A lesson in Social Geography

Good Morning!
Recently our kids have been learning more about Cultures around the world.
They watched (or should I say Dash watched) a documentary on the toilet and water problems around the globe. For example in India...well lets just say the major river has become the "sewage system" of the "modern" construction. In Malaysia the fields and waterways are local toilets and hopes are to remove some of the obstinacy by teaching about malaria for it is rampant. They are even celebrating when a home gets a toilet. These are squat toilets but non the less not in the creek they drink form.

The kids heard about some of the causes we care about. Then they gave their input as to where they would like to help.

Dove threw a curve in the mix. Gotta love this kids heart "Mom, Mexico..I have a friend and her grandma lives there and they really need help". So many Americans hate the people who if they had their needs they might stay across the boarder and stop drains our countries resources. Understanding. So after looking into it Habitat for humanity looks like a great group of souls trying to do some good.
Children are often good eyes into the needs of folks unbiased by the controversies.

Now as for Dash he thought about Kenya. Cornerstone Church is partnering up with a dear heart known as "Mamma". She has an orphanage 2200 square feet with 140 kids. Three bunks high. Dash wants to help build a dormitory so she can take more children off the street... or out of the wondering. These are the throw a ways. Lord Lord how sad. In Russia Dash was housed there with the kids that would never be adopted because of abnormalities

My heart goes there. Doctors without boarders operation smile. Sitting on the orphanage floor waiting for Dash to be changed and handed to me to hold my heart was pierced. Before me sat on the floor a child who had clef lip/palate. I knelt on the floor and loved on him, to the horror of the workers. A child without a future because of a simple reconstructive surgery. A son of my heart that would forever remain a driving force of good. Instead of repulsion from parasites, drawn to the inner soul of this dear one. Later taking medications for the bugs but always thinking what a little cost to give that baby 5 minutes of love.

Daddy man has a heart for "Father Roderic" a pod cast, talk show on line.  Although we are not Catholic this man is a blessing to him everyday.
Oh far too often do we loose out on things due to limits self imposed into rejection if we differ. This man BLESSES him. We are of the heart and content.

Now bring it closer to home...
Dash has a friend who has a single mom. When he stays the day here to play all he wore was flip flop shoes. I would have him ware an extra pair of Dash's shoes to play in outside in the yard. Boys just can not run and play with abandon in flip flops. He only has shoes when school starts.
Dash gave him his shoes. Now dash has three pair two old and one nice. Dash gave him his nicest shoes...When I realized this I was humbled and told Daddy Man. Oh we both just teared up with affection toward the heart of our son.

All around this globe are cultures, peoples are of varying need.
The greatest thing my children ever need is the understanding that who they are is not what they have but what they are willing to give. We are poor only through what we refuse. Rich through what we are willing to receive. My FILove has a needle point of such on a wall. The richness we have is from what we have been given. Yes we worked hard to gain it but it is that even the poor work hard. To whom much is given much is required. It is a gift from God.  It is not for us to store it all up to our own demise. As I age more and more I am exposed to the folks who pass leaving masses of stuff for the others to disassemble at their passing. Passing also on a burden for them to deal with. Several of my friends have lost parents and are in the process of doing so. My mom had nothing and so at her passing I was spared this. My sister dealt with our dads stuff and oh it was a nightmare for her to do so. There were even fines he accrued that she had to pay. Loosing the lands. A heritage and an inheritence is to be a gift to or dependents yet not become a burden. It is good to do so, yet it is far more than just monies and stuff.

Early on in our union there was an old spinster woman who lived with her other two sisters until one by one they passed. This was where many things came into our use. This a huge honor to have fine linens and fun jewelry.  Then after we were done with the estate sale the home was emptied of all that was left.
Now we the extended family were blessed. I remember the energy my MILove and others had extended on the task. I was a very young bride then. It was a good lesson that was forgotten for a while. It is these experiences in life that produce understanding when knowledge is saught in hopes to remember wisdom.

Ask and you will recieve

Steve won a $25 gift card to Home Depot today.
He had an office meeting.
It was a team building exercise to build a paper airplane.
They won.

We needed to go there!Ha!

Got to love it!

Spay/Neuter Assistance Program

Today is my Labs 5th birthday and I was 4th in line and able to get the voucher. I drove there and was forth in line 15 minutes before the door was to open. The officer came out 10 minutes early...I got the voucher! There were easily 15 folks 5 minutes later. With a limited number of vouches we are thrilled!

Upon coming home (gone only 10 minutes at most) the forms to fill out...then I saw it.

Today is my big dogs birthday!

Happy birthday boy...snip,snip,snip.

Loud laughter as I was on the phone with Steve when I looked down and saw the DOB on the license.

We laughed so hard!

God Gave the dog a gift

:)

In addition the vet that told me about it was going to charge me the $80 with it

without voucher $260.

The officer said all the cost of the neuter is paid!

Pain pills is all I should pay for.

Boy oh boy that saved us big!

Maricopa County’s Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) provides free spay/neuter surgeries for your dog(s) and cat(s) at participating veterinarians throughout the valley. Here are a few basic points about the process:

• Simply fill out an application and return with payment (if applicable)
• Approximate 2-6 week turn-around time
• You choose from a list of participating veterinarians
• You will have 90 days to use the voucher

Unfortunately, we have had to remove the application from the web site. You can still get one by coming by one of our Animal Care Centers We receive a

limited amount of vouchers 

and run out quickly. 

You must come down on the 1st of every month, as we usually run out by the end of that day..

2500 S. 27th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85009

2630 W. 8th Street Mesa, Az 85201

Gail force winds!

Ok who prayed?
I got a second wind this evening out of the cloudless blue. Once this morning for a good two hours or so energy came upon me and inspiration to organize. The kids also had a time of tasks. They really feel good about doing them too.
Now they have taken over the dung duty, or better said "duty duty". They have set there own schedule and have chosen how to do there days. Dash on Monday and Friday, Dove on Tuesday and Thursday. Dove got the better deal as in most everything my son takes on his generosity mirrors his father. Some woman is going to get a real nice spouse some day. Yes he does want to marry and have kids one day. A nine year old thinking that far ahead!

Tonight mid evening while the kids played at a neighbors I rested at the computer. While they showered I got a second wind, or should it be called Gale force wind?

Yes I have really been that lethargic!

Looking at this all day yesterday and today has left me feeling really overwhelmed.

Tonight we had a nice stir-fry with shrimp over ramin noodles wow every plate clean.

Invited into the big beg for a time of tickle bug.

Oh it was so fun.

Dove instigated it and then had Dash join in.

We laughed so hard! 

Then Daddy Man came in via invitation.

Now to try to explain it.

We all laid on the big bed Daddy next to mom next to Dove next with Dash standing above us.

We all puffed out our cheeks and Dash on by one squished our cheeks to the sound of a well...fart

Oh we all laughed and laughed and over and over we tried to hold our cheeks puffed up while one by Dash popped them oh it was so funny!

Tackle it Tuesday

join us over here

Dear friends today it is I who feel tackled by this fine Tuesday morn. If my body could even begin to keep up with all of the many many tackles that address my attention. Well It is a great motivator to try to focus and accomplish at least one today. That is what I have always loved about TIT. Today I really want to give it good effort and simply accept it if an outcome occurs.

It is Tuesday time to IRON out this mess.

At the first of the year after all the tax was accomplished and mailed an idea came to me to make a file of each years tax information in separate envelopes. That was it would all be in one place in a nice file box accessible if there were ever need. Starting the project was as far as it got and it has (like many other little piles) longed to be finished and put away off of my studio floor. With the summer and school out few things are really getting done in the house.

It is the time of souls, minds and spirits of the young ones I tend to everyday. Here goes though perhaps by days end I will have this done.

The other thing is to have the kids tend to a tackle just in order to keep them from the "FAT" of too much ease. Not the fat of body but of abundance and idol body with piles of their own.

With the challenges of terrible fatigue life is different for me these days. Like the wind has been pulled out of me. So very very tired almost all the time. This ol' hamster is all but seized upon my wheel. This has lasted a long while now. I am told that after the infusions I will feel much better. There is a pleasant peace here at our uncommon home. All is well with our souls. As of now it is more the body that gives challenge.

Meal Plan Monday Mother Sauces

I have missed this community but I have been consumed a bit over here with life.

One thing about cooking is education. I love to learn and recently I began my education into learning more about the Mother Sauces. From these sauces the recipies are litterally ENDLESS.

Each week I will share the knowledge with you on a sauce.

This week I will use a white sauce on egg noodles with a cubed beef in sauce...sound familar?

BEEF TIPS AND NOODLES

2 lbs. of beef tips, cut into 1" cubes 1 pkg. onion soup mix (or dried onion and a bit of Kitchen Bouquet, a seasoning and browning sauce) 1 cup of white sauce 1 pt. fresh mushrooms, rinsed 1/2 c. red wine 1 pkg. egg noodles, cooked & drained 1 tbsp. vegetable oil Brown beef tips in vegetable oil, until cooked through. Add white sauce,onion soup mix, fresh mushrooms and wine. Simmer on low heat for several hours. Serve over egg noodles.Note: The longer the beef tips simmer, the more tender they will be. Mother Sauces There are five Mother Sauces This is a culinary lesson. *Béchamel * Espagnole * Hollandaise * Mayonnaise * Tomato sauce * Velouté Sauce Bechamel Is a French Sauce Base: Milk (Usually Whole Milk) Thickening Agent:"How To Make and Use a Roux" White Roux Classical Flavorings: White Onion, Clove, Bay Leaf, Salt, White Pepper, Nutmeg Common Secondary Sauces: Cream Sauce, Mornay, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Mustard Sauce, Nantua  Classically Served With: Eggs, Fish, Steamed Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Pastas, Veal  Technique and Recipe: Guidelines for Roux Don’t use margarine or shortening. Yes they’re cheap, but margarine tastes horrible and shortening adds no flavor; not to mention it can give you a bit of a fuzzy mouth feel. "How To Make Clarified Butter" Melt over double boiler and once melted skim off all of the whey off of the top of it. Store for use. Use only clarified butter oil or animal fat Don’t use whole butter. Whole butter is about 15% water and will give you a less consistent product than a roux made with pure fat.  skim off whey and discard  Keep this in the refrigerator for use in sauces A good roux is paste like and is not runny or pourable. A roux that has too much fat and is too runny is called a slack roux. Excessive fat in your roux will be released into your sauce, making it greasy and forcing you to spend extra time skimming and de-fating your sauce. Cake flour has about 20% more thickening power than bread or AP (All Purpose) flour. However, since bread and AP flower are more common than cake flour, most recipes that call for a roux assume that you will be using AP flour. Making Roux The process for making roux is extremely simple. Just place equal parts of flour and fat, together and cook over low heat until thickened.  How long do you cook it for? Well that depends on what kind of roux you wish to make. There are basically three types of roux which are differentiated by the degree to which the roux is cooked. White Roux White roux is really more of a yellow roux that you basically cook for just a few minutes until the fat and flour are evenly mixed together and start to froth. You want to cook out the raw taste of the flour, but stop cooking the roux before it starts to turn color. White rouxs are used for white sauces that are cream and milk based such as bechamel and Alfredo. Blond Roux Blond roux is cooked a little longer than your white roux, just until it starts to slightly turn color. Blond roux is used for white sauces that are stock based, such as veloutes. Brown Roux Brown roux is traditionally used for brown sauces, which are sauces based upon brown roasted stocks such as the mother sauce Espagnole. The key to a good brown roux is to cook it over low heat so that it browns evenly without scorching. Some chefs will even dry roast their flower in the oven first before making it into roux. A good brown roux will have a rich and nutty aroma, and is great for thickening brown sauces and gravies. Just remember that a dark brown roux will have about a third of the thickening power of a blond or white roux. Incorporating Roux Into a Sauce or Soup Roux can be added to a sauce either warm or cold, but never hot. A sizzling hot roux will separate and break when it hits a cold sauce, causing lumps and the loss of the roux’s thickening power. Once the roux is added into the liquid you wish to thicken, whisk vigorously to incorporate and bring sauce to a simmer. Most roux thickened sauces are simmered for at least 20 minutes to cook out any starchy taste created by the flour. During this simmering, it is a perfect time to skim off any scum or fat that rises to the top. Now what kind of ratio and proportions should you use when thickening with a roux? It’s as the rhyme of 3,4,5,6. 3 ounces of roux per quart of liquid will thicken a sauce to a thin or light consistency. 4 ounces of roux per quart = medium body sauce. 5 ounces of roux per quart = thick sauce. 6 ounces of roux per quart = heavy gravy. Sauce Béchamel  This recipe is for about one cup. Multiply by the number of cups of sauce you need. 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk pinch of nutmeg, salt, and pepper Melt the butter in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and mix well. Continuing stirring over low heat for two minutes. Using a whisk, and continually whisking, add the milk in small quantities - about two tablespoons at a time. Make sure that you fully incorporate the liquid before adding more - this way you will get a smooth sauce. After you've added about half the milk, pour in the rest and give the mixture a good whisking. Continue to heat the sauce on low to medium heat, whisking often. Cook just to below boiling until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg, salt and pepper. This can be made a day ahead or kept made in the refrigerator for the menu