Growing Chocolates
Hmmm… I just got a great inspiration from friends Jamie and Terri talking on the radio. They were listing their top five things that they think they spend too much money on. Chocolate!! Why do chocolates cost so much? Because we can’t grow our own.
That got my imagination moving into overdrive. Wonder if we could grow our own chocolates? Wouldn’t that be great? Come on ladies, are you with me here? Imagine with me just for fun.
You’d take your seeds of Nestle (TM) Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and place them in a shallow furrow of prepared earth. Of course once you’d placed the seeds in the ground you would carefully mark the row with a dusting line of white powdered sugar so that you could consistently “water” for best production. And we would fertilize with Hershey’s (TM) Cocoa Powder every two weeks for increased flavor.
Naturally, we would not use real H2O. Oh no! We would be “watering” with Hersheys (TM) Dark Chocolate Syrup. We must water at least twice a day until the seedlings start to sprout to a height of two inches when we would thin the row to ensure larger healthier plants. Just go ahead and eat those little seedlings, they are delicious and full of fiber and NO calories. I only grow the best, guilt free variety, you know.
Is your mouth watering yet? As maturation takes place it is important to watch for unwanted weeds like those pesky rice crunchies and invasive almonds. Oh no you don’t!! This is a pure, rich, melt in your mouth, smooth crop of chocolate we are working on here. Pull those invasives from the roots and chuck them outta there!
Now, remember, our chocolate plants are a “cool weather” crop. Trying to grow them in the months of July and August can easily result in a sticky, melty mess. Fortunately, the chocolate plants are unattractive to the Japanese beetles and slugs that take out so much of the rest of the garden. So, I say, let’s forget about the lettuce and the brocolli and grow ONLY chocolate with a few tomatoes, sweet corn and melons filling in during the hot months.
The nice thing about growing my imaginary chocolate plants is the idea of strolling out into my garden and eating fresh from the garden!! YOU know what I mean. When the true farmer strolls out into the garden to bring in a harvest, one of the perks of the job is eating some of the crop before it even hits the harvesting basket! Oooooh, la la!
Now, dear friends, you know that God chose to start man’s life in a garden. You tell me… what more heavenly garden can there be than a garden full of chocolate? Thanks for coming on this little diversion in divinity with me, it’s always good to share. Anybody else having a chocolate craving?
A Bird in the Hand Not Worth the Fall!
I am going to tell you the tale of yet another unfortunate event in my life. I think you will agree that I have more lives than a herd of cats.
The chicken was almost done in the oven when Steve arrived home from work. I glanced behind him standing at the sliding glass patio door into our backyard. There I saw a threatening sight; a dozen robbins were flying in and out of our Northern Star dwarf cherry tree. “Hey, get out of there!” I yelled at the winged thieves, “those cherries are almost ripe!”
The next few moments I was in a whirlwind as I grabbed a tree cover, some clothes pins and the step ladder to quickly cover the tree before the supper was done cooking. It would only take a few minutes, and then the little bandits would be at least deterred from depleting the ingredients for our future cherry pies.
Because of the metal rod in my left leg and fused ankle, I was barefoot to make sure that foot placement was solid and centered on the nice wide treads of the step-ladder. I had just finished attaching the half way point of the cover. When, suddenly, I was slammed into the ground.
There I was, face down in the lawn, trying to assess what just happened. My bell was rung! You could say I was seeing birds of a different variety now… the kind that join the stars around your head when you are hurt badly. I had apparently hurt my left side pretty badly, the ladder was contorted on the ground beside and beneath me, big bruise to the left thigh (that’s gonna be ugly), wrist, arm, shoulder all hurting from the fall, but then I saw my left foot… it was bleeding badly. Because my left ankle does not flex AT ALL, and the little toes on that foot curve under so badly, one of the toes evidently caught an edge that hyper extended it to the point of ripping or cutting the flesh as it came in contact with the hard metal.
“I am hurt”… correction, “I am hurt badly” and “I gotta get into the house NOW” were the words coming out of me as I limped toward the door as fast as I could. I grabbed the dishpan full of cold water that we keep right inside the door for cleaning the dog’s feet when she comes inside and was happy that I had just recently cleaned it well and that it was full of cold water. I stuck my foot right in there and watched the water turning dark red. It was like a scene out of the movie “The Ten Commandments”.
I called Steve into the kitchen, he was mad as he ran to get the first aid kit. Then I called in our daughter Michelle to get some ice on these big bruises. Then Steve doctored me up by pouring Hydrogen peroxide over my bleeding foot that was now up and over the edge of the kitchen table. It really hurt a lot as he straightened those little toes to get it clean in there.
I believe I lost consciousness for a tiny bit shortly after saying “I feel very dizzy … sick … not good.” I was sitting in a tall backed kitchen chair and rocking my head with the pain. That is something I do naturally rather than cry. However, I came too suddenly as Michelle was straightening up my head and trying to put a pillow behind it. As I was coming to, I realized that I was blowing out the pain and drooling, kind-of spitting up. Woah! I guess I am hurt worse than I thought. There was no way I was going to be able to drink the water Michelle was offering me. “No” was my answer to her offering me some Aleve pain killer. I do NOT want to thin my blood any more or make the bruising worse.
After Steve packed the cut with topical antibiotic and pressure of gauze and tape. They helped me get situated in the living room recliner for the night. Foot elevated, cleaned, bandaged, taped and now enjooying the comfort of pressurized ice water inside my cryocuff. Ice bag ace-bandaged to the giant bruise on my left thigh. AND I wrapped another little bag of ice over my left wrist and hand which I have at least badly sprained. I elevated that up against my chest as I laid my head back against the chair with a very cold wet towel behind my neck to ease the neck/head pain and nausea.
I am in PAIN!! I did NOT go to the ER… we were doing about everything they would do anyway. Plus, I have had more than my fill of emergency rooms and hospitals lately. I did call my family doctor today and have an appointment to see him tomorrow just because this was such a bad fall and did a lot of damage. Plus, I may need to get put on some antibiotics for that deep tear/cut at the base of my toe.
You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say I was cursed!! If I had been careless it would have been one thing, but I took several safety precautions as I endeavored to save our cherry crop. Who could plan on the old ladder just decideing to break. The greatest safety tip I tell everyone is NEVER EVER climb a ladder or swim when there is no one else around. This time that safety tip surely saved me big time.
Moral of this story: “A bird in the hand (or prevented from your cherries) may NOT be worth it!!”
Prayer requests: for those of you who follow me regularly, (1) Pain to ease (2) I have an EEG already scheduled at the hospital for Friday (3) I cannot use my crutches to stay off my left foot to heal because my left wrist and shoulder and collar bone area are all swollen/bruised.
After all of this, I was a bit upset to see that my husband took down the cover net I had already placed halfway on the tree. So the robins have free rain of my cherries again : ( Oh well, they need to eat too I guess.
Mother’s Day Blessings of Love
I believe that this is the perfect addition to the blog for today. In honor of all mothers:
I Love You Forever as read by the author Richard Munsch.
A very special HAPPY MOTHERS Day to not only those who ARE mothers, but all of us who HAVE or HAD mothers. This story is narrated by the author himself. Enjoy.
A Special Note to MY mother: “Happy Mother’s Day MOM! You not only gave birth to me that I may live, but pointed the way to my 2nd birth that I may live eternally!! Love you forever Mom!”
Neighborhood Makeover
INDIANAPOLIS: As many of you are aware, ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover is in town this week to build a home for a local teacher Bernard McFarland (click here for previous article by IndyChristian ). Consequently there has been a reawakening to the idea of neighbors helping neighbors to better our community.
(photo from WRTV; link is below)
It seems peculiar to me that it so often takes a force from outside the community to come in to motivate people to help each other right here. So many local vendors and businesses are donating materials. Those resources and the volunteers were here all the time. It just took the spark of a national TV show to fan the flame of community action? Why is that?
Hoosiers are known for their “Hoosier Hospitality,” yet I have to admit that sometimes I don’t understand why it is that it is so hard for people to treat their neighbors as well as they treat visitors.
Though, I still don’t understand why this is, it reminds me of what Jesus says in the Bible about a prophet not being as well received in his own home town as he is elsewhere: Luke 4:24 (New American Standard Bible)”And He said, “Truly I say to you,no prophet is welcome in his hometown.” Perhaps we are simply so accustomed to the status quo that it takes outside inertia to get us to become fully aware of what is already all around us.
Do we believe that we are simply “too busy” to take a little time to get familiar with our neighbors? We may have become so focused on striving for the “newest, greatest and best,” that we become blinded to the needs of others. People may think they don’t have enough time or money to offer to help others. How do we know unless we at least endeavor to find out? So often, what seems as a very trivial thing to us, means the world to someone else.
By being thankful for the many blessings that we already have, we can see that we DO have something to offer. We can make an impact on the world around us… and not just the physical environment either. More importantly, we can show people that we value them; each and every person matters.
So, while Indianapolis is all abuzz with the happenings of a national TV show taping in our midst, I want to encourage you… that is you reading this article… to keep the ball rolling. Those of you who have tried volunteering or seen for the first time how very much can be accomplished when people work together for good, be encouraged. See what a mighty thing can happen when we come together in love and caring for others.
Practical application: some thoughts on how to makeover the neighborhood.
1. Take a Walk. So many of us are bustling from here to there by car, or bus, barely making it to our destinations on time, that we do not “stop and smell the roses.” Have you considered taking a walk with your family after supper? Make a game of it by asking the kids to see how many people they can get to smile or wave back at you, how many dogs bark as you pass, take a few trash bags and collect litter as you go, etc.
2. Get to know your neighbors. How many different neighbors could you tell me about right now? What do you really know about them: kids, pets, career, school, church, or are they a gardener, might they pair up with you for exercise class or walking or like to golf?
3. Ask Questions. How have you been? Is there anything I can do to help? How can I pray for you? Would you like to join us for a bar-b-que Saturday afternoon?
4. Just be available. Everyone needs to feel valued and you can help that happen for someone. By simply flashing someone a smile or wave, you have acknowledged them, and done something of value yourself. How cool is that? By saying something like, “I am going to the store, do you want me to pick anything up for you? I am going to be there anyway,” you have let the other person know that you are happy to be of service to them.
You see, it doesn’t really take much to makeover our neighborhood. Let us not rely on outside forces to bring to our attention that we have within us the ability to make our community a better place to live. May God spur our hearts into action by helping us be more aware of those around us and any needs that we may help meet.
You can follow updates of Twitter: EstridgeHomes
Here is a link to the local ABC News affiliate WRTV Ch.6
Winter Wonders
We are definitely in the throws of winter now. Twelve and a half inches fell on Indianapolis’ far eastside on Tuesday into Wednesday. I don’t know for sure, but I think we received more snow in that twenty four hours than we did all of last winter!
The snow was pretty to look at, but quite a chore to deal with. I shoveled one of our two driveways, the front walk to the house and the sidewalk next to the street, only to have it blow and snow it to the point where it looked as though I hadn’t done anything.
This first photo is of our lamp post in the front yard. With all the snow it reminds me a bit of the Lamp post in the Chronicles of Narnia.
Even better was the view of our picnic table on the back deck. Heaped up with pure mounds of snow I couldn’t help but ask “Picnic anyone?” and “Now, where’s that grill?”
OH DEER!! Here is a photo of a deer that I captured with my camera. She was all nestled into a thicket near Coffee Creek in Chesterton, Indiana. After we went to church, she was lying in an area where we had spotted her standing earlier.
As of this posting, there are still several thousand homes without electricity due to heavy ice damage in southern Indiana. I am so thankful that we didn’t have that mess. Kentucky has so many trees and power lines down that utility people are coming in from other states to help get them back up and running.
Here at home, I am thanking God that we have heat and no tree damage. Only 42 more days ’til Spring!! But then, who’s counting . . . I AM!!
Dig – Dug Drag
Please pray for Steve. My poor husband has been digging for two days now, in the cold weather trying to get to the place where the lateral drain has collapsed. He is determined to uncover the spot by hand and THEN have a contractor come in to pull permits and actually perform the repair in order to save hundreds of dollars.
The only problem is, well, not having draining water for our household has already meant that he’s made a run to the laundry mat; lots of sponge baths, and fine china equals paper plates. I am thankful that so far he is doing a good job of not overly straining his back and also takes frequent breaks to recover from working in the cold.
He has removed a lot of tree roots, but still hasn’t uncovered the area that the snake prodding says is only about six feet from the clean-out.
You have to wonder what the neighbors are thinking. Looks grave-like especially with the black plastic bags of straw nearby. lol
