Short Reads
Reciprocating Love
Listen; and you will be heard.
Care; and you will be loved.
Give; and you will receive.
Love; and you will be honored.
Sacrifice; and you will be blessed.
Share joy; and you will leave echos of hope.
Though difficult at times, find good in everyone. They'll learn good from you.
Continually praise and bless your children and grandchildren. They need to hear it. Someday, they will praise and bless you, and you will want to hear it.
Greg and Debra Robinson
For the Birds
According to the Indiana Audubon Society, the population of songbirds in North America has decreased by 30% during the last 50 years. And for a variety of reasons.
It's easy to install a bird feeder in your backyard or outside your window. Get to the hardware store and buy a 24" thin piece of rebar in building supplies. In the electrical section of the store, grab a 5-6' long section of conduit.
At home, drive the rebar into the ground about half way, nice and straight. Slide the conduit on, and that's it. Find a bird feeder that will rest on a pole. You may need to wrap the top of the conduit with duct tape to fill in the gap. Select quality bird food and enjoy feeding our feathered friends. This may not help the declining population, but you'll enjoy the visitors. And by the way, so far, our backyard squirrels haven't been able to climb the conduit successfully.
Greg Robinson
KOLACKY Pastries
From Debra's Old Family Reicpes
They once owned a Chicago bakery. Many years ago.
1 lb. sweet butter
1 lb softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons of sugar
4.5 to 5 cups of flour
Blend butter, cream cheese and sugar well. Then work in the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Press dough firmly together and roll into a damp cloth. Slip into a plastic bag and store overnight.
Break off dough about the size of a walnut. Using a flour coated rolling pin on a flour coated surface, roll the small ball of dough out into a circle. Add a small bit ofjelly, jam or fruit perserves across the center. Fold, encasing the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (usually 15-20 minutes). Remove from oven and dust lightly with powdered sugar. Grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.
And so...sea moss
Debra intoduced a supplement to our meals called sea moss. It arrived on our door step one day. Debra wasn't home. I was curious. It looked like a jar of apple sauce. Opened, it looked like apple sauce with a pleasantly mild aroma. I tasted it. Yum. I tasted again, and again, and once more. And then more. Then to the refridgerator. Tasty and very healthy, I thought to myself. Nice!
Without details, please don't do what I did if you sample sea moss. Reading the fine print on the jar after feeling a little....um..., one spoonful is enough for the day. Full of natural minerals, harvested in the clean and cold North Sea, it's interesting and delightful....until you have too much. I had to stay home for awhile that evening.
Isn't life good! :) I love you Debra!
Debra's Simple Oatmeal:
1/4 cup Quaker 1 min oatmeal and 1 cup of Almond Milk. Microwave (1:20 on our 1100W oven)
Add 1/2 smashed banana, 1 tsp peanut butter, a small handful of raisins and a splash of cinnamon. Stir well. Enjoy
Cleaning the interior of you car?
Grab a small bowl of warm purified water from the kitchen. Add a few drops of essential oil, ie lavender.
Wipe the dash dust and fingerprints away without chemicals and leave a shiny, clean interior with a pleasant fragrance. Get in the habit of doing this often.
Another tip: prior to vacuuming the carpet in your car, use the same water / oil mentioned above and scrub the floorboard where gravel, sand and salt have accumulated. This will loosen up the elements making the vacuuming easier for you.
Do you really need the soap and chemicals for your hard surface floors? Consider using purified water with essential oils. Lightly mop the floors frequently for a shiny floor you can be proud of. It's so easy, so do this often. And your home smells good too!
Three of our favorite homecooked meals:
Salmon, lightly brushed with BBQ sauce. Sweet potato too. Bake sweet potato at 350 - 400 deg (depending on size) for about 30 minutes, slide the potatoes over and add the salmon fillets next to, then bake another 20 or so at 350 deg. Add s spinach salad. Enjoy!
Buy a bag of brussel sprouts. Cut off the end of the stem. In a bowl, lightly drizzle and mix with olive oil until they're all lightly coated. Its fun to use your hands for this and each will be coated well. Spread on parchment paper on your favorite baking sheet. Now sprinkle some with Old Bay spice; some with Ms. Dash; some with light brown sugar, garlic powder, pepper.....what else you got? Remember the cinnamon! Bake at 350 deg for roughly 40 minutes more or less. Outer leaves may turn black, but that's ok. Enjoy with baked chicken breast.
One more: Grab 4 bell peppers at the market. Red, yellow, orange and a green one. Cup off the top. Reaching in with your fringers and rip ALL of the seeds out. Submerse, soak then boil the peppers until soft. Meanwhile, find your favorite Spanish rice recipe, but replace the rice with healthy Quinoa. Cook in a skillet as directed with the tomato sauce, onions and spices. Stuff the mixture into the drained peppers. Bake 30 mins. at 350 deg. Open the oven door, add a layer of your favorite cheese on top. Pour over a little more tomato sauce if you have it. Bake another 15 mins or so. Serve and enjoy.
Debra's Pancakes
For breakfast on our first New Year Day together; she made the best blueberry pancakes ever. Try them for yourself:
1 egg
1 cup of milk
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 cup of white flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 Tablespoons of baking powder
2 Tablespoons of sugar
Whisk the egg, milk, and oil. Add the salt and dry incredients. Whisk some more, until smooth. Let the batter rise then gently smooth onto the pre-heated griddle or skillet. Flip when lightly brown (it doesn't take long). Love with pure maple syrup and dust with powdered sugar. What a way to start a day!
We added frest blueberries to the pancakes just after pouring the batter onto the griddle. So good!
