I just got a return email announcing the Jeopardy tryouts in Washington DC, for those would-be contestants who passed the online test in January. I hope Dad's birthday, May 28, is good luck.
I passed this test in Culver City, in person, 6 times. Is the eighth time the charm? Of course we could use the money!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
See Bread Recipes below the Cloud picture
I just HAD to reuse the blank instead of deleting it.......
Monday, March 16, 2009
What an interesting cloud....
Recently Nikki, a friend from California who's now in North Carolina, posted a touching poem on her blog comparing her soul to a sunflower and the gardener to Christ.
My attempts at poetry were what dragged down my English grades. My only gift is rewriting songs a la Weird Al Yankovic. So I'd like to express my appreciation to Ken, fellow Whitehall High Class of '71 student, for emailing me this picture.
It came with the "Jesus Test": Are you ashamed of Him? The score is 100 or zero, nothing between.
Now that I've given this picture the boost from private emails to publicly searched hyperspace, I hope my score is more than zero today. Thanks, Ken.
My attempts at poetry were what dragged down my English grades. My only gift is rewriting songs a la Weird Al Yankovic. So I'd like to express my appreciation to Ken, fellow Whitehall High Class of '71 student, for emailing me this picture.
It came with the "Jesus Test": Are you ashamed of Him? The score is 100 or zero, nothing between.
Now that I've given this picture the boost from private emails to publicly searched hyperspace, I hope my score is more than zero today. Thanks, Ken.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Give us this day our daily bread
As Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green has said of Lent, "The bread machine runs all day long". A decent bread, if one is not clogging up one's arteries with meats and saturated fats, is a choice food to get through the day. Spread with peanut butter, Earth Balance margarine, lightly salted, or even sprinkled with Cajun seasoning, a slice of bread will hold off hunger until the next meal.
My daughters are fond of the taste of prosphora, the Orthodox communion bread. However, the first recipe I got for it from Father Andrew makes too much for one household. Start with a whole 5-pound bag of flour?? My freezer is already full. I found this recipe in the book Making God Real in the Christian Home by Anthony Coniaris.
5 cups flour plus extra for kneading
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups warm water
2 cakes or envelopes yeast
Standard instructions for bread are: dissolve the yeast in the water, stir in salt and flour until it's too stiff to stir. Knead for 10 minutes, let rise one hour, punch down the dough and shape into loaves, let rise 1/2 hour or until the bread pans are reasonably full, bake 1/2 hour at 375°.
Now prosphora comes with the extra specifications of pray the Jesus Prayer (the Publican's prayer) while kneading, and hold the stamp mold down on each round for the duration of the Lord's Prayer (aha! that's why my stamps didn't take). But since I am making this for family consumption, I can skip straight to my bread machine which will bake a 1-1/2 pound loaf. It can mix twice that amount if I bake the loaves in the oven. This has been a good thing this winter, as it is an excuse to heat up a cold kitchen.
So here's Mom's Bread:
5 cups high-gluten bread flour (all-purpose is too crumbly)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1-3/4 cups warm water (flour tends to be dry)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
Note on yeast: If you bake a lot, it's cheaper to buy a bulk pack from Costco/Sam's Club/BJ's Warehouse than to buy those $1.50 envelopes at the supermarket. But since it will still fizzle out in a year's time despite refrigeration, be liberal using the yeast.
Load your machine the way the maker specifies; mine says liquid first. I put the salt, sugar, and yeast into the water. Then the flour goes on top. I let it mix on the dough cycle and raise until the machine kneads down the first rise. Then the dough is placed in two 10" x 5" loaf pans. The pans are placed in the cold oven to rise.
The baking method I read in a book by William Woys Weaver on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking; he attempted to recreate the effects of a woodfired brick bake oven. Turn the oven to 175° with the loaves in it; let them finish rising 10 minutes. Then turn the oven to 400° and bake 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350° and bake another 15 minutes. Bread should be done now, with a crispy crust. Take it out of the pans to cool so the bottoms don't get soggy.
I usually bake a whole wheat loaf with the 2 white loaves. Its recipe is similar, only it contains 1 tablespoon of applesauce for internal moisture. Oil would work too, but applesauce satisfies certain nitpickers who maintain even a bread should not contain oil on a day not marked 'wine and oil'.
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup high gluten bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 cup warm water
Mix and bake as above. The sweetness of the applesauce makes this bread more suitable for PB&J sandwiches than for garlic bread...OK by the girls!
My daughters are fond of the taste of prosphora, the Orthodox communion bread. However, the first recipe I got for it from Father Andrew makes too much for one household. Start with a whole 5-pound bag of flour?? My freezer is already full. I found this recipe in the book Making God Real in the Christian Home by Anthony Coniaris.
5 cups flour plus extra for kneading
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups warm water
2 cakes or envelopes yeast
Standard instructions for bread are: dissolve the yeast in the water, stir in salt and flour until it's too stiff to stir. Knead for 10 minutes, let rise one hour, punch down the dough and shape into loaves, let rise 1/2 hour or until the bread pans are reasonably full, bake 1/2 hour at 375°.
Now prosphora comes with the extra specifications of pray the Jesus Prayer (the Publican's prayer) while kneading, and hold the stamp mold down on each round for the duration of the Lord's Prayer (aha! that's why my stamps didn't take). But since I am making this for family consumption, I can skip straight to my bread machine which will bake a 1-1/2 pound loaf. It can mix twice that amount if I bake the loaves in the oven. This has been a good thing this winter, as it is an excuse to heat up a cold kitchen.
So here's Mom's Bread:
5 cups high-gluten bread flour (all-purpose is too crumbly)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1-3/4 cups warm water (flour tends to be dry)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
Note on yeast: If you bake a lot, it's cheaper to buy a bulk pack from Costco/Sam's Club/BJ's Warehouse than to buy those $1.50 envelopes at the supermarket. But since it will still fizzle out in a year's time despite refrigeration, be liberal using the yeast.
Load your machine the way the maker specifies; mine says liquid first. I put the salt, sugar, and yeast into the water. Then the flour goes on top. I let it mix on the dough cycle and raise until the machine kneads down the first rise. Then the dough is placed in two 10" x 5" loaf pans. The pans are placed in the cold oven to rise.
The baking method I read in a book by William Woys Weaver on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking; he attempted to recreate the effects of a woodfired brick bake oven. Turn the oven to 175° with the loaves in it; let them finish rising 10 minutes. Then turn the oven to 400° and bake 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350° and bake another 15 minutes. Bread should be done now, with a crispy crust. Take it out of the pans to cool so the bottoms don't get soggy.
I usually bake a whole wheat loaf with the 2 white loaves. Its recipe is similar, only it contains 1 tablespoon of applesauce for internal moisture. Oil would work too, but applesauce satisfies certain nitpickers who maintain even a bread should not contain oil on a day not marked 'wine and oil'.
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup high gluten bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 cup warm water
Mix and bake as above. The sweetness of the applesauce makes this bread more suitable for PB&J sandwiches than for garlic bread...OK by the girls!
Cat pictures by the girls
Pardon my blunder, these pictures loaded in the reverse order in which I wanted to post them. This window doesn't appear to have "cut and paste".
Haru on a car-u. As the littermates have gotten older, their muzzles appear more square and their ears seem shorter than when they were small. Or else they grew big ears first, then their faces caught up. The kitten faces look like miniature Egyptian cat deities.
Haru and one of her brothers annoying the dog next door. Fortunately for them Jenny is in the house!
Bob hates pawprints all over his car. But Chirpy loves climbing all over cars.
The kittens as the girls found them in June. They named the mother Midna. She disappeared in the beginning of October.
Art assemblages by Rachel-Blogger frame crops the pictures, so click on them for the full view (plus Photobucket promos), especially for Neku! He is hiding, as usual, in the right pane of the picture. Rachel's :3 is a kitty smiley face.
Terra, the heaviest one! And the most social too.
Zack has a thin line of white hairs under his chin, to distinguish him from his brothers.
Unless you have food or are Rachel, Neku has no use for you.
Unless we're really close, all the boys look alike.
The beautiful Lady Haruhi that breaks men's hearts. Only Neku is more shy than she.
She moved into the littermates' house around Christmas. And she's much more affectionate than Terra. Besides squeaks and a very quiet purr, her call begins with a hoarse 'chrrr' before breaking into the 'rrow', hence the "Chirpy". She answers to Chirpy, too!
Haru on a car-u. As the littermates have gotten older, their muzzles appear more square and their ears seem shorter than when they were small. Or else they grew big ears first, then their faces caught up. The kitten faces look like miniature Egyptian cat deities.
Haru and one of her brothers annoying the dog next door. Fortunately for them Jenny is in the house!
Bob hates pawprints all over his car. But Chirpy loves climbing all over cars.
The kittens as the girls found them in June. They named the mother Midna. She disappeared in the beginning of October.Art assemblages by Rachel-Blogger frame crops the pictures, so click on them for the full view (plus Photobucket promos), especially for Neku! He is hiding, as usual, in the right pane of the picture. Rachel's :3 is a kitty smiley face.
Terra, the heaviest one! And the most social too.
Zack has a thin line of white hairs under his chin, to distinguish him from his brothers.
Unless you have food or are Rachel, Neku has no use for you.Unless we're really close, all the boys look alike.
The beautiful Lady Haruhi that breaks men's hearts. Only Neku is more shy than she.
She moved into the littermates' house around Christmas. And she's much more affectionate than Terra. Besides squeaks and a very quiet purr, her call begins with a hoarse 'chrrr' before breaking into the 'rrow', hence the "Chirpy". She answers to Chirpy, too!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Follow-up on fixed kitties and Shady Maple
Haruhi and Chirpy arrived home about 9pm, ready to resume their old lives. Neither of them were pregnant (no aborted kitties). And since the surgical wounds were closed with skin glue, no stitches. The girls have a new friend, and her dad knows a friend of Bob's.
Bob and I got off to Shady Maple about 2:30. I made sure to get 2 sacks (10 pounds) of bread flour, 1 of whole wheat flour, 1 of unbleached flour, 1 of split peas, and 1 of rolled oats . We also picked up 3 of their $1 per peck reduced price produce baskets: tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and sweet potatoes. I got bathrobes for the girls for $6 each at Good's Store and a skirt for $2.50 for me (plus sized, folks!). A good trip, although there are two disadvantages to shopping on Saturday. One, Saturday is the day for "English" tourists to come gawk at the Amish and Mennonites, so the place is crowded. Two, is that they close at 5 pm, because they believe in getting ready for worship the next day. They're always closed on Sunday.
Bob and I got off to Shady Maple about 2:30. I made sure to get 2 sacks (10 pounds) of bread flour, 1 of whole wheat flour, 1 of unbleached flour, 1 of split peas, and 1 of rolled oats . We also picked up 3 of their $1 per peck reduced price produce baskets: tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and sweet potatoes. I got bathrobes for the girls for $6 each at Good's Store and a skirt for $2.50 for me (plus sized, folks!). A good trip, although there are two disadvantages to shopping on Saturday. One, Saturday is the day for "English" tourists to come gawk at the Amish and Mennonites, so the place is crowded. Two, is that they close at 5 pm, because they believe in getting ready for worship the next day. They're always closed on Sunday.
Friday, March 6, 2009
One busy day
My computer school had a 'workshop' for resume, job search, and interview skills scheduled for today. I figured my information in that sector dated back to the dark ages, when women weren't supposed to reveal marital status for fear of being shut out of a job "because you'll quit to have babies and never be back". Plus my past and current job searches were duds. So I signed up. Then my instructors told all the students that they could bring friends. My mind jumped to some job searchers I know..."Maryrose, how about my daughters?"
They actually got up for this workshop. (Now we'll hear it from Bob about why they can't always get up for church. :P ) We ran on Frantz Standard Time, aka 10 minutes late, but since there were traffic problems on US 202 the presentation was right in synch with us. It got down to business after coffee, cookies, coke, soft pretzels, and bottled water.
Karin led off with the seminar on resume writing. First, the reverse chronological history I learned in high school was OUT. Highlight strengths with action verbs; don't mention negatives - there's no law compelling it; and disclosing gaps in employment are still the kiss of death. (Face it, someone my age with a continuous employment history has either never been married, never had children, or had a very understanding husband or mother around for child care. I was not fortunate enough to have had close child care.) Maria actively participated in question and answer, in contrast to her sisters. The discussion was summarized with the statements "Your resume is NOT your autobiography" or "The Great American Novel" - would its headline be "Stuff I used to do" or "Look what I can do!"
After a break, Maryrose demonstrated a sample online job search site: selecting keywords to limit searches (2000+ entries?!??), mileage radius limiters, and going into company websites to find information and employment applications. Even then, she recommended dropping off a resume live and in person over an electronic/email submission.
Karin returned with her own take on online searches: don't make them a be-all and end-all in the search. Introducing oneself and inquiring if any local companies are hiring is a better form of networking than 'being lucky enough to know someone'. Then she dug thoroughly into preparation for an interview.
This is the part that leaves "back in the day" in the dust. Research the company, research your financial needs and goals, research the problem areas in your experience and rehearse answers for them. Consider yourself under scrutiny from the minute you enter the parking lot - you may be coming up on the elevator with the person interviewing you! Respect the receptionist...s/he may be telling the boss what sort of uptight person you were in the waiting room. Karin even stated that this was a good time for silent prayer, to put the matter into the Lord's hands. As you are questioned, listen.
The point that got my attention was the question, "Do you have any other questions?" The interviewer's hope is for you to divulge information that can be used against you. (Not that many people got this.) Your defense is to restate information you heard in the interview, to shape your impression of the company and their impression of you.
I must admit, I was never a practitioner of the thank-you for the interview note. I was always under the impression that one would be offered the job at the interview, or within the week. The only time I heard back directly on a job - in my life - is the Honey Brook Library calling me to give me the turn down live and with a follow-up letter within the week, last year. I guess I felt too burned on rejection to consider that a prospective employer would keep me on tap for a second choice. Gotta get the bipolar in gear on that.
After the workshop, the girls thought that they would be picking up our girl cats at the vet, where they were to be spayed. The girls were fortunate in that the vet they picked from the local SPCA list had a vet tech who lives 3 doors down from us. And we didn't know it!! (And Rachel has vocally thanked God for this 'coincidence'.) This person recognized the cats and offered the girls the low income/feral cat price for the shots and surgery. However, the vet had a problem with a cat with an eye infection, and our cats had not yet been spayed. The office said that this tech would bring the cats home with her tomorrow.
Then Anne fell asleep in the car, saying she felt off. I had to take Maria and Rachel to the barn, where they were too late to ride, but not too late to work. So Bob wanted to eat supper when we got back, and not go to Shady Maple Farm Market/Good's Store in Amish country. Drat. I wanted to go. We were out of high-gluten bread flour, and during Lent we eat a loaf of my homemade bread a day. Shady Maple also has the best produce prices in Lancaster or Chester County.
I just hope the poop doesn't hit the fan when Bob finds out the cats were spayed. He still begrudges the girls the price of the cat food, and they buy it out of their barn work money at wholesale warehouses.
They actually got up for this workshop. (Now we'll hear it from Bob about why they can't always get up for church. :P ) We ran on Frantz Standard Time, aka 10 minutes late, but since there were traffic problems on US 202 the presentation was right in synch with us. It got down to business after coffee, cookies, coke, soft pretzels, and bottled water.
Karin led off with the seminar on resume writing. First, the reverse chronological history I learned in high school was OUT. Highlight strengths with action verbs; don't mention negatives - there's no law compelling it; and disclosing gaps in employment are still the kiss of death. (Face it, someone my age with a continuous employment history has either never been married, never had children, or had a very understanding husband or mother around for child care. I was not fortunate enough to have had close child care.) Maria actively participated in question and answer, in contrast to her sisters. The discussion was summarized with the statements "Your resume is NOT your autobiography" or "The Great American Novel" - would its headline be "Stuff I used to do" or "Look what I can do!"
After a break, Maryrose demonstrated a sample online job search site: selecting keywords to limit searches (2000+ entries?!??), mileage radius limiters, and going into company websites to find information and employment applications. Even then, she recommended dropping off a resume live and in person over an electronic/email submission.
Karin returned with her own take on online searches: don't make them a be-all and end-all in the search. Introducing oneself and inquiring if any local companies are hiring is a better form of networking than 'being lucky enough to know someone'. Then she dug thoroughly into preparation for an interview.
This is the part that leaves "back in the day" in the dust. Research the company, research your financial needs and goals, research the problem areas in your experience and rehearse answers for them. Consider yourself under scrutiny from the minute you enter the parking lot - you may be coming up on the elevator with the person interviewing you! Respect the receptionist...s/he may be telling the boss what sort of uptight person you were in the waiting room. Karin even stated that this was a good time for silent prayer, to put the matter into the Lord's hands. As you are questioned, listen.
The point that got my attention was the question, "Do you have any other questions?" The interviewer's hope is for you to divulge information that can be used against you. (Not that many people got this.) Your defense is to restate information you heard in the interview, to shape your impression of the company and their impression of you.
I must admit, I was never a practitioner of the thank-you for the interview note. I was always under the impression that one would be offered the job at the interview, or within the week. The only time I heard back directly on a job - in my life - is the Honey Brook Library calling me to give me the turn down live and with a follow-up letter within the week, last year. I guess I felt too burned on rejection to consider that a prospective employer would keep me on tap for a second choice. Gotta get the bipolar in gear on that.
After the workshop, the girls thought that they would be picking up our girl cats at the vet, where they were to be spayed. The girls were fortunate in that the vet they picked from the local SPCA list had a vet tech who lives 3 doors down from us. And we didn't know it!! (And Rachel has vocally thanked God for this 'coincidence'.) This person recognized the cats and offered the girls the low income/feral cat price for the shots and surgery. However, the vet had a problem with a cat with an eye infection, and our cats had not yet been spayed. The office said that this tech would bring the cats home with her tomorrow.
Then Anne fell asleep in the car, saying she felt off. I had to take Maria and Rachel to the barn, where they were too late to ride, but not too late to work. So Bob wanted to eat supper when we got back, and not go to Shady Maple Farm Market/Good's Store in Amish country. Drat. I wanted to go. We were out of high-gluten bread flour, and during Lent we eat a loaf of my homemade bread a day. Shady Maple also has the best produce prices in Lancaster or Chester County.
I just hope the poop doesn't hit the fan when Bob finds out the cats were spayed. He still begrudges the girls the price of the cat food, and they buy it out of their barn work money at wholesale warehouses.
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