for cooking for us for your birthday. 

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