READER'S DIGEST SCAM

I received a letter and a check in the mail this week from Reader''s Digest.  The letter looked very official and said that I had won the Grand Sweepstakes prize of $150,000.00.  At first I really wondered if I HAD won, because a month or so ago, I bought the December issue of the Reader's Digest.  I always buy that issue, because I love their Christmas stories.  In that issue, was an insert for entering the Reader's Digest contest and it said you could enter online.  Since I happened to be sitting on the couch with my laptop, I decided, "Why not?" and entered.  Now I never enter contests like that and don't know why I did then, other than just because my laptop was there. 

The check that was enclosed, was for around $3500.00 and the letter stated that before you cashed the check, you had to call this number and they would activate the check so you could cash it.  The check looked very official and was from a company called, "Texas General Agency, Inc.", that was supposedly located in San Antonio, Texas.  It even had a watermark on the back of the check.  The thing that first made me suspicious was that the check and the letter had come in a plain envelope - the long kind you would buy at Staples or Office Max.  They had typed my address on an address sticker and stuck it on the front. There was no return address.  My first thought at seeing the envelope was that it was some kind of advertisement. 

I emailed Delirious about it because she is always checking out scams on Snopes.  She gave me a couple of web sites to check out.  One was a fraud website, and when I went there, they had 4 or 5 entries from people who had gotten the same type letter and check -supposedly from Reader's Digest.  That clinched it for me that it was a scam.  On that website, one guy had actually called in so they could verify the check.  He said that after he did that and cashed the check, then when the check went back to Texas General Agency, Inc., they had his account number and then proceeded to hack into his bank account. 

Anyway, everyone beware!  If you get a letter from anyone like that in the mail - it's most likely a scam. 

Oh, and by the way, just one more reason for me to put on my list to REALLY not enter contests anymore anyway.  To me - and I know there are a LOT of you who will disagree with this - entering contests to me is like gambling.  Besides, if I won that contest and got a lot of money - then a WHOLE LOT of people really would try to beat down my door and demand to live with me. (See my "I Think I'm Watching Too Much Fox News" blog about my dream. :0)  )

ARCHES & CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARKS

This summer we went to Moab, Utah for a few days and went to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  I had never been there and thought it was so cool, I'd love to go back again (and we plan to).  Here are some pictures we took: 

OVERHEARD AT THE POST OFFICE

I went to the Post Office today and stood in line for 40 minutes.  While I was waiting, someone came up to the lady behind me and I overheard this conversation:

(after greeting each other)
Him:  (teasing) "So, are you keeping out of trouble?"
Her:  I'm in a "step" program now.
Him: (a little taken aback) "Is it helping?"
Her: It's a little different than the other program I was in. 

As in 12 Step Program????   :0+ 

I THINK I'M WATCHING TOO MUCH FOX NEWS

My husband watches Fox News.  All. The. Time.  If we have a movie that has come from Net Flix, he'll watch that.  The rest of the time the tv is on Fox News.  I seriously think it's starting to affect me.  With that in mind.......

Last night I had a weird dream.  I dreamed someone rang my doorbell, and when I went to answer it there was a large group of people standing on my porch.  They told me that because of the recession they were having a hard time, and because I had (in their words) "lots of money" that they were here to come and live with me.  I told them "No!"  I didn't have room for that many people.  They were pushing and trying to force their way into my house.  I finally got the door closed, but they ran around to my other doors and were trying to get in.  I fought and fought them, locking doors and windows.  Finally they got in a patio door that hadn't been locked.  They were laughing and mocking and telling me that NOW they were going to live in my house.  I was telling them "No, no no!"  Finally I stopped.  I knew what to do. I looked at them and said, "Ok, you can live with me, but here's the catch....I'm  a MORMON!!! So if you live with me, then you have to go to my church EVERY SUNDAY!"  They all yelled, "NOOOO!!!" and ran out of my house and ran away. 

Weird, huh?   When I told my husband this morning he said, "I think you're watching too much Fox News."

THE STORY OF "O HOLY NIGHT"

My daughter and I were doing crafts last week and listening to Christmas songs.  After listening to "O Holy Night" she asked me if I knew the story behind the song, since I collect Christmas stories.  I didn't, so she googled it and we were amazed by the story.  I thought I'd share it with you.

In 1847, a parish priest wanted a poem for Christmas mass.  He asked his friend, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, who was the commissionaire of wines in their small French town.  Cappeau was traveling to Paris by coach when he was considering the priest's request.  He decided to use the gospel of Luke for his guide.  By the time he arrived in Paris, he had written the words to "Cantique de Noel" ("O Holy Night"). 

Cappeau decided that O Holy Night should not just be a poem, but should be set to music.  Since he was not musically inclined himself, Cappeau turned to one of his friends, Adolphe-Charles Adam to help him. 

Adolphe-Charles Adam was the son of a well-known classical musician.  He had studied in Paris at the conservatoire.  He had written works for orchestras and ballets all over the world.  But when his friend Cappeau gave him the lyrics to "O Holy Night",  he must have had a greater challenge. 

Adam was of Jewish ancestry.  The words of "O Holy Night" were about a holiday he didn't celebrate and about a man he did not view as the son of God.  Nevertheless, he was able to write the beautiful words to "O Holy Night" and the song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

"O Holy Night" was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France at first, but later on Cappeau left the church and became a part of the solialist movement and then church leaders discovered that the composer was a Jew.  The heads of the French Catholic church banned "O Holy Night" from their church and declared it "unfit" for their services because of its lack of musical taste and "total absence of the spirit of religion".
Even though it was banned from the Catholic church, the  French people continued to sing it and a decade later an American writer, John Sullivan Dwight, brought it to America. 

John Sullivan Dwight was an abolitionist who identified with the lines of the third verse: "Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace.  Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease."  After Dwight published the English words to "O Holy Night" in his magazine, "O Holy Night" became quickly popular in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.

On December 24, 1906, the first extended broadcast of the human voice was transmitted through the air from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.  Until then, the "wireless telegraph" had only carried dots and dashes of the Morse code, but Professor Reginald Fessenden was convinced that it could also carry the human voice.
Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed..." 

Imagine the shock of radio operators on ships and wireless owners at newspapers to hear a human voice for the first time in history broadcast across the air!  Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing.  After finishing his reading of the birth of Christ, he picked up his violin and played, "O Holy Night," the first song ever broadcast through radio waves! 

THERE'S MAGIC IN THE AIR :0)

Something is wrong with my husband.  I'm serious.  I want to look him in the eye and say:  Who are you and what have you done with my husband?  Yesterday he called me on the intercom and asked me to come to the shop.  When I got there, he had several things he wanted me to look at to see if I wanted to keep them, give them to Goodwill, or take them to the dump. This all started a couple of days ago when my husband realized that something was wrong with the expansion tank that goes to our water well.  It is located in the shop (has to be inside where there is a heater that can keep it from freezing in the wintertime).  He suspected that it had gone out and called the well guys who came out and confirmed his suspicions.  After nearly $1,000.00 we had a new expansion tank and a lot more water pressure.  :0)  Before the well guys came out, my husband decided he needed to clean out the area around the expansion tank.  He had to move a shelf, several 50 lb. buckets of wheat (for food storage), and various other things that had been stacked beside it for the past 7 years.  This all prompted a strange urge for my husband to "clean out" and "throw away" stuff, so when I got to the shop he already had an entire trash can of stuff he had thrown away!  He then decided to take the larger stuff to the dump and completely filled the back of his pickup.  He even took the stack of broken lawn chairs and the mountain of styrofoam!  He threw stuff away that he has accumulated for the past 40 years!  I swear I wanted to feel his head to see if he had a fever.  Maybe he was delirious.  He took 2 or 3 shelves out of that smaller room where the well expansion tank was and is now building a wall shelf system that will fit neatly in that room to hold his power tools.  I don't want to get my hopes up, but maybe this cleaning fever will carry over to him cleaning, organizing and "throwing out" in his office.  Be still my heart! Shhh!  I'll just be very still and not disturb the magic......

THE SURPRISE FLU

I came down with a cold or flu a couple of days ago.  I've had a different symptom every day, so I've decided to call this "The Surprise Flu" - every day you get a new "surprise" symptom.  The first day - or rather night - it came on really fast and was like the croup you see little kids get.  Within an hour I couldn't even talk and had to whisper.  My throat was so closed up I could hardly swallow.  The next day - or once again, night - I had a fever and could not get warm.  I finally went to bed at 5pm and stayed there for the rest of the night!  Tonight my "surprise" symptom was a runny nose and sneezing.  Gee, I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow's "surprise" will be!  (not.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ondine

We just watched this again last night.  We found it on Net Flix under "Sci-Fi and Fantasy".  I originally saw it in Ireland and loved it so was really happy to find it again.  Go rent this movie, you'll  love it!

DAY TRIP PICTURES

My husband and I took a day trip last Wednesday to check out some fishing spots. He and Survival Knife are going Salmon fishing this morning. Here's some pictures I took through the window.  Sorry I got the radio antenna in a couple of them.  The birds you see in pictures #5 & 6 are wild turkeys.  We also saw a red fox, but wasn't quick enough with the camera. 

THE CHARMED LIFE SAGA CONTINUES....

My husband and I went to Best Buy today to look at trash compactors.  Ours finally bit the dust last night.  When I turned the knob to compact the trash, the"smasher" actually broke off and fell into the trash basket. :0+  We found out that most people don't have trash compactors.  Of course that might be because they don't sell them in the stores.  If you want one, you have to buy it online.  I guess the trash compactor fad is over.  Personally, I don't see anything wrong with just throwing your trash in a trash can, but my husband just loves the trash compactor.  But I digress....

Anyway, as we were leaving Best Buy, I suggested to my husband that he go left because every single time I try to turn right and go out of that exit, I can never, never get across the street because of the traffic.

Me:  You might want to turn left and go out that exit because I can never get across the street going that way.
Him:  (Ignoring me and turning right anyway)
Me:  Oh wait, I forget....you're the one with the charmed life.  When you get up to the exit, there will be no traffic and you'll be able to pull right out.

He pulls up to the stop sign at the exit.  There is absolutely no traffic.  He turns left with a smirk on his face.

I rest my case. 

FALL COLORS

I went out on my balcony after supper to take these pictures.  It doesn't show the orange and yellow like it really is.  Looks greener in these pictures than it looks.



TEXAS WIND FARMS

I was totally amazed during my trip to Texas at the number of Wind Farms in West Texas.  These farmers are making some money!  Check out the video below for some info on West Texas Wind Farms.  Interesting!  Does the cowboy in the purple shirt remind you of Dee Ice with a mustache?  :0) 

FIELDS OF COTTON

You'll remember me when the west wind blows
Upon the fields of cotton....

Yeah, I know that's not how the song goes, but since I grew up in my teenage years in Cotton Country, that's how I always sing that song. :0) I remember when we moved there when I was in middle school.  My dad had been living there for several months while we were waiting for the house to sell.  On one of his trips home he brought us a "cotton boll".  I thought it was the neatest thing I had ever seen.  I took it to school and all the kids "oohed and ahhed" over it.  It was hard for us to believe that that little sprig actually represented something that our clothes were made out of.  Here's some "cotton fields" pictures from my trip there last week.  Click on the pictures so you can see them bigger.  Note that the second picture is "baled cotton", and the last picture is a field that has already been stripped.  Also note the oil well in the field - dual purpose field! :0)

AT THE DENTIST

In the last 2 weeks I've had my teeth cleaned, a filling replaced, and a root canal.  Today after my root canal my dentist shook my hand and said, "Well Nene, it's been a pleasure to see you again!"  I said, "Yeah, it's been a real blast for me too."  :0+

(I was going to post a picture of a "lego dentist" but the image uploader is down.)

O HOME BELOVED

O Home Beloved

O home beloved where'er I wander.

On foreign land or distant sea,

As time rolls by, my heart grows fonder

And yearns more lovingly for thee!

Tho fair be nature's scenes around me,

And friends are ever kind and true.

Tho joyous mirth and song surround me,

My heart, my soul still yearn for you.

      I've been visiting my parents lately.  My husband and I went to pick them up, spent a couple days at their house and then brought them back to ours for about 6 days.  Then we took them back home and spent 4 more days with them at their house. 
      After we had been at their house for a few minutes, my mom said, "Oh, it's so good to be home!  There's no place like home!"  I know my mom loves her house and her town, because it's where she grew up.  She lives in my grandparents house that she and my father bought from them.  We have since bought that house from my parents and will own it completely when they are gone. 
      My mom is 85 and my dad will be 85 in April.  They both use canes to walk, and in truth, Dad should be using a walker.  Dad falls all the time and in his last bad fall, separated his shoulder.  Mom has had cancer twice (breast cancer and colon cancer) in a year and then a serious hernia operation right after that, which was pretty hard on her.  She says she has "chemo brain" - memory lapses from taking chemo medication, but her memory has not gotten any better since she went off of the chemo pills.  All in all, I have been trying to get them to come live with me, at least during the winter.  They live in a town that is about 7500 feet in altitude and gets some pretty heavy snows.  There are several people in town that come and make sure their driveway and porch and sidewalks are always clear of snow, but if those people are one day late, my dad is out there with his snow-blower trying to do it himself. 
      I tried having yet another talk with my parents to try to get them to come live with me - or even live with any of my other brothers or sisters, but my mother emphatically refused.  I think if she would agree, my dad would also, but she is the one saying no.  I have prayed about this and asked all my brothers and sisters to pray about it also, so my parents would come to the decision to live with me.  It's really hard to see my parents so old and frail and forgetful.  I know they love their home, their town, the people in it, and their life, but I also know that at some point, either they will have to agree or we will have to resort to stronger persuasions.
      I couldn't help remembering my mother's cry of "Oh it's so good to be home!" when we reached home ourselves.  There really is no place like home. 

IT'S NOT A JUNGLE OUT THERE ANY MORE

For the past week, my husband and I have been working on our backyard.  I pulled most of the weeds one day and they were big weeds - like tumbleweeds!  I filled one corner of the yard with those.  The next day I attacked the "Jungle" - a section of our yard that was so overgrown with weeds and new tree sprouts that I gave it that nickname.  I wasn't sure we could even get that section of our yard ever looking normal again,  but after today, I finally have hope.  One of the big problems was those hated vine things that grow along the ground everywhere.  I pulled and pulled and pulled those up today.  My husband even got in there and trimmed the crepe myrtle and the pine tree.  Then he started running all that through his chipper.  He wasn't able to run the tumbleweeds through the chipper, because the first time he tried it, it came to a dead stop.  Then he had to take it apart and get the tumbleweed out (that had twisted and wrapped itself around the blades).  He still has a pile of bigger limbs and the pile of tumbleweeds to chop up.  He said he'd take his chain saw to the bigger limbs and his machete to the tumbleweeds.  I wished I had taken a "before" and "after" picture to show you the difference, but I didn't.  Once we're done, I'll at least put up an "after" picture.  One step at a time.  We have a huge lot and still have a whole lot ahead of us.  In the latter part of October we're going to rake up all the bark (they used for ground cover) in the front and lay rock.  My back aches just thinking about it.  Our goal is to get our whole lot zero-scaped (except where the lawn is in the front and back) so that when we go on a mission, all someone will have to do is spray the rocks to kill the weeds, and mow the front and back grass. 

FAST MOON RISING

I just happened to look up and see the moon peeking up just above the mountain top.  By the time I ran to the next room and got my camera, it was already up!

BARBIE'S NEW FURNITURE

This is the Barbie furniture that I made while I was in Ireland.  I gave this to Gilbert Girl's youngest daughter as part of her birthday present.  I also bought her a Fairy Barbie (what she told me she wanted) and a Jacob (from Twilight) doll to be boyfriend to her Fairy Barbie. 

HE CAN READ MINDS!

Me (thinking):  I need to tell (husband) to bring me a Peppermint Patty while he's in the kitchen. 

Husband:  Do you want me to bring you a Peppermint Patty?

True Story!

NEITHER RAIN, NOR SLEET, NOR DARK OF NIGHT.....

Last night my husband and I went to Sam's Club to get a few things (which is where I saw "Motorcycle Mamma").  We left there and went to Office Max and when we came out it was raining.  I love the rain.  I love the lightning and the thunder and just love the rain, whether I'm inside or outside.  I never minded the rain when we lived in Ireland.  We could tell that it must have been raining pretty hard while we were in Office Max, because there were big puddles everywhere and we saw lots of water running down the sides of the streets and in the intersections.  Coming up the hill towards the turn-off to our street, there was so much water running down the hill that it would splash up on the windshield and we couldn't even see to drive, so my husband had to slow down.  The street that we turned off on to get to our street was really flooded.  We exclaimed again how hard it must have rained while we were in the stores.  As we were turning into our driveway, I noticed something on the planter wall beside our mailbox.  I had my husband stop just inside the driveway and I got out (in the pouring rain) to see what it was.  He thought I was crazy to get out in that rain, but I knew I had seen something.  There sitting on the wall beside the mailbox was 2 packages of books that Amber had ordered online and had sent to my house.  When I got in the house I opened them to make sure they were all dry.  Luckily they were packaged in plastic bags, so everything was dry inside.  What was my postman thinking?  Granted, I didn't go down to get my mail that afternoon - mostly because my mail never comes at a regular time everyday.  My mail can come anytime from 11am to 7 pm.  I've even had it come at 8:30 pm before.  What if we hadn't gone to the store?  It would have sat there all night!  Anyone could have come by and helped theirselves.  We have had problems with our mailmen leaving packages at the end of our driveway.  I know it is a bit of a hike up our driveway to our house, but come on, the UPS and Fed Ex guys don't mind!  We have found packages beside our mailbox, behind our mailbox, inside the wall, and in the bushes.  I have a large mailbox, but I had to get a locking mailbox, because of having mail stolen out of my box.  I have the larges locking mailbox that I could find.  I guess I just need to make sure we get the mail before dark every day. 

MOTORCYCLE MAMA

SIGN THAT YOU'RE TOO OLD TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE:

When your husband has to back up the bike alongside a curb, so you can stand on the curb to get on.

STOMACH WOES

Last Sunday as I was going to church I mentioned to my husband that my stomach was feeling a bit weird.  I decided to go ahead and go to church and ended up staying for the whole block of meetings (3 hours).  We got home a little after 2 and ate lunch, and then the diarrhea started (sorry, TMI, I know).  Well, it wasn't too bad, just some stomach cramps and only diarrhea a couple of times.  By the next afternoon, the diarrhea and stomach cramps stopped, but my stomach felt sore.  Trust me, I really didn't have that bad of stomach cramps, I've had them a lot worse, and I really didn't have any nausea.  But my sore stomach persisted.  Walking upstairs, leaning over a counter, lifting something, or even riding in a car made my stomach hurt. 
So now today is Thursday, and I still have these symptoms.  I wonder if I need to go on the BRAT diet?  By the way, I know it stands for Bananas, Rice, and Applesauce....what is the T for?  Tea?  Tender love and care?  Well, I had to go to the store today, so I bought Bananas, Applesauce and Tapicoca pudding.  Forget the rice. 

I REMEMBER......

Things I remember about 9/11:

I remember the exact spot I was at when I heard about the first plane, when driving home from taking my son to school.  I can even picture that spot on that street in my head, when I think about it. 

I remember when the second plane hit, I knew it was an act of terrorism, without the media even telling me.

I remember my daughter calling me and asking, "What is happening, Mom?"  as if she could hardly even believe it. 

I remember my daughter coming over to watch tv with me all day.

I remember both of us sitting and watching in shock, and crying.

I remember it being so painful to watch, yet you couldn't tear yourself away and just go on with your daily schedule.  People were dying and we couldn't turn our backs on them on go on with our routine.

I remember worrying about my parents and wanting to talk to them...just to make sure they were ok, so I called them.  I remember talking and crying with them. 

I remember my husband calling me to see if I was okay, and crying with him.

I remember turning in the scriptures to read just what I needed to read. 

I remember the courage of the firefighters, police and rescue workers.

I remember the heroic stories that came aftewards.

I remember being proud to be an American...

FOR THE CINNAMON ROLL FAIRY

CHRISTINE'S CINNAMON ROLLS
2 pkg. yeast
2 1/2 c warm water
3/4 c oil
3/4 c sugar
8-8 1/2 c flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 tsp salt
- Disolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 4 c flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour and knead lightly to make soft dough.  Cover lightly and store in fridge.  It may be or best . Brush with melted butter. 
FILLING:  Combine 1 c chopped pecans, 1 3/4 c sugar and 2 TBL cinnamon.  Sprinkle on dough. Roll each side from long side as jelly roll; pinch to seal edges.  Cut in pieces & place on greased pan.  Let rise in warm place about 1 hour.  Bake at 350 for 25 min.  Frost with powdered sugar.   For best results, store dough in fridge overnight.

RED OR GREEN?

Delirious, these are what green and red chile peppers look like.  The red one is already roasted, but it gives you the idea.  They grow both here and when you go to a restaurant, they will ask you if you want red chile or green chile on your mexican food, which is why "Red or Green?"  is our "State Question".  :0)

FOR AMBER

Here's some "fall" recipes for Amber:

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD
2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c butter, softened
1 Tbl. grated orange peel
3/4 c orange juice
1 egg
1 c fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1/2 c  chopped nuts
- Heat oven to 350.   Grease bottom only of 9x5x3" loaf pan.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl.  Stir in butter till crumbly.  Stir in orange peel, orange juice, and egg till moistened.  Stir in berries and nuts.  Spread in pan.  Bake 55-60 min.  Wrap and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.  Makes 1 loaf. 

SWEET POTATO WEDGES
4 med. sweet potatoes
2 TBL vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
- Heat oven to 450.  Grease jelly roll pan.  Cut potatoes into 1/2" wedges.  Toss potatoes and oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place potatoes in single layer in pan.  Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally till potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with fork.  - 4 servings

TACO SOUP
1 pound hamburger
3 cans corn - undrained
3 cans Ranch Style Beans - undrained
3 cans Petite diced tomatoes with green chile
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing mix
- Brown hamburger.  Put all ingredients together in large pot and cook at least 5 hours.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacomole, or shredded tortilla strips or corn chips
(PS.  This makes a whole lot.  Wish I had a smaller recipe...)

APRICOT WHITE CHOCOLATE
One 10 oz. pkg white chocolate chips
1/2 c dried apricots, chopped
1 c chopped almonds
- Use a 1 qt. microwave-safe dish.  Melt chocolate in microwave for 1 1/2 min. on high.  Stir chocolate until smooth.  Add apricots and nuts.  Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet.  Refrigerate until set.  Makes 20-25 pieces.

HOARDING GREEN CHILE

One of my good friends who moved away from my state last spring came back to visit this weekend.  She and her husband came over this morning to pack green chile so they could use my freezer to get it frozen before they take it back to their state tomorrow.  Her husband went to Walmart this morning to buy 2 big bags of green chile and have it roasted right there in the Walmart parking lot.  You have to roast it so the skin will split and peel off.  Then Walmart put it into big clear bags and put them back into the box.  My job was to lay the chiles out on cookie sheets so they could cool.  Then my friend and her husband just put several into a pint-size freezer bag, smashed the air out and sealed it, and wrote a "10" on it (for 2010).  That's it. They got about 73 pint bags.  Each bag had 4-5 green chiles in it. Some people finish skinning it and take the stem out and wash the seeds out and then freeze it, or even go on to chop it up and then put it in bags and freeze it.  This was so easy, and my friends say they feel like it keeps it's flavor better with the seeds, stem, and skin flakes on it.  They showed me that when you're ready to eat them, you take out a bag and defrost it.  Then you take each chile out and wash it off and the skin washes right off.  Then you pinch off the stem, split it open and wash the seeds away.  Then you can chop it up and put it in casseroles or other dishes, on a sandwich or hamburger, or if you're a "real chile freak" - just eat it plain!  Yum! 

Even though I've lived in this state for 16 years, I've never learned how to freeze my own green chile.  My house had this great "green chile smell" all day.  This week I'm going to Walmart to get my own bag of green chile roasted.  I met a guy once when I used to pick up a friend from dialysis that was from out-of-state.  He used to live in my state but moved further west.  He said that he and his wife were in town for one of their "chile runs".  They bought an RV and gutted it.  Then fitted it with as many freezers as they could fit in it.  Then they come to our state and buy lots and lots of green chile, roast it, and pack and freeze it.  Then they drive all over the western seaboard selling it.  They mostly sell it to people who used to live here but have moved west. 

Tonight I made sloppy joes. But I had a big piece of green chile to put on the top.  Yum!  The difference in the green chile you pack yourself and the stuff you buy in the can is:  FLAVOR.  Can't beat it!

THE SONG I CAN'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD

JESUS' LOVE IS LIKE A RIVER - written by Orrin G. Hatch

Jesus' love is like a river flowing gently through my soul,
And the grace that it delivers, makes me peaceful, makes me whole.
For everything grows where the water goes
And everything lives where the water flows
Jesus' love is like a river
Flowing gently thru my soul.

Jesus' love is like the sunshine falling softly on my face
And it warms me like a fire bringing comfort, bringing peace.
For everything grows where the sunlight goes
And everything's green where the sunlight glows,
Jesus' love is like the sunshine falling softly on my face.

Jesus' love is like a lighthouse when the storms of life appear,
Like a beacon in the distance, always steady, always clear.
And those who will go where the lighthouse glows
are warmed by His spirit and find repose
Jesus' love is like a lighthouse when the storms of llife appear.

Jesus' love is like a river, like the sunshine on my face.
Jesus' love is like a lighthouse, leading to His peaceful place. 

NOT SO FAST....

As I have traveled around this summer, I've seen lots of cops.  They're everywhere!  In town and out of town!  Our state, along with other states, have been doing the "100 Days of Summer".  This means that they will have lots and lots of cops out setting "speed traps" to get speeders.  So after I started seeing so many cops, no matter where I went, I decided to just slow down and start driving the speed. limit.

Another thing that I have noticed, is that ever since we got our new truck, it seems to be a "cop magnet".  I have been followed by cops, more in this truck than in any other car I have ever had.  I used to have an Expedition, and cops didn't follow me as much in that as in my new truck.  It seems like every other day when I go out, I will look in my rearview mirror and there will be a cop following me.  He will follow me for a long time, until he finally realizes that I am not going to speed, and then he will hurridly pass me. 

Last night I went to pick my husband up at the airport.  He has been in Oregon all week on business.  He was coming in late at night (11:30 pm) and I thought it was kind of nice to be driving on the highways with hardly any traffic.  There was still a lot more traffic than I thought should be out at 11:30 pm, but whatever.
I exited the interstate at the airport exit and I realized that another car had exited also.  That car wasn't directly behind me, but was driving in the other lane, in my blind spot, so I couldn't see them.  I wasn't in a hurry, and in fact had left a little early.  Sometimes, on late flight like that, the pilots like to hurry up the flight and they get in 10 or 15 minutes early, but it is not updated on the schedule.  So I thought that if I was early, I'd just wait in the cell phone waiting area.  Anyway, I was slowly driving up the road to the airport, not hurrying at all, and then all of a sudden the car beside me sped up and went on ahead.  It was a cop.  One more reason why I was glad I wasn't speeding.  It was kind of interesting though, because usually I DO speed on that road up to the airport.  Not too long ago they lowered the speed limit there.  I think you used to could do like 50 or 55 mph up that road, and now it is only 45. 

The other night I had to make a late trip over to my daughter's house, who lives across town.  I usually don't take the freeway, because believe it or not, taking the freeway is the same amount of time as it takes to drive down just one of the main roads.  The main road is a more direct route - less miles, but the same time, since it is slower going.  This road has a few places that are famous for being speed traps, so once again, I have decided to "slow down" and just go the speed limit.  That night as I was going over there, all of a sudden I passed a car that was on the other side of the road, parked in a left turn lane.  It was a cop, sitting there with his motor running and his lights off.  It was in a particularly dark spot of the road, so you really didn't notice him until you were right beside him.  I drove a little ways and there was another cop, in the next left turn lane, same thing:  lights off and motor running. 

So take my advice:  Slow down and keep your eyes open, and look and see how many times you might have gotten a ticket if you had been speeding!

SLEEPOVER

I had another sleepover with 3 of my granddaughters this past week. - two 5 year olds and a 12 year old.   Here are some conversations we had, or overheard:

CONVERSATION #1
5 year old crying
Me: What's wrong?
1st 5 year old: I'm scared!
Me: Of what?
1st 5 year old: Ghosts!
Me: We have no ghosts in this house.  When we bought this house, Grandpa said a prayer and told Heavenly Father to not let any ghosts get in this house.
1st 5 year old: There's no such thing as ghosts, Grandma!
Me: Then what are you scared of???


CONVERSATION #2
Conversation overheard while the 2 five year olds were taking a bath in my huge Roman tub:
(They had told me they wanted to take a bath because my tub looked like a swimming pool)

1st 5 year old: Okay, I'll stand here and you stand there....Now, you jump in first and then I'll jump in.
 (Of course, hearing this caused both me and the 12 year old to run as fast as we could to the tub and look in (it has a shower curtain across the opening)  There stood both 5 year olds - each on a different ledge of the tub. 
Me:  There will be no jumping of any kind in this tub or you'll both get out!
Both 5 year olds: Awwwww!

CONVERSATION #3
2nd 5 year old:  I love you, Grandma!
Me: I love you too, and I also love "1st 5 year old!"
2nd 5 year old to 1st 5 year old: When someone tells you that they love you, you're supposed to say, "I love you back!"

JUST CLICK ON THE DOTS.........................

I just found out something I thought I'd share.  Some of you know that I've had problems in the past with Oriental people leaving comments on my blog that were links to pornographic sites.  I warned these people to quit doing it or I would report them.  I thought they had quit, but I was still getting comments.  When I would translate these commments using Google Translate, they appeared quite harmless. 

Today I got another comment on one of my posts from one of these people.  When I was looking at it, all of a sudden I realized that every single comment that these people would leave, would have a row of dots........................ - all in blue - after the comment.  Here's what I found out:  If you click on their blogger name, it takes you to an innocent appearing site.  Nothing wrong with that, except that ALL of these people have blogs but don't blog on them.  The blog looks like it has just barely been set up and has no posts on it.  HOWEVER, if you click on the dots after their comment, THAT is what takes you to the porn site.

So bloggers beware.  If you don't believe me, just click on those blue dots and you'll see for yourself.  As for me, I'm deleting every single one.

THE PINK MOUNTAINS - ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE VIEWS

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