2/23/12

Last Saturday morning I had my faith renewed in things that I do not understand and have no control over.  I mastered a great experience and now that I am home, I am working on my abhorrence of church elevators. The two have no connection whatsoever, but until I am forced to use the elevator in my church, I will walk up and down the stairs.  Just today a friend ( I think) suggested that if he could, he would push the button to strand me between floors!  I just told him to shut up and go on home!

Now back to my  original experience.  It has been at least 6 years since I have traveled by air. I have a grandson and his family who live in  a suburb of Houston, Texas.  They have two young daughters and the youngest was being baptized last Sunday.  They were including me in the festivities and before my son had the facts out of his mouth I replied, “Yes, I want to go”! He asked me about my ability to walk and I assured him I could walk fairly well but not at the speeds they would be walking through the airports. I acquiesced to the suggestion that they get a wheel chair for me.  It was a wise decision because some of the distances would have been a challenge to me.  Besides, just think how important it made me feel when we landed and there was a wheel chair and a “pusher” available with a sign that said “Welcome, Sanders”.  It got us through security faster, too.  We won’t mention the asset of them knowing where I was at all times and doing what I was supposed to be doing! The whole weekend was memorable, with some of the relatives remembering me from when I was there for the wedding years ago.

As we were traveling over 30000 feet in the air with only God and science  holding the weight of the plane and so many passengers, I had to marvel at the wonder of it and the fact that I was experiencing it. Another magic moment was the view outside my window as we left on a cloudy, gloomy day and when we got airborne above the clouds the sun was shining majestically on the formation of clouds that appeared to be frozen wastelands spotted with snow drifts.  Then it would change to fields of cotton candy making me more aware of the beauty and wonder of this world of ours.

The baptism was a special experience also.  A four or five year old boy dressed in all white was also baptized.  The parents and godparents were in the entrance processional, then after the homily they went back down the middle aisle where a huge fountain  in the aisle was located for the actual baptism.  We were seated nearby where we could see all of the ceremony. Thanks are extended to Andy, Jen and their family for hosting the celebration and to Jim and Cara Lou for bothering with me so I could have a great experience forming a magic weekend. My only complaint was that it was quite cold all of the time we were there.  It was good since it was 12 degrees here, but not the sunny, warm Texas that I was expecting. It was only in the forties all of the time we were there. We left home immediately after the funeral of my sister-in-law, drove to Detroit, then a layover in Cincinnati, then on to Houston. As I think the thrill of flying is in takeoff and landing, I was sufficiently thrilled.

After I got home I had planned to do absolutely nothing the next day, but those plans were changed. I had a number of phone messages, one of which informed me of the death of a cousin in Elkhart. So I spent the day ordering flowers and finding transportation to get there for calling  hours.  There were 32 cousins and God has called all but 12 of us to leave the magic of this world to a better one.
Congratulations are in order for the St Mary’s fifth grade trophy for the basketball tournament for Catholic Schools in Northwestern Ohio.  St. Pat’s of Bryan won the champion trophy, winning by only one point.  Good job, boys of both teams!

I have a rib boneless pork roast cooking in my crock pot.  It should be done before I go to bed.  I was wondering what I could do with some of the meat while I was looking for recipes.  I noticed a recipe for sauce for beef and pork roasts.  It jumped off the page at me because I often run out of barbecue sauce and I always weaken the prepared sauce with ketchup. So tomorrow I will make this and hope it will help you in the future.
           
BARBECUE FOR BEEF AND PORK ROASTS
½ cup ketchup (my kids prefer Heinz)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Dash of salt
Combine ingredients and cook until onions and celery
are tender. Add to finely chopped meat.

My mother, who was cooking for nine people three times a day on the farm always cooked enough, especially potatoes, for the noon meal so we could have leftovers for a simpler meal in the evening.  I am certain that she would have enjoyed and used often this suggestion.
                      
BAKED CREAMED POTATOES
1 cup dairy sour cream
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
5 cups sliced, cooked potatoes (6 medium potatoes)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Mix together sour cream, milk, onion, parsley, salt and pepper.
Place half of the potatoes in a greased baking dish. (10 by 6 inch)
Top with half of the sauce. Repeat layers, and sprinkle the top with
cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
When frying with cooking oil add butter to it.  The oil makes the butter brown at a  higher temperature and is better than using either alone. It was suggested to use 1 tablespoon oil and two tablespoons butter.