Outstanding Sunday

Today I got to substitute for our Gospel Doctrine teacher. It was the first six chapters of Isaiah and I was in "hog heaven"! I so LOVE the Old Testament! I have such a love for it. I know it comes from my childhood and the Bible stories I grew up reading and hearing. It was so much fun.

I miss teaching and the structure it gave me for my scripture study. I miss the discovery and research. I learned so much more than I ever taught. I was afraid that my study would evaporate when I stopped teaching and I was pretty right.

I had borrowed Believing Christ from my branch president. I was previewing it to see about sending to my son. I found that he had access to that book already, but I enjoyed reading it on my own. I thought I had a testimony of the Atonement before, but the book opened so many things. The more I study the Atonement, the bigger it becomes. And the more humble I become.

I returned it to him and we talked about what we liked about the book. As I was leaving, he smiled and said "You looked real natural up there teaching this morning." I said, "I LOVE teaching...." I could think of nothing I'd love better than getting to do Gospel Doctrine again. Wish, wish, wish.

Crochet is a Sickness

I have crocheting more this year than ever before. Part of it came from being a partner in a "yarn goods" booth at the local farmer's market. I always wondered if there was a market for the things I made and this year taught me a lot. I shared the booth with a friend who knits and sews and we had a fairly good selection of things to offer. I learned marketing. I learned pricing. And I learned that I could not support myself that way if things ever got bad!! I COULD however make enough to cover my expenses when shopping at said market for the products of other vendors!! Especially the bread lady! YUM!

Now a certain discomfort sets in when I do not have access to needle and yarn. It's scary. I take a bag in the car with me, just in case. I mean, you don't know when you are going to stuck in traffic for hours...and what would I do with all those empty minutes and empty hands??

I have found a pattern that I am obsessed with at the moment. It is a scalloped hooded infant sweater. It can be varied many ways. This was my first attempt. I used a baby sports weight and a size H needle. Now, I crochet very tightly and it ended up tiny. Good for a preemie - or for the naked baby doll that my youngest granddaughter has been carrying around since the birth of her baby brother. Now the baby doll is no longer naked.

Then I made this one. The gray yarn is Red Heart's Homespun and very soft. I used an over-sized the hook to make it even softer.

Then I tried it without the hood. Again worsted weight. This time was Vanna's Choice yarn, which is also very soft.

And this is my newest experiment. I left the sleeves short, lengthened the "skirt" and closed up the front (which you can't see). So it is more like a little dress. With a hood. And pom-pom. Don't ask me why. I told you it was an illness... Maybe Yoda is looking for a new outfit....

Best Pastrami Ever!

Tom has a love affair with the Food Network. I accept it. From Bobby Flay to the Iron Chef. Mario Batali to Guy Fieri.

He loves watching Triple D ("Diners, Drive-ins and Dives") and then trying the places we come in contact with. So far it has been a fun experience and we've enjoyed some great food in places we would never have tried otherwise.

We had another adventure this last week. We had to make a trip up to Portland, in the extended effort to get Tom registered for VA health benefits. We decided to visit a family owned sausage factory in Portland that had been featured on Triple D.

https://www.ottossausage.com/store

There on the corner of Woodstock was a store, with a barbecue cooking away. The line of people waiting went down the block. There were picnic tables along the sidewalk. You COULD eat inside, but enjoying the rare sunshine in Portland, we took the outside option. The dogs were good - freshly grilled and hot. We bought some samples for Ericka and got some of their homemade pastrami to take home.

We made hot pastrami sandwiches for lunch today out of their pastrami. Holy Cow! I love pastrami -but have never had one better than this! Next trip to Portland will definitely include a stop at Otto's!!

Recipes Galore!

We have a spot in out little post office where people drop off books, magazines, and catologs that they don't want and others may claim them. A couple days ago, I went in to get our mail and found a treasure. Someone had left about four years of "Quick Cooking" and "Taste of Home" magazines there, packaged in zip lock bags.

These magazines have a history in our family. Ericka's mother-in-shared them with her when she was first married. She told me about them and I enjoyed them. I ended up gifting them to my daughters for Christmas. I immediately claimed them. Ericka used a method of noting which recipes she liked in each issue. She placed a post-it on the cover and wrote the recipe name and page on the post-it. That way she didn't have to shuffle through each magazine to find her favorites.

Whoever left these magazines did the same thing!!

I'm thinking I will sort though and collect and share. I might end up with a nice recipe book for a gift some future Christmas.