by jphilo | Nov 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
The Top Ten Tuesday list will be back next week. This week’s Tuesday post is dedicated to remembering the veterans in our family with an updated version of a piece written for Veteran’s Day, 2012.
Yesterday was Veteran’s Day, and in my world it went out with more of a whimper than a bang. However our state’s major newspaper, The Des Moines Register, in a moving salute to World War II vets, had the soldiers tell their stories in their own words.
That story, combined with the passing of my husband’s Uncle Harold, a World War 2 pilot in October of 2012, was a reminder of how little time remains for our nation to say thank you to the men and women who risked their lives in that great war. Here are the heroes in our family–some still living and some gone in the past few years–I am proud to call my uncles, and for whom I am grateful today.
Harold Walker, Hiram’s storyteller uncle, and pilot in the Pacific Theater near the end of the war. He died in October of 2012.
Marvin Conrad, my piano-playing and very musical uncle. I believe he served in the Navy in World War 2. He died in 2010, only a few months after visiting Washington, DC on one of the Freedom Flights.
Ordel Rogen, my cattle-raising uncle. He served in some branch of the armed forces in World War 2, though I’m not sure of the details. He died several years ago in December.
Leo Hess, who told harrowing tales of fighting during the Battle of the Bulge in World War 2.
Jim Hoey is my history-loving uncle. He was also a dedicated friend to my dad during his long struggle with multiple sclerosis. Jim served as a Navy medic in the Korean War. He turned 80 in June of 2012 and still loves to travel and write letters to his grandkids and great-nephews and nieces.
Dear uncles, our thanks for your service is not enough, but it’s all I have to give. Thank you for fighting for freedom.
Because of you, our shared family histories continue.
Because of your sacrifice, our family is able to reunite in the summer to reminisce about old memories and create new ones.
Because of you, little children play without fear.
Because of you, elderly men and women are cared for and safe.
Because of you, we live in peace.
Because of you, we are who we are.
Because of you, we are blessed.
Because of you.
by jphilo | Nov 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
- This year’s best Halloween costume has to be the 2 toddlers dressed up as old people–complete with pearls for her, suspenders for him, and walkers sporting tennis balls for both. The Bruins hockey player dressed as Elsa and twirling his way through Boston’s Children’s Hospital was a close second, but it’s hard to compete with kiddie cuteness.
- My favorite coffee shop switched their regular cash register out for an iPad and Square several weeks ago. They still can’t figure out how to honor gift cards and track reward points. My increasing level of irritation may be a sign that 1) I’m obsessed with coffee, or 2) that I’m a good steward of resources and want to get bang for my coffee bucks. I vote for #2.
- Best show on TV: Parenthood.
Best character on Parenthood: Crosby Braverman.
Reason: He’s grown and changed so much and Dax Shepard plays the part so well.
What’s your nomination for best TV show and character?
Photo Credit
by jphilo | Oct 16, 2014 | Uncategorized
- For our anniversary in July, the Man of Steel and I ate at The Flying Mango. Last week, my editor and other friends at Discovery House Publishers took me to lunch at The Electric Cheetah. What restaurants do you know with names that sound like rock bands?
- It’s really fun to say “I went to lunch with my editor.”
- Going to lunch with editors is heady stuff. But coming home to bathrooms in need of cleaning brings an author down to earth pretty quickly.
Have you eaten at a restaurant with a rock band-sounding name?
by jphilo | Sep 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
You know those pictures about the good old days that keep making the rounds on Facebook? The ones about kids playing outside more way back when? Or about how we ate raw cookie dough and didn’t die? How the present generation has been coddled by their parents?
But not us.
No, siree.
Not us.
We’re tough.
Because we grew up in the good old days.
With emphasis on the word good.
But how good were the good old days really? Maybe not as good as we remember. Or as our parents remember. Or their parents, for that matter, as this recipe for wash day shows. Mom found this 1900s washday ‘receipt’ as they used to be called, in the 1970s. She’s taken our grandparents to Illinois on a genealogy trip. The ‘receipt’ was in an old church cookbook from Lenarch, Illinois. Someone was throwing the cookbook away, so Mom tore out the page and brought it home.
My sister found it in 2008 while helping Mom sort through her treasures before selling her house. Recently, she gave me a copy, complete with the original spelling. Which got me to thinking about how good the good old days really were. See what you think:
Grandma’s Washing Receipt
- bild a fire in the back yoard to heet kettle of rain water.
- set tubs so smoke won’t blo in eyes if wind is pert.
- shave one hole cake soap in bilin water.
- sort things, make three piles: 1 pile white, 1 pile collord, 1 pile work britches and rags.
- stur flour in cold water to sooth then thin down with bilin water.
- rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard. Then bile. Rub cullord but don’t bile–just rench and starch.
- take white things out of kettle with broom stick handle then rench, blew and starch.
- spred tee towels on grass.
- hang old rags on fence.
- pore rench water in flower bed.
- scrub porch with hot soapy water.
- turn tubs upside down.
- go put on cleen dress–smooth hair with side combs–brew cup of tee–set and rest and rock a spell and count blessings.
I don’t know about you, but that receipt and front loading, water and energy saving push button washing machines make the good new days look mighty good!
Photo Credit
by jphilo | May 28, 2014 | Uncategorized
Today’s recipe has it’s roots in a post written way back in April about planting cilantro seeds. For several weeks, the chilly weather kept the seeds safely tucked in their dirt beds. But a couple weeks of warm days set them to sprouting and growing and waving their cute little scalloped leafs in the warm breeze.
So many cute little scalloped leaves, in fact, that the frantic search for recipes that require massive quantities of cilantro has begun. Between needing to give the cilantro a haircut and a recent craving to recreate the flavors tasted in a Thai soup served at a restaurant we visited a few weeks back, my inclination was to give a chicken-coconut milk soup recipe a try. If possible, a very easy recipe for a first foray into a new cuisine.
The recipe I worked off of comes from My Recipes, and it turned out to be a good choice. Next time, I’ll spread my wings a little by adding noodles, more chili paste, and a few other culinary bells and whistles. Or maybe not, because this soup was very easy and tasty too.
Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth (I used homemade broth)
6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, cut in 1-in. pieces
1/2 pound boned, skinned chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Thai chili paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass and bring to boil over high heat.
Add chicken, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is firm and opaque, 5 to 10 minutes.
Discard lemongrass. Garnish servings with basil and cilantro.
by jphilo | May 22, 2014 | Uncategorized
- If writing a book is like pregnancy, then receiving the page proofs from the editor is like having the ultrasound technician hand parents 3-D ultrasound pictures of their babies.
- A sure sign spring is here to stay? The rhubarb needs picking. Again.
- Definition of luxury: weather nice enough to hang laundry on the line by day and sleep on sun-dried sheets by night with the windows open.
What’s your definition of luxury? Leave it in the comment box.
