Feed the Birds

Will you help?

Do you remember that song from “Mary Poppins?” The one about the old woman who sits on the steps to the cathedral and feeds the birds? She asks others to feed them too. She will provide the food for a small fee (a tuppence) and we can help her to take care of the less fortunate.

I’m not sure why, but that beautiful song got stuck in my head this afternoon. I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time, but I’ve always liked that song, as well as the lullaby “Stay Awake.”

It set my mind to whirring. What is she really asking? She’s asking for help, obviously… someone to care about others as much as she does, if only for a little while. Can you help her? Are you willing to give up yourself for just a short time to help another?

What the bird woman is asking of us is to put aside ourselves and focus on the needs of others. Sure, in the movie, they are birds, but couldn’t she just as easily mean the poor, the less fortunate?

And what about the bird woman herself? She is certainly not high society, but someone that the children’s father hardly notices. But the children see her, as directed by their nanny. Who is she that anyone should listen?

Maybe that’s the point! Not just to stop and smell the roses, so to speak, but to truly notice all of God’s creatures and treat them with respect. From the bird woman all the way down to her birds. All deserve respect. Do we give it?

I work with homeless people everyday. They are as varied as any group of people. These are not addicts and junkies. These are real people. Families. People who have fallen on hard times. People who, through no fault of their own, have become unhoused. Do we even see them?

What makes us so much better than them? NOTHING! And there is that point again. Respect. Do they not deserve it, as fellow human beings? I will tell you – not only do they deserve our respect, but they deserve our compassion! These are people who have seen so much trauma that sometimes they have to fight daily to be able to just breathe!

If nothing else, I ask you to pray for these folks. Their stories are not all that different from our own. There but for the grace of God go I.

A New Ingredient

Yummy herb!

I discovered a new ingredient today. Not that I have not used this spice in the past (usually in tuna!) but today I was told how good it is with beef. I had never imagined putting it on beef!

So, what is this new ingredient? Why, it’s dill, sometimes known as dill weed. I noticed one of our good cooks making a beef roast, and he had liberally sprinkled dill on it. Hmmmmm…not my usual spice, but interesting.

He also salted, peppered, onioned, and garliced the roast. Then, when he has browned it in the oven, stuck three cloves of garlic down into it. He promised me a piece, but I had to leave before it was done cooking. I’m kind of hoping that he saves me a piece for lunch tomorrow! Oh, who am I kidding? It will be breakfast!!!

Not the roast, but you get the idea!

I then talked to a coworker of mine, who told me of a pot roast that he made with dill. It also called for sour cream to make a gravy. Um, a napkin please for the drool?!!! I can see I’m going to have to try this out, and not just in tuna!

What do you think? For what do you use dill? Do you use it in beef dishes? Am I the only one living under a rock?! 😊. Please tell me I’m not in the comments below!

Deeeeep Thoughts

Deep Thoughts

Does anyone else remember the segment on Saturday Night Live entitled “Deep Thoughts”? I remember this segment fondly, though it seems few others do.

It was a nonsensical segment with quotes from Jack Handy (Oh my goodness! I just got that joke!!!) relating to life in all its strangeness.

The one that’s coming to mind tonight was about how parents should talk nonsense to their children so that they have no idea how to speak the English language! As a teen I thought this was hysterically funny! As an adult, I can see the mean side of it, and though I would never do that to my kids (they’re too old for it anyway! 😁) it is slightly less funny now.

I struggle to see humor in many things that I used to think were great. Is this a normal part of aging? Am I destined to be a stick in the mud?

I find it harder and harder to get a huge belly laugh from the world around me. When did everything get so serious? When did I get (horrors!)…old?

Maybe I’m just in a funk. My doctor has been adjusting a med for me and it did not go well. So, here I am, bellylaughless, feeling ill, not to mention sad. Oh, yeah, I have a funeral to go to tomorrow! And one of my favorite people from work got a new job. 😭😭😭. What can I say? It’s been a crappy week. Here’s hoping next week is much better!

Spring is here!

At least spring has finally sprung and the flowers are budding. Yay!

A Funny Thing Happened in the Living Room

Hi! I’m Delilah and super cute. I’m not weird at all, just always on the move as you can tell from my blurry picture!

I just had to blog about what happened in our living room earlier this evening. If you don’t know us well, I will tell you a little secret…we are all funny and we tend to bounce off each other.

So, Child #2 is sitting in the living room chair with my pup, Delilah. Child #4 is sitting at one end of the sofa with her pup, Lulu. I am at the other end of the sofa with Ducky sitting up next to me. Child #3 is around the corner on the computer.

Hi! I’m Lulu. I’m adorable and I run this place!

Child #2 comments that Delilah is such a weird dog, just as I look up to see what she’s talking about, Ducky starts snapping at the air and trying to eat it! I burst out laughing, as Duck tends to make us do. I’m like “Really? Delilah’s the weird one when Child #4’s dog is trying to eat the air?”

Hi! I’m Ducky and I like to eat strange things – even ones that aren’t really there!

We all burst out laughing as Ducky continued his air-eating quest. No wonder we call him our court jester!!!

Chicken Ooh La La!

Looks yummy, right? No leftovers here!

We had this for dinner tonight. It was so delicious. Everyone agreed! If you are familiar with us, you know that is quite a feat! Though I do have a heads up: you will need some time for your chicken to marinate, so you might want to do that part the night before, like I did. You could also do it the morning of.

It started with a bottle of Italian salad dressing that I found on clearance. It was Newman’s Own, which is a brand that I like. I decided to buy it to marinate some chicken breast. Yum!

Here is what you will need:

Gf nonstick cooking spray

One bottle of your favorite gf Italian dressing

4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

7 medium red potatoes

1, 12 oz. bag of frozen green beans

1 stick butter, sliced into 16 or so pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Take the packages of chicken breast, totalling about 4 pounds, and place them in a gallon storage bag. Pour in the dressing. Place in the fridge to marinate overnight, or morning thereof to be cooked that night.

In the late afternoon of the day you are cooking this meal, wash your red potatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch by 1 inch chunks. Place them on your foiled and gf nonstick cooking sprayed pan. Then add the package of frozen green beans. Top this with butter, salt, and pepper.

Potatoes and beans with salt, pepper, and butter. Yum! Can’t wait!

Place the marinated chicken breasts on top of the potatoes and beans and pour the extra marinade on top. Seal the foil over the chicken, potatoes, and beans and cook for one hour and ten minutes at 350° F. Enjoy!

Does Your Pepper Like Steak?

The ultimate comfort food!

Ah, pepper steak, that good old standby. What? I’ve never shared the recipe with you? Well, forty lashes with uncooked rice! I’d use a wet noodle, but this recipe doesn’t call for any!!!!

So, what will you need? Here’s the list:

1.5 lbs lean round steak

2 tsp. granulated onion

1, 12 oz. bag of frozen peppers and onions (You could use fresh if you’d like, but I was putting this together at 8:15 am before I left for work at the shelter. Child #2 put it in the oven for me so that we could eat at a reasonable hour!)

1.5 cups of white regular rice (such as basmati or jasmine)

1, 30 oz. can of tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Your favorite gf non-stick cooking spray

9″ x 13″ pan, with a sheet of foil to protect it and come up over the sides to cover the dish.

Spray your foil-wrapped 9″ x 13″ pan. Place round steak in pan. Sprinkle with granulated onion and salt and pepper to taste. Add rice and peppers on top of the steak and top with tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup water to tomato sauce can to rinse out remnants of the sauce and dump in with the steak. Sprinkle red wine vinegar over the top.

Almost ready for the oven! Just need the tomato sauce and red wine vinegar! Yum!!

Seal the foil and bake at 350°F for 2 – 2.5 hours until meat can easily be pulled apart. Enjoy!

Mmmmhmmmm…

I Walked Along a Winding Road

I walk along the winding road

I cannot see the end

This road is like my life, I think,

I can’t see ’round the bend.

Life is like that winding road,

All valleys, rocks, and hills.

Who are we to know the path

That leads ’round the wondering rills?

Some day our roads will come to end

And what will we have seen?

A million views, a passing cruise,

Of what really might have been.