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Montage Moments is a page of blog postings about a variety of subjects, thoughts and opinions..

Are You Aware?

6/30/2015

2 Comments

 
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I want to begin this post by saying, this is not a picture of my car.
But I do want to say something about being aware of people, situations, vehicles and various other things.
Having been married to an over-the-road truck driver for nearly 40 years, I learned about 'defensive driving.' It is a great thing and has kept me accident free since I received my license when I was 17 and that was a few years ago. (With the exception of one accident when I was hit by someone who was sliding on the ice and I had nowhere to go to take evasive action.)
I am not a slow, pokey 'little old lady driver' but I am always aware of the other drivers on the road. If I am unable to stop in time and enter an intersection on a yellow caution light, I am aware of the vehicles to my right and left who might be ready to jump the green light. I know who is changing lanes constantly and who is going to try to cut me off at the next light. I know how fast someone is approaching from the rear and if the semi needs a little more space to move back into my lane.
Having pontificated about my great driving skills, I want you to know I think being aware of your surroundings is a lost art. I don't know if it is due to everyone being on cell phones or the "I own the road' mentality.
Last weekend, after the big storm, there was a tree across the street I live on; at the end of the block; making it impossible to get through. 
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My daughter and I sat on the front porch and watched at least a dozen drivers come down the street, reach the tree and THEN put it in reverse and back up to the alley or all the way to the previous cross street. I ask myself, 'How in the world can they not see that tree across the road from a block away?' I don't have the answer.

Now, we come to people situations: how many times do we see a person standing alone in a crowded area, such as a church lobby or a meeting room or at a table in a restaurant? I am not advocating joining them and possibly disturbing their meal; but rather, a simple nod, smile, hello; some acknowledgement would be showing I am at least aware of their presence.

I recently attended a writer's lunch and short seminar. I went with a friend so I knew her, at least. There weren't too many people there, but the attendees came from all over the state and most did not know each other. There were 5 of us at our table with 2 empty chairs. Across from us, at another table, was a woman sitting alone. Did one of us ask her to join us at our table? No, we did not. However, the facilitator asked her if she would like to join us.

A young woman I know recently said she felt totally invisible in a large group of people at a church picnic. Some would prefer to be invisible but some would at least like to know they are seen and welcomed.

If most of the population is unaware of a huge tree limb blocking their path, is it a surprise they do not see the sad, lonesome, alone individual God has put in their path?

Drive more defensively (you get better insurance discounts) and live more 'intentionally.'
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Are You Melting?

6/24/2015

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Do you sometimes feel as though you are being stretched beyond your limits?
Occasionally, events and circumstances in our lives make us feel that way. We feel the effects of sustained 'heat' which can be attributed to health issues, finances, emotions, family situations, work related problems or a myriad of other things that threaten to drive us crazy and s-t-r-e-t-c-h us like the action figure, Stretch Armstrong.
Unlike Stretch Armstrong, whose arms could be stretched from 4-5 inches to 4-5 feet  without breaking, we can't stretch that far. My little rubber frog has been in his spot on my front porch, in front of an east window, just hanging out over the edge of my hanging scale, for several years. Although he has not stretched 4 feet, his one leg is about to reach the breaking point, as you can see.

Until we reach our heavenly home, we will always face situations that stretch us to our limits and even threaten to break us, but if we trust in our Lord, hang onto his word and his promises, we will never be broken beyond repair.
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Pies

6/11/2015

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I begin by apologizing for the blurry pictures. I do not know what happened but use your imagination, ok?
This cupboard has not been passed down through my family; Tom purchased it at an auction in 1972. I have always referred to it as the old kitchen cupboard and when directing any of my kids or grandkids to get something from it or put some item away, it was/is always called the old kitchen cupboard and they all know it by that. The granite part pulls out for more room when needed and there is a flour bin on the left side with a built-in sifter. It will easily hold 25# of flour. I used to keep it full when I was baking bread and pies every week.
Yesterday, as I was rolling out pie crusts on the granite top, I wondered how many pie crusts I have made on this space. While there is no way to know for sure, I would estimate the number at well over a thousand. (That number is only the ones I made at home; it doesn't include the 90 per week at a small restaurant in Whitley County for several years.) I don't recall ever making just one at a time; it wouldn't be worth the effort to bake a single pie crust.
At one point, there was a lady who would call every time she was having guests or during the holidays and ask me to make pies for her.
Yesterday I made several crusts.

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One pie was a rhubarb custard for 2 granddaughters who would rather have that than cake for their birthdays.
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One was a strawberry and the other two will be used for cream pies.
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I am not writing this to brag about my pie-baking abilities, but rather to tell you I never baked, boiled or cooked ANYTHING until I got married. I was the baby of the family, my grandma lived with us and it was probably easier for my mother and grandmother to do it themselves. It didn't exactly prepare me for cooking for a family, and there are some great stories of my first efforts. But I learned. It is never too late to learn something.
It would seem that cooking of one type or another was part of nearly every job I ever had.

These recipes and stories and many more from other cooks and bakers will be included in the book I am working on.
In 1979, I started gathering some of the family recipes from people I knew , so there is a vast assortment of material, a few dating back to the covered wagon days of their ancestors and some from a lady in Montana where we camped and some from the school cafeteria where I worked for years. Baked beans for 200? Yep.
Am I going to test them all? No. Is there going to be calorie and nutritional information included? No. Will you enjoy the anecdotes and the recipes? I hope so. But you will be making them at your own risk if you purchase the book when it is ready. LOL
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My Life-Long Love Affair

6/1/2015

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In case you are thinking this will be a sensual type of post due to the title word, AFFAIR, you will be sadly disappointed.

My love affair is with peanut butter. Yes, that is correct. Peanut butter. I don't know when I had my first taste but since I'm told I was a bit of a 'cry-baby' maybe my mom stuck some in my mouth to stick my lips together.
My first choice in sandwiches is nearly always peanut butter and jelly or a variation of that. As a child, I discovered my affinity for a sandwich consisting of peanut butter and tomato slices. 



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It is really quite good and although my son-in-law thought the idea was disgusting, he tried it and now eats that sandwich all the time.
As a teenager, my before school breakfast was always a piece of peanut butter and jelly toast and a cup of coffee to dunk it in.
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One summer when my first four children played summer t-ball, baseball and softball, we ate many suppers at the ballpark. Many PBJ sandwiches were packed in the cooler.
For 7 years, I worked in a school cafeteria. We received #10 cans of peanut butter from the government. It was PURE unadulterated peanut butter and as such, was too thick to spread. I would empty the can into the industrial mixer and add a bit of butter until the consistency was 'spreadable.' Every day, I made many PBJ sandwiches for the children; not as the main meal, but as "seconds" if they were still hungry.
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You would think I would have become immune to the lure of peanut butter, but that never happened. I like peanut butter cookies and peanut butter candy and I make a scrumptious peanut butter cream pie.
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But one of my favorite ways to eat it (and I have taught my grandchildren to do the same much to the chagrin of their mothers) is directly from the jar. Just give me a spoon.
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    Author: Gloria Doty

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