September 17, 1787

On 17 September 1787,

the United States Constitution

was signed by thirty-nine brave men

who changed the course of history.

If you love your country,

and what it originally stood for ...

let me see you say

Hear! Hear!

Here! Here!

We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.

Hear! Hear!

Here! Here!

Like Peyton Manning's Team, Maybe

My Oldest Miracle Takes Good Pictures ...

September 12, 2010

Houston, Texas

Even though they didn't win,

... and even though she wasn't able to give Peyton her autograph ...

she had lots and lots of fun !!



Is This Not Adorable?

My new avatar ... face-thingy ... profile picture ... or whatever it's called.

A precious caricature of me and Nani.

So when you see this image floating around

beside comments on other blogs ...

you can know it is me.

"Mama C"

 

 

Where Is Your Place of Safety

"I've sometimes wondered where the safest place in the U.S. would be.

Considering hurricanes, tornadoes, earth quakes, blizzards, volcanoes,

unstable economies, unstable governments, tensions rising worldwide, etc.

Now we have the border situations ..."

Above is a comment I found on an online discussion thread, and these kinds of thoughts are a concern for many. 

Natural disasters can, and will, happen anywhere and everywhere ... with increased frequencies ... as we are well aware (if we read or watch the news.)

It IS instinctive for us human beings to want to avoid harm.

Flood waters rise, and we get to higher ground.  Hurricane approaches, we scramble to evacuate.  We see a storm brewing, and we seek cover.  Tornado sirens blare, we hit the cellar or closet. 

A band of ruffians trespasses upon our property, so we rush to grab for our ammunition and guns ... if we've wisely thought in advance to acquire them ... and call for help.

No one wants to suffer pain, injury or death!

And so it is also instinctive ... for those of us watching the tumultuous national AND world events ... for us to want to prepare for AND pre-seek  "a place of safety" in the event the whole world erupts in militant chaos.

But WHERE are God's children to look?

Are we to get our minds and hearts on some means, or method, or place, of ESCAPE?  And if so, are we to focus upon a particular geographical location?

Today, unpredictable weather calamities aside, we live in the age of infrared and satellite technology ... and modern weapons. 

Helicopter gunships ... even if using the more "conventional" weapons such as cannon, machine guns and napalm ... could completely obliterate ANY place in a matter of moments.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, nuclear bombs dropped by aircraft, parachute bombs, nuclear warheads in artillery shells, rocket-launched nuclear warheads from mobile, truck-mounted launchers ... these, and a host of other neat methods of delivering multi-megaton thermonuclear explosions, are in the arsenals of all modern armies.

Oh, yeah, and biological/chemical warfare ... intentional, malicioius spread of disease/pestilence ... would slowly, yet completely, exterminate ALL LIFE as well.

Do you see?

No matter WHERE a human being may be hidden upon the surface of this earth ... IF a satanically determined, and inspired, enemy SEEKS to destroy that individual (or a group of individuals) ... it will obviously REQUIRE the supernatural protection of God to save him!

The point is THIS ... there is no physical location, place, or section on this entire earth that is guaranteed SAFE.

EVERYwhere is 100% obsolete as a "place of safety" in the face of enemies ... influenced by Satan himself ... if they actively SEEK to destroy. 

But God's protection will never be obsolete!

And so this was my simple response to the above thread ...

I used to wonder where my "place of safety" should/would be ...

until I realized that I need to have the kind of faith

that believes I'll be protected wherever I am.

Literally.

Psalms 91

(right click link to open in new window)

 
 
With Love,
Your Faithful Prepper
(where autonomy and faith collide)

Sad Day For Little Nani

( She )
needs your prayers, and sweet thoughts.

What was supposed to be her annual "well baby" checkup
turned into a nightmare.

Not only did she have to get three shots ...
Mama, why do I need shots?
So you won't get sick.
But Mama, Nani never gets sick
so why do I still need shots?

And not only did she have to have blood drawn
to screen for lead exposure ...
Mama, why did they take Nani's blood?!?
I need it back!!

It seems the incident that caused her
( broken hip )
last year
possibly caused  another problem for her ...
because there is no other logical explanation for it
since she was not born with it.

My precious four year old angel has a hernia.
And she will have to undergo major surgery to repair it.

Last year, Nani's best friend in the whole wide world
(our next door neighbor's rottweiler)
was way too happy to see her playing in the front yard.

And he bulldozed her ...
hit her right off her feet and into the air.
Hard enough to break a hip.

Evidently hard enough to compromise her fascia, too.

Poor little girl :(

Ma's Old Prairie Dumplings

This recipe is from my great-great-grandmother.

She was married to a sharecropper in the plains/prairies

out around Muleshoe, Texas.

Times were hard back then ... real hard.

If all you had on hand

was some fresh kill meat, some flour, and salt ...

and access to water ...

you could have one FINE meal.

(As my Mammie would later say ... a little butter don't hurt none.)

My point is ... check out how simple this is ...

and check out how DELICIOUS it is, too.

I suppose you could do this with rabbit

or squirrel ... like my GGGM probably did ... or whatever

other kinds of "fresh kill meats" y'all eat out there.

But the only meats we eat around here

are mainly beef and chicken ...

occasionally some deer and lamb ... 

so my dumpling meal will center around chicken.

First thing you do is boil your meat

in a large stewpot.

Tonight I only did three breasts.

Place meat on plate to cool. 

Keep the broth/water.

In a large bowl, cover the bottom with salt.

Add hot water to bowl, and dissolve salt.

You want it salty.

Tonight I used 1 1/2 cups water ...

if I make a larger batch I go with 2 cups.

There is no strict measuring.

The more water you have

the more flour you'll need ...

and the more dough you'll make.

Then I open up my sack of flour and start pouring
into the salt water.

Nothing in this recipe is measured.

Just enough flour to make a dough.

I use a fork to stir.

Until it gets crumbly and lumpy and moisty.

Then I reach in there and start using my hands ...

and blend, blend, blend ...

until I can pull a good-sized ball out of there.

I sprinkle flour on my countertop ... and roll it out ...

... and cut slices with a butter knife.

Then I hold out the palm of my hand

and stack as many as I can on there ...

And plop 'em one by one into the hot broth ...

You'll know if the broth is hot enough

by seeing the dumplings immediately float to the top.

Once you get all of your dough rolled out and cut ...

and into the broth ...

time to hand shred the cooled meat, and toss it in there.

Now this is where I add to the original recipe just a tad ...

I go ahead and give it a good shake of black pepper,

and add a half a stick of real butter.

I stir it real good, and shut the heat off ... and cap it.

And start cleaning my mess, and taking more pictures.

After about an hour of farting around ... the dumplings look like this.

The longer it sits, the better it gets.

Enjoy!!

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We sure did :)

(Edited to add final picture.)

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We Have TEN Eggs Now ...

Creamy Chicken Curry Lo Mein

Fry cubed chicken breast in coconut oil ...

pull, and set aside.

Add the (red) curry paste 

and the (yellow) Madras Curry Powder

to the remaining coconut oil ...

according to your personal preference.

We like it pretty dadgum spicy,

so I add two heaping tablespoons of the red

and one tablespoon of the yellow.

Sometimes I add a little more CO

if it needs it.

Mash the curry into the hot oil,

and mix until "gritty smooth" like rue.

Add water ... keeping a constant stir/whisk.

I add four cups.

Simmer down to about two concentrated cups

... stirring often ...

and add can of coconut milk.

Keep simmering.

For an even creamier, and sweeter,  version, 

add  a can of

"the cream of coconut."

Start your pasta (I use fettucine)

and add large chunks of bell pepper and onion

to your curry ... re-add your chicken.

Keeping simmering the curry.

Strain pasta when it is ready,

 and toss with the curry. 

Bon Appetit!

Hannebelle Loves Belle's Chicken

My nickname is Nani.

When I am in little trouble,

Mama calls me Nani Wayne.

My real name is Hanne-Belle.

(hah-nah-bell-lah)

When I am in big trouble,

Mama calls me Hanne-Belle Wayne.

I love to eat at Belle's Chicken House.

It is my restaurant.

My name is everywhere here.

I have my birthday parties there, and

I want my next birthday party to be there.

You can come if you want to.

I would like it.

Just tell Mama.

Here is my birthday party room.

It's even my name too ...

the John Wayne room.

They fix it up real special

for me

on my birthday.

I eat real good at Belle's.

You will, too.

If you like chicken.

I love chicken.

Do you like chicken?

The people dance a lot at Belle's.

I don't get up there, but Mama does

when it's time to do the hokey-pokey

and the YMCA. 

It makes my sisters lay their head on the table.

Here is the chicken dance.

When it is your birthday,

you have to dress up like a chicken.

They haven't made me do it before, at my other birthdays,

but Mama says they might make me when I get bigger.

I don't want to.

Somebody dropped their snowcone,

and it looked like snow on the ground.

It made me laugh.

It's too hot for snow on the ground,

but there it is!

I have so much fun at Belle's

that I get tired before everybody is ready to go home.

I love to sit on my Mama's lap.

It is real dark

when it's time to go home.

But I am real brave, and I can do tricks.

I love Belle's.